sewing

I finally used my sewing machine that I got for Christmas! I made some hanging towels for the kitchen. I still need a lot of practice though. One thing is button holes. I really need to work on those. Every time I had to thread the machine I had to get a magnifying glass to see the needle hole. My eyes cannot see anything that small. Poor Brook always has to wait on Papaw to get her splinters out. She has gotten to the point that she does not even tell me about them anymore. back to the sewing. .. Brook has been picking out patterns for me but I do not know how to do any of that stuff yet. I never took Home Ec in school so  I am learning from scratch. I also do not have any help in learning. No one I know sews! So here it is, my very first sewing project!

I think I like this. I will be doing more. I know the more I do the better it will get. Buttonholes are hard!

Tags: sewing, hanging towels, crafts,

shoe day

Yesterday was a long day. I did not get much done that's for sure. Here at the house I got a load of laundry done and the animals feed and that is about it. The big thing was getting the horses shoed.

Here is a shot of Precious waiting her turn. She is not happy. Her lower lip keeps quivering.  Here is trainer Eddie Landers showing the new farriers to be how to handle a horse using the Noavel Headstall.  Here he shows what it looks like when the leg is "broke". This is when you do not have to struggle to pick up the hoof.  This is a shot of one of the instructors and a student with Crystal.   This next shot is of the young man doing Precious. He was so nervous. It was his first day at the school.  Here is another shot of Eddie Landers and another one of the instructors.  

Eddie Landers is a professional trainer of horses. He specializes in behavioral problems. He uses the Noavel Headstall. He is based in Desha, AR. If anyone wants his number I can give it to you. Just email me.

Tags: , horses, trainer, Eddie Landers, horseshoe, Noavel Headstall

Catch up and stuff.

I had a pretty good weekend. The weather was terrific! I love it when the temperatures are  in the lower 80's. It is Spring for sure now!

Saturday was just a do stuff day. Nothing major. I did not get to ride llike I had hoped, actually we did not ride all weekend. Pat just was not feeling quite up to par. The kids came over Saturday afternoon and we had a cook out. I grilled hamburgers and chicken. We ate outside on the table for the first time this year. It was nice not being bothered by flies and other bugs. I don't know where the bugs went to but they were not around us! LOL After dinner we planted another pecan tree. I have 2 blueberry bushes to plant also. The ground had not been warm enough to transplant so that will be a project this week.

 

Sunday was another do nothing day. It was a good day though. Johnny and I put up a fence across the field. We ran out of wire so  it is not finished yet. It is only a temporary fence while I work on the perm fence.

We made an appointment for Wednesday to take the horses in to get shoes put on. We have gotten tired of farriers coming out to the farm, charging a fortune and NOT putting 4 shoes on! We are taking them to Casey and Sons Horseshoeing School to have it done.

Pat and I rode to Fort Oglethorpe to go to TS Tractor Supply to get some heeled shoes for the horses. We do not like the shoes that they use at the school. While there I had a grand time! I found wormer on sale for less than $4 a dose! Just in time too! The horses are due theirs this week. We found a new rotor and condensor for the tractor, which was needed. I also got  a 3 tier saddle rack! Right now I have the saddles on 3 single racks and they are in Brook's bedroom(which looks like a tornado has hit it). The 3 tier rack will not take up as much space and so I will have room in there to walk again!  They had a tiller there that I really want. It is a pull behind kind with it's own motor. I would love to  have that for my garden! The possibilities! On our way home we just stopped at Micky D's and grabbed some burgers for dinner.

We got the horses out and gave them a good brushing. I was getting lots of hair off of Precious. She has a very thick winter coat on her still. Crystal is almost slick now. That horse does not grow much hair! After a good currying it was bath time! They had mud caked on them, not from rolling in the mud(there's not any) but from sweating and it mixing with the dirt they had accumulated over the winter. They love their baths even though the water is ice cold! After that we worked with their feet some to remind them that it is okay to stand there with your foot in the air! LOL.

 

That's it for the weekend. Yesterday was another regular day, worked in the garden some, ate too much, and watched the birds pick up horse hair off the ground. Brook and I went to TaeKwonDo. She is doing so well in there. She lead the class with doing their forms. I was so proud of her.

Today is a new day and the sun is shining bright. It is time to get busy and do some work. I did one more thing over the weekend and yesterday go here to see it!

