Card Making and Youth

I spent some time a couple weeks ago preparing to help with a girls organization called GEMS. This is a church related group that always has a theme verse for the year. I found out that this year it is one of my favorite verses… Micah 6:8 ” He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

My part of the evening was going to be helping with the craft and I was going to help with card making. Last week, was the week I got to have the fun of helping out with that group of girls.

It was a little hard to decide what type of cards I was going to prepare for a group of young girls. It is always kind of an experimental thing knowing what someone else will like. Of course I had to include a chicken card!

They did seem to like that one and it was fun to hear the stories of moms and grandmas who also had chickens. It was also fun to try figure out if I knew those moms and grandmas!

The stamps for the chicken cards were a set from Stampin’ Up called “Hey Chick”. I love this set for obvious reasons! Some gold, white, and navy cardstock, markers to color chicks with and we had a finished card.

The other two cards we made, are in the picture at the top. Not quite as “fun” but they still had a good time making them. All the stamps used on these three cards were from various set from Stampin’ Up. The cardstock and paper came from a variety of places…..Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Stampin’ Up and some really old scraps from Creative Memories. (Nope I don’t get any compensation for mentioning where the stuff comes from….just thought it might be helpful.)

Watching those girls make cards and listening to their comments was wonderful. It gives me great hope for the future. These girls were polite, full of funny comments and they freely helped each other with ideas for their cards.

It should probably be mandatory for everyone over a certain age to spend time with young people. Their view on life can make a person feel young again and see that the future is full of promise. They give you the feeling that anything is possible and bring a joy to life that is catchy.

I have always told my kids that my goal is to get old but not grow up……and after that evening I know why. (Oh….and my kids have assured me that I am doing just fine on my goal.)

It is good to have the joy of a young person. It is good to see the endless possibilities in life. Some days are easier than others to find that joy but it is a wonderful thing when you do. I pray this finds you full of joy and possibilities.

 

The good thing about being young is that you are not experienced enough to know you cannot possibly do the things you are doing.
Unknown

Youth is not a question of years:
one is young or old from birth.
Natalie Clifford Barney

Thanksgiving Contenment

Today was a day that seemed like I was attached to my oven by an invisible rope. It seems that this time of year it is always that way. There are multiple things to be prepared and baked for the holiday tomorrow.

I will have to say that the house smelled wonderful. The scent of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pumpkin wafted through the house today.  For some reason I didn’t seem to be hungry much of the day. I have a feeling it is because I was taste testing things as I went!

While baking pies, bars, and cupcakes I was gifted time to think and reflect on the many things for which I have to be thankful. The things like family who remain close even though we don’t live near each other. Things like friends that we do life with… health, a safe harvest, etc. all came to mind…..they are all wonderful things and I am grateful for all of them.

I am also grateful for that feeling of contentment that takes hold of me when I am putzing about my kitchen, stirring, mixing and baking things. I have no idea why…it isn’t anything in particular….but time in my kitchen just makes happy. Maybe it is because I have time, while mixing, to reflect? Maybe I am like my chickens and am happy with a place to nest?

I tried to pinpoint the reasons for this feeling but really could not. Maybe it is the feeling of being useful and being enough. With all the struggles going on in this world I was grateful for the contentment of my kitchen.  My kitchen may look like a small tornado went through it…..but my heart is content.

For those who are facing this holiday as the first without a loved one….my heart grieves with you. For those who struggle with health, finances and family issues…please know that you are not alone…others have been where you are and understand. It will not stay this way forever. (Psalm 30:5)

For those facing hard things during what should be a wonderful time….there are no easy or pat answers. May you find peace in this season. May you find one thing to be grateful for each day. May you see those waiting to bless you and may you have a place where you can be content….even if it is as simple as standing by your oven; with smells of cinnamon and cloves drifting through your home.

A blessed day of Thanksgiving and gratitude to you all….no matter what country you are from!

