Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 103

Another Recipe - FUDGE

I don’t know what has come over me. Here I am posting a second recipe less than a month since the popcorn salad episode. Part of the reason has to do with my oven. It hasn’t been working right in probably six months, but I’m going to save that whole story for another time. The only reason why I bring that up now is that I haven’t baked anything in I don’t know how long. It finally got to me and I had to make some kind of dessert.
I saw this recipe for fudge online a couple weeks ago and thought it sounded good. The problem is I have made fudge probably three times in my adult life and it never turned out. Everybody’s like “fudge is so easy to make, try it in the microwave, you can’t screw it up”. Yea, well, fat chance. I still screw it up every time.
So, I put that all behind me and tried it again. Maybe I’m mellowing in my old age and can actually cook something on the stove for the prescribed amount of time. Or maybe I finally found the fudge recipe that works.  Three Ingredients Butterfinger Fudge:
3 cups Candy Corn1 cup peanut butter1 can sweetened condensed milk2 cups white chocolate chips
First off, though, the recipe I followed claimed there was only 3 ingredients in this fudge. I’m confused. Which item do you think they weren’t counting? 
Anyway, it said to line a pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. They recommended a 9x9 pan. I didn’t have one and couldn’t decide between the 5x10 and the 6x8. Luckily I had them both at the ready, coz once I started pouring the fudge in, I decided one pan was going to be too thick so used them both. One hadn’t been lined yet with foil, so I just sprayed it quick and as you’ll see at the end, that worked just fine too.  Add Candy Corn and peanut butter to a medium saucepan and heat, over low heat, stirring every 30 seconds or so, for about 3 minutes. I stirred it almost constantly and have no idea if it was three minutes. See, this is why I can’t make candy, I can’t follow instructions.
 Add white chocolate chips and stir until everything melts together. (It will seem like it’s never going to melt...but it will!) It seemed like it melted pretty quickly too me, at which point, I thought, “I screwed this up”.
 Spread evenly in pan. Cool on counter about 15 minutes, then chill until hardened. Cut into squares.  I think I actually followed this to the T. Except again, I never time anything and as already mentioned, the one pan wasn't lined with foil.
 If you want, you can dip the fudge in milk chocolate. Melt chocolate chips (you can add a little vegetable oil to thin them) and dip the bottoms of the fudge squares in the chocolate. Set on a wax paper lined cookie sheet to harden. I got a little sloppy at this point, but whatever, I call it creative. And the pans and utensils all cleaned up like a dream.
 Ta-da. I can now make fudge!

Thankfulness, Week 1

 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 New International Version)
In November 2014, I shared with you thirty things which I am thankful for, posting a month’s worth of blogs on the topic. I certainly have more than thirty things to be thankful for this year (and every year), but thought I would write about just a few of them during my Sunday blogs over the next four weeks.
I checked the Bible Gateway website, in search of four appropriate Bible verses which talk about being thankful. It was pretty tough to narrow it down to just four. Using the New International Version of the Bible (the one I am most familiar with), there are 133 verses containing the word “thank” or a variation of it, 48 verses with the phrase “give thanks” and 30 verses with the word “thanksgiving”. Hmm? How to pick just four?
Which brings me to the first thing I am thankful for today. The word of God. Those 66 books of the Bible, those nearly 1,200 chapters, over 31,000 verses, a lot of words, a lot of pages. But all of them sharing the message of God’s salvation and love for us. All of them meaningful.
I admit, I’ve only read through the entire Bible one time, but I’ve read enough bits and pieces of it, chapters or books at a time, that I’ve surely read 31,000 verses many times over.
I’m thankful that I have several versions of the Bible to choose from, including the ones in my Kindle, as well as the wonderful resource, the Bible Gatewaywebsite. So I should probably also thank God that I live in the age of the internet and technology which keeps His word always at my fingertips and the fingertips of people world-wide.

Thank You, Lord God, for always being available to me, for giving me Your word and for granting me no excuses to avoid Your message. Amen  All my Bibles from around my house, not counting the couple that my husband has or the ones on my Kindle.
Yup, no excuse for me. 

Halloween, then and now

I haven’t dressed up for Halloween since I was in college, when Jean, Brenda, Jeanne, and I dressed up like the characters from The Wizard of Oz for our dorm Halloween party. I cannot believe that I have no pictures of Dorothy (me!). I wore a fetchin’ lavender dress with pinafore. 


But that was waaaay before digital photography. It was 1981, and remember I was a child prodigy, so I am not really as old as you think.

 How else do you think I was chosen to play Dorothy. Hmm. Good thing there are no pictures of me from then, I guess.

Anywho, I do not know what came over me this year. Except that maybe my co-workers from Whoville were contagious.
Or when a co-worker suggested that we dress as minions and the doctor I work for dress as Gru, I couldn’t resist. It was an easy costume to put together. I really can have fun when I want to.   It helps to work with a great bunch of people.

