Seeing Red

We gained an hour of sleep Sunday night and rather than waking up "earlier" I keep waking up later and later. Maybe it's all that fresh air... :0)

I must get up and get some things done, but here are a few photos from Deb's and my trip to Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester yesterday afternoon. So absolutely gorgeous!

It was another perfect day and I have a ton of pictures.

The Results Are In...

I feel a little like this today...

I did not stay up to watch the election results or listen to any speeches. I've been there, done that, and only found myself frustrated and sleep deprived, so last night I elected to go to bed instead. It was a wise decision, but I still woke up with a headache and an achy body. Fall allergies and an open bedroom window on top of a stressful week. And wouldn't you know it? I left my allergy pills and vitamins sitting on the table and went to work without taking them.

Life Goes On

So, the election is over for another four years. Here's to being hopeful no matter who you voted for.

Baby Cakes

It was a busy morning, but things have settled down now and I am at work sitting quietly while my friend sleeps. I gave my girl and her baby a ride to the pediatrician this morning (and voted while they were there). On the way home I remarked on how lucky she is that she already knows her baby's doctor. Not only was she Hannah's pediatrician, but we have been blessed to know her outside of the office as well.

When we got back to the house, I had a few moments to hold Idris and look into his sweet little face. He was wide awake and staring, Quiet and settled, and ready for a long conversation. Too bad I had to leave. He was gazing at his mommy as I went out the door...

The Long and Winding Road

The cobbled road, littered with fallen leaves, led the way to the top of the hill. The way was not entirely smooth, but it was clear and we plodded forward...

We've been walking down winding roads and unknown paths for several years now. They have taken us through years of raising children, seen us bid sad farewells to loved ones, and found us tripping over our own feet when faced with obstacles of unexpected proportions. I'm sure we've both looked back a time or two, wondering if it might be wiser to turn back than to forge ahead, but onward and upward we go never knowing what might lay around the bend or over the next rise.

Last week I was tired and teary. The road was rough and uneven. I wanted to stop and rest, fearful of what fate may await me, but today I am hopeful. Still tired, but encouraged by recent events and strengthened by words of scripture. God has not abandoned us in the trial, instead he offers a hand to hold when our feet ache and our legs are unsteady. And here and there, when we can no longer go on, He puts us on His shoulder and carries us for a spell.

Saturday

Before stopping in to visit our boy yesterday afternoon, we took a detour at Mount Hope Cemetery for a walk through the trees and stones.

Susan B Anthony has the most decorated grave in the cemetery, especially during an election year...

We took a selfie, just to show you the walk was a good idea.

(Yes, we're both tired.)

Naughty Cats, Apple Pie, and Chickens

The Naughties have been living up to their reputation lately. The other night they mauled the bread and bagel bags that have been living on the counter for months. Josiah was not happy to find his brand new loaf of bread sporting holes and chew marks. He tossed it in the garbage and I, of course, rescued it for the chickens. They like bread.

Thankfully, chickens also like apple pie. Someone Naughty uncovered the pie on my island table and took a few tastes of the top crust during the middle of the night. It had been hidden under a clean dish towel which apparently did not render it safe from hungry cats. At another time in life I might have been furious and tossed it into the trash can, but yesterday I took both the pie and my camera down to the chicken coop.


The girls were
all excited even before I unlatched and opened the door. I found, much to my satisfaction, that chickens do indeed like apple pie, and so the apple pie became a "chicken pie" and they gobbled it up. (ha ha!)

I gathered eggs while the birds had pie for breakfast. The egg in the lower part of the coop went into my pocket, and the ones from the upper nesting boxes, I gathered into my hands. When I got back to the house I marked one egg with the date and arranged them in an egg carton. Twenty minutes later I found I'd been walking around with an egg in my pocket and didn't even know it.

Getting the chicken coop locked up in a timely manner each evening has become a challenge. With darkness setting in early, and now the time change, we find them all tucked in and fast asleep well before we are here to close them up. I am somewhat concerned about coyotes and foxes and will need to find a way to ensure my entire flock does not disappear when no one is here to close and lock the door soon after darkness settles in. Do I sound like a mother hen?

Dad's Music

I went searching today, through drawers, cabinets, and boxes, looking for the CD that holds my father playing his guitar and harmonica. Not only had I mentioned his harmonica playing to a friend last night, but when my heart is hurting and tears sting, I find great comfort in hearing my dad play those old hymns. He can't be here in body, but he feels close when I listen to his music.



