On the first day of April, school kids keep themselves convulsed with laughter with such jokes as,  "Hey!  You have a spider on your shoulder!  Made you look!  April fool!"  It is amazing how one generation of children after another follow the same patterns and use the same jokes that they did when I was in school.  First there is the sharp intake of breath with eyes growing big and round, then the finger pointing,  "There's a monster behind you!  April Fool!"

     These are a Few of My Favorite Things...
 ...lilac leaves ...daffodil trumpets blowing spring music ...wind chimes ...farmers plowing their fields  ...bird courtship ballet ...emerald green lawns ...the feel of garden soil.
 

    April 2 Tues.  Troy got his results of the real estate test Friday and he passed the test!  Hooray!  Now we have to wait for two to three weeks for his license to be sent to him, and then he can start being a real estate agent.  It seems to be an area ripe with promise; we certainly hope so.  It is strictly commission and there will be no income until he is able to transact some business. The first sell will be reason for celebration.
     We took some of the mortgage money and bought a used car.   If Troy is to be driving all over West Michigan he needs a reliable car.  It is a van, actually, a 95 Lumina.  It has been taken care of and looks like new.  It is such a relief to have a dependable vehicle again.  The last time our old car broke down we were afoot.  Troy will have to be able to take people to look at properties, so this van will be a blessing.  It is teal, which is one of my favorite colors.  Some young folks have told us that mini-vans weren't cool, but we don't care a thing about looking cool or not, we are just thrilled to have transportation at a reasonable price.
 Troy found the Lumina on-line and we went to Battle Creek to pick it up, which is over a hundred miles from here.  It seems like a long way, but the van was reasonably enough priced to make the trip worthwhile.  We enjoyed visiting with the couple who owned it.  They live in a lakeside home with a beautiful view, and had four cats for us to meet.
 Anyway, we are happy campers right now.  Thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers.  You have been wonderful friends through all of our struggles.

    March 23 Sat. We have had more winter in March than we had for the whole rest of the season.  We keep hoping that this will be the last blast, but then another pops up. Right now we are having wild gusts of air, but at least the snow that fell the last couple of days is blowing away.  Someplace the flowers are blooming, just not here yet.
     Troy finished his real estate course and scored the third highest in the class.  Pretty impressive for a sixty-year old in a class of forty-two people!  The big test is next Tuesday, and he will be relieved when that is over.

    Gratitudes
The mortgage went through.
Troy did so well on his real estate course.
Orders for prints and newsletter subscriptions.
Troy is losing weight.
Jerusha's baptism.

Sheryl Edgerton from Lockport, NY sent us this lovely list!

    "Things I Like:

ticking clocks
creaky floorboards
churchbells
cappuccino
old houses
bird songs
walks along the Erie Canal
Cherish & Ben (my children)
seeds in pots on my windowsill
snowdrops and crocuses
windy days
umbrellas and walks in the rain
the smell of crayons
laundry blowing on the clothesline
piles of old books
a clean house
violin music
sunflowers
picture books

My list could continue forever, I'm thinking of so much.  Thanks for inviting me to do this writing exercise."

    March 20 Wed.  The first day of spring, and it feels like it!  That is supposed to change for the next few days while a cold front moves in. It doesn't matter too much now, we know winter is on the run.  The birds and daffodils tell us so.
     Troy says his brain is tired.  His real estate classes last all day and then he has to come home and do homework until bedtime.  It is a good thing the course only takes a week!  Although, I guess, if the course lasted longer, maybe it wouldn't have to be so intense.  He said that only sixty percent of the people taking the test pass it on the first try, so he is a bit nervous about that.  I'm not; I know he can do it.  He has a natural mind for that sort of thing.

