Coastal Breeze RV Resort, Rockport, Texas
And Joseph said, “And now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of those good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” ~ Genesis 41:33-36 I have to think that God has already spoken to Joseph about this. Joseph and his family were shepherds, not farmers; so how did he know anything about storing – and how much – grain? And what about the people over the next seven years? Do you suppose they grumbled about Pharaoh ‘stealing’ their abundance from them, rather than allowing them to revel in it? It also makes me think of our culture today. Do you/have you saved for the future? Or do you squander the abundance God has provided, spending every penny you have on the biggest, newest, most popular thing? Do you live by acquiring what you need? Or do you live by having what you want all the time? And do you give back a portion of what God has blessed you with in order to bless others? Or do you hoard it for yourself? After all, everything we have belongs to God – even our very breath.
Has it really been a month?!? It’s gone by so quickly! As I look back, it’s easy for me to see that God’s Hand was involved in encouraging Blaine to park us here for so long – highly unusual for us, unless we’re back home. There were a number of family things that needed our attention, which would’ve been more difficult to do had we been moving every week or two like normal. Well, I suppose that’s not really true. We could’ve still been involved, we just wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the areas we would’ve been in. There’s also the possibility that we wouldn’t have had as strong of a phone and internet service. It’s so amazing to us that God cares so much for us – even in the small things, and that He blesses our time and uses it for His Glory!
Our final day, we drove over to Fulton to walk along their bay area. It was a beautiful day, just a bit cooler by the water.
But then again, I’m sitting in front of a bait shop. : )
And then in the evening we had all different types of pie! The campground hosted a “Pie Night” to celebrate pi. You know . . . Or maybe you’re like me, who knows the number (3.14 – March 14th? 3/14? Get it? 😊) but doesn’t ever think about it or know what it is. For enlightenment purposes, I borrowed the following from scientificamerica.com:
Succinctly, pi—which is written as the Greek letter for p, or π—is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle. Regardless of the circle’s size, this ratio will always equal pi. In decimal form, the value of pi is approximately 3.14. But pi is an irrational number, meaning that its decimal form neither ends (like 1/4 = 0.25) nor becomes repetitive (like 1/6 = 0.166666…). (To only 18 decimal places, pi is 3.141592653589793238.) Hence, it is useful to have shorthand for this ratio of circumference to diameter. According to Petr Beckmann’s A History of Pi, the Greek letter π was first used for this purpose by William Jones in 1706, probably as an abbreviation of periphery, and became standard mathematical notation roughly 30 years later.
Try a brief experiment: Using a compass, draw a circle. Take one piece of string and place it on top of the circle, exactly once around. Now straighten out the string; its length is called the circumference of the circle. Measure the circumference with a ruler. Next, measure the diameter of the circle, which is the length from any point on the circle straight through its center to another point on the opposite side. (The diameter is twice the radius, the length from any point on the circle to its center.) If you divide the circumference of the circle by the diameter, you will get approximately 3.14—no matter what size circle you drew! A larger circle will have a larger circumference and a larger radius, but the ratio will always be the same. If you could measure and divide perfectly, you would get 3.141592653589793238…, or pi.
Otherwise said, if you cut several pieces of string equal in length to the diameter, you will need a little more than three of them to cover the circumference of the circle.
The importance of pi has been recognized for at least 4,000 years. A History of Pi notes that by 2000 B.C., “the Babylonians and the Egyptians (at least) were aware of the existence and significance of the constant π,” recognizing that every circle has the same ratio of circumference to diameter. Both the Babylonians and Egyptians had rough numerical approximations to the value of pi, and later mathematicians in ancient Greece, particularly Archimedes, improved on those approximations. By the start of the 20th century, about 500 digits of pi were known. With computation advances, thanks to computers, we now know more than the first six billion digits of pi.
