"Working" This Week

I got a phone call on Friday

asking if I could work down at

Town Hall again this week.

The secretary was going to be out

for this entire week.

She would only need me from 10 - 2.

Sure!

I got there about 10:00 on Monday morning

and Deb (the Town Treasurer) said she forgot

that Matt, her assistant was also out

for the week and could I work a little

longer each day than we had originally planned.

Yesterday I worked from 10-4.

Work being a relative term.

Last time they had a big project 

for me to do.

This time I have been answering the phones.

They ring a couple times each hour.

Maybe.

I made some changes on a town resolution

in preparation for the town council meeting

Monday night. That took 2 minutes.

And I made a run to Chick-Fil-A for

everybody at lunch time.

Other than that - I read a book.

Today I got there at 10 again and the Town

Administrator said "Oh good! You are here!

I have a big project for you!"

Yea! I'd way rather be busy.

Turns out his big project was xeroxing

a large personnel file for an attorney

up in Orlando. It took 20 minutes.

Then he needed it mailed.

So I hopped in my truck (I drove our old

Isuzu Trooper today just for fun)

and went up the road to the Post Office

and mailed it for him.

As long as I was only 2 blocks from my house,

I stopped by and wrote a check for my farrier

who decided to change my Thursday appointment

to today. He just lets himself into the property.

The horses all know that when you open the

gate into the barn, they are supposed to go

stand in their own stalls.

It's pretty easy.

I just leave his check under a magnet on a 

metal filing cabinet we have out there.

There was a LOW flying helicopter buzzing

our property, so when I got back to Town Hall

I asked them about it. The Town Fire Chief

happened to be there and he said it was

mosquito control, dropping pellets.

Weird!

But glad they are doing something

about all the mosquitoes!

Hope it works!

I spent the rest of the day reading 

a book and listening to the roof 

sounding like it was going to cave

in on me.

We had a roofing crew there yesterday

and today putting a new roof on Town Hall.

It's an OLD building.

About 3:30 Deb came and told me she

was leaving for the day to take her dog

to the vet. Then Denine, the Building Dept

manager came by to tell me Doug (the Town

Administrator) wanted to shut down and send

everybody home because the smell of the 

roof tar was giving him a headache.

Since Deb, Denine and Doug are the only people

there, if they leave, I need to leave too!

About that time, Daryl dropped by.

He's the Code Inspector.

Incidentally, the lady I'm covering for is

DOROTHY!

Yup.

Debby, Denine, Dorothy, Doug & Daryl.

I could never work there full time.

Unless I changed my name to...

Delila?

Hahahahahaha

Anyhow.

I'm back there again tomorrow.

I've downloaded a couple of new books

to my Kindle, since its unlikely they will

have anything for me to do again.

Deb said she thought of a great project

for me, but when she got to the office

this morning, she couldn't remember what it was.

Maybe she'll remember tomorrow.

Anyhow.

That's what I've been doing this week.

Hope you have been more productive 

than I have!

Have a great Wednesday!

I Swear All We Do Is Drive

Today found me back on the road again.

This time I took our black truck

(Rod usually drives it, so today he drove the Trooper)

and headed up to our feed mill.

It's a nice drive.

Only 80 miles one way.

Which is just a short hop.

When you figure over the weekend I drove

to Tampa and back.

150 miles one way.

And tomorrow I'm heading down to West Palm.

A 110 mile trip.

And of course the ranch is 200 miles.
(Kyle came home today... he has
been up there since Monday.)
He tried camping, now he is doing
the "hotel thing".
Showers and actual beds are good things!

So 80 miles feels like a short hop!

I had a good book to listen to on tape.

Read by a lady with a strong English accent.

So I've been thinking / talking in "English"

all day long!

Listening to books sure makes the miles

go by more quickly.

Also, when I was done picking up the feed,

Sondra called and we had a nice visit for

a couple of minutes while I was in the drive-thru

ordering some lunch for the road home.

The guys at the feed mill are really sweet.

