Monday List and Reflections on Homeschooling

I have a Monday list a mile long. Change oil in car, bank, .... you get the routine. I am sitting here though enjoying a most wonderful cup of coffee from my Keurig. It came Friday and we have been having the best time with it. I will show you tomorrow. Love it!!

Saturday my second daughter is officially graduating from high school. We are having a big party. She has been home schooled her entire life. Not one day in regular school but many days being taught by other wonderful folks and the last two years she has been taking her classes at the local Junior College under a dual enrollment program. She has been a delight her entire life. I love her more than she will ever know. She has always been the sunshine in our home. Big wide smile and sweet disposition. Sharp witted though. She could zing you with a funny comment since she was three. She taught herself to read at four and has always kept wonderful grades and is as organized a kid as you can get. If it wouldn't embarrass her, I would show you her drawers. Perfect. I used to pay her to organize mine. She has the kind of brain I wish I had been born with.

Being able to home school her has been my pleasure and is a wonderful way to really get to know your kid. Nothing like figuring out a math lesson to bring a family together (NOT). You really get a chance to know your kids when you are together so many hours a day. Now some may not like that, but I loved it. My little chicks all around me. I am so used to them being here, I am off balance when most of them are gone. The quiet disturbs me. But I am slowly getting used to them all here less and less. Next year, my third will attend public high school which will be a huge change for us. It is what she wants and she is a great kid so I am letting her flap her wings and move on to another chapter in our home. 17 years of homeschooling behind me. It is a big job when you commit to it, but the rewards are priceless and I am so thankful that I had the honor to teach them, a husband who supported and stood by me and the chance to spend my lunch hour with them all these years. Thanks girls for taking the road with me that everyone thought I was crazy to start all those years ago. We survived and you thrived. Can't ask for anything more than that.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm
Bowl full of Lemons
Time Warp Wife
Raising Homemakers

Sunday

Oh and the cookbooks will be mailed out to Ricki Jill and Mica.
Thanks.

Change of Heart

I tell you I had no idea I would be so wishy washy when I got these chickens. I guess it is my nature to over protect and hem and haw over things. I am feeling my way. Thank God for Kris from Simplify. She is there for me everyday with my questions.  I wasn't going to let the girls "free range" cause of our big dog's excitability when she sees them but after e-mailing Kris I just thought what the heck. Our yard is small and manageable for watching them. I put the dog in her kennel and let them out. It was a delight. They circled the yard twice. I think I will start introducing the dog on her leash to them. Gauge her interest that way with my husband holding her. She has never hurt any of our other animals and we have a six pound chi, but chickens flap and do other silly things that may be fun to chase. Scary. I will let you know how it goes.

Always together. They do not like to be separated. Once flower muffin found herself on the other side of the fire pit and the squawking that ensued. Poor baby. She ran right back to her sisters.

Chicken butts!!!

Sunflower seeds are a real favorite. We ate some, they ate some.

Everyone out in the yard playing. Thank goodness for the sun today. I think sometimes with each new type of animal I get there is a time period of adjustment. My mom did not like animals and the bother and I only ever had one cat growing up. Not my kids. We have two dogs, two cats and now four chickens. Organized chaos all the time around here.

Now I am thinking of getting a new coop to have the chickens in the yard and not around the corner. I hate not seeing them but I will sit on it for a few days and see if I change my mind. My darling hubby says, "Whatever makes you happy." Oh music to a woman's ears. He deserves cookies for that. Or he is sick of chicken talk. One may wonder.

Show Off Your Cottage Monday
Bowl full of Lemons
Wow Us Wed

Ode to the Girls

I love all things chicken and right now I am 'obsessed" as my hubby says. He's right. I dug this old ceramic chicken out of the pot it had been stuck in for years. Washed her up and now she has a place of honor on the patio.

I told hubby it was my homage to the girls. The feathered girls not our daughters.

Simple Home Life
Show and Tell Friday
Free For All Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Seasonal Sundays
Sister Sunday
Sundae Scoop
Bowl full of Lemons

Oh This Weather!!

Geesh can the weather remember this is Southern California? Hot and dry for a few days then suddenly humid yesterday and then rain all night and into today. No one playing out back, my three year old is on my last nerve. I dash out to pick up something that should not be all wet and swoosh right into a big pile of dog poop. Great!

Even my vines are confused. They are out of control with this damp April. We usually are dry by now around these parts.

The chickens have been shuttled back and forth to the garage as we figured we'd have all summer to get a rain gutter on the overhang above them and a cover over their coop but no it is not done and yes the chickens were freaked out by the huge drops coming off of the roof. As we were carrying them to the garage by poor daughter slipped and her ten foot long legs twisted like a pretzel and down she went but never dropped that chicken.

Poor girl. She grew another half inch according to doctor and is 5'10". That is a lot of leg and arm for a 14 year old. She is always hurting herself. Poor babe. She will adjust to them someday.

Now my good friend Ginger at Small Town USA is have an anniversary giveaway over at her blog. Head over to enter and say hi!

Clearing Out Some Cookbooks

I am thinning out my cookbook collection. So many recipes I use now are online and I am keeping just my most used cookbooks. If anyone is interested in either of these books, just let me know and leave a comment which one you'd like and tomorrow I will draw two names from the comments and I will send them off to you.

Make Your Own Compost Holder

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 I always have a loose little compost pile in the far corner of our yard but decided to make a proper one to compost my chicken waste. In fact I probably will make more. I used half inch hardware cloth. It is spendy but I had a roll from the chicken coop. You could use any heavy duty wire fencing you might have in your garage lying around.

Just layed it out to about the size I wanted and used my wire cutters to cut. I also use some good wire hubby had in the garage to attach the sides.

Fold over the ends so they overlap about two inches. Use your wire in three inch pieces to attach the sides.
I found it easiest to make a hook with my pieces of wire to fish it though the hardware cloth. Why they call it cloth I don't know as this stuff is tough and sharp. When I pulled them through I used the wire cutters to hold the wire and twist securely. Place these about every six inches down the roll.

There it is tucked behind a tree in the corner. I would love to make a big one out of a trash can to really cook the compost quickly. This method will be a little slower but I know the stuff that comes out of it is nutrient rich because whenever I would turn the pile the roots from the plants in the planter would be coming up into the pile reaching for all that good stuff.

Linking to:
Wow Us Wed.
Success U Wednesday
Raising Homemakers
Frugally Sustainable

What I Have Been Doing

I am very busy learning all I can about my new chicks. I know my husband thinks I have gone off the deep end and baby when I go I go hard.

Went into Barnes & Noble and used a gift card to buy this book. I have read the entire thing. It is visually a lovely book and though I would love the thought of free ranging chickens out back when I am working I have decided that they will either be in their coop or in a mobile pen I have. I move it around and it is open on the bottom so they can scratch and pick and do the chicken thing. My big dog seems very interested in them and with a three year old who follows me everywhere, I foresee an unfortunate situation. I would hate for the dog to get a hold of them and harm or kill one.

So daily I head out to the coop and let them out of the house where they sleep and feed them and give them fresh water. I visit throughout the day and let them out to head to the mobile coop for a few hours or more every day. It was so hot this weekend they had to be in some good shade and nice cool dirt. They were happy to be under the grapefruit tree.
This is my favorite girl Illy. She has been a sweetie since she came home.

That is her drinking root beer. Kidding. I made a gravity waterer out of it but she had loads of leaves scratched up in there over the weekend. They get hot and have to have cool water to drink when it is hot so I put some ice in their bowl. They pecked and bobbed at it. They had ice cold cantaloupe and lots of grass clippings to pick through. We caught grass hoppers and cracked up as the chickens caught and ate them. They would not eat a big brown one though. Hmmm.

Today I snuck out for some quiet time with the girls and had three of them on my lap just hanging out and eating the oats I brought out. I have one that is stand off ish and my be a roo. Wouldn't even acknowledge
me. Stinker. Then wondering if he/she was missing something hopped on my leg and proceeded to take a poo. I saw it coming and flung my leg out of the way. Near miss. If you don't like poop, chickens may not be your thing but really the amount of poo four chickens leave compared to my big stinky pile laying dog is nothing. And dog poo is not good for anything so lands in the land fill. My chicken poo can be added to my compost to grow my garden. I will share a home made composter I made very soon.

Linking to:
Wow Us Wed.

Eat Your Greens

Just a little updated pic of the garden. It is coming in well.  With our heat some things are bolting.

This is the first year I have grown bok choy. I am trying to feed us fresh greens once or twice a week. They are so full of good things. This bok choy was easy to grow. I will always have it in the garden from now on. Year round rotation is the plan. For now I just cut off what I want and they grow new leaves.

This is the blue kale. I cut leaves every week and it just keeps growing more.

This is the second batch of lettuce I planted. We are already eating the first batch in our salads.

Here is my way of cooking the greens. Chop up and pour olive oil over it. Add some sea salt and pepper and a splash of water. Cover and cook until tender stirring every few minutes. Greens can be tough so add the water and let them steam with the lid and they will be wonderfully tender. I love that they are organic and picked right before we sit down to eat.

Linking to:
Met Monday
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm
Cozy Home Scenes
Bowl full of lemons

When You are Three...

You know how to coordinate outfits. "But mom it is all spotted." Happy Sunday. Off to church and more time in the yard. It has been hot here so lots of time in the sprinkler for this little gal.

