~A day with the Stones~

(From the late 1980's)

The cold morning light was peeping over the horizon as Lila Stone left the warm house and headed to the goat barn which was hardly a barn since it was an old green van with a corral built around it. At this time of the year in the Alaskan fall, it got quite cold in the mornings while the temperature was warm in the early to late afternoon. Ginger was a large goat with a belligerent attitude, but Lila who was a determined person had dealt with the stubborn goat before. When it came down to who would do what, the goat always lost.
Lila looked into the goat barn and saw that as usual, the chickens were roosting and sleeping on the goat. But ginger did not seem to mind as it was benefit to her as well as the chickens in regard to warmth. Lila gave the goat her water and then milked her. Lila noticed that when she brought warm water, it seemed to freeze before the cold water did. Then she went back to the house and went up the stairs of the back porch and into the house where the aroma of pancakes welcomed her. Dad was at the stove making his delicious pancakes from scratch. Mom and Caroline amide a conversation were setting the table and putting butter, honey, peanut butter and applesauce on it.

“Your cornbread was so good. It was the first to disappear at potluck,” Caroline was telling Mom.

Mom had made Cornbread at potluck after Sabbath the week before, and she had just put a pan of freshly made cornbread batter in the oven.

“Well it was not always the best, but I discovered the if I added twice the sugar and twice the oil, then it turned out well.

“I would not tell that to Grandpa if I were you,” Dad said to Mom.

“But it really is very good Mom,” Lila rejoined as she put the goat milk on the table. “I think that when I bring ginger water, when it is hot, it freezes faster than if it is already cold.”

It was going to be a busy day that Sunday with lot to do. Brian came and sat at the table, eying the honey and then the pancakes. Then Roy sat next to him with Brent predictably on the other side. Dad put a large stack of pancakes on the table as Tim sat next to Roy. Four little boys with notorious appetites on one side with their two older sisters on the other side. Caroline who usually had a good view noticed that Dad was making letters with the pancake batter. Letters which she noticed corresponded to the first letters of her and her siblings first name. Then Mom sat down on one end of the table as Dad sat down at the other end. The blessing was said by Dad. When he finished, he got up to continue making delicious pancakes. It seemed hard to believe, but Dad would always outpace the rate of which his family ate his pancakes, and he was always ahead of them.

There was usually a number of pancakes left after the family could not eat anymore pancakes which Dad made, but that was okay because they made great leftovers.

“Well, said Mom,”One of the things that we need to do first is a little harvesting.”

“Oh boy,” said Tim. I will finally get to harvest those green beans I have been growing near that tree for most of the summer.” That summer had been a busy one since the boys with Dad's direction and help, had dug a pathway to the basement where Dad had made a door in order to take large items in and out of the basement more easily.

“Yes,” Mom continued. “Some of the vegetables need to be taken in.”

Breakfast was a good time with everyone enjoying the pancakes and adding comments to the conversation in general. It took a while but everyone was eventually full, and Mom directed the children to the back garden where harvesting commenced. Dad meanwhile went to the A frame shop area to work on an engine.

“I am sure glad that Rabbit is not around anymore,” Brian commented as he pulled carrots out of the ground, and put them in a bag. A neighborhood kid had accidentally lost his rabbit that summer. That rabbit decided that the back garden was a good place to get food. He would hide out in the day and ransack our garden at night, but we had caught him the week before. Dodging four boys running after him was not much of a feat for a rabbit. But he overdid himself when he was spotted running into a pipe. Brian went in one end of the pipe and Brent went into the other with barely enough room for the boys to wiggle, and rabbit was caught and returned to the neighborhood kid. The lettuce and cabbage showed abundant evidence that it had been the main course in the rabbit's nightly pillaging, so everyone was happy that the rabbit was gone.

“Oh that dumb goat!” We all looked to see Tim heading for the scraggly tree near the goat barn where ginger had made short work his green beans he had been tending most of the summer. The truth was that ginger really was not all that bright, although she was saved excessive scorn in that she did give good milk, and that she had swiped and downed the neighborhood kid's coke when he was not looking. It was too bad about the green beans but there were some still left. The harvesting went on. There was lettuce, tomatoes, corn, some potatoes, peas,onions, cabbage, mustard, and beets. Dad came from the shop and whatever vehicle he was fixing with a stethoscope around his neck.

“So Brent, do you think we should grow macaroni seeds next year?” he said with a wink at Mom.

“Oh yes Dad!”

At that point point, everyone except Brian loved Macaroni and cheese, and Brent started thinking about how often they would have this prized dish next year if they planted macaroni seeds.

At that point it was just past one, and with all the vegetables gathered, Mom decided that we had harvested enough for one day. A lot of the food at the table that summer came from the property rather than the store. In addition, neighbors came by every so often to buy eggs. During that summer there was lot of food to be had. They had milk from the goat which mom would sometimes make into cheese, and eggs from the chickens plus lots vegetables from the gardens. Occasionally that summer the children would eat fresh greens from the store, but it was easy to tell the difference in taste between homegrown and store bought greens. The difference was a deep flavor in home grown food and a shallow lackluster flavor in store bought food. As far as the writer knows, this is still the opinion of everyone in the family. Mom started a pot of beans for dinner before the studies began.

Inside the house with the vegetables gathered, Mom announced that there was a need to do some school work to make up for some things that had not been covered the week before. Except for Caroline who was in high school, Lila, Tim, Brian, Brent and Roy went to home school. It is very likely that in that setting, these students learned more useful things that they remembered better and longer than what they learned in other schools. This mostly had to do with their teacher who had a greater knowledge of them as people than any other person in any other school system. So the studies went on. Brian and Brent studied readers called “Superkids,” while Tim studied another reader called the “Abracadatlis.” Lila studied writing styles and Mom explained to Roy facts about the body. Seeing that this was a good topic to inform all the students on, Mom called their attention. Lila knew all of what Mom was talking about as far as the body. Tim knew a lot about what Mom was talking about. Brian and Brent knew some of what Mom was talking about. But since Roy had not been to school, this was news to him. She explained that the body was supported by the skeleton, and she showed pictures of it. She explained that muscles helped the arms and legs to move as well as other parts of the body.

“I always thought there was nothing in the body but blood, because when I cut myself, that is what comes out,” Roy told everyone else.

One by one, the students began to ask the teacher questions about the anatomy until Lila realized that she had been writing their questions instead of what was in her textbook.“
“Ah! I have been writing the questions you have been asking!” After some more learning, it was getting on toward evening. Mom decided that it was time to put the books away, and get supper on.”

The steamy aroma of pinto beans and fresh cornbread filled the whole house, as Caroline began to set the table for supper. When Mom and Dad went out, Caroline usually presided over meals, and there was never a dull moment.

But that evening, she set the table and then set out the butter, cornbread and beans. Once again without so much as an announcement, people came to the table. Dad said the blessing in his solemn conscious way, and then Mom would begin to serve the boys beans after Dad and the sisters had gotten some. There was hardly a night when there was not any conversation at the table. Talk ranged from school, the garden, the animals, friends, Church and potluck, extended family and where we lived. Dad would sometimes tell a joke or a funny story which the boys did not always get at first. After dinner, well after the sun went down, Dad went to get a Chilton auto mechanics book to examine, which when he had, he got a cup of coffee, and sat down comfortably in the living room. Mom would sit on the couch with the children gathered around her in front of the heater. Caroline usually sat on the back of the couch, comb in hand for when Mom began to get sleepy. Mom would read in a book. It varied from time to time. Sometimes it was the little house books, Heidi, the borrowers, bedtimes stories, or Bible stories. This usually went on for over an hour, and Mom would sometimes begin to fall asleep while she was reading. So it was usual for someone, usually Caroline and Lila to brush her hair. When this happened she would not go to sleep, but would continue reading until bedtime which was different for the boys since they were younger. Mom and Dad and Mom usually made a point of kissing when they knew the kids were watching, which was a little awkward for the kids as they did not know what they were supposed to be doing when this occurred, but it was good psychology and obviously factual. Sometimes there was reluctance to go to sleep, but when there had been a lot of physical activity in a day, it seemed that the boys did not mind so much. There were no lack of covers in that house. And in the winter, there were so many over you that you had a distinct contented and snug feeling when you were warm in bed about to drift off to sleep.