Recipe...A Blast from the Past

The women of this series live close to the coast.  They are able to obtain seafood on a semi regular basis.  I imagine that this is a dish that they would have enjoyed immensely.  If you do not enjoy seafood, skip this post.  Or you find it interesting as a historical recipe.  I glean most of my historical recipes from my Grandmother, who gleaned most of hers from her Mother, my great-grandmother.  They were both excellent cooks, and enjoyed the preparation of food as a gift from themselves to those they loved.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS

1.  Carefully wash and pick one quart of oysters.  Remove all particles of shells and other debris.
2.  Mix one cup each of bread crumbs and add one half cup of melted butter.  Mix well and sprinkle the bottom of a buttered baking dish with a small layer of crumbs.
3.  Place on top of the crumbs in the baking dish a layer of oysters.
4.  Dust the oysters with the crumb blend.
5.  Put crumbs on top of oysters.
6.  Put another layer of oysters, dust the top with black pepper.
7.  Bake in a moderate oven (remember they did not have temperature adjustments on stoves...they were attempting to moderate the temperature of a wood or coal fueled fire),  fifteen to twenty minutes.
8.  A shallow baking dish should be selected for oysters so that they may be quickly heated and cooked.  Longer cooking at high heat toughens the oysters and destroys it's flavor.

Ardis, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch

Good news...I'm almost finished with the book that is the first chronologically in the series.  It's a stand alone book, but it also adds an important piece to the puzzle that is my series.

Ardis is an amazing woman.  She lives in an extremely important time in the history of our country.  Her family is moving by wagon train to Oregon when her husband discovers that the Civil War has begun.  Very excited he leaves his new wife, parents, and younger brother to continue their journey and he travels back east to join the Union Army.

Ardis faces her fears.  She is talented, intelligent, and loving.  Her adventures may surprise you.  Just like this idea.  Did you know that the first woman private detective was hired in 1857?  She worked for the Pinkerton Detective Agency.  She was instrumental in uncovering the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln before he could be sworn into office as president.

I love writing historical fiction because it allows me to combine two of my passions, history, and writing fiction.  It's a lovely challenge to undertake to create a fictional character and then meld that person into actual history.

Ardis is very young at merely 18 years of age.  She has already faced great challenge as the only child of parents who die when she's 16.

It was nearly impossible for a woman to find work in the 1800's.  They could not vote, and they were literally considered the property of their husbands.  When they married, any asset that they possessed was now owned by their spouse.  They virtually had no voice.

Yet it was women like Kate Warne, woman detective for the Pinkerton Agency who began a movement that would soon sweep our country.  The Civil War emancipated the slaves, it also forced women into some extremely uncomfortable types of growth and development.  As men left enmasse, women were forced to take up the slack that the men had left in employment.

My Mother-in law is an important part of my inspiration for the character of Ardis.  My beloved Mom in law divorced after 25 years of marriage was left with 5 sons to support financially.  She had very few job skills, having worked as a wife, and mother for all those years.

She took a job as a secretary/receptionist that barely earned any money.  Within a few years she had pushed herself upwards into investigating and research for the cases that were taken care of in her office.  Not long after she became the first women detective in consumer fraud for the state of Utah.  She was instrumental in shutting down some very large ponzy schemes.

This marvelous lady, a detective in her own right inspired me to have Ardis move into that arena.  Shanghaing was a terrible thing was happening in many port cities in the United States.  It was easy to involve Ardis in investigating this crime to try and stop it.

I will soon post a few chapters from my book. Please enjoy.

Deck the Halls!

My series, "Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," follows the time period from 1861 through 1880.  It's a fascinating time.  My characters move through the American Civil War as they make an exodus from the east to the west of America.  They forge raging rivers, they face the hostilities of nature, but they keep moving forward, even when putting one foot in front of the other seems impossible.

These remarkable people knew how to adapt their lives for the circumstances that they faced.  Below is an example of those abilities.

CHRISTMAS TREE GARLAND

Tools necessary:

1.  A sharp sewing needle
2.  Heavy duty thread (or double regular thread)
3.  Popcorn
4.  Cranberries

Thread the needle, and then put popcorn, cranberry, popcorn, cranberry.  (You can vary the pattern and put two popcorns and one cranberry, or any variety you wish).  When you run out of thread, or make the garland as long as you wish tie a knot in the end.

CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT

Tools necessary:

Blank sheets of paper
Scissors
Thread, twine, or string

1.  Take a piece of blank paper, fold it in half several times. 
2.  Carefully cut different shapes at the crease of the folded paper
3.  Unfold one time, cut some triangles, or diamonds on the new fold
4.  Unfold again, cut more shapes
5.  Make a hole at the top of the snowflake.  Thread the yarn through, tie a knot on the end.  Hang on your tree
5.  Open your snowflake,

Ardis, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch, Chapter 1

Ardis closed her eyes against the sunshine. It was so bright and hot she felt as though it would peel the skin right off her bones. She tried with all of her imagination to think of a soft spring day in Tuckaleechee Cove, Tennessee, her hometown. She imagined the silver mist, and green brilliance tickling the trees, and fields into life. She felt the moist cool of being at the river. The dry heat of reality began to face, leaving the silver, green, soft, cool, of her memory imagining.

A male voice with a hint of nasal tone pulled her thoughts abruptly back. “Ardis, Ardis Kay McKechnie Bee, why are you closing your eyes? Are you sick?”

A frustrated groan escaped Ardis before she could pull it back. “Tom, I'm fine, just hot. I was just thinking and wishing for the cool of Tuckaleechee Cove in springtime. Can't you imagine the gentle mist rising in the morning? Imagine the Little River pouring out of the Great Smokey's?”

Confusion was on Tom's too handsome face. “Ardis, Mother needs your help to prepare dinner. She sent me to find you.”

Ardis looked up at her brand new husband, Thomas Aidan Bee, and softly sighed. He was very handsome, with even white teeth, a square jaw, deep brown eyes, and thick, brown, wavy hair. He also had a rich baritone singing voice that set all the other girls hearts a flutter. Why didn't she feel anything for him but the dull, flat, sort of affection that you would feel for a brother?

Maybe it would help if Tom had even a slight amount of imagination. Maybe if he liked to read about anything other than the mythic heroes of their Scottish heritage or how to grow crops. No, his conversation was exactly like his reading. He loved discussing how many potatoes he could grow on an acre, and how long the crop growth season was.

When Tom and Ardis arrived back at camp, Mrs. Bee was red from the blast heat of an open fire. Her beautiful brown hair was hanging in stringy, limp, tendrils around her face.

Ardis walked straight to her Mother-in law. Softly she said, “Forgive me Mother Bee. I'm afraid I lost track of the time. I'll finish making dinner.”

Fiona McFarland Bee turned her cross, fire-reddened face towards Ardis. “Yes, Ardis, you're a wife now, and soon, you'll be a mother. You have no time anymore for girlish fancies.”

Ardis took over the stirring, seasoning, and simmering of prairie dog stew. In her mind she kept repeating her Mother's words. “Remember Ardie Kay, Fiona Bee talks very sternly but she has a loving, caring heart. You can't judge a book by it's cover.”

Ardis had lost both of her parents the year before to Diphtheria. After that she had bounced from one home to another. Tom had made her dying parents a promise that when Ardis turned seventeen he would marry her.

Ardis kept repeating in her mind her Mother's words, while looking at Fiona. Fiona didn't have a soft place on her entire body. She was lean as rawhide. Her dress was simple and Spartan. It didn't even have a piece of lace to soften it.

The one feature that flattered the decidedly plain woman was thick, brown, wavy, waist-length hair. She always wore it in a simple bun on the back of her head during the day. At night she took it down. She brushed it for a long time before braiding it for sleep. Ardis had seen it down. It was lovely, like a soft, lacy shawl across Fiona's shoulders.

As the Bee family ate that evening, Ardis felt frustration rise. She thought, “It's as though Tom and I are already an old married couple. He doesn't compliment me, ever! He never talks about anything other than the grand old times of Scotland when men were warriors, or the price a bushel of corn will bring at market.”

Ardis rubbed the back of her neck. She was trying to relieve a knot that had been bothering her. All at once she felt a strong, firm, pair of hands rubbing her neck gently.  “I'm sorry if your neck is aching. Thanks you for helping to make such a fine meal.”

