The World We Live In

The events of the past week seem to have kicked off the new year,  the new decade, with an ominous feeling of pending doom. A general is assassinated and escalating threats of violence have continued unabated and rather than making the world safer, we are now all on high alert, and I am quite concerned about where all of this is leading.

We are all impacted by the decisions and choices of a few. At the most basic level we will all pay more for gasoline, but that seems the least of anyone's worries. Are we heading for WWIII? Will there be an uptick in terrorist attacks around the world. The rhetoric is meant to scare, and rightly so, if even a fraction of it is acted upon all of us will be affected. Is there no hope of humankind ever working together instead of against each other.

Meanwhile as grown men keep drawing lines in the sand and continue a war of words and intimidation, people around the world are starving, suffering from natural and man made disasters, lack basic essentials, and very few world leaders seem concerned at all.

I believe that most of humankind simply want to live their lives in peace, in a stable community, with access to education and medical care, and the hope of a good future for their children and grand children. But the power hungry egotists that are in control make this dream nearly impossible for most in the world.

The human impact on climate change must be addressed, we are soiling our own nest and don't even care. Certainly the politicians don't care, they are power hungry, world leaders don't care, they too are power hungry. Instead warmongering is the focus, how will a war make the world a better place? Why should the sons and daughters of the poor be slaughtered due to the decisions of the elite. I sometimes despair because as a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a grandmother, what can I do? I simply pray that my children and grandchildren will have a rosy future to look forward to, but it is hard to imagine exactly what that future will look like.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

March Madness

I can't believe it is already March. This Sunday I will be fifty-five years old, the old double nickel. I think age is all a state of mind, I don't feel how I once imagined a fifty something old person would feel.

This past week we found out that our 10th grandchild is on it's way, due on September 7, this news really put a smile on my face, life goes on, always exciting to welcome a new little one into our family. This baby will be the third child for our eldest child Matt and his wife Traci, big sisters Alivia (6) and Aubrey (4) are super, super excited. I hope the baby is ready to have three mothers, LOL.

On a sad note we had our dog, Sir Digby Chicken Caesar, know as Digby to family and close friends put to sleep. Digby was a rescue dog, he came to live with us on January 18, 2014 and was estimated to be around 8 years old. He was a very docile dog, great around the kids, and very well behaved. Over the past year Digby really started to feel the effects of old age, mainly in his hips. Steps were becoming a great difficulty for him, and he struggled to lay down and struggled to get back up, his eyes were bad and I don't think he could hear very well. About four months ago we had to restrict him to the kitchen area of the house as he was quite prone to "accidents". So yesterday was the day we said farewell to Digby, I stayed with him, petting him as he quietly slipped away. Thank you Digby for being a good dog.

Reading, boy oh boy, I am on a tear, probably because the weather is so cold and I am so very tired of television.  I finished The Lilac Bus by Maeve Binchy, enjoyable so I ordered a used copy of another of her books, The Copper Beech. I read this book many years ago, it was the first Maeve Binchy I ever read, it should arrive today. I finished God Bless You Dr. Kervorkian, to be fair this book only took about an hour to read, it was a bit strange, but most Kurt Vonnegut is. Not my favorite KV, that would by Breakfast Of Champions. Then I moved onto White Teeth by Zadie Smith, WOW, I am loving this book, it is a long read but I am progressing quickly as I simply can't put it down.

This past weekend I went to my most very favorite used book store, Hyde Brothers. The store is located in a historic neighborhood in a very old building. The ceilings are very high, twelve plus feet, and the books shelves are stuffed full from floor to ceiling. There are ladders on rails to climb up to reach books on upper shelves. The aisles are a maybe a yard wide, and at least two cats pad around keeping an eye on the customers. In the basement, the ceilings are low, but again books shelves are filled to the brim from floor to ceiling. It is a bibliophiles dream! Anyway, I was excited to find another Zadie Smith book, Beauty, and I had to climb way up a ladder to retrieve it. I then found an auto-biography by Barbara Pym, one of my most favorite authors, and then found a copy of a yoga book I was looking for. It was a very rewarding bookstore visit.

On Sunday Dave made beer-can chicken for everyone, I made steamed broccoli and healthy oven chips as sides. I had my usual vegan bowl of goodness.  Seven of our grandchildren were over, we had fun after lunch showing them playground games we used to play. I made a big loop of elastic and taught them how to play "elastics", sometimes known as Chinese Jump Rope. Then we showed them how to play some of the sort of pat a cake, rhyming games, we always sang:

Under the brambles,

Under the trees,

Boom, Boom Boom,

True love to you my darling,

True love to me.

And when we're married,

We'll raise a fam-i-leee

Of little children all in a row, row, row,

Then we took out a deck of cards and did "magic tricks", and built houses of cards. It was a lot of fun for young and old alike.

Lent begins this week, today is Shrove Tuesday, or as we knew it as children, Pancake Day! Tomorrow I will go to Mass and receive ashes, and we will be in the journey of Lent. I feel called to give up TV for Lent, so will do this. I have done it in the past and find it to be very beneficial. I will  look for some Lenten reading material, perhaps daily reflections, and attend the Stations of the Cross, hopefully each Friday. And, I will look forward to Easter.

Well not too much else going on, we are desperate for Spring to arrive, it is still so cold, too cold for March as we should not be having lows in the single digits. But the geese are back, and lawn mower commercials are running on the TV, so spring must be in our future.

Christmas 2018 and A Look Back At 2018

Another Christmas has come and gone. Christmas 2018 was very nice, a fun day with our family. Dave and I started the day by going to Mass and the for the rest of the day it was good food, fun games, gift exchange, and a good time just being together - really the best part. Now we look forward to New Years Day and all that 2019 will bring to us.

We had planned to go to Midnight Mass but I was struck down with a stomach bug on Christmas Eve and spent the day on the sofa sipping Sprite, and headed off to bed early.  The stomach bug, thankfully, was fast moving. Granddaughter Alivia started throwing up on Friday evening, her Dad and sister succumbed to the bug on Saturday, and her Mom on Christmas Eve. Daughter Amber and four of her boys got it on Sunday, and her husband and oldest son got it on Christmas Eve.  Yesterday our son Ben came down with it, so it will be only a matter of time before his wife and son get it. The bug only lasts about twelve hours, but for several days after you have no appetite at all, at this time of year we are all likely to over-indulge food wise, so it is perhaps not a bad side effect!  Anyway, for the most part everyone is feeling well again.

