Death, Taxes & Jury Duty

This photo is definitely by farmlight......."Morning by Farmlight".


This morning I headed out extra early to get the calves fed before it was time to get ready for jury duty. Around 7:45 a.m. I pulled my Envoy into the queue of vehicles carrying their occupants to jobs in town, or to early morning doctor appointments. A mile down the highway I met my brother-in-law, the plumbing contractor, on his way to a construction site, no doubt. I gave him a big wave, although he wouldn't expect to see me on the road at that hour, so he probably didn't notice. I need to keep that in mind.......that we rarely see what we don't expect to see.......so, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED! Life remains interesting and intriguing that way.

Once in town, I circled the courthouse a couple of times, looking for a decent parking spot, found one, fed the parking meter, shuffled through the metal detector, grabbed my courtroom assignment, and rode the elevator to the courtroom floor. The walls of the hallway were lined with photos of judges, familiar names from newspaper reports of trials over the years. People were slowly trickling into the courtroom and sitting in pew-like benches in the back. For over a half hour we sat there in silence......except for a person who was snoring up a storm in the back row. I kid you not, he was putting out high decibel sound.

I pulled a paperback book out of my bag. Last night while packing, I had thrown in a second book for good measure, in case I finished the first one. I noticed that not many people had brought reading materials with them. After a few minutes, the blond girl beside me turned to me and said laughingly, "You don't happen to have another book in that bag, do you?" I replied, "Believe it or not, I do.....", and I handed it to her and told her to keep it. It was The Bookman's Promise, by John Dunning. I'd bought it several months ago and hadn't gotten around to reading it.

Finally, all the important players arrived-----the judge, attorneys, court reporter, etc.-----and things got rolling. The judge talked for awhile, explaining what was going to take place. There were around 50 of us jury candidates there, and soon the court attendant started randomly drawing the names of 27 of us, during which I was NOT chosen. Those 27 had to move up front into the jury box and the first rows. Then we were all treated to the "voir dire", which is when the attorneys ask the jury panel questions to determine each juror's ability to evaluate the case fairly. "Voir dire" is of French and Latin origin and means "to speak the truth". (The previous two sentences are from the jury handbook we received when we arrived this morning.)

During the voir dire my gaze kept falling on a woman ahead of me, and I began to think she looked familiar, and that maybe she had been my roommate in the hospital psych unit two years ago, but I wasn't sure. The attorneys droned on and on, and although it was interesting to listen and watch the procedure, the hard wooden benches became very uncomfortable after awhile. Several of the chosen jury candidates were dismissed for various reasons, and more of us chosen to replace them......but I was NOT among those chosen.

Finally, we were dismissed for an hour-and-a-half lunch. Sheesh. Like what were we supposed to do with that time? This was interesting, though......that woman that I mentioned looked familiar to me.......well, on the way out of the courtroom for lunch break, she said to me, "You look familiar, but I don't know where I've seen you."! I said, "Uh.....have you ever been a patient in the psych unit?" She shook her head to the negative. It was a funny little moment.....kind of mixed up......I had been thinking she looked familiar, and then SHE tells me that I look familiar to her! She told me where she worked and it is a place I never go to, so I'm sure we've never seen each other before.

During the break, I drove to a mall area and browsed in Barnes & Noble. Wandering through a bookstore is always pleasant! I bought another John Dunning book, The Bookwoman's Last Fling, to replace the other one. Quite a title, isn't it. I can't wait to read it. The back cover says the author is able to make book-collecting sound as exciting as car racing!

Soon it was time to return downtown and search for another parking spot, which was easily found, and it even had an hour remaining on the meter. As I was running up the sidewalk by the courthouse, a black woman up ahead of me started waving my direction and shouting, "Where are you going?....What are your doing here?". I looked behind me to see if she was talking to someone back there, but no one was there. When I got closer to her, she laughed and said, "Oh, I thought you were my neighbor!" I wish I would have thought quick enough to reply, "I am......and you are mine!" (We are all each other's neighbors, you know.)

Back in the courtroom, we listened to the defense attorney's voir dire, during which he requested a couple dismissals. Two more names were drawn, but NOT mine! After that the two attorneys each struck names from the list of 27, until the jury of thirteen was finalized. Some of us in the back rows were having fun visiting.....the young woman next to me was going to funeral director's school, and living in the basement of a funeral home. She really wanted to be chosen for the jury.......she said they wouldn't have to worry about the people she might talk to after trial hours, because they were deceased people! She was a hoot. I would imagine that any person wishing to be involved in the funeral business should have a sense of humor like hers in order to survive being around grief all the time. Sometimes, I think such a sense of humor is needed simply to survive life in general.

