Feb. 12, 2019

Boy, the days just absolutely Fly by. Maybe when you spend sweet time with these lovely furbabies live is just so enticing that you lose tract of time? My little Daisy was having big ideas. I had looked for her a Small bone and could only find this size but she still loved it to pieces. LOL

I don't know which she enjoys the most , chewing them or guarding them and threatening Emmett as he teases her about her bone. Either way she has a grand time with her treasures.

 

The last time I had posted it was pouring down Snow. Then we had a lovely week that was like Spring time? Tonight it is pouring down rain? Lots of mud but that is fine with me.

I had planted two of my milk jug gardens today. Yes, it is winter time but I take my milkjugs and cut them halfway open , add dirt and place the seeds that I plan to use in my garden or for flowers in them. I place them outside in the weather and when Mother Nature is right for them they decide to wake up and come to life-giving me plants. "Hopefully" One year I had raccoons raid me and play basketball with them -now I place them inside one of my wire cages to protect them .

I was hoping to complete a sewing project today but only got my fabric ironed and the pattern located -only to discover I need more different fabric. 

I made a really nice skillet omelet this morning for my crew. It had the eggs and sour cream and cheddar chesse, dab of milk , sliced mushrooms, sliced asparagus and bits of spinach in it poured over a wee butter in a pie pan and backed on 350 for 25 minutes. It turned out perfect with toast and jelly.

I have had a rough week being sick with my tummy-pain and cramps and diarrhea. I went to the doctor to be checked for H-pylori only to have the test come back negative. They want me to go be scoped but I am not ready for that invasive test. I told the doc I have ordered a new herb and he said he understood as my records show I like to use home remedies instead of big-pharma when I can . So it is due within the week and I will see if it has any success. I sure do hope so.

Emmett and Sandra cut Joyce a nice load of wood , which she came and got this morning.  She loved it and rewarded him , so they both were happy and that made me happy. She had been kind enough to come last night and bring us our complete supper , consisting of the best spaghetti I had indulged in  with the best salad I had ever put in my mouth and a jello dessert , which is my favorite dessert. I love jello.

I am also counting my blessings because one of my granddaughters (Dainelle) was in a car wreck last week which totaled her car, but she and her boyfriend walked away with only bruises and scrapes. 

 

Life is good, my kids are all happy and healthy and that makes me so happy and grateful. I have great friends and great neighbors and my furbabies are all healthy and happy. My chickens are ramping back up and starting to lay so I am looking forward to Springtime. I just wish I could pull off this sewing project. I procrastinate because my eyes are giving me so much trouble, but I need to not be discouraged and do what I can , while I can! Being human can be hard.  

Jan. 29,2019

I knew they were calling for bad weather coming in so I ran to town bright and early this morning and got my feed for the month for all of my critters. This was what I came home to? At least the snowflakes were big enough they really showed up this time.

This was my job to tackle as the car was loaded to the brim. I got lucky and Sandra and Crystal came to my aid and it did not take long at all. I was so grateful.

I got a lot accomplished today . Emmett and Sandra helped me empty all the water dishes out for the critters tonight as the temperatures are dropping down to 17. I really Hate the cold.

Joyce popped in and brought us a big bag of potatoes that she caught on sale today. Boy! They are Big potatoes!!!!!!!!!!! Plus, grapes, pineapple and some ginger. I am so very grateful to have them.  I made a cranberry pie for dessert tonight and have fixed blueberry muffins for the kids for breakfast in the morning as they have to leave early as Sandra has a dentist appointment.

I have got to figure out how to get a better picture of the booties as they are not showing up their true colors.

Tommy Turkey was looking very handsome in the snow.  I even managed to lose my camera after I took this picture. I was SO Distressed and could not find it anywhere!

Eventually Sandra found it where it had fallen out of my jacket pocket and into a barrel of feed as I emptied the bag of feed into the barrel. I was so thrilled to have it back as Joyce gave it to me for Christmas and I am so very proud of it. I am beginning to think I would lose my head if it were not tied onto me.I am getting to be as bad as when I was a kid.

