PIG PEN

Remember a PEANUTS character by the name of Pig Pen who traveled in a cloud of dust? (Whatever happened to Pig Pen by the way?)

Everyone used to equate me with that character. When we used pencil in grade school I managed to smear it on my paper and get it on my face and clothes. Needless to say, moving to pen and ink wasn't any better. I could smear ink all over and usually ended up my day looking like Hitler with an ink mustache. Wow, what I could do with finger paint.

At the end of a day you could follow my events of the day by following the stains on my clothing and my scrapes and scratches. You certainly knew what I had to eat that day because I wore the crumbs and smudges with pride. You can only imagine how bad it was and is that chocolate is my favorite candy.

I also wore bumps and bruises and still do. Ron is constantly reminding me to slow down. If I am in a hurry to go through the door, it is easy for me to miss the opening and hit the door frame. Feeding the cats in the morning, I know there is a hole in the ground in front of their feeding station but at least every other morning I'll forget and step in the hole and twist my ankle.

Banking was a successful career for me. My results were what counted and I had good results. However my papers were always a jumble and I was forever straightening up. I did have a sign that declared, "A messy desk is a sign of genius".

I simply do not have time for the trivial things and have to rush from one project to the next without having time to tidy up between incidents. At least when I die I will be cremated so my family won't have to try to find clean clothes to put on me.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH

My daughter sent me this joke and I fell in the floor laughing. Perhaps it was simply the timing. Anyway a few of my friends didn't get it or think it was funny. So here goes:

MENTAL HOSPITAL

I was walking past a mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were shouting ,'13....13....13'

The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks and looked through to see what was going on. One of the patients poked me in the eye with a stick.

Then they all started shouting '14....14....14'.....

KIDDOS

Here is a recent photo of my daughter, my step-daughter and my son. This weekend my son was here to help Ron work. My poor boy was so tired the first evening that he fell asleep on the couch. I guess our sleeping children will always stir our hearts and look like angels. But I told Ron I didn't believe I could pick him up and carry him to his room like I used to. LOL

SENT FROM SMALL TOWN USA

Click to enlarage or go to The Hays News online link to read story.

"Grief is a selfish bastard." Rennratt

There are many Mother's Day stories posted today. The Elder Storytelling Place has posted a story each day and each story has touched my heart. But Rennratt has posted a story today that has touched my soul. I lost my mom last year but my siblings lost their mom too. Each of our spouses have already lost their mothers. Yet Renn said it all for me when she pointed out that "Grief is a selfish bastard" as we each curl up in our own loss and loving memories.

PETS R' LOVE

It seems to me that most bloggers love their pets. We tell them about our pets and we get to know their pets. We truly grieve a loss like we have Rachel's Gooseberry.

If you read my blog, you know about my dog Slim. She is truly part of our family. This morning she came in the house after a night out guarding the chickens. There was a huge growth under her neck. I called the Vet and they could not see us until 10:00 AM. That gave me time to get on the Internet and research all the things that might be wrong. Believe me, I was planning Slim's funeral by the time I had found every horrible diagnosis.

Turns out she had an abscess. Slim was sedated and the abscess drained. She is back home now with antibiotics and instructions to re-check her on Monday if she is still swollen. Can't help lovin' that dog of mine!

FAMILY VACATIONS

Our blogger friend Lucy sends us some good tips from the Dollar Stretcher website for taking a vacation-for-less. She has me remembering great family budget vacations.

First, my mother could squeeze a dollar til the eagle grinned..........coughed, choked AND sputtered. We traveled by car on our family vacations and often wondered what those building were that we saw along the way. They had lots of cars parked out front and they had flashing neon signs that read EAT!. Those signs did not attract our parents. The signs that said Road Side Park caught their attention.

Mother always artistically packed a picnic basket for long trips. She used dry ice to keep things cool. No disposable paper plates or cups. Mother packed plastic washable dishes. We ate roadside cereal at breakfast time and roadside sandwiches or chicken or fruit salad at lunch and/or dinner time. It was magic the way mother could fit everything into that basket.

If a journey was long enough to require a motel stay, we drove around a town looking for a vacancy sign and with rooms at the lowest cost. However, finding an inexpensive motel wasn't the whole requirement. Mother had to inspect each potential room and if it was not clean, we drove down the road until we found one that would pass her white glove test.

Those are fun memories of my childhood vacations. My brother, sister and I can actually recall the pleasant meals at picnic tables and remember the beautiful outdoors that made the cereal and sandwiches taste like royal fare. We can also remember hiding in the backseat of the car pretending we were NOT with that lady inspecting the motel rooms.

