Ramblings upon returning home

We are back from Lillian, AL. We're trying to settle back into the routine that is our life, and yet there is a knowledge that things will never be the same again. We knew these days were coming when we moved to Alabama, but somehow, when we moved it seemed like we still didn't see family as much because what had been a vacation trip suddenly became day trips that could be made anytime. And we all know that what can be done anytime never gets done at all.......

We left Lillian late Sunday night. It just seemed easier to do that than to stay the night, but it made for a long night's drive. Rachel made it to the missionary brunch, and Sara got to talk to the missionary her class supported. Later in the day, Sara had a softball game. Eric is staying home today, and we'll try to catch up on the work that was left undone, and so life goes on.

I know that Eric will face a lot of different emotions in the days to come - I've not walked this path, so I will not know what he's experiencing. It's a path that everyone must walk......

I remember a remark that my dad made when one of his closest friends died - about how all that his friend had been and all he knew was just gone - it couldn't be held onto. That's part of how I feel when I think of Eric's dad - he knew so much, did so much -- and now all that he was and all that he knew is gone from us. I know that we have hope in heaven - but there is a void on earth.

Boast not yourself of tomorrow, for you know not what a day will bring. Life changes suddenly.....

Ed Shaffer

I am in lower Alabama today with Eric's family. Last Wednesday afternoon, Eric's father passed away. It was not totally unexpected, as he had pulmonary fibrosis. We knew his disease was getting worse, but had no idea how close to the end he was. Life is filled with regrets, and I regret not sending Eric down to see his father, even if the rest of us could not go.

Ed was a wonderful man. I never knew a time that when he was not engaged with a project. He built a garage, a boat (?), model airplanes, a real airplane, a teardrop camper, refurbished an older camper, etc. These are only a few of the projects I remember his working on in all the years Eric and I have been married. If he was not involved in a project, his mind was actively planning the next one.

He and Alma were married 56 years. Their marriage could serve as an example to many young couples today. They were truly a team and did most things together. They have four children - their three sons are here now, and their daughter will be in tomorrow. It's fun to see the common bond these men have, and it's more than a little unnerving to catch a glimse of Ed in one of his son's expressions, or to hear his voice when one of them speaks.

For years, we were left to wonder about Ed's spiritual condition. He didn't go to church, and wasn't interested in talking about spiritual matters. But within days of his death, he accepted Christ as his savior. Many have "deathbed" conversions, and I, being the skeptic that I am, am inclined to wonder about the sincerity of such conversions. But not with Ed. If he said he did it, he did. He would never beat around the bush in what he said, and he was a man of integity. I look forward to seeing him again. I almost have to smile when I think of his amusement over seeing us run around like chickens trying to get ready for a sudden trip. It eases the pain to smile at such thoughts.

Any time of significant change is a time for reflection. There is so much to say - and so much to be left unsaid. Just know that I consider myself fortunate to have know such a man and to have married into his family.

Debby's Devotions

Last month a friend helped me start this blog, and I have enjoyed having an outlet for writing. But it seems I want to go in too many directions, and I am afraid it will make things too cluttered. So I have started Debby's Devotions as an outlet for what I have learned in my private bible study. This will give a voice to the deepest lessons learned, and still allow for fun in my "farm and family" blog. Someday I may even add a page for book reviews. But for now I'm just having fun and hope anyone who chooses to follow will have fun along with me. The address is located on my profile page.

It seems like its been a while since I have posted anything of real interest - that's how my life is. Sometimes I have interesting things to write, other times my mind is blank. But isn't that the story of everyone's life?

My camera broke last Sunday. I don't think it will be hard to fix. The button that you push to take pictures fell off and is lost. I imagine it will just be a matter of replacing the button to repair it. I wonder how long it will take me to do that. In the meanwhile, my daughters will let me borrow their cameras so I can continue to post pictures. I told them that cabbage is finally back down in price, so I intend to start some sauerkraut this week, and post pictures of it. Like I'm not weird enough already. I'm not ready to do that just now, so the pictures will have to wait.

