A New Life on The Left Coast

Yes it's been a while... a long while.

I have a different life now. A life that is completely opposite of what I have lived for the last 23 years. It took me a long time to come to the place that I am now, the place that I feel comfortable enough writing and sharing my life.

Traumatic is the only word I know to use in describing the past few years of my life, but now it is time to move on.

To trust, and to live again, to live without fear.

Living without fear is truly living, for fear kills one from within and keeps us from doing things that we would naturally be inclined to do, and that my friends is not living.

How does one get past the fear? I took Baby Steps.

Baby steps into a new world, new relationships, and a new self.

At some point one has to shake off the things of the past that make one fearful while not forgeting them so as not to make the same mistakes and end up in the same situations, but never letting these things shackle us into a paralyzed state again.

I have learned that I must be steadfast in my knowledge of who I truly am.

I posess talent and intellect and am equipped with the skills that I need to live this life, and not only live, but to thrive.

Even as we as a nation stand on the verge of economic collapse, and me as an individual having lost all material possessions, we cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated by fear.

It's all just stuff.

Yes, there are memories attached to the stuff, but even if we no longer have the stuff, we have the memories. Memories don't weigh anything. Memories don't cost money to store. Memories in themselves are enough, and they are easily shared.

As a nation we now look at all we have to lose, and act in fear. We must stop.

Fear does not bring out our highest and best self. Instead, it causes us to second guess our thoughts and actions and seals away our bravery into the depths of our beings until we can no longer find it.

They say the bravest people of all are those with nothing left to lose, losing stuff is hard, but it's not losing a loved one, and it's not losing ones freedoms.

Freedom is what we must be brave enough to fight for. Without freedom, nothing else matters, because life without freedom is no life at all.

Thank you friends, for all of your support, kindness, love and understanding over these last few trying years, I have cherished each drop.

Today, I am taking much bigger and bolder steps now, and want to encourage each of you, that you also are equipped to not only to live this life but thrive as well.

I must make a commitment to myself everyday, sometimes several times a day, that I will not allow my circumstances dictate how I feel or think about myself.

Likewise, we as a people need to do the same, and not let fear of our circumstances make us cower in impotence and keep us from changing our world.

If we lose our jobs, our benefits, our homes, or any of the 'stuff'... then we need to reach down deeper inside and find that which is already there... humanity at it's best! And share what we have with those that do not, and ask for help when we need some too.

Let this time of crisis, be a time to prove to ourselves and future generations that we can and will be all that we can be, and do what is right in the face of all that is wrong.

A Time for Mourning...John Samuel Nevin 7/20/1916 to 11/25/2009

I haven't written in quite a while and today I realized why...I am in a time of mourning. Mourning over the impending loss and finally the loss of not only one the worlds most remarkable people but also one of the most important people in my life; my Grandfather.

John Samuel Nevin met his maker and was reunited with his wife Letha, and brothers and sister and Mother and Father on the 25th of November 2009.
This day was also my Grandmothers Birthday. What better birthday present for her to recieve then to be reunited with the love of her life.

