a time to plant

With spring just a skip away, my thoughts are turning to the earth. My garden, to be more exact. I have been getting a steady stream of gardening catalogs in the mail, which perk up my ears! I thought I would share some of my favorite sites for all things gardening. What are yours?

Seed Savers ~ The largest, non-governmental seed bank in the United States!!

Seeds of Change ~ 100% organic flower, veggie, and herb seeds.

Johnny's Selected Seeds

Green People ~ A WONDERFUL resource for all things gardening, including GMO-free and organic!

thumbs UP

Before you buy, check out which stuff is made/assembled in the USA!

Go to: usstuff.com

goin' back

In 1981 Readers Digest came out with a "how-to" book called Back to Basics. Last summer, in a small town in Wisconsin, rambling through a yard sale, I came across this book. I was instantly drawn to it. I believe I paid $1.oo for it. Just the title alone, back to basics, is a motto that I have currently been trying to live up to. I know I am not alone on this bandwagon. The book is chock full of all sorts of "how-to's." It discusses how to buy country land and build on it, gardening, preserving foods, home crafts (woodworking, soap making, rug making), camping, fishing, survival, etc. Grant it, I am not "currently" doing some to most of these things. It is just fun to read up on them. Who knows! Maybe one day this book might become a constant companion if the world takes a sudden turn.

I was thinking back to the year this book was published, 1981. Hmm. Where was I back then? Well, I was an eleven year old girl, probably without much care in the world. I wasn't old enough to ponder life's greater issues, other than which friends house I was going to, or who wants to ride bikes?! I did an internet search to find out exactly what was what back in 1981. Here are some of the highlights I found:

1981:

-Television series "Dynasty" with Joan Collins premieres on ABC.

-Jimmy Carter submits his final State of the Union message, assessing the nations as "sound, but warning that the problems of unemployment, inflation, the energy shortage, and challenges from Russia were yet to be solved."

-Ronald Reagan takes the oath as the 40th President of the United States.

-Iran frees 52 U.S. hostages after 444 days in captivity.

-Prince Charles's marriage to Lady Diane Spencer in Great Britain.

-Walter Cronkite delivers his final CBS Evening News telecast.

-President Reagan is shot in the chest outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Press secretary, James Brady, is severely wounded.

-Pope John Paul II wounded by gunman.

-The World Internet is mentioned for the first time and MS-DOS was released by Microsoft.

-The first IBM PC came out.

-Researchers find the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic.

-The first frequent flier miles was introduces by American Airlines, AAdvantage.

-Post It Notes launched by 3M.

-MTV (Music Television) was launched in August.

Looking back I think I can recall only a handful of those events. That was one busy year!

For those of you that know me, you know my love of the show Little House on the Prairie! You also know that I love going to Amishland and I love to go saling (garage/rummage/etc). In many ways, these are all things that bring one "back to the basics." Well, in a small sort of way, that is. I have no current plans to buy that country lot and build on it (though I would LOVE to!) I don't raise chickens or own cows. Nor do I spin my own wool or churn butter. I DO admire those that have these skills though.

Technology is zipping by, faster than most of us can even stop to appreciate it. Time seems to be speeding by. Why is that? I have no idea where the world will take us. I do know that I need to become prepared. Who knows when one day we ALL will have to go back to basics!

something i love

On a recent trip to Down to Earth in Granger Indiana, I "over heard" two ladies talking. I was in the health and beauty section browsing the lotions and potions. The two women were discussing the Dr. Hauschka products on the shelf. I had never heard of them and I was curious to see what the buzz was about. The store clerk went on raving about how wonderful the products are and how she herself uses them! I waited until the ladies cleared the aisle and then I made my way to the assortment of Dr. H products, to scan them over. There were so many to choose! They were not cheap, either! I did a very random thing and grabbed a Daily Face Care Kit, that was $24.00. I put it in the cart and went on my way. At home I opened the nice tin box. There were tiny tubes of all sorts of moisturizers and such. Everything smelled SO good!
I have been using that kit for over a week now and really have been pleased. I will have to start saving up to be able to purchase more, though!

My rating: A
My favorite! The Rose Day Cream.
Will I buy again: Yes

Kids! On an almost regular basis, at least one of my children will randomly remind me how MUCH they miss our old house! More importantly, their old backyard. The yard that was large enough to run, skip, hop, and put on a decent baseball game, in. The yard that would accommodate a rather large dog very nicely. The yard that we currently don't have!

When we moved to our current home, we sacrificed a bit. No more double sinks and garden tub in the mama & daddy bathroom. No. Now we can barely stand side by side looking into our ity-bity mirror. No more massive walk-in closet (that was actually WAYYY to big for it's own good!) No. Now we fight with the sliders and boxes that our clothes STILL sit in, some almost five years later! No more brand-new-house windows/doors/appliances..etc..etc.. No. We now live in a vintage 1970's home that is in desperate need of new lower story windows.

