The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
- Carl Jung

All there is is now not what happened yesterday’s ride or what will next weekend’s ride be like. Everytime we take off I say “here we go , best ride ever”.

.We all strive for this promising moment where we find that true bond that is stronger then love. Only horses can give us the fulfilling magic. This magic can be instant; it may be discovered the second your eyes meet their devoted eyes. Or it may not be realised until you first make it through that tough show. Such was the case with Alle

Whenever or wherever it is revealed, treasure it forever, for you may not find the special magic with every horse you affectionately ride or take care of. Take every breathtaking chance you have to live these excitedly shared moments. Memories of magic

Through the eyes of a horse, you learn all your horse wants is love. In the eyes of a horse, you see it wants to be near you always. You know that you’re not alone when you’re lonely. You know that your horse will give you a hug without physically touching. And you know he touches your soul. During hard times, you look in his eyes and feel better.

Just another way of communicating… look in his eyes.. what’s he saying? Have you looked into your horses eyes lately? Next time you go to see your loving mount, give him or her a loving hug.

I remember hearing the “Serenity Prayer” as a young “whippasnappa” the first time from my father… It’s helped alot when I get real anxious.

There are those days and times however, that serenity, courage and wisdom are all tested and in question.

Grant Me The Serenity To Accept
Things I Cannot Change. The Courage
To Change The Things I Cannot Accept
And The Wisdom To Hide The Bodies Of
Those I Had To Kill Today Because They
Got On My Nerves, And Also Help Me To
Be Careful Of The Toes I Step On Today
As They May Be Connected To The Feet
I May Have To Kiss Tomorrow.
Help Me Always To Give 100% At Work.

12% On Monday

23% On Tuesday

40% On Wednesday

20% On Thursday

5% On Friday

And Help Me To Remember When I’m
Having A Bad Day And It Seems That
People Are Trying To Wind Me Up,
It Takes 42 Muscles To Frown,
28 To Smile…………………………….
And Only Four To Extend My Arm
And Smack Someone In The Mouth!!!

There now dont you feel better…  I do.  Now go take on the day!

I didnt grow up around horses… the only thing I knew from horses was watching The Kentucky Derby each May and reading Flicka.  Things changed quickly when we got here.

Gazi continues to bring out the horsewoman within struggling to get out… I’m still getting used to the “Arabian” constitution. in the continuing quest for focus, balance (can you say stay upright)” and discovery And while I”m still finding my seat… I’m trusting him more, he’s trusting me more.

We’ve discovered that while we thought Brady Dan’s horse had nothingbut disdain for her new “younger brother’ in the herd… alas they are very bonded. Patrick has us doing major “separation” exercises while we’re out.. causing more than a little worry for each of them… especially Brady.. But He is less agitated when he’s worried, and it’s easier to get his mind back with me.

Another change is that I am seeing him more for who he is, not just what he looks like. There is quite some complexity and insecurity and determination and willingness beneath that attractive Arab appearance. So I continue to discover the horsewoman within…

You might just be a horseperson if

…your horse gets new shoes more often than you do.
…your mouth waters at the sight of a truck full of hay.
…every time you drive past a road construction sight you think what nice jumps the barricades would make.
…you consider a golf course as a waste of good pasture land.
…your friends no longer ask to get together after school/work or on a weekend because they know you’ll say, “I can’t, I have to ride.”
…you pull a $17,000 horse trailer with a $1,000 pick-up truck.
…you buy duct tape by the case, and carry rolls in your pocketbook, briefcase, backpack, and car trunk.
…you realize finding a horse shoe is truly lucky because you’ve saved ten bucks.
…your boyfriend complains that you love your horse more than you love him and you say: “And your point is..?”
…someone does something nice for you and you pat them on the neck and say ‘good boy’.
…you try to get by someone is a restricted space and instead of saying “excuse me” to him/her, you cluck at them instead.
…you show up for an appointment in your city clothes and when you get there people reach across the table to pick alfalfa out of your hair.
…no one wants to ride in your car because they’ll get sweet feed and hay in their socks and on their clothes…but that’s ok because you’ll have to rearrange all the tack to make room for them anyway!
…you look at all the piles of laundry sitting next to your washing machine and most of them are breeches, horse blankets, saddle pads, etc…. but you don’t even care about the horsey hair residue that will be left in your washer and dryer.
…you say “whoa” to the dog.
…your mother, who has no grandchildren, gets cards addressed to Grandma, signed by the horses and dogs.
…you see the vet more than your child’s pediatrician.
…you groom your horse daily for hours and you haven’t seen a beautician since…?
…someone asks for a screwdriver and you hand them a hoof pick.
…you clean tack after every ride but you never, ever, wash the truck.
…on rainy days, you organize the tack room, not the house.
…you can remember worming schedules, lessons, and farrier visits in your head, but often forget your class schedule, household chores, and meals.
…you are unreasonably pleased to get a horse item, ANY horse item, as a gift.
…you actually get to a point where flies don’t bother you that much anymore.

