New Year's Day-2014

Pat, God love you. That is a bad evening. Hope today is going smoother.
I just took my Aunt to the store. Good Luck! Everybody and their brother seems to be there.
I'm thinking Viburnum Valley is correct about the Eastern Towhee. There was picture of the female in my Stokes field guide. The female looks very much like my visitor. She hasn't been around since it warmed up some. Hope she comes back to visit sometime.
Be careful if you get the ice they are talking about.

Bonnie, Are you far enough south to not get the ice storm they are talking about? I hope you are. I'm far enough north they are only talking snow here.
Is Mr.B feeling better?


We got some really bad news this morning. My DH is loosing his job April 20 something. They are calling it a reorganization. He's been there over 20 years. I'm just going to pray on it and hope for the best.
Better get going. Hope everybody has a Blessed Day!
Karen

Oh dear, Karen. He's such a sweetie. What does he do for a living?

He's a IT guy.

Karen, sure hope that if the job loss comes about that he finds something better quickly.

Mr. B is better, but still coughing some, plus has started sneezing. DH thinks he is allergic to something. Maybe.

No, the weather liars say that we (here) will be getting the ice, and maybe it will change to snow. I left the car at the top of the driveway, so if the roads aren't really bad, or get cleared, I will still have a vehicle to drive, somewhere!

Bonnie, Thank You! I'm still in the shock phase. I have a strong faith in The Lord and trust he has a plan for us. I'll be doing a lot of praying the next few months.

Glad to hear Mr.B is feeling better. Hope the sneezing is just a part of him getting better.
Our female has allergies to grass. I have to put socks on her feet after we cut the grass. If I don't she will chew her toes off. Lol

Sorry to hear your getting the ice. Please be careful if you do get it. They are saying we will only get snow. We will see what happens. They get things wrong all the time.

I'm getting kicked off the I-Pad by my son.
Be back later.
Karen

Well we had a brief period of snow, then it changed to rain and freezing rain. So it looks like unless the temperatures warm up some, we will be blessed with another ice storm. In 2009 we had an ice storm and were hit hard. Without electricity for several days. Hope it doesn't get that bad again.

We know a lady who traveled from Cincinnati to Louisville late this afternoon, and she called from I71 heading north about Carrollton, and is traveling about 6 mph. I told her to exit and find an all night truck stop and wait until the roads clear. Hope she listened to me.

Karen, I too have a strong faith, and will be adding your family to my prayers. God doesn't close a door, without opening another. Just pray that you search in the right direction.

32F here now, and lots of freezing rain. Weather report predicts at least 0.75" - the disruptive level of ice accumulation.

Trees are dripping icicles, and viburnums are already laying on the ground.

Plenty of ice and snow here. Didn't start until 6:30ish, but when it hit, it really hit. Felt like it went from dry to an inch of snow and ice in ten minutes time. Still dropping tiny bombs of ice, but no overloaded power lines here, at this point. It's lovely as long as you dont have to go anywhere. It is that sort of blurry landscape where the distinction between land and sky and air is totally blurred.
Told DS that putting groceries away was all hers tonight. I'm alternating needlepoint with reading a book on Russian history in WWII.

Karen, I am really sorry about your hubby's job. I would hope they would offer some sort of severance package for a 20 year employee. I'm praying, too.
Pat

We have about 7" of snow with a crisp layer of ice to cover it all. School is closed.

Bonnie, Hope your friend made it to safety last night.
I hope your not one of the 22,000 in Kentucky without power this morning. It's to cold for that.
Mr.B will need ice skates today. We had to put cat liter on our deck so the dogs can walk.

