Backyard delicacies...

For several weeks now I have been watching and waiting and today I finally decided it was time...

So out I went into the back yard to harvest some wild onions!

I like them because they are a gift from God...and just like His other gifts...they are FREE!

I can't wait to clean them up, cut them up and cook them up or store some for later...

What do you find around you???

P.S. We have lots of dandelions too, but I find them too bitter so I leave them for my friends the rabbits and the ground hog...Nice mowing job guys!

The Destruction Before the Construction

See the homes in back?

For years our family has enjoyed our backyard "expansion". Our backyard butts up against what used to be fields. Over the 30 years we have been here the land was on the market numerous times. Once, we were expecting a housing development, then condominiums, and even a cemetery (quiet neighbors!). These expectations never materialized. Either the lack of water, the lack of suitable access or town revolt, kept such plans from coming to fruition.

Bryan & cars (Note Berkshires (across the river) in background.)

Aaron on a hayride.

The fields were always mowed and the growth baled by local farmers (our 'neighbors') to feed their livestock. Then one year the tractors stopped coming and the fields grew. When the Glasco Bazaar was revived for a few years, the tractor came back and plowed a circle for families to go on hay rides.


Gone was the simple dilapidated farm tractor that so valiantly mowed the fields with grace, making way for his partner the baler to come and make beautiful hay bales. The first hay bales were the traditional block type, in later years they yielded to the large round bales. Thankfully we never modernized to the point of having them covered in white plastic, that look hideous and out of place in the natural setting.

Fall 2011

One year the tractor came back to cut a fire break. That was all the activity we had for many years.

So for the past 10 years, the fields have been left to grow and grow and grow.

This year all has changed. The tractor that came back this time it was a shiny green monster that cut not just the over-growth, but the small saplings and trees that came in its path. The first pass of the new tractor made new pathways.

Looking down the power lines toward the river.

Then they came back again and again...until most brush and trees were gone.

Looking south from Cafaldo's backyard.

Access to field on turn on 32.

Then a bulldozer came to remove all that the green monster couldn't chop up.

  
Until, today we have the destruction of the mini forest to get ready for the construction of low income (affordable?) housing.

Northeast edge of our property looking toward river.

Directly behind our house looking toward river.

Looking south from the middlle of upper field.

From field looking toward Cafaldo's shop.

Looking back toward homes (west) from field.

Spying on the bulldozer!

One day we had a view of brush.

The next day most brush was pushed back to edge of the mini forest still left.

Looking from our backyard across Mr. Allen's.

Stay tuned for updates and progress(?)

Now Qualified...

The Village Diner in Saugerties offers Senior Citizen menu options for those 55 and older. A few months ago, I went to dinner there with a friend and she told me to order from that menu. "I'm not 55 yet! I don't turn 55 for two more months!" The waitress overheard and did graciously say the it was okay for me to order from it.

Well as of January 21, I now qualify.

I don't have a problem with getting older... some folks would say, "It's better than the alternative." For me, I plan to leave this physical world someday for the spiritual, to be in the presence of my Creator. So in the grand scheme of things, getting older gets me that much closer to Heaven and I am okay with that.

As a matter of fact, I LOVE birthdays! It is a time I can expect each one of my sons to call, and they did.

I can anticipate dinner out at a place of my choosing, and we did enjoy a delicious meal at Aroma Thyme.

If not on the actual day, I usually hear from some of my siblings. I can ALWAYS count on my sisters to call, but this year within a week, I had heard from EVERY ONE of my four brothers and two sisters! If that's what birthdays bring, I am okay with getting another year older.

But the BEST part of my birthday and by far the best gift I could get is the phone call conversations with my GRANDsons. I cherish these! (Elijah and Asher's message from last year is still on my answering machine.) And while Elijah, now 11, feels it's more an obligation to call, he is willing to cheer me up with a bit of conversation until he can safely hand the phone off to his brother. Asher, at five, can think of nothing better (unless playing a game) than chatting like the grownups with his Grandma Bell for a time.

This year we spoke for over 30 minutes! We eventually had to end only because the batteries on the phones were dying out. We chatted about memories we created, cookies we baked, new toys in his room. He asked what Grandpa was doing and where our kitties were and shared about his cat. As he chats, he is known to walk around and look for more inspiration to keep the conversation going. He amuses me with his big words or his mother's phrases. Occasionally we are interrupted by his walking into the refrigerator or his falling off the chair as he seems to struggle with sitting still while talking. So intrigued by our conversation he stops paying attention to what he is doing and so we have experienced a few moments of silence or tears as he struggles to compose himself. Such joy is shared by two people of such diverse generations, it helps gives some semblance of right priorities in a most chaotic world.

