Herb Garden

Hi Everyone!

I thought some of you might enjoy seeing my very simple no-weed herb garden.  Alright, it is ALMOST a no-weed garden--I do admit to finding one weed in it this Spring, but it was easily pulled out.  :)  Basically, the secret is to plant your garden in a container.  I found this nice big wash tub type container at our Tractor Supply store last summer.  A few moments with hubby and his drill, and it had several nice drain holes in the bottom of it.

 Last summer I planted (clockwise from back to front) Rosemary, Chives, Parsley, and Thyme (we ALL need more thyme in our day, right?).  In the very center I had a nice large Basil plant.  Except for the Basil, everything else wintered over just fine.  This spring, all I had to do was pull out that one stray weed that had found it's way into my garden, and replace a new Basil plant in the center.  This garden is kept just a few steps away from my kitchen doorway, and I love being able to step out and cut something to use in my cooking.  I also have a separate container that holds my Oregano.  I USED to have the Oregano in my regular garden bed--in the ground--and it was happy.  So happy, in fact, that it took over half the garden bed!  So I pared it down to enough for my one container, where it now lives as an "only child!"

 I have really enjoyed watching the Chives bloom the last several weeks.  They were blooming at a time that not much else was.

 I think that is why this visitor found them so attractive.  When I stepped out with my camera, he flew away immediately.  But then he circled back around me very close and landed again.  I had trouble with getting my camera to focus, and he was VERY aware of my presence--he kept leaving every time I got close.  But he also kept coming back, almost immediately, fluttering right next to me.  I felt just like when you are in one of those Butterfly Farms, where the butterflies are fluttering all close to you.  I suspect he was pretty hungry and that is most likely why even though scared, he kept coming back.

He even stayed around long enough for the little one to come inspect him.  Home school science lessons at their very best!

Hope this gives you some ideas of how easy an herb garden can be, and that you are enjoying one soon!

Some Bunny Loves You!

Hi Everyone!

It is definitely SPRING in our yard, and one thing that Spring brings to us is always BUNNIES!  I love all the bunnies that hop around in our yard, even though they DO eat my garden.  One day earlier this week our daughter was out in the back yard riding her bike on the grass.  This was not WHERE she wanted to ride, but since "I" was tuckered out and had already taken her bike riding on our street, it was back yard or nothing.  Our yellow lab Holly was happily romping and chasing Alison around the yard as she rode, when all of a sudden Alison comes dragging Holly back into the house, saying one word:  "BUNNY!"

 This was the little fellow Holly had discovered.  Isn't he cute????  I mean, who could be mad at a face like this, even if they ate your garden?????

 Holly had discovered Mr. Bunny, and scared him over into one corner of our yard.  So of COURSE a carrot sympathy offering had to be made.  I think the carrot was larger than the bunny. . .

 We knew where the bunny nest was, as my hubby had discovered the nest while mowing.  So we went and looked to see if there were other bunnies still in the nest--there were!  This photo above is a different bunny--little sister bunny, I believe, still tucked away in the nest.

 Alison decided to go back to Mr. Bunny and see if he was eating the monster carrot yet.  He wasn't.  So she thought she would move it closer and encourage him to eat his vegetables.  See?  If the bunnies aren't eating enough of your garden all on their own, you can always bring your garden produce straight to the bunny.  Fortunately, this particular carrot was not from my garden but rather the grocery store, so I didn't mind too much.  :)

Since we were not 100% sure if Mr. Bunny had left the nest on his own, or had been flushed out by Holly, we decided to pick him up and move him carefully back to the nest.  It was a good idea, and Mr. Bunny rode very nicely back across the yard.  However, when we gently placed him back in the nest with Little Sister Bunny, he said it was too crowded in there and hopped quickly across the yard again.  Not to be left out, Little Sister Bunny decided to hop in the opposite direction of Mr. Bunny.  Well, I guess they are ready to leave the nest!  Now we just need to keep Holly on leash for a while, to give the bunnies a chance to grow bigger and faster.  And keep an eye out for hawks.  And maybe we should take turns keeping watch in case there is anything else out there that might hurt those bunnies.  I wonder if I could just invite them in each night. . . 