Jan. 24,2019

Some of us in the family seem to have enjoyed the blue blazing cold and ice?????  I try to pick up on their ideas but have been very careful.

Miss Daisy is more to my opinion of staying in the house near the warm heat and enjoying the treats of life.

In the spirit of compromise I have done a little of everything and in the process managed to pull off a sweet pair of the blanket booties.

Jan. 15, 2019 Eye Doctor

They called for 6 inches of snow this weekend and we got approximately an inch and half of solid ice. This is the driveway and I cannot stand up on it at all. I got SO Lucky as I had crawled my way up to the main building and I KNEW I had something you put on your shoes to be able to walk on ice. I had looked for it last month but could not find it and I Knew I had to find it . So, I took everything off the shelf and found where the mice had chewed the box up and the little wire frame was covered up in the shredded cardboard. After some hard thinking I finally figured out how to get them on my shoes and walked down this driveway to where I had to feed the donkey . Even he was not trying to get out on this stuff and was glad to see me with his pellets and hay.

Indy has been my constant side kick and it has been 3 nights now and not much has left because the temperatures have not come up much-staying around freezing.

My best friend came and picked me up today . We were so amazed at how her little all wheel drive Subaru came up the driveway.  She took me to the doctor's office to fill out some papers so I could see the dentist on Friday and then took me to eat  before she took me to the eye doctor. Having a friend  is the greatest gift you can have in this life.

She took me to a little Mexican restaurant and that was some of the best food I have ever had and it did not hurt my tummy at all. It has kept me full all day long . I have been having an upset tummy all week long so this was such a relief.

Then we went to the eye doctor and she got a call from her mother about the serious condition of her cousin who was burnt and in critical condition in another state. While they talked I got checked in and tests started.

The results were not great and I knew there was a decline in my eyesight and it was hard not to dissolve into tears in front of them. They try to be so kind but this macular degeneration is such a terrible disease and there are no solutions at all. The only thing in your arsenal is to take the vitamins. Not a cure but just with hopes of slowing it down... I do that and a lot more so it is Very Discouraging when you know you are losing the battle....   

Jan. 13, 2019

We had a forecast of a winter storm but instead of dumping snow we have received Ice!  I waited a while to go out this morning until I realized that the temperatures were not going to warm up enough to get rid of the ice. So I carefully inched my way up the hill , hanging onto trees and branches of anything I could get my hands on.

I knew I could not get around to each of the cages or to feed the donkey without some kind of help and I did not want any broken bones. I Knew that a friend had bought me some kind of ice support system a few years back and I had looked for it last month in the building but could not find it. I knew I had to find it so I started pulling everything off the shelve in the building and Bingo I lucked up and found it. The reason I had not been able to see it was because the mice had eaten the box up that contained it and buried it in the rubble. I pulled it out and thought  O Gosh, no directions now , how do I use this creation?

Finally I figured out to stretch it out like a spider webb and slide it over my shoe like a sock, leaving this wire form under my sole. I eased out on the ice and I could walk ! I was thrilled to death . I carefully eased around the main building feeding and watering all the separate kennels and coops and finally eased down the longer , steeper hill to where the donkey was waiting for me in the falling down barn. He was glad to get his pellets and a bat of hay . I think he even knew it was dangerous to get out on that slick stuff and risk breaking a leg.

I was happy to make it back to the house and fix eggs and tators and biscuits and gravy to feed the kids. Got all of that cleaned up and went to work on this pair of blanket booties. I had messed up the correct size I was aiming for and had my best friend try them on for me to confirm it-so I readjusted my stitches and I am Hoping I have them correct to fit a size 10.  I will hopefully get to see her Tuesday when she takes me to the eye doctor and I will ask her to try this  new pair on again to see if I have pulled it off???

The ice is still here but I used the "magic ice socks" to get around and gather up the few eggs so they would not freeze. My neck and shoulder and back are giving me fits because I have not stretched much as I crocheted my day away except when I made a hamburger and potatoe and cheese one pot dish for the kids while I had a single serving pizza and popcorn.

