The Tablecloth....this is beautiful!

This was a great story I received from a friend, given the time of year I think you might like to read it. What I don't understand is why The Hallmark Channel hasn't picked this up for one of their movies:)! Betty



Understand that things happen for a reason

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned

to their first ministry, to reopen a church

in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October

excited about their opportunities. When they saw

their church, it was very run down and needed

much work. They set a goal to have everything

done in time to have their first service

on Christmas Eve.



They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,

painting, etc, and on December 18

were ahead of schedule and just about finished.



On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving

rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.



On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.

His heart sank when he saw that the roof had

leaked, causing a large area of plaster about

20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall

of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,

beginning about head high.



The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,

and not knowing what else to do but postpone

the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was

having a flea market type sale for charity, so he

stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,

handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth

with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross

embroidered right in the center. It was just

the right size to cover the hole in the front

wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.



B y this time it had started to snow. An older

woman running from the opposite direction was

trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor

invited her to wait in the warm church for

the next bus 45 minutes later.



She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor

while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put

up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor

could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and

it covered up the entire problem area.



Then he noticed the woman walking down the center

aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"

she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"

The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check

the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into

it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had

made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .



The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor

told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The

woman explained that before the war she and

her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .



When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.

Her husband was going to follow her the next week.

He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her

husband or her home again.



The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;

but she made the pastor keep it for the church.

The pastor insisted on driving her home. That

was the least he could do. She lived on the other

side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn

for the day for a housecleaning job.



What a wonderful service they had on Christmas

Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the

spirit were great. At the end of the service, the

pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door

and many said that they would return.



One older man, whom the pastor recognized

from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the

pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he

wasn't leaving.



The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on

the front wall because it was identical to one

that his wife had made years ago when

they lived in Austria before the war and how

could there be two tablecloths so much alike?



He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he

forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was

supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and

put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home

again all the 35 years between.



The pastor asked him if he would allow him to

take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten

Island and to the same house where the pastor

had taken the woman three days earlier.



He helped the man climb the three flights of

stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on

the door and he saw the greatest Christmas

reunion he could ever imagine.



True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid


For all of you that read my blog, have a great Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas, Betty/Juniper Berry

Interesting History

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families
used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken &
Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive
you were "Piss Poor"

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't
even afford to buy a pot......they
"didn't have a pot to
piss in" & were the lowest of the low


The next time you are washing your hands and complain
because the water temperature isn't just how you like it,
think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about
the 1500s:


Most people got married in June because they took their
yearly bath in May, and they still
smelled pretty good by
June.. However, since they were starting to smell . ..... .
Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting
Married.


Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man
of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then
all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the
children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so
dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the
saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"


Houses had thatched roofs-thick
straw-piled high, with no
wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get
warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs)
lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and
sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof...
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."


There was nothing to stop things from falling into the
house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs
and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence,
a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top
afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence.


The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other
than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt
poor." The wealthy had
slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet,
so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their
footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until,
when you opened the door, it would all start slipping
outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.


(Getting quite an education, aren't
you?)


In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big
kettle that always hung over the fire..
Every day they lit
the fire and added things to the pot.
They ate mostly
vegetables and did not get much meat.
They would eat the
stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew
had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence
the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas
porridge cold, peas
porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could
obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When
visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show
off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home
the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests
and would all sit around and chew the fat.


Those with money had plates made of
pewter. Food with high
acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food,
causing lead poisoning death. This
happened most often with
tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were
considered poisonous.


Bread was divided according to status.
Workers got the burnt
bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests
got the top, or the upper crust.


Lead cups were used to drink ale or
whisky. The combination
would Sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and
prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen
table for a co uple of days and the
family would gather
around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake
up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.


England is old and small and the local folks started running
out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins
and would take the bones to a
bone-house, and reuse the
grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins
were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they
realized they had been burying people alive... So they would
tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night
(the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone
could be, saved by the bell or was
considered a dead ringer.


And that's the truth....Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

So...get out there and educate someone!

As a side note; I recieved this from a co-worker and thought to myself "this is pretty good". If you took the time to read it I know you will learn a thing or two, and as we all know that doesn't hurt us one bit. Have a great day, Betty

Now what is he up to?

Yesterday I was getting a box of Christmas decorations out of the garage and this "thing" fell on my head. I was startled at first not knowing what hit me in the head but after I picked it up to examine it I discover this "thing", which I still did not know what it was.

