County Livestock Show Fun

The county beef show was this past weekend. The grandchildren who live up on the hill next door had their parents take their cattle to the Ag Expo Park for the show. They got things settled in - bedded the space, set up fans, put out some hay, rinsed the cattle, and tied them in. Then, it was over to another barn and the 4-H project chicken sale to sell the chickens they'd raised for the boys and mama, Bonnie. Dad and Abby Lee were off to their softball scrimmage. The Mister, grandfather, was left to keep watch over the cattle.

Later, the Mister returned home and had a snack before we loaded into the truck and headed over for the cattle show. First, came the showmanship classes. Abby Lee participated in the Pee Wee class. She did a good job, thanks to the coaching of older brother, Levi, and a docile Hereford heifer named Kaitlyn.

Then, it was Levi's turn to show in the Junior showmanship class, followed by Easton's turn to show in the Explorer class. Then, it was time for the heifer classes. First, Levi showed the registered Angus heifer they had raised. 

She and Levi worked their way up to Reserve Champion Angus heifer. It is always rewarding to win an award with an animal that was born and raised on the family farm.

Levi and Kaitlyn returned to the ring for her class. Together, they earned Champion Hereford Heifer honors and Reserve Supreme Champion Heifer 

The steer show followed the heifer show. Easton and his steer, AJ, shined in their class. The steer was sort of a middle-weight calf. 

Levi and his heavyweight steer also caught the judge's eye for a little extra attention. All in all it was a wonderful experience for the kiddos and their family. Even dad was all smiles back in the barn.

We were all smiling big smiles as they loaded up the cattle and equipment to head back across the county toward home. It was loads of fun and quite rewarding for all of us. Let's hope that everyone is still smiling after the sale of the steers on Thursday!

Just 3 Things | #35

Summertime is here at last. The days are hot and muggy but we have enjoyed a shower or two every now and again. On days like these, I'm just glad I no longer have fifty cows to milk each morning and afternoon!

- What I've Been Reading -

I truly love reading almost more than anything else in this world. I like to find a character that I enjoy or learn about a person who intrigues me. I love learning about events and places. I always have questions and look forward to finding the answers. My daughter, Bridgette, and I discussed this recently. She and her younger two daughters had a wonderful opportunity to take a bus trip out west and saw so many wondrous things. She messaged me and told me that she had sort of become like me and would read and learn more about places and things she was seeing or was getting ready to see the next day. Her reading would cause her to pose more questions and she would have to search and find answers to those as well. 

Luci, Bridgette, and Lydia on their wild west tour!

She would send me photos of the wondrous things she was seeing and I would have questions. Some of them she knew the answers for and others we wound up searching online to find some sort of answer. I've never travelled to the part of the world where they went last week. So, I was intrigued by the things she was photographing and sharing. Was Old Faithful 'on time' with the spewing? How hot are the hot springs? What causes the hot springs? Is that basically just like a volcano? How did they build the walkways without getting injured by the hot springs? Oh, I had loads of questions and she said she did as well!

I find myself doing that sort of thing on the daily. When I read my morning news feeds, I will question something related to what I am reading and go down multiple rabbit holes learning more in relation to the subject at hand. So, I'm glad to know that the pursuit of knowledge is working in the next generation.

- What I've Been Loving -

I am a firm believer that every single person needs to find something that brings them joy and engage in that pursuit of joy. I also firmly believe that we need to be grateful for the opportunities and blessings that are provided for us. There are so many things that bring me joy and I have so very much to be grateful for!

As I was pursuing one of those joyful opportunities in my office/sewing room this week, I looked out the window and saw a mother deer and her baby go strolling by in our yard. I guess that means I enjoyed a two-for. Daily, I find that I am thankful for the opportunity to be retired and enjoy slow days, days when I can just pick up and go visiting my children and grandchildren like I did this past week, and days when the only real work I have to do is picking up things the Mister and I have left out or sweeping the floor where we have tracked in or washing the mound of clothes we have dirtied. 

I've also been finding I'm thankful for the means to purchase a fancy sewing/embroidery machine and having the time to putter and play with it to see what sorts of things I can create. I believe we all sort of come alive when we are creating something or crafting something. I also believe that we truly enjoy time spent with those we love and I am ever so grateful for those opportunities as well. 

This past week I got to go watch our oldest grandson play ball.  I got to see him pitch a no-hitter and to hit a couple of home runs - true home runs. I was informed a couple of years ago that when he scored on errors, it didn't really count as a home run. He said, "You know Grand B, it's not really a home run until you hit it over the fence!"

Bryan, Jessica, Linley, and Harris, the homerun hitter

I guess I can say that this week I really and truly loved the retirement life more than any other stage I've enjoyed in life so far. We celebrated the Mister for Father's Day with my bonus son and his children, I was enjoying the updates from the travelers via pictures and text messages. Then, I got the pleasure of visiting with my son and his crew doing something the entire family seems to enjoy. What a great week!

