February

I promised a few friends that I would get back to my blog. I guess I am always surprised that anyone reads it or wants to see more so kind of let it slide. I think of things all the time to share but then sometimes I feel as if I am in a rut. So, here I am back again with same old things and new things and life goes on.

Jim seems to be enjoying his job, working with a great bunch of guys. What I like the most is that he is out interacting with people and also getting great workouts. The place is huge and he does a lot of walking which is wonderful for his health and something that I could not get him to do on a voluntary basis. I know he is sleeping much better no thrashing around, so I am sleeping better also,lol.

My job has slowed down a bit after the holidays and no bad weather in my area. I feel much calmer and confident most of the time, what I struggle with is to be faster on the phones. It is hard for me to be curt and cut people off which I think is how lots of the people manage to be so quick. I usually try to find them the phone numbers they are looking for or help them as much as I can. I do now try to direct the conversation to the facts and not let them rattle on about the whole situation. I hate to do this, but am tired of the notes that I am not fast enough. I am keeping my eyes open for another client that might be more along the lines of Lands' End where you are not penalized for trying to help people.

The chickens are thriving and with the warmer weather laying more. The young ones will start laying in a month or so and the egg business will increase. I had to raise my prices a bit as the feed prices are going up. My plans are to take them to a farmer's market this summer where I will be able to get a much higher price for them. Hope to also have herbs, peppers and some produce to take also.

The office area is pretty much together, still some more filing to get done, I have tons of papers to go through, I am making up for years of shoving things in boxes and moving them from spot to spot. Now I will finally be able to clear so much stuff out and it will feel so good. I am also making progress on the craft side of the room,have even come up with what I think will be a nice color scheme. I am thinking cream colored walls and some sort of border. It currently is a bluish with a baseball border so need to cover that. Of course once again all this depends on Jim getting the roof sealed and a new ceiling in. I have so many plans and it drives me crazy to have things all up in the air. With no place to put things and clutter everywhere it keeps me off balance and cranky.

I am determined that this is the year things are going to get done, I hate to be a nag but will if that is what it takes. Jim just has no interest in things being organized, he is a piler. I clear off tables or counters and he busily fills them back up. I keep tearing out pictures of colors and curtains etc. If need be I will pay someone to come in and patch holes etc so I can paint and paper. Having grown up with women who made a career of nagging I will not be able to do much of it as it makes me even more upset.

I have been busy planning out the garden, so many catalogs coming in I want it all,lol. We have a larger area planned and that should work out very well this year. Piles of compost to use and I think it will be successful. Time will tell.

My goal is to make this all come together and be successful. I also have help coming in the Spring so that this will also be the year my shop gets done. I have quite a few people who want to have me teach them and also others who want to work with me. I am going to make this happen so that we can back on track with the finances. I am going to be smarter about things and not try to do it all myself as I have in the past. Watching the cake shows has really helped me to plan things out better, all of them have several people working with them that do the "grunt" work. At my age I need to be more in the planning and less in the physical. With very little overhead I have a real shot at making this work and being successful. My job will provide the money for supplies and also I need a bigger mixer. My two Kitchen Aids are very old and have done a wonderful job but I know they will not last forever.

So plans are made and God willing and the creek don't rise it should all come together.

Love to you all and thank you for all the wonderful comments, they mean so much.

Barbara

Happiest of New Years!!

Greetings of 2011!! Another year gone and a new start , new opportunities abound. Jim is once more employed which is a very good thing for his psyche. While having him home allowed many things to be repaired I do not feel it was good for him to not be able to find anything. He is working for Winnebago in the maintainence department, much like he has done in the past but this time as a mechanic rather then in management. In some ways this may be a relief for him , he will be able to go in work his shift and leave with no worries other then doing what is assigned.

I am still working at home and it is going well, there is quite a bit of pressure more then I anticipated. They want talk time down but require you stay on the line for transfers etc so it is a constant battle to be within the guidelines. You also have the uncertiny of who will be on the phone and what the problem will be. I am thinking that when my 6 months are up I may look for something different. In many ways it is easy so we will see, I am not a quitter so tend to stick with things maybe longer then I should.

