I just thought I would continue it here because it was getting long.

Made another trip to the hospital this morning. Gary had another allergic reaction. See, Glenn and I went to a wedding on Friday. It was unbelievable. There were appietizer tables around the whole room. I skipped all the cheeses and antipasto stuff and went right to stuff I've never had before. (and the champaine) Rice stuffed quail, Orange duck, stuffed lamb, lamb ribs, rabbit (never tried before...tastes like chicken but tougher - rather have the chicken)whole roast piglet; then all the pastas, portabella mushrooms, shrimp & crab claws; then the finger food like meatballs, chicken wings, ribs; fruits.....it was soooo good. I would have loved this to be my dinner. Yes, there was also dinner.

Fillet minon, veal & chicken marsala, or salmon. I didn't want the pasta because I know it always fills me up. The waiter was so nice, he tried to sneak a few in but I covered my plate (it was funny. Especially since I had a whole bottle of champaine to myself)

THEN THE DESSERTS!!!! Fruit, sherbet, ice cream, chocolate mouse (I ate that one, yum!) danishes, cream puffs, cannoli, and flavored coffees. I didn't even try the wedding cake that look like a specialty cake.

Is everybody getting hungry? Anyway, I brought home some pastries for Gary and he decided to eat one for breakfast. A little cream puff. Well, we are going to have to remember that expensive places probably use macadamian nuts. They may have grated it on the puff. I was sleeping in because Glenn takes him to school on his days off. Gary wakes me and tells me what up (his throat is getting tight)Gave him Benedril. He's feeling better but thinks we should head to the hospital. (hubby is saying he'll be fine in the background until I say we're off. He never realizes how bad Gary is) Three hours and IV stuff later, we are home and he's sleeping off the Benedril. Did I tell you it was pouring rain worse then the hurricaine on the way there with torrencial downpour and flooding?

What a way to start a morning...

Sheepish, I planted 32 zuchinni plants and only got 4 zuchinni. I had tons of flowers too. It was a bad year for my garden. I think it may be to shady half the time too.

Polly, You have to hit Hazard with the dead bird. It works, really.

Joy, are you feeling better?

-- Anonymous, September 23, 2003

Answers

Mornin’ all! I’m slurping my second cup of coffee and watching the sun rise over the top of the trees on our east line as I type. I never did care much for the song “Morning Has Broken”, but listening to it being played on a hammered dulcimer while watching it actually happen is bringing tears to my eyes this morning. Must be those damn hormones again!! (Sniff, sniff, grin!) It was chilly when I went out to do the chores - about 43*; and a heavy dew had my sneakers soaked before I even made it the short distance across the yard to the shed to let little red dog out. Heard some serious squawking going on in the banty hutch as I was treating Bun to a big yellow apple; found two eggs in a nest on the floor of the hutch - one warm and one cool. I think that first bunch of banties hatched out right after Easter, so I reckon it’s about time. A cool morning and a warm sweater, smooth brown eggs, soft and silky rabbit fur, cold toes and a warm yellow tom cat winding ‘round my ankles, ash trees turning red, coffee brewing and cinnamon rolls in the oven - Golly, what a wonderful day for the senses!! Makes me happy to be alive, it does!

Later today, I’m going to do some garden clean up; and this afternoon, Pop is going to bring Bailey out and we’ll all go out and pick up the pumpkins and melons. The chickens are usually done laying eggs by 11 am, but I’ll leave them in the nests today so that Bailey can gather them when she gets here - gotta get that next generation of farmers trained right! I need to dig the rest of Uncle Ivan’s onions and get them laid out on newspapers in the shed to cure; and pick the last of the tomatoes and peppers, too. That will just leave cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale and chard in the garden; tho I’m considering planting some greens in a cold frame.

