Thursday, February 5, 2015

Egg Shells

I love a good farm fresh egg! And because we have our own chickens, we use a lot of them. Though the month of January was a lean production month, the hens just didn't get enough daylight and some days we only got two or three eggs. I had to buy several dozen eggs from the grocery store and I couldn't help comparing the color and taste to what my eggs are like. 

I have been grinding the eggshells and I thought i'd show you how I like to do it.

Eggshells provide calcium, I like to feed them right back to the chickens, much better than buying oyster shells in my opinion. And I've heard you can add them to your tomato plants as you're planting to help with tomato rot. I'll be trying this this spring!

I have a crock on my counter that I toss the eggshells  into every day. I try not to stack them tight so that they can dry. They need a few days to completely dry before grinding. I've heard you can put them in the oven but haven't tried this.


Then, I put them in a large zipper plastic bag and crush them up a bit to make them more compact.





I suppose you could stop at this stage, or crush them completely with the rolling pin, but I've been using a coffee grinder to get them really fine. It's one I never use, I think it would be hard to clean it, better to keep it separate I think. Sometimes they can be found for cheap at a thrift store.


I do my grinding in my laundry/mud room as it can be a little dusty. After grinding about six or eight small batches, I'm done! 


It feels good to reuse and not just pitch these in the trash. And I know there are many other good uses for them as well…





Friday, September 19, 2014

When It All Just Seems Too Much


"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:35, 38-39

This verse has been in-my-face multiple times this week in totally unrelated ways and I think I need to listen. Because I've been discouraged lately-honestly, doubting his love. 

So much evil in our world, trouble brewing, I hear and wonder how God can let it continue. I convince myself that the reason I doubt his goodness is external but really, if I'm honest, it's coming from within me. It's so easy to place blame when things don't go as planned in life. 

 When I finally had enough of my own self, I asked for help and he came through, just like always in my life. 

So, why do I share this? If you are in a low place, guess what? He is ready to pull you up, wrap his arms around you and make it all better. I know, because it just happened to me.















Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Random Roundup

He acquired an Aeronca Chief. And has been trying to get it up and running.
 I picked so many of these ruby red gems.

 We got our first egg! Always exciting!
 Making Banana Muffins for the Lemonade Stand.
 Pretty cute, right?
 And then this happened! Burst pipes meant a flood in our kitchen and holes to patch.
 At least I was prompted to pull out our range. I guess I should do this more often?
 We especially love our blue eggs!
 These boards may not look like much but I have big plans for them. Just wait!
 He lost his first front tooth. Twice as cute and twice as mischievous!
 We went to Jamestown!
 I love the ropes!
 My sweetie reused an old copper pipe to make this little trellis for my climbing rose.
 I love this, dirty feet and all.
We had about a week of all the cousins on my side of the family together, so fun!
 Scored this at a little shop in Eastern Virginia. It will go above the tub in our Master Bathroom, just a smaller version of the one in our Room.
Free sunflowers in a patch in front of a farm. I love that someone wanted to share.

We have zinnias!
Several of these pies have been made and consumed here. All the fresh berries and peaches have made it easy.
School is starting in a little over a week from now, it's the end of a great summer! But I hate change… it will be nice to settle back in to a routine and welcome fall.

Thankful and blessed,

Melissa





Wednesday, June 18, 2014

READ

This is fitting for my girl. And I had fun making the book letters, another great idea from Anthropologie.






Monday, June 9, 2014

Beautiful Things


You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust…















…you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us…