Snail-pace Internet in Welsh Valley

Guest Blogger is author Deborah Lloyd on Signs & Synchronicities Vegetarian recipe is Cauliflower & blue cheese salad

Snail-pace Internet connection in Welsh valley (and elsewhere in Wales)

Dear friend,

I do not write as often as I want to. I have many things I would share with you… but! Due to extremely slow connection speeds in my little Welsh valley it takes so very long to carry out the simplest of tasks (check and send emails, and so on) that increasingly, I do not have the heart to log on very often these days. I have tried to explain to friends on numerous occasions why I have not responded quickly to their messages on email, Facebook, and so on. But when, recently, a BT engineer told me that the speed of my connection was a feeble .5 to 2.5 and that the optimum is 80+ I can now be specific and am understood.

I have learnt that my problem is widespread throughout rural Wales. The capital, Cardiff, is fine as there is a good consumer base so they are on fibre optic which gives the 80+ speed. In my valley (and elsewhere) hundreds of people have access to the web through a single cable. This means that, for instance, when the kids are home from school, it is pointless trying to log on as even when I connect the loading time is not worth the wait.

This is how a connection speed of .5 to 2.5 works:

* I needed to check an email urgently last week and though it was late evening the process took 60+ minutes and I could not send an email reply so I sent a text instead.   

* A few weeks ago I was going on holiday and needed to check in online and print a boarding pass. This procedure took 90+ minutes and I only printed the outgoing pass, I gave up on the incoming one. I also needed to book a coach journey but by then it was almost 1a.m. and though I was nervous that I wouldn’t get online the next morning I had to risk it. I did get online and the booking procedure took about 90 minutes.

* When I go onto Facebook, ACW Facebook, or O Books Facebook, and so on - to post something / read other people’s posts / comment on things that grab me – I need to do so very quickly before the connection is cut, as so often happens. This is a shame as I really do enjoy catching up with Friends this way. I feel out of the loop and as if I am passing the message that I do not care about my Friends - which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Why do simple tasks take so long?

What happens is that the programmes load like a snail, and moving between pages is as bad. When I am determined to, say, check emails, I have begun to read a book while the loading goes on, which prevents me from wanting to throw the computer out of the window ha, ha. The bigger the programme the slower the procedure. The Facebook programme, for example, is so big that I cannot face the 30+ minutes it takes to reply to messages. So I have asked my Friends to email me instead.

But at least I can often get online these days. When I first came to live here almost two years ago I regularly could not. Then last July the service was down for almost a month. I wasted hour upon hour, day after day, speaking to BT engineers in India (very helpful and polite) who finally sent an engineer to check that the problem was not with my cabling at home. He told me that the local cable had failed. It had been failing since I’d been here.

The cable was renewed but though I could get online occasionally, mostly I could not. One day I spoke to a BT Openreach engineer working locally on another job who explained the problem. The original cable had been 6 miles long. The new cable was 8 miles long. Even at 6 miles most of us were too far away from the Exchange so 8 miles was giving an even worse service. The old cable was being drawn out and a new one would be threaded through in its place, so that the cable length would be 6 miles as before.

The job was done. My connection speed is as poor as before, but I can get online more often. It turned out that I was one of the lucky ones when the cable failed as neighbours who were with a different broadband provider, such as Talk Talk, or whatever, were without Internet access for months. As a BT customer I get the best service possible at the moment in my area.    

Apparently, BT has pledged to bring the rest of Wales up to speed. But when this will happen I have no idea. I recently got a letter from BT saying that they plan to charge their broadband customers £1.50 for each paper bill. Since my service is so poor I am writing to ask them to wave this until they provide a decent speed. I will keep you posted on that. In the meantime, I ask for your patience with email replies and so on.

On a positive note, giving up squandering so much time on the most basic tasks on the Internet means I have been able to concentrate on my next novel. I am happy to report that I am steaming on with it.

If you need to contact me urgently and you know me well enough to have my details please phone or text me. Meanwhile, I wish you a fabulous summer!

Love and blessings

Teresa x

Guest Blog

Signs & Synchronicities  

By Deborah Lloyd  

This morning, I checked my email and there were 33 new messages in the inbox. Driving home from a Reiki session a few hours later, I looked down at my car odometer and the last two digits were 33. Over the past two weeks, I can list six other times that the number 33 jumped out at me!