What Jesus Says

You may not be aware of this, but Tuesday, October 31, marks the 500thanniversary of the day that Martin Luther tacked his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. All us good Lutherans are supposed to know all about this and that this event marked the beginning of the reformation and a splitting away from the Catholic church.
I was going to write more about that event today, do some research, study up on Martin Luther, maybe tell you something you’ve never heard before. Instead as I was reading through various Bible passages, looking for just the right one which would make one of Luther’s points (such as “you can’t buy your way into heaven”), I ended up in the following chapter from the book of Luke. I don’t know if these are passages which Luther used as ammunition against the church leaders of 1517 or not. It doesn’t matter; I like them.
 22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
 27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. (Luke 12:22-33 New International Version)
 As usual, Jesus says it all better than I ever could.  

What Pops Up in Your Hometown?

As I was driving to work yesterday, I was hit with the realization of the changing of the seasons. Sure, the temperatures have been around freezing every morning the last few days and the forecast is for flurries, even possible accumulations of an inch of snow. But what hits me every year is the morning I drive past the county garage and they have all of the snow plows out getting them ready for winter.
As I continued my drive to work I spied something else along the side of the road which got me thinking. You know how occasionally, often in the spring and in the fall, the city announces garbage pickup day, where you can put your larger items of junk at the curb and the city will pick them up? Or at any time of the year, you might see an item on the curb with a sign on it saying “FREE”, even though the item is just more junk where the possibility of you bringing it into  your home is about the same as bringing in an escaped convict.
Yesterday, I spied next to the road a baby carrier, no sign on it and no baby in it, at least I was pretty sure there wasn’t as I drove by at 29 mph. I wondered if it was an item at the curb to be swooped up by anyone desperate enough to adopt a total stranger’s baby carrier for their own child. Or had a sleep-deprived father forgotten it there when he lifted out his wailing six month old at some odd hour of the night?
I do not know.
I studied the streets the rest of the way to work thinking maybe I would see a third noteworthy thing. The only other entity, as I was pulling into the hospital parking lot, was the ambulance pulling out, its lights and sirens on. For the second day in a row. I have no idea what is significant about that, except that most ambulance calls are not for happy occasions. And we need a lot more happy occasions.
Snow plows, baby carriers and ambulances. I have no idea how any of them are related, except that they all pop up in my hometown.  I didn't get any pictures yesterday morning. This picture is from November 4, 2014, same scene as I just witnessed. 

A Recipe from the Non-Cook

I haven’t posted any recipes in a while. I like to type them on my blog and then save them on Pinterest so that I don’t lose them. I can always pull up my favorite recipes wherever I am as long as I have internet. Yup, I’m getting just like the kids. Hard to believe that at one time I did all my typing on a Smith-Corona manual typewriter, back when our black and white TV picked up three stations, but you had to move the rabbit ears to pick up channel 12. Yup, I’m that old.
Anyway, we had a potluck last week for a co-worker who was retiring. I don’t usually participate in potlucks because I have no luck coming up with food to contribute. This time, for some unknown reason, I signed up and said I’d bring popcorn salad.
Another co-worker who retired a few years ago had made it once for a potluck and gave me the recipe. We all thought it was pretty unique and no one had had it before. Turns out the exact recipe popped up as the first one on a Google search for “popcorn salad recipe”.
Ingredients
1 Bag of Old Dutch White Gourmet Popcorn2 Bunches of Green Onions, chopped2 Cups of Celery, chopped2 Cans of Sliced Water Chestnuts, chopped2 lbs. of Cooked Bacon, crumbled2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Cups of Mayonnaise2/3 Cups of Sugar2 Tablespoons of Vinegar
Mix mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar and refrigerate overnight. In a large bowl mix together green onions, celery, bacon, and shredded cheese.Just before serving mix the popcorn and mixture, then add the dressing. I cheat and use bacon bits and I don’t know how big their bag of popcorn is, but I only use half of mine and it’s some off brand. 

Bonus = popcorn left to eat!

Possibility

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (New International Version)
As anyone knows who lives where the seasons change, it is that time of year when you can’t get a handle on the leaves covering your yard. Last week Hubby spent a couple hours every day raking and leaf-blowing our leaves into piles all over the yard. Some he hauled away, but the rest were supposed to be my responsibility. I kind of shirked it. Plus, more leaves fell from the trees. When he got home from work yesterday, he started the leaf-blower for me and I blew out a tiny portion of the lawn, one of the portions he had done already. It doesn’t seem like I made a dent.
A daunting task awaits us. How will we ever finish picking up the leaves before snow falls (which is forecasted for the end of next week, with not much but cloudy skies and rain showers before then).
Whether or not the yardwork gets done this fall, this reminds me how all things are possible with God. Without even lifting a finger, He could pick up these leaves, as well as clean my house! Of course, He doesn’t. He gave us our world and our work so that we can stay busy and be productive, so that we have a reason to get up in the morning. Maybe I should have instead picked a Bible verse about the perils of laziness!
In any event, my yard is what it is. A blessing from God. Whether covered in leaves or green grass or snow.
Thank You, God, for giving me all that I have and for giving me the ability to maintain it. Amen.  

