I ♥ Pumpkins

I love pumpkins. They make me happy. They are one of my favorite things about fall. Every year I buy one, keep it and enjoy it for a while, and then cook it and freeze it in zip-lock bags so I can make pumpkin pies, bread and other goodies all year long. Then I can roast the seeds for a once-a-year treat. This process takes a while, but it is something I enjoy doing. Here’s how I do it:
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Wash pumpkin thoroughly. Cut a circle (approximately 6" in diameter) around stem and lift out. Cut a smaller circle (approximately 3" in diameter) in bottom of pumpkin and lift piece out. Scrape out pulp (save the seeds!) and cut pumpkin into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on size.
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Put wedges on cookie sheet(s) and bake at 325° for one hour, then turn to 300° for 2-3 hours, or until soft but not watery. Remove from oven and let sit until completely cool (an hour or more).

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Using knife, remove skin and any leathery parts from top and sides. Cut into chunks and puree in food processor until smooth. Put into colander lined with cheese cloth and allow to drain.
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I then measure out 1 and 2-cup portions to freeze.
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To thaw, take out of freezer at least 24 hours beforehand and place bag in bowl in refrigerator (it may leak as it thaws). Use in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin.
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Spiced Pumpkin Seeds (from allrecipes.com)
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1½ Tbsp. butter, melted
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds, washed thoroughly
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Preheat oven to 275°. Combine butter, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

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Cool Thing to Know: Allrecipes.com is a great place to find recipes for almost anything!

James Galway

On Saturday night Don I went to see James Galway playing with the Nashville Symphony at the Schermerhorn Center. This was a late anniversary celebration for us.
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Sir James Galway (he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2001) is quite possibly the best flute player in the world. I was both entertained and inspired by this amazing man. He holds his 20-karat gold flute at an odd angle when he plays, but obviously he knows what he’s doing. The sound coming out of it was phenomenal.

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He has recorded over 60 CD’s, most of which are classical music, but he has also done some pop, folk and played on the soundtrack for one of the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

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I couldn’t take pictures or videos during the concert, but there are a number of videos of him playing on Youtube, including this one.

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It was an impressive concert. I doubt I’ll ever play flute anywhere near as well as he does, but he at least gave me something to strive for.
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Cool Thing to Know: If you’re a flute player, James Galway gives some great tutorials on his website (go to the "You Tube Sir James" section).

First Day of Class

Well, yesterday was my first day back at Community Bible Study and my first day leading the kids’ class. It actually went pretty well. I had 5 kids, ages 6 and 7. Two of them were my nieces, Grace and Hannah. So far it is a very calm and well-behaved but enthusiastic group. Hopefully this will continue. I am excited about studying Genesis with them this year. I would appreciate your continued prayers as I go through the year.

Cool Thing to Know: Cain and Abel are the most well-known children of Adam and Eve, but Genesis says they had many sons and daughters. The only other one mentioned by name is Seth, who was an ancestor of Noah and therefore of you and me.

A Remote Issue

I hardly ever watch TV. Of course, there are the usual reasons: I don’t have time. I don’t think there is much quality TV available. These are true, but they are not the main reason.
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The real reason I don’t watch TV is that I don’t know how to turn it on. I have no clue which button on which of our five remotes to press to turn it on, and even if I figured that out, if I should need to adjust the volume or change the channel, forget it. This means I can only watch it if Don is there to "set it up" for me. A couple of times I tried to do this myself when he wasn’t home, and by the time I finally found the program I wanted, it was nearly over.
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Why, you may ask, do we need five remotes? Well, we have one for the TV, one for the VCR and one for the DVD player. Don has hooked the TV up to his stereo to make the sound come out of the speakers, so we have the remote for that, and we’re up to four.
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We don’t have cable. Why should we pay $50 a month (or whatever it costs these days) for something we would hardly ever use? We have rabbit ears, just like in the old days. Unfortunately, the old days are almost over, and rabbit ears are going to become obsolete. Now we have to have a special "digital-to-analog converter box" to even be able to get TV at all without cable. And that comes complete with, you guessed it, another remote.
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I think this is all just more trouble than it’s worth. Oh well. I’d really rather read a good book anyway.
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Cool Thing to Know: If you are a "rabbit ears" household, you need to get a converter box before February 2009. You can learn all about this and get up to 2 coupons for $40 off (they don’t cost much more than that) at http://www.dtv.gov/.

