SSDreamin Blessings and curses

[SSDreamin]

So far, so good with the horses. Seem to be tolerating the pellets well. There were some people there yesterday, with kids. Could hear the little ones running around in the yard. DH said he didn't see them put in a bit of hay

Mark this day on your calendar! It is definitely momentous!! DH decided he would cook today, and not just something on the grill either - chicken leg quarters in the oven

I have been slowing down again recently and can't accomplish anything DH transplanted my grapes (in my defense, it has rained for two days and nights) and set out the 'grid' for the orchard and began transplanting it yesterday. Just walking the orchard area and helping indentify trees for him wore me flat out :/ Today, after DH and DS#2 get back from fishing, he'll finish the orchard, move my blueberries (if he has time he'll put up the fence around the SFG's) and COOK!

I am doing the standard weekend stuff: baking bread, doing laundry, trying to keep up with the dirt and dog hair in the house

Tonight we are going to hear my FIL play. He plays bass in a Christian band and they are holding a concert at a nearby church.

Hope everybody has a nice finish to their weekend!

 

[SSDreamin]

It seems as though the neighbors are back from vacation, but still haven't put hay out for the horses :/ DH said he saw 'her' raking up the last little bits from a storage shed and throwing them over the fence - said it didn't even amount to a single flake of hay! He was working in the orchard, and has a clear view of the entire front horse pasture area, plus 1/2 the back pasture from where the orchard is. Last night, after dark, we went to the back pasture and scattered some more pellets over the fence for the horses. DH is worried the horses may start running to the fence when ever we are out there, and give us away

The concert was nice. FIL was so happy we came! He has invited several friends and all his family to come listen, and we are the first to actually go. DH was surprised by me - I knew/sang along with all but two of the songs they played. I love hymns. I just don't like church all that much I was quite shocked at the sermon too. It has been I while since I've attended services, but wow - a sermon on end times, and a whole lot of political opinion thrown in for good measure... I could see myself being tossed out of that church in short order, for arguing with the preacher!

We invited the inlaws to dinner, as DH made a bunch. As we entered the house, the kitchen was just beginning to fill with smoke! The pan DH had used for the chicken was too small, and chicken grease had overflowed onto the oven floor! We pulled the chicken out, DH yanked out the racks, and I went to scrubbing! He kept saying "Isn't that hot?" Uh, yeah! How else can you stop the smoke???? I had it all cleaned off by the time the inlaws arrived, just a little smoke lingering in the air. Then, MIL had brought canned biscuits to go with dinner (I told her HM wouldn't take me 5 minutes of prep, but she insisted). We put those in to cook, and smoke started rolling out of the oven vent! I felt so bad for DH, he was thoroughly dejected. I tried to eat the chicken, but I just couldn't do it and felt bad about it. His parents ate it, and the half cooked potatoes! DS and I ate a lot of biscuits Poor DH, I hope this doesn't turn him away from cooking for good - I liked the break!

I need to transplant the blueberries today, as DH ran out of time to do it yesterday. I also threw out an idea, to landscape the front yard a little bit, that added to MY list of things to do. I found out that, if I say "I was thinking I might cut out that bush over there - It has pretty flowers, but it's covered in thorns and is a pain in my backside when I mow - I could move my Lilac tree to that spot (it is heeled in directly under the power lines right now ), then I can move ALL the flowers scattered around those two spots to the front bed, so they are all together, and it will be much easier to mow." I got to complete the whole thought, he never rolled his eyes once, AND he agreed it would work well all around! But now, I have to be the one that does it

Tested out the new sprinklers I bought on the orchard - they are slick as snot! You can adjust the spray pattern, the depth, AND they have a timer on them! That will be great for me, as I often turn them on, get to doing other stuff, and forget about them! Add in a lifetime guarantee, and these should be pretty close to perfect for us!

 

[SSDreamin]

I managed to transplant all the blueberry bushes (6), my 3 little blackberries, the big blackberry bush, and my climbing rose yesterday! I also put more 'Ice Cream toss off's on the potatoes and watered everything. Then I fell asleep

Had to vinegar the hens. The buffs were being really mean to the BA's. They all are about the same size, but the BA's are SO docile. I can walk up and pet them, pick them up, you name it. Their biggest reaction is soft clucking when I pet their breast. Unfortunately, the buff's have decided to be mean - they won't even let the BA's outside!

Had to spend 3 hours at the Dr's office today. They started talking MORE tests, and I told them I'd had enough. Then they told me I have to wait for the specialist to clear me, concerning the thyroid issue, before they'll schedule surgery That means the end of July - end of August for surgery, at the earliest! They also told me that, under NO circumstances am I to take care of my animals - for at least 2 weeks after surgery, maybe even 6! They are obviously just a bunch of crazy city people!!!

 

[BarredBuff]

I hope your surgeries go good. I have a bunch of blueberry bushes to move this fall.

 

[Denim Deb]

I know how you feel. I was out on crutches taking care of my animals so I knew they were getting the proper care. (Of course, the doctor would have flipped out if he had seen me feeding the horses.)

 

[SSDreamin]

Thanks BB!
The blueberry bushes had lots of berries, but they were in a bad place, not getting enough water, and were not doing too well. Decided to just move everything now, and lose whatever fruit there was on the trees/bushes. Better to put them in their permanent homes now, and make sure they establish themselves, than wait until we HAVE to move them and really need every berry and piece of fruit they can give

Deb - DH said "You know my Mom & Dad will help out." They are not ME, they won't spoil my babies with love and attention, or tell them what good animals they are while they feed them, plus they are completely clueless about the cow - MIL is even a little afraid of her (she's 3 foot tall, and the worst thing she'd do is give her a cow kiss with that sandpaper tongue of hers ). You're right, nobody can take care of my animals as well as I do

 

[SSDreamin]

Adventures in the chicken coop: Today, I went in to find that my ladies had dumped/broken their feeder :/ I closed the outside door (but, didn't lock it), then opened their door to clean up. The buff's started having a fit, because I dared to set foot in their house. I had thrown scratch outside, to get them out before I started cleaning up, but they refused to leave. So, as chickens spazzed out, and rooster made matters worse, I began to clean up. I turn around, and all my ladies have existed their pen and are headed for the OUTSIDE door I jumped the barrier, pushed the door closed, and realized I just trapped one of the BA's out in the wide open world Took care of the ladies, closed them up and went to hunt down the BA. Rocky was following her, just enough to keep her moving - in the wrong direction! I have to say, she was very easy to catch. Didn't try to fly away or peck at me. So that's a mark in the plus column for the BA's. If they lay even half way decent, we may be replacing the buff's, in total. Wonder if the BA roosters are any good? I know our buff rooster is a waste of good feed!

Have to go visit my father today. This coming Sunday is his birthday, and they (he and the stepmother) will be spending it with 'the real family' (hers), so I need to go drop off my card, get ridiculed and insulted for an hour or two, then come home to tend to my animals (thankfully, they are my handy excuse for a short visit ). DS#2 will be forced to go along. No reason I should have to endure this alone Sad that it is such a bummer to go see him. I haven't seen them since just after Thanksgiving last year, despite the fact that they have been home since April. I will accept half the blame for that, but get sick of the comments (do you still live in the same place, after all it's been 6 months, we thought you moved. Have you managed to fix that place up yet? Don't think I could live someplace so dumpy, etc. etc. For the record, my house is FAR from perfect, but dumpy it most definitely isn't!) It hurts to know that my father has been over to see my brother at least 2 dozen times since he got home (they winter in FL), but I have long ago realized that I am the outcast. Life goes on, I guess.

I spent too many hours last night looking for my bible - I have the coolest bible, that helps you find any passage you want. When the inlaws were here for dinner Sunday, they began telling DH that 'they won't prepare. because it's against the bibles teachings' DH pointed out that it says to prepare, right in there. They said that it DOESN'T say it in the New Testament, and that is what THEY go by. So I was reading, looking for verses. I only found one, 1Timothy 5:8. I thought there were more??? Of course, I had to use DH's bible, because mine disappeared! Old Testament would be easy - there are plenty of references there :/ I told DH, refusing to include the Old Testament is like reading a history book about the Revolutionary War, then saying "Bah! That's old! I think we still live in a Monarchy, and will live my life as such!" Anybody got any passages they can pass along to me? The help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BarredBuff]

Buff roosters are the epitomy of wasted space/feed/air

I think that verse would encourage preparedness, and the story of Noah's Ark is an excellent emergency preparedness analogy. Noah stocked for when the flood gates was open, and everyone thought he was crazy. Sounds familiar, eh?