Here we go.. .best ride ever I say to myself just before I put on my helmet (aka brain bucket).  Trot on friends, trot on.

Or a day in the life of an innkeeper.

Forget what you saw on Newhart, that ’80s sitcom about an innkeeper who seems to spend most of the day lounging. Dan and I have found our complementary strengths, so we wear all the hats”. Still you’res on the go 12 hours a day and is lucky to get six hours of sleep a night.

I’ve found the key to productivity for me… is the more i do , the more I do… Have a plan and then it’s go with the flow chart time

First Up: Perfunctory run with Manker.. .we both need to get out… get the horses in for their morning breakfast.. .thisis a bed and breakfast after all.

Second up: fixing the washer.

Dan and I (OK, Dan alone, with me watching) take the machine apart and discover the culprit: a ripped hose. We’ll need a replacement, and soon Dan races north to the closest store that has one — 20 miles away.

I’m left behind to arrange fresh flowers for the dining room. Already, I’m falling behind on the day’s chores. By now, I should have prepared registration cards for check-ins. And at some point I must get into the kitchen for the weekly menu “fire up the ovens” routine. Still waiting for Dan to come back, I instinctively go re-clean the toilets… cathartic.

As an aside, we remodeled the inn, can you say “gutted it and started again” and just before we moved in we had a well known local cleaner come in and give it a top to bottom cleaning. Nothing worse than moving all your belongings into a new home only to have to get into everything and clean it. Best to clean an empty nest. To this day, I owe her a debt of gratitude. Periodically we have some of her staff in here prior to or apres guests for a clean up. “It’s not too bad,” she says when asked what it’s like to work at a bed-and-breakfast. “I guess this is what it’s like to be a housewife.”

A housewife on steroids, maybe. I go over the “game plan” for when each breakfast item needs to go in the oven (critical, , when serving up to 14 people a day). And there’s another chart showing the dietary constraints of each guest. Tomorrow, one guest is a vegetarian. Another doesn’t eat eggs.

Excuse me, just had to take that last phone call; a reservation .. folks coming from Boston .. .via Yellowstone and staying for two nights. Pre-requisite and fun schmoozing and yes… booked. They too are looking to transition their jobs and lifestyle to Montana. I’m telling you this really is the last best place

Guests or no guests, kitchen cleaning is non-ending. You also have to be a part time fix-it type since Murphy tends to rear his head at most inopportune time. Here’s thirteen enlightening cleaning tips

Tip 1: DOOR LOCKS If a room clearly can’t be whipped into shape in 30 days, much less 30 minutes, employ the Locked Door Method of cleaning. Tell anyone who tries to go in the room that you accidentally locked the door and can’t find the key. Of course, the locksmith can’t possibly come until tomorrow. CAUTION: It is not advisable to use this tip for the bathroom. Time: 2 seconds

Tip 2: DUCT TAPE No home should be without an ample supply. Not only is it handy for plumbing repairs, but it’s a great way to hem drapes, tablecloths, clothes, just about anything. No muss, no fuss. Time: 2-3 minutes

Tip 3: OVENS If you think ovens are just for baking, think again. Ovens represent at least 9 cubic feet of hidden storage space, which means they’re a great place to shove dirty dishes, dirty clothes, or just about anything you want to get out of sight when company’s coming. Time: 2 minutes

Tip 4: CLOTHES DRYERS Like Secret Tip 3, except bigger. CAUTION: Avoid hiding flammable objects here. Time: 2.5 minutes

Tip 5: WASHING MACHINES & FREEZERS Like Secret Tip 4, except even bigger. Time: 3 minutes

Tip 6: DUST RUFFLES No bed should be without one. Devotees of Martha Stewart believe dust ruffles exist to keep dust out from under a bed or to help coordinate the colorful look of a bedroom. The rest of us know a dust ruffle’s highest and best use is to hide whatever you’ve managed to shove under the bed. (Refer to Secret Tips 3, 4, 5.) Time: 4 minutes

