All Is Quiet

Christmas night and all is calm here in the house once again.  I am knitting, the dogs are sleeping at my feet and everyone else is in bed.  I like it.

I gave myself the gift of sleep this year.  Eldest was up at 3:30am to tell us his headache report, can't remember if it was better or worse, but he said something to us and I sent him back to bed.  Then Daughter came in at 5:30am to thank us for the great presents that she sneaked down and opened.   She had to say that she didn't even awaken the dogs who were asleep in their beds.  How wonderful.  I didn't get after her too much be said it was too early for her to get up and stay up, so we sent her back to bed.  I am not sure what time the boys came down and the three of them finished opening their stash.  They were all quite pleased and my husband came down tonight to say that he overheard them saying this was the best Christmas ever.  Well, I have succeeded once again.

This year was a little slimmer on gifts than usual for us, but it is for most people with the economy the way it has been.  The sale of the last two puppies helped us to make our children's holiday more enjoyable.  I must say I do enjoy more when I have given something homemade than bought.  I have enjoyed sewing for years and have done my share of home sewn items as gifts to the young and old in the family.  I am looking forward to the day when I can do more of that and not feel like I should be elsewhere doing something more necessary.  I have taken up knitting too in the last couple of years and have made a few hats and scarves.  I am now venturing into some new things there, like socks.  I will have to dig out my books on knitting before I cast on stitches for that though.  Luckily, I have a friend ( my piano teacher, actually) who is an avid knitter and I get tips from her.  I wish some of my friends enjoyed more of those things like I do, but it seems I am an oddball in the crowd there.  I am hoping that I can sit down and teach the kids in our 4-H club some of these crafts.

Right now I am working on a hat for my mother-in-law.  Actually, I used to have two of them.  No, I am not divorced or widowed, my husband was adopted and we found his biological mother about 6 1/2-years ago.  She is a wonderful person and a very hard worker.  She loves hats and is always sporting a different one just about every time we see her.  So, I am knitting one just for her.  I also took some of my over-production of eggs from this fall and blew them out to make some ornaments.  Two of them went to my knitting piano teacher, one of Santa and one that had a hat, mittens, ball of yarn and knitting needles on it.  We got a great laugh and she added the knitting one to her little knitting tree.  Then to my surprise, she also had almost all Santa ornaments on her big tree, so they both fit in perfectly.  The best part was making them though, it was real fun.  I just wish I would have take pictures of them before I gave them to her.  Silly me.
But I do have others....

This was such a fun thing to try that I am going to keep blowing out eggs to do more for Easter time.  As you can see, not all of them are Christmas ornaments, there are some with butterflies and one with shiny gold lizards on it.  My kids had a good time doing this too, but theirs are quite complete, still needing the end pieces glued on and the ribbons put on too.  Maybe they will get Grandma's done before we go to see her this coming week.

The holidays don't mean what they used to for me, but that isn't such a bad thing.  I have resolved to somewhat eliminate some of the stress.  For instance, even though I want to try, I haven't sent out cards in a couple of years now.  With the price of stamps, it is no cheap thing to do when you have as many family members as I do, and then our friends list has grown too.  It is just one more thing to make the holiday stress peak, so why make yourself do it?  I opted out.  Heck, I even opted out of a tree this year, and we have a fake one up in the attic.  Sad, isn't it?  Not really.  Our house is not exactly in order to have a tree up, and up until two days ago, I still had a puppy running around her who would have loved to taste some of the ornaments and tinsel.  The kids still had the best holiday ever - or so they said.  So, maybe all the trimmings and trappings aren't always as important as they may seem.   Maybe next year it will be a year for more of the cheer and decorations.  We will see

2 Days Left

It's the countdown to the biggest holiday of the year.  Am I ready?  Heck NO!
It is going to be a small gift pile under the tree this year.  My youngest has already determined the source of the gifts and is no longer fooled.  It makes it a little easier to explain that there just isn't a whole lot of money for buying things we don't need.  It is hard to go out and waste on unnecessary items when so many are struggling and have nothing.  Hopefully, our children can understand that.  We won't leave them with nothing, but the superfluous items are off the list.  They seem to be happy with gum and a little candy in their stockings, which is probably good enough - it always was for me as a kid.
My husband and I went to a musical in the Cities last night and out to an expensive dinner, and that is enough of a gift for us to each other.  Of course, just going out for a burger would have sufficed, but once in a while we have to treat ourselves to a little more.
The show we saw was Billy Elliot.  It came out as a movie a few years ago and we really liked it and got some laughs, but the musical OMG!  was AMAZING!!!!!  The young boy of about 12 or 13 was the lead, and he could perform!  It just took my breath away.  And it was hilarious to boot.
We have enjoyed some other shows in the past, we have seen Cats twice, Defending the Caveman for my 40th birthday, and I took my husbands mother to Spamalot after hubby became ill just before showtime.  We must do more of that, it is so worth it to see.  Our kids would have loved the show last night and wish we could have taken them too.  They would have been rolling from the humor - and the cussing.  I am not easily offended by that sort of stuff, so I think we could have let it slide with the kids so long as there was no repeating it.

The house is again down to just 2 dogs.  The last of our puppies left today.  I say puppies loosely since Naldo was about 40-pounds.  He is going to be a big boy like his daddy who is about 70-pounds and is still not fully mature.  It will be quieter here, that is for sure, but welcome.  My daughter is having a tough time today in accepting the pups being gone.  Her favorite left on Sunday.  All of the puppies have gone to wonderful homes, most of them being previous owners of Standard Poodles.  I am sure that they will all be as happy in their new homes and they were with us, and that makes me feel like I did what was needed.  It is tough though, you just fall in love with those little hairballs so easily, and then let them go.  The longer they are with you the tougher it gets too.

Well, it is time to get back to holiday prep and getting my house in order (that never-ending saga).

Happy Holidays to all!!!
CC 

The Weather Outside

IS FRIGHTFUL!!!

We have probably gotten more snow in the three times it has fallen this year than we have had in the last 3 years!!  What gives?  My kids are loving the time off from school ending early today, and they will probably be out tomorrow.  WHY?  It is only a few days until Christmas and I have a bazillion things on my list to do.  I get very little done when they are all here.  Sadly, it is not just at the holidays that this happens.  Why is it that I get so little done when the kids are all here?  I know I am not in the boat alone on this one.  I often hear this from my friends.

