Friday, May 31, 2013

Why do I Blog?

     Good morning.  Yesterday evening I planted more sunflowers and I also planted pumpkins. I would love to have pumpkins to carve for Halloween. I am not sure about making pumpkin pie, I hear its a lot of work. I also have birdhouse gourd seeds soaking so I can plant them this evening. I am running out of space to plant. I would so love to buy a few acres somewhere that I could just put a garden on. Even just one acre without a house sitting on it, I could grow so much. Just dreaming. Back to the real world now.
     So I have been asked why do I blog. Well there are many reasons. First I do it as a diary so someday I can look back and remember life in the last years with my mom. Also its a good resource for me to look at and see what worked and didn't work in the garden. And I try to write respectfully about my mom but truthfully so that anyone who reads this will know what my life is like when living with someone with Alzheimer's. I write in hopes that something I say will reach someone who needs to hear it. I write to share ideas and hopefully get some ideas from some of my readers. I write to share my prepper experiences and information. I write to encourage others to think about prepping themselves. I write about my happiness and sorrows. I write my truth. I do not get paid for anything I write. I do not at this time have advertisers on my blog. Not saying that someday I wont but for now I am satisfied with just sharing freely my thoughts and opinions. I am enjoying building friendships and a reader base that enjoys reading about my life. My writing sometimes includes friends and family members that are part of my life. They all know about this blog and I have never yet heard from any of them anything negative about it. I rarely write there names in the blog posts so as to protect their privacy. My husband is my main supporter in this life, as it should be. He has stood beside me in bad times and in good. He always seems to be by my side in all the adventure I come up with. Sometimes shaking his head at my random crazy ideas and sometimes coming up with his own. I write about him as truthfully and respectfully as I can. I do not nor will I use this blog as a way to air dirty laundry. All marriages have good days and bad days. Ours seem to have much more good days than bad. And for that I am greatful. Not every man would give up his home to move in with his mother-in-law to help her have a happy and safe last years on this earth. There will be great rewards laid up in heaven for him. I have wrote some about my religious life. And I am sure there will be more posts in the future where I share more of my thoughts and feelings about that subject. But as for today I must go, the day is slowly slipping away. I have so many things to do.
     Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

Thursday, May 30, 2013

RIP Baby Strawberry Plants

     Good morning. I am having my first cup of coffee this morning. I recently bought Chock Full of Nuts brand of coffee. I use to drink it years ago. And thought it would be a nice change from the normal Folgers or Maxwell house coffee. The new coffee was more expensive but I waited till I had a coupon before I bought it. I only make it when I am awake early, before anyone else in the house is up. I just love it.  A quiet house, birds chirping outside, and a good cup of coffee. I don't have one of those new k cup coffee machines. I don't see buying something new when what I have works just fine. I don't have that feeling that I need to keep up with the Joneses. I am blessed with all I have am glad for it.
     Well after all the work I have put into the baby strawberry plants I have now killed over half of them. Even after my cat laid on them and I stuck sticks in the box to prevent anymore cats laying on them I put them out in the sun and forgot about them yesterday and when I remembered them over half were cooked. It makes me so sad. I tried so hard to keep them alive. I had started them from seed along time ago and they were so small still. The ones that are left I hope will make it. If they do they will be the strongest strawberry plants ever. 
     The store bought strawberry plants that are planted outside that have strawberries ripening continue to be eaten by something. We need to get some kind of net to put around them. It doesn't look like birds but maybe small rodents are eating them. I am not sure what to do for them.
     Well I need to go get my day started. I have a lot of cleaning to do. Have a good day.

                                                                         April Whitehair

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Just another day.

     Good morning. Yesterday we had a nice visit by my sister and brother-in-law. My mom loves to get company. She loves my brother-in-law, even though she doesn't know who my sister, her daughter is. We had a good time just sitting around and talking. We need to get together more often. They have a house boat on a local lake and we all love to go up and swim in the summer. They are such good hosts and after they left yesterday all I could think about is that I forgot to offer them something to drink. I need to work on my hosting skills.
     Yesterday my husband was bound and determined to kill what ever kind of bug that is eating the garden plants. So he went back out and bought a new kind of bug killer. He bought Ortho Bug-Geta Plus Snail, Slug, and Insect killer. And I am happy to report that this morning there are lots of dead slugs in the garden. So I guess the problem we had was with slugs. The other problem we are having in the garden are cats but there isn't much we can do about that. I found my cat Itsy Bitsy laying in the flower box with the baby strawberry plants, I thought I would die. I have been growing and babying them for so long. Anyway there doesn't seem to be any damage to them. And as per my husband's instructions I put sticks pointed up in the flower boxes to keep the cats out and so far none of the cats have laid in them again.
     We actually went across the creek again to check on the watermelons that we had planted over there. And no I didn't fall in again. The watermelon plants are doing good. The ones we planted in the roots of an up rooted tree are doing very well.
     We got the rock ordered for the driveway. It should be here this weekend. My husband has been working very hard at killing all the grass and weeds that are growing in the driveway. I tried spraying it with vinegar and that didn't work, he bought some stuff that didn't work so yesterday he bought different stuff, Roundup weed and grass killer. He put it on yesterday evening and this morning we have a lot of brown grass and weeds but there is some green left. It did work better that the other stuff we have been trying. There is some left in the bottle so I expect that my husband will spray it again today.
     We had a planned power outage yesterday evening for maintenance. Even though they said it would be shut off at 5:30 it was actually shut off at 3. I thought it was nice to know ahead of time so we could be prepared. We did learn something during this temporary outage, my husband is addicted to electric. He doesn't know what to do with himself when he cant get on the computer or watch tv. He couldn't even take a nap because it was to quiet. So I must figure out some things to put in my prepper supply to entertain my husband. But I figure if/when the SHTF happens there will be plenty for him to do.
     Have a good day.

                                                                      April Whitehair

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Do you know any good bug repellant for the garden?

