WOW! A VERY UNGRATEFUL RECIPIENT!

We dropped off our Son's "too small" clothes at "The Daisy", our local hospital used clothing store, NEVER AGAIN WILL I MAKE A DONATION THERE UNLESS I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE. There was another lady taking donated stuff in ahead of us. The lady that opened the door the first time was very nice, she seemed happy when I said we had kids clothes, all washed, folded and sorted. We went back to the car for a few more boxes, knocked on the door (3 tim

es) someone finally opened the door and flipped out on us. Yelling : "YOU KNOW THERE'S A 6 BOX LIMIT" I said, "no I didn't know, we have 7 boxes and everything is all washed, sorted and folded neatly" She then YELLS: "WELL THE STUFF DOESN'T JUST JUMP OUT OF THE BOXES YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO UNPACK IT, WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH ROOM....." At this point she was KICKING the stuff across the room! I then yelled back at her, having enough of her ungrateful attitude "THAT'S FINE, WE CAN TAKE IT ALL BACK WITH US, WE WON'T BRING THE OTHER BOX IN AND I WON'T EVER BRING ANYTHING ELSE HERE EVER AGAIN". I slammed the door in her face (had to clean up what I actually feel like calling her) and we left. I dropped the other box off at the family resource centre. I never thought I would leave a place where I was making a donation crying! My feelings were so hurt, I thought I was doing a fantastic thing. Guess not. I will never walk on their doorstep ever again unless I have no other choice. What a horrible way to treat someone. I'm in shock and my feelings are very hurt.

Parting with my Son's "too small" clothes has been very emotional for me, perhaps more emotional than it should be.  To me, it's a feeling that we're giving up on having a second child.  I'm getting tired of thinking about it, if it happens it happens but at this point I have had to make the decision to just move on, no more hoping, wishing and planning for it.  Sadness then mixed with anger and the tears started to roll.  When I get angry, I cry.  As I said, I thought I was doing a great thing, donating the clothes to them.  Getting spit in the face like that really set me back and hurt my feelings.  I don't feel I deserved to be treated in such a way.  They sell their children clothes by the box, all they have to do is look through the box to make sure nothing is there that shouldn't be and put it out on the floor!  If I knew who to make a complaint to I would.  No need of her speaking to me that way.

I thought I would post this update of my experience with giving away the clothes.  Thank goodness I already had arrangements to leave the books at another charitable resource, I also gave them the other box of clothes that was in the car when the lady yelled at me.  I'm still in shock....and upset.

'til next time.....hopefully it will be a much happier, positive post!

The First Snow....

The first snow has fallen here in Nova Scotia.  Not a lot, just a light dusting.  My Son was so excited this morning.   I am waiting for the question "Is Santa Coming Now" from my Son since I brilliantly told him Santa can't come until it snows....so, it's snowed..Santa should be coming....right???  Oh the things we say and wish we could take back!!

Heading out to check out the snow.....

I have decided to turn our spare bedroom into an office for myself.  It has been packed with boxes of baby clothes, booster seats, car seats and other baby stuff for years, time to clear it out and put the room to use.  Letting go of the baby stuff is not easy but the idea of having a usable space is great incentive.

Assembling my new desk....yay!....

So, now I have to load the car up with 8 boxes of baby clothes which I'm donating to our hospital used clothing store and 2 boxes of books I'm donating to a local Family Support Centre.  There's many many many more boxes of clothes to go!

'til next time!

Common Sense.....

I have this great desire to repaint our living quarters.  So far, after staying up until 4:00am, I have finished one coat on the kitchen/dining area.

Tonight my Son and I went to our Church Hall (no wine served tonight haha) and helped the Ladies Auxiliary decorate their Christmas tree.  The ladies enjoyed having him there.  So, on our way home he was begging me to put up my Christmas tree (artificial, in the basement).  As the words were coming out of my mouth "Mommy's not putting up her tree until she finishes her painting"  I realized, I'm an idiot.  There's no way I will get all the painting I have planned finished before Christmas.  And why does it need to get finished before Christmas?  The kitchen will be done, that will be a nice accomplishment.  The rest can be done after the holidays.

Sometimes you just have to give your head a shake and focus on what's important. Yes, the walls need paint but enjoying the holidays with family and friends is much more important.

I will be happy to have the kitchen completed and we're taking the time to do it right, I hope.  And when I look at the mess the kitchen is in and realize it will take another week or so for us to complete, I know deciding to finish that project and then move on to enjoying the holidays is the right decision.

'til next time!!

Happy Birthday To ME!

Today I celebrate that I have lived to see another year pass by.  And I do mean that to sound positively.

I started the day at Church.  Today my Son and I participated in Communion for the first time.  As they came with the wafer and the drink I took one for myself and one for my Son.  I thought it was grape juice.  So, as mothers look after their children first, I held the tiny glass to my sons lips, he spit out the tiny little sip he had taken.  I then drank mine and to my shock, surprise and embarrassment, it was WINE!!!  I was shocked because I was told it was okay for him to participate, I was embarrassed because I was giving my Son WINE!!!!!  I know, it's meant to be something more symbolic but to me at this point in time it is WINE!!!!!  After the service I asked my Son's Sunday School Teacher if it really was wine in the tiny little glass.  Apparently 90% of the glasses contain wine, and the other 10% contain grape juice.  The lighter coloured drink is grape juice.  Good to know for next time!

