Wow! Cold!

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I can't help but wonder as I see the map of Canada, -40 wind chill factor.

I don't even want to think about how cold that is for man and animal; probably where they came up with the idea of garden statues.


Last week, as the wintry weather set in, we had another example of how we are protected. This minivan we've got is only going to go so far without having the funds to make repairs on it, but we are nursing it along as best we can. I make sure to get it serviced pretty regularly, but the broken things are more difficult.

We got up very early and warmed up the van for getting to an office cleaning before church. We had two to get to that day and still try to make it. We did, and after visiting for a while afterwards, the car inexplicably would not start. It finally did with jumper cables but I know batteries and that was just not normal. Sure enough, at AutoZone they ran a test and said they'd never seen a battery do that before. The guage steadily dropped as they held it to the battery.

He said it looked like the battery had sudden catastrophic failure, and either my alternator was bad, or the battery, when it malfunctioned so badly, actually ruined the alternator. Yikes! Another 200 dollar part, plus labor! I thought I might cry. I think I'm tired. LOL

My battery warranty was up. But one guy said he'd pro-rate it for me. I could get a replacement at a cheaper price. The guy in charge saw him and said, "Can't do that, it's too far over warranty."

As I stood there wondering what God was going to do. The guy in charge suddenly picked up a new battery and carried it out to my car. This is the same guy that had previously said they were not allowed to work on my car because the battery is buried too deeply in the compartment.

I asked how much I would have to pay for this new battery - the first guy quietly said that they were going to replace it for free! AND they were going to do it for me after all.

Praise God! I sat in a sheltered car while the guy stood out in the snow for 30 minutes, rapping his bloody knuckles and changing my battery. Then he checked the alternator again and said it seemed to be fine.

I'm still looking for that milder winter that Accuweather promised in their long-range forecast. Maybe in January?

I've been outside, moving very dry snow off of our porches. Michael is disappointed that it's not the best for snowballs, but it's very pretty, and we are even getting some sunshine trying to peak between the clouds. It is so light, it almost poofs up like talcum powder when you shovel it.

We winterized the pool in between these two massive arctic blasts, and it's a good thing because we are going to end up with several inches of ice on the top.

Since Thanksgiving and the cold weather occurred, I've not had the chance to get out there and work on the greenhouse any more. Actually, we've not done much outdoors at all.

I've been sick for a week, and it seems to be really getting worse today. I'm hoping it's the peak of the germ warfare, and after today, my antibodies will be short. "Short", a military term for those who do not have long until their tour is over.

So I've got on a Santa hat. Not because I'm dressing like Santa, but because as we have been slowly unpacking Christmas stuff and decorating, it came in very handy to keep me warm.

We are having to cut way back on everything right now. Christmas will be really nice. No gifts this year. Instead we are going to relish the joy of really focusing on the Lord and others. We've also got our thermostat set way down to about 60. So we are layering! WooHOOOO! It's actually helpful when we go out of doors, because we are not hit by a sudden shock of cold air that we are not used to.

And we are so thankful for a freezer full of our garden produce and canned goods we can freely eat from!

I found an adorable framed print at the grocery store. A little girl, dreaming of being a ballerina, and I added some three dimensional ballerinas to the front. A little bit of paint, and it's going on eBay. All the thrift stores around here are having huge sales. That's helpful when I'm trying to find fabric for practicing sewing some custom shirts for Michael. Fabric is just to expensive for practice, so old sheets and tablecloths are like manna from Heaven!

We had a fun dance after church yesterday. I knew I should not have danced, being sick, but I washed up well so as not spread germs, and then proceeded to have my lungs set on fire from being out of breath. Nothing will clear out your sinuses like good exercise!

~Faith

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Excavations! Dancing!! - August 16, 2010

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The next morning started off nice and early, hoping to get in a little more work before it got too hot.

We followed this great BBQ cooker all the way into town. Mmmmmmm...





My folks were at a doctor appointment, so Michael and I got to work right away hauling out the patio





And stacking it out of the way.





Over behind our van is the stack of bricks and the light pole we took out yesterday.





Barney





Rubble





When my folks got home we were about done, so work began on taking down a tree they had nurtured for years.









Dad's chainsaw died. First time he used it. Bought six months ago. No receipt.





