A busy week

My life is pretty orderly as far as activities go. I don't shuttle children back and forth to soccer, piano, scouts, or track meets. We live far enough outside of town that trips in are planned and deliberate. I like things that way, don't like to run, enjoy just being home and taking life at a slower pace. Gonna have to get my game face on for this week. It is shaping up to be a bit busier than I had planned. Everything in it is a good thing! I am helping out a friend by preparing some meals for her. We are planning to have friends for dinner this weekend. Yet there is an activity coming that has pushed my panic button...Gabi's birthday. Her 12th birthday, to be precise. With each of our children we host a large party for their 12th birthday. We use that milestone to mark their passage from childhood into adulthood. Friends and their families gather with us to show Gabi (in this case) that they will support her, be an encouragement to her, be the ones she can trust, turn to, ask for advice and prayer from, etc. It is a big deal to the kids. Gabi has been talking about her party for some time, and Aidan already asks about his as well! Seems like it should be manageable! Order the cake, arrange for tables, plan the coffee and the punch, help her find the right dress...the typical list. Even while typing I think it should be totally possible for a homeschooling mother of four to pull this together without a hitch! I just wish that Glen was home this week! He was out of town last week, and won't be home till Friday. Well, onward and upward! Just pray for me, please! That would be appreciated! Thank you!!

A Comedy of Errors

Do you ever have days like this?? Days when things do not go as they should or as you had planned them and it really throws you (and everyone else) off? This is where I live today!! Here is how it started.

Our kids are involved in a homeschool group that has a Wisconsin State history class. All year we have been planning a fun field trip to wrap up the second book we have been reading, Caddie Woodlawn. The field trip was going to take us to Caddie's actual home which is about 45 minutes away from here. Earlier this week my friend Bee asked if we were all going. I answered " Yes", because that was the plan. She asked because two of her kids like to hang out with two of my kids. Fantastic, she would take her two out of school and bring them on the trip with us. Wonderful!

Skip a day or two. Now it is Thursday morning. Glen is leaving to go up to Bemidji for a few days, he suddenly decides to take Chelsea and Lane with him. Fantastic! They both have friends there that they want to see, so all is well. All but one thing...you got it, I forgot to tell Bee. Oh dear.

Yesterday Gabi and Aidan and I prepared for our field trip. We planned our picnic lunch, made iced tea to take, got out the picnic basket, talked about how fun it would be , etc. Last night when I talked to Glen I mentioned that I was worried that the "Bug" needed oil. Our VW Beetle drinks oil, literally consumes it! So I figured it neede some added, but it is also ready for an oil change, so do I add now or wait?? Glen voted wait. No problem. Now, it is no secret that we are very tight on money these days. Extremely tight, nickle-and-dime tight. So we gathered what we would need for the museum. This morning I tried to call Bee to warn her that my children who were supposed to be here were no longer here. I didn't reach her. Undaunted, we loaded up our picnic and happily started off. While on the on-ramp leading to the highway the oil light went on in the Bug! Not so good! We circled around and headed into town to buy some oil. I added a quart and checked the level, it didn't even show on the dipstick!?! Also not so good. We didn't have enough cash with us to buy more oil, and now we couldn't pay to get into the museum. The kids and I had a chat. Bless their little hearts, they took it all in stride. They didn't complain or whine, just said "It's ok Mom, don't worry! We can have our picnic at home." How precious is that?? As a result we ended up having a good day with another family and enjoyed our picnic lunch with them. Pecors, you are a blessing to us over and over again! Thank you for your hospitality!

So we didn't go on the field trip to Caddie Woodlawn's home today. I still haven't connected with Bee to see how her kids (who got out of school purposely to see my children) did on the field trip without Chelsea and Lane. Some days are like this! However, there is no great loss without some small gain! We got to hang out with other friends and had a great time! (Hopefully something wonderful happened with Bee's children too!) I'm so sorry Bee!

The chicks

It has been exactly eleven days since we picked up the chicks at the post office. They have grown so much in that short amount of time. Their wings have feathers and their tails are beginning to get feathers. They were truly outgrowing the cardboard circle that has been their home in our kitchen since that first day. We spent a good deal of time cleaning out the stable to get it ready for them, but it is not critter proof yet. So, as a short term solution, Glen fixed up the door on the "puppy hut" and we moved them out there. At first they were not sure what to think of their new surroundings. Their actions now show that they are content and happy scratching in the wood shavings, and warming up under the heat lamp. I am happy on two accounts. #1. I have my kitchen back! It doesn't smell like a barn anymore. #2. The chicks were ready for a larger world.
I do wonder where the dogs will go to get out of the weather now?! One thing at a time!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Homesite

We live about 45 minutes away from Pepin, Wis. which is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It is also the birthplace of Charles Cedarblade who is a friend of Glen's. Glen and Charles were working on a job together there. Through an interesting set of circumstances that I won't go into the kids and I got to head down to see them one afternoon. Of course we had to go to the Laura Ingalls Wilder home site which is a reconstructed log cabin on the land that was owned by her family in 1867. The sun was warm that day. We brought a picnic and ate it there. Then the girls and I sat on the blanket and soaked up sunshine while the boys played catch and climbed trees.

