Yesterday, I mentioned that those of us who are doing the DC thing or anything to help with our organization sacrifice a lot for the time we give. Here’s one example – the Christmas concert I didn’t get to see Taylor and Callie perform last night:
As I sit here in my room with tears in my eyes, I am thankful for today’s technology! I love you Taylor & Cal and I’m sorry I missed your night. I can’t make it up to you but I do know you understand. Doesn’t help me feel any less sad though!
So, in my last posting I told you I would be heading to Hutchinson, KS and then to Washington, DC. For anyone who thinks the last few days have been a vacation…I’d like to say YOU ARE SO WRONG (yes, I AM yelling)! The meeting in KS went well and it was great seeing the rest of the team (USCHI Board of Directors). It’s always good to get together with people from our industry when it’s not in a working atmosphere. Building relationships is the best thing a person could do for themselves – my thought any way. From KS, we flew to DC. We’ve had two FULL days of constant walking and talking on “the hill”.
To be honest with you, I was definitely not looking forward to this trip. I had fallen into the negative trap of “this isn’t going anywhere”, “they say they listen but they really don’t”, “you’re not making a difference”, etc. etc. However, we started yesterday morning and things just started falling into place. It went from one good thing to the next. Each one of those “good things” fell into place just as they were meant to. Contacts have been made and when it appeared that it would be hard, it got easy again. Today, we learned more and even got to visit with two members of Congress – Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Ohio Congressman Bob Gibbs. I shook hands with Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson last night. He happened to be in the same restaurant as we were in. It’s a BIG deal when you actually get to shake the hand of one of our elected officials and give them the opportunity to have a conversation with real people. It’s fun to see them and their staffers actually loosen up and they themselves turn into real people. I can only hope the time I and the others have sacrificed will make a difference for our organization and for agriculture. It definitely has not been a vacation. One of these days, I’m coming to DC to see some of the wonderful historic sites and will be staying away from the “hill”!
Looks like a few tax dollars are being spent on some repairs.
The Christmas tree in front of the Capitol.
Heading for our first appointment-ready to change the world 🙂
Inside the Cannon Building.
Railing inside one of the House buildings.
I feel so left out with my “dumb” phone!
Inside the Senate Hart Building.
Waiting…waiting…waiting
Senate offices in the Hart building.
We were able to poke our head in the Library of Congress on our way back to the hotel when our day was over. Beautiful!
Kansas ornament on the Christmas Tree in the Library of Congress. I couldn’t find Nebraska’s.
Today I am going to brag on my daughter’s blog (Jenna aka Yensy Photos). Check out her gift of photography by clicking on the link below:
http://yensyphotos.wordpress.com/
Well, the next few days are going to be a little on the hectic side. I had to make a trip to Hutchinson, KS for a USCHI meeting for the next two days and then several of us will be going to DC to try to make a few of our Senators and Congressmen aware of a problem the custom harvesting industry is dealing with – only being able to haul up to 119 gallons of diesel fuel to our equipment. Oh, it’s a fight that’s been fought for the past 20 years but apparently the common sense we need in DC doesn’t exist because we can’t seem to make them understand why it needs to be changed. The only change we’ve seen in the past 20 years is the equipment is even larger than it was when we began the fight. One combine holds up to 250 gallons of diesel. A forage harvester holds more than that. So, while I’m out trying to change the world :), I’ll post a couple of fun songs we heard while we were in Calgary last weekend. I’ll keep you posted on how the DC trip goes…
The snow we got yesterday afternoon and overnight amounted to about 3 inches of new powdery snow. I went out this a.m. and scooped it away – again. Warmer temps are predicted for the weekend so maybe the sun will help me with the rest. It was so pretty, I thought I’d share with you:
Yep, we literally were out of the country!
The U.S. Custom Harvesters Board of Directors were invited by the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters – www.acchi.com – to attend their annual convention and meeting in Calgary, Alberta. Jim and I decided it was time to make a trip north and participate. Kent Braathen and Roger (and Lisa) Sammons were also able to attend. (You can click on the address to view the ACCHI website.)
What a wonderful experience!! Over the past 30 years, there’s been a lot of history between our two groups – and some of it not so good. My feelings are it’s time for a change. After all, we are all harvesters and we have a job that needs to be done – “harvest the crops that feed the world”. The same problems that affect the U.S. harvesters also affect the Canadian harvesters. The attendees welcomed us and made us feel like we were part of their family. “Family” – a common denominator of the two groups. We ARE family and that feeling is felt when attending both group’s conventions. There’s nothing quite like being a member of the harvesting family!
After the convention was over on Saturday, we headed for the Calgary Tower for lunch. Then the snow began. Not much snow (maybe 4 inches) but who wants to go out when that begins to put a damper on things? So, for the evening, we opted for pizza and stories in the hotel room with the others who were still hanging around.
On Sunday, we took a quick trip out of Calgary and headed to Banff for an afternoon of sightseeing. We stopped at a majestic old hotel and walked around it for a while and then headed for the gondola ride up the side of a mountain. BEAUTIFUL!! I was certainly wishing we had more time to take in all the beauty that Banff and Canada had to offer. 
The trip was way too quick but definitely worth it. Thank you, Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters, Inc. for making me feel so welcome! You are an amazing bunch of people. Now I can’t wait til summer so I can be watching for you on the road.
We’ve seen this lake many times from the ground. This is Fort Peck Reservoir. Was so much fun to see from the air!
A perfect picture of an agriculture quilt!
Downtown Calgary from the hotel window.
Jim and Kent Braathen
The Olympic ski jump where “Cool Runnings” was filmed.
