I'm Still Here

I feel like Goldie Hawn in the movie Private Benjamin, where she said, "I want to wear my sandals, and I want to go to lunch." 

On October 1 I filled up my car with gas. I checked the tripometer, and since then I've driven only fifty miles. That same day I picked up a pizza at Little Caesars, and that has been the extent of my "eating out." But I'm making headway, and it feels good. And the exercise and sunshine Vitamin D are making me feel great.

I wanted to share with you a couple of emails Brother Jim sent me when he was cleaning out his computer.

I got this from a guy I knew where I used to work.  I'm not surprised, but also terrified of what it states. 

Love!

Lil' Bro

See below for a bit of history that most Americans are probably unaware.

 

At the height of the eighteenth century, Muslim pirates were the terror of the Mediterranean and a large area of the North Atlantic. They attacked every ship in sight, and held the crews for exorbitant ransoms.  Those taken hostage were subjected to barbaric treatment and wrote heart breaking letters home, begging their government and family members to pay whatever their Mohammedan captors demanded. These extortionists of the high seas represented the Islamic nations of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers – collectively referred to as the Barbary Coast – and presented a dangerous and unprovoked threat to the new American Republic.   Before the Revolutionary War, U.S. merchant ships had been under the protection of Great Britain.  When the U.S. declared its independence and entered into war, the ships of the United States were protected by France. However, once the war was won, America had to protect its own fleets. Thus, the birth of the U.S. Navy. Beginning in1784, seventeen years before he would become president, Thomas Jefferson became America’s Minister to France.  That same year, the U.S. Congress sought to appease its Muslim adversaries by following in the footsteps of European nations who paid bribes to the Barbary States, rather than engaging them in war. In July of 1785, Algerian pirates captured American ships, and the Dey of Algiers demanded an unheard-of ransom of $60,000.  It was a plain and simple case of extortion, and Thomas Jefferson was vehemently opposed to any further payments.  Instead, he proposed to Congress the formation of a coalition of allied nations who together could force the Islamic states into peace.  A disinterested Congress decided to pay the ransom. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli’s ambassador to Great Britain to ask by what right his nation attacked American ships and enslaved American citizens, and why Muslims held so much hostility towards America, a nation with which they had no previous contacts. The two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."   Despite of this stunning admission of premeditated violence on non-Muslim nations, as well as the objections of many notable American leaders, including George Washington, who warned that caving in was both wrong and would only further embolden the enemy, f or the following fifteen years, the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to over twenty percent of the United States government annual revenues in 1800.   Jefferson was disgusted.  Shortly after his being sworn in as the third President of the United States in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli sent him a note demanding the immediate payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for every year forthcoming.  That changed everything.   Jefferson let the Pasha know, in no uncertain terms, what he could do with his demand.  The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the American consulate and declared war on the United States.  Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers immediately followed suit.  Jefferson, until now, had been against America raising a naval force for anything beyond coastal defense, but having watched his nation be cowed by Islamic thuggery for long enough, decided that is was finally time to meet force with force.   He dispatched a squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean and taught the Muslim nations of the Barbary Coast a lesson he hoped they would never forget.  Congress authorized Jefferson to empower U.S. ships to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli and to “cause to be done all other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war would justify”.   When Algiers and Tunis, who were both accustomed to American cowardice and acquiescence, saw the newly independent United States had both the will and the might to strike back, they quickly abandoned their allegiance to Tripoli. The war with Tripoli lasted for four more years, and raged up again in 1815.  The bravery of the U.S. Marine Corps in these wars led to the line “to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine Hymn, They would forever be known as “leathernecks” for the leather collars of their uniforms, designed to prevent their heads from being cut off by the Muslim scimitars when boarding enemy ships. Islam, and what its Barbary followers justified doing in the name of their prophet and their god, disturbed Jefferson quite deeply.  America had a tradition of religious tolerance, the fact that Jefferson, himself, had co-authored the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, but fundamentalist Islam was like no other religion the world had ever seen.  A religion based on supremacism, whose holy book not only condoned but mandated violence against unbelievers was unacceptable to him.  His greatest fear was that someday this brand of Islam would return and pose an even greater threat to the United States.   This should bother every American.  That the Islams have brought about women-only classes and swimming times at taxpayer-funded universities and public pools; that Christians, Jews, and Hindus have been banned from serving on juries where Muslim defendants are being judged, Piggy banks and Porky Pig tissue dispensers have been banned from workplaces because they offend Islamist sensibilities.  Ice cream has been discontinued at certain Burger King locations because the picture on the wrapper looks similar to the Arabic script for Allah, public schools are  pulling pork from their menus, on and on in the news papers….   It’s death by a thousand cuts, or inch-by-inch as some refer to it, and most Americans have no idea that this battle is being waged every day across America.  By not fighting back, by allowing groups to obfuscate what is really happening, and not insisting that the Islamists adapt to our own culture, the United States is cutting its own throat with a politically correct knife, and helping to further the Islamists agenda. Sadly, it appears that today’s America would rather be politically correct than victorious.   Any doubts, just Google Thomas Jefferson vs the Muslim World

And this:

Just think, I got this almost 10 years ago.  I wonder how much worse things are now?  I guess living here in the middle of the country isolates us from seeing too much like in some of the bigger cities?