(By the way, the snoring person did end up being dismissed for continually falling asleep during today's proceedings.......the judge felt he wouldn't be able to stay awake to listen to testimony in the trial......)

All in all, the day was a fascinating experience. It was fun to at least observe the process of seating a jury. "Law & Order" never shows us that. It was a relief to not be chosen, though. I probably would have argued to give the defendant another chance, making me a poor jury member.

(In a week or so, when I'm sure the trial is over with, I'll blog about another amusing little coincidence that occurred today, and my observations about the attorneys.......if I remember.)

One of the first things the court attendant said to us this morning was something about jury duty being one of those sure things in life for a U.S. citizen.......in the same category as death and taxes. Yes, death, taxes, and jury duty......you must participate when summoned!

Jury Duty Calls

Disgruntled is my state of mind tonight after making the requisite phone call this evening to the district court office and finding out my jury duty group has to report tomorrow morning. One other time, many years ago, I received a jury duty summons letter, but when I called in, they didn't need my group. I was hoping that would happen again this time, but no such luck.

What I dread the most is rushing through calf chores and rushing to get cleaned up, and driving 20 miles to be at the courthouse by 8:30 a.m. That will be sheer torture for the stay-at-home person that is me. Hopefully, I'll not be chosen for a jury.......maybe if I tell them the deputy county auditor is an old friend of mine, they'll let me go free due to conflict of interest. Its a long shot, I know. The jury summons letter said to bring reading materials along the first day as there would be alot of sitting around and waiting. No problem.......reading is one of my first loves.

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Quickly, I'll tell the third meaningful bird tale:

This one occurred just a couple months ago, shortly after my father-in-law's death. He had lived here and farmed this farm for many years before he retired to town. A few days after his death last November, late one evening, after I had gotten into bed, I heard the deep "whoo-whoo-ing" of an owl. It sounded like it was in a tree right next to our house. As in the other bird stories, I have to admit, owls are not uncommon to Iowa, but I had not heard an owl around our farmplace for many, many years.

The next evening around dusk, Husband heard the dogs barking and saw them jumping up against a tree trunk. He looked up in the tree and saw the owl......it was one of those big ones, a Great Horned Owl. The last time we saw one of those around here was back in the mid-1980's.....I remember that because it was shortly after we had moved here.

Anyway, I'm not saying the owl's appearance has anything to do with Father-in-law's passing, but the timing makes for an interesting bird coincidence, once again. We heard the owl each night for a couple of weeks, and then it was gone.

If you are a Christian and think that these bird stories are "for the birds", and that surely the Bible never mentions birds as messengers............please turn to Ecclesiastes 10:20. Maybe this bizarre verse appeals to those with mental problems, for listen to this: I discovered this verse maybe two years ago. Not long after that-----its a long story, for another blog post, another time------I was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit for several days. After resting and regaining my bearings there in my room with a surveillance camera staring at me, I opened the drawer by the bed and took out the Gideon Bible that was there. It had graffiti written all over it. I leafed through the pages, and turned to Ecclesiastes 10:20. Guess what......that verse had been circled in ink by someone-----a previous patient in that room, no doubt. Interesting, huh?! I thought so, too.

On that note, I'll retire to get my jury duty beauty sleep.

Wedding & Turkeys

I wish yesterday's too-hectic schedule would have been an isolated occurrence, but today turned out much the same.

We were invited to a wedding an hour-and-a-half away this morning at 11 a.m. I hadn't pressed the issue of going, but Husband decided last night that we should make the effort to go. So that meant rushing through morning milking chores and a shower and getting dressed up, and trying to hurry on roads made semi-slippery by a dusting of new snow.

The wedding was the type which triggered mixed emotions. The couple is very young, has a nine-month-old baby boy, and is expecting another baby in April. The bride is still in high school. Both bride and groom are somewhat mentally challenged......it is a long story. But, the groom's parents are very good friends of ours, so Husband felt we should show our support. We've known the boy since he was born, and it was evident early on that something was not quite right about him, but he was mainstreamed all through school. This young couple will need constant guidance and probably financial support from the adults in their lives, and it appeared today that they are surrounded by caring adults who are willing to help out. I hope so, for otherwise, this marriage looks rather hopeless. Most of the wedding attendants were adults, in fact, one of them is the special ed teacher at their high school. As the pastor said today during his wedding message, "Even though we take the wrong path sometimes, God can turn things around and bring good out of it." I pray so, on this case.

It will seem I'm switching subjects.....to birds......but, there is a connection.....maybe. In the book "The Three 'Only' Things, the author writes that in ancient times, birds were viewed as messengers from God. Other places, I've read about the ancient "language of the birds", knowledge of which has been lost to the mists of time. In particular, unusual birds that come to your attention should be viewed as having a meaningful and significant message for you.

