Mid-April Update

Just because I haven't been blogging much doesn't mean I don't have a lot to share! Things have been hopping around here in so many ways. There's garden news to report, chicken news, emergency preparedness news, homemaking news and more! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share, but I will when I go into more detail later on in the month.

In the garden, I'm so excited to see the chives coming back, and I believe the catnip is starting again, too. Unfortunately that's it. I've been meaning to get peas and chard started in our raised beds, but my poor, dear hubby hurt his back nearly 3 weeks ago, so I had picked up some of his "chores". This means that my back is sore! So things have not been planted out there yet. In the green house, the Roma tomatoes are doing well, but I am so glad that I started so many, because I only have a fraction of what I started. I'm thinking I may still have to but a few transplants, but at least I have some of our own. The green peppers are ready to get put into newspaper pots, so that needs to be done soon. And we have 2 marigolds, an onion and some lettuce in there thanks to Princess, who is a member of on of our local gardening store's "Kid's Club". She was quite excited about the marigolds because she knows Mama uses them in the beds to keep pests away.

We may not be getting rid of as many of our hens as I had initially thought. It seems we have a hen that is eating eggs, so that is, in part, why we aren't getting as many as we should. I have no idea how to catch the offender without a video camera. But no one will be relocated until we can discover who it is and how many eggs she is dispatching. We've decided to nix the raising of our own meat birds, at least for now. It  is just is too much for this year, but we're looking at our options for obtaining healthy, pasture raised meat for our family.

I've been pretty bad in the emergency preparedness sector, though today I am taking a CPR/First Aid class through our church. I'm excited about this and perhaps it will get me back on track.

Our dear friend, Chris, was able to fix and update our old desk top computer. It is a huge blessing to have this computer, as next year I will be homeschooling Teddy Bear. I was thinking that we might need to purchase another laptop, but it's no longer necessary with the desktop up and running. I have already installed some of the educational games on it and the kids have been having a blast playing "Oregon Trail" and "Where In the World Is Carmen San Diego?". Having the desktop going has also gotten me inspired to get my home office area and desk cleaned up and organized. I have gotten quite a bit done and have been able to bless some other friends of ours with some organizing things because she will be homeschooling all of her children next school year. When I am done getting my desk organized, I will be sharing it in a post with pictures and links that I used for advice and inspiration.

The 2013 sugaring season is pretty much at a close for us. We just have to finish off about 3 gallons that is nearly syrup and we will be done with boiling. I believe my hubby has pulled all the taps and has to get the buckets cleaned and put away for the year. We have had a much better yield this year, so I've been able to bake with it this year!!!

That is all for now, Friends. Hope you have a lovely Saturday.

Many Blessings,
Kelly

Growings On: Mid-April

So Today is the first day of April Vacation! WhhooooHoooooo! (Could you sense any sarcasm?) I don't mean to seem snarky, but the temperature is 84* right now. Right now, as in right. now. As in, according to the calendar it is April 16th. I don't personally have anything against the number 84, I just don't like that temperature when it is April. 16th. In North America. August, yes, 84 is fine. But. it. is. April!!!

O.k., enough of my temperature tirade! I'm also very torn about the fact that it is vacation and I want to spend time with the kiddos, but I have A TON OF STUFF TO DO!!!!! I currently have 3 laundry baskets of folded laundry (only folded because my Mom folded it while I was doing my shopping this morning. Thanks, Mom!) in my living room, two loads on my bed that need attention, And that is just the tip of the iceberg. You see, next Tuesday I'm having laproscopy. I hadn't wanted to mention it here, but the last few months I have been suffering some very intense with my menses. The doctor suspects endometriosis, but the only way to be sure is to have laproscopy. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel afterwards. As it stands now, I'm about 2 weeks behind due to traveling over to N.H. to see my doctor and the last time I was in pain for an entire week, unable to do much at all. This is totally cramping my garden plans. (No pun intended!)

Anywhoo, no more downer news! There is so much happening out in the garden already! Before I get to the picks, though, I'll give you some seed starting news. The green peppers I started about a month ago are doing beautifully! The little "gardens" that the kids started are doing very well, too, so we transplanted them into planters Saturday afternoon. They still need to come in to keep them safe from frost (and chickens, which we learned Sunday afternoon.) I finally was able to get my herbs and some flowers started Saturday afternoon, as well.

My DH brought home this piece of corrugated metal home. I snatched and decided
it could be made into a small garden bed just outside of the chickee coop. I just need
to get a piece of plywood to back this and fill 'er up with some top soil!

