Daily – Page 8 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Christian, Daily, Family and Society, Personal Musings, Quotes

Braid Those Strands

Posted on January 29, 2020November 13, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

While shopping for a house welcoming gift, my husband and I, we had finally decided on a houseplant as a gift for close friends. That is when we had chanced upon the potted version of the “money tree plant”. Pachira acquatica ( a.k.a the Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Provision tree), a tropical wetland tree is native to Central and South America where it grows as a tropical wetland tree. Surprisingly, this is sold as a houseplant with it’s trunks braided. What the reason maybe ( the seller didn’t know why), the braided trunk supports the big leaves quite well, giving the plant a wholly aesthetic and balanced look.

“Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is thread, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.” Simone Signoret

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://wikipedia.com

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

These “braided trunks” are what one needs when going through a tough spot. The courage to bear the weight through tough times doesn’t happen when the weight is born on one lone spindly stalk. Instead when a cumulative support is given, the entire matter is sorted through and one learns to rise and stand tall and strong. Relationships are never bound by chains. If ever done so, those very chains rust over time, breaking away to fine powders and falling apart with the links scattered.

“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

When these chains are held together not just by strength but by fine braids of feelings, emotions and positive associations; tendrils of love, kindness and warmth grow along and support each one through the thick and thin. Relationships grow stronger with stability, closeness and strength in God. Marriage, friendships as well as family ties require nurturing. Not just with love and kindness, merging these bonds with His Word and His Teachings abounds one with an endless source of love, grace and hope. On looking back, these are what brings a smile to the tired mind, body and soul. To experience life to the fullest, it entails one learning to hold these tiny threads above the chains. This difference is what holds the memories alive, making each day enriched and memorable over the years.

“It’s all those stories and how they braid together that tells us who and what and where we are.” Charles de Lint

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/comeshomements

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/comeshomements

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Daily, Family and Society, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes, Reflections, Work

Strain of the Indisposition

Posted on January 24, 2020October 2, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

On the days when the work schedule drags, the events then on tend to go on in a discordant manner. Eventually on reaching home, with the usual things not done like dinner late, homework hours not supervised and the like; the entire mood sours down and the evenings end on an unhappy or dissatisfied note. While journalling such days and reading them later on, at times it’s how one learns to behave when things go beyond the expectation (especially when in a negative manner) that makes the biggest difference in the long run.

“The greatest joys of life are happy memories. Your job is to create as many of them as possible.” Brian Tracy

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Emotional infection is a deadly thing. A chain effect triggered by it can have far reaching consequences; avoidable, unnecessary with a significant negative impact, spoiling relationships and makes the daily hours unpleasant, of discontent as well as unhappy. As the scales of the balance go awry, the urge to initiate the “blame game” and point fingers start soon, as compared to making efforts to try and reschedule to get back on track. Guarantee for everything or anything never exists in reality. There is always a chance of a miss or an error present even in the best laid plans, schedules or goals. When one lets their emotions fly unchecked, the consequences can go deadly and far reaching, be it on the professional, personal or domestic front. To keep the inner peace best within, learning how to handle the unexpected is necessary skill. Though this may take time and plenty of effort, they are all worth when the impact is taken into account. For words and memories have a far lasting effect, than targets or achievements as scored on paper.

“I am convinced that the greatest legacy we can leave our children are happy memories: those precious moments so much like pebbles on the beach that are plucked from the white sand and placed in tiny boxes that lay undisturbed on tall shelves until one day they spill out and time repeats itself, with joy and sweet sadness, in the child now an adult.” Og Mandino

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

No matter how many precautionary measures one may take; when things go haywire, take a quick breathe and continue on. The art of learning to manage any curve-ball lies in the way we behave to these sudden turns. Instead of fretting and getting dejected on the “why me, why now” aspect, settling and finding effective be it temporary or permanent solutions may help make the days (or evenings) end better. More than achievements, goals or occasions, what stays etched in the mind are “feelings”. The feeling of calm and happiness in the children as their parents return from work, the approach that another person feels or learns as the crisis period is sorted and the cumulative efforts taken to settle any environment are just few of the better emotional memories that linger and stay on as the years pass through.

“I’d like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow
of smiles when life is done.
I’d like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times
and bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve,
to dry before the sun
of happy memories
that I leave when life is done.”
Helen Lowrie Marshall

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Christian, Daily, Life, Personal Musings, Reflections

Shelter when Lost

Posted on January 23, 2020October 13, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

While going for a walk with a rambunctious pet, getting caught in the wet fury of the nature and her elements was an unplanned and unprecedented event. Scrambling for a cover, it was a blessing to find the shelter in the barn. As the flashes of lightning began and the pounding of the rain increased in full measure; while the fortunate ones may have escaped the fury by Providence or His Grace, the reality that there may be many others who had been caught unawares would be drenched and soaked by now makes one feel blessed in the present circumstances.

