Retired with more time for roaming from our farm on the prairie to all parts of this country. Living light but carrying cast iron in the form of Dutch ovens.
July started off with a “bang”. Pun intended! July fourth weekend had some of our children and grandchildren at our house. The weather was cool and ideal for cookouts, fireworks and just being together. Many years on the farm we were harvesting and not able to enjoy the Independence Day celebration as we liked to. I discovered that sparklers have advanced from the days when our children were little. The sparklers we had this year had all kinds of beautiful colors and seemed to sparkle in every direction.
I always think of my mother on this holiday as her birthday is on July 5th. Her aunt always called her a “fizzle”. She was little but mighty for sure! The kids all called her “Mae-Maw”. She is missed at these times.
One son brought his camper and built a nice fire in the fire pit. His wife added color makers to the fire. It was mesmerizing as we all sat around the campfire and visited. Several different games were played and I think Luke who is ten won every hand of Sweep.
“Our family is just one tent away from a full-blown circus!”
Later in July on the 26 we had some more children and grandchildren come out for the weekend. Our son that lives in Flower Mound, TX brought his three teenagers, our son in Great Bend brought his wife and teenager, and our son and wife from Atwood came also. The local Dairy Queen was a hit for an ice cream treat for sure. We also played many board games and enjoyed spending time as a family. The time goes much too fast. Every moment has to be savored. Harper from Texas had one thing on her agenda and that was playing games. Grandma was happy to oblige.
“In my family, crazy doesn’t skip a generation.”
The first of August we traveled to Olathe to spend time with our daughter’s family while she had to head back to school early. It’s sad that teachers and librarians have to head back early but we had a great time helping kids with school supplies and enjoying summer’s last fling.
The Farmer and I traveled to Wisconsin for a great nephew’s wedding in June. It was a wonderful family time with the Farmer’s sister and lots of nieces and nephews. His three brothers have graduated to heaven. He is the only brother left. He still has all three sisters. Being with his family has become so much more precious due to this. That’s one reason we decided to make the trip.
It was a beautiful wedding in some amazing country and scenery. We were on a lake and only a short distance from Lake Superior. One day after the wedding we took a boat trip to Apostle Islands. The Farmer who always wears cowboy boots decided the day of the boat ride to wear sandals. MISTAKE! The black flies were awful on the boat and nearly ate us alive. They were fighting with vengeance. We had to warp the Farmer’s legs with this sweatshirt. The scenery was delightful but those flies!! Yikes!
“An optimist is one who believes that a fly is looking for a way to get out.”
“But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.“
-Exodus 8:22
We saw some wonderful scenery, lighthouses, rock formations, and ships on Lake Superior. We saw quilt shops and fabric shops. We were so fortunate to hit the corner of Michigan at their time of Quilt Hop Shop. Wow, God is so good. As I was driving back to our daughter’s house in Kansas City, I saw a sign for Missouri Star Quilt Company. It was 15 miles in the wrong direction but the car just turned that way. It was a thrill to see it and it fills up the whole town of Hamilton, MO. Of course, I had to buy some fabric. It was a wonderful little trip.
“There is much more of God available than we have ever imagined, but we have become so satisfied with where we are and what we have that we don’t press in for God’s best. Yes, God is moving among us and working in our lives, but we have been content to comb the carpet for crumbs as opposed to having the abundant loaves of hot bread God has prepared for us in the ovens of heaven! He has prepared a great table of His presence in this day, and He is calling to the church, “Come and dine.”
Tommy Tenney, “The Heart of a God Chaser”
I can’t think of a more delightful smell, than that of bread baking in the oven. That incredible aroma just wraps itself around you, like a very precious hug from a grandchild or someone special. Smells bring up all kinds of memories and remembrances. A certain smell can take you back to a place in your memory and it becomes so real that you can see it again. Bread with its irresistible taste and aroma have made it a culinary delight.
