Mother Nature decorated

With the snow and cold and 30mph winds, Mother Nature went to work making masterpieces. So for my birthday I got sunshine and beautiful artwork, so much fun, but so cold. I took pictures until my fingers would not work they were so cold. With out the wind blowing the house is pretty comfortable, just wish the bathrooms would thaw,lol.

When the weather is acting up like this I wonder just how the pioneers survived. Trying to imagine dealing with all this and living in a log home or in this area a Soddy! No stores to run to for supplies, no calling the gas company for more fuel. I believe that in this area of the country it was prairie so there were no trees to cut down for building or fuel. I am pretty sure that quite a bit of their clothing would have been wool, and if they hunted they would have had skins. Trying to learn all those skills so you could survive, amazing. I can get on the computer and order pretty much anything I want or need and have it delivered. To have moved from a city and then to live in the middle of no where, no neighbors to turn to. Just boggles my little mind.

I know the weather is acting up pretty much all over, so I wish you calm winds, warm temperatures and the love of friends and family. Barbara

A Silly Quiz to pass the time!

My View from the side door! I am not looking forward to my trek to the barn,lol. If I don't blow away I will be happy.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Violet Lady had this one her blog so I copied it to give it a try and have something to do,lol.

I found this on Literary Feline's blog and I decided it would make a nice change of pace.

What kind of soap is in your shower right now? Oil of Olay, Zest mango twist and some Suave Berry smoothie wash.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? I wish.

What would you change about your living room? Everything!

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Clean.

What is in your fridge? Mostly condiments, some of Elvira's food, I made her a new batch yesterday. Milk, eggs, carrots and celery.

White or wheat bread? Wheat.

What is on top of your refrigerator? some coolers, since the store is far away I always have coolers with me when go to store

What color or design is on your shower curtain? Just plain white

How many plants are in your home? probably around 20

Is your bed made right now? Yes.

Comet or Soft Scrub? neither I use vinegar and baking soda

Is your closet organized? Pretty much

Can you describe your flashlight? The one that works is black.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Glass.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? No.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered? Oh, yeah, big time,lol

Curtains or blinds? Depends on the room.

How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No.

How often do you vacuum? Whenever necessary. Don't want to overdo it.

Standard toothbrush or electric? Standard.
What color is your toothbrush? Purple.
Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? Yes.
What is in your oven right now? A thermometer.
Is there anything under your bed? Not in the master bedroom.
Chore you hate doing the most? Depends on my mood.
What retro items are in your home? Lots, I have my Grandfather's old cameras, old sewing machines, radios, I love it all.
Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Yes.
How many mirrors are in your home? Two.
What color are your walls? lots of old wall paper, and an awful melon color in dining room.
What does your home smell like right now? Well, I hope that it is more candles then critters,lol.
Favorite candle scent? Tea rose, berry, lemon, apple pie.
What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? Bread and butter and Gherkin.
What color is your favorite Bible? Black.
Ever been on your roof? Yes, there is a trap door and you can see forever.
Do you own a stereo? Yes.
How many TVs do you have? Six I think.
How many house phones? Two cordless, one on the fax and a corded one.
Do you have a housekeeper? The way this place looks if I did I would have to fire her.
What style do you decorate in? Eclectic.
Do you like solid colors or prints in furniture? Both.
Is there a smoke detector in your home? Yes, there is.
In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? Any pictures that I could grab, cameras, old family stuff, this would all be after I got the critters out. I had already thought that I would bust a window and throw out clothes and stuff cause it could be washed and I would want something to wear,lol.

So copy away and have fun. We are in white out conditions today, 30 mph winds and the temp has dropped 40 degrees since yesterday so no outside play today,lol.

Best to all, Barbara

An "Old Picture"

Mom-Musings has a thing going on with the theme old pictures, so this one is very old. It is a picture of my Great Grandfather, William Wells Eldridge on his wedding day. Without looking it up I believe her last name was Bourne and I cannot remember her first name, I'm bad. He was from Falmouth, Ma and was a whaling captain. During one of his voyages he was badly injured. He went on to be a farmer and school superintendent. Of their 5 children the youngest was my
Grandfather, Arthur Grenville Eldredge.

This came from Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of The World.

