First snowstorm

First snow storm of the season! I'm lovin it. Fall is my favorite time of year but I still love that first snow. This is early for us however. Owyn, our corgi, LOVES the snow. He went out early this morning and raced all over the yard playing in the snow. He runs and jumps at the snow and tries to get snowballs rolling and then pounces on them. He is a hoot to watch. I'll try to remember the camera the next time. Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow!!

The new kitchen walls

Yes you read it right. This will be the walls in the kitchen of the farm house. My dear friend Betsy had this wonderful red rusted tin on a building that is going to be torn down. So, I traded her a cupboard for some tin! LaVern thought that was great until I broke the news that WE had to go out and take it off. Oh my! What a job! It was put up back in the days when those boards were full 2x4's and rock hard. And the nails were in like concrete. We finally got enough off to tin at least one of the 35 foot kitchen walls. Can't wait to see it up. Betsy has a small wall in her kitchen with this. And now I know why it is only tinned on the smallest wall in her kitchen! Should go up easier than it was taking it down. Primitive and positively fun.

The ash pile

Sometimes I am in awe and wonder and this morning is one of those times. Just last night the thought crossed my mind of how many times I have heard people say, "why do bad things happen to good people?". What would my response be? And then I log in to my blog this morning and what do I see? What do I see? Father John's blog. Amazing. Read it.

Why organic?

If you are lucky enough to have an organic grocery store in your area, buy from them. Or maybe even directly from an organic farmer. I know, usually organic food is more expensive but consider the trade off. I personally believe that all the chemicals going in to our food supply and even the processing and packaging of it has a great deal to do with all the cancers. You may be young now and really not giving much thought to what you are eating but when you are my age the years of putting all those chemicals in to your body will catch up.
There are people who spend their lives uncovering what's safe...or not...to eat. Food scientists of all kinds. An endocrinologist at the University of Missouri will not go near canned tomatoes. The resin lining of the tin cans contain some synthetic estrogen that reacts with the acidity of the tomatoe which is released and we eat. Microwave popcorn........chemicals in the lining of the bag migrate into the popcorn upon microwaving. I haven't had a microwave for a long time so we pop our kernels the old-fashion way in a skillet on the stove. Conventional apples. Apples are the most doused in pesticide fall fruit on the market. Because of the way they are grafted now, they don't develop resistance to pests and are sprayed a whole lot more with chemicals. The list goes on and on. Reach for alternatives. It will bring you better health....and peace of mind!

Laundry

When I was growing up, we lived in the country, and one day of the week was washday. I guess once we get moved to the farm it will be the same for me. No more dropping a load in the ole automatic and forgetting about it. The wringer and the tubs will be set up and I'll do it all at once. That day will depend on the weather as I'll hang everything out to dry. I do have several wood drying racks and on our last trip back there I hung towels and dish rags on one behind the wood stove. They dried out in no time. Even though it is a chore, I like it. And I especially love clothes hung out on the line. The sun can whiten the whites like nothing else. I don't know, there is just something funny about underwear flapping in the breeze.

Mental-pause

I am at the age, as well as my close girlfriends, of what I like to call mentalpause. Yeah, yeah we've done the menopause thing but this is much worse. I went to Valley, NE. with my two girlfriends, Betsy and Mary, for a rug hook in. This is a one day event with vendors and rug hookers from all over. There is usually a rug show and it's always fun to see what others are hooking. Anyway (I'm trying to keep the story short), we were staying the night in Fremont, NE. Arrived in town about 6 pm and started looking for the motel where we were staying. Driving through town we saw a Dairy Queen advertising Pumpkin Blizzards! We all three promptly decided we had to have one before we left the area. But we continued on and located the motel. Betsy thought it best if she filled up with gas and we grab a sandwich before checking in to the motel and dragging all the luggage in. So we turned and headed back up the way we came. She saw a gas station on the corner and pulled in. I love Betsy dearly, but it's time she learns how to pump gas using a credit card!! I mean, she is "old enough" to know how to do this. Well, it was cold so Mary and I sat in the car while Betsy mumbled and muttered outside with her card. Finally she said, "forget this, I'll just pay inside". By then, I was on a cell phone call and Mary was in the back seat reading. The next thing I know is I saw Betsy running across the way into the a side door of the Dairy Queen. It just so happened it was right next to the gas station. I thought "GREAT, Betsy is going for our blizzards".
She gets inside and a young man asks her what she would like. She looks up and sees they have food at this gas station. "Oh, I don't want anything to eat I just want to pay for my gas", she replys. The young man has a puzzled look on his face and answers, "But this is the Dairy Queen". By now, Betsy has realized she did not run into the gas station but the Dairy Queen. Embarassed but quick to wit she says, "oh, good, we were looking for this" and races back outside. This time she saw the gas station behind the pumps and made it over to pay for the gas. We then parked and went in to the Dairy Queen where Betsy told the young man, "Look, I'm back and I brought friends". ha ha ha ha
I usually am frustrated with mentalpause but sometimes it is great for laughs. We all three laughed until the tears were streaming down our faces. (thank goodness for Depends) This will be a memory that I shall cherish forever, Betsy. You are a hoot!! (We still need to teach you how to use that card to pump gas). Love ya.

