NO WAY AM I SHOWING ALL

This past week was a scorcher. Our air conditioning has not been working at capacity and it was Saturday before a repairman could get out here. Other than a nice luncheon out with friends, one baby shower and dinners out with Ron plus rides in our air conditioned van, I spent the rest of my time holding still. I did not ride my exercise bike or have my daily meditation. I did not write in my paper journal because those are early morning activities and I had to use that time for cats, chickens, guinea fowl and goats. My son was here this weekend to help Ron with outside work and he was a real trooper when it came to facing the heat. The fellows too were up and out at 5;30 AM to get their work going.

Now to mention the exciting highlight of the week. One of my friends runs the local Natural Health Clinic and I went there for my first Ionic Detoxing Foot Bath. It was such a thrill that I made an appointment for my sister to join me today and try one out. If you have never had one of these foot baths, you must. While they are not touted to have healing powers or cures for illness, they do leave you feeling cleansed and restored and I have confidence that when I finish my eight treatments, I will be a new woman. Besides it was a great enticement to get my sister over here.

I am sharing one picture of the foot bath event. It is near the beginning when the water is still clear. There is no way I can show you the final water that is filled with all the toxins drained from my body through my feet. There is a lot of controversy involved with this type of treatment and while some call it a scam, they cannot actually say why it is supposedly a scam. I only know that it left me with some very murky water and very happy feet.

Have any of you ever done this and what did you think or experience in the process? If you haven't, would you do this if given the opportunity?

FAMILY ART PROJECT

2009 FAMILY ART MURAL

MY HOME OFFICE ART CORNER'
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This past Christmas I mailed all of our family members Strathmore Art Trading Cards. The request that accompanied the cards was for each family member to create a picture with markers, being as colorful as possible and returning them to me as soon as possible. The result of this first attempt is shown above.

This project was not completed without a lot of whining by those who do not believe they have artistic talent but it you could look closely at the mural you would see it all meshes into a masterpiece.

Almost every family member participated from the very youngest (11 months old, bottom right) to the very oldest (98 year old yellow Lab, top left*).

We will try this again for 2010 and truly hope for 100% participation. It will be such fun throughout the years especially to watch the children's progress. I cannot describe the wonderful feeling as each little batch of new cards arrived and this art unfolded.

*My sister's yellow Lab is 14 in human years which makes her 98 in dog years.

INTRODUCING TINA, DIXIE, PAULIE AND ELIZABETH

We decided on pygmy goats. Look closely to see four goats in this picture. With all the growth in their new pen you might say they are in "goat" heaven.

The older goats, the ones that stay well hidden in the tall weeds, are Paulie and Elizabeth. It is pretty certain that Elizabeth is pregnant.

Hope selected this goat as her own. The little goat is named Dixie. Dixie is part Pygmy and part Spanish goat.

Hope also shows off my favorite, Tina. She is definitely a cuddly goat.

We are glad that we found this batch of goats near my sister in Kansas. We got all four for $80 as opposed to the other two goats which were $250 for the pair.

We had almost decided not to get any goats at all because a neighbor's dog came up and killed five chickens before we could say boo. We thought the dog was a friendly pup. Needless to say I was ready to get out of the business of keeping any livestock. Glad Ron happened to see these little goats advertised in the Big Nickel on the morning we were going to my sister's.

OKLAHOMA GOAT ADVICE ASAP NANNY/WETHER

We have been looking for goats. Found this pair. The Nanny is 5-6 years old with all her teeth. The wether on her is about 3 months old and there is a chance the Nanny is bred again to a full Boar goat. The Nanny and Wether are both part Nubian and part Boar. They are asking $250 for the pair. Can any goat experts out there tell us their opinion of these goats?


In a few months the goat farmer will have other goats for sale and possibly pygmy goats (Nanny and kids as pictured with my granddaughter). Since we have a small operation here, perhaps the smaller goats would be better. I will so appreciate your help. We want the goats primarily to clear brush and as pets. We like Boar goats best.

Yes, Michael and Hope are here for the week and more fun pictures will follow soon. We are high and dry but you can see from the news that Oklahoma is taking another pounding of rain and flooding.

I WISH I WERE MULTILINGUAL

Welcome to my blog. I speak and read one language. The language I know is English. Please be courteous and write in English only. Thank you.