A Dream Come True

How do you thank someone for making a dream come true? Almost break down in tears and scare them to death?

For the longest time I have wanted to have a sliding door to open into the pasture for the chickens in the main chicken house. All summer I dreamed of it and then I built the little small chicken coop beside the main house but struggled with my sight, so I was afraid to attempt cutting into the back wall of my little chicken house ??

So a new young flock was almost ready to start laying and I knew they would thrive with access to the pasture to get bugs and worms and organisms in the soil. The last few days have been very mild and I had cleaned out the inside runs and kept eyeing that house with the fenced in lot which always turns into a muddy mess with all of the rain we have had. Today would be our last warm day and then winter comes back so I decided to just buck up and try to pull it off.

Once I started I got in trouble right off the bat. I had to cut an old stock fence from the back of the building and I was not strong enough to cut through the heavy gauge wire. I had got the fencing pliers  and a busting mall and forced the pliers against a tree where I was cutting and banged it hard and got one cut-many more to go when I heard a sweet voice ask if I could use some help? Help! SUREEEEEEE I could and be so grateful for it, but I knew Crystal had kept Emmett busy helping her with her projects and I did not want to interfere. But turn down free help- my eyes might not have good eyes but I do have a good appreciator of help.

once he offered to tackle the deed and  I ran and hunted up all the tools and supplies that I thought we might need.

It would have taken me until dark to pull this off but Emmett had it accomplished in about an hour! I still want to just cry..... Help is just one of the most wonderful things in the world to have another human being give of themselves to make you happy and your life better. I am so very lucky to have my children.

Miss Sandra was the "go-fer" girl today always offering her help in any way she can and it is such a gift.

First Crochet Project of 2019

I have switched over to crochet projects for a while for several reasons. One is because of my diminishing eyesight. Two is because I crocheted a lot longer than I sewed so I am more familiar with it. Three is because I have a stash of yarn I need to use up before I kick the bucket and four just because I seem to find more projects that people will use instead of stick in a drawer or be forced to donate. So, that is my story and I am sticking to it for the time being.

I had made a pair of booties for my youngest granddaughter for Christmas -from that Bernat Blanket Yarn that we all love because it is soooo very soft.  She had thanked me and suggested if I ever wanted to make her a blanket she would love it -from the soft stuff. So, I knew it was getting time for the stores to put the yarns on sale and I checked out Jo-Ann's and low and behold it was on sale from 10.95 to 6.99 for the 10.5 oz. skeins. Her favorite colors are pink and lavender so here they are combined in the variegated colors. Yes, I mentioned I had a stash but no I do not have the blanket yarn in my stash .I sure wish I did but it disappears off of my hooks as fast as I can swing it.

I have one problem with this yarn. I can Never find the inside end to enable me to pull from the inside so I am forced to use the outside end and bounce my skein all over the place. I have looked online and asked on forums and finally I have written the Bernat Company to ask if maybe this is the only way you are suppose to use this yarn????I do not know so I am hoping they will reply and share some feedback for me.

My pups had a wonderful Christmas and my dear friend June from Tenn. sent them Christmas pup cookies. Indy is checking them out.

  Daisy picked the only solid white one from the pack.

Bandit had a hard time deciding. lol

Then Indy decided to take a nap. I love it when my pups are happy.

Dec. 23, 18

I finally got my youngest granddaughter a new poncho made for this year. When she was very young I made her one that she absolutely loved and that Thrilled me over the moon and back that I had made her so happy.

Then last year she had mentioned that she wished I could make her a new one . Then I decided it might be a nice Grandmother/Granddaughter gig to try to complete her a new one each Christmas. This one is really prettier than the picture gives it credit for and I am thinking about making me one too, after the holidays.

Daisy has spent most of the day just supervising my indoor activities. She said she did not really appreciate all that miserable cold and wind outdoors.

