A YEAR AGO...OR THE GIRLS I MISS SO MUCH!

I couldn't resist doing a post on what we were up to a year ago. Mother's Day Sunday last year was dedication day for my two granddaughters. Some of you who now follow my blog weren't with me last year and didn't see these. They are some of my favorite pictures of the girls.

I've been longing for my granddaughters so much lately. I suddenly realized that last year about this time (actually a few weeks ago) we were having a special Sunday--their dedication at church. I had spent lots of hours making them special dresses out of the same fabrics. Their "coats"--Emma's bolero and Sophie's long ruffled coat were made of flannel backed satin. Their main dresses were a rosy fabric covered with a sheer overlay and edged with lace. Emma's dress had an ornately decorated ribbon waistline. My dress was new too, one I had made from Folkwear's Afternoon Tea Dress Pattern representative of the early 1900's dresses.

There's nothing I love better than taking pictures by a fully blooming spirea bush (see my book, The Fields of May) and last year my spirea out by my English Garden was in full bloom two weeks earlier. It's just now starting since we've had such a cold spring!

It's amazing how much the girls grew and changed in just one year and how much gray-er Granny got and how much more the garden is out of control! Thanks for sharing these special moments with me once again! Blessings, LORI

TUESDAY EVENING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

This last Tuesday evening, I had a book signing at the local library where I work! It went very well and I wish there had been a better picture of me alongside this table, but alas, they were all very "interesting." Seems I was always caught with my mouth open! Well, it was a speaking engagement after all!

I talked about my two books and then a bit about the third in the series that I hope will be out later this spring. I used the example of my grandma's diaries to encourage people to journal down everyday events and family history for the sake of the future generations. I also spoke a bit about the traditional values in my books and how I think we need a return to good moral stability and the values that made us a great nation.

I had a great time, though I felt a bit nervous speaking on a topic as opposed to teaching Sunday School or giving a sermon. This was a little different and it's been a while since I did this kind of speaking. But once I got started, it went quite well. People asked lots of questions, which made it easier and I guess I'm a born talker! Wish you all could have joined me! Blessings, LORI

NATURE'S LACE--Part 1--FINE, FROTHY, FILIGREE

I thought it was high time to post some pictures of what some people consider "lowly" flowers--those roadside beauties that we all "ooh" and "ahhh" at this time of year, but wouldn't consider placing in our gardens--or would we? I wanted to get a picture of "cow parsely" in its glory--but I missed it's bloom time. It is one of my favorite of "nature's laces." I tried planting some this year from seed, but it didn't germinate. Will try that one again since I think it will add the perfect airy fill in that I need this time of year. The dusty millers below are the exception, not roadside flowers, they are a cultivated plant growing right outside our church. Also the mushrooms were ones I saw and insisted Rhiannon take a picture of them.

Being a lacemaker, I really appreciate the frothy whiteness of intricate flowers. One of my very favorites are the white spirea that we enjoy in abundance every spring. If you have read my Chrisitan love story, "The Fields of May," you will remember that the main character, Carrie, is fond of spirea and that flower figures into the story in a unique way. For a good picture of spirea check back on my May posts. There is a picture of me and the girls modeling our new dresses in front of my spirea. There is something about the combination of lace-like white and green that intrigues me. Whether it's fabric, dishes, or whatever, I LOVE IT!

God is the ultimate lacemaker! I might work for months on one project that I think is just the end in lacework, but then I realize that my Creator is the original lacemaker whose creations surpass anything I can do. After all, just look at a Queen Anne flower! So on this post, we feature His handiwork!

Each one of these pictures were taken by my daughter as we took a countryside journey one day last week. I included the mushrooms since their undersides are a complex network of lacy frills, and this is my "white post." I love that picture!

Today it is quite hot and humid here. We had a community church picnic and worship service to attend. It was wonderful, but I didn't want to be moving around too much! I should pick the wild black raspberries that are abundant in our fencerows, but I suspect it's a scorcher out there in the thicket as well as a mosquito haven with all the rain we've had. Maybe the black raspberry jelly will be more scarce around here this winter.....

Have a lovely Sunday and I hope you enjoy the roadside flowers this time of year! Stay tuned for more of Nature's Lace on another post. Blessings, LORI

BLIZZARD!

