::30 Days:: 5

Still working on inventory for our antique booth, but we need something to put them on, so I tackled painting this old, brown, boring shelf. Looked like rain, so I dragged it into the sun room to paint.

Between coats.

I'm amazed the kids managed to keep their fingers off it while drying!

The kids cooked dinner tonight. Spaghetti! Something they can do on their own without me fussing behind them and I can go off and do what needs doing.

The onions have been drying out in the pole barn for more than 2 weeks now, time to start bringing them in. Started on the yellow onions and filled the bag more than halfway and stopped when Gretchen complained the bag was getting too heavy for her to hold any longer. Can't wait to get the final weight on the total onion harvest! I'm hoping to get all the onions trimmed and bagged by the end of the weekend.

Finished! Looks pretty good! Took 3 coats to cover the brown. Normally I don't like when wood furniture is painted, but this is one instance where the shelf looks sooooo much better painted than it did with that dark brown stain! Seeing as how it will be displaying my wares in the booth, I wanted my items to pop out of the white shelves and not disappear into the shadows of the formerly dark shelves.



Bath night and bedtime reading.

Sweet dreams!



The Best Investment

We've had such a stretch of hot days.

 The temperature rises and makes everything sticky hot.

The children melt.

We trip over the cats and the dog laying on the coolest parts of the floor.

The sun shines bright and beats down on our skins.

Sweat beads on our brows.

It's just hot.

Hot, hot, hot.

Ah, the pool.

The cool water is just the place to be on these hot, hot days!

So grateful to be able to slip into the water and instantly wash away that stickiness.

We spend a good chunk of our days out there, in the pool.

A break for lunch, then it's right back into the pool again.



 In the stillness of the evening, when I come and check the water,

I catch the sun taking a dip in the pool.

Mr. Sun gets hot, too, I suppose.

Onions!

We harvested the onions yesterday. Seeing all those yellow and white onions just make me feel so pleased with our efforts at keeping the garden weeded. Last year, when we planted onions, we lost the entire crop when weeds completely choked them out.  All that back-breaking work to plant them only to have all our efforts wiped out.  Not this year!

I didn't count, but there are more than enough onions here to last us for quite awhile. I don't think it'll last til next summer, though, so we plan to plant a second batch to make sure there's enough. We eat plenty of onions, just about in every dish we make.

A far cry from the onion-hating person I used to be! I used to plead with my mom not to put onions in meals, and she made onion-less potato salad for my sister and I.  Then I met Andrew, with onion juice in his veins and he often says, "A house is not a home without onions!" I'd begrudgingly add chopped onions into a dish, just for him, only a little! He'd ask for onions in the meatloaf I make, so I obliged, just half of one! Then the amount of onions I used grew, onions were included in more and more meals. We'd give raw onions to the kids when they were babes, and to my surprise, they liked them!

Now, I cannot imagine not having onions! Onions go in practically everything I make these days. Even though our kids have grown up eating onions, it still surprises me each time they willingly put raw onion slices on their sandwiches or hamburgers.

The onions still need a couple weeks of drying time, and they're in the pole barn now. I plan to store some, dehydrate some, and of course, use them as we go.  I've stopped buying store onions quite awhile ago, and there's nothing more satisfying than being able to provide something we need from our own garden.

Catching Up- July Edition

So much going on these days.  A birthday, loose teeth, stormy nights, canning, fireworks..  And that's just the beginning of July!!  Oh my! What does the rest of this month hold for us?!

Peter had a birthday. 4 years old now! What a big boy!

Since we had a double birthday party for him and Evelyn last month, his actual birthday was pretty low-key. I made him his favorite meals: pancakes for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, cake and ice cream, and spaghetti for dinner. He seemed to have a pretty good day and liked all the presents he got from us and Grandma.

Fireworks!

The small town down the road from us had delayed fireworks, which turned out to be a good thing, since we had a thunderstorm the night of July 4th. They held the fireworks on Friday, July 6th, and we decided to go.  It wasn't so hot then, and we knew that it would get cooler once the sun went down. The kids had a great time, making friends with other kids there and running and playing in the field next to where we parked. As soon as the first boom! went off, the kids scattered back to their families and we settled down to watch the show.

