I Love Farm Stores

Our local Runnings store moved to a larger location this week.  It was the place to be in town.  Many people were checking out the newer and improved version of their favorite farm store.  I needed to purchase tomato seeds to start indoors, and couldn't resist seeing Runnings Farm and Fleet for myself.

There is something about shopping at a farm store.  First of all, it reminds me of where I grew up.  Everyone I knew was a farmer.  I feel nostalgic the minute I enter Runnings.  Everyone there is friendly.  People don't put on airs or pretend to be someone they are not at a farm store.  Everyone can find something in common with other customers.  Interesting people are all around and best of all, strangers strike up conversations with you no matter which section of the store you are in. 

I have been in the bolt section looking perplexed when a man came to my rescue, "Do you know what you are looking for?  Let me help you out."  I have been contemplating chicken feed when a grandfatherly figure approached and gave me a lesson.  I have been seen looking at Carhartt clothing when someone I have never met informed me about the quality of Carhartt. 

The first interesting couple I saw yesterday was in the snack aisle.  They looked to be in their eighties, and the husband sat at a nearby picnic table waiting for his wife to make her selections.  "These cookies are a good price, aren't they?"  I agreed with her.  Then she noticed my shopping basket and decided she needed one too.  Off she went in search of a basket...leaving her husband to watch me do my shopping.  Minutes later she came back pushing a cart.  She told her husband, "I couldn't find a basket."  Her husband pointed to me and said, "She found one."  The woman looked at me, raised an eyebrow, then said to him, "Well, I couldn't find one.  Push this.  Let's go."  He immediately followed. 

As I headed toward the garden seeds, I couldn't help but wonder how The King and I would be at that age.  I'd probably be bossing him around a farm store too.  And he'd probably point out to me some younger woman who had no problem finding the shopping baskets when I couldn't.  

I didn't have long to ponder my old age because a man, who was a few years older than me,  noticed I was purchasing tomato seeds.  He told me, "I never have good luck with growing my own.  Do yours survive when you plant them outdoors?"  I told him we didn't have problems.  "Oh, I wonder what I am doing wrong."  After a long discussion, I was finally able to diagnose his problem.  He had never hardened the plants off before planting them outside.  Ah, a light bulb went off and he thanked me over and over.  I was a little surprised I could help him out with my meager amount of gardening knowledge, but happy to know that one more garden in the area may survive due to a little problem solving conversation at the seed display in Runnings.

Then while walking through the store, another man carrying a big bag of dog food, noticed my shopping basket of seeds.  "It looks like someone is planning for spring."  This turned into a conversation of how cold this week has been, how nice it is going to be, and how we will all be thinking about gardens next week at this time.

Leaving the store I thought about how many times I shop for groceries or clothing and never have conversations with other customers.  It's just not the same.  People don't look in my cart at what I am purchasing.  They don't care.  Or they don't dare.  "Oh, I see you buy 100% cotton panties...do you launder them in a special way?  Mine always seem to lose their shape."  Or, "I see you are buying macaroni noodles, tomatoes and hamburger...looks like someone must be having goulash for supper."  

No, I don't think those conversations will be had at the other places I shop.  They are treasured conversations one can only find at a farm store.  If you are ever feeling lonely, or just need some adult interaction, I suggest checking out your local farm store.  Maybe I'll see you there!

Christmas Tour of Our Home

Welcome to our home!  We are glad you could come for a tour.

This is the first thing you see when you walk in the door.  It is my newly painted and remodeled entry.  Hang your coat on one of the many hooks.  I hope you can stay a while.Before you come into the main part of the house, look at this cute window.  Jouster bought this for me for Christmas a few years ago.  It has it's own wall and stays up all winter...until I am sick of snow...at which point I hide it deep into a closet.
We found these old skis in the basement of our first home.  I could not resist using them as a winter decoration.  They also get hidden in the back of the closet when I am sick of cold weather.

I usually plan to get our tree up as soon as Thanksgiving is over.  This year we started decorating on the 8th.  This is how it looked outside  when we pulled out the boxes.  We were blessed that day with a light snowfall.  With Christmas music playing in the background the younger children and I were excited to get started. 
Putting up an artificial tree is no fun.  Here Squire is putting the final branches in place.  The King banned real trees years ago.  Not because of the environment...but because of safety issues.  He once saw a video of a real tree catching fire and how quickly it spread.  We've been artificial ever since.
Here is Squire.  They did a great job arranging all the branches.  I really don't like to do it because it hurts my fingers.  I've tricked the younger children into believing it is a fun part of decorating.
Duchess.  Always ready to strike a pose.

