Summer Tasks

We aren't doing too much to start our summer, i.e. Memorial Day weekend. No camping or canoeing anyway. A visit to Sioux Falls for a backyard picnic maybe. So we started last night on our main summer project-painting. That is, painting the garages and house. Oh, and we are cleaning and sealing the deck. We borrowed a pressure cleaner and had at it. I must say, for something called a 'cleaner' it sure made a mess. While the deck boards look amazingly clean, the paint chips all over them are pretty messy. I am excited to see the changes, hopefully the improvements! Pictures later. But for the rest of you-enjoy the long weekend!

This Body of Death

We got some first hand experience with the stench of death this week. Rotting corpses are not pleasant- to view or to have their wretched smell fill up your living room either. Oh goodness it was awful. We had not just 1 poor squirrel starve to death in our fireplace chimney, but four of them. So if you can imagine the smell that we had on Saturday when at least one of them was at its ripest, you will understand that by today, Thursday, my stomach gets a bit queasy at just the thought of it. Not only that, but we had some good friends that we haven't seen in awhile stop by for a visit on Saturday afternoon. They were kind enough not to say word about the wretched smell. I sat there wondering what in the world they must be thinking- it truly was awful.
Last night Ron got down on his back in the fireplace, with a shop vac and his hands and pulled out body parts for the better part of three hours. He had a pile in the corner of the largest pieces, some of them filled with maggots. (no wonder I had flies coming out of the woodwork). Every few minutes he would have to stop because the vac hose was plugged and I would take it outside and empty it out-bones, a piece of tail, soot... Then finally, at 10 pm he shut that vaccuum off, went to the top of the chimney, put a piece of plywood and cement block on top and came in to clean off the stench.
Phew, that is the end of that I hope. Though while we were sitting in that room, a candle burning to get rid of the last of the smell, we heard animal noises coming from the chimney......

Weekend fun

Seriously, does this not look like the best weekend ever? And this is just one day! Man, we ate our way through the Tulip Festival, saw the afternoon parade and street fest. Isaiah counted 10 bands and did not touch the water! Phin, however fell in. That was a sorry moment! And as I downloaded my pictures I realized I did not get one single shot of Sarah. What in the world? I cuddled her, rocked her and just adored her. (I adore the other 4 too, just not like you do a girl) Simeon ate ice cream, everyone had brats and a very healthy salad...these are all just random jots from our Tulip Festival weekend.

Road Trip

Lynn and I took a road trip last weekend. I laugh because I love to tell the story of how we decided where to go. "Let's take a trip to New York" (thinking of the fun we'd had when we went to Chicago a few years ago) Or, wait. I know, San Francisco sounds like a lot of fun." Whoa. Slow down there..."I know, let's go to Pella!" So, it was decided. Pella and its Tulip Festival were in our sights. We only went by ourselves because we knew our husbands wouldn't be too enthused about Pella. After all, they got more than enough Tulip festivalling right here. But we planned to do some biking too. (the bikes got a great wet down and back and never made it off theback of the truck!) Fortunately we decided to stay in a motel and not to camp. Because as it turned out, and as you all may already know, it was a freezing cold, rainy weekend. Not to worry. We had fun anyway. The tulips were pretty well done. But it didn't rain on the parade. Wow-a big parade it was too! The bakery and the Pella library had to be the highlights of the trip. I could have lived on Dutch letters, dutch tarts, and other almond pastries. Mmmmm! Oh and the poffertjies? They put strawberries and whip cream on theirs. Wow! (we should have biked) Here are some of my touristy pictures:

39 years

"The longest journey begins with a single step". Hard for me to believe I have taken this many "steps" with this one single person. He has always been, and will always be, the one I would want to walk with through life. You know, when you are just getting married they tell you that 'it's not easy.' "marriage is hard work" "you'll see trials and troubles"...blah blah. I remember thinking, as I was surrounded by all those 'marriage pros' (i.e. my parents and in-laws) on my wedding day, that surely I would be different. Love would be effortless. This amazing feeling that I had on this, my wedding day, couldn't possibly ever change. Well, I'm here to tell you, 'they' were right. It has been work, it hasn't been a piece of cake, and that wonderful wedding day feeling? Well, it didn't last too long. I found out quickly: Love is not a feeling. It's a commitment to lots of work.

My 39 year partner would surely tell you that I haven't always been the most fabulous, sexy, interesting, engaging or appealing person to live with, but he has never given up on me. I think he entertains the thought every day, "well today could be the day when she'll be everything I hoped she would be. I can't give up on her now." So he takes the time to pray with me every morning, kisses me before he heads off to work, and greets me the same way when we're back together again at night. Steady rock-ness. That's what I have in him. He has gone out of his way to bring out the best in me.. Not an easy to be sure. He has actively engaged in fatherhood (changing dirty diapers and getting up in the middle of the night with sick kids) participated in the household chores (wash, cooking and willingly doing the 'list'). He (almost) always asks what he can do to help, and has always always always given me room to grow. He is plagued by the 'I can fix it' syndrome, but I love him for it anyway, even when it annoys me. The one thing, though that has been the glue in our relationship is not some dogged determination to stick together, it's that we earnestly want our journey to be about honoring God, the creator and sustainer of our marriage in the first place. It's God who has done this thing. Not my husband. Not me. Without Him, our efforts would be... about us.

39 years ago one cold, sunny April afternoon we started off together. We knew from the beginning anyway, that it would not be about us. This has been our life verse together: "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (ps. 127:1) I didn't really know what that would look like. 3 kids, 5 moves, 1 unemployment bout, career change, sickness and health, 5 grandchildren later....It has been nothing short of amazing.

It's been a pretty short trip to here, but I hope we still have a way to go ... There's lots yet I'm hoping to see and learn together!

Biking

Someone told me today I could exercise more. That might help me keep this silly weight off. So I took the bike out tonight and headed down the Puddle Jumper. My first excursion and it was a gorgeous night to do it. I wished the whole way along that I'd brought the camera. Oh well. The air was filled with dozens of birds singing. I heard the brown thrush and even, I think, a purple martin, plus the usual of robins and finches and woodpeckers. The air smelled wonderful tonight. The plum trees on the side of the trail looked like mountainous fragrant snowdrifts. They were lovely! I checked for asparagus. I always think I'm going to remember where it's growing on the trail, but of course there was no way to tell now. I didn't have anything to carry it with anyway. Last year when I rode on the trail, I could do the hard part..up the hill to the golf course trail..without too much difficulty. Tonight I had to stop and catch my breath. not a good sign I think. Better to watch the horses off to the east. Town on the left, country on the right. Then when I swung aroung to head down the golf course trail, there was the balloon. The air is so still tonight, no wonder the balloon was up. Excellent. It was a great ride! I hope to make a habit of it on nights like these..well, every night hopefully!

Spring ... Again!

So you can tell that at last spring has arrived in Orange City. Tulip Festival is only a few weeks away but we are awash in tulip blooms. How many for tulip festival will depend on how warm it gets, but what does it matter? We get to enjoy them whenever they bloom. So here are just a few from my Sunday afternoon walk in the park. I swear I'd never get tired of taking pictures of tulips from every conceivable angle. Sorry. If you don't get a chance to make it to the Festival at least you can enjoy the tulips!