New Life Old Farmers

Our view has changed for a day or two as we look out upon the alfalfa field.  The sheep are here to nibble down the remaining feed prior to winter.  They are fairly fun to watch, especially when one or two get into an area they do not belong and then the well-trained sheep dogs go tearing after them quickly rerouting them to where they belong.

I think I’d like some ‘life sheep dogs’ that I could turn out onto some of the situations at school…

– Kids that do not come in from recess on time…sheep dogs

– Forgotten library books…sheep dogs

– Spills in the cafe…sheep dogs…oh, really any dog would probably do

Situations in community…

– Rude people….sheep dogs

– Slackers that abuse the hard work of others….big sheep dogs

– Government waste….really big sheep dogs

…and what we have here at the farm…

Barn Cats that sneak into the house, settle themselves in and say to the dogs…’Hey You’…

…and our dogs…

Ya, not sheep dogs.

My Librarian and I papered a wall in our library.  We are inviting the kids (and adults) to practice ‘growing their hearts and attitudes’ by expressing gratitude.  …and in the mean time we’ve been expressing our own gratitude as well….enjoying our graffiti…and the difference it always seems to make.  We were both having a few rough days and needed our wall in a big way.  We started using it and sharing it and somehow it always works…we started feeling better.  We are now papering more walls and have plans to spill out into the hall.

We love reading what the kids write down…the little one’s spelling may not be exact, but let me tell you this one makes me smile every time!I am grateful for a job I love!

We’ve had an unusual number of cooks in the kitchen this week…followed as always by the clean up crew…Number Two Son and Zoe the black lab.  The weather turned cold, very cold with a blasting, bellowing wind.  Warm comfort food was high on the list, especially if it meant not going to the store for anything, so my friend’s new food blog, Mama’s Got It Made, came in very handy!  (She is a great cook, practical and witty…I’ve added a permanent link to blogs I read in case you’re interested.)  I whipped up a skillet-full of ‘Jacked Up Cornbread’ for diner the other night.  There no fancy pictures as this is not a foodie blog and because Number Two cleaned up all the left overs for lunch.

My Girl has gone Vegan.  If you know her, this is not really a big surprise.  It does mean that a lot of new weird food has shown up in the refrigerator and some of our staples (ice cream) last a lot longer than they used to.  Armed with a new vegan cookbook and courage, My Girl cooked dinner for us and a friend.  It took her three stores to get all the ingredients, only to find out we did have a lot of the items already here at home…but heck, it was a learning curve.  She tackled making us a seintin casserole that turned into soup, but My Loving Spouse had seconds and Zoe made sure all the bowls were licked clean.  Well done sweetie!

The church bazaar is this Saturday, so My Loving Spouse has once again been signed up to make Cornish pasties for the baked good sale. In our short time here, these have already become legend.  One of these is not like the other….  Prior to packaging My Loving Spouse had them covered on a plate.  The problem is that covered food on a plate is also how we often leave diner for Number Two Son when his rehearsal’s go late.  I understand the pasty was quite good and we’re thinking of adding some dialogue to the packaging now that says…”Kid tested and approved”.

My Loving Spouse the Chef also made a batch of hand raised pork pies….see there are his hands…raising them.These were also baked up adding all sorts of delicious smells to the kitchen…These too will go the church bazaar bake sale.  The pork pie count remained consistent during the night as this time there were clear and concise instructions.

Sometimes people ask me…

‘Don’t you miss it?’

The ‘it’ being my home for most of my 50+ years, Southern California.  Well, no…I sort of only miss 3 things…

People – I hope you know who you are and boy do I miss you!

Tastes – A few flavors not found here…yet.

Singing in the choir…those times we nailed it singing God’s music…yep, I miss that…

…and that is about it.

I am at home here…contented.

This Sunday we got a wonderful double whammy…dear friends…made time to visit on their whorl-wind weekend in Washington.  J & J came for lunch and how good it was to see them both!  Uniquely special friends, bright, fun and funny…J almost died last year, so giving him a hug was just precious.“Is there anything we can bring you?”  They asked…”Anything you crave from California?”

We have one small problem with Christmas eve diner.  Our family has been having German sausage, mashed potatoes and hot sour cream gravy for a century….and getting the right sausages is tricky….the right taste.  J&J are one of the few people who would think nothing of going to the right German deli to get the right sausage so our Christmas eve diner tastes right and then packing a bunch of it for their trip.All the meat eaters on Team Offspring are very excited about this development…oh, yum, yum, yum.  Christmas eve will taste just right.

J&J…you are the best!

Cows are pigs.  Well okay, not real pigs..pigs are pigs.Cows are pigs when it comes to the way they treat their food.  We show up with their hay and the mighty cattle herd of 3 show up with gratitude and appreciation…ah, no.  Agnes will meet you at the barn door (that we cannot open all the way or she’ll lumber right in and help herself to the hay).  Bob the bashful one will wait nearby to make sure you are bringing more feed and 3 legged Elsie is sort of clueless, but does her best to keep up.  BUT…they are all still pigs…because they pull the hay out of the feeder, some of it blows away, they walk on it, pee and poop on it and then won’t eat it, sheesh.  Cows are pigs.