Ardis squealed as though she were five, not a responsible, married woman of seventeen. Turning she threw her arms around her Father-in-law, Aidan William Bee. Aidan twirled his Daughter-in-law while she giggled. Ardis adored her Father-in-law. He was playful, funny, and loving. He made everyone around him happy.

Ardis often found herself wishing that Tom was more like his enchanting Father, and less like his practical, earthbound Mother. Tom's parents were a definite case of the attraction of opposites.

Fiona spoke up, “Aidan Bee, put Ardis down. The others in the wagon train will think we're heathens.”

 Aidan carefully put Ardis down. He winked at her, and chucked her under the chin.

Next he turned. He picked up his wife. He spun her in circles.

Fiona kept saying, “Aidan, put me down. Whatever are you thinking?”

Ardis noticed that Fiona looked pleased even as she protested. 

 Finally Aidan eased Fiona back to earth. She smoothed her skirts. Leaning down Aidan claimed Fiona's lips. After a moment he drew back and said, “Aha, I thought so. You weren't worried about Ardis being a lady. You were just jealous.”

Fiona said, “Go on Aidan, do you think that you will get around to growing up someday?”

Rumpling his youngster’s hair Aidan said lovingly, “Billy boy, have ye been minding your Ma?”

“I try Da, I really try.”

Chuckling, Aidan said in a teasing tone, “Yes son, I know that you are very trying.”

Aidan crossed to Tom. He gave him a warm, fatherly, hug. “Listen to the woman Tom, and me a respectable Father, and Husband bringing home meat for the fire.” Aidan pointed to a dead duck, and rabbit.

Ardis wrinkled her nose. She knew she should be dutiful, and clean them but she hated the task. If Ardis could create the world they would never eat animals. Indeed in Ardis' world animals would all be pets. They wouldn't eat each other. They would all subsist on fruits and vegetable only.  It took all of her will power to walk over, and pick up the two dead animals.

Tom knew how odious she found the task. He spoke up, “I'll clean them Ardis. It won't take me long.” Tom took the animals from Ardis, and started walking away.

Fiona stopped him. “Tom, put those down. Catching the meat is men's work. Cleaning the meat is the women’s job. Ardis needs to learn her duties now that you're married.”

Tom said dutifully, “Yes Mother,” and handed the game back to Ardis.

As Ardis skinned and cleaned the animals she muttered to herself, “Yes Mother, certainly Mother, I'm not a grown-up man with a mind of my own, Mother. Please tell me everything I should do, Mother.” Ardis was so busy grumbling she didn't hear Aidan approach behind her.

“Let me take care of those Ardie Kay.”

Squealing, Ardis whirled around holding a half-skinned rabbit in front of her like a shield.

“I'm sorry daughter. I didn't mean to startle you. I just thought you might like a hand.”

Ardis blushed crimson thinking of what her Father-in-law must have overheard her say.

Without missing a beat Aidan said, “Don't let Fiona upset you Ardie Kay. She has led a very difficult life. She was the oldest of ten children. Her Parents both died of diphtheria, like your parents, when she was only fourteen. She also lost her two youngest Sisters at the same time. She raised the other seven children herself.”  Aidan continued softly with a rich Scottish burr in his voice, “Fiona doesn't mean to be unkind. She's just doing the best that she knows how.”

Ardis grinned sheepishly. “I'm sorry Papa Aidan. It wasn't Mother Bee that upset me so much as Tom. When will he grow up, and remember he's a husband now, not a little boy obeying his mother?”

Both of them fell silent as they worked in rhythm. Finally Aidan spoke. “How long have you two been married Ardie Kay, three months?”

“Yes, Papa Aidan.”

Aidan continued, “It's taken Tom twenty years to learn to obey his mother. It will probably take him a while longer to learn to listen to you.” They both chuckled at the idea. “Ardie Kay please give Tom a little longer to learn that he has a new first loyalty. Also be patient while Fiona understands the idea.”

Working together they were soon finished. “I'll speak to Tom, Ardie Kay, and Fiona. Be patient with us dear. We're far from perfect but we love you very much.” Aidan leaned over and kissed Ardis' cheek.

