Sheltered Day

Our state's stay at home order was lifted on May 4, but I'm an older person with those pre-existing health problems they talk about on the news, and I have decided to continue to shelter in place until there are treatments or a vaccine for COVID-19, donating to charities such as our local food pantry and rescue mission but staying out of the way myself.

With faith that this is a temporary situation, I thought I would log my activities while sheltering at home.  It has been a different but fruitful time.  I think often of my grandmother who was a farm wife, did not drive, and lived 9 miles from the nearest town.  My life these past two months has closely mirrored how Grandma probably spent her days, except I have more conveniences (I don't wrestle with a wringer washing machine), technology (Grandma would have loved to Marco Polo her grandkids) and the knowledge that I am able to jump in my car and take off for parts unknown, however ill-advised that would be.  Knowing that I can even though I won't makes a difference psychologically, I think.

At any rate, here's a record of my stay-at-home day:

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6:30 a.m.  I come downstairs and make coffee. Drink coffee.  Wake up. 

7:00 a.m.  I read morning devotions, and am encouraged by Psalm 46.  To share the encouragement, I create a meme for verses 1 and 5 using the PicMonkey site.  I pay for a “Royale” membership at PicMonkey for $39 a year and edit photos and create memes here.  This morning I decide to create a new cover for my book, 100 Days to Freedom, using an unfinished oil painting of my mom’s for a background.  I don’t take time to do it just now, but complete the meme using that same lovely background and post it at my caregiving page on Facebook and at my caregiving blog.  I also send a copy to my cousin, Pam, who is working from home and is facing COVID-19 related job stresses and uncertainties. 

7:30 a.m. John is up for the day and is browning sausage in the kitchen. He, with his normal cholesterol levels, can breakfast on scrambled eggs with sausage.  I have oatmeal with a half banana and 1 T. semi-sweet chocolate chips.

8:00 a.m.  John is visiting on the phone with our son and granddaughter, who are waiting in the curbside pickup area outside Walmart for their grocery order.  I slice a sheet pan full of bananas for the freezer; when they are frozen I’ll transfer them to a zip top freezer bag.  I stocked up on bananas when our son-in-law picked up a grocery order for us this past Monday. Because I  take a proton pump inhibitor daily, it is important for me to make sure I have some potassium and magnesium each day. I take one or two Rolaids with calcium and magnesium stearate for the magnesium, and eat a banana or a potato each day for potassium.  Frozen bananas are great for smoothies but can also be defrosted in the microwave and mashed for my morning oatmeal or for muffins and banana bread.

8:30 a.m.  John heads off to feed cattle. I shower and dress for the day, including a 3-minute makeup routine.  I could run errands uptown or answer the door now and not feel self-conscious, but will do neither because of the pandemic.  However, I may need to answer a Facetime or a Marco Polo call from one of my grandkids, and trust me, a groomed grammy is less scary than a combed and tidied grammy.  I love the Marco Polo app.  It has really helped me stay in touch with my grandkids during this time.

A couple of weeks ago I made 25 face masks for family members.  John is using his whenever he has to go into groups of people.  Farmers don’t lead isolated lives as some people think; nearly every day John needs to go to the elevator for grain or fertilizer, and sometimes to the blacksmith shop or gas station for parts and repairs.  During this time, he is, however, taking care of more business by phone rather than via personal visits, as is his habit.  Yesterday he found he could have his cattle mineral delivered rather than picking it up in person.  He has also given up his daily convenience store stop for iced tea and snacks.  I’m baking cookies weekly and keeping 2 pitchers of tea in the refrigerator at al times.  We both are drinking lots of iced tea now, and not nearly as much diet coke (me) or diet Dr. Pepper (John) as we did before the pandemic.

9:00 a.m. Back at my computer with my Bible, I refuel my depleted store of Scriptural nourishment.

