Friday, June 29, 2012

D - Lowest Grade of My Life - Slower Internet Than Most

I got the lowest grade of my life the other day. As you know I am always complaining on my posts about my upload speed as we can't post videos more than a minute in length as it just won't upload. 

I am at the fasted internet available on DSL in my area and since it is a remote area, they aren't planning on upgrading the lines to my dead end street at any point in the future. 

My sister who just moved was unhappy with her internet service and found a site to check your internet speed both download and upload speeds. 

She wrote me an email telling me how slow her internet was and also sent me a link knowing how much trouble I have had with my internet. 

I clicked on the link, it was so easy. The test started after clicking on "test now" box. I tested it several times over several days and the results were always the same within a point or two.

I got a D. My internet is slower that almost 3/4 of the nation. :-( So sad to hear that! 

Here is the link to the site. speed test 

I am now really at a loss as to ever being able to skype my missionary daughter or to upload any HD videos or regular videos longer than 1 minute or so. 

I guess there are some disadvantages to living in a small town. However, I still feel the trade off is worth it. I can be anywhere in town in 5 minutes or less.

So you lucky people who have speedy internet that live in large cities with lots of traffic, just know, I'll arrive at my destination quicker in real time and that way we are both winners! Perhaps at some point my service provider will upgrade the lines for some other reason.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Big wind plus Big Tree Equals Big Work


This great event happened a few weeks ago but I had so much going on, I didn't post it. I have girls camp this week so I thought I would finally post about it as I had to post four days before leaving as I won't have internet at camp. I am sure I will bore you to tears with girls camp pictures and stories as I haven't been since I ran one 23 years ago for a large group of girls. I am heading up with my three youngest Princesses so it is sure to be a good time. 
 
We had a horrible week with wind a few weeks ago and two nights in a row it woke me. In the morning, I didn't look in the back yard but I got a call from one princess informing me that our tree was a casualty to the storm and wind. 

It lost two major branches. I was thankful that the "tire d" swing branch wasn't lost. The girls and neighborhood kids along with some nieces and nephews would be sad about that if it happened. 

I couldn't get the chain saw started. That didn't leave us with much alternative. We got out the little hand saw. The girls were troopers as it took us about a full week to get all the branches down, cut up, and put into the garbage. 

The first day happened right before garbage day so we broke off all the little branches we could and stuffed them into garbage cans and dragged them to the curb. 

The next day, we took the now empty cans and cut up some larger branches which filled most of the cans again. 
 
There were two MAJOR branches about the size of my youngest Princess that our little saw was not making it through. I called in the neighbors and they brought over a chain saw but I wasn't here and they just saw the one branch and missed the other. 

I had a wonderful neighbor that came the first day and helped us try to cut the hanging branch out of the tree. He just about landed on the ground sliding down a few feet which scared me to gasping. Then he came back the next day with a ladder and helped get it down as we didn't succeed the first day. 
 
I waited another day or two and my busy neighbors hadn't been able to get back so the girls and I wanting to get the back yard garden finished, took the saw to the last branch and with four of us taking turns, finally got through that last big branch and now all of the bark, sharp broken pieces are out of the yard due to some mowing and raking and scouring on our part as nothing hurts like stepping onto a bark shard or broken spiked twig. 

The yard is actually looking quite good as I finished working on some broken sprinklers several days this week and adding a few where we were having some dead areas.  

I know we will need to replace the entire tree soon as we lose branches yearly but at this point,  we still need the shade. I did plant three trees around it in hopes they will be larger when it does come down.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Venus Sun Spot Pictures - Once in a Lifetime Event

June 6th, 2012 was an event you only see once in over 100 years. It was a Venus sun spot as it crossed in front of the sun. 

A few weeks before, someone told me about it's coming. I put it on my events calendar on my phone to alert me so I could see it. 

I got out my x-rays again that I used to take the pictures of the solar eclipse a few weeks prior and through the x-rays, I was able to take these pictures. 
It was later in the day when it really showed up so it wasn't on the fringes of the sun. I tried to get earlier pictures but they were too close to the edge and you couldn't see them well. I had to go run some errands and meet with some people after I took these so I didn't have time to take pictures of it in its different positions.

I was able to view it each time I stopped so I could see how it moved. I went to a young women gathering for our church group and was able to let them all see the spot. I am guessing none of them will live to see that again so that was fun for them to see.
You may need to click on the pictures to enlarge them to see the spot. It is between the center of the clock and the 2 o'clock spot. 

