Yesterday was my dad’s birthday! We made him a German chocolate cake, his favorite, and had supper with him and mom. We went to their house so they didn’t have to be out in the cold in the dark. It’s just too cold for that. We are blessed that both Dad and Mom are in good health. They still live on their acreage and although they rent out their farm ground and only have two goats as far as livestock, they stay active keeping the timber going and keeping the place up. It takes a lot of work to live on an acreage and I can’t imagine Dad living anywhere else. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself! The two pictures above are of Dad, Ronnie Rae, and his twin sister, Konnie Kae. We lost Aunt Konnie to cancer a few years ago and miss her greatly. I am so thankful my Grandpa and Grandma had so many pictures taken of them. They are a treasure to have!
It is cold and white in our neck of the woods. We are experiencing the longest stretch of cold weather we’ve had in a long, long time. I think today it’s supposed to get up to 1 degree. Just walking to the mailbox this morning was brutal! And we have lots of snow on the ground, with ice underneath. It is not fun to be outside right now and it’s been so hard for Drew. Last week he took his little pop up tent, loaded it with blankets, warmed up a bowl of soup and had his lunch out there. He lasted about 20 minutes each time which surprised me and it was a nice break for him. He’s struggling with being cooped up in the house.
We did some watercolor painting using watercolor pencils on our homemade paper and that was fun. Drew wants to make more paper now but I told him we needed to wait until we could do it outside as we had water everywhere. We plan to try our hand at coloring the paper using natural dyes like onion skins and red cabbage. Something I hope to do at Easter too when we dye eggs. Something to look forward to!
Saturday we got the call that our deer meat was ready for pickup in a neighboring town so we dressed warm and headed to Washington. I have to say it was nice to get out of the house even if it was originally for a drive to the locker and back home. But on the way our daughter called and talked to her dad about a smell they had in their master bathroom and what it could be. Jeremy had to work and wouldn’t be able to look into it until Sunday. As we would be so close to their place anyway we decided to head over there after picking up our order and see if Joe could help.
Joe decided the issue was a snow blocked vent on the roof and he wasn’t sure he could get to it without help so we spent the afternoon playing with grandkids and made plans to head back over the next day. So a weekend of staying home and keeping warm ended up being a fun weekend spent with grandkids! We had a lunch of tacos and taco salad and I took a dessert I had made. Then I had the grandkids color some plain seed packets I had and we picked out some flower seeds to put in them from my stash of seed I had harvested in the fall. Their great grandma has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and we thought she might enjoy a little bundle of flower seeds, homemade body butter and a rice bag Abby had asked me to make for her. We know the kids’ Great Grandma and Great Grandpa very well as Abby married a local boy and we’re a small community. I’ve known them both my whole life. Caroline worked as an associate in the high school library when I was going to school there and she was there when Abby and our two older sons where there. She is a wonderful cook and always has a big garden. We’re praying she can enjoy a little gardening this summer.
I always enjoy watching Joe playing with the grandkids. He loves to wrestle and play games with Braxton and it’s been so many years since we’ve had a little girl in the family that it’s fun to watch Joe playing with little Bayah. She is this sweet tiny little thing that loves anything pink, her books, and her dolls but she couldn’t wait until after lunch because she told me was going to jump on pillows, stand on a blanket and punch Grandpa! She is definitely small but mighty. She has no idea just how small she is!
Some weekends just fly by and this past weekend did just that. Joe was able to work from home on Friday (yeah!) which gave him some extra time in the afternoon since he didn’t have to drive and he called Dad and asked if he wanted help moving his building over the weekend. The weather looked like it would cooperate and since Joe is wanting to do some pheasant hunting next weekend he thought it would work out best to get the building moved now. That worked great with Dad and Mom’s schedule so we basically spent the whole weekend working outside and getting things done! I am so thankful Joe is able and oh so willing to help Dad and Mom around their acreage!
I spent Friday planning and ordering some garden seed while Joe worked. I know, it’s really early to be thinking about the garden, but I want to explore some different types of veggies and I have this fear that I won’t be able to get what I want if I don’t order now. I didn’t get a tremendous amount but I am excited about what I did order. Things like purple carrots and different varieties of kohlrabi. It never hurts to plan ahead!
