Monday, December 20, 2010

Progress Report

 I had a long list of errands to run today, leaving at about 12:45 or so. I got a call from the delivery man who wanted to make sure he knew where we were so he could deliver the sink, so I wasn't so surprised to see this big brown box on the porch when I got back.
The surprise came when I walked around to the back of the house to talk to Steve, who is painting the woodwork around the bay window, and I saw this electric pole laying on the ground - which means OEC came out and put the meter on the house! I am thrilled!

As I did a little happy dance, Steve said, "You oughta leave more often!"

See, we've been operating everything in the house from heavy duty extension cords that we ran from the gray box under the meter on the pole, and now we can simply plug things in, in the house!  We have ceiling lamps (with bulbs in them!) too, so now we can continue working after sundown and actually still see what we're doing!

I know this seems like a really simple thing to get excited about, but just for a social experiment some time when you actually do have tons of stuff to do, consider trying to operate a significant project with only the power from a couple of contractor extension cords. It's about one step up from roughing it in Yellowstone. But now we have electricity in the house!

I am extremely happy about this, in case you can't tell.

...and now I hear the next question forming in your mind, and no, we cannot move in quite yet. We have to get the cabinets finished enough to get the plumbing finished (but we do have the kitchen sink now!) and we have to get the heat and air finished and a little more work by the electrician, and some flooring. Can't put appliances in until the floors are down.  So we're not quite "There" yet, but I can sure see it from here!

Friday, November 26, 2010

On the way home last night we got tickled and laughed so hard I was sure we'd have to pull over. Every time I think about it I break out laughing out loud all over again about how we dealt with the gravy - and then the potatoes - "if cheese won't fix it, just go ahead and throw it out!"

Friday, November 5, 2010

November 5, 2010

You can kind of begin to see the look we're aiming for on our house.

We considered using cement board clapboards, but the only thing anyone in Central Oklahoma stocks is the Certainteed brand with the wood grain finish, and we prefer the Hardie brand with the smooth finish, having had favorable experience with it in Cooperstown. There were places willing to special order the smooth Hardie board, but the hitch there is that you can't just run down and pick up a couple of pieces in a pinch, and you can't return any unused pieces if they don't stock it.

We looked at a type of wood siding board that is wider and thicker, with the showing edge cut in a randomly wavy manner to look like rough hewn logs. We'd seen a few places done in that motif in central NY (except those probably were actually cut from logs) and it is an interesting look. There are some new houses just a few miles down the road from us that have accent sections done in that siding, and we did find it available locally. We thought it a bit much for a whole-house treatment, though (not to mention ex$pensive).

Since we couldn't get the Hardie smooth clapboard we really wanted and didn't want to go all the way with the rough-hewn-log-siding look, we kept looking, kept thinking.

Steve likes redwood for exterior treatments because you can get a nice finish surface and it weathers really well. We learned that Forest Lumber carries redwood when he recently built a huge, beautiful redwood deck for one of my sisters. In the course of going through Forest's stock of redwood time and again, Steve noticed they also carry redwood clapboards, so when he picked up some redwood for the exterior trim on our house, he also picked up a few pieces of the redwood clapboard to build a mock-up.

The wood grain and color in these clapboards is so pretty, just in its natural wood state, that we couldn't bear to consider covering them up with paint. Happily, redwood will tolerate weather extremely well. It will keep even better (and look prettier) if it is protected, so we got some Sherwin Williams "DeckScapes" in "Natural", which has just a hint of warm stain. It really brings  the redwood to life. It's truly a stunning effect.  Up in the gable we have cedar shingles, Cape Cod style. The cedar shingles are raw and untreated, so they will weather naturally.

We were able to retain a good bit of the shape of the original A-frame in this redesign, while modernizing the floorplan with the two-story dormers on each side and bumping out to vertical walls in the kitchen and bathroom and adding a second floor over the utility room. The addition of these vertical walls allowed us to add many more windows in addition to the increased usable floor space, and yet we were able to retain enough of the original character of the A-frame to be charming.

Our exterior color choices are Sherwin Williams'  "Shamrock" green with "Clay Pot" red accents.  These colors, along with the natural redwood clapboards and the raw cedar shingles are totally in keeping with the rustic nature of our rural estate.

I am extremely pleased with the way it's all coming about, can't wait until it's done, and will certainly post progress reports.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Mobile posting?

Trying to figure out how this mobile posting thing works.

Looks like I can post text but don't quite have the fine points of sending pictures directly to the blog. 

That's okay - this is a start.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Common Ground

Last post I promised to report on my visit to an eatery called Common Ground in Oneonta. It was very nice - beautiful decor, lots of natural wood slab tables and bench seats, quiet, nice music, excellent food. Like home-cooked organic gourmet. Knock your socks off delicious with lovely atmosphere. I'm sorry I didn't find them earlier in my visit!

I thought Twelve Tribes would be some kind of Native American Indian thing, but I must have gotten them mixed up with some other hippie enterprise along the main drag in Oneonta. This Twelve Tribes is named after the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Membership seems to involve a pretty major lifestyle decision. As I gather, folks who follow that way join what is essentially a religious commune. They pool their resources and live together in a community, and have several enterprises to generate income so they can make their way in the world. Everyone we encountered at the Common Ground was gentle, soft-spoken, and provided the best kind of service one may hope for in a restaurant.  I truly felt the spirit of love and service toward God and fellow man there.

One of my friends who got pretty severely burned by a separatist religious concern in the past has warned me and mine to be extremely wary of this religious group. I have taken her warnings under advisement.

