D. Martin Lloyd-Jones says that, "What makes this universe a cosmos, rather than a chaos, is that the Lord Jesus Christ is holding it all together."

Romans: Exposition of Chapter 10 Saving Faith

I guess I can trust Him with my little corner of the world today.

The other day, I was talking with my friend Yogi, and she mentioned High-Five!
She had played it with her family.  That is only the second family I ever met,
besides our own, that played that game.  I don't think she has played in a long
time, and her family doesn't have the passion for it that our does...but still!
First Drew and Paula Smith, our neighbors for a while, played it, and now
Yogi knows it.

I think maybe it is just a Fernnook Game.  I mean originally.  Now it is played
from Montana to Pennsylvania, but it all started here in little ole' Fernnook.  Or
at least I like to think so.

Kid Vignettes:

The other day I cooked bacon and pancakes for breakfast for Colyn, Peeta,
and Judah.  After eating, Peeta asked if he could have another piece of bacon.
He grabbed one off the plate and held it upright in his little fist.  Judah ran to
him and swiped the bacon, breaking it off where it protruded from Peeta's fist,
and stuffed it into his own mouth before Peeta had any idea what was happening.

He stood there with the most dumbfounded look on his face.  I am not sure he
really ever knew where that bacon disappeared to.

For as long as she has been able to talk, Elsie has wanted her ears pierced.  Finally
her daddy told her she could when she turned 6.  Well, 6 just came a week or so
ago, and as promised, the ears are pierced.  This is the picture she wanted her
cousin Kathleen to see to prove she had done it.

An interesting conversation happened recently between those two cousins as they
were jumping on the trampoline.  I was near enough to overhear it, and must say,
I went away chuckling.

(Not absolutely word for word...but close)
Kathleen:  I am going to be an eye doctor when I grow up and work in my eye
doctor's office.  Do you want to be an eye doctor when you grow up and work
with me in my office?

Elsie:  Oh, yes! (Don't think she's ever been to an eye doctor.)

Kathleen: Are you going to get married?...Because I am never going to get married.
Being married is icky.

Around that same time the girls were in the climbing tree and one of them yelled at me,
"Grandma, we decided to let the boys be in our gang.  Now it is not just us girls, the
boys can be in it too."

Now that's a much friendlier arrangement, don't you think?  It keeps Colyn, especially,
from being left out.

Bill called the other day to talk with Kent.  As they were chatting, Kent heard the phone
beep and knew someone was trying to get through.  He put Bill on hold and toggled
to the other caller.  It was Opal!  She was calling on her mom's cell while Bill was
on the landline.  Now that 'twas funny!  She wanted to talk to Grandma.  So, I
called her back after Kent and Bill finished their conversation.

Welcome to the world, Andrew Nashon.  This little guy is 9 days old and I have
not seen him in person yet.  He was whisked up to Children's Hospital in the
Big City due to a blockage in his intestines.  The blockage was due to him
being born with Cystic Fibrosis.  I look so forward to getting him home and
to kissing those adorable cheeks.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  Psalm 139:13,14

Are we all sad?  Yes, we are.  But, why should we not face with confidence the
providence that God has set before us?  Andrew's CF was no surprise to God, and
he is a precious gift to us all.

Grandma Joan and I have been tag-teaming in watching Andrew's siblings.  She
has been doing most of the watching, and Debby and I have been doing most
of the cooking.  However, when she goes to the store and I keep the kids, I say,
"Take your time!"  And she does.  Then afterward she says, "That was lovely!"

We traveled with Peter and Judah to Natalie's brother's wedding last week.
We volunteered to take the boys so that Natalie could stretch her poor legs
out in the back of the van.  It was a lovely wedding, but some funny things
happened along the way.

Peter, on the drive down, kept saying, "I don't see Georgia, I just don't see
Georgia."  We kept assuring him that, indeed, we were headed to Georgia
and would be there soon.  When we finally got to the airbnb place that we
had booked, he got out of the car and said with great distress in his voice,
"This ISN'T Georgia!"

That was when we realized that Grandma Joan and Grandpa Peter's house is
Georgia in that boy's mind.  Of course it is.  Every time they get in the van
and head to Georgia they go straight to the Gagliardi's house.

Peter also told me several times while they were with us that, "I do not like
pertatoes Grandma."

Judah just said over and over, "Go, go, go, go, et's go!"

But, I have to tell a funny on myself also.  When we sat down at the reception, we
were across from Natalie's uncle and his girlfriend, whom we had never met.  They
were lovely people.  We were just getting acquainted when I reached for my cup of
water and took a large swig of Italian dressing instead.  The dressing was in the same
type of cup as the drinks.  My eyes popped wide open, and I quickly set down the
cup of dressing.  Mike (the uncle) out of embarrassment for me picked it up and placed
it in front of his girlfriend, Jennifer.  She obviously didn't want anything to do with it,
after I had taken a swig from it, so she just shoved it aside.  Then we all chuckled and
settled down to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Apparently Papa taught my brother a secret language that he failed to
teach me.  Maybe Becky remembers it...but I sure don't.  Chinese pig-latin
I know, but not this one.  I am not sure what he called it, but I will call it
One-Up.

