20 days Later

My office is still a mess. I have much news to share mostly farm news but that is usually the only news I have to share around this place. I feel right now my life half slanted the wrong way and I'm walking downhill to get uphill. Does that make sense?

What I'm doing during my lockdown in the office.
Exciting necessary tasks which some have been neglected...I haven't kept up with my checkbook. The farm checkbook is intact but I still need to pay some bills out of it and get my checkbook in order. I also have two registrations for calves that were born in May. Um yeah it's September and I'm a little behind. It's a simple task but I need to printout the pics and fill out a form. Simple enough but not when you'd rather be napping. Yawn. I also need to add some files to the filing cabinet because the paper piles in here are driving me batty. I should also picture some articles and post them on craigslist because they are taking up space here in the office. Lastly I really need to copy pictures onto disk it's something that's been on my to-do list for two years. No lie.

What else am I doing today?
Glad you asked! Washing bedding because I have had a lovely fall cold as has my daughter. I actually have the alarm set on my phone to remind me when to go down to the basement and put another load in. 10 more minutes! I also have a kitchen that needs cleaning. Like refrigerator completely wiped down inside and out. Dishes washed. Table cleaned off and the floor mopped. This then carries into the bathroom which both vanities need to be cleaned and I need to take the shop vac to some cobwebs-yuck. Floor needs to be mopped as well. Back out of the bathroom back to the kitchen and go out to the entry way. I found this shelf with coat hooks on it at a rummage sale and I bought it for 1.75! I was looking for something like it but had only seen them at the store starting around 15 or 20 dollars. Kurt needs to hang this up which I could easily do but as he always tells me I want him to feel part of the team. Welcome!

How am I going get this done?
One step at a time? I guess I won't be taking a nap today. I also informed Kurt that I would be taking the afternoon milking off so I can actually accomplish something today. Good luck to me. I'm hoping with a productive day I'll starting walking uphill while going downhill...is that better? I hope so!

Goodbye Summer, Hello School

I always disliked the question, what did you do during your summer vacation. Um, the same thing I did the year before-nothing. That would be a cranky, spoiled kid's response (or mine). We always were asked this and then usually had to write some sort of essay regarding this topic. Yuck. Of course I expect my daughter to have to go through the same business. I even went as far as asking her the same question. I started in June and listed all of the fun stuff she got to do this summer. I personally wanted this summer to be one of the best summer's my daughter has had. Last summer was our first summer milking three-times-a-day which we had to get used to working around field work and making hay and Kurt was also working part-time at another farm. It was a grueling summer.

My daughter went to summer school for three weeks and took classes in Spanish, art, and playground fun. She also took swimming lessons for four weeks and collected candy at three parades. She had a few friends over and even had a sleepover. She went to my parents cabin for a weekend's time. We showed at the fair and she went on rides, played games, and got to show a calf. She also got to come and play with my boss's daughter who is the same age while I worked. The last full week of summer vacation we went to Wisconsin Dells. It is the waterpark capital of the world. I never went there as a kid and always wanted to so this was especially important to me that we go. My mom, Mac, and I left on a Thursday afternoon and came back Friday evening. It was tiring and I would have liked an extra day, but we had a good time.

If my daughter in the upcoming days needs to answer the burning question what did you do this summer, I hope she has a better answer than nothing.

30

Kurt always talks about remember how simple life used to be and usually this always refers to our three-time-a-day milking schedule. Birthdays however also remind me of how simple life used to be. Today at 30-years-old it doesn't feel nor do I think like I did when I was 20 that 30 was old. By the time I was a few years into my 20s I realized it wasn't old and you get the picture. It's just a lovely number, a new decade, another year to reach more milestones. To be four-years-old again? Hmmm maybe because back then my mom took care of the cake! : )

Decorating...If You Can Call It That

I have a little artist who likes to create different masterpieces at school, home, and anywhere in between. My fridge fills up fast and I have to switch out each artist original periodically to showcase the budding talent that my DNA created.