And Maiden.  Notice her choice of clothing.  Yes, it is winter here in Minnesota and she is in a sleeveless dress with bare feet.  Our old house is drafty and has some very cool spots.  She doesn't seem to notice. .

Our tree was passed down to us from my parents sometime in the 1990's.  My mom and dad had just moved to an apartment and didn't have room for it, so I asked if we could 'borrow' it for  the year.  It showed up by UPS a few days later and we've had it ever since.  I had bought it for them in 1987 when I worked at ShopKo.  I got it after Christmas when it was clearanced out for $27.50--It had been a $275.00 tree.  

Our tree is not a theme tree.  I gave up on that idea years ago.  Ours is packed with special ornaments that bring back memories to all of us.  Most of the fun in decorating the tree is looking back at our special ornaments from years past.

Every year I purchase an ornament for each of my seven children.  They all have a plastic shoe box container that holds all of theirs.  I have kept track of whose is whose by marking their names on the ornaments with a Sharpie marker along with the year.  I also have a note card taped inside the lid with a list describing each ornament and the year it was given to them.  Here are the two oldest boys' boxes.  My plan is for them to take their boxes when they move on--if they want. 

Some years I take the children to the store and let them choose their own ornaments.  I have to limit this activity because some of my children have a 'bigger is better' mentality and their boxes will get filled too quickly.  We have to make sure that their boxes can easily hold all 18 years worth of ornaments.   I chose this year's ornament (notice the small size).  Everyone got a silver star that either had hope, joy, or peace engraved on it.  
Everyone has a Precious Moments ornament for their first Christmas.  All of our birth children have a "Baby's First Christmas" and Duchess has a little girl with the year she came home on it. Her first Christmas would have been in 2002, so if anyone ever finds a Precious Moment's (girl) Baby's First Christmas Ornament anywhere...please let me know!
Here are my special childhood ornaments.  I could not get the photo to rotate so you have to look at them sideways.  I still love my naked angel the best.  The gray kitten was hand painted and given to me by my cousins, The Sours...one of them being Frazzled Farmwife.  

The wreaths with the teddy bears in them were made for me by my Grandma Margaret along with the plastic canvas angel, mailbox, and the red and green ornament with eyes.  For years I kept those 'homemade' granny decorations hidden on the back of the tree--if I even put them up.  Not anymore.  Grandma's handiwork is now proudly displayed year after year.  I wish I could call her to let her know how much I appreciate the ornaments she made me, how they make me think of her, and how much I miss her every year when I pull them out.
Decorating takes more than one day.  I don't like to have anyone stop in unexpectedly during our decorating spree.  We have quite the mess of boxes, Rubbermaid tubs, glitter, fake green pine needles, and broken glass bulbs to clean up and put away before the house is presentable enough for guests.
This is my 'old stuff' display.  Not everything is old, but it looks old to me.
The tree on the bottom shelf belonged to my Grandma.  I remember admiring it every year as a child.  I was thrilled to have it given to me after she died.  The silver bowl with the handle (that really needs polishing) belonged to my mom's parents.  I fill it with vintage tinsel and old glass balls.  The elf boot was mine as a child.
This is a picture card of my mom and was sent to friends and relatives her first Christmas.  She was an adored and much anticipated child.  My grandparents were in their late 30's when she was born and the only child born to them.  I can only imagine their joy that first Christmas they were able to send out Christmas photos of their baby girl.
I love nativity sets and have a hard time saying no to unique ones I find in stores.  This is my chubby whimsical set.
And this set is my most treasured.  The King gave this to me one year for my birthday.  It has quilts and scenes carved onto all the pieces.  I could stare at this one for hours.

This is a set that reminds me of time that I had an ungrateful spirit and God had to put me in my place.  God wants us to have a grateful heart and to be thankful in all circumstances.  It is a bittersweet reminder of a time I needed to get my heart back in the right place.

This is a perfect set for a dusty bathroom.  Made out of glass clear glass it is easy for me to wash.  It is an exact replica of a set I made as a child from plaster of paris and molds for 4-H.  I finally had to throw that set out and was thrilled to find this set at a thrift shop.

I would like three more nativity sets.  One for outside (it has to be unique), a Willow Tree set, and a Fisher Price set to have set out for children to play with. 

