It’s hard to believe that two years ago, right now, I was visiting Nano, for the last time and I didn’t know it.  
She wasn’t feeling so well.  As a matter of fact she was feeling terrible and I was thankful to be there, to push her around, quite literally and to make her smile with memories of our past antics.

I had no idea when I was knee high, that my strict, determined mama and I would actually one day be travel buddies. Oh we didn’t go far. Trips to the cottage and visits with old friends and a few stays in some beautiful hotels and lots of delicious food.
She’s gone, but boy have I got some happy memories. Those four weeks in the fall of 2015 were likely the hardest ones I’ve lived, but they were also the best. Family and tears and hugs and whispers and hand holding and
Loving
each other
and her. It was the end of our times together and I feel sad about it but it’s onward for us, upward for her. It’s Jesus and Nano and Papa and so many others
together
and I’m going to see them again.

I suppose this is my life from here to then. Every fall, The mess of Putting Up and canning and picking and cooking will always and forever remind me of days long gone. The preachers wife doing what needed doing so we could eat fruit and vegetables all winter.
A warm kitchen and a set table and jars of peaches and plums and cherries and apple pies and
I’m not kidding
it
always
smelled
so good in Nano’s kitchen.

Do you remember, Jan, the time you came to visit when I was there to visit, at that mint green condo? It was literally the crack of dawn and Nano was still driving that little silver car then. I woke up, early, to smell something baking and wondered
what in the World
and I called to her from that little bed in that little room and she said she was making
muffins for breakfast but she needed to do a wee errand before we ate them.
I thought nothing of it and turned over under that pink quilt that you had used at Bible College and she still had it and I slept under it when I went.
Just a few minutes later the door opened and in she walked, with you right behind. She had picked you up at the little airport down the street and over a couple of roads near the blueberry farms.
You had come to see us and we ate muffins, warm, and Nano had her apron on and it was fun
and crazy but such a good idea.

I cannot eat a muffin without thinking of her. Just the other day I was telling someone that Nano would not eat a muffin if it couldn’t first be heated. In a cafe or at an airport or on the road, muffins needed to be warm and better still, have a dab of butter.
You know, I’m the same now.
“Is it possible to have this heated up”? I ask. Sometimes the answer is “no” and sometimes the server looks at me strange but
it never hurts to ask as long as you ask nicely!

I made muffins this week. They are so good. Nano would love them and I would love to share them with her. I would of course heat hers first and add some butter and there would be tea involved and likely an apron or two.

There is a new stock of aprons on the  apron market (everyday link) and you really should try the zucchini breakfast muffins.

I did some preserving of tomatoes, just the other day. Fall is in the air and I’ve told you before (you can check the archives of the blog. Just type in August or September ’14, ’15, ’16) how the preserving bug hits most years at just about this time. It may be hereditary for all I know. Nano sure was bitten by the same Fall preserving bug, every one of my growing up years. She loved to do it and she passed that love on to me. Sure it’s work, but it’s so rewarding.  In Nano’s case, she needed to preserve in order to have food for the winter.  As recent as my childhood, which is not actually that recent as it turns out, we had a fruit cellar filled with all sorts of fruit and vegetables that Nano had “put up”.

An important fact I am learning about tomatoes is that they need to be ripe.  I mean, not just reddish.  They need to be red and then some.   If you can find a market or a farm where they are grown, the farmer will give you a lesson on tomatoes and what makes them delicious.  It’s late summer, so we don’t want to be buying tomatoes that taste like winter time tomatoes.  If you leave them to ripen properly they are so sweet you will not soon forget what a ripe tomato tastes like.

I’m going to give you the recipes and despite being a messy job, I enjoy the process. The key to keeping your sanity is to prepare before starting. You will need a large pot. Believe me, kitchen work/cooking is so much more efficient and enjoyable if you use the right sized equipment. I have a Large cutting board and I have a Large stock pot(Large being approx.10 to 12 litres). If you don’t have either, Caynes or the Bay are great sources.

Roll up your sleeves and get your gear in order.

I have had roasted tomatoes a few times in restaurants, on charcuterie platters. They make a beautiful and delicious addition, in a pretty bowl. They are also fantastic on a grilled cheese or deli style sandwich.  You can even put them on pizza.  Oh and I almost forgot, on a platter with burrata.   I decided to make a batch of my own, to keep on hand.
Try them. They are so good!

