Snow Dayz

My very favorite days are SNOW DAYS. Many folks find snow days a nuisance, yet the artistry and patterns in the snow outside coupled with family, fireplace blazing, and Christmas carols crooning inside are rare magic. You have to take those Norman Rockwell moments you when you get them, as they are so brief and nearly unrecognizable if you blink too long. These brief opportunities let life stand still if only for a day to let us be totally present in the now

An overnight foot plus of snow and blizzard conditions brought the world around us to a screeching halt with school/ business closings, cities/towns staying dark, and semi-trucks lining highways all waiting out the storm. Roads often drift considerably out here, but so long as there’s one passable lane, we get around with our big 4x4 truck well enough. In town, though, folks sit and wait for the city street crews to clear the roadways.

Rural homeowners know if power goes out, it can be several hours before it’s restored, so being prepared is a way of life. Stockpiles of firewood/candles provide warmth/light, a propane stove ensures hot meals, and ample farm equipment means moving snow is not a problem. My husband loves the chance to use his backhoe for these big jobs even if it doesn’t have an enclosed cab. This time, fortunately, electricity was plentiful and families were able to hunker down in relative comfort. Our internet satellite provided great opportunities to stay in touch with family, friends, and co-workers to compare snowfall totals and photos of indoor/outdoor fun.

Take joy in the gifts a snow day provides with a chance to stop whatever you were busily doing and just be somewhere without obligations, deadlines, or commitments. Take full advantage of these chances and enjoy the “free” time Mother Nature has given you. Finish reading a book or play a few card/board games with your kids. After all, when was the last time you play UNO for an entire afternoon?

Next time you find yourself marking time waiting for a storm to pass, a doctor’s appointment, traffic, or a checkout line take a moment to breathe deeply, listen to soothing or upbeat music (sing to the radio!) and thank God for one good thing in your life at that moment. “We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. Become one in the present with all of the roses that show up in your life,” (from Excuses Begone! By Dr. Wayne D. Dyer).

Grandma’s Frugal Secrets for Surviving on Next to Nothing

The idea of buying anything NEW was foreign to my grandma’s generation (Grandma Gracie, still going at 89, is shown with me, at right). She typically reused stuff they already had for whatever she needed. Grandma Alice (shown below) used outgrown or worn-out clothes (with the buttons or other closures cut off and saved for future reuse) for scraps for quilts or other household items like clothespin bags. Empty jelly jars or old canning jars stored everything from leftover food to buttons, silverware, toothbrushes, and the like. You used everything up even cutting up tubes of this and that to scrape out the last little bit. Those memories shed light on valuable skills I’m finding so important in surviving The Great Recession, which has made us all rethink our spending and what we consider “essentials.”

Being thrifty is even fashionable now with magazines, TV shows, and newspapers all jockeying for our attention with money-savings tips and lessons. The days of American gluttony are a thing of the past replaced by a more conservation-minded class of folk. My sister and I have transformed the idea of “living on less” into a game. Anytime we get a great deal or awesome cheap idea, we share it with each other do Atta-girls. The really fun part is learning to be creative with meeting your family’s needs.

My gift to YOU is this list of “Grandma’s Frugal Secrets for Living on Next to Nothing.” Hope you find some useful stuff in here to save you some dough on everyday stuff and holiday gift giving. Enjoy!

Everyday Secrets:

Put on a Sweater – Saving money on your heating costs is simple and doesn’t have to leave you feeling cold. Try this: turn down your thermostat 5 degrees, or better yet get a programmable thermostat and lower the temp while you’re sleeping even more. Learn to put on a sweater, wear slippers or extra socks, get a small space heater to heat the main room you live in, and close the vents and doors on rooms you don’t use frequently. For more tips, visit http://www.thefrugallife.com/heatsave.html.

Turn off that Light – Turn off lights when you leave a room. Better yet, replace those regular light bulbs with energy-efficient CFL bulbs. Plug your computer, printer, and other electronics into power strips and turn off the power with one button when done.

Shut the Door – Check your doors and windows for drafts and replace weather stripping and caulk where needed. No sense heating/cooling the whole outdoors.

