Care and Feeding

Sometimes, in my world, the care and feeding of 2 people takes 5 people to pull it off.
Take this morning, if I didn't have my daughter, The Mouth, to help me I would be running in circles, and riding babies on my bike.
My Dad requires not so much constant care, but pretty much constant supervision. Most of the time this isn't a problem, there is my Mother, The Mouth, and myself, and Hubby, and The Monkey's Mother to make this happen. Piece of Cake.
My 2 year old granddaughter (The Monkey) lives with us, as does her mother. This morning, her mother got called into work early. No, problem, we'll just adjust accordingly. We're holding strong at 4 people to watch 2 people. It's all good. My Mother had to go out of town, ok, we can still do this, there's still 3 people to look after 2 people, and assuming that one has to be on the road from point A to point B, we're still holding at 2 people looking after 2 people. This still works unless they have to switch places, which is what happens regularly.
This morning, after all the calling into work happened and my Mother left. I was at home with the 2 year old, who really, by all intents, just can't be left alone. It wouldn't be good. She'd, I don't know, get into markers or something. She'd probably have Bu-Dawgh tied up in the barn and all colored blue. She'd have a grand old time, but in this day and age, you just don't leave 2 year olds unattended. While normally she'd be sleeping until maybe 9 or 10, this morning, she decided to get up with the sun, so hubby had to watch her while I went out and did chores. Easy enough, put her in the tub, she's fairly well contained and old enough to sit and play.
Hubby can watch her while I go to Dad's and then The Mouth can come to my house and babysit the 2 year old while Hubby goes to work.
I need a chart. I need to speak to someone in Human Resources, because sometimes I don't have enough Human Resources to get this all done. You'd think that 5 people vs 2 people would be a hefty enough ratio to avoid all manner of glitches.

We pulled it off, The Mouth and I, got it all under control and now everyone is where they are supposed to be. I feel like I've misplaced someone, or forgotten to feed someone.
But what would life be like if it was all easy and predictable and stuff? It's always good, never boring, and most of the time, it's even fun.

And, this weekend, is the Northern Michigan Fiber Festival at the fairgrounds here. I can't wait. I've had all those bases covered for months. I will go. I will not be in charge of anyone. Let someone else do this for just 2 short days. I will be face down, drooling in yarn.
Deal with it!

I didn't walk this morning again. I'm starting to wonder if the Universe is against me. Having the Universe against you is generally not a good thing. I mean, yeah, I did ask for rain. My asparagus that didn't grow and that I got a refund for needs the rain. My rhubarb needs the rain. My tomatoes and peppers and cukes need the rain. My hay needs the rain. I, however, need the exercise of a daily commute (walk) to work.

After we played rodeo again yesterday afternoon (horses got out) I did the Circle The Fenceline thing. I think there was more fence down than there was up, so we spent a good portion of the night (rain, Pteradactyl sized mosquitos for company)refencing the pasture. This also gave me a chance to rearrange some of the fencing that I've been meaning to get to for the garden.

Had another egg hatch yesterday. Sooooo cute. But, of course only one. I have 3 others scheduled to hatch yesterday but so far nothing. So, I'll have to try to find a few more baby chix to keep this little buk buk company.

So, back to having the Universe at odds with what I want.... Guess we need to be more specific in what we want, such as specifying that it is perfectly fine to rain from 10 pm to maybe 4 am. That will get us the rain we need as well as give me the outside time that I need to get my walking, gardening, farming, haying... done.

Took The Monkey up into the hayloft last night. Well, it was the thing to do, she saw me climb up the ladder into the loft, and I knew she'd be right behind me if I didn't watch her, so..... She had sooooooo much fun climbing around in the hay, jumping from bale to bale and squealing with delight when she'd fall into a small crack. They are so much fun to watch!
And then, after the horses were fed and we were back down on solid ground. She went back to her mother. And this is what I hear: "Don't eat the worms, they are for the baby buk, buks"!!
I laughed so hard. Things you don't ever expect to hear said to a 2 year old little girl!

Hubby brought her home a great big 4 foot tall stuffed cat/bear/something, and she loved it. For about 3 minutes. Then we went back to playing with the frogs (hop hops), tent worms, nightcrawlers and ants. Oh, yeah, she found a nest of baby garter snakes too. This child knows no fear!

Another Busy Weekend!

Much was accomplished this weekend. Lots! An almost insane amount of activity was registered on the "get-er-done o'meter". Scary amounts actually!