Tip 7: DUSTING The 30-Minutes-To-A-Clean-House method says: Never dust under what you can dust around. Time: 3 minutes

SECRET TIP 8: DISHES Don’t use them. Use plastic or paper plates and you won’t have to. Time: 1 minute

Tip 9: IRONING If an article of clothing doesn’t require a full press and your hair does, a curling iron is the answer. In between curling your hair, use the hot wand to iron minor wrinkles out of your clothes. Yes, it really does work, or so I’m told, by other disciples of the 30-Minutes-To-A-Clean-House philosophy. Time: 5 minutes (including curling your hair)

Tip 10: VACUUMING Stick to the middle of the room, which is the only place people look. Don’t bother vacuuming under furniture. It takes way too long and no one looks there anyway. Time: 5 minutes, entire house; 2 minutes, living room only

Tip 11: LIGHTING The key here is low, low, and lower. It’s not only romantic, but bad lighting can hide a multitude of dirt. Time: 10 seconds

Tip 12:: BED MAKING Get an old-fashioned waterbed. No one can tell if those things are made up or not, saving you, oh, hundreds of seconds over the course of a lifetime. Time: 0

Tip 13: SHOWERS, TOILETS, AND SINKS Forget one and two. Concentrate on three. Time: 1 minute

There’s a lot more to running an inn than baking muffins, That’s why it’s great to be a husband/wife team where while Dan does alot of cooking I do the housekeeping, bookkeeping, marketing and ranch stuff. (except for the real heavy duty work that needs to get done around a ranch) . except when I’m cleaning.

Trot on friends, trot on.

“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time.
Sometimes this makes planning the day difficult” -E.B. White

If you want to watch G-d laugh, have a plan… especially with your horses. They dont know from schedules… all their is is now… Another great lesson they teach me. I think G-d teaches great lessons through his animal kingdom

I like quotes, phrases and mottos, because they can contain wisdom and lessons in a few words. . They’re no good unless you share them. Which brings me to another in my sometime series.

The 10 Commandments from the spirit of Horses
1. Thou shalt trot a mile in your fellow man’s hooves. If you treat everyone you meet as if they are hurting in some way, you’ll be right most of the time.
2. Thou shalt remember: you aren’t what you do. If you are what you do, then when you don’t, you aren’t.
3. Thou shalt do it now. There are so few tomorrows.
4. Thou shalt remember, horses reveal, when we are truly ready to listen.
5. Thou shalt treat money like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.”
6. Thou shalt know it is not enough for a man to learn how to ride; he must learn how to fall..”
7.Thou shalt shut thine eyes our eyes tight and commend yourself to G-d when purchasing a horse or taking a spouse.
8. Thou shalt not need a title or braggin’ rights to enjoy riding my horse long distances.
9. Thou shalt remember the innate qualities of our horse even when he’s not listening. “The horse has the pride of a lion, the eye of a deer, the speed of a gazelle, the strength of an ox, the loyalty of a soldier, and the heart of a woman. He has brought the country doctor to the day of our birth, cleared our roads, and plowed the fields that feed us. He has carried us as children across an open meadow, and, finally, when our time is done, pulled the wagon that takes us to our final resting place. He is with us always.”
10. Horse, thou art truly a creature without equal, for thou fliest without wings and conquerest without sword.

The horse is G-d’s gift to man
- Arabian Proverb
Trot on friends, trot on.

It’s no coincidence that most frugal people are environmentally conscious, and vice versa. Frugal lifestyle choices tend to be environmentally friendly choices. What a win - win.. for your pocketbook and the planet. It’s almost impossible to be concerned about the environment without taking actions that lessen your own impact on the enviro.. Ah grasshopper, the circle of life, it’s all connected . True frugality is not just about saving money, although that’s often the most noticeable benefit and the reason people initially “go frugal.” To me frugality involves reusing whatever I can. Frugality also involves turning the water off when I brush my teeth, doing most of my laundry in cold water, hanging it up to dry, keeping my thermostat turned down, combining my errands to save on gas, keeping lights off if at all possible, and using fluorescent light bulbs whenever I can. By doing these things both my purse and the planet can hopefully see a “darker shade of green”.

So how easy is it to improve the environment and your bottom line simultaneously? Here are ten frugal changes you can make that also benefit the environment.

1. Use homemade cleansers rather than commercial preparations: Commercial cleansers are overpriced, over packaged, and full of harsh chemicals. There are very few cleaning projects that baking soda, vinegar, and water cannot handle. These ingredients are inexpensive and easy on the environment. Recipes are widely available online and in books about frugality.

