MARIE'S MUSES

**Please note.  For some reason my buttons to add pictures or video have dissappeared so I shall have to add them later on. Hopefully they will have re-appeared then!  This is the first time I have had that problem!  For now you will just have to make do with my narrative.  Sorry!

Here are the Rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. I had a non malignant tumour removed from the top of my right ear when I was 18. I had to walk around with my head in a bandage for about 8 weeks while it healed, which was quite embarrassing. Thankfully at that time it was considered quite fashionable to wear a head scarf and so I did. I had to go to my technical school grad wearing one and was quite upset with some boys that were sitting behind me. They kept singing “Midnight at the Oasis” under their breaths, just loud enough for me to hear and it forever ruined my enjoyment of that song. I was also not allowed to wash my hair for that same amount of time . . . Ugh!

2. When I got my first job away from home, I boarded with a woman who lived in a huge old Victorian house, at the top of a very steep hill, in a large town called Kentville, in Nova Scotia. Her name was Mrs. Boates and she was really quite elderly. I was 18 and should have been having a good time being out there for the first time on my own, but being as shy as I was and never really having been away from home before I simply got up in the mornings and went to work, came home, had my supper and then went to bed at about 7 o’clock every night. I’d read for the couple of hours before I went to sleep and would repeat this every day. How boring is that!!! (she made really good corn chowder and my sandwiches for lunch were always made with homemade bread, yumm!!)

3. While I was still at college I was head hunted by a big Insurance Company from the big city of Halifax. They offered me a job, which was pretty exciting to me, but I turned it down. I was already engaged to be married to my first husband and moving to the big city was not a part of the plan. I often wonder how different my life might have been had I taken the job and moved to the big city anyways.

4. I could have been the first runaway bride had I not been such a chicken. Back in 1974 when I got married the first time I had the big wedding that every girl dreams of, you know . . . White dress, veil, rose petals sprinkled down the aisle, etc. etc. Quite a few of my father’s family were visiting from Quebec, just to attend the wedding, and so my father was afraid that he would get me to the church late due to his having to drive all of them as well and so he got me to the church extra early. I was there before anyone else. I can remember sitting in one of the back rooms and wanting to run away, but then chalking it up to emotions and nerves and so I stayed put. I remember thinking about how much money my parents had spent and feeling like they would be really annoyed if I just took off, not to mention all the gifts that would have had to be returned and the people who had come from really far just to see me get married!!

5. When I was getting ready to finish High School I was interested for a time in joining the military. I thought it would be a good way to see the world and to get paid a good wage. I did all the entrance tests and everything, but then one weekend a bunch of girls I knew who had already joined and were on their basic training popped up to visit on a 24 hour pass. I can remember listening to all their tales they told as we sat in my parent’s living room. It all sounded like a whole lot of fun until they told me that, at one of their mess dinners, each one of them had had to get up and give a 2 minute impromptu speech. That did it for me. I decided then and there that I was not joining the military. The very idea of having to get up in front of a group of people and talk for two minutes terrified me. Now I get up and give 15 minute talks at my church and it doesn’t bother me a bit. What a chicken I was back then!

6. I went through a stage at one point when I was a teen, where I was so painfully shy that I just could not face going anywhere on my own. Unless I had someone to go with I just would not go out at all I used to pay my brother to go to the shops with me on occasion. I’m not sure if he remembers that or not. I cannot imagine now what I must have been afraid of. I have learned in life that you cannot let your fears rule you. I sure missed out on a lot of fun when I was growing up just because I was afraid of this or afraid of that. I guess I am making up for it now because I have turned into a bit of a dare devil in my 40’s and 50’s!!

Now comes the fun part! I get to tag six of you, and so without further adieu I tag:

You’re all it!!!

I made this lovely oven stew for Todd’s tea last night. We had it with some of my ex mother in law’s cornbread on the side. Well, not her cornbread actually, but her recipe for cornbread, lol. This was one of the first stews I used to make when I was a new bride long, long ago. It’s quite tasty!

