For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

“For sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn.”

"Back in the 1920’s, the great writer, Ernest Hemingway, made a bet for $10 with someone, where, he stated that he could write a complete story with just six words. He won the bet with the above. Never have six words been so thought provoking or made one ponder more. . . .

Smith, the American online magazine, has used the Hemingway anecdote to inspire it's readers to write their own life stories in just six words, culminating in a book of the best contributions, entitled "Not Quite What I Was Planning."



It got me to thinking about how could I sum up my own life in six words. What is my six word story? I’ve been so many places and had so many varied experiences . . . some good, some bad, other’s boring and often sad, many happy . . . always exciting, well . . . at least to me anyways.

Hundreds of people have e-mailed their six word life summary’s to the magazine already. You can also submit your writing to Smith magazine, which is now working on a second collection, if you so desire. Here are a few examples:

Trust me, I did my best.
~Ray Kemp

Head in books, feet in flowers.
~Heather Thomson

Slow lane. Fast lane. Hard shoulder.
~Alex Hansen Today.

Conceived, implored, employed, adored, retired, ignored.
~Joy MacKenzie

Four Weddings, Three kids, then cancer.
~Gillian Johnson

Aspirations compromised by procrastination, then children.
~Harry Beighton

If only I had turned left.
~Robin Pickering



And so this morning, I am pondering what would my six word "life" story be. It’s a lot to take in. (and although that last line is just six words . . . that’s not it!) And then it came to me . . .

“I am here for a purpose.”

That about sums it up quite nicely. I thought about “I came, he saw, I conquered” . . . but that only covers these last 8 years. *Tee hee*

Now, I toss out the challenge to you. What are your six words? Care to share?

Oh yes . . . I can think of a two word sentence that really make one think even more than six . . . it’s in the bible.

“Jesus wept.” . . . "



This was an article that I originally wrote on my Muses back on the 15th of February of this year. In it I also have a lovely picture of the Missionaries that were serving here at the time, Sister and Elder MacDonald. We had had them over for a Valentines supper. Oh, I did have some nice memories when I glanced upon that picture again. The MacDonalds have gone now, having left here last week to continue their mission down in Weymouth for a time. They will be sorely missed by everyone in our Ward. During their stay here, they became good friends of ours, which doesn't always happen with missionaries. Oh, the missionaries are usually quite lovely to be sure, and I always treat them real fine, but there is not always that special connection there which is the beginning of a lifetime of friendship. This is what happened between us and the MacDonalds and us from day one. I cried like a baby when Sister MacDonald called us to say that they were leaving. We are hopeful that, at the end of their mission, we will be able to take them on a special trip into Wales, which would be lovely, but . . . it all depends on the price of petrol at that point! (That is a BIGGIE today!)



Anyways, I hope you didn't mind me sharing this little bit of writing with you again this morning. (I am trying to move some of my better pieces over here.)

I was thrilled with the questions you have come up for me thus far, keep them coming!! I also note that with only two hours left to vote on the "Make Me Bake" poll in my sidebar, the Lemon Meringue Cake looks to be a winner. If you want something else from the list, you better vote now and take a stand, or it will soon be too late!

Now, Gordon Ramsay is not my favourite television chef. I noted that he was on Graham Norton last night (also not my favourite) and I found myself listening to it for a short. I did not change my mind. Gordon Ramsay is still not my favourite . . . any television chef, who is so obviously a television chef, but who sees himself as being a cut above the rest and as not really being a television chef, is just deluding himself, in my opinion. Sure, he doesn't cook on Ready Steady Cook like some of the others, but . . . so what? He's still capitalizing on presenting himself on the telly. It was quite obvious from some of his comments last night, that he sees chefs who do cook on RSC as having degraded themselves . . .

I say, come over to my place Gordon, and I'll give you a bag of 5 mystery ingredients and let's see what you can come up with in 20 minutes . . . and what's more, I think I can give you a bit of a run for your money! (AND I won't have to interject a four letter word into the mix every few seconds either! I even promise not to yell at you!)

Oh yes, the reason I bring him up this morning is this. I saw a recipe of his in Hello Magazine recently and it looked rather good so I thought I would give it a try, but then again, I can't leave anything well enough alone and so I added my own twist to it . . .



*Sweet Potato Frittata With Goat's Cheese and Tomato Salad*
Serves 2

I just love recipes for two . . . probably because there are just two of us! You can easily multiply this tasty dish to serve more though. It makes a nice light supper and best of all uses common ingredients in most people's kitchens for the most part.

1 large sweet potato
1 TBS olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large free range organic eggs (I may use ordinary eggs for baking, but when the egg is the main ingredient and I am going to eat it like this, I prefer FRO)
Small handful of fresh chives, chopped
2 ounces soft goat's cheese
For the Tomato Salad:
9 ounces vine-ripened plum tomatoes (I used Sultan's Jewels. Lovely name!)
2 spring onions
a handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped (Cilantro)
(You can also use fresh flat leaf parsley leaves if coriander is not a favourite of yours)
the juice of half a lemon
Dash of hot pepper sauce
pinch of sugar
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

First make the tomato salad. Halve or quarter the tomatoes and place them in a large bowl. Trim the spring onions and slice them thinly on the diagonal. Add them to the tomatoes. Add the chopped coriander and remaining ingredients and give it a good stir. Set aside.

Pre-heat the grill to the highest setting.

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet. (Make sure it is a skillet you can use in a grill, or wrap the handle in foil) Toss in the potato and the shallot. Season well with sea salt and a fresh grinding of black pepper. Cook over medium heat, giving them a stir occasionally, for about 5 minutes or so, just until the potatoes are tender and beginning to caramelize a bit on the edges.

Lightly beat the eggs in a beaker and then beat in the chives. Pour this mixture over the sweet potato/shallot mixture in the pan. Shake to distribute the ingredients equally and lower the heat to low. Continue to cook over low heat for a few minutes longer, until the eggs are beginning to set on the bottom and around the edges.

Place the pan under the heated grill and grill for several minutes. Remove from the oven and scatter the goat's cheese over top and then return to the grill to finish cooking, just until the top of the frittata has set and the goat's cheese is nicely melted.

Remove from the oven and let stand for several minutes, then run a heatproof spatula around the sides of the pan and slide the frittat out onto a plate. Spoon the tomato salad into the centre and serve immediately.

I like to serve this with some nicely buttered fresh toast.