Alpaca: up close and personal.

Here is the alpaca, just standing there and wondering just exactly who I am, or rather what I am. It is very cold! This particular alpaca looks like she is wearing a mask. I shall continue to refer to this one as she because she is white in the front and brown on the back. White dogs are female also. Cats are him, no matter what color.

Look, Mr. Alpaca, I have a nice fat carrot for you. Come on over here! Yum, yum!
Now, they have eaten the carrots and they are trying to get me to go back in the house and get more. The one on the right thinks he told a joke so he is laughing!

And there you have the alpaca's that live in the field by my house! I thought they were Llama's when I first seen them. I must confess, I do not know the difference, but alpaca is easier to spell! It sort of rolls off the keyboard, but the double "ll" business just sort of boggles the mind!

These 2 alpaca's are very astute. If I walk across the deck and head out to the duck/goose pond they just look at me and go on about their business. If I stop and look at them they look back at me. If I take a step in their direction, they take a step in mine!

" I start walking their way, they start walking mine!

We meet in the middle 'neath that old Georgia Pine.

You gain a lot of ground if you both give a little!

Ain't no road to long if you meet in the middle!"

Forgot who sings this!

And there you have your lesson for the day! That was not too hard was it?

Peacock Wall Hanging!

As promised, the lovely Peacock wall hanging is now a published work of art! This does not do it justice because it is not really finished! See the gold ribbon between the blocks? I need to sew more all the way around the white and also stitch some in the border. Problem is I am out of the gold ribbon and it is too cold here to venture out for more. I will get that done at some point tomorrow.

Now for the particulars on this. This is an Anita Gooddesign Full Collection in 20 block tile scene in 3 sizes. This is the medium and measures 35" x 29". There are a total of 514,092 stitches in this and since I screwed up a couple of blocks, there are way more than that! This will lay flat when I finish and hang it on the wall as opposed to closing it in the top dresser drawer.

The peacock is a sign of good luck and since the neighbor lady does not have very good luck keeping her peacocks in the yard, perhaps she can keep this on her wall and have good luck, after all. I will give her this for Christmas and it will be a surprise for her because she does not even know I have a blog!!!

We learned in class that we should charge $1.50 per 1000 stitches. That makes the value of this $771.00 and since I worked on this for over a week (Sunday excluded) I would say she is getting a pretty good Christmas present!!

I get to babysit today for the little one that belongs to Janea, who is Lyn's daughter. He is 5+ months old. Don't think he can do much but kind of roll around. Oh, well. It will be a break in the routine and I can snuggle with him and he will keep me warm! Reminds me of an old cross stitch I made once to hang on the wall. I don't remember all of it, but the part I remember goes:

Cooking and cleaning can wait for tomorrow
For babies grow up, we learn to our sorrow.

So dust you just lay there, cob webs go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

Author unknown

Give us this day, our daily bread!

It is 12 below zero, do you know where your children are? Remember way back when curfews were in style and the announcer would come on and say, "It's ten o'clock. Do you know where your children are? " At the time my kids were little and I knew exactly where the little boogers were.

Time passes and those little cherubs have since grown into adults and raised their own babies and those babies in turn have spawned more babies. I look back on the trail of human lives that I am directly responsible for and I am amazed. How did this happen?

I birthed 5, who in turn birthed 8. Those 8 have turned out 7 (so far). Very quickly I am running out of fingers and toes to count them on! You probably are wondering where I am going with this and what it has to do with 12 below weather! Simple.

All of these people have homes. They all have somewhere to stay and food to eat and by the grace of God, are not out on the streets in this Artic weather. It is the time of year to look around at the less fortunate in our midst and to reach into our pocket and do something for someone we have never met and probably never will. It is time to think outside of our little circle we tend to be so generous with and encompass a little more of mankind.

I make soap and lotion as one of my hobbies. The family gets lots of that for Christmas, but I tend to forget about the homeless needing something like that. I am going to load a bunch and take it to Posada, I think. This is already made so it will not cost me anything to do that! And it may make some one happy.

"Count your many blessings, name them one by one! Count your many blessings see what God has done!"

My God! It did it again!

Here is Daisy in the snow on the way to the duck pond. If you have not guessed, it snowed again last night. According to Indian Lore we now have 23 snows left. Daisy stopped so I could take her picture. What a good doggie!!!Here is where our footprints converge, although briefly. You can see we only have about an inch or so. Not how much snow we have, but rather how cold it is here. I do not know the exact temperature, but I think it is the area of -2 degrees. The schools in town and here in the county are closed.

Normally I would just hang out here in my 'jammies and wait for warmer weather, but I have ducks and geese that need tending. I shut them up at night and have ever since I found the fox dining on the drake that night. By closing them up, I keep them safe and they stay warm, which you can see by the next photo, what they think of snow. They rush out the door and sit in the snow! They only set in the snow until I get the pond broken and then they are in it swimming in the ice floes!

Do you see them setting in the snow up there! The picture below is a small part of the pond that I broke so they can get water to drink. Then when they all get out there the weight of them will break off more edges and they will have room to swim. Glad I am not a duck!!

See my little footprints there? This is my strategy for breaking ice without falling in the pond. My right foot has the toes up on a brick so my weight is thrown to the back. Then with my right hand I proceed to break the crust of the ice with a sharpshooter shovel. I do not want to fall in that pond on a good warm day and doing so in sub zero weather would be the end of life as I know it!!

And there you have the start of my day. The rest of the day has got to be better, but not according to the weather report. I am going to go work on the peacock so I can post that for you tomorrow or Thursday at the latest.

"Keep a smile on your face so people will wonder what you have been up to!!"

American Made! Oh, yes I am!!

I had an epiphany!! I sell seed catchers over on ebay and one of my customers emailed me to be sure these were made in the U.S.A. I assured her that they were indeed made right here in Pueblo, Colorado. She was thrilled and then it dawned on me that perhaps there is not much out there any more that is made in America. Sooooo. . .

Yes, Isle, this was made in America and I was made in America. My ancestors came to this country through Ellis Island at the turn of the century and that is documented! They came here from Germany to seek a better life in a free country. We trace back to the Erms area and there were a lot of vineyard keepers in our line.

We raised turkeys and geeses and Great Great Grandmother was a midwife. She also took care of people in her area around Abbyville, because doctors were few and far between. The boys hired out on farms in the area. Great Great Grandfather raised sorghum and made molasses. The names Haas, Gagnebein, and Hatfield were well known names in that area.

So when you ask if my products are made in America, the answer is a resounding "YES"! Made in America and made by an American and sold to another American! I had not thought of that angle before.

So thank you, Isle, for opening my eyes to what a rarity my little store actually is in this world. From now on I shall point to myself with pride, because people like you and I are becoming fewer and farther between.

So you and your little rescued chinchillas have a good day and keep searching for American made.

