"To the Virgins, to make much of time"

~ Carly Shetland, 19 years old, spends her time snoozing or eating ~

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying:

And this same flower that smiles to-day

To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,

The higher he's a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,

And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,

And while ye may, go marry:

For having lost but once your prime,

You may for ever tarry."

~ Robert Herrick ~ 

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like time has wings on her heels?

Blessings ~ Carly Shetland ~ time ~ rosebuds ~ Robert Herrick ~

Sabbath Keeping

~ old walnut tree on the farm, photo by Gina ~

"You shall love the Lord your God 

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your might."

~ Deuteronomy 6:5 ~

"Lord, deliver me from the small loyalties of habit or tradition that would keep me from larger loyalties of the spirit. Let me so incline myself to you that your presence in my life determines both what I think and what I do. Through Jesus, who understood the deeper meaning of freedom. Amen." ~ John Killinger in A Devotional Guide to the Gospels ~
"Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option." 
~ unknown ~
"Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable."
~ Dr. Joyce Brothers ~

"Out of clutter, find simplicity.

From discord, find harmony.

In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity."

~ Albert Einstein ~

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you will be criticized anyway." 
~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~
"Actions express priorities." ~ Gandhi ~
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss ~
"Frankly, too many women treat their husbands as accessories and not priorities."
~ Dr. Laura Schlessinger ~
Click here and listen to life tips from Ashton Kutcher
"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule but to schedule your priorities." 
~ Steven Covey ~
"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." ~ unknown ~
"To succeed today, you have to set priorities. You have to decide what you stand for."
~ Lee Iacocca ~
"Good things happen when you get your priorities straight." ~ Scott Caan ~

"Decide what you want. 

Decide what you are willing to exchange for it.

Establish your priorities and go to work."

~ H. L. Hunt ~ 

"Refuse to fight small battles with petty people. Your life is bigger and better than that." 
~ unknown ~
"I believe there are three keys to success. For me it is keeping my priorities in order: It's my faith and my family, and then the business." ~ Kathy Ireland ~
"Living with the immediacy of death helps you sort your priorities. It helps you live a less trivial life." ~ Sogyal Rinpoche ~

"You can either focus on what is tearing you apart

or you can focus on what is holding you together."

~ unknown ~

"To change your life, you need to change your priorities." ~ Zahid Abbas  ~

"But seek first His kingdom 

and His righteousness 

and all these things shall be given unto you as well."

~ Matthew 6:33 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Kurt ~ Timi and family ~ Tammy ~ 

TGIF and Random 5 Friday

~ American Curly horses ~

Today, a gentleman from Virginia Currents e-mailed me and asked for  farm photos to use in a television news magazine segment featuring Virginia farms. He asked for four photos and I sent eight; yes, I can count, but having no understanding of what he needed, I sent him twice as many photos so he can cull fifty percent. Whenever possible, I like to make other folks' jobs' easier. 

~ chestnuts, ready for roasting ~

Another gent, from across the mountain, likes to hunt ground hogs in our valley and I like for him to hunt ground hogs on this farm.  They are pesky rodents who dig huge holes that are a safety hazard for my horses, sheep and alpacas. Me too, remembering now the huge hole I stepped into in mid-summer. Anyway, the hunter brought me a coffee can of chestnuts and I plan on X'ing them and roasting them tonight and all weekend. I've never found a nut I didn't like and chestnuts are a favorite. 

~ London travel journal, right ~

Dave and I began traveling overseas in 2008 when I was asked to teach Agri-tourism in Russia. the program was through the U. S. State Department and run by a West Virginia Bluefield State professor. That was the beginning of a entirely new set of adventures for Dave and I. In January 2010, Dave sent me to London because, "I want you to learn to travel by yourself. I'll be here, at home, for a safety net, but you'll be on your own." I planned that trip...airline, hotel, sights, etc....and, yes, it was frightening but also exhilarating! When my plane landed, my transportation to town wasn't there and never arrived. I finally took the Tube into London and my Earls Court stop where I wandered for an hour looking for my hotel. All this at midnight, in the cold, snow and worst winter London had in twenty-five years...exhilarating!  The memory of the red fox and I, crossing on opposite street corners, remains a favorite memory. 

~ July - August 2011 travel journal ~

I'm getting to my point, please forgive a tired, slow woman...in the summer of 2011, Dave sent me to Eastern Europe, amazing because, at that time, Dave was recovering from cancer treatment and, needless to say, I didn't want to leave him. He insisted and gave me the same reason he'd given when he sent me to London the year before. So, that fabulous trip was to Hungary, were I met Timi and her family and Jane and Lance, then went to Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Austria. 