The premise is that you take any homonym of a number (when it is used
naturally in a sentence) and you one-up it.

Example:  I went three the store five apples and milk.
So..."three" replaces the word "to" and "five" replaces "for".

Jennifer caught on quite quickly and said, "I've got it...we put eleven on the
roof."  To which Mike replied, "I did three."

No wonder others think us a tad bit odd.

This past week we had 16 of Papa's 19 great-grandies together in Fernnook.
It was wild, loud, and lots of fun.  Coach, the oldest, is 7, and the rest range
down from that to the 4 newest additions, all of which were added since April.

We birthday partied (Papa and Becky) and creeked.  We cooked and ate loads
of food (Stacey's Mexican Caviar was such a hit that it was called back for
an encore).  And we just hung out...and that was probably the best of all.

Above are some of the kids hanging out in the toy room.  Gracie and Opal
were also in the room, but were out of camera range.  These 8 oldest played
for a long time with legos and blocks.

We also all learned a new game that Coach taught us.  It is called Animal Tag,
and I am not sure anyone really understands it, not even Coach.  But it made
for a lot of running around and strange animal-like behavior on the part of
the kids (and adults).  One of my special skills was "camouflage".  It was pretty
cool, because whenever I got tired of running, I just threw out my arms and said,
"camouflage", and the person chasing me would turn and run the other way.
Pretty good defense for an old lady who isn't used to running.

It was 7 am this morning, I was still in my jammies and the phone rang. 

Laurie, "Hello, neighbor, how are you?"

Neighbor, "Well, I am doing better than you are this morning, because I have
cows today and you don't."

I was a wee bit slow, but then, bingo I got it.  Our cows were at their house.

Kent took off at a quick walk.  I, meanwhile, had to dress first.  One may
chase cows in their jammies in the privacy of their backyard, but not in the
public arena of their neighbor's backyard.

By the time I was dressed and had fast-walked down the road and down the lane,
both Kent and the cows were gone.  In my defense, I have very short legs.  I have
to...they match my short body.

So, I turned around and fast-walked back to the house.  Kent and the cows were
already there, having taken a path through the neighbor's property to the gravel.

It really went fairly smoothly.  The little calf that we were afraid was still missing
was still in her original field.  So we soon had everyone lined up and back in place.

The problem is that it is so dry, there is no grass left for the cows to eat in the fields.

They were just trying to see if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Can you  blame them?

Funny how people remember the same thing completely differently.

Mike:  I like my okra the way G'ma Opal used to make it.  Battered and deepfried.

Uncle Jim:  I like my okra the way Mom used to make it.  Stewed with
tomatoes, and with a little hot pepper added.  Yum!

Laurie:  I like my okra the way G'ma Opal used to make it.  Pan fried with
cornmeal, flour, salt, and pepper.  (Though I don't turn up my nose at okra
any old way it's cooked.)

From Uncle Jimmy:

FERNNOOK NEWS July 23, 2018

Volume 1, Issue 1

News not found elsewhere

This was told to me by my mother and is her best recollection of the events of July 22nd and 23rd of 1930.

Following is some information that helps put into perspective the situation at that time.

Art and Iva Crow were neighbors who lived about a mile from the old Simon home place.
Art was 37 and Iva was 21 that year. Iva had her own baby Mildred who was less than three years old.

John and Hattie Simon had been married 48 years and were 76 and 56 years old respectively.
Opal’s brother Paul was 27 and John was 21 and Opal's sister
Hazel children were living with John and Hattie. Gilbert was 6 and Helen was 4
John J. Simon would have less than two years left to live in July 1930 and Hattie would live for 18 and 1/2 more years.

A story as told to Jimmy L. Fleetwood by Opal Fleetwood in 2002

How Bob lost his Petey but found a name.

It was a very hot and dry summer that year, the corn had twisted and withered in the field.
Art Crow, a neighbor, had been sent for to help cut and shock the corn so there would be some fodder for the animals. The day before, July 22nd had been a hot and hazy day. Paul and John Simon had been in the hay fields along with Marion Fleetwood their brother-in-law. They were preparing to put hay into the barn.
Inside the house, Opal was getting ready to give birth to her first child. Opal’s Mother, Hattie was there to comfort her daughter as she experienced the pangs of childbirth. As the day wore on and evening came, Opal’s brother Paul was sent to Doniphan to fetch Dr. Carter Proctor. Paul and the doctor got back just as it was getting dark. The old Model T truck rattled and sputtered its way down the dirt road that stopped in front of the house. The doctor went into the bedroom where Opal was waiting. He examined her quickly and then gave her two capsules from his bag.
He then made his way out onto the porch where a bed had been prepared for him and tried to get some rest. The drugs soon took effect on Opal and she went to sleep. As the night wore on, the doctor sleeping on the porch and Opal dozing fitfully in her bed, the time was quickly approaching for the baby to come. Opal awakened with a start at 2 A.M. She knew the time was close. The pain was intense, sweeping in waves over her body. Hattie roused the doctor from his sleep. Opal fought with the doctor as he applied chloroform. She fought to stay awake. She hated the smell and the way it made her feel but the drug won the battle and when she awakened there was a new baby boy in the world. He was born about 8 A.M. that 23rd day of July 1930. He had big blue eyes and lots of dark brown hair. When Opal awoke her new son’s hair had already been combed maybe by Iva Crow or his Grandma Hattie.
He was a healthy baby boy about 8 lbs 4 ounces and 19 inches long. Paul Marion Fleetwood that’s what he was named. He was named for his Uncle Paul Simon and for his father Marion. It was his Aunt Jewel who gave him the name that we know him by today. She called him “Petey Bob”. Somewhere along the way, the “Petey” was dropped and he became known simply as Bob. His father Marion once explained to a merchant in Naylor when she inquired about his name, “We just cut off the Petey and called him Bob”. As he grew older and someone would call him Paul, he would say “No! Bobby!!
Grandma Hattie went into the garden and gathered vegetables to make a pot of homemade soup to help Opal feel better. The aroma of the soup simmering on the wood stove was soothing to everyone. Opal ate the soup with great satisfaction. In fact, vegetable soup had never tasted so good. The new mother and baby rested from the ordeal of birth.
It was Wednesday, July 23rd, 1930. There was a new life in Jordan Township, Ripley County Missouri.

I want to wish that baby a Very Happy 88th Birthday.
Happy Birthday, Bobby!!!

Some strange happenings have been going on up and down the gravel,
or at least they have on our little plot of the gravel.

Several months ago, maybe around the time Chappell was born, Kent
and I returned from a trip (probably to help with the grandies in St. Charles.
When Kent went to check on the cows, he stepped out on the porch to put
on his boots...but there were no boots there.  We looked in the house, in
Hattie's room, in the shed, on the carport, but they just weren't anywhere.

We asked the boys (Joel and Tyler) and Hattie, but no, they hadn't used them.

They just walked away, seemingly, into never-never land.

Then we left town again.  I think it was to Arkansas to spend a few days
with Oma and Opa at Horseshoe Bend.  We stopped on the way home, by
the mailbox to check for mail before we turned into the driveway and it
(the mailbox) was all wonky.  It was wobbly and wouldn't close right.

I just put it down to being 25 or so years old and figured it was time to buy
a new one.

Then a few days later in church Debby made a true confession.  She said that
Mike had a long something or other in the back of the truck and he hit our
mailbox with it while driving down the gravel.  Well, now that explained a
lot!  No wonder our box was wobbly and wonky.  Anyway it was old, I figured
it was time to buy a new one.  But, a few days later, Mike worked on the old
box and now it is unwobbly and unwonky.

A week or two later, Mike mentioned to Kent, during one of our gravel-road
dinners, that he had borrowed Kent's boots at some time or another and still
had them.

AHA!  Another true confession.  And with that, the mystery of the missing
boots was cleared up.  However, cleared up or no, they still haven't showed up.

Today, during Fellowship Dinner at church, 6 year old Paxton, who was sitting
across from me, said, "There's a spider on you."

And, boy howdy, there was one.  It was big and brown with a huge creamy
abdomen.  I am not afraid of spiders, but he (or she) was really quite large.
So, I stood up and shook my top and it fell, but they I couldn't see it.  I
am not afraid of spiders, but I didn't want it crawling around on me unchecked.
So I shook my skirts and got down on the floor and finally found it.  Really,
I am not afraid of spiders, but I did send it to a squishy death.
 

The other morning I went to fairyland.  True, it was a tick-infested
fairyland...but one mustn't complain about such things.  There were
a few friendly spiders there as well, but lucky for them, I like most
spiders.

I got up early, before the break of dawn, and on Pa's borrowed mule, I
drove behind the old barn a ways.  Then I took my trusty flashlight and
other supplies (just in case) and found a tree stand left over from last
year's deer season.

Then I climbed up into the stand and waited.  I waited for the world to
wake up.  It was lovely and loud.  The birds are so loud.  The whipporwills
slowly quieted, but all the rest were waking up.

I was disappointed though because I had hoped to see some critters.  You
know, squirrels, skunks, fox, badgers...anything.  Maybe a porcupine or
armadillo would come wandering by...so I thought.  I waited and waited
and waited.  Then decided it wasn't going to happen and it seemed to
be getting late.

So, I got on the mule and rode the long way back.  I passed the Martins
spot and went up Mike's lane.  When I got home and looked at the clock,
it was just 6:10 in the morning.  I think the critters were still sleeping when
I left fairyland and that is why I didn't see any.

I have enjoyed the spring this year.  Sometimes the lushness of the growth
seems almost wanton.  I saw a dobsonfly the other day.  It was a female.
I didn't know what it was and thought (very briefly) about trying to catch
it to show the grandies.  But it was midnight, and I was tired, so I didn't.
Good thing!  The females, so I learned, can deliver a nasty little nip.  The
males, while much more menacing looking, are harmless.