My echinacea is coming up. I bought eight roots, and only five have sprouted. But I consider that to be a minor victory in my gardening adventures. If I can transplant them to the main garden and have them live, they will reseed, and I'll have plenty in a few years. The plants are also called purple coneflower, and are very pretty in their own right. I hope in a year or two to be able to dig the roots of my established plants for medicinal purposes. Echinacea is good for building the immune system, and is supposed to shorten illness. I have a recipe for a tincture using the roots. I have wanted to do this for years, and in Maryland I had a couple of plants just about ready when we moved. Since then, I haven't had any success getting the plants started. I just want to be able to say that I've done this. It's what comes from reading too many books - first you get ideas, then you start thinking....... Weird, right?

It looks like I will finally be planting the garden this weekend. The weather will be nice, and we only have one ball practice on Saturday. Eric plans to work on a chicken coop - we need it. We had heard of a coop that someone wanted to get rid of, and we hoped to get it. But that fell through, so he has to build one quickly. The birds are getting big, and they are pretty. When I bought the birds, there were four "unidentified" as far as what type. They are dark birds, and their true feathers are coming in darker than the feathers of my reds. They are pretty birds, I must say. The bantams have white feathers, and I am sure one is a rooster. I don't know how that's going to work out.

I stopped by Lowe's yesterday to pick up a raspberry plant. I had planted two last year, but one died, so I wanted to replace it. While I was there, I found black raspberries. We had these in Maryland, and they are delicious. They have a richer flavor than red raspberries, but are different from blackberries. Their canes will grow long and arch over. These will root where ever they touch the ground, so I hope to have a large patch in a few years.

Worry

I have a hard time with worry. My mind runs all the time, and I guess it's because I have a naturally melancholy nature the it seems to run to all the things that could go wrong, as opposed to all that could go right. While I do believe that melancholy people are bright and gifted (at least that is what all the personality books say - and being of a melancholy nature, this assessment suits me fine, because at least it gives some virtue to being a gloomy gus all the time), it can make relationships with those of a different nature strained. But I believe I have found a key to overcome worry. The answer is prayer combined with a right focus. I woke up a few days ago with such a strong impression of prayer that I immediately wrote down what was on my mind. It was:
-have a purpose, an aim in prayer
-be specific
-know what you want to happen
-be bold
-have faith.
This is written just as I recorded it in my journal. Later, while having my devotions, I finished Proverbs then applied the very "specific" method of study known as "just open the bible anywhere and start reading". I opened it to the book of Philippians. I have spent a good deal of time in Philippians lately, which might be why my bible fell open there. I have primarily been studying the first chapter, but that day I read through the entire book. God reminded me that the victory to worrisome thoughts is prayer. Instead of fretting, I should rejoice because the Lord is near. I am to show moderation (don't go to any extreme). Mostly, I am to pray about everything. Everything! And after I pray, instead of worrying about what might happen, what others could do, or think, I am to focus my thoughts on whatever is true, just, honest, pure, lovely, virtuous, praiseworthy. If I do this, I will have the peace of God on my life.

I know these things. I have been taught this as a Christian for years. Just this week, God has made it personal for me again. So the question is: will I apply what I know? Is this one of the commands that Jesus told us to keep in order to receive answered prayer? I think it is. And it's interesting, because after waking to my "prayer revelation", and studying this passage in Philippians, I found my ancient copy of John R. Rice's book on prayer (I spend several frustrating days looking for it after our last revival - and then yesterday I just glanced at one of the shelves in the schoolroom, and there it was.) When I applied the same study method to this book as I did to my bible study, the book fell open to a portion where Dr. Rice writes of being very specific in prayer. Curious, hmmmmm.

So, looking forward to answered prayers, I leave you this day with the hope that your day will be blessed.

An update on yesterday's post. The accident only involved three cars, and five people were taken to the hospital. I do not know what happened to the woman who crossed the line into oncoming traffic. I heard she had a medical condition which caused her to black out. The mother of Sara's friend had her knee broken. Three others were taken to the hospital and released unharmed. These three were on their way to the same ball field as I. In fact, one of the boys in the wreck is on my son's baseball team. No one told me that playing ball in Hazel Green could be dangerous ;-)
Seriously though, I am grateful that no one was killed in this accident.

Providence or Happenstance?