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!) It’s real easy!
Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially.
The benefits of Viral Linking:- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!- Increase your Google PageRank fast- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site- Build your community- Make new friends!
Add your blog url here...The Strategist Notebook/Link Addiction/Ardour of the Heart/ When Life Becomes a Book/The Malaysian Life/ Yogatta.com/What goes under the sun/ Roshidan’s Cyber Station/Sasha says/Arts of Physics/And the legend lives/My View, My Life/ A Simple Life/What Women REALLY Think/Not Much More Than This/Jayedee/Jenn/Beth/ Christie/Marla/Cailin/Simone/FlipFlopMom/Katrina/Gill's Jottings/Work of the Poet/ Wakela/Modern Day Goddess/Livin With Me/Are We There Yet??/The Erstwhile Librarian /Lynne's Little Corner of the World/Violetlady At Home/The Clark Homestead/ You are next...

Over the Backyard Fence

South Breeze Farm

Nancy Jo

Renee Burghardt's World

2lmzfarms

Ok, I hope I have done this right, if not please let me know how I should have done it. My life is a constant learning process.

One more day of 30's and then it is supposed to nose dive again. I am getting so much done today, I think I went into hibernation mode last week. Hey, that could be a new diet,lol. I found some folders I was looking for. It's been warm enough today so I could go up in the attic, I finally found a way to put my desk that will work for me. It's not quite the way I wanted it but it works and I feel comfortable. So trying to get things where they belong. If this job works I will have lots of paper work to do so need to be prepared. I have also been making lots of notes on food, it's cool I have friends sending me ideas which is great. I need to know what people are enjoying when they go out to eat, nothing exotic so this is great to get feedback.

They keep sending me all these garden catalogs, I am going to short circuit, so much neat stuff.

I have already ordered a butterfly garden and think I have narrowed down most of the trees and hedge plants I want. At least for the time being. The little piggies found out how to get the

lid off the feed, had to take a picture they thought they had it made.

Have a super duper day, Barbara

I've Been Tagged with My First Meme

I've been Tagged, what fun. http:// NostalgicHomemaking.blogspot.com tagged me, she saw my name on a list
in the MaryJane Farmgirls site. If you have never been there give it a look, lots of information from lots of really nice people. I really need to learn how to do links from this page, I tend to be kinda impatient/lazy and want to know it all now. This meme says to link back to the person who tagged you and you are supposed to list 7 random or weird facts about yourself.
Hummm, only 7??

1. Growing up I always wanted to be an artist, never anything else. Of course life intruded and I have done everything but.

2. I have spent my life moving, I have never lived in one site more then 3 or 4 years. Hopefully that streak has been broken. I now live in a place where people have lived in the same house all their lives and they can not imagine I do not know who used to live in mine.
I can't imagine why they care!

3. One of my apartments in Boston had a ghost. If I was away for a few days and came home you could smell her perfume, an old fragrance like lilacs. There was a hall closet that used to be part of a hallway that would open on its own. In the hall between the front room and kitchen you could hear footsteps (I was on top floor) People would ask who it was and I would tell them it was my ghost. She was a comfortable presence.

4. The most likable celebrities I have met were Tom Jones and Joe Nameth, friendly and not stuck on themselves. The party I was at for Tom Jones, he went around pouring wine and asking if we needed anything. I was in awe!!

5. I was always a bit of a daredevil, tomboy type and it really annoys me that with age I find myself afraid of things. I used to go full speed down mountains, drive straight through to where ever I was headed, ski, climb trees. Now I need drugs to do those things and find mountains, big trucks and driving after dark bug me.

6. I love my little sports car, a 1985 BMW 320e and can't wait until she is once more on the road. I have not driven her for over a year and now that I may be gainfully employed again I can fix her up. By next winter I hope to have the engine overhauled as she has almost 300,000 miles on her. I also want to have some body work done and have her repainted and her leather restitched. I feel happy driving her, free.

7. I am loyal and feel that things told to me are private and do not understand how people can betray trust and friendships.

Wow, when I first read the comment about the meme I thought Oh, what fun, but you know it was kinda hard. I am usually focused out and not so much in, made me dig a little.