"Everyone arrived home safely, but what had started as a picturesque snowfall turned into a raging winter storm that continued for almost twenty-four hours dumping several feet of snow on the countryside." from "The Fields of May"

Oh, how I wish I could post some pictures! We are in a blizzard here in Iowa!We went to town (about 1 mile away) for lunch and other than that, I knitted all day. Finished one front half of the lace cardigan I've been making for years! We didn't get too much snow here where we are, but enough and then winds that are unbelievable, relentlessly gusting all day around 50 mph or more. We are hoping they quit soon so we can have decent travel back to Michigan tomorrow. Maybe if they are still coming out of the west we will be blown all the way home! The weather conditions prevented us from accepting an invitation to our friends' home tonight (40 miles from here) for pork loin sandwiches and a visit to their Wednesday evening services. I was really sorry we couldn't go. Most schools and many businesses were closed here today.

I guess our power went out today back home (no storm there yet) according to my daughter's report. I think this is the third time that's happened while we were out of state. This time it was for some unknown reason. Last year at this time an accident caused a huge gas line fire just 3 tenths mile from our house shortly after we left for Iowa. Rhiannon says she is getting tired of this scenario, since she's left home to deal with it! Thankfully the power came back on. I think the power was out when we were on our way home from Tennessee last spring as well. We considered not going home that night because of it, then it came back on. I guess we know when to leave town!

Tomorrow on the way home we will attend the Christmas dinner (in Indiana) for the chaplaincy ministry. I am anxious for that although it will mean wearing dress clothes all the way home from Iowa, oh well! Will post pictures of the blizzard and more when I get home. Blessings, LORI

WELCOME TO MY SEWING ROOM!

SHE IS NOT AFRAID OF SNOW FOR HER HOUSEHOLD, FOR ALL HER HOUSEHOLD IS CLOTHED WITH SCARLET. Proverbs 31:21

Carrie worked diligently for the rest of the afternoon putting the finishing touches on her new green velveteen dress she was making for winter. from "The Fields of May"


(Take a look at the pictures at the bottom of the page to see what I did on my Thanksgiving day!)


Welcome to my sewing room! Today I started a dress I've had in my 'design mind' for quite some time--ever since I wrote "The Fields of May," to be exact. I have wanted to make myself a dress similar to the one Carrie wore to the Christmas banquet in the book. Here is my attempt. This first picture is my dressmaker's dummy modeling the finished bodice over her "regular dress!"

The second picture is of the bodice back under construction. My main sewing machine sits by the window. It's great that I can look out while working. It keeps me from feeling closed in. Mom found this wonderful old machine for about $25 at Goodwill. It is green and matches the room!

In the third picture you can see the pattern laid out on the fabric waiting to be cut. I re-drew the pattern altering both the size and the style. Tricky, indeed. So far all is well. I cut the bodice pieces apart and added a "princess line" that the pattern didn't have plus a rounded hemline in the back bodice.

The final picture is the pattern that I made with muslin test pieces. Last summer I got a nice, large piece of muslin at a garage sale for 50cents. I knew right then that it would serve me well as a cheap piece of cloth for practice garmetns. The first muslin I made last night didn't fit right and so I had to re-draw the pattern today. Thankfully I have a huge roll of newsprint paper that I use for such things.

I hope you like my sewing room. It used to be JT's bedroom before he got married and moved out! As you can see, I turned it into what looks like a Victorian ladies' dress shop. He was horrified at first that I made it so feminine! I got very inexpensive wallpaper and border then added all the antiques. Notice the really ornate lamp behind the dummy? They were a gift that was given to me. I love them. There are two and they have dimmer switches. They are absolutely gorgeous when lit. The black chair by the sewing maching was a family heirloom brought from Pennsylvania with some of my family that first settled in Michigan. My grandma gave it to me when I was just a teen. The fan behind the dressmaker's dummy is from an auction as well as the antique wedding picture. Our old dining room table serves as my cutting table. Today being Thanksgiving, one thing I'm thankful for is my very adequate sewing room. It hasn't always been this way and I really appreciate a whole room for fabric pursuits!!!! Hope you had a great holiday, Blessings, LORI

BLESSED BREADMAKING!

BLESSED SHALL BE YOUR BASKET AND YOUR KNEADING BOWL Deuteronomy 28:5"She was putting the finishing touches on a green salad when the oven timer went off, alerting her that the dinner rolls were done. She opened the oven door and peered in at the pans of crusty, golden buns looking like amber bubbles, their beckoning aroma wafting through the cherry kitchen. She removed the pans from the oven and set them on the counter to cool. She rubbed a generous portion of butter over the tops and let its golden sweetness drip down over their sides." from "The Fields of May"

How are you doing today? I guess you can easily see how I spent my day! Of course, that wasn't all. The breadmaking occurred between laundry, interneting, and cleaning. These rolls are for our Thanksgiving celebration. I'll freeze them until our get-together on Saturday. I've used this recipe for years. We made probably about 500 of them for JT and Kori's wedding a few years ago. Talk about a job! They are made from oatmeal and are a family favorite. Today I accidentally doubled the batch and now we'll have plenty to spare! Oh, well!

