Wednesday, September 30, 2009

No refridgaration needed.

It was almost funny. I arrived home this afternoon with three new bunnies and the doors were unusually locked! At my house! I know, as if I lived in the city or something. Front doors and back doors, all.

My key? Inside the house.

I did what I usually do; broke in through the front window. Nothing broken, actually, but just a bit of work with a screwdriver.

Don't tell anybody about this trick, though.

And now ---CHICKENS!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Employment Opportunities

The 8th annual Blogger Boobie-Thon will be October 1-7, which is only a week away! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Boobie-Thon kicks it off in with a bang. Bloggers from all over send in picture of their boobs (and you can submit yours now). Then during the Boobie-Thon, everyone is invited to look at them! The dressed breasts will be on the front page, and for $50, you can see bare blogger boobs. Of course, the money is important, as it goes to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, with the exception of $359 which goes to a blogger in need. If it’s not worth $50 to save lives, maybe it will be worth that much to see your favorite blogger’s boobs in the buff. Of course, if you are so inspired, you can send in a smaller -or larger- amount. So take a picture of your breasts, and remember your face won’t be shown, so you can be as free or creative as you like, send it in and tell everyone about the Boobiethon!

Valid through September 20

Those little Killer Dogs? Not run over in the street, after all. They were taken in by one of our local Rescue Rangers, which means they will be fed, neutered, and adopted out to good homes.

Roostie? He is fine and as cocky as ever. heh heh

The red hens keep layin'. The egg on the right is a huge double yolker.



Autumn is here, all of a sudden it seems. So unexpectedly, it gets dark early of an evening. The daylight hours and the dark hours are almost even. I always look forward to fall, because it means that the worst of summer is over. Summer, with its heat, humidity (it's not the heat, it's the stupidity,) and mosquitos.

For photos, go here.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

For recreational use only.

I have been knitting, if only little bit and sporadically. The shawl reincarnation slowly grows, with fewer mistakes since a large-area chart was printed. (Re-intarnation is when one returns as a hillbilly, by the way.)

On the aborted vacation, I cast on a pair of plain socks out of the pinkish sea cel/merino (at least I think that is what it's made from, as I have chronic CRS.) The socks also grow slowly.

Eeyore and Roostie have both recovered. I released Eeyore from his cage in the back yard yesterday, since the chickens only seem to go there at night anymore, and he promptly attacked Heizen. Sigh. Back in the cage, bubba, if you can't play nice.

I lost a barn bunny whilst I was at the Brothers'. It was Kelly Bob, the one with the tumor that I had excised three different times. I knew she was ailing, and was not surprised. I think her highly inbred line was more the cause than anything else. All the others are fine.

The Southern Indiana FiberArts Festival is coming up shortly and this will be the FIFTH year! If you are anywhere in the region, try to make plans and visit, because it has grown into a two day event with 65+ vendors, music, animals, classes, demos, and all the usual fibery goodness that we have come to expect. Victoria and her minions have done a superb job on this event, always.

Fuzzarelly will be there, too.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Immensely Satisfying

Back again, this time from the wilds of the north. Northern Indiana and Ohio, that is.

One of the more interesting events was attending a dance with second eldest brother. Now, where said brother learned to dance so well, I can not say. All I know is that he always has been able to swivel those hips and slide those feets, even on roller skates.

So, he takes me to a dance but didn't tell me that it was a SINGLES dance. Rat Bastard.

Here we are, just before leaving. Like that lamp growing out of my head?



It was a fairly large gathering in Angola, Indiana at the American Legion hall. We arrived early, and I was able to observe, as if I were an anthropologist visiting the natives of some scandinavian village, a line dancing class. At first, I was amused - I mean, what is it about moving in unison that white people like so much........

Wait a minute, I thought, it's the same reason that I loved marching band - to be a part of a larger whole, a community. Also? It was fun. Dorky? No doubt, but fun. And these people, the serious-faced, the smiling, the beginners, the agile, and the flat-footed were having fun being part of a group. Without being laughed at.

As I sat there, I compared it to folk dancing in Europe in the last century, and to ballroom dancing in the 19th century. One learned the moves in order to participate, and one moved just like every one else, in unison. The more in unison, the better. One danced to be social, to celebrate, to mingle and meet, to maybe get a chance to get close to that handsome man or beautiful woman.

So, I danced, too. Not line dancing, because I am retarded and can't follow direction, but I slow danced several times and again, my inner anthropologist kicked in and I became an observer. One fellow had come from Akron, Ohio (!) (apparently not uncommon,) and was a little socially awkward. I asked him what he did, and discovered that was a data programmer. Ahh, I diagnosed, Asperger's syndrome. Over the evening, he must have danced with twenty different partners, so good for him, I thought.

