Seed Shopping in the Snow

If you are doing some shopping for seeds while you are perhaps snowed in, here is a website that you may enjoy. Botanical Interests found me and I have explored their family-owned business on line. The site is colorful and informative. It is a "happy" site. For me that means that the colors are pleasing and the well-done artwork is delightful. A bit of Spring and Summer in the midst of the cold and snow. Please check out this on-line catalog. It may chase away the winter blahs!


There is also a blog to enjoy with recipes and more good gardening info.

Happy Shopping!

Creator and Redeemer God,

Author of all existence, source of all blessedness,

I adore thee for making me capable of knowing thee, for giving me reason and conscience, for leading me to desire thee;...

thou hast moved my conscience to know how the guilty can be pardoned, the unholy sanctified, the poor enriched. May I be always amongst those who not only hear but know thee, who walk with and rejoice in thee, who take thee at thy word and find life there.

Keep me always longing for a present salvation in Holy Spirit comforts and rejoicings, for spiritual graces and blessings, for help to value my duties as well as my privileges.

May I cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character,

Help me to be in reality before thee as in appearance I am before men,

to be religious before I profess religion,

to leave the world before I enter the church, to set my affections on things above,

to shun forbidden follies and vanities,

to be a dispenser as well as a partaker of grace,

to be prepared to bear evil as well as to do good.



Excerpts from A Present Salvation as written in The Valley of Vision, A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

Weekend Snow and Tieing Up Loose Ends

Saturday we received eight inches of snow here! To some folks that might not seem like much, but that is a lot for us, especially all at once! My husband and I spent a good part of the day plowing and shoveling out the driveway and trying to find the car. As soon as the snow was off everything, is began to rain--freezing rain. How lovely. It took us 15 minutes to clean off the car and even get in the doors on Sunday morning. Never a dull minute. It really was a pretty snow to watch. Sometimes it was coming down so hard that it was hard to see across to the neighbor's house. The snow piled up on the pine branches and that always makes a beautiful winter scene. The sun is shining a bit today and has helped to melt off the remaining ice on a large part of the driveway.

Our church voted last Sunday to call our new pastor. The church is filled with anticipation and excitement. While there are a couple of hurdles to clear with Presbytery, he is well on his way to beginning service to God and our congregation early this Spring. Where will God take us next?!

A Christmas Postscript

Remember my Christmas wish list? Well, no, I didn't get a gun or a rototiller. I did get a new blender and a bigger food processor. These items will be a big help at canning time. Hubby and I also have come to love hummus and our tiny food processor just was having a difficult time of it.

It has been said that one should never buy a woman a gift with a plug on the end. Well, I used to think that was a good guide, but not any more. My kitchen is my "workshop" and what I use in it are my "tools". If a better tool will help me in my work by making the homemade soup or tomato sauce process go smoother, then I'll take the "tool". I don't need fancy earrings or jewelry.

So, perhaps the rototiller will come another time? Spring, perhaps. We want to keep looking. I also need to do more research on what type of gun I should have. Some have said that I need to handle one to find which suits best. My knowledge of guns is limited to the work-related one my husband carries. My dad didn't own a gun so I have much to learn. Hubby is not so sure I need one anyway. I think I make him nervous.

It would have been hard to wrap a rototiller anyway (smile).

Quilting Season

Most of the Christmas decorations are put away--only the tree remains. The days and evenings are quieter and chillier. Time to get back to my quilting.

It is shameful to admit that I am behind before I even get started. One baby blanket is close to being completed. It should have been done months ago and the little one for which it is intended will be walking before I get it done if I don't get busy. Our new little Zachary's quilt is pieced, but needs quilted. There is another baby quilt that is in need of being started for a friend who's baby is due in the spring. Then there is my big project that was started almost two years ago. A replica of a dear friend's quilt that has been in her family since the late 1800s.

There is something relaxing to me about the feel of fabric, especially a good cotton fabric or a good muslin. It is calming. If I were a knitter or a crocheter, I think that the yarn would work the same magic.

Since most of my quilts are smaller, I do them in a 12 inch hoop. I have a smaller 10 inch size for smaller spaces. This keeps my project mobile--from comfy chair to Amish rocker or quiet corner. It also helps to keep me warm. Our big old house is a bear to heat, so to have my work covering my lap helps to keep the chill off. I've done a couple big quilts in my frame. It is, obviously, not portable and takes up a chunk of the dining room.

The baby quilt I am in a hurry to finish is all white or a whole cloth quilt. My Amish friend, Sarah marked it for me on white muslin. (Since then, she has started a little business marking quilts for others.) It isn't difficult, but I let it sit during the summer with gardening and grass and that is how I got behind. I'm also pretty slow. Whole cloth quilts are my favorite. The design that shows up on the fabric from the stitches is beautiful to me...not that my stitches are all that beautiful. I just enjoy the process.

Both my grandmothers made quilts. My paternal grandmother is famous for making lap robes for elderly folks as well as quilts for all of the grandchildren as we were growing up. My cousins and I would always look for patches that were made from the scraps our mothers would send to Grandma from their sewing to use for quilts. There was Suzanne's dress, or Paula's shorts, and even my own or my sister's dresses. I still have a few of my grandmother's baby quilts that she made our kids. These quilts were not prize winners nor were they hand stitched. She tied them with colorful yarn and bound them with love. I've kept them so I can pass them on to my grandchildren so they can have a piece of the family's past.

While I can never be the quilt maker my Grandmother was, I hope to give my grandchildren something they can enjoy and use to keep warm. It is a connection to my own past and reminds me of the love my grandmother showed to her family in her sewing.

