70th Anniversary

 If Ellis' parents were still on Earth, we would be celebrating their 70th anniversary. If they celebrate anniversaries in Heaven, my dad got there in time to celebrate with his friends, Mark and Florence Harshbarger. Dad went to be with Jesus on Saturday, September 27, 2014.

Summer Days

We heard a notice from our electric company yesterday --
try to limit the use of electricity during the day --
from 7:00 a.m. until sometime in the evening. 
Ellis and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. 
No one home today so no one is washing or drying clothes,
vacuuming, running the air conditioner, fans, water,
baking or cooking -- 
the house is empty.
     (Unless another mouse joined the household)

It's been so hot and humid.  That's why they have this peak alert. 

We have joined the ranks of empty nesters for a couple weeks . . .
just trying it out for a few days.  Krysta will be back after
Labor Day - starting school again and a new after-school job.
She will be one busy girl.  That's good because she didn't really
sign up for being an only child and she's not sure she will like it.

Our lives took an unexpected twist this summer when the school
where Deanne teaches asked Jorgan if he would teach as well.
They will each have 12 students if I heard right.  Two teachers -
no first graders this year and no fifth graders.  So Miss Dea will
have 2nd - 4th and Jorgan will have 6th -10th.

What will his school name be?  Mr. Harshbarger?
Mr. Jorge?   He has been trying on different names.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We have pickles in the kitchen.
Cucumbers, onions, garlic, salt, vinegar, spices,
jars, lids, rings, hot water

The final count: 
4 quarts Dill Pickles
10 pints Bread and Butter Pickles

It is satisfying to touch the lids the next day and sigh with relief.
Every jar sealed.  It is no fun trying to decide what to do with
pickles that don't seal.  It sort of takes the crunch out of the day
if you know what I mean.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yesterday I rode with Ellis on a couple deliveries.  In between runs I
stopped at my parents place and helped mom clean the play house. 
Usually this is Krysta's job but she is in western MT
helping Deanne and Jorgan. 

It was very warm!

Every year the play house gets a fall cleaning in time for the fish fry at
Dad and Mom's place.  All the little girls will arrange the dishes in the
cupboard and bake and cook up a storm in that little house. 
They can pretend to wash clothes in a tiny ringer washer.

There is a picture taken long ago of two little girls posing in front of that
same play house.  One tucked her braids in her belt to look like suspenders,
the other has her hair up under a white cap style covering -
a miniature Amish couple come to visit.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Random thoughts for warm summer days --

Summer Pageants

The last time we were at Walnut Grove MN Ellis had to work late
then we drove across HWY 14  at a great speed to get to the pageant
in time. 

The pageant was told from Ma's viewpoint at that time. 
They have since changed it to be told from Laura's perspective. 
After the pageant we drove to a campsite and kept the car running
so we had lights to set up a tent. 

It was a diesel car and very loud at 11:00 P.M.
Our neighbors were very kind and didn't come over and ask us,
"What in the world do you think you're doing at this hour of the night?"

The next morning we were going to make breakfast over a campfire
but we had forgotten our cast iron frying pans.  We have since perfected
the art of getting food and equipment all together in one place
(the trunk of the car and transported to the campsite)
- unpacked and arranged on a picnic table -
then created into a delicious breakfast/brunch on a campfire.

The menu doesn't change much:
Onions, Peppers and Mushrooms sautéed in butter
Scrambled eggs with cheese
Bacon or Sausage
Spam (we are from Austin MN - the Spam capital of the world)
 -- Slice the Spam and fry it.  It's the only way it is edible. =)
Pancakes

Krysta found a T shirt that describes our experiences.
              Camping Is In Tents

A little play on words. 

There is a lot of character building going on when mosquitos whine
around your head, and there is no light of any kind,
not even the moon.  It is so much better if you get to the spot
in the day light.

This year after the pageant I followed Trenda to a bed and breakfast
down the road about 20 miles.  The doors were open for us.  The beds
were comfortable.  The next morning we admired the beautiful old house,
drank cups of coffee and had a scrumptious breakfast.

Hwy 14 is perpetually under road construction so we took a detour south
and then continued west then north again to DeSmet.

We arrived at Lake Thompson and set up the tent at our campsite.
Like I said, much better in the day time!
Trenda and Brooke didn't like the green algae in the lake.
They have better lakes up north.

Four of Laura's books took place here.
On the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years

Technically, five books because The First Four Years happened here, too.

We signed up for the tour that took us through the Surveyor's house,
two school houses and the house Pa built in town.  After seeing the
bedroom in the surveyor's house I will never again say our bedroom
at home is small.  (Our bedroom wouldn't be so small if we would move
some books out!)

