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Last week I challenged Lynda to use up some of our old stash of product & mix it with new. Here's what she came up with.
love these 4 x 6 page protectors
and a sneak peek of the June STYLE
Way to go, Da!!!
Hope you all had a good weekend! More on mine tomorrow!! Happy SUNSHINE!!!!!
Be ready for a long winded one today!
Where to start...
So yesterday morning we had a pretty good bunch to AI. Working cattle in mud knee deep, always is a fun experience. Just the walking without loosing your shoe and/or tipping over is a trick.
When the cattle come through the alley before they go in the box to be inseminated my official job is to read the tag, write down the number and give shots before letting them into the box. All fine and dandy of a job overall other that the fact that sometimes the reading tag thing is a bit tricky. There are certain colors of tags that are near impossible to see, others hand written on that you wonder who the heck wrote that number, and then there are the ones COVERED IN MUD! (That would be the case in point yesterday) Oh and just so you know if you don't get the number, you hold up progress AND EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR YOU!!!
You might also know that when I am at home I generally am wearing a cap. Lazy! YES! Hair out of your face when your outside! YES! And really who wants to comb their hair for the cows first thing in the morning. Of course I have my favs..... a good one for dress...(like when you get in late have to go somewhere quick, or for when your hair is not meant for HUMIDITY!) and a FAVORITE FOR WORK!
Now, I learned a long time ago a little trick when the cow won't stand still for you to read her tag is you take your hat off and put it in front of their face. It generally catches their attention long enough for you to be able to grab the number off the tag. Trick working well until the VERY LAST girl in the stall, whose tag is completely MUD! (meaning scrub before reading) (oh and of course the last one in is usually a bit more antsy!) So I try the trick, and she actually looks, starts sniffing, decides she likes my hat so much that she starts to eat it (all the while holding the hat in one hand trying to rub the mud off with the other) and then pulls it out of my hand and of course it tumbles into a pile of ooey gooey mud!! My FAVORITE BAKER MT ANGUS WORK HAT RUINED!!! I am crushed when I say I can wash it and Brad says I MUST THROW IT!! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE ACTUALLY HAD THIS FAVORITE HAT!!!!! ~~ CRUSHED I SAY!!! (but pink and muddy #$## STUFF DON'T REALLY GO HAND IN HAND!)
Ok not that I am complaining about the mud. I know lots of people that have houses flooding, just saw an ariel view of Lodge Grass flooding and of course am happy to report that this is the road to the house to get Dad's cattle out to get to the Valley this weekend
Hoping it dries out soon! Everyone is getting anxious to get out of here. We ship the heifers we AI'd today and Lyn and Jess are on their way to the Valley as we speak. Cows will have to wait till the water stops running.
On a Happy NOTE ~~ How about the sunshine this morning!
Boy you sure don't realize how much you miss it till you see it! Oh what it does for my soul! I have to say Spring is my favorite time of the year. I am not much of a beach baby so soon I will be complaining because it is toooooo hot (hopefully). But spring temperature is (GENERALLY) perfect weather. And I love nothing more than seeing all the trees in bloom. This year they are so beautiful. Yesterday on the way back to the house the trees just got me, and I had to get my camera and run back.
and the lilacs (my all time fav) are about to pop!
AHHH SPRING!
And for those of you dreaming of summer....
These may just be the most incredible beach bags ever.
(how cute is this one hanging on my hook by my bling belt ~~ LOVE IT!)
these are just a few of the choices, (I just had to see which one looked cutest on my hook ~~ Picture does no justice)
So lets all just dream about a weekend full of sun, warmth (no wind) (or rain) a favorite hat, heck a favorite drink and some charming beach bags!!! Oh and the last day of school for Anna (more on that later)
Happy Memorial Day Weekend friends!
or shirts
or just something so entirely cute to hang on a hook one can hardly stand it! Love these!!!!
or shirts. We have LOTS of beautiful ones to chose from! How can you go wrong with these??!!
and my girl has some awesome girl power too
How sweet is that!!~how sweet are they all....
We just got these fun new books in at Sisters & taking a "hint" from Kenadie's "show & share", I've marked my favorite pages.
and, because I love Stephanie Howell
Speaking of "show & share", Kenadie got to spend last Saturday at Sisters with her mom & did her first "official" scrapbook page ALL by herself.
LOVE EVERYTHING about it. The banner with her name on it, bling on the corners, ribbon, thread tied in a bow, cutting the grass & the green water which grows flowers (and fish.) And, yes, she had to take it to preschool for "show & share" this week. (Would have loved to be a mouse in the corner for that).
