This and That

Pretty flowers from Tia

 What a sweet morning so far. Isaac, age 9, awoke early and shared a light breakfast of toast and coffee for me, tea for him. Then he finished his math before 7:30, which gives him bragging rights for the rest of the day. We are not done with school for the summer, yet. The way things are looking right now, we may need to go straight through summer with many days off. I keep reminding myself that one of the beauties of homeschooling is that we are not tied to any arbitrary schedule. We can do what works for our family. Great thought in theory, but a bit difficult on warm summer days when kids would much rather be swimming, and mom would rather be reading a good novel.

The lettuce is enjoying our cool Spring weather.

Most of the garden is planted. It has been a very cold Spring with our last freeze a little over a week ago. Sunday night saw a low of 39 deg., very unusual for us. Our potatoes froze twice and now they are covered with weeds. I need to get out there and try to find them. :) This is the first year we planted asparagus. I am really enjoying seeing their little stalks pop up. I can't wait until we can harvest some!

We, like most Americans, are looking for the many ways we can save money. Unfortunately, we have some consumer debt to pay off and every extra penny we can save is going towards that. I have been meticulously turning off every unused light, unplugging anything that is not being used, staying home as much as possible, and hanging clothes on the line to dry. I have to say, that is one of the most enjoyable frugal habits there is. Bright colors blowing in the breeze is a very pretty sight.



We are also gearing up for a visit from our sweet niece. She will be staying with us for the summer. Hannah is beside herself with excitement. I am looking forward to sweet smiles and lots of giggles. The boys are looking forward to the new tricks she will teach them on their scooter. Fun, fun!

Blessings,

Marninah

Of Caves and Gardens

Well, I am off to a slow start here. The weekend was busier than I expected with friends over and lots of fun activities. Our oldest daughter has been courting a young man for the past year, and for lack of better word, we call him her "beau". To call him her boyfriend just goes against they way they are handling their relationship. Her "beau" and a friend of Artsy Girl's spent the day with us on Saturday. We had good food, laughter, and many rounds of my favorite card game, Dutch Blitz. I am very thankful for the men and women, and their respective families, who serve in the military to make our weekend of fun, peaceful and free. Thank you!


The entrance to The Cave.

 

We drove up into the canyon just North of our house and went inside an old mining shaft. My husband and children went into it a few weeks ago, I had lost my courage at the entrance. This time I took a deep breath, convinced myself I was braver than I looked, picked up my very dim flashlight, tightly held my seven year son's hand and carefully tip-toed inside. It was very interesting...damp, eerily dark and a nagging feeling of just what is around the next corner. (The scat on the trail leading up the cave, that husband kept wondering if it belonged to a bear, did not help that feeling go away.) OR, better yet, just what was hanging over your head in the dark?? I could never be a dwarf, caves and I do not mix very well. The children all loved it, though. When I turned back towards the way of escape,  Benjamin went on much further without needing to hold my hand. :)

Inside looking back to the entrace, or more accurately....the way of escape!

On the more brightly lit side of things, we have been steadily working on getting our garden planted. The Spring weather has not been very cooperative, though. It got down to 29 deg. Monday morning and froze some of our plants. The last frost date here is May 15, so that was very unusual. I am hoping things will stay warmer now and we can get the rest of the seeds in the ground. Are you planting a vegetable garden this year?

Blessings,

Marninah