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?