Bible Translations

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

We are doing Genesis in my Bible study this year, and since the book of Genesis is literally falling out of my Bible (this could be a good thing), I decided it was time to get a new one.

My first thought was to get another New International Version (NIV), since that is what I have been using for many years and have become familiar with, but then I decided to do a little research and found out some interesting things. (Thanks, Melissa, for getting me started.)

There is one school of thought which believes that the King James Version (KJV) is the only accurate English translation. It was taken from the "original" Greek and Hebrew. Apparently the manuscripts used for modern translations have been changed significantly through the years. Of course the very earliest copies have been lost, but the older they are, the less chance there is for human error.

Another issue is how those languages are translated into English. I have partially read a book called The Word of God in English, by Leland Ryken, which uses phrases like "dynamic equivalence," "functional equivalence," and "formal equivalence," to describe different methods of translation. I don’t necessarily recommend this book unless you like to wade through a lot of big words (in which case you might as well read the KJV), but what it amounts to is that things can be translated either literally, or the translator may try to guess what the Author meant (as opposed to actually said), translating ideas instead of words. The NIV is an example of this. Some translators also change words to what have become their modern meanings, depriving us of cultural and historical information.

So the question to ask is, how far does a translation differ from what God actually said? Obviously, if you are reading the Bible, you are seeking the true word of God, so you would want a translation that is as accurate as possible, but most people also want something that is easy to read and understand.

So, with all of this to consider, I decided to go with the English Standard Version (ESV), which my church has been using for a while now. It is supposedly a literal translation taken from early texts of Hebrew and Greek, translated word for word into modern English. I certainly don’t claim this is the only answer, and my NIV will now go on the shelf with my KJV, NASB, RSV and Living Bible to use as a reference tool when I don’t understand something.

I have to believe that God will get His message to us one way or the other, for He is far more powerful than any human translator, but whatever translation you use, I always recommend praying for Him to reveal His truth to you before you begin reading.

Cool Thing To Know: Biblegateway.com is a great tool for Bible study. It can be used as a concordance or to look up a passage (and has every translation I have ever heard of). I have also printed off chapters when I am doing studies that involve marking up my Bible and mark that up instead.

Surveys

When I have some extra time on my hands, I sometimes do surveys online. I do them mostly for fun, but some of them offer points that accrue and can be redeemed for cash or prizes. Some actually send me products to sample and give my opinion of. Things I have gotten include dog food, socks, razors, laundry detergent, cereal and frozen dinners. Some of the surveys will pay (usually $1 to $5). You have to get to these quickly, before they reach their quota of responses. Most say they are entering me in a "sweepstakes," though I have yet to win anything that way.

I have been doing all of the ones listed below for some time and would consider them to be reputable and safe to give information to.

These accrue points:

mysurvey.com
harrispollonline.com
globalopinionpanels.com

These don’t offer points, but sometimes pay money or send product samples:

surveyspot.com
greenfieldonline.com

If you sign up for any of these (especially the last two), be prepared to get your e-mail box full of them. I pick and choose the ones I want to do and delete the rest. Topics I am interested in, ones that offer me something or the amount of time they take (they usually tell you) are all factors that help me decide.

Cool Thing to Know: If you click on "Next Blog" at the top of this page, it will take you through randomly-selected blogs. A lot of them are in different languages. Kind of neat to be able to get a glimpse into people’s lives all over the world (even if you can’t read them) from the comfort of your living room.

My Flute

"Praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute." Psalm 150:4

Don bought me a wonderful gift for my first birthday after we got married: a flute. Not just any flute, but a Gemeinhardt solid silver, open-hole flute with a B foot. I know this doesn’t mean a lot to a non-flute player, but it was a much nicer gift than I ever expected. As an added bonus, this gift also included six months of lessons.

