Great abundance of riches cannot be gathered and kept by any man without sin. – Desiderius Erasmus
Talent is always conscious of its own abundance, and does not object to sharing. – Alexander Solzehnitsyn
Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature—opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice…. Repeal the Missouri compromise—repeal all compromises—repeal the declaration of independence—repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man’s heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak. – Abraham Lincoln
Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent, and all will be lost. – Charlie Chaplin
She either gives a stomach and no food—
Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast
And takes away the stomach—such are the rich,
That have abundance and enjoy it not.
– William Shakespeare
We have plenty of these little golden guys out already, too.
Dandelions are not daffodils, but children do not know or care. In their innocence or ignorance, they cherish dandelions.
I did. Didn’t you?
Moms know, however, that for all their cheer and good smell, dandelions do not make good cut flowers. They wilt and close up. Once I even had one re-open while living in a vase, and put forth seeds.
Ah, yes. The seeds. They do put them forth. And children, again, in their innocence, hardly dream we frown on the glorious fun of blowing seeds all over the yard.
But we do.
It’s not that we don’t like dandelions, but that they are not grass. Don’t we change as we mature! Suddenly we realize the great fragrance of the dandelion hides amazing skill at infiltrating.
So what is the lesson, here? I think we can say God made Mom and Dad older than the children for a good reason. He put children into homes for a good reason. He told children to honor their parents for a good reason.
That good reason is: the preservation and teaching of the children. Parents teach the children that not all that glitters is gold. We teach them that not every good smelling thing is good, on closer inspection.
If we are diligent, if we can remember all we know and teach it, our children will turn out better than we did.
We have an abundance of daffodils. You may think this vase full of them is an example, but it so far falls short.
Daffodils in vase
When we bought our property, it was a hot, arid summer. Few people would think of daffodils at that time of year. In fact, the lovely woman selling the property apologized for not having fresh flowers out that day. Amazing lady!
Come spring, this is what we found:
Daffs under the oaksDaffs in the horse fieldDaffs on the hillsDaffs in the woodsDaffs in the circle drive
We were shocked at the abundance, marveled at the forethought of people now passed on, who planted and planted and planted for someone else ultimately to enjoy. And they did this just because that’s the way it ought to be done.
I want to think like that. Sometimes I do. I have given and planted untold times for my children, for their future, but I want to be sure I leave behind something someone can point to and say, “Someone was sure thinking about the future!”
Rocks, dens and caves, but I in none of these find place or refuge. –Milton
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats. –Psalm 104
This last old man—their latest refuge was to send to him. –Shakespeare
Light must be supplied, among graceful refuges, by terracing any story in danger of darkness. –Wotton.
Bred to disguise, in public ‘tis you hide. –Pope
On this date, in 1951, the Unites States adopted the Twenty-Second amendment to the Constitution, stipulating that a president may not serve more than two terms.
I just sent my brother on his way from visiting us for a long weekend. It was wonderful to have him and his two grown kids here with us. All my own offspring came to honor him and the long trip he made to be here, and to visit with their seldom-seen cousins. I enjoyed them all, too.
Of course, there is work involved in having important company, which my brother is. If someone makes a twelve to fourteen hour trip just to see me, I feel it important I bother with his comfort once he is here.
What does a guest need? Several things:
A light meal for the first meal. After traveling, snacking, and sitting for a whole day, a guest wants a simple, easily digestible meal. Not knowing when the guest will actually arrive, you also do not want time-sensitive foods. Put the two together and you get SOUP! I served my visitors a light, homemade chicken noodle soup and an apple salad with honey/yogurt dressing. They loved it.
Privacy. A person naturally wants to be able to dress, brush teeth, and snore in peace, without feeling watched, censored, or odd in any way. He also needs a place to hang clothing. I put my nephew with my son on twin beds, my niece with my daughter in bunked beds, and my brother in our sunroom on the daybed with doors shut and curtains drawn.
Bath Tap (Photo credit: butkaj.info)
Cleanliness. You may know the smear on your vanity faucet is just a dab of soap, but your guest wants it off, wants clean. Extreme clean. Towels must be fresh, and if possible, color coded, so your guest knows his is his. Sheets should be your best set with pillow cases ironed to kill germs. Bathroom surfaces should shine and all dust, hair, and smears should be removed daily, during their stay. (You may be comfortable staring at your husband’s toothpaste droppings from yesterday while you brush your teeth, but who else would be?)
