Photo Op

We have an incredible nature park just a few miles from our house. It's my go-to place for peace and quiet. Stick to the paved path if you need civilization (i.e. other people/dog walkers). Or, do what I do and follow random paths.... randomly. You never know when you might come across a horseback rider or raccoon. It's also an excellent place to go for geo caching.

I took Emma and my camera (that I am still trying to master) and snapped a few pix.

We rested for a bit at the picnic pavilion, couldn't resist this shot.

Here's my sweet Miss Em

Ahhh, the roads these toes have traveled so far...

This one is one of my favorites... total fluke how it happened though...

As we were walking back, I heard a distinct crackling to my left and caught this doe by surprise.

Emma kept chattering away and calling to her even though I was shushing her as loudly as I dared. I was hoping to see a baby, no luck. Just this guy:

Yeah, I KNOW!! What do you think? 6 or 8 points? (I'm not sure how to tell.) Then, I totally missed the next shot, an even bigger buck!! I love seeing wild life up close like this.

What I see Out My Window

Ah, Fall... such a gorgeous season!!

This is the view out my front window (ahem, it WAS the view, until the wind/rain dropped all the leaves.)

I absolutely LOVE red leaves! We planted a Red Maple and a Red Oak the first month we moved here. 5 years later, the color is fabulous! About the time the Maple looses all it's leaves, the Oak turns. Ah, fall. :D

Public Service Announcement

When the house gets too quiet, all moms know to check on the little ones. This is why:

Here's the "artist" providing today's makeover to the lovely Honey. (It only took 4 days for the blue to wear off.)

I'd like to thank everyone for their kind emails and comments. I'm doing much better and hope to be back to my regular self very soon. It's been a tough road, but what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. (All props to Kanye for the quote, which has been my song of inspiration lately. :D)

Still here, I promise

Hi~~ This is me, waving at you!

I've not fallen into a crack in the road - just hit a speed bump that slowed me down a little. :D

Remember when I posted about the volunteer potatoes ~ the ones that came up from last year? Well, I needed to mulch the garden and also plant things that needed to go in, so I dug up the volunteers. 12 pounds of potatoes - all because during last year's harvest, some potatoes got left behind. That's frugal gardening, I do believe!!

I'll be back posting soon ~ thanks for checking in

Independence Day Challenge Week 5

Raspberries blooming.

1) Plant something:

Okay, I had to re-plant the yellow & butternut squash and the loofa. The ones I started indoors didn't survive the transplant, even though they were hardened off. The ones coming up from seed look 1000% stronger anyway! I also had to re-plant 2 tomatoes that didn't survive. I'm still not done planting tomatoes or peppers because this new garden spot is just not cooperating. Also, another row of radishes (what's the secret to getting them to form a bulb?), lettuce, spinach and my 3rd and final attempt at peas. Plus, sunflowers, watermelon and cantaloupe.

Someday, I'll have a camera that takes amazing shots. Until then, please admire this blurry jar of jam :D

2) Harvest something:

Just a few handfuls of lettuce and all the rhubarb (about 1.5 pounds). OH! And, the meat birds!! 55 pounds of chicken. Jerry, his dad and the boys processed the 10 birds in about 2 hours. Boys said it was gross, nasty and smelly. Jerry said it wasn't too bad. His dad didn't say much, other than my MIL said he better NOT bring home a chicken. Ok, more for us! I refrained from showing you a before and after. I LOVE before & after photos, but I know that not everyone is fond of home grown meat. Seriously though, it looks just like supermarket chicken.

3) Preserve Something

I went to the Farmer's Market in search of strawberries, and I found the last of the harvest. $4 a quart. I really wanted to make jam this year, so I forked over $8, happily. They were so good!! I stopped by Dillon's on the way home and found the above strawberries on clearance for $.79 a pound. I bought 14 pounds. They ended up in a strawberry rhubarb crumble, strawberry rhubarb pie and JAM, glorious, ruby red jam. My children have already tackled the first jar and declare it's the best jam ever. I know it wasn't local (strawberries were grown in the U.S.) but I saw the bargain and had to have it.

