Lazy Saturday

Well, not quite ... just lazy in between getting off work and the birthday party this evening.  :)

I wanted to show you guys the finished basket:

It is currently containing rolags awaiting the wheel.

Took this girl out on the calf hunt last weekend and she did fabulously!  She only bucked once.  :)  Other than that she tried very hard to be good despite the fact she hasn't been ridden in  ... probably a year or more.  She's pulled a wagon in that year, but only a few times.  Pretty proud of her and really appreciative of her cooperative spirit.

And then there's the party preparations!

I still have another chapter of Constant Craving to share with you guys, but that will have to wait for an even lazier day.  Wishing you all a beautiful day!

Song for the day:  Parson Red Heads - Times
.... cuz a little Parson Red Heads never hurt anybody!  :)

Constant Craving - Happiness

Again, we're looking at another chapter of Marilyn Meber's book "Constant Craving: How to Make Sense of Always Wanting More".  She's 72 years old and that says a lot.  

Chapter 6 - Hungry for Happiness

(Skipping the anecdote at the beginning)

Can a Happy Person Be Content?

"Contentment is a stew of being that is characterized by not wanting more than we have.  A contented person is basically satisfied with life's circumstances.  On a spiritual level, we, like the apostle Paul, can be content with life knowing we have a transformed soul and God has sovereignly ordained our circumstances.  Because we trust God, we can be content to leave it all to him.

"But on a human level, being content with our circumstances and having no desire to change them can at times be incomprehensible - simply beyond our understanding.  For example, I wonder how a pig can be content to snort around in garbage and wallow in the mud?  That is incomprehensible to me.  Why?  Because I'm not a pig.  Pigs, however, were meant to find contentment in that environment.

"Then how can a human being be content to live in a filthy environment with rodents scurrying around everywhere?  That's equally incomprehensible to me.  Why?  Because it's not my idea of contentedness.

"Yet, as incomprehensible as that is to me, the apostle Paul ives in a jail cell with rodents scurrying around everywhere and said he was content.  He is statement reminds us again that contentedness is and inside job; it comes as the pig lives out the destiny for which it was created, and it comes to you and me as we share Paul's trust in God's timing and sovereignty.

"Now let's talk about the word happy.  We know it is an adjective that describes a feeling.  And we know that feelings are never constant; they can change dramatically or unexpectedly.  So is it possible to be content and also be happy?  Of four it is, but happy moments come along as additions to the state of contentedness.  While he was imprisoned,  Paul experienced moments of happiness when he received a supportive and loving letter from the outside.  being happy was a bonus to the contentedness he already felt.

"So, can a happy person be content?  Actually, no - at least no without some groundwork.

"Let me explain: a person experiencing the feeling of being happy without the grounding of contentment is only going to continue living a craving-for-more- existence.  That's why i'd never for the the guy who is only happy (referring to the anecdote at the beginning of the chapter).  If he has no foundation of contentment, he will blow around the universe in search of more happy feelings.  he's got the order wrong.  He must first find contentment; then he can enjoy the happy moments that come and go throughout a lifetime.

Difffering Definitions of Happy

"It would seem that answering the question 'What is happiness?' should be simple.  After all, everyone wants it, experiences it, and recognizes it.  But the fact is, there are thousands of books on happiness, and most start their discussion with the question 'What is it?'  Almost all find happiness difficult to define.  Why?  Because everyone experiences happiness differently.

"We know happiness is a feeling based on an experience; that experience may make one person happy but not another.  We also know the feeling of being happy is relatively brief elevation of mood that for one may be slurping ice cream while for another it's organizing a closet.

"Recently I read about another example of differing happy feelings in the story of a Pennsylvania man whiz refusing to take down a twenty-four-foot-tall illuminated cross he built in his front yard.  The cross builder says its seize demonstrates his religious conviction, but officials say the cross violates local ordinances and shines into neighbors' windows.  The cross builder says the size of the cross represents the size of his faith; just looking at it makes him happy.  The neighbors, however, don't share his happy feeling.

Happy Connectedness

"As I was watching a TV account of conjoined female twins, I had to reeducate myself to remember that conjoined twins are babies whose embryos did not separate completely during fetal development.  The result is the birth of two babies who remain physically connected to each other when they leave the womb.

"The twins in the TV report are fused at the shoulders; they have two heads with separate, fully functioning brains but only one trunk, two arms, and two legs.  Because they have separate brains, they have differing thought processes as well as differing personalities.  Both twins are effervescent and charming; one is a little more outspoken than the other, but their mother says they usually live in harmony with their differences.

