Big Universe, Small World... ©2013-2020

i was able to repot one lemon tree sprout this morning...it was at about 6-8 inches by now...so, by all accounts, it was time to move it from its styro cup home into a real container. this little sprout was one of the original lemons i germinated back in november. my mother brought this gumongous lemon back from jax to me that my step-sister-in-law had cut from her tree in their back yard. needless to say, this lemon was the size of a grapefruit and put store lemons to shame. i tried to germinate about 10 seeds. about 7 took. and now, over the last several months...only three of the sprouts have survived...i repotted one of these this morning. so, isn't it just the cutest little lemon sprout ever?? these are the others waiting to be repotted/transplanted... this actually has two different sprouts in it...i am going to try and separate them between two pots... i think the orange sprouts need another month or so in these containers... they need mor...

being more relaxed and 5 days off per doctor excuse/order... I have lain on this couch/bed/in this house for two days...vertigo is better today...though not so much on the boat. We went out on the water for a bit today after the baby returned home from camping for the weekend with scouts. My vestibular nerve is the one being affected right now by the viral shingles....not fun, not fun, not fun... I did manage to get a pint of mayonnaise finally made tonight...just in time to use the rest of the cabbage left from making the cabbage rolls (this past week to freeze for future dinners) to make some coleslaw to go with dinner and the rest of the raw veggies and meat...and it was able to lactoferment this afternoon and evening...shelf life extension is always a pro...but it will be gone in less than a month. There is just a bit of leftover whey in the freezer...so it was used....still need to make more cheese, so we have more whey to put back.... I got all papers graded...

yuckiness:  I have viral shingles and viral shingles vertigo...Can you imagine constantly feeling drunk without having had alcohol??  And of course, this means another lovely round of steroids...which also means I will not be able to get my allergy shots this week...so, by the end of the week...I will feel like allergic crap perhaps...        need to do: Have you ever just had one of those weeks where you feel like you have so much to do?  I am not just talking about the regular work piles: 1.  I need to finish writing those IEPs for my every other day secondary special education teaching job. 2.  I need to grade papers for one university whose term ends today. 3.  I need to post the next week's instructional guidance for another university. 4.  I need to grade papers and discussions for the third online university I work for. 5.  I need to work on a newsletter for the nonprofit I work with ...

The younger child and I recently went for a short trip to the beach. The water was too cold to swim in for the most part (unless you are from the polar regions).  We were walking and as we are moving along...I realize how HUGE my child's feet are... I measured my own against his...I stood for a moment in his footprint and realized how his foot has long outgrown mine. My toes are where the ball of his foot is. I should not be surprised...his older brother wears a size 12 as well... The size 12s he has are growing smaller and in a few months, we are lready in search of some size 13 shoes. I often think of a small child who plays in the parent's shoes. I never had this luxury. I have one fleeting moment of my childhood when my biological sperm donor person was sober/sane enough to place me on his feet to dance...it was a few seconds only. I think it is perhaps the only good memory of the man I have.   In those moments when our children are small and they emulate...

This bread took up the entire platter!!  It tasted better this time than the first time I made it. This time I did not measure. I never measure when I cook. If it looks like the correct amount...then it is...if it is a really tasty ingredient, then there is usually extra of it in any given dish. So this was made tonight with the that looks like the right amount measurement method! :)  I used a four braid this time on th bread, rather than the three braid of last time. This was not all we had for dinner....it complimented the breaded and baked tilapia, baked russet slices with onion and feta and EVOO, salad from our veggies, and a fruit salad of oranges, kiwi, and strawberries. I am stuffed.

Trying to decide where to go on vacation this summer or if we can even afford to take one...often we do a lot of what we call minivacations. These often involve one nighters to the beach or so...or just a weekend here or yonder. So, to the beach? Pawley's Island is not an option any longer this summer, as our friend and her family have rented their condo out for the year...mmhhmmm! The mountains always remains an option. I am really thinking about heading back down coast and camping...that was awesome at Thanksgiving. So, what are you doing for vacation this summer?  Any options or opinions to share? I have linked up with the mommy blogger program to try and earn the $50 Target gift card to offset summer vacation expenses...details are here:  http://cruiseweb.com .

