daybook 4/30/2015

 

For today… Thursday, April 30, 2015

Outside my window... black cows, green grass, blue skies, sunshine.  The ornamental pear still has blooms; lilacs are budding; columbine are beginning to bloom.  The Cattleman has been busy in his garden.  Seven calves born so far this month.

Hearing...  the clock say, Your morning is almost GONE!  {I’ve been sidetracked with VBS research… which isn’t until July this year.  Um, and I have no menu from which to create my grocery list?!}

Pondering... where did April go, and what exactly did I do all month?

Swap groups on facebook can be a source of amazement:  How can people afford/allow themselves to ‘restyle’ a room and sell a 3yo bedroom set?  Sorry, I just don’t relate.

Praying...

Denise is on chemo-break, but still doing radiation I think.  Also preparing to celebrate her daughter’s high school graduation while her Marine son trains for late summer deployment.

Sarah, Jill, Marianne, and my mom – all with health issues.

Our kiddos – college ‘kids’ to finish semester well and to have direction for summer break; two of the youngers as they prepare for missions trip overseas

Purpose, focus, diligence.

Thankful... Tim should finish with corn planting today.  On to soybeans.

Creating... We have the makings of a few little book bags our church is sending to a missionary.  Just need to make myself and my girls sit down and get them done!

Going... to do some baking for a benefit auction for a classmate’s family {Barb lost her battle with cancer.}

Reading... 1 Samuel

And skimming several library books by authors heard on recent online seminars.  Sort of a health and nutrition info overload.  Or maybe it’s just a Grain Brain Fog?  ha ha

Looking forward to... knowing all the answers someday.

In the kitchen... Menu??  We’ve had leftover roast beef, chicken enchiladas, and some sort of potato/cheese/veggie soup so far this week.  Tonight – something with the ground beef thawing on the counter.

Meanwhile the Popper has been milking her cow and learning to make butter… She even bought herself a new butter dish at Kohls last week.

 

 

In the learning rooms... winding down school year.  woot!  We should finish reading Co. Aytch next week – just a few chapters left.  Such a mixture of gore and humor.

The Cowgirl made flash cards this week to study/learn/identify different leaf characteristics.  The Cattleman has started next year’s geometry.  The other day I found a youtube video for them to watch a worm dissection, but our connection died with 10 minutes left – something to come back to.   The Popper was the first to finish all of her year’s work – she needs a prize methinks.

Around the house... graduation, wedding, birthday gifts that will be easier to rid the house of than the rest of our accumulated clutter.

The Mother Load... wrap gifts, declutter {Must think ONE room at a time or something doable}, HAUL clutter away, menu planning, mending, sewing {the Popper needs a new skirt and culottes}…

Notable:::  My ironing pile is caught up!!!

Noticing that... you can add a LOT of homemade jam to plain yogurt and still have less sugar than what’s in a container of flavored Yoplait.

Something fun to share... an idea from pinterest for our space-themed VBS snack list

{click here for link}

A favorite quote for today... You can’t please everyone.  You are not pizza.

One of my favorite things... a Jersey

{think she’s cute?  you should see her calf!}

A few plans for the rest of the week... moving into May, ready or not

A peek into my world...  recipe book for a gluten-free bride, TRIM added to the girls’ closets {woot woot!} and this morning’s sunrise

{today’s outdoor photos courtesy of the Cowgirl}

 

~.~.~.~.~

Giving credit where credit is due:

While I am not linking up with anyone, you could read more weekly news posts at other blogs by following any of these links:

• Peggy at the Simple Woman’s Daybook

• Julie for adapting this daybook version as her own ‘Grasshopper Days’ ~ Perhaps I could call it the GHV Daybook. :)

• You can also find a similar weekly meme in Happy Homemaker Monday at Sandra’s

~.~.~.~.~

Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,

that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:17

If the shoe fits…

 

 

with a nod to a daybook

 

Whichever daybook prompts come to mind I guess… with help from my photo files.

Outside now – Accuweather says it is 45F with a real feel of 33F.  And I think our window thermometer would agree.  We’ve had a pretty strong round of thunderstorms roll through here again this morning, so it is cold and wet – and muddy of course. 

But so far my forsythia is keeping its blooms so I am thankful for temps above freezing.

Actually there has been a lot happening outside here on the farm…

Sunday morning {Easter} our calving season officially began!

   

Patty took first place honors with the arrival of Anastasia {which Abby tells us means ‘resurrection’ in Greek}.  Later in the day Keiko’s calf Lily arrived. 

And sometime early Monday morning, Valerie’s bull calf Hus arrived as well. 

Hallelujah’s new calf was born on Tuesday, whom the Popper has named Hydrangea.  We are thankful for the new shed that has offered some shelter from the rains this week.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Looking further back to the previous week – Mr. W. came to disk our field on March 30

 

Inside the house, Abby’s amaryllis is blooming very nicely

 

And you can see some of the forest of growing things that are longing for the great outdoors – and this was almost 10 days ago, so they are bigger now  of course!

