One thing I just can't tolerate is lying. I have absolutely no respect for someone who lies. Zero.
This is the one drawback about the internet, and blogs. A person can say anything they like about their home, their life, their experiences, and it can be a total fantasy or it can actually be the truth. Why would a person want to make up lies about their life? I totally don't get that. Is it a cry for some attention? This would be my first thought.
I have been reading blogs about horses for some time now, and man, some of the stories I read on here. You would think it should give people a heads up when a blogger talks one day about the western pleasure champions they have ridden ( in a dressage test, no less), and then the next talks about making a TB racing stallion into a jumper... wow... how many total years experience does a person have to accumulate to become that caliber of a trainer? Because I can personally state, that blogger, wanted to take a beginning dressage lesson with me, because ( and their words to me were) they had never had a real riding lesson. Just because someone talks the talk.... doesn't necessarily mean they "walk the walk". Some people are literally able to soak up what they read and then apply it as knowledge, even if they know next to nothing about the subject personally. This is very sad to me. I have run into this type of person from time to time in my life, sadly I am not able to read these people right off the bat. I wish I could, it would save me much stress in my life. I wonder how blind folks are to this kind of crap? Maybe it is because I know someone in real life, and the way their life really is. I feel sorry for the folks sucked into these people's internet dramas. It seems never ending...
I happily, can state this type of person is out of my life, and the stress in my life is cut in half. I no longer have to worry about phone calls in the late evening, with some type of drams, tearful messages because there is no money for hay/electricity/phone/ you name it...
I don't have time for liars, I feel compelled to state clearly my position again.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Minnesota N Ice
Had one of those heart-stopping moments last evening headed home from town. I like to drive a scenic route past the Crow River ( it is a concrete paved county road), it is quite pretty most of the time with the view of the river winding its way through the countryside. It comes fairly close to the road in one spot just after crossing a bridge toward the south. Well, last night as we were crossing the bridge, just ahead I suddenly saw a flash of silver cross my lane and then a puff of snow. A van had lost control and skidded across the highway and landed in the ditch upside down next to the river. I can't explain clearly the inordinate amount of time it seemed to take for me to get my SUV pulled over and parked and fly out the door, ( meanwhile Matt is dialing 911). It seemed to take forever to fight my way through the snowdrifts to get to that car. Horrifyingly, I saw 2 children dangling from the roof, strapped into their carseats at the back of the van, and the undercarriage ( which was facing the sky) appeared to have smoke coming from it. I am sure now, it was steam from the plow into the ditch, but, at the time, all I could think of was the van was going to start on fire...
As I looked at the vehicle, I saw what I thought was someone ( looked like a guy ) appeared to be unconcious in the front seat. I headed for the back since I could see the kids were awake and quite scared, I am on the phone with the 911 dispatcher trying to give her all the information I can, at the same time trying to bend into that van with my damn bad knee, and get those boys unstrapped from the car seats. I can't undo the car seats, don't have enough power in my arms ( I am still trying to get the strength back from before my riding wreck). But, a neighbor of mine has stopped also, and he is working to free the trapped kids, so I head to the front of the vehicle, drivers side, and try to open that door to check on the driver. The snow is so high, I have to beat it down with my feet in order to open the door, as I am working on the door, the driver is kicking it open on that side, and we are able to get her out. She appears uninjured, and I head back around the side to where the children are being rescued. My neighbor has them out and we get them all up to the side of the road. In the meantime, at least 3 cars have stopped to give assistance, I am too busy with 911 and trying to assess people to worry about who is up there, but, as we get the uninjured family to warm cars ( the high yesterday was 10 degrees F.), I have to start putting 2 and 2 together. The dispatcher is asking for descriptions of cars the family has been seated in ( probably for EMS to find them easier) , and names of people who are on the scene, I start to recognize faces. There is the county attorney, she has stopped to help, the secretary from the local extension office, a kind man I have no idea who he is, and then my neighbor and myself. I think to myself, only in Minnesota... people stop to help in subfreezing weather, they don't continue on minding their own business, they pitch right in and help. I appreciate the integrity of people who, out of the goodness of their hearts stop and help, there is nothing in it for them, no hero badge at the end of the day for helping people, no accolades from anyone, just an honest to goodness desire to help out their fellow man. I LOVE MINNESOTA!!!!!! After law enforcement arrived, and EMS was checking out the victims (* they were all totally uninjured, the unconscious person I thought I saw wasn't one, it was the driver's purse hanging over the seat, amazing what one sees in crisis it certainly looked like a face to me), the opportunity presented itself for us to continue on our merry way ( if one can think, merrily after that experience anyway...), my neighbor waved goodbye to me, I gave the lady a hug and wished her luck, I told the little guys see ya. and off we drove into the sunset. As we were getting ready to drive off, one of the deputys came over and I recognized him as an aquaintance from my home town, ( he graduated a couple of years behind me), he stops me and says with and grin, " And we live in Minnesota, WHY?" Well, I tell you, it is because of the Minnesota Nice, not the Minnesota Ice!!!
