Mum's biscuits!

By popular demand, here is the recipe!  Thanks Mum, you didn't know the recipe would one day be available for the whole world to enjoy!

Mum's biscuits

1 cup* SR flour
 1 cup  dessicated coconut 
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup rolled oats
4 oz marg (1/2 pkt)
1 tbsp syrup
1tsp bicarb
1tbsp boiling water

* I use a small mug

Melt marg & syrup in a saucepan.
Add bicarb to water
Mix everything in together
Roll in small balls (approx golf ball size)
Flatten slightly with a fork (they will spread more as they cook)


Makes 20-24 for decent cookie size!


Gas Mark 3  325F or 170 C for 15-20 mins. (Best to check after 15mins)


Don't know how long they keep for.....never last long enough to test!

 

Behold the Man, behold the similarities.

Been reading Zechariah this week and came across these verses this morning which led to much flicking backwards and forwards and cross referencing.  Thanks Vicki for the idea of those narrow little "post it" tabs for the tops of pages, haven't got it quite as organised as you yet!

I had just finished the first 8 verses of chapter 6, thinking "God, what the heck, what are you saying here....divine judgements etc"  It was a little early in the morning to get my head around. Another sip of tea followed, the page was turned over and I continue to read on from verse 9....when, helloooo this is sounding familiar:

I read it in the New International version, but actually I think I prefer it in the NKJ below:

Zechariah 6:9-13 (New King James Version)

⁹ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ¹⁰ “Receive the gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying:

      “ Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
      From His place He shall branch out,
      And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
       ¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD.
      He shall bear the glory,
      And shall sit and rule on His throne;
      So He shall be a priest on His throne,
      And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’

Apparently the Jews regarded verse 12 as referring to the coming Messiah, The verses above describing the crowning and reign of the Messianic King-Priest.

Isaiah 11

The Branch From Jesse
 ¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
       from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  ² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
       the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
       the Spirit of counsel and of power,
       the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
 ³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
       He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
       or decide by what he hears with his ears;



The words "Behold the Man" stood out to me. I turned to this New Testament passage where I remembered reading that phrase before:

John 19 (New King James Version)

John 19

 ¹ So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. ² And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. ³ Then they said,^[a] “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.
⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”
⁶ Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

A different crown, a purple robe, "Behold the Man".

No wonder they were furious, I bet they saw the similarities...or perhaps I am reading too much into it! So what was the charge?

 Matthew 26

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, the elders,^[g] and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ⁶⁰ but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.^[h] But at last two false witnesses^[i] came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”
⁶² And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Interesting comparison to the Zechariah verses re: the temple (build or destroy?) and the throne.

Finally I remembered the angel's visit to Mary:

 Luke 1 30-33

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

I get excited when these phrases pop up and get me thinking and questioning....

So anyway, I finished my cuppa and let the chickens out!

Here endeth the first lesson!

Autumn Days

Saturday in pictures! First the chutney in the mix, dh is at the other end of the kitchen making "freezer failure jam" which consists of a variety of soft fruits needing to be turned into something else, quickly!  The freezer itself is behaving at the moment, no sign of a flashing red light, but it is on a yellow card and we're watching...

No nutcrackers, so those that we were unable to prise open were crunched with a metal contraption retrieved from D's tool box.....I can't photograph it as he  has secreted it away again and I'm not about to go rummaging in the equivalent of "The Man Drawer".

I do knit other things apart from dishcloths! However I have wool to use up and I know I can knit AND talk with this easy pattern....such matters are important.

Shredding is under way!  Light is now filtering through the front rockery area, over
enthusiastic tree given a haircut.... a ruthless number 1 by looks of it!

Result!

Meant to do a before and after, but knew that if I came in to find the camera, I could get distracted!  You can see the tub filled with old tomato plants amonst other things.  The soil was AMAZING, so easy to lift....having Hattie on that site for a few years certainly paid off.  Hoping to do the same with the other girls when we relocate them to the end of the garden.  Hardly took any time at all, quite impressed.