Whether it is a freshly baked loaf shared with loved ones or a comforting slice of toast on a cold day, bread has the power to nurture both body and soul.
When the Farmer and I were married 52 years ago, there were some conditions in our vows. The Farmer’s mother had always made all of the bread in their home. She had seven children and she had to bake bread almost every day. She was truly a saint. Since the Farmer had been raised that way he thought his new bride could also bake all of the bread for our new union. Since his uncle was the pastor that was marrying us, the Farmer said he would have Uncle Curly put it in our vows. Because I was young and so in love I agreed to make and bake bread for our family. I did make our bread until I began to work outside of the home full time.
The Farmer’s dad enjoyed a really hard crust on his bread. If his wife had to leave him to tend the bread in the oven for a bit, he always let it stay in the oven until the crust was so hard.
“Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.”
John Maxwell
On November 6, 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared November to be National Family Bread Baking month. He said, “Bread, the staff of life, both gives and symbolizes sustenance. Until recent decades the American people baked their bread at home and today many families enjoy this tradition, not simply for its wholesome nutrition but also for its rich association with the well-being and security of family life.”
Bread is pretty amazing. I think we can all agree on that. It was pretty amazing in the Bible too. It is mentioned at least 492 times in the Bible beginning in Genesis and continuing right through Revelation with a variety of meanings and symbolisms. Jesus declared himself the Bread of Life.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
I’ve made many loaves of bread in my life. That’s perhaps why I am drawn to the story of when Jesus made bread.
There was a large crowd of five thousand people who had gathered to hear Jesus teach. It was in a remote location outside a small village and the teaching went longer than planned. Soon the sun grew hot and the day grew long and the people were too far from the city to buy themselves food.
Jesus’ disciples wondered aloud what they would do with this hungry crowd. “You feed them,” Jesus said. But the disciples confronted Jesus with the reality of the situation. There were five thousand people gathered. Even if they could buy all the fish from the local fisherman and all the bread from the local bakery, there would not be enough in this small village. Jesus decided to show them his power. By taking the five loaves of bread and two fish that a little boy had, he made enough bread and fish to feed the entire crowd AND have leftovers. I don’t know what that bread tasted like. But I imagine if the Son of God himself, who invented the idea of wheat and yeast and water, were to make bread then that bread would be unbelievable!
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. Luke 9:16-17
When our family gathers together, Mae-Maw’s rolls are always the most requested item on the menu. My mother could sure make delicious rolls. As long as she was able she would gather the supplies and make bread for her family. Her great grandchildren were always delighted and there were usually none left over.
Here is the recipe for Mae-Maws’ Buttery Crescent Rolls
1 cup milk scalded 1 package yeast
¼ cup butter ½ cup warm water
3 T. sugar 2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. salt 4 to 5 cups flour
Add butter, sugar, and salt to scalded milk. Stir until butter melts. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Add milk mixture, eggs and 2 cups of flour. Beat with mixer at low speed until smooth. Stir in flour to make a soft dough. Knead 8-10 minutes on floured board. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise one hour. Divide in half or thirds and roll out. Cut with pizza cutter and roll up to make crescents. Place on greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Bake 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Brush with butter. Makes 24-30 rolls. Enjoy. Note: we always double this recipe.
Throughout the Bible bread is a symbolic representation of God’s life sustaining provision. He alone is our true source of spiritual life, both in this present world and in the everlasting life to come. Even in the Old Testament in Leviticus 24:9 and Numbers 4:7 the Lord gave instructions to build a table called the table of showbread in the tabernacle. There were twelve loaves of bread on this table on every Sabbath. This symbolized God’s eternal covenant relationship with his people and his constant care and provision for them.
Don’t just pick up the crumbs of this provision. The Lord’s desire for you is that you would savor His fresh bread right out of the oven of heaven. Will you come and dine at His table? The invitation is still open.
