Rooted

A couple months ago it looked like we might be in for a bumper crop this year. Looks can be deceiving. We always have maintained that "it's not a bumper crop until it's in the bin."

We have beeen inundated with rain.  I think at last count it was up to around the 17 inch mark this growing season. Too much rain. With that "too much" comes disease and all kinds of other farming headaches.  Fusarium is rearing it's ugly head in the durum. And the excess rain is just not good on the lentils. That's what we're growing this year - durum and lentils. Also with the 'too much' rain comes too many weeds. I don't recall ever seeing the weeds like I have this year. Most, if not all, of the lentil crops are crazy with weeds. Our yard is overpowered by the nasty foliage. The ground is too wet to get out there with the rototiller and dig out those weeds. My garden boxes have sheltered awful weeds this year.  Some of them I've never seen before - the leaves of the worst ones are very prickly.  They really hurt if they accidently come in contact with my fingers. I have to grasp them close to, or even underneath the dirt surface, and yank on the roots. The roots come out fairly easy on those weeds. Some of the weeds in my flower bed at the gate are another story. On the surface those weeds don't appear menacing. Some of them are small. But the roots of those ones are huge.  Some of them need a shovel to dig out. Those roots spread all over. The weeds do not want to go anywhere.  The roots are firmly established.  But they are not invincible. 

This morning I was reading about a different kind of root - a life rooted in Christ and in His love.That is the kind of roots I need for everything in life. 

Proverbs 12:3 says "You can't find firm footing in a swamp,

but life rooted in God stands firm." 

Verse 12 in the same Proverb says, "what the wicked construct finally falls into ruin,

while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life..."

Life- more life! Abundant life! Jesus came to give us life. That promise is assured to me in John 10.After telling the Pharisees a simple story that they weren't able to understand, He said, "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life - abundant life" 

What has the thief, or the enemy, come to steal and kill and destroy in your life? 

your happiness?

your joy?

your marriage?

your identity?

a loved one?

your bumper crop? 

I need my life to be rooted in Christ. I need Him as my anchor. Paul, in the book of Ephesians, prayed a beautiful prayer for the believers in Ephesus. It is my prayer for you.

"I pray that out of His (the Father) glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowlegde - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

 

Catching Up and Moving Forward

I realize that it's been almost a year since my last post. And so I thought I should let you catch up on the year that was.

2015 roared in quickly on the heels of 2014. We enjoyed a fantastic family Christmas Week with relatives and friends. My Sweetheart's Dad and my Uncle Stan sat around the kitchen table with us, and other relatives on Christmas Day over a year ago. New Year came and went, and with the advent of 2015, My Sweetheart and I, like we do every New Year's day, wondered what the upcoming year would bring.
We had no idea that in less than 1 week we would be saying our final earthly good-bye to My Sweetheart's dad.

Too often throughout last year, we parted with loved ones, and neighbors, and friends. DD and DS each had young friends die. My Uncle Stan, who had celebrated Christmas at the farm with us, died. Another Uncle passed away shortly after. My young, 52 year old cousin passed away. In the first 5 months of the year, we attended 8 funerals. Three of them were relatives.

Shortly after My Sweetheart's Father passed away I started feeling not right. I hurt everywhere. I was exhausted all the time. The month prior, I was in probably the best health I had been in for years. I was exercising an hour to an hour and a half a day. I was weight training. I was on the eliptical. I was walking almost daily. I was eating healthy. I had energy to burn. Then, 1 month later, I began to notice many changes.
I couldn't lift a 1 pound weight.
I could barely make it through 5 minutes on the eliptical.
Getting out of bed was difficult. Sleep was impossible.