Steady Speed and Fewer Trips - Drive evenly with a steady foot. Avoid jiggling the accelerator. Cruise control helps maintain a constant speed. Learn to plan out your trips to consolidate your weekly errands. Pull out slowly from a stop sign and accelerate more easily. Wait until everyone is in the vehicle before starting the engine to reduce idling. Following these instructions will help you increase your gas mileage.
For more info, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/.

Twice a Year – Dentists recommend regularly cleanings at least twice a year, and more if needed. It would be unwise to not go twice a year, no matter how healthy your teeth and gums are, because you never know when a problem will arise. The sooner that a problem is found, the sooner it will get fixed, and the less money you´ll need to spend on expensive dental procedures.

Exercise to Stay Healthy - Daily exercise boosts your immune system and keeps you healthier (meaning fewer trips to the doctor for medication). Even 15 minutes of walking in place while watching TV daily can be enough to get your body moving. Gradually increase your exercise each day to boost your immunity even more. Use cans of vegetables for weights to exercise your arms while you walk too. For more ideas, click Stay Healthy.

Unused Clothing – Got a sweater as a gift you never wore or a favorite sweatshirt you’ve worn to shreds that you can’t seem to toss? Got old kids’ clothes and uniforms cluttering your closets? Transform them into pillow covers, tote bags, a plastic grocery bag holder, clothespin bag, or cosmetic case with Velcro closure. Make several larger tote bags and store them in your vehicle to use for carrying home groceries (keeps those plastic bags out of your house too). For even more tips, click Reusing Clothing.

Cardboard Boxes – Reuse those sturdy boxes that shoes and so many other products come in by wrapping them in pretty or simple brown wrapping paper. Use the boxes to organize your closets and other cluttered. Use a marker to label each box’s contents for easy identification.

Tin Foil - Did you know that you can re-use tin foil? Just wash/dry and store for another use. A wad of tin foil is a great tool for getting the grease off your grill grate too! More ideas at Reusing Tin Foil.

Leftover Wallpaper - Use leftover wallpaper scraps to line drawers and shelves.

Cotton Balls - Instead of throwing away the cotton that comes in a bottle of pills, use it. Save it in the same bag as all of your regular cotton balls, so you remember to use it the next time you need a cotton ball.

Plastic Drink Bottles - Use the top half of a plastic soda bottle to make a disposable funnel. Take that cap off the bottle, and then cut it to the funnel size that you want. The part that you used to drink out of acts as the funnel. For more ideas on recycling everyday items, click Recycling Crafts.

Toothpaste as a Cleaner - Why spend money on expensive cleaners when all you need is a tube of toothpaste? Try it to: polish silver and gold, remove crayon marks from walls, remove ink spots from cloth, remove fruit punch "moustaches" from kids, deodorize smelly hands, remove scuffs from shoes, and fill holes in walls. For details, click Amazing Uses for Toothpaste.

Baking Soda – Baking soda is a cheap cleaning magician that can:

• Clean a drain (pour two tablespoons down a sink with a ½ cup of vinegar)
• Whiten clothes (just add a ¼ cup with your regular laundry soap)
• Make mashed potatoes fluffier (just add a pinch while mashing them)
• Get fresh vegetables cleaner (add 2-3 teaspoons in cold water)
• Clean your dishwasher (add 1-2 tablespoons to any wash cycle to remove odors and make the inside sparkle).
• For more uses & recipes, go to Magical Baking Soda.

Gift Giving Secrets:

Think Before You Buy - Before you purchase an item, think about how many hours you had to work at your job to earn the money to buy the item. Sometimes, when you think about it that way, you´re more likely to only purchase it if it´s a necessity, or at least try harder to find a bargain.

Family Cookbook - Put together a list of favorite family recipes organized by seasonal varieties (like holiday dishes and desserts) or uses for leftovers. You can have it copied and bound at a local Kinko’s or other copy center.

Share your Talents - Offer to teach a skill you possess, such as canning, swing dancing, knitting, furniture making, or doing the butterfly stroke. Offer free services in one of your skill areas—such as photography, gardening, or financial planning. Create a Family Video Documentary and record interviews with relatives. You can ask them to share memories of the person you plan to give the recording to, or tell stories of your family history.

Pass It On - Pass on possessions that you no longer use but would be useful to others. Like a sewing machine to someone who wants to learn to sew. Share the history of the article with the recipient. Give away the last great book you bought and enjoyed to someone with similar taste.

Have a “re-gift” swap - We all have gift-quality things in our closets we don’t actually use (many left over from holidays past, still in the box). Get together with a few like-minded friends and trade them for items that fit your gift list.

Green Living - Help someone green their home: give them a boost with a compost bin, insulation project, water efficiency improvements, or other task they may have a hard time starting on their own.

Gift of Time - Special activities with a loved one like a candlelight dinner, massage, picnic, or even a monthly lunch date with an elderly relative or friend.

Letters of Love - Celebrate your loved ones by writing them a letter listing all their qualities you admire.

Simply Grateful

When's the last time you were thankful for clean clothes or a warm bed to sleep in at night? Learning to be grateful for the little things in life opens the broader possibilities all around. In our grocery-store society with 24-hour Wal-marts and endless supplies of toilet paper, have we distanced ourselves too much from life’s simple wonders? I myself am forever making To Do lists, but lately I wonder if I shouldn’t do more to keep things off the list rather than write everything down.

Daily workouts, walking the dog, and preparing healthy meals have become my priorities. Autumn joys like canning apple butter and hot salsa let me store our garden bounty while savoring the wonderful smells that fill the kitchen. Yes, it would be easier to buy stuff at the store, but I would miss the thrill of picking ripe fruit and veggies from their vines, gently cleaning their skins, blending them into mouthwatering combinations, and pouring the finished creations into awaiting steaming-hot jars.

On one of my many walks with the dog amid the grove of trees by our road, I uncovered a large, flat rock the size of my palm. I love running my fingers along its broad, smooth, stone-gray surface. With a silver paint-pen, I inscribed the message “Be Grateful” on one side and “Let it go…free your soul” on the other. It reminds me that simple pleasures are often the most memorable because they appeal to your many sensibilities. As I touch the rock and scan the message, I’m instantly transformed back to that moment in the woods amid the trees and nature.

After all, the world is a vast and awe-inspiring place. We are but one seed growing a grand field…surrounded by other seeds and plants that are living, growing, withering, and rotting into dust. At times, we become so engrossed in our own stresses and worries that we forget to look up at the surrounding fields and take comfort that we are not alone in our little ecosystem. The great cycle of life has many seasons just as our own lives are comprised of minutes, days, weeks, and years. Be grateful for the simple joy of each moment.

Dirty Little Habit

Early one morning with a large coffee one hand and the latest issue of Horticulture magazine in the other, I perused the editorial intro examining how people got into gardening. Immediately, I was caught up in thoughts of what got me started. Initially, a love of flowers and beautiful foliage inspired my “dirty” habit, but the waning economy has definitely encouraged me to expand my plots. If you love flowers, plant a garden (use seeds and they’re dirt cheap, pun intended)! If you like fresh produce and need to save money, plant a garden. To give a meal real flavor, you can’t beat the taste of just-picked fruits and veggies (like these from my garden, right).

Most folks think this time of year means gardening season is ending in our region. Instead, potted herbs like this rosemary (shown left) and flowers over-wintered indoors make the long, cold months seem less barren. Being quite a gardening junkie, the idea of allowing winter to interfere with my dirty little habit is unfathomable. My mind is reeling with ideas for someday building an attached greenhouse along the south side of our farmhouse. Being able to dig in dirt in the mornings with my coffee mug beside me and before bed at night would be heaven on earth.

For now, plant stands packed along south-facing sliding doors in the family room (just off the kitchen) provide ample space. Newspapers on the counter and the kitchen sink work well to divide and repot plants. A lower cabinet in the kitchen stores potting supplies, plant food, and soil. This area works quite well, but there are times my family gets annoyed with my dirtying the kitchen for hours at a time. Some would call it a hobby, I suppose, but gardening is more of an obsession to me. I become completely absorbed when I fuss over my plants, but they do filter our indoor air so it’s a healthy addiction really.

