Rain and Drain???

My pups slept in today until about lunch time while I was out doors doing chores. We had another Really Hard rain last night and 3 of my chicken runs were wet so I shoveled them out and put fresh shavings down for them and carried the litter to the garden. Then I took  a little square edge shovel and dug around the back of the building where I thought it might have seeped in. After everything dries up I plan to calk around the window to see if that will stop it???

I came in and took a shower and fixed a bite to eat and then collected Callie to go to the vet to take this drain out????

Neither Callie nor I knew that there is still more bad ahead than there is good for us to deal with?

When we got home Callie just begged so pitifully to go outdoors that I told her I would walk her around the yard -thinking she might like to go potty outdoors. That was when I noticed the pus started to run down her side and was covering her coat. It was all sticky and gooey and stinky so I ran and got some scissors and tried to clip it away from the wound so it would not make such a monster mess?

Meanwhile Callie was attempting to get to it to clean it up herself. But , of course she cannot with the cone. It is on there to keep her from chewing out the stitches again. But she only chewed the stitches because the darn place was full of infection and needed to get out. I kept thinking she could do a better job of cleaning it than I could - wonder if that is like when we have a runny nose and we keep sucking it back up . I always wondered if that was a bad thing for kids to do -to take the infection back into our bodies????? I am not a highly educated person so I do not know these things??????

I did call the vet back and ask for information on how to clean it and contain it . They just said it would do this for a few days now and to keep it clean????????????? I am stumped - if I run warm water on it -both top and bottom -then the water will run down under her tummy into her other incision on the bottom.

Poor gal-she even spotted the pile of fur that I clipped off that was covered in the stuff and tried to lick it clean before I steered her away. She knew it belonged to her and was suppose to be clean? Animals really do try hard.

Friday Thunderstorms

Boy - it absolutely Poured down the rain  and it brought down lots of little limbs and LOTS of leaves all over the place. So thick on the front steps I could hardly walk through them.

I poked my camera out the front door and the rain splashed up so fast that it drowned my britches legs all down to my shoes. It had me worried there for a minute with all the thunder and lightening.
When I peeked back out a few minutes later the temperature had dropped ten degrees - Brrr.

So, I gave up on the idea of any outdoor projects and asked Rosie's permission to do a crochet project?

She was only mildly enthusiastic since my theme was a doggie theme. - but I needed another Christmas gift for a child.

And , Miss Puppy Dog was birthed . So my creative endeavors were not all a total loss. ~smile~

Another Callie Day

Well, my day was pretty much used up by having to take Miss Callie back to the vet since she chewed the top stitches out of where that rebar had come out of her back. But it was looking gooey and she was just cleaning it up- stitches included and you could see down inside of her pretty deep. They said the hole was too big for it to heal on its own so off to surgery she went???

I came home and did some chores and then called the phone company to see if they were ever going to fix my house phone -so they have set up an appointment for tomorrow?? They have told me that before and it has been almost a month now without any house phone??? We will see what happens this time??

I could hardly hear the message with their robot you have to talk to so I went online to research another phone with my Boost provider. They have been SOOO much better than Verizon ever was and now I know the service really works - I want to try a better phone????  By the time I got lost in all of the reviews it was time to pick Callie up -so back to town I went.

As you can tell she is not happy AT ALL. My now dumped on me cat is now worth 600.00 dollars? Boy, would I like to strangle the "Dumper"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is trying to get at these stitches with everything she can think of . She even managed to get one front let in her hood??? I had to get it out. She looks pitiful- and I wonder if she will be able to figure out how to eat or drink? She could not get in her litter box and after a boo-boo I learned to take the hood off of it??? The other two cats do not know where to run or laugh?????  I wish they could laugh and not run off.  She is definitely one strong willed kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She has a drain in the incision this time and I am suppose to wash it daily and take her back in 3 to 5 days depending on how much drainage there is?????  Did I mention I want to strangle who ever dumped this girl on me?????????????????????????????????

It is calling for it to be down right cool tonight -somewhere between 50 and 55.  Brrr? I still need to move some of the furniture before I start that stove and I need to dust all the house flowers before I bring them back in to hopefully deter any bugs  hiding out on them??????  I need to check to see if there are any potatoes in the garden where the dead vines are so if there are any I can lay them out to dry in the pretty cloudy weather???? Geezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  - I need to run and catch up on life as it is not waiting for me????????????????

A Beautiful Day

My day was short and sweet. I got up early and worked on my chores because they were calling for thunderstorms? I even pruned some of my flowers and took starts off of them -always just in case I should lose one??? I was happy to get that done.

Then one of my dearest girlfriends called and invited me to go with her to a health food store and a fruit market just out of state , which is only an hour drive for us.

