The Event ~ Preserving the Gold

It doesn't get any more golden than this!  And there is nothing better in August than juicy, sweet, golden corn on the cob.  No one in our family stops with just one.  When corn on the cob hits the dinner table, there is usually enough for 2 - 3 ears per person or more. 

(Now I understand that our newest family member, Annie, grew up enjoying a 1/2 or 1/3 section piece of one cob, and that was a serving!  Ye gads, Cash had to retrain that eating habit in a hurry!)

Next best thing to eating corn on the cob is preserving those golden kernals for winter meals.  It's a family affair when family is around.  From pickin' to shuckin' to cuttin' to baggin'. 

This is the first year in many that we actually raised our own sweet corn, only because Tim plowed up an alfalfa field and planted it to corn, and he planted a small triangular corner to sweet corn.  Usually we buy it from a local farmer or street vendor.  

So it's been a long time since Tim has had to irrigate a corn field.  But that's where it all begins. 

Not only did I freeze those golden kernals.  I also made some corn relish!

Preserving the gold and preserving the memories ~ an event worth preserving!

The Event ~ The Family Picnic

It's always fun to have a family picnic.  It's kind of a Stricker family tradition.  The Stricker family used to always have Memorial Day picnics with many extended family present when Grandpa Alex Stricker was still living.  The attendance has waned through the years, but the picnic still happens, even if it's only a handful of family members and a two hour lunch picnic, followed by a short softball game.  This year we had a nice attendance on Saturday, August 13, with about 50 family members present, some that hadn't been around for many, many years.     The infamous softball game still takes place in the park after the bellies are full!

My mom actually drove from Billings, Montana so she could see the kids and grandkids while they were here for the weekend and the family picnic.

I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother and a wonderful mother-in-law.  They both look so fun and happy in this picture, a real tribute as they are both in their 80's, both still driving, both still fun and young at heart.  Bless them both!

During the weekend, those at my house found time to put up a little corn, make some ice cream, have a Friday nite hamburger fry, and play a little ball or a board game.   

 

Yep, family time is always an eventful time!  We can never get too much of it. 

The Event ~ One Kid at a Time!

So it's been awhile since I've posted.  I keep racking my brain for something to journal about, but am at a loss.  But we did get the opportunity to have a couple of the grandkids come stay for a week ~ one kid at a time.  To thoroughly enjoy our time with them, and because Tim and I are both "at work", we can only take one grand child at a time.  Not that we don't enjoy all of them at any given one time, but the "one-on-one" time is so special for both Tim and I to enjoy.  Mostly the kids go with Tim during the days, simply because he is around the farm and on the go and they can go with him wherever.

Jakob spent a week with us, catching a ride out west with some family friends.  He was a big help to Grandpa, irrigating, helping to bring in the big hay bales by driving the jeep in and out of the fields.  Grandpa tried to teach him how to drive tractor and rake, but never got to the point of letting him go on his own.  A little more practice needed!  We enjoyed dairy queen blizzards a couple times, and a trip to the fair for fair food. We hope our grandkids keep enjoying coming to the farm, helping out a little and learning more life skills that farm life has to offer.  He would still be here if he didn't need to go home to start his fall football practice.   Jakob will turn 13 next month ~ Sept 14.  A teenager!  

So a quick early morning trip to meet Janel in Brady was scheduled to get Jakob back home and bring Mathilda back with me.  She will be here a week until the whole famiily comes out for a Stricker family picnic.  Mattie has enjoyed the two kittens, keeping them by her side continuously and letting them sleep in her bed each night.  They are so cute and cuddly  - the kittens, but Mattie is cute and cuddly too!

We have noticed Mathilda eats like a horse!  That surprises both Tim and I, they way she puts away the food!   She loves to parade around in Alexis' old prom dress; and then dress the cowgirl part to go with Grandpa, in her boots, western shirt, hat and jeans!  The hillbilly teeth have always put a fun smile on all!

Over the weekend we did find time to bake zuchinni bread together.   She enjoys being a big help in the kitchen. 

Mathilda will be eight in two weeks, Aug 22. 

We must enjoy the grandkids as much as we can because they grow up so fast, and am sure as they get older spending time with Grandpa and Grandma will not be high on their "want" list as their desires and schedules mature and change.   But the memories will always be imprinted on their minds and hearts.  Nothing will erase the memories. 

