Its an Icy Reminiscere

Today is "Reminiscere", the Second Sunday of Lent. Last Sunday was called "Invocavit".......I'm just kind of fascinated by these words, because they are new to me. Evidently these titles apply to the first phrase of the appointed Psalm for the Day. Last week the phrase was, "He shall call upon me....",(invoke means "to call"), and this week the first phrase of the Psalm is, "Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies....", (reminisce having a meaning similar to "remember").

Anyway, the morning started out with icy rain, then snow took over, and now around noon we have strong winds, making for blizzard conditions. Church services were cancelled throughout our area.

This photo was from earlier this morning:

These evergreen branches below are laden down with ice.....

Some of the branches get frozen to the snow on the ground below them.......

Maybe I'll forego hanging laundry out today.........

Fortunately, the temperatures today are in the 20's ABOVE zero. I would guess the wind chill is around 0 degrees, which is relatively tolerable if you have to be out doing something for a little while.

To whomever may read this......here's hoping the weather is pleasant in your part of the world on this "Reminiscere"!

Wake-up Dream

Five years ago today the following events took place. I can't prove that it happened, but I don't write fiction on this blog. I have no explanation for what happened, but here it is:

Similar to the photo above, it was in the early morning, when the light of a new day was breaking over the horizon. If you're lucky, like me, you wake up without the jarring insistence of an alarm clock, and you are sometimes aware of the world between sleep and full awake-ness.

Well, I think I was in that state when this experience happened. It could be called a dream, but it seemed of a different quality. I suddenly found myself walking arm in arm with an older woman. I couldn't see her face, but she had gray curly hair, and was wearing a red print dress and a necklace of odd-shaped red and black beads. We were struggling to make our way up a steep, slippery incline, at the top of which was an open doorway. Two or three times we almost made it to the top, but then slipped back down. Finally, we were able to reach the doorway, and I got a brief glimpse of the view beyond. It was a beautiful, glowing green meadow of flowers, grass, and trees. It looked pleasant, warm, and inviting. My glimpse was very brief, for as we reached the top, the inclined walkway we were on began to pitch forward like a teeter-totter would, and as we fell, I woke up.

Honestly, I had never had a dream anything like this one before. I usually didn't have much dream recall; they vanished upon my awakening. So I pondered this one all that morning, wondering what in the world it meant, if anything.

In the afternoon, we received a phone call from Husband's uncle. He informed us that his mother, Husband's grandmother, had died earlier in the day, alone in her home, about 20 miles from us. Although she was elderly, she hadn't been ill, so her death was unexpected.

Wow, I was completely stunned! I started to tell my family about the dream, but they looked at me like I was insane, so I shut my mouth.

As I listened to the details of Grandma's death, it seemed that it had occurred around the time of my dream or whatever it was.

I don't know what it was. Maybe it was her spirit telling me good-bye, or perhaps as she was dying, Grandma thought of her loved ones, and somehow her thoughts travelled and I was in a mindstate to receive them. Grandma and I had been pretty good friends. We had enjoyed many long talks, and had a bond.......she would call me every few weeks to come and trim her toenails, since she couldn't reach her feet anymore. She'd be there sitting in a chair, waiting for me with her feet soaking in a pan of warm water.

Some people view these kinds of stories with suspicion, and some people don't. If you don't care for this sort of thing, then surf away. This dream was like a wake-up call to me in a way......I almost divide my life into B.D. and A.D., "before the dream" and "after the dream". Since it happened, I pay attention to dreams, and keep a journal of them. Sometimes, they teach you about yourself, and occasionally, they teach you about someone else.

Probably there are lots of people out there who have had a similar experience. I wish that anyone who did could feel free to discuss such things. Sometimes, in our culture, it is difficult.

White Snow to Snow White

This shot should probably be filed under "Weird Farm Art":

Yesterday, along with Beatrix Potter books, "Snow White" was one of the stories we read. It was just a little square board book version of the fairy tale. As I read, I used lots of expression and inflexion in my voice. The four-year-old girl sitting next to me listened with absolute rapt attention. She watched me with wide eyes.


