CONTENTMENT~Shabbat Eve 2024; Ocean Park-WA

September 19th: Yesterday was a bit chilly and dark with low-lying gray clouds; but we drove to Cranberry Road to wave watch, anyway - and I'm glad we did, because pelicans touched down mere feet from us :-)

And, the scent on the ocean breeze carried a definite Autumn vibe.

2 Pelicans!

Brown Pelican: 

(https://www.eastsideaudubon.org/corvid-crier/2019/8/5/brown-pelican & https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02300)

Zoomed pic, so we wouldn't scare them away …

15 Cool & Interesting Things About Brown Pelicans:  (https://ca.audubon.org/news/15-cool-and-interesting-things-about-brown-pelicans#:~:text=The%20Brown%20Pelican%20is%20the,a%20beautiful%20and%20intelligent%20flyer.)

Got 'em ;-)

For centuries, birds have been considered spiritual messengers from the universe.

Brown birds - it's believed to symbolize strength, knowledge, and protection. It's a reminder that everything is part of a divine plan and God is watching over you every step of the way.

With three stomachs, pelicans can digest fish, fins, spines, and all. In early church eras, the pelican was believed to pierce its own breast with its beak and feed its young of its blood. It became a symbol of Christ sacrificing himself for man – and because of this was frequently represented in Christian art.

The brown pelican was removed from the federal Endangered Species List in 2009. Brown pelicans now occur in substantial numbers in Washington's outer coastal waters, mainly from late April through October.

While we were sitting there listening to the incoming surf violently smack against the beachfront & watched the colorful kites dance on the chilled breeze, Holland mused about going south next month … or possibly waiting a month out in Tillamook-WA, until maintenance on Betsy is tended to & both hospital bills are paid down: he asked me what I wanted to do - I said I would okay with whatever he decided we should do.

I really am.

Colorful kites; Cranberry Road Access, Long Beach Peninsula-WA

Don't know what the white thing is with flapping fish behind it …

While I am Queen of the Home, Holland is King of the Road: he has traveled the road many times; I trust his judgement on travel judgments.

Repairs on Independence put us way behind road travel schedule, seriously chewed into our savings, and time dragged out until more big $$$ costs need attention before we heed the call to go south.

I'm perfectly fine with cooling our heels a bit longer, if that's what we have to do. I know we'll get to Yuma, eventually … and we'll get there together ;-)

Scorpions - 'When You Came Into My Life' lyrics:  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WfD7nEoAWM)

A renewed commitment from Holland, & a sincere willingness to put US before anyone or anything going forward  … besides, Christ of course, Who is Master over both of us.

Air Supply - 'The Power of Love': 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05kWQFzCD38)

Holland will; but all things will happen in Elohim's timing. We are in no hurry to embrace stress - if we must wait; then we will wait.

After supper, I finished up the little green preemie sacque - and designed a matching hat, to go with it.

Preemie sleep Sacque done. and ready for delivery.

MOD Preemie Hat.

===============

September 20th: Elohim spoke to my heart while I was snoozing this morning: he revealed something to me on a personal level (it just came out of nowhere, and caught me off-guard), and I am mulling over and seeking guidance on it.

I don’t argue with my Father – He knows best what is best for my life.

And I have trusted His Will for my life, all of my life.

So

On a different topic, this time of year, always makes me sleepy: I needed full-strength coffee, so I reached for the ground flavored coffee beans (I will buy LOTS more to store and take with us when we leave WA = there are NO coffee beans available a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e., down South), and perked a pot while Holland caught up on the sleep interrupted around 2 A.M. - Betsy's alarm system had loudly gone off, and Holland was hopelessly awake for 4 hours following that startling happening. We don't know what set it off; Holland checked all around it before falling back into bed … as I got up.

Coffee perkily perking while I was checking my Blog & FB messages, I saw a WW Recipe come up on my feed … so, I got busy making that for a brunch, when Holland gets up later; 2 hours later, the breakfast casserole's aroma wafting through the house gave off warm and cozy feelings of contented domesticity  ;-)

Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole: 

(https://simple-nourished-living.com/slow-cooker-breakfast-casserole/)

I used 4 bacon sliced, chopped; instead of turkey sausage.

