A Bit of This and That...

The past couple of weeks have been relaxing. We finished up our homeschooling a couple of weeks ago. We really just took a break from it all for a couple of weeks. Doodlebug will be continuing on with math and reading throughout the summer. She also will continue her ice skating lessons. She just started taking horseback riding lessons with a young fellow from church. She is really excited about the riding lessons. So, we will be busy.

Now that our traditional school day is on hold for a few weeks this summer,  Papaw and I have been having a day or two to ourselves here and there. A few days ago, we pulled out our motorcycles and went for a ride. It was a beautiful day for it. I had forgotten how much I love riding. We went for lunch at a little BBQ place and then on into the park. We stopped for a while just to sit on a rock and watch the fish swim. It was so good just to relax for a bit in nature. The outing was just enough to get my mind reeling and working to plan a camping trip before the summer ends. 

               Papaw relaxing by the creek.

Our garden is doing really good. We have had some trouble with cabbage worms but I think that season is about behind us. Last night we had our first bits of squash from the garden, zucchini and yellow. I cubed them up with an onion and we grilled them, they were delicious.

We are so thrilled over our sugar snap peas. We love them so and our plants are loaded with them. Yum!

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer.

Many blessings!

Make Your Own Insect Repellent

What's the bug situation like where you live this year? Due to our very mild winter here this past year, the bugs are so bad already. We really do not like using the store bought brands of insect repellent. I never knew how simple it is to make your own but it is very easy. The absolute best part too, it has a very nice, fresh fragrance. I really hate those nose burning sensations that come after using aerosol insect repellent. You just know, those can't be good for us to put onto our skin.

I did a bit of searching around on the internet and decided to make my own concoction using essential oils. I love using essential oils but was skeptical about how well homemade repellent may work . I decided to give it a go and just see. Here’s what I used. 

Using the ½ pt. jar, I filled it almost to the top with Witch Hazel. Then I just added 15 to 20 drops of Citronella and Lemongrass. You could stop there and that would work just fine at repelling the insects but you can take it a step further, by adding 10 drops Lavender or Peppermint e/o. I really love peppermint because it has a nice cooling effect on your skin. It is great for cooling off and keeping the bugs away at the same time. I also added 10 drops of Tea Tree and Geranium oils, to help repel ticks. The ticks have been really bad around here too.

Papaw and I both were pleasantly surprised by the spray. He really hates insect spray of any type and heavy citronella fragrance makes him a bit nauseous. He liked this spray. We both misted ourselves good and even a bit on our clothes, before going out to work in the garden yesterday evening. We were really pleased by how well it worked.

I felt very good about repelling the insects this way. The spray has a light and refreshing fragrance and no heavy chemicals being absorbed  into your skin. I have sensitive skin and those store bought repellents seemed to leave my skin with a burning sensation. 

After adding the drops of essential oil, I just placed the lid on the jar and gave it a good shake. It will look cloudy after shaking. Then using a funnel, just add to a mister bottle. Make sure to label the bottle. I tried using a sharpie but the ink came right off the bottle so, I had to make a label for it. Oh, one other thing, the oils will settle to the top so, shake well before each use.

          

                                         Love and Blessings!

Tidbits...

It has been a while since my last blog post. It is my first post since eblogger has updated us all. I do not embrace change, when it comes to getting use to how certain things work on computers. I feel like we learn something just in time for the next change. I am going to give it my best try here and I hope, I figure out how to write, format and properly post a new entry.

Our garden is coming in quiet well. We were probably overly anxious this year about getting our garden going. We had many evenings that we were out tenting sheets over our plants to protect them from frost. Next year, we will pay attention to our neighbors around that have been growing gardens successfully for years and start when they do. Although I must say, it is nice to see our garden flourishing and we are getting things like kale, spinach and radishes already.   Papaw is thrilled with his garden so much so, he is already planning to enlarge it a bit next year. 

 

Our little hobo that came to us many weeks ago is doing so well. He has gained weight and appears to be healthy. We had a vet to stop by and see him to give him his shots and test for heart worms. He says he is is fine and is one lucky fellow. It seems it has taken him weeks to really get his body restored from the starvation that he went through. Where ever he came from, we just feel blessed he is our dog now. He is so lively. He loves playing with Doodlebug too. He is her shadow. He also follows Papaw to the hen house daily. He always wants to get in on a treat. Papaw has taken to keeping doggie treats in the barn. When he takes the treats out to the gal, he always takes a few doggie treats out for Buddy. Oh, Doodlebug decided to call him Buddy. Everyone would always call him by saying, "come here buddy." He is everyone's buddy here and we love him.

Hope you all are doing well. Until next time, blessings!