Laughter at all the wrong times.....

Odd how a memory will all of a sudden POP into your head.

REALLY bad when one does that as you are in church and you are trying desperately to not break out in laughter. Yeah. It happened to me today.

I went to church today, Saturday, because I just wanted to have the day at home on Sunday. Got lots to do and not enough time to do it in. You know the drill.

So during worship time, there we are singing and a certain song comes up and of course it brings the funniest of memories to my mind. The song was "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand" and the memories flowed from there.

I have a daughter. She will be turning 35 this year. I don't speak of her much to anyone. A long time ago, I learned the best way to handle not having anything nice to say is just to say nothing at all.  Better that way. But there was a time when she was cute and precocious and oh, so sweet! I know I may be biased, but I don't think there was ever a little girl that was as cute as her. She was quick and bright, inquisitive and I always knew that lurking behind that little smile was a creative and curious mind.

When I was a younger woman, I had boundless energy. Always on the move, making and creating and I LOVED being a Mom. When my children were little, at bedtime I would sit between their open doors and read them books. We covered so many different books, but their favorites were always from C.S. Lewis.....The Chronicles of Narnia. So much magic! When I read "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" to them, they were enchanted and many summer days were spent in the back yard with swords and imaginations.

So I did what any Mom would do. I built them a "Dawn Treader". Smack dab in the middle of  what would be a sand box. A HUGE sand box. I made the sail out of red canvas and on it there was a big Aslan, right in the middle. It had a poop deck and a ladder and I never did get that ships wheel to stay on correctly, but they loved it.

When it came time to fill the sand box with sand, we talked about it. Did they want white sand? Did they want sand that looked like a sea shore or just plain brown sand? What? I remember her answer clearly, as if she uttered it only today.

"Well I just want the kind of sand Jesus has. Not that stinking kind."

Wait. WHAT???

I questioned her as to what she was referring to and she broke out in song, belting out these words....

"On Christ the solid rock I stand! All other ground is stinking sand! All other ground is stinking sand!"

I had a really difficult time in church today. To not bust out laughing like I did that day long ago.

I guess the moral of this story is......If you are building a sand box for your kids, make sure you don't fill it with STINKING SAND.

Because that would be icky.

Crapolla

After careful consideration and many frustrating moments along with a few choice words, I have decided to completely redo my fodder growing system. The first one was too small!

I have 8 horses, (for now) which means for 15 pounds of fodder for each horse a day, I need to run 56 flats per week. YIKES. My old fodder system only ran 30 flats per week. Which is still a lot, just not enough.

So last night, after working all day on the old system, I took it all apart and am re-configuring it today. Hopefully, I can have it up and running tonight because my horses LOVE their fodder.

Photos and instructions to come. (Yeah right).

Easter blessings to your family on this wonderful, wonderful day!

cate

Sunshine and rain

Beautiful day today! Sunshine and rain both. Go figure.

I am reworking the fodder grower I made today. Wish I knew what I was doing. LOVE the videos on YouTube, but they don't explain enough for someone who is mechanically challenged.

But my horses love the fodder and I am determined. Today I will be working on the watering system as it needs to be automated to save me time and be more efficient.

Good luck on that one. I'll post pics later.

Maybe.

This is going to be a loooong wait....

Today is April 17, 2019.

My trip to Disneyland is scheduled for November 2019.

THIS is going to be a loooong wait! I only hope I survive to see my beloved Disneyland again!

So why do I like DisneyLAND over DisneyWORLD??? Well, I am glad you asked. Both are great places to visit and both are magical, but DisneyLAND is the original. And in my opinion, Disneyland is more of Walt Disney's dream whereas Disneyworld is more of Roy Disney's vision.

I love walking under the railroad archway when walking into Disneyland. It feels like the first time, EVERY time I do that. Magically, I become that little 8 year old girl that went there that first time way back when. As I walk through that and enter into Main Street, I remember my Uncle Wally, the one who gave me my very first trip to Disneyland. He gave me a gift of wonder and magic and I am forever grateful that gift. Uncle Wally was pretty dang special. I always wanted marry him when I got older. Miss him very much!

 This year, I have decided to do everything I want and haven't been able to do because of being with other people and compromising, as one has to do when you go with a group. Soooooo.....I am staying at the Candy Cane Inn, where I have always wanted to stay, but have never been able to. I even reserved a deluxe king room so that I don't feel so cramped and can enjoy the time I must spend away from my Disneyland friends.