Crystal did take my car & end up going to the doctor and does have a concussion from the accident. I think she had a crazy doctor because when she could not follow the testors fingers she wanted to say she was schizophrenic???? Not even paying attention to the fact that she had been run over  by a cement truck , spun around in the road and drug across the highway??? She is starting to show some of the light sensitivity and irritability also. I think the shock is wearing off and the reality is hitting her body. That was the way it was for me .

I made a carrot cake this afternoon for our desert . Been a long time since we have had one of those.
I also completed one of the other granddaughters a hanging car organizer to put on the back seat of her vehicle to store some of the baby items she needs with her new baby and other two small ones. They are always needing something. But I think I forgot to take a picture of that and it was cute. I hope she likes it and can get lots of use from it.

A few years back when DH was still alive I made several of them for my family members with small children for their cars and I also made DH one for his truck. I still have what is left of his truck in the back and I walked to it to see if his was still in his truck and it was. I peeked inside of its contents and he had put his turkey calls and hunting supplies in the different pockets. He really enjoyed it and made good use of it so that made me smile to know I had made him happy.

My dear sweet neighbors Patty and Tony popped in and we exchanged gifts. She is fighting colon cancer and it just breaks my heart . She and I went to school together and there has never been a better lady to walk the earth. She knew she wanted to be a nurse from the time we were in the first grade and back then when you reached a certain age you could volunteer as a little "candy-striper" at the local hospital and that was what she did and then it was just up and on until she reached her goal and was a wonderful nurse. She worked in the ER a lot of the time . She was there for me when I had pneumonia and later when I shattered my leg and ankle and foot . So, I can tell you how much she has helped humanity in our neck of the woods and for this to jump on her just breaks my heart.

Emmett's girlfriend, Sandra also went to Urgent Care today with her infected teeth and they gave her some antibiotics and hopefully that will clear up the infection because she has a dentist appointment this upcoming week. I do SOOOO Hate to see anybody suffer with their teeth as I had that battle most of my adult life and to think of it just makes me shudder.

I am so grateful for good friends, and wonderful family , my beloved pets and my good health and independence.

Dec. 19, 2018

Not the day I had planned which was to do my morning chores and get them out of the way to work on a sewing project as I am narrowing down on my gifts.

I had gone outdoors and fed the donkey and one run of the chickens and came back in the house which I do not do very often. The phone ran and it was my daughter . Now it was a miracle that the call came through because she was in a blind spot for cell phone reception and all she could say was Mom I have been hit over at the Graysontown bridge. I could feel myself gasp and say I'm on my way and out the door I ran.

I kept thinking Graysontown bridge ?? She would not be going that direction this morning and when I got there - I did not see anything so I turned around and backtracked to another bridge which turned out to be Simpkinstown bridge and still no daughter. My phone rang again and it was my baby son saying she had seen me turn around and she was there on the hill. So I turned around and headed back to Graysontown bridge and still no sign of her?? I turned around on that bridge and went back to Snowville bridge and finally I spotted the police lights up on the hill.

It was cold and I spotted her so I eased the car near the accident and left the heater running while I checked on her standing out in the cold . She had been heading up the hill when a concrete truck came down the hill and hit her in the front and dragged her across the highway. There were pieces of wreckage strewn all over the road

I could tell she was really rattled and her head was hurting and she was not thinking clearly so when the policeman asked her how fast she was going I knew she was not going fast because she had just pulled from a stop off of the bridge so she guessed maybe 30. Well, the young policeman walked down around the curve and came back and gave Her the ticket for doing 30 in a 15mph?  Nothing in the world about a monster vehicle plowing into the very front of your vehicle and dragging her across the road ???? Not even noticing she was in no shape to even know what exact speed she was running ?

 She was not even heading in this direction ? She could not drive it home as the steering did not want to work. The young tow truck driver like to never got it to turn to get it on the roll back.

We got the vehicle home and then headed to town to go talk to the insurance company. Doesn't sound good at all. I am just glad she was not killed . I tried to get her to go to the doctor as I am suspecting a slight concussion? But not today-maybe tomorrow. They really can't do anything for one anyway except tell you to rest and not use your brain.