Jim was able to get many things done around the house over the past year, things like redoing all the old windows. He took the glass out, put new caulk and points and now the windows are as good as new. People keep saying "oh, you need to put in new windows" wrong! The few windows that were replaced by previous owners are terrible. I read in This Old House that the older windows properly maintained are just as energy efficient at the new expensive ones. So here is proof, windows that going on a hundred and now have no leaks or rattles.

We had a quiet holiday, just enjoyed each other and the critters. The tree and outside lights were were up, not as many as I wanted but still pretty. That is one of my favorite things about the holiday all the twinkling lights. I do not miss all the pressure or the feeling that I need to buy tons of stuff, couldn't anyway,lol.
We did what we could and sent out love which has no price.

So again I wish you a wonderful New Year and hope to spend more time in blog land in this exciting new year. Here is to our goals being met and our understanding that "things" do not bring happiness we do that for ourselves.

Best to you, Barbara

November Snow

We went from having some lovely weather to snow, which is pretty and we knew it had to show up sometime. Just never quite ready for it , unlike Spring which never seems to come soon enough.

We continue to plug along, Jim has another job interview on Tuesday so we will see how that one goes. I am getting the hang of my phone job, more information is seeping into my overwhelmed head. I have had some good feedback recently which has really helped. For the most part the members are very nice and helpful, with the occasional bad egg. The kind you want to reach through the phone and smack!! The ones who think they are the only people on the planet who matter and the rest of us are only on the planet to make them happy. Thank goodness they are in the minority.

The baby chicks are growing so fast, we brought in a small size water tank to transfer them to, it has high sides so they are not able to jump out. We will be moving them to it in the next couple of days so they have a bit more room to move around. Jim has been working on getting the barn closed up for the winter, our panels were a hit last year. Jim is refurbishing them and making some improvements to them to help the critters be comfortable.. Last year I covered a couple of the windows with plastic and chicken wire but the goats were still able to tear the plastic off. We fooled them this year by putting Plexiglas pieces over the openings. We have a couple of back up heaters and heat lamps if the temps dip really low for very long. Each year we learn a bit more.

Jim continues to work at caulking and stuffing insulation where he can. He found and sealed a huge leak in the dining room. He removed some drywall and found that there was no insulation behind it. I am constantly amazed that this type of work has not been done before living in this temperate zone you would think it would be a priority. We had some pretty high winds which aided in identifying where some of the major leaks were, they also showed what a great job he had done on the windows. Not one of them rattled or leaked, great!! He is also making huge strides on his shop area, finally going through and organizing tools and parts. When he is done he will have a wonderful area to work on anything.

I have started dragging out Christmas stuff , with Jim here to help me I can do much more this year. This is one of my favorite seasons with all the decorations and good food. I have been baking lots of cookies and scones and checking out recipes. I was watching an infomercial for the Cricut cake machine and learned a few things that I am going to try. I was so depressed when I was unable to go to the Wilton School I just kinda packed everything away.

I am hopeful that in a few more weeks I will have the job down pat so that I am able to make a decent amount of money to help us out. Then when Jim gets back to work and we get everything caught up I will be able to buy things for my shop and get it open. One step at a time,lol.

Best to you all and have a wonderful Turkey Day!!

Barbara

The babies are here!!

Jim picked up the babies and they are installed in the basement for the time being. They are so small and so cute!! We have the cage all closed in to keep the temps up, supposed to be 90 at first and then slowly open it up more to lower the temps. By the time they are a couple of months old they will go out to the barn. Jim has been working on a nice place for them until they are big enough to run around more. He will also begin work on the larger coop for the older ones.
All of the chickens lay the brown eggs that people really seem to like. From what I have read with the chickens being pretty much free range the eggs actually more nutritious. As I mentioned previously the brown eggs go for more, so thinking next summer will be making a bit more, yeah!!

Hard freeze last night, no more maters from the garden all froze!! With the work Jim has been doing to the windows the house seems much snugger. We have had some really high winds and not a window was rattling or curtains blowing as in the past. Temps are still modrate compared to how low they are going to get, but I am pleased. He keeps finding new places that need insulation , he finally calmed the windstorm in the dining room which is more then good. Little by little,lol.

I am off to my nest as tomorrow will be a pretty long day, will be on the phone for most of the afternoon and early evening. If you know of anyone looking for something to do from home, have them get in touch.