We have all been awaiting the arrival of Charlie the Ranch Dog. Ree's (Pioneer woman) wonderful new children's book about her dog Charlie.
Well wait no longer.
I can't think of any ranch I know that doesn't have a COW DOG. Must admit they go hand in hand. Not really sure why that is. I guess originally it came from the need to have a dog to do the work of another man when moving cattle about. The only problem with this is while I have seen some dogs that are incredible working with cattle, I have seen MORE, MANY, MANY MANY MORE, that aren't.
Ree has captured this perfectly in her sweet little book on the life of Charlie. Take for instance this morning. While Brad has been out feeding this morn you would think Rosie would be tagging along. I thought I should find Rosie ~~just to show you our cow dog~~ Look no further
(a quick shot from the living room window, don't mind the dirty window) A long night prowling for intruders I AM SURE!!
Still a ranch it isn't a ranch unless you have a dog. I must admit probably one of my all time favorite kids book is the series of Hank the Cowdog.
Hank, like Charlie, like Rosie, is all about saving the Ranch. Truly convinced, like Charlie, like Rosie, like ALL cow dogs that the ranch wouldn't survive without him. Hank is HILARIOUS!! And describes to a TEE life as I see it for a cowdog. (trust me a MUST READ IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COW DOGS!!) (LOVE THIS BOOK)
I see Rosie in both books. Listening to her bark all winter long at night....just knowing her thoughts are that she is SAVING THE RANCH from the howling Coyotes. (trust me every night this winter I would think ....she's saving the ranch. she's saving the ranch. she's saving the ranch~~ don't yell ~~~ ah finally ~RANCH saved, at least for tonight.)
So stop in and pick up Ree's version of life of a ranch dog~~ Simply Sweet
and soooo true to life of the cow dogs that I know!~
So you know by now if there is minimal chatter on the blog Lynda is in charge. Hey what can I say it RAINED! Remember the lunch with the locals the other day while it was raining. Well of course a quick getaway came up. I learned a long time ago if someone says, "it's raining we had better GO!" to call Lynda beg for mercy and hope to get the days covered at Raffia. The only problem being of course I had previously taken a WORK week off. But hey, Lyn knows my situation and always just "GOES WITH IT" (thanks da!)
Of course there is always a twist to leaving, like AIing the cows, getting them out to pasture (paired up with their calves correctly (which is not always an easy task)) counting, recounting, then counting again before a quick truck load to Pryor, return home, JUMP in the shower, throw something in a suitcase, hoping you remembered to pack your undies, and make a mad dash to leave for Deadwood at 4:PM. We headed with the cousin Kraft's and cousin Mydlands (our Vegas traveling partners), and met some other friends that went as well Never a dull moment with this group. And we had a ball. So darn much fun, lots of laughing, late nights, a bit of gambling, a small amount of drinking, some more laughing and a return trip home on Friday.
Now the only problem with these type of trips is the organizational factor. That means when you decided to go it is literally in moments, and when you come back it is because there is a list of things you have to get back to do. Work Saturday, brand at the cousin Kraft's Sunday, haul cattle to Columbus Monday.
Needless to say I am needing a vacation from my vacation at this point. And to make it all much better the load of cattle yesterday to Columbus came with a time deadline (prior commitment at school) a trailer load of cattle threw some soft ground, transmission going out on the pickup, (lucky for me, just as we got the cattle unloaded, let me say fun experience being pulled by the tandem truck back to a local ranch (truck pulling the pickup and trailer up and down some fun hills)) (I am guessing your getting my point) only to arrive back home a touch late, a touch stressed, a touch tired, and heck DARN grouchy!!! Throw in a house that looks like this pretty much everywhere (piles, with piles of dirt on top)
and well, it just tops off the whole need to escape once again.
SO with that said, do you know (according to the boys) that we only need an inch of rain to getaway again (I thought it would be two inches)(but they assured us on the way home that we were in such good "rain shape" that we only need an inch to get to go back. ) Hey did you know it is going to rain 2 to 4 inches this week......
and I will even have new jewels to take along......
I think that is enough to make me feel recovered and ready TO GO!!! Hey Lyn............
Kidston that is. Couldn't you just live in a world of polka dots and flowers!
Love, Love, Love the masking tape. Just wait till you see what we have planned for these little babies!!
