October 29, 2009 by Debbie.

That’s a stolen title. I took it from Mitch Albom’s book of the same, have a little faith. I’ve never read his works but like what I’ve read in this nonfiction one I picked up at our wonderful Whitewright Library the other day. Here’s an exert from it:

From a Sermon by the Reb, 1975

A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommnedation to his new employer. It reads simply, “He sleeps in a storm.”

The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man.

Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the might, a powerful storm rips through the valley.

Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly.

So he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed.

He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and wrapped in tarpaulins.

He races to the silo. The doors are latched, and the grain is dry.

And then he understands. “He sleeps in a storm.”

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces with be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of “I could have, I should have.” We can sleep in a storm.

And when it’s  time, our good-byes will be complete.

There’s several zingers like that in the book and I’m only half way through.

Another storm came through this afternoon. I can’t remember a wetter fall  in our 21 years in Texas. The leaf mold smells just like Ohio fall and has the same allergic response. Misery.

I haven’t been called in to school this week yet so finally did some work here at home today. I worked on a couple of quilts for the Foster Kids and baked some of Grandma Hall’s sugar cookies - a batch sprinkled with sugar, one with walnuts & sugar mix, and one spread with apricot jam and latticed with more cookie dough then glazed with a white powdered sugar glaze. There’s a chicken roasting in the oven, veggies to stir fry with ginger sauce and rice to steam in a bit. We’ll sleep well tonight. Hope you do, too.

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October 19, 2009 by Debbie.

Thank goodness for only two days subbing last week. I am still not caught up with housework (will I ever be?) and thanks to a head cold probably further behind than I was last week. Dust multiplies quickly out here in the country, sitting on the top of a windy hill with dogs in and out all day long. I try to think of our piano as a dust trap like a crop trap - one that’s planted to attract the bugs and keep them off the ‘real’ crops. Well, the piano sure attracts dust but it doesn’t do a thing about keeping it off any of the other furniture. It just highlights it’s presence when the sunlight shines across it’s sleek wood lines.

Friday night John took me to see “Always… Patsy Cline” at the Sherman Community Theater. It was really good. I’d forgotten how young Patsy Cline was when she died in that plane wreck. Julie Johnson, playing Patsy Cline, did an excellent job singing my favorite, Crazy. Thanks to the head cold I didn’t join in and get us thrown out but I hummed along with her on it. It was a special treat to see Trey, Julie’s son, working at the theater as well. He’s one of my sub-students.

We bartered some eggs for pears from a friend so I could make pear butter. I’ll send a jar back as further payment as well. I cooked the pears yesterday in the crockpot and then ran them through the sieve this morning while 9 pint of carrots were pressure canning on the stove top. I cheat on the carrots. I buy the 5# bag of organic baby carrots from Sam’s and can them for future roasts and stews. I’ve grown our own carrots and canned them but we use so few it’s just as practical to do it this way.

Hopefully, this week a homesteading friend will come over and we’ll make some soap. She and her husband raise bees so she’s bringing some honey to stir into the soap.

The weather is great, finally sunny, but windy out. Too windy to take my sore congested ears out to mow the grass today. It can wait for a calmer day and I won’t have to eat and wear the work of my labor as I mow either.

Mom always made pear butter. We harvested the ‘free’ food from the fields around us and we had an abundance of pears. She would can pears with a light syrup, spiced pears (just a few jars as the spices were too expensive) and make pear butter. I like it better than apple butter myself but try to avoid it’s super sugar content. This year my sister in Ohio commented on making some so I had to try at least a small batch.  The neat thing is you don’t have to peel all those pears, just wash, then core them, slice and cook til soft. Run through a sieve and then add 1/2 cup sugar per each 2 cup of pulp, cook down til thick. I added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon per 4 cup pulp as well. Hot water bath for 10 minutes if you make enough to preserve.

Pear sauce is good, too. Just make as apple sauce and serve either cold or warm. Great on toast in the mornings.

I wish I could can up these beautiful fall days and open them when the weather really stinks to remember these warm home feelings. Dirty or not, it is home - such a comfort.

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October 12, 2009 by Debbie.

Last Friday subbing was a tad rough, just being a new (for me) school with new school language that everyone else knows but me - just like the work place lingo that offices/factories share there are phrases common to the each individual school work place. I was just breaking into this new world and had not learned all the ‘code’ words yet. Still it was a good afternoon - half day was a good way to break in for me.

I wanted to go in looking and acting professional ….. and after going through the office sign in, meeting the new admin, meeting some new teachers in the hall, I went to settle down in the class room. Upon sitting at the teacher’s desk, I instantly felt wetness. Jumping up I wondered if someone had spilled water on her chair.  Nope. Uh, oh. I looked at the back of my dress. Uh, oh, yes. My truck door had leaked and my truck seat must have been wet as my dress seat was definitely wet and showed it although not glaringly, thank goodness. So much for good first impressions!

John came home from work somewhat frustrated, which is unusual for him. A major program had a glitch that would effect production so he’d have to go to work this weekend to deflect the onslaught for Monday when production started back up.  OK, these were things we could deal with.

Saturday was still so wet and drizzly my laundry hung damp on the line. I gave up and moved piece by piece into the house, drying on hangers on door jams, over anything that would hold and dry some clothing. The laundry rack was filled and refilled throughout the weekend. I’m pleased that only two jeans and three pair of shorts are still drying around the house.

The unexpected end came Saturday night. When we went to bed, Pudge wasn’t feeling very well so John gave him some Nux Vomita homeopathy meds that have helped before. Later in the night while asleep, at the edges of consciousness, I could hear Pudge gagging but nothing super different for a dog who had a tummy ache. Then close to midnight, we heard definite retching sounds. Pudge had laid down on the rug beside John’s side of the bed and was having a seizure and gagging. We checked him over and tried to calm him then called the Emergency Clinic and rushed him in. He died close to midnight as we carried him in to the ER.  We’re not sure what caused his death. The vet labeled it ‘heart attack,’ which in dogs is generic for sudden unexplained death.

The Emergency Clinic at Dr. Butler’s in Denison was wonderful. They were almost as upset as we were that Pudge had died. They helped to carry him out and put him in the car, for his final ride home.

Sunday morning while heaven cried down rain tears John dug Pudge’s grave, beside BJ, his buddy who had gone ahead a few years ago. The only time the sun shone yesterday was the minute we laid Pudge in the ground. It was if all of heaven smiled, welcoming him home. Then cloud hole closed quickly and tears fell again.

Most of the time I don’t understand life, so I’m not going to try to figure out death, but I think of it as just a doorway to another stage of our lives and not an end to anything. Pudge was/is a good dog. He was a tad unsociable at times but always loyal, loving and trustworthy to John and I. Yes, an unexpected end to a good week, but still it was a good week. Pudge is Home now chasing sticks with BJ.

Click this link to hear this soothingly beautiful song -Master of the Wind by Candy Hemphill Christmas

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October 9, 2009 by Debbie.

We butchered the 35 meat chickens last Sat. and I took some pictures and will try to post them next week. This week has been jam packed. It has been such a glorious week. I subbed every day but Wed. and today will be at Bells’ Elementary school for the first time.  I can’t wait to go in and experience a new school, both excited and nervous about the new adventure.

Saturday’s butchering job started at 6:00 and we wrapped up close to 4:00, pretty good for us for all those birds. Sunday started the canning process and gradually sticking chickens in the freezer so as to not overload it. Since I had some soup meat left over from last year I canned chicken legs & thighs and breast on the bone for main course meats. If school subbing keeps up, I’ll need the ‘fast food’ these meats will provide for our meals. I also did two canner loads of broth, one on Sunday and one after school on Monday - long day, that day. I froze the cooked meat (from making the broth) for later easy meals. The dogs loved having the cooked til soft neck bones for a special treat.

Despite rain every day we were able to go outside for recess twice this week - always a blessing for me as well as the kids who have been cooped up too long with muddy weather.  Monday I had 2nd grade, Tuesday Kindergarten, Thursday 5th grade and Friday 3rd. grade. I had the full range of the elementary school spectrum. Kindergarten class is always easier academically but 5th grade was easier behavior wise. The teachers are the best, leaving great lesson plans and plenty of work for the kids to do - running out of work or things to do is a sub’s nightmare.

When I lined the Kindergarten up for a restroom break I asked them, “What do we do in the hallway?” The answer should have been, “Be quiet,” instead the answer I received was, “Don’t let Mr. Sears (principal) catch you!” From a Kindergartener!

5th grade was Science class and we talked about cells and used an instrument similar to a microscope to look a various slides.  As I barely remember my own elementary science classes, and we never even saw a microscope or a slide, I really enjoyed the lesson. The kids seemed to enjoy it as well and maybe even learned a little.  I told them Anton Van  Leewenhoec was credited with developing the microscope, but it was probably really his wife that discovered it. All I got was dead pan stares  - 5th grade sense of human is not very developed.

Since poor John survived on left overs Monday and Tuesday, on Wednesday, I figured I’d better fix that last chicken in the fridge. I fixed oven fried chicken - not as good as pan fried but I had some bread crumbs to use up. And because I had the oven on the for the chicken I bakes some peanut butter cookies and an apple pie, too.

Wednesday was a long day, too. Grocery shopping in the morning, coming home separating all the bulk items, mixing up a meat loaf to freeze for later baking, making salad and veggie snacks for lunches, cleaning the apples and making an apple pie to go with the chicken dinner (gee, wonder why I can’t lose weight???). It seemed like I didn’t get out of the kitchen most of the day.

I loved it. I love being a housewife. I love being John’s wife. I don’t blame some women for not loving being a wife - after all, they’re not married to John.

A preacher friend used to say the pendulum always swings back - for every high, there’s a low. I guess that’s partly what Solomon was saying when he said for everything there is a season - a time to laugh, a time to cry; a time to build and a time to tear down, etc. (paraphrased). This week has been a very good week and I suppose there will be other weeks that won’t be quite as good but for this time it just don’t get any better than this! Especially as it definitely feels like fall today - cool and wet, temps in the 50’s and I’ve got a great new book, Carley’s Song (sequel to The Remember Box.)  Nope, don’t get any better than this!

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October 2, 2009 by Debbie.

I had such a wonderful day on Tuesday with a friend. We laughed til we cried. Then today I saw this sig line on an email and realize this is what I experienced on Tuesday!

The Friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.
~Kari Menninger~

I’m going to try to remember this while sub-teaching. So many kids have no one who hears them. Hope I can.

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