"At the time of the televised report, they were just turning sixteen, going to a public high school, talking and giggling on the phone.  They like boys, play on a softball team and are taking driver's education wight eh anticipation of getting a driver's license.

" In spite of all those normal teenage activities, the twins are obviously physically challenged, and there is not clear-cut medical precedent to follow as they develop into adulthood.  As  result, their future well-being is medically uncertain.  Nevertheless, both twins are certain about one thing: they do not ever want to be surgically separated.  When asked why, each said she loves knowing the other is there.

"To know they will always sleep together, laugh together, eat together and cry together is a source of enormous comfort to them.  I was jolted as they both looked into the camera and one said, 'Doesn't everyone long to be connected to someone she loves?  Well, we are naturally connected, and we make each other happy.'

" What was startling to me as a viewer of the show was that I could not imagine their connection produced happiness.  My thought was, 'You only think you'r happy because you've never known anything else.  We almost always choose the familiar to the unknown.'  And yet, what right do I have to decide what constitutes their happiness?

The Drive to Feel Happy

"My reaction to the conjoined twin's statement reveals one of the problems with searching for a definition of happiness: we don't always agree on its source.  That lack of agreement leaves us with a definition that usually begins, 'Well, it's that certain feeling when ...'

"Though we may not experience happiness as a result of the same experience, the human race is still highly driven to feel happy.  All philosophies since Plato discus the primary purpose and intention of life as the search for happiness.

"Seventeenth-century philosopher Blaise Pascal said all person seek happiness.  It is the motive of every action of every person.  Nineteenth-century researcher Sigmund Freud also stated that the purpose and intuition of life is to be happy - and ideally to become increasingly more and more happy.

"Thomas Jefferson not only felt that staving for happiness was important; he believed the 'pursuit of happiness' was our nation birthright.  As such, it was written into the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.  He believed the main business of the state was to provide for the happiness of those governed.

"The craving for more happiness ranks right up there with the drive for more romance.  Both cravings cane relentless drivers; we will go to almost any length to satisfy those urges.  If we agree with Jefferson, the drive to achieve more happiness is more than human craving; it's a civil right.  (Perhaps that makes it more commendable than the craving for more romance.)

What Makes Us Happy

"So far, in an effort to answer the question 'What is happiness?' we can only say, 'It's not clear.'  We know it's a feeling that produces pleasurable elevation in mood, we know it does not last indefinitely, and we know that what makes one person happy does not make another happy.  We also know that for centuries great minds of written about who the pursuit of happiness is on of humanity's greatest 'more' cravings.  That's a lot of hot air and black ink devoted to a subject no one seems able to nail down!

"To adde ven more ink to the illusive and ill-defined subject of happiness, I'm going to make a few suggestions of my own, based on seventy-two years of living, searching for, and experiencing happiness-producing moments.

"To begin with, I love to laugh.  laughing makes me happy.  A good joke makes me happy and can elevate my mood again and again because I can keep telling it to myself.  When I was a child, there were three jokes I told myself at night after my mother read to me, prayed with me, a tucked me into bead, and then turned out the light.  These three jokes never failed me.  I told them to myself in the same order, always leaving the same last joke for my heartiest laugh.

"We lived in a small house, so my parents would hear me telling myself the jokes, chuckling at first and then finishing with a great guffaw at the end.  Dad would say, 'She just told the fish joke.'  Quiet would then descend upon my bedroom, and soon I was asleep.

"Not only do jokes make me laugh, I make me laugh.  I do and say some really dumb things.  of course I have a choice in how to respond to those dumb things: I can be disgusted and chastise myself, or I can laugh and say, 'Bless your heart, honey.'

"Recently I locked myself out of the house.  I encouraged myself with the fact that I had hidden a house key in a sandwich baggy and slipped it into a crevice of the brick wall on my patio.  smiling at my brilliant preparation for just such a lockout, I scanned the wall for the crevice and the tip of my baggy peaking out.

"Nothing.  After scanning several more times, I gave up and called Luci on my cell phone.  (Fortunately it was in my pocket.)  'Do you have any idea why I can't find my bagged house key in the crevice of the patio wall?' I washed her.

"Without skipping a beat she said, 'You decided not to leave it there because the baggy poked out.'

"'Really?  Do you know what I did with it?'

"'Yeah, its in your garage on the third shelf where you hide things.'

"'Wow, I don't remember having a shelf devoted to hidden things.'

"'Well, you do.'

"I found the key behind the Weed B Gone.

"'Wonder why I would hide the weed killer ...' I mused to myself before adding, 'Bless your heart, honey.'

Enlarging Our Potential for Happiness

"In two previous books I've authored, I'd Rather Be Laughing and Choosing the Amusing, I suggest the establishing of a laugh-lifestyle.  Laughter and the ability for choosing the amusing rather than self-defeat is a deliberately chosen attitude of the mind.  In fact, there is a direct correlation from our attitudes to our ability to experience happiness.  One of the most crucial attitudes we can develop is on of gratitude.  A grateful attitude in itself produces an elevation of mood.  When I see my circumstances throughout the lens of a grateful mindset instead of the 'I'm not getting what I want' mind-set, I feel better; I even have the potential to be happy in spite of circumstances.

"As I write this, we North Texans are just crawling out of an especially severe winter.  There were four days when most of us dared not leave our homes because of ice and snow.  On the fifth day following our confinement, I inched toward the grocery store for relief from peanut butter sandwiches and shared a moment of happiness with a woman who looked at me over a pile of fresh tomatoes and with a teary voice said, 'These tomatoes make me so happy!'

"I experienced many other moments of gratitude during that snow-and-ice storm; my pipes didn't freeze, my electricity didn't go out, my furnace continued to function, my phone work, and even the beat (the computer) in my home office remained vigilantly alive and well.  I was grateful.

"My encouragement that you develop an attitude of gratitude may be so family that you simply respond, 'Yeah, yeah. I've heard that before.'  But I suggest we all (myself included) hear it again.  Keeping a 'gratitude list' may sound corny, but it redirects our mind and lifts our mood.  Write up a list of everything for which you are grateful: the big stuff and the little stuff.

"Here are a few sources of gratitude on my list today: the side door no longer sticks, I located more of my favorite hard-to-find vanilla loose-leaf tea, birds are singing again, the new water filter makes the water taste better, my lamp throws light perfectly on my book.  And at the top of this list is the greets source of my gratitude: Jesus loves me.

"Hopefully your lists go on and on.  If they do, we enlarge our happiness potential.

Expect Less, Get More

"Another attitude I suggest we look at is our level of expectation from the events in our lives.  I've often heard it said, 'Expect more and you get more,' but I think if we expect less, we get more.  I know this sounds counterproductive to positive thinking, but let me explain why I think this way.

"Let's assume you had  high expect ion for your family vacation.  But on the second day, two of your children come down with stomach flue, which quickly spreads to everyone else in the family.  In addition to that, you have a flat tire, ruin the tire driving on it, and your spare is flat.

"No one is happy.

"How could lowered expectations for this trip have helped you happiness potential?  You know sickness is always a possibility, so while hoping against it you prepare for it anyways, packing medicine for the trip.  When the flue erupts, you and your family are grateful for your provision.  Your car's tires are showing signs of ware, so you make sure your spare is aired up and ready to go before you leave, and you also carry a can of flat-fixer.  Plus you bring along the Old Maid cards to play while you're waiting for the flat to be fixed, increasing the happiness of your children because you inevitably picked the Old Maid card.

"Expecting less does not mean we prepare less, we try less, or we are less determined to live out our potential.  It means less can become more, and when that happens, it produces happiness!

"Since our craving for more happiness is a well-documented universal preoccupation, it may comfort us to know there are ways happiness can become a more frequent and less elusive experience.  It is often a choice based on a wise and knowledgeable reasoning.

"In his excellent book The Law of Happiness, Dr. Henry Cloud says only 10 percent of our happiness is due to personal circumstances; 50 percent comes from our internal makeup, and the rest is determined by us.

"That being the case, I recognize my deepest happiness can only be found in the God who created us to know him, love him, and trust him in all things.  As Pascal wrote, 'Happiness is neither outside or inside us.  It is in God, both outside and inside us."

I apologize for the length of these.  I know I have trouble staying with articles past a certain length.  For some reason my attention span is much better with books.  Another reason, I'd encourage you to buy/borrow this one and give it a good think.  The excerpts I've chosen have been particularly impactful for me.  I pray that these thoughts of Marilyn's will be helpful and inspiring to you!  Grace to you all.

Song for the day:
The Wexford Carol

Constantly Craving - Contentment

So I've been reading this book by Marilyn Meberg.  I didn't think much of it when I first picked it up, but I've been devouring it over the last few days.  This lady is 72 years old at the writing of this book.  That's a lifetime.  A lifetime of experience, of learning, of growing, of failing, of triumphing.  That gives her a lot of street cred.  Mom has - um, shall we say, emphasized? - the kind of perspectives that are typical of different ages of people.  The older she gets the less wise a 30 and 40 year old are.  Anyways, I guess I assumed that most of these types of books were written by disillusioned late-30, early-40's type people.  I consider it quite a treasure to find one written by a woman who has been through twice that life!

