Polar Vortex, damaging winds, and frozen combs

We are all so done with winter here! We survived the Polar Vortex! Temps fell to 46- here! I threw extra straw in the coops and Lt. Dan's house. I wrapped the Abbey (duck truck) with a bit of plastic and blue insulation sheet on the outside to help with the drafts. Believe it or not those chickens and ducks stayed out during that weather in the run! 

In the coop, I took more blue insulation sheets and positioned them along the windy side to help cut the wind. These birds stayed in! We didn't let them out at all. 

Dan happily shared his house with about 6 other chickens that made a break for his casa before the weather was too frigid the day before and so they were locked in with him, which worked out so well for us because we worried that he would be alone and cold. Those wee feathered friends kept him company and warmth! The only thing that I noticed two roosters have frostbite on their combs. I am so grateful that we didn't lose anyone!

Inside we were keeping warm the best we could. I hung up heavier curtains on the windows, blankets on our front door and everyone bundled up. Our furnace had a hard time keeping up and few weeks (thankfully) after that deadly weather snap it expired! 


We had a repairman come out to look at it and he didn't feel right to put it back together and to somehow rig it to work for legality reasons and of course, we didn't have the funds for a new one. Mr. Awessome dug out the kerosene heaters and we once again bundled up. It was a long nerve-racking week! We scrambled to find what funds we could and luckily an angel came through and lent us with what we were short. There's more to that story but that is it in a nutshell!

Next came warm weather then cold then warm and then windy! We had 40 - 50+ mph winds that knocked off siding, slate tiles from the roof, and blew outdoor stuff away. There was a plan to take the siding off anyway so we could scrape and paint the house so we kinda felt lucky to have the help with that! The roof is another sore spot that will need to be addressed soon. We do have our pans strategically placed in the attic to catch the drips but need a new roof. Sadly, most folks don't do payment plans unless it is through a finance company. With our credit, not the best, we are thinking of getting the Farmstay/Airbnb up sooner to help save up for the repairs. 

There is a possibility we may get that up and running this Summer instead of next. There is still a lot to do before we give the thumbs up for this plan. But it has been fun to find items for the bus and planning of some other sort of building. We have an idea of where the primitive spots are going. Those will be for campers that bring a tent and camp out in a designated spot.  I am gathering local spots for entertainment and sightseeing as well as local delicacies to share with guests. This part is exciting!

Soon more garden planning, seed starting, and writing book 4! This one will be about our homestead experience! I hope to have it ready to publish by the end of the year. I still have two other book ideas percolating in my mind but need to finish my other first.  I'm pretty excited to have a writing workshop next month, blessed to have several interviews sharing my story of my past, and working on more interviews and speaking events. Find out details on what is upcoming here- My Author page .

How has your winter be going? 

BIG HUGS!

Happy New Year... Come on Spring!

It was my idea to wear our stylish tree hats. If you know me well enough this is no big deal. You're used to me. Mr. Awesome has grown used to the antics and crazy ideas. God love him!

I shouldn't be complaining about the winter. We have been pretty blessed so far. I do need to say that I am not sure how to dress. Two days ago I found myself outside picking up things in the yard wearing a hoodie. 

The holidays were good to us. It's nice and quiet with the kids coming by with the baby. I call them kids, but they are adults. Seems weird to call them anything but kids. 

Mr. Awesome and I have been dreaming about Spring and changing up garden planning. Seed catalogs are already sprinkled on my kitchen table. My seed container has been filled. And we have been brainstorming ideas for combating the wild range of insects and pests that have come through the garden. When we are done with one infestation another comes and takes its place. 

Lt. Dan the Wonder Goat has finally warmed up to us. I think he was mad at his other goat mommy for giving him away. He was pretty stubborn about ignoring us for about a month. Now, he is quite a character. He comes to beg for food and pets, mainly food! 
In my infinite wisdom, I didn't think about the damage he would do in the garden. Now, I did have an idea but the assault on my unsuspecting Elderberry was horrific. We really need to hustle him out of the garden soon. The area we thought of has our grape vines and he has already made a nice dent in those! Farm fail?! 


Fencing is HIGH on the list of things to do with him. Finishing buttoning up the house as well. We have a pretty drafty place. If the winds come out of the north the curtains move and you can feel the breeze. Mr. Awesome had the idea of using plexiglass as temporary window coverings and where he has done this the result is wonderful! We have 15 more windows to do! And before you ask, these are new windows. They are not original. They are poorly installed and caulked. 

