A Poem For You and No Peeking Beef Stew

I found this over at The Wise Old Owl and had to share it!



Ladies!!!


Remember... a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it.

'A house becomes a home' when you can write 'I love you' on the furniture.'

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect - 'in case someone came over'.

Finally I realized one day that no-one came over;

they were all out living life and having fun!

NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the 'condition' of my home

They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing...how I was living life and having fun.

If you haven't figured this out yet,

....please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!

Dust if you must .......

.....but wouldn't it be better

.....to paint a picture or write a letter,

.....bake cookies or a cake and lick the spoon

.....or, plant a seed,

....ponder the difference between want and need?


Dust if you must, but there's not much time ....

.....rivers to swim and mountains to climb,

......music to hear and books to read,

.....friends to cherish and life to lead....

Dust if you must, but the world's out there

with the sun in your eyes,

the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.

This day will not come around, again.


Dust if you must , but bear in mind,

old age will come and it's not kind.

And when you go - and go you must

- you, yourself will make more dust!


It's not what you gather, but what you scatter

that tells what kind of life you have lived.


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My mother gave me this recipe years ago and it's one of my favorite ways to make stew. You can use any vegetables you like in it. I love the way the flour turns into a nice gravy, kind of by magic, that was my addition. It never seems to lump and always turns out just right.

No Peeking Beef Stew

1 pound beef stew meat, I used a round steak cubed
3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 carrot, cubed
4 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
4 cups water
oil for frying

Whisk the flour and seasonings in a bowl. Dredge the meat and fry in batches in a dutch oven, removing to a plate when just brown. After it's all be browned, put it all into the dutch oven, add the vegetables, sprinkle the flour mixture (that you dredged the meat in) over everything, then pour the water over the whole thing. Cover and bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours. Don't peek, it will cook just fine.