So yes, bring on the birthdays and all that goes with it. Bring on many many more to share with grandsons and family and friends and all. May you all look forward to them as I do.

Anew...2012

Happy New Year! Thus starts the beginning of a new 365 (366?) cycle of our calendar. I love new beginnings. Just as I love spring and the Bible verse that states: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new," I love the chance to start anew...

I hate new year's resolutions, as they have the connotation of being a promise to oneself that is usually broken. So I stopped making new year's resolutions years ago. However these new beginnings do inspire me to try something different or go back to an old standard that I have been drawn away from in the busyness of our world.

On our flight back from a wonderful visit with our two sons in Florida an unusual thing happened. Jim and I were forced to sit in completely different places on the plane, I only had one story to read in the magazine I had brought to occupy my time, I had forgotten my headphones so I couldn't listen to my Ipod, they didn't offer movies or have access to tv or radio on the flight and my other reading materials was buried in our luggage. Therefore, I had nothing to do once I finished my magazine article. So I caught up on some much needed sleep and once that was done I had time to do something I realized I rarely do anymore. I was forced to think.

I did have some time to do this while on vacation as well, so on the plane I easily relaxed and closed my eyes and started to think about what I wanted to accomplish in the year ahead. For as I have learned through the years the old adage is true: "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time."

Earlier in 2011, I did come up with one goal that I started even before the year ended. My first and most important goal is to read my Bible. I do this every year, sometimes more formally than others. As a result, I have read my Bible through at least three times. Twice from Genesis to Revelation and once with a chronological Bible. This year my goal is different. I want to read the four gospels and then the new testament over and over until I become so familiar with Jesus' teachings and Paul's letters that I hope to be able to recall, at will, their applications for life. This also being the year of 2012 and many doomsday predictions, I plan to read Revelation and the prophetic books of the old testament to be prepared to share with those that haven't taken the time to find out how the Bible relates to us today.

My next goal is to do something to show appreciation for my husband and sons.

Next on the list is to try to communicate more often with my two grandsons and daughters-in-law.

In the same line, I hope to communicate more with the rest of my family and not just the few who keep in touch with me.

Of course learning more on how to maintain a healthier lifestyle and sharing some tips with others will continue to be an important goal.

Some fun goals I have had in the past and will continue, are finding ways to get better organized and finding ways to make money that contribute not only financially but possibly in healthy or other ways as well.

My desire is to learn more of the Lord's love for me and share that with others through my daily life choices and how I handle situations. More living than preaching, more giving than taking, more purging than stockpiling, and more freedom and less confinement.

I plan to read the books on my bookshelves and clear out items that I have collected that no longer serve any purpose in my life. Both are things I have tried to achieve each year, but always seem to need to revisit more often than I currently do.

So here's to a new year -- 2012 anew... and running the race set before me.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."                                                                                 Hebrews 12:1-2

The Ultimate Ninja Birthday Party...

Bryan (the Dad) giving instruction as only a true Ninja can do.

A brood of Ninjas!

It was one eleven-year-old boy's dream to have a Ninja party for his birthday. Lucky for him his mom -- and especially his dad -- were only too happy to give it to him. Thus started a collaboration of relatives from Georgia to New York to see a boy's dream come to fruition.

First, there were calls, instant messages and emails back and forth to decipher what exactly should be included. What should be on the menu. What games could kids with a wide range in ages play?

Party boy getting some refreshment.

The 'Sushi'

As the birthday boy's celebration day fell during the annual visit to the grandparents, it had to be decided where it would be held. With construction still underway in the Bell home, Grandma Jollie was asked to host. The Jollie household always made for an instant party with the usual brood of children that live there. Then came the pooling of items to make this as 'Ninja' as possible.

Food, of course, had to be the choice of the guest of honor. Sushi? Shushi? This family loves sushi but not all guests would. However Elijah's mom found the perfect alternative -- candy sushi! Other alternatives and input resulted in the menu of Pizza (easiest on all the planners), sushi candy (to double as a craft), and Ninja cupcakes (it was hard to not make them look like mummies, lol).

The real sushi was handled in a dinner out with other adults on another day.

