Putting Things Together With The Beast.....

 ....can often be a real trial.  Today the nesting boxes came and it was a DIY project.  The boxes were actually together but the whole thing was made of some kind of sheet metal.  *Sigh*  Worse than that (at least the edges were not sharp), there were lots and lots of tine screws and nuts.  And I mean TINY.  We had to fit all these pieces together with very little space for your fingers to get in so that you could at least start the nuts onto the end of the screws.  Then it was MY job to hold the nuts in place with a closed end wrench while he used his electric drill to secure them.  

After fitting together a bunch of pieces (thankfully the instructions were pretty clear so obviously were not a Chinese translation), we finally had the boxes done.  At least the Beast doesn't seem to swear as much when I help him.  I doubt he could have put it together alone anyway.  We then carried it outside to the barn and secured it.  We did this so early because we want the chicks to get used to it for when they may actually start using it.  (I've taken a picture that will be shown at the end of this post, along with the little ramp he made and installed for when we finally have the area that will be the coop done so the chickens can be let outside.)  I've also taken the pictures that I said I would of how the chickens have grown from the last ones I took.  The Beast took pictures of one of the chicks in my hands so you can get a bit of an idea of their size.  

                                                           The *Barn*
                                          

                                                The ramp and *doggy* door

                                        The window for light and ventilation

                                                 The nesting boxes

                                  The new roosting bar for when they are bigger

                   The chicks and their first taste of more freedom

Last but not least, me holding one of the chicks.  Sorry about my hair but it's windy outside and I didn't plan this picture to be taken.  The tail is what is up front, but you can see how big it is and it's not even standing up straight!

So there you have the promised pictures.  No more complaining about me not posting enough pictures.  I haven't even shared these on my FB page!  The chicks are so friendly that I just might enjoy having them.  I am keeping tongue-in-cheek about that right now but the signs are good.

Love you all.  Time for beddy-bye.  Just a few thoughts for tonight.....

Be kind (as usual!).  Be grateful.  Let go of what you can't control or change.  Treat everyone in the same way you want to be treated.  And...most of all...just think how sad it would be if today was the very last time you got to talk to someone you love  or care about.  Would your memory of it be a good one?   ***Hugs***

2nd Post.....Can't Help Thinking.....

...about some of these damn commercials on TV.  And the changes in some of the channels.  I mean, come on now!  Hallmark and History2?  And those are just the two that jump to my mind.  I'm sorry that I can't recall right now what the new names are but I DO remember that they are ridiculous.  History2 is moving the *history* type programs that some of us might watch to the regular history channel and moving others, not history related, to the NEW channel name.  It's like changing things just for the sake of changes.  Like many internet sites do.  If it works, why are you changing it?  What the heck is wrong with the name of Hallmark?  

I have been on game sites, and even on my email sites, and they *suddenly* have updates that change things and make them more complicated.  For NO reason.  Just to change things and make everyone think they are *improving* things.  Most of the time, it's not an improvement.  I'll reserve judgment on these until I see what happens and just how much of their format they change.

I mentioned the other day that I need a haircut.  Today, my hair drove me crazy so I grabbed a pair of scissors and just cut off what I felt needed to go.  I didn't look in a mirror but, when I go to set my hair, I will have a better idea of how much damage I really did.  I was a beautician years ago but, unlike the ones today, we worked with very different tools.  But I cut until it felt better.  I just can't afford a beautician with all the stuff we bought for the chickens.  Heck, we are still waiting for the nesting boxes to be delivered (they come early next week).  Just too much going out all at once, especially with the feed now for the chicks plus buying food for the fur babies.  Besides, I've been doing this for myself for years now.  It may not look great but it works for me...LOL.

Speaking of the fur babies.  Although both of them are orange tigers, the male is looking more like it's a long hair variety.  You can see the difference now.  The Beast thinks the female is preggers (I hope not!)  She's awfully young and that can be so dangerous.  But they were in one of the big flower pots this morning, facing each other and with their front paws around each others faces.  I just wish they would have stayed that way until the Beast or I could have gotten our cameras.  But, when they saw us at the storm door, they jumped down and ran over to the door expecting to be fed.