We are in the middle of ball season, which means that most days I am on the way to the ball field in the late afternoon. Yesterday was no exception. Both kids had practices scheduled for the same time, but different places. We had left the house a few minutes later than I wanted, but with plenty of time to get them to their separate destinations at the proper time. On the way, I "happened" to ask one of the kids if he had brought his water bottle, because it was field practice, and I knew he would want it. No, he had left it at home. Arguhhhhh! Another lecture was pulled from the series "Debby's lectures for the betterment of young lives". This one focused on the need to prepare ahead of time and to be responsible young people. Another day I might have let him suffer, but yesterday I pulled into the local quick mart to buy bottled water. I have no more pulled in and given him money before I heard a loud crash. A major accident has just occurred on 231. I could see that several cars were involved, but couldn't tell exactly what had happened. We left the store, taking the back roads to get to the park. Later I heard that one car had been hit head on and six cars were involved. The accident took over two hours to clear.

So what determines the events of a day? If I had not asked about the water bottle, if I had not pulled into the store, I would have rounded the corner and been in the exact vicinity of the wreck at the moment it happened. Would the wreck have happened with a different person there? Would I have gotten through before it happened, or been involved in it? What determines these things? As it happens, the car most damaged belonged to the mother of a little girl on Sara's softball team. She was alone in the car, and I heard that she was taken to the hospital. I don't know how she's doing now. Hopefully I'll hear something at practice tonight.

I am a woman of faith - I believe in the providence of God. I do not know why I was chosen to avoid the wreck, while the mother of Sara's team mate was not. All I can say is that I am grateful to God for sparing us last night.

What a beautiful day!! The weather could not be any better as far as I am concerned. I wish I were able to work on my garden today, but it's not possible. I had meant to cover it last week with plastic before the rains came, but it didn't happen. Eric wants to till it once more, and add some organic material. Then it will be ready.I don't know when he will get to that, because we have a weekend of ball games. Tonight it practice, and tomorrow the season opens.
I've been doing the preliminary work for the garden. I have purchased my sets, my seeds, fertilizer, and plastic. I am putting in strawberries, two different kinds. One is a June bearing variety, the other is an ever-bearing variety. There are garlic sets, enough for two small beds, and 8 echinacea roots. I'm especially excited about the echinacea, because I have tried for two or three years to start this from seed without success. I don't know if all the roots are alive, but if I can get any plants from these, it will be a victory for me. Yesterday I was able to buy the blueberry bushes I wanted, and if all goes according to plan, I will pick up another raspberry plant today (I planted two last year, but one died)
A few days ago I wrote about making bread. I'm excited because my shipment of wheat will be in tonight. I think I'm going to go ahead with my plans to buy a Bosch kitchen machine. I've wanted one since I lived in Virginia, and believe it or not, I've saved enough in nickels, dimes and quarters to buy one ( I didn't set out saving for this. I just saved my change on a regular basis, and here I am with enough to purchase one. )

The chickens are doing well, getting big fast. Before we know it, they will need to be outside in a coop. I bought twelve birds; six are reds, two are bantams, and four are an unknown to me variety. I bought them because they were in the tub marked pullets, and pullets are supposed to be hens. The "unknowns" are dark birds, and their feathers are coming in dark. I think they will be pretty. I went to the garage to check on them last night and woke them up. My goodness, what a whirl of activity that started. Of course, they started eating, then they perched on top of the feeder. This set up a "king of the hill" scenario. It was fun to watch them spar with each other for position. I told Eric I feel sure that we have more than one rooster in that batch. Maybe it would have been better to order them straight from the hatchery.....

So why do all this? I don't know if I can explain it. I think that certain callings are born into families. My grandparents on both sides were connected to the land. My father's dad was a lumberjack, and helped clear the land in northeast Arkansas. The land he helped clear was some of the most fertile land in that part of the country. My mother's dad was a farmer. My parents are not farmers, having moved to the city shortly after marrying. But my mom's green thumb puts mine to shame. There isn't a flower in existence that she cannot grow. So I think I was destined to love the land. You would not have thought it while I still lived at home! I wouldn't even help weed her flower gardens - I might get dirt under my fingernails!!!

