Christmas at the Gas Station

I have been supremely BAD about updating my blog this year, and for that I apologize. My goal for the upcoming year is to become re-inspired by the creativity that lurks within me and start sharing what I create; even if it is NOT perfect.

For those of you who happen upon my blog; THANK YOU for visiting. I am a regular blog stalker of many and find so many hours of joy and inspiration from each of you. Thank you for SHARING!

As Christmas is fast approaching --- I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry CHRISTmas and a HAPPY New Year. May our Lord bless you with good health; much love and laughter and a joy that shines through you like a beacon in the fog. God Bless you.

I received this from my mom and KNEW I had to post it to my blog.

Please read and send on to your friends, while thinking about your plans for this coming Saturday evening.


The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate.

He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through. Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy, I'll just go." "Not without something hot in your belly." George said. He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're done, there's coffee and it's fresh."

Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me, be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front.. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away. "But Mister, please help ..."

The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone.

The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought.

George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on. "Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car anyway.

As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me."

George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. "Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance." The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car."

He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area." George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked. "None for me," said the officer.. "Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.

"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.

"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt." The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!"

The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to the cop, "we got one too many in here now."

He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pea shooter away." George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can." He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer." "Shut up and drink your coffee " the cop said.

George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. "Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer. "Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?" "GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man. Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran."

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. "That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued. "Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job." The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?" Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks for everything."

"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems." George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day." The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you." "And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories. That's all I need."

George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours." The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too," George said. "Now git home to your family."

The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good." "Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you come from? I thought you left?" "I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?" "Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was gettin' a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry.

The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.

The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists.

The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself.

"That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man." George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man. "Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again."

The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room. "You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus"

This story is better than any greeting card.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS!

Now clear the lump from your throat, blow your nose, and send this along to a friend of yours or someone who may need a reminder as to why we celebrate Christmas.

THE OLD PHONE

THIS WAS ONE OF THE 'GOOD OLD DAYS' WHEN PEOPLE REALLY CARED ABOUT EACH OTHER


When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in
our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the
wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too
little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination
when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an
amazing person. Her name was 'Information Please' and there was
nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's
number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while
my Mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench
in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was
terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no
one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my thro bbing finger, finally
arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the
footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing climbing up; I
unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.

'Information, please,' I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

'Information.'

'I hurt my finger,' I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily
enough now that I had an audience.

'Isn't your mother home?' came the question.

'Nobody's home but me,' I blubbered.

'Are you bleeding?' the voice asked.

'No,' I replied. 'I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.'

'Can you open the icebox?' she asked.

I said I could.

'Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,' said
the voice.

After that, I called 'Information Please' for everything. I asked her
for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was.

She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had
caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called,
'Information Please,' and told her the sad story.

She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not
consoled. I asked her, 'Why is it that birds should sing so
beautifully and bring Joy to all families, only to end up as a heap
of feathers on the bottom of a cage?'

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, ' Wayne,
always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.'

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, 'Information Please.'

'Information,' said in the now familiar voice.

'How do I spell fix?' I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I
was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed
my friend very much.

'Information Please' belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.

As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle I had about a half hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown Operator and
said, 'Information Please.'

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well!

'Information.'

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please
tell me how to spell fix?'

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, 'I guess
your finger must have healed by now.'

I laughed, 'So it's really you,' I said. 'I wonder if you have any
idea how much you meant to me during that time?'

'I wonder,' she said, 'if you know how much your call meant to me. I
never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.'

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

'Please do,' she said. 'Just ask for Sally.'

Three months later I was back in Seattle a different voice answered: Information.' I asked for Sally.

'Are you a friend?' she said.

'Yes, a very old friend,' I answered.

'I'm sorry to have to tell you this,' she said. 'Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.'

Before I could hang up she said, 'Wait a minute, did you say your
name was Wayne ?'

'Yes.' I answered.

'Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.'

The note said, 'Tell him there are
other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.'

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Whose life have you touched today?

