Adventure Awaits...

It has been AGES, but I'm baaaack!!

We are about to head out on an amazing adventure, so I have decided to revive the blogs.  For the next week or so, we will be back in Illinois, seeing our daughter graduate from college, and also visiting our old stomping grounds, plus some new places.

Then, we will get into a thin, metal tube, and allow ourselves to be flung across the pond.  We're headed to Ireland, where John's maternal ancestors lived.  (There are some French ones in there, too, but we'll do that another time.) 

So, watch this space.  I will post posts (??) on Facebook, but will turn off commenting, there.  I would rather have the comments at the blogs, so that, when I finally get around to printing them into a book, I will have your words of wisdom, right there!  When we get to Ireland, I'll be posting at my travel blog, but you'll see that link on Facebook, then.

So, come along for the fun!

The Daily Grind

Its been a while since I posted. In fact, its been, what, three or four years since I posted with any regularity.

Life gets in the way. It seems like things should be less complicated these days. I am no longer working. Our kids are all launched; Mary headed off to university this spring, and, although she's home for the summer, she's working. So that part of our life is in the past. (I can't say, "Over." It hurts too much.) I am back to the original role I had in this marriage; that of housewife. I manage the house, and the yard, but, other than that, my time is my own.

So it seems that I should be living what my mom called the "life of Reilly"; lazing around in a spotless home, enjoying bon bons and shopping.

But, no. I have lots to keep me busy. I took on extra animals this year; we have probably 100 various chickens and turkeys, 4 sheep, 4 goats, a horse, and 6 pigs. Oh, and 2 dogs, and 3 cats. This summer we sent Henry off to live with his boy, but I picked up a Border collie puppy. Molly is 3 months old now, and, little does she know, will be my sheep-moving companion at some future point.

So the feeding and cleaning are endless. Then there's the mowing. We had a tremendously wet spring, which meant the lawn was not an issue until sometime in late May. Not that it didn't need cutting; it did, desperately. Bt it just couldn't happen. I even tried staining the deck; couldn't get 4 dry days in a row from mid-April until the end of July!

The house needs care, too. Beyond the daily cleaning, groceries, and laundry, we haven't done anything to this house in 18 years. So, this spring, we decided to redecorate the. Whole. Thing. We're starting with the basement, and my May and June have been spent packing up all of our stuff and taking it to a storage locker. We're doing ceilings to floors, and I just didn't want stuff in the way. Sadly, no work has yet begun, although we're supposed to be unloading that storage locker Labor Day weekend! With all the animal and yard stuff, the packing has not been finished. Packing is further complicated by decluttering; I'm getting rid of things we no longer need/want.

And we still have family to care for and about. My dad likes to get together for meals 3 times a week. You'd think that would be easy; you gotta eat, right? But logistics are never simple, are they? Grandchildren come to visit, kids come back in and out from time to time. Keri's nieces have been visiting her from California this summer; time was spent with them.

In short, this "retired from parenting and working" life is NOT retiring, in the sense of less work and responsibility. The "life of Reilly" is probably unattainable. But its keeping me young and fit and out of trouble. I guess the world should be glad for that last bit!

Where Did the Week Go?

Isn't it Sunday? I mean, my last post was on Saturday, and it can't be more than a day later, right?

Booger.

Seriously, the week had just flown by. There was cleaning done, and more cleaning. Goats were fed, and fed again. They had their "boy" operation, which meant a visit from our favorite vet. They've been having some...digestive issues, which is only to be expected, given their age, stress level, and the fact that they've increased their eating dramatically. But they'll get through.

The garden got rototilled this week. I've been letting the chickens out into it, so they can dig up any grubs and weeds. I'll think about planting next weekend. I have seed potatoes already, and I'll pick up some lettuces, spinach and carrot seeds, and herbs.

John stayed home today, and we spent the day preparing our pig pen for this year's residents. We expect 8. It'll be the most we've ever raised, and I'm a little nervous about it. I can hear those who raise dozens laughing at me...

I'm considering a momentous decision, which I'll talk about when its been made. Don't you just love vague statements like that?

I am so tired I can barely stay upright at my desk. Grandchildren are coming for a visit this weekend, and youngest son is moving into the house he and his fiancee will share come October, when they get married. Wow. I'd better get some rest.

Busy, busy week and weekend, so no blogging has happened for a long, long time.

We've loaded pigs and taken them to the butcher. We then picked up their little white packages, and they are now "enjoying" freezer camp. There will a post about this in the not-so-distant-future.