With warmer weather hanging on less and less each day before fall sets in, my outdoor gardening days are numbered. There’s always pruning to do, so I’ll be busily working our paths (like the one shown here) on the 4-wheeler with my trusty tools trimming away here and there. Soon our local garden center will be putting all their leftover seed packets on clearance and I’ll be right there planning my winter garden. This year, I’m going to invest in some grow lights and better plant shelves. It’s not a greenhouse, but that will feed my craving to cultivate well enough for now.

The Telling

The telling of a story is what solidifies the memory especially since the more you tell it, the more detailed your story becomes. Reminiscing with family and friends can transform even the most stressful situations into funny anecdotes and new experiences into the best of times. Just compare thoughts of a painful experience DAYS afterward and then WEEKS later. In days, the agony is still fresh, but after a few weeks, you are able to laugh and make light of things. The experience is the same only your memory of it has changed.

Our recent vacation to the northern lakes of Arkansas provided many memories to savor. We did a lot of boating, swimming, and even some cliff jumping (as shown here). The cliff jumping, in particular, caused me great worry at the time as I was sure they’d hit their heads on a rock and plummet to their deaths. Nothing that dramatic happened, of course, and now those worries seem quite amusing.

Yet, watching them leap from those cliffs the first few times, I was spouting the typical mom-isms, “Be careful!”, “No diving or doing flips!”, and “Watch where you’re jumping so you don’t break your neck!” The boys grudgingly settled for jumping (a concession I finally agreed to) and I bit my tongue hard each time they leapt off the rocks into the watery depths below.

Hearing our boys tell their own stories of our vacation (especially the cliff jumping), I laugh seeing how incredible those memories are to them. Thankfully, they leave out the part about me freaking out at first!

Live Deliberately

Precious moments require perspective to appreciate. Some are gut-wrenching moments you’d purge from your life if you could, but the lessons those hard times teach us are key learning experiences that shape our lives remarkably. They also help us treasure the heart-melting moments that can be but a second long yet stay with us a lifetime. And would we even notice the marvel without the misery?

As I write this, our family has been reunited with our beloved patriarch finally home “for good” from his yearlong deployment in Iraq. The joyous reunions and adjustments to togetherness have been welcome changes filled with amazement and tension alike. My own therapy during my husband’s deployment included an experiment with a recommendation for daily rigorous exercise to manage stress and anxiety. Sharing this knowledge with my husband recently has given him newfound excitement for living “deliberately” as I like to call it.

I use the word as a way to define the freedom you experience when you exercise away your frustrations and tensions, leaving you with more energy for the good stuff. It really is the simplest form of stress relief available reminding us of the inter-connectedness of life experiences even from one moment to the next. Sweating and a hard workout offers a kind of mind-body purging that cleanses your body and resets things back to neutral. So, take one dose of exercise daily for best stress-relief results and be ready to reap the benefits of living deliberately.

The City Garden and the Country Garden

As a young girl, I always enjoyed the children’s story The Country Mouse and the City Mouse. It seems we are all like those two mice enjoying the trip to the “other side” now and then, which makes coming home more worthwhile. In my daily commute to work and while running errands, I love to look at all types of gardens to get ideas and just take in their beauty. In my observation, gardeners are like those two mice with two basic types of gardens: City Gardens and Country Gardens.

All gardeners have a love of plants and the outdoors, yet where you garden influences your landscape persona as much as the plants you choose. Of course, there are many different styles of gardens (such as Japanese and English); however, the square footage you have to work with and the locale do determine your options. In town, for example, city and/or neighborhood covenants usually specify certain rules about what you can and cannot do in your yard, which gives City Gardens a more structured personality. In contrast, the expansive and uninhibited characteristics of Country Gardens afford quite a different atmosphere.