We took a back road though the country and saw some Lovely views and then we ran upon a covered wagon train!!!!!!!!!!! Yep - stuff you only used to see in movies??? It was amazing-then we took a side turn which took us alongside a lovely little river -looked more like a big creek to me. ~smile~ Then it decided to pour down rain -but it was a lovely ride in her beautiful little blue car.

We went to the health food store first and it was very nice . I got some organic honey source locally -thank goodness . After I read the story of how some honey supplies are shipped in with other syrups mixed in with them to make them cheaper -it made me sick that we cannot trust our groceries. I already knew they were shipping our chickens to China to be butchered and then shipped back to under some Obama trade regulations -now they are going to do this with out pigs. Not only are their standards not the same as ours but the pure torment that these animals must endure -only to be killed? It is a very sad thing.

I got some lovely oranges at the market and a few peaches. My friend is very sick with a gallstone stuck in her bile duct and is suppose to have surgery this Friday, but she is thinking about doing a flush like I do when I had a gallbladder attack? I am very worried and scared for her-so anybody please put up a prayer for her.

It's In??

It's been a grueling couple of days as my daughter and her boyfriend and me worked to get this woodstove back in the house after about 10 years of sitting outdoors beside the house. I am bone tired and they did most all of the work and nobody got hurt! Yea! I hope to work on that ugly board under it , but that can wait a few days.

I even got the second aquarium all cleaned up and the wires re-routed Away from the stove pipe. Now I have to move a couple of pieces of furniture on the left hand side of it -hopefully to do that tomorrow.

I checked out the garden and the turnip seeds I had planted had not come up so I re-dug the two places and replanted again to see if these will come up , as it is calling for rain tomorrow.

I let Callie out of her bedroom today for the first time and she came out in the living room. That spot on her back is where the rebar came all the way through her body -from her tummy to her spine. She is still very sore but I thought the walk from one room to the other might help get her gut moving . They said keep her quiet and so far that is what we have been doing.

Friday Flew By

You know how it is when you want to start one project but you need some supplies ??? Well, that was me this morning. I Need to work on my aquariums for placement of my wood stove between them -BUT - I need to reroute the electrical wires AWAY from the stove-which is exactly were they are located at right now-that is where the plug in is located???

But, I needed this One Little Part that I knew I needed but could not locate so I tore my silverware drawer out and vacuumed it out good  and relocated some stuff to give me more room-but still no little switch I was looking for??

While I was cleaning out the drawer I ran across this one little spoon. This spoon and I have a history so I know it is 63 years old at least. Mama got it from a peanut company some how and I remember being a little girl and one of m favorite treats was this spoon loaded with peanut butter and chocolate. lol

I kept running in and out of the bedroom to check on Callie - the kitty who impaled herself on a stake of rebar. It went in her tummy and came out the top of her back there. It just breaks my heart. I coaxed her onto a soft mat on the floor and tried to tempt her with some tuna ???? She is drinking some water and taking her pain med. Can you even image having a bar run through your whole body?

I had a dear friend come by to visit and she brought me a serving of couscous salad. After she left I got busy on that aquarium project and managed to get one of the aquariums cleaned out -inside and on top where I keep some flowers and re-routed those electric cords and then I was pooped. I also cleaned up under it where there is storage but it was storing Spiders more than anything. With the cold weather coming in -they are too-but i gave them a rude eviction notice with that homemade vinegar and lemon cleaner I had made. They did not like it at all and they headed to the hills.

Hopefully tomorrow I can work on the aquarium to the left of that one and move those cords to the left wall and that white box is covering the pipe hole for the chimney . That is the double insulated pipe that will come in from the chimney . They say it never gets hot and you can lay your hand on it. I Sure Do Hope they are telling the truth about that.

I am Pooped tonight. Need to get some rest tonight so after I do chores in the  morning I can tackle the second aquarium and then move some furniture to make room for the mat that will be cut to fit on the floor for the stove to sit on.???? Still have more work to do on the woodstove too. I raised the canvas on top of it today and noticed that it is wet. I thought the canvas was protecting it , but it has wore thin in the years it has been sitting outdoors. ?????

9/22/16 Thursday Ramblings

I started off my morning with chores. These youngsters have come from a line of mixed chickens that I have had for approximately 20 years. They were a mix of colored egg layers and some a little lady way back in the country shared with me. I really like their colors and think they are pretty.

I had put these sticks up to mark my flowers and keep people from driving over them -but you can see we have boo-boos along the way.

I had to go hunt for a hammer and could not find the one we used  on the chimney but I managed to get them pounded back into the ground. I just wish I had some bright paint to mark them with?

I stopped off at the odd couple. She had lost her mate this summer and Rowdy had got too Rowdy and started flying up in my face so they got paired off together and they both seem happy.

I stopped off to visit with the "Working Girls" - they are taking a break at the moment .

Next stop was Daddy Turkey and the baby . That baby is growing and funny to watch.