So, once again, my guardian angel was hard pressed to keep me safe, just 10 to 15 seconds further down the road and we would have been directly in the path of that vehicle. I have said many prayers of thankfulness the past days, but, last night I couldn't help but, almost pray thankful prayers no stop after that adventure.
I am still seeing, the flash of silver crossing my line of vision, and the puff of snow as the vehicle landed, when ever my mind has the chance to wander, I hope I don't continue to relive that split second for a long time.
So, here is my shout out in appreciation for all the people who stopped to help, my neighbor who was strong enough to rescue those scared children, the driver who was so brave even though that had to have been a very scary moment, those brave little boys who didn't cry or scream, the people who stopped to help and got the family into their warm cars, EMS who even though they were doing their job came quickly and worked efficiently, the Sheriff's dept who also arrived very promptly and quickly took the information they needed from us to make a report, my son who had the presence of mind to call 911, the good Lord for keeping everyone safe.
I know people in other places work just like this, I don't mean to belittle other states, provinces, countries, worlds, it is just that Minnesota prides itself on its motto of "Minnesota Nice" and this was my opportunity to tell my experience of it.
Blessings to all, and drive safely!!!!
As I looked at the vehicle, I saw what I thought was someone ( looked like a guy ) appeared to be unconcious in the front seat. I headed for the back since I could see the kids were awake and quite scared, I am on the phone with the 911 dispatcher trying to give her all the information I can, at the same time trying to bend into that van with my damn bad knee, and get those boys unstrapped from the car seats. I can't undo the car seats, don't have enough power in my arms ( I am still trying to get the strength back from before my riding wreck). But, a neighbor of mine has stopped also, and he is working to free the trapped kids, so I head to the front of the vehicle, drivers side, and try to open that door to check on the driver. The snow is so high, I have to beat it down with my feet in order to open the door, as I am working on the door, the driver is kicking it open on that side, and we are able to get her out. She appears uninjured, and I head back around the side to where the children are being rescued. My neighbor has them out and we get them all up to the side of the road. In the meantime, at least 3 cars have stopped to give assistance, I am too busy with 911 and trying to assess people to worry about who is up there, but, as we get the uninjured family to warm cars ( the high yesterday was 10 degrees F.), I have to start putting 2 and 2 together. The dispatcher is asking for descriptions of cars the family has been seated in ( probably for EMS to find them easier) , and names of people who are on the scene, I start to recognize faces. There is the county attorney, she has stopped to help, the secretary from the local extension office, a kind man I have no idea who he is, and then my neighbor and myself. I think to myself, only in Minnesota... people stop to help in subfreezing weather, they don't continue on minding their own business, they pitch right in and help. I appreciate the integrity of people who, out of the goodness of their hearts stop and help, there is nothing in it for them, no hero badge at the end of the day for helping people, no accolades from anyone, just an honest to goodness desire to help out their fellow man. I LOVE MINNESOTA!!!!!! After law enforcement arrived, and EMS was checking out the victims (* they were all totally uninjured, the unconscious person I thought I saw wasn't one, it was the driver's purse hanging over the seat, amazing what one sees in crisis it certainly looked like a face to me), the opportunity presented itself for us to continue on our merry way ( if one can think, merrily after that experience anyway...), my neighbor waved goodbye to me, I gave the lady a hug and wished her luck, I told the little guys see ya. and off we drove into the sunset. As we were getting ready to drive off, one of the deputys came over and I recognized him as an aquaintance from my home town, ( he graduated a couple of years behind me), he stops me and says with and grin, " And we live in Minnesota, WHY?" Well, I tell you, it is because of the Minnesota Nice, not the Minnesota Ice!!!
So, once again, my guardian angel was hard pressed to keep me safe, just 10 to 15 seconds further down the road and we would have been directly in the path of that vehicle. I have said many prayers of thankfulness the past days, but, last night I couldn't help but, almost pray thankful prayers no stop after that adventure.
I am still seeing, the flash of silver crossing my line of vision, and the puff of snow as the vehicle landed, when ever my mind has the chance to wander, I hope I don't continue to relive that split second for a long time.
So, here is my shout out in appreciation for all the people who stopped to help, my neighbor who was strong enough to rescue those scared children, the driver who was so brave even though that had to have been a very scary moment, those brave little boys who didn't cry or scream, the people who stopped to help and got the family into their warm cars, EMS who even though they were doing their job came quickly and worked efficiently, the Sheriff's dept who also arrived very promptly and quickly took the information they needed from us to make a report, my son who had the presence of mind to call 911, the good Lord for keeping everyone safe.
I know people in other places work just like this, I don't mean to belittle other states, provinces, countries, worlds, it is just that Minnesota prides itself on its motto of "Minnesota Nice" and this was my opportunity to tell my experience of it.
Blessings to all, and drive safely!!!!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christmas Cocktails
SAKI BOMB!!!!!!
