Top O' Da Marnin' To Ya

I've been working on Flax samples. Trying to catch up and get them done and out of the way. I still have a little bit to do today to finish them up but three days goes by awfully fast and I figured I had better get back here and let you all know I'm alive and kickin'... or on the green side of the sod as my Pops would say.

All is well on this home front...
Lambs..... check. Bouncing around like bean cakes.
Forest fires... check. Out and not a bother any more. We even made the CBC news.
Mother's day... check. A fine day to share with my family.
Hay.... check. We have enough to go on with for now. 2 bales and one more coming.
Swollen ankle.... check. Gone down though still a little swelling there. Hopefully improving.

Ok so what did I not write about out of that. Lambs... well you've all seen them by now. Fanny in the end popped them out like there was nothing to it. The only thing I can figure is that she must have gotten pregnant right before the ram left the pen for the winter and even then she would have been a little overdo. Still, she had them and all is well. The story on their names goes like this.... the day they were born two of my friends from FSJ were visiting and one of them said that Fanny looked like she was going to have them at any second. That night they were born so I had to call one of my friends and let her know that Fanny had finally given birth... we were talking about names and she suggested that Rene was a good name which just happens to be my friend's name. Worked for me... so I named the lambs after my two friends that were here and predicted Fanny's imminent birth. Rene and Linda are great wee lambs though they are not always sure about Honeydew (the llama) and look up at her like she's a serious giant.

Forest fires. Almost. Last week on Thursday I'm sitting in the living room working on flax when I hear the fire trucks heading out the highway. Usually this is significant since we lose lots of people in accidents on the highway between here and FSJ, and if the vehicles involved catch fire then our volunteer fire department gets called out. It wasn't till later by about an hour or so that I noticed a very hazy sky which turned out to be of course smoke. The smoke seemed to be coming from a source quite close to my house! Alarm bells went off in my head and I thought I had better go and investigate.  I took a walk down through my property and discovered that there were several fire trucks and whole pascal of firefighters working diligently to keep a grass fire getting into the trees. In particular the trees of my next door neighbour's house and the crown land to the west of us. It was quite a shock to see fire so bad that close to us.  One of the fire fighters who is a close friend of the family came over to my fence line to talk to me. He let me know that if it got into the trees that I would be evacuated. Well I kept my fingers crossed and took faith that these boys who were friends and neighbours were doing their best to keep the fire out of the trees. All I could think about was, "how in the hell am I going to get out of here without a car or anything." and,  "What will I do with all of my animals." I stood there all afternoon watching and waiting as the fire flared up in the wind and then died down and then flared up again and firefighters dragged hoses and poured water all around the perimeter. Finally Teapot came home from school and we walked around the fire area at one point we caught flames starting to lick up a tree and almost reaching the branches. teapot grabbed some snow and put those flames out and then we saw a quad coming checking the tree line and putting out hot spots as he went.  As evening came on the wind died down and slowly out went the fire... though there were logs burning for two days afterwards. I'm glad we didn't get evacuated. Here's a little map to give you an idea of how the flames went...

You can click on it to enlarge it.

Mother's Day was spent on the deck enjoying sunshine and family... and I didn't spin one darn thing.

Hay we picked up the second bale and have one more to get... that hopefully will be enough to see us through to the summer and the new hay season and hopefully it won't be so bad this year. Hopefully hay will be more plentiful.

Swolen ankle... or ankles... yeah not sure what that one is about. It has been a little bit of a worry as heart issues are prevalent in my family and for the first time in my life I'm completely out of shape and needing to walk and get my self in better shape. It also could be because of damage to my leg from falling through the floor in the winter and doing some pretty bad damage to my leg since on of my legs was swelling worse than the other.So now it is diet time in earnest and get myself in shape in earnest and... crap.... I might as well face it... I'm getting old. I have to get off my arse more and stop spinning long enough to go for a walk... right?! Right! (sigh) Well spring is here and the trails are finally clear so I will be walking more now... let's hope that helps.

Today is a fine morning and the grass is turning green though the trees have stopped their growth since there hasn't been rain in ages and the snow has melted and there's nothing for them to grow on... I see I will be praying for rain daily again this year. I think I could move to a wetter region easily.

Rain please come soon....

What A Day!