I am always envious of those staying at this lovely little place when I see the exclusive Candy Cane Inn Disneyland shuttle taking back those weary Disneyland adventurers at the end of the night whilst I walk my tired butt back to where I am staying! Well no more. My turn has come!

 I am also looking forward to seeing the lovely landscaped grounds and pool from close up and not from the sidewalk as I pass by ON FOOT!

But the very best thing about this trip is that STAR WARS LAND is opening on May 31, 2019! And I will be there to see this brand new land after all the bugs have been worked out. YAYNESS!!! And all the Christmas decorations will be up! AND I got the MaxPass option so ALL my photos will be available for download to my smart device. Now I just have to figure out how to do all that stuff. NOT a techie bone in this old body!

This year, I have also decided to join in with all the other people who have been Disney Bounding for years. I have joined a group that does this and posts photos regularly. Here are some ideas that I found via the internet...

I haven't yet decided who I will choose to emulate, but I am getting closer to a decision and have even picked up some items for a start. But I already ordered my mini backpack! (Just not arrived or packed yet!)

So reservations are in place and paid for, tickets are paid for and a fancy schmancy rental car is in place and waiting for me. I even got personal pick up service so I don't have to park my vehicle at the rental parking garage here at home. My pet sitter is already confirmed, so that worry is off my mind as well!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have heard it all before. I am too old to be this excited over Disneyland. BUT when you have a full time job AND run a farm, it is difficult to get away for any amount of time and for me that can only come once a year. If I can only get away ONCE a year, then I am going to the Happiest Place on Earth. I will go and have a blast and honor the memory of my dear Uncle Wally at the same time!

I am more than excited! I. CANNOT. WAIT!!!

Unfortunately, I have to....

Christmas Tears

It is the last day of November.

Most of us have started or even finished our Christmas shopping and are wrapping gifts for under that tree we decorated the day after Thanksgiving.

And some of us are thinking we should probably seriously begin to think about getting those rotting pumpkins off the front porch.

Me? Of course my tree is up! My baking is beginning and I am busily watching Hallmark movies on the new Roku tv I gifted to myself on Thanksgiving day. No Disneyland for me this year, but I am happily ensconced into my little home and enjoying the days off that would normally be spent at Disney. I am beyond happy!

Which brings me to the reason for writing today. In the middle of the day while my sweet potatoes are baking. (More about that Christmas Cookie Recipe in another blog!)

MOVIES. Specifically Hallmark movies! I have not made it a secret that I am no fan of normal cable television or even less of a fan of the Hollywood crowd. Quite honestly I don't want that garbage in my home or more importantly in my mind! So I made a decision years ago to let go of that after a short and thought provoking Bible study on Psalm 101. David of the Bible, although a total screw up at times, was, after all, a man after Gods own heart! I cannot think that I would not want to be like him in that respect!

"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate of them that turn aside: it shall not cleave to me."

Psalm 101:3 

So I got rid of the cable connections, don't have an antennae, but I DO have internet. I was excited when one of those companies started advertising they were going to do an 'a la carte' package where you could pick and choose what you wanted and pay for only what you wanted. Pack of lies, of course. It was not that at all. You will get to choose extra programs for those already in your pre-chosen PACKAGE. And that package deal came with things I don't want in my home. Gotta tell you! I LOVE my smart television for a-la-carte is exactly what I have and did I mention that I LOVE IT?!?!

I have HGTV, Hallmark, His Channel, One Place and of course QVC. I mean really. Where else am I going to be buying old lady clothes that I will probably never have the place to wear them to?

But as it is coming Christmas, I have been enjoying the movies and going through Kleenex like I have stock in their company! I ran across 2 that I think you should know about, ones you may want to watch with your family or even alone. I promise you, they will touch your heart and pull those strings....help you to remember the most important thing about this season of love and giving.

The Santa Suit. Don't miss it and not just because Kevin Sorbo is in it. Don't miss it because we all need to believe in the magic of love and how love can change your heart!

A Dog Named Christmas. The. BEST. Movie. EVER! Comes from Hallmarks Hall of Fame, it is worth the time to watch so cuddle up with a cozy blanket, popcorn and of course, your best friend!

Merry Christmas, my friend!

Revelations in the mysteries of family life.....

I guess I can rightly say that this particular post was inevitable. A long time in coming, but without a doubt, inevitable.

Life does that sometimes. Hits you upside the head with a freakin' 2x4.

