Putting up hay was done very differently when I was a child. There were no balers to produce those huge round bales that we often see scattered over the hayfields and in road ditches. As a farm kid growing up in the 1950’s haying required that the alfalfa first, be mowed. The newly cut alfalfa would next be gathered up by a dump rake. The farmer on a tractor pulled the dump rake. The dump rake had rounded, metal teeth…..
What is a God thing? It is when you make surprising connections that could only be achieved with God’s help. I had one yesterday. It’s Memorial Day Weekend and the first time celebrating the holiday with Kathie in heaven. What should I do today? The Bonanza Education Center in the Big Stone Lake State Park popped into my head. I had been Bonanza’s Education Center’s coordinator for eight years and I hadn’t been there for some time. The weather was…..
Have you ever seen that Hallmark movie where the author has written a successful book and his publisher wants a second book completed soon? The author cannot come up with a reasonable story line and the more he struggles the worse the problem becomes. Writer’s block they call it and from time to time I deal with that same problem. In fact, it was yesterday that I sat down to write a blog and nothing came. Usually something happens during…..
I love the four seasons. They are all my favorites. However, winter is too long, and spring, summer and fall are too short. Actually, our winter has been quite mild. I had to fire the snowblower up only one time this winter. That means little snow fell but wind and cold was relentless. So, for the last month I have been searching for signs of spring. After four months of winter, I just needed a promise that spring was getting…..
My earliest memory of a blizzard was when I was in the second grade. The blizzard was over, school had been reopened but the road going by our farm was blocked in by high snow drifts. The farm family across the road from us had an answer to the unplowed roads. They still had a couple of horses in the barn that had retired because the modern tractor had taken their place working the fields. The neighbors had a wooden…..
When my two daughters suggested it was time we replaced the cabinets in the kitchen, two bathrooms, and the laundry room I wasn’t immediately thrilled. But then the cabinets began communicating with me. Yes, they did! The first communication came when a kitchen drawer stuffed with way too many hand towels, dish towels, and cooling mitts couldn’t stand the pressure anymore. One side of the front drawer just popped right off dangling inches off the floor. That got my attention……
Often when it is time to write a blog there is no topic to write about. My brain suffers writer’s block. All I do when that happens is wait a few days and something will occur in my life that I recognize as the perfect blog. I did not have that problem this time, however. My brother-in-law, Father Stan Wieser, spent four months in the Wheaton Senior Center waiting to die. The leukemia was ravaging his red blood cells, and…..
I have been spending a lot of time negotiating recently trying to gift someone my new watch. I was having little success gifting this beautiful watch until this past week and the gift was finally given! 🙂 Having been left behind in this technology crazed world I am still keeping track of time the old- fashioned way. I wear a wristwatch. I know it’s cool to carry an iPhone and whip it out of one’s back pocket when a time…..
It’s that time of the year again. The candy gathering season is over and once again the cupboards overflow with sweets. In fact, I just finished the sweet survey in our kitchen and here are the results: Rice Krispies treats, open bag of marshmallows, peppermint candy, circus peanuts, milk chocolate covered cherries, orange slices, red licorice, giant candy cane, Necco wafers, ice cream bars, and a gallon of ice cream! Hey, don’t be judging me, I hardly bought any of…..
Several blogs ago I shared my experience that I had enjoyed with our two daughters as they kidnapped me and forced me to leave Wheaton and travel with them to visit my grandson and his fiancé in Boonville, Missouri. I was concerned because that would require that I leave Kathie for five days in the Wheaton Care Center. My two daughters explained to me that Kathie, who was suffering from memory loss, would not even realize I would be missing…..