Good morning! Snow flurries here this morning, but supposed to turn to rain and warm up later today. It is so strange--we have patches of fairly thick ice with slimy mud underneath. The ground is not frozen.
The meeting with the preacher went well last night. We had some concerns about youth and children's programming within the church, as did other members of our Sunday School class. So we asked the preacher to visit so we could discuss these concerns. He seemed very open to listening to what we brought up and posed a couple of solutions on the spot. Hopefully they will come to pass.
Dance class last night was about like I thought it would be. It is a little frustrating when they announce the performance opportunities first, have the kids sign up for when they are available to dance, and then weeks later add two or three "rehersals" for each performance. We live 35 miles from town. I can't just dash in for a quick rehersal.
So, I mentioned I would explain about the horses... It is just like the old saying about boats, the two happiest days are the day you get them and the day you get rid of them. Although I felt a small twinge of regret, basically I was glad to see them go. They are upgrading their living conditions and moving to a place where the people have more money to devote to their care and are more interested in riding than we are. Although I loved to ride when I was young, I found it to be a somewhat stressful event as the Mommy-In-Charge. I was the one to catch, groom, and tack up all 3 horses. I was exhausted before we even began to ride. Then I was constantly worried that everyone, including the horses, was having a good and safe time while we were riding. I had a hard time finding the joy in such excursions.
The dog thing has been different so far. I also loved dogs as a child. And now, I see that my daughter, Sue, does also. They are so much easier and affordable to keep. And we seem to get so much more return on our emotional investment. They are so loving and it is not all about whether or not we are bearing grain or treats. Although they are not above partaking if food is offered!
So Sue wants to show T. in freestyle classes and Em in agility. She is taking Em to agility training now and doing fairly well. I am trying to figure out what this freestyle thing is all about--what moves are required, what will get you disqualified, how often do you need a new routine, etc. I have blitzed the net gathering information. We are planning to attend some events in April. Hopefully T. will be ready to compete by the end of June.
I think I have decided to generally cover different themes for each day of the week. Mondays-hard core farming issues, Tuesday-family issues, Wednesday-fiber issues (we have sheep, I make felt and spin), Thursday-homeschooling and educational issues, and Friday-dog training issues. I expect there will be lots of drift among the topics and I reserve the right to interject my opinion on absolutely anything that I want to bring up at any time, without warning! So look out!
Have a great day and a fun weekend! We plan to cut firewood for Mom.
Lori
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Opening Salvo
Hello, everyone! This is the first post for this new blog. I have to confess that I am a compulsive writer anyway, so blogging will be a small jump from my notebook to the computer screen. For right now, I am trying to downplay the fact that someone might actually read my pithy thoughts for a change! Of course no one will take them to heart, I'm not expecting miracles.
We live on a small Appalachian hill farm in a rural area. We did have horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, and cats, but we just found the horses a new home. And I am looking for one for the sheep. Can you tell it is the dregs of winter? I'll explain the whole rationale in a later post.
We also have a new indoor puppy, so if I start ranting about potty issues, that is what that is all about. My daughter is planning to learn to show the little darlin' in a new kind of dog showing called canine freestyle. It involves both basic obedience moves plus tricks and is choreographed to music. I expect I'll start ranting about all that also.
From my seat at the computer, looking out the window I see the neighbor's 4 Guinea hens who have adopted us sitting on the cross bar of my clothesline post, looking like a Greek chorus of morose vultures. I can also see our flock of varied egg-laying chickens wandering around pecking at the patches of ground not covered with a thick icy crust and snow. My eye is conditioned to scan the pastures for the horses. I am so glad we found a new home for them but it still feels a little odd to not have them out there. I am so used to doing automatic head counts.
The sky reminds me of one of my other pursuits, feltmaking. I have had it in my mind for a couple of years now to make a scarf with the colors of the winter sky. I wonder, could I get the fiber mill to make some of my huge amount of roving into batts? I may call around to see. Those glorious colors keep taunting me.
Today is our errand afternoon in town. I will hit the grocery store and then on to Sue's Irish dance lesson. St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner and the goup is planning a number of performances, so I'm expecting near pandemonium at the studio. But we have to leave on time to be home for a visit by our preacher. More on that later also.
So...this is who I am. A busy wife, mother, homeschooling sheepfarmer who tries to fit it all in and make it all work. Welcome to my blog! Hopefully you will be enlightened, amused, provoked to thought, and enjoy our association. I hope I will not become some textbook cautionary tale about what not to do! See you tomorrow morning. I'll be the one with wild hair, in barbed-wire picked sweats, drinking iced tea no matter how cold it is outside. 'Til then!
Lori
Hello, everyone! This is the first post for this new blog. I have to confess that I am a compulsive writer anyway, so blogging will be a small jump from my notebook to the computer screen. For right now, I am trying to downplay the fact that someone might actually read my pithy thoughts for a change! Of course no one will take them to heart, I'm not expecting miracles.
We live on a small Appalachian hill farm in a rural area. We did have horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, and cats, but we just found the horses a new home. And I am looking for one for the sheep. Can you tell it is the dregs of winter? I'll explain the whole rationale in a later post.
We also have a new indoor puppy, so if I start ranting about potty issues, that is what that is all about. My daughter is planning to learn to show the little darlin' in a new kind of dog showing called canine freestyle. It involves both basic obedience moves plus tricks and is choreographed to music. I expect I'll start ranting about all that also.
From my seat at the computer, looking out the window I see the neighbor's 4 Guinea hens who have adopted us sitting on the cross bar of my clothesline post, looking like a Greek chorus of morose vultures. I can also see our flock of varied egg-laying chickens wandering around pecking at the patches of ground not covered with a thick icy crust and snow. My eye is conditioned to scan the pastures for the horses. I am so glad we found a new home for them but it still feels a little odd to not have them out there. I am so used to doing automatic head counts.
The sky reminds me of one of my other pursuits, feltmaking. I have had it in my mind for a couple of years now to make a scarf with the colors of the winter sky. I wonder, could I get the fiber mill to make some of my huge amount of roving into batts? I may call around to see. Those glorious colors keep taunting me.
Today is our errand afternoon in town. I will hit the grocery store and then on to Sue's Irish dance lesson. St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner and the goup is planning a number of performances, so I'm expecting near pandemonium at the studio. But we have to leave on time to be home for a visit by our preacher. More on that later also.
So...this is who I am. A busy wife, mother, homeschooling sheepfarmer who tries to fit it all in and make it all work. Welcome to my blog! Hopefully you will be enlightened, amused, provoked to thought, and enjoy our association. I hope I will not become some textbook cautionary tale about what not to do! See you tomorrow morning. I'll be the one with wild hair, in barbed-wire picked sweats, drinking iced tea no matter how cold it is outside. 'Til then!
Lori
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