Country Entertainment

We had a unique country experience over Thanksgiving weekend. My mom can tell you all about what we are doing. Go visit her here before you proceed with my post......

Finished? Good. Now you can understand what we were doing.


We were blessed with beautiful weather this past Thanksgiving weekend. It made for some great time riding horses and catching new pets to play with....


I don't have any pictures of this, but my nephew Logan took it to a whole new level by deciding to not disarm his wasps, so to speak, so he could have some dog fights...I do not understand boys.

P.S. It's only fair that I tell you to go visit my sister Dawn over at her blog. I think if we'd been 20 years younger the battle over who was going to blog about this particular subject may have to come to blows...


Now, I gotta say...You might be a redneck if: You have actually removed the stinger from a wasp and tied a string around its waist for entertainment!

I'm FAMOUS!!!!

Well, sorta.

Okay, maybe famous is a bit of an exaggeration...

But, still, I'm officially on TV now.

Well, maybe not TV TV, but I'm on a website with TV in the name, and that's practically the same thing, right?

My hospital has a great new website called sharetheprayer.tv. I work at a Catholic hospital, and the emphasis on prayer is wonderful. I have been blessed to work with a Christian team where we say a prayer before we begin each procedure. The patients love it, we love it, and I really feel it gives our department a special peace and joy that I haven't experienced at other jobs.

We had Spirit Days on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and they gave us the opportunity to share. Honestly, I wasn't going to share originally, but my friends convinced me to do it. It's not that I didn't know what to say, it's that I knew it was supposed to be a blip, and how do you narrow down why you believe in prayer? We all know I like to use 20 words when 5 would do. However, prayer is such a big part of my life, and I do believe it is very important, so I decided to whittle down my words and share....

And, no they didn't edit me. I was done so quick they started asking me questions which I was totally unprepared for, and I about panicked, but here it is...

Oh yeah, and just remember: The camera adds 50 pounds. And it was raining that day, so my hair was even scarier than usual. But that's all....

Here you go, Dear Reader: My debut to fame.

Bad Tempered...

Don't let this sweet little face fool you...

Kelsey is still complaining of a headache. She lays her head on me whenever I start to pet her. Not in a, "yeah, keep scratching" sort of way. It's more a "I can't hold my head up a second longer, but please keep scratching me..."

I was gone all day, and when we got home she trotted out of the garage to greet us and do her business. As we were carrying Christmas decorations in, she came in and laid down where her bed normally is. She has been remaining in the garage most of the time. I think that being in with us wears her out, so she has preferred very little stimulus. I was happy to see her feeling better, so I brought her bed in and left her to a nap in the living room.

I decided to go in the garage and bring Holly in for a little attention. She came barreling in the garage, and straight into the house. I had not realized the door was not fully latched. I started calling for her to stop, as it had been raining today and I had not even gotten a chance to see if her paws were muddy. The girls heard me hollering, and they began to yell at her too. She bounded right past them, and directly onto Kelsey...


Who, quick as a blink, had her thrown off of her and pinned to the ground!

I was totally shocked! Kelsey has always tolerated anything Holly would throw at her. Now, when we were disciplining Holly the first few months we had her, if she didn't listen to us, Kelsey would growl at her and kind of knock her down. I think that with her head hurting and all of us yelling at Holly, she simply took matters into her own paws so to speak.

As soon as I drug her off of Holly and picked Holly up (Holly continued to try and play with Kelsey, and Kelsey was having none of that today), she wobbled back to her bed and plopped down. I really think the only reason she was able to get on top of Holly was because Holly was so surprised to have Kelsey not lay there and take any and every abuse she dished out. Did you know that I have seen Holly grab Kelsey by the scruff of the neck and start dragging her across the deck when Kelsey is refusing to play? And Kelsey has always just sighed (literally), gotten up, and played with her.

I carried Holly to the garage, gave her some attention. I tried to get Kelsey to get up and interact with us, but the effort to defend her family apparently tuckered her plum out. She has been napping ever since...

Kelsey

Can you believe it has been over a week since I last posted? Well, I have certainly had an eventful week.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, and I have lots of great stories to share with you, but this post is a story, but it doesn't start out so wonderful.

Friday evening I was standing out in the yard at my in-laws talking with Studmuffin's aunt and sister-in-law. A semi truck drove by going at least 55 mph. Kelsey shot out after it, to make sure the giant beast never dared to return. Unfortunately, before she returned to me after performing her guard duties, a pickup truck with a hay trailer zoomed by going every bit as fast as the truck. She didn't come trotting back to me.