Then there was something akin to The Grand March, in which the women lined up along one side of the room, and the men along the other, and the head of each line then met and danced in the middle, down to the tail of the line. It was considered poor form to step out of line if one did not care for one's upcoming partner. I found it to be a lot of fun and, if one were actually single, a great way to meet people.

My brother was extremely popular, and I found him to be more gracious than I could ever have imagined, as he danced with so many different women - the good, the bad, the plain, and the pretty.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Gift That Lasts

I am at my eldest brother's house in way north Indiana. The weather is beautiful and it smells like the first whiff of autumn in the air.

Yesterday, I visited an old high school friend in Huntington, and drove by my old high school, home of the Fighting Vikings. I was class of '75. So very long ago.

Tonight, I have a date with second eldest brother to go the the American Legion. Living on the edge. Tomorrow, it is Ohio to see little brother, who is almost 42, so really not so little, and then home on Monday.

A Full Family Weekend!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Please Pay This Amount

The neighborhood girls.



Sweetie and James confront the van.



Architecture in Springfield, MO






Leaving St. Louis

Monday, September 14, 2009

Please forward to ten friends

On Sep 14, 2009, at 4:39 PM, Harry Hall, (my brother,) wrote:


THE RULES OF RURAL INDIANA ARE AS FOLLOWS :
Listen up City Slickers !


1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.

Small Town Dweller (Nancy) Answers.....

1. Please button up your overalls. You look like a hick and we don't really need to see your belly.




2. Turn your cap right, your head isn't crooked.

2. Take off that gimmee hat once in awhile, especially in church or in the WalMart parking lot. Your head needs to tan just like your arms and neck.




3. Let's get this straight; it's called a 'dirt road.' I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.

3. Please, young buck in the pickup truck, slow down. I don't need to eat your dust.




4. They are cattle. They're live steaks. That's why they smell funny to you. But they smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-70 goes east and west, I-65 goes north and south. Pick one.

4. I love the smell of manure. I call it Country Fresh. Once you get used to it, please stay and get to know us.




5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed.. We have $150,000 corn pickers and hay balers that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

5. I have a $2000 car, and I will gladly pull over to let your harvester pass. Just give me a little notice. I appreciate that you feed the world.



6. So every person in southern Indiana waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.

6. We wave, or at least lift a forefinger from the wheel, at everybody. However, you sound rather hostile.



7. If that cell phone rings while an 8-point buck and 3 does are coming in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.

7. Please don't shoot me, you ignorant hillbilly. Oh, it isn't you that shoots indiscriminately? Must be those crazy city folks. Also, I thought everybody had a cell phone anymore, even farmers.




8. Yeah, we eat taters & gravy, beans & cornbread. You really want sushi & caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.

8. I like potatoes and gravy, and green beans and cornbread, too. Why are you so angry?




9. The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.

9. So that's why there are deer running onto the highway in front of my car on my way to church.




10. We open doors for women. That is applied to all women, regardless of age.

10. Thank you. We appreciate it and say so.




11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak. Or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham & turkey.

11. Where I eat, there is the meat and 2 vegetables plate, or the 4 vegetable plate. Where do you eat? Is that why you are so overweight?




12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup. Oh, yeah.... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!

12. We also like salsa, mustard, and chili powder. We sometimes put spaghetti in our chili, to make it go a little further.




13. You bring 'coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice.

13. Okay, now that we are getting older, I can agree with that.




14. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.

14. Or be a pair of shoes. Also, we like women in all shapes and forms and don't make fun of them if they aren't cute or can't shoot or have short hair.




15. College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch..

15. We also think that the science fair, chess club, and baseball are fun and are good for our kids.




16. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish.

16. Everybody seems to play golf anymore. Plus, golf courses give the canada geese a good place to poop.




17. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities , Community Colleges, and Vo-techs. They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at everybody when they come for the holidays.

17. But there still aren't enough places that make a person think for themselves, not just spout propaganda.




18. We have a whole ton of folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. So don't mess with us. If you do, you will get whipped by the best.

18. We, too, serve our country. You don't have a lock on that.



19. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump crap ain't music, anyway. We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your boxers. Refer back to #1.

19. Okay. But remember how loud we used to play Led Zeppelin? Back in the day?

20. 4 inches isn't a blizzard - it's a flurry. Drive like you got some sense in it, and DON'T take all our bread, milk, and bleach from the grocery stores. This ain't Alaska , worst case you may have to live a whole day without croissants. The pickups with snow blades will have you out the next day.

