I Hate Winter
Where do you go when the snow starts to blow? Bahamas, of course! We've decided that this should be a tradition--just go somewhere warm during winter and skip a week of wind, cold, snow, sleet, ice, and everything else mother nature throws our way. I think it's an EXCELLENT idea!
A-R-A-G-E-G???
When you see the picture below, do you automatically think GARAGE? Well, buddy did, and that is where we had the kids' Christmas present hid out. We had a scavenger hunt where each kid had different clues that led to locations around the house where they collected the letters. Then they were supposed to put their letters together and unscramble the word. Well....we don't need to waste no stinkin' time unscramblin' words when we could be scramblin' to the garage! Merry Christmas!
Christmas Time
Check out our cool Christmas display. We have a big ledge up high that would be great to display something on, if we had something to display up there. It made a great Christmas display though! I know I'm going to have to buy something just for that space. Or I thought I could just leave the trees and rotate out seasonal displays---Christmas, Valentine's Day (I'll need a big cupid), Easter (bunny), St. Patrick's Day (leprechaun)---you get the idea. We could have our own personal Macy's window display! I think I could get hubby to get the big ladder out once a month. :)
Buddy's Birthday!
Buddy's birthday is right before Christmas. He got lots of cool presents, but shown below is the coolest! Check out the look on his face!
Snow Removal
Ah, I found a picture of proof that we needed the skidloader--for the (overkill) removal of snow from the driveway. It practically pays for itself!
It'll come in handy he says...
Look what my hubby brought home. Oh, no, he didn't rent it, he bought it. And no, it's not going to be parked in the garage. Never know when you might want to dig a hole. A big hole.
Missing Mousers
Now I know why my hubby wanted to call the kitties Mouser 1, Mouser 2, Mouser 3, etc, etc, etc. Both of the yellow kitties are gone now. We don't know what happened to Taz, the little one, he was kind of sketchy anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if something grabbed him. Now Tigger, on the other hand, we miss and wish he would wander back here. He had a great personality. I was going to get him & Thunder fixed to stop the wandering, but I wasn't fast enough. We did have a neighbor that saw him, so hopefully he's still around. I have a friend who said they're cat came back after 4 months, so there's always hope. Well, that just means Thunder needs some new friends!!
Carving Pumpkins
Yea! We have a place to carve pumpkins outside! Buddy got to dig out all the seeds (with some help from the kitties). Then the kids usually draw what kind of face or design they want on their pumpkins and daddy cuts them out. My job is to buy the pumpkins. This leaves me out of the mess. (Until my daughter wants me to roast pumpkin seeds).
Bunny Accommodations
With fall and winter around the corner, Bubba's bunnies are going to need some shelter from the cold and the wind. Hubby decided he would just build a lean-to for their enjoyment. It is big enough for their large cage, plus shovels, rakes, etc. We decided to put it by the garden bed so it would be handy when we're working on the garden (a project for next spring--however, I grew some good weeds this last year). Bella & Edward (the bunnies) were very appreciative of their new accommodations.
Hunting
Hubby thinks it's cool he can hunt in his backyard. Look at what's for dinner tonight! (NOT!) I do my hunting at Dillons.
The Mutts
Here are our 2 dogs--Maggie & Katie, aka Dumb & Dumber. The black one is all business--as you can see in this picture, she's stalking the kitties. The yellow one is just to keep the black one company. We've also gotten to meet alot of the neighbors, because the yellow one keeps going on adventures and I keep getting phone calls to come get her.
Not Enough Room
Ok, we have 54 acres on which to fly a kite, and buddy still manages to get it stuck in a tree.
Wild Blackberries
After the hay was put up, it was easier to explore the property. We found we had wild blackberry bushes about 1/2 way back to the creek. This is what it sounds like when you pick them: Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! They have thorns that like to poke your fingers and grab onto your clothes. But we were able to pick quite few before it got too late in the season. And guess what we made? Blackberry cobbler--yummy!
Honey, look what I got!
