Prayers Please

 Today one of our little grandsons has a Drs appointment. He has been having an issue and it looks like it will need some medical intervention. Please pray that the Drs will listen and take serious the concerns and that God will give this Dr the wisdom to know what to do for him. This grandbaby has some a sweet disposition - which is so surprising because this issues causes quite a bit of discomfort. What a little trooper. Please keep him in your prayers. Maybe God has a miracle in store for this sweet baby. That is my prayer <3 

Best Deal/Good Deal

 On Thursday I talking about some gardening stuff - maybe some of you noticed the pretty background of the photo with the seed packet? 

That is my new ironing board cover - it is a Pioneer Woman ironing board cover.

 Very nice design to keep the cover on the ironing board very secure. 

And it was only $10.38. 

I thought that was a pretty good deal. So is the fact that not only does Baker Creek have great seeds - they have free shipping for those of us in the USA. And I think that is an awesome deal!! I placed another order last week to add to my seed collection. And once I place an order - I usually have the seeds within a week. That is a great deal - great seeds and free shipping!!  

No I don't get anything for promoting Baker Creek - I just really love this company and want you all to know about them. I wish I had have pursued the information shared with me about this company several years ago. So I just want to share with you all just in case you have not pursued this information. It is easy to set up an account and then quick and easy to order. I just love it. 

Last week with the weather situation - I just didn't get a chance to get out and do much shopping so that is why our best deal - came from Walmart and Baker Creek today. 

Righteousness by Faith part 1: Righteousness

I have another great series of sermons I want to share with you. These videos are 30 minutes or less. These are so easy to understand. I realize the other series might be a challenge - that is why I decided to go ahead and start this series - just in case the other one is a bit too deep. I really enjoyed the book - but I don't know if I would be able to get it from just listening to it - since I am a visual learner. Anyway I hope this blesses you richly. <3 

CH 7 The Unconquerable Life- LESSONS ON FAITH – Audiobook

Freebie Friday

 As I was thinking that I wasn't going to have a freebie Friday post - I remembered something cool that happened last week. And realized - that yes in fact I did have a freebie Friday post to share with you all that I hadn't gotten done last week. It was that out the the normal of what my freebie Fridays usually entail so I had forgotten about posting about it. 

One day when my husband and I got home from running some errands - we pulled up to the mailbox. There was a box inside that was addressed to me. We both thought for a minute and was like - no I didn't order anything - and neither had he. So what could it be. 

My husband opened the box and then showed me: 

When I first saw it I thought - well maybe one of our daughter in laws ordered it for their husband - both sons are into jeeps at the moment. And then it hit me! I absolutely love the vehicle on the show Vera: 

And I thought - oh this is God's way of giving me what I love! 

In the same pile of mail was a card from my best friend and it is - she said, 

"Thank you for helping me "solve life's mysteries" and "surf through all the waves" together!"

"Watch for an Amazon delivery." 

How thoughtful of my friend. Once while we were visiting I had mentioned how much I loved this vehicle and she remembered and in her own way - had answered the desire of my heart by sending me this toy. It will be treasured and forever I will know that it came from a heart of love. 

This was my freebie - and a very special one indeed!

God can fulfill the desires of our hearts - how ever He sees fit - sometimes he uses those we love to deliver those things! :O) 

A Little Gardening Talk

 I think I already shared with you all that I had ordered these Dark Purple Opal Basil seeds from Baker Creek.  I had seen where someone said that they grew regular basil for usage and then purple basil to allow it to go to flower to attract the bees and butterflies. I thought it would be worth trying out. So I invested $3.00 for 100 seeds. I planted less than 15 - they are really small seeds - I did not mean to plant as many but it just happens. So I have many seeds left over to use another time. 

And very important for anyone who is just getting into gardening - Do not throw your extra seeds away. Just because there may be a date on your package does not mean that you can not use the seeds the next year. Now in the future when you plant - you may have a lower germination rate - but if you will just make sure you plant what you will need plus some extras you would have a successful time. I have heard of people planting seeds from years and years ago and still the seeds grew into a plant! Seeds are awesome like that! 