I calmly walked away from my conversation and called her. Holly came bounding towards me. She skidded to a halt, spun around and dashed back to the road. Before I could get to the road she had done the dash, spin, and return to me 2 other times. I felt as if my legs were moving in slow motion, but I really dreaded coming over the rise at the northeast corner of the driveway.


What seemed an eternity later, but entirely too fast for my sanity, I saw her. Her strong body lay lifeless on the side of the road, with her head twisted up and behind her. She wasn't breathing. Holly stood over her and trembled, looking at me as if I was supposed to fix this horrible tragedy. I laid my hands on her and could feel no movement of breathing. I searched for a pulse, but my expertise does not extend to finding a pulse on a dog in a moment of panic.

I tried to hurry to the house, but I was afraid to run because all of the kids were outside playing. I walked into the house, and said in as calm a voice as possible, "Brent! Kelsey got hit by a car. She's dead." And I fell to my knees and began to sob in this week pitiful way, that seemed totally out of proportion to me.

Studmuffin got up and ran out the door. I followed him, but I couldn't make myself run, but was unable to walk...She remained at the side of the road in the same horrific position I had left her. We examined her and agreed she wasn't breathing. He picked her up and carried her over to his brother's pickup and laid her down....

I went over to Aleta & Anita and asked them to get the kids inside so they wouldn't see her. I turned around and returned to my precious dog...."She's started breathing, but it's only every once in a while," Brent told me as I began to walk back. "That's not breathing. It's agonal and it doesn't count." By the time I got back to the pickup she was breathing hard and rapidly. Her body remained limp, but her eyes were open. Her pupils were constricted down. Blood was coming out of her eyes and nose, and her tongue was hanging limply out the side of her mouth...I didn't know what to do. I know this seems crazy, but my first thought was, "I don't know how to assess if a dog's nervous system is intact."

I decided to call my Uncle Harry who lives in a nearby town, and is a veterinarian. He gave me some instructions on how to do a quick test to see if she was responsive. My brother-in-law took his pocket knife and poked her foot. No reaction. Her legs were limp, and no matter what we did to them, she showed no signs of feeling pain. Her breathing remained fast and labored, and her eyes were focused on nothing.

We made the horrible, difficult decision to end her suffering. Brent & his brother took her to the pasture on the back of the truck. Brent secured his brother's promise to take care of her, because he just didn't know if he could do that to her, even if it was best for her...

As Brent climbed out of the pickup and turned around, Kelsey lifted her head and tried to pull her feet up under her! He jumped back so far, his brother thought he must have seen a snake...She did it again..

"What do we do now?" They decided to call me. I called my uncle, and he helped arrange for a vet to meet me at the local clinic.

We agonized over moving her because we continued to fear for a spinal injury, but I refused to let her ride on the back of a flat bed pickup down bumpy rural roads to a town 20 some miles away....Brent picked her up and we placed her in blankets in the back of our car.

I vacillated between deadly calm with a sense of unrealness to the whole situation, to crying over the loss of my dear friend.

The vet met us at the door to the clinic and carried her in. I was amazed at his lack of hesitation in lifting and moving her. He did a quick exam of her reflexes, looked her over, and pronounced, "I think she just got her bell rung really hard. Her breathing is stable, her heart rate is steady, and I don't find any broken bones." He then had me help insert an IV, and he started loading her up on IV steroids. We left her in his care, with the promise that he would call in the morning with an update unless she took a turn for the worse, and then he would call us right away. His last words to me were, "I'm somewhat optimistic. Her pupils are already dilating back out, and she is trying to move."

The next morning he called with news that her vision was still a little poor (she had been obviously completely blind the night before as her head wobbled around with her eyes completely unfocused) and her balance was not great but she was up and moving. However, she wasn't eating so he wanted to keep her another day.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I received my call. "Well. She still isn't eating. I have to force her to do any activity. At this point you can take her home and nurse her, but if she doesn't eat there is only so much you can do...stroke....may never recover....relearn basic skills.....blah, blah, blah."

By the time I hung up the phone I was a complete wreck all over again.

We drove the 55 miles from my parents to the vet's and the ride seemed to creep by at the same time that I dreaded arriving. My girls were excited because they were eager to see their friend, and ready to take her home. We arrived a few minutes before the vet, and we prepared them for the worst...

We followed Jesse into the clinic, into the back, where he opened the door to an indoor pen they have for large animals. As soon as I said her name, she stood up as quick as her wobbly legs would hold her and stumbled over the step to leave the pen, and straight to her family. It was wonderful. It was awful. She was alert and excited to see us, but obviously in pain and very weak. We walked her out the door where she wobbled straight to our car and sat down at the rear hatch to be let in....

