Hello to all! Thanks so much for responding to Lindsey's question. She is having fun looking on here to see all the responses. Some of the places sound so exotic and so far away.

Well what have I been up to the last few days? Had preschool this week for the first time since Christmas. But something was wrong with the heating system, and the room was only about 48 degrees when I got there. I do not like to be that cold! It finally decided to start working and it warmed up a little. The kids were glad to be back. They like their school! How I do love to hear "teacher" from their little voices!

Most of our snow is gone. Except where the kids made a big snow-fort. It is hanging on there yet. But I think I heard a chance of snow flurries tonight.

I have been cleaning and all of the normal stuff. I have a quilt I want to finish. It is blue jean and flannel, all used stuff, so very cheap. It is going to be so heavy. I have the pieces cut, now I need to lay out some pattern. The kids like to help with this part and usually have some good ideas.

Have some 1099'2 and W-2's to type out. I should do those tomorrow, and I am meeting a friend to clean with all 8 of our kids at the library tomorrow. That is usually a fun thing to do! Not good on the hearing though. I also want to work outside a bit. Several small jobs to do and barns to clean. So tomorrow will be a big work day here.

Sunday afternoon My family is coming for dinner. I am going to fix ham, green beans, and potatoes, chunky, hot applesauce, pumpernickel bread with spinach dip, and for dessert, pumpkin bread. All this at the request of my grandmother who is in the nursing home. I hope it is not snowing, or she won't come out.

I like the month of January, February I could do without though!

I took tons of film to be developed today. With 6 cameras here, there is usually several rolls wanting to be developed. I took a few rolls of the house and barn area, and had them put on-line so when I pick them up next Friday, I will let you know the web address and the password to see them. I believe it said they would be on-line for 30 days.

I want to start planning out the garden, but we are switching to raised beds, and I'm not really sure how I am going to do everything yet. Our garden last year was so big, and hard to deal with, so I am really looking forward to it. The one thing I am not sure of is the potatoes. I would like to raise some for fresh digging, but am thinking of buying some from the Amish. They raise them organically, for $5 a bushel last year. If I bought 10 bushel that would be plenty, and might be worth the $50 for all the labor it takes us to raise them. Hilling and weding and picking bugs. I think without the potatoes the gardening would be much easier. But I do like to do things on my own! That Irish stubborness in me I guess.

A friend said he raises his in straw, and they are huge and stay clean. I also read where someone was able to harvest 3/4 of a bushel from one plant, using straw. 12 plants would be plenty then! So this will be an area of experimentation for me this year.

What else? I get all of these ideas running through my head, then I can't remember them when I get on here! Oh I remember! I wanted to tell you about what Kadia said. She is so funny. I sit here at this computer a good bit as you all can imagine! Usually helping the kids with homework and projects, and visiting here of course. She says, "I wish I could get a picture of you, You look so cute there with your blue shirt (I ALWAYS wear blue) typing away on your computer, with all your books piled up around you!" Ha, ha, they were all lauging at me. Sometimes I probably look like one of those mad scientists types,hunched over typing with my glasses falling down my nose, consulting my pile of books!!!!!

Around my computer I have a Tightwad Gazette complete volume, dictionaries, a Bible, a notebook, a folder full of torn out pages form magazines, quotes and clippings to share with you. also other books and magazines that I am going to use. Never worry, I have enough stuff to get us at least through the next 3 years!

I am going to go now, the later it gets, the sillier I am! God Bless you all my friends! Don't work too hard this weekend, and remember to think about why you are where you are. I really believe that there is a purpose for each one of us, and you are placed where you are for a reason. No task is small if God is in it!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 11, 2002

Answers

Hi Melissa,

I thought I'd comment on your last paragraph, because I also believe this is the case. Years ago when we moved to Canyon, we knew immediately we were where we were supposed to be at the time, because of a dear neighbor, who had been a less active member of our church. She needed us, and even though we really didn't have that much in common, we became wonderful friends.

Dale says I left heel marks all the way from Texas when we moved here, and boy was that true. It didn't take us long, though, to find the family that literally prayed us here, and what wonderful friends they have been! They have a son the same age as one of mine who for some weird, unknown reason, had been completely ostrasized(sp?) by the other boys his age at church. When we moved in and began to pray for a friend for our son, there they were! And they had, in turn, been praying for us to come along. How welcome they have made us feel! Almost like finding family you didn't know you had.

I believe that God most often answers our prayers through others. If we are receptive to His whisperings, we can bless one another, and in turn be blessed.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 11, 2002.

Hi, everyone, I taught at mother's day out (Sonshine School) at our church Thursday! They call me sometimes when they need a sub, so I always have a different class. The main problem with that is they grow so much in between times, the kids always remember me, but they look completely different!

I will have to remember the blue-jean and flannel quilt idea. Nick should be out of the toddler bed within the next year, and I will be needing ideas for decoration, since we can finally get their room together then! (the boys both sleep in one room and have all their toys in the other -- at least one room stays relatively clean all the time that way!)

Melissa, I want to come eat at your house! Ham, green beans and potatoes is one of my absolute FAVORITE dishes! Even better in the summer when they are fresh, don't you think? On Thursday night I made meatloaf and had home-canned green beans that my mother had done and hasn't been using. She always canned them in quarts, but she can't eat that many before the go bad. I think it bothers her that she doesn't have someone there to eat them with her.

We are also switching to raised beds, but can't decide what to use to edge them! Lance wants to use treated lumber of some sort, but I would rather use rocks. He says the dirt will leak out between the rocks, I say the chemicals from the lumber will leach into the soil! Until we decide, I think we are just going to do the layout and get the beds ready without raising them, since I can start planting my cool-season crops in about a month and a half. I would like to work some fireplace ashes and chicken manure in to the ground and let it rot a few weeks before I start planting!

Melissa, one thing you might want to consider about planting your potatoes in straw (the voice of experience!) is that it ATTRACTS SNAKES! I tried it two years ago, Lance's grandfather bragged so much on his and how clean and pretty they were, but he neglected to tell me that those snakes can find a good place to hide in all that straw! I would try it again if someone could suggest a foolproof snake repellant!

Well, Lance went back to work today, and the biggest thing on the agenda for me and the boys is that we have to go to Office Depot and look for new calendars for both me and Lance. He has a day-planner that I have to find a calendar for because he lives out of it, and I just need a larger one than I had last year, because everything wouldn't fit! I don't really make resolutions, but I suppose if I were to be pressed, getting organized would be a good one for this year!

-- Christine in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), January 12, 2002.

We are planning to use concrete block, as we have about 600 of them that Cale bought used, a whole tri-axle load for $200. Actually there are probably more than 600, but I don't remember. You know we never see any snakes around here. I don't know why, but they seem to be pretty rare.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 12, 2002.

We had a friend who did raised beds with the cement blocks. She planted flowers and herbs in the holes of the blocks all the way around. It was beautiful. Also, herbs like the mint family or self heal that tend to try and take over are contained. Just a thought!!

-- Marci (amazinggraze@valkyrie.net), January 12, 2002.