     Rain again. I am so tired of rain. I know that in the summer I will be wishing for rain. I was hoping to hang laundry out on the line today but I guess that is out of the question. I guess I am lucky to have a dryer that I can use. I have been trying to use less electric and gas lately. Just trying to save money. I made my own clothes line out of wire, but the first try I used a thin nylon cord and that did not work. It stretched. So I switched to the wire. I looked at the ones the store was selling and I did not like any of those. So I made my own with what I had on hand. I don't understand paying money for something that I don't have to.
     I just walked through the garden and more of the plants have been eaten by bugs of some sort. I just sprayed seven dust on them again yesterday. It seems to be attracting bugs instead of repelling them. I was at first just my beans being eaten but this morning my sunflower, cucumber, pepper, and peas all have damage. I will have to go buy something else. I wish I knew what to buy that would work. I have never seen any bugs on any of the plants so I don't know what kind I am dealing with. I will have to find one that repels all kinds. Any suggestions?
     Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

Monday, May 27, 2013

     Good morning.  Its raining again. All this rain is driving me crazy. But I think the garden likes it. Everything is growing. The beans look so sad. The bugs have ate the top leaves but they are still growing. I used the seven dust spray last week and they don't look any worse. I hope they continue to grow and over come the damage. Yes I know that seven dust spray is not organic but I had to buy what I could find and that is all I could find that day. My plans for next years garden is to go all organic and gmo free. I never thought about it this year when I bought seeds. Live and learn or plant and learn. The lettuce is growing so good. It wont be long now and we will be eating salad or maybe some BLTs. My favorite thing to eat from the garden is fried green tomatoes. I wait all year long for them. I will eat almost all the tomatoes before they turn red. I don't eat red tomatoes, I just don't like them but I will eat all kinds of tomato sauces and products. But I do have to let some ripen for my mom and husband. At this point both of the tomato plants have a couple blooms. The plants are still small but growing every day. My sister/neighbor's garden is doing so good. She already has baby peppers growing on her plants. I have to admit I am a little jealous. I hope that she doesn't have a green tomato before me because I already told her that I would steal it. I probably wont but it will be very hard not to.
     Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Vacation Planned

     Good morning. I am awake early and have my coffee in hand. It's Sunday, church day. I have to get moving and get ready.  Frost warning again last night. So I had to tuck in all my garden again. I cant wait till all these cold nights are gone. It's almost June shouldn't it be getting warm. Oh well I am gone to try not to complain, I will do enough of that when it gets really hot. I would rather be cold that hot. You can always put more clothes on but you can only take so many off.
     My husband and I have booked our vacation. I am so excited. Every summer we go camping at the beach. I love camping and so does he. Actually we got married at the beach and spent our honeymoon in our tent. I am a low maintenance kind of girl. We go to a great campground right on the beach. The other families at the campground are nice. I love to spend the day laying on the beach and swimming in the ocean. We go to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and a pizza place called Chichos for dinner. They have the best pizza ever. We dream of that pizza all year. We sometimes make a fire to set around and make smores for desert. I love going on vacation and getting away from all the stresses at home. My sisters will take care of mom while I am gone. Last year we were gone a whole week this year we will only be gone about 4 days. I am so grateful for having good sisters that help so we can get away and recharge. Love my sisters.
    Well I have to go get ready for church. Have a good day.

                                                             April Whitehair

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Homemade Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener

     Good morning. Headache from yesterday is finally gone. It lasted for over 24 hours. I thought that I was going to die. I hate headaches so bad.
    It is cold out. The thermometer on the front porch says 30 degrees. Good thing I went out last night and covered up all the garden. My yard looks like a linen closet exploded. Oh well as long as my garden lives another day.
    Today I have a lot of cleaning to do. Not my favorite thing. But with not doing much yesterday I have a lot to do to make up for. I always seem to have lots of laundry.  And I will have even more with covering the garden with sheets. Its a good thing that I make my own laundry detergent. It really does save me lots of money. I am not good at math so I have never done the math on how much I have actually saved by making my own. But others have done the math and it is a lot of saving. I thought I should show you my recipe. I hope it saves someone else some money as well.

Homemade Laundry Detergent 
4 cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar or Zote soap bar
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not baking soda)
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap is melted.
 
Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
 
Makes 10 gallons
 5/8 Cup per load

Homemade Fabric Softener

1 cup hair conditioner, any kind, what ever you have
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
3 cups hot water

Mix together.
Pour into an old fabric softener bottle.
Use the same amount of this as you would the store bought kind.

I hope to hear how this works for you. It works for me. The laundry detergent is not sudsy. So don't think it is not working.

Have a good day.

                                             April Whitehair

Friday, May 24, 2013

Migraine Headache

     Migraine headache last night. So I am not fully awake this morning. I get migraines often and they are killers. I call them nauseous headaches. They make me sick and I wont be able to sleep till I vomit then put a ice pack on my neck. Then, like today, I have a hang over headache. Not an actual hangover. Just my brain feels like if I did any type of activity my headache would come back. So I plan on not doing much this morning.  Migraines are hereditary in my family. Mom has always had them. Even when she was a child she would get them. And boy she has some stories of teachers at school not believing her and saying that little kids don't get headaches so she vomited on her shoes! Love that one. Also my nieces get migraines. My 8 year old niece gets them pretty bad. Not sure about my nephews. I think it is just the girls in the family who are afflicted with them. I remember when I was a kid and mom would get them and one time my sisters were in school and it was just her and me at home and she needed to rest with an ice pack on her neck. So she kicked back on the couch and told me to stay with her so she could rest. I was little and got tried of playing quietly so I laid down on the floor at her feet and fell asleep. She woke up and could not see me and jumped up and stepped on me. Ouch! But poor mom surely her headache came back after that. Anyway I totally sympathize with those who get migraines. And you teachers out there, yes little kids can get migraines.
     My husband and I walked through the garden this morning. Everything is growing.  The beans are growing even though they had been chewed on by some sort of bug. My poor husband, his strawberry which was almost ripe yesterday had been eaten by something. We will have to build a fence around them to keep the critters out.
     Thinking about going back to bed and resting my brain a little longer. Just looking at this computer screen is making my head hurt. Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Guns and weeds.