“Thank you Papa Aidan. I love all of you too.”

This evening was like most others on their trail to Oregon. After dinner was finished, and cleared away, the Bee family gathered around their campfire. 

There were two Bee brothers. Tom was the oldest by thirteen years. His Brother, Billy, was seven.

Billy looked a great deal like his older Brother. That's where the similarity ended. Billy Bee was a curious, imaginative, little boy. He dearly loved Ardis. She would make up stories, and sing songs to him. Billy would add his own details.  The Bee family all loved to sing. Billy also loved to create songs. His voice was a pure, sweet, sound. His singing enlivened the heart of all who heard him.

The family also loved to dance. They hadn't danced in a long time. At the end of a day of walking they were too weary to dance.

Aidan ended the family time a little earlier than he usually did. “It's time for family prayer. We will have an early start in the morning. Our trail leader says that we need to make up for the time we lost when we were all sick a while back.”

Seemingly on cue, Fiona coughed. It was a deep, dry, rasping, sound. She had been the sickest of the whole wagon train. She was still far from well.  Fiona spoke up, “Honestly Aidan, I don't know if I can walk another step forward.”

Ardis put her arms around the stiff, brittle, form of her Mother-in-law. “Mother Bee, go get some rest. I will tuck in Billy. I'll also make certain that the animals are secure for the night.”

Fiona gently touched Ardis' cheek. “You know the good Lord never blessed me with a daughter, until now. Thank you Ardie Kay.”

As a family they prayed. Fiona left to go to their bed in the wagon.

Aidan spoke up, “Tom, son, I need to speak to you alone.” Something in Aidan's tone alarmed Ardis but she pushed away her concerns with the immediate tasks at hand.

Billy walked with her. They checked to make certain that the chickens were secure in their little portable coop. Next they checked on the oxen, and the goat.

Finally, Ardis helped Billy prepare for bed. When he was snug in the back of the wagon, Ardis sang to him, “Bye lo Billy, Papa's gone a hunting, to get a lovely rabbit skin, to wrap our darling Billy in.”

Billy protested, “Ah, Ardie Kay, that song is for babies. I'm a big boy now. Last week Papa said that I'm almost a man!”

Ardis rumpled Billy's thick, curly, locks. “Don't be growing up so quickly Billy. All the girls in the camp will be chasing after you. Just remember you're my sweetheart!”

“Nah, Ardie Kay, you've gone and married Tom. Everybody knows that you can't marry two men. Besides I sorta' fancy that Elizabeth Owens. She can stick her tongue out so far that she can touch her nose with it!”

“Indeed, Billy, that is a skill far superior to any that I've mastered in life. But can Elizabeth do this?” Ardis began humming. While she hummed she held one finger alongside her nose. Then she gently tapped the other side of her nose, making the humming warble, and vibrate.

Billy watched spellbound. “Teach me Ardie Kay! Please teach me!” Billy's eyes were enormous with wonder.

“I will be happy to teach you Billy,”

Billy whooped. He began clapping his hands.

“Tomorrow.” Ardis finished her statement.

Billy moaned, “No, now Ardie Kay, teach me now!”

Ardis smiled wisely. “If I taught you now what would you be looking forward to tomorrow?  Now, down on your knees, darling, to talk to the dear Lord.”

Billy slid down in an instant. He said, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless Ma, and Papa, and Ardie Kay, and Tom, and me.”

“And I,” Ardis replied, automatically correcting Billy's grammar.

“Why do I need God to bless my eye?” Billy questioned innocently.

“Never mind,” Ardis said, “Finish your prayers.”

Billy continued, “God bless Ardie Kay to remember to teach me how to play my nose, in Jesus name, Amen.”

“Amen,” Ardis echoed, “Now climb into your covers.” Ardis tucked the blanket in around Billy. She kissed his warm, sweat sticky, cheek.

“Nuts, Ardie Kay,” Billy wiped the offensive kiss off his cheek with the back of his hand. “Why'd you go and do that mushy stuff?”

“I just can't help myself Billy. You're just too darn handsome for the good of women everywhere.”

Billy giggled. “Ardie Kay, lean over. I have a secret to tell ya.”

Obediently, Ardis leaned her ear down to Billy's mouth.