The hens have started laying. Now, by hens, I mean 3 hens and a random duck have been laying. Which is a bit frustrating for us. We considered throwing some in the pot but don't wish to do so to the ones laying. I think they are doing it on purpose. 

They are smarter than you think. Which brings me to the other issues at hand... They are eating their eggs! I have tried putting golf balls in the nesting box and so far some wise hen decided she would rather play with it out of the nesting box and I found it in the chicken run. There are a few more tricks we can try. One is to fill an egg with mustard. I'll let you know how that goes.
I decided to try the "Deep litter" method over the winter and I tell

you, I am not a fan. I like the premise but I am a bit OCD when it comes to the coop. Now, I'm not talking the white glove test, just stinky and look wise. I've read there is no smell. I haven't experienced that yet and it could be due to the fact that ducks are really messy. We also do not have a poop board under our birds. I have cleaned a bit of it a few days back. I couldn't help myself! I moved about half of the litter out and placed it in a pile about 5 feet away from the coop. My hope is the pile will heat up, the chickens will dig and find bugs that were drawn to the pile for warmth and a yummy win for them!  

I bought 2 bags of pine chips and tossed a nice layer on top of everyone's areas. I'll do that again tomorrow as the weather may turn into a bit of snow. Time for flock blocks too! Flock blocks are these wonderful HUGE seed and mineral blocks for birds and this helps out during poor winter weather where we may not get outside to let everyone out right away. 

Did I mention I can't wait for Spring?! Do you have plans for your garden?

What did the fox say?

Apparently... NOM! NOM!

We started the Spring with 24 chickens. Not including our incubated balls of fluff. That number has dwindled down to 10. Granted 1 was eaten by a revenge-filled cat, 1 natural causes, and a possible raccoon snagged 1 or 2. The rest have been taken by foxes.

As beautiful as these creatures and the others are it makes us pretty upset. Mr. Awesome has some plans to get the remaining flock enclosed. In the meantime, when we don't let the dog out to roam the property we put a radio on. I read somewhere that one trick is to leave it on because it sounds like humans are out and about.

This is our fault of course. If we had a run perhaps we could have saved them or at least some of them. :(

In other news, our garden is in full swing. I haven't used it to its maximum potential. This year I'm

blaming it on my healing knee. Remember "The great knee incident" last December? Oh don't get me wrong I'm healing awesome. I am just a bit impatient in the process.

Mr. Awesome built raised beds for me that are working out splendidly. It has helped out well since squatting is not really something I'm doing a lot of right now.

We hatched out another set of chicks and included ducks! Out of 6 chicks and 6 ducklings, we now have 5 chicks and 2 ducklings. :)

These cute balls of fluff are not going out to range for a while. There is a hawk that has been roaming from time to time. That hawk made a meal of a newer chick.


My bees are not thriving. I had my nose in the hive several times but I am not seeing progress. I haven't talked to the bee people down the road but hope to do so to find out the magic they are using to keep the hives alive. I have been doing research on this and it still sounds as though it is due to the spraying of pesticides on farms. Since we are surrounded by farmland then it is a BIG problem for us. I'm scratching my head as to how to keep bees and keep them alive.

In other news, I was honored to be invited to be interviewed on The Bill & Kail Show about my story of abuse. I have been doing a series of videos about abuse, writing, and find us here-  Our YouTube channel. There is more but I'll be sharing that on my other blog later today- Hope When There Was None.

I hope your week is going great!

God bless and much love to you!

BIG HUGS,
Mel

Fred's not dead! There's a fox in the hen house!

Oh my goodness! I thought the weeks before were busy with farm drama. I'm hoping it is coming to a close.

On the 21st, Fred was attacked by a fox in the hen house. There was quite a bit of blood and feathers in the coop with Fred stooped over. He appeared lifeless when I found him the next morning. We weren't sure he would make it through the night. He didn't eat or drink for 3 days. He couldn't lift his head or stand.

On the 4th day he began to eat, drink and kind of stand up. On day 7 he began to crow as well as make some moves on the hens. We are pretty sure he is going to make a full recovery!

Last week we brought home 14 adorable balls of fluff from Carlberg Farms/AR Farms. We also picked up 2 packages of  Bees. Sadly, 1 package died! I'm really upset about that. My plan is to call the place where we purchased them to advise and ask if anyone else had experienced anything similar.

The garden starts are happy. Mr. Awesome created a raised bed and plans on building a few more for me. A great help they will be since my knee is getting better a bit everyday.

