Category Archives: Education

The Least of These (Part 1)

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We’re back! We are living out of boxes and in a little bit of chaos… but very slowly things are progressing towards routine. It’s a slower pace out here in the country so we’re allowed to take our time, right? I’m happy to be back at mittonmusings.com and wanted to share our first experience here at Itsnotta Farm.

We’d picked up the keys and had our first few walkabouts. I have big plans for a lot of spaces on the property, but I knew I wanted to get going on the unfinished basement first before anything got moved in. It’s a big space. It takes up the main part of the house, but is a little damp and dark and gets a bit wet in the spring… but I was determined to clean it up before all our junk got in. I thought it would take a couple of days work. I was wrong. It took much longer than I anticipated. It was also a good thing I don’t have an issue with spiders. I met a few along the way.

The Least of These

I started out doing my research. What would I need for such a reno? What was my prep? I was tempted to go full hog and paint the ceiling black for a cool “club vibe” like the videos I was seeing. I determined that was way more work than I wanted to take on. It did, however, convince me to buy a paint sprayer. A little splurge, but we are hoping we’ll use it for other projects coming up. (Read chicken coop and barn!). Then on to learning about paint and prep. I don’t think the basement had been taken on in 50-plus years… so I had my work cut out for me. Concrete walls. Crazy half-wall step thing. Chips, bumps, lumps and a whole lotta spiders. And then there was this:

What was this?

Not exactly sure, but I suspect rusty residue from previous pipes, a fireplace or an old oil furnace. There are two “windows”. I really wish they were closed in with a glass block or something to let in a little natural light, but it really is the cellar. Heaven forbid anyone or any thing gets locked in there… there is no escape. Anyway, for those of you looking for reno tips: talk to the people that know. I was confused about all the products: concrete, epoxy, stain blockers etc. but the lovely lady at Home Depot convinced me: concrete masonry paint for the walls because it was a vertical space. I chose white. The part epoxy paint (epoxy = plastic) that sticks better on the horizontal floor. Slate grey to hide imperfections. Perfect. Load up the cart! I also bought a wire brush and a stain blocker for those porous stained spots.

And then the work. Scraping. Oh so much scraping and chipping away at 50-plus years of layers. Climbing under shelving and behind the laundry sink. And I am not a little lady. It was probably pretty humorous seeing me tucked under the shelving with a brush in my hand getting those hard-to-reach spots while trying to avoid leg cramps!

No escaping!

At this point, perhaps you, like others around me, are asking why on earth would I want to start with such a seemingly unnecessary project? After all… it is just an unfinished basement that floods a few times a year and no guest will likely ever see. Why spend the effort on the floor that will only ever see dirty laundry and cat litter? I suppose I wanted it “clean” and protected and to look a bit more finished than it was. Moving in time was the perfect opportunity to attempt it as the basement was empty of junk. A little like people. Many of us who are rough on the edges need someone to come alongside us and brave the cobwebs to help seal the stains and beautify us. The Bible tells us that we are to care for the basic needs of “the least of these”. Everything and everyone should be worthy of a little “pretty-ing up”. At least every 50 years or so!

Support poles and floor, like us, needed fresh coats of paint after 50-plus years!

And often, the perfect time to take on such a project is when it’s empty. We need the most encouragement and uplifting when we are drained of all our stuff and have reached the point when everything has been scraped away and we can start the climb back up from the basement. Guests may never see the dirty laundry, but the very least of these still deserve some effort! And the rewards are abundant! Trust me! The daddy long-leg spiders were worth the exposure — come back next week for the final before and after reveals of our century home cellar and a little more inspirational chat about how we can be the light in someone else’s dark world!

Spring Planting

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Happy Spring! It certainly doesn’t feel like it around here – with sub-zero temperatures and five feet of snow on the lawn, but the calendar tells us Spring has arrived!

By now we should have started some seeds indoors… but it hasn’t happened yet. The cold weather and my poor results from attempts last year have deterred me from being adventurous with my seed selections this year. Buying small plants and seedlings is easier. Let the professionals start the hard and delicate part of planting seeds. Then, I will just carry on from there. I don’t have a hothouse for tomatoes or peppers. My soil is not ideal for some of the more particular crops. And I’m too impatient for Lufas or teeny seeds like daisies and other flowers. I’m excited to try – last year we geared up in February for the first fruits. Failure makes me cautious. You’ve heard me say that growing is God’s miracle, we just plant the seed! I should just leave Him to His job.

