Key Words

I was at a site - http://www.wordtracker.com/ - that encouraged web masters or bloggers to include the following words to get more "hits".

Here is the list - and my comments
1. jessica simpson - blonde, enough said
2. jessica alba - who?
3. music lyrics - favorite husband's department. I like listening to music, he loves listening to music
4. daniela hantuchova - again, who?
5. paris hilton - I won't even go there
6. playstation 2 cheats - don't own one
7. xbox cheats - ditto
8. jokes - Katelyn told one at Toastmaster's last week
9. googletestad - no clue
10. google - my favorite search engine thus far

Key words from our house might include (in no particular order):

1. kids
2. sheep
3. horses
4. homeschool
5. chickens
6. weather
7. family
8. friends
9. library/books
10. cats

Say THANK YOU!!!

It's nearly the 4th of July - I didn't want to miss the opportunity to remind you to say THANK YOU to an American serviceman or woman. The freedoms we enjoy didn't come to us for free.

I know, I know, you fully realize this. BUT seriously - when was the last time you said thank you to one of the soldiers for being away from their family? You may not agree with the various conflicts that they are SENT to be part of....but please, please find someone and just say thanks.

It makes me so proud to be near communities that support their soldiers. When the 141st National Guard Division returned via the Fargo airport you couldn't have fit another person in that building. We watched the news coverage that even broke in on the "sacred" afternoon soap operas. All of their families were there - even the families of the soldiers who weren't coming back. Every soldier stopped and hugged the parents/sisters/brothers of their fallen friends. I love being part of this community.

My "thank you" goes to Greg H. in the Army and John F. in the Marines. Greg spent a year in Iraq and John is currently stationed there. Thanks to you and all like you who make freedom contain the word FREE.

Yes, It's All About the Weather!

The "lower pasture" after the most recent rain storm (4:30pm today) - it should be all green.

The skies to the west AFTER the storm.

Remember the view from my front porch? This is the same view during the rainstorm!

It is all about the weather. If you want to strike up a conversation with a stranger (and we often do) while standing in line at the grocery store, at Sam's Club, with your waitress - go ahead and comment on the recent weather. Remember when I told you about the rain gauge? Always an easy discussion point. I still haven't gotten a gauge. Right now we're using the dog's water dish. She is drinking out of a ice cream bucket in the house so her dishes outside are the informal rain gauge.

North Dakotans who are fortunate enough to have cable television sit and watch the weather channel. We just can't help ourselves!

From my front porch

This was taken at 6:30AM looking to the south east from our front porch. That is the neighbor's wheat field and one of the buildings on the home place of our nearest neighbor (1/4 mile away).

A little more reading

I thought I would share a few more summer reading favorites with you:

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman (I haven't read this one yet - but heard an interview with the author on NPR).
Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures: Recipes and Stories by Rick and Lanie Bayless. I have checked this out from the library several times - great salad dressing recipe. I want to buy this book.

Puppy

I had to share one more picture. This is one of the male puppies. Yes, his eyes will stay that color. His mother, Moco, is a Louisiana Catahoula. One desirable trait is two different colored eyes.

Photo capability and more

Isn't this too cool? Our computer can actually "talk" to the digital camera. This is a photo of #48 - one of the two bottle lambs. He doesn't have a name because he will be sold in the fall. We don't usually name the boy lambs.

Last night wave after wave of thunderstorms rolled through. AND Alyssa was sick with a high temp and upset stomach. I don't think I had 3 consecutive hours of sleep - old age is catching up with me as I don't have the stamina for that any more.

As a result of another two inches of rain the mosquitos are thick. It is like a curtain when you go outside - just be sure to breathe through your nose, not your mouth. I inhaled several of those evil insects last night when I went out to check on the sheep and puppies at 1AM.

Mark just called - he is at a farm auction. He was outbid on a manure spreader. I thought he would just be watching, but apparently he caught bidding fever. I wonder if he will bring anything home for me - NO, the manure spreader was not a gift for his wife!!

Off to take a nap.

Dogs

From the population post - we are considering adopting the deaf/somewhat blind puppy. We also want to get a "regular" dog, preferably a lab. We want the kind of dog that some kid is selling for $10-$25 because his yellow lab female ran around the neighborhood at the wrong time. Unfortunately those aren't usually in the newspaper. The paper carries the ads for the dogs that are "champion hunter parents - $250." Not my dog - I don't need another dog that wants to hunt. I just want one that smiles when he sees the kids and likes to follow them wherever they go. We have alerted the mailman to this wish so stay tuned.

