Another Monday

 

I love the view from my deck!

Apparently Thimba also loves tea!

It looks like snow but it's not. 

        

It has been a rough few days.  My father-in-law had a heart attack early Thursday morning.  Thankfully, 2 stents later, he is back at home.  I wonder if any of us will ever not feel anxiety when the phone rings? It seems as if a phone call only brings bad news these days.  

Saturday my daughter, sister-in-law, and I started to empty my mom's house - well, her kitchen.  We didn't get too much done except divvying out the canned goods and other food because there was another showing early that afternoon. We will have to get up there and really get cracking - especially if the house is sold soon.

I'm so tempted to just say that 2020 absolutely sucks but that's not entirely true. I'm thankful that my brother made it through a medical issue that could have really been fatal. And even though my heart is broken because of the death of my mom, my brothers and I have really bonded and it has been nice to be in regular communication with them. 

I'm thankful that Pappy Decker returned a month after he 'broke out' of an upstairs window.  I'm thankful that after several months of self-imposed isolation, Thimba has decided to rejoin her feline brother and sisters. 

 There are a lot of other things to be thankful for and somedays it is easier to remember than other days.  

Rain

 It is raining today - finally! It's been raining steady for the past few hours and I'm loving it.  Rain today matches my mood.  My brothers are meeting with a realtor today about selling the family home. I know it really isn't a home anymore - mom and dad are gone and the rest of us are spread out in our own parts of the world. But it was a home once and there are many great memories attached to it. So many good things happened there and, as in any home, quite a few not so good things happened there as well.  I can remember my brothers getting in trouble for goofing off during dinner time. I may or may not have been the one responsible for making them laugh.  I remember having to sit at the dinner table until I eat every. last. one. of. those. peas. on. my. plate! It's funny because I love peas now! I remember when, right before 4th grade, our house burned while the entire family was at a parade in a neighboring town. A next door neighbor saw the smoke and broke in to save the house. When we returned from the parade, all the neighbors were waiting for us offering any help that we needed.  I'll never forget living in the basement of the house for months and months while the rest of the house was being rebuilt.  It was a time of togetherness none of us will ever forget!  

We had so much fun there! I remember all the Christmases, all the Thanksgivings, all the other non-holiday times! I can remember my dad and my uncle eating tons of corn on the cob and hotdogs when we would have our summer get togethers. I remember the baseball 'field' we had right outside the bathroom window - how we never broke a window is a mystery!  I remember laying in the front yard looking at the stars on summer nights with the neighbor kids.  I remember my dad and my brothers stapling hemlock boughs and lights along the eaves for Christmas. 

We had some really terrific times there - when my kids were young, we would have dinner at my parents every Sunday. It was a reprieve for me since at the time, I was a single mom and having some time to laugh and joke with my parents was essential to my mental health.  I honestly don't know how I would have made it through the early years without having that Sunday dinner to look forward to. 

So I started this post a week ago and the second showing of my parents' home will be later this morning. As of right now, every thing is still there. I am not looking forward to packing bits and pieces of our lives and deciding what stays and what goes.  It is going to be sad, no doubt about it.  But after the initial sadness of packing, I think thoughts will quickly move toward fun memories.  It's a great house and this family has grown.  It is time for the house to be 'home' for another family.

Welcome Autumn!

October's Party

By: George Cooper

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came�

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,

The Oaks in crimson dressed;

The lovely Misses Maple

In scarlet looked their best;

All balanced to their partners,

And gaily fluttered by;

The sight was like a rainbow

New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,

At hide-and-seek they played,

The party closed at sundown,

And everybody stayed.

Professor Wind played louder;

They flew along the ground;

And then the party ended

In jolly "hands around."

Goodbye Summer.

 

A very special recipe

It was a very good weekend! It was a very busy weekend! For the first time in a very long time, I made spaghetti sauce using my own tomatoes. For years I've planted tomato plants and never had enough ripen to make spaghetti sauce.  But this year, we moved the location of the garden and I had a great deal of success!  The recipe I used for the sauce is the one that my husband's grandmother used.  I can still remember the Saturday she came over - a short little 90+ old girl - with all of her canning paraphernalia. My daughter sat on a tall stool and wrote the recipe into our cookbook as 'little grammy' dictated each step. I'm so glad that we did!  Memories are made in strangest, most obscure kind of ways.  And this year is all about the memories we've made.  

These made me cry - alot!

A little post-canning relaxation

Just some of the spaghetti sauce I canned

And it is Wednesday.

Sometimes the only thing that helps is a cold IPA and a trip back in time. And yes, the cat was home.

 

Another Thursday in captivity.

Summer transitioning into fall is such a beautiful process.  I will miss the fresh tomatoes from my garden but tasting my canned spaghetti sauce in the middle of winter will be a reminder of all that is good about summer. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of summer but I do appreciate the benefits. As I go into winter, I will keep the good memories of the summer despite the fact that summer 2020 sucked at least 99.9% of the time. 

