Of Food and Fundraisers

  Our church has had multiple missions trips in the history of its existence and I believe that their most preferred way to raise the money that they need is to provide a fundraiser meal. I have attended several of these meals already and truly thought nothing much about them. They were well planned out and quite organized events and there was absolutely no reason why I would have had to think about them overly much, the missions trip maybe, but not the meal.

  That all changed this past week. Our church is preparing for a trip to Thailand and obviously money was needed to be raised so they decided on a fundraiser meal. Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner they thought that it would  be fun to do a themed event. I heard a lot of different ideas but eventually someone decided on doing a salad bar and naming it "Lettuce love one another." Thus began all the puns.

  It's a missions trip for the youth of the church and even though Diane and I won't be going along we still chose to help with the bringing about of the big meal.

  Decorations needed to made, food needed to be supplied, willing hearts and hands needed to be offered in service and Diane and I were simply happy to be of any help. On Saturday Eldon drove us over to the church and dropped us off. Diane and I hustled indoors (it was really cold outside) and we spent the entire evening chopping vegetables, making bread, and washing dishes. It was some of the most fun I've had in a very long time. All of my friends gathered around several truly long tables and chopped away at vegetables for hours. It was such a bizarre thing that I couldn't help but enjoy myself thoroughly. The conversations had between the adults overseeing all of us and the youth were highly entertaining. It was nice to realize that the elders of the church were every bit as lighthearted and human as the rest of us.

  The pastor's wife, Diane, and I all cried together as we chopped onions.

  Nevertheless, all of that work was just a taste of what would follow on the very next day.

  On Sunday morning I had to get up early so I could bake cupcakes. Once we were all ready for church we left and Sharon and I nervously anticipated the event. We were to work in the kitchen and tend the food tables and serve anyone and everyone who needed any help of any sort.

  Once at church we munched on doughnut holes as one of my favorite people taught us all how to greet and thank people in Thai. I can honestly say that our accents held a lot of room for improvement, nevertheless it was so much fun greeting people in Thai that no one was overly concerned with the little flaws in our performances.

  As the church congregation filed into their seats we rushed to work. My first job was to set up the dessert table and so one of my friends and I set out on a mission (pun fully intended) to cover the surface of the pretty table with cookies and cupcakes until it overflowed.

  Some members of the church stood around sipping coffees and watching all of us bustle around the place as we set up and I didn't mind it since I didn't really notice them until I ran into a bit of a difficulty.

  We had large trays of cupcakes to carry out to the dessert table. Our job was to remove the lids from the trays and place the cupcakes onto lovely plates and arrange them in a pretty way. It was easy peasy until I had to remove the lid from a particularly old fashioned pan.

  I tugged at the lid, I yanked on the lid, I pulled, pried, and poked, all to no avail. I glared down at the stubborn obstacle and then looked at my friend who was having a jolly time of arranging her desserts out of her well-behaved pan.

  "You know, if I were in a movie some fine gentleman would come to my rescue." I told her mournfully.  She laughed a little and nodded, but I was still stuck with my problem, or so I thought. Remember those church goers I mentioned that were just standing around, chatting, and watching us work? Well one of those members in particular, a blue eyed, bearded, middle-aged man had been watching my struggles and after my distressed statement he stepped up with a smile and offered to help.

  He effortlessly removed the lid and I thanked him profusely. He walked away with quite a heroic air and I decided that fine gentlemen help damsels in distress every bit as much in real life as they do in movies.

  The rest of the morning and several hours into the afternoon we worked, but never once did it feel like work. I had the best time ever and left the church having grown much closer to all of my friends and a bunch of other people I had never really talked to before. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at any fundraiser meal the same again. It's not just a nice array of food provided for donations, it's a whole team of people giving selflessly of their time and energy for a cause that they believe is greater than them.

The Highlights of 2018 - Part Three

  I'm back to finish up the highlights of my past year. It's been a lot of fun to be able to see all of the things that we were up to in 2018 and I can't wait to see what adventures 2019 holds for all of us.

  Without further ado I shall get right into September.


             September

• We celebrated Labor Day with apple pie 
• Sean and I raked the yard and he decided to be my leaf jumper (he squished the leaves into the tub we were using to carry the leaves by jumping all over the leaves as I scooped them in)
• I requested a heap of books from the library - to quote from my diary - 
• An adorable little hornet decided to rest in my curls 
• I accidentally turned on my turn signals instead putting on my low beams as I passed someone on the road, I felt as if I had just added insult to injury
• I got to listen to a speaker from Nicaragua
• Eldon's fiancee came over several times just to hang out and enjoy dinner with us
• I had a bit of a Dick van Dyke watching session
• My driver's test was officially scheduled for October the 11th
• Sean celebrated his stuffed bear's birthday and I even baked a tiny birthday cake for him
• I drove rather adventurously through the fog to get to my Dad's workplace to deliver something he needed and ended up backing down the long lane to his shop due to my highly interesting driving skills
• I began focusing more on practicing my parallel parking
• I read some spin-off fairy tale books
• We commemorated 9.11.
• I spent an afternoon with one of my good friends
• I got to listen to the very inspiring testimony of a young missionary at our church
• Mum spent an afternoon with one of her good friends
• I came to know of one of the greatest violinists in the U.S, a.k.a Brian King Joseph
• Mum treated Sean, Diane, and I to a lunch at a hibachi grill and it was the greatest thing I've ever experienced in any restaurant
• Eldon built a bunch of shelves for my Mum
• I baked a bunch of recipes from Mary Berry's baking book

