My Bubbling Teapot

Life has precious moments of blessings. I would like to share three with you. (1)Last weekend our church enjoyed a weekend retreat at a a Christian retreat center. Our theme was prayer and I felt God nudging me to spend more time with Him. Thanks, Lavern and Lolita, for planning such a great weekend! (2) Corleen led a "children's choir" on Sunday morning. It was awesome, Cor!! And the message powerful! Thanks, children!!! The children singing "Love is a Flag" (3) Robin's sister, Caia spent some time here and she blessed me in so many little ways. Thanks, Caia! You were a blessing! She sewed Allison and Hadassah, and Annaliese all look-alikes!!! What a thoughtful gift. Our girlies were happy to wear them at the weekend retreat. It was especially appreciated since I don't seem to find much time to sew recently! (or is that ever?) The three girls wearing their dresses with Caia!!!

Today I'm making monster cookies. And I'm realizing how many American ingredients it takes--peanut butter (ok, we CAN buy it here, but it is expensive and not very good), brown sugar, corn syrup, and chocolate chips. That's a long list of things I can't get here. So, I try not to make these kinds of cookies too often. More substitutes (this time some dressings I like that I can't buy here): Ranch Dressing 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 tsp. onion salt, garlic salt, celery salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes Mix together and use on your favorite salads! French Dressing 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. vinegar 1/4 cup ketchup 1 tsp. mustard 1 tsp. paprika 1/4 tsp. salt 2 tsp. water 1/4 cup oil Mix and serve! Italian Dressing 2/3 cup cold water 1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 2 tsp. onion powder 1 Tbsp. sugar 1/8 tsp.pepper, allspice, paprika 1 tsp. celery salt, garlic powder 1/4 tsp. oregano 2 soda crackers Combine in blender. Blend until...

Trying to follow an American recipe in Poland can be a catastrophe. Especially, those recipes that say "Quick and Easy." About 99% of the time, I must first of all make my substitutes for the time-saving bought ingredients that aren't available over here. After all my dishes are dirty preparing all the ingredients, I can then assemble the recipe. Unfortunately, for me, these recipes become quite complicated. Georgene posted about being faithful in little things. I thought I would post some of the substitutes I've learned to use. Maybe some of you can save some money by preparing your own substitutes. Bisquick Substitute 8 cups flour 4 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder 8 tsp. sugar 2 tsp. cream of tartar 2 tsp. salt 1 3/4 cups shortening Mix until finely crumbled. Store in air-tight container or in the freezer. Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup powdered milk 1/2 cup warm water Blend in blender until smooth. Chill. Cream Soup Mix 2 cups instant dry m...

...and we found out that is a long ride!!! Friday we took the children on a school field trip. We left at 4 a.m. from home to catch our boat at 8 in the town of Elblag and spent all day riding a boat in the lake region of Poland through canals, over lakes, down rivers, over land (!!!), through locks, and finally docked in the town of Ostroda at 9 pm (a little later than we planned)!!! We saw some awesome scenery, consumed two back-packs full of food, identified birds, talked to other people on the boat, and just relaxed in the sunshine and enjoyed being together as a family. A boat we met coming up the canal from the same company that we were riding with. Yes, the canal just suddenly ended. There were five slopes like this on our trip and a little cart carried the boat and us up a total of three hundred feet during a 6 mile distance. Amazing! And interesting. The little cart like the one we rode up the slope on! The whole crew ready for adventure The Captain and First Mate (that'...