Sunday Sermons: The Message of the Restoration

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! Joseph Smith History 1:16-17

A Vintage-y Giveaway: And the Winner Is . . .

I would like to thank everyone who entered my giveaway for these pretty milk glass serving plates that belonged to my grandma. I enjoyed reading each of your entries so much and had a really hard time deciding who to give the plates to. Check out the comments and you'll see why. In the end, though, there could only be one winner and I chose JeffnJenna, who said: I believe that your plates would feel very at home in my home. I do not have a whole lot of special things for my kitchen, so the few special things that I do have are extra special for me. I still mourn the loss of a very pretty crystal candy dish that my grandmother gave to me before she passed away. I love the look of your grandmother's relish plates, and would use then with joy! I love deviled eggs, so I would definitely display them proudly on the egg plate, and VEGETABLES are my favorite, so that's what I always serve when such serving is needed. I would be happy to take good care of these plates for you and use them with love, as I would surely love remembering you whenever I use them.

Thank you again to everyone who entered. I'll be having another giveaway soon (I hope) so keep your eyes open.

Dancing With the Stars

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself. -Havelock Ellis

I love to watch Dancing With the Stars. It just makes me smile. I love the music and the movement and the expression. I

love to dance too (although my dancing shoes are pretty dusty these days). I think it would be totally awesome if they'd pair up office managers and stay-at-home-moms and gas station attendants with the pro dancers for Dancing With the Regulars to see who comes out on top. It would be the perfect thing to liven up the boring schedule of re-runs they play all summer. I would totally go for it. I think I'd like to be paired up with Tony Dovolani or Derek Hough or maybe Louis van Amstel. I have the perfect place for that Mirror Ball Trophy.

This week, each of the five couples was assigned a dance which were paired up with an era to be represented within that style. Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough were assigned the Paso Doble and drew the 1950's. Derek said . . . '50's and Paso . . . it's like . . . imPASOble. Derek is a very talented dancer and choreographer and Nicole is right in step with him. This is one of the most incredible dances I've seen on Dancing With the Stars. Just watch the magic.


P.S. Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels. -Faith Whittlesey

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy over at Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival beginning May 21st and running through May 28th. What is the Blogger's Quilt Festival, you ask? Well, during the week of the Festival, you post about a quilt you've made and then you link your post to the Quilt Festival post and people can come and visit your quilt and you can go and visit other quilts in the festival. This is a really neat way to show off your work and collect ideas and inspiration for upcoming projects. And I really love the word Festival. It is just sounds like so much fun.

I've already picked out which quilt I'm going to show and I can't wait to see what neat quilts other bloggers will feature. So, friends, put your thinking caps on and choose a quilt you're really proud of and get ready to participate in the Festival. You'll find links to past Quilt Festivals and all the details for this Festival here. And if you're into buttons to decorate your blog, you can get Amy's cool Bloggers Quilt Festival button there as well. Get ready for a really fun celebration of quilting!

Grandma's Meatloaf

If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers.
-Linda Henley

Remember my cute grandma, Betty Jean? Well, the other day when I was showing you her china (which is now mine) I got so wrapped up in trying to decide if the china was vintage or collectible or antique that I forgot to share with you her recipe for meatloaf. Only it isn't exactly her recipe anymore. I've fiddled with it until I've got what I think is the perfect recipe for meatloaf, but it starts with her secret ingredient, sausage. I think I'll be serving this on Sunday on her pretty china plates.

Meatloaf
2 lbs. lean ground beef
¾ lb. country style sausage
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

• Heat oven to 350˚. Lightly beat eggs in a prep bowl. Combine beef, sausage, onion, eggs, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, garlic, zucchini, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
• Divide meatloaf mixture into two large loaf pans or four mini loaf pans. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes for large loaves or 45 minutes to 1 hour for mini loaves, checking to make sure meat it cooked all the way through at the earliest cooking time and cooking for additional time if needed.
• Serve with baked potatoes or instant or homemade mashed potatoes, veggies and fresh fruit.

Serves 6 to 8

Notes:
• I freeze one loaf instead of cooking it. I place the meatloaf mixture in a freezer bag, put the freezer bag in my loaf pan, shaping the meat mixture to the pan. Then I put it in the freezer and when the meat is frozen, I take the bag out of the pan and put the pan away. When I thaw it, I take the frozen meatloaf brick out of the bag, place it in the pan, cover it and let it thaw in the refrigerator over night.
• Leftover meatloaf makes excellent cold meatloaf sandwiches.