              October 

•  Diane, Mum, and I cleaned out our vehicle 
• Sean and I spent a lot of time raking the yard (especially picking the leaves out of our flowerbeds)
• I read "The Book Jumper"
• Eldon butchered a cow and hence provided our family with a bunch of meat
• We bought a big freezer for our basement 
• Diane and I got be part of the cleanup crew for a stand our church had provided in a festival
• I practiced my driving a bit more in preparation for the big test day
• Mum, Diane, and I varnished the shelves that Eldon and Dad built
• I failed my driver's test (this was by no means a highlight in the month, it's only in this list because it was monumental)
• I began practicing my parallel parking in earnest (my dear Dad set up a spot using buckets and upturned brooms until I learned to do so for myself)
• My Aunt and Uncle came by for a short visit
• Dear Eldon kindly helped me carry all of our lovely new shelves into us girls' room. 
• I did a bunch of writing both in my book and as random scribblings in my journals
• Diane accompanied Eldon and I for the first time to the senior youth gatherings at our church
• All of my friend's took their driver's tests and passed at first try
• My Dad helped me some more with my parallel parking practice (I took my practicing very seriously and did roughly fifteen hours of practice in prep for test take number two)
• I got to meet a bunch of new people at church 
• We gave our librarians some cupcakes 
• I passed my driver's test and simultaneously had one of the best days in my entire life
• Us womenfolk accompanied by Sean cleaned out our attic 

            November

• I officially became an "adult" in the library's eyes
• Eldon and his best friend hung out often to work on my brother's truck
• My parents gifted me with an entire pint of the most delicious ice cream ever in celebration of me passing my driver's test (the ice cream was in the flavor of "Chubby Hubby" by Ben and Jerry's, in case you're wondering my parents totally bought it for me because the name amused them)
• Daylight Savings time ended and it felt like we were all gifted with an extra hour of sleep
• One of my best friends came over to spend a fun day going on walks, talking, and eating brownies
• Diane and I discovered that it's impossible to speak Pennsylvania Dutch with a British accent but it is possible to speak it with a Russian or Italian accent
• My friend pointed out the fact that the pillows on my bed are the exact shade of purple as Barney the dinosaur
• Diane and I began making Christmas ornaments for our tree
• Everyone began planning out presents and running secretive little shopping trips
• Diane and I fell in love with Michael Bublé's Christmas music
• I got hired by a sweet family from church to clean house once a week
• My sister's friends visited her several times
• I spotted a man in Walmart with his shopping cart full of fifteen heads of lettuce (and the man himself was rapidly filling up a third bag brimming with avocados) I so dearly would have liked to ask what his plans are for it
• Mum made a fancy dinner just because
• Diane and I watched "The Long Long Trailer"
• We went to my Dad's parents' home to celebrate Thanksgiving with them and our relatives and Eldon's darling fiancee was kind enough to come along 
• One of the librarian's and I realized we're both not Bob Ross in the slightest and we discussed our various art failures 
• We set up our Christmas trees

            December

• I baked a bunch so that I'd be able to contribute to the food department of Diane and Sean's group play
• My family attended the home school play that Sean and Diane took part in 
• One of my best friend's and I spent a day Christmas shopping and had quite the adventurous time of it
• We got all of our Christmas gifts bought, created, and wrapped
• We baked a bunch of cookies and Christmas treats
• Eldon took me out for a fun evening of perusing stores and then treated me at a restaurant 
• We went to the library quite often and Diane's stacks of books have officially become much taller than mine
• Mum baked all of her traditional fruitcake
• We celebrated my Dad's birthday
• We celebrated Sean's birthday
• Eldon's fiancee and our family had a bit of a Christmas exchange and pizza night
• I had to do panicked shopping when I discovered one of my friends bought a Christmas gift for me and I had nothing in return as I was completely unprepared
• I got to talk with very nice people that I met for the first time 
• My siblings and I attended a lunch fundraiser at our church
• My parents attended a Christmas party
• The very kind wife of our landlord dropped in to celebrate Sean's birthday the day before
• We celebrated Christmas Eve with good food, stories, and stuff 
• We celebrated Christmas and was it ever a good one!
• We ate our gingerbread houses in celebration of New Year's Eve

   And there you have it, or as the French say, voila. Our year was very long but you can tell it was rather full of lovely happenings. I always knew that life isn't measured by the greatest and grandest of occasions, but rather by the everyday moments. 