 

Dear Lord; we beg but one boon more:
Peace in the hearts of all men living,
peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving.
Joseph Auslander
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/joseph_auslander_205953?src=t_thanksgiving

Unexpected Bonus

Corn pile on the lot across from the elevator

This week has turned out to be a busy one….again. I am not sure if I am moving slower or the time is just going faster…but the weeks seem to roll around quicker and quicker. Just when you think you are caught up, things seem to mushroom and you find out that you aren’t!

My husband thought he was all done hauling his crop into town to the local elevator, so we started putting the wagons back in the shed for the year. Then the neighbor stopped by and told him that there was still about 80 bushels of corn in the combine hopper.

This was a good problem…in fact a great problem! We were glad that there was a still a wagon that had not been put away. My husband brought the wagon to the neighbor’s place; where the combine was, and left it for the grain to be unloaded.

Today, we went and picked it up and hauled it to town. I don’t usually ride along, but this time my husband hauled the small load in with his pickup so I tagged along. As my husband was unloading the wagon in the “Dump 1” area I thought I should snap a few pictures.

This is the view heading for the dumping area. The “tunnel” is where we went.

 

Unloading Corn

It is a dusty business in the area where the grain is unloaded. The pictures might all have a dusty/grainy look to them due to the pictures being taken through the back window and the windshield.

I am not totally sure what the Stop/Go sign is for. I suspect it is used when the harvest season is in full swing and tractors, trucks, and semis are waiting their turn to unload. I should have asked my husband but he was busy with the wagon at the time.

I have edited this post to add a comment from a friend of mine. She explained to me what the sign means: “The stop and go lights are to tell the driver when to stop over the pit and when to drive ahead with the next wagon. You can’t see that from in the tractor. In the “olden days” ( like 4 years ago🤣) they used hand signals. Yellow means you didn’t stop quick enough…back up. You don’t want to see that one lol”

Once unloaded we took the “road” to the scale to weigh when we were empty and get the ticket that told us how many bushels we had brought in.

It was rather fun riding along with my husband. I got to experience that part of harvest in a way that I usually do not. I am usually at home making sure a meal is ready and hot when he comes home.

The extra, unexpected bushels were also a wonderful welcome surprise. It felt rather like a smile from God….a gift….a reminder that He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, ” (Ephesians 3:20).

May your weekend be filled to overflowing with blessings. I hope you find an unexpected bonus waiting for you and that it brings you joy.

 

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Psalm 65:11

Abundance

Today, I happened to take the road that leads past the co-op elevator in our small town. What I saw made me stop and take a second and even a third look.  It also prompted me to whip out the cell phone and take a couple photos.

When we were kids in school we were told that we lived in the “breadbasket of the country.” I am starting to think that the bread might be corn bread.

Sprouting from the ground was a mammoth pile of field corn that ran the length of the entire block. There was an alley that ran right alongside this huge pile of corn, so of course I needed to drive past that pile to get the full scale of that golden mound of kernels.

As I was slowly driving past it, I was amazed that it made the concrete silos behind it, look smaller than usual. I could only see the top half of those silos and that really made me take a hard look.

Those silos are really, really tall!  I know they are tall because when they were building them, as a kid, I tried climbing the ladder that ran up the side of one and never got anywhere near the top before I chickened out and went back down.

I came home and told my husband that I had taken a picture of that big pile of corn. He kind of laughed and informed me that there was another pile of corn on another location in town. I had to believe him as he is the one who has been hauling wagon loads of corn to town this harvest season.

As a farm wife I know there was talk of a record harvest. I also know that we had a dry summer so I was a little dubious if that record harvest would work out……I am now pretty sure they were right!

It is always amazing to me the abundance of a harvest. After prepping the fields in early spring, praying, then planting those fields, praying, weeding, praying, spraying, and praying some more it is finally harvest time.

I am not sure why I am always amazed….. God has never failed us yet. Even in dry years or overly wet years…there is always a crop. It might not always be huge…but it is always enough for our daily bread.

In this season of Thanksgiving I am so grateful for His faithfulness. I am grateful for His promise of daily bread. We have maybe not always have what we wanted; but we have always had what we needed, when we needed it. And that is enough.