My own rural setting provides certain freedoms but there are times I am guilty of City Garden envy. Having a vast space to work with is wonderful, but it also means there are many more beds to be mulched and tended. At times, driving in town I’ll see a compact, perfectly-manicured City Garden (like the one shown right) and think, “Wouldn’t something like that be so nice.” But then I’ll sit on my front porch after a long day weeding with a glass of iced tea surrounded by the sounds of songbirds echoing through the landscape and I quickly change my opinion. After all, what good is a peaceful garden if the traffic noise drowns out the joys of nature?

Flower Gardening Made Easy

CHOOSE COLOR(S) WISELY BEFORE GOING TO THE GARDEN CENTER! - Think about the colors you want in your garden. Many 1st time gardeners (including me once) just go to the garden center and start choosing whatever stuff they like and don't consider how the colors work together. It's better if you stick to TWO COLORS of flowers in your garden or just ONE. Choose colors that look good together (my favorites PURPLE and YELLOW.)

FOR INSTANT GRATIFICATION - You can buy all the plants listed below already started in pots at any garden center so you don’t have to worry about how/when to plant the bulbs and seeds.

FOR THE BUDGET-MINDED - If you are on a limited gardening budget, planting from seed and bulbs will save you a lot of money, but you will not get to see the fruits of your labor until next year. Try planting bulbs and seeds and mix in a few grown plants for some blooms now knowing you’ll see even more when the others take root next year.

SPRING COLOR - If you want spring TULIPS and DAFFODILS, but didn't plant your bulbs last fall, you can buy blooming plants at the garden center to plant right now in your garden. They will continue to come up year after year. Plant these in a sunny or partly sunny spot.

SUMMER COLOR - For sunny spots, try summer blooming DAYLILIES (left) and IRISES (right) or Aug/Sept blooming MUMS, which all come up every year. The nice thing about these particular sunny plants is that their leaves look nice before and after they bloom so you can keep your flower beds nicely filled in if you cut off the dead blooms after they wilt (give your kids some safety scissors and have them help you out with this for family fun).


SHADY SPOTS - If you have a shady spot, plant HOSTAS (shown left) as they always grow well in most any soil and come up every year. They are a big leafy green plant (not like a bush) with long stemmed purple flowers that bloom briefly in mid-summer.


FOR SEASON-LONG COLOR - If you want a few plants to sit on the front steps for color to bloom all season long, choose GERANIUMS (right), which come in white, pink, purple, or red. They won't come back each year, but they will re-bloom all season especially if you give them a little bloom food now and then.

For help on choosing what to plant, visit: Flower Gardening Made Easy

Imagine Life without a Computer?

Today a random and seemingly trivial thought ran through my mind: what would daily life be without a computer and, more significantly, without the Internet? No email, instant weather or news updates, infinite Search engines, or do-it-yourself flight reservations. Wow, I hadn’t realized just how connected I really am to my computer until I really thought of what it would mean to do without it.

For some reason, the thought occurred to me while scanning headlines from my favorite news site CNN.com with an article titled, “Ninety years of birdwatchers’ notes going online.” The North American Bird Phenology Program is publishing online bird watchers’ notes (like the one shown here, right) dated from as far back as 1880. Over 6 million hand-written note cards worth of avian insights on over 900 species (some of which have since become extinct) are being converted into a computer catalog for browsing and searching. Oh, the marvel of instant access to these miraculous words of wonder!

The significant impact of these and countless other things we now take for granted like being able to email friends and family all across the globe with just a few keyboard strokes and mouse clicks is awe-inspiring. So, could I do the same things without a computer? Yes, but undoubtedly with more effort. I do already write monthly letters to my grandmother in southern Iowa, as she herself has never used a computer. The local news stations provide updated news and weather, as do many cable stations devoted to keeping us updated on current events. Libraries used to be, and for many still are, the information-keepers, yet that avenue requires (like many things) travel and more work to do the same task.

Even the computer itself has become ever more flexible as laptops provide easy transport from room-to-room or portable offices for travel. We can watch DVDs, listen to music, make and print greeting cards, edit home-movies and digital photographs, and do our own income taxes. I think of how much trouble my grandmother had learning to use a remote control for her television and chuckle knowing she will never have use for a cell phone or GPS device (she doesn’t even know how to drive anyway). So, yea I could get along well enough without a computer I suppose, but I sure would miss it!