  While I was stressing over my upcoming driver's test my Dad told me something that can be applied to everything in life, not just getting a driver's license and I want to share it with you because once applied to life, everything becomes happier. I shall paraphrase it because it's far more applicable that way, otherwise it only applies to those ready to parallel park. "You can't always control every situation, but you can always pray and rejoice in everything."

  I hope your year is a wonderful and a happy one, and until my next post, fare thee well.

The Highlights of 2018 - Part Two

  Today has to be one of the loveliest and sunniest days yet of this year (never mind the fact that it has only been two weeks) and so with the beautifully glistening snow outside my window to keep me company as I write, I shall set about creating another post.

  I left off after finishing the month of April so I shall pick up with May.

The Highlights of 2018 - Part Two

             May

•  I practiced my parking skills
• We finished school and entered summer break
• I started a scripture writing challenge that I found on Pinterest
• My sister Diane and our little brother Sean went splashing through our creek
• Diane went to a cookout with her friends
• I baked cupcakes for our homeschool group
• I got an Instagram account
• All of my friends were persuaded to play carpet ball with me
• I decided to "wing" making a dress, including creating the pattern
• I was gifted an adorable silver spoon
• Mum picked up Downton Abbey at the library and I established a tea and movie time each week
• I parked our vehicle successfully without hogging three spots (which is actually possible)
• Mum and one of her friends had lunch dates and went walking (I tagged along once)
• The home school group play was had and I said goodbye to the group for the last time
• The dress I tried to "wing" sewing got stuffed into an unobtrusive corner in my closet
• Dad and Eldon went to a lumber exposition 
• Eldon officially got a girlfriend (who turned out to be my best friend from childhood)
• Diane and I took up playing tennis
• Eldon graduated from school
• Eldon and I attended a folk music concert

            June

• I accidentally ran into one of my best friends at the library
• Eldon and I attended one of our friend's graduation party
• All of us siblings learned how to play slapjack
• Mum took us to a beautiful old graveyard where I held a frog that used my hands as its restroom
• My family (excepting Eldon and I) went to a wedding of my Mum's brother
• Eldon and I attended several youth events
• My friend and I went walking and then made homemade donuts
• One of Diane's friends came over to have a cupcake baking day
• My family went exploring at Cooper's Rock (where us children bought some pretty quartz)
• Eldon and his girlfriend and her brother and a friend and I all started hanging out on Sunday evenings
• A giant white duck chased my family (and we were in a vehicle!)
• We all went wild strawberry picking
• We all tried kombucha for the first time and I decided it's delicious
• One of my dear friends got married
• One of my cousins asked Eldon and I to be table waiters at her upcoming wedding
• I got a bank account
• Mum, Diane, Sean, and I cleaned out our basement
• My Dad treated us all to pizza
• Diane and her best friend started having library days where they went to the library and then spent an afternoon together reading books and nibbling on snacks
• I sent in an application to a transcription company

          July 

• Dad took Diane, Sean, and I on a hike with the goal to reach a bridge where we would sit and watch trains pass underneath  
• Eldon and I went to watch the fireworks in town with some friends
• Dad and Eldon worked from home for a little while
• Dad and Mum gave me a bouquet of roses just because they loved me (and they gave Diane a special gift as well)
• The transcription company I applied for accepted me and I was enrolled in training (I wasn't given a job but depending on how training went I would become a transcriptionist)
• My friend asked me to come over to her place where we stroked her cats, watched movies, and went berry picking 
• My family went on a hike to a darling little covered bridge where the more adventurous of us walked over the wet rocks and crossed under the bridge (being careful not to get swept up in the waterfall)
• My sister and I went raspberry picking 
• We attended my cousin's wedding and I got to talk with all of my beloved cousins again 
• We went back to school shopping
• We butchered chickens (a most gruesome task no matter how informative or useful)
• Dad played baseball with Diane, Sean, and I
• I got to drive on a big road for the first time ever (the kind where you drive at an unholy speed whilst weaving among potential life threats)
• My family attended the graduation party of Eldon's girlfriend and I baked cupcakes for the event
• We started up school again
• Mum bought happy planners for us all and so Diane, Mum, and I began planning
• Diane and I watched our first opera, perhaps you've heard of Semiramide? 
• I actually got to sit under a weeping willow tree as the sun set

