Amy's Place ... Poetry and Potpourri ... November, 2009

November 1, 2009 | JustAmy; St.Louie1; MamaBear; Billie

[JustAmy]

Welcome To....


'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets
and those who enjoy poetry.
'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.
Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepers
your thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*.

Enjoy! :)











Never Forget!





Bad Penny



Amy's personal guardian ~
the ever charming, lovable, huggable,
LouieWolf




Many thanks for stopping by. : )

[yorkie]

Oh, Polly - I will pray for Saudia. It really sounds like the ‘swine’ flu - but who knows, if it wasn’t tested? How many will be at your place on Thursday? Prayers for all of you, hunny!!!

[pollywog]

Yorkie... I have so much distain for the crazies in the medical profession!! Now I must say there are some marvelous, wonderful dedicated doctors. Probably most of them. But some just make you shake your head and wonder.

She is one sick girl. Has every symptom of swine! What did they do? took a CATSCAN of her gall bladder and stomach. Did a chest XRay and said “ IF she has a fever over 100 to call or bring her back in to the ER”!

She came home WITH a fever of 102~ NO blood test for swine!

How many for Thanksgiving? Would you believe 50?!!!! I know, I know! Only someone with half their “ marbles” would undertake it....sigh!

Pray for me!

Polly

[yorkie]

Oh, Polly! FIFTY????????????????

OMG!

Darlin’ I know you will do well - and your guests will be amazed at your expertise - and marvel at all the wonderful tastes they encounter!

But, you must keep Saudia isolated, as sad as that may seem.......if she DOES have the Swine Flu - you wouldn’t want to compromise your guests.

I have been reading so much about what our physicians are going through, and it is not pretty.

And, my FRiend, you have MUCH more than “half” your marbles - you got the LORD - meaning, you got ‘em ALL!

Prayers for all of you!

[pollywog]

Sweet Sweet Yorkie... Exactly concerning Saudia’s isolation.

Sometime when I get a chance to upload some photos from our Thanksgivings years past...( this is year 13 for having the extended family)...I will share with you. Of course I don’t fix the turkeys. I will do the yams, and one batch of homemade dressing...I even make the cornbread for the dressing from scratch.All the other food is brought in...but the congestion in the kitchen is mind boggling.

My favorite part? Friday morning coffee and a piece of sisters’ Pumpkin Pie!!

This is the Grande Finale year...no more extendeds after this year!

[WayzataJOHNN]

Bound in Dawn

I listen to the pulsing beat of my heart
a whisper of the eternal clock hid within
A shift in time blends the beats in part
making my weary heart almost sing again

Dawn brings the glimmer of a coming day
and I pause to take in the rose and pearl
I feel the depth of the hues of the rays
illuminating the dawn clouds as they unfurl

I am fragmented yet so close to completeness
listening to the morning breeze sings to me
A special rapture enfolds me I must confess
feeling the togetherness, as it should be

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

November 24, 2009

Called To Serve

ODB RADIO: Listen Now |  Download
READ: Mark 10:35-45

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. —Mark 10:45

When George W. Bush was President, he made a surprise visit to serve Thanksgiving Day dinner to soldiers deployed overseas. One reporter covering the story thought that some might save their meal as a souvenir, explaining, “It’s not often that anyone is served by the President.”

All elected officials are public servants—in a global, symbolic way—so they are always serving. So it seems that an act of service should not have been one of the biggest news items of the day.

Many people have a genuine desire to serve others, but for some, service is really self-serving. This was true when Jesus was training His disciples. They were under the impression that following Him would make them great.

But Jesus quickly set them straight: “Those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you” (Mark 10:42-43). Jesus made it clear to them that they were in training to become servants: “Whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all” (v.44).

We can sign up for any number of leadership training seminars, but the only good leaders are those who are first and foremost good servants.

They truly lead who lead by love,
And humbly serve the Lord;
Their lives will bear the Spirit’s fruit
And magnify His Word. —D. De Haan

A good leader is a good servant.

Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 22-23; 1 Peter 1

[Billie]

November 24, 2009

This is probably my favorite *To Die For* cookbook; the recipes and pictures are enough to make one drool, but the presentation alone is entertaining and fun to read ... sort of like Forrest Gump, himself, wrote it.

