A deep thought for the Christmas season

The kids were watching "White Christmas" tonight. One of the songs in the movie talks about falling to sleep counting my blessings. Suzanna said, "wow, I wouldn't know where to start". Do we feel that way?? Or are we never satisfied enough to recognize all that God has blessed us with? Something to spend some time considering in the midst of this busy holiday season.

Can you say cold

Wow have we hit a cold spot. Sort of blows global warming out of the water when it is -4 degrees doesn't it. That was the lowest we saw the thermometer go last night. Then add to it a 20 mile an hour wind and you are COLD! Chores, which at our place aren't a lot, involved a very chilly walk to the barn. In this kind of weather, it seems like everything you do takes so much longer to get done. Might have something to do with all the layers of clothing you put on to ward off the wind.

Do to the blowing and drifting snow, we didn't have church services yesterday. When your church is on the corner of two dirt roads in the middle of no where, that is a definite problem. We hope to perform our programs next week. It does extend Christmas just a little bit longer.

Staying home gave me time to inventory where I was on Christmas presents. I finally finished setting out my Christmas village. The whole house is done now. I also spent some time in my cookbooks, picking out recipes for the week of celebrating.

This morning is still cold and there is a bit of snow in the air. It seems we have more weather coming, including snow, sleet and freezing rain in the next two days. Could be an interesting Christmas Eve.

Decadence and disaster.....

ran arm in arm yesterday.

Mom, the girls and I had a candy making day yesterday. Lots of yummy, sweet stuff was on the agenda. But it seemed everything we tried had its share of troubles.

Mom was in charge of marachino cherries, mounds bars and buckeyes. I was in charge of cookie dough truffles and pecan turtles. All were things we had done before. The first problem hit when mom realized that she couldn't find her recipes for the mounds bars or buckeyes. I looked up a buckeye recipe on the Internet and she found a new recipe for mounds bars.

Well, the buckeyes were a little on the dry side, but rolled with work. The mounds bars were a total disaster. They hardened to the point you couldn't do anything with them. And as they cooled on the marble "grave marker" mom used for a cooling rack, they became cemented to the marble. Yes, I said grave marker. Mom's parents went to auctions for years and collected some rather unusual stuff. Among them, a marble topped table that upon closer inspection several years ago, we discovered that the top had been made from a grave marker! Nobody let anything go to waste in the old days I guess.

Back to candy. I managed to scrape the stuff up, but there was nothing that could be done to make it usable, so in the trash it went. In the meantime, I discovered that the pecan turtles that I had made had permanently attached themselves to the waxed paper I had put them on to cool. No where in the directions did it say you needed to spray the paper with cooking spray. Minor detail!! They stuck so bad that the only way to get the paper off was to wet it with water. Well, of course chocolate and water don't mix, so the wet candies didn't dip well at all. Another disaster!

The most successful project of the day was the peppermint bark that Suzanna made. It was wonderful and compared to the really expensive stuff from Williams-Sonoma.

Don't feel to bad for us. Between the buckeyes, truffles, dipped cherries and pretzels we still managed to have a huge box of candies that had to weigh about 5 pounds when we were done. I am sure we will enjoy it all. Decadence wins in the end!!!!

Christmas Programs.....

I have visited several of my favorite blogs this morning which mentioned their annual Christmas programs. I have a fond memory of Suzanna's very first Christmas program. She was just a little over two years old and the part was simple. The play was based on Stars at Christmas time and played out the Nativity scene in typical fashion, complete with shepherds in bathrobes and bath towels and angels in revamped sheets with garland in their hair. The little kids, like Suzanna, were responsible for providing the starlight. That entailed holding flashlights, and shining them toward the ceiling. Easier said than done for a two year old. She flashed her light in the eyes of the cast, toward the audience, into the eyes of the director and the lady playing piano. And as far as shining the ceiling. It was mostly in a strobe light fashion, fast and furious. Not much like a simple star. It was hysterical. We laughed and laughed. I should mention that she was not alone in her endeavor. There were about 5 other kids about the same age doing exactly the same thing. A true example of what looks good on paper doesn't exactly work like you hope when put into practice.

And on the home front, unlike the past couple years, where I have happily volunteered to make the costumes for the program at our church, I have nothing to stitch this year. You would think that means I have a chance to relax and enjoy the last few days leading up to the program, right????? Not so fast. This year instead of sewing I am memorizing.....and singing. Yes, that would be correct. Hubby and I are a part of the program this year. In another weak moment, I agreed not only for myself but also on behalf of my hubby to be "older" people in the play. Seemed like a great idea 6 weeks ago. But now, with the days winding down quickly, and too few practices remaining, D-Day is fast approaching. If only everybody who has a part could be healthy, all at the same time, things would go so much better.

Three practices remain and the jury is out on how this will all end up on Sunday. If it is anything like years past, it all turns out fine in the end. Oh, and don't even ask about the Choir program. Lets just say we trimmed a few songs out of that and it should be a success. Anything beats last year when the director decided to have a heart attack the day before we were to perform.

A week in the life.....

It is never dull here at the zoo and this week is a prime example of that. We have been extremely busy, as we are hurrying toward the Christmas holiday. Monday was the County Agriculture (fair) Society Annual meeting. Tuesday was our Anniversary, so we went out for dinner that night. Wednesday was church and one of the last practices for the kids Christmas Program. Thursday I headed for East Lansing and the Holstein Harvest Sale. I am a part of the Holstein show committee and we were auctioning a holiday picture as a fund raiser. Friday brought the AI man out to breed Sami. Last night we got our Christmas tree and had our company Christmas party. Whew!!!!! Are you exhausted yet????? Oh, but we aren't done yet.

Today I put together a pot of soup for a church function tonight, Suzanna made a cake for the event as well, and Kathryn made Rolo Turtles for a treat too. Mike has been refilling the hay in the barn, since we were running low. He also got the Christmas tree in the house so I can start getting the lights on it. In the midst of the afternoon, we headed to Jackson for Suzanna's violin recital. On our way out the door, I looked behind me in time to see the tree go crashing to the ground. Of course, my efficient hubby had the kids get water to it as soon as it got in the house. So all that water ended up on my living room floor. We quickly propped it up with a step ladder and walked away.

Suzanna did a great job with her song. After that we were off and running again, headed back home to do chores, deal with the tree and get to church for a special program. Our our way home, we noticed that it was raining and 32 degrees out. Well, you know what that means...freezing rain. It was starting to stick, so despite the fact that it seems okay toward church (about 20 minutes from home), we decided to stay put for the evening rather than risk bad roads later tonight.

As we came in the door, I observed that at least half Suzanna's cake had been eaten. Emma was no where to be found, so we knew who the guilty party was. Just as well we aren't going tonight, since our dessert was tainted with dog spit!! The soup will be good.....and maybe the tree will get decorated too.

Flashback picture on a Tuesday......

Let's head back just 19 short years to the evening of December 9, 1989. That would be when these two kids tied the knot. It was a beautiful, chilly winter night. Everything was Christmasy (is that a word?) and we had such a special night!

All these years later, we are still best friends. We have grown closer to the Lord and closer to each other. We have the same goals and ideas for our kids and our own lives. I feel blessed to call him my husband.

The flu has been flying

Monday started like any other day at the zoo. The kids headed off to school, roads weren't great, but we got there in one piece. I headed off to Hillsdale to put my hour of cardio in at Anytime Fitness. I don't take my cell phone in with me. Don't figure I want to huff and puff in the ear of whoever calls me while I am on the elliptical or the treadmill. As I checked my phone when I got back to the car, I discovered that there was a message from the school. It seemed Thomas had a bout of stomach flu and needed to come home. Since the roads were still yucky and more snow was falling, I asked that all three kids be ready to head for home when I got to the school.

I picked them up and chatted with Thomas and Kathryn's teacher for a couple minutes after sending the kids to the car. When I got in the car, Suzanna was having a fit with Thomas. It seemed he was in the car, eating his ham sandwich. I suggested he put it away for later. He insisted that he was starving. He ate his applesauce and then polished off a granola bar. Suzanna started complaining that he wasn't acting very sick and she didn't see why she had to miss the school day! She has such a way with words!!!

Yesterday morning, Thomas still wasn't himself, and Kathryn was a lovely shade of green. I kept them both home and they seemed to feel better by later in the day. Off to school they all went this morning. My plan was to head to Anytime Fitness for a workout. Not to be, as my cell phone rang as I pulled into our driveway. Thomas was again complaining about his stomach. Back to the school I headed to collect him and I took Kathryn home as well.

They both seem back to normal tonight...so I may be back on a regular schedule. Time will tell.

International Talkers

Anyone who knows me, knows that talking is never an issue with me. But I must say, talking internationally is very different from my chats at home.

I purchased a new computer program and settled in Tuesday morning to load it and get to work. Imagine my impatience when the error message came up!! And came up and came up. I couldn't get it to load. So I broke down and called their support line. The voice at the other end was deeply accented and I had to strain to follow exactly what she was saying. She gave me a suggestion and I was back on my own. Only to get very discouraged and had to break down and call support a second time.

Of course a different, but equally impossible to understand person said hello on the other end of the line. She insisted that I needed to pay for support in order to continue and becoming more desperate by the moment, I agreed to pay and let her take over the controls of my computer. Occasionally, I would make a comment about what she was doing, which typically fell on deaf ears. I don't think she got my humor. Finally, she told me she would let the program do its thing for the next half hour and call me back to continue my support session.