My son and I have an annual cocktail party just before Christmas, a kind of stress reliever before the holiday. This year apparently, the theme drink was a "Saki Bomb"! Not my idea, but, one of my friends brought the fixins in for this wicked, wicked drink.... Now, you may ask, what is in a saki bomb?? By the way, I always thought saki was spelled sake... they must have changed the spelling over the years, because I KNOW I could not be mistaken... Once again, I digress, what is in a Saki Bomb you ask? Well, it is actually an extremely easy drink to make, one large glass, one bottle of light colored beer ( pale ale, any domestic non-dark beer) and a shot glass of saki. Fill the glass with beer ( just like a boiler maker or a JagBomb) and then drop the shot glass of saki into the beer. Makes for a strong beer...NOT that I was foolish enough to succumb to its wicked delights. Nope, I stuck with rum... As in, Mohitos and Pina Coladas. Of course, the was the pre-emptive Mumosa with my cleaning and hourse de ourves making friend... and then of course there is always a need for a Midori Melon Ball to end the evening... Needless to say, I awoke the next morning with a slight headache, but, the best part was, in my semi-drunken stupor, I had cleaned up the mess!! So, I didn't even have a messy kitchen to look forward to cleaning! SAKI BOMB!!! I think this should be a victory cry for me, or at the very least, a battle cry...
Christmas, to me is always one of my very favorite times of the year. A time to visit with old friends and new, to reminisce over the past year, with the opportunity for much laughter, or tears or a bit of both. I especially enjoy the church at this time of the year, the music festivals, and the programs. Our church does a walk through Bethlehem every year at this time. One year, my son and I participated in the Bethlehem village, that was a real treat. We pretended we were a family in Bethlehem and talked about our daily lives, and what all that entailed. Out in the market place we had a bread maker hidden in the wings, so at the bread vendors there was the authentic aroma of bread baking, it permeated the entire hall. Wonderful smell! Along the street of our "Bethlehem", we had vendors selling flowers, grinding wheat, and barley, selling nuts, ( almonds) and fruits ( dates and figs), selling oils, the bread makers, our home, and then off to the other side, there was an encolsure filled with sheep ( even a brand new baby sheep, it was darling~!) There was a manger filled with straw and somehow our parish ed driector had persuaded a family with a new baby to participate, and there was a baby lying in her mother's arms near the manger all dressed in clothing we attribute to ancient times. It seemed magical, we were seemingly transported to Bethlehem the night of Jesus birth! This walk through Bethlehem is one experience I would like to remember forever! Today is another walk through "Bethlhem" I can't wait to see what surprises are in store for us!
It was so beautiful this morning wandering out of my warm house into the snow... I don't like the cold, but, always marvel at the seeming miracle of the falling snow. The horses blanketed in winter white, waiting patiently for me to feed them. The ducks quacking noisily in order to hurry me up with their feed and warm water. One of the ducks, Edgar (it looked like) made the trek through the snow to the front of the house, seeking his pail of warm water, I hadn't gotten to that part yet, so he trudged back to his snug little coop and then waited for me to bring him his warm water. It was so funny, he not only drank his fill of water, but then, climbed into the bucket, and stood there, just warming his feet. I was picturing this look of complete rapture crossing his face as he climbed into that warm water, probably the same look I have as I step into a hot bath after freezing my tookus off outside on those bitterly cold nights.
Today, we are going to completely immerse our minds in Christmas movies beginning with " Its a Wonderful Life", and then perhaps " White Christmas" followed by " The Polar Express" "A Christmas Story", and "Elf". I am not sure if we will have time for any other Christmas movies, but, we should be completely tanked with good cheer with all that happy together time, my son and I.
Hope everyone of my reader's week is filled with glad tidings and good cheer ( perhaps some egg nog or wassail to boot!). Blessings on you all!
My son and I have an annual cocktail party just before Christmas, a kind of stress reliever before the holiday. This year apparently, the theme drink was a "Saki Bomb"! Not my idea, but, one of my friends brought the fixins in for this wicked, wicked drink.... Now, you may ask, what is in a saki bomb?? By the way, I always thought saki was spelled sake... they must have changed the spelling over the years, because I KNOW I could not be mistaken... Once again, I digress, what is in a Saki Bomb you ask? Well, it is actually an extremely easy drink to make, one large glass, one bottle of light colored beer ( pale ale, any domestic non-dark beer) and a shot glass of saki. Fill the glass with beer ( just like a boiler maker or a JagBomb) and then drop the shot glass of saki into the beer. Makes for a strong beer...NOT that I was foolish enough to succumb to its wicked delights. Nope, I stuck with rum... As in, Mohitos and Pina Coladas. Of course, the was the pre-emptive Mumosa with my cleaning and hourse de ourves making friend... and then of course there is always a need for a Midori Melon Ball to end the evening... Needless to say, I awoke the next morning with a slight headache, but, the best part was, in my semi-drunken stupor, I had cleaned up the mess!! So, I didn't even have a messy kitchen to look forward to cleaning! SAKI BOMB!!! I think this should be a victory cry for me, or at the very least, a battle cry...
