The Ice Storm Part 1: {Out}

It all began Sunday morning... well I guess truly Saturday night.  All through the night it was raining (a cold sullen freezing rain) and Josiah was kept awake by strange flashes and sudden cracks and crashes.  In the morning when we woke, it was to a changed and strikingly beautiful world.

Beautiful, but painfully so.  Everything was coated with a 1/4 inch or so of ice, with icicles hanging off everything.  Lovely to look at, but treacherously dangerous.  Our willow tree had received the most damage, cracking huge limbs, some plunging below to the ground, others stuck up on our power line.  At this point we still had power, surprisingly enough, yet because of the roads and others being without power, there was to be no church service for the day.  We planned to watch a video by R.C Sproul, but before that I ran outside to let the ducks out and to take pictures of the shimmering world.

Two little Chickadees hung on bravely to the ice covered clothes line, shifting their tiny little feet and yelling at me for food.  The snow crunched ominously as I tried to avoid the slick pathways.

Faith had been out earlier and had brought up some delicate "birds nests" (Queen Ann's Lace); they too were coated with ice. 

Everything was: our garden ornaments,

all of the fencing,

the clotheslines and a few stray clothespins that were forgotten,

the rose hips on the wild rose bushes out back,

and all the other bushes and trees leaning over the pathway, all weighed down by the frozen water that encased them.

After returning to the house we all trooped down stairs to have our own service together.  We began by singing a few hymns, and had fun selecting our favorites.  We had just finished the first song and were choosing the next when "blink, blink" the power flickered, struggled, then came back on.  Undaunted we began the second hymn, and midway in the second verse, "blip" then "thunk" we were officially "OUT".

~Chs

Winter Walks

With all this wonderful snow we have had recently, the three intrepid hikers (also known as Faith, Christianna and Josiah) have been venturing out into the white world for some invigorating walks.

Beaver Lake Trails is one of our favorite and usual spot for a hike, but we hadn't been able to get to it in a while.  So we were thrilled to make it out one Sunday afternoon.

The snow made everything beautiful.

The marsh and lake were quite frozen so we decided to go off trail and trudged across.

The big lake was a little more "creaky", so we cautiously walked around the edge just to make sure.  We made it back to the parking lot safely, after thoroughly enjoying are hike, even if it was brief.

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A few days later we received a dump of snow.  Once again we three headed out, this time to Tody Lake trails, one of the best sledding/hiking trails known to man!!

Sadie always accompanies us on these adventures, and she especially enjoys the sledding voyages.  This time she had to wear a orange necklace to beware of hunters.

Off we go!!

And up.... up.... up.  This is one of the most impressive hills.  The path on the right is SUPER steep, so when you come down it feels like you've reached the bottom before you leave the top.  The left path, while a bit less steep, is rather more curvy, so steering is of essence unless you want to shoot off the ledge or run into miscellaneous trees.

Some of the paths were a bit treacherous because of fallen limbs, so some impressive gymnastics were required.. :P

We are hoping for many more adventures this winter, and are thankful for such a good beginning!

~Chs

Whiter Than Snow

Lord Jesus I long to be perfectly whole;

I want Thee forever to live in my soul.

break down every idle, cast out every foe;

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

 Whiter than snow, yes whiter than snow.

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

 Lord Jesus let nothing unholy remain,

Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;

To get this blest cleansing, I all things forego-

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 

 Whiter than snow, yes whiter than snow.

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus for this I most humbly entreat,

I wait, blessed Lord at Thy crucified feet.

By faith for my cleansing, I see Thy blood flow,

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, yes whiter than snow.

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

 The blessing by faith, I receive from above;

Oh glory! My soul is made perfect in love;

My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,

The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow!

By: James L. Nicholson

{Photos by: Christianna H. Sauve}

Some of our Favorite People

You know those places that you just can't wait to go to.  Those people that just brighten your day, and you look forward to working with every week.  Well the ladies we work with at the Pregnancy Center are those people, and the PRC (Pregnancy Resource Center) is one of those places. We volunteer in the Clothes Closet every Thursday, and it is one of the highlights of our week.  We are blessed to work with some of the most wonderful, Christian, funny, enthusiastic, group of ladies.  In short they are a riot! Last week we decided to have our annual Christmas luncheon early due to schedules.  

We always have the nicest table cloth and settings. 

Laughter abounded as we got the food ready.

Such a precious bond in Christ we have with all these dear women. 

The meal was simply lovely, with everyone contributing their own special delicious dishes.

We had decided to celebrate Louise's 85th birthday at the luncheon.  She is a delightful lady, originally from Maine, and we had so much fun celebrating with her!

We are so very grateful for each and everyone of these ladies, and thank God for the time we are able to spend with them!

~Chs

On the Making of Cider

It is over.  We have finally finished the last batch of cider for this year.  And sadly enough I somehow managed to miss getting pictures of most of the project.  But what I have I will share with you!

