Please pray for my friend Klaus. You'll remember he wrote THIS AMAZING TRUE ACCOUNT of the BERLIN AIR DROPS...so many of you had commented that you enjoyed reading that. For those who didn't get a chance, please give it a read, you'll feel a renewed love of our great country for her generosity. Klaus very suddenly and unexpectedly has lost his wife and I ask for prayers for calm and peace for him and his family...and me.....he's a wonderful man and to think he's going through what I've been going through is extremely upsetting. God bless, and thanks.... Z

Philly Cheese Steaks

Well, I FINALLY had my first Philly Cheese Steak. I picked the right place in Los Angeles; they fly the buns in FROM Philadelphia and I'm pretty sure I've rarely had a bun fit the sandwich innards that well. I ordered mine with grilled peppers and onions...I'm not sure what cheese they put on there and I know there's quite some discussion about what cheese is best among afficianados, but I've got to tell you, that is ONE DELICIOUS SANDWICH. I was NOT disappointed!

REEEEALLY thin beef, piping hot with those grilled vegetables, the hot cheese melted down into it, and on that INCREDIBLE bun. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm YOU EVER HAD ONE?

z

Sunday Faith Blog

UPDATE:
I'm watching QVC on TV...Rachael Ray is on with hostess Jane Rudolph Tracy (for those of you who know who I'm talking about). They have talked about HANNUKAH and THE HOLIDAY the whole hour. "I used GREEN and RED pot holders in a taping of me cooking with my kids and the green and red were so cute for the HOLIDAY....you can also buy BLUE for HANNUKAH!" "You can buy this for the Holidays OR for Hannukah.."
I'm sitting here wondering if there's some memo that FORBIDS people from mentioning CHRISTMAS? I mean, it's almost getting goofy and FUNNY, isn't it!? Ah, well...back to my main post...I hope you enjoy it:



A dear friend sent me this video and I thought it was wonderful and a good reminder. My own stepson has asked for no Christmas gifts, just that we give a donation in his father's memory to the Amyloidosis Support Groups. This is the kind of thing most of us should do, don't you think? Give something that will HELP. Give your TIME. Help your church so our American churches can afford to get back to what they did so beautifully in the past...building hospitals, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, helping in the community, etc.

My Bible study has been studying LUKE and we discussed Christ's birth almost 2 months ago. We sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" in September! I commented to someone how beautiful it was to feel Christmas in the Fall. She said "Maybe it's because we have the beauty of the birth and no Christmas shopping, cooking, etc., etc." That was a great reminder to me because I had finally FELT what Christmas is like without the 'stress'.

I wish that for you, too. In this economy, I hate to recommend not buying gifts..! GIFTS ARE GOOD, it's FUN to give...!! But, remember this video, too. Give donations, give your kids a book of promises! "I promise to have a good chat" and, when they present that promise to you, have a chat! "I promise to take you to the movies!" GO TO THE MOVIE!

The best gifts are FREE. Give your spouse a special promise; only you two know what that could be. Do it for me and Mr. Z, okay? Wrap it up as beautifully as if it were a cashmere coat. Have a wonderful Sunday. That's free, too.

xxx Z

An Airman's Letter to His Mother

This was on TCM Friday night and it touched me so much I had to share it. I'm so glad I found it on YouTube. Obviously, this is a BRITISH airman's letter but I think there are a lot of American soldiers who have this same gallant courage and love of country and family: ENJOY.

I couldn't resist

from my friend, Mal....
And, my very favorite is the one above from Chattering Teeth Blog!

z

Tell the ACLU "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" and how to send a card to our troops!

I got this from a friend and thought I'd pass it on (though it's so hard to have this awful logo on my site)...so...here goes:

Pass this on to your church, co-workers, family, and friends. What do you have to lose but 44 cents, what do you have to gain ----------- more than you will ever know.

Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year.

They are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice,
CHRISTIAN card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world..

Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it. Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's not the Christian way, you know.)

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York , NY 10004

Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So spend 44 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a " Holiday Tree". . . It's always been called a CHRISTMAS TREE!

