A DAY OFF AND ANOTHER "DAYCATION"

I'd like to share my latest "daycation" with you. By reading this sign, you can see where I went yesterday! To the most popular Fair on earth! Clint and I finally had a day off together and so we went over to Hillsdale to the fair. This has become a family tradition that my Dad startedyears ago. We don't make it every year, but we try. I love the picture of the little girl with the lamb! There were other vintage posters I photographed, but this one became my favorite because of the lamb!

 

 

Next are pictured several bags of judged and priced fleece for sale! I just about couldn't tear myself away from this area where a spinner sat in the sheep barn showing people the art of spinning wool. I finally left the fleeces without purchasing, but not before talking for a long time with a friendly sheep who loved having her nose scratched. I wish I had gotten a picture. Also loved the picture of the sheep and swine barn!

 

What a cute sign hanging above the sheep stalls!

 

Here is a picture of a horse being warmed up for a race. The weather was perfect and so enjoyable to sit in the grandstand and watch the races.

Loved this sign since my grandma always used to say that if the cows were laying down it was going to rain. I always wondered if it was true, but maybe she was right? After all, she grew up living closer to the land than I did.

Loved this pretty canning display. Could only get a small portion of the antique items in the picture. The sign reads, "Have you gotten out your canning supplies lately?" That's almost a joke at my house. Sometimes they stay out this time of year for days or weeks!

 

The pretty Grange Hall. I love the architecture all around Hillsdale and the fairgrounds are no exception. Some of the prettiest old buildings you'll see! I wish the picture hadn't been "blue." The sun was very bright and I had a hard time getting a good shot of this beautiful building. Apparently people sometimes rent this building for weddings according to pictures we saw inside.

Here is a beautiful example of the Grange displays. I remember seeing multiple displays like this in our Grange barn when I was a little girl. It was my favorite part of the whole fair--isn't that kind of unusual for a little girl? I think the "farm" was deep in my heart even way back then growing up in a small town. Each town in our county had a Grange group. They all had displays like this in the fair. The Grange displays were a composite of member farm families' efforts at everything from every possible canned good imaginable to all kinds of needlework and farm and orchard products. I think this is America the way it used to be! I kind of miss it!

 

I love the antique tractors! Which do you think is the older model--me or the tractor? Post a comment, make a guess, and I'll reveal the answer on the next post!

I love sign pictures and thought this was as cute as could be!

 

I hope you enjoyed my day at the Fair! I surely did!

Blessings, Lori

THE EVOLUTION OF A SOCK AND OTHER FALL PROJECTS

It seems like I've really worked hard this week! Everyday it was one big project after another. We are trying to get alot of little details done in preparation for our big trip out west in just a few days!

This trip came up suddenly and so we are scrambling to prepare in a number of ways. I never thought I'd get my applesauce and spaghetti sauce canned before leaving, but you see it--all done! I didn't do as much this year since we have leftover from other years and with half the family out west, we will use less as family dinners will be less frequent.

I had frozen tomato juice as I got enough tomatoes out of the garden little by little. I got it all out and made up the sauce on Thursday. As soon as it was in the pressure cooker, the apples were underway. Thankfully, Rhi got home early that day and could help and my Mom helped as well. We watched the girls in the afternoon and I was glad we were at the end of the canning project by then!

As well as canning and cleaning up the garden for the fall (digging potatoes, weeding, and tilling), I decided to start on a pair of knitted socks. I have long desired to become the queen of sock knitting. I figured I better get started or I'll never meet that goal! Since we are anticipating a long trip (20 hour drive one way), I thought it was a good time to begin a project. Here you see the first stages of a sock. I use the double-pointed needles because I haven't had time to have the girls in the spinning and weaving guild show me the trendy new toe-up, two-at-a-time, double circular needle system, though I'm anxious to try it. Since I am an old-fashioned girl, this will work just fine until I can learn the new way! I'm pretty pleased with these so far. They have a lacey pattern to them. Despite a few mistakes, I think they are going to be ok. I was trying to watch the pattern and watch Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," at the same time. Probably not a good idea. We are fans of his literature and decided to watch this very lengthy movie before we left for Colorado. I enjoyed it so much.

