New Life Old Farmers

It haven’t had much to say, since my brother John died.  

He was 2 years older than I, in a pack of many kids, we were closest in age.
He always referred to me, as his ‘little sister’.

In this last year, I called him often.  He did not want to be asked how he felt, so I usually started the conversations with, ‘do you remember when?’

‘Do you remember the tents we built with the red blanket?’

‘Do I ever!’

Masterful backyard overnight structures were erected with a red blanket, a baseball bat, some bricks and plenty of nails.

He was always fairly intense, opinionated and bossy.  Our mother described him as having a ‘short fuse’.  I could not guarantee that he would not pick on me, but it was always a safe bet, that he’d never let anyone else pick on me.

Together this June, I was aware, that there was a possibility that when I said goodbye to him, that it could be the last time I saw him.

In our last phone call he said in a matter of fact way,

“Live your life and I love you”

In loving memory

John Stuart Fisher

3-18-57 to 11-11-18

…and I the little sister, have been blessed.

November is a season of change.

Our pond is filled off of irrigation water so it is empty 6 months of the year.  It empties slowly, imagine being our ducks.I am sure they were quacking to each other….The leaves have all fallen from our trees and the wind has been howling.  We don’t rake leaves, we just wait for them to blow into the next county.

We’ve had the end of Daylight savings.  I am not the only one that gets messed up with those changes.Halloween has come and gone.  As I work at an elementary school, I remind the children yearly…

“Now remember, when you share your Halloween candy with Miss Ellen, I really like Tootsie Rolls and The Librarian loves those yucky coconut Almond Joys “.

There are always a few kids who love surprising us both with a bit of their bounty.  This year, I had a surprisingly excellent haul.

Not all changes are as easy to handle as these.  My brother is in the final days of his life and my heart is heavy.  I am also grateful and comforted, by the way my older brother and sister and my nephews are loving and caring for him.  I know that although my heart is breaking, I am blessed.

I have a project on my sewing machine!  Most of the time, this would be my ‘normal’ setting.  This year is not ‘normal‘.  It has taken a long time to unlock my creative drive and now I am using my creativity as a distraction.I have some fabulous Santa fabric.  When we are out-of-town, My Loving Spouse is great about stopping at Quilting stores.  I usually do not have a ‘plan’ when I buy fabric.  The Santa faces were awkwardly placed on the fabric making it hard to figure out how to use them, while still making the most of my small stash.  (Stash is an actual Quilting term.)

Enter the Irish Chain!

Complete with fabulous instructions from Generations Quilt Patterns.

If a fabric is calling to me, I buy half a yard to keep the cost reasonable, then figure out a plan later, adding other easy to find fabrics to go with it.  (Such as red with white dots and white with red dots).

‘We’ve’ been making good progress.It is not done, but I’m anxious to finish.I have a few other projects, that are brewing in my brain.

My life right now is especially full of both joy and of pain, but still I am blessed.

The Fall morning colors were gorgeous.  The colors from the inside of the house looking out….my little ‘Reasonably’ Smart phone captured it.I was up to grab a second cup of coffee.Love the pumpkins inside and out.The Rock Hound would be staying in, as the stunning fall colors were not the only thing that had been captured.

My Loving Spouse – 1

Skunks – 0Especially as we’ve managed to avoid ‘spray-dom’…we are indeed blessed.

Gunner ate another rock.  This one was not pooped.  This became a very expensive rock, as it required surgical removal and a weekend at the vet…darn rock hound.

We’re supposed to keep him quiet for 14 days.  Keep him quiet and teach him to not eat rocks…

this could be difficult.

We needed to attend a family weekend in Oregon, so while everyone else was enjoying their time at the Hilton, we had to move to the Holiday Inn, because the Holiday Inn takes dogs (for a fee).

Can you say,

“Road trip?”

Gunner was a great traveler, of course he did have the whole back seat to himself, but he never once asked, “Are we there yet?”

We took a very looooong detour home, because we both needed to see this….Ahhhhh…..

My Loving Spouse had also been dreaming of doing this….

….and this….

There is nothing like the shore to sooth one’s soul.

We only got home about 3 hours later than we really wanted to, but it was worth it.  We humans had eaten a very late lunch, so we were skipping dinner.  However, I needed an ice cream (sort of like an emergency).

‘Stop at that Mc Donald’s.  We need an ice cream and some chicken nuggets!’

Chicken nuggets?

‘They’re for the dog.’

He doesn’t need chicken nuggets.

‘I need him to have chicken nuggets.  He hasn’t even had his dinner yet, and I cannot eat an ice cream in front of him.’

We thought for about getting him a Happy Meal for about a nano-second, but quickly realized he’d probably eat the toy!