I forgot to mention that I had been clinging to the hope that she wasn't eating because she was in a strange place where she was scared. After all, the reason we started to travel with her was because she has always refused to eat when we are gone...

She slept all of the way home (4 hours.)


We gently set her out of the car and she walked straight into the house and to her bed.

To help shorten this story for you, I will now give you an update to her current status. the first day and a half she vomited up everything I put down her. finally last night she kept her food down. She has been staying in the garage for the most part, because it is quiet and I don't have to scrub vomit out of the carpet. Correction, Studmuffin doesn't have to clean vomit out of the carpet. I was so wrapped up in her yesterday morning, and feeding the kids, he ended up cleaning carpet.

Today I took her to our vet here in town so that I could get some follow up. The vet here recommended we continue the steroids and pepcid we are doing, along with coaxing her to eat whatever she will (canned dog food), and keep her as quiet as possible. She said she is very lucky, seems to be recovering pretty quickly, and SHE SHOULD MAKE FULL RECOVERY!!!

She still has balance issues. She tends to stumble when she tries to change directions too quickly. She weaves continuously when she is eating or drinking over her bowl, and she can't just sit because her legs slide out from under her. But, she is actually getting out of her bed and getting up to greet me when I come check on her.

And Holly? Well, we've really limited contact, but she has been very worried about her friend. This morning when we let her in, she walked over with her little stub tucked between her tail and laid down beside Kelsey, and placed her leg over Kelsey's. It was so sweet I cried all over again.

Now, don't you wish I wouldn't take so many days away from blogging so i wouldn't have so many words stored up? Don't worry. I know this post was agonizingly long, but I promise my next few will be fun!

Hey, on a lighter note, did you know that Studmuffin didn't learn to read and write until he was in college? Apparently he only learned then so he could write me love letters. At least, that's what he told the girls the other night at dinner....

A new baby

Last Monday evening I finally decided to harvest my plethora of green tomatoes before they were completely obliterated by frost. You can read more about that here.

While I was picking, I noticed a lone cow in the pasture behind me. It was nearly dark, and she was at least 100 yards away, but I could see she had a new baby calf, as she was licking it...

The next morning, before the sun was even up, I went out to feed the dogs (the little beggars were whining at the kitchen window, so I went to feed them so they'd quit bugging me.) I went to make sure they had plenty of water, and the cattle were right at our back fence. Actually, they are usually right at our fence first thing in the morning this fall, so at first I just gave them a glance, felt my typical little bubble of happiness that God blessed me with "my" herd of cattle and headed back to my coffee.

I love having a herd of cattle out my back door. It's really a great scenario. I get to watch them and enjoy their new babies, but I have no responsibility for feeding, vaccinating, or anything...I only have to contend with the flies when they congregate at my fence every evening at 5:30 in the summer. I have no idea why they're on this schedule, but it has made eating on the back deck a virtual impossibility as they bring thousands of flies with them.

However, now it's fall, so they just give me pleasure to watch. As I stood drinking my coffee and looking at them from my kitchen, I noticed some erratic movement. It was the mama cow. She kept chasing a black calf away, and then leading her newborn red calf away...Apparently the little fella had never been weaned before she dropped her next calf.

I wish it would have been light enough to photograph any of this, but I'll give you my personal account....

Mama is calmly grazing amidst the herd. Her newborn calf is doing his funny little leaps that all brand new calves do....I don't know if all of life is just that exciting for them, or if their little legs just aren't quite coordinated, so they occasionally do little hops or what...But it is an adorable sight to see.

Pretty soon a large black calf wanders over and begins to try and get a little smackrel of fresh milk...Imagine the poor little fellas surprise when his nuzzling is met with a sharp kick! Then, to add insult to injury, his mama chases him away!

"Mama? Mama? What's the matter Mama?"

In confusion, he trots after her....Only to be chased away again....

"Mama? I don't understand....Mama, please come back." He is so confused. And so hurt by this seemingly sudden rejection of his overtures...

"Mama?"

With no noticeable concern for her older calf she continues to lead her newborn further away....

*"Mama?"*

And, suddenly seeming to realize that he no longer has a place with his mama, the black calf stands. And watches. And occasionally lets out a small cry....

But he does not approach her. His place is no longer with her....

The weaning of young since I've had my own babies has struck a chord in me. It seemed such a harsh reality the little fella had to face. But, I doubt it would have been any easier for him had the rancher bothered to wean him before the new calf came. The sever still would have been sudden and complete....And of course it is necessary and completely natural.

