and it's a new year... 2019

So how are you?

My word for 2019 so far is tired. The holidays were great and Christmas was lovely and now I want to put my feet up and have a cup of coffee and catch my breath.

My mom and my two brothers and their families came for New Year's Day. We had approximately 24 hours that we all overlapped to be with each other and it was lovely. We also met all the Esau's in Kindersley at a Canalta for one day and one night. That was wonderful. The hotel was almost empty except for our family. We rented a conference room and used the pool and partook of a lovely breakfast. I'd recommend it to anyone! We also spent one day and night at Pat's folks with Jeff's and enjoyed that too.

And in the midst of it all we pulled off a classroom reno at school. We deemed that the ox had fallen in the well the last Sunday of December and Rennies family and our family spent a couple hours cleaning at school while my mother took care of Wade and Wyatt. That way we could have our hours with our brothers guilt free while the others primed and painted the place. It felt monumental at the moment but I'm sure in a year we'll all be like, ya, that's what we did that Christmas. I also cooked one last day at the Villa and we are officially off that board. HUGE cheers and fist bumps and wait. We do love those people. And you know. It's just good to pass the mantle on.

Yesterday was our last school holiday. My  mom flew out at 7am. So her and I made the early morning trip to the airport together and I went home and slept another hour. Then I cleaned up approximately ten things, shoved a load of laundry in the dryer and another one in the washer and headed straight back into town with Colby and he got his drivers license. Last night was one of the first evenings we were home by ourselves over the holidays and it was wonderful.

I have no New Year's Resolutions. I have no New Year's word. But I do think I'll get up now and go have a shower. Maybe comb my hair.

Kitchen Knives

Oh, the joy of a lovely sharp knife in my kitchen. My most beloved knives are Rada brand, a rather common theme in our Mennonite circles. And my favorites of the Rada's are the black handled ones; the bread knife, the big slicing knife and the little paring knives. I really like the tomato knife too. And I don't like the Rada cheese knife. But there it sits in my drawer, with it's much preferred partners. I also keep a stack of serrated knives with plastic handles in various assorted sizes which we received for our wedding from one of Pat's friends. These are Pat's knives. He can cut the thinnest picture-perfect pieces of cheese with these knives. And I cannot. These knives do not behave for me. I keep them strictly for my husband man. Which are your favorite knives?

Oct 26 - Favorite things in your town.

I have to admit, I cheated. I read other blogs before I wrote this one, so I got a few ideas. The main thing is we do not live in a town. We live five miles from Swanson, which consists of a hamlet of fourteen houses, including our beloved Villa.

We live four miles from Donavon, which is another hamlet of the same amount of houses. This one includes the RM office and the fire hall, which, side note, our oldest has officially decided to join the fire department. We're proud of him. So ya, that's Donavon.

Then Delisle is about fifteen miles away and has two gas stations and the post office and best of all, the library. It also has the niftiest antique store and coffee shop which I peruse strictly to be with my friends. You all, this is a confession. I'm just not an 'antique' kinda person. I can buy those things and they never look right in my house. Except for the blue jars I got that I keep copious amounts of buttons in. Anyway. Ya. So Delisle is also the little town that Pat's folks moved to when they sold their farm and we love stopping at their place. My boys are so blessed to have a grandpa and grandma close.

Then Saskatoon is about a half hour drive away and that's where I would do all my shopping. And I do love to shop, unfortunately. The South Saskatchewan River runs through Saskatoon and there are neat trails to walk and ride bikes along. There are pretty parks to picnic at and little places like the Bulk Cheese Factory on Broadway and Homestead Icecream on Victory. And if you'd like a taste of the Native land in Saskatoon you could hang out on 20th. I wouldn't really recommend it but you should go to Waneskewin where the historical native stuff is. You could get in on a really Indian dance if you're lucky. We have the basics like Cabela's, Winners, HomeSense.

Oct 25 - Write about what's on your craft wish list.

• So first off, I would love to have a designated space for wood working. This is a craft I really enjoy doing and hardly ever do. My boys and I have made stuff together like this farmhouse bed pattern.
  
• So of course I would love a space big enough to create large wood projects. Ha.
• My delightful sewing and craft room truly supplieth all my needs plus. I love it. And because sewing is my main crafting area it is truly something I don't ever take for granted. If there's ever anything I need it's more fabric! I often window shop fabric online and I rarely, if ever, buy. It seems like I just can't justify those shipping charges! But then I go to the specialty quilt stores in town and the fabric I like costs just as much. So ya. Whatever. The majority of my quilting is done with Fabricland specials and castoffs from my grandma or my neighbor friend or leftover dress fabric. Do you buy fabric specifically for creating?

Oct 24 - What do you need to stop apologizing for?

I'm sorry I'm not writing! I just gotta quit saying that. I am so blessed to have a moment from time to time to write and even more blessed if I have a small inspiration.

So in the school of life for forty year old women I feel like I've officially graduated from grade six to grade seven and now it's time to step up the performance. It's likely time to say, look, this semester has no hieroglyphics. We're just full-throttle ahead in algebra and trigonometry, otherwise known as x or y for supper and which angle we're gonna take next.

One very random thought (should've been posted yesterday) is which can opener do I need? I'm very weary of cheap-o's that wreck after one try or elderly ones who skip three-fourths of the edge. I'd really like an electric can opener but even there, where do I start looking? Help.

Oct 17 - Write about your current favorite websites.

• Young House Love I've read this blog forever. I like their houses and copy different things. I like it that it's not heavy reading.
• Bower Power is another one I've read forever. If I have time I'll go check out these two. Funny that they're friends too. And I guess I like to read family stories. A boy family is an extra score.
• All Recipes is a go-to website I use to look up all kinds of food ideas. 

So... how have you all been keeping while I've been spinning my tires in all directions? Today I managed to snag the major book sale in between my vast and many deadlines between busing. I bought Pat a bunch of Ralph Connor books. I also squeezed in three quarter hour for Bertha Tea. The dear lady was not amused at our efforts. There was a birthday party next door which she would have much rather been at.

Oct 15 - Write about something you've been avoiding.

