Everyday Epiphanies

“Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it.” ~ Anne De Lenclos

When I was a girl I used to be afraid of graveyards. A good friend of mine lived in an old farm house, just beyond the edge of town, about half a mile away from my own home. In order to get to her house, I used to have to pass by a graveyard that seemed to stretch forever on both sides of the roadway. My heart would quicken and I would race past on my bicycle as if the hounds of hell itself were after me. This was in broad daylight. I would never have dared to attempt it at night!!

As a adult, I love to wander through graveyards. They are so peaceful and restful. Funny how that goes. Time and experience has taught me that the dead cannot hurt me and I love to walk on the pathways amongst the headstones, reading them and pondering on the people that lay beneath them . . . what sort of lives did they lead, were they rich or poor, happy or sad, did they achieve all that they started out to achieve, or did they leave this plane of existence too soon without having ever reached their goals . . . Life here on earth has lost it’s meaning for them. The toils, and struggles and joys from this lifetime are gone and over.



“For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn/or busy housewife ply her evening care . . . The paths of glory lead but to the grave.” ~Thomas Gray

How many days of our own lives slip away from us, unnoticed and un-appreciated? Some days it seems that we are aware of our inner poet and take note of every precious moment we experience, but then again other days we allow to rush by in a tumult of activity and frenzy, never stopping to appreciate or even register the special little moments that are only ours for the taking. And still yet again, it takes the risk of losing something that we hold dear, to jolt us into awareness, to make us take note of all that we have been taking so very much for granted. These are everyday epiphanies. These little awareness’s of all that we have and should be grateful for, of tragic near misses, a myriad of blessings not counted, these little things that go un-noticed until we risk losing them, or have already bid them farewell, these are the true treasures of our life.



Let us take holdof them before it is too late. Let’s give thanks for each morning that we wake up, and for the rain that sometimes falls. Let us never forget that “there but for the Grace of God go I,” and take hold of the blessing that is simply to be found in being, and in being healthy and alive. Lets us give thanks for our work and for our play. Let us rejoice in the accomplishment of a task completed and the tired feeling that comes at the end of a day, and for a day well lived and used.

In short . . . let us cherish our lives for what they are, every little scrap of them, the good and the bad, for they are only ours to cherish and they all too soon pass away. Let us live as if each day were our last. I think if we thought it could all end tomorrow, each of our today’s would be full of more of a sense of all that we hold dear . . . the flowers would smell a little sweeter, birdsong would dance upon our ears with more breathtaking beauty. It should not have to take our losing it for us to appreciate it all . . . take hold of today and live it, enjoy it, cherish it . . . make it count.



My Todd likes him some meaty porkchops once in a while. He's a real meat and potatoes man. Myself, I am happy with a piece of chicken, but I do like to make my Todd happy and he would rebel if I tried to serve him chicken every night of the week! (What man wouldn't!) I made him these delicious pork chops the other day and they went down a real treat!




*Pork Chops Romano*
Serves 4

Crunchy, spicy and delicious these are real family pleasing pork chops. Really quick to make as well! You can easily cut the recipe in half if there are only two of you, as I did, or you can double it to make more!

4 boneless pork loin chops
1 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs (I use Italian ones)
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 TBS vegetable oil for frying
lemon wedges for serving

Take your pork chops and trim all the fat from the edges. One at a time place them into a large plastic baggie and pound them with a mallet or the edge of your rolling pin until they are about 1/4 inch thick, being very careful not to tear the meat.

Take three shallow pie plates. In one put the flour. In the next, beat together the eggs. In the third, mix together the cheese, bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning and the lemon zest.

Coat each pork chop in the flour, patting it in and shaking off the excess. Then dip it into the beaten eggs, again letting the excess drip off. Finally, dip it into the crumb mixture, coating each side well and pressing the crumbs in to stay. Set aside on a plate until you have them all coated.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry the chops in two batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Keep them warm in the oven until you have them all browned.

Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over. Yummy!