June 14-20, 2020 Painting Deck, Flooring in Stairwell, Garden, Pruning, Watering

 June 14-20, 2020 

Painting Railing, Flooring in Stairwell, Garden, Pruning, Watering

Hello Friends!

It was a hot week!  I spent at least an hour each morning on just watering the garden!  What a lot of time used just standing around.  I do manage to weed and tend to the garden while doing it.  But, I'm getting lots of greens each day for my smoothies and salads.  I went to visit my friend, Teresa (from my last Bible study group) to see her garden and chat.  It is always SO interesting seeing how other people do their gardens!!!

Stairwell:

Dh completed putting down the hardwood flooring in the landing of the stairs going to the basement.  It was a complicated job for various reasons, but he kept figuring until he got it right.

Painting Railing:

This week I went back to the job I did all last summer---painting the deck, railing, and support boards outside/around our house.  This is a big job and each summer it looks a little better.  To paint the posts around the pool (to the upper deck) I had to prune the bushes at their base; which turned into a really big job!  After getting some new blisters I brought out my small chainsaw and went to town!  What a difference this job made in how our bottom deck looks like!  

Bible Study:

I'm really enjoying my study time for my summer study group, but we are having some trouble with the meeting because people are discussing political things and I'm feeling the odd vibes about me wearing a mask.  It is really interesting how our area is on the line between city folks and country folks and there is an invisible clash between the Fox News versus the CNN crowds.  It is so sad that sometimes, even in a Bible study, this political climate infiltrates all areas of our lives.

Health:

No headaches or migraines, but I've been struggling with dizzy spells and low blood pressure.

Dd's Academic Accomplishments:

This week Dd agreed to go on a hike with Henry and me!  We went to the new bridges put up across the river and it was beautiful!!!  What a highlight for me!  I love hiking and being outside and it was so nice to share some nature with Dd.

German: DuoLingo: 30 x 5 = 2:30 hours

Apologia Biology: 30 x 3, 45 x 2 = 2:45 hours

Physical Exercise: 5:15 hours

June 7-13, 2020 Summer Bible Study, Mower Troubles, Stairs, Hallway Flooring

 June 7-13, 2020 

Summer Bible Study, Mower Troubles, Stairs, Hallway Flooring

 

Hello Friends!

This week went well-- a very summery week where I accomplished a lot.  We ate really well this week too!  We had chicken pot pie, taco salads, blueberry pancakes (scratch/GF), GF peanut butter cookies, chicken strips, and chicken curry salad with grapes (all from scratch).  It was a good food week!  

Garden:

It's "garden season," so lots of watering and weeding this week.  I try to get out first thing in the morning before it gets too hot and sunny.  I'm focusing on doing second, third, fourth plantings of spinach and greens this year so I can eat my greens (and freeze/can my greens) for longer than I have in the past.  I've really improved in this area and have really stretched out my greens season.  I'm still transplanting flowers around the yard now that I know what will grow better is specific places and what didn't do well last year in those other places.  I'll figure it out eventually through trial and error!  I love flowers so it is well worth the effort!

Chickens:

My sick red hen kept getting sicker throughout the week until she finally died---so frustrating not being able to give my chickens antibiotics without finding a vet that will see hens.  My vet doesn't do chickens so I can only try to help with sunshine, love and good food.

Bible Study:

I wish I wasn't the only person in the group that wears a mask...but, I have to do what I think is best for me and my family.  I'd hate to give my Dh Covid!

Health:

Whenever I do too much I always take a hit physically and this week was very active!  I had two migraine days but was able to find easier things, like Bible Study or hiking with Henry at a slower pace, to keep moving forward.  Wednesday's migraine was bad enough I couldn't take Henry out in the woods, but I was able to every other day--despite the fact that the mosquitoes are in mass right now.

Hallway Flooring:

I was able to work alone and get the hardwood flooring laid in the hallway this week!  I didn't put in the last pieces where it connected to the front of the house; Dh did that technical intersection.  I was proud of all the flooring I was able to do by myself this week!  It is great to see some progress with this old house!  

Dd's Academic Accomplishments:

German: DuoLingo: 30 x 5, 10 x 1 = 3 hours 40 minutes of study

Apologia Biology: 45 x 3, 30 x 2 = 3 hours 15 min

Physical Exercise: 1:00 x 4, 30 x 1 = 4 hours 30 min

Sewing/ Home Economics./ Fiber Arts: 5:00 hours
Dd sewed a face mask--I think this was her third one?  She also sewed a dress.  It is amazing how naturally she does her domestic activities like sewing, cooking, and baking.  I've always struggled with those areas.

