Boys rule.

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

That's what little boys are made of !

I have to say...I do love my boys. So much sometimes it hurts. There's not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for entrusting them to me...to us. What a blessing. There's not a day that goes by that I am not amazed by their gifts and their talents. There's not a day that goes by that I don't notice something they do that is so unique to each of them. They are completely unique...of course because God created them that way. But they are also completely unique from each other. Even down to the foods they prefer. Two boys, from two parents, yet totally unique and amazing.

Seth. My oldest. My firstborn. This photo encompasses HIM and his favorite things...music, baseball, long boarding.

See that stack of music equipment on the right? See that big speaker in the middle? He built that...with the help of his dad. He took apart an old radio that Chris had lying around, saved the usable parts, and turned them into something useful and very cool. He rearranged his whole room yesterday, with the help of his industrious younger brother, just to make room for this amazing stack of electrical goodness. I mean, honestly, I don't get it. But to a musician? Get out... He is a gifted musician, like his father. Bass guitar, guitar, trumpet...and most recently, a mandolin someone gave him for free. He's a natural...

Yesterday, he obliged me for a time and let me snap some photos. It helped, I'm sure, that I was laying on the floor and taking them from weird angles. Black and white made it more interesting too. Anything out of the ordinary, right? I had to zoom in on his hands...and his arms. Such a young man...where does the time go?

Speaking of hands...here are Ian's. So mechanically inclined, like his father.


My second born. He is the one who takes things apart to see how they work. And then can put them back together! His mind sees things in a mechanical way...he can look at something and figure out how it works...and then how it could work even better with a few improvements here or there. It amazes me, the things that go through his mind.

He built this speaker yesterday, with the help of his father. It's very cool...and it WORKS. He's got the best imagination and can make something from nothing. Every day he amazes me...every day.

They are both incredibly smart. And talented.They are sensitive...and thoughtful. Sometimes, I wonder if I brought the wrong babies home from the hospital! Not really...I know I got the right ones. Absolutely. The perfect ones...for me. Thank you God for my sweet sons. Bless them and care for them. Help me to be the mom they need. Help me to guide them in the way that You would have them go. Help me to be an encourager...to build them up and not tear them down. Thank you God for entrusting them to me. Amen.

I bought Pop-Tarts the other day.

The heading to this post has nothing to do with anything really, other than "coming clean". My sweet friend, D, over at this is my life just posted about the realities for some of us and this whole sustainable living thing we're learning about and working toward and trying to live up to and figure out. She put it quite well...and made me laugh in the process.

As far as sustainable living goes, there's an awful lot out there that we can be doing...canning, gardening, chicken keeping, detergent making, soap making, thrift store shopping, or not shopping at all. Buying local, eating local, eating in season...not eating at all? Solar power, water power, hybrid, electric...oy! It can get overwhelming! And if there's a way to do it...there's a blog to show you HOW.

Don't get me wrong...I love blogs. And blogging. Blogging is a lot of fun and I have met some amazing women because of it. (You ladies are all so awesome...for real) but blogging can also be dangerous. It's like information overload at times. And when I'm reading that so and so is doing this and that...and then I realize that I'm not...because I just bought a pack of frozen fish sticks...distributed in Iowa or something...because I had to work that day and we were hungry now and I didn't plan ahead with my trusty Crock-pot, which I love by the way, but sometimes we're not on speaking terms. So I buy the fish sticks and then I'm feeling guilty anyway so I may as well just buy detergent because I didn't make time to make my own and I'm at the store and it's a really good price and I have about seven loads of laundry...and then I notice the Pop-Tarts were marked down and really, what's a little HFCS in the big picture? Right? Partially hydrogenated oil anyone? Gracious...

Can I just be real here for a minute? Sometimes...you just need to eat a Pop-Tart. Or at least I do. Preferably frosted strawberry...but I'm not picky. Or maybe a Hostess cupcake. Or a...oh never mind.

On a completely different note....today was a good day. We finally CLEANED THE GARAGE!! Yes...that's me shouting from the mountain tops that our garage...our little tiny one-car garage...is clean and organized. And it feels soooo good. We were going to go to the beach but we really needed to take advantage of this time...these three days...and finish some things around the house. We've let it go for far too long...the garage sale and the cleaning of the shed and the garage was way overdue. It was time... And now it's done. Yes.

Then we grilled marinated London broil and zucchini and then I made homemade onion rings on the side. It was all very delicious.

Then...I cleaned the kitchen and mopped the floor...finally.

And now...I'm going to wash my self up and GO TO BED.

Saturday...

Originally we had plans to be gone for the weekend. But those plans changed...and I am so glad. I don't think there's anything better than a long Saturday puttering around the house.

And puttering I will be. There's bedding to be washed and a bathroom to clean and bedrooms to dust and London broil to marinate and a floor to be mopped and blogs to read (like how I threw that in there...like it's a MUST?) and a car to gas up and picnic items to gather for tomorrow's trip to the beach...lots to do. But none of it pressing...just regular house stuff that I can do while listening to The Food Network in the background. Nice. Not to mention...the weather is beautiful today. Cool breeze...finally. And it's supposed to be like this all week. I'm so glad...what a nice reprieve from the triple digits we've been having.

So that's my exciting weekend. What have YOU got planned?

Oh dear...

Well, it's official. You can't train a chicken.

These girls do what they want, when they want. And they make NO apologies. Not one. As a matter of fact...not only do they do what they want, when they want, but if you disturb them while they're doing it, they give you dirty looks you wouldn't believe. Looks that make you wonder why there's never been a horror film involving chickens.

The girls have decided that they're NEW favorite bathing spot is in the barrel that contains my Meyer lemon and, well, at one time anyway, a handful of strawberry plants that we got exactly two strawberries from. They were both really good, too. Too bad there weren't more...ahem.

Did you take note in the photo the chicken wire? Um. Yeah. Good thing we put that there. They went under it, over it, on top of it...yeah. Chickens. Good thing they're so cute because if not....well, we won't go there.

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Psalm 112:7

7 He will have no fear of bad news;

his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

Everything has a purpose.

This is a little "chicken salad" I put together for the girls...some beans from the garden, their seeds were really big so I chose not to cook them...some apple that sat too long on the shelf in the fridge...and not pictured is a piece of toast that got a little too toasty.

Between the chickens and the compost pile nothing goes to waste around here! Or at least it shouldn't. I am not super diligent in my composting. But I am doing better and better. As with everything else, there's a learning curve. Not to mention, the birdhouse gourd vine has overtaken the pile...it's covered! So I need to find it again...and continue adding scraps so I can have some good compost next spring. It'll be here before we know it!

So I was taking my shower and thinking about the chickens and the garden and this little glass of scraps and life and how God and His creation are so amazing. Nothing goes to waste. Everything...and I do mean everything...has a purpose. He uses it ALL. Even the ugly scraps. Even the "stuff" that we think is garbage...a waste...unusable...God will use it. And not only will He USE it...He will make it BEAUTIFUL.

I know. I know it seems impossible. But...as the bible says, "with God all things are possible". Not some things. Not certain things. Not things that are good and acceptable. ALL things. God can do anything. A-ny-thing. The problem...or the obstacle...is me. I am the one that hangs on to hurts...or sins I've committed...things that I've done in life that I am not proud of...anger, depression...I hold on to them. Almost like a security blanket. I keep them hidden in a place only I know about... close...nearby...at the ready...just in case I need to drag them out and drag them along to my pity party. I keep them handy for when I need them to further condemn myself. To hold them up in front of my face...like a mirror to prove that I am unusable... garbage.

But then here comes God...the ultimate Gardener. The ultimate Composter. The ultimate Recycler. He takes all of my garbage...if I let Him...and He turns it into something useful. And even something beautiful. He takes away the condemnation. And the pain. He takes it away and fills that space with Himself. With His love. His spirit. And the more I allow Him to fill me up, the less room there is for the waste. And the more prepared I am to move in His will...and to live my life for His purpose.

Isaiah 43:18-19

18 "Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Wednesday in the Word.

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

Boundary issues.

See that vine along the fence there? That's the birdhouse gourd vine. It's planted just to the right of the tomato plants...underneath it's highest point is the ladder it uses to climb up.

As you can see, it spreads. A lot. It goes about 8 feet to the left of the ladder and about 8 feet to the right. It has covered my mulch pile. It has grown along the support on the left that was intended for peas and cucumbers and beans. It has completely taken over the pole beans..and the poles!...that were planted nearby. I must admit...a birdhouse gourd probably isn't the best idea for a small backyard garden. I doubt that the square foot gardening guy would have included this baby in his plans. But if you remember, there was a point at the beginning of this whole crazy gardening thing that I decided to just have fun with it all. And to experiment. And learn. So that's what I did. And the birdhouse gourd was a part of that. And it was worth it...what a fun plant to grow!

Not only is the vine amazing. It also produces these silly shaped gourds!

This is our fourth gourd. And it's very possible that this is going to be our last gourd...of the year, anyway. The vine is slowly being taken over by that darn powdery mildew. I've kept it at bay but I'm thinking it's time to pull the vine, anyway, and make room for some fall plantings. I'm wanting to try some greens...another round of beans...maybe some peas...onions and garlic for next summer...maybe some beets and radishes, maybe I can squeeze some in before it gets too cold. I may even try some broccoli. I try to stick with foods we like to eat.

But...I have to say...it's good to grow new things because there's something about growing it yourself that makes it taste that much better. Plus, when you grow it, you want to eat it and not let it go to waste. Take our peppers, for instance. We grew banana peppers and Anaheim peppers this year. We were going to roast them and freeze them for paninis. Well...we ended up grilling some the other night and it turned out we liked them just lke that...grilled with a little olive oil and Kosher salt...as a side dish! You never know what you're going to like until you try it...right?

So...I'm thinking that I'll try a few fall plantings to broaden our food horizons. Parsnips? Turnips? Kale? Chard? Why not? And if we don't like it...then we just won't grow it next year. Pretty simple.