Life in a Little House

This past week, I have thought a lot about Little House on the Prairie. Pa and Ma, Mary, Laura and Carrie all lived together in a very small space. Visits from neighbors were few and far between in the early days...not another soul but the Ingalls there usually...especially during long, hard winters. Pa worked the fields on their property, Ma and the girls spent their time keeping the household running and occasionally taking odd jobs to bring in egg and pin money... 

Watching the television show as a kid, and even watching reruns as an adult, it seems so idyllic. Sure, they had their issues. Kids did not always get along, and sometimes hail ruined the crops. I am sure Ma burned a dinner or two, and although the work was rewarding, it was difficult. But at the end of the day, Pa took out his fiddle, the girls sang and clapped and danced until it was time for washing up and prayers. Then they all fell into bed and slept peacefully until dawn.

Perusing social media, I have seen the desperate posts of mothers trying to work with littles underfoot and fathers in just the next room over doing the same. It has made me wonder, more than once, about the similarities to pioneer life. How many of us are confined to our own, small houses and property with only our families for company? Is this the first time it has been like this for us? Can you imagine the pioneers of our country living like this without the Internet, Zoom meetings and social media? How did they not lose their minds???

I suppose they were just used to it, as we are all getting more used to it with every passing week. I miss church gatherings and visits with neighbors. I miss getting together with my knitting group. I MISS HUGGING MY GRANDCHILDREN!!! Even with the Internet, Zoom meetings, social media and blogging, I can feel my mind slowly slipping away many days!

As the Ingalls girls grew, so did the towns on the prairie. Eventually we see kids going to school most days, and Ma even gets a job as a school teacher for a short time. It doesn't happen overnight, and the adjustments to more people always seem difficult. But the joy of having other people nearby, and the opportunities to "pick a little, talk a little" with other moms, dads, kids...well, it was certainly something to look forward to! Church social? Yes, please! 

I am looking forward to the day we have a vaccine for this virus. I am looking forward to the time when gatherings of more than 10, no masks required, are once again upon us. I am looking forward to picking up my grandkids and hugging them as tightly as they will endure, possibly kissing them all over their little faces (yes, even the 9-year-old, if I can hold her down), and I am confident that day will come. I am looking forward to more time outside the 1,054 sq ft of my own Little House. 

In the meantime, I am thankful for our jobs and for kids and grandkids who reach out via video chats, text and phone calls. I am thankful for Essential Workers who keep healthcare, safety and commerce going so that I can be confident that we will have what we need for our time in this Little House. And I am thankful to know that this is not all there is...I am thankful to have hope in Jesus, and a place in heaven when my race here is finished.

I am also thankful for the knitting, and my massive yarn stash! I mean, what are the people without hobbies doing right now to stay sane??? What are YOU doing to keep your sanity close? Do you need some yarn? I could drop it off on your porch...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Inny or Outy?

This is the weekend we have waited for! The springtime Knitters' Weekend at Lakeside! I covered myself way ahead of time for both work and church duties...it is going to be the first time I can stay from beginning to end and not miss any of the shenanigans! 

So, you see, coronavirus is clearly my fault. 

Isn't there some saying about "best laid plans" and "impending doom?" I mean, that might not be exactly what the quote is, but it feels that way today...waking up in my own house...having breakfast alone in the front room, and not in the bright kitchen of the lake house...knitting all by myself until my hubby wakes up and takes his place in the other room with his coffee.

For what it's worth, we are not socially distancing from one another, he just likes his own space. As a matter of fact, he kinda digs social distancing in an "everyone is finally just getting out of my way!" kind of way. Yes, the introverts are doing mostly ok.

Introverts who live with extroverts? Yeah. Pray for them. Pray for them a lot!

I know there are lots of posts all over social media about "A List of Things I've Learned by Staying Home," but I have my own list. Like, I think the cats, or at least Black Cat is actively stalking me. I mean, she may have been doing this all along, but today she is just lurking around every corner...

I am pretty sure she was planning to take advantage of my hands being full of clean laundry to knock me down the stairs this morning, until she saw the camera. 

Even cats don't want to leave behind photo evidence.  Look at the "innocence" in her eyes as she lurks behind me even now...

I foiled her plans on the steps...which is good, because there were cookies in the oven.

Yes, it was 10am, and there were cookies in the oven. By 10:15 I had eaten three. 

I wonder...if I bake all of the cookies (I usually freeze some of the dough), will any last until Sunday? I suppose it doesn't matter. I should fit into my stretchy pants for at least the next 20 or 30 pounds...and with April snow, the extra "fluff" is good for insulation, sooooo Cookie Me!

At least I have the knitting. I have finished three bunnies, a couple of sweaters, three gnomes and two pair of socks...

Thankfully, I am nowhere near running out of yarn, but I did manage to do a teensy bit of online shopping last night...and there was yarn involved. Please don't judge...I have a gnome for that.

So, friends, how are you holding up? Are you an "inny" (Introvert: I kinda like staying away from people anyway; I'll stay in, no problem.) or an "outy" (Extrovert: I WILL HUG THE STUFFING OUT OF ALL OF YOU WHEN THIS IS OVER! I MISS MY PEOPLE!!!) in all of this, and what are you doing to cope? 

