Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. I read here four creative activities to try this month. They were-calligraphy, make your own cookbook, dance or learn a new type of dance, and letter writing. Which activity on the list appeals to you most? Will you add it to your August?   At this moment in time, I choose letter writing, but calligraphy sounds like it could be fun.  I have no desire to learn a new dance or dance (it's just too hot) and as much as I like to cook, I wouldn't have a very full cookbook.

 

2. Bertrand Russell is quoted as saying, 'To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.' Agree or disagree? Explain.  I both agree and disagree on this statement. I agree with it from the viewpoint of: I want a new cell phone, computer, iPad, TV, car, etc. You can find happiness with out those "things".  However, to those who are longing for a baby/child or a spouse; I think you may have a hole in your heart that will complete your happiness when you have a child or find your spouse.  It's not that you can't be happy, it's that your happiness hasn't come full circle. Above all, I feel that without God in your life, you will never achieve full happiness. Period.

 

3. August 17th is National Thriftshop Day...are you a 'thrifter'? If so, tell us about one of your best or favorite finds.  I am not a thrifter.  I wish I could say that I am but I am not.

 

4.  On a scale of 1-10 (with 1= almost none and 10=loads) how would you rate your sense of wanderlust? What kicks your wanderlust into high gear? I am a 3 maybe.  I have several places that I want to visit but I do not care much for the traveling part of getting to the destination.  I am excited when Jeremiah is able to go along with us so he does a lot of the driving but overall I am not much into travel.

 

5. Has life felt more like a marathon or sprint so far this month? How so?  Marathon.  Our garden is producing amazing food for us this year.  I have been canning a lot of our veggies and it isn't done yet.  I am so happy to fill my basement shelves with food to feed our family for the coming year!

 

6. What do you need to get a jump on before fall officially arrives?  We need to get wood in for winter. Usually at some point in late September we will need some heat.  We need to get our chimney ready and wood cut and stacked.  Jeremiah and Ryder handle all the wood cutting and Madilynne and I help with loading, unloading and stacking.  I am not a good stacker so I am usually the one handing the wood over to Jeremiah or Ryder to stack. 

 

7. What's the last thing you did with friends or family where you lost track of time? Visiting!!  I get so caught up talking and catching up with friends and family that I loose track of time! Happens quite frequently in my life.  I enjoy a good visit!

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.  I am getting ready to pick and process more green beans.  I switched to canning them in pints this year.  Our family likes green beans but for some reason we just don't eat a full quart.  I always seem to have leftover green beans and no one wants to eat the last bit. I figure if we need more I can open two jars. Madi opened a jar up last week and ate the whole thing herself- straight from the jar.  She said that a quart jar is just too much commitment!!    

Pines Update!

   This site has been quiet lately and I apologize for that.  We started school on August 1.  I was hesitant about starting early but it has been so hot out that staying inside in the air conditioning has actually been a blessing.  Madilynne has a full class schedule that includes many extras that she is interested in this year and Ryder is keeping things basic-hitting only those subjects that is required by state law and sign language.  They are both doing a good job at getting school done each day.  We started with an 8 am up-and-at-'em game plan.  Those that know my kiddos know that 8 am is early for the night owls!  :-)   They are adjusting pretty nicely to the new schedule.  Do they like 8 am? No, not at all but it sure is nice to get the school done early. 

   Our garden is producing like crazy! It's awesome but keeping me busy.  I have been canning green beans, red beets and experimented with some pickle recipes.  I will pick some green beans tonight and harvest some green peppers too.  We have two watermelons that are getting really big.  I am so excited about that!  We are also getting two cantaloupes.  We never tried to grow them before so getting two of them is really good!

   We have also been doing some baby/child sitting and visiting with friends.  We have spent some extra time in the pool and yesterday we met some friends at a local park to swim and visit.  It was hot but the visiting was well worth it.  I can handle a lot of heat when I am visiting with good friends.  Ok, well I also had a quart jar of lemon ice water! 

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   Ok, you know it's bad when I couldn't even get this posted three days ago!!  LOL  Before I could finish this posting I was interrupted over and over!  I also ended up processing more green beans and baby sitting my sweet little nephew for a couple hours.  We ended up going to a BBQ (BaByQ) baby shower for Jeremiah's cousin and his wife. 

