Over the Fence Chat -- January 12 - 19, 2003

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Ack! It's Sunday again, time for a new one.

Suddenly, my mind is blank . . .

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2003

Answers

My mind is blank, but it hasn't come on suddenly! It's been that way for several weeks now.

I have the new kitty in my lap (he helps me with keyboarding), and I plan on being very lazy this afternoon. Mr. S. is studying, the house is quiet, and I may just kick back and watch the laundry dry on the racks.

Read any good books lately? I finished A Map of the World. Now I'm reading Songs in Ordinary Time. I so seldom read fiction...this is quite a treat. I'm also taking a creative writing class in a coupla weeks...haven't done anything seriously about writing for years. I hope it's fun!

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2003


I started reading some historical romance books someone gave me. I actually have a bag of them. I'll keep going until I find a good science fiction/fantasy that I'm itching for.

Our wood stove died. It started with a gasket that pulled out and stuck to the wall. Hubby decided to replace all the gaskets since the stove was 8 yrs old and figured they all could use it. Then I noticed something inside was really rusty, that lead to something else really rusty. When he tried to take them out, the rusty bolts broke in the sockets. I have to call the store tomorrow to see what the replacement parts will be. It was suggested that sometimes it's better to just replace the stove. I tell you, I really miss it, especially since it's really cold here. Oh, I hate winter.

Goats are doing better, although they are still foaming occasionally. It's really getting hard to get to the barn because of the frozen snow and ice. My stairs didn't help that much after all.

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2003


It is really cold here but no snow. The daytime highs are only around 30 degrees at best. The sun was shining so it wasn't too bad until the wind hit you, then Brrrr!

Once a month our favorite local Celtic rock band hosts a Celtic Music Sunday at a bar in town. They have a different opening act each month. It's very low-key and the band really interacts with the audience so it's great fun. When we went in December my buddy Jason promised me that he would wear his kilt when we went in January. Last night was the January session and it was only 20 degrees out but he kept his promise and wore the kilt. He's either very brave or very foolish. I told his wife she needs to knit him a 'willie warmer'. :)

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2003


I don't know Dee! An 8 year old stove already rusting out? How can that be? You best come to sunny California where they last for 30 yrs! Ha!

There ya go Sherri! A wonderful home business making cold weather WILLIE warmers!!! Hmmm how much would they cost anyway....Kirk

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003


Hey all! Nice to see so many folks here again - Marcia and Julie have found their way home; Sheepish and Ali back in the same week - Hurrah!! And a new member too - Welcome Idaho Gal!

Not too much going on here; had to work the weekend - ugh! I had taken off three days, plus my regular days, to stay up at the hospital with Pop; so things at work looked a little bit strange to me. Amazing how easy it was to forget parts of the routine! Ah well, I’m sure I’ll fall back into it in no time - darn it!!

Pop and I are still working on sorting the seeds and making a list - seems like both of us want to stop and nap every time we get started; or it’s time to start supper or company stops by or, or, or… He still tires easily, but is getting more active - I drove him into town to the Red Barn for the Old Fart’s Coffee Hour this morning and he really seemed to enjoy getting out and about. It’s wonderful to live in a small town - when we stopped to fill the car with gas, and I went in to hit up the ATM, the clerks all ran out to the car to say Hi to Pop; then, after we got home, the lady who cuts his hair came by the house to give him a haircut, since she knew he’d missed his regular day.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003



Neighbor Mike has taken to calling each time that he’s heading to town to make sure we don’t need anything, and both he and some other friends have offered to come sit and argue with Pop if I need a break or need to run some errands. I think before too long that it will be safe to leave him alone - for short periods of time at least. Our schedules work out wonderfully - I’m home by the time Hubs leaves for work in the morning; then Lisa helps with his lunch while I’m sleeping; and Hubs gets home before I have to leave for work. The physical therapist will be here tomorrow to work with him - he’s planning on trying the stairs, as he wants to get back to his own room as soon as possible. Hubs is being absolutely wonderful - taking days off work without a second thought, pitching in with the house stuff and cooking (fixed dinner for 9 on Sunday) and helping Pop with bedtime rituals and all that when I’m at work - whatta guy! Sis is helping by keeping Pop’s spirits up - she brought her new puppy out to visit him Sunday!

Pop is already worrying about the garden - telling me that he doesn’t know how I’m going to keep it up without his help - “Whadda ya mean - you trying to tell me you’re planning to sit on your butt and watch the weeds grow?” I asked; then trotted out to the shed for his hoe and told him that if he could hoe carpet from the lazy boy, I was sure he could hoe weeds from a lawn chair! I also informed him that he is now officially in charge of the seedlings that we start indoors - making sure that they’re watered and etc.. - they’ve had a tendency to get ignored in the past, when I get overworked and overtired. Don’t know what he thinks is going to keep him off the tractor/tiller combo out in the berry patch either. If he thinks I’m buying this invalid act, well, he’d best be thinking again! Hmmph!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003


Although, I probably won’t have to worry about him being able to catch me when I go dig up those darn Pampas Grass clumps and move ‘em this spring! He gets soooo aggravated when I start moving plants around! And speaking of moving stuff….we’ve got quite a bit of road frontage; I’m thinking that I would like to plant some sort of flower (or flowers) along it - at least between the garden and the grass waterway - maybe 300’ worth. Can’t decide what kind, or kinds, tho. Got some red monarda (bee balm) that is going to need separated come spring; and a quart Ziploc of zinna seeds too - wish they weren’t the same height. Probably have a zillion other packets of this and that lying around that I ought to just dump together and spread out and see what I get. Thought about getting one of those “Jug o’ Flowers” things at Wal-Mart - anybody ever try one of those? Also thought about grabbing a roll of tp and putting Pop to work glueing down seeds…

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003

I’ve got the new perennial bed around the blue spruce tree in the west side yard to fill, too. I had the wood chips half way around it when the weather stopped me - hoping to get out there soon and get it finished. Hubs and I plan to go down to Mansfield, MO the 2nd weekend in April; to the Baker Creek Seed Co. (www.rareseeds.com) Spring Planting Festival. Folks are allowed to bring in their home grown plants and sell them - I’m hoping to get everything I need for the front garden beds that I’m planning two switch over to herbs and other perennials. Baker Creek sells some organic and open pollinated seed - and NO GMOs. Wish they had more varieties of beans available - I’ve gotten over my tomato variety addiction (at least, I THINK I have!); and gone on to beans - pole beans in particular. I used to grow pole beans all the time; don’t really remember when or why I went to bush beans, but have decided to go back to the pole beans from now on. Except maybe for those Dragon Langerie - a purple striped yellow flat bean - they were pretty good!

It’s about time for Hubs to get home from work; and supper is almost done. I made spaghetti tonight, with lettuce salad and parmesan bread sticks. I’ve been in a regular cooking frenzy since we got home - and I gained 8 pounds while Pop was in the hospital, so I ought to back off a bit - but that ain’t happenin’. Everything just sounds soooo good - ooooh, turkey and noodles, mmm pineapple upsidedown cake, drool slobber slurp - even potato soup sounds good! Cousins Don and Marlene from WA didn’t help any today - they called and were talking about taking a salmon out of the freezer and baking it - Fiends, I tell you; they’re fiends!!

Well folks, I gotta go - you all take care; and have a good week…

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003


Hmmm...Kirk. Probably the cost of those "willie warmers" will depend on the size required :-O!!

Hey Sherri...what do they REALLY wear under those kilts???

Speaking of cold, it's been 0 to about 20 degrees around these parts lately. But, hey...it's winter after all. And we ARE on the downside! Right now we have about a foot of snow on the ground, but it's pretty well hard-packed so the cats (and me) have no problem walking around on top of it! Dee...if our woodstove died, we'd definitely have a problem! Our cookstove is our only source of heat. And an eight year old woodstove should not be rusting out!! Ours is 82+ years and still going strong!!

I have just 3 weeks to go til BABY TIME!! I swear one of my does looks like she's gonna have a "litter" of kids!! The other looks normal...maybe 2 or 3 kids.

We're still trying to deal with the fact that our son and his wife (??) are going to Disneyworld next month...with all the kids! They have NO extra money, will come home broke and I, foolishly, co-signed a car loan for them last Nov. Harry and I really do not need to have bill collectors calling US about THEIR overdue payments!!!! And what parent wants to know that their son and granddaughter will be putting their lives at risk by flying and going to such a high profile place such as Disneyworld in the middle of this Iraqi MESS!! I swear...Harry and I will never survive this!!!!! Not enough liquor in the Western Hemisphere :-)!

Polly...sure is great to read your "inspiring" posts and hear that Pops is almost back to his old self!! Sounds like your place is jumpin'!! Gives me hope...and makes me want to get out my seed catalogs :-)!!

Have a good week, everyone!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003


Polly,

So glad to hear Pop is doing better! As to weeding from the Lazy Boy, let me know how it goes! It sounds like a great idea! I'm inspired to move a recliner out into the middle of the big vegetable garden now...

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2003



I ain't so sure about the lazy boy idea, Sheepish....I said something about getting Pop a golf cart to putt around the place in (easier to get in/out of than a Mule - that would be a Kawasaki type mule, not 4 legged) but anyway...Pop is sitting there in the lazy boy, messing with his hoe, watching some TV program with Hubs; and I've got my nose stuck in a book, not really paying a whole lot of attention - but I SWEAR I heard Hubs say something about a 70cc Honda motor and the lazy boy in the same sentence. Oh, they sat there with that wide- eyed-innocent-who-me look; and they're both denying it, but I KNOW I heard something! I think they've been to too many of the Arcola Broom Corn Festival parades - where the famous "Lawn Rangers" perform...

Willie warmers indeed! I think I remember seeing one of those once; a lady at work made them, I think as Christmas gag gifts. Wonder if there is a crochet pattern available? Google, here I come!