I just pull my truck in and somebody

comes out and backs it into the loading bay

for me. It's better for their loading bay

and my tailgate that way.

Backing with an audience

It appears I'm not the only one with
backing issues....

Wednesday

It's just Wednesday.

The day after Rod's birthday.

The day the Trim Healthy Poddy is released.

(They do a weekly podcast, I listen to it

while I stand at the sink and wash eggs...)

The day I stand at the sink and wash eggs.

(hahahahaha)

This morning I sat in my chair and started

my morning workout video (which I am 

LOVING, by the way)

and my text message notification went off.

(Mine is a door bell because it freaks Beau out.)

(I'm a mean Mommy)

It was Nancy!

We texted back and forth for a few minutes

and then gave up and picked up the phone.

Had a nice visit!

Until she walked into a spider web.

(Ahem - did you LIVE????)

As soon as I hung up, Kyle called.

He was having some truck issues and needed

a sounding board. I'm good at listening.

Mostly because I just listen.

I don't try to diagnose or fix.

Cuz I have NO IDEA what he's talking about.

Hahahahahahaha

We had a nice visit until Linda, her daughter Gina,

Son-in-law Colton, and new granddaughter, Lucy

showed up at the ranch.

They were there yesterday! And they are there

again today! Who knew!

Hopefully they have a nice visit and he gets a handle

on whatever is wrong with his truck.

He's coming home tomorrow - so will probably

spend the weekend working on it.

THEN I sat down in my chair and did my workout.

Just an hour or 2 late.

But that's ok, I loved chatting with family!

(Somewhere in there I fed all the critters too....)

They were happy.

(The critters)

Roxy was running around under my feet 

and didn't make the picture.

The brown cow and Beau were playing together.

They like each other.

They both have rubber noses.

This is Beau's other favorite place.

(Well, this is the cow trough, he is equally fond 

of the horse trough...)

This is what we do for fun during the day.

Just hang around in the cow pasture,

visiting the animals,

sitting in the shade (or the water,

as the case may be...).

Hope your Wednesday is as happy and peaceful!

Happy Birthday to my DARLING!

Today is my darling husband's birthday.

None ya business how old!

(and let's not discuss my "C" in math either, ok?)

But I do really know how old he is...

LOL

He has been working incredibly hard.

I nearly said "lately".

But that's not true.

He is ALWAYS working incredibly hard.

He is the hardest working human I know.

And considering I know Kyle, that's saying something!

He is working both jobs again today.

But decided to come home early tonight,

so we can go out to dinner 

and celebrate the day of his birth.

He is the best thing that ever happened to me.

He grounds me, keeps me on the straight 

and narrow, and makes my life fantastic.

He is thoughtful, kind, loving, considerate,

the King of Ministering,

and the best Dad around.

And yes, none of these pictures are particularly

flattering, but he is either at work, working,

or he is at home, working.

We'll try for a selfie tonight!

No promises.

LOL

Happy Birthday my Darling!!!!

I love you!!!

FUN Food Prep

I don't really like to cook.

I like to READ about cooking.

I like to WATCH videos about cooking.

I like to THINK about cooking.

But I don't actually like to cook.

It's the prep work.

I just don't have the attention span

necessary to do, say, cinnamon rolls.

I made them once.

They were fantastic.

Good thing,

cuz that memory has to last my family,

well, for eternity.

LOL

My rule of thumb is it has to go from

concept to table in 20 minutes

or its a non-starter for me.

That's why I love my air fryer 

and pressure cooker.

I can get it started and then walk away.

However,

I'm going out of town again this weekend.

And Rod really needs more in the fridge

than... nothing.

So...

This morning I decided to make some stuff.

I was watching a food blogger I like,

a young Mom of 4.

And she uses this nifty little gadget.

Looked like fun, it was on sale, and I had

a gift card for Bed Bath and Beyond,

so I picked it up.

And then it sat on my kitchen shelf for...

maybe a year. And a half.

Or six months.

