Sunday, January 18, 2009

appliances and cows

No, we're not furnishing the barns with fridges and stoves for the cows...spent the day Saturday looking and pricing appliances....glad I had narrowed things down online before this or I would have been found wandering aimlessly around a parking lot somewhere in suburbia.

We've got possession, but having to come up with the money to refurb the house is crazy. I looked at washers, and dryers, and stoves, oh my. Fridges, and dishwashers, and rangehoods, oh why? Found out it does pay to make the small talk ANYWHERE. Nothing like going to a box appliance retailer and walking around with a salesman and exchanging quips on how many overalls you can stuff in a front load vs a top load (with agitator). Front load wins and I make my connection to his family farming and showing pigs to grandpa moving his farm to MO. His sister dated someone that went to the same college as BE, too! That's good for contractor pricing! Gotta love it. Another pearl from the pasture. :)

Came home to check on one of the new cows...she's just like a woman...a little moody with that "don't mess with me" look in her eyes.

Jiminy had to climb the roof to block wind from the pilot light on the furnace. It got so cold in the house that I had both kids on my lap in the lazyboy, under the blankets and then the dog (NOT a chihuahua size) decided to jump in! Toasty and a little stinky.

CMM is enjoying warm air in Denver...said he didn't even need his vest on. I'd be jealous, okay I am, but I am looking forward to the warm air in CA next weekend.

Spent the morning at church and then a little nap before going to the new house for a little cleaning...more just looking and thinking...oops.

LL and C are crashing at the south house to get on the bus when I'm gone in the am. Too early of a day.

Friday, January 16, 2009

sorry...been out to pasture

Well, since I've been here, I've started a new job, broken my foot, cem broke her arm, terrible things have happened in the relationship with the person that should be my best friend, new friends have been made, foundations of faith have remained strong, friends have been lost for an indefinate amount of time, a "friend" has been lost (okay, cut off, kicked out, feel the need to chew up and spit out) forever, found new inner strength everyone always said was there, lost 8 pounds, and the list goes on.

I guess my big thing to reiterate is the fact the God is good...more than good. He has and is carrying me through some hard, dark times.

Today the windchill was 27 below. -12 without windchill. After taking CMM and a friend to the airport at 430am, I about fell asleep in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrell while waiting for them to open....now that's desperate for pancackes!

More when I'm not falling asleep at the keyboard :0)



Heading out to look for appliances tomorrow for our new house! Also looking at flooring and bathroom stuff.

More to come..I promise to try and be better for all two of my followers

Thursday, September 25, 2008

9/25/08 Piles, Smiles, Tears, and Song

I'm so excited! It's almost midnight and it's been a great day! This morning started out with the bus coming early and from the opposite direction...wasn't sure if that meant we got out of bed on the wrong side, or not. Fortunately the kids were fed, dressed, and ready to go. :) I took advantage of the nice cool morning and the sounds of the farm. Our blue heeler trying to herd a few thousand starlings, the donkey letting us know there was someone at the hogbarn, and the managerie of neighborhood critters going through their morning motions. I've been able to help with the fence building for the new corral which has been great. I really enjoy being able to work with CMM. Today I had the job of getting all the leftover woodscraps collected and piled. My OCD tendencies came out when I started getting a little to concerned about what size went in what pile...it's scrap for goodness sake! It was a little piece of heaven, though, to be so far off the road. Unseen life was scurring through the thick, reckless, weaves of grass and weeds causing the dew to catch different shades of light as the sun started pulling itself above the corn. The stalks and leaves are starting their drying season and the rustling of them was just a soft reminder of the changing of the guard between summer and fall. Ah, the subtle symphonies of nature.
We're in our own personal queue to start harvest. CMM is thinking it will be another week or so before we have soybeans ready. Lots to do before then...especially the fence and hopefully a good cattle opportunity.
I spent the morning running around chasing paperwork and was able to get it all done...but in the interim, I met a great new neighbor! Whooda thunk an eastcoast girl would make friends with a westcoast girls in the middle of midwest farmland? We're both creative and kooky, honest and fortheright, love our babies and our husbands, and appreciate the value of our lives. I hope the smiles we shared over the twists and turns of our hour long "just stopping by" continue for a long, long, time.
Ran from her house (not because of her, but my lack of consistent time management skills) to the school to pick-up LD for a doctors visit. The doctor said, as he was trying to get a visual on the eardrum, that LD had potatos in his ears. That was responded with "Do I have a whole garden in there?" The laughter quickly turned to tears, though, when it was decided that surgery would be required to take care of things. Should be an easy procedure,with not enough time to even sit down before he's done. Tough to watch my little one who climbs the 25 foot maple in the back yard or shows the big guys how it's done on the mechanical bull, break down that quickly. It will be over in less than a week, though.
My last run was for a third interview. With CMM being self-employed, I provide the healthcare coverage for the family and am hoping to find something that makes for a good life-work balance. Things went great, so I've got my fingers rossed that they'll come back with a good offer.
My day ending with getting back to one of my passions, singing of the wonders and grace given to me by God. He accepts me for my mistakes, loves me enough to have created me, and lets me fall if I need too, but always having his arms their to catch me. Sometimes those arms come in the form of my dear friends...there to listen, counsel, or say not a word. Sometime they come in the form of my children....unabandoned love and devotion. Sometimes in the hyperness of my blue-heeler or the quietness of the far side of the pasture.
Well, my first attempt at blogging may be the longest, who knows? For now, though, I'll look for you next time, bringing you pearls from the pasture.....