20. Four inches of snow on top of ice can be a problem. Stay home or slow down. (Thank goodness this isn't Alaska, as Mitch Daniels is bad enough without having to put up with ex-governor Sarah Palin's shenanigans.) Your neighbors with snowplows on their tractors and pick ups, and the road department, will have the roads and your driveway cleared real quick. Also, your neighbors will clear those downed trees across the roads after a windstorm within hours.

A true Hoosier will send this on!!!

A true hoosier should -

* Be kind to everyone, be generous with their time, and help their neighbors.

* Talk to the old people, allow them drive to slowly and don't honk at them, as it makes them nervous. Remember that, with luck, you too will be old one day and drive slowly.

* Not get irritated at the hay, horse, cattle, pig, or race car trailer in front of you.

I like living in Indiana! There are really good people here.

Half-Price with Coupon

I came home to all healthy and happy animals. Even the injured rooster has healed up nicely. I had put him in a big cage with the other chickens in the barn, because I was afraid the other rooster would pick on him. When I put them all in the back yard, he went first, then the hens, then the other guy, and there was no trouble. Yay! They are all in the yard bug hunting now.

The red hens have been laying for a few weeks now, nice large eggs of two ounces each. Being in the barn must have jolted the banty hens a bit, because they are not brooding anymore, but rather ranging around the yard like the others.

The two little dogs are not to be found. Good Neighbor Nancy heard tires squealing and a bumpbump last Wednesday and says she has not seen them since. I don't actually know what happened, but what a tragedy. The real tragedy, though, is that those people will soon have some other canine or two around, because don't ya know, they just love their dogs. Sigh.

Anyway. I can't control the world.

I saw this great little minivan in the WalMart (Your Place for Cheap Plastic Crap) in Joplin, Missouri, and had to take a picture. Met the owner, who works in movies! She said the fake fur was cheaper than a paint job, and so far it has lasted two years! through rain, snow and going 90 mph.


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Riding has never been easier

The transmission exploded just outside of Springfield, Missouri, and we looked like crop dusters on the freeway, what with the huge plume of white smoke that trailed us.

Sweetie had detected a problem with the transmission in Joplin, and after much deliberation, we concluded that the best thing to do was to head back home and add fluid every 100 miles.

It was a good plan.

Sweetie was able to coast up an exit ramp, and a repair shop was located and a wrecker service was called. David towed us to Beetle's Transmission, and then drove us and most of our belongings to a little motel that I called the Ship Wreck, but was actually named the Land Mark, a seedy $25 & Up kind of place that clearly stated NO PETS, but let us stay anyway. Before Dave drove off, he gave us his phone number in case there was trouble about Princess, saying his sister could look after her.

We walked to a nearby U-Haul to rent a vehicle, but Tiny the Manager told us that Enterprise would be cheaper and he called them and helped us make arrangements for them to pick us up. Shortly, a man in a little white Hyundai arrived and he agreed to pick up more things from our van, drop me and Princess at the Ship Wreck, before taking Sweetie back to the Enterprise lot.



I want to give a shout out to everyone we met in Springfield. Everyone that we dealt with was so nice to us, went out of their way to help us, and that made a bad situation bearable. Dave the Wrecker Man, Bob at Beetle's, the Indian Man at the Ship Wreck, Tiny at U-Haul, the Enterprise Driver, and just about every other person that we met, were friendly and helpful and smiling. (Of course, if we had not had money and credit cards with which to pay, we may have had a whole different experience.)

Since we were going to be in town awhile, we explored the area. Springfield, like many midwestern towns, was built on a grid system, so once one learned a few north-south and east-west streets, getting around was a cinch. We drove down College Street, and smack downtown I saw a theatre marquee advertising John Prine in concert for Friday night. I have loved Mr. Prine's music since before I moved to Atlanta, and I own several of his albums, but I had never seen him in concert.

We bought tickets Thursday, center row in the balcony, and dressed up as best as we could, and went. Opening act was singer/songwriter Carrie Rodriques, who played fiddle and guitar. I had never heard her before and thought she was great.




After a 45 minute set, that had started promptly at 8, there was a short intermission as the roadies changed the guitars and amps, and at 9, John Prine and two guitarists came out and rocked the house. His voice is more gravelly now, twelve years after having a tumor removed from his neck, and he seemed a little hoarse at first, but as the evening continued he just got stronger and stronger. He played many old and familiar songs as well and a few I didn't know. He bantered, told little stories, and put on an amazing show that lasted for over two hours.

It was great.

