When the chickens came out this morning, they seemed to be looking for their *greens* so the Beast grabbed a bunch for them and threw it over the fence in bunches. As usual, they made a run for it. When they ran out of it, they finally started looking for the corn I tossed around for them. Some of the little birds spotted the corn and landed inside the coop. By the areas that they were pecking, I knew it was the corn. Suddenly, one of the chickens noticed what they were doing and she got mad!
She started chasing the little birds away then kept looking over her shoulder to make sure none of them landed again. Of course, they did but they flew away as soon as she started towards their area. It was a real dance for a while until just a few little birds would land here and there. She finally just concentrated on getting as much corn as possible.
The Beast and I both noticed that a few of the hens seem to be getting rather fat. It seems rather strange unless they are pigs in disguise and are hogging the seed inside the barn. I suggested that it might be connected to their getting ready to lay eggs but we will have to wait and see.
It rained today. At times the rain was heavy but we actually had four of the hens out in the heavy rain. They didn't seem to mind at all. I thought that was weird because most birds seem to hide from the rain. Tomorrow we MUST sweep out the barn and replace the chips on the floor. It's getting to be a real mess in there between the wetness and the feces. It can't be healthy. I told the Beast that we need one of those wiper/broom type things to gather it up and then we can bag it. If we had our rototiller, and it was possible to lift it, I would almost prefer to till it into the vegetable bins but that wouldn't really work. Too bad because I think it would work out to be good fertilized earth. However, it might actually be too fresh and burn the seedlings. Oh well.
I have to mention that another weird thing about the chickens is how they wait for the Beast to come into the yard and then the barn before they come outside. The reason it's weird is because he's left the doggie door open for them all night for the past couple of days. Just before it's full dark, the rooster makes sure they are all inside. Don't ask me why but he knows that is where they belong. It helps that the Beast has put the large roost back inside for them and they are using it. I think they are using the nesting boxes, too, but I guess he doesn't care. If they get used to the phony eggs that are in there, they might get the hint...LOL.
I've been on the weather channel most of the evening when I discovered that we were in an area that had a DefCon 6 rating. What that actually means is that we had a 60% chance of a tornado. Luckily, it hit an area north and west of us, including the Huntsville area but the damage was primarily trees, branches and some power lines. Not much damage to homes that have filtered into the news and no injuries so far. The danger area is now heading towards Atlanta and should be past there around 5am. I don't wish it on any area. The ideal would be only the possibility of a tornado but none happening anywhere.
At least now I feel free to go ahead and shower and then go to bed. The worst type of tornadoes are the ones that hit at night. You can't see them coming and you often don't hear the sirens when they go off. The Beast threw away our tornado alert alarm because of how often it was going off at one time. Of course, it didn't seem to matter to him that we were having a lot of tornadoes in the area at the time but.....that's the Beast. He hated the alarm signal. It's the reason I often stay up late at night to watch the weather channel. Tornadoes scare the bejesus out of me. Can you blame me?
Well, now I need to shower and get ready for bed. The Beast has been in bed almost two hours already. He doesn't have to worry as long as *I* am.
Love you all. Be good. Be happy. Be safe. ***Hugs***
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
I Love This Weather!!!
We've had such great weather the past few days that I hate to see it change. Tomorrow there will be change. We will probably get some more rain, although no thunderstorms are predicted. But what I do hate is that the temperature is going to drop. Bummer!
Today was really nice. The Beast and I lowered the nesting boxes so that it would be easy for the hens to reach them once they start laying eggs. I just hope they do use them instead of laying them all over the place. I've heard that happens, too. I spread some more cracked corn for them and he got more of the greens that they love. They headed for the cracked corn as soon as I started spreading it but went for the greens as soon as the Beast put it down. Fussy little buggers.
Our day was nice and quiet. The Beast took care of his dress clothes that were dirty and then did a little bit of touch up ironing on some of the shirts. It's funny but the cheapest shirts that he bought are the ones that didn't need any. Neither do the dress pants that he bought at the same place. He really has that snob thing going for him that you had to pay a lot of money to get good quality clothes. It doesn't always work that way, however. He found that out for himself.
Don't get me wrong. There are some great pricey clothing out there but I found that, if you find the right resale shops in the right neighborhoods, you can get them (sometimes with the tags still on them) for incredibly low cost. I had a place in La Jolla, California like that. I bought Chanel dresses and suits for under $40. WITH the tags on them. Why could I get them like that?
Well, it seems that many rich men will provide their wives with credit cards but no cash. That gives them a way to check where their wives are spending money. The wives, however, sometimes like to have real cash and a way to do some things that they don't want their husbands to know about. So they buy clothes and then sell them cheap to resale shops that understand these things. That's how I could buy really nice clothes (I had a job that I had to dress for success at) for reasonable....more than reasonable...prices. I loved it. But we don't have those around here. But I no longer have to dress for success either....LOL.
I want to get a few nice, new things for my trip to Chicago at the end of June. That's coming up sooner than I can believe. Time is just flying by. But having a couple months means I can hit a few of the resale shops around here and see what I can find. I can't help myself. I believe in shopping smart. Always have. Always will. I just find it difficult to buy things for myself without being aware of the cost. I worked my whole life and I know how hard it is to earn money. Now that we are retired, I am working on a limited amount of funds. Only the Beast seems to think that our funds are unlimited. To him, maybe. But not to me.
Well, it's late and I am tired. I'm heading for bed now. I've actually been sleeping better the last couple of nights. I hope you all are feeling good. I wish everyone good weather and good health. Love you all. ***Hugs***
Today was really nice. The Beast and I lowered the nesting boxes so that it would be easy for the hens to reach them once they start laying eggs. I just hope they do use them instead of laying them all over the place. I've heard that happens, too. I spread some more cracked corn for them and he got more of the greens that they love. They headed for the cracked corn as soon as I started spreading it but went for the greens as soon as the Beast put it down. Fussy little buggers.
Our day was nice and quiet. The Beast took care of his dress clothes that were dirty and then did a little bit of touch up ironing on some of the shirts. It's funny but the cheapest shirts that he bought are the ones that didn't need any. Neither do the dress pants that he bought at the same place. He really has that snob thing going for him that you had to pay a lot of money to get good quality clothes. It doesn't always work that way, however. He found that out for himself.
Don't get me wrong. There are some great pricey clothing out there but I found that, if you find the right resale shops in the right neighborhoods, you can get them (sometimes with the tags still on them) for incredibly low cost. I had a place in La Jolla, California like that. I bought Chanel dresses and suits for under $40. WITH the tags on them. Why could I get them like that?
Well, it seems that many rich men will provide their wives with credit cards but no cash. That gives them a way to check where their wives are spending money. The wives, however, sometimes like to have real cash and a way to do some things that they don't want their husbands to know about. So they buy clothes and then sell them cheap to resale shops that understand these things. That's how I could buy really nice clothes (I had a job that I had to dress for success at) for reasonable....more than reasonable...prices. I loved it. But we don't have those around here. But I no longer have to dress for success either....LOL.
I want to get a few nice, new things for my trip to Chicago at the end of June. That's coming up sooner than I can believe. Time is just flying by. But having a couple months means I can hit a few of the resale shops around here and see what I can find. I can't help myself. I believe in shopping smart. Always have. Always will. I just find it difficult to buy things for myself without being aware of the cost. I worked my whole life and I know how hard it is to earn money. Now that we are retired, I am working on a limited amount of funds. Only the Beast seems to think that our funds are unlimited. To him, maybe. But not to me.
Well, it's late and I am tired. I'm heading for bed now. I've actually been sleeping better the last couple of nights. I hope you all are feeling good. I wish everyone good weather and good health. Love you all. ***Hugs***
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Where, Oh Where....Have The Days Gone????
I don't know about you but I am just floored by the fact that it is the end of March already. What the hell happened that the days are whizzing by?
Remember when you were a kid and the days just dragged? You wanted school to end so that summer vacation could start. Then, depending on your particular life style, summer either whizzed by way too fast, or it dragged on and on then suddenly it ended. I remember feeling like I hadn't had a vacation at all, do you? It was just a weird combination of awareness. School dragged (even if you were a good student and enjoyed a lot of it). But back then, we had different things to look forward to...Christmas vacation (yes, that's what it was called!), then Spring Break and then vacation.
Maybe that's what I miss...that anticipation of things to come. You had to be patient....and that was hard as a kid. I do have one thing that I am looking forward to....my trip to Chicago with Cee. When Cee and I mentioned that to Michael, he said he really wanted to take his wife to Taste of Chicago. I told him that it always seemed to be either just before or while I was there that it took place. Now I am wondering if he might be thinking of driving up there in tandem with us IF Taste of Chicago is scheduled for then.
Let me explain what that is. It has to be the biggest gathering of all kinds of ethnic foods that you have ever seen. There are booths set up and the smell of all the wonderful dishes being prepared is enough to make you gain 20 lbs. If you like Greek, Italian, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Polish....you name the type of food you want and you can find it there. It's amazing and delicious. You can also just try foods you have never had before but are curious about. It usually runs for a week and it's well worth going to but....you have to be able to put up with huge crowds of people. It's an experience and you have to plan on spending the whole day...or two or three...to experience it all. That's what Michael wants his wife to experience. It's not something she would have ever been to in her native Nicaragua.
Cee and I really enjoyed our visit with Michael and Lucia. They are good company and it's fun to do something different. Michael was a sweetheart and he bought some vodka (Pinnacle) for me to enjoy while we were celebrating Cee's birthday. When we were getting ready to leave, he gave me the bottle which was a surprise but he's not doing much in the way of drinking these days. At least, not the heavy stuff. I give him credit for that since it would be so easy to overdo it. He's doing more like those coolers on the market, which is very stingy on the actual alcohol in them.
Since Michael is in sales, he spends a great deal of time of the phone and sending emails, etc. I've often wondered if he could actually TAKE a vacation. I mean one where he's not selling something. It's like second nature to him and he works hard at it. After our get-together for Cee's birthday, he was such a sweetie and sent me an email. It said he enjoyed our visit and told me that I was welcome any time. To just drop by whenever I needed to get away from the Beast....LOL. I may do that when I need a break.
Okay, I always have to include something about the chickens so here it is....we know the chickens ate up all the grass that was in their yard. I think I told you about Chewlee gathering up a lot of the weeds and some clover that we have growing here and there. She fed it to the chickens and they LOVED it. So the Beast used up the huge mass that Chewlee had picked and put in one of my big bowl. He then picked a bunch more when the chickens just went nuts and ate it all up.
I went out this afternoon and picked a huge bunch of clover, some wild flowers and some interesting stuff that had popped up in our vegetable beds. I then scattered it in the chicken coop and they couldn't get to it fast enough. It was hysterical. You would think they hadn't been fed with the way they ate it up. The Beast says it all helps fatten them up. Yikes! He's thinking about eating them???? I don't know. Let them spend a couple years laying eggs first and then we'll see.
The rooster makes me laugh with some of his antics. Today he came speeding out of the barn over to this one hen and really was giving her hell about something. She had her head bowed and then she lay down on the ground like she was really sorry about whatever he was pissed about. He then strutted away and it was a while before she got up and started eating the greens again.
The rooster really does strut. You don't even have to see the comb on his head. Just the way he walks around tells you he's the king of the yard....LOL. If nothing else, they are good entertainment.
Time to get ready for bed. Love you all. Be good. Be happy. Get rid of any negative people in your life. Life is too short to be anything but happy. ***Hugs***
Remember when you were a kid and the days just dragged? You wanted school to end so that summer vacation could start. Then, depending on your particular life style, summer either whizzed by way too fast, or it dragged on and on then suddenly it ended. I remember feeling like I hadn't had a vacation at all, do you? It was just a weird combination of awareness. School dragged (even if you were a good student and enjoyed a lot of it). But back then, we had different things to look forward to...Christmas vacation (yes, that's what it was called!), then Spring Break and then vacation.
Maybe that's what I miss...that anticipation of things to come. You had to be patient....and that was hard as a kid. I do have one thing that I am looking forward to....my trip to Chicago with Cee. When Cee and I mentioned that to Michael, he said he really wanted to take his wife to Taste of Chicago. I told him that it always seemed to be either just before or while I was there that it took place. Now I am wondering if he might be thinking of driving up there in tandem with us IF Taste of Chicago is scheduled for then.
Let me explain what that is. It has to be the biggest gathering of all kinds of ethnic foods that you have ever seen. There are booths set up and the smell of all the wonderful dishes being prepared is enough to make you gain 20 lbs. If you like Greek, Italian, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Polish....you name the type of food you want and you can find it there. It's amazing and delicious. You can also just try foods you have never had before but are curious about. It usually runs for a week and it's well worth going to but....you have to be able to put up with huge crowds of people. It's an experience and you have to plan on spending the whole day...or two or three...to experience it all. That's what Michael wants his wife to experience. It's not something she would have ever been to in her native Nicaragua.
Cee and I really enjoyed our visit with Michael and Lucia. They are good company and it's fun to do something different. Michael was a sweetheart and he bought some vodka (Pinnacle) for me to enjoy while we were celebrating Cee's birthday. When we were getting ready to leave, he gave me the bottle which was a surprise but he's not doing much in the way of drinking these days. At least, not the heavy stuff. I give him credit for that since it would be so easy to overdo it. He's doing more like those coolers on the market, which is very stingy on the actual alcohol in them.
Since Michael is in sales, he spends a great deal of time of the phone and sending emails, etc. I've often wondered if he could actually TAKE a vacation. I mean one where he's not selling something. It's like second nature to him and he works hard at it. After our get-together for Cee's birthday, he was such a sweetie and sent me an email. It said he enjoyed our visit and told me that I was welcome any time. To just drop by whenever I needed to get away from the Beast....LOL. I may do that when I need a break.
Okay, I always have to include something about the chickens so here it is....we know the chickens ate up all the grass that was in their yard. I think I told you about Chewlee gathering up a lot of the weeds and some clover that we have growing here and there. She fed it to the chickens and they LOVED it. So the Beast used up the huge mass that Chewlee had picked and put in one of my big bowl. He then picked a bunch more when the chickens just went nuts and ate it all up.
I went out this afternoon and picked a huge bunch of clover, some wild flowers and some interesting stuff that had popped up in our vegetable beds. I then scattered it in the chicken coop and they couldn't get to it fast enough. It was hysterical. You would think they hadn't been fed with the way they ate it up. The Beast says it all helps fatten them up. Yikes! He's thinking about eating them???? I don't know. Let them spend a couple years laying eggs first and then we'll see.
The rooster makes me laugh with some of his antics. Today he came speeding out of the barn over to this one hen and really was giving her hell about something. She had her head bowed and then she lay down on the ground like she was really sorry about whatever he was pissed about. He then strutted away and it was a while before she got up and started eating the greens again.
The rooster really does strut. You don't even have to see the comb on his head. Just the way he walks around tells you he's the king of the yard....LOL. If nothing else, they are good entertainment.
Time to get ready for bed. Love you all. Be good. Be happy. Get rid of any negative people in your life. Life is too short to be anything but happy. ***Hugs***
Lucy Makes The Birthday Cake.....
I forget how it happened but we ended up at Michael's house for Cee's birthday. Lucy had made her incredible peach cake and had decorated it so beautifully with peaches on the top. It was just beautiful. I hadn't brought my camera with me but I know Lucy was going to post pictures of it on her FB page. For those of you that have FB, you will get to see it.
Lucy always makes some really great tasting *snacks* (her name for them) for us to nosh on before we do the cake thing. Cee got her presents before the cake was served and then we went home. Before we realized it, we had spent 4 hours there just talking and joking. The Beast was so happy that I had brought him some cake. He loves her cakes. She had put a paper plate over the top so he didn't get to see how pretty it was decorated (it got smooshed) but he even scraped the whipped cream from the plate that had been on top when he ate his cake. He even loved the spinach/cheese bakes that she had made....I told him to nuke them a bit to warm them so that he could appreciate how tasty they were. He asked me if I knew how she had made them and I told him I only had a slight clue about that. He wants me to find out from her. That means he really liked them.
The Beast had put the chickens away early because he wasn't sure when I was coming home and he wanted to take a bath. I told him about the amount of pollen I found on my windshield when I went out to go meet up with Cee and he said he had noticed it when he took Baron for a run before I left. It only gets worse during the next couple of weeks and I will be very happy when it's over and done with. This is something that the whole South experiences. I have no idea what happens up North, but I know it makes our lives miserable in several Southern states. To some it's just a nuisance. To those of us with allergies, it means misery. Even after I took my shower, I was sneezing and sneezing until the OTC meds kicked in. Only then could I finally get to sleep.
The Beast informed me that we only have 4.7gb left of Internet to last us 18 days. He came in like he was accusing ME of using it all. Oh sure, Beast. Like you haven't shown me some of the funny videos you have watched and aren't constantly checking out different things on Amazon, etc. For the most part lately, I haven't been on FB except after 2am. I check my email and then I just play my game that is downloaded on my computer (I own it and don't need to be on the Internet to play it). So I am not even going to be posting on my blog or checking out FB until after 2am (we have loads more time for that time frame). I sure don't want to hear him bitch about having to pay $10. for each gb of additional time we might have to buy to get through the next 18 days.
However, tonight I am extra tired and am heading back to bed as soon as I get this posted. I went to bed at 8:30pm tonight and just checked the time before heading back to bed after my usual pottie breaks.
Love you all. Have a great week. ***Hugs***
Lucy always makes some really great tasting *snacks* (her name for them) for us to nosh on before we do the cake thing. Cee got her presents before the cake was served and then we went home. Before we realized it, we had spent 4 hours there just talking and joking. The Beast was so happy that I had brought him some cake. He loves her cakes. She had put a paper plate over the top so he didn't get to see how pretty it was decorated (it got smooshed) but he even scraped the whipped cream from the plate that had been on top when he ate his cake. He even loved the spinach/cheese bakes that she had made....I told him to nuke them a bit to warm them so that he could appreciate how tasty they were. He asked me if I knew how she had made them and I told him I only had a slight clue about that. He wants me to find out from her. That means he really liked them.
The Beast had put the chickens away early because he wasn't sure when I was coming home and he wanted to take a bath. I told him about the amount of pollen I found on my windshield when I went out to go meet up with Cee and he said he had noticed it when he took Baron for a run before I left. It only gets worse during the next couple of weeks and I will be very happy when it's over and done with. This is something that the whole South experiences. I have no idea what happens up North, but I know it makes our lives miserable in several Southern states. To some it's just a nuisance. To those of us with allergies, it means misery. Even after I took my shower, I was sneezing and sneezing until the OTC meds kicked in. Only then could I finally get to sleep.
The Beast informed me that we only have 4.7gb left of Internet to last us 18 days. He came in like he was accusing ME of using it all. Oh sure, Beast. Like you haven't shown me some of the funny videos you have watched and aren't constantly checking out different things on Amazon, etc. For the most part lately, I haven't been on FB except after 2am. I check my email and then I just play my game that is downloaded on my computer (I own it and don't need to be on the Internet to play it). So I am not even going to be posting on my blog or checking out FB until after 2am (we have loads more time for that time frame). I sure don't want to hear him bitch about having to pay $10. for each gb of additional time we might have to buy to get through the next 18 days.
However, tonight I am extra tired and am heading back to bed as soon as I get this posted. I went to bed at 8:30pm tonight and just checked the time before heading back to bed after my usual pottie breaks.
Love you all. Have a great week. ***Hugs***
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Hope You Had A Great Easter.....
Today was a very quiet, calm day. I really didn't do a whole lot except watch some interesting TV. Mostly about the Bible and all the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. I only watched it to see how close they kept to the Biblical version and it wasn't bad. Then it was back to my usual mixed bag of Detective stories, fantasy and scifi. LOL....!
I finally got to see the movie *Frozen*. Very cute. It started out kind of slow but got better as it went along. Of course, like all Disney movies, it had it's moral. Another *love conquers all* one....that's a simple explanation but it still fits. I liked it and I understand why the kids love it.
The Beast took a cute picture of Chewlee that I will share in a sec. I had him make me up a couple hard copies to send to a couple people that might want one. Here's her pic:
That was taken impromptu but I thought it was kind of cute.
Well, even though I didn't do much today except make dinner, I still have to shower before hitting the bed. But, I have to say something about our nutty chickens. It seems they don't mind the rain at all. It was raining pretty steady and most of them were out in it, eating more of the green stuff that the Beast gave them. When it stopped raining, a bird dropped down into their yard and started eating some and one of the chickens damn near attacked it. Scared it right out of their yard and that was what she was trying to do. Then she stood over the bunch that the bird was eating and claimed it as her own!
I have to admit, they are fun to watch at times. When it stopped raining, most of them headed back to the barn. As soon as the rain started up again, they were all out in it! Go figure.
Love you all. I hope you had a great Easter and had some fun with family and friends. It's Cee's birthday tomorrow and I hope to be able to run over there for a bit. I have no idea what plans she may have but I'll find out in the morning when I call her. If nothing else, I can drop off the gift I bought for her. Be happy and have a great week. Can you believe it's almost April?? Where has the year gone? ***Hugs***
I finally got to see the movie *Frozen*. Very cute. It started out kind of slow but got better as it went along. Of course, like all Disney movies, it had it's moral. Another *love conquers all* one....that's a simple explanation but it still fits. I liked it and I understand why the kids love it.
The Beast took a cute picture of Chewlee that I will share in a sec. I had him make me up a couple hard copies to send to a couple people that might want one. Here's her pic:
That was taken impromptu but I thought it was kind of cute.
Well, even though I didn't do much today except make dinner, I still have to shower before hitting the bed. But, I have to say something about our nutty chickens. It seems they don't mind the rain at all. It was raining pretty steady and most of them were out in it, eating more of the green stuff that the Beast gave them. When it stopped raining, a bird dropped down into their yard and started eating some and one of the chickens damn near attacked it. Scared it right out of their yard and that was what she was trying to do. Then she stood over the bunch that the bird was eating and claimed it as her own!
I have to admit, they are fun to watch at times. When it stopped raining, most of them headed back to the barn. As soon as the rain started up again, they were all out in it! Go figure.
Love you all. I hope you had a great Easter and had some fun with family and friends. It's Cee's birthday tomorrow and I hope to be able to run over there for a bit. I have no idea what plans she may have but I'll find out in the morning when I call her. If nothing else, I can drop off the gift I bought for her. Be happy and have a great week. Can you believe it's almost April?? Where has the year gone? ***Hugs***
Chewlee Goes Home.....*sad face*.......
I took Chewlee home this morning. When I got there, Johnnycakes was shoveling some red mulch around the bushes at the front of the house. He had some material he had put down to cover the area where he was putting the mulch down. I was amazed that he had loose mulch in a huge pile in the back of his pickup truck and on his open trailer. He said he had paid $100 for it all and I was amazed because it was way more than he would have had to pay if he bought bags of it at the store. He said he bought it in *farm town*, which I have never heard of before. I figure it's probably a name the locals have given an area that is pretty much farm land or else it's the nickname of a flea market.
The Beast told me about a flea market he went to with one of the guys from his church that had a lot of things like different live chickens, piglets, sheep and goats plus all kinds of booths that had the feed for most types of typical farm animals. Some of the chickens are the exotics and beautiful to look at. He wants to take me there so I can see them. One day......
Chewlee asked her dad if she could use the golf cart and then took me for a ride to show me all their animals. We went into the goat pen and had to get on our knees to see the miniature goat. I was so impressed and shocked when I saw it. She was so damn cute and so much smaller than I imagined. I was shocked to see both a hen and a rooster sharing her shelter. They were put in to keep her company. I guess she seemed sad and lonely. I told Chewlee she would have to keep checking to see if the hen laid eggs in the hay on the floor of the shelter. She is small enough to be able to actually get inside enough to gather any eggs that are laid in there. If the hen is broody, however, she may just have to report it to her parents and get set for chicks.
I was also treated to an introduction to the two (pregnant) bunnies, inspected the coop for their chickens (from the outside) and even got to see and pet the very friendly neighbors dog. The dog hopped into the cart when Chewlee stopped and hit the floor with her hand a couple times. She lay down on the floor and just enjoyed the ride that we took. Chewlee finally drove me to my car before she took the dog home to their next door neighbor's. I had met one of them earlier as he was out back of their house when we checked out the coop. They also have chickens and a very large coop for them, too. They are the neighbors who often give the Princess fresh laid eggs. Very nice people, I've heard.
I gave Chewlee a big hug, told her I loved her (she said she loved me, too) and that I had fun with her. Again, I found my way to the Princess and Johnnycakes house without using the Garmin and found my way home again. When I told the Beast that, he said I did better than him. He says he HAS to use the Garmin or he would be hopelessly lost. It IS in the boonies but I paid attention to the landmarks and county road signs. I didn't want to have to depend on the Garmin all the time. It worked.
I've been wearing my back brace for the last couple of days and it really works. I can stand up straight and upright much longer while I wear it . I also don't experience the constant pain in my lower back either. I should have started wearing it a long time ago.
I stopped at the Walmart in Boaz and picked up some bread and also a small bag of shrimp. The Beast wants to try adding it to Alfredo sauce. He thinks it will be a good combination. I've had that at the wedding of my boss' son when I worked for the advertising agency so I know it's tasty. The chefs actually made it out where the guests could watch. It was fun to see Alfredo sauce made from scratch. The shrimp was added before the cheese was grated into the cream base. I can tell you this....I remember just how good and tasty it smelled.....LOL.
It's funny but Chewlee was watching a couple of the *So You Think You'd Survive* programs on the Weather Channel. They postulate various scenarios that you might be caught in and you are given 3 different ways you might react to them. She mentioned one of them while we were in the golf cart and actually remembered the correct way to react to them. She hadn't heard of being caught (falling into) a snow tree well that are common on many of the ski slopes that have a lot of trees along the trail.
She said she would like to try snowboarding one day when she was older and now she knew both what to avoid and how to survive if she that happened to her. She also knows about the emergency locator that many skiers and snowboarders use so that they can be found easily if they are caught in a tree well or avalanche. I was impressed with how much she remembered.
Time to get back to bed. I was very tired tonight and still feel like I need a bit more sleep. I went to bed around 11:30pm and didn't wake up until a little bit ago to use the bathroom. I had planned on doing this blog when I got up and it's now done.
Love you all. Enjoy the weekend and a Happy Easter! Oh, that reminds me. The Princess took Chewlee to a nighttime egg hunt. How's that for something different? Chewlee had to bring along a flashlight to help her locate eggs. I can't wait to hear all about that.
Be good and be happy. ***Hugs***
The Beast told me about a flea market he went to with one of the guys from his church that had a lot of things like different live chickens, piglets, sheep and goats plus all kinds of booths that had the feed for most types of typical farm animals. Some of the chickens are the exotics and beautiful to look at. He wants to take me there so I can see them. One day......
Chewlee asked her dad if she could use the golf cart and then took me for a ride to show me all their animals. We went into the goat pen and had to get on our knees to see the miniature goat. I was so impressed and shocked when I saw it. She was so damn cute and so much smaller than I imagined. I was shocked to see both a hen and a rooster sharing her shelter. They were put in to keep her company. I guess she seemed sad and lonely. I told Chewlee she would have to keep checking to see if the hen laid eggs in the hay on the floor of the shelter. She is small enough to be able to actually get inside enough to gather any eggs that are laid in there. If the hen is broody, however, she may just have to report it to her parents and get set for chicks.
I was also treated to an introduction to the two (pregnant) bunnies, inspected the coop for their chickens (from the outside) and even got to see and pet the very friendly neighbors dog. The dog hopped into the cart when Chewlee stopped and hit the floor with her hand a couple times. She lay down on the floor and just enjoyed the ride that we took. Chewlee finally drove me to my car before she took the dog home to their next door neighbor's. I had met one of them earlier as he was out back of their house when we checked out the coop. They also have chickens and a very large coop for them, too. They are the neighbors who often give the Princess fresh laid eggs. Very nice people, I've heard.
I gave Chewlee a big hug, told her I loved her (she said she loved me, too) and that I had fun with her. Again, I found my way to the Princess and Johnnycakes house without using the Garmin and found my way home again. When I told the Beast that, he said I did better than him. He says he HAS to use the Garmin or he would be hopelessly lost. It IS in the boonies but I paid attention to the landmarks and county road signs. I didn't want to have to depend on the Garmin all the time. It worked.