So, with that in mind, I have three bird stories to relate.......I'm not saying I believe birds bring divine messages, but I'll simply tell what happened:

The first has to do with the groom in today's wedding. At about this same time last year, our good friend, the groom's father, stopped in to see us one day. In the course of the conversation, he informed us that his son's girlfriend was pregnant. It made me about heartsick to hear this news, though I tried not to show it. Right after our friend drove away that day in his pickup, Husband hollered to me to come outdoors........a wild turkey had flown by him and was sitting in a low tree branch by our house. We had NEVER, EVER seen a turkey here on this farm before that day! It was so strange. Now after reading about birds in that book, I looked up the word "turkey" in the dictionary, and found that it can have the meaning of "a creative work which is a hopeless failure". And that is just about how I felt that day about our friend's son's situation.......that he was not capable of being an adequate father to the baby that would soon be born to him......it was a hopeless situation.


Anyway, the coincidence of that wild turkey showing up here at our farm right as our friend left that day, is fascinating. Like I said, we had never seen a turkey here before, or since.

Indeed, also, today after leaving the tiny town where the wedding took place, we were driving a road which meandered between woodsy hills. Suddenly, Husband pointed and said, "Look.....there's some wild turkeys!" Their cluster of dark forms was easy to see on the snowy slope. So, do I think those turkeys bring a multiplied message of hopelessness.......no! There was nothing unusual about seeing them there in that wooded area.....that is the difference.......I think.

Of course, nothing is hopeless with God, so my prayer is that all will go well with this newly-married couple and their family.

Tomorrow I'll post the other two bird stories.

No Time.....No Time.....

That old Guess Who song is running through my head......"No Time Left For You.....No Time.....No Time". No time for blogging or reading blogs today. My morning routine was swept aside to make room for my son's orthodontist appointment, followed by Husband and I presenting our bookwork to the accountant for tax preparation. What a joy that is every year! Milk prices were fairly good in 2007 and Uncle Sam forces generosity out of us as a reward.

Husband grumbled all the way home. The way he sees it, you either work for Uncle Sam or you work for the machinery companies......you either pay taxes or you buy machinery to avoid paying taxes. He's considering selling some cows, he says.......what is the point of knocking yourself out working so hard just so you can pay Uncle Sam? As always, I just sit and listen.

Actually, more than listening, I was pondering the notion of running to town for groceries after lunch. It was turning out to be a run-around day anyway, and the cupboards and refrigerator are looking bare and lonely, so off to SuperTarget I went.

There I wandered around, picking up items on my list, soon realizing I had chosen the most rattly, squeaky-wheeled cart in the store. Oh, well. Soon I was noticing another oddity......in almost every aisle I turned into, there were pregnant women. Very obviously pregnant ones. Truly, they were everywhere! And that's a wonderful thing, but it seemed unusual to see so many of them at one time under the same roof. I got to thinking-----I don't know if this could be connected------but back in late summer, a large battalion of reservists, the 133rd, returned from two years in Iraq. It was big news here in northeast Iowa, and maybe their return is going to result in a baby boom! Then again, that may have nothing to do with the particular group of pregnant gals there at SuperTarget today. It may have been just a coincidence.......

By the time I got home, it was dark, and my calves were bellering for their bottles. I ran into the house to change, and seeing the answering machine blinking, I listened to it. It was my college daughter's garbled voice.....I could catch some of her words. She was having a bad day, so I quickly called her back. It was nothing really serious......she said her down mood was triggered by a professor who seems to know everyone's name in class......except hers. Sounded like a really serious problem......and my daughter admitted it did sound silly, but it just kind of bummed her out today. You know how little things can set us off sometimes.....

I was talking to her on my cell phone, and then the house phone rang, so I answered that, too. It was Husband's nephew calling from Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia where he's a patient after having a 7-1/2 hour operation on his lower back, which was injured a couple years ago in Iraq (he's in the Marines, but it was not a combat injury). The surgery was on Wednesday and he's already up and walking around. I put the cell phone and the house phone on speaker mode so my daughter and her cousin could converse as I held the phones next to each other. That seemed funny for some reason.

Later, after feeding calves, the groceries needed carried in from the garage, so I was at that task when a spot of ice caught me off guard and down I went backwards, hitting my head on the cement. Fortunately, I still had my heavy chore coat on, with its thick hood cushioning my neck. I've taken some ibuprofen, but can feel my upper back and neck getting stiff. The bed looks inviting, but I need to stay awake until my son gets home from his basketball game-----it was two hours away, meaning he won't get home until after midnight.

Cell phone just beeped......a text from my son.....they won! And he may not get home until 1 a.m. Oh, my.....well, I'll surf around and read countrygirl and nannykim and then go read a book.