 

FOR THIS TO COME TO PASS , ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS NOTHING

20 years from now, I will be in Heaven --bye !! This was written by a woman born in Egypt as a Muslim.. Make sure you read the paragraph (in red) towards the end. Joys of Muslim Women By Nonie Darwish In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9. The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy. Even though a woman is abused she cannot obtain a divorce. To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses. Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family. Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her. The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion. The Sharia Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman. In the Western World ( Canada, Australia, United States and Britain ) Muslim men are starting to demand Sharia Law so the wife cannot obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control of her. It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters attending American, Canadian, Universities and British Universities are now marrying Muslim men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the Sharia law. By passing this on, enlightened Canadian, Australians, American and British women may avoid becoming a slave under Sharia Law. Ripping the West in Two. Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Sharia law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two. She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law. Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel . He was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza ....... When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society.. But Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing.. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television. In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping sharia law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries. For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed. Westerners generally assume all religions encourage a respect for the dignity of each individual.. Islamic law (Sharia) teaches that non-Muslims should be subjugated or killed in this world. Peace and prosperity for one's children is not as important as assuring that Islamic law rules everywhere in the Middle East and eventually in the world. While Westerners tend to think that all religions encourage some form of the golden rule, Sharia teaches two systems of ethics - one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Building on tribal practices of the seventh century, Sharia encourages the side of humanity that wants to take from and subjugate others.. While Westerners tend to think in terms of religious people developing a personal understanding of and relationship with God, Sharia advocates executing people who ask difficult questions that could be interpreted as criticism It's hard to imagine, that in this day and age, Islamic scholars agree that those who criticize Islam or choose to stop being Muslim should be executed. Sadly, while talk of an Islamic reformation is common and even assumed by many in the West, such murmurings in the Middle East are silenced through intimidation. While Westerners are accustomed to an increase in religious tolerance over time, Darwish explains how petro dollars are being used to grow an extremely intolerant form of political Islam in her native Egypt and elsewhere. (In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in Canada, Australia, the U.S. And Britain To elect the heads of Government by themselves! Rest assured they will do so... You can look at how they have taken over several towns in the USA .. Dearborn Mich. Is one and there are others....) ( Britain has several cities now totally controlled by Muslims) I think everyone in Canada, Australia, the U.S. And Great Britain Should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on! It is too bad that so many are disillusioned with life and Christianity to accept Muslims as peaceful.. Some may be but they have an army that is willing to shed blood in the name of Islam.. The peaceful support the warriors with their finances and own kind of patriotism to their religion. While Canada, Australia, the U.S.A. and Britain are getting rid of Christianity from all public sites and erasing God from the lives of children the Muslims are planning a great jihad on North America, Australia and Britain ........ This is your chance to make a difference...! Pass it on to your email list or at least those you think will listen.. Some of those I'm sending it to WILL NOT! Put your head back under the covers AND DO NOTHING!

I had a jar of applesauce which was nearing its expiration date, so I tried a new recipe. I liked it, and it's simple. A nice change for breakfast.

APPLESAUCE PANCAKES

 (with Apple Syrup)

Pancakes
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup applesauce
2 cups Bisquick
 
Syrup
1 cup applesauce
1 cup apple jelly
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of salt
 
Combine pancake ingredients in a large bowl.

Heat and lightly grease a hot griddle.

Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter per pancake.

While pancakes are cooking, make syrup.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook and stir until jelly melts and syrup is hot.

I had just enough applesauce leftover to make these:

BREAKFAST OATMEAL BARS

5 eggs

3/4 cup sweetened applesauce

1 cup any fruit yogurt

1 cup whole milk

2 tsps vanilla

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbs baking soda

1 tsp salt

6 cups oatmeal (not the Quick kind)

1 cup fruit (raisins, craisins, dried apricots, fresh or frozen        blueberries, chopped peeled apple, etc)

 

Heat oven to 350° and grease a 13” x 9” baking dish.

 

Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl.

 

Whisk in applesauce, yogurt, milk, vanilla, honey, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.

 

Gently stir in the oats until all are moistened.

 

Stir in fruit and pour into baking dish. Cover with foil. (Remove after 35 minutes).

 

Bake 45-55 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

 

Cool completely on a wire rack and then cut into squares. Wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze.

 

Thaw and eat cold or warm in microwave or toaster oven.

 

Now I need to figure out a way to use the rest of the apple jelly. Any ideas? Making a glaze for a fruit tart won't use enough.

I feel as if I'm in a Groundhog Day movie. Get up, do chores, work on food for the day, work in the yard, shower, eat, more chores, bed. Repeat.

Come on November. I shall return.

ENJOY THE FALL

GO FOR A RIDE TO SEE THE COLOR

START LAYING IN SUPPLIES SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOP DURING WINTER COLD

APPLE SEASON - MAKE SOMETHING FABULOUS

START WATCHING FOR GREAT SALES

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE