Starting 2023 with fresh carrots from my garden. Not sure if I should celebrate this accomplishment, we really shouldn’t have carrots this time of year, and yet, here they are.
January 2023 carrots from our garden.
Survivors of the December frost, some from the ones I planted from seed in August in the clay soil, the others from my straw bale seeded carrots.
These welcoming small jewels from my garden remind me that nature is much smarter than us humans. Always adjusting, always adapting to constantly changing situations in order to survive and thrive.
Now we have finished our Thanksgiving feasting and are looking for entertainment, or maybe a little “Black Friday” shopping. Look no more, as you can read and ponder the After Thanksgiving Hummm…
Let’s start with this beautiful 1980’s Suzuki! Hummm… isn’t it beautiful?How about the interior? Hummm… perfect! Seemed like we had stepped into a time warp to experience this car. Actually was donated to a Suzuki dealer by the owner. Must travel to Heemstede, NL to see this gem.Hummm… next stop Leiden, NL, warning – it was around the full moon…If you wondered what happened to the Queen of England, she was waving at me while I was visiting Leiden. Hummm…But then from there it got serious! As I stepped into a local “thrift store”. Hummm… we aren’t in MN anymore, are we?Around the corner and this was just picture perfect for the Hummm…files!
But… it didn’t stop there…
Here…And here… and Hummm……here!😳 Did I mention the full moon? This is the store that just keeps on giving, as this larger than large painting had to be added to the Hummm…Or maybe someone needs this to add to their wall collection. Hummm… let’s get a closer look…Hummm… who needs Ancestry.com if you have this?This month brought changes too. My son’s dog I am sure is thinking “Hummm…what a cool new neighborhood! Wonder if there are any friends out there?”
When I owned a house in MN I would always have a project or two in my garage. Since, I am living here full time with the Hubby, well… let’s just say the projects are his deal not mine. Until… Hummm…
Someone at the community garden had broken a handle on this shovel and tossed it out!😳 Hummm… looked like a perfect low key project. Hummm… of course I received all kinds of helpful advice from the Hubby…”yes,dear; no, dear; I am sure I don’t need your help dear; No, I won’t use any power tools, dear!” Hummm… project complete. Hummm…next.😬Plant shelf at the garden. Hummm… Maybe I should stick to knitting…Hummm…warm hat completed … what now?
How about writing a few of my Congressmen or the White House about how I feel about the situation in Ukraine? Hummm…
More boxes waiting to head to Ukraine with clothes, food, candles, female products.Another box… hummm… maybe… Congress or the White House will answer my emails… Hummm…Hummm… not really an answer to my email… but… still I am hanging it on my wall!
That wraps it up on this side of the November Turkey feast. Hummm…what will next month bring for the blog? Until then, keep looking for the Hummm…in life.
A box this morning sat next to the front door. One of many that have litter our house entryway in the past two weeks. This solitary reminder that it needs to get to where it will do some good instead of collecting dust within our walls.
Waiting…to leave
The situation of facing a cold winter is nothing new to me. Die hard Minnesotan farm kids learn early to dress for frigid temperatures. As a cross country and down hill skier, I learned to layer warm base clothing with jackets that break the wind. These simple acts of preparation can be the difference between having fun in the cold or lead to dangerous frostbite situations if improperly prepared. Part of my left ear is evidence and a constant reminder of what cold temperatures can do even if you have all the proper gear.
This winter we are all trying to conserve energy here in The Netherlands as the prices of fuel have sky rocketed.
Knowing what we could be facing I have been checking regularly in our local thrift stores and on our online second hand sites for real wool clothing. Nothing, insulates or keeps a body core temperature regulated like 100% wool. I have been lucky and found items that would be handy to have if our power was to go out.
That rarely happens here in The Netherlands, where almost the entire power grid runs underground. But, even though rare in occasion, it has happened briefly in the many years I have lived here. It helps to be prepared.
But, as bombs have fallen into the Ukraine and knocked out their power grid in the last three weeks my anger towards that situation increased, my empathy for those citizens and what they have faced at the hands of Russian government has me on edge.
“What can I do?”
As a retired combat zone veteran, I know the true situation of what it feels like to live in that sort of situation. Not knowing what the next minute will bring. Feeling overwhelmed by the destruction that is caused by such violent acts! Living in building that have “nice windows for air circulation” (meaning artillery shell holes) that do not offer proper protection from the cold brutal winter elements. Buildings with no heat or running water during the winter months lead to dangerous deadly suffering.
That suffering is cruel!
Hats of hope.
I turned my anger into useful positive energy. All those wool clothes, all my handspun wool yarn, all those wool hats I had knitted durning COVID just to pass the time, all of them boxed with care, labeled, sat next to the door. Each one with a prayer of protection to those who may be the final person who receives the item, a prayer of happiness for the woman who may have lost everything to receive a box, open it and find knitting needles and 100% Merino yarn handspun by some stranger she will never meet, my story she will never know.
Yarn of life.
This small drop of kindness in the sea of potential misery. A box filled with items carefully selected seems like it will hardly help, but I know better than most people, it can be a lifesaver of hope and that is all I would ask for if I was cold.
A box of warmth and love.Truckloads of compassion and supplies from our local community straight to Ukraine.
The Cedar Journal 