I brought it into the house to show Monica and ask her if she knew what this was used for. Monica just started laughing and asked me what I was doing. I explained it hit me in the head and it was something that her dad had made to use for ??? Then the laughter began, I told her that this was prime blogging material.  As you can see this magnet is held in place with electrical tape onto a 6 foot PVC pipe. What in the world would Glenn be doing while he made this?

Here is the side profile of this "thing" that hit me in the head. I just can't write this enough, "what do you suppose he was up to when he put this contraption together"? Only one person knows that that is Glenn:).

Thanksgiving Menu 2010

It is that time again when I am busy looking through my recipes, looking up new dishes to try, and pulling together my menu for the annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner. After I have complied my food list to buy Glenn and I go out for our annual buying trip to a few different grocery stores. We have done this since the 1st Thanksgiving Day we spent together as a couple in 1998. We have gone after mid night the night before due to heavy work schedule at Sears to a casual Sunday afternoon one week before. That is what we do now:). I always look forward to this shopping trip I really can't tell you why but we always seem to have so much fun buying a ton of ingredients for one great meal. So to say the least I am very thankful I have Glenn to help me with the Thanksgiving Day shopping. Can't wait till Saturday for that annual "date" of ours.

2010 Thanksgiving Day Menu

Turkey/Sourdough Stuffing w/Juniper Berry's

Mascarpone Chive Mashed Potatoes/Bourbon Gravy

Pomegranate mixed green salad

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Wedges

Cranberry Relish

Mandarin Orange Salad

appetizers

Herbed Shrimp Dip/Crackers

dessert

Cranberry and Apple-Cider Sorbet

Ting A Lings

Thanksgiving Day Punch

Champagne

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EACH OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,

AND A SPECIAL HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY TO OUR GROWN CHILDREN THAT COULDN'T BE AT THE HOUSE TODAY, YOU ARE IN OUR THOUGHTS AND WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Mother Knows Best!

Question for Marie:

"Mom, I have a plant that has been sitting on the patio all summer that I need to bring into the house for the winter. The plant has brown dirt spots on the leaves, is there something I can clean the leaves with that won't harm the plant"? The plant is called Cataractarum Palm.

Answer from Marie:

"Oh yes, all you need to do is take a paper towel with a little dab of mayonnaise on it and rub the leaves with the paper towel. This provides a food source for the plant and cleans up the leaves and makes the leaves shine like a brand new penny".

Of course it works, try it you will be amazed. Betty

For the love of "Mom"!

Aging parents. Now there is a very powerful sentence! It is hard to come to grips with all the emotions you go through as you watch your parents age..... I often have thoughts of how I really miss the mom of 10 years ago. So then my next thoughts are of her excellent health she has carried into her golden years and this makes me realize how fortunate mom is to have her health be so good. Short term memory has been the one thing that has robbed her in her aging process. Bless her heart she takes each day in great strides and has a wonderful attitude about her memory. I don't live close to my mother so to curb my loneliness for her, I call her Friday's on my way to work. I stay consistent with this just so she will see a repeat pattern and know the day I call is Friday:)

I have found if I call her with a question or two about something she knows a lot about helps make our conversation productive. It always amazes me how mom will know just the right answer and all the knowledge she stores in her 81 year old mind. So I have decided to pass along her answers to the questions I ask that might be interesting to my "blog readers".  Watch for the Blog Title of; Mom Knows Best. I guarantee you will learn something new each time you read it. I know I do!

Elma Marie and Betty Jo

Japanese Gardens to Voodoo Doughnuts

It is funny when your children are older and on their own you always know as their Mother when it is time to have one on one time with them. So that is when I either travel to Portland to stay with Casey and his wife Holly or call Kadie and have dinner out and then shop or leave Central Oregon for the day and visit the big city with her.

So a few weekends ago I traveled to Portland and had a wonderful time with Casey and his wife Holly. It so happened to be a beautiful weekend in the city so we adventured out to the Japanese Gardens. If you are ever in Portland this is a wonderful place to go, it really takes you to another place and the beauty of it all can overwhelm you if you are not careful:)!
http://japanesegarden.com/

****************************************************************************
Voodoo Doughnuts
Whatever you do don't forget to stop here and enjoy their fresh made doughnuts the experience is one you will need to experience yourself.

http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/locations.php

I always enjoy my time in Portland, it is especially nice when I get to spend time with family or just hang out with Glenn in down town Portland, something we haven't done in a really long time. Just a hint!

I will never forget Wendy "the dog"!