The weekend of my birthday, while we were out for brunch, My Mom noticed that my eyes were looking funny. I had noticed it too, but didn't want to acknowledge it. My Sweetheart, who had been trying for over a month to talk me into going to the doctor, finally succeeded. I had Graves Disease. I started on medication shortly after my diagnosis, shortly after my birthday. Shortly after the Tapazole and Inderol started,  I saw an eye specialist in the Big Big City. He ordered up  Steroid IV treatments."There will be side effects," he said.  You will gain weight for one thing...."  Drat! And after I had worked so hard to lose it the fall before! IV's started  in April. Each one got progressively worse as my veins started to become harder to find. Thank the Lord for praying friends. When the pain was bad I'd send out a quick text to my Praying Mom friends. The Lord always answered their prayers. If I had an IV treatment on a Monday, I wouldn't start feeling ok until Thursday.  And by 'ok' I mean I would have enough energy to clean a bathroom.  Maybe. And I might sleep.  "Ok" was really not "ok". 

In May we were able to celebrate DD's high school graduation. She was beautiful.  She was Valedictorian. The weather was perfect.  My Sweetheart's sister  had flown in for the occasion. I was able to enjoy the day with only a touch of fatigue. The IV's would start up again the following week.

Timing was perfect for DD's and my long anticipated summer adventure. IV dates were, happily, scheduled for 3 weeks prior to take off, and for as soon as we got home. My home doctor, and my eye specialist both agreed that I was 'good to go'! And on July 1 off we went! To Paris and to Oxford, England! We saw what we had only been able to imagine.  I fell in love with the English countryside! DD fell in love with Paris. We had a glorious 2 weeks to enjoy!

While we were away My Sweetheart and DS had been working very hard. I almost felt guilty. But on the other hand, it felt so good to be well enough to have taken a trip of a lifetime and store up lovely memories.

Summer went too quickly. And with September looming, I knew it would be difficult to take DD to the airport. She is now attending university in Halifax. That's a very long way from home. I know. We drove out in the fall in order to spend Thanksgiving with her.  Along the way, we stopped and had well needed visists with relatives. Canada is so vast and so beautiful!  Especially in the fall!

We (My Sweetheart, DS, and My Mom, and I) arrived home mid October. In the beginning part of November I had another doctor's appointment. I was delighted beyond words to discover that I had responded so well to my treatments. He was pretty sure the Graves Disease had burned itself out!

A few weeks later, My Sweetheart, DS and myself were able to enjoy a week in Disneyland! It felt so good to feel good!

Two weeks after we got home, I went to the Eye specialist. He was pleased with how everything looked with my eyes. I don't see him again until this September!

December flew by. We picked DD up from the airport on December 10 for her Christmas break. Christmas vacation was a beautiful, busy, relazing, game playing,  movie watching, Christmas baking, book reading holiday.

Although it was hard to take her back to the airport, I rejoice in knowing that DD is happy.  She loves university.  She loves Halifax. And she loves us. She's where she is supposed to be.

Moving forward, I am going to take each day as it comes this year. I am going to rejoice with each new day. I am going to be grateful, each moment, for the many blessings that have been given to me.

Cleaning Time

So, last week, while I was busy cleaning out drawers and armoires and night tables, My Sweetheart was cleaning lentils.

It seems that the seed cleaning session has been going on for a long time. It gets started up, then, if it snows or rains (that has been happening this winter) the cleaner has to be shut down. Last weekend, when DS was home, they pulled different parts of it into the shop to keep it free from snow.

We have a monitor on the bay window sill in the kitchen. The camera is pointing at 2 augers on the cleaner - one auger is spouting the clean lentils into the semi, and the other auger is putting the scrappy lentils into the tandem. The clean lentils will be used for seed for this year. The scrappy lentils will be sold.  And every so often, when I am in the kitchen, My Sweetheart will remind me to 'check the monitor' to make sure everything is going according to plan.

This weekend the seed cleaner ran all night on Saturday. That meant little sleep for DS and My Sweetheart. Which of course meant little sleep for me. The alarm went off every 2 hours in our room. But it was only for 1 night. And that was easily manageable for me.

The seed cleaner finished it's job for this year's lentils, yesterday. It got taken down and moved to Our Neighbor Who Lives Across the Road's place.  And it will stay there until after harvest when seed for the following year needs to be cleaned.

While we're on this 'cleaning kick', the upstairs freezer was defrosted this weekend and the storage room in the basement has begun the purging process. That is the priority in the cleaning department for the next week. Hopefully, by the next time I'm back to the blog, the storage room will be organized and the basement will be put back together.  Then I'll be ready for spring cleaning!

A Day to Myself

"Why don't you go to that (farmer) meeting while I go to this one?" My Sweetheart asked me a few weeks ago.

"Ummm," I thought to myself, "isn't it obvious?"

I mean, what woman would really want to go to a meeting, surrounded by farmers, listening to farmers talking about farming...? Really?

"No, but thanks for thinking of me Sweetheart! I'll let you go yourself. I'll stay home."

I felt like I had been going non stop the past few weeks and I needed an 'at home' day.  Just me. And Gracie. And Bentley. And Chico. DD was writing exams and one this particular day she had 2 so was going to stay at the school for the day. I had no idea what I was going to do. But I was definitely going to do something.

The desk in the kitchen was the obvious first choice.  It was a MESS. It had been that way since Christmas. The problem is that it is too convenient. The mail, the games, the junk, the container of way too many pens and pencils, the drawer that wouldn't close... It was time.

Piles were made, trash was thrown, stuff was taken downstairs, and the desk was purged. And cleaned. (It still is clean!  Progress)

After that I went into the bedroom and looked at the piles piled up all over the place. There were clothes (not mine) on the bench under the window, piles of stuff on my dresser, stacks of stuff in my night table drawers, and then the whole deal with my jewellery armoire. It has way too many drawers filled with papers and not enough filled with jewellery. I started there. Sometimes I wonder why I don't throw stuff away sooner. I found a note that was written at least 10 years ago - "dear Mom, I'm sorry for what I did. Please forgive me." I couldn't even decide who wrote it.  I showed it to DD. She didn't know. She was home from exams by this time. My Sweetheart was still in the City for his farmer meeting. It takes me a long time to clean stuff out. I still have that note. It's in one of the jewellery armoire drawers, along with the til (or is it till?) receipt from the florist with the breakdown of our wedding flowers. How could I throw that  away? My Dad's boutoniere cost $4.95. My bouquet was just over $100. That receipt will be 21 years old in 10 days.

Eventually the job was done. Old broken jewellery was tossed. Jewellery that was laying around on my dresser top now had a proper home!  Papers were purged. I felt like the weight of the world kept rolling off my shoulders as each 'job' was completed.

I organized all my papers for upcoming tax time. Dusted. Washed floors. Baked break. Did Laundry. I even ran into town for a few groceries.

My Sweetheart has another Farmer Meeting this week in the City. I wonder what I'll do with another day to myself?

A Year in the Life

I was surprised to discover that it has been almost a year since my last posting. 10 months to be exact.
Not that there hasn't been lots to write about.  There has. Not that I haven't had time to write. I have. So what has spurned me on to write now?
Nothing in particular.
I guess I'll fill the gap. The very huge gap. Small in light of eternity though.
I'll give a brief glimpse through the seasons. That's easiest.

Spring 2014

Seeding came and went. It was a little more daunting than the spring before simply because DS was away at school. He was, by spring, into his second semester of civil engineering, and by all accounts, enjoying it. Daunting because the brunt of all the work fell to  My Sweetheart. I was of little assistance, other than perhaps providing shuttle service from 1 piece of land to the next. My "farming breaks' came on weekends when DS was home. That was definitely a huge PLUS to studying so close to home. A PLUS for me, that is. Truth be told, it was a PLUS for all of us.
DS finished his term the end of April, and was thrilled to begin an 8 month work term at The City. The City that is close by. A bonus, even though he was living in his own little nest, close to the farm, was that he was home most evenings for supper, and a few hours of 'work' help for My Sweetheart.
DD kept plugging away at school and her part time job.

