Random – of windowsills and breezy hills

The Croup Group

Published on December 31, 2025December 31, 2025 by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

Our family doesn’t often get super sick. Last week, we got hit very suddenly. Jerald and I only had a touch of it; it seems to settle in children quicker. I wanted to share our experiences and remedies in hopes of helping others! Especially with babies, croup is nothing to mess with and I highly recommend keeping your shelf stocked for sudden sicknesses, especially coughs and croup. I’m also posting some fever information that may be helpful for young mothers.

Christmas vacation was here at last! Monday morning, I roared off with spinning tires, for an appointment in Omaha. With Jerald off work, he was home with the children. I started laundry, and between him and the children, they had it mostly finished till I got back. We started packing, and prepping the Yukon for our planned travels. I felt scatter brained all day, and the back of my mind was weighed down with the fear of sick children.

By Tuesday, Josie kept up a steady volley of coughs. Reece did a ton of sneezing. Poor Macie’s voice sounded raspy. Jerald and I both felt a little something in our throats- surely just frogs…?? I mean, we were leaving early on Christmas eve, weren’t we?! We continued dosing out vitamin C, Respaid, Juice Plus, garlic and OnGuard softgels.

I ambled around the house doing more packing. That afternoon I loafed on my recliner feeling depressed. Packing for trips is one of my “worst ever jobs.” And how would I ever cope with this batch of half sick youngsters? Not to speak of the boat loads of herbals and immune boosters to drag along.

By bedtime it was evident this Croup Group wasn’t going anywhere. A relief, but disappointment at the same time. I relaxed about packing, but had to kick into high gear by Christmas eve nursing my sick children. We were already slathering them up with garlic salve besides having them drink red raspberry tea, grape juice, and onion juice. Even my sweet baby happily downed a mixture of all of the above.

Still, nobody was getting better. Reece felt warm Tuesday evening and was up once that night but wasn’t anything to worry about otherwise. He never got very sick, besides hacking around and spitting out junk like we all did. He pretty much kept up his dancing and bouncing around the house, looking for availabilities to play games with him.

By Wednesday afternoon Josie lay conked out on the couch, getting warm with fever. I was mostly set on cruise, running to and fro, liberally greasing everyone with garlic salve and an essential oil blend for croup. Dishing out potions, whisking up warm lemon juice and honey for croaky throats, reminders to “drink your tea, drink your juice, here, drink some broth” “Have you been drinking water?!”

Let me tell ya, it keeps a Mama hopping to get this done. With it being Christmas vacation, my good man was at home helping me, but even then I was on the run more hours than not. And especially with a baby, I definitely needed extra hands.

I was loathe to pull out the onions, but I couldn’t go by the want to or not. I wasn’t waiting any longer. I chopped up a whole mess of those strong smelling things, fried them lightly with a drizzle of oil and salt and made cloth poultices for their chests. We spooned onions in plastic sandwich or ziploc sort of bags and slipped that over their feet, with a sock overtop to keep in place. It took two of us to get Macie’s onion poultices on and her prepped for bed. Sometimes even to get the herbs in her mouth. When she was grouchy or mad she’d pinch her lips shut.

This was our Christmas eve. The pungent aroma of onions and garlic permeated the house. Not exactly festive.

Old t-shirts are perfect for poultices. I sewed crude little pouches, letting enough of an opening to spoon in onions, then folded it over and fastened it with a safety pin. For Macie’s chest, we cut a pamper in half and laid it on top of the poultice, against her onesie, and secured it all with safety pins. Change out the onions about twice a day and for sure put fresh ones on before bedtime. It took a few days, but it does loosen croup!! We went through almost 3 bags of onions in about that many days. We also set onion halves around the house to help absorb germs/sickness. Please consider the humble onion as a best friend in sickness! Hoot all you want- I’ll take onions and garlic and all manner of herbs over a hospital stay any day!

I was worried about my girls that night. Thankfully Macie had no fever but I’ve heard so many scary RSV stories, I doubted myself and my home remedy capabilities. Thankfully, Josie’s fever never exceeded about 103. I have a tincture called Temp Assure that I give, then soak a rag with apple cider vinegar and lay that on her forehead. Soaking socks in vinegar and putting on their feet is another option, but her feet were full of onions. Sometimes I’ll rub diluted peppermint oil or an oil blend along their spine too. We beseeched the Lord much on their behalf. About midnight I checked her fever and it had come down, thank God! I always tell myself a fever is good for their body and it’s ok! Although I still get a little nervous and especially with a young baby, its important to seek medical attention. (More information on that further down) But I do not give Tylenol or anything like that to bring it down, unless it would be super high. I only use it as a last resort. It really is good for their bodies to fight a fever! It boost their immune system! Keep them lightly dressed, rub with oils, use vinegar soaked rags, give immune boosters, or try a lukewarm bath. Always, always push liquids! With fever, hydration is super important! Make them drink anything they will drink. Suck popsicles or crushed ice. If breastfeeding, feed as often as possible.

One more thing to try for reducing fever is whipping an egg white up with a bit sugar and vanilla (to make it palatable) and have them drink as much as they can. This is an old fashioned remedy that worked for me as a little girl. I keep this as a last resort since swigging down plain, raw eggs is rather gaggy.

The following information on fever is from a knowledgeable source and not original with me.

Notes on fever: Any fever in a baby under 3 months, should be seen by a doctor. Fever of 102 or more in a baby 3-6 months should be seen by a doctor. Any high fever that does not respond to treatment should be seen by a doctor. A fever over 107 degrees can cause brain damage. And here’s a couple more informative charts.

Any symptoms in the yellow or red charts should be seen by a doctor.

I wished so bad I had Nature Sunshine Seasonal Allergy (formerly ALJ) on hand! That is full of great herbs that are safe for infants even much younger than Macie at 10 months. But I did have Resp-Aid, which has many of the same ingredients, as well as Horehound Blend, which is another kid safe tincture with similar herbs. The bottle says not younger than 1 year but Macie was close enough and I certainly wasn’t risking croup elevating to RSV or pneumonia! I gave it cautiously at first then increased it in the next couple days.

These ingredients in Horehound Blend are, astragalus root, horehound herb, orange peel, mullein leaf, sage leaf, oregon grape root and ginger root. In a base of glycerin.

This is the tincture I use for fever and earache. I also make a roller bottle blend of oils to rub around the outside of the ear. (Tea tree, basil and lavender oils diluted with a carrier oil)

I also wished so much for straight Lobelia, to rub on her chest. I’ve heard that works amazing for croup. I ordered these items but of course, by the time they arrive, we won’t need them. I always try to keep tinctures and things on hand so we’re prepared for sickness. And I thought I was prepared, but I am going to be better prepared next time! Or maybe some other croupy baby will need them, and I can help out with having it on hand. If you live near me, please holler if you need croup herbs immediately!

This is what I want to impress on your minds; if you want to treat colds, earache, croup or whatever, YOU MUST BE EARLY AND CONSISTENT!! And by consistent I mean giving some kind of immune booster every hour or more. You can switch out with whatever ones you have on hand or prefer. Elderberry, Children’s cold and flu, Resp-Aid, Horehound Blend, Seasonal Allergy, Herbal cough syrup, Silver, Vitamin C etc. JUST BE CONSISTENT! Consistency wins the battle (usually). I’m not saying don’t go to the doctor. Use your own judgment and ask wisdom from the Lord. But you can’t expect natural herbal remedies to be compared to pharmaceutical meds to be taken once or twice a day and see results.

Also, besides onion poultices, rub chests and feet with salve often! You can switch off between garlic and Pneumonia salve or Lungah Fevah Shmeah. I only had the garlic. I know some people like Unkers and I hate to admit it, we finally got some for added tactics, but I do not like it! It may work, but I am not keen on rubbing oil/gas on my little people!! Yes, Petroleum is oil so, like gas, in other words. 🤯 Some pneumonia salves are made with olive oil or lard, and some with Vaseline. And since Vaseline is petroleum based, I’d recommend checking ingredients.

I didn’t have the chest rub on hand when we needed it, but I ordered it from Ann’s Naturals when I was restocking my supplies. It is a much healthier alternative to Unkers.

Give vitamin C often! Whole food vitamin C is best. You really won’t overdue it. (If they get diarrhea you will know) We simply gave lots of Juice Plus since we already have that on hand and take regularly. Pure Synergy is a trusted brand of whole food vitamin C that I’ve heard lots of good things about, although I’ve never used any. To get extra vitamin C into Macie, I poured a bit grape juice into a tiny bottle and opened up a capsule of Juice Plus berry blend. She guzzled this right down. I tried to do this two or three times a day. Vitamin C helps thin mucous, making it easier to get out.

I’m going to include the RSV protocol for any one who would be interested. It’s only pictures out of a Keeper’s At Home magazine so it’s not great quality. But if it can save some worried Mama and her baby from a hospital visit, I am thrilled to share it!

I haven’t ever used the Oregon grape root this protocol suggests, but that is one of the herbs in the Horehound Blend that I use.

Here is a list of recommendations to have on hand especially for croup or any colds:

Whole Food Vitamin C

Horehound Blend

Resp-Aid, or

Nature’s Sunshine Seasonal Allergy (ALJ)

Nature’s Sunshine VSC

Herbal Cough syrup

Garlic salve, Chest rub, or Pneumonia salve

Lobelia this is an herb to be used topically for croup. It is in some tinctures but what I’m talking about is for topical. You can put it in a roller bottle for easy application.

Essential Oil Croup Blend – In a 10 ml roller bottle, put 10 drops each of these oils. Breathe, Eucalyptus, Frankincense, Lavender, Lemon. Dilute with carrier oil.

As far as the essential oils I use, I currently have some from Doterra but have mostly switched over to Revive. Revive is reputable company with great quality and much much more affordable prices. Revive also has a wide selection of organic oils.

Most of these items can be purchased through catalogs such as Sun Lite Herbs 937- 464-9099, Ann’s Naturals 270-524-4680 (These two places are my favorites!! Ann’s especially has very reasonable prices!) Nature’s Warehouse would carry most of these too, as well as some health food stores. And of course, good old Amazon has some of these also.

Sun Lite Herbs carries both of the Nature’s Sunshine products I mentioned, plus the Horehound Blend, cough syrups, salves and so much more. The girls at Sun Lite who take orders are always super helpful and so pleasant to speak with.

Here you can see the prices and how many of Ann’s tinctures are safe for infants and children. The Resp-Aid is at the bottom of the page.

We were grateful for God’s healing on all of us and that there was enough improvement that we were able to leave for Indiana to visit Jerald’s parents on Saturday. It was a short visit, returning home late Monday night. We weren’t there for Christmas, but we were happy to overlap with more of the family just a wee bit before they left.

Do yourself a favor and stock your medicine cabinet with natural remedies before you need them this winter!

Handmaiden

Published on December 15, 2025December 15, 2025 by Violet Rhodes1 Comment

With the Christmas season upon us, I have been musing about Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

I have long been impressed how she called herself a handmaiden, which is the main focus I’ve been thinking about. Handmaiden particularly means a female servant, who’s essential function is to serve. She lives to accomplish her master’s will. Willing to serve in whatever way or place her master asks. A true servant heart will serve without thought of personal gain.

Luke 1:28 reads, And the angel came in unto her, and said, hail thou that art favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Long before she realized it, God had planned for her to be the favored, chosen one to carry His Promised Son. I believe she was living her life in a humble, quiet manner. Content to serve in the daily grind where she was called. She was not out soliciting attention to her good deeds or trying to shrug off her responsibilities. She was simply a lowly servant, faithful in the ordinary.

For most of us women today, our lives are similar in the repetitive, obscure places of service. We’re not pastors preaching powerful messages. Or leading massive Bible study or kids clubs. Cleaning the grimy bathroom or washing a child’s face is of no less importance. Can we find contentment in the service God asks of us?

God looked for a woman who would respond willingly. In complete submission. We see Mary’s response in Luke 1:38. …Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.

It doesn’t mean she didn’t question or wonder at the astonishing news the angel brought. Verse 29 in this same chapter references her fears and confusion. She was a normal woman with hormones and feelings just like us. Who of us wouldn’t be disturbed by such exotic, yet heavy news?! And yet, she chose to believe! To submit. To release her fears and doubts to complete trust in her Savior God.

No doubt this new charge given her would bring accusations and gossip. Do you think she laid awake at night, playing conversations in her mind of how she would love to set them straight?! Did she wish to prove to them, she had nothing in this of herself? That she had not cheated on Joseph?

Are we humbly submissive in what and where God asks us to serve? Willing and ready, even when it takes us out of our comfort zone? Do we respond in cheerful obedience, even when it means sacrificing our time, or dreams? Can we forgive a misunderstanding or thoughtless comment made about ourslves? I’d dare say the gossip about Mary was much worse than most of us have faced. And yet, being the virtuous woman she was, I don’t think she retaliated. (Incase this is stepping on your toes, please know mine are being firmly squashed.)

What about our willingness to serve in some lowly place? There’s always needy spots in church. Are we happy to help? Especially in ‘behind the scenes’ service. Or do we wish we could serve in a more notable position? Or maybe we like to hide behind the safety of “others can do this job better“. While there’s truth to that, it’s not an excuse to not do our job. Suppose Mary had responded like that?