2. Switch to cloth whenever possible: Reusable cloth napkins, diapers, and cleaning rags are all kinder to the environment than disposable. Cloth creates less waste and requires fewer resources to manufacture than disposable or paper products. Cloth items are also less expensive over the life of the item than their disposable counterparts. Take reusable cloth bags to the store.

3. Buy used whenever possible: Buying used from yard sales, thrift shops, and consignment stores means that no additional resources went into making your item, and you’ve prevented the used item from ending up in a landfill prematurely. Used items are generally much less expensive than new, saving you money. Want to take this one step further? Borrow or rent items rather than buying when possible. Organize a neighborhood tool or craft supply swap, visit your local library and borrow books, or rent movies and games rather than buying. You’re helping the environment by using existing items, and you’re saving yourself even more money by not buying. Can you say “Goodwill”? Pun intended!

4. Use Mother Nature’s free utilities: If you’re allowed to have a clothesline, get one and use it. Let the sun dry your clothes for free. Even if you can’t have a clothesline, indoor drying racks work just as well. Use nature to your advantage in other ways. Open your windows for air rather than cranking up the AC. In the winter, open your blinds to get some free heat. Collect rainwater and use it for watering your garden and flowers. You’ll be using fewer resources and lowering your utility bills in the process.

5. Take up “>gardening, but don’t use commercial pesticides or fertilizers: Growing some of your own food will save you money and result in healthier, less processed food. You’ll save even more money by composting for fertilizer and using natural pest control techniques, such as introducing repelling insects and plants into your garden. These methods are both frugal (almost free, even) and environmentally friendly.

6. Consume fewer resources: There are many ways to conserve electricity, water, natural gas, and gasoline. Simply turning off unused lights and checking for leaky faucets are good places to start with electricity and water. Driving the speed limit and maintaining your car are simple ways to save fuel. Check online, in books about frugality, and with your utility for more conservation ideas. Each idea you implement not only conserves more resources, but saves you more money as well.

7. Innkeeper’s Tip: Learn to cook from scratch: You’ll eat healthier without all the preservatives, and homemade foods are much less expensive than processed foods. The guests appreciate it too ! And think of all the packaging you’ll keep out of the landfills if you cut down your use of over packaged, individually wrapped foods.

And Time is on your side, for 51 more things you can do to save the environment

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. ~Jewish Proverb

Mother’s Day is a nice holiday, but it isn’t quite one of those cushy weekday government holidays when folks get to sleep late, the banks are closed, and there’s no mail delivery. Still, the second Sunday in May is put aside for everyone to honor poor old Mom.

As a kid, I never could figure out why there wasn’t a Daughter’s Day or maybe a Twin’s Day or something so that I could get flowers, candy, cash, and maybe that cool new ping pong table we saw at Big 5 – so I could kick brother older bro Jeff’s butt at something

Sure, I figured my momma was deserving of a special day, I mean, she worked long hours and still managed to cook supper for the five of us most nights, No accident her nickname was “LS”, Lazy Squaw. Money was tight and she made sure we had nice clean clothes to wear – albeit she made us iron our clothes and wear half-slips under our skirts to temple.

All through history, people set aside a day to honor mothers. Natives danced in their birthday suits around trees, the early English had a Mothering Sunday and gave Dear Mom a ‘Mothering Cake,’ and here in the U.S. after constant nagging from suffragists and moms everywhere, President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day a national observance every year.

Moms have always nurtured, sacrificed, and baked cakes for their offspring. Just take a look at Jesus’ mom Mary — she’s so famous that if your buttermilk biscuit looked like her, you could sell it on eBay and earn a small fortune.

With all the motherly rearing comes motherly advice. I always wondered if Mary got frustrated with Jesus and said, “Shut that door, were you born in a barn?” Or if the founder of the Home Depot store’s mom told him, “Move out of the way, you make a better door than a window!”

I can’t count the times “LS” told me:

• “Don’t make that face/cross your eyes or it’ll freeze like that!”

• “What do you think — money grows on trees?”

• “Did we get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

• “Finish up the old before you start the new!” That included bread that had been in the bread drawer 3 weeks.

• “Don’t make me come back there!”

• “How many times do I have to tell you – NO!”

• “If all your friends jumped in a lake, would you jump too?”

• “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.”

• “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.”

There were several suggestions she had regarding food:

• “We have two choices on tonight’s menu: take it or leave it.”

