Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody!

We live in the country.

Nobody comes by.

The man across the street used to have an annual party for his kids,

load everybody up in the wagon for a hay ride around the

nearest "neighborhood" to trick-or-treat.

But his kids have gotten too old.

But my boys LOVE jack-o-lanterns.

They are fun to carve.

They are MORE fun to throw off the roof!

Maestros at work...

They turned out great!

Love that the nose looks 3D!

Look closely... it's Kyle's new logo.

(Kyle's Koops)

Lots of work on this one.

Looks nifty lit up!

And one I found on the internet that made me LAUGH.

Sandy

Wow.

She turned into a BIG storm.

Those poor folks up north are really getting slammed.

Luckily all we got was enough rain to put out our fires.

And now we are getting a north wind.

And it's COLD.

This morning it was 46 degrees.

In Florida.

In October.

I have my heater on my desk, blowing at me.

And I'm wearing a sweater.

And another shirt.

And a blanket.

And I'm STILL freezing!

I still have a little bit of Postum left (they quit making it!  Sniff sniff!)

I think I'll have to break down and make some.

We are only going up to the mid 60's today.

This is January weather.

I'm a little nervous about what this winter is going to bring.

Anyhow.

Here's a couple more pictures from our walk on Sunday.

 This is what we call the Jeep Trail. 



Wow!  One of the very few pictures where Kyle is actually LOOKING AT THE CAMERA!

(He's not a big "take my picture" kind of guy...)

Yesterday was his first day of self employment.

He spent the morning buying supplies.

And the afternoon building a new work table.

And the late afternoon starting a new chicken coop.

Photos to follow.

Have to take some first...

(I was sitting in the sun, soaking up what little heat there was, and reading my Kindle.)

Stay warm everybody!

(I know, you guys in the snow belt are rolling your eyes as I whine about my "freezing" weather...)

Tarzan

Yesterday we went for a nice long walk in the woods.

I took lots of pictures of the burned areas.

But I used Instagram.

And I can't figure the silly program out.

And I'm tired of it telling my phone every 2 seconds there is a new photo.

And there isn't.

So I uninstalled it.

So the only picture I have is this one.

But you have to admit, it's a great one.

Kyle is part monkey.

That is a tree he trimmed before the fire.

He is WAY up there.

Last time he jumped off.

And his ankles weren't real happy about it.

So this time he carefully climbed down.

Most of the way.

Then he jumped.

And then he jumped over a palmetto bush in the middle of the trail.

And the dog thought he was NUTS.



Hurricane Sandy

Wow.

She is getting BIG!

We are having winds of around 55 mph.

Lots of traffic signals are out.

The power at the office is sporatic.

The A/C in my room is not working.

I am in heaven.  (I still have my blanket on my lap...)

Schools in the county are closed for the day.

It's not raining right this minute, but we've had some pretty heavy rain bands so far.

They are saying we should be worse by this afternoon.

And all better by tomorrow afternoon.

I actually saw some blue sky!

And it immediately started to POUR.

LOL

So here are some Friday Funnies to lighten the mood.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!

You gotta admit that is FUNNY!

(except I think it should say 2nd Nephi...)



Holy Giant Egg, Batman!

I'm guessing THIS is why we only got 5 eggs yesterday.

Found it this morning (still warm) when I went out to feed.

Didn't notice anybody walking funny, so no idea who to credit it with.

By the way, the other egg (also fresh this morning) is a the same size as a commercial "large".

Poor baby!

Meanwhile.

Hurricane season is over in an week.

So... we welcome Sandy today.

We are getting bands of rain this morning - forecasted to continue through tomorrow.

Good news for the fires still smouldering in the woods!

But a little bit of a bummer, since this is my weekend off for this month.

Oh well.

Nothing wrong with curling up on the couch with a good book

watching / listening / smelling the rain.

Aaaaaah.

PS - did you watch the little video yesterday?  Still makes me giggle!

Fire!

This is a picture Kyle took Sunday evening.

The woods at the end of our street (my horse trails) were on fire.

Jim and Kyle spent several hours sitting in the neighbor's pasture (after they moved

their cows and donkey to the front pasture) with hoses hooked to the artesian well.

Last night after work, Kyle and I went for a walk to survey the damage.



To the left is the "Triangle Trail"
Interesting how there is still green on the edge, but everything else on both sides is black.

Some palmettos still smoldering.

 Naturally, Kyle and I had to wander through.



See him off to the right.  He was trying to take a picture.
You could have cooked dinner over that fire.



I've always been fascinated by the aftermath.

Especially in Florida.

