Saturday Farm Report

We've had another really busy week here down on the farm. But I still managed to get a number of things done.

I finally cleaned up the front and back porches. They still had summer lawn furniture and planters lying around. I cleaned and swept and put away and cried a little, because my foot hurt.

See, every so often I have toe issues. I won't go into them in detail, but, suffice it to say, I could probably spend a couple of hundred dollars at the podiatrist, and it wouldn't hurt so much. But, no, I decide to do a little minor nail surgery myself, and then hobble around for a week or so. It's lots more fun that way.

Today I was taking my horse out of her stall and putting her in the pasture when I let my guard down and she decided to take herself for a romp through the yard. Her romps almost always make a beeline for the pasture gate, because she's a creature of habit, but it's still a little nerve-wracking to see her gallumphing her way across the front yard. Even more nerve-wracking when I can't run, but have to hobble ever so elegantly over frozen ground and puddles to catch up to her and get a rope on her. She's very accommodating, standing there by the gate while I put her halter on. She's just not so accommodating that she won't take the chance when I let my guard down!

Today is cleaning the garage so Mary's little Ranger, Scout, can get inside. We're getting tired of scraping it when I take her to school in the morning. We've also been invited to Ethan's for dinner, and to meet the girlfriend. I'd also like to get some transplanting done, of the Aloe that Threatens to Take Over the World, or at least our yard. I planted one baby aloe in one 4" pot about 5 years ago. I now have a 3' windowbox stuffed with aloes. And that's after taking half of them out about 3 years ago! This fall, I left them in the yard, and, although the ground is freezing and the pond is, too, I still have a 3' windowbox full of aloes. So, if you know me...guess what you'll be getting for Christmas!

OK, if I'm going to get these things done, I'd better get to it.

In Which Our Daughter Gets an F

And we are proud. She earned her letter in cross country this fall.

And she earned another award, which made us even prouder. Her coach chose her to receive the Outstanding Christian Cross Country Runner award, "For outstanding Christian leadership, Christian attitude and display of Faith on the 2011-2012 Faith Lutheran High School Cross Country team."

It made me cry.

Kudos!

Our littlest soldier came home from drill this weekend with a shiny medal. He also was named -drumroll- Soldier of the Year. No, we're not proud. Much. Since I know he likes the "cheesy," well, here ya go, kiddo.





[And, yes, I am aware that we have three "only pride(s) and joy(s.)" I can dedicate a cheesy song to them, too, if they want. ]

Saturday Farm Report

18 hours out of the house yesterday, mostly driving. Woke up to grey, cold drizzle and a throbbing earache. I love my so-called life.

We had our first snowfall yesterday. It's all gone today, of course, but it reminded me of this song. I used to love watching this cute little video in between Ray Rayner and his little duck, Chelveston.



I apologize in advance for the earworm.

Discipline

Life can be complicated. You have to do all the right things; eat properly, exercise, love on those you love. But you also have to make a living, take care of the things in your life, interact with others. There are only 24 hours in the day (which came as quite a surprise to me the other day! I had been working under the assumption that there were 36! Explains a lot!)

Discipline helps get these things done. Eating properly assumes eating the right foods and the right amounts of those foods. Exercise means finding a workable regimen of exercises that need to be performed properly, to avoid injury that would keep you from exercising. Loving those you love can be the trickiest thing, because those you love may not always be lovable. Making a living often gets in the way of taking care of the things in your life and of interacting with others.

And there's that pesky 24-hour limit. -sheesh-

I've been trying, since Mary started school in September, to arrange my days in some sort of disciplined schedule. It gets tougher and tougher every year, as more and more things pull on me from more and more directions. Some of those things are frivolous; I missed a movie I really wanted to see. Some are not; my dad needed a ride to the doctor. In the end, some things get done well and some do not. I suppose that's part of the sinfulness of a fallen world.

This is all by way of explaining why, rather than losing 10 pounds between October 15 and November 30, which was my goal, I gained 3. Well, I gained 6, but lost 3 in that time. -sigh- I wonder if I'll ever lose weight again.

Advent

Happy New Year! In the Church year, this is the beginning. This is when we wait. We wait, some say obviously, for Christmas. It's a time of preparation and building joy as we come closer to that wonderful festival.

But we also wait for the Second Coming. In church, we'll hear about the end times, about that mysterious and misunderstood time when Christ will come and take His faithful to Himself. It's a time of penitence, of renewal, and of hope.

And we sing really great hymns. Some of my most favorite hymns are Advent hymns. Yes, Christmas hymns are beautiful, and I have a list of Easter hymns that I hope someone will sing at my funeral. But Advent hymns. Ah......

Like this one.

(If you're interested, this is not a bad explanation of the liturgical year, especially in the Lutheran church.)

Homeward Bound

Today we leave Grandma and Grandpa's and head home. It's been a relaxing weekend, and we've even managed to learn a few things.

The critter-raising, home-cooking, can-the-jam things that I do are apparently part of a movement. Who knew that I would start a trend? I was just trying to make good, healthy stuff for us, because buying the good, healthy stuff was breaking the bank.

Acid reflux, one of my demons, is aggravated by chocolate, peppermint, alcohol and caffeinated drinks. Guess which of the four I could live without? Guess which of the four is the only one that actually helps my GERD? Yeah, me and peppermint. Quite the team.

My youngest two kids still drive me crazy when they get together. Can't. Stop. Poking, even at 21 and 16. But it also warms my heart. Aren't siblings supposed to hate each other?

Thanksgiving. It's not always about the turkey.