Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

I'm witnessing an absolutely gorgeous sunrise in rich pinks with our spruce trees as a silhouette. 

Pat just left for AB and Zach for Jeff's place. I have a marathon before me, as in cleaning my house. Because, we are actually planning Grandpa's funeral for tomorrow, the Lord willing. 

This last week has been a blur of good food, late nights and reading together as a family. I've always dreamed of a Christmas holiday like this and it was lovely. 

But I'll just whisper it, I really miss people. It's kind of hard to imagine that we need to go walk through Walmart to be with people. 

Anyway, have a great day! This writing a letter once a week thing was a great challenge for me and I thank you for it! 

Love Jo

P.S. Trevor came out for the funeral and Wyatt is mesmerized by him.

P.P.S. Now we're reading Old Yeller aloud together. 

P.P.P.S. Our basement bathroom has white tub-surround again. After a lot of elbow grease.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Good morning from the snowy plains of Saskatchewan. The sun is barely up in muted hazy tones. Its a lazy Christmas holiday feel around here.

My Christmas cards are draped across windows on jute twine and the coffee bar by the dining room window is well used. I just watered the giant poinsettia basking on the old singer sewing machine. Wyatt and I have a 1000 piece Cobble Hill puzzle going in the living room. 

We finished school on Friday with a party and food from Saskatoon. Pat, Jeff and our boys finished the casket (I spent a day helping line it with black and red buffalo plaid). On Sunday the school board met in the teacherage basement for a time of bonding over flood waters. 

I'm so excited about these two weeks, even though we still have a funeral on the horizon (maybe Dec 31st). We ordered a deep fryer and ice-cream machine with Christmas gift money (from Grandma Isaac) and we're living the life!

So grateful for you, 

Love,

Jo

P.S. We're reading Where The Red Fern Grows aloud together late at night. 

P.P.S. Zach helped me mix a giant batch of Christmas Coffee. 

P.P.P.S. Colby made a doughnut hole cutter. Guess what's in our future?!

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

It's a chilly evening. The heaters are blasting. The thermometer says -13C but the weather app says a windchill of -19C.

What a year this last week has been. Grandpa Esau passed away peacefully on Sunday after a week of poor health and a sharp decline. He had been told in August that he had congestive heart failure and that he had 6 months to a year left. Somehow it feels shocking. Only a week ago I was kneeling by his chair feeding him blended up lentil soup. He didn't have the strength.

Last week felt gloomy and overcast every day. In reality Grandpa's life hung in the balance. And so did Ben Ginther's. So working together with Paul's and Jeff's on the school board was... heavy. Ben is feeling better, praise God. Grandpa is safely home, praise God. 

Imagine our surprise to find out only yesterday that Grandpa tested positive for that ugly word. The phonecalls that ensue. The weight. The no funeral. The quarantinement for some. The aloneness for grieving people. The joy that Grandpa's battles are over. 

But let's talk about other things. Jay's came to visit us Sunday evening. Linda brought us soup and biscuits today. Nicole and Isla came to stay with Arlens. I guess I'm always circling back.

I did books today in the shop. And wrote out Christmas cards. And Colby and Zach went to Jeff's to help build Grandpa's casket. There. I did it again. 

I guess its where we're at.

Love

Jo

P.S. Grandpa used to sing with a group, a quartet in Linden and they called themselves the Groaners. 

P.P.S. The day Grandpa went to Outlook on the ambulance he waved to Pat and I and said, "I love you". It felt like goodbye. 

P.P.P.S. Wyatt brought me a little toy chest on Sunday evening. He had wrapped a dead fly in a kleenex and put it carefully inside.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

It is a glorious warm winter day. +2C and for a moment when I was busing this afternoon the sun shone in glimmering splendor over the world. The clouds have bonded once again and the grey envelopes the long late afternoon. 

Grandpa Esau has been quite sick, with a terrible cough, no appetite and a general feeling of misery. This afternoon he perked up when the ambulance came to get him and some of the grandchildren waved to him outside his window. He told Pat & i that he loved us this morning when we left. Only God knows what his future holds. 

Colby and Zach have been working for Jeff the last week, north of Saskatoon a ways, doing long days outside. Pat has been on the truck hauling grain into Alberta and coal back to Saskatchewan. Wyatt is so happy to go to school every day. There certainly are things we don't take for granted!

Love from,

Jo

P.S. 'Tis the Season; peppernuts, mandarins, poinsettias, and Christmas candles. 