Looking back over 2018, it was a sad year, we lost my father-in-law in July, Ralph was 88, he lived a good life and was a good man and we are thankful that he had a peaceful death surrounded by family. It was a year of fun, lots of birthday celebrations, holiday celebrations, a big party when my husband turned 60. Job changes for some of our children and their spouses, all for the better. A wonderful visit with my parents at the end of September when they drove to Indiana to visit all of us, before heading off to Colorado to visit my sister and her husband, and then on to Arizona to visit my youngest sister and her family, then back to sunny Florida. A long road trip for two seventy-nine years old, young at heart, people to make.  All in all it was a good year.

For myself, I feel as if I have come out of a tunnel, I mentioned in a previous post I was struggling with my upcoming birthday, I will be fifty-five. I seem to have resolved my negative feelings about it. Since turning fifty I have been through a lot, and perhaps now feel as if I am in a good place. Firstly I lost a lot of weight, a hundred and ten pounds and have kept it off. I can tell you it is life changing to lose that much weight, of course it is a very positive thing, but it takes a long time, years to pass, to mentally accept that you are no longer obese. It is weird, I don't think I can really explain it, it just is a huge mental adjustment. People treat you differently, most are very positive and encouraging, a few (and only a very few) disparaging and hurtful. The adjustment of moving from losing weight, it took just over a year, to maintaining the weight loss, a rest of my life job is scary at first. For me the weight loss brought with it a sense of freedom and a new lease on life and a sense of loss all at the same time. After three plus years of maintaining the weight loss I am  finally feeling a bit of confidence that I can do this for the rest of my life and not obsess so much about gaining back all the weight. I had some personal struggles through the past five years, but never did I give in to comfort food, I did succumb to wine for a while, but seem to have nipped that in the bud. I have learned a lot about self-discipline over the past five years, I exercise most days, and eat a very healthy diet, this has strengthened other areas of my life, I don't procrastinate, I keep things organized, I like a tidy house. And I think most importantly my faith has increased, I find Mass to be so very comforting, I walk into the sanctuary at our church and feel as if I am home, in the right place, I feel peace, I feel calm and focused. For a while, a year or longer in the past five years I went through quite a dry period in my faith, now I look at it as the "Footprints" prayer, as I see that God carried me for a long time, he never left my side, I strayed from him. I am glad that now there are two sets of footprints! So, I am looking straight ahead into 2019 and am ready to deal with all the ups and downs, the good and the bad, the happiness and the sadness that it is bound to bring and know that whatever happens, with God on my side I will be able to get through it.

Peace and best wishes to you all for 2019.

Bean

Thoughts On Getting Older

In just a few months I will be fifty-five. I don't know why but it is really making me feel rather down. When I turned fifty I was all gung-ho, hey this isn't really old, I feel good, I still feel young. But suddenly the thought of turning fifty-five makes me feel old, sixty is looming on the horizon. YIKES.

I still feel good, I am active, healthy, busy with my hobbies, but I keep having the same thought over and over about turning fifty-five and feeling old.

Our household has all the signs of older adults living in it. A neat and tidy spare bedroom. Two other bedrooms turned into hobby rooms, as all children are grown up, married and raising their own families. Lots of house plants, lots of bird feeders, main hobbies for me, knitting and reading. Clean and organized closets and drawers. When did this happen?

I have had to back off of the daily running as I seem to have developed "runners knee", so instead do a daily four to five mile walk depending upon the time available to me. I am very predictable, I eat the same foods, take my vitamins and supplements daily, I go to bed by nine, get up by five, drink my coffee, drink my green tea, drink my water. I am a regular attender of Mass and find my faith life ever more important. I go to bed the dishes are washed, dried and put away, the trash taken out, the dog fed and watered, the cat fed, the living area left neat and tidy. I make our bed every morning and keep our room neat and tidy. The bathrooms are always clean. The laundry is always washed, dried, folded and put away the same day. I am super anal about lights being turned off. Bills are always paid promptly. Obviously it is much easier to run a household of two adults, rather than the chaos of raising a large family. But at times it depresses me to see so much organization, yet I find mess stressful, so I don't see that I will change my ways.

But back to my original thought, I feel really bummed out about my upcoming birthday, at times I just want to cry, how can I be this old? Where has the time gone? What have I done with my life? Youth is long gone. I feel as if I am invisible, just another older lady in the world, taking care of other people. And, don't get me wrong, I enjoy caring for my grandchildren, I enjoy caring for my husband, I enjoy caring for my adult children, I truly feel it is my calling, but is that it? Am I simply here on earth to tend to others? On days I feel really blue about this I simply keep telling myself, just keep on running girl, keep running, and this does seem to help. I see myself in my mind running away from, I don't really know what, just from the worries of getting older that keep snapping at my heels I guess.

At times I despair that there is not much to look forward to, only getting ever older and hoping that body, mind and soul hold together for as long as possible. This year has been hard, my father-in-law died in July, he suffered dementia, his brother died six months prior to him, my husbands aunt died a month after. My uncle died in April, my aunt is not doing so well, my husbands two aunts are in their eighties, one suffering health issues and severe dementia, the other battling breast cancer. Old age is not for the weak hearted. I am struggling with the passing away of the generation above my husband and me, it is hard to watch these once strong and vibrant people decline in old age and then die, and know that we too will reach this point eventually. And we are becoming the older generation :(

Perhaps I am a bit depressed, or maybe this is simply a normal way to feel at my age, I don't know. All I know is I could laugh in the face of turning fifty, but I feel that fifty-five is laughing in my face.

Peace by with you,
Bean

Wine - The Socially Acceptable Adult Beverage

Have you noticed how wine is pushed at women at every turn? Many TV shows/movies show people sitting down to a meal, almost always with a glass of wine. Gift shops, the domain of women,  have all kinds of "trinkets and trash" joking about wine, normalizing it. Coasters, tea-towels, refrigerator magnets, wall signs, t-shirts, socks, you name it and there is likely a version with something about wine. We have several in our home, a magnet, "How Merlot Can You Go", coasters, "Domestic Bliss, One Bottle Of Cabernet Away", "Tea (sad face), Coffee (okay face), Wine (manic grin)", a little sign, "What Happens At The Winery Stays At The Winery", socks covered in wine bottles. Well you get the picture, wine has become mainstream, the "oh so socially acceptable" adult beverage. The commercials and TV shows/movies always show it as a sign of sophistication, the message, successful people drink wine. Wine shows you have good taste, you discern the good things in life. The TV ads always show beautiful wineries, happy, slim, successful people enjoying life with a glass of wine in hand.

