Monthly Archives: November 2016

Giving Thanks

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ThankYou

Psalm 100  —  New International Version (NIV)

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

So much to give thanks for.  Not just today, but for everyday of life that we enjoy here on this good earth.

I am most thankful for family.  That means starting with biological family first and foremost, but extending to our community of close friends who have become like family to us.

There is not enough space to list all for which I am thankful.  Many of the items on my list cannot be held or touched.  Perhaps at top of those is Love.  Healing can also be found on that list.

Went to bed with a bump on his head

On the same day as my last blog post, I took a tumble.  Sylvia and I were getting ready for a small group meeting at our house–the final one of this year.  Sylvia had baked a cherry pie to celebrate.  In the hustle, I stumbled backward over a foot stool, hitting my head on a knee-high oak table that our TV sits upon.

We cancelled our meeting and Sylvia took me to the ER.  The staff cleaned me up and the doctor installed six staples on the two-inch wound on the back of my head.

Two days later, we had that cherry pie with our small group.  It was delicious. :food:

This week, a nurse removed the staples.  The wound looks good and I am healing well.  I did suffer a headache, but it was a very low-grade one.

You

Sylvia joins me in wishing you a wonderful day of thanksgiving.  We know that many of you, like us, will be with family.  May it be a good day.

 

Thus Ends a Tale

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In my most recent post there was a pic of our make-shift frost cover.  Sylvia and I had fashioned it with a garden tripod and a blue tarp.  On seeing the image our son, Scott, thought of the line from Shakespeare’s play, Richard the Third.  He quoted it this way, “Now is the winter of our discount tent.”  He’s a clever one.

We had hoped to keep that jalapeño plant alive beyond that first frost.  The next day, I removed the tarp to inspect for potential damage.

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Sylvia went out and harvested the last 43 peppers from that plant.  We estimate about 200 jalapeños from that single plant.  It was the most prolific of the four plants we grew this year.

We missed our goal of November 20 by one week.  Still, we were happy for the extended season.  (First frost here is usually October 20.)

Ode to Fall’s Finish

The fall has fallen
The leaves now litter the ground
Prepared for winter

While Earth is ready for winter, I have a few more tasks to complete.  I should be ready on time.

Frosty Night

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We experienced our first frost of the season last night.  It was a hard one too.  What’s a body to do?  How about pitch a tent in the garden?

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That’s what Sylvia and I did last evening as the sun was setting.  Call it a science experiment.  We are trying to keep our jalapeño plant alive until November 20.  (Typical first frost date for this area is October 20.)

We’ll see how our pepper plant survived when the tent is gone.  For my part, faith and hope continue . . .

My Hot Peppers Are Cool!

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A week ago, I posted a picture of a bucket full of jalapeños that Sylvia had picked.  There is still one plant in the garden that is bearing  jalapeños.  Today, I captured this image to show that we will be harvesting peppers in November.  Can you believe it?

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We have preserved what we don’t eat fresh by dehydrating and freezing.  Sylvia just brought home the supplies so we can prepare poppers and put them in the freezer.  (For poppers, she removes the pepper core, stuffs it with cream cheese and cheddar and wraps in bacon.)  That way when we have a desire for poppers, we can take them from the freezer and pop them into the oven.  At least that’s our theory.

Other

Sylvia also planted giant garlic for next year.  In the process she discovered some unharvested corms that have started growing and will coming up next spring.  When it comes to garlic, I say the more the better.

We have been busy this past week finishing our window project.  Now, we are now about 99.5% completed.  Best of all, we have finished all of the difficult parts.