The Blessing of Christmas

   When I want to complain about the pain in my knee and dread the coming surgery to correct the torn meniscus I only have to look around me to see how many people live daily with pain that no surgery can fix. They bravely face each day going about their daily chores and even find time and energy enough to help others. The smile on their face shows no indication of the pain they endure. Then there is the pain of the heart when someone looses a loved one and faces life alone, there is no medication to ease that pain. For these the holidays become lonely sad days to face.
   Christmas becomes a time of sharing and opportunity to show love and concern for those around us, those of you who read Angie's blog will know what I mean. Angie has felt the warmth of Christian love and will remember it all her life. How can we leave Christ out of Christmas when it is because of Him that we are moved with compassion for our fellow man and we are reminded of His words "truly, I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me"(Mt 25:40). We should remember this as we slip our small dollars into the Salvation Army pails or when we have an opportunity to give for special projects at church that reach out into the community.
    As I sit in my recliner with my book and I glance out my window to see the birds at our feeders and the pine trees with the branches decked in snow I am over come with a feeling of peace and thankfulness, I am warm and comfortable here in my home with my loving husband who looks after me so well and I am so blessed. A Christmas wish is that each of us count our blessings.

Christmas past & present

    The cards are all addressed and sent, the wreaths are all hung on the outside of our house and inside the final Christmas decorations are in place. No it is not like years past when we had our 10 ft tree in front of the wall of windows and each year I would work on a new Christmas theme, like the year when the tree was decorated with things from our forest like moss, berries, acorns, pine cones etc. I couldn't wait for the children to see the tree. I spent hours baking and the smell of cookies and pies hung in the air. Don made deer using logs and branches and stood them out in the yard, choosing the best branches for the antlers and hanging red bows around their necks. The ceramic village and train I made complete with a church would be placed in it's special spot on the mantle. Candles everywhere with the scent of bayberry. What wonderful memories! It was Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays for Christ was the reason for the season and in my mind it shall always be. I wonder how many children's Christmas programs I have attended starting with my three and then the grandchildren. I still have to smile when I remember the Christmas my mother gave our boys bathrobes, they wouldn't wear them but they got good use because they would show up each year on the wise men at each Christmas program. Mother gave Don a robe too but like the boys he would not wear it but God forbid you should end up in the hospital and didn't have a robe was mother's thought. God bless her, I miss her today and Christmas will never be the same without her. But this year Don and I will go to a children's Christmas program at our church and no they are not our children but they will be adorable dressed as wise men (perhaps in discarded bathrobes) shyly repeating their lines glancing quickly at mom and dad for encouragement like mine did. My eyes will tear up as they always have. My family which started with Don and I now numbers 33 and though time and distance may keep us apart they are never far from my heart and prayers, and so my dear family .....Merry Christmas and God bless you all.

Proverbs 3:5&6

    This is scripture that I have often repeated to myself and have relied upon, it goes like this "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight". He has shown me so many times that He has gone before me and just recently He has done it again. I want to share with you how He takes care of us when we ask Him to.
    This Nov. 9th Don and I flew down to Avondale Az. to visit with Dale and Carol at their apartment there and to see the area that they have moved to. We had a very nice visit and about 2 days before we were to fly back home I developed a very sore knee and the next day it was very much worse and I had excruciating pain, so much so I could not walk on my right leg at all. What to do...I had to fly back home the next morning. Dale and Carol dashed to a Goodwill store before it closed for the day and bought a pair of crutches and spent the evening teaching me how to walk with them. I slept with my clothes on because it was too painful to remove my jeans, I say slept but no sleep would come all night for any movement of my leg was intolerable. Carol came to my bed to pray with me and that gave me hope and comfort. The next day they drove Don and I to the airport and I was put into a wheel chair. God had already set out a path and all along that path he stationed his helping angels. Enter Kelly, who took over my wheel chair and like a mother hen with her precious chick she got me through all the check points and got us to the US Air gate. Now Don had wanted to get us on an earlier flight but both times when he asked he was told it would be at a substantial cost increase but stirred to try again he went to ask once more, enter Debbie, who said I'll take care of this" and we were transferred to the earlier flight at no added cost and she personally took me onto the plane and turned me over to two stewardess's there. One stewardess asked me what happened and I explained and she said you have a torn Minisca, seems she had it happen to her and I was encouraged to see her walking so easily. Now I was on a high dose of Advil and I was due to take the four tablets and you should not take it on an empty stomach but on US Air they serve no snacks only drinks so I took my pills but started to get a pain in my stomach. Enter Katie, the other stewardess, down the aisle she comes  passing my aisle seat and without a word or a glance she slips two cookies onto my tray and hurries on. Those cookies put my stomach at ease. Soon we were in MPLS airport and looking for the shuttle from the Park and Fly hotel where our pickup was waiting, as it drove up I realized I had another challenge, getting up the steps and into the van. With help I was soon settled into one of the seats, one of the ladies in the van asked me what had happened to me and again I explained, now up to now God had sent a person all along the way to help me but this time he sent a van full because to my surprise these ladies all worked at an assisted living home in Omaha, Neb. and they took over and made sure I was put into our truck as easily and as painless as possible. Don and I were so amazed at it all.
    As of today I have had an x-ray and MRI and my orthopedic surgeon says I indeed have a torn Minisca and surgery will correct it, but my knee has improved a bit so I have decided to see if my body can heal itself and if not I will have the surgery. Now this has been a time of pain but I would not change anything because to witness God's great love for me is greater than any situation, to realize I was enclosed in my Father's unseen arms will warm my heart forever. He indeed has a plan for my life and a path but it is up to me to read His road signs.

The paints come out

    The leaves are dropping and Don is busy circling the yard on his mower picking up the leaves with his leaf rake. It looks great till the breeze comes by and the trees drop the next batch. I don't think Don minds that much since he enjoys being outside. If he isn't on the mower he is out in his woods cutting, splitting or stacking his fire wood for next winter. He comes in for coffee and a cookie at 10, in for lunch at noon and back in at about 3pm, like going to a job. No wonder he is so fit.
    I have my own routine which keeps me busy too. I like order and try hard to keep things neat. I found out years ago that if my house is a mess it makes me feel tired and frustrated. Frustrated because when you need to find something it never is where it should be and that takes more time and energy. As you age you find you need to keep better records and to not count on your memory. I have what I call my "book of records" it is a note book with many tabs all labeled, example "insurance" and in it is the insurance info including dates of payments due, address and telephone numbers, policy numbers etc. I also have a section labeled "Paint" and in it is the paint records for each room and a sample of the paint color. Good records make for fewer mistakes.
    Speaking of paint I have taken up my brushes again and have turned my extra bedroom downstairs into my studio. Don has made me another easel and I have bought more oils and so I have begun. Painting for me is a time where I become lost to the world. I have no sense of time, I'm in my own world and it is good that I have to stop to make meals for Don or I would forget to eat. All the fall leaves have inspired me, I paint the picture in my mind first often as I lay in bed at night then I try to put that picture on canvas. I may not be any famous painter and that's okay it is the act of doing it that feeds my inner soul. I wonder if someone way back in my family tree was also someone who liked to paint, did I inherit a painting gene, perhaps that person had green eyes like me, I wonder since no one of all the family tree information had green eyes. Maybe there was a lady on The Isle of Man with green eyes painting pictures of the Irish landscape many years ago. I wonder!

Fall means back to school

   The leaves are blowing by the window and the green grass becomes a background for the yellow and red leaves as they come to rest. It is so pretty outside now , pity it is such a short season.
    Fall may be the end of summer but it is the beginning of the school year and the yellow school bus passes our house daily. I never knew what it was like to ride a bus  because being a city girl within walking distance of a school I never had an occasion to ride to school until I was in high school. I remember when we lived in Belle Plaine I walked about 6 or 7 blocks to school, out of my neighborhood, then past the stores down town and  to the other side of town, a nice walk when the weather was pleasant but not much fun in the winter. When it was cold we dressed in layers, no insulated boots to keep feet warm, no down filled jackets or fancy mittens. I had boots that were rubber with a thin layer of felt inside but provided no warmth only kept my shoes dry, my coat and mittens were made of wool but I did have snow pants which kept my legs warm since it was not permissible for girls to come to school wearing slacks only dresses. If you had no snow pants you could wear slacks under your dress but they had to be removed and hung in the cloak room during school.
    Mother was a very good sewer and though I didn't have fancy clothes for school I did get compliments on my pretty skirts, I didn't ever mention that they were made from feed sacks mother had bought down at the feed mill. Now don't think they were gunny sacks, no they were made of cotton and had pretty prints on them and if you could find two alike you had enough for a skirt or blouse. Mother didn't use a pattern but could sew it to fit me as I tried them on. She did buy fabric for special dresses like for Easter. I recall one dress she made for me that had a circle skirt and a peplum, which was a ruffle on a tie and the ruffle went in the back of your waist and tied in front with a bow. The dress was silky and felt so beautiful and when you spun around the circle skirt would stand way out. I still remember how it felt to wear that dress. I didn't have many store bought dresses but at Easter time I got a new Easter hat. I recall one that was called a sweet heart hat because it's brim formed a heart shape around your face.
    Our school was considered modern in that time with black boards made of slate and felt erasers, sometimes I would stay after school to help the teacher by taking the erasers out into the hall where there was a built in eraser cleaner. You opened a small door and inside was a circular beater that you held the eraser against as you turned the crank. It sure did a good job and you didn't have to go outside to smack them together getting the chalk all over your clothes.
    Spring was so special for me because finally mother would say "you don't need to wear your boots today" that meant  no more struggling to get them on or off and best of all it meant that I could tap dance all the way to school.  You see shoes were expensive and the only way you got new ones was to out grow the old ones. Shoes were polished every Saturday and even though heels and soles could be replaced, that cost money so instead cleats were nailed to heels and toes making them last longer. So when the boots came off and I walked to school on the side walk I would sound like a tap dancer and I loved it. Was I poor or rich you judge but for me I am rich in memories. You see we were treated as children so we had a carefree childhood. We were not burdened with sex education in grade school and our parents dressed us like children instead of miniature adults. The only violence on TV was wrestling and in the movies the only shooting was done by the Lone Ranger who only wounded the bad man and good always prevailed. Our young minds had good things to think on and wholesome books to read and our folks made sure of that. The times were hard and money was short but I never knew that, I only knew that I was young and life was great fun. I am sure if my mother was here she would say " ah but it was more fun growing up when I was young" and she probably would be right.

Out with the old

    This is a good day to check the closets, time to move the summer clothes down to the guest room closet for the winter and to move the winter clothes up. One year I did that and immediately we had Indian summer so hope that works again. The act of moving clothes takes a while as I look over each piece of clothing to see if it is in good condition and if I did indeed wear it at all this year. It is time to get rid of a lot of clothing that just takes up precious room in my closet. Time to give it to the Salvation Army perhaps. When I was librarian at our church years ago I recall a book that said it is a sin to keep good clothing that you don't wear because there are people that need it. I try to keep that in mind but I am a person that has worn the same size for probably 20 years and I take good care of my clothing so even though it is older it still looks like new. But I must remember what I read and take it to heart. When Don and I decided to sell our home and go rving full time it meant getting rid of things we had for years. That is a hard thing to do because many of our things had memories attached to them, but it was a cleansing move. You never realize how much junk attaches itself to you and fills up your space. All those boxes on shelves what do they contain? If they were truly something we cherish we would have them out where we can see them not tucked away gathering dust. Boxes of kitchen gadgets that we were sure we would need but only used once and boxed because it took up space in our kitchen drawer. Boxes of Christmas ornaments and lights that no longer light up, old books no longer read, etc and etc. Yes it was a freeing moment to get rid of so much unneeded things. Perhaps it is also time to clean our spiritual closet too, tossing out old grievances and grudges. Sweeping out our dusty thinking so that we can see more clearly to make good choices and making room for God to work in our lives. God has His way of cleaning too, for many years ago when I received Him as Lord and Savior he did just as his word said in 2 Corinthians 5: 17  Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. God swept away the old sins and made me new again, a fresh beginning. What a blessing to not have the burden of sin cluttering up my life.

