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PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2198921

Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana

Well, hey there!
Welcome to Roundup, Montana! If it's a nice day, we'll sit a spell on my porch and talk awhile.

A poem captured my attention the other day.

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget 
Falls drop by drop upon the heart, 
Until, in our own despair,
 Against our will,
 Comes wisdom 
Through the awful grace of God.

Aeschylus

What's on your mind today?

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

about 23 hours ago
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

As a transplanted Buckeye, I just love that school and team.

We have buckeye trees growing along Main Street in Roundup. I love collecting them in the fall.

1 Like

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

about 23 hours ago
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

Dotting the 'I' is a big honor. I always enjoy watching that band. Such precision. And rare to see that these days.

Kåre เลียม Enga

a day ago
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

Love dotting the i.

2 Like

Wordsmitty ✍️

a day ago
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

As a kid, our family went to a few OSU games. We drove over from Springfield where we lived when I grew up half a century ago. The band is so amazing. Football team was pretty good, too.

Go Buckeyes!

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Aug 27, 2025 at 3:14pm
In response to "Letter Battle"

Soldier_Mike

I hear you! The misspelling, grammar errors, punctuation errors. And to think you can use a computer application that will prompt you to correct them. Hmm. Just pure ignorance and laziness.

I think it is also the dumbing down of the world. Especially here in America. Most people don't read, don't write, don't do anything that makes them think.

1 Like

Soldier_Mike

Aug 25, 2025 at 11:53pm
In response to "Letter Battle"

One of my "favorite" things is spotting misspellings and grammar errors on HQ-issued posters at the Exchange (department store) on base, knowing that dozens - if not hundreds - of identical posters are misrepresenting the English language all around the world.

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Aug 25, 2025 at 12:38pm
In response to "Ice Cream Today"

Thanks for all the comments, friends.

The ice cream event was fun. We made our expenses, so that is good. Got a lifetime membership. That is better. Some little ones ate ice cream. That is the best.

I just spoke with the newsletter lady and again pleaded my case for a paper newsletter, at least 2 copies for each Adventist church in Montana. Perhaps that will happen. Per the lady, evidently it cost $6K each time this thing went to print and the powers that be thought it was too expensive to continue. And they perceived that no one read it. But conversely, information to people that have no other way to receive it other than by mail and paper, is never a waste. Especially the faithful churchgoers.

But then I 'preach to the choir' about such things. QR codes I cannot use. No phones or clocks in motels. Ugh. Modern inconveniences.

Kåre เลียม Enga

I too use cash quite a bit now. And there will come a time, I think soon, when cash will be outlawed. All transactions will be digital. All the easier to cut off your money if you disobey.

But that is just me. being cynical.

50° here this AM. Leaves on the trees starting to turn. A kiss of fall.

1 Like

Kåre เลียม Enga

Aug 24, 2025 at 9:22pm
In response to "Ice Cream Today"

Huckleberry isn't my favorite but I had a rootbeer float with it yesterday (local Big Dipper ice cream).

Daylight slides away August 21st - October 21st. Looking forward to a break in the heat come Thursday.

Paper, receipts, passport stamps... Very hard for those who want a paper trail... like mail-in paper ballots. Not everyone has a phone that can pay digitally or has access to the internet, especially the poor in rural areas. I use cash. Personally, I think cash should be accepted everywhere... by law. Personally, I prefer my privacy and digital cannot promise that.

Is it possible to ask people whether they would like a paper reminder of news and events? Perhaps have paper copies available at church?

There are many religions that count the day sunset-sunset. Not as common among Christians though.

1 Like

WW is Monk WDC's 25! CopShop

Aug 24, 2025 at 7:12pm
In response to "Ice Cream Today"

Ice cream social is a lovely way to end the summer.

I'm sorry about the whole digital v print form of the newsletter. More and more print is falling aside in this world of quick delivery on electronic devices.

I do notice the days getting a little darker earlier here in New England.

But I remember living in Wyoming when the shorter days of sunlight started early. Of course having mountains around gives the sun an opportunity to hide faster!

My only saving grace is that I winter in Florida. Being closer to the equator, daylight is a little bit longer there.

