Cabbage rolls anyone?

Hope everyone had a great long weekend.  I worked much too hard, but sure did get a lot of cooking done.  I made 7 doz cabbage rolls on Saturday, Sunday I made 4 loaves of banana bread, Yesterday I made 5 doz cabbage buns, or as my Mom used to call them Hunter Buns - so my freezer is in better shape than it was last week!  But I'm not!

Standing on one's feet for long periods of time sure is a killer.  By the end of yesterday, I was sore everywhere... knees, hips, back... guess I'm getting old... or maybe I don't get enough exercise ( more the truth).  I decided this morning that if I'm going to be sore, I might as well have a good reason for it, so tonight after work, I am going to tackle the garden.  I have a lot of moving and replanting to to, and now seems like the perfect time to start.


But first we can read some more Winter Wheat...Chapter 24  contd


Karl entered the quiet house, and wondered where his wife and child had gotten too. It wasn’t like Emilie to go anywhere off the yard without letting him know first, so he knew that she must be somewhere in the house. He pounded up the stairs to the children’s rooms; sure that he would find her there. When she wasn’t he returned to the main floor and peeked into his bedroom. There lay his wife and his small daughter, cuddled close together sleeping soundly as if it were night instead of the middle of the day.


He smiled at the picture they made, and then entered the room as quietly as he could. He carefully disentangled Emilie’s arm from around the child and lifted the little girl into his arms. He carried the sleeping child out into the living room, deposited her on the sofa, and wrapped the heavy blanket that lay across the back of the sofa around the sleeping child’s body.

“Sleep tight my little one,” he whispered as he bent to kiss her forehead. He left her there, and returned to his bedroom, and his sleeping wife. There had to be some advantages in being a newlywed on a rainy day when all the children were either in school or sleeping, he thought with a grin, as he eased his large frame on the bed behind Emilie’s.

“What are you doing?” Emilie’s sleepy voice startled him for a moment.

“I thought you were asleep,” he snuggled up close to her back and draped his arm across her waist.

She turned to face him, “I was, until you moved Anne-Marie. Where is she?”

“She’s sleeping soundly on the couch.”

“What are you doing in the house at this time of the day?”

“It’s raining out. Should I stay out and get wet?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice.

“No of course not, I just wondered that’s all.” Emilie closed her eyes and felt the nausea sweep through her body again.

“Em, are you okay?”

Her eyes sprang open, and immediately tears filled her eyes. “Oh Karl, I feel so awful. I don’t know what can be the matter with me!”

He smiled softly, and gently wiped the tear that ran down her cheek. “I think I may know what is wrong with you.” He continued to caress her face.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, “You do?”

“Um hum. I think you are pregnant with our baby.”

She stared at him without blinking, and then flushed beautifully. Finally her eyes began to move once more, and they roamed his face as if she were seeing him for the first time. A tiny smile started in her glance, and quickly spread to encompass her whole face.

“Oh Karl . . . do you think that could be it?”

“I’d be willing to bet that it is, my love.”

A baby - a baby of her’s and Karl’s - oh why had she not thought of that! Her only excuse for being so dense had to be that she had been so busy with the harvest, and then Charles’ leaving and Raymond’s injury had upset her so – she had thought that all those things had been making her feel so bad.

“I have been snappy with you and the children, Karl. I’m so sorry about that . . .” her eyes sought his forgiveness.

“Oh my sweet Emilie. You don’t have to be sorry for anything,” he drew her close and wrapped her tightly in his embrace. “I love you no matter how snappy you are! So are we going to be parents do you think? You’ve only had one period since we’ve been married, and we have been very busy here in this bed,” his words caused her to blush once more.

She returned his smile, “I thought everything but that, I don’t know how come I’m so stupid!”

“Awe love, don’t say that; you would have figured it out sooner or later,” he plopped a kiss on the tip of her nose and then dropped his lips down to her mouth.

“Can we afford another child?” Emilie asked when their kiss ended, and they moved apart.

“Yes we can. Oh I won’t lie and tell you that tough times aren’t ahead, because they are, Emilie. I made no money on our crop this year; in fact I think I lost money, but we have lots of food, lots of fuel for the stoves, and lots of love in this house – and that is not going to change. We can have all the babies you want; we will always welcome children in this home.”

“You didn’t always have that opinion,” she reminded him, remembering a time not so long ago when he had argued about accepting the extra Bell children.

“Yeah, well that was because I was a stupid lout, back then. One day a beautiful German princess appeared on my doorstep, and taught me how to accept life as it is, and how to love as no one has ever loved before. You opened my eyes to life, my precious Emilie, and I’m a different man than I was before!” he rolled unto his back and took her with him, and held her tightly as she lay atop of his body.

She looked down into his face, grinned and wiggled her body playfully. “I don’t think so, Karl; but thanks for saying so anyhow. I think you are exactly who you have always been, but you just never had the right person beside you.”

“Correction – I never had the right person on top of me,” he grinned suggestively. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Definitely,” she purred, capturing his mouth, before he could utter one more word.