Hat tip to Mommylife.

Yesterday was our 25th wedding anniversary.

It was also Little Missey’s Dr.s appointment in Little Rock–or not. I got the date wrong so we drove 3+ hours there (and even more back) for nothing. That was a very expensive sub-sandwich wasn’t it?

This is one of the better pictures. We had a house fire about a year and a half after and lost 99.9% of everything. I did not lose Grits or DH and that was a miracle so I don’t think on what was lost too much.

This is what we look like today. Not as blonde (me) or as thin, c’est la vie.

A site that I read regularly asked for ideas on second uses for items already around the house. My contribution:

We purchased a second group of chickens (the polish crested, turkin, and butter cream), thinking the two groups were not that far apart in size and could easily be made one happy family…ha! Once I had them in the same garage the size difference was much, much greater than I thought.

For awhile the second group lived in a rubber maid tub. Then having outgrown that and not wanting to build a second pen I frantically came up with this….

The up-side-down garden wagon. Its study metal sides and bottom when inverted become sturdy top and sides. Able to with hold the body weight of an enthusiastic five year old boy and not lean or crush. Right side up able to haul same child anywhere & everywhere.

The garden wagon…or chicken pen…or child’s toy–get one.

Our home is full of beautiful babies.Don’t believe me? Check out the pictures at Grits’ husband’s new business.

Roundup for the family that is spread out this weekend.

Swimming:  We had out first family outing to the city pool today. Our pool charges .25 per person per 2 hour session and is maybe 4 blocks away. We went once last year & am determined to do better this year.  The goal is every Friday. I was a bit concerned about Little Missey & sunburn, a burnt baby can not be a good thing – second session from 3 to 5. Off to Wally World and a 70spf very, very liberally applied + a baby hat + a long sleeved white shirt = excellent results.

She was not a bit deterred with cold water and spent the entire time splashing or removing her hat. I spent my time putting the hat on and watching the other children. Eventually I did go and apply a heavy coating to her sparsely populated scalp. She spent a lot of time with her eyes shut making me wonder if some of the sunscreen had gotten in her eyes.

The rest of the kids behaved well. I had promised if they had to be gotten on to twice we would leave immediately. We stayed until Little Missey started going to sleep in the pool. If she can sleep in cold water its time to go.

The bad thing- I fell. The pool has a baby pool 12 inches deep but is about an 18 in step-down. I had put one foot in the pool and went to move the other and down I went. All that went through my mind was DONT DROP THE BABY!!! There was a slight pause on my bottom but I still ended up flat on my back. No, I did not drop or land on her.She never made a sound. I am fine but my bottom is sore and the side holding her feels a bit pulled.  Could have been worse. A passerby asked if we were ok–”I am embarrassed but fine.” She didn’t seem to know how to answer. Hopefully a good nights sleep will set things straight.

Garden:  Planted a few more plants and need to do seeds. There is a longish story and perhaps I’ll type it tomorrow. So far:

Tomatoes:  Juliet (2), Sweet 100 (2), Healthkick (5), Early Girl (2), German Pink (4),  Super Fantastic,  Rutgers (3),  Beef Master (2), Big Boy (3), Mr. Stripey (2), Lemon Boy (2), Heartland (4), Unknown (2 think they are Heartland but lost their tags in the sale), Celebrity (2), Bradley (2), Jetstar (2), Yellow Cherry (3). I tried to keep the cherries at the edge of the garden for the kids but found these late, oh well.

Peppers:  Big Bertha (6), Lady Bell (2), Sweet Banana (4), Habanera (5), Serrano (1), Pimento (2), Jalapeno (2), Big Jim (6), Super Heavy (2)

Eggplant:  Icheman (4), Black Beauty (3) In the past we had green & white ones plus a variety called Bride or Fairy tale (grows in bunches) so the color thing isn’t here yet.

Cabbage:  Up to 19 & doing great but the cabbage butterflies have found them so we need to pick up the caterpillar patrol.