Blessings to you in the coming days of preparing for Thanksgiving Day. May you find things to be grateful for and see the blessings around you. I know this is a little early for Thanksgiving…but I kind of think it is never to early to be grateful.

 

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.
Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.
Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
Henry Van Dyke
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henryvandy402970.html?src=t_gratitude

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beauty of the Seasons

Seasons in the Midwest are so very temporary.  Our weather can change swiftly in a few days….not to mention how it changes in a couple weeks.  A few weeks back there were still leaves on the trees and and when the light of the setting sun landed on those trees it was positively glorious!

My husband came in the house one of those nights and told me I needed to get my camera because the view was beautiful…..he was so right!  The trees glowed in hues of russet and gold and the light seemed to dance across the landscape. (That man has a good eye and I am so glad he shares with me.)

The fields are beautiful when they are green and growing but there is something about the golden stubble that carpets the earth once that field has been harvested. Maybe it is the feeling of contentment when that harvest is in and that golden glow is icing on the cake.

I wandered about, that evening, in awe of the artistry of the Creator. You would think those tones of brown would be rather boring. Instead of boring; they were rich, vibrant and spoke of life. The crisp evening air was an added bonus.

A few days later we had several windy days…very windy days, and the russets and golds were all gone. In it’s place; were bare tree limbs, stretching to the sky….another season was trying to push itself forward.

The last few days have felt more wintry than Fall-like. The other morning we woke to a frosty landscape. It sparkled…it shimmered…it looked like someone had thrown glitter with reckless abandon.

The morning sun turned those frosty branches into sparkling things of beauty. The intricate crystals were so delicate and fragile. They clung tenaciously to everything till the sun finally won and melted them.

The fields had lost their golden glow and became a surreal world with a hazy dreamy quality. It was so cold that morning; you could see your breath,  but it was worth braving the cold to enjoy the show.

I started out standing on the porch in my socks, but soon decided I needed to get my shoes on and really experience the brief space of time that frost hung heavy on everything.

Even  our humble mailbox had been turned into a piece of art. It stood there quietly, like a sentinel guarding the yard….standing proudly in the middle of frost covered grass.

The seasons all seem so fleeting…or maybe it is the beauty of the seasons seems so fleeting. The sun glows on the fall leaves for such a short time before the wind comes to strip the trees bare. The frost clings on branches such a short time before the heat of the sun melts them and the magic seems gone.

Sometimes life can be the same way.  The dreary days seem to last forever. Just when you think the dreary will never quit…. a ray of light shines through and turns the world into a golden fire or a sparkling, glittering showpiece.

I hope this finds you seeing that ray of light. If it doesn’t I pray, the promise of that ray of light feeds your faith and keeps hope alive. May you be blessed in the light and may you be blessed in the waiting for the light. Be assured…..it will come…..and you will see it. And when it does….it will be glorious!

 

“Some moments were golden;
they were designed and orchestrated by an invisible hand,
and they were meant to be more than moments.
They were meant to be memories.” 
― Heather Burch, In the Light of the Garden

 

 

 

 

Farm Gloves and Life

The other day I had to ask my husband to break out a new pair of those yellow farm gloves for me….the fluffy feeling yellow ones.  The pair I had been wearing were just getting too worn to be of any good. (And they didn’t feel fluffy anymore!) The finger ends were all starting to get holes in them and that doesn’t make for much finger protection from who knows what.

He went down to the basement and dug out the last pair in my size. (sort of my size…if my fingers were each 1/2 inch, or more, longer) When I started to inspect them, I discovered a rodent had decided to chew on the wristband! I have a feeling he (the rodent….not my husband) won’t be chewing any more as my husband has been successfully trapping the little critters.

For years, when our boys were home, we would have to put our names on things so we knew who had which gloves etc.  For some reason I have not gotten away from that practice.

When the new gloves came out I whipped out the black sharpie and promptly put my name on those gloves…MOM.  I kind of laughed at that one also!  I don’t get called Mom unless the kids are around. It is habit I guess…that putting my name on them and then using the name Mom.

