I’M MOVING

I’M MOVING

I’m moving over to a new address, in case you would like to follow me! That’s at xanga.com/thechickadeefeeder

Hope to see you there!

 

GRADUAL GRANDMA

GRADUAL GRANDMA

This morning I was strongly remembering through the years I’ve spent of buying other people’s stuff from their yard sales.  I started going to yard sales after my first child was born, stopping at each house, putting on the baby “front” pack, placing the baby inside it, and going off to see what bargains we could find.

It being a university town, it was a bonanza!

I think half of what we own here came from thrift stores and yard sales–and it’s not in disrepair, either!

During the child years, it was easy to rise very early and to get onto the road.  We had a “family bed” for a long time, so I never needed an alarm clock.  I quickly dressed, put on my special Garage Sale hat (to hide my messy hair), and started driving.

I was serious.  I was often one of the first arrivals.

(But I was never mean, I never pushed, I never grabbed–just so you know)

Since my boys are teens now, and I don’t have that special alarm OR that need to buy toys and child clothing, it’s been a while since I’ve even bothered to go out.  Today I wasn’t one of the first ones to arrive, and I often found myself musing about the homeowners, the house, and the yard instead of looking at what I was SUPPOSED to be doing:  choosing stuff before others got to it!

I bought a lot of things.  It was very hard not to buy more.  BUT:  none of it was for me.

Here are some camping supplies for my younger son.

I have a friend who works at a reform school.  The students aren’t allowed to remove books from the library, and so they’re eager to devour any books she brings to her classroom.

One gentleman had everything at his place for FREE.  Well, surely someone I know can use this battery-operated clock.

I found a Victorio Food Strainer for $4!!!  These things are absolutely fantastic.  Since I already have one, I called a friend.  But she already has one, so she called her mom.  I am soooo glad I found someone for whom I could buy this bargain.

And a tractor for 10 cents.  Yes, it’s true, only 10 cents.  Surely I will find an opportunity and a boy for whom I can just whip out this gem as a gift, right?

If you want me to look out for one for yourself, let me know.

 

WHICH STUFF–MINE OR YOURS?

WHICH STUFF–MINE OR YOURS?

A friend told me that she is having a huge clean-out. She is tired of having too many things and having so much clutter.  She went to the sanctuary of her church and thought about this sincerely, praying that God would give her the ability to let go of Things.

I think it’s great. I agree with her very very much, and I wish for this in my life too.

But I’m still going to her yard sale to see if there’s any of her stuff that could become MY stuff.

 

LADIES’ NIGHT OUT

LADIES’ NIGHT OUT

Last weekend I went with five of my friends to one of the largest homeschool conventions in the world.  The drive to Harrisburg, PA, took us about 4 1/2 hours; we stayed in a motel for two nights.  It’s a great annual Mother’s Day present!

This being my 15th year, we have a routine.  On Thursday night we stop for supper at a pleasant little town and eat at a very good hole-in-the-wall place called Brothers Pizza.  On Friday evening, we eat either at Old Country Buffet or at Outback Steakhouse, and then we show-and-tell each other what purchases we made and what bargains we found.

There are always so many excellent speakers at the workshops that it’s difficult to choose; I heard Little Bear Wheeler (of Mantle Ministries), Jay Wile (of Apologia), Doug Phillips (of Vision Forum), and many others.

Because my homeschooling years are winding down, I volunteer to work for 3 hours.  This allows me to have my registration fee refunded so that I can spend it on things I don’t really need.

I was a security guard.   I got to carry a radio.  I even got to talk on it once. This being the 3rd time I’ve done this job, I am SO good at it that the gentleman in charge asked me to come again next year (even though I have no need to attend because my Younger Son will be finished with high school). I am considering it!

 

ANOTHER TWO

ANOTHER TWO

Last summer at a routine medical checkup, the doctor asked if I was sleeping well in the mornings.

“Well, we sleep with some windows open.  The birds often wake me up.”

“Oh yes,” replied the doctor.  “They can be noisy, can’t they?”

And my reply:  “Oh, it’s not really that.  I’ll be sleeping sound, don’t you know, and suddenly I’ll be sitting upright in bed with a sharp intake of breath:  ‘OHHH!!!  It’s a yellow-billed cuckoo, we have a yellow-billed cuckoo at our house!!  I didn’t even know we had one of those!’”

The penalties (and rewards) of learning bird song.

On Tuesday we went on another naturalist-guided walk.  We identified 37 different wildflowers in bloom at the Wildflower Reserve at Raccoon Creek State Park.  And again I added two birds to my Life List:  the Blue-winged Warbler and the Yellow-throated Warbler.