" For I'm glad to be an American, where at least I know I'm free! And I'll gladly stand up next to her and defend her still today......" and I don't remember the words, but you get the idea!!!

What did I do yesterday?

As the chips fall yesterday was spent downstairs trying to wind up a lot of projects.

This is project #1. This one is not wound up yet. This will be my Peacock Wall Hanging that I am making for the neighbor lady who can not keep her peacock home!

This entails embroidering 20 blocks and then sewing them together. Sounds easy, huh? First I have to hoop the fabric with stabilizer. Then thread the machine. This machine holds 6 threads and kind of works on its own until it needs a thread change, runs out of bobbin thread, breaks a thread or just misses me.

I need to do 3 more blocks and then I can assemble the blocks and put on borders and a back and some embellishments. Will post a picture when this is finished, but don't hold your breathe!

This is project # 2. This is my machine quilter and there you see Joanne's quilt which I just finished quilting. I work on this between attention to the 2 embroidery machines. She does her own binding so this project is finished! I can now cross this off my list. Crossing something off the list always gives me a heady feeling of power!
This is project # 3. This is going to be the Nativity for my church. This particular machine is very needy as I need to do a thread change every time it completes a color. It also has silver metallic thread for the stars and I need to hand feed the silver to it, or it shreds it and spits it out. I have 6 blocks done and need 14 more. The next 14 are really time consuming. Watch for the finished product some day!

And there you have yesterday. Today I need to make 2 seed catchers and then make cookies for cookie bags for the Southern Colorado AIDS Project. So I shall commence my day and hope that you enjoy yours! I think the weather is going to be a little nice today.

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday!!

The Cycle of Life

This is Polly. You can not see from this angle, but her right eye has a big black patch around it. She was a very good dog and now her ashes are back at the house. As soon as the ground thaws out, we will bury her right there under that lilac bush.

And here is her buddy, Daisy. You can not see from this angle, but Daisy has a black patch over both of her eyes. Right now Daisy is by my left foot, setting on her haunches watching me. I do not know what she thinks I am going to do, but she will be ready for it when it comes!
And thus is the cycle of life. I was born and as I grew I lost my grand parents, then my father, my brother, friends, aunts, uncles, mother, sister, more uncles, husband, and finally it came to the inevitable. My Uncle Ray passed at the age of 96(?) and I am now the matriarch in my family and I am the "older generation" in the Haas family line.

You know the funny part of all of this? I don't even feel old. Logistics tells me I am, but I don't feel like I am. It makes me wish I had paid more attention to the grandmas and aunts and uncles so I would know how to behave as a septegenarian! I remember once, my dear son, Sam telling me, "Grandmas don't behave like you! Get your apron on and get in that kitchen and make some cookies!"

I do now know exactly what the cycle of life entails . And as more time goes by and more deaths occur, whether it be canine, feline, human, friend, family, or stranger, the cycle of life is an integral part of the every day. It just happens in different forms and we accept and even embrace it at times. For part of the cycle of life is new birth!

So, as a very old radio program once used to sign off with, I shall copy it today:

" It is hard to sprinkle showers of happiness on other people without getting a few drops on yourself!"

What function does the doggie actually perform?

Have you ever really paid attention to your doggie? Dogs are man's best friend and I am sure there is some sort of reasoning behind that statement. For years, when I would be planning a trip and would be gone for several days, Polly knew. I would start packing several days ahead in preparation, and Polly would start acting all sad. While I was gone she did not eat.

Then I decided, I would not talk about the trip nor pack early. She still knew and when I started out the front door, she would look at me all sad and turn and go downstairs. She knew. When I came home, she would be standing by the back gate waiting. The neighbors assured me she did not do that until shortly before I came home. She had to know I was getting close.

When I took her for her trip to the vet, she knew. I am not saying only Polly had ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), I am saying all dogs have it. When my son was here with his three dogs it was almost humorous the way they acted. If he left them and went some where they would lay around, but suddenly, they would wake up, leap to their feet with ears alert. And after a few moments, Sam would come driving up the drive. They knew the exact moment to run to the front door so they could be there to greet him.

I don't think most of us even give any thought to how well they take care of us, even when we don't know they are taking care of us. I know if I am sad, Daisy now lays by my feet. When I go out to do chores, Daisy is by my side. When I go down to sew, Daisy is the one who lays at the sewing room door to stop intruders. I pet her, but she knows she is not Polly.

Someday I may not miss Polly so much, but until that time, Daisy will be here trying to fill the void. Why? Because that is what the doggies do. They are here to fill a void in out life and be a warm body to pet, when there is not other warm body around. And what do they ask in return? Nothing, only that we be there for the petting thing!

This is my gourd!!!

Above you see the inside of my gourd! It takes a lot of woman power to scrape all the seeds and gross stuff out of the gourd so it can become a lovely vessel like this!

After I got it all cleaned inside and out, I put tan shoe polish on and buffed it all pretty. I used the kind that is a wax in a can.

Then I wove pine needles around the top, stuck in some feathers, strung on some metal jewelry things, like this butterfly and the silver feather.

This is some sort of pine coney like seed pod. This sets on top of my entertainment center for all the world to see. I am working on a red gourd which shall be a harem belly dancer when I get it finished. Now I am even excited about that one getting finished!!

More gourds at a later date! Just kind of keeping in touch with you today! Have a good one and keep in touch with me!!

The Day Before the Big Day

This is the Indian who will be bringing me a turkey to go with the corn I already grew. That is , of course, a big lie! That is one of the fellows in native garb at the Chile Festival back in September.





Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, but today is not. Today is the day I have to take my dog Polly in to the vet and today is the day she will not come back. It is so sad when this time comes. She was Kenny's dog. He picked her out of all the puppies in the litter. She slept under the bed until Kenny passed and then she slept on the floor on his side of the bed.



She mourned Kenny for a very long time and never did quit watching for him to come home. She was never far from my side. If I was in the basement, so was she. If I went in the bathroom she lay on the floor outside the door, waiting. When I went to Kansas and left her home, she didn't eat. She lay under the buffet and waited. When the neighbors came in to check things, she growled at them, but did not move.



And how is loyalty like that rewarded? It is rewarded with a trip to the vet so she can go to the Rainbow Bridge and find Kenny. When she is too weak to get up the stairs without falling, when she growls at Daisy for no reason, it is time. I did not do this for my selfish reasons, I did it because she was not happy. I only wish that when I get in her shape that someone could take me by the hand and make me happy again.

Trying the woven blanket again!!

Look at this!! I have a picture here. Hope it is here when I publish this! This is one block on my blanket. This is the right side. You know I wove the whole thing with the wrong side up, so was very suprised when I say what it looked like.

