Aslan Is On The Move!

There is this strange thing appearing all over my yard.  It is brown and matted but I do believe it is ground!  I could be wrong, though, since it has been so long since I've seen said item.

We've managed to have a few daytime temps above freezing and the snow is gradually shrinking away.  It is possible that spring may actually arrive.

The chickens are enjoying getting to be out and about after being cooped up all winter.  (Keeping chickens really brings that saying to reality.)

The Compost area and cold frame are peeking out.

Bulbs are sprouting everywhere the snow has melted.

And we have tapped a couple of trees to experiment with maple syrup making.

While I enjoyed my winter reading sabbatical (knocking off a good portion off my reading list) it is good to be able to get moving again.  Planting isn't too far off- as long as the weather cooperates!

Well, I'm off to make some cheesy potato soup for dinner, empty my sap buckets and collect eggs! It is good to be back in the blogging world and it is good that Aslan has returned to Narnia... er... Michigan!

Homestead What Is It?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Can you all guess what this is a picture of?

It gave me great joy to see.

Here is another shot to help you guess.

Comment with your guess.  Enjoy your day and the new year!

Slip Sliding Away

I love snow.  Blizzards? Bring 'em on. I love to watch it fall, I love to see piles of it everywhere.  I have been known to throw a snow ball, build a fort or snowman, sled down a hill or go for a walk in the silence that snow brings.  However, I have to admit, I'm really a snow bunny.  I prefer the lodge or in my case the living room couch where I can cocoon in a blanket and sip hot cocoa.

One thing I don't like to do in the snow? Drive!  I'm native to Seattle.  The PNW city gets some snow but not a whole bunch.  I never really had to drive in it.  By the time I was driving my dad was retired and able to give me a ride if the roads looked bad.  Then he passed the honor on to my husband.  When we moved to Idaho we only had one car so I never drove in the snow there.  When we moved to Texas... ha.... it snowed once and was gone in a few hours.  But here in Michigan... it snows and this year it started early.  I have teens who have to go to the dentist and the doctor and church play practice and guitar lessons and any number of social events.  And since Dad is usually either at work or in bed for these lovely errands guess who gets to drive them.  Me!  It is so not good.

Tuesday I had to drop off and pick up my eldest at a babysitting gig.  Of course this family has a long, steep, curving driveway up to the house. (With tons of trees lining the drive.)  I generally choose to stop at the bottom and let my daughter walk up to the house and down also.  But Tuesday, oh Tuesday, I forgot my phone at home whilst going to pick her up.  I didn't want to walk up to get her so I drove to the top.  I am an adult after all. This backing down a long, curvy, steep, tree-lined drive shouldn't be a problem.  Never mind that it is covered in snow.

Half way down the drive and "thunk".  In avoiding a tree, I failed to see the utility pole and backed right into it.  No big deal.  I was going slow. No damage.  I just put the vehicle in 4 wheel drive and drove forward. Of course what I couldn't see because of snow was the slope away from the driveway towards the tree I had missed.  The car moved forward and promptly slid down the slope and met the tree most intimately.  Okay, I'll just back up and be on my way.  NOOOOO... I end up digging the wheels down, down, down.  Now I am stuck and parallel parked between the tree and the pole. (Apparently the only time I can successfully parallel park is when I'm not trying to.)

Long story short, it took the grandfather of the kids my daughter was sitting, and my husband about an hour to dig and pull the car out.  Sigh... why do these things always happen to me.  Now I have a nice little dent in the front passenger fender and a busted tail light. Perhaps a move to Key West might not be a bad idea.

Now for the praises!  No one was hurt, the damage is small, both my husband and the grandfather were available to help, it was still light out and there was a break in the weather, they got the car out.  Big picture time. Big picture. Thank you Heavenly Father.

Lessons learned: Remember the phone so I can text my arrival to my daughter and not have to drive up to the house and if the phone is forgotten, don't be lazy. Park the beast and walk up to the house!

Snowing and Blowing

It's that time of year again.  The time when the tractor stops being a mower and starts being a blower.

Last year we couldn't use the tractor for blowing because it was broken down. But it was a light snow year and we made do.

This year Farmer John was chomping at the bit to test it out so yesterday he got it out (even though we only had an inch or so and began to plow our drive. Five minutes into it and the blades stopped rotating. Ugghhh!

 

If I had $$ for every time I've seen Farmer John in this position with our beast we could own our own tropical island.  We bought it used.  Hey, buy used and save the difference is the motto the Duggars use.  It seems to work great for them.  Not so much for us.  With all the time and $ we've spent getting this thing to work, it would have been worth it to purchase the shiny green tractor that comes with yellow words. Alas, this was the one we could afford and, really, having a tractor payment is kind of silly no matter how shiny and new.

 

Lucky for us, this time, the problem was an old stretched out belt.  Easy to fix and not too pricey.

 

Today we got a few more inches of "Lake Effect" snow. (Not a storm, just something Lake Michigan whips up for us.)  Farmer John had our drive cleared in no time at all.  And as we are supposed to get more tomorrow, he'll get to do it again.

