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.