Some of God's Handiwork

Seems to me we very often take His creation too much for granted.

How many times does a person riding in the car miss a beautiful red-tailed hawk as it sits upon a fence post. How many people forget to look at the present beauty in the sky because they're worried about where they have to be next.

Oh, we're all guilty.

My problem is I look too forward to Spring to realize the splendor of Winter. I forget that the cows in the pasture have grown fuzzy, I forget that the deer have turned a new shade of brown, I forget that the hawk is still her busy self. I realize that my beloved cottonfields have been picked, but forget to realize that they still hold a beauty all their own. The grass is brown, but I forget that the sky is still a brilliant shade of blue. It ain't warm outside, but I forget that the sun is still shining. I can't go down to the creek, but I forget to notice the level has finally risen. My gardening is currently limited, but I forget that my good friends, the earthworms, are hard at work. The lightnin' bugs ain't out yet; won't be for a while, but the stars are still out. The night critters ain't singin' as loud, the crickets ain't playin' their tiny fiddles as loud, but I forget that they'll return even louder than before.

The other day Mama and I were on our way to my physical therapy. The sky was just drop dead gorgeous. It was spectacular. Just so happens that I had my camera with me, so I snapped a few pictures. Now, I ain't no photographer, and I ain't gonna pretend to be, but my humble camera did try with all its might to capture the beauty that day.






Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Heirloom Seed Source

The other day I was browsing the internet looking for an heirloom seed source, because in the midst of all my garden planning, I decided on planting all heirlooms rather than all organic.

Well folks, I am so excited. In my browsing I found a wonderful company called Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

I ordered their free catalog.

I got it and, man! Shooooo-weeee! I threw my other catalogs away. All I needed was this one.

I placed my order yesterday and am excitedly awaiting the arrival of those precious seeds!

I only ordered my "direct sow" seeds from them, however, since I decided not to start anything indoors this year, due to the accident. That is very sad, but I have located a nursery not too far from us that starts and sells their own heirloom maters. So I'm good.

Anyway, let me give a link to Baker Creek's website...


All right ya'll, bye now, I'm going to go look through my catalog again....

Merry Christmas!

Allright! Merry Christmas Ya'll!!!

I have fallen short of posting anything about Christmas. Oh well, everyone else on the blogosphere has, so that should make up for the lack of mine. I will say, however, that we are so blessed this Christmas. We are blessed every year, but this year, on October 16, our eyes were opened a little wider. it was given a different meaning. God spared my brother and I, and we are so thankful. Praise the Savior!

Let me add, too, (before I go watch Pixar's "UP" with my bitties) that another blessing of today involved firearms. My wonderful Dedad let me shoot his Glock .40.
Certainly a highlight of today! Amazin' feelin'.

Well, ya'll have a wonderful rest of the year!!

Psalm 48:10
According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Almonds, Anyone?

Surely you all know how hard TRULY RAW almonds are to come by. If you know this then you also know that any good almonds you do find are outrageously expensive. You end up paying a large amount of hard-earned cash on a few ounces of almonds that probably aren't even truly raw.

Well, let me tell you how our family was blessed with almonds (and a few other items) this month.

Mama has connections with someone who has friends who own a very large farm in Californy. They were offering a HUGE (I'm talkin' huge) deal on TRULY RAW almonds. She took advantage of the situation.

There was one catch, however. You had to order a minimum of 200lbs at a time. Well, we love our almonds, but....however big the discount was, that was still a lot at one time.

So Mama began contacting folks we know and started asking if they would like to order some as well. Needless to say, we placed an order for a whole mess a' almonds and when they finally arrived, Mama and I got to have some fun!

Each person ordered a different amount, ranging from 30 lbs to 3 lbs, so we got to weigh each bag and sort them all out. It was a lot of fun, actiually.

Here are some already weighed and ready to go to their new homes. :)



But wait, that ain't all!! There was also a HUGE deal on RAW honey. (I mean, like, 100% better than Breadbeckers deal on honey.)
This is like striking gold! We we're so excited!



Just look at that... Like I said, pure gold.



That still ain't all.
Cashews!! Another HUGE deal!



Back to weighin' and sortin' again!



Sorry folks, but that still ain't all! Do any of ya'll know about chia? Well, Mama does, and she LOVES it! You can throw it in your green smoothies and Mama makes a raw "pudding" out of it. Anyway, she was outrageously happy to get this deal on her chia seeds. It was really a huge blessing!

Stars Once Again!

I am tellin' you, I have got three very talented siblings!
They were in another production this past week and boy! they were good!
Coley and Makayla had parts in the play, and Josh worked backstage. (I, of course, hopped to my seat in the theatre, planted myself comfortably, and watched their performances all weekend :) )
It was a wonderful Christmas play and had a great message. They really enjoyed being a part of it.
Anwyay, here are a few photos for your enjoyment...

Makayla and some of her friends in costume. It should be outlawed to be THAT cute!


Coley and some of his pals all spiffed up. Another breaking of the law by being SO cute. Well, excuse me, handsome....











My handsome Coley


My lovely Mak-Mak





Let me add too, that Joshua did an outstanding job helping backstage. But, alas, once again I have no picture of him. Rascal. It may have something to do with the fact he did not enjoy wearing all black... Anyway, he did a great job behind the scenes!

(One more thing. This is for a good friend Mr. Richard, and has nothing to do with this post. But Mr. Richard, I have been pickin' on that mando! :) Thank you again!

What I've Been Doin'...

Well now, I am so sorry I ain't posted anything for a while.

Anyway, here's an update on my health. I am actually doin' really well, and the physical therapy has been a tremendous help. I don't have to use that stinkin' old walker anymore, and have graduated to crutches! It has been amazing how the Lord has worked in this whole situation. I am a VERY blessed girl. I am getting around a lot more, and have been outside several more times. That, however, does not mean I am pain-free. Unfortunately, I still have to spend a good deal of time immobile. But that's all right. It's December and I am already lookin' forward to Spring with wide open eyes. By Spring I should be to 100% and have my range of motion back. Yay! I can't wait to get in the garden again!
So what have I been doin' lately? Well, here are a few things worthy of posting.

Actually, first I need to say that I have sold almost all of my critters. Yes, it was hard for me, but it was easier than still having them but not being able to care for them. Yes, Josh has been a huge help with their care, but I didn't know how long it would take for me to get completely better, and I decided I just wanted to start over once I recovered completely.

So, I plan on starting over come Spring. Needless to say, I am SOOOO excited about the coming months. So that's what I've been' doin'. Plannin' for Spring.

Can you tell I miss my chickens?


Soooo, I went ahead and made a list of the breeds I want for my next flock...all heritage breeds...


I have been blessed by not catching the swine flu, but I do have ovine/caprine fever. (for you city slickers that would mean I am really hankering for some sheep and/or goats) So I have been looking in the GA Market Bulletin for just that...


I have been doin' some garden plannin'...




I am hopin' Josh will build me a few of these... :)


And last but not least, I have been readin' some of these. (Special thanks to the Anderson family!!!)


Oh wait, one more thing! Josh and the bitties (what I affectionately call my youngest siblings) and I got to go over to Nana and DeDad's house to make our traditional gingerbread houses.


Well, that's all folks! You'll hear from me again sooner or later.