Customer Service Success Story!

Hurrah! I just got a call from Backyard Gear and my missing part is in the mail! So happy to be able to use my Garden Center! My advice for anyone trying to get in touch with a service department - KEEP TRYING! It pays off to be persistent!
Tooth update: The dentist drilled a hole in the tooth and is letting it "drain" - sounds icky but the pain is letting up! Friday he will finish the root canal and close up the tooth. I can't wait to chew something! Liquid diets get really old fast. However since I have a "weigh-in" next week with my diabetes nurse practitioner - I guess it came at a good time. Surely I've lost some weight!
Thank goodness for Planet Smoothie and their low-carb smoothies!

Customer Service

Well my beautiful Garden Center arrived and John put it together for me, only to find out that we have two right hand doors and no left! I've called the company and of course can only get voice mail. I've emailed them and have no response. So frustrating!
I was so excited about this, it has a sink and all kinds of great organizing space.
I am going to set it up between the greenhouse and my little tool shed...it'll be great for potting and washing out the pots after I transplant. I'm thinking about buying a grill cover to put over it.
It would be so nice if I can only get that door!!
Dentist this afternoon and I'm hoping to get back to normal...these tooth problems have really messed up my week. And now we're going into the 2nd week with them!
Dentures are looking really good!

Root canals

Suffering with a toothache all weekend, called dentist on Monday only to find he was on vacation! But I did get referred to a doctor who saw me on Tuesday and has a root canal scheduled for this morning. That was the quickest I've ever gotten taken care of! I wonder how this health care stuff is going to affect our waiting time? And how will it affect dentists? Right now my dental plan stinks....I only have $1000 coverage per year and once I max that out - nothing, everything else comes out of my pocket. Wish I would have known years ago that I would need to have so much dental work done, I would have put away some money for it. At least we have access to dentists...many countries don't. I can't imagine the pain they have to endure.
Even in our own country, places like Appalachia do not have easy access to dentists. So instead of complaining, I should be thankful.

Little things mean alot

We received the sweetest card from our vet today. His words were comforting, reassuring and gave us much peace. What a kind thing to do for us!
And a phone call from a friend, the one who originally found Shadow and gave him to us...she shared some special memories that she had of Shadow when he first came to her house. Emails and facebook comments keep coming in and help to heal our hurting hearts as we receive many understanding and comforting comments from friends far away.
A scripture that was shared with us was Romans 8:19-21:
"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
A reminder that the whole creation will be restored one day.

Life goes on

We couldn't sleep much last night...so many memories going through our minds. This morning Ranger scratched at our door...usually Shadow did this every morning. We opened the door and Ranger jumped up on the bed and gave us lots of love and attention. We really soaked it in! Here's a picture of Muffin and Ranger keeping us company on the bed.















It's been a difficult day, with alot of soul-searching questions of "Should we have noticed a problem with Shadow sooner"? "Could things have been different?"
But we have to rest in God's sovereignty....He is sovereign over all of His creation, all of His creatures. Doesn't Matthew 10:29 tell us Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father."

Mourning Shadow's Death

If you aren't a pet owner, this post will probably seem silly to you...but I am grieving tonight the loss of one of my three cats. He was the first cat I've had since I was a little girl. We adopted him 8 years ago when he had wandered into a friend's garage. She already had 2 cats, and they didn't get along well with this new one, so I agreed to take him. We named him Shadow...a beautiful grey long haired cat. He was so striking that I couldn't believe he was a stray. His fur was silken and he was very proud...I would call him "King Cat" because he always acted as if he were royalty. So loving at times of his choosing, but aloof and independent too.


He was so smart, if we were asleep and he wanted to go out, he would stand on the dresser and push the bottles of my perfume off, one by one to get our attention. Or he would go over to the answering machine and press the button to make it beep until we got up and let him outside.


I know it will take some time for the sadness I feel to subside...he was a good friend. When we would pull into the driveway, he'd roll over on his back and stretch out...showing us he was happy we were home. In the wintertime, he always would keep our feet warm in bed.





I miss him...Sleep peacefully tonight Shadow without pain!

Quick Friday Update

Here's a great thought: "We should choose life goals that are centered in God: to know Him better, to love Him with all our being, to do His will at any cost, to glorify Him and to please Him" From Ruth Myers' 31 Days of Praise. For any of you that want to discuss this book...a group of us are reading through it again during August and meeting a couple of times to discuss. Jodean came up with the idea and I think it's a good one, since we don't have bible study this month. I've been using the book everyday for the last 3 months...it is a great addition to your quiet time.

Pray for me as I set my goals for the fall this weekend...that they would be centered in God. I'll be teaching "Knowing God" by JI Packer as one of the women's bible study offerings. Pray that my preparation would be God-centered also.

Off to snap beans and then work! Happy Friday!

Consolidating

I've decided that I need to consolidate all my blogs into one - since I barely have time for it! This will mean that those of you who only want to read about my hobbies, will have to wade through to find which ones talk about that. I'll try to indicate in the subject line what I'm writing about - but sometimes it might be all my interests, thoughts and day to day stuff jumbled together. This winter I may have time to figure something better out.