In case you are wondering, a female dobsonfly is about 2 inches long and
looks like this:

The other day Uncle Jim sent me the following entry from an old blog
of his:

Who would have ever thunk it? Mizzou Tigers 9th in the nation!! 

The hated and despised Colorado 5th down "champs" are next on 

our agenda. The game will not be played at the zou...not good.

First thing Mom said the morning after her birthday party was 

" I had quite a day yesterday" A day unlike most of us will ever 

see in our life here on earth. My daughter in law really outdid 

herself. It was a wonderful party. Lots of family, friends, and 

neighbors were there. Everything was perfect. The old girl held 

up pretty well even though she was a little overwhelmed by all the 

attention. I'm hoping by today that she will have caught up on her 

rest somewhat.

I can only imagine what is like to be starting the 98th year of life.

Well, I can see the light in her kitchen window, it's time to see if she 

is okay.

It's frosty this morning, 37 degrees. It was 36.9 yesterday.

'Nuff said.

This was written Oct 30 2007 in a blog that I started in ’06 and never 

stayed with.

I had forgotten all about writing about this.

It does bring back good memories for me. J

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

This would have been the day after the G'ma Opal's 97th birthday party. 

Mom didn't want to wait until G'ma Opal turned 100.  I remember mom

said, "I might not be there."  And she wouldn't have been.

I cannot believe that mom has been gone for 10 years this August.  G'ma Opal

once told me that she had missed her mother every day of her life since her

mother had died, and I can honestly say the same about my mother.  I miss
G'ma Opal too, so very much.

I watched these two (Kathleen, Colyn) and little Judah today while
Natalie went to the doctor.  Peeta went with her.  He's been a little
clingy lately.

This picture wasn't from today, but was from several months ago, at
the beginning of spring.

Today was sprinkler weather.

They had a busy, imaginative day.

First, Kathleen informed me they were green gum-ball lizards.  These
type of lizards live in gum-ball (sweetgum) trees and eat green gum-
balls and green gum-ball leaves.  They looked more like possums as
they hung upside down from the lowest branches.

Then Colyn was able to climb the 2nd climbing tree all by himself for
the first time.  We have a little climbing tree they have been using for
a few years, but I told them they could begin to climb the maple in the
backyard whenever they could get into it by themselves.  Kathleen has
been able to for some time, but today was Colyn's first.

Then they came inside and played a long time.  They called each other
up from one pretend house to the other.

Colyn--Kathleen would you like to go to the jungle with me?

Kathleen--Sure!

Colyn--Well, I can't leave yet because I forgot to brush my teeth and
there is dirty laundry to fold.

Then, when they went back outside to play in the sprinkler, they were
wallowing in a puddle.  "Grandma, we're wet, gooey frogs.  Do you know
why they are called that?  Because they're wet and gooey."

I forgot to mention in the last Up and Down the Gravel that Uncle Jim broke
his foot last week.  He's off to Pocahontas tomorrow to have it examined
by a bone doctor.  He's hoping to get a boot and not a cast.

Lots and lots of comings and goings these past few weeks in Fernnook.
The Joel Hardings have been down to and back up from Georgia.  The
Bill Fleetwoods have been down to and back up from Fernnook.  The
Mike Fleetwoods have been down to and back up from Florida where
they picked up most of their earthly belongings to prepare for a move-in
date sometime this summer.  The Ken Fleetwoods have been up to and back
down from Fernnook.  And the Jim Hardings have been down to Fernnook
and are now on a vacation down to Arkansas.  Kent has gone with them,
and I plan to join them in a few days with 3 of the granddies.

Kent, Bill, Elsie, Opal, and Wilbur went fishing one of the mornings while
they were here.  Opal reported that Wilbur caught 3 fish and that, between
her and Elsie, they caught 3 more.

We spent lots of evenings in the last couple of weeks sitting on the deck at
The Big House and singing along with Alexa to almost every genre of music
that exists.  The highlight was the Ga-Nomes singing Mockingbird Hill.  Well,
that and Tandy dancing to Tutti-Frutti.  She LOVES that song!

While we were cooking, eating, and singing (and working betimes), even more
babies were born.  Theodore to Trenten and Anne and then Asher to D. Jay
and Julie.

Adeline was baptized last weekend.  It was a joy to see it!  Soon we will,
Lord willing, get to go to St. Louis for Chappell's baptism.

Mike and Deb got their things unloaded, despite a truck that wouldn't start and
which therefore couldn't get moved into a good spot for unloading.  The repair
man came out after dark to fix it.  Now if only they could get cabinets...then
they could set a move-in date.

How can one express the absolute joy of family and springtime and singing
and worship with a few words?  It's impossible to express, but it is a thrill
to experience.

Between babies, (like Chappell Monroe born to Bill and Stacey) last week,

and Cousin Camp, things have been busy.

Add to that a birthday party for Kent and Natalie and a visit to Jonesboro
for Hattie's grad school orientation, visits with friends, Becky and Derrill
in Doniphan for the weekend, and just regular family things, and life
is full.

Oh, and the plants are growing like crazy.  The peonies are reaching the end
of their furious and marvelous blooming, the irises are beginning to fade,
the lightning bugs are just beginning to be glorious, and the frogs are as
maniacal as they have ever been.

We learned last weekend that Kent's mother, Oma, has a half-sister named
Barbara who is 83 and lives in Chicago.  Oma and her sister are planning on
meeting somewhere in between Chicago and St. Louis in the not-too-distant
future.

Ancestry.com did it again!  Bill posted a picture of Oma's father, Addison, who
deserted Oma and her mother when she was a young child.  Oma never saw him
again.  He then had a daughter (born in St. Louis) by a young teenage girl.  That
daughter was left in an orphanage in Indiana.  Unlike Oma, that daughter did see
her dad from time to time, and her 6 children remember him visiting once a year
and giving each of them a dollar bill and a box of whatever he was selling at the
time.

One of the grandchildren recognized the picture that Bill had posted and she
contacted Bill, and now Kent has a half-aunt and six half-cousins that we never
knew about.

Mike and Deb are headed to Florida in a couple of days to get their furniture.
Fernnook Lodge is not really move-in ready yet, but they are bringing their
things up here anyway.

And, dad's AC went out tonight.  We were all sitting around the deck when it
began to make some very suspicious noises and went a bit beserk.  Dad has
the emergency guys coming soon (hopefully at least).

Kathleen was here the other day and it was hot and she wanted to play outside
in the sprinkler.

K--Grandma, can we play in the sprinkler?

G--No, I don't have extra clothes for you.

K--You could take us to get some clothes.

G--No, I am too busy now.

K--Grandpa could take us to get clothes while you stay  here and work.

G--No, Grandpa is too busy.

K--Hattie could take us to get clothes while you and Grandpa stay here
and work.

G--Kathleen, you sure have a lot of ideas.

K--I have to have a lot of ideas; you keep saying, "No!"

From Fernnook of old.   Uncle Jimmy, the last on the left, sent me
this today.

G'ma Opal and her chicks.  I miss her, truly I do.

Tyler put some oranges out on the hummingbird feeders and we have
been enjoying a host of Northern Orioles.

They really, really like orange slices.

The other day, I was watching Kathleen and Judah.  After they had been with
me for several hours, I changed Judah's diaper.  When I picked up the old
diaper, to throw it out, I found that it was the new one, and the old one was
back on the baby.

So, I took the old one off and put the new one on again.  But then I couldn't
close it up because I had it on backwards.  Sigh.  Four kids, 8 grandbabies,
2 on the way, and I couldn't get a clean diaper on that poor child.  Kathleen said
something along the lines of, "Grandma, I think you need a brain switch."

But, on a brighter note, she was my sous chef for the day.  She did a fine job,
though she didn't really like the feel of the hamburger when we were patting
out the patties.

We took the bull to the butcher.  He has foot problems, and we always have
a problem keeping young heifers away from the bull.  We have a pretty little
heifer that we want to keep, so it seemed like a good time to turn Mr. Bull
into hamburger.

Our hummingbirds are humming along.  I have four feeders and a dozen or
so birds are busily zipping between them.  A few days ago, I spooked an
oriole on one of the feeders.  He quickly flew off and didn't return.  Then
today I received a text from Natalie saying that she had indigo buntings,
orioles, and cardinals on her feeders (some of the birds were on her
seed feeders, but the orioles were on the hummingbird feeders.)  It wasn't
but a couple of minutes and two orioles appeared on our living room feeder.
Their bright orange is astonishing to see up close.  We tried to not make any
sudden moves.  Tyler captured this picture, but the shadows make the stunning
color hard to see.

Adeline Shirley (and her parents) made her first visit to the Farmhouse at
Fernnook today.  We had a lovely time holding and loving on her.  Tyler
planted more of his garden (he has promised me lots of okra this year)
and Jennifer visited inside with us.

I was explaining to Kathleen yesterday that Tyler & Jenn are planning on
moving to behind the old barn someday, and that she could then walk
through two fields and over a (not-yet-built) stile and could then take the
lane back to their house and visit her cousins.

She answered me back, "Wait a minute!  You mean Tyler and Jennifer used
to live in the brown house, and now they live in another house, and then
they are going to move again?  WHY DO THEY KEEP MOVING?"

She just couldn't fathom that.  But I think I explained it adequately to her.

June bugs were hitting the windows tonight.  Whippoorwills are whippering.
The moon is shining brightly.  Lovely, lovely May.

Jim sent me this the other day.  It is Oliver M. Chappell, who
was Toliver Chappell and Mary Mink Chappell's boy.  He was
born in 1872 or 1873 and died at 11 years of age from unknown
causes.  His records were lost in a courthouse fire. 

He was Great-Grandma Hattie's brother.  This picture was from
1880 when he was eight and Grandma Hattie (Happy) was 6.

Peeta looks very much like him!  And I thought Peeta was all
Gagliardi.

Bill decided to turkey hunt this year.  He talked his very pregnant wife
into coming to Fernnook two weekends in a row.  He heard turkey, he
saw turkey, he shot at turkey...but alas, he didn't bag a turkey.

In between the visits, he and Stacey left the kids here.  So counting
the time they were here with mom and dad, and the time they were
here without mom and dad, the kids and their cousins and Kent and
I had a glorious Cousin Camp.

We played and had a sleepover and the kids walked back and forth
through the field to visit each other every day.  That is the new and
very exciting thing that the little'uns do...walk through the field to
Grandpa and Grandma's house, or back to Joel and Natalie's house.

Tyler and Jenn are looking forward to when Adeline can walk through
the field between their (future) house and ours.

Adeline is 4 days old now and just an adorable little person.  She has lots
of hair and it seems to be starting to curl.

On the last day of Cousin Camp, Wilbur and I were spending a little time
together.  We walked to the big pond and then back to the yard to play
on the trampoline.  As we were walking down the driveway, Wilbur
asked why there were meatballs on the driveway.  They were really
gumballs from the sweet gum tree, but on the driveway they get smashed
by the cars, and they really do look like meatballs.  I just never noticed
it before.

Tyler found a lovely little bunch of morels and fried them up for us.  Boy
Howdy!  They are scrumptious.  I have yet to find my first morel ever.  But
now he has a secret spot, and maybe I can go with him next year to find
some for myself.

He also found some false morels which he threatened to eat.  They are poisonous,
but my Missouri Mushroom book says that whole families of Ozarkians grew
up eating them.

I know that is true because my good friend Liz grew up near Warm Springs,
AR and sure 'nuff, her family grew up eating false morels.  Her parents thought
the true morels were the poisonous ones.  You just have to know how to cook
them, I suppose.

No excuses...just very busy and so sleepy!

I'll toss out a few snapshots of what we've been up to here at Fernnook Farm.

First, the kids came running in with this one evening.  I had no idea what it
was, so we put it in a bug cage and watched it for a week or two.  After a few
days it began to wiggle around, if it was disturbed at all.

I researched it, and came to the conclusion that it was a luna moth chrysalis,
and I kept hoping that it wasn't dying.

Then one day, while Kent and I were sitting at the table we heard an odd noise,
and turned around to see that Mr. Moth was emerging.  I tried to get the kids
down before it came all the way out, but that Moth was too fast for me.

Anyway, they did get to see its wings get bigger and stronger.

Here it is fully developed.  Unfortunately one of its wings didn't fill all the way out.
So, I am afraid that it might have become a meal for the cat or a bird.  Luna moths
only live one week after emerging and do not eat or drink during that week.  They
only mate and (if they are female) lay eggs.  One of their preferred trees is sweet
gum and I have a lovely one (under which the chrysalis was found by the kids), so
I will look for more of these next year.

One day Colyn spent the day with me and he wanted to cook bread.  We needed
more Lord's Supper bread at church so we made some.

Colyn enjoyed the whole process, even the kneading.

So did I.

The eight loaves we made for church.

And, the one we kept for supper.

Uncle Jim typed out a couple of recipes for me and brought them to Peeta's
Birthday Party last night.  At the bottom of the recipes he wrote this:

These Recipes were written by Grandma Hattie Chappell Simon, and saved
into her White Ribbon Cookbook.  (Her cookbook is not in as good a shape
as the one pictured above.)

Cottage Pudding
1/2 cup sugar.  1 cup milk
1 pint flour, 2 tablespoons
melted butter.  1 teaspoon
soda.  2 of cream tartar.
2 eggs.  A little salt.
Little ginger or cinnamon.
Bake 1/4 hour in small pan.

Gingerbread
Mix one cup molasses with
one cup sour milk.  Mix and
sift 2 1/3 cups flour, two
teaspoons ginger, 1/2 teaspoon
salt and 1 3/4 teaspoon soda.
combine mixture and add 1/4 cup
melted shortening and beat
vigorously.  Pour into a shallow
pan and bake 25 minutes in a
moderate oven.

I am going to try them when I get a chance.

I also saw one, as we were flipping through the pages in Uncle Jim's
yard, for Burnt Sugar Cake.  Now, I just made a burnt sugar cake last
weekend from a recipe in Tyler's Wooden Spoon Cookbook.  It was
pretty yummy, though Debby said it wasn't exactly like her mother's
recipe.  So, I am hoping to get both her mother's recipe and the one
from Grandma Hattie, make them both , and then I can compare all
three of them to see which is the yummiest of all.

I found William Blake and below is the poem:

To Spring

O thou, with dewy locks, who lookest down
Thro' the clear windows of the morning, turn
Thine angel eyes upon our western isle,
Which in full choir hails thy approach, O Spring!

The hills tell each other, and the list'ning
Valleys hear; all our longing eyes are turned
Up to thy bright pavillions: issue forth,
And let thy holy feet visit our clime.

Come o'er the eastern hills, and let our winds
Kiss thy perfumed garments; let us taste
Thy morn and evening breath; scatter thy pearls
Upon our lovesick land that mourns for thee.

O deck her forth with thy fair fingers; pour
Thy soft kisses on her bosom; and put
Thy golden crown upon her languish'd head,
Whose modest tresses were bound up for thee!


