Zoo Talk, talking about life, God, yarn, family

Last week's adventure

2015-03-09T22:32:00.001-05:00

While the weather service says we have had fewer frigid days this year, and that we are down a bit on rainfall, it's sure hard to prove it by me.

A few weeks ago, we got an ice storm. No, it didn't last long but we still prepped for it by making sure we had plenty of water drawn up, plenty of groceries on hand, and plenty of butane for the little e-stoves I use for cooking. Thankfully, the power didn't go off for us but it did fail for thousands of others.

Then last week, we got about 6 inches of snow on top of a thick layer of sleet and freezing rain. That made any driving treacherous so most of us just stayed home. Again, plenty of preps for cooking and plenty of water stored back.

I was actually at my Sister's house for the week when the snowy weather occurred. Where she lives there was about 8 inches of snow. I stayed next door at my Mother's mobile home and it was hard trekking across the driveway and yard morning and night. I was able to use Sis's "ice trekkers", which are chains that slip onto your shoes to help provide traction in the ice and snow. They really helped a lot.

Friday of last week, we started pulling things out of her storage building to take to a local craft sale/yard sale scheduled for Saturday. Sis has a garden wagon (one of those big, heavy, steel wagons) that we used to haul the goods to her van in the driveway. The shed is about a half acre away from the driveway and the ground was deep with snow. It kept building up on the wagon's wheels, which made them stop rolling and made us have to literally drag it across the deep snow in the yard. It took 3 trips back and forth to get everything she'd planned to sell. We were totally exhausted with that project but still had to take it all to the fairgrounds where the sale was being held, off-load it, and set it up on the tables. I had a lot of crocheted and knitted items plus some peach jam and pineapple topping to put in the sale

The next morning, we got up before 5 a.m. to get ready and head to the sale. We wanted to be there shortly after 6 a.m. and make sure we had it all arranged, had our chairs ready, and had our money box set up. After that, it was a matter of sitting there, talking to folks, and hoping for a sale. Kind of like fishing! Mid-morning, Sis went back to her house to get Mom. We didn't want Mom walking on the ice so early in the morning and by the time Sis went to get her, the ice was pretty much melted.

It was a long day for almost no reward other than having something different to do for the day. Not nearly as many people came to buy as they had in years past. I don't think anyone made much.

Since I got back home it's done nothing but rain. Everything outside is soggy and muddy, making tending the animals pretty miserable.

Go visit my new blog

2015-03-09T13:57:00.002-05:00

Go take a look at my newest blog! I called it's Mini Homestead News and I have put a couple of posts on it so far and hope to post to it at least weekly. It depends on what's going on around here so it could be more often than that.

Let me know what you think!

Back after a long time off

2015-03-03T02:35:00.001-06:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted here. I'm fully ashamed of myself for not keeping up with this a lot better. Since my last post, I've moved and I've retired. I do love being retired since now I can devote more time here, to writing my thoughts, and more time to keeping up with my little homestead. I plan to open another blog that is centered around homesteading, self-sufficiency, cooking, and crafting so be sure to check back in the near future for a link!

Saturday and Sunday

2013-04-14T14:59:00.001-05:00

Saturday was spent mostly in the gardens and yard. Son and I worked during the morning to get a bed finished off for planting. I’d used it last year but, in truth, there wasn’t enough soil and composted material in it to really support plants. So, we laid down more compost, put a layer of newspapers in, then put in about 3 inches of soil. By the time we’d finished that bed it was time for lunch, so we ate frozen pizza.

Went back out after lunch and finished that bed by planting tomatoes (three kinds of heirloom tomatoes – big boy, mountain something, and black), a half dozen sweet banana pepper plants, and a short row of summer squash. I laid newspapers all over the bed, from edge to edge and right up next to the plants and the squash row. Then we added a layer of leaf mulch to the whole thing and watered it down.

