Let a Woman Learn

Going On Vacation

2008-07-19T00:02:00.006-04:00

This upcoming week is the week we take vacation every year - the middle of summer. By this time lovely summer weather is here and there's still plenty of summer left to enjoy. In the past, we've gone to Lake Michigan but the budget has been a bit tighter the past couple of years and we've stayed closer to home. This year we will be staying close to home again. We have the concerts and festival fire works to go to. These events were planned some time ago. BUT there are some things I don't get to as often as I'd like - going to some garage sales, local antique stores and used book stores. I hope to catch up on some reading, sewing, and art projects. If it works out, I want to get to farmer's market today. Not everything is all planned out though. With the girls, there's also unplanned, spontaneous things that come up to make it interesting to figure out what is going on exactly. Summer days are precious and I will be enjoying them.

VACA'TION, n. [L. vacatio.]
1. The act of making void, vacant, or of no validity; as the vacation of a charter.
2. Intermission of judicial proceedings; the space of time between the end of one term and the beginning of the next; non-term.
3. The intermission of the regular studies and exercises of a college or other seminary, when the students have a recess.
4. Intermission of a stated employment.
5. The time when a see or other spiritual dignity is vacant.
During the vacation of a bishopric, the dean and chapter are guardians of the spiritualities.
6. Leisure; freedom from trouble or perplexity. [Now little used.]

Middle of Summer & Green, Green, Green Grows My Garden

2008-07-18T10:13:00.017-04:00

All of my tomato plants except for one are doing well. They were all planted at the same time, in the same soil, and have the same sunlight but one is hardly growing. I'm not sure why. Looking through my garden all I see is green, green, green! -- lots of green tomatoes with more tiny yellow blossoms promising fruit later on. I'm glad of that because I really only like fresh grown tomatoes. I can't stand the awful ones from the grocery store and with the FDA's conflicting reports about salmonella bacteria I won't purchase any. I've been buying locally at the farmer's market and I'll wait for mine. Huge, fuzzy borage leaves, Balsam, and Calendula fill in around the tomato plants as companion plants to help keep the weeds down. Zinnia are two feet high and budding. It seems like the pumpkin vine is growing inches by the hour. The herbs are spilling over the pot sides and need transplanted. Even the little visitor resting on the parsley is green. Soon, the colors in my garden will begin to change.

Mud

2008-07-17T17:14:00.003-04:00

~Polly Chase Boyden~

Mud is very nice to feel
All squishy-squishy between the toes!
I’d rather wade in wiggly mud
Than smell a yellow rose.

Nobody else but the rosebush knows
How nice mud feels
Between the toes.

Mediterranean Spinach Couscous Salad

2008-07-16T11:16:00.009-04:00

This is my recipe I served for our birthday cook-out week-end. Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina (a high protein, hard wheat) pasta. I'm always trying to find new, healthy recipes with more vegetables for us to eat and this time my mother, sister and were the only ones who liked it. The rest of the family wasn't that thrilled with it.

Ingredients:

Couscous
10 ounces couscous
2 cups water
1 TBSP olive oil or butter

Veggies
½ cup fresh spinach, julienne cut/matchstick size
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
½ cup black olives, diced
½ cup celery, diced
½ cup Feta cheese

Vinaigrette Dressing
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt to taste
honey to taste

Preparations:

Bring two cups of water and olive oil to boil, stir in couscous, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minuets. Set aside and prepare vegetables and dressing. Put couscous in one large container and fluff, then add vegetables, cheese, and dressing. Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Variations:
Use fresh tomatoes if desired or any combination of favorite vegetables or spices & seasonings. Sugar can be substituted for honey. I enjoy this year around but the red and green color makes it a beautiful, festive dish at Christmas time.

Sunflowers STILL GROWING!

2008-07-15T13:16:00.008-04:00

Here are the Sunflowers with the boys today, seven weeks from sowing and approximately four to five and a half feet tall. There were seven plants to begin with. One is just sitting there and I pulled out the smallest one so it's down to five.

The first picture at two weeks from sowing, June 16, here.

Second picture another two weeks later, July 1, here.

Third picture one week later, July 8, here.

A Week-end of Birthdays and a Summer Festival....