There have been some unusual celestial signs in the heavens in the past few months.
I wonder if there are any more coming soon? I have never been one to follow that type of thing but these were so big I couldn't miss seeing them.

It has been exciting to watch them unfold and be witness to them. 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Best Guess Cure For Morgellans Disease - Part 2


Please see post "Part 1" of this same "cure" post for the links to find all of the items that I talk about in this post. 

I am not a Dr. but have had some dealings with parasites in the past for other sick children getting parasites in the Philippines and I got them in Peru during our service mission there. I give this information just for some options to help others in similar situations. Feel free to contact me through this site. I will help how I can. However, I believe prayer can be the best guide to finding what you need to cure your problem. 

I have been stumped several times with the weird illnesses our family has gotten during these missions. I wonder why we are so subject to catching these "bugs" but know we have digestive issues with not enough Hydrochloric Acid to kill things off when we ingest them. High HCL in the stomach kill off parasites that may slip into us through contaminated foods etc. So, until we figure out how to keep those levels up, we, and many like us will continue to have parasite problems.When stumped with things medical science and Dr.'s haven't been able to figure out, I pray. God is merciful and has heard my prayers and led me to the things that can heal my family. 

Here is Part 2 of my letter with the items I sent Princess number 2 who is sick in Taiwan. Please see Part one for the rest of the list. 

Liquid Minerals from Marine Mineral - Take these in your bottled water and any water you drink. I sent a little empty bottle that you can put them in to get them into a dropper form. I think you need the minerals that the parasites are eating from your teeth and bones. 10 drops in a water bottle is good. I go up to 15 if I am feeling dehydrated but it can taste salty. This will help leg cramps and other muscle twitches as well.

MSM - Take 4 MSM in the morning and four at night. The sulfur in them helps your body become alkaline. Take them till you run out. Hopefully with everything you are doing, by then the parasites will be gone.

St. Johns Wort - I sent two bottles of St. Johns wort. Whatever you take it with, it helps you absorb it many times over. Take it with your vitamins in the morning.

Seagate Olive Leaf nasal Spray - This has GSE, Olive leaf extract and several other things which will help your teeth and sinus. Pour just a little into the empty bottle. Use the small amount up your nose at least three times a day. When that little bit runs out, bleach the bottle and sprayer and rinse with hot water. Let it dry over night and then pour a little more out of the new/unused bottle into the now clean bottle. Use that three times a day for a few days until the bottle runs out. Bleach and clean it again. Once it is clean and dry. Pour a little more into it and repeat until gone. This keeps you from reinfecting yourself from the sprayer. I did that once using a new bottle while I was sick and then six months later, used it for something else and got sick from the bottle. This new way keeps the original bottle always new and sterile only letting the bottle you use be contaminated. This spray should help clear out the bugs from your teeth roots and keep them down.

Oregano oil - You can swish with it a bit diluted with perhaps one drop oregano oil in 5 drops olive oil and then swish around your mouth and drink it. You can rub it a little diluted on your jaw line and neck/sinus area on the skin which will also help. Also, rub a few drops on your toes, making sure you get all the toes and in between to the foot. These are the sinus, eye and ear points for reflex and foot zoning. It will help and the skin isn't as sensitive as the face and neck so you can use it a bit stronger mix maybe 2 drops oregano to 3 drops olive oil (or any other type of oil you can find.)

Thieves oil by Young Living Oil - Still put a drop in the mouth and swish it with saliva and hold as long in the mouth as you can both in the morning and at night. No parasite will stay with that around. If it causes sores, it is because it is forcing the parasites out. I do it all the time in my mouth and have never had a sore. If you can't take it straight, mix it with a drop or two of Olive oil and swish for a few minutes and then swallow it.
 
Vanadium - (Van 50 pills) This is the mineral that the parasites are most likely going for in the teeth. Calcium and vanadium are the two main minerals in the teeth. The woman I spoke with had great insight on that. She suggested I get you some. I sent pills over the liquid only because the liquid didn't arrive on time and the pills had other herbs in them that probably will help. This also affects sleep when you have a deficiency, you don't sleep deeply and that is why she thought it was the Vanadium over the Calcium because you reported weird dreams, sleepless nights and restlessness. So, Take them as directed on the bottle and don't miss taking any of these things. If you want to take one of the St. Johns Wort pills with this product at night, it would probably help you sleep better and make sure you are absorbing it.

