wjk ink

2012-01-27T10:56:00.001-06:00

This is who I get to spend the day with:

2012-01-27T08:49:00.001-06:00

It's a good thing I like her, because she is not so good at keeping her promises. Nearly every day, she sneaks a poo in her diaper in the morning before I get the chance to get her into some underwear. (The rest of the time she sneaks it into her underwear.) Then later in the day, she will ask, "When I poop and pee in the potty it makes you so happy?" (Not that she's ever deposited a #2 there...) "Yes. It would make me extremely happy," I tell her. Then she says, "I will poop in the potty tomorrow. Okay?" Every time she says it, I can feel a faint glimmer of hope. Someday, she will make good on that promise. And then I will jump for joy.

Berry Patch Soil Test

2012-01-18T11:57:00.002-06:00

I went out last week under the threat of rain to stake out the area for my berry patch. Yesterday, I collected some samples from the area to test.

I was a little disheartened as I took my sample back to the trailer. The soil looked like pathetic lumps of clay, and when I mixed it with some water, things looked even less promising. The clay particles suspended themselves in the water, and still, after 24 hours, refused to let gravity pull them down to the bottom of the bowl. Ideally, after the initial stirring, the soil settles to the bottom, and you have nice, clear water to test. Mine looked more like... well... really dirty water.

I tried nitrogen (middle container in photo below) first. The chemical powder that is added to the test sample bonded with the clay particles and sank to the bottom. I could see no color change. Apparently, the soil is deficient. Fortunately, our rabbit and chickens are hard at work turning food into nice, little nitrogen-packed packages I've been mixing into the compost all year.

Next up was phosphorus (on left). Apparently, I have an 'adequate' amount of phosphorus. For now. Potash (right) is 'sufficient'. And, as I suspected, the soil could really use a boost of acidity to make my future blueberries happy.

Maybe, this weekend, it will be warm enough and dry enough to start working the soil.

Kitchen...

2012-01-16T07:14:00.000-06:00

Cabinets. Way back when we had a pile of money from the sale of the house, we thought it would be a good idea to snatch up any bargains that came along. (Can you sense the buyer's remorse?) So one day, Chris was scanning craigslist, and came across some cabinets that had been torn out from a kitchen that was being remodeled. Chris ran off to look at them. Later, he called to tell me they were custom built and sent me some photos taken with his phone. My mind flashed back to the cabinets my father-in-law had built for our house in Nashville: beautiful, solid cabinets that could probably hold piles of lead and be dropped off the roof and not break apart... I squinted at the photos. The hardware was ugly, but that could be replaced, and the doors didn't have that silly arch that so many cabinets have. Well, I told Chris. If you think they are worth it, go for it, I said. He called back a few minutes later and to tell me the seller would throw in the cooktop and built-in convection oven for another $200. I thought built-ins would be nice, and a convection oven at that. Okay, I told him.

When Chris got home and pulled out the cooktop, I felt instant regret. Everything was caked with grease. One of the knobs on the oven was missing. The oven and cooktop were definite mistakes. The cabinets were not nearly as solid as I had expected, and many pieces had that grime on the edges that can only be aquired from many years of use. The cabinets still had potential, though. It would just take a lot of work. But the thing that really got to me: the drawers. There were two lower cabinets with four drawers each... that were only 10 inches wide. What do you do, put forks in one drawer, spoons in another? They were nearly worthless in my book.

Over the months since we purchased the cabinets, I've been thinking and dreaming about my ideal kitchen. And some of the pieces could work nicely. A little built-in desk could go next to the big cabinet that held the oven. I could put some more doors on that to turn it into a big pantry cabinet next to the fridge. I really wouldn't mind if the cabinets didn't match, so maybe I could find better drawers somewhere. I was anxious to see how things could work out.

Saturday, we moved the cabinets to the new house. The desk/pantry/fridge setup works nicely. I had Chris set up some saw horses and sheet of plywood to mimic an island and I was happy to see that will work nicely and not feel too crowded. The rest of it? Nothing lines up quite right... So what to do? Chris thinks we ought to try to sell the whole shebang and see if we can re-coop our costs and go from there...but if push comes to shove, I will pick and choose and make something out of most of what we've got, and be proud of a mismatched, offset kitchen.

Why I like my husband.

2012-01-12T10:06:00.000-06:00

I'm not the gushing type that tells people how wonderful they are and how much I love them (heart, heart, heart). Get over it. If I've told you once, that should be enough. But I suppose my husband would probably like to hear it a little more often. And days (like today) when he is at work and calls me and I tell him I don't feel like doing anything and he tells me to just take the day off and hang with Z... well, he probably deserves to hear those gushy things more often. So here it goes.

Why I like (okay... love) my husband:

1. He loves me. (Duh.) But he isn't the sort of guy to ogle other women, and really doesn't understand the men that do.

2. He thinks I'm 'smoking hot'. Even when I'm feeling less than lovely. Which sometimes makes me mad, because I would like to think that I could get gross enough to turn him off, but I'm not sure I can.

3. He's man enough to put up with me. It's not easy to gain my respect or to stand up to me when I fall into an egocentric attitude. But he's managed to.

4. He's man enough to admit when he's wrong.

5. He makes me laugh. The (muted) laughter is usually accompanied by a serious eye-roll, though.

6. He makes our kids laugh.

7. Who else would move into a trailer with me and build a house with me and buy me power tools and good beer and ... ???

8. How could I not love a face like that?

2012-01-11T09:31:00.000-06:00

A few minutes ago, a couple of Canadian geese swooped down and landed in our freshly refilled pond. One of them keeps dunking it head under water looking for food while the other is keeping a lookout.

On the notebook next to me is my proposed blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry order. A soil test kit should be on its way to me soon. If it wasn't going to rain, I would be out there with the measuring wheel and stakes trying to figure out exactly where this berry patch is going to go.

A couple weeks ago, I wanted to hibernate. This week I am wondering where the grow light is and if it is too early to think about starting some seedlings. I need some snow to cool this spring fever down.

No Disney Princess Here!

2012-01-09T13:35:00.000-06:00

I took Zivah to the store today to pick out some new undies in the hopes that new underwear would help motivate her to go in the potty. The store we went to happened to have boys' and girls' underwear in the same aisle. And what did she zero in on? Cars!

Hopefully we can both buckle down and get this potty training thing out of the way.

The Light Blue Cup - Part 2

2012-01-08T14:30:00.001-06:00

So... It has come to my attention that I have not really read the account of the manna and quail recently, and God's sentiment was nothing like what I imagined. [Number 11:18-20 - Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat. ¹⁹ You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ²⁰ but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; ...] Maybe I should only give Finley Ovaltine in The Light Blue Cup for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and supper for a month. That'll teach her.

The Light Blue Cup

2012-01-08T09:09:00.001-06:00

Finley was grumpy and emotional. Nothing was going her way. I wouldn't let her watch TV. There were no jeans in her drawer. And she wanted Ovaltine. Now. When I finally mixed up the Ovaltine, she was in the playroom sulking. Joe, in the right place at the right time, asked for The Light Blue Cup. When Finley came out, she asked for The Light Blue Cup. "Sorry, Finley. Joe already asked for it," I said. She stormed over to the couch to sulk some more. "If you don't want any Ovaltine, I guess I'll drink it." I said. She didn't move. I drank the Ovaltine. She sulked.

I used to wonder why, when the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness and God provided manna for them every day, why he didn't just ignore the ingrates when they complained. Then I saw my daughter sulking on the couch, and this unwarranted compassion arose in my heart, and I washed The Light Blue Cup and fixed some more Ovaltine. That's why God sent quail.

Zivah Art

2012-01-04T08:56:00.001-06:00

Mom and Dad with names and passwords. by Zivah Knight

House and Trailer improvements

2011-12-30T14:52:00.000-06:00

Winter has not been cooperating. Finley told me the other day that she was angry it hadn't really snowed yet. Some snow would have been nice. Then my slave-driver husband wouldn't have had an excuse to have me out helping with the siding all morning. We got as high as we could without double-stacking the scaffolding and then I quit and came inside. I should be glad that the weather has been letting us get more work done, but my hibernating instincts are high right now, and I feel a bit like a grumpy grizzly bear.

We did have a few days of cold, wet weather, so on Christmas Eve, Chris took the opportunity to pull out the old dishwasher we never used and install a cabinet. One of the things I really like about my husband is that he cleans as he works on a project. Notice the clear floorspace. He rarely leaves a mess to get tracked around or tools scattered to be tripped on or lost. It makes renovations or construction so much more manageable.

Here is the new cabinet installed next to the old, nasty sink cabinet.

After the kids were in bed that night, we even put up another cabinet over the counter and moved some shelves. Having some 'extra' storage space (that is not an open shelf) in this trailer is a big deal to me. I am waiting for the kids to go back to school to school to see how I can really reorganize things in here...

I guess my break is over. Chris want me back outside to scratch heads together. We're not sure how to put up the siding when we don't know how we are finishing out the porch beams yet...

