Trays

Collecting trays for the fun of it just sort of happened - all unbeknownst to me. 

Someone gave me a tray that has legs and is super neat for breakfast in bed.

        After that it just kind of snowballed.

    I found this tray at a flea market one day.

              Sometimes they are metal, 

              sometimes made of wood.

                                Long 

                                 Short

                               Round

                             Red or Blue

                           

                               Small

                                  Large

          This is the one that started it all. 

         Year after year it hung on the wall.

I found this at a rummage sale in Washington state. I couldn't bring it home on the plane so JoAnna used it in her house for a year or so.

If ever you need trays for an event - large or small - give me a holler. I will loan mine to you.

assembly line

The subject of butchering chickens came up.

Let me tell you my first memory of my parents preparing chickens for eating. 

I was knee high to a grasshopper. We were out by the barn and Dad was chopping heads off the chickens with an axe. He gave each one a toss on the grass where they proceeded to flip and flop about. And bleed. One of those headless creatures began to chase me. I couldn't run fast enough. Soon I was splattered with blood from head to toe. 

Well, I've always loved fried chicken so I guess I wasn't scarred for life.

A few years later, Mom and Dad raised some more chickens for eating. My sisters and I  probably got involved with chores: giving the chickens their food and changing the water.

It seems that Dad and Mom butchered those chickens when we were at school. The freezer filled up with processed chickens and the pen outside got emptier and emptier.

Remember those wide mouth water jugs we used to fill with ice and water and take along on trips? Maybe we each had a cup of our own to drink out of. Or maybe we had one cup that we all shared.

I remember Mom getting up early and frying a chicken (with the skin on, we used to eat the skin, can you believe that?) Then she filled that wide mouth jug with hot chicken, screwed the lid on and took it with us on trips. The jug was insulated and kept everything piping hot. When lunch time came we had finger licking yummy chicken to eat. 

Hopefully we were at a park where there was a pump with water so we could wash our hands afterwards. 

The two bravest women I know are Esther Geigley and my mom, Leona Skrivseth. (And the most patient)

They provided their daughters with sharp knives, stood them in an assembly line and taught them how to butcher a chicken from start to finish. 

I'm trying to remember if Dad chopped all the heads off the chickens before he went to work. Or did he let Ladina and Lorraine chop off some of them? 

Then we plunged them up and down in boiling hot water until the feathers would come off. That was probably our first job,  plucking feathers. Next, singing any hair that remained.

We were outside. This is early morning before it got too hot. Picture saw horses with plywood on them to make a table. Plastic tablecloths covered the plywood. Dish pans with cold water to put cut up chicken pieces in. 

We were given the easiest jobs at first, cutting the skin between the legs and the body. Cutting the drumsticks and thighs apart. Carefully cutting open the gizzard without opening the sack inside.

I have a feeling Mom and Esther were competing to see who could cut up a chicken the fastest. We watched with bugging eyes. How in the world did they do that? 

Sometimes they left the chicken whole, just removing the guts and we washed out the inside and froze them that way. Most of our jobs consisted of rinsing the pieces to make sure they were clean and packaging them for the freezer. 

I remember watching step by step and attempting to butcher a chicken from start to finish. I didn't  do it often enough to learn all the steps. 

The only way to get  the job done is have a crew to help. It makes me shiver to think of doing this job by myself. 

One last memory is helping at a butchering day at Dad and Mom Harshbarger's place. For some reason we took our chickens home to finish cutting into pieces. I was slaving away trying to get those slippery creatures in the freezer.

Meanwhile Ellis came home from work with  chills. Not a raging fever, instead when Ellis gets chills he doesn't have a proper temperature. He can't get warm, no matter how many blankets are piled on.

It's too bad I hadn't read James Herriot's story of how a farm lady treated him when he came in soaking wet. A roaring fire place to sit in front of. Feet in a pan of hot water. A gigantic mug filled with hot ginger tea to sip on. He was soon steaming inside and out.

That was the end of my butchering days. I only take the skin off chicken pieces now or, better yet, buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts. 

I'm not as squeamish as my friend's daughter who won't eat a drumstick because, "Eww, what's this?" when she finds a dark vein near the bone.

On second thought, I might remember butchering turkeys with my sisters-in-law on the farm. It's all a dark memory that I try not to think about any more. 

Definitely it is the camaraderie and conversations and laughter and working together that make those days possible.

Otherwise - forget it! 

 

Please, don't get me started on cutting up a deer.

two weeks ago

Mom and I went to church together yesterday.  Our minister walked over to Mom's side of the car when we were leaving. Mom rolled down the window and he said, "Now we have an 84 year old lady being a chauffeur for her 60 year old daughter."  🙂

Usually it's the other way around. I often am Mom's chauffeur. I think I could have driven. I'm not taking any narcotics. But I'll wait for official permission.   

Ellis went by train to MT for the weekend and Deanne drove to WI to visit her friend, Essy. I stayed at Mom's place and we are driving each other crazy - no, I meant - keeping each other company.  🙂

Two weeks have gone by remarkably fast. 

Today I cut up a squash and baked it. This afternoon I'm going to make my Grandma Martin's pumpkin pie. Using pureed squash. 

It is really a custard pie - not a true pumpkin pie. 

You can find the recipe in the Mary and Martha cookbook. That book contains recipes compiled from the ladies in the North Central Conference from years ago.

Here it is with a remarkable absence of instructions. It's my favorite and most likely I won't eat any other kind. Don't  be offended,  please.

On a side note - the lady bugs (Asian Beetles) are alive and well. Also box elder bugs.

But it's OK  I keep telling myself because we don't get those army worms that go through the northern part of the state every few years. Or the stink bugs that Deanne says they have in western MT. 

So we are fine, just fine. As you can see I did a Google search and took a screenshot and then put it on this blog. I hope that's not breaking a law of some kind. 

This morning it rained and rained. Then we had a rip roaring thunder and lightning storm. There was a bright flash of lightning then a gigantic crack of thunder. It was very close.

After that everything was quiet and the rain soon stopped. 

"Rain before seven - quit before eleven."

That's the old saying and it was true today.

update

Everyone asks, "How's it going?"

And I reply, "Great!"

Aside from a six inch incision at the top of my right leg everything is fine. 

It really is. When I stop to think - I remember the pain in my hip every time I walked.

That's gone. I don't hear bones clicking and crunching against each other when I move.

People, this is perfectly wonderful!

I am praising God every day!

The pain is managed with Tylenol three times a day and I'm supposed to take an adult strength aspirin once a day for forty days.

Walking around the house, exercising to reduce fluid build up, reading, resting, deep breathing exercises, crocheting, writing,  physical therapy  - there's enough to do so I don't get bored.

This morning I made a batch of granola. That was fun. And tasty. 

Yesterday Ellis and I listened to a sermon titled The Muddy Paws of Brumus, by Eric Ludy. 

We had Taco Salad with Mom, Deanne, Allen, Krysta, Jasper, Nova and Angie. 

Scrumptious! Mom made her jello salad with pineapple and mandarin oranges and there was  O'Henry Bars for dessert. 

Games

Naps

Lots of fun and activity with three babies under two years

Flowers from a friend.

Friends have brought us meals. We won't starve. It has been a wonderful week.

Busy Days/Lazy Days

Photo credits: Deanne Harshbarger 

Deanne has been busy. She's been making freezer meals for Allen and Krysta. We got to sample a loaf of bread for supper last night.

Jasper came to visit the other evening. We looked at books together. 

            The babies were a big help !

I will need to learn how to walk without hobbling and limping. 😄 Here is an example of hanging on for dear life so the walker wouldn't scoot out ahead of me. 

    

         Photo credit: JoAnna Skrivseth                               Nasturtium before the frost.    

