# Share Your Day (February 2013)



## Elena (Feb 1, 2013)

Good Morning Everyone  Well, here it is Share Your Day (February 2013) I guess I'm the first lol anyway I am still awake from Jan 31 and I've been home from work since 10:25 PM, I won't be sharing anything right now because I am a little too tired and still have yet to get ready for bed but I hope this month starts out well for you all. Have a wonderful day


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## TWHRider (Feb 1, 2013)

The sun is shining, it's a balmy 19 degrees with patches of ice on the back roads, so most of the counties in Middle Tennessee have closed the schools - lol lol

I'm from the OH/PA border and we had some wicked nasty back roads that got nastier in the winter.  If the bus drivers had to take an ax to hack the ice off the school bus doors, school did not close - lol lol

My best news for the day, and possibly the rest of the month, naturally is horse-related.  While I have two Brothers trimming my horses these days, and re-habbing my severely foundered horse, I work on the foundered horse's hooves in-between their 4-week visits.

I have a re-hab Trimmer in California helping me.  This last time I included a video, along with the standard update pics.  Her Lift-a-huge-weight-off-my-shoulders-words were "if I didn't know Joker was foundered, I wouldn't know he foundered; he is well on his way to recovery."  Monumental as he had foundered so bad last Spring, it's a miracle his inner hoof bone, a/k/a coffin bone didn't literally sink right thru the sole into the open air.

He has the horse version of Type II diabetes, so to keep it simple, translate diabetic foot problems to an 1,100 pound horse's hoof and there ya have it; I have been fighting for his life.  I'll bet I get that grazing muzzle on before March grass this year.

Anyway, that's my best news, the sun is out but the temps are Fugly, my horse is recovering, and it's "a good day today" (think the Good will song

I hope everybody's Friday is a good one ---it IS Friday isn't it?  nthego:


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## FishWisher (Feb 1, 2013)

Every day is a Friday around my place.

February 1. It's to be mid 60s weather with sunny, blue skies today. This is the month of Wifey's 70th Birthday which happens to fall on Valentines Day. I never forget that day!

She just wished me a happy February. We play a silly game about who's first to wish the other a happy month each 1st of the month. It's easy to forget early in the morning. 

And I'm installing a new, vented heater on _FishWisher_ the boat today. That means fishing season is almost here once again and I'll be chasing the mighty sturgeon out on the California Delta for the first time this year. Hopefully I'll get out there next week.

Ahhhh... it's February 1 and I can see springtime from here!!


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 1, 2013)

Yeah for Joker..that is good news *TWH*!.. Sounds like he is a management challenge, thank goodness he has such a great horsie mom! 

*Fishwisher.*.my brother occasionally fishes for Sturgeon in Washington state.  Like the salmon, there doesn't seem to be too many left these days.  I don't have a boat, but I am determined to go trout fishing when the weather gets better.  They taste just a good caught from the bank as in a boat..and I'm more into the eating aspect than the sport of it..LOL
Happy February BD to the missus!







* Elena..*Sounds like you are a night prowler, too.  I have to make myself go to bed and even then I'm only good there for 6 hours max..of course, when you work late it takes a while to unwind and decompress.

Not much doing around here today, except to keep warm and let the dogs in, let the dogs out.


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## R. Zimm (Feb 1, 2013)

Today was an interesting one for me. In my work schedule I was off but had to go to a meeting about 45 minutes away for a technology committee. I had to go because the Director of the Library himself recommended my name to the chairman. That's not just the head of one library but the head of 16 library branches for a whole county (The "BIG" Boss). Now, I was interested and excited to attend BUT I just got back from vacation this past Monday and my jet lag morphed into a head cold so I had to drug myself up so as not to sniffle and cough at the meeting. So I had to drive on one of the wost stretches of road (I95 in SE Florida) slightly "high" on cold meds but luckily the meeting was held at a University library and they had a coffee shop in the lobby so I was able to have a throat soothing beverage for the meeting and survived.

Then when I got home my wife and I went grocery shopping so I'm a bit tired at the moment.


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## SifuPhil (Feb 1, 2013)

Let's see ... it's 8:38 PM, it's 20 degrees outside (with the wind, about 12), I just had two pieces of buttered toast, today is the last day of voting for a writing-contract competition I'm in, and I just snagged a sweet magazine-article submission - best-paying 700 words I've ever written!


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 1, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> Let's see ... it's 8:38 PM, it's 20 degrees outside (with the wind, about 12), I just had two pieces of buttered toast, today is the last day of voting for a writing-contract competition I'm in, and I just snagged a sweet magazine-article submission - best-paying 700 words I've ever written!



Congrats Sifu! :applause2:


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 1, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> Anyway, that's my best news, the sun is out but the temps are Fugly, my horse is recovering, and it's "a good day today" (think the Good will song



The sun is warmer :sunshine: and temps less Fugly, when Joker is getting better, that's great news!



FishWisher said:


> And I'm installing a new, vented heater on _FishWisher_ the boat today. That means fishing season is almost here once again and I'll be chasing the mighty sturgeon out on the California Delta for the first time this year. Hopefully I'll get out there next week.
> 
> Ahhhh... it's February 1 and I can see springtime from here!!



New heater sounds nice, and springtime is just 'round the corner...happy fishing, enjoy! :woohoo:



R. Zimm said:


> Today was an interesting one for me. In my work schedule I was off but had to go to a meeting about 45 minutes away for a technology committee. I had to go because the Director of the Library himself recommended my name to the chairman. That's not just the head of one library but the head of 16 library branches for a whole county (The "BIG" Boss).



Kudos for being recommended by the big boss, that's gotta feel good! :thumbsup:  Hope you're over your cold soon, it is stressful when we fear coughing, sneezing, at a big meeting...take care!

_I spent the day shopping around for a new pair of badly needed sneakers (tennis shoes), or other comfortable shoe.  I have big/wide feet for a woman, and have had some problems in the past when I was working on my feet all day with plantar fasciitis.  Anyhoo, I wasn't able to find anything that was comfy enough today, but will keep looking.

For sneakers, I usually buy men's sizes because they're wider and fit better.  New Balance or Saucony have been okay in the past.  I tried on a nice pair of Asics "gel" that were comfy, but really narrow in fit, will never work.  I don't want to spend a lot of money either, so I also try to get things when they're on sale if I can.

Stuffed my face at home with shrimp dipped in hot butter, and now hubby is marinating a couple of racks of natural pork ribs in barbeque sauce, he always BBQs ribs for the Superbowl, even if we don't have anyone over.  With that will be succotash (corn and baby lima beans).  I put on a good amount of holiday weight, and the run's not over yet. _


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 2, 2013)

*Happy Groundhog Day!*

Not a big fast food fan, but may head over to Sonic today for half-priced foolong coneys...Happy Groundhog Day, looks like early spring...haven't really had much of a winter here yet.

*See more here*:  ABC News: An early spring is on the way, according to groundhog “Punxsutawney Phil.”
When the Pennsylvania groundhog emerged from his dwelling at Gobbler’s Knob Saturday morning, he did not see his shadow.


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## TWHRider (Feb 2, 2013)

Punxsutawney was about 1-1/2 hours east of us.  My son and a few friends (well two car loads) skipped school, when they were seniors, to see Phil make his predictions first-hand.  He said, they barely got a spot where they could see Phil, it has turned into such a huge party/event.

There might be something to the early spring because I have seen a pair of Canada geese on the move in the last ten days or so.   I saw them on a particularly cold day the first time and thought they had their signals crossed, but mehbee not----------


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## TWHRider (Feb 2, 2013)

Today was Buckin' cold, never got above freezing.  We had a downpour of soapy snow that suddenly turned to fluffy snow, lasted long enough to quickly put one inch on the ground and it was gone in an hour.  We have been in Tennessee nine years and it seems the big snows come in March.  By big I mean 8 inches:rofl: but when one lives an hour from Alabama 8 inches is panic time for the locals.  I hope we get that much snow, once before winter ends, so I have an excuse to plow the driveway.

I kept Animal Planet on and watched a whole bunch of those "Too Cute" puppy and kitten shows, where they choose three litters of newborns and film/narrate them until they are old enough to be placed in new homes.

