Saturday, June 17, 2017

June Garden 2017

June Garden 2017
I wanted to take a few pictures of our garden before things got too big.  I've noticed many of the plants have really taken off with this latest rain, so I wanted to post these pictures before I take new photos.
This bed on the left is our perennial garden for our herbs.  I planted our two asparagus plants on the left side, from our home in Indiana.  I've noticed this weekend that a Blackberry plant has sprouted up by the asparagus plants!  I am happy to have a new berry plant! Surprised, but happy!  I'll wait until the fall to move it.


The turnips I transplanted are extremely happy with their new space!

Tomato and Potato plants doing great!

These are the three new raised beds we built this year.

Kale

Brussel Sprouts

Two Brussel Sprouts on left, nine mixed pepper plants, and two tomato plants on right side.


There are four celery plants on the left side, they are doing really well.  I've planted spinach and lettuce in the soil in front of the celery and around the iris plants.

The Blackberry plants we brought from Indiana are doing very well!  We didn't get many berries last year--hoping this year will be better.

I've transplanted five or six MILKWEED plants, and this is the only plant that has completely accepted their new home.  Luckily, there were a LOT of milkweed plants in the woods behind our house.  I was wanting to lure some Monarch butterflies into our yard.

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HSB Annual Used Booksale and Migraine Week June 11-17, 2017 (Core H Week 21C)

HSB Annual Used Book Sale and Migraine Week 
June 11-17, 2017 
 (Core H Week 21C)
It occurred to me, during the last hour of the sale, to take a photo of the sale!  Things had really settled down and the crowd was thin by this point, but it is still fun to see it!


Hello, Friends!

Monday was a very big day!!!  I worked for a week to prepare for the annual homeschool used book sale, at the HomeSchool Building.  I don't even have words to describe how crazy the sale is, or how hot it was in that tin can gymnasium!  We all literally sweated the whole time!  Dd helped me load and unload our van and set up our two tables.  Then during the sale, we would take turns watching our 'booth' and shopping the other tables.  We arrived at 10:30 am and got home around 8-8:20 pm!  What a long day!  It is nice to give back to the homeschool community.  For once, my Sonlight books did not sell well but my other books did.  I sold a bunch of Life of Fred books that we haven't gone back to in a few years, $10 each, and they sold like hot cakes!  I think I should have put a bit of a higher price on them as everywhere else they were selling for $14 and they weren't in new condition like ours were.  Oh well!  We blessed a few people and were blessed by others.

Sonlight Instructor Guides:
One woman was selling old (13 years old) IG's; specifically 200, 300, and her 400.  I bought all three, but there were to be two problems.  It had slipped my mind I already owned the 200! and one of her IG's was missing the first seven weeks worth of IG pages!  I guess I could deduce what books the core started off with my checking off the books in the 8-36 weeks line up, but, oh, that was a bother!  I did find about ten books for our upcoming cores, and a few that aren't in our cores, but one's I'd like to include!

Garden & Ducks:
When I got home from the book sale, the ducks were IN my garden!  They had been staying in their pool and sleeping there, but today they had really trampled our plants and were caught eating my lettuce and spinach leaves!!!  I've decided the pool needs to be moved into the long chicken run that is behind our outbuilding. 



Garden/Veg:
Our garden is doing really well.  I've gone this whole week without having to buy my "Power Green" (bag of spinach, chard, kale, radish) super bag from Costco.  Instead, I've been picking from my own garden!  I'm not sure if it could be the turnip greens that caused all the extra heartburn or something else--so I've taken the day off of that.  I've planted more Swiss Chard (red, yellow, and white colored), lettuce, spinach, and kale this week.  I've been picking a lot and watering a lot.  This week was so hot and muggy that we decided to go ahead and turn on the air conditioning!  I had to water each morning and each evening.  



