Barn raising!!

I've waited 10 years for this barn raising, and I can't wait to work in my new wood shop.

I love the smell of fresh cut wood, so I get the cutting jobs.

The sunny warm days are a great bonus! The indoor stuff can wait for the cooler days expected next week.


Here's my "boys"... up front, son Alex, son-in-law Rob, Paul (father of young family living in our basement), and Jordan (daughter Tina's boyfriend), helping John raise the 3rd wall of the barn.

We're going for the rustic look with the recycled 3 x 3 posts. Would love an old century barn, but this will have to do... I'm happy!!

With the 3 x 3 posts, this wall is very heavy... so we need lots of strong muscle men to help. First you put them to work, and then you feed them a big roasted turkey as a thank you, haha.
Here's Alex, John (hubby), Rob, Paul & Jordan groaning under the weight of the wall, but it's up. Now, the 4th wall is ready and waiting to be hoisted. John's going to try and use a special lift for it and the massive beam across the width... we'll see if this works, I'm not so sure it will work, but I'll see later on today. till later Frieda

Symbolism of the white Easter Lily

I know Easter has passed already, but we were gone for the Easter weekend, and came home to this gorgeous display of almost 5 full blooms on my Easter lily, a gift from daughter Tina. I have never seen so many blooms, so I had to share this with all of you, who may not have received a Lily this year, or don't share this custom.

Also, wanted to share some symbolism on the Lily:
"The Easter Lily suggests purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life. Often called the "white-robed apostles of hope", lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony. Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. They commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting."

"In early paintings, the Angel Gabriel is pictured extending to the virgin Mary a branch of pure white lilies, announcing that she is to be the mother of the Christ Child. In other paintings, saints are pictured bringing vases full of white lilies to Mary and the infant Jesus. Joseph is depicted holding a lily-branch in his hand, indicating that his wife Mary was a virgin."

The celebration of Easter is year round, it is not about the bunny and colored eggs. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that we commemorate. May this hope of life everlasting, be your hope as well! till later Frieda