Here's a fun idea.  I filled some old jars with red light bulbs and another with gold bells.  Did you notice our plate and cup for Santa?  We have never let our children think that Santa is real, but we have kids who like to pretend he is, so I play along.  They love it when I leave them a letter and take bites out of the cookies.  They know it's me...but they want me to do it anyway.  Do you think there's something wrong with them?
Speaking of the kids, let's go up to their rooms and check out their trees.  Here is the one in Squire and Scribe's room.  Nothing to write home about, but they like to have Christmas lights in their room at night.
 And here is Duchess and Maiden's tree.  It is a theme tree, filled with candy decorations.  I would think this tree would give them visions of sugar plums every night when they lay down to sleep.  The big guys, Jouster and Jester, had a bah humbug attitude this year and said they didn't need a tree in their room.
We are preparing ourselves for the true meaning of Christmas by reading Jotham's Journey.  There are certain candles that are lit for each week of Advent.  The younger children get to take turns lighting them so we haven't always gotten it right!  This is a great story and I read that the publisher is going to republish the next two books in the series over the next two years.  I am so excited.
Please sit down and stay a little longer.  We'd love to have you hear the next part of Jotham's Journey.  I can guarantee you will want to come back each evening to hear more!

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  Please come back soon.

Q&A Part IV--Finally

Oops! I wrote and saved this at the beginning of March and never posted it. No wonder you guys didn't comment on my sweet, loving, best friend daughters in the video below!


Here are the final question and answers:


How far do you live from me?--Nickernoodle 154 miles--east.


What made you start blogging?--Merideth Teagarden I started blogging because I enjoy writing. I also wanted a way to share our days with family who live far away.



From Ashley Winters:


What is your secret to a happy marriage? As long as I get my way, I'm usually happy.


Okay, I'll be serious. I have to give most of the credit to my husband. He seriously takes to heart, 'never let the sun go down on your anger'. I come from a long line of stubborn Scandinavians and would rather stay angry for days, but The King won't let me. He makes sure any issues between us are resolved before the day ends.


Do your children ever fight? You be the judge. Here's a video of my girls. I was trying to tape Duchess singing a song and her sister tried to get in on the action. The result wasn't pretty. I should have kept taping but I was afraid they would seriously maim each other. My two oldest don't fight, and never really did. The two middle boys get into an occasional tiff, but these two girls...

What do you do for fun when your kids are sleeping? I play my children's Webkinz and make them a ton of kinz cash. As of today, they have over 9,000 to spend! I rock at Webkinz! I wish I could figure out how to make money that fast in real life.

Any other fun I have while the children are sleeping is strictly confidential!

In person questions:

Did you ever get a 'real' diamond for your anniversary?

Yes, I did. Isn't The King wonderful? All of my hints really paid off.

Hmm....I am going to be 40 soon. I wonder what amazing gift he will surprise me with then. (My King, that's a hint!)

How come you haven't posted any photos of your basement progress? Up until recently, I had been discouraged with our basement progress moving so slowly, but now we are nearly finished. I will post photos soon.

Who is Rapunzel? She is a dear friend of mine. I was trying to remember about how long we've been friends, and I think it has been at least 12 years now. Wow! We try to meet at least once a month for coffee and to wander through our local quilt shop. I named her Rapunzel because she recently cut off all her hair to donate to locks of love. She won't let me post a photo of her until her hair grows back. (I'll see if I can get one before then.)

How is Jouster doing? He goes through some ups and downs...times when he's fine to be there and other times when he wants to leave.

He recently completed level one of four in the program. He was very pleased with his accomplishment.

His school is going well and he thinks he will be able to finish his senior year by the time he completes the program, which is next February.

He's been spending as much time as allowed working out in the weight room. He also does four sets of twenty push ups and sit ups every night before he goes to bed.

The little kids love to have him flex his muscles for them. He certainly looks a lot healthier now than he did two and a half months ago.

I still miss him like crazy and look forward to our Saturday visits.

Q & A Part III

Hmm, this is a hard one. I'm going to ask you the question people ask me all the time.Do you want more children? How many children do you want? Are you insane? (OK, you don't have to actually answer that one.)--Julie
Actually, I'd love to adopt again...and The King would love another tiny baby in the house. We'd gladly welcome more either way. We have no intentions of fixing that which is not broken. Am I insane? Well, the guy who unhooked my straight jacket to type this says I'm getting better all the time. They finally took me out of the padded room.

