A Few of the Things I Appreciate About My Dad

Daddy and me

This is the man I am blessed to call my dad. Yes, he's a good man and here are a few of the things I appreciate about him. It is not a complete list. 

1. He is a man of great integrity.  

My dad lives is a world of black and white. No shades of grey here. But what he believes is what he lives. Paid your grandson a dollar over the minimum for income tax reporting? Well, of course that form is going to be filled out.

The Old Buffet

The buffet is now missing a pull on the top drawer. 

Nobody picked it out or purchased it especially for our family. It was simply there in the first house my parents purchased in 1963. The previous owners had not wanted to take the dining room table and buffet to their new home and had offered to leave it. My parents were happy to accept. With four children and a new mortgage, they wouldn't be buying a new dining room table any time soon.  Thousands of happy meals were eaten around that table along with a few not-so-happy moments with someone who didn't want to eat his green beans. The buffet never held dishes, but seemed to be a catch-all for papers and table games. When we left the bungalow to move to the simple farmhouse on my dad's family farm, the table and buffet came along. The table was finally replaced years after we all grew up and left home, but the buffet remained, sitting stately in the living room.

The buffet stood in a corner in my parents' farmhouse for many years. Here it serves as background to a Christmas gift distribution by their grandchildren.

Several years after my mother lost her battle with cancer, my elderly dad remarried and brought a brave lady to the farm. She came with a piano. The only place it fit was where the old buffet still stood. The buffet needed a new home. And so I took it home with me.  

It is still a catch-all, although I have filled the buffet with dishes and china as was its original purpose. No, what it catches and displays are memories. Over the years I have accumulated far too many sentimental keepsakes. Rather than leaving them tucked away, I bring out different things according to the season and arrange them on the buffet. Is this a good thing? Or a little too mushy? Maybe kind of silly?  

Christmas brings memories of our sons' childhood with their old blocks, a Disney music box and casual photographs from Christmas through the years. The clock was purchased to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversa

After the excitement of Christmas, I love to get out my white and clear glass things. It seems peaceful and calm. The photograph is of both sets of my grandparents and the faux marble clock comes from my paternal grandparents.   

In the spring, I get out the pink and green dishes. Many of the pink dishes come from my grandmother. I'm not sure that I ever saw them as a child. Grandma liked to keep her nice things nice and as a result these these things were seldom (never?) used. I try go ahead and use them while they are easily available. 

My parents were married in 1954. Some of their wedding gifts were the red that was so popular in that era. Some aluminum coffee pots, an old fan and canning jars round out the red, white and blue colors for summer.

When you only see it for a few months each year, it becomes even more precious. The   wall hanging was embroidered by my mother for me. It is a treasure. 

Some of My Favorite Friends are Family: A Winter Salad

There is no better gift at Christmastime than the presence of those you hold dear. Especially if they are not frequent visitors and must come from a great distance. Then your time together must be treasured. Of course you can't just sit around and eat. Or maybe you can. It sometimes seemed like we did. Over the days that we had together we enjoyed soups and Christmas goodies, vereneke, hotdogs and s'mores roasted over a bonfire and a lovely Birthday luncheon just for the ladies (the men went out for pizza). 

The Birthday luncheon was a surprise and not just for the birthday girl. Since her birthday was on Saturday, that would be the logical time to have our luncheon, but Thursday evening we learned that the bonfire and pizza lunch had been switched. And that meant that our luncheon would be on Friday instead of Saturday. That wouldn't have been a problem had the luncheon been all planned out, but I was counting on having all day Friday to figure out the menu. Still, with the help of many, a lovely luncheon came together. 

Are you horrified to see a jar of peanut butter with a knife sticking out of it on our elegant table? It was actually sunflower seed butter and it was wonderful! But somehow no one thought about placing the butter in a serving dish.

 The menu included:
Ham salad on baggets
Cucumber/mint sandwiches
Pasta Salad
Crackers with Strawberry Cream Cheese Dip and Sunflower Seed Butter
Apple Bread and Butter Sandwiches
Winter Tossed Salad

Should you wish to make a Winter Salad with grapefruit, oranges, pears and lettuce, I think you will enjoy it very much. Like most salads, it is accommodating to various amounts of ingredients.

 Winter Salad

Salad:
1 grapefruit
1 orange
1 pear
1/2 head of lettuce (not iceberg)
1/2 bunch parsley, optional
1 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup feta cheese, optional


Dressing:
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup canola oil

For Salad:
Wash, dry and tear lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Snip parsley leaves, if using. Wash and thinly slice pear. Cut grapefruit lengthwise (see photo) and cut around the peel to remove the fruit. Cut between membrane into segments. Do the same with the orange. This is rather juicy business. I use a separate bowl and allow that juice to drip on the pear to keep it from browning. Arrange on lettuce and include the juice. Top with walnuts and cheese, if desired. Drizzle with dressing. Pass the remaining dressing with the salad. 

Some of my favorite friends are family.

Salad Dressing recipe originally from Shepherd's Garden Seeds. For a printable version of the recipe click here.

