The Garden

These are Viking Red Potatoes.

I dug a few tonight.  Aren't they pretty?!?

I started growing potatoes a couple of years ago.  I love having them in my garden.  This is a new variety though and I'm excited to try them out.  They look very pretty and I think the insides are milky white.  I've also planted some fingerlings, some yellow and some different red potatoes.  They taste completely different from potatoes one buys in the store.  This year I planted 3 raised beds of potatoes and a couple of large containers.  We'll see how they come out.

The garden is prolific this year.  I can't keep up with the beans.  I've given beans to everyone that comes near me.  Today I resurrected my canning skills and "did" up a huge batch of green beans.  The beets are magnificent this year too.  I'm going to try to store some in the basement for the winter.  And hopefully, I be able to make a trip down to NYC to share the produce with my boys.  The kale is still producing, but I've pulled the buttercrunch and romaine lettuce.  I think I will plant a row of spinach for the fall in their stead.

My tomato plants are almost 7 feet tall.  I have a variety of cherry tomatoes and the larger ones are coming on strong.  The eggplants are developing nicely and I've also had to give away bags of cuccumbers.  I've rediscovered cucumber salad which my mom used to make in the summer years ago, so I'm using quite a few cucumbers.

I've harvested my garlic.  I think I have enough for the whole neighborhood, but I seem to cook with garlic almost everyday.  And one clove goes in each of the chickens various water buckets.  It seems to help prevent parasites.....at least that's what I read in my Backyard Chicken magazine.

The only thing I seem to have trouble with in the garden are peas.  Everyone else can grow peas like crazy but I have the most meager pea production ever.  I think I will skip them next year.  And they are supposed to be the easiest vegetable to grow.  Oh well.

I had blueberry pancakes at the Inn this past Sunday.  And the blueberries came from my own bushes.  I managed to get out and harvest them before the birds and chipmunks could get all of them.  I've heard we are supposed to have dominion over all these creatures.....but somehow they still seem to get the best of me in the blueberry patch.

It's been unseasonably warm up here in the North Country this year.  But thank goodness we are getting rain a bit.  I went out to my neices baby shower the weekend before last and flying in we could tell that everything was just completely burned.  My friends family had a big farm in Iowa and he said all the crops are dead and they will just have to plow them under.  So sad.  Farming is not for the weak at heart.  He's optomistic next year will be better.

But we've had a wonderful summer.  Hot, but everything is still green.  And I think the corn is just about to be harvested!!

Rejoice with those, and Weep with those......

Two weeks ago we were rejoicing and celebrating.  God's goodness, his faithfulness, and hope for the future.

This weekend we are weeping over two friends who have died.  Much to early.  And looking to HIM for hope for the future.

"And that's the way it's done!!!"

The four of us were sitting quietly on the bench in the garden.

Waiting.

The plan, so far had been implemented perfectly.

Timing was crucial.

And so was the canine participation.

Then around the corner and up the path Ethan came.  Fist in the air saying..."and that's the way it's done!....that's the way it's done!!"  He was so excited.  The plan had worked perfectly....even better than they had planned.

Jon wanted the families to be involved in this special weekend.  He was going to propose, under the Brooklyn Bridge, on their way to the River Cafe.  Otis, Jon's chocolate labrador, was a big part of the plan.  Ethan was to tie with a pink ribbon, the engagement ring (Grandma Nordberg's engagement ring) to Otis's collar and have Otis tied up to one of the park benches.  They would come upon Otis and she would see the ring and say "yes!!"

Ethan, coming from work in his suit, secured Otis from the Suburban, tied the ring to the collar and Otis to the designated bench and proceeded to hide in the bushes.

People started passing by wondering out loud who this dog was and if they should call the police.  Ethan, from the bushes giving hand signals, indicated that Otis was part of an engagement strategy and that everyone should act normally.  Then everyone wanted to linger and witness the event.  One older couple got so excited that they indicated to Ethan that they would take pictures and just pretend that they were taking pictures of the scenery.  Ethan quickly reached into his breast pocket and gave them his business card, securing promises that they would send him the pictures.

Otis, of course, behaved perfectly, knowing his role in this adventure.  Jon and Jill came upon this dog sitting quietly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.  Jon proposed, Jill said yes and the ring fit perfectly on Jill's finger.  And 75 people who just happened to be milling around the Brooklyn Bridge broke out into a round of applause.

