New Floor

 When I got back in town on Monday,

Jim and Kyle were on the patio,

mixing buckets of mud.

And Rod was spreading it on the floor in my zoom room.

It's "self-leveling" so all he had to do was spread it out.

(It looks orange because he first had to put down 

some primer... and it picked up the color from the old tile...)

It was a lot of work, but because it starts to harden 

quite quickly (20+ minutes) they had

to work fast. 

They were done in just about 2 hours.

And it looks GREAT!!!!!

Now we just have to wait for it to cure all the way,

and then we will have someone come in

and lay down some silver carpet we picked out.

Meanwhile.....

I got a phone call from my boss this morning.

The instructor I covered for last weekend is

still in the hospital, so it's back down

to Miami Lakes for the 2-day Blended class for me.

Made some quick hotel reservations.

Kyle plans to leave on Saturday for a run to Kansas

to take his car and the little tractor, along with

anything else he can fit on the trailer or in the truck.

He'll stay at our house and while he is there

he is going to build a small dog yard so when

we arrive in April we will have somewhere to

put the dogs without having to leash walk them 

or lock them in their crates.

Plus, of course, he needs to run out to the ranch

and check on HIS house.

And he wants to go to the storage building

in Hill City and get his pressure washer

and bring that home with him.

Looks like it will be a busy couple of weeks!

Crazy Weekend!

 In the middle of all the other stuff that

is going on in our lives...

I got tagged to sub in Davie (which is N. Miami)

for just Friday.

Ok, I can do that....

And then the guy that teaches in Miami Lakes

ended up in the hospital, can I swing down

and teach his Saturday & Sunday as long

as I'm in the area???

Sure.

He teaches a different curriculum, but I'm flexible.

Hahahahahaha.

So here I am in S. Florida.

My cold is much better.

Still some coughing, but for the most part,

I'm doing ok.

Oh, and Luna got her drain out,

and then she ATE her cone of shame.

That's her, throwing the thing in the air and catching it.

So yeah.

Recovering

 I may have mentioned...

I don't actually remember and don't feel like

going back to look...

but I may have mentioned that I came home

from teaching last weekend with a sore throat.

Which developed into a tight chest.

Which developed into a crackly chest.

Which developed into a semi-productive

but completely annoying cough.

I have been treating it with my favorites.

Ivermectin (in paste form) and Oregano.

But I wasn't very consistent.

Mostly I just slept a LOT.

But on Saturday I got SERIOUS and started

hitting it REALLY hard with Oregano.

And I'm feeling MUCH better today.

I was actually able to teach my class tonight

with only a couple minor coughing spells.

Mostly when Kyle cooked his chicken

and the spices burned in the pan which creates

a very irritating smoke that causes me

to cough even when I'm not fighting something.

But other than that I'm feeling much better.

And we took Luna to the vet today to get her

drain out of her shoulder.

They "snuck her in" the side door and the vet

came out into the hall and pulled it out

right there.

After getting a good laugh at her cone.

It's destroyed.

She bashes into things so hard with it

that she has split it down the middle,

and then got the edges in her mouth

and chewed them so there are giant teeth

marks all over it.

Mostly what she bashes into is Kyle's legs.

These aren't great pictures, but

considering how hard it is to get

him to let me take a picture of him...

this was as good as it gets.

Anyhow.

His poor legs are a mass of bruises.

Tomorrow we will probably have to go to

Tractor Supply to get her a replacement cone.

(Theirs have a little rubber edge on them, so 

maybe it won't hurt as bad. Or it will just be

a wider bruise... who knows.)

She still has to wear it for another week or so.

Although the vet liked Rozann's idea of a onsie.

If we can find one.

And if we can get it on her.

And if she doesn't EAT it.

Like she eats EVERYTHING ELSE.

(Did I tell you she ATE the plastic tray in the

bottom of her crate???? And those things are $60!)

(And we already replaced it once...)

So, yeah.

Dumb Dog

 So.......

First, we thought Luna was attacked by another animal.

We were worried about rabies, 

but also about the other dogs

going out after dark.

She's the biggest.....

But the vet said it wasn't a bite, it was likely

an injury that went through the skin and

went DEEEEEEEEP down her rib cage.

So we wandered to the back of the property

to check things out.

We have two hay spikes.

A big metal spike you put on the front of the

tractor to lift those giant round hay rolls

we used to feed the horses and cows.