P.P.S. It's the Most Wonderful Time... of the year....🎵🎶🎵 shopping Christmas gifts for everyone at Trevor and Robin's request. 😅🥳🥰

P.P.P.S. Tell me more about Christmas... from the eyes of little children and school children. It is truly delightful.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Today I started a tunic factory. Its not something that's ever been on my list of things to try but I did enjoy it. I've already closed the doors. I think we made 24 tunics. 

That was for school. They are putting on a Bethlehem Walk and believe me, there has never been anything like it before in Swanson. I'm looking forward to it. 

Other than that we've been providing a bit of compassionate care here and there. Last night our neighbor boy stopped by for supper with many questions on his mind and heart.

The weather holds out at possibly the most beautiful November ever, with hoarfrost and snow and glinting sunshine.  The one thing our youth can do is play hockey. So that is what they do. 

I met my fellow Quacky Quilters at church today for a time of fellowship, although we should really call ourselves the Band of Bonding Masked Bandits. 

I miss you, 

Love Jo 

P.S. Wyatt was carefully reading the licorice package. "This has 30 gigs of sugar Mom!" He said, horrified. 

P.P.S. Wyatt opened his report card carefully. "Mom, I've never got this in all my life!" His eyes glowing.

P.P.P.S. Colby got a call to a bad accident last evening and he finally got home about 5 in the morning. I'm immensely proud of him.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Hello from snowladen and hoarfrosty, foggy Saskatchewan. The other day Wyatt and I cleared the back deck and now he can go running the length of the deck and slide out onto the snowpile.

We are down to only 5 people per household, but our school is still going for which we are very grateful. I got a sewing day around at church last week and now our church sewing got canceled. Its disappointing but I guess we're getting used to changes, aren't we?

I delve into domestic things randomly and one thing I tried lately was making bar soap. My men were keenly interested in the scientific aspect of it all. I cut my soap into bars and its curing in my laundry room. 

Pat has been hauling grain to Edmonton and coal home again. Colby and Zach have been doing 12 hour days on a cementing project for Lance the last couple of weeks. Good times. Every spare moment they have the youth boys have been flooding the rink. I love love the stage we're at with our boys. The food consumption is truly phenomenal. 

Love 

Jo

P.S. Have you made soup lately? The Potatoe Soup recipe from the Klassen cookbook by Vivian is one of our favorites. I made a giant pot of it last week. 

P.P.S. And talking about food, my husband took me out for dinner on Sunday and I ate steak with delectable roasted tomatoes and onions on it. Mmm 

P.P.P.S. Food. Ahhh. Excuse me, its time to go make lunch.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Hello from snowladen and hoarfrosty Saskatchewan. Wyatt and I went out after school today and cleared the back deck and now he can go running the length of the deck and slide out onto the snowpile.

We are now down to only 5 people per household, but our school is still going for which we are very grateful. As far as I know our congregation is mostly well.

Today I went to Melanie's for coffee with the schoolboard ladies. And we planned and discussed and it was suddenly 12:45! And I went grocery shopping on Monday and I hadn't gone for over 2 weeks so it was a haul! 

I delve into domestic things randomly and one thing I did yesterday was make my first batch of bar soap. My men were keenly interested in the scientific aspect of it all. I just cut my bars and set them in my sewing room to cure. 

Pat has been hauling grain to Edmonton and coal home, last week and this week. Colby and Zach have been doing 12 hour days on a cementing project last week and this week. Good times. I love love the stage we're at with our boys. The food consumption is truly phenomenal. 

I miss you, 

Jo

P.S. Pat took me out to Montana's for lunch the other day and I had the best fish!

P.P.S. Melanie served steaming tall bran muffins with real butter and coffee with cream. Yum.

P.P.P.S. You know how food blesses and satisfies along with the fellowship? We had Lindsay and her parents over for supper on Saturday and just plain grilled sausage and baked potatoes and old fashioned cherry cheesecake. And fellowship.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

I wish I could show you our glorious world this morning. After a blizzard yesterday the sky is clear and grey with small streaks of cream and pink in the east as we wait for the sunrise. Everything is calm now. The vehicles and bikes are layered with a thick icing of snow. 

Inside our house the heaters hum and everywhere are signs of family life; blankets and cushions strewn about the living room, empty coffee mugs and books and toys.

How blessed we are to have a home, a sanctuary to go to. Just us. Gathered together. Where we can say how we feel without fear or favor of man. Where we laugh at our own jokes. Where we talk about hard things. And teach good things.

The boys have been working in Outlook this last week on some cementing jobs but yesterday already work was canceled because of the storm, as well as school. Well, this morning at 7 Colby flew out the door to a fire call and Pat left shortly thereafter to the same fire. He's not on the fire department but Jason called and asked him to come.

And so a new week starts. Here's wishing you courage and strength for whatever you face. 