Since I believe in signs and synchronicities, the meaning is clear to me. My husband and I are in the middle of finding new rental space for our massage and Reiki business. My strongest feelings are calmness and acceptance. I intuitively know it is the right time for a relocation and a refocus. Spirit is sending me affirmations that my intuition is correct - and my peacefulness continues to expand.

When I look back on the many episodes of signs in my life, I simply smile. They come in clusters - I went through a period of finding shiny pennies; another period of angel pictures and figurines showing up in the most unusual places; times of frequent, brilliant rainbows. Every time I was going through some kind of transition (or transformation) - and I thanked God for His Continual Presence in my life.

Synchronicities are amazing coincidences, full of potential meaning, that occur. The Universe lines up these special events to make a point. The truly amazing ones are so fantastic, no one could make them up! And, there are smaller ones, easier to miss. One of the synchronicities that show up in my life frequently is someone mentioning a book. Within a day or two, someone else mentions it. And, soon again, a third person tells me about it. The meaning - there is something I need to learn in that book. I buy, or find, the book immediately because there are messages for me - and I need to hear them - now.

A few years ago, this life lesson was given to me in meditation: "Synchronicities are God's way of getting our attention." When something unusual grabs your attention, think, meditate and pray about it. And, the more attention you give to such signs, the more you get....

Now, back to the number 33. Numerologists believe that 11, 22 and 33 are special spiritual numbers indeed. So, not only am I receiving affirmations that we are on the right track with our business transition, there may be more significant meanings. Ahhhh....this transition is being guided and protected by Spirit, and our energy work will be infused with Love and Peace. Gratitude fills my heart as I contemplate the number 33....[]Deborah Lloyd shares her healing journey and the 33 (yes, 33) life lessons she learned along the way in her book Believe and it is True: A Story of Healing and Life Lessons  Please see www.deblloydhealing.com to learn more about her story; and follow her on Facebook, at deblloydhealing.

Comment from Teresa

Thank you for this contribution Deborah. I too am always praying for God’s guiding hand in my life and watching for signs.

Thinking of Deborah’s 33 I looked in the Bible at Numbers (fourth book of the Pentateuch) chapter 33 and read: “These were the stages of the journey by the Israelites when they left Egypt in their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded their starting-points in writing whenever they moved on at Yahweh’s order.”  I liked the symmetry there about guidance! 

Vegetarian recipe: Cauliflower & Blue Cheese Salad

With the days getting warmer I am sharing a nutritious salad recipe.

Ingredients

½ small cauliflower - broken into tiny florets

½ small red onion – finely sliced

1 large tomato – roughly chopped

1 celery stick – finely chopped

200 g blue cheese – crumbled

Dressing: juice ½ lemon, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all ingredients in salad bowl and mix in dressing stirring well. Serve with crusty bread, or as two portions of side salad with a hot dish such as omelette, soup or quiche.

Invitation to be my next * Guest Blogger: If you have an idea for a post or a veggie recipe to share please contact me on: teresa@teresaodriscoll.co.uk

I welcome your comments on the above.

Coming next: Labyrinth inspiration by author Lisa Barrow

UPDATES!!!

I have been asking God for guidance and listening to His replies for many years. I share my methods in Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God.

Check out Pray Then Listen In UK / In US  / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback! 

Set on the green and beautiful Greek island of Corfu in this novel I show the ever-present backstory of life, as I interpret the supernatural elements of our dilemmas and choices. 

I know, that no matter what your beliefs or experiences, you will surely recognize the tussles of my characters, as tussles in your own life....  Enjoy!

Click on the following links to check out my novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel In UK /  In US / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

I wrote 9 Days to Heaven, How to make everlasting meaning of your life as my personal evangelization effort.  

Check out 9 Days to Heaven In UK / In US / In Singapore 

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

Here is the link for the YouTube book trailer:  9 Days to Heaven 

For articles, plus more info about me and my work please visit my website.  (www.teresaodriscoll.co.uk)

God bless,

Teresa 

PS. About the links to Singapore, please see my blog post Singapore and Christianity  

St David will be turning in his grave today!

