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TRIPLETS!

2/24/2011

I'm speechless! Jeff and Angela are not having twins...it's TRIPLETS! We're thrilled and stunned!
All three babies are doing fine. It's too early to tell for sure, but their doctor said he thought they might be 2 girls and a boy! Wow! Baby A and Baby C may be the girls. Baby B may be the boy. Baby C is the smallest. All look good.

Please dear Reader, send all your prayers and good thoughts to Jeff and Angela and their 3 little bundles! (And to their overwhelmed grandmother, too!)

Everyone is telling me about the credit card commercial that is on TV now. Well...in this case - it's true! 3 high chairs, 3 car seats, 3 cribs, millions of Pampers -oh,my!

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TWINS! and Smitty and the Gals

2/24/2011

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Dear Reader,
I can finally tell you! Jeff and Angela are going to have twins! We're so excited!

Angela found out just before Christmas (she was only 2 weeks pregnant!). Jeff and Angela told her Mom and Dad, her sister (Kary), Dan and me when we all celebrated Christmas together in Park Ridge. It was the best Christmas present of all! I'm finally going to be a grandmother - twice over! The photo above shows Jeff and Angela just after they told us!

Angela and Jeff wanted to wait until 12 weeks, so now I can tell YOU, dear Reader! It's wonderful!

On another fun note, Smitty brought his wife, Becky, and her friend, Nancy, ice fishing last weekend. They caught some great fish. The pictures above show Becky with a blue gill, and Nancy with a bass. Good catches! They had a great time and it was fun to see them.

Even with all the melting, Smitty says I still have 11 inches of ice on the pond. Not bad! And the gals really liked the 2nd floor of the carriage house. They want to rent it out!

So, dear Reader, there has been a lot of excitement around here! Now all we need is a little spring-like weather, yes?

Nighty-night, dear Reader, nighty-night!

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Still Ice Fishing, Seed Trays, IOGA and Spray Drift Pamphlet

2/15/2011

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Hi, Dear Reader!
Isn't this weather grand? Just when we thought the snow would never go away, we FINALLY get above freezing temps (just barely) and the snow starts to disappear. It's so great when the snow continues to disappear through the night. What a difference it has made! And maybe 50 degree temps by Friday! Welcome Spring!

I've been doing so much and haven't had the time to share it all with you. So here goes....
In January, there was a special meeting for Organic farmers and gardeners at the Specialty Product Conference in Springfield. We're forming the Illinois Organic Growers Association. I gave a short presesntation on the importance of Organic Education Centers to be included in the new Illinois Organic Growers Association (IOGA) at that conference. Since then, I have been busy putting together a pamphlet on How to Handle Pesticide Drift Issues with Anita Poeppel who spoke on this subject at the same conference. Tomorrow I will meet with Jack Erisman who owns the largest organic operation in Illinois (2000 acres) south of Decatur. It's exciting to be starting a new - and much needed - organization. If you would like to see anything included in our topics, dear Reader, please send your comments along. We welcome them all! Also, if you would like a copy of our pamphlet, please email for one and I will get it to you.

I've transplanted some plants from my first seed tray and am about to start some more seeds. I can hardly wait until I'm in the garden! Speaking of gardens, I am starting new gardens this year and letting my older gardens rest.

I wish I had some pictures with green grass and leafy trees for you, but you'll have to bear with me as I show more photos of the land in winter. The first two photos show Chris and Smitty back again this past weekend, along with Smitty's brother and friend. I wasn't here when another one of Chris' friends brought his children out to ice fish. They didn't stay long as no one caught any fish. Smitty says that''s typical of this time of year. They did see a huge bass go by their hole, though. Just taunting them, I guess!

The last photo on the first row is a shot of the new garden-to-be. Doesn't look like much, does it!

The next photos are of the seed tray and the new transplants. The little seedlings took the transplanting well. I think they should be growing faster, so will have them checked out at a lab. They are cute, however, and I talk to them all the time. (I can't help it!)

Last Friday I took a walk in the (then) deep, deep snow. Every step I plunged down quite far. The rest of the photos show what I saw on that walk: JJ's chapel under snow, and the plaque we have for him that I uncovered. Also included is the outhouse - excuse me - the "tool shed" behind JJ's chapel in what we call JJ's nursery (Jack and JJ planted these trees when JJ was one year old).

The next row shows "alien" footprints (taken before the fishermen returned) and damaged pine trees. The Illinois Department of Agriculture concluded there was no spray drift damage done to my trees last spring, but I beg to differ!

So there you have it! Lots going on, and I have even more exciting news, but it will have to wait a bit. Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful spring-like day, dear Reader!

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Where is Spring, Packers win Superbowl

2/7/2011

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You can certainly tell from the photos above that we had a storm, although I realize there were higher drifts else where. I like the big drift down to the pond. It looks so cool!