Love 

Jo

P.S. Its one year since Aunty Rosalee died. And what a century its been. Aren't you thankful that she's safe at home?

P.P.S. I'm also thankful that you are feeling so well despite the fact that you have Covid. And that you can be safe and cozy in your own home with all your children only a WhatsApp away.

P.P.P.S. Talking about home, can you smell the coffee? Its waiting for me.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Tuesday has morphed into Wednesday. Its a warm-ish fall morning (+1C) and our yard is green and grey and brown with no sign of snow anywhere.

It was truly delightful to be with you on the weekend, short and sweet though it was. The long roads to and from crooked creek were made short by listening to stories and singing. The huge empty road from Edmonton to Crooked Creek, edged by gorgeous forests of spruce and pine and larch and layered with white was a balm for the soul. 

Little Vienna Beth is as beautiful as I imagined. And time spent together with Lar's and Ryan's was relaxing and good. And then attending church in Crooked Creek with the whole congregation and no masks - well, what more can we ask for. Thank you for the lovely weekend. 

Today is a sewing day for me. Pat and Zach just left on the truck. Wyatt just left on the bus. Colby goes to work for Jason soon. These are the best days, the normal, basic ones.

Love

Jo

P.S. Last time we went to the Villa to visit Grandpa he seemed to really enjoy the boys catwalking his wheelchair down the hall. Zach catwalked the whole length with Wyatt riding on his shoulders and Colby catwalked and balanced the wheelchair all the way backwards, stealthily and slowly, landing on the floor. 

P.P.S. Zach also is into catwalking his dirtbike down the road. Or the yard. I think he's done about a quarter mile at one shot. I prefer to not watch.

P.P.P.S. Talking about catwalking, Colby has taken to catwalking the skidsteer. He sort of dances with it, with the forks way up in the air as high as they'll go. Its a catwalk-y world.

Tuesdays With Jo

Mother Dearest,

We woke up to the most delicious blanket of snow this morning! Its the first of the season and we delight in the clean white coverlet, although it is melting swiftly. 

This has been such a good week. I almost feel like whispering, but we have been home. So many days. The teachers came for supper on Friday. I had food made, thankfully, when they called (which is nothing to sneeze at). We helped with church cleaning on Wednesday and the youth helped with church cleaning on Friday. And Val invited us over for supper on Saturday because I bought an old recliner from her on the Swanson Sisters Buy and Sell Chat! I feel like that should be highlighted. As in, the buy and sell chat. 

Oh and Sunday was our stay-home-from-church day. We went to Saskatoon for coffee in the afternoon and picked up pizza for supper at folks with Jeff's because folks just got home from Ontario. 

When there's not as much on the schedule I tend to bomb out a bit. Its so good to relax and read a good book. Or play endless games of Rook with Wyatt. Or sew a mini-quilt or two. Or watch our little Polly kitty play. We all adore her antics.

Love 

Jo

P.S. I just found a cup of "home-made paint" in my sewing room, courtesy of Wyatt. 

P.P.S. This week I found a cardboard box with another cardboard box taped on top with red tucktape. And a little boy hovering over arranging dogfood in a blue plastic shop container. For the cats.

P.P.P.S. I also found a small wooden box with fishing magazines (from Colby) and crow feathers and a brain quest game and colored modeling clay and a scissors and a notebook and a C-.clamp in it. In Wyatt's room. Just saying.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Happy Thanksgiving! Its a wintry morning; ice on vehicle windshields and a biting wind, but the grass is green and the blue-blue sky promises fall once again.

It has been a week of socializing for me. Last Wednesday I went with Am to Bow Island and back (yes, all in one day). We held baby Isla and talked and rocked. It was lovely altogether. 

Our teacher, Lacey, had her family out for the weekend so we hosted a fun group Saturday for supper; Rennies, Jeff's, Chris n Mik and Lacey and her family. We had an absolutely gorgeous day, topping out at +26c. So we ate outside and sat around the fires in the evening. It was so so good to see Shani again. And it was so not good that Pat smashed his thumb badly just before all the company arrived. He thumbnail bed stayed intact but all around popped like a grape. It was and still is rather painful. Other than that and a moment when we thought our dogs were attacking Bennett it was a relaxed evening as well. 

Then Sunday we went to church. And on our way home Pat said let's swing past the Villa and pick up grandpa who was enthusiastic indeed. And then on our way past Sergio (the Ukrainian who works for Darc Loewen and has lived in Canada for 4 months) Pat wondered if we should swing in there too. And I was very grateful for the ham in my crockpot and sweet potatoes in the oven and leftover dessert. They stayed all day. And the boys invited Gil and Ed for the evening. 

