Hookey

Yesterday I didn't show up at the office until 10.  I "had" to ride my horse.

This morning I took Rod to the eye doctor at 8 - he didn't realize he was out of eye drops and his prescription had expired.  And they needed to SEE him (since it's been 8 months since his last pressure check...)  His pressure was good - holding steady - he has to go in for more eye mapping (or whatever they call it) in September.  They took fancy pictures and she seemed happy enough...  (but she's kind of hard to read...)  After the eye doc, we did some errand running and then he went to bed and Kyle and I went kayaking!  (He got the day off today in exchange for working Monday...)

It was a GLORIOUS day on ol' Turkey Creek.  The sun was shining (it got pretty warm once or twice) with a light breeze and a good current on the way back.  We even met several other people out kayaking and enjoying the morning.

We also met a Mom and her baby Manatee - doing what sea cows do best... Grazing.  They swam right under our kayaks and Kyle got a good picture of them - but he hasn't sent it to me yet.  He was all "I wanted to pet it, but wanted to get a picture first..."  I was all "I don't want them to tip me over - the water is LOVELY as long as it is outside the boat and I'm inside it..."

We followed along behind them for quite awhile until we got to a nice little cove where they stopped to graze and we got some pictures.  However, ever the techie, I couldn't figure out how to zoom in using my phone camera (and I was wearing sun glasses instead of glasses glasses and couldn't see any of the little icons anyway...  I love self focusing things cuz I can't see - so I just point and shoot and hope for the best...)

I finally made it to the office about noon.  Which means I have to work until dark tonight to make my hours.  (And I'll have to take 4 hours PTO this week since I have to leave early to drive down to school on Friday and I haven't worked more than 8 hours any day this week!)  Oh well - that's what personal time is all about.  Sometimes you just gotta enjoy living in Paradise!



Ha ha ha ha ha ha - it really DOES look like a giant gator getting ready to eat the manatee!  Thanks Mom!



Monday. No Wait! Tuesday!

Kyle is right.  It's tough to have a day off.  Cuz then it's just all that much harder to go back to work.

But it sure was nice to have some time off this weekend.  I didn't do half the things I said I was going to.  (But in the back of my mind, I knew I was just going to relax and recharge my batteries...)

And I DID get out my sewing machine and fix the black-out curtain in our room so Rod can sleep better during the day.  So that's something...

This morning, in the spirit of NOT getting back on the wagon and heading to work, I got up around 6:45 instead of 6:30.  Went out to the tack room and did a workout.  Then out to the barn to feed the horses and do a round of fly spray.  Back inside to see if Sabrina was getting up.  She wasn't.  (grin)  Back outside to saddle Andy and go for a 45 minute ride.

I felt a little badly as I was getting on.  Kyle came outside for our morning "sit by the chickens, watch them be chickens and just hang out and chat" routine.  Huh.  I might have to rethink the morning ride a little.  Get up earlier?  (yah, right.)

Anyhow, it was a nice ride and I got back in time to see Kyle before he jumped on his scooter and headed off to work.  Then I went in and showered and decided to "get the day started". 

It really was a nice start to a day!  

Happy Memorial Day!

It's a quiet day here in Paradise...

Jim and Kyle are both at their dealerships.  Jim is hoping EVERYBODY goes out today and buys a car (from him).  Kyle, on the other hand, hopes everybody goes to the beach.  (He has to DETAIL all the cars people buy today...)  Normally Monday is his day off, but in their infinite wisdom, management decided to give everybody ELSE the day off and make him WORK!  Sheesh.

Rod got in about 5:30, so he is snoozing away.

Sabrina is still fighting a sinus infection, so she is curled up in her bed, probably with a good book.

And Tropical Storm Beryl is spinning away in North Florida.  All we are getting today is some gusty wind and feeder bands of rain here and there.  We got lots and lots of good soaking rain yesterday, so anything we get today is extra.  (I think we finally made up our drought deficit this week... yea!)

So...  I fed the horses, fed the chickens, gathered Blondie's egg (she's a steady layer, looks like) and then decided to put a saddle on Andy and go for a little ride.  It was overcast with occasional peeks of sunshine.  Looked like it was threatening to rain, but we managed an hour without getting wet. 

Everything looks better looking over a pair of horse ears!