In three of her early chapters, she discusses why we crave more in romance, why we might be attracted to certain people, and what we expect from our spouses, and how our previous relationships with family might affect that.  Very interesting.  However that isn't what I wanted to share with you all today.  I wanted you to hear some specific excerpts from chapters 5, 6, and 9.  For today, let's stick with chapter 5.

Chapter 5 - Longing for Contentment

Marilyn talks about how the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence - the "if only I had" syndrome and the opportunity she had to switch families with a playmate when she was 5 which allowed her to discover that phenomenon.  She talks about souls or psyches and how they need to be switched out if we expect to change our natural contentment level.  The story of Paul's soul swap is recorded in Acts 9.

"Paul, after three days of blinds and fasting, completely rethought his opposition to Jesus.  In fact, he spent the next several years reformulating his mind and emotions about who Jesus was, is and continues to be in the life of the believer" (p57).

The Steps to Contentment

"Paul was not only a witness for Christ, but he was also - and continues to be - a witness and example of containment.  His sense of contentment is nearly unbelievable in view of where he spent much of his life.  Because of his zeal in communicating the good news of Jesus, Paul spent years in prison.  Those who had an earlier loyalty and allegiance to Paul and his zeal to persecute Christians turned on him, arrested him and ultimately executed him in Rome.  And yet, while sitting in jail prior to his execution, Paul wrote these words: I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: i know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13).

"Paul's words provide a simple but profound definition of contentment.  Shockingly, it has nothing to do with out circumstances.  Most of us assume if she could just change our circumstances we would be content.  If I were Paul, I might have said, "Just get me out of jail, and I'll be content."

"But he said contentment didn't depend on whether or not he was in jail, whether or not he was hungry or had just eaten a platter of pasta.  he knew contentment is an inside job.  His trust and faith in Christ got him through it all." (p 58, 59)

She talks more about the specific process Paul went through and then continues on page 60-61:

Forgiven, Cleansed, and Made New

"These were the steps Paul took to gain a new understanding of Jesus and receive a new and transformed soul.  His old soul was forgiven, cleansed, and made new.  Paul described this newness: 'Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!' (2 Corinthains 5:17).

"When Paul experience chis transformed, cleansed, and forgiven soul, he came into an understanding and experiencing of contentment.  because of the forgiveness with cleansing from sin, Paul could walk without the shame and guilt o this murderous past.

"Since the mind is part of the soul, Paul had access to the mind of Christ, who said, 'Let this mind be in you , which was also in Christ Jesus' (Phillipians 2:5).  Christ's mind in Paul's mind reminds him that Christ promises to never leave him.  Christ's mind assures Paul's mind his love will always hold him up, providing courage for each experience that hurts him, threatens him, or discourages him.

"That's how Paul's transformed new soul enabled him to sit in jail, even knowing he would ultimately experience execution, and still say, 'I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.'

"I am encouraged by the words 'I have learned.'  They tell me we are not born content, and achieving contentment does not happen quickly.  It's something we learn.  As our relationship with Christ develops over time and through experiences, we learn to trust God more and ourselves less.  Through the indwelling Christ I learn that contentment is an inside job."

The next chapter talks about happiness and how it relates to contentment ... stay tuned!  I'd really encourage you to take the time to read this book through.  It's a very easy read and if you get it used, you won't need to spend a lot more than $5.

And please leave comments, thoughts, and critiques!  I like to know who has stopped by particularly since I'm not advertising it.

Song for the day:

Christmas Version of "Hallelujah"

Definitely like this version better!

Wake Me When December is Here!

So much to look forward to in December!  Beautiful music, celebrating our salvation that came through sacrifice from beginning to end, remembering the gift of our faith, sharing tokens of love and care with friends and family, participating in the glorious festivities of old and new traditions, gathering with those we may not see often.  Oh the colors, the smells, the touch!  And caroling!  If we're fortunate, we may be kissed or drowned in snow.  And yes I said FORTUNATE!!!!  :)  Each blessing is particularly keen, stopping, remembering, and caressing it with a thankful thought.

It is also the time of stress, overload, chasing the holy grail of balance until we are crazy, plummeting checking account numbers, obligations, unfulfilled expectations, crisis triage, cynicism, grinches, no good answers or solutions, the sting of lost fellow celebrators whether by death or circumstance or decision.  Our raw, weak, human hearts scream in anguish for deliverance.  Deliverance!  In truth, this is the season of celebrating our greatest deliverance!