 

[Wannabefree]

There are mainly OT scriptures related to preparedness, and I will try to explain why. Oh, and you're actually both right

In the OT relations with God were different, because that was a pre Christ time. You have to understand the dynamic of Christ's blood to get the bigger picture. Animal blood was sin offering prior, and was short lived, meaning it had to be repeatedly done due to the sinful nature of man. Christ's blood covered sins, once, and for all mankind. Self reliance prior to Christ offering Himself was a matter of being able to gain forgiveness, because there were animal offerings and grain offerings for various things including sin offerings. For that reason alone, it was smart to store up things for the future...apparently those folks were a lot like us, and sinned a WHOLE LOT

Now though, in the NT times, while it is wise still to store up things for the future, it is more about the attitude, and the motives behind storing up things. The proper attitude being, because you want to provide for your family in difficult times, and provide for possibly your neighbors, and church family and so on. When Christ redeems you, you have a bigger purpose in life. It's not just about you anymore, but you have a certain duty to those you know and love as well, well...even to your enemies actually. So storing up food to take care of yourselves and others is not a BAD thing. One thing that is bad, and is percieved bad about it, by the church, is that it detracts from our attitude of reliance on God to give the necessary provisions, it can hurt our faith if we are constantly exercising what we percieve to be "taking care of ourselves" thus basically through actions, saying we don't necessarily NEED God to provide for us, because "look what we can do for ourselves!"

It's all about the attitude. God doesn't hold against us that we want to take care of our families, but I think it is faulty to think we could do so without Him. It's about faith building. I know that sounds completely stupid to some folks, and so says the bible as well on that note...

1 Corinthians 1:27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

It's not about the preparedness, it's about knowing WHO we depend on, self, or God? I don't think there is a thing wrong with having enough food to last a year. But I DO think there is something very bad wrong if we have that food and can sit and eat it while others in plain sight are doing without. Watching others suffer where you could help is another sinful aspect(selfishness), not the act of gathering the food and keeping it available. The faith would come in when the food runs out because you shared. I have NEVER shared something, that cost me blood sweat and tears, what I did not get a blessing back. Even if I never recieved a blessing back, I'd still share simply because it is the right thing to do. It's what Christ would do, and we are to emulate His actions and attitudes

I could keep going chasing rabbits on this very topic all day long, but I think I made the point about how they likely feel about it already. It is too bad though, that folks don't put MORE thought into things, and wonder WHY that might be an issue with God, rather than just trust what someone tells them which is what sounds like they may have done. I could be wrong, but if they really KNEW why, why wouldn't they explain their position? To me, that is the whole deal on PERSONAL relationship with God, and knowing God to even begin to have that relationship...Anyway, I tend to ramble and change course talking bible, because everything ties in in a big huge circle, one thing leads to ten more etc. so I'll shut up now

 

[Wannabefree]

On the subject.....this is so very ridiculous but struck me as funny. I got it from some crazy blog and then lost the darn link

And Groundhog poked his head up out of his hole and told them this parable. "There once were two men who prepped. One man put his faith in God and did what he could. He gathered up stores of fine prep gear and food for his family. One day the oxen poo was scattered into the wind and all the people were in dire straits. A crowd gathered at this mans camp and he shared with them. The Lord blessed his efforts and extended his stores, even causing game animals to fling themselves head long into his hunters spears. And thus, they were provided for during the poo storm.

Another man did the same and when the poo storm came, a crowd gathered at his camp as well. He said to them, "Yea and verily I say unto you, scram!" And they scrammed. (seriously, he said it just like that). And he thought to himself, "I shall weather this poo storm well for I have plenty". The next day a band of mutant ninja zombie bikers brigands came and laid waste to his encampment, beat him, and took all his provisions. The man said, "This sucketh, and I'm screwed now." So he hauled his sorry butt to the other mans camp and humbled himself before him and the Lord and asked for help. The first man said "Sure thing dude." and so they were both provided for." So Groundhog asked them, "Which of the two men were truly prepared for the storm of oxen poo? Go, and do what you can."

I guess that's one way to put it