I'm going to submit, for possible publication, my journals to Stampington Public. I haven't a clue they'll accept them but I'm pretty sure the answer is no if I don't ask. This is a huge step for me; when I was in elementary school, my "art" teacher (using the term most loosely!) told me, "You have absolutely no talent whatsoever; I have no idea why you even try." 

My answer after all these decades is, "Life is risky and the answer is always "no" when the question isn't asked."

Through no work of their own, the dogs are ready for cold weather. Their sweaters were washed and line dried this week and bought a smile to my face. 

We had a jail break today; the alpacas found a gate I'd left open and made their way into the yard. They were so funny, looking like they were tiptoeing around the yard. The dogs don't even bark anymore when the animals go where they aren't really supposed to go. Eventually, I got them all back in the same pasture and all is well on the farmstead.

This post is linked up with Nancy's Random 5 Friday at A Rural Journal. Please visit her and see the other participants.

Blessings ~ clean sweaters ~ animals in their correct places ~ chestnuts ~ American Curly horses ~ travel journals ~  alpacas ~

Here She Goes Again...

It's a rainy, drizzly, overcast, cool day here on the farm. A great day for staying inside and working on the many inside chores facing me. But, not having shed the irascible gene, I'm on another tear.

~ thistle, gone to seed ~

I know language evolves but must it evolve in a downward state? Healthy Meals...aren't...or, maybe they are which is even more frighting. It should be Healthful Meals but I suppose the "powers that be" think "dumbing down" the population language is acceptable.

Using less when fewer is correct, as in grocery lines when a check-out sign states "less than 20 items". In Oregon, Dave took a photo of a Whole Foods sign that said "fewer than 20 items"; he said it was worthy of his pixels -grin-.

~ storm moving down the valley ~

Those who use quotes as if they "own" them. I once heard a lay minister, using the word quite loosely because that person left their spouse and shacked up with a much younger person...but I digress onto another tangent...quoted G. W. Cooke, "There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly becomes any of us to talk about the rest of us." If it's not your quote, give the quote it's rightful parent because, trust me, when we find out it's not your quote (and we will, eventually, find out), we're not going to think any better of you. Just the opposite, actually.

1st Annual...can't happen; it's impossible.

The word awesome when it's used cavalierly, as in "that's an awesome hamburger!" Now, it might be good, might even be great but does it truly inspire awe? Probably not. This year I attended a woman's conference and thoroughly enjoyed it but I heard the word "awesome" by almost every third mouth. Unfortunately, never did I hear the word "awesome" in reference or context to God...how sad.

Focus on the Family - treading on a scared cow here but there are a lot of people who don't fit your demographic of a Dad, Mom and 2 children. Or, kids, as you like to call 'em. Sometimes there's only one parent, due to divorce or death. Sometimes, there aren't any children, just a husband and wife or one spouse, no children. News flash...I'm still a family even though I don't fit into one of your prescribed categories and because I don't fit, I don't write checks. No hard feelings on my part though; hope not on yours either.

Doctors who say, "Well, I take it so you should too." Well, guess what? I read the two pages of warnings that came with that danged Crestor, a statin drug, and decided I didn't want to be part of your guinea pig trial, nor contribute, indirectly, to your boat fund, and I stopped taking it. Those warnings include increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, cataracts, liver dysfunction, kidney failure, muscle fatigue and (this should be put into bold for male readers) erectile dysfunction. There are some doctors prescribing Crestor for healthy young adults as a "preventive" medication but I ask, "preventing what, exactly?" In 2009 the FDA approved Crestor even though the data still questions the wisdom of such a move. Ah, but it's the government...here to help...just ask obama who received $900,000.00 in campaign donations from Astra Zeneca, the makers of Crestor. People who have stopped taking Lipitor have told me it's even worse.

~ dog sweaters, electric blanket washed and ready to use ~

Do you know of a young couple having trouble conceiving or having miscarriages? It might be BPA in the male that's killing off viable sperm. So, if you know of someone using plastic baby bottles to feed their male child, please tell them to consider using Dr. Brown products from Germany. No BPA, reduces or negates colic and no, I'm not receiving any compensation; I just want the (tax paying) population to continue.

Dr. Mercola is a great newsletter and site for information regarding health, health care and the government. How about a tot of "beaver butt secretions"? No?, but it's "all natural" and, according to the government, perfectly legal to be used in things like chewing gum, puddings and other items where vanilla is an ingredient. Strangely enough, beaver anal secretions, called castoreum, smells like vanilla and those pesky FDA folks say can be used in place of Mexican or Tahitian vanilla.