I used to know an old fella name of Bob Ross. Not Bob Ross the oil painter, another Bob Ross. The Bob Ross I know reminds me of  a nature show I saw on PBS one time featuring otters and sea urchins. Sea urchins are like little ocean bottom animal versions of sand burrs or cockle-burs with hard, spiky, repellent exteriors. A sea urchin looks like a nasty little ball of of needles, something you would not want to mess with if you could help it. Otters have discovered, however, that sea urchins are tender and sweet on the inside, and love to eat them. The trick, of course, is to get past that spiky exterior. The mental image I have is of the otter floating on its back with a sea urchin on its belly. Bob Ross reminded me of those sea urchins, just as spiky and repellent as he could be in presentation. God Forbid that anyone should ever discover that he was actually a pretty sweet guy, if you could ever get past his spikiness. Quite a character, Bob was. I only tell this on him now because he has gone on to the Big Meeting in the Sky some years ago now. Anyway, Bob used to tell a particular story on himself in which the punch line or moral was, "Hell, I ain't afraid of nothin' I ain't about to do!"

That's sorta the way I view these Twelve Tribe folks - "I ain't afraid of nothin' I ain't about to do."

I found them pleasant, charming and attractive, and wish there were a Common Ground restaurant nearer to where we live, but my interests and situation at this time in my life in no way lead me to be remotely interested in joining a religious commune and handing over everything I've worked for. I appreciate the devotion of those who have chosen that way, but it is not my way. Live and Let Live, I say. I hope Common Ground is still there the next time I visit Otsego County, because there were some more things on the menu I want to try.

Meanwhile, if you are confident in what you believe, you don't have to worry about someone talking you into something else. If you're not sure, go find out! Be sure! If you are sure, if you are confident in whatever you believe, borrow a line from Bob Ross - you don't have to be afraid of nothin' you aint' about to do!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Fourth of July Celebrations

I am currently in Otsego County visiting daughter Misty and her new baby Mira, and we have attended several fourth of July events with the baby.




On Friday the 2nd, "The Oldest Church" had their annual Ice Cream Social (from 5 to 8) and the Village of Cooperstown had their fireworks event (about dark-thirty).

We saw Mike and Marcie Schwartzman at the Ice Cream Social and the Fireworks event!


Brendan worked on Sunday, but Misty and I went to a cook-out with the Morrell clan at Renay's Mom's house. Renay and her sisters were there, some of the big kids, all of the little kids, a few other of their relatives, and some old family friends. They grilled hamburgers, hot links, steak, and the best hot dogs I've had in quite a while. Everyone brought something, too, so there were potato salads, a great pasta salad, some baked beans and some coleslaws, including Misty's own home-made. Beverages included an array of iced tea, soft drinks, and plenty of cold water, and Renay made cupcakes for dessert, enough food to feed three armies.


On Monday Springfield had their Independence Day Parade, a pretty big deal. Veteran's clubs, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, civic organizations, aspiring and incumbent politicians, car clubs, beauty queens and fire departments from all over Otsego County were represented in the parade, which lasted nearly two hours. Here is a picture of "Old Number One" from Cooperstown. Saw a bunch of our old pals from CFD in that parade. 

Afterward we made our way up to Richfield Springs and had a bite at the Tally Ho: 2 BLT's, a batter fried fish sandwich, and a turkey Rueben. I had the Rueben and someone asked me how it was. I said it was a little too turkey for me - next time I'll just have the traditional Pastrami Rueben.  The fries were pretty good, though.

Later today I have a date to meet Renay downtown Oneonta for a meal. We brainstormed several possibilities and finally came up with a place on the main drag. I couldn't remember the name of the place (Common Grounds?) but it's run by an outfit called Twelve Tribes, apparently a pretty controversial group. I don't know what they do, or what it is alleged that they do, but when we invited Brendan, he said it was a cult and gave such a reaction that I said, "Hey, we're not planning to join, we're just going to eat there. We heard they have really good food." He didn't seem interested, and when we tried to invite his mother, her reaction was more strenuous and more sustained than Brendan's had been. Yikes! Wishing to defuse things with a little levity, I tried to say again that we weren't going to join, we were just going to eat there, but I don't think she ever heard me. It seemed odd to me, these reactions, the way things are when someone is very excited and you don't know why and you can't get them to settle down. Kinda piques my curiosity about this Twelve Tribes outfit! How about I post again tomorrow about what I find out about it when we go there?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

My Mother


Margaret Ellen Ryland Little, age 72, was delivered to Heaven on June 21, 2010. Her earthly journey ended in Norman, Oklahoma, after a four-year battle with lung cancer while surrounded by loving family members and friends. 

Margaret was born September 22, 1937 in Crescent, Oklahoma, to Clelland and Sarah Ryland.  She is survived by her husband of 52 years and 4 months, James H. Little M.D., three daughters and their husbands, Vicki and Steve Newby, Kathi and John Springman, Janet and David Bradford; eleven grandchildren, Michael and Misty Miller, Melissa and Kyle Springman, Jameson, Jordan, Sarah, Elianah and Isaiah Bradford, Kandice Lybolt and her husband Michael, and Dylan James Little; three great grandchildren, Leilani and Jacinda Miller and Mira Miller O’Connor. She also leaves behind a brother- and sister-in-law, Lanny and Charlene Little, nieces Kristin Herring and Misty Williams, sister-in-law Kris Ryland and nephews John and Tommy Ryland. Margaret is preceded in death by her parents, brother Donald Ryland and son James H. Little Jr.

Margaret was happiest when working and playing alongside husband, Jim. Their 1990 husband and wife world skeet shooting championship title was a favorite memory. Margaret wrapped her family and extended family of friends in an envelope of love and caring and was truly grateful for each unique member. Her beauty, love and excellence serves as an inspiration to all. She will be sorely missed.

Services will be held on Thursday June 24 at 3:00PM at the Vondel L. Smith & Sons, South Colonial Chapel, at 6934 South Western Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

Monday, June 14, 2010

Flood Warning, Canadian County

I am in Fly Creek NY with my daughter who is due to bear her first child any day now. We know with 70% certainty, thanks to modern ultrasound, that it's a girl. Her name will be Mira. Don't know what name may be on standby if Mira happens to fall into that 30% category and emerge with a stem, but should that happen, he'll only have to wear pink for about the first year or so.

While I'm out of pocket my Dear Husband Steve stayed in Oklahoma to hold the fort down in my absence, and Holy Cow, he has his work cut out for him today - I just received this post from him via Facebook: 
     
     "Raining like a heifer pissing on a flat rock here. The BX (Broadway Extension) and Turner Turnpike are CLOSED. TV telling everybody to stay put. Mike DiGacomo (street super, OKC) has his barricades and storm sewer covers floating away. The 10" tree log path has floated past the sweetbush....pans and bowls all over the trailer. Upstairs bedroom in the house tarped and running into 5 gal buckets. must empty every 5 minutes. Muffin inside and pissed off. Cookie? well, good stealth to you! No cell phone signal, but we got internet antenna. Thunder in the distance (NW of Mustang) but none locally. leak in the studio under the East wall and door threshold. bear gonow.......an intense event."

KFOR weather has an interactive radar where you can enter an address and pinpoint your actual location. It keeps looking like the rain is going to let up, but it just keeps raining, and heavily.  Reminds me of a weather joke we have in Oklahoma - "Last time it rained forty days and forty nights, they got a trace in Guymon." Yeah, Mustang is nowhere near Guymon.

Both cats have wanted to be nowhere but outside since early Spring but Muffin ran inside this morning to escape another block-headed yellow lab who came around barking at Steve. It was a different dog from the one I described in my "Not All Who Wander" blog entry last month because today's dog was uncut, as compared to the old neutered male of previous mention.  So Muffin is inside, where he does not like to be, but which he finds less distasteful than going out in the pouring rain. Cats are so funny.  Cookie can usually find a discreet place to hole up and usually stays quite dry, thank you very much, but I bet she's wet today! I hope she's okay. 

The tree log path Steve mentions - we had done some clearing and reserved a couple of tree trunks for Truth, Beauty and Goodness projects. These trunks are actually 10 to 16 inches across, and we had cut one of them into 2 to 3 inch slabs to use as stepping stones in paths where the grass hasn't taken hold yet. One set of steps was about 12 to 20 feet from the sweetbush, the next one was about 50 to 75 feet from it, and the other path about 100+ feet from the sweetbush, so any one of those would be a significant washout!

Speaking of turnpikes being closed, before I left, I promised without fail that I would keep an eye ahead on the weather when I'm traveling, and if it looked very bad, I would hold my position rather than risk harm due to a weather disaster. This situation reaffirms that determination. That interactive map on KFOR will show current weather radar for any address you plug into it, so that promises to be an extremely handy tool in addition to local forecasts along the way.

Meanwhile, here in Fly Creek, it's only overcast. Cool central NY summer day. Misty's dog, Potato, rests at my feet, while we wait for labor to begin.

Stay dry and safe, everyone!


Saturday, June 5, 2010

Prayer and Release

It came to me a few years ago that people who are healthy, happy and feel good about themselves do not find it necessary to behave badly toward others or treat others badly.  About that same time I also discovered  that as long as I'm involved with a thing, it stays with me because I'm still involved with it. For example, say there's something troubling me I wish would leave me alone. I discovered that as long as I'm trying to push something out of my life - a habit, for instance, or perhaps a pesky individual - as long as I am trying to "push" it out of my life, I still have my hands on it, and as long as I have my hands on it, it's still mine and I still have it. Another example is that as long as I am embattled with a thing - a person, an idea, a habit - as long as I am "fighting" it,  I keep it in my life by that very involvement, like Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby.  Some might relate to "giving the problem a room rent-free in my head." If I'm dwelling on a thing, embattled with it, and/or trying to push it out of my life, I am involved with it, and it stays with me. I discovered a way to release unproductive habits, troublesome people, and things that have outlived their usefulness to me.


First, about People. Follows a great prayer. I wish I could say I invented it, but I did not. I did, however, adapt it to this form. This prayer can be used in dealing with difficult people, people you don't like, people you quite frankly might wish would simply go away, but it's also a wonderful prayer for people you love and care deeply about, because this prayer asks for them to have what you'd like for yourself, what everyone wants, really - to enjoy health, happiness and prosperity. It goes like this (the name of the person you're praying for goes in the blanks):


     "God, be with ________ .  Let ________ be aware of Your Presence. I pray that Your Will be done in ________ 's life. I pray that ________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Thy Will Be Done. I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)"  


I pray this prayer regularly for people I love dearly, obviously because I care for them an want the best for them. But I also pray this same prayer for the difficult people I encounter, people I don't like, the real stinkers. 


Why, you wonder, would anyone pray such a loving prayer for a stinker?