But it still seems kinda sad.

I guess I'm getting sentimental....


*sigh*


Either that or Aunt Flo is about to drop in again....

Creating more work than is necessary...

A lovely view of the clouds last Monday evening

Studmuffin gave me a little talking to about making my life harder than it needs to be. However, I didn't hear him making those comments as he wolfed down his share of a totally from scratch pumpkin pie, right down to the fresh pumpkin!

So, here's the quick and dirty on my week, but let's skip the quick part because I'm really not so good at that!

It all started with a certain gentleman at our church asking me what committee I'd like to serve on at church...

"I'm already pretty committed on my time..."

"That's what they all say." Okay. I think he was joking...But I wasn't sure, and it took every ounce of my strength not to list every thing I do at the church. I refrained, because here's the deal: when I make a list it sounds really impressive, but the reality is, none of the things I do require huge amounts of time, but they do require faithfulness. So far, I can manage all of the things I do faithfully, but if I add one more thing, I'm not sure how well I could do any of them...

Wait! Let's rewind to last Thursday. I had a message to call the mother's day out director at our church about "something exciting we have going next Thursday." I hesitantly returned her call 2 days later...

"Hi! Sorry I'm slow to call back. I worked Thursday and Friday, and by the time I got around to calling in the evening I thought it was too late."

"Oh! I didn't realized you worked! I was wondering if you could help with our Thanksgiving feast for our MDO program next Thursday."

"No, I'll be at work that day...."

"Well, that's too bad, it's going to be lots of fun. Could you maybe bring a few pumpkin pies?"

And thus, the madness of my week began....

Self-inflicted madness as I could easily have said "no" and she would have been perfectly okay...But the truth is I love to bake. And I have a sin of pride about baking....

I refuse to take short cuts. No break apart cookies or ready made crusts will come out of this house!!! You see, those don't taste as good as from scratch because they are missing a very important ingredient: Love. Of course, I LOVE to bake, so if you HATE to bake, maybe you better stick to convenience...I'd hate to be responsible for baking such a strong emotion right into your cookies!

The problem is, once I get started baking I have a hard time stopping. I made a total of 8 pies totally from scratch this week. That just got my ball rolling faster and faster...

Monday evening's sunset.

I assembled the ingredients for Christmas cappuccino this afternoon, which only takes 5 minutes, but the sugar and caffeine rush sent me on a mad jelly spree....

My darn tomato plants went crazy in October. They barely produced enough for us to eat all summer, and then they decided to produce late in the season when they had no hope of maturing. My mom was here a few weeks ago and took home 2 brown paper sacks of green tomatoes. I told her to take them all. I refused to even look at them....

Then Monday came along, and the evening was beautiful and I made the mistake of wandering to the garden....

Where I saw thousands of green tomatoes waiting to be harvested....

One of my now dying tomato plants after we have already harvest 4 brown bags full of green tomatoes.

So I picked 2 brown paper sacks full....

While Holly kept growling at something in the pasture behind me......

I would hear something walking in the grass. She would growl. I'd stand up to look and I would see nothing....Except the momma cow a hundred yards away licking her brand new baby calf clean....Too, too precious. I have a whole different post on that little scene.

I would resume picking tomatoes (sidebar: we actually had a freeze last week, but apparently not weeding the garden was advantageous in that the grass that grew up around the tomatoes kept the vines along the ground from getting frost...) Pretty soon I'd hear the rustling in the grass, the dog would start to growl, every hair on my body would stand up...I'd stand up and look around. I could see nothing. Of course, you can tell by the pictures I took that evening it was nearly dark when I decided to begin this venture....


Anyway fast forward again to today after I drank 2 cups of cappuccino...

I did a google search on raspberry jelly made from green tomatoes (Mom had told me I could do this.) I looked through some recipes and sort of combined/tweaked them, and decided to plunge in today...




I actually used strawberry jello, as that is what I had in my pantry. I gotta say, it turned out pretty tasty! So, here's my quick and easy recipe for strawberry jam!

Strawberry Jam

5 cups pureed green tomatoes
4 cups granulated sugar
6 oz strawberry gelatin

Combine tomatoes and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in gelatin. Let simmer for 20 minutes longer and place in sterilized jars.

This recipe made about 3 pints for me. I expected it to make more .... Not sure why I had less unless the tomatoes cooked down more than I expected...

