Fall Hike at the Campground Woods ~ Mom Funny

When you have bad allergies, you get tired of being locked up in the house all the time.  I was itching to get out, and so I did.  Although it was the shortest hike in the woods, I still savored it.

My 10 year-old was the only one to join me, and she gathered leaves, as well as myself.

The campground we like to camp at, has many trails for hiking and biking.  

 We each came home with some very colorful fall leaves.  I hope to feel up to collecting more this weekend.  I like to use these for fall house decorations.  They are free, beautiful, and smell wonderful.  When the season is over, we can simply put them back into the garden, or the kids can create pictures with the leaves.
 

 When we got back home, I took a few photos of the foilage that is about one corn field away from the farm.

 Here it is again, with the corn still up, in front of the trees.

Despite morning frosts, we continue to have fall flowers blooming.


Mom Funny ~  I pulled a quadriceps . . .

Yesterday, before the kids arrived home from school, my son got my attention.  "Hey Mom, come look at this."

I first thought we had another stray outside, but he was at the side door looking down. Behind him was Tiger (the golden tiger cat) with a mouse in his mouth. 

Oh this was a joy.  While we tried to get the mouse out of the house, Tiger was bent on keeping it.  He kept playing with it, and it would run up and down the hall by my bedroom door.  

We grabbed a bucket and tried to get it, but it went under my son's legs and right into my bedroom.  Tiger went after it.  

My son, waiting for the cat to catch the mouse again, took the dogs outside for an outing.  

While he was out, I went in search for Jasper (our other black tiger cat).  I put Jasper under the bed too, but he had no interest, as he could not see the mouse or Tiger, who were both buried under my bed (ugh).

I grabbed the flashlight, bent down on my knees, pulled the bed cover up and moved one box.

BAM!  That beady eyed black beast, flew out from under the bed, and straight at me.   I flew my body up, and out of there in less than a second. 

We eventually caught that little booger, but my leg remains strained.  Oh the joys of getting a mouse in the house, and those little surprises that come with it.


Today  
 
Today it is very chilly inside the house.  My coffee is not staying cold in the mug.  I need to crochet a few of those mug covers, to help keep it warm.  I'm not ready to start burning wood just yet.

Hubby has to work 10 hours again today.  I hope to get some help from the kids, and start pulling out tomato plants.

I don't have a mask (to block out allergens) this season yet, so I am praying the farmer does not take out the corn while we are out there today.

Tea update:  The Edlerberry Immunity blend tea (organic) seems to be doing some work.  It's only been a day and a half, but the kids feel that the lymph node swelling is going down a teeny bit.  It's still very much there, and still painful, but I have faith it will reduce completely.

This tea does wonders on the body.  Be careful though, it works like laxative and also a diuretic, as it flushes the toxins out.   The seawater nasal spray is wonderful.  However, it shoots clear up in there, unlike those spritz nasal sprays from the pharmacy or over the counter.  It really gets up in there to do it's work.   

We also have one dog and one cat that are suffering from bad allergies this season (worse than ever).  Right now, we are trying a granule that is simply placed in our pets mouth and dissolves itself.   It is organic and natural.  If it works, I will post the information. 

We have also switched to a dye free, natural pet food that we buy at the Tractor Supply Store.  It's more expensive, but we care about our pets (I just haven't found an affordable way to make this myself yet).  I won't be buying them pet treats at the store anymore either.  The dogs love the dehydrated treats I made.  They run to the kitchen when they hear the ziploc bag open (no kidding).  I just have to come up with a cat treat now.
 

Pen Collection

It's a news alert!  This post has nothing to do with being frugal, stocking up, self-sufficiency, or anything garden related.  Shocking news huh?

I have a few collections, and have been coming across strays while cleaning this fall.  This is one of my many pens.  It has buttons on the back to control the hands, moving them out and back again.  I bought this one many years ago, because I love to box, and hubby taught me how.

I love to write, and have a habit of collecting unusual pens.  I do use them too.  I just have to be careful and not buy more than I can use.

.....guess I better get back to writing. 

Beautfiful Sunshine

 It's been nice to see the sun shining the last few days.   Here is another shirt I am wearing this month.


Yesterday I made another trip to urgent care.  It was for my 13 year-old daughter.  We thought she may have an ear infection, but was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection.  On the way to pick up her prescription, I  stopped at a store that sold holistic teas, oils etc. 

I came home with elderberry loose leaf tea that is mixed with an immunity booster tea.  I also came come with a seawater nasal spray.  I'm giving both a try.  The tea is so good.  It has peppermint in it.  After one cup, and one shot up each nostril with the spray, I felt pretty good all night.  I was told that the flower of the elderberry is better than the berry itself.  Not sure how true that is, but I'm giving it a try anyway.  The tea is organic.

This morning, however, the swollen and painful lymph node remains.  Today is day 2 (with the tea), and I have high hopes that I will overcome this.

I have to share something else too.  When I was at urgent care, the machine that swipes the bank card was not working.  Of course I had left my checkbook at home (as I had it out to pay the chimney sweep).  When we walked up the pharmacy counter to pick up the prescription, the computer system for the pharmacy stopped working.  Completely.  No one person could get their medications.  I had to have my hubby stop buy after work to pick it up (the machines came back on a little after 8pm).

Imagine if computers like these prevented anyone from getting medication.  I am thankful that we have holistic stores, and we still have the freedom to treat ourselves, and use prevention for sickness, with natural sources.

It's been chilly here lately too.  I think it's time I put on some Christmas socks, some cozy handmade slippers I was gifted, and read a book.  Yes, I did say Christmas socks.  They make me happy.

 What makes you happy?

Hedge Apples ~ NaNoWriMo ~ Today's Agenda (or not)

Thanks to my Mom, we are now locked and loaded with an arsenal of hedge apples.  Spiders beware! Bwahahaha!

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  I gear up to write each November - 50,000 word novel.  I follow Rachelle Gardner's site and today's post reminds writers. It will be my third year to participate. Maybe one day, one of these will make it to print.  

What I get to do today (or not):

~scatter hedge apples around the house and wood barn

~dig up glady bulbs (way behind in getting this done)

~let the chickens out, check goat's water buckets

~finish the dishes the kids did not (ugh)

~sweep, vacuum, clean one bathroom (double ugh)

~write out a list for the store

~can jelly for Christmas


~make ground cayenne (already dehydrating)

~blog

~check e-mail

. . . .I might be lucky to get one or two things done today.  My neck is still hurting, node is still swollen, allergies are not backing down and I feel miserable.  I literally wanted to go to bed at 5pm last night.  That's how tired allergies make me feel.  My ears are draining, head hurts......and my elderberry juice concentrate has not arrived.   Next year I'm planting a entire field of elderberries (if it does work).  

I'm a tea junkie this week, adding immunity oils to my teabags, and hoping one of these natural remedies will help me.  Say a little prayer, would ya'?  I really don't like the thought of a biopsy. I'd like to prove the doctors wrong.  I may just toss this list today, and crawl back on bed, or high-tail it to the sofa for the day - my laptop, paper and pen, and a good book sounds better already.

Black Walnut Dye ~ Home Canned Applesauce

There are so many versions of using walnuts for dye, including making a dye for stamping fabric.  I decided to soak some walnuts in water for 3 days  (slightly browned).  I ran the liquid through a strainer, lined to catch all the small stuff.

Another Journal for the Journal Junkie - My Natural Dye Swatch Book

Summer here is very busy with gardening, stocking up, repairing, building, etc. I have little time to work on the "little" things.

I finally dug out my swatch book, and put a cover to it.  I could have decoupaged it, painted it, and so many other ways. However, I simply used a piece of stationary and printed it from the computer.

Here is a peek inside my journal/book.  I simply bought tab dividers with color tabs already adhered.  I don't have all the colors, but it's pretty easy to use with the ones do have.  I can also add more by using cardstock and adding a tab.

For yarns, I simply adhere a piece of the dyed yarn to the page, and write what mordant I used, the material I used, the date and then a year later I update if the color held.

For example, I dyed a 100% cotton doily that I crocheted, using red onion skins a year ago.  It has since faded from not using a mordant.  I did not have a yarn swatch, so I printed photos of the before and after, wrote down information, and punched the page with a 3-hole punch.  I added it to the journal for reference.

On my recent hikes around our 6 acres, and into and along the woods, I discovered rosehips.  I decided to pick them and use them as a dye to dye wool yarn. 

I see it's too late this season to dye my yarn with goldenrod.  Time got away from me this season.

Today the chimney sweep comes.  Finally.  

I've got another busy day today, despite how I am feeling.  I woke with both eyes burning and itching and watering.  Fall allergies are here with a bang.  I hope to get a small break in the day, after laundry gets put on the line, kitchen swept and mopped, canning completed, and so forth.

Banana-Chocolate Cupcakes

(from the Diabetic Cooking May/June 2012 Issue)

Note:  I did not have banana flavored yogurt and used vanilla.  I also did not have vanilla on hand.  I used 1 tsp. of almond extract.  Yum!