              Photo credit:  Maria Weber

      October 7, 2023 Pearl's birthday party 

Photo credits: Krysta Nolt

      Pizza supper with cake and ice cream 

                  Krysta baked the cake

                                    - - - -

Jasper gets concerned when Dea is gone for too long. "Dea ome?" he asks. The girls marched into Grandma's house and found Marmee and Grandma and gave hugs before starting to play with the toys.

This is a conglomeration of pictures of the last week. Making memories  ...

Taking time to play some games.

Anagrams - Deanne always wins!

  Mancala - Ellis and I will be playing this game before all is said and done.

Little Wang Fu of China

Yesterday Deanne combed my hair in a French braid. When I looked in the mirror I thought of an old story in a Summer Bible School book. Either the Nursery or Kindergarten book tells all about Little Wang Fu of China. Now I'm very curious ... who had the little pigtail hanging down the back? Was it mother or daddy or Little Wang Fu himself?

Maybe I'm getting mixed up with the people in The Story of Ping, a duck that lived on a boat on the Yangtze River.

Or I might be picturing Tikkitikkitembonosarembo, the boy with the long name who also lived in China with his little brother. 

My thin braid reminded me of some story book character out of my childhood. 

French braiding the hair of someone recovering from surgery or illness is Deanne's claim to fame. Along with dispensing meds and keeping track of ice packs, arranging pillows and whipping up scrambled eggs for breakfast before she heads in to town for a staff meeting at her job.

The long looked for day has come and gone.

October 9th, the day I had a total hip replacement. Ellis and I traveled to LaCrosse, WI Sunday evening and stayed at Gunderson Hotel and Suites.

We had a snack before I started fasting. A cinnamon roll from Kwik Trip and mint tea. In the morning I read somewhere in the pre-op instructions that I was supposed to give up herbal teas the week before surgery. No one asked me any questions about herbal tea and I didn't reveal what I had for a bedtime snack.

Monday morning we arrived at the hospital at 8:30 am where I was prepped for surgery. The anesthesiologist popped in to say Hi. I told him I've never had a spinal before. He said, "I've never given a spinal before. We can learn together."  I laughed and said maybe he should go out the door and find someone else to help. He told me how many years he's been here and he was just checking my sense of humor. I had already been experimented on by a new nurse trying to put an IV in my hand. But another experienced nurse came in and got it in my left arm with no trouble.  I told the new nurse she was very brave. I wanted to be a nurse all my growing up years until I thought about the needles involved and that was the end of that.

At 10:30 I was wheeled to the operating room, given a spinal and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room at 12:00 noon. A nurse was asking me to tell her what my pain level was on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the worst. This is one of my least favorite questions to answer, but after some groggy thoughts I said the pain was about at 6. More pain meds through the IV brought that number down eventually. 

By 1:30 I was back in the same room/cubbyhole where I had been prepped for surgery. The gown I was wearing had a hose inserted into a hole and I was given a dial to monitor warm air swooshing inside this insulated garment. My legs were wrapped and a pump on each leg kept blood circulating to simulate walking. 

Ellis was there with my clothes. Before we had much time to think my IV was taken out, legs unwrapped and I was sitting  on the edge of the bed - ready to walk to the bathroom.  Because physical therapy was coming at 2:30 and we needed to be ready for their instructions. My right leg felt rather wooden and I only slid my foot along as I hung onto the walker. 

By the time I was dressed my leg felt a little less numb and I was ready to walk down the hall with a physical therapist on either side of me. This all seems quite miraculous to me! 

When they told me this surgery is an outpatient procedure I admit I was skeptical. I was prepared to stay in the hospital overnight if I needed to, but it soon became apparent that we were heading out the door.

I was wheeled in a wheel chair back to the hotel where Ellis was waiting with a walker. In the morning we went through a tunnel under the street.  On the way back my escort took the skywalk. I could  see the blue sky of a beautiful October day. 