This is the full blanket. It measures 52" x 48". Just the right size to not be too big or too small. It is made with 8/2 white cotton and washable wool. The wool is not itchy at all.
This is what the wrong side of the block looks like. Looks as good on the back as the front! I am so proud of myself that I could jump up and down. There are a couple mistakes in this one, so I am going to make another just like it only I will weave it right side out and it will be just PERFECT!

Whole blanket, wrong side. I sure hope when I hit the publish button that the pictures will be there.

If the pictures are there please let me know how you like my blanket, because I am really a very needy soul!

The blanket unveiling at last!!!!

At long last I am able to get these pictures posted. Unfortunately I have lost complete control of my blog and it is going to do whatever it wants to do, which at this time seems to be centering everything I type. Trust me, if this is the worst that happens we will be very blessed!

Ok, now it I can do this on the left. We will go with that. This is the blanket I have anquished over for two or three weeks. This blanket has 960 ends. That means the warp, which is what I weave across is 8/2 white cotton and there are 960 threads. Each one of those threads had to be measured, cut and then threaded through a reed and then through a heddle. A heddle is what is raised or lowered to give you a place to put the weft (cross) thread to make the pattern. The weft in this case is a beautiful blue wool that I got from Joanne.

Since this is what is called an overshot pattern I throw 1 shot of blue wool in the pattern and then 1 shot of white 8/2 cotton in tabby. That is why there is so much white. This is actually the wrong side of the blanket. Let's go down farther and hope we have a right side! Before we leave I should tell you the name of this block is Lee's Surrender and the blanket consists of 4 blocks. Shown below is 1 block.

Here it is!! This is the right side. See how predominate the blue is in this picture? That means this is the right side. You know, I look at this and I am not sure which is the right side and which is the wrong side. I guess it really does not matter. Since I did not listen when Joanne was trying to tell me, I wove this whole blanket with the wrong side up unless , of course, the wrong side is the right side. By this time, I am so confused that I think I will have a tiny draught of something fermented and go to bed.

Well, it looks like this is going to center stuff for me again. I must confess, I am ready to give up and let the computer rule my life. So with that being said, tell me if you like my blankie!

Unveiling of the Weaving!!

Pictures have been postponed until this thing will cooperate with me! If you sign up as a follower you will be sent a message when it happens. Otherwise keep checking back!

Sorry, Lou

The Loom in Action

OK. This is your last viewing of the loom before the big unveiling which will happen on Monday, November 16. I am so excited! I can hardly wait to see how it looks!

This is the back of the loom all tightened to the proper tension and ready to be woven into something that will be a work of art, but something grandma and great grandpa did as a matter of course. Men were actually employed in the weaving profession a long time before us women settled on it as an outlet for our creativity.

This loom is 60" wide, which is a little wider than a lot of looms, but when I bought this from the lady who taught me to weave I had in mind that I would weave carpet for the whole house. That little projuect did not last long.


I would like to take a moment here to thank the lady who taught me to weave for doing such a good job. I think she retired from teaching after me. I don't know if she quit cause I was such a pain, she was just tired of teaching, or if it just worked out that way and my paranoia is kicking in here.

Any way, I would like to send a big thank you out to Marilyn H. here in Pueblo, Colorado for taking me under her wing. She is a true artist in every sense of the word and I have learned much at her knee. Well, not actually her knee, but you get the picture!

Now, here we come to the first few rows of the blanket. You should know that Joanne told me the pattern I was working on would need to be altered if I wanted this woven with the right side up, but I, in my haste blew that off and forged right ahead. So what you see here is actually the back side of the blanket! I really do need to learn to slow down and listen once in a while.

Now what you see here will be the right side of the blankie. I had to get in a very uncomfortable position to take this picture! Yes, I think I will start listening and taking that extra 2 or 3 minutes to do it right.

The problem with this overshot is sometimes you will end up with a "floating" thread and it would be nice if you knew it when it was happening rather then when you have spent weeks weaving and take it off the loom and discover it. So your alternative is to stand on your head and check the underside. This is all well and good except I have 2 of the lickingest dogs in the world.

Here is a picture of the pattern. The name of this is Lee's Surrender and there will be 4 of these in my creation. The blanket is all done and I am so anxious for you to see it. I don't remember when I started this, but I think it took me about 2 weeks.

So there you have it! I think the lesson I learned from this, or the words of wisdom I give you are ones my mother told me many times..."A stitch in time, saves nine." Which means had I taken the couple minutes to translate the tie up I would not have had to stand on my head!

This is Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th and I laugh in the face of danger and all Friday the 13th suggests! I scoff at the beleif that because a day has a certain number it can impact my life in anyway. Well, that is different if it is my birthday. Then I expect gifts. If it were payday, then it would be important. But to say, "Today is Friday the 13th and it is going to be bad luck." Now that statement is ludicrous!

My blanket is finished and I will put a picture of it on this next Monday, just in case today has cast a spell on my computer. So for today I will try to catch you up on all the little events in my life.

Now see what I mean about the picture thing? I typed all that above and then downloaded the picture of the pumpkin patch out my car window and it appeared on top. This is well and good, but I am not smart enough to move it. I must study up on the moving of things.

Any way, this is a pumpkin field right up the road from me that I pass on the way to the city. There are a lot of pumpkins in that field and I have no idea what the future of the little fellows is going to be. Will they be seeds? Will they be cattle fodder? Will they just be turned back into the soil?

Earlier in the year, before Halloween, school buses and cars filled with kids came and spilled their load of humanity into the fields where the children slowly, and with much deliberation, chose the perfect pumpkin. This was very carefully carried back to the vehicle of choice and loaded aboard. I am sure these pumpkins got good homes, if you think having your eyes gouged out, your guts ripped out and a candle lit and thrust into your open cavity, having a good home!

Eventually these sacrifical pumpkins ended up in a trash can some where. Not my pumpkin. My pumpkin was grabbed and thrown into the shopping cart on the way to the checkout. I did not desecrate my pumpkin. Later this week I will cut it in half and bake it in the oven with a little water. Then I will peel it and run the cleaned pumpkin through the blender and make lots of pies.

My pumpkin will make many people happy for several meals. I may make some pumpkin soup, because this summer I made cucumber soup and that was really good. I had been wanting to try that, but this year a plethora of the cucumber made it almost a duty.

I seem to be rambling! I shall go do things I do and leave you to ponder just what lesson you should take from today's missive. It may very well, that it is nothing. Just thoughts of an old lady on Friday the 13th!

Introduction to the Loom

This is the front of my loom. This loom is a LaClerc and is 60 inches wide. This shot here is of the reed which is a 10 dent. That means there are 10 open slots to the inch. This reed is threaded with 8/2 cotton and there are 2 threads in each slot. There are a total of 960 threads. This is going to be a blanket for Penny when this is done.