Many, many moons ago, my Daddy introduced me to a new author, or at least an author I had not known about. It was the summer of my 10th year of life and I, like most 10 year olds, was underfoot, in the way and about as useful at tits on a boar hog, as my Grandma would say. As summer waned, it got worse. But my Daddy, God rest his soul, saved me from boredom and unlocked for me a marvelous journey and adventure that long summer. One I shall never forget and will be forever grateful for.

Our family has always been made up of voracious readers. I can remember a time when each member of the family has failed to hear a beckoning from someone else due to the fact their nose was buried in some book or another. We all varied in our tastes of literary genius, but we ALL had a taste for the written word. One of my pride and joys is the fact that I, in turn, fostered that same love into the lives and hearts of my two children.

But that summer, a new series of book was published in a book club edition wherein if you signed up, you got a set number of books each month for a set dollar amount. I don't recall the name of the book club, but they were published by Walter J. Black INC in Roslyn, New York. The author, yet unbeknownst to me, was a man by the name of Zane Grey. My love affair began.

I am not sure why Daddy thought these books, by this author would appeal to me. My age alone would suggest that I was too young to appreciate them fully, if at all! Perhaps he was just tired of hearing my endless questions as I followed him around his work and he simply sought a way to shut me the heck up. Looking back, it is difficult to fathom that I was only 10 years of age, because upon introduction to this author, I began devouring book after book after book! Daddy eventually had the entire library collection and today, depending upon the title and the condition, you can find these books everywhere on Ebay, Amazon and any other vintage book nook. I have yet to achieve the entire collection myself, but believe me, it is my intent, as I never finished reading them all. There were SO many! I asked Daddy what his favorite title in the collection was and he said it was a toss up between two. #1; Call of the Canyon and #2; Under the Tonto Rim. Under the Tonto Rim was one of the last books Daddy got before I moved out of the homestead and struck out on my own, so I never read that one while Daddy was still on this earth.

I finished that book tonight.

I learned a lot about my Daddy during the reading of this book, but I hardly had identified this throughout the book until I came to the last chapter. I know now why Daddy loved it best. My Daddy was ever the romantic. I see that now where I did not see it before I read this title, but he was! He was a big, lovable, goofy, backwoodsman, romantic marshmellow! My Dad, the lumberjack! My Dad, the fearless soldier of D-Day! My Dad, the ultimate homestead provider! My Daddy, the one who bought Mom tires for her Toyota for their 32nd wedding anniversary!

Yeah that totally doesn't fit the mold of a romantic and believe me, God broke that mold eventually and the world lost a generation of the best men ever created. But in the reading of this book, it all became clear. Good and true and fine.....noble and generous with a back bone of steel and a simple way of looking at life. He was there. My Daddy, the man who raised 4 of his own blood children, and a daughter of his wife and that daughters child. I met my Dad in this book in a way I never dreamed I would, never had a clue I would. And I fell in love with him all over again.

Family is a messy thing. A wonderful, convoluted, frightful, messy thing. But now, Daddy, I understand and I want you to know. It is okay and I am fine and I will make it, many thanks to you and all you taught me. I will do my best to hold onto the lessons and the picture of you and the memories......oh the memories! And you know what Daddy? Those tires for your 32nd wedding anniversary? They were just PERFECT!

I miss you.

Every good gift is from God above

My favorite season is the fall of the year. I am not sure why, but I just love this season. It is almost as though you can feel the expectancy in the air. I simply cherish these days before the cold and bareness of winter sets in.

I have found in my lifetime that fall is not just a season of changing colors of leaves, it is a season in which the biggest changes in my life happen. 2018 has proven this again.

The homestead of which I had such hopes is now gone and a new dream has taken its place. The woman whom I was doing the sweat equity deal with changed her mind and I would have to be out by the first of the year. A new home for my ever growing family needed to be found.

My front porch on the cabin

I HATE moving.

Especially when your little farm has grown to be what mine is now. Moving is difficult in the extreme, takes a LOT of time and is always a pain the bazootie to complete. But it is almost over now. 4 more horse pens to take down, one more horse shade to dismantle, lumber to move and the garden tires to relocate to the new place.

Life is full of surprises and never turns out the way that you think it will. But I can see the fingerprints of God all over this move. I have gone from a rustic one room cabin that has no running water, to a cute 2 bedroom home, with a huge mud room for the pups, that has more usable land in 2 acres then the other had in 10. My days of dreaming of a GINORMOUS canning garden have now become a reality.Well at least when spring happens again!