When we were done reading, she took the Snow White book and climbed into a rocking chair and sat there poring over the book for probably the next hour. I think maybe she had never heard this fairy tale before. Maybe her parents don't do fairy tales.......oops......hopefully I didn't corrupt her. My mom read lots of fairy tales to me (maybe that's one of my problems). When you really think about it, many fairy tales contain anxiety-producing elements.......ugly trolls, child-eating old people, fire-breathing dragons, poisonous fruit, etc. Maybe those stories helped birth anxiety and its offspring, depression, in me, later in life. I'M KIDDING!


However, like I said, the little girl I was babysitting yesterday really took to this Snow White story. Maybe the concept of a lovely, innocent girl being stalked by a hateful queen with magical powers is a story that immediately resonates with a child? The child sympathizes and empathizes with Snow White's plight. I don't know, but for some reason tales of this ilk certainly have hung around for centuries as a classic story-line.


As the little girl sat there absorbed in the book, I saw myself doing the same at that age. Before I could read, I would pore intently over picture books, studying the details of every scene. I hope kids still do that.......I hope noisy, distracting television and video games haven't spoiled that forever. Quiet time alone with books is important for children, I think. It helps usher them onto that road of learning to look at life in their own unique way and think for themselves.

A Seatbelt Ticket of My Own

Here is Husband & Faithful Tractor blowing snow away from the mailbox again today. Sorry about the tree branch.......I took this photo through a window. I was too lazy and warmth-addicted to go outdoors right then. Actually, it was because I was babysitting two little girls, age 4 and 1 1/2. They enjoyed watching the plume of snow cascading up into the air.

The four-year-old had fun playing with my daughter's old Polly Pockets from over a decade ago, when those toys actually were pocket-sized. The tiny toy people are not even an inch tall, and they have very-detailed, miniature houses. The younger girl napped awhile, and then we read books. I became reacquainted with Peter Rabbit, Little Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, and Mrs.Tiggy-Winkle. It was a very enjoyable afternoon!



My son's run-in with the seatbelt ticket reminded me that I also have a seatbelt experience lurking in my past. It happened one summer evening a couple years ago when I was on my way to a Ladies Aid outing at a tea room in Independence, Iowa, about 25 miles from home here. On the way there, I did have my seatbelt buckled, as I always do, but because the strap across my chest seemed uncomfortable, I had draped it under my left arm, absently.....as is sometimes my habit.



Once in Independence, I had to watch street signs closely to try and find the one the tea room was on. While at a stop sign, I noticed a police car behind me, but thought nothing of it. I turned right, and the police car followed......no big deal. Then, realizing I had taken the wrong turn for where I wanted to go, I turned into a store parking lot to turn around. The police car followed me into the parking lot, his lights flashing by then. Great. Had I not used my turning signal?? I was sure I had. Were my brake lights not working?? What could it be?



The young (they usually are) policeman walked over to my window and said, "M'am, do you have your seatbelt on?" I showed him that I did......but, of course I had that strap under my arm. He asked me why I was using the seatbelt that way. I said it was uncomfortable the other way. He asked me if I had a doctor's order to wear it that way!! I thought.....you've got to be kidding me.....this guy must be having a very slow evening!



Unfortunately, I've never been one of those mythical women who can bat their eyes at a law enforcement officer and avoid getting a ticket. My bad attitude shines through too clearly. I said, "This is absolutely ridiculous." The policeman said, SO apologetically, of course, "I'm going to have to give you a ticket." I said, "Well, fine, just hurry up......I'm late for a dinner engagement." So besides memories of a lovely meal at an antique-filled tea room, I took home a $55 ticket for a seatbelt violation involving a buckled seatbelt. Go figure!


Here's some historical info that involves Independence, Iowa. It includes a kite-shaped harness-racing track, and two famous horses named Allerton and Axtell. The huge, old landmark horse barn on the west edge of town remained standing until several years ago. Downtown, next to the Wapsipinicon River, is a towering old brick mill building, and several blocks of old storefronts. You can enjoy an interesting day there, but watch out for young, bored policemen!