Yesterday at 5:30 this vehicle drove up and here it was Aunt Ellen and Gil Chaisson and Grandpa and yes they would stay for supper and I was so grateful for two casseroles of leftovers that everyone deemed edible. And then Nathan came for the evening.

Today I worked in the shop with Pat. Just him and I. The boys were both working and Wyatt at school. We had a lot of fun stamping rods and packaging and counting. And singing. The shop echoes delightfully. 

Love 

Jo

PS Have you read the book Northern Nurse by Elliott Merrick? Its worth it. 

PPS I bought Arabella by Georgette Heyer on Audible. Now its on my list to acquire in paperback. You must read it sometime. 

PPPS Wyatt unearthed a Shel Silverstein book that I knew not about. He reads it and laughs and laughs and makes us all listen to the funny poems he's found.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

We had a colorful sunrise silhouetted behind the spruce trees this morning, golds and pinks against the black. Its hard to believe that it's October. The geese are starting to fly south. The other morning a flock of grouse landed on our lawn while passing through and the juncos are back. 

Sunday was our turn to stay home and it was so perfectly lovely outside. We took our speaker out and set up lawn chairs and listened on the deck. The boys brought Polly (short for Neopolitan) (the baby kitty) to the deck and we encouraged a time of bonding with the dogs. It was busy. We told the boys this was just a small idea of how much of the message you hear when you have a baby on your lap in church.

Life has been full; a Quacky Quilters day at Melanie's, a board ladies meeting to plan hot lunch, a meeting to mactac and stamp school books, a special-ed meeting, a birthday party for Alison, Sunday dinner at the Villa and a very lovely coffee with my dear sista. Then youth deals and singing and youth meeting for the boys. And the last supper with Jason's to celebrate harvest being done. Yippee!

Zach and I went to town one day. He can drive now, you know. Sometimes being a momma of teenage drivers feels very brave indeed. But he did well. And he found jeans that suit his fancy, which is something else to be thankful for. 

Love 

Jo

P.S. Wyatt now knows how to spell dagger and chimpanzee and Wednesday, thanks to Wordly Wise.

P.P.S. Wyatt received an Encyclopedia set (used, from Aunt Margaret) from his grandpa and grandma, at long last. 

P.P.P.S. Wyatt built a miniature house with a box he found. He  taped everything together with duct tape and made multitudes of windows. He sharpied a kitchen inside with me by the counter and even taped up a flashlight to read by. He barely fits in it but its a favorite spot.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

First off, I'm So stinkin' excited about these two brand new baby girls in my life!! Larry & Diana's little Vienna Beth was born on the 22nd and Justyn & Nicole's little Isla Saige was born on the 27th. I've shed a few tears of joy. Also, I got to go to a little New Grandma party for Jodi. And of course, I got to chat with you about Vienna. 

In another vein altogether, we've had a few crazy fiascos with coyotes here lately. Our dogs are quite the pair. Two different evenings this week they've got hold of a coyote and harassed the life out of them. Well, technically Colby shot the first one and Zach the second. But when Colby proposed that he'd help Wyatt shoot the third, should it perchance come around, my motherlyness overcame me and I said no. 

In the thick of all the things last week I rashly decided that it was time to clean out my closet, repaint, buy many baskets and cull the old clothes. Things are vastly improved; I just need to hang the shelves and put things away. Oh, and get another light fixture. Something other than the bare bulb hanging in there.

So there's that. And because everything is basking in the open spaces in our room, I decided to try on my running-away dress. It still fits (only because the style was so big and baggy) but mother!! The sleeve heads are ginormous!! And the shoulder pads an inch thick! And ooh, I laughed so hard! I wish I could have showed you!

LOL

Jo

P.S. I don't think I've evered mentioned any 'bird-disease' here. I just want you to know that I have a very odd red spot on my eye. It makes me feel special. 

P.P.S. More bird disease; I am sporting a large bruise on my leg from a hockey game (in my basement) I watched a while back. I consider myself an endangered species. Even told my boys so.

P.P.P.S. I hope its not too much to note that I have also taken up doing jumping jacks. The bird-disease related to this is personal.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Good morning from the land of living skies! It's a perfectly gorgeous morning here, the sun glinting off the windows, the dew clinging to the tramp and the carpet of leaves thick on the grass. Autumn is boldly showing us its best.

I'm not going to tell you how busy I've been because reading back makes me tired even though in actuality I fly along in enjoyment. Today I'm making vegetable juice with tomatoes, onions, peppers and carrots from my garden. I got started on this years ago (a recipe Jodi recommended from kitchen treasures) and we Love using this juice in soups and casseroles, etc. And it adds such a homey fallish smell to the house. 

