Soup's on!

My mom used to make Matzo Ball Soup for my kids and me when we would come to visit, first in Illinois and then Phoenix, so now that she has passed away, I make it at Thanksgiving and Christmas because we all love it. I grew up Jewish but became Catholic when I married so we have an interesting mixture of traditions.

Two of my sons and their wives, 3 grandkids and their cousin Oksana came over last night for supper and to exchange gifts. We had salad, soup, homemade bread, crackers and several desserts: cupcakes that Oksana made, brownies that my stepson Johnathan made, and pumpkin pie and cookies that my daughter-in-laws' moms made. Yum!

The kids love playing with my polymer clay and the girls discovered my bead stash and wanted to make bracelets, so we were all very busy and everyone went home with many new treasures and presents for moms and grandmas.

How to make matzo ball soup

My grandmothers would cook chicken all day, make soup, make noodles and make matzo balls all from scratch.



My mother taught me to buy a box of matzo ball mix, make the matzo balls in boiling water, then drain and add cans of Campbell's broth and chicken noodle soup. So easy and quite delicious!

Christmas Meditation

Dawn breaks. As the first rays of sunlight filter across the landscape, the world slowly comes to life. Creatures, both large and small, shake off the paralyzing grip of sleep and stretch, as the new day begins.

Flowing downward from the sun, gentle sunbeams continually provide warmth and light, bringing forth the fruitfulness of the earth.

The flowers of the fields, the trees of the forest, the fishes of the sea, and the inhabitants of the land - all things which live and die to bring forth more life do so in a continuing cycle ... dependent each day upon the rising of the sun.

One morning many years ago, dawn broke in a desert town called Bethlehem ... to welcome a newborn Babe. He came to call the world from the paralyzing grip of its empty sleep ... of sin and suffering and faith in the power of earthly goods.

His light shone in the world in the form of a new day ... a revolutionary message of a Kingdom within ... a Kingdom of peace, joy and love.

He is the Sun of Righteousness, shining downward on the earth ... and through His people - His gentle sunbeams - His love continually flows, calling new souls to Him ... bringing forth the fruitfulness of man's creative spirit.

He lived and died in order to bring forth new life for man's inner being, through the continual forgiveness of sin. Washed clean, man begins each day anew, fully dependent on Him ... living in Him and for Him.

Written by me, to you with love

© Judy Tanner 2008

Playing with the Grandkids

We visited my son's family Thursday overnight. I brought clay and cookie cutters, and my grandkids and I made ornaments for their tree. You can see my daughter-in-law in the background reading a book aloud to Ty for a test at school yesterday (he got 19 out of 20 questions right! Smart like his grandma - yay!).



My granddaughters Meg (almost 7) and Paige (4) are wearing headbands made by my sister-in-law Linda. Her shop on etsy is Linda's Hair Boutique if you have anyone who needs a headband or ponytail holder. The girls put them on when I got there (early Christmas gifts), wore them out to dinner and at home till they went to bed. Very comfortable!


Here are the ornaments I gave them for Christmas which they were delighted with. Their mom told me their favorite characters: Ty loves Pikachu, Meg loves Sponge Bob, and Meg loves horses and takes horseback riding lessons every week.

Fingerprint Friday - Along the highway

I am fascinated each year during the fall season with these tall willowy plants growing along the edges of the highways and roads. They are especially pretty when the sun is shining through them and when they are gently wafting in the breeze. My friend I carpool with told me they are called Pampas Grass. We were stuck in traffic long enough one day for me to get some shots with my phone camera. According to Wikipedia, in some countries they are considered weeds. I think even weeds can be pretty.



Wikipedia also says, "Pampas grass is highly adaptable and can grow in a wide range of environments and climates. It also seeds prolifically, with each plant able to produce over 1 million seeds during its lifetime."

Pretty impressive!



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Handmade Guitar Ornament

Someone on Etsy asked me to make a guitar ornament in memory of her 27-year-old son who died from injuries in a car accident last year. At left is the picture of the real guitar. I wanted it to be very special for her, so I spent a lot of time on it. It's about 5" across. My husband who is a guitar buff advised me on various details, and helped me with glueing on the "strings" (white thread). I noticed after I took the picture that despite our meticulous efforts with the glueing, one of the little beads had fallen off - there's supposed to be 6 at each end - so I glued a new one on before mailing it. :)

Fingerprint Friday - Millie

I posted on Nov. 21 about Rosie, the cat who lives inside Chevron Trading Post and Bead Store in downtown Asheville. Now I'd like to introduce you to Millie, the dog who hangs out at the same place. Millie belongs to the store owner and comes in during the day when the owner is there. She is pictured here with Jme (pronounced Jaimie) who works at the store and is always amazingly helpful to me.

Millie is very laid back and friendly, and lets anyone pet her and talk to her. As you can see, she has a beautiful handmade collar of multi-colored beads.



I asked if there was anything special about Millie, and two of the clerks said the owner dresses Millie up when they have children's birthday parties. Little girls can have parties at the store and make jewelry. Can you imagine how cool that must be to have your party at the bead store and have the dog walking around dressed up for your birthday? They said she also is dressed in costume on Halloween. :)




Above is a photo of Millie and Rosie from the store's website. You can see more photos of these sweet fingerprints of God there.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Great gifts!

I have some new small pendants, about 1" wide, in my etsy shop. If you're on a budget, these make great gifts! Only $5! The images are stamped onto polymer clay, then glazed with a thick glossy varnish to look like ceramic tiles. They were very popular at my last two craft shows.

Christmas Ornaments - Favorite Animals

I made ornaments today for three of my grandchildren who live in Ohio. I want to mail these tomorrow so they can enjoy them on their Christmas tree. These are their favorite animals - horse, cheetah and bunny - but they don't know they are getting ornaments so they will be surprised. (These are large, about 2 1/2" across.)

Fingerprint Friday - Cross in the Sky

I find that because of participating in Fingerprint Friday, I am always looking for God's fingerprints everywhere, especially when I'm driving. It's quite a departure from normal-for-me because my nature is to day dream and not pay attention to the world around me. :)

Last Saturday I was driving to town and noticed a pattern two jets had made in the sky. When I stopped at our post office, I got this photo of the sky cross behind the church steeple across the road.

Just a little reminder of His love!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.
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Comments:
from Rebekah
Oh that is so beautiful & amazing!

from Rosebug
Just beautiful..Isn't it amazing what we see when we take the time..I am so thankful...

from PamperingBeki
How cool! I agree, that sometimes we just have to take time to look. It's amazing what we find then!