I also found the poem I wrote.

Early Spring

The morning was cold upon my face,
But the promise was there:
The promise of noontime warmth;
The promise of afternoon kissing breezes;
The promise of perfume wafting on the evening air.

We birthday partied with Peeta tonight.  Our sweet guy turned 3 a few
weeks ago, and we are sometimes slow to arrange the celebration.

He wanted macaroni and french fries.  So Natalie made macaroni and
I made jojos.  We also added brisket and roast, stir-fry zucchini and
mushrooms, green beans, cantaloupe, bread, salad, chow-chow, and the
cutest cake.  Natalie baked a chocolate cake with chocolate whipped-
cream icing.  Then she took a toy scoop truck and placed it on top
with a hunk dug out of the cake for effect.

Peeta had no problem blowing out his three candles.  He was so
sweet opening his gifts and so careful to look at his cards and tell
everyone, "Thank you."

Last week I was visiting Uncle Jim and I mentioned that I needed to
get some kitchen chairs.  A few of mine fell apart and needed
to be replaced.  He suggested I take Grandma Opal's chairs.  So today
Kent and I and Uncle Jim went in and got the 4 kitchen chairs.

They needed to be bleached and cleaned and I did that and we used
them at the party tonight.  We also found an old cookbook that belonged
to Grandma Hattie Simon.  She has several old handwritten recipes in
the book.  It is a treasure for sure!  Maybe Uncle Jim will post some
of the recipes on his Facebook page.

So, so busy.  But I had to share this.

One of the mothers at our church texted me this today.

"Jedd keeps talking about his teacher, so I asked him
who his teacher was."

(aside...I am his Bible Class teacher)

"He said, 'That tiny girl. She is this tiny.' And then he showed
me with his fingers how tiny she was."

I knew when I got older I would end up just an oil spot on the
floor.  It has begun!

Also, just so you know, there are violets in bloom.  And, of course,
my second favorite tree, the miniature magnolia that the kids use
as a climbing tree, is in bloom.

And, so are the bradford pears, but they are just boring, copycat
trees, hardly worth remarking about.

I had a poem about spring that I was going to share from a book
of poems by William Blake, but Hattie has been reorganizing the
house with a vengeance.  She has reorganized my book somewhere
that I can't find.  So, that may be a blessing or a curse for you,
depending on your love for poetry.

I also wrote a poem the other day when I was out watering the cows.
It was also about spring.  Well, I didn't write it while I was outside,
but I composed it as I waited for the water containers to fill.  Then,
when I went inside, I wrote it down.  But, it disappeared.  I don't blame
Hattie this time.  I just have no idea where I put it after I wrote it.

The robins are flocking.  In my yard now there are dozens of them.  Yesterday
and today I've also seen red-wing blackbirds, blue jays, and flickers in the front
of my house.  Oh and my cardinals...the ones that so sneakily steal the cat
food from off the deck.  They are very, very careful to check for Debut before they
flit in and out.

Cousin Mary fractured her back in two places last evening.  She had been down
to visit Uncle Jim, and when she got home, she slipped walking up the hill to
her house.  Uncle Jim took her to the ER.  Poor girl!  She is going to hate
sitting around when the garden needs planting.

Last weekend Bill and family were down and we had some exciting times.
It rained all day on Saturday...so the kids were pretty much stuck inside.  By late
afternoon, they were a tad bit stir crazy.  My lovely daughter-in-laws, Natalie
& Stacey were cooking, I was in the computer room texting directions to a
lady, and the guys were all in the living room talking.

The kids, meanwhile, were amusing themselves.  Boy howdy were they amusing
themselves.  They were spinning themselves around on one of the computer
chairs.  We heard a crash and loud cries and went running.  Somehow Peeta
got hit in the forehead and it popped out a foot.  It really did seem like it was
that big of a goose egg.  Natalie and Joel hopped in Joel's truck to try to get to
the ER, but it had been raining so hard that we were totally flooded in.  After
they came back and we re-evaluated, we could tell that he was really fine, just
gargoyle looking.  Poor baby.

Besides that, Papa has had the flu, but what a strange case.  He couldn't stay in
for long.  When Kent had the flu, he couldn't leave the bed for days.  We had a
quiet little birthday party for Tandy and Jim on Friday.  The kids were gone to
Georgia because Natalie's Grandma Gagliardi died and they were down for the
funeral and to visit with their Georgia family.  I really liked Grandma Gagliardi.
She was a home economics teacher and a lovely person.

The down-daffy-dils are up.  What a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day they are.
I have three on my table that the grandkids picked for me yesterday.

Straight from the Mayberry Times (Spoiler alert...it's been quite
some time since I laughed as hard as I did when I first read this.)

From Speak Out:

Yeah, I'd like to know where the county got these boulders they
put on the dad gum roads.  Them boulders are as big as golf balls
and they call them gravel.  That's boulders.  I don't know where
they got them at but man alive that's hard on your car driving on
them rascals.  So, I thank you but I'd like to be able to get smaller
gravel put on these roads instead of big old boulders and I'd like
to see them get the maintainer-man out doing what they're supposed
to do instead of bucking them along, they get washboard-y.  Thank
you and bye.