Also, I've been itching to get to some quilting and sewing again. The other day I realized that I'm subconsciously waiting for these two precious babies to be born, Diana's and Nicole's. 

We were at Arlens on Sunday and Brianna showed me the quilt she'd made for Nicole's baby. It's beautiful, triangles done in greys and a harvest green. They don't know if it's a boy or girl but Brianna is quite sure boy. 

Pat says harvest is about 60% done. He and Colby are fixing machinery this morning for Jason and heading out as soon as it dries off enough to get combining. 

Zach is busy helping Jeff with log work which is not his favorite but is surely growing perseverance and integrity in him.

Well, with these few thoughts I'll  close.

Love 

Jo

P.S. Wyatt is busy looking things up in the Encyclopedias in his spare time at school. 

P.P.S. For example, Jerusalem, vipers and fighter jets was just one days find.

P.P.P.S. Wyatt is now allowed to borrow books from the main school library and he is in his glory. He told Miss Esther he wants to read about history. And animals.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

The leaves are yellow and orange and the nights are crispy cold. Empty fields are polka-dotted with golden bales. Tractors and equipment rumble by long into the night. 

We ran a bit of a marathon this week, nothing serious. The first week of school is officially under the belt. Grandpa Esau spent the week in the hospital and our family all had the sniffles. I went to Cindy Unruh's one morning for coffee with Bren. And one hot evening we were invited out to the field for supper with the crew. One highlight was having Reece and Kale Isaac stop for Sunday afternoon and night. The youth and Rennies came for supper. Then after the boys left in the morning I headed to Delisle with a group of ladies and girls and we washed windows and cleaned house for Aunt Margaret Fehr. We ended up going for a late lunch together at Subway. And then we had board and teacher meeting in the evening in which I was responsible for lunch. 

I sometimes feel like I live and breathe food preparation. So one of my friends messaged me yesterday and said she'd made chocolate cream cheese cupcakes and could she send them for board meeting? I'll admit I got tears. I'm so grateful for lovely friends!

Also, we've had some really great laughter lately. We enthralled Aunt Margaret with tales of Lacey and Marci's program they got going Sunday evening with the youth. Lacey is a grand actress with an overflowing imagination. 

Today I'm resting on my laurels. I made BLT's for lunch for my men (yes they are All home) (except Wyatt) with tomatoes from my garden. I fried bacon while listening to the quartets from Sunday and I feel rejuvenated. I also got the cinnamon rolls on pans and cleaned my kitchen. 

Here's to another lovely autumn week! Courage to you and yours!

Love

Jo

P.S. Why do my cinnamon rolls rise so high and mighty in the centers?

P.P.S. We consumed at least 10 bags of chips in the last week. I say we loosely, it involved a lot of people. But still.

P.P.P.S. Viv just messaged and said she wants to bring us pizza for supper, a late birthday gift. How can I be so blessed?!

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Its been a week. One of those that go by in a flash and you wonder what just happened. It's officially fall. The trees and my perennials were hanging full of icicles this morning after our first killing frost. -3 was our thermometer low.

When I look in my book it's as blank as my brain. But I remember a few things; driving Grandpa Esau around the field one evening watching the huge harvest moon rise over the horizon, teachers over for lunch, an evening with Carrie,  orientation meeting with the teachers and board, a day spent at school, a Ukrainian friend over for most of Sunday.

My house is a mess but it tells a tale; entrance immersed in tomatoes and peppers and gourds in varying degrees of ripeness, baskets of unfolded but thankfully clean laundry, books and puzzles and pillows littering the living room floor, an arrow here, a hockey stick there and the smell of wood stove smoke permeating the air.

Today is our first day of school. Subconsciously I've been holding my breath, wondering and waiting. Its been six months since those halls were lined with boys and girls and today I got a catch in my throat.

LOL, (that means lots of love, you know)

Jo

P.S. Some kind soul dropped off a nice big pan of banana bread.

P.P.S. Pats mom brought our boys a giant 1000 piece puzzle. 

P.P.P.S. Audrey picked 2 pails of strawberries for us and they are the best tasting we've had all year.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

It is such a chilly fallish day. We've had a few fires already in the fireplace. Yellow leaves dance on the green grass and the potato plants have withered to nothing. How can it be September already?

This last week we went camping at Saskatchewan Landing with Dee & Tina and their family. We had lovely weather and thankfully a few trees to shelter us. The ground was crispy brown and we weren't allowed any fire. So we cooked our meals on the corn cooker base and huddled around the propane fire in the evening. It was surprising when the washrooms were suddenly closed (the second day we were there) 'due to covid'. Thankfully the showers a ways away stayed open and they had toilets as well.