Some women want to travel, teach or serve in ‘noteworthy’ ways before they settle down and get married. But God’s call for them is to be a young wife. There’s plenty to be learned in marriage, or other noteworthy service so it’s not like you get out of bumpy terrain either way. Plus, I believe in God’s eyes, service is service. I don’t believe He measures it by noticeable or not noticeable.

Some young women would like to get married immediately or sooner. But God calls them to single service for Him for a few (or many) years. Neither is above the other. There’s lessons to be learned in either place.

Some women would love to mother a houseful of children, but find infertility to be their lonely companion. Some women had no thoughts on family size and fight tears and overwhelm at the realization of yet another little gift headed her way.

God calls some to walk the thorny path of cancer or precarious valleys of emotional health. Maybe your call is to walk beside someone precious who battles these things.

We all have dreams and heart longings. And God blesses each of us abundantly with good gifts! But sometimes the things He allows in our lives are way off our radar. Instead of curling clenched fists at the itinerary God asks of us, can we keep our palms open and uplifted to His will? It’s ok to feel that initial fear, confusion, and wondering questions with no answers. God knows. He sees our heart’s desire. Mary too was troubled. But her response then was humble acceptance, trust in her Savior, and eventually, a spirit of praise.

Luke 1:46 & 47 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Am I God’s handmaiden?

Christmas DIY’s

Published on December 6, 2025December 6, 2025 by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

Not only is the house beginning to look like Christmas, but it’s smelling like that too- I’ve just finished stringing up cinnamon ornaments and dried oranges.

Over Thanksgiving vacation, the children and I made the old fashioned cinnamon applesauce ornaments/cutouts as well as some salt dough ones. I had never made either one, although the salt dough ones are much like play dough except you then bake the shapes. Thanks to my friend Grace for recently sharing a recipe….

We don’t put up Christmas trees so we didn’t make either of these ornaments for that. But I think they’re very cute strung up with dried oranges!

For the salt dough:

Combine 2 cup flour and 1 cup salt, then slowly pour in 1 cup water. Knead 5 minutes. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Roll out and use any sort of cookie cutters you like. While the dough is still soft, you can also make cute imprints by pressing on leaves, twigs or evergreen sprigs. Use a straw to punch holes in the top of each one. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake at 275 for 2 hours. You could also let these air dry but I preferred the baking so they’re done quicker.

Looks like sugar cookies, but the taste will quickly tell you otherwise!

This was a perfect project for the children the next afternoon. They’re always wanting something to paint.

These would look cute strung up with a garland of greenery. Or you can also use these as gift tags. Tie it on with a sprig of greens and gingham ribbon or jute cord for a cute, earthy look!

For the cinnamon applesauce ornaments:

Combine 2 cups cinnamon, 1 ¹/² cups applesauce, 2 T. ground cloves and 4 T. Elmers glue. Knead a few minutes. Sprinkle cinnamon or cloves on your surface to roll out the dough. We had some trouble with the dough cracking apart. We mostly used gingerbread men, stars and bells for the cut outs. Remember to use a straw to punch a hole for stringing. Let air dry for several days. I think these can baked at a low temperature, but we did the air dry method. We were waiting for the dried oranges to arrive anyway.

The cinnamon applesauce ornaments definitely won out in my opinion. Yes they were messier to work with than the salt dough, but the aroma!! It smells exactly like Christmas with no synthetics! And the dark color makes it pop more with the oranges.

I ended up stringing most of these since the jute cord can unravel as you thread the items on and the children quickly tired of it.

It’s best to tie the string and then evenly space them out.

This combo along with greenery also makes a cute centerpiece.

You can always use real greenery and add pinecones or whatever else you wish. I don’t like the mess of fresh greens, so I used some fake glittery greens.

The children also made paper snowflakes to hang by a couple windows. All of these extras hanging around makes things look full and a mite cluttered, but I’m OK with it because it’s temporary. And its cheap, simple fun for children and their mom.

You can dry your own oranges in the oven but I could guess how mine would turn out. (They wouldn’t! 🙂 So I opted to skip that and ordered these off Amazon. I don’t know if Hobby Lobby would have them this time of year or not?? I’m guessing Michael’s crafts would.

Would you just look at this sweet little girl?! Christmas of 2020, Josie and I strung cranberries and popcorn 🥰

October’s Food and Festivities

Published on October 31, 2025October 31, 2025 by Violet Rhodes2 Comments

This month was one of those when multiple activities and responsibilities involving church and school, happened to land on us. If you’re familiar with the Mennonite culture, we take our turns cleaning the church house, being Sunday lunch host, etc. I was on for cleaning, for school hot lunch and Jerald was on for school devotions. We also visited the classrooms that morning. Then it was our turn to host this past Sunday. There’s a family prepared each Sunday, in case there are visitors who may need a place for lunch.

For school hot lunch there’s always two people helping each other. For something fun, we took Nachos. We spread aluminum foil down the center of the tables, then spread out piles of chips, and in between, taco meat topped with cheese sauce. They fixed their plates with rice, beans, and veggies, but then they could dig in and dip nachos to their hearts’ content! We also served root beer floats and pumpkin muffins.

I’ll include the taco meat recipe I made, although it’s more guesstimates. I had done nachos two years ago for school, so mostly followed what I’d written down for that. I keep a tablet by my cookbooks where I write down my menu and amounts I make for hosting or other events. I love this for later reference! I also write down who we hosted or what the occasion was.

I fried 5 pounds of hamburger and added approximately 3-4 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning, 2 pints salsa and 4 pints of pinto beans, pureed in the blender. This helps stretch the meat, plus I like the added bulk. And you’d never know there’s beans in it! The salsa adds in peppers and onions. 5 pounds was plenty of meat for our school, but I wanted leftovers for my family later. We served 16 people. It takes quite a bit more meat when you spread it out like this, so keep that in mind if you want to serve this. And here’s a tip- whenever I have large amounts of hamburger to fry, I’ll put it in a big roasting pan, add water and bake at 350 for a couple hours. It’s super simple. None of this standing at my stovetop stirring burger and splattering the top with grease!

When we visited school, I took caramel popcorn for a treat. This recipe uses coconut sugar and zero corn syrup!

For Sunday lunch hosting, I branched out and served pulled pork stacks, a newish menu for us. I like to think outside the box when I’m cooking for others, if it’s something doable and not overly time consuming. In my current stage, I need no fuss menus! Since we bought the meat from a local food trailer who smokes their pork, it was super duper simple! All I needed to do was heat it.

