I've had the high honor of being nominated for the Liebster Award from K @ Planning And Foresight
The Basic Guidelines:
Nominate 5 blogs with less than 300 followers
Share 5 random facts
Answer 5 questions
Think of 5 new questions for those you nominate.
My Nominations in alphabetical order.
I enjoy each of your blogs and wish I could list more
DFW @
Countin the Days
Gorges Smythe @
Gorges' Grouse
Jane of Virginia @
Rational Preparedness
Sandy @
Oklahoma Transient
Tombstone Livestock @
Tombstones Tidings
5 Random Facts:
1. I have been a caregiver to my son for 18 years
2. Before the economy fell apart I hybridized Brugmansia flowers and was the owner of Seed Sprout Nursery
3. Our family has been featured on Fox News
4. I believe I am exactly where I am supposed to be
5. I love everything about homesteading
5 Questions answered:
1- What is your favorite color? Red
2- What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? huh?
3- What started you into blogging? I started out with American Preppers and ran the first Florida Blog. There use to be a whole lot of squabbling between people there and I decided to give it up and started my own blog. I deleted my first one and missed it so much...here I am again.
4- What is your favorite disaster/survival movie?
My newest one is The Grey
5- If you only had three plugs for electricity: What would you have plugged in? (no power strips!) It would have to be for the Marine. His air bed, oxygen concentrate and suction machine
5 New questions:
1. If you could invent a vaccine for any one disease that would not harm anyone, what would it be?
2. What is the most favorite object inside your home?
3. What is your favorite food?
4. Will you be able to grow most of your food if you could not go shopping?
5. What is your best talent?
I blocked two followers this week who joined my blog.
The first blog I clicked on was in a foreign language and had a translate button. I translated it to English and the best I could tell in one post is they were writing about parrots. When I clicked on older post it kept scrolling and scrolling until I was way back into the beginning of last year. I have never seen a blog do this before.
Today I again had a new follower...I clicked on the blog to find out about them. Another foreign language. This time I did not even try to translate to English. When I went back to my reading list I had a little box that followed me on every page that read "download this video" I don't know if anyone reading my blog could see this or not or if it was only on my dashboard.
As soon as I blocked these new followers and restarted blogger, the download video box went away. I was actually worried that my blogger account had been hacked but could not imagine why. I guess this is a new method of SPAM.
Have you had this happen to you?
Today, after my niece arrived to care for the Marine and Papa Bear and I finished the morning chores we drove to Chipley to Tractor Supply. We have plans to fence in another couple of acres for the bucks to have some green stuff on which to browse. It is much needed for more reasons than one. We found that out a couple of weeks ago.
At this time we have 4 fenced in areas and everything resembling green stuff has been eaten. My does with kids (the milkers) are on one side of our property and two of the fenced in areas are side by side on the backside of our property. A big shelter with a fence line down the center divides my younger does from the bucks. We didn't pay any attention that the hay had built up in the corner and our new buck Rudy politely gave a little leap and was over the fence and had his way with at least one of the young does. She is almost 80 pounds so I am not worried about her health, I just wasn't expecting it. If she was impregnated we can expect a kid(s) the last week in July. Such fun!..Never a dull moment here! So a new area is in order so the bucks won't be near the girls except when they are put away at night and it will give them a new area of green and we'll get more of the property cleared.
I of course forgot my list I had made prior to going to Tractor Supply so I did a quick add up in my head of what we needed plus we added some things that were not on the list. When the lady rang our purchases up I asked her if she was sure she had everything because I expected my order to be several hundred dollars more than was the total. We double checked the fencing and t post and all was there. When we went out to the loading area I immediately saw two things that I had forgotten, two gates. Papa Bear said to lets see what the truck looked like with the 75 post and 3 rolls of 200 feet of fencing and if there was room we would go back in and pay for the gates. Well... it was a good thing I didn't get the gates as the truck was loaded to the max. We really should have brought the trailer.
