Just a very quick hello for now as my computer is playing up but can anyone help me with advice on how to save a microsoft publisher file as a pdf file or to transfer documents to word format so I can email across - thank you :)

This dear family need your prayers right now and in the following days and weeks ahead.  Their youngest daughter Maria who was just five years old was killed so tragically yesterday evening. She was hit by a car in the driveway of the family home. The couples teenage son was driving the car and didn't see Maria - tragically Maria died in hospital.  This is absolutely devastating for her family and for their son who was driving the vehicle that hit Maria.  He has to live with this for the rest of his life and words can't be expressed what this dear family are going through right now.

Please pray for God's grace, peace and love to be poured on this family even more abundantly through this very very difficult and tragic time.

There is a special page "In Memory of Maria" that has been set up for those who wish to share their condolences - here

What gorgeous weather we are having at the moment, it has been a glorious day and a brilliant one for gardening too.  Andrew has been busy creating some borders in the garden and in one of the borders I have now started a herb garden.  At the moment, I have planted Rosemary, Basil (though this is not doing too well), Tarragon, Thyme, Sage, Oregano and Parsley.  I also have some garden mint and black peppermint growing in a tub near by.

As well as the herb garden, we have planted Tomato plants, Runner Beans, Dwarf Beans, Squash, Courgettes (Zucchini), Sweetcorn (Including baby sweetcorn) and peppers. We also have various types of salad leaves and lettuce growing both in tubs and soil. 

I have yet to plant carrots, Salad leaves, Beetroot (Beets) and I brussel sprouts.  And we have planted an eatting apple tree, plum tree, Raspberry canes and strawberries.  My sister is taking us to a brilliant garden centre near to where she resides next week where she is going to be us another fruit tree as our wedding gift.

Wow, I have just heard a cuckoo in the garden and this is the first one I have heard so far this year. Ok, where was I, Andrews garden, this is really coming on very nicely and I cant wait to do some more planting and to do more on the borders.  Andrew has a 140 - 150 ft garden so it is very long :)

We are planning at some stage to get plant some more raspberry canes and possibly some other fruits too - all in all it is exciting being able to plan, plant and watch what is happening.  It is amazing to think that out of a few seeds, these grow and produce wonderful vegetables and fruits - God is just so amazing

We have also planted some sunflower seeds and various wild flowers and poppies (these by the way of one of my favourite flowers) - Poppies are just so beautiful and very rich and vibrant in colour.  I don't particularly care for sunflowers by the way so I did let Andrew but said that he has to put them at the top of the garden - of course he knew I was only joking he he.

I will try and post some photos over the weekend of the garden.

On other notes, wedding plans are going very nicely and we have a lot of things organised now so it is mainly tidying up that we need to do and a few last minute things.  We have been so blessed so far it is great.

I also have a friend who is organising a Bridal Shower for me at her home on Saturday 14th June and bless her, she is opening up her home. This same friend and her husband will be organising the worship for our wedding/blessing service.

We were also blessed today in the fact we were sent a pre-wedding gift of a Marriage Preparation Course on both CD and in booklet form.  What an awesome blessing.  Andrew and I will be setting time apart to study the Marriage Preparation Course over the next couple of weeks or so.

Well, that is it for now - and only five weeks on Saturday and time is going by so very quickly now - wow

Menu Planner

4^th – 10^th May

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
S U N		These Will Vary Between Soups, Salads, Fruit/Nuts Or Sandwiches/ Crackers	Ham Egg & Chips
M O N			Andrew Cooking “Page” Dinner
T U E S			Page’s Birthday Meal
W E D			Fish Pie W/Vegetables
T H U R			Vegetarian Bake With Rice
F R I			Chicken Fajitas
S A T			Going to friends For Dinner

Oh my time is flying now - in eight weeks time I will be Mrs Andrew Hartley - woo hoo . I just do not know where the last couple of months have gone but it is not very long now.

We are getting there slowly with wedding plans and everything is coming together but I still have a lot to do which is ok but it would be so great if everything can be organised by the end of this month.

I will post a picture of the wedding invitation that we made and talking of pictures, I have some others to share too.

At the weekend, we are going shopping to purchase Andrews suit and if we have time I need to purchase his wedding ring too.  Also next week I am going shopping with a friend to buy the accessories needed to go with my wedding dress and then that will be me almost done.

The main thing I need to concentrate on now is putting together the "Order of Service" and I have a lot of work to do here but this will be fun so I have about three weeks to put this together before sending a preview to the Pastor so that he can go through it and make sure that there is nothing that has been missed.  I am sure that changes will need to be made a couple of times before this is actually ready to be printed.

We have a set of Unity Candles which are lovely and we will be lighting the candle as part of our service.  Unity candles are not as popular over here but thankfully my local Christian Bookstore was able to find a supplier.  These took less than a week to come through.