The Fun of Parenting

Here's my favorite photo from that day at Backbone Park:

Somewhere I read that the reason certain areas are called the "Devil's" this or that (as in "Devil's Backbone Park") is due to those areas having been considered sacred or spirit-inhabited by the Native Americans. There are many land formations in the U.S. with that moniker-----the Devil's Tower in Wyoming comes immediately to mind (only because I've actually been there).

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Last evening I felt compelled to do something I've never done before.......phone a parent with a concern about their child. Usually, I let my kids deal with their situations themselves, but this ordeal of my son breaking up with a girl is getting a bit out of hand on her end. He came home from basketball practice last night saying that she had told him she would "never speak to him again" and that she "hadn't eaten for two days". I told him she's attempting to manipulate him, and he shouldn't fall for it.

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Then as we stood there talking, my son received a text message from the girl stating she was "going to run away". That did it.......as a parent I would want to know if my child were threatening such an action, so I phoned her mother and told her about the text message. She thanked me for calling and that was that. I disliked doing it......its not my normal modus operandi, but the girl had crossed a line, and it was time to let her parents know. Most likely, she was bluffing, but too bad......running away is a serious matter. She's in my prayers.

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Like I said, I've never before had to call another parent in all of my years of being a mother. I once confronted a boy who wouldn't leave my daughter alone, and gave him a hopefully memorable piece of my mind. Those are the times you feel mean and wonder if being a parent is such a great thing.

Octopus Tree

I think this is an "octopus" tree growing out of the rocks along the Backbone Trail.

"Bones" of Stone

Here's a photo showing some of the rocky, gray "bones" of limestone on the Backbone Trail, as mentioned in the previous post.

I remember being at the park one time with my parents and grandparents when I was a little kid. We climbed down a side trail to see the "Devil's Oven". I was absolutely terrified, not understanding at all that this wasn't really part of the devil's own kitchen!

January Randomness

What do blogging, thinking, and dreaming all have in common? They can be gloriously RANDOM! Yes, the photo below is a very random choice for this wickedly cold day in late January. Last night the wind was howling when I burrowed in under the covers, but this morning dawned with blessed stillness, enveloped, however, by intense cold. The temperature is exactly 1 degree above zero, and that definitely feels wicked!

One lovely Sunday afternoon last fall, Husband and I drove to Backbone State Park near Strawberry Point, Iowa, and hiked the "Backbone". The trail runs atop a wooded limestone hill above the Maquoketa River. At times, the trail appears to be made of old bones, as gray weathered limestone juts this way and that. Hikers can climb up and down, and occasionally peek carefully over sheer dropoffs on both sides of the trail.

When I was a kid, the park was called "The Devil's Backbone" by everyone, and printed that way on maps, too. But, nowadays, it is referred to everywhere as "Backbone State Park". It is an an area of unusual land formations and forests, existing randomly in the middle of the Iowa prairie.

This tiny scene came into view somewhere along the "Backbone". It was such a gorgeous autumn day, filled with warm sunshine to touch our outer selves and beauty to touch our hearts and souls!

Pay Attention!

This will be a story similar to one of my previous posts, "Radio Reminder". This one happened the day before yesterday:

On that day, I had been reading some posts on an online Lutheran discussion board, and was composing in my head a comment to leave there. It was on the subject of the Incarnation of Christ, and I was ruminating throughout the day on certain aspects of Communion......especially the Real Presence.

Late in the afternoon, I walked down the lane to get the mail, and was surprised to find that our neighbor's mail had been delivered to our mailbox by mistake. When I got back to the house, I jumped in the car and drove down the road to give the mail to its rightful owner. As is my habit, I turned the radio on, and the first thing I heard was Mister Mister singing, ".....you're half of the flesh and blood that makes me whole......" (from their song, "Broken Wings"). Good grief, I thought......that's just what I've been thinking about today, and it went right along with the comment I was trying to put together in my mind to post on the discussion board.

Add up the unusual occurrence of the wrong mail being in our mailbox, and realize that that is the only reason I was in my car and turned on the radio at the exact moment the words of that song were being broadcast. Its fascinating, really. Author Robert Moss says we should always pay attention when unusual and unexpected things happen in our lives----even small, seemingly trivial events----and look for a meaningful message in them.

I have no problem seeing this type of significant coincidence as God's Providence. Carl Jung, of course, called it "synchronicity" or meaningful coincidence, and researched it for years, after noticing it occurring in his own life and the lives of his patients. I think it happens to everyone, but few are paying attention.

Pay attention!!