This is the spinach I planted about a week and a half ago out in one of my planters.
So excited to see it coming up!

This is the lettuce I started the same day.

Last year these planters held catnip and flowers. This year, so far, they are holding some
of my spinach and lettuce crop. Flowers will follow soon!

Three out of the four raised beds are built! My hubby is so good to me! (Plus, I think
he likes the fact that I'm so gung-ho about growing as much of our food as I can!) They just need
to be topped of with top soil and planted.

A new investment, a potato growing sack. I picked this up for $5 in the clearance section
of a local gardening store. Normally I wouldn't but something, I would make it myself, but for $5 I thought I could use it to get a good idea of how to make my own. Which I will, very soon and then share with you!

Catnip that came back and is doing great, despite getting hit by a couple of frosts.

It may be hard to see, but there is some new growth from this sage plant. Usually sage is an annual up here in Vermont, but I think due to a mild winter and plenty of mulch, it survived. Yay! I did start some
more sage from seed, though. Last year I didn't save enough to get me through the winter.

Some Early Girl tomatoes and pansies that Princess and I picked up in town
today. Some of the pansies are for Mama, some for her, and the rest for her friends
when we have her birthday party. We're having a fairy garden party where
each little girl makes her own fairy garden. Thank you Pinterest!

So, that's what's "growin'" on around here up on our hill! Are you planning (or started!) a garden this year? I'd love to hear about it from you! Have a lovely day, Friends!
Blessings,
Kelly

An Update and Announcement

Hello Friends! Yes, it's been one of those weeks. It seems as if I take one step forward and about 5 back, promptly ending up on my bottom!!! But things are slowly getting straightened out and coming together, as they always do. It is just so hard to forget that the Lord has a light at the end of our tunnel right when we need it, especially when it seems your blindfolded in a bottomless pit of errands, chores and commitments.

Anywho, I cannot get over this weather! It's been nice to get an early start to the yard and garden work, but chances are when the temperatures get back to seasonal, there will be colds running rampant. And I miss those soft, gray days of rain in the Spring as you slowly watch the land come back to life. This feels more like a "WHAM! You want Spring, I'll show you Spring!".

Boy, seems like I'm doing a lot of grumbling..... I'm sorry! Here are the updates. (They make me smile!)

• St. Patrick's Day was a bit of a non-event at our house this year. I made the typical corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot, but beyond that, nuthin' much special. Although, my Mom and Aunt Jeannie were here to share the dinner. (I'm the only one in the house that really likes it, everyone else had venison!)
• Sugaring season is over! This is both a blessing and a bummer. A blessing because we had syrup to make and my Dear Hubby was getting tired. A bummer because we didn't get as good of a run as last year, though we had some of last year's left, so we're good.
• DH and I decided to go in on an order of "Easter Egger" chicks with some friends, and we're expecting them soon. (O.k., my heart just seized up at the thought that I have. nothing. set. up. for. my . new. babies. N.o.t.h.i.n.g.) So the Light Brahmas are out this year, but there's next year!
• DH and I are currently in negotiations, well really discussion, about going in with some other friends for meat birds. UPDATE: DH came in while I was writing this and I asked him about it. We're going for it!!!!!!
• I have now watched a total of 3 documentaries on food/nutrition/agriculture/medicine while folding laundry. I've watched "Foodmatters", "Forks Over Knives" and "Ingredients". They all have got me thinking about so many things, more than this post allows for. I need to take some time to write things out (it's the only way I can really process information, writing it out in black and white. Or blue and white, depending on what pen I use ;) Once I've done this, I plan on posting a review/synopsis of sorts. Just a note, these will not be paid endorsements, just my humble opinion.
• Sunday afternoon was gorgeous! After church Daddy and the boys worked on yard work while Princess and I started her flower seeds. We sat out at the picnic table. enjoying the warm breeze.  Then the boys came up and started their little pizza garden kits they had received from a local gardening store for joining the kid's club. Good thing they were free. There is no way I would have dropped $10 each for these little kits! They had a good time watching the peat pellets expand and planting the seeds. Their kits came with oregano, basil, tomatoes and green peppers. Princess had a kit, too, though hers was and herb garden. All the trays are sitting up on top of the fridge, waiting to germinate!
• Nearly all of the green peppers that I started about two weeks ago have come up! Hurray!!!!!! I just need to get to my herbs and flowers. I also started some lettuce and spinach on Sunday. I'll have more on that soon.

