Humble Beginnings

This and that ...

It's been awhile since my last post...life's been crazy between 12-hour work days and helping with homeschooling (hubby's doing most of it right now) and trying to sell the rest of our lab pups. 

The 12-hour days should end soon.  Hopefully.  Hubby's done an incredible job with the homeschooling.  His strong suits are science and math.  Mine are reading and language arts and writing.  Between us we've got it covered!  I also do Greek with James and that's always fun.  So, I've been quite busy lately.

The garden is doing quite nicely.  Although I think a deer has eaten every one of my little baby pepper plants.  The rascals!!!  I think I'll buy a few larger ones for now and at least get them planted.  We plan on making tons of hot sauce this year and I'm going to need those peppers!!

The potatoes are growing like crazy!  They're overflowing the boxes I'm using (uh oh!).  I think next year I'm going to use a huge wire "cage" to grow them in ... I think they'll have more room.

Our mama lab keeps escaping.  She's Houdini with fur.  At first she learned how to open the gate by using her nose to flip up the gate handle.  Then she learned to climb out onto the back porch (through the fence - not sure how she even managed that one).  Then she dug her way out.  Now she's jumping over the fence.  It's maddening and frustrating.  I'm afraid she's going to get shot (as we're out in the country).  We've tried everything to keep her in but she jumps the fence now.  Hubby's probably going to have to put in a higher fence, but that costs $$$.  I'm in a quandry what to do...It seems that no amount of training has helped with this dog...not sure why.  Perhaps she's overly stubborn and hard-headed.  I don't know.  Any other advice would be great.  Hubby's trained her but apparently not well enough.  For awhile she would listen and follow commands and then one day she just decided not to listen anymore.  We'd go for walks and she'd stay right with us.  Now we can't take her out except on a leash because she runs off and comes back when she wants, not when she's called.  Maybe she needs a refresher course.

Other than that, we're expecting severe storms tonight.  The weather's been so awesome lately...very "spring-y".  Usually by this time of year it starts to get dreadfully hot.  However, we've had cooler weather (not even reaching the 80s) plus it's overcast and we've had TONS of rain.  I'm hoping that it lasts for awhile longer.  The plants are absolutely loving it (and I'm doing less watering).  Also, the dewberries are starting to blossom...not too much longer and we should have a whole bunch of dewberries.  If we do, then I plan on making dewberry preserves or jelly. 

Hubby gave me a gift certificate to purchase a new canner.  Any recommendations?  I need both a water bath canner and a pressure canner.  I've been looking at the American, but not sure. 

I hope y'all are each doing well...God's blessings!