Sometime this week I would have been celebrating the 16th birthday of my second child. I am mourning instead, because I suffered a miscarriage 10 weeks into my pregnancy. Early I know, but no less devastating to lose my baby. It still hurts today.
Most of the time, I'm okay. This loss may explain my zeal for making baby quilts to be given to infants born at the local hospitals, babies who sometimes go home without a warm blankie to snuggle in. I honestly don't think about my missing child while I'm working on those quilts. I'm filled with joy, thinking of the child that particular quilt will end up with, sewing love and good wishes as well as stitches.
But today, that loss is heavy on my heart. Someone in my life is facing the emminent loss of their unborn child. I can do nothing for this person but love them, and grieve with them. And to be honest, that sucks. Big time.
Tomorrow, I will be working on three more quilts for babies I will never meet. And I'm afraid that I will be shedding tears as well as joy and love all over those quilts.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
It's A Good Thing I'm Cute
So, I made this grand decision that I was going to raise laying hens, reducing my family and friends need to buy eggs at the store. I, of course, jumped into this with both feet, and not much of a sense of what this was all going to entail, but hey, a positive attitude counts for something.
So on a Sunday morning, Brad and I headed down to the local feed store, because it was Chick Days! Over 1000 chicks, all tiny, cute peeping bundles of fuzz. Now mind you, we did not intend to purchase chicks on this day. We didn't have a coop built yet, and besides, Brad was sure this was only the first of four chick days. We'd have at least a month to get the coop up, and get ready for said chickens. On a side note, Brad and I have been together for almost 24 years now. He should know that I am totally powerless in the face of cute, tiny, fuzzy baby animals. This is why we have five barn cats. Barn cats that I feed twice a day, name, and worry over incessantly. And a house cat. The only reason we don't have more than two dogs is that Keon is HUGE, and the thought of another dog galloping around the house fills me with terror. All I'm saying, Brad should have known better.
Upon arrival at said local feed store, we found the room of chicks. Dear sweet mercy people, the level of cuteness was staggering. As was the level of peeping. I never stood a chance. Especially when our friend and next door neighbor who works there informed us that this was the only Chick Days. There would be no other days of suffocating cute fluffiness. What's a girl to do? Undetered by the fact that I had no coop for these darling chicks, I proceeded to pick out 16 darling, tiny Rhode Island Red Chicks. Was I at all concerned that only four of them were red, and the other 12 were yellow? No, not me. Remember that comment earlier about not much sense. Yeah.
People, I have 12 Cornish Cross broiler chickens, and four Rhode Island Red chickens. Cornish Cross broiler chickens are not egg layers. They are MEAT chickens. I did not want meat chickens at this juncture in my chicken career. Eventually yes, but not now. I wanted laying hens.
Looking at my darling Rhode Island Red chicks this morning (they are about three weeks 0ld at this point), I noticed that three of them appear to be growing lovely, curving ROOSTER tails. Yes, that's right. Out of 16 chicks, I managed to get ONE, I repeat, ONE freaking laying hen. Please excuse me while I have a little drink.
So on a Sunday morning, Brad and I headed down to the local feed store, because it was Chick Days! Over 1000 chicks, all tiny, cute peeping bundles of fuzz. Now mind you, we did not intend to purchase chicks on this day. We didn't have a coop built yet, and besides, Brad was sure this was only the first of four chick days. We'd have at least a month to get the coop up, and get ready for said chickens. On a side note, Brad and I have been together for almost 24 years now. He should know that I am totally powerless in the face of cute, tiny, fuzzy baby animals. This is why we have five barn cats. Barn cats that I feed twice a day, name, and worry over incessantly. And a house cat. The only reason we don't have more than two dogs is that Keon is HUGE, and the thought of another dog galloping around the house fills me with terror. All I'm saying, Brad should have known better.