• Wyatt's bedroom closet
• Washing windows 
• Sugar
• The trimmer on the back deck
• Exercise, very unfortunately
• Writing ha

Oct 14 - Trust

Oct 13 - Share a quote

Oct 12 - Enjoyable sewing project

This. This one I did not want to miss. This is one of my favorite pastimes, my special space, my respite. Just basic dresses are fun. Or dresses with lots of detail if I have time. I love making potholders or quilts or bags or random things like a garment bag or laundry bag or slips or tablecloths. One thing I have sewed precious little of is little girly dresses. Most ladies can manage that.

One of my favorite bags I've sewed is this pattern.

Mine is in pinks and blacks and random splashes of color. I think it would make a good gift but I often don't have the time when I'm needing a gift.

This pillow was such a fun quick sew for Wyatt's baby room long ago. It's old and crumpled now, almost deceased but so very loved.

This is how I feel.

Oct 11 - Write about returning home.

I didn't realize until this morning (shows you exactly how on the ball I am with this whole writing thing!) that today's prompt comes on the day I plan to leave for Crooked Creek, my old home. I miss it so much. I love going home. I love visiting my mom and family.

This time I'm going home for my mither-mother's 70th birthday! Bren & I are driving together with Wyatt and Misty and we're planning on meeting Karen in Edmonton for night tonight. Tomorrow Ash and her kids fly in from North Carolina, the Lord willing. And we're all gathering for the festivities on Saturday and Sunday! So exciting!

Returning home has changed throughout the years. When we first got married I had years of angst preparing to go home. I focused a lot on my clothes, which I knew were never quite like my fashionable friends back home. Really, the hard parts then were finding my own direction while becoming like my classy family here and letting going of my ideas of how to do things. But always back home, the church smelled like church and the crowds mingled in the foyer and at Christmas there were pristine piles of snow and familiar faces and parties galore.

Then came the years of little boys and overwhelming tiredness and the grief of my dad dying and skinny days in unhealthy ways. But always back home, I found people who understood, people who remembered the grief. I found clover by the roadsides and tall spruce and tears of healing. I found old friendships and strong uncles and aunts and coffee at the old fabric store.

Slowly the hurts have healed and going home is not so poignant. When I go home I find laughter and youth I don't recognize singing in the programs and babies I hadn't heard about. The moms of my friends still hug me, the new church has no old memories for me and my friends and I point out our youth children to each other. It's different returning home now, because now I've lived longer in Swanson than I've lived anywhere else in my life. I've learned to like a smaller congregation. I've learned that there's good things where ever I live.

And I really can hardly wait to get back 'home-home' to my family of men. I will truly be returning home.

Oct 10 - What made today special?

sunlight dancing on harvested fields

kittens rolling and tumbling in play

savory ham chowder and hot biscuits

enthusiastic help of a five year old

family prayer for a lost book and

tears in the five year old's eyes

the smell of clean laundry and

piles of clothes ready to be put away

reading On The Banks Of Plum Creek

and everyone hanging an ear close

a long hot bath at the close of the day


UPDATE

lol, it's actually supposed to be unusual, not special
so here goes again

to town and back in just a couple hours (somewhat unusual)
shopped shirts with Wyatt and him and I do not agree about clothes
(this is becoming more usual, unfortunately)
cleaned out the garage (this Should be more usual)
piled the entrance full of pink party stuff (very unusual)
ate supper without Colby who was hunting
(unusual on a daily basis but looking at a whole year is very usual)

Oct 9 - What encourages you?

a smile from a stranger

honesty

happy children

my hubby coming in after work

prayer together as a family

politeness

being outside

fresh garden produce

consecrated youth

old friends

new friends

babies

grandpas and grandmas

our church

working together

Oct 8 - Addicted to something.

And so it is Monday. And it's Thanksgiving Day in this beautiful northern land. Pat's folks and Jeffs are coming for supper. I'm making ham, mashed potatoes and gravy and corn and fresh bread. Mom is bringing pumpkin pie and Steph is bringing a salad.

It's also almost snowing. A few flakes drift down every once in a while, the sky is grey and heaters are humming. I smell fresh northern air when the door slams behind the boys and ham smells waft all over my house.

What am I addicted to? I think someone else could see better than me.

(And then she kept going and didn't finish this or post it. Anyone else know what she's addicted to?)

Oct 7 - Hope

We spent our Sunday in Norquay at Derek & Ashley's wedding. It was quite a big wedding for their little congregation to host. Neither of them are super young, so they had lots of friends and congregations included in their celebration!

It was fun. It was good. It was tiring.

I got to be with Tracy for only a small moment, it felt like. She helped us clean up after the night before supper, bless her. We served 450 - 475 people at that supper. Like, Ruby had made all the food and planned and arranged everything but we were only four couples serving and we ran all evening.

We spent night at Richard & Natalie Goossen. We had never met them but isn't it wonderful that that doesn't need to hinder us? We enjoyed their hospitality very much. Especially the Sunday pants. My stars!! I had Pat's pants out and he told me he wanted to wear a different pair and I thought he was getting his pants and he thought I did. And so... an hour before the wedding started we realized that possibly we'd just go home and possibly he'd wear blue jeans to church and that's when Richard went and hauled out a pair of Sunday pants he'd just got. They were a big too long for him and that was the saving grace. Natalie and I laughed so long and hard. It was truly a very refreshing moment.

And so we went to the wedding.

I do hope I remember what I need to for the upcoming weekend.

Oct 6 - A Recipe

I'm all for the fall recipes these days. Like apple cake with ice cream and syrup and pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing and pumpkin muffins and carrot cake. Here's one of my favorite carrot cake recipes.

Stony Creek Carrot Cake

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups oil
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups coconut
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots

Mix first 8 ingredients, then add remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes. (I say a bit less) Frost with cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!!

Oct 5 - Outfit

Write about an outfit that you associate with an important event.

Nicole's Wedding Dress

Two years ago when Jodi asked if I would sew Nicole's wedding dress I glibly answered sure. I mean, I have sewed a number of wedding dressing in my day. I love sewing loops and fine work. Right?

