Are we dying here or what? I have to admit that my allergies are acting up a bit. Makes my chest feel tight and hard to breath along with being very tired.

Today I started my yearly emptying of the pond. It is amazing how hard it is to catch those fish though. Every year I want to redo it so that I have rocks on the bottom but IT'S JUST TOO MUCH WORK TO DO. I really do have to redo my waterfall system. It leaks. I think I'll get a different filter while I'm at it. We have one in work that didn't sell and the box got all messed up. Maybe the boss will give it to me. Hey, he won't give me a raise so why not. A little appreciation here. The front pond is small so that was easy to clean. It is a small pond so any fish I put in there I end up moving to the back pond for the winter(last year the little fish bred but the big ones didn't. Go figure) Anyway, the foutain I have has three gargoyles doing the "see, hear, speak no evil". The speak no evil has water coming out of it's ears. After the first year, it broke apart. The maker was suppose to replace it but they kept coming in broken then finally, stopped trying. I figured I can glue it together with Epoxie but then there will be no wildlife able to go in it. It's made so bird could drink from it. What to do, what to do....

We have a friend powerwashing our deck. When we first stained it, we didn't know that you shouldn't put a couple of coats of colored stain on - it peels. This was over 8 years ago that it happened and every year I keep saying we have to stain so finally, I called this friend and said come over. Hubs didn't realize it would take EVERYTHING off. He thought it would just be the dirt and grime. We'll still have to sand a bit to get rid of the rough edges but it will be nice to have it look good. Now if we can only keep the yellowjackets away so we can eat out there.

Goat babies are doing fine. Growing big. I have one buckling that is really getting impressive. I think I'll show him at the fair. Maybe I can find someone to buy him for breeding. He's sweet too. The bottle baby is fat and a brat. Have to smack her sometimes because she bites looking for a bottle. (they are really dumb creatures)

Well, hope everyone else is doing fine.

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2003

Answers

HI Dee,

Nope, just everyone's busy I guess. I've been working a lot of late hours at work and then have tons to do at home. It's spring you know (although it's 45 and raining big-time right now. Might as well be December!)

It's also been hard to get onto LUSENET (for me anyway). Anyone else?

One lamb with no tail. Rest are waiting to fall off. They are SO cute, though! Hi all.

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2003

I look every few days, but I see nothing of interest to me that I feel compelled to post on most days. As far as my personal stuff has gone, I am completely retired now and living like a hermit. I even run my produce stand on the honor system because I dont care to tend it and I still make a profit even with a few folks robbing me of veggies. So my days arnt interesting enough to post about anymore :>)

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2003

I've noticed the same things on the few Bboards I frequent. I think the war really got a lot of us really 'riled up' - lots of things were said, and I think quite a few of us are just drained of emotion.

At least that's my crazy take on the slowing of the board. Sheepish, I also had a couple of 'Server busy - get real and try again later' type of messages. The times I did get on, didn't really have anything to add.

I'm planning (FINALLY!) of building that chicken tractor I've been threatening to build for a while. Drew up plans and now find myself bogged down in overtime here at work - will have to build using a 28 hour day :^). Rabbits are also being contemplated - my wife raised them before and loved it. She told me I would have to do the 'dirty deed' of killing them when it came time - she sez she's too tender hearted for that.

Weekend is here - so what - I'm working overtime anyway. Great for the paycheck - bad for my disposition. I am SO READY for a vacation.

Hope things are going well for everybody else. Have a great weekend.

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2003

Hi everyone!! I'm another one of those "busy ones", I guess. Also, like Jay, I don't always have anything interesting to say...even though I probably do check in more often than he does :-)!

Been working to get the garden finished. Now, other than some more tomato and eggplant seedlings, we're just about done. Then we can look forward to the eventual weeding that I KNOW is coming!! We've also been rushing to get the boat stocked and ready for the water. Harry put the outdrive all back together and spent several days flushing all the antifreeze out of the water lines, galley and head. We splurged yesterday and bought ourselves two new fishing rods!! Can't wait to try them out. Our harbor master is coming over tomorrow noon (at high tide) to hook onto our boat and put it in the water for us. Maybe tomorrow night we'll be having a cookout on our newest boat!! Yeah...no phone, no T.V. and no one knocking on the door!!!

j.r...I remember the days when we raised rabbits. They were quite prolific and grew well...but killing them was really hard for us 'cause sometimes they can squeal so sorrowfully during the process!! I have absolutely NO problem killing the chickens :-)!

Has anyone ever had any luck dividing and moving peonies in the spring?? I think they're supposed to be moved in the fall, but I never got around to it. Now they're starting to grow buds and I know they're going to be flopping over and laying on my electric tape soon!! Maybe I can stake them?

