The Event ~ Farm to Table

Tim and I drove 28 miles south to a farm in the middle of nowhere (south of Harrisburg!) to be guests at a farm-to-table dinner.  The long table set for 45 guests was set up in the garden area, where baby turkeys were free-roaming, and right next to a stack of big round hay bales.  The event was to highlight foods grown from local producers.

Wine was served from a local winery.  Cheese provided by the local Victory Hills Cheese farm, honey from the local honey producer, chicken from the local farm, artisan bread from a local bread maker, corn on the cob from a local farmer, and Colorado peaches.   It was a five-course meal.

It was a fun evening.  We went with good friends Ernie and Connie Bussinger.  To my surprise this little farm had its own unique country market place.

 

It was a fun evening, weather was perfect, food was great, fellowship was inspiring.  I was lucky to get the last four tickets available after reading about it in the newspaper early one morning the week prior.  One instance where my new i-phone really was useful - getting on line to order tickets instantly!  A great event!  Glad we were among the guests to enjoy it! 

The Event ~ God's Handiwork

How can anyone deny there is a God ~ just marvel at the beauty of His creation.  This is the beauty I am privlidged and blessed to be able to enjoy daily!



Sunrise - August 20, 2013



Sunset - August 20, 2013

The Event ~ Horses No More



Tim has had horses nearly all his life and has always enjoyed riding, roping, checking cows on horseback.   For the past 10 years or so  he hasn't done any riding--just feeding the two horses.  He hasn't ridden a horse for a long time now.

AFter a few discussions, we thought it was probably time to get rid of them.  Tim took our two horses to the horse sale auction in Crawford a couple weeks ago.  They didn't bring much.  Should have brought a little more.  But that's the way auctions go. 

One of the horses was an old gentle horse we've had for awhile that we got for the grandkids to ride when they come out.  But the kids and the horse were only good enough to ride around in the corral, not let out in the  open fields.  On their most recent trips to the farm, the grandkids seem to have lost interest in riding and no longer found it exciting to do.

Annie

The other horse was a young unbroke colt Tim traded for when a hay customer didn't have enough money to pay for his hay.  So Tim took the horse instead.  He tried to have a few different people break the horse to ride, but seems they never really had to the time to devote to getting the job done. 

Jonathan and Mathilda

Mathilda

Consequently, Tim has just been feeding them, keeping them penned in the corral.  Not much enjoyment there.  So we finally sold them. 

Janel

Alexis on horse, and Janel

Cash

When our kids were young, they enjoyed getting on the horse occassionally.  Janel would ride in the pasture with her dad checking cows.  I don't remember Alexis riding much, and Cash took horse in 4-H one year when he was about 12 or so.  I remember both Janel and Cash getting thrown off the horse.  Janel got back on.  Cash was not so eager to ride again, but he probably did (he got knocked out and Dad had to call the medics!)
Horses were a fun eventful time on the farm as long as we spent time with them.  We will probably miss having horses around the place.  It's a nostalgic eventful farm life memory.

The Event ~ Mother's Day May 12, 2013

Just being a mother to three beautiful and talented children who are now well-rounded, gifted, and loving adults makes every day mother's day.  Once a mother, always a mother ~ a gift that can never be taken from me.

Then those special Hallmark days come along, and reinforces once again the three blessings that have enriched my life for nearly 41 years.

Thank you, my dear children ~(always my children even through mature adulthood) ~ for your thoughts, love, prayers, gifts, respect, conversations, understanding, and whatever else connects our hearts, souls and minds  across the miles.

Thank you Janel and Tim for the Mother's Day  gift certificate for plants and flowers to beautify my yard, and for being the wonderful parents of my seven grandchildren.

Thank you Cash and Annie for the Mother's Day homecoming  and your gift of loving labor working in my yard and and for the beautiful personal note written to me.

Thank you Alexis for sending the beautiful zen floral arrangement and the loving words expressed on the card. 

Thank you to my dear soul mate Tim for making Sunday morning breakfast and prime rib for Sunday evening dinner.  After an afternoon of hard work, we enjoyed an early evening outdoor meal with the best in-law parents and Tom, treating Tim's parents to a Mother's Day meal.  I always appreciate the cooking Tim does for me.  The weather was calm and perfect for a patio meal ~ no wind, no flys, no bugs.  Just good fellowship.

It's a blessed event every day to be called Mother by Janel, Alexis and Cash!

I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.

I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn.
I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.
I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe.
I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you.
I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.
I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.
I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.
I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.
I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.
I can tell you the facts of life, but I can't build your reputation.
I can tell you about drink, but I can't say "no" for you.
I can warn you about drugs, but I can't prevent you from using them.
I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can't achieve them for you.
I can teach you about kindness, but I can't force you to be gracious.
I can warn you about sins, but I cannot make you moral.
I can love you as a child, but I cannot place you in God's family.
I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
I can teach you about Jesus, but I cannot make Jesus your Lord.
I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.
I can love you with unconditional love all of my life...And I will.......