I've been wearing my back brace for the last couple of days and it really works. I can stand up straight and upright much longer while I wear it . I also don't experience the constant pain in my lower back either. I should have started wearing it a long time ago.
I stopped at the Walmart in Boaz and picked up some bread and also a small bag of shrimp. The Beast wants to try adding it to Alfredo sauce. He thinks it will be a good combination. I've had that at the wedding of my boss' son when I worked for the advertising agency so I know it's tasty. The chefs actually made it out where the guests could watch. It was fun to see Alfredo sauce made from scratch. The shrimp was added before the cheese was grated into the cream base. I can tell you this....I remember just how good and tasty it smelled.....LOL.
It's funny but Chewlee was watching a couple of the *So You Think You'd Survive* programs on the Weather Channel. They postulate various scenarios that you might be caught in and you are given 3 different ways you might react to them. She mentioned one of them while we were in the golf cart and actually remembered the correct way to react to them. She hadn't heard of being caught (falling into) a snow tree well that are common on many of the ski slopes that have a lot of trees along the trail.
She said she would like to try snowboarding one day when she was older and now she knew both what to avoid and how to survive if she that happened to her. She also knows about the emergency locator that many skiers and snowboarders use so that they can be found easily if they are caught in a tree well or avalanche. I was impressed with how much she remembered.
Time to get back to bed. I was very tired tonight and still feel like I need a bit more sleep. I went to bed around 11:30pm and didn't wake up until a little bit ago to use the bathroom. I had planned on doing this blog when I got up and it's now done.
Love you all. Enjoy the weekend and a Happy Easter! Oh, that reminds me. The Princess took Chewlee to a nighttime egg hunt. How's that for something different? Chewlee had to bring along a flashlight to help her locate eggs. I can't wait to hear all about that.
Be good and be happy. ***Hugs***
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Small Things That Make Your Day.....
Yesterday, my son, Mustachio, called just to see how I was and to catch up on our lives. He told me that Sheepie had come home with a kitten that looks like it is part Calico, part Tiger and part raccoon. Very unique looking. He said he would send me a picture of it but I haven't gotten it yet. When I do, I'll share it. But, he said that Sheepie pulled a *Puss in boots* face on him (you will know the face I mean if you have seen the movie, Shrek) and begged him to let her keep it. Think of that face and you won't wonder why he couldn't say *no* to her. So they have a dog AND a cat living with them now.
He said that the dog was, at first, not liking the cat at all but that changed within a day. They both are tolerating each other well now.
I told him about Baron and Sassy and their actually cuddling together. That wasn't how it started out but they get along just fine now and even play together. Oh, and we did find out what happened to Sassy's brother. He's been adopted by the neighbors in back of us and is an inside cat now. Their cat died (of old age) about a year or so ago. I know that the woman missed her cat a lot. I would, too, after almost 18 years. I guess the brother furbaby liked their food better (they gave him canned...lol). The Beast discovered this when he stopped to talk to the wife while he was out taking Baron for his run. He just asked if they had seen the furbaby and she thought the Beast was looking for *our* cat and started to apologize but he told her that he was just worried that something might have happened to him. Something bad. She was relieved and said he seemed content. That's all we needed to know. I know Sassy wants to be petted and held a lot since her brother deserted her but she enjoys having Baron around.
Chewlee gathered up some of the long grass and some other growing things in a huge pile and went and fed it to the chickens today. They LOVED it all and, at first, started to fight over it until she had scattered quite a few piles around their yard. They all claimed an area for themselves and just gorged on it. I think that they missed the greenery in their diet since they had cleared out the grass and now have to wait for it to grow. They don't pull it out of the ground but they do eat it down to the ground. Now we just need a bit more rain and then it will abound again.
We ate BLT's for our dinner tonight...Chewlee didn't want the T so she literally had a bacon and lettuce sandwich. On toast, with mayonnaise. She screwed up her nose when she saw I had mayo on it but I told her to try it before she objected. When she did, she liked it. I won't say she was crazy about it but I couldn't imagine it without anything on it but bacon and lettuce. Maybe on just plain bread but.... All of the bacon was really crispy since the Beast bakes it in the oven. It's great made that way. We have a grid that fits over the pan so all the drippings go into it. No splatters like you can get when you fry it in a pan on the stove...and no splatter burns, either!
Chewlee now likes to take showers instead of taking a bath. She also loved my shower soaps. I laughed because she used one fragrance on her body and the other one on her face and neck. I think she used the one on her face and neck because she wants a *peaches and cream* complexion....LOL.
She spent tonight figuring out my age versus her age at different stages of her future life. She actually thinks I just might live long enough to see them. I was so glad to hear that. I assured her that I was going to try my best to be around.
Well, it's late and she seems to finally be settled in. She has to go home tomorrow morning because her mother said they still have to color eggs, take pictures for Easter and a few other things. I think the Beast is going to meet up with a couple people from his church tomorrow morning so I will have to drive her home. That's why I need to get to bed now.
Love you all. Be good. I missed out on checking my FB site since I was busy around the house, and also played a game on Pogo with Chewlee. She really loves those hidden object games. So do I, actually. It's always fun with her because she sees things that I miss and vice versa. Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter. ***Hugs***
He said that the dog was, at first, not liking the cat at all but that changed within a day. They both are tolerating each other well now.
I told him about Baron and Sassy and their actually cuddling together. That wasn't how it started out but they get along just fine now and even play together. Oh, and we did find out what happened to Sassy's brother. He's been adopted by the neighbors in back of us and is an inside cat now. Their cat died (of old age) about a year or so ago. I know that the woman missed her cat a lot. I would, too, after almost 18 years. I guess the brother furbaby liked their food better (they gave him canned...lol). The Beast discovered this when he stopped to talk to the wife while he was out taking Baron for his run. He just asked if they had seen the furbaby and she thought the Beast was looking for *our* cat and started to apologize but he told her that he was just worried that something might have happened to him. Something bad. She was relieved and said he seemed content. That's all we needed to know. I know Sassy wants to be petted and held a lot since her brother deserted her but she enjoys having Baron around.
Chewlee gathered up some of the long grass and some other growing things in a huge pile and went and fed it to the chickens today. They LOVED it all and, at first, started to fight over it until she had scattered quite a few piles around their yard. They all claimed an area for themselves and just gorged on it. I think that they missed the greenery in their diet since they had cleared out the grass and now have to wait for it to grow. They don't pull it out of the ground but they do eat it down to the ground. Now we just need a bit more rain and then it will abound again.
We ate BLT's for our dinner tonight...Chewlee didn't want the T so she literally had a bacon and lettuce sandwich. On toast, with mayonnaise. She screwed up her nose when she saw I had mayo on it but I told her to try it before she objected. When she did, she liked it. I won't say she was crazy about it but I couldn't imagine it without anything on it but bacon and lettuce. Maybe on just plain bread but.... All of the bacon was really crispy since the Beast bakes it in the oven. It's great made that way. We have a grid that fits over the pan so all the drippings go into it. No splatters like you can get when you fry it in a pan on the stove...and no splatter burns, either!
Chewlee now likes to take showers instead of taking a bath. She also loved my shower soaps. I laughed because she used one fragrance on her body and the other one on her face and neck. I think she used the one on her face and neck because she wants a *peaches and cream* complexion....LOL.
She spent tonight figuring out my age versus her age at different stages of her future life. She actually thinks I just might live long enough to see them. I was so glad to hear that. I assured her that I was going to try my best to be around.
Well, it's late and she seems to finally be settled in. She has to go home tomorrow morning because her mother said they still have to color eggs, take pictures for Easter and a few other things. I think the Beast is going to meet up with a couple people from his church tomorrow morning so I will have to drive her home. That's why I need to get to bed now.
Love you all. Be good. I missed out on checking my FB site since I was busy around the house, and also played a game on Pogo with Chewlee. She really loves those hidden object games. So do I, actually. It's always fun with her because she sees things that I miss and vice versa. Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter. ***Hugs***
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Chewlee Comes For A Sleepover....Or Two.
You read that right, my Chewlee came for a sleepover today. She came, as usual, with clothes for three days plus three of her stuffed animals. She MUST have her stuffed animals with her when she goes to bed, which is where she is right now. She also brought along her school yearbook. She opened it up to show me the pictures of her class and then began pointing out all her friends and one little girl that she didn't like. It seems that the little girl was nasty to her when she first came to her new school and they now have a mutual dislike for each other.
Knowing Chewlee the way I do, I believe she would have been friends with her if the girl had acted nicely back then. But now it seems that it is a breach that may never heal. But, with kids, you just never know, do you?
Chewlee has decided that we should call the little female furbaby Sassy. She says it's because of the way that she greets you. I really think she may have meant *Saucy* but I'm not sure. However, Sassy works and so it shall be from this day forward. She likes Sassy and said that if we decided we didn't want her any more, she wants her. I told her I didn't think her mother would agree since Sassy really wants to come inside a lot but then wants to go outside almost as quickly. That would drive the Princess nuts. Besides, she has adopted the same attitude as her hubby and thinks animals belong outside. It would be different if they had an actual shelter for her or if they had a barn already but they don't. So Sassy stays right here.
Her brother has gone missing. I have no idea what happened to him but he liked the food we put out and never missed a meal. It's now been three days since we saw him so something must have happened to him. That makes me so sad. At least Sassy stays close to home. I go out at times and pet and cuddle her. You can't help it because she is so friendly and lovable. She also has made friends with a couple of the chickens. One day I will manage to capture a picture of that. Their *nose touching* (nose to beak) is just so damn cute to see!
The chickens apparently like the rain (not a downpour but they don't seem to mind a steady rain at all) and that shocked me. I mean, these chickens run for the barn if the wind is over 7mph but they will stay out in the rain??? Weird.
Chewlee helped me put the chickens away. She seemed to enjoy that but she was trying to corner one of the hens and it ran around her and ran like crazy for the doggie door. That hen could really run! But we easily got them all into the barn and I closed up the doggie door securely. Chewlee is going to see if she can bring Sam over tomorrow. He wants to see the chickens so I told Chewlee that I would let them help scatter corn around for the chickens when he comes....if he comes. I think his mother planned on bringing him over on Saturday but she might let Chewlee bring him over. They ARE friends.
Unfortunately, I may only get to have Chewlee for tonight since the Princess said that Tara may want her to take Chance for the night (she will probably spend the time with her new boyfriend). If so, she will need Chewlee to be there to keep him company since he's too old for Gunner. Chewlee wasn't thrilled with the idea because she says that she can't do some of the things she likes to do if he's there but she does love her cousin. We have to wait and see what happens. I was prepared to keep her until Sunday but her mother didn't want her to be here for Easter (I would have brought her home early) but I'll settle for keeping her until Saturday afternoon, if I can.
Chewlee just scared me. She's learned how to quietly open my computer room door and creep up behind me when she wants to do that (she wanted to let me know she had to use the bathroom....like she needed permission...sheesh!). I know it was just an excuse for her to scare me...and she did. Good thing I have a strong heart....LOL.
She ate her dinner and then decided on ice cream for dessert. I dished out ice cream for all of us (the Beast included) and the vanilla ice cream container was empty. She asked if she could lick it and the top (it had some ice cream sticking to it). I let her but told her she was strange at times. She said it would only have melted and gone to waste if she hadn't asked for it . She had a valid point.
Time to get this posted. Love you all. I wish you a few truly good friends. Why? Because * good friends help you to find important things when you have lost them....your smile, your hope and your courage.*
-Dee Zatamata
***Hugs*** for everyone.
Knowing Chewlee the way I do, I believe she would have been friends with her if the girl had acted nicely back then. But now it seems that it is a breach that may never heal. But, with kids, you just never know, do you?
Chewlee has decided that we should call the little female furbaby Sassy. She says it's because of the way that she greets you. I really think she may have meant *Saucy* but I'm not sure. However, Sassy works and so it shall be from this day forward. She likes Sassy and said that if we decided we didn't want her any more, she wants her. I told her I didn't think her mother would agree since Sassy really wants to come inside a lot but then wants to go outside almost as quickly. That would drive the Princess nuts. Besides, she has adopted the same attitude as her hubby and thinks animals belong outside. It would be different if they had an actual shelter for her or if they had a barn already but they don't. So Sassy stays right here.
Her brother has gone missing. I have no idea what happened to him but he liked the food we put out and never missed a meal. It's now been three days since we saw him so something must have happened to him. That makes me so sad. At least Sassy stays close to home. I go out at times and pet and cuddle her. You can't help it because she is so friendly and lovable. She also has made friends with a couple of the chickens. One day I will manage to capture a picture of that. Their *nose touching* (nose to beak) is just so damn cute to see!
The chickens apparently like the rain (not a downpour but they don't seem to mind a steady rain at all) and that shocked me. I mean, these chickens run for the barn if the wind is over 7mph but they will stay out in the rain??? Weird.
Chewlee helped me put the chickens away. She seemed to enjoy that but she was trying to corner one of the hens and it ran around her and ran like crazy for the doggie door. That hen could really run! But we easily got them all into the barn and I closed up the doggie door securely. Chewlee is going to see if she can bring Sam over tomorrow. He wants to see the chickens so I told Chewlee that I would let them help scatter corn around for the chickens when he comes....if he comes. I think his mother planned on bringing him over on Saturday but she might let Chewlee bring him over. They ARE friends.
Unfortunately, I may only get to have Chewlee for tonight since the Princess said that Tara may want her to take Chance for the night (she will probably spend the time with her new boyfriend). If so, she will need Chewlee to be there to keep him company since he's too old for Gunner. Chewlee wasn't thrilled with the idea because she says that she can't do some of the things she likes to do if he's there but she does love her cousin. We have to wait and see what happens. I was prepared to keep her until Sunday but her mother didn't want her to be here for Easter (I would have brought her home early) but I'll settle for keeping her until Saturday afternoon, if I can.
Chewlee just scared me. She's learned how to quietly open my computer room door and creep up behind me when she wants to do that (she wanted to let me know she had to use the bathroom....like she needed permission...sheesh!). I know it was just an excuse for her to scare me...and she did. Good thing I have a strong heart....LOL.
