Monday, June 2, 2025

First Snowfall For Lovers 6

 


First Snowfall For Lovers 6
The next day our neighbors Laura and Willy came over. She with a happy hello and a pan of brownies.
Willy complaining about the snowplow berms in front of his driveway. We had one but quickly cleared it before it turned to a giant ice cube.
My Lover told him Your day seems the worst ever but tomorrow will be better because life goes on. A person's limit can be a silly thing that will set off the final blow.

A piece of burned toast, noisy people or even a dog ripping up your new flowerbed. It can be anything that sets off the final limit. Tomorrow will bring a new life. Yesterday is gone smile and wave it goodbye. You won't miss what did not happened because it was not to be. Open your mind and your heart, become free. Each and every day is your second chance. Toss away the old sorrows or best yet give it to your greatest enemies with your heart open as a gift. You will never know how you made them feel.

Willy went off complaining about lectures.

Laura looked at me saying Ha ha ha ha ha you shut him up. That is so rich!!!

Laura said a lot of people are “peaches” , warm and fuzzy on the outside, but stony and hard on the inside. My Willy is a “coconut.” His hard exterior is tough to crack, but once you do, you’ve got a friend for life. We both agree and thank her for the brownies.
I told my Lover Laura has love and patience.
He smiled and quoted: Love makes your soul crawl out from it's hiding place. From Zora Neale Hurston.
Kimmie and Fritz's vehicle was fixed so they went home the next day. the roads were cleaned off.
It was quiet in our home. The animals are fed and sheltered. All guests have left. My lover is reading, and I am practicing my belly dancing moves to help strengthened the stomach muscles and serve as a form of self-hypnosis. There has been a lot of stress going on because of the blizzard and unexpected guests. Belly dancing was originally done by women for women to show the undulating belly as it resembles a woman giving birth.
I am almost in a trance when my Lover looks up and smiles. It gives him so much pleasure to see me happy and dancing without stress.
After an hour of practice, I am tiring. He sees me slowing down. He rises and goes to the kitchen to put the kettle of water on the stove. The house is warm now because the electricity has come on. The hot water heater has not filled yet. He removes my sweaty costume. With a warm pan of water from the stove he bathes me oh so tenderly. Quickly toweling me as he rinses me. A warm robe covers my body. He gently washes my hair in a basin and rinses.
By now I am very relaxed. A warm cup of chamomile tea and I am covered with a warm blanket and taken off to the warm bedroom.
An hour later after wonderful passionate love making, we both fell into a deep sleep. We woke up five hours later famished. We both dressed in warm clothes and shoes.
My lover went out to tend the animals while I stoked the wood stove and the fireplace. For dinner I made bacon, eggs and waffles with real maple syrup.
There were a few phone calls asking how we were. Fritz called and said “I hope to see both of you at the winter festival under the big tent next week, dancing, sampling honey, visiting the videos of the beehives, tasting the local cooking and savoring life. You two certainly do enjoy life.” Then we both selected a book to read while we both sat together on the sofa in front of the fire.
© Julia A Knaake

First Snowfall For Lovers 5

 


First Snowfall For Lovers 5
A man of Spanish descent carrying a tiny woman appeared on the porch. We ladies immediately had them enter the house to warm up. Fritz told us the gentleman's truck broke down and he had carried his Mother about a quarter mile. The gentleman spoke English and Spanish but his Mother only Spanish. My Spanish was a bit broken and the few words I knew were a bit rusty. The gentleman told his Mama to stay with us two ladies and be safe and warm.
Kimmie and I sized her up and gave her a warm sweater and hat plus some tiny slippers. A warm cup of coffee and piece of toast with Apricot jam to warm her up.
We learned her name was Mercedes. She sat by the fireplace and watched us sort through boxes of clothes. We had a pile of tissue paper in assorted colors piled in a box. The box also had some pipe cleaners and other odds and ends.
Soon she said
¿Puedo tener el papel de seda?
“ May I have the tissue paper?”
I replied of course you may have the tissue paper. We left Mercedes sitting near the fire happily sorting through the box.
Kimmie and I had finished unpacking and sorting a few more boxes. We decided to stop for coffee and me to stir the soup if needed. We were delighted to see Mercedes sitting at the table with a large pile of assorted colorful paper flowers.
I had Kimmie tend to the soup, and I went out onto the back porch to get my summer flower vases out of the cupboard.
The flowers were beautifully made and Mercedes showed us how to make them. Kimmie was fascinated and thought she could not make these flowers.
I told her to remember anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Someone dear to me told me a long time ago: every path has a few puddles that must be walked around or waded through.
You get your feet wet but the best way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as a grand adventure.
My Lover, Fritz and the three men came inside to warm up and have coffee. I had just made a large pan of jalapeno corn bread to go with mugs of soup.
While everyone was eating and warming up my Lover turned on some polka music and danced with me and twirled me out to the porch. Stopping he told me I was the best thing that had ever happened in his life. We embraced and held each other closely out there in that cool crisp air.
We are very fortunate and ever so thankful we have so many in our lives.
Friends are to be gathered into a bouquet and held close to your heart.
© Julia A Knaake