One thing that hasn't changed a whole lot with kids on the farm, is that it still seems to be all work and no play.  It seems like we have always worked, worked, worked on the farm when our kids were little and often they worked right along beside us.  Play was far and little in between.  We just keep working with the grandkids by our side and play is far and little in between.  Our own kids all have fine, strong work ethics I'm sure due to learning about hard work as a child.  So I trust that the concept is not all bad!   We promise we won't take advantage of our grandchildren and abuse the "child labor laws"!!   We love our grandchildren and spending time with them "one kid at a time" is an event to be enjoyed and cherished!

The Event ~ Strawberry Season

Strawberry season is usually meaningless to me because I have never been able to raise a good strawberry patch.  I hear stories of  Grandma Katherine Stricker's overproductive patch in a gravel hill.  I currently can share in the joy of Janel's small strawberry patch bearing a productive harvest.  Usually this time of the year I can only buy those not-quite-ripe-white-on-the-inside strawberries offered in the store.

However, recently on the evening of July 3rd we joined cousins Connie and Rich for a July 4th bbq at their farm in Hemingford.  It's always fun to go there in the summertime and view her beautiful yard, flowers and garden because she is such a green thumb talented garden tender.  Connie has a productive large strawberry bed and she let Annie and I pick strawberries while waiting for the food to be ready.

 

Annie and I each picked a bucket full of fresh strawberries.  On the morning of July 4th, we spent time in the kitchen together making strawberry jam and sauce.  We also added jalepeno peppers to the jam, which everyone seems to like. 

Then we picked an armful of rhubarb and made rhubarb punch and rhubarb sauce.  In addition to the jars of jelly Annie and Cash were able to take back to Denver with them, Annie also took a bunch of rhubarb home with her to make some crunch and pie desserts for Cash.  It was a fun, eventful bonding time for Annie and I in the kitchen. 

To follow that, this past Saturday I returned to Hemingford to go to the country quilt shop and Connie invited me to pick the last of her strawberries.  So I brought another bucket home and made seven more pints of strawberry jam.  M-m-m-m, so good!  Connie says she has like 15 gallons of strawberries in her freezer waiting to be made into jam this winter! 

We had waffles with fresh strawberry sauce and real whipped cream for supper Saturday nite.  This was a real treat for us.  Thank you Connie, for sharing your strawberries!

The Event ~ It's a Mystery, I'm Clueless

For most of the years that I have been actively quilting, I always seem to start a new project in the spring and summer.  Haven't quite figured that out because winter is suppose to be the time to work on projects like that.  Maybe it's because I'm not fond of outdoor yard and garden work, and my quilt projects pacify me in place of active outdoor gardening.  While most people are beautifying their yards with flower beds, I shudder at the thought of trying to make my yard beautiful with flowers.  It's a lost cause for me for the most part.  I struggle with yard work.  It puts me in tears every spring!  I have appreciated so much anything Cash has done in my yard through the years.  He enjoys it.  I don't. 

Anyway, that has nothing to do with the mystery alluded to in the title above.  But has everything to do with quilting in the middle of summer.

As I am finishing up Cash and Annie's quilt ~ which is turning out remarkedly beautiful for a scrappy patchwork, I'm also embarking on yet another quilting project.  I usually don't finish one and start another so close together.  But the quilt shop was hosting a summer mystery quilt project.  I've never participated in a mystery quilt project before, but decided I would do this one.

Instructions were to buy certain yardages of fabric:  a medium print focus fabric with lots of color; and a light, medium, and dark complementing fabric.  Instruction clues are given once a week for six weeks.  The last set of instructions being options of how to set the pieces together for the finished product.    I have no idea what the pattern is, how it will look.  It will be pieced together mysteriously as we are given clues (instructions) a little at a time.

So I've purchased the fabric, and cut it according to the first clue.   It sits here now, as I wait for the next clue. It's a mystery to me, and right now I am clueless.  I am pleased with my fabric choices.  Just hope I am pleased with the finished project!  Stay tuned.

I am not a die hard quilter, but it is something I enjoy.  To my own amazement I have actually made well over 30 quilts throughout the years.   Many of these quilts are pictured in an entry dated May 24, 2010.  Each of my kids each have at least two or three, including their own baby quilts, and each of my grandkids have at least one, and a few have received two.   It's an eventful hobby. 

