Date Night

One thing that my husband and I have improved upon as the years go on of raising our children is taking time out for date nights. We still do not do it as often as we should but it is getting there. These do not have to be expensive events. In fact, we have come up with some quite cheap ones over the years. We enjoy going to festivals, church sponsored events, hiking or just plain taking a walk together. Last night, we went downtown and watched our local Thriller parade. Total cost: $3.00 for parking. We had a nice time, spent time together and enjoyed watching the parade and the people. If you are married or in a significant relationship with another person, make it a priority to take some time out of your busy schedules just for the two of you. 

Homemade Leather Conditioner/Cleaner

Tonight, we discovered that our daughter had decided to decorate our leather couch with an ballpoint ink pen. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy her artwork just not on my couch. I searched the internet for solutions. Here is what we used. We took cotton balls, soaked them with rubbing alcohol and rubbed these across the ink. It worked very well and got all of the ink off the arm. We decided we should condition the couch and clean the rest of it while we were at it.

Leather Conditioner/Cleaner
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Put ingredients in spray bottle. Spray leather surface with concoction. Buff clean with soft towel. With a little elbow grease our couch is now ink free and clean.

Free Exercise Equipment

We were at Cleveland Clinic this past week for check-ups for our youngest daughter. They are very in to practicing what they preach about being health conscious. We especially enjoyed the signs by all elevators and escalators: :Free Exercise Equipment-Take the Stairs. How true! How often we forget the simple things. We pay gym fees and memberships when most of time if we would take the stairs, bike or walk to closer stores, cook from scratch, grow our own food and other things, we would not need the gym. Not only does this make our bodies healthier but it helps the environment as well. So, next time you are tempted to take the elevator use the stairs and get some free exercise. 

Woolfest

On Saturday, Chuck and I attended the Kentucky Woolfest in Falmouth, Kentucky. The weather here was unseasonably warm and sunny so it was a perfect day to take in a festival. One of my hobbies is to needle felt pictures using wool fibers. I wanted to go to the festival to get some supplies Although I was disappointed in the actual selection of wool products, I enjoyed the festival immensely.

Falmouth may be a small town it hosts a huge festival. There were livestock to see, pet and buy. There were crafts of every kind and a small "pioneer" type area. The food alley was long with a wide variety of foods. Two stages were filled with regular bands providing musical entertainment,

Even though I was disappointed in the wool selection at the wool festival that was my  only criticism. I will be going back to the festival on a regular basis. 

Escapees

Two nights ago, after several days of transition we put the chicken that was pecked badly on the head back in the flock. We waited until everyone was asleep and slipped her back on the roost. The first day seemed to go well. This morning, however, I saw her hunched in a corner. As I walked out to check on her, I saw the blood on her head. She had been pecked and had an open sore on her head. I tried to isolate her but while attempting to do two of the chickens got out of the run.

Makenzie and I spent the next 45 minutes trying to corner and catch them. This was not an easy task. We were trying to balance cornering them with keeping them from going through our hedge. While we were chasing the other two, I heard a chicken fly and realized that another one had flown out of the top of the coop. I now had 3 loose chickens. Finally, we were able to corner each escapee and put them safely back in the coop.

I, then, turned my attention to the injured chicken. I spent quite a bit of time trying to lure the other chickens away from her with treats. Finally, I was able to isolate her under the run.
We then caught her, fixed her head and then put her back in the isolation cage.

Busy day at the gardensong urban homestead.

Hot Pepper Juice Misery

A friend had given me some banana peppers so I could cut them up to put in the freezer. I spent quite a while yesterday cutting them up. They smelled sweet like the ones I plant so I didn't think about wearing gloves. Boy, was that a mistake. After I was done cutting, my hands started to tingle and then burn. It felt like someone was holding my hands in a flame. Not being someone who usually deals with hot peppers, I did not know what to do.

First, I tried putting them under cold water. They would feel good while they were under the water but would then burn even more. Next, I remember my friend using milk when she ate one that was too hot for her. I poured some milk in a dish and soaked them. This seemed to give them some relief. As soon as I started using my hands again the fire returned. Finally, I googled it and found several home remedies but came upon one that several people recommended. Luckily, we still had some sunburn relief gel in the house which is a combination of lidocane and aloe. I applied that heavily to my hands, sat and let it soak into them. The burning finally stopped. Today, they are a little tender but feeling much better. I have learned my lesson, gloves it will be from now on if I don't know specifically the plant source of the pepper.

Children and Chickens

As I am sitting here writing this, I am watching Makenzie out the window. She is feeding the chickens some kitchen scraps from this morning. This is a sight I never get tired of watching. She sits in the grass and hand feeds them whatever tasty morsel she has brought them. They all gather round her and gently peck the tidbits out of her hands. She is the one who usually brings them their "treats", as she likes to refer to the table scraps, so they perk their heads up and watch her expectantly whenever she walks out the door. The best part is to watch how gentle and loving she is towards each of them.

Makenzie's other job is to collect the eggs. She has a special "egg basket" we keep on the counter so she can collect them all and not drop them. She checks them usually a couple of times a day and is very proud of her job. Very seldom do I have to remind her to do it.

The chickens have been a nice addition in Makenzie's childhood. They have taught her how to care and be gentle around other creatures. They have also taught her responsibility. This is one of the nice side benefits to having any kind of pet or livestock.

Quiet Time

I tend to not get our house to myself very often. Last night was one of those rare occasions. My husband came home wanting to go see the Cars 2 movie which is in the dollar theater here locally. He suggested we all go. Normally, I would jump on the chance of a family outing but the last few days have been pretty rough with our youngest child. I asked if just Makenzie and him could go. Mary was already gone at her ballet class.

I almost did not know what to do with myself but finally chose sitting and reading a book. It has been a long time since I have been able to sit for any length of time and read a book undisturbed. It was wonderful. When everyone got home a couple of hours later, I was refreshed and ready to be a much better wife and Mom. I forget how important taking time for myself is and how much better I can handle the everyday stresses when I do. I will need to remember that more often.