We have just had a couple of glorious days, after all the cold being in the 30's was amazing. I was actually going around the house in only a tee shirt, no sweaters! Jim got to come home Saturday afternoon which was great. He had people on vacation so did not think he was going to be able to get away. We were up early Sunday and he helped me strip down the roll of hay, you have to get it small enough to go through door. Lots of people leave them outside but I like mine to be inside and dry. I was also able to clean out the big stall the girls are in, cleared out all the old hay and swept and put down lime. So they had nice fresh hay all around. As Jim was tossing the hay inside ( we have a dutch door to the outside, so can just open top of it) the goats were helping him. They were so funny, playing tag and king of the hill on the piles of hay. They would go tearing around where I was working, out the door and around all inside the barn, like a bunch of little kids at recess. Barn is not quite the right word, it is actually called an animal shed, 4 large box stalls and one longer narrow one. Jim is slowly helping me to get it set up how I want it, cutting doorways and putting up gates.

Beautiful blue skies, no wind we just really enjoyed it and he had a nice drive back to his apartment. I really worry when he has to drive in the bad weather, not so much about his driving as about the people he has to share the road with.

Gosh, this is a long one, time to bring it to an end. Best to you all and thank you so much for your visit and your comments, they make my day!

More Cold Bbbbbrrrrrrrrr

Well, Wonder if I jinxed us?? I thought it was cold before, wrong! Woke this morning to -17 and wind chill of -36 much more information then I needed. Getting dressed becomes more time consuming, all the layers. Pantie hose (cause they are warm) full suit of long johns, nice silky ones from Lands' End, fleece pants ,then another insulated shirt, followed by a sweat shirt, two pairs of socks and then jacket, gloves, boots, hat, hood. I even have to wear layers in the house especially when the wind is blowing cause it can get pretty chilly. I have electric heater in birds room so they stay warm and Elvira has her bankie. Can you see the birds in the bush, they are snuggeling. You may need to click on the picture to really see them.

I found a recipe online for some mash which I am going to try on the goats, calls for oat bran but can use oatmeal, shredded carrots, molasses and chopped apples. I don't have the apples, but don't tell them. I am glad we got the heated bucket for them and then I take out other buckets of hot water for them as the bucket stays at 40 degrees. I think I am going to ask our little store what they do with the apples that get a little past being able to sell?

Got a call last night from the President of the board for the golf course and I'm in. Into what, time will tell, hopefully it will be a good thing. I have had menus flitting through my head as well as all the other things running a place entails. I am making lists which I find invaluable in these types of situations. I try to think of the basics that need to be done, and then what could go wrong and the fixes. In the next couple of weeks will be more meetings as I come up with a firmer ideas for food and operating procedure.

Finally got some more hay delivered yesterday, comes in the huge roll that weighs around 900 pounds. The guys got it really close to the barn so that is a good thing, make it easier to peel it down and move it inside. I have to take off chunks of it until it is small enough for me to fit through the door and light enough for me to push in. See, I don't need the gym,lol.

Warm wishes to you all and catch you later, Barbara

Subzero Saturday

Right now it is -3 and feels like -15 our high today was +3, wahooo! The goats made it through the night in good form, as I looked out the bathroom window I could see them out in their yard in the sun. I left big and small together with the theory that they could all snuggle in their little house and be warmer. I am pleased to say that when we went out this morning they were getting along fine, makes me feel good. We drove up to Albert Lea and bought more feed, I had given them the last on Friday. When we got back and took the bags of feed in, they were right there to help us open them,lol. What lil piggies. This evening Jim helped string a tarp about 8 feet of the ground over the corner where their little house is. My theory is that hopefully this will help to keep their body heat closer to the ground? He is so good, indulging my whims and worrying along with me about our critters. For a person who had been brought up to think cats were nasty, he has done a 360 and actually has mentioned getting another one. He was taken with one at the goat guys house, we have to wait until I can take it to the vet. I am sure it has not had any shots and I don't want our guys to get sick. Poor guy, thought having a dog was a big deal, I bet it never crossed his mind he would preside over a homestead with dog, cats, chinchilla, goats, birds,lol.

When he arrived home last night he discovered that all my snow blowing was in vain. The wind had shifted the snow and he drove right into it and was stuck tight. So there we were at 9:30 at night shoveling and snow blowing to free the car. What a welcome home! Eventually we got him free and he was able to come in and put his feet up. I bet ya next year we have fences along the drive way, huh.

Be safe, stay warm and come visit again, Barbara