Thank you!....and more...

Wanted to say a very big "Thank You!"
To my friend Jewels over at Eyes of Wonder.
She so very kindly shared with alot of you..the link to, and information about..our online e-zine called "Small Town Living."

I am so thrilled to announce that in the last few days we have had nearly double the visitors that we normally see in an entire month! Wow! How wonderful!!
And others have so kindly shared information with folks that they know as well.
A very big "Thank You" to my friend Laura over at 2LMZ Farm also....for letting the folks at the MS Goat Association know about us as well. Wow!
And everyone else that has shared with family and friends. Thank you ever so much! We so very much appreciate it!

If this keeps up..we may realize our dream yet..that of making it onto newsstands one day..oh..wouldn't that be absolutely exciting??!!!
So..by all means..please keep "spreading the news". :0)
We so much appreciate it.
But more importantly..we so much enjoy all of the wonderful friends we are meeting along the way... and getting the chance to share so much wonderful information with you all.

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Today saw me once again playing the role of "errand girl".
I actually don't mind it...it is a big help to my husband when I can help out with things.

Tonight we grabbed salsa and chips from a local Mexican resturaunt..then I cooked up a pound of organic beef and added half a package of taco seasoning. Added that to the chips..and salsa and added a little bit of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream...easy...and satisfying...yep..another of my "flash in the pan" meals..but it hit the spot.
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I have a little embroidery project I am starting..I have to create a redwork tea towel for a swap that I am participating in.
I had a hard time finding a design that I liked... sure there are plenty of free patterns online...but I wanted something a bit unique.
So, I looked in an old farm A,B,C's coloring book that we acquired at an antique shop a while back.
I found a picture of some cats being given milk from a big pitcher..and the milk is pouring out of the pitcher into the bowl...one cat only has its back showing, the other cat is looking at the milk. So, I thought that this image would be unique, and fun to embroider.
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I did a little research online for even more blogs that relate to the simpler ways of life..and happy home making, and cottage style living. I have come across a few that I will be visiting/checking out over the next few days..and hopefully finding a few more friends along the way...and adding some nice places to share with you all.
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Well, Here is wishing you all a most lovely evening!
I have so very much enjoyed having you visit my blog.
Thanks for stopping by.

~The Garden Goose~

Whee!..errand running...and more...

Had a fun day today..ha.

Had to run a few errands around town this afternoon, so I packed all the kids into the van with me..and since we all haven't gone much of anywhere for a little while..well..my little 3 year old thought it was a real treat.

Why the word "whee" in the title?...

Well, it seems that everytime I came to a curve or had to turn a corner on our driving around town..here would pipe up her little sweet 3 yr. old voice from the backseat with a loud exclamation of "Wheee!!"

It was so funny actually to be traveling along and experiencing things from a 3 yr. old's perspective.

"Wheee!"...haha.

Well..I did have a few errands to run today...first it was to the post office to send a few RAOK packages to a few of my farmgal friends..it was a nice way to thin out my cookbook collection.:0) And to share some fun with my friends.

Then after the post office, we headed over to the feed store.

Had to buy some duck feed for the quackers.

My little 7 yr. old and my 3 yr. old were just a oohing and ahhing at the free pet bunny in the cage..nope..it did NOT come home with us..no matter how much they oohed and ahhed. (Funny thing while telling hubby about it... he mentioned that I could have brought it home and he would not have minded.."oh just turn it loose in the backyard..he says"...ahh well...I think I would have preferred if it had been an angora instead of just a cute grey and white spotted one, at least then it would have had a practical use instead of something that would chew up my flowers..ha)

It was so funny as we left the feed store...

on top of the roof of the store is a life size fiberglass horse.

My 3 yr. old kept waving and hollering as we left the store "bye horsey"..."bye-bye horsey"

Afterwards we stopped by Chik Fil A for a bite to eat..then over to the Lutheran thrift shop to drop off a bag of books.

Then back home.

When I asked my little 3 yr. old what was the funnest part of the day for her..well..it wasn't the little fluffy bunny...oh no..it was the "horsey" ..ha.

I guess that big horse on the roof of the store made quite an impression with her.

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Well, this evening I worked on getting the notices sent out to folks that the new issue of Small Town Living Magazine is online. I hope that we can start building up our readership.

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Well...that's about all for today.

Am a wee bit tired.

Have to go round up the quackers and get them into their pen tonight.

Have a great evening!

~The Garden Goose~

Small Town Living....

We worked today on getting the new issue of Small Town Living Magazine onto the web.

You can see our latest..and largest issue to date.....at:

http://www.stliving.net/

We had alot of contributors this time around, and alot of variety of information to share with our readers.

I hope that you'll take the time to visit.

Enjoy!

~The Garden Goose~

Good Deals...Rearranging...and more...

Well, I decided this afternoon/early evening that I wanted to re arrange my kitchen.

Oh boy!

