July 15-21, 2018
Rosy Mound- Lake Michigan and Lessons
Hello Friends!
Remember how Dh had to fly to Bologna, Italy four times this past year to order a special expensive robotic machine his work needed? Well, the company made the machine and shipped it over. Now the company has sent it's mechanic's to assemble and perfect it in it's permanent location. Dh has had to work extra hours each day and also on Saturday as a result. He has enjoyed going out to eat with them each day, to a new restaurant to show them some of the American restaurants we have. He is still having a really rough time at work but I'm sure this diversion was nice for him. I really applaud his decision to just go in each day and do the best he can and accept that he cannot please everyone; which is really hard for him.
Update on Agnes, our little cat:
Last week Agnes had to have emergency surgery (2 1/2 hours long surgery!) because she ate some thread which got tied around her tongue and went all the way down to her colon. Her move from the basement to my bedroom went well. As she healed she wanted out and I'd let her visit for a few hours at a time. By the end of the week I was letting her out for most of the day, but keeping her with us in our bedroom for the night-time. I know Dickens likes to play fight with her and we simply can NOT have that going on with her incision all down her abdomen. She is very slowly improving, a little bit each day. She is definitely keeping her distance from Honeysuckle and Dickens. She has also started to fill in a little bit and not look so skinny. She is a small cat, as an adult, and has a hard time with the other two bigger cats. Honeysuckle is probably two times heavier.
Update on Agnes, our little cat:
Last week Agnes had to have emergency surgery (2 1/2 hours long surgery!) because she ate some thread which got tied around her tongue and went all the way down to her colon. Her move from the basement to my bedroom went well. As she healed she wanted out and I'd let her visit for a few hours at a time. By the end of the week I was letting her out for most of the day, but keeping her with us in our bedroom for the night-time. I know Dickens likes to play fight with her and we simply can NOT have that going on with her incision all down her abdomen. She is very slowly improving, a little bit each day. She is definitely keeping her distance from Honeysuckle and Dickens. She has also started to fill in a little bit and not look so skinny. She is a small cat, as an adult, and has a hard time with the other two bigger cats. Honeysuckle is probably two times heavier.
Rosy Mound: Lake Michigan: Thursday
I've been trying to force myself to take Dd to the lake more this summer, it is only a 60-minute drive. I know I always regret it when it's winter and we are freezing! We offered to take any of the girls from the youth Sunday School group to Rosy Mound this week on Thursday, but only Hailee was free to go with us. We sure did have a wonderful time! This time we brought our lunches with us out on the beach so we wouldn't have to walk the whole trail back to the van for lunch. It is quite the hike out to the beach, with MANY steep steps up and down all the way. The weather was gorgeous. I've never seen the beach look so absolutely beautiful and peaceful. You would have thought we were on some tropical island. The most interesting aspect was that when you looked at the horizon line you couldn't see it! The water and the sky were the same color and couldn't tell one from the other. Due to the major weather change, from super hot to cool, the water has flipped over and all the warmer water was replaced by frigid, super cold water. We didn't swim! We all got a little wet, walked the beach, collected lots of small rocks. We spent the whole day--10 to 3:30--enjoying the peace and beauty of the coast. It was a really lovely day, so restful and refreshing.
I've been trying to force myself to take Dd to the lake more this summer, it is only a 60-minute drive. I know I always regret it when it's winter and we are freezing! We offered to take any of the girls from the youth Sunday School group to Rosy Mound this week on Thursday, but only Hailee was free to go with us. We sure did have a wonderful time! This time we brought our lunches with us out on the beach so we wouldn't have to walk the whole trail back to the van for lunch. It is quite the hike out to the beach, with MANY steep steps up and down all the way. The weather was gorgeous. I've never seen the beach look so absolutely beautiful and peaceful. You would have thought we were on some tropical island. The most interesting aspect was that when you looked at the horizon line you couldn't see it! The water and the sky were the same color and couldn't tell one from the other. Due to the major weather change, from super hot to cool, the water has flipped over and all the warmer water was replaced by frigid, super cold water. We didn't swim! We all got a little wet, walked the beach, collected lots of small rocks. We spent the whole day--10 to 3:30--enjoying the peace and beauty of the coast. It was a really lovely day, so restful and refreshing.
Guitar: Strings Group: Thursday Night
Our church 'Strings Group' has been having some growing pains. I've been praying for some resolution and the answer to prayer came this week.
For the summer, at least, only the Strings players, especially the teen girls, are going to meet for practice. The singers and keyboard have the summer off while the girls learn their instruments more. Dd has been playing the ukulele for over a year now but wants to improve with her guitar. The other focus will be just having fun and not work towards a church performance.
Dd has been wanting to learn how to play her guitar more than she has figured out herself. Joe, the man that is our leader, has offered to really work with Dd and teach her all he can. His focus is on BLUEGRASS music, with gospel music on the side. This week he worked on her guitar and changed out all her old strings. She has really been practicing a lot and is improving already. Dd thought her guitar wasn't a very nice one but Joe assured her that it was just fine, it just needed the strings replaced to sound better. She still isn't convinced it looks very nice, but hopefully, she will come around and appreciate it.
For the summer, at least, only the Strings players, especially the teen girls, are going to meet for practice. The singers and keyboard have the summer off while the girls learn their instruments more. Dd has been playing the ukulele for over a year now but wants to improve with her guitar. The other focus will be just having fun and not work towards a church performance.
Dd has been wanting to learn how to play her guitar more than she has figured out herself. Joe, the man that is our leader, has offered to really work with Dd and teach her all he can. His focus is on BLUEGRASS music, with gospel music on the side. This week he worked on her guitar and changed out all her old strings. She has really been practicing a lot and is improving already. Dd thought her guitar wasn't a very nice one but Joe assured her that it was just fine, it just needed the strings replaced to sound better. She still isn't convinced it looks very nice, but hopefully, she will come around and appreciate it.
WWII Holland Survivor: Friday Night
Friday night, at church, we had a special speaker:
Mrs. Hans Vankevilenvong--
a woman who grew up in Holland and was there during the occupation of the German Nazi's during WWII.
She shared her story and it was so interesting to hear her version. We have heard Eva Moses Kor, an Auschwitz survivor and Mengele Twin survivor speak three times. The two women have such very, very different stories. I'm thankful for having the opportunity to bring Dd to both women to hear and learn from them. Although, I always think I'm the one learning the most!!
Here is Eva's website. She has a museum and shares her story there, in Terra Haute, Indiana. She has also written a book. She has the most amazing story to share.
https://candlesholocaustmuseum.org/
To hear her story, for free on YouTube, search: "
Chickens:
Finding a hidden clutch!
Chickens:
Friday night, at church, we had a special speaker:
Mrs. Hans Vankevilenvong--
a woman who grew up in Holland and was there during the occupation of the German Nazi's during WWII.
She shared her story and it was so interesting to hear her version. We have heard Eva Moses Kor, an Auschwitz survivor and Mengele Twin survivor speak three times. The two women have such very, very different stories. I'm thankful for having the opportunity to bring Dd to both women to hear and learn from them. Although, I always think I'm the one learning the most!!
Here is Eva's website. She has a museum and shares her story there, in Terra Haute, Indiana. She has also written a book. She has the most amazing story to share.
https://candlesholocaustmuseum.org/
To hear her story, for free on YouTube, search: "
Eva Kor: "Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz"
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| This is the covered door that leads down into the barn's basement where the chickens have their little 'palace.' I covered it in chicken feed bags to make it more air-tight to help in winter with all the Michigan snow; ugly, I know! |
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| Imagine my surprise this week when I just happened to look in the little crawl space and find a mound of eggs! There were around 15 eggs. I had noticed that my egg count had been down the past few days and I guess subconsciously I must have been trying to work out where the eggs could be. I sure was surprised. The next day there were two eggs and then they stopped laying there after that. |
Chickens:
Wednesday was a much-needed chicken work day. Although I clean out their straw each week, inside their barn pen, this week their upper coops needed work. The girls love to dig out huge craters in their pen; especially when it is hot and they want to cool down in the dirt. Every few weeks I have to dig up gravel and fill the holes; again and again! I also brought in a bunch of logs to lift up the long big branches I'd brought in before for them to roost on. I wanted to get them a bit higher off the ground so there would be more space under the umbrella they like to stay under when it is hot and sunny. Now some of the girls are on the two branches and some are under it! I know they feel safer when they are under the umbrella.
When the weather finally cooled down this week the hens laid extra eggs one day; which was nice. I was happy to see the birds getting a break from so many hot days and all the panting they had been doing. We have a ceiling fan in their coop that keeps them cooler at night, but they really don't like the heat. I did find ways to cool them off--like freezing the chopped stalks from my greens into an ice block and then giving it to them.
Zeus is still having seizures and needing to be carried in and out of the barn coop twice each day. He has bitten me twice this week--he is still a bugger! I'm not sure what to do with him, to be honest. I'm just kinda waiting it out to decide if he is suffering at all. His feathers are really getting beat up as he flails around during the attacks.
Preserving Greens:
Another week of getting more greens (kale and Swiss Chard) blanched and frozen for later use.
Garden:
Another good week! Finally, this week we actually had RAIN. So many of the farmers in our area have corn burning up and money going down the drain. It is so hard to see families you know hurting because of the weather. Even if it did rain this week, many crops are already past rescue I hear. But, our little garden, beside our hose, has done well with because I've watered 2-3 times a day. This week I hardly had to water at all!