- What I've Been Working On -

Maybe I'm a cheapskate but I don't like to throw away something that I feel certain I might use at a later date. That causes problems for me, though. I like for things to be organized. I seem to function better when things have a place and most things are in their place. Yet, when I save fabric scraps, that seems to cause me problems. I know that a large fabric scrap might be just what I need for a project and I would never think of tossing it in the trash. Yet, I'm finding that smaller fabric scraps can come in handy as well but, how is the best way to store all of those smaller fabric scraps? For that matter, what is the best way to store all of the larger fabric scraps? 

I love having the fabric scraps. For all of these projects that I have completed lately I have just been using my scraps. It is wonderful because I don't have to spend money on fabric and I generally wind up with something really nice. (Of course, sometimes a scrap of fabric is combined with a stabilizer and thread and winds up just being a mess. I will practice a couple of things on it. I will try out an idea there. Then, into the trash it is tossed. That part of having a stash of fabric scraps has been great. The storage of usable fabric scraps just isn't working out to my liking.

So, this week I have been trying to get my sewing supplies organized better. I'm not feeling very successful at getting organized either. When my mother was a seamstress, she had large bags of fabric scraps. She would take time and sort them by color every now and again. Then, when a project called for a small piece of blue fabric, she would dig around in the blue fabric bag till she found what she needed. I've tried doing something similar with large, clear, plastic tubs. I fold the larger pieces and sort of roll the smaller pieces of fabric. However, when I dig around in the tub, all of it seems to just become a jumbled mess. So, for the largest pieces of fabric, I've folded them and hung them on a hanger. Medium sized pieces get folded and stacked in a tub. Smaller pieces just seem to go into a tub as a jumble. 

There has to be a better way. I am determined to find it. I hope the idea comes to me soon. 

2026 Snowmaggeddon Day #5

We are hanging in there and I am thankful to learn that many of our neighbors who were without power have now had it restored. We cannot imagine what it has been like for those power company employees. Navigating through the icy roads and walking and scotching on the ice to cut up the fallen and drooping icy trees; then, replacing broken power poles and lines. We are grateful for them and their dedication to serving others.

SOMEBODY had cabin fever a couple of days ago and just had to get out! One of the kiddos gave him a tall walking stick. So, he trekked out to the barn where he had parked the ATV buggy and truck. He motored round the ponderosa checking things out. Then, moved his truck and parked it at the basement entrance where it is close to the house with less iciness and threat for him to slip and fall.

The neighbor widow called and asked him if he would mind driving her down to the little township - about 5 miles - to work yesterday. She didn't have to be there till ten o'clock in the morning. So, he delivered her and picked her up at the end of her shortened day. 

In one of the check-in phone calls to my son who lives two hours west of us, we learned that he and his brother-in-law had trekked out to get refills of fuel for their generators. I told my daughter-in-law that I would love to have been a fly on the wall watching them. I'm sure it was about like watching two thirteen-year-old boys out on their own. They had tales to tell. One of the tales included picking up a woman and delivering her to a friend's house. 

He sent me some photos showing where they trekked and how the roads looked.

A View Through Son's Windshield

Another Windshield View

They drove under trees that were overhanging the road and saw lots of ice and snow damage.

I'm not so certain that driving under this tree was a wise move but sometimes it is better not to know what one's grown children do.

My daughter-in-law said that they are piling into one room with both children sleeping on pallets. They turned off the big generator and only ran a smaller one to keep that room warm. She said that during the night the kitchen and den area dropped about twenty degrees or more. They could see their breath! But, turning the big generator on brought the temperature back up really quickly.

One little family member got a tent for Christmas. So, she bedded down in her tent in the family bedroom and added about five coverlets to her space. She told me that she was so cozy in there that she had even sweated!

We are still lifting up grateful thoughts and hopeful thoughts for those who are still without power and are feeling stuck. We are also lifting up grateful thoughts for those folks who are out there working diligently to restore and repair damage caused by the storm. 

Stay warm and be careful out there!

Just 3 Things | #11

After taking some time away from my computer, I'm back and ready to share what's been going on around here. Doesn't it seem sort of like the world is turning a bit faster right now than usual? Everybody I know has been busy, busy, busy! Tis the season, I guess.

- What I'm Reading - 

I've been reading another Mary Kay Andrews book, Irish Eyes. This follows on the heels of reading three short stories that are within the Callahan Garrity series, Killer Fudge, Fatal Fruitcake, and The Family Jewels. 

It has been sort of relaxing to go through a series like this. I haven't done so in a long, long time. I sort of feel like I visit old friends or binge watching a series on television as I'm reading. I've also been reading several blogs that fill my email box. I have enjoyed several virtual home tours, lots of shopping suggestions, and just reading what is going on n the lives of other bloggers.

- What I'm Loving -

Mike and I have enjoyed a neighbor's handywork a couple of weeks in a row. One of our new neighbors is a baker, crafting and selling sourdough breads. The first week we got a traditional sourdough boule from her. We enjoyed ham and cheese sandwiches, a hunk of bread with our stew, toast, and more. The next week we tried a sourdough loaf and a sourdough loaf with Rosemary. Both were absolutely delicious. 