No shock to me, the half hour came and went with no return phone call. I called the 800 number and yet again was greeted by a person who had a very thick accent. "His name was RICO"....anybody remember Copacabana by Barry Manilow???? I couldn't help singing that old 80s tune to myself as I once again described my problem and allowed yet another technician to take over my computer. After another HOUR on the phone, he hadn't solved anything and it was time to get the kids from school.

Once back from getting the kids, I steeled myself to call that 800 number and for a FOURTH time was greeted by a strange voice at the other end of the line. This accent was so hard to understand, I am not sure what I agreed to. They maybe coming to take possession of two horses and a few guinea hens for all I know. I did understand enough to agree to once more let her take control of the computer. I, in the meantime, cruised around the house with my hands free headphones, fixing supper, folding laundry, occasionally checking the computer screen to see what the unknown hands at the other end were doing and even eating my supper later on. Yes, I was on the phone for another THREE hours.......and you guessed it, the program still wasn't running.

At this point, I had a permanent sore ear, and had lost all hope that this program could ever be run. The voice at the other end suggested I call back in the morning and let them work on it some more, but she didn't even sound convinced that anything could be done. I said "no way", when she asked if I would mind taking a short survey on the service she had provided that day. I didn't think she would appreciate the less than glowing grades she would have received.

Gratefully, my brilliant father determined he could set up a spread sheet to do the same thing I was trying to do with this wonderful new program. I took him up on his offer. He speaks English, and in complete, coherent sentences, which was a welcome change from what I had gone through for over 5 hours that day.

Oh, and they did something bad to my computer, and I could no longer get on-line. So guess what I got to do today????? Spend another hour and a half with Dell customer service to fix that problem. He was from India......and didn't get my joke about how much snow he was looking at out his window. Me? about 4 inches.

Not ready for the main road just yet

Kathryn came in from doing chores last night with deep concerns. She had nearly hit a fence with the Steiner lawn tractor. For a long time now, her brother and sister have fussed over the fact that she was the only one in the family that didn't know how to drive the thing. She, on the other hand, was quite happy to walk. So, recently, I notice the tractor going down the driveway, swerving from one side to the other. I thought to myself that I needed to get after Thomas for goofing off while driving the thing. Much to my surprise, when the driver stepped off, it was Kathryn. It seemed Thomas had finally convinced her it was time and wouldn't take no for an answer.

Supposedly, she had been doing better and according to Thomas, she could do it alone. Well, last night she was less than thrilled. She had been trying to slide the knobby thingy from "rabbit to turtle" (those were her exact words) when she ended up going off the driveway and toward the fence. Thomas says she stopped in plenty of time, but that doesn't mean he will get her back on the tractor anytime soon.

If she takes a page from my book, she won't be driving any tractors until she has been married for 12 years or so.

PS: Daddy and Thomas haven't gotten a deer yet. There are plans in the works to stake out a spot in the woods this weekend. Updates when available.......

Who gets the blessing?

Sunday night our family joined a number of other families from our church in a opportunity for service. We visited four ladies who are now residing in long term care homes and are no longer able to worship at our church on a regular basis. This was the third time we had done this, and each time it seems more special it is.

At two of the homes, we were able to sing to more than just the lady from our church. At one location in particular, there is a dear man who each time we have been there has requested "In The Garden". He and my mom sang it together as a duet this time. A very sweet moment.

These folks are so draw to the kids. I suspect many of them don't get many chances to see kids, and ours are a treat for them. I am grateful that our kids are learning at such a young age to be comfortable around older people. To have the opportunity to serve is special for them.

So who gets the blessing???? I know the idea is to give these ladies a little break from what must seem like long, and sometimes lonely days. But to be honest, I think I am getting more from it than them. This takes me out of my comfortable pew on a Sunday night and opens my heart to the needs of others. That is a wonderful thing.

You can hear the sun rise......

Well, not exactly, and especially not this morning. What on earth am I talking about???? It is opening day for all the deer hunters across Michigan. It has been a long standing joke that on opening morning, you can "hear" the sun rise, as hunters bag a big buck. Unfortunately it has been raining all morning, so there was no sun to see or hear rise, and the deer are few and far between.

My family has joined the ranks of deer hunters. In all the years I have been married to him, dear husband has gone hunting once. That was before Suzanna was born, and after a contractor we did a lot of work for twisted his arm to join them. Suzanna is 12, so you can see how long ago that was!

Enter Thomas. His best friend and buddy from church, Jacob, is from a hunting family and this fall, he took the Hunter Safety class in anticipation of being old enough to hunt. In addition, a girl from our church and cousin to Jacob took it as well. Thomas was pretty concerned they were getting ahead of him, so just two weeks ago, he and his daddy took the two-day course and passed "with flying colors".

Thanks to the encouragement from Uncle Rick, our neighbor and relative by marriage, my guys were up before the rooster to get to the woods. Despite the fact that Thomas isn't old enough to hunt deer yet, he still wanted to see what it was all about. Of course, knowing what the weather was going to be like, hubby whipped together a shelter, so that they aren't sitting out in the elements. I received a call from hubby a little while ago, and Thomas was thrilled to have seen three does. They were playing in the field about 50 feet from the shelter and had no clue the guys were there. Of course, they weren't interested in taking a doe. It's all about the big buck.

I have my own concerns about this deer hunting thing. I have only had venison a couple times and I wasn't impressed. Several friends from church are old hands at cooking with it and promise to coach me if my hubby manages to get the "illusive" buck.

I will keep you posted!!!!

Riding

I haven't mentioned it, but I have had the opportunity to ride my horse for the past month. As a kid, my parents had Morgans, and I had a fun gelding to ride. Riding was nearly a daily occurrence if the weather was nice. I had a friend just up the road who also had a horse and we had a great time together. Some of the stuff we did with our horses, my mother would have had an absolute fit over....but nobody broke any bones, and if we did fall off, we just got right back on.

As I moved on to college and then got married, horses just didn't fit in. I sold my gelding the summer before I got married and used the money to buy my wedding dress. Priorities, don't ya know!!!

In 1998, hubby and I bought a broodmare, and thus began Knolltop Morgans. Breeding was fun and having new foals was a great experience for all of us, especially for the kids. With so many other priorities, riding was never very high on the list of things to do.

All that changed when Storm got back from Nationals. Despite the fact that I may have ridden 10 times in the past 20 years, Trainer Mike said there was no reason I shouldn't be enjoying my own horse. He didn't have to ask twice and soon I headed to the barn and took my first ride on horse that I brought into the world! What fun it was! And believe me, she was very forgiving, considering it had been a lot of years since I spent any time on the back of a horse. Since that first ride, I have been faithfully riding twice a week. I am no longer so sore I can hardly move, and actually look forward to my time in the saddle.

We are still marketing her, but on the off chance she doesn't sell within the next few weeks, she will come home for the winter. If that happens, I suspect I will spend some time in the saddle this winter.

It is really special to have the opportunity to ride an animal raised from birth on our farm. And big compliments go to Trainer Mike for getting a three-year old mare steady and safe enough for me to enjoy.

Sure didn't take long.....

to throw Sarah Palin under McCain 's campaign bus.

I wasn't very happy with the results of the election, and stayed away from the TV news networks through most of the day, since it isn't a happy, happy, joy moment for me. So last evening I sat down to watch a little on the Fox News network. Now they are accused of being biased all the time toward Republicans by everybody else. Trust me, they weren't last night. To my disappointment, Bill O'Reilly had a correspondent reporting all the juicy details from "McCain campaign aides" who could finally tell all about the real Sarah Palin. She really was dumb, a clothes horse, a hick and a redneck (I am paraphrasing here).

I know there is talk about her running in 2012, which seems like a lifetime away right now. My advice to her, FORGET IT!!! Do you really want to subject yourself to the wonderful, supportive press we have in this country? And I am disappointed that the same John McCain, who tells us all to get along and support the new President, doesn't have a greater respect for the LADY he pulled from a quiet existence in Alaska to the national spotlight. I think he owes her more than a kick in the behind less than 24 hours after it is all over.

I do know one thing, the liberals are getting just what they hope for. If you beat up enough good people when they attempt to run for major office, the good ones will quit running and you can get more of your liberal ideas through the system without much resistance.

And as far as Sarah Palin, I can't help thinking that the only thing she really is guilty of is actually trusting that her ideas would be appreciated enough to be Vice President. Oh, and Senator McCain???? If you had been as strong a conservative as Sarah Palin, you might just have won.

Exercising my right....

FINALLY!!!

The talk is over (well, sorta) and the day has arrived. We can finally go to the polls and enjoy an amazing right we have in America. We can vote.

I have been a political junkie for over 20 years. My family taught us early on that we had a responsibility to have a role in who was leading our country as well as our state. In high school and on through college, I worked for a gentleman who was well connected in the National political world. You couldn't help but be mindful of politics when he was around. I started college at Michigan State in the fall of 1984. There was a booth where you could register to vote right in the room we registered for classes. I was SO excited that I was old enough to vote for the first time. I remember Geraldine Ferraro was on campus that fall and went to the rally with a bunch of girls from my dorm, where we proudly chanted "REGAN-BUSH" during her speech!!

Suzanna was born in the fall of 1996, and hubby and I took her with us to vote that November, tucked in her car seat. We have continued the tradition of having the kids go with us and will do it again this evening. Hopefully through our example and conversations around home, our kids will grow up appreciating their right to vote.

