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Monday, April 21, 2014

Free day at Powell Gardens

It will be public gardens free day on Friday, May 9th, and annually Powell Gardens participates.  They are again this year, and no coupon is necessary.  Plan to go if you can!!   

101% Savings Shopping Trip

I watched kiddo's today who live just a few blocks from CVS....So, of course I had to take advantage of that.  Here was "the haul for today".


4 bottles of Ajax dish washing soap, 2 degree deodorants, 2 gear deodorants.. Beginning total was $28.78 before taxes...BUT, I didn't pay that....instead.....

I rolled $10 off CVS bucks from last weeks into this deal.  I also went to the CVS website and loaded coupons onto my CVS card, and when I went into the store I stopped at the red kiosk inside the store  and had more coupons printed off after I entered my card number.  Then, I used some manufacture coupons.

Originally my sale resulted in them owing me money...which the cashier said she could not do.  So, I grabbed another powerade.

Net result.....I paid 7 cents.


That came to a 101% savings.


Considering I did not have a paper yesterday to study the sale ads, I put this shopping trip together rather quickly after I got into the store.

If you have a CVS card, always always load all the electronic coupons off their site to your card.  You never know when you may need one.  Always carry your coupon book with you, so that you can take advantage of extra savings if you find an item on sale that was not on your list.  And, always head to the red kiosk inside the store first thing.

I also earned $3 in reward bucks.  If you are not familiar with EB or extra buck rewards, they are coupons that are the same as cash.  They are good on almost anything in the store.  You earn them when you buy certain items, or a set amount of dollars in a particular part of the store, such as on cosmetics, or shaving items.  Also ask for rain checks if they are out of a particular item.  (I have 3 rain checks from tonight's trip for items I wanted to get that they were out of.  Those items I had coupons for that would have resulted in free items--my coupons for them expire April 30 and May 10, so as long as I use the rain check before then, I am good)

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Plugging Away

Still waiting for spring.  "They" say it is here....but we keep having cool days.  I am ready for a steady 70 degree temperature.  I have potatoes and garlic and onions growing in my south dining room window that I would like to move outdoors.  I almost did twice, but each time I didn't for some reason and was later glad as we had snows soon after.  So....I wait.....

Daughter #3 graduates next month.  Doesn't seem like it was 17 years ago that she entered this world. Now, she is preparing to leave the nest and head off to college for pre medical school.

Daughter #4 is working on her scuba diving online classes and daughter #5 is waiting for her flying lessons to start back up later this month.  She only flies April thru October, due to winter weather, so she is anxious to get back up flying.

We have only 3 weeks left of home school coop.  This semester I am teaching one day a week at the coop.  My classes are evolution vs creation, and Personal Safety (which is American Heart  Based CPR and First Aid).  I have some younger kids in the class and they have impressed me with their willingness to learn and ability to perform in the CPR class.

My numerous trips to the doctors have finally paid off.  My rotator cuff injury is 95% healed, my slipped disc and calcium deposit on my hip is now pain free, thanks to the chiropractor, and a local specialist has done follow ups on my recent surgery and changed my medications around.  This now has resulted in my hemoglobin going up to the 10 range (was in the low 7's and high 6's for awhile, which left me only wanting to sleep all the time and with no energy).

I am trying to get my house ready to rent again.  I had to evict the previous renters--they decided they were too good to pay the rent, and cleaning was not necessary.  They broke the lease in several ways, including having animals inside the house, hoarding and not paying.  To put it mildly, it was a stinking mess.  We even had to scrub animal messes off the walls.  They ruined the ground floor kitchen ceiling, but allowing animals upstairs to soil the floor to the point it dripped thru the upstairs hardwood floors and onto the ceilings.  We had to remove the ceilings of 3 rooms as a result.  The took carpet up (which was new before they moved in), without permission, broke the dishwasher (found part of it in the yard even), broke the cook stove top, broke every shelf in the refrigerator, ruined hardwood flooring, window treatments, trashed the yard (4 truckloads of trash taken out so far),  allowed the washer cold water to leak along with almost all the faucets and slopped paint all over one of the upstairs bedrooms..and that is just for starters.... The house was filthy to say the least, and they lived in it, along with their children.  When they moved out, they even took all the light bulbs, and left all their trash all over the house..  That is just gross.  We have several hundred hours of work completed, and several hundred more to go.  I just don't understand how people can be so low to treat someone elses property with such little respect to trash it, not pay their bills,  and how they can live in such filth and make their children live in such filth.  Training their children to not pay their rent and to live in filth.  Wonderful parenting, don't you think??  Yet, they had money for boats, new cars, 4 wheelers, flat screen tv's in about every room of the house, food for all their pets, money for booze (they left all the empties behind)......