I had always wanted to play the flute. In high school I played the clarinet but my heart was never in it because I wanted to play the flute. I had joined the band after everyone else and they already had too many flutes. I was never much of a musician, but I never lost my desire to be a flute player. Don, being a musician himself (a drummer), wanted to help me fulfill my dream.

I ended up taking lessons for about a year and a half, during which time I acquired adequate skills to be able to play in our worship team at church, which Don is also a part of. I very much enjoy doing this.

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I don’t know what direction this will take in the future, but for now I am thankful for a husband who heard my heart and bought me a flute without me even asking or suspecting he would, and who encourages me when I don’t feel like I will ever be a good musician. I am also thankful for a church that allows me the opportunity to use what (meager) skills I have for the glory of God.

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Cool Thing to Know: If you go to http://www.finalemusic.com/, you can download their free software, Notepad. It is a bit cumbersome, but allows you to write or arrange, play and print your own music.

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Bella

Last night Don and I watched the movie "Bella." I really didn’t know what it was about but had heard it was good. Don was only convinced to watch it with me because Rush Limbaugh had recommended it on his website as one of his current favorites.

The rating was PG-13; it was clean, but there were some disturbing scenes – probably not for young children.

I was pretty well captivated from the beginning. Don got a little bored in parts of it (he prefers action), but he seemed to like it better as it progressed. The characters are very real and the story line, without being judgmental, demonstrates the sanctity of human life and the beauty of unselfish giving. It also portrays Latin Americans in a very positive light.

I won’t spoil it by revealing the ending, but let me say that Don and I both had tears running down our faces when it was over (he gave me permission to share this). The thing that’s significant about this is that I have known my husband for four and a half years, and I have NEVER seen him cry before.

If you’re looking for a wholesome movie that is a bit gut-wrenching, this is one to see.

P.S.: Happy 11th Anniversary Andy and Melissa!

Cool Thing to Know: The Metro (Nashville) Library has videos and DVD’s you can check out for a week at a time at no charge. They have almost any movie you would want, and will sometimes order one for you if you request it. I’m sure other cities offer this service as well.

Walking

I often hear my fellow weight watchers complain that they don’t like to exercise. Fortunately, this is a problem that I can’t relate to at all, because I love to walk.


I walk my dogs nearly every morning, one at a time, and it’s a real treat for them. On weekends Don usually joins us, and we have "family time."


I walk with friends, and it’s a great chance for fellowship. I walk alone, and it’s a opportunity to pray or think things through.


I walk in the neighborhood and greet my neighbors or admire (and envy) people’s well-manicured yards. I walk at the park and enjoy the beauty of nature.


Unless the weather is extreme, I usually walk whether it’s cold, hot, raining or snowing.


If you figure up the number of calories you burn walking, it doesn’t amount to much, but I believe I am in much better shape, in body and spirit, from the walking I do. If anybody wants to go walking with me, let me know!


Cool Thing to Know: Lowe’s (home improvement store) welcomes dogs on leashes in their store. This is a favorite outing of Dasha’s. Sometimes the cashiers even have dog biscuits for her. ( :

Blogging

Well, I guess I'll give this blog thing a shot, though I'm not sure my life is interesting enough for anyone to want to read about. I do enjoy reading other people's blogs, though, so maybe someone will want to read mine.

Verses for the day:

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:22-24

What a wonderful thought! Not a day passes when I don't "mess up" somehow (usually a lot), but God is faithful to forgive me and give me a fresh start every day.

I begin this day thankful for His mercies and for my salvation and for all the gifts He has bestowed upon me: my family, my home, my friends, my country and my pets, to name a few. I am very blessed!

Cool thing to know: The website rhapsody.com lets you listen to almost any song you can think of. You can't download them, but you get to listen to 25 songs each month at no charge. I've been taking a trip down memory lane and listening to all those old songs that I haven't heard in forever.