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2003

Marcia,

Yeah, you're supposed to move the peonies in the fall. If you're like me, though, you get too busy or forget in the fall! I'm always tempted to move them in the spring. I guess if you have a whole bunch and could stand it if you lost a couple, you could try it anyway. I'm thinking about it! I've seen peonies for sale in the nurseries, so those folk must think we can plant them out in spring. But everything I've read says to wait until fall.

btw, I'm loving my perennial garden now. I have a window that I can look out on it from inside the house. Behind the garden is a forest with big evergreens. It's great. My garden is in year 3 and still growing and filling in, but at least I can see more of it coming to fruition. I've got big iris coming in for the first time! I'm so excited, as I don't know what colors they will be. (sheesh, getta life, eh?).

I think I've been pretty busy crashing (emotionally) from the surgery stuff this past few months. Mr. S. is doing fine, though. I'm in recovery from my fear about it, though! Sure brought up old family scars and stuff.

Cold and wet here, still. Guess if it's good for the garden, it's gotta be good for me (somehow!).

Let me know if you move 'em and how it turns out. I'll do the same.

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2003

Just got finished mowing grass. It's such a chore and since my brother moved out of his place up front I have to mow his area also!!! My little sister is moving in the place as soon as my dad paints, sprays for bugs and cleans it up. Even so I won't let anyone ride on my mower and would much rather do it than have someone tear it up!!

We just got 2 baby pigs yesterday from a friend of my father's who captures wild hogs in their hunting club and breds them to domestic or to other wild boars. We got some very cute solid black pigs that are barely a foot tall. Boy can they run fast,got out of their pen 3 times before we found out where they were getting out!!!LOL We will butcher them at home in late fall. Mike and my Dad are going to cut them later next week.

Our chicks are growing so fast. They are 7 inches tall know and want down in the dirt so we should start building our hens a tractor next weekend so we can put the chicks in the chicken yard. We only have 3 hens and I think it would be better to seperate them from the chicks plus we can put them in some area that need some work doe to it and hopefully make some grass grow!!!LOL

Well have a great weekend!!!

Sandy

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2003

I'm still here. Didn't go anyplace. The Nebraska trip fell through. Then I was on standby to go to OKC or Kansas and after three days that fell through. The little gal that does the dispatching, said they should have something within two weeks. Hope she's right! The whole thing was a SNAFU like I was afraid it would be. Was on standby until Wed. and finally I'm free to come and go as I please.

Still having some troubles with my ears. Feels like pressure behind them and they want to plug up once in a while. Of course, it's minor compared to all the other problems I had. I can eat whole wheat bread and had some chicken and dumplings. Going to test the crackers again in a couple of days. Looking for something else I might be allergic to. Cut way down on caffeine. Couple of cups in the morning and then decaf.

Stopped by the pharmacy today to see if the doctor had called anything in for me for the ears and he hadn't. Total surprise. I said I'd just have to keep taking the Sudafed and the pharmacist told me that it was as good as anything he could give me. Since they took Ornate (sp?) off the market, there's really not a decongestant that works.

Evidently a coon got into the shop last night and decided to relax on the top book shelf. Down came coon, shelf and books. Had one hell of a mess when I went out this morning.

Thinking about getting into hydroponics. I think it'd be nice to have some fresh vegetables year round. Don't have any idea where I'm going to put the equipment but I should be able to find someplace.

Much more going on but I don't want this to turn into a book.

Wildman, (Carping)

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2003

Wildman,

I have always been fascinated with hydroponics. I'm not sure about where to start reading about it, though. (Or maybe since I live in the wet most of the time, I should know already?!!)

If you find some good info, would you please share? Thanks!

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2003

So Jay, what are you selling at your produce stand? BTW, how did the visit from your lady-friend go, if that isn't too personal of a question.

There's a big hydroponics store in Bloomington Indiana called Worm's Way. Since it's a college town I think that most of their customers are looking to set up indoor pot gardens. :)

We got the house! We signed the sales agreement today. Closing will be on June 14th and we'll get possession 30 days after that. The current owners have offered to sell us their tractor and brush hog for cheap. It's a John Deere tractor, I don't know what model. They just had it completely overhauled last year so it supposedly runs good. The last time I drove a tractor I think I was around 10 years old. :)

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2003

Congratulations Sherri. C. . . . glad to hear your house is now YOUR house. :^).

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2003

What a hectic weekend here!!!! But we have finally completed one of this spring's hurdles! Our new boat went in the water Sat. at 11:30 a.m. The harbor master took it to the dock where we could "watch" it for 24 hrs. or so to make sure the motor, electronics, etc. were fine. AND...we did not want any leaks around the outdrive! We had a cookout Saturday afternoon on the boat and were really tempted to spend the night on it, but temps were supposed to be in the 40's. Maybe in a few weeks :-)!! Anyways...went back to check on it this morning and all was fine. We have some minor electrical stuff to fix (GPS, fish/depth finder), but all in all, everything was "A-okay". And even the bilge was empty after sitting all night on the water!! We went out for a quick cruise and practised hooking up to our mooring, then sat, had a cocktail and relaxed on our new "home away from home". We also helped our harbor master put in his boat...a 38 ft. Bayliner). I KNOW that Harry has been really nervous about maneuvering our new boat, but this one (a 26 ft. Bayliner command bridge) is easier and more responsive than the 21 ft. Bayliner sunbridge we just sold!! We're very happy with it and hope to spend many relaxing evenings on it!! Now we have to set up our lobster traps for this year!