She still did not know that her folks and we were sitting just a few hundred yards away.  They came up the path to the restaurant garden and we jumped up and shouted "surprise!!"  More tears of joy as she saw her mom and dad, Rob, Ethan and myself waiting to congratulate them on their engagement.

The folks at the restaurant joined in our celebration with champagne, wine and a special dessert of the Brooklyn Bridge made from chocolate with "congratulations" written on a square of chocolate.

It was magical from start to finish.  And then we proceeded to have a wonderful weekend filled with a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, picnics, a swim in the waves of the Atlantic on a beach on Robert Moses State Park, a trip to Manhattan and Broadway to see Newsies, a Sunday at Redeemer and brunch on the sidewalk cafe on the upper east side.

Perfect.  We reluctantly said goodbye.  A trip back north, a new week filled with responsibilities, and dreams for the future.

The weekend was too short.  And we need to be closer.  But those are things for the future.  And plans for the upcoming event are already being made.

Family Reunion

We had a family reunion today. No, not my flesh and blood family. But a family that I've spent the last 26 years with. Much beloved. As we arrived at church, I could sense the excitment and anticipation. Some we had not seen in about a year. And we had not all worshiped together since Good Friday when we gathered at the Potsdam site. Our church has a habit of growing and then dividing. Which is all very good in the eternal sense, but in the temporal, here and now, I get to see you and your children, your grandmother, the university students, every week sense, it's hard. It's just that we miss each other. And today we were excited to see one another. Plus we were all gathering for a picnic after service. The worship was wonderful, encouraging, and sensitive to the movings of the Holy Spirit. Besides, some of the most talented musicians in the country (not boasting here, they are not related to me) were leading. The children participated by doing some memorization about the Gifts of the Spirit. One of the little blond headed girl's projection and ennunciation would make even the strictest theater director proud. Right to the back of the large gymnasium her words resounded. We prayed with people who were having health problems. I looked around at my family here in this little community and was filled with love, pride and memories of so many. No, we are not perfect. Far from it. But we're family and we can count on each other. I see the "girl" who leads the childrens ministry. She was a teenager when I arrived and was leading children's church. She and her brother and future husband, helped me during that time and see.....she's still doing ministry. I saw the children when we arrived at this community all grown up, having their own children and raising the next generation for the Lord. They all know so much more than we did when we were raising our own. There were so many, as I've looked around, who I've prayed with, made dinners for and who have made dinners for me, babysat their children, ministered to while doing Women's Ministry, chatted with, cried with, rejoiced with, organized weddings with, had showers for, developed Dessert Night themes with and encouraged folks to use their talents for,  attended funerals for family members,decorated for holidays with, hired their children to mow our lawns and do odd jobs, been neighbors with, done theater with, planted gardens for and overall just loved on and they have loved me back. I think that is family. And we have it here.

Magnificent Spring Flowers in My Garden

There is nothing like spring in the North Country!!!

And I love all the wonderful friends that come out to greet me each year.  The Oriental Tree Peonies in my garden are just magnificent this year.  And with the rain drops clinging to the white fragile pedals, all I wanted to do was watch them for a few hours this afternoon as they gradually opened up to their frilly best.

But, sad to say, those few hours were not spent observing and conteplating.  Too much work to do in the spring.  We have just begun to get the flower beds in town ready for spring and summer.  Weeding, mulching, and weeding were the first priorities.  The vegetable garden needed to be tilled and when we were finally able to spend an hour or two tilling, we finally had to concede that our tiller had come to the end of it's life.  So out to the street it went only to be picked up almost immediately and brought to a new home.  Perhaps that optomistic young man has more time to tinker with it's motor and gears.

We did get the vegetable garden tiller with a borrowed tiller and a helpful young man.  So the peas are in, as well as the kale and green peppers.  The potates were in a bit ago in the raised beds which are much easier to take care of.  The onion sets are in the the lettuce is up.  And the garlic planted last fall looks like it's almost ready to harvest....mild winter.  Perhaps next week, the beets, beans, acorn squash, butternut squash, zucchini and yellow squash, and cabbage will go in.  The broccoli and brussel sprouts are still growing in the garden house.

