Monday, April 30, 2018

A Note From F.W.



I received this notice today from the ladies at the Fascinating Womanhood site:

Hello Lady Lydia!

I hope you recall my name, as I know you are very busy with a ton of readers!  I have been a faithful reader for many years and just adore your blog and

what you stand for!  It came to my attention, via a Facebook group I am in about Fascinating Womanhood that  you wrote a lovely tribute about the late Helen Andelin.

I have recently become certified to teach Fascinating Womanhood and am in contact with Helen's daughter, Dixie Andelin Forsyth and her Executive Assistant, Jennifer Cross.

Dixie has asked me to email you to let you know that Fascinating Womanhood is very active these days!  I'm not sure if you are on Facebook or not, but the new website is

www.fascinatingwomanhood.com   If you are on Facebook, I can certainly direct you to the FW page!  As you know, this type of information for women is needed now, more than ever

in our World!  Fascinating Womanhood and the Pro-Feminine Movement is rapidly growing and I wanted, as well as Dixie, to let you know it is out there!  I pray you are well!


Love, In Christ,

Tricia Barber



Jennifer Cross has left a new comment on your post "Tribute to Helen": 

"Hi everyone, my name is Jenny and we are very active over at 
https://fascinatingwomanhood.com/welcome-eng and on Facebook and YouTube now. Helen’s eldest daughter Dixie has taken over and re-written fascinating womanhood for the 21st-century. We would love for you all to visit us and let me know if you have any questions we are happy to answer them."

Note:  

Those of you who are familiar with this class from the 1970's may be interested, and maybe some younger women as well. This book unexpectedly launched a lot of other authors and today I see FW principles in most of the recently published books on marriage and the home. 

Thursday, April 26, 2018

A Paradisical Morning




After some very dark, cold days, we were greeted with soft, warm breezes and some light sunshine. I made up a new word from the word "paradise", which is what it feels like today. So gentle and refined was the morning that I dressed up for it, and took some pictures to show here. Above you see a very large cup I got at a Goodwill for the handsome price of 89 cents. Showing a  painted leaf on the outside edge, I knew it was meant for a flowering plant. 

Some have called this a cedar of Lebanon tree that lives in the south yard area. It has huge branches which make a cool shelter beneath it. I will put a table and chairs there for a tea.



Seeing all I need to do here in the way of yard and garden work makes me wish I had not lolled around so much in the colder weather. The inside work is still not finished (there are some rooms in disarray due to moving and exchanging rooms) , and now the outside is screaming for weeding and trimming and planting.


Mr. S. Has way more stamina than I have, being out til after 8 p.m. gardenning. He gets so much accomplished. Here he is loading the garden spot with fresh dirt. It means, of course, without him saying anything, that I am going to plant the food, and hopefully soon.

He came in and told me seriously and solemnly that he had unearthed an historical relic; a mammoth of some kind from a previous era and he wanted me to get a photo of this:


It appeared a couple of feet deep, so he was wanting to speculate on what era it came from...probably the grandchild age. I do not know how many years each layer of dirt represents, do you?





It is going to rain again tomorrow so I have hurriedly done a little work outside before the grass and weeds grow so tall it makes the house look abandoned.




I send out distress photos of storage boxes and books, etc. to someone on my phone while I am getting everything back in order inside the house. I always send a picture that looks like "hoarders" and then in capital letters PLEASE PRAY FOR ME. Sometimes they send me back similar pictures as if to compete and show who has the worse mess, but I always win. Eventually they get an "after" picture of the almost miraculous clean-up.

Since the shoulder bone is connected to the elbow bone, there is never any way to move one room to another in a completely smooth, orderly way.  Seasoned homemakers expect that unrelated rooms will get a spill over from the upheaval. I don't let anyone see what I am doing unless they can be trusted and I won't have to pay to keep them quiet.

I will include pictures when things get back together.

Please make up your mind to have a lovely day.

Lydia

Monday, April 23, 2018

Called to Lead or to Serve?



Below is an article Mr. S. included in the weekly bulletin for our little congregation out here in the country, which he found in another church publication called The Voice of Truth we get in the mail from Springfield, Missouri. I think it is the best thing written on the subject of "leadership" and it is way overdue. Note the end of the article for my comments.

