Apple Pickin' Time

When the geese start honking overhead and the leaves start tumbling from the trees, the apples are ripe for picking. There is nothing like a fragrant, juicy, crispy apple. My DH and I have been making apple pies, freezing pie filling, canning apple slices and now dehydrating apples. Thanks to my hard-working Johnny Appleseed--- who's the apple of my eye--- we'll enjoy our bounty all winter.

Pure Love

Six months after my spouse had passed on, I was still beside myself with grief. I could barely function because I missed him so. One night, I was lying in bed feeling sorry for myself and started praying like I'd never prayed before. I said, "Lord, I can't do this anymore. I'm giving him to You." I immediately felt a warmth and a light and a tingling engulf my body. I can only describe it as pure love---a sensation I had never felt before and have never felt since. After that I knew that everything would be alright and I began to heal. God knows when we're hurting and is willing to help---all we have to do is ask.

All Eyes on You

Eyes are the windows of the soul. Lovers gaze longingly into each other's eyes, babies stare at their mothers' faces, and you've all seen sad puppy-dog eyes. There's an eye atop the pyramid on the dollar bill; the ancient Egyptians emphasized their eyes by lining them with kohl. Some people have big, sparkling eyes and we say they're happy and loving. Others have small, squinty eyes and we think they're mean and stingy. Brown-eyed girls seem to be in demand and everybody loves a blue-eyed blonde. My grandma always admired brown eyes and our family had none, so I married a pair and gave her three brown-eyed great grandchildren. Take a minute and gaze into your partner's eyes---you may be pleasantly surprised!

Thumbs Down on Housework

Sometimes housework can get to be a drag, especially if you work and have a bunch of kids. Unfortunately, in this economy, most women are in that position. When we moved into a new (to us) house, I got a little carried away with neatness. My mother had a way of bringing me down to earth, however. She came to visit and brought the kids some ice cream bars, looked around the room and said, "Well, you'll probably have to eat these in the bathtub!" After that I eased up a bit and wasn't quite so fussy. If my grandmother didn't have time to do her usual housework, she'd say, " I'm just giving the house a lick and a promise today." So if you're too busy to clean or don't have the energy, take a hint from Grandma Jennie.

Jump Start

When my family was growing up they were normal, lively kids. Once in awhile their energy would overwhelm them and they'd start doing gymnastics in the living room. Their dad put up with a lot of things but cartwheels and jumping jacks weren't among them. They could run up and down the stairs or slide across the kitchen without a word, but start antics in the living room and the big guns came out. I'm sure they can still hear him yelling, "This ain't a damn gymnasium!" Since they all have their own living rooms now, I guess they can do as many cartwheels as they want.

House Party

When my parents were young, they went to house dances. The couple hosting the dance would remove the furniture from the living room, prepare a few snacks and start up the record player---78's, what else? The kids were always included; nobody hired baby-sitters in those days. If we wound down before midnight, we'd flop on the bed and snooze among the coats until the folks carried us to the car. It was exciting if the dance was at our house---kids to play with, special treats, no bedtime. Life was so much simpler in the 1940's.

Whatever Plows Your Garden---

My husband's inner farmer has surfaced again. Every year at this time, he becomes Farmer MacGregor and starts to plow his garden. He's already forgotten the frustration of the indomitable weeds and the pesky mosquitoes and is planning for next Spring. Seeds are safely stored in the cupboard, extra canning jars wait in the basement. It's important for all of us to have a dream of a future project, whether it's a vegetable garden or an award-winning movie.

Chicken Soup

I must have been a Jewish mother in another life. Every time I learn that a friend or relative is ill, I have this unrelenting urge to make chicken soup. The chicken just seems to jump into the pot and I automatically start adding vegetables and noodles. Once, when my sister-in-law was recovering from surgery, the urge took over and I made some fowl soup in a crock pot. ( Unfortunately, the venture turned FOUL, also!) When we arrived at their farm, my DH opened the trunk to a huge mess---chicken soup all over the place. I went into the house, announced that we'd brought lunch, and they should each bring a spoon to the car. Needless to say, it took days to clean up the soup and weeks to get rid of the smell. It seems that sometimes good ideas just chicken out!