We left the house Saturday at 7:00 and didn’t get home until 8:00 that evening. Then Sunday we left the house at 8:00 and got home around 5:00. We didn’t get much done around here but we did get things done for Dad so I would say it was a very productive weekend. Drew and I ventured down to the timber as Dad wanted me to see the lichen growing out of the cottonwood tree. This tree has always been my tree, my favorite tree, the one I always gravitate to when we’re in the timber. It is huge and ancient and full of growths and protrusions and nooks and crannies. The eagles love to sit in the very tip top branches and look out over the fields and timber. If only that gigantic and ancient tree could tell stories. I can’t imagine what all it has seen over the years.
I told Dad and Mom that the building should be moved down to the timber, at the bottom of the sandstone bluff where the fire ring is, nestled between the trees. We could clean it all up, put a couple of beds in there, a couch to sit on and set up a camp kitchen. It would be the perfect place to get away. But alas, they had other plans, which I knew they did. But a girl can dream right! So we moved it up to the lot and it will be used for storage and that is as it should be.
I finally got some stitching time in yesterday evening. Mom had gotten out her microwaveable heating pad to show us and Drew wanted one so bad. She got hers from the store but since we aren’t doing much shopping and I’ve decided to try and make what I can with what I have versus buying anyway, I stitched him up a rice bag. I found a pattern I liked on Pinterest and used it as a guide and he loves it! I let him pick out an essential oil he wanted and we mixed few drops in with the rice before we stitched up the bag and he hasn’t let it out of his site since. He slept with it last night and warmed it back up first thing this morning. I love it when something so simple and easy can be made at home and can make someone so happy. Now I think I’ll make one for me too, and use lavender oil. Oh, to have warm toes when I get in bed at night. And then Joe will want too, to put on his back when he’s hurting. I’ll definitely need to put rice on my grocery list. Another reason to get the sewing machine out of the box and teach myself to sew. How much quicker and prettier would it be to sew up rice bags on a machine versus stitching by hand!
Last Wednesday was a snow day, Drew was sick and we kept him home on Thursday, another snow day on Friday, and no school again today due to ice and cold. We went from warm, almost springlike days, to frigid cold, wind, snow and ice overnight. That darn wind even blew some siding off of the house. And so much ice. I love snow, but the ice is just plain hazardous.
I think it was Friday when Drew said he wanted to build a fort. I am all for fort building but he builds them in the living room, doesn’t want to take them down for days and I get sooo tired of them. So, I told him to build one in his bedroom. When you have a bunkbed and no actual bed on the bottom you have the perfect spot to build a fort! The only problem with that as far as Drew is concered is it will mess up his bedroom. When Eric moved out Drew asked to move into Eric’s old room. Which I was fine with but it has also brought on an interesting issue.
Drew has never been one to keep a clean room. He could destroy a clean room in seconds flat. No joke! So, when we started moving things into his “new” room, he surprised us when he decided to be very selective in what was moved and what was not. And he now keeps his room picked up at all times. He even goes in and cleans and vacuums it on his own. It is wonderful! But, the issue is, all of the things he didn’t bring into his “new” room are still piled up in the old room. He’s not ready to get rid of them yet but he doesn’t want them making a mess in his room either. So, after 30 years, I finally get a spare room and it’s full of Drew’s stuff. We did get a bed set up in there so we do have a place for Aaron or Eric to sleep if/when they stay. But the room is a disaster that needs to be tackled.
Back to the fort. Drew spent time building it and making it just the way he wanted it. It had room for him, his dad and me to sit in it comfortably. He built little cubbies for each of us to hold our things, phones, slippers, whatever we wanted to bring into the fort. We played games and took a nap in there and I thought yeah, he can play in this all weekend. It will give him something to do. And, I was wrong. It was fun while it lasted but it was messing up his bedroom and he just couldn’t take it. I went to fix supper, Joe headed out to do chores and down came the fort. Every single thing was picked up and put away so his room would be nice and tidy. I do wish this desire would manifest itself to the rest of the house as he really doesn’t care how messy he is everywhere else. I do love that he wants a nice clean cozy bedroom. And yet, I wish he could have left that fort up for a couple of days at least. It really was fun!
