Friends New Life

Some friends of ours are moving to Africa as missionaries. They have sold their home, cars, possessions and packed a container of supplies to take over there. They have faced so many challenges to get to this point but now they are on their way. Hard to believe they will be a world away doing what they were called to do. We hope to stay connected via the Internet. Funny, Africa has better and faster Internet than rural Missouri does. My friends are moving here: http://www.kibidula.org/. I know they will be very happy serving the people of their Mission.

The Fence Grind

Today we walked the t-post line and fixed crooked ones. Caps had to be replaced and post ground down to seat the caps better. My husband plugged the grinder into the tractor battery. That way we could get to the remote areas of the pasture with electricity. Many of the post hit rock and are a bit loose in the ground. After some rain the post should sit better in the dirt.

Something Old is New

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Here is our brand new/old bird water dish. An ice storm last year cracked a limb over it and broke the iron dish. Our neighbor can weld and he not only fixed the break, he painted it, too! And in my favorite color to boot. And you can see a bird has already washed some seeds in the dish. It is so nice to have something old fixed again and useful.

Pipe Fence

We finally got t-post and pipe put in for our horse pasture.We have a great contractor to pipe and weld for us. We bought 3 large gates and painted the pipe green ourselves. Now we need to install the electric tape, caps and solar chargers. The weather has been perfect for this kind of work. But the snow is coming and the work has to get done. If all goes well the horses should be in the big pasture by the end of the month.

Pepper Me

Some days you just feel like a cat zombie.

Feasting in Winter

I have to say this year we were given a lot of food goodies. We received spices, cookies handmade, brittle from monks, English muffins, chocolates, mixes and homemade jams. It has been a delight for our taste buds. Working in the cold all day it is nice to have a sweet treat to come home too. Or like Daisy, to take a nap next to.

Packing up Christmas

Today at church we all stayed after mass to pack up the nativity and decorations. Then I came home to pack up my own decorations. All the outdoor lights, santa collection, nativity, garlands and the tree. All packed up in green and red plastic boxes. Then we put them into storage until next Christmas. It was a little sad putting away the sparkly things. But we had so many guest this over to share the holiday with. It was a great holiday with friends. We are looking forward to more entertaining and more dinners with friends in this new year.

Amish Breadboard

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We are having a cedar dresser made by an Amish man in our town. At my request he designed and made this bread board for me. It is hickory and black walnut planked together and rounded at the corners. Here it is with olive oil applied to season and protect the wood for years.

Kid Night

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Last night we had the pleasure of seeing a working goat farm. Kids were born a day ago and we got to feed them. Baby goats are a blast to feed and play with, but you have to feed them every 3 hours for a week. And baby goats grow up to be big milking goats in less than 8 weeks! It was a learning experience for all of us.

Skunkship Down

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A week ago we spotted a skunk acting erratic and stumbling. It was night time and hard to shoot then. Last night the skunk was back and sprayed the house. This morning we hunted around and found it under our shop. My husband shot it and we think it was already dead/dying before the shots.Rabies kills animals in a week, they can't swallow and die of thirst. Wild animals will not eat a carcass if it has rabies. Vultures and carrion eaters leave it alone. This is the second dead skunk we have found untouched. We burned the skunk to make sure no rabies will be spread. And yes the skunk sack exploded while cremating spreading the skunking everywhere. We hope this is the end of spraying for a while. The warm weather has all the mammals waking up and migrating like it is spring.

Crooked Spine

Today, my husband had an x-ray at the Chiropractors office. He has been in a lot of pain for weeks now, numbing left arm and unable to sleep well. The good news was no bone spur in his neck was found, no surgery. The bad news is he has a very crooked spine. The cause seems to be poor posture sleeping. The solution will be many weeks of therapy and change in sleep position.

Cat Wrapping

This was Coco's first Christmas as she's only 8 months old and was born in a barn. She got to manage all the paper recycling on the floor, separating the ribbon along the way. Foil bows were the main objective in her sweep of the area. Paper was not contained and was left to spread cheer to all the other cats napping on the nearby rugs.

Christmas Day 2011

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After a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner at home with friends and church, we relaxed on Sunday. We got up and fed the farm, answered phone calls and opened gifts from family and friends. Our neighbors gave our dog, Osa, fancy dog treats. Osa took her dog treat out onto the lawn for safe keeping under ground. Alan got a handmade cross stitch stocking from his mother in law. It took her a year to make it. Daisy the barn cat took a nap next to the freshly washed Christmas dishes and food basket. It was a warm and sunny Christmas this year. Perfect weather to relax and enjoy a beautiful day.