Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

All is well! Thanks for asking @FarmerJamie

House full of kids! Five of 'em. One 12yo, two 13yo's, 1 16yo and 1 17yo. No food left (send care packages!), clothes and shoes everywhere, some bickering and making up, more bickering and then lots of "I'm sorry and I love you's." Laundry going 24/7! Shopping, bowling, swimming, fishing...and eating. Constant eating.

The food in my pantry that probably would have kept DH and I fed for a year goes down really quickly when you're feeding 9 people! DS and DDIL come every evening for dinner. These kids love them some beans. It takes four pints of beans at a time to feed these guys! (no shortage of gas around here, lol) One great big happy, loud bunch of people at the dining room table every night. It's great!

Ordered a new bed. Single bed over double bed bunk with a trundle underneath. That will sleep 4 girls in one room. Seventeen yo boy gets his own room now that he's so grown up. Seems a little lopsidded, lol. Four girls in one room and one boy in the other. Don't know what we'll do when dad comes! Somebody is gonna get to sleep on a cot. (or in the storm shelter) GS wants to get the garage apt converted from storage to a real room again. Heck yes! I'm all for it, especially if it means he'd like to move in someday!

DH and I will see the neurosurgeon today for a consult.

 

[flowerbug]

All is well! Thanks for asking @FarmerJamie

House full of kids! Five of 'em. One 12yo, two 13yo's, 1 16yo and 1 17yo. No food left (send care packages!), clothes and shoes everywhere, some bickering and making up, more bickering and then lots of "I'm sorry and I love you's." Laundry going 24/7! Shopping, bowling, swimming, fishing...and eating. Constant eating.

The food in my pantry that probably would have kept DH and I fed for a year goes down really quickly when you're feeding 9 people! DS and DDIL come every evening for dinner. These kids love them some beans. It takes four pints of beans at a time to feed these guys! (no shortage of gas around here, lol) One great big happy, loud bunch of people at the dining room table every night. It's great!

gotta get them out in the gardens. yeah, i know, that doesn't work here either... sounds like a blast. hope appt for DH goes well.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

gotta get them out in the gardens

There is no garden this year.... I need to start over this fall. Weeds are so high I can't even see my raised beds.

My neighbor mowed the pasture for me a couple weeks ago. This morning I used the lawnmower on it to try to establish a more "lawn" like area between the barnyard and the pond. Fish are feeding well. They are on a twice a day schedule since putting in the bass. I made the mistake of telling GS that the fish really needed a protein level as close to 40% as we could get. The food I had purchased previously is only 32%. He made it is mission to find a better qualtiy feed. Success! He found a Purina feed with 43% protein. Seventy dollars later we now have the grand champion of fish food, lol.

Will be separating a couple of the goats out this evening. Several of them look rough despite multiple wormings. Checked back on my records and the rough looking ones are the ones who didn't enjoy a copper bolus. They will be convinced tonight to take it - "it's good for you!" Only have a few months to get those gals back in shape before breeding. I prefer not to carry freeloaders through the winter so they need to get with the program.

Met with the neurosurgeon. Hated him, lol. Cocky and arrogant and a total ____head. But, he's a renowned surgeon so we are looking at 7-18 as a surgery date. Urging DH to try and get stronger before surgery so recovery might be a little easier on him. He's lazy and doesn't want to work - no nice way to put it. He was much stronger when he was getting PT. He had driven himself to appts and had run a few errands. He can't even walk to the car on his own now. Very, very sad and it makes me angry. Not the way I want to feel about it but it is what it is.

It's hot and I'm already over summer. However to keep things interesting there is lots of tropical activity. Trying to decide if I should buy flood insurance this year. Over the years the price has increased from $100 a year to over $900 this year. We've never flooded. Water hasn't ever even gotten close to the house. See - trying to tell myself to save that $900. But, if we ever did flood the price would be a lot higher than that. Ugh...

