Hi All,

I am back, but incidently I have not much to say, so I will just post some photos that I happened by and my new camera (Nikon DSLR) "happened" to be with me. (In my wife's words"New Toy".) For your information the "New Toy" was worth every penny and my relationship with the wife.......... is doing just fine. In the future, I probably won't always mention what camera I took them with, because 75% of the time it doesn't really matter. People take pictures and a good camera just makes it easier.

My favorite swamp.

OK, So it is a bit abstract, but you have admit the lighting was good.

A humble, dead, and rotting stump. You don't have to like this picture if you don't want to.

These guys are aggravating, they won't come around to the other side of the feeder and let me get a full view of them.



An old farm stead that I go by on the way to work. The sunlight was a bit harsh..... Blah......

Is that any better?

Last but not least, I like this one because is means spring is on the way. I can't wait!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

--Clark Graber--

Yes, I am still alive

Well I typed up a post a few weeks, or maybe a month ago, and never posted it. So I've deleted what I had written, except for the title, and we shall see if this epistle gets posted.

I missed most of winter this year due to the 'Egyptian flu'. I decided however, that if I had to pick a season to miss, I would choose winter. And as soon as I got to second trimester, I couldn't believe how much better I felt (I still have my bad days though). I am having fun feeling ambitious again. Sewing, gardening, shopping, house cleaning and organizing, painting (maybe), all that is on my agenda for the summer. And maybe I will squeeze in a little scrap booking. ( My man bought me a Cricut cartridge for my birthday, and I haven't gotten to use it yet. I've heard others are enjoying it though!) Somehow my summer is starting to morph into busyness like it always does, but I like it that way. I am glad I decided not to clean this summer though.

Our snow is mostly gone. Spring came in a hurry this year, although I am sure we are in for more cold weather and maybe even a snowstorm yet! I always love spring, esp. warm windy days like we had the last two days. I had the window open today while I was working on some projects, and the breeze and smell was wonderful! One of these evenings we need to walk down to the river, although it won't be tonight I know. My man won't be home in time. I'm really looking forward to my flower garden, and I'm contemplating planting blueberries, but I haven't decided if I'm brave enough for that or not. I came to the realization that our yard full of poplar trees aren't going to last forever, and maybe we need to start thinking about planting some other kinds as well. I'm also getting the itch to go fishing, although that won't happen for quite a few weeks yet. The lakes still have ice on them!

I cut out a dress today, and please wish me well as I sew it. I have no clue how it's going to turn out. One minute I think it's way too big, and the next I'm sure it's too small. Why can't someone make a nice, decent, easy pattern? I bought one that looks like it would make a very nice tent or something. Sigh! I got some material today that I had ordered, and I like it, so that made me happy. I think I should have other people buy me fabric, I like what they buy me better then I like what I buy me sometimes. Both moms got me a piece or two recently when they had opportunity to be at a fabric place, and while I wouldn't have picked out what they got for me if I had been the one shopping, I really like what they got me. Does that make sense?

Anyway, that's what I can think of for now. Hopefully I can be more regular at updates after this. We shall see I suppose. My man should be home soon, and supper will be ready. We are having meatloaf, potatoes and carrots. He doesn't like cooked carrots, so I get to eat them myself!

March Thaw or Spring Proper?

Greetings,

Coming to you from a foggy, damp, and rainy northern Wisconsin. I am some what reluctant to classify this as spring proper; that probably has to do with my past experience. It always seems that we have this thaw and then suddenly, like a wounded lion, winter hurls one last mighty snow storm. So we shall see. For now we will deal with the side effects of 12" of snow melting and a week of never ceasing rain.

One of the most inconvenient side effects for me, is our drive. Our main parking area turns into a very muddy and watery sort of place. I thought maybe I had planted our car in the midst of it the other day, but with a little more acceleration and gentle rocking it came out. It really wasn't that serious, but the ruts I left would have said other wise. So today I had some spare time and thought maybe if I punctured a hole through the frost it would drain. I think maybe it worked but can't be sure. Imagine a grown man in rubber boots out playing in the mud puddles.

Anyway until next time.

--Clark Graber--

P.S. If this is in fact spring proper, it is just ducky with me!!

QUACK!!

Paths & Life

Hello,
My mind went to how our lives are like roads & paths.