I also canned ten pints (500 ml) of tomato “sauce”. The quotation marks are added because “sauce” is very subjective. Some like it spicy, some like it thick, some like it thin, some like it sweet. You understand! I made it medium thickness and I’m calling it sauce. The prep for most tomato recipes is the same. These recipes are the same initial prep as for my Salsa Recipe. Taste as you are cooking and decide if you want more salt, or more spice. I think it’s always wise to start with less until you taste, even if your recipe source is reliable.  Another thing to remember is that the spice becomes more intense as the sauce sits and “ripens”.

Click on the highlighted links to find the recipes.

I have some recipes for you.

So obviously I have a bit of a thing for roasted vegetables. This is the third time I’ve posted some sort of roasted vegetables on Nanos Aprons.
Here’s the thing. They are just. so. versatile. I made these a couple of days ago, to add to the kale salad I was making for my grown up little ones. They are fond of kale/vegetable salad and I am happy to whip it up for them. I now have some leftovers and guess what,
I think I’ll put those leftovers in the ground chicken soup (check footnote at the bottom of the page***) I’m about to make. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let’s talk about the vegetables and from there we can move on to the soup.
The recipes are for roasted cauliflower and roasted sweet potato and ground chicken soup.
Oh and some of you were asking about the peach/mango/avocado salsa I made last weekend. It’s right here on the blog. Just click the link.

If you have invited some friends for lunch and are looking for a yummy and easy lunch idea, check out this
Triple salad platter idea. I made it with Chicken salad #2 and potato salad, but go ahead and use other favourite salads if you prefer.  You can also make chicken salad out of plain old leftover chicken that you have in the fridge.   Be adventuresome with your seasoning and your dressing.  If you don’t want to use the recipes I have provided, use these recipes as a jumping off point.  The platter sits beautifully in the center of the table and everybody helps him/herself to whatever they want. Put a cheese board on the table or a basket of fresh bread or buns. Chit and chat and eat and your visit will be memorable indeed. The potato salad recipe has apple in it as does the chicken salad #2. Feel free to leave the apple out of one of these dishes.
The chicken salad is so good. I ate it that day for lunch and then for dinner.

Please click on the highlighted words above↑, which are actually links that will take you to the recipes.

♥

***Footnote!
For goodness Sake! Went to the pantry to get some chicken stock and guess what, no chicken stock!
Oh Well, I just used water and added one can of aurora diced tomatoes and 2 TBLSP. balsamic vinegar. Oh and I had a yellow pepper in the fridge that was juuuuuust about done, so I diced that up too. See, never panic. Just a bit of This if you don’t have any of That and you are golden.

This Summer has been quite something.  For me, a summer person, I have waited, day after day for the warm weather to present itself.  To be fair, there have been some beauties. Not enough for my liking but on the rare occasion when the sun has shone down from a blue sky, I have drunk deeply of it’s bright warmth.  Call my longing, a need for Vitamin D or just a love of brightness and light.  I don’t need to be outside for every sunny minute.  Even looking from the inside out, lifts my spirit.

Yesterday there was a total eclipse of the sun and thankfully I didn’t notice a dimming of the warmth or a darkening of the sky.  I heard that some people were beside themselves with the scientific wonder of the eclipse and I agree it’s incredible how science happens. But it isn’t by accident or fluke you know.  God decided, for a reason that He alone created, that an eclipse of the sun would be a good thing.

I’m past the middle of my life. I have less years to live than I’ve lived and realized it one day as I was doing some mundane and relatively unimpressive task.  Whoa! It hit me hard and for a minute, well maybe three minutes, I allowed the fact of the instability and fleetness of life to take hold of my heart with an iron grip.  Scared me, people.  I felt the heat of panic begin somewhere deep and it penetrated my innermost and it was sad, for a minute.  I suddenly got it, the reason some people freak out and do dumb stuff, crazy stuff, when they hit middle age.  They want to hold on, be in charge, experience everything, make sure they get their deepest hearts desire before,
well
before their lives are over.