The Popper’s daffodil is trying to bloom too.

 

 

This radish sorta got overlooked in my window box of greens – and overgrown.  Can you see how huge it is??  I should have taken another photo with size reference before they ate the spicy thing, but alas, I did not.  You will just have to believe me.  It was huge.

 

Back outside, Tim & the Cattleman spread some seed before the first rain came

 

 

Of course we’ve had daily days – our school year is wrapping up.  {woot}  All three have finished their math courses.  The Cattleman finished English.  He and the Popper both completed research papers.  The Cowgirl must still be working on hers.   We finished reading from our TruthQuest Guide as well as spines – ahead of schedule – love that.  So we will enjoy reading Co. Aytch.  Oh, and we finished our 2014 photo book at Shutterfly – it arrived in the mail earlier this week.  The Popper already broke a string on her ‘new’ violin, so I will have to do something about that soon – as in, today if possible.  I am attempting {one day’s efforts so far} to make use of a free online budget application that Dave Ramsey promotes – Every Dollar.  We shall see how far I go with that little project.

The past week or so I have been glued to my little laptop watching another health-related seminar.  This one is called The Truth about Cancer:  The Quest for the Cures Continues.  (<—click for hyperlink)  I think I have 3 episodes left to watch.  It’s one of those online seminars you can view for free for 24 hours before the next episode takes its place.  {Each day’s episode is only about an hour, so it’s not an all-day commitment!}  Anyway IF you are at all interested, the currently available episode 9 is to include doctors who have battled cancer with alternative solutions themselves.  The one thought I will leave with you, even if you don’t choose to look it up:  Cancer is a symptom of a sick body.  If you can keep your immune system strong enough, the idea is that God made our bodies to heal themselves – or keep from getting the terrible disease.  The doctors interviewed have varying views of whether you can completely avoid ‘conventional’ chemo/radiation, but I am a firm believer in the Hippocratic oath of “First do no harm.” 

{putting my soap box back in the closet now…}

 

:::Great News of the Day:::

According to FlightView, our Kate has less than five hours remaining on her flight from Beijing to Chicago!!

 

Sooo on that note, I’ve got places to go and things to do!  {It’s also violin & piano lesson/groceries & errands day before we take a drive to the DsM airport after supper.}

Ciao for now!

English 103

 

A MIDNIGHT OBSERVATION

Was that a hic-up? I thought I heard a hic-up, but it was so tiny, oh so tiny. I wasn’t sure I had really heard anything. Did I?

“What is your answer for Number 19, Krista?” My professor’s voice cut through the fog and jerked me back to class. I focused in, but for the rest of the day, I could not forget that hic-up.

After supper, I settled down in the corner of the Activity Center. Stifling a yawn, I pulled out my Greek textbook and began to memorize the paradigms for the quiz the next morning. The words began to blur. I rubbed at my eyes. I straightened up.

The next thing I knew, I was groggily rubbing at a pain in my neck. Why was I sitting on the floor? Where was I? Why was it so dark? I need to start scheduling naps, I thought to myself! I will never get anything memorized if I’m falling asleep the whole time.

“Wait! What time is it?” My voice startled me, and the quietness that followed was eerie. I needed to find a clock! I gingerly unfolded myself from my cramped position, and hobbled along the wall feeling for a light switch. Finding one, I flipped it on – almost blinded by the sudden burst of light. As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, I looked up at the clock.

“11:56! What!” I began to realize that I had fallen asleep while studying Greek and then slept for over six hours! No one was in the church building now, and I needed to go home! Then, in the utter quietness, I heard the hic-up. My skin crawled with goosebumps.

Spinning around, I saw the strangest phenomenon. On the whiteboard ledge, the whiteboard marker was suspended and moving in the air. As I inspected closer, I realized that a group of tiny white creatures – almost impossible to see against the whiteboard – were working together to move the marker. They carried to the edge and pushed it off. One of these tiny creatures fell too; its little paw seemed glued to the marker. The group scurried down the wall.

“Ah ha!” I whispered to myself. “These must be the wachiekas I’ve heard about. Their paws are sticky! How did the rest of the wachiekas not fall with the marker too? Fascinating! Wait – this is weird. I thought Pastor Schultz said they had been exterminated years ago! I guess they’re back!” My attention returned to the wachiekas, but they were gone! Disappointed, I turned to leave when I remembered that they change color like chameleons. Gathering my courage, I crept across the room to get a closer look. Sure enough, there they were: the exact shade of the carpet. I focused on one little wachieka. He looked a little out of shape so I assumed he was the one who fell.

Sure enough, a couple wachiekas came over and were obviously communicating to him in some secret language my human ears could not detect. Suddenly, the little one hic-upped!