So, we sacrificed some. Maybe in some ways a lot! But, we now live near beautiful Lake Michigan and can literally get to the beach in five minutes. We now live on a street with homes not shoe boxed on top of each other. We do backup to a lovely ravine that is private and wild with animals..at times. We NOW live in a home with little to NO backyard!!

I will not lie! At times I get a dose of mama-guilt. "Are the kids missing out on not having a big backyard?" "Should we move?" "Is not having a bigger backyard going to cause emotional/psychological ramifications in their later years in life???" NO! NO! and NOOOO!!!

Driving around our town I quickly see how fortunate we really are. Some folks don't have even the postage stamp size lot that we do! Sure it would be nice to have that big fenced in yard so the dog (the one that exists in my child's "if-we-had-a-bigger-backyard-mind") could run and frolic with the kids. Sure it would be nice to grant my youngest daughters miracle-wish and get that "underground"pool to splash and play in with every neighbor kid. Don't forget the trampoline too!! Sure, it WOULD be nice to have the 1 acre lot, that my son wants, to have a professional sized football field! Sure, why not! Heck, while on the subject...SURE, it would be nice for mama to have a nice big yard to have a huge garden (maybe small scale farm!),complete with greenhouse, blueberry patches and a small pond for fishing! For daddy, a poll barn or two, to hold all of those want-to-do projects, boats and whatnot's.

Yep, a nice 10 acre yard, complete with a lush green grassy area to run and play with the "dog". A nice flat area to house the "football field". The Olympic sized "pool" would look perfect next to that extra large "trampoline". Mama's "farm" would take up a sizable area in the back 5 acres, perfectly next to daddy's "poll barn(s)."

Ah, I can almost see it now!

Now, who wants to mow?

random winter thoughts

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~ John Ruskin

Rainbows apologize for angry skies ~Sylvia Voirol

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

the family truckster

Ten years ago, next month, we bought our 1st family car! A 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan. We purchased it in Madison Wisconsin. Our first child was 9 months old and our 2-door Buick, minus air conditioning, was just not cutting it anymore. Well ten years, and almost 150,000 miles later, our family car is still running, but in car terms can officially be called a "senior citizen"!

Don't get me wrong! There is still a TON of life in this car. Boy, looking back it had a full life. It has been to Florida and back a couple of times. Around Lake Michigan several times. It has lived in 4 states. It has seen snow, sun, salt, and the sea. It has the "age spots" to prove it, too. It has most of its original parts..only slight cosmetic work, not major face lifts! No major "surgeries" under the hood..only the standard. The usual.

This car became seasoned with the addition of each of our three children. It had all the usual wear and tear...stains, spills, spots, even cat pee!! (ick!) It has driven around family, friends, pets, neighbors. It has hauled boats. Picked up curb-side acquisitions. Carried bikes and skis. It has rushed to the hospital to deliver babies and get stitches. It has been a good, no a great, friend!

With each passing year though, the toll of her age is ever more present. Currently, rust is forming a jigsaw puzzle pattern on her lower parts. There is a scratch mark in the shape of a pitchfork on her hood. The heater only works in certain settings. The air conditioning only comes out as a slight breeze. The rear wiper works only if you put the rear defroster on first. These are little things. These are character marks that only come with age.

The thought has crossed my mind, however, that "she" is only going to last for so long. Then what? The thought of looking for another car is frightful. How does one part with the familiar? The SO familiar!

my 3rd grader teacher

A funny thing happened the other day. I was on Facebook, scanning over one of my friends pages when I saw something interesting. I noticed that my friend had a familiar person, a blast from my past, as one of his friends. Mr. Latoria. As in, my former third grade teacher!

When I think back to my school days I am instantly brought back to my year in third grade. It was such a great year! It was the year of math baseball, for one! The class would stand in two lines and the "batter" would be asked a math question. If they got it right, they could advance to the next base. If they got it wrong they would be a strike. The whole class would look forward to math baseball day! It was fair and it was FUN! Now I can see it is not always what you teach, but how you teach it that is the bigger impact.

Third grade was such a good year in many ways, but all come right down to the teacher. Mr. Frank Latoria! He was a happy man. He loved to teach. He loved his students and it showed! A few years back I was going through some old papers in the basement. I came across an old report card from school. It was my third grade report card. In the comment section, Mr. Latoria wrote that I was a good student and he wished me a happy life! Upon reading this, a few tears came to my eyes. For I now know that this teacher really meant those words. He lived to teach! Not teach to live.

Over the years I have had some OK teachers. A handful of good teachers, but only one of two great teachers. Ones that really stand out. Ones that broke from the mold and taught with their hearts. Ones that kept each child individual and unique.

I received a note, via Facebook, from Mr. Latoria today! In it he told me how he did remember me as his student. He struggled with a decision whether to pursue teaching or going into the family business some time ago. Recently, though, he went back into teaching and was not sure if he made the right decision. He said that after he read my note he feels in his heart that he did make the right decision! He can see how his love of teaching has impacted his fellow students. He thanked me!!



'They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel."- Carol Buchner