Blizzard Coming

I mustn't spend much time posting this morning. There are so many things to do all of a sudden. We had a heat-wave lasting all of yesterday; the temperature soared into the upper 30's. The sun was shining, too, meaning there was quite a bit of snow-melting going on. That sounds like a good thing, but what it really means is now we have ice all over the place again. The deep-freeze has returned this morning, and our farmyard between the house and barn is like an ice-skating rink again. There's a downhill decline between the house and barn, so this morning I shuffled slowly and carefully out to do my calf chores.

A roaring northwest wind has picked up, and blizzard conditions are forecast for this evening. Great. After milking this morning, Husband asked me to help with bedding the heifers out in the cattle shed. That meant I opened and shut gates or held them while he drove the skid loader back and forth hauling big round bales of cornstalks into the shed. He opened the bales and spread them around so the livestock have a dry place for lounging.

I was about frozen solid by the time we were finished; my heavy canvas Carhartt coat felt like a thin nylon windbreaker. Seriously, I really appreciate the Carhartt coat-----I invested in it awhile back after spending many years wearing everyone else's cast-offs. It seemed expensive at $90, but its definitely worth it in weather like this. I also spent $60 last fall on "Muck Boots", and I really like them, too. They are rated to keep feet warm down to 20 degrees below zero----last week they reached their limit on a couple of the coldest days.

After scraping the cow's area in the barn and chatting with the milktruck driver, I'm now about to head to town to fill our son's pickup with gas. At 15, he has just a school permit for driving, meaning he can drive only the route from home to school and back. Unfortunately, the gas station is not on his route. So this morning, I had to let him take the Envoy to school.

My son's life right now seems to be running parallel to Jeremy's in the "Zits" cartoon in the newspaper. They're both 15 and have started driving and have had girl problems recently; my son has been trying to break up with his girlfriend, and she's not too happy about it. Oh, my, the drama of high school romances.......my marriage was the result of such a youthful romance, but was never very dramatic, not as I remember, anyway. We never ever "broke up", so I've never experienced such a thing. Like Jeremy, my son is the last child at home, putting up with his "getting older and more tired" parents, who have lost most of their enthusiasm for school activities and such, and have seen most everything there is to see. Been there, done that. Ho hum. So it goes.

An aquaintance from town just phoned and asked if he could buy 3 bales of straw to bed his dogs' houses, so Husband threw those in the pickup and I'll drop them off, too. I wish I didn't have to go anywhere.....the wind is getting stronger by the minute......the sound of its roaring is giving me chills!

Green Glass "Cookies" Jar

Husband found this "cookies" jar in the attic of his dad's garage. He knows I love green glass, so he chose it......isn't he a sweety. Although, when he handed it to me, he said, "This will be great to put some cookies in....", to which I replied, "No, Honey, I don't think so.....it will be for display only."

The Clock

Here is the clock Husband chose from his dad's house. It had belonged to Husband's great-grandparents, who were married in 1905. I don't know much about clocks, but am growing very fond of this one, now that its here. Its gentle tick-tock and chiming adds a comforting sound to the room. I'll need to do some research to figure out where and when it was made.

Let's Talk COLD!

When I ran outside with the camera yesterday afternoon, this was the only half-way interesting photo subject I could find in the few seconds I managed to tolerate the minus twenty degree air. Wow, sculptured snow hanging over a shed roof.

The current cold snap we're experiencing is the most intense and long-lasting one we've had in many years. Husband quipped that if anyone is of the mind to commit suicide, they should just go stand outdoors without a coat for a few minutes and they would be successful.

Car trouble is another occurrence you wouldn't want in this bitter cold out here in the rural areas. Or a car accident.....even if you were only slightly injured, you would probably freeze to death before help arrived. In this sort of weather, cell phones can truly be life-savers! For me, staying home is the absolute best thing to do. And I'm anxious and praying each evening until our son gets home safely from his school activities.

In the previous post, I mentioned that I was showing my blog to my mom. It may have alarmed her----I'm not sure. She's a bit frightened of the internet and probably worried that I'll meet up with a predator or something. I tried to convince her to let me help her set up blog of her own where she could post poetry and stories. She could allow only family members to read it if she wished, I informed her, but even so, she seemed leery of the idea. Over the years, she has told us many tales from her childhood and teenage years, and it would be nice if she would write them down so all the details are included. Hopefully, she will think about doing that soon.

Speaking of parents, it has been a watershed event in our lives to empty out Father-in-Law's house. Clearing out a house is a major operation, and serves to remind me that one of my own goals in life from now on should be to whittle down the amount of stuff in my own house!

Some Cute Quotes

My mom is here beside me; I am showing her my blog and other blogs so she can see what blogging is all about.

This morning an old friend of Father-in-Law's stopped by. He wanted to tell Husband how proud he was of all the boys for how they were amicably able to divide up their dad's household items. This old friend became rather emotional as he admitted that he misses Husband's dad very much. They had been pals since grade school days.