10:00 a.m.  I bring up 6 packs of hamburger from the basement freezer.  I will brown this in 1 or 2 pound packs, freeze it for easy meal prep, and take it to my daughter, who is faced with the challenge of feeding five people 3 meals a day with no takeout or carry-in meals.  Her husband is working from home now.  To further complicate her life, her kids have food allergies; no eggs, nuts, or dairy.  And her youngest is currently on an elimination diet to see whether his stomach upsets and blood in stools can be alleviated...these symptoms are almost certainly due to food hypersensitivity.  This week she is avoiding wheat and oats for him in addition to other known allergens.  She had a tele-doc-conference with an allergist last week for her two oldest boys and has scheduled a similar appointment for her youngest.  She was a step or two of her friends who have been bowled over by the responsibility of homeschooling their children after school was canceled for the remainder of the year due to Coronavirus...she is a homeschooling mom and so their family at least did not face homeschooling as a new stress during this time.  She is a wonderful teacher to her boys.

I check the drying paint on the dining chairs I’ve sanded and painted this week.  I think I’ll let the two coats of latex paint cure for a few more days before I spray on a couple of coats of polyurethane.  I’ve ordered spray paint for the remaining chairs I want to paint.  Painting dining chairs with a brush is no joke.  Every coat of paint took nearly an hour for each chair because of how difficult it is to avoid drips or runs on the bumps and ridges of the rungs and legs of those chairs.


We are sheltering in place because we are older and both John and I have health risks that might cause the virus to do us serious harm.  I’ve used the time to remodel our guest bedroom from ceiling to baseboard.  I’m glad it is done but I don’t believe I’ll tackle another popcorn ceiling in my lifetime.  I scraped it down, primed it with white paint (2 coats) and then attempted a knockdown finish.  I didn’t do a great job, but once it was painted (2 more coats of paint) it looks fine. I then painted the woodwork and walls, and shampooed the carpet.  So nice to have that done—and the Thomas Kincaid border that I loved in 1990 but dislike intensely in 2020 is GONE!

10:30 a.m.  I put in a load of towels to wash and add a bit of Clorox.  I’m doing lots more laundry now as we are no longer reusing bath towels and I change hand towels and kitchen cleaning cloths and towels daily.  I clean the bathroom daily instead of weekly, and am using cloth rags instead of paper towels to polish mirrors and fixtures. We are trying to use fewer paper towels, which were hard to get for awhile, along with all paper goods.  I’ve found I can fool my energy saver washer into using enough water to cover the clothes by always using the “bedding” setting.  We are using more water, but there is not a shortage of water just now.

11:00 a.m.  I called my daughter to see whether her supply of iced coffee was low.  Her regular brand of iced coffee, can’t be found right now. There are many other odd shortages (famously, toilet paper, but also oatmeal, potatoes, and tub margarine are hard to find).  She said she had enough for this week but flattered me to tell me that she prefers the taste of my recipe (below)! With all of the COVID-19 cases in meat packing plants, beef prices are going up and there is a rumor that chicken, beef and pork will all be difficult to obtain soon.  We are blessed to have beef in the freezer from our own herd, and we have plans to have another steer processed at the locker plant this fall.

Iced coffee recipe: 

8 cups brewed coffee, preferably from freshly ground beans

½ cup powdered coffee creamer (I use Coffeemate)

½ cup fat free half n’ half (if I have it)

½ cup simple syrup (I make simple syrup using 1:1 proportions of sugar and water)

1 can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dash salt

The vase is blown glass, made by our son-in-law, Brian, during his college days.  

11:30 a.m.  I venture outside—there were frost warnings last night and got down to 37 here—and pick some leaf lettuce from my mineral tub container, the first cutting.  I also pick a stem of deep purple iris to add to the peach colored blossoms I picked yesterday.  For our lunch, I make a big bowl of leaf lettuce topped with my grandmother's salad dressing recipe.

Grandma Opal’s Wilted Lettuce Dressing

Cut 6 slices of bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry with 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped onion (garden fresh green onions/scallions if you have them).  Drain all but 1 to 2 Tbsp. bacon grease, add ½ cup sugar and 1/4  cup vinegar.  Let cool until it is just warm but no longer boiling hot, pour over fresh lettuce leaves, serve immediately.  YUM.