When I made the deal on the cabin, there was this little home down the mountain below me that had these HUGE porches and I just drooled when I saw them. I actually thought, "Now why wasn't that home available BEFORE I made this deal?! I would have bought that!!!" And so through the 2 and 1/2 years I lived in the cabin, I watched as renter after renter when through that home and slowly but surely wore that little home down. They even removed the porches! (You could see the place from my front porch and I drove by it every day on my way to work!) By the time I finally confronted and figured out that this woman I had made the deal with on the cabin, was not serious and had no intention of actually selling the place, there was again, another renter in the place. And then, as if ordained, it happened.....the last renter left and the place sat empty.

The little home I coveted...

One Sunday soon after, as I was late and preparing for church, I was in a VERY foul mood. I wanted to go to church, but I didn't want to go. Especially since I did not have enough water to bathe before I went. I argued with myself, argued with God. I was angry and pissed and to my shame, I might add, I flowered the air with choice words that would make a sailor blush. So giving up the trip to church, I went to fill the tank on the back of the truck so that I would be able to water horses, cats, dogs, chickens, myself and take a bath. I was NOT a happy girl, but lo and behold, on my way home, I was passing the little home and the gates were open. The owner was there fixing the place!

It took all of 3 seconds for the thought to enter my head! I stopped. Immediately. I probably scared the man and his wife out of 7 years of living since I hadn't yet showered, but I approached them, we talked and we made a deal. As I had been packing boxes since January, I was ready and the move begin immediately.

That was one and a half months ago. I, and my entire family is now at the new home, but there is still much work to do.  Due to the stream of steady renters that preceded me, I find myself fixing and patching and painting and leveling and spackling and cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, for there is no way it will pass an appraisal at this time! 

This place is indeed a mess, but I can see in my mind what it will be when I am done, and it has it's own well! Not a shared well, IT'S VERY OWN WELL!!! And so with the help of the original owner and his wife, who are just sweethearts,  I have leveled floors, pulled out flooring and replaced the sub-floor, added outdoor light posts, replaced insulation and all this in between working a full time job and moving 8 horses, 5 dogs, 5 cats, 18 chickens, a duck and one very precious ringneck dove and an entire household of STUFF.

This is as close to heaven on earth as it gets. I can turn on a faucet and get cold OR hot running water. I can shower ANYTIME I feel like it. I can wash clothes without hauling water, wash dishes (by hand as the dishwasher still needs to be hooked up), without heating the water on the stove first. My horses have large pens where the arena will be, as I work on the barn. My dogs have run of the out of doors as the entire place is fenced properly and when tiring of the outside, they can come into their very own bedroom, (the mud room on the rear of the house). My kitty gang hangs in the master bedroom that has been cleaned top to bottom, painted and spiffed up and sleep on a down comforter that covers the end of the bed. They even have their own air conditioner as I work on getting the duct work up that the last renter tore out. Although we won't be using that air conditioning for the rest of the year, we will definitely be needing it for the heating, which is gas, efficient and clean! I am actually planning on putting in a gas burning fireplace so no more chopping wood for this girl! I will get to use a remote and have white girl fire whenever I want it! AND it has my little goat barn already built, you know, the one I did the blog about years ago? IT IS ALREADY HERE! One side for the chickens and one side for the goats!

Goat and chicken barn!!!

Inside the south side of the barn that will become the chicken house and yard is the most lovely, lovely, lovely antique wrought iron fencing, complete with 3D acorns and oak leaves, lovely Victorian gas lamps and all. ( A total 'nother blog!) I cannot wait to put this up and complete that rose garden I have been dreaming of ever since I left the Whelan house in Bisbee all those years ago!

The antique wrought iron fencing. Just waiting its turn to be set up!

There is even a place for that orchard I wanted to put in and what with the well and all.....no problemo!

LOTS of work? You betcha! But with the sweat equity involved, I am getting quite the deal which means that I should, if I do this right, have this place paid off in SEVEN years! Even if it means that I must postpone my Disneyland trip for this year, I am perfectly content in doing so. Disneyland will be there next year unless California drops into the ocean, right?!?! And blessings like this don't happen every day.

They say God works in mysterious ways. Does not take a genius to figure out that if  things had been just a little bit different with the water and all,  I would have never been there to see the owner and make this deal. Sooooo..........?

Thank You, Father.