Eva Becker Schroeder: The Early Years 1894-1913

What a different world my children live in than the one my grandmother was born into over one hundred years ago. My grandmother, Eva Becker Schroeder, was born on April 20, 1894 in Marion, South Dakota. Her parents were both Mennonite immigrants who came to the United States from Russia as children. When the devoutly Christian family gathered at the table for their simple meals and daily devotions, German was the language in which they conversed. That table must have been stretched many times because there were eventually 13 children in the family, although they were never all home together since Eva and her older sister were already married before the youngest siblings arrived.

The frantic pace of modern living seems very remote from Eva's childhood. These were the horse and buggy days when people lived more closely with nature. Winter meant hitching up a bob sled and putting covers over the horses and the passengers, except the driver who had no such luxury since he must keep his hands free to hold the lines. Sunday was the highlight of the week, when the whole family went to church in the horse and buggy or sled. In the church yard was a barn for the horses. Each family brought their own dinner. The worship service was held in the morning with Sunday School after dinner.

John and Eva Becker Schroeder: Homesteading in Montana 1913-1922

They called it their "honeymoon" trip". But that was always said with an ironic smile. When my grandmother married John Schroeder on September 2, 1913 he had already filed a claim on a homestead twenty miles from Chinook, Montana.

There were also four other families from their South Dakota community, including John's parents, making the move. After several weeks of preparation, John and the menfolk loaded the livestock and boarded an immigrant car of a train headed for Zurich, Montana. John and Eva had four horses, three cows, one pig, a dozen chickens and a dog. 

Several days later, Eva, the other women, the children and Grandpa Schroeder boarded another train headed for the same destination. Even so, they arrived first, since there were frequent stops with the livestock car to exercise animals. So much for their honeymoon!

John and Eva Becker Schroeder: The Great Depression 1922-1934

The stock market crash that heralded the Great Depression was still years away. But when John and Eva Schroeder left Montana in 1922 and returned to South Dakota, they were already facing difficult times. The droughts and crop failures on their Montana homestead left them with few possessions. They were starting over.

They returned to their childhood home of Marion, South Dakota. For several years John worked in town, first at a blacksmith shop and then at a creamery. They also had a business on the side selling chicken feed and sunflower seeds. They managed to save up some money and rent a farm nearby, but had to move after a year when the landlord rented the farm to a relative. Now they had another daughter, Lillian (in 1924). 

Eva Becker Schroeder: Growing Old 1960-1996

For many years, John and Eva Schroeder had wished they could visit their children, Emma and Loyd, and their families, who were missionaries in Ecuador. In 1960, the long-wished-for trip became reality. John and Eva were going to Ecuador! They wanted to experience everything in this Latino country --and they did!

You Don't Forget Your Wedding Gifts

Aunt Clarice arranged the gifts at the wedding.

The the day after our wedding, before we left on our honeymoon, we stopped by my parents home to open gifts. There was a big pile of them. On no day, before or since, have I opened so many gifts. Friends and family had been generous, providing much of the basics we needed as we started our new life together.  Most were practical, a few were extravagant.  And now, so many years later (39!) I feel like I still remember them all.

Cookbooks I Have Loved

Keep your romance novels, I'd rather settle down with a good cookbook. It's not that I don't enjoy good fiction, it's just that I have so little self-discipline and am inclined to consume a book while neglecting all other responsibilities including things like sleep. It's ridiculous! It doesn't even have to be all that good. So I don't allow myself to indulge all that often. Cookbooks, however, make good reading and I can put them down. Cookbooks not only make good nighttime reading, they also can take you on great adventures in the kitchen.  Delicious dishes are just a recipe away!

While I'm always looking for a new cookbook, there are some that stand out. Splattered and worn, they have been beloved teachers and dear friends. Here are some of the cookbooks I have loved:

Betty Crocker's Cookbook
I received this book from my mother at one of my wedding showers. She had used a Betty Crocker Cookbook for years and she got me the latest edition.

Our Family Game is Scrabble!

It’s Sunday afternoon at the Epp home. The morning church service is over and the evening service won’t begin until 7 p.m. Dinner (likely pot roast with potatoes and carrots eaten at noon) and dishes are done. Yes, naps may also be on the agenda for the adults, but first let’s get out the Scrabble game! Not everyone wants to play, but we have extra racks in our game so that the game is not limited to just four players. Grandma Schroeder always wants to play and so does Mom. Dad might if there aren’t any pressing chores. My brothers are good for a game and my sister usually plays as well. The in-laws have not all received the Scrabble gene so they may or may not play. In the box is a list of two-letter words and there are a couple of dictionaries stacked on top.

A Quilt is a Memory

Look at some of the beautiful, exquisite quilts made today and you will be awed. Intricate applique, precision shapes and carefully coordinated fabrics make artistic masterpieces.

The Big Tree: A Memoir

On the once treeless prairie of Kansas, a giant cottonwood tree grew in a remote cow pasture. My grandfather, A.R. Epp, loved the rugged beauty of the rolling sand hills and so he considered it an honor to have such a tree on his land.