I don't think this weather is all bad though, I have missed a 'good old fashioned' winter.  This is reminescent of when I was a child, all those years ago.  We would go sledding down on the hill in the pasture.  At the bottom of this hill was a pond.  On the sides of the run were old, overgrown apple trees that were growing their winter spikes, so we needed to avoid those on the way down.  We had sleds with the runners on them, and then we had some that were homemade.  One of these homemade wonders was a Huckleberry Hound ride-on toy that I think once had wheels on it.  The wheels were removed and it was attached to boards and a piece of linoleum.  I don't believe there was any way to steer that thing, and I don't think it would have passed any safety regs in today's market.  Then we received a toboggan one Christmas and that changed everything for us.  We could fit about 6 of us on that thing and it was a blast.  Of course, we had to wax that bugger up good before we took it out, but that was all part of the fun.  It made for hours of fun for us kids.  That was a time when kids could go out and have fun without motor operated or electronics to buy.  I don't know of too many kids these days who would even have just a ride on toy that you sit on and push with your feet.  It seems all their toys have batteries or motors, and you can't but anything under $40 any more unless you just want to buy junk.  This is not the way our childhoods were over 4 decades ago.  Then again, what is? 

I Had To Laugh

This morning my eldest came down stairs mad at his brother.  Why?  Because HE woke up with a song playing in HIS head that brother had been singing repeatedly the day before.  So, I had to laugh.  It happens to us all.  Middle child has a way of irritating Eldest because he likes to go around singing, just certain bits and pieces of a song or songs, and after a while it really can grate on someone's nerve.  Being that they are 12 and 14, it doesn't take long for one to get on the other's last nerve.  It is very trying as a parent, as all parents of children this age know.  My mother had eleven of us, oh, how I pity her.  I don't know how she didn't manage to crack a skull somewhere along the line.  Who could have blamed her if she had?

As the holidays are close, I am feeling at a loss for time to accomplish all that I want to.  Isn't that everyone's story though?  Really, every year, like so many other people, I say to myself "Next year I am going to start doing stuff ahead of time", and life gets in the way and I never get it done.  It is always on to the next big thing to take care of.  But, you know, it isn't so bad.  I think about people who spend  hours a day sitting in front of a television, and can't imagine my life not having things to do, or wanting to have it that way.  Maybe a day here or there where I don't feel guilty if I take a break from it, but to have every day to have to find things to do.  That will never be me.  I would rather have  a list a mile long that nothing to do.  Of course, I can always find something to do with all the hobbies I undertake.

Middle child is doing a country report on the Philippine Islands.  I have been helping him look up information to add to the report and his map.  It is always interesting to me to learn about countries like that.  Middle child just loves learning about foreign cultures, and he is really getting into this one in particular.  We have been talking about foods you might find in the PI.  I have had the opportunity to eat some of them since I had been in the Navy and worked with a number of Philippino nationals, or with other Navy personnel who were married to them.  We have looked at a few items that would be easy enough to make in an electric skillet and prepare and share at school.  Middle really likes that idea and is anxious to try the foods out.  He is such a fussy eater, but when you come to him with something completely different from our normal diet, he just chows down.  I don't understand it?  My husband is a very adventurous eater and always has been, and Middle takes right after him.  Make a homemade stew or soup and he scoffs at it because of the vegetables, but offer him squid or some other odd seafood and he pops it right in his mouth.  Of all things, one of his favorite foods is smoke salmon.  The day he came home and begged for me to buy some I almost flipped.  So, now that is one of those special items I buy just for him.

Well, I have new carpeting arriving this afternoon, so back to cleaning up the room in preparation.

CC

Songs In My Head

We all are cursed at one time or another with a song that keeps playing in our heads, no matter what we do to get it to stop.  While I have had my children in my life, those songs are often something from a movie that they watch.  Well, this morning it is a song from one of the Winnie the Pooh Christmas DVDs we have.  They have watched it only once this year (because I got so sick of the stupid TV shows they watch a million times through Netflix instant downloads), and it was a few days-maybe a week-ago.  Pooh sings it and it is a funn little ditty "Snow blows, in my ears my eyes my nose, snow blows everywhere I go"  or something like that because those are the words that keep playing over and over and over and over in my head.  BAH!  Usually, the only way I can get it to stop is to turn on the song or movie or whatever it comes from.  Now isn't that insane, to stop the song, I need to play the song?  I don't understand why, but it works.  However, this morning, I am not watching Winnie the Pooh.   I do admit though, sometimes I turn on a movie just to hear something in the house while I am here by myself.  Sometimes it is just to have the sound of another voice.  I love to have the day to myself when the kids are gone and I can do whatever I need to without interruption, but it is comforting at times to hear some other voices around me.  And yes, there are times when I am feeling all sentimental and I put in a kids' movie because I miss those days when my kids were little enough to watch and enjoy them AND I won't feel badly or foolish because of it.

This morning brought more snow with it.  We were supposed to get 3-6 inches more, but I think we fell short.  That is okay though, we didn't need a whole lot more.  It is lovely though, like a soft, downy blanket out there.  For now, at least, the wind is not blowing and that is a good thing because when it does it gets ugly in a hurry.

I better get back to trying to get things more presentable for the holidays.  No time for a long-winded entry today :)

CC

Diggin' Out

My husband is finishing up his 3-weeks of training the company sent him to this weekend.  I sent him pictures today of the snow we got since he has been gone.  Did I mention, he is in L.A.?  He is lucky I reminded him to take his winter jacket to leave in his truck at the airport.  He is definitely going to need it when he returns.  Since he has been gone, we have had two major snowfalls, one with 12-inches and one with about 16-inches, though it is hard to tell just how much we got the second time with the wind blowing like crazy.  Where there was a foot of snow one day, the ground is bare the next from wind moving it all around.   Thank goodness we have a good snowblower that we bought last year.  Usually, my hubby puts this huge, heavy thrower on the front of the lawn tractor.  It is a pain in the rear for him to hook up and it is cumbersome and difficult to actually put to use.  The tires need weights and it ends up getting stuck in snow like we have out here now, the grainy stuff.  But this little red unit sure cut right through the drifts almost like butter.