1:30 p.m.  I bake my first semi-successful loaf of sour dough bread.  It is hard to keep bread on hand and so it seems many people have had the same idea—make homemade!  Thus, I haven’t been able to find bread yeast to replenish my supply.  During the first few weeks of the stay-at-home order, flour also was out of stock, but I am once more able to order flour from Walmart.com.  At any rate, I have experimented with sourdough starter and after 3 weeks of effort feel confident I have a viable batch going.  It has a pleasant, yeasty, smell, and the bread I baked with it today has a nice, mildly tangy, sourdough flavor.  Today was my third effort and I think I finally may have a recipe and technique that’ll work!

Sourdough Starter

I began with ¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons of flour (four ounces) and a half cup of non-cholrinated water (I just used the water in the tea kettle, that had been boiled).  I stirred this together in a glass bowl, covered it with a plate, and set the starter atop the refrigerator.  Each day for the next four days I stirred in another four ounces of flour and four ounces of water (please note four ounces of flour measures differently than four ounces of water, see above measurements).  On the fifth day the starter smelled sour and there were bubbles, so I felt I had obtained a viable starter.  So, I tried a loaf of bread and had a failure.  Tried a second loaf a week later, another failure.  Today’s loaf is edible!   I will store the starter in the frig and feed it once a week.  I’ve found it works best to feed the starter and set it out at room temperature for at least 24 hours before I try to make bread with it.  Good to know that if worst comes to worst (if no store-bought bread is available and there is a shortage of flour and yeast) I could still make bread!  

Here is the bread recipe I used today—not a perfect loaf, but tasty warm from the oven, with butter:

¾ cup sourdough start (ripe and active)

1 and ¼ cups non-chlorinated warm water

1 Tbsp. honey

1 and ½ tsp. salt

3 and ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

• Whisk together starter and water in a large mixing bowl. Add honey, salt, and about 2 cups of flour. Stir together until smooth, let rest for 30 minutes.

• Add 2 and ½ cups or so of flour to form a soft dough.  Knead for 5 minutes in electric mixer with dough hook (or, for non-arthritic wrists—by hand)

• Place dough in a large bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Cover and let rise overnight; for 8 hours or longer.  

• Form dough into a round loaf and place it on parchment on a rimmed baking sheet, let it rise for about two hours or until it is near double in size.  Cut slits across top.  

• Preheat oven to 425.  Bake raised loaf for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  

Here is the link to this recipe from a blog called Lil Luna:  https://lilluna.com/sourdough-bread/

2:00 p.m.  After lunch John and I watched the DVD recording of his uncle's funeral service.  Because Uncle Wilbert passed away during the pandemic, we did not gather in a large group for his funeral.  John attended a graveside service where everyone socially distanced and wore masks.  But there was a private service later in the day for just Wilbert's children and their family, and this was recorded.  It was good to see this celebration of his life.  

3:30 p.m.  Our daughter and two youngest boys visit but stay outside.  It is so odd not to have them come into the house.  They decorate my sidewalk with colorful chalk drawings.  

5:00 p.m.  I mix up pizza crust dough for homemade pizza.  We probably won't be ordering takeout for awhile longer so it's home cooking all the way!  The remainder of the day will be spent cleaning up the messes I've made in the kitchen and perhaps cycling through another load or two of laundry.   

Despite my "Little House on the Prairie" activities today, this has been a stressful time as well.  My son, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law are essential workers and so have not been able to stay sheltered these past weeks.  Local churches and sports teams are talking of reconvening before some feel it is safe to do so.  The media tells us so many different things that it's difficult to know what to believe.  I am so grateful to the Lord, who holds the past, present, and future in His hands, and loves us beyond measure: powerfully and perfectly. We can rest in His love.  Grateful.  

Scenes From April

Easter was April 12 this year, a different kind of celebration but sweet nonetheless. We had our grandkids out to hunt eggs but kept the families separate because of the pandemic.  This was the first time the cousins had not spent Easter together since our two four year old grands were born.  But...it was beautiful.  There were moments of joy.  We celebrated our risen Savior separate from one another physically but together in Spirit--and shared resources so that we all had ham dinners!  

