From a Barn to a Shop and More...

The dirt floor barn is quickly being transformed into a shop!  Steve is excited and believe it or not I am super excited for him!

As you know, it started looking like this:

We got it concreted:

The insulators came and started doing their job:

 And they did a super job!

 And they cleaned it all up spic and span!  If you need anything insulated, call these guys:

Their phone number is:  918-223-5843.  They do insulation jobs anywhere from here to Missouri and we highly recommend them.  We are definitely satisfied customers!

Moving on... we got a package a few days ago - it made me smile:

It was some awesome treats for our myriad of pets.  

Even the kitties:

We have not given them away yet  :-(  It is not in me - but I know I have to do it.  Meet from left to right:  Calli too, Cutie, Socks, Mittens and the Tiger.

Chelsea loves her raccoon... 

In fact, she is squeaking it right now and thrashing it side to side.  Wonder if I can get her to do that to the real ones outside?
 

And we cannot forget about the momma cat, Sparkles...
 

The missing cat Princess is in hiding.  It think she feels invaded... I wonder why?

I have gotten several supportive e-mails about my post yesterday and I appreciate each one of them.  Stuff happens, and I don't think this is permanent, but I get so blown away about what turns people from ones they supposedly love.  I can see getting angry, but disowning someone for a mistake?  Really?  

Even if it is not a permanent 'disown', is it really necessary to batter someone with a bunch of hateful and hurtful things?  Step back and take a breather instead of saying something you can't take back!  I did say something that should not have been said - and no I cannot take it back, but it was innocent and I immediately apologized.  I said it in a flippant manner meant to be a jab/joke, and when I realized it wasn't taken that way, I apologized, but the next 30 minutes were brutal.  The next 4 days have been worse.  No communication whatsoever.  And I don't believe I am the only one that made a mistake - but at least mine was innocent.  

Anyway, all is ok.  It will work out and I hope it does soon.  I can proudly say I don't hold grudges and life would be so much better if others didn't either.  Life is too short for not moving on.

On to terrific news!  My sister is coming!  She and her family are moving from Seattle to Mobile, and they are driving across country in the process.  Our place is a pausing point from one place to the other.  I am super excited!  They will be here tomorrow, so expect lots of pictures!  I can't wait to see them, and I can't wait for all the celebrations!  Sunday will be family and friend day - hope everyone comes!  Looking so forward to it... and now I must go shop for the army...

Have a great day and remember, let it go and move on!  Make someone smile today - that grocery clerk might have had a rough start, but you can change her day with a smile and encouragement.  Give it a shot.  I will!

Redirecting My Energy

I gotta tell you, I am pretty bummed.  Drama every where I look... and many reasons why... many people involved... but I am not going to elaborate on any of it - it is all just senseless drama... but it has made me think... made things come into perspective for me...

What I am going to comment on is things that all that drama does for me... it brings me back to this:

We Have Geese!

I don't know if I am supposed to be happy about that or not!  Chelsea was outside cocking her head and raising one ear - like "I don't know what I am supposed to do - do I heard them?  Chase them?  Mommy, come look!"  So I went and looked to see what she was taking a gander at:

GEESE!  And lots of them, I might add!  So, even though I am not sure whether this is good or bad, I am excited to see they love our pond!  Funny stuff excites me, doesn't it?

Sadly, this doesn't excite me.  Our living room is bare: 

 

Well, it was bare in these pictures yesterday morning... I had to clean all the 'stuff yet to be hung or a place found for' out so I could get furniture. 

For whatever reason, Steve decided it was time to get furniture for the living room.  So I searched high and low for something I actually wanted.  I am not a shopper.  Which means I am certainly not a furniture shopper.  After searching the city over, I finally settled on a set of furniture, but I didn't like the colors it came in, so what do I do?  I special order it.  Do you hear that Cindy, Dezra, Susan and Chris?  Yes, I did - I special ordered it!  I took lessons from Dezra and ordered it.  Cindy, I know you are shaking your head...  Lol... 

Well, it finally came in and was delivered yesterday. I wanted neutral so I could change colors on a whim... you all know how often I do such things, right?  Ok, so I am going to TRY to change things on a whim... 

