Thoughts of a Mom

Really, I'm here

2010-03-01T18:41:00.001-06:00

We really are still here. Work, kids, life, stockshows and the like make it hard to post on one blog, let alone two.
If you're interested in what we've been up to, check the family blog, here.

This Afternoon

2010-01-28T17:42:00.005-06:00

Surprisingly, we have kept our electricity all day. The sleet has turned to light snow. In the pictures, most of the accumulation is sleet.

Sleet built up on the awning above our back door. The wind would then blow it, and it would fall down between the awning and the house. When it was time to go feed, we had to go out the front door and dig out to be able to open the back door.

We just got word that school is cancelled again tomorrow.

This Morning

2010-01-28T11:36:00.006-06:00

These pictures were taken this morning when Robby and I went out to feed. It was a little before nine and a fairly thick coating of ice covered everything. It has been sleeting ever since. The sleet is supposed to change over to snow any time. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later.

Ice makes for lots of interesting photographs. I'm just not much for taking pictures when sleet is stinging my cheeks. Hopefully I'll be able to post more pictures after we feed this afternoon. (That will mean we still have electricity.)

I'm off to get the kids started on a puzzle.

I'm Just Sayin'...

2010-01-27T20:43:00.016-06:00

Our hotel burned Sunday. It was an old building, it had not been used as a hotel in years. When I was a kid, an antique store was there briefly. The building was old and in disrepair. That being said, it was our building, a part of our town's history. Once upon a time, people spent the night there. Perhaps they enjoyed a meal in the cafe, bought groceries from the store there or even got a haircut and a shave.

This article appeared in the Amarillo paper today. Boys ranging in age from 9-12 are facing arson charges. I am saddened by that. I am also outraged by the fact that kids thought it was okay to do this and by the comments at the end of the article. Some people believe that the boys shouldn't be punished because they are young and because the building was an "eyesore." I wonder if they'd think that if it had happened in their town, or to their house, or to their property. I wonder if they'd think that if 3 fire departments had to come to their town and spend 7 hours and use no telling how much water to put it out.

The owner of the building is probably not going to take responsibility for the cleanup. More than likely it will fall to our city to foot the bill. We are not a rich community, the cost will certainly hurt our town.

I like to think that we may live in one of the few places that still has a sense of right and wrong. How safe will our town be if kids are allowed to set fire to random buildings? Are we in danger of losing our small-town greatness??

I'm not saying that the people responsible should be sent up the river, I'm just trying to say that it is time we started making people accountable for their actions.

I'll step down from my soap box now...

My sister has great thoughts here. A friend of mine from Happy had this to say. I'm so proud of both Kelly and my sister for capturing what makes our community great.

You can see pictures of the fire here. (Aren't cell phones amazing? I'm told that pics were on Facebook as the fire was in progress...modern technology at its finest.)

(Sorry for the lack of spaces between paragraphs...Blogger is not cooperating!)

Picture of the Day

2010-01-17T18:05:00.003-06:00

This is what happens when you leave clothes on the line overnight in January.

Comments

2010-01-14T16:17:00.002-06:00

Hello all,

We are in the midst of county stockshow week...life is definitely busy here. Add fiddle lessons, basketball practice and asthma flair-ups to the list and it is on the verge of crazy. And, I forgot to mention that we have to go to school, too.

I just wanted to post a brief note about comments. I've had to add the word verification because of issues with spam. Also, comments on older posts are being moderated. I would love for you to comment on anything on the blog, but I'm not loving the spam so much. I'm sorry posts are so spread out; life is just like that some times.

Thanks for reading!

Laura

Happy International Livestock Show

2010-01-10T17:19:00.007-06:00

Our local stockshow, the Happy International Livestock Show, was yesterday. It is a time for the youth of our community to practice before our county shows. This year was the 61st annual show.

Our local show is great for several reasons. The kids compete against each other, but they also help each other out and are proud of their friends when they do well. Showmanship may be a more coveted award than Grand Champion.

The people that make sure the show goes well are another thing that makes it great. Yesterday, I looked around and saw people helping that had no kids involved. They were either Happy graduates coming back to pitch in or parents whose children are no longer showing. One man hasn't had any kids showing since I last showed. It's pretty cool that people in our community care enough about our kids to make sure they have memorable opportunities.

During awards, Sadie sits with friends of our that help with the show every year. Neither one of them has anyone showing anymore, but they still are faithful helpers.

Another cool thing about the show is we take time to let the kids that aren't old enough to show have a turn. We have "Pee Wee Showmanship" with the lambs and pigs. Everyone gets a ribbon.

My dad was a great supporter of the show. It's now named Happy International because he used to joke about calling it that when we were kids. The Hustler award is named after him. I think he'd be proud to see that not much has changed since his kids were showing. It's still all about the kids and hopefully will continue to be.

To see more pictures of the show, go to our family website, here.

Our Day

2010-01-02T18:24:00.004-06:00

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. Ice crystals coated trees, fences, wires, etc. I took these pictures from our front porch.

Happy

2009-12-29T11:00:00.005-06:00

Here are the last of my "Happy" shots until I have time to get to town and take some more. We have several historical markers around town, which I think will be fun to share. My sister has posted some of her pictures from our stroll around town on her blog. I liked reading what she remembers from our childhood.

This is the Brooks Memorial Chapel. It used to be the Presbyterian church. It's the church where my brother, sister and I were christened. We were the last babies christened there. When the church membership decided to close because of numbers and age, they sold the building to a funeral home in Canyon. Brooks did an outstanding job refurbishing/remodeling the building. It is neat that a piece of our history is still a usable asset to the community.

This is the top of one of the elevators. You can faintly see the words "Harman-Toles." It's now owned by Attebury Grain. My dad worked here until Attebury bought it, then he started farming.

Here the cousins are on our shoot. You may have noticed that our Main Street is brick. I think that makes it cool.

More shots of Happy

2009-12-27T14:44:00.005-06:00

This is the south side of Main Street. The brick building houses Happy State Bank. It was founded here in 1908 (I think). It has grown into a very competitive regional bank with branches all over the Panhandle. My Aunt Judy has worked here for as long as I can remember. My kids always look forward to the sucker and balloon they get when we stop by. On our photo shoot last week, Judy invited us in to the back to watch coins being rolled.

Beside it is the Grand Theater. A local lady, Carolyn Bloodworth has refurbished the outside and is in the process of doing some work on the inside. She had her annual craft fair there. She's also working on a pictorial history of Happy. The Masons used the building after the theater closed. I've been to many a Rainbow meeting there. The Bloodworths purchased it when the Masons and Eastern Star quit meeting. We're lucky that someone is interested in keeping a building up. unfortunately, most of the buildings on Main Street have fallen into disrepair.

This is a very poor shot of our fire station. It sits on the North side of Main Street. We have an outstanding volunteer fire department with great equipment.

I'm not sure who owns the part of the building on the corner. I do remember it being a drug store and then a restaurant in my lifetime. The white building to the west of the fire station is the old Lions' Den. The Lions no longer meet, but I believe the Cub Scouts use the building for their meetings. A chiropractor from Lubbock (with Happy roots) comes either weekly or monthly and sets up shop there as well.

This building, the "Happy Center" is where the senior citizens meet. A group of ladies quilts weekly. I believe they have monthly luncheons and either weekly or monthly game nights.

You can see our "new" water tower in the background. To the west of the Happy Center is Jackson's Tax Service. She does taxes and keeps books for people. One more store to the west (not shown) is where my grandparents used to have Tirey Hardware. I'll try to get to town and take some better pictures if it ever warms up.

Around Town

2009-12-23T21:44:00.003-06:00

I bought myself a new camera for Christmas. I have no idea how to use it yet, so I'm just leaving it on Auto. Yesterday, my sister and I took our kids for a photo shoot around Happy. For the next several posts, I'm going to share some shots of my town with you. It was a very overcast day yesterday, so the sky was terribly gray.

First off, proof that there really is a place called Happy, Texas. This is our post office:

Our old water tower:

A shot of the elevators along the railroad tracks. The elevators you see are concrete and were built by POWs during WWII. I'm not sure about all of the details, I'll try to go read the historical marker and get back to you on that.

There are more behind me and some to the west of the tracks. Unfortunately only one is open all the time now and one is open seasonally.

Happy sprang up along the railroad when it went through. It was important to the cattle industry and eventually to the grain industry. My grandmother told us about how they used to drive the cattle to town and put them in the pens (that would have been south of the current post office) by the tracks and then load them up to ship north. She told about how her uncle road the train with the cattle in 1918 and caught the flu and eventually died because of complications. (All of this happened before she was born.)

When we have a good wheat year we cut our grain and bring it to town to the elevator. Sometimes we even harvest maize in the fall. The grain is eventually shipped out on railroad cars.

A Day at Home

2009-12-15T18:05:00.002-06:00

T.S. woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach bug. I've been fighting a cold and Robby is terribly busy at school, so we made the decision to have me stay home with T.S. today. This was my first "day at home" since school started.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. I got caught up on laundry, finished some craft orders and made marshmallows. T.S. was better by lunch time. I even got some presents wrapped. It was an interesting afternoon watching the progress of the cows that were out most of the day and of the electric coop as they replaced a pole in the pasture to our south. We even had some uninvited visitors to our north. By the time I figured out we had company, they realized I was home and left. It appeared to be two men with some sort of bird--I'm guessing either a hawk or a falcon. They were up near our tree line and would hold out an arm periodically and a bird would return to it. It kind of made me wonder what all goes on out here when we're not home.

