January 29, 2021 thought for today: If you think education is expensive try ignorance. African Proverb

I got an early start. I just got to the church at about the same time as Dorothy was pulling up, good timing. Working together we had the newsletters ready to go in about half an hour. 

Just as I was at the car and  leaving the house Lowell called and needed a phone number so I went back inside to get it for him. Just as Dorothy and I were finishing up I got a call with a request for Dorothy. With those two calls two other snags were helped to moved along. That makes for a good day. 

Yesterday’s photo was titled “this is mine”. Imagine all the photos you could make to show this theme. I have a lot of house plants so I decided to use one of them as model. I use them often as I do my two best furry friends. 

Once back home, I moseyed back to my computer files archives looking for old and promising photos. In the process of checking each individual file I found some things I completely have buried in my mind. I took a course in writing many years ago, even before I started on my journey for a certificate in photography. It was interesting reading some of my old “stories”. I got some decent grades on those papers. 

The sun is deceiving again today. It is gorgeous as I look through the window but the air is cold, major cold, not below freezing cold just plain cold. 

The word for today is safe.  A safe stronghold our God is still. A trusty shield and weapon, Martin Luther.  Let the people know the truth and the country is safe, Abraham Lincoln. He that respects himself is safe from others. He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Precaution is better than cure, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Obedience is the mother of success and is wedded to safety, Aeschylus. The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come, Confucius. In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed, Ralph Waldo Emerson. To keep oneself safe does not mean to bury oneself, Seneca the Elder. The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use, Epictetus.  No one is strong in his own strength, but he is safe by the grace and mercy of God, Cyprian. Do it now. It is not safe to leave a generous feeling to the cooling influences of the world. Thomas Guthrie. Knowledge is power...knowledge is safety...knowledge is happiness, Thomas Jefferson. When an instrument admits two constructions, the one safe, the other dangerous, the one precise, the other indefinite, I prefer that which is safe and precise, Thomas Jefferson. When Providence favors, you can make a safe voyage on a twig, Publilius Syrus.  

Today’s challenge is “lucky”. I did a Google search for some suggestions of what people consider luck.
Of course there is the four leaf clover and the rabbits foot. I didn’t have either but I found some interesting suggestion on Google, I have heard most of them before but learned a little about them. The lady bug is a symbol of good luck to many. The number seven is also viewed as lucky. One I must have heard before but didn’t remember was “lucky bamboo”. It's purported that a plant with three stalks brings happiness, wealth and longevity. And of course the lucky penny especially if it is face up. 

Here we go.... a way to save money if the freezer goes out. This article may be a way to save money when facing what looks like a disaster. It covers some ideas of what to do if the freezer breaks down. The author wrote that when she went to the frig to get some milk she noticed her toes were getting wet. She opened the freezer compartment and saw that all the frozen food had begun to thaw. She further wrote that since we are in a pandemic she kept a larger supply of food in the freezer so that she didn’t have to go out as much. According to that article the food shouldn’t go below 40 degrees for more than two hours. It must either be cooked or refrozen (I didn’t realize it could be refrozen....need to check out the recommendations of that). She started to cook. The USDA states that “a full freezer can hold for two days because the food will act like a big block of ice”. She noticed that some of the food near the bottom of the stack was still frozen so it was salvable. As she did “triage” to determine what might be saved she followed the advice of  "When in Doubt, Throw it Out!" She was quickly thinking of recipes she could use to save some of the food. One was to put a half dozen hamburgers and a couple of links of sausage in a Dutch oven with some tomatoes, peppers and onion, seasonings and beer to make chili. She fried some bacon, added some shredded cheese, onion and spices to fill some pastry dough. There was a pound of frozen cod in the freezer. She poached it until flakey then added mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, spices and Ritz cracker crumbs and made patties. So it wasn’t a complete loss just a lot of unplanned cooking time. 

Aha....pizza night again. 

Joy