A palmetto palm looks so stark after burning.



 It looks like a quiver of arrows, stuck in the ground.

And just for fun, you HAVE to watch this quick YouTube. 

It's from one of my favorite daily blogs

The Art of Doing Stuff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=763UjrVs-ao&feature=colike



Amazing Joyce

Today is my Mother's birthday.

She always called her Mother, Mother.

It was different.

In Canada, everybody says Mum.

Our US cousins said Mom.

She said Mother.

And Grandma signed everything Mother and Dad.

It was different.

But I liked it.

Anyhow.

Today is MY Mother's birthday.

She is one amazing woman.

Mother of five.



Even if we are a little odd.

Wife to an equally amazing man.

Aren't they cute?

Missionary (x3 or 4 if you count Nauvoo)

She has an amazing soprano voice.

She plays the piano.

I have lots of great memories revolving around my Mother and music.

We played a duet on the piano on stage at the Ward Christmas Dinner Party.

The piano was on wheels.

It rolled away as we were playing it.

We just scootched our bench forward and kept playing.

(I'm pretty sure Dad rushed up and stood behind it to anchor it in place... right?)

(She broke her wrist on their wedding anniversary, so we practiced while she was wearing a cast!)

She is friend to many.

Many.

Many.

I think the truest testimony of my Mother and what she has done with her life

lived in a giant crystal punch bowl on the stereo in the dining room.

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer

her mailbox was filled with cards.

Get Well cards.

From friends.

Each card held not only wishes for her health, but also a personal story about

a time she had done something special for them.

Each card.

The bowl was full to overflowing.

My Mother is Amazing.

And she is Loved.

By Many.

And I count myself as one of them.

Happy Birthday Mom!



Poor Ol' Rocky...

She's a good bird.

She lays a nice big brown egg.

Except not now.

She is moulting.

So no eggs for several more weeks.

But I let her out of her cage each morning and let her free range in the garden each day.

She spends most of the day sitting under the cage in the shade.

There's lots of bugs and goodies under there for her to snack on.

She seems to like it.

But the other day I didn't secure the gate as tightly as I should.

And she wandered out into the yard.

Rod and I were home (I took a couple of days off last week)

and he was outside working on her new palace.

He heard some ruckus and looked up in time to intervene.

She is looking a little bald on her back end.

He doesn't even look guilty.

Routines

Yesterday was a fun Monday!

My friend, Lisa Marie came over to refresh herself on how to take care of the critters.

(She is hoping to start a Pet Sitting business...)

She arrived just after 7:30.

I always feel badly when I "train" people, because I have such an easy routine.

It takes longer to drive to my house than it does to do the chores.

(Frankly, it takes longer to type it out than to do it!  LOL)

1. Let the dogs out.  (I do this as soon as I get up, before working out...)
2. Put 2 cups of feed in each of the horse's feed buckets.
3. Put 1/2 Cup diatemacious earth in each feed bucket.
4. Pour 2 cups water in each bucket & stir (using the cup)
5. Open the barn gate and get out of the way. (the horses put themselves away... if only I could teach the dishes and laundry that trick!)
6. Walk by each stall and close the doors.
7. Fill the chicken feed rubbermaid/tupperware thingie.
8. Re-fill the blue water bucket.
9. Carry both out to Rocky - refill her feed and water.
10. Open her door for the day.
11. Carry both out to the main coop.
12. Refill feed and water.
13. Check for eggs.  (never any that early in the morning - my girls are lazy...)
14. Walk back to the barn and put chicken feed and water bucket away.
15. Grab the grey soaked alfalfa bucket.
16. Give each horse a "scoop of soup" (spoonful or 3 of soaked alfalfa)
17. Drag the hay wagon (and "soup" bucket) to the pasture.
18. Turn on the water in the trough as you walk by.
19. Put out a couple flakes of hay.
20. Dump the soup on the floor in the main coop.
21. Bring the wagon and soup bucket back to the barn.
22. Turn off the water in the trough as you walk by.
23. Open each stall door and get out of the way.
24. Close the barn gate.
25. Put the chain over the feed room entry.
26. Call the dogs to the house and feed them. (I wait and bring them in after I shower & dress so they get to stay outside longer...)
27. DONE.

Takes 15 minutes total.

If you doddle.

In the evening you do exactly the same thing, except instead of feeding soup, you make the soup.

And no diatemacious earth.  They only get that in the mornings.  I take it at night.

Put enough dried alfalfa cubes in the bucket to make a single layer on the bottom.

Fill the bucket 3/4 full with water from the trough.

Put it in the hay room.