Now get out there and enjoy your string experiment with your school kids, kids and or grandkids! Or just satisfy your own curiosity. 😊
Oops! I almost forgot to explain what started that whole trip into higher math! The campground had their Pie Day, as I mentioned above. People were to bring a pie to share. There were several kinds, and several of some of the kinds. Some were homemade, some were store bought. There were apple, cherry, key lime (which we refused to try, because we sat and watched the guy lick his fingers while he was cutting it. Gross!), chocolate, strawberry (which had mostly gel), pecan (which we didn’t care for), one we couldn’t identify, maybe some others that we can’t remember. I took my Kentucky Derby. FYI – Blaine thought mine was the best one. 😊 The recipe is below.
And then, the next morning, we packed up and moved to the San Antonio area. It took roughly 4 ½ hours to go the 193-mile distance. The route today was mostly two-lane, so there was little excitement this time. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. However, that being said, it was a bit more exciting for Blaine because he had to drive into a strong headwind most of the way. Cuts down on the already tiny mph we get in this tank we live in.
We call ’em windmill farms. : )
It cut into our time, but at least we weren’t on our way to an appointment or work.
We’re driving through and staying on the north side.
That tall tower is called “Tower of the Americas”. We had planned on going up, but a few days from now, discovered that it costs $16/pp! Unless you eat at their fancy restaurant, then it’s free. We didn’t go up.
It’s crazy, but you can’t take a picture of those lighted signs like the one on the left.
Try it sometime. You’ll see.
Guadalupe River State Park, Spring Branch, Texas
I have no idea why my phone refused to reveal the name of one of the largest towns in Texas. . .
bridges here. : )
around San Antonio!
but there’s still a mile or so to go before the campground.
Because we arrived a bit earlier in the day than normal, and Day Light Saving Time had begun, we were able to get out and explore just a little after an early dinner.
Makes you wonder . . . How many people mentioned this before it warranted mentioning it in a sign?
Scary, the world we live in sometimes.
Actually, I think I could fit in there if it wasn’t padlocked. : )
Speaking of Day Light Saving Time (there’s no ‘s’ on it by the way), as we traveled today, the Senate voted to make Day Light Saving Time permanent for the entire country, meaning we wouldn’t have to change clocks back and forth. Not more ‘spring ahead’ nor ‘fall back’! No more waiting days (or even weeks) for bodies to adjust to the lost or gained hours. Personally, both Blaine and I love that idea. The only problem is, we’d prefer they keep it at Standard Time. We (meaning especially me) do not like getting up in the dark. I would not like it here or there! I would not like it anywhere! I do not like it, Sam-I-am!
But I’d rather do that than change clocks back and forth.
It still has to pass the House in order to make it permanent though. Still, I’m impressed that it was a unanimous decision. Maybe the first time ever that Democrats and Republicans agreed on something unanimously! They must all have sleep issues. 😊
KENTUCKY DERBY PIE
1 C. sugar
½ C. flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 C. walnuts
1C. chocolate chips
1 t. vanilla extract
½ C. melted butter
1 homemade pie crust – unbaked (I ONLY use homemade. See below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the flour and sugar. Add eggs, then butter. Add nuts, chocolate chips and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick. Pie should be chewy but not runny. Bake longer if necessary.
HINT: This is so easy, and soooooo yummy! Tastes like a gooey chocolate chip cookie. Also, I’ve learned that I like to add about ¼ – ½ t. rum extract, just to give it a different flavor than a regular chocolate chip cookie.
PIE CRUST:
1 ½ C. flour
1 t. salt (use this)
½ C. oil
2 T. milk
1 ½ T. sugar
In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients until the mixture holds together when pressed under your fingers.
HINT: In my opinion, this recipe makes too much dough for a regular 9” pie pan. Deep dish is fine. So I press what I want into my pan and ditch the rest. Also, don’t try to make cinnamon rolls out of the leftovers. While the pie crust bakes up light and crispy, when you make it into rolls, everything kinda melts and makes a big mess.