Mary Travers

If one grew up in the 1960s, particularly in Quakertown, there was but one real folksinging group. The voice of Mary Travers will be missed greatly.

Sunday Music - Where Where You?

Where were you in 1985? Listen to some old friends with a great message, but it's sad to think we haven't made much progress in 25 years. As Brian McLaren tells us, Everything Must Change.

Hijacking The Epsicopal Church

Here is the most recent (and blatant) attempt by those communion partners to hijack the Episcopal Church. Keep in mind that these seven turncoats after deciding that the General Convention had not gone their way, scurried, hat-in-hand to the Queen of England Archbishop of Canterbury to cry on his shoulder and gain support for the redcoats "Anglican Communion"

Here is the substantial statement:

Therefore, at this time we make the following requests of Communion minded members of the The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion:

1. We encourage dioceses, congregations and individuals of The Episcopal Church to pray and work for the adoption of an Anglican Communion Covenant.

2. We encourage dioceses and congregations to study and endorse the Anglican Communion Covenant when it is finally released and to urge its adoption by General Convention, or to endorse the first three sections of the Ridley Cambridge Draft and the Anaheim Statement, and to record such endorsements on the Communion Partners website (www.communionpartners.org).

Clearly they have set themselves up as leaders of the Episcopal Church outside their diocese. Next comes the good old "let's make our website and our organization just like all the other whining, sniveling, backstabbing screw the Episcopal Church organizations like CANA and Aima and ACNA at the rest of the alphabet soup.

3. We encourage bishops, priests, deacons and laypersons of The Episcopal Church who support the adoption of the Anglican Communion Covenant to record such endorsement on the Communion Partners website.

4. We encourage dioceses and congregations, in the spirit of GC2009 Resolution D030, to engage in "companion domestic mission relationships among dioceses and congregations within The Episcopal Church."

5. We encourage Bishops exercising jurisdiction in The Episcopal Church to call upon us for service in needed cases of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight.

6. We encourage relationships between Communion Partners and primates, bishops, provinces and dioceses in other parts of the Communion, in order the enhance the ministry we share in the life of the Communion.

7. We invite primates and bishops of the Communion to offer their public support to these efforts.

Clearly, they wish for one more division within the Episcopal Church. They have decided that for whatever reason, the Archbishop of Canterbury has given them the "nod" to set up an alternative presence to the Episcopal Church. Just who the hell are these guys?


+Mark J. Lawrence, South Carolina (protege of John David Schofield)
+Gary R. Lillibridge, West Texas
+Edward S. Little, II, Northern Indiana (protege of John David Schofield)
+William H. Love, Albany
+D. Bruce MacPherson, Western Louisiana
+Michael G. Smith, North Dakota
+James M. Stanton, Dallas

N.B. Dan Martins of No. Indiana, under the protection of Edward Little is a John David Schofield protege and a communion partners member.

Rob Eaton, sitting in the midst of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin is also a member of the communion partners and a John David Schofield protege.

God's peace. <><

Seven Communion Partner Bishops (sung to the tune of Seven Spanish Angels, a duet by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles)

He looked down into her brown eyes, and said
"Say a prayer for me". She
Threw her arms around him, whispered
"God (and the Communion Partners)will keep us free".
They could hear the riders comin', He said
"This is my last fight...If they
Take me back to Texas, they won't
Take me back a-live.

There were seven Episcopal bishops, at the
Altar of the sun.
They were prayin' for the ACNA, in the
Valley of the gun.
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared,
There was thunder from the throne,
And seven Communion Partner Bishops, took another
parish home.

She reached down and picked the gun up,
That lay smokin in his hand.
She said, "Bishops please forgive me;
I can't make it without my man."
And she knew the gun was empty,
And she knew she couldn't win,
But her final prayer was answered
When the rifles fired again.

There were seven Communion Partner Bishops, at the
Altar of the ACNA.
They were prayin' for the lovers, in the
Valley of the gun.
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared,
There was thunder from the throne,
And seven Communion Partner Bishops, took another
parish home.

My apologies to Willie Nelson and Ray Charles.

Par-ty DOWN!

Jake's has reopened...the sweet corn is in, it's Friday night - and here in DC, it's an August afternoon with (gasp) only 38% humidity!

It's time for a celebration, something for spicy Piskies who aren't afraid to dig in and get their hands a little messy. Meet me at the picnic tables...who is bringing the salad and bread? I'll bring a couple pies - the peaches are in (perhaps make one of them banana cream for Leonardo? Hmmm...)

Shrimp Boil à la Maryland

4 quarts water
1 12-ounces beer
1/2 cup Maryland-style seafood seasoning* (see notes)
2 tablespoons salt
8 medium red potatoes, quartered (adjust to size of potatoes)
2 large onions, peeled
6 or more garlic cloves (see directions)
2 pounds kielbasa or andoille (or a mix), cut into 2-inch slices
8 ears fresh corn, shucked and cut in half
4 pounds unpeeled shrimp, about 21 to 25 count** (see notes)
4 or more zucchini, cut into 1-inch slices if your garden is overrun with them
*
Cocktail sauce
Melted butter
Extra seafood seasoning

Peel the onions and cut into about six wedges (or cut into wedges and then peel them, be daring). Crush unpeeled garlic cloves with the heavy part of a knife, remove the peel but do not slice.

Bring the water, beer, seafood seasoning and salt to a boil in a large pot (about 12 quart capacity) over high heat. If you have a big pasta pot with a steamer insert, life will be easier. Add the potatoes and onions; cook about 8 minutes; remember to adjust the timing based on the size of your potato pieces. Add the sausage and cook about 5 minutes. If your corn is a little old - or you like it on the soft side, toss in now for about 5 minutes. Toss in the zucchini whenever you want. Actually, adjust the cooking time for everything based on your preferences, period - just count back from the item that will take the longest cooking time.