I am a reluctant seamstress but called on my memories of high school home ec in order to sew up 25 face masks for our family members (upper left is husband, John; that's me upper right, and daughter, Melinda, lower right).  I had to choose from the small amount of fabric I had on hand, and had second thoughts about John in his camo mask.  He looks a little threatening!  Someone said, "Oh well looks like he could clear out the toilet paper aisle!!"  Whoever would have thought we would face TP shortages???  Lower left I am modeling my home-administered haircut; I also had my very first try at cutting John's hair but somehow I need more practice with those clippers. I am a little uneven in my work.  

I have been so grateful for the Marco Polo app.  Here I am chatting with son, Jonathan, and his sweet daughter.   

Grandson Daniel, 12, shot his first turkey this month!  Grandsons Logan (top right) and Isaac posed for photos next to their family's iris garden.

Left, Granddaughter Rebekah and daughter-in-love, Nicole; upper right, noble Moose the yellow lab, the only critter other than Farmer John that I'm still allowed to hug during these strange times! 

Left, daughter, Melinda, and son-in-law, Brian on Easter morning.  Lower right, our lilac bush did not bloom this year.  But one morning I did find one little blossom just at the right height to allow me to enjoy its fragrance.

A Landmark Post

In the Old Testament, there are frequent accounts of significant events being memorialized in some tangible way, often through making a pile of stones to mark the place the event occurred.  These memorials helped the people remember what God had done for them.

I have adopted a similar practice; whenever there is a significant event in my life, I tag my journal entry that describes the event with the designation of "landmark."  Landmark posts are rare.  When appropriate, I also document these significant events  walk with a blog post, and then save a record of what has happened by making a book of the blog using a service such as Pastbook.

This post records landmark understandings the Lord has graciously provided me as I process grief over my mother's passing.  I pray other caregivers might be helped by this with the realization that a caregiving journey does not have to come to an end before freedom can be attained; we can walk in freedom through the trial.  During all the years of struggle and grief there was also joy and peace as I realigned myself with the Lord each day, His mercies are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23).  This is the final chapter of my caregiving journey.  I am and have been blessed, not only in spite of Mom's Alzheimer's, but in some ways even because of it.  That's the unmistakable stamp of our Savior; He truly is able to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).

Our loved ones do not have to die in order for us to walk in freedom from the harm their sins and errors of judgment or perception have caused us.  Romans 6:4 tells us that when we are baptized into Christ, we are raised with Him to walk in newness of life.  Indeed, apart from the freedom I have in Christ, I could not have survived taking care of my mother throughout her nearly 16 year journey through Alzheimer's. But death draws a final curtain between any unresolved uncertainties and takes away opportunity for reconciliation; old sorrows may be felt more keenly.  The following account is more affirmation than new information, but it is indeed a landmark for me because I don't want to remain bound by old and erroneous judgments or crippled by memories of angry words spoken by my mother when she was in the throes of dementia.
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April 21, 2020

I visited the cemetery today and took several photos of Mom and Dad’s stone.  I could see my reflection clearly in the stone and without thinking too much about it, I took a photo of the stone with my reflection showing. I then moved first to one side and then the other to take photos of just the stone itself and the engravings.  I noticed, and stood there pondering, the significance of the two engravings of trees on the stone, oak I think, one on Mom’s side, the other on Dad’s. 

When I got home, I sat down to scroll through the photos I’d taken.  First there was the one of me, my reflected image standing between my parents’ names.  And then I saw that in one of the photos taken from the side, a large tree was reflected in the center of the stone where my outline had shown in the earlier image. I knew this was significant; I’d noticed the little oak trees engraved next to each of my parents’ names, and ever since I memorized Isaiah 61 many years ago, the verse that says God’s people will be called oaks of righteousness has been meaningful to me.  I have a metal wall sculpture of a large oak tree with deep roots and upward spreading branches above the mantle in my living room.  