She ate her dinner and then decided on ice cream for dessert. I dished out ice cream for all of us (the Beast included) and the vanilla ice cream container was empty. She asked if she could lick it and the top (it had some ice cream sticking to it). I let her but told her she was strange at times. She said it would only have melted and gone to waste if she hadn't asked for it . She had a valid point.
Time to get this posted. Love you all. I wish you a few truly good friends. Why? Because * good friends help you to find important things when you have lost them....your smile, your hope and your courage.*
-Dee Zatamata
***Hugs*** for everyone.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Bratfink Has News.....
Many of those that read this blog are familiar with Bratfink. She is sister #4 in my family (I am the oldest) and she has her own blog ( http://planetbratfink.blogspot.com/ ). Her SO (significant other) spilled the beans about the birth of the four kittens that one of their cats had. It was NOT expected as they try very hard to keep their cats inside and safe but...apparently, they lost the fight this time.
They have an incredibly tough time since Sheldon doesn't make much money with the job market being so crappy where they live. That is why they couldn't have Shadow neutered once the vet that used to do the cheap spay and neuters moved out of town. I say, like Sheldon, *it is what it is*. She has a couple pictures of one of the kittens on her latest post. Kittens are so adorable.
My day was very quiet. The Beast told me not to put more corn down just yet. He said there was plenty still out there so I didn't. But tomorrow afternoon, if it's not raining, we need to change the bedding in the barn AND rake up the prickly things that are covering the yard area. No idea what tree has dropped them but I am sure they hurt the chickens feet like they annoy the hell out of us when we step on them...even in shoes. They've actually almost made me fall when I stepped on more than one at a time.
But all bets are off if it's raining. I'm a bit nervous about the fact that the weather people have our area listed as a high risk for tornadoes due to the unstable air mass and our warm weather. It's the perfect mixture to spawn tornadoes here. I will be watching the weather forecast a lot once the storms move in.
Got to close. It's almost midnight and I am beat. Love you all. Do something nice for someone today. Something they don't expect for no other reason that to be kind. Love with all your heart and be happy. ***Hugs***
They have an incredibly tough time since Sheldon doesn't make much money with the job market being so crappy where they live. That is why they couldn't have Shadow neutered once the vet that used to do the cheap spay and neuters moved out of town. I say, like Sheldon, *it is what it is*. She has a couple pictures of one of the kittens on her latest post. Kittens are so adorable.
My day was very quiet. The Beast told me not to put more corn down just yet. He said there was plenty still out there so I didn't. But tomorrow afternoon, if it's not raining, we need to change the bedding in the barn AND rake up the prickly things that are covering the yard area. No idea what tree has dropped them but I am sure they hurt the chickens feet like they annoy the hell out of us when we step on them...even in shoes. They've actually almost made me fall when I stepped on more than one at a time.
But all bets are off if it's raining. I'm a bit nervous about the fact that the weather people have our area listed as a high risk for tornadoes due to the unstable air mass and our warm weather. It's the perfect mixture to spawn tornadoes here. I will be watching the weather forecast a lot once the storms move in.
Got to close. It's almost midnight and I am beat. Love you all. Do something nice for someone today. Something they don't expect for no other reason that to be kind. Love with all your heart and be happy. ***Hugs***
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
A Visitor Brings Me A Gift!
My nephew, Michael, paid us a visit today. He came bearing a gift for me...a bottle of Marshmallow Flavored Vodka! I kid you not. He said his neighbor swears by it and said it was delicious. I took a sample taste of it and he was right. It was very different but tasty. I just don't think I could drink it straight like I am sure some people do. I made myself a drink with it later with just some ice and a bit of water. I spent the evening sipping it and it was nice. I don't think I would like it regularly but I love having it to try. I thought that was so sweet of Michael to do that.
He came out with me to see the chickens after sharing some jokes and information with the Beast (about the free site at Craigs List). Michael is always looking for an opportunity to sell things and he's managed to use that site to make a few extra bucks from time-to-time. I think he may have changed his mind about moving but I'm not quite sure about that just yet. I'll have to wait until tomorrow (he says). Not quite sure why but we shall see.
He asked a lot of questions about our chickens after being surprised that they weren't the white ones he was used to seeing. He has no idea how many varieties there are and some are just gorgeous. You would think they were bred just for contests where they were judging their beauty. Kind of like the dog shows, ya know. They may actually have them but I have no idea.
The Beast went to the dermatologist's today but he got a surprise. After biopsying one of his larger skin cancers (one that felt awful to the touch!), they used the liquid nitrogen on a LOT of them instead. You should see his arms....OMG! He looks like he's got the worst sunburn you ever saw and his arms are a bit swollen now after all of them that were done. He goes back in a week or two to finally have the salve and the special light thing done for the balance of them. He said his hand are so sensitive that whenever the sun hit them while he was driving home, it felt like fire. I can believe it. I really hope this works and lasts a while.
He's been having these kind of treatments for almost 10 years now and they keep coming back...even though he wears long sleeve shirts even in the summer when he is outside. I guess it's the UV rays that affect him most of all. Those go right through clothing. He wouldn't have bothered with it most of the time but I sent him a link that told about how skin cancer can actually end up killing you when you don't treat it. That got him to the dermatologist's office. He didn't like the first one he found but he likes this one that he's been going to now.
I was the one that had to close up the coop tonight because the Beast did go to church as usual. He had pictures to give to all the kids parents from the shoot on Sunday. The rooster went right in but a couple of the girls gave me a hard time. I had my trusty towel with me and I felt like a matador except they didn't charge me, they ran away. The last two were the worst but I got them in and got the doggie door closed. I also unplugged the heat lamps since they won't need it for the next few days...maybe longer. As long as it doesn't go below freezing, I think they can handle it. They do seem to even enjoy the cold weather. Now I am wondering how they will handle the heat of summer. Oh well. No sense worrying about it. What will be, will be.
The Beast told me that he found three of the hens (the girls as I like to refer to them) sitting on the platform of the nesting boxes. So he's decided that he doesn't have to lower them. He's just going to move the taller roost into the barn again. That way, it's a little easier for them to get to the boxes and some can even wait their turn...hopefully...when they want to lay an egg. The time that they will start is getting closer now.
Time for bed. I was busy today so I am tired. Looking after a Beast that is really hurting is not fun but, hey, I am a caregiver. He was a good one to me when I needed it. At least he never had to wheel me around in a wheelchair for a year....LOL. But he WAS surprisingly good about everything and never complained. At least, not to me.
Love you all. Be happy. Take the time to laugh a bit. Hug someone who may need it. Here's yours....***Hugs***
He came out with me to see the chickens after sharing some jokes and information with the Beast (about the free site at Craigs List). Michael is always looking for an opportunity to sell things and he's managed to use that site to make a few extra bucks from time-to-time. I think he may have changed his mind about moving but I'm not quite sure about that just yet. I'll have to wait until tomorrow (he says). Not quite sure why but we shall see.
He asked a lot of questions about our chickens after being surprised that they weren't the white ones he was used to seeing. He has no idea how many varieties there are and some are just gorgeous. You would think they were bred just for contests where they were judging their beauty. Kind of like the dog shows, ya know. They may actually have them but I have no idea.
The Beast went to the dermatologist's today but he got a surprise. After biopsying one of his larger skin cancers (one that felt awful to the touch!), they used the liquid nitrogen on a LOT of them instead. You should see his arms....OMG! He looks like he's got the worst sunburn you ever saw and his arms are a bit swollen now after all of them that were done. He goes back in a week or two to finally have the salve and the special light thing done for the balance of them. He said his hand are so sensitive that whenever the sun hit them while he was driving home, it felt like fire. I can believe it. I really hope this works and lasts a while.
He's been having these kind of treatments for almost 10 years now and they keep coming back...even though he wears long sleeve shirts even in the summer when he is outside. I guess it's the UV rays that affect him most of all. Those go right through clothing. He wouldn't have bothered with it most of the time but I sent him a link that told about how skin cancer can actually end up killing you when you don't treat it. That got him to the dermatologist's office. He didn't like the first one he found but he likes this one that he's been going to now.
I was the one that had to close up the coop tonight because the Beast did go to church as usual. He had pictures to give to all the kids parents from the shoot on Sunday. The rooster went right in but a couple of the girls gave me a hard time. I had my trusty towel with me and I felt like a matador except they didn't charge me, they ran away. The last two were the worst but I got them in and got the doggie door closed. I also unplugged the heat lamps since they won't need it for the next few days...maybe longer. As long as it doesn't go below freezing, I think they can handle it. They do seem to even enjoy the cold weather. Now I am wondering how they will handle the heat of summer. Oh well. No sense worrying about it. What will be, will be.
The Beast told me that he found three of the hens (the girls as I like to refer to them) sitting on the platform of the nesting boxes. So he's decided that he doesn't have to lower them. He's just going to move the taller roost into the barn again. That way, it's a little easier for them to get to the boxes and some can even wait their turn...hopefully...when they want to lay an egg. The time that they will start is getting closer now.
Time for bed. I was busy today so I am tired. Looking after a Beast that is really hurting is not fun but, hey, I am a caregiver. He was a good one to me when I needed it. At least he never had to wheel me around in a wheelchair for a year....LOL. But he WAS surprisingly good about everything and never complained. At least, not to me.
Love you all. Be happy. Take the time to laugh a bit. Hug someone who may need it. Here's yours....***Hugs***
Monday, March 21, 2016
Not A Bad Day But...Too Cold
We have a deep frost warning tonight and it's already down to 33 degrees outside. Our high was just 51 degrees and it felt colder to me. I never checked the humidity at all but that may have been high and would cause it to feel colder. But the chickens sure didn't mind the cooler weather. The Chicken magazine said our chickens tolerate cold well. I've seen them when they fluff up their feathers to help keep the heat in so I imagine it's true.
However, when I went to shag them into the barn for the night....after having to chase the rooster in....they all headed to the area that has the heat lamps as soon as I plugged those in for them....LOL. The girls headed for the doggie door as soon as I walked into the coop but the rooster needs to learn when it's time to go inside. He will, eventually, I'm sure.
I love how they are flocking outside as soon as they see me getting the cracked corn. All of the girls ran down the ramp and started pecking away at them. The rooster slowly strutted outside to see what the commotion was all about. He finally *got* it and started eating it as fast as he could find some. It was funny to watch.
The little female fur baby was frustrated by the Beast having blocked the way she always tried (and succeeded just once) to get into the coop. I had grabbed her before she could wreak any havoc, however, and brought her outside. Once the gate is close from outside, the two locks closed up the gap enough to keep her from getting inside. But she knew she could do it when I was in the coop and only had the single inside lock on. That's why she was so surprised that I was inside and her way was blocked. She couldn't believe it and tried pushing at the wood that blocked her way. She finally gave up and walked a little way then lay down to watch the chickens.
The male fur baby seems to have disappeared on us. We haven't seen him all day and he's usually there for the feedings. I put their food out for them around the same time every day. Today he just never appeared at all. I'm worried about him now. Of course, it could be that someone took him in but I doubt it. He was just starting to not be so fearful of us and it took a long time for us to reach that point with him. But, it could be that he was easier to approach since we showed him that not all people are out to hurt him. I can only hope.
Tomorrow is the day that the Beast finally has his skin cancer treated with the salve and the special light. Unfortunately, he has to have the salve on his arms for an hour and a half before they can use the light on him. At least he had the worst of them treated with the liquid nitrogen last week. So this should pretty much do it ... for now. It does mean that he will have to keep his long sleeve shirts on for about two weeks since it makes him super sensitive to the sun. His arms will be, I mean.
Have to get this posted now and get my butt to bed. Love you all. Tell those you love and care for that you do. Life is short and it's good to know that the last words you spoke the any particular person were *Love ya!* It's that simple. It's kind of my *goodbye*. ***Hugs***
However, when I went to shag them into the barn for the night....after having to chase the rooster in....they all headed to the area that has the heat lamps as soon as I plugged those in for them....LOL. The girls headed for the doggie door as soon as I walked into the coop but the rooster needs to learn when it's time to go inside. He will, eventually, I'm sure.
I love how they are flocking outside as soon as they see me getting the cracked corn. All of the girls ran down the ramp and started pecking away at them. The rooster slowly strutted outside to see what the commotion was all about. He finally *got* it and started eating it as fast as he could find some. It was funny to watch.
The little female fur baby was frustrated by the Beast having blocked the way she always tried (and succeeded just once) to get into the coop. I had grabbed her before she could wreak any havoc, however, and brought her outside. Once the gate is close from outside, the two locks closed up the gap enough to keep her from getting inside. But she knew she could do it when I was in the coop and only had the single inside lock on. That's why she was so surprised that I was inside and her way was blocked. She couldn't believe it and tried pushing at the wood that blocked her way. She finally gave up and walked a little way then lay down to watch the chickens.
The male fur baby seems to have disappeared on us. We haven't seen him all day and he's usually there for the feedings. I put their food out for them around the same time every day. Today he just never appeared at all. I'm worried about him now. Of course, it could be that someone took him in but I doubt it. He was just starting to not be so fearful of us and it took a long time for us to reach that point with him. But, it could be that he was easier to approach since we showed him that not all people are out to hurt him. I can only hope.
Tomorrow is the day that the Beast finally has his skin cancer treated with the salve and the special light. Unfortunately, he has to have the salve on his arms for an hour and a half before they can use the light on him. At least he had the worst of them treated with the liquid nitrogen last week. So this should pretty much do it ... for now. It does mean that he will have to keep his long sleeve shirts on for about two weeks since it makes him super sensitive to the sun. His arms will be, I mean.
Have to get this posted now and get my butt to bed. Love you all. Tell those you love and care for that you do. Life is short and it's good to know that the last words you spoke the any particular person were *Love ya!* It's that simple. It's kind of my *goodbye*. ***Hugs***
Sunday, March 20, 2016
I Spend The Day Watching The Rooster And The Chickens.....
So the Beast wakes me up around 8:30am so that I can go pick up the rooster so that he can see it and introduce it to the girls before he goes to church. Sure. Happy to do it. *Sarcasm here I hope you know* But I get dressed anyway and off I go after I grab a cup of coffee to take with me.
I surprise myself by finding my way there without using the Garmin. Hurrah...patting myself on the back for that! I was greeted at the door by the Princess, Gunner and Chewlee. Tara had just picked up Chance and she breezed out the door without returning my *Hello*. But she is a Christian woman so I just shrug it off. I loved the big grin on Gunner's face as he called me *Nana*. I think that is so cute. I pick him up to give him a hug then put him down. I then gave Chewlee a hug.