 

1^st March, St David’s Day, is the day on which we Welsh fondly remember our Patron Saint. When I was at school we used to hold an Eisteddfod on that day – with singing competitions, and so on, which ended in four choirs vying for first place. In my last year my house choir of St Joan won the prize. Ah, happy days! And I have worn a daffodil on my lapel with pride on this day for as many years as I can remember. But St David must be turning in his grave as young Welsh people steadily turn their backs on God.  

According to new Census figures South Wales Valleys are among the most non-religious in Wales. The highest proportion of non-believers live in the area of Rhondda Cynon Taff, where 50% say they have no religion. In the decade since the last census the numbers of unbelievers there (here, it is where I live!) fell by 28%. In this area there are many young people who, along with so many others of their generation around Britain, have fallen prey to amongst other things: lack of good example by parents who eschewed regular church attendance, coupled with the influence of a steady drip-dripping of poisonous anti-God propaganda. As it is said that around the world 90% of people believe in God these youngsters are absolute outsiders, who, often through no fault of their own, are being led into darkness…

And so, as today I sing the hymn to St David, remembered (doubtless imperfectly) from childhood onwards I say: St David, thy help we now implore…

“Oh great St David still we hear thee call us,

Unto a life that knows no fear of death;

Yea, down the ages still we hear thee call us,

Strong happy words, be joyful keep the Faith.

Oh Cambria’s son stretch out thy hand in blessing,

On our dear land thy help we now implore,

Lead us to God with humble hearts confessing:

Jesus Lord and King forever more.

Jesus Lord and King forever more.

Happy St David’s Day

Love and blessings

Teresa x

Guest Blog

Guest Blogger is Pauline Lewis, author and teacher who lives in Porthcawl, South Wales

Bible Explorer – a school course for youngsters

By Pauline Lewis

Asked to write something about Bible Explorer, I thought I should first tell you how it was the doors are open for me to teach in our local schools.

I thought I had gone into teaching because I didn’t have confidence to do anything else. Surely it would be less daunting to deal with children? But children too can be scary, especially on mass.

Teaching in London’s tough East End, God asked me to love these needy children for him. I wasn’t a very good disciplinarian, but God did love them through me and lives were changed. Somehow along the line I realised it was God who had called met to teach.  In a remote village on a mountain in Papua New Guinea, I read the verse in Hebrews, ‘the children God has given me,’ and knew that, though spoken of Jesus, it was also God’s word to me.

After my adventures abroad and five years in UK as a pastor’s wife, we retired to Porthcawl. There were a few young families in our close and I felt I had a responsibility to these children. Our plans to rent a hall for a children’s club fell through, but then God put a key in my hands. My first book, the High Hill, had been published. Advised to promote our own books, I sent a copy into each of our four primary schools, offering to speak to the children about it.  I went on from there to taking assemblies, always using the Bible, the ‘world’s best seller’ as my source.

When I heard of ‘Bible Explorer,’ a course for 10 & 11 years olds, which traces through the Bible stories, beginning with the story of creation, and leading on to the death and resurrection of Jesus and the spread of the Gospel to all the world, I felt all my previous years of experience had qualified me to teach this. I wasn’t free to go away to train at that time, but a few months later, not only had my husband died, leaving me with more time on my hands, but Chris Thomas had taken over responsibility for the work in Wales.

She arranged five days of intensive training, at the end of which I had learned the 77 hand signs which enable us to trace through the significant people, places and stories we teach as we travel through the Bible. And if you think you couldn’t do that, I thought so too, but God enables me, and he will you too of you will step out in faith.

Bible Explorer is written to fit in with the school’s syllabus, and the Old Testament lessons are accepted in Jewish and even Muslim schools too, since they too accept the bible as a Holy book. 

Primarily, Bible Explorer is fun. The children vie with each other to dress up as Abraham, or one of the kings. You will even get a reluctant Boaz to stand under the canopy to marry Ruth, and of course Joshua, and the kings too, are very happy to have a plastic sword. I have two blue shiny cloths which we lift up to allow the Israelites to cross the Red Sea, letting them drop on poor old Pharaoh and his gang, while my gold cloths are not only for the kings, and Queen Esther too, but draped over a cardboard box, with long carrying sticks and a lot of imagination, becomes the Ark, carried around the walls of Jericho. I have a dear little lamb which, sadly has to be killed so that the angel of death passes over the houses of the Israelites, and a lovely rag doll who not only passes for Baby Ishmael, Isaac, and Samuel too, but only just escapes being cut in two by King Solomon’s guard. 

