It's spring!

Finally.... sometimes to me it just seems like the warm weather and pretty days and trees budding and blooming takes forever to get going and I'm trapped in that blah, gray, off world where absolutely everything seems to be at least a half step off from where it should be. I really struggled with whether to post or not and what to post because I've been in such an "off" place within myself lately and I don't like to talk about it..... but I've gotten too many phone calls from friends and family full of questions so I'll go ahead and talk about it.....and talk about other more cheery things too.

Yes, I'm back on the heart medication (Aunt Janice), and so far no it doesn't seem to be helping me but it can take months to find the right dosage and/or medication. I'm trying very very hard to be patient and keep a decent outlook on it all but y'all that know me best know that patience is one of those things I really struggle with, especially when it comes to being patient with myself. I have missed alot of church services lately because of the headaches and the dizziness and the fainting spells and the chest pain and I could very easily get very depressed about all of it. To be honest I have been on the cusp of falling into that but God has been so good to me that I don't dare let myself do it! Yes Aunt Mary, I'm gaining weight from the medication but I promise not to stop taking it just because of that. And yes Miss Willie Troy has been there to catch me and so have the kids but I'm frustrated with having to lean on them so much lately and no, I'm not willing to consider a pace maker or any other invasive sort of treatments at this point. Please lets all remember that for nearly 3 years I was doing good without medications and special restrictions and that I don't think it's impossible for me to get back to that point. While having to take the medications and go through all the doctor's visit stuff again really doesn't excite me at all I'm thankful that at least now we know what to expect (sort of) and we know how to handle a lot of the symptoms. I could talk more but I'm taking the gump pledge "that's all I have to say about that".

Spring is here and I'm getting excited about all that I want to do this year outside.... overwhelmed already with how far behind I am but excited all the same. We are working on the strawberry beds and herb beds outside now. Fred has been cutting and turning tires faster than any of us would be able to ..... she has her own funny method of doing it that looks kind of like a yorkshire terrier wrestling to turn a shoe inside out. We are watching all of the mistinted paint at the stores for terra cotta colors and reds and greens too, Fred has her own ideas for decorating our tire "pots". She is hoping to have enough extra to sell a few of them too. We have our two large potato beds planted, and the garlic looks good so far and we put in some onions and peas yesterday... yes I know I am late but I've been kind of busy falling down and had to give myself permission to be a little late this year.

We checked on the bees yesterday for the first time this year too.... well, the kids did. Fred's hive is just a bit on the weak side but her bees look really good and still have purple honey stored from last year! Caleb's hive is going to have to be split very very soon or we'll have a swarm to deal with. Jared's hive is doing great too. Our two big red maple trees and in bloom and I love to go sit down under the tree and watch the bees work the blooms. It smells like syrup and the bees sing along with whatever tune I hum..... it's one of my favorite places to be right now. We are hoping to avoid the late freezes that kill off the blooms and get out of this drought this year so we have a good honey harvest.

Fred and I are trying to get our soaps and lotions and balms and such stocked up for sale again. We have so many new recipes to make up and share with everyone and the excitement just keeps on building as we learn more about our craft. Right now we are struggling with how to keep our prices to a level we feel comfortable with. Our supplies have gone up in cost as has everything else and we don't want to charge excessively for our products. Fred is so excited that we finally learned how to make creamy lotions instead of just the lotion bars..... me too since that is my personal favorite. Hopefully soon I'll get a camera and be able to share some pictures.

I just realized that I smell burning banana bread..... I guess I am done blogging for right now. Y'all have a good week and I hope to post again soon.