Did you notice the verse I included at the top of today's post? I like this and the many other blessing verses listed in Deuteronomy. It reminds me that my homemaking is blessed by God. This week while you are cleaning, cooking, baking, and preparing for Thanksgiving, Christian ladies, remember that your efforts are blessed by God! Read the entire chapter I cited and learn all about the many blessings you can enjoy. Deuteronomy is full of little nuggets of exciting truth and wonderful gems for the Bible student. (I guess that's true of all scripture, right?)

I guess there's nothing more rewarding for a Titus 2 woman (I like to think I qualify!) than breadmaking! I used to do much more of it than I do now, but I still enjoy the results! We promptly used some of the rolls for our supper, knowing there were too many for the upcoming dinner! Awww!!!

As well as breadmaking, I prepared to enjoy another of my biblical-woman style hobbies today--sewing. I was thrilled to finally get a piece of pinwale corduroy in hunter green yesterday--at half price nonetheless! I've been wanting to design a dress that appeared in "The Fields of May." It is Carrie's Christmas dress that she wore to the Blooming Hills Christmas Banquet in an early chapter of the book. I will wear it when I do speaking engagements from now on as a further promotional for the book if it turns out well. Because I am doing some "design" work to make it unique, there is always the chance that it will flop! I sure hope not! I am trying to have it done to wear for an upcoming Christmas banquet I am invited to. Today I washed the fabric to prepare it for cutting. Will feature the results later--good or bad! Stay tuned, Blessings, LORI

A MICHIGAN NOVEMBER

GIRLS DRESSED TO KILL (Deer, that is)!


Welcome to November in Michigan! The opening day of the deer hunting season (gun season) fell on a Sunday this year. Instead of having the annual deer camp yesterday, our cousins hosted the event today. This is a picture of my husband's cousin, Gloria, on the left, our daughter, Rhiannon in the middle, and Abby, another cousin on the right. Don't they look cute? I am the only girl in our immediate family that doesn't hunt. Even my daughter in law got a license last year. But since she's 8 months pregnant, she is not hunting this year. We all gathered for the Deer Camp festivities in Gloria and Charlie's very comfortable pole building, complete with woodstove and bulletin boards of former hunting successes. We had a huge carry-in meal of delicious foods and lots of fun and fellowship around the table. Someone brought a venison noodle casserole that was scrumptious! I am not a venison fan, but this was enough to make me want to can some if we get a deer. Venison will be welcome to many Michigan families, especially this year. Our state is hard hit with the economic downturn, more so than many other places and this year's hunt will help many families stretch an already strained food budget.

Instead of hunting, I prefer to stay home and knit the warm items that the hunters need. Clint talked me into knitting and felting a sweater for him a few years ago. It was designed specifically for hunting. I chose a green/black wool and made a huge oversized sweater. It has a front placket with antler horn buttons. I felted it to a perfect fit for him and am still amazed that it turned out right! Felted wool is virtually element-proof! He says it's one of his best hunting garments for the very cold days.

I was thinking today about November as I took my walk. I used to really love this time of year, but for the past couple of years we have had kind of "trying" Novembers. There's been sickness and other things to deal with. I began to dread the early darkness of the time change and the increased indoor time that I used to love so much. I was reminded to try to enjoy the particular beauty of the season for what it is instead of complaining and dreading the soon-coming winter.

November in Michigan is pretty in a unique way. The sight of a faded red barn against the deep blue-gray, cloudy skies is like something from a painting. Scenes like that are abundant in my home area. Rustling cornfields and brown leaves add to the picture. The colors of nature this time of year always remind me of hand-dyed wool! The whole landscape reminds me of my favorite hobbies! It makes me want to knit. By the way, I started a pair of self-striping socks for Emma last night and they are going together rapidly. So cute and so tiny!

I got the privilege of hanging out a freshly washed load of sheets today. The cold air and stiff breeze will make them smell wonderful! This is a blessing of country life.

I received a phone call today from a friend who just finished reading "The Fields of May." She was urging me to let her know as soon as "A Sturdy Fence," and it's sequel are out. Another cousin mentioned to me today that she finished the book as well and loved it. I was thrilled. Especially since I plan to get the manuscript for "A Sturdy Fence" over to the publishers before this week is out! That was a real boost!

