Lots of random thoughts going through my mind today.
I already mentioned my mother's birthday which was Tuesday this week. I decided to make her cake after all, it was just the thing to do and because my 9x13 pan was in the sink soaking off the baked on BBQ sauce from the ribs this week, I pulled out her old round cake pans that have the lever (for lack of a better word) that slides around the pan to loosen the cake. They don't make 'em like that anymore...I always thought that was so cool, so much so that I found some at a garage sale and bought each of my daughter's a set. Both girls took them for a while and then returned them saying they would never use them. 😮 I saved them for a while but when my daughter began to complain about how much stuff I had I decided to let the garage sale pans go. My mother's pans will have to be pulled from my cold, dead hands LOL!
This is an Oatmeal Cake. Funny story...I was recently chatting with my brother online, we don't talk much...haven't talked much...ever. Anyway, we were chatting about things Mom used to cook and he was asking for some of her recipes. I asked him if he remembered Oatmeal Cake and he said no but that he remembered her spice cake. I didn't remember any spice cake but got to thinking maybe he meant the Oatmeal Cake after all. I asked him about the frosting because the frosting on Oatmeal Cake is very different and he said that was the spice cake. I then had to laugh out loud because I remembered my Mom telling him it was spice cake because she knew he wouldn't eat it if he knew it's real name! I even remembered her telling me it was our secret. Oh the memories that story brought back. My brother was a bit put out that I had kept that secret all these years, but honestly, I had forgotten about it. Oddly enough there are many people I serve this cake to that won't take it because of it's name. The same holds true for my Oatmeal Pie. Their loss.
Technology has not been kind to me this week. Has anyone else recently tried to change the background on their blog? I tried again last night and still no go. I do not understand why this won't work. I even went to a different background site and the same thing happened so it must be an issue with blogger. I will try again when I'm finished posting this.
A while ago...probably a long while ago now, I posted about taking some friends from church on an organ crawl to several of the organs in our area. This was shortly after we got the new organ at church and I had sent out an invitation for people to come take a look at it and see how it worked and what it could do. These two were the only ones who took me up on it. After we looked at it, it only gave them an appetite for more so we visited pipe organs and had a great time getting to know each other. As a result of that day, they have become great friends and she and I started to walk this summer and have a Bible Study together. I can tell there are many more adventures ahead for the two of us. I had noticed she's been carrying around a tumbler for water that has a lid and a straw...she takes it everywhere and I thought if I had one like it, maybe it would be easier to drink the large amounts of water I'm supposed to take in each day. I looked and looked and couldn't find one and today she brought me one she found and bought for me. It holds a big 32 oz., I have already put it to use and I can already tell it's going to be helpful!
Is anyone familiar with the movie Calendar Girls?
I watched it again recently and find myself identifying with the characters so much more this time....probably because I'm much closer to their age this time and have been feeling so pushed aside because I'm old. If you know the movie, you've heard this:
The flowers of Yorkshire
Are like the women of Yorkshire.
Every stage of their growth has its own beauty,
But the last phase is always the most glorious.
Then very quickly they all go to seed.
Which makes it ironic my favorite flower
Isn’t even indigenous to the British Isles, let alone Yorkshire.
I don’t think there’s anything on this planet
That more trumpets life than the sunflower.
For me, that’s because of the reason behind its name.
Not because it looks like the sun
But because it follows the sun.
During the course of the day,
The head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky.
A satellite dish for sunshine.
Wherever light is, No matter how weak,
These flowers will find it.
And that’s such an admirable thing.
And such a lesson in life.
We talked about this at Bible Study today (not the movie but the idea of feeling put on a shelf or shoved aside) and it seems it's a real problem with many our age in our church lately. I found out it's not just me feeling this way. I don't know what I'm going to do about it, if anything but I can't help but feel I want to be respected and listened to and like the women in the movie I want to make a change...do something that matters. My friend and I invited others to join us in our Bible study and I'm excited to be reaching out to these women who are feeling the same way we are. I hope this is the beginning of something wonderful for us and for the church.
"Every stage of their growth has its own beauty,
But the last phase is always the most glorious."
The strangest thing happened this year, we had some sunflowers pop up unexpectedly in our garden. We didn't plant them, but there they were and perfectly situated right in the back corner. So lovely! Such a gift! Again I am reminded of the prose from the movie,
"Wherever light is, No matter how weak,
These flowers will find it.
And that’s such an admirable thing.
And such a lesson in life."
The sunflowers in my garden have now withered and gone to seed...but I have not! I still have years of service left if the Lord so wills. So when I think of following the sun, I am reminded to follow the SON.