2008-07-14T13:35:00.048-04:00

with FAMILY AND LOTS OF CAKE, ICE CREAM and GOOD FOOD.

Orangeblossom's Chocolate cake for her dad . . .

and her Strawberry Dream Cake for my mother (her grandmother) and me . . .

It was a cook-out birthday week-end along with the opening of our city's annual summer festival. My mother's birthday was July 5th, my husband's was yesterday and mine is in five days so we all celebrated together. Orangeblossom made a chocolate cake for her dad and a yummy strawberry cake for my mom and me. We celebrated by grilling steaks. Some thing my husband and I rarely eat except once in a while for special occasions we splurge -- that's usually for our birthdays.

This year my husband had a Porterhouse steak and I had Filet Mignon. I still have some of mine left for dinner tonight. After the steaks were done, we put a pan full of chopped vegetables sprinkled with olive oil and herbs on what was left of the burning charcoal to slowly cook. Our feast also included fresh veggies with our favorite Dill Dip and a new summer cold Mediterranean Spinach Couscous Salad.

After our cook-out Orangeblossom and I went to the festival to walk around for bit. We spent some time watching children playing and laughing in the water fountain. A variety of aromas coming from the food stands swirled in the air: corn dogs, chicken, cotton candy. I'm glad we ate before we went. The Elephant Ears smelled most delicious of all. I was tempted to get one but refrained, took a picture instead, and we got a Lemonade and Strawberry slushy.

One of the events we look forward to the most is the Museum of Art's "Chalk Walk", one of our favorites of the whole festival. A portion of Main street is closed off from traffic and artists draw on the street with chalk. The number of participants grows each year and there were many so we didn't get to see all them. It was getting hot in the sun and we needed a break so we headed back home. There's still festival activities going on until the week-end so we hope to get back again and also close out the festival with the fireworks on Sunday night.

A few more views of the sites at the festival and Chalk Walk.

The Size of Africa

2008-07-12T15:49:00.001-04:00

How big is Africa?

After reading the article "AIDS in Africa: What Does the Christian Faith Require?" from my church's online magazine, I went looking for information on HIV/AIDS in Africa to find more about Why Wait? Africa and Professor Dick Day, co-founder of Sub-Saharan Africa Family Enrichment (SAFE). Other links came up and through a rabbit trail I came across the Fon is Fun site from Benin, Africa where they asked the question on African geography: "How big is Africa?"

Choices:
A. As big as the United States.
B. As big as the US and China.
C. As big as the US, China, and Europe.
D. None of the Above.

Answer: D. None of the Above

Approximately how many countries put together can make the size of Africa ... just an aside find ... probably some thing commonly known but I found interesting.

Hawk Nelson Faith Night Baseball Tour is Only A Couple Weeks Away

2008-07-10T10:38:00.001-04:00

A new highlight of our summer is the Faith Nights Baseball Tour with Hawk Nelson and it's only two weeks away. This band is Orangeblossom's first favorite out of many. They're from Canada and we try to see them as often as we can when they're touring close to us. We've seen them many, many times and enjoy them more each time we see them. There's music of some kind playing in our house most of the time -- we enjoy a wide variety of music from hymns, to classical, jazz, Celtic, rock, to contemporary easy listening -- and Hawk Nelson's is listened to the a lot.

This will be our second year to attend the Baseball Tour. We have our tickets for both the baseball game and concert. In fact, we get to see them two times on this tour -- two baseball games, two concerts! We did the same for their Green-T Tour back in the spring, two concerts. I enjoy these guys and their music as much as Orangeblossom. Their music is good, clean, and fun with a serious side, too, about family and life experiences, all filtered through the lens of faith. Talking with them is a pleasure -- they're down-to-earth and and very personable. I enjoy hearing about Canada, their families, and hockey. Anticipation is growing.

More information at Hawk Nelson or myspace or YouTube

Sunflowers

2008-07-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

A week later. Still growing and now above their heads.

The first picture at two weeks from sowing, June 16, here.

Second picture another two weeks later, July 1, here.

Indeed it did rain!

2008-07-08T16:13:00.005-04:00

Our street sewers and drains are old and with the down pour only minutes ago, they couldn't take the rain fast enough. We live on the corner of a intersection and this is my corner where I've planted flowers which are now submerged. This is our view from our front porch looking south-west.

A Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-03T14:10:00.000-04:00

During the time our Founding Fathers were writing the Constitution the differing ideas and a variety of interests caused great debates and made agreements scarce for a while. There was a particular controversial debate of June 28, 1787, in the Constitutional Convention, about how each state would be represented in the new government. The larger states wanted voting in Congress to be according to population and the smaller states wanted equal representation. As with this debate and debates of other issues, ideas and principles needed to be worked out in practical way for the birth of this new nation, our nation. I can't imagine that they reached an agreement without a great struggle or any easier than we do today.

My family and I have been learning what our freedom means in relation to the Constitution. Even with all the issues and differences, a common interest bound them together, producing our Constitution of the United States of America: the expression and clarification of our inherent, sacred rights and our responsibilities and also, a new form of government, limited in design to protect our liberty from being taken from us by force, to protect us from external invasions. The preservation of our liberty depends upon us, "We the people." Hopefully our nation will find the common interests keeping us together. Happy Independence Day!

"... all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness (property). That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..."

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

"The Constitution is not an instrument for government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government--lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."
~Patrick Henry~

Carnival of Homeschooling

2008-07-02T15:59:00.000-04:00

This is my first time participating in the Carnival of Homeschooling. Read the July edition: Celebrating July 4th at Beverly's Homeschooling Blog.

Sunflowers

2008-07-01T13:16:00.005-04:00

Here are the Sunflowers with the boys today, two weeks later, and approximately two to two and a half feet tall.

The first picture at two weeks from sowing here.

Another Seed Germination Greenhouse Experiment

2008-06-27T14:44:00.018-04:00

Another experiment we're trying is starting Sweet Pea seeds on wet sponges enclosed in zip lock baggies. These were put together yesterday and have sprouted already so I moved the seeds to a pot container. Today, we placed Sensitive Plant seeds on the sponges.

These are very easy to put together - moisten sponge thoroughly but not dripping wet, place in baggie, lay seeds on top of sponge, do not close the seal and then rest on a window sill or out doors and watch closely. Some seeds may take longer to germinate and the sponges will need more water.

Our other seed germination experiments are here and here.

Our Summer Birding Project: Celebrate Urban Birds

2008-06-26T18:22:00.006-04:00

Our summer birding project, Celebrate Urban Birds, is only getting started. I have more at our nature study blog: Chickadee Nest.

Week End Trip

2008-06-19T13:14:00.005-04:00

For several reasons, gas prices being one of them, we're not going to Lake Michigan for a two-week vacation this year. We've planned some road trips closer to home and today we leave on our fourth. Our rental car: a KIA Spectra, is packed and waiting for us. I plan to be on the highway in about two hours with my youngest daughter and her friend, going to the ProLife Music Festival. I'm curious to see what speed other cars will be traveling and I'm looking forward to driving it with it getting 32 MPG. I'll be traveling 55 MPH so we'll see if that works out to be so.

Summer Vegetable Garden

2008-06-17T22:41:00.008-04:00

Usually I'm able to go by the last frost date information and get my summer vegetables planted by mid to late May. Not every year can follow that rule. This spring has been very cool and rainy - highs in the 60s and lows in the 37-40s so I delayed planting until June. My tomato plants lived in the starting containers in the garage at night and then in the warm sunshine during the day. They grew and became strong, healthy plants, even a bit root-bound. I waited a few more days until the warmer temps heated the soil. While I was waiting, I did a little work each day, weeding, turning the soil, dividing and digging out plants. One day I put six piles of compost & manure on top the soil. It sat there for a few days until I could back to it. I really wanted to get a picture of the six piles but I only got a picture of one pile. It looked as if an elephant visited the garden and left six deposits. Finally, I used the tiller to work in the compost and set out the tomatoes and other flower seeds only a week ago, June 10.

I've planted a Super Sweet 100 cherry tomato, a Jet Setter, an Early Girl, and two new heirlooms I've never grown before: Bull's Heart and Old German Heirloom Beefsteak. I'm most interested in these last two.

The description says:

Bull's Heart or Heart of the Bull - Italian (or Russian) Heirloom; large pinkish-red "Giant Ox Heart" type tomatoes sometimes oddly shape with a lovely, sweet flavor, rare slicing tomato due to it's meaty flesh and few seeds; strong plants produce abundantly with some fruit growing to 2-3 lbs; late season; 90 days, indeterminate.