My biggest concern these days with the cold and snow is my poor feathered friends.  Their new coop has yet to be delivered and they are not liking this white stuff.  They just started coming out the day before we got this blizzard over the weekend.  They were scratching and pecking and sitting in the sun.  Now they just want to huddle inside and don't even want to walk on the snow.  I can't say as I blame them with bare feet and all.  Some of the little breeds just fly everywhere they need to go.

Our dogs are happy with the snow, you would think they were born in a snowbank. 

Since we have lived here, now 11-1/2 years, this is about the 3rd snowy December we have had.  Last year we had snow for Christmas, but it was a little at a time.  This is just funny to see how much all at once, pretty much.  It is nice that I have a son who is ambitious enough to go out and shovel and run the snowblower too.  Our neighbor actually cleared the end of the driveway though where the snow plows just piled it in.  He had his big tractor with the 5-foot blower on the back and zipped it right open.  I will have to share a chicken from the freezer with them for being so nice.  You gotta like a neighbor like that.

Well, even though it was only about -5 or so when I was out there, I am sweaty and need a shower.  I bought a new down-filled parka from LLBean, and it is only good for when it is really cold like this, otherwise I sweat like crazy.  Today it was perfect, but walking all that time in the sun, I got a good work out.  I am sure the mail lady got a good laugh at the sight of me when she made her delivery to the house with packages to unload.

Well, that shower is calling.

CC

Another day gone by

So, I got up with the kids this morning, got them fed and on the bus and all was quiet.  Well, not all quiet, but a lot quieter.  The puppies are always pretty spun up in the mornings and need some play time, so, after the kiddos are on the bus, I let them out to play.  Mind you, my puppies range in size from 30-pounds to 70-pounds.  Two of them are the mom and dad and the others are their pups from a litter in July.  Mom and dad go at the wrestling and growling and doing their general doggy thing.  The puppies look at them a second and then do the same thing.  It was hilarious.  It reminded me of the scene in Bambi when his mother takes him to the meadow the first time and he sees the others for the first time.  Then after meeting Faline, the young bucks start rutting and the little deer starting mimicking them.  The puppies seemed to do the same thing, and it made me chuckle.  They are big enough that the fence I put up this fall to keep them contained is now just part of their obstacle course.  The run out, go around the corner, jump the fence and go running out on the two sides that the in-ground fence allows them to go in and that is where they run and jump and play until I call them back.  Then they are like a herd of deer, first mom jumps the fence like it is barely there, then dad who has finally gotten the courage to just jump it and not sit and hesitate, then the little girl is like her mommy and clears it with ease, then the 'little'(38-pound) boy comes bringing up the rear.  Puppies are a lot of work, but this litter has been so much fun.  I only have one left to find a home for, the little girl.  We love them and it is fun, but 4 big dogs in the house right now is not my idea of a perfect situation.  One day when I have a facility for raising puppies in and have a house that is more adapted to having the dogs in here like that, then I will look at having more of them.

I love to sleep.  I probably love sleep more than most people.  My husband says I would sleep my life away if he let me.  I don't know if that is true though.  Maybe it isn't that I love sleep so much but I stay up so late at night.  I love the peace and quiet.  I have always been a night owl.  I had to wonder before my children were born how I would ever wake up with them in the night to feed and change them, but I guess some things nature just has a way of taking care of.  I don't mean I left it up to nature to feed and change them and night, and since I was breastfeeding them for most or all of their first years, I didn't leave it up to my husband either.  Although, he would do as much as he could.  I got up, though sometimes in a stupor, and I did what I had to do.  It is funny what being a mother can make you do.  I heard once that when women have been carrying their babies in plane crashes that when their bodies were found that the mother was still clutching the child to her even though she was dead.  Now, that is a strong maternal instinct!

So, the kids were gone at 7:20.  I thought I would just go to tackling chores around the house.  I switched the laundry did a little clean-up in the kitchen, started the dishwasher.  Dogs were fed and let out and then brought back in (gladly, since the ice and snow were pretty cold this morning on their feet).  I looked around and what to do next and thought I should get at the bills that were on the desk.  I grabbed some juice, popped in a couple of toaster waffles and set to work.  I swear, I wasn't in the desk chair for 5 minutes and I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I don't know what the heck came over me.  I finally gave up after a few more and trying to stretch and wake myself up.  I said, "Okay, a little nap on the couch and I will get back at it."  When I woke up, it was 12:15!!!!  Oh, my, God!  Half my day was gone!  But, I no longer felt tired and I was ready to hit the ground running.  I threw on a pot of coffee and got to work.  I got the bills caught up and did some more laundry and tended animals and such until the kids came home again.

Every now and then I have those days where I just need to go back and get some sleep.  I don't know if it my body telling me I haven't been getting enough sleep at night or if my hormones do something to me that I just get zapped and need a recharge?  Whatever it is, when it hits, it hits HARD.

Here it is, late again.  I sure hope I don't have a repeat of this morning  when 6:30 rolls around, I have too many things to do.
I better get to bed.
CC

I Hate Mondays!!!

Mondays wouldn't be so bad, but as soon as the kids get home from school it is run, run, run.
My daughter has dance from 5-6, son #1 has piano from 6-6:30, daughter has piano from 6:30-7 and then back to dance from 7:30-8.  Now you can say, "Well, you signed them up!"  Yeah, I know.  Last year, I had my daughter doing all her dance on one night.  It would be great to do that again, but she was always so tired by Monday night and it was just the beginning of the week.  I didn't want to put her through that again, it is no way to start the week.  But then we started piano lessons and that just ended up doing the same thing as last year's schedule.  I can't win.
I do let my kids do some of this extra-curricular stuff because if they didn't, they would drive me crazy!  No, really, we live out of town, so they don't get to go and just hang out with the neighbor kids and these activities are enriching and build self-confidence and self-esteem, so it is all worth it.  Soon the Middle School Musical starts up.  Son #2 is going to audition for that again.  He has been in the last two musicals as one of the smaller part cast members, but is hoping this year to get a 'good' part.  He has a voice, but he doesn't use it when he isn't just goofing around.  I told him, it is time to belt it out and stop worrying about what other people are going to think or say.  We will see how it goes, he came down with a cold and missed the first auditions, so he is going to have to do it at school this week.  I sure hope he is feeling better real soon.
I have taken up knitting, so I do that sometimes while I wait for them to get done with whatever they are doing.  Mostly, I am just playing chauffeur.  I do get the reward of listening to them playing lovely music for me, especially this time of year when they are playing 'seasonal' music.  Also, my daughter is a very lovely dancer and I just bubble over with pride when we get to the end of year recital.
                                     