Next up was the colored egg layers that my friend shared with me . They are suppose to start laying any time and are suppose to lay blue eggs. We will just have to wait and see????

More baby chicks hatched so now I have 8 speckled Sussex . I am so excited. The last one that I found in the incubator this morning was in bad shape. I had seen it start pipping last night and expected it to be out of the egg this morning and dry-but instead it was trapped in the egg and the egg was as hard as concrete. I tried cracking it but it was too hard so I soaked the baby in a small bowl of warm water until I could get it free? I was scared I would hurt it but so far tonight it is still hanging out with the others. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The older babies beside the new babies have been jealous and keeping an eye on the newcomers. I had to laugh when one of the new babies some how caught a stink bug and was running all over the place with it and these teenagers were really drooling as they wished they could steal it from them.

My little "Angel- Halo's" were looking good this morning  - I just love their pretty colors so much.

The black mottled d'uccles looked happy . This is Danielle the rooster who was so mean to me this Spring until I penned him to the ground with a net . Since then he has not attacked me one time and I know love to hear him sing.

This is the traditional color of the d'uccles that most people prefer. I think they are all lovely - just like having different colors of flowers in your garden.

I had to laugh as I went through my rounds of the chores as I thought of my DH. When we would make plans to go to the flea market on weekend -He would volunteer to do the chicken chores and HE would do it SOOOO FAST. I asked him one day , how come he was so much faster than I was??? He replied that he did not stop to "Hug and kiss' each one like I always did!!! LOL - He might have been on to something . But, they are my friends and we have to take care of our freinds-Right?

So you can see as long as it took me to post the pictures that it takes a great deal of time to feed and water and clean runs  and I do get my morning exercise. Plus, if I put everybody outdoors in their corrals -it takes an extra 45 minutes twice a day and lots of exercise going up and down the hill. So, the old woman gets her exercise. lol

I had to go to town to pick up Callie from the vet so I stopped at the store and got my pups food and a pack of chicken breasts that I sliced up and filled the dehydrator to make snacks for them. This way it is way cheaper and also I do not have to worry about what is in these -knowing they are safe for my furbabies.

Poor little Callie is in rough shape after being impaled on that rebar. It just breaks my heart. I got her home and let her out of the carrier and she cried and went up under the bed. I went to get a bed to put on the floor for her and she up-chucked all over the floor and it smelled terrible. By the time I ran to get towels and rags it had run all across the room. It was a terrible mess and she was soo sick . It just kills me to see her like this? It really worried me to see her throw up ???? I am scared for her. The vet said to let her rest and see how she is in the morning?

A HORRIBLE Animal Morning.

I was awakened this morning by a sound so I took my flashlight and went out on the porch to investigate. I almost got clobbered by the kitty that had been dropped on me back in the Springtime. She had been up to no good and was attempting to climb down the apple tree but ran out of luck. I reached to grab her and missed. I heard her cry and peeked down and could see her dangling in mid-air. I thought she might have got hung on some vine - so I ran to get my shoes and a big towel to grab her in in case we had a fight. But to my horror I found her IMPALED on top of a bar of rebar. I almost fainted from the sheer horror . I quickly wrapped the towel around her and lifted her up and off. I carried her in the house and tried to peek at her tummy but with her long hair I could only see a little wet spot??? She tried to hide and she walked crouched up in pain. Since I could not determine if that was just from the pain of being bruised or if it was more serious I took her to the vet. They called and said that they could see the puncture hole and it was oozing from the fat inside of her but they needed to open her up to see if it had punctured her gut or liver???  I told them money was an issue and they quoted me 436.00. My heart sank - darn Money!  Always an issue-but I knew this had to be done as I could not risk her suffering a horrible death from not  knowing so I told them to go ahead. This for a cat that someone dumped on me -who was starved and matted to the bone-who hates my other two cats and makes life miserable for them(Rosie hides in the sewing room and Gabby ran off to my daughter's tiny house behind me in the pasture) She has killed birds - I put a bell and collar on her- she killed the ground squirrels I love and she brought in a baby squirrel the other night that I took away from her and locked the doggie door for the night - to which she tried every way she could think of to get that door open!! Now this. It is not her fault- I just wish people would be more responsible with animals. She is very lovely and soft and full of herself. She talks all the time and is a real people cat - just not another cat-cat! I have been waiting to hear from the vets what they find????

Meantime I went out to do the morning chores. Yukon got his belly full and he decided to watch the going ons.

One of my teenage chickens is not doing good. She is the one in the back. I have even been force feeding her and keeping her under a light at night. I carried them out to a corral in the sunshine and put 3 kinds of food and fresh water in with them hoping it will inspire her to eat. I really want her to live.