“When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.” (Exodus 33:22)

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoements

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Every now and then, in our lives, one may reach certain points or stand stills wherein the tempest roars strong crushing the spirit both in the physical, mental and emotional sense. In those moments, all one longs is a brief respite, a form of shelter to regroup and regain the inner strength. That respite is found when under His Shelter. As experienced by the wayfarers, the gift of peace and shelter in His Wings had no precedent or parallel.

Echoing the opening lines of the hymn “Rock of Ages,” with its opening lines, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee ”; the saving grace and mercy of God is such that His Presence will be with each one of us, helping us find refuge in Him at all times and on all occasions. As we experience and battle the unexpected furor or unprecedented upheavals, seeking the shelter of a temporary respite in His Hands helps us find our way back home.

Source:Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Daily, Food, Stories Around the World

Third Wave and On…

Posted on January 18, 2020January 14, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Coffee is a hug in a mug.” Anonymous

On a long postponed visit to the extended family line, we had to put in a three hour journey to-and-back. While waiting in the traffic and not being in the principal driver’s seat was an added incentive for window shopping. Naturally the sign of “discount” had your truly squinting to make out the deals. But it was the special offer of “The Flying Squirrel” (exclusively bought online) and Seven Beans that had snared my attention. After seconds of hedging, my husband had the car in park while I made a quick dash for it. With our luck in alignment, the buy didn’t take much time and we were on back homeward bound.

“It’s amazing how the world begins to change through the eyes of a cup of coffee.” Donna A. Favors

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Interestingly “The Flying Squirrel” or “Seven Beans” is but two of the many brands caught in the “wave of coffee”. Entering into the artisanal food category, the third wave coffee movement is a retrospective entry of coffee wherein both coffee lovers and manufacturers share the joy and appreciation of high quality coffee. Like fine varieties of wine and cheese, the third wave of coffee explores the connoisseur-ship, stimulation of the senses and exploration of taste in a simple but buoyant cup of coffee. The unique characteristics of that simple coffee bean are highlighted, ranging from the diverse methods of growing, cultivation, processing, roasting as well as the practices and salient variables among the coffee bean cultivars and beverage preparation.

“The first wave of American coffee culture was probably the 19th-century surge that put Folgers on every table, and the second was the proliferation, starting in the 1960s at Peet’s and moving smartly through the Starbucks grande decaf latte, of espresso drinks and regionally labeled coffee. We are now in the third wave of coffee connoisseurship, where beans are sourced from farms instead of countries, roasting is about bringing out rather than incinerating the unique characteristics of each bean, and the flavor is clean and hard and pure.” Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly. (March 2008, Pulitzer Prize winning food critic on the third wave of coffee)

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Technically the terminology of “third wave coffee” was most widely attributed to Trish Rothgeb, a coffee professional in an article for the Roasters Guild newsletter titled “Norway and Coffee,” (2003) with the first mainstream media mention in an National Public Radio piece about barista competitions. Although there is a lesser known reference in an obscure trade publication called “Tea & Coffee Trade Journal Asia” (1999) by specialty coffee pioneer Timothy Castle obliquely referring to the same. While the first and second waves dealt in the ready availability and highlight the countries of origin with (or not) of their signature dark roast profile (respectively), the third wave coffee is often associated with the concept of ‘specialty coffee’ with reference to the specialty grades of green (raw and unroasted) coffee beans (distinct from commercial grade coffee) or specialty coffee beverages of high quality and craft. Though coined earlier (1974), “specialty coffee” was meant to refer to high-quality beans scoring 80 points or more on a 100-point scale.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from – or how you feel… There’s always peace in a strong cup of coffee.” Gabriel Bá

There is something in a cup of coffee that is dearly enjoyed across all age groups, from different countries, professions and cultures. To add to one’s own special highlight to that cup of coffee, along with the coffee wave, the addition of a tinge of vanilla, whisky, chocolate, cinnamon, cardamom or hot chocolate, can do wonders. Not to forget the ice-cream for the kids. Little wonder then, one would chose to miss an opportunity to ride “that coffee wave”.

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Christian, Daily, Family and Society, Personal Musings, Quotes, Random Thoughts

Stars in the Dark

Posted on January 16, 2020October 18, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Helping out my niece with their science assignment, we had rigged up a makeshift primitive telescope to take the pictures of the night sky. The purpose was to either get a constellation or two in full focus or click a shooting star. As the project was underway, the beauty of the night sky was something to reckon with. All the twinkling lights reminded of the bright points scattered across the vast dark canvas.

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Looking at one of the many mysteries of nature and gifts of life, one often feels the awe and magnificence in His Works. Though at times, unbidden thoughts enter the mind, especially during the trying days, of “Why me?”and as the feeling of helplessness overwhelms; it is the faith in the hope of a better day tomorrow that helps one survive.

