A new month is here and has been for a couple of days so I thought it was the right time to introduce the oil of the month. Peppermint! Not only does peppermint have a refreshing, cool, and minty smell it also has been known to help the body with respiratory problems, improve blood circulation, has a cooling effect for pain, fever, and hives, also can be rubbed on the temple and neck for headaches, stress, nausea, and dizziness( Using Essential Oils A Beginners Guide from www.shareOils.com) This month I will add other uses for peppermint and also some great DIY recipes using this great oil!

                                                       
Here is an update on the doll, she is nearly finished. However, I am not too pleased with the eye lashes. She still has to get her bottom lashes on and could really use some more hair, but I was out so just dealing with what I have. Her outfit is compliments of my grandmother who is a huge Minnie Mouse fan! My grandmother is also the proud owner of another doll that I made! Who knows maybe she will like this one more?

A quick peek at the tomatoes they are looking a lot better and starting to stand up a little more, I think they are happy with their freedom! Hopefully they will start to become even more hardy! I have been busy looking up lots of great homesteading information and will share that with you soon!

Look at these pea pods! Lots to update you on. First as you can see from the above picture the pea pods are coming along great! However, the cucumbers did not take after the fur friend incident so I decided it was time to take action and start something else in that area.

Here is a peek at the new starting kit, I planted four rows of cucumbers, four rows of cantaloupe, and four rows of eggplant. We have never had much luck with melons so I am hoping by starting them inside we will have hearty little plants to put out this summer!

I also started some zinnias in hopes that they will be looking good around Mother's Day! Trying to think ahead a little bit here and stay on top of the growing! Searching for an idea to vine the pea pods with, if you have any you want to share feel free to leave suggestions in the comment section. 

A quick update on the doll, still rooting hair and breaking needles, but I think she's getting close. Going to add a little more weight to her limbs and body; looking for her to weigh about seven pounds or so. The outfit that she is wearing now was one of my daughters so that is neat!

So excited to see the Cilantro has finally sprouted! These poor plants have had a rough start as my fur friends like to jump up on the garden tables and knock them over. But this herb looks like it's going to make it! Hopefully when it get stronger and bigger we will be able to make some salsa!

Time to turn these tomatoes they are reaching for the artificial sun that we provide for them. So happy to see the growth, they are just about ready to go into their own little pots! Our goal is to plant a garden outdoors with just the plants we have started indoors! You can see that the little fur friends did get one of the seedling pods but we keep trying and after these get transplanted we will start a whole new crop!

Quick update on the doll, after breaking two more needles she is half way done with rooting. I would have liked to use a smaller needle but considering I have already broken so many I will just stick with what I have and continue to work on filling in the open spots later.

I picked Melaleuca for the month of February and so I wanted to share a quick little recipe for homemade hand sanitizer. I used half cup of Aloe Vera, one teaspoon of witch-hazel, twenty-five drops of Melaleuca and twenty-five drops of Lemon.

Melaleuca is known to have the following properties, antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral, antimicrobial, expectorant, fungicide, insecticide, and stimulant. information from Shareoils.com  

I have been thinking a lot about chickens in the garden. I researched some pros for having chickens in the garden and found that they not only give you fresh eggs they also keep your yard free of nasty bugs. There is the droppings to think about but again if they are in the garden their droppings will add much needed nitrogen for a more healthy soil. Chickens that we have had in the past were also great little scrap eaters, meaning when you have some kitchen scraps they will gladly gobble them up for you. Taking care of chickens is not a really difficult job, but it is a good way to teach children responsibility.  They also provide great outdoor entertainment, our chickens had free run of the entire back yard. They would often follow us where ever we were especially if we were weeding I think they thought we were looking for a treat, when we would find a worm or grub they were very excited to come over and get it for us. Another favorite was to watch them take a dust bath, they would find a sandy spot in the yard then roll and fluff their feathers to get the sand all over. They would also come when called and enjoyed a little snack of bread or corn, Well I think I have talked myself right back into getting chickens, I truly do miss the little flock that  we had! We will need to find a better way of protecting our little flock, there seems to be a raccoon, weasel, or mink we are not sure what it was because we never saw the nasty varmint  we were just grief stricken to see what had happened to our beloved little flock.

A quick update on the doll, I have a long way to go but thought I would add a picture of what it's looking like right now, Today I was able to finish the nails, the dry matte finish and start to add some of the weighing material. I also added the eyes because I know looking at a doll with no eyes seems a little bit freaky to some. Now I will be able to start the rooting process for adding a little hair.

 Adding a few drops of Melaleuca to your diffuser will help to freshen and purify the air, adding a few drops to a water spray bottle will give you a cleaner to spray on surfaces to help protect from environmental threats

Having a great time with the gardening in the house! Just love getting the chance to plant! Could not spend a whole lot of time with the gardening today because I am also in the process of re-borning! (A reborn doll is a manufactured skin doll that has been transformed by a reborn artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible.) Wikipedia

 I just started the process today and it takes a while, but I will do my best to keep you updated!

I washed all my brushes to make sure that they are all clean and ready to go, washed the kit, and began the mottling 

To mark with spots or blotches of different shades or colors.

1. A spot or blotch of color.

2. A variegated pattern, as on marble.

(Free Online Dictionary)





It's been a few years since I have made a doll so hopefully I will be able to do this kit justice! Shout out to Bountiful Babies for making such great kits! I tried taking pictures that show the kit but also keeping in mind that not everyone is ok with the look of an unfinished doll. So please come back and check the progress!