Wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year in 2024! We don’t have a lot of news to report for the past year and, at our ages, that’s a good thing, I expect. In the coming year, we are going to resume some travel in the big RV, probably starting soon. The main trip this year will be to travel to Waco, TX, for the total eclipse of the sun.
Have a happy and prosperous 2024!
Verna and I wish each and everyone a joyous Christmas. We are celebrating quietly here at home with a planned feast in the afternoon of Chateaubriand, Braised Brussels Sprouts and Loaded Mashed Fauxtatoes (low-carb cauliflower masquerading as ‘taters).
The roast is from a whole beef tenderloin I recently butchered into several steaks and other beef goodies to be consumed later. We will be feasting on them for weeks to come.
Image above: The Virgin with Angels” by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, oil on canvas, completed around 1900. The original painting is in a museum in Paris, France. I overlaid the scripture on the image. you can see the original here.
Happy Thanksgiving from our household to yours! We will be celebrating the day of thanks by feasting, as usual, serving traditional turkey and all the trimmings (tailored to our diets, of course). We wish for you a peaceful and enjoyable day of thanks.
In yesterday mornings reading, The Patriot Post included this Thanksgiving message given by President Ronald Reagan:
We Americans have so much for which to be thankful. … But prosperity is not an end in itself. It helps us pay attention to the more important things: raising our children as we want them to be raised, helping others in need, and bringing nations together in peace. … We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It’s there; it’s sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams. Think of those around the world who cannot bow their heads in prayer without risking their lives. … And then think of how blessed we are to be Americans. Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord’s blessings. … Let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom.
We ask you to give prayerful thanks for our freedoms and pray for peace at home and elsewhere.
Best wishes for a Happy 4th of July Holiday! We’re going to be celebrating by going off our diets a bit and splurge with some goodies on the grill, despite the forecast high temperature of about 108°F. That’s cooled down from the weekend’s highs of 112°F.
Clickable Image: US and AZ Flags flying above our little abode.
We’re keeping a positive attitude for our Country’s Freedom and Prosperity given some recent positive-for-freedom decisions by the Supreme Court of the U. S. There are also some promising decisions in Inferior Federal Courts that deal with the restoration of our Second Amendment Rights. Really, these are God given rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the U. S. We might point out that recent news coverage of Bruen and other Second Amendment Cases declare that these rulings are “expanding” our rights, when, in fact, these decisions are merely restoring those original rights according to the original text of the founding documents and historical tradition.
We continue to pray for our Nation on this 247th Anniversary of it’s founding. May God’s blessings fall on our Country and all the inhabitants therein. So, we hope everyone has a safe and sane Independence Day Holiday. Keep cool and God Bless.
We spent the early part of this Holiday in remembrance of those who were unable to return from the battles that kept America a Free and Sovereign Republic. We also recognize that all of our battles aren’t necessarily out and out warfare in the classical sense. We have troubles domestically with those wishing to disarm and enslave us. Prepare accordingly.
Now, we will post some of the beautiful flowers that are opening daily in this late spring season in and around our Arizona home. Photo credits are both Verna and Bob. Click on the images to enlarge.
Cherry Red Cactus Flower Cluster:
Cactus flower of unknown species – a gift from our sister, BB:
A Fish Hook Cactus Flower:
A Flower Trio of Argentine Giant Cactus:
We hope you enjoyed your Holiday and our flower photos. Come back soon.
Our annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day will consist of a weekend of feasting. Tomorrow, on St. Patrick’s Day proper (Friday), we will be having Irish-American traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner. On Saturday, the plan is for Irish Pork Stew and on Sunday, Shepherd’s Pie. All of the meals will be prepared in accordance with our current dietary restrictions, i.e. low-sodium and low-carb. (OK — we cheat a teensy bit with some of the faire, but not blatantly.)
Tonight, the corned beef brisket is already in the crock pot and (not connected with the weekend feasting) there is a nine-pound pork shoulder roast in the smoker. The latter is to be shredded and put away in the freezer for future smoked pork delights such as pulled-pork sandwiches, pork enchiladas, etc. The roast was on sale at under a dollar a pound, so we invested in it.
Back to St. Patrick: we have taken to celebrating Irish festivals due to our DNA-certified western European heritage that includes Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and other north-western Europe roots. The Irish shows up in both of our DNA analyses as well as both of our family tree genealogy traces. So, Irish we are, especially on days like March 17th.
Saint Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint, known for spreading Christianity throughout the country as a missionary during the 5th century.
The man who would come to be known as Saint Patrick was a missionary that helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland during the 5th century. Much remains unknown about his life, including his birth name, but British-born Patrick became a devout Christian during his six-year enslavement in Ireland. He escaped only to return to Ireland later in life as a missionary, combining Irish pagan beliefs with Christian sacrament in his teachings. A religious figure within the Christian and Catholic faiths, he died around 461 AD and later became the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick is annually honored throughout the world on his feast day, March 17.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
