There really hasnt been much going on the past few days. It's been raining off and on, so some things are just waiting for the weather to break and stay somewhat consistant.
I spent half of Tuesday at my mom n' dads, running the weedeater in their ditch and helping with a few other things that they needed done. I have to get out there sometime soon with a chainsaw and my uncles big tractor with the loader, and take down an ugly old bush/shrub thing and a small tree or 2, then take apart and old 8x8 flowerbed surrounded by railroad ties. The ties will be coming here with the other 3 they want rid of, and the soil will be put in holes where they had some tree stumps ground out. I still have to finish cleaning all the junk out of the old barn before it completely collapses,most of which will just be off to a scrapyard. Dad still complains about the barn being neglected after he retired, (we WONT go down that road, lol), and that if the roof had been replaced, it would still be in good shape. LOL that thing was there when they bought the place in '62, and dad even remembers there being a pony in it when he was a teenager.....ummmm yea, it's had it's life. The thing has sank further into the ground every year, and dad just kept cutting more off the bottom of the doors to make up for it, lol, silly old fart.
Wow do I get sidetracked, lol. Anyway.....behind the barn is a large area, roughly 20x20, thats nothing but wild blackberries. When I was there, I dug up 10 buckets of small starts and brought them home. I dropped off half of them to our friend Tammie, and planted the rest here along the parking area in the front. If they take well, I'll get more on my next trip and make another area for them. I gotta keep with my new motto, right? "less to mow-more to eat" I like it that way. Every time I dig a new hole and put something in it, it's a little less time and gasoline I use to trim useless grass. Maybe I should just start using the new term "edible landscaping" lol. Give vegetable and fruit gardens a fancy new name and its the most trendy thing since parachute pants and mullets. (bad 80's memories anyone? LOL)
The Lowboy is still giving me problems. I got a new battery for it yesterday since the state upped my weekly benefits by $25 and sent a check for the back retro-active. It's kinda got me stymied.....take the belt off the starter and it spins like mad, put it back on, and it acts like it doesnt have the torque to do anything, grrrrr. I'll mess with it more tomorrow if the weather agree's with me. I just decided to give it a rest today and spend the day inside catching up on laundry, cleaning, and dishes. I might as well do all that, afterall, I'm stuck at home. There's no sense in letting it sit for Lisa to do after working all day. Yep, I'm house-hubby during this layoff, lol.
Over the weekend, we'll be starting some of the other garden plants, and I'll be digging out camping gear. The 1st weekend of next month, we're getting together with a bunch of friends for a 3 day weekend at my buddy's place in southern Ohio. He has 70some acres, so we all bring tents and stay there. YAY!!!!!!!!!! I finally get to use the new tent I got for Christmas 2 years ago, other than set up in our own yard, lol. There are friends coming in from all over the US again, so it should be a good group. We haven't had one of these for 3 years, so we're all pretty excited about it. Camping+on a working farm+good friends+bonfires+good food.....I can't wait.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Well for those of you who went over and read Lisa's blog....yes, I caved in and let her bring home a kitten, lol. This past 8 months since the kids left has been the only time that she hasn't had a cat. I'm not really a cat person, but I remember how I hated the times when I didn't have a dog, so it's been the same for her. And hey, it beats a pony, lol. Someday I'll be able to get her a horse or pony, I know she really misses having one. I try to get her everything she wants (within reason of course), but a pony is just too far out of reach here. Ah well....maybe she can make a tiny kitten-sized saddle and pretend, hahahahaha. My little kitty, apocolypse kitty.......
Everything that's planted so far seems to be doing well. Almost all of the onions are up above ground, and so are the turnips. The beets and parsnips are barely showing a little green above ground, but they won't be far behind. In another week or so, we'll more of the other plants out without much worry of a last late frost. We planned on going all heirloom, but the seed order was never sent out thanks to the layoff. I did see an ad on the local Craigslist for heirloom tomato and pepper plants, so I'll e-mail them for a list sometime today. Maybe this week we can get a few of each.
Yesterday we spent some time with family for Mothers Day. I won't mention names or anything, that's between me & Lisa, but we were both about to scream after the 3 hour visit. One person in particular is probably the most narrow-minded person I have ever met. Everything outside of her little safety zone/circle where she lives in la-la land, is just wrong and wierd. Everything WE do is wierd to her, and she has no qualms against telling us she thinks so. Sometimes they're just jokes gone wrong, and other times they're just outright "that's stupid" comments. They're all talking about planting spring flowers, and I joke and say "nope! Not planting it if we can't eat it!", which of course comes back to me when I talk about things I want to do around the house. "I need to get a battery for the tractor", "nope, can't eat THAT", said in no way a joking manner. My head began to hurt and my blood started to boil. We get comments like that over and over, from a lot of people we know. Insults are insults, no matter who they come from. Just because you are related doesn't make it ok.