So I've taken Kathy's Kogitations and Mommoboy's Hobbies "off the air"
I am still going to have a website - probably Kathy's Korner. And for now I'll mention prayer requests on this blog. Trying to streamline my life! Getting ready for my busiest months at work, harvest time in the garden, canning, and I'll be teaching women's bible study beginning Sept 10th - so I'll need to streamline everything.

My little saying I found is even more apropos now: "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think,all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see." - John Burrough

Kind of rainy here today, but I need to try to get my walk in and then check on the garden. If the rain holds off - a cloudy day is actually a good time to garden! I know I need to pick beans, corn and tomatoes. But if it rains, I have a bunch of housework to do too! Well, here is what I want to leave you with today from Psalm 86:11
"Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name."

In this day of fast-paced EVERYTHING - it is more important than ever to guard our hearts from being divided. My prayer for all of us today is that we would keep God first in all we do.

Vacations, family and getting back to a routine

We had a very nice vacation in Hamburg, NY last week, visiting my mom, Jacque and NOW Lisa & children have moved there! Making my visiting very fun, as I get to see all my nephews and my niece in one place. Lisa's new house is adorable and I think she'll like settling in there.

We had rainy weather most of the time, so I didn't get to enjoy Jacque's pool much. My nephew Cole taught me how to play guitar hero! And Georgia flew up from Texas, so it was like a mini-family reunion! Great to see everyone and catch up on each other's lives.

Now I'm trying to get back into a routine and not feel overwhelmed with all there is to accomplish during August! I need to finish writing the study guide for the bible study I am teaching in September on J.I. Packer's book "Knowing God". The garden is demanding alot of attention and August is my month for all the annual doctor appointments. Plus it is the last month of the fiscal year at church, so I'm busy wrapping things up and getting ready with the new budget. Note to self: One thing at a time!! Let me leave you with this thought
You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You're blessed when you follow his directions,
doing your best to find him.
That's right—you don't go off on your own;
you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
keeping to the course you set;
Then I'd never have any regrets
in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I'm going to do what you tell me to do;
don't ever walk off and leave me.
That's Psalm 119:1-8 from The Message translation. I find that the more I have to do, the more time I need to spend with God - in prayer and in His Word. Then things fall into place. So during this busy time, pray for me to be diligent in getting up early and being consistent with my time with God.

Garden update

Well I thought it would be a good idea to do a garden update.
My Kale, Peas, carrots and onions are peaking through the soil. I have transplanted into larger pots my cabbage, broccoli,lettuce, strawberries. My tomato plants have sprouted under the lights in the basement. Spinach is starting to sprout.

Michael bought me two flats of pansies for my birthday and I was able to plant some of them in my big cement planters today. I finished clearing out the front flower bed and really enjoyed smelling the hyacinths as I worked. The daffadils are also blooming and the tulips are beginning to bud. I have enough pansies to do the two deck planters and make the three Easter basket planters for the shepherd's hooks in front of the house.

I love Spring!!!

Tuesday planting

Today I planted 9 Yukon Gold potatos and 18 red potatos. I also put in all my red onion starts (about 50) Plus I tested all my soil in my raised beds so I can adjust the Ph or the nutrients in each bed, depending on what I plan to plant in them.
I cleared out two flower beds, getting all the old dead stuff trimmed down. I also worked on my herb bed. We are going to get rain tonight, so I didn't water anything.

Seed update

Okay - here's what I planted over the weekend outside:
More carrots, spinach, kale, swiss chard, beets, lettuce in my cold frame
Inside I've started tomatos (early girls, cherry, brandywine & roma)
3 more kinds of peppers (jalapeno, hungarian & banana)
My potatos are ready to be planted tomorrow (red & yukon gold)
It's going to be beautiful here tomorrow so I hope my mouth will settle down and I can be outside all day (I had a post put in today with a crown and right now it's hurting) But my garden will be the best remedy! I really need to get some flowers started.
Oh and the daffadils are blooming....my mom is coming to visit in a few weeks - I hope the bulbs will still be blooming. Here's a picture of the daffs - don't they just make you smile?

Gardening and Basketball

My favorite time of year! The NCAA tournament and springtime, not to mention that March is my birthday month and the birthday month for many of my friends. How can you not LOVE March!

Okay, I have been terrible at posting! But I'm still trying. It'll get even harder now with the garden. But I'll at least try to post up what I'm planting.

On St Pat's day it was 72 degrees! We (John and I) got the pea trellis up and I planted 150 pea seeds - 3 varieties Misty, a snow pea and a few experimental variety the seed store gave me.

In the basement under the lights I have up and with their true leaves out, red & green cabbage, broccoli and buttercruch lettuce. Also a flat of celery and bell peppers up with just their first set of leaves. Today I am starting more and will update tomorrow what I actually got done. It's questionable because the games start today....but I can listen on my radio, while I work.

That's it for today - Happy, Happy Spring tomorrow to all of us! Hurray, winter is over! My crocuses are blooming, daffs & tulips up and getting ready and the hyanciths are peeking up.

February!!!!

I lived through January!! Now it's time for seed catalogs and garden planning.
Oh and Go Steelers!