Spring Arrivals

It seems winter must have one last hurrah as last night we received a fresh 4” blanket of snow and although it won’t last a full 24-hours, it dampens my spring dreams nonetheless. Small miracles like a surprise bouquet of tulips from my husband and occasional 50° sunny days had begun to make March feel like warmer days were here to stay, yet Mother Nature’s sense of humor reminds me anything is possible.

The stark contrast between green dreams one day and snow-filled landscape the next still gives me hope that spring bulbs will soon be emerging from the dark, wet soil. The plethora of robins at my feeders lately proves earth’s rebirth is near. I wonder if the robins also get annoyed at the sudden change in weather. I imagine a husband and wife set of robins considering why they came north so soon and perhaps they should have waited until April to make the trip.

I am rather “expectant” of my garden babies this year anxiously awaiting their arrival. While it's too soon to relocate houseplants and new seedlings like these Cosmos beauties to the front porch for spring/summer, each day I cannot help checking the weather forecast anyway. Perhaps my longing has more to do with waiting for time to pass until my beloved husband’s return from Iraq. I know once the weather stays warm that my husband will be home for good.

Until then, I’m waiting, waiting, waiting for the snow to melt and for my spring babies to make their appearance.

Where the Green Grass Grows

The promise of warmer weather later this week has me anticipating outdoor yard work and garden shed organization in preparation for seed sprouting season, which is just the type of green “therapy” I need to cure my end-of-winter blahs. Now, if only I could find that list of stuff to start from seed that I compiled a few days ago. Oh, how I yearn to be outdoors with a warm breeze and sunshine on my skin digging in dirt!

Lately, dreams of daffodils and tulips engulf me as I eagerly await the rebirth of those sleeping pastel beauties. After the unusually long and harsh winter we’ve endured, the arrival of spring will truly feel like a miracle of nature. Even though that spring 'To Do' list is likely more than I can handle, you won’t hear me grumbling once I get green-grass underfoot.

Each week as I pass the floral section at the local supermarket, I feel the pots of spring bulbs calling me louder and louder saying, “Please take me home…who knows when this cold spell will finally break.” So far, I’ve avoided the temptation, but I’m afraid I cannot hold out much longer…and maybe I shouldn’t resist. I could use a few more spring bloomers out front and their sunny disposition always provides a welcome respite.

Want a fun new spring project to try? Visit this link: Chair Planter.

You can use an old chair of your own or pick one up dirt-cheap at a local thrift store. Try using potted bulbs like tulips or daffodils that you can later plant right into your garden!

Countrified

Raising a family in today’s climate is adventurous and complex. Living in a small, rural community makes communication easier between parents given there are fewer families coupled with that small-town mentality. Some would call it clandestine, which I wouldn’t necessarily dispute, yet we do watch out for each other’s kids and property because that’s what you do in a small town. We don’t have “city cops” to patrol the streets so community action is all we have for protection. Yea, everybody knows everyone else’s “business” but that familiarity is comforting to me. I like that people keep you informed even if you sometimes wish you hadn’t heard certain things.

Driving along our country roads (which are always in need of repair), you’ll find that most drivers wave at you, but the type of greeting varies from the one-finger raised from the steering wheel, to the raised-arm, to the forehead-salute, or the head-nod, and sometimes (for folks you know well) it’s the hand-wave and wide grin. You’ll likely meet up with some barking dogs alongside the road (or in the middle if they’re young pups) and possibly a Rhode Island Red or Bantam rooster strutting about as if they own the road.

If you have a flat tire or hood up on your vehicle alongside the road, you are pretty much guaranteed to attract a friendly face offering help or a ride to town. You’ll also find retired gents congregating over a cup of coffee at the gas station, kids riding their bikes to school, and a complete absence of traffic save for when school starts and ends. If your daily commute to work often leaves you stuck in a traffic jam behind a slow-moving tractor pulling a load of grain or hay, consider yourself countrified.

