My blog post about procrastination is coming along okay.
Thanks for your patience.
Have a great (and productive?) day. And thanks for laughing.
Tag Archives: blogging
Sharing Some Gnarly Trees
Recently, one of the lady bloggers from Sweden whom I follow posted a photo of a gnarly tree. Her beautiful blog consists of only photos. Landscapes, architecture, street scenes, manhole covers (lots of those), her pooch, and food. She often includes instructions for preparing the dish she shows on her blog. She includes a description in her native tongue and an English translation. She seems like a fun lady.
When I took a trip to Arizona to visit my daughter and grandson last year, we went to the Grand Canyon. On the south rim, we saw vistas that take your breath away. But the terrain we walked also boasted some sights we could actually touch.
Gnarly trees, for instance. And tiny yellow flowers growing in the hard and rocky soil. It was quite beautiful.
My Swedish friend suggested I share on my blog the shots I snagged of gnarly trees at the Grand Canyon. So here are a couple of them.
Now you should mosey over to inte fan gor det det and see what she’s got going on today. If you like, you can take a look at her gnarly tree too, the post titled “En Underbar Vinterdag.”
Leave her a comment and let her know you stopped by. Tell her Paula from The Fruitful Life sent you.
And be a blessing to someone today.
Help Them “Do the Most Good”
Did you see the folks standing outside the stores ringing bells next to a Salvation Army Red Kettle? Did you help the organization out by chucking in a few coins or a bill or two? If not, I have an opportunity for you to help them right now. In fact, even if you did, you can participate in this challenge.
As of this moment and until December 31, 2017, I’ll make a donation to The Salvation Army for every new follower or every “Like” I get from someone. The Salvation Army is one of my favorite non-profit organizations. Not only have I served in a local soup kitchen (Sally’s Kitchen) for almost 15 years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know many of the people who come there to eat because I join them on many days to get a hot meal too.
The Salvation Army impresses me as a non-profit also because I got a look at their pie chart which shows how their funds are spent. Every year, between 80-82% of the monies taken in (completely through donations) go directly to programs to serve people in various programs. That takes in the soup kitchens, after school programs for kids, summer camp, addiction recovery programs, emergency assistance and disaster assistance. The rest of the money pays for staff and marketing. 
I get shivers even thinking about that.
So, here’s what you do. If you already follow my blog, find the “reblog” button (it should be there at the bottom) and then all the people who follow you have a chance to see this and consider following me. And let me set the record straight on followers: that’s never been a big deal to me. I honestly hope to be able to make a respectable donation to TSA. I do anyway, but wouldn’t it be cool to make it even bigger?
If you’re one of my followers, hit the “like” thingy. If this came up in your reader because of a search, you can “like” it as well. That counts too. Neat, huh?
I’m also posting this on Twitter so if you want to upload the URL to your Twitter feed, great. My challenge will be to do that in 140 characters.
Thanks so much; you guys rock. Be a blessing to someone today. Whether you decide to reblog this, like it, or do nothing.
Foodie’s Greens Galore
When the weather is hot and humid like it is currently where I live, I don’t want to cook. Not even on the stovetop. So salads come to the rescue. My plan for this blog post was to talk about creating salads with a variety of ingredients. And just in time, the Start Cooking blog posted “Salad Greens From A to Z.”
In addition to reading Kathy’s list on the various greens you can pick from and their individual characteristics, she includes a few recipes. You might want to try one or two.
My favorite greens are spinach, romaine, radicchio, leaf lettuce, and arugula. My tastes for what I’ll put on my salad are all over the map. I’m always experimenting. Fruits, nuts and seeds, a variety of vegetables, meats and cheeses, condiments, and even some herbs have all found their way to my plate of leafy greens.
The flavors I get by using a variety of dressings determines which ingredients I add. Here’s a recipe for a Greek Salad Dressing I make to keep on hand all the time. What I like about this dressing is it doesn’t need refrigeration and the recipe uses stuff I have in my pantry all the time. I don’t need to go out and buy something exotic.
Greek Style Salad Dressing
- 1 ½ c. olive oil
- 1 T. plus 1 t. garlic powder
- 1 T. plus 1 t. dried oregano
- 1 T. plus 1 t. dried basil
- 1 T. pepper
- 1 T. salt
- 1 T. onion powder
- 1 T. Dijon-style mustard
- 1 ½ c. red wine vinegar
In a large container (about 1-quart capacity), mix together all ingredients except vinegar. Pour in the vinegar and mix vigorously until well blended. Store tightly at room temperature. Makes about 25 2-tablespoon servings.
I’ve made this dressing with both red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. I like balsamic better. Also, I usually start with only one cup of vinegar and taste it until, after adding a little more at a time, it tastes just right. Depending on which kind you use, the vinegar can be a little overwhelming.
Another variation I’ve tried is to add about 1/3 c. mayonnaise for a creamy dressing. If you add mayo, the dressing will need refrigeration.