Pulled pork stacks consist of: pulled pork, barbecue sauce, baked beans, coleslaw, shredded cheese and top with Frito corn chips. It’s scrumptious!! Our guests loved it! This recipe idea comes out of Simple Cooking.

I also bought the baked beans. But I have a tasty recipe to make your own here.

I also served dinner rolls, apple crisp, and ice cream. Much as I love to bake fresh milled breads, my husband gave me orders to buy dinner rolls to save time. And indeed, I was grateful I did. My baby keeps me hopping; it seems I simply forget I don’t have as much time as I used to.

We had plenty of apples on hand that needed used up, so that made an easy choice for dessert. I baked it on Saturday and reheated it Sunday after we got home from church.

I often use coconut sugar for a brown sugar replacement, but it tends to make the food darker plus has a stronger flavor. Recently, I’ve started making my own brown sugar. I wanted to use that for the apple crisp, since it was for company. I use the Morena (zulka) cane sugar from Walmart and drizzle in molasses according to color. I don’t measure, but probably had around 8 cups sugar and 1/3 cup molasses. Mix thoroughly with your hands to completely combine. Don’t hold me to these amounts but it gives you an idea.

Here you can see the difference side by side.

When you think of fall festivities, you also think of plaids, burnt orange, or mustard colored sweaters, warm hats and cozy boots. Or that’s how my brain does it. But every outing this fall, except one, I was hot. How disappointing!

We’ve had a mild fall with downright hottish weather. I’ve been pining for cooler temperatures, especially since I’ve been on the excessive side of warm-blooded since Macie was born. (Either hormones or the mom flab that likes to hang on- uhhm) I mean, I like sweaters! But its ridiculous to wear them when it increases the heat.

Our church had an outdoor hymn singing one Sunday night hosted by Jonas and Miriam. The weather was almost perfect- just a little too warm in my opinion. There was a hottish sort of breeze, but as the sun set, it died down and became more pleasant. I wore boots and hoped for a sweater, but it was in vain. I was so warm I wanted to pull those boots off! We all brought snacks to nibble on afterwards, alongside a table of hot drinks. Although I, in my overheated state, had not the slightest desire to partake of anything hot.

Our church also got together to make apple cider again this fall at Norman and Kathryn’s farm. We ourselves don’t actually drink much cider, but it’s a fun activity to do with friends. It was a perfect evening with pleasant temperatures. Really, it was. I wore flops, no sweater, and was comfortable, if that tells you anything.

In the past, we would fill jugs with a funnel and measuring pitcher. This year we finally got efficient and filled jugs with a siphon.

Jerald enjoys cooking up this stew over the fire for our supper.

Another family made these ham and cheese bars.

There’s also plenty of yummy finger foods

One evening, our family had a fun little outing at a pumpkin farm near Avoca, Nebraska.

This was a smaller farm, but still had a lot of things for the children to enjoy. We were glad there were no Halloween decorations either.

And so it was, on this particular evening we were heading out to Bloom Farms, I was stewing about all the jackets and stuff we were dragging along. Earlier in the day it had been sunny. Backstory- twice, in just a couple weeks, we piled in all the things for outdoor evenings and, as I figured, it was useless. The children even ran barefoot the one night! It makes so much extra unloading when we get home.

So, on this night, I only grabbed a light sweater for me. Wearing flip flops raced through my mind as I sailed out the door, but it seemed a little off for a fall outing, so I slipped in shoes. And what a shame it was- I could’ve put my new boots to use! Late afternoon it clouded over and the north wind blew strong! It was COLD! For the first time in probably months, I was actually chilled. I was grateful the children had jackets and the thick blanket we had for Macie. Whenever I shivered or mentioned the cold wind, Jerald kept ribbing me that it was exactly what I wished for! He thought it was a good joke on me. I kept fearing for Macie in that cold wind. Lest you fear my mothering skills, I promise I had her bundled up. In typical dad fashion, Jerald kept saying, “she’s fine- the fresh air is good for her.” And so she was. She has not been sick yet, for which I am grateful!

A Nod To My Youthful Past

Published on October 16, 2025October 16, 2025 by Violet Rhodes2 Comments

This post would have been published two or three weeks ago, if I could’ve found the picture I wanted for this blog sooner. I located it this week in a tote of personal items, nestled among other random pictures of weird stunts I did in years gone by.

In my searching through old photo albums, nostalgia hit me full force. 20 years ago, I was teaching school and living life full blast. I loved humor and a good joke, of which I compiled my own joke book. (No it’s not published, ha ha.) I created skits and acted them out on my own, after making my audience promise they would laugh at me so I wouldn’t feel stupid. (Trust me, there were some lame ideas coming forth). My audience typically consisted of neices and nephews, my siblings and spouses, and my parents.

Musing over the fun-loving girl I used to be, brought a sense of sadness. I wish I could still be like that! In rare moments when I feel reeeeaaaalllllyyy good, the me of long ago pops up. Now days, I’m wrapped in the trenches of raising a family, having a baby this year, sleep deprivation, combined with physical and mental health challenges, doesn’t leave much space for lightheartedness. My life *feels hounded by difficulties. It takes the whole of my brain to focus on necessities, so there’s nothing left to exert to humor. (*not saying it actually is. I think it’s more feeling like it)

Then there’s energy needed for our children who need constant training and guidance. Plus the burden I carry that they’d grow up to see their need of Jesus. Life is hard. And I want them to realize and accept that life isn’t always fairness and fries, dished out with hot fudge sundaes. Can I blame my melancholy nature for the pessimism I’m feeling? Are these burdens, mid-life weights coming on? Could someone please identify with me?!

Set me straight. Yes, God is good. All the time, God is good! Life in my stage is a blessing, and I am thankful for my family!

It wasn’t that I didn’t have trials when I was young, it’s just that now I feel covered up with heavier responsibilities and cares of life, that there’s no extra mental space for friviolarity. Possibly, there’s maturity thrown in there somewhere too. But back to the girl I used to be….

When I was in my upper teens and early twenties, I wrote poems right and left. Sometimes they came together without much effort. Often, they came out of heart struggles or messages I heard. As you can tell by the one in this post, I wrote some with less than profitable content.

My dad bought this Chevy S10 truck for me to drive when I was teaching school. It was a stick shift, which was excellent for me to learn how to operate. Yes, I stalled it more than once, and yes, I learned how to squall tires- on purpose! I was glad I learned straight stick driving because the VW I bought when I was 22 was also a manual. But by then I was comfortable with driving a stick. And yes, here’s shocking truth; I used to drink pop and loved Dr. Pepper! Shivers! Or wait, maybe if I’d start drinking Dr. Pepper again my problems would disappear?!