And then, just before the photos I’d taken at the cemetery, was a photo I’d taken earlier in the day in our yard.  I’d noticed our oak tree was delineated with unusual clarity in the shadow cast by the rising sun that morning, and had captured the elongated, intricate web of branches in light and shadow. 

II sat there pondering all of this and a gentle awareness of a reassuring truth came to me.  My parents would be, are, happy with me, pleased with my service to them and to the Lord, and with who I am in Him. Children represent their parents’ greatest accomplishment and joy, a joy that can be tainted when the child’s sins and failures cause grief.  I am overweight, and because, in life, my father was judgmental of people who were overweight, I have assumed he would not be pleased with me now.  I was slender at the time of his death.  I am not slender now.  And, in Alzheimer’s, my mother was not happy with me.  The opposite was true.  In her demented view of reality, she felt great anger toward me even as I served her needs.  During the last three years of her life, her anger turned toward her caregivers at the nursing home and away from me, so that we were able to have a time of healing as I sang hymns to her and read Scripture during each visit.  I am grateful for that.  But the 12 years prior to Mom’s nursing home years had seen me catching every nuance of her resentment and anger over her crooked perception of her circumstances.  The confines of her disease became, in her compromised perception, confines I had placed upon her.   Her fight against dementia became a fight against her caregiver. 

All of this is gone now; Dad no longer condemns people for outward appearances, Mom no longer suffers from Alzheimer’s, and both my parents are safe at home in the Lord.  What is left is what is true.  I have given myself to ministries that have yielded eternal fruit, and my parents are pleased with me.  If they were here, they would say, “Well done;” I may hear them express such a sentiment when I reach home myself. Dad’s criticisms and Mom’s anger were “light and momentary troubles,” not eternal judgments.  I can be freed of their sting, even now.  They aren’t true now because they no longer exist, not because my parents have been silenced by death, but because they have been freed by passing through death.  The old has gone, the new has come. 

Lord let the new come for me even now.  Let me walk in freedom of newness of life.  I can be freed from the crooked version of truth I’ve lived with my entire life. As long as I was under the law of my parents’ judgment and anger I couldn’t be freed.  They have been freed from all that kept them from perfect communion with You. Lord free me now from what is no longer true, was never really true.  My Dad’s judgment and my mom’s anger toward me do not exist at all, are no longer sad facts of my life.  My chains are gone, Lord, don’t let me just stay paralyzed in place by bonds that have been cut.  I ask this in Jesus’ Name. 

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free, my Lord my God has ransomed me...unending love, amazing grace (this is from an updated version of Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin).  In yet another seemingly unconnected episode that took place yesterday but now shines with significance, is that earlier in the day I had taken down the sign that reads “Amazing Grace,” that had been over the doorway of my mother’s apartment for all the years since we built the addition for her, and hung it up in a room I’ve just refurbished from ceiling to floor; Lord, likewise, please renew me.  

March, 2020

March, 2020.  Who would have thought that our world would change so quickly in just a month's time?  We are sheltering at home as COVID-19 infects more people day by day.  As of today, April 3, there are 30 cases associated with a nursing home just 20 miles from our home.  We are much in prayer.

The photo above with the red checked tablecloth was taken March 1, the last family dinner we had before we were instructed to stop gathering in groups because of the pandemic.  We celebrated Daniel's birthday that day, several weeks late...so glad we got to do that.

John no longer stops at our local Casey's each morning for his iced tea, and we've tried to take regular walks for exercise since I'm not getting out of the house much otherwise.  Business on the farm must go on as usual so John visits our local grain elevator often for fertilizer and anhydrous tanks, but everyone is getting better about social distancing.  John now carries Clorox-wipes with him and wipes down the trucks he drives following another driver.  We take the precautions we can and trust the Lord.

For some reason, pie has seemed to be my comfort food of choice.  I made 3 coconut cream pies in March, one for each of my kids and their families, and one for us!  I believe the photo above is of the egg free version; it can be done.  I used coconut milk in the pudding and cool whip instead of meringue for the topping on the one for my allergic kids.  I also made an apple pie as a gift for our daughter and son-in-law's 16th anniversary March 27. 

