I guess you all must be sleeping in!

Happy Veteran's Day (if happy is the right word.)

We enjoyed a very warm day yesterday (65F) and worked outside most of it. I pulled out the old squash vines, weeded underneath where they were, mulched and put that part of the garden to bed until spring. I cleaned out the ewe barn and made straw pathways between my vegetable beds. With the lush green leaves of the fall garden, the bright orange leaf mulch, and the still fairly yellow-looking straw paths, I must say my garden looks about the best it has for a long time...maybe ever!

Work has been interesting. Challenging, too. I like what I do and who I work for, but being gone so much is hard to get used to. When I *am* finally home, I try not to resent all the other commitments that I have made...like endless church planning stuff, etc.

Anyway, I'm turning my thoughts toward Thanksgiving planning. I hope my broccoli gets done in time!!

What are you folks doing for the holiday?

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001

Answers

I'm bumping this to the new answers page....

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001

Thanks for starting this, Sheepish, I probably would have forgotten.

The dog and I have been exploring our newly found trail in the "woods". Unfortunately, many other dog walkers know about it too. My dog has become aggressive towards other dogs. We're working on it, and making progress, but it's still a pain in the posterior. And embarassing when other people's dogs behave themselves . . .

I will be home alone (if having 13 house pets ever means you are alone) for Turkey Day. I really don't mind too much. I've done it for so many years, I've kind of gotten used to it. And then I don't have to travel when 80 zillion other people are on the roads. I might go up north some time between T.Day and Xmas, since I can never be away right at the holiday time. My petsitter likes to do stuff with HER family, imagine that! :-)

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001

The only family we have close is my daughter who lives about 3 hours away. Her husband works on Thanksgiving and mine works the day before and the day after, so.........we are getting together on the Sunday after for our family "Thanksgiving". Sometimes we invite people to our home who don't have anyone close, not sure this year what we will do. Guess it is time to plan, for it sure is getting here FAST.

Here in Michigan gun season for deer hunting starts the 15th so we are checking fences and moving stock in CLOSE. Even though our land is posted, we have people wander on and start shooting at anything that moves, so we keep the girls up really close to the barn and the horse and cattle in what is usually the girls browse pasture.

Had two of my does come into heat today that I thought were bred when the buck got out. I have never deliberately bred this late cause I like to get my kidding done early. Not happy to be having senior does kidding in April!!! I like to sell my wethers to 4-H kids for market animals and they like them born early in the year. Guess this year I will be finishing some off myself.

Hope you all are having a great weekend......hugs

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001

Speaking of pet sitting...my neighbors are now in Hawaii again. Their dog needs a 10-day course of antibiotics...twice a day pills. Since they are going to be gone 10 days and I just got him started, do you think they planned this? tee hee.

I have an old ewe (9 yrs old) who is in heat today. She is in love and moony-eyed. There's something special about an old gal who is still so randy!

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001

No, Sheepish, I don't think they planned it! Speaking from experience, quite frequently an animal becomes sick right when you're trying to leave town. I can't remember how many times it's happened to me, or where I've been gone only about a day and get summoned back because someone is sick. I have always been extremely grateful that I had observant, caring, committed and competent petsitters (I've been lucky to get women who are vet techs too!). Hope your neighbors bring you something nice from Hawaii though.

BTW, I'd MUCH rather pill a dog than a cat. Dogs eat their medicine in food bits. Cats discover them and spit them in a corner somewhere, so you have to wrestle meds into them. The cats I have now are young, but the first two ended up on meds for the last years of their lives. I think I spent 10 years, in aggregate, pilling a cat twice a day. Not to mention giving daily fluids sub-Q for an aggregate of 7-1/2 years. To find a petsitter capable of taking over that kind of duty has truly been a blessing.

I'm going to lose this petsitter next year. She is in her third year of vet school, and when that finishes, she has to start her 4th year rotations immediately (well, I think might get a week or two off, not much). Then she won't have time to pet sit. [sob] I should check with the first woman I had. She moved to a small town too far away for her to commute to work and have time to petsit too. But maybe they've moved again, back closer. Worth checking anyway!!