The Princess, Gunner and I go outside and get into the Golf cart, drive to my car so I can grab the container to transport the rooster and then head to the smaller coop where the roosters all are. Johnnycakes is fattening them up for eating in the next few months. You can only have ONE rooster in with the females so the other 11 are in the smaller pen. Yes, you read that right. They ended up with 12 roosters out of the 25 chicks. I think they are happy with the dozen that we gave them. More eggs....LOL.
So we are standing in the small coop and the roosters are running around like crazy and she tells me to pick one out...and she adds, *Pick one of the ones with a big comb*. So I am trying to look for one that doesn't have an injured but healed bad foot (another thing I was told not to pick) AND has a big comb. An impossible task but she finally offers to help me and grabs one that was near her. Perfect! When I talked about the girls possibly picking on him, she figured that he was older than they were so there shouldn't be a problem. We put him in the container and head back to the car to put it in the back, then head back to the house in the cart.
All this time, Gunner is on the Princess' lap *driving*. He had such a big grin on his face the whole time that it was just adorable. I had to laugh...couldn't help myself. We went inside and the poor Princess is trying to eat and making sure Chewlee has cleaned up her stuff she had in the sink and her plate she used for her breakfast. Gunner is upset because his mother won't pick him up so I say, *Oh, poor baby. Is mommy being mean to you? Do you want Nana to hold you?*
He puts up his arms and I picked him up while he hugged my neck and had his face buried in my chest. I rocked him a bit until he finally tried to get me to put him in one of the chairs by the counter. I knew the Princess didn't want him in the chairs so I told him *No* and put him down on the floor. He went over to the Princess and she started sharing her breakfast with him. She tells me he's already eaten four times so far and, *Look at him! He's still eating.* LOL. I figured if Chewlee had gone through two growth spurts this year, he was entitled to be a *growing boy*. I then said, *I'll bet if you planted his feet in the dirt, he'd grow like a weed!*
When Chewlee came over and stood beside me, I gathered her in my arms for a good *loving* as her mother calls it. When I said I should be going, Gunner actually started walking me to the door. I gave him a nice kiss (he offered first!) and then left to go home. I think he would have walked me all the way to the car if I had let him but not with the poor Princess still trying to eat her breakfast.
When the rooster and I got home (again, I didn't have to use the Garmin.), the Beast met me on the porch and took the container from me. We both went directly outside to the coop and let ourselves inside. I went into the barn for the cracked corn and started to spread it out and the girls, of course, rushed out. The Beast had let the rooster out of the container and he was strutting around in the unfamiliar surroundings and taking note of the girls.
One of the girls, probably the *head* chicken, came over and was starting to peck at him. He raised his ruff up (it was awesome) and flew at her with his feet but not with the intent of hurting her. He was just putting her in her place. She was very surprised at his actions and headed away from him. But she tried to intimidate him two more times before she gave up. After that, I was amazed at the following he had. I counted at least five of the girls who tagged along with him all day. If he went into the barn (we had closed the barn door and they had to use the doggie door), they all went in with him. If he came outside, ditto. We had more chickens outside at one time for longer periods of time than ever before.
I kept watch on the chickens for about an hour or so after the Beast left for church. Then I *had* to take a nap since I had not slept well last night and the early rise didn't help. It wasn't how I had planned picking up the rooster in my mind. I expected the Beast to wake me when he got home but he didn't. He just had a little time before he had to go take pictures of the home schooled kids from his church. They had a special party for picture taking. The Beast said the parents really hoped for individual pictures of their kids but they left them outside instead of making them pose for the pictures. I don't blame them since it was cold and windy outside. Only one girl posed individually. He got a really good group shot but he said after that they became *kids* and started playing outside. Typically, the cold didn't seem to bother them one bit.
The Beast told the parents that he would take individual pictures of them on a better day (when it is warmer and there's more sun!). But he got to eat since everyone had brought food to share including what the Beast described as *the BEST cupcakes ever*. When he told me about them, he added that he knew I wouldn't like them since they were slathered with very sweet frosting. He was right about that. I go into a sugar coma just SEEING those. No, not for me. BUT...the church ladies sent me a big bowl full of fruit...everything from blueberries, different types of grapes, pineapple, apple, watermelon, cantalope...you name it, it was included! When I say a BIG bowl, I mean a salad bowl like one you serve salad in for a family dinner!
I had no idea how fruit hungry I was until I started on that. Did I mention kiwi and mango? Two of my favorite fruits. I miss our mango tree we had at our house in Sunrise. *Sigh* I hate to admit it but I ate about half of it instead of dinner. To compensate for the lack of protein, I drank one of my Ensure's I still had in the fridge....LOL. I have to remember to pick up another six pack of those. The doctor wanted me to drink two of those a day...along with eating my meals. Mostly for the protein in it but who can afford that ?
So, when he came home from the photo shoot party, I told him about watching the chickens for a couple hours and not seeing any hostility from any of the girls. That made him happy. He had a problem getting them all into the barn for the night until I gave him a towel to use to help *herd* them in. He got the doggie door secured then and all the chickens are in together, including the rooster. Tomorrow we will have to check for blood or any injuries....just in case!
What I found funny was that, although the rooster is almost two weeks older than our girls, he's not as plump as they are and he still has pinfeathers on his tail area. I'm going to be curious as to how that looks when he's mature. I'll take pictures tomorrow if it's warmer and no wind. The chickens don't like the wind and will head for the barn and then huddle together. When the wind blew today at one point, we found them all huddled together with the rooster in the center. LMAO!!!
Time to go now. Love you all. Here's my thought for the day. Thinks good thoughts, say nice things, do good to others. It will all come back to you...that's Karma! ***Hugs***
I surprise myself by finding my way there without using the Garmin. Hurrah...patting myself on the back for that! I was greeted at the door by the Princess, Gunner and Chewlee. Tara had just picked up Chance and she breezed out the door without returning my *Hello*. But she is a Christian woman so I just shrug it off. I loved the big grin on Gunner's face as he called me *Nana*. I think that is so cute. I pick him up to give him a hug then put him down. I then gave Chewlee a hug.
The Princess, Gunner and I go outside and get into the Golf cart, drive to my car so I can grab the container to transport the rooster and then head to the smaller coop where the roosters all are. Johnnycakes is fattening them up for eating in the next few months. You can only have ONE rooster in with the females so the other 11 are in the smaller pen. Yes, you read that right. They ended up with 12 roosters out of the 25 chicks. I think they are happy with the dozen that we gave them. More eggs....LOL.
So we are standing in the small coop and the roosters are running around like crazy and she tells me to pick one out...and she adds, *Pick one of the ones with a big comb*. So I am trying to look for one that doesn't have an injured but healed bad foot (another thing I was told not to pick) AND has a big comb. An impossible task but she finally offers to help me and grabs one that was near her. Perfect! When I talked about the girls possibly picking on him, she figured that he was older than they were so there shouldn't be a problem. We put him in the container and head back to the car to put it in the back, then head back to the house in the cart.
All this time, Gunner is on the Princess' lap *driving*. He had such a big grin on his face the whole time that it was just adorable. I had to laugh...couldn't help myself. We went inside and the poor Princess is trying to eat and making sure Chewlee has cleaned up her stuff she had in the sink and her plate she used for her breakfast. Gunner is upset because his mother won't pick him up so I say, *Oh, poor baby. Is mommy being mean to you? Do you want Nana to hold you?*
He puts up his arms and I picked him up while he hugged my neck and had his face buried in my chest. I rocked him a bit until he finally tried to get me to put him in one of the chairs by the counter. I knew the Princess didn't want him in the chairs so I told him *No* and put him down on the floor. He went over to the Princess and she started sharing her breakfast with him. She tells me he's already eaten four times so far and, *Look at him! He's still eating.* LOL. I figured if Chewlee had gone through two growth spurts this year, he was entitled to be a *growing boy*. I then said, *I'll bet if you planted his feet in the dirt, he'd grow like a weed!*
When Chewlee came over and stood beside me, I gathered her in my arms for a good *loving* as her mother calls it. When I said I should be going, Gunner actually started walking me to the door. I gave him a nice kiss (he offered first!) and then left to go home. I think he would have walked me all the way to the car if I had let him but not with the poor Princess still trying to eat her breakfast.
When the rooster and I got home (again, I didn't have to use the Garmin.), the Beast met me on the porch and took the container from me. We both went directly outside to the coop and let ourselves inside. I went into the barn for the cracked corn and started to spread it out and the girls, of course, rushed out. The Beast had let the rooster out of the container and he was strutting around in the unfamiliar surroundings and taking note of the girls.
One of the girls, probably the *head* chicken, came over and was starting to peck at him. He raised his ruff up (it was awesome) and flew at her with his feet but not with the intent of hurting her. He was just putting her in her place. She was very surprised at his actions and headed away from him. But she tried to intimidate him two more times before she gave up. After that, I was amazed at the following he had. I counted at least five of the girls who tagged along with him all day. If he went into the barn (we had closed the barn door and they had to use the doggie door), they all went in with him. If he came outside, ditto. We had more chickens outside at one time for longer periods of time than ever before.
I kept watch on the chickens for about an hour or so after the Beast left for church. Then I *had* to take a nap since I had not slept well last night and the early rise didn't help. It wasn't how I had planned picking up the rooster in my mind. I expected the Beast to wake me when he got home but he didn't. He just had a little time before he had to go take pictures of the home schooled kids from his church. They had a special party for picture taking. The Beast said the parents really hoped for individual pictures of their kids but they left them outside instead of making them pose for the pictures. I don't blame them since it was cold and windy outside. Only one girl posed individually. He got a really good group shot but he said after that they became *kids* and started playing outside. Typically, the cold didn't seem to bother them one bit.
The Beast told the parents that he would take individual pictures of them on a better day (when it is warmer and there's more sun!). But he got to eat since everyone had brought food to share including what the Beast described as *the BEST cupcakes ever*. When he told me about them, he added that he knew I wouldn't like them since they were slathered with very sweet frosting. He was right about that. I go into a sugar coma just SEEING those. No, not for me. BUT...the church ladies sent me a big bowl full of fruit...everything from blueberries, different types of grapes, pineapple, apple, watermelon, cantalope...you name it, it was included! When I say a BIG bowl, I mean a salad bowl like one you serve salad in for a family dinner!
I had no idea how fruit hungry I was until I started on that. Did I mention kiwi and mango? Two of my favorite fruits. I miss our mango tree we had at our house in Sunrise. *Sigh* I hate to admit it but I ate about half of it instead of dinner. To compensate for the lack of protein, I drank one of my Ensure's I still had in the fridge....LOL. I have to remember to pick up another six pack of those. The doctor wanted me to drink two of those a day...along with eating my meals. Mostly for the protein in it but who can afford that ?
So, when he came home from the photo shoot party, I told him about watching the chickens for a couple hours and not seeing any hostility from any of the girls. That made him happy. He had a problem getting them all into the barn for the night until I gave him a towel to use to help *herd* them in. He got the doggie door secured then and all the chickens are in together, including the rooster. Tomorrow we will have to check for blood or any injuries....just in case!
What I found funny was that, although the rooster is almost two weeks older than our girls, he's not as plump as they are and he still has pinfeathers on his tail area. I'm going to be curious as to how that looks when he's mature. I'll take pictures tomorrow if it's warmer and no wind. The chickens don't like the wind and will head for the barn and then huddle together. When the wind blew today at one point, we found them all huddled together with the rooster in the center. LMAO!!!
Time to go now. Love you all. Here's my thought for the day. Thinks good thoughts, say nice things, do good to others. It will all come back to you...that's Karma! ***Hugs***
Saturday, March 19, 2016
The Girls Are In For A Surprise Tomorrow.....
I am heading over to the Princess' house tomorrow to pick up the rooster that she told the Beast was ready for us now. Personally, I could do without it but he thinks that it might be nice to be able to raise more chickens...from scratch! LOL. We'll see.
I was hoping to pick up Chewlee so she could spend a few days of her vacation with us but, unfortunately, she did a couple bad things...and I mean BAD....so she is grounded all week. It's her Spring break, too. I'm really disappointed since we intended to do a couple things while she was here but, that's life when you have an (almost) nine year old. It's kind of like the Terrible Twos while she practices to be a pre-teen. I know from her actions that she is angry about something in her life but you know how that goes. I doubt she can even put into words what is really bothering her. I have my suspicions (no, it's not her brother, either). If it were, her actions would be leading to mistreatment of him.
One of her little friends that lives close to us is dying to come and see the chickens. I gather the Beast told his mother she was welcome to come over any time and see them. I really thought that Chewlee would like showing them to him but now she won't be able to. The Beast is going over to a friend's house to take pictures of some kids for her and one of them is a girl Chewlee knows and likes. He was going to take her with him to help keep the girl entertained until it was her turn. There are about a dozen kids that he will be taking their pictures for their parents. But it means he will be making up at least one 5x7 print for them and then he will give the gal a CD with pictures of all the kids so that additional pictures can be made up if wanted.
He's been testing this one lens of his that he hasn't used much to make sure it is the right one for this shoot. He needed to know it's depth of field, etc. depending on light, distance and other things. He's finally convinced it is the right one to use.
I went out to feed the chickens their cracked corn today and it was really funny. As soon as I started scattering it around there was a mad dash for the doors to get out into the yard where I was. I mean that literally. It was the funniest thing I saw all day. As I scattered it, they stood near their favorite areas waiting for me to put some of it there for them. As soon as I was done, another mad dash. I think these chickens have only two speeds and mostly use just the mad dash one. You get the impression they are only slowing down to catch their breath.
I'm picking up the rooster and we are just going to put it in the yard and scatter the corn once he's in there. We will just watch and see how he interacts with the girls and see what they think of him. What we will do if they react badly, I have no idea. We don't really have a separate place for him until the girls get used to him but I'll leave that up to the Beast to figure out. He's the one that wanted it.