The photo above left was taken on our 46th anniversary, March 30.  We celebrated by building fence together in the morning (my role was to hand John the fence clips) and eating the last two T-bone steaks from our freezer with chocolate pudding cake from dessert.  (We have since had a critter processed at the locker plant a few miles down the road, and so once more have a freezer full of beef).

We are so grateful for the blessings provided us in the eye of this storm.  We are trusting and praying day by day.

I wrote a little rhyme a few years ago when my mother was struggling so with her Alzheimer's disease, and it seems appropriate now:

Joy in the midst of sorrow,

Peace in the midst of pain,

Faith in the truth of God's promise,

There will be sunshine after the rain.  

God bless and protect us.  We are so grateful for His unfailing presence with us.  

January/February 2020

My mom passed away January 23 after a nearly 16 year battle with Alzheimer's disease.  I'm sad for us as we miss her, but blessed for her sake, because she is free of Alzheimer's disease at last and is safe at home with the Lord.

We all dress up so rarely that Mom's services offered an opportunity to catch us looking our best--although some of us were more unhappy than others about the restrictions our nice clothes placed upon us:  

We enjoyed winter walks and had photo worthy snows on January 11 and February 12.

We were blessed with visits from Rebekah and by photos that were texted to us from our grandsons' mom while they were kept from in-person visits by a series of minor viruses.  Daniel's birthday celebration was postponed twice due to illnesses, and we finally gave him his gifts sans a party.  He seems pretty pleased anyhow!

Potato Soup and Homemade Bread--NYUM!

Earlier this week we had freezing rain, rain, snow, and sleet all in one afternoon.  It was a good day for soup and so I put this recipe together.  I like using fat free half n' half for the richness it gives without added fat.  We use skim milk from Brahms Dairy--they condense their skim milk a bit so it isn't as thin and not a bit blue-tinged as regular skim milk can be. 

Snowy Day Potato Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and sliced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 medium/large onion, diced

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 to 3 cloves minced garlic

6 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

2 cups skim milk

2 and l/2 cups fat free half and half

1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper

Place oil, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic into a stock pot, cook over medium heat until onion is softened and carrots and celery are tender crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add potatoes and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add 2 cups of water, salt, and pepper, and simmer about 7 minutes, until potatoes are nearly done.  Add milk, fat free half and half, bacon, and heat through. Taste and adjust salt to taste.   

I made a loaf of bread from my standard bread recipe.  My grandkids call it "Grammy Bread" because I make it so often.  It is egg and dairy free out of respect for their allergies.  I also use this dough to make dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls.

Grammy Rolls (or bread)

In a 2 cup glass measure stir together: 

1 cup very warm tap water

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon regular bread yeast

Into bread machine liner, place: 

3 cups unbleached flour

1.5 teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

When the water mixture is foamy on top, dump it all at once into the bread machine liner right on top of the flour mixture, process on dough setting.  Form dough into a loaf, let it raise about an hour until doubled in size, bake on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet at 350 until golden brown (check at 15-18  minutes, watch closely thereafter).  My oven needs a liner or an insulated cookie sheet on the rack below to protect the loaf from getting too brown.  

Pantry Soup

Clockwise from top left:  our "pantry soup" before the noodles were completely cooked--there ended up to be LOTS of noodles, Top right:  Rebekah was longing for cinnamon rolls today and her dad sent me this photo of her watching the bread machine make the dough,  Bottom right:  this photo was taken just as the snow stopped falling today.  Sure hope it is done! Bottom left: our grandsons played on hay bales Thursday afternoon when the temperature was in the 60's, 

Last evening rain fell, temperatures dropped, and ice formed.  Early this morning snow began to fall: large fluffy, light flakes that have accumulated to about 2 inches or so.  Farmer John is out feeding cattle, and he is nursing a cold.  I thought homemade soup would be just the thing for a day like today; but what to do?  We haven't made a grocery store run in over a week!  I don't even have a box of pasta of any sort on the shelf, but I did find some lasagna noodles.  I cobbled together a soup that we ended up loving and now am not sure how I did it.  I will do my best to record the process here:

Snowy Day Pantry Soup

Place 1 box oven ready lasagna noodles into a 9 x 13 baking dish and cover with boiling, salted water (about a quart of water with about a teaspoon of salt).  

