60... Here Comes Cindi Loo Loo!

So, tomorrow is my birthday. 59th or as I like to say, I am living my 60th so I have been trying to keep up the appearance of having all my marbles, and that is hard work but important work…at least hopefully my kids will be less embarrassed of me in public.

“It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone,”  says, Andy Rooney longtime 60 Minutes journalist.
 Then, this morning on one of the talk shows I watched as one of their guests had Botox injected into her hands to take away the “granny” look. Don’t think I haven’t thought about that myself as well.  I also read that 60 is the new 40…wish I had known that when I was in my forties because at that birthday I felt the reverse.

I have lived a wonderful life up to now. And even if the future did start looking grim the past will be able to keep me going for sure.

The plans for my big day, retail therapy always seems to work. Absolutely avoid all mirrors until I feel comfortable in this new/old skin. Or park the ole bifocals might work too.

Welcome Fall...Good-bye Flowers

The Red Bandanna ~ Welles Crowther | ESPN Edward Burns

The Brave Huntress Strikes Again.

The Brave Huntress Strikes Again.


This morning a chipmunk made its way into the house. I was sitting on the sofa and in it runs through the living room...I scream for Torrie Jo. Sophie, the Min. Schnauzer,  is just barking away.  To Jo traps the chip in the far corner fire place wall and I am still screaming next thing I hear is To Jo’s deep grueling/growl and a meager little chirp out the Chip... and out of my slightly opened eyes, because I had them shut, here comes To Jo with a very limp and dead Chip swinging loosely from her mouth. She then drops the dead thing at my feet, which rendered me speechless. Larry runs bravely AWAY. He said he was going to get something to pick it up, but I knew that he was really freaked out too and frightened to death himself. Larry came back after what seemed forever, with the big snow shovel, barbeque prong, and a rag, I ‘m thinking, what a brave man I married (not). To Jo got a treat and I won't ever leave the screen door open again (maybe).
The end! 

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words...

Life on the Lake

Life on the Back-porch

It is a Dog's Life

Life in the ADK Neighborhood

Life as a Critter

Life Is Family

The Empty Pantry Recipe

We were getting ready to leave for an extended time and I had not been grocery shopping,in order too empty out the kitchen. So our food supply was very low…what to make for supper?  Looking in the pantry I noticed I had a 10oz. can of chicken hmm.  After Goggling for recipes meant for canned chicken, nothing sounded like it tasted worthy of this lovely can… therefore the most delectable recipe was born where Chicken-Pot Pie meets Pasta Primavera with a twist.

Preheat oven to 350

Use square casserole.8x8

2 cups of uncooked pasta what ever you have on hand...I used Orecchiette to be cooked with less 2min. time because the baking will cook the rest.

1cup Panko

1 10 0z can of chicken (Wal-Mart brand the best)

*******

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4cup chopped celery

1/4cup diced carrots

1/4cup peas

1/4 cup butter or olive oil or half of each 3 TB to sauté veggies and 1 TB for Panko topping

1 clove of minced garlic

*******

2 TB flour

*******

1cup of chicken broth

1/2cup milk                      

1/4 cup mayonnaise(2TB works too)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 grated cheese

Salt and pepper

*******

Open can of chicken rinse and drain

Sauté the next 6(six) ingredients with 3 TB butter/oil

Add 2TB flour to make roux, blend adding the next 5(five) liquid and cheese ingredients... If too thick add more broth or milk or even pasta water. This is not thick but should thicken some with the flour.

Add chicken just as it comes out of the can (don’t treat it like tuna salad) to the creamed veggies. Set aside

Brown the Panko with the 1TB butter left. I threw-in parsley, Lawry’s salt, pepper (whatever you like here for some pzazz)  

Layer: pasta then creamed veggies an top with butter and browned Panko.

BAKE about 30 minutes…

I guarantee all will love this recipe and no leftovers for sure.

ENJOY.

Fuzzy Wuzzy

We have an "unwelcome" guest in our backyard.

