Wheels Of the Past

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Heritage Farm Show Bruce County

I am becoming

Want to feel and enjoy your age, go on a camping vacation!

At home where all is comfortable and familiar we feel younger in our 30’s instead the reality of being in our 60’s.

Don’t get us wrong we have enjoyed our camping trip every much and at different times we have known ourselves to be physically older then our psychological ages.

There were the hikes that turned out to be too long.

The campsites too far from the bathrooms.

and

All of the trip and fall hazards that snag feet and sent us sprawling when feet were not lifted high enough.

There were also times when the wisdom of our ages deepened our experience.

Taking the time to sit in a church, to meditate being mindful the sounds, smells and spiritual energy that these places of history hold.

Ignoring the pool and hot tub to walk the streets around us, opening up our experience of a city or town being able to say hello to strangers.

Seeking out local grocery stores to fill our cooler with healthy foods to make as we travelled, allowing us to by passing the fast food restaurants for leisurely lunches at wayside rest station.

We like this Lewis Carol quote because it speaks to our understanding of life that we are constantly becoming as long as we stay open to all the experiences that life presents.

Laughing when we trip and fall, and remembering to lift up your feet next time.

Enjoying the beauty of a star filled sky at 3:00 am as you walk hand in hand to the bathroom.

Sitting down and resting as often as you need too on this walk of life and 

never, never stop walking!

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Antique Drainage Tile Digger

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Heritage Farm Show Bruce County

Grandpa and Grandma go camping

It stopped raining in Salt Lake City mid morning on Saturday so once again we ventured out walking and walk we did.  Ever corner presented something new to experience.  As you can see it was cool after the rain, not a problem because there were many outdoor cafes to enjoy a great cup of coffee or tea.  

Again sorry for the poor formatting posting at a cafe from my iPod we will clean all this up when we get home.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016twosnydergirls

Grandpa and Grandma go camping

The Internet is very poor so posting is problematic.  We are sitting in a mall with Internet now so will post some of the photographs we have taken today.

On a rainy day what would you have except ice cream. 

A photograph from temple square in Salt Lake City. 

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls  

Poor internet connection

We are on vacation and the Internet is terrible this has meant that our regular post are not happening and 5 minutes of my day will not be daily and we will catch up.  There is lots to see on our blog and thank you for understanding.

Antique Digger

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Heritage Farm Show Bruce County

Grandpa and Grandma go camping

The first thing we realized is that posting a blog when the Internet is unreliable well that's just a formula for disaster so when we have good Internet we will post some pictures and tell you about the wonderful things we have seen.

We picked up the I 80 around Jolliet Illinois and we have been travelling on it for the past 2 1/2 days.  We have been amazed at the size of the fields.  At times it's like looking at an ocean of corn and beans.  Those are the two primary crops that are growing along the I 80.  At some point sunflowers must have been grown because the ditches boast mile after mile of now wild sunflowers.  

This is the third night that we put up our Rightline tent and we have it down to an art.  We had no idea our tent and van combo would drawn attention.  At each  campground we were have been told it's the first time a set up like ours has come in.   This surprises us because it's easy to put up and comfortable to sleep in the bed of the van on a futon mattress, ideal thing for baby boomers who don't want to give up camping and want to sleep off the ground.   

Grandma Snyder 

©2013-2016 twosnydergirl

Grandpa and Grandma Go Camping

Day One September 17, 2016 

We left home at 5:00 am under a very threatening  sky 

And our first stop was for coffee of course!

The beauty that surrounded us today

Our Home For the Night

and our New Rightline Gear Tent 

The first campsite we were given was under a 

Hedge Apple Tree

Maclura pomifera

We were afraid if one of these seeds hit us well it would be lights out for sure!

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016  twosnydergirls

Rainbow Cupcakes

Our Mennonite Church has a cupcake tradition on the Sunday that Sunday School starts up following the summer break.  Our Granddaughters are now old enough they want to be part of church life and on the Saturday prior to the start of Sunday school we were making cupcakes.

