Faith ......... not fear.

I don't talk a lot about my faith. There were two topics you didn't discuss in polite society. Religion and politics. But I will never be known as the Miss Manners of Donahue. Hey! I talk politics all the time. Its time to talk about my faith for once.

I was raised in a Christian home but like many, I became apathetic to Christ and God. I really didn't see how it could make a difference in our life. Besides, I sure didn't fit into that church where I was raised!!!!! We were good people.........that should be good enough.

So God spent a lot of time trying to get my attention. Lord knows, He gave me one of the most beautiful places in Iowa to live! But evidently, that still wasn't enough to wake me up. Like my grandfather would say, "Sometimes, you have to hit a mule over the head to get its attention!"

Yea ..... I got hit with a 2x4!

A little over two years ago, Honey and I had trucked through a hayfield. I was looking for a barn to move to the farm so a friend suggested one and we were off looking at it. On the way home, Honey mentioned feeling a little off his game.

We were walking around outside.... debating some alternatives to moving a barn(!) Honey said he thought he would go inside for a few minutes. I should have thought ........ hmmm, that's weird. But I didn't.

A few minutes later .... I went in to join him and sat down at the spinning wheel. "I don't feel good", Honey said. "So what is wrong?", I asked. Honey had a sore shoulder ......... but he had unloaded 250 lbs of feed the night before. And then he said he was nauseated.

Easily explained symptoms. Nothing alarming.

However........... I was sitting at the wheel and I heard a voice very clearly say, "Get him to a doctor now!" It was my Dad's voice as clear as a bell. But Dad had died of a heart attack 23 years earlier......... at exactly the same age Honey was at the time. Evidently, God knew that I wasn't going to listen to a random voice. It better be someone that could wake me up!!!

For some reason ... Honey listened to me and we went off to the doctor. (Of course, I did let him drive!!!!) We reached an emergency health care facility and instantly knew that Honey was in the midst of a heart attack.

Honey had a 99% blockage in the artery that they call "the widow maker". No pain -- no Fred Sanford "I'm coming to meet you, Elizabeth". Just a little discomfort.

After an emergency surgery with two stents ..... and another surgery scheduled....... Honey was home again. I had been blessed. For 60% of all heart attack patients ....... the very first symptom is death.

Every night ........ I would lie in bed, listening for sounds of his breath. I would lay my hand on his chest to make sure he was ok. I was terrified. I was living alone in this sea of friends. I was living in fear.

Fear was not a place I wanted to live. But I was going to live there ........ if I didn't have faith. It was a choice only I could make. God gave Honey and I a second chance (and really, a third and fourth chance.... considering he survived 1-1/2 bouts of cancer!!!) Yea .... we aren't the sharpest knives in the block. Takes us a few hits over the head to get the point!!!!

So the last two years have been a new journey in our lives. With the love and support and the spiritual guidance of our friends, Debbie and Jim .............. Sunday, we celebrated our birthday! Honey and I were baptized at Heritage Church in Bettendorf. I can not begin to describe how amazing it was!

We have a l--o--n--g road to travel to reach knowledge and understanding. But we made the first step on Sunday ... and if you were there, you know it was an extremely long step for me!!! (I am very very short and the tank was very very deep!!!)

Thank you, Debbie and Jim for your patience, your understanding and your love.

We love you both.....
Honey and Miss Eff

A sign of the times.............................

Do you remember this post? I know you have anxiously been on pins and needles, just wondering what I was going to do with the only blank wall in my house.

It's been killing you, right? Ok -- not so much. But it is time for the great un-veiling.

But first a little history. Miss Effie's closes at 3pm on Saturdays. By 3:30, Honey and I are usually on the road to DeWitt to get some ice cream. We take exactly enough money. $3.09. I get a small dish of vanilla and Honey gets a medium twist cone. No sprinkles, nuts or hot fudge. Just a simple little treat of ice cream before we head home to do the chores and get some more work done.


One Saturday, we find a yard/antique/junk sale. Hmmmm? That magic word ..... antiques. So we do a u-turn (DeWitt is a town you might be able to get by with doing a u-turn!) and stop to look.

Now mind you, we have $3.09........ and no more. We look. And we look. And Miss Eff sees something that catches her eye. But with $3.09, I wasn't going to bargain for much!

But thank God for ATM's! And I went back and purchased these vintage (but not antique!) signs.



Hand painted signs from a long-forgotten roadside veggie stand. Proudly proclaiming what was fresh and in-season at the moment.



I love the whimsical pumpkins and strawberries.


You know -- I always thought that an antique quilt would be the perfect piece for the stairwell.

But today, as I chatted with my friends at the Freight House Farmers Market and I bought some cheese and meat sticks and missed out on the greens......... I realized this is the perfect piece for me.