1 Like

SandraLynn

Aug 24, 2025 at 12:44pm
In response to "Ice Cream Today"

Yes, the change to earlier sunsets heralds shorter days and winter weather. Sigh. It happens every year, but it doesn't mean we have to like it.

1 Like

December 17, 2020 at 8:36pm

#1000399

Health Lecture - Listen Up!

17. Maple Syrup Day
Did you know that this sweet and unique flavor originated in America?
Native American Indians were the first to harvest and boil the sap of the maple tree into a thick syrup.
Talk about, well, maple syrup, of course.

Love this syrup. I can eat this natural sugar. Why would anyone use anything else once you taste this?

You can keep the nasty maple flavored high fructose syrups, the pancake syrups that people seem to think are the best. Empty nasty calories. No wonder we have an epidemic of obesity in this country. I heard a term. DIABESITY.

So it goes hand-in-hand. Diabetes with heart disease with obesity. You get a problem with your blood sugar so you gain weight then you get a problem with your blood pressure so then you get a problem with your cholesterol. Pretty soon you are on all these meds to take care of one problem after another. It’s a slippery slope.

Gaining weight can be diet related. When I shop I like to look in people’s carts. I am Miss nosy butt I know, people. But my goodness. Some seem to buy nothing but ramen noodles, white bread, and ice cream. Our diet in this country is abysmal. We are so far removed from the diet we are supposed to be eating for our best health. It is best to eat mainly vegetables and grains, fruits sparingly, with a bit of protein and dairy. Who does that? Who is willing to do that?

In my home we have cut way back on the amount of protein we eat. As you get older, you don’t need to eat as much as you used to. Most of us don’t have physical jobs anymore. We don’t expend the calories as we used to. So why eat huge meals?

We try to eat something fresh every day.

Fresh vegetables and fruits can be challenging here in Montana. But I try to get kale at the store. At least that I can find now. And avocado. That we try to eat every day. Hubby balked at first, so I try to convince him it is like taking a vitamin. That he identified with. He takes lots of vitamins. Avocados are good for many reasons, especially for your skin and eyes. We also take loads of vitamins. Multis, Vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, collagen. Probably have very wonderfully healthy pee.

Gracious, now I sound like someone’s evil Aunt. Enough with the lecture. I am guilty of drinking CocaColas and eating potato chips until the entire bag is gone.

Comment • View 2 comments

December 16, 2020 at 8:37pm

#1000342

Cocoa is Cacao

16. National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
Sounds like a great to 'pig-out' and enjoy!
Have you ever eaten anything 'unique' covered in chocolate?

Never wandered outside the usual. But I know there are chocolate covered insects.

But why waste chocolate on something like that? I'll kill the little buggers with bug spray, not chocolate.

I agree with everyone else that white chocolate is an insult to the name of chocolate. It tastes like sugar and fat, not the good taste of dark chocolate.

I love chocolate anything. But again with the diet issues. I can eat a little bit of real chocolate. But too much of anything is not good for me. So a little chocolate goes a long way. So give me a good piece of Godiva. Ahhh. Now that is good chocolate.

I have an old cookbook I got somewhere forever ago. It is from Hershey, and has old recipes from the 1930’s. The recipes are great but another good feature is the trivia and photos from that era. Every now and again I’ll pull that out and make something from it. But the best chocolate recipe I make often is that brownie recipe from King Arthur flour. I’ve mentioned it before. So here it is:

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe

You won’t be disappointed if you make these. I don’t put the espresso powder in. Otherwise, I follow that recipe as written.

This year may be the year to make these as a gift. Impress your friends and family. Make a batch and put them in a tin. Unless you eat them all first.

Comment • View 3 comments

December 15, 2020 at 7:23pm

#1000292

Cats heard us, they got a day

15. Cat Herder's Day
Ya, good luck with that.

Herding cats. Kind of like getting toddlers all in a row, and then getting them ready for bed. Or juggling ping pong balls. It is an impossible task.

I read about ‘cat herder’s day’. Seems it is to honor those that excel at an impossible task. Well, sign me up. I have excelled at so many. Where is my National Norma Day?

Norma is an old-fashioned name. You don’t hear it much. Unusual. I was teased in school. Normal, abnormal. I’ve heard them all. But my hubby calls me NormaJean. That I like.