As he was talking with us, he said some cute sayings.......and here they are:

"Live simply so others can simply live."

"Do your giving while you're living, so you're knowin' where its goin'!"

"Everything comes to him who waiteth if he worketh like hell while he waiteth!"

New Resolve by Dr. Bimler

Ho-hum, yes, here's another boring frosty tree branch photo. In Iowa, what's a very amateur photographer to do in January except snap scenes of things covered in frost and snow?!


Husband's brother made it to Rapid City, SD, by 6 p.m. yesterday. At around 10 a.m., he left our farm amid well-wishes, hugs, good-bye arm waving, and prayers for safe travelling. His newly-acquired pickup was loaded down with furniture and other items he had chosen from his dad's house. He chose an antique bedroom set and the china hutch as his big items. When he and his wife were here for the funeral, she had asked me about a set of red glass Avon dishes that she remembered our mother-in-law having on display in the hutch years ago. I hadn't seen it since she died, but the guys found the set all boxed up in a closet. I had told Husband that she had asked about it, and her husband chose it as one of his picks. He said she cried when he told her he was able to get it for her. They live near Flathead Lake in northwest Montana......gorgeous country!

On the phone this morning, he said he had headed out at 3 a.m. this morning from Rapid City, and was calling from the Billings, MT, area. He said the pickup was running just fine and that the wind was terrible yesterday on I-90 in Minnesota, but it had calmed down once he got into South Dakota. Before he left yesterday, I reported to him something I had just heard on the news........that the temperature in Butte, Montana, was minus 33 degrees!! Something for him to look forward to!


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Yesterday in the mail was a monthly magazine from the Thrivent Insurance Co. Before tossing it in the recycling tote, I turned to Dr. Richard Bimler's "Daily Bread" article on the last page. He usually writes something worthwhile, and this month especially so. Here is an excerpt from his devotional article, "New Resolve".........I feel he showcases here the best part of Lutheran doctrine as far as living your daily life is concerned........he's speaking of New Year's resolutions:

"Resolutions are not bad in and of themselves. It is important and healthy to set personal goals and throw yourself into projects with the best of intentions. The problem with resolutions is this: They tend to encourage us to focus on ourselves, rather than on our faith in a living Lord who loves and forgives us, even when we botch things up------including our resolutions.

This year, before making resolutions that center only on self-improvement, let's first celebrate soul improvement and help each other rediscover the never-to-be-broken resolution that our Lord gives us in Baptism: He calls us as His own, even when we fail!

We are God's people, not because of what we have done or resolve to do, but because of what Christ has done for us through His life, death and resurrection. With this as our focus, we are empowered by the Spirit to share our gifts of joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness and thankfulness-----not because we want to earn God's favor, but because we are His people.

In other words, it is not that we "gotta" do it, but that we "get to" do it. we get to serve God and others. We get to take care of ourselves in order to take better care of others. We get to tell others about Christ's love for everyone. It is not about us; it is about Christ living in us.

A little girl who portrayed the angel in our Christmas program one year summed it up well. As the shepherds came and huddled all around the manger scene, the little angel noticed that the audience could not see the baby Jesus in His crib. With her halo shining brightly, she yelled at the shepherds, "Get out of the way and let Jesus show through!"

Simple but profound words: "Let Jesus show through".......


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Have a wonderful day and "let Jesus show through"!!

Radio Reminder

Its after 10 p.m. and sleep beckons, but I must stay awake until my son gets home from his basketball game. So I'll take the opportunity to relate this true little happening:

I love it when tiny unusual things take place; the following occurred last Friday evening. Because Husband's brothers would all be here on the weekend, I had gone to town to stock up on groceries. I finished shopping around 6:30 p.m. and phoned home to let them know I was on my way. My younger son answered-----he was home because his basketball game had been postponed due to the extreme cold. We talked for a couple minutes.......he informed me that our older son, Daniel, had called and said he, too, was coming home for the weekend. He lives 2 1/2 hours away, and I thought, "Great......another traveller to worry about in this awful weather." It was not an attitude of faith, but the mother instinct in me pushing forward.

As soon as I was done talking to my son on the phone, I turned on the radio in my vehicle. The first thing I heard was Elton John singing this line, "Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane.......I see his red taillights, heading this way.......". I smiled and shook my head; it was like a reminder that Someone was watching out for Daniel, and I should quit my worrying! He safely arrived home later in the evening.

Snow For Sale!

Snow, snow go away.......
Come again some other day!
(Not for a long time, though.)

Here is Husband in the tractor blowing the powdery white stuff out of the way so his brother can begin a long trip home to Montana. He came to Iowa on Amtrak last week to take part in the divvying-up of Father-in-Law's earthly possessions. He's returning to Montana in his dad's pickup, which he purchased.