In another bed, where there is plenty of soil and composted materials, I planted a half dozen cayenne pepper plants and treated them the same as the first bed. There’s room in that bed for more stuff but I wanted the hot peppers planted away from the sweet ones. Otherwise, you wind up with them all being hot! I’ll plant jalapenos in the bed with the cayenne, then probably finish it off with okra.

There is yet another bed framed up but it needs to be filled with layers of newspaper, composted material, and soil before it can be planted.

After all that, we took a couple old feed sacks out around the yard, picking up trash and debris that has blown in during the winter storms, and that Neighbor’s dog dragged up. Also, picked up any downed limbs and pruned the fruit trees. I’m afraid one of my apple trees did not survive the winter, but the others are blooming and getting leaves. I’ll be looking for a replacement apple tree soon since it takes two of them for pollination.

Supper Saturday was old fashioned mackerel patties with gravy, rice, biscuits, and baked sweet potatoes.

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Sunday was a lazy day. Son went to a tiny town up the road to get Sunday papers so we can see about the coupons. Other than that, not a very eventful day.

Had a late breakfast of bacon, biscuits and gravy when Son got back home. then we looked through the coupon inserts to see what we could use shopping. Next weekend is payday, so I’ll do my shopping then.

Did laundry and got that hung out. It’s a beautiful, sunny, breezy day. Just right for laundry on the line.

Supper will be leftovers from last night, but without the gravy. I’ll make the leftover rice into fried rice with a bit of veggies in it.

I had thought to get out and work in the yard today, but instead decided to just chill pretty much all day. I guess I got a lazy streak in me today!

Technorati Tags: gardening,shopping

Beginning with Friday

2013-04-14T08:20:00.001-05:00

I have the weekend off. And, I have a few plans if the weather cooperates. I did have frost on my truck when I left for work at 6 Friday morning, but the day warmed up nicely, though it was breezy.

I picked up some tomato and pepper plants Friday afternoon, so I’ll be planting them in the raised beds. I hope to also develop another bed while I’m at it. Because there is still a moderate danger of frost, I’ll use old milk jugs as hot caps for the tender plants.

The rest of the stuff I planted seems to be growing, though it’s still pretty small right now. The onions really took off so maybe soon I’ll be enjoying those fresh. I also hope to have enough to dehydrate some. I’ve been thinking about getting another 2 pounds of them to put here and there so I’ll be sure and have plenty, since they seem to be something that grows nicely here.

I also hope to start hanging laundry out again. I don’t have a dryer, so I’ve been just hanging small loads in the bathroom and turning the heater on low when the nights have been chilly.

Technorati Tags: gardening,weather

Stormy Wednesday

2013-04-10T21:29:00.001-05:00

I had to be at work at 5:30 this morning, and it was already hot and muggy at that early hour. It’s been mere days since I’ve complained of the cold weather, so I’m not about to complain about the warmth…at least, not yet.

The sky was off and on overcast, with the clouds becoming darker and darker as the day progressed. A few times, the sun shone through the clouds but that did not make me happy. I know from living where I do that the sunshine on days like this will only serve to heat up the atmosphere and make it more unstable.

It did rain a little now and then, but it wasn’t until after I arrived back home this afternoon that the actual storms started rolling in. Thunder, lightning, heavy downpours of rain, and brief power outages were the worst of it for us, along with moments of high wind. Folks not too distant north of us, though, were hit by what is reported as a tornado. There was a lot of damage there – a church was destroyed, a semi was overturned on the highway, and many homes were damaged. I’m sure by tomorrow there will be even more reports of damage in the small towns and communities up that way.

We hurried to get supper on the table in case the storm knocked our power out. We also put our larger inverter under the hood of my truck, ran a power cord from it to inside the house, and waited to see if we’d need to hook it to the truck battery and start the truck running if the power stayed off. (That inverter will pull the battery down pretty quickly if we don’t keep the truck running.) We never did need the inverter so we’ll have to be sure and put it back inside before I go to work in the morning.

