Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanks
This season, I am thankful for (in no particular order):
-This is the obvious one: I am most thankful for a cute, developing, healthy son who entered this world eight months ago today. Right now snow is falling outside, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is playing in the background, and he is trying peaches for the first time. (Gagging on them, to be exact.) I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend today with! Baby, THANK YOU for staying in bed for 12 hours last night while I fight this cold!
-My handsome husband who is smart, handy, hard-working, good-looking, a top notch daddy and an excellent provider for his family. Now, there is a REAL MAN!
-A new bridge over the Red River near my home. Gone are the days when I have to drive 30 extra miles to get into North Dakota while the river floods the old bridge each spring. I am also thankful that the construction of this new bridge is DONE!
-Norwex. I have never seen magic before using this miraculous “rag” to clean windows. No chemicals or cleaning products needed. All you need is a little water and you get a streak-free shine!
-All-wheel drive. My trusty vehicle delivered me and my precious cargo (along with all of my flooring samples, baby gear, and cartful of groceries) safely to and from the Big City during the two winter storms this week.
-Sister-friends. Although my group of friends from college and I don’t get together as often as we’d like, we try to stay in touch as much as possible. Thank you for helping with harvest, meeting for lunch, chatting on the phone, or just writing on my wall! Congratulations to those who recently had healthy, beautiful babies, and may those who are expecting continue to be blessed with easy pregnancies. I pray that those who want to start a family will be able to do just that with the grace of God and according to his plan.
-Family weddings. What an awesome excuse to get together with some of my favorite people for bridal showers, bachelorette parties and vacations!
-Our new Bunn coffee maker. It really does make coffee in 3 minutes or less! I’m enjoying a cup right now. My little slice of heaven here on the farm where there is no Caribou Coffee nearby.
-A job that I love and employers who have been more than accommodating and helpful in my venture “up North.”
-Bible study. Every week, I get together with some of my mother-in-law’s best friends to drink coffee, have fellowship, and immerse ourselves in learning the Greatest Book of All. These ladies have been inspirations, mentors and prayer-warriors when I have needed it the most.
-An unusually warm fall. Thank you (You know who You are!) for 70 degrees in November, unbelievable weather for an outdoor wedding in the fall, and the warmth of Phoenix during our trip in October.
-Christmas decorations. If I could keep my house decorated for the holidays all year without looking like I belong in the trailorhood, I would! I can’t wait to add L’s first Christmas ornaments to the tree this year!
-Family visits. I love house guests. Do not let the fact that we only have one bathroom scare you; come visit us! Thank you for crossing things off my “honey-do” list whenever you come visit, Mom and Dad!
-Scrap iron. One day, a nice man arrived at our door step asking if we had any scrap iron. He worked day and night for weeks loading up forgotten equipment that has accumulated through the years on the farm and selling it for scrap iron. What an ingenious way to make money; he does all the work, sells our junk, cleans up the yard and cuts us a check! It’s like a less-interesting episode of American Pickers!
-Deer hunting. As much as I used to despise this season as a newlywed, I have come to enjoy the camaraderie with friends at deer camp, having the men cook, girls weekends, slimming out the deer population (which means I won’t hit them with my car), and the sense of relaxation that comes over my husband immediately following harvest.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-This is the obvious one: I am most thankful for a cute, developing, healthy son who entered this world eight months ago today. Right now snow is falling outside, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is playing in the background, and he is trying peaches for the first time. (Gagging on them, to be exact.) I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend today with! Baby, THANK YOU for staying in bed for 12 hours last night while I fight this cold!
-My handsome husband who is smart, handy, hard-working, good-looking, a top notch daddy and an excellent provider for his family. Now, there is a REAL MAN!
-A new bridge over the Red River near my home. Gone are the days when I have to drive 30 extra miles to get into North Dakota while the river floods the old bridge each spring. I am also thankful that the construction of this new bridge is DONE!
-Norwex. I have never seen magic before using this miraculous “rag” to clean windows. No chemicals or cleaning products needed. All you need is a little water and you get a streak-free shine!
-All-wheel drive. My trusty vehicle delivered me and my precious cargo (along with all of my flooring samples, baby gear, and cartful of groceries) safely to and from the Big City during the two winter storms this week.
-Sister-friends. Although my group of friends from college and I don’t get together as often as we’d like, we try to stay in touch as much as possible. Thank you for helping with harvest, meeting for lunch, chatting on the phone, or just writing on my wall! Congratulations to those who recently had healthy, beautiful babies, and may those who are expecting continue to be blessed with easy pregnancies. I pray that those who want to start a family will be able to do just that with the grace of God and according to his plan.