Pretty good show for a small town. A lot less crowded than Washington D.C. would have been, that's for sure! I think the fireworks lasted about 20 minutes and there were some really spectacular ones, too! I liked hearing the kids ohh and ahh in awe and jump when there was a really loud boom!

I remembered to break out the glow necklaces before we left, which turned out really handy in spotting the kids when they were playing off in the distance! Just look for the glowing arms and hands!

We got a scare on the way home when the hood of the truck popped open on us while we were driving! Talk about heart stopping! And in the dark, on a pitch-black mountain road! I'm glad Andrew was driving because I think I would have crashed! Luckily for us, he kept his cool and turned into someones driveway to see what happened.  Nice people stopped to help, armed with a super bright spotlight which was so much better than the little, puny, kid's flashlight we were using! The hinge of the hood got over-extended and we had to get it back into normal position before we could get the hood shut again. About 15 minutes of fiddling with it and we were back on the road to home again.

Before:

Peter got into the clippers and shaved a few bald spots on his head. Time for a haircut then.

After:

He's so cute, after we cut his hair he gave me a big smile and said:

"I so handsome!"

Why, yes you are, little guy! Very handsome!

Losers

I was playing Chinese Checkers with Evelyn the other day. I love Chinese Checkers.

I played a lot when I was a kid, and when no one wanted to play with me,

I played against myself. I think I'm a pretty good player, I can get from one side to the other quickly.

I played two games with Evelyn and won both times.

She got quite upset.

I told her to keep trying, to pay attention to how I play and she may pick up some winning moves.

The third game, she just started imitating my every move, but it only confused her and she lost again.

I showed her some tricks, that it helps to make what I call a "ladder" with her marbles.

The fourth game was close, I helped and moved a few of her marbles to help her understand the ladder trick, and it ended with her one marble behind me when I put my final marble home.

She nearly burst into tears because I won again, but I gave her props for being so close behind me and almost winning. She started feeling better when I told her that we'd play again the next day and she just might beat me then.

I don't believe in letting kids win all the time.  It was different when they were toddler-aged, when winning a game encouraged and motivated them to play more and in playing, they learned sportsmanship and whatever else the game taught.  As they get older, they need to learn that there are winners and losers. Sure, it'd be nice to win all the time, but it isn't realistic and it doesn't teach them anything, except maybe to get cocky.

Of course I don't like to see my children cry, but I also know that I can't hand them everything they want. Losing gracefully now, at a child's game, may someday teach her how to deal with something in real life, when she is older. We don't lord it over them when we win, we give encouragement and compliments on a game well-played, and offer tips and tricks for next time. Hopefully they get fired up and try harder next time, learn from their mistakes and someday, they'll beat us for real, not because we let them win.

Sweet and Simple

                               

It has been a good Christmas this year.

The kids are still playing with their new things, 3 days after, so I know they are happy.

I bought presents on sale with coupons throughout the year, and that was a major help-- when Andrew lost his job, we already had more than half of our presents bought and stashed away.

There were no big ticket items, just small things for each of our children, and a few shared items.

Even the gifts they got from other family members have been toned down, something I appreciate greatly since I always feel bad that I cannot reciprocate.  I know they enjoy giving, but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty when I cannot give in the same fashion to them or their children.

Every year, I make fudge, cookies, candies and bars to give as gifts.  I didn't make very much this year, it feels like time got away from me and I chose to spend time with the kiddos or doing other things. I think it's time to accept that I'll never make over 800 cookies like I did for a few Christmases before the kids came along! I did manage to make two different ornaments to give as gifts this year and I love them!



Felt rooster and fimo clay snowflake



better shot of snowflake detail

I got the rooster idea from the Better Homes and Gardens December issue..  I just eyeballed the ornament then made my own pattern and ran with it! I can't remember where I saw the snowflake idea-- off of someones blog probably, and I went out to get me a snowflake stamp with my 40% off coupon. So simple but makes a nice ornament.  I made this after the kids went to bed and I set a little table in front of me and watched an episode of Supernatural while rolling and stamping.

I'm ready to put away the tree and decorations, to get the house back to normal again. I went out the day after Christmas to shop the clearance sales and use some of the gift cards we got. Stocked up on Christmas craft projects to put away for next year, Christmas cards, gift tags, and little bits and bobs for future stocking stuffers and party favors.  I have two January babies to shop for and I'm all done! Thanks clearance sales!

