Shilah Writes

I show you this to show you the next picture.  Our couches of synthetic leather are going to pieces after five short years of loving life... And so I made these ex-large pillow slip clovers to hide the seats that are doing the same falling apart thing.  I left the one un-tucked so you can see what it looks like in real life.  Couch covers only truly look good when no one sits on them.  The fabric was one gynormous drape I found at the thrift store.  I like imperfect things you can live with peaceably. Last week we were blessed with the making of 150 quarts of applesauce.  I set up a folding table in the center of the kitchen and liked it so much that as soon as the mess was cleaned up, I did a little shuffling of furniture and found a small filing cabinet for Bruce's office corner so he could sacrifice a desk. I also found this smallish, wooly looking rug at the thrift store and made my own kitchen island.  It's my cutting, chopping, ...

     This week I was reminded that there are so many things happening behind the scenes that we cannot know, because we are not given all the information surrounding our circumstances.  We live busy, fast lives and get upset when things don't go our way or we have one of those crazy days where NOTHING is predictable or plannable.  We spend the whole day putting out little fires and finally crash into bed at night still not knowing what THAT was all about.      Friday was one of those days.  The details are a little foggy now but it involved the mail truck not getting into town with the mail till ten in the morning so the people that sort the mail weren't able to start their job till then.  This makes people in the community wonder where there mail is and possibly even grouchier at their mailman.  The mail truck was delayed by a bad accident on the Long Bridge, in Sandpoint.        I was havi...

   Seen on a church billboard while driving home:  "Nobody needs a vacation more than the one that just had one."  I know its not a new quote, but it made me laugh when I saw it while driving through Montana someplace. Vacation is a wonderful thing.  You leave finally after months of planning and arranging things so you can be gone for two weeks.  And still you have to have faith, trust, and hope that the people back home can do your job and that you've paid your bills and that there will be enough money left when you get back to pay the bills.  Sounds like a great tone in which to start things. No?  But, because it was vacation, we did leave it all behind and felt at least a small portion of carefree and irresponsible. We drove hard and long the first afternoon, all night, and most of the next day and then stopped in Iowa for an early long night. Wonderful, wonderful rest after going hard.  The next d...

    Life has its moments of despair and confusion.  Some plans might not work out as you had wished.  Some days you have to practise giving thanks to remember that God has the best path through the maze.     And then, there are glimpses of the eternal when you notice a miracle take place in front of your eyes; glimpses of God at work that nobody else would view as a miracle but that's what it means to you.      You might be given a small plot of land that is full of rocks and boulders and broken down fences but if you get out of bed at six and go out to the gardens that are there among the rocks, boulders, and broken down fences, with a cup of blessed coffee in hand you might see that there will always be flowers somewhere in the midst of the broken down rock walls.  You might have to look for them but they can be found.  There may not be an abundance of choices to pick from but a few clippings of the...

     Nobody told me how hard it would be to let your firstborn go off for his first really big event, free from his mother looking over his shoulders.  I realize, it's a little hard to explain and probably most moms don't spend as much time as I do trying to figure out every emotion that passed through their lives.  I'm weird that way.  I think I'm being brave and before I know it or am willing to admit it, I'm in over my head with trying to figure out what's going on.        Two friends called the morning Laife left for boys camp and asked how I was doing. At that moment I was fine.  I got called in to deliver the mail and was busy all day. It didn't even bother me till three in the afternoon, when I was finally home from work and starting the house chores here at home.  I kept walking by his room and feeling funny. I had to keep reminding myself where he was.  Every time I accidently looked...

My latest fun project... using chalkboard paint makes me feel like I'm finally home... And a few roses we discovered on this little town lot... The kids spent two nights in the backyard.  All night.  Laife leaves end of week for boys camp...He only spent one night outside...He says he wants a couple more nights in a real bed. The beautiful fire their mother fixed for them... The rediscovered gardens are coming along fine... Little, but fine...

  The little Skrivseth cousins when Ivan and Dena were here.  They soon changed this scene into running around the tiny back yard, wherein the one guy about cut his little toe off on a sharp rock.  They had to get stitches put in the next morning. The whole family went with Bruce to EMT training one evening... It was pediatrics.  So strapping little bodies to the back boards was good hands on practise. This guy was a little big for pediatrics... How many EMT's does it take to change a light bulb?  I don't know.  Depends on how many straps are available. Mom turned 70 this week...I'm proud to call that young looking 70 year old my mom... Dayton and Judy hosted the party... Thankyou very much! Christian is the baby of the year for our parties.. The fire was beautiful and so was the coffee and the company...