It was lunch time when we finished. I asked Papa Bear if he wanted o splurge and get a burger. There is a Sonic just down from Tractor Supply. We have been dieting since January 2nd so a burger and fries would be a big splurge for us. We park at the little menu board and it has changed since our last visit to Sonic. You got to remember we don't get out much.....There are no hamburgers on the menu only cheeseburgers.
I like hamburgers and I like cheese but I don't like cheese on my hamburger. Although Papa Bear is in the drivers seat he asked me to order. He hates talking into those 2 way speakers plus he doesn't hear that well. Papa Bear pushed the red button, I wedged myself between him and the steering wheel and after a few seconds a voice asks to take our order.
I told the speaker beside the little red button that I would like a number 1 with mayo and no cheese. I further added I did not want ketchup or mustard. I then ordered a number 2 which is a double cheeseburger for Papa Bear and I told the speaker I wanted cheese on that one.
Silence
The speaker came to life and asked me to repeat my order.
I repeated the order again. Number 1 with mayo, no cheese. Number 2 with cheese.
Speaker asked if I wanted fries or tater tots with the number 1 cheeseburger and if I wanted fries or onion rings with the Number 2 cheeseburger.
I told the speaker we wanted fries and diet cokes with both orders but number 1 was a hamburger not a cheeseburger.
silence
I asked the speaker did they get the order that time.
silence
a different voice comes over the speaker apologizing for the confusion and ask that the order be repeated.
I repeated it.
speaker comes back on. That is an order for a number 1 cheeseburger and 3 Number 2's with fries and how many diet cokes did you want?
How did 3 number 2's get in there?
Are you freaking kidding me? How difficult was this to understand. Was I speaking a foreign language?
I tried to place the order one more time by telling them there was no hamburgers on their menu only cheeseburgers and I did not want cheese on one of the orders. Papa Bear told them to forget the order.
The speaker said they were sorry and for us to have a nice day.
We went up the road to Wendy's which we really don't care for but we were hungry. We went inside. Guess what? ..there are no hamburgers on their menu but at least they understood what I wanted. I remember a time when everything was a hamburger and a little note was beside the price stating that cheese was 20 cents extra.
The next time (if there is a next time) I will just scrape off the cheese or better yet....grill me a big ol juicy hamburger at home. Papa Bear can add his own cheese.
45°FCurrent: Clear
Wind: NW at 8 mph
Humidity: 86%
Tue
72° | 37°
Wed
64° | 30°
Thu
68° | 36°
Fri
73° | 48
I don't know if you will be able to see the temps as I copied and pasted from the weather. Usually by now I have been able to start our garden. This year I am afraid to. The entire month of March looks like this. Warm during the day and then some nights will frost or freeze.
Grandson is here for the weekend. He was so excited that he has improved his conduct at school. Papa Bear decided he had done well enough that he would teach him to shoot the 22 Crickett he bought for him last month.
Grandson is leaving to go to California with his Mom for spring break in less than two weeks and won't be here for Papa Bears birthday so I decided to give Papa Bear one of his birthday presents early. After reading Duke's review of the Grizzly Target I ordered one for Papa Bear's birthday and gave it to him yesterday. Papa Bear and Grandson were thrilled to get the Grizzly Target to practice with. I decided that I would spend the afternoon grilling and give them some men time together.
When I saw the pictures I asked Grandson why he shot left handed as he is right handed? He said it felt better that way.
When Grandson saw the pictures he said, "I look cute with my rifle, right?' Do you think he may be a little conceited?...bahahaha
That little spot in the red is one of Grandson's hit with the 22. Guess Papa Bear is a good instructor even if he did let him shoot left handed!
While the fellows were busy hitting Grizzly's and water filled pop bottles, I grilled 10 pounds of chicken, 20 Bratwurst, 5 Italian sausages, 3 packages of wieners, a bag of red hot links and ham steaks. Most all of this went to the freezer so we can microwave the meat as needed.
