I'm getting old...

Richard and I received a gift last month. Two, actually. Here they are:



These are my brother's children, who will be staying with us for the summer. Don't be deceived by their apparent quiet time while playing a computer game.

So far, they've planted a garden, fed the birds and deer, played in the hammock, watched the bald eagle babies through a telescope, silly-stringed the yard with Grandpa, driven a tractor towing a "magic carpet," charcoaled marshmallows, played with two puppies, hunted for pretty rocks and fossils, found a spearpoint, swam in the lake, swam with the neighbors, gone to church, gone fishing, gone canoeing, gone to a wedding and a couple showers (wedding and baby), swam in the stock tank (daily), shopped, bugged Grandpa, are learning to ride bikes, made paper airplanes, learned to play a cutthroat game of dominoes (Mexican Train), bugged Grandma, and completely exhausted Uncle Richard and Aunt Merry.

Its been 20 years since I had kids this young. The good news is, I fall into bed every night and go straight to sleep. The bad news is, I fall into bed every night and go straight to sleep. LOL

We're having a blast.

YouTube Stopped Working!

Nothing annoys me more than when my computer decides to develop a mind of its own and quit working the way I want it to.

A few nights ago, I needed to be in a chat related to work. Had to download Java to get in there and change some advanced settings. Okay. Got to chat, worked fine.

Then I went off to YouTube to check for music for church (when I don't know the song, I go find it on YouTube and listen). YouTube had stopped working! ARGHHH.

I did all the usual fixes - reinstalled Java and Flashplayer, cleaned the registry, defragged, changed the advance settings back to what they were, yadda, yadda. I searched high and low on the Internet for answers. Lots of advice out there, none of it worked.

Computer had an appointment with the Computer doc for Monday.

I was at the end of my rope searching for an answer. Once again, I clicked on Tools to go look at my Internet Options...and my gaze fell on something called MANAGE ADD-ONS. I clicked on it. There was another little menu, ENABLE OR DISABLE ADD-ONS.

Nah. Can't be that easy. No way. Both FlashPlayer and Java are add-ons. Can't be that easy.

Yes, it was. Flashplayer had been disabled, as well as FlashPlayer Shockwave. So I enabled them.

And YouTube now works.

Sigh. Sometimes the answer is literally staring you in the face.

Spring is almost here...

The dogs and Emmy the day of the thunderstorm, snuggling on the bed (the only time they're allowed on the bed, now).

With the warming weather, the animals are making themselves known. On the way home from church, I see deer in my headlights, possums and the occasional feral cat. Hubby and I spotted a gray fox and her kit right in our yard Sunday night. The rabbits that have been nibbling my grass are probably prey, now.

This evening I was out on our back porch and heard two A-10 aircraft go overhead. I looked to see them precision flying close to each other. Right underneath them, many miles away, but framed by the A-10s, was an eagle! It was a perfect shot. Naturally I didn't have a camera. Sigh.

Richard and I ahve been busy lately, but we hope to get a garden going at some point.

Its been awhile...

I've been really busy this past two months, getting more involved in church, pursuing my own hobbies and doing a little, (very little) reorganizing around the house. We still have things to finish, but the cold weather pretty much blocked our efforts until we work out some things. We want to put a wood stove in the garage so Richard can work out there in all weather if he chooses.

We also need a wood stove in the house. The power outage of two days showed us with striking clarity that backup heat truly is a must. We spent the first day here at the house because the temp stayed well above 60 degrees, due to the good insulation. However, the second day dropped to the 40s, so we now know that another source of heat not dependent on electricity is necessary. We meant to get a stove last year, but simply put it off.

We've been feeding the birds and enjoying all the antics as they slowly come to trust the food supply. We have nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays and a pileated woodpecker, so far. Also some little brown birds, probably phoebes or sparrows.

The squirrels also love the bird feeder and Echo loves chasing them off. The squirrels know she can't catch them and won't go up the nearest tree. They go off into the woods to give her a run for her treat. Its cute to watch, because at least twice now, I've seen a squirrel stop at a tree, make sure she's still running after it, and then it takes off for another tree. They aren't threatened and Echo loves her "job."

Beyond that, I've simply been trying out new recipes, playing with some old ones, and enjoying the buffalo meat, now that we've found a local source (well, within 50 miles, anyway).

Richard has been playing with dutch oven cooking - he makes a pretty good chicken pot pie which we both truly love.

I'm glad Spring is springing - I am so ready for some action around here - we're hoping to get a garden in this year, but we're complete novices beyond the little "city garden" we had in PA for a few years. We have to clear land, get rid of stumps, build some raised beds and then bring in soil since ours is eroded down off the ridge.

Its should be an interesting Spring and summer.

Poor Emmy...

So our main goal at Echo Ridge was to catch Emmy in the process of scratching the wall so we could deter her little beastie tendencies. I figured squirting water on her would do the trick.

This morning, she leisurely walked over and began tearing up the wall. I got her with the water and she shook it off, then continued her destruction. So I got her again. She shook it off and went right back to scratching!

I was holding a towel in my hand so I wound it up and snapped her with it, then gave a banshee shriek, "NO!" while stomping towards her.

Poor Emmy went straight up in the air, took off like...well...like anyone who's been snapped by a towel takes off and skidded to a stop half under Richard's desk, all big-eyed and hackled up.

Now, whenever I walk out of that bathroom, if she's standing anywhere in a 5 foot vicinity, she runs like all the hounds of hell are after her.

However, my wall is now being left alone. We went to church this morning and came back, no tell-tale drywall on the floor at all.

Poor Emmy. (snicker).

Good Dog! Bad Cat!

The dogs are pretty much out of puppy stage, although they occasionally go a round just for fun. But usually, they enjoy being together and get along just fine.



Here, they share the office bed. Echo even groomed Flint for a while, before they both nodded off.



Why is Emmy peeking around this corner with big eyes?



Because she did THIS to the wall, while we were busy. BAD CAT!

We're just hoping we still have some of that paint left. Spackle is on the grocery list already. BAD CAT!

Long time, no see...

We took off to see my sister and spent time out at the ranch to watch Katie ride. Richard snapped this shot of me hanging on the gate, watching Katie work with her new 4-H colt. For some reason, I don't have any pictures of the colt!



Hanging on the gate.

The winter weather has seriously curtailed our work around the house. Richard did get some clearing done and he burned a lot of brush, too. The loggers down the road told the locals that we could take the scrap wood when they finished. A bunch of us did so, and pretty much cleaned up the site for them! Richard chopped all the wood to woodpile size. What's funny about this is that we don't have any woodburning stoves! We plan to get one for the house and the garage in the future.

It snowed yesterday, but temps for the next week will probably melt it quick.

Flint is doing well, he took the 4 week program of Adequan shots (liquid glucosomine) and is doing remarkably better. He will always walk with a limp because of the surgery, but he is perky, happy and willing to explore, even in the cold. I'd recommend this treatment for any dog with hip dysplasia, arthritis or joint issues. The initial treatment is 8 shots over a four week period, and then if necessary, maintenance shots after that. Some dogs never need the maintenance shots, some need them monthly, some need them yearly, just depends on the dog. Flint now walks easily, even in our two mile hike to the bridge daily. Before, he ran out, did his business, and wanted back in immediately. Now, because he feels better, he is happy to explore the yard, wander around and enjoy the outside again.

Echo and Emmy have a guarded truce. As long as Emmy doesn't try to attack and gnaw on Echo's paws, Emmy can sleep next to Echo. When she starts playing, Echo gets up to leave. LOL

Life is good.

The 100 Sheep Nativity

Our Taiwanese 3rd "daughter," Bun-Chu, spent plenty of time with us due to her parents ministry in Taiwan (her father is a Presbyterian minister). Bun-Chu knew I collected Nativities and decided that she'd make me one. Each year, she gave me new pieces to the Nativity. One day I was bemoaning the fact that most Nativities I get only have one sheep...and the Bible says it was a flock, ya know? So Bun-Chu, being the sweet little angel she is, made 100 sheep for MY Nativity. And 4 shepherds to watch that flock. So every Christmas, I have to find a place for 100 sheep. And I always do! LOL



The sheep...and the stockings because I have no mantel this year.