And now, for that announcement! In lieu of the fact that it has been hectic for me lately, I've decided to focus on at least one weekly post, which I will be calling Thrifty Thursdays. If someone else out there in the blogosphere is using this, I really apologize. Sincerely, truly. But I have some really neat things to share, and I don't feel that I can commit to any more than one post a week at this time. Although, I'm thinking of sharing more things on my face book page, so if you haven't "liked" me there, you can find some more of me and my ramblings. Tomorrow I will be sharing my up cycled outfit from a pair of jeans and a second hand dress, so make sure you visit!

Thank you all, Friends, for stopping buy and taking time to read. I pray you have a lovely night.
Blessings,
Kelly

Double Sided Table Runners

The solid green side can be for Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, or any day you want to use green! The shamrocks are for St. Patrick's day. You can't really tell in this pic, but the green has a gold sparkle to it, while the shamrock side has a silver sparkle sheen.

The solid purple side is for Lent, the print is for Easter. I absolutely adore the Easter print, which was the only Easter print that I could find that wasn't completely secular. This has "He Is Risen" and "Rejoice" printed on it, so it is truly a print worthy of the occasion!

Yesterday I mentioned that I was able to do some sewing. I had wanted to make a table runner for Lent. In an article I had read about sharing Lent with your children, the author suggested using a purple table cloth for the season. Table cloths + my family doesn't work unless it's vinyl, which I'm not sure if I could find a purple vinyl table cloth, unless it had bunnies on it. So, when I had purchased the fabric for the chicken saddles I saw the shade of purple that I really liked. (And yes, the chicken saddles now match my Lenten linens.)

 Anywhoo, the kids went with my mother in law yesterday afternoon, so I pulled out the iron and sewing machine. I knew exactly how I wanted my table runner and shelf scarves to look. I had purchased a sort of gold shade of thread and wanted to use one of the fancy stitches that my machine can do. I wanted to iron the hems in and pin them so all was straight and neat. But then I looked at the clock and felt a twinge in my back and thought how in the world was I really going to do this? (And along with my Martha tendencies, I am also very instant gratification oriented. Sound like fun, don't I? Wanna come over and craft? ;0)

I looked at my fabrics and decided that the easiest and neatest way to make these (sorry, I forgot to mention that I wanted to make the green table runner for Mardi Gras, too!) was make them double sided. You see, I'm also rather cheap frugal when it comes to craft supplies, preferring to wait for sales, coupons and (the best!!!!) clearance. I had only bought 1/2 a yard of the shamrock print and saved 1/2 yard of the purple material for my table runner. I had plenty of the green sparkle because that had been on clearance (yay!!!) for like a dollar a yard years ago before I even had children. (I know, yada, yada, yada, get to the point rambling woman that has conversations with her cat) With only 4 pieces of fabric, each 1/2 yard, I ended up with two table runners for about 6 holidays/seasons.

Reasons to make double sided table runners:

• it saves time- you don't have to sew 2 runners for 2 different holidays/seasons/occasions
• it saves money- you don't have to buy more than you absolutely need of a costly fabric or buy another piece of fabric to back it
• it saves space- you'll only have to store half the table runners that you need

Now, I'm not going to give any sort of tutorial here. I think we can all agree that I'm not that good at it! And besides, it rather easy. Sew your fabric faces/right sides together, leaving an opening so that you can turn it right side out. Once you have it turned right side out, iron it so it is nice and flat, the seems pressed out neatly. Now, keeping a consistent seam allowance, sew around the edge of the runner all the way around. Voila! You've got a table runner!

These are the two shelf scarves that I made. The one with the fancy stitching on the right is on the secretary that is on our family faith wall. The one on the left is on a little shelf in my bedroom where I've made a little prayer corner. Unfortunately the fancy stitching made the fabric pucker, so I was only able to do it on the two sides of the shelf scarf, and not at all on my table runner. :(

Well, it's time to turn in for the evening. I'll be sharing more about our family faith wall and preparing for Lent. Have a lovely evening, Friends.

Blessings,

Kelly

Pancake Tuesday, Mardi Gras and/or Shrove Tuesday

Our morning started with chocolate chip pancakes.

The kiddos and I sat down to these lovelies and added some butter and, of course, Daddy's homemade syrup.

After chores we had craft time. We made crowns and masks for Mardi Gras.

These are the boys' crowns.

Mimi got in on the action when she dropped of our King's Cake that we're having for dessert. I'll share pics of that later, she did a beautiful job of it!