Of Mother Earth News and Broken Clotheslines

While in the local market, I noticed Mother Earth News on the news stand. I've never bought or read the magazine before, but what caught my eye was the banner: "Grow a Bigger, Better Garden". I'm all for that! Also, there are articles on How to Grow Potatoes, and Anyone Can Raise Chickens This looked like a good purchase for $4.99.

Someday I still want to pursue chickens and the article looks like a good one for those of us who are clueless. There is also an article online about purchasing chicks from a hatchery.

I still need to read the garden article. The potato article has some good, common sense information.

These folks are far more "green" than I am, but the information they provided in this issue at least, will be helpful in printed form for me to keep as a source.

My clothesline broke today while it was full of the last of the bed linens from the Christmas full house. Thankfully, there was still snow on the ground to keep them clean. They were still frozen, so that helped, too. I am so tired of my clotheslines breaking! Mine only last a couple of years. I have bought cotton ones, but maybe it's time to find something more sturdy. My neighbor has plastic covered wire ones, but (maybe it's just me) there is something about them that I just can't get used to. Do I need an attitude adjustment?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

It is nice to see the sun here today!

Blessings!

Spring and Summer Arrive at the End of December...Along With the 1040 Form

The last day of December brought color to the mailbox, even if it also brought the tax forms. My first seed catalog of the season: Johnny's Selected Seeds. They say they have varieties for Northern gardeners, but most of their seeds, I believe, are pretty adaptable. The descriptions are very helpful. I have ordered from Johnny's for several years. I like their variety. The catalog is very helpful, too, with gardening and planting tips for each flower or vegetable. Last year I tried edemame for the first time...it was wonderful. I called Johnny's with some questions and they were very helpful (and they didn't think I was dumb...at least they didn't act like it).

I have been looking forward to this since I tilled the garden for the winter. My garden needs to be better organized. While I think that I remember where everything was last spring, I am not always sure. It would also be helpful if I get things written down...what I ordered, how much, and from where. I bought a recipe box to keep things in there as a file, but it is just sitting. So, I am determined to be a better organized gardener.

The hope is that we can make the garden a bit bigger again this year. I have not grown sweet corn since we moved here, so I would like to have a plot just for the corn. Carrots are also a possibility to add to the garden. My husband and I have also considered sweet potatoes. He and I just love them and since I can now can them, it takes the worry out of storage. I just need more room! When the kids were home they found it amusing that the garden is about the same size or bigger than when all three of them were home!

I need to spend some time on line checking out sites that may be helpful in garden planning. I'll get back to ya on that one.

On another topic...our potential pastor arrives today to candidate. There is a dessert reception tonight, a big tureen (covered-dish) dinner tomorrow and then he preaches on Sunday. The excitement within the church is wonderful! Our church family is so anxious to see what God has planned for us in the future. Our whole committee is excited and thrilled! God willing, the last step on Sunday will seal the deal. As I said in the past, I have had a front row seat to see God work in an amazing way, and I am indeed grateful.

Christmas Joy and Surprises

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

The holiday week has been one that has been full. Not only have I enjoyed the children and their families around the same table for more than one evening, but also family game night with the in-laws and visiting friends.

The night after Christmas we had all of the in-laws over for the traditional Game Night! All of us pitched together and brought what ended up being enough food for a small army (it was just supposed to be easy leftovers). The In-laws have no concept of a small meal. We played several games all evening. Everyone left about one a.m. Jon and Stephen and I stayed up until 2:30 playing Speed Scrabble. Had I known that the phone was going to ring at 5:30 a.m., I would have gone to bed much sooner.

Aaron called at 5:30 requesting that I meet them at the hospital to pick up little Daniel...their second baby was on the way. This little one was not expected until mid to late January. I sped--literally--off to meet them at the hospital. I could not imagine Aaron waiting with a tired toddler in the Birthing Suite and a wife that was in full blown labor. Providence would have it that I actually met them along a side street and followed them up to the parking lot. We traded car keys, and I took Daniel to our house. The phone rang later that morning with the news that Zachary Pierce was born at 7:30 weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce. Not bad for a little guy that was supposed to be early. (Just my opinion, but I don't think he was all that early when I saw his chipmunk cheeks!)

It was delightful to have Daniel with us for a couple of days and Aaron came and slept here, too. Poor Uncle Steve was gracious enough to give up his room for them and sleep in the Living Room. So our hearts and house were very full. Emily was a great help with meals and, even though we didn't get to visit like we had hoped, it was wonderful to have her here.

We learned, too, that my father-in-law, who is going on 91, has lung cancer that is not treatable. He has been struggling with 'stuff' for several months, but has been his usual stubborn self in getting treatment. We are now in the process of seeking what care is best for him. My mother-in-law, who has been trying valiantly to care for him at home, has finally determined that she cannot do this (thankfully) and is pleased with his new doctor and his current care.

My husband, at the very last minute, has decided to wait to retire until May. It seems that the State is not going to be replacing employees until then and he is reluctant to put his wonderful department members in a pinch because of him. I agree that this will work out best. These men have been great for him to work with and we hate so see their families suffer.

May you all have a rich and full New Year full of the realization of God's richest blessings.

O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service to thy glory. Give me grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from thee, but may rely on thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step, prosper every work, build up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth thy praise, testify thy love, advance thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, with thee, O Father, as my harbour, thee, O Son, at my helm, thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt, my lamp burning, my ear open to thy calls, my heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me thy grace to sanctify me, thy comforts to cheer, thy wisdom to teach, thy right hand to guide, thy counsel to instruct, thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize.

May thy fear be my awe, thy triumphs my joy.

from New Year in The Valley of Vision