Wyatt got a twig/sliver stuck in his scalp when we were camping. We did minor surgery between Pat and I but ended up taking him to the doctor yesterday to get the remaining wood removed. Dr. Slavik dug around without fear or favor of man. He did eventually (after manly tears) get a needle yo freeze the area. He wasn't sure if he got it all out (the sliver). And Wyatt wasn't sure there wasn't still a needle in. Traumatizing is the word.

Spencer and Morgan spent part of yesterday and today at our place. The boys had many an exuberant game of mini hockey in our basement; Colby and Spenc against Zach and Morgan, with Wyatt ref-ing over the loud speaker. And shall I mention the backflips on the tramp, dirtbiking the jumps and four-bying the pasture in the jeep with the top pulled off? And the food consumption of manly boys is very rewarding. 

Grandpa Esau came home from Linden with an extremely sore back again. Apparently I am the only person who can convince him to take his advil and tylenol on a close schedule. I have a new lot in life.

I must get back to my back deck where the corn is languishing, husked and ready to boil. 

Love,

Jo

P.S. Wyatt and Maverick did bummer-wars from Wyatt's dresser onto his bed and broke it (the bed) in multiple places. 

P.P.S. Wyatt and Maverick made mushroom soup out under the tramp with chopped up grass and dandelion greens and mushrooms and water. But they didn't eat it.

P.P.P.S. Louise DeVeer and Velma came for a surprise coffee last week.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

I am a little overwhelmed today.  Maverick is here. I'm mixing cinnamon rolls. I'm doing books  in the shop. Folks stopped for my corn cooker and the fertilizer spreader and iced tea. I ran to school to measure windows for Miss Lindsey. And its now 11am or like Colby would say, coffee o'clock. 

It is just fabulous to have my boy back. He is tanned with a charming short haircut. He talks fondly about Quesnel and work in BC. He helps me vacuum and take the meat off the grill and clear the table. One big change I've noticed is that he now drinks coffee. And not just any coffee. Fresh ground Moonshine beans french-pressed. 

This last week we've cleaned the teacherage, had folks and uncle Regs over for Sunday dinner, partied at Jay's with Merles, shopped Saskatoon, hosted Jeff's and Quinton's for nightlunch, canned peaches,  made peach jam, had Rennies over for supper/farewell/welcome and Pat has been full-fledged into harvesting for Jason.

Sometimes, like today, I take my treasured coffee cup and go sit for just a couple minutes on my back deck. My flowers are feeling tired, the crickets are chirping, the humming birds whiz by. But today, this moment,  is glorious. Its warm and beautiful and I'm thankful for so many things. Sometimes it makes my eyes water. 

Love, 

Jo

P.S. Those serene mamas that I used to admire? They were just tired. Now I know.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey,

Another gorgeous week in August has passed us by. I'm sitting on my back deck with my  THM Good Girl Moonshine. Wyatt is doing flips on the tramp. The sprinkler is going in the garden. The crickets are chirping. And its +30.

We had a real whirlwind of a week; almost pre-Covid feeling. It was simply delightful to be with Karen and Em and Trish. And then Ryan & Arlene and family joined us too. Something like that just can't be planned. It was special. 

I turned 41 on Sunday. We went to church with our group (3) and groups 1 and 5. Pats mom invited us for dinner with Grandpa Esau. And then we went to Saskatoon and met Keith & Deana and their boys and biked along the river in the heat and ordered in pizza for supper. It was still +25 at 9 in the evening when we left, so we drove along Spadina, along the river, with our windows open, listening to the music vendors along the way, watching people ride and walk and bike along the river. Zach said it felt like Florida or another country all together. We finished the day with blizzards from Dairy Queen. 

I've got many lovely gifts and well wishes this year but possibly the best was a three-way call from Arnie and Char. We talked for almost 2 hours!

Pat and Zach are helping Jason with harvest today and Colby will too when he gets home (Only 6 more days.). 

Well, I just got informed that the bucking bronco show starts shortly and I am supposed to watch. 

Adios,

Jo

P.S. I washed my windows in the basement and in the procedure came face to face with frog eyes peering at me out of the dirt in the window well. It was rather disconcerting. 

P.P.S. I dug potatoes the other day and also dug up a squishy dusty frog which blinked at me lugubriosly. I am having frog trouble. 

P.P.P.S. Would you believe this? I heard something in the garage the other day and here it was this Giant frog hopping placidly along. I am abjectly adverse to frogs. I just developed this in my old age.