So a funny little story for you all today. I planted my seeds in this container below. And our grow lights - at least half of them now have pink and blue little bulbs so that it puts off a pinkish purple light. So I was checking the progress of all of the seeds I had started and everything was coming up except for my purple basil - I was disappointed. Then one day when I pulled out the tray to take the top plastic dome off of the planting cell - I had the lights in the sunroom on and I just happened to notice something a little different - sure enough my basil had some up - but with the purplish colored lights - I had not noticed the little plants had indeed come up! lol 

I thought I had a photo of it with the lights on - it really camouflages the basil plants. 

Thankfully I finally realized they were coming up! 

I have 12 plants - that is how I know that I probably planted less than 15. 

See my little plants- I think they are going to be a beautiful addition to my garden!! 

I used to focus just on the main vegetables to grow in my garden - but the longer I garden the more I realize the importance of attracting the bees and butterflies - so it is important to have some flowering things around the garden. And what is neat - is that you can plant things from seeds and the cost is so low doing it that way - that you can afford to have alot of flowers. Cost was probably why I didn't have more flowers in my garden - I was spending my money on the plants - and that cost really adds up that way. Yes- starting seeds yourself does have an initial cost of getting your setup together - but once you have that then you reuse much of what you use to start seeds - and then the seeds are pretty reasonable - and there again - one year you may be several seed packets - but you still have plenty of seeds left over to use the next year, or two or three, perhaps ever four ...who knows. But this is so much more cost effective you can afford to have the flowers as well!! :O) 

Not Again?....lol

 When I went outside to get more firewood this morning, I noticed that we had already been getting little pellets of ice. I was thankful that I had put that job at the top of my to do list for today. Some of you may wonder, "Why didn't she get more firewood a day or two ago?" Well first of all that is a good question, but I have a very good answer for as well. 

Monday it was a beautiful day and the temperatures got up to 83 degrees here - I took advantage of this beautiful weather to get some of my more pressing outside jobs done! I had some work that I wanted to do to prepare for my up coming gardening year and I knew that once the bad weather got here that I would be so happy to have gotten that stuff done already. Sure enough - as I look out at my garden area - it brings me joy to have those jobs done. And yesterday the cold front come in ALOT earlier than they thought it would. And I had a whole long lists of errands I needed to take care of and then some resting before helping out with my church's food pantry. It is once a month, so it was important that I go help. 

Plus to be honest - I prefer to bring fire wood with when it is on the cool/cold side. I like to be able to wear a sweat shirt and so I can pile the wood on one arm to carry in. This works better in cold weather.  

So I have the fire wood brought in and I have the fireplace cleaned out and ready for a fire later today. I usually wait till my husband is home for us to run a fire - because we don't have a blower for our fireplace yet and I don't spend all my time in the living room - I am working throughout the house. But now everything is ready for a fire. And I thought since I did some of my more strenuous jobs - I would take a break and come get at least a blog post or two typed up. Sorry I have been missing in action - I have been quite busy with life- as I am sure you have been as well. 

I hope that what ever weather you have that you are staying warm and are healthy and safe! May God bless you and keep you close to His heart! <3

My Best Deal

 On Monday the 14th of February, yes Valentine's Day, I went to Winco. What an exciting life I lead, right? It beats what I was doing back in 2014 on Valentine's Day - my 3rd Chemo treatment out of 6. I will take a trip to Winco over that any day! 

At Winco they have a little area that sells clearance things - I am so glad that I found this little area because ever so often I find great deals. This week it was this pancake mix!! 

One of the best parts about this pancake mix is that it only requires an addition of water to make the pancakes! And what makes this my best deal - is that for a 1 pound package - I only had to pay 78 cents!! What a great deal!! :O) 

CH 6 Christ the End of the Law - LESSONS ON FAITH – Audiobook

Garden Update

This week I found 2 great cafeteria trays for sale at a local thrift store- They work perfectly to hold 5 of my containers. I have to be honest - I love the metal floral trays I got for free - and I will use them as well - but they only fit 4 of my little containers, while these trays hold 5 nicely. I think I paid 1.00 max for each of them, well worth the money for sure!!! 

