Hmmm...

We live on a few acres in the North Central Texas Hill Country. I was thinking yesterday-is it an extraordinarily beautiful spring or are extraordinary circumstances making me enjoy and appreciate it more this year?  These pictures are internet photos-I'm not a great photographer, but it really does look just like this right now!

Surprise! Our own special flower photo sent by her mom this week! Boy do I wish I could hug her and kiss those sweet cheeks!

Social Distancing...

...from everything except food. There seem to phases that some people are going through in this quarantining. We are officially at the eating everything in sight phase. Ok, not quite that bad, but we have definitely been spending more time cooking and eating at home. Yesterday, I cooked two T-bones from our last steer that we put in the freezer. We didn't want to bother with firing up the grill, so I marinated them in Claude's Fajita Marinade and some homemade oil and vinegar dressing.

This stuff is really good-smoky, salty and has some heat too. Makes a great marinade for any kind of meat when combined with italian salad dressing like Kraft Zesty Italian. Anyway, I have pan grilled steaks before and haven't always been pleased with the results. We generally like our steaks on the medium rare side. This time, I did what is called a Reverse Sear. I saw it on a PBS cooking show and decided to try it. After marinating them in the fridge for a few hours and then letting them come up to room temperature, I put the two large, 1" thick steaks into a 200 degree oven for 45 minutes. Then I seared them for 1 minute per side in a hot cast iron skillet on top of the stove. (3 Tbsp. of canola oil in the skillet and then let it heat until it shimmers and just starts to smoke.) They were perfect! Medium rare, juicy and tender!
https://tasty.co/recipe/reverse-sear-steak tells how to do it.

I also made Amish Broccoli and Cauliflower salad and apple crisp for dessert. At this rate, they will have to roll us out the door when quarantining is over!

Brrrr

We had a quiet Easter-watched our church's services online. We sure missed having the usual Easter egg hunt with all the kids and grands here. Our daughter did drive out with her two youngest and we visited at the regulation 6 feet apart while the kids played in the yard. No hugs or kisses, but it was so good to see them! 

Today, the weather has turned cold and we even have a freeze watch tonight. It should start warming up a little every day after this. Our last cold front hopefully.

Got out my sewing machine and made a mask for my husband. Probably will make some more tomorrow. I did enjoy sewing again-mended a rag quilt I made a while back that was coming undone in a few places. Quiet days, but that's ok. I've read more books than I have in quite a while and even sorted both of my junk drawers!

Stay safe and well, everyone.

Happy Easter!

He is risen indeed!

It's Friday but Sunday is Coming

I post this every Good Friday, but it has even more meaning for me this year. No matter how hard it seems today, the day is coming when this will all be over. Not just isolation and the virus, but all of our sorrows and fears, all sickness and death will be over. Because of all that Jesus did for us on that Friday so long ago. 

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

It may be Friday now, but Sunday's coming! Praise God! 

It’s Friday

Jesus is praying
Peter’s a sleeping
Judas is betraying
But Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
Pilate’s struggling
The council is conspiring
The crowd is vilifying
They don’t even know
That Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The disciples are running
Like sheep without a shepherd
Mary’s crying
Peter is denying
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s a comin’

It’s Friday
The Romans beat my Jesus
They robe him in scarlet
They crown him with thorns
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
See Jesus walking to Calvary
His blood dripping
His body stumbling
And his spirit’s burdened
But you see, it’s only Friday
Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The world’s winning
People are sinning
And evil’s grinning

It’s Friday
The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands
To the cross
They nail my Savior’s feet
To the cross
And then they raise him up
Next to criminals

It’s Friday
But let me tell you something
Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The disciples are questioning
What has happened to their King
And the Pharisees are celebrating
That their scheming
Has been achieved
But they don’t know
It’s only Friday
Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
He’s hanging on the cross
Feeling forsaken by his Father
Left alone and dying
Can nobody save him?

Ooooh
It’s Friday
But Sunday’s comin’
It’s Friday
The earth trembles
The sky grows dark
My King yields his spirit
It’s Friday
Hope is lost
Death has won
Sin has conquered
and Satan’s just a laughin’
It’s Friday
Jesus is buried
A soldier stands guard
And a rock is rolled into place
But it’s Friday
It is only Friday
Sunday is a comin’!

One Day Closer

Update:
I went back and looked-this is what he (Bret Baier) actually said, which I like just as much:

“when the sun sets tonight, we will be one day closer to putting this all behind us. We’re all in this together.”

It's easy, sometimes, to feel like this situation is a "never-ending story". The days stretch out and sometimes it's hard to see any end in sight. The other day, a news correspondent said something that struck a chord with me and I'm to trying to think about it in this way. At the end of his newscast, he said (paraphrasing here) "Remember-today we are one day closer to the last day of this difficult time."