Comic Relief

2011-12-22T12:30:00.000-06:00

Our cat, Max

It's been a rough few weeks, with sickness on top of sickness, Z with a head injury, and more trips to doctors than I care to think about, all on top of the busyness of the holidays... It's times like this when a little comic relief is welcome and helps snap you out of a negative train of thought.

One of the greatest things about living out in the country and having animals is that they provide some great comic relief. For example: the chickens must see me as the food fairy, because every time I go outside, they all come running and follow me around until I feed them or they are convinced that I won't. Today, I walked into the playroom, and a chicken saw me through the window and came running up to trailer. Silly chicken.

This summer, Chris and I were having an argument and resolution didn't seem to be anywhere on the horizon. It was a dark night, so I went outside to sit and look up at the stars and try to get my emotions under control. After a while, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye, and I looked to find not ten feet away from me, a skunk. I scrambled up out of my chair, away from the skunk, and back to the trailer as fast as I could. I grabbed a flashlight, and Chris and I, reunited with purpose, went searching for the skunk.

Another night, I was frustrated about some random thing. I walked through the kitchen and saw Bruno, our (former) beast of a rooster, framed by the black night, staring at me through the kitchen window. It was so out of of the ordinary, it made me laugh. And (somehow) made me realize that most of the time, the things I get all bent out of shape about aren't that big of a deal.

Nice try, kid.

2011-12-13T07:51:00.002-06:00

Joe- "Mom, did you know that there's something wrong with my 'wahoo' thing? Listen: Weeeehoo! See? I don't know what's wrong. Maybe I should stay home."

Snippet from Finley's school program...

2011-12-12T19:55:00.001-06:00

Monday Morning Report

2011-12-05T08:45:00.001-06:00

Monday morning. Fin and Joe are off to school, and Z is watching Diego, and I can take a moment to drink my coffee and relax for half a moment. I am ready for life to be dull for a while.

Joe caught strep last week, so Monday found us in the doctor's office with him. By Tuesday, it was obvious I had it, too. Zivah managed to take a face dive running through the kitchen Tuesday afternoon. I thought she had broken her nose, but thankfully, all she is sporting is a bruise.

(Notice the flashlight and toy gun in her hands. This is week two of her carrying them around nearly constantly.)

I finished Joe's hat.

Saturday, Chris got the trim up around the windows and door on the back side of the house, so on Sunday, we got started on the siding. Here is a picture of Terry and I doing all the work while Chris takes pictures. Okay, so really, this is a picture of Terry doing all the work while Chris takes pictures and I just sit and watch.

Siding on the back is complete!

At some point last week, we managed to decorate the cactus for Christmas. I haven't had the energy to do much else other than put up the advent calendar. I hope the kids forgive us if we don't string an ungodly amount of Christmas lights all over like we did last year. But I suppose I should at least try to get the socks put up somewhere... We'll see.

Pop Up Fun

2011-12-01T17:56:00.001-06:00

Ever since I brought home a how-to pop-up book from the library this spring, Finley has used the basic pop-up technique to make cards. Usually, she makes the cards for some one who has gotten hurt to try to help them feel better. This latest, Finley made for Zivah after she fell and smashed her nose on the floor.

Weekend Highlights

2011-11-27T17:47:00.001-06:00

I managed to finish knitting Zivah's hat. We like to call it "The-cat-in-the-hat-santa-hat". I'm working on one for Joe now.

On the way to Thanksgiving dinner, we stopped in to see the buck our neighbor had shot that morning. Terry has a way of nabbing odd deer. This one was a nine-point. He has a 13-point mounted on the wall in his kitchen.

My brother brought his dirt bike down on Saturday, so I got my first real experience driving a motor cycle.

Chris and I finished putting up the siding on the dormer, and while I was out celebrating some family birthdays, he got it painted. We're glad to get that done with the cold, wet weather starting to settle in.

Joe likes to "race" his cars. I was getting tired of him playing with them on the carpet in the living room, so finally made him a racetrack (complete with pit road) out of masking tape in the playroom.

Finley Worries

2011-11-22T07:49:00.001-06:00

A couple of times in the past month or so, Finley has come to me after the kids were tucked in for the night with tears in her eyes, holding her 'soft blanket' tightly to her chin. Usually, when this happens, she is worrying about something like a lost toy or is scared of something general like alligators. Lately, though, her worries have centered around death.

"I'm worried about being dead," she said. "... Can we feel when we're dead? ... Can we see?"

I can envision the image in her head, of a still body trapped in the dark, unable to move or see, utterly alone. So I explain to her that for those that love Jesus, we are given a new body and go to be with him in heaven and that people that died before we do will be there, too. "Will we be young or old? ... Will Gramma be young? ... Will I get to have my soft blanket?" So many questions I don't have the answers to.

I wrote and illustrated a little book several years ago about a little bug wondering what heaven would be like, and from all he'd been told, it didn't sound like it would be a place where he really wanted to end up. To be honest, streets of gold and sitting for hours singing doesn't sound very enticing to me. Where are the soil and trees I love so much? Won't we get to have fun?

How do you explain to a seven year old that, I think, heaven is about being with the One who loves us best of all, and once we are enveloped by that, it changes what we think is important... like having your special soft blanket. The best verse I could think of to ease her worries was John 14:2 : "In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." I told her that God loved her so much, that he is making a special place for her in heaven, and that he knows her favorite colors and the things she likes and probably is decorating a room for her in a way he knows she'd love. (And who knows, I thought to myself... maybe her soft blanket will be there. I wouldn't put it past him.)

So this morning, I was going through the schoolwork she brought home yesterday, and found a little book entitled 'I Am Thankful'. Page one: I am thankful for my family because they are my family. Page two: I am thankful for my teacher because she teaches me. Last page: I am thankful for deth because we go to heven and see god.

2011-11-20T17:23:00.001-06:00

The hat that inspired it all.

Well, I finally finished the hat. But I should have known better and told the kids it was for someone else. Because now, Zivah and Joe want their own hats.

Finley's finished hat.

So I figured out the continetal style of knitting, have improved my knitting speed, and have started in on a hat for Z.

And since I didn't think I'd have the patience to teach Fin how to knit, I taught her (and Joe, at his insistence) how to finger knit. This is keeping them satisfied for now.

Add caption

Knitters Are Underpaid

2011-11-17T08:42:00.001-06:00

Christmas season is fast approaching, and I was wracking my brain trying to think of cool, home-made gifts I could make to ease the budget. My mind flashed back to a picture taken of me when I was about two, a long, pointy, knit stocking cap hanging down my back. "Perfect!" I thought. I browsed the net for a free knitting pattern and bought some circular needles.

I decided that before I spent too much time on a real gift for someone that might not be as nice as I envisioned, I would make a practice hat for Finley using yarn I already had. I started off, feeling pretty good about the project. That is until I discovered after several rows that I had twisted the stitches and had to start over. I persevered and tried again. This time, I could see the hat taking proper shape.

A few days later, I had the main body of the hat done and was ready to start tapering. But in classic Wendy fashion, I hadn't really read the instructions thoroughly and had just been doing what I though was logical. And it looked awful. I re-read the instructions and found what I had done wrong, tore out about 20 rows and proceeded. The hat is now taking shape to my satisfaction.

But really, this hat is taking a whole lot more time than I anticipated. If I wanted to sell these hats online and make it worth my while, how much would I have to charge? If I was to earn a measly $5 an hour knitting, I could not afford to buy this hat. At this point, I have been working on this for 2 to 3 weeks, for (at least) an hour each night, and (at least) five days a week. So far, I would have to charge $50 to $75, and I'm not even finished. I wondered if there were any hats like this on etsy.com and how much the asking prices were. I found several with a price tag of $25 to $40. The only way to make money off these hats, or be able to justify the time it takes to make one for a cool, inexpensive Christmas gift is to be able to whip one out in a day or two...

So unless I become a speed knitter in the next few weeks (Check out this video. It makes me ill.) don't expect any hats from me.

Books

2011-11-15T07:48:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I drove down to Lewisburg to do some shopping. I had some library books to return and was hoping to find something else to read. I had been on a contemporary author reading spree and was ready to read something classic. I didn't have anything particular in mind, so started scanning the shelves for old-looking dust jackets or bindings that gave away the fact that the book contained something classic. I couldn't seem to find any, so decided to check for the first author that came to mind: Austen. Nothing. What about James Joyce? Nothing. Panic started to set in as Zivah and I zig-zagged back and forth down the long aisle. Thomas Hardy. Nabokov. Nothing. Only a few months ago, I read an aging copy of George Eliot's Adam Bede. It was gone. Had the people of Marshall County lost so much interest in the classics that the librarians cleared their shelves of great literature to make room for excessive amounts of John Grisham and Belva Plain works?

I headed toward the librarian's desk, wondering if I needed to start budgeting for books so that my kids wouldn't grow up not knowing who Mark Twain was. "Do you have a classic literature section?" I asked the lady. "You mean authors like Jane Austen and Agatha Christie? Right over here." She led the way to section 813 as I nearly sank to the floor with relief.