I enjoy my job. It has been nice to be among adults and be a part of civilization, but I was reminded today how nice it is to just be at home.

Ready or not, it's winter!

2009-12-06T15:49:00.002-06:00

Well, we've survived a VERY cold week. I'm not sure how many days we were below freezing or right above. I'm hoping this week wasn't a taste of what the rest of the winter will be like. It's funny how fast you can block out the memory of making sure all of the animals have unfrozen water. I'm hoping for a warm up next week.

Thankfulness

2009-11-24T15:06:00.002-06:00

In the tradition of the season, I'm going to take the opportunity to list a few things for which I am thankful.

My family and our health
We live in such a great community--not many kids get to participate in a Thanksgiving feast at school and actually give thanks before they eat.
The zoo--T.S. found one place the chickens have been laying, so he got to throw the old eggs at the tree. Somehow he ended up with egg on his socks and shoes.

I could list more, but I'll stop there for now.

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with all you want and that you remember to keep an attitude of Thanksgiving throughout the year. (Especially when you start your Christmas shopping and have to deal with the million other souls who are shopping, too)

I really am still here...

2009-11-21T13:04:00.003-06:00

Despite the fact that I haven't posted in a long time, I am still here. This month has been a blur of school activities, lessons after school and preparation for a craft show. Happy hosted it's first annual Cowboy Christmas Roundup. I chose to be a vendor at the show. I spent two weeks prior to it making bottle cap pendants, jewelry frames and decorating clip boards. Originally I had planned to include a few more items in my inventory, but time was not on my side--maybe next year.

The craft show was a huge success for me. I'm very grateful for all of the people who purchased from me since I was able to pay for most of Christmas (and purchase a few things for myself)with my proceeds. I still have several orders to fill, and there is quite a bit of interest in my bottle cap pendants. I haven't been able to photograph them well, but when I do I will post them.

We are all busy, the kids are good, the show animals are thriving. We are definitely looking forward to the Thanksgiving break. I keep thinking I'll get a better handle on balancing work, family and blogging, but it hasn't happened, yet. I've nearly got the work, family thing figured out--blogging will eventually come.

A Farm Tale...

2009-11-06T20:24:00.001-06:00

I was in charge of feeding Sadie's show lambs today. As I was about to leave the pen, I noticed one of our bottle calves (now 1 1/2 years old and way passed time to be sold) had come up into the pens to see if I had a treat for him. Not wanting to be licked and head-butted (He has a huge head and horns and likes to "nudge" you from behind.), I chose to climb over the fences to get out.

Fast forward to 20 minutes ago...
Robby jumped up, got a gun out and ask if someone was supposed to be here. I responded, "no," grabbed the phone and followed him out. Stripes and Tiger were right by our bedroom window. The "brilliant" puppy we got this summer hadn't barked at all.

I had forgotten to close the big gate to the pens when I chose to climb out.

I'm sure the two of us were a site trying to persuade the calves back in. Thankfully, they respond well to feed being shaken in a bucket. Hopefully the black heifer that is in the pasture with them is still in the pasture--hard to find a black calf at night.

Just another day/night on the farm...

Why I Love Trick-Or-Treating in Happy...

2009-11-01T13:57:00.002-06:00

Last night I was again reminded of how blessed we are to live in our little community. Here are a few reasons why:

You don't have to get out at every house with your kids for two reasons. 1. Everyone knows them. 2. You'd never finish trick-or-treating because you'd visit too much.
My kids received candy from some of the same people that used to hand it out to me.
If you do get out with your kids, you can almost bet you'll walk away with a piece of candy, too.
When someone opens the door, you hear, "Come on in here."
The first year T.S. went trick-or-treating, a friend of ours opened both hands and gave T.S. a choice--candy or a golf ball. T.S. chose the golf ball. He's gotten a golf ball from him every year since.
I came away from one house with new crocheted pot holders.
Sadie was sad that we, "couldn't stop by Roberta's this year." How often does a 9 year old remember that a 90+ year old passed away since last Halloween? You could never leave Roberta's house without a sack of candy and a hug/kiss. She always wore bright lipstick, too.

Christmas Shopping

2009-10-24T08:55:00.002-05:00

As much as I hate to admit it, it is that time of year--time to get out the Christmas list and get busy shopping. This year, a new event is happening that should solve some of your gift dilemmas. You can go to the Cowboy Christmas Roundup right here in Happy. Think about how cool it will be to shop locally. You'll save gas and support local businesses and crafters.

There's a link on my sidebar for more information.

Hope to see you on November 14-15!

Craft Project

2009-10-18T16:32:00.002-05:00

Since the house is a wreck, laundry is overtaking us and I have two meetings tonight, I thought today would be a perfect day to tackle a project I'd had in my mind for a while. I painted a wooden frame, stapled some screen on the back, screwed in some mug hooks, attached a ribbon and I now have a new jewelry holder. My fishhook earrings fit perfectly in the screen. My necklaces are organized and it doubles as "art." I'm not wild about the hot-pink ribbon, but it is what I had on hand. That can easily be changed.

I already have several orders for Christmas. I've found different sizes of the frames. I plan on embellishing some of them and using a variety of paint colors on others. I left mine plain. Not bad for an hour's work.

Chicken Update

2009-10-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

The white Leghorn is Teagen's rooster. The small brown one is T.S.'s hen, Bob. She's been sneaking into the garage to lay her eggs. The black Polish rooster in the background seems to take great delight in terrorizing T.S.

Drill Carrier

2009-10-07T19:24:00.002-05:00

Here are the pictures of the drill carrier. Mom finished cleaning the wheat out of the drills. Robby was helping her hook back up to them so they could be parked out of the way until it is time to plant again.

The carrier is backed over the drills, and chains are hooked to them. Once everything is secure, the carrier lifts up with the help of hydraulics and it is ready to move. Pretty cool, except the last time I helped I hooked the chains wrong and we had to unhook and rehook. I tend to make tasks take longer than normal around here, which is why we have Robby.

The wheat is up, a nice rain would be great.

The City Skyline

2009-09-29T05:21:00.003-05:00

These pictures aren't great (remember, I want a new camera--this would be one more reason why). But, I thought they were cool. I took them the other evening when I was helping Mom get vehicles situated. I guess we were about 3 miles from town.

Happy "sprang up" along the railroad when it went through in the early 1900s. Grain elevators soon followed. The ones you see in the picture are concrete (a few may be metal, I need to go to town and check). Anyway, the original ones would have been wooden. I guess you'd call these "modern" even though some were built by POWs during WWII, which is a whole different post.

Sowing Wheat

2009-09-27T15:57:00.004-05:00

Mom has been busy sowing wheat--we plant winter wheat. My sister wanted me to post a few pictures of the process.

Mom pulls Dempster drills behind the tractor. If you look closely, you can see that the drills are really quite simple (I'm sure mom would say otherwise as she has had several chain issues this year.) A drive chain on the axle turns a rod that is inside the drill boxes. That rod turns and pushes the wheat into a hole in the bottom of the drill box. The wheat seed then travels down a tube that deposits the seed right behind a drill "shoe" that has made a small furrow in the ground for the seed. The press wheels are positioned behind the shoes to cover the seed. You can make adjustments on the drill that help control the amount of grain flow.

This is the front of the box. You can see the tubes coming out of the bottom--the grain travels down these.

This is a picture of the drill shoe. You can see that it makes a small furrow. The press wheels are in the background. I'm not sure why they call it a shoe--it's a very small sweep.

Sadie was excited this summer when we saw some of Leonardo da Vinci's machines at a museum, because she recognized the drive chain from the drills.

Originally, farmers might have only pulled one or two boxes behind their tractors, depending on the side. You can see that mom has 5 hooked together. We have a drill carrier to move the drills from field to field. Mom backs it over the drills (that are unhooked from the tractor), chains the drills to the carrier and lifts them up to transport. I'll try to get pictures of this soon. She has a grain truck that she carries the seed in. It has a small auger in it that she uses to fill the drill boxes. When planting, you have to make sure that all of the chains and rods are turning, otherwise you aren't sowing any seed. You also have to check you boxes and keep them full. Mom has been doing this enough to know about how long she should be able to go before filling the boxes.

Boots

2009-09-23T20:33:00.001-05:00

I took these pictures of T.S.'s boots the other day. We were at the fair, and, of course, he didn't want his picture taken. He did, however, want me to photograph his boots. I wasn't thrilled with the background. (T.S. was actually standing on an over-turned trash barrel.) I changed the picture to black and white and antiqued it. I can't decide which I like best: color, black and white, or antiqued.

Black and White:

Antiqued:

What do you think?

Happy Fall, Y'all!

2009-09-22T20:30:00.002-05:00

We ushered in fall with a very cool front. The change in weather was nice. The kids and I picked pumpkins today. The picture is just of our bushel basket full of mini ones. We ended up with 17 white pumpkins and 27 orange ones. We've been busy with lambs, spelling lists, and life in general. The laundry fairy is doing a better job than she was, though.

Happy Happenings

2009-09-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

The seasons seem to be changing around here. Tarantulas are on the move and we've seen evidence of snakes changing into their fall wardrobe. We're busy on the farm with chores, homework, a new instrument and life in general. I received my first "real" paycheck in nine years today.