I have had this dream of a mini-farm since my days in Virginia Beach. We had a home in a quiet subdivision and a small yard. Each spring I would go out and dig up by hand my garden plots (I had three parts of the yard set aside for gardens.) Eric planted a dwarf peach tree, and I had blueberry bushes, a grape vine and a small strawberry bed. Each spring we would go pick strawberries in the rural part of the county. On a couple of occasions, I would pick green peas, or green beans in the same area. Later on in the season we would go to the blueberry farms and pick berries. The people who owned the farm taught the kids to pick the berries by "tickling them off the bushes". If you had to pull a berry, it wasn't ripe. Summer's were spent putting away food by canning or freezing it. I even tried my hand at dehydrating food. I carried this dream to Maryland, and really loved the rural heritage of St. Mary's county. There we had our first experience with animals (ask the kids about the black snake that would follow them up and down the hill when they went to feed and water the goats - it makes a funny story now, but I'm not sure they saw the humor in it at the time).

When we made the move to Alabama, Eric went before us. He immediately began house hunting, and on the first week-end found the home we currently have. We have just under ten acres, with much of it fenced in. There is a large barn, and a small orchard. It was really almost exactly what we had dreamed about for years. There were several obstacles to buying it, so it took about nine months before we moved into our dream home. We have been slow about building the "mini-farm", but finally it seems as if we can start working on it. I don't know what the end result will be. We may not have the heart or energy needed to make it work, but then again, we might.

It's fun to finally be able to post pictures. Rebekah helped me tonight, and hopefully I'll be able to do it on my own next time. If not, there are enough tech geeks in my family to help me. I remember when computers first came into my life. I was a page at the Frayser Public library in Memphis, TN. For those of you who don't know, a page is the lowest one on the totem pole. It was my job to check books in and out, put them back on the shelves, and purge the card catalog. Does anyone even remember card catalogs? In my senior year of high school, the city had computers put into every library. We used them at first to check books in and out. Once I learned how to do it, it made the process so much quicker, and I'm sure it kept better records. The next real memory I have of computers comes after my marriage. Jesse was a baby, and my husband came home one day with his very own Commodore 64. He loved that computer. I don't think I was sufficiently impressed with it, and for many years I resisted learning much about them. Why? I don't know. So here I am, thirty years later, and just learning how to transfer pictures from my camera to the computer, then upload them onto this blog.

Baking Bread

Bread making is an art that I have toyed with for many years. I am not an accomplished bread maker, mostly because I do it in fits and starts. Years ago I was introduced to grinding wheat at home. I bought this grinder while we still lived in Virginia. It works very well, but sounds a lot like a jet engine when running. I think they have quieter ones now, but this will have to do until it wears out. The wheat I am using is golden white from Montana. I have used this exclusively for my whole wheat breads since I began grinding my own flour. I order it from a local family who arranges a yearly shipment. This is some grain left over from last year's shipment. I am waiting for another shipment. This year I am being adventuresome, having ordered a bucket of prairie gold and regular red wheat as well as my regular white wheat.This is what the flour looks like after it has gone through the grinder.For years I have wanted to buy a Bosch kitchen machine for my breadmaking. I never have, mostly because it is costly. This is the bread dough after being mixed in my Kitchen Aid. Not bad.
This is what the dough looked like shortly before baking. It came out very good, but was cut into before I was able to take a picture of the finished product. I don't think there is anything better than hot, fresh bread and butter. The best part of this is that with the white wheat we get the benefits of whole wheat without the robust flavor of red wheat.

Green Mountain Pictures

Guess what I'm learning how to do - post pictures. It will take a little while for me to master this (I know, I know, I'm a dinosaur when it comes to "technology" as Ben calls it.) These pictures were taken last week on our trip to Green Mountain.
Ben and Sara enjoyed being able to sit by the water. There is a little pier on the lake and they dangled their feet in the water. Sara was amused by the fish in the lake and wanted to catch some.
Here's my crew: Ben, Rebekah and Khy (in the baby sling), Sara, Kathy, and Rachel. I'm the one taking the picture.
We loved the covered bridge. We just sat on the benches inside and stared at the water for the longest time. This was one of the most fun outings I've had in a little while.

