Coconut Cranberry Chews
Topic: Crickl's Recipes
These are what I'm baking today. I found this recipe last year and loved them! I found it doing a search on dried cranberries, to use them up.

It is a contest winner from Sunset magazine a couple of years ago. They come out crispy and have an addictive flavor. I use the orange flavored Craisins and add about a fourth a teaspoon of orange extract instead of orange rind.










Coconut Cranberry Chews


Ingredients:

? About 1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) Challenge Butter,
at room temperature
? 2 cups sugar
? 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
? 2 teaspoons vanilla
? 1 large egg
? 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
? 1 teaspoon baking powder
? 1/4 teaspoon salt
? 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
? 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked dried coconut
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 1/2 cups butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until
smooth. Beat in egg, until well blended.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat on low
speed until dough comes together, about 5 minutes (see notes). Mix in cranberries and coconut.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on buttered 12" x 15" baking sheets.
4. Bake in a 350?F regular or convection oven until cookie edges just begin to brown, 11 to 15 minutes (shorter
baking time will yield a chewier cookie; longer baking time will yield a crispier cookie). If baking two sheets at
once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then
use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.
Yield: About 6 dozen cookies

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour

NOTES: The mixture may look dry until it comes together as a dough. If its too crumbly to form into balls, the
dough need to be mixed longer; it should be a smooth homogeneous mass.

Per cookie: 92 cal., 45% (41 cal.) from fat; 0.7 g protein; 4.5 g fat (2.8 g sat); 12 g carbo (0.4 g fiber); 58 mg
sodium; 13 mg chol.

Source: Recipe developed by Sunset Magazine Test Kitchens for Baking with Challenge Butter.
www.sunsetmagazine.com
Remove from oven and let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes.

Beauty of Winter Carnival
Topic: Carnival entries
This week’s carnival of Beauty is the beauty of winter. I was way too spread out this week, so I didn’t enter the carnival, but go and check out all the wonderful entries!




And enjoy this beautiful picture my husband took a few years ago outside my sister’s cabin. He loves wood….the woods as well as just wood…stacked neatly in the corner of the yard. To him I think it represents preparation for winter’s chill, hard work from summer paying off, and a tangible reward of hard work. Since he is a pastor, his hard work he is paid to do doesn’t always show in tangible ways. =)

Our wood pile is dwindling down this winter as we stay toasty inside. But there has been NO snow this year so far. This drought is hitting the ski areas hard now, but come summer, our water supplies will be hurting badly. We can do without skiing but we kinda need water. Carol of She Lives asks for prayer for rain, as she lives in the drought stricken grasslands of Texas. I echo her request for prayer….please pray for rain, snow and relief for the parched land and dwindling water supplies of these areas, including Arizona. Thanks!

Embrace the blessing
Topic: God things
Today I was squeezed more than I have been in a month! Well, that may be exaggerating, but I did notice the squeezing more today than other days. Maybe it was because we’d been gone for a week, maybe it was because life is back to ‘normal’….people aren’t as uptight from the stress of the holidays and more affectionate. Maybe it’s because there was a sweet spirit this morning in the services or maybe…..maybe it was just because I needed it. There’s no way they could have known it, but God knew it and sent some affection my way. We let God minister through us when we serve each other, when we encourage each other, love each other, so I associated it with God’s hugs…His sweet Spirit traveling through the congregation, touching each person in just the right way. It encircled us today and it took me until now, 3pm, to realize what it was….what made this morning so special.

Thank God for His people and how He uses us to touch each other. Not just in a physical hug, but often right to the heart and soul of our being. I think that happened for some people who were there today too. My husband just happened to be preaching partly from Deuteronomy 30:19-20, choose blessings or cursing.…choose to live for Him. And today the blessings were freely flowing all around.

Beauty of Limits Carnival Entry
Topic: Other
Today's carnival is the Beauty of Limits. This was a challenge to write, but I finally got inspired. My entry is the previous post, Reigned in by Love.

Reigned in by love
Topic: God things
What is it about a limit that makes me want to go past it? If there’s a boundary, I want to see what is beyond it. If a sign says take one per person, I want 3. If the speed limit is 75, I set my cruise control at 79. If a diet says to eat no more than 4 ounces, I slap on another spoonful. I crave more…even if it’s just one more ounce or 4 more miles an hour. If there’s a rule, I wonder what will happen if I break it.



