Organic yogurt and berries, vanilla latte, a good morning!

I am in the midst of a wonderful treat this morning. Dustin had a meeting in town this morning. I was going to stay home and make a cake for my confirmation class's last day. But the day got better, instead of staying home, I decided to buy a cake at the grocery store. (Much cuter and better than I would make anyway). I am now at one of the coffee shops in Jamestown. I am working on my confirmation class, drinking a vanilla latte, eating this wonderful organic yogurt with fresh organic berries that are wonderfully fresh and yummy. The day is starting well.
Dustin is down the street finding out the fate of his possible job. I don't even think he knows if he wants it anymore. The whole situation feels rather icky to me. Offering it to him and then taking in other options. The owner is going to do what he thinks is best for the company, I just wish he would have looked at all his options before he offered the job so he didn't have to backpeddle. It would have made this all easier. Whatever happens, happens.
After my hospital visit yesterday, I had fun shopping in Fargo. I picked up some things at Lowes and then went around their garden stuff. I am excited to get in my garden this year.
I bought a new digital camera. I think it will be nice to carry in my purse. Dustin's camera is pretty big, from when he was doing photography professionally. The one I got will be a little more practical.
I also found a great new yarn shop on Broadway and while I said I was only going to look and now buy, I walked out with three patterns and 7 skeins of yarn. I think I showed tremendous restraint.
My new spinning wheel is currently still, I need to get more roving. I am planning on getting sheep this year or next spring, so that should eventually make the search for roving a bit easier. I also may like angora goats. I can't decide. Sheep are more affordable so that may be the way to go.
There's the news from Lake Wobe... wait, that's not right. There's the boring news from me...

Tuesday! My Monday

I was super farmer yesterday and even talked Dustin into teaching me how to weld, I don't know why I would like to learn this, but I would love to be able to weld some metal scraps together and make a nice little fence for my flower garden that I'm putting together.
I'm off to Fargo now, I have a hospital visit to make.
Dustin is having a bad day. I don't blame him. He was given a career opportunity at the ambulance that wouldn't interfere with farming. It was a great opportunity for us as far as income as well and advancing the farm. This morning, Dustin found out that a coworker recommended to management another alternative and now Dustin is left hanging on what the future will be. he's at the other farm today working on equipment.
So, I hope he finds out soon so we can move forward with all the information

Husbands are stupid!

I realize that statement was not very nice and Dustin is not stupid all the time, but sometimes...
I am at work. Go figure, it's a Friday, bulletins to run off, church calendar for May to get finished. (I am a one woman show on the church office work as well as pastoral duties.)
My brakes are also getting fixed. They needed to be ordered from the last post, so only my oil change was done.
Now, I told him that I would be home after my car was finished or at least that was my plan. Get the office stuff done. Finish up my Sunday sermon. Etc. Etc.
The morning did not go at planned. I locked us out of the house, Dustin had to crawl through the window.
It's freezing cold out, so there is really nothing he can work on without freezing his butt off outside.
Dustin is crabby. Very.
He just called with his wonderfully sunny disposition. Wondering when I would be home. My car is not done. (He grumbled) I'm not done with the calendar (he grumbled)
I have a question. WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO GO HOME TO THAT!
Other than locking us out of the house this morning, I am at no way at fault for the weather or the speed of my mechanic and why would I want to go home to a crabby husband when I can be in my nice, cheery office enjoying my day, email, and not a crabby husband in sight. Hmmm, you make the call.

Sometimes it's the little things (or why my mechanic rocks!)