My driveway is all clear now, thanks to Dave Haury and Tom... well...here's how the story went:

When Dave arrived (and believe it or not he drove in! - right through the drifts to my front door!), he started my little ol' Farmall Cub and proceeded to "chew" at the biggest drift right in front of my new garage. He realized it was going to take too much time, so he started cleaning up the rest of the driveway to the gate. After several hours, he still had not gotten beyond the gate. I decided to do some shoveling at Steward Road around the mailbox. While I was out there (and here's where the miracle starts), a BIG shiny tractor comes up Steward Road with a snowplow on the back. It slowed down and the man inside motioned if I wanted him to open up the entrance to my lane. I nodded yes (still not realizing who it was) and he did that. I bowed, showing him my appreciation. He then jumps out of the tractor and it's my neighbor up the road, Tom Gorman! I couldn't believe it! He then very nicely asked if I wanted him to do the lane. By now I looked down my lane to see that Dave was just starting to put-put by the gate, and the difference between the size of the tractors really became apparent. I told him I would be so grateful if he would. He asked if there was a place to turn around, and I said I thought so, as Dave had cleared a lot of the lane inside the gate. I stood back and Tom went to work. In a few minutes he had cleared the snow all the way into the gate. Dave put-putted out of the way, realizing what was happening. I went back to the cottage and Dave brought the tractor up and parked it out of the way. Tom drove all the way up to the cottage, turned around and did a nice job of clearing the lane from the cottage out to Steward Road. Dave thanked him and said Tom had saved him at least 2 hours of work. Tom then disappeared and my lane is completely opened.

That left only the huge drift in front of the new carriage house, so Dave worked on that - and voila! - my driveway looks super! Tom (and Dave) had done a good job of scraping down to the gravel in some spots and it's really easy to get out.

Do you realize, dear Reader, this is the first - the very first - kind act from one of my neighbors (that I did not pay for) since I moved back here 11 years ago? I am so grateful!

You will notice that the last picture shows my first seedling tray of the year. I started it a few days ago and it already has some little tomato seedlings showing. Now all we need to know is: Where is spring?

I heard, dear Reader, we may actually get a thaw by this coming Saturday! Keep your fingers crossed!

I hope you are completely dug out and enjoyed the Super Bowl. I didn't see it, but heard the Packers won. Even though I am a Bears fan, I wished the Packers well, and am happy they won. If you made any bets on the game, I hope you backed the winning team!

Stay warm, dear Reader, stay warm!

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Blizzard, Linda visit, and Farmall Cub

2/2/2011

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Dear Reader,
Hope you're enjoying your snow day!
The blizzard is bad, but nearly as bad as I thought it would be. My drifts are about 3-4 feet high, but there are lots of places where there is hardly any snow.The first photos above are from early this morning. I had to dig out a snow bank by the side door to feed the birds. If you look carefully you can see the female cardinal just outside my window. The birds were quite happy I fed them today!

My sister, Linda, came for a week during the worst cold, but luckily she missed this blizzard. We had so much fun, and didn't stop jabbering all week! We visited Mom several times. That's Linda and Mom at Mom's house, and Lin and me here in the cottage. She came for my birthday, so it was an extra special birthday for me. I miss her so!

The Farmall Cub had to go into Leffelman's for repair in January. When we went to pick it up, I was struck by how tiny (and weathered) it looked compared to the big machines they have sitting inside at Leffleman's. Thought you would enjoy the photos, dear Reader.

I also took a photo of the carriage house from Steward Road, looking across the corn field. It looks so pretty from all angles! And last, but not least, I took some pictures of the Land in the fog we had last week. You probably think that it's during this snow storm, but no, it was just a foggy day. I hope you like the last photo. That "Visitor Parking" is for all my invited friends. You know who you are, dear Reader.

Chris and Smitty have been here a few times. I wonder what they think of all this snow? I hope they come back soon, because I am predicting an early spring. I saw 4 - count them - four! robins on January 26th. Two of them were females with huge tummies. That's the earliest I have ever seen a robin, so I think this subzero cold we're going to have tonight may be coming to an end soon. (Although the weatherman says not.)

Last night, as the blizzard raged, I felt so cozy and grateful for all that I have. There was wood for the woodstove in the laundry room, I had cast iron pots already to use on the woodstove if the electricity went out, and a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. I also have a small back up propane heater in case the big furnace has no electricity. With my candles and oil lamps, I didn't want for a thing. It is such a nice feeling. This is truly a paradise here, and I am one of the most fortunate people in the world!

Now I am going to spend time planning my gardens. What could be nicer on a windy, snowy day with the sun breaking through?

Have a great afternoon, dear Reader!

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TRIPLETS!

TWINS! and Smitty and the Gals

Still Ice Fishing, Seed Trays, IOGA and Spray Drift Pamphlet

Where is Spring, Packers win Superbowl

Blizzard, Linda visit, and Farmall Cub

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