Faith is a bluebird you see from afar.
It’s for real, and as true as the first evening star.
You can’t touch it, or buy it, or wrap it up tight;
But it’s there just the same, making things turn out right.
– Rufus Wainwright (The Rescuers, 1977)

Faith is the anchor in the unbidden thoughts of negativity, self-doubt, depressive or defeated nature, which often occur every now and then. Getting out across these boulders and pits, requires something as simple but deeply profound as faith. Days like those which promote the negativism can be shot down by the Faith one holds deep inside.

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” Oswald Chambers

One can’t possibly get everything figured out. There are things that happen, either in a single moment or as a sequence of events; that mayn’t be explained by simple logic or by own understanding. During those standstill moments, it is the inner Faith that helps us find a way to get to the light of tomorrow. And the more when one is thrown off the deep edge, devoid of the understanding why; the more one can deepen their Faith in the glory of His Way, His Will and His Word. Life never makes sense, but by faith in the hope that things will eventually work out, difficulties are crossed out, trouble overcome and the inner spirit strengthened making the present livable. For one day in the future, these days of the past will be acknowledged for their way in them making our Faith stronger in Him and helping one to reach those better days of the tomorrow.

Source:https://vk.com/veruj

Source:https://vk.com

Source:https://vk.com/veruj

Daily, Food, Stories Around the World

Simple, Smoked and Short

Posted on January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

One of the downsides of having to work far from home, is to not only the commute but also getting the meals right. With lunch packed and breakfast a tight run, getting the right share of calories is a constant battle. While fruit and salad can be quite easy and handy; for unexpected long hours it keeps the hunger pangs at bay only for a short while. While vending machines, cafes and delis are there plenty around, they cause significant hurt to the wallet as well as physique. Which is why short quick healthy meals get highlighted and tagged, to be learnt as soon as feasible.

Source:https://natashaskitchen.com/french-dip-pastrami-sandwich-recipe/

SourcE:https://vk.com/comeshome

Source:https://eatsmarter.com/recipes/pastrami-sandwich-0

One of the first endeavors was to modify the healthy combination of carbs and proteins right, by the basic sandwiches. The first to be subjected was “pastrami on rye”, making it to own adaptation and specifications. Technically of Romanian origin, pastrami is a meat product usually made from beef brisket, lamb or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. Etymologically, the name “pastrami” can be traced to Roamnian pastrama; the latter being traced to the Bulgarian pastrija or Turkish pastirma or “bastirma” meaning pressed meat.

While earlier meat shops used to process them, these days they are readily available in the commercial chain grocers or supermarkets, commonly made as per the norms of the locality, either from lamb, turkey or meat. One of the advantages of the “pressed meat” is that it can be cut into thin wafer slices, medium cuts or slices or a really large filled sandwich of choice. The best part is there is no frying or oil involved.

As the sandwich chains and delis got onto the trend, serving meat sandwiches especially pastrami sandwiches became a novelty. For all sandwich lovers, it is a must. While for school or office lunches, this makes a good change from the routine and a break form the elaborate morning kitchen preparations. That one hour of lunch break can be made into a light, wholesome and healthy meal.

“You sit down at Katz’s and you eat the big bowl of pickles and you’re eating the pastrami sandwich, and halfway through you say to yourself, I should really wrap this up and save it for tomorrow. But the sandwich is calling you: Remember the taste you just had.” Mario Batali

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastrami#/media/File:Pita_with_Bastirma.jpg

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://www.bestfoods.com/us/en/recipes/pastrami-sandwiches.html

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-pastrami-swiss-sweet-onion-marmalade-on-rye

Christian, Daily, Family and Society, Stories Around the World

Travel with Faith

Posted on January 12, 2020November 7, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.” Paulo Coelho

Uncertainty has always been a part of our lives. No matter how many calculations, predictions, foretelling or insights may be given or done, things may still run out of hand. Through all those clamouring thoughts and echoes, finding a way out at times may seem near impossible especially when advice is poured out aplenty.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James1:5)

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

The young man was driving with his wife in a car along a dangerous road. When they drove into a very narrow stretch of road, his wife got scared and grabbed the wheel. The husband let go of the wheel, allowing her to drive. Then she was even more frightened and begged, “Please do not let the steering wheel go!” The husband replied:” Two can not simultaneously drive a car. Or you lead, or I.” Then the woman let go of the wheel, trusting her husband, and he safely drove the car through a dangerous place.

“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”” (Luke 11:28)

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Each of us have our own share of experiences through turbulent times. During those moments seeking direction would be easier if one learns to put their trust in a secure place. As likened to the mustard seed, faith can work well when the control is transferred into His Hands. No one can foretell with exact precision. Yet what keeps one going through all this fracas, is the inner hope in His Faith and His Guidance that things will eventually work out.

“I have faith that God will show you the answer. But you have to understand that sometimes it takes a while to be able to recognize what God wants you to do. That’s how it often is. God’s voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell.” Nicholas Sparks (excerpt and author of The Last Song)

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts