Down on the Homestead - Oct. 10th - Oct. 16th

**QuilterMom** · 10-10-2004, 03:32 PM

Good Sunday afternoon!

We've been to the beach today. I mowed part of the property before we went, started on it again after we came home, ran out of gas in the mower, came in for a snack and hopped on here for a bit.

I think dh has the mower refilled with gas so I'm going to go finish up the yard and we're going to try to cut some more of the tree that almost uprooted. I'm still afraid any significant amount of rain added to the already overloaded with water ground will make it fall. Dh is doing some woodworking - not sure which project he's tackling. Dh also went to pick up the remainder of our interior doors at Home Depot this morning and one of them was wrong! Ugh! We ordered AND paid for them back in May and still don't have all of them!!!!! (It's a brand new door that they are carrying and the supply can't keep up with the demand because they are so popular. Ours also came in damaged more times than I can count!).

Not sure what the evening holds. Ds and I are making pizza for dinner.

Have a great day everyone!

**forestdale** · 10-10-2004, 04:34 PM

HI there! it's Monday morning here.

I'm really looking forward to this week, I'm not sure why but I'm feeling happy, optimistic and full of energy.

My first port of call today will be the bank - DH want s me to do the store banking, he gets nervous when we have too much money in the house. After that I'm going to the plant nursery - my favourite place - to buy some aquilegias (granny's bonnets), blue sage and anything else that catches my eye. I'm hopeless when it comes to plants. Then it's on to the organic supermarket to find some wheat grass seed, I plan to start a couple of trays of wheat grass and juice it every morning. Just 30 mls gives you the same vitamins and minerals as 1 kg of vegetables. Then to the craft store to pick up some fabric and home to plant my new babies.

This afternoon I hope to finish off my craft for the Homestead Garden swap and post that off to Michigan. It's going to be a good day.

Debbie, I know where you're coming from with your concern for your government. I usually don't bother much when my side loses, I just think, "oh well, better luck next time." But this election has really unnerved me. The knowledge that our PM has lied - BIG lies - several times, really makes me nervous about what else we don't know. This election made me sad and I can't just shrug it off. I wonder where all the Australians from the past have gone. This mob we have now are only concerned with their bank balance and don't give a damn about health, education and the poor.

My son Kerry actually said last night that he was going to write a letter of support to the man we wanted for PM. I'm so pleased he's doing that and I hope it starts a long history of writing to politicians. Margery and I WILL change the world! LOL

Have a great day, everyone.

**Ellise** · 10-10-2004, 04:57 PM

Well lets see today I:
Made a big pot of potatoe soup & Biscuits
Planted two maple trees
Dug up and replanted 50 Galds, 3 mums,a sedium,several Lupines (begining to dislike them VERY much)
Laundry still needs folding and put away.
After that a long hot shower and off to lounge in the bedroom before bed maybe catch a movie or something that's on

**guest2** · 10-10-2004, 08:32 PM

Good evening Ladies!!!!

Today was a busy one around here. The boys are taking the PSAT test on Wednesday and the practice tests that the school was supposed to have sent to us on Thursday have yet to arrive.

So...I pulled out the SAT prep video and workbook course this morning and had the boys do the Math section. Tomorrow they will do the English section and then on Tuesday morning I'll have them take the 3 hour practice test. Needless to say, we did not make it to church today.

I decided to try and make the best of it though and got lots done around here. Five loads of laundry have been done and hung out on the line to dry and I also washed a load of canvas shoes and fleece houseslippers. From there I move onto making 4 loaves of whole wheat bread, a big crab salad and crab and cream cheese wontons (reward for the boys for working so hard on their test prep).

Jeff and I then headed into town to get him new boots for work and pick up a few grocery items that I forgot the other day. I did manage to find pickling lime and rock salt for about 1/4 the normal price which thrills me. Now I can make those green tomato pickles this week!:Yippee: I also found a great deal on underwear for Jeff and the twins and only need to find a good sale for Jaysn's now (they were out of his size).

Jeff and Josh just headed out to hunt quail and some other bird that is in season right now. Chris wanted to go in the worst way but got himself ground for not doing his jobs well around the house. Our rule is you do your jobs well or you lose a priviledge.

Somehow I think he will be doing his jobs much better now because hunting means alot to him.

Tonight I'd like to just relax and get to bed early. With the days getting shorter, my body is saying it wants to go to bed earlier. happens to me every year about this time!

Bethany~You've done well raising your sons!!!!!

**Mom23boys** · 10-10-2004, 10:06 PM

Good evening friends.

Today was a busy day of cleaning and grocery shopping. DH baked a german chocolate cake. It was yummy!! Chris mowed the lawn. Dakota and Richard helped with the inside cleaning. What great kids!!

I forgot to say that Richard passed his driver's test and is officially a driver of the roads.

I am proud of him.

Dh and I went to see Ladder 49 last night. It was really good. I laughed and then cried. It made me realize some of tha dangers DH puts himself in to help others.

I hope you all have a great evening and week.

**homesteadmamma** · 10-11-2004, 10:48 AM

Good morning everyone. I'm back, just couldn't stay away any longer. Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian buddies.

We've had a wonderful weekend, although quite exciting at times. Our quiet little town became not so quiet on Friday night at 11 p.m. when 9 (yes I said 9) police cars rolled into town to stop a party that was going on. Six men ended up in jail and were automatically fired from their job, 2 ended up hurt (one required 22 stitches), one low rental home ended up with broken windows, doors and holes in the wall. Dh and I miss it all - we were sleeping soundly.

Yesterday we invited a new couple that moved to town for turkey dinner. We had a wonderful time. She made and brought over a wonderful fall wreath which is now hanging on my kitchen wall. Her little girl is just so cute. She is three and oh so black. She adopted her from an island in South America. She loves our dd and it was so neat watching them play in the leaves outside.

Today, I'm not sure what we have planned yet. Our weather has been marvelous, so I'm sure will do something outside.

Hope you all have a wonderful day, down on your homestead.

**guest2** · 10-11-2004, 11:50 AM

Good Monday morning!!! It sounds like everyone has had productive and good weekends!

CJ~that was so nice of you to ask the new family over for dinner. I'm sure they appreciated it so much. I had to chuckle at your comment about their daughter. My sister was adopted into our family and her skin is very dark. When she gets in the sun it does turn black. I used to envy her dark skin and she wanted my light colored skin. It was so funny trying to convince people that we are sisters since we are total opposites in the looks department!

Michelle~tell Richard congratulations!!! Jaysn will be gettinghis liscence soon and I know how much it means to the teens.

Today I have the morning at home and then work this afternoon. The boys are busy watching an SAT prep video and then working on the English portion of the practice problems. They will be taking the PSAT on Wednesday. I called the school this morning to see if the practice tests had arrived yet for the boys and was told that they had not been sent out Thursday since it was a half day of school and no school on Friday. I wish they would have told me that on Thursday morning so I could have just run by the high school and picked the tests up in person (the high school is in another town).

Hopefully they will be in the school's interschool mail today and I can pick them up.

We got frost here last night but amazingly all of our flowers made it. We have a gently sloping yard so the frost doesn't settle on the plants if it is a light one. We also have one flowerbed that is pretty well protected and it got no frost at all. Our neighbors all got frosted big time and their flowers are looking pretty sad. I think I'm going to pick a bunch of the flowers today and make a big bouquet before it gets any colder and I too lose my flowers.

Do you ever get a feeling like someone is going to need you big time? I have that feeling today. God is just laying it on my heart that there is someone hurting who is going to need me today. I need to be prepared to drop everything possible to help whomever that is. My heart is just heavy and grieving for them. I'm sure that as the day goes on, God will show me who it is.

Anyway, that is what is going on here. You all have a wonderful and blessed day!!!!!

**QuilterMom** · 10-11-2004, 12:25 PM

Yay Richard!

CJ - It sounds like you had a lovely time with your new friends this weekend.

We started homeschool late this morning, but everything flowed smoothly and we are finished except reading aloud later today from a chapter book and ds doing a math worksheet with dh this evening (each math lesson has 2 worksheets and they suggest they be broken up - I do one with ds and dh does the other when he gets home from work). Maybe we are finally going to get to fall into a good rhythm now (no more hurricanes PLEASE!).

I have a load of laundry going, have gotten most of the recycling into the bins, and have a million other things I want to do in the house and don't know where to start! LOL

Tonight we're having meatloaf (made with ground turkey - first time we're trying it that way), mashed potatoes with gravy and corn. We're starting to menu plan each week now (this is week#1). I also need to get this crazy oven figured out. It cooks too hot and everything burns. I am so looking forward to getting a new one!

Have a great day everyone!

**guest2** · 10-11-2004, 12:29 PM

Kim,
Get a thermometer that hangs on the racks in your oven so you can see what the temperature really is. My old oven was so unreliable on the temps thing so I did this. Saved me so many burnt cookies!!!!

**Michele Annette** · 10-11-2004, 12:42 PM

Hello Ladies!