Of course, now my mind and emotions are spinning. While on one hand, I'm thankful that I don't have to weed through so much drivel to find a really good book, I'm pretty sure people will be less likely to read a classic on impulse. What constitutes a classic, anyway? And that section looks pathetically small... (Oh, Nashville Public Library, how I miss you.)

2011-11-14T11:31:00.001-06:00

Tuesday morning, my mom showed up to help me get started putting up the siding in front. I was hoping to get three or four rows done before the kids got out of school. As we were loading some planks into the bed of the truck, my neighbor pulled up in his Gator. I thought he had come over to tell me the other neighbor's horses were out again. But he said he had heard the plea in my last blog post, and had come to help. At first I thought he was just joking, but no. Less than three hours later, we had most of the siding up on the right side. It is such a great feeling when you get done more than you expected. [Thanks again, Terry!]

And with Chris coming home from work early a few days last week, we managed to get some flashing up around the dormer and put up the siding on one wall. I'm feeling a bit more optimistic this week.

2011-11-07T08:05:00.000-06:00

Every time I post a picture of the house these days, it seems as if there is little progress or difference in the photographs. It was exciting to see walls go up and big sections of roofing get completed. But now, detail work is more time consuming and the days are getting shorter, and as much as I would like to post a picture tomorrow of siding covering the whole front of the house... well, who know how many pictures are between here and there.

So although it may not look like it, we did get quite a bit accomplished this weekend. Trim is around the second story window, and the soffit and roof trim is up on the front of the dormer. We also decided to extend the eave across the front of the dormer to help protect the lower windows, so had to build that out and put the roofing material up. It was what my original drawings showed, but when we built the dormer I talked us out of it because I was worried it would sag. I'm glad Chris talked me back into it. We like how the eave breaks up the towering front wall. It was a pain trying to figure out how to get the metal to 'match up' (as in reality it doesn't), but we (or should I say, Chris?) managed to get it to work.

The weather is supposed to be really nice the first part of this week, and I am trying to figure out if there is anything I can try to tackle on my own while Chris is at work and the kids are in school. Anyone out there want to come by and help hang some siding?

2011-11-03T07:21:00.003-06:00

Chris took the day off work yesterday to finish caulking and painting the west side of the house. The foundation will eventually be painted a bit darker.
Now we start on the front.

2011-10-29T15:22:00.000-06:00

I haven't been posting much lately (if you hadn't noticed). With good reason, I suppose. I haven't wanted to sound cranky. But I am. So I am afraid that whatever I might write here today will sound a bit negative, possibly whiny. You have been warned.

It's a fairly nice day today, and in spite of the fact that neither Chris nor I really feel well (some or all of us have been under the weather for the entire month of October), he is out there caulking the side of the house. I didn't really want to help him; but because we couldn't get the tractor running (we think the battery we bought for it doesn't have enough cranking amps), I gave it a shot. I lasted for about 20 minutes. Aside from the fact that I was really getting frustrated with all the little caulk boogers that refused to wipe off, the sun was shining on my back, and it made me feel really sleepy. So I came inside. I told him I might be up for it tomorrow. We'll see.

Yesterday, since there was a freeze warning for the night, I actually went out to the garden to harvest some of the fluffy bib lettuce that has been growing there. I had also pulled up most of the radishes I planted back in late September. They were beautiful and perfectly round and thin skinned. I have yet to eat any, but maybe I'll have salad tonight, and if the tarp holds off the frost, I can make the most of that lettuce in the next week or two.

This morning, I suddenly felt really tired of this trailer. I had been trying to reorganize the playroom earlier in the week and swap out summer for winter clothes, and had generally left a trail of bins and messes all though the place. The groceries are packed on a couple of shelves and in a barely-adequate refrigerator, and to get whatever it is you want, you have to move a half dozen other things and be careful not to knock anything off the shelves. Little frustrations start to add up. Really, I could be really happy in the trailer if the kids just had one small toy apiece and all we ate was oatmeal and sandwiches. But I guess that's not quite realistic, so I'll have to be satisfied with getting rid of random toys while the kids are at school, and maybe find a way to work another cabinet into the kitchen to alleviated the food storage stress. ... Maybe I should get back out there and keep caulking.

2011-10-23T14:55:00.003-06:00

With the soffit panels up and trim, it's actually starting to look like a legitimate house!
(At least on this side...)

2011-10-20T07:11:00.000-06:00

We've had a visitor living with a for the past month, and he looks like this.

I don't like him very much.

For two weeks, Fin and Z would wake up in the middle of the night, coughing. At some point, Finley must have picked up another bug, because she started running a fever. I was so sleep deprived, I felt like the mother of a newborn, and my body, after holding up its defenses the best it could, finally succumbed and got sick, too. So did Chris. So did Gramma and Grampa. And yesterday, Joe came home from school running a fever, too.

So we haven't done much lately. The house waits for siding, the north pasture needs bush-hogging, and the trailer needs a thorough cleaning. Mucus man needs to get out of his chair and get gone.

Silly Kids

2011-10-13T17:22:00.001-06:00

2011-10-11T17:35:00.001-06:00

I am tired of cooking for ingrates.

I remember hearing my mother say that she never liked to cook, and now I understand why.

I fixed chicken noodle soup tonight, and of course the kids complained. I admit, it wasn't the most fantastic soup I'd ever fixed, but at least it didn't come anywhere near making them gag.

In dinner conversation (if that's what you want to call Finley's complaints, Joe's delay tactics, and my threats), Joe said something to the effect that it would be okay if I died, since they know to eat healthy food. Right. I'm sure apples, carrots, and cereal is the perfect, well-rounded diet.

2011-10-10T11:35:00.000-06:00

We've been babygoatsitting.

2011-10-09T15:42:00.002-06:00

One down (minus paint, caulk, and gable vent), three to go.

Grammar, Punctuation, and Right and Wrong

2011-10-04T09:01:00.000-06:00

Recently, I read two works of fiction published in the 21st century that carried the same grammatical error within their pages. Both used 'try and' instead of 'try to'. This made me crazy. So I made a comment about it on facebook. You know how it is when you say something in judgment only to reveal your own hypocrisy? That is why Proverbs admonishes us over and over again that the wise man keeps his mouth shut.

Anyway, in my comment, I misspelled one word and apparently misused an apostrophe. Or did I? I don't know. I used to think that the proper spelling of "CDs" was "CDs", but in Reanna's 7th grade language book, it taught that "CD's" was proper, so although I didn't like it, I adopted the apostrophe in those circumstances. Consensus on facebook was that the apostrophe did not belong. I tried to look it up on Wikipedia, and there, the rule stated that apostrophes should be used on plural non-words, like "CD's". Another (probably more reliable) website said that the apostrophe should only be used on plurals of lower case letters, like when you mind your "p's" and "q's". So just as the comma used to be used before "and" in lists of three or more but isn't anymore (except in my writing), the rules of the apostrophe might be changing.

And this makes me crazy. Why? Because humans really do want to feel that they know what is right and what is wrong. We need to know where those boundary lines are because it makes us feel more secure in life. The problem is that those lines are sometimes hard to nail down.

And I suppose this is where I get into trouble with certain fundamentalists, because I think that, usually, their fundamentals are wrong. Just like grammar and punctuation, we try to define every circumstance and label it right or wrong, and then we end up with large books full of rules that people argue over and forget about the things that are really important, like relationship. That is why Jesus had to dumb all the rules back down for us: Love God, and love others.

And that is why I am going to try not to freak out about minor grammatical and punctuation issues, because if I do, I just might forget about the real purpose of language, the communication of thoughts and ideas.

2011-10-02T08:45:00.000-06:00

Things go a little faster when there is a crew. With the help of my brother, Mike, and Ralph and his son, Logan, there is siding on over half the west wall now.

A Bit More Siding

2011-09-29T19:29:00.000-06:00

Today, my mom came over and after a few minor setbacks, she and I managed to get two rows of siding up. We were feeling fairly proud of ourselves. We would have done more, but working off ladders was getting a bit uncomfortable.

Siding

2011-09-27T10:54:00.001-06:00

So... we started on the siding this weekend. Friday night, I had visions of us slapping up the entire west wall the next day, but we didn't even come close. After a run to Lowe's Saturday morning, it took all day for us to cut, paint, and put up the trim on two windows. Sunday morning, we started the siding in earnest. Again, I was hoping to help get the ball rolling, then take a break and head to church or something. But as we didn't have a roofing nailer, we were hand-nailing every piece; and those fiber cement boards are really heavy, so it took the two of us a concentrated effort to put up each piece. By noon, we'd only gotten three rows done. I figured it would probably take us the rest of the year to get the siding up at the rate we were going, so I was (easily) able to convince Chris to stop in at Harbor Freight on Monday and pick up a cheap nail gun. Things should go more quickly now.

2011-09-25T16:26:00.001-06:00

Finley dressed up her stuffed hamster, Scamper, to match her own outfit today. Scamper's outfit included a Barbie skirt, a little ribbon barrette for her hair, and a necklace that matched Finley's.

