Life

Just finished reading Anne Lamont's Imperfect Birds--sort of a sad tale that only gets worse and then ends too abruptly. But I did love one insightful character who lamented the twists and turns life can take. She said "Life on earth is a head-scratcher for anyone who's paying attention." ha! Last night at our Bible study, we prayed for a dear one facing cancer, a few in precarious financial situations, siblings with serious problems... It's enough to make you ask "Why Lord?" I've been doing plenty of "head-scrathing" and praying these days.

Coconut Cake with Chocolate & Orange

This is my newest version of coconut cake! You can serve it as a breakfast coffee cake, if you have a sweet-tooth crowd or with ice cream for dessert after dinner. It's sort of like an Almond Joy candy bar with a little orange peel thrown in.

CAKE:

1 3/4 cups flour 2 tsp. grated orange peel

2 tsp. baking powder 2 eggs

1 tsp salt 1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup coconut 1 cup canned coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar 6 oz. dark chocolate bar,

1/2 cup chopped whole almonds chopped to bits

1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup coconut

Mix the first eleven ingredients, then stir 1/2 of the chocolate. Then top the cake with the remaining chocolate and the 1/2 cup of coconut. Spoon into a buttered springform pan or 9 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

GLAZE:

3/4 cups powdered sugar

2 tab. coconut milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix until smooth and drizzle over the cooled cake.

Sweet and fresh-- Serve with fresh fruit and scrambled eggs with avocado for breakfast. Enjoy!

Thomas Chalmers

Tonight in the chapel service, John quoted a Scottish pastor Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847). He said that every person needed three things--someone to love, something to hope for, and something to do. It made my heart thankful to realize I have so much of all three! God is good.

Coconut Pecan Cake

When we were first married in Dallas, all marvelous southern cooks would serve up their "Italian cream coconut cake." But, alas, every time I tried to produce this yummy confection, I failed. I suspect was my lack of patience at beating all those egg whites! So imagine my delight, when a couple years ago, I found a coconut cake recipe from a cake mix! oh joy! It's been one of my favorites ever since.

COCONUT PECAN CAKE

1 white cake mix

1 1/3 cup water

1/3 cup canola oil

3 eggs (all the egg, not just the whites)

1 full cup of coconut

1 full cup of chopped, pecans

Mix of the first4 ingredients. Beat with a mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut and pecans.

Spoon into 2 round cake pans and bake about 30 minutes at 350. What could be easier!

FROSTING

1 cube butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

1 box powdered sugar (1 lb.)

more coconut & pecans

Beat the first 4 ingredients together until blended. Spread on cooled cake. Cover with coconut and pecans.

Sometimes I just top the cake with coconut and set fresh flowers on top (white roses, bright nasturiums), if I want a pretty cake.

That's it. Usually a big hit--except for that small group of people who do not like coconut (I just can't understand that!) Enjoy!

House

Ani and Brian are beginning to shop for a house in San Francisco. So I am drawn back to our own first house shopping not so long ago. When we still lived in Spain, I would often have dreams in the night-- Larry and I were walking through large, old houses, searching for one of our own. But as the sun rose, I'd always wake up to our 7th floor apartment in the city. Then when we came to live in California, my dreams were literally realized. Larry's aunt unexpectedly left us enough money to afford a down payment and within days were we found our very own house--providential! We filled it with hand-me-downs from family and friends--the old owners sold us 3 couches for $100, we found a used table at Pottery Barn for $39, odd beds from friends and a rocker that we had given away when we went overseas found it's way back to us. My favorite story of God's provision, were the bookcases I loved in a catalogue but were too much ($$) to buy. Then one day I was taking my Grandmother to a Walmart near her home and there was an outlet store next door with the exact same bookcases at 1/3 the price! A piano my folks no longer needed, a desk from Larry's parents garage... A lady I'd never met from church heard about us and dropped by our blue lamp. Bit by bit our house became a home and I love it so.

I have some favorite spots in the house-- on the tiny office sofa, looking down the hall over the bookcase out the back window toward the maple tree... or coming in the front door to be welcomed by the green of the yard through the big wooden window. Standing at my kitchen counter with dinner brewing on the stove.

Mostly I love the house when it's filled with people, like in a couple hours when my Monday Bible study friends arrive, everyone telling stories over mugs of tea, always a blessed time... or on Tuesdays when the young moms group comes and we share our lives and laugh (I mean laugh!) together. Last week week when friends came for Sunday night soup and Saturday night banana pie and a rousing game of banan-o-grams. And it's always a lovely joy when my kids are around the table, with the grandparents for a meal together.

I was watching HGTV this week at a young woman shopping for a house in Portland. She said she wanted a house she "could hug." Sounds corny, but I do love my huggable house. And I thank God for all that he has provided in giving us this home and all that is in it...

Happiness

Last summer for my stay in China, I packed a book, "The Geography of Bliss" in to my reading bag. The author, Eric Weiner, traveled the world, starting at a happiness research center in the Netherlands to study the happiest places on earth. His sometimes wise, always witty description of his journey takes him down rabbit trails of money, success, health and family, but doesn't come up with the ultimate formula for happiness. He tip toes around the facts he gives that religious people/people who worship are happier, but doesn't give that much credence. A thought provoking book...

Last week Larry shared a David Brooks article (NY Times) about happiness. He wrote that people who are married have a happiness boost that equals a $100,000 pay increase. He said people who have a group of friends they meet with once a month (or more) are 50% happier than whose who don't. He continues on with more research to finally conclude that it is the people in your life that engender happiness.

Which reminds me of the idea Chuck Swindoll used often when he was at the church-- The only two things in life that are eternal are people and God's word-- We should invest our time and energy in those two. I can't forget that at my father's funeral 1,000 people came to honor the time he had invested in them. That, for me, was a picture of a life of godly happiness.

Maundy Thursday

Last night another Maundy Thursday service-- my step into the holy days. The prayers, the music, the worship was rich, beautiful and true. The sacrifice of my Lord was real and eternal--those years ago, now and forever. How can I be so blessed? God have mercy.

Saint Andrews Church with Paul. Sue, John, Patty and David.