Lifestyle

Are you tired of fixing potholes and washouts in your gravel driveway? Is your paver patio settling into the ground? Do you have a sagging, collapsing retaining wall? These problems can have one thing in common; they were installed without using any “geotextile” fabrics or “geogrids”. Geotextiles are high-strength fabrics used to restrict the flow of fine particles and contaminants while allowing air, water, and fertilizer into the soil. “Geogrids” are high-strength netting, used as reinforcement between layers of block or gravel.

Have you ever considered having a home greenhouse? It’s certainly an appealing thought. Perhaps you could start your vegetable garden and bedding plants extra early from seed, saving money and getting the jump on the gardening season. In your wildest dreams you could over-winter delicate plants, or get extra years of life from your ferns, geraniums and poinsettias, or even harvest fresh vegetables in the dead of winter. From the smallest, cheapest greenhouse kits to elaborate “sunrooms” attached to your house, the daydream of having a climate-controlled growing space of your own is a pleasant fantasy.

As spring unfolds, the deep red blooms of red maple trees along the roadsides and in the woods really stand out. Within days, the blooms fall onto the pavement like blood-red snow. Did you know that red maple gets its name from these distinctive blooms?

Seventeen children came beaming in the doorway. There was a slight shuffling as they placed their coats on the couch and lined up in three rows to sing. Our country school next door was having a special day, and we got to be a part of it. The three little boys and I stood at the doorway and listened as the lower grades sang a favorite of mine.

The sun is shining. Ah, the wonder of spring becoming reality! Doesn’t it take the winter chill to enable us to appreciate the soothing rays of sunshine?

Two years ago was our last Valentine’s Day together. Daniel had come home from town a few days before with heart balloons fastened to a clear container hosting a huge chocolate kiss wrapped in red.

It’s a quiet Monday morning, and all six children are sound asleep at the moment. The week stretches ahead untouched. I wonder what it holds? God alone knows, but with him to guide, it will be excellent and safe. Last week, children Jesse and Elijah had their last four days of kindergarten; now, this week, it has come to a close for the year, and I will be teaching them at home. They want to go back to school to visit their friends and siblings sometime soon. School is only a skip and a hop from our house, they can even watch the children through the narrow strip of woods during recess time.

Years had passed since I had set foot on an icy pond. Motherhood had taken over, and priorities had shifted.

My kitchen is torn to pieces; everything is a huge mess.

We are home from church. The three oldest boys are playing volleyball in the kitchen (with a soft ball) and Julia, the bookworm, is reading. Hosanna and Joshua are playing with dolls in the living room and are singing German songs.