Truly Thankful

The Good Things in Life

Wow.  What a month it has been so far.  First off, I need to tell you that eating sweet corn has totally lost it's appeal.  We've eaten corn from our corn patch morning, noon, and night, for about a month now.  We eat it on the cob boiled and fried, southern fried, in fritters, in soup...  and the "Country Gent" is just now ready to pick?!?!  Maybe Mike won't be so determined to plant 100' rows of corn next year.  Maybe a patch with 9  80' rows will do.  I hope so at least!

Then there was my birthday.  I'm 50 years old now.  How awesome is that?  Half a century of experience and I am at the top of my game.  Life is incredible.

After the birthday was the closing of our refinance on the house.  HA!  Talk about fun and games.  Did you know that this property is actually 2 lots?  Yep, one lot that is 1.39 acres with a well but no house.  That is Lot 2.  Then there is Lot 1 that has the house and the septic tank.  Well, the original loan covered the purchase of both lots.  The new loan covers the purchase of JUST the small lot with the house.  There will be 2 deeds now.  One that is encumbered by the bank for the small lot with the house and a second UNencumbered deed for the larger piece of land.  God is SO good to us!

Now, today is our 10th wedding anniversary.  Yep, 10 years of marital bliss.  The little guys are running around creating paintings of Mike and I holding hands.  I think we will have to make a trip to the framing shop later today.  We also got a decorated flower pot with a note suggesting that we use it to grow flowers.  I think we will take that advice.

There is a bottle of wine that was saved just for this day.  The wine is meade that was made for and served at our wedding.  It's been pulled out of the closet and dusted off in preparation for drinking later today.  I'm going to take a bath and go check the tomatoes that I had to tie up yesterday.  They look like they are going to be fair decent this year.  I'll probably walk the entire property today looking at how trees have grown and how work is coming on the tree house. 

I'll talk a bit with our neighbors.  I'll watch my sons running around, screaming an shouting with childish delight at whatever has caught their fancy for the moment.  I'll talk to my husband about what we'll have for dinner.  I'll spend an hour or 2 knitting a sweater or some socks.

What an absolutely glorious life I am blessed with!  Thank you God.  For all you have put in my life I am TRULY THANKFUL!

Psalm 19

The heavens tell of the glory of God, the skies display His marvelous craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.
They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world.

The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows it's course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from it's heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The commandments of the LORD are right bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life.
Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the LORD are true, each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to those who hear them; there is great reward for those who obey them.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep me from deliberate sins!
Don't let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

~<*As written in the New Living Translation (NLT)*>~

Today I am 50 years old.  I've lived for half a century and though I am wiser than I was, I am ignorant if I compare myself the the Creator.  I am honored that I am still alive and learning, growing.  I look forward joyously to each day and all that comes with the swift flow of time.  I am, TRULY THANKFUL.

Onslow County Public Non-Schools

The following link will open an Excel file showing data extrapolated from NCReportCards.org. It is JUST the elementary schools in our county and there may be typos. I encourage readers who are truly concerned to verify the information in the file by looking it up for themselves.

Download OVERALLstudentperformancecomparison

A lot of folks wonder why I'm in an uproar about all the fundraisers that go on at Southwest Elementary School where my sons are just completing grades 1 and 2.  The numbers of that file should give you a little understanding.

I'm also up in arms about the fact that the executive board members figure the best way to shrink the budget is to reduce the number of teachers and increase class sizes.

Let me put this as simply as possible because it is possible one of those said persons might actually read this and I would like them to be capable of understanding it.

Student + Teacher = Education

That is it.  Nothing more.  No copy machine using electricity, paper, or ink.  No $50,000 swingset.  No computers.  No Promethean boards.  And certainly no principals and overpaid district superintendents with their entourage of puppets.

Even the dullest of politicians are beginning to own up to the glaring failure of American schools particularly when compared to schools around the world.  Yet, in an economy demanding cuts, the first sacrifice is the most vital, teachers.

