Re-Pant, And Thin No More!

We know a lady, a mother of four young children, who recently made two birthday cakes in two days. Of course, there are birthday cakes ... and then there are Birthday Cakes. Well, the two items of which we speak were, in our opinion, of the Birthday Cake variety. Which is to say, they were not simply icing-beglobbed specimens of tasty cake mixes whose aesthetic appeal did not attain to that of the candles with which they were bedecked. Nor were they enticingly beautiful works of decorative artistry promising new worlds of sumptuous flavor, only to leave you wishing you had quietly slipped out the back door after the main course. No, these cakes appeared as though they were Made to Be Looked At, and tasted as though they were Meant to Be Eaten With Relish (that would be the gusto, not the garnish)! They were rich and moist and filled with all sorts of Secret Ingredients and 'chompy chips' and things. You wished you didn't have to cut them up and eat them, but then you were awfully glad that you did. And we were.



Now that we have your attention, ladies and gentlemen, kindly feast your eyes on Exhibit B below in which you will see some of our lady's previous offerings from years past. Although we couldn't find pictures of the dump truck or the farmyard, we think the evidence is sufficiently compelling to establish that this is not merely a moment of weakness but rather a very definite and consistent pattern of behavior which characterizes the lady in question. So you can see what we're up against!




The family requests that, in lieu of sympathy, you simply send a modest donation to your local chapter of Dieters Anonymous. However, if your bowels are moved with such compassion that your giving will simply not be denied, well ... we could use some larger belts.

The Case Of The Missing Lawnmower

So here we are in the country, a couple miles from the nearest little town, a hundred yards or more off the rural road that passes idly by the front pasture. We can see horses and sheep from our large front porch. There is not a suburb in sight. The crime rate is low. That is why we like it here.

I was mowing our lawn this evening with the push mower, a good solid machine of considerable heft. I was tired and thirsty, so I left it beside the front porch while I ran into the house to get a snack and a drink of water and take a little break. I might have been inside for 10 minutes or so, and when I came back outside ... the lawnmower was gone! I did a quick lap around the house to make sure, but no, I knew I had left it in the front by the porch. I ran over to the neighbour's house where the kids were playing to ask them if they had seen it ... no they hadn't. What on earth?!

Then I noticed that Nathan was not among those present. I was suddenly quite sure that I knew WHO had taken my lawnmower (he's forever dragging it out of the garage like a favorite toy), but I still could see no sign of either it or him. As I scanned the yard in vain, my sense of relief was quickly replaced by one of growing alarm as I considered how easily he might have started it rolling down the long, ever-so-gently sloping driveway, following happily in pursuit until it reached the road ... ? But no, that was a little too melodramatic to qualify as an initial theory. There had to be a better explanation.

I don't really know what made me look south to the FAR end of the side pasture - it's not like I really expected to see my lawnmower way out there, having never even been there myself. However, it didn't appear to be anywhere else on the premises, so there I looked. Now, you can't seriously claim to actually recognize someone at such a distance. I mean facial features and such. And yet I knew in an instant that I was looking at Nathan and that he was pushing my lawnmower! Of course, I could tell even at that range that his head didn't reach the handle ... a sight with which I am all too familiar, though in much closer aspect.

I later learned that, according to Nathan in his inimitable eloquence, he had pushed the lawnmower more or less around the perimeter of that field. Given the respective sizes of the field, the lawnmower, and the person involved, this was no small feat. Downright impressive! But as I say, I learned that later. What I saw at the time is what you see in the video clip below (somewhat blurry and bumpy on account of maximum zoom) - a clearly exhausted little boy pushing his beloved lawnmower up the very slight grade of the south pasture heading north. And yes, Daddy just stood there taking his picture and waiting until he had brought it all the way back to whence he had taken it. A lesson learned? We'll see.

Nicest Lawn You Ever Sod

There is no end of yard work to be done around here, as we attempt to convert a formerly scrappy and unkempt weedplot into a kid-friendly dust-inhibiting greenspace. A couple weeks ago we dropped a 'casual' hint to the landlord's wife (guess that would make her the landlady) suggesting that some sod beside the back patio might be a good way to limit the dust being tracked into the house. A few days later she appeared with a pickup full of sod, announcing excitedly that she had got it for only $40! In no time flat we had laid out all 600 square feet of it. For those of you who have never laid sod before, that's a great way to do it ... in no time, and flat. Our next batch was lumpier, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Well that little bit of green made such an improvement on the premises, that we vowed to get us some more if there were any more to be got. And sure enough, not two weeks later, an ad came up on Craigslist for FREE SOD! We spotted the ad when it was only 20 minutes old. A quick phone call to the landlord, who happened to be in the vicinity of said sod, was enough to put us first in line for another pickup load. Unfortunately, the suddenness of this acquisition caught us, so to speak, with our horticultural pants down, and the next patch of ground to be improved upon was not yet prepared. It was also late afternoon when we unloaded the sod, so we simply stacked it beside the nearby garage for easy access the next day.

The next day turned out to be stomach flu day.

So the next next day we began to implement our bigger plans for the parcel using the pictured implement borrowed from JL. Four passes with the tiller, about 50 laps with the harrows, some grunt work with a hand rake, and we were ready for the sod.



Let me tell you, that free sod was worth every penny we paid for it! Obviously cut by a DIY-er who was in a hurry to return his rented contraption before closing time, possibly even while drinking a souped-up java. Anyway, we pieced it together like a yard-sized jig-saw puzzle and in 30 years no one will know the difference. In the meantime, however, we recommend some sturdy ankle boots for hiking aross this particular patch.



Oh yes, and the job always goes considerably more ... um ... quickly when you have good help!

What Kind Of Love Is This?

What kind of love is this that gave itself for me?
I am the guilty one, yet I go free.
What kind of love is this? A love I've never known
I didn't even know His name! What kind of love is this?

What kind of man is this Who died in agony?
He who had done no wrong was crucified for me.
What kind of man is this Who laid aside his throne
That I might know the love of God? What kind of man is this?

By faith I have been saved; it is a gift of God.
He destined me to be His own; such is His love.
No eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard,
Nor has the heart of man conceived what kind of love is this.
What kind of love is this?

- Steve Bell

(Click the music link here or on the left to hear the song.)

Another day in the life...

"From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures..."

(...which is to say, being interpreted...)
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8



Time out for a photo op, then back to what they love best ... playing outside!


Uh oh ... caught in the act! Chalk it up to mischief.


Molly Kay - 9 mos.
(Feet in this photo are not as big as they appear!)