Family

 If I am going to stay honest, I have to admit to enjoying watching the head explosions on the Left, concerning the election.  Sitting in cars, screaming like banshees.  Women shaving their heads and swearing off intimate relations with their husbands for the next four years.  Main Stream Media throwing 3-year-old style tantrums at each announcement of Cabinet positions in the upcoming administration.  Really?  I have seen elementary school playground fights that make more sense.

So, putting politics aside for now, I find that there are some other things that need my attention and are far more important to my family than the bs that passes for news these days.

My evenings and a day or two in the average week are spent organizing the genealogy information I have found online.  And searching for more.  Most of my family finds this dry as dust, but I would hope that eventually some of them might like to know where their ancestors came from.

In that same vein, my son asked me to write down the family stories that I had related to him as well as any others I remembered.  Some are rather serious like my paternal grandmother refusing to marry my grandfather until he signed a paper stating that he would abstain from drinking liquor.  He signed.  They married and went on to become parents of nine children.  Grandma was serious about this because sadly, her father was drunk a good share of the time.

Other stories are my memories of many of my parents and grandparents as well as my aunts and uncles who have all passed on.  I enjoy sharing my memories with my kids, especially since my family has many stories that are funny.  Like when my Dad and his brothers decided it might be fun to hoist the new car of the local banker, who was bragging about that car ad nauseum, onto the roof of his garage. (Keeping in mind that some sporty kinds of cars back in the 1920's weighed considerably less than they might now.)  Dad said the look on the banker's face when he realized where his car was, was worth it all!  We were blessed with good senses of humor in my family.  

Years ago, my Dad gave me a rather large cardboard box full of old photos.  I have since sorted them into large manila envelopes, one for each person and for family groups.  But most have no notation as to who the people in the photos are or what occasion the picture was taken for in the first place.  It occurred to me that when I am gone, my family will have no idea who is in many of the photos.

So this week I am digging out my scrapbooking supplies.  I am not talented enough in the craft of scrapbooking to fashion my own albums from scratch.  So, I am going the easy route.  Background papers will be cut to the size of 8.5 x 11.  Photos, descriptions and maybe a little bit of fru fru can go on each page, which will then fit inside a sheet protector and be organized in large 3-ring binders.  Hopefully, this will give my kids and grands something to show them who all of those relatives were.

I know that I maybe should be adding to the deep pantry stash, but I feel like there is a need to show the younger generation where they came from.  Some won't care.  But some might.  And for those who have an interest, the efforts on my part could just inspire someone to continue on with our family history.

I hope so.

Too Quiet

When my kids were still kids, they liked to tease and squabble and even on rare occasions, fight.  They were a noisy group.  But when things in my house got quiet, that's when I worried.  And rushed to see what shenanigans they were up to.

Before the election there was a lot of noise.  Campaign signs for Trump were wrecked or stolen.  The 'Never Trumpers' were loud and long winded.  Everywhere we looked, there was someone declaring that Trump was all sorts of bad things.

He won anyway.

And all of a sudden, it is quiet.

We were wrong about riots occurring after Trump won, including me.  I, along with many others were sure that cities would burn.  We thought there would be protests and violence in the streets.

Didn't happen.  And now I am worried.

There have been a bunch of criminal lawsuits.  And a couple of impeachments, including one when Trump was no longer in office.  And assassination attempts.  Do any of us believe those in power have given up on getting rid of Mr. Trump?

Nope.

Time to get serious about praying.  For the safety of the President Elect and his family.  For our beloved country, for there are still those who want to wreck what we have.  For those of us who, to quote Obama, "cling to our religion and our guns."

As Mr. Trump has said, "They're coming after you --- and I'm just standing in their way." 

 I just cannot shake the feeling that something wicked this way comes.  Pray.  Pray without ceasing.  

Hope Renewed

 But with caution.  I can't believe that the left will quietly accept the results of yesterday's election.  Considering how many times they have tried and failed to get rid of Mr. Trump, I have no reason to believe they won't try again.

For now, I have hope that the country I love may be saved.  I have hope that all of the things we have been told divide us will fade away.  I even have hope that common sense might have a fighting chance to appear again.

Today I will ignore politics.  And politicians.  Today I will do some quilting or some reading or something else I enjoy.

And I will be spending time giving thanks to our God who answers our prayers.

This and That

 Anybody else looking forward to the campaign ads going away?  There are some I wouldn't vote for based on just how annoying their ads are. Between the ads and the spam phone calls (Of course you are from Medicare and I'm positive you are calling just to help me out.)  I think I have invented several brand new swear words!

There are ads for a local judge.  Seems he is the most wonderful human being ever.  I kind of want to give him a well-placed kick.  Yeah.  There.

And then there is the Daylight Savings thing.  In the words of Pooh Bear, "Oh, bother."

So, to get away from all things crazy, I spent the last couple of days working on freezer meals for one.  I have several cases of meals in jars but thought it would be good to have some in the freezer as well.

I combined chicken that had been cooked, the meat removed from the bones and then diced.  Added three small bags of diced onions I found in my freezer, and a couple of bags each of frozen corn and peas.  Peeled, sliced and cooked 6 lbs. of carrots.  Sliced and cooked three bunches of celery.

Dumped all of it into a plastic dishpan.  Filled it nearly to the top.  Stirred it all together and then filled quart sized Ziploc bags with two heaping cups of the mixture per bag.  Into the freezer went 26 chicken-based meals.

To use the meals, I will thaw, add either water or broth and seasonings and heat for soup, thicken and serve over biscuits or make a pot pie.  There are other uses for these meals, but those are what I mostly use them for.

There is a reason for wanting easy to fix meals available.  I am old.  I live alone.  I have arthritis.  Some days I just don't feel like standing by my stove, stirring food from scratch in pans.  Or heating up my apartment with the oven.  There comes a time when, even if we are healthy, that we just want to make life a bit easier.  The meals help.

