An Ode to Friendship . . .

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I Love you for the part of me that you bring out.



I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart and passing over all the foolish and frivolous and weak things that you can't help but dimly see there, and for drawing out into the light all of the beautiful, radiant belongings that no one else had looked far enough to find.



I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool and the weakling in me, and for laying firm hold on the possibilities of the good in me. I love you for closing your eyes to the dischords in me, and for adding to the music in me by worshipful listening. I love you because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life not a tavern, but a temple, and of the word of my every day not a reproach, but a song.



I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good, and more than any fate could have done to make me happy. You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a song. You have done it just by being yourself. Perhaps that is what being a friend means after all . . .



I got home here in the wee hours this morning. The wind was blowing through the trees as I passed beneath them. I cracked the door to our little cottage open, and Jess met me with her wagging tail and happy face. I scratched her beneath her chin and sat with her for a few moments before I made my way up to the spare bedroom to go to bed. I always sleep in there when I am home late, so that I don't disturb Todd. I lay there in the darkness, with the wind blowing against the glass of the window, and gave thanks to my Heavenly Father for my many blessings . . . my husband, my Jess, my family, my friends . . . my health, my home, my employment . . . my heart, my talents, my weaknesses and my strengths . . . and then . . .
I slept.



*Cheese Potatoes*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This recipe is testimony to the fact that you can make something very delicious out of something quite delicious. Easy to make, these is comfort food!

3 TBS butter
6 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
chopped fresh parsley



Melt the butter in a large nonstick frying pan. Cook the potatoes, stirring them and lifting them from time to time until they are almost tender and beginning to brown in places. Season with the salt and pepper. Pour the milk over top and simmer until the milk is absorbed. Sprinkle the cheese over and allow it to melt. Stir and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately to your closest and dearest friends.

PS - I got the above piece from a book I have entitled, "Especially For Mormons." My brain is a bit fried this morning, so I hope you'll induldge my laziness. ☺