Time for me to get some sleep. I'm very tired. Love you all. Oh...and never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts. And, be kind without any thought of getting something in return. The reward is yours just from that small act of kindness, even if it's just a smile. ***Hugs***
I was hoping to pick up Chewlee so she could spend a few days of her vacation with us but, unfortunately, she did a couple bad things...and I mean BAD....so she is grounded all week. It's her Spring break, too. I'm really disappointed since we intended to do a couple things while she was here but, that's life when you have an (almost) nine year old. It's kind of like the Terrible Twos while she practices to be a pre-teen. I know from her actions that she is angry about something in her life but you know how that goes. I doubt she can even put into words what is really bothering her. I have my suspicions (no, it's not her brother, either). If it were, her actions would be leading to mistreatment of him.
One of her little friends that lives close to us is dying to come and see the chickens. I gather the Beast told his mother she was welcome to come over any time and see them. I really thought that Chewlee would like showing them to him but now she won't be able to. The Beast is going over to a friend's house to take pictures of some kids for her and one of them is a girl Chewlee knows and likes. He was going to take her with him to help keep the girl entertained until it was her turn. There are about a dozen kids that he will be taking their pictures for their parents. But it means he will be making up at least one 5x7 print for them and then he will give the gal a CD with pictures of all the kids so that additional pictures can be made up if wanted.
He's been testing this one lens of his that he hasn't used much to make sure it is the right one for this shoot. He needed to know it's depth of field, etc. depending on light, distance and other things. He's finally convinced it is the right one to use.
I went out to feed the chickens their cracked corn today and it was really funny. As soon as I started scattering it around there was a mad dash for the doors to get out into the yard where I was. I mean that literally. It was the funniest thing I saw all day. As I scattered it, they stood near their favorite areas waiting for me to put some of it there for them. As soon as I was done, another mad dash. I think these chickens have only two speeds and mostly use just the mad dash one. You get the impression they are only slowing down to catch their breath.
I'm picking up the rooster and we are just going to put it in the yard and scatter the corn once he's in there. We will just watch and see how he interacts with the girls and see what they think of him. What we will do if they react badly, I have no idea. We don't really have a separate place for him until the girls get used to him but I'll leave that up to the Beast to figure out. He's the one that wanted it.
Time for me to get some sleep. I'm very tired. Love you all. Oh...and never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts. And, be kind without any thought of getting something in return. The reward is yours just from that small act of kindness, even if it's just a smile. ***Hugs***
What Do Chickens Do When It Gets Dark While They Are Still Outside???
I'll tell you what they do after a little explanation.... The Beast usually goes out around dusk to shag them all back into the barn and usually there are a few that don't want to go in but they finally do with just a little bit of *herding*. Tonight it was fully dark before he realized that he hadn't put them away for the night and there was no light out there because he had disconnected it when he mowed the lawn out back. Ut oh!
Around here it is REALLY dark once it's full night so he grabbed his flashlight and headed out to get them safely into the barn. When he shone his light around the fenced yard, there were NO chickens outside...and no light inside either so he had to use the flashlight to secure the doggie door. When he first shone the light around the barn so he could see where they were, they were all huddled together in the far corner and acting very afraid. When he shone the light over to where they were, they made a mad dash towards him like they were all glad he finally showed up. It made him laugh but it also made it hard to him to count them since they kept moving all around him.
They were all safe and sound (and probably wondering why they had been forgotten!) so he finally closed it up for the night. He did make sure the light was plugged in while he was in there and got the connection for it plugged in when he got back to the house. We wouldn't want to traumatize them when it's what they are used to. I don't think they have good night vision, either, so the barn would be scary for them if they banged into any of the things scattered around in there.
I guess they headed for the barn for security since they've been used to being in there since they were about a month old. And, of course, they huddled together for comfort until *Big Daddy* showed up....LOL. I'm just glad we didn't have a visit from a possum or raccoon that might have been looking around for some eggs. THAT would have shocked both them AND the Beast.
The weather here, although a bit cooler than *I* like, was really pleasant. I didn't sleep well last night so I spent a good deal of today (well, that's yesterday now) napping. I was dogged tired just from the inability to sleep along with having to get up and walk around to get rid of a leg cramp behind my knee of all things. I ended up having a loaded baked potato for my dinner just because it sounded so good to me and was really tasty. I warmed up some of the leftover corned beef, too. I thought about a sandwich but decided against that additional starch. I am trying to be good about that.
The Beast has done it again and I know just why. He bought an electric percolator today. All because his buddy from church told him about coffee being better when it goes through the grounds several times instead of the one time that drip coffee pots do. I am so upset with him over that, you have no idea. I HATE an electric percolator. I told him...look, if it meant you can use less coffee, that would be great but you have to use the same amount of coffee so how do you figure it is really better? The only way you use LESS coffee is if it doesn't make the same amount as the drip one does.
I will just let him find out for himself the reason we stopped using one years ago. He thinks that today's technology has made them better. He needs to find out that it will still make it taste *burnt* after a couple hours of sitting with the heat that is keeping it warm on. Even if they no longer perk if you forget to take the centers out after it's *done* perking, it will still get that taste, I'm sure. The warmers that many of the commercial Bunn makers do that if the coffee sits for longer than a half hour. You can tell by the smell of the coffee even.
We now have three different drip coffee makers out in our garage. Yet the Beast keeps going back to the Bunn every time after a while so all I have to be is patient. It won't take him long. He likes his coffee almost as much as I do and he won't like it if it makes our Kauai coffee taste bad. I have faith in that much...LOL
Okay, going to make another attempt at sleep now..or at least a good nap. Love you all. I need to be up in about four hours to get dressed and go out to feed the chickens their cracked corn. ***Hugs***
Around here it is REALLY dark once it's full night so he grabbed his flashlight and headed out to get them safely into the barn. When he shone his light around the fenced yard, there were NO chickens outside...and no light inside either so he had to use the flashlight to secure the doggie door. When he first shone the light around the barn so he could see where they were, they were all huddled together in the far corner and acting very afraid. When he shone the light over to where they were, they made a mad dash towards him like they were all glad he finally showed up. It made him laugh but it also made it hard to him to count them since they kept moving all around him.
They were all safe and sound (and probably wondering why they had been forgotten!) so he finally closed it up for the night. He did make sure the light was plugged in while he was in there and got the connection for it plugged in when he got back to the house. We wouldn't want to traumatize them when it's what they are used to. I don't think they have good night vision, either, so the barn would be scary for them if they banged into any of the things scattered around in there.
I guess they headed for the barn for security since they've been used to being in there since they were about a month old. And, of course, they huddled together for comfort until *Big Daddy* showed up....LOL. I'm just glad we didn't have a visit from a possum or raccoon that might have been looking around for some eggs. THAT would have shocked both them AND the Beast.
The weather here, although a bit cooler than *I* like, was really pleasant. I didn't sleep well last night so I spent a good deal of today (well, that's yesterday now) napping. I was dogged tired just from the inability to sleep along with having to get up and walk around to get rid of a leg cramp behind my knee of all things. I ended up having a loaded baked potato for my dinner just because it sounded so good to me and was really tasty. I warmed up some of the leftover corned beef, too. I thought about a sandwich but decided against that additional starch. I am trying to be good about that.
The Beast has done it again and I know just why. He bought an electric percolator today. All because his buddy from church told him about coffee being better when it goes through the grounds several times instead of the one time that drip coffee pots do. I am so upset with him over that, you have no idea. I HATE an electric percolator. I told him...look, if it meant you can use less coffee, that would be great but you have to use the same amount of coffee so how do you figure it is really better? The only way you use LESS coffee is if it doesn't make the same amount as the drip one does.
I will just let him find out for himself the reason we stopped using one years ago. He thinks that today's technology has made them better. He needs to find out that it will still make it taste *burnt* after a couple hours of sitting with the heat that is keeping it warm on. Even if they no longer perk if you forget to take the centers out after it's *done* perking, it will still get that taste, I'm sure. The warmers that many of the commercial Bunn makers do that if the coffee sits for longer than a half hour. You can tell by the smell of the coffee even.
We now have three different drip coffee makers out in our garage. Yet the Beast keeps going back to the Bunn every time after a while so all I have to be is patient. It won't take him long. He likes his coffee almost as much as I do and he won't like it if it makes our Kauai coffee taste bad. I have faith in that much...LOL
Okay, going to make another attempt at sleep now..or at least a good nap. Love you all. I need to be up in about four hours to get dressed and go out to feed the chickens their cracked corn. ***Hugs***
Friday, March 18, 2016
A Day Late And A Dollar Short.....
LOL...that is me in a nutshell. I meant to do this post a lot earlier but got caught up in FB and reading a lot of the more interesting posts. If I read it in the evening, it always seems to have thousands of posts...truth! But if I read it before noon, I get finished in no time because there are fewer on my page. Why, I have no idea.
My days have become busier as my allergies are under control and I am sleeping better. Today, when I went out to spread the cracked corn and entice the chickens outside in the fresh air, I found they seem to have already developed a taste for it. I spread out a lot of it and we had the chance to see more of them staying out. When I first spread it around, I had all 12 of them out at once! That was a landmark. I never saw less than 8 of them outside all afternoon. It was fun to watch them.
The Beast and I fixed the bird feeder that had a broken (we thought at first) side. When we realized it had been either hit by something..hard...or pecked hard (probably in frustration since the Beast occasionally forgets to fill it). We filled it up with both types of seed that we have for the various birds that visit it once we got the side back in place securely. When I say we filled it up, I mean we FILLED IT UP! It is up to the top of it. The birds are going to think they've found Nirvana....LOL. That should last them a few days...I hope. They seem to eat a LOT of the seed. I don't think they are finding their normal food these days but that's what happens once you start feeding them. We even put out suet for them during the winter. Well, actually, we start doing that in the Fall....just because we have so many birds that stay during the winter and they need it to help stay warm.
I made corned beef and cabbage. The Beast kept saying it was going to be fantastic for sandwiches (while he was eating it) but it wasn't all that big and we both had seconds of it. It was sooooo good and so tender! The cabbage, potatoes and carrots turned out really good, too. The cabbage actually was a little overcooked because just when it was ready, the Beast decided he had to go to the store for something that couldn't wait. *Sigh*
I put it on low (I cooked it in my Dutch oven) but he was gone a full half hour! I blame it on HIM. It was quite a bit softer than I like but it still tasted good. Oh well. Know what he bought? A loaf of rye bread (that could have waited until later or even tomorrow), some coffee filters for the perculator that we just HAD to try to make our coffee with since his buddy told him that was how to make better coffee than our Bunn, and a coffee cake!
Nothing he bought couldn't have waited. That's a man for ya!
He actually offered to clean up after dinner which also meant putting away the leftovers! I had to redo the dishes he had in the dishwasher to make room for what he said *couldn't fit*. But I do seem to have a knack for that so I didn't complain. I just did it and then turned on the dishwasher when I was done. It saves making two loads because he doesn't know how to really put items in correctly. But he tries at least. I was just glad he hadn't started the dishwasher. Do you think he just might have been waiting for me to *fix* it? Hmmmm.
The Beast and I talked about the rooster that the Princess says is ready for us. He needs to buy a carrier type container for it. When I said that was good because, if we ever had to take one of the chickens to the vet, it would be a lot easier than carrying it under our arms. He laughed and said, *Yeah, and if they want to go to the zoo or something.....* I laughed at that. Like it could ever happen! LOL
Let me say this now that I am a day late....I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day. I do have a couple things to add. First, an Irish Blessing....*May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door*
Secondly, look after your friends. Make sure they are okay. Sometimes they are going through things that are really heavy, but they might not say anything. It's another type of kindness that we give to our friends....and our family.
Time to go. Love you all. Lastly, another thing Irish. This time it's a proverb: A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything! ***Hugs***
My days have become busier as my allergies are under control and I am sleeping better. Today, when I went out to spread the cracked corn and entice the chickens outside in the fresh air, I found they seem to have already developed a taste for it. I spread out a lot of it and we had the chance to see more of them staying out. When I first spread it around, I had all 12 of them out at once! That was a landmark. I never saw less than 8 of them outside all afternoon. It was fun to watch them.
The Beast and I fixed the bird feeder that had a broken (we thought at first) side. When we realized it had been either hit by something..hard...or pecked hard (probably in frustration since the Beast occasionally forgets to fill it). We filled it up with both types of seed that we have for the various birds that visit it once we got the side back in place securely. When I say we filled it up, I mean we FILLED IT UP! It is up to the top of it. The birds are going to think they've found Nirvana....LOL. That should last them a few days...I hope. They seem to eat a LOT of the seed. I don't think they are finding their normal food these days but that's what happens once you start feeding them. We even put out suet for them during the winter. Well, actually, we start doing that in the Fall....just because we have so many birds that stay during the winter and they need it to help stay warm.
I made corned beef and cabbage. The Beast kept saying it was going to be fantastic for sandwiches (while he was eating it) but it wasn't all that big and we both had seconds of it. It was sooooo good and so tender! The cabbage, potatoes and carrots turned out really good, too. The cabbage actually was a little overcooked because just when it was ready, the Beast decided he had to go to the store for something that couldn't wait. *Sigh*
I put it on low (I cooked it in my Dutch oven) but he was gone a full half hour! I blame it on HIM. It was quite a bit softer than I like but it still tasted good. Oh well. Know what he bought? A loaf of rye bread (that could have waited until later or even tomorrow), some coffee filters for the perculator that we just HAD to try to make our coffee with since his buddy told him that was how to make better coffee than our Bunn, and a coffee cake!
Nothing he bought couldn't have waited. That's a man for ya!
He actually offered to clean up after dinner which also meant putting away the leftovers! I had to redo the dishes he had in the dishwasher to make room for what he said *couldn't fit*. But I do seem to have a knack for that so I didn't complain. I just did it and then turned on the dishwasher when I was done. It saves making two loads because he doesn't know how to really put items in correctly. But he tries at least. I was just glad he hadn't started the dishwasher. Do you think he just might have been waiting for me to *fix* it? Hmmmm.
The Beast and I talked about the rooster that the Princess says is ready for us. He needs to buy a carrier type container for it. When I said that was good because, if we ever had to take one of the chickens to the vet, it would be a lot easier than carrying it under our arms. He laughed and said, *Yeah, and if they want to go to the zoo or something.....* I laughed at that. Like it could ever happen! LOL
Let me say this now that I am a day late....I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day. I do have a couple things to add. First, an Irish Blessing....*May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door*
Secondly, look after your friends. Make sure they are okay. Sometimes they are going through things that are really heavy, but they might not say anything. It's another type of kindness that we give to our friends....and our family.