Among the mouth-watering selections included in the "Creamy Creations" section are:

"Feathery Chocolate Souffle"
"Bubba's Chocolate Cake Pudding"
"Paddle Wheelin' Parfait"

and *THIS* one:

• 16 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup butter
• 5 large eggs
• 2 TBLS sugar
• 2 TBLS all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fresh raspberries
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 TBLS cornstarch
• 2 TBLS water
• Whipped Cream
• Garnish: fresh raspberries

~ Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper; set aside.
~ Combine chocolate and butter in top of a double boiler; bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook until chocolate melts.
~ Place eggs in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add chocolate mixture to eggs, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer 10 minutes. Fold in 2 tablespoons sugar and flour.
~ Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 400^o for 15 minutes. (Dessert will not be set in center.) Remove from oven; cover and chill thoroughly.
~ Combine 2 cups raspberries, 2 cups water, and 1/4 cup sugar in a large saucepan; brig mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour raspberry mixture through a wire-mesh strainter into a bowl; discard seeds. Return raspberry mixture to pan.
~ Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; add to raspberry mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool completely.
~ To serve, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce on each individual dessert plate; place wedge of chocolate dessert on sauce. Top each wedge with a dollop of whipped cream. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

Gimme some choklit an' nobody gets hurt.

[Mama_Bear]

Yum, chocolate!! Thanks, Billie, now I gotta get some choklit. LOL.

Bet you are having fun at the coast, Amy. Hope the weather has been nice.

My Thanksgiving company is arriving tonight. Lots to do around the home front. See y'all later!

[Mama_Bear]

Bound in Dawn

Very nice!

[Diver Dave]

It's Chocolate Day...

Now that's something I could really get involved in. :)

Up until a couple of years ago, Hershey's had a facility up the road in Oakdale, CA. They closed operations and moved to Mexico. They had tours of the plant where one could view the process of making Hershey Kisses among other delicious candies. Giant tubs as big as my swimming pool filled with CHOCOLATE being stirred with giant mixers.

The outdoor lighting fixtures at the plant were in the shape of Hershey Kisses. At the end of the tours, the buses brought the visitors back to the Visitors Center where one could buy lots and lots of CHOCOLATE .

[jaycee]

I love your “chocolate graphics” and delicious recipe for Chocolate Decadence”...I bet you’ve made that one! It doesn’t seen too terribly hard to do! Thanks, Billie. I guess everyone’s as busy as bees trying to do everything, I know I am! Happy Chocolate Baking!!

[jaycee]

"Chocolate Fondue"

[lonestar]

lonestar is a chocoholic.

Did you know that chocolate is poisonous to me? I've already been poisoned twice...and didn't have the pleasure of eating chocolate! That's why I am boss of Rainbow Bridge.

We're busy with The Bridge's Thanksgiving Dinner. Needless to say, we are vegetarians!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my FReeper aunts and uncles.

Weinie

[JustAmy]

Good morning, Billie.
Happy Choklit

No PaintShopPro on this laptop.
Sorry ... no original, but how about some fun choklit?

Thank you for today's delicious Opener. :)

Wishing you a lovely day filled with chocolate.

[Mama_Bear]

My cousin sent me this warm and fuzzy video this morning. Even though it's not yet WF Wednesday, I have to share it with all my dog and cat lover friends here at Amy's. It's just so sweet how gentle they are with each other.

Gabriel and Stanley, Best Friends...

[Mama_Bear]

Happy Thanksgiving to you, Weinie! So, you'll be serving tofu turkey at Rainbow Bridge? I don't think Bear is going to enjoy it much. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving to lonestar too!

[Billie]

I'm so sorry I haven't been here very much - know everyone is busy getting ready for the holidays, and I can't stay around today either.

Please don't fire me, Amy! I'm not tired of making graphics, promise! but just have had more company than usual and stuff going on.

Do hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving - it appears the holidays have begun! (I'm never ready this soon) :(

[Mama_Bear]

Please don't fire me, Amy!

LOL. Heck, if she hasn't fired me, she sure isn't going to fire you! ;-)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. I am off to brave the crowds at the grocery store!

[WayzataJOHNN]

US President Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and
being an AMERICAN in 1907.

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant
who comes here in good faith becomes an American and
assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact
equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to
discriminate against any such man because of creed,
or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the
person's becoming in every facet an American, and
nothing but an American... There can be no divided
allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American,
but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have
room for but one flag, the American flag.... We have room
for but one language here, and that is the English language...
and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a
loyalty to the American people.'

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

[jaycee]

I love that and am glad you posted it! I’ve heard it a long time ago but needed it again. Wish that was the way our country acted today, “bunch of wimps”....!!