Headbanger Volunteer

Oh, dear. Volunteer. What have I done? I was without a thought in the world last week they mentioned that it was my turn to volunteer a theme for our small group of headbangers. Not able to find the list of ideas I had made a while back and brain dead from a rush of activities in support of my volunteers at church I came up with VOLUNTEER. I wonder what the fellows made of that. Well, you can find out by clicking their links in the sidebar.

So what was I thinking? Volunteering is a big part of my life, but rendering the concept visually in a header may be more than I can handle.

So, let's see. What are some of my volunteer activities past and present. I have been a Camp Fire Leader, briefly a 4H leader, a Scouter, a school volunteer, a library volunteer.

As National Park Volunteers my husband and I provided trail information, wildflower and wildlife

identification to visitors, and other support to the ranger staff. Here I am shoveling snow on the Fourth of July.

I have cleaned Washington Beaches.

I have walked for causes.

We are walking in Light the Night next month for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can support our walk here.

I have made quilts for wounded returning military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's a recent top.

Hey, I am even a volunteer helping folks on the Blogger Help Forum.

OMG, here I am when I went as a volunteer to India.

My husband and I have done some of this together. And he  (himself a cancer patient) is a hospice volunteer patient visitor.

My biggest current volunteer endeavor is keeping our religious education program at church organized. We are in the middle of gearing up for the new program year, with recruiting, training, parent orientation, and last minute registrations, book orders, supply orders...

But a header? what was I thinking?

ABC I think we are on G

This is my all time favorite GOOSE picture.

I have missed a couple of weeks of ABC Wednesday and I hope I am on the right letter.

Headbanger's--Butterfly

Lew suggested we look for butterflies this week for our header challenge.

I found someone doing just that during our stay at Crater Lake last week. She paused after running after one--just where did it go?

My headbanger friends will probably post actual butterflies. Ah, well. One must think outside the box. You can find their posts by clicking their links in my sidebar sometime Wednesday afternoon.

D

D is for Dutch Oven and Dump Cake

These Dutch Ovens were baking pizza when I took the picture, but one of our favorite Dutch Oven foods is Dump Cake.

 

You might have a Dutch Oven to use on stovetop or in the oven, but these are specially made for campfire cooking with three legs to hold them above the coals. This makes it also possible to stack them and use the coals on top of the bottom one under the next. You can stack several Dutch Ovens this way if you have them, but we only have the two.

 

We use charcoal when cooking in the Dutch Oven because it is easier to control the heat. You can really be pretty exact. The above meals cooked pretty fast--two or three fewer briquettes would have been enough.

 

Dump Cake

Ingredients:

One or two cans of fruit. Peaches are good, and we also like to use fruit cocktail.

Cinnamon (optional)

One cake mix--yellow or white

some butter or margarine

 

In a well seasoned Dutch Oven, put in the fruit and sprinkle with cinnamon. Dump the cake mix on top. Don't stir it, but you can kind of push it down into the fruit a bit. Dot with butter or margarine.

 

Place in the campfire pit with coals below and on top of the Dutch Oven. If you have the heat just right it takes about twenty minutes to bake.

 

A related recipe is Bears in the Apple Orchard. It is made the same as Dump Cake using apples and gingerbread mix. Yum!

ABC Wednesday is here.

 

I just went to post my link. I did not know that the introduction would be using the Dutch Oven. Really. I mentioned it last week, remember? And I provided a recipe.

Headbangers--Smoke

Craver gave us the theme of Smoke a couple of weeks ago, before this:

 Which I described here.

Smoke is a good thing or a bad thing.

The smoky haze which has hovered over the Valley from the Mile Marker 28 fire in Satus Pass joined the smoky haze from the Colockum Tarps fire to the north of us. Both fires are still burning, but more closely to being contained. The smoke made breathing more difficult, especially for those with respiratory problems. We were advised to gauge activities to limit exposure to the smoke.

Smoke and clouds combined to limit the view of the mountain.

 

A little smoke from the campfire just adds to the warmth and relaxation of the day--as long as it doesn't chase you no matter where you sit. Smoke follows beauty. Yeah, sure.

The best smoke!

Again I am posting early because I am really busy this week. The other Headbangers, linked in my sidebar, will have smoky posts and headers up by Wednesday afternoon.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.--Sunday's Psalm

 

from Psalm 90