The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing; but in our culture we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture.--Doug Phillips

From Mike and Katie: What advice would you give to a mom with boys ages 11 and 13? I'm certainly not the expert. After all, our oldest has totally humbled me in the parenting department. Work on training their souls and pray...a lot. Let them be boys/young men. Send them out with dad. Keep them physically active. Make them work, and work hard. And remember they are quickly becoming men. With my oldest, I really struggled. We butted heads, especially when my husband was travelling. I realize now that through most of our struggles, he was trying to be a man. He was trying to step into his God given role as leader of the family because dad was not around. At the same time, I was trying to keep him a submissive child, struggling to hold my spot as the leader of the family due to the absence of my husband. We were fighting for the same position and it caused much heartache.

Does your Sister-In-Love read your blog? If so tell her to visit or blog! She does, and I will.

I also wonder about the Kings older brother and wife, too. They are doing good. We don't see them as much as we used to. It probably has something to do with the seven grandchildren they now have. We were supposed to go with them to Costa Rica this winter, but due to the situation with our oldest, we had to put our trip on hold. Maybe next year!


From Kimmie: What is your favorite way to spend free time (without kids). If I could, I would send my whole family away for a day or a weekend--after they've cleaned the house for me, and then sit alone in my exceptionally clean and quiet house, soaking in a hot bubble bath while reading a good book. But since my house is rarely empty with me left behind, I prefer to spend my free time wandering through fabric and book stores. Am I boring or what?

What is the book (besides the Bible) that has influenced your life?


Now this is a hard question, because so many books have left some sort of imprint in my life.

I'm going to go with two. Stepping Heavenward by Elizbeth Prentiss and A Full Quiver by Rick and Jan Hess. A Full Quiver--the title alone is quite self explanatory.



Stepping Heavenward is a fictional story/journal of a young woman's life and spiritual growth. I recommend this book to other women as one of my "all time favorite reads". I first read this when I only had boys. I am so excited that I now have girls. I plan to read it aloud to them one day.

I'd (too) love to hear your testimony. I posted that in my first Q & A session.

Do you live in a castle in fairy tale land? Yes, I do. Here she is, all 2500 square feet of her. This place costs about as much a month to heat as a castle would. She needs a lot of work. It was, when we moved in 8 1/2 years ago, and still is, a fixer upper. At the time, I was so excited about getting out of town and onto the nine acres of land, I hardly noticed all the work that needed to be done. The King did notice....and was a little more reluctant than I to take on such a task. Even with all the work and money this old shack has consumed, we are so thankful that God led us to our little piece of paradise.

I still have a few more questions to answer. I'll quit boring you for today and post more later.

More Q & A

An in-person question: Who is Frazzled Farmwife?
She is my second cousin, Chris. (Here she is pictured with her daughter, Courtney.) We grew up near each other and our families got together often. Chris and I are two months apart in an age. We went to school together from 1st through 12th grade...and we got into a lot of trouble together. (I'm sure I had nothing to do with it.) Her and her siblings were like first cousins to us because our only first cousins lived half a country away. We rarely saw them. We were so happy to have cousins living close by. Chris was one of the people I missed the most when we moved from South Dakota 17 years ago.

From Frazzled Farmwife:

What has been your favorite date with the King? I haven't had it yet. Once The King believes he's achieved the goal of a favorite date, he may not think there's any reason to keep taking me out. I'm not going to risk it. I've grown quite fond of our weekly dates.

Which pregnancy was the easiest? The hardest? The first and second were the easiest. Then as I got older they got harder. The last one (Prince Charming) was tough. I started contracting at about six months and my ankles looked more like thighs than ankles. The swelling was so bad, I lost feeling in my feet. It took months after the delivery before the numbness went away. Then there was the sciatic nerve pain that crippled me from time to time. All I can say is...I'd do it again, he was so worth it.

But even with all of that, I must say that the adoption 'pregnancy' was by far the hardest. Two years is way too long to wait for a baby. The emotional roller coaster was much harder to bear than physical discomfort.


What has been your favorite vehicle you have owned? My Suburban. I miss my Suburban. Someday I hope to have one again. Not many of them are large enough for a family of nine!





What is your favorite kitchen gadget? I wouldn't want to live without my garlic press--on the top. But one little gadget that is so amazing is the one on the bottom. I don't know what it's called but I use it in the early summer months to hull strawberries. I freeze many quarts of strawberries and make jam. This tool makes the job so fast and easy. Then I use it again later in the summer to core out the stems of tomatoes when I am canning. I actually have two of them so I can have help with those tedious and mundane tasks.