Remove the pot from heat, toss in the shrimp, cover pot, and steam until they turn just pink. Five minutes, perhaps, but remember overcooking will make them tough.

Drain the cooking liquid - or carefully remove the steamer insert of goodies - please be careful, this is very hot steam and liquid, and clumsy at times. (You might want to remove the shrimp first, so they don't overcook). Pour the goodies in a couple large serving bowls for semi-polite company. But it's more fun to just pile it on a table covered with brown paper, and a picnic table is best. Pass around the melted butter, cocktail sauce and extra seafood seasoning for those that like to doctor things up a bit (or raise their cholesterol, clear their sinuses, etc.

The only sides you need are some good, crusty or sourdough bread and a nice crisp salad. Purists don't want those extras, but it's nice to have a couple things that don't taste like the seasoning. Oh, and have plenty of paper towels and handwipes available, peeling the shrimp is messy.

*Old Bay seasoning is very good and available in most grocery stores, look for the familiar red and yellow tin. I'm partial to J.O's #1 and Wye River Original Red (you can order them from Maryland Delivered. People use Zatarain's as you head further south, it's very good and many just prefer the blend - and then this yummy stuff starts being called a low-country boil, or Frogmore Stew, or any number of regional names.

**You can really use any shellfish that suits your fancy. Mimi, we will happily add some crayfish if you'll bring it by. And don't worry too much about the size of the shrimp, and if you can actually them someplace from local waters...well, then I don't have to say any more why you should use them! If you want to serve blue crabs with this, steam them separately the traditional way with rock salt and seasoning.

Anglican Fudge Sauce

The best way to sort through Anglican fudge is with a hot fudge sundae. This is the easiest fudge sauce recipe I have ever made - and actually, one of the best. It's of the old-fashioned variety, so don't be surprised if a little of the sauce hardens when it hits your lovely Häagen-Dazs vanilla or coffee ice cream.

The type of semi-sweet chocolate you use will determine the flavor, so experiment a bit - you may need to adjust the amount of milk. But this is very good with the old standby, Nestlé Toll House chocolate chips. If you live in Chicago, try it with chopped Frango mints and heavy cream (of course,s you can you can order Frango mints from big, bad Macy's from anywhere, and pretend it's Marshall Field's).

Easy Fudge Sauce

1 cup evaporated milk (or heavy cream)
2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use real vanilla, omit if you only have the imitation variety

Combine milk and chocolate in a heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently (a wire whisk works better than a spoon). Don't worry that the mixture looks like flecks of chocolate floating in cream at one point - it will pull together like magic (no Hail Marys required). When sauce is smooth and creamy, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour over ice cream, or ice cream and pound cake, or ice cream and a couple brownies.

This can be cooked in the microwave on medium speed; just stir it every minute or so, more after you start seeing the melted chocolate flecks. Sorry I don't have more specific instructions.

Leonardo,darling: if you use this as a knee poultice, cool it down a bit, please. No need to add a burn to your bruise.

Chocolate Soufflé for Two

This isn't a true soufflé, but it's easy and provides a direct chocolate fix. Leonardo, it heals bruised kneecaps...or helps you forget the pain.

Mock Chocolate Soufflé for Two

2/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 (1 oz.) square unsweetened chocolate
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Sweetened whipped cream

In a double boiler, heat milk, sugar, chocolate and salt until chocolate melts. Add vanilla and beat smooth. Drop in eggs and beat 1 minute with an electric mixer. (You can use a hand rotary mixer, but an immersion blender doesn't add enough air to the finished soufflé.) Cover double boiler and cook 30 minutes - do NOT remove cover as it cooks. Don't peek, or stir, or worry about what's happening. Remove top of double boiler immediately, and don't wait too long to serve - I like to top servings with whipped cream, it will melt a bit.

Serves two, but can be doubled if you have a nice, deep double boiler.

If you don't have a double boiler, you can improvise one with two saucepans - be sure the smaller one has a tight-fitting lid.

Soap for sensitive souls

Once upon a time, I was a full-time executive and and full-time caregiver. Or at least that's what I tried to be. At one point, my skin started screaming, no doubt because I wanted to do the same! I did a huge amount of research on "natural" skin care back then, and in time screened out most of the silly scares and claims. There are plenty of natural ingredients that are irritating, and plenty of synthetic ones that are just fine. And of course, some hand- or home-made products are harsher than ones you find in chain stores - you just never know.

This is a product recommendation for natural, hand-made(cold process)soaps from a small company that's just large and sensible enough to stay in business. They ship lightening-fast and use top grade ingredients, so the products are high-value (though mid-range in price). And yes, they welcome questions about what products might help sooth specific allergies or skin conditions.

If this interests you, head over to Alabu and check out the Rich Unscented Goat Milk Soap, Sara's Unscented Goat Milk Soap, and Baby Face Oil. If your skin has very dry areas, I like their Shea Butter Lotion Stick. (The Baby Face oil is great mixed with any brand of 100% aloe vera gel in the summer). They have some great scented soaps, too - vanilla, generally, doesn't irritate skin or nosy noses.

These days, I don't have to be quite as careful about skin irritants, but still use Alabu products about half the time because they work so well. I always use them after cleaning with harsh cleansers or chemical products*, or after exposure to a lot of sun and pollen.

I have no financial interest in this company, I'm just passing along a tip to other irritated or sensitive souls :-) feel free to recommend similar companies in the comment section.

*I don't really like housecleaning so tend to do a lot of things at once, and of course some products shouldn't be mixed. After a cleaning blitz, my mother once said, "go take a shower before your skin explodes from all those things you've been using."