Have a Wonderful Memorial Day!  Take a moment to remember those who have served our countries.

Thank you for your service!

Memories Of Montez (Sister Cooper)

I talked to Mom this afternoon on my way home from teaching a review class in South Florida.

She and Dad were at the hospice sitting with Montez and her husband Jim.

Brother and Sister Cooper are some pretty amazing people.  I spent the rest of the trip home remembering some of the special things about them.  

When I was a young teenager, I used to walk to their house (about half way between our house and Wisewood - the high school... not THAT far...) and "borrow" their beautiful boxer Stacy.  I would get her leash and take her for a walk - practicing her "heel" and "hold" commands.  Since her name was Stacy, you couldn't tell her to "stay"... too confusing for her.  So we taught her to Hold.  I've always loved the name Stacy.  In fact, if Jim had been a girl, his name would have been Stacey Anne.  (No, not after the dog...  I just love the name...)  I'm sure it was a hassle having an animal crazy girl "borrowing" your dog, but they never let on...

And Sister Cooper introduced me to my first canape!  (Ok, Vicki Sadowick's Mom made peanut butter on crustless white bread and wrapped it around a whole banana - sliced in "nickels" and served while watching old Elvis movies in the basement...)  However, Sister Cooper's was Fancy!  She invited my entire Mutual class over for a luncheon.  The only thing I remember is she wrapped a thin slice of ham around a spear of chilled asparagus and a baby finger of cheddar cheese.  Stabbed the whole deal with a toothpick.  Highfalutin' noshing, that.  And completely in a different league from a peanut butter and banana disc.  Either I'm anti-social, or just incredibly busy, but I almost never have anyone over.  But I do make those fancy nummies for myself now and again.  (And the pbb nickels for Kyle - he loves 'em)

The Coopers daughter, Marla, and Sondra were great friends!  So when their family went to Mexico, they generously took Soni with them!  And she came home with a two piece "bikini" with a padded hand print on the back of the butt.  Major! Scandal!    (But Super Cute!)

Nancy and the Cooper's son Kendall were part of a gaggle of kids in the ward that had a great time together.  One summer a bunch of the ward families went to the lake together.  (Shueshwap?)  (Yah, I'm sure that's not how you spell it...)  It was a great week.  Lots of swimming, boating, water skiing, and weenie roasts around the communal fire pit.  I remember one afternoon the ladies were all sitting around the camp chatting.  Some of the men had decided that since it was vacation, they weren't going to shave.  I can't remember it if was Sister Cooper or Sister Johnston, but one of them told the others, emphatically, that she insisted he shave.  She told him "it's like kissing a hair brush!"  I remember thinking "Eeeeeeeeuuuuuwwww!  Kissing!  Hello... there are CHILDREN present!"

Coopers were an important part of our ward and our family's history.  Sister Cooper will be missed.  She set such a terrific example for me and shared so much of herself with others.  She has certainly earned a "Well done my good and faithful servant".

We love you Sister Cooper!  God Speed.

New Girls

Kyle went over and collected our 4 new chickens last night.  They are BIG!  Much bigger than I thought they would be - or maybe my girls are just small... lol



Ozzie checking out the new birds.  Red is on the left



They were too big to keep in the dog crate.  The original plan was to leave them in the crate, in the barn and then introduce them to the little girls on Saturday when I would be home all day to monitor.  ("They" recommend adding at night and/or sitting there with a spray bottle filled with water to discourage any aggressive behavior...)  

But they really looked like those poor "factory" chickens all smashed in the crate.  I couldn't make them spend the night in there.  So... we waited until it was nearly dark and put them in the coop.



Red, up front and center



They have never been in the grass before.  They were kept in a nice, clean 8'x 8' shed (with windows) but had never been "outside" before.  They LOVED it!  Immediately ate the only tall weeds in there.  And then started on the grass.  Then they noticed the little girls eating their dinner in the big hanging feeder.  Decided to give that a try.



Checking out the fluffy weeds I tossed in there this morning.  YUM!



It was HYSTERICAL!



Rocky venturing out from under the nesting box



Dive in for a peck, which caused the feeder to swing.  Jump back!  Aaaaack!  It MOVES!  It was pretty entertaining. (Guess you had to be there...)  We put the sides down on the hay wagon and sat there and watched (without any dogs - they were banished to the garage until this morning) and made sure everybody got along.  They were definitely split in two groups with some minor altercations, but nothing serious.