Glutathione - This is one of the worlds best antioxidants available. Most products with it break down in the gut and aren't absorbed so this product goes on the skin allowing you to absorb it. However, it smells like rotten eggs as it give you sulfur in your system which lowers your PH as well. Parasites don't live in alkaline areas. Take two squirt on your hand morning and night. Rub it on an area that wont get wet as you don't want to wash it off. It is in an aloe base so it dries a bit sticky but keeps it on your skin so you can absorb it. Put it on and then spray some body spray on so you smell better but I think long term, this will help you not get sick as the parasites leave. It will help your body rid itself of their toxins. Many people on the websites suggest sulfur products. This with the alfalfa and MSM will help you get more alkaline.

Parasite pills - I threw these in last minute as I felt that the Black Walnut and other herbs will help you kill any other parasites in the body as this other stuff is helping with the skin and teeth parasites. They give instructions on the bottle. You need to follow it exactly or it may not kill off all the eggs etc. Take the break in between the two bottles as it suggests. Your body will need a rest on that but keep up with the other things you are doing.

The immunity shots - Follow the bottle instructions. You need to build your body back up. These other things mostly help rid it of the parasites. This will help you build it back up.
 
Nano Vitamin D - Most people are Vitamin D deficient. I know we have talked about this before.  It will help build you back up also. This nano D is better absorbed to get your level up quickly. Pray about how much to use it. I am guessing it will be more at first to get your level up, then back off some once it is up. Even if you are taking pills, use this to get your level up quickly. D is one of the main defenses for your body.

The dermal spray, take 1 spray every hour and if you feel, you can spray it directly on the sores. Try putting it in a paste with the Diatomaceous earth on a band-aid on the sores. See how that works.

Sorry about the sores etc. Hopefully some of these things will help. I don't think you are killing them off as much as keeping them from the area with what you are doing so keep up on the oil swishing until it doesn't come out white. That will get the toxins out fast. These other things will get them out of the tissues etc. From reading other peoples testimonies, it is the black mold that allows these worm/parasites into the body. They work their way to the teeth and long bones which are in the leg. They leach the minerals and leave you in pain and unable to eat or sleep. The sores continue all over the body but like the face and head as that is the most vascular so I hope we can kill them off before they scar your face. The Tub thing really is a huge part of the cure for the one lady that said it helped her. Soak how you can. Even if you wet a cloth and put it over the sore area for 20 minutes, put a towel wet wrapped around your arms with elastics to hold it on. Whatever you can think of to get that alkaline water onto your skin. wash your hair in the bucket and wrap it with a soaked towel before showering or after showering. 

The reason the charcoal is helping you (She has been taking charcoal pills and said they have really helped the sleep problem)  is it takes the toxins out of the body quickly. It isn't killing them, just ridding you of the toxins. The other things will help you kill them and if you take charcoal with them, it will absorb what you are taking which removes it from the body. You need that stuff in your body. The oil swish will help. 

If you need to take  the charcoal, take it several hours after or before meals and anything you take to help kill the parasites off. 

I hope all this helps....

UPDATE- Look into Six Feathers Formula Black Salve Indian remedy. Some claim it has helped them cure their Morgellans!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Best Guess Cure of Morgellans Disease - Part 1

I am going to post this information as I have it typed up for Princess number two missionary in Taiwan anyway. She has been doing some of these things with good reports but I worry she is just keeping them down and not curing it so this is what I sent her in a package this week. If you need more information, search Morgellans, and bug bites on my search at the bottom and bring up the other posts I have on this issue for more information. 

This information is just what I have researched calling different specialists in several areas and putting that all together, this is the list of stuff I sent and the instructions to my sick princess. If you know of someone suffering from ANY parasite, this would be my best guess for helping it along with the Colonix cleanse I wrote about on this post (click here). I have run into so many missionaries that have gotten sick with parasites of different types and have come home only to be sick for years, if not life, that I think I will post this for all parasites and pray it helps many. 

Copper helps with parasites. That is why arthritis sufferers get relief when they wear copper jewelry. One type of arthritis is parasites in the synovial. So, that is why I went with copper. However. This is a WARNING!!!! Any liquid metal can be toxic in large particles. Make sure your source is small particles. The company I went with after calling many is called "Water Oz" out of Idaho. Here is a link to their site. Cindy was very helpful and spent almost a full hour with me on the phone. They have a 1800-547-2294 number. 

Liquid Silver - I have used Solutions I E company for years. The stuff saved my mom in the ICU when the Dr's gave up. It is smaller particles as well. You can turn blue from bad colloidal silver and I am sure you can turn copper from bad colloidal copper. ONLY USE TRUSTED COMPANIES and don't try to make your own!!!! You would hate to turn someone silver for life. Here is a link to their site.