I had an idea to use those small storage cube shelvings..the 3 block shelves that you can build yourself and find at places like KMart....

Anyhow..I had been thinking that if I layed the shelving unit on it's side I'd have a nearly 32 inch long 3 section cubby, that would stand 11 1/2 inches tall...and be able to slide up against the wall.

And would be a good thing to store all of my cookbooks neatly in an organized manner on my kitchen counter.(because for me, if an item is out of sight/it becomes out of mind and does not get noticed or used) So this brings my cookbook collection back into use.

And it works! On top of the shelf unit I have enough room to put a few little containers of vining plants that will hang down just a wee bit over the books and look whimsical...and to display some tiny little cute items for decor.

So far the new look is turning out nicely. I know that I'll wind up clearing out a few cookbooks that I no longer want. (looks like I'll have some nice things to do RAOK things with..grins)

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Well, about the good deal...

I tend to buy some of my skirts..the denim cargo pocket skirts...from a company called Roamans.

Anyhow..this afternoon I discovered a division of the company called OneStopPlus.com

and upon looking around...discovered that they had a sale on a nice looking dark denim 6 gore skirt...for just $6.88!!! (can't buy the fabric for that hardly)...so I ordered 4 of the skirts and 1 of my normal style.

http://www.onestopplus.com/product.aspx?Pfid=100179&DeptId=&ProductTypeId=1&PurchaseType=0

Anyhow..thought I'd share the info with those of you that like a nice denim skirt..and also like a good deal...smiles.

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Well, I do hope that you all are having a really good weekend and enjoying time with family.

We are. A nice, sort of slow weekend.

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Have a great weekend!

~The Garden Goose~

Nice Friday...fabric...and more...

Had a nice day today...

This afternoon oldest daughter and I took a drive across town to Joann's Fabrics.

Checked out the clearance rack of fabrics where I found a nice chocolate brown colored pinstriped denim, and a dark blue/ teal colored cotton fabric..these will be used to make some elastic and draw string waist skirts for myself.

Daughter is helping to sew them up for me..as she's the resident seamstress here.

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For dinner this evening I whipped up a very fast,easy meal...used a pre made pizza crust...added a sun dried tomato alfredo sauce, pepper, and basil and oregano sprinkled on that...then sliced ham, and mozarella cheese..easy, easy, and yummy.

My kids love it when mom makes homemade pizza.:0)

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I'm going to have to find 2 yummy pear recipes for an article I wrote for the magazine....for the upcoming issue.

I so very much enjoy being a part of the creative process with the magazine...and helping to find the information that we share with our readers.

One of my jobs is to help to find folks that are willing to share their stories with others...be it about their farm, about gardening, or about their animals, or the businesses they run.

Part of my job is to help to coordinate this type of input from others, and to gently remind our contributors when the deadlines for the submissions are coming due. (Many of these fine folks have become my friends along the way...that, to me is a terrific reward for doing this..I love all of the friends I have made along the way through our work with the magazine!!!)

I also help with the proof reading.

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This evening I watered the plants, dear daughter helped me to round up the ducks..they are doing just fine now.

"Daffy..well..he truly is "Daffy"

...I think perhaps I may now know why he had an episode of lameness recently, where the vet found that his toe was sprained ,and he wound up with what is termed as "hot leg".

The other evening we were trying to usher him into the cage and were calling him across the yard. He started making his way towards us, when all of the sudden he takes off running the other way and slams his body into the fence!!!...

So, oldest daughter gets the flash light....thinking that perhaps what is making him act oddly is maybe a rat near the fence or something...but nope..no rat....

So, we start calling him back over to us again..going "o.k...that was odd"

When all of the sudden there was a flash of heat lightning in the distance...

Daffy took off running away from us again and slammed his body into the fence once again.....and my guess is that he percieved the lightning as a "threat" because he proceeded to slam his body up against the fence..as if he was trying to attack an intruder.

Very strange indeed. I have never known an animal to act like that..but as my mom pointed out..I did name him "Daffy" and maybe he is just living up to his name from time to time...ha.(maybe I'll need to change his name ..huh?)

Anyhow..I hope that he doesn't knock himself silly or cause himself to go lame again.

I hope he'll soon realize that he cannot continue acting like that.

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Well, I'm gearing up to get ready for our Visual Arts Center's yearly Photo Contest..yay!

Last year I placed an Honourable Mention in the largest category..the "People" Category of the show. That was really amazing.

This year..well, I'd honestly love to be able to walk away with the first place in that category.

So..I will definitely try.

I have 2 other entries that I will be entering also.

After the show..I will share them here.

You have been given a peek at the one that will be my entry for the "People" Category though.(on the posting below..the image titled "Fascination")

The other 2 images will be in the Nature category.The contest is a National Contest..with entries coming in from all over. Last year they had ...I believe it was..600 entries.So to have placed an honourable mention was quite exciting indeed.

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Well, that's all the news here for today.