Got the chicken coop moved to it's proper location, which means that an old dead tree had to be taken down, the area had to be leveled, and the actual coop moved into it's new home. This translates into big boys getting to play with big toys (ie.. bulldozers, skidders, front end loaders...) That's ok, it had to be done, and if they had fun doing it, at least it's done! Still to do: fence in the area around the coop.

Got most of the garden in. Got the back part of the garden fenced off for the horses, so they've mowed down a lot of the weeds. And part of it rototilled. Still to do: Tonight if it's not raining, I'll do more rototilling and planting.

All of my laundry that I washed and hung out on the line got wetter, because of the torrential downpour that we had 3 times between friday night and this morning. It's still out there. It's still wet. Or wetter, or dripping saturated. It's not dry. Or anywhere near it. Still to do: Wait until it dries out before I hang anything else out there. I'm no physicist, but I do get the concept of water weighted down laundry, vs water spun out laundry.

Got part of the hayloft cleaned out in anticipation of a near record haying season which should start in another 2 weeks or so. (groan). Still to do: reorganize so that the hay that is left from this season is in a spot easy to get to, so that when the loft is filled to capacity, this will be the first hay I feed.

Got a small blow-up pool for the Monkey. Best 4 bucks I ever spent. And of course, I had to show her how to chase her mother around the yard with the hose. 2 yr olds are so trainable! Still to do: hide from her mother as she was not impressed!

Got a bunch more rhubarb picked and frozen. Called Gurneys and got a refund for all the asparagus I ordered from them and never grew. They were GREAT!!! No questions, even after I offered possible fault on my end, no questions at all. Issued me a refund on the spot. Definitely a company to do business with again!! Gurney's rocks!!

I even got to swim in my pool! I love my pool. My pool rocks. It's 15' round above ground. And chemicals or not, it's my lifeline in the summer. I'm a heat wimp, or so I've been told, but when I work out in the garden or am putting up hay, I got to get me cooled down quick and a total immersion in my pool is just the ticket. The water is cold, but after that first initial shock, it's sooooooo refreshing.

Hubby got the hot tub cleaned out and filled up. Still to do: hook up the electrical so it's more than just a big bathtub filled with cold water.

Hubby got the dog run finished. Still to do: Nothing! One project is actually totally completely done! I know, I'm scared too.

Had a tornado yesterday, that was fun. Actually out at our farm it was just an old fashioned thunderstorm with high winds. No biggie, get them regularly this time of year. But in town... yikes! trees down, buildings gone or relocated, cars flipped over or had trees dropped on them. Trees on roofs (rooves?) signs wrapped around trees, or relocated to other stores.. It was quite the event. I'm sure noone was hurt, probably would have heard by now, so that's a good thing. But there are a lot of people who will be getting new porches, roofs (rooves?) and cars.

I didn't walk to work today. It was raining just a bit when I left, but being as how the first mile of my trek is through the woods and meadows, I would have been drenched. Now it's beautiful, but I know it's still soaking wet out there. Tomorrow when I walk, I'll take pictures so you can appreciate the awful hour long commute that this is to become.

Hope you had a good weekend! Tonight, housework if it's raining, more garden stuff if it's not!

I'm so excited! My brother from Colorado will be here today. He'll be here until Wednesday. There is lots of garden, home improvement, critter enhancement... projects scheduled. But... the most important is the obligatory day long bike ride. Last fall we did this on a day that was gorgeous, he rode Hubby's bike and I, of course, rode mine. It was Mid-October, the leaves were in full color and flying all around, and it was around 80. Unseasonably warm for October, but the day was just perfect. We both still talk about that day, so this Holiday weekend we plan to redo it.
Maybe we'll ride over to the Big Lake for lunch.

No, the chickens and turkeys did not get put outside. They stink, they smell and they're flying and running and &$%^-ing all over the bathroom, but last night was knit night so, we do have our priorities. Besides, it's really something that's a two person job and hubby was out playing too. He likes to do the go kart thing and last night he and his buds were playing go karts. So, chix and turks are still inside. Tonight doesn't look good either, I'll probably be with my brother, and hubby will be go-karting again.

Look at this yarn!!! This is my latest score from Yarn Of The Month Club. It's the bamboo ribbon yarn that I hated but couldn't live without. It's soooo soft and when it knits up the drape is just perfect. I don't know what this yarn wants to be when it grows up, it hasn't told me yet, but someday it will make me a real nice something or other.