Falling Leaves

It's once again the first day of Fall. The fields are donning their golden capes; trees are preparing for the season's final fashion show. The geese have had a whiff of the North Wind and are heading south. We've closed the cabin for the year; a big job and also a sad job. When we lock the door for the last time, it always reminds me of "On Golden Pond" when Katherine Hepburn says good-bye to the loons. Well, we don't have loons but we do have pelicans and gulls and cranes. Good-bye, birds. Good-bye, lake dog. See you next Spring. These snowbirds are on Arizona countdown!

Memories

On this day, 51 years ago, I married for the first time. Marriage to him was like a roller coaster ride---lots of ups and downs but always exhilarating. My heart skipped a beat whenever he walked into a room, so after his untimely death, I was convinced that my life was over. The kids were grown and I was all alone. I thought my job would be my salvation, but it wasn't. The Widowed Support Group was. They restored my confidence and, magically, my life started over. My daughter says I morphed into a different person, and I did---I had no choice. Continuous grieving is no way to live and I refused to accept that empty existence. A couple of years later, a wonderful widower showed me that we should live our golden years together. We both have precious memories of our deceased spouses but are happily enjoying our own adventures. Remember, God never closes a door without opening a window and I'm eternally grateful that he opened one for me.

Braking For Garage Sales

If you want to meet some interesting people, just put out a Garage Sale sign and a few balloons. Everybody comes---the lonely widow craving conversation, the elderly man with 57 cents in his pocket, wanting to buy an angel ( of course, that becomes the sale price).Then there's the inebriated fellow who sits down and talks for an hour and buys nothing, or the pseudo-preacher who tells of his ministry and sings us a song of his own composition. But the saddest shopper was a young boy who was offered a flower for his mother and replied, "My mom is dead." We don't need social workers---all we need is garage sales.

Incoming!

When I was a young bride, my late husband moved me into a converted schoolhouse in a tiny Minnesota town. He was stationed at the Air Force Base down the road, so he was busy. Needless to say, I was bored and lonely---no family, no friends and no place to work. It didn't take long to clean two rooms or walk to the only store. My contact with the outside world was a radio; we didn't even have television. So one day, he surprised me with a little black cocker spaniel with brown eyebrows. I fell immediately in love and named him Sam. He became my companion and my confidante. One day, to ease the boredom, I proceeded to make donuts. How hard could that be? I decided I was an awesome donut-maker because Sam would beg for one, disappear and then ask for another. Unfortunately, he was hiding them in the bedroom closet. The next morning, Bob told his buddies that he got very little sleep because the dog dropped donut bombs all night. Thankfully, he learned to be a better husband and I learned to be a better cook, so the marriage lasted for 36 years.

Squirrel it Away

The DH and I are like a couple of squirrels, storing up nuts for the winter. We've been canning everything in sight---tomatoes, plums, pickles, jam and jelly, beef and chicken. We've even canned soup and are looking forward to harvesting the fruit from my brother's apple trees. Most of this bounty will accompany us to AZ to help defray the spiraling food costs and to facilitate quick, easy meals. We could all learn a lesson from these busy little guys---plan ahead!

Good Samaritans

There is one advantage to being an old fogey. You get help from a variety of good samaritans. For example: We were driving through Texas and blew a camper tire. The DH proceeded to gather the tire-changing tools and I stood by the road looking helpless. Within a few minutes, a couple of young Texans came by and changed our tire. Another time, we were at the lumber yard trying to load sacks of cement when a young man came running over and said, "Here, let me do that for you." The day we were struggling to unload a television set ---in the box-- from the truck in front of our house, a pickup pulled up, three guys jumped out, grabbed the box and carried it into the house. Whew! Rescued again. So if you see a couple of oldies in distress, stop and give them a hand. Someday you may need help yourself.