-Family weddings. What an awesome excuse to get together with some of my favorite people for bridal showers, bachelorette parties and vacations!
-Our new Bunn coffee maker. It really does make coffee in 3 minutes or less! I’m enjoying a cup right now. My little slice of heaven here on the farm where there is no Caribou Coffee nearby.
-A job that I love and employers who have been more than accommodating and helpful in my venture “up North.”
-Bible study. Every week, I get together with some of my mother-in-law’s best friends to drink coffee, have fellowship, and immerse ourselves in learning the Greatest Book of All. These ladies have been inspirations, mentors and prayer-warriors when I have needed it the most.
-An unusually warm fall. Thank you (You know who You are!) for 70 degrees in November, unbelievable weather for an outdoor wedding in the fall, and the warmth of Phoenix during our trip in October.
-Christmas decorations. If I could keep my house decorated for the holidays all year without looking like I belong in the trailorhood, I would! I can’t wait to add L’s first Christmas ornaments to the tree this year!
-Family visits. I love house guests. Do not let the fact that we only have one bathroom scare you; come visit us! Thank you for crossing things off my “honey-do” list whenever you come visit, Mom and Dad!
-Scrap iron. One day, a nice man arrived at our door step asking if we had any scrap iron. He worked day and night for weeks loading up forgotten equipment that has accumulated through the years on the farm and selling it for scrap iron. What an ingenious way to make money; he does all the work, sells our junk, cleans up the yard and cuts us a check! It’s like a less-interesting episode of American Pickers!
-Deer hunting. As much as I used to despise this season as a newlywed, I have come to enjoy the camaraderie with friends at deer camp, having the men cook, girls weekends, slimming out the deer population (which means I won’t hit them with my car), and the sense of relaxation that comes over my husband immediately following harvest.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Peep this!
(As my young, cool in-laws from California say, meaning "Check this out!")
This boy is WILD and I love it!
He crawls faster than I can catch him, and he gets into everything that he shouldn’t- wires, remote controls, cell phones, paper, stairs… anything he can reach. Everything he finds goes into his mouth… including dirt. He pushes the wheeled high chair around on the floor, because it helps him go faster! While trying to buckle him into his car seat, he arches his back with a look of disgust, as if to say “You cannot contain ME!” Now that he has learned how to pull himself up to stand, he climbs on everything. While trying to feed him, he quickly grabs the spoon right out of our hands, and ends up being covered in pureed green beans. I have found that it is way easier to strip him down to his diaper and throw him in the tub after dinner. During bath time, he scoots and splashes all around like a fish. He doesn’t lay still long enough to put a diaper on, so getting dressed is usually a fight until he is released to go and play some more. When he’s happy, he smiles the biggest, widest, open-mouth grin, showing off his two bottom teeth. He has a newfound fascination with his tongue, so he sticks it out and blows bubbles because it makes a funny sound. He waves his arms around, mimicking pat-a-cake, waving bye-bye, and “Soooo big!” He screams with delight after playing peek-a-boo and blabs “Bob-bob-bob-bob,” much to his Uncle Bob’s delight. If he’s awake, he’s moving. Just like a boy, right?
This boy is WILD and I love it!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
I am a farm wife; I am required to make homemade bread, right?
Whether you agree or disagree, I, myself, want to make bread. I want to make really, really good bread. I want to make really, really good bread from scratch. And buns, too. I just need a lot more practice. I remember eating sloppy joe’s (or “slushburgers” if you’re from western ND) on my grandma’s homemade buns, and J’s grandma makes homemade buns and bread, too. J’s mom made really good buns. Like, Texas Roadhouse good… only better. She would make dozens of “harvest buns,” then freeze them so they could be enjoyed all throughout the fall.
J’s family’s bun recipe comes with a story. The recipe is meant to be used with a Bosch mixer, which J’s mother distributed. The last time I talked to her, she called to tell me that I, too, would be receiving a Bosch and was wondering if I would prefer the traditional one or the limited-edition red color. She was excited about the flashy red, so she ordered enough to give to her daughters and me. Although she wasn’t there, I still received the Bosch at my bridal shower as she intended. Soon, all of her daughters will be married and have their own Bosch mixers.
