Category Archives: Columns

Naming our first two children

May 28, 2021Columns, Familysusanmanzke

In this column from 1989 I tell about naming Rob and Rebecca.

Rachel pops in with a question which leads to an answer that might make you giggle.

FYI: When we named Russell I thought he’d have the nickname Rusty, but no red hair for him–red hair skipped a generation as Russell’s son has the hair I wished for his daddy–Russell’s middle name is Charles which comes from my Dad is also Bob’s grandfather’s name.

Not to leave out our fourth child: Rachel Jo, the baby of the family, was named after my Grandma Jo.

A short flower garden video

May 23, 2021Columnssusanmanzke

These poppies won’t be around long. The first ones to blossom are already dropping their petals.

Today you can see them.

By next week most will be gone, leaving a confetti of orange.

Close at hand is this lovely iris.

I wish it would stay all summer, but it won’t be long before this iris will be a memory…and a photo.

Bob’s story

May 22, 2021Bob, Columns, Farmingsusanmanzke

My late husband had all kinds of things happen to him while farming, afterward he would recount them to me.

Some stories were about machinery breakdowns. This one concerned wild weather.

No matter what happened, Bob laughed. Even this time, when he almost bought-the-farm.

I continue to live on the farm. Though others work the ground, Bob’s heart and soul is still here on Sunnybook Farm.

Bob seeks farming options

May 20, 2021Bob, Columns, Farmingsusanmanzke

In May 1988, I found Bob doing a lot of farm figuring in the middle of the night.

Bob’s work-life concerned farming 24/7. This night he was trying to make plans for spring. Everything looked good on paper, but…

Thinking about farming happened at night and during the day. Until planting was complete, Bob’s life centered on farming.

I did drive a tractor and worked up the ground before Bob planted. But it wouldn’t take much imagination to figure out that I handled a lot of our family activities.

Low-cost family fun

May 18, 2021Columns, Family, funsusanmanzke

This column from May 1988 tells how the Manzkes had fun with bubbles–big bubbles and little bubbles.

If you want to make a big bubble take an old T-shirt, cut a circle from around the lower half of shirt about an inch wide. Tie two dowels to material with 1/3 of the material between dowels and the rest hanging down. Dip material into soap mixture, pick up and slowly pull dowels apart. This should give you a big bubble.

Bubble recipe: 6 to 1 — 6 cups of water to 1 cup of Dove dish soap. I never added corn syrup or glycerin. Do not mix vigorously because you’ll foam the mixture which isn’t good for making bubbles.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person