It is 7am and I am out on my walking program (part of the loosing 10#'s before I am 50), I have just started down the canal road when this large dog barks, growls and then jumps the fence and proceeds to run to me while still barking and growling. My mind does not take over at this point because in the next few minutes my actions are everything they shouldn't be when it comes to strange dogs. I freak out, I am standing there screaming and crying and this guy comes out of his house trying to tell me that the dog is not going to hurt me. My screaming stops, but the crying doesn't, I ask him in a scared to death tone "is this your dog", "if so get it away from me"!  I find out it isn't their dog but their neighbors. The dog is now going into the canal, I take off walking really fast still crying, while all the time my ipod is playing a few of my favorite songs so I try to sing along to calm down when all the sudden I see a shadow beside me I look back and see I am being followed. I decide to turn around and go back to the fence he jump over, I told him to get back in his yard when we got there when all the sudden his "partner" might I add a little bigger dog then the one I am dealing with runs out barking. I tell the both of them I am out of here and leave me alone! I am pretty sure I am sounding like a child on the playground at this point:)! But needless to say I DID NOT get my point across.

With my new found friend in tow I proceed around the canal path to the road - destination the green house where this dog lives. I am listening to my ipod so I don't have to talk or look at the dog when all the sudden I see another shadow behind me this time in human form and a stroller. To my surprise when I turn around I come in contact with a very upset man with a baby on his back and toddler in a stroller and a young kid trying to keep up with his Dad's pace. This guy is on the phone talking and yelling at me at the same time, saying something like "no collar, no license and no leash"!! I won't bore you with my reactions but I was out of control. In the middle of my yelling and might I add I am back to crying he hears me say this isn't my dog. At this point he tells me he is talking to the Police, turning me in for the mentioned above. I am pissed!

I notice I have 3 cute kids staring at me, I bend down to their level and tell them it has been a rough morning I am really a very nice person and good mother and I was even a grandmother. I then looked up at their dad and told him, he as out of line and a "creep"! I don't think anything I said mattered to him but I felt a little better.

Back to "the dog" as I decided to call it. I am waking everybody up on this block if I have to, but somebody is going to take this dog. All of the sudden my day just got better,  a guy comes out with a leash and yells "Wendy get over here"! Wendy comes running and sits by my legs I look up at the guy, with this pretty sure crazy look and said.,"please can you help me and take this dog so I can just finish my walk I just started and forget this whole thing even  happened". He did, and he thanked me for helping with "Wendy" and he would let his neighbor know that I helped and was also really upset. So I calmed down and went on my way.

I am at the 2.5 mile mark still in the golf neighborhood that is usually quite and a good place to walk, I am heading towards the 2nd stretch of the canal road when this mini van pulls up beside me with the guy who had the 3 kids and says,"I just wanted to let you know that my kids and I were attacked awhile back by a stray dog and when "that dog" came running towards us barking I sort of overreacted". He also then said thanks for helping in finding her a safe place to stay. I looked at him and said "I am told the dogs name is Wendy, have a great day"! I start my fast pace walking put my ipod in my ears, press play and the song Zombie by The Cranberries starts to play, I thought to myself perfect timing don't you think Betty?

3 things I learned about this morning;

1. Try walking in the cemetery down the road instead of the golfing neighborhood. It should be much quieter!

2. Don't tease Glenn anymore about the Zombie songs on his ipod.

3. And I really would like to live out in the middle of no-where!


Just the journey to loose 10 lbs that is all I want to do!

Journey to lose 10 lbs before my 50th birthday!

t's not that early in the morning, something I like about where I live is the sun is always there to say Good Morning.

I cross over the canal bridge on my way to the morning power walk that is going to help me achieve my goal.  

Since there is cinder on the path instead of dirt it is like walking in really rough sand, that should help me legs, right?!

Along the canal is always so pretty in the morning don't you think?

I like to think these sunflowers are here from my back yard. Bless their little hearts:)

This is my 1/2 way  mark the fountain is the entrance into The Greens Golf Course that backs up to the other side of the canal.

Great sights know matter where you look that is for sure.

The ducks and geese are always so busy this early in the morning, someday I will have my camera with me and get a really good landing of one of the ducks.

Cute little guy, don't you think.

I always laugh out loud when I walk by her, I just know that someday when I walk by her she is going to say "good morning Betty" :)

Now this didn't make me very happy, because I am on the other side of the canal and this is my wildflower garden in our back yard. There is anything I can do but zoom in as close as the camera will go and snap a photo.

