Clearly, this farm is not safe for animals.
Death by drowning, death by dog bite, death by coyote attack, death by illness, death by butcher.
So many deaths.
And yet, we have a new one to add to the list.
The calendar of events:
Thursday
I went out to feed the chickens. We keep the 50 pound bags of food in metal, lidded trash cans. I used the last of the first bag, so opened the lid to the next can to get more. I was greeted by hundreds of maggots all over the outside of the bag and an awful smell emanating from it. Clearly, something horrible had gone down in that trash can. I was not in the mood to find out what that horrible thing was, so I put the lid back on the can.
Saturday
COW cleaned out the feed bag mess and discovered the root of the problem. The puzzle pieces fell into place.
The previous Monday
Monday night COW took the extra bag of chicken feed out to the coop at 8:30. With the sun going down so early, that meant he did this chore in the dark.
All he had was a flashlight and a 50 pound bag of feed.
He simply dropped the bag of feed into the already opened can, then put the lid on it.
Saturday, again
When he took the maggot-covered bag of food out of the can, he discovered a dead OPOSSUM in the bottom.
Poor, little, horribly ugly marsupial.
On Monday night, he was simply minding his business, eating up the spilled chicken food in the bottom of the can, when out of nowhere, a 50 pound bag of feed dropped on his head.
I feel an acrostic coming on.
Out for a stroll, searching for food, I was
Presented with a conundrum. It was a can. An
Open can with food lying in the bottom. I
Searched the area, looked for the trap.
Seeing nothing, I chose to go in, as I was
Unusually hungry. The feed was delicious, and I
Made short work of BAM!
The End.
RIP Mr. Opossum. R.I.P.
Have a lovely day!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
10 Things of Thankful, Week 19
Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
1. I am thankful for the end of three sports seasons. High school soccer, middle school cross country, and Turken's rec soccer all finished up this week. Life is going to seem almost lazy come Monday.
2. I am thankful for a new laptop. As the kids get older, they are having more and more homework which requires the use of the computer. There have been many nights when a teen is up until 10 typing, simply because he didn't have access to the computer before then. And when a kid ties up the computer until 10, Mama doesn't get to use it at all. That is a Problem. COW took it upon himself to solve the Problem by ordering a laptop, and it came in yesterday. Happy days are here again!
3. I am thankful for two boys who know how to build a fire. It used to be, we rarely had evening fires. By the time dinner was eaten and cleaned up, it was almost bedtime for the little boys. Now, as soon as dinner is over, we can send Phoenix and Star out to get the fire going. COW and I stay inside to clean up the kitchen and get the s'mores ready. Last night we were able to spend an hour outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and the little boys still got to bed at a decent hour.
4. I am thankful for OrthoIndy. Our year of being hexed has continued, and we were there on Monday night to have Buttercup's toe x-rayed. It was broken, but we only spent 30 minutes in the place to get the diagnosis. And it costs 1/10 the amount of an ER visit.
5. I am thankful for modern medicine. Quite ironic that last week I was thankful for modern medicine when we didn't need it as well as my parents' good health. This week, I received a call from my stepmom at 11:00 at night. My dad was in the hospital with a heart rate of 175 beats per minute. A simple shot into his IV, and he was fine. One prescription later, he was home. One day later, he was feeling great and back on the golf course.
6. I am thankful for technology which can help spread important news. After the call about my dad, it was my job to inform my siblings. Since my dad was fine, I didn't want to alarm my siblings with a late-night call if they were already asleep. I simply texted them, so they could have the info when they got up in the morning.
7, 8, and 9. I am thankful for people who can make me laugh. (7) It so happens that both brothers were awake and got my texts right away. The youngest of the two was about to head to a hospital in his town to help a family from church. Our "textersation":
Me: I will say some prayers for them.
Him: Make sure they're Mormon prayers, cause they're Mormon.
Me: I'll say New Testament prayers. "Dear Baby Jesus..."
Him: 7 pounds 5 ounces baby Jesus, with a little gold diaper.
(If you haven't seen Talladega Nights, do so now.)
And (8) (What I'm about to tell you is on Lizzi's list, too.) Earlier this week, I received a note from Lizzi with a link she said I must watch. I watched, and laughed whole-heartedly. Our conversation after I watched it made me laugh even harder, since I had no idea when I watched the video that my mug was actually one of the characters. A werewolf me doesn't look anything like the real-life me!
Good heavens!! I just realized I never said it was Zoe who made the video!! She's the funny one who made me laugh! Sorry Zoe!
Go here if you would like to see it.
(9) We were driving home from school, when out of the blue, Buttercup gasped and yelled, "That guy scared me!" I looked out to see what she was talking about, and once again fell into appreciation for Americans. How can you not love a guy who does this?
10. I am thankful for line-dried sheets. I love crawling into bed at night, but especially when the sheets are clean and smell like the out of doors.
Your turn!
Have a lovely day!
2. I am thankful for a new laptop. As the kids get older, they are having more and more homework which requires the use of the computer. There have been many nights when a teen is up until 10 typing, simply because he didn't have access to the computer before then. And when a kid ties up the computer until 10, Mama doesn't get to use it at all. That is a Problem. COW took it upon himself to solve the Problem by ordering a laptop, and it came in yesterday. Happy days are here again!
3. I am thankful for two boys who know how to build a fire. It used to be, we rarely had evening fires. By the time dinner was eaten and cleaned up, it was almost bedtime for the little boys. Now, as soon as dinner is over, we can send Phoenix and Star out to get the fire going. COW and I stay inside to clean up the kitchen and get the s'mores ready. Last night we were able to spend an hour outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and the little boys still got to bed at a decent hour.
4. I am thankful for OrthoIndy. Our year of being hexed has continued, and we were there on Monday night to have Buttercup's toe x-rayed. It was broken, but we only spent 30 minutes in the place to get the diagnosis. And it costs 1/10 the amount of an ER visit.
5. I am thankful for modern medicine. Quite ironic that last week I was thankful for modern medicine when we didn't need it as well as my parents' good health. This week, I received a call from my stepmom at 11:00 at night. My dad was in the hospital with a heart rate of 175 beats per minute. A simple shot into his IV, and he was fine. One prescription later, he was home. One day later, he was feeling great and back on the golf course.
6. I am thankful for technology which can help spread important news. After the call about my dad, it was my job to inform my siblings. Since my dad was fine, I didn't want to alarm my siblings with a late-night call if they were already asleep. I simply texted them, so they could have the info when they got up in the morning.
7, 8, and 9. I am thankful for people who can make me laugh. (7) It so happens that both brothers were awake and got my texts right away. The youngest of the two was about to head to a hospital in his town to help a family from church. Our "textersation":
Me: I will say some prayers for them.
Him: Make sure they're Mormon prayers, cause they're Mormon.
Me: I'll say New Testament prayers. "Dear Baby Jesus..."
Him: 7 pounds 5 ounces baby Jesus, with a little gold diaper.
(If you haven't seen Talladega Nights, do so now.)
And (8) (What I'm about to tell you is on Lizzi's list, too.) Earlier this week, I received a note from Lizzi with a link she said I must watch. I watched, and laughed whole-heartedly. Our conversation after I watched it made me laugh even harder, since I had no idea when I watched the video that my mug was actually one of the characters. A werewolf me doesn't look anything like the real-life me!
Good heavens!! I just realized I never said it was Zoe who made the video!! She's the funny one who made me laugh! Sorry Zoe!
Go here if you would like to see it.
(9) We were driving home from school, when out of the blue, Buttercup gasped and yelled, "That guy scared me!" I looked out to see what she was talking about, and once again fell into appreciation for Americans. How can you not love a guy who does this?
 |
| For those of you not wearing your glasses, he's wearing a gorilla mask. |
10. I am thankful for line-dried sheets. I love crawling into bed at night, but especially when the sheets are clean and smell like the out of doors.
Your turn!
Have a lovely day!
Your hosts
A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I can say mama, I Want Backsies, Rewritten, Steps into Parenthood, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine
Friday, October 11, 2013
Quick Takes. Seven of Them.
Joining the Queen of Quick Takes this week. Per usual.
1. Last year, after Turken came in from collecting the eggs, he and I had a conversation about our animals.
T: Why do we have dogs?
Me: To keep coyotes and other wild animals away.
T: Why do we have chickens and pigs?
Me: We have chickens for their eggs and pigs for their meat.
T: When will the pigs start laying the meat?
Teaching young farm kids about the realities of being omnivores is a process. With each new year, when animals disappear into and, two weeks later, big boxes get picked up from the same place, more in-depth conversations occur. I don't offer information unless the child initiates the conversation. I don't sugar-coat things, but I don't get graphic, either. I simply cringe each year, wondering, will this be the one he finally gets it? And what will his reaction be?
This year, I do believe Turken finally understands the role of the butcher.
As we pulled into the parking lot...
Turken: This is where we dropped off the pigs.
Me: Yes, it is.
Turken: Are we picking them up?
Me: Yes we are.
Turken: Where are they?
Me: In the boxes. The pigs become meat.
Turken (with eyes as big as saucers): Ooooohhhh.
So far, so good. We'll see how it goes once we start eating it.
2. Why do people in the US even say the phrase "big as saucers"? We don't drink tea with cups and saucers. If you'd take a poll, I bet most people in this country would associate the word "saucer" with the word "flying", not cup. Turken's eyes were not as big as flying saucers.
What's that? No one in the US uses that phrase? Just me and women over the age of 90?
Consider that fact noted.
3. I'm sure you recall the fact that someone is inflicting massive pain and injury on our family with the use of voodoo dolls. (I'm using the term "fact" loosely here. (Just to prove point. (and avoid the truth (The truth being my family is full of a bunch of klutzes.)))) For two months, we have been injury-free.
We got complacent.
Then on Sunday...BAM!
Literally.
Buttercup was helping to clean up some toys in the hallway. Instead of picking them up, she was kicking them into a pile. She took one massive swing with her foot to kick one, then missed the toy altogether. Instead, her toe connected with the door jamb.
One trip to OrthoIndy later, and Buttercup is out of soccer and the city cross country meet until her broken toe heals.
That makes 6 debilitating injuries for our family in one year. You can't tell me black magic doesn't have something to do with this.
The (fake) reward still stands.
4. On my way out to feed some fruit to the chickens, I thought of you all and grabbed my camera. Guess what I found when I got out to the pen? Yup. A chicken on the net. Except this time, it was a different, heavier chicken. She wasn't in the know about the trampoline effect of the net. I took a video of me trying to get her off. Not very graceful, that hen. And not a very good videographer, that woman with the camera. Another sideways video. I forgot how to fix it. Next time, it will be awesome. And a more interesting video. This one? Meh. And yet, I included it.
5. It's amazing how one activity can elicit such different reactions in parent and child. Take War (with a deck of cards) for instance. Cuckoo finds it to be the most enjoyable game, causing him to giggle every single time he wins a match-up. (As in, every time he puts a card down higher than mine.) At the same time, I find the game to be so completely, mind-numbingly boring I start falling asleep. My body is now trained like Pavlov's dog. As soon as the cards are dealt, my brain sends out the "Naptime Everybody! Heart, slow down! Eyes, close!" signal.
He wants to play it at least 5 times a day, which means I am in a perpetual state of almost comatose, regardless of how many hours of sleep I got the night before.
6. Speaking of Cuckoo's one track mind, I regret the start of another new "game". It's been chilly here in the mornings, so I wear my robe around the house. (And out to the chicken coop and in the car when I take Phoenix to his carpool. Just call me Grandma.) Earlier this week, Cuckoo woke up and, as usual, climbed onto my lap. He was in flimsy little PJs and said he was cold. I wrapped him up in my robe with me, then to secure him, I told him to put his arms in the arm wholes with my arms. He thought that was fantastically funny, especially when I would stretch or wave my arms, and he had no choice but for his arms to do the same. I found it quite amusing myself. The first day.
The second day, he remembered, and even though he wasn't cold, climbed into my robe. It was slightly amusing.
Day 3, not so much.