Serves 4

This is a quick and easy stew to make. Other than peeling the vegetables and chopping them up there is literally no work to do. Your oven does it all! It’s just plain delicious too, so it’s a win/win combination!

1 pound of well trimmed stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tin of condensed tomato soup (Campbells)

1 soup tin of water

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into cubes

2 parsnips, peeled and sliced

4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

Pre-heat the oven to 230*C/450*F. Put your beef, onions and garlic into a deep casserole dish with a lid. Season with some salt and pepper to taste and then place the casserole (without the lid at this point) into the heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, just until the meat is beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 160*C/350*F.

Put soup and the water into the casserole dish along with the mixed herbs. Put the lid on and bang it back into the oven and let it bake for about an hour. At the end of the hour remove it from the oven and stir in the vegetables. You may need to add more water as the mixture should have reduced by then, and you want the liquid to just barely cover the vegetables and meat. Put the lid back on and return the casserole to the oven. Bake for another hour or until the vegetables and meat are tender.

Remove from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

You can use other flavours of soup if you wish such as mushroom, which is very good also.

Makes a nine inch square pan

This is an excellent accompaniment for stews and soups, and goes really well with chili con carne and baked beans. It is a very old family recipe and always turns out moist and delicious. You can also make individual ones by baking it in muffin tins.

7/8 cup plain flour

¼ cup white sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup cornmeal (coarse polenta)

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

¼ cup melted shortening or sunflower oil

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly grease and flour a nine inch square pan and set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cornmeal together in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs, milk and salad oil together in a beaker and then stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold them together just until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and then bake in the heated oven for about 20 minutes until well risen and browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Serve hot and cut into squares.

"The measure of man’s humanity is the extent and intensity of his love for mankind.” ~Ashley Montagu

“and Jesus said unto him. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”” ~Matthew 22: 37-39

I have always been lucky in that I am a person who has always been able to accept people for who they are. Each one is an individual and I am able to look at them and approach them with dignity. I realize that they have lives as complicated and mysterious as my own, and I accept in my heart that, “There, but for the grace of God go I.” I try not to have any preconceptions about people and I try not to judge them accordingly. I am not perfect, but I do try hard just to be the best person that I know how to be, and to love others for who and what they are. Even I will admit, that this is not always easy, but, it must be done . . . it’s a commandment after all.

I know that I am who I am because of the things I have experienced in my life, the environment I have been brought up in, the privileges I have been exposed to, the teachings of my parents and grandparents and other loved ones, etc. and I have been blessed that, for the most part, it’s all been good. My life has been blessed. There are so many people in this world that have not been blessed in the same way, or learned the same lessons. They cannot help who they are, any more than I can help who I am. Plain and simple . . . when people know better, they do better. I really believe this is so.

My faith also helps me in that because it has taught me that we are all, each one of us, children of God, a unique and wonderful creation of a Heavenly Father, and each one of us deserves all the dignity and respect and attention that “that” knowledge engenders. I know that when God looks down at us, He sees us all as His children and He loves us all the same. Just as we look at our children and see them as individuals with all their own unique qualities, strengths and weaknesses, so He must look at us. Just as we love our children equally and with all the strength of our hearts, so must He feel the same, and maybe even more so as it is a perfect love, which we cannot even begin to imagine or be able to fathom.

I think that this one thing, being able to love others no matter what . . . this one thing has the power to change the way we see our world. It has the power to change the world. Oh, that everyone could only see this and act upon it. What a wonderful place this would be. J

Serves 4

This soup is quick, easy and, oh so very tasty!! Serve hot with some crisp crackers or crusty bread for a real rib sticking pleaser.

1 TBS olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed

310g tin of creamed corn

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

¼ cup cream (optional)

Sea salt and ground white pepper to taste

50g plain salted corn chips, crumbled

2 TBS fresh chives, chopped

Put the oil in a large saucepan and heat until over medium heat until it is hot. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft.