                                                    Called to Lead or to Serve?
                                                         By Claude Thompson

The word "Leader" and "Leadership" are over-used and too often misapplied in the church today. 
Therefore, they are very likely misunderstood. Too often  we identify only the elders or preacher as "leaders" of our congregations, or, we may say a brother "leads" us in worship at communion or in prayer. We normally define "leadership" as administering or directing, and the "leader" as the boss, or one in command.

However, the Bible presents a completely different picture of true spiritual leadership.

The Greek word (the original language of the New Testament) translated "lead" (hodegeo) means literally "to travel with" someone or "to guide" someone. It may be correctly applied metaphorically to teaching and teachers, whether of truth (Hebrews 5:12) or of error (2 Peter 2:1).

Yet, the New Testament seldom uses the words "lead" or "leader" and when they are used, it is more often in a negative context:

Jesus called the spiritual leaders of His day "blind leaders of the blind" (Matthew 5:14). Our Lord specifically advised us not to identify ourselves, nor any others as our leaders or "masters" because He, Christ, is our only Master (Matthew 23:10).  

When initially calling men to start and lead His church, Jesus selected fishermen rather than sea captains, and workers rather than administrators (Matthew 4:18-21). He needs and desires laborers instead of foremen for His kingdom (Luke 10:2), men and women qualified and willing to serve others. Such are the true leaders of the church--"the leaders is as one who serves" (Luke 22:26).

Jesus calls us to serve, rather than to lead:

Although fully God and worthy of all honor (Revelation 4:9-11), He fully exemplified the servant role and taught that the servant was greater than the master (John 12:5-16). Those who Jesus recognized as greatest in His kingdom were those who expressed faith (Matthew 8:10-13) and those who quietly served (Matthew 26:10-13).  Christians are created by God and recreated in Christ to serve (Ephesians 2:10).

Spiritual Service is to be Motivated by Love rather than recognition or reward:

God Himself is e great example of serving that is based on love (John 3:16).  Christians are to serve one another through love (Galations 5:13). As followers of Christ, we are to love even our enemies (Luke 6:35). When we serve others, it is as if we are serving God, and it must be sincere service from our hearts (Ephesians 6:5-6).

Spiritual service has its own recognition and reward (1 Corinthians 3:8):

Christians are to acknowledge with honor those who lead them in service, whether in the secular/physical world (Ephesians 6:2, Romans 13:7-8, 1 Timothy 6:1) or in the spiritual world (Ist Corinthians 12:23-25, Philippians 2:19-20, 1st Timothy 5:17). Regardless of any recognition we may receive here in this life on earth, our highest and more important honor will be given to us in Heaven (Matthew 5:11-12, Revelation 11:18).  We are to work patiently, awaiting our reward (James 5:7). As Christian servants we must take care that we are not performing our spiritual activities to be recognized by our fellow men, but as honest praise and service to God (Matthew 6:1-6).


My notes on this subject:

I noticed in some of the homeschool material we purchased in years past, some lessons regarding "leadership" and quickly saw that it could misunderstood by those who were very young.  The Bible warned about letting a "novice" be an elder in th church, lest he become puffed up. "Leadership" has that effect on those who have not fully matured, and it tends to make them bosses rather than real leaders, meaning servants. Lacking humility, they want to be admired for being leaders, and sometimes    As "servants" in the home or church, demand they should be lauded as great leaders.

Another thing that happens in trying to make men "leaders" who were not used to it or didn't have the knowledge or skill, was their propensity to become harsh, unloving, lacking in understanding and wisdom. Not understanding the quality of meekness (strength under control) they became pushy and critical, demanding respect, and caused those they were responsible to protect and provide for, to avoid them or resist them.

The man taught to be gentle, kind, and protective, will always be a good leader because he is a servant and a sacrificial worker at home as well as in his profession. His family is drawn to that and will immitate it as well as cooperate with him. 

We all know of course, that there are are authorities who must boss, such as in law enforcement, and we also know that the unruly who will not be led by example or by command, must be dealt with. We see that all the time when someone is destroying property or causing a disturbance. Also, we know in churches that sometimes there will be a person who is bent on disturbing others with his/her own personal agenda, trying to control others, etc. We know they will not be led by example and will eventually be taken to task by the authorities who serve,  in order to keep the others safe. But this article refutes the idea that "leadership" is some admirable thing. 