And the house, all lit up!

The dogs are starting to accept...

That Emmy is here to stay. They've snapped a couple times and chased her under the bed a few weeks ago. However, she is getting bold about being near them, as long as we are nearby.



We had a massive thunderstorm rip through one afternoon. The dogs are afraid of thunder, so they stick close to me. Usually, they settle down if they are on our bed. I helped Flint onto the bed and Emmy joined him. She played with his ears, his tail and then attacked his back collar. Flint was not amused. He put up with her for a few minutes then hopped off the bed and went to his floor bed, curled up and went to sleep. Emmy went into my office and proceeded to chew on the cardboard flap of the slide projector box, which is sitting in the middle of the floor until I find a home for it.



I went to fix Richard lunch this afternoon and found the girls in the chair together. Echo tolerated it for a little while, but then Emmy decided to play. She grabbed one of Echo's paws and began gnawing on it. Echo put up with it for about a minute and then left.

Emmy is getting big. She eats her dry food throughout the day, gets breakfast and dinner wet food, and then slowly creeps towards the dogs' dishes while they are eating, silently intimidating them until they leave. Then she eats a little of their food. I tried giving her a portion of their homemade dog food in her own dish. Nope. Its all about who is Alpha-Cat in this household. She won't eat it out of her own bowl. She must eat it out of theirs.

The good news is, Flint and Echo used to be a little spoiled about eating their food. They'd let it sit then beg for their treats instead. Now that there's competition, they've taken to eating their food quickly and efficiently. no more food souring in the bowls!

New addition to the Stahel household...

First - allow a rant. If you acquire an animal and are not a breeder, spay or neuter your pet immediately. If you cannot afford this, do not get the animal. Domesticated animals have SOME survival instincts, but usually have to be TAUGHT hunting skills from another animal. Dumping a litter of kittens or puppies on a back road where predators are known to roam is despicable. They cannot survive on their own, no matter how smart or instinctual they appear.

Three of Emmy's litter are probably dead. They survived a grand total of four days that we know of. We could not get them to come to us. Emmy finally came to Richard after he spent two hours in tick and chigger infested grass coaxing her to come to him and only after the rest of her siblings were gone. The chances that they ran off and left her are remote.



Emmy's a beautiful smoke color with bright green eyes. Estimated age is 3-4 months old. In keeping with our family tradition, Emmy is named for Emily (Em) Sackett Talon, a character in Louis L'Amour's Sackett series of books.



We think Emmy looks like an Egyptian temple cat here.



I used to belong to a writer's group called the BatCave. I received two charms from them, a small brass bat from Cathy and a silver kangaroo from Lex in Australia. I hung them from my computer screen so I'd always feel close to my buddies. Emmy attacked the charms and the rest is history. I have to get pliers and put them back on their jump ring to re-hang on my screen.



I bought Emmy some bizzy balls to give her play time. I figured 8 was too many, but heck, it was only a $1.97 for the pack. I think we've found two again...the other six have disappeared into cat magic lalaland...they are not under any furniture that I can see. One day when I deep-clean (Ha! Like that's gonna happen) I might find the rest. Or Emmy might.

I don't know 6 blog-people...

Quirky Meme...

1) Link to the person that tagged you.2) Post the rules on your blog.3) List six unspectacular quirks you have.4) Tag six bloggers by linking them.5) Leave a comment on each person's blog to let them know they've been tagged.

My Six Unspectacular Quirks:

1. So as not to hurt my daughters' feelings after they fixed my hair at ages 3 & 4, I went to the grocery store with a 20 barrette hair-do. Kid barrettes - pink, purple, green, yellow and blue pastic clips. As people would start to comment, I'd jerk my head at the girls standing beside me, so proud of their work, and say quickly, "Don't you like my hair, the girls fixed it!" and every one of my acquaintances and the store clerks went along with the it.