Wineries are everywhere, even here in NE Indiana there are three within ten miles of our home, all promote "come in for a free tasting" which works out to about a glass of wine on the house, then you feel that you should purchase a bottle, after all you just enjoyed free wine! It seems to me all a scam, the wine at our local wineries is not good at all and extremely overpriced so they can afford to give the free tasting. Of course they proudly proclaim all of their awards, of which I am highly skeptical, it"s simply all part of the marketing. You are enjoying a hand crafted, sophisticated beverage, tasted by so called "experts"  who have determined it is "oh, so fruity, subtle, summer in a bottle, hints of strawberry and oak with a lovely bouquet". 

What a bunch of bunk, it is an alcoholic beverage just like spirits and beer. Yet it is elevated above other adult beverages as the one drink you can enjoy without fear of judgement and it is marketed almost primarily towards women. 

The other evening I stopped to pick up groceries at a local Kroger. While waiting in line I noticed the following:

A middle aged lady in my line at the check out - purchasing at least six bottles of wine - Kroger does sell wine at a lower price if you purchase six or more bottles - perhaps in a way she was being frugal, perhaps stocking up for the holidays - who knows.

The elderly lady behind me, the only items she had - two Franzia box wines.

A little girl with her mom behind the elderly lady - the mom clutching a large bottle of wine and a wine glass.

I am not trying to pass judgement on any of these ladies, I am simply pointing out that the slick marketing of wine to women is working, and working well, but at what cost? We are bombarded with the sophistication of wine drinking, but how many women go from enjoying a glass of wine in the evening, to suddenly needing two? And, before they know it a bottle a night is the norm. It becomes an expensive habit, it begins to dominate their life, all occasions  revolve around a glass of wine, or two. It bothers me just how "normalized" wine drinking has become. A recent article stated that women's life expectancy is now lower, closer to that of men, and the main reason is the rise in alcohol consumption and smoking in women, how is this good? 

I have always enjoyed wine, but over the past year I felt that my enjoyment of wine passed a tipping point from enjoying a glass of wine with dinner a few nights a week, to suddenly feeling that a glass was needed each evening, which then became a couple of glasses in an evening, and to be honest they were quite large glasses of wine. I started worrying about how much wine was dominating my thoughts, why I was drinking it daily, my recycling bin for glass scared me as it confronted me with just how much wine was consumed in our house. I would go a few days and not drink wine, but would fall right back in and then feel badly about it. If I had a stressful day I would think about the evening glass of wine, if I had a good day I would think about how I would enjoy that evening glass of wine. I could literally see my thought process changing to justify the wine drinking, telling myself I was stressed and "needed" a glass of wine, oh how we can deceive ourselves. The reality, the stress I was feeling was probably for the most part imagined, and if any really existed it was probably due to the wine drinking - a rather vicious circular argument whirling around and around in my thoughts. 

All summer I prayed about my relationship with wine, I felt that wine now controlled me and not the other way around. One evening in October I poured a glass of wine, took a sip, and it tasted awful, absolutely awful, I didn't finish the glass (my husband did). The next evening I tried a different wine, and the same thing, it was tasted revolting, I couldn't drink it.  So, I just stopped drinking it, several weeks later my husband had a glass of wine, I took a sip of it, you know just in case it might taste all right again, but no, it tasted dreadful. So upshot is I haven't had any wine over the past two months. Do I miss it, not at all, it is so very, very freeing indeed.

How am I feeling? Well great actually. I had no idea how dragged down my two large glasses of wine a day habit made me. I worried about my drinking, but never thought it really caused any damage, I was never hung over, I never got "drunk". But it apparently it did have impact on my mood. I now wake up energized, ready to go, I get more accomplished each day, feel happier, less stressed, and free. I thank God for this, I truly believe my prayers were answered, and for that I am very, very thankful.

Dreams - What Does This One Mean

I am writing this to simply make a record of a very vivid dream I had last night.

In the dream I am in a kitchen/diner type room with very modern stream line cabinets, utilitarian looking, in a dark brown finish, on the counter there is a lot of prepared food, a bit like a pot luck. In the eating area sits my mother-in-law (she died in 2002), my husbands grandmother, Nellie, (she died in 1993), my father-in-law, my husband, a few other people, and my husbands youngest brother.

My mother-in-law looked radiant as did Nellie, my father-in-law who suffers from mild dementia, was very lucid, he said he was taking a new medicine and he also looked about twenty years younger than he does in real life, he is 88. My brother-in-law, who we rarely see was being very friendly and sociable. Everyone started singing, kind of folk type music, someone was playing an instrument but I couldn't tell you what kind, everyone was smiling, glowing, the music was wonderful, it was a scene of joy and happiness, then in the dream I needed to use the bathroom. For some reason I had to leave the room, or apartment to locate a bathroom. I went down a hallway, took an elevator down a floor and finally located the bathroom. The bathroom was old fashioned, the tank was high up and had a pull chain, when done I flushed and left the bathroom. When I returned to the hallway I had no idea how to get back, I went up a flight of stairs as I couldn't find the elevator, I entered a hallway with lots and lots of doors all with numbers on them, I had no idea which door was the right door to go to, I just wanted to return to the group, to the music, the singing, the togetherness and I had no idea how to get there.

Then I woke up.

So what was that all about? I have no idea! It was so vivid, and it brought such a feeling of peace while I was in the room, and such a feeling of agitation when I couldn't find my way back to the room. It did not seem my usual sort of dream at all.

Bean

Very Quick Post

This evening we became grandparents for the sixth time. On August 8 we welcomed grandson number four, grandchild number five, with the arrival of Peter Ray and today we welcome granddaughter number two, grandchild number six, with the arrival of Aubrey Lee. I will post pictures in a day or two. All I can say is I am so excited and feeling very blessed.

We will go visit our newest granddaughter tomorrow, I can't wait!!

Bean

Latest Knitting Project - A Ruffled Topper for Alivia

This project on first appearances seemed it would take no time at all to make up, but in fact took some time to finish. I am pleased with it, although should have checked my guage before starting as the garment is wider than it should be. I have started to knit a sunshine sweater for Alivia and checked my guage before starting and turns out I need to knit with a size 4 US needle rather than the pattern recommended size 6 US needle.

Last Friday I went to the Indianapolis Childrens Museum with my daughter, daughter-in-law, and the grandchildren, we had a very fun day together. I would like to plan another day trip for us to visit Conner Prairie which is also in Indianapolis.

Google +

I recently made the mistake of adding a google + account, and oh how I disliked it, this morning I figured out how to delete it and how to return to my old, familiar, blogger set up.