Told they must have ambition to be leaders, they neglect to practice  the very things that would make them an example of true leadership: service, purity, providing, protecting. Not being mature, those who desire to have leadership and respect, tend to give orders that don't even have a Biblical basis. They are more sold on themselves as authorities, than on the principles of sacrifice and service. Do you want those in your charge to follow you happily without grudge or resentment? Be a good example and live the way you want others to live.

There has also been an emphasis on leadership in religion that is similar to what Christ described of the leaders of His days on earth. Books and magazines exalt religious leaders instead of the dedicated servants that are quietly living the example.

The true leader is the one who leads by example; a servant.

I was always happy watching my parents be creative and build something, fix something and make things work, and even when they were reading or writing, had a sense of their leadership. Their loving care for us made them true leaders.


Table Setting


Painting: Spring is Come by Herbert Arnould Olivier. 1861-1952

If I were an artist, the colors in this painting would be my palette. The model is dressed to go with the blossoms, which might be apple or cherry.

These apple blossoms caught my eye this morning while I was out hanging laundry on the line between two trees.


I put them together with my apple blossom Acropal set of dishes.








This is a small Victirian style vase which one of my grandchildren likes to use. As soon as she gets here, she gathers all the flowers she can find and gets out my little collection of vases and arranges the flowers in them. Then she places the visual confection all around the house, on ledges, shelves, sills, and tables.

Now to look for apple blossom fabric to go with!  I'm quite in arrears regarding my sewing but I have not given up. Every lovely sight needs a dress to go with, and maybe a hat.


Right now I am busy getting things more trimmed down and organized in a couple of places in the house. I don't want to be on the hoarders top ten list yet!

When I have any difficulty getting into some of the harder things, like cleaning up a storage room or a kitchen gone amuck, I enjoy easing into it with smaller tasks first.  That is why I hung a small load of laundry outside. It was quick to complete and then I could take a bit more effort for something that seemed overwhelming.

Making this soft table setting vignette was an accomplishable task, and I keep going back to look at it while I am trying to get something less pleasant cleaned up. It gives me hope that my friends won't have to come looking for me in the laundry room.

Is t it lovely how the Lord gives us these little reprieves, these small things that are easy and quick to make beautiful.

Mr. S. Came in to have a look and said he thought we should always do something we want to do,  each day, to make the "should do" list less formidable. He has a peculiar attitude towards the word "obey".  He always suggests good things for me to do, such as, "Why don't you get out of the house for awhile and walk around Hobby Lobby," or "While you are at the grocery store, get something extra for yourself," or "I want to go on a trip, but you have to choose all the stops."  He did that with the children, too. Mr. S. says a leader is a servant, not a boss. He thinks that since a wife is supposed to be a helper, a husband ought to listen to her cautions and pay attention to things that bother her. If he does not do this, he loses her trust and her helpfulness.  He wants people to enjoy themselves and express their opinions. He is the type of person  to ease someones burden rather than put burdens on them.

I appreciate your comments so much, and I would like to thank you for visiting. 


Wednesday, April 18, 2018

New Arrangements With Familiar Things in the House



For a little leisure today I took a few old items and made a new arrangement for a centerpiece. The light pink floral bush is from Dollar Tree, only $1.00, and the candles are flickering battery operated lights. It is sometimes hard to figure out where to put small things, and since I try to avoid too much clutter, putting the flowers and candles inside the birdcage makes it one piece.

A creative arrangement puts a new look on old familiar things.

I was looking through the original Victoria magazines for the month of April, and remembering that although it was a bright spot back in the day when it first appeared in the market, the new issues today are much prettier and don't have the ads that were so unharmonious with the theme of beauty and refinement inside the publication. 

This is a tea cup I found in an old town.
A cup with a flower printed on the inside is always a pleasing thing.minknow that children love drinking from cups that have pictures on the inside. 


I received this cookbook holder from Hobby Lobby, which was on sale this week for about $7.00. Cookbook holders traditionally have been high in price, so it was good to find this metal one.

From Pinterest I found this little poem:


This is one verse, below, that I really try to live. I don't think it helps anyone to do well by scolding them. That is why I try to have supportive posts here.  


This is what most of the ladies I know express a need for.

The things ladies at home are the most concerned about and ask for prayer concerning, are these:

Good physical health.
Physical and spiritual safety of their children.
Stability of their husbands, both financial and spiritual.
Keeping the family in harmony with one  another and with God.
Being able to keep up with the housework. 
Dealing with criticism regarding their life as homemakers.