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2003


Hey Marcia, I have a doe due the end of the month too. Not sure really when since one of her grandsons got to her. She is starting to bag up so I should give her a CDT shot now. I'm thinking of taking her to the sales after she kids and see if she can be sold as a family instead of meat. She does really beat up on the other does though so it would be better harmony here, that's for sure.

The woodstove had a center air difuser and holding cage rust. It was probably still usable but not effecent. It is a convection stove so I guess they are more delicate to save air quality. Parts are on order and hubby was able to put stainless steal nuts and bolts in the holes he had to bore out so it won't be expensive to fix. The only thing is, it is also below the teens here and I miss it right now. (except the bathroom is warm now)

I read once that the Turks were a formable enemy because they believed that fate was already mapped out for them so if they were going to die that day, they would. No fear. I feel that we have to think on those terms ourselves or we wouldn't be living any kind of life. While the kids are young, they should go and enjoy a place like Disney World. Not really having the money is a totally different matter.

Polly, glad Pops is doing better. It feels like I know him personally. My sister's father-in-law got a used golf cart to haul him around his place.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2003


Dee...so we should be thinking that if something happens to the plane that Mike and Morgan are on that it was pre-determined and would have happened in a car or maybe some other scenario?? What is it about being a parent...or grandparent that makes ya want to try as hard as possible to keep your kids "safe" no matter what their age!! It is sooo frustrating sometimes!!! At this point in my life, I think that maybe I shall become a Turk :-(!

BTW...keep me posted on the births of your "kids"!

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2003


Geez, I've been busy lately. Haven't had a chance to get here before now.

The cats are getting reconciled to each other again, and are able to be together without fighting! Yay! That is my happy dance. I told Julie it was better than winning the lottery! ;-)

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2003


I'm still having trouble both getting in to the site and in posting -- mostly it's just getting access now. The computer keeps hanging up and won't let me in to the site, and when it does, THEN I get the 'ouch' thing. But haven't been here for a few days due to the hangup, so I'll find out what is happening this time around. I'm going to save my posts just in case.

Seems that I have missed a whole lot going on lately as a result.

I started my spring planting the other day! Well, sort of. I planted radishes, even tho it was a high of 10F out today. Am I an optimist? Well, maybe, but I planted them indoors, in a flower box in a western window. It was a freebie packet of seeds from Jungs, and I am hoping for a nice crop of leaves to feed to my guinea pigs, since they like them, and to cut down on the grocery bill a bit. We'll see what happens.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2003



One of the things I missed out was the news about Polly's pop -- glad to hear that things are going better for you.

In the spirit, here's a joke for you --

A man wrote to his son, who was incarcerated in jail.

"I really miss you around the homestead, son." he wrote. "You know, with how bad my back and knees are getting, that it has become just too much work for me to turn over the garden on my own without your help. Wish that you could get out to help me, but that doesn't seem likely to happen any time soon. I'll try and do the garden, because if I don't, it's going to be tough times for us this year."

The man soon got a letter back from his son that read "For heavens sake, Dad!! Whatever you do, DON'T dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the loot!"

Within a day, swarms of police officers were crawling all over the man's garden plot with shovels, digging up every square inch looking for that stolen loot.

Eventually, having found nothing, they gave up and left.

The man wrote to his son again to tell him of the extraordinary occurance, but to tell his son that the police hadn't found any hidden cash.

"That's okay" his son wrote back. "There wasn't much I could do to help you out with the garden from in here, so I sent the best help I could. Plant your garden."

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2003


That's a good one, Julie!!

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2003

Good joke, Julie! Pop enjoyed it enough to pass it on, today in the doc's office!

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2003

Sundays morning it was a frosty minus 26 (celcius) in my neck of the woods. We have actual snow cover this year..haven't seen bare ground in a few weeks now. And more keeps coming. I'm home again today (yesterday with sick child today with two sickish kids because its a snow day..no school). I haven't been in my shop since Saturday. And tomorrow is "supposed to be my day off with Cameron. What a messed up week. Where are my seed catalogues???! I think I have 4 now.. Stokes, William Dam, Vesey's and maybe Dominion Seed House but not sure. I am considering converting one of my veggie beds to cut flowers (flowers for cutting) I'm thinking of maybe selling some at the store. I was looking at the cut flower sunflowers, glads (kinda fuereal though), snapdragons and zinnias. There are soooooo many boootiful annuals out there I can't pick just a couple types. sigh.... Something that just screams "Pay this gal lotsa money and take me home so i can wilt and die!!!" Suggestions? Anyone? Anyone? Email 'em incase I get snowed under and can't get back to BTS before spring. Polly I am so glad Pops is getting better and has friends to encourage him. Not to mention the precious peach that is YOU. I wish I had a Pops that'd give me a hand. My Da isn't a green thumb and lives 3 hours away. Gardening is just so much more enjoyable with a pal..especially one that weeds.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2003

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