So basically everything is coming together quite nicely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a different note, health wise I am still not brilliant but I have an appointment to see the Gynaecologist next week so hopefully he will have a better idea of what is going on.  I do hope so as I can't continue on with the problems I have been having and this has (a) been getting me down and (b) caused a lot of friction between Andrew and myself due to "hormonal issues". I am also fed up of feeling so exhausted most of the time but hey ho.

Well I need to get back to sleep as it is 4.15am - on this note, have a blessed night

I am having great difficulty looking for worship/contemporary Christian songs for our wedding. I am not getting very far on the internet either. 

If anyone has any suggestions please please help - as I am completely stuck

Thank you so much

Welcome to the 44^th edition of the Homestead Carnival, wow doesn’t time fly and I don’t know about you but I just love the Homestead Carnival as I am sure you all do too.

This edition is not going to be in any particular order for a change but you will have tons of fun anyways I can assure you of that.

We have some great recipes just to kick start this week’s carnival. What better way to start your day off than with delicious wholesome Oatmeal Pancakes.  These you can find over at The Funny Farm

If you are after a healthy pancake recipe – then this one by Flossie is a must to try.  So Oatmeal pancakes here we come over at The Funny Farm for this delicious and wholesome recipe.

Then hopping over to Meredith at Humble Beginnings, there is a delicious recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup – this is one of two canning recipes on this weeks Homestead Carnival .

Our second recipe is for a delicious canning recipe for Tomatoes. As Grandma Rosie sums it up in her own words “Summer wont last forever but the taste of summer can carry us through another winter” So come on over as we are shown what to do with the glutton of tomatoes we get this spring.

Next, how about Dying wool with Kool Aid with your children – doesn’t that just sound like great fun.  This method seems so very easy to do so why not join me in giving this a try and just think of the different colours you can use – what fun! Join me over at Dora’s to see how this can be achieved.

Have you ever wondered how to conserve electricity without resorting to air conditioners? Ceiling fans are just what you would probably be looking for. Join Andrew over at Home Decorating Reviews, where he shows us just the place to get ceiling fans that are stylish and will help keep you cool without having to resort to other means.

Wild garlic only comes out for a short season and this is an article about this wonderful plant that can be so versatile in so many dishes.  To find out more, hop on over to Valeree’s blog. Article on wild garlic from Cincinnati Locovore – check who

Balsamic Vinegar is a fantastic condiment and can be used for so many dishes. So check out Surfer Sam’s blog. Balsamic vinegar is vinegar made from grapes and aged in wooden casks.  It is not wine vinegar, because the grapes are never permitted to ferment into winde.  Far superior to other vinegars, the flavour of balsamic is rich and slightly sweet. It is culinary delight when used in sauces, marinades and vinaigrette salad dressing.  Italians have enjoyed “balsamico” for more than 900 years, but only recently did it become popular in the United States.

 Have you ever wondered how to dry roses properly, How To Me shows you how to dry these beautiful flowers. When dried there are numerous ways you can display your dried roses and other flowers too.  Dried flowers are great for home décor and can grace any room in your home – so the next time you are given roses, why not give it a go and you will see just how easy this is to do!

Bees are great for making honey and wouldn’t it be great to have pure honey from your garden, but obviously you can’t do this without keeping bees.  Brenda  over at the  cfarm has a great link to an article if you are thinking about adding bees to your garden. So for tips on beekeeping

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to wash our hair without the use of store bought shampoos – well you can as Belle takes us into Day 5 with no shampoo. You can also catch up with Belle’s diary from the beginning for using an alternative to store bought shampoo

Jennifer shows us tips on the best plants for kids to grown plus a fun themed garden. Gardening with children is fun – so come on over and have a look at Jennifer’s ideas.

Have you ever wondered or heard of Coconut oil, well here you can find out more about this oil and included is a delicious recipe for Coconut Bark using this coconut oil. Jessica has a wonderful post all about this.

I don’t know about you, but I love paella. Here is a recipe that Nichole has made for a vegetarian version of this delicious main meal – so why not give it a try – it looks so yummy!

Abi over at Teaching4him shows us how to make a teacup bird feeder – and this looks so pretty too.

Next weeks carnival will be hosted by Diary Of 1

Menu Planner

7^th – 13^th April

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
M O N	Muesli	I don’t often eat lunch	Baked Thai Red Chicken Curry with rice
T U E	Muesli	“	Baked Potatoes with cheese
W E D	Yoghurt with Jam	“	Gillard of Lamb Breast, roast potatoes Green Beans
T H U	Fresh Fruit Juice	“	Tuna Fish Cakes on a bed of cous cous Peas & Sweetcorn
F R I	Muesli	“	Smorgasbord
S A T	?	“	Pita bread with falafels Salad
S U N	?