Anyway.....

Friday, March 21, 2014

Free Prom Dresses, Kansas City area

I was asked to share this......

Woods Chapel United Methodist Church 10th Annual FREE Prom Boutique! 4725 NE Lakewood Way Lee's Summit Mo 64064
Over 3,000 dresses sizes 0-28 Free to ALL teen girls. Free Alterations will be available.



Hours:

Tues Mar 25 3pm-7pm

Wed Mar 26 3p,-7pm

Thur Mar 27 3p,-7pm

Fri Mar 28 3p-7pm

Sat Mar 29 9am-2pm


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Gooseneck camper for sale

1993 Dutchwind.  Queen bedroom up front, and sofa and dinette also open to sleep additional persons.  When the slide out is open, there is enough floor space for a couple cots or air beds.  Slide out needs some work, as does the refrigerator.  No leaks, smoke free, and pet free.  Asking $6000 but will entertain offers.  Located in NW Missouri.  We have decided that we would rather go back to a bumper hitch.  With our family, we like to take our bikes, electric scooter, grill,  and such, and we could do that with a bumper hitch, but not with a gooseneck.  That being said, we would also entertain trading it for a bumper hitch if it had the right inside layout.











Hugs, Melinda: Come gather at my table (and a giveaway)

Here is a giveaway for you......



Hugs, Melinda: Come gather at my table (and a giveaway): It has often been said that the kitchen is the heart of the home.  I know that is true in my house.  I love my kitchen, with it's bright...

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Recycled Gardening

Check out this site (Lessons in Farming) about re-growing lettuce.  Yes, it works, I have done it.

My garlic,and celery is also regrown from year to year.  No GMO for me.

You can also do this with onions, pineapple, ginger, potatoes, carrots and more.

My garlic is wanting outdoors, but it is still too cold.  In fact, it was snowing this morning.  But I am so ready to get my raised beds started.  I still don't have them prepped, as I am still recovering from my surgery (now at 6 weeks) and fighting a low hemoglobin.  But, the last 2 days I feel like it has gone up some,  I have more energy, and am napping less.  For the last 2 weeks,  I have been eating a lot of green leafy vegetables, and have doubled up on my iron.  I think it is finally paying off.  The doctor told me I would not see it go all the way back up for probably 6 months, so I still have 4 months to go of taking the higher iron and B12 doses.  But, as soon as it gets to what he feels is a good number, he will release me back to normal activities.

So, hopefully one day this week I can get my beds topped with rabbit manure and add another layer of black soil.    I already have my dirt (bought last fall at 70% off), the bags have been sitting by the beds all winter long, just waiting to be added this spring.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Rocky Oak Homestead™: When did it become ok?

You need to read this, because I could not have said it better myself........



Rocky Oak Homestead™: When did it become ok?: After my short sabatical a while back I explained my blog would be a series of many different topics, including those of my faith...so, toda...

Monday, February 17, 2014

Sick of being sick.....

Husband has been sick.  I have been sick....I think, as of today, we are finally on the mend with part of it. Husbands started out as a cold then it settled into his chest.  Mine stayed a head cold.  Today is the first day that I have had no sinus headache and am not getting short of breath.  He called me from work earlier and said he was feeling somewhat better as well.

Meanwhile, since we have felt blah, I didn't get all my seeds started....so far, just the garlic and onions.  And, I've done good to remember to even water them.

The snow is finally starting to melt, so the entire farm is a muddy mess, with deep puddles everywhere. There remains quite a bit that still needs to melt.

One thing for sure, between now and next winter, a change needs to be made on how we water the stock in the feed lot.  We battled the hydrant and hose freezing up all winter long.  We need to get a better solution. We also need to add a few more outlets to the barn, as the stock tank heaters go on the same circuit as plugging in the tractor.  I know we could just put them on different circuits, but we really do need a few more outlets out there anyway, so may as well do it right the first time.