TIGER LILY WITH ONE NEW CHICK

International Respect for Chickens Day, May 4

Today is INTERNATIONAL RESPECT FOR CHICKENS DAY. Our friends at Urban Chickens told about this or I would not have been aware.

I should have known my new chicks were celebrating something because they are flapping their wings a lot. They like to climb up the brooder roof and then pretend they are flying as they spread their wings on the slide down.

Also, we have some more new chicks. Yesterday, as scheduled, Tiger Lily began hatching the eggs she has been on for 21 days.

SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

According to this essay by and unknown author, I am a SRA (Senior Research Associate) in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.

What is your job title? Click here to find out by reading JUST A MOM?

GOLDEN DAY

My daughter called and left a voice message last night. It seems she was in the car with Hope (age 5) and they had an interesting conversation. The radio was on and the announcer was talking about Mother's Day.

Hope (in excited voice): "Oh he's talking about Golden Day!"

Chelle: "Golden Day? What is Golden Day?"

Hope: "That is the day you give your mother something gold. You're supposed to give Granny Annie something gold."

Chelle: "Where did you learn that?"

Hope: "From Granny Annie!"

I think I might have told the children when they were here that Mother's Day was coming up and to be sure and tell their mother to get me something gold...or something like that...I can't be positive....but, hum? Busted!




"Be sure to visit The Elder Storytelling Place all next week for stories about our mothers..."

NOT A GHOST STORY

I have a ghost story but it creeps me out too much to tell it. Instead here is a true story of a paranormal experience.

December 18, 1984, I was getting ready for work. Putting on make-up, the bathroom door was open to catch the light from outside. Suddenly in the mirror a man dressed in dark clothing and wearing a ski-mask appeared. He walked from my kitchen into my utility room. He quickly passed behind me causing me to jump and emit a muffled scream. Holding still I fearfully awaited his return.

Nothing happened. Peering around the corner there was no one in sight. My now awakened teenagers were heading my way to hear what athe commotion was about. They were undisturbed by my tale. Goosebumps covered my body as an effort was made to laugh and assure myself it had only been my imagination.

It was 6:00 that same evening before I thought of the apparition again. I was with a group of employees from the bank in the police station awaiting to view a line up. The bank had been robbed at noon that day. Returning from lunch to my office I stumbled into the robbery in progress and had been taken hostage by a man in dark clothing wearing a ski-mask. He held a gun to my head for 60 seconds (seemed and eternity) and threatened to take my life. I told the others then about my morning vision.

Was the man thinking of the robbery and did I catch his thoughts? Was I given a warning not to go to work? Did this brief glimpse at the robber in advance give me greater courage to deal with the trauma at the time? Have you had such deja vu experiences?

QUICK EASY DIPS/SPREADS

JALEPENO DIP

Place a block of cream cheese in a bowl.
Chop 1/3 cup of jalepeno peppers (I use Hot Vlasic)and spread on the top and sides of the cream cheese.
Allow to soften and serve with chips as a dip or spread with crackers.

(This is good served right away or you can make it in advance and it is even better the next day.)

CRAB DIP

Place a block of cream cheese in a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to form a shallow dip in the top of the block of cheese.
Empty small can of chopped crab meat into the shallow dip on the cheese and pack lightly. (Be sure the crab meat is well drained.)
Pour small bottle of cocktail seafood sauce over crab meat and cream cheese.
Allow cheese to soften and serve dip with chips or spread on crackers.

I think this is best consumed the the same day.

YOU CANNOT SEE INSIDE A SOLDIER

You may have a parent, sibling, child or other relative and/or friend who has served in the military. That causes some people to claim they are experts because of this connection. It is like a person saying I understand racial discrimination because I have a black friend.

Yesterday my sister and I talked about the one-way bridge crossed over by members of the armed forces. We cannot cross that bridge with them and they can never come back from what they have experienced.

My spouse is retired military and as close as we are, I know nothing about his many years of military service. He tells me funny stories about people he served with and places he saw but he does not discuss with me what I cannot feel empathy for. That discussion only takes place with other veterans. Ron crossed a bridge when he served in the US Navy during the Cold War and Vietnam . He can only talk openly with others who have crossed that same bridge. They speak a language of mutual understanding and respect.

Last year a movie came out called Home Of The Brave. It did not receive rave reviews from Hollywood because they said it did not properly reflect the military. Well even I know enough to believe it probably represented our soldiers better than any movie ever made. It showed the inability of friends and family to recognize the difficulty our young men and women have returning to “normal” life after returning from a war zone.