    March 19 Tues.  We had a wonderful weekend! We drove across the state for the baptism of our oldest granddaughter, Jerusha, and that was reason enough to rejoice.   We had the extra bonus of seeing many loved ones, some that we had not seen in several years.
 The dogs were not so pleased to have us gone overnight.  We set them up well, with food, water and shelter.  What could go wrong in just one night!  Well, quite a bit if you are silly enough to not lock the sliding door to the backyard.  Mariah sensed that it wasn't locked and worked vigilantly (as attested by the scratched woodwork) on sliding it open.  When we drove up to the house we couldn't believe our eyes, two dogs were looking at us through the living room window, happily wagging their tails.  We opened the door while trying to figure out how this could be.  It didn't take long to see the partially open patio door. They had had the best of both world while we were gone trotting freely back and forth through the door that stayed open in the cold March weather.
     The first thing that caught our attention was the mess that one of them had made in the living room.  They had brought in the long-dead carcass of a bird and defeathered it all over the carpet.  They had eaten every last bite of the cat's food, while not touching their own food that was in the garage.  They had been convincing the cats that the dogs were in control now.  The cats didn't come out of hiding for quite some time after we got home, and then they were telling us about their starvation.  We were grateful that the cats didn't take advantage of the open door and depart for unknown horizons.
     Troy went to Grand Rapids to his first day of real estate classes.  It was a nine to five day and he came home tired but happy.  After dinner he had to do homework and he poured over his books.  He will go for a test next week to get his license.  He is hoping that he is retaining all of this information.
     Leslie stopped by for a few minutes on her way to the dentist. She was looking out the window as we talked and saw a robin on the logging road.  I looked and sure enough beheld my first robin of the year!

    March 11 Mon.  Arctic temperatures have moved in and turned all that melted snow to ice.  Single digit readings and brisk winds cause us to be reluctant to go outside, but Ginger must be fed and watered.
     Ginger was running low on hay so we were relieved to see the hay man pull into our driveway.  Our hay man, Fred, is a local farmer and life is not easy for him.  He had a stroke a while back and is still recuperating from it.  He couldn't talk for a few months and relied heavily on his wife to get him through that time.  Not long ago I heard his wife had cancer.  Then a couple of days ago her sister told me that his wife was dying.  We didn't know if that meant months or weeks.  Fred still wanted to bring our hay in spite of his troubles.  When he came we found out that it is a matter of hours.  She hasn't spoken since Thursday and is now in a coma. The last time that she was conscious, he had held her and told her that he loved her.  We protested that he shouldn't have come to bring our hay while this was going on.  He said that he needed to do something and needed to get outside for a little while. After he left, Troy and I thought that all of our problems seemed pretty small in comparison, and hugged each other.

    March 9 Sat.  Wild wind, pouring rain, and warmer temperatures have made short work of our mounds of snow.  We are in mud weather, which is at least more spring-like than the heavy snows that we have had since March began.
     We did sign the re-mortgage papers on Thursday, and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of us.  We put aside enough to make payments for a while so that Troy has time to come up with a plan.  Right now it seems that he will go into real estate.  He was offered a place in a friend's real estate business.  He is signed up to take the classes next week, and then we will see how it goes.  We are not in the clear yet, but we at least see hope of light, and best of all, the bank's greedy hands have been slapped away from our home for now at least.

    March 6 Wed.  After days of snow we finally got a reprieve.  It was a good thing it quit before we disappeared from view.  We had to do extensive shoveling before we could get the car moving.  The dogs are jumping through the high snow like porpoises in the ocean, and very glad to get back inside.  It must be awfully cold on their tummies.  Everything we do outside is a huge effort with all this snow, just getting the mail makes me puff and pant.  Troy had to sit and recuperate for awhile after having to drag the garbage cart to the side of the road.  Tomorrow should be much better.  The temperatures have finally risen above freezing and promises to be that way for a few more days.  We are eager to see the lamb side of March.
     We are scheduled to sign some papers tomorrow to re-mortgage our place.  If all goes according to plan it will be a great weight off of our shoulders, as it will redeem our house from falling into the hands of the bank.  It will buy us some time, and we are grateful for that.

