GARDEN UPDATE - 5/10/11

I HURT!  Today, my mom and I spent three hours weeding and transplanting some ferns and hostas in our north flower bed:

Don't mind the odd bricks and rocks along the edge.  We have some nicer edging rocks in the distance on the sidewalk there.  We just haven't gotten to that yet. The bush in the upper, right corner of this picture has a nesting robin.  My husband, Dan, and I did see two bright, blue eggs in the nest the other day, but the mommy bird didn't leave the nest much at all today.  So we're wondering if they have hatched.  The boys have been very good about not climbing it since we told them about the eggs.

It is amazing how resilient hostas are.  No matter how much you murder them one year, they come back healthier than ever.  This is our north bed against the garage side of the house.  We really don't get out on this side much because there is nothing to do here.  Just gardening.  There are a couple mums in the very far corner of the picture.  There are also some lamb's ear and many others.  I'm not big into keeping plants and flowers unless they are valuable (edible or herbal) in some way.  I don't know if any of these have those properties, so as of right now, I will just keep it up for my mom.  She loves her greenery.  This was for her today.

I also just finished weeding out the mini strawberry patch:

I got these from my sister-in-law, Tina, last year and even though I hate strawberries, I still planted them and despite their transplant and a long, cold winter, they survived quite well.  There is even a blossom!  I'm very excited about these strawberries even with my aversion to them.  I still need to loosen up the soil around them yet.  While weeding, I did find at least two new runners.  It is neat to see that something so fragile under my personal care is flourishing.

In the far NE corner of the backyard, just east of the strawberry patch in the above picture, we have a wild, red raspberry bush:

Also from my SIL, Tina.  SHHHHH, she got it from a park somewhere where they had become very overgrown.  Since it is truly wild then, it does have thorns!  Oh well, it'll keep the kids away from the ripening fruit.  I hope there will be some fruit this year.  When I got the bush, it was just a couple sticks sticking out of a clump of dirt.  It's not doing too bad!   I did weed around it the same day I did the strawberries.


There is another plant/flower bed which I haven't given much time to yet.  (I don't have a full picture of it.)  It's on the east side of the house inside the fence.  I would prefer to put veggies in here but it's already been well planted with that decorative grass (whatever it's called), lemon balm (which smells awesome), snow on the mountains?, and lily of the valley.  The lily of the valley is not obeying the garden boundaries and spilling over into my lawn! 

My mom just moved them there last spring I think.  There may have been some there before, but I don't remember.  But there are a bunch now!  At least some have flowers finally, so I take that as their apology for being so prolific:

The south side:

This is going to be one of my favorite areas.  It actually gets a lot of sun in the day time.  These pics were taken in the evening.  On the left is a lilac bush that I will move after it has bloomed and given me it's reminiscent aromas!  When I was a little girl, the house we lived in had a HUGE lilac bush tree right outside my bedroom window.  I remember waking up in the early summer to it's awesome smell.  The bush in this picture was just one more confirmation we were supposed to buy the house because our bedroom window is right above this bush!  I would love it if some day it was big enough to replace that 9 ft. evergreen on the very edge of the pic.

Anyways, this bed will be full of tomatoes and maybe some green peppers.  We have lots of little tomato plants in our starters.  They are almost ready to transplant!  Woohoo!  I'm very excited about this.  I have only three types this year: beefsteak, Rutgers and cherry.  We'll see how they do.  My husband and I spent a hour weeding this about a week ago.  We really dug it up and got the soil nice and loose.  It's great to dig in now.  But there is still a little more weeding to do....on his side. hehe


And last, but definitely not least:

IMAGINE PICS OF TWO 4X4 RAISED BEDS

Yes, we did just build two 4x4 raised beds according to Mel Bartholomew and his new book The All New Square-foot Gardening book.   However, the pics for it are on a different computer.  I will get them uploaded here and tell you more about them when I can get to the pics.

So that is kind of a rough sketch of some of the gardening happenings at the Hellmich Homestead.

ENJOY!

KUDOS:  Weeding for THREE hours!  And managed to get a sirloin steak, potatoes and scalloped corn for dinner.  Worked five hours for my data-entry job.  Today, was a good day! 

WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?

Getting the Kids to do the Dishes

My oldest two boys, Douglas, 7 and Charles, 6, take turns emptying the dishwasher when it is done.  We require that it is done in 10 minutes, no more and they must dry any dishes that are still wet.  This is how we keep them in line with this job:  It's not perfect, far from it in fact, but it works for us.

We used to have them do it together.  One would do the top rack and one would do the bottom.  But this led to games and they'd be in the kitchen for half an hour.  Or they might sword-fight with knives.  This was not a good idea.  So we made some changes.

First of all, at this point, one adult in the house tells whichever boy's turn it is to come and do dishes.  (I want them to be noticing when the dishwasher is done and start the job without being told, but that is a work in progress.)  We know whose turn it is by whichever boy's picture is on the front of the fridge:

Obviously the boys are NOT six and seven in these photos.  My mom made these for me out of photos,  magnets and those bubble stickers you can find in the scrap booking section.  They are really neat.  She really needs to update the photos though and make more of the other two kids.

Anyways, whichever picture is on the front of the fridge is the boy whose turn it is to do the dishes.  The first thing they do is come and switch the pictures.  Their own goes on the side of the fridge and the other boy's magnet goes on the front.  This is an interesting concept in itself because when we first started this method, they each tried switching the pictures when no one was looking so the other boy had to do the dishes.  But when they were caught, they had to do the dishes five more times beyond that one.  That was a great discipline.  We could tell.  Neither one liked the idea.

I do once in a while expect a disappointed look or hanging head when they are told to come and take their turn, but if they stamp their feet or complain or whine or cry, then we add on additional dish duty turns until they get their attitude under control.  At this age, they seem to understand pending work.  If I told my four-year-old if he didn't do something he'd have future work, he just doesn't get that.

The other lesson they learned even quicker was when they forgot to switch the pictures and they had to do it again!  This was the worst for them because there was no one to blame but themselves.   If the other boy would laugh or tease for not having to do it, then they each did one rack.  Also, if anyone saw that one boy didn't switch the pictures, we do not remind him.  He wouldn't learn to change them on his own if he could subconsciously depend on someone else to tell him to switch them.

They also must get it done in 10 minutes or they have to do them again.  Once in a great while they might have problems with lots to dry or quite a few dishes to go up high in cupboards, which take extra time.  An adult might help or let the time limit be extended.  But the time limit was put in place so that they aren't wasting time.  If we see them fooling around during their time, we will stick to the 10 minute rule.

We have implemented this whole concept for quite a few months now and we rarely get complaints or have issues.  They know what they have to do because we have done it for so long. 

Here is Douglas doing dishes today.  Take note of his picture on the front of the fridge.  He didn't switch it at first, but he did finally remember afterwards. 

I really like this picture.  There is no anger or tension in his face.  Just a nice calm about him.  He never gives me problems with the dishes anymore.  Thanks Douglas!

I don't know if any of these ideas might help you, but I just thought I would pass it along.  Sometimes it's just hearing other's ideas to help us.


KUDOS:  I'm naming this dish duty method as my KUDOS today because it took a while to get it going and get it right.  It's not perfect, but I don't have trouble in getting the dishes put away quickly, correctly and quietly.

Grind Your Own Beef

I was reading a book today called "Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half with America's Cheapest Family" by the Economides.  You've probably heard of it.  The family has been featured in different media venues in the past few years.

Anyways, I found that our library had their books, so I borrowed this particular one first.  I was hesitant to read it because I figured it was another couponing book and I really don't need more lessons on that.  But it promises on the front that you don't have to be a coupon queen to save lots of money.  That is more of what I wanted to learn.  I have done couponing, price lists, ad browsing, etc.  I have even tried the GroceryGame,  but I was looking for something new.

As I was flipping through the book, touching on the section headings, trying to decide if I wanted to delve deeper, I did come across the part on keeping your meat costs low.  We don't eat much piece meat, but we eat a lot of ground beef.  The price of hamburger has gone up quite a bit lately.  I remember about five years ago being able to get 80/20 for only $1.39 a pound.  Now it's upward of $2.50-$3.00.  NOT happy about this.

This particular section in the book recommended to get the piece meat at lower costs and then use a meat grinder and grind your own!  I never thought about that before.  The Economides say that they prefer to leave some of the fat on so it fries better and doesn't have as much "gamey" taste.  This is something I can do!  They suggested getting a meat grinder attachment for the KitchenAid mixer.  While I do have a mixer, the attachment does not get the greatest reviews on Amazon.  So, I was thinking about getting an old fashioned hand grinder like my grandmother had.  I remember her grinding some kind of meat, maybe for sausage?

So this is a money-saving technique that I am interested in trying.  I am going to watch other other meat prices more closely now and see what I can find.  Maybe you can try too!

If you have a suggestion for a good-quality grinder, I am interested.  AND let me know if you have done this meat grinding before.  How has it worked out for you?  Has it saved you lots of money?

 KUDOS: I put in 5 hours of my work-at-home, data-entry job even though I was not required to put in any.

Her Beautiful Hands

Before we get too far, I wanted to explain another very important element of this blog: 

My hands.

When I was about 16, I worked at Subway for a few years.  Since it is a restaurant, you must comply with company regulations and regularly wash your hands.  So I did.  But the continuous washing and rubbing with rough paper towels gave me contact eczema.  At the time, I just figured it was dry skin and it came and went with the cold season and constant washing. 