My Truck And I

My little old truck and I

We go whizzin’ and sailin’ by

Past the slow folks that creep along

I hit the gas as I sing a song

Shiftin’ gears and grindin’ some

folks proly think “boy she’s dumb!”

But who cares- I don’t give a rip

I get my Dr. Pepper and take a sip!

Sometimes a wild streak gets in me

I slow to a stop and breathe deeply….

Then I mash the gas and turn the wheel

Spin the tires and listen to the squeal!

Then I sit back and try to calm down

And drive more carefully when I’m in town

In good looks, my truck ain’t got much for it

But I ain’t driving a truck on credit

We get along good without a guy

My little old Chevy truck and I!

I wrote this 4 or 5 years before I met Jerald. And 20 years later, I DO NOT get along good without my guy!! I love him like crazy for so many reasons. His kind, stable, God-fearing, forgiving heart melts mine to puddles.

Here’s my VW bug I had next. Ladybug and daisy seat covers were 100% my style! I loved my bug and made lots of great memories with it. We also used it on our wedding day! ♥️

Summer’s End Photo Journal

Published on September 4, 2025September 4, 2025 by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

Two years ago I did a blog like this. It was one of my most viewed posts, which tells me people like this sort. I certainly enjoy real life pictures in the blogs I read, so here’s some highlights of our summer. (I don’t so much like when bloggers use photos off Unsplash or the like.) Be real people. That’s my theory.

Most of the summer was spent at home staying alive. Eating, sleeping, feeding baby, napping, cleaning, washing clothes, cooking. Trying to keep the house and children under control and not get overwhelmed in the process. Not much excitement out of the ordinary, but that’s ok with me. Not all excitement is thrilling.

Josie was tickled pink to receive her perfect attendance award at our school’s year end program!

Grandpa and Grandma Rhodes came for the school program and to meet little Macie for the first time.

Jerald and the children’s Mother’s Day gift for me. I loved it! There were some handcrafted body products and a non-toxic candle.

We took a trip to Ohio to attend a reunion. On our way there, we spent one night at this cozy cabin in Jacksonville, Illinois. So quaint yet comfy!

Jerald led the hymn singing at the Schrock reunion.

I baked cinnamon rolls to serve at Jerald’s open house at his shed lot.

First we ever grew such beautiful broccoli and cabbage! We had a cooler spring, which largely contributed.

We get local jersey milk. This summer I started making butter with the cream. You should have heard me singing the joys of a simple wonder like homemade butter! It gives me homesteading vibes. I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I used my Bosch mixer but have since switched to my blender. It whips up butter in no time flat!

Reece’s old bike had quite the issues besides being too small for him. After prayers and much searching on marketplace for a used bike, we found this one for a good deal. His face says it all! “Thank you, God, for answering little boy’s prayers!”

My flower garden in early summer. I enjoyed hosting a couple parties for bouquet making.

Jerald and Reece building me this workbench for flower arrangement. It was part of my birthday gift and I love it so much! So handy to do all the trimming and snipping right there.

We got a new mailbox and improvised our old one to the flower workbench. It’s perfect for hosting vases and scissors. The 5 gallon bucket is for dipping water for bouquets.

If you’ve never tried a flower garden, you should. It was a small dream I had last winter when I was making my 2025 vision board. It’s one of the things we got accomplished and have thouraghly enjoyed! My goal was to have plenty to share with church friends as a small way of giving back for all they did for me last winter when I was ill. God has granted an abundant harvest and many bright bouquets! It’s therapeutic to meander out barefooted, into the evening sunlight, and arrange flowers. I’m already dreaming of next year.

Reece turned 6 in July. The Case is pulling the JD out of the creek. (Cake decorating isn’t my gift so figured I ought to explain) He was pleased with his pocket knife and ball glove.

Josie made this cake mostly by herself for a fellowship lunch at church one Sunday.

Our Josie Kate turns 10! Her gift was the seat for her bedroom reading nook.

We were thrilled to pick the first plums off our tree this week! Jerald has fervently endeavored to plant & care for fruit trees over the years. It’s been a battle; pessimistic me always wonders if it’ll ever be worth the effort. But these were delicious! I might start hoping for abundant crops in coming years.

The following photos are credits to Mary Steria. My flower garden was the perfect place for photo shooting at golden hour.

6 months. She brings abundant sunshine and joy to our family!

Incredibly blessed and grateful for the beautiful family God has given us!🤍

On Hair And Brushes

Published on July 14, 2025 by Violet Rhodes2 Comments

I’m a hair freak. A detached hair freak that is. It appears I magnetically find human or pet hair without even trying. Standing behind a person in town, I shriek inwardly at t-shirts absolutely covered in hair. I can’t help but wonder what their couch or bed looks like and I’m most grateful I don’t need to know! Scanning the motel bathroom, I’ll spy stray hair left behind by the cleaning lady. Washing dishes at church or other’s houses, there’s countless times I encounter hair among the dishrag. It creeps me to pieces, but I endeavor to stay calm, pull it out, and go on washing. I even notice stray eyebrows on dinner plates. If I’m at someone else’s house, I discreetly swipe it with any available paper product and discard it rapidly.

Is anyone else affected by this malady?! I’m getting rather derailed, but four quick tips here to eliminate hair where they don’t belong-

1. Do not wash dish rags with underwear and washcloths. I think most people do, but I’ve taken a stand against this for years. It grosses me out. I wash my tea towels and kitchen dishrags with towels but not washcloths. I have a separate load for items like underwear, socks, washcloths and cleaning rags. I know towels can have hair too, but it seems safer.

2. Run a lint roller over your clothes and floor after you’ve finished brushing your hair. Josie and I do this regularly. This removes complete congregations of lost hair! If you haven’t tried it, you should. Perhaps your vacuum sweeper would thank you by serving you an extra two years.

3. Ok, this may sound wild to some of you. But don’t do kitchen work or any food prep with loose hanging hair. When I wash and brush my hair, I change my garb or else throughly run my lint roller over me before kitchen duties. I notice more hair floating around my kitchen when Jerald and Josie help out. Is it because there’s more people in the kitchen? Or because men are more hairy and Josie wears her hair in a braid?

4. I know this won’t fly for many of you either, but don’t keep pets in the house. My house gets dirty and hairy enough without pets. Keep yours. But you won’t catch me with indoor creatures.

But now, back to hair brushing. Last fall, I ordered two Tangles B. Gone brushes for Josie and I. I had heard good things about these brushes. With a discount code, I finally ordered two to try out. Josie and I were super impressed! We looovveee these brushes!