We had our weenie roast Saturday the 20th and for a change, the weather was fine! Well, it got a bit nippy as the evening went on (next year - bigger fire!) but no big deal as we ended up in the house listening to Bob play his guitar and Uncle Ivan the mandolin anyway. Like Pop, Charlie had a stroke this past winter, it affected his right side so he isn’t able to pick his banjo anymore, so we were missing Pop on the guitar and Charlie on the banjo. I’m just glad that they are still here with us. Uncle Ivan surprised me by showing up with a new big rooster for me (and boy, did cousin Jules bitch about having to ride all the way from Arthur with that rooster carrying on in the pet taxi!) He appears to be taking care of business just fine, and since he’d already been de-spurred, he and Hubs are getting along okay as well! May have to set me some big eggs to hatch here soon! I had bought a couple of strings of orange lights to hang on the front of the porch for Julie, so she forgave me for having to ride with Biggy Roo - all is peaceful on the farm again!

We took off on vacation the next day - went down to Kinmundy to the Log Cabin Village, wandered around a bit looking for the cemetery, and then drove on down to Sikeston, MO for the night. We went to Lambert’s Restaurant - “Home of the Throwed Rolls” They bring around a big cart filled with pans of hot rolls, and you put your hand up and the fella throws you a roll. Okay, so it sounds pretty hokey, I know; but it WAS fun - and the food was darn good too; though there was way too much of it. Probably had a little bit to do with the fact that I ate a couple of those “throwed rolls” before my BBQ pork steak got there! They had folks walking around with big pans of “sides” as well - fried potatoes and onions, okra, etc… a cardiologist’s nightmare! I thought I’d done died and went to heaven….

We made it down to Mountain View, Arkansas the next day; and checked into a very nice (and very reasonably priced!) cabin for the next three days. Hubs and I walked the two blocks uptown (and UPhill! And I’m telling you, those folks have hills down there!) and wandered around a bit. After supper, we went to a music show (traditional/bluegrass) and then stopped by the courthouse square for a short while to listen to the local folks who come up and play each night.

Tuesday, we wandered in and out of all the shops uptown - didn’t buy a thing except lunch. Only saw a couple of dobros and they were priced a lot higher than here at home; and Charlie had told Pop he had one he’d let him try out the next time we were down that way anyhow, so we didn’t bring one home with us. We hit a couple of local yard stands and picked up some fresh fruit and veggies; and then went by the store to stock the kitchen at the cabin. We went to another music show that night, way up a curving, climbing mountain road. It didn’t have a set fee, but did have a bucket set up by the door for donations. At intermission, the family dog came walking around with an ice cream bucket in her mouth, taking additional donations - and of course, I had left the camera in the car! They also had the best intermission refreshments I’ve ever seen at a show - fresh peach cobbler! The floor in front of the stage was left open for dancing, and the lady next to me got up and jig danced during one of the songs. I told her it sure looked like fun, so she pulled me out on to the floor at the next appropriate song - Woo!! I was worn out by the time they stopped playing! After the show, we stopped by the square again - we were just going to sit in the car and listen, but those folks wouldn’t allow that - they came right over to the car and hauled us out and up into the crowd. Friendliest bunch of folks I’ve been around in a while - that I wasn’t related to, anyway!

Wednesday, we spent the morning at the Ozark Folk Center, which is just a bunch of folks showing old time skills. I did enjoy talking to the lady that was doing the weaving, and the fellow that was wood carving. I found a pewter ring and some cast pewter ornaments for Jessie; and the lady at the herb garden gave me what looked like the top from a walking onion, but much, much smaller - she said it was garlic, so I reckon I’ll go out and clear part of a bed later today and plant it. Pop was getting pretty worn out by lunch time, so we took him back to the cabin to rest and then went back out to the center for a while. In the evening, we went to yet another show, but bypassed the square as we planned on getting up early Thursday to head home. Well, we didn’t get a very early start; and we hit rush hour/construction traffic in St. Louis; but we made it in home by 6 pm anyway! It sure was good to be back home; but I enjoyed the trip too - I’m ready to go back anytime (just let me get this mountain of laundry done first, okay?!) They have a bean festival and Outhouse Race in October every year (ya think the one has anything to do with the other?), so I think I’ll try to persuade John to go back down for that next fall!

