May Harvest 2017 - Radishes

A taste of fresh, crisp, and slightly hot radishes

May Harvest 2017 - Peppermint Tea

Even though we cut away chunks of our peppermint mound this spring to give to friends, the first harvest was huge! 

Ten trays full on the dehydrator...

... and much more than that spread out and waiting its turn!

This will make for many lovely cups of tea in the coming year!

A Musical Evening

In early May another year of piano lessons was wrapped up with a recital. 

"Great job" to a special group of students! I love teaching them.

Nine of my ten students shared some music with family and friends.

My family helped make the event possible in so many ways.

The students' families brought treats to share after the recital.

It is fun to see students and parents from years past at these yearly events.

Mother's Day Flowers

Maren ran over for a Mother's Day visit a week early because their gift for Mom was starting to bloom.

Jason had heard Mom talking about not being able to find bulbs for white amaryllis like she enjoys seeing on blogs. So, he ordered some, potted them up, and we are still enjoying the last blossoms weeks later!

Closer to Mother's Day, Dad brought home some roses for Mom. Lovely!

Changes in Plans

Dad has been working hard since retiring last September. Very hard...

Just one of his many projects has been to build rows of beautiful raised gardens - some behind the silo and more on the old barn slab. (I'm sure there will be photos of them and their produce as the year progresses.)

Here Dad is mixing the soil from ingredients he has tested in several different combinations under grow-lights this winter.

But on Friday, May 12th, something happened while Dad was out working. If he hadn't been already sitting on a tractor, he probably would have passed out. Thankfully, the tractor wasn't in gear at the moment!

That night he didn't feel well and couldn't eat. But the next morning he got up early to lead a men's Bible study and then drive the hour to Maren and Jason's greenhouses to help on their busiest sales day of the year. The day before Mother's Day. 

Besides helping the lines of customers as able, he walked 11 miles trying to keep enough hanging baskets out for people to choose from.

Eventually his arms gave out and he felt sick again. It took more than two hours of resting before he could drive home that evening. Since we all thought he had gotten dehydrated those days, he just stayed home all day Sunday resting and drinking water and electrolytes. Then Monday morning he felt great and headed out to plant potatoes in one of the new raised beds. 

Though he managed to finish the job, his first comment back in the house was that he needed to see a doctor. After all, he had to be ready for the trip we had been preparing for many weeks - for doctor appointments six hours away, Tuesday through Friday! 

Well, plans change. 

My aunt was out on her lawn in town on Monday afternoon and heard sirens screaming their way out to the interstate. Dad was in the ambulance (his second for the day) being transported to a cath lab at a larger hospital. The drive usually takes an hour but was much quicker at 90 miles per hour.

By the time Mom and I got there after finishing packing Dorothy's bags for her pre-planned week of respite care, Dad was already in the cardiac ICU following the successful placing of a stent.

Yes, Dad had been pushing through a heart attack for a few days...

What a gift from God to have him back home by Wednesday, doing so well, though worn out and with much lower stamina than pre-heart-attack. Dad actually beat us girls home, as he sent us off on Tuesday as planned but with Maren filling in as driver. Sister-time!

Through all this, we have seen God's hand at work (in too many ways to detail here) and have felt the prayer support of family and friends.

Today Dad begins cardiac rehab. If you think of it, please pray for this process, for wisdom for doctors in the days ahead, and for Dad not to push himself too hard as he recovers.

And praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Following the Light

A late winter shopping trip brought Mom and Dad home with some tulips for Elsa and me to enjoy. These did not have nearly the fragrant allergen content of the later home-grown bouquet mentioned here. 

By setting this vase across the room, we could watch the daily changes of these special flowers which grow and sway to follow the light.

We tend to keep tulips around long past their expiration to enjoy the new beauties that come as the petals grow transparent, change their hue, and curl whimsically. 

Cosy Evenings

Dorothy with a new teddy-bear

Gulliver with Dad