Other fun accents included, black table cloths, red plates, 'sushi' condiments of soy sauce & wasabi (green icing and chocolate), chopsticks, origami, and red takeout boxes for each participant to take home his/her goodies in.

Homemade Pinata

But the highlight was the life-size Ninja pinata home-made by Elijah's dad.  That, along with masks for all participants, made this party a hit.



Hide and seek Ninja-style and opening of gifts only added to the fun and celebratory atmosphere.

I am not sure if anyone counted how many guests were in attendance. As some came others left and there was a constant flow of new faces to join the party. We planned on 15 kids and ran short...at least 10 parents also attended and the kids ranges in age from a few months to 18 years.

A warm gift from the Jollies.

EVERYONE enjoyed the party.

The little Ninja scribe (aka Asher)

Everyone seemed to have a great time, especially one very special eleven-year-old (and maybe his dad).

Thank you Mallory...

...who proves girls like to Ninjas too!

When asked by his grandmothers' if this was his best birthday party, Elijah answered, "So far!" As this was only the second party with extended family and friends he has ever had, he is now waiting to see if any can top this one!  

Kudos to his Mom and Dad who went over the top to make an eleven year old boy's dream of a Ninja Party come alive! 
 

Guess Bryan's work was done...as he appears to be texting here.

And so ends a wonderful day of fun with family and friends who wanted to make Elijah Bell's 11th birthday celebration a memory maker!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NINJA ELIJAH!

Autumn leaves.....

Things are a bit backwards this year...today we raked leaves...a LOT of leaves. Leaves that came down AFTER our first heavy snow last month.

Jim started yesterday with the front yard and it looked so nice to see a 'clean' green lawn, that I started on the back, then Jim came out to help....




I had to capture what looked like a MASSACRE of my bushes.

Sequel to Day of the Triffids???

I quickly grabbed my camera and ran to the side of the house where I could still hear the snip, snip, snip of the shears...  I wanted to snap photos of my burning bushes before they were disseminated...

Can  you see Jim Scissorhands hiding there???

Phew! He decided to leave the burning bushes to my skillful trimming.
 
As I slowly went back to my raking, I caught a glimpse of a sign of hope tucked away in our beautiful maple that lost quite a few limbs in the last snowstorm. (In October!!!)

A seedling sprouting in the moss on the tree in what appears to be a heart in the bark!

Hate to say that little sprout won't make through the winter, but it was interesting to see new growth in the midst of all the dying leaves and plants around the yard.

Amazing too, that the grass is still green! It's November! We have already had two killing frosts and heavy snow!

How come we didn't have leaves when we had kids to jump in them? Not to mention rake them. One son was a landscaper for Pete's sake and took away other people's leaves...we could have used him today or at least his power blower!



Too bad there's no little Bell boys to jump in those piles...

By nightfall the leaves were gone and these two country folk were heading in for dinner and to soak their sore muscles in an effort to fend off the rigor mortis that was trying to creep in...









Note to viewer: Yes those are snow shovels leaning against the house. We had snow in October!!! Heavy, wet, snow that brought down tree limbs and caused power outages for days all around us. Just 30 minutes from us, people got 12"!!!

Then two weeks later....we are raking the leaves that finally came down.

A Halloween to Remember

Asher trying out the new wig.

This year with Bryan's family visiting, we went to Aunt Lynn's house in Kingston to experience a REAL Halloween. She gets over a hundred kids, where the folks in the mountains of Georgia and here in Glasco get zero.

First things first...the pumpkin carving. Actually this followed the decorating of the front porch...as we were pressed for time with the kids expected at 4 p.m. The first photo depicts Elijah's reaction after reaching into a pumpkin that was out in subfreezing temperatures over night.

Bryan puts a few finishing touches on the porch...
















Elijah's masterpiece.                  

Witch Barbie Pumpkin? Really?

A neighbor's attempt at making the best of it...

The neighbor's pumpkin didn't exactly fit into our theme...

   But Aunt Lynn's creative hand did.

 The apprentice Grim Reaper awaiting the arrival of his victims...

In search of his master/trainer/father...

(yes, that is snow on the ground! from our Octsnowber storm.)

The Master sneaks up behind his young student.

The rest of the motley crew...

 

 Awaiting our first guests...

the Grim Reaper Greeters...

 Soon the big kitties arrive...

Later after darkness fell and 157 kids had been treated and teased

...it was Elijah's turn to trick or treat (his first time!).