Technologically Challenged

Although the adage always proves true, no one wants to admit to the inevitable “becoming your parents” experience. Yet, it happens sometimes subtly and other times it smacks you in the face. Usually it’s not until after the episode that you recognize the eerie similarities. Recently, an exasperating encounter with a videophone internet program that my husband (in Iraq) wanted to try proved, yet again, that technology is changing faster than I am.

As a parent myself, it never ceases to amaze me how easily our boys learn and use the latest hi-tech gadgets. I learn well enough, but frustrate easily when things don’t work as I expect. For example, navigating the internet is a fluid exercise for them, yet for me it can be a rather bumpy ride at times. Even the act of “writing” has gone hi-tech by forcing you to compose at the keyboard instead of in your head. Personally, there are times I prefer putting pen to paper but the older I get, the more I appreciate the ease of use my laptop computer provides.

With technology encroaching into every facet of our lives from coffee makers to washing machines to the vehicles we drive, it seems the days of rotary dials and simple on/off switches are long gone. Recently I purchased a new desk lamp because I liked the style but couldn’t figure out how to turn it “on” as I thought the switch had broken off, but turns out it was a “touch” lamp. My dad got a kick out of me trying to “touch” one of his lamps to turn it on but apparently, it was the “regular” kind and not the “fancy” kind as he called it.

I guess I am the “tween” generation being born to the rotary-dial age (like my parents) and having grown up in the digital age (to which my kids were born). I like the advances and enjoy being able to set a timer on my coffee maker to have fresh java when I wake up at 7am, but I dislike the frustrating 30 minutes it took me to figure out how to set it up the first time. My husband likes having his favorite television program recorded and sent to him on DVDs (the current episodes, not the ones you buy in the store), but that means each time I run out of DVDs, I’ll spend 15 minutes at Best Buy trying to remember which type of recordable DVDs work in our DVD recorder.

For the Birds

Life on a farm includes caring for a multitude of crops and animals. I grow herbs and veggies for drying and canning and always enjoy making hoards of apple butter from our various apple trees. Yet growing, tending, and cutting flowers is what really makes my heart soar! Even dividing bulbs, rhizomes, and hostas is great fun as it means I get more free plants to disperse. This love of flowers has provided other surprises I’ve come to enjoy as much as finding new buds on a lilac or peony bush: butterfly and bird watching.

Gardening is a never-ending learning experience full of experimentation and wonder just like my on-going appreciation for our winged and feathered friends. I observe these avian beauties with awe and curiosity to understand how they live, what and how they eat, and where they raise their young. Recognizing the subtle color variations of similar birds and knowing the names of the most strikingly beautiful birds (like the Indigo Bunting) has become as second nature to me as spying weeds from a distance among my flowerbeds. In Iowa, gardening is a three-season affair with the winter months dragging at a snail's pace. The few plants I winter indoors like pink geraniums don’t nearly satisfy my green thumb, so I’ve come to appreciate bird watching for its year-round appeal.

Of course, anytime I feed the birds our cows have gotten the idea that means I will have something for them too. Just before our two mama cows had calved last spring, I began feeding them cracked corn/protein and carried it to their feed trough in a bucket. I also use a (different) bucket to carry the birdseed to refill my birdfeeders. So now, anytime the cows see me toting a bucket around, they saunter to the fence and stare me down often mooing to get my attention. I don’t feed them cracked corn now but I do keep extra apples in the fridge as they enjoy eating them almost as much as the corn. I got in the habit of feeding them apples from our apple trees to get rid of the bruised, fallen, and unsavory ones. The experience has taught me that cows have good eyesight (probably better than mine without my glasses).

Snowbound

Yesterday I did my usual online check of the weather forecast to see what the “experts” predicted for the coming weekend. I was amazed to see a Winter Advisory for 2-4” of snow and wondered when a few inches of snow in Iowa began requiring an Advisory. But after waking to a new 6” blanket of snow, I decided I was thankful for the forewarning nonetheless.