Maybe it will help me inspire others to eat and shop locally. But if nothing else.... it is my wake-up call (Literally!!!! Its the first thing I see when I stumble down the stairs.. gasping for coffee!!!) A not-so gentle reminder of the importance of supporting our local farmers. The guys and gals that raise our beef, grow our veggies and make our soaps and candles.

Across the country, there are lots of markets selling local goods. To find a market near you, look here.

Its Christmas time. Do you need a reminder????

ISO gourmet pizza toppings......................

Ya know that I like making my own mozzarella cheese. And I like to talk .... which leads me to teaching what I like to make.

So on Tuesday -- I am teaching a homemade pizza and mozzarella cheese class through Scott Community College.

I thought ..... this will be fun. Maybe there are some other people that are nutty enough to want to make their own cheese. Well ........ there are. Twenty of them. The class is completely sold out and there is another class scheduled for February.

We teach the classes in the home economics classroom of a local high school. There are 6 kitchenettes and the demonstration kitchen. I will be making a pizza and demonstrating the cheese making process. Then the students will divide into groups and make their own pizza and cheese.

Here is the question.............

I am looking for some great pizza combinations. I will be roasted the veggies (which I love!!!). I will have the ingredients for a classic margarita pizza. I want to use only the mozzarella cheese and not go into feta or blues --- even though I really love those. I really didn't think we would be making 7 different pizzas!!!!

So do you have any great pizza combos?? Care to share??? I'll send you any left-overs. (Don't check your mailbox too often. Chances of left-overs? NONE!!)

Only the Hungry..............

My new post for Blog for Iowa is up.

The other day the statistics for food insecurity were announced. I really despise the term "food insecurity". It's hunger. Pure and simple hunger. People that don't have enough money to provide meals for their family.

One in eight Americans are currently on the SNAP (food stamp) program. 25% of all children get some form of food support with SNAP, WIC or subsidise school lunch program.

I find that absolutely appalling!!

Now .... I would really like to know some other statistics. What is the percentage of people with cable or satellite television? What is the percentage of people with cell phones? How many of those households have a PlayStation3 or a Wii?

Hunger is a major problem in America. When 25% of our kids have to get some kind of government assistance to eat ...... Washington, we have a problem!

But I think priorities are the bigger problem. When we have to have the latest gadget or gizmo but can't put food on our table .... we have a problem. When having the appearance of money is more important than being honest with yourself and others about your finances ...... we have a problem. When stuff is more important than feeding our communities.... we have a problem.

I'm proud of Team Lafrenz. My husband's family quit exchanging Christmas gifts three years ago. Seriously, do I need another candle?? And now -- we pick a charity to support. One year, it was Coats for Kids. Last year, it was the North Scott Food Pantry. This year, we are donating to the Zion Lutheran Church's food pantry. And with almost 40 of us ..... it can be a pretty big help to a small community.

We had a $15 gift exchange in the past ....... and now, it is fun to see how many nutritious items I can buy for $30. No Hamburger Helper or high fructose corn syrup products in my boxes!!!!! (But you knew that already!) Lots of pasta, brown rice, oatmeal and dried beans.

There was a line (that I blatantly stole!) from a Water for Christmas brochure. I will steal it again ...... it is worth it.

This is our chance to trade consumerism for compassion.

So ..... I know you are kind, generous, giving people. I have seen it over and over and over again. But 25% of our children go hungry at some time. Its time to change that.

Looking Forward ... quick glance back!

Thirty more days and we can count 2009 as history. Wow! That went fast! Or .... if you happened to be a farmer in eastern Iowa .... maybe not fast enough!

2009 has been one of the wettest years on record. And we ain't done! October was one of the coldest Octobers on record. And November was the 7th warmest on record.

The record at Miss Eff's ................... Best customers on record! Ya smiled, ya laughed. You dined in the corn-zebo and enjoyed the tea cup tree. You bought eggs and jellies and jams. You brought me milk jugs, sandwiches, tea cups and tablecloths. You wrote reviews and sang our praises. And if you didn't............ at least you had the heart not to tell me!!!

You drove from miles to see us .......... and didn't complain about the gravel road. (Personally, I think the gravel road keeps the riff-raff out. And besides, my neighbor drives his 1/4 million dollar combine down it! I think its good enough for a $35000 SUV!!!)

You gave me hugs when I needed them. You were generous when I asked for your help with the food pantry. You held chickens when I forced them on you. And you forgave my dusty house when you used the restroom.

And most of you liked our old shabby-chic farmhouse. (Except for the woman that said to me "You live in that house? I'd burn it down!!!") Actually, it cracked me up!!!!!

You have been the best!!!!!

In bad news, it was the worst flower season ever. (Which does have the additional effect of lowest checking account balance ever! Just another record to be broken! That is why there are now ads on Miss Eff's. So far, I have made seven cents. Really.)