Since her passing in 2001, life for Granddaddy had very much changed but also very much stayed the same.
He bought a new house by the shore to be closer to me and the kids his Great grandchildren, but he retained the house that he built for my grandmother and their family all the while.
He still ate the same raisin bran every morning for breakfast and had the same peaunut butter and crackers dunked in two glasses of whole milk that he had been eating for as long as I can remember, but rarely made himself a real dinner. Dinner in the last eight years have consisted of our leftovers, meals that I specifically prepared for him, or covered dishes from his kindly neighbors. He hated to go out to eat and never did unless he was absolutely forced to do so.
Grandaddy was a child of the Great Depression and had experienced so much lack in his life he refused to pay restaraunt prices for food that he could easily afford any time that he wanted it.
I was able on occaison to talk him into frozen dinners which only served to make me feel better, because he would buy them upon my insistence when I would take him to the grocery but when I would go by at a later date there in the freezer they remained.
Dinner was always my Grans rhelm and she was a wonderful cook. Born and reared in Savannah, GA she knew what to do with a refrigerator full of groceries or a pantry with just the bare minimum in them. She made everything she cooked special and Granddaddy praised everyone of them with "That was the best ......... I have ever tasted! Why, it's better than my sugar baby up the road could ever make!" This comment would always incite a hurt and dejected look that were so honest and true, that they brought him to his feet and he would walk to the other side of the table and lean down and kiss her and pat and rub her back. Every singe meal that I ever had the pleasure of sharing with them ended like this; every one.
I know that he missed her terribly, but there was also another side that none of us had ever seen that he began doing and that was staying up late, eating lots of junk food and courting lots of little old ladies!
He was very funny about it. He was on the prowl, and he would get himself all cleaned up and go visiting. One summer my Aunt came up from Florida to spend a week with him and he got ill and it turned into a month that she stayed. On the day that her plane was to leave Hubby and I went to pick her up to drive her to the airport. When we arrived at Grandaddy's house not only was my Aunt dressed and ready to go, but so was he. We were delighted at the thought he would want to come to the airport with us. But he had other plans. He said a friend of his was picking him up and he was going to Miss .......'s house to visit her. He was soooo cute dressed in his best pants and shirt with purple stripes (my grandmothers favorite) a pair of purple suspenders and a straw hat. He was so dapper.
As time went by his illness's became more frequent and his doctors had nothing to offer him except comfort.
He was too old for all of the treatments designed for a young man but as the cardiologist told him ''Mr Nevin, we are all trying to get to where you are".
I'll never forget this wonderful man.
He formed and shaped me into the strong person I am today. It is his voice that I hear in my head if I feel I am not doing enough with my life.
I count myself lucky to have had the amount of time that I had with him, and that my children were able to share too. What a wonderful man, of such gentleness and kindness but with an added dose of firmness and correction when needed.
Oh God how I will miss him. At this point I cry little bits at a time. When someone says something about him, or does something like him, but true grieving, well I think that will be for the rest of my life.
I love you Granddaddy!

Thinkin About the Miracle that is Christmas

I wanted to write a post consecutively chronicling the actual miracles that my family and I experienced over this last couple of weeks.
Yet, it is so extensive, I just don't know if I actually have the energy. I am in fact wishing I had chronicled them as they occurred as retelling them just isn't as compelling.
I will be working on this and I promise a full accounting.
Just know that this has been one of my most wonderful Christmas' ever, and not because of any one gift that I recieved but because of the obediance of friends to listen to their hearts and move and sowing seeds that changed our lives, and gave me a renewed faith in humanity.
I'll talk with you soon!

Home School Terrorist?

