Storm

"Who's crazy idea was this anyway?" I asked, clumps of snow dropping onto the rug as I stomped my feet. I'd ventured outside far enough to shoot a few photos before stumbling back inside looking a little like a snowman. The snow is exciting and beautiful, but I think I'll wait to go outside again until it stops falling. 

We are in the midst of a snow storm that the weather man predicts will dump six to ten inches of snow on Mid-Michigan over the next few hours. Dad listened to a long list of school and college cancellations on the radio this morning. Betsy finished her last exam yesterday afternoon, so we are ready to be stuck at home. Mom offered the school children the choice of their afternoon activity--either a Spanish class or baking cookies. 

Pounding

Chocolate covered pretzels, strawberries and grapes

While we were in Indiana visiting friends, we attending a "Pounding." It was an Old German Baptist "Young Folks" meeting at our friends' grandparent's house. Contrary to what anyone who has survived middle school may think, it did not involve physical violence. The event received its name because each participant brings a pound of food--pretzels, flour, chocolate, cheese--to be prepared for dinner. 

After everyone arrived, we spread the food on tables in the garage and divided into four teams. Then we took turns choosing a pound of food from the table. My team acquired Velveeta cheese, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, canned chicken, noodles, a loaf of bread and black beans, which we transformed into a noodle casserole, cheesy-bean dip and chips, and garlic bread (The hostess was generous with extras such as butter and garlic powder, and we traded another group some Velveeta cheese for an onion). 

There were two kitchens in the house, and we prepared our food in the basement. When the cooking was completed, we gathered in the garage to sample our creations. There were several noodle casserole dishes and even a peach cobbler, but the most original was the chocolate covered grapes.

Photo cycle

I'm caught in a photo cycle. 

Snapping pictures is the fun part--sorting, organizing and labeling them isn't always so fun. Every couple of days I transfer my pictures to the computer and sort them. I delete most of the pictures. At the end of the month I burn a photo back-up CD and then upload a month's worth of photos (200-500 shots) to Shutterfly, an online photo processing service. I type a label to be printed on the back of each photo and order pictures for our family album. 

In a few days the photos arrive in the mail, and they sit on the end table in the livingroom until I feel ambitious. Then I sort the photos into piles. Most of the photos are for our family album, but I also sort stacks of photos for each of us (the schoolchildren put their photos in their portfolios to document their schooling). I also label and sort the photos that were printed and developed from our film camera. It's a mess organizing pictures from three different cameras and I spread piles across the living room floor. In the final step I stuff the pictures into the album. By the time the album is full, I feel dizzy and I wonder why I would ever want to take another picture.

Yesterday afternoon I stuffed photos in my personal photo album. Recently I divided my Grandma's photos among us grandchildren. I put my siblings' photos in albums for them, but mine are still sitting in a shoe box in my room. Yesterday afternoon I transfered a stack of pictures from the shoe box to an album. By the time I was done, I was stressed. And when I'm stressed...I take pictures. So after I shoved the album in a corner of my room, I grabbed my camera.

Goat auction

Brian and Libby loaded seven goats into the stock-trailer before Aaron and I joined them for the forty-five minute drive to the livestock auction. Brian used his newly acquired shepherd's crook to catch the animals. 

The digital numbers on the bank sign in Clare blinked ten degrees yesterday afternoon, but it felt much colder at the stockyard, even with the extra socks, skirts and scarves I'd layered on before we left the house. Sheep, goats, swine and cattle are sold every Monday afternoon at the Clare County Livestock Auction. Yesterday seven of Brian's goats were among the first of the line of animals prodded along the sawdust walkways into the ring. Most of Brian's goats are expecting kids this spring, and Brian needed to cull the "no-good-goats" from his herd. He acquired the two oldest goats, a Nubian and a Nubian-Alpine, when the owner included them in a tractor deal. The remaining five goats were born on our farm in 2007 and 2008. 

Not much has changed in the livestock barns in the past fifty years. The two-story frame building contains an upstairs eatery, simply known as "Restaurant," where patrons can purchase a piece of pie or a cup of coffee. 

The goats recognized our voices when we stopped beside their pen. Our goats are even-tempered and friendly and didn't seem to be distressed by their unusual surroundings. 

Animals sold in the auction are sold by the hundred weight. The animals are weighed before they enter the ring and bidders pledge the amount they will pay based on weight. If a goat weighed 90 lbs. and sold for $45/hundred weight, the buyer would pay $40.50.

Soldier sew

Last Monday Kendra Byler hauled her sewing machine and bags of black, red and silver material to our house. Libby retrieved her machine and they spread the fabric on the diningroom table. Libby, Naomi and Kendra cut and sewed all afternoon, through the evening and into the night, constructing soldier costumes for the Christmas program. Brother Byler included three Roman soldiers in "A Baby's Cry." The Bylers were able to borrow one costume from their relatives in Pennsylvania, and the girls volunteered to create two more. 

Snow fall

He [God] says to the snow, "Fall on the earth,"

Job 37:6 NIV

Christmas walk

Last night our church participated in the 25th annual Dow Gardens Christmas Walk. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights hundreds of visitors stroll candle lit walks and pause to listen to carolers and musicians perform throughout the gardens. Our group sang traditional Christmas carols, including "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night," on the porch of the Dow house midway through the gardens. It was a beautiful evening, and after we were done with our caroling, we were able to enjoy the lights and sounds of the gardens ourselves while another group took our place on the steps.