Don't forget to exercise today.....the right to vote is a privilege men and women have willingly died for. And also remember that no matter what the outcome....God is in control!

Trick or treat, country style

We took the kids out to trick or treat last night and had a great time. Unlike many people, we don't go door to door in our neighboring town. When I was a kid, we never did and I have carried that on with my kids. Instead, we all pile in the car, and with daddy at the wheel, I give him the route for about 6 houses of relatives and neighbors that we do stop in at. This year, Terry and Cindy, my brother and sister-in-law wanted to join us, along with Sapphire, their collie. Mind you, my car seats 7, so the dog had to ride behind the back seat in the cargo area. I think she was mildly insulted, since she is an "only child" she normally ranks much higher in the pecking order of life.

So off we went with Zorro, Little Bo Peep and Felicity (American Girl character). At each stop, we all have to pile out of the car, go to the door, get treats, chat about life and then pile back into the car. At our third stop, we hit two houses in one. Grandma Stanna was finishing up on some yard work, so we quickly got our treats and she got back to work. We also caught the neighbor Harts coming from the barn. Neighbor Melissa had to fill me in on her great news....and we talked.....and talked.....'til my ride went rolling down the driveway and threatened to head out to the next stop. See that is the fun part of country style trick or treating. We get to catch up on the latest news, since all the houses we go to are people we know.

Off to my aunt and uncle's place. Now Aunt Stub (her real name is Naomi) makes sure there are treats for the big kids, and this year was no exception. She had a huge box of doughnuts and fresh cider from Gleis for everybody. Now they hadn't seen my brother in about 4 years, so there was a lot of catching up to do. That stop lasted about 45 minutes!! Between that stop and Grandpa Bob's, we called in a pizza order to the local pizza joint. We made two more stops, grabbed the pizza and headed to my parents for supper.

Great fun was had by all, and the kids came home with bags full of candy. One more thing I figured out about trick or treating, country style......you get more candy per stop than the in town style......so your kids still end up on a sugar high on the way home.

Mom I would like to be ZERO for Halloween....

That was a request from Thomas this weekend. Of course, my face was a picture of confusion, as I had no idea what he was talking about. I asked him who he meant. And he further explained he wanted to be the guy dressed in black, with the sword. Oh, I said, "you mean ZORO!!!!"

That's my boy.....

Honey, can you come to the corner of .....

That phone call changed my whole morning. The kids have the day off and I had been moving at my own pace. Checking out all my favorite blogs while enjoying a second cup of coffee that was in a mug rather than a travel cup. That's when the phone rang and the voice at the other end required my assistance.

The truck claimed that it had 10 miles 'til empty, but when he came around the corner it burped. Well, he might have said chugged, but I like the word burped better. Anyway, not wishing for major issues with the diesel engine, (something about junk in the filter), he shut it down, rolled to the side of the road and waited for me.

Of course, there is more to rescuing a stranded hubby than just bringing him home. We had to go to the gas station and get a can of fuel for the disabled vehicle. And since he was there, and the truck we were in was a little low on fuel, he filled that up as well. And he didn't get just one can of fuel but rather FIVE. Back to the truck we went, where he proceeded to put all FIVE cans of fuel in. (Why go back to the station again, just get it done on the side of the road!!) Of course what happens to a person who has had two cups of coffee??? She needs to use the facilities. And believe me a corn field was not on my map, so the last few minutes of waiting was spent doing a jig on the side of the road.

Home safe and sound, I thought my assistance was no longer needed. Not so fast, it seemed he could use my help getting the lift loaded on a trailer. I didn't figure it would involve much more than guiding a little to hitch up. Ha!!!! He needed to use a come-along to get the thing on the trailer. He was nice enough to offer me the option of driving the lift up the ramp or work the come-along. I picked run the come-along. I was fine until the lift started going off the ramps and seemed about to fall off. Hubby decided to change plans and backed up to a ditch and it went on much easier.

I finally got back to the house three hours later, totally off schedule and not sure what to do first. Guess I will head up to the storage building and get another coat of paint on the front.

Grand National Wrap-up

Wrap up for me anyway. The show continues through Saturday, but I headed back home to the real world last evening.

Storm looked beautiful. She really had no problems in the ring. Her rail work was impeccable. Her required "back four steps" wasn't so pretty and she came out of the ring seventh in a class of 14. My initial reaction was total disappointment. I was pretty bummed. There were tears, phone calls home and then a pep talk from my trainer. Trainer Mike reminded me why the mare was there. It was to sell her. Proof of this was the couple that came to our stalls within an hour of her class, wanting to talk to Trainer Mike about her. They are coming back this afternoon to see her work and possibly ride her.

We were busy all afternoon with classes. Then it was time to bid farewell to Oklahoma. I headed to the airport and winged my way back to Michigan. I have decided that flying isn't so awful. Especially when you are in a Dramamine induced stupor.

My own pillow felt pretty good last night and this morning I am back in the swing of my family. I have a house that needs cleaned.....and of course a few classes at Nationals to watch via the Internet.

Here are some pictures I wanted to share:

These are four the many stall set-ups. They are truly a home away from home. There are couches, coffee tables and TV hookups with video feed from the show rings. All the comforts of home in the middle of a horse barn. Ours was a little less fancy, but still more than we would do for a regular show. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it, but trust me it looked pretty nice.

A view from the ingate

Hello from Oklahoma City. I am anxiously waiting 9am when the show gets started. Storm goes in the second class of the morning and then I can relax and enjoy my last day here. I have had the chance to see her work a couple times and she has improved each day.

Mike Wahl Performance Horses has had a great show so far. One of Mike's students was Reserve Grand National Champion in 14-17 Showmanship, with another student in 3rd place in the 10-13 year old Showmanship class. Yesterday, a rider won her 11 year old western pleasure class and Mike's awesome gelding Lance was second in a huge, 22 horse western pleasure class.

Here is a picture I took last night looking down the ramp into the coliseum. There are actually 3 rings going most of the time. This is the ring Storm will be showing in this morning.



It is hard to really get a sense of how big this ring is from the picture. Notice the banners hanging from the rafters. Each one lists a former champion, the class they won and the year they received it. Pretty impressive to a person who spends hours pouring over the morgan magazines.

More stories and pictures when I get home.

Oklahoma......

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. You know the song. I am headed to Oklahoma in just a few short hours. Not sure if the wind sweeps through the streets in Oklahoma City, or if I will have much time to notice anyway. The Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show starts today and I am going to watch our three-year old mare go in the Western Pleasure mares class on Monday. Neat bit of trivia. The first Grand National was held at the Detroit state fairgrounds in 1973, and my parents went to it. So here I am 35 years later going to my first Grand National. Of course, it would be much easier if it were still held in Detroit!

Once I get through the plane ride, I will be ready to enjoy myself. I have only flown twice in my life, and the last time was in 1991. Unlike my dad, the world traveler, I have no experience and am a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. It doesn't help that I have an issue with motion sickness. So I will hit the Dramamine and hope for the best.

Hopefully I will be able to update my blog at some point over the weekend, but don't guarantee anything. I will be back Monday night, so it is a very quick trip.

Normal feels good

As the week has progressed, life is feeling more normal each day. Laundry is caught up, thanks to spending a couple hours in the laundromat on Monday morning. That was a huge load off my mind. I managed to take care of nine loads, which would have taken all week, if I had tried to finish it at home.

School days are typical now too. That helps the kids get back on a schedule as well. We also are back into music lessons. We still need to get back into the habit of practicing. That will come.

The best thing is that we are sitting down as a family each night for a real supper. Summer gets crazy with late meals that aren't always the most balanced. Now I have time to plan a menu and figure on a time to get it on the table. Our supper table is a important place to gather each night. As a kid, I remember discussions of how our days went, what was coming up and what concerned my parents and my brother. I want that same routine for my kids. A place where anything can be discussed and that our ears are always open to what interests our kids. Yes, normal is feeling really good.

Mom, What's an inmate????

That question came from Thomas early in fair week. I explained that an inmate was a person who had done something wrong and were spending time in jail. The reason behind the question was that he had seen a group of men around the fairgrounds cleaning and hauling trash. They wore bright orange shirts with the words "inmate labor" printed on the front.

A day or so later, he asked me "how much money does an inmate get for working here". I told him I didn't think they got paid. I explained that part of their punishment was that they worked for little, if any money. Being a kid who spends his allowance before he gets it, I could tell that that fact didn't sit real well with him.

Today, on our way to school, we had to wait for a flock of turkeys to get out of the road. He jokingly said, "boy, if I had a machine gun, I could have got them all". My reply was, "shooting turkeys with a machine gun will get you a shirt with the word INMATE on the back of it."

Hardly know where to start.....

I have been AWOL for so long, I don't quite know where to begin. Needless to say, getting everyone and everything to the county fair consumed me and left nothing creative in my brain to write here.

Fair is a tradition. I have always enjoyed the week, no matter how exhausting it may be and this year was no exception. Long days and short nights are a guarantee. But so is the fact that you will see many people that you only see once a year. One of my lifetime friends and I started our friendship at the fair and still reminisce each year about the fun we had.......GASP.....25 years ago. (It can't be that many years!!!!!) I chuckle at the number of "kids" I showed with that are now there doing it with their kids. It is also neat to think that my kids are fifth generation 4-Her's!