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2001

Yes, take good care of your petsitters, good ones are a rare find! I am losing mine too, darn, he grew up and is going to unversity, the gall of him, tee-hee!!! Perhaps his younger brother that always came with him to help could be "trained" and bribed into petsitting now!

Thanksgiving??? Being "cooking impaired" means going to Mom's for eats, or some other family member, we are only three hours from most all family so it's just who to pick to visit..........

Would rather do dishes and clean up than cook, no patience for it if it ain't a critter!

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2001

The weather has been beautiful here. Cooler but still sunny and nice. I finally got around to getting rid of my four too many roosters. Took them to the Amish lady, I just gave them to her. I have tried to cook em up so's that they are edible, so if any of you can clue me in on how to make roosters taste good , let me know.

The Amish know how, they said they guessed they would have chicken for dinner. I was just glad to get rid of the mean things, beaten up on my poor hens they were. Our Daddy rooster died not too long ago, just found him killed over, he was only three years old, so don't understand that. We were sad about that as he was one of the nice ones, that Lea could pick up and cuddle. Maybe he died of heartbreak, seeing the five young roosters taking over his women.!?

We kept the youngest little rooster, he is pretty meek and mild, gets picked on by the hens, I do hope he grows a little and can live up to his manly duties. I was afraid to keep two roosters , as that just means one gets picked on, while the other one claims lordship.

At the Amish house, they asked me what I wanted for my roosters and I told them Oh no, I don't want anything for them, just to get rid of them, well out came little Ester with an Angel Food cake to give to me, I thought that was very sweet and quite a treat. We sure enjoyed it with some our strawberries that I took out of the freezer.

Also have been enjoying still having lettuce to eat and spinach and tomatoes. We have had a few frosts but I go out and pour warm water on the lettuce before the sun hits it, and that saves it, spinach can take allot anyhows, and the tomatoes come out of the brown paper bag that we saved green ones in, they are ripening up nicely.

I have been thinking of all the meals that I can make using lettuce and tomatoes while I still have them so we have been eating Taco's, Subs, spaghetti with salad, and such. My friends laugh at me because I can't get myself to buy produce at the store, when we are out of greens , tomatoes and peppers and stuff, I just wait until we have them again. I really do think everything tastes allot better tho. if you wait until it is in season, and besides how could we EAT? that limp looking white lettuce that they sell at the store? So the first ripe tomato in June is always a big deal around here, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Lea and I have been gleaming Farmer Shaws popcorn field, as the machines have harvested and the rest lies waiting in the field for us. Farmer Shaw encouraged us to do this a few years back and I think he gets a kick out of seeing us out there, not letting it all go to waste. It is always amazing to me how much the machines miss, it takes no time at all to fill up our five galloon buckets. Lea and I both enjoy it being out in the field with the sunshine and fresh air, we always like to see who can fill up the buckets the fastest. In the evenings we sit around and decob the cobs, filling up our canisters with the bright yellow kernels.

Most of the trees have lost their leaves now, but the burning bush on both sides of the house are singing in red right now, like an exclamation mark, so pretty! So breathtaking!, A bouquet of their red leaves and berries sits upon a gold tablecloth highlighted by the kerosene light of the lamp, as I read in the evening.

The screech owl is back for his winter home in our big blue spruce tree, and this time he has a partner! If we are quiet and out at the right time of dusk, we can hear them as they awaken and fluff up making the queerest rustling sounds. Then we watch as their silhouettes silently fly to the maple tree where they sit a while before they fly off for the evening. Later we can hear them as they call to each other from Farmer Shaws woods.

Ya all have a good week, and know that we are blessed! Love TRen

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2001

Sorry! My paragraphs didn't compute!

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2001

I fixed it, Trennie. When I go in to edit, I can see where you intended to put in paragraphs and then put in the HTML to make them happen. However, I can NOT figure out why it didn't put them in automatically, since you didn't use any other HTML code. If you use HTML code at all, then you have to put in the codes for paragraphs as well, but that should not have applied in this case. Another computer mystery!

