The new me.....

The end of last year at work we had a bad bit of news on our account. We were informed that the new Medi_Cal account contract was to be awarded to a different company. Of the 16 years I have been working in California, it has all been with the California Medi-Cal account.

I really enjoy the people and the area and was counting on the new contract being awarded to my company so that I could spend the next 10 years right where we are in Loomis.

It seems like the best plans do not always go as well as we would like them to.

Our company has protested the award to the other company and the process may turn around, but we will not know until the first part of March if there will be any change in the state's plans to award the contract to the other company.

Kathy said that I better start looking a bit younger if I need to interview for a different position of a new job somewhere else. She has been experimenting on my new look.

Well, Do I look younger ?

Snow in Loomis

It finally happened !

We woke up this morning to snow an the ground at our house in Loomis, California.

OK, so we shouldn't get excited but it is the first time this has happened in the sixteen years that we have lived here.

Mom even went out and built a snow man. It was so pretty to drive to work in snow covered trees and landscape.

Some of our favorite pictures from Liz's wedding:

Rod’s Stew Recipe

I thought I would share the recipe for the beef stew that our family likes so much. So here you go:

1 2lb. London broil steak cut into small ½ inch cubes
4 Whole medium sized Carrots, sliced into thin round slices
1 Medium-sized Onion, chopped
1 Garlic head, peel cloves and slice into small pieces
4 Celery stocks, sliced into thin slices
1 Bell Pepper (Red or Green), chopped into small pieces
2 Quarter of water
3 Tablespoons of beef seasoning
2 Tablespoons of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Cube the London broil steak and brown in it an open pressure cooker until brown and the juices are coming out, then seal the lid and put the weight in place and bring to full pressure and cook for ten minutes after the weight begins to rock.

Cool the pressure cooker and remove the lid, then add the rest of the ingredients. Replace the lid and weight and bring to full pressure again and cook for five minutes after the weight begins to rock. Again cool the pressure cooker, remove lid. Thicken with cornstarch or flour.

It tastes wonderful served hot with fresh hot corn bread (you will have to get your recipe for that).

Enjoy..................

Blessed By His Hand

I lay back in my big leather recliner and closed my eyes, letting the energy flow downward to my stomach. I felt like my life would continue for a few more hours. I didn’t want to move a muscle, laying with my head back and breathing deeply.

A few minutes earlier I was shaking from hunger as I helped put the finishing touches to dinner. Then after saying the blessing to close the fast, the taste of the chili and chips smothered in cheese, guacamole and sour cream with a garnish of chives, was heaven to taste and it was hard not to eat like a ravenous wolf.

My body has never liked the feeling of hunger. Fast day has always been a little hard for me because I don’t like to be hungry. Go figure.

As I lay back, I thought of all my blessings in such abundance. The comfortable home and the sound of little voices and laughter in my ears gave me a sense of fulfillment and a feeling of gratitude for my sweet companion and family. Just thinking about the blessings that the Lord has so freely given me made me feel loved and special.

Sunday afternoon after breaking a fast and being weak from hunger can be a difficult thing to associate with spirituality, but it does bring me closer to the spirit as I recognize more fully the need for constant dependence on physical nourishment for survival.

I suppose that is why it is difficult to get a testimony that fasting is one of the Lords commandments. However I have learned that after a trial, the sweetness of the gospel is more evident and it is easier to feel God’s love for me.

I am grateful for his hand in my life.

Yesterday was Mark's birthday and Mom made a special birthday cake for him. I guess you could say it was a fruit cake.

Grandpa Doesn’t Want To Grow Up - Chapter 7

I held the rainbow trout tightly with both hands. It was slippery and wet, but I had caught it myself and I was not about to let it get away. I had seen fish wiggle out of hands before and plop back into the stream and swim away. This one was not going to get away. I moved away from the stream in case it slipped out of my hands and carefully worked on pulling the hook out of its mouth where it had snagged the fish.

I had sat for an hour on the bank of the Asay river quietly working my fishing line back and forth in the deep pool of water in the bend of the river waiting for the fish to bite just like Grandpa Brooksby had shown me. The first nibble of the fish, I had felt some minutes before and the slight tug on the line told me that a fish was there and patience might just get him to bite hard enough to hook him. The nibble came again harder, but still I waited. Finally the line jerked hard and began to move out into the stream. I had him and it felt like a big one.

Slowly, I began to reel the line in careful to make sure he did not escape and after what seemed like forever, I could see the fish. He was tiring and as I brought him close to the bank of the stream I could see that I had him. I lifted him out of the stream and pulled him out over the bank onto the grassy bank where he lay for a few seconds flopping on the ground. Laying down the willow fishing poll, I reached for the fish and grabbed him tightly. I held him with both hands so he would not get away while I removed the hook.

I was so excited that when I had the hook removed, I ran to where Grandma and mother were sitting to holding him high to show off my success and to put the 10 inch long rainbow trout fish in a container. They were so proud of me and I felt like I had accomplishment a great task. The feel of the fish nibbling the hook and taking the bait was an excitement that I never forgot.