Heading into Fall...

The days are definitely shorter up here in North Dakota! Interestingly, the days in Hawaii are ALWAYS short! Even though they have the beautiful scenery there all year round and the lovely temps as well, they get 12 short hours of light each day. So there! Life isn't ALL perfect in Hawaii! It just seems like you should get to stay outside and play a lot longer in the land of paradise, but the sun goes down around 6:00 p.m. each evening. So for your day's encouragement, realize that even the Hawaiians must feel that the days are not long enough after work, since the daylight goes away. : )



Happy Fall to everyone! I am finally embracing the idea of the oranges and browns, and I have proven it by placing some decorations up in my house finally. I hadn't felt like doing anything of the sort until just today. So, there's progress in me, I dare say!



On the schedule for October still looms the butchering of the chickens. I/WE have all grown quite attached to our birds, so it was with hearty gladness that I told my neighbor lady that I would LOVE to just trade some of her already butchered birds for my live birds in order for her to have some egg layers throughout the winter. Wonders never cease! I, of course, will have to get over the attachment to these critters, but, for now, I certainly feel much better about the situation. : )



Cliche!

 

     I know it's so cliche to say it, but where in the heck did summer go????? I had such good intentions of posting more often (as if anyone is reading???), but those intentions did not pan out so well.
    My major decision at the end of summer was to resign from teaching at Goodrich. I did feel somewhat guilty since I do love the staff and kids there, but I think I was feeling far more stress than I realized. My home projects just do not get finished the way it is, the kids keep growing, activities keep taking place, and I just needed a wee bit of a break from an everyday job. I will keep working at the bank, and I do really like that, but at least it's not 5 days a week for now.

 

      I can hear all the questions about what happened to the chickens, right?!? They're still growing and even changing. We've now got FIVE, yes 5, roosters! We started out thinking there were none, but some pubertal changes have hit, and it seems like 5 roosters it will be. They sure do love to hear themselves squawk! It's been such a great project, however. The girls have absolutely loved hanging out with the chickens. I fear that we will certainly not be able to eat our feathered friends. We have grown quite attached. Sigh.... : )

 



 

Have a super day everyone!

All's Well...

     Here it is, mid July! Well, the chickens arrived (all 25 + 1 extra)! The one extra did not survive the first two days; however, all of the others are doing great. They are nearly 5 weeks old already, and my girls absolutely LOVE these chickens. It's so fun to watch them constantly trying to catch them. Of course, we are all growing a little too attached to them, I fear. We love to hug them for heaven's sake! The dogs (Lincoln especially) are also fond of them, but for a different reason. They'd love to have a snack if just given a chance. : )

     As the time has flown by, we've taken in the Wells County Fair and several trips to the dentist. We still have a big dental procedure for Maci to take place at the end of the month. Hopefully we can all be OK during that! The next big thing for us would be our family vacation. I've been trying to purposefully take a week off each summer so that we do SOMETHING. Otherwise, NOTHING seems to happen by way of pleasureful outings with the kids. I have placed the planning in Larry's hands, so I can't even tell you where or what we'll be doing. Therefore, a mystery date is line!

     Part of my last day of vacation time will involve me going on a motorcycle journey, however. My friend Michelle and I are taking in the North Dakota Ladies Run which heads to Wahpeton this year. I have never done this before, so I'm hoping it's a good time. It'll be nice to just get away with Michelle and do some riding. I'll try to keep you posted!

Aaahhhh....

My first day off in sooo long is today! No school for me! No bank work for me! I will hopefully get some work around the house done, but that is the usual, I guess.

I'm still waiting on those chickens and have not gotten the email telling me they'll be here soon, but I think I have about two weeks to wait. I'm getting a bit nervous.

I also have a tilled garden now but can't plant it until it is worked another time. Our garden has been wet (flooded wet) for over three years now, so this will be its first crop in four years. I hope the soil will be productive. We may still have a water issue as puddles form after even the slightest rainfall, but I'll give it a whirl!

Final Countdown!

This is it! The last week of school for me! I'm excited for the end of a busy school calendar schedule and for more time to just BE. I am also looking forward to a suprise birthday party for a teaching colleague on Thursday after school. The theme is "Mad Scientist". This should be so exciting and fun, and I really hope he likes it. Maybe I'll remember to take pictures (I'm very bad at this task...) and post them later on.

I'm also in the planning stages of a trip to Hawaii. I am taking my mom to her dream destination sometimes at the end of September (if all goes well) to celebrate her 60th birthday. I was not really looking forward to this very much since I would really like to be going to Europe myself, but as the pictures flash by on my screen and the planning is progressing...I think I'm going to love this time. It will be a precious time for my mom and me to really bond.