These brushes are a definite asset for Josie to brush her own hair. She’s getting good at doing her own braid for at home too. But for going away, I still generally do it. Her head is loaded with a thick crop of long, blonde hair, just like I had at that age. It’s a real job keeping after it. Over the years we’ve encountered multitudes of hair rats. We’ve used hair masks, lots of conditioner, sometimes apple cider vinegar and various brushes. I’m not a fan of spritzing it with coconut oil/ water because of the greasy look. Sometimes, she still needs help after washing her hair, but mostly, she brushes it herself, which is a huge help.

Josie’s hair here was extra wavy after having it done up in a bunch of little braids for crazy hair day at school a few years ago.

Tangles B. Gone brushes:

* Are made of soft and dense boar bristles.

* Are large, which is needful with thick hair. Before we had these brushes, we used Lemongrass Spa hair brushes, which are also made with boar bristles. Nothing against LG, but these were so small! Especially with thick hair, they didn’t get the tangles out as well.

* They have a gentle contour to the head.

* They brush gently.

* They do a good job.

* They don’t pull out gobs of unnecessary hair. The first time I used mine, I was in awe of the tiny amount of hair I brushed out! I typically had a good sized hair ball, but this was an impressively little ball.

A little tip for making hair brushing more enjoyable is brushing it outside. This is my favorite place to brush mine! I always do this after washing my hair as long as the weather permits. I think it’s safe to say I’ve been out in 40 degrees or colder, just to brush my hair. Not only can the stray hairs go sailing in the breeze, but catching sunshine and air drying is lovely.

The other week, it was super hot and windy. And this is no dry joke or windy tale! I washed my hair and let it sopping wet. I stepped outside to brush, and by the time I was finished, my hair was dry. Nebraska wind for you. It was hot and windy, day and night for 3 days straight. It makes me weary listening to non-stop high wind like that.

If you’re looking for a quality hair brush that gets the job done, check out Tangles Be Gone.

Blessing Your Husband

Published on May 31, 2025 by Violet Rhodes4 Comments

With Father’s Day always falling in June, I got this inspiration today to post 30 ideas you can do to show love for your husband this month. One for each day. These are just little practical things we can do to show honor and respect to the man we married.

Not all of these ideas are original with me. Some are very common; things you may already do. Others are not as easy. Especially with a baby or many little people in the house. It’s easy to fall into the humdrum of daily life and be too busy or forgetful to make an effort for special moments.

Make a list of 10 things you appreciate about your husband. Lay the note in his Bible or somewhere to suprise him.
Listen to him speak without interrupting.
Be mindful of your actions and what they are speaking to him. Does he feel appreciated or degraded? We can become so calloused that we don’t realize our actions may be hurtful to him in some way.
Make him one of his favorite desserts.
If you don’t already know his preference, ask him which area of the house he prefers cleaned up. Then make sure at least that area is tidy when he arrives home.
When he’s relating a story or bit of information, don’t correct him. Definitely don’t correct him in public, but don’t in private either. (Is it just me, or do men tend to stretch jokes when they’re telling them?! I well remember my Dad doing this and now my husband does the same thing. I’ve learned it’s ok to just let it go. He’s not trying to tell an untruth. 😅)
If he has an errand to run, if possible, let your own work sit and ride with him. This is not always doable with a baby or toddlers, but it means a lot to a man for his wife to ride with him.
Let him drink his favorite beverage-tea, coke, iced coffee or whatever, without reminding him of the sugar content.
Look him in the eyes while he speaks.
Dust and clear his nightstand and place his favorite candy bar there for him to find.
Give him a foot massage as he relaxes.
Pick up trash and give his truck a little tidy.
Sit beside him on the couch for family devotions. Tonight the children can’t sit between you two.
Take a genuine interest as you ask him about his day. Don’t vent your day’s frustrations on him the minute he steps inside!
Ask him which dress he wants you to wear for church, then wear it with a smile. (I tend to have a premeditated idea which I was going to wear then he usually chooses a different one.)
Give him a card or note. Thank him for specific things he does for you.
Tell him about a verse that inspired you and ask his thoughts on it.
When he’s out mowing lawn or fixing something around the place, go sit and watch him. Men love to be watched working! (Isn’t that why they put up fluorescent orange signs with men working on them? Just kidding!)
As you lay in bed tonight, reach over and hold his hand until you feel sleepy. This is something we do regularly and it’s a sweet, silent way of showing love.
Do something you know he wants done, but you didn’t feel like doing or kept neglecting.
Serve him a special drink when he comes home from work.
Admire something about him and tell him so.
Brush your teeth, put on a face spritzer or good smelling lip balm and greet him with a kiss when he arrives home.
Set aside 10 or 15 minutes to pray intentionally for him.
Give him a foot soak.
If he doesn’t mind, clean up his desk and leave a sweet note. If he minds you touching his space, leave a note only!
Hold his hand as you walk into church. Not so doable if your hands are juggling babies, bags and Bibles, but at least walk beside him.
If possible, go suprise him at his workplace with a drink or snack.
Set the table with your wedding dishes and make his favorite meat and potatoes.
Give him a compliment.

Puppy chow is something my man loves. Occasionally, I make it for him to enjoy even if it’s not healthy. Perhaps I should have called it Hubby Chow. 🥰

I fixed strawberry lemonade for Jerald and all of us to enjoy one summer evening when he came home.

Make time for and be available to sit and chat with him on a regular basis. This takes a constant effort. It’s too easy to do life together without really connecting. We need strong marriages to have strong homes. And we need strong homes to have strong churches. If the Devil can divide you and your husband, he’s thrilled to be on his way to dividing the church.

And to any widows reading this, hugs to you! ♥️ I’m sure you all would have much good advice for the rest of us to cherish and show more appreciation to our husbands.

And an update on our laundry soap business, Tahor. It was right at a year ago that we launched Tahor, offering an all-natural laundry powder that is safe and effective! Over the past year the business slowly grew and was taking more of our time, especially evenings and weekends. We decided it was time for someone with more time and energy to take it on. We are happy to announce that Tahor has been purchased by Mckenzie Nisly who is local to our area. We are excited to see her take it and grow it! So, hop over to the website and purchase some natural laundry powder! You won’t be disappointed, your clothes will thank you, and McKenzie will be thrilled to earn your business!

Baby Announcement!

Published on March 8, 2025March 8, 2025 by Violet Rhodes2 Comments

Winter is rapidly slipping away towards Spring! Anyone sad about that? Not me. There were times it felt like winter and all it’s trials were going to last forever. Today as I write, it’s a typical March day with a cold rain and wind to speak of!

It’s been weeks since I last wrote. Most of the winter I wasn’t feeling well. With the arrival of February came the long anticipated arrival of baby!! I won’t go into detail of my health challenges through the pregnancy, but basically every month presented challenges of some sort or other. The month of October stands out to me as a smooth month, but otherwise, I could point out the difficulties in every month.

