Chantel's Blog

Summer is in full swing at my house. That means lots of change. I am on vacation from my library volunteering, because I volunteer at a public school. So now I have 15+ hours a week that I need to fill with a new activities. I have given myself a few projects to do for the library from home but nothing that will fill the gap all summer. The garden is keeping me busy. Besides the normal upkeep of the garden I am adding more beds. I currently have 102 sq ft of beds that I am growing in. I build 60 sq ft more last week and hoping to get an other 60 done this week. Then I will be out of wood. So I am currently on the hunt for wood to reclaim. I have also been working at the Farmers Market on the weekends. But just because its peach season and the extra hands are needed. Once the season is over it will be time to head back to school and back to the Library for me. I will also be busy putting in fall crops.

Did you know? 3.7 miles is the average distance those in the developing worlds walk EACH WAY to access clean water. Available clean water enables children to attend school rather than spending their time gathering water. Clean water systems help prevent illness from waterborne infections, saving many lives. You can help my sponsoring my son as he Walks for the Water. Please pledge your support for my son and the students of Covington Middle School by going to www.WalkForTheWater.com This spring students at 33 area schools are partnering with non-profits A Legacy of Giving and the Gazelle Foundation to advocate for clean water in developing countries. Our collective goal is to raise $35,000 to build a clean water system for citizens of the Songa region in Burundi, Africa. Teams from the 33 participating schools will complete a symbolic 3.7 mile walk, which represents the average distance people in the developing world walk each way to access clean water. The walk will take...

Do you know someone with Parkinson's ? For more information on Parkinson's here a few websites: http://www.parkinson.org/ http://www.youngparkinsons.org/ A few of the events for April: Participate in the 18th Parkinson’s Unity Walk (PUW), Saturday, April 28, 2012 in New York’s Central Park. PUW is the largest grassroots event for Parkinson’s disease in the country, raising awareness and funds for PD research. http://www.unitywalk.org/ The National Parkinson Foundation’s Moving Day Walk is a fun, inspiring fundraising event that unites families, friends and communities in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. Held in cities across the United States, it is the first grassroots campaign that spotlights the disease on a national level and gives you the chance to speak out in your own community. http://www3.parkinson.org/site/PageServer?pagename=moving_day_home_page

This whole moving thing is no fun. There are not a lot of rentals that fit in my price range and the ones that do come don't last long. I did find out that my lease is not up till July. This good and bad. It does give me more time, but is when I like to make my Seattle trip and it infers with gardening. But I do have some options to put your house up for rent and hope we can find a renter but not before I can find an other place. So I am looking for a new place, praying that every thing works out and cleaning the house for it to show. Since I know that it will be a downsizing. I have already donated, thrown out and recycled a good lot of stuff and still have a lot more to get rid of. And now that I need to get the house ready to show I really need to step up my cleaning game. I only have one room in my house that is under some control and it's not my room. My room is currently my indoor growing area. I have seedling in many different stages right now. So my room looks more ...

Even though it is only January the garden is in full swing. I have started seeds and already have many seedlings. I have plants outside in containers too. There are some advantages of living in Austin. Now I am not sure were my garden will be this summer because I am trying to downsize my housing. So as I search for new housing, I will be container gardening. And for now that works fine because I am growing a lot of herbs. I have started to sell some of my herbs at the local Famers Market. I am hoping to increase the variety of herbs to sell. I am also hoping to have some starts for sale in the spring. So the garden is keeping me busy not only with seedling. But my garden boxes will be making the move too. I have filled all my outside containers with dirt and I am starting to bag up the rest. I have only emptied a few because I have ran into some fire ant mounds and I don't want to take them with me. So I have been treating the spots and then have to wait. But my thinking is if...

There are many reasons to make a downsize. It is still hard. I like the place I live now, but it is time. Even though I am downsizing I still have requirements. I must have my own bathroom. I will not share with boys. And I need good garden space. I do still have a few more month on my current lease. So it does gives me time to look for the right place. So far there has not been much out there. But with February around the corner I am expecting to see new listing soon. And it also give me time to get rid of things that will not make the move. I have way more stuff than I need in my current home. So I need to lighten the load. I have started to go though things, like my homeschool books.(If you know anyone looking for Sonlight cores. I have second grade thru fifth grade for sale) I have also had one yard sale and I am getting a good collection of things for donation. So at the very least I should end up with less clutter.