Outside our kitchen window near my desk, our trees and bushes are often filled with feathered friends who regularly beckon me to fill their feeders. It’s amazing to learn the habits of these creatures and know with a look what they’re thinking. One bird perched on a branch near the window began staring at me intently with its head cocked as if to appeal to my sense of duty. So despite the howling snow and wind, I donned my coat, gloves and snow boots then headed out with my full pail of birdseed to quell their hunger.

Our dog, Lucky, is quite the dramatist during snowfalls running and leaping through big drifts one minute then standing outside the sliding doors the next fake shivering asking to be let inside. Make no mistake, though, this canine is an outside dog who relishes his rounds about the farm checking on everything in his territory. His dramatic feats are designed for my benefit, it seems, because even if I do let him inside, he’ll quickly ask to be let back out to chase off a small herd of deer or a stray dog.

Our cows have their own mannerisms in the winter and today they each have a blanket of snow clinging to their backs as they chow down at the newly filled hay feeder. In the warm months, they each go their own way rather independently with the two babies play fighting now and then. In the winter, they stick together and move as a pack to use each other’s body heat to keep warm never wandering too far from their food source.

Even though we are snowbound for today, there is plenty to see and do around our farm. With the bright sun shining in the crystal blue sky, I might head out for a walk down the lane shortly to see what other snow-covered miracles I can find.

Do It Now

The end of a year and start of another is always good cause to review both the good and lesser events that transpired the last twelve months. For many Americans, the economy has yielded many heart-wrenching and sleepless nights while electing the nation’s first African-American president has inspired joy and hope alike. This annual review seems to prompt us to make certain “promises” to ourselves to do better in 2009. A scan of the Sunday newspaper ads in January will tell you Exercise and Health are often big resolutions after the overindulgences of the holidays.

The tricky thing about goals is how you sell them to yourself. Typically, we regard goals as tedious objectives that just need done. That’s where I always get stuck by mentally sabotaging things before I even really get started. Then another year goes by and you’re still sporting those extra pounds, haven’t finished that front porch project, or keep putting off publishing that book or going back to college.

Some time ago, I composed a personal proverb, wrote it on a piece of tape, and affixed it to my computer screen. This three-word motto is action oriented and helps me cut through the mental sludge that I use to procrastinate (more often than I care to admit). I even, briefly, considered getting it tattooed on the inside of my wrist, but concluded that idea was a little severe.

Time is usually the biggest barrier to establishing new routines (especially with our already exhaustive schedules). For me, the process of over-analyzing the “how” inflates that molehill into a mountain faster than my dog can chase a cat up a tree! Some experts advise finding ways to make your goals fun so you’re more likely to do them. OK, so listening to an iPod while working out can make that particular activity more enjoyable, but certain aspirations are just plain not fun, so what then?

That’s where your personal proverb becomes crucial. Some might label this a self-imposed “guilt trip” or mental kick-in-the-pants, but too often our brain is the thing limiting our accomplishments. Cut that part out of the equation and all you’re left with is Get It Done, Just Do It, or (my personal favorite) Do It Now. Start anywhere and anytime without imposing restrictions on yourself. Remember, any effort and improvement is better than where you were yesterday, right? That old Greek fable The Tortoise and the Hare teaches a lesson we too often forget: Slow and steady wins the race.

Getting started feels good and soon you won’t have to work at making time for the new routine. Overcoming fears of publishing and reader feedback has been an obstacle of mine (despite having a Bachelor’s Degree in English). After reading a December 2007 gardening article referencing the writer’s blog site, I decided blogging might be an avenue for me, so in January 2008, Flowermama Rocks was born. Granted, it’s not a book on a Barnes & Noble shelf, but it is a place to publish my work, analyze feedback, and hone my craft. It’s been a long and arduous year at times (especially with my husband being deployed in Iraq), but the writing has taken on a life of its own and is just part of my routine much like that wonderful first cup of morning coffee or a swim on a hot day.

So, right now, write a personal proverb of your own that inspires you to get going on those New Year’s promises to yourself. Keep your eye on the goal, but enjoy yourself along the way to make the journey worth continuing.