The Cost of Liberty...in Ancient Athens and Today

"What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them, and with this as the foremost object ideas of freedom and self-reliance and service to the community were obscured to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a co-operative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share....Athens had reached the point of rejecting independence, and the freedom she now wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result.... If men insisted on being free from the burden of a life that was self-dependent and also responsible for the common good, they would cease to be free at all. Responsibility was the price every man must pay for freedom. It was to be had on no other terms."  -Edith Hamilton, The Echo of Greece, chapter 2, p. 47 (1957)

Cabbage-Vegetable Soup

(Amounts are approximate and variable.)
Olive oil, 1/4 C
Onion, 1 whole, chopped
Carrot, 1 large, chopped
Celery, 2 stalks w/ leaves, chopped
Green pepper, 1/2 chopped
Zucchini, 1 whole, chopped
Egg plant, 1/2 skinned & chopped
Water, 2 quarts
Tomato, 1 chopped
Tomato sauce, 16 oz.
Garlic, 2 cloves, crushed
Cabbage, 1/2 head, chopped
Green beans, 16 oz. can
Corn, 1 C frozen
Basil, 1 tsp.
Salt, 1 tsp.
Brown sugar, 2 tsp.

Add items in order to large pot, stirring frequently before water is added. When everything is in pot, simmer for awhile. Serve with rolls and sausage.

Sox's Favorite Homemade Dog Biscuits

2 C cornmeal
1 C flour
1 egg
1 lb. raw liver, pureed (eeew!)

Mix all ingredients. Spread in oiled 9"x13" pan.
Bake about 30 min or until done. Cut while still warm.
Bag pieces and store in freezer.
Note: liver purees better slightly frozen.

Coming Home

Fingerprinted walls and long gray winters closed in on this young mom's mind. Our apartment, narrow and not too long, sat atop our shop in an aged building at the edge of town. Piles of clutter competed for attention with runny noses and household repairs. I liked the building, really I did, for its bit of a view and proximity to work, but the more children we tried to cram into it, the smaller it apparently got.

The latest little arrival prompted a search for larger lodging. We scoured papers and studied websites, yet every lead turned out just wrong, with money often the limiting factor. Meanwhile, the children were growing in more than just numbers, and a place for them to meet with friends at home was becoming essential.

Lamenting to my single friend about our house-hunting saga, I was miffed when she breezed, “Just give it to God.” The long gray ponytail on her shoulder seemed to delineate the gulf between her life and mine. What did she know of my pressures? Yet she spoke from her own struggles, I knew, and her words resonated to a younger me. Was this a trust issue? Accepting her offer to pray, I relinquished my fretting.

The next day I tripped onto a house for sale, spacious and well-lit, that would accommodate our family, store and budget. How we had missed it until then is a mystery. Perhaps we were not given eyes to see until my heart was prepared to receive it as a gift.

Pumpkin Waffles

2 1/2 Cups flours (I use wheat, rice and tapioca)
1/4 C brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Cups milk (I use rice milk)
1-15 oz can Pumpkin
1/3 C oil
2 eggs

It's easy. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Pour batter onto a hot and oiled waffle iron. Cook until done.
Serve with applesauce and syrup.

Poem: Two Gifts

I love you exactly, precisely, completely
The way that you are, through and through.
No sinister attitude nor smug ingratitude
Can change that, for my love is true.

But 'round the next bend could come trial or friend
Who grants you less gracious esteem.
More, you may aspire to lay hold much higher
Of that which you now only dream.

Unbridled appetites soon become parasites,
Hindering all you can be,
So I'll give correction, an act of affection,
I learned from the One who loved me.

It's not out of spite or some secret delight
That I faithfully purge your dross,
But to spare you much grief and buy some relief
Against disappointment and loss.

It may not be pleasant, this discipline present
I offer, unbidden, to you.
Yet through all the strain,
As you loudly complain,
I will love you, as love you I do.

Holly's Chicken Sesame

4 Chicken breasts, cubed
(may cook separately, or sub tofu)
1 small onion, cut in strips
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, cut in strips
1-2 heads broccoli, cut up
oil for frying
1/4 C soy sauce
3 Tbs. honey or brown sugar
1-2 Tbs. rice vinegar
3/4 C water
2 Tbs. corn starch
2 Tbs. whole sesame seeds

Heat oil in large fry pan or wok on med to med-hi heat. Stir fry chicken until loses color. Stir fry carrot & onion briefly, then add celery and broccoli, stirring often until desired tenderness. Mix remaining ingredients and add to pan. Stir until darkened and thick. Serve over rice.