Tags: HORSES, SHOPPING, FARM,

Sebastian, part 4

Sebastian has always been my baby. When I worked 12 hours shifts he would sleep with me all day long in a hot room. I did not have A/C so it was hot! When my husband was home,( which was happening less and less) he would lay between us. Once a claw went where it really hurts(on him not me) and he was banned from the bedroom when he was there. After that I slept on the couch. Yep, you got it, I picked my cat over that person! The marriage was over long before that, he had his girlfriends and I had me. Anyway, we split up and I met Pat and Sebastian was happy. Sebastian was a shy cat and did not allow people to handle him for some reason he decided that Pat was worth it! He took right up with him.
One fall day we moved lock, stock and barrel down to Georgia on Pat's farm. On this farm was a cat named Puss. Puss was a Tortoise shell calico Manx. She was a tiny little thing. She just loved Pat. She would go running up to him and jump up on his shoulder. That cat had springs for legs!. Well she walked in the home and , you would have thought that a vicious dog was there or something. She spotted Sebastian and World War 3 broke out! Sebastian was totally cowed by this cat. Puss weighed all of 5 pounds to Sebastian's 15 pounds. Sebastian would get away from the cat from hell everyday. He never did fight with her, just ran as fast as he could. One day Puss chased Sebastian down the hall and it was a dead end, no where to go,all the doors were closed. I follow calling to Puss. Puss is slinking towards Sebastian with every hair up on her back, a low growl coming from her throat. She was dead serious, damage was to be done. I am not stupid and I know I cannot catch Puss, I valued my blood far to much to do that! Sebastian is cowering up against the wall, no where to go. The demon from hell takes after him and he turns. All at once Sebastian figures out he can fight! Orange fur and black mottled fur flies, the sounds emitting from the cats were horrifying! I knew that Puss was going to kill Sebastian( I had already seen her kill one tom cat). I hear an ear piercing scream and Puss goes running away! Sebastian is standing, his sides heaving, his fur puffed out, alive with no signs of blood. Puss goes outside,never to enter the house again. Pat follows her outside and calls to her as she walks down the driveway.She stops and looks back at him and then looked away and kept walking. For the first time ever that cat did not come to him when he called. She never again asked to come in the house. Eventually she left the farm all together.
After the big fight, Sebastian started going outside for short periods of time.

Tags: cat, Sebastian

Death

I was reading Donna's journal, My Country Life and she was talking about what they are going to do if one of them dies. I think it is a good subject to talk about at any age. You never know when death will happen. You have to do this or the other is left clueless. You need a will even if you have no children. Are there any insurance policies? Are the beneficiaries current? Do you know where the policies are? What about the bills? Write down who gets paid what and when. Keep that list current. Do you pay bills online? Make a list of the web site addresses, username  and passwords. Do not store it on the computer! Put it with the policies. Keep that list current. You need marriage certificates, birth certificates, certified copies of both. You also need divorce papers if there has been a divorce. Also social security cards are needed. Make your wishes known if you want to be cremated or not. Make a will. Don't leave it up to the kids to decide how to split anything. Even in the best of families death causes somebody's brain to malfunction. pat and I realized that when I die he does not have to money to take care of my death. We took out a policy on me for that purpose just this week.
I know this...life will suck if he dies first because I really do not want to be without him. I can pay the bills, fix the toliet and all that stuff. I can't hold myself at night. I can't do the wiggle dance alone(not talking about). I know I will just crawl back inside of myself and I don't know if I will be able to make it out again.

Tags: death

Sebastian,part 3

After 3 days up in a tree, Sebastian was looking pitiful. He was also scaring me. Every once in awhile his head would drop below the branch or a foot would slip off. Once his whole hiney slipped and he slowly pulled himself back up on the branch. It is too small for me to call it a limb! I had even called the television station for help by this time. My voice was hoarse from calling for him to come down, my eyes were dry and swollen from the tears I had shed. A car pulled in my driveway that I did not recognize. A young man got out, my daughter's ex boyfriend. He goes to his trunk and gets some rope, a backpack and some other gear. He had heard about Sebastian and had borried some tree climbing gear. Up the tree he went. He stopped quite a few time going up , wiping his brow. He looked so pale. I was worried that the heat was getting to him. Finally he reached Sebastian and picked him up. Sebastian went limp in his arms. He placed him in the backpack and headed down the tree. Once on the ground I took Sebastian from the backpack and took him inside. He was so thin and dehydrated! It was a miracle that he was still alive. It was the middle of the summer and we had been hitting temperatures in the hundreds. He was so weak that he could not drink. I gave him droppers of water and stroked his throat so he could swallow. He regained his strength and never again did he fall out of the window! He made sure that he was on the back of the couch instead of the window after that!