As soon as the weather gets a little warmer, and my cold is completely gone, it looks like I will be having another surgery....Was hoping to avoid it, but the medications are not working (they did for the first week or so), so it is time for the next step.  I was supposed to go to the specialist this week but they changed my appointment until next month.  Which, probably was a good thing since I was sick.  But, its to the point now I am tired of messing with my health and want it all fixed now.

Rebecca is still working on her online scuba diving stuff.  When she gets it completed, (deadline is coming up in a couple of weeks) she will do her pool exercises, then head to Arkansas for lake diving so she can obtain her scuba certification.  The husband has been working on his too, but overtime and being sick have him far behind her.  She is getting some PE and science credit for her classes.

I was referred to a wonderful site I want to share.  Its not the same as what I had before (handwritten out and lost), but it is close, and better than nothing.  It is a website that tells you how many pounds to grow per person for reserving foods.  What I had before, was written out for me by an Amish woman that told how many feet, how many plants per person and rows of plants to plant per person.  (All I can remember is 9 tomato plants per person, to make your ketchup, sauces and for table eating).

Anyway, it is located here.
Please visit her site, http://www.granny-miller.com/  She has a lot of interesting and useful information on it.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Winter Blahs....


We have snow.  The local schools have been out since Tuesday.  As usual, we got a lot of drifting, and the county plowed our driveway shut.  Our road drifted shut within an hour after the county cleared it, but we have some nice neighbors who have been keeping my county road open.  Tues we could get out, but Wednesday we were drifted back in.  Once again, the neighbors opened the road.  Once you make it to the road, your fine.  But, it takes a 4x4 or the tractor to get out of the driveway.

Last night it was bitterly cold.  For some reason, Momma Cat brought her kittens out of their warm home and onto our front porch, were I found them this morning.  We worked on trying to save them.  Butterscotch (my husbands favorite) did not make it.  I think Wampus Kitty will.  We have been working on her all day. We warmed her up gradually, gave her drops of warm honey and finally she started drinking some warm milk.  But, momma cat wont have anything to do with her.  I don't understand why she brought them to the front porch.  They have 2 spots where they can go outside that are nice and warm--one is in the barn, and the other is in the chicken coop.  By looking at the tracts, it appears she carried them up.  No way the kittens could have gotten back on their own as some of the drifts she crossed are 3 foot tall.  So, they stayed where she put them and froze.

She will spend the next few nights in a cat carrier in the house.  She is doing so much better than she was this morning.  She was frozen and stiff, and is now able to walk some, meow, and drink warm milk and honey on her own.  However, she prefers to be on someones lap on my heat pad, wrapped up in a towel.  She was having seizures earlier, but they seem to have gone away now.

Normally we don't allow cats in the house, as my husband is allergic.  And, our barn cats are working cats. Without them we would lose a lot more grain and feed to the birds and mice.

Tomorrow I have my follow up appointment with my local doctor from my emergency surgery I had last week in Indiana.  This will determine if I can come off of restrictions that my Indiana doctor put me on, or have additional surgery, which he thinks I need.  I'd rather just take a magic pill and be done with it all, but evidently they don't make such a thing.


Sunday, February 2, 2014

FREE ebook on starting seeds....



GET IT FREE HERE.

If you don't have an e-reader (I don't) then download one of the free ones online that you can put onto your computer.  I have several free ebooks on gardening now from Amazon.com obtained this way....

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Onion Container Gardening

I found this on pinterest.   It orginally comefrom a blog freshorganicgardening.com, This would be an easy way to have onions year around, or for those without a yard to grow their own onions in.

This one uses a plastic container with holes cut in it.  But, I don't like mixing plastics with my foods (many plastics release toxins into our foods).

But, one could do the same thing with a clay strawberry pot......


This would be a good way to get onion greens or chives for salads.  Kids would have fun making this project.

Planting Tips

I try to companion plant when possible.



Some plants give nutrients other plants need.  Companion planting helps them to do that, so that plants are not fighting each other for what they need from the soil.

It is also good rotate your crops and  to let your soil rest every 7 years.  Even the Bible teaches that in Exodus 23:11.

Most of my gardening is raised beds.  With raised beds, rotating is easy.  And, each year I add more soil and manure, straw and such to the beds.  That keeps the soil from getting striped of nitrogen, and other nutrients.

