Happy Late Halloween!

Letters from the Missionary

We love getting letters from Elder Braeburn.  He is doing great.  He is in a little mining town in North Yorkshire called Pontefract.  The town is quite poor, and everyone older than 40 has worked in the coal mines at some point in their life.  Elder Braeburn says it is like going back to the Industrial Era.  They ride the bus and the busy is usually late because gypsy carts pulled by horses are always pulling out in front of the buses.

His companion is Elder Kjeldsen, from Denmark and they work hard together and get along pretty well.  We gather from letters, though, that Elder Kjeldsen is always making fun of America, because Elder Braeburn has been drawing American Flags on pieces of paper and posting them on his desk.  He says he's become wildly patriotic since going on his mission.

He sent Granny Smith a letter last week talking about his sad lack of exercise,  with accompanying illustrations.  

After the Election

 I have been too depressed to even talk about the election for the last several days.  Luckily I scheduled my Christmas leather work post article to post ahead of time, because it would not have been there if it was up to me.  I feel like I'm finally coming out of shock a little bit.  My brain literally feels bruised, though, trying to understand what just happened.

First, I made the mistake of getting my hopes up.  After the last election I gave up politics for several years and just focused on making my home a happy place and teaching my children correct principles.  (still trying...) But as the election got closer I found myself becoming not just Anti-Obama, but very much Pro-Romney.  I just felt like anyone who could take a beating day after day in the media, and still smile, and still be focused on real issues, and still be so adorable with his wife, had to be inspired and blessed.  I really, really liked what I was seeing.  I imagined in my mind that we could have another Carter/Reagan election - that the people would see goodness, and vote for it, and we could enjoy prosperity again.

So... I went to bed Tuesday night very sad, but still with a twinge of hope.  Mr. Bechtel left for Japan early Wednesday morning and I had to take him to the airport, so we were up early.  I ran down to his office where he was checking the polls and he shook his head sadly at me.  I walked around in a daze the rest of the day, really.  I mean, I went about my daily activities, but my brain refused to accept the awful reality.  And my phone was totally silent.  No one called me.  I imagine we were probably all walking around in deep sadness.

  

On Thursday I finally started thinking through the why's and what it meant.  I could only come up with two possible solutions.  1.  The election was rigged.  or 2.  People really are terribly wicked.  (Obviously I'm not a news pundit, these are pretty basic and non intellectual solutions.)  And really, I wish it was the first, but even if it was... the fact still remains that for the first time ever people voted to accept gay marriage, they voted for marijuana, wherever I looked there seemed to be more evidence of stupidity.  I am still struggling with this.  It is one thing to discuss "the last days" or to read about them in scripture - exciting even - but I am not enjoying the way it tastes in real life.  It's depressing and terrible.

And I have to admit that I am angry about it.  I was thinking today that this is probably why President Monson told us all in Conference last time to do christian acts of service.  He was probably talking to me, because really I don't want to do any service for people that are taking away my liberty.  I want to punch them in the nose.  

Winesap said one of his friends posted nothing but a scripture reference on his facebook page:  "Mosiah 29:27  My first thought was, "When the wicked rule, the righteous mourn." 

I have lots of other thoughts running around in my mind too, but nothing cohesive, just lots of questions and a hope that we can maintain our freedom.  And that The Election of our Lifetime was a BIG disappointment!

Working with Leather

Well, Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, it's time to think of Christmas presents.  I have found some really fun projects to do with leather.  The only problem is that I don't know how to work with leather.  Mr. Bechtel does, but he is barely ever home, so I am open to helpful suggestions.

This is a very awesome "pancake style" knife holder that I quite love.  

It also looks awesome worn on the small of the back, I think.  Oops he missed a belt loop!

These spur straps look fun too.  I think I could buy the buckles and conchos.  The boys don't use spurs right now though, but they are still very cool. (and small!)

Sorry the resolution is bad.  I am stealing these pics off horsewrightclothing.com, which is probably illegal, but I am not doing anything bad with them, and now I have given them proper credit.  So maybe it's ok?

These are chinks.  

These are also chinks.  Sweet!

These are sort of armitas.  (The boys will have to give the particulars of the difference... something about the fringe on front.)  These are fun because they're 2 color.

I think I could make a scarf though!  A square of silk fabric... that sounds doable.  I would really like to make the chinks or armitas, or the combo "charmitas" but I am daunted.  We shall see.

