After the ‘baby came out’, as the boys would say, I was able to get back to a project that I had started. I had been asked  to make a garden ornament for a Methodist bishop that had just retired and moved back to New Mexico. It was to be something that would remind him and his wife of the Wesley Center.

The Wesley Center is only a little over four miles from my house and has a wonderful walking trail that follows a lake.

The trail, which is very well marked, is open to the public.

At the end of the trail, or the beginning depending on where you start, is the cross.

The cross towers above the lake and is one of the center’s most distinguishing landmarks.

Another distinguishing feature is the prayer labyrinth. Located not far from the cross,

the prayer labyrinth is a wonderful place to go for some quiet time.

So, with the cross and the labyrinth in mind,

I began to cut

and paste until I came up with

something that I thought said “Wesley Center”.

Yesterday was our day to keep the boys. Joel needed to go to Home Depot so, we all went. We figured that would take up at least an hour, and would be a much cooler place to chase those little guys.

We told them that they could pick out some tools, and they had fun making their selections.

Of course there was no reason for the fun to stop after they had done their shopping.

They even made sure the tools worked before checking out.

When we got back to the house, we moved their workbench into the shop where

they drilled holes in wood,

they drilled holes in steel,

and they worked on their hammering skills.

Later, they put on their Brother 1 and Brother 2 shirts and we took them to the hospital

to spend a little time

with their new sister… who we are pretty sure

will be able to play the piano with her toes.

 

 

 

 

 

After Josie was bathed and her hair spiked up down the middle, she was ready to meet her public. So, Thing 1 and Thing 2,

in their new brother shirts,

stopped by to welcome

the new little squirt. But…

were quickly distracted by Nikki’s new bling. However, they both wanted to hold little Josie.

Thing 1 was a little nervous. Thing 2 said, “Look, she stuck out her tongue

just like this.” And so ended the first day.

When Hudson and Denton were born,

they had a total of six grandmothers… two regular grandmothers and four great- grandmothers.  I don’t know too many children who are born with a blessing like that. Since these were my first grandchildren, I was the only one out of the six that didn’t already have a “grandmother name”.  In that little group there were four Maw Maws, a Meme and a Memaw.

The day after the twins were born, when I was at the hospital, Nikki asked me what I wanted to be called.  I told her that since the other five grandmothers had names that started with ‘M’, I wouldn’t add to the confusion.  I said, “I’ll be Grammy”.

And I was Grammy; that is until those boys started to talk.  At that point, I became… Mammy.  And that was o.k. – as a matter of fact, I like that name.

My third grandchild was born today. I’m glad that what she will call me has long been settled by her older brothers.  So, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages,
focus your attention on the center ring of the Jaques Circus as I introduce Josie Lynn Jaques…

Mammy’s little baby.

The wind came,

or maybe it was the breath of God.

I could feel it touching me,

urging me to breathe it in, and I did…

deep breaths, cleansing breaths, healing breaths.

I could feel and hear

the pulse, that gives a distinct beat to my life, growing stronger;

a rhythm that defines who I am.

There was laughter and singing and tears.

The Wind came…

and I have been different ever since.

 

 

 

It did not seem to be quite as hot today, praise the Lord, which added to my excitement about bringing my little project to a close.

So, this morning I cut pieces out of some angle iron

in order to be able to bend it into a couple of braces.

Then I put the braces between the floor of the stall and the outside wall so that I could fill in the gap with a piece of decking.

As usual, I had plenty of help.

Then I framed around the top and sides of the opening with 2×4’s. Later I will put trim around the outside.

After putting three bags of bedding on the floor of the stall, it is FINALLY

move-in ready.

Late yesterday evening I started “phase two” of my stall creation, and le me tell ya, it had not gotten any cooler. But, I want you to know that London is not the only place with a torch these days…we have one too. Only ours does not have to be kindled in Greece during a celebration performed by eleven Vestal Virgins. We use a goat and a dog… and acetylene and oxygen.

Only, the oxygen bottle doesn’t have a label anymore because

Willow peeled it off. Anyway, I began phase two by rolling the official ‘Jaques Torch’ down to the barn. After the flame was kindled,

I cut out a section of the tin to make the stall accessible from the goat yard…

which Willow and Rose immediately tried out. By that time,

I had had ‘all I could stands and I couldn’t stands no more’. Stay tuned for Phase 2B.

This morning I decided that I would create another stall for the goats, especially since Jasmine is not so sure of being in the same one with Willow and Rose. First I decided to build a gate that matched the one on the other stall. This meant that I would have to go to town and buy lumber…which I did.

I loaded and unloaded the lumber one piece at time to avoid straining myself.

Then, I started the process of measuring, cutting and assembling.

It wasn’t until I was almost done, that it occurred to me that that gate was going to weigh almost the total amount of that stack of lumber. And, I had to carry the thing to the barn…which I did with the help of my eighty four year old mother-in-law.

After about a twenty minute wrestling match,

which I won, the gate is now installed.

Looks pretty good, don’t you think? Now for phase two.

Jasmine has been here for a week now, and that kid is still as wild as the wind. At first she ran with Willow and Rose, but I was unable to touch her. So, I put her in a pen next to the chickens so that we can sit and talk and learn to trust each other.

When I go in

she gets between the fence and the big galvanized tub that I use for a worm bed.

Then she peeks out at me. Sometimes, when she’s back there, she’ll let me pet her. When I catch her, she’ll sit on my lap a bit… if I hold her close. Otherwise, she will jump down and move away. She is Rose all over again, only on a smaller scale. But that’s alright because, even though she still won’t sit on my lap, I have now gained Rose’s trust

and she loves to have her hair done

and be scratched.

When Rose first came here, Willow was really jealous. She didn’t want Rose anywhere near me. But that’s pretty much a done deal. They’ve become pretty good friends,

but occasionally, they do still butt heads.

Now Rose is jealous of Jasmine, but hopefully by the end of the month that will be straightened out.

Bless her heart, Willow still thinks she’s a dog. So,

we’re working on ‘shake’. I guess the next thing will be ‘sit’ or ‘roll over’. How do ya think that’s gonna work for me? Oh well, like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of my life.

I believe that one reason I experienced such freedom in Alaska, is that I refused to be a slave to my phone…that is, after it followed me into Daniel’s Lake and I had to buy a new one. In this fascinating, modern world in which we live, few people go anywhere without a phone…even to the bathroom, the movies and church. I refer to this as being ‘tethered to a doodad’.

A doodad is defined as an un-nameable gadget of some sort, possibly highly technical; a gadget or device; an often small article whose common name is unknown or forgotten.

Now my iphone is a highly technical gadget, but, I don’t have any trouble remembering what it’s called. Discerning its location is what stresses me out. That wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t think I had to be tethered to the thing.

Most of my life, I not only wasn’t, but could never have been so attached to a phone…especially since it was attached to the wall. I remember when phones quit being directly wired to the power source, and you could buy long cords so you could carry the thing from room to room. You could even get a long curly cord that you could stretch so much that, before long, it became a twisted knot… and then you had yourself a sit-down job. But, when it rang, you knew where it was…or, at least, you could follow the cord.

I actually miss those days. But what I need to settle is, just- how- much.