Bedtime Stories

Every evening Steven will look through our pile of twenty to thirty library books and choose several for me to read to him before he goes to bed.

He would be perfectly capable of reading them himself, but he still enjoys hopping up on the side of my chair, halfway on the arm rest and halfway on my lap while I read them to him.

I still really enjoy it too. 

I know the time will come when it will be the last time we have our bedtime stories like this. I also know, just like so many other previous last times for things, that I will not be aware that the last time is happening as it happens. And so I thoroughly enjoy each time I am blessed with as we read through our current week's assortment of books.

I enjoy the little discussions we have after each book. He will share his opinion of it and whether or not he wants to check it out from the library again someday.

We've read hundreds and hundreds of books already. Most of them are quite forgettable, but occasionally we'll come across one that we both really like. Recently we had another one of those. We both loved the ending of If a Horse had Words.

Tonight we'll be reading several more books and later this week we'll be heading to the library to exchange them for a fresh pile of bedtime stories, and I'm already looking forward to the enjoying that special part of the day together.

When Cultures Collide ~ Conducting Music or Clawing Maniacally

In the music lesson Sharon was studying today, they were introducing the art or skill of conducting music and explaining all the hand movements.

She found it interesting, and me ... well ...  it brought back a memory I hadn't thought of for years.

The summer I was eighteen my grandparents traveled out to South Dakota to some kind of health clinic where they stayed for several weeks.

After they came home Grandpa stopped by our house one afternoon. I was working my way through several wheelbarrow loads of sweetcorn, getting it ready to be canned. He pitched in to help, and we chatted as we worked.

Our conversation turned to their recent trip and the many things they had experienced. One happened to be about the way they spent their time on Sundays.

With no Amish church anywhere near, Grandpa and Grandma decided to simply walk to the nearest "English" church from the hotel they were staying. He was impressed with the nice soft benches they got to sit on, even though they were red, but it all got really strange when it was time to sing. Quite a few people went up front and turned to face the church, but just as they were ready to start singing this lady marched up to face them, and the entire time they were singing she stood there waving her arms and clawing towards them. He couldn't understand why no one did anything about it, since there was obviously something wrong with her.

Poor Grandpa never did learn that there was nothing wrong with the "clawing" lady, and it gave us all a good chuckle when I shared the memory with the girls this morning.

Wednesday Medley

1.  Today, Wednesday, February 6th, is Frozen Yogurt Day!  A cold dessert on what must be a very cold day for most of you reading this today!  Do you enjoy frozen yogurt?  Does it matter what the weather is?  Share with us your favorite flavor and/or topping, please!!

I've had frozen yogurt a few times, but it certainly doesn't make it to the top of the list when it comes to frozen treats I enjoy.

As long as I'm feeling warm, it doesn't matter what the weather is doing, I can still enjoy ice cream. Maybe that's because growing up, winter was the time for ice cream. We always got excited when it snowed, because it Mom would cook up the base for the ice cream while we went outside to fill up several five-gallon pails with snow. After filling the canister of ice cream freezer with the pudding we would take turns cranking the freezer, until it was frozen. Such a delightful treat!

My favorite flavor is still vanilla, a chocolate fudge topping is delightful though.

2.  What food do you know you shouldn't eat but can't help yourself?

I can't think of anything at the moment. I guess it wouldn't hurt to cut out desserts completely, but with only a few bites a day I'm not feeling guilty about it.

3.  If your life was a meal, what kind of meal would it be?

If my life were a meal it would be an overflowing buffet. Such a wide variety of things. Most of it good, some great, and the occasional bad thing you wish you could have avoided.

4.  Do you like spicy food?  Why or why not?  What is the spiciest food you have ever eaten?

I like spices as far as flavors, but when it comes to heat I prefer to keep it on the milder side so that I can still taste my food.

The spiciest/hottest food I've ever eaten was when I was a teenager and some friends from the deep south came to visit and insisted on cooking a meal for us. The added a handful of jalapenos and some other peppers, seeds and all into their pot of chili. We tried our best to eat it, but our entire family was reduced to a coughing, gasping mess.

5.   What food do you eat or crave when you have a bad cold?

I usually don't crave any kind of food when I'm having a bad cold, but force myself to have some broth or chicken noodle soup.

6.  Please tell us something random about your week (and maybe it will involve food).

I've heard of Meyer lemons quite a bit already, but this week was the first time we have ever tried them. Love them! The ones we got provided almost double the amount of juice as regular lemons do.

Squirrels

Several years ago Kenneth built a sandbox for Steven to play in. To keep the cats from using it as a giant litter box, he made a nice top for it so we can cover it when it's not in use.

This winter, even though it has the cover firmly in place, it has become the home of a little red squirrel. It squeezes in through a crack that has appeared in the one corner. 

We have been entertained watching it as it gnaws the shells off of walnuts until they're small enough to fit inside. It tests the size every couple seconds in its hurry to get inside safely out of reach of the bossy bigger squirrels.

There are several other bigger kinds of squirrels that come visiting the walnut tree as well. They're equally as entertaining to watch.

Between all the birds and squirrels to watch outside the kitchen window, it's almost a wonder that any of the other rooms in the house get used. 

One of the bigger squirrels taking a rare quiet moment before darting on up the tree to retrieve another walnut.

Once spring arrives and the little red squirrel moves from its home in the sandbox, we'll be getting rid of the sand and possibly the sandbox as well. 

As long as they don't try living in the attic or elsewhere in the house, I actually really enjoy having squirrels around.