Then I made Mr. TWHRider help me with my own Too Cute video - lol  Joker, the horse that's recovering from founder, has to stay in the yards and one front pasture.  If he's by the house when I go down to clean stalls, he always follows the 4-wheeler and his reward for that is getting to eat at the salad bar for 20 minutes (the hay stack).  Because I wanted a video of him, he almost made a liar out of me but he heard me say "cookies" and finally did what he was supposed to:sentimental:

I'm sure something good will be on the Hallmark channel tonight and Mr. TWHRider will most likely watch the lastest Barrett-Jackson or 30 yr old NASCAR.  We are polar opposites when it comes to TV:tv:


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## FishWisher (Feb 2, 2013)

This day dawned grey and cold. Well, not by your standards, TWH, but in the high 30s and grey. It stayed grey all day. After several days of blue skies and sunshine, it was a downer. I had planned to get that heater installed in my boat's cabin, but just couldn't drag my sorry butt out of the recliner to work in the grey outdoors. Late this afternoon, in about 60°, I took a walk, put the charger on the boat batteries, and hauled in some firewood. So the day wasn't entirely spent in  my cozy recliner...


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 2, 2013)

My brother and I prowled antique/junk shops all afternoon.  There are a lot of those up here in these hills and it's a good way to get out of the house and pass a cold afternoon.  

Half of the junk in those shops was probably mine at one time, that I sold in garage sales over the years.  I wonder how these places afford to pay rent overhead, it seems like it's just a storage place for most of it.  Lots of lookers, but not many buyers, including us.  

 We didn't get around to eating all day, but I had enchiladas prepped and quacamole waiting to be made. A couple of cold beers while finishing the cooking, and yum, it was really worth the wait.


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## TWHRider (Feb 3, 2013)

*Fishwisher*, your fishing is to you what my horses are to me.  You could be a star in Brad Paisley's fishing song "I'm gonna miss her" - lollol

If you're not familiar with this song, the gal in the video is the actress Kimberly Williams. She ended up marrying that sweet Brad Paisley and they now have two sons.  So it's perfectly fine for you to enjoy the video with your wife:sentimental:

http://www.cmt.com/videos/brad-paisley/26260/im-gonna-miss-her.jhtml

*Ozarkgal, *sounds like you and your brother had a great day junking.

Ya'all need to plan a trip next year to the "127 Corridor Sale".  GMA's Lara Spencer even went on that with her mom.  I've never been on it, but if you and your brother like junking that much, this would be a spectacular event - just pick a spot - lollol  I'm sure you could pick an area that something your husband would enjoy while you and your brother went yard saleingnthego:

http://www.127sale.com/

Today is the Superbowl!  I can't wait for the commercials!!!  I'm recording the game so I can fast-forward and won't miss any of the commercials - lol lol


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## FishWisher (Feb 3, 2013)

Thanks, TWH. Yep, I've listened to that song many times and usually when fishing. But I've never seen that video. Very nice. And while Wifey and I are very compatible, she's never gone fishing with me and probably never will. But like cheap beer, that's not all bad!

(By the way, Brad Paisley ought to try sturgeon fishing and give up on those itty-bitty bass.)


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## SifuPhil (Feb 3, 2013)

17 degrees last night after a light dusting of snow. 25 degrees now, not too much wind, so it's tolerable. Spent the day doing maintenance on the laptop and setting up an account with Payza, an alternative to PayPal, since I came to the realization that if I get a large amount of money coming in all of a sudden I'm limited to withdrawing only $500/mn. They've also been known to freeze accounts when there is "suspicious activity".

... like someone having a large amount of money coming in. *sigh*

It's good to have alternate plans.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 4, 2013)

No, money here is dribbling in like a bad leaky faucet


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## rkunsaw (Feb 4, 2013)

Rain this morning, Feb. 4th.I went shopping to the drug store, the feed store and then to walmart. After I got home and had a bite to eat I went to the garden and planted English peas,

Fishwisher, I have a small lake ( 6 acres) behind my house. We catch bluegill,goggle eye, catfish, Largemouth bass, and crappie. I've tried some jigs a couple of times recently but couldn't get a bite.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 4, 2013)

*BORING!!!!* *BORING!! *That's pretty much it in a nutshell today...We're having what I refer to as Oregon weather today....Rainy all day, cold and dreary.  Oh, there's plenty I could be doing, like clean out closets, drawers, pluck my wild chin hairs, shave my gorilla legs, take out the trash etc., but motivation escapes me today, just living from lunch to dinner.

Seriously, Rkunsaw..I did not know you could plant peas so early..I tried some last spring, but must have got them in too late.  I only got a few straggly ones.

Phil..I learned something else today.  What's with PayPal only allowing you to withdraw $500?  It's you money, what right or reason do they have to hold it?

TWH..Thanks for the info on the 127 corridor Sale.  I have heard of it and it sounds like a blast.  I think a lot of the dealers around here go to it.  That sale is for serious junk sale junkies..I'm more in the lightweight category.  I keep telling myself I have to unload some of this baggage, not drag more home, especially since I spent most of the day yesterday unpacking boxes that were left in the trailer from our move here 2 years ago...don't know how I lived without all that stuff for so long. 

 Would you believe I found a huge rubbermaid container full of old bridles, bits and reins that I thought were long gone.  It even had the first bridle I ever bought.  I brought it in to oil it up and use as a decorator piece...yeeehaw!..LOL


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## TWHRider (Feb 5, 2013)

Ozarkgal said:


> Would you believe I found a huge rubbermaid container full of old bridles, bits and reins that I thought were long gone.  It even had the first bridle I ever bought.  I brought it in to oil it up and use as a decorator piece...yeeehaw!..LOL



I still have stuff that was packed, and never un-packed from when I moved from PA to SoCal in 1998  - lol lol

I'll bet the leather quality on that old bridle is 100 X's better than anything you'd find today; unless you buy English leather.

Remember when Sears was Sears-Roebuck and they sold farm stuff and horse tack?  I still have the saddle/bridle/martengale mom bought me for my first horse in 1959 - lol lol lol  It's black with fake silver diamond studs and even has taps on the stirrups!  Whoo Hoo!

I sat in that saddle for kicks, a few years back.  That thing is like sitting on a cement block and it killed my back - lol lol  I've got 7 or 8 saddles in the attic and the kicker is I have ridden bareback the bulk of my life.  I've always had saddles around for when somebody else wanted to ride.  I love to have saddles and would collect them like shoes, if I could afford to.  I've gotten a few good deals from drunks at the local roadhouse looking for beer moneylayful:


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 5, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> I'll bet the leather quality on that old bridle is 100 X's better than anything you'd find today; unless you buy English leather.
> 
> Remember when Sears was Sears-Roebuck and they sold farm stuff and horse tack? I still have the saddle/bridle/martengale mom bought me for my first horse in 1959 - lol lol lol It's black with fake silver diamond studs and even has taps on the stirrups! Whoo Hoo!



 You're so right about the quality. My first saddle came from Montgomery Wards, It was made by Ozark Saddle Company when they used to make saddles for Monkey Wards. It was heavily tooled and included the matching bridle (the one I have) and breast collar. It was a roping type saddle and weighed about 40 lbs. It was a serious saddle and very comfortable.

I logged many miles of trail riding and even did some team roping in it. Also, it fit nearly every horse I owned over the years, and I broke a number of young ones and did all my initial training in it until the horse progressed to english.  I kept it for 40 years and never had to repair it.

 Most of my riding and lessons were done hunter and I had quite a collection of english saddles and tack. I also still have my first english saddle. Talk about quality. It was a cheapy at the time, and it was ridden in on a daily basis for almost for 40 years and only had some minor stitching repair over the years. It was my go to saddle for trail riding, show training and arena work. It is twice the quality of the stuff I see these days.  I still have that one, retired on my loft wall as a deco piece.

You know these vintage saddles are worth big $$ these days if they're in good condition.  I saw an old western saddle like mine on eBay for about 3X what I paid for it back when.  I'll bet that black saddle of yours is worth something, aside from the memories.


