And may the grace of the Lord our God be upon us;
prosper the work of our hands; O prosper our handiwork.
Psalm 90:17, Coverdale Psalter, Book of Common Prayer, 2019
It’s a mystery to me how productive we are some weeks, in spite of obstacles. While this week had many of the same troubles as the last, we somehow managed to get what seems an amazing amount done. As I read Psalm 90 in my psalter this week, I thought of how God chooses to prosper our handiwork sometimes for His own reasons. There are weeks we think will be productive, but then everything goes wrong. Then there are weeks like this one, where people still haven’t been feeling their best. And yet, it’s like God prospers our efforts, and hours we put in are strangely blessed.
On Saturday, Levi and our dad installed the bathtub. It took them a good chunk of the day to install the drain, put down the adhesive, level the tub, and secure it in place. After that, Levi hooked it up to the rest of our drain system.
While they worked on the tub and plumbing, I helped Jeremiah build the sleeping lofts. We put one up in the room I’ll share with my sisters. We put another up in Levi’s kids’ room. Because Grace had done the prep work, the project went smoothly. When our dad was finished with the bathtub, he helped add some blocking to the lofts.
Sunday afternoon, Jeremiah and I put together four honey bee swarm traps. Jeremiah bought the family a hive for Christmas, and we planned to order bees. After watching some YouTube videos by Dr. Leo Sharashkin, an Ozark beekeeper, we decided to attempt catching a swarm instead. Jeremiah used Sharashkin’s trap plans, though we altered them slightly to use mainly scrap wood we had leftover from the bunkhouse. We ordered some propolis and lemongrass to use as bait. Later in the week, I melted the propolis and rubbed it inside the traps. Grace assembled some of the Langstroth frames that came with our hive to put in the traps. All we need to do is install the metal flashing roof on the lids. We hope to get the traps hung in trees this weekend, as bees have started to swarm in our area.
On Monday and Tuesday, Levi and Grace ran our water lines. I helped a bit when we were sliding the main trunk lines into the floor joists. Levi used PEX for his last home build, so he took the lead for this project, showing Grace how to install the flexible pipe. We were so thankful for his expertise.
On Friday, Dad and Levi installed the flashing and drip edge on the high side of our roof. We had planned to work on installing the metal last Saturday, but we ended up needing to order some additional flashing. Now that the flashing is on, we hope to work on the rest of the roof over the weekend.
We stayed busy the rest of the week — handwashing laundry, ordering supplies, and keeping our camp running smoothly. It’s a full-time job some days just surviving. Our new washer wringer malfunctioned, so we ordered a replacement. We also added a washboard from the Columbus Washboard Company to our laundry system. I was amazed what a difference it made getting dirt out of our more heavily soiled items.
We are still working to clear ground in our garden plot. The rocks are atrocious, but we are persevering. Bonnie-Jean has been managing our seedling care, as our little starts are getting bigger every day. She and our niece Eilley-Mae did another round of planting this week. Bonnie-Jean has been bringing the older plants out for some real sun each day.
And while we run busily to and fro, the exquisite beauty of Ozark flora and fauna beckons us to slow down, enjoy, and sometimes laugh.
All of the progress this week was encouraging. It feels good to be using the supplies we’ve had stacked here for weeks and even months — pipes and water lines, lumber for lofts, the metal roofing. At this rate, we will have to go to Springfield next week to pick up another round of supplies. After the long winter of sickness and a hectic early spring, it is such a blessing to see God prospering the work of our hands.
HOMESTEAD SISSIES 