This is how mine looks when it is through the reeds and ready to be pulled to the back. I am not very neat and usually end up with a very big knot! But I usually get it untangled after a few attempts and a whole lot of cussing!

This is the back of my loom before I thread the heddles which are the things that manipulate the threads so I can weave a beautiful blanket.

Since I have to do a bunch of work down stairs, and I never know where the next picture will show up, I am going to wait and work on the next section a little later. This is probably enough for you to meditate on today.

"Survivor" is on tonight so I should be able to work on the blanket and get it done so you can see it in a couple days. I know this looks complicated, but this is a craft you may want to try as it is very relaxing to do. If you stop to think about it, every skill you have in life is a learned skill. Weaving is no different and I am sure if you don't pursue it, you will never learn to do it.

Some where near you is a weaving guild so get online and find it and start there. Weavers are very gregarious people and will take you in and teach you this fine art. Men can and do make very good weavers. Men were weaving way before women ever tried their hand at it.

See you at the sale! Vail Hotel, Pueblo, Colorado, from now through Saturday, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM. You folks on the east and west coast may miss it!

Inkle Loom

Ok, we are going to give this a go. I have the pictures in the wrong order, so just live with that! Here you have bands that were made on an Inkle Loom. You can make bands however long the loom you have makes and that is usually up to 3 feet, but that varies. The width also varies from a quarter of an inch to 3 inches or so. All depends on your equipment.


This one (below) is the one I am currently working on and in all fairness I have been working on it for 3 or 4 months. The white band is what I use to keep it all the same width, or as close as I am going to get to something uniform. My teacher just shines with pride when she sees how screwed up I can actually get! I love that woman.

And now we come to an actual picture of the Inkle Loom. I know it should have been first, but you are dealing with me, for crying out loud! I am still in my jammies!

A very knowledgable lady named Joanne taught us how to use these and the loom was in the cost of the class. You are going to need a teacher and if you are lucky enough to get one as patient as this Joanne you are going to be blessed indeed! ( Hi Joanne of Pueblo, Colorado, who is one of the best weavers I have ever met and the most patient lady in the world!)

This is a handy little thing to have because you can carry the whole thing in one in one had and thread for the weaving in your pocket! Quite a way to pass that boring time while you are waiting to get in for your dentist appointment and it will take your mind off the shot, searing pain, grinding, and all that stuff which will happen when you getbehind that door in that sound proof room!

So, there you have the tip of the iceberg for this weaving thing. Tomorrow I will attempt to put on pictures of my big loom and the blanket that I have started. It will be a work of art! Sign up over there somewhere so you do not miss a single episode of Lou Mercer trying to talk you all into going back in time!

You are never to old to learn and if I can do it-you can do it!

The Gopher and the Dog

Oh, Lord! If you think it is quiet on this back acre of mine, I have a surprise for you! Friday I heard the most God awful racket in the garden area. The geese were, all 10 of them on red alert! I ran out on the deck fully expecting a bear or at the very least a coyote!

What I say was neither! I have had a small bit of a problem with either a gopher or mole throwing up little piles of dirt here and there in the yard. I was not alarmed as I figured when it got tired of looking it would leave. Besides that I had instructed Bret to go pee over there, because, according to the ancient legend, that would deter burrowing varmints in your yard. Has not worked yet, but you just never know!

I digress! The geese were in full battle regalia, stomping in circles, heads low and charging at the fence honking at the top of their lungs. On this side was Daisy, my dog that is a cross between a Weiner dog and a Jack Russell Terrier. Daisy had the top half of her body, to include her head and both front feet, engaged in digging the biggest hole I have ever seen a dog dig! I knew this was going to be good!

I went over and she was not interested in me at all, but rather, kept sniffing and digging. I got the shovel. After the first thrust I knew she was on the trail of the gopher/mole. There was the tunnel! I dug a little longer and Daisy kept sniffing and helping. Alas, I soon learned that I was tired of this game, so I gave up.

Daisy continued for a little while, but then she also wore out the chase. What did we learn from this? As I look out across my yard full of holes and the new piles of dirt appearing here and there, I think about Bill Murray. I don't remember the movie, might have been something like "Caddy Shack", but what I do remember is the devastation that followed his encounter with the gopher.

The golf course was all blown up, smoke hung in the air, Bill Murray was covered in dirt, and the little gopher poked his head up out of a hole and laughed! I am not going to fight a losing battle, and if Daisy wants to dig the whole yard up, then she can just dig away. I probably would like to xeriscape anyway!!

The Art of the Apology

I woke up this morning thinking about this, so I am sure I have to share with you. I lost a good friend this summer. She did not pass to the great beyond, but rather just ceased to exist in my realm of being.

I am a Democrat, born and bred. I have been known to support Republican candidates on more then one occasion, but for the most part I just support what ever or who ever I think is right and on the side of good. This has earned me the name in the family as "a flaming Liberal," but so be it. Back to my train of thought.

My friend is a Republican. Nothing wrong with that, just laying the groundwork for this missive. Republicans have the right to live also, (Hi Joe!) The problem arises when we talk politics, so I tend to avoid that at all costs. I change the subject, I walk away, just whatever it takes, but...

We live in a computerized world and in that world is the forwarded email! No need to even think, just click forward, forward, forward. Now I open most of my email because I think there may be a message in there somewhere. So when the health care debate came to the forefront, my mail box was filled with how Obama is getting ready to have all the old people euthanized, and me being an old person, should immediately write my senator and yada, yada, and you know the routine.

That part is not important, what is is the fact that I asked her not to send this stuff. I forwarded it back to her. I asked her not to, but she continued, so I blocked her and sent her a letter telling her why. I was truly offended.

Then came the apology: "Dear Lou, I am very, very sorry I offended you, but you need to know what the Democrats are trying to do. You need to know that ..." and she continued in that vein, explaining to me what I am to simple minded to understand.

So on to the art of the apology. People have feelings. People have thoughts. People just want to live. If you step on someones toes in your quest for the good life, apologize and back off. "I am sorry." "I am sorry I offended you." "I am sorry I pissed you off." Stop there at the period. Do not say, "I am sorry, but you know you are wrong!" "I am sorry, but you are stupid and need to be educated."

Just "I am sorry." That is if you are sorry. Sorry you hurt me, not sorry I am of a different belief. A heartfelt apology will go a long way toward building bridges. I am a very stubborn person and left a church I had attended for 15 years for the lack of an apology.

So just love each other, mend your bridges and try not to piss me off, cause I carry a grudge and you need to know that going in!!

Nancy's Forest

This is a picnic table that hides in the forest!















It is hard to beleive that next door to Nancy's house is a school! Her house is in a forest and there is no other word for where she lives.








































This is a bird house that her husband, Ivan built for the little feathered creatures that flit about!






This has been a test to see how to put pictures on here and I think I got it, so get ready to learn lots of stuff!!

