March!

This Friday I have my dry run for the Board of Elections Staff, so I'm having to kick my prep into a higher gear this week. I've quit counting how many years I've taught Help Table, but it's enough that a part of me doesn't want to open my binder. I can only imagine how the training team must feel! Thankfully I have two classes to assist before I actually teach a class, so that will give me a little more time to fine-tune and get ready.  We're pushing for time again this cycle, so I have to remind myself to not elaborate but hit the points and keep moving.  I've yet to fit everything into the time slot while I'm practicing.

The situation with Ukraine is just as dire today as it was the day of the invasion. My heart is so heavy for everyone involved - the Ukranians who woke up and found themselves at war; the many Russian soldiers who don't want to be there; those trying to get to safety; those in Ukraine picking up weapons for the first time; the Russians who are opposed to war but are finding themselves in a quickly deteriorating situation at home due to sanctions; and my Belarus munchkins from years ago that we've lost contact with. We often think them and wonder where they are and what they are doing now, but to hear that this already poverty laced country is being hit with sanctions because they are associated with Russia, their bread and butter, hurts my heart. When I heard Belarus was considering adding their troops to the fight, I thought of one of the young men who came with the ABRO group is now in the Belarussian Army, not by choice, but by how he did on a test many years ago.  I know Oleg and Mikalai are fighting age, and I think of how sensitive they were then and how Mikalai was already struggling with an alcohol desire at age 14, and it hurts my heart to think of them possible being forced into battle.

To be honest, I never thought Ukraine would be able to hold out this long, and I think it is both awesome and miraculous that they are continuously doing what they can with what they have for their freedom.  I've read reports from fellow Ukranian believers who are telling of nonbelieving spouses writing home, asking the church to keep praying as they are seeing miracles happen that they can't explain. My prayer continues to be that God would protect as many as possible on every side, but that He would draw so many to Him during this time of crisis.  

On a much less important note, I would have thought with our mask mandates ending and things opening back up that things would being getting back to normal.  But no.  Juice, distilled water, frozen vegetables and french fries and tator tots are all still missing from the grocery store; we still have a 2 pack meat limit on some items; and today the grocery store was totally out of plastic bags...paper bags only. I don't think I've seen paper bags like that since I was a child. And there are still labor shortages everywhere.

So tomorrow we start this month at a quick jog, with hopes there will be a ceasefire in Ukraine and that on our little homefront we will be able to get some projects done.  God is good and He is faithful, even when mankind is not.

gardens

 Once you've grown up on or near a farm, your view on gardens is very different from that of a modern gardener. Here's some of the viewpoints I've seen the last few years that have made me stop and think.

1.  Sustainable living/front yard gardening - these gardens are in subdivisions, where people who have 1/2 an acre or less have literally made their entire landscaping some form of gardening.  some people in this camp view the current idea of landscaping for beauty as wasteful.  Others do a mixture of both. My biggest objection to that is the amount of weeding and care it would take to have a garden/yard look presentable to everyone driving by is immense.  A few summers ago when our lawn mower tore up in the summer and it took them a month to fix it, I had two different people in our area contact us wanting to know why we hadn't cut our grass or asking if Bobby was sick.  Appreciate their caring, but I know I would get a lot of advice and feedback if I did something like that in my front yard.  On the other hand, my father-in-law, who had the acre+ sized garden in the field and expected everyone in the family to help work it, also was a bit in this camp. The reason almost all of the trees in our yard are fruit or nut tress is because of him. When we first got married and I planted a few flower bulbs and shrubs, he frowned and said "How are you going to eat that?" But he wouldn't have put his garden in his front yard, I don't think.

2. Bed gardening/straw gardening - my mother-in-law calls this "city gardening" and laughed every time I used the straw method. But the area near my garden couldn't be tilled because of the dog's underground fence line, so going above ground was my only option. If I followed the recommendations closely, we had success. The one summer I got started late I had almost nothing grow until very late in the summer. Green beans did well; not so much with the other things I tried. My biggest problem with this is the amount of crops you can plant is very limited.  You'll get enough for a few meals, but not enough to put up for the winter.  So that's a lot of work and time and money for just a few meals. If you simply enjoy gardening and playing in dirt, then this is a great way to do it.  But if you're old school and wanting to can or freeze for the winter, you're going to invest an awful lot of money in dirt, straw or boxes, fertilizer and pesticides and a lot of time in weeding and watering.

3. CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - I know many people who are shareholders/members in a CSA.  They don't help with any of the farming, but they pay a weekly/monthly/yearly membership fee in exchange for weekly food items (eggs, produce, meat, etc). I never considered myself a picky eater before, but the thought of paying money for food that I'm not that crazy about (not a huge fan of strange vegetables) didn't sit well with me. Some farms let you rank foods at the beginning of your membership, but that doesn't guarantee you'll only get those items. One of my nieces belonged to one that sent recipes with each weekly box so people would have ideas on how the vegetables or herbs could be prepared.  

For various reasons, my big garden season is ending. I took down the fencing for what we called the "garden annex" last week and hope to clean up some of the things in that area this week. I am going to use my large pots for a few things (more on that later), and I'll try one more year to do tomatoes in our traditional spot. A small part of me already misses it as I keep getting emails from seed companies. I'll probably clean out my seed stash in the next few weeks.  But the other part of me is so relieved to have something so time consuming off my plate.  We're planning to utilize the farmer's market more and purchase some things in bulk to put up for the winter. Yes, I know you can purchase items canned or frozen at the grocery store, but it really doesn't taste the same.

As we listened to "rumors of war" on the news last night, I thought about my father-in-law and his views on food production and constant prediction that "Hard times are coming. Ya gotta be prepared." I've considered the rolling supply issues at the grocery store, the rise in grocery prices, and a part of me says this is not the time to stop a garden. But the reality is, there could be another year like last year where I invested SO much time in the garden, only to have squirrels eat ALL my corn and the okra not produce. I don't have enough space in my garden to plant enough peas or beans to put up for the winter, so we were buying those anyway. I might change my mind in a few weeks, but at this point, we're calling it quits for now.

Lucy

 This weekend most of our family gathered for two celebrations.  One of the many things I enjoyed was a little bit of time with my great niece Lucy. It's been a year and a half since I had seen her in person, which is a long time for a three year old!

She is SO tall, which her Mom is average height and her Dad is tall, so that's not a huge surprise. My sister who teaches a K5/1st grade class commented that she was the same height as some of her students.  And she has the longest eyelashes. Mine might be as thick as hers, but are nowhere near as long.

We were all very pleased at how well she did adapting to new surroundings and strange people. The first morning was a little tough for her, but once we got past that, she stayed calm. My sister-in-law has worked with many autistic children in school, and she was extremely pleased and surprised with how well Lucy did.

I was surprised and pleased to see that her finger dexterity has improved since the last time I saw her. One time I was counting and holding up each one of my fingers and stopped at three and said "Lucy is three."  Her face lit up, and she tried to pry my fourth and fifth finger up. We did it several times, and each time she would smile, then frown and reach for my hand as I stopped at three. She's clearly been counting with someone else.  And it absolutely made my Dad's day when on her last day she would put out her fingers and toes for him to count.  While she giggled the evening of the first day when I tried "this little piggy" on her toes, she wasn't overly thrilled with me touching them.

We learned she does NOT like kiwi, and we tried really hard not to laugh at her response.  After a few chews, she grimaced and went ramrod straight, took it out of her mouth and placed it on the couch, then wiped her tongue with her hand a few times. When my sister asked her if she didn't like the kiwi, she responded with a gag. We quickly learned over the two days that was her response to things she didn't like, which was an appropriate action to make if you are nonverbal. But her little tongue is so cute when she does it that it's hard not to laugh. I know it won't be cute as she gets older, but for now, it is her way of expressing displeasure or dislike and it's a bit humorous. Whole grain chips, milkshakes and balloons, on the other hand, were big hits. The homemade mac-n-cheese that was a little on the greasy side...not so much.

Mother was tickled at her climbing, and even at her recognition (or remembering?) that Mom was not able to lift her. When Lucy tried to get off the bed and Mom told her she couldn't help her, Lucy slid to the edge and leaned back. Mom was able to put her hand there so she wouldn't fall down, but Lucy slowly slid off the bed. I guess she just wanted that security.

While she still runs/paces, it's not as frantic as it was 1.5 years ago and she'll pause in her laps to do things or look at something, which for some reason I find reassuring.

I wish we were closer so we could be with her more, but I am so thankful for the time we did have.  I'm missing the sound of those little footsteps this morning and seeing those curls bouncing as she runs.

We love Lucy.