Thankfully, I think for most of us December doesn't fall into one category or the other, but rather a combination of the two.

My memories of Christmas include blessing and frustration.  My family didn't have a whole lot in the way of Christmas traditions when we were young because this was something my parents disagreed on.  Christmas was different every year depending on what could be gotten together.  Mom has always been a really good gift giver.  We usually spent the day just as a family.  The food is my department though everyone is assigned a dish that they get to make.  The candle table is one of my favorite memories that I've been considering reviving.  I've taken to doing decorations almost soley from the out of doors.  This has perks (no storage, no expense, spent $3 so far this year, though we will need a few more stings of lights) and cons (dry needles EVERYwhere), but I enjoy the process so we just get out the broom.

Mom gets embarrassed when we have Christmas decorations up past the end of December, but I don't just gather outdoor decorations for Christmas!  I do that for most of the seasons.  So that means that winter decorations look a lot like Christmas, minus some ribbons and glitter.

This year is slightly different as I am living at camp at the moment.  Not sure how and what that will/should change.  I've been re-evalution my general Christmas approach ...  It has long been my desire to do exclusively handmade gifts, or at least majoring in handmade.  This year, I'm feeling broke, so that has been even more attractive.  I spent a chunk of money while I was in St. Louis on supplies for potential gifts.  We'll see how all that goes.  I've also been considering Advent.

I've always loved the thought of a Jesse Tree, especially if the young'uns are involved.  And wouldn't you know it, as this has been rattling around in my head over the last few days, today my Facebook feed is filled with Advent articles, explanations, ideas, etc.
Link to Advent readings
Mark Robert's Advent Discovery Journey - especially the section entitled "My Greatest Advent Discovery"
Desiring God - Advent is Slow on Purpose
Advent // Hope - Lang Films

This is thought provoking stuff and has followed on the heels of some new revelations on the history of Halloween.
Debunking Halloween Myths
Halloween - James Jordan Essay

Oh, and if you haven't read this on Facebook, please do.  If you read nothing else, read this.
Why Thanksgiving is Subversive - A Holy Experience
Plus I absolutely love how they celebrated thanksgiving this year.

Sorry for being all analytical and theoretical today, guys.  I'm not feeling so well and my brain is the only thing still motivated to be semi-industrious.  :)  Don't worry!  There will be photos of Christmasy things to come!

Song for the day:
Andrew Peterson - My Love Has Gone Across the Sea

Hickory Bark Basket

So Saturday night I decided it was time to make a basket.  Those hickory bark strips I got from Daniel have been sitting in my closet for .... well ... a long time.

I put three rolls in a five gallon bucket and covered them with warm water and left it overnight.  After church, I started in on it.

So hairy!

It's coming along ...!  You can see the bottom woven with measure, um eyeballed, strips.

For the sides, I am using a continuous strip.

That's about as deep as it can be with the size of strips I cut.

Most of the ends are tucked into a lower part of the weave.

All done!  The handles were an after thought and as I was using part of the strips that were too long, they are off center.
I think they'll be fairly sturdy though.

Blocking it with ammo, rocks, string, and clamps.  I have two flat rocks underneath to push up the bottom slightly
so it will be stable.

Leftovers of the three rolls.

That's the color of the soaking water!  A very strong tea, that.

Now I am waiting, not so patiently for it to dry.  Finished product pictures later on!

Song for the day: Seven Wonders - Nickel Creek
My uncle introduced me to this band, and I'm liking it so far!

A grateful thanksgiving day to you all!

Of Prayer and a Few Days Meandering

It has been a dreary, rainy couple of days filled with some equally dreary contemplation and balanced with life-giving creative pursuits.  In the struggle to keep going forward, to keep processing and thinking, learning and growing, I often suppress the fear, pain, or joy that starts creeping up in response to a new thought, sermon, or comment made by another.  I suppose it's called coping.  But now and then, I know I must pull back some skin, muscle, and gristle to look at my heart and see how it's coming.

I didn't get to eat the soup right away so it sat in the crock pot for two days.  I added some garlic and seasonings.

Some of the best money I ever spent!  The first really fresh garlic I've
had, thanks to Dave Beiler.

A little fresh rosemary makes the world go 'round.

Then on to some bread baking ....

Then, Saturday I got to trim for a enthusiastic lady who was sure the angels would sing when I finally got back to trim her horses.  :)  You gotta love loyal clients.