Nature's Bounty

   It's that time of the year when the apples are heavy on the trees and we view them as apple pies warm from the oven when frost is etching the windows. But why do the trees produce so many apples. Of course I have my ready helpers, the deer, to help with the bounty. While sipping my morning coffee I can look out and watch the deer standing on their hind legs reaching high into the upper branches to pick the choicest apples.. it seems they prefer to pick their own rather then eat any from the ground but so do I. We co exist with the deer as long as they do not lunch on my favorite flowers. They are beautiful creatures and oh how we laugh as the fawns kick up their heels and chase each other around the lawn, they know they are safe here and pay no attention to us. I dread the gunshots that come at midnight some times but here on Shaw's Acre's they can safely play.
   Canning brings back so many good memories of my mother. She always had a good sized garden if possible and canned all she could and if she lived where there was no yard for a garden she always seem to have vegetables from someone's over flowing garden. I remember she had a gas stove and a large container called a "double boiler", the boiler was oval shaped and would cover two burners on the stove and many times it was used to heat water for washing clothes but my dad had made wooden racks,one for the bottom of the boiler where mother would sit jars of green beans and another to put on top of the jars to make a second layer.  This was filled with hot water and allowed to cook for hours making sure all jars were covered with water at all times. The kitchen was steamy and you could hear the jars jiggle in the boiling water. Mother would wipe her hands on the ever present apron and sit down at the table for a cup of tea. We enjoyed our tea together. In later years Linda and I also liked to share tea time together, in fact a few years ago I received a package in the mail and it was from Linda and inside was a Boyds Bear figurine of a mother bear and her daughter bear having tea and Linda's note said "look on the bottom" I turned it over and this is what it said "Come and sit with me and we'll have tea and talk of things that were and things that are to be, of places we will go and things that we will see. Just the two of us my dear daughter...and me." A tear still comes even as I write this for my dear daughter is a thousand miles away and I would give anything this moment for us to have tea together.
   What a pleasure it is to stand and view the shelves laden with many jars of green beans, corn, beets, tomatoes, not forgetting the jars of peaches, pears and pickles. Rosy jars of jams and jellies ...what a treat. Apple butter to spread on warm from the oven home made bread. Mother's bread was better then the best cake to me. Mother knew hard times, depression years were my childhood years and we learned not to waste and to do with what we had. A good thing for us to remember in these times. Somehow you felt more secure when you had rows of canned foods in the pantry. Little did we know that we were eating healthy, no insecticides on our veg's and no chemicals added to preserve freshness or artificial coloring. There were no boxes of foods on the shelf, cakes were made from family recipes and for years no canned soups were used in casseroles and gravy came from a good roast not a can. Little wonder food seemed to taste better back then. Like they say "ah the good old days"
   Well there, I am done with the apples and I have seven bags of pie apples to go into the freezer, I think I can smell a pie now but no it is the apples I am frying for supper tonight to go with our fried fish. I better check them ..don't want them to burn and it is time to sprinkle on a little sugar to help them caramelize. I'm thinking of you mother while I am making them. Thanks for the memories!