God may give us a glimpse far into the future and give us a reason to travel.

Many corners and turns come on the way.

Making the next bend in the road a mystery.

Maybe even a little cold comes our way.



Do you let rough weather stop you?




Maybe you can't see very far ahead.

I won't leave out the pleasant places!!

Don't forget to bring a map!!

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. "

Proverbs 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. "

Matthew 28:20 "......... and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the World. "

Thanks for reading!!

--Clark Graber--

Just A Few Odds & Ends

Hi folks,

I am about to try and bring life back into a seemingly forgotten blog. I do not have a lot to say. So, without too much ado and pontification on pointless humdrum, I will just post some humble photos that happened to present them selves; and I happened to be there at the same time they were. So now I get to share them with you.

Ok so this one is photo shopped just to bring out the fading red glow of sunlight. No, it is not a mountain, it is just a simple sand pile. I went by the same area again and met up with the next three photos.

Anyway I have been looking for an orange sunlight on snow. That is the closest I have come so far. Two more pictures from last weekend with a brief explanation and I must sign off soon.

The hands are around the handle of a milling machine thingy. Picture was taken at an event our friends put on. Basically it is a display of the colonial times and how they did things. This was the miller of course.

Last but not least. Ethan and I went down to the beach to have a look around. The sunlight was somewhat harsh so I decided to turn this one B&W for the fun of it. Well, I have to go now, seeing that I have others things to do.

Thanks for stopping by!!

--Clark Graber--

2010

Happy New Year Everyone!

"For I know the thoughts I have toward you," says the Lord, "Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a hope and a future." --Jer.29:11

May God bless all of you this year!

PS

Ok, so I don't know how to make blogs post in sequence. You'll have to go to 'Nativity, Live From...' and then read backwards. Grr! Next time I'll have to post 'backwards', and then hopefully it will make more sense! You would think that Blogger would be a little more 'up-to-date' then that! Anyway...

A cute little fellow in front of us. Poor Baby! (Sorry to his parents, it was too cute to resist!)

"Away In a Manger"

All the actors and actresses

The whole group

Several budding musicians accompanied them for a song or two.

Nativity, Live From...

We spent the weekend with my family. The children and youth gave a Christmas program at church Sunday morning. They did really well, especially considering the fact that they only had done one practice. The younger children did a nativity play as several of the youth read the Christmas story. (I normally don't post pictures of people, so consider yourselves fortunate!)

Mary and Joseph

The shepherds

The angels

The wise men

Odds 'n Ends

We are digging out from a minor snowstorm. Supposedly it was a major storm, but the 'major' part was south of us. We only got about 6 in. or so as opposed to the 8 to 12" we were forecast to get. Oh well, we just won't be as snowed in as we were dreaming. Clark is out using the snow blower before dark.

One thing I really enjoy about living in the north woods are the winters here. Somehow they are very 'storybook', with the snow clinging to the pines. We walked down to the bridge this morning, it was very cold and windy, but the walk was worth it anyway.

The first few snow falls always put me in a domestic mood. I undertook to clean my bedroom today. My house attracts spiders big time, and the bedroom was getting very bad. The house chore that I like the least is washing windows, maybe because my windows are a pain to clean. I have 72 window panes in my house, four to a window. And they are trailer house windows, so they have to be dismantled every time I wash them. It's torture on the fingers!

My husband and I were discussing our hobbies this morning; mine is scrapbooking and his is photography. And each of us has on our wish list some things that we would like to have relating to that hobby. However each of us feels out of our depth buying something for the other's hobby. An amusing predicament indeed! Actually I think buying gifts for men is hard, but ladies are very easy, of course. While he thinks the same thing about ladies vs. men! :)

I need to be studying for the ladies monthly Bible study next week. I'm going to do the lesson on Mary the mother of Jesus. So if anyone who reads this is going to be in attendance, that's who you should think about. I've never done anything quite like this before, so it will be a stretching experience. Clark is supposed to be teaching Sunday School this week, so it will be interesting trying to juggle the computer between the two of us. What did people do before there were computers?

Lately I've watched a few movies based on some of Jane Austen's writings. Very interesting. I think those movies are better then the books, mostly because a person doesn't have to wade through the tedious writing. And I've heard that British movies tend to follow the story line more closely then American films. This fall I've also become a fan of L. M. Montgomery's books. She has a lot of real good true to life stuff in them, especially the 'Anne' series. Does anyone have any good ideas for a good book or series to read this winter?

