Poison Oak, Sewing and Embroidery lessons, Word of Wisdom

My son, bless his heart, went to work looking like he had not slept in a week.  His co-worker, told him he looked like he was on drugs.  

His eyes were swollen, his ears were swollen and covered with poison oak, as well as his entire body.  I was about to take him to the doctor for a quick fix, when we started using a spray bottle of apple cider vinegar and water (50/50).  

He had been using a wash that we've always used, followed by a cream to dry it up. It just kept showing up in other places on his body.  

We mixed the water and apple cider vinegar and he sprayed himself, anytime, including taking a small bottle to work with him.  He looks so much better and he's not scratching.

I think we found the culprit too - one of the dogs.  We think the dog slept with him, then spread it, and spread it.  We did a major wipe down/clean up too. Even I got it on my arm after walking in the house and only being home for about 15 minutes.  I looked down and my entire wrist to elbow was covered in poison oak.  

We've got all three poisons here, so we have to be so careful.  We have poison sumac to kill this fall, and we've already killed much of our poison ivy.  It's the oak that keeps showing up.

As for the sewing and embroidery, my 9 year-old daughter has shown more interest than the older girls.  She's been asking for felt to make her Tiger Needle Case.  I did help her with the pattern and cutting (very sharp scissors).

She completed the embroidery, and the stitching to bind the two pieces together.  She also did the drawing for the nose, mouth and dots.

Tiger meets Tiger, and approves of him.

This morning I sipped soothing, hot coffee, from a mug from the Gauley River.  It's a mug from my Uncle.  The kids find these mugs/cups very special and take special care of them.  The mug made me remember the words of wisdom my Uncle told me.

Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
These words will now be written in my quote book, and read over and over, along with others.

Cat Days of Summer

Jasper hanging out.

Tiger hanging out.

Mattie hanging out.

Another picture of Tiger in his favorite place - on a newspaper

And another one of Mattie

Biting Flies

Finally!  I found an article for a solution to repel biting insects, including flies.  Here is the link to share with you all.  My eye balls about popped out after reading that there is a 190-proof grain alcohol.  Wow!  That's some dangerous stuff there.  

Herbs vs. Bugs:  Herbal Insect Repellant

We have been using our homemade oil mixture, for a tick repellant,  on our dogs for a week or so.  So far, it is working.  We are also putting a dab of apple cider vinegar in their water bowl, and that is keeping the fleas off of them.  So far they have not had fleas on them.  This has kept our pets healthier and we have saved almost $200.00/month on pet meds.

Good Dog!

Gus was so proud of himself.  He caught another ground hog.

Cat Days of Summer

Really Mattie?  The kitchen table?  Sheesh.  She must think she's queen of the castle today.  Good grief.

Meet Aurora (black calico) and Joey (golden tiger).  They think the lawn furniture was put outside for their convenience.

Wake Up Call

It's not what you'd expect for a wake up call, but I woke up from a wet willy.  An 80 pound hairy blob sitting on me, wagging her tail so hard the bed was shaking.  The wet willy was her tongue of course.  Blech.

Content Kid Goat

Misty is very content after being fed.  I snapped this photo when my 8^th grade daughter was relaxing in the wicker rocker on the front porch.

Misty’s brother doesn’t like to be left alone, but it’s so hard to not give this little girl attention.  Every day after school, she is in the house running around, and up on totes we leave in the kitchen for her.  One day I had to laugh, as I had turned around, she had hopped up on a kitchen chair and was looking over the table.

It’s so much fun to watch out the window and see the goats play.  When a car or school bus pulls in the driveway, Misty will jump, run, buck, and even do a sideways bounce.  She’s hilarious. 

Sunday Snow

Yes, we are getting more snow.  They are saying we may get another 4 1/2 inches.  The previous snow has almost melted, making a gushy mess in the yard.  I am almost wondering if I should stone the underside of my clotheslines for convenience year-round.  Then again I could just lay an extra piece of wood down to avoid stepping in the squishy mud.  It's all worth it.  With a large family, not using the dryer has cut down our electric bill tremendously.

Sunday's are a good day to curl up and watch Little House DVD's. . .

Or spend time crocheting Christmas gifts or hope chest blankets . . .

 
Or sipping tea, coffee, or hot chocolate . . .

Although the snow is now coming down, the chickens enjoying their time out of their coop.  As a result of the recent warmer weather, they have starting laying a few more eggs.

Even the house cats were all fired up last week.  While checking on my e-mail one morning, I kept hearing a crinkle sound.  I forgot about it, and when I stood up to leave my chair, I saw the culprit.  Tiger, my youngest daughter's cat, was carrying a skein of fuzzy yarn through the kitchen.  He looked like a wild tiger carrying his "catch of the day" and was very proud of it.  Jasper, another daughter's cat, took off with a chenille stem flower that my youngest made for me.  It has already been dunked into the water bowl this morning.