It's because people who are healthy and happy and feel good about themselves do not find it necessary to behave badly or to treat others badly and I know that anyone who is consistently snippy, vindictive, hateful, cruel, complaining, manipulative, controlling, or practices any other sort of dysfunctional interpersonal unpleasantness - such a person is not entirely healthy, is not happy, and does not feel good about themselves. I know that if such a person can enjoy health, happiness and prosperity that they may begin to feel better about life in general and about themselves and when they are feeling better in general, they will not find it necessary to behave badly where I am concerned. I bless the person with love and release them because exactly how this prayer manifests in their lives is none of my business, and as long as I have my hand on it, it's still in my life. Bless with love and release. Let God do His job.


Notice the phrase asks that they may enjoy health, happiness and prosperity. I state it that way because most people actually have a relative degree of decent health, plenty to be happy about, if only they'd see it, and some prosperity, but may not be able to recognize how good their life actually is if they happen to be fixated in a negative mental, emotional and spiritual space. 


I can think right now of people I know who have serious chronic health problems, but who do what they can in their own behalf and enjoy what they can of life, as compared to the physically healthy hypochondriacs who whine and complain, court illness they don't have, and do not appreciate the level of health they actually have. 


Similarly, about happiness, I know people who are in dire circumstances, but they are doing what they can for themselves and are reasonably happy most of the time, as compared to the Eeyore sad-sacks who are miserable about everything, and making everyone around them miserable, too.  


With prosperity I always think of the "look good, smell good and broke" folks who live beyond their means in a lifestyle that used to be called "keeping up with the Joneses." At our house we have a one-liner, "She lives in a car, but it's a nice car."   My parents taught me to go to work every day and pay my bills first, take care of my things and appreciate what I do have, a lesson most of this country seems to have forgotten these days ... but I did not come here to preach a political sermon. The point is, regarding prosperity, a person ought to do what they can for themselves and appreciate and take care of what they have instead of living in a black hole attitude of not-enough.


It is because most people actually do have some degree of health, at least something to be happy about, and relative prosperity that I recommend praying that "________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity" - that they may come to see what they actually already have, and appreciate and enjoy it.


Whenever I pray, whatever I'm praying for - I never hesitate to ask God for anything - deep, meaningful things, or superficial, materialistic things - anything - but I always "tap the ball back over to God's side of the net" by adding "Thy Will Be Done."  "Here's my idea, what do you think?" or  "Here's what I want, but you're the boss." "Thy Will Be Done."


And then - "I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)." This phrase can be used for a person or a thing, a physical object or a concept or a habit - I have blessed with love and released specific persons, dear old broke down automobiles, feelings, habits of action and thought, particular circumstances - this is an extremely useful concept. I added it to this prayer because as long as I'm still trying to "handle" it, whatever "it" may be, I still have my hands on it and I still have it. I think of the child bringing the broken toy to be fixed, but he won't let go of it for you to fix. You take something to God to take care of, you have to let go of it. As long as you have your hands on it, whether it's just plain old hanging onto it, or trying to push it out of your life - if your hands are on it - you still have it and it's not going to change. You gotta release it. You gotta release it, and it goes better if you bless it with love and release it. 


Also, if you're asking for something to come into your life, you usually need to make room for it ... by releasing something. That dear old beat up car I mentioned in the previous paragraph? It was beyond repair. I needed a new car, but I had to release the one I had first, at a mental, emotional, spiritual level to make room for what was to come. If I'd a gone around cursing that raggedy old car as useless, I would probably still have it! I did love that car, though. It and I had been through a lot together. Unfortunately, it had outlived its usefulness to me and had to be replaced.  So I blessed it with love and released it an accepted a wonderful new replacement.  This process does not manifest overnight, but the trip of a thousand miles begins with one step.  Start by Blessing with Love and Releasing.


So, "God, be with ________ .  Let ________ be aware of Your Presence. I pray that Your Will be done in ________ 's life. I pray that ________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Thy Will Be Done. I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)


Don't worry if you don't "feel" these things about the person for whom you pray.  Prayer isn't so much to change the world as it is to change the pray-er. More than once have I have growled this prayer through gritted teeth for people I nearly hated. But I knew then and still know that people who are healthy and happy and feel good about themselves don't find it necessary to show their big red you-know-whats, so if their lives can improve by my praying for them, if they can come to some appreciation of the health, happiness and prosperity they have, or maybe even get more of all that, maybe they'll act nicer. It does not matter whether I like 'em or not. And even if nothing in their lives were to change (but it always has so far), something in me does change.



"God, be with ________ .  Let ________ be aware of Your Presence. I pray that Your Will be done in ________ 's life. I pray that ________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Thy Will Be Done. I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)









Tuesday, June 1, 2010

A Plane Story from my Dad

I knew a little bit about the plane we kids called "The Red Baron" but I did not know all this. A huge thanks to my Dad for sharing this great story and for passing along the excellent video, and here they are:

"(The following) video was sent to me by a very close friend of mine, who is a fellow pilot, and a fellow doctor.

Long, long ago, Uncle Lano (my brother) and I bought an antique 1934 model Monocoupe airplane. The plane belonged to the widow of Rusty Herd. Rusty was a stunt pilot who flew another Monocoupe in airshows.


One day while Rusty was performing stunts in an airshow, he had a heart attack.  The plane went on flying. It made some dives all on its own and when the airspeed got fast enough the plane recovered from the dives all on its own and climbed out only to enter another dive, and another recovery.  As the plane dove near the ground, the spectators could see that Rusty was slumped over, and apparently unconscious. Many in the crowd thought Rusty was still in control of the plane, and merely faking being unconscious. However on the final dive, the plane did not recover and crashed directly into the ground.


