I haven't done a DIY (Do it Yourself) in awhile so I thought I would post this recent one I did at a friend's crafting party.  This was really easy and it holds the scent of essential oils for several days.  I love the color and the terra cotta is amazingly absorbant.

all you do is purchase DAS Terracotta modeling material from Hobby Lobby or Michael's craft stores.  Cut round shapes (we used empty pill bottles and bottle caps) and then stamp an imprint (any stamp will do but often really cool ones can be found in the soap making supplies aisle).  Make sure to use a toothpick or other very small pointy item to poke a hole for the string.  Then dry overnight and once dry add 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oils to the necklace for a scent that lasts several days!  


I made one of these for myself and my two daughters and they love theirs.  When the scent starts to wane add a new and different one or a few drops more of the same.  It is pleasant to have a favorite scent under your nose all day too!  For more information on where to buy high quality therapuetic grade essential oils CLICK HERE.  Happy Crafting! 


Here is a tutorial with pictures: http://doterrablog.com/diy-aromatherapy-jewelry-for-your-doterra-essential-oils/

so remember that cute little puppy I posted pictures of awhile back?  I stand amazed at just how much she has grown!  The weather was nice a few days ago and we had her outside running with my husband's big hunting dogs...oh and she is a bit bigger than my beagle at this point.  I love her whiskers and eyes...this breed seems to have eyes that look almost human.

Then there are the kittens.  I am so excited that we found a home for the kittens born on Valentine's day.  They are going to the same home and going to be indoor pets.  They will be super spoiled.

It will be time for some new baby chicks soon...ahh I can feel it...summer is coming!

I was so excited when only 6 days in after planting a slew of amish paste heirloom tomato seeds that I have sprouts!!!  I got so excited that I then went and planted another flat of various tomatos and today I am starting my peppers (I even have jewel colored purple peppers to plant this year!)  Yes, I admit I am giddy with joy at the prospects of warmer weather and starting my garden.  For me there is something almost ethereal about walking barefoot in the early morning in my garden and seeing all the plants growing.  I CANT WAIT!

Mama cat has been at it again (yes we have an appointment now to have her fixed) I seriously do not know where she finds her suitors but she is such a lovely gal that they must come calling often as this is her 3rd litter in less than 12 months.  We have dutifully found homes for all the other kittens (even keeping two of them) but this is the final litter for this mama.  She is very proud of her new littles and they are just beginning to walk.

As is always the case when my children went outside on Valentine's Day they were thrilled that there were new kittens to love on.  I do love that they get to have this experience but with 4 steady farm cats and having placed 3 litters of kittens in the last year I am ready for mama to stop her wild ways.  So, this will be the last litter for awhile.  We have a male cat (fixed of course), mama cat and two of mama's previous kittens who are now about 6 months old.  So, 4 cats is plenty I think.  These are all outdoor cats as we have a child with severe cat allergies but these cats hang out on the porch and in the barn and take care of any mice and mole problems that arise.

The two kittens you see pictured have found a fantastic home where they will be indoor kitties and will be loved on for years to come.  

We have been making sure that they have gotten really used to all that lovin!

We have had chickens going on 3 years now and I have seen some interesting and strange things.  We do not have a rooster but our hens have nonetheless given us some interesting science lesson with thier eggs.   

We have had "naked" eggs where the hard shell has not formed around the egg and the egg feels like a partially inflated beach ball.

We have had a number of "double" yolks.

We have had green eggs, purple eggs, brown eggs...etc.

But...I have to say this was the top it all.  I even asked a couple I know with a very large chicken farming operation about this and they reported NEVER having had such an anomoly.  

So...what is it you ask?  Well, my daughter was very proud of the double yolker she brought in from the barn.  Just look at this thing and you can tell it will be amazing as a complete two fried egg breakfast all wrapped up in one. 