I was a little scared that my blog would get deleted, but the google + simply does not allow for any privacy whatsoever.  You can block certain things from public viewing, and be sure you do if you choose to use the application because otherwise all information required to enter to set up the account will display - YIKES!!

Another thing I did not like is that when I comment on other blogs if a person wants to click on my "name" instead of going to my blog they are taken to the rather perplexing Google + screen that takes a certain level of determination to figure out how to get to someone's blog.  In the past I have found frustration when following a blog comment author and it goes to a Google + account and it all becomes a bit bewildering.

Facebook - easy to use, privacy settings - easy to use.  Google + weird to use and I for the life of me cannot figure out the purpose of Google +. I saw a few comments that indicated that Google wants it to be the new Facebook, well they better go take a good look at Facebook and see why people like it, it is because it is super easy to use.

Well enough of my rant on Google +.

Dear Digby is doing better, the steriods and pain pills seem to working, he is eating, going potty and getting around okay. Occasionally I hear a yelp of pain, like once per day, but nothing like it was several days ago. We are thankful he is doing better and seems to be almost back to normal.

I missed church this morning, I have my grandsons today and they usually go along to Sunday school.  I didn't think there would be a children's class today as the three ladies that teach asked for prayer last Sunday for safe travels as they were all going away for spring break. Well it is just as well we didn't leave for Sunday school because as we were getting ready to leave for church service the baby pooped and one of the older boys had a rather messy bathroom accident. I had to run to Dollar General to buy a packet of boys underwear and some pajama pants, upon return the child was cleaned up and put to rights and then I scrubbed down the bathroom and gave my thanks for paper towels and Clorox Clean Up!
I hope I can go to bible study and Sunday evening service but may not as our son Ben is home from university this weekend and will be back over a little later today and I am not sure of his plans but he will probably stay for supper and if he does I obviously will stay home.

Prayer Request:
Two people at my office seem to have developed chronic health issues that are causing them a lot of pain and stress at this time - please pray for healing.
A fellow blogger, Rebecca, - please pray for healing as she recovers from hip replacement surgery.
For my daughter and daughter in law that they have trouble free pregnancies and deliveries and healthy babies. Amber's baby, their fourth boy, is due in mid-August, and Traci's baby, their second, is due in late November. We will have six grandchildren by the end of the year - FEELING BLESSED.

Bean

So Many Little Things...

Names of Jesus, stitched by Michelle at Ozark Stitching.

I have been very busy with knitting and crocheting this winter and cannot believe how many things I have made. Currently I am working on a couple of projects for our granddaughter Alivia, a Ruffled Topper, and once that is finished a spring time sweater will be in the works. I recently purchased a knitting book called,  Pick the Pieces , it has a nice selection of patterns for boys and girls from six months to 6 years and gives the option to mix and match pattern pieces so you can create your own designs.

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday, my children surprised me with a party, and they really did surprise me as I had no idea anything was going on until my husband tried to pull into our driveway and there was almost no room to park. What a great evening with family and friends, and how sneaky my children are :)

I have been attending a non-Catholic church since the beginning of the year, this is a big change but one that  is good for me. I have learned so much this year and have really enjoyed the teaching, I know that I am growing in my faith and  know that I am on the right path.

Our daughter Amber and her husband Brad are expecting their fourth baby in August. The due date is on Brad's birthday, which is exciting.  This past week we found out that we are awaiting the birth of a grandson, this will make a fourth boy for B & A!!  Our little granddaughter Alivia is very outnumbered!

One of my birthday gifts was a gift card to Amazon, so I purchased some more seasons of The Waltons, and the pilot movie of the show, The Home Coming. When I knit I like to have something to listen to, and The Walton's fit the bill nicely, the slow pace of the show doesn't require that I have my eyes glued to the TV, and the gentle story unfolds and always has a lesson to impart.

I am still reading Alexander McCall Smith books, I like the Scotland Street series very much, but am not so keen on the other series. I tried the Sunday Afternoon Philosophers Club series, but found the characters to be very similar to the Scotland Street characters, and I just couldn't get into it.

I have received a couple of things in the mail from fellow bloggers. I "won" a crocheted lap blanket just for posting a comment on  Lynda 's blog, and was the recipient of a beautifully crocheted blanket that is perfect on a chilly winters evening. I chose the lap blanket pictured at the bottom of Lynda's post. I then received a beautifully cross-stitched piece from Michelle at Ozark Stitching. See picture above. I have hung the piece over the fireplace in our family room, and I love looking at it and reading all of the names we have for our Savior.

Just my thoughts on a Thursday evening!

