Random Ruminations

     My family will attest to the fact that I have been on strike in the kitchen off and on for the past year. After thirty-five years of fairly consistent meal preparation, I decided to take some time off. The Dad was mostly on board so it has thankfully not been cause celebre for a mid-life marriage crisis. However, I did find time this week to make some homemade pumpkin bread, and I used my niece's recipe that she featured on her blog, WTFrills. You can find the easy but oh-so-good recipe here. It was so delicious that I had to hide two loaves so that I would be able to serve them to my Bible Study girls!
 

        And who doesn't need a little bit of life philosophy courtesy of the Rolling Stones!

      Finally, I close with a picture of four men who have been friends for thirty plus years: trust me when I say that they are truly a Bond of Brothers, especially when you consider what they have walked through with wives who have been friends even longer than they have. Boy, do they have some stories to tell, but thankfully nobody seems to be in the blackmailing business -- although one of them is a prankster extraordinaire (See if you can guess which one?! He's the one who is not looking at the camera, of course!) Together we have done life: the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly and the glorious!  I love all four of them, but must confess to having a special love, admiration, affection, and respect for number three from the left. He's been mine to have and to hold for these many years!