Farming in the shade

Back in June, the month of the Great Flood , we were dreaming of this moment: You see, 6" of rain in theory should not be so devastating. But if the ditch is due to be cleaned, and the water can't drain away, it can be a mess. Check out this photo to see what happens when the main drain is clogged:  Our fields sat under water for days. We lost and had to replant about half of our corn and soybean crops. It's not a good crop  year this year, at all. But finally, the ditch is being cleaned out! Oh happy day! Small things amuse small minds, they say... I stood on our driveway bridge and looked down the road at what had not yet been done: And then took a shot up the road at what was already dug out: Maybe next spring our basement won't flood! Here's hoping...

Sustainable farmers Jeff and Karen Lubbers recently hosted their daughter's wedding on their farm. That's quite a feat--to get the old homeplace looking spiffy for a big party like that. But they went the extra mile and grew all the food for the reception, too.  You see, local food is what they're all about. And they wanted to share their passion with those who came to celebrate with them. Read more here .

My kids were camping with their grandparents...

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth."  --John 14:15-17a

This organizing takes forever! I did find some nice little cheap baskets (made in the USA, too!) that I could use in keeping stuff neat on the pullout drawers of the pantry. They were 2 for $1.69. On this shelf I took all the greeting cards out of their boxes and matched them up with envelopes and put them in one of the baskets (back, left). I separated them with divider tabs I cut down to size. I know it's not Martha-Stewart-worthy, but I'm cheap. Work with me here.  The baggies at the far right remind me of Grandma Myrtle, who, bless her heart, had a whole drawer full of them. I'm a baggie saver, too, but in moderation. Group like items together. Things that get used often (tape and stapler) are in front.  In this pullout drawer I used stack trays to separate lined paper from cardstock. Lots of room for printer paper behind the stack trays. And the pullout drawers make this possible. Have I told you I love this pantry? Here's the final shot of the pantry. I did splur...

Okay, I'm making progress. Today, I planned out 9 weeks of school for my son. I have purposely blurred the the computer screen so that you can't really see details about the week of October 27-31. And here is the bottom drawer of my office pantry. It now holds all my shipping envelopes, labels, bubble wrap, packing tape and business card stock. With room to spare. The organizing lady says to store things vertically as much as possible. So I found a couple of plastic magazine holders and laid them down on their backs.  I went on a hunting and gathering expedition tonight, to see if I could find something suitable for storing all the little stuff in the other drawers. I think I found something that might work (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. More tomorrow...

It's gotta get worse before it gets better... No photos today.