I love to sing. I'm not very good but that doesn't change my enthusiasm or enjoyment. I sing, mainly, in the church choir under the direction of a very tolerant and gifted director and teacher. Our little choir practices diligently before presenting an anthem or special for the congregation. They are all friends, so they are usually very complementary and make us feel good about our efforts.
This past Sunday was a little more special.
Our church is the proud possessor of a Pilcher Pipe Organ that is now 100 years old. To celebrate this we hosted a recital by Dr. Wesley Roberts, who is the Professor of Musicology, Piano and Organ at Campbellsville University. The choir was to join in with Dr. Roberts on two anthems. It was a special day with lots of visitors and we were all excited, and a little nervous about our part in it. I had repeatedly warned the family that I would be tied up that Sunday afternoon with the recital and reception. They assured me that it would not be a problem.
Hubby went to pick up the grandkids for church while I went early to practice. He arrived with just the little girl, since the two little boys had opted to chore with their dad. Everything was smooth until Hubby leaned over during church and whispered a suggestion that we just grab a sandwich at home instead of going out to eat as we usually do. I glared at him but he piously bowed his head. "How are you going to convince your little princess to go home if she ever gets to our house!" I hissed. "I'll handle it" he blithely returned. The problem being that our granddaughter can wrap her grandfather around her finger and tie it in a bow! I knew she wouldn't give up her afternoon of our undivided attention easily.
We had driven separately, so by the time we arrived home for our sandwich, the two of them had it all worked out. The granddaughter was going with him to church to hear Jo-Jo sing then we would all change and go to her brother's ballgame. Since Hubby isn't the most patient of people with entertaining little ones, I figured that the best case scenario would be that she would cuddle up and nap and worse case he could take her out and let her play in the classrooms. So I took off to church for our pre-singing warm-up, with them to follow shortly.
The choir was in their places in the front pew, the church was filling up and I still hadn't seen Hubby. Then suddenly his head was next to mine and he was whispering urgently. "I've left Hadleigh in the nursery. I've got a cow calving and I've got to go back home. " With that, he was gone. The choir members looked at me quizzically. "How did he know he had a cow calving? Did she call him?" one questioned, laughing. I just shook my head...I didn't know either. I was left wondering if there was even a sitter in the nursery or did he just leave our granddaughter playing? I finished the rest of the afternoon with one eye on the sanctuary door wondering if I would see her wandering around.
The program was wonderful. We sang with enthusiasm and hopefully didn't miss many notes. Pictures were taken, friends greeted, cookies tasted, and the event was over. Hadleigh joined me after spending a happy hour playing under the supervision of an older child and we rushed off home. She babbled happily from the backseat about the "really loud organ" and the prospect of seeing the new baby when we got home.
As I got within sight of the hill I spotted the vet's white truck parked in front of the barn. "Oh, no!" I murmured, "The vet is here. That's not a good thing." A little voice piped up from the back seat, "It's OK, Jo-Jo. He's really a nice man!" "That's true'" I thought, "but you sure don't call even a nice vet on a Sunday afternoon unless it's bad!" She jumped from the car and ran to the barn to see the new baby with me running behind hoping that it wouldn't be sad news. Hubby scooped her up and told her to be quiet and we would go see the baby.
We all crept into the barn and peeped over the stall at the tiny, black bundle laying on the hay. Mama cow crooned a low moo-o-o and licked the little head. "Sh-h-h!" Hadleigh cautioned me, "You have to be quiet!" We crouched down and the little girl and the little heifer looked at each other. Hubby and I looked at each other, a perfect ending.
It turned out that he had spotted the cow in labor on his way out to town. Realizing that he needed to help her and he couldn't do it with a little one in tow, he came on to church and, surprise, left her in my (?) care. Fortunately, one of the older kids was already staying in the nursery with a couple of other children. If he hadn't gone back, we would have lost both cow and calf. The calf had her head back over her shoulder, an impossible position for it to have been born. The vet was able to reposition the calf and all ended well.
On a farm, nothing is ever simple.
Even church concerts and sometimes calving.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
My Mommy Certificate Has Expired
I think my Mommy Certificate has expired.