In our farmhouse, that my husband grew up in and lived his entire life there is a second flooor. The upstairs if you will. It has four total rooms. One of the rooms was used as a toy room when my husband was pretending to farm (he even pretended to milk the cows). When we moved in, the upstairs was where everyone took their unwanted materials and deposited them in any of the rooms. I should say by the time I moved in the "toy room" only had a pile in the corner and Kurt's old toys. Back to my artist...I decided to turn the toy room into an actual happy, functional toy room. It would be even happier if I had the patience to put some primer and paint over the lovely dark panelling but we'll save that for another time. I hung up a poster that was from a play my daughter was in last year. She won the right to bring it home out of the other cast members. This was headed for the recycling but I thought it would add a little something, something to the area.

This works for me!

I went to Hobby Lobby. Do you have Hobby Lobbys? Oh they are wonderful! I bought some thin, nylon string which I secured to the wall with pushpins (or thumbtacks, maybe they are the same thing?). I tied a knot in the end for the pin to go through and then strung a double line across the wall. Then I did another line a little lower. I figured small/shorter projects could go up on the top line and vice-versa on the lower line. Then I hung the lovely art creations up with clothes pins. I know it looks like all of our space is already filled up but that is not the case. The wall that mirrors the play poster wall is a full wall which has an empty line running the entire length of the wall. Notice the old pinball machine circa late 70s early 80s. It still works because the budding artist occasionally plays inbetween sessions.

The County Fair

Here is the low-key face-to-face "judging" for Coverbuds. Mac made a poster of the heifer she brought to the fair and the heifers family-kind of like a family tree of all of our Red and White Holsteins. This lady was a great person to have for Cloverbuds who were a little on the shy side. Mac also made a set of four coasters with her weaving loom.

Snow-Red resting comfortable at the fair.

Isabella mid-chewing her cud.

Mac bringing Snow-Red in for the winter calf class. I held the end of the halter which next year she will be all by herself when she shows in the junior show. Snow-Red did give her a little bit of trouble but all in all it went alright.




I apologize my camera takes crappy pics and this was far away but atleast Mac was looking at the camera. Here we are standing second in a class of four.

Since we placed second we got to go out for the picking of junior champion. The calf that placed ahead of us was chosen as Honorabe Mention.

This is the kids and calves showmanship competition. It's not too hard core but since it was Mac's last year doing this I wanted to see her do well. We borrowed a calf from our friends who showed this March calf in the junior show. Her name is Jewel and Maclayne really enjoyed leading her around the ring.

Hooray! She place second which meant she got a stuffed cow. I was probably more happy than she was because I'm not sure if she realized how she did. The last two years she has finished towards the top but not close enough to get the stuffed cow.

Can't wait until next years fair and hopefully we will have a March calf that she can show because it sure was a nice size for her.

Problems Uploading Pictures

Anyone else having this frustrating problem??? I would like to post about our County fair but the pictures make the post. You know what I mean?! I'll try back later.

Menu Plan Monday August 9

It's rather warm and sticky here. Tomorrow it's suppose to more humid and the heat is suppose to be higher as well. Thank goodness for air conditioning and showers. Because after each milking I usually take a shower to wash off the glow that my skin shines with from climbing in between 1600 pound cows. It's a beautiful thing-the shower and air conditioner. With the heat and humidity, I'm trying to use the oven sparingly. I am limited in my menu planning because I haven't been to the grocery store in two plus weeks. I'm out of eggs, bread, hamburger, you get the idea. I am heading to the store tomorrow morning hopefully I won't melt between here and there.

Monday- Hot beef sandwiches, sweet corn, green beans, and potato chips used the Crockpot Beef Roast recipe which I only used pickle juice to make it and made an awesome gravy here is the quick recipe:

In a separate saucepan over medium heat whisk 1 cup of drippings and a tablespoon of horseradish mustard together, then whisk in a brown gravy mix when bubbly add in 1 cup of cold water and stir constantly until boiling, then let simmer on low for a minute until thick...it was the perfect amount for the 2-3 pound roast I used.

Tuesday-Sweet and sour chicken, brown rice and green beans

Wednesday- French toast, bacon, and orange juice

Thursday- Pork chops, fried potatoes, cucumber salad, and regular lettuce salad

Friday- Sweet corn roast (which is so dang tasty!!!) and they will have burgers, brats, salads, and desserts galore. This is a thank you party the local snowmobile club puts on for the landowners that allow trails to go through their land. They also give us a gift certificate which is not necessary! Now that I've been to the sweet corn roast that is all I need!