Yesterday was a busy day here for me. I headed out the door in the morning with Teapot and the Daughters and never got home till after four o'clock. I had been asked by the museum committee to help judge the Heritage Fair at the school. I was on my feet all day talking to kids about their history displays etc... It was quite interesting talking to kids from grade 3 to grade 7 and what their concept of what history is. At one point I walked up to one station and the girl, who was about 12 years of age started talking about Paul Brandt.... "PAUL BRANDT," I thought, "How in the hell is he a historical figure!" Then I wanted to start laughing when she told me that he was born in 1972!!! My reaction was, "Ulp! Am I that old?!" It is quite interesting to see how kids think. Then last night was the Peace Liard Juried Art Exhibit and you will remember that I had a couple of paintings in that. I didn't win anything... which I wasn't really expecting... I knew that my art would be a step away from what normally appeals.... normally people pick realism and pottery and occasionally they'll step out of the norm and pick some kind of print or a sculpture.... but I was hoping that the judge would make some kind of comment as they usually do.... but evidently that is not to be due to the amount of time it would take to do everybody's art work so I'm not going to get any comments or feedback on my work. D-mn! That's why I put it in the show in the first place. However, I did hook up with another lady who finished art school at Emily Carr and she and I critiqued each other's work. Then we had a discussion on how odd balls are a cog in the wheel. Then she told me about making a paper wedding dress in art school and breaking porcelain and putting it back together as a woman gluing herself together.... I liked that one. We discussed ideas about art and what art means to us... it was quite interesting actually. When Teapot and I left we met another gentleman who is here in HH to open up a new restaurant for the community and so we got into a good discussion about food etc.... and what would be good for this community. Another favourable moment for the day, as in the end, I agreed to sell him some lamb... not for the restaurant but for him personally.  So I came home last night completely pooped and with no samples finished for my level 4 homework.

Speaking of level 4 a good friend came to my house this week for a day of spinning and had a look at my book. She suggested nicely that I might want to redo my flax samples. ARGH! I thought that was behind me.... and then she said its my attitude that's keeping me from getting flax right. I have to love my flax... I grabbed a bag of flax which I promptly hugged, but it was all fake because I HATE FLAX and that ain't ever going to change... but flax samples here I come and I'm at it again and actually I'm seeing a little improvement from the ones I did back in the winter. Still it is holding up my work on the 150 hour project. I'll be glad when everything is done and I can really start on the 150 hour project in earnest. 

So today I am off to buy hay. Then I'm going to Mudder's and Pop's place for lobster luncheon, in the effort to celebrate Mother's day which is not till tomorrow but the lobsters came on a plane from down east yesterday and needed to be cooked and eaten quickly.... you can't cook lobster that died in transit... not healthy at all. Then I'm going to do some more work.... and maybe tomorrow I'll go for a picnic.

So shower and hay first.... and that's an update on my life.... what's happening in yours?!

FINALLY... After Many Long Weeks!

Born last night at about 10:30 p.m., introducing.....

Rene is on the left and Linda is on the right.

The only stupid thing I did was put down wood chips in the barn before I realized that I should put hay down and the stupid mom has wood chips all over her wool. But meanwhile the lambs look healthy and they are sweet....

Dear O Dear O Dear : (

What on earth are they thinking about.... I won't say any names because the last time I used the name of the pres to the south, I was monitored for several days.... (sorry about being so stupidly cryptic)! Bodies... preses... and stupidity... unfortunately, seems to be the norm these days. The one who has been hiding... and died recently.... was a man that many respected and loved, and in many eyes around the world is deserving of a respectful burial... why don't they just leave well enough alone and treat the body respectfully.... he might have been heinous, but not everyone feels the same way that our southern neighbours do...  And it would go a long way to showing Christian ideals and kindness.... not to mention head off some other problems that might arise.  I'm quite honestly sick of the double standard... if the shoe was on the other foot how would we feel?

I think I'll go turn off the radio for a few days till this all calms down.

A Whole Heap Of Mess

Whoa... sometimes things just get away from me and it always seems to be when I'm hard at work on my homework.... which I have been for the last few days. I look around me today and I'm wondering who planted the bomb in my life and when did it go off.

I have managed to finish two of my binders for the level 4 homework but there's a whole pile of samples that haven't been written up and are just partially labeled, and on top of that they are sitting in a tangle on top of my binder. It's a mess and every day I think I will get to that work and straighten it out, but it never seems to happen. Just as I start to get on top of things they get away from me again.  I have three samples left before I get to the 150 hour project.  I thought I'd have them done too but that doesn't seem to have panned out.

Then there is my house which has so much dog and cat hair drifting out from under the couch that even the dust bunnies are starting to complain that they are getting fat. And Murphy, who's been living under the china cabinet for the last 6 months, is starting to shriek in fear.  I only did spring cleaning a month ago and you'd never know that I had pulled out all the furniture and wiped down the log walls... every thing has a nice coat of dust all over it. It's scary how housework never is done... a very unforgiving task.

We won't go near politics.... that's just a whole heap of mess that I'm not even going to try to address.

Am I going for level 5.... your guess is as good as mine.... it all has to do with money at this point. Car?... forget it till the fall! On and on I could go... it's all a mess that I just can't face right now.

So yes, my life at the moment seems to be a whole heap of mess... with no end in sight. Sucks to be me! Arggh!

Politics

Scary!

Ever Lovin' Romance.... The Cultivated Kind... The Kind That Makes A Family Grow

I find myself this morning with reflections of romance on my mind.... (and no it is not because of the Royal Wedding).  I find myself in a bit of a situation. This weekend coming up is Mother's Day, and that has some meaning in this house. Maybe the meaning we give it is different from yours... but it does have some significance here. A have a little rant about to happen... so if you're not up for it you may want to direct your blog reading in another direction!

