[edit - WELCOME PAGE] filler...

This is a month full of birthdays and anniversaries in this household and in our family. For instance, today is sister Emma's 37th birthday. Yesterday was my mother's 74th. It seems I always think about her birthday every year even though she has gone on before us.

It looks like I have a full day's work ahead. Laundry needs to be done. Then I need to take care of my cucumbers. I will probably make them into freezer pickles. It is one of the easiest ways of doing pickles. I usually put several plastic ice cream buckets full of homemade freezer pickles into the freezer. When we have church services we get those out of the freezer and they taste just like fresh pickles.

Daughters Elizabeth, 16, and Susan, 14, are working 6 days a week corn detasseling. They leave around 6:20 a.m. and come home around 3:30 p.m. I sure miss their help here at home (editor's note: detasseling is done to help promote cross-pollination of certain varieties of corn). Although Verena can help now again around the house she gets tired more quickly than she used to. As I write the column her and Loretta, 10, are doing the dishes and sweeping floors. We want to go do the laundry after I get done with this. Like usual I waited until the last minute to get this written.

Benjamin, 11, and Joseph, 7, are supposed to be cleaning out the barn today. Husband Joe assigned that job to them for today. I need to go check to see whether they are doing their job. They have a habit of playing sometimes instead of getting the work done so they need reminders once in a while. Joseph turned 8 this week on Saturday, July 24. Benjamin is proud to be 11. Somehow going up in number makes them feel more grown-up.

Verena had sprained her ankle and was on crutches last week but now seems to be doing fine without them. In general she seems to be doing OK these days but did give us another scare last night. She had another one of those post-concussions before bedtime. She couldn't walk and was that different person again but this one last only 1 hour and 25 minutes. Each time it is getting shorter. But we still feel like we need to be right there with her until she snaps back to herself. She again doesn't remember it and thinks she was sleeping. She felt the shocks going through her body and legs again before becoming herself.

This is a month full of birthdays and anniversaries in this household and in our family. For instance, today is sister Emma's 37th birthday. Yesterday was my mother's 74th. It seems I always think about her birthday every year even though she has gone on before us.

It looks like I have a full day's work ahead. Laundry needs to be done. Then I need to take care of my cucumbers. I will probably make them into freezer pickles. It is one of the easiest ways of doing pickles. I usually put several plastic ice cream buckets full of homemade freezer pickles into the freezer. When we have church services we get those out of the freezer and they taste just like fresh pickles.

Daughters Elizabeth, 16, and Susan, 14, are working 6 days a week corn detasseling. They leave around 6:20 a.m. and come home around 3:30 p.m. I sure miss their help here at home (editor's note: detasseling is done to help promote cross-pollination of certain varieties of corn). Although Verena can help now again around the house she gets tired more quickly than she used to. As I write the column her and Loretta, 10, are doing the dishes and sweeping floors. We want to go do the laundry after I get done with this. Like usual I waited until the last minute to get this written.

Benjamin, 11, and Joseph, 7, are supposed to be cleaning out the barn today. Husband Joe assigned that job to them for today. I need to go check to see whether they are doing their job. They have a habit of playing sometimes instead of getting the work done so they need reminders once in a while. Joseph turned 8 this week on Saturday, July 24. Benjamin is proud to be 11. Somehow going up in number makes them feel more grown-up.

Verena had sprained her ankle and was on crutches last week but now seems to be doing fine without them. In general she seems to be doing OK these days but did give us another scare last night. She had another one of those post-concussions before bedtime. She couldn't walk and was that different person again but this one last only 1 hour and 25 minutes. Each time it is getting shorter. But we still feel like we need to be right there with her until she snaps back to herself. She again doesn't remember it and thinks she was sleeping. She felt the shocks going through her body and legs again before becoming herself.

This is a month full of birthdays and anniversaries in this household and in our family. For instance, today is sister Emma's 37th birthday. Yesterday was my mother's 74th. It seems I always think about her birthday every year even though she has gone on before us.

It looks like I have a full day's work ahead. Laundry needs to be done. Then I need to take care of my cucumbers. I will probably make them into freezer pickles. It is one of the easiest ways of doing pickles. I usually put several plastic ice cream buckets full of homemade freezer pickles into the freezer. When we have church services we get those out of the freezer and they taste just like fresh pickles.

Daughters Elizabeth, 16, and Susan, 14, are working 6 days a week corn detasseling. They leave around 6:20 a.m. and come home around 3:30 p.m. I sure miss their help here at home (editor's note: detasseling is done to help promote cross-pollination of certain varieties of corn). Although Verena can help now again around the house she gets tired more quickly than she used to. As I write the column her and Loretta, 10, are doing the dishes and sweeping floors. We want to go do the laundry after I get done with this. Like usual I waited until the last minute to get this written.

Benjamin, 11, and Joseph, 7, are supposed to be cleaning out the barn today. Husband Joe assigned that job to them for today. I need to go check to see whether they are doing their job. They have a habit of playing sometimes instead of getting the work done so they need reminders once in a while. Joseph turned 8 this week on Saturday, July 24. Benjamin is proud to be 11. Somehow going up in number makes them feel more grown-up.

Verena had sprained her ankle and was on crutches last week but now seems to be doing fine without them. In general she seems to be doing OK these days but did give us another scare last night. She had another one of those post-concussions before bedtime. She couldn't walk and was that different person again but this one last only 1 hour and 25 minutes. Each time it is getting shorter. But we still feel like we need to be right there with her until she snaps back to herself. She again doesn't remember it and thinks she was sleeping. She felt the shocks going through her body and legs again before becoming herself.