 Brown:  

1/2 pound sausage 

1 red pepper, chopped  

1 medium onion, chopped 

2 medium carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Add:

2 cups diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup or so chopped cooked chicken

1 quart chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground oregano

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon dried basil

Cut the lasagna noodles into bite sized pieces and add to the soup along with the salted water...taste and be careful not to get the soup too salty, can add just enough plain boiling water for the right consistency instead of the salted water if no extra salt is needed.  You might want to add an additional quart of chicken broth--we ended up with a LOT of noodles in this soup as they cooked and expanded.  I used regular sausage in this because that is what we had on hand, but Italian sausage would be good.  

Busy, Beautiful December

I focus on blessings and positives in this blog, almost as a coping mechanism for the things that are difficult.  A sorrow for us now is that my 95-year-old mother is finally winding down, sleeping more, eating little, no longer reaching for her water cup; a slow fading away.  She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease 16 years ago come April.  It has truly been a long goodbye, but there have been many blessings along the way. 

It really is such a blessing that there are so many joys in the midst of our sorrows, and that the Lord's sustaining, comforting presence overshadows the difficulties so that there truly is peace in the midst of pain.

Grandkids, celebrations, and the blessings of our Lord and Savior's birth have characterized this month.  I'll type out our Christmas day menu at the end of this post.

I have a December birthday, but my family didn't let me go without a celebration despite the rush and crush of Christmas activities.  Our daughter (bottom, center) made a beautiful supper for us including that DELICIOUS strawberry cheesecake upper left.  And Farmer John gifted me with a Tilley hat and Muck brand boots--now, if I haven't outgrown my insulated coveralls (!) I really have no excuse for not accompanying him to do winter chores.  

On Christmas day, John and I shared an impromptu dance while we waited in line for our plates at the Christmas brunch buffet hosted by our son and his wife.  John says we've watched too many Hallmark Christmas movies and it is beginning to impact our behavior.  Not necessarily a bad thing!!!  

I'm so in love with our Christmas tree this year that I'm letting it stay until the New Year.  I usually take the tree down the day after Christmas.  

Christmas Brunch Menu

Hot spiced fruit

Cinnamon rolls 

Bacon and link sausages

Sausage gravy and biscuits

Corn pancakes with maple syrup

Afternoon

Hot spiced cider

Dipped pretzels

Party Mix

Cheese balls 

Summer sausage and snack crackers

Evening

Ham and cheese sliders

Chicken salad sandwiches

Vegetable soup

Vegie tray

When Melinda brought out the vegetable tray we were all, like, oh yes, vegetables, we remember those...good idea!!!  

There were ten of us present, and needless to say, we ate well.  

Thank you Lord for the year on the farm, for our family, for our country, for the many blessings we've enjoyed, and yes, even for the sorrows we've endured.  We are so grateful.  Blessed be Your Holy Name!  

The Lord is the strength of his people...Psalm 28:8

November, 2019

My goodness November flew by.  Thanksgiving dinner was a success, thanks to everyone pitching in to bring various side dishes in combination with my complete lack of compunction about freezing things like mashed potatoes and gravy. All I had the to do the day of our event was to coordinate an elaborate thawing process.  For anyone who believes one can't freeze mashed potatoes--Google it! Mine ended up fluffy and perfectly adequate for our needs!  Here's a link to some that are very much like what I did, but I thawed them in a low oven, stirred to fluff, and put into the crockpot on the lowest setting until serving time:

 https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/freezer-mashed-potatoes/

My really controversial move was to bake and freeze the turkey ahead.  I know, I know, I know.  Just don't argue with me on this; I'm getting older, and the last minute hassle (and uncertainty) of carving a turkey fresh out of the oven is too much for me.  One reaches a stage when "good enough" is just fine!   I bought and baked a fresh turkey, carved it, covered it with broth, and froze it right in its serving dish about a week ahead of time.  On Thanksgiving day I placed the frozen dish into a 275 degree oven for about 90 minutes, checking and adjusting the heat as needed.  At serving time I drained the excess broth, and voila!  Moist, yummy turkey.  I promise, it was just as good and perhaps better than turkey I have made the day of the event; it seems as though the gentle heating in broth rehydrates even the white meat which we all know tends to be dry.