Thieves oil - Young Living Oils in Lehi, Utah. Contact me as they are an MLM. Or, use the bug oil I posted about here. Click here for that post.

Liquid Minerals - The type I use is from Marine Minerals. Here is a link to their site.  

Most of the other items I list in this email to her are items you can get at any health food store. Diatomaceous earth you can get at IFA, or any orchard supply place. Some food storage places use it to put in their grain to kill off weevil and other bugs in the grain. Try to get food grade and you can have the person take a tsp full in a glass of water daily to prevent them from getting any more bugs. It will only kill off the parasites in the digestive tract, not in organs. It works as it has sharp edges and slices the bugs open and they die of dehydration. It just feels like talc powder to us. I sent this with several friends missionaries and as long as they have taken it daily works to prevent parasites as it kills off any parasites that get in. It is when they stop, the parasites set up, get into the organs and tissue so when they start taking it again, it doesn't keep them safe because the parasites are no longer in the digestive tract. It has to be taken daily to keep them out.You can order this online from several places. One place in Canada had these pictures and some good information. Here is a link to them.

Here is my information sent to her:

Copper and Zinc - Both kill parasites, bacteria etc. I sent you colloidal nano-particle copper and zinc. You need to spray those two things at the same time. 1 spray of copper to 4 or 5 sprays of zinc. That will keep your body in balance. So when you wake up,  Don't ever mix the copper and silver together as it makes them not work as they bind together so spray with copper and zinc in the morning and then I sent a little timer. Set it for 1 hour. Spray with 10 sprays silver for the next hour. Set the timer again. Spray with copper and zinc the next hour, then set it again and spray with silver. Etc while you are awake. However, in the morning, since you won't have taken any copper all night, do double sprays for the first dose

Diatomaceous Earth - Sprinkle this on your mattress. After showering, put this on your body like a body powder. If anything is crawling out of those sores, they will get sliced open by the rough surface of the powder. You can dust the inside of your clothes with this as well if you think that is how they are spreading. Even if you put some onto a dryer sheet and placed it in the dryer with your clothes. Some of the sites say to use "Bounce" dryer sheets because they have an oil from Brazil on them that repel bugs anyway. I had a box to send but it was the one thing I felt to take out of the box for some reason worrying about customs. If you can buy some there, rub them on your legs as a repellant. If it irritates you, then pin them to the inside of your skirt lining or slip or something and put some under your sheets on the mattress as well if you think that would help. You could also pour some of the powder into nylons or socks and wear them as often as you can to see if it helps clear up the sores. My other thought is spread some onto band-aids or bandages and put them over the sores or "bites" when they start to show up. See if the powder, keeps the puss down and keeps them from spreading. When they are on your arms, buy some baby socks, cut off the toes, sprinkle some diatomaceous earth the sock and wear it on your arms like an arm band over the sore until it is gone. Always wash it between usings and put a good coating of powder in it.

Silver - Colloidal silver or nano particle sliver. Take the ten sprays of the 175 ppm under your tongue every other hour between the copper and zinc sprays. If you need to make a paste out of the Diatomaceous earth, you can spray some of the silver onto it. Try putting that on a band-aid over the sore. I would try this option to see which item works best. Cover one sore with a paste made from the powder mixed with silver on a band-aid. On another, try the powder mixed with copper. On another, try the powder on a sore mixed with thieves oil, try another with tea tree oil. See which gives you the best results and keeps it from scaring the most. Lavender oil and tea tree mixed might be a good option to keep it from scaring.

The Sun powder Laundry Detergent with color safe bleach and Alfalfa pills. - I talked with a biochemist this week. He suggested (before I told him about the soap and alfalfa pills) that to combat your skin sores, you go to a farmers store there and buy a small amount of Copper Sulfate. Get some bleach and some vinegar. Mix 3 tsp bleach, with 6 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp Copper Sulfate in a bath. He said that it changes the PH of the water and will kill anything on your skin. He said it may turn you a bit green and you need to be careful about the bleach as it can become a gas when you first add the hot water. So, I then told him about the woman with the Sun detergent and alfalfa pills saying it got all the little things to come out of her skin and he said, "Yes, that would change the PH of the water enough to do the same thing." So, I thought it was interesting that I got a witness from two people saying that the PH of water would help. I know you said finding a tub would be hard but I think if you get the largest bucket you can and soak the affected parts for now, it could help. I would put a tsp of soap in a large bucket with 5 alfalfa tables or so. Let them dissolve and then soak the feet while you read or something as long as you can stand it, that would probably be good.


