Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Holes all over, really...

I would have blogged yesterday before work, but our Internet wasn't working. Then last night I couldn't get blogger to work. What a pain.

Anyhow.
Sunday was another gorgeous day!

I spent most of the day cleaning up the gardens.
Having not been out there in a week, yes the weeds
are overrunning the place, I noticed some little jalapenos
growing and quite a few plants have new flowers!
I sure didn't expect that.

The cows getting some relief from the sun.


I saw this big hole under our very attractive horse trailer and wondered who the digger was.
A few hours later I had my answer.



Keeping cool I guess.


Not sure what that bucket is doing under there, but I've since
thrown it away.




We've also discovered we have gophers or moles trying to dig tunnels under the pool!

Not good!

The Hubby is trying some creative ways to get rid of them, but as soon as he "baits" one hole two more show up. At last count there were about 12 in the backyard with tunnels that really go in and out from under the pool almost all the way around it. When you are in the pool the you can feel with your feet how spongy the sand is under the liner. Unfortunately there is no way to fix this. We will just have to wait and see if the liner gets torn by the ice come spring.

The kids start school tomorrow. Two of three are very excited. You would think Colton would be rearing to go since he'll be a Senior, but he's really not.

Happy Tuesday to ya!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Saturday was perfect!

I didn't realize how much I missed being outside
until yesterday.


Not much opportunity to do outside things working
930 A-6 pm.
Big rush in the am and I'm sure that will get worse
when school starts on Wednesday and
big rush when I get home to get dinner on the table.
After dinner it's almost time for bed.


Yesterday was just perfect!


Chyann got up early and was picked up to go to the
Dells and I got some house cleaning done.
Did breakfast when everyone else got up,
then spent the WHOLE day outside.
With the exception of coming in and out to
get laundry - water too because it was HOT.


Colton was gone most of the day, so Caden
got some good one on one time with his
Daddy and I.


Which I think he needed.


Doesn't he look cute with his new haircut?

Got that done yesterday too.


The horses have been out mowing again. Here is Scotch not mowing, but eating the sunflower leaves.

Yes, Scotch you shouldn't be in there.


So he leaves through the sunflowers.


This use to be Krissy's butternut squash patch.
The horses have totally destroyed it.
The fallen apples lured them in and they did what
horses do and ate with no regard to what they were wrecking.
Also they ate everyone of the muskmelons.
Didn't know they liked those too.


Kris says the sugars don't come out in the
squash until the first frost.
So should I leave them outside or take them
to the basement?


Today is going to be another gorgeous day.

Colton has a parade in a town not far from here.
Chyann and I are going to ride horses today.
Should clean those moldy saddles and maybe make
some dinners to put in the fridge/freezer for this
next week. Cut 2 more heads of hair and
I don't know what else.


Friday, August 27, 2010

Interesting sight

While driving down the highway this morning, on my
way to work, I saw the most interesting sight!
Made me curse not having my camera
with me!!
You'll just have to use your imagination
when I tell you that for about a mile and a half
there were books strewn all over the
highway!
No kidding I must have ran over at
least a hundred!
They were all paperbacks.
Crazy..
Makes me wonder where they came from
and who is going to clean up that mess.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Humidity problems and other stuff

As you know we've had a hot and humid summer here in WI.

We had a dehumidifier in the basement the first few years
we lived here, but it broke and we just put a fan in the
window to suck out the moisture and that seemed
to do the trick ~ no stinky basement smell.

Chyann decided to get Casper's cart harness
out of the basement. That is where we keep all the extra saddles
(we have nine at last count), bridles and any thing else horse
related that we are currently not using.

Look what she found.
Yuck!

Mold and moss. Apparently the leather saddles are much worse.

She cleaned the harness up real well.
Even tied a shirt around her face so she wouldn't inhale
the mold.
This weekend I'll be doing the saddles while she has
fun at the Dell's for a friends birthday.
And we need to think about getting a new dehumidifier.

Been so wet frogs abound.


I got a bunch of Zucchini bread made.
It's the best recipe!
Pineapple, walnuts and raisins are in it.
Yum!


In other news my old boss in AK
didn't get on the ballot for Governor.
Bummer.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Probable Cause

What a fun weekend we had.

Some of our friends threw a huge party
for his sisters 50th birthday and her sisters 40th.
Unfortunately the sister that was turning 40 was unable
to get off of work and didn't make it, but her hubby and kids did.

The sister that turned 50 was there in living color!

Poor gal, instead of 50 swats she was supposed to get
50 buckets of water dumped on her.

Last I had heard she was up to 28.
Good thing it was a hot day.

They had relatives and friends come from near and far.

I never got a good count of how many folks were there,
but I heard someone say probably 50-75.
That's a lot.

There was swimming in the pool and pond, bags-
some kind of bean bag toss game, volleyball,
a bouncy house thing for smaller kids,
really the list goes on and on.


Here is Chyann down at the pond.

By far the biggest attraction was the band.

Yes, they had a band playing right off their back porch.

Probable Cause is a local cover band.

We've seen them play at quite a few different venues in our area.

