Moving Day

Today was moving day for Jim and Sabrina.

They moved 4 miles up the road

into town

into a house a friend owns.

It's a cute little house.

Kitchen:

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

 Hallway (and the proud new resident)

 Darling back yard and patio

The house came with several pets.

A dog.

A couple of snakes.

(which is why no pictures of the spare bedrooms... lol)

They are looking forward to getting all the boxes unpacked.

We are excited for them!

SHADE!

 Yesterday was our anniversary.

If you read my blog, you already know that.



My new window decal
Thanks Rod!
I love it!  (And you!)



Rod needed to do some work on the lawnmower.

And it’s HOT out there.

(Duh, it’s June in Florida…)

So this is what we got each other.

He can use it when he’s working on stuff.

I can stick a chair under it and read.

SCORE!

32 Happy Years

It always amazes me when we have an anniversary.

How could we be married for 32 years?

We must have been married when we were 12.

32 years ago today we were wed.

In Las Vegas.

Not by Elvis.



Las Vegas "Little Church of the West"



It was “til death do us part”.

So 24 years later, we did it again.

Only this time it was

“For time and all eternity”.



Orlando Temple



A much better idea.

I love this man

He is good

He is kind

He is loyal

He is gentle

He is thoughtful

He is romantic

He is a fantastic Dad

He is a great Son

He is a loving Brother

He is a favorite Uncle

He is an amazing Husband



A picture of a picture.
Not great - but it's US! (back in 2012)



I am so grateful to be HIS.



Food, Glorious Food!

One major component to the weekend was a ROAD TRIP.

Rod and his Dad and I jumped into the black truck

and headed north to a cute little town called

Samsula.

It's a farming community.

With a little school, some churches, LOTS of farms,

and a couple of feed mills.

Rod had already done all the phone research.

(Remember his superpower...)

But we stopped in at the first mill, just in case.

Nope.

Too expensive.

On, up the road, to a mill they've been running in their family for 50 years

(this November)

He used to run 35,000 chickens!

He said the day after he sold them all and they were gone,

he came out of the house in the morning,

sat in a chair in his yard 

and thought

"Wow!  It's QUIET out here!"

LOL

We had a great visit with him.

He was a really nice older gentleman.

Full of knowledge and life.

And vinegar.

He and Rod got along perfectly!

Meanwhile, his "boys" loaded us up.

We got 700 pounds of chicken feed. (Layer)

And 300 pounds of horse feed (10% sweet)

BOY could you smell that molasses!

YUM!

After a quick stop at Burger King for lunch

we headed back home.

Luckily Kyle was home.

I'm pretty sure I would have been NO help unloading those barrels.

That's a LOT of feed!

They had to rearrange the feed room in the barn.

But it looks good in there.

Should last 8 weeks.

(For the chickens, no idea how long the horse feed will last)

I just bought 100# of horse pellet,

so for now I'm mixing it 50/50

and then I'll feed it straight.

They LOVE it though.

Duh.

The bucket system hanging in the front is my fermented feed.

More about that later.

It's beautiful feed.

The girls love it.

So EVERYBODY is happy.

Especially ME!

Monday Musings

We had an eventful weekend.

Kyle caught a raccoon in the Have-A-Heart trap.

And then he shot it.

And then his friend skinned it.

And then they hung it in the tree.

Then they loaded up their 4-wheelers and went "mudding".

They had to try out their new snorkels.

Kyle's had a little leak.

He got a little wet.

And muddy.

Nope, he's not wearing socks.

Those are his feet.

It's mud to his waist.

Then water a little above that.

No idea why he's clean in the middle and dirty again on his shoulders.

And, of course, his face...  LOL

Today I met a nice lady who has been raising chickens for 50+ years.

I have a broody chicken who will NOT get off the nest.

She sits on eggs.

She sits on golf balls.

She sits on NOTHING.

So I bought a dozen random fertilized eggs from her.

She pulled them off her nests today.

One of them is a blue "Easter Egger" egg.

With my luck it will hatch out and be a rooster.

But I'm HOPING for an easter egger hen.

(They lay pretty colored eggs...)

Here's hoping in 21 days we have a bunch of babies!

(I had to move her to her own coop - she wasn't very happy about it, 

but she'll settle in...)

June 22 in a Galaxy Far Far Away

Ok, not a GALAXY far far away,

but a COUNTRY far far away.

Well, far far away from ME.

Not so far from her.

Anyhow.

Yesterday was my darling little sister's birthday.

She and her handsome husband spent the day together.

Aren't they cute?

And so dang FIT!

Whatever.

She's always had a TON of personality.

This is her in 1994.

Nearly 20 years ago.

(She just got lassoed - but COULD be commenting on the beautiful mountain...)

Before she met her cutie hubby

she was raising a lovely daughter on her own.

Her darling hubby, Greg, came with an adorable family of his own.

So now they are a fabulous FAMILY.

She is living the dream.

I hope she had a wonderful birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROZIE!

I love you!!!!!

I’ve Fallen…

 The girls dig little round holes and “dirt bath” all day long.

So the chicken yard looks a little like “craters of the moon”.

You need to be vigilant when you walk out there.

I hit those dumb holes and stumble all the time.

It’s ANNOYING.

This morning I wasn’t being vigilant.

I had just stuck my hand, all the way to my elbow,

into their waterer to clear a clog.

All I was thinking was, eeeeuuuwww,

I want to dry my hand off.

Stepped out of the coop.

Hit a crater.

And DOWN I went.

It’s been a LONG time since I actually fell.

All the way to the ground.

Last time, I fell in the woods behind our house.

Dislocated my shoulder.

Didn’t tell anybody.

Until several months later when my health insurance kicked in.

And it was completely frozen.

This morning, all I could think was,

“Great.  Now that my shoulder is all better, I’ve sprained my ankle

And I STILL can’t ride my horse!”

And what if I hurt my shoulder again?

So I sat there.

All those silly “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials running through my head.

But in a couple of minutes I could tell I was going to be fine,

My ankle quit throbbing,

It felt strong.

So up I got.

Luckily I was wearing my cowboy boots and not flip flops.

I think it helped hold my ankle in line.

I’m a little sore.

My back has a little twinge.

My shoulder is tender.

My ankle wants to be stiff.

But all-in-all, I’m fine.

I had already worked out,

So I was nice and warm,

My muscles were loose,

I took some extra turmeric.

Did another Primary Back Stretch to realign my back

And stretch out those muscles.

Now I’m figuring out how to best milk this…

LOL

It's All Good!

So…

Sadly, for him, the guy that shared Rod’s work truck

did something STUPID and got fired.

Which means Rod doesn’t have anybody to share his truck with.

Which means he doesn’t have to wait for the other guy to get back

before he can start his work day.

So…

He talked to the Manager and got the ok to switch his hours.

Today is his first day working 1:00 to 1:00(ish)

Which is awesome!

He’ll have to deliver a couple of his loads during the heat of the day.

But he’ll get home before the sun rises the next day.

And he’ll have a FULL day off on his day off.

It’s All Good!

Meanwhile.

I have been messing with fermented chicken feed for months.

They LOVE it.

But it’s kind of a pain in the neck.

As I mentioned the other day, I have a tight schedule.

And it takes (what feels like) FOREVER to drain the feed.

And I spill it all the time.

So…

I quit feeding fermented feed.

It's easier to just scoop dry feed into their troughs.

But they leave a lot uneaten. (which means MORE FLIES)

And I noticed the eggs were getting smaller.

So...

I got 2 of those 5 gallon buckets from Tractor Supply.

They look like paint buckets.

Filled one with water and a glug of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.

Then Kyle drilled some holes in the bottom of the 2^nd bucket.

Put it inside the first bucket so the water fills the top bucket too.

And put the feed in the top bucket.

Let it ferment for 24 hours.

But it still took too long to drain.

So…

Kyle drilled the holes bigger.