Update on the Blueberry Issue. I've filed a claim with paypal. I hate to do that, but it's been almost 3 weeks since I've sent my money or even heard from the guy. I'd still rather have the blueberries than my 30 bucks back, but we'll see. I really don't hold out much hope for either. The picture above is the spot hubby cleared for them, guess they'll be for the strawberries now. Next week, probably, we can start putting stuff outside, so I'll get those planted right away.

Our youngest called from Iraq yesterday, he's doing well, things are quiet for now where he is. I'm still pretty scared about the whole ordeal, but with the addition of N and her Monkey to our household, I've been even more distracted than I normally would be. And that's bad. In a good way.

Tomorrow night, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I'll be there! Go Wings!!

The Zoo Expands!

This afternoon this (see left) is going outside!

As is this:


It's warm enough with lights that they can go outside. They can go and stink out there! It's time! The time has come! No More! Baby birds that aren't really all that small anymore can live outside (with lights). The Condo will be moved to the side yard in a fenced in area, complete with old truck topper and the windows in my bathroom will be opened, at least for long enough to air it out. It's getting bad, you walk into the house and you can smell them all across the whole house. You can smell them upstairs. They are smelly in the basement. My house smells like chicken poo! Yuck! It's time.

I don't think I'm going to restain this desk. Of course, that means that I won't get my workroom cleaned up, the walls torn down between the workroom and laundry room, the washer and dryer relocated and the whole she-bang painted. Guess that sequence will have to wait until my next pseudo-project (which will come soon, as Ace (future son-in-law) scored a DEEP DEEP sink at a Habitat For Humanity store for only 10.00. Along with the new sink, I have a new faucet, well, it was new when I bought it, not so much anymore, but it even has one of those fancy sprayer thingees! I love sprayer thingees! And a spot for a lotion or soap dispenser. How cool is that??? But, before that, I have to get a new counter, cause, well, you can't put in a new sink and new faucet and not update the counter, can you? Ok, maybe it's do-able. It's been about 17 yrs since I put in a sink and faucet, maybe that will be a good Next Time Hubby's Gone For A Few Days project.
And, I have help now!

My Monkey LOVES PaPa's slippers, she is soooo cute. It's so much fun to have a youngun' in the house again. Last night she helped me collect eggs when I did chores, put them in a basket and had to run out to the garage to show PaPa. Didn't realize an 18 mo old Monkey could run that fast. Yeah, the eggs never made it to the house, but that's ok, it was too much fun watching her!

Learning a New Language.

Bu-Dawgh here:
When a baby comes into your house, they come with their own personality (this has been proven, however we've not yet been able to break them of it), their own tastes and their own language.

Our recent addition is no exception. And if you take the time to analyze their language, it really does make sense, most of the time.

Monkey points at a chicken and says "buk, buk". Of course, what else would it be? That's the noise it makes, so why would you call it a chicken? And I am "ruff". Makes sense! Blotchaboos are vegetables, yup, I get that, now here's one:
Pockies and Ebo. (for the uninitiated, pancakes and syrup). That one will take some figuring out, but they're still good to lick up off the floor when she drops them. Eggs are eggs, house is house, cat is cat and I, The Bu-Dawgh, want to know why Monkey can play with the "buk, buks" but I can't. And why is she sleeping in my room? And why have I been demoted to the mudroom. And why at night does the monkey get to climb up in mom's lap, that's supposed to be my spot.
I had it good! I was the baby, the only child, for my whole life, and now all of a sudden.....
But, the Monkey is fun to play with, she's more my size than mom is, and she giggles at the weirdest things. She thinks it's hilarious when I yowl at her, and when I pounce on the stuff she drops.

But it's not funny when mom plays with her. She'll grab her and hoist her up in the air and bite at her toes and tummy and she giggles and laughs, but it's not fun for me. Mom used to play with me. I don't remember her ever biting at my tummy or toes, but she would play with me and now she doesn't seem to even notice when I go into my new spot and pout. At least before when I would pout, she would come and talk to me. I'd give her the big brown eyes and I'd pretty much get anything I wanted, but no more. I don't understand why this has changed. I'm a good bu-dawgh, hardly ever chase the buk buks anymore (well, except for this morning when monkey opened the door and I scooted out). I always eat all my dinner, and I help clean off the monkey when she's done with dinner. I supervise when the monkey is in the bathtub, which is huge considering the history that the bathtub and I have, and considering that the baby buk buks are in the bathroom still, that's a bit of a distraction, me being a baby too.

I'm hoping that with time, the attraction of the monkey wears off and I'll once again, be top dog in mom's lap.