Another day in life in the country. lol

Happy Birthday Dec. 15,18

It was a lovely birthday. The temps are mild enough that the snow is melting like crazy but of course it is a muddy mess.

I started off my second morning having a fresh glass of carrot juice . Emmett bought me a big bag and I was curious if I tried that I might help my eyesight out any?

Sandra and Emmett helped me do chores this morning and that was nice so I could get back in the house and work on Christmas gifts sooner. I made a really neat army fleece cap for a young friend but wrapped it before I got a picture.

Then I struggled through making this nursing cover up for one of my granddaughters. It was one of those projects that kinda took on a life of its own, so it is definitely one of a kind. lol

I got a lot more gifts wrapped so I am narrowing down on them.

Sandra made me a chocolate birthday cake and Emmett cut it and served it with chocolate ice cream. It was really tasty-so nice and soft and moist. It was the nicest gift to have them helping me .
Crystal popped in for a few minutes and brought me what I had asked for for my birthday , a fresh pineapple and a toilet seat ! Mine has been broken for quiet a while now and she found one with metal hardware instead of the plastic that is always breaking. I am trying to figure out how to make some kind of a softer covering to go on it??????? We will see???

Right now I am tired and my back is hurting and my throat is soar but I gargled with something called Firewater and it did seem to help although it takes my breath away. Shewwwwwwwwww- it is strong. lol

Emmett spent most of the afternoon outdoors working on his little car while he had a friend come help him. They are pulling the motor and putting another one in it. I am hoping it will fix his problem and he can have his car back running. Our cars are our independence and they mean so very much to us.

Today I am grateful to family. They all are gifts from God.

Our First Big Snow of the Season

It started last night around 1 and has  not let up until about 3pm. My shoulder and right ribs are hurting because I have fought with it all the time except for sleeping from 3 to 9 this morning but it just kept coming . I was having trouble lifting it from my paths as the sides of my paths were getting too tall for me to heave it up onto. I am really glad it has stopped. I think there are 15 inches all total and I am a whipped pup.

I kept all of the chickens except one run closes today and the one I opened up -they did not even want to poke their heads out in this white stuff. The pups even said it was TOO COLD for their little "footsies" and abandoned me to the warm house. Everytime I put on dry socks I get them wet again.

I am so very grateful for all of the wonderful wood that Emmett and Sandra have cut and hauled to the house.
My wonderful neighbor Bill Burton came and plowed our driveway this afternoon. Even his big tractor was grunting in the effort. This is deeply appreciated as I could never dig my long driveway out.

Winter is not officially here until next week so this is a Fall snow. It was very beautiful falling but so much work keeping up with it that it takes away the splendor. I have fixed a cranberry pie and brownies and a big pot of soup and one of chili beans just in case we lose our electricity . Sandra fixed them a monster sub so we do have food and each other to rely on. That means a lot in times like this.

When I was shoveling snow at 3am it was so bright outdoors it was like daylight. That was quiet beautiful too. It is almost a magical experience.

Dec. 2,2018

AMAZING how another month has snuck in on us! Plus, this is the Final month in our year. The last chapter in our 2018 year. It has certainly been a year of challenges for all the humans I know so I guess we have all learned a lot and made progress on our paths in this lifetime.

Yesterday my sewing mentor took me to our Sewing Guild Christmas dinner and fashion show. I enjoyed this one the most of any I have attended because I made two new friends, one a retired school teacher and the other a current school teacher. They were both SO delightful. They were both such very special ladies who have enriched our world greatly with their works. The retired teacher had actually taught sewing at one time and the other said they did not teach sewing at all where she was teaching now. What a great loss to our young people.

Then some of the ladies had a fashion show of the garments they had made and they were so stunning. I certainly wish I had their talent and I wish I had their eyesight. The 76 year young school teacher said she had no problems at all with her eyesight. How I wished I could experience that.

This is a Christmas gift for a new great-granddaughter who had to have open heart surgery when she was born just a couple weeks past. I do not know how such a tiny baby could endure all that she has gone through and there is still the danger of something else showing up as she grows some?

