*The continuing saga of my families adventures.*See old posts on "www.joycerowley.blogspot.com"
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday 12/11/11 cont. Christmas tour and New Years resolutions...
I need to make some New Years resolutions. I am not sure what to choose. They should either be to start or to stop a habit, or be something that will bring me closer to God.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday 12/11/11 cont. Christmas cards and haircuts...
We went out yesterday and got haircuts. William likes his hair really short, but still long enough that he isn't shaved, or asked if he is in the military. His was so long that it was starting to curl up around his neck. Maggie's hair is about waist long. She got an inch or two taken off. Beth's hair is between shoulder length and waist length. She got about an inch taken off. She also got her bangs cut. The style today is that the girls have bangs that hang in their faces. Beth get her bangs cut so that they could be high maintenance...every couple of minutes the bangs fall into her face, and she needs to brush them back. She is really delighted with her high maintenance bangs. I got my hair trimmed.
When the kids got to grade school they were allowed to pick their own hair cut., not their color, just the hair cut. William right away picked a spiky, shaved, cool cut to match the tail that he already had growing. We got gel to hold the spikes up. It didn't work. The spikes fell. It didn't matter if we gelled them when the hair was wet or dry, or at night or in the morning. We used a little gel. The next time we used more. We asked people for advice. The spikes wouldn't stay up. After about two weeks, the shaved parts on the sides grew out and no one could tell that they had been saved. He said that he wanted to go back and get a regular cut. He has had conservative cuts since then. He had his tail until high school. Then he said that it was too much of a bother, so he had it cut off.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday 12/11/11 cont. decorating the tree..
We put up our Christmas tree last weekend. We had fun. We had Christmas music playing and my camera was out so Beth took some pictures. We had the branches for the artificial tree mixed. When we put it up there weren't enough of the largest ones to go on the bottom row. We left the blank spots in the back of the tree and went onto the next row. Later we found the rest of the bottom rows branches and put them on the tree. We used about five strands of lights. We have one strand of colored bulbs and the rest are white. This year the colored ones are on the tree going around from the bottom to the top. Last year, I think that all of the colorful lights were all in one area, like all in the middle, or all on the bottom two rows. This year it looks more normal.
We have enough ornaments to put three on each branch. There are a lot of stockings that are hung all over the house. We took a picture of the kids in front of the tree. We took a picture of the cat too.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday 12/22/11 crispy rice treats, rain and shaving...
It is still rainy here. It should be about 30 degrees for Christmas. It would be nice to have snow, but they say that we won't get any.
William had said that he would shave once a month, at the end of the month. Christmas is this weekend. I have asked if he wanted to shave for the holiday, he is thinking about it.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sunday 12/11/11 Wisdom teeth...
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Wednesday 11/20/11 cont. wisdom teeth...
Maggies teeth have been hurting. First we talked to the regular dentist about them hurting. He referred us to a dentist that takes the teeth out. It took a month to get into see him. Every week Maggis says" I can feel them growing today."
William just finished this quarter/semester at college.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wednesday 11/20/11 cont. Christmas shopping and church...
I am not sure what we are going to do about church on Christmas. Since the kids are older, they don't have a Christmas program to be in. Also, this is a new church for us I am not sure if they have a Christmas program. William and I were going to the new church last Christmas, but we were also going to the previous church too. So we went to the previous churches service too.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday 11/20/11 Beth's birthday, Thanksgiving...
Thanksgiving was fun. The day before we cleaned the house. One person vacuumed, one cleaned the bathrooms, one swept and mopped the floors and one did clean-up of all of the little things that needed to be put away. Two years ago on thanksgiving, when grandma and my brother came over,the whole meal was done and on the table. We all sat down and ate. It seemed wrong not to have any time together getting the meal to the table. Last year we didn't have anything done. The night before Thanksgiving we were still setting up the new chicken coop. When they arrived we had to finish up everything. Not good either. This year was better. I planned for the mashed potatoes and the deviled eggs to still need to be done after they arrived. We also had to put all of the other dishes onto serving plates and bake the biscuits. There was a lot for us to do, but it was fun. The kids took turns using the blender on the mashed potatoes, and we spent a lot of time saying to people "did you put a dish-up spoon in that?"
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Friday 10/27/11 William's birthday...
Friday, December 16, 2011
Sunday 10/16/11 A new home for the chickens...
They said that they will keep them in the coop and enclosed area for a few days, so that my chickens can learn where home is. Then they will come back there at night and lay their eggs there each day.
It rained today so we didn't take apart their outside chicken run. We had had the chickens for about a year.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday 9/28/11 cont. School pictures, conferences and shaving...
It is raining sort of hard. It has rained a lot this week. The tomato plant and the beans haven't needed watered in a long time.
Saturday 10/1/11 William shaved last night!!! He did an excellent job. This was his first time shaving at home. He said that he would shave once a month. In the past we have been having his beard trimmed when he got his hair cut. Last night was a clean shave.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday 9/28/11 Christmas cards and chickens...