First Try Farm

If you are in our area, I'd recommend her yummy bread. It is a special treat. We feel fortunate to have her as a neighbor and I look forward to trying the Jalapeno Cheddar and the Everything Bagel flavors. Of course, it is hard to beat the traditional loaf. Yum, yum.

I remember having a sourdough starter years ago when the children were young. It was always a delicious treat on bread-making day. I recall trying the dough out as rolls, sweet rolls, loaves, and all sorts of ways. Then, I noticed the pounds creeping up on the scale each day and decided that I didn't need to be a sourdough baker anymore!

- What I'm Working On - 

Since the last Friday, Just 3 Things post, I have been Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, and tracking packages. When you have eighteen folks in your immediate family - children, spouses, and grandchildren - that's a lot of gifting. I do love it, though. 

I like it best when each one gives me a list. That helps me to know their tastes, their sizes, and their interests. I have the opportunity to pick things directly from their list, especially when they send me one with links - the best way to get a list! I also have the opportunity to pick things that are not on their list but might fit in nicely with their interests. 

We try to follow the gifting 'rules' of including the following:

• Something they want
• Something they need
• Something to wear
• Something to read

I also like to include surprises as well. The grandchildren seem better at getting their lists to me than their parents. But, the grown up lists have been so helpful this year. I hope the concept has caught on and they like the system as well. I love that they give such a broad variety of items for me to choose from and price ranges to pick from as well. Even our little second grader created her own list and sent it along to me using her mother's phone. Hers was the first list I worked through and selected items from and I think she's going to love the things I picked from it and the things I added as surprises!

Ribbon Central

So, the delivery trucks have been rolling in here for the past couple of weeks like we were a main thoroughfare. Mike jokingly told somebody that the Amazon truck ran into the FedEx truck and the UPS truck got stuck trying to go around them. Of course, it hasn't been quite that busy but we have had as many as five deliveries per day sometimes. 

Boxes

All that means that I've been doing something I really don't like - wrapping. Oh, I love the look of a pretty wrapped gift. I love giving them. I love seeing them all stacked together. I love watching the recipients tear into it with excitement and the look of surprise and happiness on their faces when they discover what is inside. The wrapping, though, tends to cause back aches and is very time consuming. At this point, I am well over half done. So, the downhill slide is enjoyable and below is a quick cellphone shot.

The Stack - So Far

It has been really cold here. So, wrapping gifts has been a good thing to do on these cold, rainy, sleet-filled days. I didn't want to be outside anyway! Hope your week has been cozy and warm and dry.

Happy Birthday, Bryan!

Hope you have a great day and wonderful year ahead!

Happy Birthday, Jessica!

 

Hope this is your best year ever!

Happy Birthday, Stephen!

 

Hope you have a great one!

Happy Birthday, Bonnie!

 

Happy Birthday, Corey!

 

Hope it is as full of wonderfulness as you are!

Mama Wrote a Book!

 A couple of years ago I stumbled upon an advertisement for a memoir publishing service. I decided that it would make a great gift. First, I would give my mother the gift of a subscription where the company would send her an email once per week for a year and she would write a memory or a story from her life. Then, at the end of the year, I could get a published copy to give her and a couple of copies to give my children. 

The company whose subscription I gave to my mother is called Storyworth. (I am not being compensated in any way for this post.) I gifted it to her at Mother's Day. It was a really good experience for Mama and me. It worked out well that I got to pick through some questions that the company suggests at their website. I also could update some of the suggested questions to make them fit my mother's experiences a little better. Finally, I could just create a question on my own, if I wanted to do so. 

It also worked out well for my mother in that she only got one question or prompt per week. They sent her an email on Monday and she had time to think about what she wanted to write and also time to actually write, revise, and update what she wrote. 

Once she finished writing, we could upload photos that would accompany the story. I could add brief notes to expand the story and include a bit more information. I could also proofread her story to check for simple errors that we all make such as misspellings or leaving out a word.

As the year went along and Mama wrote her memories, sometimes when I read the new chapter, I would smile because I knew the story and had chosen that particular prompt or question so that the story would be captured and shared. Sometimes I would smile or even laugh out loud because the story or the accompanying photos would be something new that I had never known about my mother.

Of course, having a year's subscription meant that she wrapped up her writing in May of last year. Then, during the summer, we read and revised all her stories, when needed. We added photos and moved stories around a bit so that there was some flow to the book and so that there would not be blank white pages with no photos or stories. The platform provided by Storyworth was really user-friendly and the editing took a little time but was really easy.

Then, I ordered the complementary book that came with the subscription with the intention that I could read the hard copy and make edits, if needed. When the hardback copy came, I was so impressed with it that I didn't really feel the need to make edits. Oh, there might be some punctuation or capitalization errors in it but no more than can be found in any published book, really.

So, we ordered more copies. I ordered copies for each of my children and Mama got copies for my sister and her family. 

I would strongly encourage anybody to take advantage of such an experience. In our case, the book turned out wonderfully. My mother is pleased with how it turned out. My two children were both excited to get their copy of the book. They have both read it and truly enjoyed recalling some of the stories that were a part of their lives and were glad to learn new things about their grandmother and the times in which she lived.