Red Letter Days

Last weekend brought several red letter days to the farm. The Princess was overjoyed to be able to hang the first laundry out on her clothesline.


To me it seems to be the ultimate irony for a city gal to have had a dryer all these years and wanting to dry clothes hanging on a line outside. Now mind you, I’m not complaining. Any time we can do something without electricity, I’m all for it. I’m happy to report that I can now dry myself with scratchy towels in the morning. And all this just in time for winter.
Another red letter event was the first pressing of grapes this season. I put Andrew to work squeezing the life out of some Concord grapes. He seemed to enjoy it. I’m pretty certain the Princess will enjoy it when I’m finished with it.



Thanks to everyone for their comments and compliments on the Digging Deeper video. I’m pleased that it is serving its intended purpose. We’ll try to keep the good things going. Until then…..

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the scratchy laundry producing Princess) Julie

Digging Deeper

Last Sunday the Princess and I "starred" in a video vignette to support the theme of the day at Gateway EPC which was “Digging Deeper”. The movie is a spoof of our life here on the farm. Lately I’ve been trying to dig deeper into some of the good habits I’ve picked up in my time at Winebrenner Seminary. Someday I’ll tell you all about it, but until then, enjoy the movie (the watermark goes away after the first minute).
Check back soon (and often),
Dave and (the misplaced Princess) Julie

Would you eat chili prepared by this man?

Last Saturday we hosted a chili supper for the Gateway EPC Worship Ministry Teams at the farm. It’s the first time we’ve ever prepared 10 gallons of chili in one batch. I say that it wasn’t ‘quite’ as good as our usual small batches, but it was still really yummy. I think it’s safe to say that a good time was enjoyed by all. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect on something a friend told me recently. “A community places it in context”. He wasn’t talking about a chili supper, but it still fits whether it’s a national election, a community celebration, or raising a child. Fall is the perfect time to come together on the farm. As the growing season comes to an end and many plants prepare to go to sleep for the winter, it’s the perfect time to kindle new friendships and rekindle existing ones. Here’s to relationships!

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the domestic goddess Princess) Julie

An update from the Princess

Well things were busy at the Kroskes this weekend. Cleaned house on Sat, made the video for the church. The plan was to do the video and make beef stew over the fire. Well Dave and his cousins husband were drilling holes in order to plant more grapes. The yard needed mowed, the house needed cleaned and I needed to make dinner. Well as I grow older, I do not multi task very well. I started to clean house and videographer came over, Dave gave him the tour of the "Kroske Estate" inside and out. I had to make sure that he didn't trip over anything. The house can be great until I start to clean, then it looks like a tornado went thru and it's worse than when I started. I got things under control in the house and decided to mow. I was like a little kid. I just didn't know which way to go. I would start on the west side on the yard, then all of a sudden I was on the east side of the house and not sure what I had mowed or how I ended up there. Good thing I was just mowing down the buck horn. If the grass were long, It would have looked like a maze! I then needed to start dinner so I put Dave on the mower. I browned the meat in the house, added the spices and tried to follow the recipe. I really thought I was doing great. I put it over the fire out back and went back in the house and left Dave on the mower. I set the timer so I would not forget about the stew. Now I am really feeling like I have it all under control. Multi-tasking again, I started laundry and decided that I needed to bake a pie for dessert. Now I really don't care what the pie tastes like, I just want it to look like the picture in the cook book. I have yet to make a "pretty pie" so I was really trying hard. I think I got it almost picture perfect this time. I was sooooo proud of the way it looked. After about 30-45 mins. of slaving over this pie, I had flour all over my black dress, face and floor, it went into the oven. I put laundry in the dryer and decided that I would go out and add the veggies to the stew.
Well when I got there, all the liquid had boiled out and the meat was charred black. I guess I waited too long. Now what? It's 3:30 and I have to start again. I really don't want to disappoint Dave and have the dinner with our guests be a bust, so he runs to the store and gets more meat. I knew that I would not have enough time to finish everything on the fire, so I sadly turned on the stove top. It will not have the open flame taste to it, but Oh Well. Remember the timer I set for the meat? Well it finally went off. I guess I must have set it for hours instead of minutes! Now I have to get in the shower and suddenly realize that I can hardly move. I really don't know what I did, but feet ankles and legs were aching. Time for the Aleve. I got in the shower and realized that amongst the other pain, my right arm is painful to lift. Well after thinking about this for awhile, I remember throwing apples, apples, apples and more apples into the field so I can mow under the trees. WOW I am so out of shape and old! Well, the pie is out of the oven, (it looks so beautiful if I do say so myself) the charred meat is gone and the guests are expected at 5:30. Well thank God they were late, because I did laundry, bedding and clothes) but did not have time to fold it. Nor did I take time to make the bed. I just threw it on top of the bed and closed the door. Well that is one mess I will deal with later! Guess where the baby needed to go! Well that's right! He is a tummy sleeper and mom wanted to lay him on the bed. I still have the laundry sorted on the floor and the drying rack set up with damp clothes! Aharg!!! Well I just told her that I would lay the nice clean bedspread over the mattress and he could sleep there all he wants. So much for making a good impression! MARTHA NEEDS TO MOVE BACK IN.