So out of everything I planted on the 7th everything seems to be coming up - last up was the eggplants. And it seems weird to me that the little frog egg eggplants did better than the japanese kind I grew last year. Oh and my kale plants looks scrawny - bottom photo - on the left - one plant looks normal the other plants look poorly. I actually planted another 6 plants because of how poorly these did. 

Speaking of kale - I was reading on the Baker Creek facebook page and someone said that Casper Kale was really good- so now I have another list of seeds to order - once one of the things that were out of stock comes back into stock. 

This week I have planted at least 6 of each of the following plants: 

• Green onions 
• marigolds - a french variety - I heard that this kind is best defense against pests. 
• cilantro 
• 3 more of each of the 2 varieties of Eggplants that I am growing
• 6 more kale plants 
• purple basil 
• my broccoli that I planted last week didn't have all come up and I ended up ordering a different variety from BC so I planted 6 more broccoli plants- it will be interesting to see which does better. 

This year I am trying to keep better notes so that it will help me in the future and I figure out better ways of doing things. I know I could forget some important tips and tricks so I am keeping notes. I am writing in a gardening journal. Last year I had kept some notes but ended up writing things several different places and then forgetting where I had written my notes - only to have found my notebook - after the fact - with only half of the information needed in it. So this year I have a journal that I am writing in and keeping track of what I have planted and when they start germinating and all. 

Within the next week or so it will be time to start sowing things outside like my : 

• radishes
• carrots 
• sugar snap peas (these I could start indoors and then move them out in a few weeks - haven't decided for sure on that yet. 

Last year I shared that I had gotten several GreenStalk planters- well I only have one left. This year I plan on growing my 

spinach, 2-3 kinds of lettuces and marigolds 

on the top like last time. 

I sure hope the things do better this year. I figured out some things I did wrong last year and then I also figured out that you have to fertilize the stuff quite often. My advice for anyone thinking about getting some - just buy one and see how it works for you before you buy more. If it works great for you - then by all means buy more if you would like but don't make the mistake I did and buy several only to realize that it is not your preferred way to garden. 

I do hope you all are having fun in what ever stage of the gardening year you are in - whether it is in the planning stage or if you are being able to plant. It is such a rewarding things to plant seeds and watch things grow. It amazes me when I look at the seeds and although a lot of them look exactly alike - they are totally different things. I think it is amazing how God created everything and how we can get a plant and produce out of a tiny seed!!! 

 

Game Changer - when I realized I had a choice to make

 This morning I was in a really good mood. As I walked out to let the chickens out of their pen, I was singing about how glorious of a day it was. I tossed out the kitchen scraps I had for the chickens and I walked into the dogrun area of their pen and then walked to the door of the coop- something I do most days - just to open up the barn style doors to let light and air into the coop. All of a sudden I noticed this: 

I was SO sad. What a mood changer. I felt a heavy weight instantly pull me down. I had to take care of disposing of my poor chicken. And I tried to process this sudden death of one of my chickens, I was so tempted to let it depress me and bring down my whole day. But then something changed- I thought - Ok - we had 10 chickens - the most eggs we have gotten each day has been 7 and a lot of times it is less than that per day. So I knew at least several of our chickens were not laying. So in a conversation with God - I said so maybe you are just allowing the chickens that are not laying to pass. I am hoping this was one of the chickens that has not been laying. So I am choosing to not allow this event to bring me down and depress me. I could dwell on this sad thing all day and be sad. But I have chosen to just accept that it happened at that I don't need to let it get me down. 

I had been in a great mood and this could have totally messed up my entire day but I choose to let the sadness go and choose to let it be a good day, still. We all have choices to make - let's make the best choices. :O) 

Best Deal

 Yay! With the help of my husband scraping and tossing some of the ice that was behind my car - I was able to get out and to my favorite little thrift store on Tuesday. While I was there I noticed an ice bucket - and I picked it up and was tempted to buy it for a special purpose I had. Thankfully I kept looking because I found this Tupperware Ice Bucket - and it will work perfectly for the job I had in mind. With its ability to seal up tight. 