Geese

 

Snail Mail

I surely do wonder what is going on with the United States Post Office. I can remember the good old days when I would set at my kitchen table and write a letter off to my mother to let her know that I was alive and well and preggers again. I would seal the letter and toddle off to the post office to mail it to dear mother.

Well those days are all in the past! Mother has since passed to her great reward, the child bearing days are well over around here, and the United States Post Office is slowly being replaced by the Fax Machine and the computer. Not to mention the telephone and the cell phone.

I look back on the changes that have transpired since I was a little girl traipsing the dirt roads around my home town of Nickerson, Kansas, and it is enough to turn my hair white!

We used to be on a party line on the phone. That meant that several families shared the line. If it rang 2 longs and a short, that meant the phone was for us. 2 shorts and 2 longs was for someone else. We could pick up the phone and "listen in", but we could and would very get her little fannies warmed for that! I am pretty sure the operator who connected the phone calls was not above listening, because she was very knowledgeable about the goings on around town. She actually reported to my mother that my older sister was pregnant and stirred up a real hornets nest there! Just doing what she thought was right (Like eavesdropping was right!).

The telephone came in one color; black. It had a crank on the side and that is how you got the operator, turn the crank. She would, in due time answer "Number please!" Usually we just said the name of who we wanted and she rang it through. She knew where everyone was at any given time of the day, or at least where she thought they should be.

We took a tour of the telephone company when I was in grade school, probably about the third grade. That was an eye opener! The whole phone office was probably 10 foot square. The operator set on a little stool in front of a board which had a bunch of holes in it with wires connecting the parties talking. The operator, who I always thought to be 8 feet tall, was actually a very short woman, but just as crabby in real life as she was on the phone.

Is life better now? Depends. I can pick up the phone and instantly talk to my son in Dallas, or fire him off an email and have an answer via his Blackberry within seconds. Sure takes a lot of the mystery out of life. Oh, yeah, and the privacy. I know there are people lurking out there who want to steal my identity and know all my dirty little secrets, but here is the bottom line for you to think about; how long will it be before we all have a computer chip and all we have to do is think about the kid in Dallas and we will be connected by thought? Scares me.

Gives new meaning to the term Big Brother is wataching you!!

It is still snowing!

I know there are people out there, when they hear about the snow in Colorado, especially the ones measured in feet, that they think of me! Thanks for thinking about me, but usually those feet of snow are anywhere but here. For the most part this is basically desert. Or at least I think so.

So now, we had our first snowfall yesterday, which was the 28th. It is putting down another layer, so that is 2 off of the 28. Means we have 2 snows left after today. Right? I wish the Indians that decided that stuff had been more specific. Since this is a snow on top of a snow is it one snow or since it is the second day is it 2? Because I do not like snow, I will count it as 2. I will mark it thusly on the calendar and next spring, assuming I actually did it, we will see what happened.

Hey! I got on my wii fitness thing today and I did not hear that woman say I was obese! She actually said my BMI was normal. And further I am now 37 years old! Course it was also blaring something about the batteries were going south and need to be replaced! Will that affect the accuracy? Do I care?

I kind of like this being normal and 31 years younger than I am so I may start putting weak batteries in all the time.

Good Lord! I can hear that weather man in there yapping about 5 more inches of snow! This is getting very scary. I do not like this stuff! What if it just keeps snowing and then gets over the house and keeps on snowing? What if the whole world, at least the cold parts, just lays there and keeps getting snowed on every day? It will get deeper and deeper and I will run out of food. The water will freeze. I see nothing but gloom and doom. I know that has never happened before, but what if.....?

It is gonna' snow!!

It is official, it is going to snow today. Of course it is! Yesterday I went out to the storage trailer and guess what was falling on my head? You got it, a drip! I could not get a tarp until last night, so we were out there this morning bright and early this morning and tried to fit a 12 x 20 foot tarp over an 8 x 30 foot trailer. We, of course, have a nice little breeze going and it did not go well at all.
So now, what to do. I need to leave here in 15 minutes to go take a lady to the doctor, then try to make an appearance at the weaving guild meeting. I fully expect something to happen while I am gone, like the tarp blowing off and up, up and away.
So this is the plan: I will come home and start moving the perishable and not waterproof stuff out of the trailer and into the tin shed. I fully expect to do this is a full fledged blizzard. I know how my luck runs.
Just wanted to touch base right quick. You all have a lovely day, and remember, "Some where the sun is shining and some where hearts are free, but there is no joy in Louville, the mighty trailer has sprung a leak!"

Why do the llama's run and jump!

Well, a very unusual sight out back this morning. The brown llama was running up and down the field and stopping to jump or buck or somethhng. The brown and white llama stood very still watching the brown llama. Now I have no idea about the sex of these 2 animals so they will be referred to as brown and brown and white.
If horses run and buck, there will be a change of weather. If cattle lay in the field the fish will not bite. I know if the geese or ducks hold real still and all look in the same direction, there is usually something furry over there thinking about duck soup. But this llama thing has me buffaloed.
I know what llama's are used for, kind of any way. To look at their shaggy, ragged coat, you would never guess that here is a fiber that when shorn, washed, combed and spun will make a very soft item to be worn. It is not itchy like wool, but it is a kind of wool. I would love to get my hands on either of these two fellows/girls.
See the irony of the whole thing is, when the man stuck them in the feild right there beside my house, he had no idea that I have in my possession, a basket to wash the fleece, hand carders to card the fleece, a spinning wheel to spin the fleece and 2 looms to weave the yarn!! I further have the knowledge to do all that.
I wonder what the man would think if he came over here and found naked llama's waiting for him?! What would the headline read in the local paper? "Old Lady Strips Llama", "Granny Charged with Fleecing Fleece", "Pulling the Wool Over Brownies Eyes!"
I think I probably would be better served just staying over here in my own yard and watch that silly llama hop around over there. I must learn to keep my mind from wandering.
If you know why llama's behave like they do, please let me know.