I work two and a half days a week, it is a nice schedule and allows me to be available to babysit my grandchildren. I wouldn't trade my time with my grandchildren for anything, we have fun together, they amuse me, and I enjoy them very much.
I like having time to myself, I like to crochet, knit, sew, read books, quilt, all rather sedentary occupations but they keep me occupied during the winter months, I feel at a bit of a loss if I don't have a project going.
I am looking forward to spring, it has been a long, snowy, very cold winter, it is cheering to think that next month we can begin planting a few things in the vegetable garden. St. Patrick's day, March 17 is a traditional day to plant peas, and that is only four weeks away, that makes me very happy to think about. Peas, potatoes, onions, can be started early, I doubt I will plant on March 17, but just the thought that I could if I wanted to is very cheering.
I am so glad we keep a big garden and preserve so much of what we grow and I am glad we raised a couple of steers and have a full freezer of beef.  We have had a tight six months, and the vegetables and fruit that we canned, the meat in the freezer, and the fresh eggs from our hens have been such a blessing and we have really been able to minimize our grocery expenses. Milk, butter, cheese, dog food, potatoes and onions seem to be the main items that appear again and again on our grocery lists. I think we save a lot cooking from scratch, as long as we have basic staples in the house we can make just about anything we want.
I feel very blessed, I see my grandchildren most days, most Sunday's all the kids, grandkids are here to eat and hang out, and at least once through the week, sometimes more we have a crowd for dinner, it is wonderful.Last night everyone was here, including my neighbor, for a big pot of chili, just the thing on a cold winters day, for desert we had yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It was a fun, noisy meal.
Tonight I got home from work, I don't work again until Monday, it always takes me a bit to unwind from the hectic pace at the office. I had a nice cup of tea, putzed around on the internet, then decided to work on the bag I am knitting. I finished the second piece to the knitted bag last night, so tonight I had to block the pieces then sew them together and then make a lining and sew it into the bag.  The house is very quite, I sat in silence at the kitchen table drinking my tea and sewing together the bag, then I went upstairs to my sewing room and again worked in silence while I put together the lining and sewed it into place. Silence is good! I feel calm, I feel myself again, I feel satisfied with a busy productive day at work, and a satisfaction in my almost completed knitting project, I still need to knit a handle for my bag, that I will do tomorrow.
I am reading another Alexander McCall Smith book, the third in the Scotland Street series, I really do enjoy AMS writing. And, I love the Kindle my kids got me for Christmas. It is so nice to borrow a book from the library via the Kindle, it might be three o' clock in the morning, I can browse the available ebooks at our library and once I find one it takes just a few seconds to download and have available to read - truly amazing. In my last post I mentioned I was reading Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, I thought I was going to enjoy it, initially I was drawn right into the story, but several chapters later I just lost interest in the main character and I didn't really like any of the other characters, so I skipped to the end to see what happened and then returned the book to the library.
I have really been enjoying The Waltons over the past month or so, I purchased season 7 a fair number of years ago, so took a few weeks to watch all of the episodes as I knitted or crocheted away. At our work Christmas party I won a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble, so two weeks ago I used it to purchase season 4 of the Waltons, it has taken me two weeks to watch all of the episodes.  Now I want to get more seasons, but will have to wait. I do like season 7 except Grandpa is not in any of the episodes as the actor who played him, Will Geer, died between seasons 6 and 7, and Michael Learned who played the Mama left the show about two thirds of the way through the season.. John Boy is still in season 4, but I believe he left the show after season 5. I really like the episodes with Grandpa and John Boy still around. I don't care for season 8 or 9 so much, the show changed a lot, of course the children had grown up, but key characters were gone, Grandpa and Grandma were dead, John and Olivia were absent, John Boy returns but is played by a different actor. Cousin Rose comes to take care of the family, I like her character but always feel as it the Walton girls are kind of mean to her and put her down a lot. And poor Ronnie Clair, who played Cora Beth really had her work cut out as the character becomes more and more over the top. But even though Cora Beth is over the top she is still a very entertaining character, and as the seasons rolled on she became more of an eccentric rather than a somewhat mean spirited gossip she was portrayed as in the beginning of the show. A few episodes were silly, The Poltergeist being one, and another where suddenly it turns out Mary Ellen's husband, Kurt, didn't die in the war after all. But there are so many really good episodes, the Pearl Harbor attack episode is just one of them. I loved that  Ellen Corby, who played Grandma, returned to the show after her stroke and was wonderful in the show.
The Walton's was produced by Earl Hammer, he is the "real" John Boy and the show is loosely based on his books and his childhood.  I have read all of Earl Hammer's books, he is a very gifted writer, with a good sense of humor, and an eye for detail, I would highly recommend any one of his books and they are probably available at your local library.
Anyway, enough already, this post was not supposed to be all about The Waltons' but I love the show and I guess that is perhaps a bit too obvious :)

Well that is all that is going on in my mind this evening.

Good Night,

Bean

Okay, this is weird, and sad. I finished this post and went to Yahoo to check my email, and on the news page up pops a picture of Ralph Waite, the actor who played the father in The Walton's. Sadly he died today at the age of 85, RIP Mr. Waite, we sure enjoyed your work and will always remember you as the Dad in The Walton's.

A Journey

Life is an interesting journey! As a child I was raised without religion. This is not strictly a true statement, as the school system in England in the seventies provided RE (religious education) class along with morning assembly where we sang hymns and started our day with prayer, this was the extent of my exposure to Christianity. 

We lived on the outskirts of a small village in Suffolk, a few miles from our home was the parish church, a beautiful medieval building surrounded by a peaceful graveyard. Although I don't recall ever attending a service at the church I do recall playing there. My sister and I would ride our bikes to the church and play in the graveyard and as the church was always open we often played inside too. I really liked the church and found it peaceful and pleasant and have many fond memories of it. (see pictures at the end of this blog)

Occasionally I would have a sleep over on Saturday night at my friend Susan's house, her family went to Chapel, if I was there on a Sunday morning I would go to Sunday school with Susan and always enjoyed it.

When I was fourteen my family moved to America, religion is a much bigger part of life in this country than in England. There are literally churches on every corner, and denomination after denomination and non-denomination after non-denomination. Our family was invited to church on several occasions, we went, I found it somewhat overwhelming. The youth groups were large and I as a shy person and a foreigner felt unsure about how to fit in. I think my parents felt the same and we did not attend anymore churches. 

During high school I went to Campus Life, I was invited to go with a friend, I liked it very much as I knew many of the other kids from school and the leaders were cool and fun.  I prayed the sinners prayer and was saved at one of the meetings, I remember being upstairs on the landing kneeling in prayer with a Campus Life leader at the home of a girl called Libby, this would have been the fall of 1980. Shortly after I stopped going to Campus Life, but a seed was planted and my life as a Christian had begun.

At nineteen I married Dave and shortly after our son Matt was born, two and half years later our daughter Amber was born. By the time Matt was four I really started to yearn for a church home. I looked up churches in the yellow pages of the phone book and called a few that were close to home. One of the churches I called was the Spring Street Wesleyan Church, the phone was answered by Pastor Kierstead, he asked if he could come to my home to meet me.  A few days later Pastor Kierstead stopped by, he was a little old man, who wore dashiki shirts, he had spent many years in Africa as a missionary, and he was a caring, sincere Christian man. I enjoyed my visit with Pastor K, he invited me to church that Sunday and said that the Hanna family would meet me at the door. I nervously arrived at the church with my children for Sunday service and sure enough Bill and Linda Hanna and their three daughters were waiting for me, introduced themselves to me and made sure we were settled. How nice, this was twenty-five years ago and I still recall the names of everyone.

Well the Wesleyan church became my second home, the kids and I did Sunday school, I took some classes with Pastor K and was baptized, I went to Sunday evening prayer service, I went to Wednesday night bible study and participated in the many carry-ins and activities planned for parishioners. The children went to pre-school at the church.The church family wasn't large, but it was friendly, and I liked it. The only problem, my husband didn't want to go, he was born and raised Catholic and he just didn't want to go to the Wesleyan church. I felt it was important that we go to church as a family so asked my husband if he would go to church with us if we attended the Catholic church, he said yes.  It was a hard thing to leave the Wesleyan church community I belonged to, but I felt that it was important that as a family we worshiped together. 

So began my journey into Catholicism, we joined Most Precious Blood Church, our children attended school there, in June of 1992 we had our younger children, Amber and Ben baptized, and in October of 1992 Dave and I had our marriage blessed by the Catholic church. I took catechism classes to prepare for first communion and confirmation, and so did Matt and at the Easter Vigil in 1993 Matt was baptized, and we both took our first communion and confirmation.