So years ago we had a little box that would scoop the poop and dump it into a plastic container. Well the little box broke but we had the plastic containers. So I have been just scooping and putting the waste into the plastic container and putting the lid on. Well my very last set was tearing up and I knew I needed to start looking for something to put the litter in. And when I saw this and I tried the lid and realized that it would lock tight - I knew it would be perfect for the job!! And have enough room to hold the contents from Tuesday till Friday - the 2 days I gather trash. Anyway I was very pleased with this find - especially when I was only charged $1.00 for it! 

I have looked on Ebay and $13.50 is the very cheapest I could have gotten it - and yes that is with shipping - but still- I got a great deal!!! 

CH 5 Saving Faith- LESSONS ON FAITH – Audiobook

This part of the book is less than 10 minutes long. May God bless you richly! :O) 

Freebie Friday and a Gardening Hint

Today's Freebie Friday comes to you from Baker Creek ~ Rare Heirloom Seeds 

This is a great place to order seeds. They do NOT charge shipping costs. And on top of that - if you spend $10.00 - you get a package of free seeds - of their choice- what ever they are giving away at that time - could be flowers or veggies. It's always a surprise!! 

I had ordered seeds several weeks ago and these were the free seeds. I am not the biggest fan of radishes - but I do grow them - they are growing on me. And when I saw these were Wasabi- I almost just gave the seeds away- but several people told me that I could plant these around other plants to help with bugs and such. I know that I had some regular radishes that I had planted by my yellow squash and they lasted longer than I have had plants last in the past - and it was actually the fact that I got Covid really bad the last part of June and really could not get out and take care of my garden for a couple of weeks which caused me to loose my squash - so if you use this to try to control pests- be sure and leave some radishes in place to go to seed - this help continue to protection. Anyway I will be trying these both for pest protection and also to eat. I have heard if you roast them they are not quite as spicy. We shall see. 

I ordered a few more things from Baker Creek earlier this week - I needed some french marigold plants and some purple basil - I have heard these are great to let flower and they attract butterflies. So anyway I can't wait to see what free seeds I get. I will be sharing that with you - hopefully next week!! Oh last year I got some white zinnia seeds- I need to remember to plant some of those this year! :O) 
 

I Was Finally Able to Sow Some Seeds!

Yay! I was able to get some seeds started this week!! 

I had tried to start some seeds in the past and I had used just regular soil. And I waited and waited with no results. I wondered why I had failed. Well after watching some gardening youtube videos - I learned that it is best to start seeds in a special seed starting soil. 

So I had wanted to show you what starter soil I had used but could get a photos so decided to leave a link here - Jiffy Seed Starter Soil I find it at Home Depot - that is where this link will take you. It is just under 6 dollars a bag. 

So I have found the best way for me to start seeds - is to use a 5 gallon bucket - like you can buy at Lowes and Home Depot - and pour my soil into it. I then boil some water and pour it in the bucket. I stir it around. Then I add more - if the soil is still dry. At the beginning it ends up needing quite a bit of water to get the soil moist. 

By using hot water - it sanitizes the soil. It also kills any bug eggs that might be in the soil. I have heard from some people that when they did not do this step that they ended up with a lot of knats around their plants. It also heats us the soil so that it helps the seeds germinate. And that is awesome!! 

There are many different things to use to start your seeds but last year we bought these trays and I will be using them while they hold up. I really like that they come with domes. 

So I fill up the trays with the warm soil. And I plant the seeds and I put the domes on - with the valves closed. This keeps the heat and moisture in. I also insert a plant label insert into each tray - or each row - if I plant 2 different things in one tray. Like I did 3 of one kind of egg plant and 3 of the other kind. 

Once I have all my planting done - I use this great sprayer I bought at Dollar General last year for less than $10.00 ~ It seems that it was only like $5.97 or so. I love it. I add warm water to this and then you pump the top and then you can spray to water all the seeds! Then the covers go back on and I place the trays under grow lights in my sunroom. 