So, what does it take to have cider perpetually on tap in the fridge, with a good stock in the freezer for later?  Ahh, such a good question, with such a long and complicated answer.

To begin with, you need bushels and bushels of apples.  Preferably these apples were either your own, a friends, or a relative... in other words - free.  The next step, after cluttering up your garage with the multiple bushels, is to put together mixes of the apples for your cidering.  This means you must know the flavor of apples and therefore what combination would taste best together.

When you have selected your varieties, and made up the baskets to be used for this batch, they then must be brought inside and washed.

Mostly just rinsing will do the job but a few need some elbow grease scrubbing.

Once they are thoroughly washed, you must roll them out onto towels to let them dry. :)

{Apple carpet}

{this, and the next pictures are from Josiah's apple party. Somehow I didn't get pictures of this part of the process otherwise}

Now you must cut all the apples in half, just to make sure that there are no occupants. :) 

Once all your apples are cut, you can begin the grinding process; about three large bowlfuls of apples will fit in the press.  When your press is full, it is time to squish all your apples, and let the golden liquid drain into a pot.  Pour the full pot into a large crock.  Repeat process until your crock is full.  Now, leave the cider in the crock for three days to meld the flavors.

And then, only then, can you have cider on tap in the fridge!

~Chs

Homemade Saturday: Egg Nog

(Somehow this didn't get posted on Saturday.  Pretty much ready just not published.  So here it is now!)

Luscious, creamy, delicious, rich... yup, Egg Nog is pretty much a wonderful beverage.  And while the store stuff is tasty, it can't even begin to compare to fresh homemade Egg Nog.  

Egg Nog

In a blender combine:

4 organic pastured eggs (if you use 2 whole eggs and 2 just yolks it will make it thicker)

1/2 cup of sugar.

Blend until the eggs are fluffy and light yellow.

Add:

4 cups of raw whole milk (this can be made with half cream to make it even better!!)

a dash of salt

1 Tbs of Vanilla

A couple shakes or so of Nutmeg

Blend

So I have been debating with myself the entire time whether or not I should share our secret ingredient we discovered which really puts this over the top and makes it taste like the real stuff.  Part of me wanted to keep it a secret, but thankfully for you all, my better generous half got the upper hand. :P

So, the secret is......

....... for 1 tsp of the Vanilla, substitute rum flavoring (it can be purchased in the spice and flavoring section of any store).  So 1 tsp rum flavoring, 2tsp Vanilla.  That, is our secret.

Chill the beverage in the fridge if you are not going to drink it right away, then pour into glasses, and sprinkle with a touch of Nutmeg.  Eat with some Gingersnap cookies.... and...

ENJOY!!!!!

~Chs

Friends...?

 At first Sadie Rose and Louie Armstrong didn't think they wanted a thing to do with each other... the old cat and dog thing you know.  Then Sadie was super interested and Louie, well carefully cautious.  

In time, they have learned to sort of respect each other.  Sadie is as always intrigued and eager, and Louie simply tolerates her attentions.

So would you call them friends.... maybe??? 

"Most definitely NOT."  Louie says in a dignified manner. 

"Aww but comee onnnnn... why not?  We look alike see see?  And I think we could be great friends..."  Sadie pleads. 

"No. final" Answers Louie with his kitty glare.

Poor Sades.... so lonely for friends...

(don't feel too bad for her though, I think Louie has a right to be suspicious. She has that funny look in her eyes like she is waiting for us to feed him to her. :P )

~Chs

PS. Louie is healing extraordinarily well; he is even using the leg some. So in two weeks or so he will be leaving us.  

Wednesday's Wisdom: Snow and People

For the past year or so Josiah has become more and more interested in almanacs.  Especially older almanacs.  As he studied more about it, he has come to really appreciate one particular almanac.  John Baer's Sons "Agriculture Almanac".  He has begun to collect them, from the early 1900's and on, and as he reads through them has found many interesting, amusing, and enlightening tidbits, that we thought we would share with you.  The following article is from the 1957 edition.

~Chs

Snow and People

   It’s hard to appreciate the aesthetic values of snow and winter when your car won’t start, or the pipes freeze. But a good snowstorm does have beautiful consequences. The light, dry snow clings to the trees and shrubs to redecorate the landscape In the frigid air. A traveler on a country road, or in a rural town, can see the arches of white formed by the festooned trees bowing along his path.

   There ought to be a time even in this hurried civilization, to relax and marvel at it. Time perhaps to scuff in the snow where as children, we would have hurriedly dragged the “flexible flyers” on our way to the hillside.

   There ought to be a time – but , alas, too often there isn’t. Snow slows us down, it impedes our rapid transit, it makes us impatient to be home by the fireside. And so we stand disconsolate, wet, chilled, waiting only to get back into a warm home. Then if we have an especially aesthetic turn of mind, we glance out the picture window and see the falling snow reflected in the street light’s glow and say: “I hope this clears up before morning.”  Too bad. At least we could say a respectful word for nature (and it’s Creator).