Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Saturday On The Farm

June 11, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Last week, when I told you about putting in a new herb garden, I said we put netting on top to keep the chickens out. Turns out, we really need it to keep the little kittens out.

Even with all the animal traffic, the herbs are starting to grow. So I’m happy about that. Now I just need to figure out a fence or something to keep the animals out when the plants get too tall for the netting.

We’ve done a lot of work in the vegetable garden this week. We got most of the tomato seedlings in the ground. This is my husband and two of the kids cutting holes in the cardboard to plant the seedlings.

It got dark while we were out there working, and the moon paid us a visit.

The grass and weeds are getting tall along the fence. Here’s Zach, my youngest cutting them down with scissors. Hey, it works, and keeps him busy. 🙂

We have raspberries almost ready! Actually, one was ready. It had an ant on it, and when I brushed the ant off, the perfectly ripe raspberry fell to the ground, and I couldn’t find it. I was sorry to not be able to eat it. I’m looking forward to these being ready.

These are Black Raspberries that are growing wild in our yard. These are really yummy, too.

The girls got a lot of flowers planted this week. Plants as well as seeds. They spent the night with their older, married sister, who took them plant shopping. They came home with some flowers and had fun deciding where to plant them.

Hannah planting some Celosia seeds around the plant that I already had.

These are more Wild Roses growing in front of the house.

How are your gardens doing this week?

Here are some links I found interesting and helpful:

Keys to Redneck Gardening
Best Plants to Use on a Retaining Wall
Canning Jar Cloches to Protect Young Plants
Companion Planting
How to Harvest, Dry and Store Herbs

Grab The Saturday on the Farm Button!

Saturday on the Farm is a blog carnival that lets us share links to our blog post. It’s fun to visit each others farms.

To participate in Saturday on the Farm:

Write a post about your homestead, farm, farmette, or the tomato plant on your deck. Your cows, goats, chicken, or your favorite kitty cat.
Add the link to your post (not your main page) below.
Please link back to me so others can join the fun, too.

For more Farm & Garden posts, please visit:
Homestead Barn Hop
Bloomin’ Tuesday
The Little Round Table
Frugal Gardening 101
Fertilizer Friday/ Flaunt Your Flowers

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Our Homeschool Week in Review

June 10, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

The kids have been working in the garden in the mornings while its cooler. Schoolwork has been waiting until the afternoon. Most of the kids prefer to get their schoolwork done in the morning so they can have the afternoon free. However, it has been so hot in Kentucky this week. So hot that they haven’t even been wanting to play outside in the afternoon. If there is no church at night, or other family activity, we all go back outside and get a little more work done in the “cool” of the evening.

Today, Zach caught a cricket and followed the directions in his science book to make a terrarium for it.

See his little friend inside it’s new home?

We also reviewed Shavuot this week. And enjoyed a nice family meal together on the first night of Shavuot, complete with everyone’s favorite dairy foods. We had homemade macaroni and cheese and yellow squash casserole. I made the yellow squash casserole with home canned squash from our garden last year, covered with Ranch dressing and mozzarella cheese, then baked. My family loves this! We also had homemade vanilla pudding and chocolate pudding made by the girls for dessert.

It was the first time the girls had made homemade pudding themselves. They did great, except for Abby burning her finger on the pan. The pudding was awesome! I have no pictures to share as we ate it all. 🙂

The kids also started reading for a summer reading program this week over at Homeschool Buyers Co-op. The kids will have chances to win prizes. My kids are reading a lot to try and win the Ipad2.

Here are some links I found interesting and helpful this week:

Gee Whiz Quiz – A Math Scavenger Hunt Game
American Sign Language University at Lifeprint.com – includes dictionary, free lessons and more!
Why Did 17 Million Students Go to College?
What is a College Education Really Worth?
Little House on the Prairie – This post has a lot of links for a study of these books

Please visit:
Weekly Wrap Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
Wrapping Up The Week
Weekly Homeschool Highlights

This Weeks Favorites

June 10, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I found a lot of new favorites this week!

The Trusting Husband of Proverbs 31 – We never hear about the husband of the Proverbs 31 Woman, it’s about time!
Dealing With Quarrels
Should a Christian Practice Food Storage?

10 Minute Car Organizer – This would make a great Father’s Day gift!

Inspired Living – Cool as a Cucumber – This sounds like a nice cool drink
Make Your Own Taco Sauce – I will definitely be making this. My kids love taco sauce, I don’t like paying the price. Now we’ll all be happy!
Easy Black Bean Salsa

Hope you find some new favorites, too!

Please visit:

Saturday’s Stumbles

Share Your Faves.

Family Movie Night – Field of Vision – Review

June 9, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It’s time for another awesome Family Movie Night!

Field of Vision is the new movie that premieres Saturday, June 11th at 8 pm est on NBC.

In Field of Vision, a young girl is given an old video camera. This video camera has a mind of it’s own, and only works when it wants to. It also has the ability to let others see events that it didn’t actually tape. This is important to the story line it two ways.

First, the camera helps the girl’s older brother see what’s really going on on his football team. Bullying.

Second, the camera helps the girl see some important information to help Corey, the bullying victim.