Day 4, I'm barely tolerating it. He's not exactly calm and quiet. My body is taking a beating.
I'm thinking Day 5 will include me quickly ditching the robe behind the couch before he makes it down the steps.
7. October break starts today! With the kids going to different schools now, they don't have the same break, but we do have one day of overlap. I'm thinking we'll go do something fun at a state park. You know, since Indiana takes it's job seriously, keeps the budget balanced, and keeps public places open to the public.
Have a lovely day!
1. Last year, after Turken came in from collecting the eggs, he and I had a conversation about our animals.
T: Why do we have dogs?
Me: To keep coyotes and other wild animals away.
T: Why do we have chickens and pigs?
Me: We have chickens for their eggs and pigs for their meat.
T: When will the pigs start laying the meat?
Teaching young farm kids about the realities of being omnivores is a process. With each new year, when animals disappear into and, two weeks later, big boxes get picked up from the same place, more in-depth conversations occur. I don't offer information unless the child initiates the conversation. I don't sugar-coat things, but I don't get graphic, either. I simply cringe each year, wondering, will this be the one he finally gets it? And what will his reaction be?
This year, I do believe Turken finally understands the role of the butcher.
As we pulled into the parking lot...
Turken: This is where we dropped off the pigs.
Me: Yes, it is.
Turken: Are we picking them up?
Me: Yes we are.
 |
| I know the boxes say "mixed nuts". Trust me. There's pig in them there boxes. |
Turken: Where are they?
Me: In the boxes. The pigs become meat.
Turken (with eyes as big as saucers): Ooooohhhh.
So far, so good. We'll see how it goes once we start eating it.
2. Why do people in the US even say the phrase "big as saucers"? We don't drink tea with cups and saucers. If you'd take a poll, I bet most people in this country would associate the word "saucer" with the word "flying", not cup. Turken's eyes were not as big as flying saucers.
What's that? No one in the US uses that phrase? Just me and women over the age of 90?
Consider that fact noted.
3. I'm sure you recall the fact that someone is inflicting massive pain and injury on our family with the use of voodoo dolls. (I'm using the term "fact" loosely here. (Just to prove point. (and avoid the truth (The truth being my family is full of a bunch of klutzes.)))) For two months, we have been injury-free.
We got complacent.
Then on Sunday...BAM!
Literally.
Buttercup was helping to clean up some toys in the hallway. Instead of picking them up, she was kicking them into a pile. She took one massive swing with her foot to kick one, then missed the toy altogether. Instead, her toe connected with the door jamb.
One trip to OrthoIndy later, and Buttercup is out of soccer and the city cross country meet until her broken toe heals.
That makes 6 debilitating injuries for our family in one year. You can't tell me black magic doesn't have something to do with this.
The (fake) reward still stands.
4. On my way out to feed some fruit to the chickens, I thought of you all and grabbed my camera. Guess what I found when I got out to the pen? Yup. A chicken on the net. Except this time, it was a different, heavier chicken. She wasn't in the know about the trampoline effect of the net. I took a video of me trying to get her off. Not very graceful, that hen. And not a very good videographer, that woman with the camera. Another sideways video. I forgot how to fix it. Next time, it will be awesome. And a more interesting video. This one? Meh. And yet, I included it.
5. It's amazing how one activity can elicit such different reactions in parent and child. Take War (with a deck of cards) for instance. Cuckoo finds it to be the most enjoyable game, causing him to giggle every single time he wins a match-up. (As in, every time he puts a card down higher than mine.) At the same time, I find the game to be so completely, mind-numbingly boring I start falling asleep. My body is now trained like Pavlov's dog. As soon as the cards are dealt, my brain sends out the "Naptime Everybody! Heart, slow down! Eyes, close!" signal.
He wants to play it at least 5 times a day, which means I am in a perpetual state of almost comatose, regardless of how many hours of sleep I got the night before.
6. Speaking of Cuckoo's one track mind, I regret the start of another new "game". It's been chilly here in the mornings, so I wear my robe around the house. (And out to the chicken coop and in the car when I take Phoenix to his carpool. Just call me Grandma.) Earlier this week, Cuckoo woke up and, as usual, climbed onto my lap. He was in flimsy little PJs and said he was cold. I wrapped him up in my robe with me, then to secure him, I told him to put his arms in the arm wholes with my arms. He thought that was fantastically funny, especially when I would stretch or wave my arms, and he had no choice but for his arms to do the same. I found it quite amusing myself. The first day.
The second day, he remembered, and even though he wasn't cold, climbed into my robe. It was slightly amusing.
Day 3, not so much.
Day 4, I'm barely tolerating it. He's not exactly calm and quiet. My body is taking a beating.
I'm thinking Day 5 will include me quickly ditching the robe behind the couch before he makes it down the steps.
7. October break starts today! With the kids going to different schools now, they don't have the same break, but we do have one day of overlap. I'm thinking we'll go do something fun at a state park. You know, since Indiana takes it's job seriously, keeps the budget balanced, and keeps public places open to the public.
Have a lovely day!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Things I Collect for No Darn Good Reason
My name is Christine, and I am a collector.
I hate that I have to admit that. I could have sworn I wasn't. It just doesn't fit my personality. I hate chotchkes. I strongly dislike stuff covering every inch of flat surface. I read a post recently* in which a woman discussed collections, then asked if we, the readers, collected anything. I answered (in my head) a loud and definitive, "HECK NO!" In all caps.
And then I started walking around my house.
I have collections everywhere!!
Are they out in the open cluttering up every surface in the house?
No.
They are all hidden away from public viewing. And really, any viewing, as I tend to avoid the areas where these items are stashed. But I searched them out just for you. Because my brain could think of nothing else to write. Sorry.
1. Egg cartons.
Hundreds of egg cartons. Which translates to spots for thousands of eggs. As soon as people heard we were raising chickens, they started collecting cartons for us. They are so sweet to do it for us, so of course I don't say, "No, we have enough". I just take them with a big smile and a gracious thank you and start another stack in the basement. Why? Because one day we will be great farmers, with chickens who are stellar layers, laying not one, not two, but three eggs a day. Each! We'll be happy to have these cartons then.