New Veg:
Dh came home on Monday with a bunch of new plants from a greenhouse!  I had them planted that night!  Let's see---green peppers, banana peppers, two tomato specialties, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, Rosemary herb, Lemongrass herb, and thyme.  He bought some green bean seeds, and put up the metal poles for their growing needs...now for him to put the seeds in the ground!  We are about full up and don't have much space for anything else.  I think I might be able to put some lettuce or spinach seeds around the brussel sprout seedlings- I don't think they are going to grow too fast.


Chickens:
I found another new egg--this one wasn't in a nice hard shell like the first one I found, but in a rubbery case.  I also found a new hard egg in a little nest one of the Amber or Links made in the straw on the floor of the inner chicken coop.  The chickens are all doing really well and some are getting quite heavy!  Each morning I am bringing all the chickens (and ducks), except the two Bantams, out to the chicken run to spend the day.  Then at bedtime we bring them all back to the chicken tractors in the garage.  We need to build another roost (bar) inside the chicken coop if we want the young chicks to move permanently in with the older ones.  I'm not sure if they have all got acclimated to each other enough to make the move a 24/7 move yet!  But, I think it will be soon.  I'm really looking forward to not having all the extra clean up that comes with the chickens living in tractors in the garage.  The amount of time each day I have been spending on chickens, ducks, or the garden has been a lot!  Unless something tragic happens to the chickens, I am planning on taking next spring off from raising baby chicks.  

Dd's health:
The eye problem is better, and so is her acne, but she has been totally run-down all week.  Friday and Saturday she spent most of the day on the sofa or in my bed.  I'm beginning to wonder about mono---at least that is what Giz thinks could be the problem.  I'm hoping she can get better soon, as she has already been sick for over two weeks as it is.  

Migraines:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights were massive migraine days or nights, or both.  My migraine on Wednesday was so bad, I was in bed most of Thursday.  For some reason, these have been real whoppers--vomiting and nausea and ugly.  Every once in a while, I will have a migraine cluster; where my body is just on a setting to be too sensitive.  I know I was really pressured trying to go through hundreds of books for the sale and marking each and every book, and that must have taken more of a toll than I realized.  I hope next week can be better.  In the past two weeks, I've gone to several doctor appointments and that is also very stressful for me.  I'm sure no one likes going!



House:
Dh completed the finishing pieces to the windows for the Sun Room.  It took a few different days, but he did get it all completed!



When Grampy was here, they removed the weather damaged pieces and replaced those with new wood.  They put in metal flashing under each window and then topped that off with plastic wood.  It should be impossible for these windows to rott again.



Pool:
On Saturday, Chuck, from our church, came over and helped us get our pool opened.  It has been so very hot this week that we had to turn on our air conditioning, but didn't have our pool to jump into to cool off.  The next week is suppose to be much cooler, and of course, it will be too cold to swim! Ha!  Life has a sense of humor!



Our first picnic of the season:



We went to a local ice cream shop after having pizza at a park.  



I couldn't eat the pizza, but it was still nice to be out with the family!

Academics:
The water at this beach isn't a lake, but the Grand River!



Music:
Wednesday Dd had her weekly Band Class: 9:30 -11 am

Sax lesson with Mrs. March: 9-9:30 am

Alto Sax Audition Sign-Up:
We signed Dd up for her auditions this week; which will be in July.  She has to audition with her Alto Sax for either the Advanced Band or the highest group, the Concert Band.  It is most likely she will get into the Advanced Band, and less likely that she will stay in the Intermediate Band class.



Violin Audition Sign-Up:
Also in July, the week after her Alto Sax audition, will be her audition for the Orchestra.  She is trying to get accepted into the Intermediate Orchestra, but there is also a tiny chance she could get into their highest group, the Symphony Orchestra.  We'll be happy with whichever class wants her!!
A Box Turtle showed up in our yard this week.  It was such a pretty turtle!  