Now I must make a pair of booties for her Mom as I have another skein of yarn that will give her something to match -Mother/ Daughter kinda.
I did learn that one of the mothers at the Guild had lost her adult daughter to cancer last month and she was a broken Mother. My heart just ached for her.
Then another lady had gone to the grocery store and got run over by a car as she was bringing her groceries to the car so she is in a wheel chair and her partner only has a brief time to live and Hospice came home with him. So many challenges - it really makes you count your blessings.

11/29/18

It was such a beautiful day after it warmed up . The last two nights have been brutal and I had to ask Emmett to run to town and get me a heat bulb for my little chicks. I had regular light bulds on them but they were not warm enough when it went down into single digits. Now they are doing much better . It warmed up enough today that the water bowls thawed out . Yea.

Emmetts head gasket has blowed on his little car so he ran to town today and got a new head gasket and some oil, did not have enough money for the plugs he needs as his are bad now. So he is working on that project before all the rain they are calling for arrives for the next four days?? Hard to work on a motor when you are out in the cold rain?

This is a set of a baby cap, booties and little mittens for a new great-grandson named Phoenix Kale. I was amazed at his name. But they are so talented at picking out uncommon names as they little girl is Adalee.

We had leftover turkey soup and peanut butter crackers for our supper and I have another Pumpkin Cobbler in the oven.

I am tired as I have spent all afternoon wrapping Christmas presents. My legs and back are so tired.
But a beautiful day and I am so grateful for it.

Daisy kept trying to convince me that I needed to sit down so she could come snuggle. lol  She is a real "Snuggle Bug".

Even Miss Mocha came out and rested in my chair as she watched all the goings on. Her little heart is so bad and each day I have her is a treasure to me.

Nov. 25, 2018

I had an absolute wonderful Thanksgiving with my children. Good food and good fun . The kind of holiday I appreciate. No fussing or fighting or violence of any kind. I am so amazed at how wonderful that kind of day is , it is still hard for me to believe that such things really exist in our world.

We filled our tummies till I was So stuffed I could barely wiggle all day long.
I am so very grateful for these kind of days and for all the help .

Tues. Nov. 20, 2018

I wish time did not have to fly by so very quickly. By the time I had accomplished the morning outside chores and came in and fixed beans and cornbread for lunch the day was over half gone.

Emmett and Sandra had gone and cut another load of wood so they were good and hungry. My tummy was upset so I only had half a small bowl of the leftover celery and rice soup from yesterday which was restful on my tummy.

Then I opened a can of pumpkin that I needed for a recipe and decided to make some pumpkin peanut butter treats for the pups. They were actually good enough to eat since they were made with coconut flour.

My next project was to be our evening desert which was called a pumpkin cobbler. I got half of it put together and then thought the remaining directions sounded crazy????? After you made the batter and put it in the pan you covered it with a sugar and nut topping and Then Added Hot water poured all over it but not mixed in???? I argued with it but finally did exactly what they said and it turned out like this and it was Really Good . A cake like top with a sauce on the bottom. It was a delightful new experience.

My oldest son Cory came to go hunting but had a flat tire in the field so he spent the next couple of hours trying to fix one. He would get one off the rim but the next one would have holes in it. It was a nightmare and I got so very cold . I did not want to leave him to suffer alone  with little Connor. But he made it home safely , finely. Yea.

Nov. 18, 18

 

How nice it is to have help. Emmett climbed on the roof and cleaned the chimney, then he cleaned off all the leaves from the roof and finally he reattached the gutter on the front which scared the "beejesus" out of me. It he would have slipped and falled it would have surly been a broken back. But God guided his footsteps and he arrived safely back on the ground and the chimney and the stove are working like a new set up. How wonderful that is.

This is his sweet girlfriend Sandra , who has worked right beside him loading and unloading all the firewood. Nothing like a pretty gal who does not mind hard work. I am so very grateful to both of them.

It was a lovely day with very mild temperatures and no rain so I was able to put out two loads of laundry today . Yea. 