We made Maraca and Hazard a dog house from straw bales Saturday as the forcast was calling for it to cool off. They sure do seem to like it - it’s big enough for Maraca’s cage and Haz too. I’m afraid to let Maraca run at night; she’s too small to fight off the coyotes. Silly girl never barks during the day, but once dark falls she more than makes up for it! She has a VERY loud, deep bark - with a bit of a howl on the end. Must be some hound in the mix somewhere!! Besides doing laundry, and sweeping my kitchen floor twice a day (where is all this dirt coming from?!), that’s about all I’ve gotten done. Well, Hubs and I did do some cleaning in the shed - unpacked some boxes from back when the ex and I moved after selling our big house in town - boy has my taste changed in the past 13 ½ years!! I’m re-reading my way through all my Dick Francis novels, so that’s taking a lot of my time too!

I usually go offline to compose my posts, so that I can use a larger font than is available on Lusenet. While it sure helps me out visually, by the time I start composing, I’ve forgotten half of what I want to say (and aren’t y’all glad about that!?) so I don’t reply to some things that have been written. I’m gonna try to remedy that now.

Joy - I surely do hope you’ve no lasting effects from your fall and that the bruises have healed up. I also hope that the condo folks don’t give you any trouble about Blanca. Folks are sooo dumb sometimes - let their little yappy dogs bark and carry on at big dogs, and then don’t understand why the big dog kicks their butt. Hello?! Sheesh - no wonder I’d rather live out here in the boonies with chickens for neighbors! PS - tell Julie we sure do miss her posts. Can she access us at all? You’ll have to fill us in on the Halloween plans. I have to work that night - maybe I’ll dress up like a real nurse. Know I’ve still got that cap around here somewhere….

Dee - I’ve tried smacking Haz with the bird - catching him is a problem - he knows he’s not supposed to kill the chickens and he looks terribly guilty after. I’ve even tried tying the dead bird around his neck. Doesn’t work with him. Since the chickens don’t do much to keep the meth heads and tourists away, I’d rather have old Haz around. And to think of it another way, I’m really slacking on my responsibility to keep the darn things penned so that they can’t get out. Someday, maybe Hubs will build me a chicken tractor that works well!

Sherri - I sure do miss cutting wood in the fall! My job was always to trim the smaller branches off with a hatchet; and to pull the cut logs up to the trailer with a log chain and the small tractor. We’d bring the sawbuck down to the woods with us and set it up on the flat, then haul the logs up to it to cut into stove lengths. We have a splitter that’s powered by the hydraulics on the tractor, so that part wasn’t too bad. I miss the smell, and the warmth of wood heat. Ah, the good old days - back when we couldn’t afford to buy propane to heat with!! Hey, I’m getting ready to clean up the flowers and stuff this weekend - would you like some seeds for your new place? Cleome, zinnia, hollyhock, morning glory? Send me your snail mail addy if so.

Sandy - hope you get your DSL problems fixed. They won’t let us use the computers at work for anything BUT work now - good thing, ’cause I was getting spoiled by how fast they worked. Someday, maybe they’ll get it so it will work more than 3 miles out of town. It sure was nice to hear from you!

Denise - I am sooo envious of your weight loss. But not envious enough to quit eating the stuff I like and exercise! Maybe I’m envious of your willpower instead! I hope things work out with the daughter. Kids that age - sigh! BIG SIGH! Where are their brains?! I alternate between worrying about Jessie and wanting to knock some sense into her head! I know I was an idiot at that age; I just wish I knew how long I have to wait for her to become human again. Sigh again. Hubs thinks I have empty nest syndrome - it ain’t that MY nest is empty; it’s what she’s doing in HER nest that worries me!! Good luck, chin up, hope things get better soon!