Looking forward to the new year and hope it will be a good one for us all.

Happy New Year!!



Commence Christmas Music!

December 1st and we're getting into the spirit! The tree is up, the Advent Calendar is hung, cookie recipes are calling my name...  It's beginning to feel like Christmas around here! Even Andrew is getting elfish!

Even though Andrew is now working, it doesn't mean that we are spend, spend, spending.  We are still frugal with our money, and I shopped for gifts the whole year, scoring items on sale or with coupons to make it an even sweeter deal.  I'm pretty much done with gifts for the kiddos this year, but I still have a few items I need to pick up for other family members. 

Despite repeated requests not to exchange gifts, we have relatives that insist on giving the children something and I always feel bad not having anything in return. I know it's the season of giving, but I always feel like I'm taking and taking and not giving. So I am trying hard this year to come up with some simple gifts that are thoughtful and appreciated, without feeling like I've just drained the bank account.  I don't spend a whole lot on my own children, so it makes no sense to me to spend a lot on my nieces and nephews. It doesn't mean I love them any less-- on the contrary, I am putting a lot of love into what I am making/creating and hoping they'll like what I've come up with.

Andrew has an Aunt that just loooooves snickers-- I plan on making a cloth bucket and filling it with  full-size snickers candy bars for her.  Simple, yet it will be something I know she'll enjoy, and it didn't cost a lot of money, because I used coupons for the candy bars, and it was just a little bit of time at the sewing machine.  I'll be making several similar gifts like this for the Aunts and Uncles, for the ones that have a sweet tooth and put their favorite candies inside them.

For the kiddos-- I have group gifts for them to share, but I'd like to get them all something special for individual gifts.  I'm still thinking and working on that.  I can't say too much here, but I have a few ideas up my sleeve.

 I get to go out all by myself next week-- a rarity now that Andrew is working and I have to wait for a day off, and I'll be picking up items and stopping at the fabric store for a few things.  I don't want to take the kids with me-- they'll see items I want to keep a surprise.  And I must admit, Peter is not the best shopping companion. Whew! He's a handful, that one!  I don't enjoy shopping with him along, I get all flustered and frustrated and I end up forgetting items on my list, or errors are made with the coupons and I end up paying more than I should have, but I can't figure out what went wrong when I am wrestling with a squirmy, screamy toddler that just wants me to let him go and get. down. now. Just reading that last sentence makes me want to go lie down!  He's a great kid, I know he just wants to run and explore and if mama wants to shop, it's not a good combination! Better to leave him at home where he's on familiar turf and I can do my thing in peace.

I have Christmas music playing on my internal radio and I love when the kids tell me they hear certain songs on the radio. They still believe in the magic of Christmas and they were so excited when the tree went up. Now it's the battle of the wills between parents and kids at getting them to leave. the. tree. alone. I actually went so far as to take off the garland and tears were flowing, "I'll be good, I'll be good!  No, mama! Please! We won't touch the tree anymore!" I left it off a day before putting it back up and it worked for a while.  The threat has lost its' power now, so the newest warning is: Any bad behavior and you have to take an ornament off the tree!  So far so good!

I've been thumbing through recipe books, looking for new ideas for cookies and bars.  Before kids (B.K.), I used to make hundreds of cookies and give them as gifts.  After kids (A.K.), I'm lucky if I can make a couple of batches and then fend off the hungry cookie monsters. If anyone got a dozen cookies, they're the lucky ones! This year, I have a good feeling I'll be able to make more than a few batches.  I have some cookie ideas bubbling up in that brain of mine and can't wait to make a test batch.

I made eggnog spice cake the other day and man oh man! Is that ever good!!  Moist and flavorful, and I get that great eggnoggy taste I love in every bite! It's a keeper!  Anything cooked in a bundt pan looks great and we love cake that requires no frosting! The only thing is I would cook it a little longer next time, 40-45 minutes isn't long enough, I'll try 50-55 minutes next time. 

Any good cookies recipes you want to share? I'd love to try new ones!

Just, Wow!

