Autumn Out Here

While all ya'll may be fixin' to celebrate Thanksgiving next week, we Lone Star Canucks already got that out of the way last month.

We had a tableful of friends and family to help us celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. I made more food than we'd ever need including from scratch green bean casserole (which is more American than Canadian but I'm a dual citizen so I can get away with stuff like that). I made pumpkin pie even though I don't personally eat it because you can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. I Texand it up with some Blue Bell pumpkin pie ice cream which I personally found lovely. And we ended the meal with a western Canada favourite - Blueberry Tea. 

We're wearing pants again which is exciting. We've even had a few nights of freezing temperatures and cooler days so that making soups and chilis seem appropriate. But then this week's been back into the 70's and we've been grilling. We've had more fall colour this fall in the surrounding trees and it hangs around longer. We also got a bumper crop of pecans:)

Maybe it's living out in the country but the seasons seem to take on new meaning. For instance, it's currently the season of deer mating. Our neighborhood is infiltrated with deer and for most of the year we won't spot a buck - the girls rule. Then all of a sudden the bucks start wandering in like they own the place. The does go running because they are not impressed. It's like nature's soap opera. 

It's also the season of those little flying ladybug like bugs. Before that it was the season of little black beetles. And before that was the LONG season of lake gnats. It's serious carnage on the back porch and the front entrance. That's the trade off I guess to there being no snow and freezing temps to kill this stuff off. 

We carved what may be our last Halloween pumpkin this year. (insert tears) I'm pretty sure it's the best one yet! Aren't the three of them adorable? 

We also did a booth for our church at a local Trick or Treat event. I noticed that it was a free event and figured what more could you ask for in what is essentially an evangelism event? Granted there are very few things in life that are free and this was no exception. I assumed that we'd buy candy for a few hundred kids that might attend this event in a relatively small town. I was pretty surprised when I was told to prepare for 1000 kids. It turned out to be great! I had lots of helpers to bag candy, print off pamphlets, man the table, etc. 

We managed to make it to the Texas State Fair this year! I'm pretty sure I've never been to a state fair. I thought we were being smart by going on a Monday but it turned out to be Columbus Day and a day local students had off to go to the fair. It was like going on a weekend so that idea kinda backfired on us. We took the transit train in and soaked up the experience. Everyone knows you go to the fair for the food. We went. We ate. We left. It was odd because I somehow knew what a pineapple whip was and thoroughly enjoyed mine so I must have had one at some point in my life. I also think it's odd that they sell mattresses there. Who buys a mattress at the state fair? Oh wait, people like my parents do - haha. 

I think I may have already mentioned how awesome the homeschool community is around here. They had a fall teen party that I took Zanna to and it was precious.

They had a hay ride, apple bobbing, pie eating contest, marshmallow roasting for s'mores, and square dancing. It was a southern dream. 

I had another opportunity to head to the middle of Texas somewhere to a ranch for a pastors' wives retreat. Remember when I fed the cows last year? No cow's licking me this year but it was still memorable. 

It was still hotter than hades when we first arrived that night so we met indoors with the air on full blast. But overnight the wind changed and blew in a gift from God - cooler temps. We were able to spend the next day and a half outside on the deck whether it was to eat or study Philippians. 

We'll be venturing north next week to celebrate Thanksgiving Number Two. I'll have to root around the attic and find the Rubbermaid tub that stores our snow boots and down jackets for us to use for the week. We can't wait to see Will, my parents and my grandparents. There's so much to be thankful for!! 