What do you miss most about your mom? What don't I miss? I would have to say I miss her voice and her touch. She had the softest hugs in the world. I would love to be able to pick up the phone and talk to her. I wish she could have been here to see my younger children. Even though she's been gone for nearly four years, the thought still crosses my mind that I should give mom a call and tell her something that the kids do. My heart falls when I realize I can't. I wish she were here to guide me through the situation we are having with our oldest. I still can't believe she's gone. She would have been 60 years old tomorrow.

Here's a video thank-you she e-mailed me for the gift I made and sent her for her last birthday. I worked so hard to make that little quilt. She taught me to quilt, it was a hobby we shared. I didn't know if she'd see another birthday, so I was determined to make her something. Little did I know she'd only have it for 41 days. She was too young to die. I still needed a mommy. I miss her so much.



I'll post more Q & A's later. See you soon.

First of the Q & A

Why can't I find my socks unless I first ask you my Queen?--The King

I often ask myself the same question, my love. I don't understand why you ask me a lot of things like, "Where is my drill?" "Do you know where I put my gloves?" "Have you seen my black dress pants?" "Where is the coconut?" "Did you find a new place for the ketchup?" "Didn't you know I used the last of the coffee yesterday?" I think it is because you long to hear my lovely voice. Or you like to irritate me. I think I'll go with the lovely voice answer.

I would like to know more about your Christian testimony, and I always like to hear about the church people attend.--Dawn

I grew up in a Lutheran church and never knew what a personal relationship with the Lord meant. When I was 16 I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior (at a Lowell Lundstrom Crusade). I didn't know what to do with my new found faith, and did not keep in contact with the person who was assigned to disciple me. I soon forgot about what I had done. My husband and I were married three years later. Neither one of us was living our lives for the Lord.

My husband became a believer while I was in Desert Storm, but I was not convinced it was what I wanted for my life. After struggling for a number of years, I realized that I had a renewed interest in the Lord, and longed to know him more. (I am so thankful God did not quit pursuing me and that my hubby put up with me being a pain in the hind end for so many years.) I always thought you had to know the day and the time you knew you believed. I guess I could say it was when I was 16, but one could not see any fruit of that decision for nearly ten years.

As far as church, we attend a home fellowship. Our group has grown immensely in the past few months so we no longer fit in a home. I believe we are ready for a split (or two) so we can get back to the intimacy of a home gathering. The men are the spiritual leaders in the family as well as the ones who teach on Sunday mornings. There is no separate Sunday School time or nursery for the children, so as a family we worship together, learn together, and pray together.

Our group always shares a meal together at the end of our worship time. The time of fellowship is a time where we can get to know one another on a more personal level. It has been wonderful for our family.

Why do you buy pop and candy and hide it from us Queen Mother?--Squire

Because I'm the mom, that's why.

I'll post more questions and answers tomorrow. Stay tuned....

Question and Answer Time

Okay, I've been thinking about this for some time now. It's question and answer time at Our Fairy Tale Life. I always have fun reading other Q & A's on blogs and thought it would be fun to find out what you all (my five faithful readers) want to know. I have already had quite a few 'in person' questions and thought I could add them to any questions you might have for me.

So, ask away. Leave your questions here in the comment section. I will post the answers next week.

I've Been Tagged

I was tagged by Grandmother Goddess of the Garden last week. She said she tagged me (and the others) for "the pure enjoyment of reading their blogs". That made me smile!



Here goes:

THE MISSION:

Share five random things about myself.

Share five places that I want to see or want to see again.

1. I floss every morning. I'd rather be late than to skip flossing. (The King would rather I skip flossing than to be late.)
2. I don't like to travel without a package of Red Vines licorice. (The King doesn't understand, but then he rarely travels without a cup of coffee.)
3. I brew my own Kombucha tea. (The King's favorite summertime drink.)
4. Massages make me tense. I don't like them...at all. (The King, on the other hand, adores massages and can't relate.)
5. I absolutely cannot go to sleep at night without a fresh coat of Burt's Bees on my lips. I panic if my tube is 'missing'. (Really, just ask The King.)

1. India (The King went without me.)
2. Italy (He'd better not go here without me.)
3. Norway (Or here.)
4. Niagra Falls (Or here.)
5. Trinidad (Especially not here.)

I'm supposed to tag five people and tell why I tagged them...so, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged...because I want to know more about you too. Let me know if you do this!