Oh yes, Bible Explorer is fun. And in all the fun the children are learning, not only the wonderful Bible stories, but that there is a God who is there for us too.

Pray the schools will remain open for us to teach this wonderful course; pray for those who teach it, yes, and listen; maybe God will call you to step through this open door of opportunity.

Profile

Pauline Lewis shared a little of her background with us: 

Re-tyred, though an octogenarian, I continue to teach, preach and write. Before marrying Pastor Joel Lewis, I worked in Papua New Guinea, and later in Ghana as a missionary with the Apostolic Church.

I am now an active member of Grace Community Church, Porthcawl.

My life story, Wings of the Morning, is available on Amazon, - also as an e-book

(Kindle version shortly to be available from me, free)

http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Morning-Pauline-Lewis/dp/148119961/ref=sr_1_1?

ie=UTF8&qid=1358867833&sr=8-1&keywords=wings+of+the+morning+lewis

Most months I have a poem in the Porthcawl Seaside News

Follow Pauline on her blog: plreadywriter.blogspot.co.uk

Comment from Teresa

Thank you so much Pauline for this article. I pray that your loving influence will bear much fruit and be the antidote to the Godlessness I have highlighted above. May God continue to bless your much needed work and may others join you in your endeavours.

Leek, Potato and Cannellini Bean Stew

Ingredients

3 leeks – cleaned and sliced

12 small new potatoes – scrubbed and diced

1 large onion – chopped

1 pint of vegetable stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Oregano – 1 tsp

Method

Heat oil in big saucepan and fry onions and leaks until soft. Add potatoes, stock, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!

One Minute Meditation on the Gift of Faith

Take a deep breath and relax then close your eyes for a minute and flood your mind with thankfulness for the gift of your Faith.   

After that perhaps you would like to echo my words as I pray:

Dear Lord,

I thank you for the precious gift of Faith. I ask that today, as we celebrate the feast day of our patron saint in Wales, St David, you will look kindly on us all. And I beg that you will grant the gift of Faith to those people here who are still walking in darkness. Amen []

* Guest Blogger: If you have a few words of encouragement or a veggie recipe you would like to share please contact me on: teresa@teresaodriscoll.co.uk

I welcome your comments on the above.

Coming next: Guest blog: Writings from the Labyrinth by author Lisa Barrow (aka +Lisa Acor Laurel) and friend Bill Batcher.

UPDATE!!!

I have been asking God for guidance and listening to His replies for many years. I share my methods in Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God.

Check out Pray Then Listen In UK / In US  / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback! 

Set on the green and beautiful Greek island of Corfu in this novel I show the ever-present backstory of life, as I interpret the supernatural elements of our dilemmas and choices. 

I know, that no matter what your beliefs or experiences, you will surely recognize the tussles of my characters, as tussles in your own life....  Enjoy!

Click on the following links to check out my novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel In UK /  In US / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

I wrote 9 Days to Heaven, How to make everlasting meaning of your life as my personal evangelization effort.  

Check out 9 Days to Heaven In UK / In US / In Singapore 

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

Here is the link for the YouTube book trailer:  9 Days to Heaven 

For articles, plus more info about me and my work please visit my website.  (www.teresaodriscoll.co.uk)

God bless,

Teresa 

PS. About the links to Singapore, please see my blog post Singapore and Christianity  

Driving Over Athenian Oranges

Two little orange trees hiding behind trellis on left

Hello dear friend,

Thank you for stopping by today. I thought I would share an aspect of Athens that you may not be aware of: the orange trees that line suburban streets.

Munching breakfast toast and marmalade, the tangy flavour set the wheels of my mind spinning backwards towards my beloved #Athens, where my street was lined with little orange trees – whose fruit was as bitter as a Seville and just as tasty when boiled up with sugar.  

Over the years I watched these trees grow from as tall as me to the height of two men upon each other’s shoulders.  They made their presence felt in a number of ways. In the seasonal sequence I remember that it went this way:

In springtime, the strong sweet fragrance of their waxy white blossoms filled the air. And for me – no allergy sufferer – it was a welcome scent as I walked to the seashore or shops. Often, I would don thick gloves and take secateurs to cut myself a bunch. And once the thorny twigs were safely in vases of water they graced my home for days.  