Today I am thanking God for the little November blessings that we enjoy. More spiritual insights and thoughts coming soon! Blessings, LORI

A LITTLE REPORT

I'm taking time to give you a little update and explanation! I wanted to post pics of Tennessee, but Rhiannon tells me we must go use a different computer in order to do so since her mega pixels (do I have that right?) are set much higher and etc., You get the idea! So for a few days, bear with me, please.

If you can, please pray for us in the next few days. I took my mom to the e-room this morning at 6. She thinks she had a gall bladder attack. She had one a year ago and was scheduled for surgery when other complications set in preventing it. She's been fine ever since and so did no more about it. It's been a long, ongoing problem that crops up only occasionally. Kind of an annoyance and not a real big emergency. Still it's very hard on her and I have had a tendency in the past not to handle sickness in the family real well. I rarely ever get sick myself and the thought of visiting the hospitals and dr.'s offices is uncomfortable to me. I have fought worry alot in my life and this challenges me, though I have grown greatly over the years by feeding on the Word. I believe worry is a sin since Jesus warned us against it. I have tried diligently not to allow it to have a place in my life. This situation of a family member under the weather is one of things that will attempt to set worry off in my life. I would therefore, appreciate your prayers for our wisdom and discernment as a family and my ability to live in peace and confidence. I believe according to scripture we have been given all we need for life and godliness--that includes peace and wisdom. Therefore, I am just needing to learn to draw that out from the riches of Christ in me. (Read the first 3 chapters of Ephesians for an explanation of the great power that resides in the Christian!) That's where my friends who pray come in! If you pray for me, pray that I will walk in the will of the Lord and not in fear and worry through this and any other challenges.

I also would appreciate your prayers for the last few bits of work on the publishing of the sequel to "The Fields of May," which is "A Sturdy Fence." I have a few things to do that should have been done two weeks ago. It involves computer stuff that I don't completely understand. I am therefore, behind schedule. This new development of mom's possible surgery threatens to shove that further back. Please pray for things to fall into place with the speedy release of this book.

Our church bazaar yesterday went so well. Our total proceeds were up to nearly $4000. We are thrilled in such an economic downturn to have generated that much. It's all going to missions and that is a big blessing! I helped with the baked goods. We had more than we've ever had donated. We were absolutely flooded with homemade goodies! Also we had quilts, woven rugs, and many other handmade items to sell. Some of the food included, raised doughnuts, pies, fried pies, soups, biscuits and gravy, whole hog sausage, etc. Wonderful! This morning a teen ministry group was with us and church was followed with a fellowship dinner and a pastor appreciation session! We were presented with a cake and several folks brought cards and gifts. How lovely!

I appreciate so much that you take time to ready my posts. Til, I can tell more wonderful and interesting Tennessee news.....Blessings, LORI

EXCITING NEWS ITEMS COMING SOON!

We are back and safe! Had a wonderful trip where we felt the hand of the Lord just blessing our days the whole time we were gone. So many blessings it's hard to describe. Rhiannon is gone to town to get the photos turned into "frame-able art" so I can't post any right now, but I can hardly wait! Wow! Did we get some neat pics. I can't wait to share them. Maybe you will enjoy them as well.

The lady that owns the guest house where we stayed started reading "The Fields of May" while I was there and she said she was enjoying it. She commented over and over about the cover, saying she liked the picture so well. The one gal at the publisher's can be thanked for that--she's the graphic designer that put it together. Was exciting to be able to show my cousin the new cover for the sequel while we stayed with them in KY. She loved it too. Since she's a textbook saleslady, I think that's a nice compliment.

I am so full of cornbread, biscuits, turnip greens, and okra, that it's about coming out my ears--still I could eat more! Can't get enough of the South! I love the food, the people, the sights, the landscapes, the history. Fun, fun, fun! But we're glad to be home even though it means laundry and unpacking. Will post more details later! Blessings, LORI

PACKING UP TO LEAVE FOR TENNESSEE!

Well, here's a picture of the BEGINNING stages of the packing! You notice that important items like the spinning wheel and a box of my books "The Fields of May," went in first--priorities, you know!

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......I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service.....Numbers 18:7

It seemed appropriate to end what might be my last post of the month with a reminder for those who read my blog--October is pastor appreciation month! Having been a pastor's wife for 18 years, I feel like I have enough insight to comment on how it is to live in the parsonage! Of course I have never lived in a parsonage, we own our own home, but you know what I mean.

Most of you readers live far away from me and I trust you are involved in remembering your pastor and his wife at some point this month. If your church is doing something for the pastor, please make sure to include his wife. If you are doing something individually, remember her.