Christmas, to me is always one of my very favorite times of the year. A time to visit with old friends and new, to reminisce over the past year, with the opportunity for much laughter, or tears or a bit of both. I especially enjoy the church at this time of the year, the music festivals, and the programs. Our church does a walk through Bethlehem every year at this time. One year, my son and I participated in the Bethlehem village, that was a real treat. We pretended we were a family in Bethlehem and talked about our daily lives, and what all that entailed. Out in the market place we had a bread maker hidden in the wings, so at the bread vendors there was the authentic aroma of bread baking, it permeated the entire hall. Wonderful smell! Along the street of our "Bethlehem", we had vendors selling flowers, grinding wheat, and barley, selling nuts, ( almonds) and fruits ( dates and figs), selling oils, the bread makers, our home, and then off to the other side, there was an encolsure filled with sheep ( even a brand new baby sheep, it was darling~!) There was a manger filled with straw and somehow our parish ed driector had persuaded a family with a new baby to participate, and there was a baby lying in her mother's arms near the manger all dressed in clothing we attribute to ancient times. It seemed magical, we were seemingly transported to Bethlehem the night of Jesus birth! This walk through Bethlehem is one experience I would like to remember forever! Today is another walk through "Bethlhem" I can't wait to see what surprises are in store for us!
It was so beautiful this morning wandering out of my warm house into the snow... I don't like the cold, but, always marvel at the seeming miracle of the falling snow. The horses blanketed in winter white, waiting patiently for me to feed them. The ducks quacking noisily in order to hurry me up with their feed and warm water. One of the ducks, Edgar (it looked like) made the trek through the snow to the front of the house, seeking his pail of warm water, I hadn't gotten to that part yet, so he trudged back to his snug little coop and then waited for me to bring him his warm water. It was so funny, he not only drank his fill of water, but then, climbed into the bucket, and stood there, just warming his feet. I was picturing this look of complete rapture crossing his face as he climbed into that warm water, probably the same look I have as I step into a hot bath after freezing my tookus off outside on those bitterly cold nights.
Today, we are going to completely immerse our minds in Christmas movies beginning with " Its a Wonderful Life", and then perhaps " White Christmas" followed by " The Polar Express" "A Christmas Story", and "Elf". I am not sure if we will have time for any other Christmas movies, but, we should be completely tanked with good cheer with all that happy together time, my son and I.
Hope everyone of my reader's week is filled with glad tidings and good cheer ( perhaps some egg nog or wassail to boot!). Blessings on you all!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Christmas
Christmas is always full of surprises, both good and bad. The bad surpise this year so far, was that Tommy our kitten decided the Christmas tree was his new best play toy. He climbed it and jumped for the decorations, and the most fun of all, managed to tip it! Not once, but, twice and the little dickens has been going for the third time! This is a fake tree! Of course I am most happy it is an artificial tree, because I can't even imagine cleaning up the mess a real tree would have made being tipped, TWICE...
Tommy is a rare treat though, he is full of mischief ( as most kittens are, ) but, he is also one of the most happy and affectionate cats I have ever had the pleasure to meet. A flame point Siamese color, Tommy has the traditional blue eyes, and he as a tiny baby appeared to be white. I was hesitant in taking Tommy home because of the white with blue eyes thing... Most of the cats I have encountered with this coloring are deaf, I didn't want another special needs critter added to our menagerie... Obviously, Tommy can hear, and quite well also, he always hears a door opening into an area he ISN'T supposed to be in... this of course is an invitation for him to enter said room, unnoticed, until 5 minutes after you close the door to that room ( the spare bedroom, for instance). Then the typical earsplitting Siamese yowl breaks forth, this sound is quite loud and entirely unappealing, hence, one rushes to the closed door to let small kitten out of where ever he has gotten himself locked into. He has trained me well...
Tommy loves to snuggle though, and burrow his face into whatever crevice he can find, which is quite a shock at 3 am when his cold wet feeling nose tries to find its way into the crook of my elbow or my armpit, I can lie awake for hours following one of those little Tommy treats...
Tommy is bigger than our mini Dachschund Bailey now, it is rather entertaining to watch him lie in wait for her to come bouncing across the floor. His chief delight is in being able to pounce upon said doggie and scare the bejeebers out of her! Of course, Bailey retaliates, and so the game is on! One chasing the other, until the opportunity appears for the chased to become the chaser! Hours and hours of entertainment for my son and I, just sayin...
Taz, our other cat, is much too dignified to openly play like Tommy does, but still loves the occasional snuggle as long as it is on his terms. He is the embodiment of the "Cats have servants" cliche`...
Taz is far more tolerant of unusual procedure though, we have had to vacuum both cats in the past few weeks ( don't even ask why...) and Taz was quite quiet ( type that three times quickly...), and easy to handle during that ordeal, he only tried to take a swipe at the vacuum itself, not my hands or Matthew's, I was impressed. Tommy, on the other hand was a spitting demon, he tore my hands up and managed to escape several times. I hope I never have to vacuum a cat again...
The tree,... our tree is many years old, I got it back in the early 1990's, but, it still looks quite elegant, especially with the LED lights on it. We wisely chose to put only the unbreakable ornaments on the tree this year along with the candy canes that slowly disappear throughout the season, I wonder where they go?? My son, of course, would never eat our tree decorations, or would he?? I digress, Tommy chose to test the ability for curiousity to try to kill the cat... he bit into the light string, I heard this enormous yelp, and looked over at the tree, kitten is streaking out from under said tree, but lights are still working, he must have just gotten a small zinger, hopefully, he has learned his lesson, the pretty lights are NOT edible.