It's amazing how much our family would all love to protect those bunnies and keep them safe.  And they have absolutely no idea!  How much more God loves us--His creation--and desires to keep US safe.  

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  Matthew 7:11

Have a beautiful Spring!

~Susan

Miracles still happen

http://www.rachelcoleman.com/2013/04/22/covered-in-love/

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to share a wonderful story that I read today.  The above link will take you to it.  Have some kleenex nearby, you are probably going to need it.  This story reminds me SO much of my son's service dog, and the miracle that she preformed for him.  The miracle that she preformed for all of us, really.  We hear so much in the news about all the terrible things going on in this old world of ours.  Wars.  Bombs.  Terrorists.  Famines.  And we need to hear about them, I suppose.  We certainally need to stop the horror that we can.  To feed those we can.  To keep safe who we can.

But isn't it just as important to think about what is RIGHT in this world???  To celebrate those who are helping, not hurting?

The story referenced in the above link speaks to my heart deeply, as our son was also matched with a service dog from Canine Companions for Independence.  We lived with his living, breathing miracle for eleven short years.  Our lives were changed forever, from the inside out.  Our hearts were touched in a way that nothing else could touch.  And there is no way we will ever be able to say "Thank you" to all the people who made it happen.  It took an army of people.  People who cared about our son though they had never met him--and most of them never would.  People who puppy raised--we were able to meet Kim and Steve, and they are the best puppy raisers EVER.  People who cared for the breeder dogs.  People who puppy sat.  People who trained.  People who donated funds.  People who fed the dogs.  People who brushed the dogs.  People who came in and made us lunch every day during team training.  People who came in and walked the dogs.  People who came each week to bath the dogs.  People who did the unglamorous job of picking up doggie poo.  People who donated toys, and swept the floors of the facility.  People who stuffed envelopes and mailed out newsletters and answered the phones.  People who paid for the air conditioning and heating bills.  People who paid for the vet services.  People who cut the dog nails.

I do not talk much about what it is like to be the parent of a child with a disability.  God has blessed abundantly and Austin's needs have ALWAYS been met--but there is still a part deep down inside of a parent that only another parent of a disabled child can understand.  How you would a million times over rather be the one falling than to stand on the side and watch your child fall over and over again as they attempt to walk and the cerebral palsy keeps the muscles from working.  How you would give ANYTHING for it to be you, rather than them.  But that is not an option.  So because you have no choice, you go on.  Each and every single day you take your child to therapy.  You give the medicines to prevent seizures.  You stretch and massage muscles that do not work.  You try over and over again.  And then when you are faced with this huge mountain of love--from people who do not really understand, as most of them have not parented a disabled child.  But they care anyway.  And they give anyway.  And through them, a miracle happens.

It is overwhelming.

So in the spirit of Philippans 4:8, enjoy the above linked story.  And when you go to sleep tonight, know that admid all the sorrow in this world, God is still working.  And miracles still happen.

~Susan

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Just wanted to take a minute and say a little "Howdy!"  

Life continues to be crazy busy, so of course if I totally wait until it slows down to post anything it will never happen.  Ever!  So thought I would share a bit of what today was like for us.  Remember I mentioned that our daughter had learned (finally!) to ride a bike without training wheels????  Well, along with this new skill has come a LOVE for riding.  And of course, just riding up and down on our road is no longer all that exciting any more.

So.

In self defense (I am NOT exaggerating here!) I realized I needed to buy myself a bike.

This was simply because I could no longer keep up with her with me walking along while she rides.

Not that I really expect to "keep up" with her on a bike.  But I DO want to "keep close" to her!

So I researched the bike.  I ordered the bike.  My sweet hubby put the bike together once it came.

Unfortunately, I guess the whole idea of having a bike is to RIDE the bike.  Or so I'm told. . . 

(Having a great bike just hanging out in the shed evidently isn't good enough for some people!)

WELL, so my lovely daughter and I have been riding a bit on our street.  And Sabbath I took her to our town's Greenway to ride--a lovely paved walking/biking trail stretching for around two miles from our college campus further into town.

It just so happens, that the place it ends in town is right at our public library.  Which is right next to our dentist office.

And we both had a dental checkup scheduled for today.

SO.  After riding it with her on Sabbath for a "practice run," she had such a great time she started begging to ride it again.  That girl would be happy to ride it every single day--which is a good thing, really.  Except that in this day and age you don't dare send your eight year old out by themselves.  Which means I am going to get a lot of use out of that new bike of mine, whether I feel like it or not! ;)

Just teasing.  It was a perfect day.  Absolutely perfect.  And it was a delight to plan our little excursion.

In addition to our dentist check ups, we had a class for her for most of the afternoon at the library.  We have a wonderful librarian who has a heart for home schoolers, and she planned a class on the Civil War for them.  While I do not like to focus too much on war, the fact is that every where you look in our neck of the woods you are looking at a monument or some sort of remembrance of the Civil War.  So you might as well teach your child about it--sad topic that it may be.  

So we planned our trip.  We would drive to the start of the Greenway--even though there is sidewalk going from our road, the road the sidewalk runs along is rather steep for children (and mothers!) not to mention the cars that go speeding by--and THAT piece of side walk is right along the street with no space between where the cars drive and the sidewalk with the people are.  So better safe than sorry, so we drove to the Greenway beginning and parked.  

A picnic lunch was brought along.  We would use "pedal power" to pedal our way to the dentist office, eat our lunch on a picnic table outside his office, then bike next door to the library to attend the class, then pedal power our way back to where our car was parked.  On your mark, get set, GO!

Oh yes, by the way.  I KNOW it has been over 25 years since I was in my "biking days," probably even 30+ years.  But I have GOT to keep up with that eight year old! :)

 Part of the absolutely lovely Greenway trail.  This is actually showing some foundation parts that are left from the old Brotherton Mill--a flour mill that used to operate in these parts years ago.  I would love to see pictures of it--sometime I will have to look for some.  You never know what you can find on-line these days!

 This is right across from the stream where the mill was.  This wagon was built and painted with the words "Brotherton Mill" on it.  I love the little things like this that one of the city workers has lovingly created to make the Greenway beautiful.

 Taking a closer look at the small waterfall that is in this bend of the stream.

 This was right outside our dental office--no cavities!  Yea!  And, we are both members of the "Clean Teeth Club" now!  I love shiny-from-the-dentist teeth! :D

On the way home!  Our one little problem we had was that we had fourteen library books we needed to return.  So on the way there, we distributed them between our two back packs, with me taking more as I really did not want a heavy pack to throw her balance off and make her crash.  Crashing was NOT in our plans for the day!  It felt SO good to drop them all off in the library drop box!  We talked about how we would only check out around 2-4 books this time, since we would be using "pedal power" to get back to our car.  Welllllll, you know that expression about the best laid plans of mice and men????  We walked into the library, only to be greeted by the librarian who told Alison that she had won a contest the library had recently, and her prize was a $5.00 Book Buck--free money to spend at the library book sale.  That was going on right then.  And children's books were ONLY 25 cents each!  What was that we were just saying about not overloading ourselves for the bike trip back????  Fortunately, the nice librarian said we did not have to spend it ALL today.  So Alison looked through, and we picked out only 13 books to purchase with it.  That IS one less than the number we biked in with us, after all. . .

Altogether, it was a lovely day.  While our outing was not planned specifically as a celebration of Earth Day, I thought it was very appropriate to drive just a bit less, and exercise just a bit more.  And with our round trip, we biked four miles today.  Not too bad for an eight year old kid, and a much more than eight year old mom!

Hope you had a wonderful day as well!

~Susan

P.S.--My favorite "Earth Day" verse!