And the musical is always a fun and worthwhile production.
No, I don't have favorites.  I love all three of my kids.  I joke about them driving me crazy, but that is what kids are supposed to do, right?  I know that.  I call my son a knucklehead because I love him.  Really. : |  

It does amaze me at how different each of our children are.  Each one has something about them that makes them a wonderful human being.  We were very fortunate parents to have such good kids.  It isn't always an easy job to be a parent, but it isn't always easy being a kid.  Sometimes I think us adults forget that.  I often think back to when I was each of their ages and remember exactly what it was like.  I would NEVER want to go back a relive being a teenager or a tween.  Maybe 8-years old wouldn't be all bad though.

For the time being (and for the last 15-years) I have not had to work outside the house.  So, I guess my sucky Mondays are just, for me, a way to relate to those parents who have regular working Mondays.

Winter Wonderland

We got about 12-inches of snow yesterday and last night.  How beautiful it is outside with all the fluffy white snow.  Perhaps that means we will have a white Christmas this year.  We have had several brown winters here in Minnesota, and that is definitely not fun for anyone.  There is nothing more drab and dreary than month after month of solid frozen ground with no snow on it, brown everywhere, and nothing pretty to look at.  Yuck.  Luckily, last year and now this we received a nice blanket of thick, white, snow to insulate the ground a little and make things look wintery and pretty.  So, that means the snowblower gets more use, but that is okay.

I am feeling a bit festive for the season, just wish someone else could come and do all the housework that needs to be done.  Trust me, I couldn't pay anyone enough to undertake all I want to have done here.  Just as well, if I do it myself I will appreciate the result more.  Right?

My poor chickens.  Only three of them have ever seen snow before, and that has been long enough ago that their little pea-sized brains probably don't even remember.  I opened their little coops up today and they didn't even want to come out, they were afraid of the thick, white snow.  I took my snowblower out though and gave them a little area to scratch and peck in.  The funniest thing though was my son's Golden Penciled Hamburgs that decide they would fly straight up to the top of the brooder house instead of mess with trying to get through the snow.  My other son looked out and said, "Is that a hawk?"  Of course, not.  He then realized who it was, and there were three of them up there too!  Those crazy birds are always flying up somewhere.  I am going to feel bad when I have breeding pens for them if I don't have a high enough top to theirs.  I am thinking I will need about a 10-foot high top for the Hamburgs because they love to fly high.

My middle child was happy for the snow today.  He loves to sled and snowboard, so he went right down to his favorite spot and broke a couple of runs.  He finally came home when his butt landed on a stout weed stem that nearly poked him in the butt.  I am looking forward to him being able to go to the ski village nearby to hit their slopes on skis and his snowboard.

The big ticket items on the Christmas list this year are: a new laptop for son #1 - I told him we could help him pay for one since he needs one for school work.  Son #2 wants a new snowboard (or guitar or skateboard).  Daughter hasn't asked for anything big though, but she is easy to please with just about any of the girly things that are out there.  We have really cut back on Christmas though in terms of numbers.  Christmas was always special to me as a kid.  We didn't have much growing up, but my parents always found a way to go all out for Christmas.  Of course, with a huge family, there always seemed to be one person who got forgotten about.  Not that they got nothing, but they definitely didn't get the mother load of gifts.  I have gone from wanting to lavish a ton of gifts on my kids to quality gifts over the quantity.  I like to make things.  I sew and now have taken up knitting.  But I do like to do all kinds of crafts too.  Once we get our "new" garage cleared out from all the excess items being stored there, we will be doing some woodworking items as well.  I have a whole list started for things to make.

Time to sit down and get started on some of those items I want to make, and on the cleaning.

