Little Pine State Park, Waterville, Pennsylvania
Asher’s food will be rich, he will provide delicacies fit for a king. ~ Genesis 49:20 ‘Asher the farmer’- In Deuteronomy 33:24, Moses had this to say about Asher (son #8), “Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brother and let him bathe his feet in oil. The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze and your strength will equal your days.” And he did. My research revealed that his tribe produced much grain, wine, oil and minerals. However, just as God warns us in Deuteronomy 8:18, “…remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth…”, the tribe of Asher forgot that God was the One who provided all that for them. They didn’t obey and chase out the Canaanites from their land, and they didn’t come to the aid of Deborah and Barak to fight against a Canaanite king (Judges 5:17). They no longer relied on God and didn’t obey Him. They felt self-reliant, and they weren’t interested in ‘rocking the boat’ as it were. How self-reliant we individual Americans have become! Look to history – when we were great, it was because our nation as a whole relied on God and looked to Him for guidance. Once that began to change, we began to change – and not for the better. And lest we sit back and blame ‘others’, we should begin by looking in the mirror first. How much do we rely on God on any given day, and how willing are we to obey Him in everything and in every way? By the way, Anna, the prophetess of Luke Chapter 2, was from the tribe of Asher.
By the way, the boundaries for each tribe were set up when, “Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh, in the presence of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.” ~ Joshua 18:10
Have you or someone you know ever gone through withdrawal symptoms of some kind?
I think that’s what was happening this morning.
I had an early morning meltdown and left the coach for a few minutes of one-on-one time with my Creator – in the drizzling weather. By the time I’d made the 20-minute circuit around the campground, I was damp, but feeling every so much better, as He pointed out to me that being ‘disconnected’ was not the end of the world.
We are sooo much more dependent on our devices that I ever realized. Blaine can’t research – anything – like directions to our next site, or where the laundromat is, or information about the trails or other things to do in the area; or read his newspaper. We can’t check weather. We can’t text or send pictures or check on our parents and sons or check in with friends or email. I can’t work on the blog or research, or have access to the Bible study tools I normally use or check out the daily book sale website I belong to.
The closest place to get service is nearly 25 minutes away.
And Blaine’s answer to our withdrawals? He changed our next stop reservation by adding a day. We’ll leave here after four days instead of five.
Today’s task was to take care of laundry, so we set out about 8:00am. (25 minute drive) While the clothes were tumbling, I put the finishing touches on our post for our first day in Manhattan, and listened to the locals discuss the bears roaming through their yards. They all sounded so matter-of-fact about it! We’d be so excited we’d be dancing around like fools! Anyway, the actual posting will have to wait until we move to our new location in a few days. That will make me 17 days behind! Incredible! And oh so frustrating!
After lunch, we put on our boots in anticipation of a short hike, but just as we started out, large drops of rain began bouncing off our heads and the tree leaves, and thunder was getting closer with every few steps. It was fun to listen to it rumble and echo off the surrounding mountains, but as much as we enjoyed it, we needed to head home – just a few dozen steps away – because we learned from the Weather Channel, “When thunder roars, go indoors!” 😊 It rained, and rained hard until well after dinner.
Dinner was an adventure unto itself!
We made homemade sushi!
Obviously, I didn’t check on them soon enough!
We used them anyway because they didn’t taste bad. : )
But that wasn’t a good solution either because it made them difficult to cut for some reason.
Where’s my Okinawan aunt when I need her?? : )
There were aspects of it that didn’t go as well as they could have, but we got it done and it was yummy! And really not very difficult to make. And pretty inexpensive too! I think we spent about $10 for the ingredients, made four rolls total and still have ingredients left over for another time. (The leftover crab will be turned into crab salad. Yum!!) I have no doubt we’ll perfect it in time, because we both love California Rolls, and would enjoy having them more often than just when we’re near a Publix grocery store on ‘Sushi Wednesday’. 😊 (If you’re interested in giving it a try, the recipe is at the bottom)
After dinner and the rain were over, we walked to the top of the dam that’s next to us, just to look around. On the way back, we discovered a gravel road that looked interesting, so we went back and picked up the Jeep to go for a ride up into the mountains. It was a nice ride, and felt more adventurous than it actually was, due to the deep forest we were in the middle of, and the anticipation of the unknown. One place opened up to a gorgeous view – – and internet service! Blaine was able to get some information about the hiking here, which was good because there are never any Rangers around to ask questions of.
So beautiful with the low clouds!
It blended right in with the clouds. : )
Blaine thinks something to do with natural gas, but we really don’t know.
It was gorgeous at this small glimpse!
The rest of the drive was so full of trees, we couldn’t see anything else.
It was also good to discover we can get cell service closer than a 25-minute drive!
Not by much though. It took us 20 minutes to get to this spot.
CALIFORNIA ROLL SUSHI
INGREDIENTS:
1 c. sushi rice
1 1/2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. water
4 sheets nori
1 hot house cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced into long strips
1 small avocado, thinly sliced
4 sticks imitation crab meat, sliced in half lengthwise
3 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
Soy sauce, for serving
DIRECTIONS:
- Wash rice several times in large bowl with cold water until water runs almost clear. Drain rice very well.
- In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, and salt until sugar is dissolved. Reserve until ready to use.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, add rice and 1 cup water, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer, covered, about 30 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Transfer rice to a large, non-metallic, flat-bottomed bowl. Using a plastic spatula, repeatedly slice through rice at a sharp angle to break up lumps and separate grains while very gradually pouring in vinegar mixture. Cover seasoned rice with a damp cloth until ready to use.
- Place one nori sheet, shiny-side down, lengthwise across a clean, dry, cutting board. Dip fingers of one hand into a bowl of water and shake off excess. Pick up one-fourth of the rice and place across the center of the nori sheet. Spread rice evenly across the nori, leaving a 1” strip of nori on the top side uncovered.
- Place bamboo mat on top of rice and with the help of your cutting board, flip it, so that the nori is facing you. Place one-fourth of the cucumber, the avocado, and the crab in an even row across center of nori, making sure the filling extends to both ends of the surface lengthwise.
- Starting with edge closest to you, pick up mat using thumb and index fingers of both hands; use remaining fingers to hold the filling in place as you roll mat forward and away from you. Roll forward, pressing gently but firmly.
- Working quickly, repeat to make a total of four rolls. Roll each in sesame seeds and slice into 8 pieces. Serve immediately with soy sauce.