This is a cat toy for Miss Merlin. I did some sewing in the afternoon. I'll show the fruits of that labor in a very near future post. Prissy cat didn't even care for her toy. It's stuffed with our last sprig of homegrown catnip. I put pretty, tantalizing ribbons on it. Humph!

This was our table for dinner. I got the coins and center piece at the dollar store. The table runner was one of the fruits of labor mentioned above.

I also took some time to work on our family faith wall for Lent. I got the Alleluia out so that we can bury it tomorrow, for Ash Wednesday. I'll post more about our family faith wall and preparing for Lent.

Well, that's our day! I'm off to have some King's Cake with my family. Have a lovely evening, Friends.
Blessings,
Kelly

What I've Been Up To

Hi Friends! It's been a while since I've been able to write a post, although I have been able to read some of my favorite blogs while taking a break. As you can see from the photos above, I was very productive in the kitchen! My mother and I shared a table at one of the local craft fairs, and I decided to do baked goods this year. In all, I had 4 cakes, 9 dozen cookies, 18 mini loaves and 3 regular to sell. The bad news is I came home with almost everything minus only a couple mini loaves and a dozen cookies. The good news is the freezer is filled with baked goods, and I was able to share, as well.  I may have only made enough to cover the cost of the table, but I now have readily available snacks, goodies to offer unexpected company, and gifts. It was well worth the 2 days of baking!

Last Thursday I had a Four Wind's work shop, where I learned about beavers and muskrats. It's amazing how wonderful and unique each of God's creatures is! The children don't have school on Friday, so I think we might expand on our beaver/muskrat knowledge and make a fun "beaver lodge" out of chocolate "mud" and pretzel sticks. I'm trying to think of some likely places to find either animals (or at least signs of them) to go on for a "field trip".

Speaking of field trips, Saturday afternoon we went to an open house put on by a local Omya quarry. This is an annual event that we have gone to for about 4 or 5 years now. We always enjoy it, and learn something new. The kids, (mostly the boys!) love to see the huge loaders and dump trucks that work in the quarry. After donning a hard hat, you can get on a school bus and go down into the quarry. This year I opted out of this part, as school bus seats and my herniated disc just do not get along! I did get to see a double rainbow though! The kids came back to the van with bags of rocks that they had hacked away at with hammers. Next spring they'll join their brothers and sisters out in the flower garden. (the rocks, not the kids!!)

So that's what I've been doing. I'm hoping to get some more posts this week, as I have to more to share about using oatmeal and getting the home and garden ready for winter. Have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Kelly

Happy Autumn 2011!!

O.k., so this is from last year. But I still love this pic!

Happy first day of Fall! Unfortunately, the weather doesn't really know it's autumn; it's warm and muggy. I'm hoping it cools down to a more seasonal norm for the temperature soon, like perhaps tomorrow, but I don't think that's going to happen!

I'm still feeling a bit yucky, and I have company today. Poor Wheels is snuffling and coughing, so we kept him home from school today with strict orders of rest and plenty of fluids. So far he's done a wonderful job of keeping the couch held down and the t.v. warm! I'm not planning on doing too much, either. I have some paper work that needs attention and I'd like to do some sewing and mending. I think the most ambitious I'll get in regards to house work is to get the kitchen ready for tomorrow's baking. I might have to make a trip to town this evening after dinner, too, but we'll see.

I'm looking into some activities to do with the kids for Johnny Appleseed Day on Monday. We're hoping to go apple picking Sunday after church, but the weather will be the deciding factor. It could rain and the temp looks like it's going to be steamy. We might decide to hold off until the following weekend. This kind of bums me out, but if the kids are under the weather, it might be for the best. (And besides, who wants to pick apples when it's 80 degrees?)

Well, that's all for now. Be sure to stop in tomorrow for a Preparedness Challenge post. I'm thinking of getting together a cold-care kit, so I might be sharing about that. Have a great day!
Blessings,
Kelly

On Your Mark...Get Ready........

Teddy Bear and Princess decorating their new school binders.

Wheels with his new decorated binder. His was a hand me down from T.B.

So, I can check something off of my weekly to-do list! After lunch the kiddos and I went through all of the school supplies I had bought over the last few weeks (mostly at Walmart, Staples and the Dollar Tree, on sale or special!) and sorted them out, labeled them and put them into each child's backpack. The boys have the kind of binders that have a clear pocket that you can change the picture in. So they decorated them with motocross bike, tractor, Thomas, and monster truck stickers. Princess' binder doesn't have a clear pocket, but she still decorated it with hearts, castles, Tinker Bell and tigers.