Enjoy your day!
and, there's a lot more new I'll try to show tomorrow.
A happy, sunny weekend to you!!!
What more can I say?
I interrupt Lynda's beautiful summer pondering to state two things.
1. How many times did you hit the snooze today???
2. Rain makes corn. Corn makes whiskey. (should I say (sing) more)
Hello everyone! Feeling a bit shall we say "out of the blogging loop". But due to this thing we call rain I am back on my regular schedule for the day. (that means off to my real job) ~ although Lynda said I could have an extra hour to do some shall we say HOUSE CLEANING!!
It's been a crazy past week. AI season in full swing ~ meaning several LONG LONG LONG days. But very happy to report that it was~ to date~ a very successful season. I say to date because we do our cows tomorrow, wait a couple weeks and do Dad's heifers. All in all AI season is by no means bad. Especially when you have a day like last Satursday! OMG ~ stunning! Yesterday on the other hand a bit cold and wet. Today we were scheduled to haul cattle to pasture but the rain has put a damper on that! THUS THE SNOOZE BUTTON THIS MORNING! I swear I could have hit it about 50 times. What is it about listening to the rain hit the roof that makes you want to sleep????
I do have to admit (don't tell anyone) that Brad and I did sneak away for lunch yesterday. It's a farmer rain thing! We met with all the locals (farmers that is) to discuss how much rain we had (over beers of course). Rain makes corn...which for us, lucky enough, is in the ground....and remember what Anna says.... Rain makes VACATION! (lets hope ~ some conversations going on right now with the cousin Krafts about that)!
And on one last note~ breeding for Seth's Merit Heifer Ruby~ keep your fingers crossed that she got bred!
Ruby's turn!
in the box she goes. (the box is a funny place. The dark inside helps to keep the cattle very calm!)
Well that is all I will show the rest might not be blog appropriate! Happy Rainy Day friends!
These papers are made to just add 4 x 6 pictures - vertical (above) or horizontal (below) - pretty nifty, huh!!!!
On my mind lately...
Mr. Sun, Sun
Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me!!!
For your gift giving pleasures.....even a few new additions to the already great stuff!!
and good ones at that!
That may be a loaded question!! So the other night Anna and I get home from dance walk in the door to a flash of BLACK scurrying by us. Of course Anna instantly SCREAMS....and I am convinced that somehow the back door didn't totally close and our somewhat tame black cat that hangs out there has gotten in the house. Here kitty kitty, here kitty kitty! And the only thing I hear is a bunch of loud noise coming from my bedroom as I hear all the vases on my window sill hitting the floor and this loud clunk against the window. I look and it is not my nice somewhat tame kitty but rather my wild BLACK KITTY! GREAT!
So of course I open the door for the cat to escape and go in my room to start to chase the cat out. She of course runs under the bed. Anna is still screaming and just then Brad and Seth come in the door wondering why the *&^*& (heavens) the door is wide open. (keep in mind that it is 9:pm, they have just returned from a trip to Pryor to move some cattle, that didn't exactly go as expected leaving my husband of course very happy). So Seth blocks the stairs Anna and Brad the living room exit and the plan is that the cat will run STRAIGHT out the door! NOT!! Of course Seth misses the cat and down the basement the cat goes. Scared to death because of course by now Anna is still screaming, Brad less than happy, Seth freaking out because the cat is now in HIS ROOM! I, (the only CALM ONE!) try to chase the cat out from under Seth's bed with a broom. And of course Seth once again misses the block and the cat runs into this little tiny winy space in our tv center. After several attempts to get him out with the broom...a few hisses and fun, and my father now officially awake wondering what all the commotion is, Brad comes downstairs with gloves and a coat ready for the "GRAB". Of course by now ANNA is CRYING because she is SURE her dad (who really doesn't like cats in the first place) is going to do bad things to the cat. The cat out does Brad and runs UNDER THE SOFA! (instead of back up the stairs out the door....can you imagine!)
This goes on for some time until finally the cat makes a run for it, scurries up the stairs is faced by lots of cat shewing trying to get it to go out the door. Anna STILL crying worried about the cat, my dad encouraging her and my husband still shall we say a bit grumpy!! Well needless to say we finally got it out. And with that here is some fun new paper from SISTERS!!! HAPPY DAY!
(flocked transparency - how cool is that)
Lovin all our new school paper!! Just in time for all your high school memory boards!!! Should I say go Loco's again!? How about you??? (ok now don't say Central! ) (just kidding)