Okay...stopping this for tonight.  I need to set my hair before it dries and see what damage I've done.  Love you all.   ***Hugs***

A Mystery.....

The Princess called me today to ask me why she would have received a letter, addressed to me but sent to her old address.  I was dumbfounded and the name on the envelope didn't seem familiar to me even though it was sent from the town I lived in as a teenager.  I told her to hang onto it and drop it off to me when she came over to the house next time.  

The letter had gone to her old address (as I said) and then been forwarded to her new address.  The name on the envelope has been circling my brain all day long.  It's like I *should* be able to put a face to it.  I would look it up in my yearbook except that was lost in the tornado the Beast and I went through the first year we were married.  It was totally ruined, along with his.  I am wondering if it may have something to do with a reunion of my graduating class (but it's an odd year..it would be 52 years).  I just have to wait and see.  I'll let you know when I find out.

The weather sucked today.  Our high was 45 but the w/c was 38.  It's now 35 degrees outside but the w/c is just 28.  The humidity isn't as high as yesterday (no rain) but the wind has been almost a constant 21mph.  Brrr!  I had to turn the heat on in my computer room.  Otherwise, I would be sitting under my electric blanket with it all the way up to my neck...LOL.

The day was just one where the Beast checked on the chickens and had to refill their water.  That was a shock since it has only been three days since he last filled it for them.  Their feed was also empty.  We are hoping they eat a bit less once they are no longer growing like weeds.  There's only a couple more days until we can let them out of the small pen inside the barn and let them move around more and get used to the cooler weather.  I saw pictures of the same kind of chickens walking in snow (not deep snow) so I hope they can tolerate it well once they are fully grown.  That way, if the Beast finally has the outside enclosure done, we can let the chickens outside to forage a bit for grass, insects, whatever it is they like to eat.

I guess the Beast is going to hire a neighbor to help do the post holes for the fencing.  That would be the toughest part for him since he just doesn't have the strength any more to go through dirt as hard as ours.  It's mixed with chert (which is very cement-like) from when the guy that owned this land used it to help level the lots.  When we planted our trees, at least we had the help of our great-nephews for some of them.

We have to cut down and remove several of our existing trees.  They have a fungus growing on them.  Another has already died.  It 's sad because they are getting big and pretty.  I swear this land is cursed...LOL.  It's the fungus that was found in our soil and I am not convinced that it wasn't the chert that was used that caused the problem.  The front of the house is in better shape although some fungus was found out there, too.  If only we had had some idea.  We wouldn't have spent the money we did on all those fruit trees.  I'm just grateful that our dogwood trees don't seem to be affected.  I would miss them.

Time to get this posted.  Love you all.  Be patient with those you love.  They can be here today and gone tomorrow.  It's part of being kind.  Especially with us old folks.  Yes, we can be forgetful.  But we still love and have feelings.  ***Hugs***

 

Humidity Sure Makes The Day Suck!

I took the time to set my hair last night after my shower.  Today was overcast (with short bursts of sun), in the lower 50's and humid as hell.  So, what happens to my hair?  You guessed it...frizz!  It's bad enough that I have curly hair.  Oh, not the nice kind that you can just twirl into ringlets, let dry and looks adorable.  It is the kind that looks like the the finger-waving that was popular on women in the 20's and 30's.  Just awful.  The back started to curl up and just looked messy.  It didn't matter what I did with it, short of using a ton of hairspray on it which I refuse to do.  

Even worse, the humidity made the house feel cold.  The storm door was opened and closed multiple times to check on the chickens, let the dog outside, feed the cats, get the mail, bring in the garbage bin after it had been picked up, etc., etc.  Each time, the wind blowing inside just made it worse.  I was dressed in a top and jeans and a light jacket all day long.  Awful.  Worse hair day in ages.  I need a haircut to make it even worse.  At least with shorter hair, it makes it much easier and a little mousse helps out.  I should have used some last night.  *Sigh*

The Beast and I are trying to use up some of the food that has been in our freezer before they suffer from freezer burn.  Most of it is pretty recent but there were a few things that were *iffy*.  But among the more recent purchases was what was called a *California* pizza.  That's what the Beast decided to make today (it was his turn).  Well, at first, it didn't look too bad.  However, he never checked and it did NOT have any kind of meat on it.  Trust those Californians to want to eat a *healthy* pizza.  It had sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, cheese, olives and something else on it that was not identified.  The Beast had already emptied the garbage while the pizza was baking so we couldn't even check to see what it was.  I suspect it may have been artichokes.  It was tasty (needed salt and I ended up sprinkling some cayenne pepper on mine) but not satisfying.  I guess we are just too used to always having sausage or pepperoni on ours.  Just be warned if you see one (they look tasty).  Especially if you are a meat lover.

I'm looking forward to this weekend for some crazy reason.  I DO still want to take some pictures of the growing chicks but, forgive me, I want to wait until the weather is a bit warmer.  I will post them when I do but right now, I am not in the mood to go out when it's cold enough to make my left hand hurt (that's the one that has arthritis in my pinky and the finger next to it.  That's caused from too many injuries as a kid from windows whose sashes broke when trying to open them (the heavy apartment kind in the city) and having that hand also stuck in a closed car door.  Not once but twice.  Injuries as kids can have lasting effects on your body.  *Sigh*

I'm tired and it's after 1am so I am heading for bed.  Love you all.  Hope you are keeping warm and dry.  ***Hugs***

How Does Time Slip Away Like This???

I was reading posts on FB and someone brought up the fact that they thought getting old would take longer.  I thought about that because it's really true.  We may imagine getting old when we are young but it always seems like it's something so far in the future that we don't need to think about it seriously.  We won't grow OLD like many of our relatives...no way!

But, before we know it, we look in the mirror and don't recognize ourselves any more.  It's a big shock to see that we are now one of those old people we really didn't think we would ever be.  Gone is our youthful looks.  Our skin is dry and starting to sag.  We now are applying ointments to try to regain some of that youthful look or at least eliminate some of those damn wrinkles!  It's a sad state of affairs.  

Oh, we accept that there really is nothing we can do, no miracle vitamins we can take that will give us back the youth we once had.  We regret the fact that time had betrayed us and taken our health, vitality and, for some, our ability to do many things that we once took for granted.  For some, bending over becomes an issue.  You end up buying a *grabber* to help you get things off of high shelves because you don't dare use a chair to stand on.  You are just so scared of falling and hurting yourself.  You also cannot bend over easily and need to kneel down now in order to pick up something you dropped....hence, the grabber thingy.

Some cannot put on any type of shoes unless they have help or they are the slip-on type.  Others must use a cane to help them move from one place to another.  Others are stuck in wheelchairs because they are overweight, need knee replacements or have a bad heart.  Sometimes, it's all three.  Then you have those of us that have developed Type 2 diabetes.  I was overweight when that hit ME and, even losing most of that weight didn't help me.  I am now a normal weight for my age and height but it just means that my diabetes is under control now.  My A1C is very good (that's a special test that gives your average sugar level for the three months previous).  Five is considered very good and mine runs between 4 and 5.

It makes you think....*IF I had realized that my old age would be like this, I would have taken better care of myself when I was young.*  HA! HA! HA!  Many times the things that plague us are genetic and it happens when your body starts  serious aging.  Nothing works as well as it did because it 's actually starting the process of our dying.  Sad but true.  The cells are not working as well or as efficiently as they did when we were young.  But there is a bit of truth in our not trying to be healthy all the time.

Some....like the Beast....avoided going to the doctor like he should have.  He didn't even go once a year.  I would go twice a year and sometimes more.  If I was injured for any reason, I went.  It didn't stop my diabetes even though I was warned.  But I was too busy raising kids, doing housework, keeping us fed and working full time.  My sister, Cee, who lived nearby, often helped me out (Bless her heart) since the Beast did nothing except work.  He hired someone to do our lawn rather than do it himself.  

When the Beast had his first stroke (the major one), he actually should have died according to the doctors.  He had a brain stem stroke and people who had those usually end up as vegetables or die.  Doctors at the hospital where he was kept coming in to see him and look at the X-rays.  They were all shocked that it was only his left side that was paralyzed.  After a year of physical therapy, he was able to walk and move his left side, even though he had a second stroke six months later.  Even now, he still is careless with his health.  He doesn't take his high blood pressure pills every day.  He is dragging his left leg more and more as time goes on.  We are replacing his sneakers every three months because of how it wears.  His shoes that he wears to church, we only have to replace every six or seven months.

He hates that he is no longer able to do many things that he could when he was younger.  He knows that he is over 70 now but really hasn't come to terms with his age, like many of us.  It's hard to think that there will be a time when we are no longer here.  That we will no longer be able to show that we love our kids, grandkids and great-grandchildren.  We wonder how they will remember us when we are no longer here.  Will they have good memories of us?  Will they miss us?

I've lost many relatives and friends already in my life.  Some I loved dearly and I still mourn their loss.  They have special places in my heart.  Some died before their time.  Others were old.  Some died  younger than *I* am and that's scary to me.  How did this happen?  How did I get old so fast?  I don't remember signing up for this.  My kids made me promise to outlive the Beast.  I'm trying.  I try very hard to take care of myself.  I see my doctors regularly.  I go for any tests they require.  The Beast doesn't.  He has recurring bladder cancer but hates to have the test required for the doctor to check for any signs.  He's already had two surgeries for it (and luckily, they were able to remove the cancers without damage to the bladder....yet).  He finally started going to have his skin cancers treated.  But that was more for vanity than the fact that it worried him.  When I told him he really COULD die from skin cancers, he poo-pooed the idea.  I had to tell him that if it got into his blood steam, watch out!  

When he started his FB page, he put up the picture of himself from HS.  I laughed when I saw it.  It was months before he posted one of himself as he is today but he photo shopped it a lot.  It looks like he wishes he did....LOL.
At least mine is real and no photo shopping done on it.  It's a picture of me with my granddaughter, Chewlee, that I had no intention of taking that day but Chewlee insisted she wanted a picture with me in it.  So it's me....no makeup..no special clothes or anything.  I look at it and I think...that's not the me that  I feel in my heart.  I am NOT that old person I see.  I can't be!  

I know I am not alone.  No matter how much someone smiles and tries to say they are fine with growing old, in their hearts, they are much younger.  But their bodies have betrayed them.  It's a fact of life.  We must accept it, unfortunately, but we don't have to let it rule our lives.  We should do the things we want (and can still do).  Travel.  Dance.  Take a walk in the rain.  Play with a child.  Have lunch with a friend.  Make a bucket list of places you want to see and do.  Then start doing them!

I travel to Chicago every year to meet up with girlfriends that I have known for over 53 years now.  I will do it until I die.  Or as long as there are some of  us alive.  I try to see some of my family while I am there when I can.  If the Beast dies, I intend to do more traveling.  I want to see more of my kids while I can.  Since their lives are busy, it's up to me to go see them.  I want to see my friends and laugh, have a few drinks together, eat a meal and just catch up on what's been going on in their lives while we are apart. 

I would like to visit Hawaii and Australia.  I want to go visit with my BFF in San Francisco.  My cousin in Texas.  Anothe girlfriend that lives in Houston.  I have a bucket list I made up a while back and I was surprised at some of them.  But I want to mark off all of them.  Time flies but it won't stop me.  Within the next month, my sister, Cee and I are making a trip to Central Illinois to go to a special dentist there to replace our dentures.  His work is great and he's very inexpensive compared to here.  But we will stop either on our way or coming back home to see my son, Mustachio and my granddaughter, Sheepie, and my son, Marcus and his wife, Raven.  Hopefully, we will be able to spend at least a day with them.  

So, here I am, bucket list on my desk and thinking, I hope time slows down a bit for me and doesn't whiz by like my life has up to this point.  I wish it for all my friends and family.  I wish the same for everyone that reads my blog.  Love you all.  Time to close.  ***Hugs***

Busy Day....

I ended up spending the day helping the Beast put in the doggie door for the chickens and had to lend a hand when he made a second (bigger) roost for the chickens.  They are growing by leaps and bounds.  They've doubled in size in less than a week and looking more like chickens every day.  They're actually kind of neat looking with their feathers in now.

The door we put in, which will allow them access to the outdoors, has a plastic door that has a magnetic strip at the bottom so it will help keep insects out of the barn.  It also has a sliding interior door that you can close up once they are in for the night that will help keep out any predators.