For the past twenty-one years I have been a Catholic. Over the years we have been members at several different parishes, we moved and left Most Precious Blood in 1999, we then attended Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Auburn for about ten years, then we joined an inner city parish, St. Marys, but in the past few years have mainly attended mass at St. Peters. I have been a secular Franciscan, but didn't really see the point of it, the group I belonged to did very little but meet once a month for snacks and to discuss that Sunday's Gospel reading from mass. I then looked into another Franciscan fraternity, the Penitents, but it was so full of rules about what you could and couldn't do that I felt I would become a slave to the rules and did not see that I would learn about Jesus. 

Over the past year I have felt very unsettled, I want to learn about Jesus, I want to study my bible, I want to grow in my Christian faith. I listen to a lot of Christian Talk radio, the protestant preachers really open up the word or God and give good teaching on the word. I realized that this is what I want, I want to get an in depth understanding of the bible and I want to learn so that I can live my life for the Lord. 

I started to do a bible study by mail, it was interesting and I learned so much from the book of John, and memorized most of the first chapter as my homework. Wow, good stuff!

Over the summer, as a family, we attended a local Methodist church and my husband even went, Henry my grandson goes to preschool there, although the service was nice, it seemed a bit watered down, we went three times and decided it wasn't for us. 

I prayed and prayed about this, it is a hard decision to make a change, and it effects the whole family, not just me. I felt I was interested in church in a nearby community, I had listened to the services online, and liked the teaching, I decided to contact the church to find out more. It was nerve wracking, I emailed the pastor. After a week I had heard nothing, perhaps he was on vacation, perhaps my email was stuck in his spam filter, who knows. So two weeks later I emailed again, and again no response. Two weeks after that I called the church and left a message on the answering machine, I never got a call back. Three tries your out I thought, this is obviously not where God wants me.

There is another church a few miles from my home, we have driven past it many times over the years and I have always enjoyed the messages on their sign out front. One Sunday last October I decided to attend a service. What a small congregation, perhaps a dozen families, but what an excellent message it was exactly what I was looking for. I went the following Sunday, and attended one or the Wednesday evening services. But Dave had no interest in going, then I went on vacation with Amber and the grandsons, I felt conflicted and when this happens I find the best course of action is to wait things out. So I didn't attend the church again, we went to mass and things just continued along. Okay I thought I am not sure where God wants me, but I will choose to be happy wherever he places me.  Then out of the blue I got a call from the little church, would I like to come to the ladies bible study they are starting, why yes I would! I read the first five chapters of Genesis and was ready to attend, but it was not to be I ended up in the ER with my daughter thankfully she was okay but I missed the bible sturdy. I called when I knew I wouldn't be able to make it and left a message at the church. Fannie, the evangelists wife, called me on Monday to let me know that they had prayed for my daughter and could she drop off the bible study book at my home.  Fannie dropped the book off and met with me on Saturday morning to cover what I had missed on Sunday evening, she invited me to Sunday service and the carry-in that followed. I went to the service and again enjoyed it, excellent teaching, then afterward a nice fellowship at the carry-in, as I mentioned this is a small community so it was a very family like atmosphere. But I feel conflicted, it is hard to make a change, my husband is not interested in attending church if it is not Catholic.As far as my children go, they are all grown, my son occasionally attends the Lutheran church with is his wife and mother-in-law, my daughter attends the Catholic church and our grandsons are baptized but she would like a church that has a family focus, my youngest two do not attend church. My husband has attended church and has never wanted anything more,  if I don't go to church he doesn't go, and if I don't go to a Catholic church he doesn't go.  I am praying about this, I feel that I have found a church community to belong to and I yearn to be ever closer to our Lord, and I want to know all that is in bible and understand it so that I know how God wants me to live.

Friends please pray for me, please pray for my husband.

Blessings to you,

Bean

Pictures of Great Barton parish church for you enjoyment :)

Great Barton Church

Graveyard

Pipe Organ

Colorful Tapestry Kneelers

Awesome Keys to the Church

Stained Glass Windo

Brutally Cold Yet Stunningly Beautiful

BRRRR = -13 F right now, and wind chills in the double digits. But the sun is shining and the snow looks spectacular. The field looks like a snow ocean with wave after wave of drifted snow. The fir trees are coated with now snow and look so very pretty. But it is soooooooo cold.

About 40,000 people are now without power in the state of Indiana, hopefully the linemen are able to get things repaired quickly. And, please pray that the workers stay safe in this brutal weather as they brave the elements to get the power restored.

Our son-in-law is stranded in Bluffton, Indiana, he had to work last night and his employer paid for Brad to stay in the Holiday Inn. Brad had to get a ride to the Holiday Inn because his car is now plowed in the parking lot of his work, thank you Mr. Snowplow man!  Shortly after Brad checked into the hotel they lost power.  We assume the hotel has some sort of back up generator for heat at least, and Brad can sleep all day in the warm, we hope.  We haven't heard from Brad since early this morning and he was worried his phone would die and he is unable to charge it.  Please pray that Brad stays safe.

Here are some pictures to enjoy from the warmth of your computer :)

September

This has been a busy month for me. Along with all the usual stuff, I have also been busy putting away the garden bounty that we have been blessed with. Our concord grapes did well this year and I was able to put up 26 jars of grape jelly.  Our apple trees did very well this year, the first time since we planted them ten or so years ago, and they are keeping me busy. The grandchildren love applesauce so I am making plenty of it. I have put up 6 quarts of applesauce so far and will easily have enough apples  to do another 8 quarts of sauce, and I have made 9 pints of apple butter.  My sauerkraut is fermenting away in a bucket in the kitchen, I will can it some time next month, it smells very good right now.  Our pear trees are loaded down and early next month I plan to start harvesting them and will begin to can some of the fruit.
I think this year I have canned more than I ever have; the inventory so far:

Tomatoes 65 quarts

Peaches 27 quarts

Green Beans 50 pints

Corn 35 pints

Grape Jelly 14 pints

Apple Sauce 14 quarts

Apple Butter 8 pints

Strawberry Jam 24 pints

Pickled Beets 12 pints

Pickles 22 quarts

Peppers 7 quarts, chopped up and frozen

Sauerkraut 25 lbs still fermenting, yet to be canned

Everything was from our garden except the peaches which I purchased at a very good price.  We are very pleased with our little harvest. And, we thank the Lord for the abundance. I think back to early spring when we planted the garden, I stood with the grandsons in one of the gardens, we held hands in a circle and we prayed for the Lord's blessing upon our little gardens, and we have truly been blessed.