Well.

The dress got sewed. And many stories can be told about the process. I didn't want to talk about it for the longest time. I didn't tell Jodi all the history for quite a while. And even now, I can laugh a little bit about it.

It started out with no pattern. And definite opinions about the pattern. It should have three scallops on each side, a sweetheart neckline, curving down into tight loops and miniature buttons. It should have flat sleeves with a curving sleeveline down over the hand and buttons and loops meeting on the inseam. It should have a wide belt with loops and buttons. And a straight skirt with no darts but fitted exactly over the behind.

So I hunted down a similar shaped friend who had just got married, borrowed her pattern and started from there. It worked.

The cream fabric was almost iffy with with seeing bra lines and panty-lines so I ended up lining the bodice and the skirt. And so eventually the dress was almost together, the loops all finished and only the finishing touches left. And then the first complication came up. I was on my way to Jodi's to get Nicole to try it on. Colby was sitting in the front seat beside me and the wedding dress was in a bag on his lap. We don't know how it happened but the bag tipped over and the dress fell out at his feet and the dear boy stood on the almost white wedding dress with his shop welding boots.

I took it home. I bombarded my mother, the queen of everything-laundry. I bought baby soap and fabric softener and spot cleaned that dress. It came out pure.

And then the second worry came.

The bodice did not fit the brides changing bosom line. Just a very small problem. The neckline did not sit flat. So I ended up moving the top five or six loops and adjusting the center two scallops and if you've sewed scallops, with lining, with loops. Well... it got done, many prayers later and looked good.

And then.

Girls, I was getting afraid already. Then, the unthinkable happened. As I was painstakingly sewing the buttons on a large snag appeared down the center front. Bold. Audacious. Defiant. I stared unbelieving. Do I start with a new dress? Could I make this work? Carefully, feverishly, I opened the side seam and between the lining and front I inserted a sharp needle and carefully, ever so carefully, hooked the offending snag from the back and worked it out. It was impeccable. It was a miracle.

And then.

Oh, yes, it goes on. The wedding day arrived. I had arranged with Jodi that I would run over there in the morning just to make sure the dress looked okay on the bride. This has never occurred before in my wedding dress escapades but this was right. Nicole got dressed. The bridesmaids fussed with their clothes and we all helped arrange and get ready.

All of a sudden Nicole came running down to Jodi and I, panic in her eyes. There on her bodice just above the bosom was a large red mark. Bright red. Juicy. Suspicious. We stared. What was it? I honestly don't remember in the panic and flurry of things exactly the order of events but it came out that Sasha (their foster girl) had just put nail polish on when she went to give Nicole a hug. I have no idea where the thoughts came from, except God. All I could think of was rubbing alcohol. We worked there together, Jodi and I, one hour before the wedding was supposed to start.

And the spot came out. Miraculously, it disappeared. There was NO TRACE of red nail polish on the cream colored wedding dress. It could only be a miracle.

My hands get clammy writing this. I haven't sewed a wedding dress since. I'm not exactly keen on doing another one, but God is faithful. He is gracious. He is bigger than all our needs. That I know.

(Please do not pass on.)

Oct 4 - Write about a humorous quote.

Apparently, why stop with one?

Oct 3 - Write about a way you relax.

I'm going to shamelessly back-post this month. Just a heads up.

I currently read to relax.

I used to have a long hot bath.

Or sew a quilt.

Or create something with my silhouette.

Or paint something.

Or build with wood.

But now I don't do anything but spin my tires. Or read.

Just saying.

Oct 2 -Write about a book that changed your life.

I'm just gonna quick list off books I've read lately and what I thought of them.


Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - This is a hard read. I'm slugging through because the black theme always intrigues me.


A Place Called Bliss by Ruth Glover - This was an easy read and enjoyable. It's the first book in a series called The Saskatchewan Saga and it's all about history in our little area. The one glaring fault is that the books are not well written.


Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten - All the cookbooks girls. I've really enjoyed reading these. There are lots of good ideas, lots of beautiful pictures and lots of really good step by step instructions.


Silent Tears by Kay Bratt - I haven't read it yet but it's a true story of a Chinese orphanage.


The Elsie series - I hated. I couldn't even finish one book.


Peace Like A River by Lief Enger - Very well written. Very hard to put down. The story is hard though, thought provoking.


Wild At Heart by John Eldridge - I had to return it before I was done and I'd like to borrow it again. It's a slower read but good insight to understanding men - which I am in need of. Lol!


And these are all just in the last while. I'm a speed reader and I love to listen to books while I'm walking or on my way to town or even while I fold laundry.


What have you been reading?

Oct 1st - What's a current favorite snack?

I'm going to challenge myself to writing before reading this month. So... here goes: a current favorite snack. Hmm. For me? For my men? For all the stuff and functions and yariva we've been partaking of?


In the last week I've made fresh gingersnaps and sliced cheese for a teacher coffee-break. And I brought Costco banana bread for a Villa board evening (just being real). And I made hot crab dip in a sourdough loaf for the teacher orientation night. And sent chips (only chip, horrors) to a youth function. And fed youth boys coke and chocolate bars late at night.


And as far as my men go, I've brought out cookies & cheese and crackers & cheese and cookies & cheese, etc. We have a pattern going there. Also, Gatorades and cokes.


But me? I like my coffee. And a spot of chocolate. And fresh salsa with chips. And pumpkin spice anything. And a little wee moment of time to sit down.

Unedited

So I will continue to write. Unedited.


And live my life. Unedited.


It is what it is.


There's so much happening. So much good. So much busy. So many duties that I can almost forget the little beautiful things that bring joy. Like today, I watched the gold leaves dancing on the highway as I drove to town again. The third day in a row. This time with a sick 'friend'. Yesterday I cleaned at the Villa in the morning and taught school for an hour and took my middle boy for a dentist appointment and new glasses and only time for two more stops and we all went to folks for supper with their company and then had an emergency school board meeting late at night.


And the day before that... I did a shop run for Pat and brought coffee to the shop and paid bills and see...? I almost missed the blue-blue-blue-blue fall sky and the geese honking overhead. And the smell of a five-year-old's fuzzy head and wobbly number threes with five bumps and the smell of roasted chicken when I walk in the door.