Today was our Home Schooler's Science Co-Op Day. This is the day once per month where we come together with pre - determined lesson plans on a particular subject and teach 4 classes on the same subject to 4 different age groups of children.
This years topic is called 'De Mystifying the Periodic Table of Elements'. Pretty cool topic in my opinion especially since many people go through life and don't have a clue as to what that table is about, why we have, or let alone how to read and understand it.
It is to many just a chart that they saw hanging in their science classes, and was understood by only the smart kids.
It is really a very simple chart, and shows all of the elements on the earth. What their atomic weight is and how many molecules they are composed of.
I also think that it is really cool that we are exposing children as young as 5 to the periodic table so that they will grow up with a familiarity with it, instead of being intimidated by it.
We are exploring the periodic table very simply by starting from left to right and incorporating as much about an element into the different classes as we can including our snacks.
Last months element was potassium so we had foods rich in potassium.
This month was Magnesium, and hubby and I were asked to teach a class, so I didn't have to bring a snack.
Magnesium, is a really cool element that burns under water. It is used as flares by divers and for roadside flares as well, and is the white stuff on the top of 'Strike anywhere' matches. It is also used in medicine, such as 'Milk of Magnesia'. It is very good for irregularity.
Hubby downloaded some YouTube vids of people making fireworks, so we of course taught the kids how to make their own too.
For the little kids we took caps for toy guns and cut the rolls up into pieces, put the pieces onto a piece of tape and folded it up into a little bindle and taped the bindle to the head of a hammer. After all the children had made their bindles we ventured outside and the children took turns banging the hammer with their bindle attached onto the asphalt parking lot. It made quite a loud bang and the kids loved it.
For the older children we scraped the magnesium off of sparklers and placed them in a bindle with a firecracker inside as a fuse. The magnesium flared bright white as the firecracker exploded.
This was quite a popular class.
But as I am watching the kids have such a great time and putting what they have learned into practical application, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the kids in public school who would be expelled if caught making the things that we were teaching them to make.
Our country is crying out for science and math scholars, but these subjects aren't interesting if they are only learned in a book. They are interesting when you apply them to real life applications and have fun with them.
Every time I take my son to this co-op it reinforces to me why I choose to homeschool my kids.

I Feel Like a Big Girl

Wow, this is so strange. I'm home almost alone. Hubby and the Princess are off on business today.

I saw a friends status on Facebook today saying that her husband was going to be home for a month and she was hoping that they didn't kill each other. One of her friends responded and said that she should be grateful because she hadn't seen her husband in nine months and he was schedualed to come home for just two weeks and then back to Afganistan again.

Boy, that sure puts it all in perspective doesn't it.

I am the wife of a serial entrepenuer who loves me more than I can even describe. Ever since I got sick he has nearly outright refused to leave me side for almost four years. His business requires him to travel quite a bit, but he has since insisted that I come along. It has been really exciting and we get to see soooo much and experience so many different things together, so I am certainly not complaining.

We are completely co-dependant upon each other, but you know, I just don't think that is such a bad thing.

Everybody needs someone to love them unconditionally, and while I sometimes put some conditions on my affection like..."you gotta pluck your nose hair", or "your shirt is on inside out". The fact of the matter is I love him, and don't know what I would do without him.

Yet, I am home alone (still have the 10 year old) and it has been such a long time I feel so grown up!
It's funny how when we were younger he was gone all the time on business trips, and I was alone for nearly two years, only seeing him on the weekends. I hated it at first, but then found I really liked it. I found an independance I didn't know that I had .

But it has been since 02 since he has worked away from the house far enough that he had to get into a car and drive. Having a home office is wonderful, or working 50 feet from the back porch is remarkable.
Its great having him home for our family meals (which he often cooks) and having him here for a hand on heavy things that I can't do myself.

One of the most wonderful things about having him home is that since the 10 year olds birth he took more of an active role in the day to day life of raising this child. With our two eldest, we were younger, and it was harder to make ends meet and he had to be gone so much that most of the child rearing was my responsibilty but with the youngest he has been a literal Mr. Mom. So much so, I think the older two are often times jealous.

Time is something that we can't buy. Health is marginally available for purchase, and the time that we have spent together has been priceless.
While there are material things that we all would have liked, persuing ones dreams is far more valuable and satisfying.
I'm grateful to the husband that chases his dreams from his home office, and takes such wonderful care of me. I'm grateful for the sacrafices that he has made to spend the time with me and our children.
It takes a brave man to persue his dreams and rely on only God, himself and his talents to put his face to the wind and keep pushing on in no matter the conditions or enviroment. It has never been easy, sometimes it is really really hard, and sometimes it's sooo sweet and perfect that I wouldn't trade it for all the hard times.

Thank you Honey, I miss you already!

There is Simply Nothing Like a Fresh Peach

The other day Tide and Thyme had a recipe for Peach and Berry Crumble. The recipe looks divine and I plan on making it, the problem is....can I keep the peaches long enough!?!?!