   It has continued to stay hot and humid here. Today there is a higher chance of thunderstorms.  We are planning on going to Jeremiah's parents for a cook out and swimming this afternoon. His sister is coming up so hopefully the weather will cooperate.  :-)   

   So now since I have a minute I will post this before the next pressing item pops up! I hope everyone is having a great summer. 

Large Cucumber and Recipe Request

 

 

 

  I went to the garden tonight to see what was ready to pick.  I had three spaghetti squash, one zucchini and three cucumbers.  The cucumber on the far right in the picture is almost as large as the zucchini.  Apparently, I missed it when I harvested the last time.  It will go to some of the chickens to munch on!

   I was very happy with the size of the watermelons that are growing.  I hope they continue thriving.  I will have red beets to harvest, hopefully by the end of the week or early next week.  Our tomatoes are coming along beautifully also.  I am excited about the rest of the veggies!  They are looking so healthy. 

   I had to remove of the cucumber plants I had on the front porch.  They had reached maximum potential and were quickly dying.  The cucumbers were no longer growing.  It was a very cool idea and I think that I will try that idea next year but with a different kind of cucumber plant.  Hopefully they will taste a bit better.   

   With all the zucchini we have grown, I have been giving it to family and I tried some new recipes.  We made zucchini fries tonight and I don't think we will repeat that recipe again.  I will stick with our regular favorites of fried zucchini and zucchini bread. I will also freeze some of it.  I wanted to try a zucchini pizza recipe but both kids vetoed it!  They asked me if I remembered the spaghetti squash pizza disaster!  Don't mess with their pizza!  Plain ol' regular pizza makes them happy. 

   How do you like zucchini?  Any suggestions for how to use up some of my extra zucchini?  What about spaghetti squash? Any delicious and easy recipes you could share? 

Garden Update

I thought I would take some time this morning and give you a bit of an update.

 

 

Yesterday we spent the afternoon visiting with some friends.  It was a great way to spend a super hot afternoon.  I am so tired of the heat already but I am not looking forward to giving up my shorts, t-shirts and sandals/flip flops!

 

Afterwards we ran some errands and headed home.  As evening arrived the temperatures started to cool off so I told the kids we better go pick some blueberries as we were a bit behind on picking. We also checked what was ready in the garden. 

 

This hot and humid weather has been great for the garden.

It has really grown!  We were late in planting this year but wow it has taken off!

At the top of this picture, you can slightly see some of the blueberry bushes.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how fast the zucchini and spaghetti squash grew.  I was up and checked the garden at the end of last week.  It was doing good and I harvested three zucchini.  I sent one to my brother C's family and gave one to my in-laws.  My mom had three zucchini she just bought the day before at a small produce stand near her house.

 

 

I was kinda shocked that we have small watermelons starting.  They are a little bit bigger than a tennis ball right now!  We have only successfully grew one small watermelon in our many years of gardening.

 

 

Ryder's corn has shot up!  He is happy with it! He worked really hard to plant those seeds so I hope he gets a good crop!

 

We ended up harvesting 2 spaghetti squash, 3 cucumbers and 3 more zucchini!

 

This is a very large bowl so it is a bit hard to tell by this picture but we picked about 4 quarts of blueberries.  We have lots of other goodies coming along too.  I think that I will be able to harvest some radishes soon and some red beets! Busy days are ahead on our little homestead!  

Chick Update

Chick update!  Those little buggers are growing quickly!

 

 

These pictures were taken several days ago.  They are in the portable coop.

 

This coop allows them to be outside in the yard and keeps them safe from predators.

 

Madilynne and Ryder give them happy chicken treats.  Yes, that is a Christmas tree but it was $.99 at the feed store!  The chickens do not seem to care.  :-)

 

Two escapees!

 

Madi was able to quickly get these two back into safety with the rest of the flock.

 

I will try to remember to update again in another month or so.

Trust

   As I sit here typing this the skies are trying to shine bright.  The clouds keep coming in to cast shadows on the ground.  I don't realize how sneaky those clouds are until the house fills with bright sunlight and I see the sun's full potential lighting up the room. 

   I was trying to decide what to write about today.  It has been a few days since I posted and while I have lots that I want to write about, I just haven't had much time to sit and type it out.  One thing that stands out the most is about a innocent exchange between a dad and his little 4 year old son....