We have a new grandchild! John Morgan Peterman V was born on November 7, and he's a cutie! I'll be headed to Michigan to visit him/them for about a week. There will be a post about this in the not-so-distant-future.

A good time was had with friends. Sadly, no pictures, so, no post. Just know there was wine and food involved.

A coyote grabbed up one of our chickens this morning. I heard the cackling, and he was gone before any of us could grab the gun. Mary and John headed out to the woods to look for him, but, no joy. It was a young hen, too.

Leaves have been raked and burned continually. I am hoping to finish that project today.

So I'd best get moving.

Achievement

Hold your applause. I am blogging today; that does not mean this will be a regular occurrence. I do try...

We have a sergeant in the family again. Oldest son was one, before he left the Guard. Now, youngest has been promoted, all the way on the other side of the world. He was told not to expect this, so he was surprised and is, rightfully, full of himself right now. We're pretty proud of him, too. To literally soldier on when you've been told your efforts will lead nowhere sounds just like every description of the NCO I have ever heard. So he earned this, but he also deserved it.

Congratulations to your command, Ethan! They got it right!

Boots Actually on the Ground

Well, as much as it pains me to say, our son is finally serving in that place where no one wants to go, but many volunteer. Here's a message I received today from his commander. As much as it tears at a mommy's heart to know where her kid is and know that its not here at home, it is nice to know that they're positive about the experience!

Families & Friends,
I wanted to make a quick post to let you know that we have arrived safely at our destination! The Soldiers and I have moved into our AMAZING living conditions and are setting up our little homes away from home. Our living conditions are very nice. Without giving up too much physical security and force protection measures… You should rest your heads easy knowing that your Soldiers are wrapped securely in some pretty thick concrete and rebar. Just as importantly, we have Air Conditioning, Heat and RUNNING WATER BATHROOMS!!! Those whom this is not their first rodeo will attest that not having to walk through dust/mud and blazing heat after showering is one of our biggest morale boosters. The other is the multitude of communication conduits to home. I am impressed with the lack of delay in voice conversations, speed of the internet connections ( my COMMO NCO thinks it’s too slow because he is a techy dude) and abundance of MWR, USO and religious facilities for Soldiers to unwind, communicate and grow.
It will not be all fun and games though. There will be long days, short nights and a whole lot of sweat. Your Soldiers are already working. In fact, we hit the ground running and are once again proving the Wisconsin work ethic to be superior to most. This will be a dynamic deployment. I keep telling the leaders Semper Gumby! (Always Flexible). I am very proud of everyone’s effort and dedication to the mission. The mission to reduce, return and remove is near and dear to our hearts as we posture this theater to dramatically reduce as the Commander in Chief directed. We are working on shutting off the lights. 1SG reports that morale is very high and Soldiers are eager to dive into construction projects. The Soldiers are moving and grooving like a well-oiled machine and are Fiercely Loyal!

Prayers for all would be greatly appreciated. (By the way, that picture right there was taken by the governor, with his phone, Tweeted when he came to send off his soldiers. Fun fact!)

Hugs (and food) for Soldiers

As mentioned last month, our youngest is training for a deployment. This past weekend, members of the FRG (Family Readiness Group) trekked to the training site to serve them lunch. Sadly, John and I came late to the game, all the volunteer spaces were filled, and we were not able to attend. I talked to the leader of the FRG, and asked her to give him a hug for me. She did, and even had another volunteer take a picture.

Thank you Janelle!

Saturday Farm Report

Today's report reports that we are off the farm!

Regular readers may remember that this blog began as a way to chronicle/discuss/share news about our middle son's deployment to Iraq in 2008. I continued it afterward, mostly because it was fun.

Well, with some trepidation, I report that its back to its original purpose. Soon our youngest son will be taking an all-expenses paid vacation to southwest Asia, courtesy of Commander-in-Chief Obama and the United States Army. We are headed into our fourth deployment, and I hope you'll follow along, in this space.

This weekend we are at a pre-deployment briefing weekend. The Guard has ensconced us in a cute hotel, and, in the morning, we'll start a round of incredibly fascinating (I'm sure!) and informative meetings about what to expect during the next year-ish. We'll drink coffee and ask questions and, in the end, head home, ready for the next phase.

We can't share any details beyond these. We'll let you know what we know when we know it, you know?

Spring Break

This week is Spring Break. We've been relaxing on a warm Southern beach, enjoying some time off.

No. Strike that.

We've been working busily on and off our farm. Off the farm, we bought a "new" garden tractor and a "new" car. Both were desperately needed, and are welcome expenditures.

On the farm, we've been cutting 3 years' worth of dead and downed wood. Scheduling, illness, and just plain denial have kept us from this. But finally, finally, it is getting done. I'll share some photos with a smack upside my head. I should have taken a Before picture so you could see how wonderful our pasture looks right now in an After shot. The tree line is clear of dead things, low-hanging branches, which endanger critters and humans alike, are gone, and it almost looks like we care about this place.

But I didn't. So please just enjoy these shots of hard work being done. (The young man in the photos is a Boyfriend. Scary times.)

Dealing With Stress

We were living in our first house for only about 6 months. I was worried about money, as young parents will, especially because I had yet to be convinced that we could afford the thing. Yes, all the tax advantages had been explained to me, and I surely knew the wisdom of putting equity into our own home rather than someone else's. But things were still tight.

And I was lonely. We had moved half an hour away from family, and, with an infant and a tight budget, didn't have the energy or the money to drive back to the old home area as often as I would have liked. We made it there for church on Sunday, and the occasional mid-week shopping trip. I hadn't made many friends in town; women my age were mostly working, or lived in the newer neighborhood of town, and we had no contact. Lesson learned; join the church in your community. We did, and we've had friends ever since.

But we didn't then, and I was lonely, and a new mom with a new mortgage. John had just returned from a 3-week business trip to Israel, Germany and Holland. This was the guy who, on our wedding night, as we dreamed and planned, said, "No, there's so much to see in the U.S., I really don't think world travel is something I want to do." (My thoughts on that statement were so un-bride-like, I won't share them.) But he was the first to get a passport, and came home with stories about the fun he'd had, the beauties he'd seen, and, yes, a sweet apology for that wedding night statement. But he was at work this day, and I was thinking about the photos he'd taken that we'd just picked up; remember, this was back in the day when you took your film somewhere to have prints made!

The mail came. In it was a letter from the attorney who represented the widow from whom we had bought our house. The letter said, in effect, "We're sorry to hear of the death of your husband. But there is a tax bill that needs to be paid. Please get us the money ASAP."

I, too, was sorry to hear of the death of my husband. I called him to make sure that things were OK. He verified that, yes, indeed, he was still sucking breath.

And then all the pressure of all my worries pushed in on me so hard that I pushed back...and exploded.

I called the attorney and let him have it. I was upset that HE hadn't filed the proper paperwork to divide our property form a lot she still held next door, which necessitated us paying HER taxes. I was angry that this snoopy lady, who was still fishing in my mailbox to see whether she had any mail still coming there, was also happily making up stories about my life that involved my "missing" husband. I was aggravated--and, yes, I admit how silly this is--that my husband had had the fun of traveling to places I was still only dreaming of; he had even met my high school pen pal, who lived in Amsterdam, and whom I had never met! And, yes, of course, while I was giving this poor man a piece of my mind, the baby woke up from his nap, crying with a stinky diaper.

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

In the end, the attorney apologized. The tax bill was paid and the property properly subdivided. I have since traveled to Lithuania, Sweden, Austria (twice!) Italy, Germany and England.

Oh, and the "baby" no longer wears diapers. His baby is due in about 8 weeks.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

I got teased yesterday for running a boarding house. Kinda like Ma Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life.

Yes, Minah went home Dec. 29. She's back in Korea now, and our life is richer for having hosted her. Here she is, saying, "Goodbye!" at O'Hare.

This was just before she said, "Don't worry. I don't think I'll puke!" Yes, she ended her otherwise healthy stay with a horrible flu. I was so worried that her parents would think I'd been a horrible host mom, letting her get sick! We got to the point where we thought we might have to go to the doctor, and then the hospital, it was that bad. But she rallied on Thursday, and flew home on Saturday with no ill (pardon the pun) effects. We will miss her, but can still talk on Facebook.

We had a couple of days with just John, Mary and I in our house. Then I got an e-mail. One of my jobs at work is to find housing for Chinese foreign students who come to our high school. These students come here, many of them, planning to spend 4 years getting an American high school education. We've been expecting Rundi since mid-December, and were told he'd be here for the start of school. Last Friday, a difficulty with housing for another student necessitated that I move him to the host family I had prepared for Rundi. But that was OK; Rundi wasn't due until the 14th or so.

Sunday evening, another e-mail arrived. Rundi was in the US, staying with family, and would be at school the next morning. This image isn't on my refrigerator for nothing.

