Yep…still here.
That’s the question that’s asked a lot by everyone we come in contact with who knows we shouldn’t still be here. Here it comes…next question…”when are you leaving?” I just shrug my shoulders, squint my eyes and say, “I don’t know.”
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Well…once again, the days have run together and more weeks have gone by since I allowed myself to sit down and write about the adventures of the Z Crew. Our time in New York City was phenomenal! One major thing I would have changed (if I could have) would have been the weather. The “winter-that-just-won’t-quit” continued the entire time we were on our trip of a lifetime. It was so cold, we were ducking into stores hoping to find gloves and hats. Unfortunately, all the winter items had been taken off the shelves to make room for summer merchandise. Dang it was cold! The final day of New York was spent at The World Trade Center site and Central Park. The girls LOVED Central Park (especially Taylor) and I really wished that it had been more spring-like weather instead of a strong bitter cold wind. All we wanted to do was get somewhere warm. Our last evening was spent washing clothes, packing and preparing for an early morning departure. We had tickets to take the Amtrak from NYC to DC and had to leave the apartment at 6:00 a.m.
The Z crew is in NYC. What a foreign world this is. Nothing like the corn fields of Nebraska or the wheat fields of Kansas!
I’ve been away for a little bit…
I’ve been extremely busier than normal with putting together a fairly large event for the U.S. Custom Harvesters. We’re celebrating our 31st annual convention and trade show in Wichita, KS on March 6 – 8. It’s been a work in progress, that’s for sure. The biggest event I’ve ever done was Jamie and Curt’s wedding. That seems like a piece of cake. 🙂
Jenna, on the other hand, knows exactly what this is all about. She’s the trade show coordinator for CLAAS and travels the farm show circuit with the CLAAS equipment. She knows how hard it is to make things work and click and look good and deal with stress. So, for the past several days, I’ve talked to her about all of this because she knows and understands.
Taylor and I attended Brook and Jillian’s Christmas program at their church last Sunday. They did such a great job!! I was so proud of them.
It’s beginning to look – and feel – a little more like Christmas around here. FINALLY! I’ve struggled with the Christmas spirit this year. Normally, Christmas is my favorite time of year. I’ve thought and thought about why it was different this year and have finally put a finger on what it is that has been bothering me. This may not be anything new to you but it’s taken me this long to finally let it get me down…commercialism of Christmas.
So, this is what it looked like when we arrived in Calgary on December 3. It had been close to 60 degrees just the day before at home. I mentioned to someone that I had seen Lethbridge was expecting -27 degrees Farenheit for lows while we were there – they reassured me that was Celsius. They were wrong! The coldest it got was -45 degrees and that was most definitely Farenheit!
One of the events that I have come to really enjoy being a part of is the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters, Inc. convention. It isn’t the warmest location in the world to vacation in December BUT it certainly brings together a lot of great people. And…it shouldn’t surprise you. Custom harvesters (regardless of the country they call home) are a different breed of people – some of the best you’ll ever meet and good to surround yourself with. Jim and I left for Lethbridge, Alberta on Tuesday morning. I waited until the last-minute to pack (like I always seem to do) and Jim set the alarm for 3:00 a.m. The flight left at 6:00 a.m. I went to bed at 1:30. “Good, this will give me an hour and a half to catch some sleep”, or so I thought. I woke up at 2:00 and felt like I had been sleeping for hours. Who knows why I woke up – maybe I was afraid we were going to sleep through the alarm? Tuesday felt like it lasted an entire week. I would catch myself wondering, “did this really just happen this morning”? Continue reading
The beauty of a Nebraska road as the sun starts to set.
The autumn color has been beautiful this year. And the sunsets…extraordinary! I don’t know if it’s the harvest dirt and dust to blame for creating these beautiful sunsets or if it’s because I’ve been outside at the exact time to witness them. Whatever it is, I have thoroughly enjoyed them.
A weird sort of feeling just swept through me.
I’m sitting here listening to the rain hit the window next to my “desk” in the living room. If this were six weeks ago, we’d be enjoying a day off. And, believe me, there’s nothing better than waking up during the middle of the night hearing that sweet sound of rain pinging on the cottage roof. No lunches would need to be packed and I would be able to sleep just as long as my body would let me. Unless, it meant ANOTHER day of sitting.
Tonight, it’s just rain. Our lives aren’t controlled with weather as much anymore. Well, it still is for Jim. He’s still harvesting but the rest of us are involved in the “real” world again. Speaking of Jim, he finished with the soybeans last night and was going to start with corn today. Not so much now. I talked to harvesters today from North Dakota to Kansas and everyone is sitting now due to rain. It’s a harvester’s holiday!