Just Another Day

Today is a normal day, not especially bad, not especially good. It's a Monday, so we began our week with our homeschool co-op. I have homeschooled for many years, and have belonged to a number of c0-ops. This one is a pretty decent one, as co-ops go, but I am getting tired of it. I guess we have so many things going on, and this is just one more thing to do. We'll finish the year (only 5 weeks to go), and I'm not sure what to do about next year.
At the co-op we gave away our guinea pig (O HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!) It was only last spring and in a different co-op that we acquired this "pet". I'd never had one before, and it looked so cute. In fact, to begin with there were two, but one succumbed to who knows what relatively soon after we brought them home. They reminded me a dwarf bunnies that we had to give away when we moved away from Md. and I had always intended to get more for Rachel. I did not know that guinea pigs squeak. Alot. And their primary purpose is to eat and poop (I think this is the purpose of most animals). It didn't take long for the romance my younger kids had with the pig to sour, and I was left with a stinky cage and a pet no one wanted. But we don't dump our animals easily. I would complain about it, but I never would put up a flyer at the local grocery store - Guinea Pig - Free to a Good Home. So how did we find our pig's new home? Ben was in one of his classes and they were talking about pets when one of his class mates expressed her desire for one. He gave her our phone number, and within two days I had talked to the mom and arranged to bring it to them today. Eric was elated at the news, and frankly he told me that he didn't care what might come up today, someone had better have that pig at the co-op ready for pick-up. The only hitch is that Sara was really upset with us. She is another "Ellie May" when it comes to animals, and has a tender heart for them. I felt absolutely like a monster this morning while she cried. I might have given in and kept it, but Eric was strong for me, and I was able to give it away. Sara finally accepted that this was the best thing to do, but she won't "get over it" - anytime she has another disappointment with pets, this will be recalled and talked about. Before you are tempted to disagree with me, you just don't know her history with animals. But at least I have one less animal to worry about.

What is it about homeschoolers and animals anyway? We have two inside cats, one bird, one kinda indoor dog, two permanent outdoor cats with one that used to belong to us who drops by on occasion. We also have three outside dogs (at least two are up for adoption). As if that isn't enough, last Saturday I bought 12 chicks. Yes, twelve. Why twelve, when I only wanted six? Well, there is no way easy way to tell whether you have hens or roosters at such a young age, so I bought extra in case I picked up more than one rooster, and some may die before they reach egg laying age. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that I bought twelve roosters. But for now, we have high hopes of having at least six laying hens, and maybe more. And this is the year we buy goats for the back field. What is it about homeschoolers and animals anyway?

It was nice when I came home. Sara had stayed home today with Rebekah, and they had really cleaned up the house - even the rooms that had been "neglected" in our run up to Easter. It was really nice. Eric came home early today to work in the yard. He has it looking nice. He mowed all the yard, and mowed a walking path in the back field for me. I don't like to walk on the roads because we live on a back road and cars like to speed. I can't complain. Often I am tempted to drive over the speed limit myself back here. We have a long drive way, but I feel stupid walking up and down it enough times to amount to a exercise. So now I can walk out back where witnesses will be few. I don't know if I'll still want to walk there after we get the goats.

Ben had baseball practice today. Last year I took both kids to almost all their practices. This is the first practice I attended this year. Eric has been real good about getting home in time to take them. We love spring ball, but it does pretty much take precedence for just about three months. The season opens this week-end, and we will have no life other than ball and church for the next two months. I guess that's why I am tiring of the co-op. Just one more thing to do.

My life is a good one. Today was just another day, neither especially good, or especially bad. But it's my life, and even on the ordinary days, the "just another days" , I still wouldn't trade it for anyone else's.

Green Mountain

Yesterday I went with my family to Green Mountain. How is it that we have lived in this area for so long, and never knew about this jewel? Such a pretty park!!!! There is only one problem - it's on top of a mountain, and I don't do mountains very well. It's really very sad, because as a 13 year old, I had decided that I would marry John Denver and move to Colorado with him. I hadn't figured out just what to do about Annie, or how we would meet, or what would persuade him to fall in love with a young teen-ager. It just wasn't a very well thought out goal, but it was mine and I dreamed about it for hours as I listened to Sunshine on my Shoulders and Rocky Mountain High. Mountains were not a common thing in Memphis, and although we would go to the Ozarks on vacations as a child, it wasn't until I became an adult that I realized just how frightening the prospect of running off the road and down the side of a mountain could be. So I guess it's just as well that I never met John Denver, much less married him. The more immediate concern is, How will I ever be able to get back to this lovely park without falling to pieces?

