Perfect Pairings

This is my first time doing Perfect Pairings. My friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind is the one who told me about it and I love the idea. So here is mine for today:

Mark 4:26
26: He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.

This would be heaven to me. I love everything about gardening. I love being outside, showing my daughter where food comes from. I love the family time we all get together in the garden. I love the joy on her little face when she is able to pull something fresh right off of a plant and eat it without worry. I love the many blessing that come from a garden. The bounty God has bestowed upon us, the ability to share it with others and the joy that comes from it all.

I want to also thank That's Baloney! for letting me join up in the perfect pairings.

Garden Dreams

Well, as I said earlier in the week I am posting photos of we what are going to try to put in the garden. We got a new layer of snow last night and early this morning but it is melting off now. Unfortunately during the thaw one of our water pipes busted so I had to go shut off the water. Won't Papi be surprised when he gets home.

Still, trying to look on the bright side... we never did lose water during all these days of extreme cold. I don't think one day will kill us and it is inside by the water heater so he won't even have to crawl under the house to fix it.

Back to the garden, thawing means possibly tilling if we can get the tiller going this weekend. In the hopes that I get to start tilling this month, the Poo and I have gone through all of our sale seeds and decided how the main garden will go. Mind you the most expensive seed pack we have bought cost us 10 cents. most we got on sale at 20 packs for a dollar, some were 10 packs for a dollar. Pretty cheap groceries. The last 2 years we have watered with city water which can get a little costly. the first year we had no rain and it raised our water bill by 50 dollars a month for 4 months. This year we are going to try to get a submersible pump and holding tank and see if we can use our well, since we are lucky enough to have one that is 135 feet deep even though they hit water at 30 feet.

We will also have a melon garden that is separate from the vegetables that will include cantaloupe, watermelon, canary melon, pumpkins, and acorn squash.

We have our salad mix of veggies that will be in the raised bed I am working on and the main garden that will host all of our staple veggies such as tomatoes, squash, corn, green beans, peas, cabbage, and beans( pinto, black eyed, lima, etc..).

Hopefully we are not taking on too much, but we have done nearly this much with me working 12 hour shifts and Papi working 6 days a week. I think with me being home full time we will be able to accomplish this. It is going to be a lot of work and a lot of fun. The Poo takes great pride in her gardening abilities and loves nothing more than to wander through the garden picking veggies and eating them right there! What can be better than fresh tomatoes still warm from the sun? Not much if you ask my girl.

We will have different varieties of the same vegetables as we do every year, however this year we have found three different types of cabbage we will grow. Last years cabbage were HUGE. We could quarter on head and cook the quarter and still have leftovers. That's a big cabbage. As always, we are going to plant enough to be able to share with our dear friends. Nothing says I love you like baskets of fresh veggies or a call saying" Come pick what you want! "

We will update with photos as we get progress made.

Another weekend done

Well, unfortunately Papa couldn't get the tiller going. He was only able to work on it for about 20 minutes before he came in and sat down. He is still feeling very weak and tired from his illness that he and Poo both have. He had done better but when he went back to work he over did it and now has spent most of the weekend sleeping.
The Poo is still coughing a good bit but her fever is down and she slept through a whole night without me having to give her medicine so that's great news. I hope the cold snap we are about to get doesn't send both of them spiraling backwards.
Instead of posting pictures this week of the garden being tilled, the Poo and I decided we would instead post pictures of what we are going to put in it and some plants we would like to get.
I spent my weekend medicating the sick ones , trying to let Papa rest and keep Poo down to a dust devil instead of a full on tornado! Also in the midst of that I cooked and cleaned as usual. Today I managed to get the bird cage, both rabbits and the ferret all cleaned out, washed litter boxes, new bedding and litter, and washed food and water bowls. After dinner going to clean the cat boxes as I have already washed their food and water bowls. And I even had time to put together a puzzle with Poo!
I even got to try a new recipe for strawberry scones today. Quite tasty but they need more strawberry I think. Once I get it tweaked just right I will post it for you all to try. Well, dinner should be ready soon and there is still work to do, so I will talk to y'all another day.