One is white,

the other is black.

Neither one is sharp - they just have to poke

into a hay bale.

I had already gone out and checked and there

was no evidence that was how she got hurt,

so I thought she got caught on a nail or

some wire or something.

But then Kyle went out and looked closer at the black

one and there was hair and blood a GOOD 12+ inches

up the spike.

She was likely chasing a rabbit, running full tilt,

NOT looking where she was going and ran

smack dab into that spike going FAST.

The speed and her body weight (she's 95 pounds) shoved it through

the skin and along her rib cage (thankfully) and

speared her like a shishkabob.

Luckily she backed off of it and didn't rip

it out sideways.

It's still a good long cut - probably 4 inches or more.

She got lots of stitches.

And came home sporting a very fashionable

cone of shame.

Which naturally she hates.

But at this point she was still VERY sedated and

didn't care that much.

But then she woke up.

So today when Kyle got home from doing a mulching job,

we ran into town to PetSmart and bought her a

much nicer inflatable thingie to keep her from

messing with the stitches or the drain.

Much softer, much more comfortable,

also very expensive.

It lasted about 2 hours.

And the cone returns.

For a week or 10 days... whatever the vet decides.

Dumb dog.

Poor Puppy!

 Kyle Rotty puppy went out last night about midnight

to go to the bathroom and as always she ran

all the way to the back of the property,

However there was someone / something out there.

And they tangled.

Kyle was out there with her and heard her

start to yelp and cry.

He rushed into the house for a flashlight

but by the time he ran out there,

whatever it was, was gone.

She has a nice big gash on her shoulder.

Of course, it was the middle of the night

and there are no 24 hr emergency vets around here.

(Really???)

Anyhow,

This morning we are trying to find a vet that

will take a look at her.

It probably needs stitches and she'll need

a rabies shot.

Sigh.

She was really good about it last night though.

Rod flushed it out good with peroxide

and then we stuffed it full of triple antibiotic

and she didn't growl or try to bite.

She just stood patiently and let him take care of her.

I doubt we will get the same response 

at the vet's though.

She doesn't really like people.

Or other dogs.

This will be an adventure.

End of an Era?

 This weekend I was in West Palm Beach.

Teaching with a new instructor.

I had Bill as an observer last month.

This month he taught the first day and a half

(3 chapters) and I taught the final day and a half,

(3 chapters) and he administered and graded

the final exam.

We had a good sized class this month.

At one point we had 24 students.

Unfortunately the A/C in this particular room

isn't very reliable and it got really warm 

on Saturday morning.

So when the other folks left the office after

their team meeting, we moved the tables

and students out to the main big room.

(Where we nearly froze to death... lol.)

He did a pretty good job.

I gave him my manual yesterday with all my

notes in it so he can continue learning the

material. I needed to break into his lecture

several (ok, many) times to correct information

he didn't have a clear understanding about.

Hopefully this will help him out.

Next month my job is as observer ONLY.

(Unless there is something I really need to correct...)

My boss is also going to swing by for a couple

hours to observe.

(My boss, Dan, REALLY didn't want to hire

him - he used to teach in New York and didn't

get a good recommendation from his supervisor

up there, but he's kind of being forced to hire him...

which of course didn't make him very happy...

so we are really running him through his paces.)

Anyhow.

Yesterday was supposed to be my final

LIVE CLASS teaching.

Except when I talked with Dan this morning

he asked me to sub on the 23rd back down

in South Florida... Sure!

(Except I gave away my book... lol.)

I'll just use a student manual.

Anyhow.

I came home this morning with a kind of

scratchy, dry throat. I stopped at the

local Tractor Supply on my way into town

and picked up some Ivermectin... I've been

taking lots of Vitamins, 

hopefully this is nothing.

I have to teach again tonight.

Glad to be home.

I Feel Jipped.

 I heard on the news, 

we had an earthquake!!!

Who knew!

It happened about 10:48 on Wednesday evening.

It was felt all up and down the coast,

including in our little town.

But at 10:48 on Wednesday evening

we were watching The Hulk on Disney Plus

with the volume nice and high

and buildings were blowing up

and cars were exploding

and the earthquake just didn't register.

So we missed it.

But the good news is, we didn't experience

any issues.

This weekend I'm in West Palm

team teaching.

I'm training our new instructor, Bill.

I'm sitting on the back row,

making sure he's teaching the correct information

and clarifying when he doesn't.

