May 26-June 1, 2019 Sunday School Girls Over, Fence Work, Memorial Day

May 26-June 1, 2019 Memorial Day

Fence Work, Garden, Grapes

See the three purple Allium blooms?  I love those!

Hello, Friends!

All-in-all a hard working week.  It's still been cold, mostly gray, and fairly chilly.  I only had one migraine this week so I was able to make progress on various projects.  

The Peonies I moved are happy in their new spots and preparing to bloom!

Sunday School Girls Over:

After church and Sunday School Dd invited the girls back over to our house for another campfire---roasting hot dogs and making S'mores.  FA and Kayleigh came home with us and the other girls showed up over the course of the afternoon.  The girls had a lot of fun together, celebrating the end of the year and goodbyes.  FA will be at a summer camp for the next 10 weeks and Kayleigh will be moving out of our area in two weeks, so they wanted to fit in one last hurrah! 

Dh finally brought out the Power Spray for me to start on the fences.  SO much chipped paint everywhere!

Fence:

We have a big fence around our pool and around our deck that needed re-painting before we even moved in three years ago.

  While waiting for Dh and me to decide on the right flooring for our house I have been working on the fencing.  

I had been asking for Dh to show me how to work the Power Sprayer for about six weeks and he finally got around to bringing it out and showing me, so I took off with it! 

Wherever you see brown you can see where I've worked!

 I just can't believe just how long and tedious it is to clean one small section, much less trying to clean the whole fence.  I knew it would be work, but I don't think I realized just how long it would take to just spray off the fence.  I thought the most tedious part would be the painting!  I need to reevaluate my expectations on how long this job is going to take if I am going to do it right; which I am. 

The transplanted hosta's are all accepting their move too!  They look like they've always been there!

Flooring:

The painted floors have started to break down at the seams and they have become a priority at this point.  I'm glad we were able to buy a few years by painting them when we first moved in, but now we really need to put in permanent floors.  Dh and I have been going and looking at our options at various stores and Dh has been doing internet searches and reading reviews online.  He is a very thorough purchaser!

Armoire:

I found a beautiful old armoire at a thrift store ($36) and Dh spent the week trying to convert it from how the previous owner was using it (an entertainment center) into what I need--- a cabinet for my clothes.  This week he made two big box drawers for the bottom.  Next, he will make the shelving section for the top part.  It is going to take a while before all the parts are made, but he did have to buy a bunch of wood to make the inserts so I am sure he spent over $36 on all that new wood! Plus, he bought stain and polyurethane to finish the new wood after it's all built.  I didn't plan on him turning it into a project or buy wood to fix it up, but it will be easier to organize with all his helpful shelves and boxes inside!

Two years ago, for Mother's Day, Dh gave me this Lupine (which was *supposed* to be purple but is a peach color in actuality) and a Foxglove.  The Foxglove didn't make it, but the Lupine returned again this year.  Lupine always make me think of my favorite children's book: Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Memorial Day:

We had a work day while thinking about all those that have served and sacrificed for our country.  Dh and Dd had the quintessential hamburgers on the grill though!  Dd was so excited for her upcoming trip to Indiana to see the "L" family she cleaned out the car.  She was surprised to find a huge mouse nest in the spare tire area!  Dh went over all the basic car tips---how to fix a flat tire and those types of things.

Chickens:

Can you see Miss Lemon in the left chicken tractor and Charlotte in the right tractor?  

Miss Lemon and Charlotte are STILL brooding and I continue to put them outside in tractors a few times a week to help break the cycle, but it doesn't seem to be working!  

I cleaned lots of gutters this week--full, every single one of them!

Wind: Leaves

This week for the first time this year, I could hear the wind blowing through the leaves!!!  It is such a wonderful sound!  It is the first week we've had enough leaves for that summer sound to happen...welcome summer!

Gutters:

It took a few days, but I finally got ALL the gutters cleaned on our house and outbuilding!  Boy, is that a big job when you live in the woods!  Also, a job that needs repeating too often for my liking!

Grapevines:

I finally got all the pruning done on the grapes then Dh said he wanted to put the old wood fencing back up this year.  I tried really hard to pull the vines out of the metal wires but I kept breaking the new growth, ugh.  So I did the best I could and freed up all but two sections and re-trained the vines onto new metal posts that I put up around the clothesline.  It will make this year a good transition and we will also be able to reach the grapes easier this year, but I will still have to untangle the wire after this year growing season.  Hopefully, in the fall or next spring, I can remove the whole grapevine from the fence and have it free-standing and separate from the fence and we can re-paint the old wooden fence and put it back up.  We had taken off the panels to put up a rabbit-proof metal fence and intended to reattach the wooden panels right afterward but never did.  I already see lots of new grape clusters forming, albeit very tiny!