Here is what we ended up with:

No, no, NO!  I am not finished decorating - I just got the blasted set in there!  It is a far cry from done, but you can at least come see me and we will have a 'ladies' place to sit - away from the noisy men!  No pictures are hung - in fact, I haven't even decided if I am using them - but that is what I am tossing around.  Suggestions?  Please?  Oh my gosh, those shelves!  What do I do with them?  I have more plates, but not sure if I like them, but what else would I put there?  This does not excite me; the furniture, the decorating or the decisions.  Can I hire an interior decorator please?  Carey?

I *know* I have to add color... LOTS of color... lol...

Nate?  Do you see the sofa on the left?  The one under the blue picture?  Meet your bed!  I got a sofa sleeper just fer you!  Good thing we have Steve around to insist on furniture - we would be all sitting and sleeping on the floor!

Steve is no insisting on a gas range.  I think my electric is just fine... just ignore me when I fuss about it, ok?  Oh, he claims he wants to eat this winter... being in the country, I think our chances of being first back on after an electrical outage are slim to none.  Guess what I am shopping for today.  Ugh.

Chelsea is doing well, all things considered.  She runs a lot, plays a lot, herds the 4-wheeler when mommy takes it out, she tosses her toys about, checks out the kitties (I still can't bring myself to bring them in) and is overall a great dog!  I love her to death!

Most of the time:

She swears it just flew up and pounced on her.  I know better.

Finally, a picture from last night:

So beautiful and relaxing... life is good.

But I have to go shop now.

Pet Peeve Rant

Steve and I have our names on every account we have - and always have had both of our names on every account - and contrary to popular belief, I don't ASK him to add my name.  He does it.

Our first payment on our house was last month.  I am trying to set up automatic payments online.  I paid the bill last month and in doing so I had to set up an account.   It asked the last for digits of my Social Security number to which I replied ####.  The system said "I am sorry, I don't recognize ####, please enter the last four digits of your SSN again.  I did.  It didn't recognize it.  I did it three more times.  It didn't recognize it.  So the next time I added his SSN ****.  OF COURSE it accepted it.  I made an account like I always do using my common user name and an exclusive password.

Fast forward to today.  I cannot sign on with the user name and password I used.  I *know* it is right.  I am the one that set it and I am the one that noted it immediately as I always do and double checked it.  It worked then - why won't it work now?

So I call the financial institution that we use.   

If you are a wife, you *know* the rest of this story... right?  

They cannot talk to you because you are not him.  

"Of course it is in both of your names mam, but because you used HIS information to set up the account HE has to call and get it all changed."  

"Am I on the account?"  

"Yes mam, you are definitely on the account!"  

"Do you see my personal information there?  The last 4 digits of my account number ####?"  

"No mam, that is not the SSN used on this account."  

"Am I on this account?  Are you sure?  Because we both cannot have the same SSN... mine is ####!"  

"Yes mam, you are on this account!"  

"How can I set up an account for me if you are not recognizing I am on this account?"  

"Oh!  You are definitely on this account mam!  You must go in under your SSN and start your own username and password."  

"And how can I do that to set up an account for me if you don't recognize MY SSN?" 

"Mam, your husband will have to call and make arrangements to change his password."  

"But, he didn't set the password, *I* did."  

"But you did it under his name and SSN!"  

"But it wouldn't take MY information!  How else am I supposed to do it?"  

"Mam, I am sorry about the inconvenience, I can set up an account for you to get into that account.  What user name would you like to use?"  

"The same one that is on HIS account that *I* set up!"  

"I am sorry mam, that is HIS username.  You will have to chose a different one or have your husband call to reset his password on the account you want to pay.  If he chooses, he can give you that information so that you can pay the bill or we can continue to set up your account so you can pay on the account." 

Pay the bill dear. 

A wife is useless in business transactions.  

This crap makes me feel so worthless and I am not!   I PAY THE FREAKING BILLS!!

How am I supposed to personally sign up under MY name if it won't pull up MY SSN???  And why can she do it online, not having a clue if I am who I say I am or not without MY information???

*rant over*  Time for him to start paying the bills.  

New Family Member

We have a new family member!  Her name is Baby, but we are going to call her Baby and Chelsea.  She is a super smart, adorable border collie.  

Here is her picture:

And let me tell you, she might be the smartest doggy in the country - you know, RURAL country - not city!  I have already taught her to fetch!  

Steve and I are both in love with her.  Yeppers, she found a forever home!

One Little, Two Little, Three Little...

Kitties, four little, five little, six little kitties... seven...

I GET SO FURIOUS WITH PEOPLE!!

