Words, Words, Words

Here's something you may  or may not have known about me. I read ALOT.  I can't go a day without reading.  For me, reading is like breathing-it's necessary for daily life.  And I've always been like this.  I have childhood friends who will tell you they had to hide the comic book box whenever I would come over because I would literally grab a stack and go hide in a corner to read instead of playing. Really. My favorite job in high school was working in the local library. I was so sad when I graduated because I couldn't work there anymore. In college, the classes I enjoyed the most were ones in which we read actual books instead of dry, dull textbooks. I've been known to read a book from an encyclopedia set and will even page through a dictionary now and then to learn a new word or two. Even now, despite being a mom of two busy children and a farmer's wife/black-thumbed gardener/errand runner/so-so sous chef/farmhand extraordinaire, I make a near weekly trip to the library for a fresh supply of reading material. (I've worn out two book bags already.)

I read because I absolutely love words and how they somehow come together to paint a picture in your mind. There's always something new to learn-a new knitting pattern, a new recipe to try, a new idea for decorating, or even just the definition of a new word. There's always another world or time to visit-historical London, early Plains settlements, wild and wooly frontier towns, modern day cities, or fantastical places that don't exist other than between the pages of your book. After suffering several miscarriages, I read all I could get my hands on about the subject in an attempt to understand more about what was happening. I've read biographies, recipe books, and I even have to admit to reading the occasional Harlequin romance. (I prefer the really old ones.) There's always something to make you laugh, something to make you weep, and something to make you go Huh, I didn't know that.  That's the beauty of a book-you never know what you'll take from it when you are done.

I have always felt like I have all this creative energy but no outlet for it. My painting talents are limited to a single solid color on a wall and, while my cooking won't kill you, it's simply mediocre. I can't sculpt, I usually copy other people's decorating ideas, and my quilts are made for warmth not display. I can knit but it's nothing to write home about. I am a lackadaisical gardener with a high plant mortality rate and photography isn't my forte. Since I have little artistic, culinary, or other talents, I have fallen back on the one thing I do know I'm good at-words. (Not one of my siblings will play Boggle with me for that reason.) I have long harbored a secret wish to write a book but never seemed to find the time/energy/etc to finish the ones I've started.  It doesn't help when the author has just decided to sit down and type only to find her plot won't make it past the first paragraph without characters, a plot line, or even a deciding which genre it will be. I have been told by more than one person that I should write a magazine or newspaper column so I started this blog to see if I could write often enough to make that dream a reality.  As you may have noticed, I haven't written even monthly at times so that idea sort of fell by the wayside.

However, lately odd things have been happening.  I've been reading about acquaintances who have written or are writing their own books and I see that anyone can find the time to write if they truly want to. Many years ago, my mom gave me an idea for a children's book and lately it's been knocking around my brain like it wants some attention.  At a recent mother/daughter weekend I attended, we had to draw a talent to practice for next year's retreat.  The paper I drew just so happened to say Write a Children's Book.  Just today, I was sorting through some papers I saved from college and came across an old note from one of my advisers saying she thought I should look into writing as a career because my easy, breezy style of writing was enjoyable to read. It's almost as if fate is trying to tell me something.  Wonder what it is...

Just kidding.  Seriously though, wish me luck! I have a feeling I am going to need it...that and a good editor.

White Christmas Tree Revisited

Our Christmas tree this year was on the simple side. It was so refreshing to leave all the decorations in storage and only take out the white lights.  Our needle-less poplar, though not the stately birch I wanted, needed little tending other than the occasional reminder to the kids to leave the lights alone.  No watering, no needles on the floor every five minutes, and no sticky sappy fingers on the kids. There weren't even that many ornaments to take off-just a few homemade applesauce/cinnamon ornaments, jingle bells, and candy canes.  It was sweet, simple, and somehow matched the country Christmas image I had in my head. The lights twinkled just as bright, the candy canes hung just a nicely, and the magic of a Christmas tree was there even if the green wasn't.  I'll definitely do this again. Perhaps it will become our own unique Christmas tradition.

Homeschool Teacher

I taught a session on writing stories to two of my nieces this past week. They are both being homeschooled and I jumped at the opportunity to see how homeschooling feels. I had a great time though I kept finding myself 'telling' them how to write and had to remind myself that they needed to learn for themselves. I think this would get better as time goes on and have offered to do more with writing and english with the girls in the next school year. I am brimming with new ideas and can't wait to do it again. It's getting me excited about homeschooling even though V won't be in school for five more years.