Best to you all,
Barbara

Wild weather all around!! Thought the moon looked rather Holloweenie, wish I could get a shot that shows the face but have not figured out how to get it. Another challenge!! Lots of wind the last two days which in some ways was good, Jim found lots more leaks to fill in and stuff insulation in. The current puzzle is how to cut out the draft in the dining room. Jim finds it a real challenge to get insulation into some areas due to the construction of the house. He took some drywall down in the dining room and there is no insulation in the wall behind it, just lots of boards. All this is the upside to him being out of work, so much is getting done around the house. He has taken out and recauked all the old windows and done any repairs needed to them. When reinstalling them he is moving the molding over slightly so that the fit is tighter and hence no more rattling windows. Right now he is out putting our panels back up in the animals building to close them in and keep everyone warmer.

Tomorrow morning we go to pick up 20 more baby chicks to increase our chicken herd. Jim finished the new area for them so they will be toasty warm. At the rate the eggs are selling we figured it could not hurt to purchase some more. Buying them now gives them the winter to grow and by spring they will be laying also. As I mentioned before I plan on finding a larger farmer's market where I will be able to charge more for the eggs. Around here I only charge $1.00 per dozen which is very reasonable considering that in the stores brown eggs go for $3.00 plus a dozen. I have people showing up and buying 15 dozen at a time because they like them so much.
We went to the Fall festival and took a couple of the bigger pumpkins, didn't win but it was fun.
I really like the type that did win and want to grow some of those next year, they were so pretty. An other project,lol.

Jim went on another interview and all were impressed with his skills and all the certificates he has for different classes, that is the upside. The downside is the constant comment was "over qualified" , grrrr. He explained that we do not want to move and he is trying to find a job within driving distance so he does not have to live away from home again. They are supposed to make a decision by next week so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

We are putting up fliers all over the place for "Rent my Hubby" and Jim is picking up a few small jobs here and there. I am counting on word of mouth to spread his fame and bring in a bit more to keep us afloat. Never hurts to try.

I am trying to pick up more hours with my job to help, just so hate being in this situation, but very glad that with the help of friends and family we are surviving. Trying very hard to count all our blessings. Best to all, Barbara

Fall is in the Air, sort of.

How to tell Fall is here, hummm let's see there are the thousands of Asian lady bugs that appear everywhere. I would love to find the people who thought they would be a good idea to import, they rank up there with the love bugs in the south. We have to resort to
spraying everywhere to try and keep them out. As companion to the lady bugs we have box elder bugs, yuck!! The goats are getting shaggy and the cats fuzzy. We had a couple of nights of frost last weekend which singed quite a few things. Jim helped me cover some of the pumpkins which helped and I had some row covers to put over the tomatoes and peppers. That was Saturday night, then we remembered we had a huge tarp which we spread out for Sunday night. Lots of leaves died but the stems still seem ok. A lady who came to buy eggs saw the pumpkins and thinks we should take the biggest ones to the pumpkin contest. I think it would be fun, so if there is time that is on the agenda. The Maple trees we planted have grown quite well and are starting to turn color, not like in some areas, but still pretty.

Once again we had a disappointing apple crop, I believe part of it is no bees and the other the tornado. The apple trees were in line of fire when it came through and now their are sections that don't look so good. The new trees are doing well and Jim is making cages to go around them so they do not get attacked over the winter. So much to do to prepare all the plants for the sub zero weather to come. Lots of work but well worth it when you see them come back to life in the Spring.

Jim's job hunt continues, all the offers involve moving and none pay well enough to allow him to consider taking an apartment. He is getting some nibbles for work in this area doing handy man type things. We printed up some fliers and are leaving them all over the place, if he could get enough coming in that way we would be alright. I am slowly but surly mastering my job, still lots of stress but not the panic when the phone rings,lol. The basic calls go well and the emergency calls are better. I am able to be calm and remember everything the first time through. There are still challenges in trying to find some of the locations when they are out on the highway.
For me the major stress with the highway calls is time, I want to get them done as quickly as possible and feel inadequate when it takes me too long. I know how awful it feels to be broken down beside the road and how scary. Advise from the older agents is to take deep breaths and keep going and it will all fall into place.