This isn't on the CD, and I've posted it before, but it's one I love too. I remember the days he would sing it when I was just a little girl, probably six or seven years old. I learned to love his music, the way he played his instruments and how he sang, but sadly, I never learned to play.

Sometimes listening to him play helps me cry, and sometimes it just calms my anxious heart and thoughts. I will be forever grateful for the gifts he left behind to  help me through hard times.

Stress Relief

I looked at the weather forecast last night and saw rain for today, so I wasn't surprised when I woke up to dark skies and a steady drizzle. After an entirely too stressful past week, I decided to decompress by turning my kitchen table into a bakery.  Baking was "once upon a time" a favorite activity and so it was my choice of therapy for today.

After a trip up town to drop off a few eggs to my Number 2 son, I started on the task of measuring flour and salt for pastries, and sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour for the apple filling. I've taken to bagging the dry ingredients in individual baggies so I don't have to start measuring all over again with each pie.

Once the bags of flour and sugar were set aside, I began the task of peeling and slicing, which was supposed to be easy with my handy-dandy apple peeler/corer/slicer, but the apples had a mind of their own and I ended up having to peel, slice, and core several portions by hand when the apples didn't cooperate.

I'd planned to assemble nine pies, but ran short on both time and apples. All was not lost though, because I baked two pies and put four into the freezer, and I think that's a pretty significant accomplishment. Somewhere along the way, the migraine I'd been fighting for three days evaporated, which is an incredible relief in and of itself, and I will sleep better tonight because of it.

We are still walking through some dark days, but the path is growing brighter. I am holding on to hope that God is doing great things.

Oh, Number Nine

He doesn't look anything like our other grandchildren, which isn't a surprise. He has black hair and will most likely have dark eyes as well, just what his mommy ordered. He is snuggly and sweet with little baby yawns and stretches, little baby squeaks and sneezes. We are in love all over again.

We needed this tiny miracle this week, a bright spot in a difficult week. I can hardly wait for his uncle to come home and look into his little face. He will be in love too.

A Bushel and a Peck

I was awake this morning for the golden moment, that time of day when the sun first peeks over the horizon and the shadows on the wall appear yellow. It's a fleeting moment, one I often miss, so it was a blessing this morning.

I mostly stayed home today, except for going out to find some apples. My favorite apple stand is just about closed up. It was self serve today. Take your apples and leave the money in a box. I wanted a bushel and a bushel is $15. I had 3-4 ones and  a couple of $20's. I filled a bushel box and a peck basket and slipped $21 into the box. I'm going to be making a few more pies for my freezer. Maybe Thursday.


Tomorrow it will be back to work. Today I am thankful for a mostly low-stress job and the ability to rearrange my hours just enough to  make a visit to the hospital before visiting hours are over.

The Weekend Ends

Ah, the weekend...

We actually made it to first service at church this morning. Okay, so we were ten minutes late, but they were still singing. I sat down and my friend Barb leaned over and whispered, "I was afraid maybe you weren't going to make it." I smiled and when it came time to greet those around us, we gave each other a big hug. It's our weekly routine.

Our pastor finished up the epistle of James today. Toward the end of the service he said, "Sometimes God answers prayer with a baby." I thought how absolutely appropriate it was for our family this week. Our little grandson arrived in our son's darkest hour and we have witnessed Divine intervention.

That verse I posted on Monday...

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 

... is a verse my son used to claim as his favorite. He doesn't go to church anymore. He told me the other day that he doesn't believe, that he hasn't since he was sixteen, but that doesn't stop God from thinking thoughts of peace and not evil towards him, and it doesn't stop God from giving him a future and a hope.

Another friend, one who was once a nurse in our pediatrician's office, greeted me after the service. "How are you?" she asked me. "I'm okay," I answered, and she said, "You are not! there is sadness in your eyes," and once again God gave me a friend to love, encourage, and pray for us. He's just like that.

Letting Go a Little at a Time

Giving up the reins is hard. Even giving them over to those who care can be next to impossible...

It's been a long, hard week. I am tired and teary. I am blessed by a brand new grandson, and my heart, though full and happy for my daughter, aches just a bit because I know how much her heart will break when her child faces the struggles that come with life. She will never be the same.

I slept last night. I wasn't thinking about a daughter in the throes of childbirth. Hannah's labor and delivery are accomplished. She has a beautiful baby boy. Today they will take him home and start a new chapter of life.