Time to go. Love you all. Lastly, another thing Irish. This time it's a proverb: A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything! ***Hugs***
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Chickens Have Taken Over Our Life....
Today I was out in the garage and I discovered that the Beast has bought several bags of the feed for the chickens and some more of the wood chips that we spread around the floor of the barn for them. It helps because it absorbs their urine and the feces sticks to it. I now must sweep the stuff up every week and then we replace it with more.
The Beast has taken it upon himself (he gets up much earlier these days) to open up the barn so the chickens have access to the fenced in yard. Of course, only a few venture out while the sun is bright and shining on the yard. I don't know why but most of them prefer to bask in the sun that comes into the barn with the doors open. However, they prefer to use the doggie door that we installed to get in and out of the barn.
The Beast has decided that he put the nesting box too high and is going to bring it down closer to the floor of the barn so they don't have to fly up to it (using the taller perch that he made for them). I was surprised at his making it so tall. But then I realized he has no idea that they may not like having to use their wings in order to use it. He has no experience at all with any kind of poultry except for the duck he once killed by accident when it was attacking him at a local park when he was a teenager. But that's another story altogether....LOL.
I remember my great-grandfather's farm and the chickens they had. When I would stay with them during the summer (I was sickly at the time and everyone thought it would be healthy for me *out in the country*). That was my great-grandfather's idea. He once put some warm whiskey in my ear one night when I had a severe earache and, in our darkened house, he would hold me in his lap and rock me. I still can see the kitchen in our apartment with a single light on from our stove and the sound of my great-grandfather singing me Irish lullabies.
Once, when the Beast and I were in Orlando at Universal Studios, we stopped in the Irish Pub that is there for a drink. The Irish group that was playing at the pub started singing something that I sang along with them and it surprised me. I mean that it was one that my great-grandfather sang to me and, even though I didn't think I had absorbed anything, I instantly remembered it. It was a shock to me. I told the Beast about how I remembered the words and even he laughed at my surprise. I wish I remembered the name of it but it happened so long ago. All I remember is how I just sang along with it and my surprise that it just instantly sprang into my mind.
Back to the topic....the chickens. I used to go out with my great-grandmother to spread the crushed corn for them and bring them out of the coop so we could check for eggs. They laid them in some surprising areas. We would have to go over every inch of the coop to find them. I thought that was normal until I realized that they didn't have nesting boxes. They had hay on a shelf that was located just about a foot off the floor of the coop with a ramp leading up to it. We would find eggs underneath the ramp, in the hay but with hay that the chickens had covered over them. They were tricky. Some were laid underneath the shelf. Others were in different corners of the coop. It was like an Easter egg hunt without the colored eggs.....LOL.
I tried enticing out chickens out of the barn with the cracked corn but it didn't really work like I had hoped. It was a totally unfamiliar taste for them and then I realized that they had to discover it and have it be a treat for them. That will take a bit of time. I'm just going to have to do it daily for a while before they all develop a taste for it and just be patient.
When the Beast went to close up the barn later in the afternoon (around dinner time), there happened to be about eight of them in the yard. He went to close the doggie door thinking they would just jump up into the barn with the door opened but they were ticked off at the idea of his closing up the doggie door and made a run for it...all eight of them at the same time.
They were pushing and shoving each other and ended up bunching up so much that none of them were going through it. They finally started getting through and the Beast was able to close off the doggie door access. It has a cover plate that slides down over the flap so that no one and nothing can get through it. It will keep predators out of the coop through that opening.
Well, time to post this. Love you all. Be happy. Stay healthy. Most of all, be kind to everyone. We are all fighting battles of one kind or another that we don't always share. Sometimes, an unexpected act of kindness can make our day! ***Hugs***
The Beast has taken it upon himself (he gets up much earlier these days) to open up the barn so the chickens have access to the fenced in yard. Of course, only a few venture out while the sun is bright and shining on the yard. I don't know why but most of them prefer to bask in the sun that comes into the barn with the doors open. However, they prefer to use the doggie door that we installed to get in and out of the barn.
The Beast has decided that he put the nesting box too high and is going to bring it down closer to the floor of the barn so they don't have to fly up to it (using the taller perch that he made for them). I was surprised at his making it so tall. But then I realized he has no idea that they may not like having to use their wings in order to use it. He has no experience at all with any kind of poultry except for the duck he once killed by accident when it was attacking him at a local park when he was a teenager. But that's another story altogether....LOL.
I remember my great-grandfather's farm and the chickens they had. When I would stay with them during the summer (I was sickly at the time and everyone thought it would be healthy for me *out in the country*). That was my great-grandfather's idea. He once put some warm whiskey in my ear one night when I had a severe earache and, in our darkened house, he would hold me in his lap and rock me. I still can see the kitchen in our apartment with a single light on from our stove and the sound of my great-grandfather singing me Irish lullabies.
Once, when the Beast and I were in Orlando at Universal Studios, we stopped in the Irish Pub that is there for a drink. The Irish group that was playing at the pub started singing something that I sang along with them and it surprised me. I mean that it was one that my great-grandfather sang to me and, even though I didn't think I had absorbed anything, I instantly remembered it. It was a shock to me. I told the Beast about how I remembered the words and even he laughed at my surprise. I wish I remembered the name of it but it happened so long ago. All I remember is how I just sang along with it and my surprise that it just instantly sprang into my mind.
Back to the topic....the chickens. I used to go out with my great-grandmother to spread the crushed corn for them and bring them out of the coop so we could check for eggs. They laid them in some surprising areas. We would have to go over every inch of the coop to find them. I thought that was normal until I realized that they didn't have nesting boxes. They had hay on a shelf that was located just about a foot off the floor of the coop with a ramp leading up to it. We would find eggs underneath the ramp, in the hay but with hay that the chickens had covered over them. They were tricky. Some were laid underneath the shelf. Others were in different corners of the coop. It was like an Easter egg hunt without the colored eggs.....LOL.
I tried enticing out chickens out of the barn with the cracked corn but it didn't really work like I had hoped. It was a totally unfamiliar taste for them and then I realized that they had to discover it and have it be a treat for them. That will take a bit of time. I'm just going to have to do it daily for a while before they all develop a taste for it and just be patient.
When the Beast went to close up the barn later in the afternoon (around dinner time), there happened to be about eight of them in the yard. He went to close the doggie door thinking they would just jump up into the barn with the door opened but they were ticked off at the idea of his closing up the doggie door and made a run for it...all eight of them at the same time.
They were pushing and shoving each other and ended up bunching up so much that none of them were going through it. They finally started getting through and the Beast was able to close off the doggie door access. It has a cover plate that slides down over the flap so that no one and nothing can get through it. It will keep predators out of the coop through that opening.
Well, time to post this. Love you all. Be happy. Stay healthy. Most of all, be kind to everyone. We are all fighting battles of one kind or another that we don't always share. Sometimes, an unexpected act of kindness can make our day! ***Hugs***
Ack! Summer Can't Get Here Fast Enough.....
I am a big fan of summer. That is when I feel the best. That is when my allergies seem to go away. Today something new was added. I don't know what it was for sure but I think it's the pollen from the fir trees starting. I had to take double doses of my OTC meds because my sinuses went NUTS and started to drain down my throat causing me to choke a lot.
I had NO appetite and didn't even realize I hadn't eaten anything all day until the Beast came home from church and had stopped at Burger King to get us something to eat. I actually got nauseous and had to go lay down until I stopped sweating. I checked my blood sugar and it was down to 60! Did I eat? I sure did and had to take a glucose pill to bring up my blood sugar reading. I was finally able to eat without feeling like I was going to barf.
It actually got up to 85 degrees here today. It felt wonderful! The chickens were having a ball out in their *yard*. The cats kept going over to the fence and going nose to nose with the chickens. The little female (I checked and she IS female...LOL) actually climbed a tree just outside the coop and you could see her thinking about jumping into the coop. I was watching her from the deck and wondered if I was going to have to rescue her or the chickens. But she didn't have the nerve and finally started the climb down, then jumped back down off the tree.
It's funny how fast cats can climb a tree. She almost zipped up there so fast it was incredible. But coming back down is different. They have to back down because of the way their claws are bent. Since they can't see where they are going, they are much slower and cautious. When they get to what they consider a *safe* spot, then they make a slight turn and jump down.
I had seen a program about just that on Animal Planet. Cats that climb too high are the ones that have to be rescued just because they don't want to make that backward trip DOWN the tree. For an animal so smart most of the time, that seems incredibly stupid to me. Thankfully, only a few of our trees have reached any great heights and I haven't seen the cats try climbing those....yet. The Beast has plans to cut down a couple of those because the fungus has started spreading over their bark. *Sigh* I wish we had better ground here, without the fungus in it. If only we had known.......
Dennis and Diane have planted several dogwood trees along one side of their long drive to their *barn* that they originally built for their RV. I've seen several homes around here that have done that and it looks spectacular when they get bigger and fuller. It's amazing how beautiful they look when they are in bloom. The blooms stay for 6-8 weeks. So pretty. Right now, they look more like big sticks with branches because they are young plants. But in a few years....wow! I can't wait to see that.
I actually haven't been on FB for three days. That's the longest for me in many a moon. I just didn't feel like spending the time for some reason. But I will check it out after I post this tonight. It's how I keep up with what is going on in everyone's life. I miss that.
Today is my niece, Tara's, birthday. I'm not sure just how old she is at the moment. I know she's now over 40..LOL...what I used to think was middle aged. Now I would love to be that young again. If she reads this, *Happy Birthday, Tara*. May you have many more and much happiness. I DO love you.
Time to post this. Love you all and know that I feel much better now. My OTC meds seem to be working well now and I should be able to rest much better tonight. Remember, be happy. It's your choice. Don't let negativity get to you. Surround yourself with people that you love and those that make you laugh. We all deserve happiness. ***Hugs***
I had NO appetite and didn't even realize I hadn't eaten anything all day until the Beast came home from church and had stopped at Burger King to get us something to eat. I actually got nauseous and had to go lay down until I stopped sweating. I checked my blood sugar and it was down to 60! Did I eat? I sure did and had to take a glucose pill to bring up my blood sugar reading. I was finally able to eat without feeling like I was going to barf.
It actually got up to 85 degrees here today. It felt wonderful! The chickens were having a ball out in their *yard*. The cats kept going over to the fence and going nose to nose with the chickens. The little female (I checked and she IS female...LOL) actually climbed a tree just outside the coop and you could see her thinking about jumping into the coop. I was watching her from the deck and wondered if I was going to have to rescue her or the chickens. But she didn't have the nerve and finally started the climb down, then jumped back down off the tree.
It's funny how fast cats can climb a tree. She almost zipped up there so fast it was incredible. But coming back down is different. They have to back down because of the way their claws are bent. Since they can't see where they are going, they are much slower and cautious. When they get to what they consider a *safe* spot, then they make a slight turn and jump down.
I had seen a program about just that on Animal Planet. Cats that climb too high are the ones that have to be rescued just because they don't want to make that backward trip DOWN the tree. For an animal so smart most of the time, that seems incredibly stupid to me. Thankfully, only a few of our trees have reached any great heights and I haven't seen the cats try climbing those....yet. The Beast has plans to cut down a couple of those because the fungus has started spreading over their bark. *Sigh* I wish we had better ground here, without the fungus in it. If only we had known.......
Dennis and Diane have planted several dogwood trees along one side of their long drive to their *barn* that they originally built for their RV. I've seen several homes around here that have done that and it looks spectacular when they get bigger and fuller. It's amazing how beautiful they look when they are in bloom. The blooms stay for 6-8 weeks. So pretty. Right now, they look more like big sticks with branches because they are young plants. But in a few years....wow! I can't wait to see that.
I actually haven't been on FB for three days. That's the longest for me in many a moon. I just didn't feel like spending the time for some reason. But I will check it out after I post this tonight. It's how I keep up with what is going on in everyone's life. I miss that.
Today is my niece, Tara's, birthday. I'm not sure just how old she is at the moment. I know she's now over 40..LOL...what I used to think was middle aged. Now I would love to be that young again. If she reads this, *Happy Birthday, Tara*. May you have many more and much happiness. I DO love you.
Time to post this. Love you all and know that I feel much better now. My OTC meds seem to be working well now and I should be able to rest much better tonight. Remember, be happy. It's your choice. Don't let negativity get to you. Surround yourself with people that you love and those that make you laugh. We all deserve happiness. ***Hugs***
Monday, March 14, 2016
A Much Better Day!!!!
I didn't suddenly lose my allergies but I did start on my OTC remedies that I have learned work for me. It takes a while for it to kick in but I had a wonderful day today. Especially compared to the way I felt yesterday.
Cee called me to see how I was feeling today and she was glad I was feeling better. We had initially planned on her coming over on Sunday but then decided to put it off until next weekend since she was still working on her own Spring cleaning.
Today I finally got all my clothes folded and put away plus I folded some things the Beast had washed (and forgotten he had in the dryer). I had found them, put them in the basket and then went ahead and folded them for him. I kind of took that job on a long time ago when I was recovering from the first of my surgeries. It was about all I could do at the time because I couldn't walk.
I don't mind it. It's not like ironing....which I hate. I avoid it at all costs. If I buy something that looks like it might need ironing after it's washed for the first time...out it goes! I am grateful that the Beast is picky about his shirts that sometimes need a touch-up and he does it himself. I ironed for years (mostly when watching the football games on Sunday) and blessed the person/company that came up with Permanent Press!
I talked the Beast into buying some cracked corn for the chickens. I wanted it to scatter for the chickens so they have something good for them to peck at in the yard of the coop. It was funny to watch them when I first scattered it in front of them. Only two of them were curious enough to see what it was. When they started looking for the corn, the others came rushing over......LOL! Just like a bunch of kids.
It was a beautiful day today. Earlier in the week, they had predicted rain for us but that changed a couple days ago (well, on Saturday night). But I am always tongue in cheek about their predictions since so many areas around us were having really awful weather.
More good weather tomorrow and for the next few days, too. I'm so happy about that even if it DOES mean that I have to remember to keep taking the meds for my allergies. I just sneezed so hang on...must be time to take one of them. Back. When you feel good, it's sometimes easy to forget the reason WHY you do....LOL.