I should have named this year’s Cousin Camp a Roundup! The Farmer and I drove all over the state of Kansas to get a few minutes with some of the grandkids. All but two of the grands are 14 and older. One is now an adult, graduated from college and has a full time adult job. One was on a mission trip with Teens for Christ in Mexico, some have summer jobs and internships, and two have driver’s education (look out world, here they come!)! I’m not sure how this could have happened as the Farmer and I are still so young.
Luke is ten and Addie is eight. They were our only fulltime campers. We ran into three more in Kansas City when we picked Luke and Addie up for the trip to the farm. We met with three more for an afternoon of Miniature Golf and food at Old Chicago in Hays one day. And we briefly saw the one heading to Mexico. The ones in Texas were the only ones totally missing. We sure did miss these three precious grandkids. Grandpa and I had seen them in April while in Texas.
Luke and Addie were a delight to have for camp and we really rocked and rolled with crafts, experiments, games, scavenger hunts and other activities. The Farmer had a wood project for them. They made a coaster by gluing some blocks of various types of wood together. The Farmer seems to have an abundance of wood pieces. This required some clamps. (The Farmer has a wide variety of clamps but each coaster required three or four each. This led to dialogue with his bride of the great need he has for more clamps!) It’s not the first time this bride has heard this plea. They had to sand and sand some more, glue cork on the bottom and apply a finish.
Marshmallow Shooters
Some old favorites of driving the mower tractor pulling the wagon with your sibling in the wagon was another highlight. We tie dyed shirts, knapsacks, socks and a headband. They turned out really well. We made owls out of a jean leg. (The Farmer had a pair that were pretty holey.) They did some stained glass painting on rocks and acrylic pour painting. (Grandma told them to remind her to NEVER do that project again! So now of course they can’t wait to do it again!) I was pretty sure my blow dryer did not survive this craft but it is still working.
Of course we had to go to the Old Fashioned Soda Fountain in town for our usual treat. Luke ate an entire Cookie Monster Concoction and Addie ate a double scoop Strawberry Sundae. The Farmer had a single scoop strawberry Sundae also. Grandma declined a delicious treat. Luke decided that perhaps he had quite an over load of sugar from the Cookie Monster delight. We roasted hot dogs and made s’mores that evening but Luke was not hungry.
On Friday we took the two back to their home in Kansas City. The Farmer and The Bride were tired but two at camp are a lot easier than twelve. We sure did miss all of the rest but were delighted that we were able roundup a few for short moments.
A favorite patriotic 1930’s motto used by people to pacify themselves when they had to forego necessities.
Rhubarb is a good source of antioxidants, vitamin K, vitamin C, and fiber. It’s also rich in calcium oxalate. Rhubarb is a vegetable often categorized as a fruit. Due to its sourness, it’s regularly sugared for use in jams and desserts. In the 1930’s women used to can weeds and used a lot of sauerkraut to try to get some vitamin C for their hungry families. Times were hard and there was no money for any extras.
It’s time for pie.
Rhubarb’s roots can be traced back to China around 2700BC. It was initially cultivated for its medicinal properties, primarily as a remedy for digestive ailments. The Chinese valued rhubarb for its laxative properties. Rhubarb made its way to Europe during the Middle Ages. There it gained popularity as a medicinal and culinary ingredient. Settlers then brought it to the New World, tucked in among other roots and seeds destined for new homesteads.
“Humility means you’re willing to give someone a bigger slice of the pie.”
-Frederick Lenz
With the expansion of the frontier, westward, pioneers dug up chunks of the roots and brought the pie plant (rhubarb) with them. As settlers moved westward, rhubarb became a vital ingredient in American cuisine, particularly as pies and preserves. Rhubarb grew well in the cold climates of the northern United States. Food sources were sparse in the 1800’s and 1900’s and rhubarb was able to help meet the needs of these pioneers.
