Another Tiny Book Review

One of my favorite books is The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I have my own copy, a gift from Matt and Ann for Christmas many years ago.  Ann had the whole series growing up and I used to read through them every few years.  I also have a book of essays Mrs. Wilder wrote in the early part of the last century and I enjoy reading them.

Recently, there was an article in the paper about a new book called Pioneer Girl that piqued my interest.  It seems that Laura Ingalls Wilder hand wrote the history of her early life with that title, mostly for her daughter, but also possibly for publication.  Under that title and in that form, it never reached publication, but those penciled lines in tablet after tablet became the seed for her series of Little House books.

Pamela Smith Hill had previously done a biography of Mrs. Wilder and had access to the Pioneer Girl manuscript.  Now she has taken that manuscript, added many pictures and researched people, places and local newspapers, to create a large tome that is fascinating reading.  It is not cheap and so I decided against purchasing it, instead requesting it through our local library.  I found I was on a long list and despaired of getting it before next winter, but fortunately I got it much sooner.  

I enjoyed many hours of reading and looking at the accompanying photos.  Ms. Hill has done an extraordinary job of filling in blanks through use of newspapers, the census, and other historical records. There are literally hundreds of footnotes, which some people complained about in reviews, but they are easily ignored if a reader chooses.  I chose to read them.  :-)

If you too, love history, or simply love the Little House books, I can heartily recommend Pioneer Girl for a good (if long!) read.  ♥

Weekend

We had a lovely weekend.  Perfect weather and time with family.  We had the little man yesterday afternoon while Eric, Cameron and Keaton did some white water rafting and Ann helped with a wedding.  Papa and I had fun!  When Cameron, Keaton and their cousin Ryan were little, they all loved to play on a pathway down the east side of our house.  The path is covered with tiny pea gravel and is perfect for making roads and shoveling into buckets.  They spent hours there over a number of summers.  Yesterday, Daniel discovered the same fun and spent hours running up and down it with trucks and then filling the same buckets.  Don't you just know it made this grammy smile?  

Later in the afternoon we took D back to his house so he could play in his little pool, and after Ann came home we spent the rest of the day enjoying her shady back yard, visiting, and then eating pizza followed by key lime pie for an early Father's Day treat for Dan.  Our last treat of the day was watching CarTunes featuring Mater the tow truck "Tow Mater" from the Cars movie (and giggling away at subtle humorous phrases thrown in to keep grownups amused).  It's D's favorite.  ♥

A Little Shine

We ordered running boards for the new 4Runner last week and they came on Tuesday.  Dan went right to work installing them and they look terrific!

They're just the touch of shine it needed.  Now I have to get used to using them after just jumping up and in for over a week.  ♥

Potato Salad

I love me some potato salad. Always have.  I don't make it often because if it's in the frig I have a hard time not grabbing a spoon and having "a little taste." Often. And of course, making potato salad can be labor intensive.  Boiling eggs, cooling said eggs, and then peeling and chopping them.  And then there's the potatoes themselves:  washing, peeling, cutting into chunks, boiling, cooling and then dicing them.  And making the dressing. . .  

I'm still loving my Instant Pot and was thrilled to note a recipe for potato salad on one of my favorite sites, Pressure Cooking Today (link on sidebar).  I checked it out and was amazed to see that the potatoes and eggs are cooked together in the Instant Pot!  Could this possibly work?  I am pleased to report that it does, indeed.  And works in wondrous ways!  I made the potato salad I took to my parents over Mother's Day weekend using the recipe, and I would say it was the best potato salad I've ever made.  

Cooking the potatoes for salad takes careful attention or the potatoes overcook and you end up with mashed potato salad.  Using the Instant Pot and dicing the potatoes before cooking produces perfectly cooked potatoes.  Truly!  And the eggs?  You nested them down in the potatoes and they cook to perfection and better yet, peel to perfection!  It's all like magic!  I made another salad last week and it was just as perfect.  

So, if you have an Instant Pot, or even a stovetop pressure cooker, give this recipe a try.  I'm sorry I have no picture because . . . we ate all the salad!  :-)  But there's one if you go to the recipe.  ♥

Now Appearing on the Breakfast Table...

For some strange reason, my favorite meal to fix is breakfast!  And this from someone who definitely isn't a morning person.  Poached eggs and hashbrowns, waffles and bacon, egg on toast, scones, coffee cake, and muffins.  The list goes on and on.  Of course I don't make these things every morning due to time constraints, but when I do have the time, I enjoy whipping up something tasty.  I even do eggs Benedict, thanks to my sister-in-law, Karen.  She makes them every time we visit and I love them and have copied her. Yum!

I had some overripe bananas a few weeks ago, but not enough for banana bread, so I tried some banana muffins for the first time.  They turned out well, so yesterday when I had more bananas, I made another batch.  