Afterwards I found out that Shawn had an extreme fear of heights. He was pale because of his fear not the heat. He said because of his respect for me and because he knew how much I loved that cat he had to do something. I will always be grateful for that young man for his act of bravery.

Tags: Cat, Sebastian, rescue

Blood Drive

Hello everyone. A fellow journal writer is hoping to get at least 300 people donating blood. John, the wife of Kristy needs a bone marrow transplant and recieves a lot of blood. He has cancer and it does not look good right now. In his honor, I am asking if you can please donate blood and let me know here or go to here , The J-Land Gazette and let them know there.

For the news on what is happening with John click here

Remember this

Just one pint of blood can save up to THREE lives.
DONATE NOW
Someone needs blood every THREE seconds.
It's easy and safe and confidential.
Give The Gift of Life
1-800-GIVE-LIFE

Tags: Blood, cancer, bone marrow, donate

Sebastian, part2

Comet was another pound rescue. He was a long haired white cat with a black spot on his back. He was a bit of a stuck up cat. LOL He was a smart one. Actually a bit too smart for his own good. He took up with little Sebastian and gave him the baths he needed. They would run and romp thru the house until it was time for me to go to bed and then Sebastian would come and crawl in bed with me. Kittenhood was a good time for Sebastian. He got all the loving he wanted, good food and fun too. I lived in a trailer park at that time and I kept my cats inside. Comet would go outside sometimes and sit on the porch or use the bathroom in the yard. Sebastian would run away and hide under the bed anytime the door opened. I did not have air conditioning so I kept the windows open all the time whenever it was warm out. Sometimes Comet would push a screen out and jump out the window. He did this one day while I was at work and a dog killed him on our porch. I found out that day just how bad a temper I really have. I exploded! I knew whose dog it was and confronted them, to no avail of course. Later on I found out that he was shot by another neighbor when he attacked their little girl. Anyway after that Sebastian became a calm kitty. I believe that he saw it happen. He never attempted to go outside. He grew from a tiny kitten to a big 15 pound cat with zero fat on him.

I started working 12 hour night shifts at a hospital 50 miles away. I had to sleep during the day. Sebastian would sleep with me even though he probably could have found a cooler place to sleep. It was comforting to have him snuggle up to me. I never could hear him cry because of my hearing loss so he would put his paw on me to let me know he was talking to me. I always knew when someone would come to the door because he would run for the bedroom. He was a very shy cat that did not tolerate strangers. Heck, he did not tolerate people he knew! He would not allow my then husband to touch him. That alone should have alerted me to something about that person. Another story there, another time.

Until Sebastian wasabout 3 years old, he had never been outside except when I would take him to the vet. He would have anxiety attacks then! His favorite place to sleep was in the window when he was not sleeping with me. By now he was a big cat and filled up the window when he was laying in it. I came home from work one morning and found my screen out of the window. This window was about 15 feet off the ground. I looked around to see if any of my pitiful possessions were taken. As far as I could see nothing was gone except for Sebastian! I called and called but I did not see h im. My daughter went outside looking for him and heard him crying. Looking up, he was in the huge oak tree that was in our front yard! He had climbed so far up that he was in the little branches at the top! I was at a loss as what to do. In the house I went to call for help. Electric company, nope. They said call fire department. I called the fire department, they said nope, don't do that, try Animal Control. I called them, nope, they would set a trap out to catch him. I was at a loss. My sweetie was outside, in a tree and it was hot!

Tags: Sebastian, cat, rescue, tree

I'm helping

I'm helping install the new phone lines for the DSL. I am a good helper. I know I can get it tangled... I mean untangled for her.

Tags: Buddy, cat, photo, life

Sebastian, the beginning

Copied from C's Life

 

Sebastian is my big yellow cat that is not so big anymore. I have had Sebastian for a very long time. He is an old man now, 19 years old. His muzzle has gray on it and his teeth are coming out. His eyes are huge now. He talks to me. He understands English. I love him and he loves me.