2011-09-23T09:54:00.000-06:00

Today was farm day for the kindergarteners at school. Last week, they sent a note home asking if we had any farm animals we wanted to bring to show the kids. I was a little hesitant, thinking that there would probably be a truckload of people bringing farm animals since we live out here in the country.

I decided to offer to bring Isadora, our blue Polish hen. I named her after my grandmother, since they seem to share the same white, round, fluffy head of hair. I figured at least if there were other chickens, at least Isadora would be a different kind of chicken...

Turns out there weren't as many people bringing animals as I thought there would be. Out of about 100 students, only seven families brought animals. There were handful of chickens, one duck, one rabbit, a few goats, a horse, a calf, and two miniature horses.

Needless to say, Isadora and her funny feathers were quite the hit.

Maybe when Z in in kindergarten two years from now, I'll have a pig to bring, too.

2011-09-22T07:13:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking lately about the act of receiving. I know the bible says somewhere that "It is better to give than to receive", but I have the feeling that was meant for an audience that struggled with greed and selfishness more so than pride.

There is something in those of us that are proud that wants to reject a 'gift' if we feel we can provide that thing for ourselves or are ashamed that we can't. Whether it is something in the physical, like money, or something abstract, like forgiveness, it takes a certain amount of humility to receive.

When we are able to finally receive well, without either the greed of a kid on Christmas morning that just wants more or the embarrassment of feeling that others are giving to meet some sort of deficiency in ourselves, we are able to truly experience love.

And that's really the goal of life, isn't it: To be able to love and be loved without our personal issues getting in the way?

2011-09-18T07:24:00.000-06:00

The past two mornings, I've been able to witness the morning descent of a flock of wild turkey from the trees into the neighbor's pasture. One by one, they glide down from the night's roosting spot into the open field. I'd been hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive, not-quite-albino turkey, but either this isn't its flock, or that turkey is no longer of this world. I have no way of knowing which is the case.

While most of the time, watching wildlife is a relaxing and joy-filling experience, sometimes, it can be extremely stressful. This morning, two of the turkeys landed in a different pasture and were separated from their buddies by a livestock fence. One of the turkeys took a couple passes along the fence, then realized it wasn't going to get through, so flapped its wings and flew right over. Sadly, the other turkey wasn't quite so brilliant. I watched as that turkey marched back and forth, back and forth, while the rest of the flock started wandering off to a more distant location. Twenty minutes later, the flock was entirely out of sight, and still this turkey wandered the fence line, looking for that hole that wasn't there. I left the window to do other things.

An hour later, I found myself wondering if the turkey had finally figured things out, so I looked out to the neighbor's pasture again. It was still there. I couldn't take it anymore. I headed outside and into the neighbor's pasture. I didn't have to go far when that turkey spotted me across the field, hopped the fence, and took off running after its long-gone buddies.

Windows and Doors

2011-09-13T07:58:00.002-06:00

We just have one more door to install on the side of the house, then maybe we can keep the chickens out of the house.

2011-09-13T07:28:00.000-06:00

This morning, I am going to take it easy: Piddle on the computer for a minute, drink some coffee, and take a long, hot shower. I managed to get the kids off to school on time, which felt like a miracle, since I was up three or four times last night with coughing children and we had a late start.

Aside from the coughing, Finley was up late reading and had started to complain about her eye... said it was blurry and everything looked kind of yellow through it. I was hoping a night of rest would clear up whatever problem it had, but she got up this morning pressing her blanket to her eye. I don't know what is wrong with it, but like I do with everything else, am just going to give it some time and see what happens. One big bummer about her eye is that today is picture day, and if she isn't comfortable relaxing and just opening it up, she is going to look mighty funny for the camera, screwing up her face like a pirate. Oh well. I am just thankful that she wore her flowered dress yesterday- the same dress that she wore for both photo days last year- and I was able to convince her that it was too dirty to wear again today and that just 'fluffing it up in the dryer' would not be okay.

Anyway, yesterday, in spite of the lack of sleep due to hacking, snotty children, Chris insisted that we clean the whole trailer in an effort to help the kids kick whatever this funk is they've been fighting. I didn't argue. If he was going to step up and help me clean, I was all for it. So I spent the morning doing laundry and disinfecting counters, knobs, and light switches. When he got home from work, he dusted, disinfected, and wiped down the floors while I fixed supper and washed dishes. I don't think the trailer has been this clean ever. It didn't even get this clean when we moved in. There is one room that didn't get any special attention, though, and that is our room. I guess since the kids aren't supposed to be hanging out in here, Chris didn't feel it was necessary. Maybe I can take care of it today... although what I'd really like is to just curl up in a ball and sleep for about two days. You'd think once you wean your infant from nighttime feedings, your zombie days are over and restful nights are all that are on the horizon. But no.

2011-09-08T19:19:00.001-06:00

The neighbors had another round of baby goats not long ago. Chris got a call wondering if we might want to take a bottle baby. That might be fun, I thought... so we went over to see what the deal was. Sometimes a mother goat doesn't bother taking care of the kid, and most of the time, that is why some need to be bottle fed. This situation was different. This kid seemed to be paralyzed from the hips down and couldn't stand up on its back legs. They didn't know if the kid had some birth defect or had been stepped on. Aside from the unusable legs, the baby seemed healthy enough... but I felt like it would be a waste of time to take him on. Sometimes a "farmer" has to make a decision... that every life is not worth saving.

Our neighbor, Denise, couldn't quite give up on him yet, though, so she ended up bottle feeding him, then even got the mother to let him nurse... When I heard the news that he was strong enough to nurse on his own and seemed to be happily dragging himself around the pen, I felt a little guilty. Who was I to play God and decide this life was not worth giving a chance? I started having visions of a goat strapped into one of those doggie wheelchairs, pulling himself around the barnyard with his strong front legs, bringing joy and inspiration to visitors with his undefeatable spirit. A quick look online showed a doggie wheelchair ran about $200, but I bet we could rig one up somehow...

We stopped in for a visit this afternoon, and sorry to say, "Gimpy" (the name I tend to give all animals with leg handicaps) wasn't doing so well. Sure, he was hearty enough, thanks to Denise's attentive bottle feeding (he was no longer able to nurse), but he could no longer even get up on his front legs, and Denise had finally decided it was time to put the guy down. Sometimes, with animals (I'll not dive into the human aspect of this), it is better to not "save" a life. Life is life, and death is part of life, and sometimes, maybe, we shouldn't fight so hard against it.

Windows

2011-09-03T15:00:00.002-06:00

We started installing windows today. I would be more excited about it if 1. the process of selecting and buying said windows hadn't been such a headache, 2. it wasn't miserably hot, 3. I felt like I knew what I was doing, and 4. I wasn't irrationally grumpy (aka. pms-ing). Five down, nine to go.

Another Egg-citing Surprise

2011-08-30T07:21:00.006-06:00

The girls and I went outside yesterday afternoon to check for eggs. Finley checked the corner of the house where we found the eggs on Sunday and the stable. Nothing. Zivah and I checked the big chicken coop. Nothing. Then we went into the back yard to check the small chicken coop. I told Finley to let Z open up the little door. I expected her to exclaim excitedly, "An egg!" But she didn't. She just stood there, looking.

And when I looked inside and saw this...:I confess, I let out a small scream. Thankfully Chris was home, and he pulled the snake out of the coop:

Then he cut off its head with an axe. As you can see, it had just eaten an egg, and when the axe came down, egg yolk splatted dramatically up into the air.

Maybe I could handle that next time. We'll see.

2011-08-28T13:35:00.002-06:00

After routing one chicken from laying in a flower pot, I've been trying to keep my eye out for other non-approved nesting spots. In the mean time, I've been finding less eggs in the approved locations. The chicken that was laying an egg in the stable stopped after I put some extra hay down to give it a more comfortable nest (where's the gratitude?), and I haven't been finding as many green and blue eggs in the nesting boxes. I don't know if they have decided to lay elsewhere or if they are just tired of this dry heat, but Finley did discover this cache in the new house today...

2011-08-23T07:39:00.004-06:00

Joe is home sick today. On top of recovering from strep that I think all three kids caught, his nose started running yesterday, and then last night, he started coughing. So I didn't get much sleep.

A few weeks ago, we had trapped another possum on the porch, and when Chris went to release it 'back to the wild', he spotted a kitten that had been dumped on the side of the road. He brought ihim home, then the kids named him Max, so now we're stuck with him. He's been the typical kitten terror, running around and clawing his way all over the furniture, then calming down just long enough to sleep on your lap for the ten minutes it takes to convince you to forgive him for his antics.

We've been keeping him in our bathroom at night, but by morning, he is ready to tear through the house. And since I haven't been too fond of being woken up at 5 a.m. when Chris gets up for work, I banished him to the shop last night. When Chris left for work this morning, he heard some desperate meows and went to check on Max. Apparently, Max freaked out and wouldn't let Chris touch him, and when I went to see if I could retrieve him, could find no sign of the little nutcase. Although I made lots of loud noises, he refused to show himself or utter a meow to let me know he was okay. I don't think he could have gotten out, so I guess I'll just have to wait out his little tantrum.