Thank You for the prayers. We really need them at this time. Bill writes computer code that run ATM's and financial transactions. His company is shipping that whole end of their business over to India. 50 More American jobs going to India. It makes me so mad . I keep hearing Tanya Tucker singing Bidding America Goodbye in my head.
On the bright side of the matter, I will be able to get a job now. I miss being in the work world. I haven't worked since my son was born. I use to do billing and insurance for doctor's office's. That was 9 years ago. Not sure if I want to get back into that or just get something close to home. I might apply at Lowe's. Then maybe in the summer I could work with their plants. And if a few needed to come home with me then maybe I would get a discount. Lol

Viburnum Vally, Thank You! You were on the mark. I looked up the Towhee and they had a picture of the female. It looked just like my visitor. Hope she comes back and brings a male friend with her. They are not normal to my backyard. Thanks for sharing. Lol
Hope your safe and warm. This winter has been a hard one.

Pat, Hope you and DS are safe and warm this morning. I have troops of birds this morning. They are even lined up waiting turns. Lol
Thank You for the prayers! I'm to the sick to your stomach phase today. Ready for the next phase. I'll just keep praying and it will all work out. I hope!
Better get going. Be safe everybody!
Have a Blessed Day!
Karen

Karen, I'll be adding my prayers as we'll. IT is a good field to be in when looking for a job. Your hubby is still young, too,miso that helps as we'll.

I wish Lowes would put people who know about plants on the job. Gee sometimes you see such pathetic plants there!

Didn't get much ice here. Don't think we got as much snow as you, Karen. I hope Bonnie is ok, too.

No big plans today. Maybe clean a little. Maybe just be lazy again!

I am okay, but we have ice. DH just had to get out and go explore, and he just came in and said trees, tree branches, lines down everywhere. Lots don't have power, but we are still with it. Had a few outages but all were brief. I have candles and kerosene lamps ready, but so far have not had to use them.

I am just so sick of this winter. I am ready to be able to plant and garden.

Joyce, Thank You for the prayers. He graduated top of his class from college. Of course that was over 20 years ago. The poor lady that worked under him is late 50's and poor health. My heart breaks for her. She's a real nice lady. It's a shame all American jobs keep going over seas.
What will be left for our children when they grow up?

I know Lowe's has poor quality plants. They are just the only place I can think of that would have year round work and plants I could work with. I don't think they would be as tempting as A real nursery would be. Who knows I may end up back in a Doctor's office. I have some strings I could pull to get back into a office. I really hate to be cooped up in a office in summer.

Glad to hear your not iced over. My road is looking better out front. One good thing about the ice cover, it will cut out the snow drifting on the road from the fields.

I seem to be getting nothing done today. I have played board games all morning with my son. I figure the housework will still be there when I get to it. Lol

Bonnie, Glad to hear your OK. They were talking about how bad the roads are in Kentucky this morning on the news. Hope your power stays on!
I'm sick of winter myself. It has been a long winter this year.

Janet, I had 2 goats in my yard this morning. Had to walk them back down the road to their home. I think somebody let them out. The farmers fence didn't seem breached at all. It's not easy to get a goat to do what you want them to. Lol
Karen

Karen that is why they call them kids!

Bonnie, lol Human kids mind better! Looking back now it's funny. I was glad we didn't get hit by a car. There is no sidewalks out here. The farm is on the other side of my neighbors property. I'm glad it wasn't their cows again. I can't herd them. I have tried before.
Karen

It's snowing again! It looks so pretty! Hope you can see the snow in Pic 1. Here are a few birds that have stopped by today. Pic 2 is a Northern Flicker or Red Bellied Woodpecker. I'm not sure which one it is. Pic 3 is a mix. Pic 4 Is on the run. He got caught in the act of raiding. lol He'll be back!
Hope all enjoy!
Karen

Nice pics, Karen - and I can see the snow. Wish we'd had that instead of the ice and damage.

It did turn into Birdywood here though - and I captured both flavors of Towhee traipsing around the deck and feeders. They are a peripatetic pair; hard to catch them standing still.

Here's Mrs. T...

And here's Mr. T (at least one of them)...

Snow makes people crazy. I was driving home today, and my neighborhood never gets plowed, lots of one-way streets and brick paving, etc. So...snowy, icy roads. My neighbors are standing in the street, chatting it up. It's like Russian roulette for hippies, lol. Didn't their mothers tell them not to play in the street?