And how about my good looking fourteen year old inching past me in height. And the starry eyes of noisy grade three boys on the school bus. And a living room with pillows on the floor and games strewn around. And coffee with friends in between pulling pork for the next 'night-before' supper. And little boys with new shoes. And fluffy balls of kittens tumbling and tousling on the deck. And rows of jars in colorful shades. And on and on and on.


Maybe especially now I need to stop and savor, if only for a moment, the moment. This beautiful gift of today. This weariness of life at it's very best.

July - The Large Gulp of Summer

Summer days. Summer daze. It's all the same. We've had a lovely July. One part was a Klassen reunion at Deer Valley Meadows in Alberta. That was Pat's moms siblings and all the descendants.  Or I should say, almost all. That was great!


And then we came home to Bible School for Wyatt in the evenings, in which he consumed copious amounts of chocolate milk and cookies and proceeded to do his sleepwalking/peeing-in-the-corners thing. I think he enjoyed his classmates and teacher as well.


Also, we hosted a school reunion for Pat's classmates in Swanson. We laughed and listened while the classmates remembered numerous events. The classmates even had a volleyball game, just them, with their teacher. It was great to watch! They truly had so much fun together. The group singing Sunday afternoon was the cherry on top of the sundae, including the tears and emotions.


We've had delightful visits around the campfire, installed lights around the trees, mowed the yard and weeded garden, eaten green beans and canned and blanched the rest. We've held baby frogs and watched our mama cat swell to rather uncomfortable-looking proportions and watched the papa cat catch mice. We've walked the road on warm dusty afternoons and paid shop bills and gone swimming down at the river. We've petted baby coons at the neighbours farm, laughed at ground squirrels eating lime & black pepper chips with all the paw-licking after and eaten s'mores made over candles on the kitchen cupboards with friends. We spent days planning our annual camping trip to the northlands only to cancel out last minute because of the ugly forecast. We've read books and picked up toys and vacuumed dirt and listened to birds singing through the open windows early in the morning. We've even spent hours (Pat & I) side by side, in the middle of the night, vacuuming flood waters in the basement. We've stood together on our covered porch, watching the lightning and listening to the thunder crash and admiring God's greatness.


The best days.


These are the best days ever.


The ordinary work days and long summer play days and go 'til we drop days.


Sometime soon, I'm going to have to put on a new hat; a school board wife hat. I'm not sure how that is going to coincide with the Villa board wife hat. I've had a few moments of anxiety trying not to think about it. All the cleaning days in August and September. And the meetings. And the stuff....


And this doesn't remotely cover the work topic. We laid off our one last guy in June and just last week got a redeeming order. The prayed for work. We all have our times of drought, I know. We are so grateful for so many blessings that don't involve money.


I have this beautiful thingy that says: There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. That sums it up. So with these few thoughts...!

In real life I do a lot of philosophizing and theorizing. And pondering. I'm at home with my littlest man today and my better half just came in for coffee and to talk and as he walked out the door I was thinking...


How very lucky and blessed I am to love this man. And to want to stay here in this house with him. And how very content and happy I am to just be. To take care of my little family. To tidy and clean and cook and love them all in service. And all my blessings, like sewing and reading and gardening on the side. How happy and relaxing and easy life is most of the time. How a cup of tea can boost the morale and the most basic food on a pretty plate speak love and joy and thankfulness.


I'm sure you've all read about the Broncos bus crash which happened a couple hours from here. It's incredible how this tragedy has affected our area. Really, we're a very small area to have so much trauma. I've read the news faithfully every day and so many people are speaking out, showing love and care and concern. And talking about God and Jesus. The MLA in session prayed specifically for the immediate families and friends. The team pastor had a very touching prayer at the first vigil and told every to seek Jesus. He is the only answer. In a world where evil and ugly is rampant the beauty of truth shines like the brightest jewel ever. Like the MLA said, we come boldly before the throne of grace in time of need.


Choices bombard us every day. If we're anchored in Him, truth and love compel us forward with wisdom and discernment. We want to love people unselfishly. We give people the benefit of the doubt. We try to speak up when it would be so much easier to be silent. We choose thankfulness, joy, hope, love. And this is nothing of our own doing. It's only through Jesus.

IFF - What I've learned from where I'm from. (can be from age, stage, does not necessarily have to be a place)

I've learned that

• in a world that it's acceptable to be anything, the best thing to be is kind. So, help me, Lord.
• time and distance heal the bruises.
• when in Rome do as the Romans... it's safest.
• feeding teenage boys is lots of fun.
• it doesn't have to be perfect for us to be happy.
• everyone is fighting a battle. Even though I may never hear about it or see it.
• I love to travel with my man, even though I battle with flying.
• age is irrelevant. It's the soul's beauty that shines.
• the simplest cures are the best, like a good nights rest, a cup of tea and drinking good plain water.
• thankfulness is a choice.
• east, west, home is best.
• a good visit with a friend can buoy a person for a long, long time.
• my reaction to stress is a headache.
• I like warmth rather than cold.
• I am a very small part of the story.
• body language speaks much louder than words.
• the terrible difficulties bring forth the gold.
• God is in control.
• Jesus is the best thing that happened to us all.

