Time Flies

I am staring at this blank page trying to think of what to write.  I feel like the days have been flying by with great speed.  When I try to remember all that has happened it seems a blur.  I've been doing my best to keep up with my Bible studies.  I am going to two.  One meets every week and it will be over in a couple of weeks.  The other meets every other week till summer.  I love both and the women that I fellowship with.  Also, the ladies holiday tea party is coming up and I am going to help with that which I am excited about.

The rest of my time is spent keeping up with my homemaking duties and looking for our new home.  Mark and I went out looking at homes again this past Saturday.  We did not find anything that we fell in love with.  Each home had something we liked, but then there were things we did not want.  I do not know if my expectations are to high, but I just want to be able to walk into a home and say, "yes this is the place".  I expect that there may be a few cosmetic things that I will want to change, but that is no big deal.

When we told our friends at church that we are going to buy a home here in Colorado, they were excited for us.  They are glad that we have decided to stay.  Everyone tells us to look at homes near them.  It is so sweet.  However, something interesting has come up.  I was talking with a friend at church who is getting ready to put her home up for sale.  She and her husband want to move to a smaller place.  I have been to her home once for coffee, but did not see the whole house.  She told me more about her house and it sounds absolutely amazing.  She invited me to come on Friday for coffee and she is going to show me around.  We are both looking forward to it.

The Wedding Ring

Okay, here is the story of my wedding ring.  I was sitting in my car waiting for my son to get out of class at the technical school.  As I was waiting I decided to put some lotion on my hands.  So I took off my rings one was my diamond wedding ring and the other was my grandmother's simple white gold wedding band.  For some reason I set them in my lap.  I usually set them in the ashtray, but this time I didn't.  My son showed up at the car and he was upset because the guys in the class had pranked him.  As we talked I forgot all about my rings.  I put the lotion away and drove off to the grocery store.  I got out of the car went in the store purchased my groceries and went on home and made lunch.  I went about my day and went to bed.

In the morning I went through my usual routine.  Got my breakfast, shower and got dressed.  Then I went to put on my rings and saw they were not in my jewelry box.  I immediately felt I was going to faint.  I realized I never put the rings back on after putting the lotion on.  I picked up my son from the tech school and told him about the rings.  I searched the car, he searched the car...nothing.  I went back to the grocery store and I parked near where I parked before.  While I went into the store to ask if anyone had turned in the rings my son searched the parking lot.  The clerk at the courtesy desk checked in the back, but there was nothing turned in.  I was disappointed as I made my way back to the car.  I told my son that no one turned them in.  Just then, amazingly, he looked down and found my wedding ring!  He found the setting and the diamond sitting next to it.  The setting is crushed, but the diamond is fine.  However, my grandmother's wedding band was not found.  I am heartbroken.

It is a blessing of the Lord that I was able to get my wedding ring back after 24 hours of it being lost.  In the afternoon I took my poor ring to a reputable jeweler.  She told me that the diamond is fine, however the setting is in bad shape after being run over by a car.  Add on top of that 27 years of wear the gold has worn thin.  Her husband (an award winning jeweler) can repair it, but it looks about time for me to get a new setting.  So sometime Mark and I will be going to view settings together.

Good News and More Autumn to Share

Well, today we got good news from our loan agent.  We are in good shape and qualify.  I can hardly believe it!  So we will be looking at more houses and waiting on the Lord.  We have been looking at homes that are near my favorite park.  It is a very pretty area.  Here below I am sharing more pictures from my autumn collection at Crown Hill Park.  Enjoy!

Autumn on the Prairie

Well our house hunting went well.  Mark really enjoyed viewing the homes that I picked out.  We saw 7 homes and we liked 4 of them.  There were two that we liked very much.  There are still other homes we would like to view, but we are saving that for another time.  Right now we need to work with a loan officer to see what the numbers look like for us.

This afternoon I decided to go to my beloved Crown Hill Park and take a walk.  Autumn is in full swing on the prairie and I was able to get some gorgeous shots.  I took a lot of pictures and it is hard to pick which ones to share with you all.  I will share some now and others later.

Looking across the lake at the mountains and the beautiful autumn trees in the distance.

Another view of the lake with autumn colors.

See the reflection in the water.  Isn't it gorgeous?

The cottonwoods in autumn splendor.

House Hunting

Mark and I met a very nice gentleman that is a real estate agent.  He has been sending us listings for a few months.  I finally decided it is time to hook up and do a bit of house hunting, Mark agreed.  We are on the same page about what we want in our next property.  Both of us are willing to endure a tight budget for a place we really love.  We know the Lord has something wonderful for us.  Here below are a couple of houses that we are going to view.

This house is in a very nice neighborhood with lots of trees.  It is at the end of a cul-de-sac.  The surrounding area is park like, to me it is dreamy.  By the way, we like ranch style houses best.