“My little friend!” I was ridiculously delighted to have solved my mystery.

“Oh! We’re a little proud are we?” I asked as he pushed his friends away, and went pouting along the wall. As I watched, he started inching towards the marker. He pushed and pulled with all his might. Whenever any other little wachieka came to help, he would make the most horrendous faces to chase them away. I was not sure I wanted to claim this greedy, grumpy wachieka as my friend!

Just then however, an obviously older wachieka approached the little one. With stern motions, Grandpa seized little wachieka, swung him over, and delivered a firm spanking. I watched with surprise to see the little wachieka’s response. My friend rolled over and, reaching up, gave Grandpa Wachieka a big sneeze. Grandpa Wachieka patted the little one on the head and pointed to the other wachiekas. Humbly, the little wachieka walked over to them and sneezed in front of all of them. They all smiled and climbed up the wall towards the whiteboard ledge.

Smiling, I gathered up my books and grabbed my coat. Just as I left the room, I heard an itty bitty sneeze.

 

---

According to my daughter, wachiekas are the little creatures who come out of the carpet at night and steal the white board markers.  Today’s college education seemingly beats mine by a mile.

day{month}book 3/28/2015

 

Really, I didn’t realize that fun bossy post was my first post this month!  Awesome Blogger Award for sure. [eyes roll]

So I am determined to ‘catch up’ or at least say something here today.  Not sure a daybook is the best format, but let’s just go with it and see what we see…

 

For today… Saturday, March 28, 2015

Thirteen years ago, I was hanging out in the hospital with our new tiny bundle of pink.

 

The baby of the baby of the baby {of each family/generation} is a TEEN-ager today...

{Here modeling some of her gifts – We birthday partied last night since several of us are on the road today to deliver Abby back to college.  The Cattleman and I stayed to home.}

Outside my window... sunshine, but the breeze was chilly when I was out.

Tim spent this morning hauling sand/dirt from the back pasture to fill in a low spot and the shed.

 

Hearing... {crickets} – No, just the stove exhaust fan

Pondering... heating up some bone broth for a late lunch

Praying...  Tim and the girls have both safety and health as they travel today.

Thankful... to find a violin on the swap for the Popper!

Creating... Well, the Cowgirl actually worked on a photo book earlier this week – but we didn’t finish in time to use a ‘free’ book promo code.  There’s another sale on however, so I should finish editing and order it…

I did put together a couple more recipe books before last week’s bridal shower {as well as framed word art – no pics}

And I’m not sure how creative you might think it, but this week I finished our tax returns – woot.  Oh, what a relief it is. 

Going... to start some laundry

Reading... Ruth.  A friend recommended Unbroken, so that is on my library pile.

Looking forward to... more victories for the Badgers!  Look out, Kentuck.

 

In the kitchen... {highlights from month via camera} 

Kringla – the kids got a little creative when I asked them to finish baking up the dough.

 

Pizza {of course}.  And an order for cookies from Sandy Creek Bakery – Can you name that musical?

   

Smoothies and bone broth/chicken stock

 

Cupcakes and fruit cups for the bridal shower

   

Birthday cake and calzones!

 

In the learning rooms... spring break {back to school on Monday}

Around the house... tomato plants

The Mother Load... the usual laundry and cleaning I suppose

{I really just don’t want to think about it all today – ha ha} 

My To Do List is here somewhere…

A few weeks ago the Cowgirl and the Popper took on the task of cleaning all the drawers and cupboards in our kitchen -- {How amazing are they?!  No, the girls are not for sale.  We can discuss leasing options maybe.}  -- which included lots of “Mom, can we get rid of this?” 

One warm Saturday, I took on the great outdoors – well, the flyspecks on our porch anyway.  {Before and After – you can see a difference.} 

My motto for the day was, It doesn’t have to be perfect to be better.  Thank you, Nester.

  

Noticing that... this might resemble someone I know.

Something fun to share...

I am thinking about making some Resurrection Rolls for our Easter breakfast at church, but I will use my sweet roll dough for them.

A favorite quote for today...

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt,

that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Colossians 4:5-6

One of my favorite things... birthday buddies <3 and sibling fun

 

 

 

A few plans for the rest of the week... {next week}

Tim is attending a class Mon-Wed evenings, so it will be a foretaste of field work season soon to come. 

A peek into my world...  new residents in the bird barn

 

 

~.~.~.~.~

Giving credit where credit is due:

While I am not linking up with anyone, you could read more weekly news posts at other blogs by following any of these links:

• Peggy at the Simple Woman’s Daybook

• Julie for adapting this daybook version as her own ‘Grasshopper Days’ ~ Perhaps I could call it the GHV Daybook. :)

• You can also find a similar weekly meme in Happy Homemaker Monday at Sandra’s

~.~.~.~.~

Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,

that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:17