Another site I enjoy reading is Natural News but it's not for the weak.

~ chestnuts, ready to X, roast and eat ~

The government shutdown...why is it obama, senators and congressional reps are still receiving their salaries, perks and benefits while Veterans cannot access memorials dedicated to their military service? It continues to amazes me how DC folks are completely and totally shameless. How much did it cost to shut down federal parks that bring in $30,000,000.00 tourism dollars each day? How much did those man hours, barricades and signs cost? As a matter of fact...how did the government have those signs and barricades constructed and in place so quickly? Let's face it, the government moves at a snail's pace, usually, yet in the shutdown, it was almost faster than light. How many business owners have had to close and/or lay off employees? How many bankruptcies have been cause to the petulant, pettiness of elected government employees? Will we ever know?

Time to sell Wal-Mart stock! Here's an excellent reason to despise Wal-Mart; Sam must be rolling in his grave!

The Taliban...in the name of Allah...have vowed to kill Malala Yousafzai, one of their own whom they've already wounded. Why do they want to kill this 12 year old? She wants an education.

If you're a Christian, you should have trouble sleeping at night due to the Islamic agenda. In the last ten years, eleven Christians an hour have been killed, all in the name of Allah. Earlier this month, in Germany, ten Muslims beat, kicked and stomped a pregnant woman causing her to lose her baby and then beat her husband, putting him into hospital.

It's happening all over the world AND in the USA.

And, to conclude my inconclusive list of things that annoy me...smile...I'd like to thank...FOR PETE'S SAKE DO IT ALREADY!!! I see it All The Time in the local newspapers...someone starts out by saying, "I'd like to thank...". News flash: it ain't about YOU, it's about thanking someone else. Communications 101 says "I" is self-focused while "you" is other focused. Is that such a stinkin' difficult concept to understand?

~ apples for cider ~

Whooie, I might have a trifling headache brought on, I'm sure, by the low barometric pressure. Yeah, that must be it, eh?

~ Daddy's West Virginia home place ~

BTW, the house in this post is Daddy's home place.

While you're helping me down off this soap box, tell me your pet peeve or hot button. I might be in need of some new material -grin-.

Blessings ~ education ~ Christianity ~ Mexican or Tahitian vanilla ~ the King's English ~ the Queen's English ~ 

Chat Time!

~ Morris Knob, background ~

Patrice, Everyday Ruralty, is hosting Chat's on the Farmhouse Porch #114 and I'm playing along. Actually, yesterday, I sent Patrice a note with five questions for her Chat. I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing but, as it turns out, Patrice was open to my suggestions and here are the questions and my answers.

~ Sadie and Gray Tom ~

1. How many animals do you have? Three dogs, Sadie Lovebug (Rhodesian Ridgeback), Sam P. Spade, Secret Agent (basset hound-terrier-spaniel mix) and Sophie Lauren Butterball (broken coat Jack Russell). Sam and Sophie are rescues. The house cats are Gypsy Rose Lee, Hattie Cat, Levi Lilly, Tippy and Gray Tom who lives outside but runs inside every time the door is cracked open. The American Curly horses are geldings HayJ and Dandy Man and the mares are Lightly, Peaches, Dani Girl, Izzabella, Tumbleweed and Bodacious. Carly Shetland, a 19 year old Shetland ewe, lives in the yard and gets arthritis pain meds twice a day. The other sheep include Romney's Shetlands, two Merinos, a Merino Shetland cross and a Suffolk Columbia cross. Most have names but, tell the truth, I've forgotten some of their names...my bad. There are also four rescued alpacas, 2 geldings and 2 studs but no names there either.  Most of the barn cats do not have names and I like it that way; I'm trying to gentle some of them so I can take them to the county pound.
OH, almost forgot the 3 guineas who flew in on the last storm...haven't named their either.

~ Sophie and Sam ~

2. Have you begun Christmas plans, travel, decorations, crafts, menus, etc.? No, I haven't even begun thinking about Christmas...but I do know I'm staying home this year. I'm not going anywhere except to the barn to take care of chores. Maybe I'll have smoked salmon, sour cream, capers, red onion and dill on crackers for dinner and for supper, more of the same. Sounds good.

