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!

So, at the risk of being like this guy...

I received two posts from Facebook friends today. The first said this;

If your church doesn't have an Ascension Day service, ask your pastor why. If your church has one and you don't attend, ask yourself why.

The second was much longer, and can be found here.

Two posts, both purporting to be Christian messages, both so full of hate and judgement that I worried on them for a couple of hours.

I can't do that anymore. It seems Facebook posts swing from one side of a pendulum to another. There's no socializing on the social network; its all what I call skunking; spray your stink on someone, then stand back and watch what you actions produce.

I appreciate my friends, but I am deactivating my Facebook account. Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.

Blog Down, Blog Down!

Its sad when I go to visit a blog and find it hasn't been updated in a while. But I've been there. I know how life works, sometimes, and I expect bloggers to take a break.

Today, however, I went to check in on a distant friend, and found her blog is GONE. She has taken it down. Silly me, I should have recorded some contact information, but I did not. So it appears I will lose touch with this one. And that makes me sad.

Unless, New Girl, you read this and let me know where you are! I know Vivi is keeping you busy, so just shout is fine. No need for a long, rambling anything.

Thanks!

Wonder of Wonders!

Two posts in three days! Wonder of wonders! Which reminds me of this...

Yeah.
We have an interesting school body; only about 80 kids. This week we're celebrating National Lutheran Schools Week. Which, as you can see, was last week. But last week we had two snow days, which were actually extreme cold days. So we're celebrating this week. The kids set a list of "dress up days," which seems kind of odd for high school students, but we have fun doing it. Today was Hipster Day. Which is counter, really, because, if you say, "I'm dressed 'Hipster,'" you are, by default, NOT. Again, we have fun doing it. Here I am with a colleague, being tragically hip. Emphasis on Tragically.

You can tell we're hipsters best in this shot, because we are NOT looking at the camera and definitely NOT smiling. We. Just. Don't. Care.

Saturday Farm Report

Hey! Its been a while! I would blame that on life; my job has been keeping me busy, and its hard to blog through exhaustion. Also, my camera gave up the ghost, and its hard to blog without the pictures. It just is. So now that I have another, I am back in the saddle...at least today! Lets be glad for that, hope for the best, and see what happens in the future.

Today we're being hit with snow. There are those who are all moan and groan about that; I say its January in northern Illinois. You were expecting maybe heatstroke? Seriously, we have been having a winter, lets make that a WINTER, as has most of the country. Fortunately, we have a savior, in the form of a neighbor who has a Bobcat and loves to run it. He's over here at the drop of a flake. In fact, he just pulled in.

Its great having a neighbor like that!

What I like best about winter is HAVING to hunker down and stay inside sometimes. We've had 4 snow days so far, called because of extreme cold and wind chills. I spent a couple of those reading; I've finished Jo Baker's Longbourne, (I expected to love it, and I did) Leon Leyson's The Boy on the Wooden Box, (I expected to cry, and I did) Maeve Binchy's Tara Road (I expected it to have a post-modern, ambiguous-leaning-sad ending, and it did NOT) and Joyce Maynard's Labor Day (ditto Tara Road, add that I cried when I finished it.) I also worked out some fun lessons for my students, and am surprising them by changing up some teaching methods for the new year. And I spent a great deal of time cleaning and purging, donating an entire pickup load of stuff to local thrift stores. They got unused clothes, games, decor, c&^p, you know. The store room looks fabulous. Add to that the redecorating of the three bedrooms here, and this house is beginning to look like someone likes it, and in fact, might even love it someday!

All righty then, like when beginning an exercise routine, one mustn't push one's blogging muscles too far on the first try back. I hope to be back soon...If not, you'll know I'm thinking of you!

Facebook

How many of you are NOT active on Facebook? I've been using the social network for...I don't know how long. A while. I have a love/hate relationship with the thing. It took me a bit to get used to e-mail. I still don't know how to write a good e-mail, since that involves second-guessing my reader. I prefer face-to-face communication, or, at least, a phone call. Of course, phones have gotten so small that, when I use one, I often end up with a knot in my back for days from propping the thing on my shoulder while I do the normal things a mom has to do.

But I know that progress is important, and e-mail is so cheap and easy that I've come to do most of my communication with friends through that medium. Until recently, with the advent of Facebook. I resisted for a while, until I realized that many of my friends were becoming more active there than in e-mail. So I opened an account.

Things happened along the way. Friends misread friends, fighting began, friends "unfriended" each other, citing "rudeness."

Now, however, a popular Facebook pass-along is a schmaltzy post about the sharing of political viewpoints. A friend of mine posted that she was going to be "blocking" her friends who chose to post political posts. She wanted her Facebook experience to be nicer, and more fun.

I didn't realize that a social network would be nicer, and more fun, when folks left their political opinions out of the mix. After all, don't we talk about politics daily? Are we having a miserable time?

But I figured I would do my best to help my friend to feel better. So I have decided that, for the month leading up to the election, I will post ONLY posts about unicorns and rainbows. Really. My Facebook is All Unicorns and Rainbows, All the Time.

Except on debate nights. Sorry.

So. Check it out. A nicer, more fun, Facebook. Right there on my page!

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...

The Prom

I suppose it had to happen sometime. You bring home a little pink bundle, you feed and water it, it grows into a very lovely young lady. She talks about not being one of those silly girls who are all about the boys. But, eventually, one comes along and changes things. She's still not silly, but there's this boy...

And then the school announces a prom...The prom was held at the Wisconsin Dells, and involved a boat ride and a day at a water park About 40 students and dates attended. Our Korean daughter, Minah, also attended.

Mary and Ryan.

Mary and Minah.

Mary and her good friend, Ana.

Minah, being very elvish.

The little pink bundle, about grown up.

Sunday

Sunday, sadly, we faced the return to reality, to our homes and "real" lives. Before that, however, we had a visit to make. We had an appointment with one of our former Presidents.

Saturday

We shopped. We ate. We shopped some more. We ate some more. We headed back to the hotel, where we ate yet again and watched a movie.

Friday Night

I went to Galena with some friends this weekend. We stayed here, a place I heartily recommend.

This was our collection of yummy beverages.



Is it any wonder that we closed the movie theater? Yeah, we went to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which we liked. We went to the 10 o'clock showing, and were the last people out. We felt like such partiers!

Well, we are. We also had one of these in our collection, as proof.

Saturday Farm Report

Dang.

I'm out in Galena with friends. We spent the day wandering through shops and eating wonderful foods. (Thank goodness I'm here with other food lovers. If I were with some high maintenance girls who thought a pea for breakfast could hold them through the day, I'd be sunk.) We took some fun pictures, some of which showed ME to be the Most Likely to Start Dieting Again Next Week!

But I grabbed the wrong camera cable.

So you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see my fun pictures.

Sorry.

Merry Christmas!

From all of us at Pine Ridge Farm, including Frank, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Day After

The first two minutes of this are my experience of Black Friday. This is why I am staying home today.



(See what I did there? The Day After, as in, The Day After Thanksgiving? And The Day After? Bwahahaha! Although, I suppose, if I have to explain it, it's not such a good example....)

Well, not really home. We're still at Grandma and Grandpa's, enjoying family time and some rest. This afternoon, Grandma is volunteering at a local thrift store; we'll be heading over there soon to visit her, and to find me a shirt, since I didn't pack well and forgot one day's worth of clothing! Tonight we'll head into Bloomington to see the lighting of the Canopy of Lights.

Enjoy your Black Friday.