Life Skills:
Dd was my cashier for most of the day on Monday.  This was a great exercise in interacting with strangers and being friendly and outgoing for my normally shy daughter!

Fun Reading:
Prudence by Gail Carringer: Finally Completed!!!


Math:
This week (Tues-Fri) Dd got back on Khan Academy math for 30 minutes each day.



Chores:
Bedroom, vacuuming, dishes, cat, and pool work!  

Next week we will slowly get a start back on some of our normal subjects again.  Things should be calm and regular soon!

Band Camp Week June 4-10th, 2017(Core H Wk21B) First Parade (Rockford)

Band Camp Week 
June 4-10th, 2017
First Parade: Rockford Parade on Saturday, June 10th





 Hello, Friends!



This week was a complete blur!  Everything all hit at once.  On Friday, Dd spent the night at her friend's house and when we picked her up on Saturday her eyes were mucky and red.  We assumed she had Pink Eye and had an online chat with a doctor to get the antibiotic eye drops.  Then on Sunday, her throat was red and really swollen.  We brought her to the Immediate Care and had her throat swabbed for Strep Throat, but the results were negative.  Monday came and she was due to start Band Camp and she still didn't look any better after taking the eye drops for 48 hours.  Tuesday morning I called our health place and they said they could fit her in in the afternoon.  I picked her up 15 minutes early from Band Camp for her appointment.  The physician's assistant that saw us figured her problems were all due to allergies!  She prescribed a new eye drop for allergies.  Wednesday morning, after taking the eye drops overnight and she did look a tad bit better.  The other problem that was going on at the same time, was her acne medication caused a "flare-up."  I called the dermatologist and they called in an order to help with that! By Friday she started to look a little better.  Boy, when it rains, it pours!!!!


Driving and Booksale Prep:
I spend my week driving Dd to and from Band Camp this week.  Next Monday is the annual homeschool used book sale, and I've paid for two tables like I did last year.  I pulled out box after box of books that I've got stored in a spare room.  I spent the whole week deciding which books to keep or sell and then pricing each book using blue 'painting' tape (the kind that peels off easily).  I was so happy that we had finished our Rec Room and I could use that room to do all my sorting, organizing, pricing, and boxing.  


Animals:
This week I saw that young fox back in our yard again....I've not been letting our chickens free-range as much, if at all!  Our back fenced in run is now full of plantains, dandelions, and other greens for the chickens to eat and they don't 'need' to be out and in danger.  I saw a Scarlet Tanger and, for the first time, a Gray Catbird!!!  



Chickens:
We found our first EGG from either the Tetra Brown or an Amber Link!!!  It was smaller and darker brown than our Buff Orpington or Black Sex Link eggs are. 



 I've also started bringing out the young chickens, two by two, and putting them in the chicken runs with the older chickens.  I'm SO glad to say that the old chickens have accepted the new chickens without much effort.  I haven't brought over the small Bantam chickens yet--the tiny rooster has such a huge ego that I'm very afraid of how Zeus might respond?!?! Yikes.


Ducks:
The ducks are spending all day outside; swimming and sleeping in their kiddy pool.  I have been foraging greens for everyone, but especially for the ducks.  Two or three times each day I put in a few handfuls of greens into their pool water.  The ducks continue to scratch me up and are pretty much stinkers.  They are being aggressive to the chickens too.  I still haven't found much to like about these Peking ducks that I bought b/c Dd *thought* she would love them so.....



Flowers:
The Peonies bloomed all week!!! Yay!  I planted four new plants this spring and only two came up. 



 The peony bulbs and plants that we planted either last summer of last fall all came back and are doing well.  THe other highlight of my spring; the RED POPPY's bloomed this week too!!!  I think we had 8 blooms this year.



Academics this week:



Band Camp:
6 hours each day M-F
(Alto Sax)
Dd also did some piano practice.



First Parade:
Saturday in Rockford



Chores:
Chickens, Dishes, and Cat



Fun Reading:
Prudence by Gail Carringer



Doctor Visits:
Three!

