I BET YOU THOUGHT I STOPPED BLOGGING.....NOT!!! (5TH ATTEMPT TO LOAD POST)

Hi, blogger friends!  Yes, it’s been a while…..  I hope everyone had an amazing New Year!!

Let me tell you what we’ve been up too, since my last post.

We’ve been dealing with some mighty strange weather, like y’all have.  The temperatures have varied over the weeks to negative numbers all the way up to the high 50’s.  At one point we were actually colder than Alaska.  

Here’s what’s been happening on the homestead……..

Bulldog Man and I had found, over the summer, an amazing 40-year old handmade baby cradle; we couldn’t pass it up…..we purchased it at an amazing price, and took it home with intentions of stripping it, and making it look new.  I was asked by a dear friend if Bulldog Man and I were expecting a baby!  At our ages….it can’t happen :-)…however, were expecting a new grand baby (in January of this year).  Our son, Steven was expecting his first child, and our family couldn’t wait for it to happen.

We sanded down the cradle, cleaned it thoroughly, stained the cradle an amazing color, and let it dry completely.  Then we polyurethaned the cradle and ran into a problem.  The polyurethane started to leave white blotches all over the cradle.  We waited days for it to dry to see if the white blotches would disappear.  Some blotches disappeared, while new ones popped up.  This just didn’t make any sense to us and we didn’t have time to waste.  We were delayed refinishing the cradle due to the water issue and construction at our house. So onward we went, sanding down the cradle again thoroughly.  

This time instead of staining the cradle, we decided to paint it the same color scheme as the baby crib our son had purchased.  The cradle came out gorgeous; we’re still wondering what caused the blotches with the polyurethane.  

We delivered the cradle to our son and his wife on the 23^rd of December; they loved it and couldn’t believe how well it matched the paint on the crib!!!

After visiting with our son and daughter in-law, we stayed at my sister’s house in Texas, until we returned home on Christmas Eve.

On January 8^, 2018 our 6^th grand baby was born.  

Let me introduce you to Cora Faye, 7 pounds 7 ounces

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Due to the cold weather, squirrels in our neck of the woods were hunkering down in warm places. Unbeknownst to us, a squirrel decided to build a nest under the hood of our truck.  He/She ripped insulation off of the fire wall under the hood of the truck, and took the material off of the air filter to build a nest; on top of the intake manifold of the truck.  When we went to change the oil, a nest (well structured I might say) was found and pulled off of the intake manifold of the truck. 

After researching the internet, I’ve learned that by placing moth balls under the hood of your vehicle, it will deter squirrels from building nests.  So I attempted my version of storing moth balls under the hood of our truck, and other vehicles.

I pulled out some old material, cuts squares, placed moth balls in the center of the squares and pulled the ends together with sown heavy duty string.  Then I cut two slits in the material on the sides and placed a zip tie through.  This way I could mount the pocket on a heavy wire under the hood of each vehicle (I made sure the wires wouldn’t start fire or have issues). This has worked well, and has deterred the squirrels (the smell isn’t real nice). 

Now we’re dealing with the squirrel playing games with us inside our detached garage.  Eventually the little bastards will be caught!!!!

*****(The Type Print On This Post Keeps Acting Up, Excuse The All Caps*****

For the past 4 weeks, I’ve been recuperating from walking pneumonia and dealing with a broken foot. 

You heard right! 

I caught an upper respiratory infection after visiting my sister which turned into pneumonia.  And weeks before, I was locking our driveway gate when the inevitable happened.  The driveway is gravel, and it’s not level so, when I ran to catch one side of the gate, my foot went down onto an unlevel section of the gravel on the driveway and rolled.

I ended up breaking a metatarsal bone, and pulling tendons.  Talk about painful, and a burning feeling….OMG!!!!  I immediately went to my primary physician who looked at it, and sent me to the hospital for x-rays because she thought it was broken.  The radiologist diagnosed me as having no issues!!!!  I demanded a referral to my foot doctor.  Y’all know how that works…..it takes time to get a referral. So in the mean time, I’m walking on this foot, and in pain.

Finally, I have an appointment with the foot doctor (a specialist).  She looked at the x-rays, advised she believes I have a fractured foot, and pulled ligaments, and ordered an MRI to determine a plan of action.  While waiting on the MRI appointment (several weeks), I’ve been put in a $300 boot to immobilize the foot. 

Geez……I paid (the insurance company did) $300 for one boot…..they could have at least given me a pair of boots J at that price!!!  Right??  Now I’m in a waiting mode and need to just take it slow with my foot, to make sure I don’t do further damage.  The MRI facility called last night and scheduled me for an appointment on January 29^th. 

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A recipe worth keeping--BAKED DONUTS!!!  We love donuts however, fried donuts don’t agree well with the body.  So I found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour site.  They’re baked donuts three ways, and Bulldog Man gives them 4 paws up as a rating!!!  Here’s the site and recipe:  https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/baked-doughnuts-three-ways-recipe

 

 

 

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Y’all know we have a massive amount of wildlife on our property.  I thought I would share with you a video of my husband cutting Tank’s hair….check out the doe watching it all happen and eating with no fear.

 

Life is Good, Visitors, & Garden

My garden has been keeping me a bit busy with the clipping, watering, harvesting, weeding, and getting rid of bugs.

Today was another harvest of cucumbers, green peppers, and small tomatoes.