On our way to the 4-H meeting tonight, I stopped at the post office to get the mail. I was greeted by a man as I came out. He was wondering where our gas station was. I glanced at my watch and told him he was out of luck...it was after 5:30. His expression led me to offer to get him some gas from our key pump. Just a little FYI--if you're traveling through and think it'd be fun to say you filled up in Happy, please try to make your trip on a weekday before 5:00 or 5:30. If it's a Saturday, get here before noon. We only have the one station. Quite a few of us have pump keys...but you can't always guarantee we'll be around.

I tell you this because the other evening a lady was shocked (or possibly dismayed) that we:
1. don't have a grocery store
2. don't have a convenience store (Jackie's is convenient if you are in town during the hours I mentioned before...he has fountain drinks, some candy bars, eggs on occasion and special treats for special customers sometimes, too.)
3. We can't eat out whenever we want or "run" to Sonic just because it is happy hour.

The nearest "conveniences" are about 15 miles away. Life in our small town takes planning and forethought. And, that's just the way we like it.

The joys of small town life are abundant.

Things Accomplished

2009-09-08T16:08:00.003-05:00

Not trying to toot my own horn, but things are definitely looking up around here:

Laundry is caught up (for at least the next 4 hours).
I made two casseroles last night--one for supper, one for the freezer.
Last night, I also I cooked and cut up the chicken for another casserole on the menu this week.
Two of the three bathrooms are clean. You can see the floor in the utility room. The kitchen floor is swept.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a really long tunnel, but the light is there.

Help!?!

2009-09-06T14:26:00.003-05:00

I find myself in the Land of Overwhelm--where laundry, dishes, dirty bathrooms and more are screaming for attention. I am enjoying my job. It's been a nice change of pace, although I do miss my boys (probably more than they miss me). The one thing I am not enjoying is figuring out how to take care of the house, laundry, meals, kids, etc., etc., without 1-being totally exhausted and 2-feeling like I have no free time to enjoy anything.

I know that many of you have been doing this juggling act for years now. I am a mere novice, so today I'm asking for help. If you are a working mom/dad/person, what's a tip or trick for getting life in order?

Please share...my kids and husband will thank you for it and I will be forever grateful.

Today's Thought

2009-08-31T20:17:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I watched as 20 minutes of my life vanished while I was on the phone trying to straighten out a problem with my order from Dell. The first phone call ended with the lady telling me that she'd need to hang up and call me right back. I bet you can guess how that turned out.

The second phone call had me transferred to 4 (YES, FOUR) different departments. I'm pretty sure it was an international call as well. (I will not even go into details on this.) It occurred to me, while I was on hold for all of the transfers, that if the people putting you on hold had to listen to the lovely music, they'd probably get to your call more quickly.

Why We Do What We Do

2009-08-31T00:15:00.002-05:00

Today, a friend and I were working on a task that wasn't necessarily fun. He made the comment, "I'm still wondering why we do this." Me, too. Have you ever stopped to think about why we do what we do?

Why do teachers keep trudging onward amidst mad parents, troubled children and standardized tests? Why do people spend their Sunday evenings cleaning up a community center instead of enjoying a restful day? Why do farmers toil long hours with the hope (not guarantee) of making a crop?

The only thing I can come up with is it's how people are raised (sorry, Mrs. Smith--I know it is reared, but it sounds so funny**). It must be ingrained in us or genetic. Something continues to push people to go the extra mile, to do what is difficult rather than easy, to believe in the impossible.

And, I am thankful for that something.

**Mrs. Smith was my high school English, reading and Spanish teacher. She always said, "You raise corn and rear children." I am grateful to her for teaching me many things.

Working Mom

2009-08-26T21:40:00.003-05:00

I've been a working mom for three days now. So far, it is pretty good. It's hard to say how things are going for sure since this has not been a normal week. Our church had a revival that started Sunday and ended this evening. It was a wonderful time of learning and fellowship. I will say it was hard finishing up school, rushing home and then rushing back to church. I'm looking forward to next week so our routine can officially begin (HA).

I've enjoyed my job so far. I'm an aide for the fourth grade (Poor Sadie is stuck with me all day--this could get interesting before the year is over). I have the opportunity to learn new things every day and watch amazing teachers work their magic (literally). I am so thankful my kids have the opportunity to go to school here. We truly have a great school filled with outstanding teachers who care deeply for every student.

On another note--T.S. started Kindergarten and LOVES its (so far). I was so proud of him the first day. He has continued to be excited all week about going to school.

Hopefully I will do a better job of posting as things settle down and we figure out how it is all going to work. The plan is to find the garden tomorrow and salvage what might be left. I'm hopeful the pumpkins are still alive...

New Things

2009-08-13T08:57:00.003-05:00

So, you may have noticed that my header is a little different. As of Tuesday, I will no longer be a stay-at-home mom. I have a new job. I'll be an aide in the elementary school (for my daughter's class to be exact).

Was I not content to be a stay-at-home mom? No, I was content to stay home, watch kids, eat bon bons and watch TV. It was fun and easy being home and not working. (Hope you are reading the sarcasm.) Actually, I was very content taking care of the house, our kids, other people's kids, and having flexibility to fit things into my schedule. Unfortunately, Sadie will need braces soon, the cost of living has risen considerably at our house and staying home just isn't an option any more. T.S. starts Kindergarten this year and I was fortunate enough that a postition came open at school. (That doesn't happen very often.) I am blessed to be working with some of my really good friends.

I am excited about this new venture. It'll be fun for me to be back among adults. (Hopefully I can hold up my end of the conversation.) I will miss the kids I keep and eating bon bons--it really was a plush life...

Anyway, we're off on a new adventure and it should be very fun.

Bulletin Board

2009-08-11T16:15:00.005-05:00

I finally finished one of Sadie's bulletin boards.

We took an acoustic ceiling tile (about $2 at Home Depot), painted it the same color brown as the shelves in her room, added some pink beaded fringe and pink ribbon to hang it, and...

Voila! Instant bulletin board.

Now if I can just get the other one started, hang the frames, find some curtain tie-backs, paint some flower pegs, build a window seat...Sadie's room will be finished.

(Please note: I am HORRIBLE at taking pictures of my projects--I am sure a new camera would fix this. If you'd like to contribute to the "buy Laura a new camera so we don't have to look at horrible pictures fund" please let me know.)

August???

2009-08-07T08:20:00.005-05:00

Are you like me?
Are you wondering where the summer went? How it went by so quickly?
Did you start the summer with a long to-do list only to see very few items checked off?

Are you like me? Are the few projects you did start about 3/4 finished?
Yesterday I was contemplating the "loss of summer." I realized that even though it didn't seem like we'd had much summer, we sure have fit a lot of activities in. The kids have had fun, I've had fun, I think Robby has had fun (although several more rounds of golf would have made it more fun.)

So, what is the point of summer? Is it to cram as many activities and projects in or is it to rest and relax and enjoy? I think our summer has been a fairly good combination of both. Maybe we can fit a little bit more of the rest and relaxation part in next year.

And, hey, I still have one week before I start my new (gasp) job, so maybe I can at least finish the one project I started...in between all of the Happy Days Celebration activities, buying shoes for the kids, shopping for school supplies.....

Oh well, there's always next year.

Finally!!

2009-07-28T15:26:00.010-05:00

The exciting thing in this picture is not the broccoli (although it has a nice flavor). The exciting thing is the okra in the basket. I realize it isn't enough for a meal, but the kids and I are frying it today anyway. We have been patiently (or in my case impatiently) waiting for it ALL summer.

This year has been a strange one for our garden. The summer started out unseasonably cool--good for broccoli and Sadie's third grade cabbage. Bad for okra and tomatoes. The okra is finally beginning to produce and I am hopeful that we may harvest at least one tomato before frost. We have enjoyed potatoes,onions, squash, zucchini, corn and broccoli, so I shouldn't complain. The black-eyed peas are finally producing and the green beans are thinking about blooming. We'll probably dig the rest of the potatoes next week--it is too wet to right now. We have four different varieties of pumpkins growing, too.

Am I going to be able to put up all the vegetables I had hoped? No, but there is always next summer.

Sadie's Flower Mirror

2009-07-24T18:39:00.004-05:00

I finished Sadie's mirror today. I can't decide which one of the three I like best. It is hard to see but there are thin lime-green stripes and even some glitter stripes.

Please join me in hoping that Hobby Lobby restocks soon, or I"ll have to rethink some Christmas gifts.

BTW--any project you see here is available for purchase--leave a comment and let me know if you are interested (sorry for the shameless plug, I'm saving up for a nice camera--you should really help me out, it'll make reading my posts much more enjoyable when the pictures are better.)

Project

2009-07-24T14:38:00.004-05:00

I just finished making jewelry holders for two of our friends for their birthday. I found simple wooden flowers with mirrors in the center. I painted the flower and added four cup hooks and some ribbon to hang the flower. I thought these would be neat to hang necklaces, hair bands or whatever little girls need to hang.

My next project is a picture frame that I'll paint, add cup hooks, and attach hardware cloth to the opening of the frame. The hardware cloth will be for hanging earrings. I've got several different sized frames to try. It may be a while before you see the finished product--we still have to finish Sadie's room and I have an order for 20 clip boards.

Win Free Ice Cream!!

2009-07-21T07:31:00.003-05:00

I read a blog called We are THAT Family. You can go there today to enter for a year's worth of FREE ice cream!! Way cool. While you are there you can sign up for her newsletter that is coming out in August. I think it'll be interesting.

I think you'll enjoy the blog. I've found it entertaining. Go check it out.