I was feeling very content with life in general.

Today dawned bright and sunny, with robin's egg blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

So, this chillin' sunny Sabbath afternoon, I am relaxing - first with wave watching, and companiable convo; then later enjoying a light Supper with my husband … & watching YouTube movies, while finishing up matching hats for the preemie sacques I already worked up.

Watching waves & waiting for 'shooter waves' ;-)

MOD Preemie Hat to match the finished sacque …

Enjoying the gentle Shabbat evening vibes as we set about purposefully creating a home sanctuary.

And giving my whole being a rest - with heartfelt gratitude.

Don Moen - 'Thank You Lord' lyrics: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZLXOa_zARA)

SLOW DOWN~My Ground Beef Shepherd's Pie Recipe; Long Beach Peninsula-WA

September 18th: My lungs have been hurting. I noticed the other night while brushing my teeth, that as I spit into the sink basin … dirty mucus had joined the frothy toothpaste spit: my lungs hurt because I they are in the throes of a bronchitis flareup. Bronchitis and asthma flareups are similar … but they are different lung ailments. Both cause difficulty breathing, and I have dealt with both conditions all of my life: 

Asthma is caused by environmental triggers like allergens, exercise, dust, pollen, mold, smoke, chemicals, and stress. No one is born with asthma, but people can be born with genes that cause weak lungs, which increase the likelihood of developing the lung ailment. There is no cure for asthma, and it can lead to death if not tended to properly. Bronchitis is caused by viruses or bacteria; or by long-term exposure to lung irritants like air pollution, smoking, chemical fumes, and dust. Both my parents smoked heavily - so did my first husband for the first couple years of our life together. I was a social smoker for a while. Acute bronchitis can usually be fully recovered from within a few weeks, though a cough may linger for a few more weeks. Chronic bronchitis, however, cannot be cured, but treatments can help manage symptoms and slow the ailment's progression, and reduce flare-ups.

Is It Asthma, Bronchitis, or Both?https://www.everydayhealth.com/asthma/bronchitis-or-asthma.aspx

I've been taking things easy and slow the past few days. My body has been tiring easily because it's busy fighting to keep me alive - so, I've been sleeping a lot: early to bed most nights, and waking later than usual.

This morning I was up around 7 AM, and had the stove-top-percolator coffee pot (we have a fancy drip coffee maker, but I prefer the percolator ;-)) humming, when Holland staggered out of the bedroom, to join me in my morning coffee hour.

The coffee smelled so good! I had bought coffee beans a couple weeks ago - and ground some of the beans last night; we were both looking forward to this morning's cup of delicious aroma coffee :-)

Coffee also helps loosen mucus in our lungs = morning coffee is a win-win situation, in our household.

After our coffee hour, Holland asked me if I felt up to getting out of the house for a bit. I really didn't - my lungs hurt, but I also didn't want my handicap to hamstring me and keep me housebound, either. Holland understands this about me. An hour out-of-house would be relaxing = relaxing would effectively slow me down; and that's what my body needs right now, to heal itself. There are things that need to get done, in preparation for moving on down the road … but healing needs to happen first.

Holland also offered to drive me to Rosburg tomorrow, if I want to go - but I said I better stay home tomorrow. I have been wanting to go to Bible Study and chat with the girls afterwards … but people are weird about uncontrollable coughing. So, I won't go until I can breathe without choking up: I hope that will happen before we leave the Long Beach Peninsula.

Elohim did well putting Holland in my life - in every way, he is perfect for me (pretty much, 'made to order') - and 99% of the time, he is good for me, and good to me. I'm glad he's decided once and for all, to stick around for a lifetime = it was touch-n-go for awhile, but he's {in for the long haul} now ;-)

We spent time on the beach this morning - but the atmosphere was very somber today; the tide was rolling in high and had swallowed most of the expansive beachfront, and aside from the beach combing birds, the beach was pretty deserted. Normally, there are people and dogs, everywhere.

I think we only saw four people the entire hour we were watching waves.

There were no dogs, but vultures were out today: today's tide was rolling in on higher waves than yesterday … and the beach was littered with clumps of sea weed and a couple dead seals.