Entertainment. Find out what your guest might like to experience. We live rural, so it’s mostly parks and other natural events. We took my brother and kids to one he and I had visited as children. His own had never seen it. It is impressive and they were impressed. Anything, though, to break up sitting and chatting, will suffice. Bike riding, fishing, antiquing, strolling through woods, or rock collecting are affordable and fun ways I would enjoy burning a few calories and getting out.
Internet access. Not all want this, but if you do not have Internet in your home, seek the nearest hot spot.
We had the best old time. I taught him how we make grilled cheese sandwiches and he taught me how he makes French toast. Mmm.
Here are your recipes:
Chicken Noodle Soup
One whole chicken, cleaned
one cup plain salt
one gallon water
whole onion
stalk celery
clove garlic
3 – 5 sage leaves
salt and pepper
1 ½ bags egg noodles or homemade noodles from 3 eggs (for homemade noodles, see here)
The night before, soak chicken in covered bowl, in gallon water with one cup salt added. In the morning, drain and rinse chicken. Make sure it is cleaned of unnecessary parts. Boil chicken covered with water in large pot. Add all ingredients but salt. Simmer until flesh falls from bones, at least three hours. Cool. Debone. Return meat to broth, boil, and add egg noodles. Simmer until noodles are tender, thinning broth with added water, as desired. Adjust salt, if needed. Remove vegetables, if desired. Serve hot with crackers or bread and butter. Serves eight or more.
Simple Fruit Salad
one yellow apple (Opal?)
one red apple (Roma?)
one pear
one orange
one banana
½ cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 carton Greek yogurt
¼ cup raw honey
Peel orange and banana. Wash apples and pear. Cut all fruit into bite sizes. Mix all fruit together with remaining ingredients until well blended. This salad is outstanding for aiding digestion.
My Brother’s French Toast, Which Is Better Than Mine!
For ten slices of bread:
ten eggs (yes, one egg for each slice of bread!)
half that volume of milk
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
dash vanilla
butter
Beat egg, milk, spices, and vanilla, thoroughly. Seriously soak each slice in some of this egg mixture until completely sogged. Set aside until all pieces are soaked. Pour any remaining mixture over already-soaked bread, using it all up.
Fry soaked bread in butter, at pancake temperature, until lightly browned. Turn and repeat. Serve with syrup, powdered sugar, and/or pureed fruit. Serves five.
When I was only 8, my family took me to visit apark I remember fondly. It had fountains and rock formations that still exist today. Recently we returned to it and although improvements have appeared, much of it remains unchanged.
One beautiful part of this park is the thousands of rocks placed in formation to createretaining walls. These walls hold back soil and erosion, yes, but long ago, they held back something else, too: starvation. You see, all this rock work was done by theWorks Projects Administration(WPA). For all its criticism, it performed two amazing feats: It provided sustenance for 3,000,000 families during theGreat Depression, and it beat today’s common welfare to pieces. In fact, reducing common welfare—the dole—was one of the goals.
So during our excursions in this park, I marveled at the beautifully-laid rock work. The terraces and roadways were perfectly preserved from 80 years ago. The fountains and pools in the gardens, although coated with moss, obviously were the result of much pains taking. The warm, inviting craftsman style was perfectly suitable to a U.S. park.
I contemplated the beauty and imagined the men who worked on it. As they labored with this rock, did they cut their hands? Were they engineers, that they could so beautifully work out the physics for these structures? Did they know what a lovely thing they were making? Could they look at it and realize they were vastly improving our nation? Could they see the vision for the finished project?
Did they live in camps and mail the money, or could they go home every night? And if they went home, did their pride rise as they walked through the front door with their paychecks in hand? Did they bask in their role as the family hero? Did their wives shed tiny tears of joy at the realization there would be food in the pantry again?
Did they ever guess someone like me would come along 80 years later and exclaim at the loveliness of the park? I touched the rocks with something like awe, knowing that once, long ago, someone else full of worry for the future, had handled each rock, knowing this was the only way his children could eat.
And did they dream my son would propose to his sweetheart while she sat on a bench they’d made?
My grandparents were farmers and preachers, so they always had enough.
But somewhere out there is a reader whose grandfather I wish I could thank.
Home's Cool! 