Bang update

You know it always looks better several days after your haircut. Here's Ski absolutely OWNING the bangs. Eat your heart out ladies.

This pretty much captures it....Do Not Be Ashamed.

If you've never read any of Rachel Held Evans's work, you are in for a treat.  She is a strong voice in the theological world.  I enjoy her writing-she challenges me to think differently and expects the same of herself.  

Click the link to read her latest post.  It's powerful.  And go ahead and stay awhile.  Explore.  There's some good stuff there.

Ashamed

A note of Praise

Some lyrics rolling around in my head this morning.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
[| From: http://www.elyrics.net |]

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
Lyrics from <a href="http://www.elyrics.net">eLyrics.net</a>


I love, love, love.  LOVE when I hear a line or verse that strikes me.  Today it's "No guilt in life, no fear in death, THIS is the power of Christ in me."

May you be drawn close this Lenten season.

Trendsetter

It appears Lebowski has been inspired by the First Lady.  Upon returning from the groomer he has a fresh set of off-set bangs.

You go Lebowksi.  You go!  You.Are.the.Man!

Note the left side....no bangs.

Grammar Check

This was on the front page of our town paper.  Does anyone else think this headline is grammatically incorrect?

Heavenly Pillows of Goodness

Holy Manna from Heaven!!!!  

Ever since we enjoyed such a loverly dinner at Volare I have been jonesin' for Gnocchi.  And not just any gnocchi.  This needed to be good.  Really good.  Good enough that I wasn't completely disappointed and suffering from anticipated let-down because my flavor memory had different expectations.  

I looked online at different recipes and I was never really convinced until I found The Grizzly Kitchen's post about this being a "go-to" recipe.  As soon as I started reading, I knew this was the one.  [My go-to recipe is probably Spinach Enchiladas.  Though as I type this I'm not sure it's my go-to or it's just  Sweet Sarah's most requested].

Nevertheless, last night we decided  rather than eating out we'd give these little gems a shot.  Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce.  Sounds delish, no?  [What I didn't think about was taking pictures throughout the process.  Honestly, it wasn't until I started cutting the little pillows that I realized they were going to be perfect!  So my apologies.]

All in all, this is not a complicated process.  It is a bit lengthy however.  From the time we put the potatoes in to bake to the time we sat down.....elapsed time probably two and half hours.  Now, now, now.  Don't give up on this recipe yet.  An hour of that time was the oven doing the work baking the potatoes.  

The other hour and half?  Well, just plan ahead.  Open a bottle of wine, prepare some appetizers and enjoy the cooking experience.

Sweet Sarah and I took the divide and conquer method.  She made the sauce, I made the gnocchi.  Both were restaurant worthy [no joke! If you doubt, feel free to Open Table a spot at The Drayer and place an order.  teehee]

I'll let you peruse The Grizzly Kitchen's recipe.  She gives some really good advice.  I'll share the tweaks we made and then the pictures!

Tweaks:

• We cleaned the contents of a 3 lb bag of potatoes and threw them into a roasting pan @ 400 degrees.
• I mashed the potatoes by hand with a potato masher
• Tomatoes, food processor, chopping step, etc:  We totally kept this simple.  We bought diced canned tomatoes.  Eliminated the processor and chopping step.  And threw the entire can in the pot.
• The forking of the gnocchi.  Nope.  Didn't do that either.  An extra step that is only for looks.  [It's like criss-crossing peanut butter cookies with a fork.  Just MASH those things down with a glass and move on people!  No time for that.]

Pre-Vodka, pre-cream.  Simmering for taste and depth.  Yummy!

An up close look at the goodness.  Note the glass of wine helping me along.

Three pounds of potatoes makes a LOT of Gnocchi.
We put one pan in the freezer, then in a zip-lock.
One pan served both of us plenty!

Sweet Sarah adding the cream.  [Note the back of spoon technique.  See Virtual Cocktail Hour for reference.]

And here it is.  Beautiful.  

Toss in some grilled chicken or a nice beautiful salmon filet and this little dish is a superstar!

Enjoy!

