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.