I thought I'd give a few little clues to what life is like for a pastor's wife for all of you who may not know. This will help you have more insight and creativitiy in honoring her this month. A pastor's wife is usually at church each time the doors are open as is her husband. She may have an outside job as well and this really means large demands on her time. She feels obligated (in many churches) to keep an immaculate house in case people stop in unannounced. I know we have housed guests countless times. Pastor's wives are called upon to exercise hospitality to overnight guests quite often, especially in smaller churches. Maybe she does not get a day off even though she'd like to honor the scriptures and take a rest. Sundays are hectic for her household and Monday rolls around with the usual washing, school, maybe a job, and clean up after the weekend. It's tiring sometimes.

If she lives in a parsonage, she may feel her home is not her own or it is on loan from the church and that makes it hard to relax in it and redecorate, etc. I have never experienced this, but can easily see it may happen. The pastor's wife is a church member just like all the rest of the congregation and she probably does many jobs in the church in addition to being the pastor's wife. Don't over expect from her for that reason. Being his wife is sometimes enough since you are automatically included in nearly everything.

She is invited to everything held in anyone's home--all the parties and etc. This requires either spending tons of money on unnecessary items so as not to offend the hostesses or not going at all. Her income may be limited. Pastors usually are not real high on the income ladders! Her family is invited (and expected to attend) all graduation parties (this requires gifts) and weddings, baby showers, etc., etc. Give her grace if she can't attend your make up party. She may be broke!

The wife of a pastor is most likely in on counseling sessions with her husband, including pre-marital counseling, and is often called upon to listen and "counsel" the women of the church (especially in small churches). Even though she may have no title and no monetary compensation, she is often pastoring right alongside her husband in a quiet, unnoticed way. Much of what he does requires and includes her. As well as that, she is still a wife, possibly a mother and grandmother.

Pray for your pastor and his wife often. Unique to the role of pastor's wife is a special kind of loneliness. Unlike anyone else in the congregation, she may feel she has no pastor and shouldnt' form close friendships for fear of being "cliqu-ish." It would seem like she would have the best of pastoring since she is living in the home of a pastor, but truthfully, it's difficult to pastor your own family. The pastor needs her to be his comfort and make a home that is a safe and comfortable haven for him to rest after the demands of the job. This complicates the role of "pastoring" your wife after you have already spent your best energies responding to the needs of everyone else. Try to understand that she might face issues like you do,but it is difficult for her to share them with anyone in the congregation. Her needs and difficulties often include the burdens of church work and the burdens that others have shared with her and this must all be held in confidence.

Having said all that, I want to say that there is a special grace for the jobs we are given in life. The Lord equips those He calls and He never leaves us. We have all we need for life and godliness, including the grace to do any job. But, in case you've never thought of it before, remember your pastor's wife during this month especially set aside to honor pastors. Blessings, LORI

CRITICAL REVIEWS

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SO MOSES SPOKE THUS TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; BUT THEY DID NOT HEED MOSES BECAUSE OF ANGUISH OF SPIRIT AND CRUEL BONDAGE. Exodus 6: 9



Today's verse might seem a little different to you until you read the entire post. But first, here are some pics I took this afternoon. The first one is the English garden in the drapings of fall! Quite a bit different from the glory of spring.




Here is a pic of our property looking west from the house. The woods are very pretty right now. We own a strip of land behind the woods on the right of the picture as well as the field of alfalfa in front of it and more acreage in front of the house and to the right of the picture. The English garden is to the front and left of this pic.




Now to refer back to the verse. I said I was going to begin going through my Bible and posting about verses I had underlined for various reasons. This particular verse always stood out to me. Even though Moses had received good news instructions from God, the Israelites were so beaten down that at first they could not even hear Moses wonderful declarations of their freedom. It is possible to become so oppressed as to miss all the good around you and forsake your very freedom! Take time to read this verse in context and apply it to your life. It seemed appropriate to me today since I had a hard day in alot of ways. It just seemed like nothing was going right. I can't even comprehend what 430 years of slavery would have done to the spirit of a people, when I started to get really down after just a few incidents all in one day. It just seemed alot of things converged today to make it a real tough day to remain focused and thankful. However there were also many good things that happened. Why do we tend to focus on the negative and let it begin to drag us down?

One of the good things was that we received our first invitation since we began sending out our letters making ourselves available for evangelistic meetings and preaching outside our church. Actually, the invitation came for Clint and for that we are thankful and humbled that the Lord chooses to use us in any capacity. Also Clint received an email from a person that heard his sermon yesterday and was so impressed that they asked if he posts outlines of his sermons or has a website! What nice confirmations to all his studying and diligence in preaching.

The economy here in Michigan is especially challenging right now. It has affected many people in various negative ways and our family is not immune to the difficulties it has presented though we have tried diligently to live above it and have done a fair job of it with the Lord's help. I'll not go into detail, but suffice it to say that some things due to the economy challenged some of our family today and I grieved for the difficulties these folks had to deal with.

To top that off, I received a critical review on "The Fields of May" from a store owner. A year ago this person had gotten a book to review as a possible addition to their inventory upon my request. They called me today to say they weren't interested in carrying it. When I asked why, they seemed hesitant to tell me. They finally said that books that have people doing all the right things and then all the right things result, are not always to their liking. I have received this same basic comment or criticism in various forms about 5 times since the printing of the book. Actually it's pretty much the only criticism I have received. Most reviews and comments I get are totally the opposite. People love the book for the very reason this person criticized it--that good wins out and diligent, consistent Christian living is rewarded with happiness and smooth sailing. I think we are sometimes as a society so inundated with the negative that we can't believe there could actually be good results from good living. It's the sowing and reaping principle. You reap what you sow. Yes, life has its ups and downs--as did my day, but I was trying to set an ideal in "The Fields of May," for people to strive for. The next two books in my series have alot more conflict as I've already shared in the courtship posts, so maybe I'll quit hearing this comment with those that are coming up. Just in case you've not read "The Fields of May," the conflict that takes place in that story is more of an inner conflict of waiting, wondering, and whether or not the main characters will decide to do God's will God's way or be disobedient.

Rhiannon and I are getting ready to go to Tennessee on Wednesday for our annual girls' vacation. We are so excited. I hope to find a way to post on this blog while I'm gone, but in case I can't, to all you followers, please do not give up on me! I appreciate that you take time to care about the things I have to share. This is a form of ministry for me. Just know that for 10 days or so there may not be much heard from me--not because I'm not full of things that the Lord is giving me to share, but because I am not sure what computer access will be available! I hope you will ponder the verse I shared today and the next time you are "down," you will remember that things are not so bad that the Lord will not lift you out of them allowing you to live on the higher plane of His goodness! Don't miss the freedom He has for you because of "anguish of spirit." Blessings, LORI

QUICK NEWS

We have been busy...I mean way busy around here this week. We are trying to squeeze a 3-day vacation in real quick. We have plans to go up north with friends to see the autumn color. We are leaving on Thursday and will be back late Saturday.

I can hardly pack in all the stuff I need to do before we leave. Then I have only 10 days after we get back before Rhiannon and I head to Tennessee. I'm so looking forward to that trip that I want to have all my chores done as much as possible so I can forget them and relax in the south--my favorite place!

I have a few pictures I hope to post on here before we leave to show you the one big task we were up to around here in the last week. It's all done now--thankfully! The reason I put so few pics on is because our system is so slow that it literally takes me hours to post several pics. I cooked supper one night while babysitting the computer while it loaded them. It's a big job!

The one really big chore on my mind is "A Sturdy Fence." As happened with "The Fields of May," you get to a point where you are scrambling to make sure everything is just as you want it before the book goes to print. That's where I'm at. It's been proofread, checked and re-typed, but I just get these little last-minute thoughts that need to be added. I am re-reading again and setting everything in order in a mad rush to get it to the publisher! They assured me this morning that I'm ok and can take my vacations and relax! Phew! That's good!

Will write more soon, hopefully with pics. The surprise item is getting a second coat of tung oil! No guesses yet? Clue: part of it is round. Blessings, LORI

MAKING APPLESAUCE, A RECIPE SUGGESTION, MY NEW BOOK COVER AND MORE CLUES!

Today was a wonderful day around here! Rhiannon had the day off. After a couple of weeks of 12 hour days, this was welcome! She and I headed to Kalamazoo to do some shopping. I had a few items to pick up for my speaking engagement on Saturday.

I had intended to do applesauce today, but when I found out this was the alternative--you guessed it--I went to town! Actually I hurried and canned 6 quarts of the best applesauce after we got home. I fixed a good main dish for supper and made it to church on time--all this was done between 4:30 and 6:45 when we headed over to church! I was pretty happy about that!

Yesterday I got the first pictures of the cover for my new book, "A Sturdy Fence." This was very exciting! I really like it! After all the hard work of writing a book, choosing and approving the cover is like the icing on the cake! This book picks up where "The Fields of May," left off, but deals with lots of little things that can go wrong in a courtship! I hope you'll all want to read it. I think there are several encouraging things that anyone can glean from this story.

