The Wind is Blowing and the Air has a Chill to it...

 The wind is blowing and the house has a bit of a chill.  Not quite enough of a chill to warrant starting a fire in the cookstove, but the thought crossed my mind....warm & cozy, reading by the stove in my favorite chair with a good book, steaming cup of just-enough-cream coffee. Then I remembered that I have hot flashes.  Oh, well, I'll wait until it's colder.  A lot colder. 

 I miss my mom.  Most people would think they understand my loss, but our family was a lot closer than some.  Since Mom was single all her life, when my love & I first got married we only lived alone together for our first year.  After that we asked Mom to join us in our adventures and we've had a glorious life ever since.  All the joys and hardships of life, the ups & downs, heartaches and blessings....she was there for them all.  She's left a big hole and the house seems quiet.  Oh, what a reunion we're going to have someday when we all meet again in Heaven.  Save me a place at the table next to you, Mom.  We'll have a lot to catch up on.

 I'm SO excited.  My little primitive Fat Lil Crows are IN A MAGAZINE!!!  Not only that, but my favorite magazine....PRIMS.  Prims is one of the Somerset group of magazines, designed for primitive artists.

  I got an email one day from a fellow prim artist who wanted to know if I'd mind if she used my little crows as a component in her primitive creations.  I was pleased that she'd want to, and even more pleased when she told me she would be featured in PRIMS Magazine..........and my little crows, too, as a result!  Woo hoo!  We're famous!  (Ok, maybe notorious?)  Not only that, but they're pictured 4 or 5 times throughout the magazine, including on the contents page!

 I'm slowly realizing how much time I spent care-giving and how little time I spent house-cleaning.  Ugh.  My house suddenly looks huge...and...well.....where does all that DUST come from?  And why are the windows so hard to see out of?  And the top of the refrigerator? Well, no one's that tall anyhow....

I'm working on Christmas primitives now.  I used to despair that the stores put Christmas stuff out so early...until I started making primitives.  Now I'm elated that all the materials I need for my creations are readily available early in the season when I need them!  Besides, what's not to love about the Christmas season?  Ignore all that controversy about what's correct and what's not.  Just enjoy!  Hot cider & doughnuts.  Gatherings of friends and relatives to reminisce.  Imagining that just-right gift for that special person.  Cozy winter evenings, cheerful lights of home.  All those wonderful blessings that God has given us.  Every good and perfect gift comes from Him!

My youngest daughter just had a birthday yesterday.  She is now twenty six and that means that I....am.....not.   I used to be.  It doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but now I am closer to 60 than 50.  People occasionally ask me if I qualify for a senior discount.  I'm sure I look at them incredulously.  Me?  Let's be serious.  I am very young.  At heart.

Well, 'nuf rambling.  I've got snowmen to create and a good book to read ("Unspoken" by Dee Henderson") and my coffee's getting cold.

Enjoy this day that the Lord has made.  Rejoice and be glad in it.  And don't forget to hug your mom.  I have no regrets and I didn't need to say anything to my Mom except "I love you" before she left.  How about you?

On Grief & Sorrow, Blessed Hope and Frozen Vegetables

It has been three months since I posted.  I've thought many times about it but first I was too busy with life and caregiving for my mom, then later I couldn't put into words my heartache.  On September 30th, I lost a piece of my heart when my sweet mother was ushered safely into the waiting arms of Jesus her Savior.  I know without a doubt that she's now healthy and whole, in her new body as promised, but oh how hard it is for those of us left behind for now.

I've lived with my mom or she's lived with me for 55 of my 56 years.  I know that time will dull the ache and we'll find a new 'normal' but right now we're suffering and missing her so much.

I'm going to catch up really quick with an overview of what I've been up to in the last three months and then I'm hoping I'll post more often in the future.

 My daughters and I worked at the local Fair in August.  This is my youngest child and me as we were setting up for Fair time.

 I worked on my old Singer 301 sewing machine, making a few primitives during the Fair.   People always enjoy seeing our old machines hard at work.

 You can see my little Christmas window pane quilt in the upper right of the display case.  It got a blue ribbon!

I entered a couple of quilts, some canning and a whole bunch of primitives!

 ...and bread, which won the Grand Champion award in baking and earned me a lovely ribbon and baking prizes!

 After the Fair, we buckled down to some 'farm' stuff....tending the garden and then harvesting.  It was a great year for pears and apples.  We did some canning and made a bit of cider and apple pie filling.

 Some lovely King apples.

 Basil for pesto and some nice pumpkins.  We grew Sweet Meat squash and that's what I actually make my 'pumpkin' pies from.  They have more 'meat' than pumpkins and I like the cooked texture much better.

 These marigolds 'volunteered' in my planter from last year.  What's not to love about a flower that just seeds itself and blooms like sunshine?

 Last Sunday we drove to the coast and enjoyed the sunshine and a little Cranberry Harvest festival (think VERY small town...).  We bought 15 or 20 pounds of fresh cranberries and I got them all cleaned up and in the freezer.  Later, when I get up enough gumption we'll can some cranberry sauce with part of them.

 A good friend still has veggies in his garden (ours went by the wayside while we cared for Mom).  He graciously called and invited us to come and help ourselves to the veggies still growing.  Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and some others came home with us.  I had carrots on hand, so processed it all into.....

....lots of mixed veggies for the freezer!

I'm still working on primitives and now I'm starting on my Christmas items. 

This post is very subdued and I apologize for that.  I don't want to give all the details of our grief but I do want to say that no one should put off getting right with God and accepting Jesus as your savior.  Every one of us will meet Him, we just don't know the day or hour.  I hope you're ready.

And don't forget to hug your Mom.