Garner State Park, Concan, Texas
A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook and offense. ~ Proverbs 19:11
There are a lot of different birds in this Park. More than we’ve seen for quite a while. We don’t know birds well enough to give you species, but we’ve recognized turtle doves and cardinals and this morning, we were enthralled by a visit from a gorgeous red-tailed hawk! We first spotted him swooping in to land in the tree outside our front window, but then he moved down to the neighbor’s picnic table which is right outside the driver’s side window! We were so busy gawking at him in awe, we didn’t get a picture until he was flying away. Darn!
I spent a lot of today sort of depressed that I couldn’t make contact with people. I know some of you may think that sounds silly, but sometimes, it’s just important. This is not a good time to be out of touch from our family back in Ohio. But God reminded me that it’s not me (or us) they need. It’s Him. And I find my faith being tested – – again. “I believe . . . help my unbelief!” So says the man with the demon-possessed son in Mark 9:24, and my mantra anytime I face a crisis of faith.
We did go out on our bikes to check out the Park today. It’s a lot of hills, and I found myself pushing almost as much as riding (or it seemed that way to me), while Blaine waited at the tops of hills for me to catch up. But it was a good day, and the river here is beautiful! For some inexplicable reason, it’s a clear, lovely blue-green shade, and coupled with the white/light yellow limestone? Stunning!
Compare these pictures. : ) 
Before . . and . . . after
I was tired for some reason, so I took a short nap while Blaine took off on his bike to do some exploring.
After a dinner of homemade mac n’ cheese with broccoli and Spam (no ham, remember?) thrown in, we went on a walk, which was both more exercise than we were expecting, and lovely. Especially the unexpected overlook, complete with a picnic table! Maybe we’ll pack a lunch and come back some day. Or maybe we’ll go down to the river. Or maybe . . . well, we’ll just have to see. 😊
It was too dark to take any pictures except for one.
Here’s the mac n’ cheese recipe. I actually got it from the back of one of Jan Karon’s books years ago.
MACARONI AND CHEESE (from the Mitford book series)
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
3 C. milk
½ C. sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 ½ t. dry mustard
¼ t. cayenne pepper
½ t. pepper
4 C. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ C. Parmesan cheese
1# elbow macaroni, cooked
¼ – ½ C. bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 3 quart baking dish and set aside. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and flour and stir until smooth. Slowly add the milk and continue stirring until thickened and smooth. Add the sour cream and cream cheese, stirring to combine. Add the salt, mustard, and peppers and mix well. Stir in the cheddar and parmesan. Add the elbows and mix well. Pour into the baking dish. Cover with bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly and hot.
HINT: Make this a meal by adding ham chunks and/or cooked fresh broccoli. We discovered we prefer less bread crumbs. Believe it or not, the original recipe called for a full cup! This time, I tried using 1 C. sharp and ½ C. regular cheddar and ½ C. Velveeta. It was good, and a bit creamier than in the past.
Also, if you’re cooking for two and you don’t want leftovers, make ¼ batch. If you want leftovers, make ½ batch.