A Litengard guest who has stayed with us a few times, brought me five wonderful looking tomato plants.  New species that I have never planted.   I hope to plant them this weekend.  We don't plant tomatoes here before June 1st usually.   I have a few guests who love gardening and especially love the different tomatoes I've grown.  We get together and compare notes and share tips and advice.

This spring all our energies were spent getting the Stuga ready for our first guests.  But now that almost everything is done on the inside of camp, we can concetrate on the landscaping and fencing.  I'm meeting with someone tomorrow who will put in the new lawn at Litengard on the Lake.  And I've dug up scads of evening primrose to be planted behind one of the back retaining walls.  Jon's lovely stone walkway and pation are surrounded with white astillibe and varigated miniature sedum.  It's all fun, but lots of work.  And in a few years it will look like it's been there forever.

April 10, 2012

It's Jon's birthday today.

And he's half way around the world so I can't get a birthday cake to him! Or even a birthday card.

We've tried to send him mail, but so far it has been unsuccessful. The mail we sent in October has still not arrived.

They can have a ski lodge and slope, luge run and indoor sledding with snow in the middle of a mall (in a country where it gets to be 120 degrees in the summer) but their postal service leaves a lot to be desired.

So I guess I will have to wait until next week when he gets home to give him a real birthday party!

He's a miracle! Really.

I was told that I could have no more children after Elizabeth, only miscarriages. Antibiodies and antigens all too high for viability. Medical science could not help but we really didn't need them. The Lord provided. "For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him."

He has had a busy couple of weeks, flying back and forth from Dubai to England, Ireland and France, delivering sheik Mohammad's horses to their destinations.

And Ethan was up at the top of the Freedom Tower today.

I didn't think it was open yet. And I was right! It's not. Somehow, Ethan had a
VIP tour at the top of the Freedom Tower.

My children lead interesting lives!

Florida

My heart is in Florida today.

My dear Aunt Millie died on Saturday and was buried in a military cemetery today near her beloved husband, Warren.

My mom and dad each had a sister. Millie was dad's. She was 15 months younger than dad, and he watched over her.

My dad never had a bedroom of his own until he was married. His family lived in an apartment and the two bedrooms went to my grandparents and Aunt Millie. He had the couch in the living room.

Aunt Millie had a beautiful voice. An operatic voice. In fact she studied down in NYC with some very famous vocal instructors. My dad paid for those lessons, she was destined to be in the opera. But alas, she could not memorize the languages. So her singing career was confined to singing in my dad's band, and in the church choir.

My grandparents were musical, my grandmother played the organ at church, almost until the day she died. My grandfather directed the choir. Both Millie and my dad would sing with the choir and later would make guest appearances when they would put on a cantata.

Aunt Millie married Warren, who was a superb tenor. They had a band together and later sang in church choirs, the contralto and the tenor.

Our families actually lived on the same street for several years, in Rye. Terrace Court. I remember Aunt Millie, and mom, always wore dresses. Even when one was cleaning the house, house dresses. It was fun to live on the same street as relatives.

When Uncle Warren died, she moved to Hilton Head, to be near my folks. I saw her frequently then. She made many of our family reunions up at the lake. I remember her in her upper 70's riding the big jet ski and making us promise not to tell Peter, her son. He would be unhappy to see her in a potentially dangerous situation. She made the best scrambled eggs for us all and fried up pounds of pounds of bacon each morning. She loved Bridge and would play several times a week, even up until a few months ago.

One of our other favorite memories was when she was about my age, Rob and I were visiting her in Florida and we all went out water skiing. Rob had never tried and made a valiant effort but never got up, I skied for a bit but Aunt Millie showed us all how to really ski! She took off from the dock, skied all around and then they dropped her off at the beach. She skied onto the beach, and stepped out of the ski. I don't think her bathing suit was even wet, I know that not a hair in her recently coiffured head was out of place. We were very impressed!

I'm glad I was able to spend the week with her before she died. When she saw me in Florida the first night she sort of sat up in bed and exclaimed, "Am I dying? Oh wait, I'm dying!" How does one respond to that? Yes, and I'm here to tell you that I love you. We said that alot to each other that week.

I'll miss her and her indominable spirit. But she loved the Lord. So someday, Aunt Millie, we will all be together again!!

Love you!