Where's Bob?

OK, this is a test. Can you find Bob? One of these two pictures is of Bob - yes, the very Bob of Bob's Red Mill fame, and the other one is an imposter. The question is: which is which?

Mark is making more dough than ever these days

For Christmas, our "Colorado boys," Ben and David, got Mark an Amazon.com gift card toward the purchase of a flour mill. Mark has been baking all of our bread for several years now, and had longed to take that next step - grinding the flour he uses in his recipes. So, he is now the proud owner of a Wondermill, and the bread he is making is better than ever. He's made whole wheat flour, rice flour, barley flour, and even split pea flour! Of course, it is all whole grain and all organic, but the flavor is the best part. SO YUMMY!!! Thanks, Ben and Dave, for making your Dad smile!
Mark and his Wondermill, along with his most recent loaf of bread.
Mark also uses as many Bob's Red Mill products in his baking as possible. He could seriously work for Bob, as I'm sure he is Bob's biggest fan ever. He loves to go to Bob's store in Milwaukie, whenever we are in the Portland area. I love to go, too, as they have a lovely restaurant on site. Go, Mark! Go, Bob! And HOORAY for the Wondermill.

SNOW DAY !!!

Well, it snowed a bit in our neck of the woods last night, and before we headed to bed, we received word that school would be on a two-hour delay schedule today. This morning, however, the delay was changed to a cancellation! Hooray for SNOW DAYS!!! :-) Right now, the sky is bright blue, and the snow is sparking like diamonds.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire.
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:10-12

Super Bowl Bound

One of Mark's former students, Kevin Boss, is now playing in the NFL for the New York Giants. Today the Giants won the NFC Championship, and are headed to the Super Bowl! Mark coached Kevin in 7th grade football, so, of course, he was VERY excited about Kevin's accomplishments. Mark is fond of telling anyone who will listen to him that he "taught Kevin his three-point-stance, how NOT to jump offsides, how to recover fumbles (which, of course, he did in the NFC championship game), how to put his pads on, and how to knock the pads off the other guy." And I, who have long been a Green Bay fan, was overjoyed to see the Giants beat the Packers. We're SO PROUD of you, Kevin. GO, GIANTS!!!!!!

Yikes... where does all the time go?

I was browsing through a book recently, entitled 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die, and I realized with a somewhat sinking feeling that, at age 55, I will probably never come close to seeing all of those beautiful and intriguing places. I am generally a very happy woman, and love my Lord, my life, and my family very dearly. I know that life is full of so many responsibilities that tend to tie one down, and I tend to be a very overly-responsible person. Still, there is a place deep within me that longs for a real adventure - a place in my heart of hearts that longs to throw caution to the wind and do something really exciting, even daring. So I guess my question is this: if you could have a singular adventure, what would it be? Where might you go, and/or what might you do?

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...GEOMAN !

Readers of this blog who are esteemed alumni of Philomath Middle School might remember the annual Geography Bee, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. This year's version will take place tomorrow, and Mark, a.k.a. Geoman, will make his superhero appearance. A bonus for his costume this year: he will be wearing his mom's wig. Crazy, no? Maybe it will give him extra super powers. Go Geoman!

Thank you, dear Beka

Our daughter-in-law, Beka, gave Hannah and me a wonderful gift for Christmas: tickets to see Anne of Green Gables, which was produced by the Corvallis Community Theater. The showing we attended was on Saturday night, and it was very good. We are all huge Anne fans (both the books and the movies), so the play had a lot to live up to, and it definitely delivered. Most of all, though, it was just a delightful evening of being together with Hannah and Beka. So - thanks, Beka, for your thoughtful gift. I love you so much, and am very blessed to be your mother-in-law.