The Event ~ What's for Dinner?

Cookbooks intimidate me.  I have several with lots of good recipes, but I don't use them enough.  The one that gets used the most is a 2001 version of Better Homes & Garden.  I use it more as a reference and not much for actually making recipes out of it. 

Occassionally I use our 2007 Family Reunion Cookbook, and once in a while I will refer to one of the church cookbooks.

What I tend to use most is a pile of printed recipes and clippings.  The printed recipes come to me in emails or via facebook, and I think, "Oh this looks so good.  I can make this."  So I print the recipe and add it to the stack.  Facebook and Pinterest are being inundated with fabulous mouth watering recipes that I print.  I want to just say "STOP IT!  STOP POSTING THESE DROOLING RECIPES!"

A while back I finally went through all the recipes and put them in file folders specifically labeled by ingredient, ie:  "Zuchinni"  "Rhubarb"  "Pumpkin"  "Ground Beef"
"Chicken" and some by catergory such as "Mexican" "Canning"  "Breakfasts"  "Desserts"  "Cakes"
"Soup"  "Salad" "Miscellaneous" etc.  Get the picture??

But when it comes to dinnertime, I always ask "What can I make".  The folders of recipes have become as overwhelming as the cookbooks!

So this week I have started going through each file folder, carefully reading through each recipe, throwing out the duplicates or the ones I decide I really don't want after all, making notes on them, and mostly keeping the ones that are obviously very easy, and that I know I can make with ingredients I usually have on hand. 

Sorting through the Mexican recipes

I am actually excited about this, because I feel confident that when I am all done, I can go to any folder, choose any recipe, and make it immediately.   I am excited to make every recipe that I've kept in my file folders.  My chicken folder is done and last nite I made a sweet and sour chicken that I put in the crock pot at noon and dinner was ready when I got home.  I just had to cook the rice to serve with it.  It was so-o-o good!  I can't believe I could actually do that!

A few weeks ago, I made shrimp and angel hair pasta.  Me?  Make shrimp?  With pasta?  Wow, that's almost unbelievable.  But I printed the recipe and made it before the recipe got buried in the pile.  And it was so simple, and so good!

I am in the middle of sorting through the "Mexican" recipe folder.  I will have to sort that folder twice because right now I have a pile of about 16 different enchilada recipes in one pile alone, in addition to the mexican casseroles, the fajitas, the burritos, the mexican desserts, etc.  So after the initial purging, I will have to go back through and purge again.  I don't think I need 16 enchilada recipes!  I must be a little more diciplined in this! 

Tonite we are going to an event during the dinner time at which we will graze, and that will be our supper.  I was actually disappointed that I didn't have to make dinner tonite!  SHOCK!

I should no longer be at a loss as to what to make for dinner!  I wonder how long this "high" will last.  One could bet money on it!!    Anyway, I just want cooking not to be so hard for me.  I want to enjoy it more, and not have fixing dinner be such a chore!  I want dinner preparation to be a fun, exciting and enjoyable event with new creations!  Time will tell. . . . . . .

The Event ~ Making Fleischkuechle

Fleischkuechle is a type of meat pie wrapped in pastry dough. The dish is traditional Volga Deutsche/Germans from Russia recipe, and through immigration became an addition to the cuisine of North Dakota.  It is primarily made in the Beulah, Hazen, Zap North Dakota area.

My grandparents lived in Hazen and I remember Grandma Gallwas making these alot.  Tim remembers Grandma making them the first time we visited them in Hazen early in our marriage.   I remember making them once or twice early in our marriage.  My kids did not grow up with these, which is a shame.  I don't know why I didn't continue to make these a part of our cuisine. 

Thanks to all my relatives on Facebook, fleischkuekle has been resurrected again.  It seems many of my cousins are making these, which prompted me to make them again.  My recipe is in the church cookbook from the church Grandma and Grandpa Gallwas attended in Hazen.  My mom gave me that cookbook when I was a senior in high school. 

I need to really make these more often.  So good and so easy.

FLEISCHKUEKLE

Dough:  3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup evaporated milk.  Knead together to a soft dough.  Form balls the size of ping pong balls or walnuts.  Roll out into 6" circles.  Flatten spoonful of meat mixture onto half the circle into an oblong shape, and fold other half of circle over the meat, seal edges, and trim with pizza cutter.  Deep fry in hot oil till golden.  If meat doesn't get cooked through, they may be finished in the oven for about 5 minutes.  (Another dough recipe:  3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup evap milk, 3/4 cup water.)

Meat:  1# hamburger,   1 med onion diced fine, 1/2 cup water, salt, pepper, and garlice powder  to taste.  Mix thoroughly.

After making these, I had an urge to also make Blachindla, another recipe Grandma Gallwas always made.  I made it a few times, but then quit.  These, too, are so easy and so good.  I definitely will make these more often.    They are like a pumpkin turnover.