I worked a little in the garden as I had started a small fire trying to burn up a pile of brush in the garden and while I kept an eye on it I used my turning fork to turn over a small patch in the garden. After I get this brush pile burned I hope to cover this area with black plastic like I did last winter and I had no weeds 3/4 of the way through the growing season. I would like to do that again but Have to get this brush pile burned.

Then I came in and fixed a pot of Spicy Cauliflower Curry  and it filled our tummies. Topped it off with a pineapple pie that refused to set up so Emmett suggested I freeze it and we had it like an ice cream pie . It was very good that way. I really liked that idea so maybe it did not set up for this specific reason.

As bedtime sets in my bedbuddies love to have some fun and I spend my moments with laughter at the joy they bring to your life, and we all know Laughter is so good for the soul.

Nov. 15, 2018

It has been a nasty , wet, cold day here in Va. , USA. The temps hovered around freezing , starting the day with a couple inches of sleet and ice and then cold rain which continued all day long.

I got the outdoor chores out of the way first thing. The donkey was really glad to see his breakfast as he was in the little barn space I had cleared out for him in this dilapidated barn which is in bad shape. Doug and I had built this thing back in the 70's . A master build for two dumb kids who had never built anything . Raising the roof was the hardest part. I thought we were going to kill ourselves . I raised lots of beautiful baby goats in there and  treasured the relationship I had with them. They gave me love and lots of food for the table. Fresh sweet milk, lots of buttermilk all kinds of cheeses and a dip to can and serve with the apples. It was hard work , but I loved it and the animals who shared my heart.

Now after a big tree crashing into it it is trying to hang in there but one side of it floods when it rains now and the corner I have saved for Yukon is where I use to milk the goats at. I hope it can stand as long as Yukon is alive .

I had moved some of the chickens around last night in preparation for this storm. It is the first one of our season . I was fixing the kids breakfast when the electricity went off so I turned to the wood stove and managed to complete a hash brown , biscuits and eggs breakfast which filled us up at least.

Then Crystal had to go to her doctor and Emmett had to go for his appointment and just as they left the electricity came back on so I was able to clean up the kitchen and carry up some of the firewood that Emmett had busted up for me and put on the sidewalk. I like to keep some in the house and some just outside the door so I won't have to go down the steps out into the weather through the night. I am having trouble getting it to burn today so I am worried that the chimney is stopping up again like it did last winter and I really Hate that because it scares me to death to see anyone climb up the steep ladder and work on that dumb chimney. If anyone was to fall and break their back I would never get over it.

I had put a big pot of red beans in the crockpot last night so at least we had that for supper and I  fixed a full skillet of cornbread . So we all filled our tummies. I also had some potato salad to go with it. I have experimented with a technique I saw online where the lady just washed the potatoes and boils them with the skin on and then chops them up and adds whatever you normally add .I like it because it takes a lot of work off of you from peeling the potatoes and you know the skins are suppose to be good for you anyway so I see it as less waste?

Emmett's girlfriend , Sandra always helps me clean up and I am so appreciative for her help. She is so very sweet and so good to me. I have always loved my kids partners and considered them my family. ( Weeellll - Maybe  just one of Crystal's boyfriends way back many years ago??? He really was a dud! And I was so thrilled when she throwed him back into the waters of single people for someone else to fish for - chuckle, chuckle) Some relationships are just not meant to be but you do not know that until you test the waters as we are just human and not mind readers.

As you can see I am working on Christmas gifts . I have played around with lots of crochet slipper patterns through the years . But last year I bumped into this pattern and it kinda stuck in my memory even though I only made a couple of them. But I remembered it was simple and with my eyes fading I need simple? So I made these first two sets and really did like them . They will be for my deceased girlfriend's grandchildren. The black and white pair have pom-poms and the brown and white pair I added jingle bells as they are for a younger child and I just think they like to "make a joyful noise". lol

This set was another experiment . Last year I had made some slippers for the family with a pattern called cloud slippers because they were made with blanket yarn and they were so soft. But the pattern was so hard for me to follow?? I do not know if it was the eyes or the brain giving me a fit. So I decided to test this new pattern out with the blanket yarn and I am throughly happy with it. This pair will be for one of my granddaughters.