So anyway.

I felt badly that it's so easy! 

So, we put a couple of saddles on the horses and went for a ride!

I couldn't get the stirrups on Rod's saddle to adjust (rusted)

so instead of switching saddles, we just switched horses.

I haven't ridden anybody but Andy in several years!

CJ walks FAST!

And when you are in the lead, you get all the spider webs.

But we had a great ride.

It was a beautiful fall morning - with just enough dew on the trees to be refreshing.

I enjoyed the company.

But it felt weird to talk first thing in the morning.

Usually it's just me and the animals.

And I LOVE it.

Tomorrow I have to tell you about Rocky's latest adventure!

But I need to take pictures.

I forgot this morning.

Oops!

True Love

Did you ever wonder what true love looks like?

Holding hands in the mountains.

Holding hands on the beach.

Holding hands in the back yard.

Holding hands on the couch.

(even while snoozing)

Just a peek at what true love looks like.

I'm blessed to be part of an eternal family where true love gets to continue.

Forever.

Happy Anniversary.

I love you!

Kyles Koops

Kyle and Rod have been tag-teaming the new coop build.

Kyle hopes to take the finished prototype down to the local feed stores and sell them.

Yesterday they finished the nest box.

Put on the floor and the outside panels.

Then Rod left for work and Kyle called in "well".

(Too well to work...)

He worked on it for the rest of the afternoon, getting the roof framed and on.

This morning Kyle went to work and Rod put on the tar paper.

I'm thinking we should call them

Buffaloes Bungaloes

So Much To Tell (and a video)

It has been a busy couple of days.

But not exactly how I planned.

My computer decided to "break" in my hotel on Friday night.

So I had to use my school laptop (circa 1847).

Luckily one of my students showed me how to fix it on Sunday.

Oh, and on Saturday my boss showed up at school to "check" on us.

(And to do my annual review)

(I passed)

On the drive home Sunday night I was on the phone with Rod.

*I have a really good headset that lets me talk hands free and gets rid of the diesel noise.

Glanced down and realized the "add water before you engine blows" light was on.

The gauge needle was heading to the HOT section.

Looked up and there was an exit.

So I turned.

As soon as I slowed down to 55, the needle went back down.

Drove 7 miles to the nearest town and stopped at a gas station.

Checked the engine.

Didn't smell hot.

Plenty of antifreeze in the radiator overflow thingie.

So, I drove the 7 miles BACK to the highway and headed home.

As long as I drove between 60 and 65, it was fine.

As soon as I took it up to 70, it started to overheat again.

So I got home a little later than planned.

But that also meant I couldn't drive over to Tampa for the planned T-Tapp Retreat!

(Yikes!  Just remembered I promised to meet a friend!  She lives over there!  Better text her right away...)

Anyway.

The class I really wanted to attend was from 8 - 10:30.

Then I had a conference call scheduled at 11.

And the other class I wanted to go to was at 11:15.

I didn't even get out of bed until 8:15.

Went out to feed the horses et al and it was POURING rain.

So I turned on the TV to see how long it was going to last.

Jim came out and looked at the rain and his motorcycle and didn't look thrilled.

So I offered to drive him to work.

Jumped in Rod's truck and headed into town.

Stopped by my office and took care of the school papers and posted some money

left over from Friday.

Then dashed home.

Got there and downloaded the information just in time for the conference call.

It was really good.

And a feather in my cap.

Home office picked 5 instructors from all over the Eastern US to help them fine tune 

a new program they are working on.

And they picked ME as one of the five!

Cool!

(And the program is great!)

Didn't finish the call until nearly noon and then realized I still hadn't fed the animals.

Old MacDonald's Wife might get fired!

But there were THIRTEEN eggs in the coop!

Speaking of coops, Kyle and Rod are building me another one!

(For Rocky and I'm considering getting some new chicks for her to "mother")

These are pictures of the prototype while in early construction stages.

Kyle is hoping to make these to sell to the eager backyard chicken enthusiasts.

It's only big enough for 3 chickens, but that's all you can have in town anyway.

I'll put more on when its done.

Meanwhile, Sabrina left for work in Jim's car.

Kyle jumped in his Trooper.

Rod got in his truck.

I got in my truck.

And we caravanned to the mechanic's.

Rod told him what needed to be done.

Then he headed north to work.

Kyle and I went to Tractor Supply for some "dog" (horse) treats and another feeder for the coop.

And some new fly spray for the horses.

(The flies are BAD this year!)

Then to Aldi for some groceries.

Then home to work on the coop while I read more of my book.

And finally on a short horseback ride.