Viburnum Valley, Thank You! You have some great picture's as well.
Thank You for sharing them. Those Towhee's are so cute.

Hope you didn't have to much damage from the ice. We were lucky and only had a thin layer of ice here. It will help keep the snow from drifting back on the roads.
Better get going DH has something for me to do. Have a Blessed Night!
Karen

Defoecat, I'd take your pup in and have some x-rays done, I hope this isn't late, I've been working long days, we have people who can't make it in to work with the weather.

Everybody's birdie pictures are quite good. I did manage to recognize that big red bird in the picture. The rest were pretty much birds!

I think everybody's getting pretty sick of this white stuff around here. I guess after a few days of above freezing I'm back to breaking ice in buckets and troughs. Takes twice as long to feed having to do all that. Had another set of twin lambs last night. Lambing is going to get started in earnest here pretty soon. I think we're pretty much done with the goats. Maybe two or three more here in a month.

First two calves hit the ground unexpectedly yesterday morning. Lost one. Calved back in the field and was trying to walk the two cows and one calf to the barn yesterday while it was snottin' snow. Thankfully they wanted to go to the barn as much as I wanted them to. Still, it took an hour and a half out of the day and then DD wanted to move goats around last night and so they got no supper other than what they could find in the fridge. That means I've got to get my behind moving and get out and feed the barn and get back in here and bake for the markets. Also have a couple kettles of apple butter that need to go in the jars today.

Y'all stay warm. If you go outside try NOT to fall. It hurts.

Later all!

Whew! Finally read all the posts! I dont know where the time goes..inbetween the time i post and the next time????
It sure has been a "winter"!!!!! Like everyone...I'm sick of it!!
But on the plus side, I have seen two robins here..woohoooo!!!!
My poor kitty finally got to go outside yesterday. Dave shoveled some pathways...and so then what does she do? Yep..climbs up on a big mountain of snow and sits...like queen of the mountain...LOL!!!! Crazy cat!
Dave has been sick with some kind of respiratory thing...tried to stay clear of him...and he stayed away from me too..but you know..same house..same air...geesh. Now I have it...grrrrrr! No fever...just chest hurting and deep coughing...congestion type stuff. And sinuses hurt too..YUK!!!!!!
Oh well...knows i will live and get through it!
My prayers are with you ALL...hugggs!!!!! The sun is shininggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!

I am getting ready to make spring soap and candles. That cheers me up. :) If any of you rounduppers want a particular scent, let me know. It's hard to pour ONE candle, but easy to pour off wax from a larger batch. Ditto for soap.

😍love almond or cinnamon!

Joyce, you're like me, you prefer the winter scents. lol

Getting ready for Valentine's Day! I put together little bags for my son's class mate's. I stayed away from candy and went with games. I found tic-tac-toe games and glider airplanes and activity books and pencils. I figure it's better than rotting their teeth out.
I made my son's box he was suppose to make. I have to admit I had fun. My DH kept saying" isn't he suppose to be doing that". I kept answering " he is" and giggling to myself. Little boys do not care about decorating box's and mom's have fun with them. I don't normally do his homework. Just this one time. Ok, and maybe next year. lol I made a very cool Star Wars Jedi box. I wish I had taken a picture before I sent it to school this morning. I made light sabers out of glow sticks and duct tape. I didn't activate the glow sticks yet. I'm hoping they make it to the party before they get activated. I'm going to take back up sticks just in case. I have stickers of the characters on the box so it looks like they are holding the glow sabers. I almost forgot to put his name on the box. I was so into my battle scene. lol

Janet, Sorry to hear about the lost calf. Hope the rest of the calves are born closer to or in the barn. That sure would be a shock going from a nice warm belly to the brutal cold. Yike's!

Marcy, Hope you and Dave are feeling better. I had that earlier this year and it's no fun at all. Sending healing thoughts and prayers.