Psalms 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
God’s provision for us and for early settlers is so wonderful. He provides for His people good things to eat and to enjoy. His provision is beautiful and nourishing. He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water.
One of the most distinctive features of rhubarb is its vibrant red stalks, which contain the tart flavor so highly sought after in culinary creations. Interestingly, while the stalks are the commonly used part of the plant, the leaves are highly toxic and should never be consumed.
Rhubarb
“Pie is my therapy!”
-Anonymous
Rhubarb was also called pie plant as it was used so often in pies. That is the favorite pie for the Farmer. You can’t beat a good rhubarb pie! There are many ways to use rhubarb today in cakes, crumbles, salads, jams and of course pie. Many times rhubarb and strawberries were used in pies together. This does not work for the Farmer though. He likes his rhubarb straight! Well not without a lot of sugar to calm down the tart taste.
“A boy doesn’t have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn’t like pie when he sees there isn’t enough to go around.” E.W. Howe
Rhubarb can be started by seed but will take three years before you can begin harvesting stalks. It is much better to ask a neighbor or friend for a chunk of the root. You will be able to harvest in a year or two that way.
My great aunt Maude gave me her recipe for “pie plant” pie at my bridal shower fifty-two years ago. It was a hit with the Farmer and I use the same recipe today. That page sure bears the marks of use in the recipe box.
“Pilates? Oh, heavens no. I thought you said rhubarb pie and lattes!”
Anonymous
Pie Plant Pie (one pie)
3-4 cups pie plant (chopped fine)
2 T. flour
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
Bake with 2 crusts at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Crust
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
5-6 T. cold water
Use a pastry blender and cut shortening into flour and salt until mixed and beads of dough remain. Add 5-6 T. cold water one at a time mixing with a fork. When the dough sticks together well, roll out half of the dough with rolling pin. Butter 9 inch pie plate and place the bottom crust in the glass pie plate. Add pie plant filling. Add some pats of butter on the top of the filling. Roll out top crust and place on top of filling. Seal the edges and sprinkle the top of the pie with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Baking directions are above.
Eat that warm pie with a little ice cream and a lot or Thanksgiving to our good Lord for creating rhubarb.
Since November of 2023 I have been working as interim Clinic Manager at the medical clinic where I used to work for 26 years. The current manager was moving to Iowa so the board asked me to come in as interim. The end of March an in house employee was hired to take the manager position and I was free to pursue our time in April at Alert Academy. Since I was back last week I went in to answer a few questions and I think I am free to head back into retirement. I have a long list of projects to accomplish.
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
-Albert Einstein
It was great to be back for a few months and visit with former co-workers and all of our precious patients. It is a big job though and there are a lot of projects going on right now. We are trying to get a dental clinic up and running along with the medical and behavioral clinics we already have. We are working to expand space in the clinic, get the mobile van on the road more, and have several grant opportunities before us. It is a relief to hand the keys over to someone younger with more energy.
“The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.”
-Abe Lemons
Look out retirement, here I come back! It is a bit of an adjustment after five months of working again and a month in Texas. I couldn’t believe how tired I was after spending a day on the job. It hasn’t been a breeze here at home either as the Farmer and I have some projects we’ve completed around the homestead. We had to replace some guttering on the house and a skylight on the Morton building. I decided that I had to paint some steel siding on the garage and the house where some paint was flaking off. All of this damage was due to a hail storm last September.
“Retire from work, but not from life.”
-M.K. Soni
I even had some time for Cousin Camp 2024, but that is another story.
One of the wives of some of the faculty here invited the ladies for a tea party. It was just a delightful time together. There were six of us there. Her beautiful tea cups set an elegant table. The visiting and connecting together was the most important part though. It was refreshing to take time for tea and a visit.
We ladies also went on a little shopping adventure and out for lunch.
Final Days
The greenhouse project is as complete as we can get it in the two weeks we were able to work on it. The greenhouse looks so much better and we thrilled to hear of their plans to use it in the future.