Thankfully I remembered and not a minute too soon
that

I know the One who breathes life into every thing that breathes and He decides which breath will be the last breath.
For a minute or two I chose to think about life
here
as though it is the best and then it’s over and when it’s over it’s the end, but that isn’t right. This life is only the beginning.  It’s full, but it isn’t just about what I can accomplish and when I can accomplish it and what I can become and where I should go and who I should help.  That’s why I stop in the morning and ask God to show me what to do as the day unfolds.  My time here,
you know,
Living
is a big deal because God made me.  Your life is a big deal because He made you.  But the things we do are a response to who He is, what He has done and continues to do.
Papa used to say that everything we do needs to count for eternity. We shouldn’t waste our lives here because after this we are going to spend eternity with Jesus.  Well, everybody who acknowledges that He is God and confesses their sinfulness to Him, will spend eternity with Him.  Isn’t He Good?

There’s a song that says
Every Day with Jesus is Sweeter than the Day Before
It isn’t exactly true.
I have sweet days and I have days that are as sour and bitter as sour and bitter can be.  I bet you know what I’m talking about.  The fact that Jesus IS and that He IS I Am is more than sweet.  It’s strong and full of power and even when my life is bitter, even when your life is bitter,
Jesus IS alive and Loving and Being God.  Knowing that, is Sweet.

My dad would have been 101 a month ago
The young friend who died a week ago of a massive heart attack was 45.  He left a wife and three little children
My father in law is 84
I am 58
another friend, just about my age, went Home a few weeks ago and he leaves behind a wife and three sons
and the list, goes, on.
These are/were very much aware that days are numbered and although human beings have decided that life can easily be ended and we can control that ending on a whim, God will not be overruled.  He’ll have the last word and goodness gracious me, it won’t be spoken gently, softly.

We are speed travelers, The Staleys
Really. When people ask us where we are going and how long we’re going for, they laugh and laugh at the answer. “Oh, we’re going to Iceland for three days”. “We’re going to England for the weekend.” “We’re heading to Israel for four days”. Some would say it’s a waste to go for such a short time but that’s just how it’s done
Staley Style.  The truth is, that’s all the time there is.  That’s the number of days in a row that my husband will/can be away.  We make it work and it works for us.
We attempt to travel with the whole gang when possible and when it isn’t, we go alone or bring one or two.
Yes, we have short attention spans and yes, Rob loves his job and no, we aren’t lingerers so a look at this and a glance at that, a breath of sea air and a taste of Their delicacy, is enough. It fills our tanks and a weekend is as good as a week.
This summer we went to Israel, yes, for four days.  Well technically it was three and a half. From there we spent a day in Athens and three in Bordeaux. That was a looooong trip for us but we were celebrating,
35 years of marriage and that is something to celebrate.
I knew our stop in Israel would be short and sweet. It was, both of those things. Short but very sweet. I wanted to walk on stone floors that Jesus walked on.  I wanted to stand in the Sea of Galilee. I wanted to touch the temple wall.  I wanted to see where Jesus preached the message of the beatitudes.  I wanted to walk the road He walked, on that terrible and wonderful evening, The evening when He gave everything, for me.
I did all of those things and to walk where He walked and stand where He stood and hear the waves that He heard, made a lasting impression.  From the Mount of Olives our guide pointed out the route Jesus took when He was being passed around and tried, on that last night of his pre-crucifixion life.  I could have stood and looked for hours, at every stop, except that it was over 40 degrees celsius and we needed to move on.  It was a visit to my Saviour’s Earthly life and I am grateful to have been able to be there.

In His steps

The temple wall

where Jesus walked and drew fishermen to Himself

This fall I am going to participate in leadership at Community Bible Study.  Not because I have the answers, or want to give instructions, or even, dare I say, like a weekly commitment.  The role is about praying, with people and For people. I have not taken on this commitment because God stood in front of me, looked me in the eye and told me to do it.  No, He looked my way and
I stepped out and took hold of the hem of His garment. I told Him I was willing to be available. I have told Him that I am quite sure it’s time I said Yes, to a stretch, but if He thinks differently I am so cool with that.   Believe me, I will not be letting go of Him.  I mean, I would love for you to believe that I Never let go of Him, but we all know that would be a lie.  I’m holding on tight and more to the point, He’s holding on tighter.

Papa used to say that sometimes we believers, Christ Followers, spend too much time waiting for God to tell us what to do.  There is a time for waiting and there is a time to get out there and do what needs doing, all the while praying that if He would prefer that we sit and wait or take a hike in a different direction, He would make it very very clear.  That’s the instruction manual I draw from when I have a strong sense that God wants me to get up off my behind and move.

Well, the crux, the essence of this post is

I’m getting older every day, whether the sun is hiding or shining. Life matters because God says it does. Everything, everybody walking around has been given life by Him.

One time a few years ago I was sitting by Nano’s hospital bed.  She was awake and recovering from surgery.  It was late at night and a young twenty something man was brought to a room down the hall.   He had some obvious problems that related to lifestyle choices he had made and was clearly in a bad way.  He was sick and broken and frightened and
Nano looked at me (and it still makes me cry)
and sadly
she said
“Just think, He is somebody’s boy.  He was a little guy running around playing, just a few years ago and now, look at him.  Jesus loves him even now.”  Oh dear Nano.  A mother’s heart.
I love to have fun and am full of nonsense, often.  In the fun and the laughter and the hard work and bitter realities of life, whether I am walking where Jesus walked during His life here, or praying for guidance in making choices, whether I’m on my knees begging for God to do what I ask,  when I want Him to do it, or lying in bed worrying about my own boys and girl, whether I am sick or tired or regretful or hopeful or fearful or…
you get it
Life is to be lived and embraced and held loosely and spent thoughtfully listening and paying attention, to God.   Don’t forget!

I read something last week and I think you should know about it.

C.S. Lewis said it (Reflections on the Psalms) and man, I Love it!
“God does not only “demand” praise as the Supremely beautiful and all-satisfying object…It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men”
I MEAN, WOW! You Must Love this. It’s truth.

In the goings on these past summer months, in the fun and adventures and wanderings,

these have been my contemplations and I share them here, with you.

♥

Here’s what I’m thinking today!  ?

Fear of pain seems to be inherent in most of us.  But maybe Learning fear is a real thing too.   Healthy fear isn’t a bad thing.   I mean, even when we are babies our parents warn us of danger with “hot” “scary” “ouch” and some of us even thought it was okay to smack a tiny person’s hand (or even a bum) to help them understand that pain is something to shy away from.  God talks about fear too. Healthy fear. Like

Proverbs 9:10 fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

I remember the summer that an already powerful fear of bees jumped a couple of levels, to terror.  I was in the back seat of the car on a particularly hot summer day.  Papa had just attached the trailer to the hitch on our 1968, (not sure what it was but I’m pretty sure it would be classified as a boat in 2017) car.   So I was getting my dolls and my Nancy Drew books and maybe even a couple of Trixie Beldon, organized on the big bench seat, when to my horror I heard a loud buzzing sound coming from

behind me.  Not actually behind me, but on my back.  Under my shirt.  The first prick, or sting, came about 2 seconds after I started screaming.  The next two stings were inflicted right about the time my dear dad started smacking my back trying to kill the thing.  I know, it sounds like cruelty, to both me and the bee, but in the moment, he was doing his best to save me from more trauma.  Well, he got it and I got three stings and if anybody tells you a bumble bee can only sting once, I’m here to tell you, that is false.  So, for the next twenty some odd years, I had a mini panic attack if I so much as heard a distant bzzzzzzz and I’m just not sure yay fear was a healthy one.

For a while, around that time, we lived in a part of Alberta that pretty much bordered B.C.  We were surrounded by farmers and their crops and one of Those farmers was a bee guy. I mean, that’s what he did. Bees!  Honey!  One day we went to visit and he gave us a lesson on honey bees. He told us that bees don’t want to sting but they will if necessary. He proved his point by picking up one of the bees in one hand and took papa’s hand in his other hand. He then squeezed that bee’s behind until it had no choice but to drop its stinger, right. Into. Papa’s. Finger.  The shock and horror I felt was like an electric current as Papa “ouched” and “winced” and grabbed his hand. Then the bee guy showed us that the stinger was still stuck and needed to be removed. He took care of that and I learned a lot that day and even while I watched Papa in pain, I started to learn about pain that hurts but doesn’t need to have worry and fear attached to the hurt.