So, all you school board folks here in Onslow County, North Carolina, particularly those of you who claim to be Christian, listen up.  God is watching, look into your heart and try to see this as He sees it.  Where is your honor?  Your wisdom?  Because with every teacher lost, with every minute spent with "The Candy Man" fundraiser instead of learning reading, math, or science, you reveal yourselves as fools.

You Doubt God?

I ate the fist culling of Flamingo Pink chard from my garden today.  It had a smell of earth, deep and pungent.  It was green and fresh, tender and delicious.  To those of you who put your faith in Wall Street and it's representatives, you have my deepest sympathies.  How hideous to be so blind and so foolish. 

There is an old saying, "It is easier to live through times of no money than to live through times of no food."  God gives us food and he gives us time.  Satan gives money.  We must all choose.

New Photos

I've gotten the albums done for Robby's birthday and for Easter.  I'm also adding more garden photos to the April album.

Springing

Spring, as you might imagine, is a pretty busy time around here.  I lost my camera on Easter Sunday and just found it a couple days ago.  I haven't had time to process the photos on it yet but that is in process.  However, I think you will be rather amazed with the changes that have occurred within just the few weeks since the last garden photos were posted. 

We have a HUGE plot planted in corn that will soon have beans planted in it as well.  We have our "orchard" prepared to receive the trees which have been ordered and paid for.  We may have to pick them up this week.  Not a huge hardship.  I found the first colorado potato beetle munching on a red potato today.  That precipitated an all out hunt and slaughter for beetles and eggs.  Followed up by purchasing a sprayer at Lowe's so I can nail all the buggies with soapy water without breaking my back.  Tomatoes are sprouting and so are cukes and peppers.  Dwarf pak choy is already bolting and we didn't get to eat any!  I don't think that will get planted again.  The Shanghai pak choy and gailan is very nice though and will certainly be planted again.  Marigolds are growing wild to the point that they are overshadowing every single other weed in the garden.  We need to put up more of the fencing that we are using for trellising the tomatoes.  We are using it for peas and for cukes and zukes as well but those are already up.  The blackberries and raspberries are just amazing.  The blossoms on the Arapahoe thornless blackberries are easily two inches across.  I was visited in the garden yesterday by an amazing swallowtail butterfly and I'll have some wonderful photos if it for you eventually.  I finished a pair of socks for Mike made out of a wonderful yarn with cotton and acrylic blend.  I'm not keen on acrylic but Mike can't hang with wool and pure cotton just doesn't do it for socks.  At least not in my opinion.  I'm also working on a baby blanket for my 3rd grandbaby.  It's to be a boy and I have pure cotton yarn in 4 colors, 2 shades of blue, one light beige, and one chocolate brown.  I'll use them to make the blanket and a few garments.  I've already finished a couple pairs of teeny tiny baby socks.  Robby and Tommy are flourishing in the sunshine and their bodies and freckles are growing faster than the weeds.  Robby read a chapter from "The Tale of Despereaux" to us tonight.  Tommy is the artist of the family and has a penchant for making the loveliest mud balls you could possibly imagine.  ::takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly::

Life is so very sweet and I am TRULY THANKFUL!

Earth Day

Yesterday my son told me he had to have a green shirt to wear to school today to celebrate Earth Day.  I told him “Son, if I use fossil fuel to go buy a shirt that you don’t really need, that does not honor the earth, it contributes to her pain.”

In our home, Earth Day is celebrated everyday.  We don’t have trash any more because except for plastic and metal, everything is slow burned (producing little to no smoke).  It will “cook” at the low temperature for a year then it will cure for a year then it will be spread on our gardens to enrich the soils depleted by bad farming practices.  What happens to your garbage?

We are reducing the amount of meat we eat because the factory farming methods used to produce virtually all the meat we buy in grocery stores and restaurants produce massive quantities of manure that are then leached into our water systems.  Our water systems are dying from these chemicals.  Fish and other wildlife are getting sick and dying.  Meat can be sustainably produced, but unless consumers demand clean and healthy meat, agricultural conglomerates won’t change what they are doing.  By next year we hope to be producing our own meat.

We grow increasing amounts of our own fruits and vegetables.  When you buy fruits and vegetables at the store, those things are brought to the store from far away.  Sometimes they come from other states, but if you buy summer fruit in the middle of winter, it comes from other parts of the world.  It takes a lot of fossil fuel to bring a nectarine to North Carolina from Chile.  I don’t know how far that is, but it’s around 6,000 miles.

Now, one son is sporting a t-shirt bought at Old Navy.  The label says that is was made in Lesotho.  Lesotho is a landlocked kingdom surrounded by South Africa.  That’s even farther away than Chile.  My other son is wearing a green sweater with a faded label.  I’m not sure, but I think it comes from Columbia.  Columbia is close to Chile.

Next year, they won’t be wearing these clothes.  Next year they will wear clothes made with fabric made here in America.  I will make their clothes for them.  They won’t be fancy, but they won’t dishonor and damage the earth.  The earth is more important than clothes.

We don’t use fertilizer or pesticides in our garden because those also hurt and dishonor our earth.  We know when we have done something wrong because our bees die.  Our bees our important for growing food and for making honey which we use for food and for medicine.

Be wise this Earth Day, don’t dishonor her with foolish “celebrations” that actually hurt her more.  Be wise and make plans to tell everyone how you are better next year than you are this year.  If we all do this, you can tell your grandchildren about it.  If we don’t, there may not be a tomorrow.

For wisdom, I am TRULY THANKFUL.

Nuevas Photos

There is a new photo album for Tommy's birthday.

Veo el nuevo álbum de fotos de el cumpleanos de Tommy.

An Unexpected Gift - Garden Shoes Online

I recently made the acquaintance of Patrick, a garden blogger of Bifurcated Carrots.  I “found” his blog and his website when I was learning about celeriac.  Patrick has proven himself a wealth of data on a wide range of gardening issues pertinent to our situation here in North Carolina and he is all the way in Amsterdam! 

Last Thursday or Friday he sent me an email saying that an online retailer, Garden Shoes Online (GSO), had sent him a $50 coupon with the hopes that Patrick would make a purchase then blog about the experience.  Unfortunately, GSO didn’t realize that Patrick was not in the US and they are not able to do business internationally (yet).  So, Patrick, very generously, offered to pass the coupon on to me.  I accepted with much appreciation!

The first thing I did was peruse the website.  The selection is small and focused on gardening shoes that are dedicated to functionality.  They also carry a few other “side” items including hats and gardening tools.  I liked this a lot because I was able to focus on what I actually needed rather than a ton of stuff that may or may not pertain to my needs of the moment.  It took me 10 minutes or less to quickly browse their entire inventory.  Another plus because I value my time.  10 points for utilitarian functionality.

Now I had to consider just what it was that they needed that I wanted.  We live on a very limited, fixed income and every spare dime is divided between paying off debt and investing in our farming venture.  I haven’t had a new pair of shoes in more than 5 years so gardening shoes were really tempting.  However, I really need a garden apron more.  I’ve been mentally designing one for years now and GSO had one that appeared to have good functionality at a price I was willing to pay, $35.  So, leftover money!  10 points for value.

What next?  They have hats!  My husband has genetic macular degeneration and is legally blind.  White light, like sunlight, can be down right painful.  So, he wears a hat.  His current hat, purchased for $7 last year, looks like it went through a tornado.  On top of that, it got soaking wet during a recent rain and shrunk. 

GSO has a great selection of hats AND they focus on the brim width in their detail descriptions!  This was truly excellent.  I just selected the hat with the widest brim, 5”.  The hats are all straw which is another excellent feature for gardeners.  Some have vents, ours did not.  Not a big deal, the extra wide brim was the most important feature for us.  At $29, the price was completely reasonable.  This was over our $50 limit, but I was prepared to pay the difference.