You know, that certificate they award you when your first child is born...the one that enables you to be two places at once, see out of the back of your head, answer a hundred questions before coffee, arbitrate small wars over the last cookie and large wars over curfews, cheerfully read "Lightning Larry" for the four hundredth time, all while rescuing the cat from becoming the new bath toy and your best saucepan from being used to fill the freshly dug pond in the flower bed.
I think those certificates have a time limit on them.
Last week I got a call from my son. "Mom", he queried, "Can you do me a favor?" "It depends on the favor." I reply. (No dummy this mom...I've learned to hedge my answers!) "Could you watch the kids. We're on the way to the hospital." No hedging on that...that's what families do. "Drop them off on the way and keep us informed!", I answered.
My daughter-in-law had been suffering all week with a major reaction to some medication. Miserable, she had toughed it out as long as she could. In a few minutes, I was standing in the drive-way, surrounded by three little ones, waving as mommy and daddy drove away.
In a short while my son called and said they were sending her to the hospital in Lexington. There a team of doctors would spend the next week getting the reaction under control.
So, suddenly, I had three little ones to take care of and get to school and activities. Thank goodness for cell phones. First call. "Uh, what time does school start?"
Usually you have a little time to work into this life. All of a sudden we were back to juggling supper, homework, baths, bedtime, clothes, early wake ups and rushing off to school. Then there were the football practices, games, and dance class.
We got them to school on time every day. They were clean, dressed and fed.
We were exhausted!
However, there were compensations. The hill rang once again with the sounds of kick ball in the back yard and children's voices as they helped feed the cattle. Even the old farm bell was called back into service to round everyone up for bath time. My favorite time was snuggling in bed with the smell of fresh washed children wafting over me, while we read bedtime stories. Eye-lids drooping as we neared the end of the nightly "Lightning Larry" and "Mr. Putter gets a Cat", heads getting heavy and finally only quiet little sighs. (Then the kids would go to sleep, too.)
The struggles were getting everyone fed, clothes washed, house picked up, errands run, kids collected, and extra-curricular activities squeezed in. Getting organized enough to run a tight ship and keep everyone on schedule was a challenge for us. Hubby found himself pitching in and running kids to school, supervising baths, and helping pick up. The kids were great at telling us what we needed to do and where we needed to be.
By the end of the week we had our routine down pat. I was proud of us all --kids and grandparents alike!
Our daughter-in-law is home now, and doing much better. The kids are sleeping in their own beds and we are back to occasional grandparent duties. However, if I am honest, I'll have to admit that I enjoyed having them here. I miss hearing them tearing up the sidewalk, yelling that they're hungry, after school. I enjoyed having them doing homework in the kitchen while I started supper or playing outside the window while I cleaned up. I even miss the water all over the bathroom after baths.
However, if I'm still being honest, I'll have to admit that it took me days to rest up. I just don't move at that speed, all day, every day anymore.
My Mommy Certificate has definitely expired.
You know, that certificate they award you when your first child is born...the one that enables you to be two places at once, see out of the back of your head, answer a hundred questions before coffee, arbitrate small wars over the last cookie and large wars over curfews, cheerfully read "Lightning Larry" for the four hundredth time, all while rescuing the cat from becoming the new bath toy and your best saucepan from being used to fill the freshly dug pond in the flower bed.
I think those certificates have a time limit on them.
Last week I got a call from my son. "Mom", he queried, "Can you do me a favor?" "It depends on the favor." I reply. (No dummy this mom...I've learned to hedge my answers!) "Could you watch the kids. We're on the way to the hospital." No hedging on that...that's what families do. "Drop them off on the way and keep us informed!", I answered.
My daughter-in-law had been suffering all week with a major reaction to some medication. Miserable, she had toughed it out as long as she could. In a few minutes, I was standing in the drive-way, surrounded by three little ones, waving as mommy and daddy drove away.
In a short while my son called and said they were sending her to the hospital in Lexington. There a team of doctors would spend the next week getting the reaction under control.
So, suddenly, I had three little ones to take care of and get to school and activities. Thank goodness for cell phones. First call. "Uh, what time does school start?"
Usually you have a little time to work into this life. All of a sudden we were back to juggling supper, homework, baths, bedtime, clothes, early wake ups and rushing off to school. Then there were the football practices, games, and dance class.