Rusty had a backup Monocoupe in his hangar which was hated by his widow. She sold the plane to Lano and me for a measly $3000 bucks. Lano traveled to Florida and flew the plane back to OKC. When we got it home we realized it was one of only three remaining planes of its kind, so we had the plane completely rebuilt from the inside out. We had it painted Ford pickup red with black trim (16 coats of paint). An accomplished aircraft refurbisher named Tony Blackstone rebuilt and refinished the plane. It was the finest job he ever did, according to Tony.  I then flew the plane to the Oshkosh Antique World Championships, where the plane won First Place!


The plane went on to win first place in every airshow we entered it into. The plane was stressed for 9Gs, right side up or upside down. I flew it in loops, spins, chandells, falling leaves, you name it...the plane could do it.  It had a Warner 145 horse radial engine, and this model won the world air races in 1934 and 1935. I was born in Jan. 1934 so I was not able to pilot the air races. Probably because I did not have a pilot license yet.  We eventually sold the plane to another airplane nut named Don Love who lived in Kansas at the time.


The plane was delightful to fly, but a pure bitch to land because the big radial engine washed out the air controls on landing, and the heel brakes were essentially unavailable while you were danding on the rudders. We could have installed some Cessna tow brakes, but that would have ruined the originality of the aircraft making it in3eligible to win first place. Boy was it fun, though!


Jim Little


PS If you think you would enjoy flying, watch these beautiful old (renewed) aircraft fly by."





(If you have trouble viewing this here, you can click here to see the video at YouTube.)


Monday, May 31, 2010

Not all who wander are lost, but this guy is.

Good sized blond Lab mix guy showed up here this morning. About six-ish, barking. I threw the door open and said, "Hey what's going on out here?"

Most wandering dogs will run off when I do that. This one didn't. So I said, "This is my house! You go home!" Most dogs that haven't run off with my first greeting will leave when I tell them to go home, but this one didn't. He backed off, but stayed, and kept barking. I told him to cut it out, go on, go home, and pointed to the road. He headed out the driveway, but would not go into the road. Every time I came inside, he would come back and bark again. The last time I went out to order him home he went toward the road, but veered left and went around the house, coming back up the other side. I turned to face him, saying, "Nice try, pal, but you didn't fool me. Go on home now" but he stayed put, with his head down and his tail between his legs.

By simple observation I noted that he appears to be well fed. He's wearing a collar, not very new, one of those nylon strap kind, red, with a tag jingling from it. He's a neutered male. Good size, a block headed Lab. Mix, I'm pretty sure. I'm not good at determining the age of a dog, and this guy, being blonde, it's hard to tell if he's gray around the muzzle or not because he's so light colored. Several years old, though. By the worn appearance of his collar and the tick on his shoulder I'd say he spends some time outside, but may be accustomed to being indoors some, too. Big ol' boy. Not as big as some of Dad's Labs, but pretty good sized.

He was not acting in a menacing manner, he just wouldn't leave. The more I scolded him, the more he had his tail between his legs. I called him to me (to see what was on the tag) and he came right over. The tag was from our local vet, Dr. Terry Wood. The dog's demeanor perked up by the small attention I gave him in talking to him and petting him (so I could read his tag).

He is clearly someone's pet - well fed, decent manners - but lost, and a little clingy. I'm thinking he may have been frightened by the weather because he seemed anxious about the distant thunder when he first arrived. Or maybe his people are out of town for Memorial Day Weekend.  I called Dr. Wood's office, but of course they're closed for Memorial Day, as are Animal Control.

This guy knows "sit" and "no." He'll go lay down when you tell him to. He seems to want to come inside, but isn't pushy about it. When I go outside he sticks pretty close to me.

The cats are not at all pleased about his presence. Not at all. In fact, they have both dematerialized.

I do not have facilities to keep a dog - no pen or fence - and he certainly cannot come inside. If he's still here tomorrow when Dr. Wood's office opens I'll call again, but I'm not interested in trying to put a big muddy dog in my little car to take him over there, so I'm not sure how that will work out.

Steve is on a long errand today, so we'll see if this guy is still here when Steve gets back.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

du jour

Regular readers may remember that we plant in raised beds and raised rows. My plan for this year's garden was to make everything in four foot raised beds with three foot paths, making sort of a giant plaid garden, but I found it labor intensive to do all at once, and the season is getting old on me, so Steve tilled the second half of the garden for me again and I'm going to go ahead and do the rest of it in rows this year. 28 or 29 four-foot beds and five, maybe six rows, we'll have. I have one row pulled up and need to pull the rest of the rows up and get them planted. Beans, beets, carrots and whatever else I have out there to plant. Squash. Melons. Sweet Potatoes. Sunflowers. We have 'taters & onions in the ground. Also need to form some sort of trellis for the peas that are standing a foot tall all by themselves. This year's garden will be 2.5 times bigger than last year's! We are also planting grass in all that the bare soil around the barn.

I hope to see the Golden Digger Wasps again this year. I was fascinated by them last year, but it seemed they mostly nested in the ground where our barn now stands. There were a few around the base of the Cypress tree Genevieve, so hopefully some of those will be able to emerge and carry on with their life cycle.  Fascinating, Golden Digger Wasps. Larger than your mud daubers and your paper nest wasps, these thread-waisted wasps excavate a chamber in the ground, where they lay their eggs. They bring stunned insects such as green catydids, which they take into the chamber and install with the eggs for their babies' nourishment until they can come out of the ground and continue the cycle. These wasps are not aggressive, but if you walk a little nearer their work than they wish, they will "fly loud," hovering in such a manner as to buzz, as a warning. Live and let live. I spent hours watching these girls last summer, and hope some have survived for this season.