Post Script 2

2009-07-18T08:43:00.002-05:00

So if you read yesterday's posts you know that I had severe problems shopping the other day. Now that Wal Mart has changed their packaging, I now have to actually READ the box of resealable bags before grabbing one out. Used to, I'd grab the red box for regular and blue for freezer. Easy--just grab and go. Sadie did point out that regular has a picture of corn on it and freezer has strawberries, but my feeble mind can't process such things. I stand there thinking, "Was corn freezer? No, it was regular, I'm not sure." If Wal Mart only knew the amount of time they are taking from my day by changing things!!

Post Script

2009-07-17T13:36:00.003-05:00

While I was cooking lunch, I remembered that I meant to add a few more things to this morning's post:

While confused in Wal Mart because of starting at a different end of the store than usual, I had trouble finding items that I buy all the time. Why wasn't I finding them? I reached for the Great Value quart and gallon bags that are always in the same spot, red for regular, blue for freezer. Well, Wal Mart went and changed the Great Value packaging on me. Can you believe? Such nerve!

I finally found the bags--the new packaging is a very boring white. Sadie realized that regular have corn on them and freezer have strawberries (I think, it may be the other way around).

This confusion continued throughout the store. Each time, I thought, "You're kidding, they quite carrying ...?"

I guess I should be embarrassed that I am such a slave to routine and things being the same. No telling how long it will take me to get used to the new packaging.

Routine

2009-07-17T07:25:00.002-05:00

Wednesday Sadie and I HAD to go to the grocery store. My list was incredibly long. I go to Wal Mart--I know there are those of you that despise the place, and let's face it, it isn't my favorite. That being said, they have nearly everything I need in one place and I really have checked prices on the groceries I buy every month, and, well, it's where I shop.

I have a routine there. I park on the same aisle (I have a habit of misplacing my car). I go through the store the same way. Sadie thought it would be fun to start at the front of the grocery part rather than the back. By the time we were half-way through, I gave up and went to the back and practically started all over. It seemed to take forever and I felt like I was in a foreign land until I went back to what I was used to.

Isn't it crazy how we are creatures of habit?

Eating Locally

2009-07-10T18:09:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, without meaning to, our whole lunch was grown locally. We enjoyed roast from a beef that our relatives raised, fried yellow squash (I used the egg from our hens for the batter), roasted potatoes with onions, and zucchini bread. I guess the only things we didn't get locally are the flour, spices and shortening. I thought it was kind of cool for all of our main ingredients to be home-grown.

Flower Beds

2009-07-07T07:00:00.005-05:00

When we moved out to the farm, we removed some old cedar bushes that had just become too overgrown. The problem is, the trunks are almost impossible to remove without a tractor. If we remove them with a tractor, we will have to take part of the fence down, and, we are fairly certain that when uprooted, they'll tear up the majority of the yard (which might be the only way I'll ever get a sprinkler system...)

So, this year I happened upon a small stock-tank that had a hole in the bottom. I brought it over to the yard to use as a flower bed. (I have big plans of actually putting in a bed in front of the house, but that will require quite a bit of labor, and I'm pretty sure the dog will get in it and make a mess.)

I wanted to build a bed around the cedar stump, but didn't really want to spend much on it. This spring, to my good fortune, and mom's misfortune, we found out that the large stock tank in the pasture by the house had a hole in it. Robby was kind enough to cut the bottom out of it and cut it in half. We placed it over the stump and filled with cheap top soil, potting soil and peat. I planted flowers in both tanks and am pretty pleased with the results.

I planted perennials with the hope that they will eventually fill in the whole bed. I added some vinca (an annual) this year to fill in some gaps.

Firecracker Fun

2009-07-06T09:49:00.007-05:00

When I was a kid, my mom taught me how to "blow up cans" like she did as a child, now my mom is teaching my kids how to do it. I love the traditions we hand down from generation to generation. If you have never done this before, you need to try it--it amounts to hours of entertainment at our house.

First, find two cans that, when empty, just fit inside each other. (Mom was nice enough to find some out-of-date ones in her pantry and empty and clean them out when she came. She's also very smart--she brought a set for each kid.) Then, punch a hole in the end of the can so a firecracker will fit very snugly.

Pour a small amount of water in the large can. (You'll learn that the amount of water affects the height the can goes--that's the fun part, experimenting)

Place the can with the firecracker in like this:

Mom says the secret is to put the can in the can with water, then put the firecracker in.

Light fuse:

and get away:

The can will launch into the air.

Collect the can, and do it all over again.

To see more photos and read more about our family celebrates the Fourth, go here.

Waiting...

2009-07-01T07:00:00.003-05:00

Before we left on our trip to Hico, T.S. and I planted pumpkins. We planted the mini variety directly into the garden. I don't have the spot ready for the other varieties, so we went ahead and started them inside. We planted three different kinds: Big Max--these are supposed to get really big, Jack O'Lantern, and Lumina--these are white pumpkins. Last count was 27 seedlings. Right now we're waiting for the garden to dry out so we can transplant them.

Hopefully we'll end up with a lot of pumpkins and either be able to sell them or share them with our friends.

Garden Curiosity

2009-06-30T06:09:00.004-05:00

Sunday evening, after a hard day of work in the garden, curiosity got the best of me. I've been wondering just exactly how the potatoes are doing and how big the onions are. So, I dug a few potatoes and pulled a few onions.

I washed everything really well; chopped it into big chunks (added in some yellow squash I'd picked earlier as well as some garlic), put it on a baking sheet, seasoned it with salt and pepper, added some olive oil and put it in the oven at 375 for a while (at least 45 minutes; don't stir it, just put it in and leave it alone). The roasted vegetables were great--the best part was, we grew everything but the garlic.

Warm Zucchini Bread

2009-06-29T18:05:00.003-05:00

Last year I found this recipe for Warm Zucchini Bread on Food Network's site. It is by Emeril Lagasse. I made a few changes--pecans for walnuts and omitted the lemon zest. The kids and Nonnie really enjoy it. I make it in mini-loaf pans and leave the nuts out for the kids.

The best part is, in summer we always have zucchini on hand. You can grate and freeze the zucchini, but it becomes really watery when you thaw it, so you have to drain it.

I Made Cheese!

2009-06-26T14:33:00.008-05:00

Earlier in the week, while visiting our family in Hico, my sister-in-law Jennifer taught me how to make mozzarella cheese. It was actually a pretty simple process.

Start with 1 gallon of milk--this is whole, raw milk that they buy from a local farm family.

Pour it into a large pot, place a thermometer in and start it simmering. When the temperature reaches 55 degrees, add citric acid that has been dissolved in water. Once the temperature hits 88, add part of a rennent tablet that has been dissolved in water. After that addition, you let it simmer until it reaches 100 degrees. At that point, remove the pot from the heat.

Remove the solid part (curd) and place it in a bowl. Drain more whey off and push/knead the curd to remove as much of the liquid as possible. You repeat the process of removing the whey three more times, placing it in the microwave for 30 seconds in between times. Once you've done that and removed as much liquid as possible, you begin stretching the cheese.

Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the stretching part.

When the cheese is to the consistency you like, reform it and place in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. You can keep stretching and eventually end up with a string cheese.

The cheese was very mild. Jennifer used it on homemade pizza the next day.

Very fun, educational and tasty!

Picture of Our Day

2009-06-20T21:16:00.006-05:00

We woke up this morning to a nice rain and ended the day with a rainbow and a small shower. Not a bad way to begin and end the day. The rainbow was a full one and incredibly bright. (I guess if I had Photoshop then my picture might do it justice.) If you look closely, you can see that on one end it was a double one. T.S. said it stretched, "All the way to Grandma's."

Recipe of the Week: Italian Beef Stir Fry (or a great recipe for all that squash you have in your garden)

2009-06-18T12:10:00.003-05:00

Every summer we have a bounty of squash (both yellow and zucchini). I don't recall where I found this recipe, but it is EASY and very good. I made it this week, but forgot to take a picture (sorry), but if you could have seen it, it was very colorful and eye-appealing.

Italian Beef Stir Fry
1 pound beef round tip steak (I buy whatever thin cut beef is on sale)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/4 cup Italian dressing
2 cups cooked spaghetti
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Cut steak into 1-inch wide strips.
Cook and stir garlic in oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 1 minute.
Add beef strips, stir fry 1-1 1/2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove with slotted spoon; keep warm.
Add zucchini to same skillet; stir fry 2-3 minuets or until crisp-tender.
Return beef to skillet; add tomatoes and dressing.
Heat through; serve over hot pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cook's Notes:

I add some yellow squash in if we have it.
I use whatever tomatoes I have on hand
I usually use a little more dressing--use whatever your favorite Italian one is.

Some Thoughts

2009-06-16T21:58:00.003-05:00

I don't know how many of you have clicked over to Clay's update page (by following the link on the right). But, I thought I'd let you know that he was released from the hospital this week--to the Ronald McDonald House--he still faces lots of therapy and multiple surgeries. Seeing how many people are now following his updates got me to thinking what a crazy, cool thing the Internet can be.

Who would have ever thought that something like a blog could unite so many for a common goal? Who'd have thought that hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people would read words a stranger had written, pray for the stranger, tell their friends about it and get them involved?

The Internet is a vast place, but I am currently following blogs written on each coast, in the middle of the country and even in Australia. I feel like I personally know some of the people whose blogs I read and would seriously consider possibly trying to meet them if I were ever in their neck of the woods.

Somehow this great big world seems a little smaller and more friendly when viewed from a computer screen.

One of these things is not like the other...