But...my two does aren't very happy!! Whenever we start the boating season, my does have usually been milking at least three months or longer and are giving a gallon or less each per day. So today I went to once a day milking and even now at 8:45 p.m. they're protesting noisily! I'll have to watch them closely for the next week or two for mastitis, but I think mostly they're complaining about the cut back in grain :-)!! BTW...we tried the Monterey jack cheese I've had aging for the past 2 months and it's excellent!! Can't wait to try the cheddar!

The blueberry field burners were around for most of the day today. Always makes us nervous when they're doing they're job!! Our acreage butts up to a 30+ acre commercial blueberry lot and every other year the blueberry fields have to be flash burned for optimum production of berries. We're always nervous that our wooded acreage might catch on fire...especially today with a slight wind. But all went well and there were no spot fires!!

Dee...glad that your "babies" are doing so good!! My older goat babies always seem to get a bit aggressive for the bottle, but I don't think they're actually biting. They just "hit" the nipple so hard on the bottle that their bottom teeth (their ONLY front teeth!!) inevitably come in contact with my hand!! Mine have actually drawn blood!!

Sheepish...yeah, that makes sense!! Why would nurseries sell peonies in the spring if you couldn't transplant them in the spring!! I don't plan on dividing mine...just want to move them away from my electric fence! I don't know...maybe it would be easier to move my fence :-)! I'll let ya know what happens if I move them!

That's about it for me! Two days of fresh salt air and sunny weather have completely worn me out. I'm headed for a hot bubble bath and bed!!! Talk to you all tomorrow....

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2003

Hey everyone! Sounds like lots of folks have been busy here lately. Sherri, that’s great news about your new place! And a new tractor too - even if it IS the wrong color, per Uncle Ivan! How much ground did you end up with; and how long will your commute to work be? You know, July isn’t too late to put out a fall garden by any means!

Ummm, Marcia….I’ve moved peonies in the spring several times - I really didn’t know that you weren’t supposed to! They have always done okay; maybe look a little tatty the year that I move them, but then they perk right up the next year. I move them in the spring when they are still red. I’ve also planted the Wal-Mart close out peonies in the spring; and they do fine too. The boat sounds wonderful - drink a cocktail for me, too, willya?!

Sheepish, I am enjoying my perennial bed this year too. It’s really starting to fill in well - well enough that I can see what I’ll need to move next spring, anyway. Shasta daisies farther back; salvia to the front…. I’ve got one really pretty little flower - it has a broad leaf with a jagged edge and the brightest fuschia pink 5 petaled flowers - just makes me smile to look at it. I need to pick a leaf and a flower and take it with me to the nursery the next time I go so that I can buy some more of whatever it is! I’m still not getting anywhere with my new perennial bed around the blue spruce tree; or the one I want to put in the side yard under the black walnuts either. We’ve been getting rain so frequently lately that I can’t get anything in the ground. We got over 4 ½ inches in a ten day stretch; and not enough sunshine to dry the ground enough to plant.

My garden is needing some attention badly. Weeds, weeds, weeds - and I am so far behind on planting! Hubs and I finally got some of the pole bean supports up - we’re using my 4x4 beds and putting in a center pole and running twine down to the boxes for the plants to grow up. We ran out of twine on box #6 of 8. I said to heck with it and planted all the beans anyway; hopefully we’ll get the rest of the twine up tomorrow night. We got the cattle panels up for the vining tomatoes; but the ground is still too wet in that area to plant them - I’m going to have to dig holes half way to China the way it is now, just to bury the stems of the poor leggy things! Four of the six rows of sweet corn that we planted are coming up well; the two rows of Honey and Pearl didn’t germinate well for some reason. Uncle Ivan is coming down tomorrow and he and Pop are going to re-till my strip along the road for flowers; and till around my fruit trees so that I can get my sweet potatoes in - IF the nursery has them yet; I’ve already been by there 3 times and they keep promising me it’ll just be a few more days. I’m hoping that it will be dry enough to get the field cultivator in to the sweet corn area so that we can get it planted too. And the field corn. And the sunflowers. And the pumpkins. And the wild bird plots. Oh well - I’m still grateful for the rain, even if it is making my planting late!

We’ve been eating broccoli, spinach, radishes and chard from the garden the past two weeks; the head lettuce is almost done now, but the leaf lettuce is coming on strong. We picked the first two ripe strawberries last night; and have several more that will be ready to pick tomorrow night. I think that I’ll hide them back and make a shortcake to take to work Tuesday for Jessie; she needs a treat right now.

