Me in a nut shell

I will never promise you something I can not give you; you will never hear me say "things will get better I promise", because I have no power to make sure that happens. What I will promise is I will be here for you, in what ever capacity you need me to be: an ear to vent in, a shoulder to cry on, hell hand me a shovel and I will dig through the trenches with you. I do not believe in happily ever after, and fairytales- the real ones- do not involve getting every dream you dream to come true. I will celebrate with you when things are good and I will help hold you up when they are not. I will be as genuine with you as you are with me. I wont promise you roses but I will help pull the thorns out of your fingers when the roses you think you are holding release their thorns. I am not a downer I tend to be optimistic, but above all I am a realist. I know the world is cruel and ugly and I will not pretend otherwise. I believe that life lessons are learned in the school of hard knocks, I have scars that prove my attendance. Life will either make you hard and harsh or more perceptive, I have chosen the second path. If I could take the pain for you and still let you learn your lessons I would, but since I can not, I will do what I can and that is walk beside you and make sure, no matter how many times life knocks you down, that you get back up.

alternate sugar

Today I went searching for info on baking goodies with alternative sugars. Not the chemically made sugar substitutes but natural sources for sugar. I found that fruit puree s can be substituted for sugar while baking. A few Tweeks to the recipe is needed, most notably the amount of flour, but only by a small increment. You can substitute equal amounts of puree for the sugar called for in the recipe. I started slow and replaced most of the sugar in the recipe I tested it on using 1 c fruit puree and 1/4 c white sugar, instead of the 1 1/2 c sugar the recipe called for. I did add in white chocolate chips, so I figured they added up to the other 1/4 cup sugar. I also had to add less than 1/4 cup additional flour to get the right consistency.

Over all it was a success and the cookies taste amazing. The most notable difference is because the cookies are not overly sweet themselves the white chocolate chips really stand out and satisfy that sweeth tooth. Will be trying more substitutes in the future stay tuned for the results...

Dragons

I have a dragon, she is not my pet as much as she is my best friend. I don't own her any more than she owns me, but we are a team. Her name is Draccona, at least her English name is, I cannot pronounce her true name. She is metallic purple with irridescent halo colored wings. She has a crown of horns on her head and fins on her tail. Her tallons are Sterling Silver. Her Eyes are large orbs that swirl with all the colors of the ocean and skies. Her voice is melodious and sounds like silk when she speaks. 

  I have a supple leather saddle so I can ride her. We often take flight in the night. We travel to different dimensions and far off galaxies. We meet other dragonriders and have grand adventures!

 My favorite part of my Draconna is that only I and other dragonriders like me can see her. She uses this to her advantage and causes all kinds of harmless mischief! If you find your self seeing dragons I would encourage you to befriend your very own and ride!

If I were a Super Hero

If I were a Super hero what would my power be? Run fast as light? Jump high as the moon? Shoot Lazer beams out of my eyes? Sonic punch? None of these seem to fit me. I think I would like to send out mind waves that cause feelings of peace and love. I think that would be far better than ones that "battle". Just imagine the conflicts that could be stopped, possibly resolved just from encouraging peace and love!!

Tea with the Hatter

 Have just been to the Mad Hatters for tea and we had the most delightful conversation. If a dragon fly looks like a tiny dragon then why don't deerflies look like tiny deer or houseflies like tiny houses? If it rains on Sunday shouldn't we then call it Rainday? After a brief pause for another spot of tea to be poured we discussed literature  Door Mouse said his favorite book was Of Mice and Men. Hatter said he was disappointed with the Cat in the Hat. The Hare was reading Water ship Down and found it to be quite entertaining. The Cheshire cat was reading a book on Chris Angel and said he could disappear better than Chris could, but had to admit he could only make himself vanish not other objects which made him sad. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were reading Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes and said they could relate to poor Georgie Porgie! 

Winter

When I was a kid winter hit in late October, or early November if you were lucky, and lasted until late April, generally. I was 5 in 1978 when we had the big blizzard, but I remember every winter seemed like a blizzard to me back then. 

Seems like in the late 80's winter started to get more mild. In recent years it was normal to have a New Year thaw in January and just a few more snow falls that didn't really add up to much. Some years we even had a green Christmas.

 This year however seems like a corner has been turned and we are experiencing a winter more like those of my youth. Which is kind of funny in a way as that is how I feel the cycles of my life have gone. Not that I feel I will be returning to the violent storms of my childhood, but I have a greater understanding of the rest and rebuilding time that winter provides for nature and that sometimes a hard freeze is needed to kill the nasty bugs that can cause diseases. Oh but lots of fun can be had when the snowfall is plentiful enough, snowmobiling, skiing, and sled riding, as well as snowball fights, snowman building and snow angles all remind us that the fun of life can be found in all our seasons. 

My advice to Grads

This is a crazy mixed up time
Enjoy it, enjoy each other
make memories, live life
take a few weeks to let it sink in
the rest of your life has just begun

If you were one of those goal driven few
the ones who always knew what they wanted to do
one of the ones who felt their calling
or one with a legacy of a family business to uphold
then go boldly in the direction of your dreams and
make them happen

For the rest of you relax
no one expects you to know at 18
what you want to do for the rest of your life
but don't just stand still and do nothing
try new things, many new things if that's what it takes
for you to find what you are meant to do

Some of you will go on to college
some to trade schools
some to the school of hard knocks
the important thing is that you keep learning
 and you never give up
you are all important no matter what role you may find yourself in

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take
but by the moments that take your breath away
So don't forget to live
while you are out there scrambling to make a living