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2001

Tren, you can make the roosters edible by using a cooking bag and slow wet heat. Add a cup or so of chicken broth (low sodium of course!), some quartered sweet onion, celery stalks, sliced up carrot and bake at 325 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. Occasionally shake the bag to baste the rooster in the juices. The long slow heat and the sealed up bag keep the moisture in and make it edible, not as good as hen, but passable.

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2001

Not much going on here this week. Just the same old "stuff"! Been keeping an eye on my does...just waiting for one or two of them to sneak back into heat (just so they can get it on with the buck again!!) Oh my god...did I really say that? Sorry! Anyways...they've all gone thru two cycles, so I guess they're all safely bred. Everyone due in mid-February! I agree with you, Diane. I like early kids!!

We have some carpenters coming over tomorrow to repair the roof on our house. Last week we had 65 mph winds that ripped lots of shingles off. We have a gambrel roof and we were planning to have the upper shingles removed anyways in order to put on the ice shield. The "PLAN" was to have it done next spring when we could afford it! Yeah right! Thanks to the wind we'll be going to the bank, I guess :-(! Hopefully, homeowners insurance will cover some of it...but somehow I doubt it!

For the first time (ever, I think!) I wont be hosting our family Thanksgiving. My son's wife has decided the SHE should have it at their home! Now...if there ever was anyone who could use Martha Stewart's help...she could!! But, I'm gonna be nice. I've offered to buy the turkey (she doesn't like homegrown!) and fix the stuffing. But everything else is up to her!!! Please pray that I keep my big mouth shut at this "gathering"!!

Now that all my does are bred, I'd love to find myself a pet-sitter. Never had anyone to come in and take care of everything. But it sure would be nice to drag hubby away...just for a day or two so we could "reminisce"!!!

Have a good week!!!

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2001

Joy, Hey Thanks! Ya darlen!

Annie, Ok! Thanks for the rooster cooking info. maybe we will partake of those roosters next year, hm, I don't know that angel food cake was awfully good?!

Marcha, Ah, don't worry too much about your daughter in law having dinner at her house. She just wants to make her house feel like a home, give her time, the Martha STewardness will come. Just think of all the work that you won't have to do!

Gosh, I can remember how I felt during my first marrage when I was a young bride and mother in law did everything and did everything right, I just wanted to have a part, to be worth something. But then I guess I should try to understand how you feel Marcha .I have never been the Mother In Law, and never will have a daughter inlaw, because I have no boys. I hope that it works out OK for you.

It's funny because all these years I wanted to have one of the get togethers at my house but always thought that my Mom enjoyed having us all over there so I never said anything. But then one day she burst out and said, OH these get togethers I love, but they sure are alot of work, wish some of you kids would have them at your house now and then. Boy did my jaw drop open! Now next Easter is gonna be here.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Guess you're right, Tren. I REALLY should give her a chance! It will be nice not to have to wash all those dishes. The cooking I don't mind at all...since I'm so good at it!! Hey, with that last sentence I'm thinking that maybe my DIL thinks that I'M Martha Stewart :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Marcia, Please forgive me, for spelling your name wrong. Me sorry!

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

We had a nice weekend. It was the first weekend I've had off from school in a month, so I finally got outside to clean up the garden for the winter. It was a good experience and now I have a better idea of how much to plant next year. I will probably have a mutiny on my hands if I plant green beans again next year. I love them and could eat them every day, but Keith doesn't share my enthusiasm. Just wait until I start pulling the canned green beans out of the pantry! :) I also need to plant fewer cherry tomatoes and more paste tomatoes, more peas, and lots more spinach. My pantry looks so pretty with all the jars of beans,stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and blueberries, I almost hate to eat any of it.

Sunday we went to visit Keith's sister and see the new house and the new baby. The house is nice but it is right next to the train tracks. Every time a train goes past the little ones yell "Choo Choo" and run to the window to watch it go past. I'm still working on getting in all of my practice hours for massage school so I took my table along and worked on SIL and oldest neice. Trying to get a 15 year old to lie still for an hour was a trip! Next oldest neice, Heather (she's 7) was a big help. She loves to make beds and strip sheets so she was right in there helping me make up the table and changing the sheets between sessions.