The trees were thus decked out for weeks, then dark green globes the size of a walnut would appear – but you wouldn’t notice this unless you peered because they were camouflaged against glossy leaves.  For the next couple of months, as the days got hotter and hotter, the fruit would be ripening until even the most oblivious could see the small bright oranges.  

When these fruits fully ripened the trees really made their presence felt. As they released their crop the oranges piled up around them on the pavement or rolled pell-mell into gutters and over the roads. When parking the car it was impossible not to run your tyres over them and the aroma of freshly squashed oranges was mouth-watering as you alighted.

But the trees had one further trick up their green sleeves which I discovered one night… Just falling asleep I heard a loud: thump, thump, thump. The unexpected noise drew me abruptly back from the Land of Nod, out of bed and onto the balcony. As I peered around tall potted plants scouring the empty street the thump, thump, thump came again. Aha. I saw what was happening and it made me chuckle. The nearby big metal wheelie bin was under an orange tree and gusts of wind were cannoning fruit onto its arched top, which magnified the sound in the still night. I went back to bed and quickly fell asleep to the lullaby of thud, thud, thud, thud.

The photo, top left, is the corner of my balcony and behind the trellis you can just about see two of said orange trees. Top right is balcony with plants. Ah, what happy memories…

I read the other day that currently marmalade is losing its popularity in Britain. Market analysts at #Kantar Worldpanel maintain that the nation is favouring other breakfast spreads such as honey, jam and peanut butter instead.  Ah well, sheep dot the adjacent hills of my home but I am not one of them, so…pass the marmalade please. Mmm, scrummy!

Guest Blog

Guest Blogger is my dear friend, Kelly who lives in Lancashire and was kind enough to share her recipe for: 

Leek and Potato Soup

Hello,

Very straightforward way to get a fan-dabbi-dozi pot of leek and potato soup.

Place 4 pints of water and two veg stock cubes in a large pan

·    slice 5 med size potatoes into chunky pieces

·    slice 1 large leek into quarter inch chunks

·    dice 4 carrots into smallish pieces

·    cut one (or two if you prefer) med onions into quarters

Add all the prepared veg and a single teaspoon of salt if you wish at this stage

Bring to the boil and then immediately turn down to low simmer. Simmer for at least one and a half hours

Enjoy

love

Kelly

Comment from Teresa

Thank you again Kelly, can’t wait to try this. It sounds simply delicious! 

One Minute Meditation on Thankfulness

Take a deep breath and close your eyes for a minute and flood your mind with thankfulness. Then say, “Dear Lord I am thankful for:”…and list your personal reasons.

For myself, I am so very happy that the snow has gone! The stark contrast of sunshine on green hills causes me to say:

Dear Lord,

I am thankful for the gift of this day

I am thankful that I can wear far fewer layers of clothing

I am thankful that, if I want to, I can just jump into my car and go wherever I please

I am thankful that, though I have laid the fire in the wood burner, I don’t need to light it until this evening

I am thankful that I took delivery of more logs yesterday -which was a huge relief! []

* Guest Blogger: If you have a few words of encouragement or a veggie recipe you would like to share please contact me on: http://www.teresa@teresaodriscoll.co.uk

I welcome your comments on the above.

Coming next: Guest blog: +Pauline Lewis, ACW member, founder of +Ready Writers in Wales, author and teacher tells us about +Bible Explorer, a course for children aged 10 & 11 which she presents at four primary schools.

Vegan recipe: Leek, Potato & Cannellini Bean Stew. 

UPDATES!!!

I have been asking God for guidance and listening to His replies for many years. I share my methods in Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God.

Check out Pray Then Listen In UK / In US  / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback! 

Set on the green and beautiful Greek island of Corfu in this novel I show the ever-present backstory of life, as I interpret the supernatural elements of our dilemmas and choices. 

I know, that no matter what your beliefs or experiences, you will surely recognize the tussles of my characters, as tussles in your own life....  Enjoy!

Click on the following links to check out my novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel In UK /  In US / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

I wrote 9 Days to Heaven, How to make everlasting meaning of your life as my personal evangelization effort.  