We would like to credit the creator of the rainbow cupcake and try as we might we could not because Pinterest is full of rainbow cupcakes and each offers just a slightly different way to make them. 

Our offering differs only in that we used Grandma's white cake recipe written down so many years ago that the paper is yellow and brittle with age.

White Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup egg whites unbeaten - about 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 different food colourings

Directions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together
2. Into this mix the margarine, milk, egg whites and vanilla
3. Mix until the batter is smooth
4. Divide the batter into 4 different bowls and add the food colouring
5. Using all of the colours in each cupcake paper fill 3/4 full
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
7. Ice your cups cakes.

On Pinterest we also cupcakes baked in ice cream cones.  We used mini cones note these may take longer than the cupcakes to bake - at least ours did. 

From Our Table To Yours

Grandma Snyder

©twosnydergirls 2013 - 2016    

Sunflowers

Grandma Snyder

©2013 - 2016 twosnydergirls

Your Abundant Mercy

The children’s story this morning was instructions in how a porter reuses the clay over and over again until the potter has created the vessel required for the need for the task of the day.

The children were amazed that the wet clay could be molded and remolded over and over again.  That the clay is never wasted never tossed away.

We are the clay that God molds and when we fight against him, he does not throw us away nor does God place us on some shelf out of his sight to be forgotten.  God places us on his work table always within sight always within reach, waiting until we are ready to be molded again.

God is always working in our lives ensuring our beliefs, values:  our sense of ourselves and our entitlements are ready for his molding so we can in turn become the vessels of love he requires.

Our task as Christian’s is to embrace the potter’s hands, for is not the Whole World in God’s hands and with his loving embrace.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls 

Salad Dressing Roasted Vegetables

As the summer comes to an end we have started to turn to some of our favourite fall foods.  The origin of today’s recipe was once again found in our refrigerator vegetable crisper.  Beets, carrots salt pepper and balsamic vinegar makes an amazing vegetable dish.  

Ingredients:

• A dozen small beets
• 6 large carrots
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Direction:

1. Wash the beets and place them on a covered baking sheet and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
2. While these are baking wash and peel the carrots cut into pieces that are equivalent to the size of your beets when they are halved.
3. Remove beets from the oven, remove the skins and cut them on half.
4. Place the beet halves and carrots onto a baking sheet and drizzle with both olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
5. Place the vegetables back into the oven for a further 30 minutes.
6. Serve  

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

The colour of Fall in Flowers

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Heritage is more than things

This past week I watched a father get down on the grocery store floor to comfort a small child and I can only assume this was his son.  Surrounding this gentle giant of a man, and his crying son was a light dusting of white flour. 

Quietly he repeated to his child, you can fix this, you are safe, I love you, you can fix this, you are safe, I love you …

The staff arrived with a broom and started to clean up and he asked them to stop.  Turning to his red faced, tear stained hiccuping son he said “Now we begin to fix it”.  

He stood up bring his son to his feet with him and hand over hand using the broom left by the store staff they swept up the flour.

As the small boy picked up the torn bag and went to put it in the trash his father said, “Not yet we still have more fixing to do” and with this he took his son’s hand and the bag of flour and went to check out where they paid for the spilled flour.

Smiling at his son he said “fixed” and the both went off to their abandoned shopping cart and continued shopping.

There were five of us who watched and as we walked away we smiled at each other having witnessed something truly wonderful.

Be mindful of the example you are providing your children and the children in the community who are watching you.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Follow Me

The greatest of this is Love!

This is the path we are to walk the path of unconditional love for each human on earth, and more for all of God’s creation.

Our beacon on this path is the life of Christ, his example of serving humanity, all humanity wherever there was need. 

Meeting the needs of each human first, and letting God’s love shine through his service, opening up space for those he served to ask where his love came from.  

They followed because they wanted to, they were not coerced, nor were they frighten into following. 

They followed because he loved them.

We are to provide service not as a means of getting an unwilling congregation of the needy to preach to.

No!

We are to service because there is a need and when our service reflects the light of Christ, and space is created for other to ask us, then humbly we can offer up our faith.