When I'm done typing up my post, I'm going to be loading some educational games into the laptop for the kids. Then I'm going to work on menu planning for the next 2 weeks. I hit the jackpot when grocery shopping this morning, and got lots of meat for less than $2 a pound. So the freezer is well stocked, as well as the pantry.

Hope you have a delightful Tuesday, friends!
Blessings,
Kelly

A Fruitful Day!

Just the beginning of the bounty from our garden!

Happy Monday! I'm writing this a bit later in the day then intended, but better late then never. I was absent from blogging last week due to 2 of the 3 kiddos going to Bible day camp, where I also volunteered to help with crafts. On Friday it was off on a big field trip with Teddy Bear and his Summer Academy classmates. The heat and humidity was oppressive, so afternoons weren't very productive around here!

Enough about last week. Yesterday morning started the week off with a bang. Well, actually a peck. Poor Teddy Bear got pecked in the eye by one of our chicks. When I saw a large red spot by his pupil, I knew we had to go to the E.R. The excursion lasted only 2 hours, which is amazingly speedy, considering that we had to wait for an opthamologist to come in to make a final check on his eye. Shawn and I are very thankful that it was "only" a superficial corneal abrasion, but Teddy Bear was in a lot of pain yesterday. We told him no more giving the chicks kisses. This afternoon he told me that he was going to tell "those little boogers" no more pecking! At least he isn't afraid of them.

Today started cool and sunny. When I went out to let the chickens out of the coop, I was very reluctant to go back in the house to start the day. It so beautiful and quiet, one of the moments where you can almost feel God's hand on you. But I headed in after a moment to eat, shower and get the kiddos going.

I usually go grocery shopping on Monday mornings, and today was no exception. After a quick trip into town, I returned home to put away groceries. While making room for the new stuff, I found a bag with a little bit of lettuce that was past it's prime for us, but perfectly good for the chickens. I brought it out to them, checked the water situation. Then I wandered up to the garden to take a peek. I found 4 zucchini and a good handful of peas. Princess was picking raspberries, then I headed for the herb garden. I knew exactly what we were having with dinner tonight! Grilled zucchini with fresh herbs.

After lunch and afternoon chores, I got out the food processor and shredded 4 zukes, packed 2 cups into a baggie, which I then loaded into a Tupperware freezer container. I have enough shredded zucchini to make 8 loaves of one of my kids' faves, chocolate zucchini bread. I left out a package so I can (hopefully) make a batch of bread tomorrow.

While in town, I quickly stopped at our local Salvation Army Thrift Store. I am on a mission for a big pot, either for popcorn or canning. I didn't find a pot, but I did find an awesome, super big waffle iron! I'm thinking homemade waffles to freeze for the kiddos, I can make a big batch of waffles and freeze them for during the week. I might even make a few for Mama and Daddy!

So, that's whats going on up here on our hill. Hope you all have a great week, and I hope to be back soon.
Blessings,
Kelly

Planning for the Summer

My Summer planning file.

This was originally supposed to post on Weds. June 2 !

Happy Wednesday! It's very warm, humid and getting windy here on our hill, and I'm taking a break from housework.

 It was a busy Memorial Day weekend for us with a fishing derby, lawn mowing and trimming, garden tilling and planting, and plenty of heat! But it was all time well spent, we had fish for dinner on Saturday, the lawn looks lovely and the garden is planted. It was very satisfying to put out the green pepper plants that I had started back in March! It seemed that we had seedling flats in the living room for forever, then they were on the deck for a couple of weeks. In the garden we also have zucchini, pumpkins, peas and green beans. I forgot about cucumbers, so those need to go out as soon as I get a chance. My darling husband wants to make a raised bed for our herb garden, so I'm hoping we'll get that done soon, as I have basil, oregano, chives, sage, parsley, thyme and catnip started.

My kiddos will be getting out of school on June 16, and my thoughts have turned to what we're going to do with ourselves. In the past, I've been (admittedly!) horrible about having a routine for weekdays, and felt rather distressed by the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-everyday approach. So, this summer, we are going to have a routine with plenty of free time, but also time for chores, learning life skills, (things that my children will need to know how to do when they are on their own), and some "school work". (No, I'm not a meanie, I'll explain soon!)

For planning purposes, I made a file folder to hold the info we get about summer programs, places to visit, summer camps, craft projects and brainstorming notes. The front of the folder has a pocket for important items like our membership cards to the Billings Farm & Museum. Then I went ahead and made some planning pages on my computer (yes, I'm a bit fanatical about planning!). The pages include a to-do list, brainstorming notes, a place to jot down summer camps and dates, skills the kiddos need to learn/work on, summer reading lists and fun themes and dates.