By the way, just because I want to doesn’t mean I do….nor does it mean I don’t. *doing a little word dance* It depends on the circumstance….and the consequence. Situational ethics creep in like in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip above. I am not sure if all personality types have that constant struggle, but mine is prone to be lacsadasical, at best, about rules. (I’ve even been know to call them suggestions.) It is ridiculous, but I’m prone to rebellious feelings and curiosity that would have killed the cat like a slam dunk. Maybe this is what Paul was talking about in Romans 7:19-21. It is a very real struggle between our sin nature and the Holy Spirit.

When I was in sixth grade, I had a group of friends who were not the best influence, but they were cool. During lunch break, we would walk the perimeter or the playground, talking. There is a word picture in there….walking the perimeters….just waiting for a chance to step beyond them. I was intimidated, yet somehow in my 11 year old mind impressed, by these girls and how ‘cool’ they were. Listening to them talk of the boys they knew and the parties they would get away with having on weekends while parents worked, made me curious.

I was with these girls one day at lunch break when we stepped out of the boundary and off the playground. I found myself running with them to a nearby drugstore, where we were going to get some candy. To my amazement and anger, when we picked out our choices (we got Pez candy because you could eat it more inconspicuously during class), the leader of our group said, “Now all you have to do is walk out, like nothing is going on. Act natural.” So one by one they walked out without paying, but I couldn’t. I stood in line at the counter and paid while they all stood outside the window, laughing at my lack of ‘confidence’ to do what they had all done. What stopped me was the thought of getting caught. The thought of my parents being informed that I had sneaked off campus and then shoplifted was more than I was willing to chance, thankfully.

Love reigned me in…. my parents loved me and I did not want to disappoint them. The boundaries were there and I had pushed them back, broken through and could have really set a rebellious precedent that day. Everyone in the sixth grade would have known how rebellious and cool I was, I’m sure…if I had gone through with it. I think that if I had the kind of home those friends of mine did, I may have done it. But I had a home where I was loved and taken care of, where I was taught to honor God and to have good morals. I was taught to respect my parents and the serious consequences of disobedience.

Gradually I stopped hanging around with those girls, but as seventh and eighth grades went by, I kept my eye on them. I watched their lives and took notice, even at that young age, of how pitiful it was to see them thinking they were cool, but knowing how awful their lives were. I had been to their homes, I knew. Wisdom and discernment started to develop in me. I had compassion on those girls, I felt pity for them, but I didn’t know at that age how to help them.

Later on in my middle teen years I learned to curb my rebellious nature by taking my own relationship with Christ more seriously, reading my Bible every morning and listening to Christian music. My pastor’s wife at the time challenged us to start a quiet time. And during the same period, a youth leader was challenging us to listen to Christian music. Choosing to fill my mind with good things, with the knowledge of the Word and encouragement from this new music helped me to be reigned in by a far greater love than even my family. I was learning how much Christ loved me and how much He sacrificed for my rebellious ways, my sin.

What the law couldn’t do, Christ does for us. His love is the motivating source of our obedience, not the consequences of disobedience. Instead of seeing how far I could push a limit, I learned to gladly accept **most** of them in my life because I knew they were there out of love for me from a gracious God.

The rebellious nature never left me completely, I am sad to say. I still struggle with it every day. I know what I want to become, I see the ideal and desire it, but everyday rebellious little choices and attitudes are keeping me from my big picture. Thankfully I remember God’s grace toward me and pick myself up to start again…. new every morning. I know He looks upon me as a daughter and is seeing the potential in me to become what He wants me to be. So I am ashamed, yet confident in His love as I go to Him and ask His forgiveness. He helps me start again, helps me to learn to go farther with Him in His infinite world of freedom…instead of remaining weighed down and stumbling over earthly things…


There is a measure in everything. There are fixed limits beyond which and short of which right cannot find a resting place.
Horace (65 BC - 8 BC)

The evil implanted in man by nature spreads so imperceptibly, when the habit of wrong-doing is unchecked, that he himself can set no limit to his shamelessness.
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Lamentations 3:21-23 (NAS) ? This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Romans 7:19-21 (NAS) For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NAS) For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John 8:36 (NAS) "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

Dreaming of a white Tuesday....
Topic: Other
Well we are home now from Oklahoma. It was quite a drive, fighting high winds the entire way across interstate 40 from Oklahoma to Arizona. At times when I was driving, I had the sensation of driving through water, like on top of a wavy lake or ocean because of the wind. We only saw one accident, an overturned semi truck, but I was surprised (and thankful) there weren't more. Hopefully all this wind is bringing that cold/wet front down to us in the parched southwest!!