I have a passion for a fresh tree ripened peach. There is nothing like the taste, the warm juice running down your chin when, the fuzzy's prickleing your lips, the pain in the back of your jaw as your taste buds are overwhelmed with both sweet and tart, and pure taste of glorious summer sunshine all in your mouth at one time.

I know, I know, I sound like I could be writing an adult novel, but peaches are truly a very sensational fruit.

This particular peach was so perfect I had to place it on my stand and photograph it.

Here's your food porno for the day!

Check Out These Roses!!!!

This year I was completely stupified by these roses granduer.
I mean all of this from a cheap rose bush from Walmart 6 years ago.
They are 'Queen Elizabeth' Roses, and I simply find it unbelievable that this cheap Walmart bush would produce such reliable beautiful blooms year after year.
Much earlier this last year, a Nor'easter knocked down their faithful trellis that held them up since they were purchased.
On Birthday's Mother's Day and Easter, my children always buy me a rose bush or another type of perennial for me to plant in our extensive garden. They know how cheap I am and would never go and spend the money that I know is essential to spend on a good rose, from somewhere like Thomases or other reputile nurseries.
However, this beaty, I picked up on clearance at Walmart when I was their shopping for something else one day. I didn't give it a lot of thought after I purchased it. As a matter of fact, I left it on the porch for several weeks un planted before I walked outside and uncerimoniously planted the poor dry thing.
But low and behold just a few day's later the previously pasty white stems were now green and it was growing more!
I will never again judge a book by it's cover, and it was grown in the US, so despite it's meager beginings this rose has turned out to be a such the head turner!

Dorsey's Aloha Cheese Cake

ALOHA CHEESECAKE
• 1 c Vanilla Wafer Crumbs
• ½ c Macadamia Nuts, Crushed
• ½ stick Butter, Melted
• 1lb. Cream Cheese
• 1 c. Sugar
• 2 T. Milk
• 3 Large Eggs
• ½ t. Vanilla
• ½ t. Lemon juice

• 8 ½ oz Crushed Pineapple, thickened with corn starch & cooled
• Whipped Cream (Stabilized)
• 2 Med Kiwi Peeled, Sliced
• Maraschino Cherries or Fresh Strawberries

Directions:
1. Combine crumbs, butter and toasted nuts; press onto bottom of Pam-sprayed 9-inch spring form pan. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
2. Combine cream cheese, sugar, milk, vanilla and lemon juice, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. DO NOT OVERBEAT OR TOO FAST!
3. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees F. 45 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan.
4. Chill. Before serving, top with pineapple, whipped cream and garnish with kiwi fruit.

Stabilized Whipped Cream
• ½ cup cold water
• 2 t. (1 pkg.) unflavored Gelatin

• 1 pt. heavy whipping cream
• 2 T. white sugar
• 1 t. vanilla extract

Whipped cream has a tendency to soften and weep upon standing. The only way to prevent whipped cream topped desserts from looking a runny by the time you serve them is by stabilizing the cream with added ingredients. One tried and true method is to stiffen the cream with GELATIN. It works well and does not affect the flavor of the whipped cream.

1. Chill mixing bowl and beaters for at least 15 minutes before using. Place water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow softening 5 minutes.
2. Dissolve gelatin by microwaving for 2 minutes, stirring after every minute. Remove from microwave and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes; gelatin must be liquid, but not warm when added to cream.
3. Remove bowl and beaters from refrigerator and pour in cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat together just until beater marks begin to show distinctly.
4. Add gelatin mixture to cream, pouring in a steady stream while beating constantly. Beat until stiff peaks form. Use immediately.
5. Pipe over chilled cheesecake and garnish with fruit