And now I have put my foot down. No more kittens. As funny as I think that super bowl commercial was where the cowboys were herding cats, I don't want a farm full of cats.

Speaking of critters... Saturday, I walked out the front door of the trailer to see that elusive skunk poking its head out a pipe that sticks out from the foundation of the new house. (It is what we will run the sewer line through.) I called Finley and asked her to watch the pipe to make sure the skunk didn't run off while I tried to find something to catch it in. I managed to get Chris attention, and we decided to block the pipe with cinderblocks until we could borrow (again) the neighbor's live trap. I had to crawl under the house, praying that I wouldn't come face to face with the skunk in order to block the other side of the pipe. Trying not to get too close to the front of the pipe, I aimed my flashlight beam down the pipe and thought I saw a furry lump huddled inside. We borrowed the neighbor's trap, set it up on one end of the pipe, and waited.

The next morning, we hadn't caught a thing, so I crawled under the house again with a 2x4, hoping I could push the stubborn critter into the trap. I pulled the cinder block back, and peeked in, only to find... nothing. The skunk must have run out the back side of the house while we were blocking the front.

Two nights ago, I relocated the trap to another part of the crawl space. Yesterday morning, there was nothing in the trap, but today.... there is. We had covered the trap with a garbage bag so that if we caught the skunk, we hopefully wouldn't get sprayed by it. But now, I can't see if there really is a skunk in there, or if it just might be another possum. And I am afraid to look.

2011-08-11T07:38:00.003-06:00

I had a feeling some of my chickens were laying eggs in some sneaky spots. I have one that lays next to the hay rack in the stable, and I had found some eggs shells under the chipper stored in the stable as well. Yesterday, I even crawled under the deck and checked the crawl space under the trailer but didn't find a thing. This morning, I went to water the plants on the deck and found THESE in the big ficus pot. And I thought that chicken was just coming up on deck looking for the peanut butter I had been leaving in the trap for the possum. I guess not.

Haircut!

2011-08-09T17:37:00.002-06:00

I was tired of the frumpy way the straighter hair from the top-back of Z's hair came down and covered up Z's curls in back, so I decided it was time for a hair cut again. I cut the back up to the same relative length as her sides, then layered the straighter hair above her curls. Cute, cute! (If I do say so myself...)

Deals

2011-08-07T18:46:00.006-06:00

Wandering around Lowe's last week, a shower unit caught our eyes. It was exactly the size we wanted and a one-piece: just what I was hoping for. We had installed a three-piece shower in Nashville, and I was forever cleaning orange slime out of its seams. And although custom tile would be neat, a one-piece will be a whole lot easier to clean. This one-piece even had a little bump out in the corner where I can sit to shave my legs. And the best part? It was a $378 shower on clearance for $150.

A few days later, Chris stopped into another Lowe's and found a tub and shower one-piece on clearance. Originally retailing for $378 as well, he got it for $104.

We found these at just the right time, too. If the windows and doors had been installed, we might not have been able to get any one-pieces into the house.

If that wasn't enough, yesterday I went to Tractor Supply to pick up some cat food. Browsing through the clothing department, I found some $40 Carhartt jeans on clearance for $15, and they actually had them... in my size!! I bought two pair.

Photogenic Eggs

2011-08-07T12:11:00.004-06:00

I really can't help myself. Our different colored eggs are so pretty together, I had to photograph them. I am even contemplating finding a way to incorporate that color scheme inside the new house somewhere, although I'm not sure the paint guys at the hardware store would be able to use eggshells for color matching.

Then today, I found this egg with a feather stuck to it just so.

2011-08-05T10:43:00.002-06:00

Today is the first day of school... Joe's first day of Kindergarten. No, he didn't cry. In fact, you'd think he's gone to school every day of his life. Makes it easier on Mom when your kid isn't clinging to you and bawling. Two years ago, you'd never know this kid could be so confident. I couldn't leave him in the three-year-old class at church without having to peel him off me first.

So I only have one child underfoot. Well, not literally, as she is in bed for naptime, and I am praying (pleading with God) that she will actually go to sleep. Can you imagine what I could do without ANY interruptions for two hours? Maybe pull the broken water pump off the tractor? Who knows...

Z is 3!

2011-08-01T18:24:00.003-06:00

Z turned three a few weeks back, but if you ask her, she might tell you she's four. Or twenty.

When Finley picked out her birthday dress, Z enthusiastically agreed that she wanted one, too. But do you think I could get her to wear it? No. I tried not to let on how pleased I was that she was rejecting a dress... and that she was asking for an Iron Man shirt. I now have hope that at least one of my girls might be more of a tomboy like me. We took back her dress and since Iron Man wasn't available, she opted for a red Lightning McQueen shirt and red athletic shorts. Her other favorite clothes include a Titan's jersey, a black t-shirt that says "Dad is my superhero", her Funny Farm shirt, and any sort of comfy pants or shorts.

We are actually making progress in the potty department. She can keep her pants dry if I remember to ask her fairy often, and she sometimes even lets me know when she need to go. Number two is a different story, though.

Her favorite toy is her Schleich horse (named Horse) who is usually accompanied by Cow. It's all about animals for Z.

Z loves to be silly, she loves to laugh, her smile is bright and frequent. She is aggressively affectionate. She is my ornery little light.

Today's Harvest

2011-07-29T14:59:00.000-06:00

SHelling Beans

2011-07-25T09:40:00.003-06:00

I don't know if there is a better way to get the beans out, but Z and Joe really enjoyed shelling beans. Too bad I didn't have more. This could have kept them busy for a least an hour.

From The Roof Top

2011-07-23T20:01:00.003-06:00

Strapped into the rappeling gear with my trusty drill hook on one hip and bag of screws clipped on the other, 95% of the screws on that roof were put in place by yours truly. Can you tell the novelty has worn off?

2011-07-23T19:48:00.002-06:00

Another day in the sun. Most of the work up top is done: all panels are up, valleys finished, and most of the ridge cap finished. Now is the time for soffit and trim work.

Like cats on a hot tin roof...

2011-07-20T15:41:00.005-06:00

Today, Chris and I managed to finish the panels on the dormer... Tricky, since we had to measure and cut the angles for the valley. Then we started to put the ridge caps up. We started on the dormer, with the sun beating down. The steep, slippery roof was made all the more uncomfortable by the stinging heat. It left me wondering WHY in the world I wanted the dormer roof to have such a steep pitch. Oh, yeah... I thought a lesser pitch "looked too flat". Sometimes I'd like to kick myself in the rear end being so concerned about aesthetics. But I guess as long as we come out of this alive and never have to go up there again, I will have thought it worth the trouble.

We started to put one more piece of cap up on the main ridge, and then it started to rain... Sliding down a wet, metal roof might be fun if we had a deep pool at the bottom to plunge into, but we don't, so we called it quits for the day. The rest of the roof will have to wait. Chris needs to go back to work tomorrow.

2011-07-19T17:21:00.003-06:00

Today we got our first green egg from one of the Ameraucana hens! It was a nice surprise after a long, hot (miserable) day working on the roof.

2011-07-18T16:44:00.002-06:00

Thankfully, today we had help on the roof. Dave and Chris were able to hoist the sheets up, so I donned the rappeling gear and did the screwing.
It didn't take long to get the main portion of the front roof done.

And once Terry showed up, we really got rolling on the back, as Dave was able to stay up on the roof and pull up the sheets up that Terry and Chris handed up. I didn't get it completely screwed down before quitting time, but it shouldn't take long to finish it up.

Tomorrow we tackle the dormer. That will take a little more brain power and planning.

The roof saga drags on.

2011-07-17T19:18:00.002-06:00

We started working at 7 a.m. and by 9 a.m we had the tarps off and the underlayment on most of the front side of the roof...
and from there, things slowed down... drastically. We got a couple pieces up on the porch roof, fiddled with some of the trim pieces, then Chris wanted to put up one of the long pieces on the main roof. But I wasn't sure I could help Chris muscle it up there; and not wanting to risk damaging anything, we switched gears. We ended up cleaning off the old rumply felt and will put the new blue stuff on tomorrow...

Hopefully we can find some one to help us and get this thing licked.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

2011-07-15T15:42:00.003-06:00

Finally making use of some of the cucumbers growing in the garden and trying some fridge pickles. We'll see how they turn out.

Happy 7th Birthday, Finley!

2011-07-14T12:36:00.002-06:00

Today Finley is seven. This morning, she came out dressed in an ill-fitting sundress (too short, and too wide). I had planned to stop at a store on the way to a friend's house to let Finley pick out a toy for her birthday. But seeing the dress she had on, I suggested that we go pick out a new dress. She jumped at the chance. In the store, she immediately focused in on a paisley-flower-print sundress and convince Zivah that she, too, should get one. Great. You know how I LOVE to dress my kids in matching outfits. But that is Finley, and really, it shows how sweet she is.