2. Beer Koozies
For all the beer we don't drink.
I keep 22 Koozies in a cooler in our basement. (We have lots of coolers, which, I now realize, was our first collectable. We got married in the age of "Newly Married Couples Must Go on Lots and Lots of Picnics" which required everyone to buy one for us. We received 4 picnic baskets and 6 coolers at our wedding shower.) Not one of these koozies has ever been used. See that fancy one with the "Didgeri..." on it? Still has a tag. Even the cool one with the neck strap has failed to see the light of day. Why do we keep them? Good question. I forgot to mention in my "what am I looking forward to" listicle that COW and I are going to become huge drinkers of cheap beer, lounging around in our underwear on the front porch. It's hot in the summer, and there's nothing worse than warm beer covered in "sweat".
3. Paint
We have painted exactly 4 rooms in this house. Kitchen, dining room, little boys' room, and big boys' room. So why do we have 16 gallons of paint? Because the people who lived here before us painted lots of rooms, and kept the paint. Apparently, I hate to be the one who breaks tradition. That, and we're too lazy to find a place to dispose of it.
4. Flimsy Draw-string Backpacks
It seems every couple of years there is a new "it thing" to pass out for free. At the fair, at Turkey trots, at soccer games, with the purchase of a pair of shoes. One year it was water bottles. I miss the days when it was pencils. I love a good #2 (pencil). For the last couple of years, the thing has been these backpacks. Feast your eyes, People, on the largest collection known to athletes everywhere. These 25 are the ones being stored under our bed (with the 30 other bags of varying types). There are at least 15 floating around the house as Scout bags, library book bags, overnight bags and more. Why do I keep them? Because we want to be ready in case of emergency. Just picture me standing with the bags, passing them out to the children while I scream, "Hurry! You can only take with you what fits in this bag! Move! Move!" And we'll have 15 people staying with us at the time, so we'll need all those extras.
5. Strollers and other baby necessities
We have four umbrella strollers, one double stroller, a seat to attach to a bike for the baby to ride in, and 4 booster seats in the basement. Why? Because, clearly, we believe God, with his infinite sense of humor, will "bless" us with quadruplets any day now. And one of us will go so crazy we will take that bike in the photo, strap on the bike seat and the favorite child, and ride off into the sunset. COW was a Boy Scout. "Be Prepared" is the motto of the scouts. (No, really, it is. There's a song that says so and everything.)
Shoes, and not fun, pretty ones.
This is the shoe cubby which you once saw in the tour of our old kitchen. In preparing for the remodel, we moved the cubby to the basement, shoes included. Not one of those shoes has been touched since. Why? It seems we're worried that the government will never reopen, and the country will shut down. We are prepared to run as far as we need in order to find food and water.
6. Chargers
We have a drawer in the built-ins in the dining room specifically for the care and keeping of chargers. In this photo, there are 20 of them. There are more still in the drawer. I got too tired pulling these out to go any farther. You will notice some of them are wound up and rubberbanded. About 6 months ago, in a fit of "Where the hell is my camera cord?!?!" I organized the drawer a bit. Do I know what all of these cords are used to charge? Heavens, no. I do know some, though. Like the cord for the phone I owned two years ago. The phone which died and meant Giant was unable to reach me when I accidentally left him at home. I have no idea why I still have the charger, so don't ask. (And yes, after taking this picture, I put it right back in the drawer.) I keep most of them, though, because I don't know to which electronics they belong. As soon as I throw some cords away, you will find me at the drawer, electronic in hand, painstakingly going through all the ones we still have, trying desperately to shove a rectangle into a square, looking for the charger that fits, muttering, "See? THIS is why we shouldn't throw them away!"
I have no doubt there are more "collectables" around somewhere. Like the stack of baseball caps in a family who doesn't play baseball or wear baseball caps ever. Or the plastic grocery bags, from all the times I forget to bring my reusable ones into the store. We don't use them in the kitchen for trash anymore, so there are gobs of them littering the mudroom. I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.
To cheer me up, why don't you tell me about something you collect for no good reason.
Have a lovely day!
*As longtime readers know, my memory ain't what it used to be. I could not find the blog or the post. If it was you, or if you know who wrote it, please let me know. I'd like to put a link to her post in there.
I hate that I have to admit that. I could have sworn I wasn't. It just doesn't fit my personality. I hate chotchkes. I strongly dislike stuff covering every inch of flat surface. I read a post recently* in which a woman discussed collections, then asked if we, the readers, collected anything. I answered (in my head) a loud and definitive, "HECK NO!" In all caps.
And then I started walking around my house.
I have collections everywhere!!
Are they out in the open cluttering up every surface in the house?
No.
They are all hidden away from public viewing. And really, any viewing, as I tend to avoid the areas where these items are stashed. But I searched them out just for you. Because my brain could think of nothing else to write. Sorry.
 |
| People, I actually made this button all on my own. Buttercup was already in bed, and since she's a bit of the worst kind of bear when she doesn't get her beauty rest, I had to go it alone. Yes, it's a boring button, and it's not centered, but it's my boring, off-center button. |
1. Egg cartons.
Hundreds of egg cartons. Which translates to spots for thousands of eggs. As soon as people heard we were raising chickens, they started collecting cartons for us. They are so sweet to do it for us, so of course I don't say, "No, we have enough". I just take them with a big smile and a gracious thank you and start another stack in the basement. Why? Because one day we will be great farmers, with chickens who are stellar layers, laying not one, not two, but three eggs a day. Each! We'll be happy to have these cartons then.
2. Beer Koozies
For all the beer we don't drink.
I keep 22 Koozies in a cooler in our basement. (We have lots of coolers, which, I now realize, was our first collectable. We got married in the age of "Newly Married Couples Must Go on Lots and Lots of Picnics" which required everyone to buy one for us. We received 4 picnic baskets and 6 coolers at our wedding shower.) Not one of these koozies has ever been used. See that fancy one with the "Didgeri..." on it? Still has a tag. Even the cool one with the neck strap has failed to see the light of day. Why do we keep them? Good question. I forgot to mention in my "what am I looking forward to" listicle that COW and I are going to become huge drinkers of cheap beer, lounging around in our underwear on the front porch. It's hot in the summer, and there's nothing worse than warm beer covered in "sweat".
