Thursday, May 14, 2020

May 3-9, 2020 Snow, Birthday Flowers, Blueberry Pie, Crepes, and Frost

May 3-9, 2020

Snow, Birthday Flowers, Blueberry Pie, Crepes, and Frost

Hello Friends!
Chilly and cold days here, we had snow flurries. After a month of headaches and migraines, I had a respite this week. One thing I figured out was that I had, little by little, let dairy back into my diet, and that somehow causes me to have migraines. As soon as I stopped dairy the headaches also disappeared. I know my hormones also play a role, but not having dairy seems to make a big difference, so I'm back to a zero-tolerance policy.

Leadership?

A few weeks before our church doors closed I had sparked up a conversation with the woman in charge of the female activities at our church.

I'd talked to her a few times before and had been wanting to have a longer chat with her for months and she actually asked me out for coffee to do just that! We set up a time and then the shut-down happened. So, she texted me and we set up a Zoom meeting for this week to have a viral chat.

We had a good chat, although I do find it hard to read the person I'm chatting with when I'm not with them in person.

Long story short--- she asked me to think about joining the leadership at church and lead a small group Bible study next year with new believers.

I was totally taken by surprise and caught off-guard. Dh and I have talked and prayed about it and have filled out the application.

I feel very insecure about my social abilities and realize it will be a challenge for me to contact all the women in my group routinely and create a bond of love and care. I just struggle with email, texting, and phone conversations--- I much prefer face-to-face interactions. But, the good thing is that I am aware, very aware, of my flaws and hope that I can:

Matthew 11:28-30 New International Version (NIV)

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

So, prayers appreciated as I try to step up to this challenge and grow. Maybe this will be a key part of transitioning out of homeschooling my daughter and looking for my next first-step outside the home.

I do find this invitation to be more active in our new church to be a good indicator that our leaving our old church, 11 months ago, to have been for a reason. It was so clear to Dd and me that the door there was clearly slammed in our face and maybe this is one of the reasons?? I have faith that God has a plan for me and I am willing...even if I am insecure and feel inadequate!

Dh's Work: Positive COVID 19:

Well, it was probably bound to happen at some point, and this week someone from my Dh's work tested positive. The people that work in that area are all on a two-week quarantine and the rest of the workforce can come and go as they need to keep the machines and progress moving forward. The company did a big cleaning in hopes of removing any virus. Dh still had to go in 3 out of 5 days this week. A neighbor put out some masks so he was able to get another mask. He is very careful when he comes home. He leaves his shoes outside the house, goes right to the laundry room and puts his clothes in the washer, and then takes a thorough shower. Since he works at a pharmaceutical company they all wear masks, head coverings, and body covers to keep germs down.

Daily Hiking With Henry! My favorite thing to do!

Henry:

Henry had a weird little tag on his ear a few weeks back. I thought it might have been a tick that got under his skin and tried excising it, but it just seemed to bleed a lot. Slowly, but surely, it has returned and now is about the size of a grape hanging from his ear flap. This week he continues to scratch it with his claws and has torn it open. I keep trying to help it, but I think he may need to go to the vet. I would have called already if it weren't for the lockdown, but I don't know what to do or how serious this is...bummer. The ear problem doesn't bother Henry at all and his life has not changed in the least! We still go on our "Hiking with Henry" walks at least once a day in the woods around our home.

Who dug the hole? Who dug up and ate Bunny's corpse?

Chickens:

Good grief. A few weeks back; maybe six weeks ago? My sickly white hen, Bunny, died and I buried her out in the woods with a big pile of dirt over the hole.

Something dug her up and I found her wing feathers on my trail this week. I just can't believe this! Poor Bunny! There was a Red-Winged Hawk over the hole for days and I couldn't figure out why it was there...now I know! I've been extremely careful to not let the hens in our back pen this week. I have been putting 2-4 chickens in each chicken tractor where I know they are safe and can have access to bugs, worms, and greens.

My Birthday and Mother's Day:

Another year older and another year wiser! I hope! Let's see---my mom was ever so kind and sent me flowers! My daughter bought me a cute little pair of small bumblebee earring studs. My husband made me crepes! Then on Mother's Day, he made me a blueberry pie! I think this is the first time that we've been married I didn't ask for a birthday cake, I was really craving a blueberry pie!!! We aren't big on presents but on a simple act of kindness. Dd made me a watercolor of a chickadee for my Mother's Day gift. I was also surprised by my sister-in-law that sent me a card! She doesn't usually interact with us very much, so that was a big surprise.

Flowerland: Greenhouse:
Michigan has a very short growing season for us, so besides planting seeds we now buy tomato (grape, Roma, Early Bird, and San Marzano), basil, celery, and rosemary plants/herbs. One of my rosemary herb varieties had died over the winter, as well as most of my basil plants, so to renew the resource we bought more plants. We only bought three potato varieties this year to plant; whereas last year we had four different kinds. Last year I canned close to two hundred pints/quarts of potatoes and green beans. This year I need to really can a lot of tomatoes. I probably have enough green beans and potatoes leftover from last year to make it through next winter as well, although I plan on canning more of those if I am blessed enough to do so. With only buying one tray of small plants and three bags of potato starters it cost around $51.00; which is just absolutely crazy! In Indiana, it would have barely cost $30.00. We also bought a few seeds; two varieties of sunflower and some Swiss Chard. I blanche and freeze lots and lots and lots of greens for my personal consumption, which is mostly used in my green smoothies, so now is the time to get all my greens started!

Garden:
I asked Dd to help me move out hoop houses back into the beds due to the unseasonably cold weather that started towards the end of the week.

I had hoped May would be without frost and freeze warnings, but I was disappointed.

We fortunately still had a lot of clear plastic on the roll so I could redo the plastic covering the hoop houses.

I covered the spinach, lettuce, and kale seedlings, although they *should* be fine in frosty weather. I just felt better knowing my plants weren't going to die just as they had a good start going. I spent hours last week each night covering everything and then each uncovering everything as it warmed up the next day.

I may have lost some of my lettuce, but that was because I mowed my yard to sprinkle grass clippings on my seedlings to provide some insulation and I think it killed some of the lettuce.

May Apples are fully grown, now for the blooms to arrive!

FaceTime:
Loving having a weekly chat with Heather!

Dh Shopping:
For the first time since quarantine, Dh had to run into the grocery store. He hadn't been to see how different things are now; he was walking down a one-way aisle and wondered why he was getting the evil eye from people before he figured out that the store was organized into oneway routes! He did figure it out and had stories to share when he got home! It really is so interesting to see how different people are responding to this outbreak. When we were at the greenhouse there were people, even whole families with children, with absolutely no masks and no cares in the world. There were many elderly people, I'm guessing a few were in their eighties, that had no masks on either! It seems so weird to me that some people really aren't bothered by any of these life and death consequences.

Stairs:
We made a little progress this week on the stairs we are replacing that lead to our basement. We had to measure and fit each riser for every step and we did! I hadn't planed wood in a long while! It's coming along...

Dd's Progress This Week:
Dd had a really rough week sleeping. She kept waking up each night around midnight and struggling falling back to sleep. She shared she is still struggling with anxiety over this pandemic. Each day she does her homework and goes over to her boyfriend's house. They have a friend to chaperone them and enjoy having a small tight-knit group of friends. As her finals are getting close she has been doing some of her homework there at night too. Next week is her last week of Grace Co-Op classes.

Church and Bible Study:
Dd watched the church service at home with Dh and I before going over to Seth's for Mother's Day. She is working on her devotions alone.