2. I used to drink Pepsi continually, all day. I had a special insulated cup so the ice wouldn't melt. I carried the cup around with me - driving, walking, talking to neighbors. My family and neighbors knew my "Pepsi cup" and would bring it to me when I "lost" it. When I decided to be more healty, I switched to iced tea. After, that, I'd look for my "tea cup" when I lost it. My BIL thought I meant an actual tea cup and got tired of the mis-labeling. So he named it Fred. My cup has been Fred ever since. The cups change as they wear out, but the name doesn't. Everyone of my acquaintance knows Fred.

3. I love looking at photos. Anyone's photos. All those people who say get rid of guests by dragging out the photos and slides...I'll stay till the wee hours. I like looking at photos and speculating about the stories they have to tell. People, places, scenes, all of it.

4. I hate feather pillows. That sinking, smothering sensation makes me crazy. Give me a firm pillow any time. However, I love down comforters. That sinking, smothering cocoon makes me feel cozy and warm.

5. I am always cold. I wear wool socks year-round. I have a hard time keeping warm and therefore don't usually wear shorts or dresses even in summer. I have a special thick fur blanket that goes with us when we travel because I rarely have enough covers in hotel rooms and family/friends homes'. My children named the blanket Minkie (it is a "mink" blanket from Korea). All my nieces and nephews love Minkie, too, and have used it as a tent, as covers, as a nap pad, and to warm up around a fire when we camp. My dogs settle immediately when they lay on Minkie during storms. Despite being *my* special blanket, Minkie's actually a source of comfort for our whole extended family.

6. I'm very lazy. I work hard to streamline chores so I can go do the fun stuff whenever I want. People think I'm very busy because I have so much time for my hobbies, but in reality, its directly atrributed to sheer laziness. Chores have to be done, but there's no reason to drag them out. LOL

Its been awhile...

Life is good, we've just been busy with various things.

Pa built a teardrop camping trailer and wanted to test it, so we went camping for a few days.



I've been poking around doing jobs in the house, a little sewing, some rearranging of furniture and decluttering. And writing, of course.

Mom and I went to a couple weddings, that was fun!

I've been trying to capture butterfly photos but for some reason they all seem to be in a hurry this year. Flint had one between his ears like a big bow. I grabbed the camera and started shooting, and the thing just disapepared!

Flint has been doing quite well. He's lost a lot of weight, is happy to be outside and prances around like he owns this place. Echo stays inside more, she gets hot and wants to be in air conditioning.

1974 Airstream 31' Sovereign LandYacht FOR SALE

This Airstream was gutted and refurbished to live in while constructing our house on site. We lived in it for almost a year. We cut the pipes to the propane appliances and made it all electric because electricity was already at the property. Propane can be reestablished by a professional, if needed. The propane tanks are still installed on the tongue and have the new code connectors.

The futon couch, double bed, microwave, toaster, hotplate, fire extinguisher and refrigerator will remain. ALL are FREE-STANDING. My Pa also built a kitchen counter (without the sink) and a cabinet for storage over the wheel well. Neither cupboard is fastened down, but can be if necessary. Remember, this trailer was used for living and was parked for the full eleven months, so modifications to build-in were not necessary.

There's a large unit in the upper kitchen cabinet that was used to monitor the holding tanks and other stuff - we disconnected this and have no idea if it is still usable.

A new subfloor was laid over the old one for support. Previous water damage (which we also fixed) had made holes in the old flooring. I also installed carpet.

The air conditioner was broken, we had a Carrier representative fix it properly and it cools great now. In times of VERY HIGH humidity, the A/C sometimes leaks if you overuse it. This only happened three times last year (we ran it for over 8 hours per day). To prevent the leak, we discovered that if you turn it off for an hour, it will defrost and be fine to turn back on. The AC has an outside winter cover for insulation.

All walls are painted, except the bathroom.

I made new duck fabric curtains for all the windows. I put up standard rods for easy off/on to clean.