later,
CC

Aviary Sightings

One of the things I love about the change of seasons is to see the different birds that come and go.
This is the time of year that we see lots of Dark-Eyed Juncos, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Hairy and Downy Woodpecks.  Of course, the crows are more abundant this time of year too.
So as I as I am sitting here at my desk, listening to the dogs barking at each other in the other room (someone must have a raw hide that the others want), a hairy woodpecker just came and lit upon the storm window.  Crazy bird.  It started pecking at the old chipping frame of it, then moved over to the screen next to it and pecked.  Hmm.  Never have seen that happen before.
We also get the striking Red Headed Woodpecker.  And believe me, they are striking in appearance and they strike whoever gets in their way too.  Nasty acting birds if I ever saw some.  I thought Blue Jays could be nasty and bossy at the feeder, but these things have chased off many a Blue Jay.
About two summers ago, we started getting this one RHW that decided that he was going to claim his territory every morning at sunrise by sitting in our metal rain gutter and rapping away just outside our bedroom window.  It drove me crazy!  Well, for a summer and a half (they migrate in winter, only here for about 3 months and gone again), he continued to do this.  Then one day, we noticed 2 RHW lying on the side of the road, dead.  Hmmm.  That was quite odd.  Well, after that, no more alarm clock woodpecker.
Oh geez, this little Hairy is relentless, he is pecking all over the house now.  There isn't any wood for him to get at, so I don't know what the heck he is doing.  Hopefully, not pecking holes in the insulation we temporarily have up on the north and west sides.  As I said, Crazy Bird.
One year, to my sheer delight, I saw a couple of red flashes through the window.  It was May and of course there are a few breeds that migrate through for more Northern areas.  No, it was not Cardinals, we get those all of the time.  We started seeing Scarlet Tanagers!!!  I had never seen one before and I was just tickled.  I grabbed the camera and ran outside.  Well, the pictures are not great, but they will always remind me of that day.  It ended up that we saw them going through for about 3 days.  There were small flocks going through.  Never saw them before, nor have we seen them since.  What a beautiful little bird.
For less than a year just before my husband parted ways with the Navy, we lived in Mississippi, about 12-miles off the coast in Gautier (pronounce go-SHAY).  It was an area that was just being developed, where our house was, so there were lots of trees.  There were flocks of Indigo Buntings, Rosebreasted Grosbeaks, Yellow Grosbeaks, and Blue Grosbeaks.  We kept our feeder filled anyway, but I was even more diligent about keeping it full when they started going through.  I would sit in my dining room with my video camera, watching them.  Isn't is amazing how Mother Nature has so many little things that can just take your breath away?  That was the one thing I missed when we left Mississippi.  Being a Northern girl, it just wasn't my cup of tea living in that region otherwise.  Occasionally, we spot an Indigo Bunting here, and occasionally we see a pair or couple pairs of the Rosebreasted Grosbeaks, but nothing like the migratory flocks we saw down there.
Trumpeter Swans are a species that is now being released back into the wild for rehabitation and repopulation.  They do live here in Minnesota, but the last thing you would expect to see here on the flat, almost treeless prairie is a Trumpeter Swan.  One evening I looked out across the field and saw this HUGE bird!  Okay, techinically, it is a waterfowl.  But this amazing, HUGE Trumpeter Swan was flying about 20-feet off the ground and passed right along the east side of our farmstead.  I thought I would pee myself!  Since then I think I have seen them twice in groups of 2 or 4 and not quite as close to our property.  There is a pond in the field by us that is about 10 acres in size, and it gets frequent visitors as they migrate through.  Two summers ago I even saw a Cormorant down in it, and they are open water birds.  I have pictures to prove it too.  My son and I went out to take pictures for a 4-H project he was working on and there was this Cormorant sitting in the middle of the pond.
I love having children who appreciate wildlife.  My kids get all excited when we see an unusual bird out and around.  For instance, my oldest and I have an on-going contest to see who is the first to spot an Indigo Bunting in the spring.  He is winning.  One thing that is becoming more usual though, is the Bald Eagle.  When I was growing up, these magnificent birds were on the brink of extinction.  I have given my kids that speech about, "Well, when I was a kid...."   and they roll their eyes.  But it is true.  Here is this awesome creature that was near extinction and is now abundant again thanks to the Fish and Wildlife Service, whom my big brother works for (I do not have bias on this though).  Once when I was visiting my brother in Maryland, he took us out to the game refuge where they propogate endangered species of birds.  I got to see some of the birds of all ages and stages in the aviaries they had set up for breeding and raising them.  Again, I have pictures to prove it, just not in my computer.  I will never forget that, and I felt privileged to see them.
Now, we have the darned things perching in our yard and eye-balling my chicken yard.  Just this last week, we were going out to the van and there was one just above the driveway and it scared the heck out of my son.  It flew off the limb and circled the house, then it flew off to check out the neighbor's chicken yard.  Boy, have we come a long way since I was a kid.  I still get a thrill when I see them and if I am not driving, I still will stop and watch them soar across the sky.  I guess once in while our government does get something right.  Minnesota is one of the most populated states for Bald Eagles now.  Just a perk of living here.
Well, I still hear that little Hairy out there pecking around the house.  I suppose I should go see what the heck he thinks he is doing.  I sure don't need any more holes in this old place now that Old Man Winter has settled in for the seasons.
Just one request....if you have a real Christmas tree this year, do your feathered friends outside a favor, leave it in a spot where they can use it for shelter this winter and then dispose of it in the spring when they are done.  Just a little something you can give back to nature.

CC

Advice to Canine Owners

If you, like me, need an in-ground fence system to keep your dogs from going places they shouldn't or that are not safe, then do yourself a favor-go buy some 14 gauge wire to put in the ground for it.  We used the 20 gauge that it came with and it shorted out somewhere just before the cold weather moved in.  I just came in from laying new wire, on top of the ground, and it is freezing out there!  The ground is frozen, so I couldn't bury it.  As long as it keeps them out of the road and my chicken yard, oh, and the burdocks, then I don't care where it is.
Of course, I spliced in the new wire where part of it would still be under, and it wouldn't work.  Could have save about 45-minutes if I had just lay the new one all the way around in the first place.  Now to train the 2 puppies to not cross the line.

Poultry Lovers 12 Days of Christmas

One the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me....
A Naked Neck in a fir tree. (Yes, this one is for you, Nava)

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me....
3 Cuckoo Marans (duh, they are the French hens people have been singing about all these years!), 2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!!!!
4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
6 Geese a laying (why change a good thing just for the sake of change???), 5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!!
4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins and Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me....
7 Swans a swimming (again, why change a good thing?), 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold Lace Wyandottes!!!! 4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....
8 Malays molting (don't look a gift chicken in the beak), 7 Swans a swimming, 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!! 4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....
9 Leghorns Laying, 8 Malays molting, 7 Swans a swimming, 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!!  4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
10 Langshans Leaping, 9 Leghorns Laying, 8 Malays molting, 7 Swans a swimming, 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!! 4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
11 Polish Polka-ing (either they were doing that or they were just lost and running around because they couldn't see where they heck they were going!), 10 Langshans Leaping, 9 Leghorns Laying, 8 Malays molting, 7 Swans a swimming, 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!! 4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins, and a Naked Neck in a fir tree.

On the twelfth day of Poultry Lovers Christmas my true love gave to me... (and he MUST be my true love to give me all these delightful, enabling gift of feathered friends!), 12 Sebrights Crowing,  11 Polish Polka-ing (either they were doing that or they were just lost and running around because they couldn't see where they heck they were going!), 10 Langshans Leaping, 9 Leghorns Laying, 8 Malays molting, 7 Swans a swimming, 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold Laced Wyandottes!!!! 4 Little Call Ducks, 3 Cuckoo Marans, 2 Mottled Cochins,     and     a    Naaaked    Neeeeeck      in     a     fir     treeeeeeeeee!

Happy Holidays to all my fellow poultry obsessed people!  And to the rest of you too.
May your nest boxes be filled with colorful, fertile eggs, and may all of your hatchings be a 20/80 in favor of pullets!
 
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Rabbits and Chickens and Puppies, Oh MY!