Creativity and chaos go together in my world! This looks good today. Some days it’s sooo much worse! There will come a point where I can’t stand it any longer, I’ll put everything away, pull out only what I need for the project I’m working on and promise myself I’ll put each thread away as I go. And then before I know it – it’s right back to this. Creative chaos and a cup of coffee!
School is back in session today. Two full weeks is a long time off and Drew was so ready to go back and see his friends. Joe is gone until Wednesday. And I’m taking the day off. I’ve been to the grocery store, there’s laundry going, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is on the iPad and I’m stitching the day away. I still have a pillow to stuff, trim and post for sale, chicken feed to purchase after I pick up Drew from school, outside chores to do since Joe won’t be home tonight and supper to fix. I’m thinking Sweet and Sour Chicken since Joe won’t be here. I try to fix meals that I enjoy but he really doesn’t when he’s gone. Plus I’ll have leftovers for tomorrow night. That’s my day off. I’m not going to clean the bathroom or pick up the messes around the house or tackle the myriad other things that need my attention today. It will all wait until tomorrow. Do moms really ever get a day off when they’re home? I think not. But that’s okay. Having a bathroom to clean and supper to prepare, chicken feed to purchase and messes to pick up mean I’m needed. And that is a wonderful feeling – being needed!
We visisted the grandkids Sunday night. And Jeremy and Abby too of course! We met them in Kalona and ate at Tequila Grill. One of the best Mexican restaurants in the area. It didn’t disappoint. It was so yummy! Drew and I shared a Super Burrito and we ate the whole thing!
And handsome Braxton!
After we ate Jeremy suggested we get some ice cream. It was a cold, rainy, miserable evening, definintely not ice cream weather, but who says no to ice cream! So off to Yotty’s we went. They have the best ice cream hands down! Miss Bayah learned to use a straw while we were eating supper and it came in handy at Yotty’s. She confiscated her mommy’s malt and never gave it back!
Grandpa’s girl!
We had a nice evening visiting with the kids and enjoying the grandkids. Kalona is about an hours drive from our house and although it’s a great place to visit I’m looking forward to when the kids get their house built this summer and move a little closer. I’m planning to have them over for supper now and then. It’s fun to eat out once in awhile but there’s so much more fun and quality time to be had sitting around your own dining room table!
I’ve been doing some rearranging of my “junk” today and as I was fiddling with things in this corner of the dining room I realized most of this “junk” had a story to tell. The wooden recipe box was my mom’s that she recently gifted to me. I remember it sitting on the counter all the time. She used it frequently and when she mentioned she was looking for a new one I asked to please not throw this one out. It brings back so many memories. The pink recipe box was her mom’s. My Grandma Esther Houseal. She died when I was young and I have few memories of her but I love having this reminder. The teapot was Grandma Ward’s. I have so many of her things all around the house. Many that she gifted to me knowing how much I loved the old things. The doily under the plant was made by her too. She was so talented and crafty. After all these years I still miss her on a daily basis. The child’s apron came from my mother-in-law and the walnut swag reminds me of my father-in-law. We miss having the walnuts he gave us every year to cook with. The glass jar in back of the first shelf was found by my dad back in the timber and gifted to me. He knew I would love it! The praying ladies salt and pepper shakers remind me of Grandma Ward. I have another piece in my hutch of this praying lady that belonged to Grandma. The Miss Priss kitties salt and peppers shakers on the top shelf remind me of my Aunt Konnie Hartnell. She had the matching cookie jar in her kitchen for years. We lost her year and it’s still hard to know she’s gone. She was such a sweet, kind, caring woman. The glass jar in the back of the top shelf was one I found while junking with my dear friend Pam many years ago. Oh the fun we had! The blue bowls and pitcher came from Barb Hollingsworth’s antique store where I loved to visit and always felt so welcome! I would wander through that big old house full of antiques. I used that store as a getaway so many times. The blue toolbox on top came from another dear friend. She is a daycare provider and is so wonderful at her job. She has watched a couple of my kiddos throughout the years. She truly cares about the little ones that she is entrusted with. The books in the toolbox are the Bellingwood series written by our very own hometown author Diane Greenwood Muir. I don’t know what I’ll do when my toolbox is filled but I’m sure I can find another spot for more! Diane is a wonderfual writer and a wonderful person too. And that beautiful Hoosier cabinet that is holding all my “junk” – that came from our dear Tina who brought so much joy to my kids and to our family. I’ve never been one to decorate with what is in style. Whenever I would buy something that was “in”, some mass produced piece of junk I would soon tire of it and out it would go. But these old things, these gifted things, these things that have meaning in some way, I don’t look at these things as junk – I see treasures and I love that my treasures have stories to tell. I find joy in these things that remind me of those people in my life that have meant so much to me. I love my “junk”!
