Ever want to freak out your 16 year old son? You just have to let him catch you waxing your armpits. Especially since the hair has to be at least 1/4 inches long in order to do it. His comment was, "Gees Mom, we're not living in France!"

Finally finished my waterfall on my pond that I started last year. Came out really nice except that the water flow to one is too strong. I have a splitter so I have two water falls going at once.

My daffodils and tulips are coming up and my levels are looking great. I put down some seeds so the summer should be seeing alot of new flowers.

Hay supply is low around here and I'm gonna run out before the first cutting. I figured I could put the horse out with the goats to eat the grass they don't eat (if she doesn't mind eating around their poop)and the goats eat the stuff starting to grow in the woods. Boy, do those onion burps smell. Had my last set of kids making the total 11. I sold the bottle baby at a 4H meeting so I don't have to worry about my friends feeding it while I'm away.

10 more days and I'm Sandy's way. Disney here I come!! Yea!!

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2004

Answers

Dee, yeah, that would probably freak out most stout-hearted men, for sure!! I have some waxing tales, but I'm not going to share them!

I've been pretty crazy trying to transition this job change. Isn't it amazing how everything happens at once? Job, house, perennial garden, vegetable garden, shearing, (thank God, no lambs this year). Also May is Mr. S's birthday, our anniversary (22 no less), my birthday, Mother's Day, my brother and sister-in-law's wedding anniversary, and my brother-in-law's birthday, and that's just in the first 2 weeks of the month, for heaven's sake. I'm having everyone over for a brunch on Sunday...figure I can make one big celebration... (and eggs and bread are much cheaper than steaks, or salmon, or most other things!).

The weather has been nuts. We had a HUGE windstorm a few days ago (actually had a tornado north of us) that knocked over lots of trees. The house next door lost 3 *huge* house-sized apple trees (windfall of firewood for us, though...they told us to take it all), and several big leaf maples (what are they, 70-80 feet tall?) lost big limbs and stuff across the road and next door on the other side. Of course we lost power (always do). Fortunately, nothing fell on our house or yard.

I spent several days this past week trying to excavate my vegetable garden from the weeds! We've had alternating cloudy days with hot (80) growing days, so the weeds are getting off to a good start.

Mr. S. ordered 3 dozen chicks for delivery in June (never mind that we won't get eggs until next spring)...

How's everyone else? EM, how's biz?

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2004

Hope you enjoy Disney, Dee! I've been three times - once with the ex and Jessie (Oct); then twice with school band groups (New Year & Easter). How long will you be staying? Will you be staying in park or out? Take a jacket with you, unless you were planning to buy a Mickey sweatshirt anyway; and do have one of the smoked turkey legs - they are as good as they smell (extra napkins, please!)

Same old, same old here. No waxing tales, other than eyebrows - which is my only bow to vanity. Otherwise I look like Cro-Magnnon meets Pentecostal-Grandma.

Me? Well, I've been doing laundry and working. Seems like that is all I usually do, doesn't it? Oh, I guess that I have been pulling weeds in the garden too.

Tuesday was Pop's 76th birthday; he was a lot more cheerful this year than last. Jes came over and we took him out to supper and then to get a fishing liscense. He is failing somewhat, tho all his labs look good. He naps/sleeps a great deal; but then seems to get an occasional burst of energy, like yesterday - town for coffee in the morning, out to lunch with a pal, home to mow the lawn (half an acre, at least), a brief rest on the porch before supper, out to the garden to lop a few limbs off the peach trees so that I could weed under them, then a lesson to Hubs in peach tree pruning while he supervised, checked plant sproutage and growth in the field garden, then made a jaunt down to Unc's garden to compare. He's still abed this morning; I wonder how well he'll be moving today!

Hubs is back home full time - and is bored! I like having him home as he helps a great deal with Pop; but since he was a kid the only thing this guy has done is work and ride motorcycles. Now with the 9- 5 job done away with; and with age and old motocross injuries creeping up on him to make racing more of a pain than a pleasure, he is at a loss. He has been doing nearly all of the cooking - and he has re-arranged my kitchen!! AACKKK!! I can't decide whether to assert my territorial rights or just sit back and enjoy supper on the table when I get up! He's taken over the shopping as well - Jes walked in to the pantry (where she is wont to do her grocery shopping) and said "Hey Mom - where's the food?!" I can't seem to convince him of the neccessity of maintaining a food supply. Guess I'll just have to take a bonus check and go shopping on my own! He did buy a fishing liscense when we got Pop's (catfish fillets, $5/lb at the store); and is talking about setting up a worm bin for bait; and jobs are still trickling in to the shop, so I am not too worried about the boredom part. Part time jobs that don't include the weekend are difficult to find! It's been so long since I worked a job that didn't require weekends, I have forgotten that "normal" people consider having to work them to be so terrible.

Jes is doing fine - I have been working some day shifts; and she is actually working a night shift with me tonight (other CNA has finals this week). She is still working hard on her internet class in medical transcription; and hopes to be done this summer. She bought a float boat here a month or so back, and has discovered that it is a pain to get in and out of the water, but she is persevering. And hitting Mom up for the cash to put new carpet down on it as well!

Well, that's about all I know, except that my sheets have been sloshing a while so I'd better go wring them and get them on the line. Guess I'll have to go roust one of the fellows out of bed so that I can have their sheets to load in the washer next!

Take care, all...

-- Anonymous, May 06, 2004

Polly, oh the kitchen woes sound so familiar!!! Mr. S. has adopted the food/prep/cleanup thing from time to time over the past few years. I had the same problem: Where is everything and why isn't there any food in the house? Or one week our grocery bill would be seventy-million dollars for one huge gourmet dinner (and two days of cleaning up the kitchen), and the next week, there'd be nothing but pasta with no sauce, tortillas and cheese, and a can of soup mix or something to eat. So...I'd morph the kitchen back to my liking and start all over again.

The best success (which hasn't been too successful!) was me making meal plans and posting the night's meal (and directions) on the fridge. Mr. S. would cook the stuff (I'd call as I was leaving the office...about an hour trip home) and with any luck dinner would be ready when I got home. One night, though, he forgot to turn the instructions over and left half the meal off. Mind you, this guy isn't dumb, but HUH? Now we're back to catch as catch can (usually me getting home around 7:30 and quickly cooking some chicken, making a salad, and calling it dinner!).

What medical transcription program is your daughter doing? Medquist? Healthscribe? Very cool! I'm so glad I re-careered into transcription...and doubly excited to be doing it in veterinary medicine. (sorry, humans).

Rain today. Still planting out perennials like mad. I'm having the family over for M-Day brunch. Gotta shop for food, gifts (today's our 22nd anniversary), everything else. Maybe I can get some shopping done on the way to work (yikes...better run). Oops, forgot. Got a cake to frost first.

Where is everyone?

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2004

Wednesday I decided I was tired of messing with my long hair so I got it all chopped off. It's so easy to take care of now, I don't even have to blow dry it for work. I was going to donate my hair again but there was too much gray in it for Locks of Love to use it. Oh well.

We bought a new tractor a couple of weeks ago. It's a Mahindra. I like it because it has a front-end loader so I can haul around dirt and firewood and stuff. It also has a hydrostatic transmission which is so much easier for me to drive, trying to shift that old John Deere just scared the crap out of me. :)

The longer I live here, the more I love it. This spring our yard was just full of violets, and I discovered that the big patch of hosta- looking plants are actuall lilly of the valley. I love lilly of the valley, my grandma used to wear that perfume and so smelling it reminds me of her. There also is a big lilac bush which needs a serious trimming but it smells really good. As soon as Keith gets home today he's putting up a clothesline for me, and tomorrow we're building some raised beds for the garden. I'm about a month behind where I'd like to be garden-wise (guess I won't be planting asparagus and strawberries this year after all) but any progress is better than none I guess.

We have 5 baby kittens, they're just a week old. One black, two grey, one grey and white, and one calico. There's another pregnant cat hanging around here but I think she belongs to the neighbors so hopefully she'll have her litter over there. When I was a little girl I said that when I grow up I want to be a crazy lady and live in a big house with 100 cats. It looks like I'm on my way! :)

Polly, I owe you a big thank-you! Back when Pop was recovering from his stroke you mentioned how getting massage was so helpful to him. That's always been in the back of my mind, and last month I went and took a course on geriatric massage. I really loved it, so much so that I'm going to make it a focus of my massage practice.

I'd better get out and finish mowing before the dandelions get taller than the house! Take care everyone.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2004

Hey, Dee, I havent shaved in over 20 years, so, like Polly ,can't say I can relate, and certainly don't think waxing sounds very pleasant! Isnt that painful?

wow, sheepish, sounds like you're gettin some real weather out there lately! We need rain here; it's not too bad yet, but even a little dry makes me nervous in our log house in the middle of thick woods. And of course there are cretins across the ravine who have a love affair with fireworks. I've called the cops on em a few times (use a pay phone, who knows nowadays how nutso they might be), but they keep doin it.

We're opening the pool today,not that it's warm enough to swim, at least not for me, but gotta get the water shocked and clean before it goes all green on us. I bought some flowers today; will go out this afternoon and plug em in my planters, and do some cleaning up in the yard. I need the exercise! The backyard is such a mess, from those dang dogs. Pyr is the biggest problem; she wrecks everything I put out. I dont think my little boxwood hedge I planted last year is gonna make it.I thought the thorns would keep her away.....HA! Silly me! She has no nerve endings! Or if she does, they're buried under half a foot of fur! Biz is coming along; somedays I have to give myself a pep talk so I dont allow myself to get discouraged. I never thought it would be this hard to market this stuff......everyone loves them, but it is SO difficult to get a new product on the shelves. I have to work really hard for every sale, and I really didn't expect that. We're in about 9 stores now, but I think it should be more by now! patience is not my best thing. But I am havin fun.

