Category Archives: people

Jun5

The Ambiance and Menu

Posted on by
Standard

The ambiance and local menu tonight was colorful.  My huge kitchen is decorated with vases of our cut flowers and the fireplace mantle is overcome by beautiful blue hydrangeas from my parents’ yard.  Dean & I’s  dinner plates were filled with roasted spring root veggies and beef  farm fresh by friends who allow their cattle to graze in their farm’s natural pastureland.  I sit on my patio listening to the evening chatter of the birds and crickets until the summer night sky is dotted with fire flies. I needed some beauty in my life today.

My feline companions bat at the moth and June bug on the patio screen hoping to get a hold of them.  Celine and Lily will need to stay inside as the neighborhood Great Horned owl visits our tall backyard maple tree some evenings.  This may be one of those evenings.  We protect our animals from harm with barriers like screen doors.  Maybe similar to how our God sets up boundaries for us.  I take in the beauty of our green friends, the plants we care for everyday.  Tonight I will not water or trim or plant.  I will sit and enjoy the greenery.  They endured the sudden hail storm yesterday.  Our elephant ear , banana trees, and birds of paradise have ripped leaves now.  These plants will come through after some shedding.  Is not life like that?  We get hammered by hard blows,  unwarrantly and needlessly.  Yet, we rise again to be ourselves, probably better people for it if we allow.  Thank you God for the beauty my eyes behold tonight, and the reminder that the heart heals.

May29

How Many Hands?

Posted on by
Standard

How many hands does it take to tear down and haul the parts for the Deanna Greens and Garden Art 1300 square foot greenhouse?  Well, it was Dean and I plus 10 family members and 4 friends, so that makes 16 able bodies, 16 smart brains, 32 sure feet, and 32 working hands.  The temperatures hit a hot & humid 95 degrees on the tear down day, typical summertime weather in St. Louis, Missouri.  Iced water, soda, and beer waited in coolers, and our lovely landlady brought us iced wet cloths for our necks and heads to keep us cooled down.   Freshly made sandwiches for lunch and home-cooked BBQ pulled pork with coleslaw for dinner.  More than anything, it was the attitudes that got us through.  I never heard a word of complaint, and no injuries were occurred at this Memorial Day holiday weekend project.   Tear down on Saturday, clean up on Sunday, and Monday hauling the greenhouse parts to Defiance, Missouri.  I am proud of this team!  Dean & I have the rebuild the next 3 or 4 weekends, and more help promised.  God is good!  And so are His people!  We are thankful!

May25

Sunhat Weather

Posted on by
Standard

Summer time is here!  It is the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and the forecast promises sunhat weather.   High 90’s, sunny, &  humid, and we are moving our greenhouse!  My prayers were for no storms and lightening, but I was not specific about my temperature request.   90% of our plants are moved.  Tonight we have more hanging pots to cart to their temporary residence, our backyard!  Our neighbors probably think we have flipped or saying “Dean & Anna are flower children for sure!”   My grandson exclaimed, “It’s a jungle out there!”  I keep wanting to get beyond this move, dreaming of a slower pace, less plants, and more time to care for them.  It will come!

Apr29

Together

Posted on by
Standard

Together means 2 folks working for a common purpose, friends gathering to break bread, or  a family just being … I have a few photos to share about what I said “family just being.”  No plans, you know, just simply being in the same room or tent, drinking from the same cup,  cooking a meal in the kitchen or campfire, discovering baby chicks … featuring my 5 grandchildren, Hannah, Libby, Ella, Brendan, & Eli.

Apr9

A Love Affair

Posted on by
Standard

The first electronic introduction … that first date … the fireworks shooting with the first kiss … discovering antiques, books, photos, music, food, church, and children together … long distance testing of the relationship … the “what-ifs” if we marry … sharing hearts … love … the proposal … wedding plans developed …wedding vows shared … marriage for our lifetime … sharing a home … sharing our families and friends … making life together … ebbs and flows like a lake shoreline … likes and dislikes … all a part of the journey.   So happy I am on this journey with my husband, Dean Gall.