I hope that you all had a very nice day today.

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~The Garden Goose~

evening time musings....

So, I had a good day today...had a nice time actually at the meetup at Books a Million this evening.Both women that showed up were very nice and we chatted until 8 o'clock. Had a good time.
I went expecting really nothing..and wound up being suprised that we all actually had a good time of chatting and getting to know each other.
Who knows..I may have actually made at least one friend this evening..time will tell...but at least I can say "I tried".
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oh to be 3...and more...and some musings about friendship...

We had a delightful time with youngest daughter's 3rd birthday yesterday...time sure flies by.

I marveled at the smiles and the twinkle in her eyes at the simplest things...the delightful full face smile she had. It was a lolvely day.As a mother there can be nearly no greater joy than to see one's own child so utterly delighted and with a smile a mile wide. It certainly warms my heart.

Of course I just had to capture the moment on camera.I couldn't get enough of that twinkle eyed smile and the innocence and delight..makes my heart melt everytime I look at the pictures..oh to be 3..what a joy.

Well, hubby got the truck lettered for the cabinet company 50 miles away..I was delighted with how it turned out..and the company was too....

On another note...I will be entering an image into a local photo contest in September..and I really hope I have a chance at placing pretty well in the "People" category..I captured this image several months ago.I titled it "Fascination" ..I hope it places well.






Today has been a nice day ..I'm preparing to meet up with a few women this evening at Book's A Million..trying my best to meet folks and make friends..it is a bit hard to do...I started a local "meet up" group through meetup.com website..geared towards "Stay at Home Mom's"...I must admit that I get very nervous going to meet new people...but that's what you have to do sometimes to meet a friend..put yourself out there..as you are...and let the chips fall where they may..if someone likes you..well..they'll stay in contact..if they don't..well..they won't..simple as that.

I try not to get my hopes up anymore in meeting someone that has the same interests as myself..as I have come to the conclusion that indeed I am the type of person that is quite rare to find anymore..honestly I'm not saying this arrogantly..but I am a gem/and to have me as a friend..well, I am a good friend to have if I say so myself..loyal/kind,caring and true blue...and not one that puts on airs..what you see is what you get..and as such I have very little tolerance for hypocritical sorts and those that tend to put on airs..perhaps that is why I have found it a bit difficult to find a genuine friend around here..too many people sad to say... as we put the term.."put on the dog" and project a false front...maybe, just maybe one day..I'll meet someone that is "down to earth" and "real" and "honest" and not hypocritical in their actions and words.

Funny thing..I recieved a call the other day from someone that I had not heard from in a couple of years...this person I thought was calling me because they genuinely cared about me as a "friend" and had simply lost touch with me and wanted to be friends..but..shock of shocks..a little further into the conversation the true intent of the call emerged and they simply wanted to use my husband and I as a "sounding board/for practice/for their new job with selling insurance"..it was really all I could do to not want to suddenly just hang up the phone..I felt so "used" all the sudden...of course I remained friendly..as that's my nature..but I was a bit stunned and flabbergasted..and at that point I really lost all interest in the conversation to say the least.
I guess that sometimes this is just how it is and that is is rather quite common for folks to just "use" or rather "want to use" another person in this way??? I dunno..can someone enlighten me on this please? I guess I'm just too naive and sheltered still as to the ways of the world....And does anyone else out there find it so difficult to find a friend... that actually has no ulterior motive than to simply be a friend??
(o.k...enough about that musings/wonderings)
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On a totally different note..I was involved in a farm girl State Swap(over at Mary Jane's Farm...boy do I enjoy that site and all of the lovely folks I have "met" over there via email and the forums)..where we were to send a few items to our swap partner from our State...anyhow..I recieved a swap partner to swap with..who lives in Santa Maria, California..this gal sent me the most wonderful coffee I do tell you!
This stuff is called SLO Roasted Coffee/Baywood Exotic....in a Vanilla Hazelnut flavor..umm yummy..good stuff!
And after doing some search online I found..very reasonably priced as well.
The website is
www.sloroasted.com
they have lots of different flavors...ooh yummy. I think I'm hooked...and if you give them a try..I think you'll be hooked as well...nothing quite like a cup of fresh brewed hazelnut coffee in the morning with just the right amount of sugar and milk...yummy.(yeah...I have to "girly" my coffee up..ha)
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Well, my gracious..we had about 8-9 gals contribute articles to the magazine(Small Town Living) this time around..I have been so very, very thrilled about that!!
This will be our largest issue yet.Everytime we gear up to put the magazine online for a new issue.I get so excited..like a kid in a candy store nearly..ha. I get anxious to share it with everyone.
I just love that my husband and I can do this type of thing and that others really enjoy it too and what we are doing.Can't believe that we have been at this for nearly a year already...wow!
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Oh, I gotta tell you about something else...if you have not discovered it by now...I need to tell you about my new friend Jewel's... over at "Eyes of Wonder"..she has the prettiest blog..and she shares the prettiest photos of her life and family and recipes, etc..as well as her faith in God, and her simpler ways of living.
Anyhow..if you'd like to see a really delightful way to create an absolutely scrumptious looking Carrot Cake...do check out her blog.
You'll see the link to it up under my "friends" list here.And once you get there..I know that you won't want to just stop at the recipe..you'll want to explore the rest of her delightful blog..she is a real sweety, and I can guarantee you that you'll enjoy your visit with her and want to add her blog to your favorites.
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(I do have friends..just not "local" friends..ha. Mine are scattered all over the country and one's that I have not met face to face yet...my cyber friends that I have "met" via way of my blog and through Mary Jane's Farm....I do count as a blessing to me .(Gals like Jewels, Elizabeth, Laura, Karin..and Aunt Jenny,Mary Beth,Nancy Jo,..and many more..too many to list..all of you are very special to me.((hugs to you all))
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O.k...enough of my musings and meanderings...ha....thanks for putting up with me.:0)
I hope that you all have a most lovely day today.
Thanks for joining me in "blog land"