Alfalfa pills - Also take some of the alfalfa pills by mouth probably three or four a day or more as this will help your PH become closer to alkaline than the acidic way it is, which helps parasites live.

To be continued.... 

UPDATE- Look into Six Feathers Formula Black Salve Indian remedy. Some claim it has helped them cure their Morgellans!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Designer Sneakers for Cheap Part 2


 About a year ago, I wrote a post about some cute designer sneakers. They have become quite the rage in Princess number 5's life. All her friends have made them. 

Some of them used fabric markers but when they got wet or stepped into a puddle, the markers washed away leaving a blurry mess.

I had princess number five use our stash of Sharpie's to decorate her sneakers. She spent lots of time on them as you can see by these pictures. 

Here is a link to the post about these last year. I love Sharpies. I used to joke and quote a Steve Martin movie and say, "All I need is this package of sharpies, a candy bar and this tennis racket." 

Sharpies make the world a happier place. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Morgellans Cure's - Suggestions and Trials

So this week, I spent $350 on nano particle Copper, Zinc, and Vanadium. Part of that was $60 for them to send it to her. Also, part of that total included some for Princess number one to see if it works on the problems she has had since going to the Philippines on a mission. If you remember, she came home sick and the Dr.'s never could figure out what caused her problem. Here are a few links to those posts. The first was when they said she was coming home sick. Next, when they thought it was Chikungunya. The third, is about the parasite/colon cleanse we used to get rid of the problem for a year or so. 

Parasites are so difficult to get rid of for good. If there is one in the body, it starts all over again. So, I spent $250 on things other people suggested that helped them at the health food store. 

I spent $100 on Nano Silver particles as that seems to be the thing that brings the most relief but figured if she mixed it up with the copper which is really good at killing parasites she may have better results. I spent $75 on a form of dermal Glutathione. They say that it helps take the toxins out from the parasite die off as it is one of the best antioxidants available. The reason it is dermal (skin application) is that the digestive process breaks down the Glutathione making it useless when taken in pill form. However, this lovely skin product smells like rotten eggs. She will just LOVE me when she gets that to put on. 

 I am also sending her a few things I already had and then there is the cost of mailing. I am praying that customs is ok with everything I am sending. There isn't anything I am sending that is on the "do not send" list but they are all weird things. 

I bought the laundry detergent and alfalfa pills one woman said helped her. She said that things left the sores in droves when she used that. 

Funny, I talked to a bio chemist today as he called me back from a message I left on his voice mail a few days ago. I asked about them making nano-copper and he said they hadn't done anything like that before but use lasers to make nano-silver. I explained to him Princess number 2's symptoms and he suggested that I have her find some Copper Sulfate at a farmers store in Taiwan because they use it in farming countries. He then told me to have her get some bleach and some apple cider vinegar and have her put 3 tablespoons bleach to 6 tablespoons vinegar in the water with a tsp of copper sulfate. He said that would change the ph of the water and would kill any fungus or parasites on the skin. I thought that was interesting as it was so close to what the lady in the other article posted about how she killed her skin lesions and got the bugs out. 

I guess the bugs don't like an alkaline ph and most of us are acidic which keeps us the perfect hosts for the little critters. 

I will type up instructions for each item and send it. She said she is finding relief from the teeth issues by oil swishing. I have that on my home pages. Here is a link to that. She is also taking charcoal which she say's helps. She is putting my "bug spray" (Click here for that) on her legs daily which she said is helping. She is taking GSE and Oregano which are also on my home pages. (Click here for those)

She saw a dentist who hit her teeth with a metal rod and asked if they hurt. She had been swishing and taking stuff by then and was feeling better anyway but said she now has 4 sores on her face that came out after she started taking stuff. The dentist told her that she had no cavities and the Dr. she saw said she looked great (even with all the skin sores) and sent me an email saying he thought she was fine. At first I was upset but then realized that even here, the Dr.'s did the same with my older princess and I would treat it the same way if she were here so I'll just send her the stuff and pray she can get over what is causing this since no one really knows anyway. 

One interesting fact I found out , Vanadium and Calcium are in the teeth. If this parasite attacks the teeth, the woman from the nano-mineral place made a good point, she thinks they attack the teeth roots to get the Vanadium or Calcium out. She thinks also the fact that it affects the sleep, it is messing with the Vanadium as that also helps you sleep. If you have a Vanadium deficiency, you have insomnia. She said that it could also be taking the magnesium which also affects sleep. So, she thinks it is one of three or all three minerals that the parasite is leaching. 