There was almost a Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I headed off the situation by offering my services to convince the store to give me a new one. Against their will they did so. I can't tell you how I praised God for making that happen. :o)

Bzzzzzzzzzzzz.....





Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... (those little electric ones sound funny)





Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...





TIMBERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!





I still love to count rings.





And the rest of the time was spent sawing, chopping, hauling, and stacking. Until it was time to run to our Civil War dance practice.









Then hit gymnastics and head home!





Beautiful! Again! Thank you!

~Faith

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Getting Ready for the Barn Dance!

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Our last barn dance was held for New Year's Day. And hooooooooooo-BOY! The weather pulled a fast one on us! We had a grand time, but it was scary cold that night.

This time is going to be different. Nearly perfect weather.

And our friends really did an amazing thing while winter and the first part of spring sauntered past. They built a second floor in their barn. It's incredible, but I'm not posting pics yet as I want it to be a surprise to some who are going but haven't seen it yet.

Michael and I went over after our office cleaning and window washing jobs to help with the cleaning and set up.

Here's the stairs and floor where it used to be completely open to the roof. Wait til you see it!





I sneaked in some shots of his beautiful street rod.









We swept, carried chairs, put in festive light strings and jar candles, all while having a blessed time just being together.





As the sun set on this 85 degree day...





Elaine took me on a cruise to see their orchard and blueberry patch at the back of their property.





I tell you, after working up a sweat in the barn...





...the wind in our hair felt TERRIFIC!

We rode past the garden area. Gary is a great gardener!





And found that our orchards are in the same state of establishment.





I just love visiting their place.





It's one of the prettiest places around here!

~Faith

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Whoops! Hip-Hop! Tilling up the Garden

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Some friends dropped by while we were celebrating Shabbat by doing nothing but relaxing and practicing some hip-hop. Here's Michael working one out.





I didn't take any photos of my friends doing hip-hop moves, but I did take a photo of the scarf project I finished up. Elaine wanted to know how to do the fringe, so I demonstrated on one end and she tackled the other. Here is the wildly successful new fashion statement that came about as a result of being very deep in conversation - the "Off-Fringe".

What you can't hear is the hysterical laughter taking place as we all gathered around.





This back porch is getting quite adventurous! I am going to have to start buying a few pieces a week so I can build something back here.





This front yard excavation is 7 years old. Still nothing will grow here, not even weeds. Beyond hauling in truckloads of topsoil, I have no idea what to do. I will have to get out an old video I recorded of Elliot Coleman turning soil like this into good soil within a year. I don't know how expensive it will be, but maybe he is very creative about it. I seem to remember Daikon radishes being part of it...





After a couple of days of clear weather, the soil had dried out enough for Michael and I to begin tilling in the garden. He's putting the cover back on after installing the new belt.









While he did that, I mowed the weeds over the area we are going to plant peas.





I found several items still growing from last year.





Swiss chard.





Large onions, thought not very large.





A bunch of bunching onions.





Two different types of leeks. I'm very excited about these. I love leeks for soups, and hate to pay the grocer prices.









And this is why we mowed first, to eliminate getting weeds wrapped around the tines.





The sky was beautiful. The weather fairly balmy, though very windy, so we needed jackets.









Soaking up the sun.





Getting the knack for starting it up. So often you have to play with the choke, backing it off, bringing it up. Each engine is a little quirky. We figured it mostly out within about 20 minutes.





What shoes are you wearing, Michael?





That's better!





Since the garden is mostly sloped at the top, we decided to tier the beds up here. So after Michael went over the lower side of the bed to break it up, I spaded the upper side and tossed it onto the lower side. This also made it easier to keep the tiller going in a straight line on a hill. They like to wander downhill while you are struggling to make beds.









Found a praying mantis egg sac in the branches of one of last year's pepper plants.





We're going to let this sit for a couple of days, letting the weed roots resprout, then til it again. Probably do that one more time to make sure they are worn out, then plant peas by the weekend.





We dug up some of these giant frustrating weeds. The roots are massive and you can hardly kill them. I hope we got all the roots.





Coming back up we see the wind has taken out the shoe bin, again, and all the patio set along with it. I've got to do something else. I've had it with that thing. Currently, it is propped up against the back of the house with a step ladder and cement blocks holding it all still. Not pretty.





But this incoming storm sure is!





Crazy weather year, hasn't it been? I guess we'll all see where this year takes us. Happy garden planning!

~Faith

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