After all Summer of trying I am finally having some chicks hatch from eggs i ordered on E-bay. These brown ones are Speckled Sussex's and I am holding my breath as I heard more in the incubator!  This time it is an incubator that a friend loaned me . They are suppose to be really good layers and turn very speckled as they age. It will be fun to watch them transform if they survive and I can keep them away from predators, as EVERYTHING likes to eat a chicken!   

9/20/2016 - I can hardly believe we are this far into our present year?

I spent the first part of my day outdoors working . You know how it is -one thing leads to another-put the chickies out - fed and watered everybody . Cleaned out some runs and carried that to the garden to mulch some of the new plants. Dusted the new cabbage plants, they are growing but the bugs have found them. I meant to replant the kale and the turnips since it had rained but I got carried away weeding and forgot.

By then it was around 2 and I was tired so I decided I better bring the chicks back in and call it a day as my energy was waning. I got them all put up in their clean runs and then hastled back down to the garden I picked these banana peppers that I had found hiding in some tall weeds. It was a good thing I had mulched them early on -or I might never have found them. I carried them to the house and bathed them and me and did two loads of laundry and fixed a bit to eat as I sat down and started seeding and slicing the peppers. It took me 3 hours to get them all cut up small. Seems the small things can be the most tedious?

I sure hope these turn out alright. It is my bedtime and my eyeballs are rolling across the floor they are so sleepy.  Night - night to all.

Tired Monday - lol

Yea, it rained last night. The tomatoes are dwindling down and I made tomato soup -

Coco did not know what to think of me showing up in the Sewing Room today! LOL Matter of fact -neither did I. We lost our electricity for a while so I decided to go look for some special fabric. Now this is special fabric because a friend sent it to me /

When it arrived I took one look at it and laughed and said, Yep - she wants shirts for Christmas. lol

The only problem was - I Could Not Find it this morning! Of course with no electricity I was looking with a flashlight. I ended up tearing up the entire sewing room - and cleaning as I went. I used that new vinegar over orange peelings spray I made. I found LOTS of spiders and they did not like this spray!

It sure did smell good after I was finished. But still no fabric? Where did it go? I went through every room in the house but no fabric I could find. I went outdoors in the rain and checked an outside building in totes-but no fabric.

Then the electricity came back on and I went back in the sewing room and in one little cubby hole where I had cleaned out an old computer -there it was  hiding. So I went to work on it, as Christmas is right around the corner when you are sewing.

It took me all day long to cut them all out and then get this one sewed together. I was So excited that my mind remembered how to sew it together.

To top it off I repaired two pair of bloomers . The elastic had given out around the legs and they did more walking than I did. I had looked at them in the store and could not believe the price !  So, these guys are back in service.

By the end of this day my back is just screaming- is sewing that hard on your back??????????????

Stove Saturday

Me and an old friend are getting reacquainted ? She has been buried under a canvas cover beside the house for about ten years now. We took her out the year that DH installed a hardwood floor in the living room and neither one of us wanted to put her back in and risk scaring the floor with her or carrying in the wood to burn in it. She is so rusted and the doors will not even open for me yet as they are rusted shut. Also the drafts are rusted shut. I took some rust buster that my DD had in the building and sprayed every movable part down good and have let it sit.

I still wish I did not have to bring her back in and risk scaring the floor -but finances dictate that I have to stay warm this winter and this is the only way I can afford to do it-so I am counting my blessings that I still have her to rely on.  I borrowed my daughter's boyfriend's wire brush and have been scrubbing away at all that rust-trying to get it around the back where the pipe now will fit .

I can remember this side well -when Crystal and Cory were small and we first got the stove they would wait until Mom and Dad left the room and they would touch crayons to the hot stove and let them melt down the sides so they would be rainbow colored????? lol

So course my back started to complain so I had to give it up . I did all my morning chores but did not put the chickens out because it was calling for rain. Needless to say - it did not rain ! So I went to the garden and pulled up two monster Tommy Toe tomato plants in a raised bed and drug them up to the outside chickens run . Then headed back and hoed the bed good adding some compost and raking everything level and planted some Colored beet seeds. I sure do hope they do something as I would love to see all different colors of beets. Since we have not had rain in a while the turnip seeds I planted have not come up so I might should replant them although it is getting late??? Hum?????

I carried all the inside chickens some tomatoes and chard and they liked that. I weeded a little in a flower bed until my back complained again and I had to quit and go in. I fixed some fresh green beans and a salad and my daughter stopped and ate with me after she got off of work.

After they left I bathed the 3 furbabies and made them all mad at me and now I am working on figuring out how to re-run the wires that go to the two aquariums on the wall that the stove is going to be on??? I am temporarily stumped but I am tired and in pain ? Plus I need to move some furniture so I am taking a break. Tomorrow the telephone man is suppose to come fix the phone -after waiting two weeks. We will see how that goes. ~smile~ There are certainly plenty of spider webbs that have moved in with my upside down Summer.