            August

•  I baked some sesame seed bread (my first enriched bread recipe ever aside from the disastrous brioche I once tried to create)
• Mum made bunches of sweetcorn; so much that we were up to our ears in it (pun completely intended)
• I was promoted in advance and became a full transcriptionist
• Mum took us all to feed the ducks at the pond by our library (Sean was almost run over by the greedy little things)
• One of Mum's brothers and his family stopped in for short visit
• Mum and Dad had a date night at one of their favorite restaurants
• Eldon became engaged
• I met my Sunday school teachers at one of my favorite restaurants
• Mum, Sean, Diane, and I went blackberry picking
• My best friend and I went bike riding with her family
• Eldon and his fiancee started having pizza nights with my family once a week
• I finished reading through my whole Bible (it had been a goal)
• We went to our country fair 
• We watched bull riding (live) and I was thrilled when I found out that one of the bulls had been in the PBR
• One of my good friends invited me over to her house where we chatted in a hammock (I love hammocks) and then baked cupcakes
• Diane officially entered senior youth at our church after saying goodbye to junior youth
• We went to the fair a second time and Dad gifted Diane and I with some money which we could spend on anything we pleased
• We went to the Flight 93 memorial
• Eldon's fiancee and her brother came over to play baseball like we used to back when we all little children
• I was introduced to the books written by Harold Hill (some of the best books out there)

  The summer months were very busy for my entire family and even more precious memories were created. My desire for adventure was nourished and I enjoyed many delightful adventures both alone and accompanied by family. 

The Simple Woman's Daybook

 Today..... Wednesday, January 10,  2018

Looking out my window..... I see the field across the road covered with a thin layer of snow, and a bunch of  various stubborn plants peeking up through the cold weather, determined to stay seen.

I am thinking.....  That gravy on waffles isn't as odd as it sounds.

I am thankful.....  For pens and for people.

One of my favorite things..... Is knowing the answers to all the driving-related questions my brother asks me randomly.

I am wearing.....  A floral patterned skirt and a pale purple t-shirt.

I am creating.....  Aside from the obvious, I'm creating a cook book of healthy recipes, I love inventing recipes, especially challenging ones. My sister is my taste-tester and because of that she has grown to be suspicious of anything that looks too good to be true, like the time I made a gluten-free and sugar free cheesecake with strawberry sauce, she has still not forgotten the taste.

I am reading..... Well, as of today I haven't read anything, but yesterday I read "Kidnapped" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and "The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain. Both were surprisingly good books.

I am hoping.....  That I will survive the winter without any sicknesses. I've made it this far, only a a few months to go yet.

I am learning.....  How to paper quill. It's a very fascinating process and I'm enjoying it immensely.

In the kitchen.....  Is our fridge and our oven, plus a sink and a table. The whole room is perfectly adapted to cooking and baking and eating, the kitchen is a wondrous invention.

Picture thought.....  Sean and I had a great time yesterday experimenting with his fizz and bubbles science kit. I'm almost certain his favorite part was when the mixtures bubbled over like volcanoes.

The Day I Almost Died

  Every single last person I am friends with has told me at one point in our friendship, that I'm dramatic, some have even said I'm overly dramatic, and would say so again with one glance at the title of my post, but no, this time I'm not simply being dramatic (at least not too much) last evening, I truly almost died, but, I'm here to tell the tale.

  I believe it was last Saturday when the fair came to town, and my family was properly excited about it for we have never gone before. We had originally planned to go this Monday but it was pouring down rain, so we postponed our visit till yesterday. We hustled to the fairgrounds which happened to be very muddy, and after getting our wrist bands, and parking, we began our trek around the premises.

  Since this was my first fair,  I was extraordinarily excited when I discovered that all the rides were free,  Diane and I, as well as Mum and Sean, all rode the Ferris Wheel, which was fun and definitely a good choice for our first ride. The couple that sat in the cart next to us was very busy, the girl was taking selfies, and the guy was smoking, which wasn't pleasant at all because at every turn of the Ferris Wheel I got a face full of his smoke. At the top of the wheel I could see all the other rides which looked pretty intense to my typically timid self. The one ride that scared me above all others was this great almost roller coaster like capsule that people buckled into and went flipping and spinning upside down in. I told myself that there was no way I'd do that ride, no way.

  After getting off the Ferris wheel my Mum and Sean went to my Dad who was reserving seats for us at the bull riding event/rodeo. Eldon stared up at the capsule of doom and declared he would never ride it, so instead we three made our way to the flying car ride, which wasn't the most fun.

  It was after that ride however that Eldon seemed to have found his adventurous side and declared that us girls would ride with him in the capsule of doom.  I won't say that I was against the idea completely but I shuddered at all the piercing screams that sounded every time the monstrous thing flipped. Diane and I shared one compartment, and Eldon sat right behind us, offering comforting words prior to the ride.

