The Rag Quilt

One of my many projects that I have been working on is a lap size rag-quilt. It's techenically not done but it won't look much different after i sew the edges and wash it at least once.  It's my 'reduce, reuse, recycle' rag quilt. I used four old shirts of Jim and got flannel, cut into squares and started sewing, simpe and it didn't take as long as I thought it would. It's now put together to keep someone warm. I made it for the the fundraiser the youth will do at Salem EFC.  Ever since I have gone to this fundraiser I have had it on the back of my mind to add something to their silent auction and now i'm finally getting to it. It's nothing fancy but I do hope it will bring the youth some big bucks for them and if it doesn't i'll try something different for next year. 

Time Well Spent

The Mighty Red River is amazing, stretching over land it only is suppose to 'use' every 100 years, even though this is a repeat from only 12 yrs ago. But seeing it first hand from the dike I helped build, it is crazy AND amazing all at once. It's hard to describe...

Today we visited the house and friends who are watching their sump-pump and praying for the dike to hold and I finally got some pictures (even though they do not do justice) of our time spent on bagging and building. The dike is doing very well, with very little seepage from beneath and the water is starting to recede which is a very good sign.  

This is the dike looking down from the deck, about 10 to 12,000 sand bags . It's about 7 ft high, and the base is about 15 ft wide. 

And standing within 2 ft of the dike, looking out. You can see where the water has gone done and left ice in the bush waiting to melt. 

Through this dike making process, one fellow Salem-ite said "I wonder if they would take all the hours volunteers put in and totalled it up, if the Gov./State would then decided to make a permanent flood wall for the F/M area?" thinking that making a flood wall would be cheaper in the end.  That got me thinking and talked to Jim about how much time we as a couple spent on the dike building  Jim: started on Friday 3/20 and ended Friday 3/27  and totaled 42 hrs of sandbagging & dike building and worked 23 hrs at Wanzek (and might have a rotator cuff injury). Lexie: started on Sat. 2/21 with an assignment of childcare/house wife and ended on Thursday evening sand bagging with a total of 25 hrs. (This doesn't include travel.) Now times this by many, many volunteers and you get lots of sand bags and large dikes that are going to hold this Might Red River back! 

Again, it just amazes me, how so many people from the F/M community has come out to serve and is serving each other and so much is done and is continuing until this Might Red River recedes.  And in the end, it is Time Well Spent.

The Flood Near Us Part: 2

It just amazes me how water spreads out and takes over in just a small amount of time.  When I think of it though, H2O spilt from a glass goes everywhere too, so i shouldn't be shocked, but still, I am.  I think due to the large quantity of water and no quick way to clean it up is the shocking part of it all.  I have good comparison pictures now of the area by us so you can actually see the waters and what they are doing. 

This is Friday 3/27 and the mighty Maple River is all over the place. The corn fields are no where in site.  The river is taking over so much more then the eye can see from the road, it's Crazy! 

This is Tuesday 3/24, when the weather was warmer and you can still see the corn field from the flood waters.  

This is Friday 3/27 after about 7 inches of snow on Wednesday. It's hard to see but the Rush river has actually gone down some and the water isn't touching the bridge. Needless to say, this road is out of commission! 

This was Tuesday 3/24 when it was warm and sunny and the water was running high. 

So with our tired bodies getting a rest... until clean-up, we are praying for our dear friends who live on the river and have the stress of watching and waiting until the river goes down. And know that we don't need to stress, God is in control and only gives what we can handle.  Which is easier said then done!   

The Flood Near Us

So everybody knows about the flood, hears about the flood and these pictures don't even do justice for the flood... but here are some anyway. We have the Rush River and Maple River that are near and are taking over the land.  

This is the Rush River (abt 1.5 miles from our house west) and it is over the banks, filling up the fields and ditches. 

This is the Maple River well beyond its banks (near Mapleton ND).

This is our neighbors 1/2 mile down the road (west) on the Rush river and their dike doesn't have much left to give (according to me).

This is the Rush river as well, it comes from the north east and continues to the Wild Rice River. This is on the north side of the road across from the neighbors in the picture above. 

So here is the beginning and I'm not sure what is to come but in the mean time, we pray the culverts will open, the water can start draining from our ditches, and the precipitation will stop coming.  Here in Prosper, we are staying afloat and our yard has actually dried up some, so how nice is that?  Further updates to come...

The Change...

Now that I have figured out my blog, I've made some changes!  From "4 scores and flying daggers" thanks to JW to "the Who,What, Where, of the Waa's".  It's official, my blog has started and more is to come.  :-) 

So, I am super excited about my blog and excited to keep it updated for other to read what we're up to.  And for my far away family and friends to have a glance of our lives when they want to.  

And for the fun of the day... CW and I went outside to enjoy the sunshine & the 1st Day of Spring! And did a bit of chalk drawing on the driveway.  Yes, CW is in a snowsuit but it's still the 1st day of Spring! 

Get ready for changes...

Being this is my first blog... post... statement of divine truth, you can be sure of a name change. My husband (JW) influenced me to choose this name. He assured me that I could change it later... Either way, this just proves his great and undivided attention to randomness. He is a 'Rock Star' husband... a trophy if you will.