2009-06-12T13:58:00.003-05:00

I had to buy eggs at the grocery story the other day (gasp). One of our hens became broody, so I decided to let her set. The problem is, we don't have a good set-up to let hens hatch eggs. The other hens kept laying eggs beside her and she kept pulling them in. To top that off, I have suspicions that the Reds are laying somewhere, but haven't had time to stalk them yet.

So, in order to be sure I had enough eggs for Sadie's birthday cake, I bought some. Robby cooked the kids scrambled eggs the other night and they were the most pale things I'd ever seen. I even questioned him as to what he did differently with them.

Can you see the difference in store bought and farm raised?
Home-grown (left) vs. store-bought egg (right)

I'm not a big fan of eggs, but I hope we don't have to buy anymore anytime soon.

FYI--I removed the eggs from the hen. We need eggs more than we need chicks. Maybe next spring I'll have the right set up.

What a Day!

2009-06-11T20:00:00.007-05:00

Several interesting things happened around here today.

First, when I went out to collect eggs, I found this one:

It's hard to see in the picture, but it doesn't have a shell. After looking it up on the Internet, it is not uncommon for this to happen periodically. This is only the second one we've had. The little bump on the top of the egg is actually part of the shell. For whatever reason, it just didn't make. Some people say you can go ahead and use it--I think I'll pass. FYI--we do offer free-choice oyster shells, so it shouldn't be a calcium deficiency that caused the shell-less egg.

Next, the kids decided they wanted to earn their slip and slide today, so Sadie cleaned the office and both kids picked up the living room. Maybe the bean jar will work after all.

Finally, the kids and I have been observing a small, green orb (for lack of a better word) on the back-side of a leaf. We were pretty sure it was an insect egg, so we put it into a bug jar to watch. Tonight Sadie noticed that the egg was clear. Upon further inspection with a magnifying glass, you could tell that something had broken out of it. Unfortunately it must have been smaller than the holes in the jar, because there was no insect to be found.

Overall, it has been an exciting, educational (but don't tell the kids that) day.

I wonder what will happen tomorrow.

The Bean Jar

2009-06-10T17:37:00.004-05:00

Last summer, I realized very quickly that when two kids who are not used to being around each other all day are, it can become very touchy (to put it mildly). My kids are huge fans of filling in charts for tasks and earning a prize when they fill their chart. T.S. is really hoping they have charts in Kindergarten. So, last summer we came up with "The Bean Jar."

Our bean jar is actually the jar Nonnie used to store her pinto beans in. I love the label. Please note the ironing hanging in the doorway in the background. I just wanted to point out that I am domestic from time to time.
It is really quite simple. We took a jar, drew lines at different intervals, assigned a reward for each line and then begin filling it with beans. When the kids do what they are supposed to do (without fussing) and are kind to one another, we add beans. When we don't quite meet expectations, beans come out.

Last summer, they earned:

a snow cone maker--which was probably one of the best investments we've made
a trip to Jump-N-Jive to bounce on all of the inflatable stuff
a trip to Wonderland--Amarillo's small amusement park.

This summer we are working towards:

a slip and slide for two people to race down at once (complete with boogie boards)
another trip to Wonderland
a visit to Mr. Gatti's or Chuck E. Cheese

The best part about the whole project is the kids learn to work together towards a common goal.

Notecard Winner

2009-06-03T16:58:00.005-05:00

The other day I was clicking "Next Blog" and came across one titled "The Photo Seen." (Isn't that a cool title?) I found myself enjoying some very nice artwork and entering a contest. Well, I won!!
Mary sent me a set of ten "Tea Time" note cards (I'm afraid my photo doesn't do them justice.)
They are very high quality and I love every picture. I can't wait to use them.

I love it when I stumble upon an interesting site. Go over to her blog and enjoy her photography and from there go visit her Etsy Shop to see more of her work. Thanks, Mary!

Goodness Snakes!

2009-05-28T07:26:00.003-05:00

This was on our back porch this morning:

It was a baby rattlesnake. (The way I cropped the picture sort of makes it look larger than it was.)

I heard the dog yelp and went to see what it was. They cat was smelling the snake. Robby got a shovel and took care of it. The poor cat didn't have a clue what it was and kept trying to play with it after Robby cut off the head. I should have laid it over the fence belly up; that is supposed to bring rain.

Thankfully we saw it before all the kids were here to play today. The little ones are what scare me, you sometimes don't hear them. Some people say their venom is more concentrated and therefore worse if you get bitten. I hope we don't find out. We're on high alert today, there's a mama to that baby around here somewhere.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T17:57:00.006-05:00

Our small town has an incredible Memorial Day service each year. We gather in the cemetery around the area where the flag pole, our historical marker and the angel sculpture are.

The angel was carved from the trunk of a tree that had died.

Our cub scout troop raises the flag. Ministers or representatives from each church give an address (they rotate from year to year whose turn it is) and offer prayers. Members of our 4-H clubs present a program, and most importantly, our veterans are recognized.

Sadie presented the Navy flag as part of the program.

It is a time when our community comes together to honor those who have sacrificed and gone before us. It's a time of reunion and homecoming. It's a time when we visit family members' graves and show our kids who is buried where. It's a time when we tell stories and remember all of those who have been part of our lives.

T.S. helped mom put out flowers this year. He was quite pleased with himself. Sadie used to talk mom and Nonnie into letting her take the "old" flowers home. She wanted to help, but she needed to find out what her role in the program was.

This year there was a good turnout. Our population of World War II veterans is slowly declining. It was neat to see multiple generations of families sharing in tradition that makes our town unique.

My sister wrote a beautiful post here; she pretty much said all I wanted to say.

What I did today (so far)...

2009-05-23T16:11:00.002-05:00

Today has been a fun day for me. Robby and the kids went to play golf, so I have gotten to do the following:

Visit Nonnie (my grandmother) uninterrupted and even share lunch.
Transplant my tomato (20), broccoli (4) and jalapeno pepper(4) plants.
Search for and find a sprinkler that works and start the water on some dry spots in the yard.
Work on Bible school stuff.
Put the cages on the tomato plants (note to self: 20 cages=40 posts to hammer in; maybe make sure Robby is around for that next year)

I enjoyed my time in the garden--listening to birds, a Bob White quail, and thunder in the distance. The day is still young and there is still much to do. I believe I'll go sit on the porch, watch the sprinkler and listen to the thunder.

Everything else can wait.

The View from the Kitchen Sink

2009-05-21T07:52:00.002-05:00

I was standing at the sink yesterday looking out the window. I realized how much I love glancing out that window to see what is happening outside.

I can see the garden. Right now the potato plants are really growing, we're still waiting for the newly sprouted seeds to take off. Soon, I'll look at the garden and want to be out in it as other chores keep me in the house.

I can see the kids on the trampoline. Often, I can watch them without them even knowing I am there. Last night, they were playing "Tramp Ball." Robby chips soft golf balls towards the kids as they are jumping on the trampoline. The kids' goal is to catch the ball. There were smiles and giggles all around.

Petunia, the dog, sometimes realizes I'm at the window. She will stand outside looking up and in at me--silent conversations that unfortunately may be ending sooner than we'd like.

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to glance out when our covey of quail is on the move. Last summer they had a very predictable schedule.

Out the window, I can see cats sunning and playing, chickens scratching and plants and kids growing. The window seems to frame all of these happenings and make them into photographs in my mind.

What's your favorite view?

Things to Do

2009-05-19T11:33:00.004-05:00

The end of the school year is approaching, and with each passing day, the to-do list seems to get a little longer: 4 sets of firefly wings for 3rd grade musical, VBS supplies, summer Sunday school curriculum, plant tomatoes in garden, hoe the garden, mow the yard, flower beds, attempt to schedule time to visit family over the summer....the list keeps growing and growing.

So am I stressed or panicked? No. Rather than be overwhelmed, I've decided to tackle this one item at a time. Each task, when looked at individually, is really quite simple. We'll just keep plowing away, one thing at a time, until the list is completed.

Unfortunately, I've found out that a mother's list is never completed. Items just keep getting added to it.
Anyone want to come fold and put away laundry???

Where Have We Been??

2009-05-16T20:18:00.003-05:00

I just realized I had not posted all week. Usually I have so much to say. It's not that I don't have much to say, it's just that I seem to have lots to do. This week has been a busy one at our house:
dance pictures and rehearsal Monday, UIL contest Wednesday, dress rehearsal Friday, and life in general on the rest of the days. It seems that this time of year is always busy. As a mom, I sometimes think we are over doing with all the activities. But, we all seem to be making it okay, and it gives me an excuse for the state of my house.

Today was a day of rest--literally. It was very chilly and rainy today, so the plan to go see the 4,000 year old horse bones at Lake Mackenzie was put on hold, again. Robby and I watched TV in our room most of the morning, then I slept most of the afternoon. What were the kids doing? Cooking, art projects, movies and getting along (I think I should try the sleeping all day more, they don't get along when I am awake. They also seem to be much more self-sufficient without me).

Do I feel guilty for doing nothing all day? ~~Yes~~ Not really.

Should I???

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T13:30:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, mom treated us to supper at El Camino. When we returned back to Nonnie's room at the nursing home, we took this picture:

The picture isn't fantastic, but the quality of the picture isn't as important as who's in the picture. There are four generations in this picture. Growing up, I knew two of my great-grandmothers. I spent time with them and have vivid memories of time spent with them. I've been blessed to know both my grandmothers and make many memories with them.