The bun recipe in their family cookbook clearly states directions, like “mix on speed 1 for 5 minutes” and “let the Bosch knead the dough for 10 minutes.” Seems pretty basic and fool-proof, right? At first glance, it seems like a recipe that you can pick up and try on your own for the first time.
But, it doesn’t say anything about how you’ll need to add more flour or water depending on the humidity that day, or how to carefully shape the dough into buns, or how you can fill the sink with hot water and put the covered pan of buns on top of it to let them rise, or how to brush the buns with a sugar mixture when they’re fresh out of the oven to give them a sweet glaze, or how it is the most fun when you have all day to enjoy the task at hand with family while chatting and drinking coffee and letting the kids form their own little snowmen-shaped buns so they can help, too.
It is a process that can only be learned by partaking in the experience with the experts themselves. I am hoping it is a process of trial and error that I will perfect after years of experience.
Usually, when I try baking buns on my own, I end up having an overgrown yeast disaster, because I walk away and forget about it until I see the dough crawling out of the Bosch mixer and spreading across the countertop. Then I have a terrible time forming them into buns, and finally, when they’re done baking, they end up being little bricks that could give a black-eye better than any hockey puck.
One day my husband told me, “[sigh] Jill, I wish you could make buns as good as-“ then he caught himself because he knew what he was saying wasn’t going to make me feel any better! So, I’ve given up on buns for now (except for that perfect little bun I baked, named “Lucas”) and focused my expertise on bread-making instead.
For our wedding favors, we decided to bake mini loaves of bread using J’s family’s recipe. We originally intended to grind flour from the wheat grown by my husband, but that was early in the wedding-planning stages and you know how time slips away. We baked hundreds of buns and tied them with a verse from a song played at our wedding:
How appropriate for a post-harvest wedding of a wheat farmer, don’t you think?
J’s family’s bun recipe comes with a story. The recipe is meant to be used with a Bosch mixer, which J’s mother distributed. The last time I talked to her, she called to tell me that I, too, would be receiving a Bosch and was wondering if I would prefer the traditional one or the limited-edition red color. She was excited about the flashy red, so she ordered enough to give to her daughters and me. Although she wasn’t there, I still received the Bosch at my bridal shower as she intended. Soon, all of her daughters will be married and have their own Bosch mixers.
But, it doesn’t say anything about how you’ll need to add more flour or water depending on the humidity that day, or how to carefully shape the dough into buns, or how you can fill the sink with hot water and put the covered pan of buns on top of it to let them rise, or how to brush the buns with a sugar mixture when they’re fresh out of the oven to give them a sweet glaze, or how it is the most fun when you have all day to enjoy the task at hand with family while chatting and drinking coffee and letting the kids form their own little snowmen-shaped buns so they can help, too.
It is a process that can only be learned by partaking in the experience with the experts themselves. I am hoping it is a process of trial and error that I will perfect after years of experience.
Usually, when I try baking buns on my own, I end up having an overgrown yeast disaster, because I walk away and forget about it until I see the dough crawling out of the Bosch mixer and spreading across the countertop. Then I have a terrible time forming them into buns, and finally, when they’re done baking, they end up being little bricks that could give a black-eye better than any hockey puck.
One day my husband told me, “[sigh] Jill, I wish you could make buns as good as-“ then he caught himself because he knew what he was saying wasn’t going to make me feel any better! So, I’ve given up on buns for now (except for that perfect little bun I baked, named “Lucas”) and focused my expertise on bread-making instead.
As grains of wheat are gathered in, we’ve come together.
From lives apart, we bring our hearts to make one whole.
From lives apart, we bring our hearts to make one whole.
How appropriate for a post-harvest wedding of a wheat farmer, don’t you think?
At another one of my bridal showers, I received two identically embroidered towel sets from each of my grandmothers, which come in handy for covering the rising dough. It was funny that they each chose the same exact gift and the same exact pattern on the towels. That, too, must be a western ND thing! Now, the towels aid in my bun-baking “practices” to be perfected hopefully SOON!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Farm Tour
Lucas and I went exploring in our yard today just to see what we could see. There is a lot of history on this farm, both in memories and in collected paraphernalia. I took pictures of some of the highlights, so I’ll describe them “as I know them.”
First, let me include an aerial photograph of the farm taken in 1984...
You can see the "romantic lane" leading through the trees towards our house on the left. The other white house belonged to Jason's great-grandparents on his mother's side. It has since been sold and moved off the property. Can you believe that as newlyweds, Jason’s grandparents lived in that house with their parents for their first few years of marriage? Then, Grandma Doris and Grandpa "Buddy" [Lauritz Mayne Jensen, hence Lucas’ middle name] moved what-is-now-“our” house onto the farm just a few yards away. Here, they lived for over fifty years until Jason and I got married and moved in.