   One evening several weeks ago we met with some friends and family to swim in my in-law's pool.  The kids were having fun as usual and Ryder was jumping-not diving- into the pool from the deck.  The little four year old wanted to jump in also and while he is wearing his floaties he's a bit intimidated by the thought of jumping in. 

   He takes timid steps to the edge and looks to his dad to catch him but he still has that "scared to death" look on his face but the will inside that he really wants to jump like the "big boys".  He jumps in and his dad catches him immediately.  His face doesn't even go under the water.  They repeat this action several more times and then he wants to go under the water. 

   He hasn't put his head under the water once since they got in the pool. 

   He goes for it...he takes off the floaties and stands at the edge.  He looks full into his daddy's face and says that he can't do it, he's scared.  Understanding his fears, his dad says back, "Trust me.  I got you."  He immediately jumps in and sinks his whole body under the water!   His daddy's protective arms are around him the whole time he is in the water.  He pops up out of the water, fear is gone, and excitement takes over.  "Again! Again!" he yells.  He keeps jumping into the water over and over knowing his dad has him each time. 

   I was watching this play out and cheered for him every time he made a leap of faith and came to realize that this situation can be applied to my own life. 

   How many times has God said to me, "Trust me. I got you." and I stand at the edge and say that I'm scared.  I think back through the years at times when He had me. 

When I graduated from high school

My first day of college

 My first day at a new job

 Walking down the isle on my wedding day(thrilled and excited but scared)

 Signing the loan papers for our first home

 Announcing that we were expecting our first baby

 Bringing that baby home from the hospital

Deciding to homeschool

 

"Trust me. I got you."

 

   The list could go on and on. I need to remember that God has my back. He will never leave me; especially in my time of need.  I hope this post will encourage you on your walk today and that it will cheer you on to continue your journey.  Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

  

Bits and Pieces

   Happy Independence Day to those of us in the USA!  Celebrating the 4th of July for us is picnics, BBQ, swimming and family everywhere.  Some new friends and the start of some new relationships are introduced. It is so fun to see how much the babies have grown since the last picnic (Memorial Day) and how big the mama's-to-be bellies are getting! The skills that the toddlers and younger kids are developing and how fast those tween and teenagers have shot up, they are going to be so tall!!!  Where do those boys put all the food?

   As much as I enjoy visiting will all the family...

   I am not fond of the questions of why we homeschool.... We have been homeschooling for over 10 years and we do NOT plan on stopping.  We love our life and our kids are not anti-social or under-educated.  I am not questioning why you are sending your kids to public schools nor am I asking questions about what those teachers are teaching them. This list could go on and on and on...

   I always hate to have someone ask me to try the new food they brought and ask me what I think of it.  I am happy to tell them if I like it but it is hard to tell someone that it isn't something I like.  I have to be tactical in my approach in telling them that it isn't my favorite thing to eat!  I don't lie about it but I also do not want to hurt their feelings.  I like to have the truth told to me so I try to tell others-politely...

   Oh, what list would be complete without listing the family gossip!?  I will admit, complete honestly here, that at one time I was into the family gossip and drama.  That was long ago and I have since discovered that those same people also like to talk about me when I am not there.  Oh, I KNOW that I have been under fire for being different in the family for years. 

Try being the

A) only home schooling family

B) the family concerned with the safety of vaccines (we have dealt with reactions)

C) the family into natural health approaches and using essential oils

D) trying to eat mostly organic in the group. 

   I have learned not to partake in the chitchat anymore.  I am not perfect in that but at least now I am more aware of what I say.  We should try to build each other up, find the positive, that's what family does, right?  I think age/time/experience brings wisdom but then again....some of the partakers in the chitchat are older than me!  Maybe I learned my lessons faster...must be because we homeschool!  Haha! 

   You know, we don't have to like everybody in the family but we do have to show respect to each other.  Every person has a different personality.  We aren't all destined to be best friends but there is no need to not like someone because they are different. 

   I love my family and enjoy visiting with them each time I get a chance.  I know that I am blessed to have family and this isn't written from a mean spirit. I just hope that you see this as an opportunity to love your wonderful family, flaws and all.  Build each other up and take the criticisms in stride even if "Auntie Mae" tells you that you have a big backside or that the shirt you are wearing isn't flattering to your skin tone!  :0)

   We have another afternoon of food and visiting.  I hope you all have a blessed day and enjoy the crazy family you are part of because I will certainly be enjoy mine.