Physical Education:  Dd tried to mow this week, but the wheel kept falling off.  She found the nut that had fallen off in the yard after I joined the rescue mission, but it came a second time. She got frustrated and stopped, so I finished up the job with three wheels.  I'd give her 45 minutes of P.E. for this task.

May 30- June 6, 2020 Hallway Flooring, Stairs, Red Poppies, Seamless, Garden

 May 30- June 6, 2020 

Hallway Flooring, Stairs, Red Poppies, Seamless, Garden 

Hello Friends!

This is the week the mosquitoes arrived!  Yikes!  They can be fierce in watery Michigan as it seems there is an endless supply of small ponds and water sources.  The highlight of my week is that my lovely red poppies started blooming this week!  We brought them from our last home in Indiana and am so happy to see them arrive each year!  Most days I take Henry for a hike in the woods, or as I like to say, "Hiking with Henry," and that continues even though I don't always post about it here.  This is the highlight of my days throughout each season...even mosquito season!  I had three headache days and one migraine day this week.

Chickens:

The bummer of the week is that one of my two sick chickens died this week, even though they have been spending time in the tractors getting fresh warm air and nutrients.  The hardest part of having chickens is that they do seem to die easily and that is hard on my heart.  With my greens doing so well in my garden, and the wild greens in the woods, I've been able to provide so much healthy food for them this week.

Stairs and Hallway:

Dh and I have been working hard to replace the stairs!  Little by little!  Each step is precisely measured and fitted into place with care.  This week we started on the hallway flooring that the stairs will meet up with.  We had to pull up the old linoleum first, and was surprised to find another layer of older linoleum, and after we pulled that we found a third layer!!!  No one, it seems, ever pulled up the previous layers, they just kept laying on top of the old!

Bible Study:

My summer Bible study started this week and we are doing "Seamless" by Angie Smith.  The only slightly down point is that I have already done this study before, but as I've already seen, it really is fantastic to dig a little deeper this time around.  I really like big picture reviews and this certainly is that!  The biggest bummer, for me, is that I am the only woman in our group that is wearing a mask.  At our first meeting, it was clear at least one woman is very negative about masks and really made me feel extremely uncomfortable.  She is very vocal about her opinions and I can tell this will be a bit taxing for me to be the only person wearing a mask and getting the vibes she is sending out.  I will try my best to rise above and go high.

Discord:

Dd ended up going to her friend, Lexi's house for Sunday and Monday.  There she decided to dye her hair purple.  I never did crazy things with my hair, but she has an endless curiosity about the various things (and colors) she can do to her hair.  We continue to be struggling with the, let's call them the "eighteens."  Friday night she and her boyfriend spent the evening with Dh and me.  We played Oregon Trail and Apples to Apples board games the whole evening.  We had a lot of fun with them!

Dd's Academic Progress:

German: DuoLingo: 2 hours

Biology: Apologia: 2 hours

Physical Exercise: Kayaking Monday & Tuesday: 4 hours and Swimming 1 hour

May 24-30, 2020 Stairs, Chicken Coop, Henry, Garden

 May 24-30, 2020 

Stairs, Chicken Coop, Henry, Garden

Hello Friends!

The purple iris's started blooming this week!  I love them so much!  Henry met a baby fawn and responded so caringly that I was touched.  You just never know how a dog is going to respond when suddenly (and unexpectedly) exposed to a baby animal.  He was just tickled by it!  Every day afterward he would look at the same intersections in the woods for it to be there again; but, alas, it was never there again!  The mom learned her lesson and hid the baby better afterward.  I love spring and for Michigan, May is spring.

Chickens:

I removed the layers of plastic wrap I nailed down around the big metal room I built for the chickens.  It is their outside safe area that I call, "inner sanctum."  It is a lot of work putting up the winter shelter, but not as time-consuming trying to get it all down.  It is one spring job I don't look forward to!  Glad it is done!  The chickens have been enjoying time each week in their tractors---so they can spend some time scratching for bugs and eating grass outside of their usual area.

Henry:

Henry and I went back to the vet this week to get his stitches removed.  While there they took Henry in the back and popped some of his bumps to see if they were cancer or cyst/pimples and the results were pimples!  Thankfully!

Van:

We finally accepted Dh was NOT going to fix the van and that is was okay to take it into a car shop and have them fix it.  The drive to the shop was horrible!!!  It fumed clouds of black smoke the whole way there and I had to drive so slowly that I held up traffic...so embarrassing!!  I had to get a few wasp nests out of the van before we left, so it was a big day!  I'm glad Dd will have our van to drive now and not need to take my car every day and leave me stranded.

Garden:

I was able to start picking kale, lettuce, and spinach for my green smoothies this week!  Yay! Nothing makes me happier than growing my own greens!  I love knowing there aren't any chemicals or plastic packaging---just the walk from my garden to my blender!

Stairs:

Dh and I worked hard on the stairs again this week.  We've never entirely replaced whole staircases before and it is a lot of work.  I'm thankful Dh can do all the calculations and get things figured out!  I think we worked on them for four to five days this week.  We are putting new oak treads down with a beautiful Dutch Oil finish.  They are looking lovely!  

Discord:

This week was another hard week with Dd.  She wanted to go spend the night at a friend's house and this family doesn't do any social distancing or Covid precautions so I said 'no.' Dd was really not happy with me.  It is really hard for Dd to be "18" and thinking she is a complete adult and shouldn't have to come home or do chores or whatever any longer.  In my eyes, she is still a teenager trying to finish high school and should be helpful and nice around the house.  I guess this transition is one every family goes through, but I don't really have much experience with it.  We are both blindly feeling our way through these muddy waters.

Approval for Leadership:

I was approved for leadership at our church this week.  I totally don't feel like the right personality for leading Bible studies (I talk way too much and will have to really work on this) but I feel this is what I am supposed to do; whether I am the right personality or not!  I'll try it this year and reevaluate after a year of experience.  

Dd's Academic Progress:

DuoLingo: German: 1 hour thirty minutes of lessons

Music: Alto & Tenor Sax: 30 minutes

May 17-23, 2020 Chainsawing Back Driveway, Stair Work, Mow

 May 17-23, 2020 

Chainsawing Back Driveway, Henry: Cancer, Stair Work, Mow

Hello Friends!

We worked a lot outside again this week.  I had Black-Eyed Susan's to transplant, and Hosta placement to consider.   I also mowed this week--about three hours worth! I hung a suet feeder off my gutter this week and now am enjoying seeing all sorts of birds out my kitchen window!  I'm glad a friend suggested I try this!  The real bonus is that the squirrels can't get to it! 

Yard Work:

There are so many "scrub" trees (worthless, yucky trees are referred to as "scrub" trees in our family) popping up on our back driveway and we decided (Dh and me) that this was the week to focus on cutting down as many as we could.  I don't know exactly what these weedy trees are, but they just pop up and clutter things around the evergreens that we love.  We had quite a lot of little bonfires going throughout the week---which was lovely.

Henry: 

Our English Shepherd has had a bloody grape growing/dangling from his ear that we had biopsied, after it was removed, at the vet and the results were that he has Basal Cell Carcinoma.  I'm glad we did the surgery!  That is horrible to think he had cancer.

Stairs:

We worked on our stair replacement, to the basement, a few times this week.  I painted the under treads for the new stairs and Dh painted the risers.  We got the last riser on the stairwell done after many attempts and recuts.  

Since I don't have a worksheet from Dd with this week's accomplishments; I'm going to guess she took this week off to celebrate wrapping up her official classes.  I know she left early a lot to see her boyfriend and have lunch with him and wasn't around much.

May 10-16, 2020 Henry Surgery, Last Week Grace Classes, Heather's Box, Planting Garden

May 10-16, 2020 

Henry Surgery, Last Week Grace Classes, Heather's Box, Planting Garden, FROST!

Hello Friends!

What a big week; we had four major things happen.  The weather was very cold!  We had temps in the twenties.  I had to wrap our garden's hoop houses in plastic to keep our greens happy.  The greens (kale, spinach, lettuce) would have survived the cold, but I didn't want to take any chances.  Usually, after May 10th we don't have temps below freezing, but this year was an exception.

Henry: Surgery

Our rescue English Shepherd that we adopted in August 2018 has been struggling with a little tumor hanging on his right ear; about the size of a grape.  The tumor has grown and Henry has been scratching it; which has caused it to bleed and get messy.  This week I decided to call the vet, even though I've tried to hold off due to the lock-down here in Michigan because of COVID 19.  After a few hoops, he had surgery to get the tumor removed.  Although the vet didn't think it looked like cancer it turned out to be so.  It was Basal Cell Carcinoma; a skin cancer that I've had repeatedly myself.  He has stitches and will need to go back in nine days to get them removed.  I totally overreacted to the news and took the cancer diagnosis badly.  I felt like I was kicked in the gut!  My dad died of skin cancer and I felt rather crushed hearing Henry had cancer.  