We got them to school on time every day. They were clean, dressed and fed.
We were exhausted!
However, there were compensations. The hill rang once again with the sounds of kick ball in the back yard and children's voices as they helped feed the cattle. Even the old farm bell was called back into service to round everyone up for bath time. My favorite time was snuggling in bed with the smell of fresh washed children wafting over me, while we read bedtime stories. Eye-lids drooping as we neared the end of the nightly "Lightning Larry" and "Mr. Putter gets a Cat", heads getting heavy and finally only quiet little sighs. (Then the kids would go to sleep, too.)
The struggles were getting everyone fed, clothes washed, house picked up, errands run, kids collected, and extra-curricular activities squeezed in. Getting organized enough to run a tight ship and keep everyone on schedule was a challenge for us. Hubby found himself pitching in and running kids to school, supervising baths, and helping pick up. The kids were great at telling us what we needed to do and where we needed to be.
By the end of the week we had our routine down pat. I was proud of us all --kids and grandparents alike!
Our daughter-in-law is home now, and doing much better. The kids are sleeping in their own beds and we are back to occasional grandparent duties. However, if I am honest, I'll have to admit that I enjoyed having them here. I miss hearing them tearing up the sidewalk, yelling that they're hungry, after school. I enjoyed having them doing homework in the kitchen while I started supper or playing outside the window while I cleaned up. I even miss the water all over the bathroom after baths.
However, if I'm still being honest, I'll have to admit that it took me days to rest up. I just don't move at that speed, all day, every day anymore.
My Mommy Certificate has definitely expired.
Friday, September 4, 2015
The Iowa State Fair
My daughter has become a proponent of her adopted state, Iowa. According to her, the people are friendlier, the sun hotter, the farm land richer, the football better, and the winters longer. She is pretty much right (although, I don't think they have a lock on all the friendly people) . However, when she started in on how much better their state fair was than ours, I protested. After all, in Kentucky, we have the largest climate controlled facility, under roof, maybe in all of the United States!
Then we went to the Iowa State Fair.
The granddaughters were showing for the first time at the fair, so naturally the grandparents had to attend. The girls are showing miniature Herfords, their parents method of getting them hooked on showing cattle. These gentle little creatures are the perfect introduction into cattle showing. The girls, at seven and nine, were able to handle them with ease and fell into the routine of caring for them with enthusiasm. It took a little getting used to for us old people, seeing these perfect cows in small sizes.
Part of showing at a State Fair is that the animals are part of the fair experience for the people attending. Therefore the cattle have to be on display in the barns for a certain number of days before and after the show. That means we have time on our hands that we can use to explore the fair.
So, Hubby and I took it all in.
No wonder two movies and a long running stage production were based on it.
No wonder the New York Times best selling travel book, "1000 Places to See Before You Die" listed the Iowa State Fair as a must see.
No wonder the attendance is over one million people.
It was FUN!
It was an old fashioned county fair on steroids.
The fairgrounds cover 435 acres in Des Moines. Established in 1878, the grounds are covered in trees, streets, sidewalks, grass and shrubs. It's rather more like a little town than a facility. Adding to the small town feeling is the fact that 160 acres are set aside for 2300 camper sites. Families move in for the entire two weeks and "vacation" at the fair. These sites are rented for years in advance with families passing their sites down through generations. The campers arrive and compete to "outdo" each other on their spots. Decks, awnings, patios, even pools appear overnight.
The animals are stalled in wonderful, old brick buildings built in the early 1900's. Exhibits, 4-H projects, agriculture displays, activities, and commercial booths were all housed in a variety of other buildings along tree lined streets. Benches are placed invitingly in the shade of the trees. Fairgoers wander from building to building in a seemingly endless parade.
Ask anyone what their favorite thing is at the fair and their answer will probably be "the food"! My daughter had proclaimed that she was planning on eating her way through the food booths. After wandering through the over 200+ food vendors, I began to see what she meant. In Kentucky, we have the same basic vendors for all events with a few special "fair food" booths. The fair foods tend toward how many calories you can put in each bite. Think deep fried hamburgers on a doughnut.