It is so nice to have timers for our decorations, they are some of the best inventions ( they don't top hot running water, that is my all time favorite!) It is a pleasure to get up in the morning to have the tree pop on with its beautiful lights, so we can enjoy said lights as we are preparing for work and school, then they pop off around 8:30, so we don't use unneeded electricity when we aren't there to enjoy the show anyway. At 4:30 our tree lights come on again, and stay that way until 10:30, we don't have to worry about unplugging the tree or forgetting the lights on, I love being able to simplify my life!
We attempted to decorate our chicken coop this year so that it resembles a little gingerbread house, we like how it turned out, and have had comments from our friends driving by how cute it looks. One of our chickens Saffron, apparently doesn't like it, she insists on going into the old coop and roosting there. Every night, part of my night time chore ritual is to go into the old coop and hand carry Saffron ( She is a Buff Orpington), into our little " gingerbread" chicken coop. Once again, another critter, that has me ( and my son ) trained really well.
I must be fairly easy to train, because our ducks also have my number... When the cold set in this fall, I started bringing out warm water outside for the chickens and the ducks, I would set it down on the ground near the porch, so they could drink and dabble in relative safety in the porch lights. Now, I no sooner open the coop door ( on my way to feed horses) than the ducks head with distinct purpose up to the porch and practically yell for their warm water ( this water job is at the end of my morning chores, I being graviationally challenged, always spill and have no desire to start my chores in wet clothing...), If you haven't ever heard a duck yell, just come on over to our house about 6 am...
I am truly thankful for the blessings I have in my life, my furry and feathered friends, my human friends, and the life I have!
Tommy is a rare treat though, he is full of mischief ( as most kittens are, ) but, he is also one of the most happy and affectionate cats I have ever had the pleasure to meet. A flame point Siamese color, Tommy has the traditional blue eyes, and he as a tiny baby appeared to be white. I was hesitant in taking Tommy home because of the white with blue eyes thing... Most of the cats I have encountered with this coloring are deaf, I didn't want another special needs critter added to our menagerie... Obviously, Tommy can hear, and quite well also, he always hears a door opening into an area he ISN'T supposed to be in... this of course is an invitation for him to enter said room, unnoticed, until 5 minutes after you close the door to that room ( the spare bedroom, for instance). Then the typical earsplitting Siamese yowl breaks forth, this sound is quite loud and entirely unappealing, hence, one rushes to the closed door to let small kitten out of where ever he has gotten himself locked into. He has trained me well...
Tommy loves to snuggle though, and burrow his face into whatever crevice he can find, which is quite a shock at 3 am when his cold wet feeling nose tries to find its way into the crook of my elbow or my armpit, I can lie awake for hours following one of those little Tommy treats...
Tommy is bigger than our mini Dachschund Bailey now, it is rather entertaining to watch him lie in wait for her to come bouncing across the floor. His chief delight is in being able to pounce upon said doggie and scare the bejeebers out of her! Of course, Bailey retaliates, and so the game is on! One chasing the other, until the opportunity appears for the chased to become the chaser! Hours and hours of entertainment for my son and I, just sayin...
Taz, our other cat, is much too dignified to openly play like Tommy does, but still loves the occasional snuggle as long as it is on his terms. He is the embodiment of the "Cats have servants" cliche`...
Taz is far more tolerant of unusual procedure though, we have had to vacuum both cats in the past few weeks ( don't even ask why...) and Taz was quite quiet ( type that three times quickly...), and easy to handle during that ordeal, he only tried to take a swipe at the vacuum itself, not my hands or Matthew's, I was impressed. Tommy, on the other hand was a spitting demon, he tore my hands up and managed to escape several times. I hope I never have to vacuum a cat again...
The tree,... our tree is many years old, I got it back in the early 1990's, but, it still looks quite elegant, especially with the LED lights on it. We wisely chose to put only the unbreakable ornaments on the tree this year along with the candy canes that slowly disappear throughout the season, I wonder where they go?? My son, of course, would never eat our tree decorations, or would he?? I digress, Tommy chose to test the ability for curiousity to try to kill the cat... he bit into the light string, I heard this enormous yelp, and looked over at the tree, kitten is streaking out from under said tree, but lights are still working, he must have just gotten a small zinger, hopefully, he has learned his lesson, the pretty lights are NOT edible.
It is so nice to have timers for our decorations, they are some of the best inventions ( they don't top hot running water, that is my all time favorite!) It is a pleasure to get up in the morning to have the tree pop on with its beautiful lights, so we can enjoy said lights as we are preparing for work and school, then they pop off around 8:30, so we don't use unneeded electricity when we aren't there to enjoy the show anyway. At 4:30 our tree lights come on again, and stay that way until 10:30, we don't have to worry about unplugging the tree or forgetting the lights on, I love being able to simplify my life!