For years, I had put off my kids with "We can't have rabbits because our dog will kill them."  Well, our old dog (Trouble) got old and we had to let him go to the big field in the sky where he could chase all the furry things he could find there.  The kids made me keep my promise of letting them get some bunnies from the fair when Trouble was no longer with us.  I told them they could get two girls or two boys, but not both!  I was firm about this and we were NOT going to be breeding rabbits.  Yeah, right.  They did get two girls.  They were girls and we didn't have to worry about them breeding.  So, what went wrong?  We went back to the fair and were looking at the fresh batch of bunnies the girl had brought in to sell, and I picked up the most gorgeous little rabbit you could ever imagine.  I knew nothing about rabbits other than what to feed them.  I didn't know breeds or colors or anything like that.  I named him Sable.  Yes, he came home with me that day.  I fell in love with that little guy the very first time I touched him.  Now, mind you, a lot of people are under the impression that I am a very cold-hearted person.  I really am not, but I know I give this impression.  It's okay, it keeps people from giving me a lot of bull.  So, I fell in love.  He did too, I think.  He snuggled up to my ear and relaxed and started making little grunty sounds in my ear like he was talking to me.  Who couldn't love a little furball that did that??? 
As these stories always go, we didn't only have three rabbits.  But you know, it was not my little boy's fault, those two girls chewed right through a 2 X 4 and into his apartment in their condo.  They had a double sized apartment, but they just HAD to go 'play'  with him.  I was bringing my son home from a violin lesson one night in February, right after we had a warm spell, and sure enough, here is little old Dotty in playing with my Sable.  The poor little guy was corrupted!  And 30 days later, we had 8 more little furballs! 
Oh, I did the research.  This breed (Mini Rex), is supposed to have an average of 4-6 kits in a litter.  Well, obviously I have above average rabbits.  And, you know, a large litter like that is likely to lose a couple.  Nope, just one, it was a peanut.  [peanut =a rabbit born with a double dwarf gene which causes them to die within the first few days due to an incompetent digestive system].  The rest were perfectly healthy rabbits: Otto, Audrey, Tink, Cookie, Darth, Caramel, and Sandy. 
If you were wondering, yes, I have become.... a rabbit breeder.  It is in my nature really.  I grew up on a dairy farm, but we always had other animal species around for 4-H or whatever.  I liked looking through the breeding books we had for selecting bulls to breed the cows and heifers to to make them produce better offspring.  I loved judging animals, especially dairy, in contests for FFA and 4-H.  So, it was no surprise that I jumped right into it with both feet.  The most rabbits we have had at one time has been 34.  My hubby thinks I am crazy, and though he loved Sable too, he isn't really crazy about this little hobby of mine and wishes I would get rid of all of them.  He says if I had an outbuilding to put them in it wouldn't be so bad, but they are in our garage.  I think, what the heck, my minivan never gets to park in there anyway.  Besides, it would cost a couple thousand dollars to put up a small structure to keep them in, so why not the garage?  I'm just sayin.....  My friend who is a big time, national rabbit show winning crazy kind of breeder has about 200 most of the time.
Really though, I am hoping to get them out in their own building or something that is part of the garden shed I want to put up next spring.  They make perfect fertilizer.

Sometimes there are silver linings to the black clouds of life.  Remember, I have dogs.  I have Standard Poodle dogs.  Standards were developed/bred to be waterfowl retrieving dogs.  They are said to be the second smartest dog breed next to Border Collies.   Last spring (2009), I put a deposit down on a little Black (or so I thought she was black) puppy.  She came home with us on June the 5th, the first Monday after school was out.  Her name is Bunne's Madamoiselle Francine, but we call her Francy.  Oh look, she is winking at you!  We loved her and played with her and had so much fun.  We took her to puppy obedience class and taught her some things there.  It was going wonderful.  Well, almost wonderful, my vet said, "She is a dominant personality dog, but you seem to have one too, so you will probably do just fine."  Yes, we had our challenges and our little contests of wills, but we all survived. 

Then I began my next crazy obsession, chickens.  We had wanted to get chickens since we moved here to an acreage.  We want fresh eggs and veggies and all that good stuff you can grow and raise yourself and be healthy and all.  I bought 8 hens (well, really they were still pullets, but most people don't know the difference).  They were Dark Cornish girls and just the most beautiful birds!   I built them a lovely pen that was mostly open but had a roost under a tarp to protect them from rain.  It was August after all, and it was still plenty warm.  They laid eggs for about a week before most of them went on strike.  Go figure!  But I learned, they do that when they move, and then there was this other thing.  Francy LOVED to go down and lunge at the pen and bark and scare the living beans out of those poor girls. All but one quit laying.  Then fall started and the shorter days cause the girls to stop laying too.

Now, some people may think the use of a shock collar for a dog would be a cruel thing to do, and so did I until I got tired of all the other tricks to break my doggy of her new bad habit.  I couldn't blame her, it is in her blood to want to go get the birds.  But I finally resorted to getting a shock training collar.  See, they aren't a bad tool if used properly, and if you have a smart dog all it takes is a couple of jolts and they say, "What the hell was that?  I don't want any more of that, so I am going to be a good doggy."  Francy is smart, so one good zap on 6 (out of 8 levels) and her attention was all mine.  In one day, and only a couple of lower zaps, she got the message that the hens were off limits.  In a day, she learned it.  I was on my way to free ranging chickens.  I thought she got the message at least.
That isn't to say we didn't suffer some setbacks.  After a few weeks of collar training she starting getting wise with us.  She knew that we had the remote controller and she started sneaking around the chicken coop area.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

Zeke.  Zeke was our next puppy.  Don't forget, animal breeding is in my blood.  I got a male, a bit younger so as to keep the control of breeding in my court.  Another, yeah right.  Okay, so we got Zeke on October the 5th.  He is a Brown boy, and his name is just Zeke Voss.  He is a man-dog after all, no silly frou frou name for him!  Actually, my husband called him Spigolli for a while because he reminded him of that character played by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  Remember?  The burnout dude?  Always toking it up in his van before, during and after school.  Zeke was sort of like that, we found out.  He is smart, in his own way, I suppose :) He has often run into the corner of the garage and other large non-moving objects because he doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to things that he can't eat or that doesn't give him things to eat.  He is a trip.  I think my hubby was pretty close to hitting the nail on the head. 
After we had Zeke about a month, the vet told me he had an overbite.  I should have just had him neutered right then.  I don't want to be one of those breeders who does it just for getting lots of money, I care about making the breed better.  So, I wasn't going to breed them, and I thought I had plenty of time.  Before I knew it, he was 8-months old, and she was 15-months old, and my son comes in one morning and says, "Mom, the dogs are connected by the tail."  Have you ever had one of the AW SHIT moments?  Yeah, me too.  The damage was done.  There was no turning back, but geez!  Every time we turned around!?!?!?!