    March 3 Sun.  A powerful winter storm moved into our area yesterday and has been going strong ever since.  It is a white world beyond our windows; everything is covered with a thick, white, woolly coat.  Branches are bending down under the weight, power lines too, I fear.  We lost electricity for a brief moment last night.  Just long enough to lose what I was working on at the computer, and for Troy to have to reset all the digital clocks in the house…and to make us nervous that it might happen again.  We certainly don’t want to be without heat tonight, the temperature is predicted to get down to two degrees.
     Troy is kindly taking over barn chores during this storm, for which I am grateful.  He comes in puffing and panting from the exertion of wading through knee high snow and trying to breathe while blowing snow is hitting him in the face.  Winter didn’t want to leave us feeling slighted by the mellow season we have had, so it is reminding us what it can do.

    March 1 Fri.  One of the interesting things about country living is that you just never know what you will see next.  The dogs were having a fit a moment ago, so I went to the window to see what was causing their commotion.  Trotting down the road like he had a meeting to go to, was a huge black and white pig.  He stopped at the end of our driveway and detoured around our loop, then right back to the road and away like he was late for an appointment.  If the dogs hadn’t been so upset, I might have thought that I dreamed it.

    Feb. 21 Thurs.  All that rain that we were so happy wasn’t snow yesterday has turned to snow today.  We went to bed with the sound of rain pattering on the roof, but sometime during the night it turned into snowfall.
    We got our car fixed.  It was a relatively inexpensive repair, thank goodness.  It is so nice to have it working again.  We had to hold our breath when we went anywhere in our old van to see if it would get us home or not.  The car handles much better in snow than the van does too, so all in all it is such a relief to have the car back.
    When the car broke down we wondered how on earth we could pay for fixing it, and then I sold a painting.  The timing was amazing!  It was like the time that Mariah needed surgery and I sold a painting at the exact time to do it.  It is a wonder how life keeps moving along even when things look rather bleak.

    Feb. 20 Wed.  If our weather were any colder we would be up to our knees in snow.  But with our current mellow temperatures we are just sloshing in water.  It rained all night and so far today hasn’t let up.
    The predictions for the coming week are all above freezing, except for a few nighttime drops.  It is a good thing, because if all this water turned to ice our countryside would be one big ice rink.
    To add to our general complication of life, our car broke down.  The alternator went out and Troy and I have been housebound for several days now.  Our ancient van has been pressed into service a time or two to go to the store in the village, but that is as far as we dare go in it.  Even that far it has to have all its liquids replaced and we hope to make it home before the coolant runs out.  We don’t go any further in the van than we can walk home from.
    Feb. 14 Thurs.  Looking at the white chili recipe made me hungry for it, so I made a pot last night.  Troy made some cornbread to go with it and it was a feast.  I don’t make too many things that garner the raves from him like white chili.  I personally would like it even better without the chicken, but I leave it in for his sake.  On a blusrey February day, we find a steaming bowl of white chili to be comfort food of the highest magnitude.

    I was glad to see that Lord of the Rings got several Oscar nominations.  We went to see it with David and Joanne and the girls.  It was wonderful!  I have always loved fairytales and this was the biggest, most beautiful fairytale that ever was.  I sat transfixed by the beauty and wonder of it.  The attention to atmosphere and detail was unbelievable.  The makers deserve the accolades for all their meticulous work.

    Feb. 11 Mon.  Blowing snow frosted our countryside yesterday, but it has all evaporated with this morning’s sun.  A fine blue sky is stretched over the woods and hay meadows.  The sun shines with a russet glow on the trees in the woods.  It is still very cold, but it looks warm, and that is cheering.

    I promised a friend a recipe, so here is a good one Sharon.  I thought all of you might enjoy it.  It’s great!
 