As you can see, Caden was a groupie.

He got all the guys to sign his shirt and the bass player gave

him a pick that now resides in his gold box.

The band was great!


Colton budding musician that he is, was interested in the band,

until he got to talking to a girl his age.

Although he did get up and play the drums a little when

the band was done.


Great party!

Yesterday was filled with salsa.

I started blanching the tomatos at 9a took a break about noon

back at it by 3p and done by 6p.

Got all the laundry done and put away!

Some of the lawn got mowed.

Rode horses with Chyann and really had fun.

No falling off for me thank you very much!

Watched Caden ride the three wheeler.

And now it's back to the grind.

New schedule starts today 930a-6p.

That's gonna be strange.

Friday, August 20, 2010

TGIF



TGIF!!

I'm sooo glad it's friday!!

This whole working all the time thing is for the birds!

Lots of fun scheduled for this weekend

so I'm going to get to it..


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The question is...

Do I bounce?

Answer: Not well...

Chyann and I have been riding horses again
in the evenings since the heat wave is over.

She of course, like most young girls, believes
that she is invincible and loves to ride bareback.

I took the bait when she goaded me into also
riding bareback last night.

We were having a great time.
A little walk, a little faster, trot,
moving up through the gears.

Boom!
He zigged while I zagged.

OUCH!

But as a parent who rides I must never show weakness.

I stagger to my feet,
reins still in my hand~ imagine that~
And get back on.
With every step my head POUNDS.
Will I puke?
Hope not.
Will I fall off again?
Really hope not.
Do I make it till she is ready to be done?
Definitely, but just barely.

Advil before bed.
Lurch out of bed this morning.
More Advil.

Kink in my neck and back all day.
More Advil.

Very worried I'll be asked to ride when I get home.

Thankfully she is off to a friends house and I can skip
the hell it would have been to ride tonight.

She is home now making plans for tomorrow.

Those plans include riding.
With me.


Hope I don't have to bounce again tomorrow,
because I just don't do it well anymore.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Apple's galore

It was definately a Monday.
Glad it's over.

My favorite apple tree is really bending. It hardly lost any apples during our last big storm. I made a Waldorf salad the other night with these apples and it was fantastic.

But the lady apple tree is almost bare.
The kids loaded 2 and a half trailers of apples.
We put them in feed sacks and store them in
the creamery in our barn to feed to the animals
at a later date.

We've got the barn blocked off to the horses so
maybe it'll dry out.
All the gravel has been washed away.
Hopefully soon we'll get a few loads for this
area and the driveway.


Good night.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Salsa and such

Another weekend flew by.
We've started letting the horses out to mow the lawn again.
The only requirement is that they wear halters
in case we need to catch them quick or they
need to be tied up.
Chyann took some pictures of Gypsy.








Heave-ho!
Over she went!
Can't believe Chyann caught that on film.





I got a dozen jars of salsa made.
Had one break as I put it in the BWB
what a mess that was.

All laundry has been completed and put away.
Floors ~ swept, moped and vacuumed.
Dishwasher ran five times.
Made the bed once.
The heat wave has broken.
Cool sleeping weather is here.
Actually felt chilled and put on sweat pants
and socks tonight.
The TV repair folks are coming out on Tuesday
from the Twin cities to give our TV a
look over.
Keep your fingers crossed they can fix it or
will get it replaced.
Would have loved to ride horses today, but
it was WAY too windy. Maybe tomorrow...
Another week beckons.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Sunflowers, storms and stuff


My sunflowers are finally blooming.
I just love them.




This years sunflowers are a little hard to get good shots of.
Somehow I managed to get the ginormous variety
and they are just that ~ GINORMOUS!




My garden continues to struggle.


All beans have been harvested.
Most of the spuds are rotting in the ground due to too much
water and a few other factors.
I'll probably get enough peppers and tomato's for half the
amount of salsa I want to make so I'm not going to
complain much there.

We have had more wicked storms.
Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work we
had some major lightening.

Must have struck the house as it blew out the Hubby's
prized big screen TV, flipped a bunch of breakers
in the house/garage and actually blew off the
electric fence device from the wall in the barn.

The Hubby said we were lucky the barn didn't burn down
and he is very bummed about his TV.

I spent hours last night looking for the receipt and
product warranty plan thing we purchased.

I finally found it and luckily it is still valid.
I'll be calling today and hopefully the Hubby will
be getting a replacement TV.

We are all very bummed about the goat situation and
will support any decision Krissy makes and
will help her in any way we can.


Big plans for today include getting started on making
salsa, mow ~ it's a jungle out there,
laundry, and about a dozen things I didn't get
done this week because I was working.

This whole working full time thing will take some getting
use to. I need to delegate more so I don't feel so
overwhelmed.
Happy Saturday to you :)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Yes, we got the rain!

No joke our rain gauge was totally full
and it will hold 5 inches of rain!

We had some major wicked storms last night.

Knocked out the power for at least an hour.

Our house was really rocking and rolling.

I have never seen lightning last for such a long time.
The sky was lit up like the forth of July!

And the thunder!

WOW!