What are you reading?

I've been consuming books from three different libraries. Two favorites: These is my Words and Sarah's Quilt by Nancy Turner. I picked up Sarah's Quilt off of the new shelf at the very small library near our home. The head librarian walked by as I was checking out the back cover and told me there was one book that preceeded it. She pulled it from the repair area and asked me to be careful but enjoy. Excellent books - but the equivalent of chick flicks for you guys.

I've also been reading homeschool materials. The Well-Trained Mind has been a constant companion as I format next year's homeschool plans. Our 7 year old (2nd grade) will use the Prairie Primer based on the Little House series, Latin, spelling, handwriting, ancient history with the big kids, Singapore Math 2 and a botany class (Apologia Botany)with her older sister.

I'm still sorting out plans for our 6th grader and the high school freshman.

Lost lost

Did I mention that I lost most of my links and e-mail addresses during the transition between computers? If you haven't heard from me, or if you have a great link, send an e-mail (you know who you are) or tell me what your favorite links are.

Where Were You?

Why did I drop off for so long AGAIN? Well, we had to update our antiquated computer (referred to by a wise man as the Model T) as my favorite, and only, husband downloaded a virus onto our old system. Not a big deal? Well, it is when there is no virus software that supports your operating system. It was time. I had stashed some $ for the purchase.

Favorite hubby researched the purchase. He read, he found techie friends and picked their brains. He ordered. We are the proud owners of a wow system from Dell - but still at dial-up speed. Ahh, well, the flat screen display is certainly great - even at the slow speed.

Special Thanks to Susan M. and Steve P. for offering their time and expertise.

Dell has been quite amazing to deal with. Customer service has been exceptional - even though the reps are in India. We had a few glitches, but after spending several hours on the telephone with our support guy all was well. Mark wouldn't ask, but I did - "where are located?" "Well, Mrs. M. have you ever heard of Bombay?" Outsourcing happening right under our very noses.

Nearly 15

Our oldest child turns 15 in a few weeks. It's freaky to have a child who is an age that I remember being. Does that make sense? We have had a few disagreements and I tell him "I KNOW how you are feeling." He thinks I'm weird, but I really do remember - that's why I have gray hair now.

Those of you who remember Matthew as being a skinny little kid would be surprised to see him - still skinny (starting to lift weights to fix that) but nearly six feet tall. Amazing.

Thank you!

Thanks to John for increasing my knowledge re: gas can color coding. WHO KNEW? Obviously not me. FYI, the mower continues to run OK. I do have to remove the air filter and spray engine starting fluid into the carbuerator (sp?) to get it started. A small price to pay for being able to continue to use the riding mower - we used to push mow the yard. Those of you who have been here know what I'm talking about.

Population Increase

The farm population has increased by six. The kids found that one of the "wild" cats has had six kittens. They are only a few days old so we'll see how many make it through the first couple of weeks.

We are dog sitting and horse sitting for my parents. They have gone to Portland, OR for my brother's college graduation (IT IS TODAY - CONGRATULATIONS!!!). Dad brought over three more horses and we picked up four puppies and their mother.

We are considering adopting one of the puppies - she has some special needs. We know for sure that she is deaf and has some visual impairment. She may be totally blind, but how do you test a dog? We need to find some material on training blind/deaf dogs. Anyone out there know anything about this? I've googled it, but have only found one real web site that had some info. The kids have named the pup Gracie, after the dog in the book Amazing Gracie.

So, if you are keeping track the cat population is up by six - can't tell the total # of cats. It's a mystery to us too - we count by the amount of food consumed, I think we are feeding the whole neighborhood.

The temporary horse total is six. Dogs, five.

LEAVING YOU

OK, I was back/am back, but we are going out of town until Father's Day so....no lap top to take with me to keep you up to date on our various escapades. I do have many more things to write about - the sheep have been shorn, we transported Sophie and #48 to my parent's house for bottle feeding while we are gone, the horses arrived at our house, so much more!

It's always good to hear from each of you (OK, BOTH of you that read this!). Feel free to write, call, e-mail, etc.

LAWN MOWING

A quick survey that relates to lawn mowing. How many of you used the higher gears on the riding mower to mow the grass?