So, back to the school work. I have no intentions of having my children sit down for hours to do school work over the summer; however, I feel strongly that it is in their best interests to keep on top of math and reading skills. I bought some workbooks at out local Dollar Tree and plan on getting some worksheets on line to print out. We'll be taking time everyday to read, so I've stocked up on books for them. I've decided to do a "unit" on tornadoes and other weather extremes. We'll be reading Twister on Tuesday from the Magic Tree House series, and I have the research guide that goes with it. Along with learning about tornadoes, etc. I would like to do a fundraising project with the kids to donate funds to those effected by the tornadoes this past spring.

That is the start of our summer plans. I have some more research to do on "field trips", as well as getting dates for some of the camps that the kiddos have done in the past, but I feel pretty good about the start I've got now.

Have a great day!
Blessings,
Kelly

Getting the Garden Ready

Seed starting supplies

Flat #2 doing very well with green bell peppers and herbs

Princess helped on the second round of seed starting

We were blessed with a double rainbow!

Happy Friday,  Friends! We had a beautiful start to the day, but it seems determined to cloud up! I actually have a load of laundry hang up outside for the first time in 2011, and hoping that the skies won't let loose until it's all dry.

The warmer temperatures have once again turned my mind to our garden for this year. Back in March I had started 2 flats of seeds. Unfortunately, only one flat did well and the other flat either neglected to sprout or it molded. Fortunately the flat that is doing well contains the green pepper seedlings, as well as some herbs. The other flat was mostly flowers, although I'm bummed because I had started marigolds for pest control. So, Monday evening Princess and I consolidated the two flats and restarted flat #1. We also started some sunflower seeds. (I've learned to start them inside, or else squirrels and chipmunks eat the seeds before they can sprout!) In flat #1 we started more peppers, some herbs, and flowers. I bought some seed starting pots (the kind you can just pop into the ground and they breakdown) and seed starting soil. I'm going to start the marigolds in these, as well as more green peppers. I would like to sell some if they do well.

When I started the seeds in March, I labeled them #1 and #2 on a corner. Then, using graph paper, I mapped out what cells I planted which seeds. As I'm a newbie to starting seeds, this was a must so I'd know what was doing well, etc. I'm so glad I did this because it helped when flat #1 molded, etc. When I replanted the flat, I just erased the notes and marked what I planted this time. I also made sure to put the flat in the sun as soon as I saw sprouts poking up. I have 2 seed flats, 2 plastic strawberry containers (I use them to start the sunflowers in), a large angel wing begonia, another house plant, and Wheels' cabbage plant (he got it at school) in the living room with a cage of chickens. I have a small scale farm in my living room!


Last night between rain showers, Princess and I started to clean out the garden. We had neglected to clean it out last fall  and there was a pile of leaves to get rid of. I'd like to let the chickees in there before we till it, which probably won't be for another week or two. The girls haven't been out yet and we've had atleast 2 hawks circling our area, so I thought a good intro for the girls would be the fenced in garden while I'm finishing cleaning it up. I'll bring them back in with me when we're done, though!

I've also found a blog that I LOVE! I've learned so much and gotten tons of inspiration from reading it. On the left hand side of my post, you'll see a heading "My Blog List". On this you'll see a link for Homestead Revival. Click it! Even if you don't homestead or even garden, you'll love the homekeeping posts!

It's been one of those all day posts! I started at 11 am and it's now past 8:30! Have a lovely evening, and get a good nights rest!

Blessings,

Kelly

Items of Interest

A nearly full Sap moon. Pic taken from our deck.

Happy Friday everyone! Just a couple of things I thought I'd share about this weekend.

First, it is Maple Sugar house Open Weekend here in the beautiful green mountain state. You can go to this site to find a sugar house near you. We've visited a sugar house nearly every year for the past couple of years now, and even though we make our own, it's just plain ol' fun!

Also, Saturday night will be the full Sap Moon. It's going to be especially large, bright and beautiful! For more information on the this occasion, you can go here and here. The moon isn't full yet, tonight, but it was still absolutely gorgeous!

If you're in the neighborhood Saturday afternoon, we'll be boiling! And I might even have some goodies to share!
 Blessings,
Kelly

Monday Musings

Our Family Faith Wall

Monday greetings to all. If you're in the same neck of the woods as we are, then it's cold, snowy and windy. Another snowday for Mama and the kiddos. I'll be honest, my enthusiasm for snow days is waning- o.k. it's altogether nonexistant! I'm longing for Winter to take her snowy, frozen mantle with her and be replaced with Spring's fresh and green.