Sweet Memories, Sweet Friends

My mind will forever recall this November memory.  Allow me to introduce you to a couple of saints from our previous church - Bruce and Ann.
Bruce and Ann came to our church only in the last five years or so we were there. They transferred from a sister congregation because they moved to our part of the city. Bruce had previously come very close to death after experiencing a health crisis. The Lord allowed his earthly life to continue and he seemed to have a new lease on life!! He explained how his priorities had become clearer and he became a faithful attendee of church services and an active member. They also wanted to be close to family and had a “granny suite” built onto their daughter and her family’s house. She had been an only child and they were thrilled to be closer to their three grandkids.
It wasn’t long after their move that their daughter took off and left her family. She had always struggled with her mental health which played a role in the abandonment of her own children. Bruce and Ann were devastated but their soon to be ex son-in-law allowed them to stay under the roof they shared which was a huge relief to them! They helped raise their grandkids and brought them to church whenever they could.
I served alongside Bruce and Ann for years. Bruce was one of the few men in our church choir and the men would sit behind me. They were always laughing and joking back there! If there was heckling, it was coming from the back row!! It was harder for Ann to get around but she was usually our helper in the kitchen for the kids programs. She’d pump them full of sugar and sodium (despite my encouragement for more healthy options) and send them back home to their parents to deal with! She loved being around the kids and she’d pray with them and remind them how much Jesus loves them.
They were some of my biggest supporters when I started my own hair salon business. They’d come in like clockwork every six weeks so Ann could get a cut and color and Bruce could get cut what hairs he had left on his head. Ann would tell me many times about how they met and how she kept calling him the wrong name but he didn’t seem to care. Often our conversation would lead to tears and handing her a box of kleenexes as we sat waiting for her color to process. She had lived a hard life in many ways but it always came back to how much she loved Bruce and the comfort she had as a baptized child of God.
In the fall of 2017, Bruce was diagnosed with cancer. It quickly traveled to his brain. The row behind me in choir was quieter without him there. The doctors gave him a handful of months.
He was admitted into the hospital in town known as: “The one you didn’t come out of alive.” It was known as the last stop before the end. Wayne and fellow members would often go and minister to him and Ann, who was almost always by his side. His diet was limited and it wasn’t the greatest hospital food, so Wayne asked me if I’d be willing to make something homemade for him. I made beef barley soup because Ann said it was his favorite. I was going to send it along with Wayne, but I hesitated because if he didn’t come out of the hospital, it might be my last chance to see him on this side of glory. I was torn. Food I can make! Visiting hospitals (especially this one) is quite another. With lots of prayer for strength, I packed up the hot soup forever referred to now as “Bruce’s Beef Barley Soup”, bowls, spoons, and disposable Thanksgiving plates that had written on them Give Thanks to the Lord, the irony of our surrounding not escaping my awareness.

Those memories of mine from that day are very bittersweet. I remember the anti- septic smell associated with hospitals, and this one was over 100 years old – literally a place of death. Framed pictures of their grandkids and pictures of the younger version of their family graced the windowsills. Little touches from home softened the feel of the room. Bruce was weak but sitting up in his bed, Ann sitting by his bedside. The four of us shared his favorite soup and we ate together with thankfulness. Afterwards we shared the bread and wine in communion, confessing our sinfulness and need for a Savior and receiving that forgiveness in Christ’s body and blood.
I expected to see him again when I left that day. The following week we were leaving for our annual Thanksgiving trip to Wisconsin and we’d only be gone a week. I recall looking back at him from the doorway though and just taking a moment.
The next week we arrived at my parent’s house and when we got back on wifi, Wayne’s phone blew up with messages. Bruce had passed away. We cut our holiday short and drove back to prepare for his funeral. We were devastated not be there for Ann in those early days but we knew that God knew all things and He was providing for her.
The choir that Bruce had been a part of sang our hearts out for his funeral. The message of that service was clear: He was now a Saint Triumphant!! While the rest of us are still in the Church Militant, we fight and move forward knowing that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is un- seen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17,18.
We will see Bruce again. I can’t wait for you to meet him!
Sweet Ann continues to fight and run the race. Would you please say a prayer for her too? Not long ago, we were shocked to hear the news that their daughter had died of a drug overdose while celebrating her 40th birthday. Ann was moved into an assisted living home. She sees her new “tablemate”, who is suffering from the early stages of dementia, as someone to help and care for with God’s help. She continues to remind her grieving grandchildren that Jesus is always there for them. Finally she confesses how blessed she is to have Jesus in her life. She knows she’s written in the Book of Life through her bap- tism and is comforted knowing the Holy Spirit entered her life then and continues to guide her. In Ann’s own words, “Thank God for Jesus - I do not have to worry!”