She was a big help as well with letting me know that you can't take silver and copper at the same time. I had already prayed about that and felt that she should take one then the other back and forth every hour but it was good to have that reinforced for me. She also shared that if she takes the copper, she needs more zinc. Zinc needs to be at a 4 to 1 ratio to Copper. So, if she takes 4 sprays of Zinc, she takes one of Copper at the same time. 

I will keep you informed as to how all this works for her. She said they have no bath tubs there so I suggested that she soak the affected area in a bucket with the alfalfa and soap mixture. 

I am not sure why I get to have all these weird things going on to experiment and figure out but wouldn't it be a blessing if she could figure it out and we could share it with all those suffering and cure it easily. Not cheaply, but when you figure how much the parasite tests they did on Princess number one cost, I am sure my bill is much less for this. Lets just pray this is a cure. 

The added bonus, I think the nano-potassium may just be the answer to my sleep apnea, which in turn would help my thyroid, which it turn would help my weight! I'll keep you informed on that as well.  

UPDATE- Look into Six Feathers Formula Black Salve Indian remedy. Some claim it has helped them cure their Morgellans! 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Summer Bunko Family Reunion - Part 2

I am not sure what is going on with my picture space. I tried to post again about my family reunion and every time I try to upload a certain picture, it tells me my space is full but I can upload other pictures so I am not sure what the issue is but I still haven't taken the time to figure out my .com. 
I keep thinking my life will slow down some so I can take some time to get to it. Not so. I finally got a carpet guy here to lay the carpet that we had to rip up during the flooding a few weeks ago. He did a good job and I hope I will be able to find the time and money soon to put in tile in the laundry room to avoid this issue again.

I just wanted to show some of the fun pictures from the reunion but if I edit them, for some reason it won't let me post it so here is a picture of two of my sisters families after it was over. The kids told me that the game "bunko" was their favorite part.   

I buy prizes all year for it and elow is a picture of one of the winners picking out there prize.  I can't show any pictures that I have to edit so I can't show many as I don't have permission from all my extended family to show them. 

We had hot dogs which I got on sale. We got the buns at the bakery outlet. I keep all the decorations from year to year in a bin. I use a church to host and have all those coming bring a pot luck dish. Those near the venue bring salads. Those traveling get to bring deserts, chips, and drinks. I also provide the paper goods which I try to find on sale. 

I found that if I make it easy for people to come, more will show up. I bought 100 stick on name tags and we used all but four or five which means about 100 people came if everyone put on a name tag. I really enjoyed getting an update on what all my cousins are doing. It was fun. Several asked to keep it on that date every year. I think if all my cousins and their kids and grand kids showed up, I probably would have run out of prizes. I hope each year we can get a few more coming. It was fun for my family.    

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mosaic Mustaches - Summer Craft Fun

 Princess number five and her friend were bored one day so I went down to the craft room and pulled out several craft "kits" we have gotten over the last few years. They decided on this mosaic kit. 

The kit comes with several patterns and different colored tiles for you to choose from but I was proud of Princess five, from the beginning, she thought out of the box. :-) 

Literally, she didn't use any of the patters from the box and she came up with a cute idea on the tiles as she didn't like the colors they offered so she used permanent markers to color the tiles to the colors they wanted. 

The kit came with a solid back board to glue the tiles onto. I thought how much fun it would be to cut out a few of the back boards and talk with a tile guy and have him save me all the pieces of cut and broken tile and then let the girls make their own out of real tiles. 

Basically, the kit just had a small bottle of glue they used a Popsicle stick to put the glue on the back of the tiles. Then, they made the pattern they wanted. I am not sure what the joke is with the girls and mustaches but that is what they wanted to make. 

After the tiles are all glued on the hard board, they had a little bag of dry grout they just added a little water and grouted the mosaic square. They washed off all the extra grout and there you have it. Mosaic Mustache tile square to put in our garden. 

Looking at it, I don't think the kit is probably worth it if your have creative kids. Also, I wonder if you contacted a tile center or a Home Depot, if they would keep a box of broken tiles for you. 
 
I have also seen where they take broken china and make a table top or squares using the broken dishes. There really wasn't much to it if you have tiles and grout. Just get a piece of hard wood for the base and use Elmer's glue to put it on.  Then grout. Have fun!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Spelunking, Our New Favorite - Cave Journey


 I had a fun trip with the kids this week. We planned a few weeks before and picked a day that we all had free. We got online and bought tickets to a cave that is a National Park. 