After that we drove out to the homestead and got a wagon ride
out to the edge of Pa's homestead where a school stands.  It isn't the
Perry school because that one burned down, but one like it.
When we pulled up to the hitching post a teacher came out of the school
and rang a bell.  We had just enough time to go inside and find a seat. 

There were straw hats for the little boys, if they wanted to wear them,
and sun bonnets for all the little girls. 
The teacher spoke of some history of that area.  She called up
three classes and they gave some impromptu recitations . . .
nursery rhymes from the little ones,
reading a poem from an old reader for the next group. 
Two boys and a girl went up for the last class so the teacher pretended
they were Cap Garland, Almanzo Wilder and Laura Ingalls
and told interesting stories about them.

Back at the homestead there was a lot of hands on stuff to do. 
We could wash dish towels, put them through the ringer then hang
them on a clothes line. We made a corn cob doll like Susan
in Little House in the Big Woods. 
We saw how they twisted hay into sticks and ground wheat into flour. 
Brooke rode a pony.

By this time we needed to drive down a trail to the pageant grounds. 
We got our supper at the concession stand and found our spots
smack in the middle
and close to the front.

This summer they put on These Happy Golden Years. 
After the winter we endured 2013- 2014 we were grateful it wasn't
the year for them to perform The Long Winter.

There was a roll call for all the countries and states represented. 
People from Sweden, Australia, Japan, Canada and many states,
including Alaska, were there.

I was intrigued by the dates of Pa and Ma's birthdays
and the year they got married. 
Pa was born in 1836 and Ma in 1839.  They got married in 1860. 
My parents were born in 1939 and they were married in 1960. 
One hundred years apart. 
Charles and Caroline had four girls and one boy. 
My parents have four girls and one boy.

After we returned home I started reading
Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder
written by Donald Zochert.  
He wrote that - Gasp! - it was Mary who pulled Laura's hair (not Nellie)
and insisted she stay inside at recess and not go out and play ball with
the boys.  Laura didn't listen and played anyway.  But then Mary told Ma.
Ma talked to Laura and after that Laura and her friends stayed inside and
watched the game through the window.

So Laura was very kind and wrote historical fiction and didn't tell what a
naughty girl Mary really was.    The oldest girls in a family are often the
bossiest people imaginable.  I know this from personal experience
since I'm the oldest in my family. 
I was called "bossy"  many times
and - sadly - deserved it.

Bushel Baskets

We got a catalogue from LEHMAN'S in the mailbox today.
On the back page there's a picture of two bushel baskets.
 -- one with a blue liner trimmed in yellow gingham
 -- one with a red liner trimmed in blue gingham.

This brings me another chance to skip down memory lane . . .

A long time ago before plastic clothes baskets were available
people used bushel baskets to carry laundry to the clothes line.
The trouble with that is clothes could get snagged or maybe even stained
if they were in the wooden basket for too long.  Someone came up with
liners for baskets.  They were wonderful.

One day when my family was shopping
I overheard mom say she needs a
liner for a basket. 

Little people have a lot of trouble hearing.

Mom said basket.
I heard the word *baskin*
Baskin was our copper colored spaniel at home. 

Of course!  She was buying something special for our dog.

All through the store and in the car all the way home
I looked forward to giving a present to Baskin. 

We got home. 

Mom slipped the liner over the
wooden bushel basket.  She carefully
lined up the openings to fit over the metal handles.

Then came the questions . . .
and the explanations 
and the disappointment when I found out the liner
was not for our puppy.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This afternoon I called the driving instructor to schedule three
two hour sessions for Krysta.  Before calling I told her she probably
will have to wait until September.

The look of horror and disbelief on her face was priceless. 
That's exactly what I found out.  They are booked and the first
opening is almost the middle of September.

Speaking of permits, I also have a permit and need to practice
driving a school bus with air brakes this summer. 
This is not my favorite thing to do . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tripping down memory lane took Krysta and me to Walnut Grove MN
and De Smet SD last week end.  My sister, Trenda, asked if we'd like to go. 
We jumped at the chance.  We drove to Walnut Grove on Friday, arriving
about four in the afternoon.  Trenda and Brooke were on a bus tour. 
They went to see the caved in dug out On the Banks of Plum Creek. 
While we waited for them to get back we browsed around the gift shop
and then paid a small fee to step through the door to wander down the path
to a school house and a small church house and several other buildings
displaying old time stuff.  The path went past prairie grasses and wild flowers.

Next on the agenda was a picnic supper,
then we hopped in with Trenda and drove
out of town to the Pageant.


~  and this will have to be continued

Country Mouse and City Mouse and . . . Salamanders

Some of my friends have moved from the city to the country.
I am proud of them.  It has to be a huge adjustment.  I don't know if I could
do the reverse movement from country to town/city.

