Serve by Design

Monique and I have been going to the Illinois State Fair together since we were in college. Living in Springfield now more than thirty years, I can’t remember too many times when we have missed the event and when we did, it was likely because we were out-of-state on vacation. So, this past Friday, we made yet another trek to the fair to check out the Craft's Building for this season’s garden products and watch a live cooking demonstration, enjoy the equine exhibition in the Coliseum and of course, eat our favorites of Vose’s Korndogs in addition to a pork sandwich and a lemon shake-up at the nearby Pork Pavilion! 2022 Butter Cow by Artist Sarah Pratt After making our rounds, we closed out the afternoon with a visit to the Dairy Building. There, we capped the day off with a cold treat of twisted and swirling chocolate and vanilla ice-cream in a cone. While touring the dairy products, it was hard not to gaze immediately upon the butter cow on display in the center of the exhibit. It...

We have family in France who is going through a challenging time of transition. An uncle is in a rehabilitation facility recovering from a recent fall. This means that the aunt is home and on her own as she tries to maintain a house and take care of her everyday needs. Both are in their mid-nineties. When you have to depend on others for grocery shopping and you are only cooking for one, an easy and nutritious microwave meal can help alleviate some of the stress. French Ready Meal The French have their own version of "meals-on-wheels!" A noontime meal is delivered to the door each day! The menu for a recent meal included: Beef Bourguignon (braised beef in red wine!), couscous, fruit, salami, cheese, a bottle of water, and of course, the quintessential, baguette! Voil`a! ("There it is!") A "Ready Meal!" In the Lord's Model Prayer, Jesus taught us about the daily focus. He instructed His Disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." (M...