Day 14 of 365 Days of Thanks

I just have to start out by saying WOW!! Woke up this morning to the trees outside covered in ice. The white of the ice against the dark wood of the tree - photo heaven!!! I am so thankful for God's beauty! Just looking at the way the ice forms on the branches, not a one the same. I brought my camera with me today so I could capture His beauty on the trees around me. I have already taken tons of pictures! Of course at one point, I was pretty sure my fingers were going to fall off :). It is really hard to wear gloves and take pictures at the same time - but I persevered :) Here are some of my favorites from this morning...

Day 13 of 365 Days of Thanks

Tonight I am thankful for the safety of the EMS class that traveled to Ogallala (about 45 miles away) and back for training. The roads were clear even though we had just had a snowstorm last week, and my hubby was able to drive safely through the thick fog that covered the roadways. I am thankful for all that they are learning in order to be prepared to help those in our community when needed. I find it very comforting knowing that if I ever have to be transported in an ambulance, while living in Chappell, that I will know the EMS team.

Day 2 of 365 Days of Thanks

Wow! What a beautiful and snowy morning it is here in Chappell, Nebraska! Currently it is 26 degrees with a wind chill that drops it down to 12 degrees. Brrrrrr! I am trying to be thankful for the weather - but I'm not going to lie, it is beyond cold and the wind is quite strong...but as I look outside, the snow that covers the ground is beautiful! So I will save being thankful for the "weather" for another day! lol

Today I am thankful for community! I love that we live in a town small enough for most of us to know each other, be there for each other, watch out for each other, and rally around one another in difficult periods of our lives. Just this morning God showed me how he uses me, my hubby, and also my neighbors daughter - and each one in separate instances - and it's only 9:30 in the morning! I can't wait for what God will bring during the rest of the day.

Quilt of Love

There is a gal that goes to our church and I have been enjoying getting to know her! She is an amazing woman with a huge heart and an incredible talent. I first met Jeannie while doing, what we call,  “Love in Action”. Her and her husband are disabled and are not able to do a lot of yard work. So a group of us from our church family spent the afternoon at their home in Lodgepole, Nebraska. Some of us pulled weeds, trimmed trees, others mowed the lawns and tidied up the grounds around the house. It was an awesome day – lots of work got done and by the time we were finished the front and back yard looked landscaped by professionals, and everyone had smiles on their faces.

A few months go by and I see Jeannie at our church Campout with her hubby, Ron, they had come for the day. We sat and talked for a while, at that time she told me that she was making me a quilt. I have to admit, at first I wasn’t sure why. So I asked her kindly, why I deserved such a treasure. In which she stated, “Because you came and helped fix up our yard.” She continued to tell me that she was in the process of making everyone that came, that day to help, there own quilt. At that point, I am pretty sure my jaw dropped. How?... Why?... oh my gosh. I was speechless. She started telling me about the ones that she had already finished, the one that she was currently working on and the ones that she still needed to start. I had so many questions at this point, but I was still speechless. I was in Awe of the kindness of this woman that I was still getting to know, who before that day had only met a couple of times before.

At the next church event, I sat down and talked with Jeannie. I already had a list going, in my head, of what I wanted to ask her. So I did. She started telling me about how God is providing everything that she needs to make these quilts. Her and her hubby are not wealthy in the monetary sense. But they are millionaires in the eyes of God! He has given her this amazing talent, and she uses it to bless others. There is a gal that is dedicated to making sure Jeannie has enough batting for the insides of the quilt. Many people give her fabric from their stashes. She says she can use any size piece, even as small as an inch-and-a-half square. Others have provided the thread. My mind is churning, thinking about all the fabric scraps that I have left over from making dog and cat collars, that I would normally toss or store, because I don’t know what to do with. She even says, with a huge smile on her face, “my husband helps too! He helps me stretch them out on the loom”.

Last Saturday Jeannie came to me at the Women’s Breakfast and gave me my quilt. I can’t even find the words that would do this quilt justice. The pieces of fabric she used on it – fit me to a T. Retro, Vintage, Lion King (which is one of my favorite cartoon movies), vibrant colors, and many more. How did she know me and my tastes so well after only visiting a handful of times. What a gift! My friends and pastor are already calling me Linus, because I feel like I take it every where with me so I can show it off.

