I used to come home from school as a "latch key" kid, actually, we had a hide-a-key, which used to be a great game if either Carter or I would get home first, but then Carter never came home first because he went to school on the other side of the county. Then I quit coming home first because of sports and other school activities. Then we all quit coming home to a hide-a-key. We just had our own key. But I would come home and dilly-dally for about 30 minutes. Then Mom would come home and sort out the trouble I had caused between me and my brother. Then Mom would fuss at me to do my homework, practice my piano/violin, and wake her up in 20 minutes (she would promptly crash in the recliner in the florida room). So be it. I would...do whatever. She always woke up in 20 minutes without me having to wake her, which was unnerving if I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing. She would turn on the pink radio on the washer/dryer in the kitchen to NPR at which time the All Things Considered theme song would sing. I then would know I had about thirty minutes or less to set the table and feed the dog. I never really listened to the show, but the music was nice and there was something familiar about that chime from the show everyday. It made home, home.

I am in the process of making the farm my home. I haven't really put too much effort into it until lately. My kitchen was first. It is now a place that I want to live in except one thing. I make the dinner, set the table, wash the dishes, but something was missing. I finally figured out that it was the chime. I started trying to figure out how to get the radio in my kitchen without buying anything or moving anything. Another problem is that most radios have a hard time picking up the local GPB station despite it being right over the mountain at the college. Tonight it came to me. The computer. Perfect.

So while I didn't make dinner tonight, I made two pecan pies and apple cake. The cake and one pie are for thanksgiving at Mom's. The other pie is for a dinner with friends tonight that is a gratitude dinner for everyone before we all go home to families. It worked. Da, da, da, da, da, da, da-da, daaaaa...tttttttttttt.....then I baked, I cleaned and I will eat. What a small treasure to make home, home.