But it STILL took too long to drain.

So…

I found a metal hook and hung it from the ceiling.

And this morning I dashed out to the barn before I worked out.

Hung the bucket so it drained into the bottom bucket.

Went back in the house and worked out.

Came out 15+ minutes later.

It was ALL DRAINED!

I'm happy.

The girls are happy.

It’s All Good!!!!

(I’m pretty easy to please…)

BTW - my shoulder is BETTER!
It's All Good!!!!!

Turmeric

I have a pretty busy morning schedule.

Ok, wah, I know, it’s nothing compared to Frozie.

Whatever.

(grin)

My alarm goes off at 6:00

I get up and do a Basic Workout Plus.

(Or I hit snooze and try again at 6:15…

I only workout every other day. 

Mostly.)

Either way, at 6:15 it’s time to head to the great outdoors.

Lately it has been GREAT!

Nice and cool.

Not toooo humid.

A gentle breeze.

It’s HARD to go to work in these conditions, people!

I have a lovely new Adirondack chair calling my name…

Let the dogs out of the garage.

Put horse feed in the stalls and open the barn gate to let the horses in.

(This morning they all got orange flavored fiber stuff – sand colic preventative.)

Put hay out in the pasture for the horses.

Fill a bucket with chicken feed and head to the chicken coop.

Feed the chickens and let them into their yard.

Check the bunnies.

Let the horses back into the pasture.

Bring the dogs in and feed them.

FAST shower and dress for work.

Hit the kitchen to snag my breakfast/lunch stuff.

Take my pills.

Leave for work at 7:00.

So.

The “important” part of this is the 2^nd to last thing.

Take my pills.

I take several pills.

Alfalfa (6), Turmeric (2), Milk Thistle (1), Macca Root (1), D3 (2), Synthroid (1)

Opening, counting out and closing all those little bottles takes 3 or 4 minutes.

Time I don’t have.

So I pre-fill 9 (no reason) empty prescription bottles

And leave them in a basket on the counter.

Next to another basket for the empties.

But last week I ran out of prefilled bottles

And didn’t get around to refilling them.

So I just grabbed my Synthroid each morning and called it good.

I was wrong.

It wasn’t good.

Alfalfa and Turmeric are POWERFULLY anti-inflammatory.

(among other things)

I have a little bursitis in my right shoulder.

I don't even notice it on most days.

Unless I don’t take my Alfalfa and Turmeric for a week.

And then I can hardly move my right arm.

And I don’t get to ride my horse.

Or go kayaking.

And my family has to listen to me whine all weekend.

I finally put two and two together on Saturday.

So out came the pills.

By Sunday my arm was a dull ache.

This morning little things like putting on my seat belt are a little uncomfortable,

But for the most part it’s under control again.

Thank goodness for Turmeric!  (and Alfalfa)

Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson…

We’ll see…

Happy Father's Day

Our new bed is really tall.

So poor Rod has no place to sit when he puts his shoes on in the morning.

He can't sit on the bed.

So he has to sit on the commode (southern for toilet).

Which is, of course, less than ideal.

Meanwhile, his Mom had two of the UGLIEST

but MOST COMFORTABLE chairs ever made.

When Dad moved in with Tim and Angie

we inherited the chairs.

(At Kyle's request...)

One of them lives in Kyle's bedroom.

Carefully hidden under a sheet.

The other one has been out in the tack/workout room.

I have been known to sneak out there and sit to read a book.

Rod mentioned he would like a chair in the bedroom.

So yesterday I "cleaned" out his corner.

(Ok, there's still stuff in the corner, but LESS stuff...)

and brought in the chair.

And now he has a comfy spot to put on his shoes.

And watch TV.

And remember his Mom.

And know that I love him.

Cuz I do...

Love him.

Yesterday he and Kyle replaced the rear axle seals on the white truck.

I wasn't there. 

So I couldn't take a picture.

But then "they" sharpened the blades on the lawnmower.

A boy and his Dad.