Amazing storm.

We had no major damage, thankfully.

The barn flooded as usual and we had some good
sized ruts washed out of the driveway.


The new job is going well.

I'll be training till next Wednesday and the hours

were changed to 7a-330p.

All in all not bad.

Trying to get use to getting up early and not going to

bed till 8-9p.. I get a terrible case of the

yawns about 5p. Then start feeling rummy by 8p..

But sleep like a baby,

with the exception of last night due to the storms.

Really looking forward to the weekend :)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Showing my age?

Our family has cell phones like most folks these days.

The hubby, he barley knows how to make a call let alone text
anyone so he doesn't text at all.

Me, I can text, but don't/wont generally send one.
Now if you sent me one I'll reply back to it, but that's all.

Our eldest son, Colton does text.
We had him on the 4.99 a month 250 text messages plan
and that was fine.

Last week when the Grandparents were here I got a phone
call (not a text) from our cell provider.
They wanted to advise me of Colton's phone usage.

He had for the month of August,
which had barely began at the time of this call,
1095 texts!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we would be billed for an additional 84 bucks!!

I about fell over!

Holy SHIT!!

With a little plan changing he is now on the
5000 texts a month for 19.99 a month
and we don't owe the 84 bucks.

Colton and I had a HUGE come to Jesus meeting
about this issue.

I want him to have a phone so I can call him and he can
call us, right?

But I will have texting eliminated from his phone if he
goes over the 5000 texts a month even once.

What is the fascination with texting?

When you talk to someone on the phone you are
honing your communication skills and actually
dealing with people.

When you text what do you do type?
and badly at that?

When I was a teen we talked on the phone at every
opportunity. You could tell from the tone
of your BFF's voice how she felt about something
and
remember those long conversations with that
first crush?

How does texting measure up to all that I asked Colton
and he said "Mom talking on the phone is for your generation
and texting is for mine."

I must be getting old.

Do you text?

P.S. Today's text tally is now up to 1922!
Gone up over 800 texts in less than a week.
What is up with this you ask.
He has a new love interest..
eeshhh.

Monday, August 9, 2010

That first day and tomato wreckers

Well I had a successful first day of work.

4a came too early after a night of tossing and turning due to the heat and worrying about anything and everything.

I am the ONLY one in my training class.

The trainer and I are friendly from my previous time there
as a temp and are flying through the required material.

The only hard stuff is selecting my benefits.
Mind boggling how many options there are.

I saw a lot of my old team mates from last year that
are back as temps. It was nice to see all those familiar faces.

Anyhow....
I apparently have a varmints in the garden sampling tomato's.

I originally thought it was our turkey and or chickens,
but they are rarely seen out that far.

We locked them up to
be sure and it is definitely not them.
Maybe wild turkeys?
I don't know.
They just have a bit here or there though.

Today nine tomato's had been sampled.
Maybe a scarecrow will help?

I am in the process of putting down more mulch as our county AG guy says that will help with the septoria leaf spot we've got going on.

Using a combination of wood chips, which we get for free and straw that we have to buy.

This is my first year having any success with muskmelons.
Must be all the rain ~ which is killing the rest of my garden,
go figure....

I've got about a dozen or more that are about volleyball size.

Can't wait! Gonna be delicious.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Highlights from this last week

My Mother and Gerry left yesterday afternoon to head back
to Oklahoma.

We all hated to see them go.
Since they think we need to move there and
we think they need to move here I don't see us moving
closer to one another any time soon.

Casper will one day find the courage to walk up the ramp
into the barn.

Anyhow, the weather was HOT and HUMID for the first few days they were here. Being from Oklahoma they are use to these conditions, but they have central air and are able to escape it. No central air at our house. Just windows, lots of fans and the pool.


After the heat wave broke we picked a ton of beans and made a few batches of the spicy beans. Sure was fun.

Now I must say my Mother hates having her picture taken. She will try to avoid this whenever possible. I decided to take some whether she liked it or not so I've got tons of pictures of her not looking at the camera and the ones of her looking at the camera have a stunned deer in the headlights look to them. Next time they come we are planning on going to get some professional ones taken ~ she says only the pros can get a good shot of her.

Chyann rubbing on Rootbeer with Casper looking on in the background.


Rootbeer having a nibble of beans.



Mom trying to hide behind the apple branches while she picked up apples. Casey even came out and got some exercise. By the way she is able occasionally to get her legs in a standing position and will try to walk, but is unable to swing her feet back into position for that next step.

Just before they left I got some more pictures.




Don't know why we didn't take some pictures outside.
Colton was already at work, but actually stayed home quite a bit to spend time with the Grandparents while they were here.


We had some good storms last night. Lots of wind that knocked off a shit load of apples from the trees. Guess I'll be out picking them up today. We feed them to the animals and they love them. I'll also make applesauce with the bigger ones.




And tomorrow I start work.

For the next few weeks I'll be in training from 6a-230p so the Hubby and I can carpool. This is good, but I'm not looking forward to getting up at 400A so we can be on the road no later than 515A. I can already tell I'm going to need a nap tomorrow after work :)