But I don’t want to focus on the negativaty! A precious, healthy baby is well worth the difficulties, and my heart goes out to those of you reading this who hope and pray for a baby, yet have unfulfilled longings, year after year. Hugs to you!! 🤍 That journey is not for the faint of heart! I feel unworthy of God’s answered prayers to us!

Macie means gift of Yahweh or gift of God.

February 18, we welcomed Miss Macie Avonlea Rhodes. So much sweetness and newborn cuteness wrapped up in a priceless gift from God! Over and over I thank God for her. We have no control over how our babies are created or look, and yet, God has given us such a cute baby girl to love! Her adorableness feels almost more than I can handle sometimes- just jaw clenching sweetness! Can you Moms identify?

She is nursing and gaining well. Sometimes she purrs contentedly while nursing, which totally melts my heart. She also does serious stretching. She will grunt and creak and groan almost constantly while she sleeps. Then she scrunches up her face, flinging out her arms and legs in such an adult kind of way it makes me laugh! I’ve started calling her Stretchin’ Gretchen.

She had a chubby face at birth, but it’s filling out even more, along with a kissable double chin and chub rolls on her arms. Could someone explain why chub rolls and double chins are absolutely adorable on babies, yet we never hear exclamations of cuteness when they’re on adults?!

Old fashioned baby girl names ending with ie are on the top of my ‘like’ list. I could have a half dozen girls with those names, but of course that’s not possible! There are loads of cute options but landing on one that Hubby and I agreed on was a significant decision. When I discovered the Hebrew meaning of Macie, it clicked for both of us. The spelling of it took a bit longer, but we both agreed on the ie ending. We like simple names without difficult spellings, as well as names that are not too common.

Avonlea means “field or meadow near the river” and is after Anne of Green Gables and her town of Avonlea. I think it has such unique summery vibes, even though Macie was a winter baby.

This little crib is one that my Parents used for most of us 8 children. We got it when we were expecting our first. We had it repainted and ordered new mattresses. It’s special to be using it be for all three of our babies. And all three of ours slept on these same pink sheets. Yes, even Reece. It didn’t hurt him at all!

The crib is on wheels, so at times we push it out to the living room for a safe place to lay her. We have her big crib set up in the nursery across the hall from our bedroom.

I’m still in definite postpartum recovery. Nighttime is completely unpredictable. There appears to be strings attached from Macie’s voice box to Mom’s bed. Countless times I lay her down, go use the bathroom, then quietly as possible, creep back in bed. The moment I’m getting comfy, baby starts to squeak and creak! I’ve even gotten out of bed and went to pick her up. But when I get to the crib, her eyes are closed and there she is, innocently sleeping. Yet as soon as I crawl back in bed, she automatically rouses her voice box and puts it to use. And oh, am I ever tired at night! I try to sleep whenever possible, but sometimes her naps aren’t long enough to get much sleep since it takes me longer to fall asleep.

But this is all part of the Motherhood package. I remind myself it is a season. Not forever. Besides, I feel so rich cuddling my baby and seeing her nighttime sleepy smiles, how could I not love her?!

My sister Geneva Peachey and my Mom flew out to help us for 10 days. They have been such a blessing! I used to help Geneva with some of her babies and now she has returned the favor. I’ve been spoiled to let her take care of breakfast/ getting Josie combed and out the door for school, while I slept in. It has felt amazing!

One of the main things they have worked on besides cooking delicious meals for us, is putting food in my freezer. And so much food!! I had a long list of items to make which they mostly accomplished, but per my sister’s abilities for management, she made at least 5 other main dishes that she wanted to make, to help stock the freezer. And when I say 5 other dishes, it’s like 2- 4 pans of each kind! These are 8×8 size pans. I won’t mention all the other baked goods and breakfast items or miscellaneous things they stocked the freezer with.

Grandma and Josie making donuts with fresh milled flour!

Plus, she sewed me 2 dresses and did a few other odd sewing projects. Then they cleaned the house, and refixed the children’s beds with clean sheets before they left. I feel so blessed by their kindness! It will help so much to have easy meals in the months ahead. I’m super ready to be back in my kitchen, but also know how hard it will be to not overwork myself when I feel good again.

Just two weeks old here and already changing her looks.

This is the nursery. I still have a large canvas I want to hang by the changing table instead of the little motto that’s there, but we haven’t got it ordered yet.

This is what I plan to hang up. I love this verse!

With our other babies, we used the Honest brand of pampers. This time, I looked into other clean options and decided to try Earth and Eden brand. So far they’ve been working great and I’m pleased. With the countless newborn poops, we’ve not had any major blowouts yet. Earth and Eden are cheaper than Honest, which was another plus. As for wipes, I’m using Water wipes which I have for years. They are clean, unscented and do a good job.

Our laundry soap works perfectly for adults or tiny babies!

Guest Post- A Walk Through Our Greenhouse

Published on January 17, 2025January 17, 2025 by Jerald RhodesLeave a comment

Written by my sister-in-law Carolyn Yoder from Wythville, VA.

Have the winter blues set in yet for anybody with all the dreary, cold days of the winter months? Let me brighten up your day with ideas of lovely green plants and colorful flowers!😊Who doesn’t love to think about the beauty of spring and new life bursting forth about now? Eventually the long, dreary days of winter will pass, I promise!😊

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to get a cute, little greenhouse from a friend who no longer needed it. I had such fun ‘playing in the dirt’, starting seeds, and watching them sprout and grow! This was all very new for me and I had very little experience with starting my own seeds, but I learned as I went. Not everything I tried was a success, but it was successful enough to be fun and feel worthwhile. I started both flowers and vegetables. It was so rewarding to eventually have beautiful hanging baskets overflowing with wave petunias after weeks of watering and caring for the little plants! Believe me, wave petunia seeds are extremely tiny, but they produce such lovely flowers!

Fast forward a number of years now… my husband Millard and I started dreaming about the possibility of having a greenhouse/garden center as a business, where we would grow beautiful flowers and have a lovely space for people to enjoy and buy flowers and vegetables to take home with them. (You know in a perfect dreamworld your flowers always grow well, stay healthy and everything is beautiful!😊) We had some hurdles to cross to be able to pursue our dreams, but we are now doing what we had dreamed of doing for years. If you’re ever coming through Wytheville, VA stop by Oasis Garden Center and check us out! We are only several miles off the interstate! You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram if you’d like to check us out there.