Sunday was spent at the rabbit show. Suzanna was thrilled to receive Best of Breed with a Holland Lop doe. She also showed a market rabbit, and had two rabbits in the open show that placed as well. Kathryn and Thomas did rabbit showmanship and each received a medal to prove they made it through. Thomas gets the award for honesty. He sat his bunny down on the table and it immediately scurried across the table. He looked at the judge with a big grin and said, "I haven't been practicing much". Give him credit for trying! How that judge kept a straight face, I have no idea.

Monday Suzanna had the chance to play her violin at the Women's Congress program. This is a unique program put on by an organization that has been around for over 100 years. It is believed to be the only Women's Congress in Michigan still doing a program. It originated back in the day when a proper Victorian lady would never been seen at the horse races. So while the men went to the races, the ladies were entertained by musicians and speakers during each afternoon.


Tuesday was the 4-H dairy show and Suzanna had a good day with some really good placings, especially in showmanship. She enjoyed showing Fancy one more time. That cow is a natural show cow, and really likes to be at the shows. Thomas and Kathryn were busy as well that day. They got to play tour guides for their class, which took a field trip to see the exhibits at the fair.

Thursday was another day of showing cows and was also Kathryn's day to shine. She and Emma went at it in the dog show and were a great team. Emma managed to stay for her long sit, which was the first time in three years at the show. She broke her long down, as she had a itch that had to be dealt with.....there is always next year!!!!


Friday was our fun day. The kids wait all week for the chance to ride the carnival rides. We met up with another family from church and divided up the kids based on the rides they wanted to take on. Three hours later, they had conquered them all. Then it was on to some junk food and the tractor pulls. Thomas watched them all with my brother and his wife, while the girls each had had enough before the end came.

Saturday came and I really began to recognize how tired I was. Words no longer came out right, and I was feeling pretty punchy. Still, I managed to make it through the day and on to the depressing part of the fair. The fact that it was over. It is amazing how quickly things begin to be taken apart. Rides were half way down by midnight and by the next morning, were it not for the trash, you would hardly know they had ever been there.

So, once again we survived the week. With great placings, lessons learned and pointers for next year, if we remember. And before we know it, fair time will be here again. But for now, I am still playing catch-up on those lost hours of sleep.

Thomas Adventure

Haven't shared a Thomasism in awhile. This is more an adventure, but a hoot just the same.

Suzanna has been going to the neighbors to work with Fancy. Now that Fancy is a cow, there are some changes in the way she needs to be shown and with only two weeks until the fair, she needs to get it mastered soon.

Thomas begged to go down with us. He claimed it was to see the new Jersey cows they just introduced to their herd. But we all know better than that. His buddy Jake lives there, and Thomas was hoping for a few minutes of "farming" with Jake. Farming with Jake involves toy tractors and a vast front yard that becomes acres of farm land.

Jake was in the barn working with his 4-H heifers, so Thomas provided support services for the project. As Jake finished up with one, Thomas asked if he could help Jake catch Lucy. Sure, go ahead was my reply. A few minutes later, I looked across the barnyard and spotted my son in the middle of a muddy mess holding one of his shoes high above his head. It seems that "catching Lucy" involved crossing the muckiest spot in the pasture, and while Jake made it safely across, Thomas lost a tennis shoe in the middle of the mess and by reaching in about up to his elbows was able to retrieve the lost shoe!!! The moment I spotted him was his victory dance.

I called him back to the barn and as he came in, coated with stinky muck, he explained to Mr. Hart and JW that he had lost his balance. Oh, I'll say he did. I sprayed him off outside the milk house and he took the opportunity to further explain his predicament. He claims that none of this would have happened if he had had tie up shoes on rather than the slip-on style. Jake had made it because his shoes tied on and didn't get pulled off by the gooey mess they were walking through. Once I got a couple layers of muck off, and stopped laughing long enough to talk, I sent him down the road. No way that mess was getting in my car. Just one more adventure down the road of life with Thomas.

Oh and by the way, he gave the Jersey's about 2 seconds of his time. Just proves that was all a ploy to see his buddy.

Aldi Embarrassment

I had to buy groceries yesterday. It seems my family likes to eat. I have driven by the Aldi store in Adrian a number of times and yesterday decided to give it a try. I put my quarter in the slot to get my shopping cart and off I went up and down the isles picking up bargains right and left. There were a number of things that were good deals and I was feeling really successful. That was until I got ready to pay for all my bargains. The clerk ran my purchases across the scanner and gave me the total. A little over $60 for a basket full of goodies.



Then.......embarrassment. As I began to fill out my check, the clerk spoke up with shock in her voice and said, "You aren't going to write a check are you???" I told her I was and she informed me that they don't take checks and that not taking checks is what keeps their prices down. I offered a credit card, pretty much knowing what her answer would be. And I was right, that wouldn't work either. The only thing they would take was cold, hard cash. Oh, NO!!!! I didn't have any cash! She offered to take a debit card, I don't have one of those either. She then offered to suspend the transaction so that I could go to my bank and get some cash. That wouldn't work either. I bank 20 miles from Adrian. My only option was to say, "sorry" and slink out of the store, hoping that nobody knew me.



So, if you ever want to shop at Aldi's, make sure you take cash.

The last days of summer

It may feel like summer, as far as the temperature goes, but according to our schedule it is over. We are spending our last morning camping at the KOA we spent some time at earlier this month. The weather couldn't have been nicer. We spent yesterday afternoon at Lake Michigan, enjoying the sun and the surf. Not much to the surf, as it was quiet enough you could see the bottom.

Last evening we went into St. Joseph and enjoyed two concerts by their city band. The first was traditional band music with marches and orchestra stuff. Then they switched up and did "Big Band" music. We have tried to expose our kids to different styles of music and big band has caught their fancy. The band did a great job and the music was followed up by fireworks.

So today we pack it all up and head back to the hill. Tomorrow it will be normal programming all the way. September will be a blur, with two horses heading to Futurity in a couple weeks and our county fair just a week later. Hang on for a fast ride.

Sad day on the hill

We have had a tough lesson in life this morning at the farm. Fancy delivered her calf last night. The long wait is over and the outcome wasn't what we wanted. It was a heifer, but she was dead. Nature teaches us an awful lot, but sometimes the lessons are a lot harder to take. The good in the whole situation is that Fancy is okay, and will head up to the neighbors shortly to begin her life as a milk cow. The rest of us will try to have a good weekend.

Cute Kids

Forgot to post this back to school picture from last Thursday.....

What a cute crew.

Word Association

Let's play a game of word association. I am going to show you a picture and you say the first word that comes to you mind. Here we go......

My word is OUCH. Although the picture hardly does justice as to the true size of her udder, Fancy is less than comfy right now. She is due on September 2nd, and is proving that bovines aren't much different from humans when it comes to predicting their impending deliveries. Technically, we don't want her to have it YET. Anything born now falls at the end of the summer calf class, and would mean you have one of the smallest calves in the class come next spring. September 1st is the beginning of the fall calf class and that is where we would rather be. Only time will tell. In the meantime.....

Be glad you aren't Fancy.

I'll keep you posted.

Mom and dad are fighting.....

This was part of the conversation Kathryn had with my mom this weekend. Of course, my mom was instantly concerned.....not about me and hubby, but about what sort of permanent scars we might be inflicting on her precious grandchild. No worries, upon further quizzing Kathryn let her know that daddy was fighting a cold, and mommy was laying on the couch fighting the muscle pain in her calf muscle!!!!

We managed to pull it together and made it to church Sunday morning. We thought we were going to have to chase a heifer. Penny was out wandering around the front lawn before we headed out the door. She managed to put herself back into the pasture before we left, so we didn't have to deal with that. This was the third time she had been out in as many days. It seems the fencer isn't packing much punch these days, and she is shimming under the fence when she wants to. There was a knock at the door yesterday afternoon, to let us know that she was out again and this time down by the road. We headed out to get her back in and she decided it was time for some fun. She ran away from us every time we moved toward her. With all five of us working together and some strategically placed trucks and a hay wagon, she went into the barn and is back in solitary confinement. Fair week is only four weeks away, so she needed to be there anyway. Needless to say, we didn't make it for church last night.

Today I got a batch of tomato juice started. The garden is producing!!!

Feeling like a short order cook

On this first day of school, I offered to make whatever anyone wanted for breakfast. I received several different requests. Kathryn wanted pancakes, Suzanna and Thomas wanted French Toast and Daddy was in the mood for scrambled eggs. I swiftly moved into motion and juggled three different frying pans and in record time had all four breakfasts on plates and ready to be eaten. I see a job at a greasy spoon restaurant in my future.

I don't know if I will be so happy to fulfill each personal request in a few weeks, but for now, if they will eat a good breakfast, I am happy.

The dog even knew what was up this morning, and as everyone headed to the car with their backpacks, she stood beside the car, waiting for someone to open the passenger side door. She is so happy to be back on the road. She doesn't get many rides in the summer, so she was excited at the prospect of riding this morning.

We arrived at the school in plenty of time. Can't be late on the first day, don't ya know. After everyone was out of the car, Emma was whining and I was shedding a few tears. They are growing up so fast.

Mom and I are off to spend the day together. It has become a tradition that we do something together on the first day of school.

Clinging by my fingernails....

As the last two days of summer vacation quickly slip away. Too fast, I might add. The kids head back on Thursday, so they have been getting their last moments in with their dad. Thursday, Suzanna spent the day with him. Kathryn went yesterday and Suzanna slipped in another day today. Tomorrow will be Thomas' chance.