I'm very glad to be home! The men in our church put in a newly tiled shower stall and toilet in our master bathroom while we were gone. It looks very nice! I got a wild hair tonight and took down all the Christmas decorations. Why I did that tonight after driving all day, I don't know. I'm glad it's done though!

I am going to try something a little intimidating tomorrow. I entered a post in the Carnival on Two Talent Living last week. The carnival theme was the best of 2005, so I just picked one of my best work. But this week, there is a topic that we have to write about to enter the carnival, and it has to be a new piece. So I worked on one to enter all week while in Oklahoma and will post it tomorrow. It is a stretching exercise for me, but I wanted to do at least a couple of these carnival entries to broaden what I write about. I won't do it every time, but will let you know when a post is for the carnival.

Happy getting home and waiting for snow day!

Newsboys for the New Year
Topic: Holidays/Vacations
This song kind of represents what I feel the New Year should be about. Fresh starts, new attitudes, laying down the grudges and guilt and get on with it! =)

The video to this song shows the Newsboys group riding in baskets, similar to the ones on hot air balloons, but then you see the hot air balloon is an elephant shape….a beast of burden. They are being held to the ground by people walking on the street like the Thanksgiving Day parade, holding those ropes so the balloons don’t fly away….only these balloons were meant to fly away….to carry your burden away. At the end, the people with the ropes let go and the Newsboys go flying up into the atmosphere in the elephant balloons. Watch a clip here: http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/listenwatch/0,,473158,00.html

Million Pieces (Kissin' Your Cares Goodbye)
By the Newsboys


Chorus
They all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissin' your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A tickertape parade high
And now you're free to fly

Carryin' a millstone malaise
It's been pulling down your gaze
You pound the pavement
It don't give or care
This weight ain't yours to bear

Why you holdin' grudges in old jars?
Why you wanna show off all your scars?
What's it gonna take to lay a few burdens down?
It's a beautiful sound
(Chorus)
When that muffled sigh
Says you're barely getting by
Cut your burdens loose and just simplify
Simplify

This is not your floor
You're going higher than before
Drop the weight now
Wait for the lookout guide
Look outside
(chorus)
You've gotta lay that burden down
You've gotta lay that burden down
It's time to leave your burdens in a pyre
Set a bonfire

'Cause when you lay your burdens down
When you lay your burdens down
When you drop them burdens
What a free-fall
What a thrill
Bury them all
In a landfill
(chorus)

After Christmas peace and quiet...and brand new Oklahoma babies!
Topic: People/Family stories
We are in Oklahoma this week, visiting my husband's family. We have 2 little additions to the family. Charles' sister and her husband are brand new parents. They have adopted 2 newborn babies this fall. One is 3 months old, the other is 6 weeks younger! They have their hands full...as well as their hearts. =)

Hope you have a great week, enjoying the after Christmas peace and quiet!

Christie

Carnival Wednesday!
Topic: Other







Sallie over at Two Tallent Living is hosting the Carnival of Beauty. It is not a contest, but sharing a writing on that week's topic.

Here is the Carnival's purpose statement:

The two main purposes of the Carnival of Beauty are:
1. Encourage women by reflecting the beauty of Christ in our writing.
2. Meet women online who cherish the beauty of Christ that we might not have met otherwise.

So go and check out the Carnival! This week's topic is sharing our most excellent entry for the year 2005. Oh, that makes me want to say, "Most excellent post, dude!" I put in my entry about being in the sandwich generation.....the story of taking care of my dad while my mom was recuperating from hip surgery.

Merry Christmas!
Topic: Holidays/Vacations


....from my nest to yours. =)

Pleased as man with men to dwell....
Topic: Holidays/Vacations
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

The words by Charles Wesley, music by Felix Mendelssohn, this is also a new favorite of mine in the past two years. The phrase that caught my attention anew, “Pleased as man with men to dwell.” We have no idea what wonders await us in Heaven, in His presence. But Jesus knew…and He left it to dwell with us….and was just as pleased as we are to live here (since it is all we know), laying His glory aside.

Go ahead and read through these lyrics and feel the inexpressible greatness of the Incarnation.