This is enough excitement for me! How is it in your neck of the woods?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Where did the time go?! Here I am on New Years Eve already!

Mr. Awesome and the kids have been tasked with my chores. Dishes, laundry, clean-up, meals and critter care. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss taking care of the Bunny, Ducks and Chickens. Even, mucking out the coops! I'm crazy, I know.

I was so touched when they put up the tree on Christmas Eve. YAY! I was kind of bummed about procrastinating decorating prior to my accident. They made it lovely. My other kiddos made it up from Lafayette to visit on Christmas Day too!  It was a blessing.

I am happy to report that I have a new knee brace and armed with physical therapy exercises to help me.

I still am unsure what is tore or ripped. But I am not due to see the DR. until February 2nd.

I KNOW RIGHT!?

This means I still have nothing but time to read, write, blog, binge on Netflix and YouTube. I have created some jewelry, writing my second book, just made a new page called, Hope when there was none- Hope when there was none

I share information about safety in leaving an abuser, Tips, also uplifting quotes and pictures. I am not sure why I didn't think of it before!

So as we ring in the New Year, I am grateful for the love and tribe I have around me. I hope the New Year brings you a safe, comfortable and healthy year.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

BIG HUGS!
Mel

Good-bye Cocky Locky!

I'm sad to say our Banty Roo disappeared. He had been experiencing leg spasms and general malaise. I keep expecting him to come out of the field somewhere. I have an infinity towards the Bantam breed or perhaps it's because I love Miniature anything. I am truly sadden by his loss. He was my last Banty.

Now this isn't the first time we have just seemingly lost a chicken out of thin air and I'm sure it won't be the last. In the past when a chicken was under the weather they would wander off never to be seen again. In my mind I try to romanticize that they found a comfy spot to settle down and pass on. The latter is just too intense to think about. SEE! This is why I shouldn't get attached to our farm animals! I blew my own rule. I'm a BIG sap. I cry at commercials. If someone shares their story of woe or happiness, I cry. If someone gives me a tip at work I cry (This is humbling for me. I treat others how I like to be treated and the last 2 days have been very generous and moving for me with how kind guests have been by tipping!).

I'm not a cry baby just very empathetic and caring. If you read my other blog about my journey as a Domestic Violence Survivor I wear my heart on my sleeve. If someone contacts me to share, it is moving for me when someone shares how reading my blog has helped them. I'm not tooting my own horn.

I mentioned in my previous post that I have been offline a bit. I have just been focusing on my family and in the moment. I may cruise around on Pinterest or Instagram but not for long. There is so much to do. I have to plan my day with 2 things in mind:

1) How am I feeling after work
2) How am I feeling in general

Pushing myself is never a good option. I tend to work myself with such intensity in order to get what I need done finished.

Enough about me!

Peanut has the garden detail this summer. She has been doing a great job! Rather then go nuts and just buy more and more plants I figure that I will get maybe 5 to 10 a year and add to our garden and around the home every year.

The plants I had gotten from Mom are looking pretty sad but I pray they will come around next year.

We went on an adventure last Saturday! Each year I ask the kids to pick 3 things they would like to

do or to go. (Within reason of course) Her picks were the Museum, Zoo and Turkey Run. So we went to Turkey Run! We stayed about an hour and then hit Rockville for lunch, antiquing and ice cream. I was able to have a long weekend and I needed to recover from Saturday for sure! The weather was nice, not too hot, humid or rainy. Can't wait for next year! My eldest was unable to go with us as Short Stack is sick with a virus. Poor baby! She is also cutting her first tooth.

Mr. Awesome has been working on various projects. From

getting a spigot for the outside to creating a cabinet for the kitchen about the stove.

Cherries and Mulberries are ready for picking! We picked a few gallon bags but I hope to can some for pies or jelly/jam. Now we have an understanding in the house for no one to mess with the jars at all. I was saddened to have lost dozens of jars because someone popped them before they cooled as well as leaving the rings on. I was horrified when a jar I had given to someone was moldy!

UGH!

It was JV and thankfully she is wonderful and understanding. She gave me a cute jar with a cross-stitched chicken on it that is adorable. I haven't decided what I'm going to fill it with yet. I have my goals, dreams and wishes that I keep in a box perhaps I'll put those in there instead. OR maybe I will just a thankfulness jar. Either way I am so touched!

What a charmed life we live. Rant to follow right now...

