WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Mt_Rider]

That early huh, Cecilia? "They" predicted that snow later in the day..... Well it got worse! Lots! Enjoy CA cuz CO is not real enjoyable yet.

 

Today is much warmer....low 50's. But chill breeze. Seems like I just got up and ....it's time to go feed again. Well...since I usually sleep from 2:30 or 3AM to 11AM........my nighttimes are a lot longer than my daytimes. Such a weird schedule especially in winter.

 

Since MINUS 3* froze the pond solid, I went to the creek box to fill the ducks' bucket. We have a large pond and the outlet is a culvert pipe that goes under the berm and driveway and comes out on the other side pasture. My brother built a wooden box decades ago to provide a catchment where the pipe comes out. For easy dipping of water for ducks, etc.

 

During the summer we hardly pay attention to it. Imagine my surprise to find it totally choke-full of reeds and such this year. Fortunately I had the "garden gopher" implement in the van. That thing that you put the 4 crooked prongs into the dirt and twist back and forth if you have hard soil. Well I twisted in one direction and spiraled down into the mass of reeds. Then pulled up and dumped the mess. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Suddenly a gush of water flushed thru and the pipe and most of the box cleared. Don't know how far the pipe had been clogged.

 

So I went over to the horse trailer. [aka: another tool storage place] I was after a manure rake to clean up the last of the weeds N reeds in the box. But I discovered none of us had the sense to put the tools, goat crates, misc horse equipment BACK IN THE TRAILER before the snow! Fortunately there is a closed section where the primary saddles, bridles, etc are stored.....even if we're hauling hay. But the misc stuff has to be emptied when we use it for hay hauling. There HAD been a tarp covering the pile but the WIND that preceded the snow had ripped it loose. .....and we didn't remember to fix the situation. Auuuuggh! That doesn't usually happen. Usually more careful than this!

 

So I spent quality time shaking and dumping snow off of everything. Put it back into the trailer ......tho it isn't great shelter unless the tarp is over it. Still, better than nothing. Really need it cleared out cuz we'll be hauling hay again when DH gets done with his 5-in-a-row work days. But until then...inside it went. Fortunately it was a dry snow and still too cold to melt all over the stuff. Finding it today would have been a mess!

 

Just a bad nite cuz when dog and I finally began our walk...it was aborted once again. My glove caught in part of her collar arrangement and it came apart. She was nutso and wouldn't hold still while I fixed it so I just bumbled us back off the road again. Gave up and tried running the van up the snowy driveway and again had to back it down from only half way up. Not surprising. So our walk was going UP the driveway, pulling the sled with supplies this time. Ugh! I'd rather take our walks on the level, flat, smooth road! Was dripping sweat despite 10* by the time I got to the house.

 

Hoping for a smoother feeding experience tonite!

 

Still washing homegrown [not my garden] carrots and shoving them into the fridge. Still have several pounds to go.

 

MtRider .....Good news to all: warmer weather follows this cold/snowy weather front!

[The WE2's]

Didn't get done what we wanted done today...spent the afternoon with a police officer. Somebody put a knife in two of our travel trailer tires. We think it's the knotheads across the street but can't prove it. You can't repair side punctions so it's new tires this spring. MrWE2 had to crawl under and jack up each axle so he could put support jacks under each one, get the weight off the tires and he'll have to take the tires off. Grrrrr :-( Did get more of the clear bubble wrap put on the homestead apartment upstairs livingroom windows and then shrink wrap over that. We've got most the bedroom done but will finish that probably in the next couple of days. Bought eight totes at Menards, they had them on sale for $3.99. We'll vacuum seal our summer clothes and store them in the totes. Mr is going to build us a "shellf" that wil allow us to place the totes on them, sort of like a drawer. We'll lable the end so we know what's in each tote. Much better than trying to store clothes in dressers etc.

[Mt_Rider]

DH got some rest today. But he also installed the battery cable to the van. We kept charging the battery but it still only clicked. Now it's starting fine. HOPEFULLY that will solve that problem....and not need new alternator. Maybe we can move on to solve the fuel line ....or fuel pump....problem in my truck. So far...I've been having to walk up that mountainside 3 days now. Sheeesh.