~ Sophie ~

3. Do you celebrate Harvest or Halloween? Halloween has become something extremely different from when I was a child. When I was a child (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), Halloween was simple fun where we could roam from house to house, gathering candy and having fun. So, I celebrate Harvest Season...these last few weeks of Autumn are an opportunity to gather apples to can for apple pie, put up green tomato pickles, make kiwi jam, blueberry conserve and I even bought a mini watermelon to munch on tomorrow.

~ my small sheep flock ~

4. How do you heat your house? Oh my. Hopefully, less expensively than I did last year. Earlier this month, the heating man came to clean my furnace and he found a broken part. He said he thought my oil bill would be less than last year...such a blessing! I also have propane heaters and freestanding gas stove and a wood stove. I still need to move the wood from the barn to the back porch but the chimney and stove are cleaned and ready to be put into service. Oh joy!

~ Levi Lily ~

5. Do you like dishes with white centers or centers with patterns? I really don't like the food to fight with the dishes so prefer white centers either with patterns around the edges or all white.

~ rose gray alpaca stud ~

Blessings ~ Patrice ~ Chats ~ my 4-legged family ~ Harvest ~ Christmas ~ this farm & valley ~

My Heart Has Callouses

~ the Cove, our valley ~

"Autumn: the year's last, loveliest smile."

~ William Cullen Bryant ~

Autumn is my favorite season but I say that about them all. Dave died in Autumn and that which was already bittersweet has become a bittersweet burden. Thistle Cove Farm and this valley are breath taking and heart catching beautiful. I am so blessed to live here, even without Dave, I am so blessed to live here. All the seasons, each season, has beauty that bids tears on a daily basis and the crisp autumnal season carries a bittersweet glow; a reminder that even earth needs her sweet rest. The golds, oranges, reds and russets of October will soon give way to November's storms. October's death is peaceful, even serene, but November will scream in the timeless agony of howling winds that threaten to, then do, rip the decreasing daylight into increasing night. Some nights, the rain becomes ice pellets and I am happy to sit inside, close to the fire with dogs and cats cuddled 'round.

~ our home ~

"Autumn is the hardest season.

The leaves are falling, 

and they're falling like they're falling in love with the ground."

~ Andrea Gibson ~

Between the falling leaves and the Canada geese calling, it's Autumn on the farm. A lot of days are gray and overcast but when the sun shines, it's a Gift of the finest measure. I think it's going to be a harsh winter and have been working, almost feverishly, to get the farm and house ready. The chimney sweep has been here; both chimney and wood stove are ready. All that needs to finish is to bring a load of wood from barn to back porch then wood laid in the stove to be match ready.

The propane tank was filled this summer so the propane heaters are ready as well. As a matter of fact the pilot light was turned on in the bathroom and even that small flicker of heat is enough to dampen morning's chill. A young man was here to work on the furnace and, God bless him!, he thinks my oil bill might be cut by one-third; dare I pray for one-half? I neglected having the oil furnace cleaned after Dave died; it just didn't dawn on me it needed to be done. The furnace was full of soot and a piece had broken which meant the furnace wasn't working properly and I was wasting money, a lot of money. Thank God, the haze of grief has lifted enough for me to begin to get life back in some semblance of order. The grief still catches me by surprise though; I think I should be ahead by now but, weekly, am reminded of how off-center my life has become. I ponder, a lot, of womenfolk in my family and how they kept so busy after their husbands died. The majority of them lived in Appalachia and we share that similarity also.

~ Morris Knob in background ~

Both Grandmothers kept gardens, sewed, did handwork, canned and put up food and, generally, continued to keep body and soul together. It was harder for Grandmother B. who lived on the small, hardscrabble farm she and Granddaddy moved to when they married. Grandmother L. kept busy with all the above and then, in her late sixties, she began keeping foster children. Today, many a child owe their good start in life due to her largess.

Aunt Bonnie, Daddy's oldest sister, remarried but still worked tremendously hard on her small farm. She had milk cows and would churn butter and sell milk, butter and buttermilk; she'd sell eggs from her small flock of chickens and, during those long Appalachian winters, in a tiny corner of her small bedroom, she'd make patchwork quilts. I don't think she ever sold a quilt but would keep some and give others away. She gave me one, "Kid, you're to use this quilt; don't hang it on the wall or some such foolishness. It's meant to keep you warm. Understand?" Of course I said, "yes" and slept under that quilt for years.

