It seems we have a new family member: Mr. Brown.
Mother and I rescued him this morning from the roadside where he, apparently, had been waiting for someone to come back for him. Daddy had seen him there before which is why we assume this is the case. He had not moved more than a few feet in days.
A lovely golden brown, Mr. Brown is a hounddog of some sort and should weigh about 70-80 pounds. He weighs 36. He couldn't stand or walk. I carried him to the car; on the way, we became best friends because he peed on me. A lot. On my new coat.
The vet checked him out and he seems healthy, just starved. When left, he was still eating and drinking, drinking and eating, and stopping to wag his tail at the vet techs taking care of him. He will be at the clinic for a few days. If his kidneys are okay, he will most likely join us at Lazy Bee Farm. That is, if Moosie and Anabel agree. They make the final choice.
I do not understand why people get pets and then decide they cannot or do not want to care for them. Moosie was 50 pounds underweight when we got him; Anabel was abused and anti-social. Waldo, the cat, was dumped on my friend Donna. And Mr. Bunnie was set out probably because he was no longer the cute little Easter bunny some kid got. Wookie was a four week old abandoned kitten.
There have been times when we have had up to ten cats, all spayed, neutered, and immunized, that became part of our family when they had been set out. The worst case was a Momma and her pups, all eight of 'em, that were set out here. We couldn't keep them. Just too many dogs, but we did find her a foster home so she and the pups were cared for until they got their forever home.
I fear, as times get harder, that more animals will be set out. As it is now, there are horses being set loose in our local federal parks, goats dropped off in fields where there are other goats, and, even chickens showing up yards. This is far and away, to me, demonstrates how difficult times are; it is bad enough to find a dog or cat, but farm animals? What is this world coming to?
Anyhow, welcome to the family, Mr. Brown!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Creating
Having way too much fun these days with finding and finishing projects.
These little guys were up in the wardrobe...
I remember buying the cheater cloth and thinking I'd make them...
oh...
a few years ago!
So, I have stitched up the little pillows...
And then I stitched up two little banners from the smaller pillows...
And rummaged through my buttons and found these cunning guys...
Lots and lots of heart buttons in the stash, some vintage and some not...
And then I decided it was time to commit
to a project I have wanted to do for some time...
knit through Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitter's Alamanac" in one year...
So I have cast on the January project, "An Aran For You", and started it.
This is some wonderful
local natural Corriedale worsted that I bought at SAFF,
oh, about the same time I bought the cheater cloth...
enough said...
And, I finished this darling shawlette from my very first handspun.
This does not favor to the cherry red yarn,
but, for some reason,
the camera doesn't want to show that pretty, pretty colour.
And, I am listening to this guy. Remember him?
I feel so productive and homey! What are you working on these days?
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Rest in Reason.. Move in Passion
Last year I whined A Lot.
This year, I am not.
I read something that has really stuck
with me:
Don't set goals.
Do what makes you happy.
Do what you have a passion to do.
That really made the most sense
of anything I have read in a long time.
The word for this year?
I think you guessed it.
Passion.
Rest in reason; move in Passion.
~~ Khalil Gibran
Our
passions are the winds
that propel our vessel.
Our reason is the pilot that
steers her.
Without winds the vessel would not move and without a pilot she
would be lost.
~~ Proverbs
It is
the soul's duty to be loyal
to its own desires.
It must abandon itself
to its
master passion.
~~ Rebecca West
Here's to a Passionate New Year!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Am I the Only One?
Everywhere I look, people are excited, decorating, happy, celebrating, spending too much, shopping, shopping, shopping... And me?
I sit.
And cry.
And eat.
Christmas has never been a big favorite of mine. Too much pressure to "be perfect", whatever that is. Yet, when the Airman was growing up, it was a wonderful time. I couldn't start soon enough. We baked. Decorated. Went to movies. Watched movies. Walked. Talked. And just had a marvelous time.
I miss that.
I have no desire to decorate, bake, shop, eat (more than the coffee ice cream with chocolate bits that I had for lunch), or do much of anything else. In short, I am blue. More than blue; I am a dark hole with no bottom.
Don't get me wrong. I really do want to feel all this blustery excitement, but it just isn't in me. Instead, I want to crawl into my unmade bed, wearing the jammies I have worn for two days, and pull the covers over my head and wake up in spring.
I have really tried. Truly. My shopping is done. And that is all I have in me.
Being blue isn't a new thing for me; heck, let's face it. We all have it. But this dark hole is harder than anything I can see my way out.
I sit.
And cry.
And eat.
Christmas has never been a big favorite of mine. Too much pressure to "be perfect", whatever that is. Yet, when the Airman was growing up, it was a wonderful time. I couldn't start soon enough. We baked. Decorated. Went to movies. Watched movies. Walked. Talked. And just had a marvelous time.
I miss that.
I have no desire to decorate, bake, shop, eat (more than the coffee ice cream with chocolate bits that I had for lunch), or do much of anything else. In short, I am blue. More than blue; I am a dark hole with no bottom.
Don't get me wrong. I really do want to feel all this blustery excitement, but it just isn't in me. Instead, I want to crawl into my unmade bed, wearing the jammies I have worn for two days, and pull the covers over my head and wake up in spring.
I have really tried. Truly. My shopping is done. And that is all I have in me.
Being blue isn't a new thing for me; heck, let's face it. We all have it. But this dark hole is harder than anything I can see my way out.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
December? Seriously?
It is 23 days until Christmas. Where did fall go? Is it just me or does the time seem to fly??
This week has been a blow by kind of week: work every day, tutoring, farm, cutting wood (we still have one more tree to get up below the mountain and half of another one at a different house), and, somehow, finding time to clear out one room and starting to get things ready for my move. While I don't have a time table, officially, I want to put the house on the market in April. It shows well then and it would be the right time to do so. Counting back, then, I have to get a certain amount done Every Day.
This week, I attacked the back bedroom that was the Airman's. His things are in the attic, for now, and that room has been a guest / clutter / overflow room. I managed to clear out five boxes to donate and one bag of trash. And, I am still not finished. I am finding that as I toss, it gets less painful to toss the next thing. Really, the purging is doing me good.
Additionally, this week, I have run a new budget, tightened up a few places and found another way to add to the coffers. I am going to start tutoring below the mountain on Saturday mornings. It is a larger community and the folks there have a more, ahem, disposable income. The ad will go in the paper tomorrow and I will hope to pick up six hours of tutoring. And, I can combine that with visiting my parents... not that I am tight or anything....
On the home frugality front, we have made our 12-pound turkey last into a second week by having it in sandwiches, tettrazini, gravy, and pot pie. The hens are laying again, so we have eggs, eggs, eggs... which means egg salad, fried, scrambled, omelet, quiche, fritatta, deviled, and boiled. Not to mention puddings and custards. I have found it is cheaper for us to go to the "used bread" (day old) bread store and stock up on specials once a month. I bought all the bread we needed for a month for less than $5 -- sliced, English muffins, hot dog buns, and sandwich thins. To be honest, I cannot bake it for that.
My favorite cheapie of the week was on Friday. I had to go cut wood, so I left home early, early planning on stopping at Sheetz for gas (.03 discount with their card) and getting my free beverage for the month (which was a whopping $2.29) and run by Chickfila with a free breakfast coupon so that I could save that for lunch. Daddy laughed and said he had never seen anyone plan their freebies / cheapies as well as I did Friday! He is always so amused by my "making Mr. Lincolon weep" choices.
This challenge is fun and it seems to gather energy as the days go past. A notebook for the new house is started and ideas are flowing. Everything I ever wanted in a little house is going into it while I dream.
How do you create your dreams and bring them to life?
This week has been a blow by kind of week: work every day, tutoring, farm, cutting wood (we still have one more tree to get up below the mountain and half of another one at a different house), and, somehow, finding time to clear out one room and starting to get things ready for my move. While I don't have a time table, officially, I want to put the house on the market in April. It shows well then and it would be the right time to do so. Counting back, then, I have to get a certain amount done Every Day.
This week, I attacked the back bedroom that was the Airman's. His things are in the attic, for now, and that room has been a guest / clutter / overflow room. I managed to clear out five boxes to donate and one bag of trash. And, I am still not finished. I am finding that as I toss, it gets less painful to toss the next thing. Really, the purging is doing me good.
Additionally, this week, I have run a new budget, tightened up a few places and found another way to add to the coffers. I am going to start tutoring below the mountain on Saturday mornings. It is a larger community and the folks there have a more, ahem, disposable income. The ad will go in the paper tomorrow and I will hope to pick up six hours of tutoring. And, I can combine that with visiting my parents... not that I am tight or anything....
On the home frugality front, we have made our 12-pound turkey last into a second week by having it in sandwiches, tettrazini, gravy, and pot pie. The hens are laying again, so we have eggs, eggs, eggs... which means egg salad, fried, scrambled, omelet, quiche, fritatta, deviled, and boiled. Not to mention puddings and custards. I have found it is cheaper for us to go to the "used bread" (day old) bread store and stock up on specials once a month. I bought all the bread we needed for a month for less than $5 -- sliced, English muffins, hot dog buns, and sandwich thins. To be honest, I cannot bake it for that.
My favorite cheapie of the week was on Friday. I had to go cut wood, so I left home early, early planning on stopping at Sheetz for gas (.03 discount with their card) and getting my free beverage for the month (which was a whopping $2.29) and run by Chickfila with a free breakfast coupon so that I could save that for lunch. Daddy laughed and said he had never seen anyone plan their freebies / cheapies as well as I did Friday! He is always so amused by my "making Mr. Lincolon weep" choices.
This challenge is fun and it seems to gather energy as the days go past. A notebook for the new house is started and ideas are flowing. Everything I ever wanted in a little house is going into it while I dream.
How do you create your dreams and bring them to life?
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Decisions
Five weeks ago I discovered I was full. Full. To here. I have whined a lot about being tired of all kinds of things, but, to be honest, I have done little to change much of it. But, I have a secret.
That's changed.
I have been on a plan for five full weeks. And, this is from a person who can only commit to four knitting projects and six books at a time. In fact, my Father once remarked that the only reason I carried my son for nine months was because Nature wouldn't give me other options or let me "finish it later." And, by the way, he was two weeks late. I think it was a cruel joke.
For some time I have talked about wanting to pay off the house, be out of debt, lessen my stress, and so forth. But, frankly, I have done a passing effort at these things. Now, Dave Ramsey and I are more than going steady. We are shacking up. Yeah. I have a spreadsheet by my place at the kitchen table that gets filled out every night and every penny is accounted for. And, I have a plan.
I am selling the farm. Close your mouth or it will freeze that way.
This is going to take a little time. First, the house has to be cleaned and cleared, projects finished, two floors redone (one resanded and sealed and one replaced as the tile is cracking), a little indoor painting, and some updates done to the bathrooms. Then, the outside has to be dealt with: a blind ditch that I kept telling the Mister NOT to drive his tractor over has collapsed, filling my yard with a small stream that is just muddy and not pleasant; painting needs to be done to freshen the house; and, landscape has to be replaced.
Since I work full-time and still hit the craft shows about a dozen times a year, it will take awhile to get it all done. I am compiling a notebook with a page for each room with a list of what needs done. I will start with the messiest construction -- the kitchen floor -- and work from there. At the same time, I will be clearing Every Single Space so that this monster house will look, well, monster.
The next step in the plan is to live on a strict budget. I paid off one debt in the past month and cash flowed three major repairs to the car and truck. Dave is right; writing it down makes you honest in what you are choosing and makes the money go farther. I still have money left at the end of the month. Amazing.
Concurrent with this is getting my income up even more. I have started a little tutoring on the side and like it very much. I actually feel that I am teaching more than I do in my classroom. These are a wide variety of students and it is marvelous to stretch myself with things I don't normally do. I have created syntax trees, edited documents, and even taught capitalization! Such fun and I love seeing the extra money come in.
To keep myself honest, I purchased those adorable plastic magnet numbers and put the total debt on the refrigerator Right Where I Have To See It Every Time I Go In The Kitchen. It bugs me and I love to even change one number. I have a target date up as well to remind me that I am on a schedule.
Now, you ask, where will I go? What will I do? Simple. I am moving to the family farm where I am building a smaller house that will be much more energy efficient and, more importantly, paid for. My sister is building around the corner in the same pasture. I am excited beyond words.
That's changed.
I have been on a plan for five full weeks. And, this is from a person who can only commit to four knitting projects and six books at a time. In fact, my Father once remarked that the only reason I carried my son for nine months was because Nature wouldn't give me other options or let me "finish it later." And, by the way, he was two weeks late. I think it was a cruel joke.
For some time I have talked about wanting to pay off the house, be out of debt, lessen my stress, and so forth. But, frankly, I have done a passing effort at these things. Now, Dave Ramsey and I are more than going steady. We are shacking up. Yeah. I have a spreadsheet by my place at the kitchen table that gets filled out every night and every penny is accounted for. And, I have a plan.
I am selling the farm. Close your mouth or it will freeze that way.
This is going to take a little time. First, the house has to be cleaned and cleared, projects finished, two floors redone (one resanded and sealed and one replaced as the tile is cracking), a little indoor painting, and some updates done to the bathrooms. Then, the outside has to be dealt with: a blind ditch that I kept telling the Mister NOT to drive his tractor over has collapsed, filling my yard with a small stream that is just muddy and not pleasant; painting needs to be done to freshen the house; and, landscape has to be replaced.
Since I work full-time and still hit the craft shows about a dozen times a year, it will take awhile to get it all done. I am compiling a notebook with a page for each room with a list of what needs done. I will start with the messiest construction -- the kitchen floor -- and work from there. At the same time, I will be clearing Every Single Space so that this monster house will look, well, monster.
The next step in the plan is to live on a strict budget. I paid off one debt in the past month and cash flowed three major repairs to the car and truck. Dave is right; writing it down makes you honest in what you are choosing and makes the money go farther. I still have money left at the end of the month. Amazing.
Concurrent with this is getting my income up even more. I have started a little tutoring on the side and like it very much. I actually feel that I am teaching more than I do in my classroom. These are a wide variety of students and it is marvelous to stretch myself with things I don't normally do. I have created syntax trees, edited documents, and even taught capitalization! Such fun and I love seeing the extra money come in.
To keep myself honest, I purchased those adorable plastic magnet numbers and put the total debt on the refrigerator Right Where I Have To See It Every Time I Go In The Kitchen. It bugs me and I love to even change one number. I have a target date up as well to remind me that I am on a schedule.
Now, you ask, where will I go? What will I do? Simple. I am moving to the family farm where I am building a smaller house that will be much more energy efficient and, more importantly, paid for. My sister is building around the corner in the same pasture. I am excited beyond words.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Best Laid Plans...
The inside day was nothing close to my hopes.
I realized that I needed feed for the piggies, Buttercup and Sausage, and that the laying pellets were a little too low for comfort, so I hopped in the car and scooted the 24 miles to the feed store. When I got out, I smelled it. Anti-freeze. Yeppers. Radiator. Blown. Like really blown. And I only had 436,000 miles on it. Go figure.
After a good talk with the guys at Southern States ("Yep. Smells like anti-freeze." "How many miles you got on this thing?" "Really?" "You better hurry; won't make it far..."), I limped the car the full block to the Advance Store for help.
"Yep. Blown radiator...You might try the guys next door at Meineki."
And the guys at Meineki, "Yup. That's a blown radiator alright. It'll take all day and maybe tomorrow to get it fixed."
I called the Mister at work and he said he'd be there when he could get there. My knitting and I sat down and started spending some quality time together. Five hours later, the car was repaired for a full 12-cents less than quoted, the Mister and I had finished my errand list I wrote while I was waiting (such a dangerous thing --- to be alone with time, paper, and pen).
The rest of the week has been spent cutting wood, hauling it home, and stacking it. We had three trees down on the property below the mountain and had a company come chop up the trees so we could split them. We are still working on it and already have brought home six loads of firewood. There is still six or seven more loads to cut and haul home. Whew.
Yesterday I watched "Gone With the Wind" and ironed antique linens and aprons. I know that Bonnie Blue dies, so why do I cry like a girl when that happens? Why do I cry when Melanie dies? Why doesn't Ashley come clean with Scarlett sooner? Bum. And, why do I hope that Scarlett gets Rhett back?? How much are those wonderful dresses??
Back to work tomorrow; we only have three more weeks of classes and it is Christmas break. I can't believe it is already here! We are still having temperatures in the 50s during the day. Crazy.
What are your plans for the week? Thanks for all the kind comments on my last posting. I was just having a day and it is nice to know folks care.
Have a simply mar-vuh-lous week, ya'll!
I realized that I needed feed for the piggies, Buttercup and Sausage, and that the laying pellets were a little too low for comfort, so I hopped in the car and scooted the 24 miles to the feed store. When I got out, I smelled it. Anti-freeze. Yeppers. Radiator. Blown. Like really blown. And I only had 436,000 miles on it. Go figure.
After a good talk with the guys at Southern States ("Yep. Smells like anti-freeze." "How many miles you got on this thing?" "Really?" "You better hurry; won't make it far..."), I limped the car the full block to the Advance Store for help.
"Yep. Blown radiator...You might try the guys next door at Meineki."
And the guys at Meineki, "Yup. That's a blown radiator alright. It'll take all day and maybe tomorrow to get it fixed."
I called the Mister at work and he said he'd be there when he could get there. My knitting and I sat down and started spending some quality time together. Five hours later, the car was repaired for a full 12-cents less than quoted, the Mister and I had finished my errand list I wrote while I was waiting (such a dangerous thing --- to be alone with time, paper, and pen).
The rest of the week has been spent cutting wood, hauling it home, and stacking it. We had three trees down on the property below the mountain and had a company come chop up the trees so we could split them. We are still working on it and already have brought home six loads of firewood. There is still six or seven more loads to cut and haul home. Whew.
Yesterday I watched "Gone With the Wind" and ironed antique linens and aprons. I know that Bonnie Blue dies, so why do I cry like a girl when that happens? Why do I cry when Melanie dies? Why doesn't Ashley come clean with Scarlett sooner? Bum. And, why do I hope that Scarlett gets Rhett back?? How much are those wonderful dresses??
Back to work tomorrow; we only have three more weeks of classes and it is Christmas break. I can't believe it is already here! We are still having temperatures in the 50s during the day. Crazy.
What are your plans for the week? Thanks for all the kind comments on my last posting. I was just having a day and it is nice to know folks care.
Have a simply mar-vuh-lous week, ya'll!
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