The local storm warnings were to end around 7:30 pm, but even as late as 9 pm we were getting some close-by thunder and lightning, and the power flickered off and on a couple more times. At the time I’m writing this, though, I think everything has moved on and out of our area.

Technorati Tags: weather

This and that Tuesday

2013-04-09T20:28:00.001-05:00

I was off work yesterday and really didn’t get anything done. Well, I did a little laundry, but that’s about it. Oh, I filed my taxes. Ok, that’s really about it this time!

Son fixed supper for us last night. It was a recipe he found online so he could use some venison salami. The other ingredients were olive oil, various herbs, and garlic made into a sauce to put over spaghetti noodles, along with the diced salami. It was very tasty, having a Greek flavor to it.

I wound up having a real day off. I’m sure I needed it because I just didn’t have the willpower to get around and do much. I feel a lot better today, so I’m thinking I just needed the rest.

We put out a lot of the gardens the other day. I like using my “claw” to loosen the soil in the beds but I kind of wish it had u-shaped handles to make gripping it easier, instead of what looks like bicycle handlebars. Still, it doesn’t run on gasoline and it really does work to break up the soil and lift out clumps of grass or weeds that have tried to take over since last fall.

I worked today and got home around 6 pm. Neither of us was hungry at the time, so later we grabbed a couple pizzas out of the freezer for an easy meal when we did get hungry. I needed to eat and get into bed fairly early tonight since I have to be at work at 5:30 am Wednesday!

Technorati Tags: work,job,gardening

Weekend update

2013-04-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

I wound up having to work yesterday after all which meant I couldn’t set up a table at the old fashioned days event at the little feed store up the road. I was pretty disappointed about that, but at least I did get off work in time to attend it for about an hour and a half. There were lots and lots of folks still there along with various vendors of old fashioned goods and a few that demonstrated old ways of doing things. There was also a band of several Mennonite teens who played guitars, fiddle, and mandolins. They played and sang old Gospel songs. The afternoon was very enjoyable and the weather was springtime perfect, too.

Today, we went shopping. Not my favorite activity but it’s needful if there are to be groceries in the house. I was able to take advantage of double coupons for a lot of what I bought. That really helped the overall grocery bill considerably. I shopped at a large grocery store in Big Town and a smaller one in the town where I live. They both had things on sale that I had coupons for so I came away with a lot more groceries and toiletries than I normally would have for less money than I would have normally spent.

It’s been overcast all day. The weather is predicted to be stormy in the coming days. That’s to be expected in the spring. At least it’s not frigid anymore. Maybe winter really is behind us for this year.

Technorati Tags: weather,shopping

Wednesday update

2013-04-03T21:52:00.001-05:00

Winter has returned with a gust, if not gusto. I had to be at work at 5:30 yesterday morning and it was actually warmer then than it was at 1 PM when I got off. It was also very windy, which made the cold seem that much worse.

At the time I got off, I actually saw a few tiny snowflakes fluttering around, but that quickly changed to sprinkles. We are predicted to get rain and thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow, plus these colder temperatures. Thankfully, it is supposed to be much warmer by the weekend and hopes are that this is the final assault by winter. We’ll see.

My green onions are growing, and my radishes have started breaking through the soil. The sugar pod peas were washed up by the weekend’s hard rain so I covered them back up. I did notice they were trying to grow little roots on them, though, so it looks like I’ll have those delicious peas in a few weeks. Not much else has sprouted so far, but I’m expecting it to start up in about another week. Warmer days would probably help.

Today, I started work at 6:30. Still early, but not as early as yesterday, at least.

After work I met up with a fellow who had chicks for sale. He comes in where I work every day and told me he was getting these little fellows, and did I want some. I told him I couldn’t get any until after payday, but he insisted on letting me have 12 of them now anyway. He knows I’m good for the money.