Sebastian was a pound rescue. One day I decided I needed another cat. The cat I had liked my daughter and had little to do with me. I went ti the pound to see what they had there. This was a place where at the end of the week they killed all the animals. It was a Saturday morning when I arrived. I asked if they had any cats available. I was looking for one about 6 months old. There weren't any cats there except for 1 kitten. I really did not want a little kitten but I looked anyway. There in a big cage all by itself was a tiny yellow fur ball shivering. I picked him up and he just fit in the palm of my hand. The lady told me that the rest of his family and his mother had just been put down but there was not any room for him in there. He was going in the next group. My heart melted and I had to take him home. She said that he was not up for adoption because he was too small. Well, I knew the dog catcher and called him at home. He told her to let me have the kitten and to waive all fees! So off we went. Poor thing was scared to death. He was not weaned so a new adventure started for him. I tried giving him a baby doll bottle but that did not work. So out came the saucer. In it I poured some warm milk and push his nose in it. He backed away shaking his head, milk going everywhere. Then he sat crying. I knew he was hungry, his little belly was sunk in. So back to the saucer. This time I held his nose there long enough for him to blow bubbles. I know it sounds mean but that was how we always taught the little ones to drink. They were usually older than that though. Soon he realized that it tasted good and started drinking. Soon his little belly was full and he was ready for a nap. I fixed him a little box with a ticking clock in it and he curled up and went to sleep. After a bit my other cat Comet came over and sniffed him. Sebastian did not wake up. In a short while Comet was in the box with Sebastian and curled up with him. I was worried about the 2 cats getting along. I know how older cats usually react to new cats!

Tags: Sebastian, cat, pound, rescue

Tackle it

On my blog C's Life I have been doing a challenge called Tackle it Tuesday. Every Tuesday you post a project that you are doing/have done. I know that people think I do a lot. Well , I do but I also tend to let a lot go. I am a clutter bug. I collect piles of clutter. Flylady would call my past 3 projects as hotspots. The first 2 projects involved the kitchen, my baker's rack and my table. Both were collecters of stuff. This week was my computer desk. The big thing is keeping it up! So far I have been able to keep them clean. This week I have not picked out a job but I am looking! So many to choose from..... If you would like to see what it is all about go to Tackle It Tuesdays and check it out. Join if you like or if you dare! LOL

Tags: Tackle It Tuesday, cleaning, life

 

today

a quiz

 

a Man with No Name You scored 8 Honor, 4 Justice, 9 Adventure, and 2 Individuality!

It's one thing to be a gunslinger. It's another to wander into town, leave nothing but a trail of those who'd try your skill and take the town's gratitude and cash with you. Hero or villan? It's all in how you look at it and whose side you're on. Cigar in your teeth and colt on your hip, you are ready to step into the hazy desert horizon. You'll do just fine.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Ninjinuity You scored higher than 99% on Knightlyness You scored higher than 99% on Cowboiosity You scored higher than 99% on Piratical Bent

Link: The Cowboy-Ninja-Pirate-Knight Test

Tags: meme

dim day

Today started out so well. LOL Pat woke me up from a dream. It seems I was dreaming of a black, long haired goat. It had the softest hair! It was also sitting on my chest and I was pushing it off! I have silly dreams sometimes.

I got a little bit of work done today. Not as much as I would have liked. I washed a load of clothes and had a load in the dryer. I heard the dryer go off but I did not get up to check it. In a bit I hear Pat calling me from the bedroom. He needed some underwear. LOL That was the load in the dryer. I go and get them and find that they were not dry all the way. HUMMM I thought. I hope my dryer is not going out. I turn it back on and hold my hand to the vent outside and nothing! Ut oh, stopped up hose. I pull the dryer out and take the hose off and dump it. Nope nothing there. I turn it on and nothing blows out. I turn it off and reach down to see if I can feel some lint. That was when the light bulb burst and all my bright ideas became real stupid ones. I hold on to the dryer and stick my hand in the hole, somehow I mashed the start button and the dryer took off. When it took off so did the top of my finger! Somewhere floating around in my dryer is a little tip of my finger. OUCH! I know better than that. I clean the hose and back out every year. I always unplug it. BUT nooooooo, not this time. So now as a result, I have a chunk missing from my pinkie. Lucky for me it is just a hunk of meat and not the whole tip bone and all. It will take a bit to heal. It won't or can't close up. It will have to regrow finger there. It hurt worse when I washed it than it did when I cut it. My lesson for the day, which I will never forget again is....ALWAYS UNPLUG DRYER BEFORE WORKING ON IT! I did finish cleaning out the back of the dryer. I grabbed a clean sock and stopped the bleeding and then took the back off and got the pile of lint out of it and put the back on again.