Jay - good to see you back; I do enjoy your posts. I just wish you’d go into more detail about your gardens, worms, etc. Heck, I’d even enjoy hearing about the weather! (Even if it would turn me green with envy except in the summertime!)

Marcia - glad to hear that your trip went safely; sorry to hear that Mom is having problems. Problems such as hers are not unusual after hip surgery - I don’t give a rats rump what the orthopods think - the day they spend 12 hours with a post op; I might think about listening to them. You wouldn’t run a car with half the recommended amount of oil, coolant, fuel etc.. and expect it to run well; the body is the same way. It requires blood to carry oxygen, nutrients, waste etc.. for the organs to work properly. Hip OR = blood loss and reduced capability to replenish blood = a body that doesn’t work the way it used to. A lot of times, folks need to go on sliding scale insulin instead of oral meds, hopefully just until their body readjusts itself. Seems to me that you did what you could do, especially with no help from your siblings. If any of them give you any nonsense, just look them in the eye and say “And just where the heck were you when it was decision making time?” Nursing homes suck, but let’s face it, you really didn’t have another choice. You couldn’t stay, and she probably wasn’t willing to go with you. Not that it would make a lick of sense to drag your Mom on a long trip, away from MD’s who are familiar with her history. You aren’t familiar enough with all the things that could go wrong, or what to do when something goes wrong (how could you be?!), and the staff at the home is. Yeah, I’m a nurse, so I can do that stuff - but I’m not going to risk a family member’s life by trying to do more than I am qualified to do - it’d be like me deciding to take out an appendix in the side yard! You did your best; and that’s good enough.

Dang - this thing is getting to be pages and pages long; I’d better end it up and get to work! You folks all take care out there,

-- Anonymous, September 29, 2003

THWACK!! (Head slap) See what I mean?!

Em - where's my pizza? How are you coming along on getting everything set up?

Sheepish - You don't want to be a CNA. It's okay work for young people who are interested in the medical field; other than that, it sucks.

-- Anonymous, September 29, 2003

Goodness Polly! Are you this talkative in person? I wish I were more like you. BTW, thanks for the encouragment about my daughter. It's good to know that mine is not the only one. I'm shaking in my shoes about the younger ones getting to the teen years. I'm just hoping I got the worst one out of the way first. LOL!

Thanks for the howdy EM!

Sherri, we didn't end up doing much of anything over the weekend. I have a leaky radiator or possibly leaky water pump. I have to get that fixed this week.

It sure has been unseasonably cold around here. I can hardly make myself get out from under the covers in the morning. But not yet willing to turn on the heat. I'm going to maintenance the kerosene heater today. That always gets things toasty on a cold fall morning.

My hens are all broody again. This is the first bunch I've had that even wanted to sit on eggs. I was telling them it's getting a little late in the year for this. But I guess I'll let them try for another few weeks. They get so irate when you try to get their eggs. LOL! I have to go in there with my hands and arms all covered up or I think they would really hurt me. So far they haven't hatched a thing this year. I think the rooster must be sterile. But he's so sweet I can't get rid of him. He even seems to enjoy being held and getting attention. Kind of unususal I think. But those hens are so mean.

We are up to 4 outdoor cats. They have all been piled up on each other for warmth in front of the door each morning since it's been cold. It's comical to look at. you can't really tell which head goes with which body because they are all of similar color and markings. LOL!

Gotta go! Talk to you all later!

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2003

Oh Polly, I hate posting after you do. Maybe Joy will move this one above yours! You make getting up and going to the kitchen sound like an all day job and I make an all day job sound like getting up and going to the kitchen!

Since I've been off the forum not much of interest has happened. We did have one thing that was exciting. I had to take a class down in New Orleans, that wasn't exciting, but Judy Murray lives right outside of N.O. and since I've been corresponding with her for about four years we finally got together. We met on this board. We met with her and her husband, Tim, and went to supper. We only got to spend a few hours together because she had to get up early for work. Hey, that's not the same as the obligatory phone call thirty minutes after you meet your date, is it? You know the one where you get a phone call and if you don't like your date, you say you have an emergency? Anyway, we really enjoyed meeting them and had a good, though short visit.