I am on the mend from a bit of a heart break this week. A personal issue with a family member left me reeling a bit, but I am praying for a heart of forgiveness and complete restoration. God is good, and I will grow and mature through this I'm sure.

May all be well with you! : )

  So beautiful! It's starting to feel REAL!!!!

May Day!

Happy May Day!!! As spring slowly marches in, I am so thankful for the budding trees greening up our landscape and the gravel roads finally drying up from the ever soaking rains of the past couple of weeks. I am getting excited to have baby chicks in just a couple of weeks too. So much to look forward to for the summer.

My list of forward thinking events:

1. A possible mad scientist party?       
2. Jae's birthday
3. Hannah attending summer camp for the first time
4. County fair  
5. Arranging a trip to Hawaii for my mom and me (I hope!)
6. Sierra beginning kindergarten in August
7. Jae's trip to Washington, DC in June and hopefully Asbury Camp
8. Chicken raising  
9. Hannah's 8th birthday in August
10. State Fair in July -- concert maybe?
11. Attending the ND Ladies Run in July (motorcycle rally)
12. Possible trip to Sturgis in August    

Hang on! It'll be a wild ride for the next few months. They'll certainly fly by. Oh, I also forgot to add that I'll be mowing lawn somewhere in between all of these events. : )

On a roll...

"Social Networking" Quilt Project

I think I'm on a roll! I have all of these new projects I'm wanting to start. The newest one (since yesterday anyway) is to attempt to make this awesome quilt! At a random stop at the 3 Sisters Quilt Shop in New Rockford, ND, I found this completely amazing quilt pattern. They had a sample right above (sly salespeople, they are) the patter kit, and so I simply had to have it. I love the blacks and greens with wording throughout the print. I'm a word lover, so this is just so cool. I am an extremely slow quilter/sewer since I don't do it nearly often enough. Don't expect a completed picture anytime soon. By the time this is finished, it may no longer be en vogue, but I'll see what I can accomplish.

Too Fast!

Whew! My days go by way too fast, mostly because of all of the chasing to town I have to do. Sometimes I really wish we lived within the city limits so that a minor activity like piano lessons wouldn't have to seem like such a big deal. But, we all know that kids grow up way too fast, life goes by way too fast, and so I'll keep taxi driving and fetching my girls. Someday, I may very well miss this. Maybe not until I hit about 75 years old, but that is still "someday".

In any case, my other girls (aka chickens) will not be arriving until around the first week in June! The orders were full, and so I must wait. The good thing is that my school schedules will slow down enough to enable time to build the coop properly. I am hoping the garden planting will happen this year as well. I truly want healthy, fresh food for me and my family. So many times the IDEA of things is so much easier than the actually getting it to happen. With proper planning and work, hopefully my huge ideas will be more of a reality.

Oops, almost late for piano. See y'all later!

Ready or not....!

I've always had a hankering for adventure, even if it seems to be more in my mind than what actually happens with my body. However, I once upon a time told myself that I must try something new every year (until I die, of course) in order to keep my adventures moving.

Well...cymbal roll...this year's "new" thing is:

I am ordering chickens. Chickens! This may seem like to no big deal to some and completely crazy and stupid to others (my husband being on that latter list). I have to give my man credit. Even though he thinks I'm nuts in so many regards, especially where my love of animals is concerned, he really comes along for the ride many times. I guess he knows that I'm just independent enough that even if he doesn't give a complete thumbs up to my ideas, I'll do them anyway. So...he might as well help me out so the whole thing can be handled "right".

The thing is, I've had ducks. They're really cute and sort of neat to have around the yard, but my dogs always wanted to eat them. They couldn't just roam free like I had envisioned in my Narnia world. I know, my dogs will still want to eat chickens; however, I also want to eat chickens (I did not eat the ducks -- they flew away to a paradise somewhere else.). I also want to eat their eggs and enjoy the wholesomeness and healthiness of farm fresh eggs. Note, I will NOT be the one to butcher the chickens which are to come. My heart is too weak for that sort of activity, but I am sure a neighbor around here somewhere will be willing to help out. I am sort of counting on that. Otherwise, we may just have egg laying chickens forever. : ) So, the plan is to put up a small coop area with a nesting box for just a couple of the girls. Then, toward the end of summer, a group of about 10 to 15 will be freezer bound and just a couple will be our named girls to keep for eggs.

MY girls have already expressed the names they'll give to our new babies once they come. They have been warned not to name any that may meet an end in our freezer. You cannot eat what you have named as the saying goes. If there isn't a saying like that, there should be!

So...I am now logging off of this site to get my very first chicken order placed. Wish me luck! I'll post pictures of my adventure for this year. Cluck, cluck!

One of the types of girls I hope to have wandering my coop soon.

Type #2 of planned chickens. I really am getting excited for this!!!!