I guess I won't be washing dishes for a few days!

 

 

Tags: dryer, missingfingertip,

Listen to me

 

I have posted on C's Life also

Tags: cat

Tackle It Tuesday entry on C's Life

 

Today has been a busy day. I have had several vistors today at different times. Those ladies just don't know when it is the proper time to leave. Have you ever had vistors like that? They stay and stay and you feed them and give them drinks and they just don't leave. I did get a chance to sneak a picture of them. I am not sure I got their good side though.

I have 3 little hens that are on an egg laying frenzy! One laid 2 eggs in one day. This is very unusual! LOL Here is a picture of the eggs I have gotten since Saturday minus the ones we ate this morning. i can hear some of you asking what is the red stuff? It is blood. When a hen first starts laying eggs she will sometimes leave blood on the shell. I call them virgin egs. LOL. Sometimes there will be poop on the eggs. You have to check each egg to make sure there are no cracks in them. If there is,toss them. Best advice is to not wash the eggs until you are ready to use them. Washing removes stuff from the shell that keeps stuff from sneaking into the shell. Did you know that the eggs at the grocery store are unwashed? Have you ever seen poop on them?

I got started today on my little garden. Got the tiller out, checked the oil, poured fresh gas in it and pulled and pulled and pulled until it cranked. It took about 5 moinutes of pulling but I got it going! It sure did feel good working in my garden. It always makes me feel so good. Brook helped me out some too. I love it when she wants to help.

Tags: vistors, cows, garden, eggs, farm

I never thought I would have high speed. I do not have the highest speed because it is not available here. I have 3kps or something like that. It is nice to actually watch some of these news clips on the computer now. My former phone company(Alltel) said that they did not foresee me getting broadband anytime in the next 5 years. This was early last year when my phone line that they messed up had to be replaced. Late last year Windstream bought out the land line service and in December we were notified that broadband was available! I was thrilled! A couple of weeks ago a plan became available that was right up my alley. It was called Greenstream. It is a plan for people that only use their land line for Internet service! That was me! You only pay for broadband and not phone service.Broadband was $20 a month cheaper than my phone service was plus I saved another $23 on the other Internet service. This was enough to convince Pat that it was the way to go! He is happy with the speed. One question. Do I need a separate firewall other than the one that came with the modem? I have one. Just wondered if I needed it.

Update on Baby. She is next door with the cows that are there. She got out and the dogs chased her in the field. I am not a rodeo star so there is no way I could catch her by myself. This has caused a change in plans. I will be placing electric wire up across the field and cutting off the front field. I will then start resetting fence. Yep. The whole front will be getting new posts and rewired. It is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. This is the push to do it. I am not talking about doing it over a week's time. There is no way I can do it in that time. Each hole for posts must be done by hand. I have a hand held post hole digger, not one on the tractor. What I am going to do is move the fence line over also. It will be closer to the driveway, closer to the road. The very front , which has good thick grass will be under fence now. A row of trees will be planted across the road frontage, with a bit of space between it and the new fence line. Up the creekside, I am not sure if it will be barbed wire or hog wire. We have a problem with erosion on the creekside. I am also having a new problem of a severe mole problem on the creekside. The new fence will go up to the barn. After all that is done then we will be putting new fence on the back sideof the property. At my speed, I figure this will take me a couple of years! It is also a costly project. Poles, metal and wooden, barbed wire, hog wire, electric wire, fasteners, all this cost oodles of money and I have not won the lottery!

 My dream is to make us a little less dependent on the grocery store. This means growing my own food, including meat and vegetables.

Strange dream last night. I dreamed of large grasshoppers invading. The birds were feasting but so were the grasshoppers.

My Brook is in an International newspaper called TaeKwonDo Times(I think). It is published in Korean so I cannot read it. This is a big year for her. She will not have a lot of free time during the summer. She will be in serious training for her black belt. She is working on having her hands listed as registered lethal weapons. That does not happen until she becomes a second dan (second degree black belt).

That's all for now. I have to get busy. The kids are coming over to work on fence with me and I need to get dinner started.

 

Tags: taekwondo, martial arts, calf, fence, farm