Remember the earlier entry on this blog entitled "I gotta get me one of these"? Well, he did! In the country there is a difference in riding mowers. In the city, the riding mower is actually a garden tractor. In the country you can't mow your property w/ a garden tractor, you need a riding mower--ZTR types are standard. Cut our mowing time from 6 hrs down to 2 hrs. I think he just likes riding it anyway.
Putting up Hay
Check out these cool tractors! Ok, they're not ours, we don't even own a tractor (unless you count the toy one I got for hubby).
A really nice older couple came out for 3 days in July and cut, baled and hauled off all of our hay. Three days! Mr. & Mrs. S. came to our door one day and introduced themselves and said they've been cutting this patch of land for years, and would it be ok if they continued. We were like, sure, we don't know nothin'.
They brought out all their equipment (Mr. S. has 8 tractors--that way he doesn't have to switch out implements--good plan) and they let the kids ride w/ them in the tractors. Bubba even got to drive! I took lots of pictures, which hubby says is dorky, but I say I'm being a tourist this 1st year and playing dumb city slicker. Ok, maybe not playing...there's some country stuff I have NO idea about!
Creatures
Did you know there are creatures in the country?? Check these lovely critters out. Of course, there are no snakes on my property, I made sure of it! :)
The first one I believe is a luna moth, the second one is a spider, that I was ok with in the flower bed until 3 of his friends decided it was a good place to set up house, then they all had to go---and the last one is a lizard/salamander thing (I can't remember what they're called) that one of the kittens thought would be fun to play with.
4th of July
We had our family & our old neighbors all out to the house for the 4th of July. I told them before they came that we could shoot off any fireworks they wanted to---and boy, did they bring them out! Now, my brother-in-law is just a big kid most of the time (see picture), so having him with other kids and fire isn't such a good idea. You can see the dads in the background thinking the same thing....but no one got hurt and we all had a great time. We had burgers & hotdogs and homemade ice cream. Yum!
God's Country
Isn't that beautiful? We are outside A LOT now. This was taken overlooking our land to the west. We are up on a hill and get awesome sunsets. Love it!
Hey, Hon, did you buy any cows?
A while back there were several thunderstorms in the evenings and overnight. Lots of wind, rain and even hail. One morning, I'm leaving the house to drive to work and I see something at the edge of the property between our house and the neighbors. As I get closer, I see about 20 cows. And they are on our side of the fence. So....I turn around and go back in the house. "Hey, Hon, did you buy any cows?" (he's not even awake yet.) "No" he says groggily. "Well, " I say, "you have a bunch in the yard."
Have you ever been able to say you had a bunch of cows in your yard? I thought it was funny. (I tend to think lots of these new experiences are funny. TD not so much.)
So, being a high-tech redneck, he gets on the computer, looks at the county website, finds the owner of that piece of property and Google's their phone number. Ya can't just go knock on their door and tell them their cows are out. It's a big pasture--there is no house.
Well, they come right out and the cow wrangling begins. Of course, I have to take pictures. I just tell everyone I'm from the city, and they seem to be ok with that. My hubby calls me a tourist.
So, apparently you can herd cattle with a 4-wheeler. Why would you do it the old fashioned way on a horse? I also learned that if you stand and put your arms out, it makes you look bigger. (Yeah, I got a picture of hubby doing that too.)
It took a little while, but cows pretty much stay together. The tricky part was getting them out of the gate. Then they just needed to go down the road to their gate and into their pasture. Sometimes when I'm driving by and they're close to the fence I moo at them. Hubby says I'm a dork. But I'm just working on my bilingual skills. Could come in handy some day. Never know when you might need to speak cow....
Mouser #4
Here is Mouser #4 Taz. He's a little skittish, but he's coming around. When we 1st brought him home you were lucky if you could get ahold of him. But now he comes around and he always has to be with one of the other two. I think they're his protectors.
Mouser #2 with Mouser #3
Since we lost one barn kitty already, I replaced him with two more. Here we have Mouser #3 Thunder, with Mouser #2 Tigger. They are so cute!