Birthday Girl and her Life Lessons

 Yesterday was this sweet woman's 88th birthday (I started this post yesterday and didn't get a chance to post it.  Look at me defending my belated-ness)  

Anywho, isn't she beautiful? And I am blessed to be able to call her Gramma. (That's how she spells it. Isn't that cute?)

I have always felt overwhelmingly blessed to have grandparents well into my adult years. Even today, at 39, I'm grateful to have both grandmothers still in my life.

But back to this spunky woman who has taught me many life lessons. I thought I'd share a few...

1.  Always eat dessert....eat it first if possible. This is a lesson I learned VERY early from her.  My childhood summers included CHOCOLATE GRAVY on homemade biscuits most mornings.  Yep, none of that savory sauce on her buttermilk biscuits.  Good ol' rich, sugary, sweet chocolate.  [I think Mama Claudia still cringes at the thought of this].  

Christmas 2012.  In this picture, she finished off
everyone's unwanted desserts. And she's SUPER happy about it!

Now pay attention because here's the other part of this life lesson...Employ strategies to execute your dessert intake.  VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.  Do your best to hide it from everyone....at least for a little while.  In other words, put a little, tiny serving of things on your plate, push them around a bit, declare you're full, wait the requisite amount of time and THEN make sure you have dessert.  This is very strategic people!  And Gramma is the master.  Another option is to make sure you sneak in a few bites of candy or sweets before the meal is served.  This is especially helpful during the holidays when all of the desserts are in free range display.  

2.  Make everything a competition.  Don't be shy about it either.  Feel free to declare your dominance or future winning to all of those victims that are soon to meet their plight.  Take delight in your winning by laughing, emphasizing the size of your lead and your utter surprise at how badly your opponents are losing.  Oh yes, that sweet woman, pictured above????  She WILL.CRUSH.YOU if given the chance. Yep.  It's true.  (See, Sweet Sarah?  I come by it honestly.)  Card games (She and my grandfather used to keep a monthly tally of their wins/losses).  Board Games (I believe they wore out a few Aggravation boards) Walking somewhere. (She doesn't like you to be in front)  The prettiest garden?  (She kept mental score of how she compared to others on the block)  The greenest grass? (Had it been appropriate, she might've been a greenskeeper at a golf course) She is always keeping score.  

She will also cheat if necessary. (see dessert techniques/strategies above).


3.  Don't sit for long.  There's always something to fret over or myrtle with.  Busy. Busy.  Busy body. This woman may have coined the term.  [It's also probably why she's been 110 pounds her entire life!]

Dancing with my handsome nephew.

4.  Devotion.  Gramma was the model of a devoted wife.  She loved and doted and preened and picked and faithfully served Poppy until his last breath.  Ok, I am not exaggerating here.  Seriously.  She combed his hair after every shower.  Picked out his clothes every day.  Made every meal [many a good shopping trip was cut short early because we had to get back to make Poppy's dinner].  

This is on an Alligator Boat Ride in the Everglades of Florida in 2001.   

Though I have no desire to fix Sweet Sarah's hair after every shower or pick out her garanimals [do they still make those?], I can only hope to be as devoted and loving as Dessie was to Hurshell.

4.  Be a daredevil, even when it makes others uncomfortable.   No doubt I have a bit of this in me.  We grew up hearing stories about Gramma, a self-confessed pyro, catching a hay mow on fire in the family barn and months later burning an entire hay field pre-harvest just because she "wanted to see what it would do".  There was the time she decided to ride an unbroken horse bareback and her mother had to lift the clothesline so Dessie wouldn't be decapitated on the runaway horse.  We've all ridden in the car with her when she declared she was going to try and take a country corner without stepping on the brake. [I've slid across the backseat of a Buick more times than I can remember with her at the wheel]

5.  Don't be afraid to cry, wearing your feelings on your sleeve is ok.  Every arrival and departure from their house in Tennessee meant Gramma would cry.  She wasn't shy about her happiness or sadness.

6.  Laugh with others and at yourself.  No doubt the Spann's know how to laugh, in good part because of her influence.

What a GREAT laugh!

Given time, I can come up with a few more life lessons from this sweet, sweet woman.  She holds a special place in all of our hearts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRAMMA!!!

THE (partial) SPANN CLAN