We left for home the next morning. Our great $800 van is now a great $2000 van, and she drove fine and we got home yesterday to all my bunnies, cats, and chickens.

Also. It rained hard in New Mexico. Hard rain in a desert is never a good thing. So, it all sort of worked out in the end.

Half-Price Sale

Monday, September 07, 2009

The Weather in Los Alamos this week

Thursday Night
Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 40s to mid 50s.

Friday
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60s to lower 80s.

Friday Night
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 40s to mid 50s.

Saturday
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the 70s to lower 80s.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the 40s to lower 50s.

Labor Day

And why we should celebrate it.

Feed twice daily.

Well. Damn it.

I'm glad, I reckon, that it happened today and not later in the week. Remember neighbor's little dogs that broke little bunny's leg last week?

This morning, I heard a commotion in the back yard and ran out to find a little dog standing there, with a mouthful of chicken feathers! Dog ran off and I found Roostie, (finally, in some bushes,) sans a chunk of back feathers. I have heard from three different people that the dogs' supposed "owners" don't feed them. So, do you blame the dogs or the owners? Sigh.



So. Now that the little canines know how easy it is to catch chickens, letting the birds have free run of our yard is out of the question. All seven birds are now in the barn loft with the bunnies, where they have a bit of roaming room, but they can't get out. (Eat those flies!) Roostie is segregated from the others, in a cage.

So, like I said, I guess I am glad that it happened today, because I would have hated to have come home to no chickens. But this whole episode? I could have done without.

Damn sons a bitches just don't do right.

The van is as road ready as it's gonna get. I need to pack and load. The critter sitter has been briefed and keyed. Lots of little odds and ends to take care of. We will leave tomorrow for points west and I will try to blog along the way, if I can. I don't have a laptop, so it will be catch and catch can.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Beat for four minutes.

This makes me so nostalgic for my days in marching band! I also wish that Indi-Ucky was this cool.

Keep refrigerated.

I am the most sober person on our property right now, even though I am making a valiant effort to catch up. It is a very weird situation. A neighbor friend came by earlier this afternoon, and he was already lit. After drinking vodka shots with Sweetie, who drank bourbon and seven, our friend passed out on the front porch. Sweetie came inside, tipsy, and has gone to the back room to watch the allies kill the germans, or whatever the history channel is airing. ("Who are we killing today," is my stock question when I wander back there.)

But our pie-eyed friend is in a drunken stupor, railing against someone that has made him very angry, (the world); he is swearing and pounding fists and will not remember a bit of it tomorrow. I can hear him as I sit here. He has many demons to contend with, and I cannot help him. He's on his own.

Me? I have spent the day acquiring 20 bales of timothy hay for the bunnies, which will last them until spring, and also getting them pellets and scratch for the chickens.

Oh, and Miss Biddy and Lady Bird have been laying eggs! Six nice, big brown ones, which we will eat tomorrow for breakfast.

Preparations for the Great Trip West are underway, slowly. (See tipsy Sweetie above.) Grass needs to be cut, but first lawn mower needs to be fixed after he hit a chain cutting Evil Renter's grass last week. Nothing is ever easy around here.

However, the van is Sirius ready and generally road worthy! Yay for that, and the savings in motel rates. I am so much more prepared, and sane, than I was when we took our last trip, three years ago. I was so depressed then that I didn't even pack cold weather clothes, and there was that sudden attack of winter. All I cared about was having Murgatroyd with me. I still miss that guy!

This is what I posted back then.

Anyway, I do feel much more sane these days, and am ready for an adventure. And I have Princess this time, and she loves to travel.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Use flash.

Okay, here is your laugh of the day.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Taxes, Fees & Other Charges

Bad new first. Had two dead bunnies to take care of this morning. One was a little white outside baby that a dog, (arrgh!) probably one of Evil Neighbor Jerry's two new pups (aaarrrrrrghhhh!) attacked and broke his front leg. He was found and brought to me last week, and even though he rallied, I found him gone last night. Then early this morning, there was a little grey one squished on the road in front of the house. Sigh, but so it goes. Grey bunny on grey road at grey dawn. I took both of them down to the cemetery.

Good News now. We are going on our trip anyway! I am going to have Good Neighbor Nancy take care of all my critters and keep and eye on the house. This is most likely the only window of opportunity for this trip, as the weather will be good and Sweetie is still not working, (but finally has some prospects,) we have money and a van to sleep in and a dog that loves to travel. Once Sweetie gets a job, there will be no vacation anytime soon.

So, we're just going!

I am kind of psyched about it, but he is really really psyched to take me to where he spent 8 years in the Air Force.