Not about Chicken Stock

I thought i was going to talk about chicken stock today, but alas, my stock is in the fridge, and my pressure canner is still being considered.  It is obviously going to require some courage to use it.  I don't want to mess anything up.  I didn't get to the pressure canner stage until this afternoon, and while i was re-reading the manual, i decided that pressure canning could wait until a fresh start first thing in the morning.

In the mean time, i made pear cobbler, sweetened with corn syrup, and it used up every last bit of my flour.  That's kind of nice.  That i had enough flour for a really big cobbler, that is.

When i was thinking, the other day about being thankful for what we do have instead of being wistful for what we don't, i stumbled over this blog entry, at the Livesay's blog, whose writer was thinking something similar.  Having grown weary of hearing family members (as i understand it) complain about having "nothing to eat," the the parental figures in this home instituted an "eat down," in which they are eating all the food in the house, until they really do have nothing to eat.  I'm not sure what they're going to do at that point.  I'm guessing they'll go shopping.  But in any event, i'm digging the idea and the purpose.

This brings me to a conversation i had today, about the importance of keeping things in perspective.  Well, it was about more than that, but, the point i'm sharing with you is this scripture.  Living in a materialistic society, as most of us do, it's so important to remember the words in Proverbs 15:13-17.  This whole passage seems to be getting at our hearts and how we're truly fed.

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, 

but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken. 

The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, 

but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.  

All the days of the afflicted are bad, 

but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. 

Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, 

than great treasure and turmoil with it. 

Better is a dish of vegetables 

[i.e. bowl of Ramen noodles] where love is 

than a fattened ox

[i.e. grilled steak with a big salad and a stuffed baked potato and some really good dessert that i can't think of right now because i had pear cobbler with love] 

served with hatred.