Going to go watch a Hallmark Hall of Fame Classic Movie now, about Lois Wilson, wife of Bill Wilson, Co-Founder of AA. Should be a real tear-jerker!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

2010 Spring and Garden Report

I am thrilled to report that all my potatoes are now planted!

Pontiac Reds, because they are pretty, taste good, and are good keepers. Pontiac Reds have, of course, a red skin, and white flesh. I planted some when I got them as soon as the ground could be worked in January, and those are up now, noticeably growing daily.

Yukon Golds, because there's still a sense of novelty about them, we like the way they look, and they taste good.  Yukon Gold Potatoes have a tan to blond skin and yellow flesh. They look like they've already been buttered!  We should have plenty of 'taters this year!




Got several varieties of sweet onions - "candy", "Super Sweet," and "1015" onions. I also still have some red onions that I need to plant.

We picked up a couple kinds of tomatoes and some jalapenos and some leeks, which are in the ground. Got those planted a couple days before we had a little burst of hail storm. Had enough hail that it drifted several inches deep of little pea to marble sizes on the south side of the house. Once the garden path dried enough that I could walk out there again, I notice many little craters, which are impact marks from the hail! I was really worried about the plants I had just set out, but they all look okay.

Got a couple each of Blueberry and Blackberry bushes, still in their buckets. Still deciding where to put them, since they stay put once planted. In reading about what a Blueberry likes, I think Blueberries and we can have a very happy mutual relationship here. They are said to appreciate acidic soil, and to be mulched with shredded pine needles and oak leaves, both of which we have in abundance. I would be thrilled to displace the poison ivy with Blueberries!

Some of the new little strawberry plants are breaking ground.

I wish I was set up to make jelly, because the dandelions are blooming RIGHT NOW, but perhaps next spring.

The "sweet bushes" are in bloom, too, and man, oh, man does it smell good out here right now! We call them "Sweet Bushes" because they have something of a shrub habit, like a bush, and when they flower in spring,the aroma is nearly intoxicating, very sweet. They are also known as Silverberries and seem to be related to olives.

We have some little volunteer trees in the woods back of the house that I suspect may be peach trees. Of course they've never been tended, and are located in an area that has been in full shade during the height of summer, so they haven't fruited well, but I know where they are, now (thanks to the flowers). I'll look after them and tend them, see if I can't help them do something amazing.

We finally got to the point that we were able to move the tool trailer out from in front of the house. We'll be able to mow there, now, get the grass growing there again. and it just looks better already with that space clear.  Much discussion as to where to put it - not beside the barn, where local trailer thieves can easily see it, nor behind the barn, where it is difficult to place. I just couldn't bring myself to spring for storage fees again - they give you a decent deal on the first three months, but after that, it's through the roof! So we ended up taking it out to my folks' place, where it can be safely out of the way. (Big Sigh of Relief.)

That's all for now - Happy Spring!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Yogurt

I made yogurt yesterday, and you can too!

We've been buying those little plastic cartons of yogurt in the store. You have to read the labels on those things, because it's astonishing how many calories they can pack into one of those little cups. Even if it says "light," "sugar free," or "fat free," it can still have stuff in it I'd rather not consume. For instance, "fat free" might be sweetened with sugar or, worse, high fructose corn syrup. "Sugar free" might be sweetened with aspartame or have more fat in it than I like, and who knows what "light" is supposed to mean. It seems to be different from one brand to another, or even from one flavor to another. I haven't figured out a consistent commonality in "light" yogurts. Light in color, maybe?  Even "plain" yogurt sometimes has sweeteners and flavoring in it, so you really have to read the labels!  Suffice to say that  I read labels and I don't always like what I see on the ingredients list, totally aside from the fact that they're all packaged in plastic. And then there's the cost. Depending on brand and store, you can pay anywhere from .59 to over a dollar each for the little darlings. As much yogurt as we eat, it seemed worthwhile to look into making our own.

A great thing about this project is that you can use any kind of milk you wish, all the way from 4% whole milk, 2%, fat-free, cow's milk, goat's milk, or soy milk. I purchased a container of fat free powdered milk. That's powdered, not instant. "Instant" milk has other stuff in it to make it easier to blend with water. This powdered milk I got (Sanalac brand), not being instant, you mix it up and put it in the 'fridge and let it set for a while if you're going to drink it. I mixed up enough to make a batch of yogurt right away, plus have some to put in the 'fridge, for drinking, or to use for the next batch of yogurt.

Okay, so here's how. I obtained a couple sets of those little glass Pyrex dishes with the snug-fitting lids. For this project I used the one cup size. You will also need a quart of milk, a thermometer, some yogurt starter, and a warm, still place to allow the yogurt to culture. An oven with a pilot light is perfect for this. A baking pan with warm tap water is a good thing to have ready to set the culturing dishes in, in the oven. Have everything out and ready. For your yogurt culture, you can either purchase actual "starter" from a health food store, or a carton of plain, live culture yogurt. Make sure it's really plain, with no sweeteners or flavorings! When you are ready to start, set the yogurt out so it can warm to room temperature.

First, you need to sterilize your milk. Put it in a pan (or a double boiler if you have one) and heat the milk slowly and gently to a scald, 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir constantly and check the temperature frequently while the milk heats up.