My Mohawk Hair Cut

Ever have a "Bucket List? I do. It is getting whittled down slowly but surely. Two years ago I decided to fulfill the mohawk desire. I had taken my son to the barber, one my husband had used forever, and the time was right!
I had a very hard time talking Louie into that, but finally he decided he might as well do it if he ever wanted me out of there. The deed was done! A little axle grease and the old mohawk stood right up as proud as you please.
Now, you should know, I always kept my hair short so the grand and glorious strip on the center of my 65 year old head was only about 3 inches tall. The bald head that surrounded it made it look fantastic! Paid my bill and off to the first stop; step daughter!
"What in God's name have you done? Wait till my husband sees that!" Her husband did indeed make it over to see me and know what he said? He laughed! "Way to go grandma!"
The grandkids were taken aback, but quickly adjusted. The other grownup kids were appalled, but soon adjusted. In all fairness, not all of them live around here and did not see it when it was fresh. I hated that.
The people at church dropped their jaws. But the best part and the part that made it all worth it were the strangers. Not many old ladies show up with a mohawk. The best reaction was the "gang bangers". I would walk down the aisle at the grocery store and run into one of them with his hat cocked on crooked and his eyes all hard and mean. He would glare at me, make eye contact and then give me the sweetest smile.
I had that happen several times and it dawned on me that if we would all just shave our heads and meet on common ground, an old lady and a punk teenager, we might get a little further down the road to peace.
I do not know how many thumbs up I got. Old people smiled, young people smiled,strangers on the street smiled. I had a good time with that haircut.
But, alas, the hair grew back and there was a lot of itching going on when that happened. I don't know if you have ever shaved your head, but there are a lot of bumps and stuff up there that is never seen unless you do shave the hair. Something up there is responsible for what is known as "cow licks." (Cow licks will be a later post!)
Now we all know there is not much sense to doing anything wild and crazy if you do not keep a record of that act. The day after I got my mohawk, I renewed my drivers license! It took the man 2 tries to get the light and everything just right so the mohawk is preserved for posterity! He actually worked with me on that photo!
Now when the clerk asks for my id, I hand her my license, she glances at the top of my head and we have a conversation going! I do not regret that haircut one bit, and may do it again if those kids of mine don't watch out!

Good old days may be yet to come!

I see I have been AWOL, which is the acronym for Away With Out Leave. That means I just took off and told no one that I would not be typing away in my little journal here. Did not go anywhere. Did not do anything in particular, just did not function like I should have. I do not feel one bit guilty even knowing you are out there thirsting for my wisdom and humor. Which brings me to the point of this missive.

For many years, well about 68 to be exact, I have functioned as others thought I should. I got my diaper changed and ate when momma thought I should. Went to school when teachers thought I should. Married a man because he thought I should, and then tended the babies, because that was expected. Life turned me into a single mother and then it was work, work, work. Later life gave me a wonderful husband who made sure I did not need to do that anymore.

Now, I find myself a widow, with a home and grandchildren and great grandchildren and a lot of time on my hands. I live alone, basically, so my life is pretty simple and my wants are few. I can eat breakfast at 6:00 AM or 2:00 PM. I can take a walk or a nap, depending on my mood. I can make a quilt, weave a tea towel, bake a cake, or just set and watch the ducks and geese. I can go to town or stay home. My choices are endless.

I am at no one's mercy but my own. I know that some day this life of mine will make a "u" turn and I will end up just like I started, but for right now, this moment in time, this is my good old days. Think this depresses me? Think again! Right now I have the whole enchilada and I am going to run with it. :)

Polly Parrot

And along that line, I have to tell you about Great Grandma's Parrot. When I lived with them, it was 1955. Residing there also was Polly Parrot. Polly was a green Amazon who (was almost a who as opposed to a thing) had been captured in South America and brought to Great Grandma covered in cotton in a matchbox and fed with an eye dropper.

Great Grandpa (I never knew him, but assume there was such a man and that he did the chores around the house and was indeed, the parrot smuggler.) built a wooden perch for Polly and there Polly spent all the days of his life. He never had a cage and beneath the perch was a sand box which had to be cleaned periodically.

When Polly was 45 years old he was in a feature article in the Kansas City Star. His whole life story was told and he became a celebrity. But for the most part, he just set there on his perch in the dining room, right outside the kitchen. Every Sunday was a big family dinner, because that is what you used to do.

Polly would sing for us, "After the ball is over, after the dancers have gone- - ". That is all I remember of the song, but Polly knew more. Some one would pop around the corner and give him a piece of apple or a brazil nut, or something just as good. Polly always said "Thank You!" That bird knew his manners.

I had a favorite cousin at the time named Carl. Carl assured me that one night he was sleeping on the couch and Polly fell off his perch and when he hit the floor he said "damn!" but I am not sure that was entirely true. When Polly did lose his balance and end up down there he would walk back to the sand box, pull himself up the pole that held his perch and once more be king of the domain. He had a hard time walking because his feet were shaped the same as the perch he spent his life on.

Polly never bit anyone or ever had a bad day. He was just there and stayed there until Grandma died and Great Grandma went to live with Aunt Helen. Several years later Aunt left the window open and Polly spent a night with the cold wind blowing on him. He ended up with pneumonia and died shortly there after.

Great Grandma lived to be 104. She kept her mind to the end, Crocheted with heavier yarn, and could tell you stories of Jesse James and the Younger Gang in her barn and eating at her table (She did not know who they were at the time, just their name.), and always Polly had been there. It was a sad day when we learned in a letter that Polly had died. But I am sure that up in Heaven some where there is a tall, regal white haired woman coming around the corner to feed a piece of apple to a big green parrot who has just finished a rousing rendition of
"After the ball is over, after the dancers have gone...."

Grandma Haas

As I mentioned, I lived with Grandma and Great Grandma for a time. I dearly loved my Grandma. She had suffered a stroke and used a walker. One arm was pretty useless and that was back in the time that physical therapy was not practiced. I guess she did her own therapy because she still managed to crochet.
Grandma was 72 and Great Grandma was over 95 when I lived with them. They arose every morning at sun up and were dressed in their little cotton dresses with a full apron over the dress, shoes, the long stocks that passed for nylons, glasses on their nose and every hair in place.
Breakfast had been laid out the night before. The egg poacher filled with water set over 1 pilot light and the drip-a-lator coffee maker full of water set on the other pilot light. One half of an orange was at each place setting setting. Jelly and all the condiments were covered in the middle of the table. Breakfast would be cooked and served in 5 minutes. I then put all the dishes under the sink to await for my return from school.
My Grandma was a short, plumpish woman and had golden hair as opposed to white. I still have her braid. She had the sweetest smile, like angels would have. My mother was the spitting image of her in later years.
Great Grandma was a very regal woman. She was tall, thin, aristocratic nose and piercing eyes. She moved very slowly, but then she was 95 years old and the main caregiver to her 72 year old disabled daughter! What did I expect?
These women never raised their voice, but I was always most happy to do what ever they asked. Every night, with out fail, we took turns reading from the family Bible. We never ate with out praying over the meal. We never slept with out praying we would still be there in the morning. And it always worked. Right up until Grandma had another stroke.
If I could have one wish for the world it would be for everyone to have Grandmas like I did. If these 2 women had been in charge of the world there would not be war, pestilence, or poverty and violence. Just a world of people setting around and never raising their voices, doing what they knew in their souls was the right thing to do. Making sure that their little corner of the world was in peace and harmony.

After all, if we each took care of our own little corner, there would be peace and harmony. If we took care of each other in a compassionate manner, we would have no time nor energy for the back biting and in fighting that leads to strife and war.
I think I will just practice what I preach!!

