Hello again!

OK, y'all!  I'm back.  It's been over a month!  And my excuse? 

Well, simply put ~ I haven't felt like blogging.  Ha!  So now you know. :)

There's always plenty that has to be done, whether I feel like it or not. Then there's the things I've wanted to do -  which I have been doing.  So why would I do something that doesn't have to be done when I don't feel like it? 

Yes, exactly.  But it's good to be back.

On the family front ~
We celebrated two birthdays last month. This little lady (my baby! Isn't she a love?) turned three...

And Thomas (my funny little man!) turned five...

On the schooling front ~
Over the weekend I sat down and figured out what we need to accomplish to get finished up by the end of May.  Yes, only six weeks to go, plus a week we'll have 'off' when Gerald and I chaperone the homeschool highschool group on a trip.  This year has gone by SO fast.  But looking back, they've all gone quickly, and this is Justine's final year already.  It's seems like just yesterday that we started considering homeschooling.  How did that happen so fast?

If you have a child or know of someone who struggles to read because of dyslexia, you may want to check out this program.  I'm deeply impressed with the caring attitude of the Dynaread staff.  They monitor the progress of each student and have always responded to any questions or concerns immediately.  Responses to my emails to them have included words of encouragment for the student, something like, "Tell ---- that I'm proud of his hard work and diligence."  Most importantly, they pray for all the children that they serve every day.  Wow.  That's really special.  Recently they made some significant improvements to their program which make it easier to use and more effective.  They offer a free online assessment here.

As to gardening...
I've doubled the size of our veggie garden (sounds impressive, but we had a very small one last year ;) and am hoping to plant a lot more at a friend's place this year.  The 'home' garden is already almost half full with early stuff.  For the first time I've started my own tomato and pepper plants indoors (and a few sqaush plants for fun.)  It's so exciting to see the plants miraculously popping one by one out of the soil.  It never ceases to amaze me when it happens.

This spring I finished the composter I started building last fall...

Instructions can be found here.  Redneck clothing optional. :)

I made it using free or on-hand material.  I covered the outside with strong chicken wire and made some slots to slide front panels into.  I think I'll be adding another section yet.  The idea is to use two sections for turning the compost and (if you had) a third one for collecting new material.  I didn't know until now just how satisfying it can be to turn kitchen scraps and barn waste into rich soil in just a few months' time.

And for you go-natural DIYers out there...
Making It might just be the book for you.  I'm borrowing it from the library (and have renewed it twice).  When I first took a look at it and read about keeping a worm bin and using a composting toilet, I thought it was just a little too much for me.  But a better look at the book revealed all kinds of great and simple ideas on all kinds of things like making your own personal care products, household cleaning products, a solar cooker and a myriad of other things, how to save seeds, keep bees, butcher chickens and much more.  It's a very down-to-to-earth and back-to-basics guide.  I'm considering getting my own copy as I think it's one of those books I would refer back to again and again.  They have a recipe for making your own deoderant, but I found this one online and have tried it instead, simply because I could make it with ingredients I already had on hand.  {I used baking soda and corn starch, and added a few drops of tea tree oil for its antibacterial properties and a few drops of lavender to sort of tone down the tea tree scent.  It ended up with a fresh, pleasant, piney smell.}  It only takes a few minutes to mix up a batch.  I'm pleased to report that this stuff WORKS!  Better, I think, than the commercial kinds and certainly WAY better than those all-natural kinds you can get at health stores.  It's so nice to know that we aren't absorbing harmful substances.  Saving money is kind of a nice bonus.

Thanks for visiting! 

Happy SPRING!