First Snowfall For Lovers 4

 


First Snowfall For Lovers 4
“ You are up and opening boxes already. Where do you get your energy? We do not have our Christmas tree up. You are bringing out boxes of decorations already. Why do you have a bowl full of leaves on the table?
“ Oh ma chère dame the leaves are there because they are so beautiful. Many shades of brown, yellow an bits of red.
We do not need a reason to cheer up our home. Everyone can find things of beauty every day in the smallest thoughts. Live every moment and love every moment. What was behind us and what is in the future are small matters compared to what becomes the real future within us. The unknown can be very exciting or very stressful. It is what it is. ”
My Lover and Fritz were out on the back porch having a smoke. They had just finished tending the animals. I had coffee brewing on the old cook stove. Kimmie bundled up and took them out a cup of well received coffee. She told them I had hotcakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast along with heated pure Maple syrup.
My lover blew me a kiss and reminded me of the chicken trick using water  and  a drop of olive oil.   He said he might try it with the goats to see if it worked for  keeping their water from freezing also.
After breakfast the two men planned to fire up the snowmobiles and go down the road to see what shape the car was in. Perhaps the police report shed light on a towing possibly to our place for safekeeping.
Kimmie and I decide o go make ourselves useful by sorting through the other boxes of women's clothes. Everything was going well until we found a box of really outdated clothes from the 20s and 30s. Not too many people would want these to wear everyday.  Kimmie suggested we go through the clothes that might be used for local actors or school plays. I went into the kitchen to stoke the wood stove, attending to my big pot of venison soup and check the fireplace.
I was detained looking out the window at deer and to my amazement a bald eagle flew over our snow-covered pasture. I came back into the room where Kimmie was and I saw her with a blue velvet dress she was there dancing so beautifully dancing with her soul.
The men returned home with two other men. They had hauled Fritz's car on the back of a small flatbed. The other men were welcomed to warm up and have a warm bite of soup and cornbread.
One of the men said something in private to my lover. He smiled then looked at the man very seriously and said:
For one to know what love you is must first know what it is not.
He looked a bit bewildered until my lover quietly explained the deep and true meaning. The man said he was going to return home with a lot more respect for his dear wife.
© Julia A Knaake

Saturday, May 31, 2025

First Snowfall For Lovers 3

 First Snowfall For Lovers 3

Fritz and Kimmie had been run off the road by another driver that did not even come back to help them. Kimmie had the license plate number written down but her phone did not work in the bad storm. They walked almost a mile to our home. They did not see any lights on but figured they could hold up on our covered porch If we were not at home. I looked at my Lover and he went for extra blankets and I to the kitchen to make a winter fruit salad setting out one dressing. My special warm you up right away cherry Bounce is better dressing in a bottle. Fritz and Kimmie were delighted at the warmth of every bite.
A fruit salad is delicious
precisely because each
fruit has the freedom
to maintain its own flavor.
They looked at us still holding ourselves close and Fritz asked “How do you two still maintain that closeness and love for each other?”
Avec toi, je suis moi.
With you, I am me.
We are often asked this question and this is always our answer.
Avec toi, je suis moi.
With you, I am me.
We are in tune with each other always keeping room in our hearts for something unexpected and wonderful.
With her I am me.
And with him I am me.
Fritz went outside to have a smoke and talk with my Lover. While outside Fritz actually got a signal with a message on his phone. He found out the person who deliberately ran them off the road was now in hospital with a massive heart attack. It seems this person saw them pass by his house and in a drunken rage went after them. He had always been a sore neighbor because he wanted to own the property where they lived to convert into slum housing. Fritz would not sell because a creek ran through the property. This man was quite toxic with them even trying to poison the surrounding neighbors with lies. When a toxic person can no longer control you, they will try to control how others see you. The misinformation is unfair, but when you stay above it and trust that other people will know and see the truth as you do and say.
Their neighbors try to have nothing to do with this toxic man. That problem will be handled by the law but for now we need to get these two warmed up and safe. Tomorrow my Lover and friends will go see if they can pull the car out of the ditch and bring it here. The police will accompany the rescue if the storm allows.
Luckily we have warm clothes and a comfortable extra bedroom or they can stretch out in the two recliners back near the old cook stove in the dining room. We had a bit of fun sitting around talking then Kimmie and I got up. I showed her my set up in the bathroom for lighting. I even changed candles in the tub reminding her we had to keep the door slightly ajar. We then gathered blankets and pillows so they could go sleep in the comfortable recliners side by side by the stove. I know they were tired as it was three am. At last my Lover and I went back to sleep in front of the fireplace. The cat and Kitty fast asleep on top of the large sofa. We two fall asleep cuddled closely.
Fresh snow absorbs sound, lowering ambient noise over a landscape because
the trapped air between the snowflakes
attenuates vibration. That's why it gets
so quiet when it snows
©Julia A Knaake