~The Garden Goose~

Birthday cake..and more...

Well, my wee little one turned 3 today..wow! does time fly.

We had yummy cake, a few frosted cookies and strawberry cheese cake ice cream... and then the birthday gal had a few small gifts..a Dora doll, and some sundresses and a wee pocket care bear toy.She had also been given a Dora bean bag chair, a bag full of like new clothes ,and 2 games the week before, plus 4 new sundresses..so she wasn't lacking for surprises/and now isn't lacking for clothing either.

Oh the look of delight on her little face though..so sweet. It was so fun spoiling her..err "well loving" her today. She had a very nice day today..and we also enjoyed celebrating her special day with her.

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We have recieved quite a few submissions this time around for the online magazine "Small Town Living" and have been busy getting things together for that..in a few days the issue will be online.

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My husband had a truck to get lettered today ..and got that completed..the truck looks really nice. It is for a cabinet shop in a town 50 miles away.

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Well, tonight's post is short and sweet.

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Hope you all have a very nice evening.

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~The Garden Goose~

Word of the day ...and more...

On my gmail header today..it showed the "word of the day"... I had not ever paid much attention to this little feature until this afternoon, and thought..hmm that's pretty interesting actually...

Each day across the top of my email inbox are little ads and also the "word for the day"...

today's word for the day was:

bibelot \BEE-buh-loh\, noun:A small decorative object without practical utility; a trinket.

Never had heard of a trinket being referred to as a bee buh loh before or rather bibelot. I honestly thought it was pronounced bib a lot at first..ha.

But then found that this word is:

Bibelot is from French, from Old French beubelot, beubelet, "a small jewel, a trinket," from a reduplication of bel, "beautiful," from Latin bellus, "pretty, handsome." It is related to bauble.

Oooh la-la...the things we learn....now ..isn't that more chic than saying bib a lot? ...ha.

I'm learning French and didn't even know it!..ha.

So..how many bibelots do you have?..hmm....

I'm actually working on getting rid of a few of my bibelots as they have become a bit of a clutter sometimes....anyhow...enjoy the new word..it's a fun one.

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Well..let's see what else is new today....

I had to run an errand over to another sign shop in town this afternoon.

A big order..that was nice.

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Tomorrow is youngest daughters birthday..she will turn 3...

I will be stopping by the deli this evening to find a cake or some cupcakes.

Yes, I'm opting for someone else making it this year...shame on me...but it has been hot here and I'll let someone else sweat in the kitchen..this time around at least.Oh to be 3..what fun!

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Husband has alot of work orders coming in on the sign business..we have a truck in the driveway to get lettered in the next 2 days..a cabinet company from 50 miles away contacted him to do a fleet of trucks for their business ,as they weren't pleased with the company in their area that had applied the vinyl before..so they found my husband..and want him to apply the decals ..then he has a banner to do for another company..and several more things going on...so things are hopping...yay!

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Yet..we are still unsure of what will be going on..we haven't made the decision yet to just "jump in" on the business full steam ahead...true that we have prayed about things picking up and that we'd know what to do....and true that the work has started rolling in at a very steady clip...yet..we still do not know exactly what to do.

In order to go full speed ahead..we have to have things steady/constant.

The last few months or so things have been steady/constant... yet we have to see a definite pattern of steady/constant..in order to say.."o.k. Lord... this is exactly what you want us to do full time"

With a family of 5 we have to be careful..and not just jump the gun.

So..we continue to pray..and keep on keeping on.

The answer will be coming soon.We are learning to be patient and to yes..be thankful for the blessings coming our way...and knowing that God is leading. ...and will lead us in the right direction for our family.

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Oldest daughter is out this afternoon at her sewing teacher's home..seeing the sewing teacher's home studio set up. (the woman owns about 4-5 sewing machines!) wow! and has alot of room to create..so it will be fun for my daughter to see the set up...and how other folks have their creating areas.