Now that middle age has embraced me, (even if I have not quite reciprocated) the world in all of it’s beauty and brightness has settled into a realistic pattern of joyful, happy, sad, pain and discomfort and everything in between.  Somehow, 58 years can do a lot to soften attitudes, reactions, judgements, impressions and they all become melded together, one painful event measured against another.   The weight of one experience balanced by the burden of another, the joy in a small thing, sweeter sometimes than a great big happy happening and when you step back for a minute or an hour and take a look, pain is manageable.

If only I had been more mature in the old early days, but that’s life.  We need to live it and feel it in order to know which pain is worth the energy of fearing and which pain isn’t

worth fearing.

I have learned a few things about bees these ten or so years just passed.  Yes, some of you have allergies and would be foolish to ignore them. There are also wasps and yellow jackets that can do some nasty work. But sometimes we are afraid of the potential sting and so, flap and swing and run and jump, doing the very things that frighten the bee to the point of needing to lash out to protect.  God made them so they could take care of themselves  and that’s what they do.  They aren’t predators.  Last summer I unknowingly (obviously) stepped on a nest of wasps and thankfully most of them were either sleeping or out foraging because I only received two stings.  Also Thankfully, my fear of bees and even pain, is minimal these days and no emotional damage was done.

This summer I have had and will have some opportunities to travel.  You know (because I’ve told you) that travel is not my very most favourite activity but I understand that visiting other places and peoples is good for me and is mostly a privilege.   Okay, it’s pretty much All privilege.  It’s also enjoyable and I think the reason I balk is that I’m just a bit lazy.

I told you about my friends Rudy and Sharon and I talked of honey from their hives.   Oh how I love a piece of crusty bread toasted (as opposed to warmed because if it isn’t toasted what’s the point really?)

Rebecca and I stayed at four different places on our recent trip to England, two of which had their own bee hives.   Just now Rob and I are staying at a place in England where once again, there are bee hives.  I didn’t know about these ones until I went for a walk this afternoon.  We have not had a moment of rain which is in itself something to be thankful for.   I took a winding path through a meadow and came upon a sign that said Beware! Bees! And sure enough, there they were

the hives and the bees and the buzzing and I stood quietly and watched them.   Have you read about bees?  You should, you know.   They, like every other creature God has created, are fearfully and wonderfully made.   Bees, perhaps even more fearfully and wonderfully than some others.  Their life’s work is laborious, at least.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (IJohn 1:3)

So right about now you’re asking yourself where I’m headed and if I’m in fact headed anywhere with this report on bees and me and other meandering thoughts.

Nowhere!  I’m headed nowhere. Just doing some rambling and

the bees are pretty cool, guys.  They help to make beautiful flowers too.  I guess if there is to be anything worth reflecting on in this story, it’s this.

A)  Pain isn’t often worth anticipating.  In worrying about it, we’ll miss the beauty and the gift in the Right Now.   I have feared so many things in the years and now I’m starting to look back and it’s changing how I look forward.  We talk about not dwelling on the past but really, taking a look at it is a good teaching tool for how to do what’s ahead.

B). Oh and I Guess I would like you to consider some things you are afraid of and think about not being afraid of them/it anymore.

Today, bees.  ?

oh ya and one more thing!

How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!(PS119:103)

Tomorrow we’re going home and yet again, I’ve seen and inhaled deeply.

?

It’s way too late and Rob just arrived home.  He asked what I was doing and I said I was finishing some recipes for the blog.  He said “you haven’t done that in a long time”.  It Has been a very long time and after a couple of people asked, I am posting two new ones for you to check out.  One is an old staple and the other is a new regular on the Staley lunch rotation.

The offerings tonight are:

Meat Loaf (I know what you’re saying right now but don’t write it off before you try it) and Kale and Quinoa Salad

You can click on the links ↑above and you will be taken to the recipes↑

It’s funny how spending a night in the kitchen just brings back so many memories of times spent with Nano.  She was my main girl for so many years, even though she was on the other side of the country, that all of these jobs and activities which she loved to participate in, bring me back to happy times of creating.  Nano most often used a recipe for cooking and baking.  I of course, being somewhat rebellious, do it my own way, incorporating techniques that she used, but giving them my own twist.  Sometimes those little twists become turns and they take me on a wild ride.  I  hope you enjoy these two recipes and remember, there isn’t a right and wrong with my recipes.  Feel free to use them as a jumping off point from which to create something new and unique.

♥