A Black & White Makeover

Kasey's blog, WineontheKeyboard, issued a "Black and White Challenge" today, so here is my makeover of a color photo to B&W. This scene, of course, shows Queen Anne's Lace blooms in an unopened and opened state. Scads of them grow in the ditches along our gravel road. Do you know that in the very center of the opened blossom is a tiny, tiny dark red bloom! (You can't see it in this photo, of course......I would need a different camera to be able to photograph that.)

Help.....Caption Needed

Here's another romantic couple, found lurking in one of the old family photo boxes. I have no idea who they are or where they are or what they've been up to, or what that is in the background.

Please.......any ideas for a caption???

Blind Manipulation

I like to believe I'm not a manipulative person, but these new Levelor cordless blinds may recently have been installed due partly to my manipulation of my husband.......

I ordered the blinds back in late October, and they arrived a month later around the time of Father-in-Law's death. When they arrived, Husband briefly looked inside the box and said he would deal with installing them "later".

So the long Levelor box has been sitting in our house since then. Nagging is never a good option, so I simply let the Levelor box speak for itself......."I'm in your way-----INSTALL ME!", but it didn't seem to be working.

Two days ago, my stepdad was here to work on the room in the basement. At lunchtime, he, Husband and I were at the table enjoying our meal. The conversation came to a lull and I suddenly turned to my stepdad and said, "When you're finished in the basement, you'd be welcome to put up the new window blinds......". He smiled and nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Husband staring at me......probably glaring.

But, the wheels were set in motion. Right after lunch, Husband pulled the blinds out of the Levelor box, read the directions, gathered a tool or two, and had the installation done within a half hour!

Anyway, I like them very much. They add a somewhat out-of-place sophistication to our farmhouse family room. The cordless design is nice.....no cords hanging around, obviously. The blinds are metal, but have a matte texture. The color and texture are called Earth Stone and Native Stone, but I can't remember which one is which. Some sort of valance or topper would look nice, probably, so that will be the next thing to think about.

Valentine Couple

I found this happy couple while de-cluttering today (we inherited lots of old photos from Father-in-Law's closets). Just couldn't resist including them on the blog here on Valentine's Day.
Their names are William and Dora, and in case they're watching from somewhere, I want them to know that I feel their pain........I'm not at all photogenic either!

Most likely, they were very kind, hardworking folks......probably loved to laugh, too, but were just very solemn when it came to being photographed. Back then, didn't people have to sit still for quite awhile while having their pictures taken?

Be My Blog Valentine

Here's my Valentine to anyone who happens to stop by this blog today!




Ollie wanted in on the fun, too!




Whenever I post a photo, then the font I was using above the photos won't work below the



photos......why is that?



I think its fascinating to read about the ancient origins of holidays, so here's some info about



Valentine's Day traditions.

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The house needs some decluttering, and one thing I'm removing is the jigsaw puzzle that


someone started during the Christmas holiday season. Its a PhotoMosaic of Abraham Lincoln's


face......extremely difficult! The whole picture is made up of tiny Civil War photos.......very


interesting to look at, if you can see them!


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Yesterday, my 15-year-old son, who drives with a school permit, received his first traffic


ticket......for not having his seatbelt buckled. I asked him, "How often do you not buckle up?" He




said that was the first time.......hmm......I wonder. Thankfully, because it was a violation of the



"non-moving" variety, it will not put restrictions on the license he can get when he's sixteen.



Iowa has been getting more strict lately with the young drivers......and that is a good thing.

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I just got off the phone with a church friend.......she has seven daughters! Can you imagine that!

They are the sweetest family, though.......several of them have been in my Sunday School classes

over the years. She'd like to do some shopping tomorrow and wondered if she could drop her two

youngest girls off here for awhile. That will be fun! They are four and two, so I'll have to go

upstairs and dig out some boxes of toys and books.

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I love this friend, but she is so totally Lutheran........brought up that way and went to Lutheran

college, etc. Sometimes we clash a bit on certain issues. She and her husband are planning to

send their kids to a tiny Lutheran high school over twenty miles away. I tried to encourage

them to consider the local public school.......they could be a good influence there, but they don't

see it that way. They are alarmed at the idea of their kids being taught evolution. I gave her a

piece of my mind......I don't care.......I said, this insistance of believing that the days of Creation

were 24 hours in length alienates people who have an interest in science. I don't believe anyone

can definitively say that those first few verses of Genesis speak of 24-hour days. And not one

human being was there with a clock to keep track of the time. (But, of course, if Martin Luther believed in 24-days of Creation, then that is "most certainly true".)