Vultures - the beach scenery looked like a dreary Edgar Allen Poe background, today.

Another dead seal … and clumps of sea weed.

We had to drive near the dunes today, because the tide was rolling in high.

We drove the beach from Cranberry Road access, to the Klipsan Beach access = 11 min (7.9 mi) via WA-103 N/Pacific Ave

Ocean Park Beach Access in down by the kites … 2 miles further.

Driving along, we stumbled upon a beach approach we weren't aware of, between Klipsan Beach & Ocean Park - so, we turned into it, and drove to the main highway. That was a nice change of scenery.

When we got home, I started Supper; which was a 2-step process … but it is not a hurry-hurry process, so my body was able to prepare supper in slo-mo activity - which is fine with Holland: he likes to eat late in the day, anyway ;-)

Portable Hot Plate.

The electric appliances are what we cook with when parked at an RV Park (the propane cook stove is used when boondocking); and I use aluminum foil pans for baking because they will not break when we are on the move … and they will not rust like metal or heavier tin-type baking pans.

Plus, the aluminum cooking pans fit my small ovens.

This is a recipe I last made on September 16th, 2018 in my previous life, for my first husband - I have modified it to fit my new life circumstances with my new husband. Holland likes it, so it will be a repeat :-)

In modification, I used 2 Angus Beef patties - broken down (Holland prefers Angus beef, they stack better in the little freezer, and the meat is economical in patty form); and I added peas & garlic, too (just because ;-)).

==MY GROUND BEEF SHEPHERD’S PIE Recipe ~makes 4 servings

This comfort casserole dish is perfect for heralding Fall days :-)

12 ounces ground Beef * 1 cup Beef Broth * 1 teaspoon Salt (salt substitute works fine, too) * Dash grnd. Black pepper * 2 bay Leaves * Dash Thyme leaves * 2 whole Cloves * 1 cup sliced carrots * 1 cup sliced mushrooms * 1 cup diced Celery * 1 cup diced Onions * 1/4 cup Peas * 1/4 cup all-purpose Flour * 1 pound peeled, COOKED Potatoes - mashed * 1 Tablespoon Margarine * ½ cup skim Milk * 3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese * 1 Tablespoon chopped Parsley * 8" Foil baking pan * Cooking Spray

Tonight's Supper Ingredients.

Prepare and boil potatoes. When potatoes are fork tender, mash with margarine, milk, parsley, and cheese. Place in a bowl, and refrigerate.

In a medium saucepan, on medium-high heat, brown the beef until it is no longer pink; drain the cooked beef on a plate over paper towels to eliminate some of the fatty residue.

Breaking the Angus Beef patties down …

Browning & wicking fatty grease from the beef.

Wipe the pan clean, and pour the beef broth into it - along with the seasonings. Add carrots, mushrooms, celery, and onions. Simmer 1 hour (or until veggies are just tender).

Broth, flour, spices, & veggies.

Simmering the beef pie filling …

In a small bowl mix flour and some of the hot beef broth; stirring constantly to form a smooth paste – add to beef and veggies; simmer 5 minutes longer.

About 45 minutes into the simmering beef & veggie; remove the mashed potatoes from the ‘fridge, and allow to soften at room temperature while the shepherd’s pie filling finishes cooking & thickening.

Lightly spray foil baking pan, and spoon blended beef mixture into it.

Top beef mixture with potato mixture: leaving space along the pan edges for steam to escape so there will be no oven messes to clean up.

Mashed Potato mixture spooned & leveled atop the beef pie filling.

Bake at 375-degrees F for 10 minutes - or until heated through … and the potato topping is lightly browned.

CAREFULLY remove casserole from oven (foil pans are not as sturdy as metal or glass pans) - so, to make transfer from oven to countertop easy and safe … slide a dinner plate under the hot foil baking pan to move it from the oven to the hot pad, on the counter top.

PER SERVING: 373 calories; 26 g protein; 17 g fat; 30 g carbohydrate; 916 mg sodium

After Supper dishes were done, I paced myself while I worked on finishing the sleeves to the little preemie sacque I started a few days ago:

Working these little sacque sleeves 'in the round' using 4 DBL point needles.