When Zivah was born, I was a little worried that Finley might not appreciate the fact that she nearly shared a birthday with her little sister, but I needn't have worried. Finley loves the fact that their birthdays are so close and can have a combined party.

Finley is a giver. Finley is a thoughtful giver. I love that about her. She draws pictures of racecars for Joe and pictures with lots of green for me. She gave away a Disney princess nightgown to a little girl she knew loved princesses.

On the 4th of July, my mom asked who wanted to say the blessing for the food. I was a little surprised when Finley raised her hand. Along with the typical 'thank you for this day', without prompting, she asked Jesus to help Uncle Mike, who was miserable with a sore throat, to feel better. Later when her cousin Laurel burned her foot, she stuck right by her side, offering her lemonade and little drawings to cheer her up until she felt better.

Finley sees things that other people miss. She loves to pick flowers, finding the tiniest wild flowers and appreciating even common 'weeds'. And frequently, she'll suddenly stop and snatch up a frog that I wouldn't have seen until it jumped.

And this is just a little glimpse of the wonderful person Finley is ... I love you, Fin!

2011-07-06T13:45:00.004-06:00

Well. It's been an exciting week. Sunday, GrandDad took Chris's grandmother and us to see Cars 2. The kids were thrilled. Sunday afternoon, I spent some time bush hogging until the water pump on the tractor broke, which sent the fan into the radiator, knocking a hole in the radiator. Not good. I'm hoping we can find someone to fix the radiator, because those thing are not cheap.

Monday, the 4th, we went down to Lewisburg to see the parade. I don't remember the last time I was with my mother at a parade, but it sure was funny. She would wave her little flag, smile enthusiastically, shout 'Woohoo for the fire department!' or what have you then complain to me under her breath 'I hate when they turn their sirens on during the parade' ... all the while still waving her flag and smiling. The kids racked up on candy, and I joked that next year, we ought to have our own float so that we could give the candy away. Mom got really excited about the possibility of having a Funny Farm float and told Molly that we should do it next year 'before [she] die[s]'. Whatever, Mom. It might be fun, but I don't know that I'd want to wave at all those people.

Later, we took the kids over to the neighbors' to explore their sinkholes and 'caves', then let them play in the pool. Then it was over to Mom and Dad's for a cookout. My brother, per my request, brought a bowl of summer beet soup that made my day... but that wasn't enough. He also brought some of his famous home-made ice cream, flavored with molasses. Amazing. Then the fireworks. My brothers had bought a ton of fireworks on discount a while back, and I'm sure our show was the envy of the neighborhood.

I also pulled out the can-and-firecracker trick my dad had taught us when I was a kid. Poke a hole in the bottom of a tin can, preferably with a Craftsman philip's head screw driver as it is the perfect size for Black Cat firecrackers. Then get a larger container and fill it with water so that the can will sit down in the water, bottom side up with enough air above the water in the can so that the firecracker won't get wet. Push a firecracker into the hole until the top is flush with the can. Then light... The can shoots up into the air. (See pic.) I am always amazed the first time how high that can will shoot up. It's a good way to combine a little physics lesson with the fun of the 4th.

In spite of the fact that the kids didn't get to bed until after 10 that night, they were up the next morning about the regular time, which made for an interesting (read emotionally-charged) day...
In order to escape from the grumpy kids a bit, I cleaned out the chicken coop, turned the compost, and cleaned up a few other things around the yard.

Today is a little calmer. So I figured it was high time to harvest some carrots.

This picture I took in between rain showers. All together, I have a gallon-bag full of carrots. I see some more roasted veggies in our future.

We Have A Porch Slab!

2011-07-02T14:25:00.007-06:00

Yesterday, Chris was off work and went to order the materials for our roof. (woohoo!) As he was going over the materials, the sales guy said, "Please don't tell me you used that thin USB for your decking." Well, yes, we did. Apparently, screws have a tendency to back out of the thin, flimsier material... So we might be tacking some sort of wood strip to the underside of the decking to provide more solid of a backing for the screws. It will be a pain, but we really don't want to risk a leaky roof.

About 2 p.m. , the cement truck showed up to deliver the load for the front porch. Terry, our fantastic neighbor, was over to help, inspite of the fact that he was suffering from some sort of virus. I was thankful,when most of the cement was poured, Grant showed up to help. Grant has more concrete experience than Chris, so he knew a few tricks to help with the finishing.
Chris let the kids put their handprints in a corner of the slab. Maybe some day, years down the road, we will have grandkids over, comparing their hands to Mom or Dad's from back in the day...

Later, Grant's wife (my friend Connie) and their kids showed up for some pot roast and veggies...

So because of all the excitement of yesterday and the fact that I still haven't completely recovered from last week's health funk, I am taking it easy today, letting the dishes pile up and the laundry remain unfolded in the dryer. If it wasn't for the fact that the concrete still seems a wee bit soft, I'd be sitting on a lawn chair on the new porch, sipping ice water and staring at the clouds. But there's always tomorrow...

2011-06-30T10:22:00.002-06:00

First there were cicadas, and now the green June bugs are back. I walk outside to the low drone of wings as hundreds of these beetles buzz in randoms flights about me. I took this picture last year. It shows how clumsy these bugs are, also evident by the thumps I hear occasionally on the windows and sides of the trailer.

Athough their careless flight can be a little irritating, at least they provide some entertainment as I can stop to watch some of the more ambitious chickens run around trying to pluck the fat bugs out of the air.

2011-06-29T04:21:00.003-06:00

The thing about mothers is that, our selves are not high on the list of priorities. Most of our time, thought, and energy is dedicated to taking care of our little ones and our husbands. For example, my kids' hunger usually comes before mine. I prepare their lunches first, however hungry I might be. Granted, sometimes this is partly a selfish act, since, once I sit down to eat, I really don't want to be interrupted with constant pleas for food...

Anyway, when it comes to sickness, it becomes more problematic. A week and a half ago, I came down with a sore throat. Initially, I wanted to blame it on drainage, but I took a quick peek into my throat and saw some bumps along with some redness. "Do you think this is strep?" I asked my husband, who has had strep in the past. After glancing in my mouth, he said, "I don't see much. Does it feel like you are swallowing glass?" 'Hmm,' I thought to myself, ' What would swallowing glass feel like?' I imagined sharp, horrible, scratching pain shooting down my throat. "Well, no." I said. I also did not have signs of fever, so I prescribed myself the regimen of gargling with warm salt water three times a day. At some point during that week, the sore throat was accompanied by large amounts of snot and sinus pressure, reinforcing the opinion that the sore throat was probably not due to strep.

After a fairly miserable week, my throat was finally feeling better and the congestion had mostly cleared up. I thought I was in the clear. Until yesterday. The morning found my glands swollen and my neck stiff, and by bedtime, my throat was starting to rage. Another look past my tongue and I could see nasty white blisters surfacing on my throat and tonsils. I then proceeded to give my husband (who shall remain nameless for this post) a verbal lashing for not taking better care of me... explaining, that since my focus is not on myself, sometimes I need that push to go see a doctor, that sometimes I need someone to tell me to take a load off and rest. "But you're tough and you can handle it," he said. At which point I wanted to give him a bloody nose. I then accused him of having a pathetically low pain tolerance "if this is what you think swallowing glass feels like." Sheesh.

So today, I go to the doctor.

The Excitement Never Ends

2011-06-24T07:41:00.003-06:00

One of the first things I saw this morning was a flock of wild turkeys in the yard, which isn't unusual except for the fact that one of the baby turkeys is an albino! (Can you see it? The pic isn't so great...)
Next, Finley came in with our first pullet egg! The one on the left is probably from Elizabeth, the smaller one on the right is the pullet egg.

I wonder what will happen next...

Garden Notes

2011-06-23T17:55:00.002-06:00

Garden is a weedy mess with beans, squash, and cukes growing out into everything else, etc. The grass around the edges hasn't been mowed for weeks since I can't get the push mower started.

Forgot to pinch off broccoli heads, so pulled up 2 plants that were going to seed, and cut off heads of others that hadn't quite flowered yet to see if I can coax at least one dinner's broccoli out of the plants.

Planted some blue jade corn last week... wasn't sure the seed was viable since it was left over from two years ago, and I remembered that some of the seed on the cob had already sprouted from being left on the ground or something, but looks like almost all of them sprouted. Of course, I managed to trample a few in the chasing of a certain little bunny rabbit. I have the sneaking suspicion this is the bunny Chris caught and let go about 100 yards away from my garden just last week... Was tempted to put our cat on the rabbit's trail, but had better let Chris try to recapture it first.

Pole beans are producing nicely. 'Cherokee Trail of Tears' black bean that can also be eaten green. they are pretty, since the flowers are purple and there are streaks of purple along the stems and along the 'seams' of the bean. Next year I need to remember to provide at least 5' fencing for them.

Peppers look sad as the wind has knocked them sideways. Next year I need to remember to put a cage around them.