When the temperature of the milk reaches between 180 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from heat. Now you're going to let it cool down a little bit. You can go do something else for a little while, coming back to check the temperature of the milk about every five minutes or so. It needs to be cooler than 120 , but warmer than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. About 100 is a good, safe, middle range.

Measure out 2 Tablespoons of  the plain yogurt, or the prescribed amount of health food store yogurt culture and whisk into the warm milk, blending well.

Pour into the glass dishes, one at a time. As you fill each one, cover tightly and place into the baking pan. I filled five one-cup dishes slightly less than full. When all your little tightly covered yogurt dishes are in the baking pan, add warm tap water to the level of the milk in the dishes. Carefully set in the oven with the pilot light. This should provide just enough warmth to culture your yogurt. LEAVE THEM ALONE for 8 to 14 hours!

When you bring them out of the oven, place them in the refrigerator. They should keep comfortably for as long as a week, but you'll have them eaten up before that, I'm sure. 

If you like it plain, have it plain. If you like it sweetened, you may sweeten it with your sweetener of choice. If you like fruit or other things in your yogurt, you can add fruit and flavorings all day long and twice on Sunday, and YOU know exactly what is in your yogurt!  Fresh fruit in season, frozen fruit, thawed, whole, chopped, or mashed. You are in charge and in control of what is in your yogurt. You don't have to worry about Mystery Ingredients, you don't have to worry about the brand-to-brand nuances of definition in terms of "fat free," "sugar free," and "light." And you don't have to worry about the little plastic containers, which could be a whole 'nother post all by themselves. Maybe another time.

Oh, and the money - I got the big container of Sanalac for $9.75 at my neighborhood grocery store. That container has 39 servings in it. One serving of reconstituted milk makes one serving of yogurt. $9.75 divided by 39 servings is 25 cents per serving.

My plan is to do up a batch of yogurt after supper so it can do its thing in the oven overnight. You may be surprised, as I was, at how thoroughly pleasant a still-warm, freshly cultured cup of yogurt is! Flat knock your lights out in a bowl of oatmeal!  You will see that a little liquid separates from the body of the yogurt. You can either pour that off (CAREFULLY or your yogurt will slip away with it!) or stir it in.

So go on - give it a try!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Hippo Birdie and Other Cards

This day is overcast, temp in the 40's and windy, windy, windy, but I got outside ANYWAY and moved some dirt into four-foot square patches for this season's garden. Nowhere near done yet, but it's in the works. I have planted five squares of Pontiac Red potatoes, one square of "candy" onions, and one square with some sugar snap peas, some spinach, some radishes, and some lettuce. The garden book says all these things can, yes, be planted as soon as the ground can be worked, so that's what I did...even though WeatherBoy says we're supposed to get snow overnight and tomorrow.

Inside, I'm stacked up to here with paperwork, and out in the multi-purpose building I have some insulation to hang in my very own soon-to-be studio, so there's always something to do!

Steve asked me what did I want for my birthday and I hadn't thought about it all that much, but I said I believe I'd like a steak dinner at Cattleman's, so, weather permitting, looks like that's what we're gonna do Friday night.

That heading, Hippo Birdie, is from a birthday card I got many, many years ago, and it's one of my favorites. It's a pictoral pun, with a drawing which depicts "Hippo, Birdie, Two Ewes." This has now become a standard birthday greeting in our house and in our close circles. So in case you didn't already, now you know about Hippo Birdie.

Another favorite birthday card contained a drawing of a piece of bread, animated like a little stick man, only bread instead of a stick, with a toaster in the background. This bread-character is holding a table knife with butter on it, and saying, "You're not getting oleo, you're getting butter!"  Some who know me and my love for sweet cream lightly salted dairy butter will appreciate the humor.

Speaking of cute cards, early on in Steve's and my relationship, he gave me a card that had on the front, a drawing of a little red lawnmower up on a hill, and when you opened the card it said, "Each day I love you a little mower." We've had so much fun with that over the years!

So Hippo Birdie to my friend Lisa on the 25th, and thanks to everyone who has already wished me a Hippo Birdie while you were thinkin' of it. Y'all are a big ol' bunch of sweethearts!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Mud Season Update

In my last post I mentioned that WeatherBoy was threatening winter weather (again). You can see by the picture the little darling delivered as promised!  This photo, taken January 29, 2010, depicts about six inches of snow. With ice under it.  Out at our place the ice was only about a half inch on wires and tree limbs and such. On our concrete surfaces the icy underlayment was more like two inches because of the way the precip evolved from freezing rain to sleet to snow.   
Many Oklahomans lost power in this storm and as of the first week of February, some 28,000 of them were still waiting to be reconnected. Most of those folks are in Grady County, around Chickasha, about 33 miles south-southwest of us. I am grateful to report that we did not lose power during the storm, big-sigh-of-relief.  

Last post I was waiting for the Propane man and of course he was swamped. I think we may have been triaged a little farther down the list than I would have liked. Complicating that, they lost a family member (another one in a year's time), so they not only had their usual customer overload of frantic customers dreading a winter storm, they also had another funeral to plan in the midst of all that weather.  Always wise to have a good solid Plan B in stock, and fortunately we had our contingencies lined up. 

In a small twist, we kept power through the storm and once the melt was well underway we had an outage. It was in the middle of the day for about two and a half hours earlier this week. I got a little frantic about it at first because the propane man hadn't been able to get out here yet, and it was the day of their family member's funeral, so I knew he wouldn't be coming that day either. But good ol' OEC located the trouble and fixed it and we were back on well before dark. Yay OEC! 