Sadie had the opportunity to know my Grandma Gracie for a little while. She was very young when Grandma passed away, but she vaguely remembers her. Unfortunately, Parkinson's had set in and Sadie didn't get to know Grandma like we did. My children have been very blessed to know both their grandmothers and even more blessed to spend time with their great-grandmother, Nonnie. Sadie can still remember helping her make biscuits. T.S. and Sadie both enjoy going to visit Nonnie at the nursing home. They are making memories there now.

Sadie and T.S. love spending time with my mom, their GeGe. They are always ready to help her with farming. They know exactly where the popsicles and microwave popcorn are at her house.

I just wanted to capture four generations of our family together, I'm sure Sadie will someday understand what an incredible thing that was/is.

Look what came in our house last night...

2009-05-07T08:47:00.004-05:00

Every time I think I need to remove the large wooden door between the kitchen and dining room (we rarely close it and it takes up space) something like this happens:

Robby stepped outside last night to see what Petunia was barking at, I looked up to see this lovely mud swallow perched on the curtain rod. By the time I got my camera, it perched on the picture--for those of you who recognize the frame, rest assured, the picture was not harmed. Anyway, it took Robby quite a while to take care of the situation. AsI stood holding the front door open, I tried not to laugh.

Mud swallows have been the bane of my grandmother's existence for as long as I can remember. Now that we live in her house, I am a little more understanding. They like to build their nests in the most inconvenient places. And, they make a huge mess under them. The awning at our back door still has measuring spoons and remnants of plastic bags hanging from it--all attempts by my grandmother to ward off the birds.

I remember once when one got in, it wouldn't go out--you'd have to know my Nonnie to appreciate the site of her chasing it around the kitchen with a broom. Needless to say, that swallow didn't make it out alive.

I looked up some information about mud swallows, supposedly they eat thousands of insects, most notably, mosquitoes a day. Based on my mosquito bites, I'd say these guys around our house aren't doing the job. I also found this interesting site that offers animal and bird control. For a small fee they'll come to your house to help with anything from rats to alligators and birds to coyotes. They'll even give you help over the phone for a nominal fee--maybe that should be my next job: professional animal control.

I guess for now we'll just keep the door between the kitchen and dining room.

Stay-at-Home Mom, P.I.

2009-05-05T12:35:00.001-05:00

Today I had a mission: to find where the chickens were laying their eggs. We'd been having a low egg count lately so I knew they were hiding them somewhere. I waited until later than usual to let the chickens out of the pen for their daily outing. Two of the Rhode Island Reds immediately took off towards the pens. I followed them, but couldn't find a nest.

The dew was so heavy that the chickens and I left footprints in the wet weeds.

I finally found the nest in a pile of tumble weeds. The hen was sitting on 6 eggs. Since I didn't know how old they were--either 3 or 6 days, depending on if both chickens had been laying, I had to get rid of them.

I went back out later to check the nest in the pens. To my surprise, the Reds had come back to their house to lay. I did get the chance to stalk Wild Momma Cat this time. She is the mother to the three cats we bottle fed. I knew she had babies, but hadn't been able to track her. When I went outside, she was eating the cat food. (One drawback to bottle-feeding cats, if you don't teach them to hunt, they are dependent on you.) I was able to follow her to the old chicken house--now a storage room for lots of junk--that is on the back end of the shop. I looked in the window and saw three kittens. At the time, I thought I only saw two, but much to my surprise, the first picture I took caught a second kitten in the lower right corner.

I'm not brave enough to go in and investigate further--there is a good story about my sister and looking for cats in there that I'll have to share sometime.

T.S. can't get over how much they look like our cats. I've tried to explain that they all have the same mother, but he doesn't seem to get it.

Who knew that a morning of chicken stalking could turn into so much fun discovery?

Picture of our Day--Today

2009-05-05T11:18:00.003-05:00

I didn't mean to have multiple posts today, but sometimes more things happen in one day than others. We woke up to heavy fog and dew today. It is incredibly wet--you'll see more of that in my post later on stalking chickens. Anyway, when I was stalking the chickens I took the above picture of "wildflowers." I want to point out that I used no photoshop--it's straight out of my point and shoot camera.

Picture(s) of our Day--Yesterday

2009-05-05T07:46:00.005-05:00

Run, Bob run! there is a giant trying to get in!

These need captions (I tried on the first one, but it is too early for my brain to work). Feel free to leave one in the comments.

CATS

2009-05-03T19:09:00.003-05:00

Despite the scare of contracting H1N1 (formerly known as swine flu), Robby and I travelled to the big city today to see a touring production of CATS. I had seen it in Spanish in Mexico City and didn't want to pass up the chance to see it in English in Amarillo. It was a fun afternoon--lunch, a theatrical production and a little shopping with your husband all made for a pretty good day. I've had more culture in a week than a usually get in a year. My reading list is growing longer I've added T.S. Eliott to the list with Maya Angelou.

Cake!

2009-05-03T19:02:00.006-05:00

Every year I make the kids' birthday cakes. We've had everything from a star to Lightning McQueen and a golf course to Dora the Explorer. This year T.S. wanted an "army cake."

So, I tried my hand at "sculpting" a cake. Here's what we ended up with--T.S. was thrilled with the end results.

The pictures aren't great--my camera doesn't seem to be taking very good ones, and I haven't gotten used to the one my sweet sister is letting me borrow.

An Evening with Maya Angelou

2009-04-28T07:55:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Go to my friend Christy's blog to see her thoughts on the event.
Last night I had the privilege of enjoying a lecture given by Maya Angelou. Her message was inspiring and her stories, songs and poems were entertaining. What made the evening even better was attending it with my good friend and some of her students.

Angelou challenged the audience to "be a rainbow in someone's clouds" and to remember and appreciate those that have been rainbows in our clouds. I'm thankful for the opportunity to have attended what I would call a great cultural event. And, I only had to travel 15 minutes to the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon to do it. The Panhandle offers numerous cultural opportunities if we'd just take the time to seek them out. (I'm attending CATS on Sunday--yay!)

Playa Lakes, Part 2

2009-04-26T15:34:00.005-05:00

The other day, I told you about the playa lakes on our place.

On our adventure the other day, the kids and I saw several ducks and at least a dozen American Avocets. These birds are really cool looking--their beaks are long and skinny. They eat invertebrates in the water. When we came to the water, the ducks immediately flew off, but the Avocets stayed and ~~talked to~~ yelled at us. I'd bet they are probably breeding/nesting, since they wouldn't go far.

It is amazing to me how fast the birds found our water and how quickly the water has life in it that can sustain birds. Playa lakes are really their own little ecosystems.

What a Difference a Week (and 2 inches of rain) Makes

2009-04-24T22:51:00.005-05:00

The kids and I went on a grand adventure in the pastures this evening. We saw some really cool things--more on that after I do some research. Remember the pictures from this post and how dry we were?

Here are some pictures of the draw in the east pasture looking west that we took today:

This is in the pasture by the house:

I realize there is still brown grass, but the native grass (Buffalo) has really greened up. The brown grass you see is taller grass that wasn't eaten off by cattle.

Greener Everyday

2009-04-23T18:11:00.003-05:00

Between taking chickens to school for Sadie to show first grade and working on earning points for Mother of the Year, I haven't had time to go back out into the pasture to take pictures. I did take these from our house yesterday. The plan is to head to the pasture for tomorrow evening's adventure. But, we are getting greener.

Recipe of the Week: Doughnuts

2009-04-21T16:34:00.004-05:00

I decided to treat the kids to homemade doughnuts today. They loved them! I'm thinking it elevated my standing for the coveted Mother of the Year Award. I even got two thumbs up.

I know, I can read your mind. You're thinking, "Doughnuts? Who has time for that?"

You do, if you take a little help from me.

Doughnuts

1 can refrigerated biscuits

shortening or oil

powdered sugar

1. Cut biscuits in half (Sadie did this for me with our kitchen scissors--pretend I took a picture.)

2. Heat oil or shortening. Fry biscuits until golden; drain on paper towel

3. Sprinkle with powdered sugar

Cook's Notes:

We used to have a doughnut hole cutter, but it disappeared, so we just cut them in half.
I find that the mid-priced biscuits (I buy in packs of four) are the best.
Make sure the oil is hot enough when you start or they'll absorb it. Also, don't let the oil get too hot or they will brown too quickly and not get done in the middle.
Cheating? Maybe, but they sure were fast and easy this afternoon after school. (And, very tasty if I do say so myself.)

Playa Lakes

2009-04-20T08:10:00.005-05:00

Every morning since our big rain I have been fortunate enough to look out my east window and see the sun coming up over a lake in our pasture. We have several playa lakes around here. To make a long story short, they are lakes (pond might be a better term) that appear after rain and hold water for a short period of time. If we keep getting moisture, we might have them all summer. Or, we may just have them few weeks. Either way, they are fascinating as they create their own ecosystem.

Playa lakes are very important to birds--especially migratory ones. I noticed a pair of ducks on one the other day. Some people think they are important recharge areas for the Ogallala Aquifer--our underground water source (others question how much recharge they contribute because of their clay bottoms that help hold water.)

You can read more about playa lakes here and here.

My picutres are not the best--please note in the first one, the green you see is wheat. We had to disaster it already because of our dryness during the growing season. I'll post pictures of our pasture when it greens up.

Happy Draw

2009-04-17T17:43:00.008-05:00

A view of our house from the dam in the pasture.