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Thursday evening I'll be having a get together at Books a Million with a few gals from the "Stay at Home Moms" meet up group that I am trying to get going here.

So far..well..I honestly don't know what I'm doing..trying to make friends of course...but don't know how to go about creating interest...and well...it's interesting to say the least..the folks that one can meet.

We'll see. Anyhow we are to meet at the coffee shop at Books a Million.

I guess I just am so much NOT like other women my age..I'm not into designer clothes and the latest trends, I'm not into shopping everywhere,not into trying to be like the Jone's, not into who's kid is on the dean's list this year... and who's mom bakes the best cookies(although I know I'd win that one hands down..ha, ha!)not into all the things that others are into....I like gardening and home keeping and the simpler ways of life..and honestly it is kind of hard to find folks that relate to that sort of life style anymore.(at least around here)

I'll be lucky to find one(friend)..honestly..in this area.

But..we'll keep trying and see what happens.

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I've been reading through the "Organize your home" book that I found the other day...and I cleared out the cupboard above the microwave that hold the meds/vitamins..there was so much out of date stuff..gracious.

Then I cleared out the drawers in the kitchen..amazing the coupons one clips/keeps and never get around to using..so out those went too.

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I'll continue on the clearing out phase...simplify..simplify....:0)

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Well..I think that is about all for today..for now.

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Hope you all have had a nice day today.

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~The Garden Goose~

Homeschooling Helps...Fashion 1900-1920..and more...

This time around on the Homeschooling Helps I thought that I'd like to focus a little bit on History.

I'd like to share some Fashion photos from 1900-1914 with you:
http://www.marquise.de/en/1900/pics/1910/index.shtml

Want to know about some of the styles of the Sears homes and how much (or rather compared to today's home market..how little) they used to cost?
Check out this website:
http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/1908-1914.htm


Hats and Hair Fashion from 1900-1920
http://www.fashion-era.com/hats-hair/hats_hair_6_fashion_history_1900_1920.htm

History of Fashion 1900-1910
http://www.vintageblues.com/history_main.htm

Here is a website that features articles on American Cultural History from 1900-1909
http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade00.html

20th Century Inventions 1900-1925
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa121599a.htm

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Hope that you enjoy this little "look back" at American History.

~The Garden Goose~

A nice Monday...

A very nice day here today..

I spent some time cleaning..which happens to be the typical Monday schedule anyhow around here...

After the weekend we typically clean the bathrooms and vacuum and mop the house.

Today I vacuumed... then to the mop water I added some Palmolive dish soap, some vinegar, and since I had discovered that I had some leftover scented oil in a "Rain" scent..added that to the mop water as well.

Through the whole house I went..adding a lovely "Rain" smell.

It does, and did smell nice and refreshing. The vinegar smell quickly goes away...and is alot cheaper to use than other cleaners.

This afternoon oldest daughter and I made a run to the grocery store..needed to get milk, bread, and some fruit and a few other items....and strawberries were on sale..can't ever resist strawberries on sale..ha.

It's always nice to spend mother/daughter time together.Also made a run to the post office this afternoon.

I have a casserole in the oven ..it is baked rigatoni..that has a nice tomato sauce that I added 2 fresh large tomatoes chopped and about a tablespoon of basil to..and a container of ricotta cheese, then about a cup and a half of Italian 6 cheese blend over the top...yum.

For veggies we will have steamed broccoli and a pea and mini corn blend.

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The pet ducks are doing very well..no more limp in the male at all. In fact he struts and runs around every where as if nothing ever was wrong..yay! I like that he has healed up just fine..and that all is well.

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Oh my..the sign business has been doing well lately...such a blessing..we have been praying about things..and what to do...and it honestly looks like things are steering towards going into the business full time...Time will tell...but so far things are definitely looking better.

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Here's hoping that you all have had a very nice Monday.

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p.s.....I will be adding some more home education topics in the next few days.

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~The Garden Goose~

Home Baked Bread...and a relaxing day....

Baked a yummy loaf of a focaccia style bread today but without the cheese...oooh yummy.

What I did was to take the recipe that my friend Elizabeth..over at "Elizabeth's Clothesline Talk" had posted on her blog for a French Bread....

well...I mixed up the ingredients into a large bowl in the order given...but then I added a little bit of garlic salt (about a teaspoon )...

a few shakes of oregano, basil and thyme (oh I'd say about a teaspoon of each spice) then stirred it up well.

Spread a little olive oil onto a cookie sheet, then shaped the dough into a big fat circle...then brushed the top with olive oil.

Let it rise for a few minutes by getting a dish towel wet..zapping in the microwave for about 3 minutes then setting up a few small glasses on the pan that my bread was on..and laying the towel like a tent over the dough and glasses.

Then instead of baking my bread at 425 degrees..I set my oven for 350 degrees and baked the bread for 30 minutes.