I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

DH's Mom and BF were here this weekend and we had a really nice visit. We took them to see the town of Rochester and the house on Saturday. It was such a beautiful warm and sunny day. I was so happy about that because it was freezing yesterday and is supposed to be all this week! Brrrrrrr!

Well, DH DID get all of his banking done on Saturday and even though today is a banking holiday, I did drop off the signed mortgage forms and copies of Aaron's paperwork in the deposit box. Phew! Aaron did tell me on Saturday night that he had started get a little bit of "cold feet" with the house, but he said after visiting the house again, and the town, he knew definately that this was the right decision and was much more comfortable with the idea.

Tonight I will be catching up on laundry and finishing up a sewing project. I really need to think of what I want to do this year for my homeade Christmas cards. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

**forestdale** · 10-11-2004, 04:10 PM

Morning ladies,

Welcome back, CJ, I'm glad you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.

Well, I went to the plant nursery and of course I overspent and bought way too much stuff. I don't know why I go there, I cannot control my buying in a plant nursery. It's like I'm possessed! Anyhow, yesterday afternoon I spent planting and enjoying my garden.

I have a heap of laundry to do today and I might/might not iron this afternoon. I also have to return library books and clean out the chicken coop.

I had a call from my sister yesterday. She sounds quite depressed and she having bad dreams about her husband who died last year. She keeps dreaming that he's looking for her and she just runs away. I invited her to come up for a weekend or longer but she said she can't get away from her store at the moment. I hope she's ok.

Michele, it sounds like everything is coming together nicely for you and your DH.

Michelle, congratulations to Richard for passing his test.

Kim, I'm pleased you're back into your homeschooling rhythmn. I'll let you know how the wheat grass goes.

Debbie, I love the way you're always ready with a helping hand or advice for anyone who needs it.

Enjoy today.

**mustang80** · 10-11-2004, 08:01 PM

Hey everyone!

Another week has passed me by. It's Monday again! I'll be leaving in a few minutes to pick Ashlee up from band practice. Work has been extremely busy and I still haven't been trained properly, and I don't belong to the "clique" but I found a friend I can trust today that works in the billing office. We had lunch together today and talked about random stuff. It was nice.

I'm still working on getting the girls to help out and they are doing chores for the most part. My weekends are still filled with marching band at least for another month. I love it but I'll be glad to have my weekends back, since they are sacred now that I work full time, lol.

**Mom23boys** · 10-11-2004, 08:49 PM

Thank you all for the congrats for Richard. He loved them!! I hope Jaysn does well too! You are right, teens love that license.

Today was no school because of Columbus Day. I had to go in because of it being a staff workday. There wasn't much to do so it was a pretty laid back day.

I left the boys a list of things to do before they were allowed to play video games or the computer. They worked together and said they knocked out the list quick. It was nice coming home to a clean house...no housework for me today.

We ate leftovers for supper. We had alot of meat left over last night, so I heated it up and added some veggies, a salad and some bread. It was a quick and simple meal.

Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving CJ. I am glad you were able to share that time with family.

**QuilterMom** · 10-12-2004, 09:03 AM

Happy Tuesday!

I'm finishing up a late breakfast and we're about to get homeschool underway.

Yesterday ds and I got our seashell decor rearranged. I have bags and bags of certain ones I collect and we got those into 'new to us' decorative containers from the thrift store and yard sales. We also have started a collection of sea beans and got those into a container as well. I reclaimed the coffee/cocktail table and threatened anyone that put anything on it that doesn't belong there! LOL!

I also started cutting fabric for ds's Hawaiian print duvet I'm going to make for his room. I've been buying shirts and dresses at yard sales and thrift stores. I had hoped to cut all the pieces into 15" squares, but some pieces weren't large enough to do that so now I'm doing 6" squares. This was my inspiration - http://ww2.potterybarnkids.com/cat/p...7Cak&gids=k908 I have a bit more I can cut today and I am going to use a shirt and dress of mine that I no longer wear. I dragged out a bunch of dh's shirts last night to ask if I could use them, but he was not amused. LOL I don't have nearly enough fabric though so I'll have to keep looking. Dh wants to remodel ds's room first of all the bedrooms so I decided a duvet would be much quicker for me to make than a quilt.

If it doesn't rain today (it rained all day yesterday), I may try to drag some more yard debris down to the road for pickup.

**canadian gardener** · 10-12-2004, 12:16 PM

Good morning all, I had a very busy thanksgiving, got most of the 308 MP's emailed, with about 20 left for later today.

Sylvia has a cold this morning and I feel like I'm coming down with it, so I'll probably not be posting much the next few days. Going to snooze a LOT and recover.