  We were all supposed to pull a shoulder guard over our heads, and latch our seat belts, which we did. Unfortunately, my shoulder guard didn't lock, and I knew that when the capsule started flipping I'd be hanging upside down only by my seat belt. No words can describe the terror, and perhaps even the beginning of hysteria that took over me when the guy in charge flipped down the side gate to the capsule and started it up.
  I have always been really sensitive to motion sickness and I do believe that I might have barfed if I wasn't so busy being terrified out of my wits. The capsule started swinging up one side and then went down the other, it was a mild thing, like as if I was swinging. and then slowly I could feel us ascending and finally in a flash of speed we went hurtling up and up and the capsule starting flipping to the other side. Also known as a brief period of hanging upside down. Diane and I shrieked hysterically and as I hung up there kept from a plummet to my doom only by a measly seat belt, I knew, I just knew that this was it, I was going to die.

  Every time I watched a movie, and someone was about to die they seemed to fight for life, and in the comfort of my living room I thought that if I was ever in  a dire situation I'd just up and die, and spare me all the trouble of trying to stay alive. Not true.

  Over and over that horrendous capsule flipped and over and over I screamed and fought for my dear life , clinging to the rails and banging my wrists into the bars as I hung suspended by nothing other than my flimsy seat belt, the safety guard being utterly useless.. My flip flops constantly threatened to fall off and I'd only catch them when the capsule had finished a flip.

  There are many books out in the world, where the main characters are said to be Christians, and they pray only when they are about to die, I always thought it was ridiculous to save prayers for just those times, and while it is true that I still think along those lines, I myself, was praying fervently every time the capsule flipped so I shall not judge such books too harshly anymore.

  Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of hanging, the capsule flipped a final time and stood suspended upside down for such a long period of time, that I thought for certain that the operator had no heart. Eventually the ride was over and I stumbled out with swollen knee caps and bruised wrists, and praying prayers of thanks for surviving that malfunctioning seat of horror. I'm not sure what all I was hitting during that awful ride, but I'm still sore this morning, and still have visible bruise marks from it.

  While it is true that the rest of the fair was absolutely splendid heaps of fun, and that I got to have more enjoyable rides, I shall never again ride such a thing again, especially not one with a faulty safety device, and I'm certain that roller coasters and I would not be friends.

U ~ Up-and-Down

  Playing made up games has always been a specialty of all three of us older children in my family, and while we prided ourselves on our imagination, we always just assumed that our little brother Sean would simply be content with playing our games and so on. Never did we imagine though that he would invent his own game that everyone in our family has played at least a few times (though most of us have played it too many times to count.)

  This particularly popular game was invented by Sean when he was but a wee tot, and his favorite thing in the world was a ball. One random day he just happened upon the idea of playing with the ball "up-and-down" the stairs and as he played with Eldon, he added rules, and within an hour or so, he had invented the terrifying and super fun game, affectionately known as "up-and-down."

  I won't go into detail about it because I'm assuming most people are not looking for ways to throw a ball inside their house. If I'm wrong, feel free to let me know.

  Anyways, the point of this whole post was that I love Sean's creativity (not to forget the game he invented) and just wanted to let a few people know that yes, I do have siblings, and they're awesome.

P ~ Pictures

  You know, sometimes I can not understand myself. Like today, when my Mum announced to us girls that we were supposed to have our yearbook pictures taken, all I wanted to do was scream and run the other direction.

  I don't have a very good history with posing for pictures, any look at our albums would prove that fact. I don't get it though, because, even though I look okay in the mirror, in pictures I look  terrifying.

  Even though I protested vehemently, my Mum got a picture, not only of my sister (who is very pretty) but of me as well. I wanted to share those pictures with you today, not because I'm proud of how I look, but because once again I didn't have any ideas for this blog post, saving the topic I'm writing about right now.

  The pictures are below, I added in pictures of all my siblings, because I love them all, and quite frankly, why not?

   This is of my very handsome older brother Eldon.

   This is of my very beautiful younger sister Diane.

  This is of my little brother Sean, who is obviously amused about something.

  And this one is of me. This was literally the only acceptable picture from my photo shoot today. I had posed holding a bouquet of daffodils but it looked as if I was in love with them, I had posed with a book but it stole my thunder, I had posed on my Dad's Peterbilt but almost fell off of the steps, and I posed in front of our flowering bush, but even though there were dozens of photos to chose from my facial expressions in every single one of them was weird, and that is why this is the only picture.
 

F ~ Fun

  When my family and I went to our reunion/ my Grandma's surprise birthday party, I learned something really important about Amish (ex-Amish included) people, is that they truly have the best, most wholesome fun ever.