Of course if you'd like to alter the recipe even more I'm sure that you could add shredded cheese of your choice too to make it a true focaccia style bread.

Anyhow..that's how I gave it a decidedly "Italian" flair.(thanks Elizabeth for the original idea)

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Just sort of "chilling" around here today..although I do have a new book that I really want to take a look at and start using the ideas from..it's the "Everything Organize Your Home Book"

I can always use ideas..and I have been wanting to de clutter even more around the homestead here.

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Yesterday my hubby and I went to the library..we like to check the sale table..anyhow I hadn't found anything much of interest..until we were getting ready to leave and I spied a few boxes off to the side..I asked the librarian if those were for sale also..and wow..wound up finding quite a few books that I can use for homeschooling, and a few to pass on to friends, then this one on organizing. ..oh and a book from the National Geographics on vintage photos(I had wanted that book several years ago when it came out..but never did get it..and found it yesterday for 20 cents!)

We wound up with 2 armloads of like new books for $6.50!

And the home organization book is brand new and had a price tag of $14.95..

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Well... I do hope that you all have a really wonderful day today...

I'm off to go start tackling some organizing projects around here.

I think I'll just take things slow and steady..room by room.

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I tend to be pretty organized anyhow..but lately I've been wanting to simplify even more.

There are always areas that can stand for improvement.

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I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday!

~The Garden Goose~

Drew a new number on the necklace....new winner!

I had my husband pick an alternate number this evening on the amethyst necklace as the previous person never contacted me and I had no response from them after trying to contact them.....
I waited a week on things..and decided that I'd draw another number.
So..the new winner is:
Sherone-13.
Congratulations Sherone!

(My apologies to the previous person, but if you do join in the drawing and do not respond to email or check back on here after the drawing date...my only other option is to have a second drawing and award the item to someone else .I felt a full week's time to check back in was adequate and fair.)

Thank you all!

~The Garden Goose~

A peek into my world....

Thought I'd share a little peek into my world..

Here are a few images from my home/life...and the things I have been truly blessed with.(My husband and children)

(the front door,then the back door/backyard of our home)

~The Garden Goose~

Another lovely day...

Hope that you all have had a very nice day today. I did. A bit busy...

had to give the Daffy duck his meds..twice today..and had to give him some bathtub time.

He no longer has a limp/yay!

I did have to put Daffy outside this evening... it's just a bit stressful for a family of 5 trying to use only one bathroom on hectic days....And gracious what to do when 2 of us have "got to go" at the same time?..not a pretty sight..ha.

So...since Daffy's limp is gone now...yay!... and he has no problem taking his meds from the syringe..I decided to put him back outside with Miz Daisy his girlfriend.

He was starting to miss her terribly and to quack constantly if he heard her quack outside..and since she couldn't hear him..he kept on and on...and was missing her terribly.

As soon as he saw her and the fresh water tonight outside for them to swim in well..he became Mr. Amorous..ha.

Who knows what caused his leg to swell and cause a limp?.. I have no idea..but a day and a half of antibiotics and water therapy in my bathtub worked wonders in a really short time for him..no limp at all and the swelling is gone.

I will of course continue his meds and make sure he has water therapy every day..which they always have fresh water every day to swim in anyhow.

And my bathroom got a thorough scrub down with bleach this evening.
Sooo..glad to have my bathroom back.

So..yes..the lil guy is back outside and doing better..yay.

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Went to work with my husband for a couple of hours this afternoon..I just rode along then waited in his office at work for him.

Boring..yes..but I took along a few magazines to look at..so it wasn't so bad.

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We still haven't decided what we will do as far as the job situation/sick building case goes... we'll come to that decision when the timing is right.

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Was such a nice day today..but oh so hot out.

Yesterday when we got in the van to go somewhere it registered at 106 degrees!! then dropped down to 97. Today it stayed at 90 in the shade. ugggh.

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The only time I spent outside today was to transfer Daffy back outside and to make sure he was doing good, and make sure the ducks had fresh water and to move their cage...and to water all of my plants/flowers ...and to clean off the patio.

It was just too hot to do much more than that out there.

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Had the lawn mowed yesterday..I always like how nice and fresh it looks after it has been mowed..like a freshly vacuumed green carpet..ha.

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I wanted to share with you all a really interesting website that tells about farm life back in the early 20's and so on...it makes for some interesting reading of "how things were done..back then"

http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/index.html

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Now ..here's something I wanted to share especially for the children.... this is a website that offers little miniature items to create your own "fairy wonderland" all sorts of really cute things to make a little "fairy land"

http://www.motherhues.com/id27.htm

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Hope you all have a really nice evening.

~The Garden Goose~

Just Ducky....

Here's the update on "Daffy"

when I took Daffy in to the vet's today they don't usually see pet ducks and it had been a long time/if ever that the vet had even treated one.