2014 Garden Beginnings

Even though the ground is covered with ice and snow....my 2014 garden is underway.

My garlic is now up around 6-8 inches...... (about the same as the snow outside...)  I've heard people say it has to be planted in the fall.  I have always had good luck, and have never started garlic in the fall, always in January.


My little greenhouse sits in along a row of south windows.  You can't tell by this photo, but there is a floor register under it.  That gives it a shot of heat every now and then, if we have the heat on.


I planted my onion seeds today, and they too will be sprouting in about a week or a little more.  I've been told that if you trim the tops of the onion and garlic, that forces them to grow a better bulb.  So, this year I will be trimming them down.

Tomorrow I will soak my asparagus seeds, and then plant them in dirt on Monday.  I have wanted an asparagus bed for several years, and since it takes 2-3 years before you can harvest, I decided if I didn't get it done this year, it would be another 4 year delay....So, will finally do it.

Most of my seeds are from last years harvest, or off of ebay.

NFL Bans Daniel Defense Super Bowl Ad Response

WARNING....This does contain some language.

But, it makes some very good points.

Why was the commercial which supports guns banned by the NFL, yet the half nude dancers, singers, alcohol ads and such are allowed????   What about all the other TV shows that promote all this stuff?  What of those messages that are being sent?



Wednesday, January 29, 2014

no good news

We came to Indiana for my cousins funeral.  While attending the visitation Monday night I became ill and ended up being admitted to a hospital that night, and having emergency surgery on Tuesday morning.....not quite what I had in mind.

It is cold here in Indiana, with temps below zero.  Hopefully will be on the road soon!  Back to home and warmer Missouri temps where my husband reports it is a warm 21 degrees.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Free Live Streaming of Bill Nye/Ken Ham Debate - Answers in Genesis

Free Live Streaming of Bill Nye/Ken Ham Debate - Answers in Genesis



From answersingenesis.org:



"The February 4 debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham at the Creation Museum has generated tremendous interest across America. Online debate tickets for a spot in our 900-seat Legacy Hall sold out in less than two minutes, and coverage in the news media, blogs, and other websites has continued to remain intense.



We have been working behind the scenes in an effort to allow all interested people, wherever they are around the globe, to view this debate live. To this end, we are pleased to announce that this debate will be available to view online and free of charge at debatelive.org. We hope that many will take advantage of this opportunity to view the debate in real time. You may watch the debate at home, or organize a gathering to show the live stream to your small group, your youth group, your entire church, or other groups.

A recording of the debate will subsequently be available for purchase on DVD and as a digital download, which will help offset the significant costs in organizing and sponsoring the debate.

Some additional details appear in the following news alert which we distributed this morning to the national media:

What: An evolution/creation debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham at the Creation Museum.

Tickets offered online for the debate being held inside the museum̢۪s 900-seat Legacy Hall sold out in less than two minutes. The debate will now be available live and online, and FREE of charge, at debatelive.org.

The live stream is powered by Google+ Hangouts On Air, through YouTube. This live and unedited presentation will be available in high definition (HD) for large screen viewing in schools, churches, and other public venues, at no cost.
When: The debate will take place on Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 7 PM EST.



Where: A live audience will be watching in Legacy Hall inside the Creation Museum (located near the Cincinnati Airport) as people worldwide watch the debate online at debatelive.org.

 
Details: The agreed-upon topic for the debate is: â€Å“Is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?” Ken Ham is a leading creation apologist, best-selling Christian author, Creation Museum founder, and President/CEO of Answers in Genesis. Bill Nye is the former host of the popular Bill Nye the Science Guy TV program for children, current executive director of the Planetary Society, and frequent guest on TV interview programs on science topics, like evolution and creation.

Detailed information about the Nye/Ham debate can found on the online event page. The debate will be live streamed via debatelive.org.

Thank you for your interest and support for this significant outreach opportunity. Talk to your church leaders about hosting a special live showing of the debate in your church, Bible study, or other location (a man who just heard about the live stream is looking into renting a local theater to show the debate on a large screen, using our high-definition capability). It will bless and equip your Christian friends and family with faith-building teaching, plus you now have the opportunity to reach out to your community with the creation/gospel message through a public showing of the live debate.

We pray that this debate will honor Christ our Creator and direct many people to the foundations of our faith which are found in the Bible, from the very first verse. Point your friends to debatelive.org."