Johnny Belinda

My mother watched this movie when it came out. She decided that her next child would be Johnny or Belinda. Guess which child got the name?!
When I was about 13 years old, it came on The Late Show. Mama got me stay up and watch it with her so I could see where my name came from. I was not that interested in it at that time and was sleepy. Later, I wished I had watched it more closely. Then, in the 80's my sister taped it for me and sent it to me for me to watch. It is a good show. In the 80's or so, they made another one which is also good, but the original is the best, I believe. It is out on DVD now. Maybe I will order it one day!
Johnny Belinda
Johnny Belinda (1982 TV movie) [VHS]
 This one is with Richard Thomas in the 80s.

Sign Language

36 years ago, when I first started learning sign language, it was not well known as it is today. Actually, they were trying to phase it out for the other methods of teaching deaf people to learn. I was told not to bother. But, I had to learn it! It was just part of me, I suppose, even before I learned it. Besides, my mom named me after the deaf character in the story Johnny Belinda. :)
Well, when I learned, then I started working with deaf children. I found that only a few of the parents knew sign lanuage and could communicate with their children. They would call me when they had a problem for me to interpret for them with their child. Though I was glad to help, it broke my heart that they were not encouraged to learn sign language so they could have that bond.
I am glad it is more promoted today so deaf children can learn sooner and they with their parents can learn together.

Through Your Child's Eyes: American Sign Language [Subtitled]

Home Made

I was in the mood for some hot chocolate. I don't usually drink it for it is too sweet. However, I had some at my mother's house the other night that was a dark chocolate mix. Still sweet, but it hit the spot. I kept wanting to make some myself. I also wanted whip cream on it, but not the fake stuff.
So.... I bought whipping cream (I've only made this once in my life). I bought whole milk (I've been reading that all the low-fat stuff is not good for us anyway) ... and I LIKE whole milk. I made the whip cream using half the sugar it called for and set it aside. Then I cut up a block of dark chocolate (semi-sweet baking chocolate). I put the chocolate into a pot with about 2 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of honey and stirred until it melted over medium heat. I added 2 cups of milk and got it hot.
Taking down two pretty clear glass mugs from the cupboard, I filled each with hot-chocolate and topped it with whip cream. Yummm.
We sat down to enjoy it. The first two sips were very good. Then, I reached for a napkin and dumped mine in my lap! :)
Dainty Me   

BTW, the secret to making good whip cream is having the ream, glass bowl and beaters cold.

Waycross Magazine

If you go to this website, you can see Belinda Jo's photo in a magazine:

Waycross Magazine
Click the pages at the bottom to turn them, and it is on page 6.
They have my web page listed, but it is not up at this time. Maybe later I'll get it back up.

A Valuable Lesson

I learned a valuable lesson today. Actually, an expensive lesson. I learned that you cannot use a different plug in for an electronic device if the voltage is different. I accidently plugged in my external hard drive using the old external hard drive's cord. You would think that two WD drives with the same plug would be the same, but NOT! I don't know why they had to do that to me, but then I don't know why I wasn't more careful. Anyway, the newer drive is dead .... with all my backup info on it. Ouch. We are hoping we can get the data off and onto a new drive when we can buy one. If not ... oh well, it's not the end of the world. I just hate losing the back-up data ... and the $100!
The whole time we were in Germany, I only goofed up with one mismatch plug in and If I remember right it was the external speakers to the computer. And that was complete different voltage system over there than here.
Steve says, "You are telling them?" "Well, Yeah maybe I can help someone else not make the same mistake. Not that any of you would do such a thing!"

I'm back.

My hands do feel better, but I am going to try not to overdo it this time. :) Besides, I need to start spring-cleaning. That should give me computer breaks.
I have also been practicing with the speech recognition software that comes with windows. It is neat and gives me a break from typing. I am not using it right now, because somehow I lost my Internet connection on my laptop and have to wait for hubby to help me figure it out.

Family Geneology

I have been working on our family tree for a couple months. I've had been fun delving into the past, talking with my aunts and uncles for stories, researching online, seeing photos of my g-g-grandparents and finding relatives I have not met yet. Did you know there is a site called findagrave.com? they have taken photos of graves all over the country and you can go there and find photos of headstones of people you know and not have to drive to the grave yard!

It has been fun, but I have overdone the amount of time I know I can sit at the computer without my hands hurting. So.... now I have to take  a break for a while and give my hands a rest. So, I will check back in a couple of weeks from now. Take care, friends.

Christian Wallpaper KJV

We discovered this place yesterday and it is already helping us learn or review Bible verses! It is KJV Christian Wallpaper They are beautiful photos with verses on them. I downloaded several and we have them change every hour, so we see the verses while we are waiting for whatever, then can work on learning them. They say it is ok to download them for personal use!

U.S. Capitol Tour with David Barton

Reusing Items

About 20 years ago, one of my aunts taught me to re-use the liners that cereal comes in inside their boxes. She recommended I use them instead of wax paper. Since then, I have had the same box of wax paper sitting on the shelf in case I need it. But, I have used mostly the inserts. I rinse them, let them dry and then store them for use later.
This year, I discovered that being they put so much glue on them now it is almost impossible to pull them apart, that I have started using them whole as freezer bags! I use the twist ties to close them or put it into already used(clean) plastic bags that I don't want the food to touch, but gives another layer of freshness to the food!
As for plastic bags, I use them again and again ... according to how clean they are. Then when I don't want to use them any more for food, I use them for scraps before throwing the scraps into the trash.
Then, of course, the shopping bags are used for trash cans. I do have all those reusable bags I bought, but I rarely remember to take them into the store!

Virtuous Women

Today, I am going to talk about two sites. Both are two of the most virtuous women I know. One I met recently and is a few years older than I am and a long-time pastor's wife. The other one I knew when she was a child. Check out their pages. Both have a lot to share about living the life God wants us women to live.  Barbara also has another site where women meet and share. Ask her about it!

Authentic Virtue   and   Barbara's Bakin N Bits

My Best Gift

Years ago, when I first started writing seriously, one of my assignments was to write a short article on what my best gift was. Here is what I wrote:  My Best Gift


Hearing my babies’ first words – Helping with their first steps – Enduring the agony as well as enjoying the thrill of them cutting teeth. – Listening to their stories. – Stopping their arguments – Drying their tears and sharing their hugs. – Supporting them during problems ... and victories – Taking time to teach them God’s Word. – Eight and a half years of teaching them at home, both school work and homemaking.

Time with my husband, no matter what schedule he worked. – Taking time for each other as well as the children. – One whole year of him coming home for lunch with us. – Family vacations without the conflict of job schedules.

Serving The Lord through various ministries of our church and helping others in need. – Now, time for fulfilling one of my heart’s desires with my writing; hoping to be a witness and blessing to others.

I know this may sound like a lot of gifts, but my husband and I made a decision more than thirty years ago, (almost 40 now) that I would stay home and be a full time housewife. Now that the children are grown (and now have given us grandkids) and I look back over the years, I know making that choice has been my best gift.