Hubs got my water tank all hooked up and it filled in a heartbeat with all the rain we’ve had. I went in to my Aunt Shady’s and picked up the wringer washer that she had offered to give me - she threw in a rinse tub as well, woo-hoo! Based on the prices up at the Amish shop, she just gave me about $400 worth of washer and equipment. I’ve used it three times already - it’s soooo much nicer than taking the clothes to town to wash! I had forgotten what suds looked like! I usually use a full capful (10 tablespoons) of liquid detergent to wash one load of clothes; I put three tablespoons in the first load and could have easily gotten by with two. I did three loads of clothes the 1st time and used 20 gallons of water total and 5 tablespoons of detergent; six loads with 30 gallons of water and 6 tablespoons of detergent the 2nd time - it was great! All three times that I’ve been using it, someone has pulled into the drive, and gotten out to watch. And always while I was running the underpants through the wringer - sheesh! Folks just seem to be fascinated by it; the neighbor walked over after getting her mail and helped me run my dresses through the wringer after the wash and rinse both!

I start a new part time job at the nursing home where Jessie works, tomorrow morning. I spent this last week working my regular shifts on psych; picking up two extra evening shifts on the skilled nursing unit, and getting interviewed, oriented and my physical done for the new job. I’m whupped! And likely to stay that way - I work 8 hour shifts at the nursing home Mon/Tues/Wed days; then go in Wed night for my regular 12 hour shift; have Thur off, work a double (16) on Friday and 12 on Saturday; have Sunday off and work a 12 hour day shift on Memorial Day Monday. I’ve told the nursing home that I don’t want to work more than 2, 8 hour shifts or 1, 12 hour shift a week for them; but I guess I’m going to have to repeat myself. I understand that they are hard up for staff; but I can understand why if they try to work them all this way!!

Sheepish, what you said about being stressed is true; tho I don’t think that I’m depressed. PO’d is more like it!! Things have been rocky here the past couple of weeks, and I know that I‘m feeling it. Pop fell two more times; the second time ending up with a black eye and a big ole goose egg on his forehead. I got him in to the doc for labs; his kidney function is getting worse, so we have an appointment with the nephrologist the 28th. They are probably going to say dialysis and he is going to say no and I am going to be even more stressed. Then, my Aunt Loretta went in to the hospital and they found out that her cancer is back; and has metsed just about everywhere - she is now home with hospice, and a very short expectancy. Jessie finally got tired of her boyfriend’s b.s. (drinking, cheating, general asshole behavior) so she told him to hit the road. He refused to leave; and in fact, threw all of her stuff out in the hall. Now, mind you, the apt is owned by her Dad, and everything, including the lease, is in her name; so I went over and we packed up his stuff and carried it all down to the shop, and put all of her stuff away - and then I sat and waited for the locksmith to come change the locks. The bf waited a week; and then took the new keys out of her Dad’s desk (he works for her Dad) and snuck in to her apt in the middle of the night Friday night; and when she confronted him, he became abusive and then threatened to kill himself. (Oh please, let me; I thought.) So, now he’s been arrested for trespass, and battery, and breaking and entering. I do not deal with this Jerry Springerish type of nonsense very well; particularly when it is happening in my own family, so you can imagine what my mood has been the past couple of days. Thank goodness I have all this work to keep me occupied or I would be wacko myself!

I’ve been getting a little crabby lately on psych - one guy was telling me that he does things a certain way at home and that’s how it was going to be on the unit as well and I popped off and told him that obviously whatever he was doing at home wasn’t working or he wouldn’t be on the psych ward, now would he, so we were going to do things my way, and he didn’t have to like it, but he did have to cooperate. Then I told a young woman who was crying and carrying on saying “Why is my life so awful?” that her life was awful because she was making stupid choices and that if she’d quit making stupid choices, her life wouldn’t be so darn awful. Not my normal choice of words with either one of them; altho it did work out well both times. I don’t like being a crab tho, so I feel like maybe I need to do a different type of work now and again, just to reset my brain! I’m sure that it was because of everything that is going on at home and I really feel bad about that, as I am usually better able to not drag work home, or home to work.

Ah well, things will just keep on changing; no matter what I think of the idea! This year has just gone so darn fast, so far! Guess I’d better just give myself a talking to (or a boot in the seat of the pants!) and get on with living. Too many good things are happening to focus on the less than pleasant things; and anyway - I’ve got that 3x9 bed full of weeds that I need to go rip out if I need to get rid of some steam! Granny Leone always said "Don't borrow trouble" so I'm just going to stop thinking about what might happen and focus on what is. So, I guess I’ll go out and sniff my irises and ogle my little pink flowers and pet the little red dog; and then head for bed and get some rest before I have to head in to this next week.

