Are things looking up?

Well, it has been a few months since my last blog.  Just haven't been in the mood to type anything.  Since February, we did take a cheap vacation that didn't turn out so well.  My husband did get a job - that he absolutely hates - they treat him like poop.  He's been in the hospital with a serious bacterial infection.  We adopted 3 horses.  I had a job interview on June 10th and made it to the 2nd round.  That round won't happen until a certain person gets back from vacation on Monday.  I am so hoping I get this job.  It is only 6 miles from my house and it's 8-5 most of the time instead of 10-7 with an hour commute each way.  This company also offers full benefits - which means hubby could quit his job and go into the hay cutting business that he wants to do.  I know - a lot of risk, but it could be worth it.  He and a neighbor are working on the detail.  We took our 12 acre field out of the CRP program - wasn't happy with the requirement to spray Monsanto's Round-up products - they make enough money poisoning our food supply and I'm not going to help them.

We are currently babysitting a friend's puppy while they are vacation for the 2nd time this year.  He's a sweet puppy, but he keeps pooping in my bedroom - even after we take him outside.  Frustrating - thought I was past the puppy phase of having dogs!

I am currently bottle feeding 2 orphan rabbits.  Their mama is a Red San Juan mix, but refused to care for her litter of 8.  These 2 are the only ones left - they are almost 4 weeks old now.  Starting to reject the formula because they are eating grass, pellets and carrots.  I have installed a water bottle for them, too.  I guess I am adding 2 more pets to the herd as I told my hubby that they were not getting sold and they were not going in the freezer.  He just frowned. I've worked way too hard to keep them alive thus far. Going to try to figure out to build a hutch for them with scraps and a little farmgirl ingenuity.  We'll see what happens.

I failed miserably with my seed starting this year.  Oh - it started out great, until I put them outside to harden off and I forgot about them until about 2 weeks later.  They were certainly crispy.  Oh well.  We have direct sowed many other seeds and things are growing.  We have some volunteer pumpkins coming up in some very strange places, too.

Hubby built 4 raised beds for me.  He also built 2 stalls in the barn and we are going to start on a 3rd one this weekend.  My 2 year old horse is at the trainers for the month and so we have put off building it.  We put the 10 year old in his stall and the 15 year old in her own custom built stall.  She's only 28 inches tall so everything had to be built to scale for her.  Seems to working.

That's it for today - getting ready to head home from work.  Yes - I did this while at work.  I can do things like this while at work because we are a very slow store.  As long as we help customers when they walk in, the boss doesn't really care what we do.  That's one thing I will miss.  See ya' next time.

Reflections

     Christmas is almost here and another year is almost over.  Recent events have made me stop and take a moment to reflect.  The most important thing in life is family and friends that you make your family.  I have very little of both, but I love them dearly.  After the tragedy on Friday, December 14, 2012 in Connecticut, I love them even more.  How anyone could murder children is beyond my comprehension.  It was reported that the gunman had Asperger's.  My own son has Asperger's.  I've talked to him about guns and his favorite video games which usually involve soldiers and shooting.  We've talked about how in the video games, when someone gets shot, they magically come back and can play again.  That doesn't happen in real life.  He is insists he knows the difference and he would never shoot a real person.  I hope beyond hope that he holds true to that.
     Guns are a part of our life.  We hunt and we like to target shoot.  I even have a pink gun.  No one is going to take my guns from me without a fight.  I have that right.  Guns don't kill people - people kill people.  The NFL player that killed his girlfriend and then himself could have used any manner of things to do the deed.  There was a Chinese man that slashed a bunch of school children with a knife.  We don't need more gun regulations  -  we need more openness about mental health.  People need to feel like getting help for emotional problems isn't wrong or bad.  Maybe that would prevent people from snapping.
Bring God back into schools and work and wherever He is needed.  If the Atheists and naysayers don't like it - tough - don't go or don't listen or don't participate.  Saying 'Happy Holidays' isn't the answer.  Christ is why we have Christmas and Easter.  Corporate greed is why we have gotten away from the real reasons.  It's why we've become numb.  Look at Black Friday - I hate Black Friday, which now begins on Thursday.  5000 people want 5 t.v.'s for $100.  Why - because marketing says we need to fight over it.  I don't need it and I won't buy it.
     People can also do evil in other ways.  When someone needs help or needs to be taken care of and they just stand by and watch is evil.  My mother is evil.  Some might say that is a terrible thing to say.  It would be if it weren't true.  She is evil.  My brother and I have been trying to get her to put him in a nursing home because he needs help.  He is 96 and shouldn't be living by himself.  He told me on Sunday (12/16/12) that he fell down the other day and hit his head.  He stumbles all the time and can't see very well.  He doesn't cook anymore and only eats what is in the fridge - no matter how long it's been in there.  He has internal health issues like rectal bleeding and explosive diarrhea.  Gross I know, but that's why he needs help.  He can't always make it to the bathroom in time and makes a mess.  She doesn't want to do anything because it might cost some money - money that would come out of her inheritance.  She's greedy and always has been.
She was out there on Sunday and was getting mad because she had to pay some of his bills, with his money and his checkbook.  She had to WRITE the checks and was mad.  She also got mad because I fixed Grandpa's coffee pot.  She said she had already fixed it and that he just wasn't trying hard enough.  Really? - He's 96, he shouldn't have to try very hard.  He didn't care who fixed it, he just wanted a cup of coffee.
     I'm also a little bit upset with my boss.  He's having a Christmas get-together at his house - his really big house in his really exclusive neighborhood.  My son is ill, but taking meds.  He doesn't want my son to come because he is ill.  I told him the nurse and the doctor said after 2 days on the meds, he wouldn't be contagious anymore.  He doesn't want him to come to his house because his girls might catch it.  I guess I'm not going to to go because I don't have a sitter and I don't want to leave him at home at night be himself.  I have left him alone before, but I won't do that at night.  Even though he is 12, it is still scarier at night.  Merry Christmas, Mr. Boss.
     I am trying to look forward to the new year.  We are planning our garden and how we can make some money from it.  We are planning on adding two or three new hives for the bees.  We are planning on getting a goat or two so that we can have milk to make things from and sell.  We are looking forward to the arrival of our chickens in January.  We are looking forward to Lliam actually going back to Alexandria Schools and trying to lead a normal life instead of going to school in a hospital.  We are looking forward to our little farm store actually getting off the ground and bringing in a few bucks.  We are looking forward to earning some money from starting beagle pups on rabbits and also selling rabbits.
     There's a ton of things to look back on and wonder why, but there's even more to look forward to and wonder why not.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.