And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to communicate with the ACLU! They really DESERVE us!!

For those of you who aren't aware of them, the ACLU, (the American Civil Liberties Union) is the one suing the U.S. Government to take God, Christmas or anything Christian away from us. They represent the atheists and others in this war. Help America continue to honor Christmas and all the beauty and good cheer of this season.

I JUST got this email LINK HERE and thought you ought to know about it.....SEND A CHRISTMAS CARD TO OUR TROOPS! Thanks, and GOD BLESS!

(and thanks to my wonderful friend Martha for the Troops information!) xxx Z

Name that Tune!

Commenter tiob and I were emailing the other night about what song in America really captures America. Obviously, "The Star Spangled Banner" and "My Country 'tis Of Thee" are very American, but we're looking for something other than an essentially patriotic song...something other than the obvious......the kind of song you'd find Americans unable to resist breaking into song with if they were in Europe, for example, and heard a band suddenly bursting into this tune.

Tiob wrote me:

I was watching clips of Andre Rieu play some traditional folk songs. When he played Hava Nagila, it made me wish I were Jewish. When he played Kalinka, it made me wish I were Russian. When the crowd was singing along to famous excerpts from Verdi operas, it made wish I were Italian.

So, if you weren't American, listening to what song would make you wish that you were? A song that makes you think of America right away. Not necessarily overtly patriotic, but something you'd consider part of the American heritage.

What song is immediately identifies with America for YOU? Any suggestions?

z (and tiob!)

Shark Fin soup!

Check THIS out if you're a foodie like I am! The story reminded me that I've actually had shark fin soup. Well, I had the 'soup' part of it. Let me know if you've tried it.

We were in Bangkok and I was with Mr. Z and about 8 Thai businessmen all seated around a large table in a very nice restaurant. All eyes had been on Mrs Z from the start of this multi-course dinner as if I were an American woman who would turn her nose up at anything exotic and ask instead for a Double Cheeseburger with bacon. Well, I had already won them over with a few courses before (I'll try almost anything and generally like it and was appropriately complimentary about the preceding course or two), so I didn't feel quite the pressure, and it's a good thing.
Shark Fin Soup has a broth like ambrosia and, surprisingly, it's a chicken-based stock. It would make a Jewish grandma's matzo ball soup taste like dishwater (never happen, not in any self respecting Jewish Granny's kitchen, right?)...it was SO delicious, so rich, this soup in the bowl!

Then, I took my spoon to what looked like a pair of nylon stockings at the bottom of the broth. Once I got a bit into my mouth, I realized it also tasted like a pair of nylon stockings probably would. Who knew shark fins were gelatinous and soggy? I left the whole ugly mess in the bottom of the bowl and enjoyed the broth. The waitress looked astonished at this when I gestured that yes, I was finished. I had the feeling she and the other waitresses would slurp up that apparent delicacy from my bowl once they got into the kitchen.

Because it was a $50 bowl of soup....ten years ago!

I had a bowl of $40 pasta in Rome about ten years ago (and many times after) which was fettucini tossed with white truffles. There is NO COMPARISON.

Skip the Shark Fin Soup.........go to ROME!

xxx Z

A NEW TWIST on an old story.....

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER This one is a little different... . Two Different Versions.... .......... .... Two Different Morals OLD VERSION The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself! MODERN VERSION The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving. CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast... How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.” Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper. The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood. The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010. I’ve sent this to you because I believe that you are an ant – not a grasshopper! Make sure that you pass this on to other ants. Don’t bother sending it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn’t understand it, anyway. I wish I'd written this! z

Integrity comes first.........Republicans all

I love this story SO much.
Check THIS OUT from Big Girl Pants (Heidianne's blog!)
I'd love to see a story as well written as Heidianne's appear in the mainstream media, but....of course, it won't. And here I thought it's the LEFT with such hopes for minorities, such open minded tolerance!? These guys aren't poverty pimps; these guys are Americans who understand the constitution and PUT THEIR COUNTRY first....These guys, I want to HUG.

I hope you feel the same way. z