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Anyway, I told her all that this morning on the phone.......she just said she had no rebuttal at the

moment. Anyway, we are still friends, of course. People that have been brought up in a strict

German Lutheran mindset never question anything. They are closed-minded on many issues,

and I believe it is detrimental to their witness to the world. Maybe this will open her mind a

crack.

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I'm sorry this post looks so terrible.

This Blog's First Birthday!

Oh, I know this will be exciting news.......actually, it just dawned on me, so I went back and checked.....

Yesterday, February 12, was my blog's FIRST birthday!! Here is the first post . The explanation is there as to where the name "Midlife By Farmlight" originated......out in the cowyard, appropriately!

This blog shares its birthday with Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin (do you know they were born on the exact same day).

Blogger "Rhymeswithplague" had a nice post yesterday, as a reminder to not forget Lincoln's Birthday. Yes, back when I was kid, Abraham Lincoln's birthday and George Washington's (Feb.22) were noted by special activities in school. One year we cut out silouettes of their profiled faces, and glued them to paper. Those hung in my room for quite awhile......I thought they were really cool.

Anyway, don't forget these important persons from our country's past.

The Hum of Inspiration

Can you guess where this unearthly-looking door leads? "Into the barn", you say.....well, right you're! Good guess! Through this door I trudge every morning, gripping a mug of steaming coffee and an empty milk pitcher. The dogs, who wait by the house for me, will enthusiasticly bound up for a pat on the head, followed by them bounding in circles around me as we head toward the barn. They excitedly jump at the door, although they've already been in the barn earlier when Husband went out. At that earlier hour, they race down the barn alleyway, barking to encourage the cows to stand up. After that, the dogs somehow escape from the barn and sit patiently by the house, waiting for slow, old me. Such faithful pals!

Walking through the door during milking time is like entering another dimension. The milker pump motor is humming loudly, sending vibrations through the air. Compressor motors and fans are also noisily at work doing their task of cooling the milk as it pours from pipes into the big stainless steel tank in the milkhouse.

To all of that rumbly sound, add the hypnotic back and forth hissing and clicking of the vacuum line as the milkers gently do their job of collecting milk from the cows' udders. That sound reminds me of horses hooves clacking over a bridge......it must be a long bridge......it takes two hours to cross!

Nestled within the above cacophony, mellow moos are occasionally heard, and the strains of oldie tunes playing on the radio. (I shouldn't mention this, but once in while, you will hear Husband hollering at a cow for flicking manure in his face or knocking his cap off. He believes the cows conspire against him during the night, discussing new ways to annoy him. Maybe so.)

When milking is done, I spend time in the milkhouse, overseeing the automatic washer which cleans the milkers and the pipeline. Its not very difficult.....I push buttons, turn hot and cold water off and on, and pour soap and sanitizer into the vat at the correct times. While doing that, I'm enveloped in a cloud of rumbly noise and vibrations. Honestly, this is the time of day when blog posts are conceived......thoughts and ideas just seem to come flowing in......I wonder if it has something to do with the noise.

There was a time in my life when I disliked this barn door. It was a wearying annoyance to me. In this blog's sidebar is a little saying, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." I can't change the fact that I'm married to a workaholic dairy farmer. So to avoid going crazy, I'm going to revel in everything here on this farm and try to find the amazing within the wearisome and the mundane.

Join me, please.......seek wonders within your little world!!

Hollywood Here in Iowa

Surely, most bloggers have within their minds a stash of blog posts in the embryonic stage just waiting to be fleshed out into a full blog-post story. Here's one of mine:

A major Hollywood movie was once filmed right here in my neighborhood! It was the 1984 movie, "Country", starring Jessica Lange and Sam Shephard as Jewel and Gil Ivy, an Iowa farm couple on the verge of going bankrupt. In the mid-1980's, the Farm Crisis was in full swing, with many farmers being forced off their land due to tough financial times.