Emmett and Sandra went out with me just at dark and helped me do the chores in the cold rain . It was so nice to have young people padding around in the slush with me just in case I were to fall. With their help it was accomplished in half the time and I was back in the house where it is warm and dry. I am so grateful to have my children that I love and appreciative for the help and a roof over my head. God is so good.

November 8, 2018

 

I have finally got started on my Christmas presents , boy am I getting a late start ? 

I figured almost anybody can make use of a handy dandy kitchen towel if they cook? So, I still am trying to come up with things that are useful and not just take up space.

It was a nice finish to a stressful afternoon. It had started out as a nice morning getting all my outdoor chores completed and enjoying some beautiful weather in the 50's which is lovely for us this time of year.

I had gone in and all my kids had headed to town to run errands and I was enjoying a nice late lunch when I thought I heard a noise outdoors. I peeked out the window but saw nothing so I stepped out on the side walk and heard voices. I peeked around the corner behind the house and saw two men jumping up and down on a truck that was stuck in the mud at the side of the house? I quickly darted back in the house and locked the doors as I was NOT expecting anybody ,  much less a truck stuck in the mud beside my house. I called my daughter to see how close to home she was and she said she would come right on.

This was peeking through one of my windows. That is the tail end of their truck as they are trying to push it back from the pasture where they had got stuck after they had moved the lawn mower and all of Crystal's tools and moved the gate to allow them access to go hunting without permission. 

Turns out I did know them but by now I was too terrified to go out of the house and too upset that they would just act like they owned the place. It is my deceased husbands brother and his grandsons . He would have nothing to do with my husband in the last 20 years of his life but now he acts like this is his land to do what ever he wants when ever he wants and that is usually deer season when he wants to bring his family to show them the joys of deer hunting. I do not want them here and I hate to cause a scene and make enemies of my nieces ? 

Crystal gets stopped for speeding by a state policeman and gets a ticket and I finally call her back and ask to speak to the policeman. I ask him if he could just let her come home because there are men here who have guns wanting to do hunting and I am scared of them - so he lets her go . By the time she arrives the brother has the entire driveway blocked where nobody can come or go and Crystal cannot even get in. She is upset too as she knows how scared I am . Then my youngest son arrives and he defuses the situation and they finally leave -saying they will be back in a few days! I really do not want them here . I just want my peace and quiet with my family. I have not had a relationship with this side of my hubbys family and I am too old to want to now. Deer season just tears me all to pieces anyway and I wish I could just disappear off the face of the earth for the duration of it.

I was left just trembling and so upset it was very hard to calm down when you feel like you have no say so over your own home and you privacy has been invaded when all you were doing was enjoying a quiet moment at home. Needless to say I was late getting all of my evening chores accomplished  and can not even calm down to sleep and my tummy is upset.  

I have many blessings to count and some days we just end up in trouble without even trying to?

This was just the 8th of this Month

It seemed like every time this little flower tried to bloom this "white stuff" would fall from the sky.
I got SO Very sick of it I thought I would wither away myself. I am Lusting for Spring to finally Really be here??????????

"Turkey Went A-Courting" - he surly did and now Mama is on 20 eggs-maybe Spring is here????

Looks like Yukon might have made it through another Winter - so maybe we can share another Summer!!!!!!!!!!! Yea.  Even as he gets into trouble. He tried to steal my daughter's bag of seed potatoes from her yesterday , and almost pulled it off. I never know donkeys love potatoes????

My beloved side-kick , Indy has been with me for a little over a year now and I donot know how I ever  managed without him. He is on constant "mouse control" and has done an excellent job. I still hate to see them murdered as I think they are so precious - but once they get into the hundreds they do so very much damage . His side-kick , Daisy is curled up in the house beside the stove -waiting -like me- for warm weather. lol  The three "antiques" are also still kicking and in the warm house -heck with this white stuff- I wish we could telaport to where it is warm All Year long. HUMMMM