Worst Deer Story Ever

You're going to hate me for this, but I have to share this story.

I ran into a young lady that we used to know from Grass Valley, and she told me her story. As a preface, this young lady is a tall, thin, fine featured, pretty girl. She is quite girly. I couldn't see her out hunting or even camping, for that matter. I may misjudge her, but can I call her prissy?

So, she shares her story with me.... She was driving home to Fish Lake one day and just before she gets to the reservoir a deer runs out in front of her little car. Her dad had told her on many occasions that the most common and dangerous thing to do when about to hit a deer is to swerve, causing the car to roll. You should hit the deer, save the driver. Right. So just as she is about to hit the deer, she closes her eyes, takes her hands off the wheel (in case she instinctively swerves) and opens her mouth wide and screams.

The deer hit the front of her car, rolled up over the hood, gutting itself in the process. It and all its now fluid-like innards went through the windshield and all over the girl with her open screaming mouth. She had 2 black eyes and was covered completely with blood and guts. She was still screaming when the ambulance got there. They insisted on giving her oxygen. She said she thought it was to get her to stop screaming! Poor kid!

Finally got the new light in the front room!

It was a huge undertaking that took us 4 hours to complete.




Part of the project difficulty was getting the 18 foot ladder to fit in our front room that has a 17 foot ceiling. We had to push all the furniture out of the way and spread the legs of the ladder as far apart as we could and managed to get it in place with about 2 inches to spare.



Kate was our master electrician and did a great job. First, she took down the old light.




Mike and Daddy worked really hard getting the links of the chain opened up in order attach it to the ceiling and the light.
(Daddy was camera shy)



Mike held the light and kept weight off it while Kate got it hooked up.



Wil came and hung out with us while we worked on the light. He wanted to help but we wouldn't let him on the ladder!



Of course, Mike and Kate just had to do some Michelangelo reference!




Mike put all the glass thingers on which actually took awhile because they all have rings that screw on that hold the glass in place.



We even had a process for Kate handing Mike the light bulbs. There are 12 of them!




The light even works! (How can you see with all that light!)



So here's the finished product. Its so nice to have it all done.




It looks pretty good when viewed with the whole room too. I tried to take a picture with the light off so you could see it better, but my camera quit.


(Kate also installed the other 13 lights around the front room and entry as well as down the hall upstairs.)

Sunflower Patio

I am loving the sunflowers!

I know, Stef thinks I'm crazy to plant them, and maybe she's right,
but don't they make a nice privacy fence?
And since Stef gave the seeds to me in the first place,
this awesome fence didn't cost me a cent to build.
They make our west patio a very nice place to sit and relax.
(And yes, I have sat and relaxed there!)

I think I'll plant a whole forest of them next year!

What a silly boy!

The story behind the picture is that we finally got new carpet in the front room, and the old stuff got put in the garage (for lack of a better place at the time). So, a few days later, the boys got the carpet out of the garage and spread it out on the driveway so they could roll it up tight to take it to bldg one for storage.

Wil saw it there and went out and laid on it.

So they left him there while they went around the back for something or other. When they came back, he was sound asleep, and slept there for over an hour.

I can't help wondering what the neighbors were thinking!

Poor Tom

Poor Tom got his wisdom teeth out yesterday morning.
There was a solid layer of bone between his upper wisdom teeth and his gums, so the dentist had to take them out the side. OUCH!


This is how he spent the afternoon.





This was after several hours of sleep and many drugs!



This is the next day. (Today)
He says he doesn't mean to look pathetic, he just can't move his face without a lot of pain. No smiling! Laughing makes him bleed again. He has really struggled with the bleeding, so he's being very careful.



It is no fun to be sick! (or in pain)
I'm sure he'll recover soon and be back to his cheerful self.

We had a great snowstorm just in time for everyone to show up at our house. The snow lasted just long enough for Shawn and Lisa and their crew to make a really cool snowman. Look! He's even got a drink. I'm certain he was thirsty too, cause the sun got hot and he didn't even last the day.
Poor Frosty!
Maybe if he'd had a better hat.....?

Let's compare!

Jamie asked me to post these picture awhile ago, and I'm just getting to it. Sorry, Jamie!
Don't they look sooo cute?

These pictures were taken at my birthday gathering (which was a lot of fun, btw. Thanks!!!).

Spring is here!

I have proof of Spring. It's not just wishful thinking anymore. My chickens have laid their first egg!!! Yeah for chickens!

We also got 67 new chicks to raise up for the school. (IFA had them for 50% off) They can stay in the garage until a coop is built at the school, they get too big for their box, or they start to smell too much. Either of those could get them banished from the garage, but we'll wait and see.


For right now, we're just trying to keep them from being frozen when Gpa leaves the garage door open for his dog to go in and out, or eaten by the same beforementioned dog. So far, so good.

The dog and I have an understanding. I look at him and he cowers and runs away. Works for me! LOL!

Well, except when he sneaks in the house and I try to get him out. Then his cowering and running away makes it impossible for me to catch him and get him out. Gpa is the only one who can get him to go outside and he's non too quick about it. He feels so bad for his poor little poochie who has to stay in the garage! Poor baby!

But, I digress! We were talking about chickens. We have aplenty! Soon we'll have aplenty of eggs as well. So if anyone needs some, call me! :)

No Longer Naked!

I have finally broken down and furnished the front room! It took me forever, I know, to find the stuff I wanted, but now I have and I'm really happy with it. I still need to paint, find lamps, change the chandelier, carpet, etc., but its a start. It feels like we added on to the house. We have a whole new room to enjoy!

Painting the Front Room

So, this is what happens when you let your kids help you paint!


Gratefully, it all turned out good in the end. (After 3 coats) I'm just hoping that Shawn's eyesight dims somewhat before they come to visit again. :)

We are enjoying it at any rate.
Next... the railings!