Roman Holiday

The garden is a growin'...

We have quite the little veggie patch again this summer.  I'm known for killing every houseplant I've ever had, but for some reason my little garden does spectacularly.  I don't get it!  We could feed half of the state of Michigan with what comes out of here it seems like, and I neglect it for the most part.  Every couple of weeks or so I go through and do a really thorough weeding job, but other than watering it once in a while I pretty much ignore it.  It's getting close to needing a good weeding again.  Here is a view from above on the deck, and this is AFTER I picked a bunch of lettuce, jalapenos, cucumbers and green onions to take to the Farmers Market this past weekend!  All of it is 100% Organic - not even any miracle grow on this produce.  Just compost from last year's produce overabundance, fresh air, clean water, and sunshine.  That's it!  And check out the tomato plants (from 10 feet up, mind you, that's why the fruit looks a little small.  It's actually much bigger).  These plants all self-seeded from last year!

This year I tried a little container gardening.  Not realizing that the tomato plants would appear out of nowhere, I put some seeds for "Sweeties" tomatoes in pots on the deck.  Yeah, we'll be making a lot of marinara and salsa around here!  But the plants really add to the atmosphere out here.  I love sitting out here in the morning with a fresh hot cup of Beaners Fair Trade Organic French Roast and the sound of the birds singing.  We've never really been able to enjoy the deck since we built it since we always had to be up and running around after toddlers.  But now that they are getting to be more capable of playing without injury, we can sit out here and watch them on the swingset/sandbox hut without dashing out there every 3 seconds.  It's been really nice.  So this year we made some additions to the furniture to make it more like an outdoor family room.  Just a couple of solar table lamps and side tables that were on clearance sale to go with the other chairs and table/chair set we already had.  I mean really inexpensive.  $17 tables and $15 lamps.  Seriously.  It's sitting outside in the elements -- I'm not spending the big bucks at Pottery Barn for that!  Add in the geraniums from the garden club fundraiser and the other misc flowers and veggie plants, and it feels like I have an outdoor oasis.  In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am outdoor kind of gal!  May as well enjoy what Mother Nature gave us...

There's always a catch...

While listening NPR a while ago, I heard a very startling news report.  I've been mulling it over for about 2 weeks now, and I'm finally at a point where I can deal with it. 

I've been a proponent of alternative fuels and energy sources for a long time, but perhaps not as vocal as I could be on the topic.  And if we didn't have so many car seats to fit into a vehicle, we'd have a more environmentally friendly car than our current Chrysler Town  & Country.  Yeah, we drive a minivan.  I hate it.  Don't tease me.  At least its not a huge Suburban or Expedition!  But, it's a Chrysler and we live in the hometown of General Motors, which is not a good thing...

Anyway, the information that disheartened me was this: Even if we replaced every vehicle on the road today with a hybrid vehicle or an ethanol-fueled vehicle, we would only lower our carbon emissions and dependency on fossil fuels/oil by 25%.  TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT!  I just can't wrap my brain around this.  It's depressing!

ON THE FLIP SIDE!  Chevy has come up with a concept vehicle, called the Chevy Volt.  If I heard correctly, you could recharge the battery in 6 hours.  And then drive 40 miles without ever needing to use the back-up traditional gasoline powered engine.  If you are a commuter who drives less than 40 miles per day going to work and home, you would theoretically NEVER NEED TO FILL THE TANK!!!  This car is about 10 years away from production, sadly, but what a promising future!

Here's the catch.  It would operate on the Lithium batteries, not the more common Ni-Cad batteries.  The problem lies in that the Lithium batteries are exensive to make, are not technologically advanced enough to be made large enough, and get quite hot in use, but they are better than the old Ni-Cad in longevity and construction.

Keep an eye on this car, folks.  It could be one of the answers to a multitude of problems facing mama earth! 

An FYI on the Eco-Laundering Front...

For all of you who reside in the Midwest and have a Meijer store nearby, there is a product on the shelves you should check out:

They have a new laundry detergent and a new fabric softener under the Meijer label.  According to the label (see photo below), it is biodegradable and made from all natural ingredients.  No laural-this or laureth-that.  No petro based anything.  All plant based.  I had to try it to see if it held up against the big guns like Seventh Generation and Ecover that we usually use here at home.  Surprisingly, it did just as well.  The laundry got just as clean with a nice subtle Lavender fragrance.  They also make it in the "free" version, with no fragrance at all, and perfect for sensitive skin.  It's also compatible with the HE machines that are in so many laundry rooms now.  At only $4.99 for a 32-load bottle, it is actually a little cheaper than the traditional detergents like Tide.  The fabric softener is $3.99 per bottle, but I'm not much of a softener fan.  It usually just leaves a residue on clothing causing it to attract more dirt at a faster rate, then requiring more frequent washing, which in turn does two things:  wastes and pollutes more water, and causes your clothes to wear out faster.  Check it out, you may like this new line!

Joys of Life

This is a typical morning around here --

Notice they are all still in their pajamas?  They don't even wait until they are dressed to get outdoors and play!  Our kids love summer, no doubt about it.  After a morning of fresh air, or:

 

another typical rise & shine activity of the boogie session with the Sesame Street cd's, lunchtime usually brings on a case of this:

the afternoon snooze-time, still in those pajamas, and in a coma on the couch.  They lie where they fall sometimes.  Wow, do they play hard!

We've been trying really hard to make sure we get time with each kid individually, too, which can be really hard with four of them running around.  The other night, Aelin got to go to the store with me to help for a while, and then today Annika came to the Old Town Farmers Market with me to check that out.  One of our loyal vendors reminded me that it was taking place, as it only happens once a month to correspond with the Gallery Walk when all of the art galleries open their new shows.  Aelin did have a lot of fun at the store with me, carrying her little basket around "shopping" for yarn and goodies!  I wish I had the camera with me then.  Unfortunately I didn't.  But I did have it with me today, for a change!  Annika thoroughly enjoyed herself painting a hubcap at the market!

Of course Attie gets to go do things quite often without her siblings.  That's probably because of her age more than anything.  Being 5 has it's advantages for her as well as for mom & dad.  Andrew on the other hand, doesn't go quite so much.  He's going to get caught up this fall, though.  Attie will be in kindergarten every morning during the week, so there will only be three at home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  But on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Aelin and Annika will be at preschool while Attie is at kindergarten, so he and I will have lots of one on one time together!  And by that time, he'll be just about 2, so it will be even more fun to watch him explore and learn. 

Not that anyone WANTS to know, but potty training twins can actually be accomplished.  Yay!  The girls are finally pull-up free during the day, and we couldn't be more thrilled.  They probably would've mastered it sooner if we weren't at such a busy point in our lives right now, but they still managed to do it only 2 months after turning 3.  We'll take it!  At least it didn't take until this fall, leaving us in a panic about the whole preschool thing!  So if you're going through it?  Take heart.  They'll get it.  Eventually.   Whether you do or not.  Because we didn't get it.  Sorry Andrew -- we still don't know what we're doing, so we hope you're like your sisters and figure it out for yourself!

Return to the Gardens

This year's bounty will include lettuce, onions, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and watermelon. Along with some surprises!  If you notice in the photos there are some random larger leaf sproutings that don't follow along the rows of veggies growing in the dirt.  We have some self-seeders again this year!  There are around a dozen tomato plants scattered through the garden, as well as the occasional cucumber or squash plant.  Maybe even a pumpkin or two?  Plus some beans and peas are starting to peek out at us!  Fun stuff!

The deck is full of glorious goodness  as well...

   

tomatoes from seeds...

geraniums........

annuals........

and seed kits the kids put together full of zinnias and sunflowers...

Of course we had to do something out in the front yard.  This year we actually have blooms on our lavender plants around the mailbox!  I've never been able to grow lavender, so this is a big thing for me.

The peonies are doing incredibly well!  The herbaceous/tree peony style is in full bloom, but my absolute favorites, the more heirloom peonies, are still just starting to bud.  But look at how many buds are on each plant!  I can't wait to see these pale pink and creamy beauties... they are my favorite by far

Of course there's the usual suspects of annuals and geraniums at the front porch area...

My thumb is feeling green again now that warm weather is here!

A Toast: To New Beginnings...

At Andy's promotion ceremony, Colonel Fransisco joked that it's always nice to "bring your own platoon!"  Apparently some of the troops in the Roman Company were more at ease than others.  Perhaps some more formation drills are in order?  We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on the 5th of May, kicking off year seven with Andy's recognition of honors on the 6th of May and we've been rolling along ever since!  (In case you all are wondering why you have never seen a photo of me on the site, it's because I'm the only one in the family who even uses a camera at all, so I'm always behind the lens.  But this time, you can see my hot pink Hanna Anderssen clogs off to the side!  Yep, I really DO exist!)

This past weekend we held the first of our Farmer's Markets for the summer.  It was a resounding success!  The fact that the weather was wonderful alone made it a completely perfect event, even if everything else had fallen apart.  But we didn't have any major mishaps, and the vendors did VERY well in sales, while the community came out in full force to enjoy it all.  We had a musician, Ben Hassenger of the local group "Blue Jello" playing in the middle of the block, and he is wonderful I tell you.  I can't wait for "Life Is Good" to be released soon!  Great music....  Since the weather has been such a bugger around here this spring, there's not much yet available in the way of produce, but our vendors with annuals and perennials sold out and had to send for more stock twice!  And our favorite berry farmers, Felzke's, brought an extra special surprise this year for us:  eggs!  Fresh from under the hens!  They have 200 laying right now and another 200 that will be laying by the fall markets.  HEAVENLY!  Fresh eggs are a true treat, and we are so excited to have them at the market finally.  Since we will always have the first market be the same weekend as Mother's Day, we are going to do something special for moms every year.  This year we gave away free annuals to every mom who stopped by the information booth.  This is the scene on a table in my garage the night before at 11 pm:

Stuffing lobelia, pansies, petunias, marigolds, and impatiens into pastel colored cups with potting soil and tying them with ribbons....  The next day they were all lined up in our wagon and on the info booth table just waiting to go home with some lovely woman to be planted and cared for.  We didn't want to hand out carnations that would die in a vase in a week.  We thought it would be nice to have a more lasting bloom for Mom!  It was a big hit--everyone loved the idea, and we had just enough for everyone!  Thank you so much, Enchanting Farms!  We purchased the annuals from them, and they were very hardy and full of blooms already.

I have tons of photos to show from the market, but I think I'm going to just upload all of them to a flickr group and post a link when I have more time.  I am also going to get busy on the market website, too, getting it updated with more current photos and hopefully adding a few more features, but that too takes time and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day anymore!

In the meantime, we have also planted our gardens.  FINALLY!  I put flowers in one of the front beds, the other has a couple flats waiting to go in yet.  The veggie patch out back is planted!  We have cucumbers, green bell peppers, carrots, lettuce, zucchini, and watermelon in the main garden, and I have tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers and lavender in containers on the deck.  It's an experiment; we'll see if it works or not! 

In related yet not related news:  Vermont Organics makes a line of yarns called O-Wool.  It's wonderful, by the way.  100% organic, and affordable.  In the shop I have the Balance line, and it's a 50-50 cotton and wool blend that has a heathered look to it.  Gorgeous, and so soft.  Perfect for summer and fall knits.  Anyway....  I spoke with Angela at the company the other day about a missing skein and some informational materials, and we got to talking about how it fits into the farmers market season.  I told her I even went so far as to put together a display in the shop for the market that included organic gardening books, organic cookbooks, kids' books, berry baskets, and the Balance yarns.  She was intrigued, and asked me to send her a photo of the display.  So, I did, and she has since emailed back that they are working on compiling these types of ideas to find a new way to market the yarns and that they loved the photo!  SO, our little market display may possibly go on to bigger and better things.  At least photographically, anyway.  I'm actually quite proud of that -- it means I'm actually starting to network with people and companies that are already making a difference but are also trying to find better ways to facilitate change.  This was never a written green promise or goal for me, but was always in the back of my mind.  I've been continually trying to think of a way to get a dialogue started with an established entity that has clout in order to perhaps do a little good on a larger scale.  I know this is only a photo that they asked for, but it's a small start and it gives me big hopes that someday I might be able to be one of those pioneers that really makes a difference.  Here's hoping!

Although, along those lines, and in keeping with my green promises and commitment to the farmers market, Kellie and I went to the kickoff meeting for the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA).  At that meeting, I registered not only the market, but myself as a market vendor, as charter members of the organization.  Dru Montri is heading up the project and is currently in France studying this very type of thing for her graduate program, but when she returns we are going to meet to discuss ways to get involved and make this organization a real source of strength and support for small farmers, vendors, and organics in Michigan.  So much was done to get it started, and now it will depend on that continued zest of the volunteers to keep it going and growing.  It's an amazing concept, and one that I am so excited to be a part of!  I know, I didn't need anything else on my plate, but this is something I am very passionate about and I'll gladly dump a few other projects just to have the privelege and honor of working with this group of dedicated and wonderful people. 

So, that's most of the events of the last couple of weeks.  There are others, but let's face it:  you can only post so much info at one time before your eyes go blurry!  My next post will hopefully have some pictures of the Roman Empire for a change, and get back on topic for a little while.  But then again, with the end of the school year coming up next week, it could be a bit before I get a chance to even post!  If I don't, at least you already know you will be seeing photos from the school picnic if nothing else...

Changes just since yesterday...

Remember the small flower buds on the Mayflowers I posted just yesterday?  (Oh, wait, it's almost midnight...this may not be posted before the clock rolls over another day!) And the leaves on the peonies?  Well, just look at what the sunshine did for them:

See the flower bud on the peony?  And the mayflowers on the left are the very same flowers I photographed just yesterday. 

This little gem was peeking out at me and I had to get a picture.  This, in case you had no idea, is a trillium.  They are endangered, and it is illegal to pick them (at least here in Michigan it is).  Every once in a while my old 4-H education comes back to me!  I was in the wildflower club.  We were known as "The Bunchberries", which, by the way, IS an actual wildflower!  I remember we made scrambled eggs and dandelion flowers (yes, very yummy!); rose petal jam; chokecherry jelly; and we pressed and dried more flowers than Martha Stewart's entire craft staff.  I even won a blue ribbon in the county fair for my jelly!  I cross stitched my own jar lids and everything.... yeah, I was this dorky all of my life!

Pretty, isn't it?  They also grow in a variegated species, aka "the painted trillium", with pinkish-purple veins branching out from the center that look like brush strokes from a paintbrush.  Gorgeous, I tell you!  If I see one, I'll be sure to photograph and post it!

Today's sunshine resulted in me clearing out the vegetable bed for planting.  All of the clumps of weeds had to go.  This, of course, gave me some very good exercise right before I had to go walk the Race for the Cure Susan G. Komen 5K this afternoon!  What was I thinking?  But it was a beautiful day for it.  A few snapshots to commemorate this first walk of many over the course of the summer:

Nope, that's not me walking in the first photo.  That's a picture I took while walking.  6,000 people came out for this event!  Our team was the Optimal Health Fanatics, and was formed by Dr. Pawsat, one of my physicians.  His wife, Dr. Clara Regal, is my ob-gyn, and pregnancy/childbirth guru!  Both of them are wonderful.  You know what I mean:  sincere, genuine, kind, outgoing, and fun!  I have a lot of respect and admiration for both of them.  Heck, they've put up with me!  Anyway, she referred me to him, and he has done such wonders with my overall health and energy levels.  He is a D.O., formerly an ER doctor, who has now opened this new practice in the field of "Functional Medicine".  His therapies/treatments are geared mostly toward adrenal fatigue, thyroid issues, hormonal imbalances, etc... and advocates a clean and organic lifestyle in the nutrition arena.  He does prescribe medication when necessary (I have a couple RX's!) but the majority of the work comes through identifying nutrient shortages, vitamin/mineral/hormone deficiencies or extremes, and finding ways to get your body back in balance.  And there is no cookie cutter mold to fit into.  He takes everything into consideration, and TOGETHER you determine where your ideal point is.  The acceptable ranges for lots of tests like celiac disease, thyroid function, etc have been set by scientists in a lab.  And if you are just barely within the acceptable range, doctors declare you healthy.  Turns out, everyone is different and therefore everyone's threshold is different.  Makes sense to me!  Anyway, we all walked today as members of the Optimal Health team and we all wore our team shirts proudly as we marched through downtown Lansing, Michigan!  We had fun, got some exercise, and helped out a very worthy cause. 

I still have a long way to go in both training and fundraising for the 3-Day walk in Chicago in August.  Physically I'm ready for the DeWitt Relay for Life event in June, but I have about $600 more to go in fundraising for that walk as well.  I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but the fundraising letters are going to start getting mailed out this week.  Time to really get serious about it if I'm going to raise $5000 by August 1st!

The sunshine also resulted in the Roman children's version of rickshaw rides, a child escaping, and additions to the worm condo we have built for the girls pet worm collection.  (Don't ask -- very fun, very cute story involving our girls and the girl next door, but it's too long to post!)  Cowgirl boots are the dress code lately, apparently!

 

Someone small and crafty was sneaking back and forth between the deck and kitchen as evidenced by the box on the deck (click to enlarge) and the narrow opening in the sliding doors...  Hmmm... so much for childproof locks on the kitchen cabinets, eh Andrew?

 

And finally, a few shots of the "before" that are going to go on the Simplify '07 flicker group along with the after shots we will take once it's cleaned up!  Winter transitioning to spring always takes a toll on the garage!  Once it's cleaned out, it will look much better.  I promise.

 

Since we had such a busy day, we skipped cooking tonight and headed out to the Steak 'n' Shake (yeah, I know.  Not organic, but I didn't have to cook!) and then over to Lowe's for some garden/flowerbed supplies.  My darling hubby even impressed me by seeking out the certified organic vegetable seeds!  Maybe I'm getting to him after all....  he's not quite as enthused as I am about the whole organic thing - it's more expensive a lot of the time - but he's coming around.  Along with a bunch of seed packets we picked up two azalea bushes, 2 pots of lavender shaded creeeping phlox, a flat of impatiens and a 6-pack of wave petunias.  There will be many more flats of impatiens and petunias purchased in the next week or two, but these will have to do for now.  Tomorrow I'll try to take a photo or two if I get them planted.  For now, they are resting next to the garage after their long car ride home. 

I hope everyone else enjoyed their Sunday as much as we did!

Rejuvenation, for young and old...

Such a young wee one to have already discovered man's favorite repast: zoning out in the recliner!

The last few days have been rainy and gray, so it's been a good time to relax and recharge.  The kids have been going strong since the sun came back out for spring and I don't think they realized just how tired they can get.  They all have been taking it easy during the day, but they are still sleeping pretty soundly at night as well.  It's a good thing it will be nice again this weekend:  they'll have all kinds of energy stored up that will need burning off!

As for needing a recharge, I'm definitely at the head of the line here!  Remember the walking I'll be doing all summer long?  Ahhh, yes, the Relay for Life event in June and the 60 mile 3-day walk in August...  Recently added to the program was the Race For the Cure 5K event this coming Sunday.  My doctor asked me to join his team with the other patients, and I thought it would be a great little practice session.  The team is participating in the non-competetive division, so I don't have to be training for the olympics or anything.  But it will be a great way to get in some more walking!  Training has been lagging behind.  The weather and my schedule have both hindered getting out and hitting the trail.  After this walk, I'm going to have to clear the table of some of the more unnecessary committments and make it the number 1 priority.  I'm still excited about the events, but I just haven't been able to really focus on them.  And it shows!  My fundraising is at a standstill, and my shoes are hardly broken in!  Ok, the last thing is not quite true.  My shoes are well broken in, I just haven't gotten around to buying a new pair to break in for the actual events.  My current pair won't last to the big day!

Today's agenda includes planning the vegetable patch planting.  It's pretty late in the season to start this process, but the weather this year didn't really encourage any work in the garden.  I think the last frost has FINALLY passed (although in Michigan, you never really know if it has) and the seeds will survive in the soil from this point on.  Last year the garden included lettuce, spinach, zucchini, acorn squash, watermelon, tomatoes, beans, peas, jalapenos, green peppers, carrots and sunflowers.  This year needs to be scaled back.  We couldn't eat everything that we grew, the garden produced such large quantities!  I do plan on having spinach again, but still not sure on anything else.  That's my goal for today:  what to grow, and what the layout of the beds will be.

