World's Best Pumpkin Biscuits, No Lie

Pumpkin Biscuits
5 Stars

These wonderfully unusual biscuits can be made a day ahead. Tender and delicious,I've never met anyone of any age who didn't love them.

2 1/2 cups flour
3 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup softened butter
1 15-oz. can unsweetened solid-packed pumpkin

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet or line it with a piece of parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. (You may need to crumble in the brown sugar with your fingers.) Stir in the softened butter andpumpkin, and mix until a soft dough forms.

3. With clean dry hands, divide pieces of dough and pat into 1/2-inch thickness for each biscuit.. Place them on the cookie sheet, and put it on the middle rack of your oven. Bake the biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes (because they're already brown, you may need to break one open to see if they're done). Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 16 to 18 irresistible biscuits.

Deep Water

I love Dr. Lisa, my primary care physician. I scheduled a visit with her last week, and she was so completely understanding and supportive that I couldn't help but feel better by the time I left. Our conversation was rife with similes or analogies.

Here's mine: I feel like this grief I'm carrying is a huge, unwieldy box. It takesall the strength I have to hang onto it and keep it balanced. When someone comes along and drops another box or two on top of it, even though they're much smaller and would ordinarily be fairly easy to carry, I can't handle the extra burden.

Here's hers: You're in a river, treading water. Even though you're trying to keep your head above it, you've grown very tired and you're just stuck there, unable to move forward.

The solution: Talk to this LDS counselor I know, and highly recommend. She shares your beliefs, and she knows about real life. And this prescription for Celexa, an antidepressant, will turn down the volume a bit on your emotions to give you abreather.

So, I'm going for it. My first appointment is next week. Whether it's the box, or the river, or both, I'm not sure, but a little objectivity is welcome. Dr.Lisa asked me if she'd been helpful, and I said yes, that she'd thrown me a rope. She said, "I like that. I threw you a rope, now S. will teach you to swim."

If all goes well, and I don't know why it wouldn't, I hope to be paddling happily about again before very long. I'll never be the same I know, I'm permanetly changed from all that's happened, Dr. Lisa warned me, but things ccan get better. Besides, I've always been a big supporter of people getting counseling when their situation becomes too confusing and troublesome. Now, it's my turn to follow my own advice.

Soup's On!

Chunky Papaya Soup

The first time Brianna made her mom's recipe for papaya nut soup, it was with some apprehension that I consented to take a tiny taste. Pared diced apple, pear, and papaya simmered in salted water for a couple of hours with a variety of raw nuts, peanuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts and almonds. A teaspoon or so of canola oil was the only other ingredient. Sounds safe enough, I thought, and the aroma wafting from the kitchen was certainly pleasing. So,... here goes.Mmmmm. It's good! Brianna, it's really good. I thought it might taste all hot and fruity and sweet and weird, but it doesn't. Admittedly, Dan and Shane aren't too keen on it, but we're used to making concessions for them. Who wouldn't, as cool as they are! While Brianna made another batch of the soup today, I made a potato-vegetable medley for them to chow down on instead.


The thing is, it's soup season now, and soup is good food!I guess my old faithfuls are taco soup. potato soup, broccoli cheese soup, and chili.But before the season's over, I'll be trying a few of these new soups on the block: Chicken and Green Chile Soup With Tamale Dumplings, Harvest Pumpkin Corn Bisque, SausageCorn Chowder, and other such hearty fare. If you have a favorite, please pass it along. We'd love to expand our soup repertoir, and there's sure to be plenty of chilly nights ahead, just right for a steaming bowl of soul-satisfying soup.

P.S. I Love You

Back row, left to right:
Jenny, Bonnie, Becky, Jamie
Front row left to right:
John, Julie, Jim

Oh those Beatles. They once set my heart all a-flutter, but then, my 12-year-young heart was practically a perpetual flutter machine anyway. I'm only thinking of John, Paul,George, and Ringo now because I'm dedicating their birthday song to my sister, Jenny.Happy birthday, JennyLissy! (Remember when Mama used to shorten Jenny Melissa like that?)

