the silver lining

My top strength is Positivity, so let's give this a whirl. On the plus side, it is the kind of snow that takes gorgeous pictures. It's the heavy stuff that won't be around for long. The perfect snow for snowmen, snow forts and snow caterpillars.

Also, we're glad that no one was in the baby swing when that big branch came down. That's a good thing. Another good thing is that we just got a chainsaw. And since we can hear lots of big branches falling out in our woods, that'll be put to good use.

And for the kids of our town, this has been a record setting year for school being cancelled. And so that's fun. Snow days are awesome.  Even my bible study was cancelled this morning, which was nice for me since Elsie was up all night with the violent flu. But she's napping now and has kept a bottle down so that's looking brighter too.

Oh, and we just completed our last batch of sap in our evaporator (pictured with the cylinder cement block chimney) so it is okay that it is covered in snow again.

All in all, it's looking like we'll spend another day on the couch, this time watching the new John Deere Tractor dvd Ivar picked out at the library last night. A lay low day, we call it.

And that's my best attempt at positivity. The bottom line: we know this stuff can't stick around for long!

april reflections: the long winter

This is what it looks like out our window right at this moment and it's likely to continue throughout tomorrow. And guess what? It actually did snuff my May Day joy. I didn't really mean for it to happen, but between my upset tummy and the accumulating white stuff, I just gave up and we watched The Sound of Music all day long. Thankfully this day began with a lovely conversation with my old neighbor Kathryn, who told me she made a may day cake for the staff at the elementary school where she volunteers "since it is just a bit too much work to make each staff person a basket." :)

***
Well,  it has been a long winter. But when you compare this winter to Laura Ingalls' Long Winter, there are some differences. For example, we're not binding corn husks together because we ran out of coal for our only heat source. And we're not grinding our wheat in a coffee mill in order to make brown bread. And we don't wake up with snow on our quilts because the roof isn't sealed. And we're not starving to death. So that's good.

But it has been a long winter.

Rory and I went to an event a few weekends ago where we spent two entire days outside. It was about forty degrees one day and thirty the next. But we dressed for it, and I felt great. It was so good to be outside for that much time and a good reminder that I really should get cross country skis or snow shoes for next winter. I think that would help me get outside for longer stretches of time.

**So I'm not super reflective this month. But you can click on the following to read my January Reflections, February Reflections and March Reflections all inspired by my 2013 word of the year: Reflect.

the ooo yay yay

When the weather turned lovely last Friday, we put Elsie on a blanket like we always used to do with Ivar. He lived on that blanket and would never venture off of it. Ever. But Elsie is a mover. Within thirteen seconds she was off the blanket and bringing little sticks and rocks to her mouth.

So out came the pack and play. As Elsie seems to always do, she made that pack and play look so fun that her brother insists he be in it too. He calls it the ooo yay yay and it cracks me up. He can say pack and play, but this is sort of his fun name for the fun that is about to be had in the ooo yay yay.

The nice thing about the pack and play is that it has wheels, so we can keep moving Elsie around from project to project. And as the sun moves, we move her with the shade.

We've been playing hard outside these past glorious days. I went to town on the lilacs. Rory bought two apple trees to plant at our entry, which led to me thinking I should rip out the hosta bed, which then led me to think I should take out the rock by the shed so I can transplant a few hosta by the shed. Which then led me to think I should take the plastic out from under the rock by the house because it looks a bit tacky when it's visible. My folks were out and went gang busters on the grove/ditch. My dad had scratches on his arms so bad that I cannot post the picture on this blog. But believe me, they left with battle wounds.

Ivar has the flu. We had a horrendous night last night, up for hours on end holding my little dry heaving boy who kept crying, "hold Ivar, Mama." Oh, sweet boy. Today I felt like I was getting it so the whole family enjoyed a diet of bananas, special toast, apple sauce and took it easy.

And now I'm off to bed. But just a quick reminder, tomorrow is May Day! One of my very favorite days of the year. There are rumors of a "wintery mix" coming our way. But no sleet or snow is going to snuff my May Day joy. You got that?!!! I will be leaving little baskets of popcorn and candy at my neighbors, even if I do have to wear my winter boots to get there!

Tomorrow is Grasshopper Day!

Okay, so I am making up my own holiday. But I am so excited to recognize this day. We are going to celebrate with peppermint bon bon icecream and thin mints.

Here's the deal. I have been captivated, mesmerized, engrossed in the family history book my Aunt Jan put together. There are pictures and stories and fun facts that keep my jaw dropped most of the time.

But by far, my favorite story in the book is about The Grasshoppers.

You have to read this:
"The grasshopper plague (Rocky Mountain Locusts) which fell upon the Minnesota frontier in 1873 and 1874 threatened complete destruction to the early settlement (my great grandpa Carl's settlement that he farmed with his dad in Dunnell, Minnesota...then Lake Fremont Township) In 1877 and 1878 the hoppers spread over the entire western part of the state. They took everything in the gardens, destroyed most of the corn, oats and wheat. They were especially fond of timothy and the scattered plots of tobacco. They would come down like a snowstorm until the ground was nearly covered. In 24 hours everything was stripped. They even got into the houses unless doors and windows were kept closed. They usually stayed two or three weeks. They bored holes in the ground and deposited eggs in a square foot of ground. Many means of fighting the pests were tried, including paying bounty for catching and destroying the hoppers but all human means seemed in vain.

"Many settlers lost faith in the future of the country and left. In the spring of 1877, after seeing the fields stripped again the people turned to God for help. Governor Pillsbury was petitioned to appoint a day of fasting and prayer for deliverance from the pests, which he did on April 27th 1877. The church people gathered in their respective churches and joined in prayer.

"Their prayers were heard. In the early summer when the wings of the grasshoppers had grown and they were strong enough to fly, they all at once rose into the sky, darkening the sun by their numbers, and left for parts unknown. Sailors on the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean are said to have found millions of the insects floating on the waters. They had flown away without depositing any eggs and so the Minnesota frontier was saved."

What a story! Can you imagine the surface of those waters? Just covered in dead grasshoppers. And that they all left like that, all at once, before laying their eggs. Incredible.

So tomorrow I am going to eat something minty and chocolatey and think about the wonder of an entire state praying and fasting and the miracle that followed when their prayers were heard.

(And, yes, I see the irony of eating chocolate cookies on a day recognized for fasting. But wouldn't Grasshopper Day be much more likely to catch on if we include mint chocolate brownies or mint bon bon icecream cake?!!)

Elsie with the giggles

Elsie got in the swing tonight for the first time in her life. As you can tell, she adores our neighbor friend Hannah, and she loves to swing.

elsie swinging from Becca Groves on Vimeo.

Here's a video from about a year ago when we got the swing and Ivar had the same reaction. (He is 10 months older than Elsie in his swinging video.)