 

MtRider ....feeling really wiped out. Ah....I forgot how much SNOW SWEEPING we did that snow day. Bet that's why I'm so sore and achy! I hate

[Annarchy]

(((Mt_Rider & We2))).

 

Today, I am hoping to get my todo list accomplished. So much to do before Thanksgiving.

 

Little Temporence has been spending a lot of time in my arms, just being held. I doubt she will make it to Christmas, but you never know with ferrets. 'Duck soup', a high protein mix, and the meds, seems to be helping. If the boys would leave her alone, she'd sleep more.

 

Woke up at 3am, for no apparent reason. I guess I have too much on my mind to do. God is watering the lawn and garden for me.

 

Made MIL's single serving packages of bean juice soup. She called and asked for more. Froze the beans for refries.

 

We have been getting 5-6 eggs a day! I can't give them away quick enough.

 

Time to try to get another job crossed off my list.

 

Hoping everyone has a marvelous day.

[Mt_Rider]

Poor Temporence! (((Annarchy)))

 

 

....ugh! DH and I are officially battling some microbe. Headaches are his sign that his immune system in kicking up to fight. I thot my weird, achy feeling for past couple days were just muscles but...appears not. I woke "a hundred" times thru the night with a golf-ball size spasm under shoulder blade. Fortunately, I kept rolling to a less stressful position and returned to sleep.

 

DH adjusted me again lightly and golf ball went away....then came back as I was sitting in recliner. So we took all our herbal immune-boosting stuff and natural Vit C. And he decided to not go to work today either, once he knew I was still down. We're battling something but it's still a bit vague. Enough to feel rough but not....QUITE..... that sick. With Thanksgiving coming up, we'll see if we're going to meet with my folks or not. As old as they are now, we don't risk giving them something but we might be clear by then.

 

Chilly day is not inspiring

 

MtRider ....watch out! The first "plagues of winter" cometh....

Edited November 21, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[Jeepers]

(((((((Annarchy))))))) Enjoy her and give her all the love and cuddles she wants while she is still here. You'll be glad you did.

 

Hope Mr. & Mrs. Mt. Rider start feeling better soon!

 

 

Today was a day of firsts for me. I went to McD's for some more soup for my supper. I also ordered two sweet teas. I got my teas and took off. I got home and....no soup. I forgot to get it. I had to go all the way back and get it. I'd already paid for it. I walked in and said I forgot to wait for my soup. They laughed and said they were keeping it warm for me. They offered to replace it but it was fine. Of all the years I've used the drive thru I've never done that.

 

Warning Ahead

 

Then I was at the grocery store bagging up my items and all at once my nose started to run. I wasn't feeling stuffy or anything. I didn't even know it was going to start. No warning. Dang, that was odd. I started sniffing for all I was worth and looking around to see if anyone was looking at me. I'm just going along like I'm in my right mind and, bang, my nose is running like a faucet. That's never happened to me. Hope it was a fluke.

[Zophiel_Malfoy]

Oh goodness (((everybody)))! It is my hope that by the time I post this, tires are fixed, ferrets are feeling better, and humans are too!

Jeepers-- I have that happen sometimes. Usually ,it's when I've been good about remaining hydrated, it's like I'm full up. I literally will bend over for something, and there's suddenly water dripping out my nose. So weird, lol.

 

I started Krav Maga last week-- First class Tuesday evening, then a second class on Saturday morning. It's really intense and rough, but I'm falling in love with it! It's grueling, and I swear the warm ups alone nearly kill me each time, followed by another 45 minutes of drills and scenario training. . . but . . . my intimidation is quickly getting replaced by anticipation. I'm not taking a class this evening, but I am going tomorrow evening, and I can't wait!

 

I'm also pulling together meals-in-a-jar recipes for Christmas gifts-- since I'm a Thrive consultant, I'm planning on putting in an order in the next couple of days, and these types of gifts would both feed my loved ones when they need it, and also function as advertising, lol.

