It's almost here!

April 5th is vastly approaching! Have you preordered your book? I haven't... yikes! The book I'm currently reading (see right) is going so much more faster than the last one, so I should be done in no time.  :)

Letters My Mother Never Read, by Jerri Diane Sueck

After 3 renewals (at three weeks each), plus the original time I had it (also three weeks), plus the five day grace period, I finally found time to finish this book!!

It was good.  ;)

I won't just leave it at that, though. 

This is one young woman's story of survival.  She lost her mother when she was eight to a fire, was abused by her grandmother for two years, separated from her brothers when her own adoptive father abandoned them at an orphanage on Christmas Eve, and faced further abuse from foster parents.  My favorite part about this person is how she not only survived, but triumphantly so.  She found God and chose to never give up though there were many who constantly told her she wasn't good enough and never would be.  She lived most of her life in an orphanage, overcame her cleft palate and speech issues on her own, was never told about how a woman's body changes during puberty and faced those challenges alone, and dealt with her inner turmoil without the aid of others.  She more than succeeded in school, earned her Master's degree and went on to become a nun as a way of saying "Thank you" to her Maker for always helping her through life.  Included in this heart-rending book are letters to her mother asking questions she never got answered, begging for the nurturing and love she so craved, wondering how she could've died and left her alone. 

I think it would be awesome to meet this woman.  She's amazing. 

I've been told by three different people that now I have to read "A Child Called It", as it's a similar story.  I love reading real stories from real people.  The book I'm currently reading (see right) is another one.  :)

Happy reading!

Gardening Know-How

Since I haven't been reading actual books, lately, I wanted to share some things I've learned from my info-packed class I've been taking.

Like, for instance:

• In Wyoming, if you think you have crabgrass, you probably don't.  We generally don't have crabgrass, here.  It's quackgrass.  So, if you live here (at least in my area), and you've been buying the fertilizer that also kills crabgrass, you, my friend, have been wasting your pennies.
• If you read the ingredients to the bag of grass seed you just bought and skimped a little on the spending, you may find a percentage of WEED seeds included.  Nice, huh?
• I can look at a flower and tell you if it's a boy, a girl, or both.  ;)
• Trees never really "heal" their wounds, they just cover them up.
• Yes, you can just plant seeds and let them grow (they make their own food).  But after that, you have to feed them.  ;)
• The soil in Wyoming stinks.  Oh, wait... I already knew that.
• Certain veges like to grow next to other certain veges.
• When you mow your lawn, you should only mow 1/3 of it's length, and it should always be about 2.5 - 3 inches tall for optimum light, nutrient, water absorbency.  And it's more aesthetically pleasing.  :)
• You should wait till evening to transplant an already growing plant... and if you are looking to buy a fruit-producing plant that's already grown a little, don't buy one that has fruit on it.  It'll die.  Buy them young.  I've seen first-hand that this is, indeed, true.
• Weeds are pretty much inevitable.  Seriously.
• Some weeds are actually desired.
• Pesticide isn't just for bugs.
• Kentucky Blue Grass is the best for my area.
• Soil can be damaged.  Tilling isn't always a good thing.
• Compost and organic matter are a gardener's best friend.
• Gardening can be as complicated or as simple as one makes it. 
• Anyone can be a gardener and I'm so excited to start mine this spring!

I've learned so much more and have a handful of classes yet to go, and these are just a few things off the top of my head.  I've learned SO MUCH.  I love it, too! It's just soaking right in! (It's almost as if my brain is one big patch of sandy loam!) Sorry, garden humor.  Yeah... I don't think even someone who knows what that means would find it funny.... ;)