Neighbors

Photo by Dương Nhân from Pexels

2 weeks around the farmhouse

• Family pictures
  • I am so excited to see our final photos - especially the ones of our impromptu dance party
• Toddler activities for a loooong weekend
  • We watched the boys to give our daughter and son-in-law time off.  It's no wonder we have our children when we are in our twenties and thirties....
• Sod cutting for a new fence
  • The Boss is building a fence around the Farmhouse
• Weed block, compost & gravel
  • Finally getting the raised garden beds ready for plants -- I've been just a bit behind
• Walk in the park with a friend
  
• Quilting Bee with a few friends
  • A new experience for me - it's addictive
• New slow cooker recipe from Delish!
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Roses & peonies
  • A Memorial Day bouquet to honor family who served in the military

Quote for the week(s)

Never wrestle with pigs.
You both get dirty and the pig likes it.

George Bernard Shaw

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That George -- he's so witty. But accurate.

It's time to take a break from social media -- too tempting to get into wrestling matches which leave me feeling frustrated, uncertain, angry or just plain sad. 

Lately, I have not shared my better nature and could easily become piggish, liking the mud.

I am profoundly thankful for my life, my family and friends, and God's providence. Digital wrestling keeps me focused on the mud rather than on the goodness in my life. And I suspect God would remind me that my digital friends are my NEIGHBORS deserving of the same love and care extended to those neighbors who walk past my corner of the world.

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Dear Farmhouse Diary,

It's been two Fridays since the last Farmhouse diary update! Again, lots of family and friend time -- wearing masks and giving them away! Sitting with friends for a quilting bee was a great way to catch up on our lives while helping out. And a walk with a friend I've not seen since last June was a special gift.

Creating a vegetable and fruit garden is about self-sufficiency as well as sharing with others what is grown and canned. We are working hard here to put the infra-structure in place for a bountiful garden and I've decided to think all this effort is what we would do if we had just purchased the house. Now is a great time to catch up on all those projects we did not have time to tackle before my retirement and Covid-19 social distancing.

While working away one morning this week, a number of families with little children, as well as teens by themselves, walked or rode their bicycles past our corner. It was a beautiful morning so it wasn't too odd so many families with little ones were headed to grocery store just a few blocks away -- but they were not headed to the store. Groceries, yes. These dear families and young people were picking up a weekend's worth of meals from the school district's summer food site at the church across from our home.  My heart broke.

Our garden is about so much  more than providing for just our family. It is about sharing, but also about building community with my neighbors --  and as life allows, letting them know someone sees their difficulties and will stand alongside them.