I couldn't hold back the tears when this brother-in-law left this morning; he lives so far away and it was hard to say good-bye. He has a very long drive ahead of him in this extremely cold weather. Seeing the pickup disappear down the driveway for the last time was difficult, too, because the vehicle is so identified with Father-in-Law. The pairing of a farmer-----even an old, retired one-----and his pickup, is a special match; they were steady, faithful companions.

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This afternoon it was deemed safe for a daughter-in-law to enter Father-in-Law's house, so I spent time helping Husband load out some of the remaining items......mostly junk, at this point. Now, my house is becoming filled with piles of miscellaneous.......towels, rugs, Christmas wrap, tins, kitchen items, baskets, books, knicknacks, etc. All the flotsam and jetsam of someone else's life is now mine, as if I didn't have enough of my own already! But, I'll dutifully go through all the piles and boxes to see what might be of use, or generously shared later as a gag gift!! Seriously, there are some special items that I hope to eventually give away to the little grandchildren and great-grands as a remembrance of Grandpa.

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Husband has held up well through the last several days of commotion and disruption of his normal daily work schedule. Its obvious he's exhausted, though. Last evening his eyes were glazed over as he struggled to stay awake after chores to eat supper and visit with his brother. He also admitted to me that he's sad to see his dad's pickup depart. Not that he wanted to have it, but like I said earlier, its so closely identified with its former longtime owner.

A New Old Clock

Doesn't this kitty resemble Santa Claus with a big, white beard!

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After chores last night, Husband started telling me about the items he chose at his dad's house. What do you know.......he did get the crockery items mentioned in the previous post. And something rather unexpected.....his great-grandparents' antique clock. I was dumbfounded, because I was sure the antique-loving brother would choose it. Husband said they drew numbers to decide the choosing order. They started with the large furniture items and appliances. Husband first choice was a practical one-----a freezer. The antiquer brother chose the old oak kitchen table and chairs. Another brother chose the china hutch, another the washer & dryer, another a bedroom set, and another the sofa and recliner.

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After the large items, the brothers proceeded to things like a converted gas lamp, side tables, and Husband then noticed that the clock had not been chosen yet, so he nabbed it for his next choice. I'm quite sure the antique-loving brother wanted it, but must have forgotten about it in the commotion of the day. The day after Father-in-Law died, one of the first things this brother did was take the clock off its shelf in the kitchen and put it down on the floor in the living room, saying he thought it would be safer there, so I know he wanted it. Well......that's the way it goes. It was all done fairly.

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Actually, I've always thought the clock was rather ugly, but now that its here in our house, I'll get used to it. As Husband says, the clock seems to have a mind of its own.......maybe its haunted......it will randomly start ticking whenever it wants to and then faithfully chimes the hours and dings on the half hour. Inside the back panel someone wrote that it was cleaned in 1967 and 1989. As I said, it belonged to Husband's great-grandparents, who were married in 1905. Maybe I can put one of their photos with the clock.....they are a fascinating pair, both quite tall, he dapper with a moustache, and she kindly-looking with an amused twinkle in her eye. He was a butter-maker, and she a homemaker, of course. I wish I could have known them. Some couples from back then look so stern and serious, but not these two.

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Oh me, oh my. I put a long comment on the DarkMyRoad website. He's a Lutheran pastor who struggles with depression and his posts are very interesting and helpful. But, I think my comment was way too long.

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Also, I checked the "rhymes with plague" blog. His writing is so impressive!! He 's not afraid to use lengthy sentences. On his profile, "Field of Dreams" is listed as his favorite movie, so I commented that the farm where that was filmed is near Dyersville, about an hour from where I live. Its a tourist site now, called "Field of Dreams", of course, and I've been there several times with my kids' school trips. There's not alot to do there, just walk around and look at the ballfield, take pictures of the house and barn, and browse in the souvenir shops (there were always two shops due to the movie site straddling two farms.....I heard they consolidated into one now, though). The highlight of the visit would be the schoolkids playing a game of kickball on the baseball field.

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After posting those comments, I stirred up a batch of cinnamon roll dough, which is raising in the oven right now. Soon it will be time to flatten it out, sprinkle on the sugar and cinnamon, roll it up, slice it, let the slices raise, and then bake them. Usually, this time of year, I get in the roll-making mood which last for a couple of months. No one seems to mind.

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No school today in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Son is supposed to have a make-up basketball game tonight, 2 hours away. But, that's iffy since it snowed all morning, but I haven't been listening to the news for the cancellations. Son and Husband are at his dad's house again for more packing of items-----three of the brothers are there again, also. They've been having a great time, playing practical jokes on each other, stuffing each other's pickups with junky stuff like tupperware and other what-nots from the house. They all get along quite well......maybe that's normal for a family of boys.