Armed with the information he learned from the camera, Tyler (played by Tony Oller) confronts his fellow football teammates about the bullying. Tyler, and all those watching this movie, learn that you have to do the right thing, even though it’s very, very hard. Doing the right thing is not popular, as other don’t like to deal with the consequences of their actions. But as this Tyler shows us, even though it’s hard, doing the right thing is worth it.

Armed with the information she learned from the camera, Lucy, (played by Alyssa Jordan Shaffer) learns some very important information to help Corey, the bullying victim played by Joseph Adler. As we learn in the movie, Corey is in foster care after his mother died. With Lucy’s help, Corey gets his life back.

Field of Vision also stars Faith Ford, Phillip Casnoff and L. Warren Young.
Here’s the official Field of Vision trailer:

I got to see the whole movie so I could tell you about. I really liked this movie, and can’t wait to share it with my kids. Field of Vision teaches some important life lessons without being preachy. Field of Vision has a very heart-warming ending, and is suitable for the whole family. Field of Vision has earned the Dove Foundation Family Approved Seal. Read the Dove Foundation Review.

For more information, visit the Field of Vision Website, Family Movie Night on Facebook and Mom’s for Family TV.

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. I got to watch the movie online before it aired on TV. I did not receive a DVD or any other product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Elemental Journal

June 9, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Create Expressive Books from Salvaged Treasures

Rusty doorknobs, cardboard containers and plastic packaging may seem like trash to some, but through the creative mind, they are transformed into beautiful expressions – equally parts artful book and assemblage. The Elemental Journal will show you how to craft a wide variety of journals to hold your secrets or express your inner thoughts, and discover new ways to use wood, paper, fabric, plastic and metal in your art.

Peek inside The Elemental Journal and you will find…

15 stepped-out journal projects made from unusual materials and found objects, from tree bark to dismantled photo albums to tin boxes.
Tips for seeking out materials for your journals in flea markets, garage sales, and in your own attic or trash can.
Inspiring gallery projects from 9 contributing artists, including Susan Tuttle, Jen Osborn and Jill Berry.

One artist’s trash is another’s treasure. Discover yours with The Elemental Journal.

My Review:

The Elemental Journal contains material lists and instructions, with pictures, for making journals from wood, plastic, paper, fabric and metal. There are also pictures of other journals to inspire you to be creative to make more.

You don’t have to be super crafty to make these journals, either. They’re are easy ones that even kids would be able to make.

These journals will be loved by all who keep a diary. I can’t wait to make some of these for Christmas gifts. I think these would be a great place to keep your to-do list, also. I know I would be inspired to pick one of these gorgeous and creative journals up to look at it. Some are small enough to carry with you, some are more suited to keeping on a desk or table. All are very decorative.

I have not made one yet, but I have read the directions, and looked at the pictures. All the directions are easy to follow, with pictures showing each step. A lot of them use items that would others consider to be trash. What a great, useful way to re-use something that others throw away. There are even projects using old toys!

The Elemental Journal is a great instructional book for making journals for yourself or as gifts.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through BookSneeze. I received no other compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wordless Wednesday – Why’d You Wake Me Up?

June 8, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

The silly kitten decided to take a nap in an empty flower basket hanging on the back porch. It’s about 8 feet above the ground. The string you see in the picture is the top of my clothesline.

Why’d you wake me up?!

For more pictures, visit Wordless Wednesday,
Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom ,
Say “Cheese” at It’s a Blog Party
A Beautiful Mess,
Live and Love Outloud,
Shibley Smiles
Angelica’s Awesome Adventures
The Florida Hogans
The Life of Rylie & Bryce, too
Mama to 4 Blessings
Wordy or Not So Wordy Wednesday
Frugality is Free
Dear Crissy
Baba’s Farm Life
Resourceful Mommy
Mrs. Mama Hen

Shavuot

June 7, 2011 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Image via Wikipedia

Shavuot, The Feast of Weeks, is the day when the Jewish People received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. This year, Shavuot starts tonight, June 7th, at sundown and lasts until June 9th at sundown. The Torah, however, does not give us a set date for Shavuot. Instead, we are instructed to count 49 days from Passover, this is called The Counting of the Omer. On the 50th day, we celebrate Shavuot.

For Messianic Believers and Christians, Shavuot is also when God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell with us. You will most likely know it as Pentacost.

Here’s a video with an overview of Shavuot:

Larry Huch TV programs on Pentacost – You can watch online the 5 programs that aired on tv

There are no commandments in the Bible for how to celebrate Shavuot, but there are a few customs.

Eat dairy meals
Decorate the Synagogue with flowers and greenery
Stay up all night studying the Torah
Read the Book of Ruth

In our celebration of Shavuot, we will start with a dairy dinner at sundown tonight. I picked some of my families favorite foods to serve. We’re having macaroni & cheese, yellow squash casserole (made with Ranch Dressing & mozzarella cheese), and vanilla & chocolate pudding for dessert.

We will also be going over the 10 Commandments. We have memorized these as a family, but we will still review them, and say them aloud together from memory. We will also read aloud the Book of Ruth.

Today, I will also be reading aloud the Shavuot section from Jewish Holidays and Festivals, this is a great book that tells in simple language the stories, significance, practices, ceremonies and prayers of the Jewish Holidays. There are also questions at the end of every section. I love this book, it was the first book I purchased on the Jewish Holidays, and the first book I go to when preparing for each holiday.

Shavuot / Pentecost from Torah Class on Vimeo.