FACETIME:

Yay for Facetime!  This week I got to have a nice chat with my friend Heather via Facetime!!!  It was great getting to hear her voice and see her face!  Dear friends are such a blessing and I'm so appreciative.

Open House:

Dd and I went to our first "Open House" this week.  An Open House is a party for someone graduating.  It was really nice to see such a massive turnout for Becca's party.  

What do you use your satellite dish for?  A birdbath makes an excellent purpose when reangled properly.

Henry and the Hawk:

Henry chases and barks at any visiting hawks in our yard.  He alerted me to them twice over the weekend.  I've never had a dog that knew that birds were a danger; especially when we have chickens.

STILL trying to plant my seedlings!  I had tray after tray to rehome.

Church:  

This week on Sunday, we had missionaries from Kenya sharing their stories.  It was very interesting and inspiring.  Dd played the guitar, along with Becca and Joe, while FA sang a special song.  They did a great job and we all thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

These are the ones I found---Dd found three too, not pictured.

Nature/Woods:

Morrell Mushrooms Popping up and getting eaten!

 Mayapples are blooming

Leaves in abundance

Compare the growth in just a few days

Garden:

Seedlings growing!  Eating asparagus, turnip greens, spinach...

I'm still planting new seeds, transplanting the veg we planted inside, and rearranging our garden.  We took down the plastic from the hoop houses on Saturday and then I had to lay it back on top of the ground two days later when the temps dropped back to high 30's- low 40's!  Of course.  

Last week for hoop houses

We should have kept the plastic on for another week.  The garden is doing really well, I'm especially excited to see so many green beans popping up through the dirt!!!  I can't wait for fresh green beans from my garden.  I've already stopped buying spinach from Costco as I'm able to survive off our own supply! Yay!!!

We planted LOTS of potatoes this year! Four beds full!

Dd's ACADEMIC PROGRESS THIS WEEK:

Reading:

The Invisible Man 
by H.G. Wells: Completed

Set in turn-of-the-century England, the story focuses on Griffin, a scientist who has discovered the means to make himself invisible. His initial, almost comedic, adventures are soon overshadowed by the bizarre streak of terror he unleashes upon the inhabitants of a small village. 

Lots of Peony bulbs ready to burst!!!

Training Henry:

This week Dd has been trying to train Henry's nose!  She put dog treats under a plastic cup and then tried to teach him to follow his nose.

Home Economics:

Shepherd's Pie: Dd made a wonderful dinner for us!  She worked hard and the mashed potatoes on top were absolutely perfect.

Auto:

Dd went through a repeat training with Dh on auto things---how to fix a flat and other handy info.  She also cleaned out the car.

Can you see the two rows of green beans coming up through the middle of the island bed?  Yay!

Nature:

Dd found 3 Morrell Mushrooms!!!  I'd found 5-6 before.

What a good boy, our Henry.

Art:

It was a really big art week for Dd this week.  She spent a lot of time downstairs in our little painting studio area.  I love when she gets into her zone and spends time making art.  

I've been bringing lots of greens to the chickens in the pen and trying to get them out for little nature walks to eat bugs.

Painting Shoes: 2 hours

Dd has been painting her white converse sneakers this week--two pairs.  She did a really lovely job.

Acrylic paintings: 10 hours

She gesso'd (paint a thick white paint on, like you 'white out' on paper)  over all five or six previous paintings that she did not like with gesso so she could make new paintings.  She completed one painting and is in the process of another one.

Chalk Drawings:

Dd and Hailee went to our church and made a big greeting for Becca's Open House at the Fellowship Building.  I'm not sure what all they drew as it stormed over the night, but I'm sure they did a great job.

Music: Guitar

Strings Group practice AND played the guitar while FaithAnne sang during the church service.

The girls love being out!  But, they usually don't stray too far from their safe pen.

Work Outs:

Two workouts this week

Next Week: Dd to INDIANA

Dd will be driving herself to Indiana to spend the week with her 'second family,' the "L" family.  She is beyond excited and looking forward to seeing her adopted family.

..................

In the woods this week: 5-20-19Virgi

May 20, 2918

In the woods this week:

Henry chewing on a stick!

The Virginia Creeper is already thriving.

Henry--what a great dog.  He is an English Shepherd that we bought from a rescue organization.  He is such a loving dog.