My Loving Spouse pulled through Mc Donald’s.

2 ice cream cones and a 4 piece chicken nuggets.

‘6 pieces’

6 pieces of chicken nuggets

We pulled up to the next window and Gunner said, “Woof!”

We eventually made it home….

safe and sound….

and we are blessed….

but….

there is a skunk under the house.

It was not an easy decision.

I want to be connected to you people I care about.

I want to randomly laugh out loud at the funny things you post.

I want to share pictures of kids picking up pumpkins and the photo bombing cat.

I do not want to be critical, judgmental or irritated at people or at Facebook.

I realized ,that for me, the joy Facebook gave was significantly out of proportion to peace it took from me.  I need peace and calm, what many call ‘serenity’.  I am missing it some, but I am not missing the feelings it brought out in me.

I desire to be truly connect to you people….

…would you like a pumpkin?

I have plenty.

Friday night, My Loving Spouse and I went to town to meet our friends for burgers, adult beverages and to learn to line dance!  Oh, how I love the dancing and stomping.  There were only a few dancers and we’d just begun to learn a new step called ‘the grapevine’.  A woman joined us who also loved to dance and stomp, (she may have actually ‘over stomped’ it would seem), as her false boobs (bra fillers) fell out on the dance floor.  BOTH OF THEM!

I could not believe my eyes, but I did keep moving my feet!  Stomp, stomp, kick.

She managed to scoop them up, mumbling something about how embarrassed her husband was going to be.  (Except we didn’t know him or her…so really no harm…)

The steps in the dances all have names and we’ve been irreverently calling out…

‘next move falsies on the floor’….

Giggling all weekend, and no, I could never make this stuff up!

If I had more say, (ruled the world), I would make a few changes.

Yeah, yeah world peace, no more suffering etc…I think that will be called ‘heaven’.

Here is my short list of ruler type stuff I’d change.

1. Cows would come when they are called.  Not like Tuesday, when I was on my way to work and had to send this text.Luckily, it was only Hal and I had already called for back up (my neighbor Buffalo Jim).  He was on his way, so I trapped Hal with my fancy ‘farm vehicle’.Before you knew it, I was at school.

2.  Pants would cover all the butt of the wearer.

3.  Politicians would be paid after each year in office on a sliding scale and by the vote of the people who elected them.

4.  Cats would not leave dead stuff on the door mat.

5.  School administrators would not be allowed to give themselves raises and give the front line (bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teacher aides and secretaries) nothing.

6.  Chocolate would be a vegetable.

7.  Older hairy men would not wear ‘tank tops’ in public.

8.  Cars would automatically drive the speed limit.

9.  Good wine would not be expensive.

10.  All who are lost would find their way home.

(Speaking of which, Dick the pig did not return, so we were able to buy the runt to keep Jane content.  We’ve named him Bill.  Bill and Jane seem a happy match.)

…and so…what would you change, if you ruled the world?

Alice hurt her foot/hoof.  Trying to check the hoof of a 1400+pound cow, that has intimacy issues and does not like to be touched is sort of tricky.Gunner had a sore tummy and didn’t eat his dinner.  A Labrador that does not eat is always serious business, so My Loving Spouse decided he needed to sleep in our room.I was going to go on a trail ride with my friend.  Except, Sun Dance (My Loving Spouse’s horse) kicked Beau (My sweet buddy), and they started to act like rodeo horses.  The wind started up and we both got nervous and postponed the ride.

The mice have been chewing on my saddle.  Damn Cats need to up their protection.

Last night we picked up two little red wiener piglets.  I named them Dick and Jane, as in

‘See Dick run.  Run, Dick run.’

Except that was a bad name, because that is what happened.  They got out and they ran.  I got to look for them and meet ‘people’.  I looked for those piglets for over 3 hours.  A ‘neighbor’ had captured one of them and instructed me as she drove down the road,

‘I caught a piglet in your pasture.’

“Oh, it is ours.  Did you see two?”

‘No, just one.  I have to be gone for the next few hours.  You can look around my yard.  There is a white dog, don’t worry about it.  We’re down the road…..etc.’

“Which house?”

‘The brown cedar house.’

It was one of two houses… I knocked on the door, no answer.  I petted the dog and looked for my pig….and looked and looked.  I decided it might be the ‘other’ house/yard.  As I was leaving, I got to meet one of our law enforcement officers, as the owners had called them, as I was ‘trespassing’.  We ‘chatted’.  The officer is now looking for a red wiener pig.

One piglet is home.

Alice’s hoof is better.

Gunner…he pooped a rock the size of a lime!

…and I am rolling my eyes!