Who remembers.

Anyhow, as I started chopping veggies this morning,

(I HATE chopping ANYTHING!)

My knife skills are laughable.

And standing in one spot on my tile floors

hurts my back after... one green pepper.

(ha! Not really, but it sounded good...)

I bought a new little rug to stand on.

Beau commandeered it.

Anytime I'm in the kitchen, he plops himself 

down right there on the little rug

"the Lady" obviously purchased for HIM.

Whatever.

I happened to glance over and see my gadget!

Eureka!

I didn't take any pictures "mid-chopping"

because frankly I was having too much fun.

You just lay your, whatever, I did tri colored peppers,

that little onion you see up there, and a bunch of celery.

Lay it on the metal grid, close the lid and

give it a good sharp WHACK with your palm.

VERY SATISFYING!

(And SUPER noisy! Beau actually moved 

to the living room!)

(I WIN!!)

That's three large colored peppers.

They were on sale at the organic market when

Kyle and I were there Wednesday.

He needed fancy soap.

I needed more Mrs. Meyers cleaner.

And I bought some lemon essential oil to put

in my magnesium gel. That stuff works like magic

on sore / stiff muscles (I'm working out again)

but smells like something DIED.

I'm going to see if I can at least get it to smell

like a LEMON died. 

Hahahahaha

(I think mine got old - I bought a new bottle

and it only faintly smells, I'm going to put

in some lemon and see if I can hide the smell.)

Anyhow.

The peppers were on sale and looked

so pretty! So I bought them.

And Kyle got himself a lemon basil plant,

and also a little mint plant.

They are in his bedroom for now,

making it smell AMAZING.

Back to the peppers.

Don't they look lovely?

And all uniformly chopped!

Cuz that's important.

Ha!

I made up a cream sauce - mayo,

apple cider vinegar, stevia sweetener, onion and garlic powders,

and a couple tsp of dried parsley.

Next came the celery and onions.

And then a box of Dreamfields elbow macaroni

that I cooked up while I was chopping.

Doesn't that look yummy?

I love this cold pasta salad, especially in the summer.

It's quick and easy and I try to make it

once a week, but chopping the veggies

puts me off so I don't always get it done.

But now, there's NO excuse!

I was having so much fun, I decided to chop up the rest

of the celery (using a smaller grid for tinier pieces)

and then figured why not, and did my apples

on that thing too! Made a big batch of

my other favorite. Trim Healthy Waldorf Salad. 

Green apple, celery, a tiny bit of walnuts

mixed into fat free cottage cheese.

Makes a big batch that I just keep in the fridge

for lunches or snacks.

It makes a cottage cheese tub full, plus

enough for one serving.

But I already had my breakfast cooking,

and since the apple is a carb and my breakfast

was a fat (farm fresh eggs, turkey bacon and okra

in the air fryer) the two don't go together,

so it's chilling in the fridge waiting to be eaten

as a snack in 3 hours.

Plus I have a nice little baggie started of stuff

to toss in my next pressure cooker batch of

beef bone broth.

(Or chicken, whichever bones I have first...)

Onion skin is FULL of flavor and vitamin C.

I wouldn't EAT it, but it does wonders for

broth / stock making.

************************************************************

In other news.

Can you believe this was FIVE YEARS AGO?

That was such a fun time together!

The Tractor Has Landed

Kyle drove up to the ranch this morning.

Without me!

Since he is planning to spend the night.

Anyhow.

The purpose of the trip was to get the new tractor.

Mission accomplished!

He got it all loaded onto the trailer.

Barely.

Luckily it's only 15 miles from the dealership

to the ranch - so he just drove carefully

and got there safe and sound.

(Like he was going to do anything else...)

When he got to the property, he was worried

that it might still be pretty wet / muddy,

so he decided to unload the tractor

out at the front gate.

This is the property.

Except it is GREEN.

See the pin at the top?

Under the pin is the hay barn.

Now imagine going to the left to the fenceline,

and then following the fenceline to the top.