Upon arrival at said local feed store, we found the room of chicks. Dear sweet mercy people, the level of cuteness was staggering. As was the level of peeping. I never stood a chance. Especially when our friend and next door neighbor who works there informed us that this was the only Chick Days. There would be no other days of suffocating cute fluffiness. What's a girl to do? Undetered by the fact that I had no coop for these darling chicks, I proceeded to pick out 16 darling, tiny Rhode Island Red Chicks. Was I at all concerned that only four of them were red, and the other 12 were yellow? No, not me. Remember that comment earlier about not much sense. Yeah.
People, I have 12 Cornish Cross broiler chickens, and four Rhode Island Red chickens. Cornish Cross broiler chickens are not egg layers. They are MEAT chickens. I did not want meat chickens at this juncture in my chicken career. Eventually yes, but not now. I wanted laying hens.
Looking at my darling Rhode Island Red chicks this morning (they are about three weeks 0ld at this point), I noticed that three of them appear to be growing lovely, curving ROOSTER tails. Yes, that's right. Out of 16 chicks, I managed to get ONE, I repeat, ONE freaking laying hen. Please excuse me while I have a little drink.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Home Again, Home Again
As of Saturday, February 21st, we are home, sweet home. It was just a little over two months since the fire, but it certainly seemed like a lifetime. Everything went by the wayside, except for working on the house. Now we are trying to put everything away, and resume some sort of normalcy in our lives. Or at least what passes for normal around here.
I wish the blog had not suffered, but I only had so much energy, and to tell the truth, I spent a period of time terrible depressed. I am better now, and so grateful for my home and my family. I will be posting on a regular basis now. I find this helps me clear my mind, and focus. Now if it could only clear out all those boxes cluttering up my pretty new home! LOL
I wish the blog had not suffered, but I only had so much energy, and to tell the truth, I spent a period of time terrible depressed. I am better now, and so grateful for my home and my family. I will be posting on a regular basis now. I find this helps me clear my mind, and focus. Now if it could only clear out all those boxes cluttering up my pretty new home! LOL
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Hug somebody
Just when you think you are beginning to get a handle on things, life tosses another disaster your way. At least this time, the disaster may actually be running in our favor. You be the judge.
Sunday evening we were having some problems with breakers blowing in our house. Nothing Brad or our electrician friend did could make the breakers stay on. Half of my house was without power, including my sewing room. The electrician friend was going to think on things overnight, and come back Monday to see if he could figure things out. He was sure it was a short, just not sure where it might be. Also, the funny smell that came and went was a little troubling, but not overly so.
Fast-forward to 1:41 am. The funny smell is now so strong that it smells like smoke. I get up, go into the family room, and hear crackling coming from my ceiling. I check outside to make sure the snow storm from hell has not descended. Clear, cold sky. (Cold as in -15). I get Brad up, and make him come listen to the ceiling. It is on fire people. Yes, I said fire. As in flames, in my ceiling, of my home.
I get Sara up, throw on some clothes, and start gathering things to get the hell out of the house. Brad is calling 911. Sara is getting dressed, still not sure what is going on, but knows when Mom uses that voice, she'd better shake it fast. I grab my car keys, Penny dog, and head out to my Jeep. Get Penny loaded, move the Jeep away from the front of the house. Start Brad's truck, and head back in for Keon. Keon is scared out of his tiny yellow Lab mind, and does not want to leave the house. Sara manages to get him into my Jeep. I grab Bast, and throw her in Sara's car. Head back into the house, get all the cash, important papers, and checks. Brad and Sara are loading guns and game mounts into the back of the truck. I grab a couple of rifles to put in the cab of the truck, and realize that while I did good starting the truck, I also managed to lock the doors, with the only key in the ignition. Swearing commenced. Crying also, to tell the truth.
One advantage to living in a rural area is that you have a damn good chance that one of your next door neighbors is a member of the voluteer fire department. Martin was at my house in three minutes. He assessed the situation, and helped us move things out of the house. There isn't much else I can do at this point. The fire trucks have arrived, so I go stand by the Jeep, call my brother Joe in California, and cry like a little girl. Joe is awesome, lets me babble all I want, and keeps me out of everyone else's hair so they can do what needs to be done. It takes a good man to get a hysterical phone call from your sister in the middle of the night, stay calm, and talk her down. I love him more than words can say. I'm even sorry for most of the lousy things I did to him when we were kids.