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart. . . "

Psalm 24:1-4

Invisible Me!

Hi Everyone!

I'm still here.  Really.  Even if you are not seeing me posting on my blog very much lately.  "If only" I had a secretary to follow me around and take dictation on all the things I think about that I would love to post on here!  But alas, that is definitely NOT the case!  So therefore I will have to be content with just posting when I get a chance.  (I know you are all disappointed about that, right???)

So where have I been?

I have been out helping our daughter finally learn how to ride her bike.

I have been trying out new healthy recipes.  Found a low fat granola bar recipe I would love to post.  Sometime.  Also a Chickpea salad recipe that our whole family loves to eat stuffed into pita bread.  Someday it will appear here.

I have been finishing up some jammies for our daughter.  Smiling frog fabric--she picked it out.  It is a soft flannel.  I'm glad they got finished in time for her to wear them just a bit before the weather turns too warm at night.  Hopefully they will still fit her next winter as well--I did make them a tad big for that reason. . .

I have been compiling my "Wish List" for next year's home school curriculum.  Every year I write down anything at all that I would love to have.  Then when June comes, I have to get ruthless and start crossing things off.  But for now, I am still having fun adding things to the list!

I have been helping our daughter finish up our math book for this year.  Yea!  I always use the finishing of the math book to "officially" announce to our children that they have progressed into the next grade level.  When you basically home school year round, you have to have SOMEthing to mark off the accomplishments!

I have been praying for and trying to support our son as he finishes up this second semester in college.  I can't believe he will be done with his first year in 3 1/2 short weeks!  But between here and there come the hurdle known as "finals."  Much prayer is needed to help him think clearly and study wisely.

I have been taking walks with my sweet husband.  :)

I have been trying to push through and finish up a quilt that our daughter designed two years ago and requested that I make for her.  It's NOT complicated--I'm just busy!  But I really am making an effort to finish it up.  After all, she won't be a little girl forever--and some day her tastes will probably change and she may not even like these loud, bright fabrics she chose!  Maybe.  Then again, maybe she still will! ;)

I have been sitting at the side of the pool, watching our daughter at her Swim Club.  They had their meet last week, and today it was announced that she won first place as the Swim Club member who shaved the most time off of her own personal best which they timed at the start of the semester.  Large, happy smiles! :D

I have been growing tomato plants from seeds, under lights in our basement.  I have several different varieties--most of them heirlooms.  My problem is that too many of them sprouted.  And I have a REALLY hard time pinching out the extras, so usually will just separate and repot all of them!  I currently have 50 plants--I used to have more, but I really truly did thin out some of the scrawniest.  And gave away some.  I probably only have official room for 12 plants.  But I will ask my husband to help squeeze in more. It's all right. He's used to it! ;)

I have been researching and ordering a new bike for myself!  Yea!  Remember I said our daughter has learned how to ride her bike?  Well, now I can't keep up with her when I am walking! :)  Good problem to have, I suppose!  So I decided in self-defense, I needed to get myself a bike.  It has been around 25 years since I have had a bike--hope I can keep up with her!  Or at least keep closer to her so I can watch over her.  So glad God does not have a problem with keeping close to me, to keep watch over me!

I have been reading an ebook about letting God lead in your home school.  And rethinking all those things on my "Wish List."

I have been reading through the Bible again.  This time I am following a plan that takes you through the Old Testament and the New Testament at the same time, taking a whole year to complete each.  It is divided up into a morning reading and an evening reading.  I have discovered that I do not do well with the evening readings, as there are too many times I miss them.  Therefore, I have taken to reading both the morning's Old Testament reading and the evening's New Testament readings both in the morning.  This works much better for me, but to be honest I think at this point I really prefer just reading straight through, rather than be reading in both areas at the same time.  But I am this far into it, so will finish this reading plan this year.  But I think next year I will just start with the Old Testament and read through in the order the books come.

So there you have it.  A snapshot of where I have been.

What have YOU been up to lately????

~Susan