So many sweet family times happened during November.  I always feel like placing a caveat on all the golden moments I record here; this is my "counting our blessings" blog.  I don't record sorrows, or offer counsel for others suffering the burdens of a heavy caregiving load, as I do at http://copingandpraying.blogspot.com.  It is an excellent exercise for me to place my focus upon the portions of our days that are pure, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy (see Philippians 4:8).   

It occurs to me that some folks might question whether a frozen-ahead  turkey counts as a golden moment....

But anyway, here are some November memories that accentuate the positive:  

Change happens so fast as the days shorten during November.  This was at the beginning of the month before the leaves on the red maple had turned.  

New hairdo for Mel...

New glasses frames for me...

Moose appears to really appreciate the beauty of this sunset. :-)  

Busy Days

This has been such a busy past few weeks for Farmer John.  He has finished baling hay and hauled most of his big bales home.  With our son's help, he has begun harvesting corn.  And he has been working hard to bring our 300 head or so of cattle home for the winter, as pasture season ends October 15.  Today was cattle moving day.  I woke up at 4:45 and did devotions, then prepared a noon meal for our son's birthday.  The menu included meatloaf, roasted golden potatoes, Italian garlic bread, fruit, and steamed broccoli.  Dessert was Jon's favorite lemon bars.  At the end of this post I'll include an approximation of the way I made the meatloaf today.  I don't think my family is just being polite when they say they like this meat loaf--hope not because I make it pretty often!

I wasn't able to ride along on the cattle drive this year because of a rosacea breakout--I have to avoid the sun and wind when this happens.  But daughter Melinda sent photos so I could share in the day anyhow--and the troops will all gather here tonight for pizza!

Rebekah surveys the pasture of cattle from the sunroof of the parked  truck.  

We call Farmer John "the cow whisperer."  He casually strolls out and calls them a couple of times, and they follow.  

These three were eating popcorn on the ride to the pasture.  

When the truck stopped Rebekah and Isaac peered out the back window to see how Poppy gets all those cattle to cooperate with him.  Our "twins" will soon be 4 years old.  

Rebekah had Logan pinned here "I was squishing him!"  

Son-in-law, Brian, grandson, Daniel, and nephew John Lee encourage the cattle along.  

Logan read the littles a book to keep them entertained.  

Grandson Daniel, 11,  walked the entire 3 miles and was a real help this year.  

And here is a collage of photos from day before yesterday, when Melinda and her boys and I climbed the hill across the road from our house and played on the hay bales stacked there.  Loved this time together.

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Grammy's Meatloaf
(All ingredients approximate!)

For the loaf:

2 lbs lean ground beef
Ketchup (about a cup)
Italian seasoned bread crumbs (about 1.5 cups)
1/4 cup applesauce instead of an egg (for allergic kids)
2 Tablespoons dehydrated minced onion
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

For the topping:
Ketchup (about 2 cups)
Low sodium soy sauce (2 or 3 tablespoons)
Brown sugar (about a half cup...or so...)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice, skip it if you only have the bottled stuff
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic

Form into a loaf, pour topping over, bake at 350 until safe internal temperature for beef, about an hour.  Watch to be sure the sweet topping doesn't start to scorch around the edges, add a little hot water if this happens (if your beef is very lean this is more likely).  Best to use a smallish pan so the topping pools around the loaf.   

I made the Pioneer Woman's lemon bars.  They are tart and delicious.  Be sure to refrigerate them for several hours before serving and don't forget to butter the pan really well, or use plenty of nonstick cooking spray.  Here's a link to this recipe:  

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/lemon-bars/