Now don't misunderstand, the Iowa food wasn't low calorie (although they did have a list of low calorie, healthy foods offered on their website.) However, the emphasis was how delicious and representative of Iowa could you make it. The highpoint of our list was the Pork Chop on a stick. (Iowa is #1 in hog production) This is a boneless chop, grilled to delectable tenderness, served on a stick so you can eat it like a popsicle. Yum! (In case you wondered, they serve 60 different items on a stick, ranging from caprese salad to the delicious pork chop.) You can grab a bucket of homemade cookies or a full sit down meal at one of the restaurant type booths. Originally all the food at the fair was provided by local churches and you can still get breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Methodist Church booth.
We tried to taste it all.
Some favorites. Hot Beef Sundae--mashed potatoes smothered in roast beef and gravy. Smoked Ham sandwiches (and beef and lamb). Macaroni and cheese with sweet, spiced barbeque on top. Red velvet funnel cakes. Gigantic sweet rolls. I never could find the chocolate covered bacon on a stick!
Now if I could just button my jeans again!
Then we went to the Iowa State Fair.
The granddaughters were showing for the first time at the fair, so naturally the grandparents had to attend. The girls are showing miniature Herfords, their parents method of getting them hooked on showing cattle. These gentle little creatures are the perfect introduction into cattle showing. The girls, at seven and nine, were able to handle them with ease and fell into the routine of caring for them with enthusiasm. It took a little getting used to for us old people, seeing these perfect cows in small sizes.
Part of showing at a State Fair is that the animals are part of the fair experience for the people attending. Therefore the cattle have to be on display in the barns for a certain number of days before and after the show. That means we have time on our hands that we can use to explore the fair.
So, Hubby and I took it all in.
No wonder two movies and a long running stage production were based on it.
No wonder the New York Times best selling travel book, "1000 Places to See Before You Die" listed the Iowa State Fair as a must see.
No wonder the attendance is over one million people.
It was FUN!
It was an old fashioned county fair on steroids.
The fairgrounds cover 435 acres in Des Moines. Established in 1878, the grounds are covered in trees, streets, sidewalks, grass and shrubs. It's rather more like a little town than a facility. Adding to the small town feeling is the fact that 160 acres are set aside for 2300 camper sites. Families move in for the entire two weeks and "vacation" at the fair. These sites are rented for years in advance with families passing their sites down through generations. The campers arrive and compete to "outdo" each other on their spots. Decks, awnings, patios, even pools appear overnight.
The animals are stalled in wonderful, old brick buildings built in the early 1900's. Exhibits, 4-H projects, agriculture displays, activities, and commercial booths were all housed in a variety of other buildings along tree lined streets. Benches are placed invitingly in the shade of the trees. Fairgoers wander from building to building in a seemingly endless parade.
Ask anyone what their favorite thing is at the fair and their answer will probably be "the food"! My daughter had proclaimed that she was planning on eating her way through the food booths. After wandering through the over 200+ food vendors, I began to see what she meant. In Kentucky, we have the same basic vendors for all events with a few special "fair food" booths. The fair foods tend toward how many calories you can put in each bite. Think deep fried hamburgers on a doughnut.
Now don't misunderstand, the Iowa food wasn't low calorie (although they did have a list of low calorie, healthy foods offered on their website.) However, the emphasis was how delicious and representative of Iowa could you make it. The highpoint of our list was the Pork Chop on a stick. (Iowa is #1 in hog production) This is a boneless chop, grilled to delectable tenderness, served on a stick so you can eat it like a popsicle. Yum! (In case you wondered, they serve 60 different items on a stick, ranging from caprese salad to the delicious pork chop.) You can grab a bucket of homemade cookies or a full sit down meal at one of the restaurant type booths. Originally all the food at the fair was provided by local churches and you can still get breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Methodist Church booth.
We tried to taste it all.
Some favorites. Hot Beef Sundae--mashed potatoes smothered in roast beef and gravy. Smoked Ham sandwiches (and beef and lamb). Macaroni and cheese with sweet, spiced barbeque on top. Red velvet funnel cakes. Gigantic sweet rolls. I never could find the chocolate covered bacon on a stick!
Now if I could just button my jeans again!
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