If you are looking for a hobby, yarn and needles are available online, and there are learn-to-knit classes all over YouTube! Whatever you do to cope, I hope that you are coping well, and remember that it is a good time to relive your teen years by talking on the phone for hours. 

Thanks for stopping by, from the comfort of your home, and Knit in Good Health!

If I Knew You Were Coming...

Remember the old song that goes, "If I knew you were coming, I'd've baked a cake..."? Well, this song has been on my mind ever since my birthday, 10 days ago. I had intended to bake myself a cake, but I never really got the chance.

Fast forward to yesterday, while I was video chatting with my granddaughter, who suddenly burst into tears. "Why are you so sad?," asked the Grandma.

"Because I'm just sooooo hungry!," she answered through her tears. Yeah, we have all been there, kiddo, but it still broke my heart!

Once we talked through the solution to that particular problem, I joined her in the dining room for a snack, virtually of course.

Later, texting with Mommy, I learned that my extroverted Sweet Pea is having a really hard time not being able to go to school, play with friends or visit grandparents in person. It is really wearing on her...and on her Grandma too, to tell the truth.

This morning, I messaged Mommy when I had an idea. "Let's bake a cake together!" Mommy said they would have what they needed, so I set up the phone to video chat from the pouf of dry cake mix into the bowl to the final flourish of frosting! 

(We did take a 2-hour break to bake and cool our cakes.) At the end of the call, Sweet Pea announced that their cake would be an Easter cake, and we should have a group chat for Easter!

We know they are coming (virtually anyhow), so we baked a cake! Yay!

I am so glad that we did this! It was such fun, and now we all have cake for Easter tomorrow. The group chat with everyone is set up (Sweet Pea added Dollface, Pop Pop, and Gramma to her group as soon as we hung up). Hmmm, I wonder if Dollface has dessert?

These times have forced us to be creative in our care for one another, have they not? I cannot say that I am a fan of Stay-at-Home/Shelter-in-Place orders and social distancing, or the virus that has made these measures necessary, but I am so glad that we have the technology to still connect. 

Easter is coming, and I am looking forward to celebrating the Resurrection! If you have ever considered church but were too nervous to step into that building, you have a golden opportunity right now, my friends! You can attend multiple churches from the comfort of your living room, at a time that is convenient for you on the biggest holiday of the Christian calendar this weekend! Check the end of this post for some links.

Now off I go to knit on something to help me keep my mind off my birthday/Easter cake until tomorrow! If you "go" to church tomorrow, I would love to hear which one you went to and what you loved about it!

Thanks for stopping by, Knit in Good Health, and HAPPY EASTER!!!

As a bonus, I made homemade
buttercream...soooo yummy!

Links to three churches:

Avon United Methodist Church (where I work)

Christ Church (where I attend)

White Flag Christian Church (in St. Louis, I know the pastor)

Is This THE END?

Well, this is it. The end...

The end of me showing vacation photos, that is! Are you ready? 

The end of our journey to Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus was, as you might imagine, bittersweet. We had seen great sights, reaffirmed faith decisions, remembering the milestones in our own personal journeys of faith and made new friends. When we got up on our last day of touring, we had to be out of our rooms by 7am and on the bus by 8.

I am not gonna sugar coat this next part at all...we were tired, we missed home, some of us were sick (including Eric, who went to bed the night before with the start of a cough and fever that continued into the day) and we were all fairly concerned to be leaving our luggage in the lobby for the day. But this is how it is done, so we followed protocol, got on the bus and tried not to cough on each other. 

Our first stop was the Valley of Elah, named for the Elah tree, which is a type of oak. 

Although I do not remember anything in the Bible about Jesus walking in this valley, there is a significant story about a young shepherd who defeated a giant Philistine here before the time of Jesus. You have heard of David and Goliath, no doubt, even if you are not a religious person. It is a great story of victory to the underdog! There are smooth stones in the Brook Elah below, which was pretty dry on this day. The stones are worn down by years in the water. David chose five.

Being in the valley of Elah on this sunny day in the year 2020 AD, with the place nearly empty invites the imagination into the battle scene. Cowering soldiers on one side, taunting giants on the other...and one young man, too small to even think about wearing armor but brave enough to step out in faith anyway. That must have been quite a scene, and there is a whole new dimension to "fear not" when you consider it.

It was a peaceful stop, and our pace for this day was clearly going to be slower. We were thankful for that as we ambled back to the bus and headed to the possible site of Emmaus (Latrun). It was on the road to Emmaus that Jesus appeared to a couple of his disciples after his resurrection, though they did not recognize him at first. There are ruins here of a Byzantine church, and like many places throughout Israel, mosaics abound.

At one point, Eric found a single tile on the path. It is amazing to me the detail of some of the mosaic work we have seen. I have not witnessed anything to compare it to at home...such small tiles, and such grand works! Even though the color is faded, the fact that these pieces still exist is testimony to the craftsmanship and time that was put into the construction!

We followed Emmaus with an early lunch to an American Diner, 

and a visit with the "King." Ha! Modern Israelites have a sense of humor, and an appreciation for American tourists, apparently.