I might have cried a bit when Drew handed me this Sunday morning. I wasn’t feeling good and I slept until 9:00. Something totally unheard of with me. I’m usually the first one out off bed. I came out to the living room, sat down and Drew handed me this. He couldn’t wait any longer! The portrait cracked me up. I’ve never worn a side pony in my life. I haven’t worn earrings since he was very little because he wouldn’t leave them alone and I was afraid he was going to rip my ear. I don’t have black hair. But, he did an awesome job. I didn’t know he could draw so well and he was so excited to tell me he drew my red shirt with the flowers on it! And then I turned it over.
He can be such a sweet kid. I do tell him to go outside when he’s being loud. And I do tell him he has to drive slow when he’s driving the mule. Although his dad is a very good driver and I never tell him to slow down! I love that Drew thinks he protects me! And yes, we made an agreement. If he doesn’t have any meltdowns getting ready for school in the mornings, he can get another fish. One fish, not two. But he really wants two – and he didn’t want me to forget that! He put so much thought into this and it made me cry! I love you Drew Henry!
What a wonderfully quiet weekend we had! I hardly took any pictures – I just enjoyed the weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day. We fixed a brunch of fried eggs, bacon and toast then headed outside to get some much needed fall cleanup done. Joe mowed one last time and put the mower away for the season. I cleaned out flower beds. Then we did some odds and ends things that needed our attention, sat on the deck and watched Drew drive the 4-wheeler around and decided what we wanted for supper. Joe wanted to grill, I had a couple recipes from my book Autum by Susan Branch I wanted to try. So, off to the local grocery store for a few ingredients and back home for an appetizer of onion straws, pork chops, stuffed sweet peppers, baked beans, grapes and warm apple cranberry crisp. Joe and I ate the onion straws in the shop while he grilled the pork chops! They were soooo good and sooo unhealthy – definitley a treat and not an every day thing! Then cuddles on the couch with Drew and bed by 9:00. We are getting old – no staying up late around here if we don’t have to!
Sunday brought a little different weather. It was warm enough but the wind was something else! We had brunch again – this time scrambled eggs, sausage and grapes. (I have an over abundance of eggs right now! We had eggs twice and I gave five dozen away and I still have a fridge full of eggs!) Then off to Wellman to watch Braxton play his last soccer game of the season and to play with Bayah! Braxton had two sets of grandparents and a set of great grandparents there to watch – what a lucky little boy! Then back home to carve a pumpkin and mix up some Cranberry Apple Walnut Bread. Oh my was that delicious bread! I’ve never used cranberries before and I’ve decided apples and cranberries together are my new fall favorite! I threw a tuna casserole together for supper and that was our weekend. Simple, quiet, productive, perfect!
We attended the most beautiful wedding over the weekend. We have what I like to think of as our camping family and this weekend a young woman I would never have known if it hadn’t been for Joe’s work and camping got married. Joe and Steve have worked together for years and have become the best of friends and our families started camping together quite a few years ago. We don’t see each other a lot. We live three hours away from each other. But we camp together at least twice a year, over long weekends, and when you camp you get to know each other well. So, we’ve known Steve and Wendy’s daughter Whitney since she was a young girl and we have grown to love her. Then she started bringing Matthew along on our trips and we’ve grown to love him too! We felt so blessed when they asked Drew to be their ring bearer in their wedding. It amazes me how lives become so entwined and time and distance just don’t matter!