The Simple Things In Life

Today was one of those hot June days that was sooo hot that we were actually uncomfortable, knowing it's going to be at least this hot from here on out.
Once again we were working on the house and everything was going beautifully. The subfloor is down.
The new tile is down.
The paint is all fresh, and all the fixtures were put back in with very little problem. (well a few).
Raleigh turned on the water, and every thing worked!
We all rejoiced and patted each other on the back for a job well done.
Then we went downstairs....the ceiling was dripping in the corner under the tub!
Dale was here, and he cut it open and found the problem. He gave us specific instructions on what to do, and we have a full day ahead of us again tomorrow.
Raleigh turned the water back off and we made a wonderful dinner of roasted vegetables straight from the garden over rice. It was so delish....we all just loved it!
I noticed while picking some zucks for dinner that the sky was looking pretty ominous over the bay, and seeing the dryness of the garden I really hoped that we would get some rain.
After our delicious meal we all noticed a lot of lightning we always called it heat lightning growing up. But soon the wind began as did the rain.
What a rockin storm we had tonight! It was so intense at times I wondered if there were a funnel cloud in the mix but it didn't get too crazy.
For 22 years our family has sat on the front porch of our Market Street home and watched the storms roll by.
It's funny....not one of us says anything to each other about but by the time the storm is in full swing, the entire family is always present, enjoying the moment together.
One day Raleigh called me from college and was telling me about sitting out under a walkway at her dorm with a couple of her friends enjoying a storm. She concluded she never wanted to live in a home that did not have a front porch for storm watching as it is one of her favorite things to do.
Which makes me realize once again...it truly is the simple things in life that bring us the most pleasure, and create the memories that our children charish the most.

Friends and Neighbors with Skills and Big Toys

What a day! First thing today, my friend and neighbor came over and showed me what I needed to do to replace some rotten spots in the sub-flooring in the upstairs bath. Well, as he was showing me he ended up doing more than I wanted him to, and it's a good thing, because when he left me on my own with specific instructions on how to cut around the flange on the commode and water pipes...
let's say I was off a tad.

He left me his jigsaw to use even though I insisted that I had one, and when I showed him mine, he smiled and said "you better just use mine". Wow! There is a big difference in the newer jigsaws!

I'll wrap up with my good neighbor fixed my sub-floor and I am very thankful to him for it. He's self admittedly anal about it being just right, and it is.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, my bush beans that I originally thought were pole beans, and my pole beans that I originally thought were bush beans are growing like crazy.
Hubby tried to do a little trellis for them, but they're outta control.
The couple that owns the Bridal Shop have been invaded by a bamboo forest. I called and asked if they would mind if I came and cut a few pieces. They said I could take all I wanted. I got into the beast with my new bow saw and went and cut 12 canes. I stuck them in the back door of the beast and brought them home hanging out of the back the 6 blocks home.
While I was on my way Hubby called and said that Dale was at the house with his JohnDeere and was flattening out the sand!
I am soooo tickled!
Everything on the house is coming together and it is looking beautiful!
No more open pit outside my door!
No more ruts to break ones leg, no more standing water in puddles up to one's knees.
We now have a level surface on which we can now order topsoil and then plant grass!
Dale and his John Deere rock! What we were doing shovel by shovel he took and scraped the entire yard with the front end loader and made it all smooth.
Smiling the entire time, he looked like a little kid playing in a big sandbox. After he was finished he said "I can't call that work"...
Boys and their Toys

Granddaddy is Really Sick and the Garden is Full of Weeds

Funny how you can tell how things are going in your life by the condition of the things that you love.
My beloved 94 year old Granddad is very ill. He is not bed ridden mind you, as a matter of fact he won't go to bed. He has congestive heart failure and the pressure that laying down puts on his chest is so great, he won't sleep in his bed, but instead, in his kitchen chair.

I find this so very upsetting, and even after a hospital bed has been provided for him, just laying back the littlest bit puts too much pressure on his chest.

I feel absolutely helpless to help him, because even though the smallest tasks are becoming impossible for him, I'm still a child in his eyes, and can only make him do so much.