Today once again I am reminded of the Christian man who was asked “What type of a Christian are you”, he responded “To answer this question you will need to speak to my neighbours!”

Follow Christ into service motivated by unconditional love.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary readings: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 1, Philemon 1:1-21, Luke 14: 25-33.

Cherry Noodle Bake

Noodles as a dessert?  

Really, who has heard of such nonsense! 

The British have and we've been missing out a most delicious dish.

We were gifted a dozen cans of cherry pie filling by a dear friend and one can only eat so much cherry pie so we went exploring.  

In our exploration we happened upon some Old British recipes that made a dessert out of traditional custard and noodles, this was all we needed and off we went. 

The result is Cherry Noodle Bake.

This recipe makes a 9 x 12 2-inch baking dish and would well at a potluck or as a dish for a brunch.

In this attempt of the recipe we used only one can of cherry pie,
1/2 in the recipe and 1/2 on top.  

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of wide egg noodles
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 packages cream cheese
• 3 cups milk
• ½ tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cans Cherry Pie Filling
• 2 cups Rice Krispies
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles following the package directions
2. Mix together the eggs, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, salt and milk.
3. In a large mixing bowl combined the noodles and the custard
4. To this add 1 can of cherry pie filling and mix well
5. Pour this into a greased 9x12 pan
6. Melt the butter and mix the 2 can of cherry pie filling with the butter
7. Spread the Rice Krispies on top of the noodles and the butter and cherries on top of that.
8. Bake at 350 F for between 45- 60 minutes until the custard is set.

You can serve this hot or cold.

From Our Table to Yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Dinner Plate Hibiscus

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Worry

Yesterday the planning for Christmas started in our home, as we began discussions on how we would get a loved one from far away home.  

Year after year he has travelled by train and we have started to see the wear and stress this trip is beginning to have on him.  So we announced that this year we would take some of our holidays to drive to pick him up.

The response we received from was “So I can worry the whole time you are gone” and true to form she started worry right there in the restaurant in August!

Has worry ever solved a problem or resulted in a positive outcome? 

Has worry ever been a productive use of your time?

Corrie Ten Boom’s quote is so true all worry does in exhaust, and stress the person who is worrying it is of no help at all to those who are being worried about.

And our worry makes us vulnerable to overreacting, to being conned by threats over the phone or by email.

Be mindful of what causes you to worry, and find ways to release it.  

Engage in life affirming strength giving activities, prayer, meditation, walking, singing anything that will take up the space worry has created.

As parents and grandparents we also need to understand how our worrying is affecting the children in our lives, what we are modeling.  

Model productive ways to take charge of worry and be mindful that you control your thoughts.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Imitate their faith

The readings this week present us with the behaviours that we as Christ followers are to emulate. 

Our model is Jesus Christ both in his spirituality and in his humanity.

Just as infants and children imitate their parents and in so doing learn to eat, walk, sing, speak, work, … in short learn to survive and live with others, so we are to imitate Jesus as we learn to live through faith and worship.

And just as children imitating the adults in their world believe they have learned enough go to work with them, to step into the adult world, Proverbs 2:6 cautions us against believing ourselves to have achieved the mark, as believing our lives to be so Christ like as to sit at his right hand.

“Put not yourselves forward in the presence of the King.  And stand not in the place of great men” because we will find ourselves being sent back to the children’s table to keep on learning.

What is this life we are to imitate?

It is a life lived through love, service, dedication, selflessness, and justice. 

It is a spiritual path of listening in silence for God to speak, of wandering in the wilderness with only God to sustain.

It is a life dedicated to other’s even unto death.

It is doing all of this everyday of our lives, from the time we wake to the time we sleep. 

It is more than Sunday worship, volunteering on Saturday.

It is imitating Christ in how you do your laundry, shop for your groceries, how you plan for your retirement, the TV shows you watch and the books your read and so much more.

Most importantly  it is about “loving each other as brothers and sisters” 

Hebrews 13:8

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary Readings for this post Proverbs 25:6-7, Psalm 112, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Luke 14: 1, 7-14.