Papa's Birthday

Well it seems Papa had a good birthday even though he was sick. He got a wii and a couple of games which he really seemed to enjoy very much! What I think he liked the best was that a good bit of our family came and had dinner with him. He loved having everyone with him. It really made him feel so much better.
The poo also got a present for Papa's birthday. She got her very own PINK wii remote and a Dora game so she was tickled as well!
All and all I think everyone was happy. I cooked a ton of food. Papa wanted Hawaiian chicken, stir fry, grilled veggies, grilled pineapple and grilled burgers so he got them all!! And a pineapple upside down cake too. I was a tired Momma but it was all worth it. He even took a plate and a piece of cake to Grandma so he could give her some birthday love!
Everyone is slowly feeling better around here. Papa went and got shots and the Poo is starting to be less congested and lower fevers so maybe we are on the up end!!
I have managed to not get it yet ( knock on wood ) so maybe its almost gone. I am hoping so anyway.
We are going to start tilling the garden this weekend if the weather holds for us, so wish us well in that venture. The Poo is trying to convince us she needs her own flower beds too so we may be tilling extra if there is time. If not, I am sure it will get done before long. Anyway, that's what we have been up to. Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes and we love you all!

Getting ready for spring!

Well, the spring fever bug is here! YAY!! Only it is 45 degrees outside:( The Poo and I have picked out our seeds for the garden this spring. She wanted green beans, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and squash. All good choices however we will need to acquire the broccoli seeds. We also chose cabbage,lettuce,spinach, bell peppers, beets, peas, black eyed peas, pinto beans, watermelon, cantaloupe, and maybe corn. We are even discussing a fall garden with pumpkins, potatoes and turnips.
Now we are just waiting for a warm day to start tilling the garden. I found out last year that due to the pain in my hands, it takes me one week to till half the garden. Then it takes Papa one Saturday afternoon to finish the rest and put in rows. This year we are going to try to till it twice before we plant and work in some organic matter and compost before we plant.
Papa likes the garden almost as much as us girls do. He used to tell me all the time that he is no farmer, however I think he may be changing his outlook. Last year my mom was sick and all of the watering fell to him. We had a small garden last year but he did a good job with it. The corn and the tomatoes both survived and even flourished. We talked it over this year and decided since I would be home more we would try a larger one than the previous two years.
After we get started I will post some photos of the garden area and the changes we are making. The Poo and I are on pins and needles for warmer days. And somehow I am sure there will be pictures of her gardening in a dress. After all, when you are a princess- warm days are made for dresses :)

Out of Sorts

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a while so here goes. It was a Hell of a year in 2010. We are looking forward to see what this year brings for our family. As some of you know, last year we battled cancer with my mom, who passed away early summer. Papa also had his own medical trouble with a diagnosis of a rare bone disease in his right wrist. Our dear friends and their family moved across the country. I had to leave work in late November due to my Lyme Disease being angry a lot. At the end of December Poo's "Grandma" had a heart attack and then a double bypass and has just recently returned to her home and caring family to heal. So needless to say even with a positive outlook we are hoping for a less dramatic year this year!
I have taken up sewing again. I am really out of practice and my stitch work looks awful but the Poo is happy for the new dresses :) She has enjoyed the extra family time with me not working nights and sleeping days. We are doing crafts together and planning out a spring garden with lots of her favorite veggies. We even went through and picked out some flower seeds for her to plant. She is so excited. Grandma asked her to help her take care of her plants this spring too, while she is healing up a bit. That made Poo feel very special because she gets to help care for Grandma's most important possessions.
We have all remained positive and if anything it has helped us see how blessed we are even more than we did before. We have a wonderful group of family and friends that we are so thankful for. So to all of you who know us and all of you that just happen upon this, Have a wonderful year!! Count your blessings and if you are lucky enough that your blessings are people you love, hug them , cherish them, and always make time for them no matter how busy you think you are.