Starting Out 2023

 

Making Apple-Butter

Well, considering that we are working with a smaller house, and budget, I am trying to rearrange some things and get some of the bills either streamlined, or off our backs altogether. We have a much smaller need for things right now, but there are the inevitable services, and things like heat in the winter, that we still have to shell it out for. 

It's interesting, because in my prayer each morning the Lord has really been pointing to the humility and the simplicity of the Holy Family, and the way that He Himself would have grown up. Obviously they would have done a lot more with a lot less. They would have made the few items of clothing that they did have last for years. They would have been careful about wasting food, and Mary would have had all sorts of tricks for stretching ingredients to make things go further. People would have been very important in daily life. If you needed something, you would approach the person who made or grew it. There would be farmers, and weavers, and potters, right there in town, and when you needed a new bowl or cup you would go find them and ask them to make it for you. There wouldn't be shelves and shelves of goods in one place, because there weren't enough people that needed the stuff. 

When we shop, do we go to the people that do the work and interact with them? I guess we might have a conversation about something with the stock-boy, or checker, but they aren't really connected to the goods that they are selling. They are just bringing in boxes, and collecting money. I mean, that's definitely worthwhile work, but it doesn't inform us of the meaning of the things that we are purchasing to the people who provided them. And sadly most of those things probably don't mean anything even to those people. It's so disconnected! Does a feedlot worker take any pride in the cattle that go through the process? Does a person standing on a assembly line get to appreciate the meaning of the item that is being produced to the people who use it? 

I have had rare experiences where I was either part of, or just the next person in the chain of goods that were provided. Raising animals, vegetables, and making bread or other things from scratch is truly satisfying, and more than satisfying, it is being part of something very close to God's heart. He made all that we consume, for us! When we are part of the process of growing or making, we touch something that is part of Him. The times that we have spent with family and friends, making good food, and then eating it are priceless. The apple-butter party at Bob and Dean's is one example. 

The family kettle, over 100 years old, and the many hands that come together to make this amazing food, are a part of our lives now too. 

God made the plants, and animals and the sun and rain and wind that sustain them. He wants us to introduce ourselves to His providence. It's not canned or frozen, it's not produced by a machine. The real thing is the true, the good and the beautiful, even if it isn't always tasty or appealing to the eye. The art of creation is God's art first, and He gifts us with it. Looking at and participating in creation is one of the ways that we worship the Creator, and it is also profoundly humbling. We learn things about Him that we can only learn when we are that close to the earth. 

And no, we aren't in a position to go buy a farm, but we know a lot of people who do, and maybe it is going to be a part of 2023 to participate in a closer way with the local people who provide, rather than participating in that vast, faceless "market".

January 1- What A Gorgeous Day!!

 What a beautiful day it was today! It was almost like Spring out there. I think it got up close to 60 degrees! 

I took Cora out for a walk this morning, even though it was still a little bit wet from a wild rain storm last night. 

Then I went out to the new farm to meet Nina and Lilly and to watch Lilly ride Ghost. We were greeted with a rather unwelcome surprise. Apparently a pipe has broken at one of the new automatic waterers and the horses had dug a hole and were creating quite a mud bath. One of them was really having a great time rolling in the mud. Nina was really worried that somebody was going to end up stuck so we moved them all to another field. Somebody has quite a cleanup to do before they are going to be able to ride. 

Lilly rode Ghost for a while. He sure looks nice under saddle. He has such beautiful gaits and at 17 hands he eats up a lot of ground. Good thing the arena is huge!

I called Dad on the way home to wish him a happy birthday. He is sure looking forward to getting down to Texas this Spring. We will both be visiting at the same time, so it will be really nice to see him.

We are watching football now. The Ravens are playing tonight. We'll see how that goes. I would say that they should be able to beat the Steelers, but I thought that they should be able to beat the Browns and that didn't happen, so....

2023- Happy New Year!

 As I write this, it is the final few hours of 2022.

It was an eventful year, that's for sure. A lot of things happened that I didn't see coming, but God has been so good. He has walked close beside us every minute of every day. We have been brought to our knees, and we have rejoiced in His goodness. Isn't that the way of life though? 

Sunrise in a new place.

Today we are saying good-bye to dear Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What a gift he has been to the Church. He was truly a giant in the way that he approached the Truth. There is so much that he gave us, and I haven't even tapped into it yet. I am still trying to work through the prolific mind of Pope John Paul II!

In 2023 we have some big changes coming, that we know of, and probably some that we don't!