Now, I am completely capable of walking the block from the church to the corner service station and picking up my car. But, I just looked outside and there sits the Toyota. My mechanic brought it down for me.
It's a little chilly today, so I am very thankful. My vehicle needed an oil change and a brake job. I brought it in this morning and said to call when it was ready.
I think my mechanic is awesome. He and his wife joined my church about two years ago. They got married at about the same time. He's been my mechanic for 6 years. Not only does he do a great job fixing cars, but he is a mean cook and I have enjoyed many a meal at their house. They are some of the only people in town my age, so I am glad I have had the chance to hang out with them from time to time. He also makes a peach kuchen bar that is so good that you can't just eat one. Trust me, I have tried and failed again and again.
My confirmation students come in about 25 minutes. This is our second to the last class. I don't have them come in May. They are so stir crazy that I have found it easier to plan the schedule so we can be done at the end of April. We will be short some stuff because I had to cancel a few classes, but it's not a huge deal.
I am working hard at getting ahead on hymns and worship planning so I can take some vacation days in the weeks ahead. I won't be taking off Sunday's, but I need a couple extra days off each week until we are done with seeding. I am going to learn how to drive the corn planter. I'm kind of excited about this, don't tell Dustin.
We bought an EZ steer, so I will be able to go straight. How can I not go straight, the tractor will be driving itself with GPS and I only have to turn it around at the ends. I'm really excited to see if it will be saving us the chemical, seed, and fertilizer we think it will. I will be able to map the field and then when Dustin comes back to spray it, he can bring up the field that I mapped when I planted it and it should follow the same path and keep us from overlapping spray and keep it in the tires in the rows. It should be cool. We went and picked up the new corn planter on Monday and will have to do one more day of work on it and then we can use it. It's kind of exciting. We'll plant corn with the planter and beans too, which means we can plant beans using the airseeder and planter both and we should be able to get quite a bit done.
It is Natural Resource Conservation Week this week. So, we will start Sunday with a litany that is written for the Sunday. The next week, farmers and gardeners are invited to bring seed to church and we will have a blessing of the seeds and the upcoming growing season. It is a special Sunday for our farmers.
I hear the kids coming it. Better go

Sad day. Why?

I got an email today from a friend from seminary with news about another friend from seminary. My friend Amy's husband Jon passed away. He was 36. He was in good health, it seems he had a mild heart condition that they never knew about and his heart stopped in the night. They hadn't been married two years yet. They have a one year old son, Joseph.
I was told that Amy is okay or as well as could be expected. I wish I could go to the funeral in WI, but I don't think I can make the drive. I also know that the hard part won't be until after the funeral on Thursday and everyone leaves. My plan is to go then, at least that is what plan for now.
Please pray for Amy and Joseph and their family.
I have been asking why about so many things lately. I'm not usually a "why does this happen?" person. But lately. "Why" is my only question.

I'm home. It's Saturday Night, I have no sermon.

I know I am not the first pastor to not have a sermon ready on a Saturday night and I know I won't be the last.
I left after conducting a funeral on Wednesday and went to my mom and dad's. I came home Friday. My cousin's funeral was on Thursday. When I got home Friday I found out that I had a parishioner go back into the hospital and I went and visited today. I'm sure there are some pastors that would do the sermon before the visit, I am not that pastor. I will go see a person first and I think that is usually where I belong.
As I was on my way home, I saw fire from a distance, someone burning I CRP field I'm sure. I'm sure they didn't get the memo that there is a burning ban on in our county. I have a weird thing when I see a fire in the distance. Until I can know for sure the location of the fire in proximity from my house, I always swear I am going to find that a fire is going to be my house going up in flame. I realize this is paranoid, but unless I'm sure, I'm waiting to come home to my house as a towering inferno. Then I wonder, would anyone call the fire dept. If they did, would the fire dept. be able to get my dogs and cat out?
Also on my home. I am trying to figure out a new house that has gone up. Someone has built a house in the neighboring township. It is supposedly a multi million dollar house, with a multi million dollar horse barn. Now, it is away from the road, but still visible. I can't tell which is the house and which is the barn. In the last couple months, over several trips by, I have changed my mind several times about which is which. They don't really live close enough for me to stop in with a welcome to the neighborhood loaf of bread, but I may anyway. I want to get close enough to figure out which is which. I will be more concerned if while in the yard I can't tell. Either way, from a distance or up close, I fear that the sad truth may be that their horses live in a better house than I do. Maybe they would let us move into a stall?
Well, I really should finish putting together that sermon. Good night.

The week

I don't know what to write today. There's good and bad.
I'm sad about Linda's death, not a huge shock. She was a strong, wonderful woman. My cousin Sara said it best, "Linda is the bravest woman I know." And she was brave, Sara said it all. Linda's son Sean graduates from high school next month.

The good is of a very practical nature. We got our operating loan all squared away, we can farm again! We have a corn planter to pick up this week. Dustin will got do that tomorrow.

I have a funeral tomorrow at church for a 95 year old lady. She was awesome, she had raised chickens in her younger years and loved to talk about mine. She was a gifted letter writer and wrote the most beautiful letters. She lost most of her sight a year and a half ago, that broke her heart. We had a wonderful visit the week before she passed away. I'm thankful for that.

Tonight we get to have dinner at our friends' Kent and Sue's house, so that will be family fun.
So, up and down. Life...Up and Down