Hooray for greenhousing!

I was going to post some pictures tonight, but alas, my camera/computer combination is not working and I can therefore not upload any pictures until Andrew has time to see what's going on. :) I was also not able to even got on the Internet until he spent about 20 minutes fixing that problem.... (Thank you so much, Andrew, for all the technical support you so freely give!)

About the greenhousing (is that a word?) though... If it were not for the greenhouse we built this Spring, there would be little hope of having much produce to put up for Winter this year! The out-of-doors garden did not get entirely planted and, the things that were transplanted just didn't take very well. I've planted several squash (which are up now), melons and onions in the big garden, but it is getting pretty late for planting some of these things! This may just end up being a year of Jubilee for the big garden...?

The greenhouse is another story entirely. :) I picked our first head of cabbage this afternoon, along with more lettuce and peas. There are small beans on the plants now and the watermelons, tomatoes and cucumbers have blossoms on them. The Husk Tomatoes are already producing their funny looking fruits. I should take a picture of our jungle in there. It's really quite green and pleasant. The dwarf fruit trees are doing well too, as is the Hops vine! We call our greenhouse, "Sweet Haven", which it truly is, most of the time. (A few cabbage moths managed to find their way inside today and thought it was quite the sweet haven spot too, until I got out the flyswatter!)

Mom and Andrew went to Bismarck today, as Mom had a session to do and then she needed to mail back (by UPS) some materials to Mr. K. who taught the Ag/Gardening/Animal class we all attended earlier this week. Andrew had things to pick up for the farm too.

While they were gone, Dad and Jacob worked some more on the haying equipment, (they cut down 2 fields worth of alfalfa yesterday!), and installed some 2-way radios in a couple more of the tractors so we can talk to each other while farming....

I slept in this morning quite late (10:00, which I hardly ever do, but I really needed the rest!), but tried to make up for my laziness the rest of the day. :)

In the kitchen, I made/baked:

• Bread


• Pizza (with white sauce and chicken on top)


• Banana Blueberry Muffins with cinnamon/sugar crumbles on top


• Meatloaf


• Creamy fruit salad


• and I tried to make Dad some fudge, but it didn't turn out at all like it was supposed to!

In the greenhouse, I:

• Killed about 7 white cabbage moths and about 5 grasshoppers


• Put some "Tangle Trap" sticky glue on some cardboard and laid it around the greenhouse


• Picked produce


• Covered the cabbage and cauliflower (and 1 of the rows of peppers) with the protective netting I bought this Spring for that purpose


• Banged my shin on the edge of a metal water barrel when climbing down from it after smacking a moth! Ouch!

In the house, I:

• Swept the floor


• Jacob helped me fold up Mom's massage table and put the rest of her session supplies away


• Vacuumed the living room and my room


• Washed/dried a couple loads of laundry


• Got the garbage together


• Watered all the houseplants


• Did the dishes, and more dishes, and...


• Looked through recipes, trying to decide what to make for supper


• Watched the rain coming down outside

Outside, when it wasn't raining, I:

• Got the mail


• Picked a bouquet of flowers for the table


• Untangled the swings again and set up the birdhouse which had blown over


• Checked for any red strawberries (there weren't any)


• Visited with our neighbor girl when she stopped at the end of our driveway with her bike for a break

During family prayer time tonight, while Mom was praying, we heard a strange sound outside. Some of us thought it was coyotes, but it also sounded like something whining, maybe our dogs? Then a little later, we heard another sound: rifle shots? It was then that Dad figured out what we were hearing. The windows were open and we could hear the fireworks that someone was lighting in Kintyre! The whining and banging all made sense then!

It's been a good, busy day. I thank the Lord for His protection once again, with the only injuries (that I know of) being a black and blue shin (mine); some nearly-impossible-to-remove grease spots (the guys); and a couple mosquito bites. Oh yes, Dad got soaked too. He was up fixing fence in the pasture with the 4-wheeler when it began to sprinkle---and then pour. His clothes were a bit on the soggy side when he returned home!

Life is so wonderful (except, of course, for when it's difficult).

PS. Yesterday was wonderful too... I got my first pay-raise at the nursing home, (and a nice one at that,) plus a bonus! :)