 

[flowerbug]

There is no garden this year.... I need to start over this fall. Weeds are so high I can't even see my raised beds.

they could have gotten out there and beat some weeds up for you.

My neighbor mowed the pasture for me a couple weeks ago. This morning I used the lawnmower on it to try to establish a more "lawn" like area between the barnyard and the pond. Fish are feeding well. They are on a twice a day schedule since putting in the bass. I made the mistake of telling GS that the fish really needed a protein level as close to 40% as we could get. The food I had purchased previously is only 32%. He made it is mission to find a better qualtiy feed. Success! He found a Purina feed with 43% protein. Seventy dollars later we now have the grand champion of fish food, lol.

woah! worms are not quite that much % of protein...

Will be separating a couple of the goats out this evening. Several of them look rough despite multiple wormings. Checked back on my records and the rough looking ones are the ones who didn't enjoy a copper bolus. They will be convinced tonight to take it - "it's good for you!" Only have a few months to get those gals back in shape before breeding. I prefer not to carry freeloaders through the winter so they need to get with the program.

good luck, i'm not sure what kind of treat you could hide the medicine in...

Met with the neurosurgeon. Hated him, lol. Cocky and arrogant and a total ____head. But, he's a renowned surgeon so we are looking at 7-18 as a surgery date. Urging DH to try and get stronger before surgery so recovery might be a little easier on him. He's lazy and doesn't want to work - no nice way to put it. He was much stronger when he was getting PT. He had driven himself to appts and had run a few errands. He can't even walk to the car on his own now. Very, very sad and it makes me angry. Not the way I want to feel about it but it is what it is.

it's been a tough time for both of you for sure. do you think he's depressed and/or giving up or is there something else going on? you can ask him or try to get it through to him that it's not going well and if he doesn't want to work at it then it will likely continue to get worse for him. maybe the point of him being bedridden might get him to think more about it and try a bit harder.

It's hot and I'm already over summer. However to keep things interesting there is lots of tropical activity. Trying to decide if I should buy flood insurance this year. Over the years the price has increased from $100 a year to over $900 this year. We've never flooded. Water hasn't ever even gotten close to the house. See - trying to tell myself to save that $900. But, if we ever did flood the price would be a lot higher than that. Ugh...

not a decision i'd want to have to make. also, is it available and will it take effect in time or is there a delay before it will kick in?

 

[tortoise]

Can you use kitten food for the fish? 40% protein and a fraction of the price. I Google it and the internet says it can cause oil film on the water in an aquarium. IDK if that's troublesome in a pond?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Can you use kitten food for the fish? 40% protein and a fraction of the price.

Good question. I know they prefer the first ingredient to be fish meal. Not sure about the oil film. Might need to read some labels.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Looky what I got! The pond has a new accessory, lol!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Unloaded the boat this morning and took her for a maiden voyage. I tied a very long rope to the boat and to my truck - justsincase, lol. She performed magnificently! Can you tell I love it?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Caught my very first fish in my very own pond today. It was an oh-so-wonderful bullhead catfish a.k.a mudcat. They are supposed to be a "trash" fish. I did NOT stock this fish, but it hitched a ride in there somehow. Probably on a waterbird. It was a really nice fat cat too. At least I know the fish food is doing its job, lol.

Silly me though - I'm so accustomed to catch and release that I tossed it back without even thinking about it. The point is to fish them out so that the bass and bluegill can flourish. Oh well, I'll catch it again!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

On weather watch - ugh. Not expecting a direct hit from Beryl but need to be aware of what's going on out there. Don't really have much to do either way. I'll top off a gas can or two and need to get diesel for the tractor.

I started moving some dirt yesterday. I'm putting a small berm around part of the pond. It'll only be about 6 - 8 inches high. The hope is to keep some of the overflow contained. Using up a tiny fraction of the dirt that came out of the pond. Slow work, but who doesn't like tractor time anyway?

Want to get some more canning done. Used up some of the stored stuff lately. Too hot to do much outside anyway.