The men were working in the new appliance repair shop getting it ready for habitation. They ran conduit and other things I don’t know much about.
Mike our leader found a “Squeaky Clean Joke Book” at a thrift shop and has been enjoying presenting the joke of the day following our devotion time. He’s had some pretty good ones. One of them had us laughing out loud unable to catch our breath.
Playing Clue
“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”
Charles Dickens
Hive Bakery
Then just in the blink of an eye the three weeks are complete. One wonderful staff family had us over for a taco bar our last evening there. It was wonderful and we really enjoyed their oldest daughter playing the harp. She played a number of beautiful songs and hymns.
Granddaughter
Goodbyes are so difficult and we will miss this team tremendously. Two couples are headed back to Iowa and we are going to Dallas to see our son and family. Then we will head home to the prairie. It’s been a great adventure.
“Home is a shelter from storms—all sorts of storms.”
Gladewater, TX celebrates the 1930’s oil boom that occurred in East Texas. They are celebrating with food and craft vendors, live bands, food vendors, chili cook-off and a bass tournament.
“The World’s Richest Acre” moniker was given to Kilgore, TX (just a few miles from Gladewater) as by 1940 24 wells were pumping in one city block. Oil companies and prospectors drilled everywhere, including the Presbyterian church, where members tore down their sanctuary to drill in its place, and the Kilgore National Bank, where oilmen drilled a well right through the floor. There were 1000+ oil derricks in Kilgore during the 1930’s boom. As of 2017 5,379,780,304 barrels of oil have been produced from East Texas. Kilgore’s population ballooned from a few hundred to more than 10,000 in the early 30’s as the railroad brought an influx of characters fleeing the Great Depression. By the 1960’s all but one derrick had been removed from that block, as production declined. There is a new movie out called “The Miracle in East Texas” that depicts some things about this history.
This last weekend was the weekend for the Gusher Day celebration, but the festivities were dampened as the rain fell most of the weekend. The farmer and I have enjoyed the rain. We had eight inches of rain and we had maybe 2 inches of rain this weekend. We love to hear the sound of rain on the roof of this camper. Ponds and lakes are full in this area. Being from dry Western Kansas, this rain is phenomenal.
All of us SOWER couples went to Gladewater Museum and had a delightful two-hour tour of the Museum provided to us by a wonderful tour guide. She made the museum and the city’s history just come alive. Elvis Presley used to stay in the Gladewater Hotel and so did other country music stars. Her name was Lois Reed and she is the Chamber of Commerce President. She had just finished the chili judging contest but was delighted to give us a tour of the museum.
Magnolias
Week two had us continuing with some of the same projects. The women continued pulling weeds and cleaning junk out of the old greenhouse so that it might be useful again. It will be delightful to see this facility useful to this camp again. At one time it was a thriving part of this community and hopefully it will be again. We are very thankful for leather gloves and knee pads as we crawl around pulling weeds. The men continued working on the miles of white fence around this campus. They also cleaned out a storage building and sorted trash piles and salvageable items.
Before picture of greenhouse
Alert Academy feeds us two meals every day that we work. We have homemade bread and just delightful meals. A diet will be in the plan when we return home. The ladies are hungry at noon as we have worked and burned quite a few calories by then.
Of course, one evening we had to play “Sweep”. This is a well-known SOWER game. It seems every SOWER couple has a different set of rules. It is a good game as it is not too intense so that you can still visit while playing.
It was not all work as we traveled to Mineola, TX to visit the train museum. We also worked in a lunch at East Texas Burger, a visit to the Nut House, and we came away with delicious pieces of cheesecake from the local cheesecake business. It was not a low-calorie kind of day but it was fun.
Serene Lake
Ps. 18:7 Show your marvelous loving kindness by your right hand. O you who save those who trust in you!