Blue-winged Warbler

The Virginia Bluebells are now fading away from blue to white.



But Jack-in-the-Pulpit is looking fantastic.  See him in there?  We learned that if you gently squeeze the flower, you can hear Jack squeak.



We also saw 4 or 5 kinds of Trillium (if you count the hybrid).



Here’s a Snowberry Clearwing moth.  He looks like a bumblebee, but isn’t.



If you ever get a chance to visit a Great Blue Heron rookery, please do–before the leaves come out on the trees.  We saw 40-50 nests here, with parents coming and going.  Truly an amazing thing to see (and hear).

 

MA AND PA KETTLE GO TO THE CARWASH

MA AND PA KETTLE GO TO THE CARWASH

It doesn’t take much to entertain folks at this house.  After my Older Son had a vehicular brush with a skunk, my Younger Son and I decided to do something we’ve never done before:  take the car to an automatic car wash.  It wasn’t even anyone’s birthday!

(I once took my little son to a Do-It-Yourself car wash on his birthday and let him wash the car.  They don’t call those tools “power wands” for nothing)

We quickly learned that it is assumed the average American should know how to use a car wash like this.  After watching the car ahead of us, we had to back up and get in a different line.  Then we had to choose which cleaning package we wanted, and pay lots of money, and read the instructions.

What an absolute hoot!  I clutched my son’s hand in nervousness as those beaters came toward us, and we laughed and laughed out loud!  Absolutely as fun as a rollercoaster or an electric drill!

But of course, the car still smells.

 

ADDING TO THE LIST

ADDING TO THE LIST

This week I added to my Life List by two.  No, I haven’t replaced sugar with eating broccoli in order to add years to my life–but I did see two birds I had never seen before!  A Louisiana Waterthrush and a Swainson’s Thrush can now be added to my list of Birds I Have Seen During My Lifetime.

We spent a day with a kind and very knowledgeable naturalist who teaches us the names and “goings-on” of the plants, animals, butterflies, and birds of our area.  I very much appreciate knowing the names of things in my world.

Looking for salamanders, newts, crayfish, and whatever else might live under a rock.

Blue-Eyed Mary has distinctive petals; the presence of this plant indicates high quality woodlands.  Another name for it is Innocence.

These Spotted Salamander eggs look like a throbbing, glowing alien presence.

The fields of Virginia Bluebells showed astonishing color.


Bluebells are also called “Lungwort” because it was believed to have medicinal properties for the treatment of respiratory difficulties.


The Large-flowered Trillium is blooming right now.  We can’t pick these flowers, as it can damage the plant, which takes a very long time to mature.  Trillium doesn’t smell nice; its pollinators are flies, beetles, and ants.

 

DRILLING FOR BLACK GOLD

DRILLING FOR BLACK GOLD

Today my son taught me how to use a drill.  It gave me the thrill of riding on a roller coaster and I laughed aloud with maniacal glee!  The power of it, punching holes with a roar!

We “made” two compost bins out of plastic trash cans by drilling holes into them.  For years I’ve tried to make compost by having two bins created by skids, but all I’ve been doing is feeding the trees.  The trees send roots over and up through the compost, making it a tightly woven pile of tiny roots, much like an overgrown potted plant.

Lately I’ve been noticing posts of other folks, who use the easy plastic trash can approach, so we’re on our way to a new (and hopefully more aesthetic) method.

BEFORE

AFTER

It was terrible fun.

 

WRITING AWARD

WRITING AWARD

I have won a writing award; I’m so excited!

Scribbit (who writes about Motherhood in Alaska) hosted an April Write-Away Contest with the topic of MOM and I was awarded First Runner-Up (Honorable Mention)!

Antique Mommy was the judge of this particular contest; I highly recommend running over to her place to read her sometimes hilarious/sometimes touching/always moving/ blog as well.

If you’re interested in seeing my winning post, click over to this spot:  SUNDAY NAP.

 

DANCIN’ WHILE WE TALK

DANCIN’  WHILE WE TALK

My younger son and I are done with speech and debate class for the year…till I start working on speech and debate class for next year…which will probably be next week!

Snapfish sent a special coupon for folks who like to print out their photos, so I’ve been obliged to sort through the large volume of what I have in the hopes of making some sort of sense of it all.  Although the lighting was poor at our last speech tournament, I still enjoy looking at what we did in the evenings for relaxation–English Country Dance, of course!

I took this while I was calling a dance:

The 3-day tournament was held in a retreat center that used to be a live-in school.  So we all slept in the dorms and fellowshipped throughout its entirety.

But most of the time, we worked!