 

He was even nice enough to plow me a path from the back garage door to the barn!

 

Of course he could have just been trying to make up for nearly backing the beast over me in the barn.  Lucky for me I was by the chicken enclosure so he didn't knock me down.  I just got a face full of chicken wire mesh. Good times indeed!

 

How do you all handle winter weather?

 

 

It Doesn't Look Like Fall Anymore

Hideeho blog people!  I am back after an unannounced break.  Sickness, school and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) took over my life.  Also spent a lot of time chauffeuring my children to and from activities. But now that I'm feeling rested and less overwhelmed I am back to blogging.

When last I left you the homestead looked like this....

Now the homestead looks like this...

 

And this...

 

 

The chickens are less than impressed...

They will occasionally venture out but they prefer me to throw them their "crack" (cracked corn) inside.

We have moved all the chickens (Barred Rocks and R.I. Reds) into the barn together.  We added extra roosts, two heat lamps, a light, a heated water dish, pecking block and the nesting boxes from the chicken tractor.  They seem to like it quite well.

I have to laugh at my hens.  They are sooo... picky as to which nesting boxes they lay their eggs in.  There are plenty available but they only like to use certain ones and if that box is full and the other hen won't share then they just plop the egg out wherever rather then use a different/open box.  Will there ever come a time when I am not surprised by these ladies?

Well, I'm off to the local library for their craft sale. I'm half way done with my shopping so hopefully there will be some good things at the sale and I can support some local micro-businesses! Stay warm!

Friday's Garden Club

Iced over puddles in our back yard

A dusting of snow on our deck

Hi y'all! True to my word last Friday... my garden did indeed have snow on top of it this week. Not a lot, but some and I still expect at least one more good snowfall of 1 to 2 inches before April is over.

My gardening is being done in my head and through the library right now. I have to research corn, mulch and compost. I'm beginning to scan the seasonal aisles at Costco too. I'm waiting for their wonderfully robust tomato plants to come in. This year I'm leaving them in their pots on my deck so that I don't kill them with frost like last year. I can easily move them indoors if needed.

For more garden club, join us here.

This is what happens in Michigan...

...when we have a mid-winter thaw! It was 60 degrees yesterday!! Kids reappeared outside (in shorts and t-shirts of all things).

Out came all the skateboards, bikes and rollerblades.

It isn't quite time for sandcastles but why not build a few snow castles? (In roller blades of course.)

Ahhh... if only it would stay this way. Unfortunately today is raining and the snow returns tomorrow. Still, it was a nice break. I even took little Taylor out in the stroller for a walk up and down the street.

Crushed T12

An update on the missionary that my four year old sweet talked into taking her down the sledding hill. Troy crushed his T12 vertabrae. He is flat on his back right now with 4 to 6 weeks recovery time ahead of him. Currently his best friend is vicodin. I'm going over to help him with lunch today. See what a smile of a cute little girl can do to a grown man. Please keep him in your prayers. He is not used to "resting".

Sledding Mishap

While at the sledding outreach today our resident missionary, Dr. Troy Manning, (Bible translator for Bibles International) was taking my four year-old on a sled ride down the hill and they hit a bump. Reagan was fine but Troy hurt his back. We had to call an ambulance and they were going to take him to the hospital to be checked out. I haven't heard anything more at this point. If you have a chance please pray for a speedy recovery. He's very busy with his mission work and I know he will not like to be "out of the loop". He has such a soft spot for Reagan and probably chose to take her down against his better judgement.

Cake Decorating and Various Ramblings

My twelve year-old daughter's cell phone cake

My four year-old daughter's butterfly cake

My ten year-old daughters flip-flop cake
(My eight year-old son didn't have a cake this year as we took him to Red Robin for his birthday.)

I'm off to take the kids to our church's weekly sledding outreach. (We serve hot cocoa and chips to the sledders and hopefully reach someone in need with the gospel.) I didn't have a chance to experiment with any bread yesterday as we were digging our mini-van out of its snow tomb so that we could take it sledding. (We keep our 4 wheel drive in the garage and my DH takes it to work. I wait till it is available to run my errands when possible.) Hopefully this afternoon when I return I will get a chance to experiment some more. I also have been itching to make some candy... chocolate covered nougat, I think.

Kara S. over at Ramblings and Writings (see my favorites) suggested Grandmother Bread from Suzanne McMinn's blog (Chickens in the Road- also on my favorites) as a good bread recipe so I hope to experiment with it soon. In the mean time I'm going to leave you with pictures of this summer and fall's birthday cakes that the girls and I created. (All inspired by Betty Crocker's book- Decorating Cakes and Cupcakes.)

Also if any of my readers has a suggestion as to what food item might go well with hot cocoa (for the sledding outreach) please leave a comment. We would like to serve more than chips. It should be easy to make and very little in the $$ department. Thanks!

Wall of snow! No it didn't snow THAT much... we were clearing the driveway.

Digging out the car

Even a four year old can shovel snow!

Hi Grandmas, Grandpas, family and friends and the various blog readers that drop by from time to time. As you can tell pregnancy and post pregnancy have left me uninspired to blog. But with a foot of snow dumped on us last night and today I thought it would be good to post some pictures.

