I have no writing in me at the moment. Arrived Ohio yesterday late afternoon…tired and sad but glad to see my dear friends and to be at their home which is beautiful and familiar. It feels wintry at 40ish and blustery – Karl was in heaven…for the cool air, the freedom off leash and he seemed to remember that we’d been here before.
– the sky painted pictures that I could not resist…
Photography is a hobby turned passion – taking photos and playing with the lights and colors is therapeutic.
From eastern Tennessee…
Many, many thanks to all who offered suggestions for making a good southern biscuit!
I will be trying all suggestions and will post the results sometime in the future. Hopefully, my next batch will be scrumptiously flavored and look something like these…
But, lest you think that I am the ONLY person who has had difficulty with biscuits….a reader of From the Front Porch sent me this link. PLEASE, PLEASE click on it!!! It is funny and wow – I needed a laugh today like nobody’s business – got one here!! And also more recipes, hints and — gee whiz, if I can’t produce a decent biscuit after all of this help, well – take away my Emeril Apron!
*image courtesy of Google images and Martha White Flour.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith is one of my all time favorite books.
The author is Scottish and a man, but the main characters are women and he writes their voices wonderfully.
The setting is Botswana in Africa…I’m not even sure that it is currently called Botswana. And normally I would not be interested in a story set in Africa – particulary a “character” story as the climate, the troubles, the dry, dusty picture that comes to my mind is just not an appealing thing. I can’t remember what lead me to look for this book in the first place and I almost did not order it because of the setting…give me mountains and lush evergreens and cool weather and I’m in, but for whatever reason, I did order it and was instantly hooked. I’ve now read the entire series – I think there are 7 books to date. I learn something about life, about me, about people with every book. They make me laugh, cry, ponder and everything in between.
One of my favorite paragraphs at the beginning of the book illustrates how the author gently describes characters and settings:
“If people needed clear guidelines, there was nobody better to do this than Mma Mothibi, who had run the Sunday School at Mochudi for over twelve years. She was a short lady, almost entirely round, who spoke with an exceptionally deep voice. She taught the children hymns, in both Setswana and English and because they learned their singing from her, the children’s choir all sang an octave below everybody else, as if they were frogs”.
That paragraph charms me everytime I read it!
If you decide to try this book, it must be read slowly – savoring the language and rhythm of the setting. It is not the grand prose of “Out of Africa” but the similarity is in a story being woven out of simple life events and the taking of time to think on them. It often brings to my mind, those verses about Mary “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 NIV
In a later book from the series, titled “The Full Cupboard of Life”, the main character’s fiance, Mr. JLB Matekoni is dealing with a problem that he decides he must take to Mma Ramotswe, “the lady detective” and main character in the books.
He says to himself after making the decision to discuss the issue with Mma:
“And she would understand, because she always understood and he had never seen her make light of another’s troubles.”
His confidence is well-founded as illustrated by Mma Ramotswe’s thoughts regarding Mr. JLB Matekoni (end of Book 1) after they have become engaged – and she takes this step after many years of being on her own following a disastrous first marriage during which she was beaten so badly that she lost her first and only child and was rendered incapable of having another.
…and now there was somebody to whom she could give love and that, she knew was good; for that is what redeems us, that is what makes our pain and sorrow bearable – this giving of love to others, this showing of the heart.
Something to ponder in my heart…
I am a good cook. I can bake. I can follow a recipe. I cannot make a decent biscuit…a “from scratch” biscuit. I think I have in the past but for some reason, since being in the south, my biscuits are lousy.
The first batch which was a “Sour cream cornmeal biscuit” – I liked those!…but the cornmeal was gritty and a decided “Not again!” from Bill.
So – to the internet and a “southern buttermilk biscuit recipe” – Hockey Pucks!!
Back to the internet and a discussion on flour. I learned that “self-rising” flour includes baking powder and salt as opposed to all-purpose flour which does not. I never paid that much attention to which kind of flour I bought. Additionally, a big deal was made of “soft southern wheat flours” for biscuits…specifically a brand called “White Lily”.
Ha!
Armed with this knowledge and a bag of White Lily’s self-rising “soft southern wheat” AND the recipe from the back of the flour package – another batch to the oven.
How could these fail???
Flat…and not “light”… And one batch, I turned off the oven, but thought the biscuits needed just a bit more time – forgot them – they were burned hockey pucks!
Martha White Flour – another self-rising, soft southern wheat flour…another recipe off the back of the flour bag
Another batch of flat biscuits… HELP!!!
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. GKChesterton
I recently saw that quote on a website that uses one of those random quote generators and it keeps coming to mind. It makes me think of beautiful, happy, angels – flying for the joy of flying and going about the business of God with loving hearts.
That’s what I want to do – everyday – be about the business God gives me through my talent – with joy, love and a lightness of heart.
Often by the end of the day I’m instead feeling more like the saying that goes
“It’s hard to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp when you’re up to your ass in alligators.”
One of the benefits of pets is that spending time with them forces “lightness” and “lightheartedness” into my day…
