84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 18, 2003
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other hazards
Joyce Bupp
We are a shifty bunch.
In a spare room upstairs
stands a very large, plastic bag.
This bag is stuffed so full that it
stands by itself, layered with an
assortment of blankets, comfort
ers, afghans. None of them is
new. Most of the layers, in fact,
lean toward the scruffy side. Still,
each possesses the promise of
plenty of warmth potential de
spite worn edges and frayed cor
ners.
These snuggly-warm covers
are being shifted. They will move
from taking up space in our up
stairs, to taking up space in the
rooms of our grandchildren,
across the meadow and around
the hill. The bag’s contents, in
cluding at least a layer or two
from among the stuff we re
moved from mom’s house last
year, will be the fodder of bunk
bed tents and hide-and-seek cov
erlets, summer sleepout snug
glies, and cushioning
to sprawl on the living
room floor to watch a [i
video. p
American
Cancer
Society
Kicks Off
Daffodil
Days
LANCASTER
(Lancaster Co.) The
American Cancer So
ciety’s Daffodil Days
launched a festive
kickoff celebration on
Thursday, Jan. 16 at
the historic Conestoga
House and Gardens,
Lancaster, from 4
p.m.-6 p.m.
The 2003 Cancer
Resource Directory,
which includes in
formation designed to
help local cancer pa
tients and their fami
lies, is available free of
charge throughout the
year to patients, area
hospitals, physicians,
treatment centers, and
the general public by
calling the Lancaster
Unit Office at (717)
397-3744.
Chairperson La Von
Harnish will oversee
the distribution of
thousands of freshly
cut daffodils shipped
here from the state of
Washington, to local
businesses, schools,
churches and commu
nity sites throughout
Lancaster County dur
ing the week of March
17. Since Daffodil
Days started in Lan
caster County in the
19705, more than $34
million has been raised
in Pennsylvania.
The American Can
cer Society provides
information 24 hours a
day, seven days a
week, 365 days per
year through its toll
free number,
1-800-ACS-2345 and
its Website,
www.cancer.org.
For our shifty family, the bag
ful of blankets can be more usefhl
elsewhere than taking up space
in our spare room. So, we are
shifting them to the next
generations.
Miscellaneous items shift back
and forth between our houses
until sometimes we lose track of
what belongs to whom. Food
storage containers, a result of
sharing meals, leftovers and
treats, have almost become so
blurred that some of our kitchen
cupboard contents appear to be
cloned.
Pot roast leftovers shift out of
our refrigerator and salads shift
back to take up the spare room.
Muffins and soups shift places in
our menu plans. We’ve actually
shifted brownies back and forth
on at least one occasion, when we
both made them on the same day
with intent to share.
Sometimes the lids don’t shift
• Also, will fit sides onto your flat wagon
Farm Gates Made To Your Specifications
i“J, D GAP HILL FARM WAGONS
Lincoln Hwy. - Gap, PA 17527
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Attend the 90th annual meet
ing of the Penn State Lancaster
County Cooperative Extension
Association scheduled Thursday,
Jan. 30 at the Farm and - Home
Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lan
caster.
Learn what is happening in the
areas of: dairy, horticulture, nu
trition links, food safety, Better
Kid Care, West Nile Virus, wine
back and forth as efficiently, and
we have to a stage a shifty lid
shakeout session to rematch con
tainer bottoms to tops.
A log splitter camped out in a
corner of our yard just shifted
back home to their house. But a
small lawn wagon shifted here
last fall remains, waiting to be
shifted back home, probably with
some load that needs to be shifted
back there.
Being shifty has its advan
tages. When they were absent a
iawn mower, ours shifted across
the meadow, trimming around
the ponds in the process. After
ours bit the dust temporar-
ily in late summer, theirs
shifted here, trimming
• Tandem Rake Hitches •
Lancaster County Extension To
Conduct 90th Annual Meeting
Call Bet. 8:30 & 9:00 A.M.
717-442-9489
grape industry, 4-H, urban pro
grams, financial resource man
agement, agronomy, master gar
dener program, livestock, and
more.
The evening begins at 6 p.m.
with a social hour including sam
ples from the food court. A busi
ness meeting will follow and fea
ture highlights from last year’s
county and regional extension
programs. Entertainment will
around the ponds in the process.
Obviously, pond landscaping is a
beneficiary to the family mutual
shiftiness.
Come garden season, their till
er will shift briefly to our garden,
perhaps in the same trip when a
pile of bark mulch from our
stockpile shifts back for use
around their shrubs and flower
beds.
There’s even an assortment of
refrigerator magnets, everything
from crocheted butterflies (which
also shifted here from mom’s
house) to farm supply business
magnetic business cards. The
NOTICE
Specials For All Newlyweds!!
5% Discounts on Anything Bought For Newlyweds til May T
Extra Free Gift For Anyone with $lOO or More Purchase til May 1”
New & Used Push & Gang Mowers!!
42” & 63” Trailmowers & Brush Cutters!
Push & Tow-Behind Lawn Sweepers!
Chain Saws, Hedge & Weed Trimmers & Leaf Blowers!
Life time Warranty on Ignition & Trimmer Shafts!
“Classic” Garden Cultivators & Rota Hoes!
“Heavy Duty” Lawn & Garden Carts!
H.C. Lanterns - Coleman Kitchen & Shop Lights & Heads!
Large Selection of Light Cabinets with Easy Change!
Large Selection of Glass Light Shades, Different Colors & Styles!
Hickory Rocker Cushion & Backs in Dusty Blue, Navy,
Brown, Green! 21.50 + 6% PA tax! 4.00 Shipping.
We can ship in U.S.A.
Mascot Sharpening & Sales
434 Newport Rd., Ronks Pa 17572
Open til 7:00 PM, Sat till 5:00
Discounts on All Mowers Brought in for Sharpening by 2-15-03
feature the J.P. McCaskey Gos
pel Choir.
Activities for children 3-10 will
be coordinated by the family
strengths agent during the busi
ness meeting.
Adult and children’s tickets for
this event can be obtained by con
tacting the Lancaster County Ex
tension office at (717) 394-6851.
Cost is $4 for adults and $2 for
children age 6-12.
kids love to pick them off the re
frigerator, plunk them in a little
plastic bag and carry them home.
After finding the assortment
strewn all over non-magnetic
places in their house, their mom
promptly shifts them back.
Being shifty sounds a little sus
picious, until you explain it to
folks. Who often find that they,
too, have pretty shifty families.
All in all, we figure that being
shifty is at least more desirable
than being shiftless.