• “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.”

• “You know what the best diet is??? Push yourself away from the table.”

• “You ate all that? You must have a hollow leg!”

And you know she had something to say about hygiene:

• “Don’t put that in your mouth – there’s no tellin’ where it’s been!”

• “Always wear clean underwear, ya never know when you’ll be in an accident.”
Not to mention, she taught me logic like ” If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me.”
L.S. also taught me medicine - like, “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to freeze that way.” and of course
she taught me to meet a challenge- “Where’s your brother and don’t talk with food in your mouth. Answer me!”

Yes, moms are special and they really deserve a day to be honored, Consider yourself lucky if you have two parents or even just one. As daddy used to say, “if you didnt have a father/mother, we’d have to go out and buy you one”. Parental units aren’t perfect, but chances are, no one will ever love you the same way.

Especially if you act the way you did.

As Gaynor and I (aka Team Canter) make our final equine preparations for our endurance ride at roundup Montana in the next weekend, we also have the “camping” extravaganza to prepare for too

As with weddings and tax-evasion, an journey to a backwoods trail demands that attention be paid to what seems like a myriad of details. Even among seasoned hikers there is no such thing as immunity to forgetfulness, while for the novice, simple lack of experience necessitates a near-compulsive attentiveness while planning, as often enough, even seemingly obvious points of note can go woefully overlooked. I know getting ready for this ride, I’ve printed out the quintessential “what to bring to a ride list” only to read and re-read til I have it indelibly etched in my brain. And still I worry I’m gonna for get something important.

That Hill Looked Flatter on Paper . . .

Never fails to happen. he problem though, is that when most initiate backpackers first pour over a park map, they focus on the indicated length of the trail, and not the terrain it runs over. Always remember: Most park-maintained trails are designed to offer the path of moderate resistance, and that winding red line measures the distance from A to B as the crow flies – while you’ll be walking.

A 10-mile trail traversing a park’s hill-strewn highland region can easily be more difficult than a than a 15-kilometer (9.3 miles) route through gently rolling terrain. Attention must be paid to the topographic contour lines that overlay the indicator for the trail itself, yet they are so often and easily overlooked by someone judging a trail’s difficulty on horizontal distance alone.

Cutting Weight Versus Cutting Corners

Anyone who’s ever carried so much as a schoolbag on their back knows that lighter is the way to go, but some kit pieces are unquestionably worth the extra poundage. This is particularly important to keep in mind, as a few of these are often among the heavier items you’ll need along with you. Back to my original theory… “less is more”.

Forgetfulness isn’t so much a problem here as is inexperience – know what’s mandatory and when looking to shed weight, give a thought toward Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Food, water and shelter above all else, followed then by what’s required for basic safety. In other words, whatever you do away with, adequate food, a means of producing heat (matches, flint, etc.) water and a pot to boil more in, clothing, tent and sleeping roll suited for nighttime temperatures and a first-aid kit all form the immutable core of your gear – look elsewhere when lightening the load.

Partners In Crime

The larger the group the better, and where a two-member party is the minimum, four would be truly ideal. This offers numerous advantages, including the dispersal of weighty communal items (cookware, tents, etc.) an increased party-presence that will help ward-off unwanted wildlife, and the reduced chance that a disaster along the trail will leave one member alone and immobilized while another goes back for help.

The Three Most Neglected Items . . .

Knife: There’s a reason why the first tools ever wielded had cutting edges. For all intents and purposes, a sturdy, sharpened knife will be one of the most oft-reached for items in your pack.

Matches: It’s the worst feeling in the world to sit hunched before your carefully included stove or readied kindling, only to realize you’ve forgotten a means of igniting it. On their first trip beyond car-camping, no one wants to find themselves re-enacting Quest for Fire . . . or Alive, for that matter.

Rope: You’ll be setting lines for your tent, binding things to the outside of your pack, stringing food high up in the trees at night, erecting tarps between fire and falling rain, replacing severed bootlaces . . . in short, you’ll need rope, preferably about 100 feet worth of the polypropylene variety.

Perhaps most important of all things to remember is that when embarking on any journey into great outdoors, camping, care and consideration are paramount, as barring that of Nature, the most common Law in the life of a hiker, trail rider or runner is, often enough, that of Murphy.

Camping checklists can vary depending on the length of the camping trip, size of the group, and your priorities … but here’s where you can find more than the ABC’s of camping and your outdoor extravaganzas.