We live out in the country - FAR out in the country.  So far out no one comes to see us except true, honest to God friends.  Sometimes we are lucky enough for family to come see us even.  However, it is a chore to get here.

But here is the kicker!  People who don't want animals find us.  Farmers obviously have lots of land so they have lots of room for cats, dogs, whatever else you don't want. Right?  Just drop it/them off and they will find the perfect home to live at, right??  WRONG!

We live far off the road - VERY far off the road.  We have to go to the front to get mail and such and we go visit neighbors.  A few nights ago, Steve and I were checking on some neighbors and saw deer down the road.  We went to investigate and lo and behold the deer were gone, but there was a kitten.  I had him stop and pick the pour baby up.  We brought it home, fed it and loved on it and called it Tiger:

Tiger came with a price.  Tiger's mom came next:

And when she figured it was safe, she started bringing her kittens.  One by one... ALL of her kittens!  I swear the kittens just kept coming!  I have no idea how many we have now, but we have a tidy little number.  Here are just a few of them:

Tiger is the larger one on the right side.  He has to eat separately because him and Cutie (the calico) fight.  Cutie growls and Tiger swats her.  It is adorable to watch, and those two really like each other because they cuddle together to sleep.  I think Tiger is from a different batch - he is much larger than the others, but they are all tight regardless of which litter they came from.

This, my friends, is not Tiger and not a frog:

It is a timid tiger like kitty that I cannot seem to get near.

Sadly, there is another tiger like kitty that I cannot even catch where we caught Tiger I  :-(

I keep taking food to it, but no such luck as catching it.  It is alone and all its siblings are here  :-(

THIS TICKS ME OFF!  What ticks me off??  That people drop cats (or dogs) off and *we* (me, Steve, neighbors) have to do the dirty work taking them in to the pound or try to give them away.  I am *not* a cat sanctuary and I don't want to be!  Don't get me wrong, I love cats, but I shouldn't have to take other peoples drop offs and 'dispose' of them.  I shouldn't have to decide which of these adorable kitties I can keep and which to 'discard'. 

I AM NOT *THAT* PERSON!  I HATE giving kittens away!  I HATE being the bad guy!  I would love to keep each and every one - but I TAKE CARE of my critters - I spay and neuter, love and caress, talk to and hold, take to the Dr, get shots, bathe and brush all my critters.  I cannot take in 10 cats!!

STUPID people SUCK.

*stepping off of the band wagon and going to pick up a cute, cuddly dog that someone got when it was a puppy, then 'couldn't keep because the landlords said no', so they tossed in the back yard of a family member and don't have time for it.  

I will treat it like family and it will have a home that cherishes it.  Yes we will take it to get its first shots and spayed.  Yes, I will buy it its first collar, leash and bed.  I will probably give her the first bath and get her hair trimmed.

Ask me if I am annoyed about that.

Or maybe you shouldn't. 

Please do not get a pet unless it becomes a part of your family, don't rent a place that doesn't welcome your family member.  Don't get a pet if you can't love and cherish it, train it to be a polite member of society and love it unconditionally.  

And don't dump it so other's hearts break when we do YOUR job.

And don't ever get a pet if you cannot spay and neuter immediately - if you can't do all of these things, you DON'T HAVE MONEY OR THE HEART FOR A PET.

*now I am really stepping off my bandwagon to lower my blood pressure.*

If you need a cat, please let me know.  I have a few to share.

We Have Concrete!

 We have concrete now!  Let the planning begin; insulation, walls, paint, shelves and hot tub... all coming soon!

We have to wait one month to paint the floor of the shop... guess he will get the insulation done, then the walls and shelves.  Lots to finish before we can bring everything back in - but it will be wonderful when it all gets back together!

This little corner of the world is mine - it will be my gardening area:
 

See the old bench right there on the left side under the clippers?  Yeah, I can't either - but it will be there soon!

Course the hot tub is not going to be in the shop - but right here on this slab:
 

Melvin Hubbard and his crew did a fantastic job on the concrete.  Concrete was his dad's business and he grew up doing the work.  He knows his stuff!  It took 1.5 days from beginning to ending for this job to be finished.  Great job guys and excellent work!

If you need concrete laid east of Tulsa in the Claremore/Inola/Choteau area call:

Melvin Hubbard

918-857-1163

And tomorrow I will tell you about the kitty we found...