The carrots are okay. Not quite what I hoped, so am wondering what it is I do wrong there. Buford (the neighbor's donkey) likes them, though, so if the family doesn't like them, at least I know some one will appreciate them.

Oh, and I have beets. Might try making some borscht.

2011-06-23T05:28:00.002-06:00

This is where the young hens go to avoid the advances of the roosters. Good idea, ladies. Maybe next time Chris is in the mood and I'm not, I'll just go sit on top of the house.

At long last...

2011-06-20T10:37:00.002-06:00

With some of my birthday money, I have ordered a laundry sorter! I can't wait for it to arrive. It might sound silly to you, but I've been wanting one for over a year. Laundry is one of those thing I dread. What makes it even worse is when I think it is time for laundry, pull out all the clothes, sort them all into various piles, only to find that there isn't enough of a certain pile to warrant a load. Then it ends up back in the laundry basket so that I don't have to trip over it for the next few days. And then some one runs out of something vital. Like underwear or socks. And then I have to dig to the bottom of the basket to get to said items. And I hate that. So it is with great excitement that I wait for the UPS truck to arrive and deliver my sorter.

2011-06-19T14:38:00.005-06:00

Decided to stop bush-hogging early today. Thankfully, I noticed a mama turkey sitting on a clutch of eggs. When I took Chris to see her, he (accidentally) scared her off, and I counted 10 eggs. Checked back a few minutes later, and she was back on the nest.

2011-06-19T10:50:00.003-06:00

After having half the tar paper ripped of the back by the wind last week, we decided to put a hold on any papering and just cover the whole thing with tarps until we get the money for the roof. Which I hope will be soon. But who knows...

It feels like an odd situation. When we sold out house, we were eligible for the 2nd-time homebuyers credit the goverment decided to offer to try to help stimulate the economy. Now, to be honest, I thought the credit was a dumb idea, especially when the economy had tanked and the government was (is) so far in debt I can't think of an appropriate analogy... but, hey, if the government is handing out money, and we qualify, and we'll do something wise with it... why not get in line?

So when I filed our taxes, I sent off all the paperwork they said they would want to prove that we were eligible for the homebuyer's credit. A month later, we got our tax refund, minus the money for the homebuyer's credit. Then we got a letter in the mail asking for more documentation. I sent it in. We got another letter from them that said they got our stuff and would review it and get back to us in a month. A month later, we got another letter saying they would get back to us by the next month. Then that deadline passed, and then one evening, I got a call from some poor, overworked guy saying that they needed proof that we had a contract on the house before the April 30th deadline. Great, I said, let me fax that over. So I did. The guy called back 10 minutes later saying that he needed proof of residency at our old house. Apparently, even though I sent the info they asked for when I filed taxes, and even though we'd been filing our taxes from that address for the past 5+ years, that still wasn't enough for the guy's boss. I pulled some other documentation outand faxed that over. Two days later, I got another letter saying they'd get back to us in the next month or so. Great.

So in the meantime, until we save up some $, or the govt. ponies up, tarps. Definitely won't be ordering blue metal for the roof.

2011-06-15T12:28:00.003-06:00

So there is a thurnderstaorm about to roll through, and the felt underlayment on the back side of the roof we took a half day in the blazing sun to put down is getting blown off. Cuss...

2011-06-13T11:58:00.002-06:00

Saturday, Chris and some volunteers got the form for the porch slab built. They built smaller forms and poured the concrete for the porch posts. Some fireblocking and other little details were knocked out on the inside of the house. Sunday, Chris and I worked on getting the posts and beams up and cut our rafter template. Later, after a birthday dinner for me with my folks, Chris got a good start on the porch rafters. As soon as we get the rest of them up, Chris will have me back up on the roof to finish the decking and felt. It will be nice to be able to sit in the shade of our front porch, trying to envision what the view will be with the trailer gone...

2011-06-09T14:31:00.003-06:00

Last night, I went to pick up an Ameraucana rooster from some friends that were looking to get rid of him. I was hoping he would take to the two Ameraucana hens I have so that we can hatch out some chicks next year. I was a little surprised when I saw the rooster. He was big. Suddenly, I was a little worried about the alpha rooster at home. Little did he know that he would wake up in the morning to a new competitor, and I wasn't sure he was big enough to hold his own...

We put the new rooster on the perch I had mounted in the stable, hoping that if each rooster had a sense of having his own territory, they wouldn't have a fight to the death. I managed to get to sleep, then woke up, anxious, at 4:30 a.m. .... With the first hint of light, I was out the door to see what would happen. A few minutes later, our alpha roo started crowing in the chicken coop. Then I heard the neighbor's roosters far-away crowing, and finally, from the stable, came the deeper crow of the new rooster. He came strutting out, taking in the new scenery. The hens from the coop slowly started filtering outside, then out came Alpha. Newby started looking for the way into the chicken run, while Alpha strutted around inside. Finally, Alpha jumped through the door and confronted Newby. Both roos flew up in the air, trying to get the best of each other. Alpha was a little more agile, though, and soon had Newby on retreat. After a few minutes, Alpha had established his supremacy and I was convinced we wouldn't have any carnage in the barnyard, so went inside for some coffee.

Roof Decking Progress

2011-06-07T15:57:00.002-06:00

This is a picture of us on top of our roof. Yes, it is that steep. It didn't really bother us until we had the last pieces in place, which meant there was no edge to grab hold of in the event we started to slide. So Chris got a rope out of the garage and we tied it to the ridge beam. He wrapped it around his hand while he nailed the final pieces down...

Just after we finished, we noticed the thermometer had hit 100F. I was glad to be down off that southern-facing roof for the day.

2011-06-07T06:07:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, while Gramma and Grampa watched the kids, Chris and I knocked out most of the front roof decking. We would have gotten a lot more finished if it wouldn't have been for a small mistake in the rafter spacing. One gap between the rafters was 17" on the ridge beam instead of the standard 16"... and that one little inch can make for a big headache.

Turnip Harvest

2011-06-06T12:45:00.003-06:00

I should probably do a little more research before I start growing new vegetables. I just now read that turnips are best eaten when golf-ball sized. So I tromped out to the garden and pulled most of them up, leaving a few to (maybe) overwinter and let go to seed. A good number of them were the ideal size. I separated those out to eat raw in salads or however it is you are supposed to eat turnips. I also filled a gallon size bag with the bigger ones, and those I plan to try mashed. The biggest turnip can be seen in the bunch to the left and was bigger than my fist.

2011-06-05T15:29:00.000-06:00

Not bad progress for a husband and wife team!

Hay

2011-06-03T12:18:00.004-06:00

There is a small section of pasture right across from the shop that I refused to let Chris mow so I could cut it for hay for the chicken coop. Wednesday, I raked up the hay I had cut, and pitched it all into the back of the truck. As sweat trickled into my eyes, I though of Laura Ingalls helping her Pa by tramping the hay down in the wagon. I thought for a minute that maybe I should get the kids involved, but it wasn't that much hay, so I didn't. In retrospect, though, they would have had a lot of fun.

A part of me really wants to learn how to make an old-school haystack. Since we don't have a baler (yet) it would be nice to know how so that I wouldn't have to keep taking up room in the stable. [Also, I have this desire to slide down a haystack at least once in my lifetime, thanks again to the Little House series] From what I understand, you just put the hay down in a circle, then keep piling it up in layers. The trick is to top it so that it will shed water... But as far as I know, there are no videos on YouTube to help me learn how. Maybe I need to take a trip to Amish country?

2011-05-31T11:14:00.002-06:00

Last week, I took a little vacation. My good friend (we'll call her Al) came down from Omaha to spend time with me and the cicadas in Nashville. Since we were to be without children for three days and are creative sorts, I had hoped to get in some art time. Instead, I sat and stared while Al sewed a cool, little sock-doll. I hope she wasn't terribly disappointed with my lack of motivation, but it was really nice (for me) to just sit with nothing pressing to do and have adult conversations.

On my return to The Funny Farm, I found that Chris had gotten a lot accomplished. He had mowed the lawn (a three-hour task), taken Joe to two baseball games, hung most of the sheathing on the 20-foot-high west gable, gone to visit his grandmother, and kept the house clean. The profanely long list of recently watched kids' shows on Netflix revealed how he was able to accomplish all this while keeping an eye on the three kids. So, on Sunday, guessing that the kids might be suffering from vitamin D deficiency as well as mush brain, I set up the wading pool and let the kids play outside...
while Chris and I finished the sheathing on the gable walls.

Memorial Day was spent with a little work around the farm, then an afternoon at my folks' place for a cookout. In the evening, I started up the tractor and spent a little time bush-hogging. The cicadas seemed to think I (or the tractor) was an ideal mate, and I was constantly swatting them away. The grass had gotten quite high in the north field, and after 5 or 6 circuits, the tractor started to overheat. It looks like I'll just have to take it a little at a time in order not to overwork our poor little International.

Today is laundry day, and I am taking advantage of this heat. Someday, it would be nice to get a real clothesline set up...