Yep, trimming out of the minivan!

I was listening to this sermon and the speaker was talking about how we often get caught up in asking God for this and that.  A job when we're out of work, a car when the other one is broken, fixing for a relationship that is suffering.  These are all good desires, good things to pray and hope for.  The pitfall in this is if we let those things eclipse the greatest gift.  The gift He has already given us for all time.  The greatest gift we can give to another is ourselves.  That's what Jesus came for.  To give Himself for us.  To make a way to the Father.

I got to thinking about that and started second guessing my prayers, feeling guilty for what I was asking for.  How would it be if the ones I loved called usually with a problem or a request, but never just to be with me?  And that is only examining it on a human level.  But we're talking about the God of the universe, the embodiment of all good, perfection!  He is worthy of our praise, adoration, and undivided devotion!

As I was thinking these thoughts, a quiet little warning floated across the outskirts of my mind .... but God cares about the sparrow too.  If I start believing that it isn't okay for me to speak to the Lord about the "little" things on my heart ... that is dangerous as well.  It doesn't say cast some of your cares on the Lord, particularly the big ones.

Another sermon was talking about praying through the Psalms and using them as models for our prayers.  I was surprised to realize the pride of place given to emotions.  But it is there!  Throughout the Psalms, David is pouring out his heart to God.  Raw, unprocessed, unfettered emotion.  Take Psalm 3.  David tells God about all the many people seeking his demise.  And then about what people are saying about him.  Then he remembers who he's talking to.  Truth and courage seep into his prayer!  He ends praising the Lord.  What a beautiful, saving progression!

I often share (or vent) my emotions with a friend, do some processing, and then go to God with my heart feeling pretty sane and reasonable.  I offer a logical prayer.  But I've missed it!  I've missed the opportunity to let my Jesus be the friend who sticks closer than a brother.  I missed letting him calm my aching heart.  I've missed the truth he speaks in these moments.  I'm not saying that the Lord hasn't given us a community of friends to be His hands and feet in this, but they shouldn't be a replacement for that realness with the Lord.  For your sake and the for the sake of your friends.  I hope that I am a good enough friend to listen to an emotional response and offer grace and guidance, but the Lord can do so much better!  "Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls!"

In thinking of who God is and what He is worthy of, I've also been wondering what exactly it means to bless the Lord.  How can I bless His heart?  Not grieving Him is one thing, but to respond to Him with adoration and thanksgiving that will be a joy to Him.

So as evidenced by this, it hasn't all been dreary contemplation.  :)  Though it has been hard won.  I hope that as I write and commit to memory, my musings may be of some benefit to you all.  Also, please be obligated to call me out if it strays from the straight and narrow.

Song for the day:

I felt so blessed to be around while these folks practiced this piece together for the first time.  So soul stirring!  Here's the original - The Holly and the Ivy.  You can add it to your amazing playlist of Christmas music you've been collecting.  :)

Hot Soup and Fuzzy Horses

So Katie says I need to take especially good care of myself right now.  It's easy when you're stressed to think that there are other things more important that eating well and in a timely manner, so her admonition was the reminder I needed.

I ate garlic and drank apple cider vinegar and made soup.  :)  While I'm not sure that freezer burned chicken and almost over-the-hill potatoes count as eating well, it was an improvement over what I was doing and took care of some of the rest of life as well.

Some good bone broth ... I hope. 

Da poor potatoes.  

Jeremiah cut the cottonwood of the electric fence and I got it all put back together.  And then when your horse nickers at you when he sees the halter ...  I was too busy relishing in lessons well remembered to take pictures.  He has his side pass toward me from the left down pretty well.  He'll back up when you pull on his tail.  He learned how to side pass towards me from the right side.  We also got to where he could comfortably walk across the skidder tire that I used behind the draft ponies.  It's a big step up.  He knew exactly what I was asking for as soon as I showed it to him.  And he wasn't so thrilled with it, but he tried and made progress each time until he made it!  He was so light and responsive.  That horse has loads of try.  So then, I mean, I don't remember the last time I rode him, and he was kinda rambunctious, but yeah.  I rode him.  Bareback with the halter and he was a dream!  He moved so enthusiastically off my leg cues.  When he backed up, he broke at the poll so nicely.  Then we herded Moody out of the barnyard and it made me miss the cow sorting practices.

I'm so happy to have my plants back!