We met up along the way with Prince and Princess number one and ended up at Timpanogus Cave. We picked an early tour as to beat the heat on the steep hike. 


We got up extremely early at O'dark thirty and had to pay to get into the canyon where the cave is located and then you have to pay per person to go up to the cave and tour it. 


It was $7 for adults and $5 for kids. 


You have to pay $6 a car load for a three day parking pass for the canyon. If we had thought about it, we probably should have explored the canyon while we were there but after the hike we were hungry and hot so we left and found a place to eat. 


The hike is 1 1/2 miles up but over 1000 feet in elevation. It is paved the entire way but along the path, they have red lines which are the "rock fall" area's so if you need to stop and take a rest from the steep hike, you have to avoid stopping in those areas. 

They also have warnings about rattle snakes on the trail. Glad we didn't run into any.

The caves are actually three caves found at different times by different people. The park service dug tunnels through to connect the caves in the 30's if I remember correctly. 


I couldn't believe all the different formations. As I walked through, I couldn't help thinking it kinda looked like what I would guess our colon looks like. I know that is gross but look at some of these formations. It was interesting to see all the different colors of formations as well. Black, white, yellow, green, purple, brown. 


There were formations of all types. Princess number five's favorite was the "bacon" formations which looked like a huge slab of bacon. The cave is known for the "heart" which is a formation that hangs down and looks like an actual human heart, not the hearts we draw. They placed a red bulb behind it and it looks even more like a heart. 


I think my favorite is a little off shoot that the floor is paper thin and covered what once was an underwater river. They have several lakes in the cave which they have to pump out sometimes when it gets full. 


I only got dripped on twice. There are places in the cave where you have to bend, go sideways etc and the ground is a bit slick as it is always wet but they have done a great job of making it as safe as possible. 


The hike had more fear with the steep inclines and no safety fence at some scary looking places than did the caves. However, I wouldn't want to be in them in an earthquake as the fault line goes right through the cave in several places. 


If you are looking for a fun outing, check out the list of National Parks that have caves. Just know that if you cave in the East, you can't go into the caves in the west for a month or so as they are having a bat infection of some kind that is killing off the bats and they don't want it to come west. Little known fact we found out on our journey. 


Wish now we had explored the canyon as well. :-( One impressive thing. There were "Power Walkers" that walk up and down the trail daily. They lapped us. I asked the ranger about it and she said some of them do the trail three times a day. She knew someone that did it 6 times in a day. I was impressed. The girls and I felt like wimps stopping to rest every few switchbacks. 


If you plan on going... Get your tickets online. Before we finished up, the tickets were sold out. Also, if you take smaller children, tie a rope around them and hold onto it like a leash. You can't take a very large pack in and it has to fit in this box like the carry on's at the airport. You can take a child back pack most of the way but they have a place to leave it near the top and it can't go in the cave. There was one woman with a front pack baby carrier. It would be hard to get that through the bend and crouch spots but it obviously worked for her. 

There is one bathroom out-house style near the top which isn't a pleasant experience so make sure you use the facilities at the bottom. 

Wear sneakers or hiking shoes. Some were wearing flip flops but the hike down is steep and I can bet there has been more than one break of a flop on the way down. Tighten your shoes before heading down. We all complained that our toes hurt on the down side from sliding forward in our shoes and I ended up with blisters from that and took my shoes off near the bottom and went bare footed for that reason. Also, a shoe with tread is good in the slippery cave. 

Go early. Our hike up was hot and sweaty but the breeze was cool. On the way down, the people just starting out, the heat of the day made even the shady spots not so cool and the breeze was a warm breeze. I was glad we were on our way down rather than up at that point. 

All in all, the girls and I had a fabulous day. It was worth the trip. I'm looking forward to more outings this summer. 

Friday, June 15, 2012

Moved the Raised Bed Garden


Today we spent most of the day working in the yard. I started to move the raised bed garden last week but had so much going on and finding out Princess Two was sick etc kept me busy.  I posted in the past on our raised bed garden boxes and here is a link to that post. 