“I love you Ardie Kay,” Billy whispered.

Ardis felt her heart grow warm. “I love you too Billy Bee,” Ardis whispered back. “Sweet dreams, handsome prince. May God's brightest angels watch over you.”

As she climbed out of the wagon she saw that Tom and Aidan were standing by the campfire. Their words were unusually animated for the late hour of the night. Ardis stayed in the shadow of the wagon to hear Aidan speaking, “Use your head, Tom. I wouldn't have told you if I thought that you'd go off half-cocked.”

Tom threw his arms up in the air, “You of all people know that we come from a proud land of warriors. Fighting is the thing that we Scottish do best.”

Aidan was agitated. “This isn't our battle son. This isn't Scotland or the great bloody past. How will your Mother feel, and what of Ardie Kay? I believe you promised to share your life with her and take care of her? There was something about a promise to her dying parents?”

Worried, Ardis strode purposefully towards Tom and Aidan. “What is this all about?”

Tom got excited and rubbed his hands together, “It's started, Ardis.”

“What in Heaven's name are you talking about Tom? What's started?”

“War, it's war! Fort Sumter has been fired on. It's official.”

Ardis sat down on the nearest object, a stump. Her bones suddenly felt more liquid than solid.

Tom frowned at Ardis. Frustrated, he clenched his fists in his pockets. “I know as a woman you can't understand. When I was tiny Father told me of the great Scottish warriors. Don't you see? This is my chance. I must give back to this land, this place that gave me life.”

Ardis stood and gave Tom an icy glare, “Strange, you say this land gave you life. I thought your Mother did.” Ardis grabbed Tom by the arms, “Oh Tom, it would be different if you were fighting to protect our families, or our homes. This isn't our war. This war belongs to someone else. This war belongs to the people who believe in slavery. This war belongs to the slaves trying to be free.”

“Ardis we all belong to the United States of America. This battle belongs to all men, all of them, in this new country. If the south secedes and forms a new country we lose all of those grand things that George Washington and the brave men of the revolutionary war won.”  Tom continued, “Remember that powerful declaration that we learned in school? 'We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal. That all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” All of them were silent for a moment. They were feeling the power of the words ring across the years.

“You're going then.” Ardis said the words flatly. Finally acceptance had come. Tom nodded up and down. Ardis felt a glimmer of attraction for Tom beyond her normal feelings of brotherly fondness for him. It was driven by the knowledge that she may lose him forever.

Tom pulled her close and then gently lowered his lips to hers. Ardis felt no magic. There was no surge of sparks. Still she told herself that it felt good to be in the strong circle of Tom's arms. That was enough.

Tom ended the kiss. “Don't worry Ardis, I'll be home before you know it. We won't have to fight very hard to whup those rebel southerners. Then I'll come back to you. We'll build our home, grow our crops, and have a family. It will be right. You'll see.”

Sensing that Tom needed her approval, Ardis squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and smiled at him through the veil of her tears.

Ardis to Beth?

I began writing A book.  That's right, one little book.  Over the years it grew to be a great big book.  So I made it two books.  Then I wrote another book about a different character in the series.  Eventually it became 8 novel in the series.  The first 8 are stand alone.  You could just read one and enjoy it, OR, you could read all 7 of the books in the series and see them as threads to finish a tapestry.  The last novel is called "Tapestry."  It is NOT meant to be a read alone book.  It is meant to sew up and finish the picture stitched tapestry of "Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch."

I am a random person.  I really, truly hate days that are strict framed with demands of activity.  I like a day with possibilities that I can follow in whatever order I determine.  I began writing my books in this same random fashion.

I quickly realized the problem inherent with writing a book that chronologically will be the 7th in the series, first.  SPOILER ALERT MUCH?

I'm starting over.  This time I will write novels ONE, TWO, THREE and so forth.  That way you can hear the tale from the very beginning of the ranch.  Book one is "Ardis, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch".  Look for some entries about Ardis.  She is a wonderful young woman who is searching for the direction she should go in life.  She's fun, funny, loving, and extremely intelligent.  I based her personality and her physical features from my two favorite Ardis', my Mother-in-law, and my daughter.  What a gift to have these remarkable ladies as part of my life.  On the other hand, she is NOT just a reinvention of these women but she is very different as well.