Hiking with Henry:
Our daily hikes have been going great; except Friday and Saturday after his surgery when he was tired and recovering and we kept it short.  I'm so thankful for our time together in the woods!  

Mother's Day:

Our family doesn't really do much for Mother's Day, but this year Dd did give me a gift which was lovely.  She made me a watercolor of a Black-Caped Chickadee.  

Church:
Dh and I continue to watch our sermons at home.  Our church streams the sermons on a live stream.  I've been donating to our local food bank (FROM) and Feeding America with our tithe money since we've been home.  I just really feel for all the families that have lost their jobs and are hungry.  I encourage you to support food banks too.  I wish there was more of a safety net for people to have food; especially children.

Application:
After being asked to lead a Bible study next fall, I decided to step-up and apply this week.  It felt weird asking people to be my reference, but I did...  It was a hard decision, but I do want to do more volunteering and service work.  I especially look forward to the weekly leader meetings with other women that enjoy Bible study and perhaps growing some new friendships and networks.  I still don't know many people in Michigan.

Chickens:
The chickens are enjoying time in the tractors.  They just love getting out of the coop!

Hummingbirds:
This week I got the hummingbird feeders refilled and outside.  It didn't take a day before we had lots of action and fly-by's!!!

Garden:
Lots of action---I've been transplanting the kale to spread out our seedlings.  We planted our tomato plants in the hoop houses so the frost wouldn't kill them.  The heat from the hoop houses will help them to grow fast.

Dd's Progress for the week:

Grace Classes:

Dd finished up her Grace Co-op classes this week.  She had finals and lots of homework to finish it up but worked hard and made it through.  Her final grades are:

Painting Studio: 97 %   A+

The American Civil War 99%   A+

Analytical Writing for Essays & Research Papers 85%  B

Anatomy & Physiology 99%   A+

Baking:
Dd made Seth a cheesecake this week.  She also made lemon squares for our home to enjoy.

Math: Algebra II: Saxon

2 hours homework and class

This week was Dd's LAST tutor class! 

Writing: 

IEW& Analytical Research: 4 hrs lessons and class

Science: Apologia

Anatomy & Physiology: 1 1/2 hours lessons

Physical Education: 5 hrs 45 min

German: Duolingo

2 1/2 hours in lessons (30 min day)

.............................

Transition

 Transition:

I've taken a few months off posting and am going to make an effort to quickly get caught up.  I want to finish documenting Dd's academic progress so I can complete her transcripts so she can apply to college.  Then maybe I can do a better job of keeping up with my blog again.  I've moved our computer to a central location so it should be easier!  Grace while I am in the process of updating!!!

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.



Math:
Algebra II with a tutor (Saxon Math)



Art:
Drawing and Watercolor (2 hours)



English/Writing Class:
IEW Analytical and Research Paper Writing: 6:30 hours



Foreign Language:
DuoLingo:German: 2:40 hours



Physical Education: 1:00



Home Economics:
Made Churros--some deep-fried dessert that had gluten so I didn't get to eat any...

...........

April 26-May 2, 2020 Migraine Extremes, Hard Week, Nemesis, Hiking With Henry

April 26-May 2, 2020 

Migraine Extremes, Hard Week, Nemesis, Hiking With Henry

Hello Friends!

I think we all had a hard week at our house.  We were all a little out of sorts and struggling.

Migraines:

Well, this was one of the hardest migraines weeks I've had in a long time.  Luckily, it ended on Friday, but that was the end of a MONTH long migraine!!!  I went on the Prednisone and that did help, but when I went off it I ended up getting a massive extreme migraine on Thursday that words can't convey the agony I was in.  I emailed my doctor and she prescribed another new med to try, but I figured I'd had enough weird chemicals in my body this week and decided to save it.  It was the right choice because things did settle down after the massive migraine finale on Thursday.

Botox:

This week was my botox shots, for migraine prevention.  I only wish it helped my migraines more, but I don't have many options for help.  The doctor gives me like thirty shots throughout my scalp, neck, temple, and forehead.  The shots really hurt, but it only takes a few minutes and it's over.




Bible Studies:
I think I have forgotten to mention my Bible studies for the past few weeks! Thrive: The one I do at the church I attend continues to be fantastic.  I'm getting used to meeting on Zoom.  This week instead of just meeting with the six women in my group the whole women's group all got together on Zoom!  I don't know how many women were there--sixty or so?  It was definitely a learning experience to be separated into little groups and then back with the big group online.  This wrapped up our official term and a few of us are going to continue to meet each week and discuss the Proverbs until our summer session starts June 1st.  I'm glad and thankful for the friendship and fellowship with these ladies; especially when I'm home alone most days.