A couple of days ago I watched some white, fluffy stuff falling from the sky.  This is not unheard of in Minnesota.  A number of years ago there was a blizzard on Halloween.  But this time, by morning the snow was gone.  

Part of my son's job is supervising several snow removal crews.  Every fall he asks me to pray for snow so he can keep his crews busy.  And he has a kid in college.  He sent me a photo of the rain gauge in his backyard, telling me that if the amount of water in the rain gauge had fallen as snow, there would be about 36 inches of the white stuff on the ground.  

That message was followed by this.  🙏

One of my greatest blessings is having children with great senses of humor!!

Take care, friends.  And keep an eye on what happens this week.  I don't know for sure what will happen, but I'm thinking it might not be very good, depending on the outcome of the election.

Stay safe.  God bless and keep each and every one of you.

Well, Friends...

 I have been busy trying to stay calm until at least after the election.  It has become easier now that I automatically shut down the annoying political commercials.  Won't miss those at all!

I think what amazes me the most is that so many running for office seem to think that the ones who might vote for them are dumb as a box of rocks.  Which tells me politics has nothing to do with the care of citizens and everything to do with money and power.

So, until the votes are counted (Does anyone actually believe elections are fair anymore?) my time is filled with things that make me happy.

I just love retirement.  After years of working jobs, sometimes more than one - kids need to eat so we do what we need to do - I am enjoying this time immensely.  No alarm clock.  No spending time doing things I dislike.  OK - there is still mopping floors and laundry.  But I get to decide how to spend my time.

Right now, my kitchen table is covered with file folders and manila envelopes full of genealogy paperwork.  Found my mother's high school diploma from 1942 and a postcard written by my dad to his mother in the middle of the Depression of the 1930's, letting her know that he and his brother had found work picking up potatoes from a field in Montana.  When work in northern Minnesota couldn't be found, they rode freight trains west in search of a way to make money for the family.  Found a letter written by my paternal grandmother, describing her encounter with a black bear while in the woods picking blueberries.  (She ignored the bear and exited the woods slowly and quietly.  Me... probably would have run away, screaming!)

Many would find this activity dry as dust, but I love the research about ancestors.  I find that my adult children seem to be a bit interested as well.  And a granddaughter was asking about this, so I have hope that my family will find it interesting.  They should know where they come from.

I haven't abandoned preparing.  Earlier this week I cooked up some odds and ends of poultry and pork that were languishing in my freezer.  My grocery order for next week includes veggies to add to the meat to make 'meals in a jar.'  I love having the jar meals on hand so I can just heat up the contents and dinner is served.  Think this time I will cook the contents together, cool and freeze in quart freezer bags.  I am pretty much out of shelf space for jars.

And I have rambled on long enough.  Sometimes these posts are more like emails between friends.  Take good care.  Stay safe.  Things might just get crazier when the election results are in.  And may God place a veil of protection over all of you.

Finding Peace

Seems like everywhere I turn, there are those who are convinced the world will end the day after our election.  They say that we are in trouble if our supply of beans and bandaids isn't full to overflowing.  They offer little in the way of hope and much in the way of fear.

I realize that I have been guilty of those very things.  And I feel like it may be time for a change.

I look around and see that my storage shelves are full of home canned foods.  So are the boxes and tubs and buckets that hold all the rest of my food and supplies.  As is a closet full of sugar and flour and other baking supplies.  As is my chest freezer.  Unless the grocery stores close forever, my family will be OK.

I will still keep an eye on what is happening in the world around me.  I see too many that are blissfully ignorant of the problems we all face.  And the combination of ignorance and lack of any preparaton whatsoever is a deadly combination.

But I need a break from the constant worry and fear that we all have been living with for the past few years.  And frankly, I am sick to death of all the political bs.  Everywhere I look, I find politicians tossing insults at one another like third graders on the playground.  When all is said and done, they all are going to do whatever they want, regardless of what those who elected them think.  

I have things to do that make me happy.  I have a large box of old photos to get into albums so my kids and grands will know who some of those ancestors are.  I have quilts and crocheted afghans to finish.  And I think perhaps a batch of chocolate chip cookies might just be in my near future.

We are responsible for our own frames of mind.  We can choose to be angry or fearful or worried.  Right now, while I am still relatively sane, I choose peace.

Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hanse

Aftermath

First and foremost...our friend Patrick, who is in Florida, added a comment last evening letting us know that although there was considerable damage in his area, the power is back on and he is OK.  So prayers of thanks are ongoing today.

I'm thinking that for many, the past two hurricanes may have served as a wake-up call.  I know that seeing reports of what happened to those in the path of the storms gave me pause to reconsider some of the preparedness things I am doing.

I am not going to list what I think everyone should be doing.  Each situation is different from the next.  Each family has its own list of needs.  Foods that your family loves, another family wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole!  I have a list of medical supplies needed for the care of my legs.  Others may need totally different supplies.  Each person needs to decide what items make sense to store for their family.  

Nor will I try to tell anyone what supplies, gadgets, etc. everyone "has to have or they will die."  There are some who feature iterms that can be helpful in emergency situations.  Those I will consider.  It is the ones who insist I will not survive without their product that I avoid like the plague.

The point is...being as prepared as possible for whatever happens is the smart thing to do.   I have seen reports and videos and even comments here, telling us what worked for their families when things went from bad to worse.  It is my hope and prayer that some of those who were convinced the government would save them have realized that is pure fantasy.  

We know that bad things can happen, sometimes without warnng.  Folks may survive.  But the survival is much easier if some preparations have been made in advance.

Those Boy Scouts - the ones with the moitto "Be Prepared" had the right idea.