Finding a new normal

Juergen brought our super large TV home last night. It's not hooked up to cable or satellite. We are not sure if we will hook it up. But we all enjoyed watching a movie together. I bought Mulan (a live action Chinese drama) at the store yesterday. The kids were spellbound by the film. I think they love seeing so many Asian actors. There were only Asians in the film.
Today Juergen is at church with the kids. I'm home with Jessica. The only thing I miss about my TV is God TV. But I can get it on my computer, I just need to look for it. I shopped on eBay. I found sandbags for sale. I got 200 bags I want to use to build raised beds in my vegetable garden. There is a form of building called “earth sacks". You take plastic bags (like sand bags or rice sacks) and fill them with 90% earth or sand, and 10% cement. Then you stack them up to form a structure. In-between the rows you lay down bobbed wire. The bobbed wire holds the sacks in place. Then you can add plaster on the outside of the sacks (just for looks). 200 sacks should be enough for 5 to 10 raised garden beds, depending on how high I want the beds. We can add shells and mosaic pieces to the outside of these beds. They can be very artistic. I'm excited about getting far enough with the house that I can begin to think about the garden. I'm not finished with the house...but I hope to be in a few weeks. And then this fall I can begin with the garden structures.

I am not using the earthbags, but it's basically the same idea.

Comments

chicken coop idea

Why not start with an IBC and cut a hole for the door? You could build closed laying boxes into it, and something for the chickens to roost on. Put some straw or saw dust on the floor. You could add vents to the side for air. If it sat inside a chicken run that you can walk into, the chickens could be safe, dry and happy. I have an extra IBC. Maybe this could be my chicken house? I bet I could even plant the outside of it with mud and grass for extra insulation and good looks.

The Opel Agilia

I think I don't want to spend the money for the VW New Beetle. It's a very cute and safe car, but cost about 17,000Euros new. I can find it for 13,000Euros (this is the most basic model) but that's more then I would want to spend. I don't really drive that much. I'm pretty cheep at heart. I need real value for my money. I keep thinking we really should take advantage of the money Germany is offering to trade old cars in for 2500Euros towards a new car. If I buy a car that's around 10,000 Euros, then the Government is actually going to pay 25% of the cost of that car. That's really a very good deal. Since I know I will need a new car in the near future, I feel I should get a new 10,000 Euro car. The Opel Agilia is around 9,900 Euros. It's got 5 doors, and room for 5. It is pretty safe, and comes with a 6 year warranty. I would not call it my dream car, but I could easily afford it. I'm trying to be wise here. There are other cars in thi...

Reading Kingdom

I am very happy to review the Reading Kingdom. This is an online program that uses a variety of methods to teach reading. I decided to share this product with my adopted granddaughter Ruth. Reading kingdom uses a six skills integrative method Ruth only just began to use the program. She is only 3 years old and cannot use the program without help. But her mom says that she can already recognize words like girl and kids when they are shown on the screen. Sylvia wrote that she loves the repetition of the words in the program . That Ruth is memorizing the words she sees. She will be able to use it for an entire year. But I expect her to become a very good reader. And what a great gift to give to any child! She will have a lifetime love for books. Sylvia also works with teenage mothers in Uganda. And many of these women have never attended school. So she plans to use these ideas to h...

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