Yesterday we accomplished something wonderful! We were actually able to disc a bit of our back field. And get most of the lawn mown, and had a back hoe delivered so that we (Eric) can start work on filing in the existing basement excavation and smoothing out our foundation area. Granted, it took all day to get this stuff done, but it's done! Now to actually finish the disking...

Anyway, today Hadassah and I went to Joch's to pick up most of our stuff that was there, and get the things we need for communion. We're also doing the laundry and a bit of grocery shopping, and then stopping by the garden before we head home to get ready for Sabbath. Tomorrow should be wonderful. Hope it is for you all, too.

Tuesday, July 27

Sometimes things take you by surprise. And sometimes, after the shock wears off, you realize that the action a friend has taken was only a natural consequence of their attitude and disposition. And then you are humbled and oh so honored to be blessed with a friend who cares for you so much. Here is my tribute to such a friend.

The past two weeks have found us incredibly busy and several hours (think 12 or so!) from home. This, of course, has detrimental effects on one’s garden. Such things as weeding, watering, and general maintenance kinda fall by the wayside when one is gone too long. And so today found Hadassah and myself headed to Ft. Vermilion to pick up some equipment needed here at home, and do some repairs to the garden in the form of weeding, hoeing, and harvesting. Visions of waist-high weeds danced in my head, so we had decided that Hadassah and I would only spend an hour or two weeding the most “needy” crops (think carrots and beets), and then head back home. This scenario would be re-enacted every day until the garden was back under control.

After a beautiful drive we pulled in and were greeted by a very cheery J., who was quite happy to go with us to view the garden. I was moaning about how much work was going to be needed when she quietly said “Well, I did something while you were gone…” by this time we got close enough to see the garden clearly. In shock, I stared (briefly!) at a completely clean and gorgeous garden! Even the carrots—which were absolutely NASTY to weed two weeks ago—were weed free. I’m not sure who was more surprised, Hadassah or myself. However, we did manage to recover fairly quickly and babble away about how happy and relieved we are. Truly, it felt like babbling, because words can never express how much relief and joy we felt at seeing the garden lovely. With so much to do here with water and sewer that need finishing, fields that need fallowing, and a house to be building/finishing, not having to start behind on the garden again was wonderful. Now if we can keep it this nice we’ll be happy! Thank you, J. We’re completely humbled and blessed to have friends like you and P.

And now for the harvest list for today:

Peas (two grocery bags full), Beans (1/2 to ¾ grocery bag full), Swiss Chard (3 grocery bags full), Beets (just a few, will get more later), and Lettuce (1 grocery bag full). There’s more coming for sure. The Zucchini has babies, and once the freezer is here we’ll harvest greens in earnest.

In full disclosure, Hadassah did most (95%) of the harvest today while J. and I loaded equipment into the truck. We all had a good time J.

Thanks again, J. and P. We’d not have had this beautiful garden without you guys.

We're on our way home from camp meeting. It was a wonderful week, and we are now ready for the quiet of our new home. The beauty is incredible the further north we travel. There have been several little natural dugouts/ponds tucked in the trees with perfect reflections on their surfaces. So peaceful to catch a glimpse while passing by at 70 mph. Couple that with the prolific flowers, blue sky, white clouds, deep green spruce trees and the shimmery medium green poplar trees, and it's a sight you'll never get tired of seeing.

So far today we've seen the following flowers:
Fireweed, yarrow, cow parsnip, butter 'n' eggs, coreopsis, clover, indian paintbrush, and possibly thistle. There are also some incredibly beautiful yellow flowers I can't identify right now. The cattails have changed from green to brown in the time we've been gone, and the foxtails are shiny now instead of muted. It is amazing how things change in a short amount of time.

Somehow we managed to be ready to leave camp by 1:00 p.m. (including eating in the cafe!), even though Eric had camp cleanup! We were soooo happy, because we have to be in High Level tomorrow morning sometime to do a final walk through and closing on our new place. Tonight we plan to stay with Yves and Beverly in Jean Cote. It will be nice to have at least an evening to catch up on everything that has happened in the past month.

And on a final note: We saw a very strange thing on our way out of the "south" today. It was a green Lamborghini! What it was doing in Alberta with our bumpy, heaved, patched roads I'll never know. It was pretty cool, but definitely out of it's comfort zone! lol.

There are few things that can bring a smile to a child’s face like the return of a parent who has been on a trip. It was so fun on Sunday to watch Elias eagerly anticipating his daddy’s return, to the point that he could hardly stand the ½ hour extra wait because the plane had been delayed. It’s also really neat to live near one of the very few airports in North America that still allow up-close and personal views of the runway and waiting with/for leaving/arriving loved ones. Anyway, we heard and saw the plane land while waiting in the truck and then dashed into the terminal to watch it taxi up to the door and unload. Elias had his little nose practically pressed against the glass to watch, turning around only to make sure we were watching as well, and to make sure we knew precisely which direction the plane was taxing, where it turned, and “Wow! Did you see it turn all the way around right there, mom?” (the plane did a 180 right outside the window). It was a very happy day. J

Today has been absolutely beautiful. We had warm sun (actually, HOT sun), cool breezes, nice rain, some hail, and then more sun but with cooler temperatures. Now it’s thundering and clouding over again in the east, but there’s a pink glow from the Joch’s siding on the west, so it must be clear that direction. Never a dull moment, I can assure you!

During the ritual bike ride/walk this evening Hadassah met with disaster. It appears that despite parental warnings against using her brakes too hard, and/or using her front brake too much, she decided to go from 90 or nothin’ to stopped within a couple of seconds. Suffice it to say she evidently flew over her handlebars. Thankfully she sustained very little damage—a skinned knee and hand, and a few bruises in inconvenient places from the handle bars. Elias was nearby and sped to her rescue, lifting the bike off her back and pretty much carrying her to the side of the road, then going back for help. It’s a rough lesson, but I’ll bet she doesn’t ever do that again unless the other options are waaaayyyy worse. Poor kid.

For supper we tried a new recipe. It’s called Rava Doses with Chickpea and Potato Curry. Wow, was it yummy! It’s basically an eggless crepe filled with a potato/chickpea/onion/etc. curry. (I know, I know, crepes are French, and this is an Indian dish. But it’s the best description I can give on short notice! ) Anyway, that combined with avocado slices, and steamed asparagus made up the main part of our supper. Dessert was soy ice cream and Carob Coconut cookies. Yummy. Alicia, I’m not sure where you found the Rava Doses and Curry recipe, but it’s good!

And since it's late, late, late--goodnight. Ummm...I mean, morning??