The movie was big news around here.....I think the filming was done in the fall of '82. Down the road from us was a farmstead of buildings that had sat abandoned for several years. Evidently, it was just what was needed for this movie's location. The land was owned by another neighbor of ours, and somehow he had heard that a group from Hollywood was looking for an empty set of buildings to use, and he contacted them.

The photo in this post shows Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard in a church scene from the movie. If I remember right, the child is actually theirs......they were together then as a couple, and I assume maybe they still are, but I don't know. They rented a big house in Waterloo during the filming. Wilford Brimley was also in the movie, as Jewel's father, who lived in a little house out behind the main farmhouse.

A couple weeks before the filming began, there was a farm auction here in our neighborhood. An older couple had decided to retire and were selling off their farm equipment and household items. Pushing my little daughter in her stroller, I walked over to the auction. Jessica Lange was there and I watched as many people approached her for autographs, which I figured must be quite annoying for her. Soon, a neighbor girl of mine came up to me and said she wanted to walk over and talk to Jessica Lange, but she didn't want to go alone, and would I walk with her. Not wishing to be a meany, I said yes. We walked over to the movie star and the neighbor girl asked her something.....I can't even remember what. I just felt sort of idiotic being there.

Pretty soon, household items started being auctioned off. I stayed in the vicinity of Jessica Lange during this time. She bid on a wicker doll buggy, which she eventually won for $100. (I need to watch the movie again sometime and look for this doll buggy, possibly amongst the daughter's toys in the house scenes.)

There was a rickety old barn there on the place where the auction was being held. That barn ended up being used in the movie, as the place where the Ivys' despondent neighbor committed suicide.

By the time the filming began, it was October, I think. The fall had turned cold and windy early that year, adding to the bleak hopelessness of the movie's atmosphere.

A local boy was cast to be the Ivy's teenage son. Also, many extras were hired from the community to play bit parts in the movie. I didn't apply because I had a little one at home, but my husband signed up. He did end up getting called to be in a scene at the local co-op elevator. He spent the whole day there, and he said they filmed the same scene over and over again. His duty was to walk into the co-op building and and browse at a rack of gloves that were for sale. So he did this over and over. I think its the scene where Gil or Jewel goes to the co-op to buy feed and they're turned down due to bad credit.

When we went to the movie at the theater many months later, and this scene came up, we watched intently, hoping to see Husband's few seconds of fame. At some point in the scene, you can hear a door open.......Husband excitedly said, "That's me coming in....", but, alas, he never came into view. They cut him out of the scene! My goodness! We had a good laugh over that one.

Like I said, the fall was very cold and windy that year, and I think that's just what the movie's directors wanted. One of the more unbelievable scenes involved a combine being blown over by a strong wind or tornado. Obviously, a wind of that sort couldn't be counted on to just appear for the filming, so the night of that scene, they used some sort of big wind machine. We could see the action amid bright spotlights over in the field where it was being filmed.

There was a line of several semi-trucks along the road by the "movie farm", whenever the filming was taking place there. That year, we were renting 80 acres of farmland on the other side of the movie farm. One day, Husband was driving a tractor and implement down the road to do fieldwork at the 80. The movie crew stopped him and told him he couldn't go by. He argued with them, explaining how many miles out of his way he would have to go in order to get to his field. Turned out, they finally did agree to let him pass slowly by the line of semi-trucks.

The film entourage included their own caterer from California who served the actors and crew everyday in a community hall building in a local town. Husband ate there the day his scene was filmed. Also, he was paid in cash for his one day of "work" as an extra......if I remember right, he earned $80.

I haven't watched the movie for a few years now, but it is always enjoyable to do so, because we recognize many faces in various scenes. Scenes in the church.....at a local dance......and at a farm auction......and at our neighbor's farm across the road, where Jessica's character had gone to gather signatures for a petition.

