Please tilt your head to the left...

I don't know why I thought this was funny, but I did. So there.

Yes I'm goofing off while Adam is working hard, but that's ok. He says so.

I love him...

Some Hope

This is the hope I found. I hope it gives you some, too...

What Do You See? Part 1

We were clearing land yesterday and I found a lot of hope! I'll share it with you once I get home for the day.

Hug somebody and SMILE today!!

Love

Malinda

A Sister Who Really Isn't a Sister at all, but a Very Best Friend (Part 1 of 3)

She and I grew up together. We were very close and, I am thankful to say, still are. We live too far apart and she is often busy being SUPERMOM, wife, doggy selling extraordinaire, and a very hard worker. I get bogged down in work and can't get away often enough to see her, but we always pick right up where we left off. This day was a supermom day. As you see sweet Anna is turning 3 and Abby threw the girl a bash. I was lucky enough to be part of the after party and hang out with my sister's family for quite a while that day. There is our wonderful Mama (with the camera) and our equally wonderful granny there below.

We slept together growing up. She told me stories about unicorns so I would go to sleep. I was there for her when she needed me most (I hope, anyway...) and now we talk almost every day. What I love most about Abby is that she is just Abby. And I know she loves me back!

www.abbykey.blogspot.com

Garden Update...

Here is Maggie inspecting Adam's potato planting a few weeks ago. She is so funny. Very concerned with why WE are digging up the garden when SHE knows that she is not allowed.

Garlic!

Onions! Mmmmm...

Asparagus from my Gramps's garden in Ohio. I brought some home with me a couple of years ago and am so thankful to have it. Now that he's gone on to Heaven, I have something here on earth that reminds me of my beloved Gramps.

And here is some sunshine for you on a somewhat murky day! Be happy, people, and smile at a stanger today...

Love,

Malinda

A Couple of Trips to the River With a Cool Kid...

The middle school kids from church are going through their confirmation class right now and I get the honor of being a mentor to sweet Jacey (pronounced JAY cee, like Lacey or Casey). She is aslo a student of mine, so we've been close for over a year, now. But we've decided to be friends, I think, and there is NO WAY that we're NOT gonna go hiking after this class is over. One of the jobs of being Jacey's mentor is for us to hang out together once a month. I missed February so we did two weeks in a row at the local park (Henry Horton) and walked by the river talking, snapping pictures, and just enjoying each other and the day.

She's learning not to take a picture of the river with a big tree right in front of her and I'm learning that getting an eleven year old to talk about God is a lot harder than I started out thinking it would be. But we finally did because I learned that...

... sometimes Jacey just likes to sit and talk. The important talks were always sitting. Staring at the river while resting on the big rocks that line the riverbank.

We were great buddies before, but now our relationship is different and I got an "I love you, Ms. Malinda" somewhere between .7 and .9 miles on the river loop trail. It just doesn't get better than that, folks.

I love this kid...

An Experiment

Remember when I told you that Adam bought me 125 pounds of potatoes?? We decided that planting them all in the garden would kind of limit us on space for ANYTHING else, so we started a couple of experiments. We have heard of growing potatoes in hay bales, spare tires, and so on and figured that with 125 pounds of potatoes, we had room for error. So here is the first round of creative potato growing. *don't think we're done yet, either** Mary is trying to see if the bins are dog proof. (Which they are. Cat proof, too! We made lids...)
So first Adam got some good compost/dirt out of what we call The Pile from out behind the shed and them made a 3 inch or so layer on the ground (which we did NOT turn under).

Then put the taters EYES UP in said composty dirt stuff. Speaking of... that is Adam getting the goodness from The Pile. *Note to self - get wheelbarrow*

Then cover with more dirt goodness (I think about another 2-3 inches or so) and finally cover with straw.

After the potatoes start growing up through the straw, you keep adding dirt/straw/dirt/straw until you fill up your bin. *In theory, mind you, we haven't ever done this before.*
We've heard that this is a great way to grow potatoes and that usually the yield is very high.

Guess we'll find out. I'll keep ya posted...

There is Hope...

Two months from now, I'll go out to the garden and see things like this:

There will be no more cold fronts - no more frosts. Now - am not wishing the time away. I enjoy my days, but I'm goin' CRAZY. I'm ready for the cold to be less frequent. Not that the weather should be based upon what I want, but I'm COLD. :)

We've planted potatoes, onions, peas, kohl rabi, and turnips and transplanted a TON of garlic. There are more potatoes in the house waiting for us to do something with them and I still have to get some broccoli in the ground. Lettuce too. Maybe a quarter of the garden is weeded and ready - our neighbor is fixing our tiller. We didn't want to use it, but will have to just to keep up for the spring, anyway. So we have garden prep to do, still, and getting beds ready (we do a funky kind of semi drought resistant raised bed system). We are also wanting to start some rain barrels this year.

There are five 3 day old kittens on the back porch (that will need a home in 5 weeks and 4 days) and 30 chickens on the deck in a pen that keep reminding us to build them a permanent home. They're not ready for it yet, but will be soon and we need to get busy! We are also looking for mutt homes. I have TOO MANY dogs and they are driving me NUTSO. If you need a mutt, let me know. I can help.

It is time to start tomato and pepper seeds and also time to be planting some apple, pear, and cherry trees, methinks. We're gonna cash in ye olde change jar and see how many trees that'll get us.

On top of all that is lesson preparations for students, lessons, house cleaning, window washing, church stuff, and music playing. One of Adam's friends down at Flat Creek Market gave us a four track digital recorder with an MP3 encoder, so we have a new toy to play with.

All this being said... I have plenty to fill my time until I can bite into a juicy, homegrown, bright red and purple heirloom tomato. That thought alone will get me through the spring time craziness!!!

I love life, I really do. I'm happy to be alive and see all that God has created - to be a part of it. There is so much to experience and do in this one short lifetime that I feel full of God's love and am in wonderment of His beautiful creation. I feel rich with all He has given my husband and I.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. Keep warm!!!

Love,

Malinda

ps. I tried to separate my sentence groupings, but good ole blogger keeps putting them back together again...

Back Scratching

In my family you are sometimes judged soley on your ability to scratch a back. Typically not your own, but someone else's. My sweet puppy can scratch her own back and I decided to post this video even though it is somewhat shaky (ok. REALLY shaky, but bear with me). She looks so happy when she's done.

Also, the Lovin' Husband does what he always does at the end of every video he sees me taking. Since editing my video is beyond me at this point you get to hear some commentary from Adam who doesn't know I'm taking video on my camera.

This is at the end of a vigorous roll in the yard. Enjoy -- if the shakiness doesn't make you nervous anyway.

Happy Sunday everyone!!

They are 3 Weeks Old Now

See the doggy nose in the bottom left hand corner? The dogs freaked out with all of the cheeping. It was more than they could handle calmly.

So tiny!! ...and here is their little nest. (It isn't so little anymore, but I'm behind, ok?)

There are 15 New Hampshire Reds, 15 Dominickers (not Barred Rocks, but actually Dominickers!), and 1 mystery chick. It came for free, so we're waiting to see what he turns out to be. I know he has feathered feet, so I'm excited about that, of course!! It is the brown fuzzy one down there by the feeder.

More soon, I promise!!

Love,

Malinda

Too Blessed :)

I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to post a video of the new baby chicks and have decided rather than to try again on the video, I would make a different post for now.

We've been busy lately and computer time is not very high on the priority list. So.... I decided to hop online while Adam and David were entertaining one another with their guitars. (tee hee)

I took a lay speaking class this month. That was fun. I learned a lot and met some cool new people.

We have been playing a lot also. We recently went to Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church in Wartrace, Tn with the music group that I work with (Adam has been helping) at my dad's church. I stared at this very window while leading the service. Isn't it beautiful??



This just makes me happy...

Garlic *!!!*

I transplated garlic today. Cleared a bed in the garden and THEN transplated garlic. The easy part is the garlic part... the getting the bed ready to put the garlic in is an exercise in perserverance. Shoveling and weeding and moaning and groaning (and playing in the dirt, of course). I did learn today that the dirt I thought wasn't so full of goodness WAS full of worms.

*worms = goodness!!*

Adam set fires and weeded and shovelled my garlic bed for me among other things. We are getting ready to plant the 'tatoes and more garlic. Onions, too. Mmmmmm onions...

Have a good weekend everybody! Enjoy the beautiful weather...

much love,

Malinda

and then she decided to blog again

A picture from last year...

We have a lot of potatoes to plant. 125 pounds to be exact. I transplanted my garlic today. We worked in the garden and have also gotten our big "nest" ready for the chickies that are coming on the 10th. I'm gonna be a momma hen!! We have landscaped (or started landscaping) the front yard and are cleaning up the backyard and back porch area so that the kiddies that visit can get from point a to point b comfortably.

I've been teaching a LOT and Adam is teaching more now, as well. Also, I am taking a lay speaking class. I like to learn, I guess. My mind is not happy if it is idle.

Neighbor Stan is visiting tonight - showing Adam some effects on the recording unit he donated to our cause. We'll see how that goes...

Check out my friend Greg Jones on youtube...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkWvZoKCxQw

Have a good night. or day. or week!! LOVe!!!