On the way to the park, we were behind a car that had those advertising magnets on the back. They were advertising rabbits for sell, and since I promised Rachel years ago that I would buy her more bunnies after we moved, I thought it would be good to get the phone number off the back of the car. I used to be able to read things like this from a distance, but those days are long gone. Rebekah was driving the car, and doing a fine job of it as we relentlessly pursued this car, trying to get close enough to write down the number, without getting close enough not to meet under less than ideal circumstances. I think one of the younger kids was able to finally write the number down, and we have not called it yet. But I can't imagine what this person thought as they had probably forgotten about the magnets on the back of the car, and were afraid of the crazy people trying to run them off the road.

Today promises to be a good day. I will be off to the stores shortly to buy black plastic to put down on the garden area. Eric did a second tilling of the area yesterday, and added an extra strip of area for green peas. So I will put the plastic down while I can, and begin laying out the blocks and rows as I have planned.

Today is also a much anticipated day - I have my husband's blessing to buy baby chicks. I want to buy the Rhode Island Reds if possible. I had them in Maryland, and loved them. My first experience with chickens was broiler hens. These are large and sedate birds, whose only mission in life is to eat and poop (and to be butchered around 8 weeks old - but we didn't tell them that was their final destination.). When we later bought our layers, they were reds, and my, how those birds would jump around and move! I have read that the white feathered birds are more high stung than reds, so I think reds it will be. We don't have a coop for them yet, but last weekend I bought a book with ideas for how to build one. I have a little corner of the yard picked out for a chicken coop and run, while Eric wants to build a portable chicken house. I'll let you know how this all works out.

Non-fiction Books With Boring Titles

When I put down on my profile that I read alot of non-fiction books with boring titles, I meant it. And I'm not sure that any of the books I read really profit me (not that they do not have valuable information, but that I am so inept at applying what I have learned). I read alot of books on communication skills, and business skills (primarily social skills). There are books on how to be a good teacher, how to be a good speaker, how to write well, how to publish, how to lead, how to manage,how to build chicken coops, how to grow gardens, how to make soap, how to bake bread, how to homeschool for brilliant children, how to be a good wife, how to be a good mom. I should be the most accomplished person in the world if book learning was all there is to it. But, alas, there is more.

I have heard my pastor say on many occasions that wisdom is knowing the right thing to do at the right time and in the right way. There is a close relationship between knowledge and wisdom, the primary difference being the ability to apply what you know in the right way. Knowledge alone satisfies the mind, and makes you feel smart, but what does it really profit if you cannot apply it. Knowledge puffs up.

One major thing that I have noticed is that all the social skills books say about the same things, and it is something that can be learned by a careful reading of the Bible. In fact, the secret to positive thinking, to winning friends and influencing people etc., all falls into a very definite "formula". Do you want to know what it is? It is to 1.) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and 2.) to love your neighbor as you love yourself. It's also stated as
"do unto others as you would have them to do unto you."

Of course, even the New Testament elaborates on how to do these things. I never knew before we came to Alabama how many times the Bible says to encourage others, to receive others, to greet others, to accept others, to love others, to do for others. These are the "one another" passages, and my pastor often preaches on them (he is not liberal in his views by any means, and does take a conservative stand - he is, however, one of the greatest examples of being a friend to others that I have ever seen - he has influence because he has love).

This morning, after my bible reading, I finished up my latest book on social skills, and here is a sampling of suggestions I gleaned from that book:
-be supportive
- be able to teach
-be able to delegate well
-be able to communicate well
-give rewards and praise
-take care of others
-go to bat for others
-criticize privately

More ideas are to be constantly developing new skills, be willing to use these skills to help the organization rather than for personal advancement, have a good sense of humor, don't take yourself too seriously, but do all you can to improve yourself. But all these tips can be tied to biblical principles, and if I were not so lazy (or desiring to move on to other things today), I could tie the principles in the book to a bible principles and do no harm to either.

The reason for today's rant is that yesterday I blew it. With all my "superior wisdom from a diligent study of the scriptures" and a "righteous indignation over being misunderstood", I simply blew it. I was nothing more than a self-righteous know-it-all. And all the reading of "how to be a wonderful person" books can not make a self-righteous know-it-all someone who is respected and listened to. No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. I failed to show that I really do care. I failed.