2017 Christmas Letter

Happy New Year to you all and God’s best for your upcoming year.

I completed my last finish-before-Christmas project on Saturday. Phew!  I meant to get this out in time. I even bought the stamps three weeks ago.

Les is well and serving as a hospice chaplain among other ministering activities.

Angela visited us a couple of times this year and I got to talk with her boyfriend Cody for a bit. He seems like a wonderful young man. Thanksgiving is Angela’s usual time to visit and we played around with some vegetarian recipes for the holiday. Everything came out pretty tasty.

About a year and a half ago, I asked several people for their memories of the Great Depression and World War II. One lady started to give me her stories and decided that she was enjoying the process so much that she wanted to work up her own book. I helped her finish it and get it posted on Amazon.

Another lady handed me a box of letters that her father sent home from Italy during World War II. There were enough letters to create a book of her own too.  That one is called Dear Sis, Ans. Soon.

Finally, I was able to work on the book I’d started originally. It came out in print somewhere around Thanksgiving. I called it Uphill and Against the Wind Both Ways. It contains stories from Aunt Miriam, my mother, and Sarah’s uncle Dale Hitzeman among others. Les’ mom gave me a lot of stories that I had never heard before, like letters to the soldiers from “Jane Hathaway”.

I’ve also spent time crocheting for various people and organizations. My garden was somewhat smaller this year. I planted raspberries and something called a honeyberry. I put a small herb garden just outside my front door and the parsley has stayed fresh and good until this cold week. Because I like having fresh salad greens and herbs, I have planted a few pots indoors as my latest experiment.

That’s about as exciting as it gets in my house. Honestly, it’s been a good year and I’m grateful to God for His mercy and generosity.

I still work in the library. It’s still the best job I can think of for a teacher who isn’t in the classroom anymore.

Love to you all,

Kathi

This Year's Garden

I'm going for permanence this year with regards to my garden.

I planted three baby honeyberry bushes. I don't plan to see any fruit from them for at least a couple of years. Same thing with the raspberry canes that went in alongside one fence line.

Otherwise, I only have my asparagus patch and the two circle gardens. I'm growing tomatoes, green peppers and some spinach. They look so empty at the moment, but I know how everything will grow and fill it all in.

I don't need to can anything this year, but will probably put up some tomatoes - just plain for throwing in stews or tacos.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Why I Don't Write Cookbooks

Tonight I mixed up a glass of lemonade and remembered my brother's recipe for perfect lemonade. It goes something like this: Fill a glass 3/4 with water. Add 2 glugs of lemon juice. Put in one ice cube. Pour sugar on the ice cube until it tips over. Stir. (It came out perfect every time.)
This is how my family cooks. We add ingredients "until it looks right". Somehow I don't see a publishing company going along with those kind of directions.

Counting the Rains

It was a foggy August last year. I thought we would have plenty of snow by now. Instead, it has rained and rained and rained. I think, if I'm going to arrive at the same number of fogs, I will have to count all forms of precipitation rather than only snows. It would actually be nice to have some snow to reflect the light. It's been pretty dreary between the clouds and the bare land.

On the other hand, since it's been so warm, the trees are starting to bud out and Les is getting spring allergy symptoms.

While we are warm here, only 50 miles north of us and above are being buried under FEET of snow. Not only that, but people are freezing to death in Istanbul and Europe. As I understand it, the Gulf Stream that circulates warmer waters up to western Europe is disappearing, so the weather there is cooling off. drastically.

I'm wondering if this is because the nations have gathered against Israel and are trying to divide the land. Europe has welcomed in the people who would rejoice if Israel were no longer a nation at all. This goes back to God's blessing on Abraham "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you."

I filter my world view through a Biblical lens. It's amazing how well current events match up with what the Bible says would happen in the end times.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi