The Last Five Books I've Read

This installment of "Five Books" is really six books. Seems I'm always a little tardy with this series! Here goes:

6. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner. A former NPR correspondent, Mr. Weiner travels the world to find happiness. He makes some conclusions about what does and doesn't make for happiness, but in the end I was happy that knew his story. Funny guy that Eric. My rating: ****

5. Decision Points by George W. Bush. President Bush admits some mistakes but stands by his decisions in this memoir. I enjoyed his personal stories and his perspectives of his presidency. I am a George W. Bush fan. My rating: ****

4. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. A failed attempt to climb the world's second tallest mountain led to the construction of more than 50 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was accomplished by knowing this Baltistan proverb: The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." Mr. Mortenson's book made me think that foreign relations should be smoother going than it is today. My rating: ***

3. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. In this book, you go along with the author as she raises her two daughters. She was a very strict Chinese mom and the girls are very successful. But at what cost? My rating: ***

2. Witness in Death by J. D. Robb. This is the 11th book of a series of 35 -- so far, and yes, I've read the previous 10. This series, set in the 2050s, stars Eve Dallas - a dedicated cop, and her husband Roarke - the richest man on the planet. In this installment a man is murdered onstage while Dallas and Roarke are in the audience. I didn't figure out "who did it." I never do. :) My rating: ***

1. The Angels of Morgan Hill by Donna VanLiere. A black family moves to Morgan Hill on the day of Jane's daddy's funeral, both events making life difficult for Jane and her family. This book is about growing up in the South, about poverty, and about overcoming racism. I loved it. My rating: *****

Up next: The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli. I guess Randy can't keep a secret!

Cupcakes Always Make Things Better

I received a surprise in the mail a couple of weeks ago from my best friend Mary Lou. The gift came right in the middle of several weeks that were a little tough, and the note she included made my day. "Cupcakes always make things better!"

Here's the gift: the hummingbird bakery cookbook. Lots of recipes and beautifully illustrated. I was ready to begin, and I chose to whip up a batch of chocolate muffins.

I gathered everything I needed.

Mix the eggs and sugar together.

Alternately add the dry ingredients --

-- and the milk.

Stir in the melted butter.

Fold in the chocolate.

Fill up the liners and the muffin tins are ready to go to the oven.

Yum!

Chocolate Muffins

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

a pinch of salt

2/3 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick plus 3 Tablespoons butter, melted

4 ounces milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Put the eggs and sugar in a mixer and beat until pale and well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk and vanilla. Gradually beat these 2 mixtures alternately into the egg mixture little by little. Beat until just incorporated.

4. Stir in the melted butter with a wooden spoon, the fold in the chocolate until evenly dispersed.

5. Spoon the batter into the paper lines until 2/3 full and bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Cookie Bake-Off

I challenged Marilyn to a cookie bake-off this month. The mission (if she chose to accept it) was to bake a batch of cookies, then give them all away to three different people, families, or groups. Except, of course, for the one(s) you have to eat to make sure they are good enough to give away! Marilyn accepted the mission and the big day was yesterday.

We decided to make the same cookies: Double Chocolate and Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies ... with Sea Salt.

I gathered my ingredients.

Cream the butter and sugars together.

Add melted white chocolate/peanut butter, egg and vanilla.

Toss in the dry ingredients.

Then the pretzels.

And the chocolate chips.

I put the dough on my new Silpat baking mat (Thanks, Mom. Love it!) and sprinkled each cookie with a touch of sea salt. Bake --

-- and enjoy!

These cookies ended up being dangerously delicious. I ate three of them -- so I know for sure!!

Here's who I shared with:

1) Julie, Jeremy, Noah, Libby and Clara

2) Ruth's Place Clinic

3) Charlie and Louise Green, my next door neighbors

And here's the recipe:

Double Chocolate and Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies ... with Sea Salt

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter ( reserve 2 Tablespoons to melt)

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup broken pretzel pieces

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Sea Salt in grinder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Melt white chocolate chips and 2 Tablespoons peanut butter over a double boiler until melted. Add melted chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter to beaten butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt in bowl; mix to combine. Add to wet ingredients until just combined then pour in pretzels and milk chocolate chips. With a cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With the palms of your hand, gently press down each cookie to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Sprinkle each cookie with a touch of sea salt. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until edges become golden and slightly crisp. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before removing.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Be Connected

The universe gave me this message yesterday:

"Our lives in Christ are meant to be extraordinary, incredible, meaningful and purposeful but never trouble-free. God keeps you in the pressure-cooker of life so others can see how a life connected to Jesus confronts problems in a very different way than a life that is disconnected from Jesus."

And the winner is:

Marilyn Foster!

Congratulations.

Here are the correct movies:

1. Free Willy 1

2. Rumble in the Bronx

3. Rainman

4. Apollo 13

5. Free Willy 2

6. Play the Game

7. Starman

8. 2012

9. 50 First Dates

10. Notting Hill

It's A Giveaway!

Mitch and I had the opportunity to be at our cabin in New Mexico for a week recently. It was good for us to have so much free time that we could spend hours watching movies. Ten of them in fact!

I'm turning our movie time into a giveaway. I'll post a line from each movie and you tell me which movie we watched.

The first one with all correct answers wins a prize. A great prize: Pajamajeans!! (www.pajamajeans.com/flare/next) Everyone wants a pair (or their wife does!)

Important: do not leave your answers as a comment. I don't know how to keep others from seeing your answers. Email them to me at lucas111@charter.net. If no one guesses all the movies correctly, I'll randomly select a winner from all of the entries. The contest is over on Monday night, 6 pm my time. Good luck.

1. "We can take him by the bay, and put him back in the water."

2. "I hope next time we meet, we will be drinking tea."

3. "It's a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. Straight 8. Fireball 8. Only 8,985 production models. Dad lets me drive slow on the driveway. But not on Monday, definitely not on Monday."

4. "Failure is not an option."

5. one boy: "Traitor. Girls are the enemy." other boy: " No, YOU are the enemy."

6. "If you want to win the game with women, Grandpa, you first need to learn how to play the game."

7. "Do you seriously expect me to tell the President that an alien has landed, assumed the identity of a dead housepainter from Madison, Wisconsin and is presently out tooling around the countryside in a hopped up orange and black 1977 Mustang?"

8. "The world, as we know it, will soon come to an end."

9. "Get over it? I mean, what happened? Did I get shot in the brain.... Hi, I'm Tom."

10. "Any horses in that one? Or hounds for that matter. Our readers are intrigued by both species."

Heaven's Love

It's been a rough week, medically speaking. Both of Mitch's parents have had tough medical situations that required urgent intervention.

In the chaos and uncertainty, I've made an effort to notice God's presence in our life. I'm grateful for my experience of seeing heaven through the way people love and care for each other. Here are some of the ways I saw Him.

* In medical professionals taking time to listen to a laundry list of problems and concerns, and then skillfully forming a plan of action

* In the laughter and smiles of their great-grandchildren

* In the concerned voice of our siblings who are far away but are pouring their love straight through the phone lines

* In the presence of their granddaughter and grandson-in-law who rearranged their lives to be there

* In the prayers of a hospital chaplain

* In family, friends and neighbors offering support and asking if they can carry part of the load

* In the face of their son, with tears in his eyes and love in his heart

* In the husband whose love for his wife is not marred by his confusion about other things

* In the wife who wants everything to be "just right" for the man she's loved for the last 60 plus years

It's been a blessing for me this week to see Jesus in the way all of these people care for their families, their parents, their children, their patients, their friends and all of the other people that God brings into their lives.

Heaven's love, on display.

Amen