3. Paint
We have painted exactly 4 rooms in this house. Kitchen, dining room, little boys' room, and big boys' room. So why do we have 16 gallons of paint? Because the people who lived here before us painted lots of rooms, and kept the paint. Apparently, I hate to be the one who breaks tradition. That, and we're too lazy to find a place to dispose of it.
4. Flimsy Draw-string Backpacks
It seems every couple of years there is a new "it thing" to pass out for free. At the fair, at Turkey trots, at soccer games, with the purchase of a pair of shoes. One year it was water bottles. I miss the days when it was pencils. I love a good #2 (pencil). For the last couple of years, the thing has been these backpacks. Feast your eyes, People, on the largest collection known to athletes everywhere. These 25 are the ones being stored under our bed (with the 30 other bags of varying types). There are at least 15 floating around the house as Scout bags, library book bags, overnight bags and more. Why do I keep them? Because we want to be ready in case of emergency. Just picture me standing with the bags, passing them out to the children while I scream, "Hurry! You can only take with you what fits in this bag! Move! Move!" And we'll have 15 people staying with us at the time, so we'll need all those extras.
5. Strollers and other baby necessities
We have four umbrella strollers, one double stroller, a seat to attach to a bike for the baby to ride in, and 4 booster seats in the basement. Why? Because, clearly, we believe God, with his infinite sense of humor, will "bless" us with quadruplets any day now. And one of us will go so crazy we will take that bike in the photo, strap on the bike seat and the favorite child, and ride off into the sunset. COW was a Boy Scout. "Be Prepared" is the motto of the scouts. (No, really, it is. There's a song that says so and everything.)
Shoes, and not fun, pretty ones.
This is the shoe cubby which you once saw in the tour of our old kitchen. In preparing for the remodel, we moved the cubby to the basement, shoes included. Not one of those shoes has been touched since. Why? It seems we're worried that the government will never reopen, and the country will shut down. We are prepared to run as far as we need in order to find food and water.
6. Chargers
We have a drawer in the built-ins in the dining room specifically for the care and keeping of chargers. In this photo, there are 20 of them. There are more still in the drawer. I got too tired pulling these out to go any farther. You will notice some of them are wound up and rubberbanded. About 6 months ago, in a fit of "Where the hell is my camera cord?!?!" I organized the drawer a bit. Do I know what all of these cords are used to charge? Heavens, no. I do know some, though. Like the cord for the phone I owned two years ago. The phone which died and meant Giant was unable to reach me when I accidentally left him at home. I have no idea why I still have the charger, so don't ask. (And yes, after taking this picture, I put it right back in the drawer.) I keep most of them, though, because I don't know to which electronics they belong. As soon as I throw some cords away, you will find me at the drawer, electronic in hand, painstakingly going through all the ones we still have, trying desperately to shove a rectangle into a square, looking for the charger that fits, muttering, "See? THIS is why we shouldn't throw them away!"
I have no doubt there are more "collectables" around somewhere. Like the stack of baseball caps in a family who doesn't play baseball or wear baseball caps ever. Or the plastic grocery bags, from all the times I forget to bring my reusable ones into the store. We don't use them in the kitchen for trash anymore, so there are gobs of them littering the mudroom. I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.
To cheer me up, why don't you tell me about something you collect for no good reason.
Have a lovely day!
*As longtime readers know, my memory ain't what it used to be. I could not find the blog or the post. If it was you, or if you know who wrote it, please let me know. I'd like to put a link to her post in there.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Ten Things of Thankful, Week 18, Part 2
Because we can't have Clark (writer of TWO thankful lists in one weekend) showing us all up two weeks in a row now, can we??
No, we can't.
1. I am thankful for rain. Lots and lots of rain. Yesterday we sat in it during a cross country meet and a few soccer games and a "Saints in the Street" volunteer morning. Today, because of the rain the last two days and through the night, all four soccer games were cancelled. We were walking into church when we got the last email alerting us to the fourth and final game cancellation. I did a little cheer and said a big prayer of thanks.
2. I am thankful for hours and hours of unexpected time at home with my whole family.
3. I am thankful for a cleaner house. When we have hours and hours of free time at home after weeks and weeks of little time at home, you know cleaning will be added to the agenda. We spent one hour going from room to room cleaning up clutter and vacuuming. Thus the "cleaner". We didn't do any scrubbing or anything, but the canvas is now set for me to get some scrubbing done tomorrow.
4. I am thankful for football. While I could take it or leave it, watching football games is a huge bonding experience for my boys and husband. And with us participating in a Fantasy Football league this year, everyone has a dog in the fight. As we all know, dogs in the fight make the games even more exciting.
5. I am thankful for coffee and doughnuts after church. Not because I like to eat the doughnuts, nor do I like the sugar rush my kids get from consuming a doughnut. I am thankful for them, because it is something I can take away from a certain four year old when he is a pain in the neck at church. It really hits home (while he is sitting in the van and everyone else is in the hall eating) that his behavior was unacceptable.
6. I am thankful for modern medicine. Not that we need it right this minute, but when Cuckoo comes down with some horrible illness from repeatedly licking the pew in front of him at church this morning, despite multiple warning to cease and desist, that modern medicine will come in handy.
7. I am thankful for modern transportation and grocery stores. We live in the middle of Indiana. Without modern transportation and grocery stores, we would not be able to enjoy salmon for dinner this evening.
8. I am thankful for our Confirmation Prep Co-Leaders. Phoenix will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in the spring (For you non-Catholics, this is the final sacrament of initiation into the Church. He will be a full-fledged Catholic come April.). To prepare for this momentous occasion, the teens have small group meetings to learn more about God's teachings, the Church, and what Confirmation truly is. COW and I volunteered to lead these meetings with another couple. They are great people we have known for years. Besides the fact that they bring all sorts of knowledge and spiritual leadership to the meetings, they like to talk and organize things. It's a pretty easy gig for COW and me.