Aunt Esther, Daddy's sister-in-law, quilted, did crochet, embroidery work, gardened and put up food. Both women had scads of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren and both took it as a matter of pride those off-spring had something at Christmas and birthdays and, quite often, a hand crafted gift. Aunt Esther never re-married and only a few weeks before she died, during our last visit, she told me, "Sandra, I'm just so tired. All I want is to see Clarence, to be with him again." She was widowed in her early 50's and close to 50 years, my heart still breaks, remembering. She had offers but no one could ever measure up to Uncle Clarence; he was a man's man and a man after God's own heart. It's been said by more than one wife in Daddy's family, "No one could ever measure up to...". A young girl told me, "I'm still single because it's going to take someone amazing to get me to marry." I told her, "I'll be a widow a long time, maybe always, because it's going to take someone more amazing than Dave for me to re-marry and I can't see that happening."

I talk to God all the time; fortunately, He's never said, "Sandra, hold that thought, I'm busy." He always has time for me but I'm beginning to feel my heart has grief callouses from the daily life struggle without Dave. The pressure of isolation is heavy even though I keep very busy on our home stead. Recently, I read, "boredom is the disease of a vacant mind" and nodded, appreciatively. I cannot remember the last time I was bored, probably before meeting Dave, and there's always something to do and, even when I'm "at rest" the knitting basket, quilt hoop or embroidery lie ready to be picked up and a few rows knitted or stitched. If God allows me to live until my work is done, I'll be older than Methuselah when I die. Fortunately, my timetable isn't God's timetable and I'll go Home when called; just as will we all.

~ morning fog ~

"There is so much beauty in autumn and so much wisdom;

so much separation and so much sorrow!"

~ Mehmet Murat ildan ~ 

There's a sense of ennui in Autumn; something that's not felt in other seasons. Dave would tell me my Autumn posts always carried a fair measure of ennui, of bittersweet. Those last weeks of his life he would tell me, "Try not to grieve too much, try to remember how to live again." But he never told me how and it looks like I'm a slow learner. I met Dave in Winter and lost him in Autumn; those years between were heady years, full of friendship, then adventure and love and finally contentment. You might as well know, I want need to leave this valley, this farm. I want need to move to a place where Dave and I never lived. God willing, I'll take the animals and memories and make a fresh start where family and friends await. I don't want to but it's what's best; I want to live life again, not merely survive. For almost two years, I've lived Autumn and Winter; I want to live Spring and Summer again before I die.

~ the view from my window ~

Blessings ~ Dave, always Dave ~ Seasons ~ Thistle Cove Farm ~ our animals ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"Train up a child in the way he should go

and when he is old 

he will not depart from it."

~ Proverbs 22-6 ~

"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while."
~ Josh Billings ~
"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate." ~ unknown ~
"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." ~ John W. Whitehead ~

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." 

~ Henry Ward Beecher ~ 

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." 
~ Emma Goldman ~
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
~ Nelson Mandela ~
"Why is it that a child's death amounts to a tragedy, but the death of millions is merely a statistic?"
~ Patrick McDonald ~

"If I could relive my life, 

I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!"

~ D. L. Moody ~ 

"There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed."
~ Frank Buchman ~
"You can't comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable."
~ Diana, Princess of Wales ~
"There's more to doing good than hating evil." ~ unknown ~

"The country clubs, the cars, the boats,

Your assets may be ample,

But the best inheritance

You can leave your kids

Is to be a good example."

~ Barry Spilchuk ~

"If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." ~ Abigail Van Buren ~
"Your children will become what you are, so be what you want them to be." ~ David Bly ~
"Do not handicap your children by making their lives easier." ~ Robert A. Heinlein ~
"The most important thing that parents can teah their children is how to get along without them."
 ~ Frank A. Clark ~
"It is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings." ~ Ann Landers ~

"A baby will make love stronger, 

days shorter, 

nights longer, 

bankroll smaller, 

home happier, 

clothes shabbier, 

the past forgotten, 

and the future worth living for."

~ unknown ~ 

"What's done to children, they will do to society." ~ Karl Menninger ~
"I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it." ~ Harry S. Truman ~
"To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today." ~ unknown ~
"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." ~ The Talmud ~
"Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation." ~ C. Everett Koop ~

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us 

that we should be called the children of God."

~ I John 3:1 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week, around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Kurt ~ Joshua ~ Emily ~ silent requests ~ Sandra ~ 

Let's Talk...

Patrice, Everyday Ruralty, is hosting Chats on the Farmhouse Porch #113...I don't know how she does it week after week, monthly after month, but here are this week's questions and my answers.

1. Ar you doing any crafts or DIY projects now? - Yes, I'm knitting hats, mostly for children and for the hunters in the valley. Most of the hunters are also farm labor and I like to make sure they have blaze orange atop their heads. A lot of my hats are blaze orange with little green stems...iow, pumpkins! Like in the photo above.