If I ever needed another saddle (in my dreams) I would certainly buy the older used stuff in good condition before I would lay out the bucks for the cardboard stuff they call saddles these days.

 Speaking of riding bareback. That's how I learned to ride and believe me you learn fast how to be one with the horse, huh? I never owned a saddle until early adulthood and am happy I really learned how to ride instead of depending on a saddle to save my butt.  It served me well in some tricky situations.

This video is spectacular and I am in no way saying I could ever ride like this, even in my best days, holding my mouth just right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkK29D6NHQQ 

Thanks everyone for being patient while TWH and I have our daily horse fix

Oh, and just to keep this topic legit, no big plans for the day, except to get out of the freakin' house. The weather's  gonna be nice and I am shooting for a campfire cookout this afternoon...even if it's only turkey sausage and beans.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 5, 2013)

It's gonna be another "Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood" ad I intend to take full advantage. I'll get the grand kids off to Junior high and High school, Go for a nice walk at the park, then run and errand or two. Gonna be in the mid to upper 60's again. As you can tell my "Spring Fever" has already kicked in and I know we will have at least another week or two of cold weather before our spring arrives but I always get ahead and try to wish spring here!
Life is good, Make it Great !


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## TWHRider (Feb 5, 2013)

OMG Ozarkgal, that girl is a much stronger rider than I was in my best day.  She sits that horse like she should.

Have you ever seen Stacy Westfall's championship at-liberty win?.  It's a tearjerker because she lost her dad 24 days before the competition.  The announcer almost lost it when he introduced her.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-7v8Ck1crg

I think learning to ride bareback makes everyone a better rider and a rider more in tune to the horse.  My Arab was a child's lesson horse for many years.  If we couldn't convince the children to sit bareback first, we made them take their feet out of the stirrups and stretch their arms out.  There is no better way to "find you seat" and thus, balance - lol

"Monkey" Wards - I haven't heard that in eons - lol lol

Ok back on thread track - anything I need to do in the house won't be fun.  I have to rasp Joker's heels down today.  If the weather stays really quiet and peaceful, I may try turning him out with the rest of the herd.   It would give me an excuse to spend some time on the 4-wheeler, in the middle of them, to make sure the Bully Horse doesn't tear into him.  Sitting in the pasture on the 4-wheeler would be more fun than the angst of running the vacuum -- mehbee I could get the dogs to do that -- right :stupid:


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## pchinvegas (Feb 5, 2013)

Great walk this AM, 3.5 miles in just under an hour. Amazing how much better I feel after that. There nothing like getting out in the fresh air and sunshine.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 5, 2013)

pchinvegas said:


> Great walk this AM, 3.5 miles in just under an hour. Amazing how much better I feel after that. There nothing like getting out in the fresh air and sunshine.



I agree, nothing like taking a brisk walk in the outdoors for a great feeling physically and mentally! :sunshine: I just did my usual couple of miles with the dog at the park, it was very springlike out there!  We'll get a bit more snow this weekend.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 5, 2013)

Good to hear SeaBreeze, I always get out as soon as I have 60 degree weather. Anything under that is inside exercise for me I am a true " Desert Rat " and just cannot deal with the cold if it's under 60. Headed out again tomorrow.


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## rkunsaw (Feb 6, 2013)

I've been slacking on my walking. I normally go for a thirty minute walk at least once per day but haven't been doing so lately.I can tell the difference too.Some body needs to give me a kick start.

I did get the big garden bed tilled yesterday. I put a lot of manure on it in the fall and wanted to get it tilled in a couple of weeks or so before planting time. I will till it again the first of March and plant taters.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 6, 2013)

YEEHAW! 69 today! Gotta love that, I will certainly find things to do outside today and enjoy this great sunny weather. We for sure will have a couple weeks of cooler weather before it get this nice for good so I'll take advantage.
Laundry day here at Chateu Merrell, and what ever else comes my way.
Make it a great day everyone !:sentimental:


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## TWHRider (Feb 6, 2013)

We topped out at a dry and peaceful 64 on Tuesday.  Since the air was peaceful, I put my injured horse back with the herd for the first time since last October.  Gonna be another fuzzy warm day, so I will spend a lot of it outside, doing some clean-up.  

When I turned Joker into the big pasture, I sat up on the ridge enjoying the spring-like warmth and watching everyone graze.  They are my Feng Shui no matter where I am on the property:sentimental: 

 To say they are a lot of work is an understatement but horses have saved my sanity and kept me out of big trouble (not little but certainly big) all my life.  I owe them --- especially that little Bay Arab (second from left) who came into my life, starving, five weeks after I lost my son and only child in a car accident.  He will be 27 April 1st:love_heart:  The grove of trees between The Boys and the barn is the pet cemetary lol  It doesn't look like it, but we are only 12 miles from hospitals and shopping, in either direction.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 6, 2013)

OUCH...beautiful day yesterday so I raked two pickup loads of leaves around the house yesterday. If not for the gangsta's I would be tempted to leave them, but I have to keep the ground clear to discourage the snakes (I HATE SNAKES). Snakes are my greatest fear of living here, did I say I hate snakes?. 

We had a nice campfire in the late afternoon and cooked turkey sausage.  I was done after that and hit the sack early!

More of the same today, I still have a patch left to rake.  Thank goodness for my brother who picked up all the piles and hauled them away.  I am tempted to cut down all those blasted trees!  I have to finish the raking today before the sore muscles take hold.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 6, 2013)

TWH....Beautiful, bucolic scene.  It looks like horse paradise!  Do you bale your own hay off those fields?


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## FishWisher (Feb 6, 2013)

TWH - I could watch that scene all day long. And what I'd give to live out like that and _no neighbors_ next to my house!! But... I'm too lazy for all that work!


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## pchinvegas (Feb 6, 2013)

Great pic TWHRider, thanks for sharing. Ozarkgal, that sounds like a busy day to me. Snakes, yeah other than the one we have here i can do without them. Enjoy your day


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 6, 2013)

*TWHRider*, lovely scene, thanks for sharing.  It's a blessing that the horses are a comfort to you in coping with your son's passing. :rose:


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## TWHRider (Feb 6, 2013)

Thank you all, for the compliments

Even though it may often sound that way, I have not had a "Mayberry" kind of life; it has had some pretty dark moments, followed by moments like the picture.  It's been pretty up and down, most of my life, a lot of which I can blame on my own choices - lol

I've had my own horses and paid for them, since I was 12 - they have always been my source of salvation when things got rough. 

*Ozarkgal,*  that is all pasture you're looking at; we have 22 acres and I am from the old school of "about five acres per piece of large livestock.

There is nine acres out of vision, to the left, that we let the neighbor take hay from until he reduced his horse and cattle herd.  It would yield about 300 small squares on a good year. 

 My horses love to graze over there but they would not touch the hay, once it was baled.  So I buy their hay from professional horse hay growers - can you say "cha-ching, cha-ching"  

 They are persnicketty-not-too-hungry-snotfaces and I have no idea how they got that way


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 6, 2013)

Took a nice two mile walk on a wooded trail, didn't see any wildlife.  Caught a shot of these geese and seagulls loitering in a parking lot though.  Getting ready to make some grilled salmon and yukon gold potatoes for dinner.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 8, 2013)

Hey..did everyone leave town and forget to tell me?layful:  I've had a couple of busy days with an unanticipated trip Mountain Home to hubby's opthomologist yesterday afternoon.  He had cataract surgery in December and was experiencing some soreness in the eye.  A dialation and a 2 minute laser procedure and we were outta there, nthego: but a 3 hour round trip..living in the sticks has it's downside when it comes to getting anywhere.

Big whoop today.  Went to town to do my dog laundry (the gangstas have a lot of blankets and dog bed covers that don't go in my washer) and pick up a few grocery items. On the way back my brother wanted to take a "shortcut'  instead of the highway.

The so called shortcut turned into 5 miles of 10 mph bumpy, washboardy, dusty gravel road. About 2 miles into it I wanted to choke him out. 4 miles into it I wanted to take him on a gangster ride and throw him out of the truck at 70 mph, except I could only go 10 mph in fear of having the fenders fall off.

I did see one thing that was kind of a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  We came upon a bunch of cows near the fence next to the road, gathered around a little (and I mean little) old grey haired lady as she was feeding them from a bucket.  She looked to be around 75-80, wearing an old straw hat and tall muck boots.  Her old dilapidated farmhouse looked as old as she was, as well as the old barn with the old rusty tin roof peeled back.

I'm betting she was born on that farm and never left.  She is truly one brave dear soul for standing in the middle of a bunch of hungry cows with a feed bucket.

Burning the midnight oil tonight as the ol' back is biting me from all the leaf raking this week..glad that chore is done for another year.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 9, 2013)

Good Morning Forum, overcast but sun trying to come out here in Vegas this am. Mid 50's. Laundry awaits, oh Yippie ! then a haircut this afternoon. That's the plan for today. Everyone have a good one.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 9, 2013)

Ozarkgal said:


> I did see one thing that was kind of a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  We came upon a bunch of cows near the fence next to the road, gathered around a little (and I mean little) old grey haired lady as she was feeding them from a bucket.  She looked to be around 75-80, wearing an old straw hat and tall muck boots.  Her old dilapidated farmhouse looked as old as she was, as well as the old barn with the old rusty tin roof peeled back.
> 
> I'm betting she was born on that farm and never left.  She is truly one brave dear soul for standing in the middle of a bunch of hungry cows with a feed bucket.
> 
> Burning the midnight oil tonight as the ol' back is biting me from all the leaf raking this week..glad that chore is done for another year.



How heartwarming that sight must have been, would bring a tear to my eye for sure. :sentimental:  The store recommended by TWHRider http://www.backontrackproducts.com/ is something to consider for your back pain.  They sell stuff made of ceramic material that works pretty well.  Bought my hubby some long-johns (PP type material), and he's happy with them.  Thanks again TWH!! :love_heart:


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## TWHRider (Feb 10, 2013)

*Ozarkgal*, what a great story and visual!:applause:

*Seabreeze*, I am so happy the long-johns work!  Monday I am ordering the mesh dog blanket for my Dobe/Rott.  I rescued her literally on death's door, hairless with sarcoptic mange and fractured pelvis exactly 9 years ago this coming Wednesday.  Kara still had a bit of a puppy bark but it was obvious she had given birth to puppies shortly before I picked her up and brought her home.  Our road is so wooded, I never could find the puppies.  Anyway, her hips are really starting to bother her, so I'm going to get one of those mesh blankets for her and hope it helps. 

That segways nicely into the new cat:grief:

I'm afraid I've got a new cat and there might be more on the way
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




There was a convicted sex offender living next door to us in late 2011 - thru May 2012, until he got arrested for the 4th time.

Someone had dumped a very preggars cat off, that he and his wife took in.  She had four kittens in early June, 2012.  When the man got hauled off to jail, the wife moved out and naturally the cat and kittens all stayed under the porch of the rental house.   I couldn't catch any of them to take them to the no-kill shelter but I did keep them fed and watered.

In July, 2012 a very nice young couple rented the house and they had a 7-month old baby.  The mom was only 19 and wanted to keep the mama cat and the kittens
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




So here it is, 8 months later and all of a sudden the kittens are starting to wander over here but a very passive male kitten has decided to move in, much to the consternation of my current barn cat crew.  He does not want to fight, does not want to take over the barn, so I have to wonder if, being so passive, that the more aggressive alpha brothers banished him.

 The other "kittens" show up at night when we're bringing the horses in but, they won't come in the barn; just this gray kitten.   They are all well-cared for and very healthy looking but the other thing I am wondering is if the renters might have stopped feeding the cats because only the husband is now working, plus going to school at night, and they just don't have the money.

This all really tisses me off because I offered to get mama kitty spayed and take the kittens to the no-kill shelter before they got so big, nobody would want to adopt them.  The young girl insisted she could find homes for them thru her FB friends ---- here it is 8 months later and the kittens are still here
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Since it appears Smokey wants to live here, I can catch him, and he's better off neutered before a really aggressive Tom half kills him, I guess he's going to the vet this week to get 2/3'rds of his jewels removed<---something my Ex said I LOVE to do and is why I prefer male animals, given the choice --there might be some truth to that - lol.  I can only hope (I guess) that he stays here after I spend the money.

I am ready to spit nails over this whole situation.  I am not a cat person to begin with, yet I have two rescues in the house, 4 at the barn and Number Five Barn Cat "on the way".   If the rest of the kittens (who are all eight months old) wander over and don't go back home, there goes more money.

Not to mention my original cats are all discombooberated; they know these cats so won't tear into them, yet I can see the WTH confusion on all their faces.

The Saving Grace to all of this is that Mr. TWHRider IS a cat person.

I knew when I sold one of my saddles, the money would end up going somewhere I didn't want it to go


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 10, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> In July, 2012 a very nice young couple rented the house and they had a 7-month old baby.  The mom was only 19 and wanted to keep the mama cat and the kittens
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'd be ticked off too...the new neighbor girl thinking she would rehome the kittens through Facebook....really?   Such a shame for those kittens now.  If they can't find the means to feed these cats, then they need to rethink THEIR daily menus. 

Looks like Smokey is your new boy anyway.   Good you're having him fixed, that's the only way he'll survive I believe.  You're an angel for taking care of this kitten...I just feel sad for the rest.  I can't believe that your offer to spay the mother and take the kittens to a no-kill shelter was rejected, WTF???


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## TWHRider (Feb 11, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> I'd be ticked off too...the new neighbor girl thinking she would rehome the kittens through Facebook....really?   Such a shame for those kittens now.  If they can't find the means to feed these cats, then they need to rethink THEIR daily menus.
> 
> Looks like Smokey is your new boy anyway.   Good you're having him fixed, that's the only way he'll survive I believe.  You're an angel for taking care of this kitten...I just feel sad for the rest.  I can't believe that your offer to spay the mother and take the kittens to a no-kill shelter was rejected, WTF???



At the time, she was only 19 and with a 7 month old baby on her hip.  One often tends to have emotional visions of grandeur when they're that young.

I think I've only seen two of the four kittens, so far and I haven't seen the mama kitty - at least I don't think so.  Mama was solid black as are two of the babies; one tiger, and the gray.  I THINK the black I keep seeing is the same one and sadly, I think it's a female - at 8 months you know what that probably means

I'm getting Smokey fixed this week.  If I can catch the black, it will get fixed too; I just hope it's not preggars yet - that's going to be a discussion of "now what" with the vet if that's the case.  Our no-kill shelter will take them, if I bring them in but they are way over-crowded and the kittens (well young cats by now) will just get thrown into crates with other cats.

 I am such an idiot, I can't do tha, so whomever I can catch is getting cut and snipped.  The biggest worry, then, will be Coyote and Red Tail Hawks if the Hawks run out of rodents to dive bomb.

I'm not even wasting my breath with a face-to-face conversation with her.  I fed the mama kitty before she moved in, so I'm taking charge. 

 Besides, her Weasel Jack Russell/mix (that she rescued and is NOT neutered), has decided I'm the enemy because I chase him out of the barn when I catch him in there stealing cat food.  I keep the cat food up high on the shavings bags but the little b**t*rd climbs up them to eat the cat food. 

He is well fed, he's just a little weasel thief.  He has challenged me twice on my own property and walks backward, growling when I point and say "go!"  He'd be dangerous if he weighed more than 20 lbs.  I've dealt with 100+ lb dogs coming into my barn, uninvited, so dealing with him is not a big deal.

I'm not saying anything about the dog either because these kids really are good kids and keep quietly to themselves.  The man works a full time job and goes to school at night to be an electrician; he's got enough to do without the old lady next door beacthin' about the kittens and the dog that I'm pretty sure he didn't want in the first place - lol lol.