Everyone seems to have a garden that's either doing well or doing badly. Mark us down under the doing badly column. I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't get out there very often to take care of it and partly because the chickens discovered the garden this year. They particularly liked the cuke transplants that we put in and promptly scratched them up. We did have one cuke vine in a tomato cage and it was producing well until the wind blew it over and I didn't check the roots when I put it back up. Should have went to hydroponics right then. Chickens also liked the egg plants and destroyed them. Tomatoes? They'll climb a pole to eat my tomatoes. I finally got it fenced in and the only thing we have left is a few cherry tomato vines and a couple of cantaloupes vines. I'm growing the cantaloupes in tomato cages and have to support them with panty hose. At least, I get some excitement when I check the cantaloupes for ripeness. Maybe I should have used some old bras. A melon's a melon, right?

I found an old hunting knife in some of my junk and it had a pitted blade and a broken handle. I decided I'd make a new handle for it. I also got an old mantel clock from one of my brother-in-laws and it had been stored in his cabin. The rats had made nest around it and the roof wasn't quite waterproof and it damaged the case. I've torn it down and am sanding and refinishing it. I started building a cabinet to install next to the washer so I'll have a place to put my wine while it's making. Now, I'm been sanding on the knife blade trying to get it back to a nice shiny surface. I've been sanding on the mantel clock and sanding on all the boards for the cabinet. I'll tell you, my right arm hasn't been that sore since I was a teenager.

For the last two weeks we've been taking care of my brother-in-law that lives over in Camp. That's about thirty miles from us. He and his wife have been in and out of the hospital for two weeks. We've had them home for two days so we hope the daily trips are over for a while. His wife fell and he was so sick he couldn't get out of bed to help her up so they had the ambulance come out and get her. The next day, we took him to the hospital and got both of them out about 5 days later. He stayed out for two days and went back in on Monday and we got him out Saturday. Everyday, it was, go to the hospital, see what they needed, go out to their house, wash, pick up whatever they needed and back to the hospital, then back home. Thirty miles isn't normally a lot but if you've been to AR. you know that all the roads are narrow two lane, winding, hilly roads. We have five miles of gravel road to travel and he has three. Takes about 4 to 5 hours a day out of schedule. If you have a schedule, which we don't. Now that they're home, we just go to their house, then back to town to pick up whatever they need and back to their house and home. Don't seem like we made much progress, does it?

Then there's my sister. Since she's had a couple of operations this year and they haven't healed properly, it's uncomfortable for her to drive. She likes my driving for some reason (got to be her medication) so when the ladies want to go to garage sales or shopping , I usually get to do the driving. That means that there's another day or two out of the week that we don't get to stay at home.

Had something decimating our chicken flock this year. It would even get into the coop during the day and kill a few. Once it tore the roof off to get at them during the night. During that time, we had a banty come out of hiding with 17 chicks. Not a misprint! Seventeen little biddies. Don't know how she could have hatched that many but they were there. Don't know where she was hiding since the ones that were running around were getting killed. Got a live trap and started catching coons. If I remember right, we caught something like 17 coons. I hauled them eight miles from here. It was an every morning project for about two weeks. Is it legal to transport coons over county lines? We went from 25 chickens to 5 plus the 17 chicks. We lost 7 of the little biddies to the coons before we got them under control but we had a guy give us 25, year old chickens (almost forgot to put the comma in there and that would have made them 25 year old chickens, quite old for a chicken). Now we've got green eggs, brown eggs, white eggs and banty eggs. When we finally got the coon problem solved we were down to 26 chickens total. Seems like we're not destined to have more than around 25 chickens at one time.

Have plans to enlarge the coop this year before Winter. Might be a little late.