P.S.  I don't know who this model (guy, buckaroo)  is.  He looks great though!  Thanks for letting me use your picture for my Christmas list!

Another Ranch, Sold

Oh dear.  Will we ever have a ranch?  I have been in love with this ranch for months and months, and just saw it sold.  I did not buy it.  Who bought it?  It should have been me.

I have wistfully looked at pictures of this place hundreds of times (this is best done while listening to Lady A's "Dancing Away With My Heart" - In fact I can't listen to that song any more without imagining all my little dreams about this place.) 

 I know the layout of all the outbuildings.  I know how the house is arranged.  I have imagined what it would be like making bread in that kitchen.  I have pictured the boys riding up to the door to get a bit of  breakfast before they headed off to work cows.  I have invited cousins to spend the summer at the ranch with us.  It was idyllic.  We went swimming every day, watched muskrats, and floated in the canoes across the ponds.  Then after the chores were done, we would watch the sun set while sitting on the porch.  The boys would sing me songs on their guitars.  Mr. Bechtel would grill something on the bbq, and we would watch the stars come out. 

But nope.  Not so.  This is not the place.  Oh well, there are wolves and bears here.  And probably thousands of mosquitos.

There will be a better place.... Just around the bend....

  

Farm Update

In my letters to Elder Braeburn I find myself giving him the update on all the farm animals, which he actually seems to enjoy.  It keeps him from feeling homesick I'm sure.  Just imagining throwing hay to the horses with the wind blowing it back in your face can make Yorkshire seem lovely I bet!

So, here is the update - species by species!!

Horses:

Pepper is Nova Spy's new horse.  He got him earlier this summer and the relationship started off a bit rocky.  They are both doing a bit better and I think Pepper will stay the winter, at least, with us.

  Nikita, Prairie Spy's grey mare, is being "marish" right now.  Meaning that she rules the other horses completely, and is just a pill.  She kicked a wall in the barn and bent it all up and is just being a prima donna.  Prairie Spy doesn't mind, though.  He adores her and when she does something dumb he just nods his head and slowly drawls, "well, everybody's entitled to a bad day now and then."

Dancer is a yearling and beautiful and lovely.  She has the most gorgeous face.  She and Pepper band together while Nikita is being a tyrant!

The Dogs:

Jack and Pete are happy and well.  

The Goats and Sheep:

The boys lambs did great this summer.  All 6 survived and thrived.  They are ready to sell now.  We have debated breeding them and keeping them over the winter, but with hay prices so high, I think we will sell them.  Kyra, the one remaining mother goat, is healthy.  Her babies (Felina and Rita)  are fatties because they are still nursing.  We need to separate them.  They are also hellions and wild and won't let us catch them.  They have excellent conformation though!  Maggie's babies are lovely and nice (Robin and Lady).  They are slightly smaller than the other ones because they haven't had milk on demand for 6 full months!

The Chickens:

Our chickens are not pleasing me right now.  We have way too many roosters and none of the hens are laying.  They are kind of welfare birds.  We are going to thin the rooster population shortly.  We do have one fantastic black bantie hen who hatched out a little clutch of eggs.  We tucked her in her own side of the coop and she and the babies are doing great.

The Cats:

Ah, the cats.  It brings a song to mind,  "Now just like everybody, you've got troubles of your own..."  We have lots of cats.  The problem is that all the neighbors cats and strays hang out in the barn and eat all the cat food so the cats that we like prowl around the house and meaow and look hungry and miserable and beg you to feed them.  We've got to do something about that. 

 Alice, the last remaining cat from our original litter (I'm going to have the kids do a kitten history chart some day soon to just keep track of all the cats we've had) anyway, Alice had kittens.  She is a good mom and keeps her babies safe.  She decided the safest place was the window well.  Granny Smith took pity on them one day when it was raining really hard and went out and brought them inside to dry off.

They were very adorable and took a nap in the laundry basket.

And then explored the large "Prairie Spy Mountain".

Stanley Lake

Mr. Bechtel and I escaped for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary.  This is where we went Sunday morning.

Mist!  There was still mist on the water.  My favorite!

It was perfectly still and quiet.  Just so beautiful.  McGown Peak was as amazing as I remembered.

Just to prove I was really there...

Look at that water.  Just look at it!  Liquid gold, or ice or crystal or something.  The water is pristine.

And for the very brave:  a perfect spot to take a dip in the inlet.  (which we did NOT do.)