Virginia Creeper and May Apples take over the forest floor

Amazing bunches of May Apples all around, they still haven't bloomed yet though.

It's getting hard to see the paths

The leaves are slowly showing up in the sky photo's

It's been SO cold and rainy this week--40 degrees!

Luckily, the cold weather hasn't slowed down the arrival of so much green!

A great vantage point to stop and look around

I've been tearing down the nasty Gypsy caterpillars

It's always fun looking for new mushrooms!

...........

May 19-25, 2019 Gardening, Reading, Tree falls on Power Line, Strings Group Performance

May 19-25, 2019 

Gardening, Reading, Tree Offs Power lines, Strings Group Performs

Happy Henry

Hello Friends!

This was Dd's first week of freedom!  She finished her co-op classes on Friday, May 17th, and has a few weeks until we start our Summer lessons (Science & English).  She was so happy to have not a care in the world!  

Youth Group:

The big event of hosting the Youth Group went off fine.  Sunday evening we had the whole youth program leaders and teens over to our house for their end of year party.  It was rough going as the weather was alternating between being nice or *pouring* rain! 

Hailee was the first to arrive.  

 First, we were going to have it outside by the fire, then in our living room, and in the end we cleared out our garage and set up tables and chairs there.  It did stop raining in time for us to cook some hot dogs over the fire and some on the charcoal grill. Our fire somehow was big enough to withstand a major downpour and kept chugging along.  We ran out of time and people had to start heading home before the adults made it to the fire for S'mores.  I think the adults were not interested in them, which in my mind is unthinkable!  

This picture is of all the kids in the Youth Program, the adults stood back and took pictures of them on their phones as keepsakes.  There are four adults that run the program.

It was very laid back; we all just chatted and they didn't hold a normal message; just a party.  Of course, I had been over-zealous and cleaned the whole house and no one came in!  At least the house was spotless for a  day and that is always wonderful.  I think everyone had a good time.  I just really want to help my Dd to deepen her Christian friendships that help her stay on the right path, especially during her teen years.  It helps that the teen girls in her program are very faithful.  

Strings Group: Performance and a Practice

Sunday morning (5-19-19) our Strings group performed for the church.  It was kind of a weird week with the Strings Group because we performed on Sunday and then had our practice on Thursday where Paul ( a member of our group ) decided to tell me, in front of everyone, that I sing off-key....OUCH.  It was just one sentence out of nowhere...part of his greeting to me.  Well, I did honestly already know that!  But, I didn't appreciate having it announced randomly out of nowhere like a stray bullet in a grocery store.  SO, it was a good and a bad week as far as music goes.  I did start playing the Autoharp this week; which will take me out of being a vocalist.  I do love to sing hymns---it brings my wounded heart such joy and happiness.  I chose to keep singing even if I don't please Paul and all the other people that only hear my voice and not my heart.

Isn't it funny that all the chickens wanted to go inside the tractors to see what was going on in there?!!  All the free land to roam and they hustled to the tractors!

Off-Week: But, NO migraines

I think I overdid it with all my gardening and house cleaning last week because this week I fought my stomach every day.  I don't know if I had caught a bug or if it was because I 'treated' myself to some dairy ice cream and regretted it.  I know people think I'm odd with all my food restrictions, but whenever I reintroduce those high fodmap foods I have serious problems.  It didn't help that it was cold--40 degrees on Tuesday!  At least I didn't have any migraines and my brain was working well.

The front flower beds are coming along

Running On Empty by Jonice Webb:

Since I was fighting stomach problems this week I took the opportunity to dive into a book I'd been reading the past few weeks.  Nancy had told me about Childhood Emotional Neglect, which lead to an internet search, which lead to this book and subsequent request at our library.  There were four other requests for it, so it had quite a queue waiting for it and I couldn't renew it longer than the three-week check-out.  I spent a few hours most days this week reading and taking notes so I could return this book before getting a fine.  It was a very interesting book and explains a lot.  It was good dissecting a new book and spending time in thought.

Toads:

It was a unique week in that there were little toads everywhere!!!  Every garden bed I went to had a different toad in it!  When I mowed I just did the center parts of the garden to give the toads a chance to grow up.  I think there must have been a toad hatching recently because the amount of toads I come across has skyrocketed!  Good thing I love toads and frogs.  I have seen quite a few Tree frogs too, but not in odd numbers.

Chickens:

We've been able to free range the chickens a few times this week.  Miss Lemon and Charlotte CONTINUE to be broody and I continue to put them outside in their own tractor for time outside of the nest to help transition them back to being normal, but, so far, that hasn't helped!  They continue to brood and cluck and stay on the nest.  For some reason (molting?) our egg production has been really low the past few weeks.

