Are you ready?

This time of year is fast approaching.   Doesn't it always seem like that it creeps up on you faster every year?  I always tell myself that we are going to be ready this year, and what happens; next thing you know it is fall and you still have wood to chop and stack, yards to get cleaned, get snow blower ready, get equipment oiled and greased up and put away for next year, manure hauled and yards ready for the snow to pile up, summer stuff put away, make sure freezers and canning cupboards are full and ready for those long winter months!  HELP!

This weekend will be the chop wood and stack the rest of it.  We should be able to finish the wood this weekend.  (in time to order another load, just in case)  Then that will be just one of many things done and ready for the winter.

Hope you have a great day!

Horse time, FINALLY

I  am finally riding Sirocco, I am going to the trainers twice a week and more if possible.  I was very nervous and tight when I first started riding.  I finally calmed down and started thinking about my riding.  Not to look down, but where I wanted to go, trying to keep my butt from bouncing all over the saddle and so forth.  Tonight is another night I go to ride and I hope the ride is much better.  I got a few wonderful pointers from one of my favorite blogger.   I am going to really try to put that advice to work.

I am thinking about redoing the footing in my corral and hope the hubby will help me.  I think we will have to get the wood done first (with my help) then maybe I can talk him into it.  I will find out how much sand is going to cost me first.

Today is a day of cleaning chicken houses, or at least the nest boxes.  Then work on trying to find the workbench so the hubby can see it again.  BEFORE you ask, yes, he actually wants me to mess up his mess ;=) , then it is off to get groceries and then a massage, and finally going to ride Sirocco.  Boy, I am tired just thinking about it!

Have a great day.

A day of pressing

We bought this out of a gentleman's barn and brought it home.  It needed to have the feet replaced and then, the whole thing needed to be washed.  The family ( husband, son and nephew)  worked on it yesterday and then went and picked apples to give it a try.  They got 7 gallons of cider from the apples.  We started with three, grain bags of apples.  First you grind the apples then you press them.

It is the hard way, but for us simple folk, we like to do things the old fashion way!

Saturday we put up 12 pints of grape jelly (after the canner sprung a leak then, had to go buy a new one) and then, I froze some sweet peppers, broccoli and cauliflower.  I put up some more horse fence yesterday.  That pretty much took care of our weekend.  We also drove the motor home over to our mechanic so, he could go over it and have it inspected for us.  Hopefully within a week we will be able to at least take it on one camping trip for a weekend.  We shall see.

Hope you have a great day.

Work

LOOK!  I have a workbench in my kitchen.  I should've thought of this years ago. (NOT)

Today is a much better day than yesterday.  Most of the time my house really doesn't bother me much.  I think if I was still having the dreaded PMS thing, that would of been my excuse ;=)  I have lived with it for over 20 years.   So, thank you for sympathies!  I feel much better.

Today is going to be filled with putting up more horse fence so they can have some green grass, and putting up some grape jelly, freezing just a few veggies.  Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Rant

This is a day of ranting!  Do you ever wonder why we bother even trying to keep our houses clean?  I keep telling myself that if the rest of the family doesn't care if the house is clean, why should I?   I have two ADULT children living with us and their excuses are that they work, if I TELL them what I needs done; they will do it.  (I think I need to start putting a note on the counter)  I don't want to throw my kids out but maybe its time to start taking some money instead!  (maybe that will change things?) I keep trying to get myself not to worry about the house, that we are the ones that have to live with it.  That is fine, as long as no one invites people to my house! (NOT GOING TO HAPPEN)  I guess I am just too darn picky!  They keep saying, that life is too short to worry about how your house looks.  I really try going by that statement, but it just doesn't work.  I want a house that has a place for everything I have. (which doesn't include the floor!)  I usually don't worry too much until the hubby tells me he has invited someone from work up for the weekend or a day. (then it's a mad dash to clean the house) I try not to worry all the much about how the house looks or the outside. Then like the last couple of days, I have just been in one of those funks where I just want to rent a dumpster and start throwing.   I could really start talking about the outside but if I do, I think I will be in tears by the time this post is done.    I am blowing all this probably way out of proportion, but it feels better to rant once in awhile.  I could make all this better if I wanted to do all the work myself and pay someone to build things for me. (just to damn expensive and I would be working from sunup to sundown for the next millennium!)  BOY! do I feel better now, that I got that off my chest :=)

I apologize for the complaining,  I really do have a wonderful family and a wonderful husband, that works his butt off to give us all what we do have!   I guess the older I get the less I like the clutter and mess.  I guess I went years with the miss matched furniture and the second hand junk that it would really be nice to walk into a house that was a little bit better put together.