You folks all take care, now; and have a really great week,

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2003

Heepish, while I understand the concept of hydroponics, I think it will be fascinating to see it work. From what I understand, you can grow a lot of veggies in a small space. I hope so, because I don't have a lot of spare room that's heated and air conditioned.

When I get some good information, I'll post it. There's a lot of sites on hydroponics, but most of them want to sell you something. Just type "hydroponics" into any search engine and you'll come up with lots of sites.

I need to get off the medication! I was looking at the television guide right after reading some post on the forum and saw "Sleepless in Seattle" and thought it said "Sheepish in Seattle". Couldn't understand why they'd put that on my television schedule. This age thing is killing me.

Sherri, first, congrats on your new home. I hope you're looking forward to a lot of work. I hope I never move again!!!

Second, I'm trying not to buy anything except the chemicals for the hydroponics. Everything else will be homemade. If I can find a cheaper source for the chemicals, I'll buy them separately and mix my own. I'm cheap.

Jay, surely you haven't stopped living just because you retired. I'm kinda semi-retired (means I don't have a paying job and no money), but I seem to be quite busy. Just keeping up what needs keeping up seems to take all my time.

J.R. good luck with the rabbits. We got some from a neighbor in OK. who raised them commercially. We'd get the little ones and raise them. When it came butchering time, I'd take them back over to him and let him do it. Too cute and cuddly for me to kill. I'd have to let them loose and then shoot them if I were going to butcher them.

Dee, I stay tired too. Sometimes, my eyes get so tired that I just want to shut them while driving. Not a good idea according to my wife. Well, she didn't really say it was a bad idea, she just said don't do it when she was in the truck with me. Don't know why, but it may be that I'm allergic to something too.

Marcia, I'd love to be there for the launching. And the fishing. And the eating! Could you just call me for the eating?

Oh Sandy! I'd love to have some pigs but my wife says there's enough pigs in this house! There's a pig farm down the road from us too. If we ever get anymore pigs, it'd only be a couple so maybe this place won't smell like that place.

Dee, I powerwashed a friends house once and we had to replace a couple of pieces of siding. I finally learned to use one and got to where I could do our deck without tearing it up. Just enough cleaning to get the dirt and grime off but like you, there was still a little sanding to do but it sure makes the deck look like new.

Is there such a thing as thread drift on this thread? Oh well. I noticed on one of the newscasts where they have the little banners across the bottom of the screen and one of them said "June Carter died. She was critically ill." Hum.

I think my garden drowned this week. We've had so much rain that none of the water will soak in anymore. It just runs off making nice little gullies all over my yard, makes mowing with the riding mower exciting. I looked out once and my raised beds looked like little swimming pools. All my little plants had life preservers on. The hummers were carrying umbrellas. Damn, we're getting tired of rain.

Enough rambling.

Wildman, (Looking for dry shoes)

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2003

I'm so glad so many of you have answered. good to hear from you all.

Sherri, Congratulations!!! Close on the 13th if you can. I had the best of luck with two friday the 13th closings.

Polly. You go girl!!! Tough love seems to be working for you. Get yourself some big bubble wrap to pop. Really great stress relief.

Marcia, my bottle baby bites because she is looking for a nipple. If I go to pet her, she will turn, looking for a nipple. She gets really aggressive, not with the bottle, but with my hands, arms, whatever is handy. I have to smack her face to get her to stop.

My garden hasn't even started yet. I started working on my ponds.... Why oh why did I start that??? Never mind reseeding the front lawn. Right now it's dandlions, clover and moss. At least it's green :)

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2003

Yikes. I'm going to have to start reading this thread at the office!! A lot of information to read (just skimmed it).

I found one of the 3-wk-old lambs dead in our neighbor's pasture after work last night. DESPITE our wonderful 7-strand New Zealand hotwire fence, I think the neighbor's wonderful dog (that I actually do adore) got in and chased the little thing and killed it; then he dragged it under the fence. I'm no detective, but seems to me if it had been a big cat, it would have eaten it, or dragged it off (same with coyotes). Bite wounds at the *back* of the head, and punctured windpipe, but no massive throat trauma, and no mass of blood at the dump site leads me to my theory. Anyway, I was so bummed...still am.

I've moved the gang all back to my innermost secure paddock, but hate to do it...too much manure already and less grass. Still, until they get bigger...? I called my neighbors and left them a message to keep their dog in for a while (but they probably won't believe it's him). We'll see what happens...

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2003

Neighbor's dog wasn't home, turns out. He was at the groomers all day. Veterinarian next door thinks it was a big cat. The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to agree. Something big enough to jump over the fence with a lamb, yet spooked enough to vamoose. It must be immature...hunting in daytime, etc. Or hungry. Or both.

Two flocks within a couple of miles of here were wiped out by a cougar (s) within the last two years. I hope it's not my turn. Mr. S. has the ol' "equalizer" propped up on the wall against the bed. We're sleeping with the windows open, and they're all locked up in the barn tonight (except for the rams, which weigh as much as the cougars)... *sigh*...

