Redcurrants and Blackcurrants.

So, they don't look very promising right now but I am still filled with a naive, amateur gardener's hope! These rather dead looking sticks will hopefully develop into healthy and productive redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes. I bought two of each kind, soaked the roots overnight, planted them into the garden, and then ..... it snowed!

I checked this morning and one has the tiniest bit of green on it! In typical Jenny-fashion I can't remember which is which as all four look alike...... Time will tell! 

Possibly the dullest photographs on the blog! I am getting very excited about gardening though, in a way that never happened with flowers. There is something about trying to grow your own food. Getting your hands dirty and waiting for those tiny, potential filled shoots to appear. There is a sort of wholesome pleasure to it and that feeling that you are doing something productive. Of course, I am not going to be self sufficient with fruit and vegetables. Not a chance with my tiny plot! Every little helps though and I can't wait to compare home grown to supermarket bought! 

Blessings,

Jenny

Rod & Staff Books.

A very kind pen pal sent me a copy of The Upward Way which is published by Rod & Staff. I hadn't even finished the first chapter when I realised that I wanted more books from their catalogue!

I ordered four more from an American site and eagerly awaited their arrival! There is now a stockist of Rod & Staff books in the UK which will be useful for future orders. A Mennonite family have moved over here from America and have a book store! It is too far away to visit but I have a catalogue with lots of circled items! 

They are such sweet and faith filled books. Inspiring stories and characters that you really get attached to as their story develops. They are really good quality too. I was surprised! They are hard backed books with lovely art work on the covers. Keepers! After I have read the books they will end up with a permanent place either on my bookcase or in my hope chest. I just know that I will read them over and over.

They have an old fashioned look and feel to them. This is how I prefer my books. Well made and beautiful rather than cheap paperbacks that fall apart. These books could be loved by a whole family! 

These are the books that I ordered! I will do reviews of them individually if people are interested in more information. Hopefully I will order some more too! It is such a shame that they are not better known over here. Although I don't know that this sort of clean and wholesome book would be appreciated in a country where the supermarkets sell risqué books and display them where children and young teenagers could easily pick them up. 

I can't really explain how calm these books make me feel. It must be the writing style or the setting or just that I am not expecting to have some worldly comment in them. They are prefect for reading just before I go to sleep! 

Blessings,

Jenny

Meaningful.

I think I am going through a quarter life crisis! I have been taking a hard look at my life and how I live it and working on improving things. I want to do something meaningful. Something that matters and makes a little difference. I am looking into doing another qualification but am struggling to decide what to do! Something interesting but useful. I don't want to rush into any decision about which course as they are very expensive. An opportunity to work on my budgeting skills! 

I am also researching various opportunities to volunteer. I feel drawn to working with older people so am looking at the local care homes to find something that fits around both my job and my home duties. I would love to go in and visit with some of the elderly residents! I just want to keep learning and experiencing new things. I am constantly learning in regards to my faith and homemaking skills but work is a little more ..... stagnant. I have been praying about what to do because, while I enjoy the work that I do, I am finding the atmosphere quite trying. 

I think that it is something that we all search for. That chance to make a difference to others and to help them. I am lucky in my position as a daughter at home that I do have the freedom to explore these options while still balancing my other responsibilities. I feel a call to help others and I don't feel that I should ignore that. I am thinking of doing a qualification relating to care or maybe counselling. There are so many options! 

Looking at my life I spend quite a lot of time at work and quite a lot on home duties but I fritter away my spare time watching television shows that are not edifying or reading magazines that are not beneficial. I am taking control! I am being far more careful with how I choose to spend my time. We only get a certain number of hours in a day. Not enough to be able to casually throw so many away! Not that I will be cutting out fun! I have many enjoyable hobbies such as writing to pen pals, crafting, and gardening but I sometimes struggle to fit these in. With better organisation and self control I expect that I will find that I actually have more free time. 

Blessings,

Jenny

Random Post - Wednesday 6th February 2013.

Just a random update for today! 

The weather is a bit crazy here. Some snow today that didn't settle as well as strong winds and heavy rain. I need to get out and weed my plot! On the plus side all the grey weather means that my Spring cleaning urges haven't kicked in yet. I am sure it will soon as the days get longer. I am so looking forward to lighter mornings and longer evenings! 

I really want to get back into working through Personal Help for Girls and posting my progress chapter by chapter on here. I felt like I was making doing well but tailed off after chapter 4. I liked posting about each chapter as it really made me think about what I was reading and how I could apply it to my life. 

I have been struggling a bit lately. I really struggle to say no to people and I end up taking on all sorts! I am going to work out what the essential things that I need to do are, cut down on things that are just dragging me down and making me stressed, and add in those things that I really enjoy and want to do. Those things that get pushed out far too easily! The crafting and homemaking tasks that I so enjoy learning and yet recently have had little time for. 

I was recently sent a book called The Upward Way by a pen pal. Such a lovely book! It is published by Rod & Staff and I was so impressed that I have ordered 4 more titles from them. Expect book reviews as I finish them! 

I am busy planning my garden projects for the year! Raised beds are looking like a real option after the flood issues last year. I have a collection of seeds and am reading up on how, when, and where to plant them in various magazines and books. I am also looking into ideas for limited garden space as my plot is pretty small. 

Some of my gardening information! The dark days of Winter seem to have dragged on for so long. The days are gradually becoming longer though which makes me feel much more positive! 

Blessings, 

Jenny

Winter Scenes by the River.

River photographs as promised! I even managed to photograph some birds flying overhead. Usually I am far too slow to catch them!

The snow has all melted away now and I hope that is it for this Winter. It is still cold outside with a biting wind. Bring on the warmth of Spring!

Even though I love the snow there is still a big part of me that is eager for Spring to arrive. Flowers are my favourite thing to photograph and those in Spring seem especially vivid and vibrant. Perhaps in contrast to the dark and grey days of Winter! 

Blessings,

Jenny

Snow Covered Fields.

I love getting wrapped up warmly and going for a walk in the snow. It was yet another excuse to take my camera out! The light seems different when there is snow on the ground and it is interesting to photograph especially on a bright day. 

Here are a few photographs of the fields I walked by and some interesting tracks! I have some riverside photographs to share as well but didn't want to have too many in one post. Would get boring for you all! 

Blessings,

Jenny