Hello from just over the hilltop in Norwood where the wind is rolling the gray clouds along and the large black crows are bringing a smile to my face. They have been meandering in the yard these last few days looking for something to eat. Our snow is completely gone except for a couple of plowed piles and the brown ground looks like spring. Maybe the warm temperatures are bringing bugs to the surface for them to scratch looking for a scrumptious winter meal. Well, they are a sight to watch whatever they are up to.
In the waning moonlight I watched a cat making its way across the backyard up along the barn and then disappearing behind the building. Last night one slithered by in front of the barn. I don’t know who they belong to and I don’t mind them passing by. Hopefully, they are great hunters and are out for the prey.
Family fun
We had another treat this last weekend. Karen, Jami, and the grandchildren came up again from downstate and spent Saturday night with us. They were here for Jami’s grandfather’s 90th Birthday party and also visited Jami’s other grandparents. It was a short stay but still a delight. Garrett and Heidi and Dingy Bear had many make-believe adventures while here and Papa got all tuckered out. Guess I did, too, because I ended up taking a two-hour nap Sunday afternoon.
Garrett and Heidi and Dingy Bear had many make-believe adventures
Dick has begun to sing in the choir at church and I am still playing the piano and sometimes singing. It is a very special time and I so appreciate the opportunity to play. Dick is helping with some renovations at the church meeting hall and is getting to know more of the men through ripping up old carpet and underlayment. He’s glad to be able to help.
Friday evening we went to the Kiwanis Variety Show at the Norwood-Norfolk School and very much enjoyed our date. The big draw for us was Don Woodcock and his friends. What amazing talent these musicians have! The Drew Cloggers also performed, which we had not known about, and they were excellent and great fun to watch. There was also a mother, daughter, and grandson who sang, played piano, or guitar and a student who performed with his ukulele. It was a lovely evening out and not far from home.
Our youngest grandson, Sam, turned two yesterday. He lives downstate and so we just enjoyed seeing pictures of him and his celebration via facebook. I confess that computers and social media are great for family information.
Writing, walking, talking
I’ve been thinking………that I want to tell you, or remind you, why I chose the name, “just over the hilltop,” for this journal/blog. There are three reasons. One is because there is an old saying of being “over the hill” when a person turns forty. I didn’t pay attention to that as I thought it was making fun of someone’s age and forty definitely wasn’t old. I decided to wait until sixty before thinking I might be getting old. But now that I’m well into the sixties, I might change my mind and think eighty is over the hill! Anyway, that was the first reason.
The second is that when I look out my kitchen, our backyard rises and mounds up like a small hill. Beyond the hill I can see across the valley over the Raquette River to the Ridge Road and far into the western sky. It causes me to think of the future and what is beyond the ridge: even the ridge of my life. I am secure looking beyond the sunset whether in life or in death. And that brings me to the third reason: “I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop, in that bright land where we’ll never grow old. And someday yonder, I will never more wander, but walk the streets that are purest gold.”
please stop by for a cup of tea or a drink of water and tell me about your life where you live
That is the chorus from one of my favorite hymns and what a blessing is mine when I think of that mansion (room or whatever it may be) waiting for me in heaven. No, I’m not afraid or ashamed. Before that day comes though, I want to keep a written record or journal of how one woman and her family lived, thought, and viewed this life that God has placed just over the hilltop. Sometimes I feel as though I am a subculture in the midst of a world seemingly out of control and gone astray. But I love sharing that culture with those interested and if you are ever in this beautiful north country, please stop by for a cup of tea or a drink of water and tell me about your life where you live.
“When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, “What is it?”
No, not as there is time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and feet feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.”
That poem is “A Time to Talk” by Robert Frost which also reminds me of a quote from Jesse Owens’ coach. “If we walk long enough and talk long enough, maybe we’ll get to know one another.” I love that he says “know one another” and not “agree with one another.” How good and pleasant is walking and talking! Do stop by. Love, Sharon