Summer 2014

I suppose the highlight of the summer had to be those few days in July when the relatives, from BOTH sides of our family, descended at once. But there was a reason, or rather reasons, for the hoopla. My Mom and My Sweetheart's Dad were celebrating big milestone birthdays. My Mom didn't know she was. Hers was a surprise. Her surprise was 6 months after the fact. But in light of the fact that we surprised her royally 5 years earlier and she was adamant that we didn't do that again in the middle of winter, in the middle of a raging blizzard, we decided that a summer surprise would be just fine. And so we planned her shindig to coincide with the other honored guest, just a few days apart. My Mom's party was great. My Blue Suede Brother and his wife and daughter and grand daughter drove out from Ontario.  They were the main surprise.
My Sweetheart's Dad turned 90! Most of his siblings, along with many other relatives were here for a weekend in July. My Sweetheart's Dad had just moved into the local care centre, so it was very convenient to bring him out 'for the day'. When he went back to his 'home' the rest of us laughed and visisted, and bonfired!
The last day of the festivities proved too much for me and I came down with the worst cold of the year. The timing couldn't have been worse. We, all but DS because he had to work!, were heading with the 5th wheel to camp in Banff. I stayed in bed while DD and My Sweetheart set to work packing and organizing the camper. DD brought a friend along. Pretty soon we were off for a wonderful almost week in the mountains. I rested. We shopped. We hiked. I got better. We came home. And then harvest hit.

Fall 2014

Harvest started out not great. Rain. Dismal looking prices. Dismal looking crops. But somewhere in there a miracle happened and the dismal looking crops turned out to be better than expected and the prices turned out to be pretty good too. All in all we were blessed. Again. Very thankful to the Lord. Very thankful that harvest, which was really dragged out this year, eventually ended.
I blinked and somewhere in this season DD turned into a high school senior.
So this season has been a season of university searching and applying. How did that happen? "Turn Around" deja vu.


Winter 2014

I tend to think of the beginning of December as the official kick off to winter. And what  better way to bring in the season than with a trip to Disneyland? I had been very lucky in October and won a 50-50 draw at a hockey game in the City. The day after the win My Sweetheart and I booked our romantic getaway to Disneyland.  Just the 2 of us. For the first week in December. We had to, after all, see if we would be able to survive being empty nesters. We had a great time and enjoyed each other's company. It felt weird to be there without DD and DS though.

The first week in December might not be the best time to go on a holiday.  We scrambled for the next few weeks to prepare for Christmas. We had put the tree up before the vacation, and DD had put a lot of other decorations up. But this year only 2 Christmas cards got sent out. And hardly any baking got done. Excitement was high 2 days before Christmas when DD found out she had been accepted into her first choice university! It's only a few thousand miles away from home. And  she'll be heading off before I'm ready.  Christmas came and we had a wonderful time with My Mom, My Sweethearts' Dad, my cousin, uncle, cousin's son, My Sweetheart's sister and her hubby, their son and his wife, and cute baby. All in all a great start to winter. And that brings me to the New Year.

January 2015

We rang in the New Year quietly with Our Neighbors across the Road, and My Mom. We played games and had snacks and visited.
The next day My Sweetheart and DS packed up. The 8 month work term was finished and it was time to soon head back to the Other Small City for the final year. The first Saturday in January was designated moving day.  It was also the coldest day of the winter. We moved DS into his new apartment and were on the way home shortly after lunch.
The day after that My Sweetheart and I went to visit My Sweetheart's Dad (MSD) in the Care Centre. MSD was very, very tired.  Unusually so. A few days earlier he was the 1 wheeling his own chair to his room when we went to visit. This day MSD had no strength. My Sweetheart wheeled him into his room. We sat and visited him and were concerned a little when MSD would fall asleep mid sentence. We eventually left with the reassurance we would be back very soon.
We were back sooner than we had planned.
The phone call came Monday morning, the 5th of January from the nurse who was working. We were told we had better come in soon. After phone calls and quick showers we were on our way to see MSD.
2 of my sisters in law made it to the Care Centre in the afternoon. I had spent 45 minutes, prior to their arrival, singing to My Sweetheart's Dad. I felt totally useless. But I did what I could. And that was sing.  And pray. And worship the Lord. What else could I do when I knew his time on earth was so limited?
Early that evening, surrounded by people who loved him, My Sweetheart's Dad breathed his last earthly breath. I was blessed to have spent 'homegoings' with 2 dads - My Sweetheart's and my own dad 17 years earlier.
The days following were somewhat blurred. We have been overcome with kindness and generosity of neighbors and friends. We are soon going to be planning the funeral. That is happening next month.