I have heard women say to their friends: You pray for me, and I will pray for you, that we can accomplish what God wants for us in the home.

That is one of the best prayers to be sent. 

Sometimes ladies worry about the world, but it would be better to use  time and energy to pray for their own families. They are a part of the world, too, which will never be on a news broadcast. You may be the only one in the world that prays for your family.


Saturday, April 14, 2018

Pictures From Home



Two pictures from home today: a teacup next to a flower, and the morning light trying to come in through the fog.


I hope to have a video soon and show some sewing.

 I hope you have a lovely worship on Sunday.

 Mr. S. preaches very short sermons, 20 minutes or a little more, and still has a meaty lesson with high impact. 

Someone recently told us the "trend" today in churches is for someone to speak for an hour and a half.  I listened to such a person not long ago and it still seems like he could have got his point across in twenty minutes if he had left out the fluff, the jokes, silly remarks, long illustrations, rambling away from the subject, and stuck to the scriptures and simple explanations.

In the church, our worship consists of several things besides preaching:

-About 20 minutes total of singing hymns
-Another 20 minutes for the communion service
-20 minutes for the sermon.
-5 minutes for announcements
-5 minutes of scripture reading, appropriate for the sermon lesson

There are no rules about this, of course, and each congregation varies a little on the time allotments.

 When we were teaching our sons to preach, we asked them read the first gospel sermon given by Peter in Acts 2, and Paul's sermon on Mars Hill, to allow them to experience how long those sermons took to preach. Both these serious sermons took an adequate amount of time and stuck to the point. They seemed to have a quality of words rather than a quantity. We told our boys to try and get their message across to the audience in an appropriate amount of time when the minds of people were alert, before they tune out. This taught them to leave out the "fillers" and focus only on Christ and His Word. When a preacher develops a thorough knowledge of the Bible he will always have enough good material and scriptural illustrations without resorting to empty talk. 



Thank you all for your visit. Be sure and have a cup of tea today.


Thursday, April 12, 2018

Good Days in Bad Weather


Hello Dear Ladies,

Today a pretty pink tulip appeared in my garden just outside the living room window. Instead of picking it for a still life picture, I decided to pose an old tea cup beside it.  I like this color and now, rather than looking in a fabric store for just the right shade to go-with,  I check my little collection of "pinks" in the sewing room.  If there is any white fabric, I sometimes can dip it in fabric dye to get a perfect match.

These are Waverly fabrics, with very nice names, like "Pink Slipper" and "Carnation".


Today is my first day of feeling well enough to be up and about, and I feel like I have been revived from near death. Some of you probably know what I mean! I also have a new determination to get some things in order around here and make my home the kind of place I would love visit or stay in!

It is still quite cold with poor visibility, so I won't be modeling my fabulous hat and dress outside any time soon. I quickly made this photo and raced back inside.

Mr. S. got the big idea to remove the fencing from around the property, as we have no animals any more,  and the fence spoils the view, interfering also with mowing. After digging out the posts and rolling up the wire fencing, he has some aches and pains. He likes home made soup, so I will be making some on this cloudy day.

There ought to be another description for weather like this, other than "overcast", "foggy" or dreary. Obviously it is a time when the earth is being replenished, but I suppose that dreary by any other name is just as dreary!

I read somewhere that all weather is given by God and not all of it is bad, it is just weather.  However I noticed in the Bible during one of Pauls missionary trips that the crew on board his ship became quite alarmed by bad weather, and rightly so, for they were soon shipwrecked.  We have to batten down the hatches; tie everything down that will be blown away, close the doors and heat up the house.

These are some old broken cups I couldn't bear to part with so They are stacked on the porch table collecting rain water.  I hope in dry weather to finally paint these aging railings, as I perceive the worn out look isn't going to be so in vogue in the future.

I was looking around Pinterest a lot when I was confined to bed, and found there are some very sweet minded people who make a celebration of inclement weather or hard times. They dress up, get out their best China, invite someone to drink hot tea, or use it as a day to create. They create memories for the dark days, have journal entries and photo albums.

Now to those who are at home but seem to be fighting off suggestions that they do "something else", let me tell you, it never ceases.  In a small way I fight off those suggestions, as whenever I decide to stay home an entire day without going out for any reason, it seems the urgency to go out just comes on stronger! I will be cleaning, cooking, sewing, arranging, getting paperwork in order, and then I need something to complete a meal, a cleaning project (more storage boxes!) It is all I can do to dig in my heels and stay put!