 Okay, I got ahead of myself again.  We need to go back to rabbit control and chicken control.  or shall I say out of control?  I got more chickens in September, chicks actually.  I got 25 broilers and 7 others to raise and keep to lay and breed, then I got another 20 broilers and 5 more to lay and breed.  After 8 weeks, we butchered all those lovely broilers.  They were yummy!  However, Francy had succeeded at killing a couple of the hens by this time.  Like I said, she became sneaky.  Hubby and I were building our big coop .  The Cornish girls were out free ranging in the corn field and stealing Kenny and Harry's corn.  We heard a hen screaming where something got her.  I jumped down from the coop and ran into the field toward the sound of here screaming.  I was sure a fox nabbed her.  I got in the row where she was at and there is little Francy ripping her poor feathers out.  I ran after and Francy ran to the house with her tail tucked.  The poor girl died, probably of shock, during the night.  I was so mad I could have spit nails!  But, I reminded myself, she is a dog, a bird dog at that, and you can't just expect a puppy of any breed to know they aren't supposed to chase the chickens.  Heck, they are great fun for a puppy to chase.  Trust me, I know.  We lost two others that day too, I think they got scared off into the field and couldn't find their way back.

It was starting to get cold before we got the big house done, so I had to put together a couple of smaller ones to hold all the chicks that were growing.  I had 15 purebreds and the broilers.  The broilers were in the PVC pen I had originally built for the hens.  I could move it every couple of days easy enough and they weren't going to be around for long anyway.  The house of the hens was a dog house looking thing  
It is a 4X6 and it has plenty of room and 4 nest boxes.  I had built an ark too that was 4X8 and half enclosed with wood and half with hardware cloth.  I learned that I like to over build a little, that ark was so stinking heavy I had to lift it with a tractor and bucket with a chain!  When we would move it, we slid it.  The juvies were then quartered in the ark to get them acclimated to being outside.   I finally decided to let the juvies free range a little since we were out there with them working on the big coop.  Hubby was really getting into the chickens at this point.  He would sit on the ground outside the big coop and they birds would come and jump on his legs and peck and scratch around.  It was so much fun just watching them - Ah, chicken TV.
Then I was in the upstairs of our "new" garage (it is 5-years old and we still call it new), and hubby was in the house working.  We both forgot that Francy was outside.  She had her collar on, but nobody was there to beep her (the beep was sufficient after the first day to get her to stop doing what she was doing).  I was left with 5 hens and an Easter Egger cockerel.  All the rest of the juvenile birds were dead and scattered all over the ground.  My heart sunk.  All but one of my first chicks were gone.  No more Barred Rocks, no more New Hampshire Reds, only of the 15 were still there.  Then to my surprise, two days later one of the Australorp girls came out from hiding.  I was so happy to have one more survivor!
At this point, the ground was starting to freeze and it was getting darn right cold for being out in the big coop trying to finish, so we said we would stop until spring.  Who remained would be fine in the small coop until then.  And they were.  I added a heat lamp and a water heater when things got real cold, but they all did great.  In fact, it was getting down to -20 and those silly birds STARTED laying eggs, every day, every one of them!
I was excited, I had already ordered chicks for the coming spring and was starting up the incubator for hatching eggs.  I was starting to go chicken crazy!!!  I had to do a test run in the bator, so my neighbor wanted some duck eggs hatched, and I grabbed 3 fresh eggs out of the nest, and I had already won an auction on BYC for some Silkie eggs.  So, I fired it up.  Oh yeah, I was gonna have me a whole bunch of chickens!
Three days later, guess what happened?

Here, we were sure we had those dogs broke of wanting to kill another chicken.  They both wore their training collars every day, we charged them at night so they would be ready to wear in the morning.  But, after spending about 3 months of going out and eating the chicken feed, it happened again.  I had been out that morning picking them up and admiring how lovely they all looked, scratching and pecking in the straw we had around their coop for them.  I looked out an hour later and they were again, scattered on the snow.  Those that weren't dead were so close I had to end them.  The only thing I can figure happened is that the dogs had been going in the grainery and finding dead birds that had frozen during the cold spell we had early in the month.  They were bringing them to the back door and chewing them up.  I think they got the taste of feathers and decided they liked it so much, here were these big birds right there for the plucking.  I don't think I had ever felt so sick and such a failure.  Of course, we had to tell the kids when they got home from school.  My daughter was heartbroke, she just loved collecting eggs and the Australorp we name Henny Penny (how original, right?) was her favorite.  She cried a few times that week at the thought of losing her little hen. My daughter took this and others of our little flock just a few days before the incident.

It wasn't long after that the two murauders broke into my rabbit cages and killed my 2 newly purchased bucks, the two original does, Dotty and Buttercup, and Otto.

Now, some people have said, "I would shoot my dogs if they did that!"  But reality is, they are doing what is in their blood and bones for them to be doing.  I know this and I cannot hate them or blame them for who they are.  Besides, they cost way more than a few chickens and rabbits.  I know you can't put a price on a pet.  I lost Sable the fall we got the chicks and Zeke.  Just found him dead in his cage one morning.  And yes, this cold-hearted woman cried.  As far as I could tell, it was from some kind of digestive blockage.   The dogs are part of our family, and how do you place a higher value one family member over another.  Yes, if I have to, I can euthanize and animal by one of a few humane ways to do it.  I don't enjoy it, and I hope I never do enjoy killing another creature.

So, the silver lining I mentioned earlier.  It is easy, population control.  If I could just teach the dogs who the cull critters are and they stay away from the ones that I need to keep around, then I would have it better.  But there is that damn Murphy's Law of Animal Husbandry, "whatever will go wrong, will go wrong the best ones you got."

Francy and Zeke became the pround parents of 9 little puppies in July. 

Zeke got neutered right after we discovered their getting connected.  Poor guy still thinks he has it in him some days.

We lost one puppy that died within the first 24-hours.  Two of them I had to euthanize because they had deformities that they would have suffered and died from eventually.  So, I was left with six lovely little pups.  They were SO cute!