In my recent posts I have been writing Celeste's journal entries.  I have done this to spark interest in "Celeste, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," which is currently published.

If you have already ready Beth, and Celeste, no harm no foul.  You will just be a little bit ahead when you do read the series in order.

Thank you...THANK YOU, to those who have purchased my books.  I hope that you have enjoyed them, and you have been able to run away for a little while from daily cares, and fears.  I hope that you have been happy to experience a different place and time.

Celeste's Journal

I stayed at the Drifting Anchor Ranch with our boys this weekend.  Blake and Red volunteer for a rescue organization.  They went to the coast to work with other men on the best ways to rescue people from ships that are sinking.  Not far from where we live is an area called, "The Graveyard of the Pacific."  It is incredibly dangerous to ford that particular connection between the Columbia River, and the Pacific Ocean.

The pulsing of the mighty river and the waves of the mighty ocean causes the sandy river bottom to shift and adapt daily.  How do you make a connection of this type when the river bottom changes daily, sometimes hourly.  Blake was the Captain of a ship for eight years.  He became very adept at making that crossing.  He often says that, 'I simply felt my way through.  It was like walking through a familiar room at night without turning the light on.  I just said a prayer and then felt my way.'

The irony in his statement is that his 2nd in command was in charge while Blake got some much needed rest when they ran aground.  If they had not run aground in this place, I might never have met Captain Blake Calkin.  He saved me.  He and Willard Bond, pulled me out of a dark place of bondage and saved me!

Well our adorable boys and I had so much fun.  We went for a long walk.  Jamie dances more than walks.  He is such a busy bumblebee.  I have to watch him very closely.  If I see him smiling more broadly than usual I instantly know that he's in trouble!  lol  He does not walk into trouble, he dances and runs there.

On Saturday afternoon, after returning home, cute Eric fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon.  He is such a solemn child.  It seems as though he is constantly thinking deep, important thoughts.  The questions that he asks me always make me stretch and grow.

I had a sewing project with me.  I am making a dress for cranky Lucille Bond.  It's an interesting, slightly toxic thing to sew for her.  She treats me horribly.  Yet her business is invaluable in earning enough money to keep my shop open.

I had settled Jamie (I thought) with some quiet toys.  He was supposed to be looking at picture books, and playing with his toys.  Quiet time activities are clearly set out for him.  I was not watching him every minute.  After all, I had told him over, and over, and over again what to do during quiet time.

I suddenly had a sense that something was wrong.  I looked over at Eric and he was still sleeping soundly.  When I looked at Jamie, there was no Jamie!  My heart skipped a beat or two.  Then I reasoned that he could not have gone very far.  I was ever so wrong.  That boy can almost out run a horse!

Blake was in his office working on the never ending bookwork of running this ranch.  I quickly went in and told him about Jamie's escape.  Without a hesitation he stood, and ran out of the room, and out of the house.  (I am pretty sure that Jamie gained his ability to run rapidly from his Papa).

An hour later, Blake found a very sad, wet Jamie Calkin coming back from Carter's Creek.  Blake had a very stern discussion with Jamie.  Next Jamie and Blake went to the woodshed for a more firm reminder not to repeat this offense.

When Jamie came in the house, still dripping, he was a very sad little boy.  I took him upstairs to his room to help him out of his soaking clothes and into some dry ones.  He looked up at me and said, "Maman, I just wanted to go back to the water.  I love the water Maman.  I knew that I could not walk to the ocean," (I was grateful that he had not tried that), "so I went to Carter's Creek.  I was just going to wade.  I rolled up my pant legs so I didn't get them wet.  Then I slipped on a mossy stone and fell in the water.  At that point I knew that I was in trouble anyway, so I decided to swim.  You remember Papa just taught me how.  It was so lovely in the cool, blueness of the water.  I finally climbed out of the water to come home.  I knew that you would be very worried about me.  That's when Papa found me."

I hugged him close.  "Don't you EVER do that again!  I love you so much Jamie.  I was worried sick about you."  At this point I had tears running down my face, and Jamie did too."

Jamie threw his arms around me and hugged me fiercely.  I hugged him back.  I love these boys ever so much.  I'm grateful that Jamie is safe!  

Celeste's Journal

This area of Oregon is never supposed to get this hot.  I think it's close to 100 degrees.  Worst than the heat is the humidity.  Trying to keep my business running when I can hardly breathe because of the smothering weather is miserable.

I gave up today.  I rode my horse out to the ranch.  I decided that taking the boys to Carter's Creek would be a grand way for us to beat the heat.

Red, the boys, Blake and I, all worked together to pack the perfect lunch.  It certainly was an odd assortment of food types.  There was homemade bread.  There was cool creamy butter churned by Red.  There was jam, my favorite kind, strawberry rhubarb.  There was an apple pie, with a small container of heavy cream to pour over it.  There was turkey meat, and cheese.  Last but not least I had brought croissant that I had made yesterday before it became so beastly hot.

The boys charged into the cool refreshing water.  Their squeals and giggles renewed my soul.  I had not dressed in a swimming costume.  I feel uncomfortable wearing something tight that shows that much flesh.  I did have on a summer dress that is very simple, and had only one light petticoat underneath.

Blake called the boys back from their happy splashing.  We ate the delicious lunch with gusto.  Oh wait, I forgot to mention the dill, and beet pickles.  I adore those pickled vegetables!  Red is a master cook.  If he doesn't know how to make something he studies until he figures it out.  He says that he loved to cook with his Maman when he was growing up.

After our meal, Blake and Red took off their shirts, shoes, and socks.  They both dived into the deep creek water.  Both of them are strong swimmers.  They work with a rescue team in this area.  We live close to what is called, "The Graveyard of the Pacific."  It is an incredibly dangerous area where the Columbia River meets the Pacific ocean.  Many, many people have lost their lives trying to sail through this passage.  Blake and Red have been actively involved in saving lives.  Of course their swimming skills are impressive.

As a young child, I wandered into a small pool near our home and almost drowned.  Fortunately, my older brother had seen the direction I was wandering.  He followed me at a run and pulled me out of the water quickly.  After that I was terrified of water.  Our transatlantic immigration to America did nothing to cure me of that fear.

As I was thinking about this I suddenly realized that Blake and Red were both running towards me.  I ran frantically away from them.  I don't believe I had ever told them about my fears.

They easily outpaced me.  Each of them took an arm and a leg and began to carry me to the water to toss me in.  They were both laughing.  At first they did not notice that I was crying, and pleading.  Finally it was Blake that noticed.  "Mon Celeste, why are you crying?"

The story tumbled out through my panicked sobs.  They sat me down gently on the ground.  They both apologized.  Then Blake said, "If I hold your hand and we only go into the shallow water could you do that?  It is so beastly hot today."

Coaxing me and holding my hand Blake got me into the shallow water.  I had to admit that it felt divine.  Coolness surrounding my humidity-heat laden skin felt heavenly.

Then Blake said, "Celeste, it's time for you to learn how to swim."  I protested strenuously.  He responded, "What if one of the boys wanders into water and you are the only person around.  What will you do then?"

I responded, "Not fair Blake.  It's not fair to use my fears to impel me to courage."

Blake just smiled.  Oh how I love that smile of his.  There is always a hint of devilment lurking in his golden-brown eyes.

Blake took the entire process step-by step.  He first showed me how to bubble the water.  Next he showed me how to turn my head from side to side breathing only when my head was out of the water.  Then he held me out straight and tried to get me to relax.  I'm certain that I was stiff as a board.

Finally he managed to get me to relax.  He didn't know that I wanted to melt into his arms and never leave.  Well maybe he did, but it's a good thing that neither of us mentioned that.  I still can't believe that I swam.  Not a long distance, and certainly not with the strength of Blake or Red, but I swam!

All of them, our boys, Red, Blake, all of them stood up and cheered.  I felt so loved and supported in that precious moment.  I will hang on to that bright memory for the rest of my life.

Blake told me that tomorrow he will pick me up to swim again.  This time he insists that I wear my swimming costume.  He said, "All those yards and yards of material weigh you down and make swimming even more difficult."  I couldn't disagree.

Just imagine, I know how to swim!  What a lovely thing that is!