In fact I wound up having to tell the vet about the different things they can get..(I had done a good bit of online research/reading)anyhow..we couldn't find any broken bones..so that checked out.

No scratches or sores.

So it is most likely a bacterial infection of some sort.Fecal culture checked out just fine too..no internal problems as far as cholera/botulism or what have you.

So he was prescribed Baytril which is an antibiotic for a condition called "hot leg" which I thought he had because the leg was warm to the touch and followed alot of the same symptoms as outlined on my research.....what "hot leg" does is cause swelling around the ankle/hock area right at the joint up above the webbing.(no real known reason as to what causes it)

The treatment is either a dosage of Tylan 200 or Baytril an oral antibiotic.I am also to soak Daffy's foot for a few minutes once a day in an epsom salt bath and quickly rinse off.

So...my little duck has now become my $100 duck..ha.

Spoilt? yes.

I have to administer the antibiotics orally twice a day.

Do any of you have any idea just what kind of a sight that is? Giving a duck .03 cc's of meds twice a day?

Funny thing too all the staff were surprised to see a duck in the office, everyone had to come see him...and some just had to pet him....ha.

I guess I will be doing plenty more study on the duck ailments and what not so that I can help out where needed on things....as my vet really didn't know what to do...and didn't know much about ducks/ailments they can get..but he was the only one nearby that even treated birds/exotics and was willing to take on the challenge.

Luckily he did have 2 small doses of the antibiotic on hand but did inform me that they usually don't ever get calls for using that sort of thing.

So..since the duck has to have all of this special treatment for 7 days..I felt it made no sense to have him outside where I'd have to round him up every day and try to hold him down while giving him meds, then round him up to soak his foot once a day..that...he is now taking up residence in my bathroom off of the master bedroom. Yikes.

I will have a mess to contend with I know..but ..Daffy is special.

While we were at the vets he kept putting his head up under my arm and snuggling like he used to when he was just a few weeks old..so sweet. He would settle right down once he could snuggle his head in the crook of my arm..ha.

So..that is the update..and I have a feeling he'll be as good as new in no time.A bit more spoilt acting after all the "royal treatment"? I have no doubt!...ha.

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(yes, that is a picturwe of Daffy when he was a few months younger)

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Well, I have had a busy day here today.

Vet visit, to the store for a few household items,to go pick up lunch, getting bathroo ready for duck, gave duck antibiotics, took care of family...then I have to go stretch some canvasses onto framings ..canvas art work that will be taken to a few area shops later.

..then I have a little bit of housework to get done.

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Full day of things..but a good day.

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Hope you all have a really good day today.

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~The Garden Goose~

hi

Was a bit hard to find a vet that sees birds/ducks near our home..but did find one. ..but they only see them on Wednesdays. So "Daffy" has a vet appointment at 11 a.m. tomorrow. I have cried several times today, as it is just so sad to see my precious little duck waddling with a very noticable limp and just sitting around today.

I absolutely cannot stand it when something or someone I love is hurting.

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Well, I hope that you all had a very nice day today.

~The Garden Goose~

Have a good day...may have to draw again....

I'm going to be trying to find a vet that will help treat a duck today. Sir Drake Duck.."Daffy" can now hardly walk on his sore leg. I'm not sure if he has what they call "hot leg" or not..oh I wish I knew more about things like this. I am in tears..I want my duck healthy and able to walk properly. I don't know what happened to him or how it happened.
:0(
Anyhow..I'll be looking for a vet today for him and soon as the problem has worsened.

I wanted to say that if I do not hear from the winner of the necklace by the end of the week..I will draw another name.
So..stay tuned.
So "happyhomaker" I need to hear from you.

Hope you all have a good day..and I hope that my little duck does better.
~The Garden Goose~

Tug Boat images..and more...

Here are the promised Tug boat images..sorry it took me a few days.

This tug boat was docked at our local marina downtown. It looked really worn out and in desperate need of repairs, lots of rust on it...but I thought it looked pretty neat too.

My husband thought it would be a neat image to capture his shoe leaning up against the big rope used to tie up the tug boat.

After we had looked at the tug boat we decided to head to another area of beaches and saw that the tide was very much out...my husband was able to get a few images of a bird next to the water..he had on boots and I had on a nice pair of sandals that I did not wish to ruin in the water and mud.

Here are a few of his photos.

some sea weed that had washed up along the shore.

and a water bird that was clearly having a bad hair..err feather day..ha.

Well...Today was a nice day..but I am a wee bit concerned about my favourite duck..the male duck..he has developed a limp this evening. :0( I don't know if it is due to something he ate or what.. I will have to put some epsom salts in his water and hope that it helps him to feel better.

I will have to make a run to the store first thing in the morning to get the salts to add to the ducks drinking water and bathing water as soon as possible, just in case he ate something he should not have.