I garden because of him. He taught me how at a very young age, and my first driving experience was on his old McCormick Farmall Tractor. It is a passion of his, and he has passed it onto me. Now when I go to the garden, I cry. I half heartedly pull the weeds, and I still have to transplant peppers, but I find myself avoiding the garden because my thoughts immediately go to him, and as of right now he will never have another garden, and he has said so.

Oh how these threads that sew the fabric of our lives connect. I know that Granddaddy is in God's hands and all will be in His time, just as I know that I will work my garden until I can no longer do so, and the passion for cultivating ones food has been passed to my children.

No, it's not fun. It's hard dirty work, but when you put up 20 jars of jelly from the strawberries you have grown, or cut up cucumbers in order to make 5 gallons of pickles, or when your making soup and you can go out into your own yard and pull up enough potatoes, onions, and carrots to fill your pot....you have done something real.

It is a basic and wonderfully rich experience, and a gift from my Granddad that I am so grateful to for giving me.

Thank you Granddaddy, I'll get to those weeds.

The Garden is Coming Right Along!

Everything except for the okra is doing well. I planted 8 seeds and 8 plants came up. They go about 4 inches tall and one day I came out and 1 was completely gone. The next day I came out, and another was gone, and on and on. I now have 3 okra plants as of 5 o'clock this evening we shall see what we have tomorrow. I think some sort of critter is eating them as they didn't die over night they are completely gone. I should run and get more seeds as they are my all time favorite veggie. Perhaps I will place little cages around them.

Also my Lima, Green (two types) and Kidneys are all coming up very nicely too. I do believe that this same critter is ripping these legumes up as well. However, said critter must not care for legumes, or green onions. because I find bean sprouts and onions out of their planting hole laying on the ground every morning.

I have no natural wild rabbits, as the Cat population has wiped them out. I have done my best about informing my neighbors about their cats and asking them to keep them up, and they have, but I believe the damage has been done and it is too late. When I was a girl there were tons of rabbits here in the yard, but that time is gone.

This year I caught 6 cats in the trap that the county brings to me each year. They were all farral and nasty mangy looking things. The attraction to my house is something I simply don't understand.

I will be transplanting all of the pepper plants tomorrow, and am looking forward to tons of green peppers this summer, I am going to find a many recipes and possible and I will share them hear on canning as many things as possible instead of freezing them. I have such fond memories of the wonderul things my grandmother would can every season, they were so delicious and there was always something fabulous to eat.

With the prices of everthing including energy, I think that canning will be the most efficient and cheapest way of storing food, and if done without additives at home in glass jars not aluminum cans the food tastes extrordinary.

What I find so incredible during this time as opposed to the last time our boys were ate war in a variety of theaters, and our economy was doing so poorly our government encouraged us to plant what they called "Victory Gardens" . This is simply not the case this time,and as a matter of fact there is a bill in congross that will eliminate all backyard food production and limit food production, to liscened corporate farmers only. Call me paranoind if you must, but something is up! Gardening is the very first thing that we did as per God's instructions. I just don't know how well this legislation would go if in fact passed.

Automatic Fertilizer Machines

Yes, this is what they are, and their names are Alice and Maxie.
One of my readers remembered that last year I was giving away Monticello Fig cuttings to anyone who was interested. Well they contacted me and offered me these adorable things in exchange for a few cuttings!
How cool is that?

Serendipitously, Billy and I were at a Craig's List appointment picking up some furniture when our hosts sister said she loved Craigs list so much that she was going to try and sell her daughters hutch on it, because the kids couldn't stand looking at it anymore without crying. Knowing of my impending delivery I told her I in fact needed one and she hardley able to believe her good fortune nor mine for that matter came to an extremely fair agreement on price and we were able to bring it home with us that very day!