(Bet you can't guess Kyle's favorite color...)

Tired Tires

My truck (which I LOVE LOVE LOVE) has 270,000 miles on it.

My tires have 80,000+ miles on them.

Kyle regularly reminds me I’m a flat waiting to happen.

And since I spend a LOT of weekends running up and down I-95 at speed,

I really needed some new tires.

Memorial Day Weekend sounded like a good time to buy new tires.

They’re on sale.

Right?

And I have a secret weapon.

Rod’s Superpower is “negotiating”.

He got us an awesome deal on a fridge.

And a mattress.

And countless other things.

So I sent him out into the world to find a good deal on tires.

He worries about me.

So he didn’t get me the normal, everyday tires I would have bought.

(And would need to replace in 20,000 miles or so…)

He got me AWESOME tires.

I would include a picture.

But Kyle is driving my truck today.

Thank goodness I have a secret weapon!

Cuz they were $1,000!!!!!

Seriously!

My tires are worth more than my truck!

(Kidding, but sheesh…)

(I need to sell more eggs!)

Speaking of which, we are SOLD OUT again this week.

I found an awesome looking recipe.

But I can’t try it.

Cuz it calls for eggs.

And I don’t have any.

Sold Out

This is a first!

We have 8 eggs.

Well, if you ignore the eggs on the skelter.

I'll be hard boiling those for Rod.

They need to sit for several days to peel...

Between the girls at my office,

some students at school,

a couple of Craigs List clients...

we are SOLD OUT!

(And when I got into town tonight, I had a text from a student asking if I had another 2 dozen

he could buy from me....)

We might need to get some more chickens!

(Just joking Rod...)

(A little bit...)

Tropical Storm Andrea

The hurricane season is 6 days old.

And we have our first Tropical Storm.

Introducing Tropical Storm Andrea.

She is bringing 3” – 6” of rain to our area today.

The wind isn’t too bad.

In the actual storm, they are blowing about 60 mph.

We aren’t getting the actual storm.

(She’s in the Gulf of Mexico – off the coast of Tampa)

We are getting the “feeder bands”.

Which basically means rain.

And more rain.

And more rain.

And more rain.

It has been raining off and on all week.

My pastures are GREEN.

Well, except for the part that is MUD.

The horses are soaked.

Buddy rolled in his stall this morning.

He was so happy to find some dry dirt to roll in!

The girls are soaked.

I have 50 wet hens.

Luckily they aren’t cranky.

Yet.

They actually seem to be enjoying it.

The rain brings up the worms.

YUM!

I’m ready for a peak of sunshine.

Silent Sunday

It used to be, when a new missionary went to the

Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo

to learn the language spoken at their new home

they were not allowed to speak any English starting that first Sunday.

Hence the nickname, Silent Sunday.

After a killer weekend teaching two 10 hour lectures

and basically destroying my vocal chords in the process

I will be observing Silent Monday.

And Tuesday.

And Wednesday.......

Cone of Silence

Yesterday morning I woke up to an extremely sore throat.

And minimal voice.

I hit the Oil of Oregano and Vitamin D3.

Hard.

Lots of water to drink.

Liposomal Vitamin C.

And a blessing from Rod and Kyle.

Last night I got a pretty good sleep in my hotel room.

At least my sore throat didn't wake me in the night.

My voice was a little sketchy - but I was able to teach.

By the end of the day (10 hours) I was just about out.

In fact, I chose to spend the last 10 minutes

showing a video.

Then I headed to Target.

Bought some throat lozenges with menthol and eucalyptus.

Then to Red Lobster for soup and salad.

I had to point to what I wanted on the menu.

Now I'm in my hotel bed.

With a cup of herbal "throat coat" tea.

Basically licorice root and some other herbs.

I'm pretty sure by the end of tomorrow I will have done 

some major damage to my vocal chords.

Which basically means I will have to sing tenor for the next 6 months.

But hopefully my students will be able to hear me.

I see LOTS of videos in my plan for tomorrow.

Wish me luck!