This is the Jensen Farms shed. Jason’s great-grandparents settled on this farm, and their last name was, you guessed it, “Jensen.” You’ll see this shed as you pull into our driveway, and there would be no mistaking that you’re at the right place. I suppose we could update the shed with our last name, but this sign has too much history to replace.
Here is our garden as seen in the spring. It sits where Jason’s great-grandparents’ house used to be located.
Did you see Barney, one of the dogs?
Here is our house. You can see where the original 2-story farmhouse was added onto, with the newest addition being the deck. My dad and brother built the deck this summer. They gave up two full weekends to finish it in time for Lucas' baptism. How can I ever repay them for all their hard work?! Can you spot Barney again?
Jason’s grandpa owned a couple of Ford Escorts that he used for farm vehicles. I find this quite funny, considering my first car was a red Escort GT.
This is inside the shop, where post office cubbies house different size nuts and bolts. A true “organized mess.”
Behind the buildings, there are woods and a graveyard of old farm equipment. Huge patches of rhubarb grow back here.
Oh, Barney!
This is the view from my kitchen window. Here’s the playhouse that belonged to Jason’s mother and aunt, and the fire ring with stump chairs that Jason put together for me last summer.
While exploring, I found inspiration everywhere. Forgotten objects are potential projects for another day when time doesn't slip away. With a little elbow grease, this cabinet could be cleaned up and used for storage…
This white tabletop would fit perfectly in my office for a desk…
At a time before all of the machinery that is presently available existed, workers from the south would come to help in the sugarbeet fields. This is the house where they stayed, but now it is storage for many treasures.
Check out these cute chairs and this neon green sink cabinet probably used as part of the kitchenette…
…and this box full of old photographs pasted onto blocks of wood…
…and the shape of this teal chair that would look awesome reupholstered (Can you see it under all the boxes and computers?!)…
…and these old doors could be used as decor, tabletops or room dividers…
Here’s Lucas and good ol' Barney during our exploration…
These are the treasures we decided to take home:
...a footstool in the same color orange as the nursery; a glass jug; and a mirror with an authentically cracked-painted frame that I may add to this collection of mirrors at the top of our stairs...
First, let me include an aerial photograph of the farm taken in 1984...
This is the Jensen Farms shed. Jason’s great-grandparents settled on this farm, and their last name was, you guessed it, “Jensen.” You’ll see this shed as you pull into our driveway, and there would be no mistaking that you’re at the right place. I suppose we could update the shed with our last name, but this sign has too much history to replace.
Here is our garden as seen in the spring. It sits where Jason’s great-grandparents’ house used to be located.
Did you see Barney, one of the dogs?
Here is our house. You can see where the original 2-story farmhouse was added onto, with the newest addition being the deck. My dad and brother built the deck this summer. They gave up two full weekends to finish it in time for Lucas' baptism. How can I ever repay them for all their hard work?! Can you spot Barney again?
Jason’s grandpa owned a couple of Ford Escorts that he used for farm vehicles. I find this quite funny, considering my first car was a red Escort GT.
Behind the buildings, there are woods and a graveyard of old farm equipment. Huge patches of rhubarb grow back here.
This is the view from my kitchen window. Here’s the playhouse that belonged to Jason’s mother and aunt, and the fire ring with stump chairs that Jason put together for me last summer.
While exploring, I found inspiration everywhere. Forgotten objects are potential projects for another day when time doesn't slip away. With a little elbow grease, this cabinet could be cleaned up and used for storage…
This white tabletop would fit perfectly in my office for a desk…
At a time before all of the machinery that is presently available existed, workers from the south would come to help in the sugarbeet fields. This is the house where they stayed, but now it is storage for many treasures.
Check out these cute chairs and this neon green sink cabinet probably used as part of the kitchenette…
…and this box full of old photographs pasted onto blocks of wood…
…and the shape of this teal chair that would look awesome reupholstered (Can you see it under all the boxes and computers?!)…
…and these old doors could be used as decor, tabletops or room dividers…
Here’s Lucas and good ol' Barney during our exploration…
These are the treasures we decided to take home:
My hope is to post pictures of any "finished products" that transpire, so stay tuned!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Where does the time go?!?!
My baby is 5 1/2 months old already, and I am wondering, "How did the time go so fast?!"