Yesterday I attended a committee meeting with neighbor Melissa. She is really good at asking me to help out with things when I am in a weakened condition and can't seem to muster up the ability to say no. We had a great time eating out and planning a couple 2009 Holstein shows. We also cruised through the training stable to see how my "kids" are doing. Storm, the three year old is right on schedule for Oklahoma and the Morgan Grand National Show. Annie is very nice and on target for the Morgan Breeders Futurity Sweepstakes in three weeks. Holly is flunking out and will head back home after a couple weeks of basic horse training. She isn't good enough to be competitive in the Sweepstakes class at this point and so we won't send her unless something changes real soon.

I have spent most of this day in the laundry room. I never really got caught up after vacation, since I was up to my armpits in peaches and sweet corn. I now have all the kids school clothes, washed, pressed and hanging in their closets. Well, the clothes I have. Suzanna is minus 5 skirts, but the back order date promises they will arrive by 9/8/08. Of course, we will be three weeks into school by then, but supposedly she can wear her denim skirts until they arrive.

Tonight is Parent/Student orientation, and we will officially be the parents of a 7th grader and two 4th graders!!!! This bus is going way too fast, I want off!!

Dedication

I sit here blogging this morning with toothpicks holding my eyes open. That is because I got sucked into watching the Olympics until very early this morning. I watched an 18 year old girl win a gold medal. According to the announcers, she had started dreaming of that moment since she was 4 years old. Really! I couldn't help wondering who was dreaming that, her parents? (side bar thought: Dad is a former Olympic medal winner) or her?? I have a hard time believing that was all her idea at that age.

Despite my skepticism, I am impressed with the level of dedication it took for her to achieve the goal. With that dedication, the normal average things that my kids do for fun were probably missing in her childhood in order to reach the ultimate prize. Everything she did had to be weighed against how it would affect her Olympic dream.

So what about us in our Christian walk? I know of one thing in life I should be totally, one hundred percent dedicated to, and that is my Lord. How do I stack up? Do I give up self for Him? Do I weigh every decision I make against my ultimate responsibility to achieve the goal of being more like Him? I know where I am in this challenge, and I have a long way to go.

Get a move on...

We had a great time away from home. Since coming home though, it has been full speed ahead.

We picked peaches while on the west side of the state and came home with 7 bushels. NOT all for us. I am only taking care of about a bushel and a half. The rest were delivered to family and friends the night we got home. They aren't quite ripe, so I haven't had to take care of too many so far. Just enough for a crisp last night, and the rest should hold off until tomorrow.

I did have to take care of sweet corn the evening we got home. I was up until about 2am with that project. This was the first year I grew sweet corn in the garden and I had enough to freeze. That was exciting!!

Today I get to do my LEAST favorite thing. Haul a horse. This time it is Holly, the weanling. She won't be very happy with me and I will feel much better when she is safely in Mason to begin her halter training. Futurity is a little more than a month away. Time to get training.

Tomorrow will be back to school shopping. Yes, for us school starts ONE week from today. Yikes!!!!

Making memories.....

Camping is a favorite for our kids. But when you add a favorite aunt and uncle to the mix and you have near perfection in their minds.

We have had a great time the last two days with my brother and his wife. We went to a pizza place Friday night. Can you imagine waiting for an hour for a table?? Well, we did, based on the recommendation of a friend of my brothers. The food was definitely worth the wait. The restaurant is in the old St. Joseph depot and the kids had an added bonus. While we waited, we could hear the faint whistle of a train. Uncle Terry wanted to smash pennies on the train tracks, but did any of us have any change??? I dug through my purse and managed to locate one penny. They were so excited to wait for that train. It was a freight train and it smashed it flat.

We finally got our table and waited for our pizza. We figured out that the Amtrak was on its way, so Aunt Cindy ran to the truck for more change. This time there were 4 pennies, a dime and a quarter. The kids found all the change but the dime. It was lost forever.

Yesterday we went to the beach. It was cooler then we hoped for, but the kids still had a great time. We even took Emma, and she had fun trying to catch the waves.

Last evening we had hamburgers and sweet corn. Then the "grown-up" boys built a campfire and we had the traditional S'mores by the fire.

What a great time we have had, and despite the fact that Uncle Terry and Aunt Cindy have to leave today, we still have two more days of making memories.

Really can't call it roughing it.....

I am blogging this afternoon from a pleasant campsite in the southwest corner of Michigan. We are on vacation, and this campground has of all things, WIFI. Not exactly a tough, rough life, huh??

Hubby and I started out many years ago and before children, camping in a tent. Eventually we improved our lot in life and acquired a pop-up camper. Off we went with three children, all in diapers. As a matter of fact, two of them were three months old!! Was I ever that crazy???? Guess so. And we were younger then!!!! But camping continues to be a favorite thing for our family. We now have a full-fledged camper, with A/C, microwave and all the comforts for a home away from home.

The kids have spent two hours in the pool already and I am sure will be back there for more later. Now they are playing cards with their daddy. The best part of vacation for them is undivided (well almost) time with dad. They take full advantage.

They are also anxiously awaiting a certain truck and camper which should be arriving anytime. That would be my brother and his wife. They are headed this way to spend a couple nights here as well.

I will try to update our adventures as they happen this week. Needless to say, we are sooooo overdue on some family time away.

He lifts me up.....

I am talking about my hubby. Yes, he lifts me up when I am in the dumps, but today I am talking about a different type of lifting.

I have taken on a major project. We store our hay making equipment in an old chicken house on the farm I grew up on. This is a good sized barn, as it held 7,000 laying hens back when I was a girl. It has been in need of a coat of paint for sometime and I decided that I could get it done. The first step was scraping all the old, peeling paint off it in order to get a coat (or more) of paint on it. Rather than doing all that by hand, I have learned how to run a power washer and took care of the long side and the front as far up as I could get standing on the ground. I finished up the side by standing on a hay wagon. In order to finish the front side though, I needed to be up higher. Ladders don't thrill me, and my hubby suggested that Thomas could lift me up in the bucket of the loader tractor and I could wash it from there. I quickly let him know that I didn't have enough life insurance for myself for that to be wise. So yesterday afternoon, while waiting for the hay to get dry enough to bale, hubby lifted me up in the bucket and I sprayed off the paint on the front of the building. Then he took over for the very peak of the building and completed the project.

Now I just have to spray off the trim on the other side. Hopefully, I can finished that part off before we head off for a vacation. When we get back, I will learn how to run a paint sprayer. That should be amusing.

Cooling their feet....

We shifted cattle around this past weekend. Rodney and Bella, the youngest of the bovine on the farm, are now in a larger pasture. I had gone by their water tank a few times since their move and notice it was always muddy around the tank, and the water in the tank was rather brown as well.

Yesterday, the mystery was solved. It seems that in this latest bout of hot weather, the two of them have taken to standing in the water tank to cool off. Of course, as they kick at the flies that are irritating them, they splash the water out of the tank, making for a muddy mess surrounding the tank. And people say they are nothing but a bunch of dumb animals. I think they are pretty smart to come up with that idea to stay a little cooler.

You might be married to a redneck....

If he uses the big cow show fan to cool down the house!!

Yes, you read that right. Last evening, when we all got home from our various "things", we realized how hot the house had gotten over the course of the day. Usually, we have a nice breeze blowing, and that makes evenings pleasant. Not so last night, it was hotter in the house than outside. We thought about kicking on the A/C, but after last months Consumers Energy bill, hubby is into conserving. I sarcastically said, "well, you could use the cow show fan to bring the cool air in and make the house more comfortable. I WAS JOKING!!! He took me up on it and the next thing I knew, here was a 36 inch green metal fan sitting in my hallway. I have to admit, it did work, but don't tell him I said so. It just doesn't match my decorating scheme!

It is hot again today. I closed up the windows and started the A/C before he got home and got anymore bright ideas.

Hello....Remember me????

That is what my garden is saying right now. We had been keeping up with the weeds and it looked great. I had even won a couple rounds with all the gourds that were taking over. But with the rains falling constantly for a couple weeks, the garden was too muddy to work in. That was all it took for the weeds to take over. Combine that with the sudden birth of about a million mosquito's and I haven't done much with it. All that is changing today. I am heading to the garden to begin the recovery mode. I know there are tomatoes beginning to turn red and I saw a couple of cukes that were just getting started. Won't be long before we will enjoy all the wonders of our garden.

I am gonna sleep 'til church on Monday!!

Yes, that was my answer to someone who asked me if I was tired this morning....and no, I wasn't being funny! Words no longer were flowing right from my brain to my mouth. We have been AWOL from the blog for quite sometime now. We returned from our tiring, but successful week at Dairy Days.

Suzanna, Kathryn and I headed off on Monday with the four heifers, all the feed and bedding they would need for a week and high hopes. Thomas stayed home with dad for an extra day so he could play one last softball game Monday night. We followed the neighbors and set up our home away from home for the week at Michigan State. The heifers got their baths and it was time for Quiz Bowl. Suzanna's team ended up with 1 win and 2 losses. It was off to the showers and bed, since showtime would come early Tuesday morning.

Up at 5am and off to the barn to fight for our spot in the wash racks. That is always interesting. There are only so many faucets in the two wash rooms. Of course, there are about 200 cattle in the barn and ALL need their baths. Patience pays off though and eventually you get a spot. Showmanship was up first and Suzanna did a great job and placed 7th. Each of her heifers had their chance in the ring, and before we knew it our part of the show was over. Suzanna had a pleasant surprise, as my folks came up to watch her show, and Thomas and daddy made it up for the show as well.