Pile-O-Peas

2011-05-24T14:34:00.002-06:00

What was it the back of the package said? Dwarf Sugar Pea. "Vines grow 24-30" and do not require staking." ? Mine are pushing 6 feet, and are leaning over my carrots from the 3 foot fencing I put up.

2011-05-22T16:03:00.003-06:00

This weekend, we finally finished putting up the gates and fencing to allow the chickens out of their pen to range while (hopefully) keeping them safe from the neighbor's dogs.

Some of the little chicks can still squeeze throught the fence, but it won't be long before they grow too big for the holes.

The only worry now is Dragon. He looked a little too interested in the smaller chicks.

Chickens Love Cicadas

2011-05-20T11:35:00.002-06:00

2011-05-20T10:47:00.003-06:00

Last Monday, Finley's soccer season ended. It was a little bit of a relief to me, since we had been juggling Joe's baseball practices and games with her practices and games all while trying to get work done on the house. And since I am competitive by nature, games were a bit painful for me to watch... Finley usually played defender, paying more attention to the dirt or what was growing in it rather than the ball. She wasn't an aggressive player, and only made attempts to kick the ball if it came within a 5 foot radius of the spot she seemed determined not to leave.

In spite of all that, and the fact that the team probably did not have a winning season, each player got a trophy to take home after the last game.

Then yesterday, Finley got this note in the mail from her coach:

Dear Finley,
I'm glad you chose to play soccer this year and were on my team. Your confidence and courage are impressive. Many times, you bravely went against kids much bigger than you. I was proud to see you get after the ball. Good Job! Above all, your kindness shown to all. Joy is spread when you are around. I hope these seeds grow. I know you like to give flowers to your mom.
Coach Dan

Enclosed was a packet of daisy seeds.

2011-05-16T12:19:00.003-06:00

This weekend, in spite of the misty, moisty weather, we got some work done on the house. There was some blocking that needed to be installed between some ceiling joists to help stabilize and support the upstairs, and we got that finished.

We also reinforced the soffits. Chris had just tacked the soffit overhang to the last rafter, and I was pretty certain they would eventually sag. We came up with a few ideas on how to stabilize them, but John P., the county codes guy, gave us the best idea. (He's helped us out a lot. Never be afraid to ask questions... It's easier and cheaper in the long run.) So we notched out the rafter that sat on the gable wall to accept a flat 2x8 that would tie the soffit into the first two rafters on the house and prevent a sag. I am feeling much better about them now.

Next up, we need to build out a form around the front porch so that we can pour our slab. We want to get that done before we frame out the porch roof. We've seen the pros frame out a porch roof temporarily supported by 2x4's before they pour the slab, but we just aren't brave enough to try that.

2011-05-12T12:22:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that a week and a day ago, I was worried about the tomatoes possibly getting bit by frost. It's hot out there.

And thanks to all that rain we got, the mosquitoes are terrible. In the morning, when we pile into the van to take Fin to school, the mosquitoes pile in with us, and I swerve down the driveway as I try to swat them to death before they can bite.

The breezy, hot afternoons force the bugs into hiding, so I wandered out to the garden this afternoon to see what I could see. My peas are standing three feet and higher, pods developing beneath countless wilting, purple flowers. I pulled one off to eat, the peas barely beginning to makes bumps in the outer shell. It wasn't quite as sweet as I anticipated, but maybe that will come as they come closer to maturity?

My two rows of bush beans didn't germinate very well. I am deciding whether or not to plant more.

Still haven't finished thinning out the lettuce, but I am not brave enough to face the mosquitoes. With this heat, I wouldn't bee to surprised if the lettuce decided to go ahead and bolt and get life over with.

I was gifted with a load of mixed decomposing goat and chicken manure and hay. I'm going to try just a bit around some plants before I cover the whole garden just to make sure it won't burn anything.

2011-05-11T10:41:00.004-06:00

Sometimes, the apple falls from the tree, then rolls down a long, long hill. Or it gets carried off by a squirrel to an entirely different yard.

Z is almost three. Today, she asked for an M&M, so I told her if she peed in the potty, she could have one. She ran off to the bathroom, sat down on her potty, and tinkled. I rewarded her with two M&M's, slapped some Elmo underwear on her, and poured her a glass of juice. Then, every 15 minutes, I asked if she needed to go potty. An hour later, after repeatedly denying any need to go potty, she pooped and peed in her underwear.

This is a far cry from her self-potty-trained-at 23-months mother.

Help me.

It's turning out to be a nice day...

2011-05-08T09:58:00.004-06:00

What better thing is there to do on Mother's Day than to go cicada hunting with my kids? Finley quickly got the hang of holding the jar, then knocking the bugs into it with her stick. Joe wasn't quite as brave, so I had to hold his jar for him while he hit at the cicada with his stick. Z was my personal bug spotter, just the right height to find the newly emerged cicadas hanging in the tall grass.

After we got tired of the hunt, over we went to the chicken coop where we dumped them inside and watched a feeding frenzy ensue. We are doing our part in Marshall County to reduce the magnitude of Cicada Brood XIX.

Here they come!

2011-05-08T08:05:00.001-06:00

Z's First Ever Haircut

2011-05-07T14:40:00.004-06:00

Today, I finally cut the mullet out of Z's hair.

Before:

After:

A Few Thoughts on Motherhood

2011-05-06T16:21:00.006-06:00

There's nothing like Mother's Day to help point out how flawed I am as a mother. This week, as I was talking in an exasperated fashion to (also known as 'yelling at') Finley, I opened her backpack to find a Mother's day card she had made at school. Finley had carefully colored it various shades of green (my favorite color). Boy, did that make me feel lousy.

Joe, who up to this point is generally considered a well behaved child by those outside of the family, bit Finley (hard) on the arm. In Sunday School, of all places. He is a good kid, really. He just needs to learn how to handle frustration properly. Okay, so maybe I do, too.

But Mother's Day is coming, so I will try not to be too hard on myself, because my mom says I'm doing a good job.

2011-05-02T12:34:00.002-06:00

Can you see it?

Asparagus! Today, I noticed the first two shoots have emerged from the roots I planted a few weeks ago. I would be lying if I said that when I planted them, I couldn't wait until the day I could harvest some... But really, I planted them because I wasn't sure that the asparagus my mother planted in her sad-looking soil would survive; and since she loves asparagus, I wanted some for her. Sure, I could handle a spear or two, but I honestly couldn't say that I would have been thrilled with a huge pile on my plate.

But then it was Easter, and Andi had asparagus roasted in butter, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. Wow. Suddenly, the two or three years I am supposed to wait until harvesting seems like a long, long time.

2011-04-30T18:31:00.001-06:00

Z has real-life anime eyes.

2011-04-30T18:28:00.000-06:00

It's been raining a lot...

2011-04-27T16:59:00.003-06:00

This is a picture of our pond earlier this year when we considered it fairly full:

This is a picture from this afternoon. Notice the river of water running off behind the trees...

then across our driveway...

Thankfully, our trailer, the house, the chicken coop, etc. all sits high and (mostly) dry...

House Progress

2011-04-25T06:56:00.002-06:00

I have been chastised for not posting enough photos of the house. Here it is. Still need to frame out the front porch roof and brace the eaves and some other areas before we can move forward with the roof... But we're getting there.

Easter Morning

2011-04-24T19:22:00.003-06:00

This is a picture of Dragon playing with the (dead, headless) little rabbit he killed Easter morning and brought to me while I was hiding eggs. It was not the rabbit Chris caught a few days earlier. That one is still in a cage in our garage, and now Chris is afraid to 'release it back to the wild'.

This is a picture of Z right before the hunt. Her face says it all. Joe and Z have been running a fever off and on for the past several days, so needless to say, Z wasn't too enthused about the egg hunt.

Heifer Fever

2011-04-23T18:21:00.002-06:00

It happened again. I looked at Craigslist and saw a little heifer for sale in the area, and now I am plotting to get it. All I need to do is convince my husband that this IS a good time to get a heifer and obtain money separate from the house fund to purchase it.... (fingers drumming together in thought)

What's Growing On?

2011-04-21T10:48:00.003-06:00

I don't think I ever posted a picture of the coop with plants on top... Well, here it is. You can't see it very well in this photo, but the dianthi (?) are blooming! I might actually get an iris bloom soon as well. (I am still planning to put more up there, as it looks a little sparse.)

It occurred to me that when the original farmers on this land built the barn, they must have cut down most of the oak trees on the property to do it. I don't think there are any sizable oaks on our property, though there are a few on the neighbor's land along side the driveway. So last fall, I gathered some acorns and stored them in the fridge for the winter. I planted them in a couple pots sometime in March, hardly expecting any of them to germinate. So far I have four little saplings I plan to put in the ground somewhere soon! Then I just need to make sure Chris doesn't mow them over.

I have most of the garden planted: Lettuce, beets, radishes, carrots, onion, chard, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and beans. What I am most excited about are my peas! I have tried growing peas a few times, and haven't had much luck. But these are thriving. This picture was taken a week ago, and I think they are about twice as high, now. If I manage to eat one fresh pod from these vines, I will call this growing season a success.