We had sooo much rain, the blossoms of flowers would literally "pop" off the stem. Hot weather flowers didn't grow... cold weather flowers rotted in the rain. Not a stunning year.

But I am a farmer and enough of that stuff! I was taught at the "Scarlett O'Hara School of Agriculture"................ Tomorrow is another day!!!

So here is a look forward for next year and the goals at Miss Eff's.

First on tap --- the new retail store. Plans have been drawn. The site is clear and "The Summer Kitchen" should be reality by the first of June. (Depending on Honey, economic and weather conditions) This will make for easy shopping for our customers. Fresh eggs, jams, herbs, dried flowers and hopefully, hand-spun yarn will be available. Maybe an extra loaf of bread or so.

Secondly, our plans include starting some new raised beds this year. In an effort to make it easier for our customers to cut the flowers, we hope to have at least two raised bed rows this year. (It has nothing to do with the fact that my knees are aging and I love doing this -- so by the time I'm 90 -- everything will be in raised beds!!!!)

Third --- We hope to have an intern. We are growing too many products that are not being used to their potential so we are looking at value-added agriculture. Our herbs will be used in jellies, dried herb mixes and baked goods. I even have a fantastic intern in mind ......... if we can get everything to work out!!! (Hint! Hint!)

And finally, we hope to be a partner site with Silos and Smokestacks. This will give me the opportunity to educate people on the history of agriculture, particularly the woman's role in agriculture. Hopefully, with the above-mentioned garden slave (scratch that!) intern, we will finally be able to offer the classes we have always wanted.

(Emily! You know I am only joking!! You can do what you want... whenever! Anything to have you here on the farm!!!!!)

So that's what is new at Miss Eff's ......... I've been working on flower lists and there will be lots of changes for the new season. Stay tuned and I will keep you up to date on the progress and new ideas.

Crazy about Crazy Girl!!!!!!!!

I know I told you that I was on a yarn diet. I can cheat as fast on a yarn diet as I can on Weight Watchers. And I did. Sue me.

(The good news is that I ate no pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I did eat an incredible pumpkin mousse at mis-fit Thanksgiving. But no pumpkin pie. Brie covered in cinnamon-apple topping with pecans and wrapped in puff pastry does not show up on any "Don't Eat" lists. I'm sure that was fine!!!)

OK ---- a couple of weeks ago I showed you the hat I received in the mail. It was in sorry shape. Here is the note that was packed with it.

This is near tragedy. Look what happened to my favorite hat! The good news is that I actually washed it. I'm sure I've washed it before but I have no memory of this.

Please, please, please tell me it can be saved!! It's my most favorite thing.

Jill


Seriously, am I going to turn down such a request just because I am on a yarn diet???? Somethings just have to be done.

I sacrificed my diet ............... and went to Crazy Girl yarn shop in Muscatine. (Note to Readers ........ DO NOT GOOGLE "CRAZY GIRL". Just follow my link.... enough said!)


Yep .............. it was like walking into the Godiva Chocolates of Yarn!!! Sock yarn to the right. Sock yarn to the left. Sock yarn was everywhere! That hot pink sock yarn to the far upper right of the photo? That now belongs to me. I was in serious trouble!


See that friend/enabler there?? My friend Robin. She got me spinning. And now, she is hooked on drop-spindles and says I should join her. She is a psychology prof .......... she knows all the tricks for making me fall for that!!! She's really good. I am sooo ready to try. (We know what I tough-sell I am. All she had to mention was the word ..... portable!)


I was actually quite good. My purchases did not reach the three-digit level. That is usually a given.

But if you have never been to any of the Crazy Girl yarn stores (Muscatine, Coralville and Cedar Falls) you need to make a road trip. They are warm, friendly, laid-back places where you can have a cup of coffee ......munch on a biscotti ......... and browse through a book. You can fondle yarn to your heart's content. They are every thing a local yarn shop should be.

Life is good.

PS..... the author of the fore-mentioned note received TWO replacement hats ... exactly like the one that was damaged. Can't take a chance on losing or misplacing someone's most favorite thing!!! Maybe we can get photos to follow.

Free the Detain-eggs................

Trapped in the depth of a Whirlpool refrigerator at Miss Effie's are twelve dozen eggs. They are a diverse bunch ........ eggs of shades of brown, white, pink and even, green.

They live in darkness ........ only seeing light when their captors reach in for a swig of milk or to add more detain-eggs to the crowded conditions. Two more dozen will be captured today.

Their mothers are from all different ethnicity. There are Orpingtons, Brahmas, Aracunas and Wyandottes. All were hoping for a life for their eggs outside of Donahue.

You can help.

You can show the detain-eggs a life over easy. They can be sunny-side up. Or show them what cream puffs they could be.

Your donation of $3 can free 1 dozen detain-eggs and keep them out of hot water. Leave a message and we will readily release them from captivity.

Thank you.