(As I wrote the title for this post, I suddenly remembered that my chosen word for this year was “possibility”. Huh. Only took me ten months to remember that!)

Flashback Friday - Five Generations

Yes, here we are on another Flashback Friday. I found some amazing pictures of the older generations and thought it would be cool to compare to the current generation. It took way longer than I thought it would to find the more recent pictures. I think I need to get my daughter to join me in a photo shoot and recreate some of these. 
Anna Wagner Steinbach, my great-grandmother Lena Steinbach Jahn, my grandmother.    Margaret Jahn Loehmer, my mother.    Chris Loehmer Kincaid, me! Valerie Confer Kelch, my daughter. Five generations of strong (ie stubborn) women. How cool, huh?
I think that when it got to me, I picked up a lot more from my father’s side of the family. And my daughter picked up a lot of genes from her dad. Still really neat pictures. 

Scene #5 from the discarded files

I haven’t shared any of the deleted scenes from my novel in over a month. Since I started writing “Where the Sky Meets the Sand” nearly seven years ago, I have totally forgotten a lot of the scenes, such as this one. Here, Ole the boy has just arrived at the safari camp with Jenny and the others. He has much to learn about the ways of the white people.
“Boy,” the driver called to him. “As long as you are up there already, untie the bags and pass them down.”The boy did as he was told. The canvas bags were relatively light considering their large size and he gently handed them down into waiting arms. Then he swung himself to the ground with one fluid movement.The woman and one of the white men were talking to a different man, someone who looked like the driver and was wearing similar clothes, short sleeved shirt and long pants, all the color of chai. He was taller and heavier and stood with the authority of a tribal leader. The woman occasionally gestured to the boy and slowly he walked closer to them, waiting for their conversation to end.  The black man finally turned to the boy. “I am Reuben. I run this camp.” This man didn’t seem to know his language as well as the man who drove the jeep. This man spoke slowly, his voice gruff and rumbly. Maybe he didn’t think that the boy would understand him. “These white people.  They want you to find lions tomorrow. They ask if your family worries about you.”As he began to speak, the boy kept his eyes trained on the ground. “My mother will not expect me for many days, if at all. Many boys never return when they hunt the lion.”The boy could feel Reuben staring at him, his eyes traveling up and down the boy’s thin frame. The boy tried to stand taller even as his eyes stayed glued to the man’s dusty shoes. Something about Rueben reminded him of someone else, someone who had caused him great pain. “You must not hunt the lion now. You must keep these people happy. Do what they want. Do you understand?”“Yes sir.”  My daughter Val took this picture on our first trip to Kenya in 2006. It is of two Maasai boys at the village of Mosiro, boys who could be Ole. Just like the above excerpt, I’ve forgotten ever seeing this picture.If you want to read more about the boy Ole, you can order your copy of “Where the Sky Meets the Sand” from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Or ask your local bookstore to order it for you. You can also send me a message if you want me to get you a personally signed copy.If you have read the book already, don’t forgot to write a review for Amazon.com. The more reviews a book gets, even the negative ones (be honest – if you didn’t like the book, I’d like to know that too), the more people will see it and possibly buy their own copy. I need all the help I can get. Thanks. 

Flashback Friday - Great-Aunt Edie

I haven’t shared a Flashback Friday in quite a while, and since I found another one of my mom’s photo albums from back in the day, I thought I would share some of the pictures I found there.
Oh, dear, and just now I fell into the rabbit hole, reading through the old obituaries, trying to put Mom’s family together. Okay, focus, Chris. You were going to just share one of the relatives today, worry about the others another time.
Here we are. My mom’s mom, Pauline “Lena” Steinbach Jahn, was one of eight children. She had two sisters, Edith, better known as Edie, and Elsie.  














Of all the old pictures of the old relatives, Aunt Edie is the easiest to pick out, thanks mostly to her short stature. 







All three sisters worked at logging camps in the Northwoods back in the nineteen-teens. 



 She married Otto Long in 1921. My mom always said that at the time Uncle Otto wasn’t yet a citizen, and everyone thought that he along with Aunt Edie would get deported back to Germany.














They never had any kids. But because they lived on a farm just up the road from the house I grew up, I probably visited them more than the rest of the aunts and uncles.
 In the living room of their house, Aunt Edie had a rocking chair which had had the curve of the rockers planed off so that it didn’t rock. I could never figure that out.
They didn’t have running water in that house for a long time. I remember the summer my dad installed a bathroom for them. I don’t know how old I was, but it must have been in the late sixties, because I remember it so clearly. I even remember using their outhouse before Dad put in the bathroom. 


Aunt Edie passed away in 1972 and Uncle Otto followed her to heaven in 1976. 
That's feels so long ago. I'm sure other family members have more memories of them.