What a lovely white winter wonderland it is out there right now. No matter that it is still Autumn and still October. No matter that Halloween hasn't happened yet. No matter that all the winter coats and snow pants I washed last month and hung to dry, then got played in and soiled all over again and I haven't had a chance to wash them just yet. No matter that Peter likes to wear snow boots in the house and then leaves them where he takes them off, be it under a bed, or under the stairs, or between the wall and the back of the dresser (*#$*&^!!!), and I have to hunt high and low for a matching pair of boots.

Still, it's beautiful out there.

Not so sure about my poor Mulberry tree, though. All that heavy wet snow hanging onto the leaves that have yet to fall bent the tree nearly in half before we knocked the snow off it. I hope it bounces back. Andrew said he could hear tree branches cracking in the woods. So I guess if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, it does make a sound!

I'm glad we had no plans to go anywhere today. Very quickly, more than 10 inches of heavy, wet snow came down. We knew it was coming and prepared for it. Andrew gathered more logs, split and stacked the wood near the door. We pulled up posts and tomato fences in the garden, pulled up the weed covers, then tilled most of the garden. Cut the grass and mowed over the leaves. I raked leaves where the mower can't get to and raked the leaves into the chicken coop and the duck house for bedding and insulation. Closed up the window flaps on the chicken coop. Andrew took the trash out to the landfill. Cleaned up the toy vomit in the basement so we could fire up the wood stove if it got too cold. Filled up gallons of water in empty jugs in case the power went out. It did, but only for an hour.

Chickens said "Hell, no!" to the snow and stayed inside the coop all day. Ducks never saw snow before and didn't know what to make of it. They were mostly outdoors before they called it an early night and went to bed.

I finally got smart this year and put up an indoor clothes line in the sun room. Previously, I used a clothes drying rack, but it couldn't handle the weight of the wet coats and pants and the kids were, let's be honest, just too rough with it, tossing heavy wet pants in it's general direction, knocking it to the floor until Mama comes and picks everything up and rearranges it so it can air dry. I'm learning from my mistakes, indoor clothes line it is!

Also new is the coat rack. Put up in the Spring since Mama was tired of hollering at the kids to pick up their jackets and sweaters off the floor after they fell off the puny little coat rack with tiny little pegs obviously not meant to hold 341 coats/sweaters/jackets. Fashioned by yours truly out of an old fence rail and vintage clothes hooks, it works great!

Also with the snow, comes the wet, muddy floor and strewn boots kicked off, left to sit in melting puddles of snow and when Mama comes to help hang up wet snow things, guess what I step in? Brr!

We tried, we truly did. We tried so hard not to have a fire until November, but when the temps dipped into the 30s last night and we woke to all the snow, and it was oh so hard to get out of the nice warm bed, it had to be done. Maybe November will bring us some warm days to make up for winter in October, but I won't hold my breath. More likely, I'll see my breath from now on.

Working on Halloween Costumes. Cannibalized a men's XL grey fleece jacket from the thrift shop and using up what's left of my fleece scraps to make something special for Peter. Nearly done.  Any guesses?

Evelyn wants to be the Bride of Frankenstein, easy enough-- pulled together an outfit from her clothes and a bit of fancy hair styling and make-up will do the trick.

Gretchen and Sylvia both want to be princesses, so fancy party dresses and vintage tiaras borrowed from Mama, and make-up will do.

Plans are to go trick or treating at a local Church that hosts a 'Trunk or Treat' in the parking lot. We went last year and had fun, so unless we get more snow, that's what we'll be doing. And mayyyyybe a little walk around town, too, wait and see how cold it is.

From The Inside Out

What is it with the weather and the calendar, man?

These last few months have been strange, to say the least.

Flipping the calendar to September suddenly took away hot summer weather and, in an instant, Autumn was here. Not complaining really, there are lots of great things associated with Fall--

the start of a new school year

apples

and all things apple-related

cooler weather

sweaters

fall festivals

pumpkins

carved and pie

Halloween

changing colors of the leaves

that crispness in the air.

Flipping the calendar to October usually means more of the above.

But ever since October 1st got here, it's been cold, man.

Like, want to start a fire cold.

The temperature never got higher than the mid-40s today.

We seriously considered starting a fire, but we hate to start so soon on the wood pile.

Instead, I'm turning to baking.