So now Rundi is staying with us, until we can find a host family for him.

He loves the dogs, is very friendly, and isn't too keen yet on American food. But he's doing well, settling in happily, and his host family (whoever they are) will be lucky to have him!

Update: I have had two families considering this opportunity since Sunday. They both called today to decline. They had good reasons, but I'm back to the drawing board.

Happy Halloween!

So, I've gotten this post-once-or-twice-a-month thing down, haven't I? Poor little blog. It's so neglected.

Next time there's a referendum, and someone says,"Those teachers don't need a raise. They get paid for the whole year, and they only work 9 months," I'd like you to think of this. I teach for 80 minutes per week; I monitor study hall (translation, babysit the darlings so they get their homework done and you don't have to deal with it) for another 80. I spend huge chunks of my "down" time organizing lessons, writing worksheets, writing tests, locating videos and other supporting materials, pre-screening those, grading papers, and putting out 2-3 fires per day. You know, someone has an academic disappointment and sobs through half of study hall. Someone else breaks up and sobs through half the school day, those kind of things. In short, that little bit of time I get in front of the classroom (and it flies by in the blink of an eye) is supported by easily 5 times that amount of time in prep time. Homeschooling was a walk in the park, compared to this. But there, I had only myself looking over my shoulder.

Add in all the usual house-wifery that needs doing on a daily basis, yours truly being somehow responsible for all of that, too, and I am left with precious little time to blog. But I think of you, and the blog, often, and it'll work itself out in time.

Until then, here's a happy little number for your Halloween celebration. After all, this is All Saints' Eve. Martin, get your hammer.

Saturday Farm Report

Sick. Sick. Sick. The yearly cold has hit.

Houseful of company. Relatives from hither and yon. More cooking and dishes than I really want to see.

Birthday cake for John.

"Damn Ramsey."

Dogs. Everywhere.

All the boys were home today. -sigh-

And I am exhausted. Good night.

Announcement!

We have 5 grandchildren now. 3 came from Jay; 1 came from Kris. And now, 1 comes from both of them.

Another in a line of the cutest babies you'll ever see!

Saturday Farm Report

Typical Saturday. We had breakfast with my dad, I worked, and then came home to cook. We took a short break to head to a Damn Ramsey class.
Dinner tonight was wonderful.
Slow-Cooker Beer Brats.
German potato salad and baked macaroni and cheese, both from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.
Leinie's.
Raw carrots. Homemade bread and butter pickles. Sauerkraut. Hot dogs for those of us who dislike bratwurst (can't imagine anyone actually HATING them!)
Chocolate chip cookies, also from that cookbook I mentioned above.
I do that sometimes. Cook an entire meal from the same cookbook. It works. And it didn't disappoint tonight.
Yum.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Canceling Weekends

Do you look forward to weekends? I remember doing that. We couldn't wait for Fridays, loved lazy Saturdays, enjoyed family Sundays.

If the past few have been any indication of the future, I'm cancelling future weekends.

Friday was busy right up to 5pm. We had nice steaks for dinner, and enjoyed a little Sherlock in the night. But Saturday...

Saturday was the 4H dog show. We were up and at 'em bright and early, shuttling 3 dogs 2 towns over. These things make less and less sense every year. I wish I could organize one. I'd either revamp it into a masterpiece of efficiency, or I'd learn my lesson and shut up in the future. Mary's three dogs did well...until the sits and downs. One was set next to a dog who barked throughout the entire show. Barking dogs at an obedience show, in my opinion, should be treated like crying babies in church. Quietly take them out. But, no, barking brown Lab stayed, and when Skye had had enough of that noise, she got up to walk to Mary, where it was quieter. -30 points for the long sit. Ditto for the long down. Henry sat well through the long sit, and lay quietly during the long down...and then decided he'd had enough, too. Can't blame a barking dog for that one, just a stubborn corgi. Jaeger, Matthew and Keri's young Lab, was, in the words of the judge, "an active dog." While Mary was complimented on her handling of him, he, too, got bored during the long down and decided to sit up. -sigh-

After dropping dogs and girls at home, we headed out for an evening on the lake with some good friends. The evening turned into night, and then into early, early morning. But a good time was had by all.

Until we had to be for a Youth group breakfast at church... -yawn- It was fun, and Ryan showed up midway through. So, when the hay truck came by in mid-afternoon, there were two extra arms to lift bales! Wakiya will eat this winter!