     Good morning. Only on my first cup of  coffee so I am still not fully awake. Rain rain rain! All the plants have surely got a good drink. Now if it would dry up so I could get outside to do something it would be great.
     So glad to let you know that the car that was in my drive way, blocking the progress of building the storage building is finally gone. Happy happy happy! But now it is all on me. I have to get rid of all those weeds before getting gravel poured. I have tried to use vinegar it looked like it was going to work but it didn't. All the brown grass and weeds are now green again. So by my experiment vinegar does not work as a large area weed killer. My hubby bought me some weed killer so if it ever stops raining I hope to kill some weeds.
     Did some target practicing yesterday. And I am a good shot, that's according to my husband. I always have been, it is hereditary. My soap box today is kids and guns. I was raised with guns in the house. Actually my dad had several guns in an open gun rack in his bedroom. I was taught from before I can even remember that you NEVER touch a gun unless dad is with you and even then only when he tells you to. It was ingrained in my brain before I could even talk or walk. And the deep respect of guns is still present today. Guns for me was never a toy. Even skeet shooting which was so fun as a kid and now as an adult was taken very seriously. Respect the gun. Though I mean no disrespect for those that do, I don't believe that children should plan with toy guns. If gun education is not taught and understood by children then they have no business playing with a toy gun. How do they differentiate between toy and real. If the child thinks sponge bob is real will they think a real gun is a toy? Even though at anytime when I was a child,  my sisters or I could go in and touch dads guns we knew not to even lay one finger on them and it wasn't because we would get our butts beat, that did not happen in our home, it was out of respect for dad and his guns. Even if you do not have guns in you home it is your responsibility to educate your children on what to do if they see a gun. Have a plan and teach it often. I wont even get into the whole violent video game conversation now. And how it is teaching children the exact opposite of what they should be learning.  Hum I will step off my soap box now.
     Seriously thinking of getting a pistol for self protection. Not sure what kind. Also thinking of getting a concealed weapons permit. But I hate the idea of getting a license from the government. Not sure how the info of me having a concealed weapon could be used against me in the future. That is something I will have to do some research on. What are your thoughts on this? Do you know any good web sited I could visit to educate myself on the positives and negatives of concealed weapons permits?
     Have a good day.

                                                             April Whitehair

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

I got a new book.

     It is morning again. Just did my morning walk through the garden with my husband and Bob, one of our cats. Everything is growing. My husband said that the reason that most of the bell pepper plants died is because I transplanted them when they were to little. So the others that I haven't planted in the garden yet, I transplanted into a flower box planter. Its easy to move it around and protect the baby plants from being in direct, hot, sunlight and hard rain. And so far they are doing well. The baby strawberry plants that I planted in a flower box are doing ok until one of my cats walked through it. I think only a couple got stepped on.
     I have been wanting to build our prepper/survival library. I have two old farming books that are good. But I wanted to add more information to our resources. So first I have to complain about Barnes and Noble. I found a new book from their web site and ordered it. The next morning I received an email saying my order had been canceled. After a chat with them I found out that they were sold out that's why the order was canceled. Also I found out that the book that I ordered was actually a used book. The description was condition new. So shouldn't that mean new. It did not say new-like. I was very upset. Anyway the thought of this book drove me crazy and I just had to have it. So after searching two different book stores with no luck my husband took a trip to a book store far far away and found it for me! He called me from the parking lot and told me he had it and I waited and waited for him to get home with it. It felt like waiting for Christmas morning. I got the book it is The Encyclopedia of Country Living, the 40th Anniversary Edition. I love it. I couldn't put it down last night. It has everything you could think of when living in the country and off the land. Also my husband found a book for himself about survival. I am so happy that he is getting involved in prepping. He looked at his book for a long time last night also. Books are a good resource for information. In the event of SHTF and there is no power you wont be able to get on the Internet or computer to look at all the information you have saved. Even e-reader types wont work after the battery dies. Having these books makes me feel a lot more prepared to deal with anything that may come. Also it will help with gardening and a few other things now.
     Have a good day. I am off to read a book.

                                                                          April Whitehair

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

     Good morning. Not feeling well this morning. I think it is the lack of sun, its so cloudy today. Seems gloomy and sad out. The recent events in Oklahoma should have everyone thinking about disaster preps. Also it you have all you supplies stocked in your home and something happens to your home what will you do? That is something I will be thinking about for several days to come.
     My garden is doing good this morning. Except for the long awaited bean plants have been a snack for some sort of bug. Since I did not plant only organic veggies I used Seven Dust spray to help get rid of those pesky bugs. I was looking for lime dust but could not find any. Gotta do what you gotta do to protect your veggies. I hope that next year I can plant all organic but I did not think of that when buying my seeds this year.
     I think my husband has already left to go play golf. He did not leave me a note. He usually does. But I think he might have told me while I was sleeping. I don't know. I was asleep!
    I am currently planning a grocery shopping trip. I try to go once a month to Kroger and go to the local IGA for bread and extras through out the month. It has been over a month since I went to Kroger. I go to Kroger because I use their card and can add digital coupons to the card and also use paper coupons. I am not an extreme couponer. I just like to save money on the things I usually buy. I don't buy things I don't need or use just to use a coupon. I buy one newspaper every Sunday and cut those coupons, and I use printable Internet coupons. Last time I went grocery shopping I saved $50 on $200. Not bad. I just don't understand the people who do extreme coupon, I have to think that they are paying for those coupons, newspapers cost money, and those coupon clipping services cost money. Are they factoring in that cost when doing the totals saved? Also you would have to think of the cost of paper and ink if you are using printable Internet coupons. I do believe that coupons are like money but it is a waste if you are spending more money on things you would not normally buy or things you don't even like.
     When I go grocery shopping I buy a few extra cans to put in my emergency stock. I am just a beginner so I don't have much. I have about half a month food supply for the three of us in my home. I have been focusing on canned goods. Cans that expire at least a year away. I use from this stock when needed but replace it on the next shopping trip. I try to buy a few extras every time. I am on a budget so I cant spend a lot of money all at once to build an emergency stock. But the way I think of it is each can in a one more day for one person. I have never bought MREs and I don't plan to. And freezer food is useless during a power outage.
     Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

Monday, May 20, 2013

Bartering

     Good morning. I am up again before everyone else in the house. And I love it. I get to drink coffee and think without being interrupted. I have been doing a lot of thinking about prepping and I can tell you there is a lot to think about. If you would make a list of all the things you would need to have in the event of SHTF the list would never end. I have been searching the web for others' lists and some of the things they include are crazy to me. But I do know that every ones  list is different and based on number in the group, medical conditions, location, and personal preferences. Due to our location in a rural area and my moms medical conditions I have decided to focus on bugging in. It would be very difficult to bug out with my mom who was Alzheimer's. Getting her to even walk around the outside of the house is difficult at times I can only imagine how hard it would be to get her to climb a mountain and live in tents for any length of time. So due to that I will be focusing on bugging in.
     A new area of thought has been bartering. I have decided that I need to gain a skill or skills that I can barter with. Sewing, crocheting, soap making, making maple syrup, garden production, seed production, cooking, canning, baking, ammo production, medical services and solar and wind power battery charging and on and on. But for me I am not a pro in any of those areas. I can sew some but probably  not good enough to make any money with it.
     Crocheting is something I have been working on and I am not doing very well, my first project is to make a blanket. I have been working on that blanket for months and months. And I have not made much progress, I work on it about one hour a day and I am not doing anything fancy, just the basic, and easiest way I could find by looking on the web. I have taught myself. When I was a child my aunt and next door neighbor tried to teach me but I was to young to take the lessons seriously, now I wish I would have paid more attention. When I finish we will have one very warm very time consuming blanket. It seems that crocheting will not be very profitable for me. Maybe I could learn more but right now I have other areas that I want to try.
      I can sew enough for what I need right now. I even made my own wedding dress but never wore it, I got married at the beach in tie dyed. But most things I have sewed I used a sewing machine and in the event of no power sewing will be done by hand and I can do that but not well. I have sewed curtains by hand before but never clothes, This is something I  need to work on and it may be a profitable barter skill.
     Soap making in something I have never done. But I have made bar soap into liquid and I have made laundry soap. But in the event of SHTF will there be the products available that is needed to make soaps?
     Maple syrup is something I have never done but am interested in.
     Garden production is something I am currently doing. And every year that I do it I am learning.      
     Seed production is something that I have already decided that I will be doing this year.
     Cooking is something I am decent at. But cooking over an open fire is something I have done but not enough to say I am proficient at.
      Canning is something I have never done. But I am already planning on buying a pressure caner and I have been studying so that I will be ready to give it a try when I harvest my garden.
      Baking is something I am good at except I don't bake bread well. I can make a really good pie. But baking in any other way than in my kitchen oven is something I have never done. I would love to find a wood burning stove. And work on improving my bread baking skills. Grain grinding is another bartering skill and product.
     Ammo production is something I have never thought about. Maybe that one I will have my husband take control of.
     Medical services is something I could provide in a limited amount. I once was a LPN. So basic things and assisting in child birth I could do.
     I currently have no alternate power source, those things cost lots of money. But would love to begin solar energy production. Maybe start small and one step at a time.
     This is definitely not an all inclusive list by any means. Just a few things that I have been thinking about. I think that is why community is vital. The things that I can not do someone else maybe able to and the things they cant do maybe I can.
     Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment on some things that you have thought would be a good bartering skill.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Happy Garden Happy Me

     Good morning. Just checked on the garden this morning and everything has grown so much, I am so proud of all the progress. On the 17th the farmers almanac said not to plant, well I planted half of my bell pepper plants about 26 of them and this morning I count 10 that are still alive. That is over half that have died. So maybe the farmers almanac was right. I am not to concerned because I have another 30 waiting to be planted. The cucumbers are doing well. I planted around 90 and about 30 are still alive. But I did plant those close together and nature selected the strongest to survive and also my cats played and rolled on and killed most of them. Still 30 cucumbers plants are a lot. The peas are doing excellent, they are getting so big. I have about 13 green bean plants starting to grow. The tomato plants are getting bigger by the day and so are the banana pepper plants. The two store bought strawberry plants are doing ok. The strawberry plants that I started from seed are so small. I had to plant them in a flower box and try to let them grow and get bigger and stronger before I plant them in the ground. They seem to not be growing, they are still so tiny, I really don't think they will be big enough to produce strawberries this year. The watermelons on this side of the creek are doing ok but I don't know about the ones on the other side of the creek because I am not going to cross it to check, I don't want to fall in again. My lettuce is doing good, the leaves are over an inch tall already.
     I heard a deer snort last night right outside my window and I had to go outside in the dark in my socks to protect my garden. I think I scared him away when I came out the door. I am definitely not stealthy! Anyway garden is safe for now.
     Of all the flower seeds of mom's that I had found and planted only two are growing. I don't know what they are but at least I gave them all a chance to grow. None of her Cosmo flower seeds have started to grow and that is so sad. She had those for as long as I can remember. Plant, grow, harvest seeds, store, plant the next year. Now they are gone. I could just go buy some seeds but they would not be from the same seeds that I picked as a child. I am getting sentimental in my old age.
     Mom's twin sister and niece stopped by to see her yesterday. And what a nice visit we had. It is so strange how they are identical twins and now look nothing alike. Also she has no signs of Alzheimer's and you know how bad mom is getting. They were able to reminisce about their childhood. Some of those things she can still remember.
     Have a good day and go outside and enjoy all the lovely things that nature has to offer.

                                                              April Whitehair

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Mom

     Morning.  Not in to much of a good mood today. I am a little irritated, everything seems to be getting on my nerves this morning. It seems like I have to much to do and not enough me to get it all done. Maybe it is because usually mornings are more of me time than this morning. Everyone was awake when I woke up. Mom had been awake for a while and already made messes that I had to clean up first thing this morning. She will take everything out of her dresser drawers and leave it all in a big pile on the dressers. So I put it back and she walked back in there and took everything back out again. Really?! She will leave used tissues all over the house and I have to go through and pick them up. Yucky! I could go on and on, but I wont. People say its like having a kid but its not. With a child you can teach and educate but with someone with Alzheimer's there is no teaching, no learning. Just constant decline. No progress. No goals to meet. No pride. No improvement. Just sadness. Just declining abilities. Decreased memory. Decreased love from mom to everyone including me. Decreased happiness...  I have recently had to start to bath her and that is a difficult thing to do mentally. It seems with every time she declines my heart breaks a little more. Its so hard to see your mother, the strongest woman in the world to me, a superhero in her own right, become so needy, so helpless, so uncaring, so weak. I struggle with compassion.
      She is my mom! I love her dearly. I love her unconditionally. I love the soul not the person or the personality. Even when it gets worse and there is no recognizable Mom left in that body, I will love her, I will give her the best possible care I can. I will show her respect and love. Because the soul is the same. The same soul that bathed me as a child, the same that rocked me to sleep, that comforted me when I was hurt, that strengthened me when I was weak. When I get to heaven one day and we are reviewing all my life, all the good things and the bad. One thing I will make sure that is not in the list of bad will be the care of my mother. I will stand proudly and state that with all the gifts that God has given me I have given the best care to mom, the best of my ability. That I have no question about. It will be wrote on my book of life, She loved her mother even unto sickness and death.
     I write honestly. I write my feelings. I share these things with you only to be helpful. I hope that these words that I write with honesty and with tearful eyes will be read by those who need them. Those that are in the same situation as I am. And those who know someone who is in the same situation I am, that maybe the friends and family will be more knowledgeable of the struggles and pain felt by a caregiver. And more willing to help, more willing to check in and offer a shoulder to cry on and provide strength that is so dearly needed.
     Thank you for reading. I hope to gain strength and compassion as I walk through this difficult season of life.

                                                                          April Whitehair

Friday, May 17, 2013

     Good morning. So I have yet to plant the bell pepper plants or the sunflower seeds. It rained a lot yesterday and I also seen the Farmer's Almanac tweets that yesterday and today are bad days to plant according to the moon phase. Not sure about all that but I don't want to hurt my baby plants in any way so I guess I am waiting. Or I may get to impatient and plant them today we shall see.
     Mom's bird feeder is possessed or something. Yesterday it was flipped up around the tree branch and all the seed was dumped out. I assumed it was the wind from the thunder storm that caused that so I refilled it and put it back up. This morning the roof is off and the see through side is lifted up about half way and all the seed is on the ground. So it is either possessed or a squirrel has found it or that big cardinal wanted more seed than it was putting out. But the cardinal showed up a little bit ago and chirped and chirped at me, he wants more bird food, sorry guy you will have to wait. Going to move it to the porch and see how it does there.
     A quick walk around the yard this morning showed that all the plants enjoyed the rain yesterday. The peas have grown an inch at least. And we now have ten green beans starting to grow. I love to see all the plants get bigger and stronger because that means that my family will have full bellies come harvest.
     I have been thinking a lot about planting some fruit trees. Not sure what kinds yet, maybe apple and peach. I do have seeds for both in pots trying to grow them. But it will take along time to grow from a seed. May just have to buy some trees and plant them.
     I am still sore from my fall in the creek the day before yesterday. My right index finger wont bend all the way and is swollen and a little green. I so wish I had a bridge to get across the creek. I know that I will not be checking on those watermelon plants until I can see watermelons growing.  I don't know how I am going to carry them back across the creek after I harvest them. Maybe I will make a temporary bridge for harvest time.
     Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair
    

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Yes I fell in the creek!

     Good morning. It is rainy outside, hope all the plants are enjoying the morning drink of rain. So I didn't get everything planted yesterday that I had planed to. My wonderful husband decided to take a nap yesterday afternoon and didn't wake up till after 8 pm. He got all the areas tilled and ready for me to plant but it got to dark on me. Hoping to get the bell pepper plants and sunflower seeds in the ground today.
     We did get the watermelon plants in the ground. There is a nice sunny spot on the other side of the creek behind the house that I thought would be a great place for them. On the way back across the creek I slipped on a slippery rock and the rock I tried to right myself on was even more slippery than the first and down I went. My entire right side landed hard on the rock bottom of the creek. My right hand went up under a big rock, which I quickly pulled out. Glad that a snake wasn't under that rock or he would have thought my fingers a tasty snack. And yes my husband laughed at me. I would have laughed if I was him. I laughed at my self. But this morning I am sore. My fingers are all stoved up. And one knuckle is swollen. Hip, ankle, wrist, elbow, hand and shoulder are stiff and hurting. But hopefully I will be able to work out all the stiffness while cleaning this morning.
     Mom has one big cardinal that shows up to her new bird feeder and stays and eats for a long time. But he is the only one I have seen to stop by. Hope more birds find the feeder. Mom loves to watch the birds.
     I have around 4 green bean plants starting to grow. Hopefully more will pop up out of the ground after this rain. I am so excited about these. I have been waiting so long for them to grow. I replanted the baby strawberry plants in a wooden planter box. I think they are to small to put in the ground. I will let them grow bigger and stronger in the planter box before they get put in the ground.
     Have a great day.

                                                            April Whitehair

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

     Good morning. I was awake part of the night, just not able to sleep, so I am waking up a little later that usual. My wonderful husband woke up early and set out the baby plants already. He has already left to play golf. I am glad he has a hobby that he enjoys. He needs some me time also. I actually walked into the laundry room to check on the plants and they were gone and I thought that he either set them outside already of they gave up waiting on me to plant them and ran off.  But I found them outside getting some morning sun. They will have to get planted today they are growing out of their pots! And I am running out of room to plant.
     Today's research will be on proper seed drying and storing. Of all the seeds that I saved from last years harvest only the watermelon seeds have grown. I will have to look into the proper way to save the seeds from this years harvest. I must have done something wrong but not sure. I think I will have build a dying tray with screen. Um, honey-do-list for sure!
     I am trying to get rid of grass and weeds that have grown up all over the driveway in preparation for the gravel being poured soon. I sprayed a gallon of vinegar all over it yesterday morning and this morning maybe only a couple of leaves have died. I will spray it down with vinegar one more time and if that does not work I will have to go buy some weed killer. Not to happy about that but I have to do something.
     Lots on my to do list today. Yes I am a lister! Cleaning inside and planting outside. Hope to get it all done but if not then there is tomorrow.
     Have a great day. Leave me a comment about how you dry your seeds. Thanks.

                                                                        April Whitehair

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

More Gardening

     Good morning. Everyone is awake in my house this morning. And the cats and dog are very hyper. I love to see happy, playing animals. Mom's Mother's Day gift that my husband and I got for her brought her much happiness yesterday evening. We got her a bird feeder and hung it in a tree in the back yard, in a good spot to see from inside, out the back windows. A big cardinal  showed up and ate his fill of bird seed. It made Mom smile and that is priceless. Hoping that lots of birds will stop by and Mom enjoys seeing them for a long time to come.
     Frost warning last night, covered up all the outside garden plants. Just uncovered them and they all look good. We are suppose to have warm weather from now on, I hope so. My husband is doing an experiment on the tomato plants. We have two tomato plants growing, one he put crushed egg shells around it and the other he is going to use Miracle-Gro. And we will see which does better. I am hoping that the egg shells will help produce good tomatoes. The last two years he has put Miracle-Gro on the tomato plants and we  got way to big plants that basically over grew the garden but the tomatoes produced were just normal size and amount.
     I am a little concerned about the green beans. They haven't started to grow. After making a string trellis I really hope that I have beans to grow up it. This whole growing a garden thing is a real test of my patience. It always seems I am waiting for something to start growing. Then they start to grow and I have to many. Oh the problems of a gardener. I am so happy with my garden this year. It makes me feel good to know that I can produce food for my family.
     Garden goal for today is to put more shredded paper around some of the plants for a weed blocker. What are you doing today in your garden?