Day 55

We got packed again, snacked at the hotel breakfast, and played with the dogs in the yard.  Then to Uncle Randy and Aunt Barb’s about 8:45am!  Ryan and Jenny were there was well and it was so good to see them.  They had all taken off work, at least for the morning, so they could spend time with us.  I really enjoyed hearing what everyone was up to and in to.  Ryan says the little black mite-like bugs that attacked us at Moose Creek were likely Springtails and explained how the packets nailed to all the pine trees deterred the beetles by using confusing pheromones.  That’s how it is when your cousin marries an entomologist!  :)

We left before noon and stopped at the co-op for lunch and to find a gift for Aunt Barb.  Mom bought fried nann pizzas, but the microwave wasn’t working.  So they staff at the deli offered to bake them for us!  Super tasty!

We got into Springfield, MO around 6pm and tracked down Katie and Dan who were nice enough to interrupt their dinner to come out and say hi.  We transferred the tumbleweeds and I hoped Dan liked me enough (even if just for Katie’s sake) to forgive me for putting those messy things in his pretty clean car!  :)  We stopped in at Mamma Jeans for milk and fruit for home.

We got home around 8pm.  We only unloaded bit of the van.  Jeremiah started the fire in the furnace.  I spent a long time looking for Kitty and had given up when she finally came walking out of the woods.  She was happy to see all of us, especially the dogs.  The dogs were pretty wound up about being back at the house.

Emily slept on my bed for the first time in forever and Kitty curled up in the crook of my knees.  I wasn’t exactly happy about this arrangement, but too tired to object enough to make it happen otherwise.  I was hoping Emily would be out of the habit of expecting that.  She hadn’t even asked to be up on the cot or hotel bed all trip.  Goes to show how much environment has to do with animals’ training, habits, and expectations.

Well guys, it’s been fun!  I really appreciate all of you who have left comments!  That, my friends, is the official end of the adventure.  Though it is true that cleaning out that minivan will be a whole ‘nother adventure as well!  :)

Day 54

I worked on trip notes first thing in the morning.  When Mom wanted to go to breakfast, I took our laundry and started 2 loads.  The laundry soap was frozen and it took some doing to convince it to leave the bottle.  Breakfast was quite nice.

The laundry took a while to dry.  Mom’s insulated pants never did dry.  There were still droplets in the nylon cuffs.  We tried to refill water bottles, but everything was frozen, except the mylar bladder Jeremiah and stashed in the cold bag.  We had some frozen eggs, apples, and oranges.  Some of the water in the rice bags in the cooler had refrozen as well.

I do.  And it crushes me.

We got on the road about 11am.  About half an hour later, I reached into my bag and realized my purse wasn’t there.  I hadn’t checked the room.  I took Emily out the the bathroom and when I returned Mom and Jeremiah and check the room and were ready to check out.  I didn’t want to be untrusting and hold things up by doing it again.  I called the hotel and sure enough they found it under one of the blankets.   I remembered carefully laying it out on the bed with my other bags, and I’m not sure how it got covered up.  I felt pretty irresponsible and also uncomfortable with arriving in Lawrence an hour later as we were already not exactly early.  The moral of the story is you should always check the room if you feel like it and always look in the places where you didn’t put anything.  However, I was very grateful I had realized my purse was gone before we were too far away to practically go back.  I had reached in my bag for something completely different.

And windmills.

We retrieved my purse and got back on the road to cover the same ground again.  The trip to Lawrence was fairly uneventful.  We finished listening to The Hobbit.  We stopped for a bathroom break and to dig out PBJ fix in’s.  Building four PBJ’s on the road takes some skill if you only have one spoon and peanut butter in the jelly jar really annoys you.  :)  We also stopped to chase down some tumbleweeds.  Katie wanted one and I thought it would be fun, but didn’t see how me could possibly fit anything else on or in the van.  The boys insisted we could make it work.  :)

And it did!  Crazy.  The wind pushed it up into the canoe and it only took up half of the windshield.

We went to Qudoba in Junction City, KS for dinner.  It was 9:45 when we pulled into the Comfort Inn Uncle Randy had picked out for us.  He met us there and we made plans to join them for breakfast. 

It was a nice large room and we were all feeling kinda cold and crazy from being cooped up in the car for the last two days.  Especially the dogs.  We had a bit of trouble keeping them quiet.  Emily had her first ride in an elevator which was a little comical.  She was only slightly concerned, but kept look at me, waiting for instructions on what she was supposed to do about it. 

Gypsy life.

Day 53

The temperatures dropped and the wind picked up early in the morning.  I burrowed deeper cinching my bag over the top of my head … thinking about the fact that it would take me at least 3 minutes to extract myself from my cocoon if the need arose.  I hopped it wouldn’t arise.  My alarm wen toff at 6:45am.  

