Sept. 30- Oct 6, 2018 Braces, Zeus, Migraines

Sept. 30- Oct 6, 2018 

Braces, Zeus, Migraines

One of the best benefits of adding Henry, seen running above, is that he HAS to have a few runs out in the woods each day to get out his puppy energy and I am reaping the peaceful benefits!

Hello Friends!

Dickens opinion of me working on the computer!

Frontier School of the Bible:

Dd really enjoyed her trip to Frontier School of the Bible, she returned home on Sunday night exhausted but energized to study her Bible more!  She has done TWO bible study's each day this week, which is fantastic!  She was really, really tired the first few days of the week, but started to get back to her normal sleeping pattern by the end.  She is trying to get back into her 'normal'  pattern again.

The thrift store had Halloween costumes 50% off, so Dd found her outfit for this year---a dinosaur!
  a dinosaur with braces! 
She is holding Dickens in the photo, he loves to be held by her and will stay in that awkward position for as long as she will hold him!

Braces:

Tuesday was a big day---she got her braces put on!!  She has a slight underbite and teeth crowding that they say they can fix through braces.  It could take anywhere from 2 to 3 years to correct her issues.  I thought her teeth were okay, but she really wanted to get her teeth fixed, so I feel she will do a good job staying on top of it all.  She is motivated to have better teeth.

Migraines:

Back to my hormone week and migraines that go along with that.  I sure am looking forward to being an older woman and not having to fight with my body and my hormones; so exhausting.  This was another doozy spell with extreme nausea and vomiting.  I've been fighting a cold this week and that hasn't helped either.

Weather:

Snow has fallen in upper Michigan this week, and we will certainly have snow during October.  Our first October here was full of feet of snow...FEET!  The big swing from 90's to 30's makes my head swoon.  Right now we are getting lots and lots of rain and cloudy days.  I've got our space heater on as I type this...already.

Zeus:

Can you believe Zeus is really improving again?!!  He is back to standing and I've put him back in the coop with the ladies!  I'm just so thrilled!  I really questioned whether I was doing him a disservice by not putting him down, but he really has gotten back to his normal self again.  He still isn't perfect, but he is better!

Garden: 

I've been picking green beans and green tomatoes this week.  I'm going to see if I can ripen the tomatoes inside.  We are having some really chilly days, on top of the gray and raining episodes.  This week has been a very clear signal of winter on its way!  My garden looks like it could happily keep producing for another two months; if given the chance, but, alas, we are in Michigan and time is about up.

Agnes and Henry---BFF's
If you remember Agnes and Sophie, our last dog, were bff's and Agnes has been the only cat to really embrace Henry, they even nap together on Dd's bed.

Academics this Week:

Bible:

Bible Study: twice daily this week.  Her trip to Frontier Bible College really inspired her to focus on her Bible Study.

Volunteering:

Olympians: Church youth program (1:30 hours)

Library: Story Time with children (1:30 hours)

Music:

Strings Group at church--guitar (1:30 hours)

Grace Subjects:

Algebra I: Saxon

Spanish I

Graphic Design

Introductory Logic

Geography: BJU

Co-Op Assessment/Shifts:

Grace Co-op is going really well.  She is doing great on all her assignments so far and is highly motivated to do well.  They have classes on Friday and work independently at home the other days.  I feel like we are still getting the best parts of homeschooling and getting more participation and engagement from Dd by having her have the opportunity to shine to other teachers besides me.

  

She still gets to sleep in most days and is given the space to grow and create at home.  I always feel so bad for the public school kids that always seem so tired and run-ragged; they are having to cram so much into their minds every day and don't get enough downtime.  I know that works great for some kids, but that just isn't ideal for Dd's pace for success.



Audio:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: In Process

Vera quote of the week: "You keep at it, one day all this could be yours---the hat, the mac, and the wheels!"

Next Week:

Actually, we don't have a lot scheduled for once!  

Two of my favorite things--ferns and moss!

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Sept. 23-29, 2018 Dd's Trip to Wyoming, Onion Wreath, Stain Molding

Sept. 23-29, 2018

 Dd's Trip to Wyoming, Onion Wreath, Stain Molding

Hello Friends!