I took the boards from the raised beds we had and moved it so it could get some sun. The trees we have over the boxes kept them from getting sun so we moved it to the back fence. 
I thought it would be a simple move. Pick up the boards, take over the soil... Done right? 
Wrong! I wanted to use our much and as you can see by the picture of the soil where we took the box off above.  I thought I would use the mulch soil as you know from other posts, we recycle all our vegetable and fruit peels, rinds, etc. We started filling the new boxes up with first, mulch soil, you can see how dark and rich it is below. We had so many worms, you wouldn't believe it. Many types as well. We had tons of night crawler worms as well as the mulching worms. 
 Before we put the boxes down and soil on, we put some large refrigerator and appliance boxes under the beds. The weed guard we put down under the last beds was full of grass when we pulled it up today. I saw my sister used boxes and news papers under her beds at one point and thought that would be a good idea.
My sister suggested that we use a tarp at the base of the boxes and I started to use an old tarp but then thought about the paint on it wondering if it would make our food toxic so I used some black thick plastic. IT may be just as toxic but the weed guard did nothing in the last beds so I didn't want to waste money on more. I am hoping the plastic will drain well enough. If not, I will poke holes. 

The girls and I worked hard first filling the boxes with mulch. Next, we used the nice vermiculite soil from the other raised beds and then on top, we used the bark I brought down in the wagon on yesterday's post. Between all three, we filled the lengthy box up with some nice soil.  I like that the back fence has all the landscaped things now. I won't have to work so hard to garden as the trees got in the way. I need to fix a few more sprinklers on the lawn as we have a few dead spots but for the most part, I hope I won't have to work as hard. The fencing at the back is Cattle guard. It is very stiff and strong and holds the melons and tomatoes climbing up so we can have more veggies.

We tried and tried to get things done in the heat of the day but in the end, it was nicer to get it done when the sun was down. We worked until the bed was even and full which was finished about 10 p.m. I had some plants I bought a few days ago and kept thinking I would get the garden done and plant them. Some of the plants died but I am hoping I can get these one's to take off now that we have them planted. What a crazy day. 

We had enough bark and wood chips that I will use them in the front and side of the house for landscaping. While it was cool, I worked a few more hours in the front spreading the bark mixture. You can see how long the boxes are and I planted the plants and gave them a drink of water and pray they do well. It was a very long day and I have been trying to keep my mind of Princess number 2.

 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Trailer Full of Blessings

I found a wonderful buy the other day at a second hand store for my sister. I posted a few weeks ago that she moved into a new home they just bought. In this home, she has a sun room at the back of the house. After their last move, they gave all their yard furniture to a friend who had a pool.

I went to a second hand store to donated some things. The the truck in front of me was pulling a trailer and both the truck and trailer were full with this really cute set of yard furniture. 

I was on the phone with my sister at the time and was telling her how cute the set was as I was waiting my turn to get my car unloaded. 

I unloaded my set and asked how much they were going to sell the yard set for. The set had 6 chairs, four were swivel, two tables with smoked glass. One had a turning center for condiments and a hole for an umbrella. The smaller table went with the two stationary chairs. They all have cute burgundy, green, and yellow chair pads. It was in great condition and it was Saturday night and the store didn't want to have to leave it out over the weekend. I told them if it were cheap enough, I would take it that night.

They marked it $65. My sister was thrilled. I borrowed a trailer since I was going to head to her city for a family reunion anyway taking up my suburban with prizes, I put it all on the trailer and tied it down.

On the way up, I had some electrical issues which I thought were related to the trailer brakes not meshing with my wiring. 

With that thought, I asked my other sister to take the trailer home for me so I wouldn't burn out the trailer wiring using my weird hook up.

My sweet sister filled the trailer with wood chips for me knowing I have been looking for some and there was some inexpensive near her. 

My younger sister and her husband picked the trailer up on their way to visit another family member. While they were visiting there, one of their girls asked the other family if they had a spare bed as she wanted a new bed. 

They actually had a water bed and my niece was thrilled. So, because they had taken the trailer for me, which I had taken up for my sister, they were able to bring home a free water bed for their daughter.I laughed and laughed when I heard the story. Come to find out, the issue with my car didn't have anything to do with the brakes so they wouldn't have needed to take the trailer. I think it was all meant to be. Here I do what I think is a favor and get blessed and my sister and her husband think they are doing me a favor and are blessed. 

I love how God works with us when we help others and ends up blessing us in the end. 

I think they did a great job putting the furniture set up. She sent me the top photo in a text the other day letting me know they had surprised her by setting it up in the sun room with her plants. Doesn't it look wonderful! 

Thanks for the loan on the trailer Steph. Thanks to Princess number five for helping me unload the wood chips. I am working on something with the garden which I will probably post about tomorrow as I am hoping to get it finished. We have been working on it for a few weeks now.