If I can't warm from the outside, well, we can start on the inside.

 Apples.. you can see where this is going, can't you?

Bet you didn't think I was going here.



Anything better in the tummy than warm apple crisp?

 How about vanilla ice cream on top of warm apple crisp!?

Oh yes, the cold is much easier to face when one is warm from the inside out.

Apple Crisp

serves 8

Peel and core 8 apples. Cut into largish pieces and place in baking dish. Sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon on apples and stir to coat.

Combine 1/2 cup  (1 stick) of softened butter, 1/2 c flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and dash of salt. Mix until crumbly.

Pour crumb mixture onto apples and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Let sit so you don't burn your mouth and serve warm with ice cream.

Smile.

Say yum!

Family Game Night: LIFE

Now that the kids are getting older, we're breaking out some of the games that require more than climbing ladders and sliding down chutes. We have longed for the day we can gather around the table and play games that we remember playing with our own families growing up.

We recently played LIFE with the girls and they love it!

We're skipping over some of the complicated bits, like getting insurance and stocks, but otherwise, playing the game as usual. They get especially pleased when they get married and they plot how to get the wheel to stop on a certain number so they can have children.

 We usually have to set Peter up with some toys or put a movie in for him, or else he gets into a screaming fit and starts swiping every one's money, which gets the girls screaming, which gets me screaming. ahem.  Anyway, it's pretty fun to watch how the girls arrange the "people" in their cars.  As soon as Gretchen gets married, she puts her husband in the driver's seat.



Money, money, money!

Gretchen loves the money!  She could have eight 100,000 bills, but if she has no other bills, she thinks she's so poor and cries that she has no money. She's only happy when she has several bills of each color. Silly girl!

We've played this quite a few times, and I think they're ready for a game of Monopoly soon.

 All of our games are older, either mine from when I was a kid, or Andrew's from his childhood, or games we pick up from yard sales and thrift shops. We like the older games better. The girls recently played LIFE at a friend's house with a newer game set, and my girls complained it wasn't the same as ours. I just told them that we had an older game and sometimes the manufacturers update the games and make them look different.

Do you have memories of a certain game and remember how much fun it was, then play it again as an adult and it's the most boring game ever??  My husband and I both have a game like that in our past.  His is Mousetrap and mine is a game called Mystery Mansion. I'd never played Mousetrap before and he went on and on about how much fun it was, so we bought a new game and started playing it and I kept waiting for the fun part to start. He looked at me sheepishly and admitted it wasn't as fun as he remembered it. My sister and I spent hours, hours! playing Mystery Mansion. You built the mansion as you go along, looking for secret passageways and treasure. Sometimes you'd find a chest and it would have just cobwebs in it, or the secret passageway would take you down to the scary dungeon. I couldn't wait to show Andrew how to play this super fun game and then when I broke it out and we started playing it, I realized it was our imaginations that made this game so much fun. I'll give it to the girls and see if they like playing it and hopefully their imaginations will make Mystery Mansion as much fun for them as it used to be for me.

Happy To Be Back!

It's amazing to me that as soon as we flip the calendar page to September, the weather seems to flip, too. While I'm a little sad to say good-bye to summer, I admit, I love these cooler days and nights. We haven't needed to use the A/C in several weeks and I've had to put light blankets on all the beds because we all seem to wake up just a tad chilled.

Lately, after dinner, we have been walking in the woods again. It was too hot and muggy to do it during the summer, plus the gnats and mosquitoes are quite ferocious here and it just doesn't make for an enjoyable walk. It's so nice to walk out after dinner as a family and be together, enjoying nature's changing of the seasons. I almost feel like I need to shield my children's eyes as Mother Nature sheds her leaves and bares her naked limbs.

 We have a young black walnut tree growing in the middle of the garden area. I'm torn about cutting it down. As it grows, it will shade the garden, but-- it's a walnut tree!!  All this time I thought it was one of those fast-growing weed trees and we have been putting off cutting it down because we wanted to let it grow just a little bit thicker and get a little more firewood out of it, but this year it sprouted black walnuts for the first time! Pretty impressive for a young tree that's only 3 years old. I counted more than 25 walnuts hanging off the branches. What to do, what to do? We have other walnut trees, but many are old with rotten limbs and not producing a lot of walnuts anymore. I'll probably just procrastinate another year and see what happens in the garden shade-wise.