She had a terrible time settling down Tuesday night. Butterflies were zooming in her tummy as she anticipated participating in her first state 4-H Dairy judging contest. The kids judged 8 classes of dairy cattle and then had to give a set of oral reasons for why they placed a class the way they chose. It goes all morning and on into the afternoon. She came out relieved and confident that she had done a good job.

Thursday it was show time again. This time it was the All Michigan Holstein show. The three heifers had their moment in front of the judge again. Placing weren't great, but we sort of expected it to go that way. From there she competed in the Dairy Management Contest. The All Breed Showmanship contest was in the afternoon and Suzanna place 6th. She was really excited for herself and her good buddy, Hannah, who won the class. Thomas and Kathryn participated in the Peewee Dairy Showmanship class. Mike got there in time to see them show Bella and Sami. Next year they will be full-fledged 4-H'ers and they are anxious for that.

The evening was the Awards Presentation. The kids finally find out how they did in the contests. To our shock, Suzanna received 25th place in Dairy judging and the team she was on was 1st place in the State!! All this in her first year to participate in the contest. And if that wasn't enough, she also placed 15th in the Dairy Management contest. All she could say was "wow"!

Today was the cow show, and pack-up day. Thomas had gone home with Mike last night, so we were a body short packing up, but still had everything done and were on the road by noon. Boy did home look good as we came up the driveway. The heifers were very content to be in their pasture this afternoon and slept most of the afternoon in the sun.

So I know I will sleep well tonight and should manage to wake up for church......on Sunday!!!

Three down, one to go....

We are AHEAD of schedule!!!! It is a scary place for me to be. Suzanna and I started clipping heifers yesterday. We decided to start with the toughest gal and go from there. Penny was up first and got her bath. While waiting for her to dry, Suzanna decided that Bella might as well get her bath too. By the time she was done washing her, Penny was dry enough to start clipping. She was a patient girl and Suzanna moved along quickly. She leaves the tricky stuff like heads, ears and legs for me. Kathryn did a little on Bella, Suzanna worked on her for a while then I did my thing. Before we knew it, we had two heifers done!

This afternoon was Sami's turn. Suzanna got her washed and then tied her up to dry. There has been a wonderful breeze all day, so she was dried off in no time. She is pretty cooperative and we had her finished quickly, as well.

So now all that is left is Fancy. We probably won't get to her for a day or two. I am headed to Trainer Mike's tomorrow and have to take mom for another procedure on Thursday. In the meantime, I have been working on my grocery list for next week, as well as packing the camper in my mind. I can only do it in my mind because the camper is at the repair shop. No A/C in the middle of July was not an acceptable option while gone next week. So once it is back home, I will be ready to pack.

VBS started tonight. The kids were excited, the adults were up for the challenge and we had a great first night.

Oh that cat stinks....

In the regular world, of which I am not typically a part of, dogs get stinky. Well, not mine. It is the cat. In my falling asleep mind last night, I thought I could smell a skunk. This morning, I was still catching faint skunk odors on the cool breeze. Butterscotch, who is mainly an indoor cat, had been outside last night and was happy to get back in when I let Emma out for her morning business. As he rubbed up against my leg, I caught a gigantic whiff of SKUNK!! It became apparent that Butterscotch had come in contact with a skunk. I don't think he took a direct hit, but he was definitely somewhere in the line of fire. Anyone know how long it takes to "wear off" the lovely odor of skunk??

We are in Dairy Days prep week. Our goal is to get one heifer a day clipped. Plus, we still have a lot of other stuff to take care of this week. Suzanna and I are off to the thrift store this morning to find white pants and shirts for showing. I would much rather find a bargain then have to pay full price for something that will be pretty dirty by the end of the day. The kids have their last ball game tonight, as well. Starting tomorrow night, the kids have four nights of VBS. Hubby is cutting more hay this morning. As you can tell, it is going to be a crazy week.

We have a winner....

Tonight, Storm, aka Knolltop's Heir She Is, debuted as a western pleasure show horse. She competed in 3 year old western pleasure at the Michigan All Morgan show in Detroit. I was my typical nervous self. She looked great, kept her cool and came away in first place. YEAH!!!! Hopefully I will be able to post a picture or two later this weekend.

Just when you think he has done it all....

Thomas does something new.

We went to the fairgrounds last evening to celebrate the 4th of July on the 3rd. I know, sounds mixed up, but it works for us. Since hubby is the electrician for the fairgrounds, he had been there for most of the afternoon getting lights up and running and making sure the vendors had power.

We took along our grill and made supper, watched people, listened to music by Phil Dirt and the Dozers and watched more people. The band concluded their concert with an A Capella rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that gave me chills. I love good harmony, and on that song, it was just about perfect. Finally it was dark enough for the fireworks to begin. Our spot was perfect, as we watched beautiful explosions of light over our heads.

They concluded and the crowd began to leave. We waited so that we could turn off lights and the kids played around on the grass. That's when life got interesting. Thomas found a glow stick necklace that someone had left behind and was twirling it around. He managed to hit himself in the eye, and the next thing I knew, my son had a glowing eye. His quick thinking daddy grabbed a bottle of water and began rinsing it out. That seemed to flush the "glow" out of it. Just then, the local EMT company went by on their golf cart. Hubby headed to them and explained what had happened. They decided they should rinse him out a bit more with sterile water, so Thomas got a ride on their golf cart back to the ambulance. The gal driving said "we'll go slow" and off they went....way faster than I could walk. Thankfully, one of our fair board members was driving around on the Turf Cruiser we are raffling off, so I thumbed a ride with him and caught up with Thomas. The EMT rinsed him out real good and checked his eye. There seemed to be no issue with his vision, so they sent us on our way with instructions to see our regular doctor if his vision got blurry.

We headed back across the fairgrounds, in search of daddy. We found him wrapping it up with the fair manager. Mr. Dow let Thomas know that he held the distinction of being the only person who needed the EMT's all night and gave him a high five. With that, we headed back to the truck and on our way home. Just one more adventure in our lives.

PS: His eye is just fine this morning, Thank you Lord!

Moody

We went out to work the heifers this morning and boy were they moody. Sami, who normally leads well enough to let Thomas handle her, had major attitude issues, even with me on the lead rope. Penny, the heifer who went to solitary confinement after her leading issues with hubby, had been much improved. So much so, that Suzanna had been leading her for the past week. Not today!! She is in the midst of her cycle and there was no telling her what to do! She got tied up in one place and left to think about her problems.

Then there was Bella. She has been pretty awful ever since she got dehorned a couple weeks ago. Can't say I blame her for being a bit suspicious of us humans, but dragging her from one end of the driveway to the other was getting a bit old. Well today, she led like a dream. Even Kathryn was leading her and setting her up.

The only dependable one in the lot was Fancy. And she had better behave, she has been doing this for a while now.

So next time up, who knows what we will get. Hopefully all four leading easy, making their way toward Dairy Days.

The cats go for a ride....

After a couple rather serious blogs, it is time to share some humor. Mom, Suzanna, Kathryn and I took three cats to the vet this morning. Our kitty, HopSing was due for her kitten boosters, and mom had one needing kitten boosters and the other his annual shots. Our cat went in the carrier without a gripe, and even sat on Kathryn's lap most of the way to the vets, purring and looking out the window.

In the meantime, moms younger cat, Spook, managed to scratch her on the way into the cat carrier and put a hole in her favorite shirt. The other cat, Squeak, wasn't doing much squeaking. He was hollering for all he was worth. Then before we were even out of the driveway, a certain smell began emanating from the cat carrier. See, Squeak's nerves get the best of him and he can't "hold it", shall we say. So at this point, we had Squeak shrieking and stinking, Spook sitting dazed, in a carrier on Suzanna's lap, and HopSing watching the world go by from her window.

Upon arrival at the vets, Squeak made sure the world knew we had arrived. He was the first up for examination, since he had messed himself. Once out of the box, he quieted down, was examined, got his shot and went back in the carrier. Spook was up next. He wasn't a bit of trouble, considering how awful he was on his way into the carrier. He got his shot and was tucked back into his box.

Now it was HopSing's turn. We were so proud of how good she was, no shrieking, no tearing holes in shirts. As I took her from Kathryn, all that changed. She began to heave....so I dropped her quickly to the floor. She proceeded to unload her entire breakfast. The vet looked at her and said, "now that is STRESS!!!!" From there she quickly got her exam and shot and happily went back in her carrier.

We paid our bills and got back to the car. Squeak serenaded us most of the way home. I don't know who was happier to be home, the cats or the humans. Thank goodness we only do this once a year!!!

Listening

Yesterday, hubby was grilling our Sunday dinner. He enjoys working the grill, and I am happy to have him do part of the cooking. I went out to see how things were going and was struck by a wonderful sight. Kathryn had gotten a lawn chair out and was sitting next to him. She had a baby bunny on her lap and they were talking. But what was most special was that her daddy was looking at her, really listening to what she was saying.

Saturday, Thomas and I went on a drive together, just the two of us. He is a talker, but if you listen, wow is he smart. He talks about everything he sees as we go down the road. I suspect that is how he learns a lot of stuff. And it isn't "trivial" stuff either. He is constantly seeking out new information and filing it away for a future day.