I don't know if I've mentioned it or not but when we move up here, we moved onto unimproved land. We needed a storage shed and I wanted a work shop. We found a 14x60 foot mobile for around a thousand dollars, delivered and set up. I figured I couldn't get a storage shed for that price. The front half of it's my shop and the back half is storage. It's not very draft proof so I needed quite a stove to heat it in the winter so I made one out of a water heater. It will put out quite a bit of heat when stoked up and keeps me quite toasty while working in the shop during the Winter. Now, Winter is fast approaching. Go ahead and ask me how much firewood I've cut this year. It's just really hard to cut firewood when it's hot outside. It's hard to think about chainsaws and firewood when you're busy mowing grass and weedeating.

There's a lot more that's been happening and is still happening but none of it's exciting. However, we're just happy to be healthy and alive and living in the country. Today we went to town and my sister wanted to stop at Sonic. I found the noise in town so distracting that I couldn't hear the guy on the speaker. I know the townies are use to it, but it's confusing to this country boy.

Our weather has turned cold at night and plenty cool during the day. It's decided to start raining and I haven't finished the things that I need to do outside before dark. Guess I'd better get to it.

Polly, if I'd known you were in Mountain View, we'd have driven over and said "Howdy". Umm, maybe that's why I didn't know?

Oh, how I ramble. Maybe that's why I don't post on this thread.

Wildman, (Long winded)

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2003

Well, Jack - if I'd known you lived close to Mt. View, I'd have been happy to meet up! Look for us next year at the Bean Festival and Outhouse Races. How far away are you? Up in that area sure is pretty, but driving those roads daily to work would scare me silly! I saw several mobile homes set back in the woods and wondered how in the dickens they ever got them up those twisty-turny roads - And hoped like heck I wouldn't come around a curve and find out up close and personal!!

Not gonna cut you any slack on posting after me though; Dee started it on the 23rd, and I didn't post til what, the 29th?! You had your chance.... :oP Somebody made the mistake of telling me that they enjoyed my long winded nonsense one time, and I ain't never forgot it!

Denise - talkative? Yes and no. I can start up a conversation with about anyone. Comes in handy at work - "So, you do all those tattoos yourself? Interesting." "Now, how long has Satan been living in your refridgerator again?" etc.. If I'm bored, I'll talk to folks in the grocery store check-out, laundromat, waiting rooms... If I'm talking to someone about something I'm interested in; yes, I'll chatter on and on. Ditto family members. Otherwise, no. One thing I really hate is talking on the phone! If I'm home by myself, I don't go looking for conversation - except here!

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2003

Polly, actually, you could have spit on your way to Mt. View and I'd probably have gotten splattered! Mt. View is about 15 miles South of us, if you're a crow. It's about 30 miles if you have to drive. If ya'll went through Calico Rock, neat "little" town, then we are about 15 miles East of there. We get our mail out of a town called Wideman. Now, I use the term "town" loosely. It has a Post Office, a couple of houses and nothing else. However, the one thing it does have, is a road leading to our house. From Wideman, you get on County Road 38, to the left just before you get to the Post Office and we're the only 90 degree left turn on the road. Three miles from the Post Office.

Normally, we come in through Oxford, which has a population of 600. It has a service station! No credit cards though. Again, County Road 38, follow the pavement until it ends at the top of a hill and follow the gravel for about 5 miles, take the 90 degree right turn onto the abandoned County Road and look for the first gate on the left.

We're easy to find. The Jehovah Witnesses didn't have any problems. Oh, it did take them almost 4 years but ferret us out they did. He said he didn't know how we ever found this place since it's so far out. I asked him how the hell he found it. I don't think they'll be coming back.

Anyone down in this area is welcome to drop by. We'll be tickled pink to have you even though I'll be embarrassed because the place is so junked up but, what the hell, I'll get over it in a minute or two. Nothing last forever.