Is there anything more precious than seeing your children holding hands?

I predict many more after dinner walks in the woods with the family.

***

I've missed this little space I have here. I missed writing and reading your comments. I really needed this time away, to not think I needed to blog every little thing and appreciate time with my family. We did a lot together this summer-- spent every single day of July in the pool; went to the county fair; lost teeth, celebrated birthdays, spent time with friends, enjoyed cook-outs... but most importantly, we were together. There's nothing I love more than being with my family.

I hope you all had a great summer, too. I am looking forward to what the future holds and what Fall may bring to me and my family.

*

Dropping In...

When I said I was going to take a bloggy break, I thought I would need all the way 'til Labor weekend. Turns out I am already itching to come back and I'm trying to decide if I should hold fast to my time-line or say the hell with it and start posting again. Maybe just writing this one post will be the release I need and I can hold off until Labor weekend.

A lot has happened around here-- some good, some bad. Nothing like a death in the family or a major illness, thank God, but definitely something that forces us to change and swallow our pride and to count our blessings even more. I know that things happen for a reason and what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I also know you don't judge a man before you walk a mile in his shoes and don't count your chickens before they hatch. The point is, life happens, and not always the way you want it to. It's the journey, not the destination.

Andrew was let go from his job not too long ago. It's been a blow for us, but we're honestly doing ok. We're already used to living on less and we don't live the high life and keep up with the Joneses. It just means we have to tighten the belt up another notch. Shopping with coupons like I do is a major bonus, our pantry and closets are well-stocked with food and supplies and the only thing we really need to shop for would be milk, meat and diapers (though diapers will soon be dropped from the list!). He's been looking and applying for work and hopefully something will come along soon. We're happy to have him home, though, and we've been enjoying the extra family time together.

We've been blessed with good friends that are passing on their children's clothes to us, so I won't need to worry about that. One family has 2 children, a girl a year ahead of Evelyn and a boy 2 years ahead of Peter. Another has 2 girls, both a year or two ahead of Gretchen and Sylvia. I'm lucky that ever since the kids were born, I've always shopped second-hand clothing for the kids, so they absolutely don't mind getting hand-me-downs and actually, they think it's normal procedure. Pretty much the only things they get brand-new would be shoes and underclothes, but even then, it's clearance prices and sales from the year before. I just bought clearanced flip-flops for the kids for next summer.

What really hurts with not having Andrew's paycheck is the gas money. Living in the country, we have to drive so far to get places, so we do a lot of consolidating with our errands and shop at stores that give us gas discounts. We recently filled up the van on gas that cost us $2.97/gallon thanks to gas points at the food store. That same food store also doubles coupons so it gives me more incentive to shop there.

New friends we've made that live nearby do a lot of volunteer work (they're retirees) and recently let us know that they dropped our name into a hat at the ruritan club that sponsors a few families and pays their way into the county fair. We hadn't planned on going to the county fair this year, because we cannot afford both the entrance fee and the rides for the kids, so it's really nice to know that we'll be able to do both and for once, we don't have to tell the kids "no" when they ask to go on the rides. They are even paying for our meal at the fair which always smells so good, but again, too pricey for a family of six. The kids are really excited about going to the fair and they all want to make something and enter it at the fair. Evelyn and Sylvia both embroidered their own designs and Gretchen wants to bake a cake. I embroidered something as well, and I plan to enter a few jams. Fingers crossed the girls all get blue ribbons for their efforts!

Total neglect of the garden and yet we are drowning in tomatoes!!  I feel so lucky! The kids love walking up and down the rows filling arms and buckets with tomatoes and bringing them into the house. I love that the girls eat tomatoes out of hand and sometimes they make a feast out of tomatoes for a snack. Peter doesn't quite understand just what is so great about tomatoes just yet, but hopefully, in time, he'll grow to love eating them, too. I don't hold much hope for the onions and the peppers-- the weeds have choked them out. I may be able to dig up a few taters, but I'm just not too sure about them.  I'm already imagining next years garden and I'm thinking this is the year I try for a fall planting for a winter garden.  I'd really like to try cold-weather gardening and see what that's like.