It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital (driving not a hair faster than 50mph on the highway and slowing down for every crack and bump in the road with a row of cars lining up behind us) and now he's, like, what feels like a teenager already!
He is constantly on the move; kicking his feet, grabbing at things, rolling around, jumping up and down in his exer-saucer, splashing in the tub, scooting across the floor, sitting up and smiling. If he's not moving, it means he's asleep. In fact, at this very moment I am typing with one hand, holding him in the other, and watching Elmo on youtube so he will sit still long enough for me to complete this post.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Planes, Trains and Automobiles…A lesson in gratitude…
I have been checking airline prices for my cousin’s upcoming wedding in Arizona and pondering how my [then] 7-month old would behave on the flight. Then I ponder how my [then] 11-month old will behave on the flight to California for his auntie’s upcoming wedding. Then I think to myself how lucky we are to even be able to consider the possibility of hopping on a plane and taking a few mini-vacations per year.
Nothing big. I just need to remind myself not to take for granted how good we really have it.
On a heavier note, today I was driving and saw that a train was coming up to the very railroad crossing that I soon wished to cross. My first reaction was annoyance. Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks (not the train, but this thought): Are you in a hurry? No. Are you running late? No. Does this railroad crossing have cross-arms and flashing lights to alarm you that a train is coming? No. Would you have seen this train coming and been able to stop in time? Maybe not.
So, with this realization, I said a little prayer, “Thank you, God, for timing things so perfectly so that I happened to be driving down this particular road at exactly the right moment, and the train just happened to be approaching the crossing on this particular road, moving at this particular speed so that me and my precious cargo were given enough time to see the train…react… and stop…..Oh, and thank you for making it a short train, as my patience is short as well…”
I just needed to remind myself to be thankful that all of the things that could have gone wrong didn’t.
On another note, after numerous winters of getting snowed in our yard, getting my car stuck in snow banks, and being worried about my commute during the winter, I finally got an all-wheel drive vehicle.
…Okay, I’m being modest, it is the nicest vehicle I have ever had. It’s the newest vehicle I have ever had. And I am able to drive it because my husband works hard to be able to provide for our family.
First, I whined and whined about getting 4WD for years. I have gotten both my car and J’s pickup stuck in our driveway on the same day. (J and a friend got yet another pickup stuck that day, and he eventually had to fire up a tractor to pull out all of the abandoned vehicles.) You could say that 4WD is a necessity for us rural folk. Our new vehicle is not the largest, or most expensive, or nicest one on the market, but it is still wonderful to me. Every time I drive it, I remind myself to thank my husband and be grateful for what I have. Does a vehicle define who I am? No, it’s just a vehicle…but I sure look good in this one.
Nothing big. I just need to remind myself not to take for granted how good we really have it.
On a heavier note, today I was driving and saw that a train was coming up to the very railroad crossing that I soon wished to cross. My first reaction was annoyance. Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks (not the train, but this thought): Are you in a hurry? No. Are you running late? No. Does this railroad crossing have cross-arms and flashing lights to alarm you that a train is coming? No. Would you have seen this train coming and been able to stop in time? Maybe not.
So, with this realization, I said a little prayer, “Thank you, God, for timing things so perfectly so that I happened to be driving down this particular road at exactly the right moment, and the train just happened to be approaching the crossing on this particular road, moving at this particular speed so that me and my precious cargo were given enough time to see the train…react… and stop…..Oh, and thank you for making it a short train, as my patience is short as well…”
I just needed to remind myself to be thankful that all of the things that could have gone wrong didn’t.
On another note, after numerous winters of getting snowed in our yard, getting my car stuck in snow banks, and being worried about my commute during the winter, I finally got an all-wheel drive vehicle.
…Okay, I’m being modest, it is the nicest vehicle I have ever had. It’s the newest vehicle I have ever had. And I am able to drive it because my husband works hard to be able to provide for our family.
First, I whined and whined about getting 4WD for years. I have gotten both my car and J’s pickup stuck in our driveway on the same day. (J and a friend got yet another pickup stuck that day, and he eventually had to fire up a tractor to pull out all of the abandoned vehicles.) You could say that 4WD is a necessity for us rural folk. Our new vehicle is not the largest, or most expensive, or nicest one on the market, but it is still wonderful to me. Every time I drive it, I remind myself to thank my husband and be grateful for what I have. Does a vehicle define who I am? No, it’s just a vehicle…but I sure look good in this one.
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