Celene, I love almond. I'm for soap. I don't burn candles. Love the smell of them just don't love the marks they leave on my ceiling. We have radiant heat and it's a pain in the you know what.

Joyce, Hope your neighbor is healing up well . I'm sure that is a painful surgery to recover from. PT is never fun.

Better get to my house work.
Have a Blessed Day!
Karen

We have been gone since 6:30 this morning. Got back around 3 this afternoon. DH had an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon about his shoulders. He is scheduled for shoulder replacement on March 4th. Says he is having good results with the complete replacement vs the reverse shoulder surgery. They were able to take him at the hospital and he got all the pre op things done today.

I have come down with a doozy of a cold. Been taking Alka Seltzer Cold Plus every 4 hours, so hope I can knock it out quickly.

I have taken the Alka Seltzer and my allergy pill, so will be zonked out soon.

Oh Bonnie, prayers for your hubby. Hope you feel better soon as we'll.

Bertie is doing ok. She's learning to get along one handed. I knew she would, nothing slows her down much or for long!

Karen, soy candles have minimal,white soot. I've burned candles in the same place for 10 years and there is no residue--there's more around the ceiling fan. :) But I'll keep almond soap and some vines in mind. I found Ipomoea sloteri "Apricot Candy", that has got to be the vine I'm most excited to grow this year.

Happy Valentines Day! Hope everybody has a great one!
Bonnie, Hope your feeling better. I'll pray for you husband to have uneventful surgery and fast recovery. That is nice they were able to do the pre op while you were there.

Celene, It's our heating system that cause's the problem. We have these ugly box's at the tops of our walls. (See picture 1) I have to paint my ceiling in the kitchen every year with Kills to cover the marks left by cooking. Where the radiant heat heats up the beams in the ceiling it leaves black marks on the ceiling were the beam are. Regular paint will not cover it. I have to be very careful to not burn anything or my ceiling is ruined. This is the only house I have ever seen with this method of heat and now I know why.

Apricot Candy sounds good enough to eat. lol That sounds beautiful. I love apricot colored flowers.
I have Datura seedlings going if you want any of those. They are from double purple x white seeds Blooma sent me to try. They seem to be doing pretty good if I can say that without jinxing them. They are poisonous. I don't know if your fury baby chew's on plants or not.
I still have many seeds that I don't have room to get started.
Something attacked my milk jugs and chewed holes in the jugs. Have you ever had that happen before?

Better get going. Me and DS are cooking DH a special dinner tonight for Valentine's Day.
Hope everybody has a Blessed Day!
Karen

We are getting a mix of rain/snow/sleet right now. Sure hope that it sticks to the mostly rain side.

Went out and bought some foil pans (small ones) and will start cooking things and putting them in the freezer, so during my first week after surgery, that we will have some food and not starve. I sure hope this works out with me having surgery first, then DH. If I am limited to what I can do, we may be in BIG TROUBLE.

Defoecat, if I was closer, I'd bring my seal-a-meal over and make you homemade microwave dinners. I used to make whitefish provencale with broccoli and rice pilaf, lentil curry and rice, meat loaf with peas and mashed potatoes, beef stew, chicken soup, all kinds of stuff. Oh, and frozen breads like muffins, small baguettes, etc.

Celene, I do have a seal a meal right here. I tried one of the earliest ones, and wasn't satisfied with it, sold it in a yard sale, and then this past summer bought another one in a yard sale. I forgot all about it!

I will get it out and make a meal and seal it. Beats the foil pans any day.

They have microwaveable and boil-in bags. My mother was a much more timid diner than you are, so feeding you would be more interesting. You probably know by now what foods freeze well, but homemade microwave meals are a very good thing if you really cannot cook. Which my mother could not. She was a good mother, a wonderful, intelligent woman, but couldn't heat a can of soup without involving smoke and maybe fire.

Well, I do a little better than burning soup, but seems like I lack imagination and thinking of different things to cook. Since I have time to sit and think a bit, may plan a really well balanced meal or two and feel like I have a personal chef, just for a bit!

