DayLook – October 27, 2010

For Today:  Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Looking out from my back porch... a wet, slushy snow is falling and blowing.  The wind is not as strong as yesterday.  The ground is snow covered.  Still need to clear out a few items from the garden, sandbox, and porch.

I am thinking about... getting done with school early so we can clean up in the yard and house a little, the piles on the desk NEED to be filed, unpaid bills need to be paid today, clothes need washing. 

I am thankful for... the fact that Angelina finished her kitchen duties before leaving this morning!

I am reading... “Common Sense'” by Thomas Paine.  I’m not very far into the book.  The title caught my eye in the B&N bargain book section; I didn’t realize he was not a Christian.

I am hoping... the wind lets up so Greg and I can go outside without getting pelted.

I am hearing...the sounds of wind and the loud play of Frick and Frack (my husband’s nicknames for Zeke and Graham).

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)... last week, I purchased an embroidery pattern and thread for kitchen towels.  The pattern is focused on chickens and is super cute.  Will I ever complete it; especially when hand stitching is not my favorite thing to do?  It’s so cute (chickens) that I just might.

From the school room... we just keep plugging away.  Angelina is with her dad today, so she took all her work along.  I accidentally packed Dash’s science book in Angelina’s backpack, so I guess he won’t be studying for his unit test. 

From the kitchen... Angelina baked a cookie cake yesterday and I mixed up a pan of banana bars for the freezer … except for the two I ate … to test the recipe.

State of the house... the floors, oh my!  And when did the spiders move in??  Feel like I’m killing some kind of bug every time I go to the basement; they must come up out of the sump pump hole.

A successful moment... the Wyandotte’s have been moved to their new home and both flocks are adjusting to living next to each other.  I finished sewing all three cloaks for the Light Parade and they have been ‘turned ‘in’! 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Wednesday:  Ortho appt for Angelina this afternoon.  She and her dad headed to Fargo this morning.

Thursday:   Maybe I’ll can the rest of those tomatoes – or the apples – sitting in the garage.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Angelina has a girlie/sleepover weekend planned with friends.  After I drop her off, I need to do a bit of shopping – some family members need new winter clothing.

A picture memory...

Louis tried on his snowboots for the first time today.  He really hasn’t ever worn solid bottom shoes, so he was pretty wobbly at first.  All my kids have worn these little snowboots – mainly for warmth on outings.

 

 

This is the view from out our back porch this morning.  Very wet snow.  Most of it melted before accumulating.

DayLook: October 18, 2010

For Today:  Monday, October 18, 2010

Looking out from my back porch... a smooth backyard that is weed-free and newly seeded; still-growing tomatoes; sandbox toys that should be put away; a bright yellow mum.

I am thinking about...my to-do list, which includes taking care of the remaining tomatoes and 2 boxes of apples just sitting in the garage waiting for me to ‘do-something’. 

I am thankful for...great harvest weather, fresh eggs whenever we need, the littlest who loves being outside and sees something new at every corner, the 4yo who is ‘king’ in his world, the 7yo who dutifully strolls out to the mailbox with his littlest brother in the stroller, the 10yo who loves watching the youngest brother, the 13yo who diligently completes the morning chores before prayer time, and the man who makes it possible for me to stay home to see all of this.

I am hoping... to get the Silver-laced Wyandottes moved to their new home tonight.  We created a pen where the two flocks can observe each other – for up to three weeks – and get used to each other before they live together.  Update: Got it done!

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)...I have two of the cloaks for the Parade of Lights completed...one more to go!

From the school room... considering the last couple weeks, I’m very thankful to be almost caught up; I still have one paper, written by Dash, to correct. 

From the kitchen... hopefully I’ll be making some Mexican Stewed Tomatoes and Apple Juice later today or this week.

From the garden...I am ready for the garden to be done!  When I have time, I plan to pull out the remaining tomatoes and call it a year.  We are enjoying the extended season for raspberries!

State of the house...it needs a good cleaning, but the laundry is caught up.

A successful moment...while Eric was building the partition for the second chicken flock, I took down the poultry fence for winter.  The grass had grown up and into it, so it was WORK! 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: Quick trip to Valley City to swap out the back seat in the suburban (we had to cut the seatbelt to get one of the kids out – no kidding – cool part was that it was approved to be covered by a company rep.) and stop at the library.  Corn harvest in full swing.