I will be gone and probably not posting the rest of the sock evolution until I get back. We plan to be gone for two weeks. I'm sure I'll have many beautiful pictures of the Rocky Mountains and our trip to share then. Pray for us if we come to mind. Blessings, LORI

TOMATO CANNING 2010

Hi, everyone! I wanted to share these pretty photos of our 2010 tomato canning operation! I've been canning tomatoes for almost 30 years now. Doesn't seem possible. I remember the first time I canned pizza sauce and me and my mother in law had every possible container in the house filled with juice awaiting the second stage of "cooking down." We did the whole operation in one day--picking them, cooking them, juicing them, cooking them down, spicing and flavoring and then canning them. What a lot of work. I have rarely ever done it that way again.

Here's a handy tip. I juice up a few tomatoes at a time--whatever we have ready. I use a Victorio strainer that I got years ago. It's a great time and arm-saving device. If it's a nice day we set the strainer up outdoors or on the porch to save a huge splattering mess in the kitchen. We put the juice in old ice cream pails and freeze it. Then I get it out later in the fall when the mornings are cool and the house needs to be warmed up. I cook it down and add spices, then cook it down some more. Then I fill the jars and give it a few minutes in the pressure cooker! This makes for two days of work instead of one, but a much shorter day each time and helps heat the house up on a chilly fall day. I'm always pressed for time it seems, and this saves me a partial day to use for other work.

So this year's tomatoes were juiced and because there were not too many and I had Rhiannon's help, we cooked it down as well. I froze this batch and we will add to it with the next ripe ones we pick. Then one day in the fall, I'll get it out and cook it down. This year I can add my own herbs since my garden is overflowing with all kinds of basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. I'll also have my own onions to add. The kitchen smelled wonderful and we were thrilled with the beautiful color of the tomatoes!

I am so thankful for the bounty we have. Blessings, LORI

PICTURES FROM OUR IOWA TRIP

The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She brings her food from afar. She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. Proverbs 31:11,14,and 21

Here are a few pics from our Iowa trip. I chose the verses from Proverbs because I felt they wrapped up some themes from the pictures. Picture number one is the "carrot canning operation" that my friend and I undertook! (She brings her food from afar!)These carrots came all the way from Michigan to Iowa! My friend is a true Proverbs 31 woman. She sees to it that nothing goes to waste around her household. She's very diligent to can and freeze lots of stuff for the winter and economize. It was a privilege to help her in this endeavor. We had a great time!

Picture number two was taken during the big blizzard. The winds howled all day long!

Third picture was taken along the interstate the day we drove home. Either this one or the next one was taken near Colona, Illinois. We are from COLON, Michigan!

The last "snow" picture reminds me of "Fields and Fences" because that's just what it is. I was trying to capture the lovely look that the new snowfall gave to the fields in the area. "She is not afraid of the snow, for all her household is clothed with scarlet."

The last picture is of me in the green dress--finished! This picture is taken in my living room. We arrived home safely on Thursday evening after joining the chaplaincy board in Indiana for supper. We just stopped on our way home and ate a nice meal with our fellow board members and still got home and all unpacked before 10:30 pm. That was pretty good!

While in Iowa I finished lots of projects. One was the green dress. Also finished plying all my original handspun yarn from the brown Corriedale. I finished a sampler on the way home, but decided to remove a few stitches. A quick few minutes some time will complete that. I also finished three tatted cross bookmarks and one side of the lace panel cardigan I've been knitting. It was a very productive trip for me!

The Lord's been showing me some really neat things this week as I took time to read and meditate on scriptural truths. The extra quiet time away from the normal routine was conducive to receiving some spiritual insight, I believe. I have a speaking engagement on Sunday--at our church! Pray for me if you think of it. Thanks for sharing my trip pictures. 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?

A VISIT FROM A BADGER

I forgot to tell some of our real exciting news yesterday. JT was out at the back of our woods to check the trail cam. When we brought in the pictures we were surprised to find a badger very beautifully photographed near where we usually see the bucks! We didn't think that we had badgers in our area, but apparently we were wrong! After mentioning it to several friends, we were assured that they are living in our neck of the woods; not really plentiful, but here, nonetheless. And where there's one, there has to be more! Could he be the culprit in the chicken murders that happened a few months ago while I was gone to church on a Sunday morning? I still think a fox was responsible for that!

