Maybe it was the flu shot, or maybe it was the 50 pound bag of dog food, or maybe . . . well, not sure what it was or is, but this ol' woman is so sore and tired that it just is not funny. Used heat, arthritis cream, a mustard bath, and sitting outside in the sun on the lawn swing. Did manage to clean out the two main chicken coops and take down the shelf that was causing so much contention among the Wyandottes. It should be interesting to see what they do tonight. Decided to move the little red wheely thing so that they could not fly into it as they launch from their perch. Two of them hit the thing this morning. Not good for them! Birds bruise rather easily and don't heal well or fast.
Ordering groceries from Walmart this morning and thinking that a meal before hand might have been a good idea. Oh well. Mostly wanted canned stuff that is easy to make into a meal, and that worked out ok--mostly. But also ordered some beans of various kinds to make bean soup. With tomato soup mixed in after the beans are done, it makes pretty good eating even without ham hock or some kind of meat. But still, a pot of beans is going to last an entire week around here unless the dogs and hens help me out. Miss the man who used to eat beans and ask for another slice of buttered cornbread. sigh
Have to get all the trash gathered up to put in the bin and take across the road. It always amazes me that so much trash comes out of this place with just one person living here. Yes, some of it is those huge paper bags that hold chicken feed or dog food, but still! Moved the "pantry" to the office this morning and went through most of the stuff that did not need to be in that area at all. Have a bunch of crud that just needs to be tossed. Took the flower pot holders out to the shed. May eventually have something growing in them again. The pot on the deck that had lavender seeds in it now has "something" coming up in it again. Not going to hold my breath that it might be lavender. Put some coffee grounds in it to protect the little sprouts, but will have to put it the entire pot in the green house if it gets cold again.
Speaking of getting cold again! Sitting here with the ceiling fan going and still hot! Yep, it is definitely Texas weather. Iced tea weather again. Well, and sneezy weather. The ragweed is definitely working overtime!
Finished another couple of books. One is definitely not for the faint of heart. The other one is just a blow off of a mystery without any great depth at all. The only educational part was about getting a patent on an invention and what happens if a person does not go ahead and make a working model and have a marketing strategy. If it can't be put into production, it can leave the patent up for grabs. Kinda does not seem fair to me, but maybe there is a sensible reason. Who knows. Will have to ask Michelle Pollard Abend. She is an inventor.
The guy or gal who came up with the automatic hen house door opener needs a pat on the back. Supposedly it will work on any coop, but it looks like it would only work on something that is really well balanced and neat. The price on one of those things is pretty high, too. But it works on a light and has a battery that is replenished with sunlight. Not a bad idea at all. Of course, some of us are up with the chickens anyway, so hen house doors are the least of the worries. As long as the coffee pot works right, everything else can go to thunder.
Have been watching the progress of the new "temporary" building on the front of the State Hospital. They have installed two "sea train" buildings across from each other on the circle in front of the administration building. Painted red to match the bricks of the buildings, they are not so very obvious, but now they are putting up hoops across the two sea trains that reach as high as the second story on the admin building. Should be interesting to see how they are going to cover that part. If they do it with some high pressure plastic cloth, it might last through several wind storms. Hail? Maybe. Stephen Smith said that someone offered him some plastic that was intended for a green house. He said it was very strong. That is really what is needed on a couple of places on my hen house, but right now it will have to do with the old table cloth and maybe something else on the back side of the middle coop. Have some of the pieces that were left over from the sides that may be the answer to the one strip that needs to be replaced on the back side of the coop. When Jerry decided to take down the wire, he messed up the safety of the coop by leaving a gap that critters could enter. So far, the hens have not had a problem, but this is something that needs to be repaired. Just give me time, energy, and more ideas, and we will see what happens.
It really seems strange that the ice storm bent all the trees over--leaves and all--without the leaves falling off. Wonder why the leaves did not get frost bit and fall off? My fruit trees still have leaves! Oh well. Nature has been dealing with weather for all these years without any help from yours truly.
Cleaned out my purse the other day to try to lighten the load. It helped, but carrying a gun and a couple of extra clips is still pretty heavy. Have laughed at myself a few times: it is not likely that the extra clips would ever be used. But on the other hand, just like carrying a gun, if you don't have it, you can't use it. The day we took our test for this license, it about made me cry to shoot at a target of a person. But the instructor assured me that knowing how to do it right was more important than being afraid for my life. Guess he knew what he was talking about. Too old to run; too fragile to fight back. Not to mention to mean to give up.
Have you ever had a good box or container that was just TOO good to give up? Little boxes accumulate quickly, but so do containers that hold dog biscuits. Have got to have a good talk with myself! Only so many containers can be used for separating nails, screws, etc., in the workshop. Sitting here thinking about my friend Dorothy Hughes who used to need my help with her grading and teaching of 5th and 6th grade English students. She had an entire clothesline full of pins to put on papers that needed to be graded--handwriting, spelling, and essays. Every Tuesday she would have me sit in the classroom and help her go over essays with her and the students. Then the grocery sacks of papers to grade would go home with me to be graded. Trish Howry did all the grade recording after that. Between the two of us, she was the most up to date teacher among all those at Ben Milam Elementary. She even won Best Teacher of the Year from the West Foundation because ALL of her students passed the state tests. And a clothes pin always reminds me of that sweet lady. Ah, life's little joys.
Most of you know me fairly well, but this is something my mom would have used to remind me when my mood was not the best for whatever reason. To her, it meant a mental bolster: Philippians 4: 6-8. It starts off by saying "Be anxious for nothing" and "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." And then comes the action for each of us: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."
Tonight my prayer for all of us is that we can look for those things that God has given us as His blessings. You are loved.
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