Why not pass this on? I just did....

Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for.
Life is a journey. NOT a guided tour. So don't miss the ride and have a great time going around. You don't get a second shot at it.

I loved this story and just had to pass it on. I hope you enjoy it and get a blessing from it just as I did.

(I received this from my mommy today. It touched my heart and I had to share it on my blog.)

To the Moms of the blog-world -

My good friend Deb sent this to me. That she thinks I am an awesome mom is a total compliment. Seriously. Deb is an AWESOME mom! She was a mom when most of our friends weren't even thinking about raising a family. Deb was blessed with 4 wonderful children, all of whom are equally blessed to have her as their mom. Just as I am blessed to have her friendship.

I am placing this on my blog in the hope that others will read it - I read many blogs (see the right hand side of my blog for a list) and each of you are amazing women who live life with heart and soul. This is for you.





Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby..
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

Send this to someone who you think is an awesome Mom.

May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life

Stampin' and loving it!

I've had a little time lately to spend in my craft room. I have been doing some cleaning, and re-organizing to make better use of the space. Obviously being more organized and having my favorite supplies at my fingertips makes craft time more productive. And, more productive means more fun, right? Right!

Here are a few of the cards I have made recently. The quality of the photos is horrible. I really should use my camera or scan the cards and not be lazy and snap photos with my cell phone.

This first card was made on the fly just before I had to run out the door to a baby shower. My friend Kim is going to be a grandmother. The grand baby will be born in May. The baby's parents are Kim's son Ryan, and his adorable girlfriend, Cara.


Cara is not into pink; she likes sweet and old-fashioned with natural colors and bold accents. This card was made with Kraft card stock, and the paper pack from the Sell A Brations catalog. The colors fit the nursery just about perfectly: certainly celery, deep rich burgundy, and the naturally gentle rich warmth of the Kraft card stock.

The next card I started when Mom was here a few weeks ago. It is a swap card for the wonderful yahoo group: SU4Me. I love the girls over at SU4Me. They are an amazing group of talented and warm hearted ladies. We are not your typical yahoo group - we are like long time friends connected via our Internet connections.


Norma is our swap moderator, and she posted the "polished stone technique" swap. I was so glad she did! It is one of my favorite techniques. I love seeing all the different ways the ink and alcohol blend to create wonderful background colors. I used shades of blue and a silver metallic ink with mine.

Speaking of SU4Me, Sue-Lynn issued a challenge to our group. She sent those of us who were up to the challenge an assortment of card stock pieces, buttons, chip board, and a cute little clip. We had to use 6 of the items on a card. My embellishments were a cheerful orange, and with the help of my daughter and the cat, this card is what I came up with.

Thanks Sue-Lynn! This was a great challenge, I loved created with the items you sent.

This picture is obviously NOT a card. This is Harley. He is the craft room supervisor. It is his job to make sure that everything is being put to the best use possible.

Of course his idea of best use and mine differ. I think the table is best used when I can spread out and use all of the table for my supplies.

Harley is certain the table is for his comfort and relaxation. He loves to stretch out and take a nap while I attempt to work around him. Because he is totally adorable, has a great purr and is a wonderful cat, he almost always gets his way.

While Mom was here she and I had the opportunity to spend some time in the scrapbook room. I wanted her to have the chance to enjoy creating some cards she could share with her friends.

Mom is active with the hospital axillary, and this year she is the Sunshine chair person. As such, she frequently sends out cards to people in her community. Mom likes bold dashes of color mixed with subtle simplicity, so we created cards that reflect her sense of taste and style.

Where did the week go?!?

Wow! I am not sure, but I think this week flew by faster than last week did. Time flies ....

Last weekend Mom was here and we had a great time! We were on the go most of the day Friday. We started out by having lunch at the Pita Pit (fresh and healthy!) The weather was warm with a nice breeze so we ate our lunches out on the patio while we shared a great conversation. Then we headed off to Walmart to gather flowers for my grandmother's grave site. We found the best flowers! Bright and cheerful colors. Grams loved bright colors, and these were orange, pink, white, yellow and vivid purples.