Add the stock , creamed corn and potato. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potato is soft.

Using your stick blender (Or food processor or regular blender and with care!) blend the soup until it is smooth. Return to the pan and stir in the thawed corn kernels and cream (if using). Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Stir and cook over low heat until the corn is tender.

Serve hot in heated bowls with a garnish of crumbled corn chips and some chopped chives scattered on the top of each serving.

There are times in life that we, each one of us, have a burden to bear, and quite often it proves to be far heavier than it should be or than it could be, if we would only choose to share it with someone.

Pride, more often than not, prevents us from speaking out to others about it, or admitting that we need help. I have that problem myself. I am more than willing to listen to other people’s problems and offer a helping hand when they need it, but when it comes to needing help myself, or a listening ear . . . I am very reluctant to share it with others. I hold whatever it is that is bothering me close to my chest, like a poker player trying to hide a good hand.

I present to the outside world a face that is happy, and when asked how I am, I say . . . “Very well thanks!” when, in reality, my heart may be in turmoil and inside I may be weeping tears of pain, or frustration or unhappiness . . . unable to share for even  a moment what is really in my heart or on my mind.

It’s not that I think that other people couldn't or wouldn't help, but that I feel that people have enough burdens and problems of their own without me dumping my own on their doorsteps. Besides . . . in the light of all the suffering in the world, and all the problems that other people have to endure . . .  anything that may be bothering me seems petty and of little consequence.

The thought occurs to me this morning, that, in doing so . . . in failing to share . . . I actually prevent others from being able to receive the joy and the blessings that could be theirs from being able to help ease another’s burden or lend a listening ear. Oft-times it is in the  telling of how we are feeling . . . the sharing . . . that we actually receive the very help we need, for somehow, in the telling, the burden actually miraculously eases, even without anyone having lifted a finger. Somehow when the words are out there, whatever the load is we have been carrying, somehow seems lighter.

That’s the way prayer works actually. We get on our knees and we say the words, and we hand it all over to God . . . and then we trust in faith that He will take care of it, or give us an answer or show us the way out of whatever problem it is that we are enduring.

To each one of us comes the invitation from the Saviour . . . "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30)

Perhaps, when we fail to ask for help when we need it, we are really showing a lack of faith both in our God and in our fellow man. From now on, I think I will try to share my worries and concerns, always remembering that there is Someone who has the time and patience to listen and to help. How can I deny the listener the blessings of being able to help or myself the blessings of being able to ask?

One of my favourite hymns is the following. I’d like to share it’s words with each of you this morning. May it bring you the same peace that I feel when I read or sing it.

Master The Tempest is Raging

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'ershadow with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

*chorus:

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!*

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

*chorus*

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessèd Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.

*chorus*

~Mary A Baker

Wherever you are this morning on your journey through life, may you be able to find the peace that is yours but for the asking, and the blessings that can be found in the sharing and easing of one another's burdens.

When I was married to my first husband, I used to love to go up to his parents house and spend the evening with them, playing cards or just sitting and talking. He had lovely parents, and I used to love the atmosphere that was always present in their home. He lived on a farm and his mother would always have good things in their larder to eat and she would often prepare a light supper for us to share. It was always something really good. This is one of the things she used to make quite often. It goes quite nice with a hot cup of soup.

Serves 4

12 slices of streaky bacon

4 slices of bread

Some grainy mustard

4 thick slices of cheese (I like to use a sharp cheddar)

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat and then add your bacon. Cook, turning it over frequently, until it is semi crisp. Remove from the pan and then leave it to drain on paper kitchen towelling to help absorb most of the excess grease.

In the meantime pre-heat the grill (broiler) on your oven to high and lightly toast the slices of bread in your toaster.

Spread each piece of toast with some grainy mustard. Lay a slice of cheese on top of each and then lay 3 slices of bacon on top of the cheese. Place on a baking tray and then when all are ready, pop the baking tray under the grill and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the bacon is as crisp as you would like it to be.

Remove it from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.