Family: DH, Nikos, and grandpa are in Illinois to visit the family before he leaves for basic training (Marines are the only branch that still has bootcamp). Fyah & Mrs are also there but they are house sitting as Sister C is off getting married. He too wants to visit family before he leaves for basic. Both are Air Force–one leaves July 1, the other September 1. I told them to tell the recruiter he has to look elsewhere to fill his quota as I am out of eligible sons. They didn’t think it was funny.

4H:  We went to the new Nature Center in Jonesboro  for conservation day activities. The kids learned about tracking, different habitats, recycling, made stamped bandanas & sun bracelets, and had a good time. We had been just a few weeks before so it was something they looked forward to. The center has a movie describing Crowley’s Ridge history that includes mist, fans, fake lightening, and rumbles in the seats. Very cool.

Did you know there are beads that are uv sensitive and will change color according to how much the wearer is receiving?  If they reach a certain darkness then its time for sunscreen. That is something I want to try with Little Missey at the pool. She can wear it as a bracelet and when the beads go dark I’ll put another layer of sunscreen on.

That’s all folks–hoping to stay home more…ha ha ha.

We have been working on finishing planting the garden, the herbs, and assorted other plant projects. Not quite as fast as I’d like, but getting there.

Rhubarb bed: I have wanted one ever since my Dad & Carol gave us some strawberry-rhubarb jam. mmmm…. Last fall Dad made the mention that his plants had grown so much they needed to be separated. ! This past spring I asked about bringing some down when he came for Fyah’s wedding. Uh-oh. It might be an 80F day wedding March 1st but northern Illinois was still under snow…a lot of snow…adding more at regular intervals.

When it came time to plan Nikos graduation I asked again…and several weeks later again…and its possible there was even a third time. I forget, afterall we were running just as fast as we could at that time. Then I heard an exasperated (but loving) dad say if it were him, he’d just go to Walmart and buy some. So I did. 6 plants. And Dad brought down 2. Definitely have a rhubarb bed to plant don’t I? Not complaining though. (For the record, he had accidentally tilled his and wasn’t sure there was any rhubarb.)

Herb bed: We have some favorites for cooking and tea. Instead of planting another flower bed why not plant herbs…cause we don’t have anything to do anyway, right? Unknown to loving dh, he needs to till again. (a story for another day). Next to the house this time. The mint is going under the hose spigot.

Garlic Bed too.

An older couple at church offered some strawberry starts to transplant in the fall. At least that is a few weeks away.

With all this planting there needs to be some harvesting too. The plan is to can and enter the best in the county & regional fair. (Our librarian earned over $1200 last summer – is that incentive or what?) I have some books at home and of course some links.

Some low tech suggestions are offered at Countryside magazine. We have a basement and a breezeway. Temperatures below zero are rare here, so some planning and arranging the breezeway would make a good cold storage area. We use it for milk in winter it should work for veggies too.

Some canning recipes with step-by-step directions and pictures are here. I want to try canning watermelon jelly. Wouldn’t that be a nice change of pace next winter? Also ketchup, not to mention the freezer recipes or dehydrating. (hmm… need to find plans for building one)

And if that wasn’t enough to plant & plan for I found Plants For a Future

 ” Just twenty plants provide the majority of food eaten, yet there are thousands of other useful plants which have not reached mainstream attention. You can find details of many of them here.”

And “with a data base of 7300 edible useful and medicinal plants” well I might find something else to plant.

That’s my list of sites. Anyone have any suggestions?

Never check your chicken pen at night in your bare feet.

While we’ve been busy with other *outside* activities the homefront has been busy too.

Remember the cute chicks? They have grown into their own pen. It is not quite finished, it needs a roof to keep out squirrels, wild birds, and stray cats but it is much larger than the swimming pool. The door is not what Brian wanted–it is what we had so we are making do. Here it looks rather red-necked, in real life it looks much better.

And in for a penny…here are some newer additions. By the size they aren’t *new* new just not reported here for the loyal friends & family to admire.

Sicilian Buttercup are listed as rare. The chicks look like large quail, the adults have some unusual feathering but it seems their combs are what is truly unique. We’ll have to see. 

And the cabbages have grown…

That’s the beginning but Little Missey is declaring herself starving so must run. Mooo…

So while we pause for a quick breath of fresh air here is what we have been chasing.ORama competition: