If I could only grow one kind of flower each year, I would choose to grow zinnias. They are easy and beautiful. There are many different varieties of these garden treasures. There are huge zinnias (Giant Zinnias) and small ones (Lilliput), and there are even ruffled zinnias. They are all beautiful and make great cut flowers. The bigger the flower the fewer you need to make a nice full arrangement, but I like to mix and match.

At the end of my morning, I had beautiful piles of Red Norlands and Yukon Golds just waiting to be put in bags. I still have two more rows to dig, but this time I think I will include my kids. I intended to have them come out and help me, but it was such a cool morning and I was enjoying some quiet time with the Lord. I never called the kids. Instead, I just kept praying and digging. It was a nice time in the garden with Him.

I let my potatoes sit outside to dry out for a little while. I would have left them all afternoon, but I knew the English Mastiff would assume that I planted cool balls for her and eat each and every one of them. I would not have been happy so I chose to pick the potatoes up quicker than normal. The next problem I encountered was storage. We don't have a root cellar, and the basement is cold but it also has lots of light. I decided to store some of my red potatoes in an old basement refrigerator. I have stored another bushel of potatoes in our coat closet. It is cool and for the most part dark. Problem solved.

Today we are tackling killing some of our meat chickens. Please be aware that I use the term "we" very loosely. My husband and son and daughter are at a baseball tournament. I am heating water (that is my part), and our 15 year old is doing the meat chickens. I promised him that I would server potato soup tonight for dinner. I did think a big pot of chicken and dumplings might be good, but then I decided against that! I best hurry and get my water on to heat... I know it is a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

grace and peace,

julie

for this view. Michael and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary this past weekend. We have never left our kids to celebrate our anniversary, but this year we decided to celebrate in a very unusual way for us. He chose to take me to a resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We had an entire 3 days of rest and relaxation complete with NO agenda. The only thing we had to do for those three days was to show up for our deluxe couple's massage. Let me just say, "OH, MY GOODNESS!" We sat on the front porch of our cabin in our jammies to watch the fireworks show. It was beautiful. We were close enough to home to get there in case of an emergency, but far enough away to feel like we were on vacation. We laughed and talked a lot. We slept in late and lounged about the cabin. We went to photography galleries and out to dinner. We even did a bit of shopping, but mostly we just enjoyed being together. I pray that we don't take 22 more years before we go away again...I am thinking more like this year's winter break. Our kids did great which made me feel even better about the whole experience. The worst thing that happened while we were gone was the Border Collie broke into the house and spent an evening with the English Mastiff on our bed. Don't worry...I washed the sheets!!

grace and peace,

julie