My parents have already gone south for the winter, so we'll be spending Thanksgiving with Keith's family. All of his family (except for his mom) live in a little town about an hour north of us. His mom lives in Michigan and she is driving down for the weekend. We would like to move up to that area too, but we're still working on getting our finances in shape. I made a few calls to find out about refinancing our home equity loan to get a better interest rate, but it looks like any savings we would gain from the lower interest rate would be eaten up by the additional closing costs. I guess I'll just skip all the hassle of refinancing and just keep on making double or triple payments each month. If I can keep up that pace, we should have the blasted thing paid off by Feb. 2004. Paying off a 15 year loan in 4 years isn't too shabby, but if I knew then what I knew now I never would have taken the darn thing in the first place. Oh well, I'll just have to be patient and in a few years I'll have a lovely Martha-free refuge just like Diane's! :)

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Hey folks! It sure is nice to see so many folks posting again!

My stupid cold turned into bronchitis (man, oh man, when it rains, it just pours, doesn't it?!) so I've been doing nothing but working and sleeping. And coughing. And whining!! It's finally getting a little better.

I woke up before the sun today and got to sit at the window and watch all the beautiful colors of the sky before the sun finally peeked over the horizon. And then I stayed at the window and soaked up sunshine for an hour or so - felt soooo good! I figure I must have been a cat in some previous life - Hubs thinks I still have a lot of cat personality! Nothing like curing up on a nice soft cushion in the sun for a snooze! Weather man is calling for cooler temps at night, so I went out and dumped a bag of leaves in Bun's cage - it's so much fun to watch her burrow down in them, then burst out and jump and kick around her pen. She's lying in a patch of sunshine now, all stretched out and grooming herself - a picture of contentment!

Pop and Uncle Ivan have been working on the tractors and getting the tillable ground fall plowed. Our soil is such a heavy clay that it takes forever to dry out in the spring, so we have to fall plow, then just disk and harrow before planting. Pop burned off the last bed of old plants and weeds in the garden (said he was too lazy to pull 'em), so I am ready to put it to bed except for the brussel sprouts, beets and carrots. I got all my mums planted and 40 of my tulip bulbs, still have 100 more tulips to plant. Didn't get the dahlias dug, either - darn things are STILL blooming!! Gave up trying to hold off this morning while Unc was here drinking coffee, and we went through the seed packets Sharon brought, plus some of my leftovers from this year. Looks like we won't NEED to order too many things - 'course that probably isn't going to stop us! He was really impressed with how the manure stuff we got from the sale barn helped out his soil, so he's planning on hauling some more over; and buddy Mike called this am and said he'd be over with his tractor as soon as I was feeling better, to move what I had left over into my beds. I'll pay him back with tomato plants next spring!

This weekend is shotgun deer season around here, so all the fellas will be congregating down at the cabin. There might just be enough muscles around that I might get my deep freeze in the basement store room where it belongs!! Some apple crisp might work for a bribe!

Thanksgiving sure is approaching fast! Clan Mulvaney (O'Maolfhiona) will be gathering at the Fire Hall in Gays, Illinois this year. We're expecting a minimum of 40 of us - but heaven only knows how many will show up! We invite all the kin and shirt tail relations, in- laws, out-laws and anybody who looks like they ought to be related, friends, neighbors, friends of neighbors, and folks who don't look to be doing anything else that day. That said - we eat at noon, and the firehouse is one block north of Rt 16 - Y'all come!! We all carry in food, and some folks have been bringing the same thing for more than 40 years. There will be turkey, ham, fried chicken, mashed and sweet and scalloped taters, home froze corn, noodles, chicken and dumplings, oyster and regular dressing, honey rolls and hot rolls and more salads and cassaroles than you can shake a stick at. I'm betting on pumpkin pie of course, but also chocolate, coconut, custard, apple and cherry; and a blackberry cobbler too. Cakes and cookies and rice krispy treats, finger jello, deer summer sausage and cheese, Aunt Velma's beef rolls and Aunt Judy's salmon cheese ball - mmmm! mmmm! Are you hungry yet?! I sure am! Reckon I'd better go find me some lunch, then head to bed for a nap before I start three more days of work. You all take care, hope everyone has a happy week!