Reflections

Early one morning, I opened the curtains to an awesome sight. The lake was like a mirror, reflecting the entire shoreline. There are other types of reflections to indulge in also, both physical and emotional. It's necessary now and then to stop for a moment to reflect on our lives---situations we could or should have handled differently, stupid mistakes, poor decisions---or to take a look at the big picture. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Only God knows the answers to those questions and one day He'll say, "Okay, you've had your turn, come on Home", and then we will reflect God's Love.

Pheasant Under Glass?

These beautiful Fall days trigger some wonderful memories of my parents. During hunting season, they would load my brother and me in the car and embark on a Sunday afternoon of road hunting. I'd sit in the back seat with my homework in my lap, basking in the October sunshine and enjoying the outing. Upon spotting a ditch-dwelling pheasant, Dad would slam on the brakes, jump from the front seat---leaving the door wide open---and bag the bird with one shot. In those days, pheasants were very plentiful and he'd get his limit in a short time. Then came the best part---Mother's cooking. Nobody could pan fry a pheasant like my mom. Unfortunately, most of our grandchildren will never have the pleasure of eating pheasant under glass or any other way.

Kept in the Dark

We've become so accustomed to the basics---electricity, water and heat---that we become helpless when we lose one or the other. If there's a power outage, we just sit here in the silent darkness and twiddle our thumbs. We don't know what to do without lights, television or the Internet. We think the world's come to an end! Then it's time to turn our thoughts to the poor people in war-torn countries and the victims of those horrendous hurricanes. Many of them have lost everything, including the essentials. Let's all say a prayer for them and not get so excited when we're inconvenienced once in a while.

Small Sacrifices

From day one, mothers have made sacrifices for their children. It starts the minute they're born, when we lose our figures and our sleep. It's only natural to want our offspring to be happy, but we have to know where to draw the line between loving and spoiling rotten. Children need to be taught that life isn't fair, Mom won't always be there to kiss the boo-boos and other people won't be so easy to manipulate. Only Mom or Grandma will give you the biggest piece of cake and sacrifice a favorite movie so you can watch cartoons. Heck, we thought Grandma LIKED the tail of the chicken!

Love Thy Brother

Sibling rivalry is a fact of life. No matter how fair and diplomatic you are, your kids will still complain---his dessert is bigger than mine, I couldn't do that at her age, you love him more than me. Cave children probably argued over who got to sit closest to the fire or who had to throw out the bones. Rivalry began in the Garden of Eden and has escalated through the ages, causing wars over land, oil, power. So if your kids fight, don't worry about it; it's embedded in their genes.

Use Your Head

When you're at the end of your rope, you need to take a lesson from the ancient desert dwellers who made more cordage from materials provided by nature. Life is more complicated now, but the ability is still in your genes. In retrospect, you'll realize that most of your problems were solved by using ingenuity---exactly what your ancestors did. If you sat on the couch moaning, "Why did this happen to me?", chances are your problem wasn't solved. God gave us all brains (some better than others) and we need to use them. If something doesn't feel right, don't do it! When one solution doesn't work, try another. Not every problem will be solved to your satisfaction, but whatever happens is right for you at that time. Listen to that still, small voice of your subconscious---it's wiser than you are.

Open Wide, Senora!

One of the reasons we like to go to Arizona is that we're so close to the Mexican dentists. The initial visit was pretty scary---did he wash his hands, why is he grinding so long, is this work guaranteed? That first dental office wasn't much more than a hole-in-the-wall, but now things have improved tremendously. Because of the proliferation of American customers, competition has forced the dentists to upgrade. They now have beautiful facilities with state of the art equipment. Prices are unbelievable and their work is excellent. With a mouthful of Mexican teeth, you'd think I'd be able to speak Spanish!