BSF: The other Bible study, BSF, I decided to drop out for the last three classes.  I just felt awkward trying to do that one on Zoom and just decided I could print out the worksheets and do them over the summer on my own.  



FaceTime Heather:
Thankful for another chat with Heather this week, although I had a migraine and the conversation was a bit of a blur.  So thankful for a kindred spirit that knows my heart.




Garden:

See the green chives that came back from last year?!

The seedlings are coming up and doing really well.  





Some of my most numerous memories of my deceased father were of him watering the plants in our backyard in Florida.

This is the area that I had planted blackberry plants in before I found their permanent home, and now each spring I have to pull up thirty new sprouts!  I am going to work really hard on keeping them out of this area this year. 

  I guess, like him, I really love watering! 



 Isn't that a funny thing to enjoy?!  But, I do! 



 I was back in my element watering once again this week!  Yay, spring!

Chainsawing, Pruning, and Burning:

This week we have continued to clean up the small weed trees and vines.  We've been burning them along with some of the piles of brush that keep getting higher and higher!  Dh got creative and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows one of our yard days; which was a lot of fun!  We have been burning in four different pits this spring.  One day we had two fires going at the same time; which took some effort to keep going but we really burnt a lot of our piles and made progress.  





Fire Pits:
The picture above is a tree stump that we've been burning, slowly but surely.  So far, every year we try to cut it down and new shoots keep trying endlessly.  We are hoping this year it might not cause as much trouble.



Clearing:
I've been clearing this area of the driveway, see above picture.  I've been pulling up thorny vines and lots poison ivy.  I also used my chainsaw to cut a lot of weird scrub trees too.

Mowing and Yard Work:

I'm back to mowing!  I have a lot of mowing and a trusty pushmower to see me through!  The previous owners had left two half-used bags of fertilizer that I've struggled with what to do with.  Since I'm only letting the chickens out when they are in their tractors I figured I could use the fertilizer up in the front yard -- uphill and very separate from the area where the tractors are.  I'm glad to be done with it and it's not sitting in our barn any longer.  I didn't feel comfortable throwing it in the trash to go to a landfill either.  I'm relieved it's gone.  

I moved the two Hydrangea plants from the pool area to up here in front of the house where I can water it more often.  I moved them last fall and am so delighted they both are doing well and I see new leaves! 

Transplanting:

new home for coneflowers 

Last year I transplanted some plants around hoping I'd found suitable new homes, but by the middle of summer, the Hostas were being burnt to a crisp in too-sunny locations! 



 I had to wait until spring to relocate and started switching things up this week.  

New home to more hostas

I moved some Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans to the sunny/sandy beds and moved the Hostas to the shady spots. I had a few other relocations by the pool---some Daisies and Iris's had escaped outside the fence, so I dug them up and put them back inside where they belong!

Hiking With Henry:

Henry!

Most days I was fortunate enough to take Henry out to the woods for a lovely walk in the big woods.  Hiking in the woods makes me so very, very happy.  In each season I find so much beauty and am so glad I have a dog that demands long walks and fusses until I take him out!  



Chickens:
A good week for the chickens.  













Sleeping:
Dd and I are like so many other people that are having trouble sleeping during this pandemic.  Since I started the Prednisone for my migraines my sleeping went from bad to worse.  Dd is not only having trouble sleeping through the night she is also having nightmares.  

Dd's Progress For the Week:

Dd is working on her last weeks of classes for her Grace Co-op and Algebra II tutoring.  



We finished the Read Aloud (Nemesis by Agatha Christie).  She has not been sleeping well and is struggling with anxiety.  She does her lessons during the day and then spends her evenings and weekends with her boyfriend.  This week she was really wrestling with the decision to go back to work or not.  She really misses seeing her friends.



Bible, Church, and Devotions:
Dd is doing well with her devotions.  She watches the church service online with Seth every Sunday.  She also likes the online noon services each day.



Math:
Algebra II with a tutor (Saxon)




Grace Co-op:
Writing: IEW: Analytical and Research Papers
2 1/2 hours plus online class.  She is working really hard on her final paper.



Science: Anatomy and Physiology (Apologia): 2 1/2 hours and online class



Foreign Language: German: DuoLingo: 1 hour



Art: Drawing: 1 hour



Read Aloud: 
Nemesis by Agatha Christie: COMPLETED
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