After which came a 2-hour riding lesson for Mary and Wakiya. Oh, was that horsey MAD at her girl. "I was spending a perfectly LOVELY day in a perfectly LOVELY pasture, and you load me into a trailer, drive me across the world, to another barn, where you don't let me sniff the other horses, throw a saddle on my back, and expect me to LEARN?" Poor baby. The lesson was good, and both girls learned a lot.

But, when I fell into bed, all I could think was, "Thank you Lord, for another weekend. And thank you that the week is beginning and I can REST!"

Stay tuned...

Army Mom Thoughts

I'm pre-empting my Saturday Farm Report a bit to make a point. I was on my way to work yesterday morning when I heard about the shootings in Colorado. I came in late to the story, so I still don't have all the information. But I have some thoughts.

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me, "Why did you let your kids join the military?" I could buy those cute shoes I saw last week! Anyway, my answer is always the same.

"They could be shot in a grocery store. They could flip their car some late night and be left paralyzed. Serving in the military is dangerous, but so is crossing the street."

Case in point. In that theater Thursday night/Friday morning were at least 20 servicepeople who work with or for the husband of a friend of mine, a colonel in the Air Force. Can you imagine? Your son/daughter signs up for the military. You are incredibly proud of their decision, but incredibly afraid for them. "Please not Afghanistan," you pray. "Please not Iraq. Give them, I don't know, Colorado." Then, one morning, you get The Visit. You get The Visit because your kid went to a MOVIE.

Pray for the parents. Pray for the friends. Pray.

-whew- Glad THAT'S over!

This weekend is one for the books.

On Friday I dropped Minah off at one of her part-time jobs. She helps a lady near here with her garden. As she stood at the door, she felt something on her leg. Not being from around these parts, she went to brush it away without double-checking. The hornet on her leg stung her, then jumped to her hand, and stung her twice. Since this was only her second time in her life being stung, (the first was in our chicken house)I went into the house with her and her employer, Ellen, and we doctored her up a bit. We waited about an hour and, realizing that she was not having an allergic reaction, went home. (She had decided to give gardening a try on another day!)

This weekend was John's family reunion in Grand Haven, Michigan. Since Mary had been gone for the week, and would be returning late Saturday, I stayed home. Keri and I planned a day of shoe shopping and girl time. John took Minah to the reunion. In the morning, I went to work. After work, I called Keri and...found out that she was on the way to the ER. Seems she ate something not quite right, and her body was letting her know. After blood work, IVs for dehydration, and a food poisoning diagnosis, she was on her way home. But, no shoe shopping. Bummers.

I was headed to Wally World for some shopping, and offered to pick up the prescriptions the ER doc had written. As I walked in, my phone rang. "Minah's hand is horribly swollen," said John. "I'm taking her to the ER." Aaack!! She's in a foreign country, not in our home state, with John, and she's headed to the ER. Being the good "dad" that he is, he sent me a photo.

Isn't that lovely? Not an allergic reaction, though. Just a localized reaction to the sting. Thank goodness!

After my day Saturday, I was nervous about picking up Mary. What would go wrong...Well, nothing, thank the Lord. she came home, safe and sound. Sunday was a lovely day; Keri even recovered enough to come out for a bit. Still, though, no shoes.

Wasted weekend.

Saturday Farm Report

This week has been very busy, with lots of organizing and decluttering...attempted. Remember the picture from yesterday?



Well, it's been weeks since we had rain. The fields are dry and cracking, and we've been hoping and hoping. This morning, before I left for work, I considered covering the piles with tarps. I thought, "Most of that stuff is in Rubbermaid-type tubs, and can get rained on. Some of it is not, and I'd hate to lose it. But if I cover things, it will not rain. If I leave them uncovered, it will surely rain, and we desperately need it."

I left it uncovered.

I came home in a downpour which had been going on for about 20 minutes. From what I see on the ground, we got about half an inch. I found my family covering everything for me, which was very helpful. I'm still going to be pitching lots of things, which isn't so bad. We needed to get rid of stuff. This will save me the trouble of a garage sale here.

Grandchildren are here. Mary and Ryan took Joy over to the strawberry farm, and they picked 4 quarts. Later we'll enjoy tacos and the lemon bars I have cooling in the kitchen. Matthew and Keri are repairing and maintaining their car in our garage today. In short, this is one busy farm!

And, as the humidity and heat come up after that rain, I am thankful that it's an air conditioned farm house!

Enjoy your Saturday!