                                                                      April Whitehair

Monday, May 13, 2013

     Coffee time again. Good morning. Yesterday evening we had a Mother's Day celebration for my mommy. Two of my three sisters came to join in the fun. Plus my sister's husband and three of mom's grand kids were here also. I made strawberry rhubarb upside down cake. And it was yummy. Poor mom didn't remember any of our names but I think she had a good time anyway. I love it when we all get together, we just sit around and tell stories and laugh a lot.  Of course I talked about prepping and gave my one sister and brother in law some things to think about. They had watched Doomsday Preppers on tv before, which I have never watched, and I think had the idea that all preppers are over the top hoarders and a little crazy. I told them to read my blog posts about prepping and start small. Prepare for a power outage, food and water for their family. I hope they, as well as everyone,  start thinking about the possibilities and get ready for those situations.
     Last night was cold. I am not sure how cold it got but I did cover all my little baby plants growing outside. Just went outside and uncovered all of them and they look good. One set of  peas looked a little flattened from the towel that I had put on them but hopefully they bounce back in the sun today. Tonight is another frost warning so I will cover them back up and keep them warm. I love my little garden.
     So the plants that I haven't got in the ground yet are doing good. The strawberry plants are so tiny that I am afraid to put them outside yet. The bell peppers are growing like crazy. And some more of the watermelon seeds from last years watermelons have started growing. I learned a little to late from my prepper research that I was suppose to save 10% of my seeds for next year. Well I planted them all and now have way to many plants growing. Hopefully I will have a good harvest and get lots of seeds. I also would like to set up a table at the farmers market if I have to much for us to eat. Also would like to learn to can. But I am a little scared about that. We will see.
     Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mother's Day

     It's Mother's Day. First off I want to tell my Mom Happy Mother's Day. She is and always has been the greatest mother. This evening I am having a little get together for her. I made a strawberry rhubarb upside down cake and got her a card. I couldn't find anything to get her as a gift but my husband wants to run to walmart and get her something this morning. We shall see if we can find her anything that she would like. She is hard to shop for. For those of you who don't  know she has Alzheimer's and my husband and I live with her to help her out. She has everything she needs and everything she could want. So maybe we will find her a nice bird feeder or something.
     Other than celebrating Mother's Day for my mom, I avoid anything to do with Mother's Day. I am not a mother. I am unable to have children. And that has been my life long dream and still is today. Even when I was in kindergarten I wrote that I wanted to be a mommy and cowgirl. I still have that paper somewhere.  I don't go to church on Mother's Day and you all know that I love to go to church, but I just cant do it. Maybe 8 or so years ago when I was really struggling with infertility I went to church with my mom and sisters, back then it was really special and important to go to church with my mom on Mother's Day. Well at church they hand out small gifts to mothers, like a flower or something, and everyone and I mean every woman in that church got a gift except me. I was so heartbroken. I am actually crying just remembering it. And my mom, the wonderful woman that she is, she took her gift, it was a flower, and gave it to me. Saying your are a wonderful mother in my eyes,(I had dogs at that time that I treated like my children). God love her. So we walked out of church that day, me with the flower and her with nothing. That is a true mother.
     It's crazy how our roles in life have changed with this Alzheimer's. She has said several times that I am a good mommy to her. Like when I am down on the floor tieing her shoes she will say" I remember tieing your shoes when you were little and now you are doing it for me".
     The day before yesterday she asked me if I was going to get to see my mother on Mother's Day, and I said yes your my mommy and we will have cake and two more of your daughters will come and celebrate with us. All she said to that is that she didn't know she was my mom and got upset because I didn't tell her that before. Damn Alzheimer's give me my mommy back!!!!!
     Yesterday when I sat down to read my bible, I try to read a chapter a day. Sometimes I read more and sometimes I don't read any at all. But yesterday's chapter just happened to be Isaiah 49. And these two verses are in that chapter.   Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands: Isaiah 49:15&16. niv   That will be my comfort today and for many days in the future. Thank you Jesus for giving me comfort in my time of need. Amen
     You all have a great day and love your mothers and children because they are a gift from God.

                                                                         April Whitehair
    

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Little House on the Prairie

     I am awake way to early this morning. My wonderfully rotten cat Itsy Bitsy woke me up with the loudest meow about an inch from my face this morning. So I got up to see what his problem was and all four cat food bowls were empty. My poor starving babies! Anyways they are all fed and happy now. But I cant go back to sleep. Mom woke up and had an accident so that's always lovely first thing in the morning. She is all taken care of and back in bed.  All is good in my house.
     We have had a lot of rain the last couple of days. Yesterday evening the lights flickered off a couple of times. And that always puts me in the prepper mood. I was running around running extra water and setting out buckets to catch rain water. I have learned that you can never have to much water in the event of an power outage. We live in the country and do not have running water when the electric is out. But we are lucky because we have a gas cook stove so we can cook but the stove needs electric to use the oven so we can only cook on the stove top. But that is better than those who have all electric cook stoves and heat. We have gas heating so even in the winter we can stay warm if there is a power outage.
     I always get obsessively addicted to tv shows. I find a show that I like and just want to watch every episode over and over till I find a different one that I get addicted to. Its always one of those 30 minute series. Once I was hooked on Coach and then it was King of Queens, and on and on. They are usually older shows that are replayed frequently. The show that I am hooked on now is Little House on the Prairie. I use to watch it years ago and I remember watching it as a kid and thinking that I would love to live during that time. It all seemed so simple. Today I watch it and it gives me ideas for prepping. Those were real Americans(I know it was just a show) who lived without electric or gas. They used wood for heat and cooking. They hunted for their meat. They canned and made their own bread and sewed their own clothes. They respected the Lord and each other. Children were children. Clothing was modest. Life was humble. I think this is the ideal life for those who want to be off the grid, like me and many others.
     Sometimes this show gives me good ideas and things to think about. And ways to do things that I never really thought about. I had read somewhere on a prepper website about not being able to do it all for your self if/when SHTF happens. And I did not give it much thought but watching that show showed me that community is needed. Someone plants one thing someone else plants another and they trade some of each and they both have what they need. I know I cant grow everything that my family would need, a community of like minded people is a must.
     Another area of emergency that I had never thought of was what if there was an outbreak, a contagion of some sort, a plague to where we would not be able to leave your home. Could you provide for your family if you could not reach out for help? Would you stay at home and survive or would you risk getting infected and infecting your family if  you did not already have on hand the supplies you would need to survive? With today's bio warfare and super bugs this is a real possibility. We owe it to ourselves and family to consider the possibility and plan for all of them.

                                                                              April Whitehair

Friday, May 10, 2013

Prepping = Hoarding?