By Monday morning Mike and I had discussed the purchase, agreed that we could afford the overage and agreed on what we wanted to get.  I placed the order.  My first surprise was a $2 “Mix and Match” savings.  Wow, off to a great start there!  Next, no shipping charge!  Wow!  Talk about impressive, I figured I would have to wait 7 to 10 full days but then, I could handle that.  The grand total was $61.94.  I entered my coupon information then paid the extra $11.94.  10 points for efficiency. 

My next surprise came in the form of an email that arrived about 3 or 4 hours later.  The email informed me that FedEx (no less!) was in possession of my order and provided a tracking number.  NO KIDDING?!?!  I immediately checked the tracking info figuring that like UPS there would be a 24 to 36 hour delay between data received and tracking information availability.  I was WRONG!  There was the information with the estimated delivery date of April 1st.  I was in shock!  Of course the order originated in New York and came to North Carolina.  That helped keep the time to a minimum.  Yet, the speed and efficiency of the entire process was startlingly crisp and “utilitarian”.  I really like utilitarian.  10 points for quality servicing by 3rd party services.

I had to run errands yesterday morning and when we got home, there was the package, neatly bundled in a plastic bag to ensure it wasn’t damaged by rain.  5 bonus points for taking the extra step.

I got Mike to come in and check out the hat.  He was so excited!  I knew there was a chance the hat would be damaged from the delivery but I couldn’t have been “more wronger”!  The apron, boxed in a flat half carton, was taped to the bottom of the box guaranteeing that there was no chance for the hat to be squashed.  I was thoroughly impressed.  10 points for packaging wisdom.

The hat is a thing of beauty that will last a good long time.  I haven’t had a chance to checkout the apron but I like what I see so far.  I need to get my corn planted today or tomorrow so I will post an addendum regarding the apron because I will put it to the test planting the corn.  But, based on what I’ve observed thus far, 10 points for product quality.

10 points for utilitarian functionality
10 points for value
10 points for efficiency
10 points for quality servicing by 3rd party services
5 bonus points for taking the extra step
10 points for packaging wisdom
10 points for product quality

That is a total of 65 points.  10 being a perfect score in any category and 5 being the maximum bonus points.  I really like Garden Shoes Online and I will certainly look to purchase from them in the future.  I encourage you to do so as well.

For Patrick’s kind generosity and GSO’s great quality and service, I am TRULY THANKFUL!

ADDENDUM:  It's about 10 hours later and I've tested both the hat and the apron.  It's a windy, drizzly, gray day and I purchased some cabbage starts that needed to get into the ground.  So, after setting some leftovers to heat for supper, I went to put the apron together.  It comes in 3 pieces, the main body, a holster and a wide webbing belt.  The belt is pretty darn ample.  It fits me (and I'm no skinny Minney) with a nice long tail.  The pouch itself is "made whole" by zipping up both sides.  It has rigid sides so it stays open.  The pouch itself is roomy enough for a good 5 to 8 lbs. of stringbeans.  Don't ask me how I can guestimate it this way!  It's sort of like being pregnant, it's large and cumbersome, but well worth the effort in the long run.  The holster is perfect for clipping shears, a hand trowel or other small tool.  There are netting pouches on the sides that would be perfect for additional tools, seed pouches, or pretty much whatever else your heart might desire.

Now about that hat.  OH MY GOSH I WANT ONE!  I didn't get a single drop of rain on my glasses.  My hair didn't get at all wet.  The elastic innerband made it fit nice and snug.  The wind would have still ripped it off so I used the handy, adjustable lariat thingy to keep it on my head.  If you want to send me one, I take a large!  ::smiles wistfully::

New Photos

I just wanted to let interested parties know there are some new photos in the "Early Spring 2009" photo album.  Kid pics are included.    Mom?  Dad?  You listening?

Your loving daughter,
Pepitsies