By the way, does anyone need a Standard Poodle puppy?  I still have 2.
Little Miss Darling
Master Renaldo (Naldo for short.

I would much rather bury a furry or feather friend than to bury one whom I have laughed with and cried with, and I am talking the two-legged human kind of family or friend.  But that is for another time.

For now, I hope you have enjoyed reading of my adventures in raising rabbits and chickens and dogs all in one place.  It is not for the faint of heart.  But I have learned SO many things in this last year and half.  One way or another, I will find a way that all of our furry and feathered friends can co-habitate here at our little slice of the earth.  But like all good things, it takes time.


Later kids,
CrazyChick

House and Family

So, here I go.  I have thought about starting up a blog for some time, but this will be my first.

Today was a good day.  I got a late start, but hey, it is Sunday and who gets up early on Sunday?  Not me.
The kids were up early, but they seemed to be doing fine without me for a little while, it is not like they are babies any more (8, 12 and 14).  My husband left for some training on the West Coast for 3 weeks today, so it will just be me and the kiddos for a little while.  I am hoping to take this time to get the house in better order and get some projects out of the way before Christmas, but moreso before the return of my better half.

The house.  It is 103-years old, an old 4-square farmhouse out on the prairie of Minnesota.  When we moved here 11-years ago, there was the house, a large grainery, a large chicken house, a dairy barn, a single corn crib and a double corn crib.  Of those, all that now stands is the house, the grainery and the double corn crib.  We would have saved the chicken house, but it had a couple of holes in the roof for a few years and some insects had eaten away all of the studs in the walls.  How that silly thing was still standing was beyond our imaginations.  So, hubby burned the remains down after removing the shingles and windows.  Then, one morning our old barn decided the rain had gotten too heavy on its back, and the back 2/3 of it collapsed straight down.  Now, if a barn is going to fall, I would say that is the way for it to do so.  My DH salvaged quite a few barn boards and some other usable wood and stored it away in the grainery.  The small corn crib was in sad shape, so that came down in flames one day a couple of years ago.  The old place looks way different now than it did 11-years ago.  That is a good thing though.   We have cleared and planted trees and shrubs.  We started a garden, that just happened to expand a few times over.  Now, we have chickens and rabbits and dogs too.

But I was talking about the house... Well, it is getting close for the time that the old house be retired.  When winter rolls around, the mice roll on in.  They are getting quite bold too, they stop in the middle of the room, wave or take a bow and then scamper off to wherever.  Last winter, we started finding shrews, in fact, in my son's shoe.  I think I am going to work on a children's book on that one "The Shrew in the Shoe".  None of us had ever seen a shrew before, but we have watched the movie "The Secret of Nimh", and it did look like Auntie Shrew.  So, I checked it out and I was right.  See, kids' movies do teach you things!  But mice aren't always so bad.  Last week, this little mouse kept coming out from behind the stove and ducking back down again.  I had set a trap, but he kept getting around it.  It was one of our crazy days of running here and there, and so we went to DQ for lunch and brought back some chicken strips.  When we were done, and there were a couple of fries left in a box that sat on a shelf, little mousie came looking around and hopped up in the box.  I heard him rustling around and went over and closed him in.  Yes, I left it there until I was ready to gather all that garbage up and take it out to the dumpster.  Before I got the chance, he comes my oldest son, looking to see if there were any more chicken strips and before I knew what he was doing, he opened the box with the mouse and got the ba-geebers scared out of him.  I laughed so hard it hurt!  Trust me, I needed a laugh like that and it turned my day around.  So, maybe little mousies are all bad to have around.

We have had a lot of fun living here.  Our children have been able to enjoy the freedom of going outside and having adventures without the constant worry of being in the road or who was living next door.  When we first moved here, my husband started taking down some of the old Silver Maple trees that were planted here about 90-years ago.  They are old, hollow and pretty beat up, and they are falling apart or falling down whenever the winds kick up here.  So, for safety's sake several have been removed.  There was one on the front lawn that got cut, but laid there for a few days before my husband could get it all cleaned up.  That was the beginning of the Cheetah Coalition.  My two sons had been watching this wonderful kids' wildlife show called Kratt's Creatures, or maybe it was Zaboomafoo, either way they are both from PBS and are created by Chris and Martin Kratt.  Wonderful shows about animals that my kids and I loved watching.  One episode was about cheetahs.  A family of cheetahs is called a coalition.  So, here are my kids, ages 2 and 4, climbing on the log and barking like cheetahs.  It was simply joyful to watch and hear them.  Did you know that cheetahs actually bark?  You wouldn't think so, since they are cats.  They do make more of a barking sound though.

I do long for those days when they kids played and giggled and really loved each other.  Now, it is the teen years and they fight more than anything else.  It is typical, I know, but it doesn't make it any easier knowing that.  I grew up in a family of 11 children.  Yes, we fought like cats and dogs sometimes.  And don't be fooled, big families aren't always like the Waltons.  I had a sister say one time we were like a group of strangers that were thrown together and told to be friends.  It just isn't that simple.  Some of us are so alike that we get on each other's nerves, while some are just polar opposites.  But the fact is, we are all individuals and not everyone gets along.  So, like normal brothers and sister, we would fight.  Now, we are quite mature in age and most of us have children and some have grandchildren.  We don't all get along, nor do we all keep in touch, but that is just the way it is.  We lost one sister in the summer of 2005.  That was the saddest day in our family.  She was in a car accident, hit by a young man who failed to stop.  Sadly, she left behind two young children of 9 and 3 years old.  I hadn't talked to her in about a year.  I loved her, and still do, but our lives had grown apart and both of us were busy a lot and we just didn't talk much on the phone like we did when we were younger.  But I have always taken comfort in knowing that we DID love each other very much, and that the last words that we said to each other the last time we did speak were "I love you."  It meant even more because those were not words that were said out loud in our family, until she started saying it to the rest of us.  We weren't a huggy, touchy family, but Diane helped us to start saying "I love you" and she started the hugs hello and good bye.  Besides her smile, I will remember that about her always.

Okay, enough sad stuff.

This has probably been enough for tonight.
I will return, though I am not sure how often to share stories and maybe a joke or two, and some pictures too along the way.

In the meantime, always keep a little spice of life in yours.

Crazychick