Upstaged by a Donkey
This picture is for a fellow blogger, The Donkey Whisperer, who trains donkeys and teaches others to train their own donkeys. The photos she posts are incredible and she educates us about donkeys while doing it. For instance, did you know a donkey brays for a variety of reasons and they can sound different depending on the bray’s purpose? Fascinating.
My particular ‘episode’ with a donkey happened when our pastor did a sermon series based on Bible stories which included a donkey. He didn’t talk about donkeys per se. He used the stories to show us how the Bible is relevant to our lives and how to put our faith into action.
Our youth group helped keep this little guy available at the atrium entrance so people could pet him, children could sit on his back, and he could just be an example of God’s endearing creations. The pastor’s wife, Sandy, stood by to take some photos.
I wish I knew the donkey’s name. He was calm and gentle and I went away full of glee at my experience with him.
She’s Discovering a New Sooz
For a fellow blogger, Discovering Sooz , who writes an eclectic assortment of posts.
I think I might get brave like Sooz and post Before & After photos of myself one day. When I’ve reached goal weight.
Thanks for your honesty and for your fun and thought-provoking posts. This one’s for you.
I Have Here in My Hand
I don’t really have a list in my hand. I don’t have a band to give me a drum roll. But –– ta-da! –– here’s a list of the Top Ten posts from 2016. Here in my corner of the world, I enjoyed taking stock and reviewing the past twelve months.
Writing The Fruitful Life is its own reward so I don’t get into looking at hit counters and other stats too much. I don’t have crowds of followers. Frankly, I’d rather write and convince people to follow Jesus.
However, it’s nice at the end of the year to see which posts were favorites of the readers.
The list of the Top Ten Posts from 2016 (in order) might give you an idea of the tastes of the readership. When I do take time to look at stats, it’s also fun to see that readers come from all over the world. In November, when The Upper Room published a devotion I wrote, people flocked to the blog through the link UR supplied. That was kind of fun.
In addition to this list, people cruised the “About” pages and the Archives. I’m not savvy enough to know how it all works. But like I said, writing about my faith and hobbies in which I’m involved is the best reward. Most of these posts are faith-based.
Anyway, here’s the list. Click on the links if you’d like to read them. If you’ve been reading for a while, did you have one you particularly liked that didn’t make the top ten list?
Scout Saturday: Irresistible Bunnies
A friend came over to have dinner with me recently and we enjoyed the company. We also watched my rabbit, Scout, frolic in the apartment while we chatted in the living room. He steals the show. The cameras came out and we caught him chilling out in a couple of his favorite spots.
One is The Library. Scout loves my books. He chews on them if I don’t catch him, but he also just likes to sit among them and run through the shelves.
These photos are especially for my food blogger friend, Genie on Bunny Eats Design. You can check out a few of her Tofu Tuesday posts featuring her mini-lop, Tofu. He’s a cutie and reminds me of Scout. Check out some of her recipes and culinary adventures too. Her recipes often reflect her culture and the culinary adventures, well, they make you a little jealous.
Today officially becomes “Scout Saturday.” Enjoy, and eat hardy.
Stars Shine in Sunshine
A fellow blogger has offered a writing challenge. Bukkypraiz has requested we write a haiku poem.
Haiku is a Japanese style of poetry with strict forms. While there are other ways to write a haiku, this form is most recognizable and popular. Three lines in which the first line has five syllables; second line, seven syllables; and third line, five syllables.
Haiku poetry most often is distinguished by appealing to the senses. They create a word picture and are written in the present tense. Here is my offering for the challenge, which required using the word “Shine.”
Stars Shine in Sunshine
Stars come out at night
but also shine secretly
concealed by sunlight.
Here’s a bonus haiku of mine written many years ago.
River Talk
Slow river murmurs
secrets to the shore, and in
the reeds it giggles.
Treasures
Let me tell you about my little Bible with the bonded leather cover.
It was one of the first Bibles I purchased for myself when I finally decided to go back to church and get serious about following Christ. Mom might not have approved of my scribblings in the margins or the highlighting and underlining, but this surely has helped me to make this Bible a Treasure.
Obviously, this little Bible has seen a lot of use. In fact, I’ve used it so much and marked it up so much that I’m sometimes stymied to find a passage unless I have this one in front of me. Measuring 6 5/8 inches x 4 3/8 inches, the type is pretty small. That’s okay; I can still read it with my old lady reading glasses.
My “treasure,” which is the subject of today’s blogging photo challenge, was with me in a near-fatal auto accident thirteen years ago next month. It has brown stains from transmission fluid on some of the pages. That’s okay too. A couple of years following the accident, I decided I’d better have the strap sewn back on by a local tailor before it fell off. It was hanging on by a thread as a result of the beating it took. When I mentioned that feature to a friend she said, “Kind of like you were.” She knew the details of the accident and how blessed I was to be alive.
For this photo, my Bible is open to John chapters 15-17. Chapter 17 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because Jesus prays for us. To think that Jesus knew he was going to his death and wanted to talk to his Father about us sometimes makes me weep.
Those words are treasures to me.
The Fruitful Life 