Author: Wanda

I am a Catholic widow, mother, grandmother, friend and according to my kids just a little bit crazy. My faith is paramount in my life. Spending time with my family, especially my four grandchildren is one of my most treasured blessings. I love Redskins football, Phillies baseball, NASCAR, quilting, genealogy, and am a bibliophile and struggling blogger.

Blessed Mother

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

Daily Prompt:  Paragon

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In the Catholic faith, you are named after a saint.  I was named after my Great Aunt Wanda.  There is no Saint Wanda.  But my middle name is Marie.  Marie is a form of Mary.  Mary is the mother of Jesus and so I have always felt that she is my patron saint.  

My earthly mother was an alcoholic and was abusive.  I started spending a lot of my Saturdays at the convent where I went to school.  The sisters were wonderful to me. They would give me little jobs to do for them.  I felt useful and loved by these wonderful women.  

These sisters taught me to love Mary.  She is, after all the mother of Jesus Christ and also our heavenly mother.  When Christ was on the cross, he gave his mother to all of us when he told John, “Son, behold your mother.” They taught me she is the paragon of virtue.  One I could look to as the example for my life and through her I would learn to love and forgive my mother.  I developed a deep and lasting devotion to the Blessed Mother.  

There is often confusion about the Blessed Mother by non-Catholics.  We do not worship her.  We venerate her.  There is a huge difference.  Only God is worshiped and adored. Mary, however, is a wonderful intercessor for us.  She willingly goes before God and her divine Son Jesus Christ to ask for our needs.  

Now many feel that since Mary is not mentioned much in the bible that there is error in our beliefs.  However, I am confident that when you ask something of our Lord, He listens.  But, when as at the wedding at Cana, Mary was an advocate for the wedding couple and Jesus said His time had not come, he did as His mother asked and performed His first miracle changing water into wine.  

I am blessed to have been raised Catholic and to have this wonderful relationship with Jesus and His mother.  

Wanda

DAIRY-FREE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

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Another recipe from The Real Food Dietitians  I can’t wait to try this, and my favorite flavor of ice cream too.
DAIRY-FREE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

SAVE PRINT
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
4 hours
Total time
4 hours 20 mins
This non-dairy frozen treat relies on spinach to get a gorgeous green hue rather than artificial dyes. And it’s just perfectly sweet thanks to honey – not sugar or corn syrup! The addition of gelatin keeps the ice cream from freezing solid so you get a nice creamy scoop even without the cream.
Author: The Real Food Dietitians
Recipe type: Dessert, Sweets & Treats
Cuisine: Dairy-free, Paleo, Nut-free, Egg-free
Serves: 8
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Place ½ can of coconut milk, spinach and the mint leaves in the blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Add remaining coconut milk, honey and vanilla and blend again.
  3. Pour hot water into a small bowl or measuring cup. Sprinkle with gelatin and allow to stand for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom (aka swell). With the blender running on low speed, add bloomed gelatin to coconut milk mixture. Secure blender lid and process on high until well blended. If coconut mixture starts to separate, don’t panic, just keep blending – it will get smooth.
  4. Pour mixture into a shallow freezer safe container or loaf pan. Add chocolate chips. Place in freezer. Stir mixture every 30 minutes for the first 3 hours or so to incorporate air into the mixture as it freezes.
  5. Serve after 4 hours (soft serve consistency) or freeze longer for a harder consistency.
  6. If frozen solid, allow ice cream to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
NOTES
*NOTE: This ice cream can also be made in an ice cream maker. Prepare ice cream base through step 3 then follow manufacturer’s directions for your particular ice cream maker.

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Serving size: ⅛th recipe Calories: 258 Fat: 20g Carbohydrates: 19g Sugar: 16g Sodium: 28mg Fiber: 1g Protein: 2g

Sad Songs

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51-weeks-51-songs-from-the-past

Here’s my ultimate Sad Song.

Uploaded on Sep 1, 2010

Explore the music of Elton John: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/essentialsID
“Sad Songs (Say So Much)” is the first single from Elton’s 1984 album Breaking Hearts. The video was filmed at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney, Australia and directed by Russell Mulcahy with choreography by David Atkins.

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Music video by Elton John performing Sad Songs (Say So Much). (C) 1984

Mercury Records Limited

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

Daily Prompt:  Puncture, Taper, Volume

I have been in Orlando for a few weeks now and I know that it rains almost every day at this time of year, but we have had voluminous amounts of rain.  I am beginning to think I should be growing gills and fins.  The swimming pool is overflowing, there are streams between the houses and it’s generally depressing.  I sure wish the rain would taper off.

I just listened to the weather report.  You guessed it.  Rain for the foreseeable future!  So much for my sunny Floridian vacation.

Maybe someone will invent a tool to puncture this muggy, dreary, cloudy, rainy bubble that has encased the Orlando area.  Of course, I don’t have it too bad.  I don’t have to work in it.  My poor friend Dottie works at Animal Kingdom at Disney and she works rain or shine.  So, even though I may be getting a little tired of the rain, I am not getting soaked in it.  he is.  So enough of the complaining.

I should be thanking God for the nourishing rain to the area.  It had been so dry and with people not using their head with matches, the danger of fire was really growing.  Now, the grass is growing and a beautiful shade of green.

Wanda