In our hustled-up world, do we stop and really listen to our kids? Or are we so busy, we brush their needs off in order to deal with what we think the bigger picture is?? I know there is no bigger picture than what they need and that is US.

Why?

It has been all over the news for the last few days. A school has admitted that there are 18 young girls pregnant in their system. Wow! As a mom of two girls and a boy, it sure reiterated why I must be a prayer warrior for my kids. I pray for the person that God has already selected as their mate. I am also praying for the boys or girls they will someday date. I don't want them growing up too quickly in this world, but also recognize that they aren't totally immune to the world's way of thinking. So I pray that we as parents are equipping them, even now, with the ability to make wise choices. Yes, they are bound to make some dumb ones, but my prayer is that they will learn on the "little stuff" so that when bigger things come along they will be prepared.

I hope and pray that they see a loving relationship between my husband and I, and that they always know they are loved by us. Perhaps that love will sustain their need for love until such a time they are old enough to find their mates. Over and over you hear of young girls admitting that they had gotten pregnant so that someone would finally love them! How sad!

Lest anyone think I am looking at my children with rose colored glasses, please know that I am not. I know that even in the best of families, under the best of circumstances and no matter how a child has been raised, it still happens. A child goes astray, makes a poor choice with huge consequences and then live their lives having made that decision. But that doesn't reduce our responsibility as parents to do all we can, every day, every hour, to teach them Gods way and to instill in them the desire to seek Gods plan for their lives.

Strawberries and more

I picked up 16 quarts of strawberries at the local farm yesterday morning and began the process of turning them into yummy strawberry jam. Notice I said picked up. I let someone else do the picking. I don't mind making the jam, but picking stuff has never been a favorite project of mine. Within 5 hours, I had completed 5 batches of jam. We still had a few jars from last year left over, so hopefully I have guesstimated how many jars we will need correctly. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a staple in our family during the school year. The kids carry their lunches, and most mornings, that is what they select for their meal. I have a few quarts left to work with. I want to make a strawberry pie, as well as some more strawberry shortcake.

We enjoyed strawberry shortcake last evening after we got home from the kids softball games. What an enjoyable time. We have such great fellowship with our friends, and our kids enjoy their friends as well. We started taking our grill and my hubby is the "grill master", cooking up hot dogs that each family brings for their suppers. It is nice not to have to plan a meal that can be grabbed and eaten after we get home.

Suzanna and I spent time doing the fussy weeding in the garden. We were on our hands and knees going through each row now that things are big enough to distinguish what is a weed and what is a plant. We continue to battle the gourds, although we have won a few small skirmishes, there is still an awful lot of self-seeded stuff out there. It is time to take the tiller after them again.

Annoying rains have slowed the haying process down. These are not major rainstorms, but rather, just enough that it would wet the hay and extend the drying process one more day. Therefore a lot of our major field of grass remains standing. Hoping to get after it by the weekend. And so summer goes at Knolltop Morgans.

This lady is not my mommy!!!

Mom had to have a medical procedure on Tuesday. The medical staff gave her a sedative prior to it, and boy did it send her to another land!!! They called me back to be with her when it was time to get dressed. She was really unsteady and right off the bat, nearly fell off the bed while dressing. I caught her with a giggle, thinking to myself.....this is gonna be an interesting ride home. Once dressed, she bounced off a couple walls with determination that it was time to leave. But, she hadn't been discharged yet. I helped her bounce off another wall on her way to a chair and we waited for the doctor to chat with her once more.

The nurse came in to give us the discharge instructions, she started to tell mom, but then switched to me, as she said, "she won't remember what I am telling her anyway." Discharge orders in hand, we headed out the door. Me trying to hold her up, while she was convinced she was fine. We must have looked pretty funny to all the people in the waiting room.

Next up was to get some lunch. Thankfully we had the "bossy broad", aka GPS system with us, so I plugged in the need for a Wendy's and she told us where to go. After that the need to fill a coffee craving was great. Asked GPS where a Starbucks was and up the street we went for a hazelnut latte for mom and a mint chocolate chip frappaccino for me. A quick fill-up at the gas station and on our way home we went.

Mom finished her chicken wrap, snuggled under her blanket and was asleep before we were out of Fort Wayne. I made a couple phone calls and slipped into driver mode to get the kids picked up and get her home.

We were nearly home, and mom was beginning to get more "with it". She had begun talking to me more, and had told me at least three times about how many nurses it took to put her IV in. Each time, I patiently smiled and acted like I hadn't heard the story before. Then she suddenly realized, the doctor had never come in to talk with her!!! I said that he had, but she had absolutely no recollection of him being there. I started asking her questions and discovered most of what had happened at the doctors office was gone.

I got her home and reminded her that according to the nurse, she was to take it easy. That meant go sit in a chair and watch TV or read. If she needed anything she was to call me. She nodded her head like an obedient child and I headed home. About an hour later, she called me and asked if she had had any lunch??!!! I took her through our trip home and discovered that most of it was missing in her mind. In the meantime, my hubby had been over there picking up hay and saw her outside doing her bird chores. Is this sitting down taking it easy?? I don't think so, when you have at least 15 bird feeders in the yard. She claimed she only did a few things, but how can I tell when she had forgotten more of the day then she remembered???

I ended up sleeping on her couch that night. She wasn't pleased with the idea, but dad and I didn't give her much choice. Did I mention that the doctor thought this procedure went well enough that she ought to have it again??? Guess what, dad is definitely on for next time. I don't know what they gave her, but it is GOOD stuff!!

Fathers Day and the Fisherman

We headed to the woods this evening to celebrate Fathers Day. My brother and his wife have a cozy cabin in the woods behind mom and dads place. We had a cookout tonight with brats and burgers. Yes, my brother is back in the fire setting business. This time in the safe confines of a fire pit.

In the meantime, Thomas is suddenly into fishing....BIG TIME! He went to work with his dad on Thursday and ended up fishing. The contractor on the job was nice enough to lend Thomas his fishing pole and even bought some bait for him. He was in heaven and thankfully the fish were in the mood to be caught and he let out a holler every time he got one on the line. He was SO excited about fishing, he sacrificed some of his allowance money previously earmarked for the toy tent at Ag Expo in July to purchase his very own fishing pole. He has been messing around with it ever since.

He took it with him tonight to show Uncle Terry and got a lesson in how to cast it. He was getting pretty good at it. So good in fact that he managed to cast it right in to a tree. After all, we were in the woods. Uncle Terry is a great uncle. He shimmed up the tree the line was caught in and managed to bend it over far enough that Thomas could get the line out of it. He then neatly lowered himself to the ground. It was quite a sight. Why is it I never have my camera with me at moments like that!!??

I am so thankful that I can celebrate Fathers Day with my Dad. He is a cancer survivor and five years ago, our family was facing his upcoming bone marrow transplant. It was a success!!! Yes, he still has health issues and some of them have been scary, but he is alive, able to work and especially able to enjoy time with his wife, kids and grandkids. God is very good and we are ever grateful for the huge answer to prayer we have in our family.

Beware the gourds.......

That is my warning this spring when it comes to my garden. I have always planted pumpkins and gourds in the garden. I enjoy finding some unique types to plant and have fun using them for decorations in the fall.

But be very sure you remove them all in the fall or you will have self-seeded gourds in every inch of your garden next spring. That is what we are fighting with right now. There are gourds in the green beans, gourds in with the pepper plants, gourds with the tomato plants, gourds in the.......well, you get the idea!! It isn't good.

Add to that, it has been hot, humid and rainy, meaning you can't get in the garden to till up the rows and salvage the place. Thankfully, Mike and Thomas were able to get the rototiller out and work up the rows. We also spent time pulling gourd seedlings out from the rows and around the plants. It looks pretty good this morning. I think there may be hope now. But we won't be able to let down our guard. If we relax for a minute, the gourds will be back.

Lesson learned: Make sure you get all the gourds out of the garden in the fall, or you will pay for it in the spring.

Just another Thomasism.....

Thomas sure keeps us all laughing. This weekend was no exception.

I was working in the kitchen Saturday when Thomas came to me with a very serious expression on his face. He started rubbing his leg and grumble about "these shingles". I asked him what he was talking about. He said he had shingles. I quizzed him further as to how he knew about shingles. He told me he had heard a commercial on the local radio station about them. The man talking on the commercial was from Nash Drugs and said there was a vaccination for shingles. I asked where he thought he caught his shingles. He looked me in the eye and said "I was on the roof mom!" You can't make this stuff up!

I quickly reassured him that he didn't have them. He walked away, much relieved. I dissolved into laughter, once he was gone.

The Cowboy Electrician

Suzanna has a problem heifer. It is time to get serious about getting ready for Dairy Days, and one of her heifers has become rather wild ever since she was turned out into the big pasture. Her two pasture mates are fine about being caught and worked, but not Penny. Suzanna showed her at the spring show and she was okay....not great at leading, but didn't try to drag her across the arena. That was an accomplishment, considering she had only had her for a couple weeks when we headed for the show.

One day when we tricked her into getting caught in a stall in the barn, we put a halter and lead rope on her, hoping that when she was back out in the pasture, we could grab the rope when close enough and then lead her. HA!!! That didn't go so well. The one time we did get close enough to catch her, her favorite direction was reverse. Eventually, she calmed down and I led her around, but she was never calm enough for Suzanna to do it.

So this evening, I suggested to daddy that it would be a good idea to lead Fancy and Sami into the barn and figured Penny would follow. We would leave Penny in the stall and put the other two back outside. Great idea in theory, but how would it play out??