Needless to say, I have had to stop feeding all our fine feathered friends.

These pictures were taken 6:00 AM.

NEWNEWNEW!

During the past four years Larry has traveled numerous times to Africa and it seemed like each time he went he could feel this nudging of conscious saying, “This is really what I want to be doing full time."  Not only the nudging but every trip was a blessing to all. These trips to Africa have been accompanied with American pastors along to help and with the support of an organization called, Food for the Hungry. Two of the his pastor friends on these trips to Africa, have encouraged him to focus on serving Africa in a more personal way and it’s seems as though God is reminding us once again,”go, for I have reopened the door for you”

  Our thoughts seemed to always go back to the mid-seventies, when scores of African-Portuguese refugees came to the Motherland fleeing from the Marxist government’s take-over of Portuguese colonies. God began touching our hearts then with the concern for Portuguese-speaking African people whom escaped with nothing but their clothes on their backs.Larry would even plant the seed of concern to our young Portuguese who came to Christ through our ministry to pray about this need to go.  

Larry was reminded from one of those challenged to go, by the name of George Silver, he and his young family now serve in Africa. George writes, I PRAYED AND I OBEYED AND I AM IN AFRICA.”  Then he added, "I kept my side of the deal, where are you?

So now we have been re-challenged our goal is to begin August 1, 2012, to go full time with our ministry, Global Portuguese Outreach, which began in 2008, which is a 501c3. So, we are raising support and asking you to walk with us as we serve through evangelism and strengthening of the national church pastors speaking Portuguese with emphasis on Africa and Indonesia. Your support can be monthly or one-time. We find that many prefer to donate a one-time yearly gift. This method takes the stress off monthly support with option to renew on a yearly basis and as God blesses.  We trust that you will have time to pray and partnership with us. And build with us a relationship and joint venture to reach and serve the Portuguese speaking people.

It has been interesting to see how the focus on Missions has evolved during in our life time. In the forties and fifties, when our parents went to the field, missions were very much concentrated in the unreached areas. Today 95% of all missionaries are in mega-urban capitols of the world. My passion is the forgotten national pastors who faithfully work in backward areas of their countries where many are reluctant to go. This is where Larry has been these past four years in an extreme difficult area where they desperately need help and encouragement. Recently, he was in Saca, Mozambique, So. Eastern Africa. The jaunt itself took two hours of riding in a jeep, over a bike trail road. Yet, Pastor Dennis peddles his bike back to the community each week and the church keeps growing and is eager for more yet these communities and the leaders have been ignored by the in government for years. It is to these communities and these pastors who need our help for their ministry. So with all honesty and quite bluntly, God has blessed us with being bi-lingual, and we are willing and able to go, would you be willing and able to help us.

We would love the opportunity to speak at your church or your group home Bible studies. You could open your home to your friends and help us introduce them to our ministry.
If you have any questions about how God is leading us please contact us.

Empty Nest needs to be emptied…

Our daughter is getting ready to pack up to move to Florida for Grad. School and as I looked around her room I can’t imagine where to begin to pack her off.  Knowing that she most likely won’t ever live here anymore, how will we make her throw away things she doesn’t need any more?  Part of you says leave everything exactly like you never went?  That can’t be healthy.  I believe that would be boarder- line “hoarderish” of us.

Plastic containers would be a good idea to separate keep and give things; it seems so easy on those shows.  They never let you see how many people are helping with process either.

I am sure the best way is to clean it out completely at least to a storage space of some kind, after all memories are always there and they don’t smell moldy or get dusty.

Step one: Get started! (TOMORROW)

Next Step...

The next step...

Everyone is wondering what our next step is, well, it is more like a giant leap of FAITH kind of step.

We hope to really start running soon.

We will keep you posted on the route we will be taking. God's G.P.S is saying, “take the next available 

"U-turn.  

So that is what we are praying about. 

I love the green of spring..