First Snowfall For Lovers 2

 First Snowfall


For Lovers 2

Tourtiere was ready and resting on the table with a light salad, bread and a bowl of fruit. We sipped Yukon Jack, my favorite next to the fire while waiting for the pie to cool slightly. In my opinion there is no spirit like Yukon Jack. My lover bears to differ but smiles at me and puts his arm around me. The sky is beautiful tonight.
Dinner was finished and we cleaned the dishes. More wood in the fireplace we sat on our large sofa covered in a quilt and listened to music while watching the snow fall. We both fell asleep quickly. We had been working all day on the clothing boxes for distribution at the high school in a few days. They were all ready and marked to be picked up soon.
We both fell asleep keeping warm under that cozy quilt and warm fireplace. I heard the clock strike three and awakened with a heavy warm feeling. More blankets had been piled on me. My lover had awakened earlier and tended to the ember-ed fire. During the night it had almost gone out. I was so happy we had the old wood cook stove heating the far end of the dining room. I set a pot of coffee on it to perk. My Lover was now out on the porch bringing in a load of wood.
The cat was at my feet and the kitten on my head! I got up when I saw him take a light to the chicken house.
I was warm but put on my shoes, a light sweater and my apron. The bathroom was cold with no light. Power must ave gone out. I placed a small candle in the shower with the door closed so kitty would not wander into this room. This would provide light until morning.
Luckily I had put the coffee on and the house smelled aromatic and enticing to sit and have a cup. I just finished putting a big pan of cornbread into the oven when my Lover came inside. He smiled and blew me a kiss then said “Your idea for using a drop of olive oil on top the water to the chicken water from getting frozen really works! Je vous aime.
Amour. Votre amour est très important pour moi. I meant every word about his love was very important to me. We had both come a long way from sad memories in our lives. Sometimes and mostly more than often it is the parting of a loved one that hurts. The flashbacks, little moments of memories that follow. That loss teaches us about the worth of things most dear in the chambers of our hearts. We had coffee and cornbread. The animals were safe and fed. The house was warm. We made sweet passionate love right there. It's all about finding an honest lover. A pure, selfless lover. A lover who looks at your heart and admires what it has been through, understand why it is the way it is, and loves it anyway. We both felt this way about each other. That is why we work well together. Falling asleep for a few hours we are awakened by pounding on the door and our hanging bells clanging. It is Fritz and Kimmie. They are nearly frozen to the bone. They are put by the fire and offered hot coffee and cornbread with honey. I remembered the
Tourtiere and set it in the oven along with some squash. We had plenty and would feed them tonight.
©Julia A Knaake

First Snowfall For Lovers


First Snowfall For Lovers
First Snow Fall with my lover came during that cold cold December night. The firewood was stacked on the back porch, enough for a week. We had always done this because it was convenient and easily accessible during the evening or early mornings.
We started the fireplace that evening after attending to the chickens and goats. The welfare of the animals always comes first. Our two cats, an adult and a kitten were happily sleeping on the old braided rug. They both had bellies full of fresh goat milk.
Two Tourtiere meat pies were baking in the oven. I received the original hand written recipe from my Great Grandmother many years ago. I have it enclosed in a special plastic cover lest harm should come. I even took a photo of the original.
My lover and I so love this spicy pie along with mashed potatoes, gravy and a crisp green vegetable. The first snow was already falling steadily. We watched it through the big window.
This will be our first winter alone together. We work together, listen to music and enjoy the solitude of evenings together.
This past summer we worked together in the vegetable and flower gardens. They were long days but the bounty paid off in the long run. Our vegetable and flower stands brought in good funds for our mission to Always help someone. You might be the only one who does.We both realize that some of the most generous people have no money but their generosity is the most sincere.
We must take care of our families wherever we find them. We have organized many people to distribute food from many farmers and ranchers plus the dearest backyard gardeners one will ever meet.
We can not feed the world but we will make many bellies full.
The flowers are sold and monies used to help us with this program.
Some of the flowers are picked and dropped off at nursing homes and shut-in homes. All men and women love flowers and are so thankful to receive these fragrant bouquets. Nothing is wasted.
©Julia A Knaake