24 rows 'in the round' - 10 sts-10 sts-10 sts to EA needle.

Today was a good day :-)

I was tired when I woke up - I am still tired as I post this Blog Post; but I am also glad Holland got me out of the house for a bit … where my painful, struggling lungs, could soak up fresh air. And I am thankful Elohim has graced me with the strength needed to comfort my husband with a satisfying meal … and strength to end the day in a favorite relaxing way.

I have a good God.

I have a good husband.

I have a good Life.

All is well with my soul, and my Life is good.

SOMETHING STRANGE; & My Chicken Pot Pie w-Cornmeal Topping Casserole Recipe~Long Beach-WA

I have been craving chicken pot pie … so, that's what was in my thoughts when I woke up this morning; it's a simple meal to warm the spirit and body when arriving Fall's crisp nip is felt on the air. I'd have to go to the store to get some chicken broth - and Holland suggested we drive to the beach while headed in that direction.

We are scheduling more relaxing moments in our days; other than check-out time when it's time to pack up and mosey down the highway, there's no real hurry to anything our days hold for us.

I'm game for anything that tames the stressors beast; we're back on track again, and want things to stay that way.

Driving down Bay Avenue in Ocean Park, Holland turned up the radio when Berlin's song, "Take My Breath Away" song, came over the air waves. He said, "You might know this song." I was quiet for a few minutes before I replied, "Yes. I know it." I had mentioned earlier this month that September thru December are hard memories for me. Last year they weren't too hard to get through, but this year, with all the chaos, the hard memories are hard. I was keeping my tone light because I don't want the Past to tread too heavily on the Present during these hard weeks, but Holland knows me pretty well by now. He asked, "Memories?" I said, "Yes." And he simply said, "Okay. I'll just turn the radio off for now." I was okay with that. I said, "I'm sorry. I do like that song, but that song is connected to the Past: I'm trying to build a cache of songs that fit our Life together." He's okay with that.

A lot of damage was done this past July, that make the hard memories harder. And Holland is trying hard to make things right. Loving a widow is not an easy task - careless words and the threat of abandonment catapults our emotions back in time … to when our special person was suddenly gone and we were abruptly and callously cut off from those living, that we thought would be there for us in our darkest hours. Instead, angry words, and ridiculous accusations, were flung at us; and we were quickly abandoned when familial ties were abruptly severed. It took me a very long time to heal, and build a survival life. I am careful about who I let close to me. I am careful about who holds my heart. A lot of angry damage was done in July: Holland was not considerate, or careful, with my heart. Even with forgiveness, and focused rebuilding … the innocence and first blush of new love has been seriously bruised: it will take time for me to trust again. To heal again. He says, "That was a long time ago"; I say, "Three months is not that long ago: things came to  a head in July, but it's been a long year getting to July's ordeal."

My circle is very small - my tribe is very selective. When I allow someone into my circle deep enough to marry them and weave them into the fabric of my tribe, it's a very big deal. I have only given my heart to 2 men in my entire life; I never played the relationship games some people relish; I take commitment seriously. It takes time to rebuild trust. It takes time to feel secure in a challenging marriage. Widows are not like other spouses - we have gone through the deepest heart wrench, and chaotic life experience, imaginable. We view life differently now. We feel differently. We react differently. We expect differently. We quickly get disoriented when the ground under our feet keeps shifting - brain fog sets in again, and our emotions get caught in the yo-yoing boomerang effect again. We do not want people playing emotional games with us. Stable footing is important to us; chaos is not a welcome companion. We crave calm. We need a peaceful environment.

Holland understands that now. And he is diligently working at righting the wrongs.

Cody Johnson - 'I Ain't Going Nowhere Baby' song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjDHmZHXF24)

I understand his angsts better now. I truly have forgiven the hurts. And I am diligently working towards a stronger union, too.

Our marriage is a strange experience for both of us; our song cache will be a mixed bag.