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2003

Sheepish, that sucks about the lamb. I guess in a way it's good that it wasn't the dog, you don't have to be mad at your neighbors now. We have reports of big cats here in Indiana from time to time. Just a couple weeks ago one attacked a car down in the southern part of the state.

Marcia, over on my house thread you mentioned that it might be able to milk a goat for 2 years between breedings. Is there a particular breed that is known for long production or is it a trait that shows up in certain bloodlines in more than one breed? I wish I wouldn't have packed all my livestock books, aaaaccccckkkk!

Not much else new around here. I get to leave work early today to take the cat to the vet. What fun.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2003

Haven't had any time for posting recently. Been very busy trying to get this business started......there are a thousand details and I don;t like details much. (bren's domain). But I have finally found a facility to lease........they want a minimum three year lease, which is terrifying, but this place is almost perfect. The kitchen is already there, state inspected as a food manufacturer, which is what I need. We bought the perfect conveyor oven on ebay last night....very exciting last minute competitive auction.......got a 15,000 oven for 4 grand. We is on our way........hope to sign a lease next week.

Lotus and her guy are in New Orleans.......I hate it when they go far away, but I better get used to it for future touring. Wouldnt bother me so much if she wasn't doing any of the driving.......she's a bit of a ditz after all. Lotus is having her tubes tied next month.....but there's a story to that too, just don't have time right now.

Bren and I are getting along quite well lately; she's pretty hyped about the pizza thing, and we really do make a good team at things like this cuz our interests and talents are complementary.

Been having this dang brain-fog thing lately again though; it makes the whole lease thing even scarier, but then it may be all stress- related. I just cannot think straight half the time, lots of pressure in my shoulders and back of neck and migraine-like symtoms, cuts off bloodflow to my brain,and I need all the blood there I can get! I can actually feel this happening. Been going to my wholistic chiro , was way out of whack, which can certainly contribute. Gotta go back to my doc next to get my minerals monitored; i think something's outa balance.

Sheepish, isnt it unusual for a big cat to just kill and not eat its prey? Sounded like a dog to me when you first explained it too. They're ususally the culprit when it's just murder involved. However, it is weird how either one could have gotten through seven wire electric, if its tight and powerful, that doesnt make any sense. Do you have eagles?

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2003

Sounds like things are really moving along for you EM, that's great! Just let us know if you need any taste testers. :)

Have you tried flower essences for your brain fog and neck problems? Your symptoms sound a lot like the stuff Machelle Small Wright talks about in her books. Her theory is that sometimes when our energetic bodies go through a major shift our physical bodies can't keep up with the changes. She had a period in her life where she was having headaches and brain fog, going to the chiro something like 3x a week and still not staying in alignment. Then she started taking flower essences and her symptoms cleared up, when she went back to the chiro he said that her cranial bones had shifted.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2003

Sherri, tell me more! I am desperate to feel better! I feel dizzy and uncoordinated half the time, and it's really getting depressing, cuz I have a million things to do! What's the name of the book?

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2003

BTW, I would love to have taste-testers, but am not clear on the shipping thing yet. It's not the same as shipping meat.. I have to figure out a way to ship you all who want to try them for me, before I get my packaging equipment, even if it ain't packaged so great. I want lotsa feedback. We can't move into this place until July, so anything we buy now will have to replace my car in the garage and be moved again later.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2003

Hey all! Anyone care if we switch this back to a weekly chat, starting in June? Takes a while to load on my pokey dial up connection! Will y'all help me remember to start them each Sunday?

My 2nd job may not last too long - I don't have my resignation typed yet, but will have it done "just in case" before I head in for my next shift there, on Tuesday. I don't mind it so far, altho I've found several areas that could stand to be streamlined or organized a bit. I orient on 2nd shift this next week and that's where the trouble will start, I fear. My resident load was 36 the first two days; and 42 (including the Alzheimers unit) the third day. Then I heard a rumor that the 2nd shift nurse takes care of 60 residents from 6pm on. That just ain't going to happen. There is no way in hell that anyone can hope to give anything even remotely resembling adequate care in one minute per resident per hour. Especially since that includes night med pass, respiratiory treatments, accu checks and insulins, skin treatments, Medicare charting and whatever assessments the day shift nurse didn't get done. NO THANK YOU!! I like my nursing liscense, I think I'll just make sure I get to keep it - and the best way is not to do anything stupid. The wacko ward at another nearby hospital is looking for nurses, so if I still think I need the $$, I'll take a look at them, next. Of course, the 60 residents per nurse thing may just be a rumor, too. Guess I'll wait and see.