As I have grown older I have discovered the best way to defeat any addiction, urge, or unwise restlessness is to ignore it. Eventually the voices that call you will come less and cease their whining.  I learned this from managing appetite, time,  pain, anger, and other things! 

I am sharing these delightful picture from Pinterest for those of you who don't view Pinterest: if I had captions, they would be, "Natural and pretty for Nature."

It isn't a sunny day in these pictures but the theme is so delightful.

Gorgeous 19th century painting but I didn't find the artist: 

I appreciate your comments more than you know, and I want to thank the lady who donated $15 this month! It's such a blessing and you know I can stretch that a long way!

Keep on thinking things that are good and lovely.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Not The Most Interesting Topic: Not Feeling Well



Sleeping Woman by Carl Vilhelm Hosloe, Danish artist 1863-1935

Sick Woman in Bed, Austria, 19th century watercolor:
Above: wouldn't it be nice to have people attending you when you are sick at home? I would rather they clean my house while I slept.  There is an entire educational training involved in caring for a sick family member at home. Attendees must be clean, dressed cheerfully, able to make a bed, make nutritious soups, and many other things. This kind of training was included in our Home Economics classes of the 1950's. We learned how to load up a bed tray and how to keep a home patient comfortable.

A couple of days ago I felt myself coming down with something but fought it off until it finally got me.

Just before my brain and body were strongly suggesting complete bed rest, Mr. S., who saw me slightly pale in the face decided to catch me while I was still upright, to take a photo of this double rainbow behind the tool shed. It isn't very visible but he always likes a picture of a rainbow. This is the last thing I did before going under cover!



The day before I got really sick, I was busy with my hot glue gun embellishing a plain straw hat.

I made it to wear with this dress, which I also made, but it has been too cold outside to model it, and my photographer wasn't here. I like the pink on white print of this cotton fabric, of birds and flowers.
When I get well I hope to wear it.  I also made a fascinator using a headband, string of fabric roses, a butterfly and some ribbon:





For the hat, the materials and cost were:

Hat: Walmart $3.86 (comes on other colors too)
Silk flowers: $1.00 Dollar Tree
2 Glue Sticks for the glue gun, Dollar Tree package of 12/$1.00
Glittery ribbon: $2.00  Walmart
Headband, ribbon, or an elastic bandcan be added to keep it tied down, which is minimal cost.

Total cost: About 6.00

What I really wanted was this hat, but it was $200!
Photo from https://www.ashro.com/church-attire/hats/jack-mcconnell-sun-hat.pro?omSource=SLI&

I think it is nice that Ashro catalog has a category called "Church Clothes".

I didn't even bother to ask Mr. S. about it, because he would have said ....YES.  46 years ago he promised if I would marry him he would do everything he could to make me happy, so he always says "Yes" to the most outrageous things, even if he can't do it, even if I wanted a trip to he moon....so, like many women married to this kind of man born in the previous century, I have to watch what I ask for. I'm sure you know the problem with generous men!

My solution was to make a hat for $6 but then when I showed him the amount subtracted from $200, and suggested he owed me the remainder, which I supposedly "saved", he couldn't come up with the money. 

For the less mature who peek into this blog once in awhile, you need to know that long-married couples settle into a comfortable humor between them, which sometimes the young are critical of. For this reason I will tell you the hat/money incident was all part of our comfortable banter between us. WhenI tell Mr. S. I "saved" him an expense by making something myself, he then looks for the "savings" somewhere and we joke about how much he owes me or I owe him, but we both know it is all the same.

Sometimes Mr. S. will notice a tea cup and wonder why he had not seen it before.  I will tell him that HE bought it for me, that day he sat in the car waiting for me in an old town where he stopped so I could get out and walk around. The truth is, he really DID pay for it, but it is our special humor. Other times he will tell me to go get myself a birthday or anniversary gift, and days later notice something in the house, such as a small lamp, a new spatula, etc. I will remind him it was his anniversary gift to us and he will say he can't remember getting it. But this is our special humor. I've had people become very critical over things like this because they sometimes develop a set of rules for others to live by, and according to these rules, we have to be serious all the time.

 More about Mr. S. at the end of this post.