  Upon arriving at my Grandparent's place (after a six hour drive) I patiently waited for my other relatives to arrive and finally once everyone got there we clustered around in excited groups and the whole group took a collective intake of breath when my Aunt announced that my Grandma's driver had just pulled into the driveway. We heard the door opening and as soon as her face appeared everyone shouted surprise and happy birthday. First off my Grandma screamed (it was always a favorite past time of all her grandchildren to startle her since it was so easy) and then she was speechless for the longest time. It was so fun watching my Grandma surrounded by all of her family. Quite frankly I felt very proud of my extended family and for some strange reason it delighted me very much how we had our own audience, everyone laughed at the same time, murmured at the same time, etc.

  Anyways, (still persistent here with the use of the word anyways) afterwards all my cousins and I spent the whole day playing board games, volley ball, dutch blitz, verbal games, you name it, I was absolutely delighted with how I was finally surrounded by a bunch of people who knew how to have honest to goodness fun without the help of any technology.

  I left the reunion feeling very happy, tired, and extraordinarily determined to play dutch blitz frequently when I got home, because I honestly didn't know the definition of speed till I played games with them.

Of Books and Bugs

  There are certain times in my life when I am a mighty warrior, one that is so strong and fierce that nothing can stand in my way. I had just such a time a few days ago.

  It all started out quite innocently. There I was, sitting unsuspectingly on my bed, snuggled under my covers reading a terrific Louis L'Amour book. I have never told you before, but I love the Louis L'Amour books and so my leisurely time spent reading those books in the evenings is  quite normal and nothing seemed amiss.

  It was dark out and I was savoring the softness of my favorite blanket and the terrific tale being told in my book. Now my super warrior instincts were quite alert and my eye twitched. I thought nothing of it till I felt this great big black shadow hovering over me. Slowly I lowered my book and looked to see what it might be.

  My heart was ridden with terror when that great black shadow turned out be a most hideous brown scaled, large, bow legged bug perched primly on the tip of my big toe! Diane (she had been reading a book on the bed too) shrieked and flew out of bed. As she trembled by the door I bravely yanked my toe out from under that armored beast.

  My eagle like eyes scanned the room in seconds and with the aid of my dear comrade in battle I attained a most fearsome trap for the beast. The trap of which we are speaking was a lovely flowery stationary box. With lithe feet I approached the beast and with all my strength I fought a gag as I approached it. My breathing was labored and my heart was beating frantically, but nevertheless my nimble fingers scooped up that abomination into it's trap. Diane is not by any means a strong-hearted warrior so she fled the room as I delicately perched that box containing the monster on the top of my little waste basket and with a magnificent leap I flew under my covers feeling courageous and worthy of every medal that could possibly be bestowed upon me.

  My night was fitful because since I had not actually, dare I say it, squished, that bug it was still very much alive and all throughout the night I tossed and turned to the sound of the great bow legged behemoth clacking it's scaly shell against the sides of it's trap, trying as it might to escape.

  Now when morning arrived, rest assured I found a warrior reputed to be one with a strong heart, to put that monster to sleep. (Thanks Dad if you're reading this.) And that concludes the tale of my awesomeness.

Asparagus

    These past few days I have been reflecting back on the A-Z challenge I had participated in. and decided to review my blogging idea list for the challenge to see the options I never wrote about and today I decided it was time I delve into it and choose one of them to share here.

  When I was a very young girl, (I'm guessing anywhere from 3-5) My parents had needed someone to babysit me and so after one of my relatives agreed I was dropped off at their home and my parents went to wherever it was that they were going.

  The relatives in question were very nice and caring people, and I always had fun around them, except for the time I am now telling you about.

  Though I don't remember a single other thing from that day, I vividly remember lunch. There we were, all seated around the table in their sunny dining room. My bare feet were swinging merrily under the wooden table. After bowing our heads in silence for grace, my dear Aunt got up and went about preparing my lunch. She placed a small dish in front of me. I timidly scooched forward in my chair and peered into the little dish. Whatever name grownups might have for the grayish green glop that resided in that dish hardly did it justice. I wrinkled up nose and stubbornly refused to take a single bite of whatever that earthly abomination was.

  My Aunt, though quite pleasant and kind would not tolerate me not eating my food so she rose from the table and hovered over me and told me quietly but firmly that I had to eat at least one bite. Quite grumpily I took one small bite and almost keeled over at how horrendous it tasted. "It's asparagus, it's good for you" she coaxed further to absolutely no avail.

  Seeing she couldn't get me to eat any more of it she removed my dish and scurried off to the kitchen. When she returned I was even more horrified. She had taken that glop of canned, mushy asparagus and stirred a bunch of crumbled crackers into it and mashed everything together. The moment she said I'm supposed to eat it now I knew there was no hope left for me and I was left to do nothing but shove spoonful after spoonful of awful, dripping with slime asparagus and cracker blobs into my mouth.

  Even though that day was so dark to me back then, the memory now serves to only bring a smile to my face. But, if I have to be completely honest I have to say that to this very day I can't stand asparagus, whether it's roasted, grilled, fried, and especially canned.