We have several acres of lawn and I dislike mowing at low speeds. Our mower has speeds (for lack of a better term) 1-6/7. I ask you, are the higher gears road gears? Does the mower come with blinkers? NO - so the high gears must be there for mowing. Possibly the reason I love mowing is that I mow at top speed, while dodging the various obstacles in the yard.

That was CLOSE

My brother and I were trading "wow, I messed up" stories earlier this week. I think I won - in the interest of confidentiality, I won't share his story, that is his to tell. I can share the huge mess up that I did.

I did a great thing on Monday. As you can assess from my previous post re: the rain, we have had lots here this spring. The saying in ND could go "June showers bring July flowers." SO, we have to mow the lawn twice a week so we don't lose the swing set in the grass. On Monday it was finally dry enough to mow so I offered to jump on the mower. Mark was busy installed the aforementioned sump pump.

I did all the right stuff. I checked the oil and filled the gas. I found a fairly full blue can in the shed and filled the tank about 3/4 full.

I mowed and mowed - did I mention that I LOVE mowing? However, the way that I mow drives my former landscaper husband insane. He keeps talking about straight lines. I ask you, how can the lines be straight when there are ever so many obstacles in the way? I weave my way around the various shrubs, telephone poles, electric poles, fence posts, etc. that are in the way. The obstacle determines the pattern. (I can feel my landscaper brothers-in-law shaking their heads). The mower had a little miss, but that is normal at our house. Some of the equipment is just tempermental.

I finished up and parked the mower by the barn (didn't put away the can that I used to fill the gas). About 30 minutes later I hear Mark yelling from the barn "DID YOU USE THE BLUE CAN TO FILL THE MOWER?" "YES, AND I EVEN CHECKED THE OIL" (trying for good job points). "THE BLUE CAN HAS KEROSENE IN IT!" Did you know there is a special Gas Can Code? Yeah, me neither. I guess the red cans are the only ones that are supposed to be used for gasoline in the gas can code. Well, the mower seems to be fine - Mark dumped the tank and ran RED can gas in it. I don't think anything was permanently damaged. Whoops.

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day

I have found out that we aren't a "real farm." We don't have a rain gauge! This very small device allows you to discuss spring/summer farm life with any stranger on the street (especially this month and last). A conversation might go like this:

S (for stranger): Sure wish it would stop raining.
ME: Yes, we've had our share.
S: My crops have had enough.
ME: Did you get all your crops in before it started raining?
S: All but one field.
ME: That's too bad you didn't get the last one in.
S: Yes, but there is rust showing in the wheat.
ME: Have you sprayed?
S: Not yet. How much rain did you get with that last storm?

RIGHT THERE the crucial rain gauge would show it's worth! We don't have one. The measurements are in tenths so I can't just estimate by the puddles in the driveway. I have to show that I'm not a real farmer. Back to the conversation.

ME: Well, we don't have a rain gauge, but I'd guess at least an inch.
S: (he has now assessed that I'm an amateur) Well, we got 9/10. (and walks off).

Time to shop at Fleet Farm so I can appropriately participate in the weather talk that happens right now. We do, however, have a great thermometer so I'm ready for winter.

Hiatus OVER

My self-imposed hiatus has ended! Why was I gone? Well, it's a rather long story that I will attempt to shorten.

My favorite (and only) husband loves to search for the obscure, different and weird (NOT THAT KIND OF WEIRD!) things on the internet. He was surfing for some info about outboard motors, for a boat, and was hit by a "drive-by" or so I was told the internet lingo goes. Our virus software was woefully out of date, basically because no one supported Win 95 any longer so we were infected. Our computer was 8 years old and it was time, so my still-favorite husband shopped for a new system for us. We had put the income tax $ aside, but TIGHT-WAD me was holding it in the account as long as possible. Thanks to several of you who offered your expert opinions on software and hardware - we now have an amazing system - and still use the internet at dial-up speed. What is wrong with this picture?

Funny story to go along with this - I can laugh now. The infection occurred on a Saturday night. I spent several hours trying to fix the problem and got to bed really late. The next day in an attempt to control something in his world my husband emptied his dresser and proceeded to organize and label each drawer. I know, a mental health professional would have a field day here. The labels are on the top edge of the dresser - i.e. the top drawer, when pulled out, says "dress socks", "ties and handkerchiefs", "work socks", "belts". And it goes the same way through every drawer. I watched this happening with a small amount of amusement and a great deal of tiredness which made me have to keep from screaming aloud. I realized it was his attempt at order in his life, but it was hard to keep from it being personal.

Well, I'm back!