I am good with that as I have earned that name.  I also discovered early on that if you turn those gloves the other way they read WOW…..I am good with that too! (And now I am wondering how many of you have turned your computer upside down to check that out?)  Some days you just need a wow moment. If you can’t have that moment, at least your gloves can say it.

These yellow farm gloves can seem rather pedestrian at first glance. They aren’t glamorous, trendy, cute, stylish, or even remotely fashionable.  They are just….gloves and extremely practical gloves at that. You can purchase them at a farm store by the dozen…..and we sometimes do! I should probably look into adding some bling to mine….then I could be practical and have a little sparkle.

In the scheme of things; I think I would rather be a farm glove, than something trendy. Farm gloves have staying power….they are reliable.  If these gloves were a person…they would not be easily offended…they would just dig right in and do what they were supposed to do without fear of what someone else thought about them.  I guess the word unassuming comes to mind with my farm gloves.

Maybe that is why I like these gloves. I don’t have to worry about them getting dirty or worn. They are made to be useful and that is a good thing in my mind. Hopefully I am a little like those gloves….not afraid of a little dirt and useful. (A hint of sparkle would be okay too!) It is also okay to be a little worn out….it shows that you have lived life and not held anything back.

I love the fact that a simple pair of yellow farm gloves can remind me of so many truths. The reminder, that at the end of the day……what you did has much more to say about who you are; than what you look like.

 

It is not the style of clothes one wears,
neither the kind of automobile one drives,
nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts.
These mean nothing.
It is simply service that measures success.
George Washington Carver
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgewash752550.html?src=t_clothes

 

 

 

Winter Preparations

I cannot believe how fast these days are going. It is a mystery to me how we already are at Friday when it seems that just yesterday it was Monday! Does anyone else seem to have this issue or is it just me?

I kind of wonder if the time goes by so fast because there seems like there is so much to get done before it is really wintertime. There are so many things that need to be finished up….things like harvesting corn…..splitting the wood and making sure everything that isn’t used during the winter is put in it’s proper place.

The last days have been spent splitting wood, while we wait for corn to be harvested. It is good there is time to get this done before the weather really turns nasty.  Already, there is a bite to the wind as we are outside working on the wood pile.

I am really grateful that last year we purchased a log splitter.  We had never had one before and after my husband borrowed a friends, he decided we really should have one. We were very fortunate to find a splitter that was being sold as clearance late last fall.

For an entire year that splitter stayed in it’s crate and finally this past week we assembled it and put it to use. It is amazing how quickly you can go through wood with the right tools. In the past, my husband would put in hours doing all that work with a wedge and sledge hammer. (I have no idea if those are the proper terms and I am okay not knowing!)

It was interesting to see that sometimes perfectly good looking logs were not that great looking on the inside!  Several, when split in half, were a little rotten and had loads of big black ants in them.  The girls thought it was an amazingly great thing when that would happen.

The girls might have enjoyed the ant-infested logs but I much preferred the good solid ones!  They looked like they would burn and give out a lot more heat than the mushy ones.

I have a feeling that we, as humans, can be a lot like those logs. We look great on the outside but inside we don’t look quite as good. Fortunately, if we are willing…..that not so good stuff can be redeemed and used for something good. While ants are not so good for logs….they are great for chicken food. “Stuff” in our lives that is not so good; can be turned around and used to help others through the same “stuff”.

There is a great feeling of satisfaction seeing the growing pile of wood, that we will use to help heat our home this winter.

There is a sense of fulfillment seeing tasks finished up and being able to check them off the seasonal “to do” list. I know that when we put that wood in the stove this winter, while the snow is flying and the wind is howling, we will be grateful for the time and effort spent these last few days.

It is good knowing we are going to be prepared for the coming cold days. It is good knowing we can just go to the wood pile and it will be ready for us to just toss in the stove. It will be wonderful to feel the heat and just enjoy the season that is winter.

May all your seasonal preparations go smoothly and may you be blessed by all the “stuff” that makes up your life. Have a wonderful weekend!

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.””
–Edith Sitwell