Okay---so who wants to win a copy of the BRAND NEW Summer issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine? It's HOT off the presses....not even in stores yet! :) 

 Well.....I have a few copies I'll give away, each day until July 31st!  So how to win? Just CLICK HERE to leave a comment with your contact info so I can get a hold of you when you win!  We'll draw a name each morning (actually, my 1.5yo son will) out of a hat and post the winner. 

Enter everyday, post on your blog and leave me the link in a seperate comment for an additional entry too :)

 Thanks for playing along!

Lisa

Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

(Note: In the narrative that follows, all times are local. For instance, 9:00 pm means 9:00 pm in your time zone, where you live. )

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It's a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.

Above: The eastern sky viewed during the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.

For maximum effect, "get away from city lights," Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. (Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.)

The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show!

Click HERE to subscribe to the NASA Science email updates

Ok...what do you do with pigs that eat chicken?

I know the obvious...put them in the freezer. But, in this instance, that isn't the best answer, although I am seriously pondering learning the butchering trade right now!  UGH!

Our new pigs, those pregnant sows we picked Saturday, they ate 2 of my laying hens.  Didn't have a chance-- just attacked them and then proceeded to pull them apart like some warped game of tug-o-war or something.

Our chickens have their home in the barn, and a nice, fenced yard.  I have 3, however, who are definitely roamers.  If we clip their wings any further, they won't have but a bare bone frame over on that side, yet they still manage to climb that fence and roam the yard.  They have a route...they ceck out the goats and puppies for a day or so, even roost in the puppy pen with them.  No one has ever cared (athough those blasted puppies have enjoyed playing with the younger pullets....and have killed a handful of them as well).

But, the pigs...they are in the other side of the barn, along the outside pens.  The chickens go through the horse lot there into the timber to wander.  A couple ended up in the pigs confinement and well....tug-o-war time.

I can break those puppies of playing tag with my chickens, but what do you do with a pig who has a taste for chicken now?  It rather worries me that the children don't typically think much of getting into the barn, and they help with the feeding and such.  As far as I'm concerned, these are dangerous pigs.  You know, around here, the standard was that when the Revenue men cam poking around and causing trouble, you just tossed them into the pig pen and let the hogs have them.  Nothing left to dispose of.

Now I have pigs that have shown a very dangerous side to themselves.  I'm not really interested in the additions to the freezer menu anymore, no matter how wonderful the other tastes.

TODAY'S VERSE from HEARTLIGHT   --   http://www.heartlight.org/
--\/------------------------------------------------------------------




                                                         July 24, 2008

VERSE:
   O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of
this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    -- Romans 7:24-25
       http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+7:24-25&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
   Our bodies are mortal and flawed. They are tainted with our
weakness and sin. But, by the grace of God given us in Jesus
Christ, our future does not rest in the dust with our bodies, but
in the power of our perfecting Lord.

PRAYER:
   Almighty God, thank you for giving me life beyond the death of
my mortal flesh. Thank you for giving me holiness beyond my
sin-stained flesh. Thank you for delivering me from death and
bringing me into your glory. Now, dear Father, may my words, deeds,
and thoughts reflect your grace and power in all I do today and
each day that follows. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080724&ver=kjv

    /--- Turn Today's Verse into a Poster ---------------------\
    Create beautiful 18"x24" posters from any Bible verse!
    You can add your own personal note, making them great for
    gifts or awards.  See the selection:
    \--- http://ads.heartlight.org/email/50/  -----------------/

Here’s a fun freebie download, it’s a set of six different panhol potholders.

Free Potholder Patterns...TipNut

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
George Washington (1732-1799), the first U.S. President

Hi.  do you ever feel like you are the top of a very high building (think Empire State) when the wind is blowing.  the world is gently swaying, but not enough to make you sick.  that is my constant state of being right now.  I am not sure the exact cause, but if you have any thoughts on my thoughts, I would love to hear them.  Oh, and this has been going on since at least Sunday, maybe earlier....
given: I am pregnant, and in that awful first trimester, the one where I wonder "WHY did I want this again.  NEVER AGAIN!  agh!  will three nine months EVER end?"  (note: I do this every time, but I am on number four, so I guess I forget.  or the thought of that lovable armful at the end overrides the memory.)
given: I have normally low blood pressure.  no, I am not sure of my normal, but I know it is low enough the nurses always comment on it.  I also cannot give blood - they start pumping, and I fill about half a bag, then it just stops.  seriously.  my midwife often has to poke me in two different spots to get all the prego blood tests (about 4 vials) full.  It runs in the family (my grandmother was prescribed potato chips by her doctor to bring up hers)
given: I get very anemic while pregnant.  I am taking 25 mg of iron biglycerate twice a day, and my main iron-deficient symptoms (exhausted-tired-like-I-cannot-move, shaking, etc.) are not in evidence.  this is the very type of iron I have taken in my two previous pregnancies and it has raised my iron levels to manageable levels.  I like it.  (I did have to try like 6 brands/ types before I found one that did NOT make me sick.)

other possible factors:
I am still nursing my 22-mo.  would that contribute?
it is kind of warm here, but I am not even breaking a sweat.
I am nauseated a lot of the time, but I have not actually thrown up (yet).  thanks, I think in large degree to the liberal use of nasty, pasty, chalky ginger tablets.  but they do work.  even if the chewing and tasting seem to aggravate the sensation for a bit.
my ears do not hurt - so and ear infection is not a culprite, is it?

if you have any suggestions, oh wise ones, I would like to hear it.  if you have any recipies for elctrolyte drinks, I would love those as well.  The gaterade, etc. is so full of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that I am afraid I will have a reaction to that since we have it so very rarely and in small doses.

meanwhile, I am here, atop my own personal skyscrapper.  I am trying to enjoy the view.  and the swaying while sitting still.

Are you working on getting ready for the coming school season?

I have just listed many Rod & Staff teacher's manuals over at Homeschool buy.

If you are wondering what's available just scroll down this site while keeping an eye on the left hand side.  My auctions are listed there.

Thanks!

Well, not much is going to be happening on this homestead this week because we are knee deep in VBS. It is like working a part time job. We left the house today at 8 AM because we live 25 minutes from church and returned home at about 1:30 PM. I started a new breakfast plan that I am hoping will carry over into the new school year. Everyone is getting their own breakfast. For years, I felt that I must make and serve a nice breakfast to my kids because my children were home. That worked very well at that time, but the older children are getting older. It is just not working for them to wait around for the little ones, so everyone is getting their own breakfast starting today. So far; so good.

Somehow in the midst of this VBS chaos I need to figure out how to take care of 16 quarts of sour cherries that I got at the farmer's market. They are seconds, but they were such a deal I could not pass them up. They are in the refrigerator, but I know I must attend to them ASAP.

My voice is improving. Thank you all very much for your prayers. I am still not able to talk beyond quiet conversations, but the raspiness is dwindling down to virtually nothing. Thank you, LORD!

Thank you for all your support and encouragement.

Blessings,
Jennie