After that meeting I headed to Big Town to the major farm store there. I received a couple of gift cards from there and figured to redeem some of that today, and I did. I bought 12 more chicks plus chick feed to get them started. Son had the chick housing ready when I got home, and he had cleaned and sanitized the water and feed dispensers. We put a clamp light near the large cage where the chicks will spend the next few weeks, so they could stay warm.

All of these chicks are Black Australorp. This breed was developed in Australia and they are considered to be a top egg laying breed and they are also considered to be a meat breed. They lay large brown eggs and are hardy layers both in the summer heat and in the winter time. I’m looking forward to fresh eggs again, although it will be when they are about 24 weeks old before they actually start laying. I may see about getting 2 or 3 grown hens of some kind that are laying now to fill in the gap.

Technorati Tags: chickens,work

Monday after Easter

2013-04-01T23:00:00.001-05:00

I was up early this morning – around 4:30 – since I had to be at work at 6. I’m not a person who enjoys getting up that early, but it’s what I’ve had to do for some time now.

We had a couple of new people start work today. One of them is a young woman who actually isn’t that new to us since she used to work there as a teen. The other lady really was new to me, but she apparently had worked at McD before. She was very familiar with how the registers operate and she knew her way around the rest of the operations there.

After stopping by a local discount store to pick up a couple of things, I headed home. There, we pulled out the leftovers from yesterday’s Easter dinner then warmed them up in the oven. It was all still quite good, and there’s just enough left for me to have for lunch at work tomorrow.

This evening we did a little reorganizing and rearranging in my bedroom. I only actually use the room for storage, though. I’ve slept on the sofa nearly every night since my husband passed away.

Speaking of sleep, I guess I better head to bed soon since I have to be at work at 5:30 in the morning!

Technorati Tags: work,job,shopping

Easter Sunday 2013

2013-04-01T00:12:00.001-05:00

I had a wonderful weekend at Mom’s. I arrived Thursday evening around 8 PM, which was a lot later than I’d originally planned. However, my work day Thursday that began at 4 AM just wore me out. There’s more about that in the previous post.

The rest of the weekend, though, was fun. We prepared various foods, played cards one night, and worked on Mom’s jigsaw puzzles a lot of the time. I really enjoy working on the puzzles while I’m there. I don’t have the room to keep one set up in my own house, so that makes them pretty special when I go see Mom.
Easter Sunday, today, was especially delightful. My younger Daughter and her husband, and Sis’s daughter, joined us for Easter dinner. We had plenty to eat, too – baked ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, corn, pickles and olives, carrot-raisin salad, and homemade bread. We all enjoyed the conversation around the table about past cooking mistakes we’ve made. This came up for a couple of reasons.

One reason was that Sis made a pineapple upside down cake that wound up being too juicy on the bottom, plus she noticed the maraschino cherry halves were turned the “wrong way”. I didn’t notice it, and neither did anyone else, but she did! I’m pretty sure the delicious cake wasn’t hurt by cherries turned cut side up on it!

Another was that Sis’s oven wasn’t heating properly which made her rethink her plans about cooking a second dish of scalloped potatoes in it, and about getting the veggies heated up. (I had taken one dish of the potatoes over to Mom’s house to cook, so we had plenty.) It’s easier to put them in casserole dishes and warm them in the oven. That way, they can go from oven to table without messing up another pan and without the need to keep a watchful eye on them. It all worked out, though, as Sis wound up warming the veggies in the microwave. We all sat down to a delicious meal that she had planned well and worked hard on.

I left for home around 3:30. My visits there are always too short, but I’m already making plans for my next visit at the end of April.

Technorati Tags: Easter,family

Finally Thursday

2013-03-28T13:37:00.001-05:00

What a long, tiring day today. Woke up at 2:30 AM to get ready for work. I had to be there at 4 AM. This old gal does not like getting around that early!

After I got there, I soon learned that a few people had either called in or just didn’t bother to come to work. That always makes it hard on those of us who do show up. Right now, we have free food coupons that went out in the mail and people are really taking advantage of them. That translates into being even busier than normal, which made it that much harder on us all day.

I saw an announcement on the online news that an air travel company is offering $59 airline tickets to Florida. I’m not sure how long that lasts, but considering how cold our springtime has been so far, I’d bet a lot of folks are taking them up on this super low ticket price. Who knows, maybe some will try to get fl studio 10 minutes from the theme parks there, because they’d rather live there in an apartment than face the too-cold weather we’re having here.

I’ll be heading up to Mom’s after a bit. I really just needed to rest before I go. I wouldn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel on the 2 hour drive up there.

Technorati Tags: work,travel

End of a long day

2013-03-27T23:12:00.001-05:00

It’s been a long day and I’m about to go to bed.

I worked until about 1:30 today, then headed home to do some bread baking. I just finished that about an hour ago. I have an order for one loaf of bread that I wanted to get done for tomorrow so the person wouldn’t have to wait until Monday. Of course, I also have breads I’ll be taking with me to Mom’s this weekend.

I work again early in the morning, then tomorrow afternoon I’ll head up to my Mom’s to spend Easter weekend with her, Sis, and brother-in-law. My younger daughter and her husband will join us on Sunday, as will Sis’s daughter.

I’m so looking forward to this trip. Of course, I always look forward to my monthly trip to Mom’s. I often wish I lived closer so I could see her more often, but I am thankful that I can at least see her for a few days each month.

So ::yawn:: goodnight all.

Technorati Tags: family,baking

Hot Cross Buns

2013-03-26T22:52:00.001-05:00

It’s late at night, but I got a late start on baking Hot Cross Buns so now I’m waiting for them to finish baking and come out of the oven. After they cool a little, I’ll put drizzle on them in the cross marks, put them in zip bags, then go to bed. At least I don’t have to get up quite as early in the morning, but I do have to be at work at 6:30 am.

If they turn out ok, I’ll take some pictures and post them to my social networking page to see what others think about them. I’m planning to make another batch tomorrow afternoon, as well, if these are pretty and delicious. Marking the crosses on the tops after they’d risen sort of deflated them. If it has an effect on the finished product, I’ll probably mark the crosses before they rise the next time to see if that works out any better for me.

One thing is for sure…they smell heavenly!

Technorati Tags: cooking,baking

After the weekend

2013-03-26T19:41:00.001-05:00

I have been mildly curious lately about how long some products last around here. For instance, coffee. I am the only coffee drinker in the house so it probably lasts longer than it seems like it does. But, today I opened a new package of coffee then put a note on the fridge that has the date, the size of the package, and a tally mark indicating the first pot brewed from it.

I’ll be doing this with other things, too, such as dish liquid, soap, shampoo…just whatever comes to mind. I don’t exactly know why I’m doing it except to satisfy my own curiosity.

In other news…spring time has failed to really make its appearance. Our state has had snow, freezing temperatures, icy windshields, and very cold, strong winds this past week. It looks like it’s going to continue, too, for a few more days. I’d already planted a few things in the garden on the one warm day we did have. I hope those things grow. I kind of think they will since they are cool weather veggies.

As for laundry, I usually try to hang clothes outside, but this weather has that all fouled up lately and I’ve been hanging them inside, in the bathroom. Because of the uncertainty of the weather, I’ve seriously been thinking about visiting a whirlpool dryer repair place to see if they have a used dryer I can get at a decent price. The next thing, though, would be to find a place for it in my tiny house!

I’m going to try my hand at making Hot Cross Buns. I found a recipe online that I’m going to try. It seems easy enough, even though it is a yeast bread. Of course, I bake several kinds of yeast bread so it really shouldn’t be much different.

Technorati Tags: weather,cooking

Gardening and weather

2013-03-23T10:21:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was so beautiful. Warm and sunny and everything spring days should be. So nice, in fact, that we were able to get out in the garden beds and do some work there. Using a “Claw”, we loosened the soil in the raised beds and were able to plant radishes, lettuce, carrots, and 2.5 pounds of onion sets. We also planted lettuce and radishes in some hanging pots, just to see how that would work out.

The pots were given to us by a friend who had originally bought them to resell at a yard sale last year. She was tired of having them stacked up in her garage, though, so we benefitted from her desire to clean her garage and get rid of stuff. We had taken down a couple of round raised beds (kits you can get at the Big Box Store) and reused the soil and composted matter to fill several of the pots. Now to watch and see if they work out ok for a suspended garden.

This being The Natural State, naturally the weather took a turn for the worst the rest of the week. It got colder. It got rainy. Then Thursday night, it got snowy! We received about 2 inches of snow, although it was gone by the next afternoon. However, we are left with unseasonably cold temperatures, overcast skies, and chances for rain storms this weekend. I’m pretty sure the groundhog is a big fat liar! I was so hoping to be able to do some more gardening and yard work while I’m off this weekend, but it’s just too miserable outside to do anything.

Technorati Tags: gardening,weather

Back online

2013-03-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

I’ve been offline for about 10 days, but I’m back now. I was able to use my iPhone for some of my online communications, but it’s small and hard for my eyes to read a lot of the time. I am thankful I have it, though, since I buy a small amount of data each month just for events like this, and for times when I’m not around a Wifi source but want to go online for a few minutes.

Other than that, things have been pretty ordinary around here. Work goes on and I’m still making breads and selling a few of them. We tried last weekend to set up at a location where generally a lot of folks have small yard sales. It’s free to set up but we went way too late to do any good, although a friend did stop and buy a loaf of jalapeno cheese bread as well as a visor clip for sunglasses. Next warm, sunny weekend that I can, I’ll be trying again.

I’m thinking of partially baking some breads, freezing them, and then selling them to folks who might want to just brown and serve them at home. That way, they’ll have fresh warm bread from the oven. I’ll probably be working on that this weekend to see how I can accomplish it. I also want to work on making homemade egg noodles. I haven’t made them in years but they are delicious.

Technorati Tags: internet,baking

Tree trimmers

2013-03-05T22:26:00.001-06:00

Weather wise, it’s been another odd few days. It’s gone from low- to mid-twenties for overnight lows to upper 50s for daytime highs, then near 40 for an overnight low again. Maybe spring is trying to fight its way into our lives, finally.

This morning there was a knock on the door. A tree trimming service was in our driveway and the fellow informed us that they’d be trimming up the two large cedar trees near the end of our driveway, as well as a little oak tree and a couple more trees. They are cutting trees and limbs to keep them away from the power lines. This is to help prevent damage to the lines if there is another ice or snow storm.

Now, I have to say, this is probably a good thing. However, the cedars they trimmed back are now butchered looking, and didn’t go into the power line that leads to our house. They also cut some limbs off a hickory in front of our house. Those limbs, also, didn’t go to the power lines and did provide shade in the summertime for that portion of the house. No more shade there anymore, I guess.

I’ll be taking some pictures of the result of the trimming. The energy company hired them to do this, and it’s been going on all along the roadways, but I wasn’t expecting it to be right at my front door. My head knows it’s necessary, but my heart hates it anyway.

Probably the only good thing from this, to me anyway, is that they gave us a big pile of wood chips that I can use for the garden, for walkways between garden beds, or even in the chicken house. They only did this because I asked for the chips. I noticed a neighbor stopped on the road, and he was asking the very same thing – would they dump some chips at his place. They have to wait till their machine is full before they dump it, but this way it keeps it out of the landfill, at least.

Technorati Tags: gardening

Yet another hobby?

2013-03-01T20:22:00.001-06:00

I try to stay pretty busy at home. I bake breads, and sell some of them. I blog. I crochet and knit for myself and for gifts. I do those things in between work times. Soon, it will be time to put out a garden. At least I hope so. Considering how the weather’s been going, it’s beginning to look like any gardening will be done later than usual.

Anyway, I suppose I could maybe take up music. What do you think? If I shopped for ukeleles and learned to play this seemingly simple instrument, do you think I could make any money playing and singing?

Nah. Probably not. I’m pretty sure no one wants to hear me sing and they probably don’t want to hear me trying to play a stringed instrument either. However, I could try it after the garden starts growing. Maybe the sounds would work like a scarecrow!

Technorati Tags: music,ukulele

End of February visit with Mom

2013-03-01T20:13:00.001-06:00

I had a very enjoyable visit to Mom’s this past week. I arrived home today around 3:30 PM or so. I did encounter some snow flurries on the drive, but nothing serious. The snowflakes didn’t even stick to the grass or leaves alongside the road.

Mom and I spent quite a bit of time working on jigsaw puzzles. I really enjoy them though I don’t have room at my house to keep one set up. I guess, in a way, they are a special treat for me when I go visit her. Some of the puzzles are more challenging than others, but we were able to complete two and get another started before I had to leave this afternoon.

While there, I was also able to start a knitting project. I’m not the most skilled knitter, so this is just going to be a warm scarf. However, Mom had some booklets in her craft room that teach knitting, and some that have some nice crochet patterns in them, that she gave me before I left. I’ll be studying the knitting one and practicing it until I can do more than make flat, square stuff.

Sis and brother-in-law needed to go see about his son while I was there. The poor guy’s house burned and he lost everything in the fire. Thankfully, though, neither he nor his son were injured since it happened before they went to bed. It could have been so much worse.

Last night, Mom’s plumbing backed up while the washing machine was running. Mom was in the bathroom and yelled for me, and I thought something happened to her. It turned out the toilet was overflowing! She went to her room while I got it dried up and plunged the potty, but that really didn’t solve the problem. Brother-in-law called a plumber out today and he got it fixed. I don’t think I ever heard what caused it, though.

Mom’s birthday comes in just a few days. I wish I could go right back up there for that but I have to work. Maybe someday I’ll be independently wealthy and not have money and work to be concerned with…..or not.

Technorati Tags: family,Mother

Grandson’s college acceptance

2013-03-01T19:59:00.001-06:00

I just wanted friends and family to know that Oldest Grandson was accepted to the Berklee School of Music in Boston. I’m very proud of him. His next step will be to seek out financing for the school, which has now told him the tuition is somewhere around $56,000 a year! Wow!

He really has his heart set on going to that school, although there are many fine schools offering similar music courses that have a lower tuition cost. If he can see his way clear to attend, though, he will be able to eventually have a career in his chosen field and maybe be able to buy Violins at WWBW for his performances.

His fear is that, if he does get a student loan, he might not be able to make enough money to pay it back. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he can see his dreams come true, though.

Technorati Tags: music

Last weekend of February 2013

2013-02-24T21:53:00.001-06:00

This is the last weekend in February. It’s been quite a month for wintry weather, as were the previous couple of months. From all indications, it may not be over with, either.

While it’s not set in stone, exactly, the forecast models are beginning to show a chance of more frozen precipitation in the upcoming week. Mostly it will be in the northern part of the state. That’s still not good, though, as I have plans to go see Mom this week and won’t be able to if there is ice or other frozen stuff in that area. Meanwhile, I’ll just continue as if I’m going and get my clothes and stuff ready for Tuesday.

Tomorrow, Monday, will be the last day of an 8 day stretch of work so I could have the days off I wanted this coming week. I’m tired today, but after tomorrow will be 4 days of rest and good visiting. I’m really looking forward to it!

Technorati Tags: weather

Winter weather saga continues

2013-02-19T21:17:00.001-06:00

Crazy, whacky weather. Last night, we had strong thunderstorms that caused the lights to flicker a bit. Thankfully, they didn’t go out. Then this morning, as I was heading out the door at 5 AM to go to work, I nearly did the splits on the front porch. Ice! And, my truck door was nearly frozen shut so I had to really yank on it to get it open.

This afternoon, it warmed into the 50s, which was pleasant enough. Now, tonight, it’s already 32 degrees and dropping under a clear sky.

Tomorrow afternoon, though, will bring the biggest change and I’m not looking forward to it at all. We are predicted to receive ice, sleet, and freezing rain, and it looks like this time it will actually hit. A week or so ago it was predicted but stayed too warm and it turned out to be just a little rain. This time around, though, there is supposed to be maybe 1/2 inch accumulation of ice. Not real thick ice, but certainly hazardous if you’re driving.

I’m really hoping this is the final throes of winter before spring-like weather finally arrives. Depending on the timing of this winter storm, I may not be able to get to work for a day. I’m sure one day will be it, but I can’t really afford to miss work, what with rising gas prices and all.

Son has been battling the flu but seems to be getting better. He is eating and tonight we have white bean soup, potatoes, and onion rolls. He didn’t overeat, but he did eat a satisfactory amount. When I had the flu, as I was actually getting over it, I lost my appetite for about 3 days. Only after stern words from Son did I force myself to eat, and that helped me get even better. It seemed like nothing I ate had any taste to it, but I guess I really did need to get some food into me.

Technorati Tags: weather,health

President’s Day 2013

2013-02-18T19:13:00.001-06:00

The weekend was pretty peaceful, as things usually go around here. I got the crocheted dishcloths done for Younger Daughter, and I started on some for myself. They are really wonderful for washing dishes and scrubbing stubborn, stuck-on foods off the dishes.

I went to work at 5:45 this morning, feeling fairly well-rested. Except for a trip to Big Town to pick Son up (he texted me saying he was quite sick), the rest of the weekend was good.

This afternoon, after I’d returned home from work, I finished fixing the chicken noodle soup that I’d started last night in the crock pot. It was made with one of our home grown chickens that we had in the freezer, so I wanted to be sure it was very tender, which it was.

About the time we finally sat down to eat, it started pouring rain, thundering, and lightning. The lights flickered but the power did stay on, thank goodness. It was raining so hard that the large solid glass windows on the front of the house looked like wall fountains from our perspective. I’m just glad the downpour and storm didn’t begin until well after I’d arrived home.

I brought home some electrolyte beverages for Son, since he now seems to have the full-blown flu. I’d picked up orange juice for him yesterday and he’s been sipping on that, too. But today the bug attacked his tummy which meant he lost everything he’d tried to eat during the day. He did eat a good supper of the chicken noodle soup, though, and so far it has stayed down alright. I can hear him sneezing his head off in the next room even now, though. I just hope I don’t catch it again! I also hope he can get some rest.

Technorati Tags: flu,illness,storm

Valentine’s Day 2013

2013-02-14T23:38:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I was scheduled to go in to work at 1:30 this afternoon, but got a text message asking me to come in early. I wound up being there by 9 AM because they were running very short handed this morning.

It was a busy day, which it always is on Thursdays for some reason. It’s almost as if it’s a Friday night. It seems like there was no let-up in sandwich making today, and we stayed very busy clear up until the time I left, around 4 PM.

I really didn’t mind going in early today. I was originally scheduled to work till 8 PM, then I have to be right back at 5:45 AM tomorrow. At least this way, I get some decent rest overnight.

I took Son to town with me and dropped him off at his friend’s house. They are going out of town for Valentine’s Day and he’d already agreed to babysit their two little girls. Mainly, he’ll be making sure they get on and off the school bus safely and on time, and making sure they have supper and get their homework done, if they have any.

Younger Daughter has requested that I make her some crocheted dishcloths, so I got that project started last night. I have one on hand that’s knitted, so I’ll just throw that one in, too. I started out trying to knit the cloths, but for some reason I can’t seem to get it going just right, so I ripped it all out and started crocheting, instead. It seems to be working up a little faster now. So far, I’ve crocheted two dishcloths for her. I’ll work up a couple more and give her five altogether.

Technorati Tags: work,crochet