(grin)

It's HARD listening to somebody teach your material

in a different style than your own.

He reads from the book and has the students

also read from the book.

I'm not a fan of that style...

but I did a review with the students this morning

and they understood the majority of the material.

So... it's all good.

Tractor Update

 FedEx FINALLY delivered the part Kyle needed.

Remember when you used FedEx when

"it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight"?

Yeah.

It was supposed to be here Monday.

It came Tues morning.

Anyhow.

It came.

And today it is windy!

(And chilly, in the low 60's)

But mostly it's windy.

Kyle was out there working on it,

and the wind blew the motor forward

off the transmission lift it was on.

(Because the engine hoist is in storage...)

It tipped forward into the tractor body

and taco-ed the dash.

Don't you love the colors he picked???

The grey looks more blue than it really is...

Hopefully Kyle will be able to fix it.

Because you can't get a new one.

He's an amazing fabricator though...

Anyhow.

It meant I needed to help.

And I'm so big and strong.

Hahahahaha.

But we DID it!

We got it all lined up and bolted

back together.

And then, while I was tightening down the last

bolt, I felt something go in my lower back.

Darn it.

But at least it didn't happen at the beginning

while I was helping hold and move and

line up and lift and all the things.

And now I'm sitting on the couch,

lots of magnesium gel slathered on my back

with a hot pad.

It'll be fine.

And now Kyle can finish getting it put together enough

that we can start it up, and move it off the patio,

ready for running it up to Kansas on the next run.

New Haircut

 I got a TERRIBLE haircut back in May.

When I got home, Kyle nearly

died laughing.

Yup, it was a good old fashioned mullet.

Ugh.

So... I've been either wearing a high ponytail

(which is my default anyway)

but if I need to have my hair down,

like when I'm teaching, or at church,

I had to wear my hair pulled back in a barrette.

But my hair has FINALLY grown enough

that I hoped to be able to get it fixed.

Enter Pamela.

She has been cutting hair for 45 years

and specializes is long hair.

It's a little shorter,

a little greyer,

and a lot less mullet-ish.

And I don't have to use a barrette.

Phew!

It's not a great picture, but I'm not a great selfie taker.

Those are the banana trees in the background.

We now have FIVE more stalks of bananas 

getting started out there!

Whoever buys the house will have plenty of bananas

going forward (unless they decide to take them out...

but whatever...)

Egg Salad etc.

Welcome February!!!

I've amazing information for you.

I have loved doing my hard boiled eggs

in the pressure cooker for YEARS.

I've tried all the things.

4-4-4

5-5-5

6-6-6

(Pressure 4 min, then natural release 4 min, then ice bath 4 min. etc)

But today I found the absolute BEST

way to do hard boiled eggs.

(I wish I could remember which YouTube

I learned this on... but I can't.)

2 minutes under pressure.

No really.

And then let it natural release (read do nothing)

for 15 minutes.

Then move to ice bath until you remember

they are in a bowl of cold water in the sink.

Oh my goodness.

They were the perfect eggs!

The white was fully cooked but soft and pillow-y

(not plastic or gummy)

and the yolks were perfect!

No green, not dry, perfect!

And THEN!!!!

After peeling them (and they peeled great!)

(unfortunately these are WalMart eggs... no chickens here)

I was making them into egg salad.

I have a couple croissants and I love egg salad on those!

I have a nifty cheese grater.

Nifty Cheese Grater

I've had so much fun grating cheese into

little deli containers or right into a bowl.

BUT

I decided to put the larger shredder on it 

and shred my EGGS!

I prefer my egg salad to be fairly fine,

I don't love big chunks of egg.

Ugh.

You guys, it was PERFECT!

And so FUN!

I got my eggs all hard boiled and then realized that my

trusty egg slicer (I slice them one direction then give

them a 90 degree turn and slice them again...)

is, of course, in storage.

NOW WHAT??? Am I going to have to do these

by hand??? (Or I could put them in the food processor,

I have done that before... but I kind of hate my food processor.)

But then I had an epiphany!

It worked great (grate) hahahahaha. 

And it was FUN!

And quick and easy to clean up.

WIN WIN!

Oh, by the way, I've also been making lots of

Amish Broccoli Salad.

And using the grater on the fine shredder

makes perfect cheddar to stick in there.

Today's lunch.

(Another great find are these plastic deli tubs!

I am using them for EVERYTHING!)