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Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Barn Wood

Posted in Family, Hubby, tagged , on April 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

While we were at The Farm for the weekend, I made Captain Cavedweller wander around with me while I took a boatload of photos.

I will freely admit I was more than a little fascinated by all the weathered old wood around the place.

It started with wanting some barn wood photos.

This used to be an old granary. If you look close, you’ll see even the nail heads have turned red from age and weather.

These boards were part of the old chicken coop. This would be the place where I learned to despise chickens because I just knew they were determined to peck me to pieces whenever I got sent in to collect the eggs. The chickens flew the coop about 35 years ago and the building has since been used for irrigation tube storage.

This cool shot was taken in what used to be the original shop built goodness only knows when. The back wall had this great knot hole that peeps out on one of the pastures. When I was growing up I hated walking past here because a flock of terrorist birds would dive bomb me almost every time. So you learned to run fast and hope for the best.

This door used to let the cows out of the milk barn and it seemed like it weighed half a ton when I got stuck opening it. Maybe I need to resume a fitness routine that involves pulling way too heavy doors open. It was great for keeping the arms in shape. This would also be the door that didn’t get opened soon enough on one particular occasion which resulted in the cow going down the steps, into the milkroom and chasing my mom around the tank until my dad and brother came to the rescue.

This is one of the old barn windows. Surprisingly, all the panes were intact. If you look really closely in the right-hand side, you can almost see Captain Cavedweller. He’d be thrilled to know I caught him in the reflection. Or not.

She Who Likes Old Wood

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Keepin’ An Eye Out

Posted in Family, tagged , , , on April 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

When we went to The Farm for the weekend, I took along my new camera. (That would be the one that makes me smile deliriously every time I get to use it.)

Anyway, I took a few hundred photos of all sorts of farm-related things like barnwood, animals, tractors and even some little people who like devouring candy like it was, well, candy.

And they all looked at me like I needed watching. I kid you not.

It started with this big burly fellow. He kept giving me the eye and I decided to let him be. I’m pretty sure he ate the plywood that is missing and the iron bars were next on his menu.

I wandered over to the pasture where the baby calves were frolicking and enjoying the sunshine. These two stopped jumping around long enough for me to grab a quick shot. They weren’t too keen on the camera or me.

My time spent admiring the bovine babies came to an abrupt halt when this Mama decided I was trouble with a capital T. You go ahead and convince her I came in peace and meant no harm. As for me, I’ll be on the other side of the fence quietly moseying on.

Even the horses weren’t convinced I was not intent on disrupting their blissful rural existence. It took two tries and a flake of hay along with coaxing by my nephew to get them to stand still long enough to snap this photo.

My buddy Pete knows I can be trusted. He has to keep his eye on some of the other characters, but not me. I scratch his ears, rub his back and tell him he is a good boy. He, in turn, rubs against my legs until he nearly knocks me down.

And this kiddo – she keeps her eye on me to make sure I’m watching her antics, not hiding any presents or pilfering her chocolate. Like her auntie, she has a thing for candy. I kind of like her… whole heaps and bunches.

She Who Has Been Watched

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Don’t be an April Fool

Posted in Family, Musings, tagged on March 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Tomorrow is April’s Fools Day. A day celebrated around the world on April 1.

Sometimes referred to as All Fool’s Day, it is not a legal holiday. Instead it is a day that tolerates practical jokes, many pranks and much running amuck.

Supposedly, the day is marked by good humor and funny jokes, tricks and good-natured ribbing. The variety and depth depends entirely on those partaking in the frivolity.

I will admit that I have participated in the shenanigans of the day in past years, sometimes on the giving end and sometimes on the receiving end.

The  April Fool’s Day I remember the most is the year I played a nasty joke on my dad. Like me, he loves sweets and is unable to pass by candy, especially things like chocolate covered nuts.

Mom had a bag of frozen peas in the freezer, so with a little effort, I managed to melt some chocolate and dip each frozen pea, completely covering it and making it look like a very round and somewhat mutated peanut drenched in chocolate. When Daddy came in for dinner, I had the bowl of the “candy” strategically placed so he couldn’t miss it. Sure enough, he walked in and took a handful of candy and popped it in his mouth.  I believe there was probably much spluttering, spewing and quite likely a threat or two made about the ability of me being able to sit down in the very near future.

After seeing the look of revulsion and disgust on his face, I have since refrained from messing with food on April Fool’s Day. It really was cruel and unusual punishment.

So however you celebrate the (or hide from it, as the case may be), I hope you don’t encounter any chocolate covered peas.

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The Adventures of a Gypsy

Posted in Family, Musings, Success Tips on March 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

The other day I found this envelope in my mailbox. It was from my Daddy. (I’d stop right here and tell you how much I love Priority Mail envelopes, but I’ll save that for another day).

For his birthday in December, I begged and pleaded and whined with anyone who would listen to share stories, photos and memories  of my dad and assembled it all into a book for him. I think he liked it… at least a little bit. So that inspired him to start writing down his memories. He’s been keeping me faithfully updated every week on his progress. When I spoke with him Sunday, he said he was mailing me his “mess” to take a look at. So when the envelope arrived the other day, I certainly wasn’t expecting his memories to be all typed and categorized.

He decided to call his story “The Adventures of a Gypsy.” When he and my mom were young and crazy and newly married, they moved something like 17 times in 13 years. I’m glad I wasn’t around for all that excitement. My brothers and sister got in on all that fun. By the time I  arrived in the picture, they had firmly sunk their roots into the family farm where they lived for almost a decade before I was born, and still live today. The only move that has been made in the last 40 years was when they built a new house on the place and moved from the old farm house into the new one.

I have to tell you, when I sat down and started reading Daddy’s memories, I was surprised by all the stories I don’t remember ever hearing. He did a great job of providing details, dates, names, and he even added in pictures with descriptions. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have these memories, especially with Daddy’s handwritten notes. What little bit of a sense of humor I have, came from him and he was on a roll with his stories. I was laughing so hard, Captain Cavedweller stuck his nose out of his man cave to see what all the ruckus was about, then sat and laughed along with me.

Stories and memories are priceless. Truly they are. Especially when they come with photos like the one above attached. Goodness only knows what they were up to, but my dad would be the character on the right.

If you’ve thought about writing down your memories for your kids or grandkids, stop thinking about it and do it. They won’t care if you hand write them, type them, record them or put them on video. The important thing is to preserve them in some form.

I’m so glad my Daddy did.

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