Reflections of katlupe

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Self-Sufficiency Means Never Giving Up

Garden area in backyard

Do you ever feel like you are the hamster on the spinning wheel? You keep doing things to try to get ahead and then other things prevent that from happening. I planned to plant the biggest garden ever to make up for the prices in the stores, then it doesn't rain. Yet, we had so much rain before the garden was in, that I thought I'd never get it in. Now it is so dry that I need the rain to make it grow.

Path covering the drain to our raised bed.

So many things are like that in life. That is why you can't ever get ahead. In fact, I don't think there is any such thing as being ahead in this life. It is a struggle every single day. Some days are worse than others. Some days it feels like there is no hope.

Blackberry Bushes in Blossoms!

In my past, I always felt that I was a survivor. I would figure I could always get a job to cover whatever I needed to do. Since I turned fifty though, my life changed. Nobody would hire me even though I am very knowledgeable in many areas. Now, I know I cannot work an outside job. My health will not allow it. So every day, I work and work on the computer hoping for success. Sometimes, I just want to give up. But I guess that survivor attitude always prevails. I keep trudging along.

Fox Grape Vine

So I am working on my garden, going to add more seeds in a day or so. Next time it rains. Putting more containers out as I can water them easily.
Working on my business files.
Working on my house.
And especially trying to work on promoting my three websites, my blogs and my two Bonanza booths. Need to work on all of that.
And I have some details to work on for my son.

Tired just looking at that list! What about you? What do you do when things are tough? Whatever you do or whatever you go through, do not give up! Somehow, it seems we do get through these bad times. It just takes time!

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

My View On Wordless Wednesday

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Projects We Are Working On This Week

Worked out here this morning.

This morning my husband and I spent outside working on our projects. He is rebuilding our stairs from the cellar to the pantry. So he was tearing the old ones out to put the new ones in. He is also changing the direction of the stairs so it will be easier for me.

The old cellar stairs are history now.

I did some laundry outside and then worked on getting some of the raised beds planted. I also started some seeds in containers. Every year I have some on the walls of the various raised beds. This year you can not have too much food growing. We will be canning most of our harvest for the winter.

Raised beds made of rock.

So I worked as much as my knees could take and then the mosquitoes started coming around. So I figured it was time to go in. Tomorrow I will get some more seeds in. Putting in a little more each day. I mix together radish seeds, a couple varieties with carrot seeds and plant them any place I can stick them in. By planting them together you can always tell where the carrot is going to come up by the radishes which come in usually very quickly.

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Smells And Sounds In The Garden

Cherry blossoms

I am trying to get my garden all planted so our food starts growing. It is not that difficult to work outside in the garden. All I hear is the birds singing. They are loud too. The robins even follow us around, hoping to catch a worm where we have just dug.

Robin hopping along, Hobo off to the right.

Another pleasant thing about being outside in the garden is the smell of all the flowers. It smells like perfume! Especially now that the blackberry bushes have blossomed. What a smell! They really should bottle it. The apple blossoms were awesome too, but now they are all gone. Soon the elderberry bushes will be in blossoms too. Oh I do love this time of year so!

Berries forming from the blossom!

My strawberries are coming in good too. I like watching the berry form on the plant. Every day making a little more change. Till the day I go out and find red strawberries or unless.........the birds have gotten to them before me! Oh dear! It is always a struggle with them over the berries and grapes. Elderberries, they always try to get before I think they are ripe. Last year they did. There are so many through out the state forest here, that I shoo them away from mine. Not too harshly though, as I would never chase the birds away from Peaceful Forest for good.

Friday, June 03, 2011

Mending Broken Families

It's a funny thing about death and funerals. Often times, they bring families together. Families that have lost touch over the years. Or families that had some sort of disagreement and drifted from each other. Even when the family members were very close at one time.

Yesterday I attended my uncle's funeral. He was my mother's brother. She had two. Now one is left. Our family I am sad to say had a falling out of sorts years ago. The disagreements a family has, that last for years, will cause you to waste all that time. All that time you could have spent together. The closeness is gone. The family get togethers are a thing of the past. A memory. Some of the people have passed on. Sad.

Since one of my goals this year has been to have a "forgiving heart." It was with joy, that yesterday, I could put behind me any disagreements of the past. As I know my own mother would have done. It pained her to be separated from a brother and a sister. The sister was not due to any disagreement but due to distance. In her dying years, when she needed them most, they were not there.

I think when you have lived with that bitterness within you, it wears you down. It it not good for your good health or mind. So yesterday, we were saying good-by to my uncle, but it brought about the mending of fences between other members. Not all. Not everyone wants a "forgiving heart." It was the silver lining for me. Not only seeing cousins I haven't seen in years.......but seeing the family members who were part of the disagreement. Two that I loved and missed very much.

August 21, 2012 - Update To This Post

I have added this to my post. The uncle in this post, my mother's brother turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. He did not change. He pretended to be very close to my father, when he was dying, and instead tried to steal what he had left. Nope, sometimes, it is wise not to trust family members who have shown themselves to be shifty and untrustworthy.

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