Old German - Heirloom Beefsteak; large, flattened 1-2 pound fruits are golden yellow and ruby red heart; marbled bicolor interiors make beautiful slices and the flavor is outstanding; late season, 85 days, indeterminate.

The girls helped plant: Sweet Dumpling Squash, Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin, Baby Fordhook Lima Beans, Green Beans, Broccoli, and Bell Peppers. Along the fence is Russian Mammoth Sunflowers, Vanilla Ice Sunflowers, Hollyhocks, and Zinnias. We also have herbs started: Borage, Calendula, Dill, Peppermint, Sweet Basil, Holy Basil, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, and Lavendar. More to be planted after they get bigger.

Sunflowers

2008-06-16T12:55:00.006-04:00

We started our Giant Russian Mammoth Sunflower seeds Memorial Day week end and here they are today with the boys already about 6 to 8 inches or so. We're going to take a picture every week or two to keep a photo record of their growth.

I don't go out in the sun between 10 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. without my sunblock lotion and hat

2008-06-15T14:30:00.014-04:00

At the beginning of summer, I have to remind myself of this and it doesn't take much. Two years ago I had a scare. My dentist was the first to notice a spot on my face, my left cheek, when I went for my check-up and he said I should have it checked. I was afraid to have it checked and afraid to let it go so I did schedule an appointment with my family doctor. It was several days, almost a week of waiting, not knowing, trying not to think the worst - really hating to have to wait.

Finally, I was able to see the doctor. He diagnosed the spot as Basal Cell Carcinoma, which is is the most common, usually non-life threatening form of cancer. Basal cell carcinomas are malignant growths-tumors-that develop in the epidermis with the sun being the cause of it, and over 90% of all skin cancers. My doctor was able to successfully treat it by cryosurgery - the process of using liquid nitrogen to freeze the tissue to -40 ° C or below which destroys the growth. I was relieved and very thankful it was nothing more.

Both the American Cancer Society and the Skin Cancer Foundation have good information and I spent a great deal of time reading, especially about the prevention tips, which I take very seriously. The past couple of summers I've limited my time in the sun, especially avoided the extreme 10 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. sun, and used lots of sunblock lotion.

When the humidity and temperature is high I don't have a hard time staying inside and away from my flowers and garden BUT I enjoy weather like today. The sun feeeeeels sooooo good and garden work puts me in another world. I haven't had any recurrences and in order to do what is within my power to prevent any more sun-induced damage to my skin I have to remind myself daily to be cautious. This summer I need more sunblock and I've checked the Skin Cancer Foundation's updated list of recommended products.

I've also purchased this hat with UPF 30+ for excellent sun protection. My girls enjoy the outdoors some what, in certain situations. The extreme heat has caused some problems for them so they aren't sun enthusiasts for merely tanning. They avoid the extreme sun and use sunblock for protection. Now, if I could just find a hat for my husband and get him to use sunblock too.

More Seed Germination Greenhouses

2008-06-13T10:40:00.015-04:00

We're trying a different experiment for watching seed germination and root growth. This time we're using sandwich size zip baggies. This is as easy to assemble as the Parmesan container greenhouses I previously posted about. Place folded paper towel to fit the baggies and place seeds between the plastic and paper towel. Then put enough water to moisten the towel and have a bit of reserve in the bottom. Label as desired. Leave top open for air, tape to a window and watch what happens.

Date Started: June 4th

June 10th

June 13th

Both the Parmesan greenhouses and the baggie greenhouses are good for observing but the boys preferred the Parmesan container greenhouses because they were solid for setting on the table and holding in their hands.

See more of our Seed Germination experiments here and here.

A Wee Bit of Irish Sweetness - "Come by the Hills"

2008-06-12T13:02:00.005-04:00

Some of our ancestors are from Ireland, Scotland and England and we enjoyed this very much. This rendition of "Come by the Hills" is sung by 15 year old Damian McGinty of Celtic Thunder. They are a new group and this is from their new DVD/CD. I only heard of them two days ago and already they are a favorite.

Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free.
And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the loughs meet the sea,
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun;
And the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where life is a song.
And stand where the birds fill the air with their joy all day long,
Where the trees sway in time and even the wind sings in tune;
And, the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where legend remains.
The stories of old, fill the heart and may yet come again,
Where the past has been lost and the future is still to be won;
And, the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.
And, the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.

Jeremiah 31:3
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

Hat Tip: ReformedWomen's Channel

Seed Germination & Root System Project

2008-06-11T14:39:00.010-04:00

One of several garden projects this summer is learning about seeds, plants, and gardening. I save Parmesan cheese containers throughout the winter (a few relatives help me out with this by saving their containers too) to use for some of our projects.

For this project, they become little greenhouses. What happens beneath the surface of the soil is as interesting as the plant above the surface and this makes a simple way to view germination and the root system. We started our seed greenhouses May 23rd.

All that is needed is some paper towel folded and fit snugly around the interior and a bit stuffed in the middle to push the paper towel nicely up against the side. Place a seed (we used Lima Beans) between the container and the paper towel. Slowly add water until the paper towel soaks up the water. Allow a little to remain in the bottom. Put the lids back on and open the side with the holes for a vent. Label with the seed name, person's name, and date. We observed the seeds each day and talked about air, light, heat, and water; compared them to seeds sitting on the window ledge and talked about conditions needed for germination. The three little guys I babysit are ages 2.5 to 5 so I keep it simple. For planting in the ground, leave the paper towel right with the roots and plant, cover it all with soil. I intended to post a bit as we went along and make separate entries but it didn't work that way. Pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

See more of our Seed Germination Projects here and here.

May 26

May 28

May 29

June 1

June 10

June 11
Ready to plant in the garden.

June 11
In the ground and ready to be covered.
Paper towel stays with root & plant.

June 11
Now, hopefully, some Lima Beans!

June 11
The Gardeners

Our Visit to the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historical Site

2008-06-10T10:52:00.007-04:00

We have been wanting to visit the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historical Site and were finally able to a couple of weeks ago on our break May 11-18. It was almost closing time when we arrived so we didn't get to go inside her log cabin home but her garden, paths and lake shore are open until dusk and visitors are free to roam any where. We were the only visitors and had the entire place to ourselves so we spent a good deal of time enjoying her garden and lake shore.

Her original 20 acre property includes her 1913 log cabin home: "Cabin in the Wildflower Woods", gardens, arbor, orchard and scenic paths. Porter gathered plants from all around the state to put in her own wildflower gardens. Surrounding her original property is 100+ some acres of natural undeveloped forest and lake. Both of these pictures I took in the garden looking towards the back of the her log cabin and on out to the lake.

In the middle of her sunny garden is the original arbor with a beautiful, old Wisteria shading the walkway. While we were there it was full of buds getting ready to open but we didn't get to see it in full bloom. Original Flagstone used for the arbor walkway made a comfortable resting spot underneath the shade of the Wisteria and gave a nice view of various flower beds on both sides. There's a small pond in one corner of the garden filled with lily pads and frogs. In another corner is a potting shed for transplanting starts from the garden to sell to visitors. I bought: two Hostas and a Purple Coneflower which are now planted in my back yard garden. They also had packs of seeds from flowers in her garden, some of which are from the plants Gene Stratton-Porter planted herself. I bought a pack of Hollyhocks, Purple Coneflower, Rose Campion, and Musk-mallow.

Towards the end of our visit and on the way out we viewed the mausoleum where Gene and her daughter are buried. We enjoyed our visit to the Limberlost North State Historic Site and hope to return but we also want to see her home at Limberlost Swamp. Here is a wonderful blog by a gardener who tends Gene Stratton-Porter's gardens: Gene Stratton-Porter Outdoors.

Summer Homeschooling

2008-06-09T11:01:00.016-04:00

Our summer really began a couple of weeks ago with our week of vacation. The weather was mild and cooler then. I was hoping we’d have several weeks where we wouldn’t need the furnace heat or air-conditioning but now, only in a matter of a couple of weeks, summer is here. We’re experiencing tropical temperatures in the 90s with high humidity and clashing weather fronts causing some very severe weather. The air conditioning IS on. I love my air conditioning! My beautiful Peony was blooming but has now been beaten down and wilted from the down pouring rains. On a better note, there is finally relief from the winter illnesses and spring allergies. The weather has greatly improved for gardening - the flower seeds (Sunflowers, Hollyhocks, Zinnias, Morning Glory) in the garden are germinating and pushing through the surface of the soil. I've been able to plant my flowers in pots around the house and on our street corner.