I sure hope your day started better than mine!

Rock of Ages

I love rocks, minerals or whatever you want to call them.  I have quite a few rocks and minerals that the in laws collected over the years.  I have them scattered around the patio area.  I also have some marble and other ones that the hubby has brought home from job sites.  Some of them are pretty awesome looking.

I want to say a Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother-in-law.  She has been a wonderful person in my life and not to many people get to say that they like their mother-in-law.  I do love mine.  I hope you have a wonderful day today.  Love Matt, Lisa, Tawny and Kegan.

Today is my shopping day and I have made it a tradition to try to go see one of my favorite aunts-in-law also.   She even told me last week that she missed seeing me when I went to NJ with Matt.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Aloe

I don't think I have ever seen an aloe plant bloom before.  This is the first time.  I haven't had a plant for quite sometime.  My lovely sister-in-law gave it to me.  I seem to always get them to a pretty large state and then all of a sudden they die.  Especially when I try to replant them.

I have just a little more cleaning in the motor home and then I will take some photo's.  It took quite some time to get it clean.  It sparkles now ;=)  Pictures maybe tomorrow.

It has been a pretty quiet week so far.   Not a lot going on.  I should be out mowing lawn, weed eating and so on.  I keep trying to get the son to get it done.   He always has the excuse that he doesn't get home from work early enough.  (sigh)

Have a wonderful day.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

Corn, we found corn that just didn't want to be separated, corn that decided that it wanted to pollinate from the top down or (is that vise versa)?  Any how, we ended putting up 42 quarts of sweet corn this weekend.  Thank you, Uncle Rich for the lovely corn.  We now have plenty to get us by for the winter months!

The guys worked on getting one of our sheds cleaned out (only because they needed it for their engines!).  While they did that, I worked on getting our new motor home cleaned.  Have to go through and get rid of some mold from it sitting for so long without use.   It is coming along well, I am going to finish doing the cleaning today then the hubby is going to take it to have our mechanic go through it and make sure it is road worthy.  I will have pictures in the next couple of days.

I really have to get to weaving, it seems like things take me away from it way too long.  I will have to start going to the barn early and not leaving until late.  That way no interruptions!  (I have no phone out there!)

Have a great day.

Tractors and pulls

One of the best things about the tractor pulls is the black smoke that they put out when those RPM's go up.   The hubby and son also love this about the pulls.  I told the hubby that if we had the money to waste I would take our international tractor and make it into a pulling tractor.  His uncle keeps telling us our tractor looks like one with the huge tires that we have on it.  We never did go back to the original tires that should be on the tractor.

These are the tires that came with the tractor.This is the size that actually should go on the tractor.  The pictures really only give a small idea on the difference in the sizes.  

This week is a week of relaxation.  I went with the hubby to NJ for the rest of this week.  We finished with the fair on Tuesday afternoon and then took off for NJ.  I decided that being as the week was just about half over, I would come down with him.  I did computer work, reading, catching up on sleep; then when the hubby came back to the hotel we went out for supper to the Outback restaurant.  It wasn't too bad, the hubby and I prefer going to the Longhorn but it is a hour away from the hotel. We decided that is too far to go just for supper after he worked all day.

Have a wonderful day.

Iron horse

I love my horses, but this one would cost a lot less in the long run.  I would love to have the imagination to be able to build one.  We saw this down at the Washington County fair.  Who ever did it, did a fabulous job and is very talented!

It has been a very busy week.  We were at the fair the whole week with the hubby and son's hit and miss engines.  It was a very hot week.  We are going to try to do the fair again next year but with a little more planning.  This year was a spur of the moment thing.  As some of you know, my horse was there and did quite well.  Someone else rode him.  I am hoping to be able to learn how to show him and ride him myself next year.  We shall see.  So, it is possible that next year at the fair will be busy.  Showing engines and showing horses!

Hope you have a great week.