Still around...just not blogging

LaVern wanted to come in to town (Mt Ayr) and pick up some RV antifreeze to winterize the RV plus get something to put in the transmission of the pickup. It is going "kaput" so I am sure we will be driving home on a wing and prayer. Anyway, I am blogging in front the of the library! I think the plan is to drive back to Oberlin tomorrow. We got a lot done this week at the farm. Still trying to figure out the hot water system. Know we will use solar but have to think about the days like this week when there wasn't any sun. It has been raining, cloudy and cold the entire time we have been here. Even snowed last Saturday! I love the fall weather though. The trees are beautiful here. Lots of maples so that red color scattered throughout. Went to the Amish neighbors nearby and bought a couple quarts of bee honey. Need to get alittle more firewood cut so that there will be some all ready when we come back in a couple weeks. We have quite a bit in the pole shed now waiting to be cut up. That's the update for now. Back to the farm.

Shrine

www.holyfamilyshrine.com

Haven't gotten to stop and see this yet. It is on my list to do. Just west of Omaha, NE. You can see it from the interstate. The entire building sides are all glass and it sits high up on a hill. Breath taking from the interstate so I can imagine what it is like up there. Maybe I'll get to see it this trip back. Leaving early tomorrow morning with two girlfriends. We will stop at our favorite shops in Lincoln and then head to Fremont, NE. Going to a rug hook-in on Friday. Then on to the farm that evening. Saturday we will take in the Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset, IA. they will head home on Sunday and I will stay another week with LaVern at the farm, working on the house. He is back there now. Will try to get in to Mt. Ayr and blog while back there. Chance of snow here while we are gone! Take joy.

Batteries

LaVern is back in Iowa working on the farm. I think he is going to put in some new plumbing and maybe get our shower in place............inside the house! Anyway, he arrived late yesterday evening and so therefore did not have the solar panel (our temporary one) out. He commented that he was glad we had some little battery flashlights there. I was thinking about batteries then for the rest of the afternoon.
We expend energy every day, work, people needing attention, household chores. Everything piles up like the fall leaves. Right now I can't escape to the quiet of the farm but I can sure find that peace and comfort in the presence of God. It's like recharging my spiritual batteries. I'm going to retreat from the world for a few moments of meditation and prayer. Charge up those ole batteries and keep shining!
Take peace.

Uff da

From Wikipedia encyclopedia: Uff da is an exclamation of Norwegian origin that is relatively common in the Upper Midwestern states of the U.S. It roughly means "drats," "oops!", or "ouch". It has become a mark of Scandinavian roots, particularly for people from North Dakota and Minnesota.

I guess I say this all the time but just never noticed it before. Someone finally brought it to my attention and asked me where it came from. "Good grief, I don't know", I replied. So after some research, now I know! My family (both parent's) all come from northern Iowa, almost into Minnnesota. Lots of redheads and probably Norwegian roots. Must have heard "uff da" has a child growing up and it stuck.

Someone once observed that if Charlie Brown was Norwegian, he would say "uff da!" instead of "Good Grief!". UFF DA