It's That Time Of Year Again

  Yes, it's that time of year again. I know, you're thinking along the lines of gardens, etc, but I'm thinking of garage sales. Yes, it's garage sale time. When we lived in California, I never paid much attention to garage sales. What did I need someone elses junk for when I have enough of my own? I held garage sales to get rid of unwanted things.
  Up here, garage sales are held to get rid of excess stuff, get some money and as a social gathering. People up here love to talk, and a garage sale is a good way to meet people. We also go to estate sales. I do know how people feel watching others pick through their things and having to part with them because they need the money. I also know how it feels just to unload too much junk.
  We have found several good deals and passed up several bad deals. We have paid more than things were worth because someone needed the money. We have seen things that should have just been trashed.
  Along time ago I saw a bumper sticker that said " I break for garage sales". We need one of those. The garage sale signs we see call us,we have to follow them. It's fairly cheap entertainment and a good way to pick up something we can use at a good price, and meet people. We here some pretty interesting stories and  ideas. It's nice when we learn some of the history behind what we are buying, so we can tell it when we show off our "new" treasures.
  I guess it really is true when someone says one man's junk is another mans treasure.

What is that weird noise?

Lately, Tim and I have heard a weird tapping in the house. I thought it sounded like the pipes making noise. If you were in one end of the house, it was loud there, but if you walked to the other end of the house, it was loud there, also. I thought I had it narrowed down to the water heater. I was wrong. I went outside to see if I saw anything flapping in the breeze. Nope, nothing flapping, just a bird flying away. A bird wouldn't be making that type of noise. Wrong! It was a woodpecker. A confused woodpecker. It was pecking at all the metal vents on the roof, hopping from one vent to another, pecking all the way. The mystery was solved. We have a metalpecker. It pecks at different times of the day, all day long. It drives the dogs crazy, but they are getting used to it. It was kind of driving me crazy trying to find out what it was, too.We have even seen it pecking the stop sign down the street. OK, I suppose it could be another metalpecker at the stop sign. We do have your normal run of the mill woodpeckers out here as well, but this is the first metalpecker we've seen or heard. We have discovered that, sometimes, the wildlife up here is just weird. People up here jokingly call it W.A.C.O., Wild Animal Conspiracy Organization, and they are getting even with people for all the things people have done to animals. Sounds fair to me. So, if you ever hear a weird tapping at your house, look outside. Maybe you have your very own metalpecker, too.

Mountain Lion Attack

  Tim and I found out from our next door neighbor, that, a couple of weeks ago, a mountain lion attacked a horse in the yard of the people that live across the street from him. By the time the horse's owners found the horse, it was a couple of miles from here, and was pretty clawed up. The horse survived the attack.
  Tim told some coworkers about the attack and they told him to be sure and look up into the trees when we go out and get some bear spray and an air horn.
  We live in a wooded area, but we aren't really out in the sticks. We have neighbors all around us. I never have gone out too much when it's dark outside because ou all the eyes you see at different heights. Pretty creepy. I don't see well in the dark anyway. Tim is having second thought about his going out at night, too. We have one of those million candle lights he takes with him whe he leaves for work in the mornings to see what's out there.
  I'd need to get a backpack to carry everything in just to go to the street and get the mail. I guess when Jake and Chip and I go to get the mail and take the trash out, we are really trolling for mountain lions.

Uh Oh! I'm Thinking Again

Yup, I'm thinking again, and sometimes it's scary. It's not, this time. At least not much. I think I will have to get an outdoor cast iron dutch oven and try cooking in the great outdoors. It is suppose to be easy to do, with practice. I have been looking at dutch ovens and have decided that the weight of the oven will determine the size I get. Being the weakling that I am, I don't want one that weighs more than 17 or 18 pounds empty. I think that's about a 5-6 quart size.  Along witht the dutch oven, there is the lid lifter, and cleaning brush and cookbooks to get. Next, it will be the tripod to hold the dutch oven. Lots of gadgets and gizmos you can get, but all you really need is the dutch oven. It would be nice to take camping, use when the electricity is out, since our house is all electric, and just to cook with at home. There is the problem of finding someplace to store it when not in use. Guess I'd just have to use it all the time to take care of that problem. Think of the muscles I'll get hefting it around. Then again, I could just wat until Tim is hame and have him move it around for me. I would really like to do it all without help. I hear weight bearing exercise is good for osteoporosis so it'll do me good.