They are great neighbors compared to some of the people that have been in that rental.  There's only 18 houses on this 3 miles stretch of road and the only d**n rental is the little cottage literally 12 feet from our property line - lol lol  We were able to buy all the bare land around the little house but the Legend-In-His-Own-Mind real estate agent wanted a bloody fortune for the house and one acre.  At our age it wasn't worth it spending 65K for a house that honestly isn't worth 25K.  We would have paid the other neighbor to bulldoze it down, if we could have bought it --- the infrastructure is that bad.  The old woodworking shop is worth more than the house, IMO.  Some renters require I carry a gun to the barn when I'm home alone, some don't.  I'm happier dealing with the these animals than some of the people that have been in that housenthego:

Anyway, Smokey will hopefully get neutered this week and if I can catch any of the siblings, they'll get their turns, as well.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 11, 2013)

Oh damn, Monday it is ! Another breezy, party cloudy day ahead for us. Grocery shopping on the agenda and usual household chores. Back on schedule for work tomorrow afternoon. Be glad when work picks up I like them FAT paychecks !
Have a great day Everyone.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 11, 2013)

TWHRider, it's always tough living near renters, and if they're good, quiet, clean people, you can forgive a lot of other faults like their pets.  The Jack Russel sounds like he can work a nerve, lol.  I had a neighbor with an aggressive Chihuahua, who was always out front loose, and would run over to me when I got out of my car, barking and growling.  He bit his owner numerous times, so I was very annoyed at having to deal with that so often.  But...better than some creepy people coming over to me, to hit me up for money or favors...will take the four-legged animals anytime. layful:


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 16, 2013)

Started the day by giving my dog a bath, prepping him for his haircut tomorrow.  So, he stayed home to dry off in the heated home, while I went out for a walk in the park, here's some pics...Had grilled rib-eye steaks and orange cauliflower for dinner


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 17, 2013)

Seabreeze.....Wonderful pictures as usual. The dogs look like they are having a great day playing in the park. The dog on the rock looks like a coyote stalking prey..lol. Too bad your boy had to miss the fun. What is the story on the horses? Yummm..ribeyes or my favorite steak...what is orange cauliflower, a variety or a dish?

 Today, my dogs are in store for what yours got yesterday, a bath! Stinky, stinky from playing country dogs. The have been romping in the woods and the ticks are coming out on warm days, so they have to be inspected every day and sprayed as needed. They look like shaggy orphans, except for their heads and necks which I keep groomed to standard..funny looking, but functional in the cold .









 On Friday we had to have a huge tree cut down on the hillside beside the driveway. I was looking very precarious, as the ants had gotten to it and it was dying. Two local yokels came to cut it down, and it was like the 3 stooges -1. I held my breath until that baby was down, fearing it wouldn't fall exactly as planned and I would be making a call to the insurance company for a new house. They got it down with some difficulty and it landed where it should and all is well, except we have major cutting up and clean up to do now.   Now that the leaves are taken care of, we have the tree to deal with.

Always something, never nothing is my motto!


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 17, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> TWHRider, it's always tough living near renters, and if they're good, quiet, clean people, you can forgive a lot of other faults like their pets. The Jack Russel sounds like he can work a nerve, lol. I had a neighbor with an aggressive Chihuahua, who was always out front loose, and would run over to me when I got out of my car, barking and growling. He bit his owner numerous times, so I was very annoyed at having to deal with that so often. But...better than some creepy people coming over to me, to hit me up for money or favors...will take the four-legged animals anytime. layful:



 I started a new thread in ChitChat on this subject so we don't hijack this thread. I have lots to add to this conversation!


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## TWHRider (Feb 17, 2013)

*Seabreeze* what great pictures!  Yes, whose horses are those?

I'm not that big of a meat eater but the orange cauliflower sure sounds good.  

Have you ever eaten rutabagas fixed like mashed potatoes - with milk and real butter?  I love them fixed that way, otherwise they are way too bitter for me.  Remember I'm the one that can't stand the taste of coffee or beer - lol lol lol



Ozarkgal said:


> I started a new thread in ChitChat on this subject so we don't hijack this thread. I have lots to add to this conversation!



And I replied In Kind - lol lol  These folks are the ones that moved in right after the Sex Offender Guy went to jail and the Landlord was then able to evict his wife.  

That house has bad karma -- the "ill" of that house goes back before we built in 2003.

I told Mr. TWHRider, if we ever were able to buy that place, I would have that house leveled and I wouldn't even build a storage shed on top of the dirt where the house sat.

I remember you talking about that tree.  I'm glad it's down and your house is in tact.  Thanks for the cutting down visual - lol lol lol  I think I might have had to leave the property - lol lol lol


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 17, 2013)

I have to try the rutabagas.  I only put them in stews or soups, but I like them.  Anything with milk and butter or sour creme is good by me..lol  Maybe we need to go to the food thread next


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 17, 2013)

The orange cauliflower was just a variety, I was seeing green and purple also in the stores, so thought I'd try one.  Tasted like regular cauliflower to me.  Never ate rutabagas at all, but mashed with milk and butter would be a nice first try.   There's a rental stable at the dog park, it's located in a state park area.  I think those horses may have started out as rescues, at least that's the rumor.  Seen a couple of incidents with dogs and horses over the years, some were the dog's fault, and some were either just skittish horses or inexperienced riders...scary nonetheless.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 18, 2013)

Today, I have to leave my "holler" for a trip to the nearest little big city for a doctor appt. and some Wally World shopping 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.  Of course there is 80 per cent chance of rain today.  Not stacking up for a fun day!  Thank goodness my knee has improved to the point that I can make it around WW without using one of those stupid scooters.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 18, 2013)

Good luck at the docs Ozark, hope it's nothing serious. :love_heart:  Wish I could take some of that rain off of your hands, dry as a bone in my neck o' the woods.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks Seebreeze..just a routine follow up dermatology visit..you know the kind of 5 minute visit where the doc walks in, asks you how you are doing, says I want to see you again in 3 months, then bills your insurance company $95.00. (No, I  didn't have a face lift, botox, boob enhancement or anything else fun..lol)layful:

We were lucky, the storm didn't start in earnest until we were about 6 miles from home.  We got lots of rain and some pretty impressive flashes of lightning.  Wish I could send some rain your way, we've certainly had enough to share lately!


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## TWHRider (Feb 19, 2013)

*Ozarkgal*, I'm glad it was nothing serious and life is good again, up on the Ridgenthego:

Doctors and dentists have gone past lawyers, politicians and insurance companies to the top of my s**t list.

We just got a bill from the dentist that did my root canal for $200; allegedly what I still owe after the insurance.  

Isn't funny they show the first $120 I paid but not the last $175?  And where'd that other $25 come from?  Because my temper STILL hasn't gone below boiling over this, I printed off both sides of that $175 check with their stamp on the back and gave it to Mr. TWHRider so he can deal with that crooked little beatch in the A/R end of the dentist office.  They tried this trick once before and Mr. TWH caught them.  Won't be going back to them ever again.

When Mr. TWH had his shoulder operated on two years ago, he caught nearly $1,000 in bogus or duplicate charges; mostly by our local hospital.  He spent a few lunch hours driving to the hospital, letting the nice A/R girls put their boobs in the wringer as to why he owed them money, then whipped out the statements and cancelled checks to show he paid what he was supposed to and their "additional billing" was fraudulent.

$50 or $100 here, $20 there, how often do you suppose that happens and either nobody catches it, or they shrug it off because it's such a small amount?


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## TICA (Feb 19, 2013)

Catching up on work today.  Nice and sunny out but still chilly and snow on the ground.  I believe we going to have more snow before the end of the week.
Spent the day at the hospital yesterday with my Mom who had a knee replacement.  She had the other one done last year and if this one heals as good as that one, she'll be tap dancing in no time.  I have to give her credit, she's in her 80's and a real trooper.
Countdown is on until retirement date and I have an enormous amount of work I want to finish before I go.  Of course logging on to the forum isn't helping the situation but that is OK!!.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 19, 2013)

I hate days that I don't go in until 5 pm. The time I'm winding down after being up since 430 AM I need to go to work. Oh well, sucks as it does it more hours on the paycheck. I will try to make the best of the day, Got a few errands to run then go to work.
Good Morning Forum, hope you all have a great day


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 19, 2013)

Wishing the best for your mom TICA.  TWH, there are so many errors made where money is involved, whether they're accidental by careless people, or done purposely.  We really have to watch our own backs all the time, seems like it happens more as the years pass by.  I don't shrug it off, that's not a small amount in my book...many folks likely get ripped off regularly and are completely unaware, especially the elderly.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 19, 2013)

Geeze...the fun never stops sometimes. Last night I started experiencing some flashing in my right eye. This happened right after I was watching a racoon trying to rob the deer feeder in the pasture, through binoculars. I was looking past a large vapor light and almost immediately after that I started seeing weird flashing in my eye. When it didn't clear up within a few minutes I had a good idea what the problem was, as the same thing happened to my husband a month ago.