Also on the agenda today is finding some patterns for kids clothes that are cute yet simple.  I have tons of fabric in my stash, and it's quite obvious I'm not going to be using a lot of it in a quilt anytime soon, so the kids will be getting some new things to wear out of it.  I don't have the time to quilt like I want to, and when I do make anything in that arena, I use the new fabrics that are coming out along with the patterns that have been created for them so they can be used in the shop.  We have a ton of quilts at home already, so I may as well make something that's practical.  But it should still be cute, right?  Besides, even though it isn't organic content, it's making use of something we already have.  A good thing on the eco-minded side of life!  If I don't buy as many of the kids' clothes, then I'm saving not only money but also the gas used to drive to the store, the pollution caused by driving to the store, energy used to make more of the outfits I purchased, and less plastic packaging/hangers/tags going into the trash due to the additional production.  Yes, it's a very miniscule amount of the larger scope of the kids' clothing industry, but just think about it.  If every mom (or dad!) out there handmade just ONE item of their child's wardrobe each season, and even if they purchased the rest of the clothing needed, how many of those little plastic hangers and hangtags would not be needed to be made? 

As I get ready to shut off the computer and get the day started, I am taking one more look out the window at the gray, rainy weather.  Honestly, I like rainy spring/summer days.  They are soothing to my soul.  It makes me feel like the rain is washing away the stress and hassles of the daily grind and I get a more relaxed feeling about me.  And it also makes me think of the smell of freshly baked bread.  So before I even take my shower and make my morning coffee, I am going to get the ingredients into the bread maker for some wonderful, organic, honey-wheat bread!  What a heavenly smell that will be to come home to later on....

Enjoy your day, everyone!  May it be filled with joy, laughter, and the comforts of all things wonderful (like the  smell of bread baking)!

To Market, To Market, To Close it all Down for the Winter

Well, last night was our wrap-up night for the farmer's market.  The meeting went really well, and Kellie and I are excited about all the good things in store for next year!  But the really nice part is that we were able to wrap up our first season and get some feedback from our most loyal vendors.  Now we can take a break for a couple of weeks before we roll up our sleeves and get started on next season.  Which will definitely keep us busy over the winter!   There are lots of ideas to be tried, and we want to have everything taken care of prior to February so that when the market opens on May 12th, we can just show up and enjoy it. 

A few things we are going to work on for next summer are getting more organic farmers to participate, and creating a good solid awareness of the concept of eating locally.  In fact, our "unofficial" new catch-phrase is:  "DeWitt Farmer's Market    Eat Fresh. Eat Local.  Eat Good!"  We have new signs to put up that have pictures of fresh produce on them with the phrase "eat local" written across the bottom.  And we have new shirts with market info printed on the back and our names on the front.  We are planning on getting canvas tote bags printed up from a company called "Eco Bags" to sell at the market as well as a fundraiser for paying for our entertainment we book for each week, as well as a way to advertise the market away from downtown. 

All in all we feel really good about how we did the first year, and we are really looking forward to next summer.  And it's a great way for me to keep this family on track with our Green Promises  (remember those?  yeah, I've been neglecting to post new ones at the beginning of each month, but we are still plugging away!)

As for the homefront, everyone is healthy and happy and sticking to the organic lifestyle.  Of course, since my recent diagnosis, it's been a no-brainer to continue the organic diet around here, but we've had to really remind ourselves when it comes to the household tasks.  I've cheated and hired Molly Maid to come in once a month to clean the house (yes, I know, shame on the Helpful Housewife!) and the reason I even decided on them is they do use environmentally friendly cleaners.  But I do set out my own that they use instead so that I am CERTAIN that nothing toxic is being used and washed away down the drain into our water systems.  I'm a faithful user of both Seventh Generation and Ecover products, and let me tell you:  they clean spectacularly!  Just as well, if not better, than the conventional products such as Lysol or Tide or any other detergent/cleaning solution.  No chemicals, no pollution, no side effects from breathing yucky fumes... just a fresh clean home!  But we still have to catch ourselves when we go to toss something in the trash.  We don't always remember to find a new use for the item, but thankfully we've caught ourselves in time before it's actually out at the curb for pickup.

Does anyone know of a good online source for organic clothing, other than Gaiam?  I've got enough yoga clothes, and the rest of the family has enough stuff from there too, but we are looking for some holiday printed things and would love to get organic fibers if possible.  If not, I'll just stitch some up, but if anyone knows of a company that makes things like that, I'd be forever grateful!!!

Growing Hope

Growing Hope,  row by row, and blogging along the way....