I am reminded of the time Kent and I visited G'ma Lil in her
apartment.  She told me the MainTainAnce boys were
supposed to come to her place.  I know now she meant the
maintenance guys, but it took me a good half hour after
I left for the light bulb to come on.  I just had no idea who
she was talking about at first.

As seen on Facebook:

Opal: How long does it take to get to America?
Bill: We are in America!  Let's name some other countries. 
             China, Rusia....
Elsie: Texas!
Opal: Chick-fil-a!

Recently I quoted from Augustine on humility, the
following rounds the thought out nicely.

"Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten."
Missionary Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf

I received a text from Natalie the other day.  This is what
she wrote:

"At supper, Joel was talking to Kathleen about using your
imagination.  Then after a pause he said, 'It's men's imaginations
that get them in trouble.  Take Solomon for example, he had a
really big imagination.'"

That's my boy!

I Kings 11
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the
daughter of Pharoah:...Solomon clung to these in love.  He had
700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines.  And his
wives turned away his heart.  For when Solomon was old his wives
turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly
true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

It has been a season of busyness.  It has been a season of sickness.
These two combined have made it a season of bloglessness.

Kent had a bad case of the flu.  (Emily...aka Sparkle Pop has
had her second bad case of the flu, followed by a stomach bug,
and now followed by a secondary bacterial infection.  Poor baby,
she just cannot get well.)  But, Kent's case of the flu meant that
I got to play farmer a bit more than usual.  It was sorta fun to go
out mucking in the mud (and other stuff) while moving the cows
in and out of their hay pen.  It was sorta fun to be the main wood
loader.  But it wasn't fun having a sick husband. 

Papa Bob purchased a wood splitter.  It initially had some issues,
but now is fixed, and he gave Billy and Tyler a demonstration the
other day.  They were most suitably impressed.

We had a birthday party planned for Mike and Bill, but Kent's
flu made us put it off for a week.  It did come off though, complete
with shepherd's pie, cheeseburger in paradise soup, the last of the
frozen peaches from last summer, and German chocolate cake.
Mike and Bill are safely launched now to enjoy another year of
life.

There have been lots of comings and goings in Fernnook over
the past few weeks.  Bill and Stacey and the kids were down for
several days last week.  It was cousinopia. 

One of the days was gloriously warm and sunny...one of those
special 75-80 degree February in Missouri days.  We took advantage
of it by getting the mule and piling the 6 oldest grandkids in it and
going for an adventure ride.  The highlight of the ride is always
going over the log that crosses one of the paths.  The kids love,
just absolutely love, going over that log.  Their second favorite
part is eating marienda in the old barn.

You can see what a great time Wilbur had.  Wilbur's little brother
is coming in May.  Tyler and Jenn's Adeline Shirley is coming in
April.  And...a new little creation by Joel and Natalie is due in
September. 

Somehow, I don't think life will be getting slower and simpler for
us anytime soon.

I got to thinking that maybe the other Fernnookian Home Owners
might be hurt that I didn't give names to all the houses.

After all, I have eaten meals at every relative's house up and down
the gravel.

So, if you have a suggestion for a nickname for your house, toss
it in the pot.

We have already:
The Big House (Papa's house)
The Lodge (Mike & Deb's house)
and
The Farmhouse (that which belongs to me)

Possibilities might be:
The Cabin (future cabin of Derrill & Becky)
The Cat's Meow (Uncle Jim's, soon to be overwhelmed with kittens, house)
   or how about Kitty Corner
Deer Alley (Ken, Ann, & Kenny Jo's home)
Kid Central Zone (Joel & Natalie's)
The End House (Jenny's place...end of the relative houses on the road)
Mary & Rick's Hideaways (belongs to, Mary & Rick, of course)
The New Old Homeplace (Future possible home of Ty and Jenn)

If you have a better idea, I'd love to know it.

Of course, somehow, none of them quite match G'ma Opal's house and
all the memories that we all have of it.  Although, for the next generation,
these other homes may be for them what her home is to us.

It is hard not to enjoy a book that has chapter headings such as:
In which Mr. Pickwick thinks he had better go to Bath, and goes
accordingly.

It is nice to know finally where Mr. Grundy comes from.  You
know, as in, "He is a regular Mr. Grundy."  I knew what it
meant, generally, but never why it was said.  Now I know.

Mr. Pickwick had dropped in for a bit at the Magpie and Stump,
while there he joined in a group of the usual crowd, one of which
was Mr. Grundy. 

There was a pause in the conversation and the chairman of the group
said, "Mr. Grundy's going to oblige the company with a song."

"No he ain't," said Mr. Grundy.

"Why not?" said the chairman.

"Because he can't," said Mr. Grundy.

"You had better say he won't," replied the chairman.

"Well, then, he won't," retorted Mr. Grundy.  Mr. Grundy's positive
refusal to gratify the company occasioned another silence."