The view from inside the gondola on our way back down the mountain.
Goodbye Calgary!
More pictures can be viewed on the Zeorian Harvesting & Trucking FB page.
“A man’s character is like a tree and his reputation like its shadow; the shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” President Abraham Lincoln (my hero)
I thought I should tell my readers who may be family that the Grandma I am referring to in my previous posting is Jim’s mom. I am not talking about my Grandma – who is as well as she can be for being 94 years old. I asked her the other day what sort of medication she takes and she answered, “a blood pressure pill and vitamins”. I hope that’s all the medicine I’m taking when I’m 94 years old!
The above picture is the end result of an afternoon spent looking for the PERFECT tree!
After what seemed to be an untraditional Thanksgiving weekend due to Grandma being in the hospital, it ended on a holiday note.
Grandma is doing MUCH better! After watching her struggle for every breath for a couple of days, it appears she’s progressing well enough to be moved out of ICU tomorrow. Thank you for the prayers! Once again, I am reminded God IS in control!
I LOVE Christmas! And will try to do all I can to enjoy it as long as I can. The tradition of getting the Christmas tree up and decorated over Thanksgiving weekend began long ago in our household. After growing up with an artificial tree for most of my childhood, I decided that when I got married, I would have a real one. My tree of choice is a cedar tree from a local farmer’s pasture. Through the years, it has been Jim’s job to find the tree. He would take the older girls along with him while I stayed home with the younger ones. As the years have gone by and the kids have grown, we all go. Our tradition is being carried on through the newly established Hermesch household.
We headed for the pasture yesterday afternoon. The temperature was a little on the “nippy” side but the sun was shining. If you didn’t have a hat and mittens, you certainly would have been wishing for them. The brisk air definitely helped remind us that Christmas is just around the corner. Hey…at least we didn’t have to walk through snow!
Curt & Jamie found their tree first.
Some years, it takes us forever to find the PERFECT tree. There’s usually too many decisions and you never know if the one beyond will be better than the previous one spotted. By the time the PERFECT tree is found, we’ve walked further away from the pickup than you would have ever guessed. This means that all the hills you’ve just gone up and down will have to be retraced dragging a tree. It tends to be a good workout!
“Give me the saw, Taylor, this one’s mine”. Jenna
We ended up finding four trees – one for us, Curt & Jamie, Jenna and Taylor. It’s just fun carrying the Christmas spirit into your own little world (bedroom).
This is our PERFECT tree!
The PERFECT tree is always in the eye of the beholder. And, through the years I’ve found that even the not-so-perfect tree will look beautiful once it is decorated. Our trees tend to become a part of the family (silly, I know) and are dearly loved. The Christmas music is turned on while we put on the lights and the decorations. The girls make sure their special ornaments are put on year after year – as do I. It wouldn’t be right not to put on the same ones that we’ve always put on. Once decorated and boxes are put away, we turn off all the lights and admire our newest member of the family. Magically, the tree has become more than a tree. As far as we’re concerned, it grew in that pasture specifically for the purpose of providing us the memories of searching for it and becoming a part of our Christmas traditions. It’s so hard to take it down when Christmas is over. Probably because that means one more year of Christmas tradition and memories have come and gone. For now, though, welcome to the family dear PERFECT tree!
Thanksgiving…a day of family, food and memories. That’s how it’s supposed to be!
Yesterday morning, Jim’s mom called me early to let me know she wasn’t going to be able to attend our Thanksgiving meal. She and I had talked the night before and I knew she wasn’t 100%. I could tell she was out of breath. Yesterday morning, though, she was a lot worse. Worse enough that I woke Jim up and told him he had to take her somewhere for help. He didn’t even argue with me. He got up, got dressed and called his sister. Here’s an instance of seeing how God works in our lives. Maureen (Jim’s sister) usually has a house full on Thanksgiving. Not this year. She had Thanksgiving on Sunday (a little weird, I thought) and wouldn’t be celebrating on Thursday. So, when Jim called her, she was able to drop everything and head to Omaha with him (without leaving food preparations and a house full of people). God is so good all the time!
Our meal was supposed to be ready at 12:30. It was placed on hold until further notice. Our crowd was slim as Jamie and Curt were in Kansas with 
Curt’s family. Jim wasn’t there and neither was his mom. So, those of us that were here just sat around the kitchen table and in the living room watching tv. The time seemed to drag. Once in a while Jim would call with an update. Finally, at 1:00, he said he’d be home at 2:00 to eat. The cooking began, once again. At 2:00, Jim called and said he didn’t feel like he could leave the hospital and we were to go ahead and eat without him. We said our grace and began feasting. It sure didn’t taste as good as it should have. As I was staring at my plate, I got to thinking about the previous years and it hit me – this was the first time in over 30 years that I hadn’t been sitting at the table on Thanksgiving with Jim. Weird. He was where he needed to be. We all missed him. He showed up – about 3:30 – with information about Grandma. She was in ICU and was resting but had a very tiresome day. Her Thanksgiving included a lot of poking, prodding and testing. The doctor diagnosed the shortness of breath was due to fluid built up around her heart and in her lungs (as a result of congestive heart failure). She was wore out from struggling for every breath she took. How often do we take that next breath for granted? All the time. Makes me want to take a DEEP breath right now!
(The girls in their after turkey coma state)
God prepared us for yesterday even before we realized why. Grandma is still in ICU but is resting more comfortably. Today, she was tired but thankful for the company she had throughout the day. I hope she rests well tonight and knows that God is watching over her. Thanksgiving wasn’t supposed to be like that. We were supposed to celebrate the day just like we have every other year…