Chain Reaction

It's amazing how a new piece of furniture or a wall decoration can trigger a chain reaction. All of a sudden, the entire room needs a make-over---throw out that chair, move those pictures, scrub that carpet. If you decide to have a garage sale, drawers and closets get revamped, the basement is visited for the first time in months. Items magically appear that you haven't seen in ages. Sometimes a new friend can start that same reaction; you're introduced to different ideas, new areas to see and places to go. It's okay to shake things up every so often---it keeps life interesting.

S-h-h-h!

Years ago we had a cute little kitten named Fatty Cat. My late husband and the kids just adored him and his antics. Well, one day Fatty Cat disappeared. Was he hiding? Had he escaped out the door? Was he cat-napped? We looked high and low--no Fatty Cat. During that time, my husband was hospitalized and continued to ask about the kitten. The answer was always the same---haven't found him. After several days, I noticed an odd odor coming from the sofa bed, opened it up and there was the missing kitten, flat as a pancake. Fatty Cat had become Flatty Cat. I never did have the heart to tell my husband what had happened. Sometimes bad news is best kept to yourself.

Shiver Me Timbers

Owen Meany and I have something in common. We both have several situations that give us the "shivers." Sometimes shivers are triggered by good things--- a wedding of any kind, whether real or make believe, gets to me; a new baby makes me melt; a beautiful musical composition or painting brings tears to my eyes. Other circumstances have the opposite effect. Funerals make me face my own mortality; the idea of a ghost makes my spine tingle; tornadoes and hurricanes scare me to death. But the thought that makes me shiver AND shudder is this---an unknown, inexperienced woman from Alaska could be a heartbeat away from running our wonderful country! Please vote for Obama.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

There is an ambitious man in California who is utilizing a mountain as a canvas---he's spreading God's word with house paint. This outcropping is completely covered with scripture, colorful flowers and familiar scenery. Here is a dedicated, unassuming man who wears his heart on his sleeve. To some, he may appear to be eccentric, but he has had a dream for years and has devoted his life to completing his vision. This is a work in progress, continuously expanding. Kudos to him. How many mountains have YOU painted lately?

Imperfections

Perfection is something many people strive to accomplish but few achieve. If we were perfect we'd have no reason to be here. Our time on Earth is a learning experience and we need to pay attention. The child with the physical or mental imperfection is as precious as the child with none. Even the blighted last rose of summer is as beautiful as it's perfect predecessors. Beauty is in the eye---and the heart---of the beholder.

Attack Goose

When I was a youngster, our family went to the Palisades for a picnic. It was one of those perfect summer days, and I was anticipating running around and playing on the rocks. I proceeded with my plan when, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, came a kamikaze goose---a great hissing, spitting goose--- and he was headed straight for me! With his beak snapping and his wings flapping, he chased me around and around the park. I was never so frightened in my life, and then so happy, as when I saw my dad dispatch that murderous creature. To this day, I view geese with a suspicious eye.

Plum Crazy

Several years ago, a squirrel planted a plum tree in our back yard. For several seasons it produced a few plums, which the birds enjoyed immensely. This summer, however, the tree has gone crazy. It was absolutely loaded with blossoms in the spring and I swear, every one of them became a plum. The branches are so heavy with fruit that they're bent to the ground. Of course, we couldn't allow this bonanza to go to waste. You're probably familiar with the old saying, "If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade". Well, if life hands you plums, can the fruit and make plum jelly!

Wagon Train

We have a handicapped neighbor who struggles past our house several times a week, pulling a series of wagons. Quite often, the first one contains three or four children, and two other wagons tag along behind. Sometimes, his wife accompanies him, pushing a stroller holding a couple more babies. When they return, the wagon train is overflowing with groceries. The kids sit like quiet little angels, enjoying their outing. It seems they understand that Dad is doing the best he can, and they don't want to add to his burden. We appreciate and applaud his tenacity, but at the same time, we're quietly giving thanks that we're not in his shoes!