Bulldog Man and I decided the Pineapple Tomato plant needed a haircut and some adjustments; to make sure it was standing and getting the appropriate support it needed.  

Here’s the before and after picture……..the plant looks as if it enjoyed the haircut.

 

Before Hair Cut

After Hair Cut

Next to the Pineapple Tomato plant is another type of tomato plant.  My identification stake is no longer next to the plant; therefore, I’m not sure what type of tomato plant this is, but it is producing these beautiful tomatoes that actually look artificial.

The Borage seeds planted have grown nicely, and have produced these beautiful flowers.

We had a couple of unexpected visitors on the homestead today.  While cutting the grass and weed-whacking, I came across a turtle. Bulldog Man moved him out of the way and over to some water and food, while I weed-whacked around the fenced in area where Beans roams.  We both wondered where this turtle came from; being that there’s no pond or river on our property.  Later, we boxed up the turtle and took him over to a nearby park, and let him loose. 

Later in the afternoon, this little bunny came hopping over to the front part of the house and was eating the grass (aka: weeds).  We watched him/her hop off down the side of the house, and into the wooded area off the eastern side of the property.  Lucky for me, our garden is fenced off and on the inside of this fence; we have installed bamboo around the entire fence.  The rabbits have not made it into my garden……………..GOOD THING!!!!  

 I was half expecting the family of skunks to come out next to visit us.

There is a family of skunks living in the wooded area on the east side of the property.  

I’ve captured a few pictures of flowers I’d like to share today.

Instead of heating up the house, I started up our grill, browned ground beef, onions, and celery.  I added 2 quarts of homemade broth, 1 canned jar of fresh tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots from my garden; then some frozen peas.  While I sat outside and enjoyed the cooler temperatures in the shade, I let the homemade ground beef soup cook on medium heat on top of the burner of the gas grill, while Bulldog Man enjoyed smoking his pipe, with some sweet smelling hazelnut tobacco.

Life is good………….

  

Rare White Non-Albino Buffalo

Picture from KDFW Fox 4 Dallas-Ft Worth

There is nothing more sacred to the Native Americans, than the rare non-albino white buffalo.  Only 1 out of every 10 million is born a rare non-albino white buffalo.  Last year, on May 12, 2011, a baby non-albino white buffalo was born and being raised on a Lakota Buffalo Ranch near Greenville, Texas.  This buffalo was honored and given the name of Lightning Medicine Cloud. 

Arby Little Soldier, owner of The Lakota Buffalo Ranch where Lightning Medicine Cloud was located, came home from being out of town to a horrific scene.  The sacred baby calf was killed and skinned.  The very next day, Lightning Medicine Cloud’s mother was also found dead.

Lightning Medicine Cloud was not just a beautiful non-albino white buffalo.  He was a sacred symbol of hope to all Indian nations.  “In Lakota spirituality, our survival as people depends on believing in and heeding the white buffalo’s sacred message, which urges us to live the understanding that all living being are linked and interdependent.” -- Melanie J Martin

Why would anyone take the life of a symbol of spirituality? Why weren’t Native spiritual values honored? 

This is a terrible, hateful crime; a spiritual injustice.  This should never happen, I pray for justice to be served. God Bless our Native Americans.

Martin, Melanie J. “The White Buffalo: A Living Prophecy in Western Pennsylvania.”  May 4, 2012. <http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/white_buffalo%20a%20living%20prophecy.htm

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Another great place to take the family for a day trip or a nice camping trip is the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, down in the southwest section of Oklahoma (close to Lawton, OK).  Buffalo roam free on this 59,000 acre refuge.  The wildlife is plentiful--deer, elk, fox, coyotes, prairie dogs, longhorn cattle, all kinds of birds and other little surprises. 

You need to visit The Holy City; a beautiful place that is within the refuge.   The play “The Prince of Peace” is presented at the Holy City every year around Easter time.

There is also a memorial for the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, the Veterans Walkway and the World Chapel.

Ode de Pepe Le Pew

This morning we woke to fog lingering over Somewhere, Oklahoma.  The fog created a fine mist, and with the temperatures at 26 degrees, this mist turned into miserable ice.  Roads were slick, black ice very apparent.  This was one of those mornings where you wanted to drive your kids to school.  After opening the door and walking gingerly on the front porch (to prevent falling because of ice), I made sure our little friend, Pepe Le Pew was nowhere in sight.  It was obvious he was near, you could smell him.   Apparently, some poor bastard got nailed, lol.  I must say, it’s nice to have a skunk that alerts you with its scent when someone or something has cut through your property. 

 I borrowed a great cookie recipe, Mountain Man’s Everything Cookies, from a friend’s blog.  Please check out Glo’s blog for the recipe and information on living off the grid, and homesteading: http://offthegridat-30.blogspot.com/2012/02/recipe-thursday-mountain-mans.html

Picture of the Cookies (talk about heaven!!!!)

I made roasted chicken for dinner the other night.  The chicken was prepped with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon slices and orange slices (picture of chicken in prep stage. Sorry, I failed to take a picture of the end result).  When finished baking, I served the chicken with mashed potatoes and fresh broccoli.

In closing for the night, I had to take this picture of Beans with his toy (a hedge hog).  He felt the need to bring this toy to our bed.  This hedge hog toy has become a mate for our silly little dog.  He takes this toy everywhere, shakes it, throws it, and bites it.