Life in My World – Gallimaufry ([{and Parenthesis}])

I’ve told you about Deb.  (She’s my friend that hosted scrapbook retreats with me for years and years.)  Yesterday we went to speak to a small group of women that were holding a retreat in the mountains.  Deb’s topic was Finding Humor in Life and mine was Gratitude.  Deb’s talk made us laugh and my talk made them cry. 

We stopped at a couple of places on the way to the retreat.  Deb needed a clown nose and a fairy wand so we stopped at a party and costume store.  I needed scrapbook paper so we stopped at Ruby’s.  

Deb helped the women at the retreat make happy notepads.  We glued paper to the binding of the notepad and embellished it.  They were cute and simple.  Deb even suggested stamping something in the bottom right corner of the notepad.  Now that would be really sweet.  

 As part of my talk I shared an easy scrapbook project to help them recognize and remember their blessings.  

(This little scrapbook would make a fun family night project for kids.  One week read scriptures on the importance of being grateful [this one in Thessalonians is a good one to start with] , and then have your family list things for which they are grateful.  Take thirteen pictures of those things.  [You could do a family book or individual books.]  During the week, develop the pictures and cut (13) 4” x 6” papers on which to write why you’re grateful for thing things and people you photographed.  For example, on the inside first page I wrote, "I am grateful for . . ." and each succeeding page says one thing for which I'm grateful.

The next week put the photos into the sleeves.  You can embellish the front and inside pages as I have or leave as is.)   

This week I came to a bigger understanding of why being grateful for our blessings is so important to the Lord, and the seriousness of being ungrateful.  Gratitude keeps us off that slippery slope of entitlement which leads to a host of ills.   

Deb and I didn’t get home until late, and wished we’d have packed our bags and spent the night once we got there (we always do), but we had a great afternoon and evening regardless of how long it lasted. 

Speaking of scrapbook projects . . . 

The girls in our young women’s program have wanted to do things to prepare for college.  This week we helped them make recipe binders.  Because of this project, I finally moved all of my loose recipes from a folder to a binder.  Probably because the scrapbook paper was out to make the recipe dividers, probably because I’ve always wanted to do a cookbook scrapbook, probably because I have some extra pictures I’ve wondered what to do with  . . . I added pictures to the recipes as I transferred them.  

I put an extra wedding picture of Abe’s and Grace’s with Grace’s manicotti recipe.  I have several more pictures to develop to add to other recipes – Brenda with her cookie recipe, Laurie with her cherry bread recipe, Shelly with her roll recipe, Mary with her cake recipe, Ty and Michelle with the cupcake recipe we baked for their reception . . . you get the picture.  This book will hardly be a showpiece, but it will be a fun book to cook with. 

One page in my new cookbook binder comes from an article that I've wanted to throw away many times.  

Several years ago I won $75 for a supper menu featured in Country Woman.  I was so excited to win the $75, but when I read the article in the magazine I was embarrassed, really embarrassed.  Too embarrassed to show anyone that I’d won.  The article was too forced, too syrupy (and I like light syrup when canning peaches and pears and  . . . articles).  I thought I'd thrown away that stupid article but found it transferring recipes.  I tossed it in the trash.  Later I thought, “This is like Averil’s Atonement that Anne of Green Gables wrote and Dianna entered in the Old Rollings Reliable Baking Powder Company contest.”  Just thinking of that scene gave me an idea.  I dug the article back out of the trash (where the red ink in the top right corner was now smeared with fruit juice) and added it to the recipe binder and wrote “Averil’s Atonement” across it.  The girls in our family will understand exactly what that means when they see it and I no longer have to be embarrassed about it.  

Today's projects had a lot of red in them:

spaghetti sauce 

strawberry fruit leather 

white chocolate dipped caramel apple (I keep a bowl of homemade caramel this time of year.  It's so easy to make just one apple for someone, or drizzle some caramel over ice cream, or even just grab a spoonful as you walk by [that is until SparksPeople informed me that I probably only ought to eat one serving of it a day instead of six.  They took all the fun out of going to the kitchen to get a drink].)

and raspberry jam

Fall has beautiful colors and once it's really here (and there is no pretending that summer might last a little longer) I remember why I love it so -- it smells good, it looks good, it has lots of red.  Fall is generous.  

And that's life in my world this week . . .