Polly, you noticed on our roads, we have no guard rails, no shoulders in most places and some huge drop offs? I think it's because it got too expensive to keep replacing the guard rails so they just did away with them! If you go over, shame on you. Your fault, we paved the portion you were suppose to drive on but if you want to drive over there, okay! Thinning the gene pool.

I think some of those mobiles in the trees that you saw, got there because they didn't stay on the paved part of the road. It was probably cheaper to go ahead and buy the land, set up the mobile, cut a road to it and move in, than it was to try go get it out.

It's gotten so cool that the Black flies have taken a break. Not gone but slowing down enough so that I can, finally, hit them with a fly swatter.

We've got a chili cook off over in Ash Flats this Saturday. The Amateur Radio Club gets involved every year to make a little money for the club and to meet with the public. Sandy volunteered to help cook and that was fine with me until I found out that we have to be there before seven in the morning! It's only thirty miles away but it's an hour drive on our roads! I'm a night owl and don't normally get to bed until after midnight. It doesn't matter if I have to be up at five, I still can't get to sleep before midnight. Sometimes, it's a drag. All day long. Anyway, we'll be there if nothing happens to another family member between now and then. I'm kinda excited about going, not because of the chili (I'm upset about the chili because they won't let me add Jalapenos to it, if we don't win, I want the judges to remember we were there), but because I found out that one of the members use to be in the neon sign business and still has a lot of the equipment. It's something I've always been interested in and want to talk to him to see what equipment is necessary and how much training it takes. Love neon signs.

Wildman, (rambling again)

-- Anonymous, October 01, 2003

Polly,

No, I don't wanna be a CNA, you are SO right!! I think I'm moving toward Med. Informatics, whatever that is. (wink). If my wrists hold up, I'll stay in transcription, tho.

Sheesh, it musta got cold out. Look at all the postings (which I haven't read yet).

I'm taking a 5-credit online class, selling some sheep, my loom, and heading off to E. Washington again this weekend. I've fallen and I can't get up!!! WAAAAY busy!!!

Hi everyone.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2003

We've had frost the past two mornings so hopefully the mosquitos are all dead know. It will be nice to be able to walk outside without developing so many welts that I look like the Elephant Man.

Polly I thought of you on Saturday because I had an up close and personal experience with a real live crazy person. :) A guy came up to the booth I was manning at Pagan Pride Day and started spouting off a bunch of disjointed phrases about the Supreme Court, the American Legion, communist conspiracies to kill the wolves, and a bunch of other strange stuff. He pulled some junk mail out of his pocket to show me his "proof of the American Legion plot". He asked if he could take some of the brochures we had at our table to include when he submitted his brief to the Sumpreme Court and I told him to take whatever he wanted. Like I was going to say no to him! :)

Denise we did go to the Celtic Festival on Sunday. It was a good time. We got to hear Old Blind Dogs on their last performance for this US tour. I did a little bit of shopping; a post card with a triple spiral raven design I want to have done as a tattoo and a cute little stoneware bowl were the highlights. I also had several women ask where I bought my polarfleece cape and they were amazed when I said that I had made it myself. Maybe I should sew up a bunch and go on the Celtic Festival circuit! I think the cold and rainy weather was a big part of their attraction, I don't think they'd go over very well at the Indy Celtic Festival in July. :) I hope you get your car problems straightened away.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2003

Outhouse races?

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2003

Dee, welcome to Arkansas!

Wildman, (participant)

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2003

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we've had deer in our yard a couple mornings this week. My first thought was "oh how pretty" and my second thought was "gonna have to put deer fence around the garden" One of our cats is really funny. I think that she thinks the deer are just really big dogs. When she sees them her tail puffs out like a toilet brush and she growls at them through the window. All week now she's been going from window to window, looking for more things to growl at.

-- Anonymous, October 03, 2003

Sherri I'm glad to see you are enjoying your new home!!! Sounds like the cats are too!!! Gives them something to do!!!!LOL

Hugs, Sandy

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2003