out_of_the_ordinary

Welcome to MrsS, elfriedalegros! Sorry I don't have any experience with salves to help you. If you get poison ivy easily, also be cautious of the roots. My husband ended up with a bad case of poison ivy or poison oak on his hands during a snowy winter after digging into the ground and coming in contact with roots. He didn't realize at the time what type of plant those roots belonged to!

2021 PA Farm Show's (virtual this year) Duckling Cam https://www.farmshow.pa.gov/pafarmshow/participate-virtually/duckling-cam/Pages/default.aspx Looks like they're all sleeping right now. There's also a Bee Cam, but I don't know if I could sit and watch that one. Still, interesting. https://www.farmshow.pa.gov/pafarmshow/participate-virtually/bee-cam/Pages/default.aspx These are live daily from 8am-8pm this week. edited to add: Jeepers, I hope you are feeling better. The links worked, so you won't have to fix that.

It's in the 20s here. There's frost covering everything. DD wanted to know if she could go sled-riding on the frost. She wasn't happy that our last snowstorm had melted off quickly.

I wasn't optimistic today, but found something optimistic: In counting homeschooling days, we're over halfway through. We'll continue to learn when we're done with the 180 days, but it will be a relief to get a break from the record-keeping for a few months. One less thing.

Happy Birthday, Dee!!

Mine for this year is "Trust God". I feel like I'm constantly thinking "What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" My health, what is going on in our nation, my health, so many decisions..... Trying to figure it all out is stressful and so very overwhelming on top of what is going on. I keep coming back to I need to trust God. Scriptures about trusting Him keep coming before me. So to me always thinking "What am I going to do?" I have to keep telling myself "I'm trusting God. God has a good plan for my life, God loves me unconditionally." I read this in Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind book last week and then it was in an email from Joyce's "Battlefield of the Mind Study" I'm trying to remember this many times a day: "I don't know yet what I am going to do in my situation, but God does know and that is good enough for me. He will give me direction at the right time."

Happy New Year!

Jeepers, some libraries here are just closed. Some of the ones that are open, you can't go inside the building, but you can order and pickup books curbside.

I haven't read those magazines. Will have to have DH check into those sometime when he's out shopping. For Eric Sloane, Diary of an Early American Boy 1805 was excellent. We've referred to A Museum of Early American Tools when we did family readalouds of the Little House series and Little Britches series to see pictures of the farm equipment/tools used in the books. I know it is so easy to search stuff online, but, when we can, I'd rather have books in our home library to refer to. I haven't read a lot of Holocaust and WWII books, but those are the ones that I thought of first. For pioneers, has anyone read Bess Streeter Aldrich? I think her books are mostly set in Nebraska. I thought A Lantern in Her Hand was very good, but liked it's sequel, A White Bird Flying, even more.

I always receive books for Christmas. I haven't been able to focus to read much this year. It's been less than 20 books. Most of those are family read alouds. In 2018 and 2019, I read over 100 books each year. I've read "One Second After" and the other 2 books in the series. I foget which one of the "One Second After" series I was reading, but I started, among other mental lists, making a mental list of books mentioned....I don't remember them all now, but after that, I made sure to invest in the Foxfire Series (which I haven't read yet) and Eric Sloane books. I'm sure there's more, I just can't rememeber right now. And "Mother Earth News" magazine I think was mentioned. I was buying those, but found that they seemed to be recycling articles (even DD who was a few years old noticed the same pictures being used), so I stopped. Years ago, when I wasn't here at MrsS very long, someone (maybe MtRider?) in a post mentioned something about Corrie ten Boom thanking God for the fleas. I felt so ignorant because I had no idea who Corrie ten Boom was!! I bought "The Hiding Place" and coudn't put it down. I wasn't taught that in school at all! I highly recommend "The Hiding Place". I've been trying to pick up good books/build our home library little by little. I bought a few that I won't be reading very soon, but wanted to make sure I get before they are either "unavailable" or edited/altered. One is about Richard Wurmbrand and another called "Things We Couldn't Say" by a woman who was part of the Dutch Underground during WWII. An excellent book I read (maybe last year) was "Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of WWII" by Darlene Diebler Rose. I highly recommend that as well.

Remember when the wrapping paper came in packages with "sheets" of folded wrapping paper? I miss those. So much easier wrapping than those big rolls. I told DD that some people don't wrap gifts at all, but put them in gift bags with tissue paper. She looked shocked, then shook her head and slowly said "That's a shame!". (I think she really likes tearing the wrapping paper off of gifts. )

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas Eve day, our weather is going from heavy rain and high wind to freezing rain/icing to snow. This evening, we went for a ride to see Christmas lights. DD was thrilled. I was thrilled and thankful that I was doing well enough this evening to do so! DD doesn't notice it, but there was not as many houses with Christmas lights this year. So many people are out of work with the "shutdowns". In '08 we noticed less Christmas lights on houses, too.