Jenny lives, and rides her new scooter, in Iowa City, so our paths don't cross as often as we'd like. She has a beautiful alto voice, and I love singing with her.We were just wishing yesterday that we could join forces in a new project I've cooked up, putting together monthly "shows" for a nearby nursing home. We'll see if it comes to fruition, but I'm already having a great time selecting the golden oldie type songs for it.

Back to those Beatles for a minute, remember when I got in big trouble over them?Another of my schemes gone wrong! My friends, Sheila, Tina, and I decided, as 7th-graders, that it was perfectly reasonable for us to leave our residential school in the dead of night, and hitch hike the 90 miles to Atlanta, then live there for awhile earning money by baby-sitting before proceeding on to New York, where we would once again stop to babysit long enough to pay our passage to Liverpool to "meet the Beatles!" It worked about as well as it sounds for us, it was a dismal success, of sorts. The school authorities came down hard on our empty little noggins! A very angry Mr. Jones, the superintendent, picked us up at 1 a.m., and made us get our heavy suitcases we'd decided to leave behind, and drove us to some road he claimed was the road to Atlanta, whereupon he made us get out of the car and start walking.He finally resurfaced and took us back to the school. But bright and early the next morning, he had us walking again, only this time it was walking track for the entire school day. Then I had to face the wrath of my parents. OUCH! No more runningaway from school for me. You know, maybe they really sent me off to school so I wouldn't corrupt my next youngest sibling, Jenny, who was born just 15 months after me. It worked too, because she's wonderful. Things haven't been easy for her, but she has remained faithful, obedient, and kind throughout her many trials. I know she will outlast them, and come out victorious in the own due time of the Lord. Keep a-comin', Jenny, look how far you've already come. Again, happy birthday, sistah, and happy every day!

P.S. If you send us a picture of yourself in your pink helmet and pink and black gloves, riding that scooter, we'll post it.

Autumn Snow

Early Snow

by Susan Bagley

Autumn yawns from dull routine

and as if to perk up the boring scene,

of fading leaves reluctant to let go,

has sent a surprising Autumn snow.

I stare with wonder across the white-orange lawn

as I ponder where three seasons have already gone.

I reflect on the simile of the icy flakes

collecting, as my memory rakes

through bright recollections, colorful scenes,

withering hope, and fallen dreams.

I sigh with ambivalent attitude,

decide to ignore the thoughts that intrude

on my contemplation of Autumn's glow

competing with the early snow.

Susan, wherever you are, your poem fit this day to a T. I changed the third line though. I hope you never know of it, or if you do, that you don't mind. Go and snow fit much better than boughs and snow. To be fair, here's the original third line:

with the leaves half shaken from gray-brown boughs,

This is the earliest snow of my memory. It's a special day all right, but it wasn't the unexpected drop-in of snow that made it so. It's Colin's 21st birthday! We hope he got our package on time, and had fun giving himself a twenty-one gun salute.

Sheila

We met at the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon, Georgia. She was five years old, I was six, and she liked to sing as much as I did. We gathered all the really important facts about each other (middle names: Anne and Belle; birthdays: Oct. 7th and July 18th; hometowns: Gainesville and Moultrie; number of brothers, sisters, pets), and set out to become what has turned out to be lifelong friends.

We were certainly both badly in need of a friend on that September Sunday, when our parents drove us to that vast and unfamiliar place, unpacked our suitcases, kissed and hugged us goodbye, and left us there to begin first grade bright and early in the morning. We ached with homesickness. I know I soaked my pillow for many nights with my tears, and my mother told me she was crying, too, 120 miles away back home in Moultrie. Knowing my father, I bet he had to pull his handkerchief from his pocket and wipe the "dust" out of his eyes once in awhile as well. Years later, when I had my own little boys, I doubtedI could have made the same tough decision they did. But I know it was the right one for our circumstances. Just look at me now, I am educated! Well, partially educated, there's still a gracious plenty to learn.