Well, when I cracked the egg I am very glad I was planning on making scrambled eggs and did not crack it right into the skillet.  You see instead of finding the "typical" double yolk with two beautiful yellow centers...there was a yolk and another egg inside the egg.  Seriously it was one of the "shell-less" eggs inside the egg.  I tried to "crack" it if you will but those eggs don't crack they rather kind of squish and when it did bust open there in fact was a very tiny yolk begining to form inside of it.

Honestly that was the strangest thing ever!  I have helped butcher chickens before and some of the layers would have large egg sacks like that inside that then harden into an egg and are laid, but never one whole egg inside another.  I would love to hear if any of my readers have ever seen such a thing before, or better yet, any other egg strange-ness that I have not see yet that you have experienced?  Comment below, I would love to hear from you!

I have been meaning to start my seeds indoors for over a month now and life keeps getting in my way!  So, today was the day...I finally started them.  I only got as far as the tomato seeds but truthfully that is where I needed to start.  I planted 36 starts of Amish Paste Tomatoes.  These are absolutely the best for spaghetti sauce and sun dried tomatoes...two of our favorites around here.  Last year when I really went hog wild planting everything from seed I ordered all these flats for growing and starting seeds and honestly...I was not that impressed.  The flats broke under the weight of the soil and the soil I used compacted and became very cementlike...live and learn. 

 I did learn...from a dear lady in the local garden club who has been gardening for over 50 years.  Know her secret? Nope, not fancy plant cell flats and high tech grow lights.  She uses styrofoam cups and sunlight.  Ingenious right?  I decided to try her method since hers were the tomato plants I purchased when I accidently left my tomato seedlings out overnight and killed a whole flat of them.  Unfortunately, I was unable to use my own compost as I had hoped because what I should have done was put a bucket of it in the garage last fall for this purpose, but since I did not and it has been frozen and now raining outside my compost is a bit useless to me right now.

I also decided to use a different medium than last year.  As I mentioned the potting soil I had purchased became so dense and brittle after awhile that I asked what other gardeners used to start their seeds and overwhelmingly they were using a mixture of pearlite, vermiculite and soil.  This combo is so light and airy.  I also received the tip that I should water my tomato plants from the bottom not the top once they sprout.  What you cannot see from the pictures is that each of my little cups has holes in the bottom for drainage.

Eve with the soil compound in them the cups were so light they kept wanting to tip over.

The little seeds are so very tiny that it is nearly impossible to get just one in each cup.  I put in two just for insurance that at least one will sprout, however I must confess that I hate to pull up one of the plants when it is time, I just really dislike killing one of them as they grow.  I will be ordering a few more rare varieties of tomatoes this next week to also start as they rare heirlooms are the ones I will be selling at local farmers markets, but these that I started are my standard canning tomato.

Not every farmgirl can be as lucky as I am to still have her grandmother alive and well.  Mine even enjoys coming for a visit amidst the chaos of 5 homeschooling children!  I have always been close with my grandmother and the fact that she still enjoys spending time with me and my now busy family is so dear to me.  

Grandma came for a visit, and I have to share, we chat well into the night like schoolgirls when she does.  We usually visit with all the family and then when everyone is off to bed we sit up and talk.  We have had some very sweet talks over the years from when I was around 18-20 years old and experiencing what love was like at the same time my grandmother was experiencing love for the second time in her life after having been a widow.  We chatted then about the butterflies you get in your stomach when you really like someone.  We have talked about what life has been like over the years and these sweet chats are akin to a slumber party with a dear friend.

We had breakfast together yesterday and chatted about how when grandma was a girl there was no cereal for breakfast, always a hearty meal on the farm.  I served up farmhouse biscuits, eggs, bacon and gravy reminicsent of just such days gone by.  As we sat and chatted at the bar in my kitchen I glanced down at grandma's hands holding her cup of coffee.  Those hands are so precious to me.  I glanced at my own holding a cup of coffee next to hers and thought that though our hands are from different ages and generations they have done many of the same things.  I hope my hands are still as beautiful as hers when I am holding my cup of coffee with my grandchildren and great grandchildren some day.