The Good Old Days

It is very cold and last night we had the first snow fall of the season. Now old Indian lore states that the first snowfall only counts if you can track a deer in the snow, so this one does not count. It does not count because it melted before our eyes. Had it lingered that would have made our first snowfall on the 8th of October. Therefore we would have 8 snows this winter, deep enough to track a deer (Got to remember that part).
Further lore proclaims if the caterpillar has long hair it will be very cold. If the caterpillar spins the cocoon high it will be wet. And there was more stuff about what this woolly little worm could make the weather do. Of course, once again memory has failed me and I know not where the Indians have gone. Back East, I think. Actually I think they went to Washington, D.C.
There are things grandma told me on a fairly regular basis. "Your face is gonna freeze like that! " " A stitch in time saves 9. " " Where spider web grows, no beau ever goes! " " Sugar draws more flies than vinegar!"
When I was growing up, I was not sure my grandmother ever had an original thought, but now in my wisdon, I realize they were her thoughts. She just thought them a lot and out loud. Would I have remembered these things had she said, "Quit making faces or you will have wrinkles." "Do your mending or your clothes will need major repairs." "Clean your room or you will be an old maid. (That one never worked. My room was a mess and I managed to marry several times.)" "Being sweet will get you more friends than a nasty dispostition."
The answer is a resounding NO! I lived with my grandmother and greatgrandmother when I was in high school and it made me who I am today. I learned to crochet, the radio was always tuned to the news and market report, the only book worth reading was the Bible, and I had to sleep on the couch because the spare bedroom was upstairs and they worried that the house might catch on fire!
Those definitely were The good old days!!

And what would you like to live without?

Got up this morning and made breakfast for a lady friend. At that time I was told the water would be off for 2 hours "a little later this morning." Panic mode! Bret said "Fill the bathtub with water! Fill all the pans!" Now, I do not normally use that much water in a week so I opted for a gallon pitcher.

Then the appointed time arrived. How many times did I start to was my hands, flush the stool, really want to mop the kitchen floor, and fill the duck pond? And why was that? Normally that time of day is spent on the loom or one of the sewing machines or in town.

But not this day! Today is the one day I needed the water on, because I could not have it at my beck and command. Had it been the electricity I would have wanted to watch television, or run the air conditioner.

Think about this people! Less than 100 years ago running water in the house and electricity all through the house were the oddity rather than the norm. There were very few roads, because there were very few thing needing a road. Computers were unheard of, although I am sure some one had dreamed them by then.

Now think further; what would you give up if you had to give up something? My guess is nothing. You could not function without your ipod, cell phone, computer (and chances are those are in one item), car, pace maker, and on and on, because the things that were in everyday use 100 years ago can not be found today.

If they are found they are antiques or reproductions. And they make reproductions why? Because we long for the "good old days", but not enough to give up the conveniences that we now take for granted every day!

So today I am going to give up one of these things that I have been taking for granted and see how bad I miss it. Just have to decide what it will be. Hmmm! Oh, I already did, I gave up water for 2 hours. Now to report on how that worked out for me: It sucked!!!

Happy Birthday!

Well, today is my Happy Birthday. It is 8:30 am and 5 of the 10 kids have remembered. I will be going to the Springs to have lunch with the Pastor and Kay and Frank. Then tonight we will go out to eat at the Chinese food place, so the social ritual of eating is all planned and that is one less chore to do.
Birthdays are necessary, but only as a point of reference, "I got married when I was 19, first baby when I was 21, moved to Colorado when I was 36." Things like that. Some people count the day until the birthday, then count the days after the day. I am not big on that stuff. I usually forget until some one reminds me and then I am showered with gifts, even though I protest that I do not want them.
I really do not want them! There is not a single thing in this world that I can not live with out except for the food and water thing. So today I am inundated with a daughter, grand daughter, her husband and 2 great grandsons. Of course there will be presents and cards in the mail and they will all ask, "How old are you now?" Well, they expect me to remember how old they are, and I am the old forgetful one, so they should be telling me. Course they forgot.
So for posterity sake, I will tell you and that is if I have remembered correctly. I am 68 and holding. About the only memorable thing this year is that I survived it! Oh, yeah, I learned to swim. Been wanting to do that for many years. Still don't go in the deep water, but may stray out there one of these days.
So for now, Happy Birthday to me, and the rest of you have a good day.

Peacock Returns!

Yesterday I put sealer on the deck. This made it necessary to take the dogs out the front door. I stepped out in the front yard who should greet me, but Mr. Peacock! I of course, went into catch the peacock mode. Then it dawned on me that the neighbor lady was home and it was, after all, her peacock. So I ran over and got her.

She is not nearly as good at catching a peacock as her husband, so the last we seen of the peacock was him headed west down South Road and going a lot faster then either one of us! My son did observe that the peacock seems to be drawn to me. What ever. Peacocks are supposed to be a sign of good luck and I am hoping that will start kicking in soon.

In the meantime, I have been keeping pretty busy. Got a quilt quilted. Made small soaps with tons of lavender to keep moths away. Will sell them at the sale in November. Picked the remaining cukes so I can make dill pickle slices. Picked 3 tomatoes on the green side so I can fry them. I also looked at the closet with a critical eye. Then I reached a monumental decision; that is way more then I can get done since it is almost nap time!

The sunrise this morning was absolutely beautiful! Usually the sun just kind of pops up and down out here, but the one this morning was kind of slow and made the whole horizon very red and it stayed that way for almost half an hour.

Something about a long sunrise makes me feel inadequate. I feel that I am of very little significance in this big old world, but I somehow feel that I am the only one watching this sunrise. So, I guess my life is basically a conundrum. Do you know what that means? It means a riddle whose answer is a pun. That pretty much sums it up.

So, you have learned a new word today and the meaning of that word. As long as you pick up a little knowledge every day you will never stop learning. Wish I had some wise words to leave you with, but I am coming up blank. Just goes to show you that nothing is ever as it seems.

Chile Festival

I am demonstating for the Weavers Guild in the El Pueblo Museum yesterday and today. This has been fun. Joanne is with me and she is a tremendous weaver and likes people. I enjoy meeting people, so I just mostly talk.
First person to strike my fancy was Rebecca. She is from back east and knows how to use a drop spindle. We got started talking because she let a nasty word slip and apologized. I told her I could out cuss her any day. She spun some yarn and then went away, but not before we exchanged emails and such. Ships in the night.
The next one was a fellow who stopped right in front of me and stood. Not knowing what to say I said "Hi!" He replied, "No, just happy!" I was taken aback by that one, but life goes on anyway.
We watched the Indian Dancers. There is some very intricate bead work on those costumes. If you ever get a chance to take a close look, by all means do so. They go to a lot of work and are proud to show it to you.
There were rides for the kids, funnel cakes, Barbeque, roasted corn, jewelry, bean toss, and just about anything you can think of, but the main attraction is the rows and rows of chile roasters lined up and roasting the product Pueblo is best know for, the Mighty Pueblo Chile!!
So I shall return to my post today and continue to observe people. Will report in tomorrow. Sure I will have a good time.