I have been so very ill (I won't describe the symptoms) that Mr. S. remembered some time ago when he had a similar illness, his natureopath gave him a remedy on the phone. He said to take a tablespoon of sauerkraut juice, followed by two tablespoons of tomato juice every twenty minutes for two hours and call him in the morning if he was still sick. He never had to make the call.

Mr. S., ever the gallant hero, decided to save my life, so he got his jacket on, braved the driving rain in the dark as he opened the car door, drove to the grocery store at 8 pm and found the two ingredients.

This is normal for Mr. S., since he had lots of practice back in the day when he would willingly go to the store any hour of the day or night, after I had a baby or needed something for a meal the next day.

 Once home, he set me up with little glasses of this remedy on a tray, so I could just take it every twenty minutes. 

Regarding the sauerkraut juice and tomato juice, one of the ingredients does one good thing, while the other ingredient does something else.  

I will let you look it up on the two links I have provided with these pictures.

Photo from http://onejive.com/the-miraculous-healing-properties-of-sauekraut-juice/

Image from https://steptohealth.com/tomato-juice-morning-aware-benefits/

The concoction was not too bad when using the tomato juice last, as it is so much more pleasant to the taste.

The next day I was rather enthused to wake up and see it was daylight at 7 in the morning...I felt a little better and was looking out the window and at the clock. But then I saw on my phone that it was 7 pm instead of a.m. and I was so disappointed to realize I had slept all day and it was evening when I woke up. Of course I was feeling somewhat better and I was back to talking Mr. S.'s ear off on every known subject and some unknown.  He was happy I felt better and even happier I went back to bed to sleep off that last bit of stinging sinus pain and stomach pain.

There is nothing worse than being bedridden, too ill to get up and change anything, looking at things in disarray and hoping to live long enough to get it all in order so my children won't be burdened with it. Mr. S. is not in the least worried. He says we should let the children go through all our old boxes of papers and messy drawers of pens and pencils, because that is what we've both had to do in regard to our own parents. He thinks it should be a family tradition.  

Mr. S. never worries about anything. I, on the other hand, can always find an extra supply of adrenalin to aid me in finding something to feel urgent about, even when I am sick. 

My room has become a temporary storage area for boxes of things we need to go through. While I lay sick in bed, all I could think about besides the pain, was how I needed to get well enough to sort out those boxes and make the room look more like a bedroom than a storage shed. If medics ever have to come and aid one of us as we lie sick in bed, will they see two old people sleeping in a storage room and report us to social services?  Would they remove us from our own house and accuse us of abusing old folks? I think the horror of it made me take the sauerkraut juice a little more willingly!

Suggested get-well foods: The homemade garden vegetable blended soups made with the little blender you put directly into the pot of soup, always help me when I am sick. For some reason, however, they taste much better made by someone else and brought to me on a tray.

It has taken 3 days but I am feeling better, and still using the sauerkraut juice and tomato juice. However I believe you should stay in bed an extra day and not get too active right away. I had to cancel a few things but I am going to be in bed one more day just to be sure before I plough headlong into life again.

 Get Well Soup Fom My Kitchen

1 tablespoon oil or butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon each dried parsley and cilantro or Italian seasoning 
1 teaspoon RealSalt
1/2 cup ground turkey or meat (optional)
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
2 cups hot water, more or less depending on whether it is to be a thin or thick soup
1/2 cup tomato juice

In a saucepan, Cook 1/4 cup chopped onion in a tablespoon oil of your choice, until the onion bits are clear. At this stage you can add ground meat if you are including it. Then add 1/2 cup peeled, chopped red potato, 1/2 teaspoon each dried cilantro, and parsley or Italian seasoning. Cool until meat is broken.

To this, add a teaspoon RealSalt or Pink salt, Australian salt (any kind of mineralized salt) and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. 

Stir with fork to distribute  the ground meat. Add shredded fresh cabbage or whatever additional vegetables you like. 

To this, pour in about two cups hot water and bring the soup to a boil on medium heat until all ingredients are soft. Add the tomato juice and cook until you think all the flavors are well blended. 

You can also make dumplings to add to the boiling soup, using any recipe you have. This makes all the ingredients in one pot, making less to clean afterwards. 

You can soften the soup a bit by using your old fashioned potato masher. I don't recommend blending this soup, as the flavor is better when there are still bits of recognizable ingredients.

We ate this so fast I wasn't able to get a photo but will try it again another time.