Sniffing, learning, and going to war

Huh?  Well, I guess I should say from the get-go that the war I'm battling is with an outbreak of ants.  I've never seen them as bad as they are this year.  Miss Victoria located the newest area of the house to see the hatching of ants when last night she sat staring at the floor by the garage door.  I noticed a few ants then but this morning there were an entire army.  Ants fascinate her as much as they annoy me.

That was a great game last night!  While we wished the outcome would have been in Butler's favor, they certainly made winning difficult for Duke.  One difference about the NCAA finals is that people truly do remember who made it to the final four (sometimes even more than who won it all).  So... Michigan State and Butler can be proud.  Hopefully next year will be a better year for our university.

I must admit to not watching much of the game, just getting caught up with the score now and then from hubby.  A scratchy throat started yesterday so I knew Christopher had once again shared his germs.

I felt better propped up in the family room watching the TV hooked up to Direct TV (the old living room TV is hooked up to an antennae so we can get ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS... with the final four being shown on CBS).

By about 5:00 this morning, I had awakened a few times with a stuffy nose and swollen throat blocking my breathing.  Ugh... giving up on going back to sleep, I surprised Victoria by moving my pillow and a throw covering to the sofa, once again propped up enough to breath easier.  I must remember to tell my son to leave his germs at the front door.  :)

As for learning... I am thoroughly enjoying the Franklin Springs DVD of the West Ladies which is all about herbs.  It is enjoyable just to watch the video but there is so much to learn.  They take you from growing various herbs to drying them, making vinegars, herb butters, various herbal teas (cold and hot), etc.

I am SO glad Amazon is offering the Franklin Springs DVD's now so I can save up credit for them.  I learn by watching them over and over.  Stephanie tells me Netflix is now offering them.

These videos not only teach a lot of basic homemaking and gardening skills but they remind me that our lifestyle can be a choice.  Not everyone will live in the Tennessee countryside like the West Ladies but we can incorporate aspects of a simpler lifestyle in our own lives... a little at a time.  :)

I can see a second viewing of parts of the video today while sniffing and coughing on the sofa.  Now to take some extra Vitamin C!

Oh, the Amazon widget is back, I have no idea what was wrong with it for awhile.  I highly suspect the problems with the e-mail address came the same day I could not access Hotmail.  Every once in awhile, they get a glitch.  I checked it again yesterday and the e-mail from the family e-mail account went through just fine to the Hotmail blog account.

Picture: Roosters and Chicken poster; allposters.com