P.P.P.P.S. Frogs pee when they're scared. The end.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

It has been another delightful week in summer. This last week we went from the hot plus thirty days and nights above 20C to cooler evenings, crickets chirping and caragana seeds popping. I am always a little sentimental about fall.

One evening we had our neighbors, Rudi and Cindy Dueck and their four children, over for supper. I did my typical company meal which is grilled chicken (marinated in white sauce this time), baby potatoes with toppings (garden potatoes this time), corn, lettuce salad (I did the BLT one) and oreo dessert (I don't have a set company dessert 😅). I truly don't mean to have a company menu. Its just happened enough times that I tend to make fun of myself. 

I've canned 24 quarts and 32 pints of beans this last week. Do you think that will last us for a year? I hope so, as I have now lost interest and have given away the last picking. I used my pressure canner on my corn cooker on the back deck. That is some fast cooking! I can do two layers of pints in there, so 16 jars at a time. 

I am absolutely thrilled that your dear daughter Karen and her two dear daughters, Em and Trish, are about to arrive in the land of living skies! We are hosting a mini teachers prep here tomorrow and Trish is coming to attend. I shall immerse myself in much sisterly-ness.

Are you interested in the school cleaning evenings, the food prep, the shopping days for the aforementioned? I kind of think not. And so I shall close this epistle. 

Love, Jo

P.S. Wyatt has been asking for an Encyclopedia set to read.

P.P.S. Only 1.6 more weeks until Colby comes home.

P.P.P.S. I have been thinking a lot about Genevra. I imagine her with dark hair, blue eyes and a huge imagination at age two.

Tuesdays With Jo

Dear Mother Jaskey, 

Wyatt is cuddled in under my left arm reading the Adventures of Bobby Coon. Zach is reclining bareback on the couch. The flies are buzzing and my house is actually cooling down. Pat is gone for night, on the truck, hauling coal from Edmonton. 

Yesterday we got home from folks after camping for two nights in their backyard (definitely a story for another time) and our dogs met us with mouths full if quills. It consumed most of our day removing them, including a dose of relaxant from our neighbor Merle. They are a subdued pair. 

I've been working outside these days, trimming trees, fixing sprinklers, spraying weeds, picking beans. Every once in a great while Pat n i have a moment on the back deck and install another railing post. We are excited to announce an estimated finish date of June 2032, in which case we hope to have all the family down. 

I have been thinking about making a baby quilt for Diana's baby. Do you think she has plenty already and would prefer something else for a gift? 

Also, what makes King Tut turn brown? Could it actually be from neglect or lack of water? Asking for a friend. 

Love, Jo

P.S. Tonight Wyatt announced at the supper table that the Lord willing, Zach was going swimming with him tonight. Surely God understands. 

P.P.S. Are you serious about getting a letter from me once a week? My life seems awfully humdrum at times.

P.P.P.S. Will you write me back?

P.P.P.P.S. I love you

Blogging 101

Are you all going to start blogging again? Now that we have so much time on our hands? Ha, ha.

I'm loving, loving, loving having my family home around me. This is absolutely amazing. Almost magical. With a whole lot of real involved.

We're lucky people to have a large 'harvest' on our hands. Our shop is hopping busy, all hands on deck. So we truly are not going squirrelly together in our house. My men are being fed exotically, ((cough)) I mean, we're having a lot more fresh cookies and bread and buns than usual. I'm also spending an exorbitant amount of time in the shop answering phones for Pat so he can occasionally do some welding.

This week is officially spring break but the plan is to keep having school at home next week. Wyatt and I set up a neat little spot in the office. His desk is against the coffee table. We hung his school charts along the west wall close to the whiteboard. I write shop lists on the whiteboard, fill out the shop calendar and then I have the alphabet lined up neatly along the bottom. We also found a file shelf in storage and have it in the corner of my desk, one file for finished books, one file for spare-time projects and one file for tests and answer keys.

I have lists and lists of things I want to accomplish in the next while, lists that exist only in my head. We have books and books and books that we would like to read together. We have things to finish and fix and honey-do lists galore. We shall see. Yes, we shall see.

We've only had one day so far in which it appeared that some of us were quite and altogether housebound. That was on Sunday. But we went for a ripping drive in our pasture, where nary a soul is, usually. We saw a few people and quite easily kept on social-distancing.

Talking about social-distancing. My husband says he's been doing this all his life. Ha, ha. Me? Only sometimes.

What are you making for supper tonight?
What books are you currently reading?
What's on your to-do list?
What's on your fun project list?

If I have time, I hope to update often here.