Here's another tip for you. Instead of using a hot water bath to seal your jars, you can keep your jars hot in the oven on a cookie sheet. Place the lids in a small pan and bring to a boil. Ladle the jam into your jar, place lid, making sure the rim is clean, screw on band and invert jar. You will soon hear a *ping.* This is your lid sealing! Turn jars right side up, and store until you are ready to eat, or share with your friends for Christmas gifts! If some of the jars don't seal, simply store them in your refrigerator and eat them first.

What's for lunch?

I don't know why, but I have not been very organized with my grocery shopping lately. As most of you know, I pride myself on going to the store every 2 weeks. I hit our local Braum's for additional stock ups like milk, bread, fruit, etc. However, lately, I seem to be shortchanging myself on my 2 week plan. I've been running out of even basic food.

For pity sake, I even ran out of popcorn, which is practically a sacrilege in a house where the expected supper for Sunday night is a bowl of popcorn (made in a pan on the stove) cheese slices and apples. I thought the whole family was going to have a meltdown last night!

Studmuffin opened the fridge and said, "We have no food." To which I replied, "Sure we do! It just all requires cooking!" And I promptly proved my Super Mom abilities and made egg on toast sandwiches...Why 3? Well, I only had enough bread for 3 sandwiches, so I settled for chips and salsa. The sacrifices I make for this family... Anyway, I refused to even let anyone have a glass of milk because that would mean I wouldn't have enough for breakfast and I didn't want to go to the store...

Wondering what the strange green substance is in the baggy? It's slime that Bookworm made in GT, and it has to be kept refrigerated to prevent mold growth. So, I have green slime in my refrigerator...

Anyway, this morning nobody had made the sacrifice to go to the store. I had determined to get up and whip up some home made waffles this morning, but I overslept. Consequently, my girls each got one frozen waffle with peanut butter and maple syrup, and a container of yogurt.

I took them to school, came home and did a little housework then headed to my ladies Bible Study group. On the way, I decided I needed a cup of cappuccino. I swung into Sonic, but ended up pulling out because I wasn't sure if their hot flavored coffees were good. You see, I'm gun shy now because I made the error of ordering a latte at McDonald's. I don't know if I ordered my hot caramel latte wrong or what, but it was the most disgusting cup of coffee I ever paid money for in my life. And I was very bitter because I was in a hurry, so I couldn't even turn around, complain and demand a refund. It was like a cup of coffee that simply had steamed milk dumped in, and no sweetness whatsoever, but there was an essence of burnt caramel. Blech. You see, I typically drink coffee black. However, if you put cream in coffee, it simply must have sugar with it. I can't explain it, it just is....

Well, I turned out of Sonic, and headed to the quick stop a block up the street. Don't you just love the cappuccino that comes out of the machines at quick stops? I particularly love the toffee ones... The entire parking lot was full, including every single pump... I pulled right back out, and by this time I was pushing making it to church in time to beat my early bird members. Sadly, I ended up forgoing the cappuccino altogether.

I showed up at church and brewed my standard pot of coffee, no frills added, and explained my tale of woes... My friend Roni said, "Well, that cappuccino just wasn't meant to be."

Excuse me?

It's COLD outside! That means it is time to start treating myself to random cups of cappuccino. The only problem was that I should have brought my homemade cappuccino mix when I left the house so I could share it with my entire group. THAT was the mistake....Not that the coffee was never "meant to be...."

Sheesh....

Does this girl know me AT ALL???? Coffee is always meant to be.

So, I returned to my Mother Hubbard home to prepare a more complete shopping list that will hopefully last me until we get home from Thanksgiving....

Guess what? My refrigerator was still empty. My pantry still only contained cream soups, dry beans and such, and I refused to eat another lunch of banana & peanut butter which is what I eat at least 4 times a week for lunch, or even a bowl of oatmeal...

I decided to get creative and I came up with this:



I had 2 slices of thin sliced turkey breast and about 1/4 c of shredded cheddar in my fridge. Plus, I had a box of whole wheat crackers. I placed the turkey and cheese on a cracker and popped them in the oven to warm it through. Then, I went to my garage where I have a stash of tomatoes I'm ripening (yellow, obviously) and sliced them to place on the cracker.

The result was so delicious, satisfying, and special tasting I had to share it with you!

Now, in hindsight some fresh basil added to it would have made it, even more special. And placing the delightful entree on one of my multiple lovely plates would have made it more appealing. But that would have required me to stop shoving my face full of them, and that would have required dirtying another plate, and I decided this was a blog worthy meal after I had already started... So, the photo you see is on a white scratched up plate...

And, can anyone PLEASE, PLEASE tell me why white plates get such terrible etching?