IFF -50 Facts

1. i love citrus anything
2. i get lonesome for northern alberta
3. being pregnant was really really hard for me
4. i love my mom & sisters
5. i'm lonesome in a family of boys
6. i hang my dresses on matching hangers - lol!
7. i have this thang with shoes n boots
8. pink is one of my favorite colors - in all hews
9. i'm a real girly type of girl
10. i weigh 3 pounds more than i did all my youth life - which doesn't mean anything but it sounds good.
11. i take vitamins B&D daily
12. i love to walk
13. apparently i have a sweet voice - huh??
14. i can be really sarcastic
15. i lovety-love children
16. i love teaching sunday school and bible study - kids
17. i love teaching bible school too
18. i love to sing
19. my middle son looks and acts the most like me
20. i'm really good at organizing - even other peoples lives - help me. we're workin on this.
21. toffiffee and caramilks are my favourite
22. i'm so responsible it stinks - i really need to let go more.
23. i have a very hard time accepting help
24. i love houseplants - maybe even have a bit of a green thumb
25. baked cheesecake is thee very best
26. i'm so thankful my mom-in-law raised her boys to eat anything and help with cleaning
27. i'm always drawn to bold colors and designs
28. i'm creative
29. i have a hard time letting go
30. i tend to get angry instead of letting myself cry - not good
31. in the last couple of years I've read way more books than my entire life put together - but i'd say I've always loved to read. i read voraciously.
32. i'm a jumpy mom
33. i need alone time
34. i have the most darling sewing room
35. i will try something new almost every time i go out for a meal
36. i need to be alone to write
37. i have big round scroll-y writing
38. it's taken me years and years to find my place in this congregation
39. i love my dad and mom-in-law but i understand my dad-in-law better
40. i perceive way too much
41. quality time and acts of service are my love language
42. i like to skate and run and play volleyball but baseball?? forget it. i'll cheer tho!
43. +25 to +28C would be about perfect weather
44. my first miscarriage was twins
45. i did books in a welding shop as a youth girl and now i do books in a welding shop
46. i still dream of starting my own fabric and coffee shop
47. i walk for my mental health
48. pat n i would both rather spend money on traveling than eating out
49. i wore light pink for our wedding
50. i drink hot tea every day

IFF - A Love Story

The church basement was crowded with people, preparing for Jacee's sister, Bee's wedding. The lunch committee ladies bustled and flapped. The choir practice was in full force upstairs. The year was 1999. The month was October. Jacee fiddled with the brides tablecloths, arranging and rearranging while Bee and her man stood tall together, laughing and enjoying their day.


Jacee was unconsciously waiting. Mr. Brown was to arrive any time and they were going to be bestman and bridesmaid for Jon & Bee. The next time Jacee turned around three more youth guys had just arrived. She went over to shake hands and sure enough the tallest darkest handsomest one was Mr. Brown. She was instantly relaxed with him. He was shy. He was humble. He was just a safe, nice man. Whew. Jacee could now proceed with the weekend.


It went by in a blur. Mr. Brown and Jacee walked the aisle with Jon & Bee. They helped open presents and move dishes and number and arrange gifts. They chauffeured and arranged and talked and hung out. They moved gifts and sent the couple off on their honeymoon. And when all was said and done Jacee invited Mr. Brown over before the youth deal in the evening. He accepted.


Jacee went to Jon & Bee's reception ten hours away. She sang in the trio with a different group. She sat and visited with Mr. Brown. She even rode with Mr. Brown in his nice little white car to his parents place for a youth deal after the reception. Mr. Brown wasn't given to driving ladies around in his car and his mother and father seemed surprised at the happenings.


Three long months went by and Mr. Brown travelled to Jacee's congregation for another wedding. Mr. Brown's class buddy who also happened to be Jacee's favorite cousin married another very good friend. When Mr. Brown arrived at church for practice before the wedding he and Jacee met eyes in front of a group of good friends. Jacee was impressed. He was still solid, quiet and decent. They spent time together with lots of other friends. That night at home Jacee's father asked her about Mr. Brown.


In March Jacee decided to spend her week of school spring break with her sister Bee. Mr. Brown was nicer than ever, not so quiet, but with a lovely dry sense of humor. Jacee was frivolous and carefree. She liked to sing. Bee and her sang silly songs and Jon and Mr. Brown and the other brothers looked on in amusement.


Only a few days after Jacee arrived home from her lovely spring break her aunty (Mr. Brown's class buddys mom) died very suddenly of a heart attack. Mr. Brown and Jacee met briefly at the funeral. Jacee felt like he understood. He was such a kind gentle hearted man. Jacee also saw her oldest brother-in-law Blaine meeting Mr. Brown, another memory she held on to.


Only a month later Blaine was gone. The trauma. The pain. Jacee thought endlessly of Mr. Brown. She needed him ever so much. The days marched by. Jacee's fellow teacher got married. She was bridesmaid with no thought for anyone except Mr. Brown. And really, she had no idea what he thought of her. He was probably too nice to just not be nice to her, she thought.


Near the end of the school term, confused and hurt, Jacee went to her favourite minister, her best older grades teacher. She poured out her heart. "Mr. Penner," she said, "I've been asked to teach again in Hythe and in Heart Valley and Pincher Creek. My name came up to teach bible school in Georgia right after school is out and my name came up for Gallup. I don't know what to do." She looked at him tearfully.


Mr. Penner looked kindly at Jacee. "Say no to everything," were his kind and steady words.


Just a few weeks later Jacee's mother called her. There were two more days of school left but Jacee's mom wanted to meet for supper. "One last time before you're done teaching school," she told Jacee.


"I can't mom," Jacee told her. "I've missed so many youth deals here and there's singing tonight."


"You can miss it this time," Jacee's mom said.


When Jacee hung up the phone she sat down on her bed and shook like an aspen leaf. She saw her blue and white room, her backpack, her purse, her open closet door and braided rug on the floor where she had knelt so many nights.


Jacee drove to town to meet her folks at the appointed place. When she pulled up she saw her dad leaning against his pickup, his arms folded, watching her and grinning. Jacee jumped out of her vehicle, ran to her daddy, hugged him tight and said, "Tell me, tell me, dad!! Is it what I want?"


"It's what you want," he said. And the three of them walked arm in arm into the restaurant, blindly, tearfully and joyfully.

IFF - I Celebrate...

I Celebrate...




ice rink turning soft
and pristine snow piles
the fuschia sunrise
against charcoal silhouettes
a fat sleek grey cat
purring
stacks of fabric in bright array
books beckoning
a crackling fire


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Ugh. I've been in the doldrums. And too busy to think. Today is ANOTHER school holiday and I want to scream.


Just wait. Where's my vitamin D?

IFF - Thankful list for today.