Do you really listen to music when you have it on, or is it just a background noise? I tend to tune it out, especially if it's a mediocre song. If it's really good I listen to it, if it's really bad I turn the radio off. Then my husband comes home and says, "I can't believe some of the stuff you listen to!" And I was tuning it out and not hearing it. People try to figure out what kind of music I like. I don't know that myself. I finally decided my basic requirement is that it has good harmony, and the words have to be enunciated well enough to be understood. As in I can hear what's being sung with out having to pay close attention.

Am I really wicked if I don't send out Christmas cards? I'll send one to each of the grandparents, and I don't really think I'll send any to anyone else. But then I think about what if people don't send letters to me cause I didn't send any to them? So what should I do?

I decided after looking through a 'Taste of Home' cook book last night, that I'm not a gourmet cook. When I go grocery shopping I buy only the most basic ingredients. So I push my cart through the aisles with only a few items in it, mostly dairy and fresh produce. And the people in the checkout line have piles of food. So I'm trying to decide if we eat boring, or if they eat unnecessary food. Cooking isn't one of my first loves, but I don't hate it either. I just feel sometimes like I don't have very much imagination for cooking.

Anyway, I need to go finish putting my bedroom back in place. I have a friend coming to my house to scrapbook tomorrow, so I will get a few things ready for that as well. And I want to look through a few cookbooks and on the Internet, then make a shopping list of what I need to make Christmas cookies. I hope you aren't bored by now!

Clips of Favorite Christmas Songs

A few clips from songs that I'm enjoying the message of this season.

Mary Did You Know?
"Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the Lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM." --Mark Lowry

Hallelujah Chorus

"...The Kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord
And of His Christ
And He shall reign forever and ever
King of kings and Lord of lords...
Hallelujah!" --George F. Handel

In the Bleak Midwinter
"Our God, heaven can not hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak mid-winter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
...What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him: give Him my heart." --Christina Rossetti

Hark The Herald Angels Sing
"...God and sinners reconciled...
...Light and life to all He brings,
Ris'n with healing in His wings;
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth..." --Charles Wesley

Edited to add: So what are your favorites this season?

Thanksgiving

I was looking up the history of Thanksgiving, trying to find Governor Bradford's proclamation of the first Thanksgiving. I did not find the proclamation for the first year, 1621, but I did find the one for two years later. I thought the history was interesting. They had a dry summer that year, and were facing a crop failure. Governor Bradford called the people together for a day of prayer and fasting, and soon after that the rains fell, saving the crops and the settlement. So, after the harvest was gathered that fall, Governor Bradford issued the following proclamation:

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams; and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29'th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

--William Bradford

Ye Governor of Ye Colony

I thought it is interesting to read, especially in light of the last year, with the rocky economy and the H1N1 virus and other things we face in our personal lives. We still have a lot to be thankful for, food, shelter, health, and the freedom the worship God. May we always remember to be thankful.

(I tried to find a few thanksgiving pictures, but didn't have much success)

The Bi- Annual Saga

Every spring, and every fall, I find unwelcome visitors invading my kitchen. One morning I wake up and find their calling cards. Mice. I hate mice. They are dirty and gross. So after I discover they have had a great time romping in my kitchen, I spend that day thoroughly washing and sanitizing every thing in sight. My husband says he can't figure out where they are getting in, as he insulated the underside of our house, and plugged every hole in sight. I'm sure there must be a small hole somewhere unseen, because twice a year, one mouse invades my territory.

The other day, it happened again. I've been watching for signs, and was almost on the point of deciding it wasn't going to happen this fall. Well, so yesterday I opened the drawer where I keep the dishcloths and hot pads, etc. And there it was, the evidence of the invader. And they wanted my freshly laundered hot pads as nest stuffing. Ugh! I promptly cleaned out all the kitchen drawers and set a few traps. Last night while we were eating supper, Mrs. Mouse got caught. So, thus ends the saga for this season we hope.

A Few Pictures

Here are a few pictures that we (well, Clark mostly) have taken over the last few weeks.

Frosty Quietness

End of Summer

Whisper of Fall

Sylvan Glow


Aura

Nature's Carpet



Autumn Majesty