2. If I could snap my fingers, I'd make ____ for dinner. - I adore seafood but only have it once or twice a year. I'd love to have shrimp scampi with rice pilaf, nice Caesar salad and creme brulee for dessert followed by a tot of B and B.

3. What author would you like to have lunch with? - Esther, of the Old Testament, comes to mind as does Rosamund Pilcher. Mrs. Pilcher was graduated from the Harvard Business School as well as University of Cambridge before she began writing fiction. 

4. I wanted to tell all of you folks at chats ___________ - like Patrice, I really enjoy visiting with participants and seeing their responses. A lot of times, I meet new bloggers and have thoroughly enjoyed making new blog friends.

5. ___________ has been on my mind a lot lately. - The unbelievable way our veterans are being treated; the unbelievable way the government has shut down memorials, businesses, and anyone else who stands in the way of the petulant, pissy, pompous person residing in OUR house.  Nixon was impeached for a LOT less; what's it going to take with this clown?

Blessings ~ Patrice ~ interesting questions ~ Benedictine and Brandy ~ shrimp scampi ~ creme brulee ~ Caesar salad ~ rice pilaf ~ Rosamund Pilcher ~ knitted hats ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

~ Sam P. Spade, Secret Agent...he can keep a secret ~

"Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; 

it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!"

~ Proverbs 15:23 ~

"Between stimulus and response is a space. In that space lies our power and freedom to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness." 
~ Victor Frankl ~
"I don't want to be married just to be married. I can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can't talk to, or worse, someone I can't be silent with."  ~ Mary Ann Shaffer ~ 

"I love to talk about nothing. 

It's the only thing I know anything about." 

~ Oscar Wilde ~

"I am a master of logic and a powerfully convincing debater. In fact, against my better judgement, I can talk myself out of doing anything." ~ Jarod Kintz ~
"Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine."  ~ Fran Lebowitz ~
"Talk, talk, talk: the utter and heartbreaking stupidity of words." ~ William Faulkner ~

"Verbal hemophilia. 

Why can't I clot?"

~ Scott Mebus ~

"The real pacificus is he who promotes peace, not he who gasses about it." 
~ C. S. Lewis ~

"They never taste who always drink;

They always talk who never think."

~ Sandra Pierson Prior ~

"Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking."  ~ Bernard M. Baruch ~

"The word 'listen' contain the same letters as the word 'silent'". 

~ Alfred Brendel ~

"There is so much good in the worst of us, 

and so much bad in the best of us,

that it hardly becomes any of us to talk about the rest of us." 

~ G. W. Cooke ~

"When you have nothing to say, say nothing." ~ Charles Caleb Colton ~

"Live your truth.Express your love.

Share your enthusiasm.

Take actions towards your dreams.

Walk your talk.

Dance and sing to your music. 

Embrace your blessings.

Make today worth remembering.

~ Steve Maraboli ~

"I mean talk. Never forget that God is your friend. And like all friends, He longs to hear what's been happening in your life. Good or bad, whether it's been full of sorrow or anger, and even when you're questioning why terrible things have to happen. 
So I talk with him."  ~ Nicolas Sparks ~

"Let your conversation be gracious and attractive 

so that you will have the right response for everyone.

~ Colossians 4:6 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week; around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Max ~ Timi and family ~ Kurt ~ Kathleen ~ Royce ~ Sandra ~ 

Read at Your Own Risk

I'm feeling quite irascible so read at your own risk and with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

I had a business meeting today and it was a great learning experience. I learned a lot about the coal industry and how the current administration and other nut jobs Al Gore have been riding a dead horse re. the environment. I mean, who can blame Al, right? He's come from a paltry $1.7 million to a net worth around $200 million; apparently dirty environment pays veddy, veddy well and he's hot on the heels of Romney, wealth wise. About $100 million of Al's money is coal money so there's a connection, the only connection, between Al and me. Thankfully.

Do you know the earth has gone through several ice ages? Do you know we're in the midst of an ice age now? Simplified, that means the earth cools, the earth warms, the earth cools, the earth warms. According to this site, we're had 5 ice ages so it rather puts that whole environmental fright in an entirely new light, eh? Like Dave always said, "Where you stand depends on where you sit."