Sure, we live a lot different than everyone we know. Sure, we've made choices that most people find silly or rediculous. But these choices have been ours, and no one elses. Our choice to live without cable television was a simple one for us, but to some it was like cutting off an arm. It amazes me now to listen to other peoples conversations and realize how much it revolves around tv. Talks about American Idol, Lost, Wife Swap, and other mindless entertainment make me sad in a way. To think that this is all people choose to do with their time amazes me. When we had cable, most of our shows were somewhat educational...discovery channel, history channel, etc, and never some mindless reality show. The choice to dump the cable has been a good one. Our time is now spent together, or at least in the same room at the same table. There are times when I sit here at the computer while Lisa reads a book, but we're both doing something we enjoy, and usually LEARNING, rather than watch some untalented wannabe singer try to impress a bunch of idiots into making them the next thing for 10 minutes of fame. Television rules the lives of most american's. They sit for countless hours and watch mindless shows, stuffing their faces with garbage, then have the nerve to whine about being overweight and out of shape. Next thing ya know, we'll be sueing a tv station for making us lazy. It's pitiful.
Sorry to go on such a rant, but yesterday was just one of those days when I wanted to sell everything we own, buy a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and not have to deal with people at all. I grow tired of the comments and the blatent insults. Even some of the jokes get old. People don't realize that negative comments about "hillbillies" are in a way a negative comment about us. We aren't hillbillies really, but we find more in common with that kind of person than with today's role models. I'd much rather be friends with Jesco White than with Brad Pitt. (if you dont know who Jesco is, watch this) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRCWU6cHywk&feature=related OK yea, lol, he's pretty far out there and theres a lot of bad things involved in him and his family (drugs etc) but I can really relate to this guy. Anyone who has real hillbilly blood will laugh all the way through the whole film, this is just the opening clip.
Anyway.......back to where I was going. Maybe I'm still a bit bitter and angry from yesterday. I just really wish that people could see that our way of life isn't so wrong. I wish that the jokes and insults would stop. I can't understand buying a $1000 television or spending countless hours manicuring a lawn to look like a golf course any more than others can't understand us raising rabbits for meat or for choosing to make our own laundry detergent and wanting to use a wringer washer.
OK.....I think I'm done bitching for now, lol. whewwwww
Everything that's planted so far seems to be doing well. Almost all of the onions are up above ground, and so are the turnips. The beets and parsnips are barely showing a little green above ground, but they won't be far behind. In another week or so, we'll more of the other plants out without much worry of a last late frost. We planned on going all heirloom, but the seed order was never sent out thanks to the layoff. I did see an ad on the local Craigslist for heirloom tomato and pepper plants, so I'll e-mail them for a list sometime today. Maybe this week we can get a few of each.
Yesterday we spent some time with family for Mothers Day. I won't mention names or anything, that's between me & Lisa, but we were both about to scream after the 3 hour visit. One person in particular is probably the most narrow-minded person I have ever met. Everything outside of her little safety zone/circle where she lives in la-la land, is just wrong and wierd. Everything WE do is wierd to her, and she has no qualms against telling us she thinks so. Sometimes they're just jokes gone wrong, and other times they're just outright "that's stupid" comments. They're all talking about planting spring flowers, and I joke and say "nope! Not planting it if we can't eat it!", which of course comes back to me when I talk about things I want to do around the house. "I need to get a battery for the tractor", "nope, can't eat THAT", said in no way a joking manner. My head began to hurt and my blood started to boil. We get comments like that over and over, from a lot of people we know. Insults are insults, no matter who they come from. Just because you are related doesn't make it ok.
Sure, we live a lot different than everyone we know. Sure, we've made choices that most people find silly or rediculous. But these choices have been ours, and no one elses. Our choice to live without cable television was a simple one for us, but to some it was like cutting off an arm. It amazes me now to listen to other peoples conversations and realize how much it revolves around tv. Talks about American Idol, Lost, Wife Swap, and other mindless entertainment make me sad in a way. To think that this is all people choose to do with their time amazes me. When we had cable, most of our shows were somewhat educational...discovery channel, history channel, etc, and never some mindless reality show. The choice to dump the cable has been a good one. Our time is now spent together, or at least in the same room at the same table. There are times when I sit here at the computer while Lisa reads a book, but we're both doing something we enjoy, and usually LEARNING, rather than watch some untalented wannabe singer try to impress a bunch of idiots into making them the next thing for 10 minutes of fame. Television rules the lives of most american's. They sit for countless hours and watch mindless shows, stuffing their faces with garbage, then have the nerve to whine about being overweight and out of shape. Next thing ya know, we'll be sueing a tv station for making us lazy. It's pitiful.
Sorry to go on such a rant, but yesterday was just one of those days when I wanted to sell everything we own, buy a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and not have to deal with people at all. I grow tired of the comments and the blatent insults. Even some of the jokes get old. People don't realize that negative comments about "hillbillies" are in a way a negative comment about us. We aren't hillbillies really, but we find more in common with that kind of person than with today's role models. I'd much rather be friends with Jesco White than with Brad Pitt. (if you dont know who Jesco is, watch this) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRCWU6cHywk&feature=related OK yea, lol, he's pretty far out there and theres a lot of bad things involved in him and his family (drugs etc) but I can really relate to this guy. Anyone who has real hillbilly blood will laugh all the way through the whole film, this is just the opening clip.
Anyway.......back to where I was going. Maybe I'm still a bit bitter and angry from yesterday. I just really wish that people could see that our way of life isn't so wrong. I wish that the jokes and insults would stop. I can't understand buying a $1000 television or spending countless hours manicuring a lawn to look like a golf course any more than others can't understand us raising rabbits for meat or for choosing to make our own laundry detergent and wanting to use a wringer washer.
OK.....I think I'm done bitching for now, lol. whewwwww
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