The Event ~ One World Many Stories

Today I entertained approximately 400 children at the grand opening of the Lied Scottsbluff Public Library.  The summer reading program theme is "One World ~ Many Stories".  Woody brought his suitcase as he was about ready to embark on a trip around the world.  Come to find out ~ it was full of books from many different countries.   That's how he was going to travel around the world ~ through books.  That's how children see the world.  He invited all the children to join him on his journey. 

Delilah sang a song "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly".  She looked at me as though I was an old lady.  I wasn't very happy with her doing that!  But all the kids thought it was funny.

Aunt Edna in all her wisdom encouraged the kids to turn off the televisions and computers and spend time reading.  The program was during her afternoon nap time, so she had a hard time staying awake but she did want to let the children know how lucky they were to have such a wonderful new library.  She didn't have computers and cell phones and radios and I Pods when she was a little girl.  But she did have a wonderful library and she too journeyed around the world through books. 

The Event ~ Catch Up

Random thoughts flutter through my mind and I find myself thinking I should include a paragraph about these thoughts.  They come and go, and when I'm ready to write, I can't remember what I was so excited about sharing.  I need to learn to carry a note pad and jot things down as they come to mind.   So now I will attempt to catch up with some of these random thoughts.

I remember being so excited a couple weeks ago when the weather finally warmed and my irises bloomed.  The few iris that I have were beautiful, and I'm sure the coolness of the air contributed to their beauty this year. 

The pastures have greened up and the cattle lazily graze all day long.  Our little herd of 14 cows are so respectful of the hot wire fence, and they must be soul mates because where one goes, they all follow.  About three weeks ago, two cows just fell over dead at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.  Don't know what happened, they may have over eaten, bloated, or some other mysterious malady.  It was a sad evening for us!

A momma cat that hangs around our farm ~ she was born here, was tame at one time, but now keeps her distance ~ had kittens in the hay barn.  She has moved them three times.  Every time we find them, she moves them again.  I love kittens and cats, and I brought  this yellow one into the house.  Later Cash brought the black one in after he had to bury his pregnant cat he rescued as a kitten last fall.  They have both been in the house since.  The yellow cat I named Mango, and the black one is Pitch (pitch black).  They are so much fun to watch, and Tim even lets them sleep on our bed at night. 

I am working on another quilt.  This one will be for Cash and Annie.  It will be patchwork quilt of sorts set on point.  Using up alot of my scraps.  I always lay them out on the floor as I put them together.  It keeps my living room floor off limits for a long time!

Sunday is Father's Day.  It was a year ago in May that I started my blog, so did an extensive blog for Father's Day last year honoring Tim, my deceased father, and my father-in-law.

One year later, I am blessed to still have my 84 year old father-in-law among us, and in good health.  And my love for the father of my children continues to bring joy, happiness, and blessings.

Tim got his father's day gift early, like three months ago.  We purchased a Traeger smoker grill, and Tim so enjoys cooking on it.  He likes to experiment with different foods on the grill as well as the different flavors of wood chips used in the grill.  Cooking is an activity he very much enjoys, and I enjoy it even more when he does the cooking!

The first weekend in June is always the Sugar Valley Rally here in the Valley.  I remember when it was started some 25 years ago or so, when I was working at the Chamber and I was in on the ground floor of the organization of it, fashioned after the Great American Race.  Tim and I usually go out and view all the vintage cars.  This year he conducted the calcutta auction of the cars ~ people bidding on what they think will be the winning cars and was given a car sponsorship for doing so.   It's always a fun time.

The whole country seems to be flooding this year with all the rain and record breaking snow pack.  The Missouri, Yellowstone and Mississippi Rivers have totally flooded precious farmland and homes.  Our own North Platte River is flooding.   The YMCA Trails West grounds where we had our reunion in 2007 is flooded up to and around the buildings.  I took a picture while public was still allowed in the area, but now the entire area, including the zoo and rv campground is closed for the summer.  

A few weeks ago Tim and I took a day trip to Denver a few days after Cash moved into his new apartment where he and Annie will call home after their return from their honeymoon.   We walked around the downtown area where his apartment is located, went out for dinner, and returned to his apartment and toasted their new home with wine in their new wine glasses.  Annie happened to be there while we were there as she was in Denver following up on dental hygiene jobs.  They have a really nice place to start their married life in.  