Miki,

Any one else having trouble finding fresh carrots? (Do we have a thread somewhere about shortages in our areas?) We're getting hit with our first real snow this year, so I am hoping the carrot-run was just people making soup due to cold, snowy weather and turkey soup (leftovers from Thanksgiving).

Yeah, lady. We need in on the plan here. Since there's no roadtrip this year, I've been considering moving our MrsS Christmas festivities to Jeepers's Ohio house. We'll have a big packing party. There will be a dress code (aka Jeepers must wear pants) . But, beyond that I haven't though it all out. Ideas anyone?

Chickadees and tuffed titmice found our bird feeder and are busily pecking away at the sunflower head. DD is thrilled. She prayed last night for the birds to find our birdfeeder.

Gofish, I'm sorry you are still having problems. There was what everyone was calling a BAD flu around here last Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb. DD and I had it in mid-Jan, and again in Feb. First time she was ever sick with anything. I had not had the flu in 10 years and it hit me hard. It took both of us a long time to feel better. At the time, I just assumed it was just a bad flu year and with my other health stuff going on, my immune system wasn't up to par. I think we all had it then.

I've been having problems with my fingers, so while I've been reading the posts and praying for everyone here, I've not been posting. Ann, I'm praying for your sight. LittleSister, praying for your tooth...I don't do well in THE CHAIR even for cleanings, so I have compassion on what you're going through. Miki, I want just half of your energy! Jeepers, you wrote something about buying beginning readers for DGS. Look for the Frog and Toad ones by Arnold Lobel..they're excellent and FUNNY. Love the gardening one. There's 4 different books. We have it as a Treasury. Usually I won't buy treasuries because it's just too awkward for little hands, but that one is alright. E, praying for you and that precious baby! Continuing to keep MtRider family in my prayers as well. We had snow yesterday. This weekend will be in the 70s. I don't know if it's the mineral deficiencies or what, but my body is having trouble with the big temp swings. DH is back to working at an office. Big change after him working from home for 7 months. We miss him, but it's more peaceful here (no interruptions, no phone constantly ringing, no phone and computer video meetings we have to be quiet for, ect) and DD and I get through her homeschool lessons quicker. Although this week, seeing what may happen, I'd rather have his presence in the house! Homeschooling is going well. The joke now is "One pandemic and homeschooling is no longer weird." Except with my relatives. The snide comments continue. I had the news on one day to try hear the weather and a story came on about tearing down a Columbus statue and another statue (either Washington or Lincoln). DD was shocked and upset. She knew the good things those men had done. I'm thankful that we homeschool and I am making sure she knows our nation's history. Hands need a break now.

Never mind. I think I hit quote. Is that where edit used to be? And I can't seem to edit any of them. I think I should just stop now.

Help! I tried to go and edit my post to add another few sentences and it did this.

Most, if not all, of the bedding at WM and other stores is from China. Maybe that's why. And, I think most people aren't usually homebodies, and after being forced to spend so much time at home, are putting $ into their homes, be it remodeling, painting, new bedding, new furniture, ect. I heard that there's a desk shortage now, too (people working from home, kids schooling from home). I kept wanting to have DH buy more printer ink, but kept forgetting to write the ink cartridge # on the list. Finally remembered to last week. Well, we can add printer ink to the shortage list.

E, Congratulations! She's adorable! I wouldn't have made it through the first 48 hours of breastfeeding without this stuff: https://lansinoh.com/collections/breast-care-nursing-pads/products/lanolin-nipple-cream After a couple of months, I didn't need it everyday, but did have to use it again when DD started teething (teething baby's saliva is more acidic). We bought it at WM. Most stores carried it.

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, Ann! Thank you also for the acknowledgement of my disdain for change.

Years and years ago, I was part of a now non-existant board about celiac disease. There were people on there allergic to corn. Even with all the stuff I have to avoid now, I'm so thankful I'm not allergic to corn! Here's some stuff most people don't think of when it comes to corn: plastic wrap (they don't have to list it, but corn oil to keep it from sticking to itself) paper cartons--Milk, juice containers, ect regular table salt (I think it's listed as an ingredient) toothpaste most paper products fillers in many medications (I'm thankful when it's corn not wheat) pop/soda (corn syrup)