If you are curious, our current count: 
2 ducks, 
2 Bantams, 
2 Isa Browns, 
6 Tetra Browns, 
6 AmberLink, 
9 Black Sex Link, 
4 Buff Orpington hens, 
1 Rooster-Buff Orpington.

While viewing the parade, I saw the best "Miss Marple" house!  Here are a few pictures I took of it.  I thought Chelle might be interested in an American neighborhood house; mind you, not all houses are this pretty!





The rain gutter had a neat brass lion head on it.


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SL Core H Week 21 A May 29- June 3rd, 2017

SL Core H Week 21 A  
May 29- June 3rd, 2017



Hello, Friends!
Band Camp is next week, so I scheduled a light 'wrap-up' week.  I didn't see any point to starting new things when we will be taking our summer break after this week since Dd will be too exhausted to do anything during Band Camp.

I cut the limbs off my Fig Tree
 Feel free to skip these next paragraphs detailing all our medical ailments this week-- I just want to keep a record of the basic happenings and why, but it would be boring to read about!  I had my "annual" doctor appointment this week and a trip to the lab.  My digestion is still a big issue and the doc scheduled some testing to be done in the upcoming weeks.  I requested my doctor to refer me to a GI doctor, but the soonest they could see me was mid-September!!!  I'm not impressed with the medical care in Michigan, to be honest.  The doctors and system seemed quicker in Indiana, and I definitely didn't have to wait 4 months to see a doctor!  It took 6 weeks to get into see my primary care physician with my abdomen hurting, by the time I got in the pain had finally subsided.


One of Dd's best friends celebrated their birthday this week and Dd enjoyed the party, sleep-over, and pool.  When Dh and I picked her up on Saturday morning her eyes were completely red and mucky.  We figured she had Pink Eye and tried the new internet "MedNow" system our health care provider has.  We called and scheduled a time to "meet" with a doctor and then sat at our dining room table and talked about the eye issue.  They prescribed antibiotic eye drops and said she would be better 24-48 hours.  Sunday saw no improvement with her new drops, plus her throat swelled and was very ugly.  Dd stayed home from church and Dh and I went on without her.  Afterward, we took Dd to the Immediate Care to check for Strep Throat.  The 'swab test' concluded she didn't have Strep Throat, and we were told to go home and wait it out.  Her eyes didn't get better in 48 hours, so we called our primary care physician and scheduled to go to see someone.  Finally, on June 6th a doctor determined all her eye and throat problems were due to allergies and prescribed an eye drop for that problem--which did clear it up...eventually!  Unfortunately, the new acne medication stirred up a bunch of deep pore problems at the same time of her allergy issues and the dermatologist ordered some meds to help her with her "flare-up."  The old adage about "when it rains, it pours" comes to mind!  Poor Kid!  It all worked out, but not during this week!


The Phoebe couple have been busy feeding their babies this week.  The nest is on our deck, so we see them all day long!


ACADEMICS of the Week!:



Bible:
Church and Sunday School

BBC Bible: Turn Your Bedroom into a Bible College:
Pg 99



History Reader:
Abraham Lincoln's World by Foster
pg's 75-102



Fun Reader:
Prudence by Gail Carringer (In Process)



Art:
A lot this week--10 hours


Our turnips seeds all sprouted, so I took a bunch out of line and planted them in a tomato garden.  They all looked like they were going to die in the transition, but now they are starting to perk back up!



History/Literature: 
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Ch's 20-42



History DVD:
Little Dorrit by BBC: Completed
We watched this movie as we are reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  Great!!!!

Music Lessons:
Sax Lesson with Mrs. March



Music Practice:
violin, piano, ukelele, Alto Sax throughout the week



Chores:
Dishes, cat, vacuum, chickens...



Window Work:
Dh has been working on finishing up the windows that he started with his dad.






Agnes


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