Reminder of Warmth

To offset today's bitter cold, this photo is offered as a reminder of warmth past and future. The clouds resemble a big rosy dove, possibly. We're looking north, early one morning last fall.




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We remain in the deep freeze. When temperatures are this cold, the snow squeaks as you walk on it. If someone was idiotic enough to want to make a snowball, he would be unsuccessful, for the snow loses its stickiness in the bitter cold. There must be scientific explanations for this, but its beyond my ken.

Warmth being my only concern, I sinned and wore jeans to church this morning. Nice jeans, not faded ones. I should have toted a blanket along, too, because the church sanctuary was freezing! Non-LCMS-Lutherans will not know what I'm referring to, but we used Divine Service 4 from LSB this morning. Its an unfamiliar liturgy, meaning that those of us who read music and like to sing felt as if we were singing solos. It was rather pathetic, and made me wonder once again......."How did I get myself into this? Oh, yeah, it was because of that handsome farm boy I met back in high school." Way back then, a church was a church was a church, in my simple mind. Little did I know.

Well, anyway, I tried to sing out, not loud enough to be ridiculous, but enough to maybe help others along. The vacancy pastor once again rushed too fast through the Nicene Creed and the Lord's Prayer. What is the deal with that? Is that some new seminary teaching? I emailed my opinion to him when I got home. He probably won't like it, especially since its coming from a woman. Our deacons seem to be cowed by the authority of the pastor, and won't say anything about it. That's one thing I cannot comprehend about Lutheran laypeople. They are taught to just meekly go along with whatever the pastor does.

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This afternoon I tinkered with the header on this blog, and it turned out better than I expected. I finally figured out how to crop a photo to fit and change the color of the wording inside the photo. I'm very slow and ignorant about such things. The header photo shows the road where the dogs and I walk, alongside a freshly cut field of hay. Ah.....memories of summer.......and warmth!! I love those evening clouds in the sky......it was one of the first photos I took with my digital camera.

Today I am enjoying an afternoon alone at home because of a once-in-a-lifetime event.......Husband and his brothers have spent the weekend going through all the stuff at their dad's house and dividing it up. None of us wives are allowed to participate, which is a good thing. So I've been providing food and lodging for Husband's out-of-town brothers. Thankfully, it appears they'll remain on friendly terms with each other after this whole ordeal of settling their dad's estate is over. He would be very happy about that!

I'm curious, of course, to see what Husband's share of the household items will include. Already yesterday, they brought one of the things here, a bed to put in our basement room that is being remodeled. One of the brothers slept in the bed last night, along with two of our cellar-dweller cats. He said they snuggled right up to him, and one of them was giving his hand a bath when he woke up this morning!

Secretly, I'm hoping that Husband is able to get a couple antique items.......like maybe the advertising crock from a local general store, or the crockery rolling pin, also printed with advertising from that store. I like things like that. I'm not holding out much hope, though, because one of the out-of-state brothers is really into antiques. This was one time to just keep my mouth shut. The whole weekend has been one of listening, listening, listening, and nodding and smiling at whatever is said. The best thing is to stay on everyone's good side. Maybe I'm "cowed", too.........similar to the deacons at church........must be that Lutheran submissiveness rubbing off on me!!

Actually, I've been very proud of Husband and his commitment to keeping peace amongst his brothers. As co-executor he is in a position to do so, and it seems to be of the highest priority with him. Many times, we've heard of families who end up permanently split due to difficulties with estates. Materialism takes over. Husband doesn't want that to happen and keeps saying that the peace in the family is a blessing from God. He's a good husband.

Snowy Mailbox

Yes, this is truly exciting. Our mailbox surrounded by snowdrifts. The rest of the road is fairly clear, so I doubt the snowplow will come by today. Husband is too busy to drive the tractor down to the end of the lane to blow the snow out of the way. So, that leaves li'l ol' me and my shovel to do something about it.

It looked quite messy when I finished, but hopefully now the mailman can pull up to the mailbox without getting stuck. The temperature is hovering around zero today, so the only way one can tolerate being outside in the bitter cold is to engage in frenzied activity, like shoveling snow.

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Here's hoping that wherever you are, the sun is shining, and that you can actually feel its warmth!


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My blog and I are rather hermit-like, but once in a while I make a forays out into the world, the real one and the blog-world. Here's an interesting blog I found the other day: http://rhymeswithplague.blogspot.com/ . His writing style is superb!

Another blog I've been enjoying is http://nannykim-nannykim.blogspot.com/ . She is inspirational and connected to many other Christian women bloggers.

Here's a blog with absolutely stunning photographs: http://chroniclesofacountrygirl.blogspot.com/ .