I will spend the rest of my Birthday painting my kitchen/dining room.  I spent yesterday painting the kitchen/dining room ceiling.  Today I am tired and would rather rest but there seems to be no rest for the weary.  I want to get the project of painting the main living area complete before Christmas.  The colour I have selected for the kitchen/dining room is called "Coffee Crisp", which is quite fitting since that is one of my favourite chocolate bars.  :)

'til next time!!!

A full freezer.....

35 meat chickens went to the butcher Wednesday, that's it, they are all done!  YAY!

Days before they went to butcher they ate pumpkin, squash, swiss chard, spinach and kale.

This time I had 26 chickens cut into pieces.  Legs, thighs, breasts and wings.  And 9 were left as roasters.  I added prepared marinades to some so they are seasoned and ready to cook which will come in very handy on those work nights when time is very limited.  Hubby will also have no excuse when it comes to cooking the already seasoned chicken.  Just throw it in the oven.

It took us 2.5 hours to bag the chicken pieces.  And, since we had a long drive to the valley to pick it up after hubby got home from work, that meant we were bagging chicken at 12:30 AM, yes, that's right, midnight.  I was so happy when the last bag went into the freezer, I was very much ready for sleep.

Our freezer is now full to the brim with chicken.  Luckily we have two freezers since, when we arrived home with our processed chicken Friday night, there was a message from our local farmer friend that the side of pork we ordered is at our butcher ready to be cut and packaged.  That is our project this afternoon.  Go to the butcher, instruct how we want it cut, watch him cut and package it and bring it home for the freezer.  In my opinion, there's nothing like watching your food get handled so you know what conditions it was processed in.  We have made arrangements with someone to have it "home smoked" the old fashioned way.  YUM.  I just wish home smoked bacon season was the same time as home grown tomato season.  Last year I saved one package of home smoked bacon to make BLT sandwiches.  YUM YUM YUM!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  So, I will be doing the same this year, saving a package for next summer when my tomatoes are ripe.

Other than that....we have been working on cleaning up the garden, preparing more firewood and caring for our layer hens.

Speaking of which, it's time to get off the computer and head outside to enjoy this beautiful day, working on our firewood.

'till next time......

Worth A Try.....

I finally attempted to construct a shelter over my salad greens in hopes of protecting them from the frost.  It's not much to look at, not sure if it's going to help or not but it's worth a try....

My husband wasn't super happy when he found out I used plastic packing he was saving for an archery target ha ha!  ooops!

Because I have discovered the soil isn't that great I have applied an organic fertilizer. Hoping for fresh salad greens from my own garden for another month or so, fingers crossed it doesn't snow!!!!

'til next time!

No Romance.....

My Son is napping, I sat down to enjoy a delicious mussel supper when I realized the chicken coop wasn't closed up for the night, or so I thought.  When I arrived at the coop I found about 6 birds huddled outside the CLOSED door.  I am unsure if the wind blew it shut or my adorable Son closed it as the button was turned but I was smart enough to know the chickens would "go towards the light".  So, I hung my little LED flashlight inside the coop and shooed them inside.  Taking a quick glance I noticed our Momma hen and two chicks missing.  I then made a check under and round the building.  I found her, the chicks and 4 others perched in a fir tree near the coop.  I took the chicks first and put them in a secure pen inside the coop to keep them inside and safe.  I then closed the main door, opened one of the hatches and began transporting the hens from their nesting spot in the fir tree.  They were not happy with me, even after I explained it was better than being eaten by the giant neighbourhood raccoon.  Finally, scratched and poop covered arms later, all the birds are inside, safe.  Or I think they are ALL inside as I could not find any  more outside.

Owning a small Farm is not Romantic in the least.  It's a lot of work!  

'til next time!

A few inspiring quotes...

I wanted to post these quotes here so they don't get lost in the vast world of Facebook garble:

"Sometimes, if you want to keep someone in your life, understanding them, as opposed to trying to change them will improve the chances they will want to keep you in their life."
~Kim Bayne "Live Life Positively"


Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too. Life is a game, play it; Life is a challenge, Meet it; Life is an opportunity, Capture it. If today was perfect there would be no need for tomorrow.


You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Things I'm Looking Forward To....

The first thing I'm looking forward to is as close as tomorrow morning.  Church service with my family.  My husband is attending as well and taking our Son to Sunday school.  I am particularly excited because this means I can attend the entire Church Service.

This afternoon my Son and I walked to the mailbox to check for our monthly Church newsletter.  It was there, full of wonderful information and inspiration.  I am pleased to say I have put my mind at rest and decided to stick with learning the ways of our little country Church.  I enjoy the "old fashioned" nature of it.  I just have to realize it will take awhile for me to "settle in".

As I read the newsletter I noticed they had birthdays listed, of course mine is not listed as they don't even know when my birthday is.  Obviously, it's this month since I expected it to be in the list.  Maybe next year.  As I read further I see a Community Christmas Potluck notice and I'm thinking what dish I could make to take to that event.

Here is a sobering quote that my husband would probably say pertains to me:
"cranky old men/women don't wake up cranky on their seventieth birthday.  They were cranky about lots of things for many years and by the time they hit seventy, they had a whole lot more to be cranky about......Thank God that there are still some years left to work on the "crankiness"!

I find this quote in the bulletin ironic since "crankiness" is something I am working on.  Finding happiness within myself again.  And Church is part of my solution, something I'm doing for ME, to find peace with the world around me.  And since I was considering looking into a different Church I find it very ironic, as if it was "meant to be".

As I read the community events and notices I realize this is what I want to be a part of, my community Church.  It has more meaning than just worship, it's community togetherness.  I just have to be patient and learn as I go.  Slowly but surely I will find my way!

'til next time!