Then we were onto the Samuel's Tomb. This site kindof underwhelmed me. 

We went down steep stairs to the basement, where we saw some women praying, then we came back up...anti-climactic. But then we went to the roof!

At first, I was not super excited about the roof either. But looking back at the pictures, being up there gave us one final overview of the lands we had walked these past 8 days. 

Our final stop was the Church of St John the Baptist, which has three distinct churches.

All around the courtyard are engravings of Zechariah's song, the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), in which he praises God for being God, and for bringing a son to himself and Elizabeth.

There are translations into more languages than I even recognize. Israel draws pilgrims from the ends of the earth, from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. This land of antiquity is relevant to everyone it seems, and I am so glad that we went on this journey!

I am especially glad that we left for and returned from this trip before the coronavirus hit either the US or Israel. When I began blogging these photos, I noted that seeing these large, ancient sites made me feel small and insignificant. The pandemic and its effects around the world has often made me feel the same. I am not fearful, but I am sad that lives have been lost and many have been impacted in difficult ways. 

However, I am also hopeful when I see my brothers and sister helping one another, staying home and doing what we all need to do to keep this virus at bay. Be a helper where you can, friends...and if you need help, look for the helpers. They are everywhere these days. 

Now it is time for me to do what I do, and knit a third bunny. I hope that you also have something to look forward to this weekend!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Where We Were Wednesday

Wednesday in the Holy Land marked our 7th and second-to-last day of touring. Many in our group had caught some bug or another during the trip, and the coughs and fevers reminded me of the flu. Eric and I had had our flu shots, so I was not super worried. We woke up and had breakfast, then headed to the bus for the day. Our first stop was the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.

This is one of two sites which may be where Jesus' body was placed when it was removed from the cross. Traditionally, this site sits near a hill that may be Golgotha (skull hill), and I tried to get THE perfect photo that showed it...but this is my picture.

Not a great photo, but that is what I saw. The garden, next to the hill, was peaceful and beautiful.

As a bonus, the northern Irish guide who showed us around was a great teller of the familiar story! We were all able to celebrate that "He is not here. He is alive!"

We each went in to see the tomb area, which was much smaller than I thought it would be, and I had a moment to revel in the EMPTY of that tomb. No, I did not "come to the garden alone, while the dew [was] still on the roses," but it felt like He was walking there and speaking to our very souls.

Our next site was the Church of St Anne, 

where this sign was posted:

Singing is kindof a joke in our family, so I sent that photo to our granddaughters. You see, Pop Pop likes to tell them (and me), "No singing!," with a waggle of his index finger. Ha, Pop Pop! I can sing here all I want! But no talking...and I am pretty sure that they prefer hymns...so that does cut out many of my favorite selections. (Cue: "This is the song that never ends! It just goes on and on..." Yes, there are legitimate reasons for the "No Singing" rule!) 

This is also the site of the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a crippled beggar who had never been able to get himself into the healing waters. Jesus did not help him into the water...he healed him on the spot. Jesus met him where he was, and told him to get on with his life! (John 5:8 - Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.)

Jesus still works that way. He is no longer walking the earth in human form, but I am happy to report that Jesus met me where I was when I was ready to follow him...and I have seen Jesus meet many other people right where they are, too. Sometimes that makes me angry. "Wait," I want to say. "You mean you will let him/her in on this? Don't you know what kind of person this is, Jesus?" 

Quietly he answers, in fact it is never audible, but I "hear" it in my heart: "Listen. You worry about you, Pam. Let me worry about this. His/Her sin is different than what you struggle with, but I love him/her as much as I love you. So, get up. Pick up YOUR mat (again) and keep walking with me. If this person wants to follow along, offer a hand where you can." 

Ouch. But thanks for the reminder, Lord.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, our next stop, is another site that claims the burial ground of Jesus. 

 

We walked the Via Delarosa to get there, which was...a little saddening. Traditionally observed as the road Jesus walked with his cross before the crucifixion, this walk is now full of shops and hawkers of goods, and the pilgrims are shoulder to shoulder.

Once we arrived at the church, it was too crowded to capture well in photos...but there were beautiful mosaics, and ornate decorations throughout.

Our second-to-last stop on this second-to-last day, after lunch in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, was the Western Wall of the temple. At this point, I had reached some kind of overload, so I did not go up to the actual wall...just too many people squeezing together to touch, kiss and deposit their prayers into the stones. I was happy to take this one in from afar. In fact, the only picture I took was this one, which shows the Wailing Wall on the right side of the photo:

Our final stop was at the top of the Mount of Olives. We walked down a steep road, to the Garden of Gethsemane, just across the valley from the Temple. It was almost sunset when we reached the garden, and the setting sun just beyond the Golden Gate was a beautiful end to our day.

Holy Week 2020 looms now, and (just like the modern Via Delarosa) it will look different than I had anticipated a few weeks ago. Some things, however, are always the same:

Death has been defeated!

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

We will celebrate the Risen King!

How will you observe Holy Week and celebrate Easter? Drop a comment to let me know!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, Knit in Good Health!