In Paul Anka's song, Times of your Life, I just love the lyrics that say, ". . . memories are times that you borrow, to spend when you get to tomorrow". So true. I truly enjoy reliving the good times I've had with my parents and my grandparents, my aunts and uncles. I love thinking about people who have been in my life and then moved on - whether by death or by miles.  

Autumn memories get me through the dog days of summer. And summer memories get me through winter's cardboard tomatoes.
 

Getting closer.

What a great weekend it was! I really enjoyed the cooler weather, the not sweating, the sunshine, and the 3 days that I didn't have to sign into my computer. I did sign into my computer, but I didn't need to. 

 

I did things that I enjoyed over the weekend. Watched my nephew wrestle, spent time with family, baked, and read. I planned on sewing - trying to get a quilt quilted - but it was just too nice to spend inside. My time was better spent outside. 

It seemed that everyone was happy this weekend or maybe it just seemed that way because I was happy. I know that Labor Day was not one of my mom's favorite weekends because in a sense, it ended summer which she loved. I can remember how irritated she would get if I (or anyone else) said anything about fall or the starting of school (back in the days when school didn't start until after the holiday). I agree that there is a bittersweet aura about this time but it is one of those nice feelings - the feeling that soon there will be days during which cuddling up in quilts with a good book and a cup of coffee will be the only things accomplished.

I honestly look forward to the darkness and the cold. Maybe that reflects my personality which is definitely not brightness and warmth. For now I am happy with this transitional period of gathering what's left in the garden, decorating my Halloween treat, making soups, and generally, preparing for the cold months.

 

It is Thursday.

 I love this photo.  Just a simple picture of an annoying rooster standing in front of the basement.  He's a poser but he's harmless.  This is unlike some of the beautiful barred rock hens that I dearly love but who peck my feet if I'm not quick enough with the feed (those little peckers!).  This year we purchased chicks from TSC because all of our hens are wayyyyyyy beyond the age of egg-laying.  Usually TSC is really good in separating their chicks into breeds but not our TSC this year!  So we bought a few hodge-podge chicks.  One of them looks like some bizarre crossbreed of Silkie and barred rock, complete with feathery feet - or claws - depending on how you look at them.  2 are clearly barred rocks which are beautiful black/grey speckled. 2 turned out to be some odd kind of mini-chick that lay super small eggs.  And then we have the 2 brown ducks.  

They are a family and I love that they are.  The ducks are clearly a couple and they waddle around the yard side-by-side with the chickens following close behind.  They jump in the little pond together, drink from the goat's water together, have breakfast together, and then finally, make their way to the coop so that they can all sleep together.

In the midst of all the hate of the world, I love watching all these different little beings live together in peace.  

Great day for a hike.

To celebrate my birthday in this weird year, my daughter, son, and future daughter-in-law went hiking. Thousands of other people joined us. I don't like being around a lot of people, even when it isn't COVID season.  But during that day, it didn't annoy me a bit.  

There are a couple reasons why the hordes didn't bother me. One reason is because the hike was insanely beautiful! It is hard to be around that much natural beauty and be annoyed. Another reason is because that was the first time around more than a few people in several months and we weren't all that close together. It's a forest and there is acres of space to roam.  

I wonder what it would have been like to be the first person to ever lay eyes on these beautiful falls, the natural pools, and the caves! Sitting at my computer for all these months, it is easy to forget that there is such beauty out there. 

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So many changes

My mom died. Those three words seem so surreal. She was here on a Saturday-I talked to her, had a heart attack Saturday night, I talked to her Sunday morning, and by 1:00 Monday afternoon, she had flown off to be with my dad.

I don't know how to process this information. I started this post nearly a month ago.  Couldn't finish it.  I was lucky because I had a good mom.  So many others didn't.  I still can't believe she's not on this earth. I go to call her and tell her about a show I found that was filmed in her hometown and I realize that I can't.  There are so many things I wish I had told her or asked her.  

She was a good mom. She put up with me and my crazy ideas. She tolerated (and often supported me in the aftermath) of many stupid decisions. 

She was a good mom. If you still have your mom, give her a hug, give her a call, spend time with her.  It sounds trite but it is true.  No amount of sewing, no comfort food, no wine, or beer or liquor will ever fill the void.  

And if I happen to be your mom, know that I love you.

Happy 4th!

 I spent this 4th of July with my dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, pony, and goat. It was so incredibly hot and humid - nearly unbearable! Thank goodness for a cool creek, a covered deck, and lots of fans!

These days I'm feeling quite restless - like most other people I suppose. I've lost much of the faith I've found over the past few years. I don't really like how I feel right now but I know that these feelings will pass.

June was a month of crazy, crazy news: good news, enlightening news, scary news. . . . .  There has been so much change this year already that I'm not ready to deal with more.  I want things to be stable for a little while. 

It's important that I keep myself grounded at times like this and it is getting harder and harder to do.  I'm happy enough but I'm feeling a shift in things. I need to keep in mind that I have many things to hold on to and there is really no need for me to be scared or nervous. 

Until I feel as if I'm on solid ground, I know that I have my family - both human and animal.