The Beast has to fence in an area outside the barn for the *coop*.  It's become necessary since we have two fur babies that have taken up residence in our yard.  They've taken over the dog house (that Baron has shunned since we got it) and we finally put a blanket in it for them and moved their water and food bowls over there for them.  They have also decided that they like to spend their days on our deck and hide under the covered barbeque if the weather gets rainy or it snows unexpectedly.  They found the hole under the fence that the Beast had put sand in to fill it and decided it's their litter box....LOL.  He's replaced a couple more of the boards in our fence that were getting ugly so the fence is nice and solid.

The little male cat is skittish but the female is friendly and really adorable.  I would have brought them inside but.....the truth is, I hate to try to find a place for a litter box in this small house.  And we already have a big problem with the way that Baron sheds.  With my luck, my grandkids would be allergic to cat dander, too.  I mean my great-grands.  I already know the Princess has a problem with dog dander.  We never had a dog while she was growing up at our house.  We had plenty when we had four kids and a small house.  We always had dobermans, besides.  She kind of lost out on that kind of experience.  

The Beast has taken to reading up on raising chickens.  He's now found out how to tell a *broody* chicken and how to make a brood box (that's when a chicken wants to raise chicks and won't leave the brood box).  He's taken to forwarding me the links to the various pages and it does make for interesting reading.

We are still waiting to see if the Princess really DID get any roosters in the bunch of chicks that she got.  They asked for a *mixed* bunch but how in the hell do you tell when they all look alike?  The Beast says they still look the same to him and they are closer to being full grown than ours are.

We found one of the chickens doing what is called *dusting*.  That's when they lay down and start throwing dust, wood chips, whatever is handy, all over their bodies.  It looked like it was dying at first...LOL.  But it is done to help remove mites and stuff from them.  We found out that they need an area where they can do that regularly and, if we make a special box for them to do it, we should include diatomaceous earth with it because the sharp edges of it helps pierce the bodies of the mites and/or ticks to kill them off.  Sounds okay to me.  Better than trying to use some chemical.  And non-polluting, too.

Time to get to bed.  I'm tired today.  Not surprising since I was up early and no nap.  Going to Cee's tomorrow.  I already checked with her and she will be expecting me.  The Beast always asks why I'm going over and can't seem to accept that it's because we LIKE each other and like spending some time together.  He's so weird.

Love you all.  Hope you have some decent weather but, if not, stay warm and dry.  We are heading for some more really cold nights but the days won't be too bad.  ***Hugs***

 

Had Interesting Dinner Today....

Today was just an average Sunday with the Beast heading for church in the early afternoon (1pm).  Today he didn't get home until after 4pm since he made a stop to visit a friend who was in a nursing home.  I was glad I started dinner preparations a bit later than I had planned because he didn't tell me he was going to be late coming home.

I decided to make something different so I made baked herb chicken (dark meat) along with mashed potatoes and some corn.  It turned out wonderful.  Just the right amount of seasoning on the chicken and the skin was even cooked well.  I don't usually eat the skin but couldn't resist today because it tasted so good!  The Beast loved it.  Baron must have liked the smell of it because he kept going between us and getting his nose close to the chicken before we made him go lay down.  Afterward, the Beast took pity on his and gave him some of the chicken we prepare for Baron.  That made him happy and, I swear, he had a grin on his face when he lay down afterward.  LOL!  He knows how to get to us.

I had planned on doing my laundry today but then decided against it.  I'll do it tomorrow morning (early) and then maybe take a run over to Cee's place for a couple hours.  I just have to check with her in the morning to see what her plans are for the day.  I want to go outside and check on the chicks too.  I really want to see how big they have gotten since I last checked.  They seem to be growing in leaps and bounds.  It's incredible.

We are actually expecting weather in the low 70's tomorrow.  Weird, huh?  Other places are getting show and we are having spring weather.  It won't last long, I'm sure but it's 2:30am as I am writing this and it's just 61 degrees outside.  I'm not complaining, mind you.  I am just surprised.  But February is always a brutal month for weather pretty much everywhere so I am bracing myself for big changes.  I will be totally surprised if we don't get it.  

Time to get back to bed.  Love you all.  Be good and be kind.  ***Hugs***