Today I'm taking a break from gardening, canning, and freezing. My Kentucky cousins were here to spend the night and just left this morning. There's never enough time to visit, it seems. We will get to see them again on our next trip to Tennessee in the fall.

I was mentioning courtships that have gone wrong on yesterday's post. Because of the nature of courtship--that parents are pretty actively involved in the process--there must be a vibrant relationship with God by all parties involved. When you are in a position of helping someone (your children) discern God's will in such an important decision, you really need to be sure you are close to the Lord. You need to be Spirit-led and not just relying on your own wisdom. As I mentioned before, the one thing that I think is missing in much of the courtship discussions we hear today is this total reliance on Holy Spirit led living. If we as Christians would really be close to the Lord and keen at hearing His voice and living His instructions, we would make less mistakes. This is true for all areas of life, not just courtship.

As I grow older I am realizing more and more that we can do things, make decisions, etc., out of one of two motivations--faith or fear. Maybe there are more, but for now let me make a point on these. Romans 14:23 says in part, "...for whatever is not from faith is sin." This applies to choosing a marriage partner. If courtship is approached by people being led of the Spirit and no fear, selfishness, or other motivation is involved, then the results will be better.

I thought alot about this recently as I pondered "preparedness." In earlier blogs, I posted alot about that since it's a favorite subject of mine. I love to stock pile by canning and so on. It's something I've always done and I guess it was sort of ingrained into me from seeing my grandma's shelves lined with the "fruits" and "vegetables" of her labors! I think that if I had a huge income, I'd still can and freeze and scrimp since it's just part of me and what I do. But if I do it out of faith; a heart that is thankful to God for abundance, a sensibility that wants to be a good steward and not waste, that's one thing--that's like a faith motivation. I believe God gave me good things to preserve. On the other hand, if I do it because I feel I need to rely on my own efforts so I won't starve or I fear I can't trust my Lord to provide, then that is the fear motivation kicking in. We must do all things from faith just like the scripture indicates. And the same goes for courtship. This is where we must rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. All parties involved need to be in tune to the Spirit's leading--the couple, the parents, dare I even say, the church? Churches could be really helpful and provide better atmospheres for courtships to occur, but that's another subject!

It's a beautiful, sunny, fall-like day here in Michigan and I hope it's the same where you are. Blessings, LORI

QUICK NEWS

Just wanted to post a quick note to tell you all of my busy day! I'm taking a break from the courtship articles, though I plan to return to them tomorrow if time permits. I have been looking up related scriptures on the subject and did that for a portion of my devotional time this morning.

We were busy all day. After going with Clint while he got a haircut, we met Rhiannon for lunch. She brought me home and Clint went to do some pastoral visiting. I had to come home since I had gotten out several pounds of round steak from the freezer and was waiting for it to thaw for canning. I cut it up and canned 17 pints of meat in the pressure cooker! It really looks nice! I was down to one jar and we love that pre-prepared meat for spur-of-the-moment meals. All the while I was watching the canner (you can't just ignore a pressure cooker!) I was emptying cupboards and washing walls, shelves, woodwork, dishes, etc. I re-arranged cupboards and drawers and even though the meat takes 75 minutes once it reaches pressure, I still only completed about 1/3 of the kitchen cupboards and drawers. I was hanging out a mega bunch of laundry as well. I was thankful for a day with wind for it to dry. Got all that done and when the meat was finishsed I went out and weeded profusely in the garden. Got alot cleaned up but not nearly all of it and that's the third weeding in a row!

Discovered that the green beans are ready again, so after getting the laundry down, I picked those! Tomorrow I have to go pick corn and freeze that. The work is never-ending this time of year! I'll be ready for vacation at the end of the week! Blessings, LORI

COURTSHIP CONTINUED

Yet another segment in the courtship chronicles! I had not gotten this posted so the date is a day old. I'm posting this on Saturday in caes you were wondering!
Two days ago I had a really nice article all written with my thoughts in order on the subject when somehow the computer kicked me off and I was not able to recover the same thoughts--will trust the Lord to bring them to mind again if they were worth writing!