The firemen were awesome. They got in the house, moved my tin pie safe to a safer place, took all my family pictures off the wall and stacked them in the kitchen. One guy opened up the ceiling while another stood ready with the water hose. The fire was out in minutes. I walked back in the house, and the guys apologized for the mess. For crying out loud, these guys saved my house, and they thought I'd be upset over a mess. I could have kissed them all. Seriously.
What could have been a devastating loss is only minor damage. The insurance company is being awesome, the adjustor was at the house within three hours of the initial phone call to our agent. My girlfriend Susan hadn't rented her trailer home yet, and the insurance company paid for two months of rent and utilites yesterday. Brad's boss loaned us the big enclosed trailer to move our furniture with. The dogs are safe at the boarder until we get all moved in, and then they can come home. Bast is still at the house, safe in my bedroom, and I'll bring her over the rental tomorrow or Friday. We did not loose one personal possession people. Just carpet, drywall, flooring, etc. Not one personal thing. We've had more offers of help, places to stay, the girls next door offered to take over feeding the horses and cows for us. The place we are renting is only about three miles away from home. Susan and her husband Tom opened their home to us until we get things moved and arranged in the rental. We are well insured, so everything will be fixed, and even some things will be uprgraded.
Most importantly, we are all safe, and know exactly how many people we can count on. That list is large, and perhaps the best Christmas present I will ever receive. There will be no presents this year, but I have my family, my friends, my pets, and my home. I think that is enough.
Getting ahold of me will be a little difficult for a while. Either send me an email to moosethreaddesigns AT gmail DOT com, or call my cell 406-240-9270. If you are a spammer, and call my phone, I will hunt you down and make your life miserable. I promise.
Just know that we are all safe, sound, and in very good hands. This last year has been trying, and damn near impossible, but I have lots of people who love my family, and are taking good care of us. I can't explain how grateful I am for all of that. Go hug someone for me, okay?
Sunday evening we were having some problems with breakers blowing in our house. Nothing Brad or our electrician friend did could make the breakers stay on. Half of my house was without power, including my sewing room. The electrician friend was going to think on things overnight, and come back Monday to see if he could figure things out. He was sure it was a short, just not sure where it might be. Also, the funny smell that came and went was a little troubling, but not overly so.
Fast-forward to 1:41 am. The funny smell is now so strong that it smells like smoke. I get up, go into the family room, and hear crackling coming from my ceiling. I check outside to make sure the snow storm from hell has not descended. Clear, cold sky. (Cold as in -15). I get Brad up, and make him come listen to the ceiling. It is on fire people. Yes, I said fire. As in flames, in my ceiling, of my home.
I get Sara up, throw on some clothes, and start gathering things to get the hell out of the house. Brad is calling 911. Sara is getting dressed, still not sure what is going on, but knows when Mom uses that voice, she'd better shake it fast. I grab my car keys, Penny dog, and head out to my Jeep. Get Penny loaded, move the Jeep away from the front of the house. Start Brad's truck, and head back in for Keon. Keon is scared out of his tiny yellow Lab mind, and does not want to leave the house. Sara manages to get him into my Jeep. I grab Bast, and throw her in Sara's car. Head back into the house, get all the cash, important papers, and checks. Brad and Sara are loading guns and game mounts into the back of the truck. I grab a couple of rifles to put in the cab of the truck, and realize that while I did good starting the truck, I also managed to lock the doors, with the only key in the ignition. Swearing commenced. Crying also, to tell the truth.
One advantage to living in a rural area is that you have a damn good chance that one of your next door neighbors is a member of the voluteer fire department. Martin was at my house in three minutes. He assessed the situation, and helped us move things out of the house. There isn't much else I can do at this point. The fire trucks have arrived, so I go stand by the Jeep, call my brother Joe in California, and cry like a little girl. Joe is awesome, lets me babble all I want, and keeps me out of everyone else's hair so they can do what needs to be done. It takes a good man to get a hysterical phone call from your sister in the middle of the night, stay calm, and talk her down. I love him more than words can say. I'm even sorry for most of the lousy things I did to him when we were kids.