When I got through grilling and bagging the meat for the freezer I sat down at the computer and found I had won Sandy's, of Oklahoma Transient, drawing for the Realtree vest. Papa Bear will have another birthday present! What a great weekend!
The weather is warming up nicely and the Marine is just about over his bout with bronchitis so we will be putting together our kite to fly real soon. We get a kite every year and have lots of fun until a power line or tree eats it. This year the Marine got one that is an attack helicopter. I'll post pictures when we "Go Fly a Kite!"
Hope everyone has a great week!
No...I didn't let the pot boil dry and blow them up.
I did do that once when I was a teenager. I put a couple of eggs in a pot to boil for my breakfast and then went to my room to get dressed. I heard what I thought was two gunshots! When I got to the kitchen my breakfast had exploded and was all over the walls and ceiling. I think it took me hours to clean up my Mama's kitchen. Anyway...I digress.
While looking on the chicken forum, a person asked how do you boil and peel fresh eggs without them tearing to pieces. I had tried every suggestion on that forum. Put salt in the water, put vinegar in the water, put salt and vinegar in the water. Let the eggs come to a boil and then take them from the heat. Plunge them in cold water. Put them in the refrigerator over night and then peel. Nothing has worked for me.
If I needed to take deviled eggs to a gathering or prepare them for our dinner and snacks, I would boil 20 eggs just to maybe get 10 good ones. It is frustrating. The list went on and on with all the suggestions I have tried and then I found.......
Steam them....
In all my years I have never heard of steaming an egg.
Still doubting this method would work I decided to use a dozen eggs that has been in the refrigerator for about a week. Even these, using my old method, would look mangeled by the time I was through.
But....let me tell you...... it worked.
One dozen perfectly peeled eggs!
I was still skeptical....Was this a fluke? I decided to put it to the test. I took one dozen more eggs that were gathered TODAY....... I got another perfectly, peeled dozen eggs.
Here's how I did it....
I put my steamer basket that fits firmly on top of a boiler and added enough water in the boiler to come within one inch of the bottom of the basket.
I then placed one dozen very fresh eggs in the basket.
Cover with a tight fitting lid. My stove is electric and I turned the heat to high.
When steam forms, begin timing your eggs. We like the yolks done. Mine were perfect in 20 minutes.
Place steamed eggs in a bowl of ice water. You can begin to peel these at once.
I kid you not....Once you crack them and start peeling, the shell just slips right off.
Use your favorite recipe and make you some deviled eggs. And since I got so carried away..I made chicken salad and still have eggs we can snack on the next couple of days. Good thing I have plenty of air freshener.......
and I was on the receiving end of it 18 years ago today.
Eighteen years ago on a Sunday morning a drunk driver hit the Marine in a head on collision. Two women, one just broken up with a boyfriend, had a pity party which lasted all night on into Sunday morning and our Marine and our lives were changed forever.
Just when I started writing about the experience, several years ago on my former blog, Gabby Giffords was shot and suffered a brain injury. In my opinion because she was in Congress she received the best doctors, the best medical care and the best rehab that our tax dollars could buy. I was told to find an institute for comatose patients and forget I had a son.
Someday I may write the Marines story again. People need to know just how the military treat some people. People need to know how some parents beg for help and it's not there.
I try very hard not to be be bitter as the Marine does not know that anything is wrong with him although he cannot do nothing more than lift a few fingers on his right hand and lift his right foot off of the bed an inch or two. Although his speech is very slow and slurred and sometimes very difficult to understand. He will tell me he loves me...always adding he loves me two feet more.
The Marine when he stood always towered at least a foot over me.
and almost always he has a big smile. Even though his mouth is drawing and medications have ruined his teeth....he can smile. He will tell you everyday if you ask ......HE THANKS GOD HE IS STILL ALIVE.....and so do I.