1. Hark! The Herald Angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise.
Join the triumph of the skies.
With th' Angelic Hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born King."

2. Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting lord
Late in time behold him come,
Off-spring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail, the incarnate deity
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the New-born king!"

3. Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace,
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His Wings.
Now He lays His Glory by,
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the New-born king!"

4. Come, Desire of nations come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Oh, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new-born king;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the New-born king!"

5. Adam's likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the New-born king!"

Holiday blues
Topic: Holidays/Vacations

Charlie Brown: I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.

Linus Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest.

Silly Charlie Brown....he just needs to focus on the meaning of Christmas...

Charlie Brown: [shouting in desperation] Isn't there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you. Lights, please.

[a spotlight shines on Linus]
Linus Van Pelt: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'".

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie brown.


We all need a Linus in our lives about now.....=)

King and God and Sacrifice
Topic: Holidays/Vacations

The past few years I’ve been really getting into the deeper lyrics of old Christmas carols. Back in the days when people didn’t have all the modern distractions that we have, they had deep thoughts, and they wrote wonderful, rich lyrics. I’ll post another tomorrow, but today is We Three Kings, written by John H. Hopkins Jr. in 1857 for a Christmas pageant at the General Theological Seminary in New York City.

The words that struck me as I listened to our adult choir sing Christmas songs last Sunday was the phrase, “King and God and Sacrifice…” See, I am not one to really pay attention to detail, so it’s taken me….uh, well, a lot of years….to really hear the meanings of some of these songs. I love how this song includes the forthcoming reason for Christ’s coming….his sacrificial death.

(This picture, by the way, looks exactly like the Judean Wilderness when we saw it on our Israel trip. The guide told us people would travel, just like this picture, in the crevasses between the harsh hills of desert.)

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Refrain
O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.

A Walk Through Bethlehem
Topic: God things
We went to Phoenix on Friday and Saturday for our family Christmas party with the desert relatives. It was a really nice time, highlighted by a trip to a Bethlehem village. I was picturing a live nativity scene, but A Walk Through Bethlehem was a huge surprise and blessing to us. It was put on by Crossroads Nazarene Church in Chandler, AZ and they went all out on their production. My niece Bobbie had gone to get the tickets that afternoon, they are free tickets, but they encourage a canned food donation in exchange. She received registration forms for each family and a paper ticket and a plastic golden coin for each person.

As we started the tour, we came out into the night air and were greeted by shepherds, warming themselves by their fire. They invited us to get warm and visited with us about being shepherds. I took a picture with flash of some shepherd children who were tending some live sheep and turned around to find a woman who was part of the production staring at me with her huge eyes and asked me what kind of magic was this that I could capture their souls. Yikes, I’m sorry! LOL She acted suspicious of me the whole rest of the tour and kept giving me the eye as she walked along with our group. Suddenly (really!) the angels appeared on the roof of the church with a glow of light and smoky haze, announcing the Savior’s birth and entreating us to go and find Him. The shepherds were amazed (of course) and we all went to the gates of Bethlehem to enter the city.

The Roman guards at the gate were gruff and loud…informing us we should have our registration papers ready and that there was a tax to be paid as we entered. My brother in law, who has a habit of making little comments under his breath, said he wasn’t going to pay any taxes. Well he was just kidding, but he was promptly pointed out (by his loving family…heehee) and whisked off by the rough guards, who made an example out of him not to mock them. The rest of us entered the city, handed in our census registration papers, which will be used by the church for outreach purposes, we paid our taxes which were ogled over by Roman soldiers, and were all of a sudden in the middle of an old Bethlehem village recreation. There were ladies doing a Middle Eastern dance with scarves (Maggie and cousin Eleanor were invited to join in), there were people baking unleavened bread in stone ovens over an open fire (there were samples and it was good), there was a man playing an old game with some children in an alcove, there was a woman spinning fuzzy wool into smooth yarn and there were people selling fish….stinnnnnky fish (they offered samples too, but didn’t have many takers). It was all so well done and planned out.

