Remembrance Day

 

You stand proud in the centre of a community park where children are free play.

You kneel supported by your rifle outside the library and families relax inside reading together, free to explore the world through books with no cares for what is happening outside.

You carry a fallen friend forever holding him in your arms, while children laugh and run around the stone base upon which you will forever stand.

You stand head down in prayer as tourists sit on the steps leading up to your memorial exploring without of fear our large cities.

And you stand at ease hands resting on a stone cross remembering forever your friends lost in war.  While traffic moves freely on the busy street in front of you.

Your name is etched in these stone monuments, your sacrifice always present, in hopes that we remember the price that was and continues to be paid for our freedom.

Your heroism is thus remembered in communities large and small.

And

Today your name will be read aloud and we will remember you.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Reflections of Fall

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Engaging Our Children

What are grandparent’s to-do with their grandchildren anymore?!

We were sitting in our local coffee shop when we overheard this question being thrown out into the universe. 

We put down our papers and listened for the answer and to our utter amazement and horror no answer was forth coming. 

The table full of grandparents (or so we assume) went on to complain how all their grandchildren want to do is play on their electronics, and so on.

We wondered out loud to each other, what those grandparents are doing when their grandchild come to visit?

Watching TV?

Cleaning the house?

On their own computers?

Sitting reading?

Sleeping in their chairs?

The above activities are solitary play activities and when two people are in the same room engaged in solitary activity it is called parallel play.  Neither party is influencing the other nor are they learning from each other.

We think this is the question that was really asking. 

How do grandparents interact with their grandchildren anymore?

How do we engage our grandchildren in cooperative activities?

The first step is to know what your grandchildren or children for that fact are interested in and to get interested in that yourself.

We find that trips to our antique shops, museums are a good place to stumble upon some common ground with our grandchildren and talking to them about our childhood, what we enjoyed doing.

The library as Dr. Seuss illustrates is a wonderful place to find common ground.  In reading to each other and/or talking about books you have read hours can pass quickly in this cooperate activity.

We don’t think that the problem is electronics or the internet. 

We wonder if we all have become too comfortable with parallel activities when what we need to be mindful of is creating cooperative activates.

Doing things with our children and grandchildren

instead of doing different things in the same room or house.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

God Chose You

God our Father loves us.  He treats us with undeserved grace and he has given us eternal comfort, hope and love through grace. 2 Thessalonians 2:16

The scriptures this week again focus our attention on God’s love for us, the limitlessness of God’s love.

The Creator’s yearning to redeem all of his creation.

Each one of us was created by God, chosen and loved by God.  And we will be redeemed by God, not because of our good deeds because we are loved.

God does not want blind obedience, or servants out of fear.  

It our creativity, our ability to love and forgive, our willingness to help each other, our living through him that is desired.

For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living for all live through him.  Luke 20:28.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary readings: Job 19:23-27 a, Psalm 17:1-9, 2 Thessalonian 2:1-5, 13-17, Luke 20:27-38.

Turkey Noodle Soup

We are in between the Canadian and the American Thanksgiving and so it seemed like a good time to make Turkey Soup. 

We never throw out turkey or chicken bones, these go into a soup pot this celery, onions, carrots and enough water to cover everything.  This then sits on the back of the stove simmer for between 8 to 12 hours.  Then drain the turkey broth.  

The amounts of vegetables vary dependent on what is in the fridge. 

If we are not making soup the broth is poured into quart jars and frozen.

When you go to use the broth you adjust the favour.

Ingredients:

• 1-quart turkey broth
• 4 cups water
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion quartered
• 6 bay leaves
• 3 cups of cooked turkey cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cups slices mushrooms
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 4 cups cooked pasta

Directions:

1. In a soup pot bring to a slow simmer the turkey broth, to this add the garlic, bay leaves and onion and simmer for 3 hours. 
2. Remove the garlic, onions and bay leaves
3. To the broth add turkey, mushrooms, peas and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add cooked paste, continue to boil for 2 minutes and serve.

From Our Table to Yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Sharp Edges and Beauty a Wyoming Wilderness

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Take at Pine Bluffs Wyoming

Learn to Do Good

When we do good out of fear of personal punishment or a desire for personal reward are we leaving any room for the spirit of the living Christ to be glorified in us?

When we meet Christ in our daily prayers, in the person of the homeless woman sitting on the sidewalk or in the children of your church community do we rival his gift of love? 

Do we do good to see justice done or do we do good because it is good for us?

There is a difference.

A difference that Zacchaeus understood in that moment of elimination, in the presence of Christ’s love for him.

This week watch your children and grandchildren do good because it is the just and right thing to do.  Like Zacchaeus born anew in Christ’s love, our children hold no status, no power they know only our love for them and from this love their good deeds flow. 