9. I am thankful for cooler weather. Let's be clear, I do not like cold weather. I like cool weather, when it is the perfect temperature to wear pants and closed-toe shoes without being too warm. Let's be even more clear. I like cool weather, because I can forego the shaving of the legs and the painting of the toenails but not have to bundle up in layers of coats and gloves and hats and blankets.
10. I am thankful for COW. He normally makes me laugh, but these last few days, he has been in rare form. He even made me tear up and shake in an effort to not guffaw when he cracked a smart-aleck remark during Mass this morning. Oh, how I love to laugh. Although, he won't be allowed to sit next to me in the pew anymore, because laughing during Mass when you sit in the front row is just bad form. (Well, I guess laughing during Mass, regardless of where you sit, is in bad form. It's just a whole lot more noticeable when you sit in the front row.)
Hope your weekend is better than you expected.
Have a lovely day!
No, we can't.
1. I am thankful for rain. Lots and lots of rain. Yesterday we sat in it during a cross country meet and a few soccer games and a "Saints in the Street" volunteer morning. Today, because of the rain the last two days and through the night, all four soccer games were cancelled. We were walking into church when we got the last email alerting us to the fourth and final game cancellation. I did a little cheer and said a big prayer of thanks.
 |
| At the cross country meet. He was just there to cheer. Afterwards, I realized I had taken 10 photos of him, yet none of Giant and Buttercup. You know, the kids who were actually running. |
 |
| After a 30 minute lightening delay, Buttercup's team was able to take the field. They were part of a benefit soccer day which took place at IUPUI downtown. While sopping wet, they did appreciate the puddle-free turf field. |
 |
| That yellow blob you see is Star. He was the extremely unlucky one to have both of his games occur in the worst of the downpours yesterday. COW took this from the safety and warmth of the car.. |
2. I am thankful for hours and hours of unexpected time at home with my whole family.
3. I am thankful for a cleaner house. When we have hours and hours of free time at home after weeks and weeks of little time at home, you know cleaning will be added to the agenda. We spent one hour going from room to room cleaning up clutter and vacuuming. Thus the "cleaner". We didn't do any scrubbing or anything, but the canvas is now set for me to get some scrubbing done tomorrow.
4. I am thankful for football. While I could take it or leave it, watching football games is a huge bonding experience for my boys and husband. And with us participating in a Fantasy Football league this year, everyone has a dog in the fight. As we all know, dogs in the fight make the games even more exciting.
5. I am thankful for coffee and doughnuts after church. Not because I like to eat the doughnuts, nor do I like the sugar rush my kids get from consuming a doughnut. I am thankful for them, because it is something I can take away from a certain four year old when he is a pain in the neck at church. It really hits home (while he is sitting in the van and everyone else is in the hall eating) that his behavior was unacceptable.
6. I am thankful for modern medicine. Not that we need it right this minute, but when Cuckoo comes down with some horrible illness from repeatedly licking the pew in front of him at church this morning, despite multiple warning to cease and desist, that modern medicine will come in handy.
7. I am thankful for modern transportation and grocery stores. We live in the middle of Indiana. Without modern transportation and grocery stores, we would not be able to enjoy salmon for dinner this evening.
8. I am thankful for our Confirmation Prep Co-Leaders. Phoenix will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in the spring (For you non-Catholics, this is the final sacrament of initiation into the Church. He will be a full-fledged Catholic come April.). To prepare for this momentous occasion, the teens have small group meetings to learn more about God's teachings, the Church, and what Confirmation truly is. COW and I volunteered to lead these meetings with another couple. They are great people we have known for years. Besides the fact that they bring all sorts of knowledge and spiritual leadership to the meetings, they like to talk and organize things. It's a pretty easy gig for COW and me.
9. I am thankful for cooler weather. Let's be clear, I do not like cold weather. I like cool weather, when it is the perfect temperature to wear pants and closed-toe shoes without being too warm. Let's be even more clear. I like cool weather, because I can forego the shaving of the legs and the painting of the toenails but not have to bundle up in layers of coats and gloves and hats and blankets.
10. I am thankful for COW. He normally makes me laugh, but these last few days, he has been in rare form. He even made me tear up and shake in an effort to not guffaw when he cracked a smart-aleck remark during Mass this morning. Oh, how I love to laugh. Although, he won't be allowed to sit next to me in the pew anymore, because laughing during Mass when you sit in the front row is just bad form. (Well, I guess laughing during Mass, regardless of where you sit, is in bad form. It's just a whole lot more noticeable when you sit in the front row.)
Hope your weekend is better than you expected.
Have a lovely day!
Your hosts
A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I can say mama, I Want Backsies, Rewritten, Steps into Parenthood, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine
Saturday, October 5, 2013
10 Things of Thankful, Week 18
People who live the most fulfilling lives are the ones who are always rejoicing at what they have.
-- Richard Carlson
-- Richard Carlson
Let the rejoicing begin!
1. I am thankful for the patience all of the poets who entered my "Ode to the Pigs" contest. Over a week ago, I put a call out for readers to write their own poems to bid our pigs a fond farewell. The readers delivered in a big way. I loved them all. Finally, after all this time, the kids have voted. It was a close race. The first (anonymous) vote ended in a 5-way tie. (Cuckoo abstained.) I then asked the kids to vote for their second favorite and added the two scores of both votes together. A clear winner was revealed. (All but one child voted for it.)
Drumroll, please...
(A little note: My kids have had extensive training in poetry at school. They've written poems, read poems, and studied poems. And yet. You are going to keel over when you see which one they've chosen.)
The winner is...
Kari of Miss Bloggypants!!!!
Her winning entry?
Roses are red,
Violets are purple,
I like pancakes with maple syrple
...and a side of bacon...
It was the syrple that put her over the edge and into the winner's circle.
Kari, you have won yourself a prize!!! Email your address to me, and I will get that prize to your door!
2. I am thankful for pretty weeds. I want to know who decided what is a weed and what is a flower, because I am enjoying these lovely little bits of sunshine in a season where mums are the only sanctioned flower.
