We had a really nice, 50° day yesterday but too much wind.
I was dreading milking but am happy to report it went well. I got smart....at last.
First DH stayed with me. Second we carried the milk container and strainer to the milking area. When I got a half bucket, I poured it in. That way I would only loose half if she went berserk again.
The chain worked fine. She got antsy toward the end but nothing really bad. I was nervous the whole time which isn't good but that will pass with time.
This was errand day and we decided DH would do his exercise first. If we wait until after his enthusiasm lags....
Just as I was getting into the truck he mentioned that a piece of white paper was blowing around the drive.....I didn't pay any attention. We got to W-M and I opened my bag to get my list and it was not there. Guess what that white paper was.
I tried to recreate a list, but I knew I had some unusual things on it. I got most of those but when we got home, there lay the list in a flower bed. DH said don't look at it and you won't miss what you didn't get! I had to look and yes, I did miss some items. Nothing critical, I hope.
I did remember the Size J crochet hook and the 4.7 GB discs to back up Windows 7 on the new computer. It wouldn't let me use the regular 700 MB's that I have. I hope to get that done today. So far, I am liking Windows 7 very much. My internet speed is still slower than I would like. I have wireless, but I checked again and DSL is not available out here. Wireless is faster than my old dial-up so I will just be grateful to have that.
My Iowa sis just got a new Kindle and she just knows I need one! The library is just 7 minutes away and I can pre-order books on their website and just go in and pick them up at a drive in window.....I don't need to spend 5-10 dollars buying books. I told her about the Kindles last year and she has a friend who bought one. She has serious eye problems and I thought being able to enlarge the print would be great for her. She got it yesterday and called me three times. She was very excited and is going to love it. She buys her books now because her little library is very limited and she doesn't like to have to finish a book "on time".
We have such great phone conversations.....when she gets some new toy she calls and tells me I should get it too. I deserve it, her quote. She got a new KA mixer....I need one. I do want a heavy duty mixer....but a Bosch and Mom's old KA is still working. She got a new computer, I deserved one. She got a laptop. I needed one. I love her to pieces. We were just discussing how different we were in many ways, but the same in others. I am a list maker, I like to do financial reports, know what things are costing me; she could care less. We remember our past entirely different. I remember certain things; she remembers others. She cooks by instinct; I need a recipe to start with. Some days we talk 3 or 4 times; then we may go a week without talking. Thank you Lord for cell phones.
December 22, 2010
Just a normal day, we did deliver some Christmas goodies.
Stopped by the local library and grocery. I can't seem to stay out of the store for more than two days......I will do much better after the holidays!
December 23, 2010
We visited with our elderly neighbor who lived here for 50 years. We were delighted to find her alert and doing pretty well. We bought the farm from them.
She had gained 10 pounds which was worrying her, but we think she looks much better.
I took her some Christmas goodies. I hope she enjoys them.
Another trip to the store! This has to stop.
December 24, 2010
We got a light rain and it remained around freezing so no bad road conditions.
I cleaned today getting ready for Christmas dinner. We are having DH's parents out.
Our son and his family will be skiing in Colorado and our daughter won't be down until New Years.
December 25, 2010
We had a nice quiet Christmas day with the in-laws. I sent them home with enough food for at least two meals. She doesn't really like to cook. I wished they lived closer and I could share with them more often.
She gave me a rooster teapot. I love it but will use it as a decorative piece rather than a teapot.
December 26, 2010
Just a nice, lazy day. DH put lights in with the chickens hoping it will encourage them out of molt and into laying! We don't have too much hope for success.
December 27, 2010
We had a big, country breakfast of ham (from Christmas dinner), eggs, gravy and biscuits..........I love big breakfasts.
I milked this morning. She is still antsy and I still have DH stay with me and I empty the pail mid-way through so I won't loose anything.
I sent in a check for our taxes............never a fun thing to do.
We spent the rest of the day shopping for gas ranges. My lemon Jenn Air oven has been stopping midway during baking if I so much as touch anything on the despised electronic control panel. This was replaced last summer; I bet it was a rebuilt panel. I need to ask the Sears crew if they do this. I wonder if I will get a straight answer. I have had so much trouble with this range, that each year I buy the insurance from Sears and it has been money well spent!
We shopped three stores............nothing to really impress me except my feelings about Best Buy were reinforced. I do not like that store. They had exactly 2 ranges on the floor and the only clerk spent the entire time on the computer. I then looked for a counter-top oven that their website said they carried...........nada! I will not be getting in a hurry with this....in the meantime, I will call the Sears service crew and schedule yet another service call.
I think my insurance runs until summer. They will, of course, have to order the part, and then come back to fix it.
Today, we are checking two more stores.....I may end up ordering one online and I may not get one at all! I get so tired of spending our hard-earned money on expensive, new things and then have all kinds of problems with them. I told DH yesterday if I bought all the major things I wanted to replace, the cost would be $5,000......that's a lot of beef calves!
First: the stove
Second: either new carpet for the living room and master bedroom or hardwood floors.
Either way the carpet needs to go! I am leaning toward carpet now...it varies from week to week.
Third: New living room furniture.....sofa and two chairs or loveseat. I have had mine since the 70's and they show it.
That doesn't count the new Bosch Mixer (can wait on that one) and the Nutrimill and the dehydrator....there is close to another $1,000!
So here is what I will do. Think about what is absolutely positively necessary.
One thing comes up:
I need a working oven.