Our first season of growing flowers and vegetables to sell (2023) was very much of a learning process! We had one 25’x85’ greenhouse, so we started out fairly small, which was a good thing. All of our flowers we get shipped in as tiny plugs. All of our vegetables we start from seed. One thing we learned the first year was that we had our flower plugs shipped in way too early and our vegetable seeds we started too early as well! We had our first shipment of flowers come in about the second week in February and soon after that we also started vegetable plants from seed. What happened then, was the flowers got so big for their pots by the time we were ready to open for customers. And the vegetable plants got so huge by the time it was garden planting time. I told someone that by the time we sold the last of our tomato plants, we had tomato trees instead of plants! But, you know what?! That’s how you learn, and for the 2024 season, we knew to delay the whole process a bit! By spring of 2024, we added a 34’x96’ greenhouse, so the workload definitely became heavier and we could grow so many more plants!

Before our plugs arrive from our supplier, we try to make sure we have all the proper sized pots, baskets, and planters that we need. And we of course need lots of potting soil on hand. We order big bales of Berger BM6 soil. It’s really nice to have a bunch of pots filled with soil a day or so before the plugs arrive, so that once it’s time to plant, there are pots all ready to go!

We also like to put the proper identifying tag in the pot, before actually planting. And then we grab the tray of plugs that goes with the tags we’ve placed in the pot, and get them transplanted. Getting flowers and tags mixed up is not something you want to happen. Some plugs are easily identified just by looking at them and some are not! We try to be super careful to not get things mixed up!

We design some of our own hanging baskets and also order combination kits from our supplier. Ordering the combo kits takes the guesswork out of things for me because I don’t need to try to decide what will grow well together in the same basket. It’s rewarding to go from this…

To this!

But getting from tiny plugs to beautiful, filled out plants takes awhile! The first week after we plant the plugs we water them with clear water. After the first week, we fertilize every day except Sunday. It’s good to give the flowers a break from fertilizer one day a week and Sunday seems to be a good day for us to do that.😊A lot of our flowers need to be “pinched” at certain stages so that they branch out nicely. Sometimes we also go through and cut back flowers that are getting too big too fast. I like to walk through the greenhouse every day and just check on the flowers and be on the alert for anything that looks unhealthy or like it needs some special care. Aphids and other tiny critters also show up sometimes and those have to be taken care of or they can soon do a lot of damage. Plants that look stressed tend to also cause me stress! I love for our flowers to all look vibrant and healthy, but truth be told, we do loose some flowers at times. We do feel blessed though, to so far not have lost huge amounts of flowers from a disease sweeping through or something like that!

While I love to transplant plugs and watch them grow, I do also enjoy starting our vegetable plants from seed and watching them pop through the dirt and start steadily growing! Cold crops like cabbage, cauliflower & broccoli are about the first seeds we start. Last season we started these the very end of February and then did another round the middle of March. Usually peppers need to be started fairly early too. I know some people like to use special seed starting soil to start seeds, but we just use the soil that we use for our flower plugs and it’s worked fine. Also a lot of people use heating mats for seed starting. We do not… however, we do have a method we use to provide heat under the tables where the seed trays are setting. I’m not going to try to describe how we do all that.😊But seeds, especially certain kinds, will germinate better with proper soil temperatures.

Our cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower we start the seeds in the 4 pack containers that we eventually sell them in. Some seeds need to be lightly covered with soil and others need to simply be pushed into the dirt a bit and left uncovered. Most seed packets give instructions on the back for if seeds need to be covered or not. Once the seeding is done, we mist the dirt and try to get it evenly moist and then cover the trays with a clear plastic lid to help keep the moisture inside. You don’t want your soil too wet for too long, but neither do you want things drying out too much. Once most of the seeds have sprouted, we remove the clear lid.

Our peppers and tomatoes we start in seedling trays. The seedling trays are about an inch deep. We fill them with dirt and then I like to make little rows with my finger and try to fairly evenly space out the seeds. (You can also get seedling trays that are already divided into rows but we prefer the flat tray without the dividers.)We have a little handheld, battery powered vibration seeder that we like to use for seeding. Eventually we may have a more commercialized way of starting seeds, but for now this works! Usually around the time that the plants are well established and growing nicely, we transplant them into their own pot from the seedling tray. After they’ve been transplanted several days to a week, we start fertilizing. And then watch them grow! Some of you may be wondering why we take the extra step of planting in seedling trays instead of directly into the pot the plants will be sold in. It does make more work, but our experience has been it makes for a stronger/better plant if we transplant. I know, we’re newbies here, so feel free to choose your own style for starting seeds. 😊

Now tomatoes we would definitely say you want to transplant! The seeds need darkness to germinate, so we put cardboard over top of the clear lids so it’s relatively dark. We just need to keep a close eye on them, because once they germinate if the cardboard isn’t taken off right away, the tiny shoots will try to reach for the light and fast become long and leggy. Once they have several sets of true leaves we transplant. And we transplant them deep! We try to bury the whole stem all the way up to the first set of leaves. This makes for a better, stronger root system and overall better plant. We hear comments over and over about our tomato plants, how strong, thick stemmed and healthy they look! And we really think the deep transplanting does make a difference! Since I love to get my fingers in the dirt, I enjoy the transplanting! 😊Here again, it is super important to have your tomato and pepper varieties properly tagged! You don’t want them mixed up and a customer thinks they’re getting a beefsteak tomato and it ends up being a cherry tomato instead! Of course, if you’re only growing plants for yourself, this is not so important.😊Last season our first peppers were seeded the very end of February and then again in March several times. I think this year we’ll wait til March to start the first ones.

Fast growing vegetables like cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe and squash do not need to be started until April in our area.

I mentioned earlier that all our flowers we get shipped in as plugs. However, I do start flower seeds in trays for our upick flower field. Carnations, rudbeckia, gomphrena, amaranth, are some of what I started in the greenhouse. Some seeds I direct seeded in the flower field once danger of frost was past. Oh the rewards of seeing the flowers grow and beautiful bouquets being made throughout the summer!! I had never before been able to just go cut as many flowers as I wanted to, making bouquet after bouquet!

I hope I’ve been able to chase the winter blues away a bit with thoughts and pictures of spring and summer beauty!😊

Here are just a few more random pictures for your enjoyment.

This gives you a bit of a glimpse of what we do, but we will readily admit that we are still very much learning as we go and we don’t guarantee our methods to be the best way of doing things when it comes to greenhouses. If you’re a reader who has been in the greenhouse business for years and have advice for us, we’d be glad to hear tips!

I’m Carolyn Yoder, blessed and happy wife to my pastor husband Millard, and mom to five children, ranging in age from 18 to 7. I love coffee (very much!), quiet time in the morning and a good book. I delight in the beauty of nature and flowers! You can contact me at yoderfamily05@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!