Sheila and I were world class gigglers, readers, and playmates. Her doll, Debbie Darlene, and my handsome doll, Joseph, starred in many a story we dreamed up together. We placed in a talent show when we were in sixth grade, winning a free take-out dinnerfrom a nearby restaurant, The Shrimpboat, for singing a duet of "All the Things YouAre," wearing our almost matching blue dresses. In ninth grade, it was Sheila who raised the alarm when a lovably naughty classmate, Jimmy Carter, set my long hair afire by flicking his cigarette lighter next to my ear. I didn't even know it was burning until she screamed, "She's on fire!" Someone rushed over and vigorously tousled my hair to put out the tiny blaze. No harm done, just a little drama, which 9th-grade girls usually relish, and the scent of singed hair hanging in the air.

I've only seen Sheila one time in all these years since graduation. It's easy enough to keep in touch though, by phone and e-mail. She's great at sending cards. I'm lousy at it, but she likes me anyway. And I like her too, a whole bunch. Happy birthday, Sheila!

What's New

It's always been a priority to live within our means, and we "means" to keep on doing it! Pres. Hinckley used to quote a WWII saying that went like this, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." That's pretty much been our philosophy as well. When we make a purchase other than groceries, it's noteworthy. So, note this!

1. Our new juicer. No, it's not a Vita-Mix, that's not within our means. But this still allows us to enjoy the health benefits of yummy, fresh carrot juice.MMMMMM carrotopia! Brianna and I are having fun experimenting with a variety of fruits and vegetables.

2. Our new window panels. They were sorely needed, to replace the pesky, never-popular vertical blinds that came with the house. And we got them for 20% off. My savvy Utah sister saw them while shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond on Saturday. Now, thanks to her thoughtful phone call, and my friend Karen's timely assistance, a bold splash of burgundy pops, where beige blinds once annoyingly clanked. Adding to our frugal theme, these vegetables are from our own garden.3. Best of all, no purchase required here. Two great websites! The first one is proving to be able to answer all my scriptural questions!!!!! If you love the scriptures,I believe you'll also love http://www.gospeldoctrine.com/

The second website contains all the wonderful talks from our brand-new general conference, delicious refreshment for the soul!

http://www.lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-947,00.html

Both sites are priceless. And this proves it:

2 Ne 26:25 Come unto me… buy milk and honey, without money and without price

Nephi again borrows from the prophecies of Isaiah. This passage, found in Isa 55:1, discusses how the blessings of the gospel can be obtained without money or material wealth. Although Nephi is using this passage to demonstrate that the Lord invites all to come unto him, the following explanation is useful. From the 1981 Old TestamentInstitute Manual: “The invitation to come unto Christ and obtain those gifts without money and without price suggests not that they can be obtained without effort, however, but that one does not need the goods of this world to obtain them.

So these are our new and exciting finds. We won't elaborate on Shane's less than frugal new gismo, an Apple iPod touch though, anymore than to say that he can use it to read the commentary from gospel doctrine .com during our scripture study. That's one way he stays so in tune!

One-word Answers

Not as easy as you might think. Take the challenge, change the answers to reveal your deepest secrets, if you dare. Pass the time as you wait for general conference to begin, and change the world!

1. Where is your cell phone?Absent
2. Where is your sspouse? Bed
3. Your hair? Sleek
4. Your mother? Precious
5. Your father? Heaven
6. Your favorite thing? Computer
8. Your dream/goal? Unity
9. The room you're in? Cozy
10. Your hobby? Writing
11. One of your fears? Lies
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Millennium
13. Where were you last night? Here
14. What you're not? Perfect
15. One of your wish list items? Elliptical
16. Where you grew up? Georgia
17. The last thing you did? Pray
18. What are you wearing? Grubbies
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your Pets? Nonexistent
21. Your computer? Beneficial
22. Your mood? Hopeful
23. Missing someone? Yes!
24. Your car? Comfortable
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Granddaddy's
27. Your summer? Over
28. Love someone? Many!
29. Your favorite color? Crimson
30. When is the last time you laughed? Thursday
31. Last time you cried? Wednesday
32. Who will take this challenge? Geniuses