My daughter is in love, Gunner the Beagle is beside himself. He actually jumps into the cage and licks them all over, and now I have an automatic composting/fertilizer machine that happens to have a very cute house.

I love life, and the seredipity of it all!

Thank you to my new Parksley friend!

The Garden is IN!!!

And the Angels rejoice and soooo do I!

Finally, after one set back after another, we now have a garden.
I'm sorry I haven't posted pictures and updates sooner, but I have been working my butt off trying to get not only the garden done, but get my house painted as well.

We finally did the last tilling of the garden last weekend and I have spent the week planting and transplanting from a nursery bed that I started most of the plants in.

We successfully transplanted all of those yesterday and today, and we also got the watermelons and beans in the ground too!

While we were waiting for the ground to dry out enough to till last week, we installed a gate around the garden to keep kid, kritters, and karacters out.
My daughter painted a sign expressing our wishes, and it seems to rather effective. As foot traffic has decreased substantially.

Donna, I hope we did everything right. I can't wait to eat some beans! We planted the limas and both types of green beans and the kidneys.

Tomorrow, or Tuesday I am hoping that my baby Bell Pepper plants are big enough to go out into the big garden so I can have the pepper bed filled.

Thanks to all who have participated in tilling, hoeing, listening, and advising. I couldn't have done it with out you!

Let's pray for a healthy garden this summer, and a wonderful bounty to can for the winter.

It's Raining, It's Pouring and Still Not Finished Tilling

Himself went fishing yesterday in the warm sunny weather, and told me that he would be available today to till the garden....

Beggars can't be choosers.

I did get some seeds planted in the nursery bed, and I did get some work done on the fence. I don't want to finish the fence until I get the bed tilled so that Himself can have room to turn around with the tiller.

Donna has been so kind as to reassure me that 'late' is better than never, and I can spend this untilled time adding to the soil to enrich it more.

I have have bag of horse poo from last year that I added water to under the instruction of my Grandfather who calls it 'Stinky Juice'. I found it yesterday behind a bush where I had tucked it last year to fester, and promtly forgot about.

This should be a wonderful addition to the soil! I also emptied all of my pots from last years annuals into the garden soil.
Donna, has stated that she uses straw, which adds loft to the dirt. I am going to ask my equestrian friends if I can come clean the stables one day and get some.

In the mean time I will relax and know that the garden will be tilled in good time, and I will find something else to obsess about.

Tilling Concrete

Yes, that is what it felt like Himself and I were doing on Saturday afternoon.
I knew the area had never been tilled, but what I failed to remember was for years the man who used to own the house had parked his cars, trucks and boats in the same area, and it was packed as hard as concrete.
Himself took four passes across it just to cut the sod off of the top.
He then asked if I had a 'pick ax'. I have 3. So to work we went.
We busted up each end of the garden with the pick axes, then he started the tiller again, this time since the tiller was already deep in the dirt it was easier for it to continue cutting into the dirt at the deeper level.
Every time he stopped to rest I handed him a beer (which the next day he informed me that during those breaks he would happilly accept a gatorade) so he wouldn't get dehydrated.
I also wanted to keep him happy cause I knew this wasn't turning out to be a whole lotta fun.
A job that I thought would take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes ended up taking 6 hours!
We ran the tiller out of gas 3 times and on the last time we were done.
But there is still more to do.
I am particulary happy that it is raining as it is going places that it hasn't been in a long time and thus softening the dirt.
The dirt that feels like concrete, is once tilled, beautiful rich dark almost black dirt, and I am excited for the next clear day that Himself will come till it the final time.
I currently have plants waiting in nursery beds to be placed in the big plot, and I just can't wait.
Thank you to good neighbors with cool toys, that can be used to create so much.
I found out that Himselfs favorite vegetable is peppers....all kinds, and you better believe this man will have peppers coming out of his ears this summer.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE CAKE

Here is yet another delectable delight from Dorsey's kitchen!