Supper tonight: Fresh buns made into ranch burgers, veggies & dip, chips, fresh cookies
Books: Just finished reading A Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright - my family loved this series!
To-Do List: Make chocolate syrup for chocolate milk
Fun Project List: Sew another bag or quilt

P.S. We're living a history lesson, am I right? I'm thinking about writing a Covid-19 diary.

Poetry Day

One cousin messaged on our chat this morning; Today I'd like to invite everyone to write a little poem on any topic. Must be two lines or more....

Here's what I wrote first:

Colby and I are home today;
He got bit by the coyote-trapping-fray.
I'm teaching him knots and stitches too
As he stretches the hide and heals the few
Little holes in the luscious fluff.
I could bury my head in the fluffy stuff.
But coyote fur? I back away...
A mother's job is hard some days...

And then later this:

Keep 'em coming. Write, she said.
And so she stopped and scratched her head.
Should she write about how much she'd consumed?
Of coffee; hot, flavoured and bloomed?
Or should she write of her laundry room?
Where pile upon pile of laundry loom?
Sheets from company, blankets from sick,
The piles are growing, but not so quick,
As the few weeks when the fevers and colds
Spread like spots on grandfather toad?
And underneath the loads and piles
She finds the sewing spread miles and miles.
The quilt she started in twenty-nineteen,
Cuddled up close to her old machine,
The box for home-ec class piled high,
The teachers box is sitting nearby,
The denim patches are neatly stacked,
Inside a box for Wyatt to attack.
Shh, it's his, but don't breathe a word.
He thinks a boy shouldn't quilt. He's heard.
But can't stop here. Piled in the back
Are pens, paper cutter, a drawing stack,
Empty cartridges, paper weights,
Birthday cards from last year's dates,
A family motto, a quilting book,
Kleenex boxes, a vinyl hook,
The paper shredder, mighty full,
Scraps of satin and crepe and wool,
A sewing box, a serger - old,
Pins and thread  and scissors gold,
Mat and cutter, ruler too.
Oh, the things she finds, it's quite a view.
But on she must press, the work can't wait,
Thanks for listening for five minutes straight.

I would love to post some of the others poems. It has been a rich day!

Quiet

Welcome, January. Welcome, 2020. Welcome, new year.

It has been quite the January, so far. We had a lovely Christmas. And then we came home and had sickness. The kind of sickness where everyone is down for a week with fever and chills and aches and colds. And we've overlapped somewhat but it has really been a long drawn-out affair, which has launched 2020 as one of the most remarkably stay-at-home, relaxing years. I'd like to focus on the scent of homemade brown bread wafting through the house, the hours and hours of reading stories (welcome to the Melendy quartet) together as a family and playing game after game of Cover Your Donkey (as Sasha likes to call it).

Slow waltz. That's us, foggy-brained, hoarse-voiced, each at our own pace of rest and relaxation.

And lest we forget to impart important details, we must add that we've had very little school and many days of -50ish windchill. A walk across the yard holds coughing fits and chilled fingers.

And then the day that Pat felt himself getting progressively worse and joining the ranks of sick, Zach played hockey and scored a ten-stitch scar on his temple. It was late in the evening. Those things always make all-night ER trips. Colby came with me to bring him in and the wait was phenomenally long. I found out later they were keeping him for a six-hour watch because it was a head trauma. When it was finally time for stitches I fled the room, Colby fled the room and the doctor had to get Zach to press the call button for help because she had a surface bleed which filled his ear and sprayed her shirt. We came home in the wee hours, relieved, exhausted, and one with a serious headache.

We have so much to be grateful for.

Back to my word. Quiet. I'm in a writing group with three lovely ladies and our topic for January was 'your word for the year'. I pondered and thought. Self-denial? Most definitely needed. Joy? That's what I want. Hope? Always. I had this idea going through my mind. I've been on this journey for a while now of deepening/strengthening/growing in self-denial and quietness. When Karen suggested quiet I knew that explained what I was trying to say. The word quiet can have so much more self-denial and grace than the word self-denial. And quiet to me means a quiet heart, a quiet spirit but not necessarily being quiet and not saying anything, which for me could be more rebellious than anything.

Quiet.

So beautiful; like the snow-flakes drifting down outside my window, like the sound of my little boy breathing hard as he sleeps his fever and sore throat away, like the concentration on Zach's face as he does one more lesson in math.

Quiet.

So self-denied; like the man of the house arising early and heading out the door on the coldest day of the year, operating at 70% as he quietly stated to me, willing to give anything for his family.

Quiet.

So gifted. So humble. So gracious. Like our teachers at school, giving their time and selves again and again and again.

I want to be this.

I long to grow in Jesus, in quietness and in strength. For in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.