• a school holiday. It was -43C [wind chill] this morning when we got up.
• lots of good books from the library, including a whole bunch by Richard Paul Evans, Gervais Phinn (sorry, I find them a little boring), a book about sewing bags (including patterns) and Miracles by Karen Kingsbury (52 devotional short stories. Probably one of her best books.) a bunch of books by Alexander McCall Smith (recommended by Sally Barkman), My Amish Childhood (recommended by Mich Klassen) and more!! Guess what. I was at a book party the other week. :)
• clean jeans drying on the railing upstairs
• heaters going full blast
• Colby and Zach working in the shop all day
• a triple batch of unbaked cookies (Aunt Maryanne's recipe)
• clean sheets (I'm a wash-em-once-a-week girl)
• six loaves of fresh brown multi-grain bread cooling on the cupboard
• a new French bread pan
• sausage n veggie soup for supper
• playing Search & Find with Wyatt
• our grey and white friendly cat (Tattoo)
• youth hockey game for the boys tonight
• talking with Arnie for a very long time today
• cutting out a new dress for myself with some beautiful fabric I got from Pat for Christmas
• a really yummy chilled coffee (THM)
• good discussions on my sibling chat
• reading Farmer Boy to Wyatt
• imagination - I'm not proud of this but I have to see the good in it. I saw the laundry basket, upside-down in the entrance today, taking a walk. A very strange sight. Very soon I caught on that Tattoo was trapped underneath. And then, horrors, he was tied in with Wyatt's Sunday belt. Like I said, surely imagination will be of benefit someday.
• my dishwasher, one of my closest friends

WW 25 questions

1. What is one of your favorite quotes? Any home can be a castle if the King and Queen are in love.

2. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?  Ironing shirts.

3. What is your favorite time of the day?  Maybe early morning. When Pat & Colby are gone to work and Zach and Wyatt aren’t up yet. Coffee and a sunrise…

4. What sound do you love? Fire crackling in the fireplace, melting snow dripping off the roof, dishwasher humming, little people singing.

5. Are you moody? Hmm.

5. When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass it?  Read, sing, talk on the phone, sew something fun.

6. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?  Knit and crotchet well.

7. What are 5 words that describe you?  Busy, Sensitive, Opinionated, Organized, Creative

8. Do you use salad dressing or mayonnaise? Both. Miracle Whip for sandwiches, Mayo for certain recipes.

9. What do you do when you are feeling very sad or depressed? Write out thankful lists, call someone, pray, sing, read a book. Like one older lady said in Sunday school, ‘Do violence to the flesh! Make yourself do something for someone else. Make yourself think about something else. Read a book. Exercise. Make sure you take your vitamins and get enough sleep. And be thankful.’ I say, thank you, Rose.

10.When company comes for night do you like them to strip the bed in the morning or…? I always appreciate it if they do but it doesn’t bother me if they don’t.

11. What is your favorite song?  I’ll Give It To Him,  Him That Cometh Unto Me, Just As I Am – I Come Broken, Did I Mention His Love, He Gives The Power, Keep On Walkin’, Island of Joy….

12. What is your favorite Bible verse?       But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.                                                  

13. What can you tell us that very few people know about you? Oh, dear me. I’m a very open person. I don’t know if there’s much that people don’t know about me. Except. I probably share different stuff here than in ‘real life’. Like everyone in ‘real life’ knows that I just got my braces off and I probably haven’t told you that. And you all know I love to read but that’s not something I announce to people… ‘Hey! I read voraciously!’ or better yet, ‘I love to write!’

14. Do you use Cool Whip or whipping cream? Whipping cream. I keep one tub of Cool Whip in my freezer for emergencies.

15. Do you treat your family nicer than you treat other people?  Maybe.

16. What do you do with your towel and washcloth when you go away?   Hang it over the edge of the tub or shower rod if there isn’t a hook or towel bar.

17. Do you find it easy to look people in the eye when you talk to them? Yes

18. What percent of the time do you know where you are spiritually? Most, almost 100%.

19. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? …crotchet or knit.

20. What aspect of gardening do you like? Pouring over seed catalogues, ordering seeds, tilling fresh smelling dirt in the spring, marking rows, pulling the little weeds and then skip a few months… I lovety-love-love the harvest. Running out for a fresh tomato or lettuce or snacking on carrots with a tiny bit of dirt on them and the delicious smells of earthy dampness. I love the time I spend by myself in my garden with just trees and earth and sky around me and the occasional deer jumping because I scared it or someone calling for me and knowing they should just run to the garden to find me or knowing I can spend an hour out there in shorts and a t-shirt and no one will see me. I love love love standing back and seeing tidy clean straight weeded rows after a long afternoon of weeding. I love bowls filled to overflowing with green beans and rows and rows of canned goods on my pantry shelves.

21. Are you a black and white person? So, if we’re talking about colors we like, absolutely, black and white over cream and brown. If we’re talking about convictions, I think I’m black and white.

22. When you talk to others do you remember to ask questions about themselves or their family? Yes

23. When your children were/are in school, how often did you check in with the teacher to see how things were/are going? I don’t know. Lots. We’re quite open with each other.

24. What makes you feel most loved by others? Time. Coffee together. An invite to get together. Talking together. When others can share their hardships or whatever with me.

25. Tell us your height 5’8”

       The color of your eyes blue-ish grey

       What kind and color of hair you have Straight brown, thin, poufed a little bit in the front, greying on the sides.

IFF - Sell me your machine.

I have this love affair with my induction-top stove.


First off, I'm going to have all the excuses out in the open. For many years I lived with a very basic coil-top stove and one redeeming feature was that that stove, plain and simple though it was, was brand new when I got it as a bride. I loved that stove and cooked many a meal on it's lovely coil top. I realize that most of you have likely had an induction-top stove for many years. Also, I hesitate to sell you my machine in the embarrassing possibility that I would sound like a bragger, or better yet, think I know everything there is to know.


Okay, now that I got that off my bosom I will proceed.