Over the weekend, I was able to turn over the soil in my vegetable garden a second time to work in the compost. There are more restart plants - Purple Coneflower, Chives, Strawberry, Hollyhocks, Black-eye Susan, Calendula, and Borage for transplanting and sharing with my mom and neighbors. My tomato plants have just about outgrown their pots and really need to get into the soil some time this week. Our herb seeds for a container herb pot are growing and we’ve also started a seed project with the three little boys I baby-sit. I’ve washed down the front porch and patio furniture so the front porch is ready for summer. I am ready for summer.

Orangeblossom’s girlfriend graduated this past weekend. We attended her homeschool graduation commencement ceremony and reminisced about Daisy's graduation this time last year.

We don’t have any plans for a major two-week vacation to Lake Michigan this year. We decided not to put it in in the budget for this year and have planned for a few small road trips closer to home that fit our budget better. Another factor in our decision not to go to Lake Michigan is to get a new computer. This one is about to call it quits so there isn’t money to both this year. We also want to stay closer to home because of helping my dear mother-in-law and my own mother. Both are widowed and in their 70’s-80’s. They live in their own homes yet but are unable to drive so we spend time with them weekly, some times two to three evenings, running errands for them or taking them places. Recently we’ve taken on more responsibility for my dear mother-in-law because she has had an unexpected change in her day-to-day care. I made a large double recipe of chicken and noodles, with plenty of extra to give to each Mom. I’ve also been busy making even more telephone calls, learning about senior services and elderly prescription plans. This week we plan to go and help my mother with some yard work, if there is a break in the temperatures.

After visiting the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site & Wildflower Woods last month, we hope to visit the her Limberlost State Historic Site. We're also participating in the Celebrate Urban Birds project and have some of our own nature projects about owls and seeds to work on. We also want to continue some of our art projects and reading but there is some math review and work in this subject we'll continue on through the summer. There's a Pro-Life Music festival and a couple of other music concerts to attend with Orangeblossom. I want to be able to do more reading in the Principle Approach red books. A new summer, involving the daily living of life, the family life as a part of our homeschool "lessons". I WILL miss Lake Michigan but I’m looking forward to the summer.

Back from vacation ....

2008-05-23T13:12:00.004-04:00

We had a good break and I was able to accomplish quite a few things on my "To Do" list. I was able to work in the garden a couple days when it was warm and sunny. It was mostly weeding, turning the soil, separating the Purple Cone flowers, Black-eyed Susans, Strawberry and herb plants to put into pots for transplanting. I did sow some seeds in the little garden spot by the sand box (Russian Giant Mammoth Sunflowers, Zinnias, Hollyhocks) and started some herb seeds in cell packs. Other things on my list I was able to get done were making some telephone calls for both my dear mother-in-law and mother about their health insurance plans and senior citizen services, returned some books to our library bookshelves and re-organized them, bought graduation and wedding cards and I also a did work on re-organizing in the living room. On one of the sunny days the girls and I took a road trip to the Gene Stratton-Porter Historical Site. I hope to post more about this.

There's still more on my list that I didn't get to: cleaning the front porch and getting the front porch furniture out and cleaned, hemming some slacks and jeans, sorting through garage sale items, sewing my felt snowmen, find my Anne of Green Gables books, find and wash the training potty, and plant my Tomato, Impatiens and Begonia plants. It's been too chilly yet for them with one night getting down to 38 degrees so I've held off on planting them. They stay in the garage at night and I set them in the sun during the day. Yet I am satisfied that I did accomplish what I did. The holiday week-end and my wedding anniversary is coming up so I'm looking forward to the next few days. We're getting together with our mothers and family for the Memorial Day holiday and with little extra time I'll able to do some more things on my list. With summer just a few weeks away we're beginning to make some plans but already they're changing to include unexpected circumstances with my husband's mother. The weather is even getting warmer and daylight is getting longer. It will all work out.