I learned the value and definition of submission again. It just hit me so clearly - this is why the kingdom works. There was a small situation and one person said: So&so has said this, and here is how we want it to be. A while later, the other party involved said: That situation - they said this and we said this and WE feel... (I braced myself) it should be the way they would like it.
Instant resolution - from something that wasn't, but could have been a problem; to something that never will be a problem. I need more of that spirit.

Sojourn in the 1800's

I feel like we've been living in another century - or at least partly! - these past two weeks. Cooking on a woodstove, doing laundry in a wringer-washer, hand-cranked ice cream, hand-pressed apple cider... The other day, the guys cut the neutral line in the main electric circuit that went through our kitchen, and it didn't faze us a bit! We shut off the lights, the fridge grumbled and revved, and our lovely wood stove went right on cooking supper without a blink.
I love, really really love, (as well as thoroughly enjoy) cooking on a woodstove. Of course, it's very handy to have an oven thermometer - I wouldn't want to try it without. I didn't try making bread in it, but I did bake muffins and they turned out great. I can't really say I've done all that much personal cooking on it - though I made sausage gravy for breakfast - because most of the cooking has been someone else's plan, and I've just watched the fire and stirred and chopped as needed. But I did make both plum and chokecherry syrup, and applesauce all myself. (That makes it sound like I did no cooking either - that's not right...) Anyways, suffice it to say, I likes the wood stove. It's great fun, as well as warm and cozy, (ok, so I don't really want to try using it mid-summer either!)

AND, I think that Anna and I can justly claim to be the first ever to make caramel mocha macchiatos on a woodstove. :D Did I forget to mention I made Dorlene's caramel sauce? Or mostly did - it somehow ended up being thinner than hers. I don't know what I did wrong, Dorlene. It tasted good though! And ended up being just perfect for froofy coffee drinks. We made extra strong coffee, stirred hot cocoa mix into it, and heated the milk to steaming on the stovetop. Here's the recipe: 1 squirt of Hershey's chocolate syrup. 3 tsps of caramel sauce. Pour coffee in to about 2/3 full. Froth steamed milk in a 1 cup glass measuring cup with a teeny-tiny battery run frother, and fill the rest of the cup. Stir around a bit and serve. We got rave reviews.

Every day, I've thought of things that would be fun to post - but every night, I am too tired to type anything at all. Or think, for that matter. And the thinking's the difficult part. So... uh... I can't remember the best bits.

There's a bear that frequents the plum orchard.
Dan came flying out in his snazzy red helicopter (over which I drooled and drooled).
We slept outside several nights. It was gorgeous - I grudged having to go to sleep for wanting to watch the stars. I saw several brief shooting stars, and one that went across nearly half the sky.
Oh! And if you're wondering - we picked the apples and plums and chokecherries ourselves. :)

Now it's nearly done. Tomorrow, everyone who hasn't already left will be gone. And I should be packing - so this is nearly done too.

There and back again

Man, where to start. I can't. I guess the best way to explain would be to say:
In the middle of 200 strangers, I didn't feel even slightly intimidated or overwhelmed.
and
I barely noticed being tired of sitting.
It was really really nice. I met Eric who was one of the brothers in the field when my friend Isabelle first started coming to meeting. There were 44 of us who started since 2000, and 14 in 2004. That's pretty neat. We slept in different little dorms here and there - they'd divided it up by when you started in the work - so all us girls from 2000 and later were in one dorm. I'm not sure the divisions... maybe every ten years? Bonnie R made it up there; we were all delighted. She had a wonderful time - only missed one meeting, and that was good. It got her rested enough to appreciate the rest. She was the oldest one present. Lyle told us it had been 81 years since the last time there had been any such meeting in the western half of the continent. Hope they don't wait that long until the next one!
What else? A few notes, maybe.

*Sheep are born looking for a place to die.
*Job 39:25 - the warhorse brings to the battlefield the one who has the weapons and skills to help in the fight.
*When God wants to do a work in us, he sends difficulties. When he wants to do a great work, he sends impossibilities.
*God isn't asking us to serve him with someone else's ability, or to push ourselves to try and keep up with someone else's pace. Do the best we can with what we have been given.
*If we don't care who gets the credit, great works can be done.
*Nothing will happen until it happens in our hearts.
*The secret to a successful marriage is forgiveness, not love.

We left after lunch Thursday, got to Shelby for the night; left again the next morning for Ronan. Sue's mom's funeral was Saturday, so we stopped by the funeral home so Sandy could discuss music. It was a really nice funeral. Robert and Scott spoke - Robert mentioned 'she hath done what she could'. She did what she could for her country, for her family, for herself, for her friends. Got to the grounds here just in time for supper. I need to get in bed now, so Life On The Convention Grounds To Be will have to wait for another day. :) Suffice it to say, we're here, and tomorrow, the framing starts. Speaking of which, I'd better go erase some pictures from my camera so as to be all ready for taking more.

We're here!
It's been so nice to meet all these folks whose names I recognizes, but whose faces are new. And doubly nice to see those I already know again!
The weather is nice; about 71. It's muggy though, so feels a bit warmer. Only major annoyance are bugs! Zillions and zillions of teeny little bugs. You can't open your mouth. They get in your hair and on your clothes and thankfully THANKFULLY they aren't inside too.
First meeting tonight after supper.
AND. I didn't bring my computer. I'm already having withdrawal pangs, so it's nice of Anita to let me borrow hers to check my email.

Alberta Bound

Well, tomorrow we head north. Goodbye, Wyoming, but only for now, I hope! It's been a great month: horses, rocks, sunshine, wind, fairs... I even sewed something! I hope everyone is properly impressed. If you don't know why you should be impressed, I'll be glad to tell you. ;) Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture. :( I forgot. Take my word for it that it's really cool, though, ok? Picture this: one of those three-panel room divider screens, with red bamboo for the frame and a gold and red upholstery fabric for the panels. It looks really nice. I have to confess though, that it's a little on the wobbly side - I really should have put screws in or something, but I didn't have any, or a drill to do it with. But I think the recipients are planning to rectify that.

Adventures of the month:
Squashing my leg in a gate - my fault, I tried to ride my horse through a too-small opening. I thought it would get bigger, see, but the gate stuck on the ground and we kept going. Ouch. But I learned something! Bruising and swelling both travel downhill. My foot is all swollen and it's hard to get my shoe on. If you looked, you'd think the horse stepped on my foot instead of just bruising my leg. I had a gorgeous ride though. Out into the middle of a great wide-open field; untilled, uninhabited - no cows even. It was great.
Getting stung by a hornet. Startled me enormously. We went outside to check out an old metal screen for height; and, unbeknownst to us, there was a huge grey paper hornets' nest behind it. They were Not Happy. And soon, neither were we. On the up side, I am still not allergic to bee stings. ;)
Making jam and pickles. Well, ok, three quarts of pickles is all, and all I did was squish the cucumbers into the jars. But I did help pick the plums, and cook them down, and boil them and pour the jelly into the jars, so that counts a lot more.

I think that's about all... at least, all I can remember right now. :) More news likely after Didsbury, which I am sure will be wonderful. At least, I am sure of it when I remember not to think about how long we're going to be sitting...