The screen door is now reinforced with a patterned cut-out steel mesh because our dogs kept destroying the regular screen mesh.

A new 10 gallon Sears water heater replaces the old 5 gallon one. There is a cut-off switch inside on the bathroom wall to turn it off. It can also be unplugged inside. The weater heater is larger than the old one, so I made a temporary wall of foam-core so it would still look nice in the bathroom. The wall is removable for service. We replaced the old toilet, too. The shower had a crack which the former owner repaired. The repair has held up nicely and we've had no problems with it.

Phone and cable were run inside for landline telephone/dialup computer and satellite TV.

An extra electric box with a separate outside connector was installed into the living area so I could run a heater during the winter months, without compromising the rest of the appliances and lights.

The full length front awning comes down easily, but has a small tear about 8 inches long at the rear end. Its never been a problem to all-over use (we just make sure to roll it back up if there's wind). The awning over the back window was never used, due to broken struts before we acquired the Airstream.

Only one outlet doesn't work and that is by choice. It was retro-installed and wire was run across the room under the couch, which was a fire hazard. We cut and capped the wires. Power can be restored by a professional electrician. One of the bedroom lights has a short, the light will go on sometimes and not others. Needs an electrican to look it over before use.

We are fairly certain the holding tank has a leak ON TOP. If lines are clogged, it will create a small wet spot on the rug in the hallway. To alleviate this, flushing the black water tank for 20 minutes on a daily basis (in the evening) worked wonders. The lines remain clear and water flows easily. A few teaspoons of Rid-X once a week kept the anaerobic bacteria happy, too.

I replaced the plastic fan caps, the bathroom light cover and the kitchen light cover.

All the rivets have been caulked and as far as I know, nothing leaks. There is condensation between the panes of the front window, but not inside or outside.

This Airstream is fully habitable now - it would make a nice parked unit on your camp or vacation property. It can also be used as a nice hunt "shack" on your hunting lands. If you are a person who wants a restoration project the hard work of gutting it has already been done.

Price: $4,800.00

This Airstream is located in the Midwest and you will have to pick it up. It is being sold in an "AS IS" condition.

If you are interested, leave a message in the blog comments section with your email address written out like this to avoid spambots: johndoe at aol dot com.

What I've been doing...

Between days of never-ending rain, we've been getting spots of sunshine. On those days, we're able to walk to the bridge. Flint's recovery has been slow because of the weather. However, now we're getting somewhere!

I've also cleaned out the Airstream in preparation for selling. Next up, the garage and cars! And of course, the landscaping. Richard and I bought some plants to pot and our front porch doesn't look so naked now. I also bought a slide bench. I am planning to make cushions for the bench and the chairs. Richard's been cleaning out rocks in the soil and has fertilized the grass, which is growing beautifully.

Today we meandered to the bridge after stopping to check on Pa's progress. Pa is building a teardrop trailer for camping. The frame and body are put together, now he's doing doors and windows.

At the bridge, the barn swallows began buzzing us, about fifty or so flying overhead trying to get us to move on. Their nests are on the underside of the bridge so either babies have hatched or they're very close to being born.

Next time, I won't forget the camera.

So...there was a lot of crackling off in our Sanctuary. Richard and I were excited. What kind of birds were back there, nesting and raising their babies? Maybe it was the rare flying squirrels, or perhaps some owls? Ricahrd went back there with a camera to catch whatever he could.

He heard a crashing noise, looked up and two birds were locked together falling through the trees...

BUZZARDS.

BUZZARDS. Mating and nesting in our Sanctuary. We don't know where the nests are. They're not visible in our leafless trees. Maybe they don't make any. At any rate, we've never even seen a baby buzzard. So while all the country neighbors have the cool animals, we have BUZZARDS.

It could only happen to city-slickers.

Six days ago...

Tuesday, April 1, 2008...It wasn't an April Fool's Day joke.