Check out 9 Days to Heaven In UK / In US / In Singapore 

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

Here is the link for the YouTube book trailer:  9 Days to Heaven 

For articles, plus more info about me and my work please visit my website.  (www.teresaodriscoll.co.uk)

God bless,

Teresa 

PS. About the links to Singapore, please see my blog post Singapore and Christianity  

Pet Turkey Memoir Beside Spicy Lentil Sweet Potato Soup

Hello friend,

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year! We are already a couple of weeks into 2013 and I don’t know about you but I am still making great efforts to implement my New Year’s Resolutions. I admit to already having a bit of slippage on a couple – walk at least four times weekly (did great the first week but nothing since, and now I am snowed in, ooh er); and in tandem with that eat low GI / GL (also have a sweet tooth and been finishing up Christmas goodies).  But, I have prepared and sent out a Newsletter – so I’ve kept that resolution. And here I am writing a blog post – another Resolution kept (so far).

I prayed for a way to keep on track with blog posts and I now plan to invite * Guest Bloggers! I hope that you will enjoy the variety of content on this blog and keep checking back for new posts. The essence of this blog is: +Christian Living and Writing – body, mind and spirit.  Expect encouraging info and articles covering a lot of ground including: Creative Writing, Beauty, Health & Fitness, and Personal & Spiritual Development.

And so, dear friend, if you have something to contribute that will fit into that broad framework please do get in touch…

Having been a vegetarian for many years I have enjoyed experimenting with recipes – adapting, dabbling, and mixing things up. I am a great lover of Greek food - the Mediterranean diet is famous for its health-giving ingredients – which I now concoct from ingredients found in Wales.  Over the coming posts I will be sharing these with you. They are tasty, quick and easy recipes either vegetarian or vegan which I hope you will enjoy. As I am now experimenting with cooking on my wood burning stove I will offer two cooking methods for many – classic and wood burner. See my first offering – Vegan Red Lentil and Sweet Potato soup – smooth, lightly spiced and colourful - below

Guest Blog.

Guest Blog

Guest Blogger is Lisa Barrow, author and labyrinth expert who lives on Long Island, New York

Snaggle the Turkey Was My Beloved Pet

By Lisa Barrow

When we think of Turkeys we think of holidays and turkey soup.  Or, we hear about how "stupid" turkeys are.  I have heard on several occasions, "Turkeys are so dumb, that they tilt up their heads and open their mouths when it rains, and then they drown..."   True or not....my Snaggle would never do something as strange as that.

Snaggle was the head fowl on our property, overseeing the chickens, roosters, his beautiful white feathered wife, and my young child. His head, usually a pale sky blue, would turn purple with annoyance or anger if we were going against the farm "rules". 

Upon my rising early in the morning, and venturing downstairs to the kitchen to start another day, outside the glass sliding doors, there would be Snaggle, resting on his chest, feet tucked under, awaiting my son who was five years old at the time, to come out to play in the yard.  As soon as Jordon would be dressed, and allowed outside, Snaggle would be in loyal pursuit, following in his footsteps as I did the regular household chores. If I heard excessive gobbling, I'd go outside, only to witness Jordon climbing on a big mound of soil that was dug by the back hoe, or into other mischief.  Snaggle let me know if any mishap could happen.

If my mother would come by to take Jordon for the day...Snaggle and his white feathered bride, and the guinea hens, would jump on the car, and chase it down the dirt road.....as one of their 'flock' was being apprehended.

When evening would fall, Snaggle would spread his wings, and moving them to and fro, would herd the chickens into their coop for the night, and then turn his attention to us, herding our family into the home, as he knew it to be our "coop". To humor him, we would obediently retreat.

Snaggle eventually died, ironically on Thanksgiving Day.  Not by hatchet, or other means of turkey kill, but from defending our homestead from a large neighborhood dog, protecting his wife, and our chickens while we were away for the day.  Footprints of dog and fowl told the tale of the battle, and Snaggle's beautiful bride laid still and deceased in the side yard.  His steps were traced to the coop, where he dragged himself, up onto his shelf. He breathing was shallow and he was dying.  And die, he did.  The loss was unthinkable. Our family's heart was broken.

After burying Snaggle, I picked up his feathers that were strewn from his tail around the crime scene.

