Wednesday, 11 October 2017

Hi, again.  This is my second try at posting tonight.  They just disappear and I haven't figured out why yet.  Must be the gremlins that don't have their own lives to live... anyway, I have to start over again.

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I started by apologizing for missing my Tuesday post.  I got busy with my jewelry design efforts and sorting supplies and trying to figure out what I wanted to create.  I woke in the middle of the night and "remembered" what I forgot to do.  Sorry about that... it was bound to happen sooner or later.  As I get busier this blog posting will probably have to change... I am trying to decide what to focus on, what I have time for, and what matters more.

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Today I went through some of my recipes looking for a specific one, and that led to finding a bunch of things I want to try making again... or for the first time. 

I made the gummy bear DIY recipe today... modified according to what I had on hand.  I am not really a gummy bear fan, but I thought it was a great thing to try.  I never really thought about making your own gummy bears until I saw a Facebook video of it.  That was back in March, according to my notes.  I wasn't too happy with the results, but I made bigger shapes as part of my explorations.  I think I will buy a bag of gummy bears to compare mine with.  I want to change a few things in the recipe and see what happens... or forget the whole process.

I decided to try a candied nuts recipe tonight, which turns out KIND OF like peanut brittle.  I should have buttered the waxed paper I let it cool on... it's a mess!  It tastes pretty good, but I am going to be eating waxed paper with the candied nuts in this batch.  Next batch will be a different process!

I also started some dates... needing a pound and forgetting what that would look like.  I once counted out dates for another effort and decided 27 makes a cup... I was thinking that was a pound, but when the butter and sugar melted, I realized my mistake.  Good thing I had more dates on hand... I added more to make what I also remembered as two boxes of dates I purchased once making a pound for this same recipe.  Hopefully it will still turn out OK.  Tomorrow I will try to finish that one.

Christmas has always been a great time for baking goodies for me.  I love it. I love to give it all away to people, too.  My life is not quite the same as the younger days, so I have to find new places to share with.  Now that I am focusing on sales at Etsy, I am looking for recipes that will be good for selling as food items.

I'm not sure gummies are my answer, but I still want to see if I can modify the recipe (or the type of food it is) into something I would want to sell.

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Holiday Bazaars are coming into view.  The local paper had a list of them and I found several that I can reach by bus.  I want to go see what they are like and decide if I want to sell at them in the future.  As my health permits, I want to do one Christian and one community sale during the holidays.  It will be great to see what other people make, and try to decide if they sell a lot.

This year seems to be quite a busy one.  Maybe it's because I am looking for places to go to.

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In the process of finding one of the larger holiday events for gifts and food, I found a TINY HOUSE event at the same location.  I may try to go to both of them... but I don't know if I can.  They both have fees...   They are in November, so maybe I can get them into the budget.

I love the idea of tiny living as a no-mortgage option... being able to move around and not "start over" again is also appealing.  I think it was this morning that I saw a great trailer size for a tiny house... long like a semi, but low like a regular tiny house trailer.  NICE!  I think it was like those heavy equipment moving trailers, but I'm not sure.  If I had the money, I would be looking for it to see what the costs are.

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I forgot to mention (again) about the terrible fires in California that I heard about on the news today... The number of missing people is the largest I have ever heard of in my entire life.  From what the news is reporting, it seems to have moved into the populated areas in the middle of the night.  More than one interview said they woke to the smell of smoke and had to leave fast.  The aerial views are so devastating... entire neighborhoods burned to the ground... nothing left, or hardly anything.  It happens so fast... people's whole life is gone, all their memories, all their hard work, all their dreams for the future.  The shock is very hard to get through... there will be so many tears, for a long time.  Every time you remember something, you remember how much you lost.  May GOD help them all to get through their days and nights, to find happiness again.

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I guess that's enough for now...
It is so sad to think about the suffering that is happening all over, not just in California.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the God of heaven help the hearts and lives of people who are suffering tonight.
May He bless them in a special way to let them know He loves them.
May the hard times find meaning in the future, a purpose to redeem them.
May we all find a way to keep our thoughts and prayers on the suffering that continues after the media goes away.
May the Church be focused on long-term caring, and provisions, and mercy.

Lord, help us to be better than we are, to grow in Your Love toward ourselves and toward others.
Help us to see the bounty of our lives, and the little that we really need in comparison.
Help us to find the place where we need to be, the place of peace, plenty, and gratefulness.
Provide for those who are in need; Move the hearts of those who have the answers to another's prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you give us that we forget to be thankful for.
Help us to be content when that is what we need to be...
and help us to be bold and active when there is work to be done for You.

Amen.