Today is my son's birthday! September 11, 1988 was the best day of my life and every day with him in it is a wonder!

Today is also the anniversary of hideous deeds by evil people. Celebrate life and share with those you love every day. Walk in the Light and reject the Dark. Spread joy not terror!

Yesterday was full of ups and downs. The inevitable issues with two strong and stubborn women living in the same home blew up. We love each other like sisters, but, as all sisters can attest, sometimes you really don't like each other. I am hoping we can get through the issues. We are almost through the metaphorical storm and are in the dazed state of looking at the mess we made. Now its time to do the clean up. Hopefully, we can be like New Orleans and get the Mardi Gras fun back. Maybe we will get a better understanding for each other and not butt heads so much. I have four very close friends. I don't want to lose one of them.

We had a wicked thunderstorm zip through yesterday afternoon. Thank goodness I had finished baking the cake I made for church before it hit. The cat disappeared to the basement and the three dogs all piled up around me on the living room couch. Little Delilah crawled up on my shoulder under my sweater trembling so hard I though she was going t have a heart attack. Next biggest, Shilow, was squashed between me and a large throw pillow with her head poking out so she could still watch television. Callie, the oldest and biggest, was on my left like she had been sewn to my side. She was shivering a little bit, but panting like she had just run a marathon. I have to say that the thunder was loud enough to shake the house. Taking care of them kept me from freaking out. I don't particularly like thunderstorms either.

As soon as I could after the storm passed, I headed out to church with my strawberry cake. St. Paul's had a lovely and well attended dinner to welcome our newly called Rector. It is so exciting that St. Paul's has called a man from South Africa. He is soft spoken and gentle with that somewhat British-African accent that flows like honey. I normally wouldn't mention skin color, however, I find it awesome that our search committee found a black man to lead our mostly white parish. I hope that this choice will bring more diversity and renewal to the parish. We still have a few months to wait for Lee and his family to get all the government paperwork settled so that they can move here. We are all eager for the changes coming. All will miss Fr. Brian, our interim priest. He has been a true Godsend to me. He brought me back to the Church, and then, when I lapsed again, gently but firmly and with great compassion, drew me back.

Last night was so full of love and welcome! I was so surprised by the number of people that welcomed me back and offered support and compassion for all I have gone through in the past year. Truly a church family. The past year has been so full of problems with health, career, and relationships. I was reminded that God is there for me and so is my church family. Of course, my birth family supports me as well. It's just that none of them are nearby. I really needed all the hugs last night.

Aren't hugs awesome?! I have read that humans need at least 12 hugs a day to be emotionally healthy. I don't know if that is true, but it sure can't hurt! I wonder if hugging my dogs counts?

Recipe of the day: Fresh Strawberry Poke Cake
Ingredients:
For the cake use the juice of about 1 1/2 cup of crushed fresh or frozen strawberries, 1 box of white pudding-in-the-mix cake, three eggs, 1/2 a cup of water and 1/2 a cup of vegetable oil.
For the sauce/icing the strawberries minus the juice used for the cake, 1 box or pound bag of confectioners sugar, 1 1/2 sticks of butter.
Combine all ingredients for the cake except for the water. If too thick add a little water, if too thin you can add a little bit of baking mix (like Bisquick) at a time until consistency thickens. (Too thin and cake will not be firm enough, too much and the cake will be dry.) Bake in a rectangular pan or large round pan according to the directions on the box. This cake is too moist to do in layers. Let cool.
While the cake is cooling mix 1/2 the sugar and butter together until smooth then add the crushed strawberries and blend. When cake is cool poke holes in the cake. I used a shish-ka-bob skewer to make the holes. Pour just enough of the mixture on the cake to seep into the holes and leave a thin glaze over the top. Add the rest of the sugar to the remains of the strawberry mixture. If still soupy you may need to add a little bit more sugar. It depends on how juicy your strawberries are. If it is too thick to spread on the cake add a little bit of milk until consistency is right. Frost the cake. Voila! A moist and flavorful treat!