We attempted to decorate our chicken coop this year so that it resembles a little gingerbread house, we like how it turned out, and have had comments from our friends driving by how cute it looks. One of our chickens Saffron, apparently doesn't like it, she insists on going into the old coop and roosting there. Every night, part of my night time chore ritual is to go into the old coop and hand carry Saffron ( She is a Buff Orpington), into our little " gingerbread" chicken coop. Once again, another critter, that has me ( and my son ) trained really well.
I must be fairly easy to train, because our ducks also have my number... When the cold set in this fall, I started bringing out warm water outside for the chickens and the ducks, I would set it down on the ground near the porch, so they could drink and dabble in relative safety in the porch lights. Now, I no sooner open the coop door ( on my way to feed horses) than the ducks head with distinct purpose up to the porch and practically yell for their warm water ( this water job is at the end of my morning chores, I being graviationally challenged, always spill and have no desire to start my chores in wet clothing...), If you haven't ever heard a duck yell, just come on over to our house about 6 am...
I am truly thankful for the blessings I have in my life, my furry and feathered friends, my human friends, and the life I have!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Epitaph for Robbie
Little Robbie adopted us 4 weeks, ago. A small straggly, sickly young cat. He was scared to death of the dogs, but, loved people. Robbie used to rub and rub and rub his body against us when he walked near one of us. Beautiful Siamese coloring with the gorgeous blue eyes, Robbie imeediately made himself at home within our house, with absolutely no intention of ever going outside again. Robbie did not like being inside a kennel and although his protests were mostly quiet, the skin taken off his nose by constantly pressing it against the bars told the story of his unhappiness. We had decided that Robbie would be a permanent member of our household, and set forth to get him checked out by a vet and do all the necessary vaccinations needed to make him a healthy, much loved cat. First on the list during his exam was a feline leukemia test, as that was being done, the examination showed many of Robbie's teeth were missing, not a good sign. We also brought our other kitten Tommy for his exam and vaccinations. Tommy's leukemia test was negative, but, sadly Robbie tested positive for feline leukemia, and we made the very tearful decision to put Robbie to sleep. We can only rest assured that the last 4 weeks of his life, he knew he was much loved with a warm place to sleep whenever he wanted to.
RIP Robbie, we will miss you. See you in heaven!
RIP Robbie, we will miss you. See you in heaven!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thankfulness
I thought today would be a great day for me to think of the millions of things I have in this world to be thankful for:
Starting off this list is my thankfulness that I am back to work and that I have a good job to go back to. I truly love my job, and am so thankful for the many jobs I have had that led me to this career choice. I have been a surgical technologist for more than 20 years now, and it just seems like yesterday that I was working in a bar, saying to myself, " I sure don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life". I won't be, perhaps, I might work as a bartender when I retire, just for a " fun job".
I am so thankful that I wasn't injured any worse than I was this summer, and I am thankful that a knowledgeable health-care person was riding with me. Thanks Jen!! I am also thankful to Jennifer and her husband Russ for taking me to the emergency room, and home again, then taking me to my CT Scan the next day, and for getting me a shower that night BEFORE driving me into North Memorial hospital the following day for my surgery. THEN, taking me home! Now, that is a friendship!!! These are the type of friends I like to have in my life. I have many friends, who are there at the drop of a hat, to lend a hand, offer support, both emotional and physical.
I am grateful for my friends, they were there when I had to call on them. Anywhere from taking some of my horses off my hands while I was recovering, to helping me with my fences and making my yard and home presentable.
I have this terrific farrier, that I absolutely adore, he is the greatest guy, never has an unkind word about anyone, and he really did me some kindness this summer!! He has not had an easy life, but, he is there when the chips are down.
I am truly thankful for HOT running water... I think about this as I am outside doing chores in the cold rain, I can always go inside and step into the hot shower!!! It keeps me warm as I am freezing my fingers off!
My wonderful son has another top spot on my gratefulness list. He is so kind, considerate, sensitive, helpful and giving. I can only hope to emulate him someday. He was my rock this summer, when I needed someone to help me go to the bathroom, get into bed, get dressed and even to get out of bed. He brought me food and fed me when I didn't have any ability to feed myself ( not that I needed food, I could survive at least a month on my reserves...), he got my medicines in order ( with help from Jen) and made sure I didn't take them too often ( he is very good at watching the clock), so I didn't end up like Anna Nicole... Poor kid had to learn how to hook and unhook a bra...( I wasn't sure I really wanted him to find out how to do that at age 11...)
I am thankful for my family who has come through for me many times over the years. I pray that we can all stay close-knit through the many years to come.
I am thankful for my mentors with my beekeeping endeavors, they helped me when I needed it from answering inane questions, to checking my bees when I couldn't lift the boxes. I learned so much under their tutelage, and look forward to many more years of learning and friendship!
I am grateful for my trainer, for taking Sahib at a moments notice, and giving him another 30 days to try and find if he had a problem ( other than his person not paying attention to the signals he was trying to give them), and for her encouragement when it came time for me to climb aboard a horse again, it is funny, after 40 plus years of riding, I lost my nerve when I got hurt this time...