 

So once I leave work, I've got a walk (with a few sprints sprinkled in) scheduled, then it's trash and the dishes!

[sassenach]

Got the bed frame, old antique , set up finally with M & P's help, and its properly made up.

Started casting on 80 stitches for my knee highs I will knit and then everybody showed up so distracted , but got bed set up , now its so high I need step stool! There is one! I think I will set it by the foot of the bed or on the other side for Macy. She is going to find this is weird as high as it is!

I can easily put roll under keepers under the bed though! Yahoo! 9.5 inches clearance!

ah , sounds like the pipes are going to drain now..... being flushed good now. Yippee!

[Ambergris]

Coughing. Drinking lots of tea and pineapple juice.

[Jeepers]

Good for you Zophiel on your Krav Maga classes! It sounds like great training. You are going to be a force to be reckoned with. I have to admit that I had to look it up.

[Daylily]

I too hope the sick ones are doing better and things are looking up for all.

 

DH got a cold last week and now DS has it. We are supposed to do a Christmas program Dec 3 at a church about 1 1/2 hrs from home. We are praying that they get well and DD and I don't get sick. We are planning to sing six songs with some remarks in between. I know the Lord can work it out the way He wants it.

[Mt_Rider]

Yeah for Sass's modern plumbing! How is Ms Macy adapting to the new situation?

 

Now Ambergris is getting sick too? And the Daylilys?

 

DH had to meet someone and came home pretty weary. He also stopped for the 69 cents a pound sweet potatoes. I decided I'd walk down and feed horses/ducks. He had dog with him. Should have been a nice walk in fresh air and ...some exertion on the way back up. NINNY horse was difficult tonite so it was a LOT of unintended exertion to get her to cross the 6" creek. She can't see, we suspect, in the snow. .....and she's a NINNY. Hmph! I still feel ok but that kinda wore me out.

 

MtRider ...cat on heating pad next to my elbow is serenading me with PURRRRRRR

[Annarchy]

Here in TX safely.

 

Wow, 18 wheelers were passing me! MIL is doing well.

 

Now to get some sleep. Road weary.

 

Yes, she has my ToDo list on the frig. It includes plumbing this time. I love her so much! She's such a sweetheart.

[snapshotmiki]

I hope all who were feeling badly are better today! I'm cooking today so I will have energy to put up Christmas tree tomorrow! Always cooked whatever day I wanted anyhow. It's beautiful weather here, though too dry. Right at 70 now and low 70's tomorrow!

 

Everyone have a really nice Thanksgiving!

[Daylily]

Annarchy glad for safe travels.

 

It's really smoky here today. A new fire in western NC broke out Monday and has already burned 700-800 acres. This one is in Watauga County, about an hour and a half from us. Heard on the news from Ashe Co, NC that three people had been cited for burning trash! Why can folks not comprehend the seriousness of the burn bans? The fire in Ashe is still going too. There is a 30% chance of rain this evening.

 

I potted up 13 small aloe veras to give to the folks that came to the natural remedies class my friend and I did back in the spring and summer.

[Mt_Rider]

We finally got a real farrier [horse hoof trim and hoof care]. He said DH has been doing pretty good for the past year and a half. But new farrier found a bit of thrush [fungal infection] in an odd crack of the hoof formation. DH is heading in to the Feed store to get what he recommended. Showed DH how a certain angle on NINNY puts superficial stress fractures on her hoof. I knew something was up with that. Those are real specialty things for which we gladly pay the expert.

 

Besides, he took less than a half hour on each horse. Takes DH a painful hour and half. Hard to find farriers up here and we have history with this guy...tho we didn't know it. The deal about my MS reaction to horse riding was known to him. And he knows the place we used to take care of the horses. A good match now!

 

Our friend/neighbor called hours ago to let us know he'd be over to plow driveway. Still had to mount the blade on his truck for the season. Haven't seen him yet. Probably is in town buying some part he needs. First snow ....always find out what isn't working.

 

MtRider ....winter hath arrived!

[The WE2's]

Baked MrWE2's favorite pumpkin muffins :-) The turkey breast-fully cooked is mostly thawed in our 5-day cooler. Cut off 2 nice slices for supper tonight and had some sweet potatoes and buttered corn. Will have "the real deal" tomorrow evening. Yes, we like a candle light dinner for two :-) After breakfast in the morning we'll pack a picnic lunch and head for the state park not far from us, and will take a hike in the woods. We've got a pink scarf for Abby-girl since it's deer season. We'll keep her on leash of course, and nobody's supposed to be hunting in state parks...but you know how dumb some people can get :-( Then we'll come home and have a quiet dinner by candle light and then we'll put in a movie.

[The WE2's]

MrWE2 took off early this morning to Menards. Why bump shoulders on the Friday after Thanksgiving? They have game camera's on sale and we'll be putting two of thm up on the garage at the homestead, filiming the whole area where the RV sits as well as the front doors of the garage and the driveway :-) Police suggested that we do that and to make sure we bought high capacity cards for them so they'd store a LOT of info. Guess the time has come that we need to seriously think about security issues of our property and more than just sensory lighting. The police officer told us that when it's recorded there's no "I didn't do that" argument and even if it's minors, they can be discliplined by juvie officers and they're parents told to do closer supervision or else. We probably all should not relax too much on securing our property.

[The WE2's]

Yesterday...Ate a nice leisure breakfast, drove to a state park and we all took a hike (a couple of miles) and Abby-girl found the creek/small lake and took a dip...twice then a roll in the autumn leaves. Yes, we let her off leash with her bright pink scarf around her neck and she had a ball. Nobody's around that deep into the forestry area. Had a picnic-type lunch and then came on home. Fixed our Thanksgiving meal about 6:00 pm and watched a video.

[Homesteader]

Good idea regarding the game cameras. I inherited one after my brother's death last year. Haven't decided where to mount it yet. We live in the boonies and our neighbors watch us enough to know if there's a problem. DH calls them 'rednecks' but that title may come in handy some day when we need help.

 

I ordered about 400 trees/bushes and will receive them in the Spring of 2017. Many of them will be for screening from the road. It does get much busier here in the summertime as we're in a tourist area. We're also thinking about rerouting our driveway so it's not a straight-shot to the house. Sometimes screening can become too much if you want your neighbors to help watch the place.

[Jeepers]

Good idea We2. It's just too bad we have to do things like that now. Maybe when they have that done to them they will see how expensive it is and will think back when they did the same thing to someone else, and see how not funny it is. Or maybe not.

 

When my neighbors were acting the fool and I threaten two of them (father and son) with a restraining order from my attorney, I pulled out the "E" card. Elder abuse. They settled down real fast. It probably wasn't but a little fear went a long way. No one wants to be cited for that or even accused of it! Believe me...it would have gone through this neighborhood like wildfire. The son is 30 or 31 and has had a "failure to launch". He still lives with his mom and dad and has never moved out. Probably never will. He has never had a girlfriend or guy friends. Didn't leave for college. Nothing. At least he works though.

[Annarchy]

Quiet day. MIL & DH are watching re-plays of yesterday's football games. ....and more football...

 

We had brisket, asparagus, stuffing, cranberry sauce and bread for dinner and for dessert apple and pumpkin pie. MIL dislikes turkey.

 

I spent most the day reading every single advertisement that came with her newspaper. Sales and more sales. Comparing the prices to the foot tall stack of stuff catalogs she had waiting for me, a lot of the 'sale' prices were not a deal.

 

This morning I went to Academy Sports to pick up a dog bed big enough for Grrr. The ferrets have scratched thin spots in his other one. They were advertised on sale for $10. I also broke down and got a meat slicer. Normal price was $179, Black Friday sale price, $79.

 

Stopped by Walgreens on the way home to pick up MIL & DH some necessary supplies.

 

My 20 mile trip on city surface streets got every street light green!!! I caught one red, less than 3 miles from the house. A pedestrian had pushed the crosswalk button in front of a school. He look back to see if it turned and you cou see he was laughing about it. There wasn't any traffic or any other people around. I guess he wanted a little amusement.

 

Now, MIL and DH are trying to figure out what's for dinner.

 

I hope those Game cameras catch the vandals. That's horrible and expensive.

 

Sound like you are very busy Homesteader.

 

I spent the early morning pulling more grass from MIL's asparagus bed. The plants are ferning and seeding nicely.

 

Grrr got all excited when I brought his new bed in and danced around the room. He's so cute sometimes.

[Ambergris]

DS1 is just getting over what I've come down with. So he made the turkey and some mashed potatoes for the two of us. Today I'm nibbling on leftover rice and winter squash.

[Mt_Rider]

Today my folks and us went to the restaurant where everyone knows us. They all asked 'how was your Thanksgiving?' We replied: This is it. No dishes; no clean up. No getting up early to put the bird in the oven.

 

But....no yummy leftovers??? My folks have a turkey breast to cook and we have a cheap turkey thawing in the downstairs fridge. So yes, we'll all be swimming in turkey sandwiches sooner or later. YUM I think this is a good way to deal with aging/disability. One day late means nothing at all to us.

 

I had timed everything out this morning..... Had just a half hour left before we'd leave.....just had to get dressed and.... Then I got two phone calls and a 'chirp..chirp...chirp...chirp' sound from the surge protector device started up. ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

 

One phone call required me to immediately plug in the router/modem and get laptop running. Someone has died unexpectedly in our church family this morning. An elder-fall and subsequent blood clot. for wife and family. So that's a 'drop everything and send out the word' thru our PrayerRequest emails. I'm the coordinator of these messages. Fortunately the email service didn't give me any trouble.

 

Also FORTUNATELY....by checking out WHY the surge protector device was chirping, I discovered the plug was half out. So I tried to skinny back to the plug from one direction..... Definitely not happening. Cabin is too small and that way is blocked. So tried reaching my arm from the other way. If I had a fourth inch more clearance for my elbow....that would have worked. So I found a sturdy stick of wood and used the narrowness to wedge the plug back in.

 

[station break for emergency] AAAAAAUUUUUUGHHHH! Cat was sitting next to me on heating pad while I type just now. She got up and went to the other end of the bed and began "The UP-CHUCK Song". I'm usually fast but I'd only just grabbed for her and .....didn't make it off the bed. The light is so very poor in this cabin after dark that I have to grab the spotlight to make sure I can see what I'm cleaning up on my bedspread. {lovely} My bed is one of her favorite targets.....

 

 

....ahem, where was I? Anyway, the chirping had stopped when we got back home so I guess that's all it was indicating. Maybe we won't have so much trouble staying connected to the Internet now??? That's where we plug in those two devices. That would be very nice!

 

But with all that going on this morning, we were delayed in getting to restaurant. But my folks needed a delay too and we both arrived at the same time. Had a fine meal and good time. No one had turkey except I had a turkey pot pie.

 

Afterwards DH had to get gas and a couple other things I had no part of.....so I had him drop me off at Thrift Store! I NEED pants for around the house....sweats or scrubs. I found 4 that fit wonderfully. The sweats haven't been worn cuz the inside is still soft/fuzzy. I so rarely get in to town any more that I've been wearing rags, literally!. And DH put one of my last 2 pairs of jeans in the DRYER.

 

I got done so fast I had to wait for him. One store where he was getting pellets for the fireplace...was CROWDED!

 

So this was our "Thanksgiving"

 

MtRider ....much to be thankful for....

Edited November 26, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[Annarchy]

Good Morning.

 

Hoping everyone has a great day.

 

Heading home today. I'll be packing up the car once the sun comes up.

 

I am hoping the wind lets up some. The news forecast said it may be snowing around Silver City, NM. Hopefully, it won't progress south to I-10, at least until after we pass through.

 

Grrr is snoring, I think he likes his new bed.