The draw was running last night--something that doesn't happen very often anymore. The boys and I ventured out on the four-wheeler to get an up-close view of the water that's left today. (because, well, we don't see water in the draw that often)
This is where Happy Draw flows through the pasture south of our house. You can see Happy in the distance (off to the west). The draw is dammed up in our pasture. I'm guessing they did this to water livestock. I've seen water flow around the dam once or twice in my lifetime; we were nowhere near close to that last night.

Happy Draw starts in Randall County (north of here) and flows south until it reaches the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River. It is so-named because a bunch of Cowboys were so "happy" to find water. I looked up a brief explanation of all of that here. It is/was a spring-fed draw. I don't know if the spring still flows. I'm pretty sure it is dried up. Either way, lots of people have dammed the draw in places so it wouldn't run all the time.

In 1891, Hugh Currie established a homestead and post office on a site near the trail that followed the draw. A stage coach exchange was set up here as well. (We have a dugout--or the impression of a dugout--that was a line camp as part of the JA Ranch on our land--it would have set very close to the draw.) The original Happy is about 2 miles Northwest of our house. When the railroad came through, Happy moved two miles west to its present location. You can read more about that here.

These last pictures are of the draw as it meanders through the pasture just East of our house. We spent lots of evenings following the draw with my grandmother and poking sticks in holes. You can see that we have been extremely dry. The native grass in the pasture has been waiting for moisture before it greens up. I imagine that we'll be green sometime next week.

Bad Hair

2009-04-16T09:16:00.002-05:00

These guys give a whole new meaning to the term, "bad hair day":

The chicks are growing--but they are still in that in-between-place where they are losing the fuzz and the feathers aren't in good yet.

TAG!!

2009-04-14T18:33:00.003-05:00

My sister tagged me today. Here are the rules:

1. Choose the fourth folder where you store pictures on your computer.
2. Choose the fourth picture.
3. Explain that picture.
4. Tag 4 other people.

The fourth folder on my computer is titled "cows." I took these pictures of the cows/calves in our pens the other day. This is one of the calves.

I tag Janda, Christy (no pressure girl, when you get around to it will be great), Jennifer Bow and Granny Sue.

Let me know if you decide to participate ladies.

Why I keep kids...

2009-04-14T13:00:00.003-05:00

Cheap labor, plain and simple:

Today the boys scrubbed cabinets, walls, baseboards and the kitchen floor while I sat on the couch eating bon bons and watching my soaps.

Seriously, I started scrubbing and T.S. wanted to help. Then C.W. came in and wanted to join the fun. T.S. even scrubbed the table legs. This is definitely a good skill for boys to hone.

Easter Morning Fog

2009-04-13T10:55:00.001-05:00

We woke up Easter morning to fog. We were blessed this weekend with over an inch of rain. We are so thankful for the moisture.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-10T20:16:00.002-05:00

The boys and I made cupcakes today. (more pictures here)

Planting Potatoes

2009-04-10T20:10:00.003-05:00

The kids raced down the newly made rows.

My great-grandmother always said to plant potatoes on Good Friday, so this year we actually did that. After we planted them we put hay on top of the rows. Hopefully it will hold moisture in (we are having to water right now because it is so dry) and keep weeds down.

Our seed beds look really big because we make them with the same implement you would use in a regular-sized field. When it is time to water, we have a cool pipe with holes drilled to fit the spacing of the rows so we can water four at a time. A bolt fits in the hole to stop it up if one row gets soaked before the rest is out. I'm afraid we are going to have to pre-water this year, so pictures of that eventually.

Our seed potatoes: Red Lasoda and White Kennebec

Recipe of the Week: Goo

2009-04-09T14:06:00.007-05:00

It is windy again today. I decided to make goo for Sadie's class Easter party. I'm going to put it in individual bags and into plastic Easter eggs to use as BINGO prizes. I got this recipe out of a book called "Family Fun's Crafts." This recipe is easy and it entertains the kids for quite a while. I generally have all of the ingredients handy.

Goo
8 ounces white glue
food coloring (optional)
1 cup water
20 Mule Team Borax

Combine glue, food coloring and 3/4 cup water in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining water and 1 Tbsp. borax. Add the borax mixture to the glue and stir. It will immediately make a blob.

At this point I add a small amount of water to the container I mixed the borax in (because there will be a little bit of borax still in the cup) and then add that to the goo. You'll want to continue working the "blob" until it is no longer soupy--the best way to do this is with both hands.

When it is all together, you're done. I divided it among the kids and let them get busy.

Notes:

I dump the bottle of glue (I use Elmer's--it isn't quite an 8 oz. bottle anymore) into the bowl, then pour the 3/4 cup water into the bottle and shake it up to get all of the glue out.
The recipe says that food coloring is optional--but what's the fun in plain goo?
This recipe is really fool-proof as near as I can tell.
This keeps quite a while in a sealed container.
It will take the shape of whatever container you put it in. If you make it into a ball, it will eventually flatten back out.
The more gentle you are, the more things you can get it to do.

I can nearly guarantee hours (at least large blocks of minutes) of fun with this stuff. Adults are even taken with it. Try it and let me know how much fun you had! Go here to see more pictures of the boys playing with it.

Memories

2009-04-07T18:45:00.002-05:00

On a friend's blog today I read about sandwiches she used to eat as a child. That made me remember that mom used to fix me (or let me fix?) a ketchup sandwich or two. We'd put them in a little orange, plastic picnic basket and I'd walk over to my great-grandmother's (we called her Memaw) to visit. I think Memaw couldn't believe that mom let me eat ketchup sandwiches. They really are good, you know, especially on very fresh, white bread.

I can't believe that Memaw used to let us stick a straw in an orange to suck the juice out, instead of making us eat the orange. She always had lemon drops for us as well and Chicken 'n' Biscuit crackers (I think that's what they were.) All of those things tasted so good at her house.

Memaw always did mom's ironing. She loved to iron. When I was at her house, she would lower the ironing board and let me iron dad's handkerchiefs. I'd work very hard at it and put the finished, neatly pressed and folded kerchiefs in a pile on her TV--remember the big console ones?

I seem to remember that she always had a little "something" in her electric skillet on the counter. She'd warm that up for her supper, I guess. It's amazing that she didn't die from food poisoning. My other great-grandmother would leave all the dishes leftover from Sunday dinner out. She'd just cover them and heat them up later. (and I seem to have survived my childhood unscathed) Now we kill ourselves to get everything in the refrigerator.

It's amazing how mention of one thing can lead you down a road of happy memories. It's also amazing that I grew up knowing two great-grandmothers. Oh to go back to the simple time of childhood and ketchup sandwiches.

Happy, Texas--The Town Without a Frown

2009-04-06T08:01:00.006-05:00

Yes, there really is a place called "Happy." I've been thinking for a while about posting a little about our town. We'll start today with some frequently asked questions and interesting facts.

Is everyone "happy in Happy?" For the most part, yes. If you would have asked that question on Saturday when the wind was blowing around 70 mph there might have been some who were unhappy.

The film Happy, Texas was not filmed here. We have very few trees and certainly have no orange groves. As far as the plot of the movie, to my knowledge nothing remotely like that has ever happened here.

A Blue Bell Ice Cream commercial was filmed here when I was a kid. At that time Blue Bell was only available in the area close to the Blue Bell plant. The commercial said something like, "We'd be happier in Happy if we had Blue Bell Ice Cream."

Parts of the movie Leap of Faith with Steve Martin were filmed in Happy and in the area. Also, a French film did some shooting here.

Happy has a population of around 675. We have one fillin' station, 1 cafe, 4 churches, 1 fantastic school (K-12), 2 grain elevators, and 1 bank (Happy State Bank). What we lack in size we make up for in the type of community we are. More on Happy (how we got our name, some history) this week as time permits.

An Explanation

2009-04-03T22:25:00.007-05:00

I found this poem today. It sort of explains why my house is in the condition it is in.

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Although I'm not rocking any babies anymore (I tried to rock Tryce today, he informed me he was too big.) I thought this was a neat poem.

Recipe of the Week: Beef Stir Fry

2009-04-03T11:04:00.003-05:00

I've had this recipe for quite a while. I believe it came out of Quick Cooking magazine. This is a simple, quick supper. T.S. even likes this.

Flavorful Beef Stir-Fry

2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. white wine, apple juice or water
1 lb. boneless beef round steak, cut into thin strips
3 c. broccoli florets
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 pkg (6 oz) frozen pea pods, thawed
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided.
1 can (8 oz) sliced water shestnuts, undrained

Hot cooked rice

1. Combine cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce and wine, apple juice or water until smooth.
2. Add beef, toss to coat; set aside.
3. In a large skillet, stir fry broccoli, carrots, pea pods and onion in 1 Tbsp. oil for one minute.
4. Stir in water chestnuts; cover and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove and keep warm.
5. In the same skillet, stir-fry beef in remaining oil until meat reaches desired doneness.
6. Return vegetables to pan; toss.
7. Serve over rice.

Cook's Notes:

I use apple juice (we always have it on hand); sometimes I add a little more juice to the meat if I think the sauce is too thick.
I also add minced garlic and onion to the sauce when the beef is "marinating."
I use whatever thin steak or cut of beef is on sale.
I generally cook the vegetables a little longer, because that's how our family likes it--this recipe is all about personal preference--I add more carrots, because T.S. likes them.
I use fresh snow peas or sugar snap peas--I generally find them in a package in the bagged salads area.

Texas Bluebonnets

2009-03-30T23:21:00.002-05:00

These were taken over spring break in the Brenham/Washington on the Brazos Area.