Yesterday we drove down to Rochester (of Mayo Clinc fame) to look at a delivery truck. Just before we left I thought I'd grab some muffins and sales material, cuz so many times I wish I had samples with me and don't. After we looked at the truck (piece of crap) we found a natural foods store in town,and decided to check it out. We almost didnt go in cuz there was a sandwich board outside that said 'new deli........100% vegan!' (yum, a 100% vegan deli....isnt that an oxymoron?) But we went in anyway, and I ended up talking to the buyer (everyone there was super nice), who was totally excited about our product, and she hadnt even tasted it yet! Turns out they have a really good selection of gluten-free stuff, (some things we havent found even in the Cities),and if I would have brought a couple of cases with me, she would have bought them on the spot! The Mayo has an autism clinic, so they get lots of their business cuz autistics do better on gluten free and dairy-free diets. I've actually been working on developing a dairy free version too. [The protein in wheat (gluten) and the protein in milk (Casein) are very similar, and are undigestible in most autistics.] Weird and wonderful how the world works, eh? So she says she will order on Monday, so it certainly wasnt a wasted trip. As long as she follows through, that was by far my easiest sale to a store!

It is a long way down there to deliver though, so I'm going to try my best to find a few others along the way who might be interested. Trouble is, there are no large towns between here and there.

Sherri, so glad you are enjoying your country place! I remember how wonderful it was to always make new discoveries every year! Some new plant, or my little magical mushroom village where I am convinced fairies lived, or being startled by a critter sharing my woods. Do miss it, yessiree.

Ironically enough, we've been half-assed looking at moving into the actual city, saints preserve me. Gone to a few open-houses, etc. I try to imagine myself (if I can get the agent to leave us alone and shut up) living there, looking out the window (at someone looking back at me from the next house! yuk!), working in the (little bitty) yard with all the neighbors watching. Havin a hard time with that concept. I'm pretty happy working in the city now, there is a lot of neat stuff going on by folks who really care about improving the lot of others,and the city itself. But I really value my privacy, and am very appreciative of the beautiful place in the woods we have out here that I have to come home to. Every once in awhile, while looking at houses in town, I run into a place that is situated with some privacy, but there's usually something else wrong with it. (like it costs a fortune, or it's next to the freeway wall......privacy!) The commute is about 40 minutes though, and gas is getting expensive,and wear and tear on the cars, and it pollutes, blah blah. Hell the house next to our building is coming up for sale (they're refurbing it) but ali refuses to live in that neighborhood! And I must agree I would probably be a bit paranoid at night too, what with gang activity still plenty prevalent.

How things have changed for me in the past three years. wow.

Taking mom out to brunch tomorrow (japanese), then coming home to get waited on by our sweet girls. Have a great mom's day to you moms, and everyone else have a great day too!

Blessings all,

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2004

Happy Anniversary Sheepish! I screwed up on mine. I thought it would be romantic to go on a cruise for our 20th anniversary and I forgot and made plans for this Disney trip. Glenn won't want to do both. Well, 25 is only 5 years away, I can do it then.

Sherri, I meant to ask, did you ever put a gargoyle statue up? I have three in my front pond (see, speak, hear no evil with the middle one suppose to have water coming out of it's ears but never works right after the first day) I also have a dinosaur breaking out of an egg in my flowers which are blooming wonderfully. Daffodiles, tulips, pansies. I planted waved patunias...I love wave patunias and the deer don't eat them. I have got to take a picture so you all can see.

EM. Does waxing hurt? YES!!!!! But I'm so hairy that I would have to shave every day if I don't. (who started this stupid custom of shaving in the first place? I want their ears) This waxing should keep me clean for at least a month. My friend who got me started on it and I used to drink some wine spritzers before starting. We would count, 1,2,3, pull! every time.

Polly, we are going for 11 days. I should have made it 12 because you waste 2 days in travel (man oh man, do I hate flying. Have to get drunk first) but I didn't want Gary to miss too much school, even though he is in high honors (yea!) I have a 6 day Disney pass, 3 day Universal (one day was free but you have to use it all up in the week) and 1 day in Sea World (Glenn usually doesn't go with us but stays by the pool) Gary also wants to go to Disney Quest which is a vertual place. Too many things and not enough days. We usually stay outside the park. There is a grocery store behind our hotel so we buy stuff and keep it in a soft cooler with the free ice, eating our own lunch in the park. Also when the ice melts, since it is filtered, we drink it. We ended up saving alot of money that way. I did have the "alien" leg once. People kept asking me how it was. It was good but made me so thirsty.

Had a fright last week. Heard screaming and thrashing in the barn. Ran down to find Glenn's bottle baby from last year stuck with a thick piece of wire hooked through her lower eyelid. I had put it up to separate the kidding goats. Since it was looped, I didn't think any harm would come from it. She must have been rubbing her face on it and slipped. I kept calling to the house but forgot I shut off the baby monitor and didn't want to leave her because I was afraid she would rip it off. So, you know those stories of Mom's with super human strength lifting cars? Well, I got a pair of strong pliers and bent that wire straight so she could slide off. I rinsed it and put eye ointment in with a shot of penicillin for good measure. She is fine now, thank goodness she didn't damage her eye. I don't know, it always seems to be Glenn's goat that gets sick or in trouble. Of all goats, why her?

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2004