The psych ward census has been low lately - which is a good thing, since we're still trying to get used to this new computerized charting system that they are putting in. They are putting it in in increments, so we have a new class to go to just about every month; and then another class to test us on what we know - with just enough time between the class and test; and test and implementation - to forget everything you learned. Not that you learn a whole lot in a class of 40 people with 8 different job classifications between them, half of whom have never laid hands on a computer before - and don't want to start doing so, either!!

The ward is slow because we're losing our inpatient Psychiatrist to MO. He's trying to get ready to move, so he isn't admitting anyone who could possibly get by with outpatient rather than inpatient treatment. He became our inpatient director a few months back, and when he did, the other two docs picked up his outpatient load and still took call on every third weekend. Well, now they're not only going to have his outpatient load, but they are going to have to cover the inpatient unit until we can get a new doc, (oh yippee - a new doc to train :op) AND one or the other of them will be on call every night. So those two aren't admitting anyone who can possibly get by with outpatient treatment either. Which has kept our census at around 8-10 patients on an 18 bed unit. Of course, they've been extrememly "busy" patients, since they are too wacko to even consider OP for them....

Hmmm - three negative paragraphs in a row. I'd better lighten up a little, ya think?!

None of Uncle Ivan's eggs hatched; he thinks his incubator thermometer was bad. I have 7 little banty chicks from my 2nd hatch so far; 5 more of the black tailed white Japanese, one little brown one and one little one that has a stripe down his back like a chipmunk. We got a little smarter this second go round, and dated and marked the eggs as to what hen they came from so we could keep track of what they might be. I still have seven eggs in the incubator that I'll leave for another day, but none of them are showing any sign of pipping yet. My last little brown chicie hatched more than 24 hours after the first ones, so I might give the eggs a couple more days, just to see. Unc put a new thermometer in his; and has 18 eggs in it with a hatch date of June 15th. He should have me some more eggs to set by next weekend or so. Now, if I could just get Hubs to moving on a hutch for them!! Poor man has turned into Johnny Homemaker lately - I've taken to faxing my grocery and chore list from work to the shop at like 4 in the morning, so that he can stop and get groceries on the way home from work and get done the most important things! Poor man has taken over some of the cleaning duties too. Hmmm...I'm not sure what happened to my cleaning lady; reckon I'd better ask Pop!

The strawberries are starting to ripen rapidly, and are putting out runners like crazy! My new plants are blooming too, and I know I should go pick off the blooms, but I've left them before with no problem so I think benign neglect will be the order of the day this year too! I'm still working on the garden.... and the flower bed.... and the herb garden.... and Unc is still trying to sneak in between showers to get the sweet corn ground worked and planted. Thought we were going to get it done today, but something essential fell off the tractor and they don't have a repair part in stock so it may be tomorrow - or Tuesday. Arrrghh!

I got up early this morning (easily done, since I slept 1/2 the day and all of the night Thursday!) and got another 6 loads of laundry done. I'd just gotten the last load on the line when it started to rain, so I had to take them all down and haul them inside to the dryer. The rain has stopped, but I've got them all down in the basement now, so I'm not going to try to rehang them. I just love my new/old wringer washer!! But I swear that if the washing underwear = visitors thing keeps happening, I'm going to have to go buy more drawers - so that I will get company every two weeks instead of every 3-4 days! Not that I'm a hermit or anything, but I don't get much work done when I have company.

And speaking of hermits - Jay, where are you?! You may not think that you're doing anything interesting, but we want to know about it anyway. Sure never stopped me from writing in! Or wait, is that what you're trying to tell me?!! Just teasing; but do write in and let us know you're okay, okay? I hate having to go to the other site to search for you!

Sunday, we plan to run up to see my Aunt Loretta. I'm going to come home from work and put some BBQ meatballs and scalloped potatoes in the oven; then mix up a batch of "pink fluffy stuff" - a cold fruit salad with cherries and cool whip, among other things. We'll try to get up there around dinner time; and then get back home in the early afternoon, so that I can get a little work done before I have to pick up my day shift on Monday. And that's pretty much what I'll be doing with my long weekend - how about the rest of you?

Well, I've got to go hit the shower - I'm pulling a 16 hour shift today (oh boy - double time pay!) - and I need to head to town early enough to get a new battery put in my watch and also to drop off the trunk full of newspapers that I've been hauling around for the past month. Ought to help my gas milage, if nothing else! You folks all take care this weekend - watch for lunatic drivers!

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2003

Ooh Polly, is the "fluffy pink stuff" made with cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple? I love that stuff.