It's just a basic muffin recipe with the addition of bananas and chopped pecans.  And speaking of chopped pecans, I absolutely love this knife:

Its flat bottom and non-pointy tip make it easy to chop whole nuts in a flash.  The Pioneer Woman uses one often on her show and I was intrigued, so I ordered one from Williams-Sonoma when they had a tempting pre-Christmas sale.  It also works beautifully for thinly slicing both cooked and raw meats because its blade is very thin.  

Let's hear it for breakfast--the most important meal of the day!  ♥

Another Dayna Update

I'm late in writing this, but I do want to share the latest news about our friend, Dayna. She recently had another MRI and the results were amazing as you will see from what she wrote: 

Some very good news today during chemotherapy as we went over the scan results. Shrinkage of the tumor in two places and no growth in others, along with necrosis (cell death) in the center of the tumor!! A Grade IV glioblastoma can double in size every 2-4 weeks, so this is quite amazing. On a scale of 1-10 the doc said these results are an 8. We'll TAKE it.

And then a few days later this amazing woman wrote this:

In light of my recent (incredible) scan results, I often hear people rejoice with me and say that God is good. It is almost an instinctive response, I think, especially for people of faith. It is an answer to prayers, a reflection of both His goodness and my family's perseverance throughout treatment and so many unknowns.

Yes, indeed, God is very good.

I have had a sentiment echoing in my heart this week that I would like to share. God is good, and He has always been and will always be good. If the tumor in my brain had grown, He would still be sovereign and in control. He would still be good! If cancer takes my life tomorrow, God's goodness is unchanging. No matter the results of scans, or tests, or trials in life, our response should be that YES! HE IS GOOD! A resounding truth that honors His plan and our trust in Him.

No matter the circumstance, yes, God is good.

It is natural to praise God when outcomes are favorable, when they reflect our desires and deepest hopes. I appreciate and value every comment that 'God is good,' because I share that belief and conviction! How the tears filled my eyes when the results from my MRI were read to me on Monday. What an incredible thing to hear after a few months of treatment, five days a week, with no assurance that progress was being made. If the results had been different, however, would our reaction be the same? Would we still praise Him for being good? Would we still worship?

I believe that my God heals. That He works miracles. I have been a beneficiary of some incredible miracles in my life, miracles of rescue and redemption and yes, of physical healing as well. It was one such miracle of rescue that led me back to walking with God, after years of disobedience.

The truth of the matter, however, is that not everyone is healed. All of us, every single one of us, is 'terminal.' We all have an expiration date on our lives here on earth. I may not be healed of cancer in my lifetime. Or, He may choose to heal me! (That would be incredibly in accordance with MY plan, in case God wants some input.) Both outcomes would mean that He is good. That He has always been good. That His plans are not my plans, and His ways are not my ways.

We can't see the biggest picture of all, the one where all of our lives are threads in a tapestry, and are interwoven and connected in ways that only the Creator could see. Every slight change brings about a different ending. God is good. He will always be good, regardless of what tomorrow brings. His plan is FOR us. His grace is for us… and my heart is for Him.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. With love and immense gratitude!

Dayna

This dear girl is an amazing gift to us all and continues to awe me with her attitude. I know many of my readers join me in praying for her and her little Maddie. ♥

The Wheels on the Car Go 'Round and 'Round

The wheels on our wonderful '04 Ford Explorer have gone 'round and 'round for almost eleven years. I can't believe we've had it so long--longer as our main vehicle than any other we've owned (Dan has had pickups that we had longer).  We've been toying with looking for a new "car" for a year or so and had pretty much decided that if we bought, it would be a Toyota 4Runner because we've been so pleased with Dan's Tundra since we bought it two years ago.  

Last Thursday Dan had a meeting in Coeur d'Alene and I went along because I needed a fun day. Bear Paw Quilting is just around the corner from where he had the meeting so I knew I could very enjoyably spend hours there.  And the Toyota dealership was just across the street!  Do you see where this is heading?

Yes, I have new wheels.  A gorgeous white 4Runner with all kinds of fun bells and whistles!

It drives like a dream.  I'm reading the manuals every day and hope to be up to speed on everything in a year or so!  The built-in GPS helped get me out of Coeur d'Alene alive (Ann and Eric are buying the Explorer so Dan drove himself home).  The salesman synced my cell phone with the car's system and all I have to do is push a button and say, "Call... ."  Amazing!!  Eric synced my iPod and between that and XM radio I'll never want for tunes.

We'll be adding running boards in the next few weeks, but until then I'm pleased to report that my hours at the fitness center have paid off and I can jump up and in with no problem.

I loved, loved, loved my Explorer and there was a small fear in me that no other car would fit me like it did.  I'm thrilled to report this one seems to.  ♥