DOGWOOD ACRES WEEKLY 01/14/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, 01/14/08, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. My 58^th birthday is over, but the 58^th year is just beginning. I cannot help but wonder what this year holds for me, good, bad, happy or sad. Nevertheless, the way of life is that I go forward living each day to the fullest. There is always so much that I would like to do each day, but never enough time.

Rick actually surprised me with a birthday gift, and I will not be exchanging it. We have been making an effort to eat healthier so his gift was a Juicer and a bag of oranges. The kids had a FRUITCAKE for me after church Sunday night. A cantaloupe half held the candles (not 58) and a variety of other fresh fruits filled the tray. It was yummy and I did not have to feel guilty about eating it.

Monday night was a stormy night in The Ozarks. We spent some time in our basement, Jim and Dawn went to Bill and Christie’s basement, but there was never any tornado or wind damage here. With at least 23 tornadoes having been reported I checked on our friends in the Strafford and Marshfield area.

Jim and Terry Warren, who lived near us between Elkland and Conway, have a terrible storm story that will never be forgotten. Trying to escape before the storm hit, Terry and the kids got into the car and Jim rolled under his pickup. The tornado destroyed their milk barn, hay barn, shop and did enormous damage to their home. The car was lifted from the ground, hit with a farm gate, and windows were blown out filling their hair and clothes with glass. How thankful we are that they all escaped with no injuries.

Connie Hammond has a new deer story to tell. While most bow hunters had already gotten their deer or just given up, Connie was ever watchful. Her persistence paid off and a nice medium sized doe was her reward. This was her first kill with a crossbow and she is totally thrilled.

Justin and Kasie visited with us Friday night. They had gone to The Landing for dinner and peeked at the Harley Davidson store under construction in the dock area. When it is ready, Justin will be transferring from Springfield. He looks forward to a shorter workday drive and it will be good to have one of our own back on the lakefront again.

Wanting to be a good hostess, I offered them one of my favorite snacks nowadays, cold raw turnip slices spread with organic peanut butter. They were very gracious and ate every bite, but I have to wonder what they said about us later.

Jim spent several hours Saturday removing rafters from the “Old House”. He would then slide them off the roof to Dawn who drove out all the nails and loaded them on the pickup. Jim said he remembered Daddy telling about the tree all of the rafters came from. All of the timber for the house was logged from the property here, but the rafter tree was special. An exceptionally tall White Pine, it grew in a deep hollow and was pulled out by our Grandpa Clarence’s mule. We are not sure which mule as he had several fine ones over the years.

Billie Matthews is still having a lot of pain due to a fracture resulting from a tumble she took recently. Dr. said only bed rest and time would bring healing, so she is spending most of her days and nights in bed. Daughter, Linda Groves, lives nearby and has been a frequent visitor and helping hand. She thinks Billie is a little better than a week ago, but it is a long slow process. Bye for now.