Sunday Evening

I went out to the grocery store a little while ago and good Lord, it is hot out there. I came home and took off my clothes and put on a sleepshirt before I even put the groceries away.

The Barefoot Contessa's crumble was pretty good. Frankly I think I can do as good with the homemade version I make. The crumble topping box comes with two portions of the mix so I will use the second bag on another filing I normally use. Something from the baking aisle like fruit pie filling and it won't be 1/4 of the price of Ina's. It was worth the experiment, though.

Tonight I'm grilling steaks on the George Foreman. I'm not leaving the air conditioning again. Baked potaotes, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, celery and radishes will round out the dinner. I'm keeping it simple. Leftover crumble for dessert.

I read today an account of a speech John Murtha, the senator from Pennsylvania that is above reproach since he's a veteran, gave in Florida over the weekend. He claimed the U.S. is the biggest threat to peace now that we are delivering freedom to Iraq. Interesting take on reality, I'd say. Perhaps he didn't hear the press conference given by President Bush and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel last week as the president attended the European conference there. President Bush was asked by a journalist what he thought of a poll taken in Europe with results stating the U.S. was a bigger threat to world peace than Iran or N. Korea. President Bush replied, "That's absurd". Good response. Then, though, interestingly enough the Austrian Chancellor rose with a passionate defense that looked to even surprise President Bush. He said, "I think it's grotesque to say that America is a threat to the peace in the world compared with North Korea, Iran, a lot of countries. Europe would not enjoy peace and prosperity if not for U.S. help after World War II. We should be fair from the other side of the Atlantic. We should unterstand what September 11 meant to the American people."

Thank you.

A prayer for summer:
Lord, help me to rest a while in the cooling shade of your presence. Slow down my restless heart and fill me with gentle compassion for all your people. Amen.