I even ended up sleeping well for a change...once the OTC meds kicked in. You can't keep sneezing and be asleep at the same time. It's just impossible.
Time to get this posted. Love you all. Choose to be happy. If something upsets you that you cannot change, let it go. Life is too short for that. Smile, be kind and enjoy your life. We all have the right to be happy. ***Hugs***
Cee called me to see how I was feeling today and she was glad I was feeling better. We had initially planned on her coming over on Sunday but then decided to put it off until next weekend since she was still working on her own Spring cleaning.
Today I finally got all my clothes folded and put away plus I folded some things the Beast had washed (and forgotten he had in the dryer). I had found them, put them in the basket and then went ahead and folded them for him. I kind of took that job on a long time ago when I was recovering from the first of my surgeries. It was about all I could do at the time because I couldn't walk.
I don't mind it. It's not like ironing....which I hate. I avoid it at all costs. If I buy something that looks like it might need ironing after it's washed for the first time...out it goes! I am grateful that the Beast is picky about his shirts that sometimes need a touch-up and he does it himself. I ironed for years (mostly when watching the football games on Sunday) and blessed the person/company that came up with Permanent Press!
I talked the Beast into buying some cracked corn for the chickens. I wanted it to scatter for the chickens so they have something good for them to peck at in the yard of the coop. It was funny to watch them when I first scattered it in front of them. Only two of them were curious enough to see what it was. When they started looking for the corn, the others came rushing over......LOL! Just like a bunch of kids.
It was a beautiful day today. Earlier in the week, they had predicted rain for us but that changed a couple days ago (well, on Saturday night). But I am always tongue in cheek about their predictions since so many areas around us were having really awful weather.
More good weather tomorrow and for the next few days, too. I'm so happy about that even if it DOES mean that I have to remember to keep taking the meds for my allergies. I just sneezed so hang on...must be time to take one of them. Back. When you feel good, it's sometimes easy to forget the reason WHY you do....LOL.
I even ended up sleeping well for a change...once the OTC meds kicked in. You can't keep sneezing and be asleep at the same time. It's just impossible.
Time to get this posted. Love you all. Choose to be happy. If something upsets you that you cannot change, let it go. Life is too short for that. Smile, be kind and enjoy your life. We all have the right to be happy. ***Hugs***
Sunday, March 13, 2016
The Start Of My Allergy Season....
Figures! The one time I managed to watch a bit of the weather channel, it said that TOMORROW marks the start of the allergy season. Wrong! It started today. I woke up feeling just miserable and couldn't even manage to drink a cup of coffee for several hours. The only reason I DID, finally, was in an effort to try to rouse myself and feel better. I did not realize that it wasn't my cold making me feel so lousy. It wasn't until it dawned on me that my eyes were watering and my sinuses kept filling up plus I was doing a lot of sneezing. Then, with the vision of the peach blossoms in my mind, it finally dawned on me. My allergies had kicked in full blast.
I tried taking a couple of Dristans before I realized that they didn't work for me last season and that's why there were so many of them left in the bottle. Duh! After taking them, I couldn't/didn't dare take anything else so I just had to suffer. I did manage to rouse myself a bit and set the clocks to the correct time ( the Beast left it to me since he had to leave early) then was back in bed until I figured I had better make something to eat for me and the Beast when he got home.
I actually got dressed and drove down to Dollar General to pick up a couple things I needed for the Shrimp Scampi I planned to make (you can't make it with Angel hair spaghetti...not for me, anyway) and we were out of parmesan cheese. I would have preferred fresh but no way was I going to drive anywhere else.
I even looked out at the chickens a few times to check on them but they were enjoying themselves with the decent weather we were having. There was no rain and almost no wind to speak of.
After the Beast got home, he came in to compliment me on how good the scampi was. I told him he should have made himself a salad from the fixings in the fridge but he said he wasn't that hungry and the scampi tasted great to him. I didn't have that much of an appetite and only ate about a half bowl but was still blowing my nose every 15 minutes or so. At least I seem to have stopped sneezing since I used the Allerest nasal spray but it has only slowed down the need to blow my nose. Good thing it's done that much because my nose was starting to get a bit sore. The outside, not the inside.
I know it's the pollen from the trees and I expect to start finding that yellow stuff covering the deck, table and chairs out there any time now. I hadn't even considered my allergies. This year seems to be one of the worst I've suffered in a long time. Maybe it's cyclical. I just know that I hate feeling this way. It will be a couple weeks before the worst of it is over. I truly think it's all these pine and spruce trees around us that is doing it to me. My allergist in Florida never wanted to give me full allergy testing because he swore it makes allergies worse and it's better to treat the symptoms as they happen. I trusted him and I still do so I will suffer this through until it eases up. I'll feel better in a day or two, actually. It gets better as I use the nasal spray as far as all this damn mucus goes. That's the part that I hate.
I'm heading to bed now. You'll pardon me for that, won't you? Love you all. Be happy. Watch out for any allergies YOU may have. It's that time of year....or almost anyway....for many areas. ***Hugs***
I tried taking a couple of Dristans before I realized that they didn't work for me last season and that's why there were so many of them left in the bottle. Duh! After taking them, I couldn't/didn't dare take anything else so I just had to suffer. I did manage to rouse myself a bit and set the clocks to the correct time ( the Beast left it to me since he had to leave early) then was back in bed until I figured I had better make something to eat for me and the Beast when he got home.
I actually got dressed and drove down to Dollar General to pick up a couple things I needed for the Shrimp Scampi I planned to make (you can't make it with Angel hair spaghetti...not for me, anyway) and we were out of parmesan cheese. I would have preferred fresh but no way was I going to drive anywhere else.
I even looked out at the chickens a few times to check on them but they were enjoying themselves with the decent weather we were having. There was no rain and almost no wind to speak of.
After the Beast got home, he came in to compliment me on how good the scampi was. I told him he should have made himself a salad from the fixings in the fridge but he said he wasn't that hungry and the scampi tasted great to him. I didn't have that much of an appetite and only ate about a half bowl but was still blowing my nose every 15 minutes or so. At least I seem to have stopped sneezing since I used the Allerest nasal spray but it has only slowed down the need to blow my nose. Good thing it's done that much because my nose was starting to get a bit sore. The outside, not the inside.
I know it's the pollen from the trees and I expect to start finding that yellow stuff covering the deck, table and chairs out there any time now. I hadn't even considered my allergies. This year seems to be one of the worst I've suffered in a long time. Maybe it's cyclical. I just know that I hate feeling this way. It will be a couple weeks before the worst of it is over. I truly think it's all these pine and spruce trees around us that is doing it to me. My allergist in Florida never wanted to give me full allergy testing because he swore it makes allergies worse and it's better to treat the symptoms as they happen. I trusted him and I still do so I will suffer this through until it eases up. I'll feel better in a day or two, actually. It gets better as I use the nasal spray as far as all this damn mucus goes. That's the part that I hate.
I'm heading to bed now. You'll pardon me for that, won't you? Love you all. Be happy. Watch out for any allergies YOU may have. It's that time of year....or almost anyway....for many areas. ***Hugs***
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Turn Clocks Ahead....Payback For That Extra Hour You Got Last Fall
The Beast went to bed early tonight after he realized that we turn our clocks AHEAD an hour tonight (or at 2am Sunday, depending on when you read this). He has a special church get-together Sunday and it requires him to leave the house around 7:30am. He does NOT do mornings well and needs to get up early so he can wake up before he gets dressed, especially for a church function. That requires dress pants, dress shirt, tie and a sport jacket. Let's not forget the dress socks and shoes, either.
He's having a really tough time getting his shoes on these days. I usually end up having to help him with that, even his sneakers now. It's like he's stiffening up more on his left side (the one that was paralyzed after his strokes) so he can't reach them. We tried using a shoe horn, including one with a long handle but that didn't do it. For whatever reason, he can't get the right angle to make them work for him. Oh well. I don't mind. It gets him out of the house for a while.
I went over to Cee's today (finally) and we just sat and talked about things like Spring cleaning and family. We had a few laughs (we always do) and then the Beast called to have me stop at the store on my way home. We just needed some bread, mayo and some soda. He plans on packing a lunch to take with him since there's no kitchen at the place they are gathering so it's either try to find a restaurant nearby during their *lunch break* or bring your own lunch with you.
I made some ham salad when I got home which is always one of his favorites so he can make up a sandwich for his lunch, bag some potato chips and he'll have a couple sodas to take with him. IF I wake up as early as HE gets up (none of the clocks are turned back yet....I'll do it when I wake), I'll add either an orange (peeled for him) or a cored and sliced apple. It all depends on how I feel. I don't peel the apple because he likes it with the skin left on. I'm just as glad since I hate peeling an apple so damn early in the morning anyway.....LOL. It's bad enough when I decided to make a pie and HAVE to do it.
I am going to be doing a bit of Spring cleaning in my computer room. I need to wash my window, clean up my fan, vacuum behind my desk...and the rest of the room, too, of course! I want to try to straighten out the closet in here so I can put some things in there to get them out of the way but still be accessible. Not sure how THAT is going to go but I have to try. I forget what's on the floor in there and don't want to go look at the moment.
We found out something I thought was interesting to know about the chickens. It wasn't very windy today and, although it was overcast, the chickens came outside and were pecking around and exercising their wings. It started to rain...and gentle one...at first...but the chickens weren't the least bit bothered by the rain. That is, until the rain got heavier....then they all fled inside. It was another rush for the doggie door and, of course, several chickens tried to go in at the same time another chicken was trying to. Result? The two bodies blocked the door and the chickens behind them got upset and pecked their behinds to separate them. They finally figured out they had to go in one at a time....took them long enough!
The rain never did get to be a hard rain and it tapered off to nothing so we left the doggie door open. But, when we didn't see any chickens outside for the couple hours until the Beast went to finally close it for the night, he found them all settled in for bed! He laughed and said they must have heard about losing an hour tonight so they are going to sleep early! Funny guy!
I decided to go ahead and do my wash tonight so I wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow when I am doing my cleaning. But then I thought about my summer clothes and realized that I was going to have to think about washing them.....soon, I hope. With all the weird weather, you just can't be sure of anything so I figured I could wait and see what happens over the next week or so.
The Alberta peach tree has started to blossom! That shocked me because it usually doesn't do that until April. It's all the warm weather we've been having that has the trees all confused. My dogwood trees have buds that look like they are going to bloom soon. Dammit! The earlier they bloom, the sooner the blossoms will be gone. They only last about six weeks. I love seeing the dogwood outside my computer room when it's in bloom. The other one is across the yard so I have to be on the deck to see it. That's the red one. Funny, but when the bees cross-pollinate them, some of the blossoms on my white dogwood are pink!
Time to get this posted so I can go to bed. It's late and I am tired. Love you all. Be happy everyone. Dance like no one is watching. Love with all your heart. Love given is not wasted and comes back in many different ways. ***Hugs***
He's having a really tough time getting his shoes on these days. I usually end up having to help him with that, even his sneakers now. It's like he's stiffening up more on his left side (the one that was paralyzed after his strokes) so he can't reach them. We tried using a shoe horn, including one with a long handle but that didn't do it. For whatever reason, he can't get the right angle to make them work for him. Oh well. I don't mind. It gets him out of the house for a while.
I went over to Cee's today (finally) and we just sat and talked about things like Spring cleaning and family. We had a few laughs (we always do) and then the Beast called to have me stop at the store on my way home. We just needed some bread, mayo and some soda. He plans on packing a lunch to take with him since there's no kitchen at the place they are gathering so it's either try to find a restaurant nearby during their *lunch break* or bring your own lunch with you.
I made some ham salad when I got home which is always one of his favorites so he can make up a sandwich for his lunch, bag some potato chips and he'll have a couple sodas to take with him. IF I wake up as early as HE gets up (none of the clocks are turned back yet....I'll do it when I wake), I'll add either an orange (peeled for him) or a cored and sliced apple. It all depends on how I feel. I don't peel the apple because he likes it with the skin left on. I'm just as glad since I hate peeling an apple so damn early in the morning anyway.....LOL. It's bad enough when I decided to make a pie and HAVE to do it.
I am going to be doing a bit of Spring cleaning in my computer room. I need to wash my window, clean up my fan, vacuum behind my desk...and the rest of the room, too, of course! I want to try to straighten out the closet in here so I can put some things in there to get them out of the way but still be accessible. Not sure how THAT is going to go but I have to try. I forget what's on the floor in there and don't want to go look at the moment.
We found out something I thought was interesting to know about the chickens. It wasn't very windy today and, although it was overcast, the chickens came outside and were pecking around and exercising their wings. It started to rain...and gentle one...at first...but the chickens weren't the least bit bothered by the rain. That is, until the rain got heavier....then they all fled inside. It was another rush for the doggie door and, of course, several chickens tried to go in at the same time another chicken was trying to. Result? The two bodies blocked the door and the chickens behind them got upset and pecked their behinds to separate them. They finally figured out they had to go in one at a time....took them long enough!
The rain never did get to be a hard rain and it tapered off to nothing so we left the doggie door open. But, when we didn't see any chickens outside for the couple hours until the Beast went to finally close it for the night, he found them all settled in for bed! He laughed and said they must have heard about losing an hour tonight so they are going to sleep early! Funny guy!
I decided to go ahead and do my wash tonight so I wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow when I am doing my cleaning. But then I thought about my summer clothes and realized that I was going to have to think about washing them.....soon, I hope. With all the weird weather, you just can't be sure of anything so I figured I could wait and see what happens over the next week or so.
The Alberta peach tree has started to blossom! That shocked me because it usually doesn't do that until April. It's all the warm weather we've been having that has the trees all confused. My dogwood trees have buds that look like they are going to bloom soon. Dammit! The earlier they bloom, the sooner the blossoms will be gone. They only last about six weeks. I love seeing the dogwood outside my computer room when it's in bloom. The other one is across the yard so I have to be on the deck to see it. That's the red one. Funny, but when the bees cross-pollinate them, some of the blossoms on my white dogwood are pink!
Time to get this posted so I can go to bed. It's late and I am tired. Love you all. Be happy everyone. Dance like no one is watching. Love with all your heart. Love given is not wasted and comes back in many different ways. ***Hugs***
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