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE CAKE
2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups flour
¾ cup Cocoa
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 ½ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1 cup Hershey's Chocolate Mini-morsals

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. This is where I add 1/3 cup of mini-morsals to each pan
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely! Frost your cake! 10 to 12 servings.

Variations:
1. ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
2. THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 9-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
3. BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.
4. CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
2 sticks butter
1 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 box powdered sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 t. vanilla
Fresh Strawberries for garnish

Directions:
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting. I also like to garnish this cake with fresh strawberries on the top and around the sides of the cake.

I Caught a Swarm!!!...and then they left...and Now They're Back!!

Yesterday, the 10 year old and I cracked open the bee hives to remove the Queen boxes from within and place the brood frame back in.

When we opened it, there were two veils of wild comb hanging from the lid.
I find it so amazing how obsessive compulsive the bees are, that they fill in a void in the hive to make sure that everything is consistant and complete.

I was surprised how much wild comb they had already constructed given they have only been here for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, in order to place the brood frame in the hive I had to remove the wild comb.

When I broke off the biggest draping veil of comb, I found that it was full of brood at all different stages of development. I felt so guilty that I took out a brood frame from one of the ends and placed the wild veil into an end slot. This way, I won't loose the brood that is already laid but I can also work the hive if it is just one end that is wild.

After removing the Queen boxes and getting everything settled, the 10 year old and I were sitting in the garden talking about what we had found, and eating some of the fresh uncapped honey that was on the wild comb. It was delicious, and we enjoyed every bite.

While enjoying one of the last bites, my phone rang, and it was a neighbor about 8 blocks away who said they had a swarm in their bushes. They knew to call me because of a previous conversation that we had had when they told me that they had a swarm in their eaves, and wanted me to remove it. But that is another story...
Anyway, I told them I would be right there.
The 10 year old and I loaded up the jeep with all of our equipment and were on our way.

We found the swarm in a hedge about 4ft off of the ground. I took my big plastic storage box and cut the branch. The bees fell in the box and I put the lid on it. Easy as pie!

We brought them home and I went scrounging for an extra hive.
In about 15 minutes I had a piecemeal hive put together and we sprayed the swarm with some sugar water and dumped them in the hive.
I couldn't believe how easy it was!

About 5 minutes later there were bees all over the backyard. Just as if they were about to swarm again. I wasn't sure what to do, I was pretty sure I had gotten the Queen, but in reality there was really nothing I could do.

Hubby convinced me to go to the store with him, saying they would be here when we got back or they wouldn't. He was right, so we went to the store.

Low and behold when we got back, they were gone. RATS!!

After unloading the car, I told hubby I wanted to go back to the neighbors and see if there were any stragglers on their hedge.

We cruised down (box in the back) and sure enough there were some bees on the hedge.

I clipped the branch dropped them into the box and brought them home and dumped them into the hive box.

By the time the sun set I wasn't real hopeful that I had the Queen in either bunch, and chalked it all up to an interesting day.

This morning after I came down for my second cup of coffee, I thought I would go and check out the hive. As I approached the box I saw lots of activity and when I got around to the front with much joy I discovered dozens of bee's going in and out of the entrance!!!! YIPPEEE!!

I really don't know what happened. I don't know when I actually got the Queen, I don't whether she left and came back, I just don't know.

What I do know was that with all of that drama, and a little effort, I now have a new colony!

Mud, Mud, Go Away!

I don't think the carrots, collards, peas or spinach are going to make it.
I think that they drowned.
After days upon days of rain, I can only see mud.
I think I will try again, while it is still cool.
I have never had luck with the early spring stuff, or the fall stuff, and for some reason I thought this year would be different.

Himself, informed me that the tiller is still broken, and I am hoping that he works on it this weekend so we can get the bigger stuff in the ground.

Hopefully, I won't slip and fall in the mud as I go into the bee hives tomorrow!

Mud, Mud, Go Away!