Little House, Again

There's a scene in the Little House books where someone gives the Ingalls family some chicks.  And Ma says something like, "We'll feed the chicks and they'll grow.  And after a year we'll have eggs.  Then after two years we'll have more chickens and more eggs.  And then in three years we can eat one of the chickens.  So in three years we'll have fried chicken, girls!"  Or maybe it was when they finally plant the garden (At Plum Creek?  Or on the prairie?) and they spend all year in joyful anticipation of finally getting to eat lettuce and onions.  Then they move.

Three years ago we planted a satsuma tree.  Last spring we had dozens of blossoms and tiny pea sized satsumas started to grow.  Then it was super windy and all were blown off the tree except for twelve satsumas.  And almost every time I've walked by that little tree all year long, I've counted those twelve satsumas to make sure they were still there.  And now, we're eating them.  And next year, God willing, the tree will grow.  And one year we'll eat satsumas and make satsuma cakes and send friends home with bags full of orange fruit.

Thankfully we've been able to purchase a variety of citrus fruits from the grocery store over the past few years, including right now.

Holly has a black eye from that villainous foe, the edge of the kitchen table.  She is modeling one of the dresses from her fall collection.  It was the same pattern that I used for the very first dress I made for her (which she never wore because it was oddly shaped) but this time the pattern was size XL.