and the Lord will not answer you in that day

Excerpt by Laura Hollis...

...remind me of the Israelites’ demand for a king, as recounted in the Book of Samuel:

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots … He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." (1 Samuel 8:1-22)

Blueberry Coffee Cake

At church on Sundays, there is usually a very popular platter of Shipley donut holes. Once, I made biscuits with cheddar and bacon as a carb plus protein alternative. I learned the congregants really want the sweets with their coffee. Although they barely touched the biscuits, the 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/4 cups butter in this simple but delicious crumb cake had them scraping the baking pan.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Crumble Topping

1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 stick of butter, diced

To make crumble topping, sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Place the butter in the sugar and flour mixture. Crumble with your fingers so the butter turns into little pea sized bits.

Cake

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted
12 oz of frozen blueberries

-Sift the first five ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
-Whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted margarine together in a bowl.
-Add the mix of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients.
-Beat together with a hand held mixer until well incorporated.
Pour into a pre-greased 13×9 pan. Arrange the frozen berries on top of the batter. Sprinkle the crumble toppings.
Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.

Adapted from the What Did You Eat blog's Strawberry Coffee Cake

Rereading Orwell's 1984

Observing events of late, I find myself troubled by how much of it seems reminiscent of previous rises to power of the Socialists and Communists of the 20th century. These were leftist Totalitarian regimes with their progressive leaders promising "change". And change they delivered - witness the 100 million graves dug in order to make a better world by Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Jong II, Castro and others.

Myself, I am a staunch anti-communist. Watching the Democrats select a Socialist/Communist as their Presidential candidate is almost as disturbing as watching a Republican President allow the nationalization of an industry.

I located a used copy of Orwell's masterpiece dystopia. It was as awful a tale as I remembered. I just hope it remains in the fantasy rather than non-fiction category at Amazon.




"...he seemed to have lost the power of expressing himself..."

"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy."

"...a mass of imbecile enthusiasms - one of those completely unquestioning, devoted drudges...

"Nearly all children nowadays were horrible...ungovernable little savages...It was almost normal for people over thirty to be afraid of their own children."

"The enemy of the moment always represents absolute evil."

"Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past."

"We're destroying words - scores of them, hundreds of them, every day."

"Don't you see that the whole aim of New Speak is to narrow the range of thought?"

"...a feeling that you had been cheated of something that you had a right to."

"Nearly everyone was ugly."

"The Party claimed, of course, to have liberated the proles from bondage. So long as they continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance."

"Truisms are true...laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet."

"The older generation had been mostly wiped out in the great purges..."

"If you're happy inside yourself, why should you get excited about Big Brother and the Three Year Plans and the Two Minutes Hate and all the rest of their bloody rot?"

"It's all Inner Party stuff. There's nothing those swine don't have, nothing."

"The Hate continued exactly as before, except that the target had been changed."

"It is precisely in the Inner Party that war hysteria and hatred of the enemy is the strongest."

"The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought."

"The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim...is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal."

"The new aristocracy was made up for the most part of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade union organizers, publicity experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists and professional politicians."

"In general, the greater the understanding the greater the delusion: the more intelligent, the more insane. One clear illustration of this is the fact that war hysteria increases in intensity as ones rises in the social scales."

"Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship."

"Power is the power over human beings. Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation."

"There will be no art, no literature, no science."

"The more the Party is powerful, the less it will be tolerant, the weaker the opposition, the tighter the despotism."

"The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world. The worst thing in the world varies from individual to individual."

"For everyone, there is something unendurable."

-George Orwell

Southern Lady Celebration Savannah

I just returned from my 2nd Southern Lady Celebration. This year was a gathering of over 750 women to celebrate the heritage of being a Southern lady in Savannah. I met my daughter, Jessica, and her friend, Melissa, in Atlanta and we drove to the GA coast. Here are some highlights of our trip...

Flying Biscuit Cafe
My trip actually began with an overnight in Atlanta and a long overdue catch up with my friend, Phyllis English. Phyllis introduced me to the man who would become my husband many years ago. We will always be fond of her. If you are looking for a great Atlanta colorist, she's your girl.

The next morning, Jessica and I went on the search for a great Southern breakfast. We were not disappointed with the Flying Biscuit. The biscuits were high, the bacon was crisp and there serve apple butter.

Anna Griffin
Anna was an elegant woman who gave a great motivational talk.

Success Secrets

• Fill a void.
  
• Build a brand.
  
• Do what it takes to succeed.
  

Principles

• Value your time - no one else will.
  
• Take care of yourself.
  
• Be present to all opportunities.
  
• Take risks - instead of not growing.
  
• "And" - "or" is not an option.
  
• Be unstoppable - get excited.
  

"Being Southern is a state of mind. It's truly wanting to know how someone is when you ask them." -Anna Griffin

Barbara Bradley Baekgarrd - Vera Bradley
Barbara spoke to the audience about the forming of Vera Bradly with her friend and partner, Patricia Miller. She told amusing stories, one of which included her daughter-in-law keeping the coming baby's name a secret to prevent a handbag from being named after her. In our gift bag, we received a Pinwheel Pink umbrella. the Pinwheel Pink line donates 10% to breast cancer charities.

Sandra Lee
The Semi-Homemade star was the keynote speaker. First, we met her in the elevator on the way to the gala. She is rail thin and very outgoing. There was a cake decorating demo that became a very funny skit much to the dismay of the event producers! What was a girl to do - cocktail time! Sandra announced her new magazine, Sandra Lee Semi Homemade (Feb) and a new Food Network show, Money Saving Meals, based on her new cookbook. Sandra Lee fans should look out for a girls weekend featuring their hero in October 2009 in Atlanta.

"...smart women partnering to do business smarter." - Sandra Lee

Nancy Grace
"When you find yourself in a race you didn't sign up for, you run the race you are in." -Nancy Grace

The Tea Room
If you find yourself in Savannah around lunchtime, you will want to make a beeline for this tearoom. The food is fabulous and the decor is arts and crafts, rather than florals run amok.

Southern Lady Celebration 2009
Southern Lady will return to Savannah, GA for its 7th event Oct 9-11, 2009. Check with www.southernladymagazine.com for early registration until November 1, 2008. Requires a $100 deposit that is non-refundable.

Instant Glamour with Red Hot Shoes

From ivillage...by Aarti Sanan

It's hot, it's hot...in fact, it's red hot! Add a splash of color to your office suit and winter coat with sexy, bright red shoes. It's the most va-va-voom Hollywood trend this season, and it works perfectly with everything from the little black dress to pencil skirts and even minidresses. Bright red shoes go best with basic black, but you can have fun pairing them with khaki, white, charcoal or bold prints. Just stay away from obvious color clashes like purple. Remember, if it doesn't look good to you, it might look even worse than you think. And please avoid the matching red bag. That would be overkill.

Peep toes, pumps, round toes, accessorized with little bows, satin finish, a little bling with rhinestones for the holidays ‑- there's a red shoe out there for every outfit and every occasion. It's the new style statement, the new red lipstick. So get yourself a pair of racy red pumps today ‑- or maybe you want the slingbacks, or the kitten heels. And then there are the sexy red boots...

Go, Sarah, Go!