I keep them to this day, passing them out over the years to my son whenever bravery was needed in school, or other settings.  And I still do use them. 

Asking myself...am I as brave, diligent, loyal, and loving as this turkey?  Snaggle never called in sick, he never took a day and said..."Oh I think I need some time away or time off", and he didn't run in the face of a life-challenge.  He never hid his true feelings or emotions.  He cared about what was truly important, and protected what he felt was truly precious.  Still today, I have a glass containing still some of Snaggle's feathers, and ten years ago wove one of his feathers into a house charm that hangs on my wall in my kitchen.

So much, I wish I had been home that day to help my dear companion.  His memory, and what he taught me will be with me for the rest of my life.

I want to live up to what HE was.  And I fall short. My love goes with you, Snaggle, and I know my family felt the same way.  I love you still. []

Lisa Barrrow, a.k.a. +Lisa Acor Laurel is a contributing monthly writer for The Spiritual-Renewal Center, and author of Love in the Gardens of Macantar; A Spiritual Journey of Healing from Codependency and Relationship Addiction. She builds labyrinths and teaches labyrinth workshops, and owns Sacred Spaces Organic Gardening, living on Long Island, New York, with her son and two dogs. Google her at: www.addictedtorelationships.com.

Comment from Teresa

Thank you Lisa for this thought-provoking tale that clearly reveals the nature of a turkey which most of us can identify with – if we choose to…

For a tasty recipe without cruelty please read on… 

Vegan recipe: Spicy Red Lentil and Sweet Potato

1 large white onion – roughly chopped

1 large sweet potato – peeled and diced

1 litre (1¾ pt) vegetable stock (fresh or made with 4 stock cubes)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

500 g (18 oz) red lentils

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cayenne pepper to taste

Paprika

Method

Steam fry onion over a medium heat until soft in a little stock or water - stir continually and add extra liquid to prevent sticking

Stir in cumin and turmeric and mix in well

Put lentils, sweet potatoes and stock into a saucepan. Add the onions and simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils tender. (If cooking on wood burner cover with tight fitting lid and slow cook until lentils tender - could take hours depending on amount of fuel used, etc.)

Allow to cool slightly then add lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper and blend until smooth. Before serving, lightly sprinkle bowls of steaming soup with paprika. Enjoy with crusty bread and a green side salad for a wholesome and filling winter-warming meal.

Invitation to be my next * Guest Blogger: If you have an idea for a post that fits into the broad scope outlined above please contact me on: teresa@teresaodriscoll.co.uk

I welcome your comments on the above.

Coming next: Coronation Street will be moved to the new time-slot of…6 am!

Vegan recipe: Leek, Potato & Cannellini Bean Stew.

UPDATES!!!

I have been asking God for guidance and listening to His replies for many years. I share my methods in Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God.

Check out Pray Then Listen In UK / In US  / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback! 

Set on the green and beautiful Greek island of Corfu in this novel I show the ever-present backstory of life, as I interpret the supernatural elements of our dilemmas and choices. 

I know, that no matter what your beliefs or experiences, you will surely recognize the tussles of my characters, as tussles in your own life....  Enjoy!

Click on the following links to check out my novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel In UK /  In US / In Singapore

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

I wrote 9 Days to Heaven, How to make everlasting meaning of your life as my personal evangelization effort.  

Check out 9 Days to Heaven In UK / In US / In Singapore 

Available as a Kindle version or paperback!

Here is the link for the YouTube book trailer:  9 Days to Heaven 

For articles, plus more info about me and my work please visit my website.  (www.teresaodriscoll.co.uk)

God bless,

Teresa 

PS. About the links to Singapore, please see my blog post Singapore and Christianity  

PS Don't forget to take a look at my other blog:  https://creativelivingforthebestyou.blogspot.com/

Also, for further inspiration check out my website:  http://www.teresaodriscoll.co.uk 

PPS Don't forget to check out my book: 9 Days to Heaven, How to make everlasting meaning of your life - which is a practical guide to joyful living!   You can see the book trailer by clicking on this link:  http://youtu.be/154luv8KMns

Buy the book from any good bookshop or online bookstore. Click here to buy the e-book on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Days-Heaven-Make-Everlasting-Meaning-ebook/dp/B00AIR8CSC