Reminds me of Hobart and Anna Mae--their front yard used to be full of bluebonnets each spring. They'd invite all of the elementary kids over for a treat and a lesson in pioneer games. Remember walking on stilts made of cans and string and blowing bubbles through wooden thread spools? I think we even rolled a hoop using a stick a time or two also.

I need to check into planting some.

Winners: Part 2

2009-03-30T11:35:00.004-05:00

I also posted this picture and asked you to caption it. My sister and her students were the only ones to do so, so they are the winners. I'm arranging that prize with my sister. Here are their captions:

Jennifer: "Supper Time"

Tatiana (4th Grader): "The Big Fat Cow Eating Hay"

Buck (4th Grader): "Getting Cattle"

I still haven't come up with anything catchy. She just looked at me as if to say, "What are you looking at?" Maybe she is a little self-conscious about her lovely horns or her lack of table (hay ring) manners.

WINNERS

2009-03-30T08:22:00.006-05:00

The other day I posted this picture and asked you to tell me the story of how the shoe got up in the tree. I'm not very good at picking winners, so I decided that everyone (all five of you) will get some sort of prize.

Janda and Pace are the "grand prize winners." Pace, who just turned 5, thinks that Superman flew up and got his shoe hung in the tree then had to leave fast to save someone so he left it there.
Pace will receive a bottle of bubbles and Janda will get a bottle cap necklace and 1 dozen eggs from our "farm."

My sister asked a few of her students what they thought:
Tatiana (4th Grader): a crow got it and took it for a nest.
Buck (4th Grader): maybe a squirrel took it and placed it there to keep his nuts in.
My sister's idea: the shoe is actually just part of the tree branch and it just looks like shoe. Just a trick from Mother Nature.
I'll be contacting my sister to see what an appropriate treat for her students is--we wouldn't want anyone at school to get into trouble.

Granny Sue had the most educational response. "This is what I have heard from a reputable source (policeman): it can be a signal that it's a place to get drugs--like a sales corner." She also suggested some more "happy" ideas. I'll be sending her a bottle cap necklace as well.

I did google "shoe in tree" and found out that some "shoe trees" have sprung up all over the country and in different parts of the world as forms of art. Sadly, the drug/gang related activity was also mentioned. Some cities are having trouble with shoes in power lines signalling places to buy drugs. Although this is something we'd all rather not know about, I think it is important for us to be aware of such things.
Thank you all for participating. It was fun.

More Snow Pictures

2009-03-28T16:18:00.006-05:00

We had a little more snow overnight. By noon, there were already bare spots and now all that is left are the drifts. We had some really cool drifts in our pens and in the corner of our fence line. The kids had fun in the snow. You can see more pictures of them here. You can also click on these images to make them larger.

It is kind of strange to think we were experiencing a blizzard yesterday and the temps are in the high 40s today. The wind is still blowing, so I am sure there is a wind chill. We learned we are going to have to do some upgrading to the chicken house so we'll be ready if we ever have a "real" winter.

I'm sure this may be overkill on the pictures, but I really thought the drifts and their shapes were cool. I also liked Robby and T.S.'s shadows. Poor T.S. had serious mitten problems this morning.

The Day in Pictures

2009-03-27T18:23:00.008-05:00

A blizzard has been blowing through our area today. We've been fortunate to be on the edge of most of it. The following pictures chronicle the day from sun-up to about 5:00pm. I tried to take the windmill from our front porch throughout the day for a reference.

It was interesting around 5:00, we had drifts and bare spots. The ground temperature is warm enough that it was slushy. The wind blew it off of unprotected places. We had bands of snow blow through throughout the day and are expecting a little more this evening. North of us it is much worse.

UPDATE: The story and caption contest are open until Sunday--be brave and enter!

Spring? Blizzard?

2009-03-26T21:16:00.001-05:00

Here is an example of crazy Texas Panhandle weather:
We are in a blizzard watch for Friday. Notice how we'll warm right back up by Sunday. Also notice our ever-present wind. T.S. wants to move to Houston (Magnolia) because, "They don't have wind there."

How did that end up there?

2009-03-25T08:48:00.003-05:00

During spring break we stopped at the picnic area at Washington on the Brazos State Park. While watching my kids and enjoying the spring day, I happened to look up and see this:

I asked the kids how it got there, Sadie came up with a story about elves. When T.S. heard "elf," he announced that an elephant put it there.

So, what's the story? How did that shoe get in the tree?

Again, possible blog giveaway--if more than four people comment, I'll pick a winner and send him/her a fabulous prize.

(see yesterday's post: Picture of the Day)

Picture of the Day

2009-03-24T22:24:00.004-05:00

According to T.S., this is a bull because it has two...

horns. Actually it is one of the mama cows currently residing in our pasture.

What would you put as a caption for this photo??

No one ever comments, but if someone comes up with a great title/caption, I might just have my first blog give away. Prize to be determined.

Foreshadowing

2009-03-24T11:17:00.006-05:00

When your spring break starts with traffic like this:

You should take that as a sign of things to come.

We travelled down I-35 and got stuck in traffic. It turned out to be quite comical. We laughed at people crossing the median and wondered if any of them would get stuck.

We saw some bluebonnets, too.

Turns out that taking little things like this in stride helped out later in the trip. We planned a visit to Brenham to tour the Blue Bell Creamery. Turns out, the rest of Texas did too. The line was long (sorry, didn't think of a picture until we were already gone) and we were unable (or unwilling to wait in a long line not knowing if we'd make the tour or not) to take the tour.

Spring Break

2009-03-23T21:12:00.002-05:00

This year we travelled to my sister's in Magnolia. We had a ball with the kids and even planned a great adventure for one day (that's another post). In the end, we found out that the kids were content to make their own adventures on their own time.

The highlight of the week for the kids may have been playing in the sprinkler and then having manicures and pedicures as well as makeovers when the very talented neighbor came to stay so the adults could take a trip to College Station. The best part of the week for me?

Seeing my sister and her family
NO responsibilities--the harsh reality of real life hit me like a brick today
Going to College Station and hanging out with adults--remembering good college times and making new memories as well

More to come--just haven't had time to upload pictures or organize my thoughts (don't hold your breath on the last one)

Bucket List: Part 3

2009-03-14T10:56:00.004-05:00

I promised my list of things I'd REALLY like to do. So, here it is in no particular order:

Disney World--this has always been a dream of mine
Lots of family adventures
Spend more time doing what I enjoy than doing what I don't
Have a job that doesn't feel like a job
Surround myself with people that make me smile and feel needed and loved
Go on a cruise
Go to Las Vegas and Hawaii and Alaska and lots of national parks...okay, you get the idea--travel to some cool places some with my kids, some with friends and some just with Robby

What's on your list?

BTW--I don't think any list like this is ever complete or set in stone. It is static--always changing. What was a priority one day may not be the next...

Bucket List: Part 2

2009-03-13T10:50:00.004-05:00

So yesterday I decided you could have two categories of Bucket Lists. One would be things you'd love to do/try but realistically probably never will. Why would you want to make a list like this? Well, one can dream, I guess.

Things on this list might include:

Travel to the moon
Visit every continent
Jump out of an airplane
Win the lottery (of course if this happens, all of the above might be attainable)
Win a Nobel Prize
End world hunger

See where I'm going with this? Me neither.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is okay to have big dreams and goals. But what may be more important than creating some check list of things to do before we die is to just live. Live in a way that fulfills you and makes the need for the list nonexistent.

Still to come: my list of things I'd REALLY like to do someday.

Lost/Found: Talley Cat

2009-03-12T22:37:00.003-05:00

Tonight, panic was in the air. Talley Cat was no where to be found. He'd been missing most of the afternoon. I figured he'd had enough of T.S. and would return when it was time to go to the garage for the night.

We returned home from basketball practice and I began the task of putting up the chickens and cats for the night. We've been closing the cats in the garage. We had been leaving the door cracked--until Robby came face-to-face with the skunk. The cats are pampered. We haven't made them take the leap to being totally outside yet (remember, they were bottlefed--for more info on that, search this blog and the family blog for cats and kittens). Anyway, Talley was no where around. The kids kept asking me where he was, when I had seen him last and if he would come back.

I told my teary eyed daughter that that was the trouble with cats in the country, especially boy cats, they sometimes disappear and never return. As I lay in bed, I couldn't help trying to remember the last time I had seen the cat and it hit me. I had gone out to Robby's school pickup to look for some keys. I remembered tripping over Talley as I walked out to the pickup. I also remembered that Talley has this annoying habit of jumping into cars when the door is open.

So, I bundled up (it is cold tonight), grabbed a flashlight and headed out to the pickup. Sure enough, there was Talley, curled up on the seat waiting for me. I didn't check for damages (it was dark after all). I guess I should see if he made a mess in the morning.

I do know one thing, I am definitely up for Mother of the Year. Wait until I tell Sadie this story in the morning.

A Bucket List??

2009-03-12T07:44:00.003-05:00

On the way home from taking Sadie to school today I was debating a blog post. Should it be "the evils of the time change" or what? Then the morning show we were listening to on the radio had a call-in question. "What is the one thing you'd like to do before you die?" That got me thinking.

Do I have a bucket list? Do I need a bucket list? Aren't we taught to live life every day and be content with what we have? Should you make a list so you have direction in your life? What if you make a list and it is full of things that never get accomplished?

So, what do you think? Should we all make a bucket list? If so, should we specify how many things on it? Can you narrow life down to a top ten or top five list?

What's on your bucket list?