(Using igoogle translator here is what I said above in Japanese)

ようこそ私のブログに。私が話すと1つの言語をお読みください。私が知っている言語は英語です。礼儀されると英語でのみ書いてください。ありがとうございます。

(here is Chinese simplified)

欢迎您到我的博客。我说，看一个语言。我知道的语言是英语。请尽量忍让和书写英语只。感谢；谢意

LESSON ONE – THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES

A little over a year ago on April 17, 2009, I discovered a chicken nest full of kittens mixed in with several un-hatched eggs. It made it appear that the kittens had been hatched. Many of you will remember the story of Elenore Hen, my broody Silky-mix attempting to set on these kittens in competition with the feline mother, Miss Hissy. (See photo on sidebar and click to see story printed in Countryside Magazine’s Sept/Oct. 2009 issue.)

The two surviving kittens of the four that were born were named David and Goliath because of the rapid growth of Goliath. After the names were attached to them, David’s growth surge came and doubled the size of Goliath. Now it seems size isn’t the only thing that made David’s name seem wrong. It turns out (as often happens around here) that David is a girl.

What is even more surprising? David has four new kittens and they are in the exact same nesting box where she and Goliath were born.

Here is David with her four new black kittens. We have seen a black Tom stalking around here and now we know why.

(As an aside, Boomer, my Lazarus cat, debuted two healthy, fluffy kittens yesterday. I wondered if any of her kittens had survived and when or if she would ever bring them out in the open. They are nice sized and are very fast moving so catching a picture of them will take a while.).

I have had trouble getting on blogger today and besides that I got stung by something. It was black and it was either a bee or a wasp or a spider. I have applied a mix of meat tenderizer and hope to survive. It is my first sting in the four years we have been here. I think I'll take a nap.

FOUR STATES IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

We traveled from our Oklahoma home to the Downstream Casino. Exiting Oklahoma via the Will Rogers Turnpike, we entered Missouri and made a quick left turn into Kansas, turning left again into the casino land which put us back in Oklahoma. (It is fun to try and hold your breath through all four states.)

Looking out the windows of this beautiful casino reveals our Green Country lush trees as the view from every angle. You can occasionally catch a glimpse of traffic moving on the turnpike but it is very well hidden by landscape.

My brother and sil were already there, arriving the day before the rest of us. This was a special outing for them with my sil after a long illness, finally celebrating good diagnosis and alive with her normal gracious and loving spirit. This was so much more than my birthday celebration.

My sister and bil arrived next, and as always, my sister was the leader of the pack. She had baked specialty brownies for my birthday cake and only dropped them twice getting into the hotel. The small stack that was left still served as delicious celebration food with a happy birthday candle and small clowns.

My sister was the big champion. The rest of us lost our small pittance of gambling allowance while she spun hers into enough to feed us a feast at the casino's most expensive steak restaurant that evening. Plus, she still had money left over. I attribute her winning style to 1.) enthusiasm that 2) invites good wishes from all around her (kind of like intercessory prayer) and 3) she watches the spinners and never the money.

Leaving the casino for the evening my brother stopped to snap a photo of me, my sis, and my sil. He was suddenly accosted by security and advised to let them see the picture and others on his camera. Who knew we could not take pictures in a casino?? You can take them in the hotel and gift shop and restaurants but NOT on the floor of the casino.

We always have such a great time when we gather and certainly want to do this again and more often. I was pleased with my brother and sister's kind toasts to me, the birthday girl, and the wonderful gifts they presented. Only they will know what this means, but I believe I will finally forgive them for the Brownie Parade!

I turned to Ron and said, "What about your toast?" and he said "No toast but there is bread at the end of the table." Oh such romance:)

TWO DAY CELEBRATION

The birthday was yesterday and the celebration continues today as we join family for fun and fellowship at the Casino:)

AIN'T WE GOT FUN

This 10 of 10 in 2010 project has really got my folk art juices flowing. I am showing a portion (above) of my latest "markering" that went out for the project. It was an exciting decision to try incorporating my own chicken's feathers in the picture for the sake of modesty. You can peek behind the feathers. LOL I am hoping the recipient will be able to identify a resemblance to themselves in the face of the picture.

Then I got off the project track when I decided if I can incorporate my chicken's feathers, why not incorporate my extra eggs in some kind of art project? Here is a sample of that. Water bottle and pop bottle plastic lids work great as stands for the painted eggs.

I got off track again from the project by making a quick "markering" sketch from a picture on one of the blog friends sites.

And off track again as I was inspired for this fellow I call Thunder-dome by a postcard my goddaughter sent from her most recent trip to Hawaii.

Who needs a computer with their artistic emotions are flowing through their veins?

(I think I can safely be back now. I hope I can anyway.)