We are also like Zacchaeus prior to his climbing that tree we hold power and status it is our motives for doing good that has come into question.

Like our children and Zacchaeus, do our good deeds flow from the love our Heavenly Father for us?

 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus maybe glorified in you, and you in him. 2 Thessalonians 1:12

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary reading Isaiah 1:10-18, Psalms 32:1-7, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-14, 11-12, Luke 19:1-10.

Apple Cake

October in Ontario means fresh crisp apples are everywhere.  For sale in markets, at pick your own orchards and for really adventurous along roadsides where there is an abundance of wild apple trees.

This week’s recipe is a remake of the family Applesauce Cake.  We are giving credit to all sides of the family because when we were looking through the many handwritten recipe books we have inherited over the years everyone includes an Applesauce Cake.

We have substituted chopped apple for raisins, ginger for cloves and reduced the sugar we have name our cake simply Apple Cake.

Ingredients:

• ½ shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups applesauce
• 2 ½ cups flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• 2 medium tart apples cored, peeled and chopped – you decided how small or large we chopped them into ½ wedges approximately

Directions:

1. Cream shortening and sugar together
2. Beat the two eggs and add to shortening
3. Sift all dry ingredients together including spices
4. Alternate adding the applesauce and dry ingredients to the shortening mix well
5. Add soda and water to batter
6. Add apple pieces
7. Pour into a greased cake pan
8. Bake at 350 F for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean

From Our Table to Yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lonely Life Of A Shepherd

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

taken on Interstate 80 in Wyoming USA 

What Comes Next

Have you ever just wanted the world to stop changing, just for a day, so you can catch up.

The older we get the more change becomes the ever looming shadow in the corner of a dark room, the monster in the closet the thing that keeps you up at night.

How did change become something sinister?

When we are young change does not happen fast enough and we wish we were older. 

Now that we are older change has become something we fear, something we rail against and we begin to reminisce about the good old days.

Yet change is a constant part of the human existence as necessary as air, water, food and love.

Too often as we become grandparents and great grandparents we fight change and in doing so we make our world smaller and smaller until all we have left is our anger at how our bodies, our families, the world has changed and in doing so let us down, abandoned us. 

The reality is we abandoned ourselves, the life we could have had if we had remained open to change, to what comes next.

Change is very frightening and exciting at the same time. 

The best way to stay open to what comes next is to ensure that you participate in the life of your community, church, neighbourhood, your family.

Ask questions, try new things, join groups, most importantly ask for help and take pride in the fact that you belong to people who are ready to help you.

Be mindful of what you are saying no too, how you are closing door of opportunity because you are afraid of change.

At Aunt Elaine’s funeral a young woman easily 40 years younger than Elaine talked about how Elaine would be missed by the young mother’s bible study group.  Elaine attended this group faithfully each week bringing with her cinnamon buns.  

Aunt Elaine embraced change she was open to what came next.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

I have kept the faith

The Pharisee believed he had kept the faith by following all of the religious rules and by doing this he had achieved a position above others in God’s sight ~ he was not keeping the faith.

The tax collector knew he was a sinful man and humbled himself before God, making himself vulnerable to God's judgement.  He knew he could never achieve forgiveness through his actions.  He was keeping the faith he lived a life in the full knowledge of God’s love for him.

How will you be remembered?

What stories will your family pass down about your faith?

Can you call to mind people you know who kept the faith?

What was different about them?

Keeping the faith is not about the words you say it is in your actions and intentions.

Reflect back on what you did yesterday, would your actions mark you as a person who kept the faith?

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary reading for this post: Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22, Psalms 84:1-7, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18: 9-14

Stay Healthy this Flu Season

It is flu season again and at work people are dropping like flies!

Who you ask is getting ill well it is parents and grandparents of young children.  

How as a grandparents  and parents can we not pick up, kiss and cuddle an ill child?  

Yes, we then have to suffer the consequences!

What do the expert say we should do to keep the winter flu bug at bay?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers us three basic steps:

Get your flu vaccine as soon as they are available. 

 Click here for the CDC website

Did you get a flu vaccine this winter? 

The CDC website provides a list of why you should answer yes.

Take everyday preventative actions to stop the spread of germs.  

Click here for the CDC document on everyday prevention

Last year we got the flu from kissing our ill granddaughter.  At the time it seemed like the right thing to do but in hindsight we missed an important teachable moment.  We could have offered her physical comfort and taught her that when we are ill we do not kiss other people.  

Take Flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.  

Click here for the CDC document on antiviral drugs

Grandparents we are joining the high risk category and with flu viruses becoming stronger and stronger these are lessons worth teaching and learning from.

When our grandchildren are ill, if possible, ask their parents to keep them home. 

We can call them on the phone or Skype with them to provide comfort and support.