We are in the middle of a thunderstorm at the moment. It's 34 degrees, so it's not ice, more like hard rain. Supposed to go out to dinner. It's the 20th anniversary of my mother's death, so we thought we'd go out to dinner and talk, two things she certainly enjoyed doing!

Bonnie, how is Mr B doing?

Hello to everyone else! I have been making actual progress in separating the wheat from the chaff in my houseful of memorabilia and genealogical inheritances. Still can't find my best set of car keys, though. They would be almost as useful as an 1859 family Bible, but all I'm sure of at the moment is where the Bible is.
Pat

we have freezing rain. was in the 30's but with the wind chill it sure was cold !!!!
may have a school delay tomorrow ?
Bonnie how is the husband ? is Mr.B keeping busy with all this weather. How is your cold ?
Pat wow thunderstorms ? and i have freezing rain LOL
love my seal a meal !
Karen sorry to hear about the husbands Job loss.
Janet sorry to hear about the calf. never fun . This is a cold winter.
stayed home today.

Above freezing here but a heck of a wind and rain came through here around 6:30. When the rain started hitting the snow out in the pastures there was a fog coming up the hollows. Beautiful but sort of eerie.

This has been a hard winter on the stock. We lost a cow and an ewe this past week. We think the cow was rode down by the bull but the ewe has been going down hill for the last 2 months. I think she had hardware, one of the sheep specialist at UK thought ovine progressive pneumonia. I'm not buying his diagnosis. I put a magnet in her but I think it was too late and the damage was done. We just kept hoping she'd turn around. I finally decided to have DH put her down but she died before he could. Actually, I'd glad she did. I don't know if she was in pain or not but she just looked so pitiful and nothing I was doing helped her.

Lost another calf today. We're going to take this one to the diagnostic lab. He was a week old and was doing good. Within two days he was dead. We treated for pneumonia, coccidiousis and e. coli. I hate to loose those.

Anyway, nothing else much going on here. Took DD to the MD today. That pretty much takes up the day.

Bonnie, are you feeling any better? DS had some sort of stomach bug for 2 days. So far he hasn't passed it around.

Pat, I'm looking for my glasses. I haven't seen them for well over a month. I just hope I didn't take them off out at the barn and set them somewhere stupid and now they're under you know what. I've searched the house multiple times to no avail. Good luck on finding those keys.

Sue, keep your freezing rain. It's still pretty windy down here.

Celene, never had one of those sealer things. Once in a while I'd make something and double it and put the second one in the freezer. Here lately I've just been making stuff that I can put in the oven while I'm out at the barn and leave it at that. Meatloaf was the meal of choice tonight. They even got biscuits. A big night for sure.

Y'all have a good evening and stay warm and safe.

Well, I am much better, had the intestinal thing and then a cold. But seems everything has resolved. Hope it stays that way as I am going for my pre op tomorrow then surgery on Monday.

Mr. B is some better. I bought him allergy pills and if he is coughing when he gets up, I give him one. Seems to keep everything under control. He is as bored with this winter as I am. He just lays and sleeps, goes outside, comes in and sleeps. We have JohnJohn and I think Mr. B is just depressed that he has competition in the house.

DH went to the ortho specialist last week, and he is scheduled for complete shoulder replacement on March 4. He will care for me one week, then his surgery and I will care for him for 3 months. Somehow that doesn't seem fair, but that the way it is.

Since my cataract surgery, I don't need glasses for distance, so I am wearing them on top of my head, easy to find that way.

Pat hope your meal out is good as is the conversation.

Janet, wow, seems like have lost quite a few animals in all this cold.

We had the rain, and it is still drizzling. A lot of the snow has already left. I am hoping that by tomorrow I can see some dead brown grass, a change for the better.

Karen, still have you all on my prayer list for a job.

Sue, hope that you are staying busy with all the inside time. Is the basement finished?

celene, I did use the seal a meal ,and have put several meals in the freezer for the week of my surgery.

I have to be in Louisville at 8:15, so need to head to bed.