I am so happy with all Jim is doing around here, not only did he put the new windows in the attic but has been repairing all the old wood windows. They have been neglected for years so they leak and are loose in the frames. He has been slowly recauking them and making them weather tight. Some of them the glass was so loose it almost fell out of the frame. The majority of the windows still have the old wavy glass and we are trying to preserve them. He is also rebuilding some of the frames where the weather has damaged the wood. All kinds of new skills.

All the critters are happy and thriving, we now have a kitten room in addition to the bird room. We brought in all the barn kittens as there had been some hawks hanging around and I was worried they might get killed. It is a riot, Jim and I laugh so hard over their antics, he plays goalie when I open the door to feed them. There is an avalanche of small furry bodies pouring out the door. Each so cute in their own ways and funny, we will stand there with hands full of squirming , purring babies and it just makes the day so much better. They love attention and will try to climb your legs to get picked up and petted. All those precious little faces and the trust that you will take care of them.

I don't go on the phone until 5 today and it promises to be nice and warm so will pick peppers and maybe can some more. I did 12 jars of banana pepper rings and am thinking I will do some jalapeno and Hungarian hot wax rings as well. I promised a friend some jalapenos so will pack some of them up to send to her. I guess I will dry the Poblamos and not sure what to do with the Anaheim s. I have used some of my dill and will dry the rest, the basil plants are all in and have given several away. Still have not figured out how to harvest the horseradish,lol another new skill. I am already planning the garden for next year, trying to learn from what worked this time and what didn't.

Wishing much happiness from the small things in life to all my friends,

Barbara

This and That

As usual our lives are full of adventures, can never understand the people who complain about
being bored. I don't have time to be bored!! Let's see Jim's job hunt continues, we are still
resiting moving and sending up lots of prayers for an answer. He is still working around here fixing things and winterizing. The attic is two steps closer to being weather proof, he replaced
the two smaller windows in the front. Amazing how good windows make a difference, you can raise and lower these with 2 fingers. A couple of weeks after those were installed the next set of windows arrived. Now the North side of the attic has a wonderful pair of crank out windows in place of the jury rigged non working windows. When Jim removed the old windows he found no insulation and lots of gaps. He also found that the solution previous owners had used was to take two old windows and screw them together. We now have one reason for the attic being so uncomfortable. The new windows are energy efficient and tinted, it is wonderful to be able to open them and get fresh air flowing through. There was a persistent musty air which made time spent up there less then lovely.

Which bring me to another development, I will be spend more time in the attic at my desk working!! I finally made it through all the classes and certification, what a stressy time all that was. I received the news yesterday that I had passed and am now officially a member of the AAA team. I even worked one half hour shift last night, now that is a whole other story!!
The very first call I took was an accident! The lady was naturally upset, but also very impatient and cursing all of which made the call a challenge. We need to gather a certain amount of information for dispatch so they know what equipment to send and to locate the member. I made it through mostly intact , at 3:00 am while mentally reviewing the call there were some gaps but none major. The next 2 calls were pretty routine and then my shift was over and boy was I relieved. I work another 2 hours tonight and will spend today going over notes and trying to be more prepared.

The weather is very cool, more so then usual so I am a bit worried about my garden. I am going to dig up a couple of my basil plants to bring in. I read a good article on Basil , both growing inside and ways to preserve. I also have bushels of green tomatoes which I am hoping will get to ripen. I have a nice variety of pumpkins and if we can avoid a frost I should make a few dollars selling them. One picture shows a larger specimen and the second picture shows our pumpkin tree. A few of the vines took off and climbed some of the smaller trees,lol.

Speaking of selling, we are doing well with the eggs, the chickens are self supporting. Jim and I are discussing making a new larger coop with additional nesting boxes. The current coop would then become home for new chickens that we will purchase in the Spring. Our chickens lay only brown eggs which are in demand. For next year the plan is to take them up into MN closer to larger cities where the brown eggs sell for around $4.00 per dozen. We now gather a little over two and a half dozen a day and have calls from people buying 10 and 12 dozen at a time.

So life at the homestead continues, learning new things all the time and finding new adventures. I planted Heirloom roses last Fall and have been enjoying them all Summer, was so grateful I found a spot where they would thrive. Most of what I plant is for zone 4 but some of roses are a 5 which puts them on the edge. The first year over here I planted lots of roses and lost nearly all of them. So bit by bit I have learned the secret of protecting them over the winter.

Be well my friends and enjoy life!!

Barbara