Now.

Watch this video CAREFULLY!  You might need to click on it to blow it up.

Watch Kyle's arms at the beginning!

This is what he does on our rides.

He was DANCING!

LOL

Sorry about the quality, but at the end, Andy decided to trot and I was trying to hold my camera

with both hand, so I put my reins down.

LOL

Take some motion sickness pills and hit play.
I loaded the same video twice, the first one is from my iPod.
The other one is the same video, but on YouTube - you can blow it up bigger,
but then you lose some quality.
Whatever...

Friday Funny

Today is Friday.

And a fun filled day it will be.

I'm at the office until noon.

Then a quick stop at the post office.

Then home to cut Rod's hair and pack.

Then a drive down south.

And teach a class til 10 pm.

I have a trainee again this weekend, so she is teaching the 2nd half tonight.

Yippeeee.

And I have a new teacher taking over my review class.

She is stopping by tonight so we can meet and I can give her my stuff.

More Yippeeeeeees.

Less money.

But a much needed weekend off each month.

More classes Saturday and Sunday.

Then a drive back home to unload and reload the suitcase.

Then a drive over to Tampa on Monday.

But I have a conference call Monday morning.

Do I leave early and do the call from the hotel over there?

Do I stick around the office finishing school paperwork and do the call here and then drive over?

Do I do the call on the highway?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

(I have a really good hands-free set, but sometimes there's an echo...)

Anyhow.

I'll be in Tampa Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hanging with my T-Tapping buddies and working out.

So who knows if you will hear from me between now and Thursday.

*Oh and Thursday is official Ta-Ta Squishing day.  Love those mammograms!

So here's a funny to end on.



In case I'm not back in time.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADIANS!!!!!

Way to do the holiday right!

Americans.

Sheesh.

Egg Wisdom

Eggs.

A Poem.

Eggs on the counter, you need to take stock.

Fresh, dropped in water, will sink like a rock.

But, if it floats to the top, like a log

Then, I'm afraid, it gets fed to the dog.

Wasn't that GREAT?

I wrote that.

Lieing in bed last night..

Thinking about eggs.

We made "breakfast burritos" for dinner last night.

And, while cracking a bunch of eggs, I remembered a video I saw on a blog.

But I can't remember which blog.

And it was all in Japanese anyway.

So I made my own.

With Kyle's help.

And Sabrina's support.

Clearly I need to practice.

And we need work on our video skills.

You gotta give it a try though.

It's pretty fun!



All you need is an empty water bottle.

And some eggs.

Slick as a whistle!

Done!

This weekend I was, again, training a new instructor.

It was nice to sit in the back of the room and watch somebody else.

And, since I can't usually "just sit"

I FINALLY finished my lap blanket!

Remember the one I started in Tucson?

In MARCH?

I'm glad it's finished, and it looks really nice.

I kind of wish I had one more ball of yarn, it's just right for a lap blanket, but I'd rather snuggle up.

And now I'm probably going to get some more yarn and make some more.

Just a different pattern.

This was easy, but I had to actually pay attention.

Useless peice of information.

Those traffic lights don't look very big, do they?

But when you see a MAN next to them,

you realize they are MASSIVE!

(And when they are swinging around like they weigh nothing during a hurricane, it's SCARY!)

Sometimes they even fall down - we are slowly moving away from the ones hanging on the wires,

we lost a BUNCH of them in the last round of hurricanes.

And they are EXPENSIVE!

October Skies

Fall is my favorite time of year.

Until Spring rolls around.

And then I'm all over Spring.

But it's fall, and I'm excited about it.

Well...

It was fall last Monday.

Today it's full-blown July again.

150% humidity and HOT.

But last night was pretty nice.

Humid.

Hot.

But a nice breeze.

So Kyle and I saddled up after work and headed to the woods.

It was WET!

We've had quite a bit of rain lately.

There is a spot on our favorite trail we call "Pig World".

(There used to be wild pigs that lived there...  They are gone now...)

There's a dip in the trail and it gets pretty wet.

Kyle was sure it wasn't going to be very deep.

I ride this trail a LOT.

So I sat back and just watched.

He finally had to lift his feet up.

The water was lapping his toes!

His horse LOVES water.

You need to be aware or Buddy will "go for a roll/swim".

But they managed to cross without mishap.

When we got home, the 7:00 rain shower clouds rolled in.

But before it rained, we got a pretty sunset.

 Kyle climbed up on the shade cloth roof to enjoy it for a little bit.

(And he likes to sit up there and then make boogey man noises as the horses leave the barn...

He is easily amused.)