SO, back on topic. We know that dogs

are wonderful, our friends. But cats

have staff. They expect us to wait on them.

I had a great dog. Her name was Bonnie. She’s been gone for over a year now. Bonnie didn’t expect you to wait on her. She waited for you. Bonnie never was around cats. She tried to get close to some, but never figured them out.

But I had a great cat once. She was given to me by a coworker. She was a calico. I was single at that time. She slept with me. And if I remember right, liked to sleep on my head. But somehow that didn’t annoy me. In fact, she didn’t bother me much. Didn’t claw the furniture. Didn’t climb the curtains. Didn’t meow all hours of the day and night. Just was a delight. When I moved and couldn’t take her to the new place, she went with my son. He eventually gave her to his mother-in-law. This cat lived to be about twenty years old. She didn’t have a name when she lived with me. Just called her ‘cat’.

All cats should take a lesson from her. Live long and prosper.

Comment • View 3 comments

December 14, 2020 at 8:48pm

#1000246

Trees

14. Roast Chestnuts Day
Every Christmas holiday we all sing about "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...."
But, have you ever roasted chestnuts!?

NO, never. Don’t even know what they taste like. Are they edible nuts? Well the name says they are. Do you have to roast them? See? I don’t even know that.

I grew up in a town where most of the streets were named after trees. I lived on Beech Street. There were Elm, Poplar, Chestnut, Pine, Oak, Cedar, and Sycamore streets.

Currently in my town, Roundup, they are taking down green Ash trees. There was something in the paper about pro-active intervention against the green Ash tree insect that is coming to or already in Montana. So the city is removing some of the old green Ash trees that are in bad shape. I don’t see any around my house that are marked for destruction. I’m glad. I hate to see trees demolished.

Roundup was named Montana's Tree City for 2020. The city plants many trees each year. I applaud that effort. We had the city plant a tree for us this fall. They actually replanted a tree for us. A tree we paid for last year died. Not our fault. We think they made an error in planting it, so they replaced it for free. I love trees. They add oxygen to the atmosphere. They cool the earth. They can shade your yard and make it 10 degrees cooler under the leaves.

We all know this poem, or should:

Trees

BY JOYCE KILMER

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

You know you can count the apples in a tree. But only God can count the trees in an apple.

Think on that for awhile.

Comment • View 5 comments

December 13, 2020 at 10:10pm

#1000199

We all Scream for Ice Cream!

13. National Ice Cream Day
What are your favorite flavors, weirdest flavor you've ever tried, or a flavor you would NEVER try!

‘Chopped’ on the Food network has the weirdest ice cream flavors sometimes for the contestants to work into their menus.

Sweet corn, bacon and eggs, green tea, ash, and garlic are some of the flavors I’ve seen made on the show. Ick is all I can say. I think some would be better as a sauce. Somehow the idea of a garlic ice cream just curdles my stomach.

The best ice cream product I’ve had recently was in North Dakota at a restaurant in Bismarck. It was vanilla gelato. Oh my was it good. I wish I could say they made it in-house. But no, the waitress didn’t know where it came from. Darn.

So, gelato or ice cream?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gelato-vs-ice-cream

I don’t think I would ever eat an ice cream made from offal. Awful offal.
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/offal

Yep - anything made from entrails or internal organs is off my diet list.

But we make our own ice cream sometimes.

We have a little ice cream machine. We buy Lactaid milk, cream and use fresh farm eggs. It better than the best vanilla ice cream you can buy. Even then, I can only eat just a smidge. So, an occasional treat. If we are feeling especially daring, I’ll get out my ancient Hershey cookbook and make homemade fudge sauce.

But if we are feeling especially daring and evil, we will get out a homemade brownie, put on a scoop of homemade ice cream, cover it with that homemade chocolate fudge sauce, then some whipped cream, yes, real whipped cream. Not Cool Whip! Because you know Cool Whip is nothing more than whipped petroleum products and sugar. Factory made goodness. Hooray for science!

And then take something for the side effects. Those wonderful inventions that are Imodium and Pepto Bismol.