              Flowers from Krysta's garden 

Back in our room at Gunderson Hotel and Suites Ellis was soon talking about supper. He found a restaurant close by that had soup on the menu. I chose Yukon Potato Soup and Ellis had Clam Chowder. We each had cheesy bread with our soup and Ellis had a barbecue brisket sandwich. 

Here's the view out the window of our hotel room. 

At 8:12 I shared  wordle on our family chat. Maria asked, "You're awake?"

Trenda asked if I had danced a jig yet.

I was awake but not prepared to dance any jigs yet.

Ellis took the job of dispensing meds through the night. Tuesday morning we drove away from LaCrosse WI and Gunderson Hotel and Suites. If any of you need to have a hip replacement I can recommend Gunderson Hospital. We were very happy with the service there.

We came to my mom's house Tuesday afternoon where I will be recovering. She has a ramp so there are no stairs to climb. There is plenty of room to maneuver a walker around. Deanne came over to help while Ellis ran off to keep an appointment with a CPAP expert. Everything is coming at once!

Looking back on my experience, the one thing I forgot to ask is what my new hip is made of? And will it cause problems when I go through airport security?

Northland Ladies Retreat

My daughters and friends traveled to Wisconsin for a retreat. My sister, Ladina, came too. There was a whole room full of friends, old and new. Cousins came. As Ladina and I ate our salad luncheon in the dining room that first day I looked around in amazement. 

"This reminds me of the Ladies Retreat in International Falls, Minnesota!" I said between mouthfuls of salad. "We just need Karen Layman to walk in now. And Kay Knepp."

Kay Knepp lives in Colorado so it didn't seem likely that she would show up. Later, when we were eating supper Ladina said, "Here she is!" Karen was walking toward our table.

There was such a feeling of *deja vu* every  moment I was there. I don't remember what year I went to International Falls and have no pictures of that retreat. Just many fond memories ....

             Tea party Saturday evening 

 My friend, Connie Stoll - we share the same birthday. Some day we'll celebrate our birthdays together. I've reached a dilemma. I didn't ask Connie for permission to put her picture on my blog. Shall I post this blog and ask for forgiveness later? 

                  .    Krysta and Seema

            photo credits go to Ruth Witmer

         Deanne Harshbarger and Krysta Nolt

We were invited to Behold His Glory through songs, prayer, and the testimony of the main speaker. There was time for fellowship and several workshops to choose from for our learning experience. 

We were at a beautiful camp next to a lake. Canoes, kayaks, and walking trails through the woods were all available for recreation.

It rained. There was thunder and lightning and streams of water from the sky.  After a very dry summer with little rain this was a welcome sound.

How does a person sum up a Ladies Retreat?

Laughter and tears

Bible stories 

Sharing our every day stories

Praying together

Singing

Delicious food 

Coffee, tea, ice water

Talking with family and friends 

So many stories....

Here is one I love.

I was hobbling slowly to my last work shop. I noticed another gal walking in the same direction.  I asked if she was going to Marj Weaver's work shop and she said she was. I asked her where she's from and she said Colby Wisconsin. My ears perked up and I told her I taught school in that area years ago. Four families got together and decided to have a small Christian Day School for their children. The school was in a trailer house sitting in my uncle's yard.

I described my uncle's house and the farm where they lived. She looked at me and then said, "That's the place where I grew up."

I described the house - upstairs and downstairs - and after each description she nodded and said that's the way it used to be. Some things have changed because they remodeled the house.

We exchanged names and phone numbers.

My daughter once jokingly told her cousin,  "Mom could start a conversation with a fence post and before she's done find out she's related." I laughed and took that as a compliment.  

No, I wasn't talking to a fence post, but in a random conversation found the daughter of the family my uncle sold his farm to. 

How cool is that?!

I don't think it was a coincidence. 

The planning committee asked for ideas for next year. I hope to go again and walk on those hiking trails. No more hobbling - no more pain. 

My surgery for a hip replacement is scheduled for October 9th. So many friends wished the best for me and promised to pray for me. I am grateful!