Time to hit the road and git ‘r done. See you on the other side. Happy trails

Kitchen gadgets aren’t just for cooking experts. Sure you can go overboard; after all, there are virtually thousands of contraptions to choose from. But here’s a list of some really useful kitchen gadgets you can buy for mom—and each one is under $50!

1. Silicone Oven Mitt: These babies are hot in kitchens right now. They can withstand temps up to 500 degrees and you can toss them in the dishwasher for an easy cleaning. Target these babies by Orka You will also find trivets made out of the same silicone, too. So useful!
2. Pepper Mill: If you’re still shaking pepper out of a plastic jar, you are missing out on a whole world of spice with fresh milled pepper. There’s tremendous variety to choose from: some are tiny and also sport a section with salt, others are 2 feet tall , and a bunch are even battery powered and do the milling for you. I prefer manual grinding with a simple twist of the wrist in a see-thru acrylic material that is easy to clean
3. Knife Sharpener: If you keep wondering why you’re ripping your tomatoes apart when slicing them, it’s because your knives are dull. I love this particular knife sharpener because it’s simple to use and it has no moving parts such as little wheels. Just three or four flicks of the blade through this and you’ll be slicing pretty again.
4. Wine Bottle Opener: Forget those crazy old fashioned corkscrews that leave you wrecking the cork and leaving bits of it in your wine. This full-proof opener works with a simple flick of the handle.
5. Silicone Basting Brush: This handy brush is wonderful when you’ve got to brush olive oil on a chicken, sweep egg white on a pie shell or a whole host of other important little tasks. Tons better than using one of those wooden brushes with bristles. Those darned bristles always shed and are nearly impossible to keep clean. Just pop the silicone brush into your dishwasher and you’ve got zilch to worry about.
6. Automatic Sugar Dispenser: If you drink coffee every day you’ll love this thing. No mess, no fuss—just push the button and an exactly measure ½ teaspoon falls into your cup of brew. Want more? Just push the button to clean; that’s it. And it’s easy to refill, too. Kinda fun for the person that needs a little taste of sugar each day, but doesn’t want to go overboard!
7. The Teastick: Perfect for that afternoon spot of tea. It holds loose tea leaves tight and allows them to steep in hot water. Must be some scones out there somewhere.

And yes. there are some scones bakin’ for that afternoon tea (or breakfast for that matter!) right here from Recipezaar

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg white, additional sugar for top

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Cut in butter to coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in raisins and buttermilk.
4. Stir just until moistened.
5. Place on floured surface,knead a few times (6-8).
6. Pat into an 8in circle,cut into 12 wedges.
7. Place on greased cookie sheet.
8. Beat egg white until foamy, brush scones.
9. Sprinkle with sugar.
10. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Top with jam of choice

Tons more kitchen gadgets and tools here.. you’re only limited by your imagination.. or your budget and storage room.

Trot on friends, trot on.

Lord, I lift Your name on high;
Lord, I love to sing Your praises;
I’m so glad You’re in my life;
I’m so glad You came to save us. You came from Heaven to earth;
To show the way,
From the earth to the cross,
My debt to pay,
From the cross to the grave,
From the grave to the sky;
Lord, I lift Your name on high!

I sang this worship song both recently at church and in the past at our synagogue. Regardless of the rendition, I’m uplifted for days after I hear and sing it. It becomes one of those songs you ” cant get out of your head.” It becomes a “mantra” as it were since I tend to repeat the stanzas without really “thinking” about it. I’ll do that when I’m waiting for my class to go at a show or if I’m tacking GaZi for a ride. and I’m feeling a little nervous. The gift of song is a precious connection for me to G-d.

And while this one doesn’t refer to G-d as “He” , notice I said “He”. If I said praise the lord for “She” is good, well, i think we all know the reaction I would get from our esteemed male population . God, I think, has to be a male .. or maybe not? . Take a look at the Bible. He created men first, Adam… maybe that’s when “L-rd let there be light” came into being… What ever was He thinking? Think of names in the bible, now think of male names. Lets see, David, Peter, John, and it goes on. Now let’s think of Womens names. Mary, Eve….uh, there was probably a Donna or a Susan in there somewhere. But I digress.

The Lord God, or Jesus, or both, created the world with the blink of an eye. It took him six days, and supposedly he rested on the seventh. “On the eight day, God had a cocktail.” But as I said to my father when I was “knee high to a grasshopper” after Hebrew School… it’s all different roads to the same G-d.” I think I’ll go sing a Psalm of David.. hmmm or would that be Donna? Works for me.

Do I hear an amen?