One more thing about today's meeting...I met a delightful woman, much older than I, who opened her heart to me when she overheard me telling someone Dave died. She reached across the table, took my hands in hers and wept with me. How unbelievable to meet someone that enormously real; who knows what being a widow is like and did not hesitate to give her heart to another woman in pain. She gave me council...told me life would get better and not just go on. She said, "...don't discount meeting someone else and re-marrying because to have loved someone as much as you loved your husband, means you have a lot of love to give." Then she said, "Be sure and get a pre-nup because some "fxxxxxx" would take you for all you're worth." I about fell off my chair and almost got whiplash from the eye blinks I was doing! I'm telling you, it was hilarious; this beautiful, and beautifully coiffed, older woman using such language and she never blinked an eye. Too funny!

By my own admission, I usually leave the farm only when I have to leave the farm. I mean, would you leave the above view for sidewalks, street lights, people and traffic? I'm also not crazy about J. Q. Public...s/he tends to annoy me and it's not good to annoy me. It makes both our lives poorer for the experience. Anyway, for the past "while", every time I go into a store, upon exiting, they ask for money. "Would you like to donate $1 to xxxxx today?" "Actually, no, I would not. I have places to which I give charitable donations and your charity is not on my list." No, of course that's not what I say, but it's what I think. What I say is, "Not today, thanks." One day I counted it up...if I would have given a dollar every time I was asked, that would have been $9 that day alone. Is it the money? Yes, actually it is the money. It's also because I like to research charities and see how much they use for salaries, administration, publicity, asking for money, housing, utilities, etc.

Yes, it is my right to make a judgement call because it's my money. I try to be a good steward and sometimes that means saying No. A wise person said, the only people who don't pay attention to their money are the people who have no money to give their attention.

Christmas is coming, less than three months, so there are a few places to check when money requests appear. Charity Navigator and Charity Watch are two places to check and always remember, it's your  money so it's perfectly all right to make a judgement. Actually, it's expected you make wise decisions regarding your money. It's part of the responsibility of giving money, making wise decisions.

Since Dave died, it seems the vast majority of people who contact me want something. I'm sure they feel they all have good reasons for wanting me to do...or give...or donate...or, or...whatever but the answer is still no. Someone wanted to come tour the farm and I explained my husband died and the farm was closed to tourism. This person said, "So, is that permanent or what?" Did they mean Dave or the tours, I wonder?

Another person wanted to tour my home. I said, "No, it's not a good time for me". They said, "But...." and had a string of reasons why I should do what they wanted me to do and when I said "No, it's not happening"  this person began to bully me. I finally said, "NO" and hung up. Frankly, I don't have to give a reason...no is perfectly acceptable and, no, I really don't care what you think of me. Like I always told Dave, "I care enormously those opinions of people I respect; the others, not so much."

To the folks who make anonymous comments on my blog...go away. If you don't have the courage to stand behind your mouth...you're not allowed to comment. I'm tired of folks leaving comments when they disagree with what I write and leaving no way for me to respond, other than here. Hey YOU! News flash...it's not your blog but it is my rules. My new rule is...no anonymous comments. Those who are respectful, courteous dissenters are welcome but I've had it with rude people. GO AWAY or get some manners! You're not welcome here and you're not allowed to comment here. Capice?

Told you I was feeling irascible. grin

Blessings ~ Miz Sarah ~ charities of my choosing ~ the view from all my windows ~

Is Your Congress Rep a Hero or a Putz?

I'm fed up with this stupid government and the idiots who are playing fast and furious with WE THE PEOPLE'S MONEY. Yeah, it belongs to us and they are supposed to answer to us...those heinous people like Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Warren, Biden.

HEAR THIS...I am sick and tired of all of you and want you all to QUIT and GO HOME.
P.S. Leave the money. It doesn't belong to you and if you take it, you're a thief.

Congressional Representative Randy Forbes represents the 4th District of Virginia and has written the Chief Administrator of the House of Representatives to request that his salary be withheld. Further, he has cosponsored H.R. 3160, the Government Shutdown Fairness Act, which would withhold all Members of Congress' salaries until the impasse has ended. He also request that Congressional paychecks be reduced by the number of days the government is shut down.

Rep. Forbes has voted against Member pay increases and also introduced H.R. 284, the Congressional Accountability Pay (CAP) Act. This would make Congress members personally accountable for overspending and would tie their salaries to grown in government spending. IOW, the more the federal government spends, the less Congressional members earn.

WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Forbes has supported legislation that would require the President, the Vice President and all political appointees to join Congress and all staff in obtaining health insurance through health care exchanges and eliminate any employer contribution to health insurance purchases. No opt out!