Family Update

Grandson Henry who just turned 5, started preschool earlier this month and really likes it. His favorite part each morning at school is recess and playing with his new friend Eli. 

Grandson Patrick who is three and a half, has started to draw "proper" pictures, he suddenly has a great interest in coloring and drawing, I enjoy his art work.

Grandson Charlie who is 16 months old is into absolutely everything and I feel that all I say to him is no, no, no, all day long when I watch him! Henry says, "Bad Baby", and I say no, "Learning Baby", and hopefully he will learn soon that he cannot climb up onto everything and bang on everything in sight :) 

Granddaughter Alivia is just about 11 months old now, she is starting to take a tentative step with a lot of encouragement, but her preferred method off locomotion is speed crawling everywhere. You can hear Alivia coming from a mile away, as there is a frantic slapping of hands and chubby knees on the floor, as she races from one thing to other. Alivia now has four teeth.

The other day Henry told me about a dream he had, I want to remember it for him for when he gets older, so here it is:

In the dream Henry and Patrick are taking a bath, when they get out of the water they are different colors, Henry is blue, Patrick is green and their ears are feathers! They are able to remove the feathers and then find that they have brown ears and they cannot be taken off.

Well, what that is all about I don't know, but I thought it was quite an original dream to have! We spent a while talking about dreams and Henry wanted to know what kind of dreams I had when I was a little girl. I remember a few dreams, most likely because they disturbed me and I thought about them and they became part of my memory. One I remembered  from when I was around four years old, my family had come home from a weekend of camping and there was evidence that mice had enjoyed our home while we gone. I heard my parents talking about the mice and they put out some poison. I dreamt that a family of mice, people sized and sort of Mickey Mouse looking lived in my wardrobe, I don't recall what happened in the rest of the dream, but still can see visions from the dream. Henry told me that my dream was "very freaky"!

Everyone else is simply busy. Amber has stepped down as manager at the salon she works for and is transferring to a location closer to home, she got tired of managing people! Son-in-law Brad is away on an 8 week training course for work, he is able to come home on the weekends, and has just completed the third week. Amber and the boys will be glad when Daddy is home for good.

Ben and Emily are working hard on their college courses.

Dave returned to work last week and has fully recuperated from his surgery and the complications that followed.  Thank you for all of the prayers.

My fun Friday night was spent in the large recliner in the TV room watching Mary Poppins for the umpteenth time with, at one point three grandchildren snuggled up with me, I thought to myself that it really doesn't get any better than this, and I felt truly blessed.

So all in all although we are busy, life is back to normal again and that is good thing, and we thank the Lord for the many blessings he pours upon our family.

Do You Ever Just Feel Blessed :) ???

Well I do. Life has it's ups and downs that is for sure. Stressful times come and go, but all works outs in the end, time spent worrying is wasted. I trust in the Lord and he is GOOD!  "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord". Psalm 31, verse 24. I just so love this verse, I find it so encouraging.

Anyway today lots of little things make me feel blessed:

My husband is feeling much better.

Emily is feeling much better.

I went to the Grabill days parade with daughter Amber and the trio of grandsons - we had a good time.

My sister stopped by with her husband, to get more Kale, and to just hang out and visit - we had a good time.

I made cheese and tomato toasties for everyone for lunch - YUMMY to enjoy fresh produce from the garden. And "break bread" with loved ones. Aren't impromptu gatherings simply the best kind of gatherings.

I made extra toasties and took a couple down to my neighbor Nancy, and a friend who was there working to repair her sink. I am thankful for good friends. I am thankful Nancy is healing well from her knee replacement surgery.

I love that my chickens love all the left over bits and pieces we feed them, oh how they love melon rind.

I am glad I have so much kale to share with my sister and am glad that she is doing so well.

I am looking forward to a sleepover tonight with the grandsons - if it doesn't rain we will have a campfire and cook hot dogs.

I am just glad to be a daughter, a sister, a mom, a grandma, and a friend all of these roles make me feel so blessed.

Like I said, lots of little things make me feel blessed, and I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

Blessings to you,

Bean

A Soul Comforting Blog Post

I can't begin to tell you how much this post spoke to me, over at Living on Less Money, 

We have had a rough week, the simple out patient surgery my husband had last Monday to mend a hernia ended up with complications requiring a trip to the emergency room and a 3 day stay in the hospital!!  While Dave was still in the hospital our youngest daughter, Emily, had a doctors appointment for her first ultrasound, she was so excited because they were going to get the first glimpse of the new baby and see the heart beat if it still could not be heard. The technician located the baby, then left the room to get the doctor, the baby had died. Emily was extremely upset, as we all are. On Friday morning I felt that I could bear no more, and I simply did not know what to do for Emily other than give her and her boyfriend a hug and then give them space to cope. And of course, pray for them, and pray for the little baby.

Last night I awoke around two in the morning and felt a bit stressed, I started worrying about just how long my husband will be unable to work, will he have a hard time regaining his strength for the physical demands of his job, when will the medical bills start arriving, how are we going to manage, well you can imagine my mind was in a bit of whirl. So, I ended up online, saw that Georgene had a new post, read it and it WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED TO READ!!! I stopped stressing, made myself a mug of hot milk and went back to bed, and slept soundly until seven-thirty this morning. Thank you Georgene for your words of wisdom, they are truly God inspired.

Please keep our family in your prayers.

Thank you,

Bean

What a Week!!!

Please pray for healing. Dave had complications and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, the pain is now under control, THANKFULLY, but he will be in hospital for a few more days.

Things to be thankful for:

My husband is no longer in pain!
My boss is so understanding and I did not need to stress about missing work on Thursday.
My children have been wonderful! Feeding the chickens, the steer, the dog and the cat, keeping me company at the hospital, bringing me coffee, bringing me something to eat while I stayed by Dave's side.
Friends and family, all the supportive phone calls, and prayers offered.
The priest at the hospital, such a nice man, so encouraging to us.
That my husband is getting good care and should be well again soon.

Praise The Lord, for he is GOOD.

Thank you,

Bean

Surgery Update

All is well! Praise the Lord.

Dave's surgery was straightforward, the hernia repaired, and no sign of weakness on the other side, so very good. He is a bit uncomfortable, to be expected, but is taking his pain meds, and is already feeling bored because he is sore and can't really do anything.

Nancy, my neighbor, called me a bit ago, she had knee replacement surgery today, she is doing very well, in fact, I could not believe how perky she sounded on the phone. I will pop up and visit her tomorrow on my way home from work.

So thank you everyone for your prayers, they were answered.

