Still plugging away!

I'm still working on my Spring Lists and checking off ideas as they come along.

* Ask someone at the Tractor Supply about chicks. Check!
They really don't know too much at this point other than chicks will be arriving in a month or so. It's a new store so I'm cutting them some slack.

* Call local feed stores and the other farm store about possibilities of chicks. Will do this week.

* Find nearby source of organic chick/chicken feeds. Will ask when I call about chicks.

* Ask Daddy about the ETA of my bunny hutch. Will do this afternoon. Have a real possibility of getting a bunny soon! A two year old black tort English Angora buck!

I found a copy of Urban Farm !! It was suppose to be out by January 12th but after searching for weeks it finally showed up at the Tractor Supply. I love that store. Angela is always teasing me because it is my new favorite store.

I bought seeds and soil mix today. I have spinach and a lettuce mix for greens and I thought I would start some snow pea seeds too. I need to ask Daddy to look at my light situation on my grow stand. I could not get the lights to work last spring. I replaced the fixtures and bought new bulbs all to no avail. We WILL have seedlings this spring!!

I would appreciate it, if you feel led, to include my sister Angela in your prayers this week. She is suppose to have surgery on Friday morning at 11:40 to have one, possibly two, lymph nodes removed from her neck. As always we covet those prayers from all the prayer warriors.

Better get moving if I want to play in the dirt, read my new magazine and do some laundry too this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a great week!
~ Penny ~

Thinking about Spring

I've been making my Spring lists and checking them twice.

*Email an inquiry to my Angora list about available bunnies in April. Check!

*Pull out the seed catalogs to see what I want in my raised beds this year. Check!

*Take home my "Square Foot Gardening" book to study. Check!

*Organize my dye materials so when we finally have a nice, warm, sunny day I can jump into dyeing.

*Bless my house so I will not feel guilty about planning for Spring. Working on it!

Hope everyone has a blessed week!

~Penny~

It's Her Birthday!

Yep, today is my sister Angela's birthday and I'm wishing her many birthday blessings!!

This evening Angela, her husband Mark, daughter Heather and s-i-l Ivan and I had supper. Our whole family will be getting together Saturday afternoon for a bigger birthday celebration ..... more pressies ;) .

Each birthday is a victory for you Ange and well worth celebrating more than once!!

G'night

~ Penny ~

New Year ... New Decade

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends celebrating the reason for the season.

I had a quiet New Year's Eve. Ate supper with Angela, then knitted while she crocheted as we watched her new Celtic Woman dvd. It was filmed at Slane Castle in Ireland and showcased some amazing talent.

Like many others I've been giving thought to goals for 2010 and the next decade. Some are long term and very personal like spiritual growth, a place I've been stagnating, and health & well-being a place I need to give some real attention.

Blessing my home is at the top of the list for 2010. Various health issues have caused me to let my house go and this has to stop. A thorough cleaning and touching up will be a freeing experience. It is hard to be creative in chaos!

In the spring bunnies and chickens will be added to my tiny urban homestead. Square foot gardening will be tried with dedicated beds to veggies, herbs and dye plants. With the poo from the new critters I should have some excellent compost this summer.

I want to create a pantry area so midsummer I'll be looking for a small upright freezer and some kind of shelving setup. If the garden is successful the produce will need to be stored.

Last year I injured my hand in March, followed by surgery in July, and was thoroughly thrown for a loop and my plans came to naught. This year I really want to work on my lil homestead and my cottage business too. I feel as though I need to make up for lost time. I hate it when my body is my own worst enemy!

When I figure out how to do it I want to add a check off list as a side bar to help me keep track of my goals. For now I will write them down and place them some where I will see them frequently as reminders of where I am heading.

The library will be closing shortly so ...

New Year Blessing to everyone!

~ Penny ~

Happy Birthday Penny!

Happy Birthday to my sweet sister. Yes. This blog has been high jacked..but just in love!
My sister is an extremely loving and giving person. She gives of herself in so many ways to so many people. Especially to me and mine. I just wanted to let her know again, how much she is loved and truly appreciated. (And please don't be changing your password on me!)

Please join me in wishing Penny a blessed birthday and coming year!

smooches, Angela

Winding yarn

Truck Envy and Shows!

I was recently reading Jenna Woginrich's blog and she has purchased a red truck causing me to have instant truck envy! By the way if you haven't read Jenna's book "Made From Scratch" you should visit your library. I enjoyed the book well enough that after requesting my library purchase it I bought my own copy. She is a young writer, very enthusiastic about homesteading and living a sustainable lifestyle ... plus she is driving a fine looking red pickup truck!

For many years I drove a red and white full size Ford Ranger. It was, and still is, my very most favorite vehicle. I only gave it up after my mechanics (Daddy & my Uncle Jerry) said they could no longer revive it. To say I was sad is putting it mildly.

Trucks are just so darn useful to have around the homestead, even a very small urban homestead like I'm working to make. You can haul lumber to make raised beds, use the tailgate in place of sawhorses to make the raised beds, haul compost to fill the same raised beds ... you get my drift.

I would love to have a small or mid-size truck with an extended cab. Just enough space to put my groceries and the usual necessities that one always carries around with them behind the seat. A large enough bed to carry home the cat food, bunny food, chicken feed and bales of straw and hay. I will be needing materials to build my chicken coop next spring and wouldn't it be sweet to not have to finagle another way to get those materials home from the tractor supply! A truck would also help make vending at shows easier. Pop on a camper shell and load that puppy up then off we go!

Speaking of shows Angela has signed us up to do a show next month so I'm not planning my open house after all. This show is sponsored by the Orange County Homegrown Assoc. and will be Saturday, November 14th at the Orleans Elementary school at Orleans, Indiana. We are also planning to vendor at "The Fiber Event" April 9th & 10th 2010. This show is at Greencastle Indiana and is probably the best fiber show Indiana has to offer. After Christmas Angela and I will be spending much of our time making items for this show. It will take a lot of product for a two day show!

My home computer is being the spawn of Satan so I had to come to work to order new business cards and do this update. I'm suppose to meet Angela to do a few things and it is getting late so I had better get going!

~ Penny~