We have been trying to take an inventory of what our foster puppy has been into in the past two weeks... Please be mindful that when I say been into, what I really mean is eaten or chewed to shreds... 1.  one of my cute strappy sandals. 2.  foiled wrapping paper. 3.  loaf of bread. 4.  all of the doggy treats - leaving my other puppy none. 5.  ziploc baggies. 6.  part of my son's flip flop. 7.  cat food. 8.  a dishrag. 9.  2 trashcans. 10. an entire box of plastic dining ware. 11. entire bag of paper plates. 12. the recycling - more than once. 13. two Lickity Sticks. 14. a throw pillow. 15. floor rugs. 16. box of instant grits. 17. mail. 18. one laundry basket. 19.  a tomato. Her tail/butt/back-end bumped into the guitar in my son's room a day ago or so and broke the handle in two - leaving it only connected by the strings. This is only a partial list, but it is all I can remember at this moment. U...

A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in the South. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in the South, plus a couple no one's seen before. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha. Onced and Twiced are words. It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy! Jawl-P? Means, Did you go to the bathroom? People actually grow,   eat and like okra. Fixinto is one word. It means I'm going to do that. There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there's supper. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar. It is referred to as the Wine of the South. Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you. The word jeet is actually a question mea...

Really??  Tonight we had a sirloin lamb calf that had slow cooked for most of the day...it had been rubbed down with various seasonings and the like. My younger child had shucked several ears of silver queen. We used left over buttermilk from making butter about a week ago for homemade buttermilk biscuits. We had also gathered some of the mixed lettuce assortment from the containers outside and washed it for a simple salad. Dinner was very good!    One type of leaf in the rub for the lamb sirloin was bay leaves. Dinner is on the table and it is noted that my husband is pushing the leaves carefully off the meat cuts. He is fishing around them in the dish and simply will not eat them... Yes, I know they can be quite woody and chewy. But, what I find so amusing is that he has had these before - ground or pureed in other food items and not known the difference. The younger child commented he had just eaten leaves in the salad. My husband states he will eat leaves...

Last two weeks in review... 1. We are fostering a rescue puppy. We are going to adopt her. Her name is YaYa. She is a brown labby lady.  2.  My other doggy, my younger child's therapy dog, is still adjusting to the idea of sharing her people with another dog...and, not too happily if I might say so. 3.  YaYa ate one of my good sandals (the strappy cute ones) the other day...it did not make me happy. 4.  I think I am going to have to take my youngest child back to the allergist soon. 5.  Cassie has kennel cough. We had to get her some meds.   6.  The neighbor's dog has kennel cough as well. 7.  We had a blessed Seder at my house. 8.  We spent Easter dinner with my older son and future DiL. The  meal was great. 9. I have turned in my verbal notice at the school I teach at that I will not be returning there to teach next year. I will homeschool my younger child full time and focus on his disability and helping him to im...

The article I wrote about the Smoky Mountains published in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine today. Here is the article link: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine-digital.com/thehomeschoolmagazine/201204#pg102 .   :)

These were historic markers at a historical society maintained cemetary. We came upon these and stopped to look and examine. Learning on the go! Later, while just riding through a neighboring town, we found a Confederate cemetary (well, mostly Confederate)...and, we stopped to look and read markers and statues.           This was a tree stump grave marker. It was a more recent one...within the last century, anyway. The tree stump was because the person was a member of Woodmen of the World. The second picture was the stump grave up closer. It was kind of wierd, but kind of unique. :) This was of a small building down the hill, but in another section of the cemetary. Upon closer inspection, I think it may have been a crematorium of some sort, but I am not sure. Anyone know what this is? I did try and peek in the hole, but I had no light source. It was a crack in the door of the curved building of the previous picture. ...