 Long story short off to the opthomologist this morning, everything was okay, just having some of the vitreous wall detaching, which is supposedly common as you get older. Flashing and floaters (dark spots or threads that move around) in the eye are also symptoms of a detaching retina, and you must see an eye doctor immediately if you have these symptoms. If it is the retina they can repair it if you don't wait. If you wait you will lose sight in the eye. This happened to my brother in law last year and the wannabe doctor in his podunk town told him not to worry. By the time the doctor finally got worried, it was too late and he lost his vision in the eye.






So this morning started off with a 100 mile unplanned round trip to the big city of Mountain Home.  Thank goodness they have a regional hospital and some pretty darn good doctors there.  There are a lot of retirees there and they treat us old folks pretty good.

 Tomorrow I'm off to the vet with Rooney, my main gangsta for his annual shots and check up...after this I am swearing off doctors. At least until next week!


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 19, 2013)

That's a long trip to the doctor Ozarkgal, worth it to live in a nice out of the way location like you do though.   Our vision is so precious, and we do have to watch out especially as we age. I had some floaters to the side of my vision once, but I think it was just from dehydration.  I drank more water for a couple of days, and things were back to normal.  Good luck with Rooney tomorrow, hope he gets a good report from the vet.


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## TWHRider (Feb 20, 2013)

*Ozarkgal,* I'm glad your eyes are ok.  I have occasional bouts with floaters since around 2000.  I also would see those light flashes.

I was living in SoCal at the time.  The opthamologist gave my eyes a thorough check and assured me I was not dealing with retina detachment but floaters.  He ended the exam with  "it is not uncommon and does sometimes come with old age"  :disturbed:

Proving, once again, getting old is no sport for sissies

One of the kids that helps us stack hay is getting married the end of March.  He's a great young man and this is his first marriage, so I am really happy for him.  

The Brothers that trim my horses are in his wedding.  I told them the mercenary side of me is REALLY happy he's getting married as, maybe now, he'll be a lot more happy to give up a few Saturdays stacking hay when First Cut comes around.  It isn't like he doesn't get paid but love sure got in the way of my hay getting stacked this past year - lol lol lol lol

That means I need to start looking now for something to wear to the wedding; I won't be shopping in WalMart or Tractor Supply this time but, I hope I can find something respectable on sale since the odds of wearing it again will be slim n none - lol

I still have a hard time looking at the dark haired models on the wall posters, knowing I used to get what they were wearing off the rack and it looked like it was supposed to --- and bought the hooker heels to match.  Those days are lonnngggg gone - lol lol  I have no clue what I will end up with but it won't be a dress; I at least want some sort of pant outfit that stands some chance of being re-usable - not plaid polyester either -- lol lol


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## rkunsaw (Feb 20, 2013)

I haven't been sharing my day. I've had a cold, first one in years, and I don't wanna share it with anyone. I hope I'm past the contagious stage but don't get too close to the screen just in case. I've heard those viruses can jump from one computer to another.


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## TICA (Feb 20, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> Wishing the best for your mom TICA.



Thank you SeaBreeze.  She is doing well.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 20, 2013)

rkunsaw said:


> I haven't been sharing my day. I've had a cold, first one in years, and I don't wanna share it with anyone. I hope I'm past the contagious stage but don't get too close to the screen just in case. I've heard those viruses can jump from one computer to another.




 Sorry to hear your under the weather, rkunsaw. I see  you haven't lost your good sense of humor


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 20, 2013)

*TICA..*Sending good thoughts your way for your mom. She sounds like a trooper.  I had a recent knee replacement, and can empathize with you mom.  At her age it takes someone with a lot of fortitude to go through it, and if I had to do it again I think I would just fall on a knife.


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## pchinvegas (Feb 20, 2013)

Best of health and recovery for TICA's Mom, feel better rkunsaw, Good Morning and Have a great day everyone. I'm gonna enjoy the day!


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## TICA (Feb 21, 2013)

Thanks to all of you for warm wishes to my mother.  She is a trooper - she had the other knee replaced last year.  She is doing great, probably much better than I would be.

Snowing here AGAIN!!!  I'm staying in and keeping the home fires burning.


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## rkunsaw (Feb 26, 2013)

I'm sharing my day.
At least one day per week, sometimes more I do the cooking.My wife made pinto beans the day before so yesterday I decided to use the leftover beans and make chili. While digging through the freezer to find some ground beef I came across a quart of blackberries.Blackberry cobbler!!! Yum.

After I got the chili started I put the container of blackberries in the microwave to defrost them. While they were defrosting I mixed the flour,sugar and milk for the cobbler, 

When the berries were thawed I opened the container and started to get the berries when I noticed they looked strange.It wasn't blackberries, it was beets.  Tiny little beets about the size of blackberries.

I frantically searched through the cupboard and found an old jar of plums, I think from the year 2000. But that was all I could find, so we had plum cobbler. Now I like plum cobbler as well or better than blackberry but it was just the surprise of finding the beets that got to me. Brooke is still laughing.

I'm guessing we'll be having beets for dinner.layful:


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## TWHRider (Feb 26, 2013)

*TICA*, how's your mom by now?

*OG, *how's your pinkies?  And yes, I'll just bet we could write a "what not to do for Dummies" horse book in less than a work day - lol lol  I did not use the word "equine" because that sounds too uppity; if we're going to talk about how not to get yourself in the ER, ten cent words are funnier and more efficient than 50 cent vocabulary.  Of course there would have to be some Snake bite meds close by to help the writing processnthego:

*rkunsaw*, that was one of the best stories  I could tell those blackberries were going somewhere unusual but I sure didn't expect beets to be the Hook - lollollol

My day will be borrrr-innnggg, thanks to the eye patch.  Horses are shedding like crazy so I need to help that along.  Thank goodness for the shop vac that used to live in the workshop but now resides in the barn to vaccuum all that shedding hair off everyone.  There are such things as equine vacuum "system" but they cost a bloody fortune and vacuuming the horse is all they are good for.  In my world, equipment had better be multi-tasking or I'm not buying it.  The shop vac can get the cob webs in-between helping the horses shed out

I will get them all buffed up, just so they can go out and roll in the dirt again - lol lol lol


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## TICA (Feb 26, 2013)

My Mom is home from the hospital.  They are so booked that as soon as you can pee they send you home!   I spend the nights with her and my sister takes the day shift.  We'll continue to do that until she can manage on her own.  Note:  Both my sister and I have badgered her to live with either of us for years, but she's stubborn and wants to be on her own as long as possible.

Sorry about the eye patch TWHRider, I can imagine how irritating that must be.  Fingers crossed your eye heals well!!!

I never thought about using a shop vac for shedding ponies but I don't see why it wouldn't work!  My guy looks like a teddy bear right now.  Will be another month before he starts to lose the winter woolies!


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 26, 2013)

*Rkunsaw*...got a much needed laugh out of the beet story..I love pickled beets and ones that tiny sound wonderful for a salad..great save on the cobbler.

*TWH*...Hope the eye is progressing...never shop vac'd a horse, but lots of shedding blade action. During my last 10 years in horses, they were showing so were kept body shaved and blanketed. It is a task to body shave, but I loved the year around slickness. Are yours shedding already? It's so cold here right now, the burros up the road look like wooly mammoths. The baby {3months) is cute.You can't tell where his head stops and his neck starts...

 About that book...wish someone would have written it before I ended up in doctor's offices, ambulances and ER rooms..I can certainly tell you what you probably should not do. I had my share of snake bite potion to get through some of it...no wonder I can barely walk and can't remember anything now.