I really, really love my induction top stove for these reasons:

• Pretty much anything that boils over just wipes up clean.
• Water boils a time and a half to two times quicker than any other stove.
• I can make cream soups hours before they need to be served and switch on the 'perfect simmer' button and they never burn on or boil but are perfectly hot whenever we want to eat.
• You can adjust the heat and it changes instantly and holds it at that temperature.
• The stove heats only where you place your pot on the element. (It's magnetic.)
• The stovetop is cool enough to touch as soon as you take off the pot.
• You can even cook with a piece of newspaper between the element and the pot for instant cleanup, say when canning or making salsa.

There are so many things I love about my stove but there are a few cons, too. One of them is that it takes magnetic pots to work. I got my stove on a promotion when they were giving away a set of pots for each stove, so I'm good there. Also, so far I haven't found a nice big pressure canner that works on an induction top so I've done my pressure canning at Bren or at church and I've done as much canning as possible with the good old-fashioned boiling water bath. And when I've been canning and had all four burners on at the same time I've had a couple times when a couple burners will automatically shut off, as if it gets too hot.


So yes, I would definitely recommend an induction top stove and I would definitely get one again.


What kind of stovetop do you have?

WW hatch(ed)

{WW} hatch(ed)

 

Of Chickens & Eggs

 

We have never owned chickens that have hatched their own eggs but we have enjoyed laying hens many summers in a row. We’ve bought ready to lay hens from Anstey’s Hatchery in Saskatoon and another little hatchery just north of the city and a couple times from a nice sized farm close to Warman.

 

Hens are easy to care for. They need fresh water and food once a day and if a person is really punctual and feeds the hens at the exact same time every day they will almost always lay one egg a day each. We found that the Isa Brown hens were the mildest and calmest of the birds available to us. The plain white hens were jumpy and flighty and fought with each other and the Cornish hens were even more so.

 

I liked to buy the special laying hen feed from Early’s Farm & Garden Center. Sometimes I mixed in other grain and sometimes we just fed them the basics and a lot of times we gave them our slop, which they loved. Did you know a group of hens will fight over one piece of lettuce?

 

Very quickly hens will decide where to lay their eggs and keep on doing so. So, when one hen laid its egg in the feed box one of the first mornings I was not surprised to find an egg there every morning all summer.

 

Hens are good pets for families who don’t own animals. They teach the children responsibility plus they provide food for the family. Little children feel so good about themselves when they are old enough to carefully bring in a basket of fresh laid eggs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really love chickens and eggs but I have this problem. I think this is possibly one of the most boring (as in written) articles ever and then I got asked to send it to H & H. How in the world would you dress it up? Or change it?

IFF - And then the doorbell rang.

IFF – And then the doorbell rang.

 

It was one of those days for Mrs. Brown. She arose early to bring Big Boy Brown to work at the chicken farm by seven. She had barely arrived home and taken off her boots and was standing in her spacious entrance with the many large windows watching the sunrise when lo and behold, a large pickup drove on the yard and straight up to the door where Mrs. Brown was standing.

 

Now under normal circumstances Mrs. Brown would first of all possibly still be in bed at this hour. She would also generally comb up her luscious ten brown hair before taking callers. Also, Mrs. Brown is at her best only after a nice hot coffee and maybe an egg or two not to mention a tiny bit of time by herself.

 

And then the doorbell rang.

 

Mrs. Brown can rise to most occasions and this was one. She opened the door in her friendliest early-morning manner and invited a laughing, rather loud, rather friendly and rather stout man inside. He laughed and he talked and he bellowed and wheezed.

 

Mrs. Brown laughed too. She invited Mr. Sheeter in for a coffee while she politely excused herself to call Mr. Brown.

 

Mr. Sheeter told jokes and stayed by the door, stomping his feet and talking full force.

 

Soon Mr. Brown came inside and joined the hubbub, laughing and telling stories, too.

 

Mr. Sheeter stayed on. At the door. His hand rarely left the door handle and story after story poured forth.

 

Then Baby Brown’s door slowly opened and he peered out, clad only in his shorts.

 

Mr. Sheeter talked on.

 

Middle Boy Brown arose and Mrs. Brown fed him breakfast and helped him with his lunch.

 

Mr. Sheeter joked on.

 

Mrs. Brown drank coffee in the other room, listening to the thundering and guffawing and occasionally cracked a smile herself. She sent Middle Boy Brown out the door to school and told Baby Brown to get dressed.

 

The hours marched on and just like that Mr. Sheeter opened the door made his boisterous exit.

 

It had been, indeed, a unique morning.

IFF - A day in your life told from someone/something else's point of view.

IFF – A day in your life told from someone/something else’s point of view.

 

I’m washed and clean and ready for Mrs. Brown when she comes down the stairs early in the morning with her eyes barely open and her hair sticking in all directions around her face. Mrs. Brown grabs me first like usual. She stuffs me under the Keurig spout and presses the button for 6 ounces of hot water and then another 6 ounces. I’m so used to it. She fills me to the brim and dumps in her ‘mushroom’ coffee, like Mr. Brown calls it and stares out the kitchen window. Soon she adds a bit of cream and her fingers relax as she lifts me to her mouth.

Mrs. Brown sits for a little bit at the table and stares at her planner book and drinks the coffee but pretty soon she’s up and the kitchen smells like eggs frying

and I’m certain I’m forgotten. Once again.

 

The Brown boy, that oldest one, is long gone these days, before his mama. The middle Brown soon gets up makes his lunch and combs his hair. He’s pretty careful about his hair, that one. Every day he makes sure Mrs. Brown checks to make sure it’s sitting just right and I can tell by the look in her eye that she’s proud of him but sometimes thinks it’s a little over the top. I just sit here at the table with the cold coffee and listen and watch. Bible reading, prayer, goodbyes at the door and all of a sudden she looks at me again and promptly puts me in the microwave. Once again. Like I’ve said, it’s pretty much the same every day. I know Mrs. Brown even if no one else does.

 

Sometime near noon, after she’s talked on the phone and written in her book and started the laundry and mixed up cinnamon roll dough, I’m empty and put in the dishwasher with all the other dishes. I’m special but not too special for that. Things are humming and sudsy and clean in there but I can hear her talking to the Baby Brown and feeding him. I heard her tell someone on the phone this morning that he’d had shots last Friday and wasn’t feeling very good. She does spoil him a bit but I can’t help liking Baby Brown myself. He laid so close to the dishwasher this morning that I heard him clearly, singing ‘For there is therefore now no combination down in my heart’. Mrs. Brown laughed and I’m positive we all did too, in here.