Hey look!  A dust bath!  Maybe later....



We are called the Barred Rock - black and white feathers, Rocky.  Imaginative, right?  For the obvious reasons, but she is also a little feisty.  Red is either a Rhode Island Red or a Red Star (red sex link - a cross between a RIR and something else - bred specially to be a good egg layer - thats what all my little red girls are...) 



Rocky and the random Yellow Bird.  No idea what she is....



And then there is a yellow something or other.  No idea.  I spent some time on the forums this morning trying to find something she looks like but I can't figure her out.  She's fairly shy, and the old owner said she goes broody (sits on her eggs trying to hatch them...)  He bought a fertilized egg and she happily hatched it out.  Which brings us to the baby grey.  No idea what it is or even if it is a boy or a girl.  Might turn out to be another barred rock, although now that I've looked at pictures of baby bars I'm thinking no.  She's (I'm HOPING she's a girl... so we're going with that for now) more dove colored.  Very shy.  Nobody likes her.  She doesn't fit with either group and just sort of hangs out between the two groups looking lonely.  Poor little thing.  Nobody picks on her, just nobody hangs out with her.  She'll probably end up my favorite.  (grin)  I don't think I got any pictures of her this morning...



A better picture of the yellow girl.  She looks like some sort of Bantem, but???



So... now we're just waiting to see if we get eggs.  They layed yesterday, but there WAS a lot of trauma in the move.  So it might take a day or two for them to get comfortable.



Red and Rocky (Roxie?) stick together...



Yellow girl really DOES have a head... lol

 UPDATE:  Houston - we have an EGG! 

Ta Da!!!!  A nice, large, brown egg.

Well. THAT was fun.....

I just spent the last 30 or so minutes on the phone with my bank and PayPal. 

Somebody got a hold of my debit card information.

Then they went on a little spending spree.

I say little, because one of my co-workers got hacked and they spent over $4,000 in Europe!

My guy, however, is probably a 16 year old pimplie-faced kid sitting in his mother's basement.

7 video games ("Blood and Guts GangLand Wars")?????

6 "kind of like" iTunes

and

Wait for it...

$15.00 to the American Diabetes Society

I let that one stand.

PayPal and my bank are on it.

So all is right with the world.

At least my co-workers and I got some entertainment out of it.......

And yah, we're gonna cure Diabetes while we're at it.

Random Ramblings

Mark your calendars!  Kyle mentioned to me Monday night that (for the first time) some of my “Hippy Dippy Medicine” actually worked.  Thankfully his foot is feeling much better!  He had some early onset plantar fasciitis which was causing enough pain that he actually took his FIRST (and only) sick day in a year and a half at the dealership!  (Of course, he didn’t sit and soak his foot… he worked on my chicken coop…)  He has been spraying a mixture of Health and Wisdom's magnesium oil with water on some cotton pads and putting them on the soles of his feet at night.  He is back to walking on it without discomfort.  So glad he is feeling better!  He is on his feet all day long, so having a sore foot could be a real pain!  (I’m so funny…)

Is it just me or does this look like a buffalo?



Actually a beautiful picture of trees on Nancy's wall...
But I ALWAYS think buffalo first and then correct myself.
Ok, maybe it's just me...



I’m “trying” to figure out some more “games” to do with my students.  I’ve played a couple with them and they are requesting them more and more.  It’s a good way to learn and break up the lecture time, but I’m just not a real game player – so coming up with ideas is HARD!  (I’m thinking Jeopary-ish with categories and questions on a card held up with a Velcro dot…?)  Thanks to my most recent trainee for coming up with a good matching game I shameless stole – the students love it!  Now to remember to PLAY it...

Rod just called.  One of my chickens got out this morning.  Luckily he was able to catch her and stick her back in... the dogs were digging in around the bottom this morning.  I put a board there as a temporary fix, but I guess it wasn't enough.  Rod is on it though... 

(I see an airsoft gun in my future...)

One of Kyle's co-workers has 3 adult (laying) chickens he's tired of messing with.  He offered to give them to us.  So I think they'll be joining our flock this weekend.  YEA for eggs without waiting til August!!!  Luckily the guys built the coop large enough for a good sized flock.

If you build it - they will come.