4) Prep Something

Remember that giant, 5' x 5' compost bin I had? In the middle of the garden? Well, I was soooo tired of looking at it smack in the middle of the garden. It was too big and hard to reach in and turn the compost. Jerry was convinced that it could be cut down and repurposed. He spent an afternoon chopping thru the free pallets and re-making them into this wonderful, 2 holer!! WHOOT!! I'm so excited!! I've now got hinged doors!! That makes it so easy to pop open, and flip the compost from one bin to another. We still have the old, black composter, sans lid to hold the excess. It's now hidden behind the shed. In it's old place, I planted watermelon. Hope it's not too fertile there. We shall see. :D

5) Cook Something:

Making jam was new to me. First year to harvest and cook the rhubarb. Surprisingly, it was so simple. Why was I worried? The jam set up nicely too! And the crumble? It didn't last long. It was SO GOOD! We are having the pie tonight. It may be all we eat, but that's how we roll. :D

6) Manage Reserves:

Still washing jars in anticipation of more canning sessions. Added more toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant & razors to the stockpile. Stockpiling is so new to me... it feels weird to have excess stuff. But, I'm learning that combining coupons with sales really DOES save a lot of money.

Knee-high by the 4th of July? Yep, I think it will be!

7) Work on Local Food Systems:
Planted extra Row for the Hungry. Donated some tomato plants to community garden.

Chooks in the garden, eating bugs, earning their keep. In a few weeks, I hope to have the garden fenced in so that the free rangers will stop eating the good stuff that I'm trying to grow. Seriously, we've gotten ONE strawberry ~ they've devoured the rest. They'll have 1/2 acre to roam and I do have 2 raised beds full of greens for them that they haven't discovered yet.

Etched In Stone

Yesterday, in my fine town, a man walked in to a church and shot another man, in the forehead. He killed a husband, a father of 4 and a grandfather of 10. He killed Dr. George Tiller. An abortion doctor.

No matter which side of the issue you are, this post isn't open to debate.

It is, however, my story. A deeply personal one.

Have you ever heard the theory that we are all born with a chalkboard? Everytime something is said to you, good or bad, it gets recorded. Sometimes, the writing fades over time if you don't hear it enough. Other times, what's said over and over eventually gets etched in, deeper and deeper until it makes you who you are.

I believe this. I've struggled for years to erase things on my slate that others thought about me and said to me, things I know to be untrue. But, there are some things that are etched so deeply, there isn't enough spackle to fill in the fissures.

On an ordinary summer day, when I was nine, my mother turned to me and casually said,

"Did you know that you were supposed to be aborted?"

My earth stopped and I was in some kind of a vacuum. What? What did she say?

"Yes," she went on, "your dad only wanted one child, so when he found out I was pregnant with you, he wanted to have you aborted, but I said no."

She went on to say that there was a doctor who was in agreement. Supposedly there was a sonogram showing me as having no arms or legs - just a torso and head. This was used to try to convince her that an abortion was a good idea.

Knowing the narcissist that is my mother, I wonder if she said it for shock factor (probably) or to get me to hate my birth father (probably), to garner sympathy (of course) or to hurt me.

I didn't know how to respond. I mean, I was 9 and I just heard that I was unwanted and should have been dead. What do you say to that?!?!

Over the years, she has said it a few more times, each time, forgetting that she'd already told me. Everytime I heard it, it etched deeper, and deeper. She even said it to me during my pregnancies.

Had I been aborted, I would not be here. My five wonderful, delightful, blessings from God would not be here.

When I hear the word Abortion, it etches this even deeper into my soul.

I wasn't wanted. I wasn't supposed to be alive. The pregnancy was to have been terminated. I was to have been terminated. Eliminated.

Choices.

I believe that every human is on earth for a reason. It's up to each person to make their own choices and discover what they need to. I'm not here to judge. What you choose is your business.

I just wonder, who was eliminated, by choice? What futures will never be?

I don't wish to open this up to discussion or debate. Yesterday, my world was a firestorm of personal opinions and debates and I sat by, quietly watching, listening and praying.

All I ask, is if you have people in your life that you care about, look deep into their eyes and see what has been written on their slate. See what's been etched and what you can help to erase. It's never too late to change the slate.

Changes

Jerry changed his work schedule last week and we're just not settling into a routine... at all. His hours are shifted as are his days off. Consequently, all my routines have been thrown into a swirling pot. The kids are out of school for summer. And, for the first time in 8 years, I'm working from home.

It all adds up to upheaval. Not that's it's bad.... I LOVE having him home, even if he is asleep when we're awake. I just can't get a grip on a new schedule.

I'll be back when things aren't so upside down.

Rain followed by Sun

Less than 2 weeks ago, the potato patch was spotty, at best.

Then it rained and rained. Finally, the sun shone. And, now you can practically watch it grow. Sadly, the weeds are growing just as fast.