The lightning storm caused a strike right in front of our house. We had turned off all the computers, but not unplugged them from the surge protectors. Richard has a fancy, battery operated surge protector...I have an expensive one, but no battery. The resulting EMP (electromagnetic pulse) from the strike fried my computer. We took it in to salvage the harddrive, thinking only the motherboard or the power supply was damaged. According to the tech, this is only the second time he's seen a harddrive so badly damaged he couldn't retrieve all the data. He did a couple sweeps and collected some, but my books were gone.

Needless to say, I was crushed. Not only had I lost my books, I lost YEARS of photos and other documents.

Richard was certain he'd done a backup of my system in the last month or so. We'd moved from the Airstream to the house, so stuff that was hurriedly packed was scattered between garage and house. We had no idea where the backup drive could be.

We bought a new computer and began the task of learning the new Vista program, plus downloading things I use like Yahoo Messenger (which took 3 days, due to disconnects and extremely slow dialup - 24 baud at times!). We also bought an external harddrive, in hopes of salvaging my data. That didn't work on Richard's computer. We may try it on mine, later, but chances are slim.

I found the backup drive this morning. Richard loaded it to the new computer...and the only thing I've lost is about 150 pages of two books (anything written after Feb 15, the date of the backup) and the last six weeks of photos!

Needless to say, despite the loss of my last 6 weeks of work, I'm still ecstatic - most of the precious photos were saved.

I'm happy.

The Visitors...

The girls and Richard's sister arrived last weekend for a visit. The girls only stayed a couple days but we had a blast. Massages, shopping, breakfast at Grandma's, playing in the shop with Grandpa and walking the dogs. It was like old times!

Richard's sister stayed for the entire week and we also had a lot of fun. I'd forgotten about late night girl talk, laughing at our men and long walks discussing everything under the sun as the dogs sniffed and played.

They were our very first visitors to the nearly finished house.

I hope everyone loved their visit as much as I did.

The New Me...

Back in the 80's I had a hairstyle that I loved, that looked great, and was not fussy to fix. I could put it in a ponytail and look good, or fluff it out for special occasions, or wash and wear it for every day. Everyone said it was dated and I needed to try a new style. I went from short to long to in-between, never happy with it. Basically, because of that, I skinned it back in a ponytail and just didn't bother with it.

Finally, I decided, you know what? I LIKED my 80's hair style. So poof! I went back to it.




I took the picture in the mirror which is why its a little wonky. But there I am, all 80s hair!

LOL

Ready for Spring...

We had a couple days of 70 degree weather and then winter hit once more! Richard and Echo tramped out in the snow. Flint and I stayed warm and cozy inside.



We're still having the up and down weather of March, but I hope in a few weeks Spring will be here because Richard's never been here during that season. Already, a few trees and bushes are showing tiny buds. I hope we don't have a repeat of last year when everything bloomed and then a surprise cold snap froze all the budding plants. It pretty much killed the apple crop for last year.

I still have the little apple twig...er tree...that my sister gave me for Christmas. It even has fresh green leaves. When it grows up and fruits it will be a Macintosh apple.

Richard, Mom, Pa and Echo walked to the bridge last week. I waited a bit and then Flint and I went to meet them. He tried to turn around and go home three different times but I urged him on. He needs to exercise the leg and get back up to walking daily. I let him rest the next day. Mom and Pa meandered down the day after resting and we all walked to the bridge. Although Flint was slow towards the end, he made it there and back with no problems. He sacked right out in the bed and napped the rest of the afternoon, though. LOL.

Walking in the woods...

Since Flint is down for the long count concerning his leg surgery, Echo and Richard have taken to tramping in the woods around the property to investigate new smells, enjoy the crisp air and watch for wildlife.

Richard went up to the ridge above ours a few days ago and snapped a photo of our roof in the trees. The black spot near the center of the picture is Echo investigating something.



Echo keeps an eye out for moving targets...er...wildlife.




This is a shot of the moon in the morning a few days ago. The good thing about a digital camera is that we can simply take even "impossible" shots without wasting anything but a little battery power. Its been fun trying to get night shots, distance shots and everything else. Sometimes they turn out okay.