Nonessential employees in Mr. Forbes' office have been furloughed but essential employees are on site to ensure constituents have a voice in the process. IOW, his phones are being answered and he's fighting for the people of Virginia's 4th District.

If you want to tell your "representative" you want him or her to support and vote for Mr. Forbes' house bills, click here. If you want to read more of Mr. Forbes' revolutionary ideas, click here.

So, is your representative in favor of reducing his or her salary? How about being a part of obamacare? In my book, Congressional Representative Forbes is a HERO. Which is yours...a hero or a putz?

Blessings ~ representatives with integrity ~ H.R. 3160 ~ H.R. 284 ~ Randy Forbes ~

Boring and Bummed Out

No problem admitting this...I am a boring woman. I tend to stay on the farm, doing things that need doing in order to (right now) put the farm and house to bed for the winter. Today was a good day, mostly, but I am so bummed out. More to come on that later; right now, I'm talking about Quikrete and the places in the limestone foundation that, over the years, have crumbled and fallen out. 

 I've never used Quikrete before so it's new to me but, hey, I bake so how hard can it be, right? -grin- Quikrete comes in 40 or 80 pound bags but, of course, the feed store only had 80 pound bags. Oh boy. I'm sure to regret this tomorrow, my shoulders and back are already getting tight and, around here, the only help I have are the dogs and they don't carry. The "recipe" calls for 80 pounds of Quikrete and 6 quarts of water but there was no way I could make up that much and use it before it hardened. So, I mixed it up, small amounts at a time so I could take a bit longer packing it into the foundation. I haven't a clue how much Quikrete I used nor how much water I used but I mixed it until it looked ready to use. 

Some of the places that needed mortar were huge and I cannot believe it's taken us me this long to figure out...duh...Quikrete! It's a fast acting concrete and it can be colored but not by me. Frankly, I think I'm brilliant for having gotten this far. snicker...

This was the largest place that needed patching and, I'm pretty sure a professional would say, "Um, not such a great job." Frankly, it looks great to me! It's already hardened and I'm hopeful it's going to last a long time. Or, until I sell the farm and move, which ever comes first. It should help with the heating bills this winter...hallelujah!

This side of the house is the side that gets the worst weather; it also had the most places to patch. There are a few more places, opposite side of the house, but it can wait until later this week.

 Donald, Mary's husband, came over Saturday and picked up my lawn mower to sharpen the blades and do some other stuff. Today, he came back, repaired lawn mower on his trailer and, while he was here, he put together my John Deere wagon. This wagon was a fabulous thrift store purchase and now, totally able to be used since Donald put it together. Yay, Donald!

I helped but not enough to brag about.

 Finished! Doesn't it look fabulous? It's heavy and, using the handlebar, can be either pushed or pulled, or attached to a hitched and towed behind my Polaris Ranger or JD lawn mower...suweeet! 

On Saturday, I bought this iron wood rack; paid a whooping $20 for it and think it'll hold a week to two weeks worth of wood. It's going to be so nice, having the wood up off the porch! Donald delivered it and we set it on the back porch. Now, to get it filled with wood so I'm ready for the first snow storm. 

 Now for the bummed part...the circle is where my dusk to dawn light used to be. For some reason, it stopped working so was removed and taken to Lowe's where they said, "Okay, we'll replace it." For the record, let me state how much I enjoy dealing with Lowe's. The staff is almost always helpful, generally knows what they're doing and, whenever I've had to return stuff, they work with me to a satisfactory end. Thanks, Lowe's!

Big, strong, handsome Lowe's man says he thinks the sensor button went out and was going to replace the button. Then, big, strong, handsome Lowe's mans' boss said, "Naw, let's just replace the whole thing." Yahooooo!

Today, I decided to put up the dusk to dawn light but, having never messed with electricity...too frightened...I made a basic mistake. I didn't throw the break box so when I touched the black wire...shivver me timbers! It lit up my little world. Fortunately, it was a little light up so I didn't fall, nor jump, off the ladder. Thank You, God.

I turned off the breaker, connected all the wires...white to white, black to black, ground to ground and screwed the light to the building. I sat on the back porch until dusk, waiting for that dang light to come on but nooooooooo. Didn't happen. I want to cry. It's still dark, the light isn't working and tomorrow, I'm going to try again. Hopefully, it'll be something simple, like a crimped wire. If not, I haven't a clue what I'm going to do. I'm boring and bummed out. Totally.

Blessings ~ didn't get my hair curled when not turning off the breaker ~ a new wood rack ~ a new wagon ~ Quikrete ~ holes plugged in the house limestone foundation ~