This and…
That
Written by MaryEvelyn
When my first thought to starting a blog was to perhaps assist or enlighten a group of people that I don’t know but yet have experienced what they are experiencing or will experience…
I thought, what an interesting world we create for ourselves. We create, that at some point a group of us, in some way experience very similar circumstances and feelings. Enough so that we can actually be of assistance to one another and lend a hand or word to help the other through the day.
I enjoy giving back, and I find life at this point in my living less daunting than I did at 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s. I now see it as a life that I am creating as an individual, the so called good and bad to manifest a meaningful existence for myself.
In my early 20’s I was married, had a baby and moved a couple of thousand miles away from my parents. During this time I felt like a tumbleweed. Being blown here and there without reason or pause as to what I was doing. During this time I met many people in my age range and older. The thing I noticed most was that no matter what the age, education, religion, color or upbringing, single or married, in conversation we were all perplexed about many of the same things. Mainly, we were all wondering what we were really doing and how to go about doing whatever it was that we were doing. If our conversations were on days I was feeling a bit unfulfilled, I would leave the conversation feeling the same way. We had no answers for each other. We were tumbleweeds.
Well that was then, this is now. And…this blog is about my life now, many years later, the mother of three adult children and a grandmother.
I often wonder how much my children expect of me. Is it an over expectancy or do they have the wisdom to know that I too am still on a journey for more wisdom. I remember my parents telling me that I would never know it all. Granted, I can accept that, provided that, I know what I want to know.
Each and every day I feel that I learn more truth in the areas that I am most interested. A part of me believes that this has been a mainstay in my life, but I was too busy being a tumbleweed to notice.
At this age, the something that I love about this time in my life, is that I feel more content, alive, aware, joy, love, understanding and at peace than I ever have. For me, this is the feeling of wisdom and I wholeheartedly embrace it.
I now know that all of the worrying in the world will not change anything to benefit me. I know that an argument is seldom, if ever, about the words you are saying. Most importantly for me, is that I know that all of your efforts to find yourself are in vain. You have already found yourself, and you will recognize it as soon as you quit looking to the outside world for you. I now look within, and there I am, right where I have always been.
This week I made Cinnamon Rolls. My mother would make cinnamon rolls from her left over pie crust. These were not the same as mom’s but you can’t deny the wonderful flavor of cinnamon, sugar and butter, baked into a wonderful sweet dough.
Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
For yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 F)
1 1/4 ounce packet active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Dough
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup milk ( room temperature)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powered sugar, sifted
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Grease baking dish 8x11 or 9x13 inch. Set aside.
1. In a small bowl stir water, yeast and sugar together. Let set for 5 minutes or until foamy.
2. Make the dough: in a medium bowl combine the melted butter, milk, sugar and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture. Put the flour into a large bowl, add the wet ingredients and stir until combined. The mixture will be sticky. Knead the dough with your hands then put on a flour surface. Knead for another 3-4 minutes or until smooth. Sprinkle with flour if needed. Form dough in to a ball.
3. Brush a large bowl with butter and place the dough inside of the bowl. Cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm place ( I use the microwave) to rise until doubled in size about 1 hour.
4. Make the filling: In a small bowl mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.
5. Punch down the dough and roll it out on a floured surface into about a 20x14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture out to the edges.
6. Starting at one if the short 14” ends roll tightly into a log. Then use a sharp knife to slice the log into 12 rolls. Place the rolls in the baking dish cut side up, cover and let rise for about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Now let’s make the glaze: In a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract until smooth. If a tad thick add more milk.
These are yummy so prepare yourself for the compliments.
As always, Enjoy 😊