I find myself having done something that I don't regret at the moment but may in the future.... nah I don't regret ever sticking my foot in my mouth... I try to look at it later with humour.... but I really try hard not to regret it.

A few weeks ago an email came to us letting us know that the Mother's day weekend would be a wonderful weekend for a campout for the Junior Canadian Rangers here in Hudson's Hope. I totally disagreed..... well at least for me. What a stupid time to have a campout. The very day that mother's want to be made to feel like they count for something... This email made some derogatory remark (which was a bit of a cop out if you ask me... a bit of a lame excuse if you ask me) about the best gift you can give any mother is a day to herself.... aaaah WRONG! That might work for a mother who has spent the last 8 months changing stinky diapers and avoiding barf on her clothes. Not me. I like my kids.... I like my husband. I like spending time with them.

Some clarifying:
You can love people and not like them.... for instance (nope that won't work.... lets try this again). There are people in my life that I love but don't like.... how can that be you say.... well love involves a depth of gratitude in some instances... love involves obligation in some instances... you can love people because of their connection to you but not really like the type of person they are. Are you getting my drift? Perhaps you love a person who is connected to you in some way but not like them because they have a particularly negative outlook on life. Maybe you dislike them because they undermine your self confidence but you still love them because you owe them a depth of gratitude because they have a connection to you.  For instance... supposing you were in a plane crash and there were only two survivors, of which you were one, and the plane crashed in the forest and you had a broken leg and you had to rely on the other person to help find your way back to civilization. You could come to love the other person because they support you and help to save your life. But then supposing after all was said and done and you made it back to civilization and you found out that that person was a dog kicker or had some other equally heinous nasty quality.... you would love them but not like them. So you see you can love someone and not like them at the same time. (I realize this is a somewhat lame example but I really don't want to go into greater explanation since I don't want to drag in any mud personal or otherwise here.)

I happen to like my family.... I also love my family. The Daughters, I love because I'm a mom and I just naturally love my Daughters... I can't imagine what life would be like without them or if I lost them and I can't even think about that since my heart constricts and and I start having trouble breathing when I think about my children not... well we won't even go there. Like any mom I want the best for my children... and I hate to see them suffer... this is love I think. Likewise Teapot is the love of my life... he is my sun, moon, and stars.... What's nice is that in addition to this I like them too. Daughter#1 has a lot about her to like. She is smart and funny, pretty, helpful and can really fart to contend with her father and takes great pride in that.... (I hope she doesn't read this) and Daughter #2 is sensitive and hilarious at times and very smart  as well as pretty too.... she's also is willing to comb my hair and paint my toenails.... gotta love and like that.  Teapot is interesting and funny and down to earth, well grounded, active, likes a lot of the same things that I do, has a positive attitude, willing to listen and supportive.... I could go on and on.... all very likable aspects. We work at our marriage. We spend time together as a couple and as a family. It hasn't always been perfect but no family life is... we've had our bumps along the way with health and teenage blues.... adjustments for likes and dislikes that we don't share but for the most part our family loves and likes each other.

Back To Original Topic:

Since both Teapot and Daughter #1 are involved with the Hudson's Hope JCR (Junior Canadian Rangers) I knew when I received that email that there would be some conflict... so to head off any disappointment I decided to have a chat with Teapot and establish feelings before any promises were made. I talked to him about Mother's Day and asked if he really wanted to go on the trip. He said no... so at least we were on the same page.  So we ignored the email and carried on about our business making our own plans for the Mother's Day weekend. It involves cooking lobsters and maybe a picnic if weather permits and possibly a trip for hay. Maybe even a sheared sheep or two.

This morning we get another email requesting help with this great JCR campout weekend because it is all planned and there are kids coming from all over the place not just our community and they don't have enough chaperones/Rangers to help out. 

My nostrels began flaring!!!!

First of all I was pissed off that they would word the email as an obligatory thing... they assumed that Teapot would fall in with this idea and that it would be all great... and being the nice guy, Teapot would feel bad that they don't have enough chaperones/leaders and go on this campout weekend.....

NOT!

I sent an answering email and this may be where some small amount of regret may come in... I worded it thus...

"Teapot is NOT going. It is MOTHER"S DAY... and I am the mother of his children. We have stuff planned so he will not be there... Find someone else. F"

My only regret is that Teapot may be thought of as pussy whipped and I hate for anyone to think of him that way.

As I said, I like spending time with my family. We have an obligation as two married people to try to remain friends as well as lovers. I do not want to wake up some day after my children have grown up and moved away and see the man lying next to me as a stranger. I want to be able to look across at him and know that he is my friend and confidant. I want to be able to say that I like him.... and I want to look at my children a like them too instead of resenting that they took everything out of me for the supposedly best years of my life without giving anything back.  I want a real Mother's day where I am happy to have those that I love all around me careing for me just as I care for them. Is that too much to ask?

JCRs be damned... you can't have them.... they are mine.... at least for this weekend.