I will keep you posted on life on the farm a little better I hope in the next while. There will be lots happening as we live our lives on the farm.

Hope on the Highway

Gracie, our almost 8 month old bundle of raw energy goldendoodle, had surgery a couple weeks ago. THE surgery. The surgery that we let the breeders know she would have in order that we could adopt little Gracie.


Gracie HATES car rides. She started to shake as soon as we got her in the truck. Getting her in the truck was quite the ordeal. She did not want to go. Maybe if Bentley would have been in the truck... But he wasn't. Bentley and Chico were sequestered to the shop. They were miffed when they saw Gracie leave in the truck. Bentley stood  at the shop window, looked out,  and I'm sure he relayed, play by play, to Chico what was going on.  Bentley and Chico LOVE car rides.


She finally settled down. I won't say she slept.  But she did settle down. And we were finally able to enjoy the drive to the vet.


On the way I noticed, as I had every time we had driven #1 hwy west, the crosses between the highways. I wonder about the people who died there, on the highway, every time we make that trip.
I wonder, because there was more than 1 cross, if they were family members. Were they friends? Had they been laughing? Where were they going? Who was expecting them? Who is still missing them now? Who loved them?


I also noticed hope on the highway. The crosses are empty. Resurrection has taken place. The empty cross gives me hope. Hope for eternity with Jesus because of the cross. He paved the way to the Father through His sacrifice, His willing sacrifice, for all who believe in Him.


"For God loved the world so much, that he gave His Only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish... but have everlasting life..." John 3:16


We picked Gracie up later that afternoon. She had been sedated so she slept on the way home. Bentley was ecstatic to see her. Gracie wasn't quite as thrilled to see him. He sensed something had happened to her and quickly brought her his favorite toy, laid it at her paws, and left it there.

I am Fifty

I just celebrated, this weekend, a milestone birthday. It was 1 I was not looking forward to at all. I believe I even battled some depression earlier this winter as I mulled and stewed about the big 5-0.


Now I'm wondering what all the stewing and mulling was for.


My milestone birthday, as all my previous birthdays, came and went. But it came beautifully. I had the whole weekend to ease into it. And my family and my friends helped me ease easily to this new phase of life - this "50 plus club" phase of life.


I worked on Friday at the little library down the road. Not only was DS home for the weekend, but he surprised me with a  dozen beautiful multi- colored roses when I got home from work.  And he gave me a warm, welcoming, mother-melting hug. Not only that, but My Sweetheart was barbecuing steak and baking potatoes. DD had made a salad. My Mom was out at the farm. That's how my weekend began. Beautifully. Restfully. Wonderfully. The delicious dinner was followed by a few games of dice. The evening was capped off with a movie.  I forget what it was. That must be a sign of the new '50' age.


Saturday didn't disappoint either. The weather was perfect. The boys went to the south farm to do a little work on DS's nest for a few hours before the festivities began.  DD and I charged through our house - 2 of us on a mission- to clean, tidy, make salads, and get everything ready before the guests started coming. 15 sat down to pizza and salads. Relatives, friends, neighbors. After supper, more people came for cake and visiting. It was a wonderful day.


My actual birthday was on Sunday.  My family made me a yummy Sunday brunch- home made waffles and waffle sauce with fruit, turkey bacon, pan fries, fruit smoothie, fresh coffee. DS brought My Mom out. More dice was played. The boys went back to the nest to do more feathering. DD cleaned up the kitchen.  My Mom and I went for a drive to the nest. The cupboards were ready for me to install the knobs and pulls.


After I took My Mom home, the rest of us headed to the city.  We met up with our good friends for a birthday dinner. After dinner DS headed back to school. My Sweetheart, DD and I went back to the farm. We ended the evening watching a movie. 


I'm so grateful for all I have and for all I love. I overheard My Mom tell one of my friends at my party that she has had a good life. I have too. I am blessed.  I am 50.