I checked his feet and he has an odd foot where a tiny portion of one of his feet has an extra bit of webbing than the other foot has..next to an outer toe..anyhow this wee extra piece is folded under and he steps on it. ..and I'm not sure if that is causing him the problems or not. The other foot is not like that at all, the wee bit of webbing that persists in folding over by the toe is only about half the size of my pinky finger nail.

So..I don't know if that is causing him problems or not..there appeared to be no scratches or sores on his feet or legs and I checked for broken feeling bones and that was clear. So, next thing is to add the epsom salts to the drinking water in case he has caught botulism..a few days ago it was extremely hot out so we set up the mister and the ducks were going crazy in the mud that was caused right under the misty water..they started really sifting through the mud and dirt..I later found out by doing research online that mud and dirt are not good for them especially in the summer months as they can wind up catching botulism by eating the things in the mud/dirt..but gracious who would have known? they were having such a grand time of it..I had no idea that it could possibly make them sick.

So..we will try our level best to get Sir Drake Duck a.k.a. Daffy to feeling much better. I would be terribly heart broken if he gets worse...as I do love my ducks alot.

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Well..I have been going through the homeschooling cupboard..cleaning out all of the books/materials I no longer need. I'm hoping I can pass them on to folks that can really use them.

I have a whole lot more to go through..I have bins and another full cupboard in my garage stuffed full of home education materials. Yikes.

But time to clear out a good bit of them..don't need as much as I tend to gather.

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I worked yesterday afternoon a bit on writing an article for the magazine(Small Town Living)

So far the upcoming issue is coming along very nicely.

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Yesterday afternoon too, I had a ball spending time sitting on the floor with my kids and playing "Hungry, Hungry Hippo" ..do you know how fun it is to play that game with a 2 yr. old that winds up squealing with delight when she has won the game and declares to everyone in a loud voice"I won..yay!" (In her little sing songy 2 year old voice) It about melts my heart I tell you what!And hearing the laughter and chatter of your other two children as they play along too? Very special moments.

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Well..I also went to the bank today, then to the post office and then oldest daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby to look at the Simplicity patterns that were on sale for 99 cents.

It was nice to spend the time together as mom and daughter..or rather as best friends.:0)

It really is a blessing that my daughter and I think of each other as best friends and get along very well.

That's truly a real blessing.

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Well..here's hoping that you all have had a really nice day today.

Thanks for joining me in "blog land"

~The Garden Goose~

And the winner is...

The winner of the amethyst colored necklace is... happyhomemaker... Congratulations!
(please email me through my profile email address and provide me with your mailing information please so that I can get this out to you.)
Thank you so much to everyone that entered the drawing. It was alot of fun.
I'll be posting another drawing soon, so stay tuned and I hope that you'll visit with me often.
~The Garden Goose~

A good report....

Had an absolutely wonderful report today on my son's follow up visit to the dr. about his ear..all of the infection is gone and the ear is healing up! Yay! We were all beaming and happy and thankful as we left the dr's office.

We stopped by at Books A Million to have a little bit of fun, and I let dear son pick out a few books and oldest daughter too. Youngest daughter stayed at home with her dad, we picked out a little sticker book for her to enjoy as well

...and of course I picked out a few items for myself...

a new issue of "Tea Time" magazine.

..and a book about 2 best friends growing up in WW2 in Vienna,Austria titled "The Devil in Vienna" .

..yes, I must admit I judged the book by its cover...it had an old photo of 2 little girls standing before a building with a swastika symbol on it and the one girl has her arm draped around the other girl's shoulder. I haven't started reading the book yet..but something tells me I may need to keep a box of kleenex handy when I start reading this book.

We also enjoyed a treat at the Joe Muggs coffee shop in Books A Million..they have a new Frappe which is Butter Pecan flavored..ooh yum!

I have sourdough bread rising and will bake that just before I head to bed this evening.

Wanted to share this really cute poem by Emily Dickinson..I think she was a terrific writer...of course some of her works I understand and some I don't...but I guess poetry can be like that sometimes.
Anyhow this one is pretty nice:

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Two butterflies went out at noon
And waltzed above a stream,

Then stepped straight through the firmament
And rested on a beam;

And then together bore away
Upon a shining sea,—

Though never yet, in any port,
Their coming mentioned be.


If spoken by the distant bird,
If met in ether sea
By frigate or by merchantman,
Report was not to me.

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Oh, I forgot to post the images of the tug boat that I mentioned yesterday..I will get those posted tomorrow for sure. I do apologize...but will definitely share them soon.
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Have a wonderful evening and a wonderful weekend.
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Thanks for visiting me in "blogland"
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~The Garden Goose~
p.s. yes, the collage images of the butterfly stages were taken by me last October..we have a passion vine in our yard and this plant is the host plant for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly which lays its eggs on the vine leaves and tendrils, when the eggs hatch the caterpillars feed on the plant and then form chrysalis nearby and the cycle starts all over again.They usually show up in the yard in late August early September to start laying their eggs on the vines. hope you enjoy the images.