Emma turned 3. She has discovered Barney so Gma got her 2 Barney videos. She also noticed, for the first time, that we have a Barney beach towel (was Dalton's ~ 12 years ago!). It's hers now. She's the most singy of all the kiddos, so we belt out the ole "I love you, You love me" song at the top of our lungs, and we don't care how much eye rolling occurs ~ secretly, we know they are singing too. :D

Inspired by Paul, I begged, pleaded, asked to have one so Jerry built this trellis system for the yellow squash, butternut squash and loofah. He used scrap lumber and also t-posts for anchors. I've got to tie the string on, and it's good to go. I have to decide if I'm going to want more for the cucumbers and tomatoes. How does one stake 75 tomato plants while on a limited budget?! Suggestions, please!



I can not stop taking pictures of the chix. They make it easy by hurtling towards me where ever I am. LOL That never gets old!!

Speaking of chicks, I have been letting the meat birds free range outside in the afternoons. What does this shot look like to you?! A daisy? Yeah, me too. One week to go til butcher date.

I should do updates to the challenges, but I don't feel like it. LOL So much is going on right now in the garden - doubling it has been a bit of a pain. Grass turf is a bugger to get thru. The ground underneath hasn't seen the light of day for 35+ years (back when it was farmland/tilled fields.) So, we are transplanting the turf, double digging, adding compost to holes, mulching between plants and looking forward to this fall when we can plow it all under.

• Blackberry and blueberry bushes arrived, yet to be planted.
• Lettuce is slow coming up, so are radishes.
• Peas are a total loss thanks to the chickens for scratching them up, twice.
• Rhubarb should be harvested.
• We got asparagus in small spurts, never enough all at once, but I planted 10 more.
• Planted another peach tree ~ Elberta.
• Jerry & I shared the first strawberry of the season.
  

Cole, Braden & Dalton

The boys had a Father/Son fishing trip this past weekend. While they were gone, the girls painted nails, went shopping for coloring books & stickers and had a sleep over in mom's bed.

We have an entire week of balmy, breezy spring-time-in-Kansas weather forecasted (which translates to highs of 80, lows of 60, winds 10-25 mph and low humidity.) Paradise on the prairie!

Adopt a Soldier

Do you remember the movie Pay It Forward? The premise was to do a good deed for someone and they will pay it forward, creating a ripple effect and the good deeds would just keep on being done.

I love that idea. I'm always on the lookout for a way to 'pay it forward'.

A website was sent to me recently that has a daily good deed report. Check it out. Every month, they tackle a new project.

Reading their site led me to Wish Upon a Hero. Of course, it's been televised several times, but *ahem* I don't watch much tv so I missed it. Anyway, the premise there is you can be a wish grantor or wishee. So many of the wishes are for card showers ~ for a great grandma celebrating a milestone birthday or a recent graduate who has no family or for a child that needs a pick me up. Yes, this I can do! I signed up and have been having a blast sending out cards. (Although the website is painfully slow ~ not complaining, just saying.)

Of course, that website led to me the best one yet Adopt A Soldier. I signed up a few days ago and today I got an email with my soldier's info. That was FAST!!

My soldier is a 39 year old gal from California. Now, when I think of Soldier, I think of my nephew - young, 20-something, single guy. I don't think of someone who is my age!! I didn't get much info so I don't know if she's a wife or a mom. All her request said is that she'd like some personal care items. She misses being in familiar places (home!) and whatever she gets (cards, letters or packages) she will share with the other soldiers there.

That made me tear up. She's a gal after my own heart!!!

I know that with summer upon us, this will be a fun project for our family to work on together. Gathering little items and making cards, letters and pictures to send to Colette.

So, won't you take a minute and go be a hero?! Let's pay this one forward!!

72 Eggs, Scrambled

What do you do when your hens are producing 10 eggs a day? You find recipes that use up lots of eggs! We decided to make breakfast burritos.

Recipe:

6 dozen eggs, scrambled
3 pounds sausage, browned
Onions
Green Peppers
Cheese (we used 1/2 slice of American cheese but shredded works too.)
Tortillas
Aluminum Foil

Next time, I'll know to not try to cook all the sausage and eggs all at once. Or, I need to find commercial sized pans and stove to cook on!

The kids can easily pop 1 in the microwave for a minute ~ 2 for 1.5 minutes. We like ours with salsa and sour cream. Our recipe made 80+ burritos. Had we had more tortillas, we'd have come close to 100 burritos. But, we decided to make breakfast bowls out of the leftovers. Delish! Next time, we may add shredded potatoes or more veggies.

Next up, Egg Noodles (frozen & dehydrated) & Batches of French Toast for the Freezer

If you find yourself with a lot of eggs, try some of these links to recipes using a lot of eggs.