It might frost soon. We have one tomato plant and a row of beans that will need to be covered.
We are going to get rid of the chickens this weekend. They aren't laying eggs and I need the winter off. If we can find a home for them before the ground freezes, we can pull out the fence posts. If we want more chickens, next spring we can get chicks.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sunday 9/18/11 cont movie night with vegetables and fruits...
When we watch movies if there is food in front of us we will just eat because there is food there, not because we like it or are thinking about it. Sometimes we have food while we watch movies. First we have cut up vegetables, then we have cut up fruit when the vegetables are gone. Everyone has their own plate and dishes up for themselves. I like to have salad dressing to go with the vegetables. After the fruit we may have a main dish, then if they are still hungry, we have chips with cheese and salsa. It's a good way to get a lot of fruits and vegetables into the kids without any complaining.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday 9/18/11 grass, a night off and basement cleaning...
William cut the grass today. It was warm today. We went for a walk without a jacket.The grass in peoples yards had just been cut. There was still grass clippings lying in the rows.
This week should be easier. We are getting William's alergy shot on Tuesday instead of Monday. That means that we will have Monday evening off.
My next project needs to be cleaning out the basement. When we were going to move a year or two ago, I packed up half of the house...half of the towles, half of the sheets, etc... and put everything into storage to make the house look less full. When the house didn't sell we brought everything back and put it in the basement. It all needs to be unpacked. If I could sort out one box a night it would help. I really don't want to move all of this when we do move. There are not enough lights in the basement, thats why I don't go down and sort the boxes there.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday 9/17/11 Duct tape and styrofoam...
William put styrofoam in the opening to the attic and in the two vents for the crawl space. He measures the openings and cuts the styrofoam. This keeps more of the heat in the house for the winter. We checked the boiler today to make sure that it worked. It does. I try to check it before it is needed, then if there is a problem we have time to schedule a repair before winter. Last year it didn't work. The motor needed to be replaced. The pipes should be bled before we start using it, then the water that is drained out won't be so hot.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Saturday 9/17/11 school lunches...
We took Maggie's Bible back to the store to exchange it. She wanted a teenage Bible.
Wednesday 9/14/11 School reports and cats...
We need a second cat. Our first cat is sweet, but he is lonely. I would like to get another white cat. Our first cat is white. He is a mixed breed with an almond shaped face.. I want a white cat so that if we get up in the middle of the night, there is a better chance that we will see him and not step on him. It would be great if we could get a kitten.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
12/8/11 Christmas tree...
Putting up the tree was fun. The kids helped. We had the local radio station playing Christmas music. Always in the past the tree has leaned so much that we had to tie it to two chairs to get it to stand up. Then we put blankets over the rope...to make it look more normal. We don't want the ropes in the Christmas pictures. Then...sometimes from the living room...we would hear someone call out "tree..." and we would all run into the room to help keep the tree up and re-secure it. This year we must have found the correct base. The tree is up straight, and it isn't tied to any chairs. I am going to give the other bases to Goodwill. We are keeping the rope behind the tree...just in case. I have found a green storage box to put the decorations into at the end of the season. Next year should go very smoothly
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday 9/13/11 School pictures and volunteering...
Tonight William's class got out on time. He had gotten his homework done during class. Maggie has a spelling test tomorrow. She had a small amount of homework tonight. Beth also had a small amount of homework. So far everyone is doing OK in school.
We need to get our volunteer hours done soon...before it gets cold out. Maggie needs 12 volunteer hours this semester. Last year we waited until the week before they were due to finish. It was difficult to find places to volunteer in the winter. We could have gone to the parks, but decided that that would be too cold. We ended up volunteering at the Food Bank and at church. A lot of places that we called said they needed volunteers in the summer, but didn't have any need in the winter. We all go together to volunteer. Sometimes we take a friend with us. My car can only hold 5 people, so we can only take one friend.
The leaves are starting to turn colors and fall. I am not ready for cold weather.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sunday 9/11/11 Arts festival...
Saturday, December 3, 2011
9/11/11 cont...school open house and birthday's...
Maggie's birthday was fun. She is 16 now but says that she doesn't feel any older. My mom and my brother came over for the party. We had spaghetti and garlic bread. Maggie doesn't like cake so we had pie and ice cream. She got her books and she wanted a Bible. After the party she asked if she could take the Bible back and get a high school one, instead of an adult one. We exchanged it on a different day. We measured everyone, including the cat on the measuring stick and recorded Maggie's new height. She has grown some. William is taller than the 6 foot stick, so we put his mark on the bottom of the board by whatever amount he is taller than the board.
Now that Maggie is 16, she can have her ears pierced, wear make-up, within reason, and get her learners permit. She says that she isn't ready for pierced ears, or to wear make-up. At first she said that she would get her permit, but now she says that she will wait for Christmas break to study.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Sunday 9/11/11 Busy evening...
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday 9/4/11 driving the car, electricity and birthdays...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Saturday 8/27/11 Festival, beans and hurricanes...
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday 8/25/11 Second day of school, festivals and computer screens...
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday 8/24/11 Girl Scouts, starting school and cultural events...
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday evening 8/16/11 Fall cleaning, first day of school and bent computer screens...
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tuesday 8/16/11 Starting school, todays schedule and calling the old church...
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Sunday 8/14/11 Walking, learning to drive, gardens and braces...
I did get a short nap today.-----The girls and I took a short walk around the cemetery today. Just a short walk. It was good to get some exercise. -----We have been having the kids pull the car up to the garage. Maggie pulled the car in today. It was her first time to drive. Beth is next. William was last week. I want them to start pulling in the car all of the time. They should get drivers licenses...someday. When they feel ready to get their licenses, I want them to feel comfortable in the car. William will be 22 on his birthday, Maggie will be 16 and Beth will be 15. They just arn't ready yet. No one wants to get the learners packet.-----We grew some melon plants inside from seeds for part of the summer. When we planted the garden in the backyard these two plants...and all of their vines...were moved outside. Their leaves have started perking up. I haven't seen any melons starting to form.-----William got his braces off today. He has such a big smile and his teeth look great!!!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Saturday 8/13/11 Planting the garden, school supplies and a movie...
We planted the garden today. William planted peas, Maggie planted spinach, Beth planted cauliflower and I planted turnips. Our garden is about four feet by five feet. We had some dry whole corn that the chickens wouldn't eat. The kids spread it around the backyard. We are hoping that the birds will begin to eat it.----- We got some of the school supplies today. Maggie didn't have a list of supplies, but she knew that she needed two more shirts and a planner. Beth had a list from two teachers and William needed lead for his pencil. We found everything at one store. If the kids get additional lists from their teachers, we will go out again when after school starts. -----We went and saw the movie "Cowboys and Aliens". It was a lot better than I thought it would be, and a bit scarier...I am a chicken... The aliens kept jumping out of nowhere.----- Tomorrow the only thing that we have planned is going to church.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday 8/10/11 School and the garden...
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Sunday 8/7/11 Choosing seeds and changing churches...
We need to plant the garden this weekend. Today we choose which seeds to plant. There are too many choices, so all of them can't go in. We want to switch churches. This is a painful decision. The kids and I have been going to another church for a few months, along with going to our current church. We all like the new church better. We fit in better. The current church is a traditional church, with most of the congretation coming from that area...we drive across town to get to it. It is in the area that I went to high school in. We are from another area...the kids don't go to the same schools, so they may have different holiday days off, and different snow days...and we have just never felt comfortable there. We have been there for about ten years, so we did give it a fair chance. I want to be sure that we are changing because this will be a better place to worship God.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Wednesday 8/3/11 Yard work, garden start-up and homework...
Last weekend William trimmed the hedges in front of the house. They look so nice when William cuts them. When I try, they look like eye brows. The girls cut the grass. Maggie cut the front yard and Beth cut the back. This was the first time that they had cut it. When we first bought the house we had an old-time lawn mower, a push mower with no motor. It might be called a reel mower. The girls were too short to push it. When we got a new one...with a motor (because we can't find anyone in town to sharpen the blades on the first one)...William and I mowed the grass. All three kids did a great job.----- I started the garden. The first layer on the grass is newspaper...to kill the grass, I put sticks on the paper so it wouldn't blow away. I planted some parsley, carrots and a few other plants. Not many plants, but a start. As we get more plants, they can go in, and when the compost is ready it can replace the sticks. I know that it is late in the year to start a garden, but the kids and I built a hoop house (framework for a greenhouse made of PVC (plastic) pipe) last summer and it can go over the garden when it gets cold out. School starts soon.----- Maggie is finishing her summer homework. She had to read three books, listen to three songs and watch three movies from the teachers list of choices. Then she needed to write a short paper on each one. She still needs to watch two movies. Tonight we all watched "13 Days". It was about President Kennedy and the Cuban Miscle Crisis.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Thursday 7/28/11 Garden planning, school supplies and chickens...
We are going to start a garden this week. I know that it is late in the year, but a lot of gardeners plant successive plantings throughout the summer. I looked at my seed packets and some of them mature in sixty days. If winter does not come until October, November...December, we could get a good harvest. The garden is about five feet by five feet. We didn't plant at the beginning of the year, there were rabbits in our neighborhood. The rabbits are gone now.----- School starts soon. I'm not ready. I need to order school shirts for Maggie and Beth. Sign William up at college, get school supplies and the rest of their clothes, and haircuts. Have I forgotten anything?----- We may go ice skating this weekend. There is a rink here in town that is open year round. We need to do something fun and different this weekend.----- Our three chickens have quit laying eggs. It could be because it is too hot, above 90 deg. each day.