The two seasons I love most living in the Adirondacks are fall and spring...to opposites I know...because one is just dying and the other beginning to live. Or one seems awfully wrong and the other wonderfully right. We need the one to have the other. Ying and yang of the environment I suppose. Maybe because I am a Libra and this is the balancing of nature at her finest. As far as colorful the fall is so gloriously breath taking...yet it is ultimately leading up the "winter of my despair”, thank you, Green-gables person for that phrase. Spring is no doubt synonymous with the word hope, up here in these-here-parts, because we hope for one to be over and the other to come fast. All this came to me as I was spray painting my porch/deck furniture a lovely shade of spring green. The paint can said, Satin Eden, as the official color. I don't know if I was trying to convince myself of the color but when I read the name of the color on the can I knew it was a sign...

Source: google.com via Cindi- on Pinterest

A Girl Has Got To Do, What A Girl Has Got To Do

What is it in a woman that makes her have the need to move furniture around? Rearrange it, oh, maybe once a year. I must confess I am just one of those "kinds"of women. There probably is a physiological term or syndrome for this. If so I have it big time.
I was just sitting there this morning after my quite- time and sipping my third cuppa-o-jo and it came to me....yes, the urge to change the arrangement of my living room. Maybe it was the caffeine talking but I just; couldn’t deny the impulse to get up and start the procedure.
Mind you there are a series of steps that are involved in tackling the job by oneself. There is propping up (which takes considerable amount of strength) to move the huge Oriental rug, then the need to balance out the lighting system. I like to make sure that the view out the windows is at its most effective position. When its summer I want to make sure I can enjoy my window boxes inside as well. Then I must think about my husband and his chair and make sure he will be happy; After all he resides here too. I like to have a nice flow in and through and around too.
Half way into the foolishness; I find myself talking out loud; "Self, what the heck were you thinking. You not only will need to clean and wipe down all the new spaces but you probably will need a chiropractor besides”. Then after a couple of miss-tries and working up a sweat I sit back and take it all in and hope I like it and if I don't then I say to myself, “give it a couple of days" Then I walk away from it with my fingers crossed, convincing myself this is the best way ever.; But if Larry doesn't like I will put it all back...with his help of-course...

Three Gringos and a Dog

I was too exhausted to be excited when the voice over the intercom informed us that we would soon be landing in Lisbon. My head was still stuck in packing mode and fare wells and the mixture of all sorts of, "what if's", to even care. The fact that there was “no turning back” was now a reality as I stepped into the unknown trying not to act lost.
My first concern was to see if and how our beloved cocker spaniel had survived the trip, when much to my surprise, I heard her above all the noises of the hustle and bustle of the airport terminal and long line at the custom booths. I could hear her barking with the anxiety level that signaled stress! We followed her frantic sounds toward the direction of the luggage conveyer belt where she (in a now up side kennel) circled around almost teetering off. Needless to say she was drawing a crowd. Later I came to understand why; besides the noise factor echoing throughout terminal from our pooch; pure bred dogs were a novelty and domestic animals were not exactly the norm in the Portuguese culture, unless they were a working canine. Hunting, herding, and guarding were common but it was a rarity to see dogs come through as luggage. Divine providence though,

after of all the ruckus caused by our pooch, it helped in expediting the cranky canine's release as well as our own. So they waved our entire luggage through manual inspection enabling us to make our way towards the exit doors and fresh air without any delay.
So there we stood, like the proverbial foreigners that we were, trying to see if anyone looked like a missionary and designated driver. We had not met him so we were clueless as to what he looked like and hoped he would figure out who we were.
And he did, and with no problem at all, why you might ask, as much as I pride myself in couture we definitely stood out amongst the European people, three gringos dressed in pastel colors and a dog. And, note to self,the weather in the month of April is anything but warm. We were freezing!
…thus began the first day of the next twenty-four years of our lives in the country of Portugal...