The movie was made with good intentions, I think. It was supposed to be a meaty role for the lead actress and, indeed, Jessica Lange did get nominated for an Oscar for her role as Jewel Ivy. Because we are very familiar with farming, we easily could pick out the parts that seem unlikely and contrived, but the filmmakers tried, anyway. It was a relevant film at the time, due to the Farm Crisis that was going on.

The "movie farm" is now long gone. The building site was razed a few years after the filming. I remember watching the blaze the day the house was intentionally burned down. People still mention the "movie farm" occasionally, though, sometimes we even direct people to our farm by saying, "Do you remember where the movie farm was.....?"

The filming of "Country" was a fun, unique experience for our community, and, surely, nothing like it will ever happen here again!

I'm Dreaming Of.......

I'm Dreaming Of A......Green Springtime!!! That melody resonates warmly in my thoughts right now.

Guess what.......I bumbled around in Picture It and framed a photo! I'm so happy!!
Here is the original photo:

Husband wants me to go to Menards (arghh!) with him to buy a door for the basement room that is being remodeled into a bedroom. My stepdad finished the sheet-rocking and Husband textured the walls. It will be a very un-cellar-like-looking room when it is done.

So I must hurry and do something with my flattened hair before we go. I came to despise Menards and other such places during the year we built on a room and remodeled our kitchen, It became absolute torture to go there.......always a decision to make.......what kind of light fixtures, outlet covers, door handles, etc., etc. Now with this basement room, I don't care what anything looks like, so Husband is making all the decisions. Ah, that is heavenly.

Have a great day, everyone! We received several more inches of snow during the night. How special! But.......I can tell it is spring somewhere. How do I know, you ask.......my nose knows. Spring allergies are taking hold....... my eyes are itchy and nose is tickly and running constantly, and it just does not feel like a cold. The end of winter is in sight!

"Picture It" This Way

I've mentioned before that "country girl" posts gorgeous photos on her blog. In some of her posts she talks about her camera and how she works with her photos on her computer. That inspired me to take a closer look at the photo-editing software lurking on my computer and I found something called "Picture It - 9" (by Microsoft). I finally figured out that it was part of the software bundle that came with the Dell computer a couple years ago.

Probably most everyone knows this already; in "Picture-It", you can fiddle around with photos and do all sorts of crazy things with colors......here are two quick versions of my profile photo (wow!.....now I can change my profile photo to suit my mood!):

And, yes, it would be nice to learn how to put frames on the photos to give them a more finished look. Someday, maybe I'll figure that out.

Anyway, this is keeping me amused this afternoon here in the warm house, while the bitter cold continues to rule the outdoors. I did my time out in it this morning......we even had to sort a steer to load on the trailer. Fortunately, most of the ice in the cowyard is covered with new snow, so it was not too treacherous maneuvering over the lumps of frozen cowpies while trying to herd the big galloping steer. Almost miraculously it seemed, he ran right into the barn and down the aisle and after I made a couple directing motions at him with my arms, he turned and bounded noisily onto the trailer. It rarely goes that smoothly.......maybe it helped that my friend Ollie, the barn cat, was standing right beside me. That had to be it.......Ollie, you're hired!!

A Mighty Cold "Invocavit"

This calf is here to tell you that the deep freeze has returned to northeast Iowa. The wind chill is minus 30 this morning! Don't worry, though her face is frost-covered, she's comfortable in her cozy little hut. She just drank her half-gallon bottle of warm milk; she has a pail of feed to munch, and dry straw to lounge on. Actually, calves stay drier and healthier in the very cold weather than in cool, wet conditions.

Below, you can see Husband clearing a path so the milk truck can get through later this morning. Husband plugs in the engine block heater on the tractor right away when he goes out in the morning so the tractor will start after milking.

Because I had two kids out in the terrible cold and windy conditions last night, I didn't get to sleep very early. My high school sophomore son was with a group of friends......I was glad it was group. He got home around 11:30 p.m. My older son was with his girlfriend (soon to be fiancee, we think), at her parents' home in a nearby town. I tried to call his cell phone around midnight to tell him to just stay put there in town to avoid getting his two-wheel drive vehicle stuck in a drift in our long farm driveway. Of course, he didn't answer the phone, so I left a voice message, but didn't know if he would listen to it.