We went to a Memorial Day cookout at Keith's sister's house. His mom was down visiting from Michigan. We took her by "the compound" and got her seal of approval on the deal, that should make our lives much easier now. :)

I had an interesting conversation with one of my friends last night. I had to explain the dairy animal facts of life to her. She didn't realize that dairy animals have to be bred in order to give milk. She thought that they had been specially bred so that when they reached puberty they just started lactating. :)

My cats are conspiring to drive me insane (not that it's a far trip). The vet has put Big on a special diet because she's showing the first stages of kidney failure. (This is the same cat who gets the thyroid medicine twice a day). Since the food is fairly pricey and she's kind of picky I just got a small bag to be sure she'd eat it. Well, not only does she love it, all the cats love it! I had to keep chasing the other two away from her dish. The prescription food is made by the same company that makes Science Diet, so I decided to get a bag of that and hopefully trick the other two into thinking that was the same stuff Big was eating. So now they all want to eat the Science Diet and Big won't touch the prescription stuff! AAAHHHRRRGGHHH! I think I'm just going to end up mixing the two brands together and letting them all eat it. It won't be as low in sodium and potassium as the pure prescription stuff but it will be lower than what she was eating. BTW, the people who we're buying the farm from asked if it would be OK with us if they left their two cats behind. I think they're strictly outdoor cats, if not there's going to be feline war in the future.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 2003

This is the year of insane birds. I had a robin attacking a bathroom window for about a month -- she (he?) seems to finally have quit. I couldn't put anything up over the window, so I tried soaping it -- but that washed right off. I resoaped, but the crazed critter still attacked. NOW, there is a female goldfink attacking a livingroom window. At least this one I can tell is female! The woman at the bird store says it's females -- see their reflection and try to drive the intruder away. Hopefully the sun will shift soon and this goldfink will no longer see herself. Gah!

Sherri, you didn't ask me, so feel free to ignore. But . . . I think I'd tell them they can't leave the cats. Cat war stress will be VERY hard on an already ailing cat! Plus Hamlet (now deceased), who WAS indeed neutered, regularly sprayed my house whenever he saw an "intruder kitty" in HIS yard. Females have been known to do this too. They're just marking their territory against the intruders! Want that to happen? Of course, not all cats will do that. In my experience, 30-50% won't. Not good odds though!

Your other option is to see what happens. But will you have a hard enough heart to take the other cats to the pound if there is cat war? I will tell you that I got an expensive cat pheromone spray (Feliway) when my two cats went to war, and it helped immensely in making peace between them. But they had been friends before "the incident" (never did find out what happened). It might help. I think it was $25-30 for just a small spray bottle (it still is mostly full, however).

I fear the sellers will tell you they'll have the cats euthanized if you don't allow them to stay -- you know, emotional blackmail. And I don't blame you if you succumb, because I certainly would. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, May 27, 2003

Thanks for your advice Joy. I think that Big will be OK as far as the other cats are concerned. There are 3 neighborhood cats at our current house who routinely wander through our yard and come up to the patio door and she doesn't pay any attention to them. I'm more concerned about her adjusting to the move itself and learning the new locations of the food bowl and litterboxes. This will be her 5th move though so she's been through it before.

Here's something I've been wondering about though. I haven't taken any of them to the vet for vaccinations in several years. They are strictly indoor cats and since we moved into a newly constructed house there wouldn't be any pre-existing pathogens and I feel that pets are over-vaccinated anyways. But now I'm wondering if I shouldn't take the younger two in and get their shots updated before the move. It's probably been about 4 years since their last shots.

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2003

I'm not much into vaccinations of course, but I would get 'em the rabies.

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2003

I have been having blood drawn on my critters and getting titers for the various diseases. So far, they've shown plenty high and so I don't get them re-vacinated (Katrina came to me pre-enlightenment, and Harry came from the Humane Society already pumped full of vaccinations -- ditto with Blanca, the dog). I get the rabies because it's required by law and by the boarding kennel for the dog. The kennel requires other vaccinations, but the vet just updates her records when the titer comes back as adequate, and the kennel never knows the diff. Since no vaccine is 100% effective all the time, vaccination is no guarantee anyway! And with getting titers checked, the cat also gets a yearly visit/check-up. The vets have no reason to complain over this.

So, you might want to get their titers checked. However, that is not really cheaper than getting a vaccination, and if they do need the vaccination, then you have that cost too. There have been a number of studies published about over-vaccination, and I think vets are wising up. Some of them here are even starting to suggest titering before vaccination; others are just accomodating when the client wants that. If your vet won't go along with it, find a different vet.

And this all reminds me, I have to get Blanca back in for another test.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2003

Thanks for the info Joy. I didn't even think of having antibody titers done. I'll have to ask the vet about it. He's a good guy, he listens to my thoughts and doesn't try to push any agenda. I was more worried about FIP and Feline Leukemia than rabies since they're more contagious, but I talked to the homeowner on Friday and she has never had any cats inside the house so I think it's safe. The two cats she's leaving weren't completely socialized when they were young. They're friendly and will sit near you when you're outside, but won't let anyone touch them (they just run away, they're not hissy or biters). She was so relieved when I said that I was a cat person and that I would take care of them that she started crying.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2003

I hope it all works out well. I probably wouldn't have had the hard heart to tell her to take the cats either . . . ;-) Love them kitties!

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2003