Very pretty Airstream.

I got up and prepared for the day.  We got the car packed and poured granola for the road.

We drove down to Ridgway again ...

and then headed up over the pass (I thinks we saw Mt. Sneffels according to the direction Back Country Navigator said it was.  Or we were looking at a very pretty mountain in front of it), 

Mt. Sneffles?  Maybe?

past Box Canyon, down to Ouray.  

There appears to have been quite a bit of mining in this area.  Iron, I think.

More mining.

That's what makes me think iron.  The river though this mountains as red as well.

We drove toward Durango, checking the road conditions as we went.  The roads were snowed all around Colorado Springs.  We had a plan to avoid La Veta Pass by going out of our way up 285 to 50.  We would stop in Durango to run our plan by a local who knew the roads.

He's sleeping, sitting up!  Really!

No kidding!

The ladies at the visitor center weren’t aware that there was snow anywhere.  After they pulled up the CDOT map, they disagreed on whether to stay on the highway believing the snow would melt off the passes and the main roads would be better tended to, or take the smaller roads around the pass.  We filled water bottles and checked the sale rack at the gear store on the corner and hit the road. 

Chimney rock and Courthouse Mountain.  I only know that because Jake told me.  :)

Wolf Creek Pass was our first hurdle.  Jake and the visitor center lady had warned me about it.  CDOT said it was “icy”.  There were only a few spots we had to find dry pavement.  We stuck to the highway and all went smoothly until Pueblo.  There the snow began and thickened as well has the traffic.  It was slow going into Colorado Springs.

We finally arrived at the Residence Inn.  It was 3 degrees with an inch or two of snow.  I could feel the inside of my nose freezing with each breath.  We had had hard conversations in the van about my blindnesses because of the way I grew up, most relating to recent events.  I had little strength remaining in my heart and when the receptionist informed me that the pet fee was $75, which was about what we were paying for the room, I was crushed.  I asked about canceling our reservation, but it was too late.  I checked several boarding kennels, but most closed at 6pm and it was 6:30pm.  We talked of cost and how many times we would have to come out to turn on the van to keep it reasonably warm for the dogs. 

Mom got her dander up and asked to speak to the manager.  We waited for a long while before he appeared.  Mom explained we were expecting a pet fee at least in the range of the Residence Inn we had almost stayed at in Grand Junction.  She communicated our plight of not wanting to leave the dogs out on a 3 degree night.  I was afraid she was going to fight with him about the fee.  Instead she only asked that he make the exception of allowing us to cancel our reservation so we have explore other options.  He readily agreed and offered to try to find another Marriott in the area that had a cheaper pet fee, assuring us that $75 was the going rate.   However, the Fiarfield had a $25 fee which they assured us had no weight limit (many hotels have a 30lb limit) even though their website said otherwise.  We thanked him for his efforts and went to the car.

Mom wanted to explore other options especially wished to be closer to Lawrence, KS to help our drive tomorrow.  We check many forecasts and hotel rates.  I found a promising one on hotels.com and called to check the pet regulations.  They wouldn’t accept pets, but the hotels.com guy offered to try to find something else that fit our criteria.  The chemical sensitivities issue was confusing and bothersome.  A Days Inn seems to fit all the requirements and had great reviews  We chose to ask to see a room prior to reserving though hotels.com.  After hanging up, I found many bad review, downright scary, on Yelp.  Jeremiah was tired and encouraged a decision, now and close.  He was willing to pay any difference.

We drove to the Fairfield, doubled checked all fees, asked to see a room (the Andes chocolates on the pillows had me sold), reserved online, and paid.  The guy at the desk was quite compassionate and slightly amused by our situation.  The manager at the Residence had talked to him twice on our behalf and I had called to check the weight limit, so he was acquainted with the whole store and was quite good natured about it.  He admired the dogs, I think mostly for our benefit.  Murphy’s Law manifested in Emily putting her paws up on the lower desk when eh greater her.  I had assured him that they were pretty well behaved.  :P

I was feeling much better without another all night drive looming as a possibility, or camping, or messing with boarding the dogs, or staying in a crummy hotel that everyone would be on edge about with complaints and ultimatums.  The evening was a well needed rest. 

Mom called Aunt Bark to confirm we would be on our way through to moor as a follow up to a text alerting them to the possibility this afternoon.

I felt like there was much less to scrub off for this shower compared to the last one, but I had been almost as long without on this time.  Maybe the post shower lotion last time helped.