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I went to bed; Husband was already there, snoring up a storm. After reading a few pages from a book, my eyes wouldn't stay open, but fighting sleep I got up and dialed my son's cell phone again. This time he answered.......I said sleepily, "Please, just stay there in town." He said, "Mom, I'm just about to our driveway.......and there's a huge drift by the mailbox!" I went to the window......yup, sure enough, there were his headlights, bouncing up and down over the snowdrifts in the long lane. Thank goodness......he was home safe and I could go to sleep in good conscience.

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We're staying home from church. Its not listed on the cancellations being shown on the TV screen, but the wind is so strong and the snow continues to pile up, so we will stay put. I'm looking up the Bible readings for this first Sunday in Lent.......did you know this day has a name? It is "Invocavit". It is listed that way in the older Lutheran hymnals I have here at home, but not in the newer ones. The Gospel reading appears to be Matthew 4:1-11, in which Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness.

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A blessed "Invocavit" to everyone!!

Apology to Working Moms

You know, a person just can't get away with anything.......Through the following experience, I think I was reprimanded for my backhanded criticism of working mothers in my post yesterday morning:


Husband and I attended our son's high school basketball game last evening. It was an intense contest, with our team coming out on top! Afterwards, we stopped at the local convenience store for bananas. As I stood waiting in line to check out, a man from my church moved into line beside me. He commented on the exciting basketball game, and then motioned to the ice cream container he was holding and said, "My wife instructed me to bring this home." I said, "Sounds like a great idea." Then he continued to talk, "She's having so much pain in her shoulders from sitting at a computer everyday at work. You know, she really wishes she could be a stay-at-home mom, and that's the way it should be, but things just got out of hand." (I thought it was odd he said "stay-at-home mom", because he and his wife are in their mid-50's, and her momming days are in the past.)


I thought, sheesh, did he read my blog post or something?? But, I knew that wasn't the case. I think it was important for me to realize that many moms would rather not have jobs away from home, and I should be grateful for my situation. This farm provides an adequate living for our family, and its more important, anyway, for Husband to have a person who is around the farm to help out as needed. We can't afford a hired man, so its me who is the helper. Now, I suppose, if I went out and got a job, then we could afford a hired man.......oh, my......hmm......I'll have to think on that.


On a different note, as I was entering the convenience store last night, I brushed by a man getting money out of the ATM machine. As I was picking out some decent bananas, the man came over to me and asked for directions to a certain highway. I told him, "Well, you're on the right road to that highway, just keep going south." He seemed to be in a hurry, and a case like that always leaves me wishing I knew more details. Like.....is there an emergency in your family? Are you in trouble? Don't you have a map? Too nosy by nature.....that I am.

The Man in the Glass

This proud rooster came from the attic of Father-in-Law's garage. This green-eyed chanticleer can't stand up on his own......he has holes in the back so he can be hung on a wall, but I like him better up here on the shelf. When we redid the kitchen two years ago, we allowed for this open area on top of the cupboards. Its fun to be able to display interesting items up there!

Yesterday morning I snapped that "Howdy" photo of myself reflected in the old window (to the right). A few hours later, I was sorting through a box of books from Father-in-Law's house, when a piece of paper fell out from between two books. It was this poem "The Man in the Glass". On the back were tape marks, as if it once was attached to something......a mirror, perhaps. This poem, which was unfamiliar to me, was written in 1934 by Dale Wimbrow. Read more info about the author here. (Thanks, Sherry, for teaching me how to do links!) ("Pelf" is actually a word......look it up in the dictionary.)

The Man in the Glass

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When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you king for a day;

Just go to a mirror and look at yourself

And see what that man has to say.

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For it isn't your father, mother , or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass;

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass.

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You may be like the fellow that chiseled a plum,

And think you're a wonderful guy;

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

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He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,

For he's with you right to the end;

And you've passed your most dangerous test

If the man in the glass is your friend.

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You can fool the world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass;

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the man in the glass.

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Maybe this poem was given to Father-in-Law when he was a young man. The words can be altered to fit a woman, too. I think there's alot of truth in it......you need to be true to yourself, and be yourself, no matter what. You also need to attend to taking care of yourself first, so you be of service to others in your world. So you can do what a favorite song of mine says, "Give A Little Bit".