 Just in case some of you are interested in what I planted here is a list: 

• eggplants - 2 different varieties 
• basil 
• brussel sprouts
• broccoli 
• cabbage 
• kale 
• tomatoes - 2 different varieties of cherry tomatoes - one red one orange 

Oh and I am in zone 8a. I know when I am reading gardening information - I am always wondering what garden zone the person lives in. Because just because it is time for one person to plant something does not mean it is time for every one to start those seeds. So make sure you know your zone and when the best time to plant things in your area. 

If you don't know your gardening zone click HERE   This link will take you to Farmers Almanac - you will see a map - you can zoom and and see different areas better if need be. You can click on the area that you live to see what zone you are in. And there is some where on Farmers Almanac that you can type in your zip code to find out also. 

I hope that these gardening posts help encourage you to garden and if you already garden I hope that I am able to share some things that might help you along your gardening journey. There are SO many things to learn to help us be more successful. Good luck!! :O) 

Slow Steps Forward - But Still Forward!

 So the snow is mostly gone- there are still patches throughout our yard. I think because it is mostly ice - it is taking much longer to melt away. On Monday our trash bill was due so my husband scraped away the ice still behind my car at our garage. This is after several days of temperatures above freezing during the day! 

I am hoping to get some seeds started soon - so hopefully the next time you come visit - I will be sharing about what progress I have made. Today I am working on getting that sunrooms temperatures up and my area ready. 

My husband will be picking up a couple more cattle panels and some t-posts for our garden. So I can be continue to prepare for the spring and planting. Slow steps forward - but they are still steps forward! :O) 

Chickens - Tips and Hints

So my chickens had not been laying eggs for a couple of months. My friend Rene reminded me that by using a heat lamp - it would help the chickens start laying again. Then later I was talking to a friend that we hardly ever get to talk to mentioned that she gives her hens - black oil sunflower seeds in the winter months so they get more protein and that it usually helps as well. So I implemented both of these things and sure enough thankfully some of the girls started laying again. 

One morning when I let the chickens out of their coop/dog run area one chicken went running away. This is so weird - because I had just tossed out kitchen scraps for them to eat - usually they eat stuff I throw out first before they run off. So after I had the chickens taken care of I decided to do a little investigating - it took a little bit of time but look what I found! 

Thankfully I was able to gather the eggs and they have not been using that area to lay. I am hoping that she decided to use the laying boxes again. I put out another fake egg or 2 to help lure her there. 

*Chickens like to lay where other chickens have laid an egg!  

I wanted to share another important tip with anyone who raises chickens. I am doing this because there is some bad information out there. Just a week or so ago I was watching a youtube video where a lady had just went and gathered her eggs- she had not gathered for a week or so - so she had quite a few eggs. Then she began to wash ALL the eggs with a hose outside. 

So you may wonder what is wrong with that/ Well - the eggs have a special coating on them that helps preserve them. They last longer with this coating on the eggs. If you do not wash the eggs you are able  to keep your eggs on out kitchen counter or in your pantry. Once you wash them you must store them in the fridge- and like I said that the eggs don't last as long. SO I was surprised that she washed all the eggs. I figure she was doing it for the camera -for content- so people could see what all she did. 

But I wanted to share with you all that if you have chickens - and you gather fresh eggs- IF you want them to last longer - don't wash them. You can wash them before you use them. Or you can wash up a dozen at a time and put them in the fridge. And you don't have to wash them at all. Some might find that gross but eggs are quite clean, if you have healthy chickens. 

*Fresh laid eggs last longer when you do not wash them.

Lucky for me I found this great ceramic egg holder at the thrift store - I paid 50 cent or 1.00 for it. 

I love it because I keep eggs in it so they can be easily accessible. 