Never say *never* since we know what often happens when people make
loud proclamations like, "We will never move to a city!  Never!"

Except for about five weeks or so in Fort Wayne, Indiana as a newborn
and then a few months as a toddler in a tiny town in North Dakota I've lived
all my life in the country.

Krysta and I had a teensy tiny experience of lawn care in town the other week.

Who mows the lawn when there's a foreclosure on a property?
The grass keeps growing even if no one is home. 

Ellis has a knack for finding odd jobs to keep his family busy.

On the 16th of June we had buckets of rain.
We found out we needed to mow this neglected lawn on the 17th.
Jorgan was at summer camp so Krysta and I offered to help.
Ellis went home, loaded the walk- behind mower, drove back,
unloaded the mower and went to work.

Krysta and I changed clothes, loaded rakes and shovels and drinking
water and followed.  We had the job of raking up debris, loading up
firewood for camp fires, walking around the house and emptying every
container that was full and overflowing with rain water. 

Ellis had to go do some mechanic work on Evan's car about then.
It wouldn't start.

Krysta and I were going to tackle a pile of rubbish behind the garage.
We moved a tarp that was growing into the ground, then I grabbed a
dust pan that was partly buried.  There was a black, slithery movement
in the hole.

I am happy to say we did not scream . . . I suppose part of the reason was
we remembered - in time - that we were in town and one can't just scream
for no reason in town where there are neighbors on all sides.

One nice neighbor who had loaned us a tool for yanking out small trees
was sitting on her patio enjoying the beautiful evening.  We didn't want to
scare her with shrieks and terrified facial expressions and flying skirts. 

On the whole it seems we handled ourselves in a
calm, cool and collected way.

We moved away from the area to a picnic table in the middle of the
lawn and called Deanne.  We even sat on the bench instead of on top
of the table which would have felt much safer under the circumstances. 

I was pretty sure it wasn't a snake because it looked very much like
a salamander that was in our wood pile once
-- in our basement
-- in the country.

Creepy crawly creatures live anywhere, town or country.

And then there are summer camping trips . . . 

Ellis told us the place where we are thinking of camping this summer has
rattlesnakes.  My mind must be processing this info because soon after that
I had a dream about rattlesnakes.

Do any of you remember that story in the Reader's Digest a few years ago 
where a rattlesnake crawled into an occupied sleeping bag?  This guy woke
up when he felt the snake exiting the warm bag in the morning.  I remember
the artist's picture of that scene.  That's what I dreamed about.

Again, I am happy to report, I didn't scream. 
Instead, I got up and got a drink of water then went back to bed
and told myself, "It's just a dream." 

. . . and fell asleep. 

Miracles still happen and I am thankful.

There's no need to worry about maybe one day
being called to move to a big city.
God will be with us where
ever He asks us to go.

Isaiah 55

I know there is a way to link you to the news report of the missing man from Austin MN who apparently fell into a swiftly flowing river in Idaho and has not been found. 

This is one of the things I still don't know how to do.   please don't laugh

Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family
and all of the friends and neighbors in our area.
The verse that keeps going through my mind is this: 
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not;
for God took him.  Genesis 5:24

And these verses:  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.   Isaiah 55: 8-9

This chapter in Isaiah is beautiful and one of my favorites.

Our God Is Sovereign

Today I heard of a village that was covered up by a landslide. 
Hundreds are dead.


In our hometown newspaper the front page reports
a 16 year old boy was killed in a car crash.


The same newspaper tells me a school friend from many years ago
is welcoming a grandchild into the family.


We have dear friends facing health problems. 
There is a new picture on their shelf of the
smallest great-grand-child.


On the news today in a town relatively close to us a young man was found to have everything he needed to set off mass destruction in his house, town and school.  Someone reported suspicious behavior and called in authorities.  Everything was discovered in time.


Tornadoes swept across the Midwest earlier this week . . .


A friend of our friends may have been swept away by a rushing river -- they have rescue workers searching on the ground and a helicopter flying overhead.


We are helpless.  He is the God of all comfort, the one who is with each of us at this very moment.


This is the Psalm I read this morning.

Psalm 103

King James Version (KJV)

103 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
³ Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
⁴ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
⁵ Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
⁶ The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
¹⁴ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
¹⁵ As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
¹⁶ For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
¹⁷ But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
¹⁸ To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
¹⁹ The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
²⁰ Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
²¹ Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
²² Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.


All of this is too overwhelming . . .
-- too mind boggling

There is only one person to turn to.
That person is God, our Heavenly Father
and His Son, Jesus Christ
and the Holy Spirit, our Comforter.