 

1 28-oz. can great Northern beans
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1 4 oz. can green chilies, chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 C Monterey Jack cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Sour cream
In a large Dutch oven, poach the chicken breasts in two cups of stock. Remove breasts and chop fine. Set aside. To the stock in the Dutch oven, add beans, half of the onion, garlic and salt in a large kettle. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 25-30 minutes.  Add additional stock as needed for consistency while cooking.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add rest of the chopped onion and all of the spices (cumin, oregano, cloves and cayenne). Cook until onion is soft and add to kettle. Add the chicken and cheese to the kettle.

Serve each bowl topped with a sprinkle of cheese, some chopped green onion and a dollop of sour cream.

     Feb. 8 Fri.  Today is a good day!  It has been one cheering thing after another, each one making the day brighter.  The weather is beautiful to start out, and the caring notes received on my computer this morning warmed my heart even more than the sunshine.  Then the mail came and it was a treasure trove.  There were two nice letters, one with a subscription for my newsletter and the other had an order for "The Northern Cardinal" print.  There was a copy of The Artist magazine, which is one of my very favorite magazines to read. Then the special treat, a gift from a friend!  She sent me two beautiful books about flowers, gardening and prayer.  My spirits soared as I looked through the pages.  What a kind gesture for my friend to make, and how timely it was!  Thank you, thank you!
    Our situation hasn’t really changed, but I feel happy.  It is amazing how much the kindness of others lightens the load.  God be with you.

    Feb. 6 Wed.  I never expected to see the time again when we had to sell bottles to buy bread or hunt for loose change to get milk. We had those sort of struggles in our early years, but I never thought we would get back to that.
    Troy had that one interview, and we set great hopes upon it, but it came to nothing.  To say we were disappointed is an understatement.  We know that our Heavenly Father is in control of our lives, but we can’t figure out what we are to do next.  We are running out of time and resources.  We are trying to refinance the house, but that may have totally fallen through, since Troy is unemployed; we are waiting to hear.  That would buy us some time anyway.  We had the house on the market for several months, but there were no serious lookers.  The economy is frightful and people are afraid to commit to anything.  We are under foreclosure and we have a short time left to redeem the house.  March twenty-fourth is the deadline and we feel each day ticking off like a time bomb.  If we can’t refinance or sell it, we will just lose it, and that would delete any resources to start over.  Homeless and penniless is a scary proposition, but we are trying to stay calm.  Thank you for letting me talk it out, which helps a bit.  We pray and ask for your prayers that we will soon be shown our purpose.

    Feb. 2 Sat.   The Dining Table
Our home has a nice dining room with, of course, a dining table in it. But, we find that our dining table gets used for a lot more than dining.
It is the place where everybody drops whatever they are carrying when they come into the house. It is where homework gets done, papers get written, bills get paid, and projects are worked on. We have desks for homework, papers, and bills. We have a workshop for projects, but no one ever seems to move further than the dining table. I know why. The dining table is in the middle of every thing. It is the hub of the house.

When we do use the table for its intended use, we have to clear it off first. But, that is a gladsome task, because it is usually for joyous occasions. Such as family and friends coming to gather around it. Some of our happiest moments have been at that table, sharing food and companionship with loved ones.

There seems to be no middle ground for us. It is either just us, or there is a whole herd of people. We like having folks packed shoulder to shoulder. Food tastes better that way. Usually there is the table full and the overflow of kids sitting at the breakfast counter. We are all in the same room and the kids are within easy reach when passing out seconds. We are very informal at our meals. After the prayer, everyone helps themselves to what ever is in front of them and then they pass it to the left.

It usually gives me a moment's pause when I first hear that we will be having twelve people for several meals. I am used to cooking small amounts most of the time. But after I plan my meals and buy the groceries, I am psyched up for it. By the second day, I am into the rhythm of mass production cooking, and enjoying it. Our company always helps me with setting the table, getting the drinks and cleaning up afterwards. It is rewarding to see a whole room full of hungry people dive into a meal that I have planned and cooked for them. Especially when a granddaughter comes to me afterwards and says, "That was good, Grandma."

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 All of my  personal writings in this journal are copyrighted© by Annette Haltom

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