Spring Is In The Air

We have had one of the warmest winters on record up here, and people are ready for spring. We missed out on todays snow, which is just fine.
The birds are out busily collecting nest building materials, the sheep behind us are ready to lamb, (I really hope they all stay in their own fields this year), and soon, we should see little spotted fawns, and ducklings and goslings, and let's not forget all the wildflowers. I really wish my camera worked. Maybe, I wore it out taking snow pictures from the previous winters. Oh, and lets definately not forget all those yard and garage sales.
Gardens seem to be the topic on alot of peoples minds right now. It's so nice, should I get ready to plant now, or wait. I guess the rule of thumb up here is, if the snow is off of Mica Peak, it's time to plant. I don't think Mica Peak had snow this year, but it might have had a tad bit, if any. If that doesn't work, it's Mother's Day or Memorial weekend. We planted most things around Mother's Day last year, and of course winter decided to have the last laugh.
We can't see Mica Peak from our house, but we can see Mount Spokane, and it still has snow on it.
Last year, I jumped the gun a little, (ok, it was a couple of months), and started most of our seeds in the house, not knowing about the Mica Peak thing. I had to practically use a weed wacker to get through the dinning room. This year, I think I will just plant the seeds in the ground and take my chances.
Since we didn't have the amount of snow pack we need for water, lets hope we don't have a bad drought and bad fire dangers, since we live in the woods.
For now, I'll just go through all the new seed catalogs we have and figure out what to plant and enjoy our spring like weater.

I Have "IT"

I don't usually get sick, because I tell myself, it's bad for my health, but this year I managed to catch "IT". Tim brought "IT" home from work and really tried not to pass "IT" on, but no such luck. I was in the grocery store, coughing into my arm, and a woman came up to me and said, " I see you have "IT", too. "IT" just hangs around forever." Now, I know "IT" has a name. Tim and I are really tired of "IT". "IT's" one of those viruses, or something, that has to run "IT's" course. I've had "IT" for almost a month, and Tim's had it a couple of weeks longer. I keep thinking I might have to break down and go to the Dr., but I don't think she'd be able to do anything.
This year, no broken bones (I hope I just didn't jinx myself), just this case of "IT". Not much snow this year, and I'm really looking forward to spring this year.

Public Restrooms

I got this in an email from my daughter the other day, and thought it was so good, I'd share it with everyone.



When you have to visit a public restroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall..

You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someone's Mom , no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, ( Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR! ), yank down your pants, and assume ' The Stance.'

In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold 'The Stance.'

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more. You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail. Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. 'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT .. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.'

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.'

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?'



This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

This HAD to be written by a woman! No one else could describe it so accurately!

Send this to all women that need a good laugh AND, don't forget to have a mammogram!!!!!! It could save your life!



A Friend Is Like A Good Bra....

Hard to Find

Supportive

Comfortable

Always Lifts You Up

Never Lets You Down or Leaves You Hanging

And Is Always Close To Your Heart!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I like rain, but enough is enough, already. The ground can't hold anymore, and I'm not really sure I know what a sunny day that lasts all day long, is anymore. I sleep too late because it's just good sleeping weather. If it's not rain, it's the fog that rolls in like it does in a good horror movie. It creeps in and then sworms around. You can see the mist in the air. Even the turkeys haven't been around, lately. Once the weather does clear up, I really need to clean the windows, inside and out. Not my favorite thing to do. It really could be worse. It could be another snowpocolypse like last year. Yes, snowpocolypse is the official word for last year.

FarmVille, the great time waster

Yes, I play FarmVille and spend too much time playing it. I worry about my crops dieing when I can't harvest them in time. I rearrange my farm all the time. I have alot of animals I need to take care of. I keep thinning them out, but I keep getting more. The same with the trees. I got my kids and mother started on FarmVille, also. Yes, I saw the bit on the Dr. Phil show, but I'm not nearly as bad as the woman on the show was. I get things done around the house and fix meals. I don't check it as often as I used to. I have to have something to keep me occupied, since I can't go out in the icy and mud. If that's not a good enough reason to play it how about this for a reason; it's a whole lot easier on my back than a real garden. Cleaner, too.

Mud

This winter my snow globe is a mud globe. You walk in the grass, and it squishes like you were walking on a sponge. The reast of the yard is just a muddy, muddy mess. Slippery, icy in places, and so deep our Ford F250 has trouble getting out of it in 4x4. Jake doesn't want to go out because he'll get his feet icky (smart dog). Poodle feet hold a lot of mud. I wipe them off when Chip comes in the house and think I did a prety good job of it, and then he jumps in my lap and I see it wasn't such a good job after all. Every once in a while, Murphy comes in looking like a dirty drowned rat, or cat in this case. He likes toweled off and doesn't really seem to mind the rain. We have green showing up in the yard and it's not mold. It's moss and grass. I hope we have alot of  wildflowers this year. Didn't have that many last year.