     Good morning. I am very sleepy today. The coffee hasn't kicked in yet. Everyone is awake and wanting to talk to me. I am having a hard time thinking about writing again. I seen somewhere yesterday where someone was planning to build one of those off grid small homes in their back yard. To be used as a get-away or back up home. At first I thought that's crazy because why would you spend so much money on a tiny house and solar and everything, for it to be just a get away in your back yard. But now after thinking about it over night I think I want one. Please! It would be a great place to go to in the morning for some quiet time to write and a great place to have if something bad ever happened to your regular home, like a fire. But knowing me it would turn into storage. I don't have enough room to build even a small house in my yard. I already bought a 8x10 metal storage building that I am waiting to build to store all the stuff my husband and I have stored in the old house next to our house when we move into my Mom's house. All our stuff wouldn't fit with all Mom's stuff already here and it had to go somewhere. But definitely needs moved, that old house is about to fall in and I would like to get the stuff out before it does.  So the goal of spring was to build the new building in the back of the driveway, the only place we can find to put it. But no one else but me seems to be in a hurry to get the project going. I am waiting for my sister to move her old broke down car out of the drive way before I can put down gravel. Yet again another time where I get to practice patience. And I seem to always be working on that character quality. I just hope that all the junk we have will fit in that building. I am a minor hoarder. I definitely have the hoarding gene. Last summer I went through all of it an got rid of half. Some went to the church for their rummage sale and some was tossed out. But now I still think there is to much. I think we are a culture of hoarders. I believe it is proof of rampant materialism. And in my walk to be closer with Jesus I would like to work on being so materialistic. I have stuff that I don't need and will never use so why do I keep it? But with this prepping mind set that I am in that may lead me to hoarding but as long as I am smart about it and honest with my self I may be able to prep without hoarding on to large of a scale. I am not sure, is prepping = hoarding? But I guess it is hoarding of different things, useful things. Am I just making excuses?

                                                                        April Whitehair

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Good Boy, Lucky!

     Good morning. Finally a normal morning. The last couple days I have woke up latter than usual and Mom and my husband were already awake. They are both distracting when I am trying to write. I like mornings to be peaceful and quiet. That way I can think when I write.
     Yesterday's hero of the day in my house was Lucky my Mom's dog. Mom yelled for me and said that Lucky was acting strange and that he was. He was going crazy acting like he was going to attack the books on the book shelf. So I knew that there was something in those books that wasn't suppose to be there so I yelled for my husband to help. I know that when I yell for him he thinks oh no what crazy thing is she wanting me to do now. I think he thought I was crazy for asking him to move those books but being a good husband like he is he started taking books off the shelf. And surprise it was a chipmunk! Yes a wild, scared chipmunk in the house. My husband picked him up by the tail and tossed him out the door. Yes I know what you are thinking, sounds like my husband was the hero in that story but he is always the hero. Let the dog have his day. If  Lucky had not let us know there was something there its hard to tell when we would have noticed them. He could have jumped out of the bookshelf and landed on my Mom when she was watching tv and gave her a heart attack. So way to go Lucky!!!! He was treated like I hero for the day. With that being said the trouble maker of the day would have to be Itsy Bitsy, my cat. Just yesterday I had posted my appreciation for my cats' hunting ability to get rid of mice. Well Itsy Bitsy brought home his catch but it was still alive and let it go in the house. Normally they bring home dead mice, moles, or chipmunks and leave them on the back door steps as a gift for me and to brag, I think.
     A follow up on a project I worked on last year then finished this year. The painted rocks for garden plant markers was a major fail. The paint I used was old inside house paint and spray paint then I wrote on them the names of the plants with permanent marker then sprayed them with clear coat. And placed them in the garden. After a couple days the sun bleached out the permanent marker. So now all I have is very pretty colored rocks in my garden. Guess I should have painted the names on the rocks but lesson learned.
     Have a good day.

                                                            April Whitehair

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Lilacs Stink !!

     Good morning. Coffee and gardening makes a great morning. We had a lot of rain last night and was worried about all my little plants but they all seemed to be ok this morning except for the one watermelon plant that has not looked good for a couple days, I think its in a bad spot with the rain runoff from the roof. My husband put compost around a lot of the plants. And he said that the compost looked really good. That made me feel very good. I started making compost last summer and it was my first time making compost. So hearing that it was good compost makes me excited to continue composting this year.
     I have two big lilac bushes or are they trees? Not sure but they are big enough to be trees. With all this lilac I wanted to do something with them. I researched what to do and found directions for dried lilac sachets and lilac water scent spray. So my husband helped to cut off some flowers and hang them to dry. Then I made some of the scented water and it did not turn out well. It does not smell good nor does it smell like lilac. So with all the smelling to see if it worked I now detest the smell of lilac! And the ones hanging to dry in my laundry room makes me sick it even open the door to that room. I think I have ruined lilacs for me.
     One of my favorite things to do in the morning while walking in the yard is watch all my cats play and run. One of my cats loves to lay in the back yard swing and me to push. I don't think my cats believe they are cats I think they think they are human. Well humans who like to catch mice. Every farm, big or small needs a cat to keep the rodent numbers under control. My boys(cats) love to bring home mice they have killed, just a little present for me, to show me what a good job they do.
      Have a good day.

                                                                           April Whitehair
    

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Cherry pillow kind of morning.

     Morning again. We had a lot of rain yesterday and we are suppose to have rain for the next several days. I went out yesterday and placed sheets of newspaper around some of the plants and poured water on them and it rained then the wind came and blew the newspapers away. Guess I needed to put rocks on them. So I decided to shred the newspaper and place that around the plants and that has worked just fine. I just don't want to weed the garden this summer.
     Just made some cherry pillows.  Like cherry turnovers but square not triangle. I used crescents and cherry pie filling. And made confectioners sugar icing. And they were good. My husband even had seconds.
    I must go start my busy day. Have a good day.

                                                                  April Whitehair

Monday, May 6, 2013

More flower seeds!

     Good morning. Today I checked in on the bell pepper seeds and I have five growing! This I am so excited about. It has taken them so long to start. The plan for today is to put newspaper on the garden around all the plants to use as a weed blocker. I just hope it isn't to hot out today and I can get it all done before the rain starts.
     I get so much enjoyment from watching the garden grow. And hoping that they all produce well.
     I had found several flower seeds that my Mom had put up about four or more years ago and forgot about. So I planted all of them and hope to see them grow. Most I didn't know what kind they were but they got planted anyway. About two quart jars full of Cosmo seeds was hidden way in the back of some shelves. I remember as a kid walking around the yard nightly with my mom collecting the seeds. I hope they will grow. I planted a quart and gave my sister the other quart to plant hope one of us gets them to grow it would be nice to have them to continue. I know that I could just buy some of those seeds but they would not be my Mom's.
     My Mom's Alzheimer's is slowly getting worse. Lately she has been asking to go home, this is her home and she has lived here for over 40 years. It is just so sad watching her be sad. Heartbreaking. She spilled a half gallon of sweet tea the night before last and just cried and cried. Well it was a mess. But I got it cleaned up quickly. It is crazy the role reversal between us. Several years ago it would have been me making the mess and she would have been the one cleaning it up.
     All I know is to love and be patient and God will take care of the rest.