Trough:

Dh built the chickens a trough this week.  Our old one was a relic from when Dh's grandparents had chickens decades ago and it is practically flat now!

He put a rolling piece of wood on top so that if a chicken tries to stand on it she will (hopefully) fall off.  If a chicken can perch on top of the trough it will poop in the food and that's never a good thing!

Fallen Limb: Power Outage:

I was outside mowing when I saw some Morrel mushrooms and turned off the mower to see them when I did I heard a tree cracking and breaking.  I walked, following the sounds, and then heard and saw the massive limb fall off the top of a mature oak tree and onto two power lines.  The next 2-3 minutes were a light show of blue arcs of electricity, smoke, pop's, and alarm.  Eventually after a few ramp-up's of electricity the whole system finally blew and all the power on our street was knocked out.  I was so relieved that the electricity finally blew as I was truly afraid the limb, which was smoking and burning, would burst into a massive fire.  I yelled for Dd to bring the phone and we called 911 and our electrical company.  Long story short, we were without power for the evening, but the crew did show up and cut the massive limb off the lines and replace the wires and restore power for all of us. 

Chainsaw:

Guess what I did the next day?!  I got to break in my new (birthday gift) chainsaw!  I cut up all the branches from the massive limb.  I loaded and unloaded the truck four times with all the wood from that one huge limb.  It took about two hours but I got all the wood removed from the road and raked all the twigs and had it looking good in the end.  The chainsaw worked great!!!!  It is battery operated and still had charge left when I was done.  

Helicopter: We had a crop duster, a helicopter spraying our area on Friday. It took a few minutes for us to figure out what was going on but we eventually remembered getting a letter that our county was spraying for Gypsy caterpillars that have been infesting our area and killing lots of hardwood trees.  It reminded me of living in Brownsburg, Indiana and watching the helicopters spraying the fields behind our house.

Gardening:

Last weekend Dh built a new raised bed beside the compost bins and I put together a trellis from old sunflower stalks tied at the top and fanned down to make a teepee shape.  Heather used to make one of these to grow her peas and I always thought they make a garden look so cozy.  

We planted some peas around the base of that and also some pumpkin and cucumber seeds down the end.  A few days later I found two free-ranging chickens scratching in it so I don't know if they found my seeds or not.  Time will tell.

Two new garden area's for flowers:

Last year I pulled up the thorny bushes and this year I've planted two tiny liliac plants, a bunch of little hosta's, black-eyed Susan's, Dusty Miller, and Sunflowers in this bed.  I put sticks across the perimeter to keep Henry from accidentally running into it.

In this bed I put some hosta's and black-eyed Susan's, and some Morning Glory transplants to climb the trellis.

Heather's Flower Seeds:

Friday I planted some of the seeds Heather shared with me.  I planted: Hollyhocks, orange cosmos, large and small Zinnia's, and lots of marigolds!  I hope they all come up!  I've planted them in my veg garden which is inside a fence so they should be very safe.  If they grow I will transplant them to better permanent locations.

Somebody cut all their hair off for summer

Dd's progress for the week:

FIRST WEEK without GRACE CLASSES!

Bible:

Church, Sunday School, and last Youth Program of the year.

Independent Bible Study: Word of Life Teen Bible Study and Awaken: 90 Days with a God that Waits by Priscilla Shirer

Science:

Dd has been going through her Apologia Biology book and figuring out how to pace it for the summer.  

Art: 

Watercolors

Acrylic painting

Physical Exercise:

Workouts: 2 this week

Music:

Dd played the Ukulele and Guitar with the Strings Group.  This week we had a performance during church and also practice on Thursday.

Movies: Avengers Endgame

To celebrate working hard all year I took Dd and Hailee to the local movie theatre to re-watch Endgame.  We had a lot of fun together and caught a lot of things we had missed the first time we'd seen it.  On Tuesday's our theatre offers $5.00 tickets and because I'd just had a birthday I was given free popcorn!  Yay!

Free-Ranging Chickens--just for a little while

Grace Graduation:

Dd asked to attend the graduation of the Senior Grace students on Friday night.  She drove to Grand Rapids and drove a few of her friends there and home again afterward. She didn't make it home in time for her curfew and had the joy of cleaning out the chicken coop for me the next day.  She did a great job on the coop and didn't even try to argue---that was a milestone for us, her accepting her consequence and being mature about paying her due.