I'm intending for this to be a sort post, but we'll see how that goes! ;)


As you could tell, I've changed my look! I wanted to wait until the first day of spring, (March 20) but I couldn't take it anymore! I'm feeling a need for change in my surroundings, so the blog was one of them. The first was our Family Faith wall. I had talked about my plans in a previous post, and here it is. I had had the same look since the beginning of Advent, so it was a definitely time for a "makeover". I even swapped out the wall sconces. Unfortunately it is difficult to see the middle frame, but it has a deep purple background with a wine colored cross. I'm not sure if I like this look or not, it could get edited!


Also not seen, or hard to see, is our Alleluia on the top of the secretary.Tommorow evening our family will "bury" the Alleluia. I made ours from scrapbooking paper and laminated it with clear contact paper. I was even able to fashion a easel back on it. I think this is a lovely custom for a family to practice. I have some other plans for our family faith wall for Good Friday and Easter Sunday that I thjnk will have visual impact, not just for the sake of visual impact, but hopefully to evoke emotion and understading of the Crucifixtion and the Ressurection.

Also in need of change was our Learning Window. I've made a maple syrup inspired banner and changed out our books. We've got shamrock window clings and some more changes to make there. We'll have some more spring, St, Patrick's day amd maple syrup books and items to put up there.

Well, it's been a long day, and I meant to have this posted this afternoon. It's now after 7 p.m.! Have a wonderful evening and a great Tuesday!

Blessings, Kelly

Planning........Part 2

Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3 NIV

My Lent, Easter, Holy Week Planner, my Lenten-Easter Journal and 2 books on the season.

Some purple papers, Scripture quotes and a purple candle for our family prayer altar.

Good Monday to you all! We're having nasty weather again, so it's another day off from work and school for Mama and the kiddos. I thought I'd take advantage of the time to share some more thoughts and ideas on planning for the Lenten season.

I was fortunate enough to have a couple of hours to myself yesterday, so I took the time to start planning for the Lenten season. This is only the second Lent that our family had observed, so some of the planning time was spent doing research on the web, looking mostly for family activities and ways to observe and explain the season with children. I decided that I needed a planner for our family plans for the season, so I changed the front cover from my Gardening/Outside planner (it was empty anyway and I have another binder to use!) and placed our An Easter Adventure  book in the binder and made up a cover page. I'll be putting activity pages, research, recipes, a calendar of the Holy days and brainstorming notes in this.

I also worked on my own personal Lenten journal/planner. I had started it last year, but hadn't gotten very far other than writing out some Scripture verses. For this year, I've started by writing out the dates of the Holy days, starting with Ash Wednesday. I wanted to commit to paper what I was "fasting" or giving up for the season. I decided to give up fictional reading material. (This may sound familiar to a friend of mine, who did the same thing last year!) My reasons for this is that I love to read, but tend to escape into my books, living vicariously through the characters. While I tend to read only Christian novels, (and have felt convicted on occasion or had a truth revealed to me) I feel the need to work on my own spirituality. So I will dedicate my reading time to studying in my Bible, reading the two books on Lent and Easter (see the box in the upper left-hand side labeled "Books on My Nightstand") devotional readings and a few other non-fiction books on prayer and other spiritual matters.

In the second pic up top are some papers I'm going to use to make some sort of Lent wall art. For Advent and Christmas I had Scripture quotes from both the Old and New Testaments concerning Jesus' birth that I had framed and flanked either side of another framed picture. I am going to do the same for Lent, only for the middle frame I am not going to use my usual tightwad clearance calendar artwork. I'm brainstorming for ideas. These frames hang above our secretary and I usually have candles there, so I will be putting some purple candles out.

So, there is the beginning of my plans for Lent. If you observe Lent, I encourage you to prayerfully consider making some plans of your own for the season. If you do not observe Lent, then I encourage you to learn more about this season and the Holy day of Easter.
Many blessings,
Kelly

Planning....... Part 1

;)Good evening everyone! Did you have a snow day like we did? It was filled with games, playing and movies for the kids and desk cleaning, organizing and planning for Mama. (although I did take a break to watch "Lord of the Beans" with Teddy Bear and Wheels!)
I can't seem to wrap my head around the idea that we are coming to the close of February. I know it's a short month, but it seemed to really fly by for me.