3. I am thankful for Cuckoo's reasons for eating a variety of foods. That boy used to be one picky, picky eater. We did the same with him as we've done (and still do) with the other kids, which is simply offer them food. If they eat it, good. If not, they get nothing else to eat. Cuckoo didn't eat many full dinners for a while there. And then he turned two. After his second birthday, he announced, "Big kids eat salad. I'm a big kid, so I will eat salad, too." He ate an entire bowl of lettuce, no dressing, and has been eating salad ever since. Last week we had stew for dinner. Most of the kids were not exactly enthused about eating it. Cuckoo ate every bite we gave him. When I was discussing the lack of enthusiasm with the big kids, he piped up, "I want to be a dad, not a mom, when I grow up, so I ate all my food. I need to be big to be a dad, not a mom, so I need to eat it all."
The big kids have been banned from telling him of the impossibility of becoming a mom. If it's going to get him to eat, by golly, he will be left in the dark.
4. I am thankful for a good week with Phoenix. It's been a rough road with our oldest this school year. We made some changes, he took more responsibility, and we have had a pleasant week. Thank the Lord. Honestly. Thank Him. I have each and every day this week.
5. I am thankful for crayons and coloring books. Cuckoo and Turken love, love, love to color and draw. Lately, even more than usual. Each day this week, Turken spent hours on activity pages and picture drawing and picture coloring-in. I'm very happy to see it. Sure, their marathon coloring allows many hours of quiet time for me, but it is so very good for their fine motor skills and their little brains when they do such activities.
6. I am thankful for the mudroom table. That's where the coloring takes place. Before the remodel, my kitchen, not a mudroom, looked like this:
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| Pay no attention to the ever-present "bed head" Cuckoo sports all day, every day. |
7. I am thankful for a night at home. For the first time in a loooooong time, we had a night in which the entire family was home together. We played games. We had a real, big dinner. We tidied up the house a bit. We played more games. We laughed and enjoyed the relaxing evening. One more month...Soccer will be over in one more month. There will be many more of these in one. more. month.
8. I am thankful for my parents' good health. I have several friends who have either lost a parent or are in the midst of helping their parents through a terrible illness. My mom has beaten death three separate times (a mysterious kidney ailment when I was a teen, a complete blockage to her heart two years ago, and just a few months later, a fight against cervical cancer), and I thank God every single day to still have her here with us. My dad was a policeman for 30 years, and in that time was shot at more than once. His health, though, has always been good. I don't even want to contemplate the day that this will no longer be the case.
9. I am thankful for my new web/button designer. I don't know if you've noticed, but I have two new social media buttons on my sidebar. I did not make them. Buttercup did. Her good friend has started a fashion blog, and Buttercup is her photographer. One day, when I went to pick Buttercup up from the friend's house, they drug me in to see what Buttercup had done on the blog. I was shocked. The girl taught herself how to make all sorts of things, and she has skills! (Click on the link to see her work. The friend's mom won't allow head shots, so Buttercup has been quite creative in her photography.) I immediately commissioned her to make some buttons for me. Stay tuned. As time allows, she'll be adding and changing all sorts of things for me.
10. I am thankful for the fact that one of our chickens did not get eaten. Buttercup went outside to feed the chickens the other day, but soon after came in with the command, "Mom! I need you outside RIGHT NOW!"
I sauntered on out (Didn't want her to think she could order me around, but I was quite curious to see what the hubbub was about.) to see what was going on.
She continued to yell. "I was walking towards the coop, when out of nowhere, A CHICKEN ALMOST LANDED ON MY HEAD! IT FLEW OFF THE ROOF AND ALMOST LANDED ON ME!"
For those who are having pig story withdrawals, an illustration:
 |
| Now that I've perfected the pig (Ha!), it's time to practice drawing a chicken. Which is what that yellow thing is supposed to be. And apparently, my girl's boots were not made for walking, but for running like a baby who is afraid of a chicken. |
I would reply, "Very good question!"
The rest of the story...
By the time I got outside, Buttercup had already shooed it into the old chicken area where the dogs couldn't get to it. All we had left to do was get the chicken into the impenetrable redneck fence we had built for the darling hens last month, which had since been reinforced with more netting.
Well, I took one side of the fence off the nails securing it to the coop wall, giving the chicken a way into the pen to be with her friends. Instead of simply walking through, she flew. Right onto the netting.
All I could do was stand there with my jaw on the ground as this chicken stood there bouncing on the net. To her, this net was not a barrier to her escape, but instead a fantastically fun trampoline launching pad to freedom.
She bounced.
Up and down and up and down and up and down, while her Sisters in Non-Laying watched from below.
That blasted bird hopped right on up to the roof again as I stood there and watched.
I snapped out of it and started my first attempt at climbing the spindly little tree to get on the roof with her. Fortunately, she saw me, had pity on the poor woman who couldn't even haul her left leg up off the ground, and found her way back into the pen.
Yesterday, when I went out to feed them, I heard some scratching overhead. Sure enough, that same hen was on the roof again. By the time I got around, she was back to bouncing on the trampoline. I waved her over towards the holes in the net, and through it she did plop.
Completely secure in the fact that she was the superior creature in this little song and dance.
I am grateful that she has only done this while we are at home so far. I am hoping and praying she doesn't hop off the roof and right into the jaws of death (aka Roy's mouth) one of these times.
And now it's your turn. For what are you rejoicing this week?
Your hosts
A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I can say mama, I Want Backsies, Rewritten, Steps into Parenthood, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine
Thursday, October 3, 2013
FTSF - Difficult Choices
Our FTSF prompt this week is "The hardest choice I ever made was..."
I do not spend a lot of time weighing options. I do not hem and haw over what I should do. I simply look at the situation, go through my choices, and quickly pick one. For example, I spent less than 30 minutes total choosing the flooring, wood for the cupboards, and the countertop for my new kitchen. This quick choice thing applies to everything, though. We bought our house on the farm before we even listed our previous home with a realtor and after looking at exactly zero other houses. Some people may say it is the "scott" in me, but I have no doubt my quick decision-making has everything to do with a choice I had to make when I was 16.