I am a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved her books as a girl, and I still do. I try to read them through each winter, sometimes to myself, sometimes to the family. They are priceless pictures of what life was like when my great-great grandparents were settling right here where we live now! In fact, it was in 1869 when Frederick Oleson, my great- great grandfather moved his wife and eight children here from Norway. My great grandmother was born the next year, their first child born in America, and the first one born on this farm. I love tracing the history of my family. I love knowing that part of my American roots grew right here, not more than 45 miles away from where Laura was growing up. How cool is that for a Laura fan?!?

Update

I haven't blogged for a long time, clearly! So here are some of the things you have been missing due to my negligence. Happy browsing!

Cleaning out the Stable.

This is our old stable from the south side. The big dairy barn is in the background. The small structure to the right was used as a tool shed for years.


The stable from the west. I love the door into the loft upstairs! To the right of the photo is the creek bed.

This is a "before" photo taken from the door on the north side. The south-facing windows are still boarded up to keep the horses from hurting themselves.


A closer look at the mess from the west side.



After hauling out a lot of lumber we could see the old manger.

I love the sunlight shining in! This will hopefully become the home of our happy chicks. Still some serious "critter-proofing" to do though. All of this took place the day before Easter, April 11th.

The Door.

This beautiful old door used to divide the living room and dining room in the house. It is a huge pocket door that slid back into a pocket in the wall when not in use. For quite a few years it has functioned as a divider in the stable! We carried it out into the sun. With some cleaning up I think it will make an interesting piece to use somewhere in the house again. The red building in the photos is the old granary. The house is up at the top of the hill.






I love the old hardware.

The baby chicks on arrival day

This is a Buff Cochin, one of Marc and Marcia's chicks. There are two of them and they are popular with the kids. You can't see in this picture that they have feathers on their feet.


The Buff Cochin is obvious in this photo. There are also Black Australorps, two Golden Polish, one Dark Brahma, and two Golden Laced Wyandottes (or they could be the Partridge Rocks, it is hard to tell). The Buff chick is falling asleep standing up. The Golden Polish chicks have a puff of feathers on their heads. They are on the bottom left of the picture.



More sleeping chicks. I think they were worn out from shipping.



The silvery striped chicks in this picture are the Dark Brahmas. The one standing is a Partridge Rock. The sleeping baby at the top is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. The black one is an Australorp. The Buff Cochin is obvious. Their waterer is a quart jar on a watering saucer that Chelsea found in the dirt while we were cleaning out the barn. The water has a yellow tint to it because we have added a vitamin/electrolyte mix.


I am not going to try to identify each of these! They just look so cute sacked out!

Joyful and her babies

Sweet, sleeping baby!



The resting family.



Snuggling



It is good to be a kitten!

Roxy the Beagle

This is Roxy, (whose name I spelled wrong earlier).