If you have to provide direct care, which many of do, talk your ill grandchild about the reason you are washing your hands, or using alcohol wipes and in a loving way tell them up front that there will be no kissing and why.

Grandma Snyder

Note: I am not a doctor or an expert on flu please visit the CDC website and vet all medical advice through your physician.

Graphics without a source are from http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

©2013-2016 Twosnydergirls

Turkey Sausage and Vegetable Gratin

Always ready to support a school fundraising event our freezer held a large bag of frozen turkey sausage and it needed to be eaten.  

We could have BBQ sausage on a bun however this is not my favourite meal. 

While we were away we had a potato gratin dish that contained meat and root vegetables so we decided to make a turkey sausage and vegetable gratin.

We hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.

Turkey Sausage and Vegetable Gratin

Ingredients

• 6 - 9 links of your favourite turkey sausage coarsely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 medium onions chopped
• 16 small potatoes coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup cream
• 12 medium radishes coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces of mushrooms coarsely chopped
• 1 lbs of asparagus coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Sauté the chopped sausage and onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until the sausage begins to brown
2. Add the potatoes and sauté for another 5 minutes
3. Place this in a large mixing bowl and stir in the cream
4. Using the same frying pan sauté the mushrooms and radishes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 3 minutes and add to the potato mixture combining well
5. Clean and coarsely chop the asparagus fold this into the potato mixture
6. Pour this in to a 9 x 11-inch greased baking dish
7. Top with the shredded cheddar cheese
8. Cover with tinfoil
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minute
10. Remove the tin foil and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes, the cheese will be golden brown
11. Serve

From Our Table To Yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Water Lilies

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016twosnydergirls

Unchangeable Mindsets

Getting children to try a new food we often bump into an unchangeable mindset. 

Child: “I hate broccoli”

Parent: “You have never tried broccoli”

Child: “I don’t care I hate broccoli”

And without gentle guidance children are at risk of holding this unchangeable mindset well into adulthood no matter how irrational it maybe.

Be mindful of positions where you are not prepared to explore the possibility of change.

Challenge yourself as to the reason. 

You desire to not change your mind maybe very valid and 

you maybe surprised at your motivation as well.

Be open to the possibility of change and keep growing.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016twosnydergirls

Lord Is Your Keeper

We can not know the mind of God nor should we pretend to.

God reveals himself to each of us through the moments of our lives as our need dictates.  If only we make space in our lives to know God’s will for us.

Too often our personal desires, and thoughts take up all the space in our daily lives, our thoughts are too loud and block out the still quiet voice of our Lord.

And worse than that we pretend to know the mind of God and we bend scripture and our faith to come in line with our personal desires and wants.

Here is the problem our desires are rooted in human understanding, and are motivated by human experiences of pleasure, pain, love, hate, greed, lack and competition.

Psalm 121:7 reminds us that it is our eternal souls that God is protecting for all eternity, not necessarily our human experiences.

And when we are mindful in the moments of our lives, of God’s presence, of God’s voice, we find that we are content and filled with joy not matter human experience that we find ourselves in – we have all that we need, we are full.

Following all of scriptural rules and not being mindful of God in our daily lives  we are putting our eternal souls at risk.  

We are placing ourselves in the position of assuming we know the mind of God.

Living in a state of mindfulness for God’s hand in our lives we are humbling ourselves to his will.  

We come to know our Lord as our keeper, we will know we are safe in God’s hands.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary scriptures Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121, 2 Timothy 3:14-5:5, Luke 18:9-14.

Bullet Journal

Late in June while looking through my Facebook feed I came upon a post about bullet journaling.  

Hayley had posted her new weekly spread and as an avid journaler I was very interested.  Hayley directed me to the Bullet Journal.com once there I watched the introductory video and was convinced that I was going to try bullet journaling.

The founder of bullet journaling has Attention Deficit as I do and he set about developing an analog system to keep track of anything he/you might want to.  

As I age the digital tracking systems I keep are getting less and less effective as I am tracking more and more things.

 I was getting lost in all of the things that I am tracking!

Next I started following bullet journalers and found that doodling, writing practice, cursive writing practice, water colours, art, conventional journaling and anything you might write/draw on paper.

Back in the 1980’s I started putting indexes in my journals because I started to write down things I wanted to remember, to track - bullet journaling fits well into how I organize my ideas and thoughts.

If you are interested take a look at the bullet journal website and if you are interested by a journal, look around and start writing.

As the website states Bullet Journaling is

“The analog system for the digital age”

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Metal Comes Alive Part Three - The Eagle

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

The pieces of art can be found at 

2631 Herrgott Rd. St. Clements, Ontario Canada N0B 2M0

We found them on a holiday Monday country drive

Part one the dragon

Part two the wolf