This next house is also at the end of cul-de-sac.  It is on a street that is like a secluded country road.  It has no fences, everything is open.

This is a picture of the backyard.  The property backs to a running brook which is beyond the trees. 

Chicken Soup

Since I have been sick, chicken soup sounded like a good thing to have.  A friend I used to hang with in California taught me how to make her chicken soup.  She is Thai, so I now make Thai Chicken Soup.  It is very easy and she never wrote down anything for me to follow.  She just told me how to do it.  Now I am going to share it with you.

Put a whole chicken in a large pot big enough to fit the chicken and cover it with water.  Then you simply boil the chicken and add stems of cilantro (you can also add Thai lemon leaf and/or Thai basil).  When the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a bowl and let it cool.  Set some white rice to cook on the stove.  I generally use a cup to a cup & a half of dry white rice.  When the meat is cooler start shredding or chopping it up (which ever you prefer) and put it back in the pot (which now contains your broth).  You may not need to use all the the meat, just add what you think is enough.  I generally save some meat for other uses or a good chicken sandwich.  Okay, back to the recipe.  Add in more cilantro stems, salt to taste and the rice.  Cook a bit to heat through and let sit for a bit to let the rice absorb the broth and make a thicker soup.  When serving the soup garnished with chopped cilantro leaves, a bit of Asian chili sauce and a squeeze of lime.  It is absolutely delish and so healthy.  Leftover soup can become very thick because of the rice...it becomes more of a porridge.  Adding some good store bought chicken broth can help loosen it up again.  Happy eating!

This is a picture of the soup leftover.  See how thick it has gotten.

Here are the condiments, lime, chili sauce and chopped cilantro leaves.  When added to the soup it is so yummy!

Just Talking

Well, here I am blogging when I should be resting.  Is blogging considered a restful activity?  Yes, I need to rest  because I have been sick.  Ugh.  I caught a virus and even though I was sick, I did not slow down much.  Well, my body went into defiance.  Last weekend I developed a swollen gland.  Ouch!  I went to my doctor on Monday and unfortunately he did not think the swollen gland was any big deal.  Probably because I just look so good (Ha!).  He told me to go home and put a hot pack on it and take OTC pain reliever and wait "two weeks".  I just looked at him like "You are kidding!!!".  Well, the hot pack did not do much at all for the pain.  I gave it a couple of hours chance before I decided that it wasn't going to work.  I am talking bad pain here.  Not only was the pain constant and unrelenting it was sensitive to touch.  So laying down on a pillow was uncomfortable as well as putting a hot pack on it.  To top it off the lump was getting bigger.

Grouchy and feeling sickly, I crabbed about my doctor.  Yes, I've decided I need to find a new doctor, I don't feel I am getting my needs met by this doctor.  I could have gone to the urgent care clinic, but I did not feel like leaving the house again and on top of that paying $50 and waiting in the waiting room.  So, I decided to dig through my unfinished prescriptions and low and behold the Lord blessed me with some antibiotic.  That has helped a lot.  The swelling is down, the pain is nearly gone, but I feel washed out. I need REST.  Being a busy mother with a full schedule sometimes I don't think I know what REST is.  Well, tonight I decided to give up going to my Ladies Bible Study.  Wah!  I so look forward to it, but I have to admit, it feels good staying home to REST.  Yeah, I am going to go do that now.

Autumn in the Rockies

The boys went to scout camp giving Mark and I a weekend to ourselves.  We have both been sick, but even so we took the opportunity to drive into the mountains to see the aspens.  The autumn color in the mountains starts in September and ends about mid-October.  We were blessed to catch the tail end of autumn in the Rockies. 

A patch of aspens near Nederland.

More aspens near Estes Park.

Loved the orange colored aspens.

Colored leaves against a brilliant blue sky...gorgeous!

My dear hubby with autumn aspens in the background.

Estes Park with golf course in the distance.

The elk decided to come to the golf course.

 This is looking toward Rocky Mountain National Park.  Click on the picture to make it bigger.  See the snow on the Rockies.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Will We Move?

Today our landlord sent my husband an email that got him a bit alarmed.  He is thinking on selling the house we are renting.  This gave my DH a wake up call to start thinking about our future here in Colorado.  I have been keeping an eye on the real estate market and have noticed that prices are falling here in the Denver area.  I have been desiring to buy property, but my DH has been sluggish about it.  He tends to get comfortable and doesn't want anything disturbed.  Unfortunately, I am thinking that the Lord might have other plans.  We will see.

Prayer for My Nephew in Afghanistan

My oldest nephew, Jason, is in the Air Force in EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal).  He and his buddies are over in Afghanistan right now.  So far two of his buddies have lost their lives (Dan & Mickey).  Would you please lift up Jason and his buddies in your prayers.  Prayers for safety.  Also, please lift up the families of Dan and Mickey.  Thank you!