Word on the Street

They say it's fall but I've needed some convincing. Due to the lack of cooler outdoor temperatures and changing leaf colors, I've had to rely on the calendar to steer me in the right direction. I'm used to fall looking like this:

So when I saw an advertisement for a local pumpkin patch with pick your own pumpkins, I got really excited and thought it would be this:

You know, a "pumpkin patch" where pumpkins grow and you "pick your own".  Instead we got something a little different:

This doesn't show it well but it was literally a field with pumpkins sitting around. To be fair, it was really cute! But pumpkins don't grow well in these parts so they shipped them in from west Texas and plopped them down on the ground. A pumpkin patch. Pick your own. 

Bless.

In true local fashion, there was a sign warning you to watch your step for fire ants.

Fall also means county fair season! Our homeschool group had a tour of the barns for education day. 

Fall also means lots of town festivals and reasons to have parades, car shows, food trucks, and ferris wheels. Zanna and I went to Pittsburg Pioneer Days. It was hotter 'n hades but we put some sunscreen on and checked it out. 

Golden Chick was representing. Will worked there a bit over the summer. Southerns have a special place in their heart for chicken. You can't go far without running into a chicken place (or a donut shop which I just don't understand) Golden Chick is one of the best. 

Upon entering the main street activity and booths set up for various MLA companies, clothing and jewelry racks, and the like, there was also a political presence I found amusing. 

Right away we saw the Libertarian booth manned by a man and a woman with yellow t-shirts that said something about something I didn't get. Which might be why only one person was talking to them and looked confused.

Next there was the blue Democrat booth with two people manning that one and no one talking to them. That could be due to the sign they had posted about "making Texas blue again". Them is fighting words. 

Meanwhile things were happening across the street where the real party was - the Republicans. They took up three booths and were handing out bottled water while calling out to "keep American great in 2020". Six people manned this booth while selling t-shirts and hats. A giant cut out of the orange man himself stood guard and quietly approved.  

But the real entertainment was just starting as we were leaving. They were busy setting up this contraption in the middle of the street - 

                                      


This, dear reader, is the makings of Chicken Bingo. The premise is this: you put five dollars down on the number of your choosing. Once all bets are in, they release a chicken into the fenced square and onto the cardboard game floor marked with small boxes of numbers. If the chicken poops on your number, you keep your five dollars!! If not, you loose your money but you just witnessed possibly the funniest thing ever. 

You couldn't make this stuff up, seriously.

Our last experience we had while we were leaving the festivities was the Elvis impersonator shaking his groove thang on the stage. I'd say he was aiming to be Elvis circa early 70's as the weight was a bit heavier and the hip movement was slowing down a little. But good on the guy! Very entertaining! 

On a larger scale, we're close enough to the big city to also enjoy what Dallas has to offer. Last week we went to the Dallas Arboretum where they were celebrating fall despite the fact that it was over 90 degrees. 

They had shipped in over 90,000 pumpkins and gourds from the panhandle. It was pretty impressive!

Their veggie garden was going strong!

Who knew okra could be purple? 

And that they had such beautiful flowers?

They had the prettiest flowers blooming ...

They also had Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin Patch!!

Word on the street is that it's fall. We're learning it takes a little time  for the weather to catch up to the calendar here. We're still pulling weeds, killing bugs, and watering plants. But we also know the payoff is around the corner and cooler days are coming. And it's really not so bad ... the flowers are still blooming, the sun is still shining, and I'm still wearing sundresses. 

Some day I'll wear pants again. Someday.