I don't get how people can sleep at night when they are untruthful, surly and downright deceiving. I am a terrible liar. I don't even lie well. I recently cut the hose with my Garden Claw and confessed to Mr. Awesome because I felt so guilty. Oh, now don't get me wrong I have done my fair share of untruthfulness. Like blowing money on a donut or something random that I didn't need and not telling.

I feel if I talk the talk I should walk the walk. I'm not perfect. I fail. I curse. I unsavory thoughts. I
don't always choose the right path. Because I think I'm right doesn't mean I am. Such with the situation above. (I still think I am though) I don't always handle situations right. I am a hypocrite. I fail everyday as a Christian. Boy, I sure am thankful God loved me so much he sent his only Son to die for my sins.

Yep, I went there. Before you shut this window please do me a favor.

Why do you not believe? If you curse God or say why does God let bad things happen to me, think about this...

You are mad, hurt or angry at the wrong being. God is not necessarily lovey dovey. He's not looking the other way at sin nor does he want you miserable.

There is one that loves you to curse the Lord. There is one that dances when you fight or shut your heart God or enjoys it when you fight with your loved ones. The devil has dominion over the earth to tempt you, drag you through the bramble and valleys.

The devil is delighting in your misery and your letting it do just that.

God is not a magician. There is no wand to be waved. If there is maybe your praying to the wrong God. Prayers aren't always answered or answered right away for reasons we can not begin to fathom!

Have a falling out with church? Or perhaps people are judgmental/cliquish at church. Maybe your going to the wrong church. I'm going because I want to hear God's word not because I want to join groups or see what this person is wearing or the latest gossip about such and such. I'm going to join hopefully like minded persons. A church should be a place of healing. A place to find comfort. No one there is without sin. Consider it a hospital for broken spirits. And don't harden your heart if that place where you seek refuge is not what it should be.

I had no intentions on writing these things but have thought about my path and how the things of my past have come to be blessings.

Want to learn more check these out:
Common Man's Institute
Reg Kelly
Dr. David Peacock

Still reading? Great! Now look at my life. God has moved mountains and made miracles in my life. Please read my story of Lyme disease as well as a Survivor of Domestic Violence for my story. Also check  here for my vlogs.

I know I am still pondering the wonders of how everything turned out the way it did....

Thanks for listening to me ramble!

Wherever your journey takes you, know I bid you happiness and joy.

BIG HUGS!
Mel

Great Scott! There are a ton of weeds!

My poor garden! It looks like a jungle! With all the rain we had a few weeks back it is now pretty overgrown and we are just starting the season. My mulch pile has dwindled and I may call around to local tree trimming groups again to see if someone takes pity on me.

I'm happy to report I planted about 45ish Sunflowers, Jalapeno's, Green Pepper plants, more Garlic, Zucchini, Chamomile, and Marjoram.

Found my herbs in the weeds doing well except- Basil, Dill and Stevia. Dang Rabbit has been nibbling on that and at least 15 of the Sunflowers I just planted yesterday! WAH! It ate my poppies seedlings too!

We have tried a bit of natural deterrents but haven't had a lot of luck. I'll keep scouring the web. I did find some more not so organic determent's but really want keep our garden as spray free as possible.

Farm fail include that rabbit eating our plants, a new chick died, a bunch of baby bunnies we yanked out of the yard were eaten by a Raccoon which was caught and is not with us anymore. On the plus side we did gain a new Rooster! Despite my no naming the animals policy this guy seemed like a Fred.  Cocky Locky my Banty is not doing so good. Much to my dismay I'm quite sure he is on the verge of passing away. He really isn't eating and rarely comes out of "The Abbey". We do have a broody hen and she has taken to stuff duck eggs to sit on. I'm pretty stoked about it and we will see what happens!

My Mom blessed us with several bunches of perennials that will perk up next year. I was also given a bunch from Mom's neighbor that I have yet to plant.

Speaking of which we went over to help Mom and Dad open their pool and did some minor things around their house. We hope to get over there a lot more often to help. Dad is doing much better and is happy to drive again. He's getting a bit agitated that he isn't getting around like he used to. He does need to get some dental work and a knee replacement and hopes for find out when he can get the okay to do so.

A few weeks back we also took time to see some wonderful kite flying at Fair Oaks Farm called Fair in the Air. They were a wonderful sight to see and are HUGE! Some of them are 20 Ft+! Wish I had a better camera or phone these pictures do not give the event any justice. We just stayed to watch for a bit and had a good time.

Mr. Awesome has been keeping himself busy with minor roof repairs, building projects, organizing, learning how to fix Carburetors, and aspiring to make cool stuff with Blacksmith.

