Friday, May 25, 2012

Friday's Mail.



Dear Husband's Boss,
Thank you for the table you sent home with my husband.




I mixed some Antibes Green and Arles ASC Paint which fixed it up;
it's serving a great purpose on the porch now.




Dear toads that were sitting in the puddle in the driveway this afternoon:


you brought up a lot of discussion with the kids today that I hadn't planned...
but I guess that's the way it happens sometimes, right?


We hope your babies will be very happy in the little bit of a pond we have: that puddle was too treacherous a place for them to stay.




Dear Violet,
Have I told you how much I love the fact that you are loving learning how to cook?



It certainly isn't good for my diet;
but I have to admit, I think you are much better at this cooking thing than I am.



Dear Levi,
What would I do without the sudden outbursts of laughter you fill my day with?




Dear God,

I love spring.  I love toads and desserts (separately, of course).  I love laundry baskets full of little boy.  I love hand-me-down furniture and the power of paint and brush.  

Thank you,
really and truly.





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Homespun Happenings

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Sweetness of a Cure.

The following is a personal story, not meant to give you medical advice.
This is my story about an environmental allergy: food allergies are not in the same category.
I am not qualified to give medical advice.
I am just a mom journeying through life, seeking what is best for my children
(Please see warning at the bottom of this post).**




There's something lurking in the garden...

something that mysteriously goes about an important business,
controlling much of the world as we see it.

A tiny thing,
certainly,
but so essential and incredible,
God's finger so delicately formed it to perform miraculous powers
in it's whirling dance under the sun's glaring watch.



 Can you see it?



 Here I find it, in the midst of these purple pretties,
a favorite springtime habitat.
What a place to spend one's day!


 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


About a year ago at this time,
my son became sick.

I thought it just a cold,
but his cough and listlessness seemed to drag on past the normal length of time of a week or so.

I began to worry about him.
We were supposed to drive four hours to my nephew's graduation,
and I worried that the trip and excitement might make him worse.

 I scheduled a doctor appointment on the day we were supposed to leave
and hurried him in,
praying the doctor would recognize the problem.

I have a wonderful doctor who understands a mother's concern,
listens without condemnation,
and recognizes a person's choice to try natural alternatives,
while he still makes the availability of medical science and knowledge an option.

I am so thankful for him.

His expertise was priceless to me as he looked at my son,
and knowingly proclaimed,
"You're son has allergies to grass.
Has your yard been recently mowed?"

I remembered that Levi had been up by the field watching the hay cut and then later baled.
The process of the hay-making 
as well as the yard being mowed had both been priorities in the last two weeks,
the time when his "cold" had started.

Looking into his dark-circled eyes,
I wanted him to feel better, back to himself.

The doctor recommended the appropriate medicine
and within a few hours of taking it,
I could see a vast improvement in my son.

This spring,
Lillie came down with a similar "cold" that wouldn't go away.
The dark circles under her eyes reminded me of the allergies her brother has
and I began to pray and look for a natural alternative to their problem.

At the health food store, I asked a worker,
and she directed me to such a simple solution,
I almost wanted to push her for more options
because it just didn't seem enough to me.


In the blur of a breeze's breath,
the hum of the bee busy at work quietly marks his presence.
Pollination of the flowers, fruits, vegetables...
what would we do without this tiny friend?



And then there is honey:

"Honey contains copper, iron, silica, vitamin B, manganese, chlorine, calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorous, aluminum and magnesium. Depending on the part of the world where the honey comes from, honey will vary in mineral content."*

It offers a boost of energy when fatigue sets in
yet has a calming effect for nervous, high strung people, even helping ease into sleep.
It has pain relieving properties.
 When applied topically, it makes the skin soft, but also is said to cure skin problems such as ringworm and eczema.
It's also healthy for hair.
Taken for a sore throat, it soothes and relieves coughs.
It is said to help burns.
It reduces asthma symptoms, especially helpful if taken before bed.
It has been used topically for over 2,000 years for treating minor wounds.
A New Zealand study suggests it may be a possible, as an antimicrobial agent, to use a particular type of honey in treating MRSA infections.

But the part that interested me
is that local honey would have pollens in it that would help to give a natural boost
to counter seasonal allergies...

possibly.

Knowing these benefits of honey,
I thought,
"What can it hurt?"
(my children being past the one year age limit that is given).


Within the next day or two,
my daughter was 100% better.
Granted, I'm sure this isn't always the case,
but for her it was.


 I am not a doctor.
I cannot say that local honey is a cure for allergies.
(Raw honey is best, but I've read that even pasteurized local honey has the essential qualities to help with allergies).

I can only say that everyday,
my children say to me,
"You need to give us our honey medicine."

My son, who had a night time cough for many weeks last year
has not had any this season
even though we are well into the hay season now;
nor has he had any sign of allergies.

I cannot promise you that local honey will solve your problems.

I can only say that,
as a mother who has seen it directly solve her own,


it is certainly nice to say,

"A spoon full of sugar honey helps is the medicine to go down."



Information obtained from many websites as I researched this topic
but for this post, mainly from
*earthclinic.com


**WARNING: NEVER give honey to children under the age of one.**


Linking up to:
Wearethatfamily.com
Gnowfglins.com: Simple-lives-thursday






Monday, May 21, 2012

Pretty Plant Tags for my Feeble Brain.


I have a problem.
You see, when it came to inheriting certain traits and qualities,
somehow, I missed the organizational ones that both my parents seem to have.


I have piles of these:



which I can't always match to these:


When I want to dig something up,
I can't remember what is what.


Wanting more substantial markers,
I saw the idea to use silverware as markers.

I picked up the supplies
and found that stainless steel is just too hard to take the lettering.



I found these mismatched pieces for inexpensive prices at a local antique store...


and they worked well.




although it does take some trial and error.
I found that 5 very quick even taps worked better 
than trying to take big swings, 
risking needed thumbnails.


 




 

This cat makes me laugh the way she manages to get into my pictures.


 I also found these for super cheap at a second hand store.


 I painted the spoons in some cheerful colors 
and added some images that I found at the Graphics Fairy.

Permanent ink using calligraphy applied the plant names.

 

I sealed them thickly with Modge Podge
but may do a final coat of polyerthane before I release them to the wild.



 Hopefully, no little hands will steal them away.




Now while wandering around and asked what a certain plant is...



I'll be able to answer.



See now, there is hope for my organizational problems...

at least in my gardens.


Linking up to:


Homespun Happenings

Friday, May 18, 2012

Perspective from a Small Pest.


I don't want to listen.

His words echo about in my head,
"...bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" *
 and I know what He wants,
but I don't want to pray for her.

Anger stirs and I throw the mulch onto the flower beds
instead of tossing it.

My breathing gets heavier.
My arms grow weary and my back twists with the onslaught.



I don't want to pray or give it to God, or even think about it all.
I want to hold on to my anger.




In the evening when all are in bed,
I move in the kitchen, preparing hot water for my tea.


One glass at night is a secret delight.


Suddenly,
I hear it.
The familiar drone catches my ear and I swat instinctively.



Mosquito.


He's there, somewhere in the kitchen,
spoiling my quiet peace with his tiny presence.

I know that if I ignore him,
his puncture will follow
and a swollen bump will continue to pester me for days after.

He brings it back to my mind.
I think of my anger.


My disregard of God wanting me to pray
instead of be angry
like the pesky mosquito
won't let me go.

I crumble.

"I'm sorry, God.
I know you know me and see me as I really am.
You see this pride in my anger.
I didn't want to pray.
Anger was easier,
but it's presence wouldn't let me free."



It was eating me.



In the silence of the night
as I spotted that mosquito,
I knew that sometimes God uses little things in quiet places




to draw us to where He wants us to be.

Perspective.

From a mosquito on a quiet night.



(Five minutes to write, uneditted from the prompt: "Perspective")

*From the Bible: Matthew 5:44b

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Painting in my Flower Beds.




 

 The old smokehouse was covered with ivy when we bought the farm
eight years ago.

My husband put on a new roof
and I painted the trim green.

It is a central building, so works well for storing some of the useful tools
like shovels, rakes, and trimmers.



I found this old spigot when I was cleaning out the ground around the smoke house
in preparation of putting this flower bed in.

It was broken,
but I thought it would be worth keeping for decoration.

Being entirely covered by rust,
I recently decided to add some color by using a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
in Provence.
  I did not wax it.
(It has been through several rain storms since,
and looks as great as the day I painted it.)






The peonies are about to bloom.

Beyond them, hanging from a tree is another project using Annie's Chalk Paint.



It started as a broken trivet.



I had some silverware I'd found at the second hand store.

Using plumbing putty,
(and I did use gloves while working with this putty)
I wrapped a piece around each handle...



leaving two openings on either side for the wire to string through.




 (I've heard of drilling through the silverware to make a hole,
 but my husband didn't have a bit for that,
and I didn't want to bother him about it.)


For the center piece,
I thought about using a prism or some other decorative piece,


 but I ended up going with a metal decorative piece
(like a metal Christmas ornament).



I strung some beads to hang the silverware with
and used an extra strand for added fun to the trivet.

The trivet and silverware tops were painted in Annie's Pure White.

 


 The "chimes" are more durable than store-bought sets that I have seen,
which seem to use vulnerable fishing wire.
I doubled the thin wire that went to attach all the pieces.




I did notice that the rust on this piece came through.
I have to wonder if it is because I waxed this piece after I painted it.




The rust is not a problem, as I have several other rusty pieces in the gardens.



 It has a nice sound when the wind blows.


I have another project I've been working on with some more silverware,
but I will save that one for another day.

Have you added any new details to your gardens this year?