Dog Adoption Possibilities:
When the weather finally cooled down this week the hens laid extra eggs one day; which was nice. I was happy to see the birds getting a break from so many hot days and all the panting they had been doing. We have a ceiling fan in their coop that keeps them cooler at night, but they really don't like the heat. I did find ways to cool them off--like freezing the chopped stalks from my greens into an ice block and then giving it to them.
Zeus is still having seizures and needing to be carried in and out of the barn coop twice each day. He has bitten me twice this week--he is still a bugger! I'm not sure what to do with him, to be honest. I'm just kinda waiting it out to decide if he is suffering at all. His feathers are really getting beat up as he flails around during the attacks.
Preserving Greens:
Another week of getting more greens (kale and Swiss Chard) blanched and frozen for later use.
Garden:
Another good week! Finally, this week we actually had RAIN. So many of the farmers in our area have corn burning up and money going down the drain. It is so hard to see families you know hurting because of the weather. Even if it did rain this week, many crops are already past rescue I hear. But, our little garden, beside our hose, has done well with because I've watered 2-3 times a day. This week I hardly had to water at all!
Bugs:
The other blessing, so far, is that we haven't had nearly the bugs we had last year. Last summer I was spending an hour each day picking off bugs. This year has been so much better. I know part of the problem was that I let the plants grow too big, which sheltered the bugs. This year I've been picking the greens each week, to freeze, and that has brought light to dark areas that needed it. This year we have had more earwigs, but they don't seem to be doing as much damage.
Dog Adoption Possibilities:
We are still interested in adopting a dog that Dh's co-worker's parents are fostering right now. The dog currently has two names, "Bo" and "Stanley." He was rescued from a puppy mill and the foster family is trying to help him gain weight, get socialized, shots, neutering... He hasn't officially come up for adoption yet, but we've mailed and emailed in our application of interest. He is a breed we had never heard of before--- an English Shepherd. They are known for being intelligent and loving to all in their pack (chickens, cats, dogs, etc. all critters in our family are part of their care-circle). They are great herding dogs and are breed to work with chickens, cattle, sheep... We are putting it in God's hands.
Here is the website for the dog (English Shepherd) we are interested in:
http://nesr.info/adoption-english-shepherd-rescue.php
Bible Study: Entrusted by Beth Moore
I started this bible study over six months ago and have really been learning a lot. Dd is working on it too. I've really learned so much about Paul and his life. I do use my bible commentary and have read a few other books on Paul to help give me a well-rounded education to help me with this study. I think all the extra reading and researching has really enhanced my overall understanding of his life and teachings.
Here is the website for the dog (English Shepherd) we are interested in:
http://nesr.info/adoption-english-shepherd-rescue.php
Bible Study: Entrusted by Beth Moore
I started this bible study over six months ago and have really been learning a lot. Dd is working on it too. I've really learned so much about Paul and his life. I do use my bible commentary and have read a few other books on Paul to help give me a well-rounded education to help me with this study. I think all the extra reading and researching has really enhanced my overall understanding of his life and teachings.
Academics:
Dd has been working on her lessons a bit most days, but not the quality and quantity that I always hope for! But, she is slowly moving forward. Her focus is on improving math, learning Spanish, and enjoying her books. I turned over the book I had started as a Read Aloud; The Picture of Dorian Gray, to Dd to read as it was a hard RA for me as I kept stopping to over-explain
in everything. I think I'll start The Outsiders as our next RA next week.
Bible:
Church, Sunday School, and bible study (Entrusted by Beth Moore)
Volunteering at the Library:
Dd did another shift at our local library. She is loving it there! She's trying to work out how she can continue to volunteer there during the 'school year' too.
Math:
Khan Academy: 20 min. per day
Foreign Language
DuoLingo: Spanish
Dd is trying to get a little head start for the Spanish I class she is taking in the fall.
Reader:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Fun Reader:
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Home Economics:
Dd made No Bake Cookies and did her normal chores this week.
Music:
Dd has been learning GUITAR this week. Besides her practicing at home, she had STRINGS GROUP this week.
I'll add the new artwork photo's soon.
Art:
Drawing and Painting this week.
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| Doesn't Ms. Lemon look so good! She is a Bantam and has such a great chatty personality. She really chitters away talking to me each day. |
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| Dd's bed of corn is growing; this week I put some green beans seeds around each stem so we'll get two things out of this bed this year...hopefully! |
Physical Exercise:
Swam in pool 2x
Workouts 2x
Major Hike 1x
Next Week:
Hopefully, Dd will find time to get back to her Science. Most of the sunflowers are preparing to bloom---soon!!!
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