Well, by the time the evening was over, The video was shot, the dinner was eaten, the pie was good and the blondies our guests bought over were to die for. The kids and adults were tired and all were smiling at the end of the night. However, I think Ely is still having withdrawal from having all the people and kids to play with, but he will get over it. I am glad that all weekends are not as crazy as this one, but I will say that any time we can be blessed with good friends, good times and good food is worth a little bit of crazy. Bring on the good times!!!!

Sunday, Dave and I (well in all honesty it was Dave) cut down a tree. Then we were blessed with the company of another friend. We had chili over the fire, enjoyed conversation, a few laughs as well as a few tears.

What is important is the fellowship that we enjoyed with all the people we spent time with. Soon, we will have a very large fellowship at the farm with The Praise team, techs and the Encounter groups and their families from church. I only hope that it is blessed by God so that we will all have a stronger union and we can become friends with each other as well as better brothers and sisters in Christ.

I hope all who read this can be blessed with the same fun that Dave and I have on the weekends.

Check back soon (and often)

The Princess (Julie) and her favorite farm animal (Dave)

It’s time to play catch up.

The Princess is recovering very well. I sent her along with her friend Sherry over the weekend. I figured riding in the car would keep her down and there was no way I’d keep her off her feet here at home. Their destination was the Bluegrass State (and it may never be the same again). The Princess enjoyed it (or maybe it was the wine) so much she tried to leave her wallet there (ask her about it). Fortunately it was returned by a good Samaritan (or good Kentuckian). With the Princess on the road to recovery, it’s my turn to be molested by medical professionals. Today I paid my regular visit to my eye surgeon. Those of you who know me know that I have the “pleasure” of living with occular histoplasmosis. Since you asked:
What is the Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome?
The fungus is inhaled early in life and causes a usually asymptomatic and self-limited infection throughout the body, including the lungs and choroid (the vascular layer lining the retina). For unknown reasons, several decades after the initial infection, the choroidal scars may develop abnormal blood vessels (choroidal neovascularization) which leak fluid and blood. This leakage can only be seen on a careful, dilated eye examination since the eye looks normal from the outside. Distorted central vision and loss of reading vision occurs when the leakage involves the macula.
(from: © 2008 Bennett & Bloom Eye Centers. All Rights Reserved)
So this means my left eye sees the world kind of like this:

Except that the edge of the ‘cloud’ in my eye is kind of like a fisheye lens. Henceforth I often get ‘seasick’ as my brain tries to process all the disparate information when I put my glasses on and try to move about. In the last twelve months I’ve had three different procedures to try to stop the ‘leaking’. In November I had a ‘thermal laser’ treatment as they tried to seal the leaking blood vessels with a laser. In December they tried PhotoDynamic Therapy (PDT), where they infused a photo-reactive chemical into my system and then ‘activated’ it with a ‘cool laser’. That worked for about two months. In March I had PDT again coupled with a steroid injection directly into my eyeball. Like this:

Yes.

Ouch.

Anyway, my doctor and I discussed future treatment options, but fortunately we don’t have to do anything yet. Now you are caught up with our health status. As things change, I’ll keep you updated.

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the Princess) Julie

The Julie Report 2.0

I'm pleased to report that the Princess came through her surgery very well. Dr. Doty-Armstrong reported no unexpected complications and expects the Princess to make a full recovery. Getting her home was interesting, as she was still somewhat under the influence of the anesthesia and acted somewhat like she does after her third glass of wine (only quieter). At the present time all of the necessary medications have been administered and I have bundled the Princess off to bed where she is sleeping peacefully. She reports being "a little sore" but is pleased that all body parts seem to be fully functional (unlike her legs after the last surgery). Hopefully she'll be back on her feet in no time. Thanks to all for your prayers and support.

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the loopy Princess) Julie

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

I’ve been spending some quiet time alone in the house tonight. The Princess is out with two of her friends enjoying some ‘girl time’. As I’ve been pondering the more weighty issues in life (or wallowing in self pity, whichever is a more appropriate label) I’ve come to realize one of the big things that’s been bothering me. I’m STUCK! I’m in an in-between place and it’s really uncomfortable. I don’t know how things are going to turn out. Is the Princess going to be all right after THIS surgery (tomorrow)? Am I going to end up blind? If so, how soon? Am I ever going to be able to go back to school? What am I going to do/be when (if) I grow up? Will there ever be peace in the Middle East (ok, I’m not AS concerned about that but you get the idea)? And I strikes me that I’ll be “OK” with however any of those particular items turns out, but I really don’t like not knowing. I guess a time machine would come in handy right about now.
But then again, maybe I wouldn’t like what I saw when I climbed out of the capsule of my time machine. Several yeas ago a group of guys I worked with were discussing what we’d do if we could go back to being 18 and knowing what we know now. I said (only about half jokingly) that if I were 18 and knew what the immediate future held, I’d just shoot myself and get it over with. I guess maybe we can’t see the future for a good reason. Maybe time marching relentlessly along is a good thing. Maybe the steady, measured pace protects us from “event overload”. Maybe it’s time I got back to my idea of the ‘deliberate’ life and started living in the now, rather than wasting time attempting to deal with the future.
Expect full reports on the Princess condition and progress as tomorrow unfolds.

Check back soon (and often)

Dave and (the soon to be punctured Princess) Julie