Give in to Me-Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund(with LYRICS)

Rustic Peach Cake,

Combine:
1 cup a.p. flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Mix until light:
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
8 T unsalted butter, softened

Add:
2 large eggs
2 T sour cream (or whole milk)
1 t vanilla extract

Then add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix on low until just combined. Pour into greased and floured cake pan.

For peaches:
peel, pit and slice 2 medium peaches and toss with 1/4 c sugar and 1/2 t cinnamon then arrange in a circular pattern around the edge and in the middle of cake.
(*Tip: scattering some chopped, dried apricots or peaches over the batter before arranging the fresh peaches on top will soak up the excess peach juice and eliminate a soggy cake top, but this is kind of fancy and is optional.)

Bake @ 350 for about 35-40 min. I used a 9-in cake pan, but you could use a spring-form or any kind of cake pan for this.

Once upon a time, there was this Princess dog named Sofie Marie. Like most princesses she had everything her Royal Highnie would ever desire.  A mistress that loved her very much.  Both sets of Grand- mistresses that did too.  All her canine cousins of her kingdom regarded her as the fairest in the land. Her dear, little sister, Princess Victoria Josephine, loved her most of all..

She was always groomed with the latest of "foo-foo" style.  Had many of the o' couture, canine fashions. The most wonderful yard and forest to explore and rocks to climb.  Oh, and squeaky toys and tiny tennis balls .  Her bed was of the finest fleece and animal- printed coordinating duvet where she would slumber all day and early in the cold winter nights. In the summer she enjoyed long boat rides on a beautiful mountain lake...she loved pointing her noise to the wind and barking out greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Loon or at the other dogs that came from the city to spend the summer in her kingdom. One would think that she didn't need anything at all.  For hunger and thirst were never present in her life she had more then enough of all the comfort and love from one and all. 

   Ah, but there was one thing that she most wanted and it was forbidden territory and highly frowned upon for such a fair princess to even THINK about such a place. This place was called, "Le'Gar-Bage".  Oh, but the temptation at times was so great yes, even this princess who lacked nothing, would find herself drawn to it's tempting aromas.  She didn't care if she would dirty herself with the grease and grim and stinky things. She didn't care if she would drive  her Mistress to despair, no, all she cared about was to be able to dig and hunt and tear and spread anything and everything all over the floor.  To her it was so much fun and and so delicious she did not stop to think of what would or could happen.  This was so unbecoming for Princess and a very hard lesson her majesty to learn and obey.

One chilly, autumn, night the Mistress and her husband decided to get in the white chariot with wheels and journey to

her most favorite grand people of all. Victoria Josephine came too but Sofie Marie knew she was the favorite and decided to spend most of her time one of their laps.

Sofie Marie and Victoria Josephine, raced into the house.  They did their usual greetings throughout the house setting up a ruckus as usual too.   

 Princess Sofie claimed her favorite spot which was on Grand-masters lap.  The mistress and her little sister spent their time with Grand-mistress.

Unbeknown-st to everyone else Sofie decided to sneak into the kitchen to where the beloved Le'Gar-bage was kept.

Her highly bred princess nose began to search for something delectable to eat.  And she found it!

She ate and ate tore and tore until her royal belly was as round as could be.

Now the Mistress took one look at her and knew that that royal belly was a bit too round and the foo foo beard a bit too greasy and followed the trail to the mess. After a scolding and a quick washing of her mouth they went home and settled down for the night.

Well everyone but the the Princess Sofie Marie, for her stomach began to rumble and rumble and gurgle and gurgle...and she felt sick all over. Day after day for four days later her royal highnie was not well.

It was then decided that she must go to the hospital and the Doctor Vet. hooked her up to an I.V. because after he took her X-ray they saw that that royal round belly was stopped up with a CORN COB....this was corking up the Princess royal intestines.  Doctor Vet. scolded the princess too and and after two days and nights and the threat of surgery...Sofie Marie the Princess dog was finally feeling her self again.

Now every one in the kingdom hopes that Sofie Marie will have learned her lesson that Le' Gar-bage' is not the place to find food...

and she and her little sister lived happily ever after.