These songs fit our Present:

Bryan Adams - 'Everything I Do' song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0pdQU87dc8

Metallica - 'Nothing Else Matters' song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkj6-LN6WKI

Scorpions - 'Still Loving You' song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UVO7BMUQzQ

Nicolette Larson - 'Lotta Love' song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpFfjWdhROU

When we got to the beach, we saw that the kites riding the ocean winds today, were not the same as yesterday.

Some were huge. Some were smaller. A few were strangely unidentifiable … but they were all colorful ;-)

We also saw a strange jellyfish blob - and noticed that the blobs were stranded on the sand up and down the beach, in both directions.

More kites at the beach, today; the dragon caught my eye, then the parrot, sea horses, alligator, centipede …

Cannonball jellyfish blobs littered the beach in every direction.

The Cannonball jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris) lives in tropical to semi-tropical saltwater estuaries and coastal shorelines in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico: (https://coastalgadnr.org/cannonball-jellyfish#:~:text=in%20weight-,Habitat,water%2C%20usually%20by%20the%20shoreline.)

Holland said it was strange that the jellyfish hadn't been picked to pieces by the flocks of seagulls; I said that the birds probably know that jellyfish pack a powerful sting - even dead, washed-up jellyfish can sting.

On the way home, I bought the broth necessary to make tonight's supper meal, and a cucumber for the salad meal planned for tomorrow.

It feels good to be cooking meals for a husband again :-)

For tonight's meal, I used a portable hot plate & "do-it-all" counter top oven.

Chicken Pot Pies are normally made with pie crust … but, I chose to make my pie as a casserole with a cornbread topping: I've never done this before (nor seen a recipe like this). It is strangely different, but just as tasty. Chicken and cornbread just naturally go together :-)

Holland likes this meal (I'm glad), so it's a repeat.

==MY CHICKEN POT PIE w-CORNMEAL TOPPING CASSEROLE ~serves 2 or 3

1 TBSP Butter * 1 TBSP all-purpose Flour * 1 tsp. Salt (I used a salt substitute) * dash of grnd. Black Pepper * dash of grnd. Thyme * 1/4 c. Chicken Broth (homemade, or bullion) * 1/4 c. light Cream * 1 Chicken Breast, boned, & cubed * 1/2 c. frozen Peas * 1 small carrot, peeled & diced * 1 medium-size cooking potato, diced * 1/2 Onion, diced (red, white, or yellow; your choice) * 1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced * 1 box of Jiffy Cornmeal Muffin Mix * 1/3 c. milk * 1 egg

Chicken Pot Pie ingredients …

Spray the bottom of a small skillet with cooking oil, and slowly cook the chicken over low heat; remove from heat when cooked through.

In a medium cooking pot melt butter over Low heat; stir in the broth & cream.

In a measuring cup, blend the flour & seasonings until smooth - add to the butter mixture in the pot, and turn the heat up to medium-high: boil for 1 minute, or until the sauce thickens to a light gravy texture.

Portable Hot Plate.

Sauce cooking.

Remove pan from heat; add chicken bits and veggies, & gently stir until thoroughly mixed.

Blending veggies with sauce …

Prepare the Cornmeal Muffin mix according to package directions, and pour over chicken pie filling.

Lightly spray foil baking pan, and add blended chicken mixture; spread the cornmeal mixture over the top, leaving space along the pan edges for steam to escape so there will be no oven messes to clean up.

Casserole ready for the oven.

And into the Oven, it went; 425-degrees = 40  mins.

Carefully place chicken pie casserole in the oven, and cook at 425-degrees for 20 minutes (check topping, & cover with foil so it does not get over browned). Continue cooking casserole 15 to 20 minutes more (ovens are different - check casserole after 35 minutes to see how the veggies are coming along; if you need to add more minutes, that's okay = do not bake more than 40 minutes).

I covered the cornbread after the first 20 minutes.

CAREFULLY remove casserole from oven (foil pans are not as sturdy as metal or glass pans) - a few days ago, Holland showed me how to slide a dinner plate under the hot foil baking pan to move it from the oven to the hot pad, on the counter top: I was a little nervous doing that tonight … but it went well, and the whole thing was shifted without a snafu ;-)

The weird design is from the cooking sheet I covered the topping with; but otherwise, the casserole was delish ;-)