If you have scraps of fabric that you can’t use and they’re collecting dust, send them to me and I will get them to her. If you have batting that you don’t know what to do with, send them to me and I will get it to her. Same with thread, she can use anything! Send it to Rural Housewife, PO Box 847, Chappell, NE 69129.

P.S. I am working on getting pictures of the quilts and their new owners and will post them here on the blog.

Amazing Saturday!

Yesterday started out with the hopes of insulating the top floor of our house. It was definitely a great day for it - 80 degrees with a cool breeze. My hubby had pre-drilled the holes the night before, ladders in place, white suits ready to be worn, and respirators ready and waiting to make us look like aliens from another planet. Then we find out that the machine used to pump the insulation into the walls was already spoken for. So… now we have a whole day to play, go on adventures and meet new people! And that is just what we did!

We decided to take Petey for a walk. We went downtown (which is about 3 blocks from the house) and checked out the vacant property that a bunch of us had been wanting to turn into a fabric, coffee, bakery, and book place for women to gather, learn and relax. Once I saw the inside of the front room, ideas flooded my brain! What an exciting adventure this will be!

click on pic to see larger

As we were walking home from downtown, we noticed that our friend Doug was in his wood shop. So we went over to say "Hi" and look at the fun machines. He was cutting down some wood that he had let dry out for 2 years. It was amazing to watch the power of his machine just slice through the wood like it was butter. He then showed us his wood collection, which he uses for his many projects. I was in heaven! The picture does not do it justice. The smells, textures, grains, and beauty of the different woods he   showed us was way better than any lumber yard I had ever been to. I could have stayed their all day! Once we were done drooling over his wood collection, he took us over to his house and showed us his garage. This is where we got to see his wood working tools, air filtration system and the counters and shelves that were all dove-tailed and made from mostly recycled woods. I was in awe! The picture shows a floor to ceiling set of drawers that took him 3 months just to cut out all the pieces. All of the boxes had dividers in them, all sanded, stained and polished.

When we thought the tour couldn't get any better, he took us inside his house where we were welcomed with a mouth-watering aroma of fresh pepper jelly that his wife was making from the peppers in her garden. She gave us a taste - I was hooked by the sweetness of the jelly and jalapeno kick at the end. Luckily she sells it at craft fairs so I know where I can get some for the holidays! He then proceeded to show us the grandfather clock he had made, the kitchen cabinets, all of the wood furniture in the house and the antiques that he refinished and repaired. The entire time I thought about the times I watched my great-grandfather, grandpa and dad work miracles with pieces of wood. As the tour ended, they gave us a huge bag of apples from their yard (YAY!!!) and his wife and I talked about the pumpkin butter that she was planning to make the rest of the day.

What an amazing day and it was only 1:00PM - we then get a call from a friend of ours to let us know she has a pot belly stove in her shed if we to come and look at it. We have been looking for a wood burning stove for our living room to help with keeping us warm this winter so of course we did! So we took a nice drive out to their farm, when we got their I realized flip-flops were probably not the greatest footwear for tracking through weeds and goatheads (pointy little stickers - not actual goat heads). She took us back to one of the wood sheds where there was a pot belly stove from 1904 - sold by Montgomery Wards. It was beautiful in all its rustic, cast iron glory. It needed some work - I mean come on, it's from 1904, of course its going to need a little work. We took some pics to show a welder in town to see if he can reinforce the areas that are weak. We knew we wanted it - now it's just a matter of seeing if it's practical - so we didn't take it home with us but she is saving it until we can find out from a welder if it is fixable for our needs. After watching the pigs play and run around we headed back into town to look for the welders shop. On our way we stopped and talked to some friends who we haven't seen in a while. They were insulating the bottom of their daughter and son-in-law's new trailer. So the guys worked and the girls talked, we had so much fun talking and catching up.

While on our way home - I thanked God for such an awesome day! What had started out with one plan had ended up with a day full of adventures and excitement.