Now that I've confessed...

I can show you some more up close pictures of the weeds I'm trying to conquer. Heidi and I have done lots, but there's still lots to be done. Right now I'm just trying to find the plants and clear enough space around them that Karl can see them and take the tiller through the garden without getting the plants too.

We had fun playing jungle today. In the midst of all those weeds, we found some treasure as well. One ripe cherry tomato!

YUM!!!!

Heidi Helped Me Weed

As to why exactly she needed a turtle tied around her waist to do so, you'll have to ask Heidi.

She was a great help, and even greater company!

Confession Time:

You see the green behind Heidi in the above picture? (No, not the darker green, that's the oak trees, the lighter green in front) that's our vegetable garden. Or, more accurately, that's where our vegetable garden should be, it's where we planted it. It is there still... somewhere. You just have to hunt through the weeds to find the plants. Yes, all that green belongs to WEEDS!

We got a bit discouraged this year when, just after we transplanted the seedlings in June, there was frost, and even though we covered the plants, many of them died anyway. Add that discouragement to Karl having a new job which took more of his time, and then getting another new job a month ago and the garden being away from the house and having a crawler who gets filthy in the mud and no water at home to bathe her in, and you come up with a sorrowful case of neglect. Which in this world affected by the curse, adds up to a whole lot of weeds.

I know that weeds are the result of sin, but I wonder sometimes if God put them there to remind us of what sin can do in our lives as well. If we notice a "weed" and deal with it early, it's not such a big deal. Minimal disturbance of the soil, not much effort needed. if, on the other hand, we put it off for awhile, think, "Oh, I'll get to that soon enough", it grows. It can become like the weeds I was working on today. I was enjoying working in the shade until I realized the shade was coming from the weeds! Weeds that big take some effort to pull. Both hands grasping the stalk, whole body effort. A lot of dirt comes with them, and sometimes it even disturbs the roots of the good plants, just as sin can affect all areas of our life, even the good. Yes, weeding is much easier done early, when the weeds are first noticed. I pray I remember that in the future, both in the garden and in my life.

*Thanks to Grandma for watching Hannah so I could work unhindered!

Help!

I've been making my own yogurt for awhile now, but had a new experience today and am hoping one of you is also a yogurt maker and can help me out. Mostly, I just want to know if it's still safe to eat or not.
I left my crockpot plugged in a half an hour longer than normal, so it got warmer than normal. Also, our home was a toasty 75 degrees today instead of its normal winter 65. When I opened the crockpot, the whole top layer had separated and looked like cottage cheese.
I'm not sure if this is because it got too warm and actually started to become cottage cheese and is therefore safe and just a texture issue, or if something is indeed wrong and it is unsafe to consume. I stuck the whole thing in my fridge while trying to figure out what to do because I'd sure hate to unnecessarily throw out a whole gallon of yogurt. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!