Recycling a water jug to a planter and a day of exercise

This time of year it is sunny and warm in the morning and storming in the afternoon. The storms are usually quick and unpredictable.   

I spent the morning weeding and getting beds ready for new plants.  

Then it was time to walk the dog.  We had a good walk and later walk some more and got on the stationary bike.  I am greatly out of shape and need to work on getting healthy every day! 

I will be seeing some of my grandsons next week and I wanted to do a project they could help with. After our road trip we have bunch of water jugs that needed recycling.  (Dude believes food and coffee is only as good as the water in that area.  Yes, he travels with his own coffee maker after he found out his brother-in-law does the same thing... grin) 

I cut the bottom off the jug and will use it for plants later on or poke holes for a small greenhouse. 

Next, I drew eyes, eyebrows and a tiny mouth with a marker.  Fill the bottom of the jug with dirt and top with a flowery plant so it looks like happy hair. 

That's it for today.  Tomorrow is sewing bee day, yay!

peace

June 1st - eggs, knitting, sprouting seeds, and goats

 Day 7 of 100 Day Challenge to get healthy... eating and walking 10k a day or 30 minutes of exercise.  Homesteading you work a lot but most of my work is stationary... planting seeds, weeding, watering, hoeing.  I hit 10,000 steps so far today but the day's not over. 

Dude worked in the greenhouse and I am ordered birds.   We have a 3 turkeys coming, some guineas and a few geese. They arrive in a day or so...

Eggs were wash and tried to make labels for our eggs with safe instructions and dates and such.

Mom needed baby hats to donate with the onesies she is making so I got stuff together for that.

My list for today.  I needed to consolidate some of this.  Grandson has a karate showcase so I will knit then too.

I used to sprout seeds a lot ... in the 80's... giggle. I wanted to give it a try again. 

The first day is just soaking in water.  The next 3-5 days I will just rinse twice a day.  We'll see how it turns out. These are for us but I want to try and sprout fodder for the animals later.

Traded some veggies, bags of lettuce,  eggs and such for use of a trailer. 

Bathrooms, litter box and laundry were done. 

I happy glitch put on the day... my grandson had a karate class I wanted to see. (grin... that's my son on the right...xo)

So I knitted and...

watched.  I love this kid. 

Then home to hoe around the grapes and raspberries. Watered the newly planted stuff as well. 

Called to ordered Wilbur's (lamb ram) blankets.  He gets sheared on Monday.

Me: I have a CVM Rommedale ram. 

Blanket Dude: You needed to get him another lamb. 

Me: I know but it is hard to get another CVM so he is bunking with a goat. 

Blanket Dude(laughing): ohno, goats are crazy!

Me: Can we help it that sheep are dumb?

We got a good laugh. It was fun speaking to him. He said way back when he met one of the guys that started the CVM herds in California. I can't wait to meet. Great stories, great advice for me since I am just starting out. 

Then out to check on Peppy.  She may have her kid tonight or tomorrow.  I got the basket ready with towels, blankets, water and such. Wilbur and Felonious came to help. 

Peppy about to pop.

Poor Wilbur is panting hard with this big coat. 

Felonious just wanted a selfie...so... what the heck!

I didn't get to the sewing. That's where I will start tomorrow.  The hats will get done tonight. 

May God bring you joy, no matter the situation. 

peace

Breakfast and a quick craft

Thanksgiving is coming up fast and I am quickly getting behind. The turkey we raised is thawing but Dude continues to be in pain and it slows down the process. Every day he gets a little better and I know he will be 100% sooner than we know.  
I recently got a clean bill of health from the doc. I was a mess there for a few years.  
So, what did I do different? Surrounded myself with upbeat and positive people (hey, it is important  - smile)  then I started seriously walking every day. My goal was to hit 10,000 steps a day and then be able to walk from the town next to us to our town... 11 miles. I read the book One Second After by William R. Forstchen a few years back. It is a book about the USA losing a war by EMP and paralyzing the nation.  The one thing that struck with me was in the beginning of the story  vehicles broke down and people were so out of shape they couldn't walk to the exits. That thought stuck with me - how far could I walk, as out of shape as I was? 
Our church was preparing for an eleven mile Mercy walk in October and I signed up for it and practiced. I think I was the oldest person walking but I did it and made it.  
The other thing I did was go vegetarian Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I was a vegetarian when I met Dude. Raising our own meat, I now know what goes into them and how they are taken care of ...with love and extreme care. 

Next goal is to keep going and lose the weight.  I have faith I can do this. 

Recipe

Our morning was packed full with things that needed to get done. Breakfast needed to be quick and easy. So, here it is:

6 eggs
1/2 to a cup of cheese
a small can of green chilies

 Spray an oven proof pan.  Add your green chilies. 

Then add your scrambled eggs. 

And cheese.

Bake at 350* for 25 minutes.

You can add salsa, sour cream or whatever you like. I went simple today with jalapenos. 

Craft 

It was a full day at home , then off to library, stopping to see folks and then off to work.  I did  manage to work on a banner for Thanksgiving.  It wouldn't have taken me as long as it did except I kept gluing the letters on backwards... I really need to slow down! 

Tomorrow making the stuffing and green bean casserole.  Cleaning and whatever  mischief I can get into before heading to work.  Got all the running around done today so I can focus on the house tomorrow before the holiday. (oh, and I must get back to sewing!)

peace

Staying healthy

One of the big things living on a homestead is you have to be healthy and fit. I have had my fair share of challenges but you have to keep trying and do what you can to stay healthy. 

Exercise - I thought because we gardened and worked with the animals it would be enough but often times we are getting no aerobic type exercise.  I used to be a runner and then kids came and my time was for them and put myself aside.  As they got older we  we ran and entered 5k races together when they were in high school or went hiking, or swimming. We even took yoga classes together - three generations, me , mom and one of my sons. Now they are grown and grandchildren are arriving I need to be fit.  I started walking with a goal of 10,000 steps a day with 15 minutes of yoga. Dude is very fit with farming and construction work. 
Here was my morning.  Yoga and the treadmill. 

We are working on eating better...well, I am. Dude eats what I make with a large side of  ice cream. 
Monday, Wednesday and Friday I try to make vegetarian meals.  Today is tofu stir-fry with veggies from the garden. 

All this is from our garden and it is amazing how much you can get from a small amount of veggies. I have two meals for work and one for Dude.  Oh, you know, he has to have some form of meat. I got him a steak out for his dinner to go along with the stir-fry. 

I love these containers for my lunch/dinner. 

I did top the stir-fry with cashews. 

I did have a little time to weed. Yes, they are real and we have no garden gnomes to come and clear them out for me. (Dude didn't know what a gnome was. When I showed him he said, "why do I want a Santa in my garden?! oiy) The weeds are taking over.

 

For me, it's a good time for praying and thinking, for Dude it's a good time for cussing (smile) over how hard the ground it , how we need rain, or how many weeds we have.  I was just grateful he stopped to help before heading out to mend the fence . We got the whole herb garden done in one swoop. 

It is starting to drizzle a bit of rain and I need to hit the road. 

Take care of each other. 

peace, health, and happiness