The 1st day of VBS

Yesterday, was our first day of Vacation Bible School.  It was hectic, but wonderfully fun!  Our theme for Vacation Bible School is Playing on God's Team - so our whole week is about Sports and the Bible and Games.

Peter, our Seminarian, taught our first Bible Story about Peter (the apostle), denying Jesus three times.  He equated it to "three strikes and you are out"!  Instead of  a cock crowing, I brought in a hen (I don't have any roosters) and the kids thought it was wonderful!  Outside, the kids played games of soccer and water/sponge races.  Crafts were sports Pennants for the older groups and a rooster for the younger groups.  Songs were This Little Light of Mine and also the Goodbye Song.  Every day, we will add on and do more! 

Thank you to my family and friends for helping me out with this project!!!

Crazy busy

I have been busy getting ready for our church's vacation bible school.  I just have not had time to post.....but the decorations are now up in the church hall and the games are ready, and our seminarian is ready to teach our little ones ones.  40 kids from the ages of 5 to 12.

I will try to post each day and give you a synopsis of our day.

Wish us all luck as this is my first attempt at any of this!

Mother Nature

Because we just got a brand new A/C unit, Mother Nature has decided to take the temperature from "Feels like 99 degrees" (last Thursday, July 18th)......to feels like 59 degrees" (today) in the span of one (1) week, here in CT.





We plan and God laughs!

New A/C being installed today

The heat has been brutal here in CT.  It finally broke on Sunday afternoon, however, the humidity has remained.  We finally got rain last night - it was a welcome relief!   But the humidity is still overpowering.

The new A/C unit is being installed this morning!  Last night, I had to go up in the attic (YUK) and clean it out where they were going to be doing the work.  Of course, all my Christmas boxes had to come down and suitcases and everything we don't use normally was in the area of the old/new A/C unit.

The Good News....We cleaned out two garbage cans FULL of stuff from the attic!!  ;0)
The Bad News....My dining room looks like Christmas in July!!  

But after today, who cares....I'll be able to breathe and sleep again!!!!

Chicken Mites

After raising hens for more years than I remember, the hens have chicken mites.  The heat and humidity (and probably the wettest June on record) has contributed to the issue.  These are tiny, tiny bugs in the coop and on the chickens!  I had heard about them on the Backyard Chicken website and forum, but like I said, I have never had to deal with them. 

Thank Goodness for the internet and google!  I figured out what I needed, ran down to our local store and bought something called "Diotomaceous Earth" (now known as the "stuff").  Don't even try to pronounce it....it doesn't work!

So, I cleaned the coop, sprinkled the "stuff" everywhere, especially where they give themselves dirt baths (a normal part of life for a chicken) and already I see the difference in 24 hours!  I also sprinkled it directly on the hens!  It is an all natural bug killer, that is safe for hens.  I have to cleanse the coop again in 7 days and add more of the "stuff" and if the heat and humidity keeps up, I will do it weekly! 

I also had to buy more feed and more pine shavings, as I will be replacing the hens bedding as needed.  It's always something!  But I am happy that the "stuff" already seems to be working!

Vacation and an early CSA

My hubby and I (and my daughter and her friend) are taking a little weekend vacation to the Cape!  One of my favorite places (not the hubby's)! 

But we are looking forward to getting away from CT and getting closer to the water!  The heat is unbearable this week!  Hotter here than in NC or FL! 

Because we won't be around on Friday, we are picking up our CSA today.  Here is what we are getting:

Full share:
4 lbs. cucumbers
4 lbs. squash and zucchini
1 lb. of green or yellow beans
2 bulbs of garlic
1 bunch of onions
1 head of bok choy
1 lb. broccoli
2 kohlrabi
1 bunch of kale
1 head of lettuce
1 basil plant
1 assorted herb

(and I get it all, because my sister is away this week!!!)  (Next week, she gets it all!)

A/C Issue

Well, we are biting the bullet and getting new central air.  The last one was old and two different people came up to give two estimates and both said it is not fixable!!

Oh well......And of course CT is in the midst of a heat wave again (our third in two weeks)!!! 

We sleep down the cellar now!  LOL

It is what it is!   It will be fixed this week!

Festival Weekend!

This weekend is our church's festival.  There are lots of food vendors coming in and crafters and kids play areas and a dj/band!

My friend Maryanne and I are in charge of the 50/50 raffle again!  We will have three raffles per night, one every1-1/2 hours!  It should be good weather and hopefully, we will sell a lot of tickets! 

Wish us luck!

I can't wait for a fried dough!!!!!  Yum!

Air conditioner is NOT fixed!

The A/C started leaking again.  It seems as soon as we shut it off (when the temp gets good), it starts pouring out water.  Another technician came yesterday.  He told us, it looks like this one needs to be replaced.  Okay, but I don't have $5,000.00 for a new machine.....

So, right now, we are thankful for the overhead fans in our rooms and the cooler temperatures (no humidity) that Mother Nature is throwing our way! 

We have the tiniest of windows in our home and the smallest air conditioners do not fit!  We know, we tried!  The windows don't seem to open all the way (they are old and really need to be replaced also!)...so our next step is one of those A/C units that sits on the floor and gets vented out a window.  One should be able to cool the whole main floor.  The whole main floor is only about 900-1000 square feet, so I think it will be okay!  Hubby is out and about shopping now. 

CSA Week 6

Here is what we are getting:

Full share:

2 bunches of collard greens
2 kohlrabi
1 bunch of Swiss chard
1 bunch of dandelion greens
1 head of escarole
1 lb. bunch of beets
4 lbs. of Cucumbers
2 lbs. of Squash or zucchini
1 lb. bag of beans (green or yellow)
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of kale (curly or toscano)
2 bunches of hakurei
1 head of cabbage

 

Our first collards of the season.  I was holding out on a pound of bacon from our farm pig to make collard greens.  I can't wait!  (yes, I'm weird!)

Air Conditioner is fixed!

The Technician had to add freon(sp) and snake the duct work for a blockage.  $60.00 later and we are good to go!

We will have to use KILZ on the ceilings of two rooms where the water came through and then repaint,  and the technician said if this doesn't work, we need to look into getting a new system.......I guess I have a new fund to start saving for!!!!

Hot, Hot, Hot

This weekend was really brutal with heat and humidity.  Highs were in the 90's and the humidity was at 70%.  Yuk!

We broke down and put on the A/C early last week, but Saturday morning, while I was at work, something happened and we had water pouring out of the attic down through the ceilings of our den and bedroom.  A/C broke!  Calling the Air conditioning repair people on the Saturday after 4th of July got us NO WHERE! 

The house got hot fast!  We couldn't cook at all!  We ended up sleeping in the cellar in our boys bedroom as there is a window A/C down there. 

Yesterday, I had to re-can the cherry jelly I made from my brother's cherry tree (the first batch didn't set).  I got 10 of the small half pints.  Even though I did it at 8:00 am, the kitchen got to 92 degrees.  I decided to just "go for it" and canned four pints of blueberry jam, since I was already a sweaty mess and the kitchen was hotter than hell anyway! 

I am done canning for this week.  The temperature in the kitchen this morning was 83 and we slept in the cellar again last night.

I am hoping the A/C people call us back this morning! 

CSA Week #5

Here is our share for this week:

Full share:

2 bunches of kale

2 or 3 kohlrabi (size dependent)
1 bunch of onions
3 lbs. squash and zucchini

2 lbs. cucumbers
1 pint of peas
1/2 lb. beans
1 bunch of carrots
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of radishes
1 bunch of hakurei
3/4 lb. broccoli

2 basil plants

Mulberry Jam

I tried something new this year.  Mulberry Jam. 

I have a white mulberry tree in the yard, that is just starting to produce.  I only got a handful of berries.  The trips and I ate most of them!  But up the street there are two trees of mulberries.  They are on someone's property but some of the branches hang over the road and I am able to pick those!

I ended up getting two pints of jam.  One I put through a sieve and it is seedless.  The other has seeds, but it really is delicious.  I had a few cranberries and strawberries that I threw into the pan, also, so I am happy with my results.  I need to find a free source of mulberries, if anyone knows where one is!

The picture above shows the white mulberries....after the trips got a hold of them....

My inventory of canned jams is rising, albeit slowly.

Happy Independence Day!!

My sister, my niece and I are running in a 5K this morning (one of the hardest yet best races around) and then I have to attend two parties.......It's all good!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 5th Anniversary.....Time flies!

To my wonderful husband....Thank you for everything!  

We are celebrating with a late lunch and then the fireworks here in town.

Mom's B-Day Celebration

Someone said some prayers......The rain held off and we had a beautiful evening for my mom!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's 72nd Birthday!

We are having a get together at the house tonight with everyone.....which is a lot of people. 

I am praying the rain holds off!