I am so thankful for a healthy herd of mostly geriatric horses, I am grateful I have had Coni in my life for the past 29 years, and Shom for the past 21, these horses have taught me so much and been there for me through thick and thin ( mostly thick I think...). I look forward to havnig horses in my life hopefully, for the rest of my life.
I am thankful I have a banker who gives me a hay loan each fall, so I don't have to struggle to find a way to pay my hay guy. I have worked hard to develop a relationship with my hay people, and like to be able to count on a quality product, because they know I am a good costumer.
I am grateful for the ability to read, so that I could enjoy the Twilight series, over and over and over...Go Team Edward!!!!!
I am thankful I had Gary, my Pekin duck in my life, no matter how brief that time seemed to me, he was such a character, I loved him dearly and know he is over the Rainbow Bridge with all the other much loved pets in our lives.
I am thankful that God smiled on me when this property came available to purchase back in 1997, without that purchase I would not be where I am today, a homeowner with a terrific child, 3 entertaining cats, 5 happy-go-lucky dogs, 10 contented horses, 4 independent ducks and 12 endearing chickens!
Thank you also, to those of you who read my ramblings, sometimes, I write to entertain, sometimes to enlighten, sometimes to vent, but always to be read ( even if only by me!!!)
Starting off this list is my thankfulness that I am back to work and that I have a good job to go back to. I truly love my job, and am so thankful for the many jobs I have had that led me to this career choice. I have been a surgical technologist for more than 20 years now, and it just seems like yesterday that I was working in a bar, saying to myself, " I sure don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life". I won't be, perhaps, I might work as a bartender when I retire, just for a " fun job".
I am so thankful that I wasn't injured any worse than I was this summer, and I am thankful that a knowledgeable health-care person was riding with me. Thanks Jen!! I am also thankful to Jennifer and her husband Russ for taking me to the emergency room, and home again, then taking me to my CT Scan the next day, and for getting me a shower that night BEFORE driving me into North Memorial hospital the following day for my surgery. THEN, taking me home! Now, that is a friendship!!! These are the type of friends I like to have in my life. I have many friends, who are there at the drop of a hat, to lend a hand, offer support, both emotional and physical.
I am grateful for my friends, they were there when I had to call on them. Anywhere from taking some of my horses off my hands while I was recovering, to helping me with my fences and making my yard and home presentable.
I have this terrific farrier, that I absolutely adore, he is the greatest guy, never has an unkind word about anyone, and he really did me some kindness this summer!! He has not had an easy life, but, he is there when the chips are down.
I am truly thankful for HOT running water... I think about this as I am outside doing chores in the cold rain, I can always go inside and step into the hot shower!!! It keeps me warm as I am freezing my fingers off!
My wonderful son has another top spot on my gratefulness list. He is so kind, considerate, sensitive, helpful and giving. I can only hope to emulate him someday. He was my rock this summer, when I needed someone to help me go to the bathroom, get into bed, get dressed and even to get out of bed. He brought me food and fed me when I didn't have any ability to feed myself ( not that I needed food, I could survive at least a month on my reserves...), he got my medicines in order ( with help from Jen) and made sure I didn't take them too often ( he is very good at watching the clock), so I didn't end up like Anna Nicole... Poor kid had to learn how to hook and unhook a bra...( I wasn't sure I really wanted him to find out how to do that at age 11...)
I am thankful for my family who has come through for me many times over the years. I pray that we can all stay close-knit through the many years to come.
I am thankful for my mentors with my beekeeping endeavors, they helped me when I needed it from answering inane questions, to checking my bees when I couldn't lift the boxes. I learned so much under their tutelage, and look forward to many more years of learning and friendship!
I am grateful for my trainer, for taking Sahib at a moments notice, and giving him another 30 days to try and find if he had a problem ( other than his person not paying attention to the signals he was trying to give them), and for her encouragement when it came time for me to climb aboard a horse again, it is funny, after 40 plus years of riding, I lost my nerve when I got hurt this time...
I am so thankful for a healthy herd of mostly geriatric horses, I am grateful I have had Coni in my life for the past 29 years, and Shom for the past 21, these horses have taught me so much and been there for me through thick and thin ( mostly thick I think...). I look forward to havnig horses in my life hopefully, for the rest of my life.
I am thankful I have a banker who gives me a hay loan each fall, so I don't have to struggle to find a way to pay my hay guy. I have worked hard to develop a relationship with my hay people, and like to be able to count on a quality product, because they know I am a good costumer.
I am grateful for the ability to read, so that I could enjoy the Twilight series, over and over and over...Go Team Edward!!!!!
I am thankful I had Gary, my Pekin duck in my life, no matter how brief that time seemed to me, he was such a character, I loved him dearly and know he is over the Rainbow Bridge with all the other much loved pets in our lives.
I am thankful that God smiled on me when this property came available to purchase back in 1997, without that purchase I would not be where I am today, a homeowner with a terrific child, 3 entertaining cats, 5 happy-go-lucky dogs, 10 contented horses, 4 independent ducks and 12 endearing chickens!