This picture was taken one week after the one above. in one week's time, this shows significant melting in a particular form we call "Mud Season."  This is way too wet to walk on unless you don't mind getting in up to your ankles or deeper. I know from personal experience that this mud is soft enough to suck the shoes right off your feet, not my favorite thing. 
Just because I can't get right out in the middle of it doesn't mean I'm not planning this season's garden, though!  I'm thinking about starting a few plots of Square Foot Gardening.

Now WeatherBoy is saying rain tonight and tomorrow, which may melt the rest of this snow, but then more snow tomorrow night. Sigh. Criminy, where does he think we are, Central New York?! 

That's okay. We can use the moisture. And I do know, to quote an old friend, who is probably telling all the angels in Heaven now, "It too'll pass, Hon!" It'll be Spring soon.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Happy birthday shout outs to my Dad,  my nephew Jordan, my friend Roxanne, my old pal Chad, and to Judy.

I "friended" Judy on FaceBook ages ago, but it turns out the Judy I friended, while from Texas, is not the Judy I know, which I discovered when I went to her wall to post a happy birthday message to her. There was a picture of a woman I didn't recognize, and a little girl who might have been Judy as a child, but something was off. This woman appeared to be about my age, too old to have been Judy's mother when she was a little girl. Then I realized that the pictures of the little girl were recent instead of from the time period when Judy would have been a little girl. Then I looked at this Judy's other friends and did not recognize a-one of them. Not one. I realized that I have friended a Judy I do not know. Oh, well. Judy, wherever you are, Happy Birthday!

Channel 9 weather boy was going on and on about a winter blast that's headed our way. About the fifth time he went through his routine I thought, okay, enough. Let's see what Channel 4 has to say about it, and it was like they had co-authored their scripts. Supposed to be getting a wintery blast with precipitation about Thursday or so. They're predicting freezing rain (which makes ice wherever it lands) and then sleet and then maybe some snow. We are in the big fat geographic middle of the rather wide band that they think will get 6 to 12 inches plus drifts, after the sleet, after the freezing rain.  Yuck.

So I checked our propane levels and called our propane people. Nice folks out in Minco. The kind of business where you call 'em up and say your name and they know who you are. I like that. I said to her, "We're at about 33% and the weather boy is calling 'Blizzard! Blizzard!' this coming weekend," and she said to me, "I know, I'm gonna fire him!" I laughed and said, "Yeah, I didn't like what the first one said so I changed channels, see if I could get a different report, but they're all saying it!" So we're on the list for a fill up before Thursday. I'm also working on a contingency plan in case we get a power outage, which is a distinct possibility when we have an ice storm. 

The good news is that it should only be in the thirties and twenties for a few days once it arrives, instead of low teens and single digits. It may be difficult for some folks to see any distinction there, but there is a difference. Don't know if I've mentioned it, but I have lived to see the day that 20 degrees seems warm, comparatively speaking.

In other matters, Muffin the cat was camped out soakin' up some  rays on top of Mommy's notebooks.  Ordinarily I would not begrudge him a nap in a sunny window, but I need to work in here today. I said to the old darling that a nap in the sun is a great idea, and I know right where you can get all the sun in the world, and set him outside. What does he do? crouches under the steps IN THE SHADE and tries to run back inside every time anyone opens the door. I think it's not so much the wanting to lay in the sun as it is that he's feeling a little clingy lately. Looking out this window I see a great spot he could curl up and be quite toasty, but I guess he wants to nap in the sun AND be within arm's length of Mommy. I believe that if I got one of those baby carriers and packed him around all day he'd be happy as a clam. Sorry, pal, no can do.  Paperwork to do, errands to run, preparations to make! We got a blizzard a-comin', weather boy says so!

Speaking of which, I gotta sign off and make busy!  Thanks for reading.

V~

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!


Happy New Year, y'all!

Our exciting New Years Eve consisted of a quiet evening at home, including supper and a movie - The Godfather on DVD - to which we both fell asleep before the end. That's okay. We are Godfather Movie watchin' fools. I love some of the quotes, such as, "I have a special kind of practice. I only have one client," and "Leave the gun. Take the canolis," for example.

Daylight now, and January One of a new year, new decade, and look who got their first garden catalog of the season! Perusing it and possibly formulating an order are definitely on my List of Things to Do today.

Still snow on the ground here, but on the days it's been above freezing we see melt. The white stuff is receding, revealing the brown earth under it. Those relatively warm days are definitely Mud Season days (ick!). Still winter, though, and our chief concerns these days tend to run along lines of keeping a faucet drip going and making sure we have plenty of propane.

We have a pot of Black Eyed Peas cooking. I'll make cornbread later on, so we can start the year out right.

You know about that, right? Black eyed peas?

On January 1st, you eat black eyed peas. Some folks also recommend other items, like certain kinds of greens, or maybe a particular scrap of meat, but the central figure is black eyed peas. The first time I remember hearing about this was from Grandma Susie, who said that you eat black eyed peas on January first because it's humble fare and represents humble beginnings. Start the year out humble and things can only become more prosperous.

The last few years we were away from home on January 1, so wherever we might be on the 1st, we would make a point to find some black eyed peas to eat. It got pretty interesting some years - trolling a Safeway store in some strange town for a can or seeking out an open restaurant along the way. Got to have black eyed peas on January 1.

I am happy to report that we are home this January 1 and have a pot of BEP on the stove as I write. Humble fare to start out this 2010 year, and a gardening catalog for desert.

Happy New Year, y'all!