This week was very unusual.  Our soon-to-be new pastor and his wife graduated from Frontier School of the Bible in La Grange, Wyoming.  The wife, April, wanted to offer to take some of the church teens out to the college's yearly "Frontier Focus" recruiting event this week for high school students to check out their college. 

Watercolor Dd is working on

Dd hasn't been on an official tour of a college yet, so we thought this was a wonderful opportunity for her to see the next step and see how close she is to the next level academically. We had three teen girls interested in seeing the college; Dd included that could go.  Our church is very small and we have R,S,J,J,F,H,L,K teenagers; all but one are girls!  

They stuffed themselves, food, sleeping bags, and bags into a mini-van for the sixteen hour drive to Wyoming from Michigan.  Wednesday morning we all met up at the church early in the morning and returned Sunday night for the pick-up.

On the Way: Chimney Rock, Nebraska:

One of the highlights of the drive was that Dd got to see Chimney Rock, Nebraska.  It is always great to see national landmarks; makes it feel like a real "Field Trip!"  They passed by the Largest Truck Stop in the World and The Cowboy Museum without stopping.

Bringing in the harvest

  I had wanted to go along, but Zeus, my rooster, has been ailing.  He has just been lying on the ground, not eating or drinking.  I've taken him out of the group and have been hand feeding him scrambled eggs a few times a day.  I knew if I left he would never live.  Plus, our new puppy Henry would never be able to 'hold it' all day while Dh is at work.  I also had high hopes of harvesting LOTS of garden veg and can; which didn't happen mainly because we haven't had an abundance of produce, just enough to eat and a little bit extra.  

Honeysuckle is just so cute sometimes..it is amazing.

Highlights of Frontier:
About 300 people participated---200 of their students and 100 high schoolers for their "Frontier Focus" events.  The first night was games and mattress surfing and dodgeball.  The second day (Friday) they went to classes (Bible Study, Missions...); which were bible related.  Friday night was a big hayride followed by banana-split social and more games.  Saturday they had breakfast and headed back home a pleasant 16-hour drive.  The girls slept in the female dormitory in rooms with current students.  They brought their sleeping bags and slept on the floor.  The meals were provided in the dining hall and were really good, Dd brought back a lot of the food/snacks I'd packed for her.  It was a very good family setting and good Christian fellowship, a Christ-honoring place.  Dd really appreciated seeing students singing praise songs during their free time on their own accord with the students.

At Home:

Onion Wreath:

In the spring Dh brought home a big set of various onion varieties to plant in our garden, which I did.  Then August the green part of the onions started to die, a sure sign it is time to pull up the onions.  I placed them on a skid out in our driveway and covered them with a plastic hoop-house so they wouldn't get wet from an rain, but could dry out completely.  After a few weeks, I brought the dried onions in.  Then I cut off any root on the bottom, rubbed off any dried skins, cut off any green beyond six inches and made a big circle out of yarn for the form of the wreath.  Then I watched YouTube video's on how to wrap the stem around the yarn to attach the onions to it.  Now I am storing it in our dark pantry for Dh to use this fall and winter.  The picture of it isn't as gorgeous as it is in person, really beautiful.

Molding:

Grampy and Dh replaced the french doors in the Rec Room last winter or spring and I was to stain the wood molding so it could be put up around the inside door frame.  Well, I finally did it this week.  We have been having the cold and rainy weather for weeks and things aren't likely to improve here in Michigan like they would if we were still in Indiana.  It took a few days, as I had to clean off the garage table to use it, but I ended up getting two chores done at the same time!  That dirty, dusty table with all its bits and bobs had been driving me crazy but never made it to the top of my daily lists. Now the molding is stained, with four coats of polyurethane and back down in the Rec Room to be put up whenever they get to it; a good job for cold days.

Pool:

Still draining and waiting for Dh to have the time to close it down all the way.  I'm trying to not let it drive me crazy.  I don't know how to do it and have to wait.

Zeus:

Ahh, this rooster.  How many hours I've cared and cared for him.  Keeping his egg just warm enough, moist enough, then he was attacked by the dog next door and all the saltwater baths and Bag Balm.  Now, this summer he keeps having these seizures.  Last Tuesday the 18th of September he was down in the coop and didn't get up for days.  I've separated him and have taken special care of him throughout the day.  I'm hoping he will rally one more time, by the end of this week he has started to return to standing up more and more; which is great!  Each day he is a little better, but it is a slow recovery.