Thank you also, to those of you who read my ramblings, sometimes, I write to entertain, sometimes to enlighten, sometimes to vent, but always to be read ( even if only by me!!!)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
True scary Halloween story
I have been meaning to put this to a web page for quite some time, but, it is so scary to me, that I have a difficult time thinking about it, hence it hasn't appeared in the written format.
This is a true story and scary enough that no embellishments are needed.
The Lonely Road
Many years ago, I used to take a short cut to the job I worked at in town. This short cut involved several miles of gravel roads with no houses for miles. I traveled this road many times without incident, even to the point of getting a flat tire on the most deserted portion of this road, and having to walk the 3 miles back home.
Strangely, one fall, I started to discover this eerie feeling whenever I found the need to take this " short cut" at night. Like something was there, watching me, waiting for me to have to stop and pull over in the darkest, most deserted portion of that road.
The road is just like any other gravel road, but, at one point it meanders through this swampy area, and it is there the road is also at its lowest point, so it is often covered by wisps of fog.
The swampy area is where I found myself feeling the worst, I just felt something evil lurked there, I don't know what it was, never saw or heard anything to make me feel this way, I just felt I was in danger there at night. I continued to travel this path, partly, because of my stubborness, I refused to let fear get the best of me, I have always felt that facing my fear allows me to rise above my it. And the other reason, I continued to drive this road, was because it WAS a short cut to my place of employment, and since I am usually running late, it seemed like an acceptable alternative to being late for work.
This feeling persisted, all fall that year (1988), and it got so bad that as soon as I was on the road, the hair on the back of my neck would start to rise. I was terrified driving that road!!! Finally, I gave in, I stopped driving the "short cut" for any reason at night.
The daylight hours were safe, and I continued to travel this road only in the daylight.
For an entire year I avoided that road at night at all costs.
A year or so later, we were traveling as a family and decided to tell ghost stories, and as we were entertaining each other, I decided to tell my story about the road, knowing my brothers and sisters all traveled the same road.
As I was telling my story, I could see my younger sister, getting more and more pale and silent, I thought I might be unnecessarily scaring her ( used to scare her all the time by riding my horse up to her bedroom window, and with my horse's head peeking in I would whisper her name, I am kinda twisted that way...), and sought to reassure her that the feeling I had was gone, what ever had been down there in that swampy area was gone. She just looked at me with terrified eyes, and said, " The EXACT same thing was happening to me, I stopped driving that road because I was so scared". Both of us looked at each other and my family got silent, this was the most frightening part for me, because I thought I had been enduring this fear alone, and to discover that my little sister had been experiencing the same phenomenon, made it all the more frightening and real!!!
To this day, I travel that road with trepidation, especially at night, I know what ever was out there causing me such fear is gone, but, who's to say it won't come back?
This is a true story and scary enough that no embellishments are needed.
The Lonely Road
Many years ago, I used to take a short cut to the job I worked at in town. This short cut involved several miles of gravel roads with no houses for miles. I traveled this road many times without incident, even to the point of getting a flat tire on the most deserted portion of this road, and having to walk the 3 miles back home.
Strangely, one fall, I started to discover this eerie feeling whenever I found the need to take this " short cut" at night. Like something was there, watching me, waiting for me to have to stop and pull over in the darkest, most deserted portion of that road.
The road is just like any other gravel road, but, at one point it meanders through this swampy area, and it is there the road is also at its lowest point, so it is often covered by wisps of fog.
The swampy area is where I found myself feeling the worst, I just felt something evil lurked there, I don't know what it was, never saw or heard anything to make me feel this way, I just felt I was in danger there at night. I continued to travel this path, partly, because of my stubborness, I refused to let fear get the best of me, I have always felt that facing my fear allows me to rise above my it. And the other reason, I continued to drive this road, was because it WAS a short cut to my place of employment, and since I am usually running late, it seemed like an acceptable alternative to being late for work.
This feeling persisted, all fall that year (1988), and it got so bad that as soon as I was on the road, the hair on the back of my neck would start to rise. I was terrified driving that road!!! Finally, I gave in, I stopped driving the "short cut" for any reason at night.
The daylight hours were safe, and I continued to travel this road only in the daylight.
For an entire year I avoided that road at night at all costs.
A year or so later, we were traveling as a family and decided to tell ghost stories, and as we were entertaining each other, I decided to tell my story about the road, knowing my brothers and sisters all traveled the same road.
As I was telling my story, I could see my younger sister, getting more and more pale and silent, I thought I might be unnecessarily scaring her ( used to scare her all the time by riding my horse up to her bedroom window, and with my horse's head peeking in I would whisper her name, I am kinda twisted that way...), and sought to reassure her that the feeling I had was gone, what ever had been down there in that swampy area was gone. She just looked at me with terrified eyes, and said, " The EXACT same thing was happening to me, I stopped driving that road because I was so scared". Both of us looked at each other and my family got silent, this was the most frightening part for me, because I thought I had been enduring this fear alone, and to discover that my little sister had been experiencing the same phenomenon, made it all the more frightening and real!!!
To this day, I travel that road with trepidation, especially at night, I know what ever was out there causing me such fear is gone, but, who's to say it won't come back?
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