On April 8, North America experienced its second total solar eclipse in seven years. The moon glided over the surface of our sun, casting a shadow over a swath of Earth below. Along this path, the world turned dark as night. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon orients itself between Earth and the sun, shielding the solar surface from our view. In cosmic terms, it is unusual that this happens: the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun, but it is about 400 times closer to us. That means that when these two celestial bodies are aligned, they appear to be the same size in the sky.
At Big Sandy, TX we were in the path of total eclipse and as the sky darkened and the temperature cooled we briefly got to see the total eclipse before the clouds obscured our view. One small child started to cry as it got night and declare that he was not ready to go to bed. We are here to do a SOWER mission for the month of April at Alert Academy. This is our second time to work at this camp. The camp ground here is hosting a family camp with the theme of “Beholding the Glory of God”. This theme was very fitting for this spectacular weekend. We were able to hear some wonderful presentations from Spike Psarris an Astrophysicist. For a number of years, He worked as an engineer in the U.S. military space program. He went into that career as an atheist and committed evolutionist. By the time he left, he had become a creationist and a Christian. Our first week of work here started with three days of heavy rain. We had eight or nine inches of rain. Being from Northwest Kansas we haven’t heard a rain like that in 20 some years. It was a beautiful sound to our ears as we heard of dirt storms at home. Thankfully we had inside jobs. The women painted boards for a board fence. The men replaced almost 200 light bulbs in the administration building. It was an enlightening experience. We are blessed to be working with two very special couples. Mike and Jackie and Tom and Glenda. These four are all from Iowa.
At the end of our workweek the farmer and I headed to Buda, TX to spend the weekend with my brother and family.
Some of the words used to tell of our 2023 are: graduations, cousins, prayer journeys, reunions, loss, kids, grandkids and praises.
Texas and Iowa were the places we served in church camps with our SOWER ministry. New friends, old friends and ministries that are making a difference in the Kingdom of God were found in both of these places. We take our camper and go to work in these camps for a month in March and in September. Painting, remodeling, office work, kitchen duties and other responsibilities are some of the projects we are involved in. It is such a treat to be able to be a blessing to these facilities.
Conrad lost his last brother, Jim, this March. Three brothers have now advanced to their heavenly home. The youngest brother is now left alone to try to keep three sisters in line. That thought has now terrified the little brother. His oldest sister, Dorothy has informed him that he will not succeed in trying to keep her in line.
Two grandsons graduated from high school in May and one grandson graduated from KSU last weekend and has accepted a new job. He has now joined the adult lifestyle of work and more work. We are very proud of all of Jordan’s accomplishments. Anna is a Junior at KU and Joshua and Roman are Freshmen at UNW and KSU. We are very proud of all of our grands.
Hosting a reunion of cousins here at the home place for the Jamison’s made for a fun June. All but four of my cousins were able to come. Then in August we were able to have Cousin Camp also here at the farm. This is a special time for this grandma and I cherish every moment. Grandpa and I also traveled to some of our children’s homes and spent time with grandchildren for various reasons.
Our little teardrop camper headed out on a journey in early July to travel the border of Kansas. We decided to answer the call to pray the border of our state and to stop and pray in every border county. We traveled 1550 miles, we met beautiful Kansans, camped in special places and prayed and anointed the borders with oil. We spent a little time at the geographic enter of the continental US. We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful time to travel our state. The Lord blessed this trip tremendously.
Pam completed the book of her childhood memories for her grandchildren. The Lord put it on my heart to write my story for my future generations. This is not really a story of my life but more of the story of what my Savior has done in my life. I also completed a king size quilt for Haley. This was my fourth king size quilt to be finished.
Conrad has been busy making 75 wood boxes for Operation Christmas Child boxes, being creative with the wood lathe, and driving semi in harvest season for some neighbors. May you all be blessed with the greatest gifts of God and may this Christmas season find you all well. Merry Christmas from the farmer and I.
Where the Dutch Ovens Roam 