For our family, March starts with Wheels' birthday. That means a family and a friends party, plus a cake for church, not to mention a snack for school! I'm also working at the kids' school next week, which, adding in travel time, is about 2 and 1/2 hours out of the middle of my day. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it's been interesting trying to juggle house work, church commitments, etc. I really don't know how moms that work full-time do it!

In the midst of the usual to do lists, I'm trying to plan our veggie garden, spring cleaning, the Lenten season, Wheels and Princess' birthdays, prepare for maple sugaring and a dozen other organizing projects! I don't mean to sound as if I'm whining, I'm just trying to relate the fact that I understand the business of our lives. And I am currently working on ways to keep it all from taking over my life (and desk!) I am also hoping to give a few pointers to some of my readers.

In the picture above is my 2011 monthly/weekly planner, a printout of the March Monthly Activity Calendar from Enchanted Learning, and my newest binder for gardening, bird feeding and other outdoor information.

My planner is, well a planner! It has a full month calendar as well as a section for each week. At first I really only used the monthly calendar, but now I am using the weekly section more, as each day has 2 lines for every hour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is very handy because some days I really do need to plan out every hour of the day! This gets carried in my purse when
I'm on the go and stays out on my desk or kitchen counter when I'm home. It has appointments, birthdays, work schedules, and holidays. For notes and reminders I use Post-Its so I don't have scribbles all over the place. I've been using the heart shaped ones!

The March Monthly Activity calendar is from the Enchanted Learning site. This is a great site if you have kids or teach. It does cost, but at only $20 for a year, it's well worth it. The monthly activity calendar is really neat, It tells you about something interesting for just about every day and if you look at it on-line, you can click on activities for that day. We're looking forward to International Polar Bear Day on Feb. 27. I know what you're thinking, "Like i need more to do? But if you choose some that have meaning for you and your family, you can build great traditions and memories.

Lastly is my gardening/outside binder. If you've read my blog before, you know that I have a house keeping notebook. I seem to have gone a bit notebook/binder crazy since then! I have a binder for our finances, a Holiday Planner, and spiral bound notebooks too numerous to name (I've prettied them up with scrap booking paper and stickers, of course!). For my gardening/outside binder, I'm going to put notes, info I find, garden lay-out plans and store seed packets. I've bought my seed-starting green house flats and most of my seeds already! As this is the first year that we're really starting things inside, I want to make sure to take notes so we can learn for next year. I also would like to keep track of some of the visitors we get at the bird feeders and such.

Well, it's getting late and my fingers are cramping! I'll do my best to get back soon to share some more of my ideas about the Lenten season, children's birthday parties and some more notebook/planner ideas. until then.....

Blessings,

Kelly

:0)

Maple Sugaring Fever!

Maple on the brain! Some items of my current obsession!

Thanks to the warm weather and a workshop for Four Winds Nature Institute volunteers, I have maple sugaring fever! Last year my husband tapped our trees and some of our gracious neighbors' so that we could make our own maple syrup. With help from the kids and my husband's folks, we made enough maple syrup to give away and still have enough for our family of 5 to last for a year. We still have one quart unopened and in the picture above, you can see the one we're currently working on! And I haven't been skimpy with it over the past year. We've had it on pancakes (of course!) , ice cream, I've used it in homemade muffins and applesauce. If you're a gardener, you can understand the pride of eating the fruits of your labor. This is true of the rush (and it's not just the sugar) that you get when you see all the gleaming jars of golden amber liquid on your pantry shelf.!







Our current quart of syrup in the late day sun.

Now let me explain the top picture. Of course, everything in the photo has to do with maple syrup, right down to my choice of place mat! Speaking of which, it is a pale golden yellow (think of the color of extra fancy grade!) and cream colored gingham. Then there's the quart of syrup. Next is the package of Maple Cookies, which are reserved for each child's class when they have their Four Winds workshop. (My family is not happy that they can't have any yet!) The book in front in from the library. I was hoping to find a new maple recipe. The taller book was a purchased on our Tuesday outing to the book store. It's called The Sugaring-Off Party and is filled with beautiful artwork. I haven't read it to the kids yet, but i think it will be a new favorite. Lastly is the ball of yarn. What does yarn have to do with maple syrup? It caught my eye at the local Big-Lots because the colors are reminiscent of the different grades of syrup. It even has a slight sparkle to it! I'm not a knitter of crocheter, but I know I'll be able to do something with it!

Well, it's the end of February vaca, and this mama is tired! But if you live in or near Vermont, you'll want to remember that on  March 19-20 is the Vermont Maple Open House weekend.

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on our sugaring activities up here on our hill.

Blessings, Kelly