Sibling Assignment #49: Gentle Reminders for 2008

I gave our sibling assignment for this last week of 2007:

Often people make New Year's Resolutions, but find them hard to keep. If you had a list of gentle reminders posted on the corner of your laptop screen for 2008, what would those gentle reminders be? You will find RP's here and Silver Valley Girl's here soon.

Now I want to focus on eight gentle reminders for 2008. Then I used to always set hard New Year's Resolutions which were hard to stick with. You can read other Sunday Scribblings on Now and Then here.

On my laptop screen one gentle reminder listed is to be still. Each day I need to take time to just be. Nothing else.

I also want to continue to pray and count blessings each day. I have found that if I add the blessings to my prayer time it fills my heart with the good things of the day.

Also on that list is to be gentle with my body. I know what I need to do, but I want to take it slowly and gently so I don't get discouraged.

The fourth one will be the easiest: Notice the beauty around me and capture that beauty in digital pictures. I began noticing the beauty around me in 2007.

Fifth on the list: write every day.

My sixth gentle reminder is to read outside my comfort zone. I want to find books to stretch my thinking. Any suggestions?

Laugh every day is number seven. Laughter is truly the best medicine.

My last gentle reminder is to break down tasks. I am slowly learning if I break down tasks into smaller parts it helps me from getting overwhelmed. I take on too much too often and get overwhelmed too easily in the process. Sigh.

I am looking forward to 2008 and will have my gentle reminders close by.

Images of The Holidays in Kellogg

Today my brother Raymond Pert drove me to Spokane Valley to meet JEJ and return home. JEJ left Kellogg earlier to make sure the house, the cats, the rabbits, and greenhouse were surviving the snowy weather. It was a wonderful holiday and birthday celebration for my brother with family and friends back home, but it feels good tonight to be sitting in my own house with my dogs, husband, cats, a fire in the wood stove, and a winter wonderland outside. I am eager to see my gardens in the light tomorrow.

Snug the Joiner

Snug is my brother's Springer Spaniel that loves being in North Idaho. He doesn't see much snow back home in Eugene, Oregon so this morning he was ecstatic about having me play outside with him and follow him around with the camera. Whether Snug is outside making dog angels or inside watching the action on the street he loves being around people. Snug is a joiner.

Reflecting on Raymond Pert's Birthday

Today is my brother Raymond Pert's 54th birthday. I caught this image of RP and his dog Snug looking out the window at our mother's house. I love the images of our childhood church and the hills below Silver Mountain reflecting in the window. At my brother's request we had a homemade comfort meal made by Mom that included fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, canned corn, and salad. It was a family gathering around the table full of family stories, memories, and lots of laughs.
Happy Birthday Raymond Pert!

Silver Valley Snowfall

When I awoke this morning I was greeted by a new blanket of snow in Kellogg. It fell most of the day creating a peaceful setting at Silver Valley Girl's house as we had some time of quiet after the festivities the last few days. I did get a bit of exercise as I walked out and captured some photo images of the beautiful day. .This is the tree she features on her blog as it changes from season to season.

Here is the family "snowdog" Peaches. She just seemed to belong in this winter scene.

Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus were protected from the snow under the eaves.

Once back inside I caught some favorite ornaments decorating the tree.

"How do You Say Broken Yule Log in French?"

Silver Valley Girl saying, "Bon appétit!"

Each year on Christmas Eve my sister Silver Valley Girl orchestrates a dinner highlighting the food and customs of a country in the world. Our family has many fond memories of Christmas Eve dinners that have included food from Thailand, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and others. This year we celebrated France so it was my task to make a Buche de Noel for dessert. This is the chocolate roll made to resemble a log. I love to make desserts and was looking forward to this challenge. I had made other cake rolls pretty easily. I got a bit stressed when I had to beat eggs, put them over simmering water, then use a candy thermometer so they would get to a certain consistency. I have had bad experiences with a candy thermometer. Not only was the top of it cracked, but it didn't hang on the bowl correctly.I don't think I cooked the egg mixture long enough and I don't think I baked the chocolate roll long enough, but it came out of the pan beautifully and rolled up in the towel just fine. Whew! Relief!


As the roll was cooling I discovered the filling required more complicated steps using a candy thermometer. It had completely broke at the top by now so I searched for another filling recipe. I found a much simplier one that called for cream, espresso, rum, and cocoa. I could handle this!
I whipped it up and even made my first marzipan mushrooms to make the dessert look like a log ( it's a French thing).

The cake was cooled and I unrolled it. The roll began to crack a bit. I thought," I can piece this together with this creamy filling." The roll cracked more and basically fell apart. I stood there staring at this broken up log trying to come up with Plan B for the Christmas Eve dessert.

I found a large,clear bowl. I broke apart the already cracked chocolate roll, mixed it with the filling, sprinkled the chocolate "twigs" on top next to the marzipan mushrooms. I don't think I invented a new recipe, just a variation on a theme. I guess you would call it " Sawdust de Noel". It resembled a dessert I have loved to make in the past called Punchbowl Cake.

It didn't match the picture on the cooking sites. It didn't fit very well in any container as I packed it for a trip to Idaho. All I know is by the time this new French dessert sat and chilled for a day it really was a delicious dessert.... it just had to be renamed!
To see the menu, read about another small disaster, and see more pictures of this tradition in our family go to Silver Valley Girl's post here.