                                                                                     April Whitehair

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sunday Again

     Good morning. I am awake early getting ready for church. Enjoying a cup of coffee. I just walked around and looked at the garden and everything looks good. I have been thinking lately about what to do with all the produce I hopefully will have. Thinking about going to a farmers market and selling some goodies. That is if there is a good harvest this year. Or what about a food pantry, do they take garden goodies and give them out to those in need? That would be a good idea. I will have to check on that.
     I have also been studying the proper way to dry seeds to use next year. Maybe next year will be even better than this year.
     Got to go get ready for church. Have a great and blessed day.
                                                                           
                                                                                 April Whitehair 

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Cornflake chicken and Flea market

     Good afternoon. I had a good day so far. My husband took me to the flea market and to several yard sales this morning. We found a couple of things. I think it is cute that I  have him thinking about prepping. He would see things and say that would be good for when SHTF. I bought a Longaberger bag, I just love those purses. I also bought 4 shirts and a skirt. I was looking at other things but they would not come down on the price so I walked away. Its ok they can keep their way to expensive stuff and have to pack it up and take it back home. One yard sale even gave me a half off discount.  Anyway it was I good day and we talked to several nice people. I still do believe there is good people in this the world.
     Got home and walked the garden and noticed that the cats must have made my cucumber patch into a play area. I have now lost many cucumber plants. It's a good thing that I had started and planted over 90 of them. My bell pepper seeds that I had started over a month ago have two starting to grow. I am so excited about that. My small farm is doing good. But must figure out a way to keep the cats out of the garden. Any suggestions on that?
     Lunch for today was my husbands favorite, cornflake chicken. It's easy to make and very yummy.

CORNFLAKE CHICKEN
Crush up cornflakes, not frosted flakes!
Use boneless skinless chicken. Rinse with water.
Roll in flour with salt and pepper.
Dip in egg.
Roll in crushed corn flakes. Flatten up good with the palm of your hand.
Fry in oil till golden brown.
My husband likes to dip them in ranch. I like adding extra salt. I am a huge salt fan.

                                                                            April Whitehair

Friday, May 3, 2013

     Good morning. I am enjoying a good cup of coffee and a nice sunny morning. This is one of my favorite times of day. I wake up early, well early for my house. My husband is currently working evening shift so he doesn't get home till after 11pm. Mom is a night owl and doesn't do mornings. So that makes mornings a good time for me to have some alone time and get some things done before anyone even wakes up. My morning routine is normally make pot of coffee, walk around out side and check the garden, start computer, check facebook (you never know what bad thing might have happened during the night), and then start writing this blog. I never have a plan for what I am going to write it is just what pops in my head while I am typing. If I am happy I write about happy things if I am concerned about things I write about that. Today I am neither and both.
      Yesterday my mom received a letter in the mail about abortions going wrong and the baby lives and is born alive. Then what are they(mom and doctor) to do? Well they want to murder that baby! That has disgusted me ever since reading that. Included in that was a petition to sign and mail to your government.  But basically it was in support of ending funding for planned parenthood clinics. That worries me. I am a proud pro life supporter. Murder is murder no mater the age. But I know that there is other places than planed parenthood clinics that provide abortions. What about the letter to the government that lets them know we want to end support for those places as well? Also the planned parenthood clinic in my area does not only do abortion assistance but it also provided care for pregnant women that want to get care for them selves and there baby. If we completely stop funding for planned parenting clinics what will happen to those women who want babies and not dead babies? This is something for me to look into. And provide my support to.

                                                                                       April Whitehair

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Gardening Again

     Good morning. I slept in late this morning. We worked hard in the garden yesterday and finally got that shopping trip done. And yes we bought a couple strawberry plants. So now with the two new strawberry plants and all the seeds that are just getting started we should have a good amount of strawberries to harvest and a bigger strawberry bed than we planed. Got all the rest of the plants and seeds planted except for the beans. I hope to get them in the ground this morning. But I did make a trellis out of string for the beans to grow up. Hope it actually works. With the amazing seed pack  that I had started over a month ago I was able to plant over ninety cucumber plant and still had  some to give my sister for her garden. The bell peppers seeds that I started still have not started. It maybe a lost cause on those. but I am still trying to be patient.
     Last fall I had seen on pintrest painted rock garden markers. So I had painted them and yesterday I wrote on them the name of each plant and clear coat over that. And placed them beside each plant area. I must say that they are so beautiful.
     I have been thinking about canning. If the garden does as good as it could what am I going to do with all that produce? I have never canned before but it may be a good idea. I have been researching it and will have to buy a caner. Not sure if I can justify the cost. I have a lot of jars from when my mom use to can in the past. So we will see. Maybe I will ask for a pressure caner for my birthday in August.
     I would like to hear your thoughts on canning and if you think it would be a good investment.
                                             
                                                                                     April Whitehair



Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Strawberries ! ! !

     Good morning. Gardening day yesterday was canceled because my husband thought the ground needed a day to dry and he got a call from a friend who wanted to play golf. So he went and played. It don't bother me that he goes golfing. Some wives complain. I think it is good for both people in the relationship to have hobbies and activities separate from each other. It allows you to get away and recharge, relax and have good adult conversations with others. And going to work doesn't count. Sometimes I go to a lecture that the local university puts on, sometimes I go shopping(I love the goodwill and dollar stores), almost every week I go to church, and sometimes I go for a walk in the woods around my house. All of these things recharge me. I need these outings all by myself.
     So with this one day delay on planting and shopping for needed plants I noticed this morning that I have about twelve strawberry plants starting to grow from seed. I have been impatiently waiting for them to grow and had seriously planed on purchasing a couple strawberry plants it I would have went shopping yesterday. So maybe it was a good thing the shopping trip was delayed by a golf game. My bell peppers have not started yet and I have already got impatient and bought I second pack of seeds and planted them. So either they are bad seeds or I will have way to many when they start. I love to grow things and to harvest my garden. It gives me that good feeling that I grew something and can feed my family.
       So I am off to work in the garden and hopefully we wont get distracted today.
                         
                                                                                April Whitehair