I recently lost a Speckled Sussex hen. She was one of the first 15 and I had only 2 left of the 6 Speckled Sussex I started out with. She wasn't looking so good for a day and I had a bad feeling when I shut the coop that night. Sure enough, the next morning, she was dead. Before Andrew was let go, I was thinking about ordering a batch of chicks. I'm tired of the Red hens and roosters and wanted to have some more colors in my flock, but that'll have to wait now. The Reds are not as friendly as the yellow Buffs and the Speckled Sussexs. They run and scatter when I come near and pretty much the only time I can handle them is when they're settled for the night in the coop. The Buffs and the Speckleds are super friendly and the girls love to hold them and enjoy their feathered company. I'll definitely order more of those two breeds next time.

I still have a bit of corn left from last summer's canning sessions. I hoped to plant corn this year, but that never happened. I hoped to score corn cheap from the food store like I did a few times last year, but it's been pretty pricey all summer long. I still have hope, though! Andrew's friend has a neighbor that recently complained he had too much corn-- eek!! Too much corn?!? How can that be??  I'm trying to get Andrew to talk to the nice man and convince him to sell his surplus of corn to us! After we've eaten our fill, I'll can the rest to enjoy during the cold winter months. Oh.. I hope so! I do love corn!

I think I'm done unloading the brain now. My shoulders feel lighter and my head doesn't hurt so much now. I'll stick to my original time-line and be back after Labor weekend.

~jenny

Fits and Starts

The pool is up!! It's just the right size for all of the kids this year. The water comes up to Peter's neck when he stands, so one less child to fret over in the pool. The kids have all improved since last year and they are swimming like fish. Sylvia is still the ever cautious one, though, and she rarely dunks her head underwater.

A cute picture of Lucy the cat. She likes to sleep in this little wooden crate. No idea where it came from, but the kids brought it out one day, didn't bring it back in, and Lucy has claimed it for her own. She caught a small woodpecker the other day. She's the huntress of the outdoor cats. Always voles, mice, chipmunks and, sometimes, birds, left around the food table for us to find. Turned the dead woodpecker into a biology lesson for the kids. It's tongue was hanging out and you could see little "thorns" on the tip of it. Makes it perfect for sticking in holes to skewer a bug and pull out. It was a pretty little bird, don't mind when Lucy catches mice or voles, but I always feel bad when it's a chipmunk or a bird.

This is the garden. ~sigh~ I'm so behind on my weeding! This is my potato patch. I checked and all the potatoes are growing strong, many are over a foot high and thick, just need to weed and hill them.

My solitary row of cabbage and broccoli. Heads are forming nicely, if I hurry and weed, this may be my first year at harvesting some cabbage and broccoli.

This is going to be the tough weeding job-- my onions are buried in there somewhere. I haven't weeded since hurting my back and hip, and then the poison ivy attack that left me in itchy fits. I haven't wanted to go outside much since all that happened. Slowly catching up, now, the tomatoes have been weeded and tied, lots of small green ones, hoping to have some ripe ones by July. Peppers are mostly weeded and I see lots of buds and a few tiny peppers growing. All out of frozen peppers in the freezer, so I'll be keeping an eye out for peppers at the farm stand. Last year, they could be found $1 for 4, if I can score them again for that price this year, I'll be stocking up.

Just about missed most of the mulberries this year. Still some left and I've picked, juiced, and froze 8 cups of mulberry juice so far. I'd like to double that if I can. Wild blackberries are coming in now and I've picked a nice bucketful. A few more bucketfuls would be nice.

Finally started on the chicken fence project. I got the two gate posts in and cemented. Going to work on the gate door next. Hopefully the fencing goes up this week. I'll be sure to wear long pants and long sleeves and then shower with poison ivy oil remover right after to prevent another outbreak of itchy rash. Still on meds, another few days and it's all gone. The rashes are fading, but they're still itchy. Just left with numerous healing little sores from all my scratching fits when I broke skin and where the blisters burst.

Kids are pestering me about going in the pool now. It's a blessing and a curse, keeps the kids amused, but forces me to hang about and supervise when I'd rather be elsewhere doing some other project. At least the blackberries are nearby, I guess now's the time to pick some more.

~Later..