Comment • View 3 comments

December 12, 2020 at 11:16pm

#1000141

Send me a Gift

12. Pointsettia Day
According to Mexican folklore, there is a story of a little poor girl who had nothing to bring to church for Christmas. On her way to church, she picked some plants by the side of the road. As she entered the church, the leaves at the tips of the branches turned into bright, brilliant red flowers. You guessed it... Poinsettias.
Write anything you like about Poinsettias.

I know Poinsettia are poison to your pets.

And you can get them to bloom again if you put them in a dark room. And they grow wild in a temperate climate. And they are very pretty. And they are usually in the front of church in December. That’s pretty much it.

So of course, I had to investigate this further. Because the uneducated mind is a terrible thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia

But the trick here in Montana if you buy a live plant around the Christmas holiday is getting it home. From store to car to house. Somewhere in the transfer it’ll get a blast of arctic air. So I just enjoy pictures of them. Unless someone wants to send me one. Is FTD still in business?

Message me. I’ll send you my address. I’ll send you a Christmas card.

Comment • View 1 comment

December 11, 2020 at 6:54pm

#1000081

Pot Luck

11. National Noodle Ring Day
This is not just some random food holiday about pasta forming a ring. It is about a special dish everyone can cook who has a bundt pan and noodles. The noodles have to be cooked and then filled into the bundt pan. Anything can be added now: from eggs, tomatoes, cheese, carrots, or bacon, and of course the sauce. The dish now has to bake and can later be turned upside down.
Thought and opinions? Something you might try?

Hmm. I am gluten intolerant. Gluten free noodles can be a pasty mess. So no - have at it y’all. Ick, ooh. Sounds like a bad hot dish for a church pot luck.

So I got to thinking of church pot lucks. How many churches, before this stupid virus came and put the brakes on anything fun, still have potlucks after church? Our church does, did, will. Most of the folks at our church are vegetarian, some are vegan, some don’t eat sugar, I don’t eat dairy or gluten. So potlucks at our church can be quite interesting!

There is a lady who makes homemade salsa. She’s a Latina, so it’s just a little spicy she says. Oh, right. Like being a little pregnant. Spicy is an understatement.

Then we have these homemade mashed potatoes my friend makes every time with that cashew gravy. She is a vegan and makes the best vegan food. To die for, except that gravy. I can’t do the gravy. I used to eat this and wondered why I was sick every night after eating it. Seems I cannot eat cashews, darn.

And we also have a woman who insists on making cakes or cupcakes for whoever has a birthday or anniversary. Except they are from cake mixes and canned frosting, with funky names in gel icing misspelled and emblazoned all over the bakes. But bless her heart for doing that kindness. People love it. I just smile and walk away from it all.

There are always some dishes made with the plant protein meat-wannabes. I remember eating those once-upon-a-time. When I lived with my first husband in Collegedale, TN when he was attending college there, we were introduced to the wonderful world of vegetarian meat products. Loma Linda, Morningstar Farms and others were served and I tried to serve those at meals as well. I had a term for these products - ‘Linger Longer’. They sat in the pit of my stomach for days. They were, and I think still are, made from wheat gluten. Even 40 years ago I had trouble digesting those lumps of wheat. But my daughter loves the weiners in a can. Sometimes I’ll find them in a store and mail her some.

I go for plain food like vegetables, and hope that guy brought some of his jello with mandarin oranges. Perhaps that other person brought some of the little mandarins that you have to peel.

If nothing is edible for me, I’ll just go home and have a PB&J on gluten free bread.

Comment • View 2 comments

December 10, 2020 at 9:35pm

#1000024

The Golden Rule

10. Human Right's Day
Write anything you wish about this.

Human Rights Day

On my way to a meeting today I saw a yellow sticky note

on the sidewalk. In pencil someone wrote:

‘nobody cares about this person’ and there was an arrow pointing up.

I had to pick it up and think about this. How sad I would be if someone put this in my mailbox. Or in my locker if I was a teenager. Or on my car.

Every human, male or female, and I believe there are just two sexes, sorry all you that choose otherwise (you can have that belief if you wish), are entitled to be treated fairly and humanely. It is in the Bible. You can also find references to this concept in virtually every other world religion.