Tuesday: Canning, Dance for Angelina & Corn Harvest.

Wednesday: Playdate with friends, Ortho appt. for Dash.

Thursday:   Canning, Corn Harvest

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Bison FB on Sat.  On Sunday, we plan to celebrate the Viking/Packer game with friends (who happen to be Packer fans).

A picture memory...

 

  

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

The kids and I made these rice krispie ghosts for our 4-H meeting this past weekend.  Quick and easy!

We’ve got trees!

These are the landscaping plans.  The picture isn’t great, sorry!  Eric and I are so excited, though.  We are doing the project in ‘parts’.  It’s been a beautiful fall, so I’m itching to do more, but we need to spread it out for a variety of reasons.  So, we gave the go-ahead for dirt work and leveling of the yard, tree planting, and grass seeding.  The crew came out last Thursday and today was their second day.  The men on this crew are the best workers I’ve seen in some time.  I’m very impressed with their work, speed, and quality thus far.  Below are a few pics of what’s been done up to now.  

View Full Album

Last Thursday, a two-man crew came out to start the project.  A Bobcat skid steer was used to scrape off all the weeds.  We had 10-12ft tall piles of brown weeds in about four locations.  The second man dug around the house and removed small pavers from a previous project (it just didn’t fit the scale of the house and needed to go). 

Today, a three-man crew worked on removing the weed piles, leveling, planting trees (I cannot remember the species … and I forgot to write them down), downspout extensions, and seeding.  It is soooo very cool to see trees in our yard!  It’s been a great day.


In front, near the driveway and garage (cement) pad.

 
In front, just to the right of the front door.

 
Left front corner of the house.  This is a tree lilac.

 
 
Back of the house, off the northeastern corner.

 
Backyard, to right of the kitchen window.

 
Backyard, north of the kitchen window.

I apologize for the barrage of posts in one day and with so many blank days in between.  Life has been a little crazy, but you probably knew that!  My time for blogging is very sparse, but I so enjoy sharing what I am able.  I hope winter is less hectic.  The kids and I still need to clear a bit of the garden and we haven’t merged our chicken flocks.  So much to do; so little time!  School ends up taking up a whole lot of time.  Some students just can’t figure out that fewer subjects means we should be able to get done early (ie. it’s a reward) and schoolwork shouldn’t take as long or longer than other days.  I’m am about ready to pull my hair out on that one.  However, the work does get done and we’ve been able to start our day with the rosary each morning.  That is good.  As I told IRL friends earlier, I believe that our days have gone better than they would have otherwise because of this prayer.

The many faces

of Louis!

 

 

 

Homecoming 2010

We enjoyed ourselves at NDSU Homecoming on October 2, 2010.  Even though the FB team lost their game, seeing family and friends makes it all better!

The kids lined up and waiting for parade candy…

 

Louis, cute as a button, at the parade.

 

The guy in the middle is my cousin … it’s hard to get pics of him while he’s marching & doing a jig!

 

Homecoming Queen was from my college women’s fraternity.  She’s a real neat gal, so I was glad to see her honored.

 

 

Mr. Goettle – he, his wife and their oldest two children walked the parade route – it’s campaign season.

 

 

 

Homecoming is a busy time.  Too busy, apparently to take better – or more -- pictures!  I’d rather be visiting, I guess.

quickly…

 

 

Time is fleeting, but it’s so fun to sneak away … to take a break from the day … and come here! 

• Grandpa & Grandpa Golden Acres came out to the farm on Sunday (after NDSU Homecoming) to visit and watch Dash play football.  Grandpa Golden Acres helped out with harvest and Grandma Golden Acres helped with homeschooling, peach pie, and fresh veggie soup. 
• Still haven’t combined our chicken flocks … but, I have a plan!
• Henle Latin I for Dash is going well, as long as he completes his assignments on the day assigned, I correct it, and he makes corrections on the same day.  NOT following this ‘plan’ brings much angst and a harried mom.
• I asked Angelina to learn how to make tissue paper flowers so she could help Zeke and Graham.  She’s had a blast and the flowers are beautiful.
• Louis walks all over.  I regret not getting video of him when he was just a few days into his walking… but then, what would I do with THAT??
• Soybean harvest is in full swing … Graham, lucky kiddo, was chosen to ride with daddy in the combine this afternoon.