That's where you enter the property.

And that's where he parked the tractor.

(Well, after mowing the WAAY overgrown

stuff there outside of the gate...)

Then he drove his truck up to the hay barn 

and parked it there.

Then he realized he had to go get the tractor.

So he called me and started walking.

SIX MINUTES LATER

he finally arrived at the tractor!

It's a LONG walk!

(and it was "feels like" 105 out there...)

Actually in the low 90's,

but with our high humidity,

it really does feel pretty toasty.

Anyhow.

He hopped in,

turned on the A/C

(aaaaaaah)

and headed back up to the hay barn,

mowing as he went.

*And chatting with me until I said it was

just too loud and I would talk to him later.

The first thing he wants to do is

mow the "33 acre" pasture.

Believe me.

It's a LONG way.

He was going to drive the UTV out there,

park it and then walk back and get the tractor

so he could just use the UTV to run back and

forth when he needed to.

But that is a LONG way!

(hahahaha)

He figures it will take about 30 minutes

(or more) to walk all the way out there.

I'll be interested to talk to him tonight

and find out what he ended up doing.

*btw - where it says 33, that's not the whole

rectangle, just the one that looks sort of green-ish.

Then there is a 22 acre pasture,

then there is... 18? acres?

I can't remember the exact sizes.

This place is pretty HUGE.

But he is super excited to finally be there

and doing something more than just walking / driving around.

His plan is to mow until... whenever.

Then drive into town and get some dinner,

then come back out to the property and

pitch his tent up on the tractor trailer.

He bought a nice comfy pillow top air mattress,

he plans to set up his tent and then

watch some TV on his phone.

I bet he just falls asleep.

Can't wait to hear all his adventures!

Another "Busy" Weekend

It's been a busy week.

Mostly I watched Kyle work.

(grin)

Our little farm is surrounded by wooden fence.

Rod and Kyle built it years ago.

And here in the HUMID south,

it gets looking old, grey and covered in...

algae? fungus? mold?

Who knows.

But it gets looking rough.

Kyle got out there with the pressure washer

(my fingers nearly typed pressure cooker! LOL)

Wow!

Check out the difference!

It looks a GAZILLION times better!

Thanks Kyle!

*********************************************

Then he cleaned the garage.

Lots of construction debris from the tiny house build.

And, of course, lots of just "accumulation" from life

in general.

Looks much better now.

No pictures though.

*********************************************

Today he is over at Linda's city farm,

mowing her pastures.

With all the rain we've been getting lately,

the grass is growing like crazy.

I might even break out our mower and do our yard 

later on today.

Or I might wait and "let" Rod do it.

Seriously.

He loves his new mower and is kind of sad

when he doesn't get a chance to ride on it.

Our property has been SUPER wet.

Like puddles in the yard and MUD in the pastures.

I "lost" my boots several times the other day

out in the cow pasture.

It didn't rain at all yesterday,

and today it's nearly back to normal.

Still some puddles in the horse pasture,

but it's lower than most of the rest, so thats

not unusual. But it's well on its way to 

being nice and dry again.

The benefits of living on a sand bar.

And this afternoon I'm going to pack up and

head over to Tampa to spend the weekend

teaching 3 instructors how to use the new system.

(And I've downloaded a couple of new books to read...)

I'm "on" for 30 minutes at the start of class 

and again for about 15 minutes at the end.

Other than that... I'll probably sit in the next

room and read a book.

He has a fairly small room and when I was

there subbing for him a month or two ago,

it was PACKED. No room for random

"non-students". Which is ok by me.

I've heard it all before.

*grin

My mouth is feeling better.

I put Carmex on my cold sore and although

it never bubbled up, it still took a week

for it to go away.

This new one I started with Carmex and then

suddenly remembered my Trim Healthy 

Bountiful Balm. Duh!

Rubbed it in, and the next morning it

was almost totally gone!

Silly me.

I'm bringing my tin of BB with me.

On the off chance I get another one.