So as I have just shown you a early morning power walk can be very exciting. I just hope this small step I am taking will help me with my goal of losing 10lbs before my 50th birthday. I have a little over a month so lets get going!!

Only in Betty & Glenn's backyard!

As you can see I got a really good deal on metal cookie cutters, I saw this awhile back in a photo and told my husband I wanted to do that to a warn out gate that I don't have the heart to ask Glenn to take down. Not because I don't want to ask him but just because it is old and sort of outdated, which in turn makes the gate "cool"!

We have a new area we have been working on in the backyard, the entrance from the front actually. I have wanted to have tumbled glass so this is where it ended up. I used metal rings from a broken wine barrel to keep the glass in one area. It ended up being a great circle effect and I also put weed cloth under the glass so the pieces didn't make their way into the dirt, as I was told they will do that. 

Just a closer look at stuff that seems to show up "only in Betty & Glenn's backyard.

Summer Time boy do we enjoy the Summer Time!

Summertime is sweet and fleeting. We wait all year and then it's gone in a sunset... The dark nights of Winter arrive and we long for the warm carefree days of Summer once again.

The words listed above is a beautiful comment left by my Husband Glenn on my last post I just had to share it with you. Very nicely said Glenn!

This is my dinner when my husband and best friend  decide to have oysters for the main and only course for dinner. Yes as you can see it is a bowl of honey nut cheerios and a bloody mary.

Hence, a really big bowl of oysters:(

Here they are enjoying their dinner while I am getting some cereal out of the cupboard.  

Here is the 1st photo taken of my outdoor tub, I just love to soak my feet in the evenings. It is still a work in progress but we are getting closer everyday to having this project complete and then I will follow up with photos to show our outdoor bathing area.

I just have to show you the wild flower garden, what a pretty site to sit by and enjoy the evening after work. Glenn and I have new ideas for next year I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I would like to introduce you to Lincoln Edward the newest member to Glenn's oldest daughters home. He is our 2nd grandchild and both Glenn & I welcome him with open arms!

Big Sister Lucy is the apple of our eyes! She is going to be a wonderful big sister that is for sure.

Hope you enjoyed just a snap shot of our summer and I just know I will have more to talk about here real soon.

Summertime! Summertime!

I just love this time of year all my hard work is starting to pay off, visually that is.

Arbor is 2 years old this year the vine we planted last year really made great progress.

Hello Susan:)

The most perfect zucchini flower ever.

Hello to the 1st sunflower of the year! I can't wait to see the rest of the crop.


Perfect song on the radio



Sing along 'cause it's one we know


It's a smile, it's a kiss


It's a sip of wine, it's summertime


Sweet summertime

The Alvord Desert & The Steens Mountains

When you are out in the middle of no where, you should always read the signs:)

This was so deep and the color was incrediable, I could feel the heat rising onto my face when I was taking this photo.

Peeking in at Glenn while he was enjoying the Alvord Hot Springs, it was to hot outside for me, but this rustic structure and the bathing is all the make up for a good time.

If your not careful someone might just take your hat and sunglasses, something you definitely need in this area on a hot summer day.

The Steens Mountain Range, need I say more, WOW!

Here we are heading to the top summit of the Steens gets a little warm at 9000 ft. That is for sure but I see snow in the distance.

Oh, this is funny to get to the alvord desert you take a gravel road for approx. 45 miles at the end of the gravel rode is Fields Oregon where the cafe there is known for their famous milk shakes. Yes we both had one:) If you look closely you can see an air plane taking off to the right. Yes out in the back country the county roads are also the run way and if you didn't know it Air Planes have the right-a-way. Good Times!

scary big, for no water except hot springs about every 20 miles.

This photo is fun to me because I use to work with a Guy who would say, "why do you choose to follow Glenn to those far reach places"?  This photo shows I am doing just that follow Glenn to the edge of the earth (it felt like).

Glenn taking the Jeep out on the desert floor, not sand but alkali, dusty that is for sure.

Hot feet!

You do what you can to stay cool.

I don't like it when Glenn lays over the edge of  glacier cliffs  just to get a good photo, doesn't it look like he is going to roll off the side.

Cold feet! Finally some relief from the heat.

Just can't get enough of the wild flowers.

Alkali  dust storm off in the distance, incredible.

Crystal Crane Hot springs, there is nothing better then jumping into the pond 1st thing in the morning when you wake up.  The pond is a cool 103 degrees on an average this is utopia.

Hope you enjoyed this trip via my blog as much as we did in real life.
 Until next time, Betty