The Easter Egg hunt will be....

INSIDE! We had a spring storm blow through leaving us with about 4-6 inches on the ground. Sigh.

Catch Up!

Sorry for going MIA this week. Monday and Wednesday were incredibly busy and the DH has been hoarding the computer more than usual. Tuesday... I just found I had nothing to say. Such things happen.

The first thing I want to post today is.... It's Spring! Today is the first day of Spring. I am getting so anxious to start my container garden, and go rock hunting on the beach, and eat outdoors. Of course we might get snow this weekend. I really hope the kids don't have to hunt eggs in the snow.

2nd item of business... Rachelle Gardner over at http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/ is holding a writing contest. There are two different parts to it and the prize is pretty awesome for those of us wanna be writers. You have until Saturday to enter. Check it out!

3rd item of business... I didn't get a scholarship to the writing conference I wanted to attend. I got REJECTED! But that's just the name of the game. Getting rejected is actually okay at this point. It shows that at least I'm out there trying. Now, 100-200 rejections later and I might be getting a bit more dejected about rejection.

Last item... Brenners over at http://timeandseason.blogspot.com/ holds Write it Out Wednesday. I seem to be bad at posting it on Wednesday but here is my take on this week's exercise.

Jane (Girl in left forefront): Can you believe it? Prince Harry just winked at me!

Candance (Girl middle) to herself: Of course he just winked at you... your dress is stuck in the backside of your knickers.

Susan (Girl on right): Jane, will you accompany me to the loo please. I have something important to show you.

To have the above make more sense to you, check out Brenner's blog. You can also get the next exercise. Cheers!

Spring fever got a hold...

I couldn't stand it any longer. I needed to plant! I love snow and I'm glad it's still all around me (and will be for four to five more weeks) BUT... I needed green. I needed to do something springlike. Hence: The Lewis Herb Garden.

We planted chives, peppermint, cilantro and sweet basil in empty toliet paper tubes (See www.suzannemcminn.com/blog/ - how to make bio-degradable pots for seed starting-for a photo tutorial how-to.) and set them in a cardboard box, lined with a trash bag. We also put a grow light on them.

The cost was minimal. Some store bought seed starting dirt/mix and the seeds.

The process was easy. (Not counting pinched fingers in a sibling fight over scissors and Mom having to say, "This is our science for the day! You will turn off the Playstation 2 and come over!") Once the kids started, they enjoyed it and had fun. They'll really appreciate it when the seed start showing.

I plan on finding some inexpensive containers to transfer the starts to when they get bigger and we'll put our little container herb garden out on the deck. Of course right now our deck is buried in snow. Sigh.

...He sets up kings and disposes of them.

Daniel chapter two was the source material for Adult Sunday School yesterday. What a wonderful and timely reminder of God's Omnipotence.

Daniel 2:20-22

...Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness. and light dwells with Him.

These verses hit me in three distinctly different ways:

1. Now that it's mid-winter and I'm getting my fill of snow, I start thinking about spring; the texture of grass, the chartreuse of newly burst leaves, and the smell of the warm sun. (I've already ogled the newly stocked seed section at the grocery store.) These verses served to remind me that everything happens exactly in the timing and at the command of the Lord. Spring will come at the precisely correct time as it pleases God. The seasons don't "just happen". They are held in the hand of the Creator.

2. With all the hoopla of this year being a Presidential election year, it is easy to get excited or dismayed at the way events are shaping up. While it is my duty to place my vote in the person I believe will honor God and the U.S. in the most capable way, God ultimately places who he desires in control so that his remarkable plan will continue to be executed. This may mean someone I don't care for wins the Presidency. It also means that if God wants a non-front runner to win the office, it will be. God will work out his plans.

3. Lastly, with my focus lately on finishing my novel and getting published... It is easy to get discouraged with the way the publishing business works. (It takes more than just writing a good book to get published. There are a lot of marketing hoops to jump through as well.) But God gently reminded me that He, not me, holds my writing dream in his hand. If God desires me to be published then it will happen. Yes, I need to do the work but He is in control. It is very freeing.

Praise God! He reigns in perfect majesty!

Deathsicles

Come on over to my house and stand under these!

Snow Evangelism at "The Dump"

Westside's Sledding Ministry

Spreading the cocoa Gospel

Reagan is my snow angel

Pastor Sam Hendrickson and his wife Jill

Rem trying out snowboarding

Jenison, Michigan has a Mars Hill! The local sledding grounds- Charlie's Dump/The Soccer Bowl- is where you can find the locals gathered on the weekend. Our church, Westside Baptist (http://www.westsidebaptist.info/) hands out chips and hot cocoa to all and, if God opens doors, we share the Gospel and invite people to visit our church. It is a good, non-intimidating way to meet our "neighbors'.

It works well as a family ministry. My kids are occupied with sledding and meeting other kids and I can help out at the table. Now I just need to get out of my comfort zone and actually start conversations with people. My small talk ability stinks. But the more I practice at it and work at it, the better I'll be.