Competitions

  I have been fortunately blessed with a bunch of fun-loving relatives that never fail to give us good times every time they visit. My Uncles are the best considering how mischievous and competitive they are and I was delighted to be able to capture a few moments from one of my Uncle's last visits.

  Every time my Mom's brothers come over my Dad is immediately sucked into a world of competitiveness and hilarity.  Seeing what my Dad and my Uncle (s) will go through just to reign victorious is hilarious and by far one of my favorite things about being visited by my Uncles.

  The following video is just a glimpse of what really goes on when we get competitive. (Sorry for the shakiness, apparently I can't hold a camera steady.

Currently.....

Reading...... . 

 My literature in school has me reading The Swiss Family Robinson, and I have to say I love their quaint dialogue.

Writing..... .

  I am writing a nonsensical little book about a teen girl and her crazy carrot loving Aunt. It is such fun writing silly little stories!

Listening..... . 

  To pots and pans being clanged around in the kitchen while Eldon makes lunch, I shall never know how he manages to use so many dishes to cook one thing.

Thinking about....... 

  The fact that the sunny cheerful fall that I love so much is almost over and leading to the cold, grey, drab fall-to-winter stage.

Smelling..... 

  Onions frying, considering Eldon is making his favorite potato dish.

Wishing.....

   That I could slip outdoors and soar through the sky like all the birds that are migrating now.

Hoping..... 

  That today's beautiful weather will last, so that in the afternoon Diane and I can go collect fallen pine cones, I am drying them and turning them into Christmas decor, though while baking the cones it smells like slabs of burning pine sap, in other words, detestably nasty.

Wearing.....

  A creamy blue Japanese print skirt with a navy blue top, my favorite outfit for sure.

Loving...... 

  Life in general at the moment, I love when I have days like that, when you feel like you could walk on clouds.

Wanting.... 

  To craft something, nothing in particular, I'm just in a crafty mood,(the nice kind).

Needing.....

  More yarn so I can work on my Fudge Ripple afghan, it just drags on and on and on, crocheting afghans always takes me ages.

Feeling..... 

  Exuberantly joyful for no good reason, maybe because today feels promising, maybe because our beautiful weather makes me happy, maybe because I get to bake later, Hmm or maybe all of the above.

There's Trouble in the Air

  I am sure that on my parents wedding day they dreamed of days spent together doing positively perfectly dreamy things, of course they do spend some marvelous moments together like on a hike, a vacation, and an occasional picnic or two.

  Fast forward sixteen plus years to last evening and you will find our family gathered in the living room reading. Mom is working on writing a book, and there's random chit-chatting. It was a relatively hot day our windows were wide open allowing the breeze to float across the living room's occupants, now no such perfect scene can last very long and indeed it didn't for into the living room buzzed a curious yellow jacket and started its inspection, the following five seconds were filled with an ear piercing shriek as the yellow jacket decided to rest on my Mom's lamp leaving her to hide under a blanket, of course it was Dad to the rescue as he calmly eliminated the troublesome yellow jacket. Mom was quite grateful having such a splendid husband!

  I don't know about you but doesn't that sound every bit as dreamy and heroic as they always wanted it to be? I think it does.

Harvesting Clouds

     As a little girl I used to love when my Mom read poems to me, all those delicious sounding words all strung together were always sure to please me, and the one day my Mom told me the most marvelous poem that described so perfectly how I felt when I looked at the clouds floating in the sky.

  If I had a spoon as tall as the sky
  I'd dish out the clouds that go slip-sliding by,
  I'd take them right in and give them to cook
  And see if they tasted as good as they look.

  And of-course as a little girl I used to dream of being able to walk up into the sky and sleep on clouds and not having to worry about food since I had mounds of delicious fluffy clouds right beside me. Sadly as I grew older I realized that's not a possibility. However with a camera, a willing assistant, and some fluffy clouds I can at least make it look like I'm fulfilling a childhood dream of harvesting clouds.
 

Never Trust Pinterest with your Face

     As a teen I am trying to accept the fact that  I struggle with pimples. Everyone knows how evil those swollen little lumps of red are. I have tried different things that didn't work and my Mom got some things, but they also didn't do anything for my condition.

    Then one day while browsing through Pinterest I found this supposedly "wonderful" home remedy for pimples. It called for apple cider vinegar, honey, and egg whites, I was set, I had finally found the perfect pimple solution. I planned the treatment for early the next morning in hopes of having a pimple free face to go to church on Sunday.

     When I awoke the next day I hurried downstairs, skimmed through the recipe and the instructions and set out to make it. I started mixing my ingredients together and making sure to measure them properly I got everything ready and since I have a sister that I am really close to, I had told her about it all and we decided it would be fun to do this together, so Diane met me by the bathroom and we carefully applied the slimy goo to our faces in circular motions, after fighting back a few gags we washed the sticky, slimy, egg whites off our hands and went to our room to relax for ten peaceful minutes.

  "Ooh I can feel it working," I said excitedly.

  " Oh I know, and I hope we look really pretty and our faces smooth" agreed Diane.

   Once the timer rang we  hurried to wash our faces with the recommended "warm" water. We giggled excitedly then scurried to the bathroom to look at our faces in the mirror, after one look we turned to face each other and both screamed in horror, our faces were completely red, blotchy, and puffy.

  "Oh my goodness tomorrow is church" I squeaked frantically.

  " We need to hide, we can't be seen" Diane said while tugging at certain parts of her face.

   We decided that would be the basement. We were hoping it would wear off if we waited long enough, so after playing various games, like hopscotch and jump rope for about an hour we crept upstairs to look at our faces again.

  "I look horrid" I whispered hopelessly.

  "So do I" Diane said encouragingly.

  After looking at each other again we burst into gales of laughter, pointing and laughing at each other we walked into the living room and started laughing again since somehow everyone was sitting in there reading and immediately looked up at us. Of course their feeble attempts to cheer us up were marred by the fact that they had to laugh every time they looked at us.

  So that is why you should never trust Pinterest with your face, that is unless you think this whole experience would be an absolutely marvelous bonding experiment for you and your sister, friend, or Mother.

Naming Coffee

  In my family the only person who actually loves, and drinks coffee is my Dad, and every time it is time to buy more coffee he always chooses a different flavor. Currently he's trying all the different flavors of "Boston's Best" coffee. The latest flavor is titled "Jamaican Me Crazy" The only thing wrong with that coffee is that nothing about it has anything to do with Jamaica, I actually think the flavor was "Caramel and Vanilla" now isn't that interesting!  How did that coffee get named Jamaican Me Crazy? It's been driving me crazy trying to come up with different scenarios of how the choosing of the name could have happened.

  My favorite theory goes something like this....
  It was going to be another busy day for Carla Greenwood. So far her day had not been going well. She had overslept and she had forgotten to add water to her coffee maker last night so she couldn't enjoy her regular morning cup of coffee before she headed to work.she was having a slight headache and feeling a little grumpier than usual. Not only was she asked to arrive at the office an hour early, but she was also supposed to attend a conference to decide what to name the newest blend of coffee. She hoped there would be plenty of samples to sip and taste while they brain stormed.
    When she got to the office the elevator wasn't working so she had to slowly trudge up the stairs. At the landing she turned right and entered the CEO's office. Already her fellow co-workers were sitting around the long brown table that occupied most of the room's space. After sitting down immediate discussion broke out, a red headed lady that happened to be Carla's best friend Tanya said "We should name it Caramel Dreams, across the table a brown haired man disagreed heartily and said that obviously we should just name it Caramel and Vanilla Mocha, soon a childish fight broke out and poor Carla sighed and rubbed her aching forehead, the argument had been going on for half an hour when finally Carla yelled "You're making me crazy"  All talking ceased and heads turned and everyone started clapping, " Brilliant Carla, just brilliant" said the brown haired man, "Yes, positively witty" agreed her best friend. "Jamaican me Crazy" is the perfect name. The CEO loved the idea and told Carla  to leave early so she could come up with a presentation the next day. Carla rose weakly from her seat and walked down the stairs to the car parked right outside the building. She decided she would never tell anyone that they had misunderstood what she had been saying.

  The next morning Carla made quite an impression at the presentation and over the next week the company had produced hundreds of packs of their newest coffee.

  And that my dear friends is my favorite theory of how this coffee got its name.

My Family

My Dad ~ A wonderful and caring leader of our bunch, He has brown hair, laughing blue eyes, and a dimple in his chin. He has a fun sense of humor. He's the best at everything, including chess.

My Mom ~ A loving Mother and role model, She has dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and softly colored skin, she loves writing, cooking, baking, and anything crafty.

My older brother, Eldon ~ A mischief loving addition to our family, He has dark brown hair, and dancing brown eyes. He loves farming and anything historic and ancient, and always makes time for his dog, Gypsy. He can be annoying, but I'm still glad he's my brother.

Myself ~  I have light brown hair, brown eyes, and pink colored cheeks, I love baking, painting, reading, and most definitely crocheting. A somewhat sarcastic sense of humor.

My little sister, Diane ~ A bubbly and sunny person, She has light brown hair, clear, blue eyes, and a sprinkling of freckles, she loves crafts, drawing, baking and helping people.

My little brother, Sean ~ A very lovable little boy. He has light brown hair, strange colored eyes, not blue, or green, or brown but kinda a combination of everything.  He has the most delightful little smile. He loves cats, dogs, and playing with his cars and puzzles, and has this strange obsession of trying to poke things down the register in the hall.