I slept last night. I didn't have to worry about where my son was or if he was needing help. I knew he was surrounded by people who would give him what he needs and I knew he would finally be able to sleep too. This is another road I haven't been down before, but I know I'm not alone on the journey.

Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous-

3. Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood God.

This Beautiful Day

It's been a long day, but this mama will sleep better tonight. My boy is in a safe place. He has help and there is hope.

When life gets too big to carry by ourselves, we have a God that is bigger than the burdens on our shoulders. I am in awe again at how God puts us exactly where we need to be when we need to be there. This time He gave an older brother two days off work at the perfect time so he could be there in his brother's time of need. (Thank you, Jesus!)

Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous-

2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Number Nine

In other news...

We have a new grandson with a head of wavy black hair. He arrived this morning, and now Hannah and I can have honest labor and delivery conversations without me scaring her. She been through it. "I was ready to die," she said, and I laughed because I remember the feeling all too well.

It will take me a little while to get used to his name as it is one I have never heard before. His name is Idris, and although
I'm, still mulling it over, I'm sure it will grow on me just like the names of all my other grandkids. (If not I'll just keep calling him Russell. ha ha!)

Mom and baby are doing well, with baby getting a little extra attention for having pooped in his amniotic fluid. A little time in the NICU and some antibiotics.

You gotta love his hair!

The Kids I Love

"A mother is only as happy as her saddest child..." my friend Karen

My daughter is due today so when I heard my phone chime this morning, I automatically assumed it was news. Instead the screen read, "I love you so much" and it was not a text from my sweet girl, but my heartbroken and aching son...

My heart jumped and I immediately pushed the button to call him. On the other end I found a broken and sobbing man. My little boy. One who once snuggled down next to me for long naps, who had the softest ears ever, and who used to look up at me and say, "Mom... I neeeeeed you."

No details, just a mother's plea for prayers. Again.

Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous-

1. We admitted we were powerless over others - that our lives had become unmanageable.

Almost Arrested

It's already been a long week, even though it's only Wednesday night. Some weeks are like that.Maybe it's the coldness, I don't know.

My Minnesota son called me a little over a week ago to let me know he and his wife were "out of the country..." (He thought maybe I should know.) I was thinking Canada, but it turns out they were in Tijuana, Mexico. (Fancy that!) The little guy, known here as grandchild Number 6, stayed with his Minnesota Grandma and Grandpa. On Saturday they went to the airport to pick up the travelers and that's when it happened.

Jim called this past Sunday evening, from Minnesota, to let us know he and Michele were safe at home, and that Austin almost got arrested at the airport. He's three and when one is three, and his mommy has been gone for an entire week, the sight of her can make one lose all control.

So anyway, the little guy spotted his mom and dad coming and took off running, right through the security doors, and into his mother's arms. They didn't have a chance to stop him. Thankfully, the folks in the airport were lenient.
:0)

The Train in the Tunnel

How's this for a mural? Protected from many environmental woes, sheltered by its location, and apparently unfinished. Designed by Emily Waldman, and started 3 years ago, the mural is 80 feet long and 10 feet high. (Article here)

Very cool. What a great project.

Traipsing and Gallivanting

Yesterday, after my morning appointment, I was blessed to catch up with my sister and go traipsing about for a couple of hours. We stopped at White Haven Memorial Park and said hello to our grandparents and great grandparents...

Grandpa... I love that someone in the family bought him a marker. I don't think it was my dad.

We decided to stop at Powers Farm Market across the street...

They had a great quick bread collection, but we didn't buy any. We each had a pumpkin fried cake instead.

And then we decided, since it wasn't too far off, to drive out to the Auburn Trail in Fishers and find that old railroad tunnel where Dad and Uncle Art almost got themselves killed back in December of 1948.

It was a beautiful day for a short walk through the woods.

Old Railroad Marker

And the infamous, to us anyway, thruway overpass...

Have I told you Dad never laughed when he told us this story?

"Sat. December 11, 1948-"This afternoon Arthur and I went out to Victor in the Model A and started home after dark. On our way home we decided to follow the unfinished Cloverleaf highway (dirt and high). We rode a few miles going about 50 or more when we came terribly near to going off a high drop-off onto a railroad track where they're going to put a bridge in. Arthur swerved the car around on two wheels, blew a front tire, crashed through a pile of iron bars and tore one running board in two. If we'd gone over the bank we wouldn't have had a chance. When we got home Mother, Dad, and I went to a show and saw "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" and "A Southern Yankee".