Next we were hurried into a narrow city street where women were excitedly talking from window to window above our heads. They were discussing the angels coming to announce to the shepherds about a Savior’s birth. Maggie caught one woman’s attention because she was wearing a Christmas headband with a gold halo that hung over her forehead. This woman shocked the wits out of Maggie, as she loudly and excitedly asked her if SHE was one of the angels who talked to the shepherds. It took her a minute to compose herself and answer….it was so funny. Then the women told us to come back and please let them know if we found the Savior…..all of this happening while we craned our necks up to watch them. LOL

Through the street, then into the city synagogue, where the priests opened scrolls and read ancient prophecies about Messiah’s birth and life. Then we went out to a quiet manger set where we sat on bails of hay and watched Mary and Joseph taking care of the Baby (a real baby) in the still, dark night, surrounded by donkeys and sheep. One of the pastors of the church gave an evangelistic talk about how everyone is searching for something in their life to give it meaning and fulfillment, not realizing that it is only found through a humble, servant Savior. He then offered a sample prayer of giving your life to Christ and said there were counselors in tents behind us to pray with us or answer any questions we had about it all, adding that the tents had heaters for extra incentive. =) As we headed to the parking lot, there was a petting zoo and kind church members offering assistance to people.

It was wonderful to see a church that put so much effort into a community outreach! This production must have taken hours upon hours of preparation, hard work, practice and planning to pull off. I would drive down to Phoenix every year to see this awesome tour through Bethlehem….many thanks to the Crossroads Nazarene Church!

Christmas with family....
Topic: Holidays/Vacations
Oooo, don't we look all 80's? heehee I found this old pic of me and 2 of the sisters on my computer. That is Becky, me and Julie on vacation in 1986.


I mentioned a few entries ago that my inbox was full of my sisters trying to organize an early Christmas weekend get together. One sister came forward and got us organized with wisdom, skill and wit. My sister, Julie, got tired of the 20 emails a day in her inbox, as I did, with sister talk just going round and round without actually planning one thing. LOL So she wrote a very commanding email advising us what we would each bring and do for the weekend fun.

My other 2 sisters and 1 grown niece probably had the same reaction that I did upon receiving ‘orders’. Julie thought we’d feel bossed around and apologized for taking charge. But I just stared in sheer amazement that one of MY sisters could take those dozens of emails, with all the lists and food and entertainment possibilities and come up with orders for each person, gleaning from all of our chaos and turning it into a plan.

We all thanked her and are in awe of her skill. Then we got this email, which I am using with her permission, explaining the whole weekend in hilarious detail. You might have to know some of these relatives to really get giddy laughter going, but I think you’ll see the humor in it without further explanation….after all, you all have relatives I’ll bet!

Without further adieu….heeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Julie!

After several requests from dazed and confused family members, here is the schedule for Christmas as best as I could guess:

Friday Dec 16

2:00-ish pm - Julie will bring Mom, Dad and Eleanor to Becky's house and hopefully Christie and family will arrive by then as well. At some point, we may heat up some appetizers to snack on (Mom will provide).

4:30 - Jodi leaves work and picks up Steve at home. They drive to Becky's having pleasant conversation and enjoying the carpool lane.

4:30 - Bobbie leaves work and picks up tickets for Bethlehem tour for 12 (including herself) with many cans of food, which she has secured ahead of time. She gets the latest tickets possible and then comes to Becky's house.

6:00 - we eat Becky's food and Christie's salad. We may play a game or so. We will have birthday cake and ice cream. Some may choose to sing "Happy Birthday."

7:30-ish - everyone leaves Becky's house for either home in Glendale or Bethlehem tour. Many will return to Becky's house for the night and may require hot chocolate.


Saturday Dec 17

8 am? - Steve will leave Becky's house for freeway opening party. He will try to talk Eleanor and Maggie into coming along. They may or may not be convinced.

9 am? - The Lords and the Adams' will leave for Glendale, someone will give Julie and maybe Eleanor a ride, since Steve will have the van.

10 am - Lots of people and commotion will descend on a small house in Glendale. We will have activities that are sticky and require frosting and candies. We will divide baked goods and other homemade treats. At some point, Steve will rejoin the crowd.

Noonish - we will eat deli meats on bread, dips and chips. We will feel a little sick from all the sugary treats.

1-ish - we will give and receive gifts with the Lords and the Jimenez'. Paper will fly. Someone will stick a bow on their head. Many thank-you's will be heard.

2:30-ish - the Lords will have to leave to get back to Williams before dark. On the drive, they will regret that Maggie wanted a Rescue Pet...


….uh, it’s me again….We’ll be following orders starting tomorrow…see you all after the weekend!