I have been doing what I feel is the bare minimum and not for the lack of trying. I'm just so stinking tired. I did make a Plantain/Comfrey Salve, drying Lavender, Cilantro, Peppermint, Sage (Making Smudge sticks), editing my book (Slowly, it's been a challenge to revisit the memories), sleeping a lot, planting, weeding, studying my edible weeds in our yard, trying to figure out what is medicinal and added a Super to the beehive. I didn't participate in the last Flea market because I felt the weather was too breezy and I wasn't feeling so good (Lyme).

Excited Peanut has her first job starting soon! I'm hoping this will help with her social anxieties and plan to discuss some supplements with the Amazing Jen that may help.

I picked up these pinwheels and a few pink flamingos that just tickled me! I know I'm a dork but I sometimes have things speak to me. Oh, not literally, it's one of those things that randomly calls out to you and just wants to go home with you. Not that you need them mind you. They make me smile!

 Here is the bee Super and hiding in the background is Is  won't be surprised if they don't become targets for my adventurous Dad and Son team of hunters. SIGH! It was much to Mr. Awesome's chagrin that I bid and won them.

I haven't been online a lot. Kind of taking a hiatus. This does mean I miss a bunch of events, family and friend updates. It's not that it is just social media but stepping away from the computer has been nice. I was feeling tied and riveted to reading statues, seeing bad news or celeb stuff. I'm being honest when I tell you I don't know many of the celebs now that includes musicians as well. I know I must be living under a rock. (And yes when 4/20 came around I didn't get the reference) I don't think I'm alone by doing this. I don't miss it either, though Pinterest and Instagram are still my favorites and if we do watch anything it's been on YouTube and Netflix (Anne with an E was wonderful!).

The upcoming week will be filled with more planting! Wish me luck! I hope your week is joyful and blessed.

Another chicken bites the dust and Bee update!

With heavy heart we had a chicken kick the bucket. No, not this bucket! Quite literally she is not playing in this picture! Mr. Awesome and I came out to gather eggs last week. She was just laying in the Abbey, still warm. The only thing I could think of is perhaps she was egg bound. I hadn't noticed her acting any different prior to this the days before.

There are many wee projects being done in and around the house which include fixing a leak on part of the roof on the back of the house. Electrically fixes as well as Mr. Awesome shaking his head alot as he explained to me the complexity of how confusing the repairs of wiring from the previous owner are. We will never know why things were done as they were.

What do I mean? Wires leading to nowhere. Boxes/Wires leading to spots that are supposed to be off but are still hot as well as boarded over as if they were finished?

It's a big puzzle! Much to the dismay of my partner.😨

The garden is still a work in progress. I am fighting a losing battle with the weeds again. I had hoped to have the garden mulched in but am unable to find a source that will happily deliver mulch without charging.  I did get a great tip on some but don't live close enough to get it.

We did put in 2 Pear trees! We hope to also purchase a few Peach trees in the near future as well.

The Cherry trees are full! I can't wait for harvest!

I scored some old windows for the future greenhouse. I was so excited to find them. And yes I found them in the garbage. I happily picked through a pile while my Husband advised he didn't know me and shrunk down in his seat. Sadly, there are 2 things that are problems with picking through trash... It's illegal in many locations and you may get caught! Luckily, the police officer let me off with a warning this time. Oh, I air walk on the wild side at times. I supposed if I'm going to get in trouble, why not doing something I love?

I made Dandelion Jelly, Wild Violet Jelly, Dandelion and Wild Violet Salves! I also starting drying leaves and flowers for later this year and for sale. I hadn't canned in a few years. I didn't have the strength quite literally from getting sick (Lyme Disease) this is the first time since 2014 I canned! I missed it!

The Amberlink chicks are outside now. Mr. Awesome moved them into Alcatraz today. They are of course nervous and exploring the new digs. We will move them again with the rest of the crew in about a month. With the weather getting warmer they were due.

On the 21st will be the next Fleamarket and I'll be hauling a Jewelry box that doubles as a small dresser or lingerie dresser. Also a top of a hutch, some garden things, possibly some concrete garden leaves (this one I haven't started on so they may not be ready in time) and more plants! I did really well selling my Spider plants and Peppermint that I will be bringing more. So if you have nothing to do stop by and say HI! I'll have my St. Paddy's Day flag out on top of the Jeep to mark my spot.

I will also have my Lyme Disease Awareness information available! If you have questions about Lyme I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my knowledge or perhaps you are interested in a local group? Let me know!

We did a quick bee check yesterday to view progress. We have had the bees for 3 weeks now. They are busy today! The weather is warmer then it has been. We noticed they are carrying pollen. YEA! I added the frame I took out during our initial install. I refilled their sugar water which is refilled every other day or so.

Most importantly! The kids have come by with the baby. It's

always such a joy to see Shortstack. She is getting so BIG! 9 months already! I have to pester my Step-Daughter to ask about her big boy! I wish we lived closer to visit. I mentioned to Mr. Awesome that perhaps he could visit once our super late getting back to us tax refund comes back. As much as he wants to, he doesn't feel right leaving the kids and me here while he has fun. We have the animals so just going would be hard. I also have no plans on ever flying due to my fear of it.

Our school bus project is shelved and it may just become a mobile fixture in our side yard for company. The Gypsy trailer is still in the planning stages. Many of our plans due rely on funds that we just don't have readily available. We have been blessed with donations of unwanted material and stuff from family and friends.

If you have been following my other blog Hope when there was none- A story of escaping abuse you'll be interested to know that my eldest Son has been in contact with me (see story there) and we printed off a copy of my book to edit! It's been intense as I muddle through the editing process. 😞I hope to get it published before the end of the year. I haven't decided if it is going to be in parts or just one big ebook yet.


All in all it's been a challenging busy few weeks with more to come!  Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to view our other social media pages!

Wherever your journey is taking you may it be as wonderful as you are ❤

BIG HUGS!
Mel

Garden progress, sad farm fail, big dreams and Youtube upolads!

I can not believe it's the middle of April! Where is the time going?!

The Cherry blooms and Lilacs are blooming. The smells are light and beautiful.

First the sad farm fail. Well, it's not really a fail just one of those things. My incubator died! I had placed Duck eggs inside in hopes of wee babies. It was up to temperature but in the morning it dropped like a lead stone.

The Amazing Jen has an incubator and I hope to pester her for a favor of Duck babies. We never had the chance to make it up to the local animal auction, though this upcoming Sunday will be the Flea Market and Animal Swap! I'll be setting up my wares this year depending on both how I feel and most importantly the weather.

My mulch pile is slowly dwindling which means I have been frantically calling and trying to figure out how to find more- FREE MUCLH!

Most local tree services here seem to charge and the group I had gotten it from last Fall has dropped off the face of the earth.  

Our Asparagus is tasting wonderful! I plan to plant much more. I admit to be eating them as fast as I pick them. YUM!

A Rabbit has attacked my cool weather crop- Lettuce, Collards and Mustard Greens. We are seeking suggestions for deterring the offender before he eats more!

Mr. Awesome asked the local food bank we frequent if they could use eggs and they are happy to. I'm pretty excited as we want to give back to the community that is helping us.

He is also busy working on a variety of projects to continue to maintain, update and streamline our homestead. I wish I had an ounce of the ideas he has. He formulates ideas in his head, marches out for tools and viola! It's done!

Me? I more or less fumble and hope for the best.

The kids have came by with the baby recently. Short Stack is getting so big! China Doll surprised me with a beautiful painting she made. She is a talented Artist, now I'm not just saying that I'm serious. I'll have to share some of her stuff that was more along the lines of spooky.

We found Jas. Townsend and Son on YouTube which has given us the encouragement to look into Living History. We are both anxious to try tips and techniques we have found. Maybe someday we will dive into re-enacting! I think I may need to grow my hair out though.

The Amazing Jen invited a dear Friend- JV and kids, along for a visit earlier this week and we all had a good time so good JV and her Hubs stopped by yesterday to meet Mr. Awesome. I felt terrible I didn't think to offer them any grub. We hope to visit with them and Amazing Jen with her Hubs. (Both of these couples have a Sustainable living mindset)

Besides my awesome Sisters, I don't really hang with anyone. I was invited to another Jen's home a few weeks back for a Ladies night and we played cards- Skip-bo. I don't think I ever played that one before but had fun! I considered starting a Scared Sister kind of group. I haven't made it to Drum Circle since last year and miss that but what about creating my own? Not too many in my area that I have found that are into smudging, crystal, or earthy Momma's/Gal's. I may not be looking in the right spot!

I uploaded a few YouTube's so if you haven't visited our page please do soon. Find us as blessmeplease09 and have you found me on Instagram yet or FB Legacy Antiques & Estate Sales.

I hope your week is as wonderful as you are!