Baby Bums

I really need to order my cloth diaper materials already. It's just so hard because there's so many choices out there! The thing that makes me most annoyed is how little access there is for cloth diapers in the area. Sure, I can buy pre-folds (1 doz for $12) at the local Wal-Mart but you can't find covers, pins, or plastic pants sized for smaller than a potty-training toddler anywhere around! Oh well... I should just order my stuff and be done. Have just about everything else ready for baby's arrival. Clothes are washed, diapers are sorted, changing table is almost ready...Just have to finish washing the baby bedding and blankets and pack my hospital bag. And I still have five weeks to go! Not bad, huh...

Potpourri

-How come dishes always pile up despite the fact that I am only cook for one and a half people right now? (One and a half because Lanny isn't eating enough for a whole person yet. He's not eating much other than fruit and you don't need plate for that, so I suppose I am only cooking for me, really....)

-I want to move stuff into the house, out of the house, and around the house. I just need someone who's better at fitting alot of stuff into not alot of space to help.

-Never lament about not having a lawn when one lives alongside a pasture. I said something the other day about not having grass around the house and Lanny pointed out that I do to have a lawn. 90 acres of it in fact and I don't even need to mow.

-In a perfect world, the rain we got today would have been limited to the pasture, my garden, and my tomatoes. Too bad this isn't a perfect world.

-We finally named the puppy. I wasn't too thrilled with keeping her (and she's still up for adoption if anyone is interested) so her name isn't too imaginative. Next time you stop by, you will see Mindy and her progeny, Pups.

-I should have allowed more room for the pumpkins as they are starting to overtake the watermelon, the cantelope, and the cucumbers. I also planted way too much lettuce...again...Even with Lanny eating a raw foods diet, we still have too much. You think I would learn.

-Our barn cat is now a morning chores cat, too. He likes to come sit by the cows while we are milking in the morning and mew piteously in hopes of getting some milk. He's doing something right because the cows haven't pooped nearly as much when he's in the barn.

-Our tent claims to be a two-person backpacking tent. This translates as "the tent will fit two people only if they sleep on their sides and it's impossible for both to change at the same time." It also means that I spent an entire weekend with Lanny's campfire smoke smelling clothes in a very compact space.

-If there's one scent I CANNOT stand it's the smell of campfire smoke on clothing and in my hair. Don't ask me why this is, because I can't explain it. It permeates everything when you go camping.

-Why is it that you always manage to pack WAY more than you need when you go camping? I packed enough food to last a week and I was the only one eating it. We went camping on the North Shore last weekend and between the two of us, we filled our car. How is this possible?

Bits and Pieces

I love to quilt. I love that I can take a seemingly innocuous piece of material and change it into something unique. I love that I can put together the same pattern but it's never the same quilt as the last. I also love that quilts keep you warm and cozy on cold winter days. I love how quilts show just how much love was put into them. They are a wonderfully useful gift and, in my opinion, you can never have enough of them!

I made my brother Tommy a quilt with the "Sunbonnet Sam' pattern. It's so cute with a little straw-hatted boy in overalls and a flannel shirt with his 'fishin' pole over his shoulder. I added a "not-so-secret" pocket in one corner just to make it different. Greg and Aaron both have homemade quilts courtesy of me. The fun thing about those quilts (just a basic block pattern) is that I used pieces from my oldest, favorite pair of jeans (that no longer fit) for some of the blocks. I also found that bandanas make really fun corner pieces for the borders.

I guess that's my favorite part of quilting. I can take a treasured cloth item that's meant for the ragbag and reuse it. It adds character to the quilt and then there's a history to go along with it. I have this dream that my kids will all have a "Mom Made" quilt with a story behind each patch. I have a good start on one quilt already. (I've also been toying with the idea of 're-doing' my wedding dress. I heard of a lady who made her's into baptismal gowns for her kids and I think I have fallen in love with the idea.)

Five Favorite Things

I have come to realize that I like things in groups of fives... I am currently obsessed with five authors (see sidebar) and five homemade things (again-see sidebar). It gets to the point where I go to the library and check out each book by a particular author (not all on the say day, mind you). Once I have read them all, the books become ho-hum so I switch to another author. Same goes for the handmade things. I will do/make that thing until I lose interest and then something else takes it's place but it's always in groups of fives. I have a college pal who once claimed that she had to eat things in pairs (eg. two chips at a time). My sister-in-law Heidi tends to be interested in things for three weeks. Lanny's interests last about three days. If it lasts longer than that, then I know he's serious about it. Does anyone else out there have idiosyncrasies like this or is it just a select few of us?