Tender Mercies

Guys, I am SO sore. For the past four days, I have been picking chestnuts at Chestnut Charlie's , a local orchard about 4 miles from our home.  I randomly stumbled upon a "help wanted" ad for picking chestnuts in the classified section of our local food Co-op's monthly newsletter while sifting through some junk mail a few weeks ago, and thought it would be fun to do some seasonal work while getting paid per pound for what I picked. The nice thing about working for Deb and Charlie at the orchard is that I gave her my availability and then showed up. My schedule is so not consistent week to week, so this worked out great for me.  These little guys are all over the orchard floor! Fuzzy little caterpillars.  My first day was Friday. Picking chestnuts is unlike anything I have ever done, and it is quite possibly the HARDEST work I have done. Going into it, I really didn't think there was too much to it. How hard could it be to pick up chestnuts a...

It's apple picking time! Autumn is truly a magical time of year--the trees and fields brimming with the succulent crops that had been growing and maturing all summer long, finally ready to pick. For the past two years while living in Alaska, we had ordered fresh apples from Washington because, well there aren't any U-pick apple orchards in the Last Frontier State--or at least none that I knew of.  Now that I'm living in the Midwest, I've got to embrace the abundance of agriculture that is in my backyard. Tonight I went to the Cider Hill Family Orchard in Kansas City with an awesome and adorable family who I am privileged to call friend. Their two kids, ages 8 and 2, are so fun to be around, which is saying something :).   Look at her: she's got character! Our Haul: While I wasn't quite ready for the picture, the kids were spot-on (finally) ...but it didn't last long! But hey, now I am ready :) Oh well. At least they were will...

The back of our Subaru was heavy with home-canned green beans, pasta sauces, and meats, rice, wheat, dried potatoes, raw honey, plenty of spices, and an entire ice chest full of frozen goods. My mother and grandma-in-law had sent us home with food to last us quite some time.  When I was young, I remember hearing stories from my parents when they were in college and first married, not having enough income to buy each other Christmas presents. Their cupboards were pretty scarce, yet they were able to make due by focusing on the importance things in life.  Fast forward 21 years later to 2012. As a newly married lady with my husband working full time in the Army and myself working part time as a skating coach, we fared well. There was always money to do what we wanted while also saving for the future. I had not yet experienced that feeling of living paycheck to paycheck.  4 years later we have found ourselves in a different scenario. We are both back in school w...

Angels exist on Earth.  We were attending church with my in-laws this past weekend because my husband and I were in town for a wedding. There was the usual small talk, smiles, and greetings in the chapel, intermixed with the prelude from the organ before the meeting began. The two of us sat down in the front row where Marshall's mom was sitting and Grandma walked up to say hi. She wrapped her arms around Marshall first, then turned to me with a kiss on the cheek and a warm embrace. I guess Grandma could tell something was up because when she asked me how I was doing, I answered with no words, only an open floodgate of tears.  Just as grandmas do, Grandma Adams knew exactly how to help me. With her cheek pressed against my head, she held me tight while my shoulders shook. Grandma handed me her white hankie, embroidered with a single pink rose.  "This is for you to wipe away your tears. Remember that there will be many tears to wipe away in the future; tears...

"Breath is the power behind all things...I breathe in and know that good things will happen. " Tao Porchon-Lynch   I rolled my mat out on the hardwood floor in the middle of the room. I had arrived 30 minutes early for a special guest class with Tao Porchon-Lynch at a yoga studio I had never been to. A month ago I saw a flyer announcing the visit of the world's oldest yoga teacher at the end of August in Overland Park, Kansas and I knew I just had to be there. At 97-years-old, she radiated wisdom, love, and more life experience than I ever thought possible. Just look at the picture of her embracing me above. That was taken at the end of the class at 9 PM, after she had been up since 3 AM to catch her plane from NYC to Kansas City. And yet, there she was, so happy to take a picture with me, acting as though she and I were besties and that she had just awaken from a refreshing nap. It was truly an honor to be in her presence. "When I wake up in the morning, I kn...