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I spent many years fretting inside because I wasn't out making money in a career like most of the women I knew. Many times I endured that question: "What do you do?" Most often it was asked by people with no farm background. One time, I was being introduced to one of my children's friends, and she pointedly asked me, "What do you do all day long??" Yes, she was a town person, and her mother had always worked at a job outside the home, so she couldn't comprehend a mother who didn't have a job.

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I've been much happier the past few years when I've finally admitted to myself that I really, really love being at home. When I finally learned to open my eyes to the amazing things and events in the world all around me, wherever I might be......that has been life-changing! (I really like that song, "Little Wonders", by Rob Thomas, too.) There are so many interesting and fascinating little wonders going on all the time! Notice them!!

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Oh, I hate it when the paragraphs and spacing stop working right. Does anyone know why that happens??!

Yippee.....Snow Art!

Yesterday's blizzard brought more interesting snow art. Do you see the animal face in photo below? The eye is cool; I hope you can see it:

Below are Chip & Dale......uh, I mean, Tux and Dale, seemingly unperturbed by the animal face behind them (in the snow on the tree trunk in the right side of the photo):

Last and definitely least is this snow duck or chicken or whatever it is:

Enjoy the snow art in your neck of the woods, if you have snow in your neck of the woods!

Lucky Old Sun

Fresh from the Iowa outdoors.......while hustling back from the mailbox, I caught the sun valiantly trying to shine through a fissure in the gray wall of clouds. Lucky old sun wasn't having much success.

There is an old song called "Lucky Old Sun".....right? "That lucky old sun, just rolling 'round the sky all day"......seems like I recall a line like that in the song, or am I crazy?

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This morning I happened to be at MSNBC and saw this article "Marriage: Its Only Going To Get Worse". Sounds intriguing, don't you think.....read it here: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23014798 . Its actually a very encouraging article, despite the misleading title.

(I'm trying to figure out how to do links with out typing in the whole address......but, not having much success. Someone in the know, please help me.)

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School was cancelled today, to no one's surprise. That means Husband has a chore helper this evening, and I get to stay in. Hooray!

Ash Wednesday church services have also been cancelled for this evening. We rarely get to evening services anyway, because they start at 7 p.m., which is just too early for us dairy people. Over the years, the starting times have crept earlier......when Husband and I married nearly 30 years ago, evening church services were always at 8 p.m, so the many dairy families could get there. But now there are so few dairy farmers left in the congregation, no one gives a hoot whether church is too early for us or not.

Ash Wednesday blessings to everyone anyway!!

Tornadoes & Blizzards

How do this man, blizzards, and a tornado go together? Read on and you will find out!
The handsome young farmer in the above photo is my father-in-law, back in the mid-1950's, shortly after he married Husband's mother. About ten years after the time of this photo, he miraculously survived a tornado.

Tornadoes are on my mind because of the news reports I've seen this morning of yesterday's killer tornadoes in the southern states. After seeing that, I'm grateful that Iowa simply has a blizzard right now. At least snow doesn't demolish buildings and lives. My thoughts and prayers are with those folks down south.

One afternoon in 1964, a tornado blew through the farmstead here where we live. Father-in-law was out in the barn, milking the cows; his wife and three boys went to the basement of the house when the storm blew up. When they emerged from there, they saw that the barn was gone. Only the cement-block-walled feed room corner remained.......and that's where Father-in-law was......he had fled to the safety of the feed room!

Amazingly, only a few cows were killed. The rest had to be herded across the road to the neighbor's barn to be milked. We've found a photo of the old barn, before it was destroyed, but regrettably, there are no photos of the aftermath of the storm. I'm sure the family was so overwhelmed with trying to deal with the rubble and mess that no one took pictures of it.

As I said, my thoughts and prayers are with all those in the path of the storms down south. Blogger Nannykim lives in South Carolina, I think, and Rhymes With Plague is down south, too. Country Girl is in Maryland. Husband has nephews in Tennessee. May God bless all these folks with safety.