Random Thoughts

Just some random thoughts tonight as time for blogging has become scarce lately.

Went blueberry picking today and picked 5 and 1/4 pounds of blueberries. Got them home, let them dry out on a blanket, put them in baggies (the ones we won't use this week) and froze them. We also got a few vine ripened tomatoes, some more elderberry bushes (he was so kind in replacing the ones that had died in our prior trip for free) and a few more blue tree barrels.

Baby belly is growing so fast. I need to take a few photos...I know, I know. Getting excited about meeting this little guy.

Found a few needed baby items at a second-hand store the other day for CHEAP! I think I saved close to 80% of the original retail cost. Whoo-hoo!

The Lord lead me to offer a gardening/chicken/homesteading workshop fundraiser for some friends who are in the process of selling all their belongings to pack up and become missionaries to various countries. Such an inspiring couple. Hope there's a good turn-out to support them.

I have currently 2 laundry baskets full of things that need to find a home in our house. Just end-of-the-day pick up things that never got put away. (Ug.)

Have things in order to do some quiet time tapes for the kids. I recently acquired a tape recorder with microphone (you know, the old 80s cassette tape kind...the kind of technology I can successfully operate!) and have a list of the songs, Bible verses, etc. I want to put on there.

Homeschooling is in a "lull" right now. The garden is keeping us pretty busy as well
as some other odds-and-ends things. The kids are doing a ton of hands-on learning right now. We'll be schooling year-round this year though so no worries. We'll catch up.

Excited about the homeschool conference coming up! Some much needed girl time is in order.

Mom had a nice birthday. Didn't get to see her, but will in a few weeks and have an elderberry bush for her as a gift. She loves the elderberry jam we make and wants to make it herself. Now she can.

We need some more rain, but not like the rain we got recently that blew over most of our garden. Things are still growing, but they have a "winded look" to them. {smile}

We have green beans coming out our ears!!! I need to get to freezing and canning our excess. Love the new rattlesnake beans we tried this year. They're green, but with purple stripes. The stripes disappear when you cook them and they're so juicy!

Corn is starting to come in, but army worms have nestled in some of the husks. I ordered some new organic, edibly safe pesticide that can be used on the corn. Wish it would get here soon! Neem oil will do for now.

I think we win the prize for the most library books checked out this month!

I love how cute our dog looks when she's sleeping. {Aw.}

Glad our baby chicks are officially out in the coop now. They're in the "nursery area" away from the older hens, but they're not in our house or on our back porch. The peeping is always cute the first few days, but gets old after awhile. Just my opinion though. Oh, right. I need to post about them.

Did you notice that in the last video I posted, Jamie Oliver was leaning towards not allowing brown sac lunches, but CONTROLLING our children's diets by having them participate in the public school lunch programs. That's just what our country needs Jamie, more control! (I'm merely joking here.) What our country needs, parents specifically, is to be educated about where the heck our food is coming from. Tonight he did an ABC special on how meat is processed using amonia. I wanted to gag. They don't have to list amonia as an ingridient, since it's the "process" of preparing the meat for humans to eat. He basically bashed the USDA (it's about time someone did on national television...too bad our own kind, an American, hasn't) and its food preparation processes. I also think it's not so much that people don't know WHERE the food is coming from, I think it's the combination of do they really care ("This 'hamburger/candy/insert your favorite junk food here______' tastes so good that I'm not thinking about where it's coming from.") and what is it going to cost me? Sure, grass-fed beef and good, local produce is more pricey and you have to figure in the gas money to get there (if you live in the city), but what is the cost of prescription pills for diabeties or heart disease as you get older in life? I'm sure it will equal itself out.

Miss spending time with Dad. He's so busy. Tis the life of a gardener.

Secretly wish I could go back to school for agriculture. Not that I need a degree to say I know certain things or am qualified in a certain area. Sometimes, I think the most knowledgable people are those that teach themselves. Still, it could be fun. In my spare time, right?

Made bluberry/elderberry muffins last week that I took pictures and meant to share the recipe. Hmmm...where are those?

Have a shelving unit that we hooked up 500 degree Kalvin lighting to for growing things indoors this summer. Can't wait to have fresh food in the heat of the Florida sun! Lettuce in August...unheard of here. Also excited to not have to deal with pests since it'll be growing inside.

I've been craving too many sweets lately. Oh chocolate, how I love thee.

Avonlea has her first upper loose tooth. Hanging by a thread and waiting for it to come out.

Lincoln never ceases to amaze me at what he's learning each day. Asks a million "why?" questions a day, but I enjoy answering them.

Norah is wanting to go on the potty lately, but no major action. We got some new prefold cloth diapers in last week, so she's able to feel more wet during the day and I'm hoping she'll get into a regular routine soon. She lives in her sister's "big girl" shoes and clothes, adores her big brother and is talking a mile a minute. Not a baby anymore. Tear.

Need to start planning Lincoln and Norah's 4th and 2nd birthday parties. Grandma will most likely be back from China by then. So excited! The kids miss her a lot.

Rob and I got to see Harry Connick Jr. in concert for our date night the other night. So romantic and he is quite the entertainer. I think we were the youngest couple there. So sad. No one appreciates GOOD jazz anymore. {tee-hee}

Tired, need to tidy the kitchen and head to bed.

Blessings to you all.