Daddy headed to the pasture with us and when he saw the opportunity, grabbed the lead rope and held on tight.....as Penny began to run across the pasture and him still holding on for dear life. Suzanna, Thomas and I tried our best not to laugh, as he fell, did a full body roll and came back up. All I could picture was him coming up, having made contact with fresh "you know what". Well, he dodged it and the heifer stopped running. He was in the midst of a face-off when Thomas noticed he had lost his tape measure in the ruckus. As Thomas headed out to retrieve it, the heifer took off running again. Daddy was determined not to loose her, and did another full body roll in the process. Once again, he managed to avoid contact with anything messy.

At that point, he decided plan B was a better idea. Suzanna led Sami and I led Fancy out of the pasture and toward the barn. Penny didn't want to get left behind, so she followed and ended up in the barn, caught!!!! Amazing enough, once she was in the barn, she calmed down, let Suzanna brush her and seemed happy with the attention.

The plan is to have Penny spend some time by herself. Suzanna can tie her up a couple times each day and eventually start leading her around in the barn. Hopefully that will make a difference, otherwise Penny will get left home and miss out on a fun week at Dairy Days.

Oh, and the cowboy electrician realized he lost his cell phone out in the pasture during one of his rolls. Of course, he had it on vibrate, because he was driving the tractor earlier and wouldn't have been able to hear it ring. We did a family search and managed to find it within a few minutes. Thank you, Lord!!!

Bummer...

The downside to hay making is being at the mercy of the weather. In general, when it comes to crop farming, that is normal. Will it stay dry long enough to get the crop in?? Will it rain now that the seeds are in the ground? Will it quit raining long enough to harvest the crop? I know that all those thoughts go through the mind of a farmer on a regular basis.

This past weekend after checking the the alfalfa, and consulting the weather forecast, it was decided that there should be enough warm weather, wind and sun to dry the crop and get it baled. So the hay was cut on Saturday. I spent most of Sunday afternoon on the tractor, first raking up the hay to get it off the ground and then using the tedder to throw the crop back out. The sun was shining bright and the wind was blowing. Just what you need for drying hay.

Monday morning came and it was overcast....and there wasn't much wind. In addition, sometime over the weekend, the weather forecast had changed and the rain that was suppose to come on Wednesday had been moved ahead a day. Our window to get this hay made was pretty small. On orders from the boss, I waited until mid afternoon to rake the hay back up into windrows. The sun danced in and out of the clouds all afternoon and the wind never picked up much.

Hubby and his dad headed to the hay field about 5:30 in the afternoon, expecting that it wouldn't make, but still wanting to give it a try. Their suspicions were confirmed as the first bale came out of the baler. Way to wet to make. There is a section in the field that is all grass. They headed there hoping maybe that would be ready.....it wasn't.

Overnight, the rains began to fall and a waiting game begins. When will there be enough dry days in a row to finish drying the hay so we can get it up? Back to watching the Weather Channel.

Baling Hay and Hand Signals

We put up our first field of hay this evening. I had the privilege of driving the tractor and hubby stacked the wagon. As I drove, I realized how many hand signals my husband has and how hard I have to think to keep them straight.

First was three fingers in the air. That represented putting the tractor in third gear. Then he worked his index finger in a quick circle. That means give the tractor more RPMs. A thumbs up means you have it right. Of course, an index finger across the throat means shut off the baler. A hand in the air with fingers together means stop the tractor.....but five fingers spread apart means put it in fifth gear. Sort of reminds you of the directions Charlie Brown gave the cast in the Christmas special.

As you are trying to pay attention to the hay going into the pick-up without missing the windrow, you also have to be watching behind for the next hand signal. Other than a crick in my neck from looking back and forth, I am no worse for the wear and we have 32 bales of hay in the barn.

Oh, and one last hand signal. As you are turning into your driveway, you see the guy on the baler waving his arms and pointing to the north. That means go up to the storage barn and wait, because he wants to put the tractor and baler away.

Planted!!!

A full two weeks ahead of last year, my garden is in!! Much of the day Saturday was spent by hubby spreading manure on the garden spot. Then he plowed it on Sunday. The kids had a great time collecting worms from the freshly turned furrows. Too bad we don't have a fishing spot. They could have put those worms to good use!

Hubby put even more manure on the garden on Monday and put Thomas on the tractor to disc it up and get it ready for planting. Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I went to Gleis and got our plants and the rest of the needed seeds. The weather forecast said there could be frost, so we didn't put anything in last night.

This morning, the kids would have been out there at 8am, but it was still 40 degrees out. I thought it better to wait for the afternoon. So after lunch, off we went, and in a matter of a couple hours, everything was planted. Considering how big the spot ended up this year, I filled it up better than I expected. With the late start a year ago, I skipped putting in some things that we made sure we got in this year.

It is dry enough this spring that I went ahead and started the sprinkler on the tomato plants. Now we keep up with the weeds and look forward to great things from the garden in a couple months.

Keeping all my hats on straight...

With my busy life, I wear a lot of different hats. Today was a jam-packed day, with lots of stuff to keep up with.

This morning started out pretty typical. I took care of a couple loads of laundry, sorted a ton of clothes, and gave the kids their marching orders for the morning. That covers the wife and mother hat. A call came in from my hubby regarding some business stuff, so that meant I was wearing my Milo Electric hat. I slipped my Knolltop Morgans hat on long enough to call the vet and schedule an ultrasound for Christy tomorrow. We need to find out if she is in foal or not.

Then I got my AgriAutomation hat out. It was a bit dusty since I don't put that one on very often. This is my dads company and he is in Oklahoma right now and needed to get new business cards made before the World Pork Expo in June (yes, this just proves there is a convention for everything). I got the materials around for that project and switched to yet another one.

I have only worn this one once. I filled in for the regular Dairy Leaders Committee secretary at the last meeting back in February. We have a meeting tomorrow night and I still hadn't emailed the minutes from February to the 4-H office to get printed up for review. Tomorrow night, neighbor Melissa will be back on the job and I can give her that hat back.

Then I donned my fair director hat and headed to Hillsdale. My brother would say I put on my crown, since he refers to me at the "fair queen", but it really is just one more hat. I had a lunch meeting regarding fund raising. Got a free lunch out of the deal, so that was cool.

The AgriAutomation hat went back on long enough to drop off the business card stuff at the printer. They promised me a proof on my fax machine within 24 hours and then I can place the order and stuff that hat away for a while.

I buzzed back home and got my wife and mom hat back on in order to finish laundry, straighten up the kitchen, help Suzanna with a sewing project she is starting and answer at least half a dozen questions from Thomas. I even slipped the horse trainer Mike hat on long enough to look something up on the internet for him.

That is when I discovered I forgot a hat!!! My hubby called and asked if I had run two errands for him while in Hillsdale. Oops!!! I managed to get all the way to town and back and never gave a second thought to going to Apex to pay the bill or making sure he didn't need me to pick anything up from American Copper & Brass. So this hat thing isn't perfect, but if I can keep them straight, life goes pretty easy. Oh, gotta go hubby just called and I have to take care of something in the office. On with another hat!!!!!!

Weekend wrap-up....

We had a busy and productive weekend. That always pleases my hubby. He is the kind of guy that makes a list in his head that is about two pages long and has hopes to get everything on it done. In reality, it is possible to get the first two things completed!

Friday night was the piano recital, and that went off without a hitch. Thomas was a little iffy on Thursday, but managed to pull it together when it counted. Kathryn was excited, as much over the dress she got to wear as the performance. She was able to wear her dress from the princess birthday party back in January and that was perfect in her mind. She played her song beautifully too.

Saturday was the day to bale hay. Bale hay???? Yes, in our case we set up the hay elevator in the mow, with the baler outside the barn and cleaned up about 40 bales worth of broken bales and loose hay. If you hadn't noticed, we are running tight on hay and every bale will save us from having to buy any. Hopefully, we will be cutting hay within a couple weeks and the hay crisis will be over.

Saturday night, I made a rhubarb pie for a church dinner and we all watched an old movie. We still try to do our Netflix movies, but as summer comes on, it gets harder to get inside to watch them.

Sunday was church, a dinner afterward and a second service after dinner. On the way up the driveway, we stopped at the barn to check on Sami. In the midst of the weekend, she had decided to try bloating. We had her in the barn to see if her stomach would settle down. It worked and she looked much better.

In the meantime, Thomas went to the pasture to take a peak at Breezy who was due to foal in the next few days. He reported back that she had "wax on her nibbles". Wax, to non-horse people, is actually drops of colostrum which leaks and then dries on the mares teats. It is a good indicator that the foal will be arriving soon. That observation led to a bit of a frenzy around the farm. As is typical here, animals had to get shifted around so that Breezy could have her stall for the impending arrival. We quickly finished nailing the metal roof down on the calf hutch, put up a small outside run for Bella and Rodney and moved them to their new home. We bedded up the stall for Breezy and settled her in for the night.

Our work was not in vain, since she laid down and safely delivered a beautiful bay filly at about 12:45. Momma was on her feet within a short time, the filly was up within 15 minutes and found her dinner by 1:30. I stayed to make sure Breezy was okay and tucked myself into bed at about 3:00. Once again I am awed by the whole process.

So today Thomas and Kathryn are taking a make-up lesson with their piano teacher. Tonight Kathryn starts back with her dog 4-H. And so starts the first full week of summer vacation.