It is known as the Golden Rule:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Comment • View 2 comments

December 9, 2020 at 8:13pm

#999960

Eau du Patisserie

9. National Pastry Day
Write about an experience of eating pastries.
What did you eat, with whom, etc?

I love the Great British Baking Show. Oh my goodness the pastry and ‘bakes’ they can do. And all under a large white tent in the beautiful countryside of England. So far the most favorite thing I’ve seen baked is this wonderful cake called ‘Kek Lapis Sarawak’. It is truly a thing of beauty.

https://sarawaktourism.com/story/legendary-layer-cake-from-borneo-was-featured-o...

Someday I may try to tackle this work of art. Seems it was brought to Borneo back in the day. So here’s a challenge - find Borneo on a globe. The cake was introduced by the Dutch who settled there and baked for teatime. It shows how serious they are about their tea!

When my husband and I first got together, he told me of this German wonder called stollen. We lived near Columbus, OH. At that time there were some German bakeries in the city. He said it was a tradition to have stollen for Christmas. So we bought a stollen. We ate the entire pastry that morning. It was wonderful.

Of course, that was back before I discovered I am cursed with the dreaded ‘can’t eat anything containing wheat’ malady of gluten intolerance.

We still bake a stollen every year around Christmas. Tradition. But now my hubby is cursed with the dreaded ‘I have to eat the entire pastry’ malady.

I think baking is a lost art. No one seems to bake any more. When we were in Gardiner we started baking sour dough bread. Again, this was before the gluten problem reared its ugly head. We sent away to King Arthur flour for this sour dough starter. It is from a strain over 200 years old they said. So you get this little bottle of stuff, feed it, and keep it going with water and flour forever if you wish. We had the most amazing bread from this sour dough starter.

We made bread and waffles. I remember the wonderful sour taste. I took bread to share at the motel. I took bread to potluck at church. We loved that bread. Then one time after we moved here to Roundup somehow the starter got ruined. I’m not sure what happened but I opened the bowl to feed the mix and was greeted with this moldy, smelly mess. This starter we had lovingly catered to for over 8 years had died. So at that point we gave up the idea of baking bread. I can’t eat it anymore, and my hubby now rarely does either.

But something I do bake is cookies and quick breads and other such things. Brownies, lemon bars, banana bread

, chocolate chip cookies

, oatmeal cookies, gingerbread, corn bread, biscuits, and all this from scratch. Every now and again I’ll do a pie and a real layer cake

. No mixes - all from recipes. Nothing like the smell of something baked to fill your house. They just cannot get that smell in an air freshener.

Comment • View 2 comments

December 8, 2020 at 8:37pm

#999894

Bake Brownies!

8. Brownie Day
There are many types of brownies:
Fudgy, cakey, 'special', with or without nuts, etc...
Tell us something about brownies.

I have a great brownie recipe. It takes 4 eggs

, 2 sticks of butter, cocoa and chocolate chips. Lots of sugar. What harm can come of lots of butter, sugar and eggs? And then you cook the sugar and butter for a time. Wonderful. I got this recipe from the King Arthur flour company.

I don’t think anything made from a box mix are worthy of the name brownie. They taste artificial. Sure they are cheap and easy. But let’s talk about that for a moment.

Do you want to be considered cheap and easy? Why buy cheap clothes? Isn’t it better to buy the best you can afford? If you take care of your clothes, they will last for years.

That way you won’t have to buy new clothes all the time. A decent coat will last for years. Decent jeans will last for years. Decent shirts and sweaters will last for years. Yes they will! You have been snookered into buying junk from the junk stores or online dealers. Junk from China that falls apart. And don’t get me started with junk shoes and boots that fall apart. We see them all the time at the thrift store. Junky shoes and boots. Buy leather. Yes, I’m sorry leather. Plastic shoes are not good for your feet. Leather breathes. Natural products are best. Wool, alpaca, linen, cotton, leather, products from nature.

Okay, that is my speech from the ‘soap box’, as they say.

I know there are blondies, which are nothing more than yellow cookies, but some seem to consider brownies without chocolate. But I think a good brownie has to be something near to fudge. Not cake. And by all means it has to be chocolate. Find a good recipe. And eat a really good brownie. Make a batch. Then eat one. Freeze the rest. Or give them away. But enjoy them.

Life is short! Bake brownies!

Comment • View 1 comment

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