The hardest choice I ever made was when I was 16, and I had to decide with which parent I was going to live.
My parents divorced when I was in 2nd grade. Things weren't smooth by any means, but my parents did their absolute best to make sure we knew we were loved. We lived with my stay-at-home mom, but we lived only a few miles from Dad. We saw him all the time. He never missed a weekend or Wednesday night visit, and he came to track meets and swim meets and anything else we did.
Both of my parents remarried, and life went along until the summer after my sophomore year of high school. My stepdad worked for Ford, and the plant in Ohio had shut down. He was out of work for a while, but eventually was transferred to the plant in Kentucky. Six hours away from our home in Canton.
My parents did not tell the four of us (my siblings and me) what we were going to do and where we were going to live. They left the decision up to us. Each of my siblings and I independently decided where we wanted to live.
I am not going to go into why they had us choose. I still don't know that answer myself. All I know is how I felt, and I felt like I was having to choose between my parents. Because I loved them equally, with all my heart, I had to take other factors into account. I weighed the stepparent options. Neither was ideal. Really, neither was enjoyable. I factored in the fact that my dad had two young kids with my stepmom. I knew I'd be in for a whole mess of babysitting if I moved in with him. I thought about my grandparents, who I spent hours and hours with each week. I had started dating COW about 8 months earlier. I had done extremely well in track my sophomore year, and with some changes being made in the state, I was on target to do extremely well my junior year. I thought about the reality of moving to a new state two years before I was going to be on my own anyway. So many thoughts consumed me for what seems like years, but was really only a couple of weeks.
In the end, I chose to stay in Ohio with my dad.
To this day, one of the hardest things I ever had to do was tell my mom of my decision. I will never forget her reaction. There were tears. Lots and lots of tears. I knew I had broken my mom's heart.
Time marched on, as it is meant to do. We all moved to our new homes, settled into our new reality.
I have absolutely no bad feelings about the entire situation I was in back then (although sometimes I wished my parents would have just made the decision for us). My mom had no option but to move, so I certainly can't fault her for it. I missed her terribly at times, but it was only two years before I was off to college and living on my own. As it turns out, I ended up going to college an hour and a half away from my mom and saw her more often during those years.
I have never stressed over making a decision since that one very large, very emotional one. The college to attend, the job to take, the city to live, the house to buy, the car to drive. None of them took much thought at all. None of them deserved the time and effort compared to that one decision from my teen years.
Yesterday, I read a post by Lillian about choosing a theme song for your life. Really, it was more about how a theme song pretty much chooses you. Here's one of the songs that chose me years ago:
Having trouble getting the video? Go here.
Have a lovely day!
(This was going to be a FTSF and quick takes combo, but this FTSF took long enough. I'll fit the takes into my post for the 10 Things of Thankful hop this weekend.)
I do not spend a lot of time weighing options. I do not hem and haw over what I should do. I simply look at the situation, go through my choices, and quickly pick one. For example, I spent less than 30 minutes total choosing the flooring, wood for the cupboards, and the countertop for my new kitchen. This quick choice thing applies to everything, though. We bought our house on the farm before we even listed our previous home with a realtor and after looking at exactly zero other houses. Some people may say it is the "scott" in me, but I have no doubt my quick decision-making has everything to do with a choice I had to make when I was 16.
The hardest choice I ever made was when I was 16, and I had to decide with which parent I was going to live.
My parents divorced when I was in 2nd grade. Things weren't smooth by any means, but my parents did their absolute best to make sure we knew we were loved. We lived with my stay-at-home mom, but we lived only a few miles from Dad. We saw him all the time. He never missed a weekend or Wednesday night visit, and he came to track meets and swim meets and anything else we did.
Both of my parents remarried, and life went along until the summer after my sophomore year of high school. My stepdad worked for Ford, and the plant in Ohio had shut down. He was out of work for a while, but eventually was transferred to the plant in Kentucky. Six hours away from our home in Canton.
My parents did not tell the four of us (my siblings and me) what we were going to do and where we were going to live. They left the decision up to us. Each of my siblings and I independently decided where we wanted to live.
I am not going to go into why they had us choose. I still don't know that answer myself. All I know is how I felt, and I felt like I was having to choose between my parents. Because I loved them equally, with all my heart, I had to take other factors into account. I weighed the stepparent options. Neither was ideal. Really, neither was enjoyable. I factored in the fact that my dad had two young kids with my stepmom. I knew I'd be in for a whole mess of babysitting if I moved in with him. I thought about my grandparents, who I spent hours and hours with each week. I had started dating COW about 8 months earlier. I had done extremely well in track my sophomore year, and with some changes being made in the state, I was on target to do extremely well my junior year. I thought about the reality of moving to a new state two years before I was going to be on my own anyway. So many thoughts consumed me for what seems like years, but was really only a couple of weeks.
In the end, I chose to stay in Ohio with my dad.
To this day, one of the hardest things I ever had to do was tell my mom of my decision. I will never forget her reaction. There were tears. Lots and lots of tears. I knew I had broken my mom's heart.
Time marched on, as it is meant to do. We all moved to our new homes, settled into our new reality.
I have absolutely no bad feelings about the entire situation I was in back then (although sometimes I wished my parents would have just made the decision for us). My mom had no option but to move, so I certainly can't fault her for it. I missed her terribly at times, but it was only two years before I was off to college and living on my own. As it turns out, I ended up going to college an hour and a half away from my mom and saw her more often during those years.
I have never stressed over making a decision since that one very large, very emotional one. The college to attend, the job to take, the city to live, the house to buy, the car to drive. None of them took much thought at all. None of them deserved the time and effort compared to that one decision from my teen years.
Yesterday, I read a post by Lillian about choosing a theme song for your life. Really, it was more about how a theme song pretty much chooses you. Here's one of the songs that chose me years ago:
Having trouble getting the video? Go here.
Have a lovely day!
(This was going to be a FTSF and quick takes combo, but this FTSF took long enough. I'll fit the takes into my post for the 10 Things of Thankful hop this weekend.)
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