We’ve wanted a round cattle feeder for some time now, but they are not cheap and after all we only have a herd of 3 (so far).  A round feeder makes it harder for the hay to blow away, harder for the cattle to pull it out and pee on it and saves hay which saves money, because let me tell you, hay does not grow on trees, if you think so then you really, really need to come and visit and see all the hay fields here in the valley.

I picked up our round, shiny, red feeder and thought, oh…if my friends back in California could see me now…they’d have no idea what in the world I was so excited about.  We put it together, put an old barrel in the middle of it to help keep the hay where the mighty herd could reach it, put some hay in it and only Agnes was brave enough to come and see what all the excitement was about.  Bashful Bob finally ventures in toward Mama……and so we thought we were done…Our beautiful, red round feeder feeding the herd…minus Elsie who couldn’t figure out that she needed to walk around to get to the hay…truth is she didn’t know that is where the hay was and later we had to move the beautiful, red round feeder closer to the not so bright 3 legged cow who wouldn’t stop bellowing for food as she stood 3 feet from the feeder.  Elsie is missing a bit more than the use of her 4th leg.

How love works…I don’t know…I really don’t.

Love or just the simple act of caring.

Caring for someone else is a mystery to me, in how much it can give back to the carer.

Our little church has been in a position of knowing about a gal who was soon to be a mother.  She was far from her family in Texas.  Life (God) had put her in our path when she had really no one and almost nothing.  Nothing in the way of ‘stuff’, for the baby…and winter stuff for her,

but what she did possess…a sweet, calm and grateful soul.

The ‘stuff’ for them came pouring in…and she was grateful.

But…what The Quilting Gals really wanted to offer was themselves…

Life – we are not meant to do ‘it’ alone…

Babies are a blessing…but better when they are shared…in their good times and especially in their difficult times.

The Quilting Gals know that…and wanted to do more than just help with the physical needs.

So…they…Mom and 3 week old baby boy came to quilting…

Now Mom did get to meet new friends…

had a chance to sit and eat a yummy super while it was still hot…

got to agree with everyone that her son is beautiful…

to be encouraged and befriended…

and the baby…

he got passed from one set of loving arms to the next…

cooed…rocked…loved…

There were a few more gifts…

clothes, books, needs met…

and we oohed and awed and laughed and cried a little all together…

Encouraged them that they are one of us…

if they want to be…

to call upon us…

come back and be with us…

and the baby…

he is now the Quilting Grand Baby

with plenty of Grannies…

and how this works…

I do not know…

but

we are blessed

It was just about a year ago, that My Loving Spouse pushed me toward buying a super, deluxe, sewing machine.  I am still shocked and amazed at how much I love to sew now and how much I’ve learned.  Me sewing space has gotten fitted out fairly well and I love to spend time there, after all it has just about everything I need.

My super machine (place mats) ready for church bazaar.My cutting storage cupboard (burp cloths) ready as gifts.Organization with hanging files to store material.Important drawer that holds the stuff I do not want my family to use…Since this is not Pinterest, there is mess….The final piece that makes my sewing space to absolutely perfect….A gorgeous old door that keeps The Damn Cat out!

“Oh, the places you’ll go”… so said, a wise writer…Dr. Seuss.

Who knew when we moved here  to this small town in the Pacific Northwest,

how this journey we’d begun…

for many reasons…

but the timing tied to My Girl and the attempt to give her a better life…

how some of the options would come about…

Easy…no.

Different…yes.

Challenging, blessing and…growth…for us all.

My Girl has been accepted by YWAM

(Youth With A Mission)

Hong Kong for 5 months

…a mission trip beyond what I can even begin to comprehend.

Emotions are running the gamut…

Excitement, fear, apprehension, anticipation, wonder…

It is a long time and far away….

She and we will grow from it…

Two months for the final planning,

..she’ll leave in January 2015

Who knew…

‘Oh, the places you’ll go…’

The fact is, that Fall has always been my favorite season of the year.  Living here in the Pacific Northwest, where we actually have a change of season makes it even better!  Today was a stormy, rainy day, which succeed in making our mud…muddier.Having a full woodshed, makes me feel…ready.  The ‘herd’ would probably feel really ready, if the barn was a tad fuller of hay…but one thing at a time.Bob and Agnes have no problem letting us know, when they are hungry.  If they are out of hay, Agnes simply comes and finds me as if to say…”Excuse me…” and waits until you head off the barn to pull out more hay.Cows are sloppy eaters and little Peppa can only clean up after them so much…  We’re on the look out for a cattle hay feeder for winter, as the hay costs too much to waste any.  Peppa is completely content to live life as a ‘cow’.  She is out weighed by them all, but they will step aside for her to eat at every meal.

Fall…a time for getting ready…slowing down…beautiful colors and every animal on the farm happy to see you coming…as long as you are coming to feed them…the weather is cool, but not cold and I love it!