Chickens:
Except for Saturday (migraine) I've been keen on getting one or two 5-gallon buckets of greens/weeds to the girls each day.  I know we are on the final days/weeks before frost hits and all the greens are toast, so I have really been trying hard to get them all as happy and healthy as I can before the winter dredge.  I have frozen some garden greens especially for them, but that won't be a drop in the bucket of six months of winter.  They are all doing really well and thriving---so glad!!!  I do try!  We've been selling our eggs for $2.00 dozen and I always wonder if we shouldn't raise it to $3.00 for all the work I do and the cost of their feed and straw.



Henry:
Puppies are a handful!  This week Henry chewed through the middle of our living room rug.  I had taken out our good rug for an old rug after his first two days, so I must have known he had the inability to discern between his chew toys and the tapestry rugs.  I'm SO glad I switched that out!!! Phew!  We still have our tattered sofa's in the living room that need replacing, so no worries there.  I only worry about the high back chair that the cats have scratched up, he could chew the wood feet and stand, which would be horrible, but, we did get it at a yard sale so it wouldn't be a huge financial loss but not replaceable.  I've ordered new toys for him, but he tears them up so fast!  He really is a very mouthy dog and I work hard to keep him walked and full of "HIS" toys to chew on.

Honeysuckle

Difficulties:
Migraine cluster started on Saturday, I did have almost 3 weeks on a good run though!...Dh still working many hours on writing SOP's for work, no time for fall chores yet.  The van is smoking and needs to go back to the repairman but Dh is waiting or thinking about it first?  Two of four auto's working.

Academic lessons of the week:

Dd's current Bible Study

Bible:
Church, Sunday School, Classes at Frontier, Devotions on the trip, and her increased focus on her Bible Study.  After her visit to Frontier, Dd says she wants to spend more time on her Bible study..Yay!

Dd bought a new Bible at Frontier this week.

Next Audio:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Grace Subjects:

Algebra I: Saxon

Spanish I

Graphic Design

Introductory Logic

Geography: BJU

Honeysuckle

Next Week:
Dd gets braces put on her teeth!  The tops are braces and the bottoms are getting a big bracket put on the fix her bite.  She could have them 30-36 months (2 1/2 to 3 years), but, if she does a great job with her elastics and focuses she could see a decrease in the time with the braces.

Dickens

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Garden Sept 22, 2018

Garden Sept 22, 2018 

The temperatures have really chilled off this week, not to mention the nearly constant rain.  We've harvested grapes, green beans, tomatoes, tomatillo's, and potatoes this week.

Dh made a vinegar/basil jar

One tomato paste jar busted in the canner, but the rest look good.  I stewed for 2 days to get the paste just right.

It took a LOT of work, but Dh made 2 1/2 pints of grape jelly from our wonderful grapes.  Words don't express just how amazing the jam turned out.  

We have two pints in our pantry, but the little jar didn't last the week!  Dh made some awesome GF biscuits and that was that!

The fanciest thing I've done this year---the Onion Bough.  I've spent hours on these onions this year; just for Dh, since I currently can't eat any onions, it was a true love effort.

Lots of green beans this year, as I planned!  I was hoping for a lot more though and thought I'd have many jars of canned green beans by now, but we are eating them daily and not getting any canned...yet.  We might not get any jars this year, but I am glad to see Dh and I eat a lot of green from our garden. 

Dd dug up a few potatoes to go along with her corn.

I am still getting Swiss Chard for my smoothies.

What kale and chard I don't eat I chop up small and feed it to the chickens---they LOVE it!

Dh made a wonderful salsa with some of the Tomatillo's this week.  They sure do take over the garden!!! Yikes!

Some of the Yukon Gold potatoes 

The asparagus has spread out again this year.  I hope we get as much to eat next spring as we did this year. 

The herbs are doing well.  Dh picked a lot of Basil to can this week.  I plan on doing another batch of Basil Butter very soon...before it is too late.  The nights are getting down in the 40's so I do need to hurry.

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