Then of course I had to go and see the girls, camera in hand!  Don't always manage to get them all in one shot, so.... from left to right we have:
 Connie- Silver-laced wyandotte, our  shy introvert and bottom of the pecking order.
Xena or to give her her full title: Xena Fox Fighter Warrior Princess, (she lived to tell the tale...and we will never forget the night) top of the pecking order, into her 5th year now.  Shes a Light Sussex goes broody every May....but doesn't have a flounce now when we remove her from the next box and order her to "Eat something, already!"
Dolly: Cream Legbar (blue egg layer) Total extrovert and very nosey.  Sports a frivolous hairdo...
Gert (and she is, people think she is a turkey from a distance!) Blue Orpington, gentle giant.

and then there's Mabel who is our one remaining exbatt.  She has the "Acropalace" all to herself  but doesn't seem too lonely since we lost Hattie recently :(  She is able to see what's going on. We pop in to see her and chat, but she doesn't enjoy being touched unlike Hattie who was aways "in your face"!

I can't believe she kept still for long enough for me to take this.

A perfect pear..see what I did there.....

Not so perfect windfalls...got some work to do here....little by little!

and finally the jam that D made.  I cleaned them up and removed all the old labels ready for him to attach a description and date.  I can't bear old labels stuck under new ones.....it all has to look new and shiny. About such things I make my stand!

Simple Woman's Daybook

1. 

Outside my window… it is "as black as your father's hat"

I am thinking... "one day at a time....lived to the full..."

I am thankful for... my church family who teach me so much. I am so privileged to have such people in my life.

I am learning that…when the pears fall off the tree, they are generally ripe after a couple of days in my kitchen.

From the kitchen...comes the aroma of a chicken meal cooked by N, made up (always the best!)  Secret ingredient?  Syrup....but it worked!

I am wearing...my work uniform and wondering when the new tops will arrive....

I am creating...many things in my head that involve ensuites and dining areas, kitchens and bathrooms....all dreams for now. I am content but this word facillitate keeps popping up!

I am going... to Bath Spa on Sunday afternoon, with the Friday girls, A pool on the roof?!

I am reading…Zephaniah and River Cottage Cookbook :)

I am praying…"Your kingdom come in Yeovil"

Noticing that…cobwebs are strangely beautiful when covered with dew.

I am hearing... David cough, Dh type, the computer fan and clocks ticking.

Around the house...there is a pile of unsorted washing on the stairs, still damp from the line. I will hang them before bed, which will be soon.

One of my favourite things...dinner cooked for me.

Pondering these words…" But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always"  didn't expect to discover that in Hosea last week! (12:6)

A few plans for the rest of the week: get to grips with the camera, I am missing out on so much that it can do......but I wish there was an instruction BOOK instead of flippin' software to download.

A picture to share…

An English cream tea !

Between washing the windows and making the chutney

It's Saturday, nearly evening and if I sit here for much longer, the green tomato chutney will be just a an unticked job on my list.  I sit here in baggy joggers, surrounded by magazines that "need sorting" Home Farmer to the left, "Slimming World" to the right. The house in a sort of "lived in" chaos, at least I've cleaned the windows and can see out!  Blackberries never got picked form the hedgerows...perhaps tomorrow...after the chutney....after lunch...after meeting with my precious (( church family))... :)

But I did come across this blog today and much of what she has written here resonates with me, I do find it reassuring todiscover there are people across the world thinking similar thoughts, but manage to say it far more eloquently that I can!  See what you think:

http://sharonastyk.com/2010/09/23/staying-put-2/


And then there is Anita Renfroe, hopefully I've spelled her name correctly, who made me smile on this quirky clip.  Some of you may remember her from "the Mom song"!






A small peep at part of my Saturday. Tomorrow I will look at Autumn and marvel at cobwebs beaded with dew....perhaps I will practice macro settings until I get it right....