Photo by Nikola Jovanovic on Unsplash

I watched a cute little YouTube clip from a kid’s object lesson on this topic. I love how Nature is so good at teaching even the most straightforward lessons. Jesus used them often to help His students learn. I’ll link the video in case you need a Sunday school lesson…

Seeds are dormant, hard little creatures that sit around waiting to die… protectors the “Bible mom” calls them. Keeping everything safe until just the right time at just the right moment to bloom, explode and display all their blessings. Plants and seedlings, on the other hand, are vulnerable and out there. They start out delicate. And if they get good care… well, they can become the mighty oak!

Unfortunately, last year my seedlings didn’t grow well. I let the protectors down and the producers just didn’t catch and flourish into the big plants they were intended to be. The few my mom got did pretty well at her house… she got some fruit. I guess her conditions were better.

And so it is with us. We need to be in the right conditions to flourish and grow. We need to be in a good church body with good teaching. We need to be mentored, encouraged and coaxed to grow. We need to feel confident enough to break down that hard protective shell of seed and sprout into seedlings and vulnerable plants. We need to be watered and fed and protected from the outside when we lose our shells.

And we need to be that protector for others. Those of us that are parents are all too familiar with this. We raise our kids, giving them all the attention and allowances we can. Eventually, they sprout and produce their own fruit. (Eek… am I heading to grandma zone??) But it’s true! Time waits for no one. We have limited chances to do our best. Still… it’s never too late! Even sickly seedlings can pick up with a bit of sunlight, a little water and some good food. They may never be the strongest in the garden, but the fruit is possible!

Photo via Jenni Haikonen

So let’s learn from spring buds, shall we? Encourage. Help grow. Seek it for yourself. Plant yourself in good soil. Break down your hard seed shell and bloom!

Here’s that kid’s video clip. May have to look up the “Bible Mom” again. Seems like a nice lady! 🙂 Bible Mom Lesson

He Popped the Question!

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Welcome back, my beloveds! I apologize for the slight delay, but February is a fun-filled month for us and I just wasn’t feeling it. I was in a little stale state as far as writing was concerned… even though we had lots going on! Birthdays, Valentine’s day, Family Day weekend, and I am proud to announce that an engagement has now been added to the month’s list! Our eldest son asked his beloved to marry him… and she, of course, said yes! How am I old enough for this? No comment. That purple hair is coming soon.

And so begins the muse… popcorn. Sorry, I suppose that connection needs to be made. After the great “proposal” we had a little gathering where the mother of the bride-to-be displayed little bags of popcorn that said: “He popped the question”. I’m sure you’ve seen the pun on Pinterest or at various shower-type events such as the one we had this weekend. Anyway… it was a fun little gesture that got me a thinkin’ all about that snack. Who discovered it? How? Why? Why is it the movie snack? Is it the only movie snack? And so I dug a little.

Let’s start with the variety. Popped corn is not the same as the veggie served at Thanksgiving dinner. The Zea mays variety everta, is the most common strain of corn used for popping. Originally domesticated in South America, people used to “pop” it in large kettles on the stovetop. MMMmn. Kettle corn is still the best form, I think. And the movie theatres? Well… somewhere around the 1890’s a guy called Charles Cretor created the classic street car “steam-powered” cart for selling nuts, candy and popcorn. That became popular when Mr. Dickinson began putting them in his theatres… a move that proved the snack was more popular than the actual movie ticket! It wasn’t until the 1970s that a Mr. Orville Redenbacher’s namesake brand of popcorn was launched for home use (now that tv movie watching seemed to have taken over from movie theatre going). Have you heard of that guy? Industry leader, for sure.

So what about that aroma? Remember smelling it back in the school or church basement and just knowing something good was about to happen… movie night, party period or something great. Ahhh… That smell just made you want to snack! Turns out it’s creepy chemicals affecting our brains. Popcorn contains high levels of the chemicals 6-acetyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, very powerful aroma compounds that make us crave the taste. These chemical compounds are also used by food and other industries as a marketing tool to make us “want” their products. Cue profitable theatre ticket sales.

Are you craving popcorn now? Well, just before you dive in the pantry for some Redenbacher’s, let’s think about this as our takeaway: Romans 8:28. We are like those little grains of everta corn to God. He knows that sometimes a little “heat” causes just enough stress to “pop up” good things in our lives. We need to expand out of our little comfort zone sometimes in order to become sweet and yielding. Like that microwaved bag, sometimes things just keep popping and popping up …. one thing after the other. Rest assured God allows it for something good. Always.

Here’s another thought. 2 Corinthians 2:15. We are to be that sweet attraction to others when things are popping up in their lives. The aroma of Christ should flood the room like popcorn scent in a theatre. It draws you in and makes you want to taste it. You should want to crave it. That should be the power of Christ in our lives. And it should be the center of my son’s new marriage adventure. So the party gift was ever so appropriate. I think I’ll go finish off the bag now. How about you?