I want to comment on a scripture that I've been meditating on. I'm going to include it in my talk on Saturday. It's Proverbs 21:5 "The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty." This scripture reminds me that if I want to prosper, I have to make good plans and goals and stick to them. It is a rare person that gets rich by accident. Of course, getting rich is not the goal here, but you don't even make a decent living by accident. It takes work. It takes plans and diligence. It's another one of those things that only time will reward. You do all this little stuff day by day and eventually you look back and say, "wow, I accomlished all that!" (Things like making applesauce year after year or saving in a bank account!).

Today I held in my hands some of the "other materials" that will go along with the "thing" that is coming to my house. I found out it will be in tomorrow. I will not get it until Friday, most likely. It comes from a long ways away. Some assembly required! Do you have a guess what it is?

Today's recipe suggestion: The other night we had chips and salsa. We had some leftover cheese sauce and added our own cheese to it for a taco bar last night. I made taco meat as well. Tonight I took the leftovers--the taco meat, the cheese mixture and added it to boiled macaroni. I added a little milk for consistency and had the most wonderful homemade hamburger, taco, macaroni stuff you could imagine. It's a great quick dish for using leftover taco stuff! Try it! We had a little of the leftover applesauce as well. I didn't have quite enough to fill a 7th jar and that went well with the homemade taco macaroni.

Hope you enjoyed today's scripture thoughts, recipe and CLUE! Baa, baa black sheep, have you any wool?! Blessings, LORI

TIDBITS OF NEWS AND ANOTHER CLUE

I'm taking a short break today from posting anything very deep! I had a big, tiring day. After getting two loads of laundry hung out, a friend and I went to the apple orchard and we purchased fruit. I bought two bushels for making applesauce plus a few grapes and some squash. Will probably start canning the sauce this week. We also ended up going grocery shopping and getting in on some really good deals. It was two o'clock before we got home.

I started right in on outdoor work once the groceries were put away. Clint ran the tractor and we got most of the rest of the lawn furniture in plus all the dishes that I put in my English garden. I washed them, although not real well and put them in baskets for the winter.

Clint and JT had quite a morning. They went out hunting first thing and didn't see any deer. They came in for breakfast and then took the tractor back out to the back of the woods to set a ground blind. As they stood there working two big, nice bucks jumped out of the cornfield just across from where they hunt and headed for the neighbors' property. Talk about two disheartened guys!

After the yard work was done I baked banana bread and tried to can some stewed tomatoes for which I had no recipe. They all sealed but I don't know how good they'll be. Just an attempt to use the very last of the tomatoes. I got 5 pint and a half jars. I had already put a chicken stew made from leftovers in the crock pot in the morning and so supper was basically ready. JT, Kori, and Emma stayed and we ate chicken stew with dumplings. Seemed it took forever to get the kitchen cleaned up. Everyone around here is complaining of tiredness, backaches, and sore muscles. Rhiannon's been putting in 12 hour days for a couple of weeks with the harvest and she's got sore muscles from sorting corn. In addition to all the normal duties of a week, we are pushing to get outdoor work done before the snow flies. It seems like summer turned into a very cool fall overnight. It's been damp and kind of dreary.

I'm getting ready for my little talk on Saturday for a local ladies' chaplaincy group from one of the factories. I am excited, but am pushing each day to get everything ready for Saturday morning. I wish the sequel to "The Fields of May" had been out before then, but that just won't happen. A lady asked me about it today. She had just finished the first book and was wanting to know where to get a copy of the sequel! That thrilled me! Praise the Lord for the book being something that people can appreciate. I hope it ministers to many folks before it's all said and done!

Today's clue: The thing that is coming to my house would have been appreciated by the woman of Proverbs 31, although I don't think it had been invented yet then. Read the chapter carefully and think about what she was doing. She used a different method to accomplish the same task! Care to guess?

More on Proverbs 31

What a full and rewarding day it was here today! About 11:30 this morning we went to the fairgrounds in Centreville to hear our kids and some of their friends play praise and worship for the Christian festival that was held there today. They have practiced so hard for a long time. Their band is called "With Abandon." They were the opening band and it was a beautiful day for those who came out to join in the fun. We had so many other things to do that we left shortly after they were done playing, but enjoyed hearing them and seeing a few friends that were there. I thought they were great, but I'm a bit prejudiced as a mom!

When I got home I decided to ride my bike over to a friends house about 1/2 mile away to attend her garage sale. Business was a bit slow so we had a nice little visit before I rode on home. That gave me a little extra exercise as the wind was against me all the way to her house. Real good workout. I had walked for about 1/2 hour this morning and so coupled together that was good exercise.