Bubba turns 11
Well, we celebrated our 1st birthday in the new house. Bubba turned 11 years old. They say 8-12 year olds are tweens and I believe it. We already bribed her with a cell phone and bunnies to get her to move---what else could she possibly want? Well, the name brand clothing thing has already begun. Here's what she thinks of me being so "out of it."
Is it a cat or a bird?
One of our kitties, Tigger, likes to sit up on your shoulder. I suppose if he was a girl, we could have named him Polly (Polly want a cracker??).
Wildflowers
Checkout the wildflowers my kiddos picked for me out of our field. Aren't they sweet!
Fishing in the Pond
When we first moved out to our funny farm, Buddy wanted to fish everyday. Now the novelty has worn off. But when he was always going fishing, he got his sis to go with him. They are almost full fledged fisherpeople. They will bait their own hooks with worms or minnows (we decided we prefer worms--though I don't really like keeping them in my fridge), but they won't take the fish off the hook if they catch one. That is daddy's job. One day Buddy caught 8 fish one right after the other. Should I tell him that usually when fishing you sit and wait...wait...wait. Hubby said that's why they call it fishing and not catching. We've been throwing everything back. Mostly bass. Buddy thinks there's a giant catfish in there waiting to be caught.
Motorcross Mania
Buddy was so excited about moving to the country. He said he was going to ride his dirt bike everyday!! Well, he hasn't ridden everyday, but much more than when we were in town and had it stashed in the garage. Now he can just go outside and ride to his heart's content (or until it runs out of gas.)
Even his sister got in on the action...
Down to One House!
Yea! We closed on our old house so we now only own 1 home! We started this fiasco in March with finding our new home, listing the old one in April, having it on the market for 2 1/2 months, moving into our new home the end of May, getting a contract in June, and closing on our old house the end of July. Wheh! There went the summer! So really, we didn't do too bad, timewise. We were blessed to find our new homestead and sell our old one within a few months. All with lots of prayers & praises!
Barn Kitties
Hubby said when we moved we could get some kittens, aka barn kitties, to eat mice. He also advised the family that these kitties are expendable, he's not taking them to the vet, if they get lost or ate up (I hope not!) that we will just get some more. Now, me being a cat lover, was all over getting some kittens ASAP. And of course, I had to use the internet for it, so to Craigslist I went a-shopping.
Our first 2 official barn kitties (we don't even have a barn) are Midnight & Tigger. I let the kids name them. There was alot of negotiating going on. I'm sure you can guess who's who. Hubby wants to just name them "mouser 1, mouser 2, etc." Whatever. I have yet to see a mouse around here, so I guess they must be doing a good job!
Unfortunately we already lost one kitty. Poor Midnight. We think he may have gotten up under one of the vehicles. Buddy found him which was very sad. We buried him under the trees. The kids gave Tigger lots of attention that day.
Swimming in the Pond
The kids wanted to swim in the pond (after they got over the fact that it's not a swimming pool).
Anyone remember that commercial with the owl? Ah one, ah two, ah three "crunch"--three. It only takes 3 licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop, but it takes a bunch of showings to get a contract on a house. We have had a couple of 2nd showings, so maybe that will pan out.
As far as closing on the new house....MAYBE this Friday. Haven't heard anything today, but it sounded promising. If all goes well, I'll have to get back into packing mode (I've been slacking for a while now).
There is another profession where someone can do their work wrong and still keep their job--our appraiser.
No, we did not close on our house this past Friday because apparently
35 days isn't enough time for the appraiser to get his report written and turned in. Our realtor tried to be nice and ask him if he prioritized his workload by those that needed to be done right away (had a scheduled closing date) and those that could wait. Of course, his answer was no. I don't think it ever dawned on him.
Now, I haven't met the man, but I can't believe everyone else was ready except him, and because of that, he held up a sale for everyone. Actually, he did "rush" and fax the appraisal to the loan company by 11:30 pm the night before, but lo and behold, it was wrong. We're told it was missing key info (have you written one of these before???). Anyway, we were disappointed. Hubby more than me, because he wanted to start moving the garage and shed stuff out there before we actually move, which will be when school's out.
So maybe this week....
