Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Holidays

Easter Sunday

Today is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox — those are the criteria establishing the day upon which Jesus’ Resurrection is celebrated. Since the date bounces around from year-to-year, it can never be determined when the actual anniversary of the rising of Christ from the tomb occurs. Regardless, we recognize the event on the above defined date annually since it is the spirit of the Holy Day we celebrate.

Luke 24:1-7 (KJV) —

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Happy Easter Sunday to all. Damsel and I will start the day with our Resurrection devotional service and Communion. Later, we will celebrate with an Easter Dinner here at home. He is Risen!

Unrelated to all above, our Desert Cacti have been blooming and yesterday one of the Hedgehog cactus flowers opened in all its glory. Click on the image to enlarge.

07 Apr 2023 by Family Food & Dining Holidays Religion 0

Palm Sunday 2023

As the spring season is now upon us and Easter week approaches, we take the time and notion to observe Palm Sunday, the day of Jesus’ last Earthly triumph before fulfilling God’s ultimate destiny as Christ the Savior.

From The Christian Post:

Palm Sunday celebrates the significance of Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem before His crucifixion and resurrection.

The Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, which is April 2 this year, and the period lasts until Holy Saturday, April 8, which is the day before Easter Sunday, April 9.

We celebrated Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week this morning with a simple in-home Bible scripture reading and Communion. We pray that we may have peace in the Nation and the World during the Passover and Easter celebrations.

Later in the day, we will have a Palm Sunday feast consisting of a nice Casserole made in part from a recently smoked pork shoulder roast. We had this meal last Summer and it got rave reviews from the two of us and our dogs.

Enjoy your Palm Sunday and the week ahead.

UPDATE:

This Argentine Giant Cactus Flower opened up on Palm Sunday evening. Image courtesy of Damsel. Click to enlarge.

02 Apr 2023 by Food & Dining Holidays Notions Religion 0

Saint Patrick’s Day 2023

Our annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day will consist of a weekend of feasting. Tomorrow, on St. Patrick’s Day proper (Friday), we will be having Irish-American traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner. On Saturday, the plan is for Irish Pork Stew and on Sunday, Shepherd’s Pie. All of the meals will be prepared in accordance with our current dietary restrictions, i.e. low-sodium and low-carb. (OK — we cheat a teensy bit with some of the faire, but not blatantly.)

Tonight, the corned beef brisket is already in the crock pot and (not connected with the weekend feasting) there is a nine-pound pork shoulder roast in the smoker. The latter is to be shredded and put away in the freezer for future smoked pork delights such as pulled-pork sandwiches, pork enchiladas, etc. The roast was on sale at under a dollar a pound, so we invested in it.

Back to St. Patrick: we have taken to celebrating Irish festivals due to our DNA-certified western European heritage that includes Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and other north-western Europe roots. The Irish shows up in both of our DNA analyses as well as both of our family tree genealogy traces. So, Irish we are, especially on days like March 17th.

From Biography dot com:

Saint Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint, known for spreading Christianity throughout the country as a missionary during the 5th century.

The man who would come to be known as Saint Patrick was a missionary that helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland during the 5th century. Much remains unknown about his life, including his birth name, but British-born Patrick became a devout Christian during his six-year enslavement in Ireland. He escaped only to return to Ireland later in life as a missionary, combining Irish pagan beliefs with Christian sacrament in his teachings. A religious figure within the Christian and Catholic faiths, he died around 461 AD and later became the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick is annually honored throughout the world on his feast day, March 17.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

16 Mar 2023 by Food & Dining Holidays Notions 2

George Washington’s Birthday

Today marks the 291st anniversary of the birth of the “Father of the Country,” George Washington. He was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Washington died in 1799 at Mount Vernon, VA, where he is laid to rest.

It is our opinion that the President’s Day Holiday as a replacement for both Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays is a sham and a disservice to both men. The generic term ‘president’ refers to nobody in particular that held the office and, unfortunately, may also commemorate some of the worst imbeciles ever to have been elected up to and including the present occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

We missed posting on February 12, which would have been the 214th birth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln (sorry Abe — next year maybe). Also, the image of GW above is actually actor Jon Voight, whose appearance in “An American Carol,” made an excellent impression of the Father of the Country.

22 Feb 2023 by Holidays Patriotism

Valentines Day 2023

Happy St. Valentine’s Day! We’re sort of rained in today, so the celebration will be limited to indoor happenings (other than walking the dogs between showers).

Damsel traditionally gets some Waterford Crystal on Valentine’s Day. She chose Irish coffee mugs this year. And yes, we have already enjoyed Irish coffee served in these mugs. Sugar-free confections are the order of the day when it comes to Valentine’s Day treats. Damsel received Russel Stover candies in a heart-shaped box. Damsel’s favorite flowers, Stargazer Lilies are featured in our flower vase on this Valentine’s Day.

From History dot com:

Valentine’s Day occurs every February 14. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.

From 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

14 Feb 2023 by Holidays Notions

Ringing in the New Year …

… and ringing out the old. So long 2022 – It’s been — weird.

But not all was bad in 2022 — we’re in good health and have been this year save for a major scare when Damsel got a mass report on this year’s mammogram — fortunately, the results of a biopsy (not fun) was benign calcification. My checkups with the urologist, the ophthalmologist, the nephrologist and dermatologist were business as usual with no complications.

Over the last few weeks, we did a first cut at the 2022 taxes and no surprises. It looks like we’ll be getting a small refund. We also calculated the 2023 Required Minimum distribution for the IRA — the new RMD will be down due to dramatic market loss in the IRA in 2022. That, and the Social Security cost of living adjustment is far less than might be necessary to offset Biden’s disastrous economy. It will be tight, but we’re going to be OK.

Over the last two years, we have seen relentless attacks on our God-given rights as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment. New gun control has been enacted thanks to the Marxist Democrats and a few spineless RINOs. The NYSRPA v Bruen decision by the Supreme Court of the US is a help but states and courts are still ignoring it – be ready to fight in ’23.

So that’s it for our New Year’s message. We’re wishing you good health and providence from The Almighty in the coming year. God Bless!

31 Dec 2022 by Beltway Kabuki Holidays Money and Business Notions Second Amendment

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everybody! We’re a bit late posting this since Damsel and I were celebrating with a prime rib dinner this Christmas. This is the first time (in my recollection) that we had a prime and not just a choice rib roast. I cooked the roast on the outdoor grill today (our temperature was about 72° F. today) and had to regulate the temperature so as not to cook the roast unevenly throughout. It was a five pound roast which we bought in November and has been in the freezer until we took it out to thaw yesterday.

The (clickable) image above is of the dinner plate and a “Christmas Cocktail” on our holiday table. The sides were a lettuce wedge with Green Goddess dressing and Brussels Sprouts. All in all, it was delicious and we needed to take a long walk after eating.

We hope that your Christmas Feasting went well and was as enjoyable as ours. Merry Christmas!

From Luke 2:8-11 —

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

25 Dec 2022 by Food & Dining Holidays Religion

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