So after a few years a part near my right, pinkie knuckle continued to get worse and more of my hands around my knuckles started to crack, occasionally bleed, peel, the whole works.  Then a few years ago they got so bad that, while at church, I went forward to have them prayed over.  One woman, after praying, told me she got a beautiful vision of my hands.  They were a hard-working, woman's hands.  They raised children, cleaned, took care of family...  I was very touched and got emotional.  I felt like this was a minor suffering I had to endure for the sake of my family and home.  I could deal with that.

Then just recently, you may have seen, a woman on a YouTube video tell about her career as a hand model.  She eerily stroked her hands as if she were making love to them and told the interviewer how perfect they were in minute detail.  The video showed how she wore gloves and wouldn't even open her own doors, so careful she was of her hands.  At first I was envious.  Her hands were beautiful.  Her skin was smooth and clear, the nails and cuticles were perfect and even the shape of her hands were slender and lovely.  I have rough, red, scaly skin and short nails with ragged cuticles.  Not to mention I have my dad's short fingers and large palms.  My hands could almost be a man's.  So I did envy her.  But after a few days and the more I thought about this creepy woman, I started to feel sorry for her.  She had never changed a baby's diaper, never really done dishes (except for holding a sponge by a plate for an ad), never could touch the softness of a child's hair...  She didn't have anything to show for her work except money.  Then what happens when this beauty fades?  She'll be left with nothing. 

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."  Proverbs 31:30 NIV

After thinking about these things, I looked at my own hands in a new light!  They were beautiful!  I have given my husband foot rubs, cut out paper dolls for the kids, sewn on buttons, polished windows, kneaded bread, planted vegetables and flowers, crocheted baby blankets, bathed my children, ...the list goes on and on about the things I am grateful for that I have done with my hands.

Hence the name - Her Beautiful Hands.  I want to focus on hands, all kinds of beautiful hands.

You probably have beautiful hands too!  Because it's not about the hands themselves, but about the heart and soul behind them.  If you want me to feature your hands, send me a picture of your hands and a list of things they have done recently.  You're not bragging here, it's about giving you and others the encouragement to do more and to see what you have already done.   Give as much or as little detail about your personal self as you wish since I will post it on here.  The hands are just a symbol of your accomplishments.  Even if you sang in a choir, you may not have done much with your hands, more with your mouth, but it's still something worthy that YOU did!

I hope to hear from you soon!


KUDOS:  I babysat my adorable nephews so my SIL could get groceries.

Other Stuff

This blog will also have some other things that I'm interested in such as homeschooling, bible memory, gardening, food storage, cooking, cleaning, weight loss, kids, shopping, a photo journal (more about that later), drinking water, book reviews, handiwork, home management binders, blessing your husband/family and more. 

Let me know if there is something you are particularly interested in. :)


KUDOS: I made homemade, healthier version of Mac & Cheese tonight for dinner.

I DID.....

start this blog today!  Hopefully it'll be encouraging for myself and for you.

What Did You Acccomplish Today?

I have always wanted to write a blog but could never thing of anything worthy to write.  Why would anything I say be of interest to others?  What subject would cause a person to take time out of their day to read?  Then I realized that it wasn't suppose to be for others.  It was to be for me. 

Well, what about me?  What could I do to encourage myself?  One complaint I've had in the past is that I feel like I never get anything worthy accomplished, be anything righteous, or have anything of value.  I'm sure many other women feel the same way. 

I've heard of blogs on weight loss, cleaning, cooking, couponing, shopping, homeschooling, etc., that were initially put in place to hold the woman accountable to whatever the subject was.  So I figured I would start a blog about the things I am and accomplish.  It's not to brag or boast.  It's more to prove to myself that I manage somehow to succeed in getting some things done and be a child of God.  But until I remind myself of them I always wonder.

Sure, there are still some days that all I have done is worked my at-home, part-time job.  But that is something!  I barely managed to get the kids fed and dressed.  But that is something!  I did nothing but lay on the couch and nurse my cold, but I did read to the kids.  THAT is something! 

That is the idea behind this blog.  Now hopefully, the concept behind it might encourage you.  You don't have to conquer the world, run for president, organize the co-op field trips, lead a bible study, make all your food from scratch, have a bountiful garden, have musically-talented children, drive a BMW, homeschool, wear skirts or headcoverings, abstain from the pill, read scripture for two hours every day, have a spotless home or have sexy body to be considered worthy.  You are special!  You do worthy things and you are a worthy person.  Sometimes you just have to remind yourself what those things truly are.

Now, do you want to come with me and be encouraged by God, me, others and yourself?  Let's go!

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" - Hebrews 3:13 NIV