The firemen were awesome. They got in the house, moved my tin pie safe to a safer place, took all my family pictures off the wall and stacked them in the kitchen. One guy opened up the ceiling while another stood ready with the water hose. The fire was out in minutes. I walked back in the house, and the guys apologized for the mess. For crying out loud, these guys saved my house, and they thought I'd be upset over a mess. I could have kissed them all. Seriously.
What could have been a devastating loss is only minor damage. The insurance company is being awesome, the adjustor was at the house within three hours of the initial phone call to our agent. My girlfriend Susan hadn't rented her trailer home yet, and the insurance company paid for two months of rent and utilites yesterday. Brad's boss loaned us the big enclosed trailer to move our furniture with. The dogs are safe at the boarder until we get all moved in, and then they can come home. Bast is still at the house, safe in my bedroom, and I'll bring her over the rental tomorrow or Friday. We did not loose one personal possession people. Just carpet, drywall, flooring, etc. Not one personal thing. We've had more offers of help, places to stay, the girls next door offered to take over feeding the horses and cows for us. The place we are renting is only about three miles away from home. Susan and her husband Tom opened their home to us until we get things moved and arranged in the rental. We are well insured, so everything will be fixed, and even some things will be uprgraded.
Most importantly, we are all safe, and know exactly how many people we can count on. That list is large, and perhaps the best Christmas present I will ever receive. There will be no presents this year, but I have my family, my friends, my pets, and my home. I think that is enough.
Getting ahold of me will be a little difficult for a while. Either send me an email to moosethreaddesigns AT gmail DOT com, or call my cell 406-240-9270. If you are a spammer, and call my phone, I will hunt you down and make your life miserable. I promise.
Just know that we are all safe, sound, and in very good hands. This last year has been trying, and damn near impossible, but I have lots of people who love my family, and are taking good care of us. I can't explain how grateful I am for all of that. Go hug someone for me, okay?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
I Am Thankful For
- A husband who loves me no matter what, and understands my need for good books, music, fabric, and yarns - and tells me to go have a little shopping spree from time to time
- A daughter who is working her ass off going to school full time, working full time, and still is able to run a little errand for her forgetful mother
- A warm comfortable home, with my own little sewing studio in it
- Animals (cats, dogs, horses) who make me smile, and give me loving for just a little kibble now and then
- An extended family who I know loves me, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other
- Friends I can count on, who inspire me to be a better person
- Living in a country where I can have my own opinion, express it, and suffer no violence for it.
- Realizing I am living through, and contributing to, history
- A million other things that escape me at the moment, but fill my heart with warmth and light
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Day
Today is finally the day to take advantage of our right to decide who will be at the helm of our country for the next four years. If you do not vote, you are allowing someone else the control of your life. I don't know about you, but I have so little control of my life these days, I'm not willing to relinquish this bit.
We were quite disturbed this morning to find out that Brad and Sara were not on the voting rolls, even though both had registered, and Brad had definately voted in the last election. Brad's going down to the courthouse to check it out on his lunch hour, but it doesn't look good people. Yes, we should have checked before this. Yes, we will next election. Meanwhile, I will be casting my vote this afternoon, and enjoying the hell out of my right and priviledge as an American.
That is all, carry on, and for the love of mercy people, VOTE!!!
We were quite disturbed this morning to find out that Brad and Sara were not on the voting rolls, even though both had registered, and Brad had definately voted in the last election. Brad's going down to the courthouse to check it out on his lunch hour, but it doesn't look good people. Yes, we should have checked before this. Yes, we will next election. Meanwhile, I will be casting my vote this afternoon, and enjoying the hell out of my right and priviledge as an American.
That is all, carry on, and for the love of mercy people, VOTE!!!
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