Mar20

Unusual To Some

Posted on by
Standard

Spring is officially here!  Though the signs of spring have been around for a few days now!  (Take a look at my previous post!) Gorgeous blooms, whipping winds, green grass, and gardens popping with new growth.  Farm friends of Dean & I’s are growing hops in their garden.  They started their local organic beer crop last year, and it has returned.  What may seem unusual to some is this grain comes from  a vine that grows very tall.  These recycled utility poles will hold twine which the hops vine grows on.  Best of everything to the LaBeaume Chateau!

Feb6

Dinner Bell Ready

Posted on by
Standard

Ready to Eat?!

The dinner bell has rung!  Are you ready to eat?!  I know I am with all these scrumptious dishes laden with vegetables of tantalizing flavors and texture combinations at a EarthDance Farms potluck.  Another potluck coming up this Sunday to welcome the freshman farmies.
Jan15

Leafy Green Cravings

Posted on by
Standard

So I am salivating while planting a micro green mix and red sails leaf lettuce seeds at the greenhouse … I think viewing this July vacation photo of a salad made by my longtime Minnesota friend, Tamie Jensen started it! 

Is it not a palette to behold?!  I am craving leafy greens … like fresh spinach, pac choy, arugula, leaf lettuce, borage, you name it!  Some of these items can be purchased at most local grocery stores, and fewer even have the organic variety.  And how far did these items have to travel to my local Schnucks or Dierbergs? And how much did that price tag say??? I am not willing to pay $5.99  for a pound “fresh” spinach that was grown 2,000 miles away!  I have become “spoiled” or a better word “selective” in my grocery purchases after farming with EarthDance Farms this past year.  Organic and local are the way to go for optimum health.  I froze several bags of spinach, swiss chard, and kale from my field labors this past growing season.  I just want fresh right now! Deanna Greens and Garden Art  recently bought this 1300 square foot greenhouse full of houseplants and flowering plants.  And it now makes way for my leafy greens!  Not quite the same as spring or autumn sunshine…  but it is organically grown, local, and cost pennies to those dollars! In 4 – 6 weeks I will be satisfied when a few of our nasturium blossoms and leaves are married with Deanna Greens and Garden Art’s very own leafy greens …

Jan1

Reflections

Posted on by
Standard

Missouri is experiencing a winter blast on this New Year’s Day.  Daydreaming about sunny days at Hilton Head Island (October 2010) and Valhalla on Island Lake in Minnesota (July 2011) … wishing to be in warmth and sunshine … I reflect where 2011 went and where 2012 is going like the sunrise and sunset …

Sunrise at the Cabana

 

Valhalla Sunset

Birthdays, holidays, a graduation, and homecoming court were celebrated with family and friends.  These are frequent with 6 children, 5 grandkids, 2 sets of parents, 5 siblings, 6 neices & nephews, grandparents, and old & new friends.  But one celebration was bittersweet. The life of my 95-year grandmother was celebrated at her memorial service in August.  Grandma Paula’s  last Christmas, she is pictured with Grandpa Earl, our youngest 5th generation grandson, Eli and his mommy, Rachel .

 For 9 months in 2011 Dean and I were apprentices for an organic farm called EarthDance Farms in Ferguson, Missouri. We enjoyed it so much that will do more than same as “sophomore farmies”. We purchased our very own greenhouse so we can play in the dirt even more.  Here is a photo of Dean & I as Santa & Mrs. Claus for Ferguson’s 4th of July Parade themed “Christmas in July”.  We celebrated our nation’s  freedom with our EarthDance friends before the Minnesota vacation to Valhalla to see old friends.   My 33 & 1/3 high school reunion came in September, and Rainer’s homecoming court in October.

“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the friends he chooses.”  Proverbs 21:19

So glad my husband is my best friend, and together we choose good company.

Dec29

Like Blooms From A Potted Geranium

Posted on by
Standard

“Change is here to stay”, and we as people are constantly changing.  Like blooms from a potted geranium.  Each opens from a bud.  And then dies to make way for more growth.  Growth is what makes me “me”.  Hopefully, we evaluate our identity on a regular basis. I know I do. I do this with conversation with friends, family, acquaintances, or the new person I just met. Also, I spend quiet time in thought and prayer about who I am and my purpose on earth. But more than anything, my identity is found in how I serve those around me. Busy wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, wellness administrator, culinary professional, instructor, and farmer; serving in all those capacities. I have many blooms on my potted plant.  How about you?