The changing routines of fall

With the coming of fall and the change to standard time, there are several routines that do change at our house. When that is coupled with the changes we are negotiating after the fire including our age and physical limitations those changes are different this year than they have been before. 

Rick doesn’t have the shop to walk to. He still goes for walks, but he isn’t gone for several hours at a time, so I have to learn to do things while he is in the house. For most of our married life, we spent our time in the house together. When he went to the shop, out to farm or even just out to do chores, then I did my housework, writing, indoor exercises; whatever I did that was just me. When he came back in, I stopped doing “my stuff” and spent time with him while we ate lunch or even just took a break. 

Now it is different and I am the one doing a lot of the physical adjusting. The adjustment of doing dishes while he is sitting in the living room reading. Vacuuming while he is sharpening knives sitting in his chair. Doing laundry while he is riding his exercise bike or cleaning up tools that survived the fire. 

His adjustment is more mental, an acceptance of what he cannot do anymore. The mental adjustment of not going to the shop, not being the total provider, not being the one I ask when I can’t get a lid off or need help with a vehicle problem. I am sure his adjustment is much more traumatic than mine is. 

I am learning to love the time while I am baking bread, he is reading an article about gardening and just starts to share what he is reading. I love that he is here to bounce ideas off of when I am studying my Bible. Rick is my spiritual rock and keeps me solidly on the narrow way. 

It doesn’t hurt that having him here builds my ego in wonderful ways. He compliments every loaf of bread, even when it turns our lumpy and bumpy. He thanks me for the little things that he used to do and now I have taken over. It humbles me because I am afraid, I didn’t thank him enough. 

Our life is different now, but it isn’t worse, if anything, it is much better. He has the time to just stop and visit with me. Without the farm and the business taking so much time, we are getting to know the people we grew into being while we were living and growing older. Now we are learning to love the people we are now. The people who aren’t as spontaneous, who are more comfortable just sitting by the fire together, than going out to eat. I am enjoying this change. 

Another fall change is the way my growing gluten free bread business is being handled. Through the summer I baked for the two farmer’s markets; now I bake once a week, on Thursday. I deliver to Basin on Wednesday. I spend a few hours at the Basin Newspaper office working on my Pages of the Past research and people who have bread orders can just come pick their bread up. So far it is working well. 

Spicy instant hot tea

¾ cup instant tea

1½ cup sugar

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups Tang instant drink

1 (3 ounce) package lemonade mix

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in tightly sealed container. Stir 2 heaping teaspoonfuls of mix into each cup of boiling water.