I had made some comments on how I think we can sometimes get a little bogged down with rules for courtship. I would love to see all of western Christianity embrace something like courtship wholeheartedly when it comes to finding a mate. But we are certainly far from that. I also hope that as the idea and concept of courtship "catches on" in the broader church, that we can raise the standards a notch even from what we currently see.

Let me refer further to what I said yesterday. I think instead of trying to stick to lists of rules about how a courtship goes, we would be further ahead to emphasize the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of all believers. For instance, if a young man and a young woman are living very close to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will guide them, teaching them the Word and bringing it to memory. This kind of close relationship will result in people who do the right thing because of a relationship to God, not a set of rules. It would be a committment to purity and Spirit-led living borne out of the heart and the rules would be secondary. I've known of courtships where the parents and young people did everything "right" to the best of their understanding and still the courtship didn't last or result in marriage. We are humans and subject to making errors.

I think we really need to catch this kind of vision for Holy Spirit-led living in realtion to courtship since more than just the very young are looking for mates. For instance, many people are waiting to marry later in life than they did a few decades ago. At least it seems that way to me. It is totally thinkable that people just out of their teens would be guided more closely by the input of their parents in a courtship situation, but what about those who have been out of the home and in careers for some time? What about widows and widowers? This is one reason why I believe the Holy Spirit filled life is the key here and not the parent-led, it-has-to-be-done-this-way method. I am not knocking parent-led courtships--they have their place, but we need to develop a mindset of purity that accommodates many different age levels and family situations. Remember, the standards of purity don't change with a person's age, but maybe how a courtship is conducted would change.

I know a very Godly family that actually were the ones who first introduced me to the whole concept of courtship many years ago. Even they admitted that when one of their daughters married, the courtship was conducted a bit differently than the traditional definition that they had first embraced. The groom was a pastor, obviously older and more mature than some other young men might be. Still it was all done in a pure, God-honoring way, but maybe with a bit less chaperoning than a younger couple might desire. Their experience describes my point exactly. It seems to me that the courtship can be led by the Holy Spirit according to the particular couple involved. After all, the actual definition of courtship is not spelled out in the New Testament. Standards of purity are given. Some Old Testament examples exist to give us clues of what marriage and betrothal practices were like in ancient days. However, we must remember that examples that we cite from the Old Testament to support courtship, were occurring at a time when people had not yet received a full revelation of the scripture or complete understandings of the nature of God, because Jesus had not come to earth yet.

Now, don't run out on me here--what I am saying is that for the Christian, we now have the full revelation of God through Jesus Christ as taught to us in the New Testament, coupled with the Old Testament. The patriarchs were coming into the knowledge of God's character and so were not always operating the same as a Christian nowadays would or should, though we learn from their lives and give them due respect. Plus, as a New Testament church, we have the Holy Spirit given to every believer since Pentecost. So let's be wise and careful when we cite only Old Testament practices to support our thinking. We may partially be seeing various cultural practices in the Old Testament. However, I can think of one very important betrothal in the New Testament that gives us a little glimpse into the practices of Israel? Can you? Clue: This particular betrothal occurred before the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church. I'll mention the answer to that one tomorrow.

I hope this stimulates your thinking on the subject and of course, I realize that I may have missed something in my explanations, but I am doing my best to encourage thinking on a subject that is dear to my heart!

Yesterday I had another busy day. I got a chance to crochet on another project that has been under construction for too long. It's my "tv-watching" project. Remember that I spoke of consistency the other day? Well, I'm trying to practice this and it's paying off! This particular project actually looks do-able after only a few days of consistent 1/2 hours spent on it. The same is true of the gardens. I weeded some more yesterday after the sun dipped behind the woods and the temperatures lowered. I am making progress. Canned 7 more quarts of peaches yesterday and 14 more quarts tonight to finish off the batch. We found a great deal on blueberries and bought a case. Clint helped me wash and freeze all of them and finish canning the peaches since we were out grocery shopping with friends most of the afternoon. The cooker is just now coming to a boil with the last batch of peaches. I'm tired! Blessings, LORI