Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[Denim Deb]

Today my daughter was supposed to come over early (she stayed at a friend's house last night) and help me do some housework. She called around 2:00-she had just gotten up. :/ So, needless to say, she didn't come over early and help me do house work. (I was just getting ready to leave for the farm.)

I was able to get some laundry done-I ironed a few shirts and folded up some clothes.

I went to the farm, the horses had been fed, but no one had opened my tack shed. So, Cindy was never let out, and she wanted out! I was able to feed Stormy, clean the litter box, clean out his hoof, put him back, feed the cats then left.

I was beat by the time I got home, so I relaxed for just a bit.

Hubby gets home from work, and he's not overly happy w/DD. Dishes needed to be done. He says he can't do them because of his back. So, I loaded up the dishwasher, and washed a bunch of stuff I don't put in there.

I've come to the conclusion. My family is NOT going to change. They don't want me doing anything right now, but they don't really want to pick up the slack. I need to either figure out a way to get them to help, put up w/it, or leave. I don't really want to leave, but may have to for a short period of time just to give them a wake up call.

 

[SSDreamin]

How frustrating!

Just when you think they'll finally realize how much you do...they don't

 

[CheerioLounge]

I feel for you Deb! My SO and your DH seem cut from the same piece of cloth.

 

[hqueen13]

Its tough, but you're probably right, they probably won't change much. Figuring out how to be ok with that is the challenge.
I just listened to a bunch of youtubes tonight on nonviolent communication, and was really fascinated. It might be of use to you, as well.

 

[Wannabefree]

Deb, I'd leave...with things THAT bad..it won't take long for them to come around. OR you could just start charging them for services rendered You'd be RICH!

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

Do they not even take care of the animals deb?

 

[Denim Deb]

They took care of the goats and the rabbits for a couple of days, but that's it. Didn't even suggest going out to the farm and caring for the animals. Though, my hubby wouldn't have a clue as to what to do w/the horses. He's not a horse person.

 

[Denim Deb]

This morning, something really strange happened. I was having everyone over from the farm for lunch and to watch a movie. But, there was some stuff that needed to be done in the house B4 they got here. And this man, who looked an awful lot like my husband but sure didn't act like him was here. He finished loading the dishwasher for me, and then ran it. He started a fire. He made sure the DVD player was all hooked up and ready to go. And, he moved a bunch of stuff out of the living room so it was no longer in the way. I could have sworn it was my husband w/the way he looked, but w/the way he acted? Shocking to say the least!

But, everyone enjoyed lunch. I made what I call Holiday Casserole. It's made out of left over turkey (or chicken, duck or whatever). I made a huge batch of it. No one was hungry when they were done. The rest of it? I made into individual serving sizes and froze. That gave me 8 meals! I need to make up a big turkey stir fry w/the last of it, then freeze the rest of it, and that will be it for the turkey! Next, I need to make a huge scalloped potato w/ham casserole and freeze the leftovers. That will give me several meals-besides my soup-that I just need to reheat to eat!

In other news, I just learned that the guy that owns the woods next to me died of a heart attack. I have no idea what's going to happen to the woods now. If I remember correctly, there's 33 acres there. If I had the money, I'd buy it and clear enough of it to bring my animals home. The rest I'd leave as woods-especially towards the stream. That way, I might be able to hunt on my own property, plus I'd put in some trails so I could ride a bit. I don't think the stream would really be good for canoeing in, but maybe if I did a bit of work to it, I could. But, that's nothing more than a dream at this point in time. Maybe if someone gave me the winning lottery ticket....

 

[BarredBuff]

That'd be great if you could get the property!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Normally giving Stormy his 2nd feeding is easy. You put water on his hay pellets, stick them in the feeding dish outside of the field, add his feed, open the gate and he comes out and eats. Normally, even if he's not standing by the gate waiting impatiently for you to finish getting his feed ready, he'll come when you call him. Every once in a great while, you have to go out in the field and get him. Today was one of those days.

I've found it's much easier (and quicker) if I go to the farm straight from church. I get him taken care of, bag some feed, clean the litter box, feed the cats, put him away and leave. And, since I'm not going out in the field w/the horses, normally the only thing I'll change is my boots. Today I get there, change my boots and get his feed all set up. He's standing about 100 feet away just looking at me. I start calling him. He continues to stand there and look at me. Meanwhile, I have a dog, some cats and my chickens all eating his feed. OK, I can understand the chickens, but the dog and the cats? Makes no sense to me. I don't really want them eating up all his feed, so I grab a lead and open the gate. I figured surely he'll come now. Nope, he walked the other way! So, I limp thru the field up to him and put the lead rope around his neck. Normally once that's done, you can lead him anywhere. Not today. He starts pulling AWAY from me, and heads for his stall! He gets in his stall and just looks at me. W/all the rain, there's a big puddle in front of his stall. I'm not even supposed to be in there. I wasn't expecting to have to go in after him, so I hadn't put my muck boots on. Didn't think I'd need them. I tried my hardest to stay to the side so I don't get my feet any muddier than they already are. I wasn't quite successful. There was no way I could lead him out of there, so I took the end of the lead rope, and smacked him with it. That got him out.

He's now out of the stall, but I still need him over by the gate. And, he's STILL not heading towards it. So, I limp back over to him. This time, I was able to get the lead around his neck, and start leading him out. I will confess to using him to balance to a point. I get to the gate, and he's all for going out. Once I get him out, he wasn't too sure about eating. After all, there was a dog eating his food. So, I used the end of the lead, and smacked the dog on the butt, not too hard, but hard enough to get her attention. She left and he dove in.

Knowing that the horses weren't taking care of and figuring that my feet (and the bottom of my jeans) were already wet and muddy, I decided to check on my chickens. They, at least, have been getting fed. They've even been giving their scratch grains! But, it wasn't too hard to get to them, so starting tomorrow, I can now feed my chickens!

I bagged my feed and got Stormy put away, cleaned the litter box, fed the cats and was very glad to leave. I'm now home w/dry socks on and clean clothes. I might have to take a nap. But, by the end of the week, I'll probably be able to feed my horses. It might be a bit longer B4 I do CL's. Her horses are bigger and not as easy to handle.