Rest in Peace - Debbie

One of my best friends, Debbie, died late last year. She was a very good person and a great friend. Debbie and I met in the 1980's when she was just going through a divorce and recovering from a transplant operation. 

She had suffered brittle diabetes all through her life from the time she was about 12 years old. Gradually, it undermined her health until, in her early 60's. she died from the effects of influenza. At the time of her death, she had been blind for several years; a result of the diabetes. 

She was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I miss her and her prayers and her exemplary devotion to the Savior.

This is one of her favorite poems:

A Psalm of Life

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 

   Life is but an empty dream! 

For the soul is dead that slumbers, 

   And things are not what they seem. 

Life is real! Life is earnest! 

   And the grave is not its goal; 

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

   Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

   Is our destined end or way; 

But to act, that each to-morrow 

   Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

   And our hearts, though stout and brave, 

Still, like muffled drums, are beating 

   Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world’s broad field of battle, 

   In the bivouac of Life, 

Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

   Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! 

   Let the dead Past bury its dead! 

Act,— act in the living Present! 

   Heart within, and God o’erhead! 

Lives of great men all remind us 

   We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 

   Footprints on the sands of time; 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 

   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, 

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 

   Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing, 

   With a heart for any fate; 

Still achieving, still pursuing, 

   Learn to labor and to wait.

Easter Treats in Easter Colors

It's that time of year again, friends, when families gather for the Easter Feast. Our Easter Feast is simple this year: Ham, Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Twice-baked Potatoes and, for dessert, Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting or, Strawberry Shortcake, if you would rather. Oh, and don't forget those Deviled Eggs, because, well, you know why! The Easter Bunny left a passel of eggs all over the place!

Yup. A Passel of Eggs......and me with no Paas Dye Kit. But I just happened to hear a lady online talking about natural dyes, so I leant an ear (you can relate to this, all you Easter Bunnies) and this is what I came up with. Boiled eggs dyed in red cabbage (blue) and turmeric (yellow). The pink eggs were done with food coloring and white rice. Intriguing, eh?

For the blue, boil 2 cups red cabbage in water to cover for 30 minutes. Strain, add 1 T. white vinegar and let cool. Dip eggs for 30 minutes, turning to cover, if needed. For the yellow, bring 2 cups water to the boil and add 2 T. Turmeric with 1 T. white vinegar. Stir well and let cool. Dip eggs for about 15 minutes and rinse off excess yellow. For the pink, place about 3/4 c. white rice in a quart cottage cheese container. Add about 6 drops of Red food coloring. Cover and shake well. Add the hard boiled egg and shake gently for a minute of two, rolling the egg around really well. When it comes out, it will be a lovely pale pink! So that's how we got our eggs colored this year. EEEEEK! What's that?

Katrina has joined the photo shoot. "What are these things, anyway?"

"Boring. I thought they were something interesting, like Whipped Cream Frosting. I lllovvvvved the bits of that you gave me earlier. Where is it now? It was about the same color......"

"Come on, you can tell me where the frosting went."

"I'm starving for a dollop of frosting."

"Okay, fine. I'll go look under the table for something to irritate you with while you're trying to blog."

And so she disappeared under the table and I quickly brought in the plate of cupcakes. She would, literally, have licked everyone of these bare, had I left her unattended with them. Earlier, I gave her a teaspoonful of the frosting before I colored it. She's been underfoot ever since!

Well, this is our little Easter treat. These were made with a sugar-free yellow cake mix (because some of us are diabetic) and the Whipped Cream Frosting. They are very tasty, with a hint of almond in the frosting. There's cream cheese in there, too, which gives it a slight Cheesecake flavor. 

You have to frost them and put them in the fridge, though. They won't stand at room temp without sagging a bit. But chilled, they perk right up. And they are very good.

"Whipped Cream Frosting"

1 - 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 c. White Sugar

1 t. Vanilla

1/2 t. Almond Extract

2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream

Mix the first 4 ingredients together on medium speed until smooth. Up the speed to whip and slowly pour in the cream. Keep whipping, stopping to scrape the bowl a couple of times. Whip until the mixture can hold a stiff peak. Stir in food coloring as needed. This will frost 24 cupcakes.

Happy Easter, Friends. May your feast be filling and festive. May our hearts be one with the Reason for our feast, even our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived to show us the way home again; and  who died that we might have Eternal Life.