Mom's Best Potato Salad

This is my most requested dish at family and friend's barbecues. I am always asked to bring the potato salad because this is the best recipe ever. My kids will only eat my potato salad. I learned to make it from my mom.

Recipe:

This will be for an average bowl. You can add or reduce as needed.

8 medium potatoes
8 hard boiled eggs sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1 small can of sliced black olives
2 heaping T. of dill relish
bit of grated onion ( I only like a small amount)
3/4 c. mayo
3/4 c. sour cream
T. yellow mustard
Dill pickle juice (a generous splash)
Season with season salt, a little salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until just tender. Peel and dice place in a large bowl.
While potatoes are still warm put the mustard and pickle juice in and mix well.
Add all the other ingredients and mix well. If you like it  more creamy add more of the mayo and sour cream or add less if you like it dryer.

Refrigerate and enjoy. One of the kids always offers to taste test for me. They love it so I make a large bowl just for us so they can enjoy for a couple of days.

Linking to:
Sunday Blog Love
Show off Your Cottage Monday
BNOTP
Bowl Full of Lemons

Warm and Cheery Shelf

After taking down the Easter decor I have some things on the kitchen I am hoping will take me to fall. You never know with me as I am always moving things. 

Flowers and ladybugs. Nothing says warm weather better.

Lots of vintage goodies bought at the thrift store.

For now this little sand pail resides here but I may change it out if I can find something more YELLOW of course. It is my color of choice right now.

In fact I finally ordered my mini plus Keurig and I decided to get it in yellow. I have been waiting for a deal of some sort since the $99 price tag was more than I wanted to pay. Yesterday was the day. 30% off from Kohls and $10 in Kohls cash so $40 off sounded good to me. Can't wait to try it. Even my hubby is excited for it to get here.

Linking to:
Show and Tell Friday
BNOTP
Feathered Nest Friday
SNS 130
Show off Your Cottage Monday
Make it Great Monday

Productive!

I feel like I had a very productive day yesterday. Know why? Because I finally got a piece of furniture painted. I used spray paint with primer. It was so quick. I think I will paint all my furniture (at least small pieces) that way in the future. Dried fast in between coats.

This piece has a twin in the garage so will go on the other side of my bed. They were my MIL's first night stands. I'd say that is getting your money's worth. Now 50 years later, still being used and in good shape.

When I was taking a picture of the nightstand my little one wanted a picture taken too. "Here take a pic of me smelling the flowers."

The girls beds all have had the flannel sheets taken off and switched over to cooler ones. Now to clean the linen closet to get all the winter stuff back in. On the list for today.

Felt my tray was sort of plain so I added some more goodies to it.

Now it is farm fresh and ready for spring.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Thrifty Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Delightful Order
Somewhat Simple

Freshen and Clean Drains the Natural Way

Every once in a while I will notice my kitchen drain needs a freshening up. You know the smell.

I used to use bleach but my daughter is very sensitive to it permeating the house so I discovered a more natural approach years ago.

Take some baking soda and white vinegar.

Generously sprinkle the baking soda around and in the drain. About a 1/4 cup.

Then pour about a cup of vinegar over the baking soda and watch it fizz. You will hear it fizzing all down the drain. Let sit for about fifteen minutes.

And wash it all down with a pot of boiling water.

We are on a sewer system so I wonder if this is better than bleach if you have a septic tank. Seems like it would be. Helps keep the drain nice and clear too.

Linking to:
Wow Us Wed.
Faded Charm
Time Travel Thursday
Fun Stuff Fridays
The Charm of Home
Common Ground
Show and Tell Friday

Retro Drinkware

My collection of retro drink items. All thrifted and perfect for my red and yellow shelf. Working on it this week.

Linking to:
Time Warp Wife
Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wed.

Frugal Challenge - Free Hen House and Chick Update

The chicks are now five weeks old. Getting bigger and harder to catch. They spend the day out here in their coop but go into the garage at night.

They are having their most favorite snack ever. They go crazy when I put it down. It is Kefir which is full of good things for them and is full of probiotics. It is of course good for humans too. I put it in the girls smoothies.

Okay, there is the little house. It is an old cupboard turned on its side. The laying boxes will be in the top section and hubby will put the ramp on when they are ready to start going up there, but for now it is closed off to them. The bottom has a roosting pole for them to sleep on. The door can close but we have it propped open for now. I will move the bundle of shavings behind the lil house when the ramp goes on. We spent $0 on the house portion. It is all scrap from the coop and from our garage. Not attractive but free.

I have been playing with chickens indoors as well. I think in honor of my new girls I will have chicken centerpiece on the dining table. Just brought together things I had around the house.

Those are the only eggs I have for right now.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Lowercase Letters
Just Something I Whipped Up
Craft O Maniac
Barn Hop
A Stroll Thru Life
Coastal Charm
Cozy Home Scenes
Home and Garden Thursday
SNS130