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Oh joy, I have to report for jury duty tomorrow. I had such a bad experience the last time I hope that I never have to serve on a jury again.

Maybe I'll tell them that I have a raging case of PMS and could they please assign me to a death penalty case. That should get me disqualified in a hurry. :)

I'll let you know how it goes...

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

Sherri!

Yuck! But it's your civic duty! (and I've never been called!)

Raining like hell on wheels here for the last two days. Flood watches, warnings, etc. The ewe barn is practically floating! Guess my idea of clearing out the litter each week is not practical. Better to deep bed 'em all, I guess.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

sheepish.........you have discovered why we deep bed. The really heavy rains on a frozen ground can turn my barn into a stream, right down the aisle.

Hugs Sherri.........civic duty or not I hear you......I hate it. Last time I was called it was on a rape case. They brought the guy in during jury selection and he gave me such chills I could hardly stand to be in the same room with him. The lawyer asked me if I had any prejudices about the case and I had to say yes.....sure do. Needless to say I got excused. Well, he got off and two days after they let him loose he killed both his parents and burned the house down with them in it.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001

Thanksgiving has been and gone here. We had been working furiously on our barn that day and had the pigs and ram lamb slaughtered and taken to the meat cooler. Busy busy day so we were going to have frozen pizza until a friend called to have us over. It was great! This week is a bit laid back. Husband getting some tests done today and then we are going to get some sheet of metal roofing for the barn. The chicken coop is sided in and has roosts but most of the birds are still going under the barn at night. A few more each night though so maybe they will catch on. We need a few more fence posts to enclose the field around the barn into a paddock for the girls (sheep)..sold Willie on Tuesday for 100 bucks. Now I don't have to avoid being in the paddocks anymore. My turkeys need doing up (there are only 5 but they are getting big). My mom told me last night that she has catarachs (spelling?) and glaucoma and is having one eye lasered on Friday. I hope it helps. This weekend is the Parade Of lights in halifax so we will drive in for the parade. The boys had a blast last year although the floats hadn't been as good as the year before. Gotta go make breakfast now..have a groovy day!

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001

Hello All, I have been reading everyones postings and I can relate to them all. I was called to jury duty once in 1992 and could'nt even get out of it, when I was breast feeding my daughter and the only one taking care of my mother suffering with Lou Gehrigs disease. Then in 1999 I got another card in the mail to serve again. I was almost in tears because I didn't like doing it the first time. Thankfully this time I got lucky and the case was settled out of court. My husband thinks it would be so cool to serve and he has never been called. Neither has other family members who would like to do it. Does'nt make any sense.

We have also been doing some winterizing around the house and barn yard. Michael has got to build a couple more hog houses before the snow starts flying. I cleaned out rabbit cages today and the cage the baby chicks are in. Of course I had to spend time with the puppies too. They are starting to play with each other and getting up and around better every day. Missy just can't get away from them as easily as she once could. Had to take Maranda to the Dr. today. A bladder infection. She is done with basketball for this year. She is glad too. She was getting tired of the long nights and late homework nights. She will have a couple weeks to rest until volleyball starts.

As for Thanksgiving here this year, I am tackling it at my house for the first time. Last year I told grandma that I would do it this year. She is 81 and it's time for someone else to try, she acts relieved that I am doing it. I told her that I sure need all the advice she could give me, and she will have to do the noodles, or they won't taste like grandma's. Last count there will be around 27 coming. I have been frantically trying to get my house cleaned up and I hope everything goes okay.

Maranda's nuts from girl scouts are in and we have to get them delivered. Justin's popcorn from boyscouts will be in Sunday and we will be out delivering again. I am thankful for the people who order in these hectic times. A factory here layed off 300 people last week and that will sure have an impact in our community. My thoughts are of these families during this holiday season, also with all of your families. Have a Happy Thanksgiving if I get too busy to chat next week. Phyllis

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001