*TICA*.....Yeaahhhyy..welcome home Mom!  You're mom is one lucky lady to have you and your sis to help out. 
Recuperation and rehab is rough for a while.  Will she be going out for P.T. or have someone come in?

No, they surely don't let you linger in the hospital for long.  Surgery one day, up and into P.T. the next morning...OUCH!  They're ruthless and don't even care if you're puking your guts out from anesthesia (me).  They handed me a plastic pan and made me push on.  Believe me there were some swear words escaping my lips...I finally gave up pretending swear words never cross my lips and told the therapist, I'm sorry, but I have to swear..the lady next to me said,me too, so we swore our way through the first session.
                                                   ******************

Now, for my day...This is why I needed Rkunsaw's great beet-cobbler story for a laugh.  Had to go to Mountain Home for a consultation with my back doc.  The nerve blocks done a few weeks ago worked wonderfully, so we are going to do the rhizotomys in a couple of weeks.  

Then we went to my hubby's audiologist to have a routine adjustment on his hearing aides.  Both aides worked when we walked in, they worked after the tech cleaned them, but after the hearing aide technician hooked them up to the computer they both went completely and irretrievably dead. .We left them there so he could play with them for a while.  When we returned he said he could't get them to work and as much as said *we would have to pay* to have the repairs done...I DON'T THINK SO!!:mad2:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Next up, a visit to the opthomologist to check out my eye again. Since the flasher and floater incident last week, it is getting scratchy and blurry....couldn't find any thing wrong, except some dry eye. That's a good thing.

 Okay, I admit, we had lunch at Chili's, wow have the prices gone through the roof since the last time we were there..We split our usual order of hamburger sliders and had the obligatory screaming child seated near us. However, food and service were good and the waitress got tipped as if we had ordered two meals. 

Wow!! That was a fun day...


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## rkunsaw (Feb 27, 2013)

TICA I'm glad your mom's home.People seem to heal better at home.

Ozarkgal, seems like you had "one if those days". I hope everything ends better than it started.

My day was spent moving everything we could from three rooms. They are coming Friday to re-stretch and clean the carpet.


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## TWHRider (Feb 27, 2013)

*OG*, what a day you had.  I hope you don't end up having to pay for something the nice Tekkies did to Mr. Ozark's hearing aids ---THAT would really tiss me off and I would probably get physically removed, just as soon as I had the hearing aids in my possession, so I could tell them my most vulgar thoughts on the matter:sumo:

Horses are shedding pretty good but not hard enough that hair is going up my nose, in my mouth or in my eyeballs.  Which the pain is gone in the eye and I can hold it open without it burning - lol lol  Vision is blurred, though; if that doesn't do away, I guess I'll be forced to call the eye doctor - crap:inv:

The shop vac works fantastic to vacuum up all that flying hair.  I don't even halter two of my horses; just put them in the alley way and they stand there.  One of them goes to sleep all the time; he thinks he's at the day spa - lol lol lol  Just gotta remember to NEVER vacuum the family jewel areamg:

OG, do you have a Sonic burger place?  They are like the old time drive-in with car window curb service.  Short of the old time Mom n Pop dairy queens we all grew up with, Sonic makes the best milkshakes of anyone.  That is usually my Friday night treat; Mr. TWH stops on his way home from work and brings me a big fat Sonic strawberry milkshake with a ton of real strawberries in it.

*rkunsaw*, if you pull all that carpet out and put "hardwood's ugly cousin called laminate" in, you will never have to move furniture again.  I love love love my laminate flooring that looks like hardwood.  It was one of the snotfaces on HGTV that called laminate flooring "Hardwood's ugly cousin".  

Good quality laminate does not require all the work hardwood does and really holds up to me moving furniture to clean underneath, and the dogs' toe nails:thumbsup:


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## pchinvegas (Feb 27, 2013)

Well February is just about shot and March is here for a bit. Looking forward to 70's this weekend and hopefully all the month. I'm off to work at noon. Looking forward to see my friends at work and enjoying the afternoon. We are expecting 76 this weekend, that will be great! Sunshine a d a great walk will be in order.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 27, 2013)

*Gotta Vent, Ackkkkk!! (warning long)*

The day was going very nicely, sunny day and enjoyed a walk in the park with hubby and the dog...then I took off by myself to do some shopping at the local Kroger supermarket.

Well, one of the things we buy when on sale $1 each is plain 2 liter seltzer water.  Instead of lugging it home all the time, I try to buy as many as I can when they're on sale, and keep them in the pantry.  We go through quite a bit, because we both drink it daily, throughout the day, as it is sodium, caffeine and sugar free...and we like it better than plain water.

Unfortunately, a lot of times when it's on sale for 10 @ $10, they don't even have 10 on the shelf to buy, most I could ever get was 18 a couple of times.  I'd rather bring it all home in one trip, and then forget about buying any more for awhile.  So, today, they had a lot on the shelf, almost thirty.  However, it was on the top shelf, and after reaching what I could by stepping on the empty bottom shelf and jump-reaching, I went to the nearby woman assistant manager, and asked for help getting the rest down.  I already had around 15 in my cart.

Well, she tells me that I have enough, and she needs the rest as restock, for other customers.  I told her that there was no limit, and I wanted all that was there.  So, she takes off to see if she has any more for me in the back.  Blood pressure starting to rise :mad2:, I started to climb and reach for more on my own, and was able to reach 5 more.  She comes back and says she has no more, and all I can have are what's in my cart, blatantly refusing to assist me in reaching and purchasing product that was on their shelf. 

Well, I started to argue with her, and tell her that if they have a problem with their stock, they should either put up a sign specifying an item limit, or keep what they refuse to sell in the back room.  She said she needed them as restock, and that was all I could have...I demanded to see the Manager.

This joker comes over and says that I need to understand their side of the story.  That Canada Dry is a small vendor, and their not always able to get more easily.  I told him that's his problem, I've been shopping at their stores for almost 40 years, and I'm not taking a back seat to other customers because they failed to put up a limit posting, or manage their stock properly.

Then, he insults me by saying that some people buy a lot of things and sell them at another store for more money.  I told him to check my store card and see that I'm a customer, not a store, and look at the thousands of dollars I've spent there over the years.  I told him I wasn't going to play any games, I wanted to make one shopping trip, get what I need, and not come back 3 times for one item.

When he said no,  I told him that it was outrageous, that in all my years I have never been denied to buy product that was on a store shelf.  I took his full name and told him I'd be making a phone call.  When I got home, hubby said they'll probably just take my phone call, hang up and forget about it.

Well, on the receipt, was a customer satisfaction survey URL, to give feedback online.  Well I gave my feedback, and got that off my chest.  I'm back to normal now, but with all the mistakes they make in those stores, overcharging errors at the registers, I didn't have much tolerance for this BS I was being handed.

I would've respected a limit restriction if posted, or understood if there was a blizzard snowstorm, and all the shelves were being emptied by panicked people.  Had I been able to reach them all, I would have proceeded through the check-out without incident.  They'll likely never have that amount on the shelf again, but if they do, I will be using the second shelf from the floor to stand on and reach for my own soda, without any help or "assistance" from them...live and learn I guess.


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## SeaSparkle (Feb 27, 2013)

My dad was here bright 'n early to help me put together a free standing cabinet in the utility room. Well, he actually did most of the work lol  
After lunch, I worked on ripping up more of the carpet & padding that goes through the dining room, living room & hallway. So far, the dining room & half of the living room is done.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 27, 2013)

Seriously? I don't know about where you live, but everywhere I've ever lived seltzer water is a low demand item. I drink it all the time and most stores don't even carry it, or if they do in a very limited selection. Most people are familiar with club soda, but not seltzer and don't even know what it is. I they're going to advertise it 10 for $10, with no limit designated, then they need to carry enough stock to service the demand or provide rain checks.

If I were you I would call the store and get the manager and ask him what the district manager's name and phone number is. This instills terror in the hearts of store managers.  If he is not co-operative and won't give you the information, get in touch with the headquarters and ask to speak to the DM.  Tell him about the incident and I'll just about guarantee the store manager will have his chestnuts roasting over a fire. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




There is too much competition in the grocery business to disrespect customers like you were.