Bean

Prayer Request and Busyness

First of all I would like to request prayer for my husband who will be having surgery on Monday morning to repair a hernia, and also for my neighbor Nancy who will be having knee replacement surgery the same day. I will be taking both Dave and Nancy to the hospital as they both have to check in around the same time. Dave's surgery is outpatient and I assume we will be back home by early afternoon. Nancy will in the hospital for several days and will then spend a yet to be determined number of days in a rehabilitation facility as she recuperates from her surgery.
Dave has been off work all week, he isn't in pain, but he isn't feeling very comfortable, hopefully by the end of next week he will be feeling almost back to normal. The doctor said he should wait three weeks before returning to work as his job is quite physically demanding.  Four weeks without pay is going to stre-e-e-tch us for sure, thankfully we have a freezer full of meat, and a lot of vegetables put up already from our garden so we can cut grocery purchases to the bare minimum. I am trying to avoid thinking too much about what all of this will cost, and instead am thankful that it can be taken care of so quickly. Anyway please pray for us as this adds stress to the situation, I have faith that God will see us through, but still appreciate your prayers.

I find it best to keep occupied when times are a little tough, so busy I have been keeping myself.  Last year I purchased about four yards of blue and white pinstriped seersucker material with plans to make a jumper. I had a pattern but couldn't quite convince myself that it was exactly what I wanted so the material has sat on a shelf since last summer. As I was ironing the other evening I pulled a seersucker jumper out of the ironing basket, it is one that I like, it is in a very light brown check, so comfortable to wear in the summer. I purchased the jumper in the Goodwill store in Loveland, CO, about five years ago and have always thought it would be nice to have another one. Well as I ironed a light bulb went off in my head and thought about the blue and white pinstriped material and thought why not? I have never made a jumper without a pattern, and have never attempted to make a garment by copying one I already own. Well it took some thinking, but armed with a tape measure, a marking pen, and a seam ripper I was able to duplicate the jumper.  I made a few modifications, I simply sewed the shoulder straps in place in the front, rather than using dungaree clasps. Each side had a row of three buttons, I have never had any reason to undo them so decided they were unnecessary so simply continued the seam up the side. I could not believe that I actually succeeded with this project so well, I am pleased with the jumper and know I will wear it often. I also used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine to edge the pockets and the top front of the bib.

I have had a number of projects in limbo. I have four balls of nice brown yarn that have been in my knitting basket for a year or more, I decided to start a cardigan and cast on the back yesterday and started the ribbing, I should have this project finished by fall.  I have some knobbly, fluffyish sort of tawny colored yarn that I purchase months ago to crochet a shawl with, I think I will start this project on Monday morning while Dave is in surgery, this should help pass the time and when my mind is concentrated it doesn't turn to worrying.

A couple of summers ago I purchased a pair of hot pads at a yard sale, they were new and were crocheted by the mother of the elderly lady who was having the sale. They are great hot pads, very colorful and they work well, I could tell they were crocheted but could not figure out how they were made. Well now, thanks to google, I discovered that they are called Magic Hot Pads, and boy are they easy to make, and they are kind of magical because of the way they are put together. I made one today, it didn't take long, although it is made out of a very garish variegated yarn, it will certainly add color to the table!

As I said, the variegated yarn is very GARISH,
don't you think?

 Another item I purchased a while ago was a kitchen hand towel that hangs from a drawer handle, I love it, and miss it so when it is in the wash, which is frequently because it is used so much.  Well I googled how to make a crochet topped towel, it is easy, and I am pleased with the finished product. A very inexpensive project, the dish towel cost .94 cents and makes two hanging towels, which is good because I will now have three of them and will always have one hanging around to dry my hands on. I will make more of these for Christmas gifts.

Yesterday I got the first major pick of tomatoes out of the garden and was able to can 16 quarts, I am sure in a few days time plenty more will be ready for picking.  We have been enjoying cheese and tomato sandwiches and toasties, egg and tomato salad sandwiches, and sliced tomatoes with most anything. Your just can't beat a super ripe home grown tomato. We are anxiously awaiting our canteloupe melons to finish ripening, they are almost ready, but not quite, it is driving me nuts. I am sure that all fifteen will ripen the exact same day and we will be eating melon until we turn orange. About all I have left to do other than tomatoes is bring in the cabbage and get sauerkraut going, I think I will work on this next weekend.

First batch of tomatoes out of the canner.

Tomorrow we are going to Amber and Brads house to celebrate grandson Henry's fifth birthday, how time flies. It is going to be an ice-cream party, so should be fun for all.

All the grand babies were here yesterday, the boys built a train out of three booster seats, a ride on car and walker toy, they had so much fun and played train for quite a while.

Anyway, thank you again for keeping us in your prayers.

Bean

Summertime and the living is easy...

Yet another glorious summer day, we have truly been blessed with so many fair weather days in a row. The grandsons are here today, so we decided to spend the morning outside. We headed out around nine-thirty, hung the wash, fed the chickens, fed the steer, and on our way back up to the house picked a bucketful of peppers and stopped by the grape arbor for a refreshing snack of canadice grapes.  After gathering up some supplies, water, apples, matches and paper, we headed back out to light a campfire. The fire soon took off, the little boys played happily in the mulberry tree while I enjoyed sitting in it's shade with Charlie.  After a little while Grandpa came out with two little boy cane fishing poles and the three of them headed off to the neighbors pond for some fishing. The boys caught several little fish and were very pleased with themselves.
After fishing everyone was hungry so we roasted hot dogs on the campfire and enjoyed a pleasant outdoor lunch.
Charlie finally awoke from his nap, what a pleasant nap kicked back in the stroller in the shade of the mulberry tree, he literally had it made in the shade :)  Now we are back in the house, two boys are tired, but are waiting patiently for grandpa to return from the store with popsicles. Yikes, Grandpa just called, Dollar Generals freezer broke down again, so no popsicles from there, so he is heading off to Sav A Lot in Grabill for some funko brand popsicles instead :)
I thought this was cute, as we sat around the campfire this morning I played a couple of games with the boys, one was Telephone, you know the game? the one where one person whispers a message to another, and at the end you never know how the message might end up. Anyway, Henry started one of the messages and whispered in my ear, "I like it when Patrick plays with me". I just love it, they play pretty well together for the most part and I think when Henry starts preschool next month Patrick is going to miss him very much.

They were deep in discussion when I was walking towards them, I wonder what they were so intently talking about?

Behind the sunflowers is a big patch of corn, in front is a row of cosmos flowers just about ready to bloom, and then a whole mess of tomato plants with tons of tomatoes beginning to turn red.