I hope these hints and tips help you in raising your own chickens! :O) 

 

Good Afternoon

 Hello! So I am sorry to report but no best deals this week. I didn't have any freebies or best deals because this week I was busy preparing for the snow/ice that we were going to have. Sure enough it arrived. We ended up with probably 2 inches or so of ice and 1/2- 1 inch of snow- on top of that ice. Thankfully my husband bought me the best pair of boots last year - so I have been able to get out to take care of my chickens a couple of times every day. Thankfully we have heat lamps set up in our chicken coop so that helped keep my girls warm. They spent a majority of the day in the actual coop on Thursday and Friday, by Sabbath they were ready to checkout the few melted areas. We still have patches of snow/ice throughout the yard. 

And the way our house is positioned it is taking much longer for the snow/ice to melt at the garage door- which means I am stuck at home today - instead of running to my favorite little thrift store that is only open on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursdays. I am disappointed. I am hoping to make it there later in the week so that maybe I can have a freebie Friday or best deals post or both. 

We really needed the moisture- so as this stuff melts I am thankful that it is watering the earth. It does mean a bit longer before I can finish getting my garden beds ready for the spring. I am hoping to get some seeds sown this week. It is so fun to watch them grow. Hopefully for one of my gardening posts I can share a bit of that with you all. 

Hoping you all have stayed warm and safe if you too have had some rough weather lately. May God bless you and keep you close. :O) 

CH 4 Creation or Evolution, Which - LESSONS ON FAITH – Audiobook

Please be sure and listen to all of this because it is SO VERY IMPORTANT to understand this in our Christian walk. Again there will be some repetition but it is needed to establish where this leads to - in important concept for us all to understand!!! :O) 

What are You Planting?

 So last week was the week that I could begin planting - at least my egg plants. I shared in a prior post which two I am planning on planting. Sadly I just have not had the chance to get things planted yet- which is actually a good thing since we have bad weather and where I keep my plants when I start them - would be in the sunroom which is not always as warm as even the house is. So it is a good thing that I have not gotten any thing planted yet. 

So while I was at Walmart ~ I just couldn't resist picking up this lovely Rosemary plant! 

Isn't it pretty?! 

It is nice to have a bit of greenery in the house! 

And believe me sometime in the next 7 days I plan on getting those egg plants planted.

 It will also be the beginning of the time that I can plant the following seeds: 

• Basil 
• Brussel Sprouts 
• Broccoli 
• Cauliflower 
• Kale 
• Tomatoes 
• Cabbage 

I was watching a youtube video about companion planting and they said that it is a great idea to plant french marigolds around most plants to help with pests and such. So I have ordered some from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds. They said that the orange ones seem to have the most benefits. Well I need all the help I can get. So I look forward to getting these seeds and getting them started! 

I also have a note in my gardening book that it is the best time to prune and mulch roses. So that will be done sometime this month as well. 

I am just wondering - have you planted any seeds? What are you planning to grow? 

Importance to Compare Prices

We have some nasty weather headed our way here in Texas. 

So I decided to go get groceries yesterday - since it looks like it will be below freezing till midday Sabbath - and I don't shop on Sabbath. This way we would be prepared for the cold snap and for the weekend as well. 

This is what the bread section looked like at Aldi's: 

So we live between several towns. It is about the same distance to 2 of the towns that both have an Aldi's store. Well I had been going, most of the time, to the store in the town with a wee bit lower tax rate. I thought that this would save us some money. And I just thought that prices would be the same. Well last week when I went to get groceries - I passed on getting milk because it was running $3.42 for a gallon. I usual drink almond milk or some other fake milk - but my husband still prefers real milk. Well I was not paying this much for milk - and we had enough to get us through to the first of Feb. 

The eggs at that same store were running $1.99! Wow! 

Thankfully our chickens are laying again - will have a post more about that later. 

This week when I went to get groceries before the bad weather came in - I ended up in the other town- will a bit higher tax rate. I was shocked to see the prices much lower on these two items! 

$.98 lower for milk 

And $.63 cents less for eggs! 

So by going to this store a person could save $1.61 on just these two items alone. 

So if you have choices of where to shop- be sure and compare prices and see where it is really a better deal to shop. I will be shopping at this Aldi's store more often in the future! :O) 

I hope you guys stay warm and safe! 
May God bless you in a special way! :O)