Easter

First of all, I must say that Easter was wonderful! Totally not how we usually celebrate, with all of our family, but very good in a very different way.
We had a surprise delivery on Saturday that will make this Easter stand out in our memories. Our chicks arrived two days early!! We were not ready. Honestly, we had planned to spend the day getting ready for them. We received a phone call from the post office saying that the chicks were there and we could come pick them up right away, or wait till Monday morning. Hhmmm! Tough decision!?!? We all jumped in the Man Truck and zipped in to town! I just can't imagine those poor little babies in that cold dark post office all weekend with no food or water. We brought them home and quickly set up a heat lamp for them. Yes, they are in our kitchen! No! This is not their permanent home, but it works for now. Once the chicks had all had their first drink (you have to dip their beaks in water and wait for them to swallow for the first time), we called the Lundquist's. They are our partners in this chicken experience! They ordered some really cute chicks that will grow into beautiful birds, a pair of each of four varieties. Marc, Marcia, their daughters Heidi and Kimmy, and their niece and nephew, Lara and Will all came out to the farm to marvel at the tiny babies. None of them had ever held a baby chick before. I think it was a great experience for everyone! Well, one chick got excited in Heidi's hand and left a little offering that wasn't so appreciated by the recipient! But other than that it was all good. Poor Lara was smitten with one of our baby kittens (no rhyme intended). She really wanted to go home with that baby! We told her there are always plenty of kittens at our house. If she gets permission, she may have any of them that she likes!
So that was our Saturday. Delightful and happy and filled with baby animals! Then Sunday morning we had an Easter breakfast together as a family and played two rounds of our traditional Easter game called "Eggy". I think someone in my grandma's family invented this game of smashing each other's hard-boiled eggs. It is a lot of fun! Really! For years the kids thought every family played this game together. They were shocked when they learned that none of their friends had ever heard of it! Chelsea was this years' winner! My Grandma would have some special treat set aside for the winner, I forgot that part! Ooops! Then there was the general rush to get ready for church, and off we went! The worship service was wonderful! The music was rich and full with a beautiful blend of new and old pieces. Pastor Larson always does a great job with the sermon! And it all ended on a humorous note when he accidentally wished the congregation a "Happy Christmas"! Laughter is such a wonderful blessing!
After the service we joined the Pecor family for their Easter celebration with several other families from their church. Jason grilled out and everything was picnic style. The food was terrific! Again, there was some excitement when the whole grill caught on fire! No one was hurt and we will laugh about it for years! Completely stuffed, we headed over to the Cedarblade's for "second lunch". It was just a wonderful day of food, fellowship and friends! God is so good to us!
I hope that all of you had a Blessed Easter with those that you love. I am so thankful for the ultimate sacrifice that Christ made for each one of us when he went to the cross, and for the joy of knowing that he did not stay there, but rose from the dead, conquering death and purchasing for me, eternal life! Glory!!

The Beagle

It will be two weeks on Thursday that the sweet little beagle wandered into our yard. She had a traveling buddy originally, but the black cocker spaniel didn't stay around for very long. The beagle was older, pudgy, and stiff legged. She hobbled up the hill from the barn, being led by Chelsea, and accepted the affection that we offered her with polite kindness. Her eyes seemed sad. She could not tell us where she had come from or why she ended up here. We could not imagine that she had run away, she seemed unable to accomplish simple things like climbing the three steps to the porch. Sadly, we assumed that she had been dumped by an owner unable to care for her.

Glen and I were gone for the evening on that first day. When we returned home and walked in the door a very tired dog face greeted us from a folded-towel-bed on the kitchen floor. We groaned, instantly recognizing that the kids had adopted this sweet canine into our home. In the morning when I came downstairs and turned on the light, her wagging tail thumped on the floor to greet me, and I felt my heart warming to her as well. Two days later the beagle seemed to perk up some. She could walk outside to do her business on her own. The next morning when I came downstairs she was not on her towel bed wagging at me? "Now what?" I thought. Slowly and still a bit sleepily, I walked through the dining room. No beagle. On to the living room. Low and behold...that dog had pulled the largest pillow off of the sofa and was sleeping in the middle of it looking very content! Hmmmm...clearly she was a house dog that had enjoyed a comfy life. The days went by. Our entire family was growing attached to the dog. Glen was calling her Pudding. She could stand her ground with our two dogs in defense of her food dish. Yet we really did not want another dog. One morning I read in the paper that the place to call if you were missing a pet was a vet clinic in a nearby town. I dialed the number and explained that we were not missing a pet, but had "found" one. The friendly voice on the other end didn't think any dogs of her description had been reported missing, but she took my information just in case. A few moments later the phone rang...it was beginning to look like our beagle had a home and a family who were looking for her. Several phone calls and a few hours passed. There was a knock on the door. A very happy family called to a very happy beagle! The missing pet and the ones who missed her were reunited!
We then learned that the beagle's name was Roxie. She had gotten out of her yard with the cocker spaniel and roamed the neighborhood till they ended up at our house. Her partner in crime had returned home the same day, but Roxie had been too weary and foot sore to do the same. Now that little homesick face was bright and smiling. Gee...some things just make you feel so good! It was wonderful getting to know you, Roxie!

April Fool!

That must be what all the white stuff is today, right? We have had temperatures in the high 40's, 50's, even 60's already this year. The snow has to be just a joke! Honestly, it is not even a bad joke. We only have a light dusting, and I know that I have friends who are looking out their windows at a lot more snow than that! So today we will focus on the spring things going on inside the house, like the tiny herbs under the grow lights and the baby kittens in their basket in the living room! The weather will cooperate eventually! After all, now it is April! Yay, spring!