When I arrived back home I quickly set to work papering Mom's west kitchen wall. Rhiannon had recently painted it bright, true red on the bottom. I bought a fine print blue and white paper for the upper part @ $1/roll!!!! Yes, it was a bargain. I put that up in just a few hours. It went together really nicely though the print was so tiny it was a little tricky to match. What a beautiful, fresh look it gives the kitchen and so far the whole project, even counting materials I decided not to use, is about $30. I had bought a paper border for $1/roll as well, but we decided to put up chair rail instead. That's the only part left to finish. Mom's kitchen has white cupboards with a tiny beading stripe in them. We have decorated the room with accessories of a farm kitchen. Some antiques, mostly in the primary colors, sit above her cupboards. There are bowls, tin signs, wicker chickens, plates, milk bottles, and old pie plates. All in all, it's one of my favorite rooms in the house. The decor could be described as "1930-40's farm kitchen." Mom was able to secure an old enamel top table several years ago with two matching red chairs that are now in mint condition after a friend touched them up and recoverd the chairs. The table has a red design. It completes the whole look. I intend to put some blue and white dishes on the newly papered wall along with the feed sacks that were already hanging there. Her red-checked curtains on the window were a nice accent.

As soon as I got done, a knock came on Mom's door and old friends we hadn't seen in a long, long time had come to visit. The daughter is my age and we hadn't seen each other in over a year, maybe longer. If she's reading this, she can comment and make herself known if she wants!!! We walked out to the English garden and sat in the center and visited. It was a lovely day for garden sitting! We had the nicest long visit and it was truly a highlight of my day! As we sat there, numerous hummingbirds flitted by visiting the many flowers, coral bells being their current favorite. Many were the ruby throated varieties. They look like jewels floating in the air. Wonderful!

After our friends left we grilled chicken on the deck and I made a "kabob" out of onions, peppers, and tomatoes. It was yummy with a sauce I concocted out of stuff in the fridge. Rhiannon did up the dishes and I went out to do some little garden chores. I used a poison ivy killer on some of that weed that had come up between my flowers. I hope this will do the trick without killing the flowers. It had come up between the leaves of echinacea and a liatris. I really am trying to get both those flowers going in profusion and don't want to lose them. I was trying to be really careful. After that I sprayed the last of my insecticidal soap on my potatoes and hollyhocks. It's expensive stuff, but totally organic and harmless. It seemed to control potato bugs in other years and so it was worth the price.

What's new in the garden? The peonies opened yesterday as well as a little miniature rose. I picked a quart of strawberries today--the first ones!! Wow, that seems early. They are certainly tasty and the bed is loaded with berries. I noticed some of the flower seeds I planted are coming up; morning glories, nicotania, bachelor's buttons.

Just a little side note. For those of you who have read "The Fields of May," I have a few little tidbits in there leading up to some events that occur in the sequel. Did any of you pick up on that when reading the book? I'm curious. If so, let me know. Since I'm working diligently on the sequel and the third book, I'm wondering if anyone had ideas about how the story might continue to unfold while they were reading the first book. I am dedicated, though to not giving out too much detail on the contents of the next one, so you'll have to read it to connect the two stories!

A few more thoughts on Proverbs 31. Clint's grandma, Sally, an avid gardener, once told me something I'll never forget. She joked about how she often thought of verse 14 of that chapter every time she went out to her vegetable garden to pick the crops. Her garden seemed a long way from her back door. She said she thought of the phrase, "she brings her food from afar," while she was hauling all those beans, corn, tomatoes, etc., in to the kitchen. I think of that often when I'm in the garden. I suppose it was really ringing true all winter as I trudged out to the chicken coop to gather eggs in sub-zero weather. It seemed like it was "afar" for sure! Well, we should be able to apply the tiniest phrases of the Bible to our lives, shouldn't we?

How about a few thoughts from verse 23--"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land." This woman's diligence, wisdom, and virtue even helps the rest of the family. It almost sounds like her good qualities help to elevate her husband in the eyes of others. After all, what would it be like for a man of high character to have a wife whose life was characterized by foolishness and lack of discernement? It would certainly reflect negatively on him. This challenges me to be mindful of how I behave because it reflects on my husband and my family. A good wife is a blessing to a man. I am working on being a blessing.

Verse 25 reads, "strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come." I want to be clothed in strength and honor, don't you? I want to know there is a time of rejoicing coming for me. Living in wisdom clothes you in a very profound way. Even though the rewards of right living may not be immediate, there is coming a time when the righteous will flourish and our God will set right all the wrongs. His people will receive their reward and things will be run the way God intended. This is a day we can all look forward to with joy. Let's ponder the wonderful reward of being a child of God who can look forward to many future blessings as well as the glories of a wonderful day like today! Blessings, LORI