“Thank you” is all you can really say to a veteran. One absolutely cannot say, “I know how you feel” unless they actually served.

(This is just one of those opinions that popped into my head and I needed to share it. Also this is a great blog to read up on military activity.)

IT'S A CHICK'S LIFE

The baby chicks are safe and warm under the brooder. Their food and water can't be stolen by the big chickens and the little ones can get out and walk around the pen. If they feel threatened, they can run back under their metal tent. One of my Araucaunas is trying to get under the hood to steal the chick feed.

OUT IN THE COLD

My son and Dillon and Beth came to help us this weekend. We got a lot done but the best for me was getting the dusty chicks out of the house.

The 30 Cloelles are now under the brooder in the chicken house with the other birds. So far only one of the chicks has proven to be an explorer. She went all around the pen until she found an escape. We patched that up but it will only be a matter of time before she finds another outlet. Guess her name will be Sacajawea.

She would not go back with the other chicks and adopted our crippled Twyla #4 as her personal body guard or perhaps her mother figure. (I may not have told you that Twyla #4 was injured by a predator a few nights ago and we thought sure she would die, but she is rapidly healing.)

HOME

Changes In The Wind has inspired this post on my favorite topic -- HOME.

"Home is where the heart is."

"There is no place like home."

My home is decorated in Early Attic. There is a story that goes with every piece of furniture and every decoration. Sentimental value cannot be insured.

Vintage photographs, gifts from family, treasures uncovered in travel, memories of my childhood and my husband's..

I look at catalogs from IKEA, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and I enjoy seeing things that mix and match to create an aura of this period of time. However not one item from those catalogs would match the decor in my home.

A favorite story is when my children had friends over and one of the kids ask about a certain piece of furniture. I began a story and my son, in disgust, interrupted with, "Mother is there anything in this house that doesn't have some story connected to it!"

"No son, I don't believe there is."

"I'll bet I can find something here that you won't have a story about."

I took the challenge and we began walking through the house. I had a story about everything he touched.

Finally, out of frustration, he grabbed up a loaf of bread, and said, "Well, you don't have a story to go with this!"

It just so happened my neighbor had been to the store and bought four loaves of bread on special and as a gesture of friendship, had brought me a gift of that loaf of bread.

LIVING IN THE DUST BOWL

We are hoping to get these 30 chicks outside soon. It is unbelievable how much dust they can stir up from their large wooden crate in the den. The entire house has to be dusted every day as a thin film on powder appears on every piece of furniture. We believe we'll be able to take them out in another week.

Also, having baby chicks is a lot like bringing home human babies. At first their poop does not stink and then..........whew!

Is that TMI?

INTERESTING HOPE

Conversations with Hope

Hope overheard talking to herself in the living room: "Cackle,cackle, cackle is all I ever hear."

I say: "Hope are you tired of Granny Annie's chickens?"

Brief response: "Yup"


At the dinner table eating corn on the cob

"Do you like using those corn holders Hope?"

"Yes"

"Do you use corn holders at home?"

"Yes"

"Are your corn holders like mine?"

'Yes, ...only ours are clean."


Hope is crying

"I miss my mama"

"Do you want to call her?"

"No, that makes me miss her more."

"Why do you miss her?"

"Because she is so special."

Hope at the Poultry Swap Meet (that is like a small carnival):

"I wanna" "I wanna" "Can I have?" "Oh I'm so thirsty." "I haven't had cotton-candy in a long time." "Please get me" "Please let me" "Please, please, please" "I'll be good, I promise."


When ANYTHING is amiss and you begin to inquire of Hope how it happened, the words "Michael did it." are out of her mouth before you can complete the inquiry. (Michael is Hope's 13 year old brother) I asked, "Hope, you always blame Michael. Don't you ever do anything wrong?" Her response, "No, I just walk around and Michael does everything." Of course when pressed with a stern look and a demand for truthfulness Hope will reply, "Okay, I did it."

Count Down

We are at the flea market. I tell Michael and Hope they can each select an item for $5.00 or less. Michael shops and quickly decides what he wants. Hope bounces back and forth among several items. Bracelets, necklaces, slippers, purses, etc. She cannot decide on any one thing. Finally I tell her we have to go so she must decide by the count of 5. The count goes slowly and she does not select until I reach 4 and 3/4s and the yet unspoken number 5 is formed on my lips.

DOGGIE KISSES