Happy Birthday Dina!

Darn it! I missed it by a day. Sorry! At least I got it on the calendar in time. I hope you had a great birthday. Did you get any shoes? I got a new pair of red stiletto peek a boo toe pumps today. Are you jealous? Give your hubby a kiss from me. Hope to see you soon.

Salvage for dollars!

I have never before felt the need or desire to visit a salvage yard. Only by a random course of events did this opportunity even present itself to me. At the farm property we own, there is a lot of left over farm equipment from the previous owner that is scattered, old and rusty. Joe has owned the property for going on 30 years, so that is how long all of that stuff has sat there. Trying to make a long story short, someone stole a large piece of equipment that was chained to a tree. I would have never known it was gone, but Joe knows that property very well and he noticed it was missing that last time we went up. We figured out it had to be someone familiar with the property because you wouldn't know it was there unless you had been there. So after checking with our neighbors we found out that the grandson of Joe's neighbor is the one that took it. He is supposed to be calling us to fess up, but as of yet hasn't. Knowing what I know now about how scrap metal is sold, he probably made about $800.00 off of the piece of equipment. When we first found out it was him, Joe and I thought that instead of making him pay us back, we would have him come over and pick up some of the other scrap to clean it off of the property and maybe make him do some other odd jobs. That was until I found out how much money he got for it. Screw that! That little bastard is going to be paying us back. The fact that he hasn't called yet is making me even madder! Joe is going to have to let me talk to him though because I know he will go all soft and let him off the hook. So all of that got me thinking about some of the stuff that I had out in our barn that was just junk and taking up space. Bryan and I loaded it all in to our trailer and we took it to the scrap yard. There may be something wrong with me or my hillbilly gene is becoming dominant because I had fun! We watched the cranes moving stuff around during our 45 minute wait in line. I couldn't believe how many people were there. They even had cops directing people in and out. A big magnet came down and picked stuff right out of the trailer. We made $128.00 on our little trailer full of stuff. So Bryan and I are going to get the stuff at the farm and turn it in ourselves. I will never look at a old rusty piece of metal the same way again. As for that kid, he won't be invited to our labor day party anymore.

New Adventures

I'm putting it in high gear getting ready for the chickens. I still have 5 weeks or so before they get here, but I have a lot of work to do. Bryan has been helping me since he is off work for a week until he starts another job. Selling cars wasn't his thing. He's going back to doing transportation dispatch for a trucking company. Anyway, he built the ramps that go in and out of the hen house. I still have to make the roosts and the nesting boxes. I did however, pick up some supplies at an auction that I went to on Tuesday. I have only been to one other auction in my life and that was probably over 15 years ago. The auction calendar was in the paper and as I glanced through it I saw some items that caught my eye so I decided to go. The ironic thing was that the lady that owned the house where the auction was had previously raised chickens and was selling off some of the feeders and waterers. While I was at the auction I also met the guy that just bought her house and I worked up a little deal with him to come back and get some of the fencing and other supplies. I find those kind of coincidences very interesting. Right place at the the right time. I also bought some other interesting items. Large postal scale, 4 long pipe clamps, stamped metal baking tins, a huge pile of lumber which included 8 cabinet doors, and 12 drawers. The best thing though is a wood lathe and tools. I don't have the first clue how to use it, but I will learn. I also don't have any idea what I am going to do with the doors and drawers but I am sure I will find a use. I had soooo much fun. I already have the next one scheduled. I also visited a salvage yard for the first time. I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!

My mother is 88 years old today! The photo is me, mom and Roger in.......May of 1966. Mother's Day 1966 to be exact. Let's do the math. Mom is 46 in that picture; 3 years younger than I am right now. Roger was 17 and I was 7. I totally don't remember that picture being taken, but I seriously remember the plant on the right. How things change. I now cannot think about mom's birthday without thinking about the anniversary of Roger's death. Of all of the other 364 days available why that day? I like to think that there is a reason that it happened. There are two important dates in our lives. Our birth date and the date of our death. Once we're born the death is inevitable. My feeling is what better way to honor your mother than to die on the anniversary of her birth. I look at it as a gift. She gave him his first breath and he gave her his last. It's a bond between them that will last forever. Long after we are all gone. So today is a celebration of life and death, love and family and all the happiness and sadness in between. Happy Birthday to the matriarch of our family. I love you mama!

P.S. I miss you Roger...say hi to Dad for me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BROTHER

Happy Zillionth Birthday Steve! Ok maybe not zillionth, but just remember that you are my much older brother. I love you like crazy! I hope you have a fantastic day.

Addendum: Bumper crop

I was wondering why the term "bumper crop" is used when describing a plentiful harvest. Apparently an alternate definition for "bumper" is: "A cup or glass filled to the brim. Anything unusually large or abundant." Who knew! Now you do.

FRUITS OF MY LABOR

I just finished my third piece of cherry pie over the course of this weekend. I know..."no flour, no sugar." Screw that for right now. We have two sour cherry trees on our property that produce the best cherries ever! They don't do it every year however, some years the birds get to them. Sometimes they get frosted or buggy. So once every few years we get a really good crop and I try to use as many as I can. So this year we pied em, dried em, canned em and jammed em. Their is nothing better in this world than fresh cherry pie! Part of it is the taste and part is the effort that goes into preparing it. You ever pit cherries??? Talk about tedious. One by one till the skin on your fingers shrivels from the juice. But ohhhhh! the fruits of the labor are worth it. Their is something very rewarding about producing your own food. Now if I can just grow some petroleum.