I look forward to making easy day trips to Denver on occasion to visit them.    To have one of our kids close enough to enjoy visits back and forth in day trips will be nice.  Not like planning far in advance to make a flight to California, or weeks in advance to travel seven hours across the state and making sure we have the extra time and days to make those trips.    Neither Cash or I could resist the street sign that we passed by while walking!

Next Tuesday I am scheduled to do a ventriloquist performance for the grand opening of the newly remodeled Scottsbluff Public Library and their children's summer reading program.  I am planning to use all three of my eVENTful friends ~ Woody, Delilah, and Aunt Edna.  The 300-400 kids that will be there will be a bigger audience than I have performed for, and it makes me a little nervous already.   I've not been as active this past year in doing performances, and this may generate more business than I really desire. 



I'm looking forward to fresh produce out of the garden.  I don't have a big garden, but what is there I hope will be productive:  a few tomato and cherry tomato plants, 1 zucchini, 4 pepper plants, 2 cucumber hills, 1 muskmelon hill, some spinach, lettuce and romaine, brussel sprouts, 2 short rows of green beans, carrots, and onions.  This is the first year I have planted brussel sprouts, so am not sure how they will do. 

Random thoughts of my daily life.  Each activity is an eventful time in my day to day life.  It's worth recording the little things, as together they make up who we are. 

I have a new friend who I will probably never see again.  She is an older lady whom I met on the cruise in February.  Actually, I only met her once, but her husband shared our dinner table.  She herself  never shared our dinner table because we had the 8:00 sitting, and that was too late for her.  But her husband asked for my email address so his wife could share her pictures and "DAY JOYS" with me.  Everyday in my inbox I receive a scripture verse with one of her pictures.  What a daily blessing.  What a wonderful ministry she does from her home to so many people. 

Here is the Day Joy for today:

Don't be greedy for what you don't have.  Real life is not measured by how much we own."





The Event ~ The Wedding of Cash & Annie

It was a beautiful wedding ~ perfect in all ways.  The storm clouds wanted to roll in right above the church at 5:00 p.m. and teased at raindrops and windblown table linens over the outdoor reception area.  Circles of prayer warriors gathered here and there and prayers for calm and clear weather were sent up.  Prayers were answered ~ the evening outdoor reception was perfect weather in every way! 

Everything fell into place at exactly the right moment, following the precise time line set in place by Cash and Annie, even though Mom here was worried about it all. 

The music was awesome with two vocal numbers by Larry Scovil accompanied by only violin played by Nisha Dietrich.  The foot washing ~ where Cash and Annie washed each other's feet in an act of honoring and serving one another ~ made a huge statement and witness. 

Annie was a beautiful bride.  Cash was a handsome groom. 

The message given by Cash's good friend and Pastor spoke volumes about the couples love for God, for each other, and for service and ministry to others.   The union was blessed by Annie's uncle, Pastor Jesser, as he sealed the vows and blessed the rings. 

The dinner of carved brisket and artichoke chicken was scrumptious, followed with tiers of cupcakes.  The dj, Pastor Jason Kennedy, high school friend of Cash, created the most amazing ambience with soft music and a spiritual waft to the evening.  Pastor & DJ ~ what an unusual mix, but a great way to spread the message. 

My mother/son dance to "It's a Wonderful World" was a moment in time to be cherished. 

It was so nice to bring family together again for this celebration.  I always love having my three children in the same place at the same time, and all the family that celebrations like this reach out to.  I just wish more family would choose to come to these happy life celebrations rather than waiting to appear at the celebrations of life ever after.  I cherish the family and friends who did make the journey to Grand Junction, CO for the wedding. 

Even though it was a perfect wedding in every way, a perfect marriage doesn't automatically follow.   But Cash and Annie have the tools in place to draw as close to perfection as God allows, utilizing their prayers, faith, love of Jesus, placing God at the helm of their home and lives, instilling compassion for one another, deserving  compliments, communication, trust and respect and honor for each other; and engaging their adventuresome personalities to have fun and enjoy life. 

Congratulations Cash and Annie!  I love you both~