 

And goodness, the smell in here. I don’t think Mrs. Brown has made cinnamon rolls for years. She said something when she took me out of the dishwasher and filled me up again about going out to the office with me and the cinnamon rolls. I think she was talking to Baby Brown but I always listen. She said one of the Villa men was coming for coffee and sure enough. I got to be there. I’m special like that.

 

I’m quite sure she made a trip to the Villa today. It’s not every day she does that but quite often. I’ve never been there myself but I’ve heard enough about it that I’m sure she loves those old folks and at the same time overwhelmed. I mean, who wouldn’t be. Today she said something about cleaning out one suite and that Mr. Brown was maintenance man now and he had to fix the fire alarms that have been ringing night and day.

 

Later this afternoon I laughed with Mrs. Brown she did her jumping jacks and exercises. Ha, ha! I watched her eat that cinnamon roll too. She’s guilty, plain as day. And just like that she put me in the dishwasher again with all the other stuff from making bread and supper and stuff. Either I’m in or I’m out and that dishwasher is constantly on the go.

 

And just like that Mr. Brown is in and the older Brown boys and supper is served and I’m forgotten. It’s okay though. I know she’s busy with them and they are more important cause she told someone else that no matter what her men came first.

 

Now I’m perched by the Keurig again, ready to go for the morning. I can see Mrs. Brown sitting in her favourite chair with her computer on her lap, typing away. It’s dark outside and Mr. Brown just built a fire in the fireplace and Baby Brown is kinda grouchy. I heard her tell Middle Boy Brown that Baby Brown had a fever again. Mr. Brown is reading a book in between tousling with Middle Boy Brown and Big Boy Brown is looking at his phone again. I know he’s pretty excited about his very own phone. He parks it right beside me every night before he goes down to bed.

 

So, ya. The bread’s cooling right in front of my nose and that lamp on the shelf above the dining room is shining down on us all. Mrs. Brown likes the cozy stuff, for sure. That new throw is wrapped around her feet and Baby Brown is perched by her side again begging her to read. Must be bedtime soon.

WW Nifty

{{WW}} nifty

January 5, 2018

 

The new year has arrived, full of glistening prospects, empty day planner pages and a white snow-covered yard. Life is full of hope in January.

 

After the Christmas rush is over I’m excited to scoop the Christmas cards off the window sills and stuff them in the deer-head gift bag with my beloved stack of letters. I clean up the hot chocolate/coffee/tea and candy bar, wash the red and black quilted runner and put the candies safely in the pantry. I scrub and clean, organize and sort, declutter and trash. I choose to only leave the mantel full of greenery and deer sheds, red buffalo plaid and stars and my huge chalkboard with the words Wise Men Still Seek Him.

 

I water plants and plan menus and next weeks sewing dinner. I putter and tidy but the lovely holidays of puzzles and games and food and friends are over and it feels rather nifty.

 

I’m not one to make resolutions or pick one word for the year or plan fifty things to accomplish in the new year. But in my own way I choose the hope, the joy, of a clean page, a new day. Yes, I choose joy.

 

A list of JOY

Snow glistening, sparkling

Hot coffee with a swirl of cream

Clean, newly lined cup drawers

Clean & organized cutlery drawer

Homemade yogurt

Wyatt’s love of Little House On The Prairie

A lovely, working colour printer

Lamps glowing

Wyatt telling me he’s making it beautiful in here

A tumble of colourful washi tape on the marble counter top

Straight neat stitches

Messy coloured pictures on the fridge

Opening an empty dishwasher

Just Blowin'

Sometimes I just want to write the burning awful truth about life. The grr, the bad, the scary, the worry. Oh, don't worry, I have sometimes done that and regretted it. But I do worry that the 'blah-blah-blah' perfect life posts make me lose friends.


Who wants perfect friends? Certainly not me. I have enough perfect people in my life. I mean. {cough} There will always be those amongst us whom we don't understand and try us to the utmost, right? I hear myself training myself when I tell Zach how to deal with the boaster and the mean guy and all those things. Come on, Jo. Just let it go, too.


So, there. There are times in my life of great uncertainty. The biggest challenges I seem to face are battles with myself.


How are you doing today?

Happy New Year!!

Well, December has come and gone once again, with all the programs and gift exchanges and family gatherings and turkey. I love Christmas. I love the celebrations. But I'm always so excited to clean up after Christmas and get back to our own little schedule and just live.




We had super cold weather over Christmas with lots of -40C wind-chill. We used our fireplace constantly and drank lots of decadent hot drinks and cozied up under all the throws and blankets that we keep rolled up in a huge wicker basket by the fireplace. We didn't do any travelling in Dec except one very quick trip to Linden the second week of Dec when we went for the big Klassen gathering. I also ordered 'skadoodles' of books from the library for the month of December. We all read and read and read.




I think this was possibly the most low key Christmas we've had, ever, concerning gifts. The children didn't do gifts at school, so it was just a gift for one teacher, Mrs. Boese. And we didn't do gifts with Pat's family except when Alex unexpected came and spent 3 weeks here we all ended up giving him gifts, namely clothes. We did buy Pat's folks a gift though. And then my family didn't get together this year but mom came and spent 10 days with Bren and I. We did give each others families one game and we each got mom something. Then my own little family picked names again with the intention of doing something nice for who we picked each day until Christmas. This got rather humorous by the end! And we did $20 gifts, so nothing huge. It was good.




We got lots of socializing in, too. That's something we miss when we go to Crooked Creek at Christmas so this was special. We had supper one evening at Wendel's with Rennies and my mom. The boys went skating that afternoon too. One evening we had Arlen's and Justyn's over to play games and eat rich food. We had our special Ukrainian friends over another day. And New Year's Eve we went to Shanes with Ed & Cheryl and Arlens. It was just good. So good, in fact, that real life and work and school was a welcome sight to this weary mama.