As far as items rung up incorrectly on receipts, that is my biggest pet peeve. One particular store I sometimes shop at is famous for that. Their system has a very convoluted way of recording items as they are being rung up, making it all but impossible to keep track of what they are charging. I have to finish the transaction, then before I go out the door check the receipt and 9 times out of 10 I catch items that I have been overcharged for. This necessitates a trip to the customer service line and wait to get a refund. 

 Finally, on one harried day after a particularly drug out incident, I cornered the manager and gave him the what for, and told him I was sick of wasting time standing in line for a refund every time I shopped. Now, I rarely go into that store because Walmart honors their competitors' ads and I make it a one stop shop.

  Say what you want about Walmart,but in all the years I've shopped there and with the thousands of items I've purchased I cannot remember one single incident of being overcharged at the register. 


Sorry they ruined the good day you had going, SeaBreeze.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 27, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> *OG*,
> OG, do you have a Sonic burger place? They are like the old time drive-in with car window curb service. Short of the old time Mom n Pop dairy queens we all grew up with, Sonic makes the best milkshakes of anyone. That is usually my Friday night treat; Mr. TWH stops on his way home from work and brings me a big fat Sonic strawberry milkshake with a ton of real strawberries in it./QUOTE]
> 
> Yes, Sonics are very popular here, as well as in the part of Texas where I lived. If we do fast food, it's Sonic.  My husband always orders a chocolate shake with extra chocolate syrup.  I get the cherry and whip creme off of it.  I'll tell him to try the strawberry next time.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 27, 2013)

SeaSparkle said:


> My dad was here bright 'n early to help me put together a free standing cabinet in the utility room. Well, he actually did most of the work lol
> After lunch, I worked on ripping up more of the carpet & padding that goes through the dining room, living room & hallway. So far, the dining room & half of the living room is done.



Sounds like you're doing a do it yourself re-model job.  I've been on the business end of many of those, and hope I've done my last one.
What's going down after the carpet is out?


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 27, 2013)

Ozarkgal said:


> Seriously? I don't know about where you live, but everywhere I've ever lived seltzer water is a low demand item. I drink it all the time and most stores don't even carry it, or if they do in a very limited selection.
> 
> If I were you I would call the store and get the manager and ask him what the district manager's name and phone number is. This instills terror in the hearts of store managers.  If he is not co-operative and won't give you the information, get in touch with the headquarters and ask to speak to the DM.  Tell him about the incident and I'll just about guarantee the store manager will have his chestnuts roasting over a fire.
> 
> ...



Seltzer is low in demand where I live, especially the plain.  The flavored ones use to be sodium-free, but once they started adding salt to them, I stuck with the plain.  Easy enough to add some lemon juice, or a spritz of cranberry juice if I'm in the mood.

I did mention that manager's name in the customer satisfaction survey and told the whole story. I'm over with it, don't want any more aggravation, lol.  I just posted shortly after the incident, so I was still hot under the collar.  Thanks for your kind words, but they only ruined maybe two hours of my day. 

I don't have a problem with Walmart at all, but usually buy non-food items there.  Service has always been good, the cashiers are friendly, and returning something to customer service is painless.   I know if I'm going to buy a toster made in China, I'd rather pay $19.99 for it at Walmart, as opposed to paying for the same toaster from China at Target, or other stores, $24.99.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 27, 2013)

SeaSparkle said:


> My dad was here bright 'n early to help me put together a free standing cabinet in the utility room. Well, he actually did most of the work lol
> After lunch, I worked on ripping up more of the carpet & padding that goes through the dining room, living room & hallway. So far, the dining room & half of the living room is done.



So nice that your father was there to help out!  Remodeling is a lot of hard work, but it's exciting too!  Any major color changes going on?


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## SeaSparkle (Feb 27, 2013)

Ozarkgal said:


> Sounds like you're doing a do it yourself re-model job.  I've been on the business end of many of those, and hope I've done my last one.
> What's going down after the carpet is out?



Yep, I have a fixer-upper. The house was built in the late 50's - early 60's, all shades of olive green lol  
Actually, there's a hard wood floor beneath.. the dining room is pretty beat up, but after a little sanding & stain, it'll be okay. 
Once I decided it was like fixing up a doll house just on a larger scale, it doesn't seem as intimidating  I'm on a pretty good roll now.


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## SifuPhil (Feb 28, 2013)

SeaSparkle said:


> ... Once I decided it was like fixing up a doll house just on a larger scale, it doesn't seem as intimidating  I'm on a pretty good roll now.



I hope you use something a little stronger than balsawood for the structural elements ...


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## rkunsaw (Feb 28, 2013)

Seabreeze, I'm sure glad you got that off your chest I worry about people drinking anything "sugar free" though. Seem like I posted something about that not long ago.
  But I know what you mean about stocking up when things are on sale. We do that too.I expect you might get an answer to your compliant. 

SeaSparkle, Your dad was helping you? Are you sure you're a senior citizen?


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## TWHRider (Feb 28, 2013)

Ozarkgal;6693
Yes said:
			
		

> He won't regret it but a word of warning:  The strawberry pieces are so big they get caught in the straw ----- he's going to have to suck really hard to get them up the straw.    Orrr he could take the Lightweight way out and use a spoon:rofl:


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## TWHRider (Feb 28, 2013)

*Seabreeze*, ditto Ozarkgal.  Wow, I never heard of such a thing.

It is frustrating just reading what happened, much less having been subjected to that.  

We also have Kroger.  Depending on the deals, we buy at Kroger and WalMart.  I may very have gotten myself thrown out of the store, had that happened to me.

I wouldn't stop with filling out that "how'd I do" form on-line.  I would find the phone number for Kroger's corporate office and ring them up just as soon as I'd settled down enough to not get myself hung up on but still mad enough to cut them off at the knees with some elegant "PG" rated adjectives.

Hope today is much better for you


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## pchinvegas (Feb 28, 2013)

Ya'll a buncha renegades, I've never been thrown outta a store, I need to try harder ! Hahaha


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## TWHRider (Feb 28, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> I did mention that manager's name in the customer satisfaction survey and told the whole story. I'm over with it, don't want any more aggravation, lol.  I just posted shortly after the incident, so I was still hot under the collar.  Thanks for your kind words, but they only ruined maybe two hours of my day.



"you're a better man than me McGee" - lol lol  I do not go looking for trouble BUT if it jumps into my personal space, I'm like a dog with a bone and generally won't let go.  I am still bad-mouthing the farrier that nearly crippled my horse permanently but not as vocal as I would, were it not for the fact that I am a Yankee living in a very Good Ole Boy County south of the Mason-Dixon - lol lol  I manage to make my point, quietly, and when it's appropriate.

The small animal facility, where his wife is a very good vet, has lost my business because, after all, Blood Is Thicker Than Water.  If I lose a dog or cat while under anesthesia, I don't ever want to wonder about the exact reason.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 28, 2013)

rkunsaw said:


> Seabreeze, I'm sure glad you got that off your chest I worry about people drinking anything "sugar free" though. Seem like I posted something about that not long ago.



Thanks Larry!  I've posted about artificial sweeteners too in the past, never ingested that poison, and never will. :xbone:  I'm talking about plain carbonated filtered water, no other ingredients whatsoever.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 28, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> Wow, I never heard of such a thing.
> 
> It is frustrating just reading what happened, much less having been subjected to that.
> 
> We also have Kroger.  Depending on the deals, we buy at Kroger and WalMart.  I may very have gotten myself thrown out of the store, had that happened to me.



I got pretty sarcastic with the manager toward the end there.  I told him, 'what are you going to do if I use that second shelf and get those myself right now, not a problem for me?!!'...whatta' you gonna do?...call security?...have them handcuff me and take me away for trying to purchase something from your store?'.  Then I laughed at him and shook my head.  But, it's not worth losing my cool and getting thrown out...I didn't curse, I didn't scream, kept my dignity and verbally got my point across loud and clear.  I pick my battles, this one is at rest, too small to fret over.


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