Saturday, May 18, 2024

All the Kids



How wonderful it is to have all four kids together! 
With them growing up and moving away, we don't expect it to happen very often, but we had a most wonderful time yesterday with the six of us.


Beautiful sky while out for a walk. 

We have a lot of rain lately, which is drowning out some of the crops. I think everything around us is good so far, but farmers are waiting for it to dry up so they can plant beans (and finish planting corn).


Jonathan made his way home from Florida. 
He stopped at my parents in Jennings, LA. He had lunch with the Tovars near Houston (youth minister from the old days who officiated Liz's wedding). He spent about a week with Liam in San Antonio, visiting all the old places. He spent a couple days with Amos and Lanaya Elizabeth in Oklahoma. And he got home to us last Wednesday.


Harrison preached for the nursing home church service a couple Sundays ago. We sang out of the hymnal, and I loved it. 


We had an exciting Midwest Ministry Training meet-up last week. Elders from church, students, professors, and training church leaders were there for a delicious meal that Christy prepared. We're so excited about the first year of ministry training coming up in August!


Mr. Wayne Kurz gave us a momma cat with five kittens so we can try to get another stand of mousers going after Doc chased them all away. The kittens lived in a box in the doghouse until they got big enough to climb out and follow Momma Cat under the house. I think we've decided to name her Hattie. We're throwing around names for the kittens ~ probably one will be Rochester. Harrison is really wanting to go with obscure presidents (Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore), but Phoebe is blocking him on that. She is our animal care-taker, so she gets a little more say.



Phoebe and I have been working on a small quilt for over a year now. It's a school project. I worked on a quilt with my Grandma, mom and sister when I was 14 or so, and I thought it was so fun. This one is going well, but it's amazing how easily things come out a little crooked...... which really shows up when you're working with quadrilaterals.

It's gonna be fine though. Totally fine.



Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal spent some time in our yard the other day.


Last day of school, Harrison played "Amazing Grace" on the ocarina. 
Jonathan jumped in with his violin.


And we met up with Lanaya Elizabeth in St. Charles! She was nearby-ish for her college roommate's wedding, and we worked it out so that our last day of school was meeting up with her.


Crooked Tree Coffee Shop hosted us for coffee/breakfast. This was great because we could just sit and talk for an hour or two. So good to see this girl! 







The girls happened to buy shoes that were almost identical.


Firehouse Subs is a favorite lunch spot for us. For a little while we would have Firehouse Subs every Sunday lunch in San Antonio.


Harrison is taller than Lanaya Elizabeth now. He's working on catching Phoebe next.


We girls stopped in quite a few boutiques in downtown St. Charles. 
The boys were always glad for a place to sit.





Harrison and I went down to the Missouri River to watch it flow past. 
Statue of Lewis and Clark and their Newfoundland dog.



Summer is next! 
Jonathan is interning at the church here. Phoebe and Harrison can't wait for hot sunshine. I'll be spring cleaning and planning school. Phillip's working. 
Bring it on.

 

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Vintage Cookware


Paul and Elayne are moving to a smaller home in town, and so we are some of the blessed recipients of some beautiful kitchenware.



We're not sure what to call this ~ maybe a dinner carry-all. It's made of aluminum and it belonged to Elayne's great aunts. Phoebe was thrilled to be able to keep this to use someday. It would be from Phoebe's great-great-great aunts?


I had requested a Dutch Oven for my birthday and Elayne did me one better and gave me hers! She had a note taped to the bottom of it:

"Dutch oven - Belonged to Grandma Ferguson
Given to her by her mom = 
Great Grandmother Green. 
She also gave one to Lena and Iva and one to Della.
Grandma Ferguson (Matilda) gave it to my
mother who cooked wonderful roast beef in it when I, Elayne, was a child at home. 
Mom gave it to me around 1999-2000."

I believe Elayne said that Grandmother Green had been a Branstetter.


Elayne also gave us this cast iron skillet. 
I've been using it every morning for bacon and eggs and it is so much better than my other skillet! 


Elayne, Aunt Pat, Aunt Anita, Uncle Earl. 
They came over for supper and we had beef roast cooked in the Dutch Oven. 
Splendid all around.



We are so happy to be able to keep these family pieces now that Paul and Elayne have moved into a smaller home and don't have room for them.

The buffet in the back and the table and chairs were bought in 1927 by Roy and Ethel Gore when they got married. I believe they got it from Waters Furniture in town (which we also shopped at for a rocking chair when Lanaya Elizabeth was born. The store is now closed.). So Paul grew up with this set and Phillip grew up with this set and now our kids get a little taste of it too. It's made of walnut and it's really so well made and well preserved.

The oil lamp on the buffet ~ the glass top is from Elayne's Grandma Ferguson (Tildie = Roger's mother). 


We also received this little set of drawers. It used to hold a washbowl, and we think it came with the dining room set. Elayne repainted it a few years ago using a crackle technique. We may paint it at some point with a different color that matches our room a little better. It holds our games and some homeschool stuff.