After we left Walmart we ventured down to South Sacramento. We decided we wanted to see the house Grams had lived in when I was a young girl. The house is in the Lemon Hill area, off of Stockton Boulevard. We had tried to find it by memory the last time Mom was here, but we kept getting turned around. This time, I had found the house on Google, and we were armed with directions.

Looking back to my childhood years, I remember Grams house as being a large, solid square of a home that sat on an over-sized yard with acres of green grass. My mother and my brother Randy used to mow the grass weekly, and it took hours for them to do. I would play in the house with my Grams, or sit on the back porch steps with my dolls and pass the time of day while they did the yard work.

There was a little parking area for Gram's car off the the right of the property and beyond that a small duplex. Out in the far back left there was another small house, but I was never allowed to go out the the house in the back. It was too far away from Grams' house, and she didn't really know the people who lived there. I did visit with the people in the little duplex, they were both older couples like my Grams and Poppa.

Grams house was always well cared for and had a clean, strong scent of pine sol, Ajax and spray starch from the hours of ironing she did. No one could iron like my Grams. Her kitchen always smelled delightful and she always had something scrumptious for us to nibble on. I have fond memories of the house and yard, and the times our family shared there.

Fast forward back to the present day (about 33 years since Grams lived on the property.) The property is actually no more than 1/2 of an acre in size and completely and totally over developed. Besides the tiny little house at the front of the property (the house Grams lived in that I remembered as being a lot bigger!) and the duplex to the right, there is now an additional duplex in the back right corner, a row of 4 apartments that from the outside look like they are no bigger than a small hotel room, an over sized parking structure that is falling apart, and another square dwelling which looks like it was intended to be housing, but looks vacant. The entire property is over grown, depressed and in shambles. The are yard cars, refuse and other items strewn about. Sad, very sad. Thank goodness for memories!

After our visit to the old property, we went to the cemetery to share some love with Grams. She passed away 2 years ago, just six weeks before I turned 40, and she would have been 100. My birthday was on the 17th of March, and hers was the 18th. She used to pretend she was mad at me for not being born on her birthday.

Mom put the beautiful flowers on Grams grave site, and we spent some time chatting "to" Grams. My Grams was a wonderful woman, and we miss her very much. I know she is watching over us.

After visiting the grave site, we headed back into Roseville. We stopped at Costco and enjoyed an afternoon of tasty samples and stocking up of yummy treats and good things to eat. Then it was home for dinner, and time to teach my Mom how to play Wii.

Mom quickly got the hang of the Wii and enjoyed bowling. Let's face it, Wii is hard not to like. What a great way to have fun and interact with your family at the same time.

On Saturday Mom and Manda ran a few errands, then we all met for a delicious Chinese food feast. I was able to spend some great time with Mom in the scrapbook room, where I helped her to create half a dozen hand stamped cards. Mom is the Sunshine chairperson for the hospital auxiliary this year. As such she sends out greeting cards to those who are ill, lost a loved one, celebrated a birthday, etc. I thought it would be nice for Mom to be able to send out cards she herself had created. She and I had a great afternoon creating cards!

On Sunday we met my niece Kayli in Auburn for breakfast. Kayli has just moved back from Oregon, and it was great to see her. She is adorable, and a wonderful, caring young lady. While we were enjoying breakfast and wonderful conversation, Mother Nature delighted us with a beautiful snowfall that dusted the landscape but did not stick to the ground. So pretty!

The weekend went by entirely too fast! Before I knew it, it was time for bed on Sunday night, and back to work on Monday.

Now it's Friday again, and I can't believe it. Hope you have had a great week!

Happy Friday!

I am so excited!

It is Friday!
My Mom is here!

Need I say anything more? I am so happy, it is Friday, my mom is here and we are going to spend a totally wonderful weekend together.

Have a great day!

Get ready for a whirlwind!

A whirlwind of activity .....

November has traditionally been one of our busiest months of the year, and this one is going to be very much the same. Usually by now we are neck deep into the activities and stress of the dance world with extra practices and costume fittings and the general hectic pace that for some reason tends to surround the dancers at this time of year. But, since Manda decided not to do "Company" this year and focus her fancy foot work on tap and Tap Company - life isn't as driven by dance as it has been. Don't get me wrong, it's still busy just not as.

However, for every dance class that Manda is not taking this year, there is a club or activity to take its place. She has embraced life as a high school student, and is trying to enjoy each moment to the fullest possibility. She is not a "party" "social" girl - she is an involved girl. When she is not on campus for regular class time, she is on campus for Teens for Humanity, Link Crew, A Teens and a few other clubs that I can not remember at the moment.

Next week starts a hectic calendar of events that include:
An over-night babysitting gig
Manda's fourth driving lesson,
My mom's arrival to share in the occasion of Manda's 16th birthday,
A fund raising dinner at Jon's Incredible Pizza,
An extra tap class practice (Manda is looking forward to that, she LOVES tap;)
Dinner with the family for Manda's 16th birthday,
A Sylvia Besana Holiday Parade practice with the Stars and Little All-Stars,
Manda's actual birthday,
A Mock Trial meeting
A Teen Peer Court trial (it's only 2 weeks away and she still does not have the client details)
A Stampin' Up! workshop
Kim's birthday
Jill's birthday
The Sylvia Besana Holiday Parade
taking Manda and her friends to see Twilight
Manda's DMV licensing test
Thanksgiving
putting up the tree for Christmas
getting my handmade cards done and in the mail
starting the baking for Grandma's butter cookies .... yum!

Mmmmm! Delicious!!!!!!!

My Mom was here yesterday for a lightening fast visit. While she was here we went to lunch at Lenny's (our favorite sub shop) then ran a few errands, picked Manda up from school and went shopping at Mom's favorite clothing store Cristopher & Banks.

For dinner Mom us this really delicious, very tasty Minestrone Soup.
The house smelled divine while she was slaving over the stove; but even the scent of the cooking soup did not do the flavor full justice.

This is a recipe we will be using again. It was not hard to make, is good on a budget, is pretty healthy and is nice an filling with out leaving you feeling bloated. I can not wait for dinner tonight, we are having left-over soup!

After dinner last night, Mom gave us our anniversary present: A beautiful lamp which tucks behind our couch and has 5 over head "light streamers"
It's a beautiful piece of furniture in and of it's own right, but together with my living room, its stunning!

Thanks Mom for the love, the laughter, the illumination of our living room, the books and of course for this wonderful soup!

Minestrone Soup

Get everything ready first, then put together

3 Sweet Italian Sausage links, casing removed.
(Used potato masher to flatten and separate while browning.)

4 Thick slices of bacon chopped. (I used scissors to cut about 3/4 wide.)
Combine with and brown with the sausage.

1 Small onion (I used yellow)
5 cloves of garlic chopped, add to meat just before it's browned.

2 cups sliced carrots:
Add to the meat after it's browned, cook a few minutes; then add

1 cup chopped celery and cook few minutes more.

Then in large pot:

1 can diced fine stewed tomatoes in basil. (I broke mine up with my fingers.)
2 large, plus1 small can Swanson chicken broth

Add the following ingredients to the above and then cook till the veggies are almost done,
( I used low heat after adding everything. )

1/4 of a head of cabbage, chopped

4 cups of sliced zucchini--about 3 small

1/2 bag of fresh spinach, used scissors again to chop up

Salt & pepper (to taste)

Italian Seasoning, just about 3/4 teaspoon

Cook till everything is done then add:

1 can sliced potatoes, diced up

1 can cannellini beans, drained (if you can not find cannelloni beans, used white beans)

1 cup small elbow or tubetini pasta cooked

Cook till the last ingredients are heated.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese and French bread