J & M

While we carved pumpkins on Thanksgiving weekend,
  this gal decided that no one could look at her carving.

You see that smirk on her face?

The final project!!!
"Oh I see the that you carved my letters... J & M"
'Oh," I explained...."John & Marg"
How thoughtful!
" OH MOM!"

 

We had folks in for coffee the other night and they all commented

on my Halloween decorations...saying we did not need to make any additions.

Truly, we have webs spun from one rock to the next, lurking about in their natural habitat.

Hope you all enjoy this day!

It's Time to Confess!

OK...I have tennis elbow,
so I thought I would get some professional treatment.
Week after week, I've looked for results.
Finally...I began to think that my summer gardening has taken toll of me.


So on one of  my visits...I told my therapist I had a confession to make.
He immediately wanted me to confide in a female therapist.
I replied that I was comfortable talking to him.
And so I asked him,
"Do you think knitting could effect my tennis elbow?"
He laughed and laughed...
"Yes, for sure!"
"But you are way to young to be knitting!"

Ah, yes..I've been knitting a car seat blanket for the new one.
My daughter chose the colors, a combination of green, yellow, and grey.

 
So I've been busy knitting blankets, booties and now a baby cocoon.

Oh, I can't wait for the finished results.
So I've taken some quality time away from home, to complete my projects.

Falling Down!

Finally the idea came....
"If we get rid of this tree...it would be the perfect spot for a fire place."

The hole was dug, the tree was strapped with a large rope and chain.

And a few pulls.....

Timber! it's down...and we have a tree for fire wood.

Just a few pulls with our JD and one happy man.
A few less leaves to clean up,
but now he can dream all winter long about building his outdoor fire pit.

He only forgot that I gave him that idea a year ago....
That's just how farming is...now it's his idea and he has a plan.

Life's Like That!

Kitchen View

Every morning, I wake up, once more to the beauty that God has created.
This is my view from my kitchen window.
We have never experienced these deep red/orange colors.

 

And to top it off, I'm still picking a bowl of fresh raspberries.

A perfect start to any day.

Amazing Race

Another warm day, Thanksgiving Monday...
with the weather permitting we enjoyed the outdoors,
drinking latte's, eating fresh bread, as we waited for the turkey to deep fry.

But this year we added a new 'family game'
Our version of "Amazing Race'
Two teams with a prize of $50 to the winning team!

Challenge # 1...
Take two potatoes and plant them in Oma's garden,
using Oma's method.
The first to have completed this task...will receive their next challenge.
You know who loved handing out the challenges....(John)

  What's my next clue?  Who's got the shovel? No! Use your hands.

Challenge # 2
Locate a fence pole in the corn field.
Dig, place it into the ground in an upright position.
When done, pole must stand alone in an upright position for 5 seconds.

Challenge #3
Fill two white buckets with compost and soil from Oma's garden.
And who stole the shovel?
Competition can be felt.

Challenge # 4
Take a mode of transportation to transfer buckets to' alien garden.'
Should we take the wheelbarrow?
One can feel the escalation.

Mikki jumps on JD and uses the JD tractor as her mode of transportation.
 

Challenge # 5
Start a grandchild tree farm or a cousin's grove in the 'alien garden.'
Find a live tree, then using buckets of soil...plant the tree...
 marked by a Canadian flag, close to the 'alien garden'

Someone had spotted the trees earlier in John's pickup.
The clue was given and guess who stole the JD and raced
back to the shop to pick up the tree....
Can you feel the heated competition?
Sibling rivalry?

Meanwhile, guess who's winning the race...
DRIFT (Suzanne's dog)
What a magnificent view of our back yard, with the sunset maples boasting their colors,
and Mount Cheam's first snowfall in the background.

Silas and Mikki transported their tree with the wheelbarrow.
 

Levi and Suzanne planted their tree with the supervision of Christopher.

He's had the expertise in planting many trees on his own back yard.
Soil, bark mulch, water and compost.

Silas reads the final note....
Challenge #6 Grand Finish!
 Make a campfire the way Opa taught them through camping experiences

Levi proudly boasts that he found the matches,
making sure they were hidden from the other team.

The winner?
Suzanne & Levi!

Meanwhile, after they had collected the pumpkins from the 'alien garden'
they began to carve their pumpkins.
Young and old.

Mikki insisted on being on her own team...
I wonder what she was creating?

 

The fire was built, the turkey was deep fried, the table was set, 

and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared from the harvest in our garden.

One more thanksgiving weekend with hearts full of thankfulness

to the bountiful that God has given us.

Two Countries Tell their Stories!

I am so thankful for the special friends, Ellen and Katie, next door...in USA!
This past week I had the great privilege of attending my very first MLS Game.
(major league soccer)


Sounders (Seattle) vs Whitecaps (Vancouver)
First, let's get some things straight...
'Mennonite Girls' do not just cook,
some of us also love our sports and it's fun to share these times together.


We proudly sang the national anthems for both countries.
And we paid tribute to our countries teams.

Up in the rafters sat the Whitecaps...I waved...but they did not recognize us.
We were wearing Manchester United jerseys.

Yes, it was fun to sit with friends from the opposing team.
And yes, we cheered for the Whitecaps, who came in as the underdogs,
 and made a sweeping win over the Sounders, 4-1,
plus a 'hat trick' by a young 18 year old, Manneh!

I loved listening to Katie cheer....
The only words I remember were

OYE!  OYE! OYE!

 

The most touching moment for me, was in the early moments of the game.
 A young man, husband and father, who was a Navy Corpsman,
was reunited with his young sons at the soccer game.
Katie, a new bride, knows the emotions of what it's like to have a husband serving in Afghanistan.
Andrew is a Marine and his company is the 1/9 Bravo Company.
And to see the joy on Katie's face as she saw this family reunited was unconvincing.

~~~~~~~~


There's another reason why I'm attracted to our neighbors south of us.
It was at this little restaurant in Mount Shasta,
that these two had their first breakfast date together.
The date lasted all day....only to discover they really liked each other.


Mount Shasta is located in far norther California, and towers at 14,000 feet.
How could two people find themselves in such an enchanting  mountain?


I think for awhile they both wandered
 round and round in circles as they tried to figure out the maze.

June of 2013, exactly a year later..this young man, Joe proposed to our daughter, Mikki.

Yes, we are proud and thankful to have an American join our family.
We strongly encouraged them to build an Innushuk on his home territory
to mark the friendships that exist between two countries.



We traveled up the mountain to 7000 feet and viewed the south west side.
I can tell how deeply this mountain is cherished by Joe, who is a passionate recreational guide.

 It was at this mountain, that a peanut butter sandwich
was prepared for a hungry girl...in hopes of her noticing him.
 And guess who's still making peanut butter sandwiches as they
travel on their hiking expeditions together?

"Friendship, engagement: Canada and the United States have shown the best there is in partnerships between nations, all the great potential that awaits all the free peoples of this Earth if they can join in common cause.
"The border separates our peoples, but there are no boundaries to our common dreams."
- President Clinton, Remarks to the Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, February 23, 1995