Middle of the Night

It has come to my attention that I have profound thoughts, so profound that they actually awaken me wherein, I then need to lay there and ponder them. These same earth rattling revelations unfortunately flit away with the coming of dawn and complete wakefulness.
My late husband did not dream. Swore to heaven he did not dream. One morning he crawled out of bed a little more crabby then I was used to him being. As the day wore on his snipping seemed to increase, until I in my gentle way asked, "What in the hell is your problem?"
He stated that when he awoke that morning he "had it in his head" that I had run away with another man. I explained to him that is what is called a dream, which he must indeed be having, since I had not moved from the farm, so apparently had not run away with another man.
Now this brings me to the question, am I having profound, earth shaking revelations, or am I too, dreaming?
I have tried to trick myself, by recording my thoughts when I am awakened by these revelations, but when I play them back to myself, they do not seem all that important. To be honest, some of them sounded very stupid, others like the ramblings of a mad woman. So this leads me to one of two conclusions:
I am very happy that I escape into a dream world and get my creativity and genius worked out in the middle of the night where no one can see or hear just how loony I am as opposed to wandering around town talking to myself. What do you think of that theory?
Here is another one for you to think about. I am so smart when I am asleep that even I can not recognize my brilliance in broad daylight. I may be an Einstein and no one will ever know it because I sleep alone and can't remember anything when I wake up in the morning.
"What evil lurks in the hearts of man only the shadow knows!" That quote comes from an old radio show we used to listen to years ago. I am not sure it is correct, but then it did come from my mind and lord only knows what goes on in there!
A friend once told me " You never really know anyone, you know of them. " Meditate on that for the day.

My Mother

My mother shaped my life by example and a lot of her down home wisdom. I am going to tell you some of these at this point and what my thoughts at the time were.

1. "Get that pencil out of your mouth. You don't know where it has been." (Where did that thing go when I wasn't looking?")

2. " Do you want a lickin'?" (Oh, yeah! That is exactly what I want, a lickin'!)

3. " If Beth stuck her head in the fire, I suppose you would too!" (How is wearing my socks rolled down comparable to sticking my head in a fire?)

4. "Eat that mush! There are people starving to death in China." (Well, I sure wish they had this mush!"

5. "Get that coat on before you go outside and freeze to death!" (Wonder how long it takes to flash freeze.)

6. " Do not stick your tongue on that metal pole, cause it will freeze there." (Of course I am going to do that if I can just make it to the pole before I freeze to death.)

7. "Break this candy bar in half and give your sister the biggest half so you do not appear greedy." (Yeah, give the big half to her because she is greedy.)

8. "The early bird gets the worm." (And why do I want a worm?)

9. " Stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off!" (There is a visual I do not need.)

10. "Keep your legs crossed or some little boy will look up your dress." (And what will he see?)

11. "I am going to knock your block off!" (What is a block? Is that possible? Where will my block land and can I put it back on?)

12. "Keep eating and you are going to pop open!" (So that is what that belly button is for! To hold me shut.)



And there is not a day that goes by that one of her idioms doesn't pop into my mind and jerk me back to the straight and narrow. Today this would be called child abuse, but back in those days it was just called "doing the best we can."

I would not trade my roots for any other roots in the world. I came from good, hardworking, honest German and I am sure this has helped shape me into the person I am today.

Like a Bad Penny!

Bet you thought I was still out in the world wrestling Peacocks! No, here I am. Just like a bad penny, I have returned.
Yesterday was a lost day. Weaver's Guild until noon, lunch with the boy, hurry home for the nap, and then get ready for bed. Today I am going to tell you how to clean silver .
Get a big pot, preferably aluminum. Put a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the pot. Set the tea pot or whatever in the pot, making sure it has contact with the foil. Cover with water being sure to measure and make sure the item is covered. Now, add 2 tablespoons of baking soda for each quart of water. Bring temperature to 150 degrees and hold it there for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Rinse and buff.
Unless of course you would rather go buy some silver cleaner and rub it on, and rub it on, and rub it on. You get the picture! See I went to the garage sale and bought 2 boxes of silver stuff for $45.00. I could see a lot of polishing going on getting this in shape for Ebay. Not me, man, I am basically pretty lazy and if there is a way around the old way, I am all over that!
My mother had all kinds of little sayings to live by and I think the one that comes to mind here would be, " A stitch in time, saves nine ." And by that she would have said, "If you had kept that done up in the first place, you would not be up all night doing it now!"
Tomorrow I will tell you a bit about my mother, God love her. She was a very unique being and not a day goes by that one of her words of wisdom doesn't pop up and hit me, usually right between the eyes!!

Peacock Wrangling

Those of you who know me personally, know my life is never dull. This morning started out looking pretty mundane, little cool with that touch of fall in the air. I had an errand in town, so that was where I was headed. About a quarter of a mile from the house I happened to glance over and there was a peacock in the field looking pretty out of place. I recalled that the neighbors were missing a peacock, so being the dutiful person that I am, I made a "u" turn and told Clifford where the peacock was. Then I started back down the road. Silly me!
Here came Mr. Peacock walking east on South Road! I immediately parked the car and decided to follow along and keep my eye on him until Clifford could get there. I called my son and told him to go out in the yard and tell Clifford to hurry. Well, the Big Blue Peacock then took a right turn on 27th Lane. I knew if he got to the river he was gone. I took a short cut across the alfalfa field to cut him off at the pass. Have you ever tried to run across an alfalfa field? They irrigate those things which means they are full of ditches that you can not see. You can trip on them, but you can not see them coming!
Fortunately I beat the peacock and got him headed back east, unfortunately, it was now across fields, ditches full of water, piles of trash and fences here and there. So I called my son and told him to get out back as fast as he could cause I almost had him! I never remembered at any point in time that I had not told Bret what I was doing; just barked orders at him.
Bless his heart, here he came on a dead run to help his frantic mother in the middle of a field of weeds with one foot in an irrigation ditch full of water. He was very relieved to see me pointing at the peacock who was by now entangled in the fence. And to make the picture perfect, Clifford arrived with his net.
With the peacock gone and Bret looked at me and said "Do you realize I thought you had gone completely crazy? Next time you might want to explain what is going on out here!"
The neighbor lady was very grateful. Even said she had prayed the night before for the peacock to come home.
Now what is the wisdom in this posting? I am sure there is one here somewhere and as I set her with an ankle throbbing, looking back on the day, I think I know what it is!

I am a vessel of God, used for returning Peacocks and such to their rightful home!