I will be fine if I do none of the above....I can always keep up the annual insurance policy with Sears and keep on keeping on.
Kris, I will be going to our Habitat Restore today. I am excited about that.
At last I am caught up. I always jot down each day in my written journal, but promised myself I would keep it online.
I see lot of people are redoing their blogs for the New Year. I need to restructure mine just so I can (and others if they want) find things. How should I go about that?
Advice will be much appreciated.
I will leave you with a favorite picture of the last cats to come to the farm via their pregnant mother who was dropped here.
They still snuggle with each other.....don't allow Mom near and love the dog. I see them rubbing up next to him daily. They hover around him but he comes bounding to me when I try to get a picture....I will try to capture the loving group through a window.
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| From Cats and dog |
I hate the new appliances with electronic controls. I'd like to find one of the old electric stoves that had the deep well in it. It was the early version of the crockpot and I used mine almost daily.
ReplyDeleteThose kittens are beautiful. Looks like they are enjoying their nap.
I hope you have good luck at the ReStore place. Mine always has a lot of used ranges, cooktops, etc. Love the pic of the tabby kittens! A real puddle of cuddle. LOL
ReplyDeleteOh, so much to comment on!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on having to pace myself with things we need. Still not sure whether to bite the bullet and get a fireplace insert or not. I'd planned to pull up carpet next year, but it depends on whether we get the fireplace insert or not. I have my eye on some Gunstock wood-strip flooring at Lowe's. It's sure pretty, is real wood. Costs about what new carpet would and this would be for kitchen, kitchen nook and dining room, where I hate for carpet to be. Too hard to keep clean. We have yet to put down the flooring I bought for the bathrooms, however. I should've been pushing for that, as last time I mentioned it Hubs said he was too busy with outside things. Now the insulation will take the forefront.
No advice about how to organize a blog and when you get some advice from others I'll be paying attention. I have no idea how to attack RockWhisperer and I'm going to have to do that soon. So far all that's there is recipes. I don't know that I can divide up my ramblings into categories. I'll have to keep several blog entries going at one time, I fear.... I'm not sure it's worth it. I've got a search button on my blog but it doesn't seem to work very well. It's just so hard to find things.
I love kitties. Sam is a big mama's baby, follows me around and meows, wants me to sit down so she can sit on me. Jumps in my lap here at the computer and bumps her head on the desk, poor thing! When I was a little girl before we left the farm, we had a shepherd/collie dog that the cats loved to loll all over. He put up with it. We had 17 cats at one time.
And here I thought Jenn-Air was among the best! What a burden to be constantly fixing.
I agree with you, the more "stuff" you have, the higher is the risk that something will be needing repair. I have not used my dishwasher for months now and I don't miss it. When Hubs took the garbage disposal out, he disconnected something on the dishwasher drain, then said, "Don't use the dishwasher!". I'm thinking of advertising it on Craig's List so I can have a bank of drawers in its place. I really need drawer space. Feb. is a good time to advertise things because people have their tax refunds.
Glad you're getting the upper hand of the cow. Wasn't it this time last year you were hobbling around with a cane because she stepped on you? Cows can be scarey. I think Suzanne's going to have her hands full with that calf, it looks like one determined critter. Hope she gets her bluff in, soon.
I don't think I want a Kindle. Like you, I have a library reasonably close. Another gadget to fizzle out. Something else will come along, and then they'll be in every garage sale I go to. I buy books that I think I might want to keep for reference but it's more reassuring having a book on a shelf than it is having data in an electronic gadget. Would certainly save a lot of space.
I've heard if chickens have light and warmth they will start laying again. I hope it works for you. What does your chicken house look like, I don't remember ever seeing it. I'm thinking about getting some chickens. I'll be needing advice. I want some of those like you have, that lay the colored eggs. Atwood's sells chicks in the spring but I don't know if they sell that kind.
When I was interviewing Hubs' sisters for my genealogy project, I noticed the memories of the older sisters were so different than those of the younger ones, almost like they'd been raised by different parents. I guess we all change with time and the knocks life gives us.
As always, enjoyed your blog...
Good to see you posting. I am very 'bad' about posting on my blog and think from time to time about just deleting it-some days more a chore that something I really enjoy. Maybe I should try doing the Journal type thing like you do come the new year. To have followers (although I don't have that feature set on mine) I think you need to post most days and have something interesting going on like you do-you seem like a natural writer!
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to get a new computer, I fear, soon. Have not been looking forward to learning Windows 7. My daughter bought a laptop recently with 7 and some things she likes and others not so much. She hasn't figured out the spreadsheet thing yet like we have on Works. Said she would just use her old desktop for spreadsheets, etc. She also has a Sony E-Reader and likes it. I have used it some but don't plan to invest in one. Our library is adequate and they are good about getting in books from the system that you request.
Cute kitties!!
Glenda, you are a busy person!!! Chores, electronic gizzmos/gadgets and I, too, am a list maker! I love the kitties snuggling...:)JP
ReplyDeleteI am glad I am catching up. I especially enjoyed reading about you and your sister. I am 8 years older than mine, and we don't have much in common. She is too busy to talk much. We do enjoy each other at holidays, though.
ReplyDeleteI need to go find out what happened with the cow.
Glenda reading your blog puts a smile on my face and makes me feel all's right with the world. It takes me back to the days I spent on my GrandDad's farm. Sweet memories. Love the ginger kitties all cozied up.
ReplyDelete