BLACHINDLA

Dough:  4 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 cup shortening, 2 eggs beateh, 1 cup milk.   Knead into soft dough.  Make into about 20 balls.  Roll each into 6" circles.   Place filling on one half side and fold dough over filled half, seal edges and trim.  Place on cookie sheets.  Bake about 30 minutes at 350 until light brown. 

Filling:  2 15 oz cans of pumkin, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, dash pepper. 

Recipe can be cut in half.  These freeze very well.

These old recipes bring many memories back of the time I spent at Grandma and Grandpa Gallwas's house in Hazen.  I remember riding the bus to North Dakota in the summer time and spending about two weeks with them.  I can just see Grandma cooking in her kitchen.  I vividly see her cutting knifla rope into chicken soup.  Knifla is a noodle dough, rolled into long ropes and cut with a scissor into pieces dropping them directly into the boiling pot on the stove. 


Grandma Gallwas and my mom in Grandmas' kitchen, probably in the late 50's early 60's.



Me in Grandma Gallwas' kitchen - 7 yrs old.

Yes, those were eventful days in my childhoood.  Eventful memories worth preserving, as are Grandma's recipes.

The Event ~ Confirmation

On March 2 we travelled to Lincoln to attend the confirmation of grandson Jonathan.  Confirmation is an important event in many churches.  However, many churches are choosing to eliminate this event, along with many other traditions, all in an effort to try to make God and religion and church attendance more appealing to the "new, trendy society of today's modern America".    Whatever is removed from the churches by man, the one constant is God who always was and always will be. 

Jon on his confirmation day.

Confirmation is a ceremony whereby young people proclaim and confirm their belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Confirmation is defined as a sacrament, a ritual or service performed by man ~the shepherd, minister, priest ~ within a church, normally carried out through annointing and prayer for the purpose of confirming a young person's knowledge and faith in Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior.  In some traditions, the sacrament of confirmation is the ritual by which a young person also becomes an official member of the church.  Those who participate in confirmation believe it to be a personal, mature aceptance of their faith.

When one accepts Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart and gives assurance that Jesus is present and that we are new creations in Christ.

That being said, it is not the act of confirmation that insures salvation, nor does it insure one will follow their confirmed faith through life.  It is the confirmation from within the heart acknowledging and accepting Jesus as Savior that one can confirm eternity with Jesus, a confirmation between the holy spirit and one's heart, not to be judged by any other.  This doesn't necessarily happen just from going through the rite of confirmation, because many go through confirmation as an obligation and expectation of the parents and the church.  The real  confirmation may not happen until a later date when it truly comes from desire within the heart to follow Jesus.  Only the individual can truly confirm his/her personal relationship with Jesus and can know with assurance the hope of eternal life in heaven.

In essence, confirmation is not to be taken lightly.  It is an important event in the life of a young person who is priviledged to participate in this sacrament.  We have previously attended the confirmation of our two oldest grandsons, Jakob and Joshua.  We pray they hold tight to the truths learned through this education.

Jakob's confirmation



Joshua's confirmation

I went through confirmation in the Lutheran church as an eighth grader.  That seems to be the common age of a confirmand ~ 7th or 8th grade.  It was a two-year class for me, starting as a 7th grader.  





My Godparents (sponsors) Uncle Arnold, Aunt Bertha Kilbur



Confirmation Day with Grandma and Grandpa Gallwas.



My childhood days of attending Sunday School, followed by Confirmation, gave me a foundation and instilled in me many Bible stories that I hold dear to my heart today.  However,  attending and going through the rituals didn't insure eternal life and salvation.  Only when I realized I was missing something in life, feeling empty and void, not complete and full, and a stirring within my heart and soul, did I learn I was lacking the personal relationship with Jesus that completes a person and makes one whole.   I accepted Jesus as my personal savior in 1981.  My life has been complete since.

Each of my children went through confirmation, also as eighth graders. 

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older and departs from it, he will have the foundation to return to."  That is my version of  "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

Confirmation ~ an event not to be taken lightly, an event to be reverent, an opportunity to latch on to the one really important element that brings fullfillment in life now and forever.



The Event ~ The Tree of Ages

This is a very intriguing tree.  If you look closely, you will see ten ~ yes 10~ faces among the tree branches.  I can just imagine the stories within this tree!  I am sure this tree has a solid root in history.

Speaking of history and trees, I had the opportunity to snap a picture of a tree that stood on the battleground of Gettysburg during the Civil War and still stands today.



One of 7 remaining trees that witnessed the Civil War at Gettysburg



Lone tree on the top plateau of Shenendoah National Park

Plum trees in our back yard in the springtime.

Trees dressed in autumn's full color are so beautiful!



The tree I planted in memory of my Dad




A pair of artistic pictures painted by Cash and Annie representing the seasons of life.



The old olive tree in Israel



The thorn tree like what was used for the crown of thorns for Jesus

A silouette depicting the seasons of life.

I love trees.  I must take more pictures of beautiful trees in their seasons of life.  Many eventful photographic moments ahead!