I will finish up at the School of Spiritual Direction at Franciscan. I hope to be mostly finished with the requirements by April, and then I just have to finish paying for the program. I am thinking of getting some part time work to have extra for that, and travel to and from Texas, and some other expenses.

We will also welcome Madi into our family! Paul and Madi will be married the 17th of June! 

~Rachel Clesi Photography

If all goes well, at some point after I finish school, we hope to be able to relocate to Texas! I am praying that sometime in August or September we can look for a house. If that works out we will be living down there next New Year's, and Dad can have his birthday in a new home. I would love that. 

We went to Mass tonight and it was so beautiful. Tonight we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Fr Francis spoke about how Mary is there for us as a loving mother, and how we can always go to her for help. He also talked about how important it is to keep reaching out to others to share the love of God. I sometimes get lost in the details of all that we have going on and I forget how important that simple task is. Just looking at the person in front of you and seeing them for who they are, beloved and wanted children of God, needs to be that ONE thing that gets done every single day. If we are praying in the morning and the evening, we are given the entire day to do the work of God, which is simply to love. No matter how much I accomplish in the course of a day, if the people that come into it haven't encountered love in me, then I have not lived that day well. I want to do better. I have to do better. 

Tomorrow is Dad's 82nd birthday! I wish he was able to be at Laura's. He loves having Christmas and New Years with the Cookes. Well, whatever the year brings, I hope that happens for him next year. 

I think I will go watch Lilly ride tomorrow. We are having a little bit of a thaw and I am hoping that it dries out enough for Lilly and Ghost to get out for a ride. I took these pictures the other day.  They have moved to another place and it is really beautiful up there! 

Merry Christmas!!

 We had a nice Christmas in our new place.

Laura sent me a new Cake pan and I managed to make a red velvet Christmas cake. 

We had a few presents and a quiet day.

The Church looks amazing!! 

Goodbye-Hello

 

Well, on Friday, December 16th, we met with all the necessary people and we closed on our home sale.

I was somewhat emotional, naturally, but as we went through the process and I saw how happy the couple is that bought it. They should be really happy with the place! We are really going to miss the neighbors though! That has been such a great place to live for so long. 

Then the 17th and 18th were move days and boy did we move! Tim got the truck and we didn't stop for two days! It was really something. We had so many friends helping! That was just so amazing. 

It's so weird not to go home to that house, but still, I know this is God's plan! He has been with us every step of the way. 

There were so many things that proved His plan for this time in our lives. We are on a journey for sure. 

The new place is very small and very different but it is growing on me for the time being. I am looking forward to a big kitchen again though!

We have been in it for almost two weeks and we are making the necessary adjustments. It is nice to have a disposal and a master bathroom. It is nice to have the Christmas tree up! 

I don't know how long we will be here, but I think it will do just fine for however long God sees fit. As the previous tenant said. "It keeps you humble!" 

Third Sunday Already??

 

This Advent is really a time of preparation. Preparing for a very different way of life for a while. 

I will put the tree up in the new place and we will have a joyous Christmas! Our kitchen is going to be Crachit-sized and it will be interesting to cook a Christmas dinner there, but we'll pull it off! And it will be different but how can we not be Joyful in celebrating Our Lord? 

We have to watch the usual round of Christmas Carol versions. That will definitely be a good way to prepare once we get moved in. 

Moving On...

 

Well, the business is getting done and we are proceeding through the process of selling the house. It is so weird, but the more we think about it, the more it seems like the plan is coming together the way that God wants it.

I am packing and giving things away that don't matter, and keeping the things that do. So many things happened in this house! Lives were begun and childhoods were lived. So many things were learned and conversations took place under this roof. The years filled up the storage spaces and the basement with things that were needed and valued. Now many of those things have become unneeded are being given to people who can use them. The rooms that the kids lived in still have marks on the walls and the carpet got a lot of use! 

It is kind of surreal. I am really glad that I have this blog of the life that we lived here. The schooling and the holidays and the meals and celebrations. 

But there is a time for everything and there is a time to say goodbye to a house that needs a family growing in it. We have lived well here and I hope that the new family will live well here as well. I hope that this house sees many more Christmases, and egg hunts and sledding down the hill. A dog or two and a lot of fires in the fire pit. I hope that we are handing on a space that will bless people as it has us.

I pray that we are ready when God shows us the next step. I know that this is a journey. All of life is a journey and ours is going to proceed in another place. I pray that we live it well. That we find a place to call home that will serve our needs for the time that we need it to. There is so much to pray about and the Lord has been so good!! He has walked with us every step of this journey and I am looking forward to the new life that He is preparing for us.