I think we'll enjoy a few board games today, a few good books, and a lot of good conversation. 

More Peas Please

Our goal was to make sure our dogs had a healthy weight balance, by substituting 1/2 their dry dog food with peas and carrots.  The results are wonderful.  Not only are they loving the change, but they now go from their own bowl, to the other bowls in search for any leftovers.

This morning "topped the cake" with results.   We found one of the cats sneaking peas from the bowl right after we poured them in, and before the dogs could even get to the bowls.

My daughter told me that if your dog is overweight by even 8 pounds it could cause havoc on their health.  In our efforts to create a healthier diet for them,  we have drastically cut down on our dry dog food costs.  I can't say that making our own food is out of the realm of future possibilities either.

Surviving storm and sickness

My husband flagged down a guy driving a truck with a plow, and we finally got plowed out.  It wasn't without a few words of encouragement either.  They guy looked at the 5 foot drift covering the center of the U-shaped drive, and said he couldn't do it.  Well, he did, and we are glad he took what little amount we could pay him.

I was able to get out and get myself to the doctor, which would not have been possible without my mother.  I would have just crawled back into bed, again after day 5, but didn't.  It's a good thing too.  I have a big, honkin' sinus infection.

I was smart enough to bring along a driver, my son who is now wishing I was well again (ha ha ha!), and a lap sized crochet project.  There was a long wait in the waiting room, and I crocheted half of my first market bag.  I finished it today.

The kids, so far, have been pretty helpful.  Although another kiddo is congested today.  During the 3 days off from school, one of the girls baked Old Fashioned Butterscotch Refrigerator cookies.  The recipe is in the following book.  I had lots of sofa/bed time to read through my large stack of library books.

I am enjoying this book.  There is much more than recipes in it - poems and more.

Thankfully, the 4 pounds of dry pinto beans I cooked up have supplied us with many meals.  Since I am still not feeling well, I made a beef-less stew, by adding more pinto beans to it.  The cayenne peppers we froze from last summer's garden, are dicing up nicely for this stew also.  And of course, the tomatoes, and other garden goodies went into it, making it a healthy, low-cost, and delicious meal.

It's been nice to see the sun shine outside also.  Although, my medication states that I cannot be in direct or artificial sunlight (along with a list of warnings).  It makes you wonder what they use to make the stuff.

What do you mean I shouldn't be up here?!

Snow, Snow and More Snow

I don't care what you say, I'm NOT going in!

Reducing Pet Food Costs ~ Peas Please

If your family is watching every penny spent, then you are like our family.  We have noticed that dry dog food has caused one of our dogs to become slightly overweight.  Even though they are walked 3 or more times a day and are taken out to play fetch, and run and run and run.....one of them remains a bit overweight.

My daughter, after she participated in a job shadow at our local veterinarian, found out that we can simply replace 1/2 of our dog's food serving with vegetables, such as peas and carrots.

We not only noticed a healthier dog, but found out that the other dogs were sneaking over to his food bowl and eating the peas too.  We have reduced our pet food costs, and proved our pets with a healthier diet.  We grew peas and carrots in the garden last year, and plan to grow more, now that our pets are enjoying our homegrown foods as well.

Comfortable or Not Comfortable?

Meet Sadie.  It appears as if she is dreaming of a nice soft pillow to rest her head.  Sound asleep and drooling.

Dog Tales

 Meet Jesse (aka Jesse James because he used to steal shoes and chew up flip flips)

Hilarious!  I've seen our smaller dog drop toys right on top of my one daughter's school book bag, but this is so funny.  Right before the kids go to school, they get wound up and start bringing toys to their owners.  Each child has a dog or cat that is theirs and the three older ones each have a dog.  When my 8th grader came home the other day, she came inside laughing.  She was holding a dog toy that her dog had dropped into her bag while it was hanging on the back of a chair.  She found it in her bag while digging through it on the bus ride home.  I guess he really wanted to play fetch.

Bird Watching

I'm not talking about bird watching with binoculars today.  I'm talking about the kind that cats do - ha ha ha!

We have an ornamental apple tree (I have no idea why someone didn't just plant a real apple tree), and in the early winter the birds come in hoards to eat whatever is left on the tree.  Two of our three cats watch the birds from the window during this time, and keep us entertained by popping in and out of windows all day.  My kids snapped this cute photo one day when the birds filled the tree.

My Reading Room

The weather was in the 60's yesterday so I took my favorite lounge chair and hiked it out on the property.  Within a few minutes of reading my book, our black lab wanted to play catch.  After I told her to "go get a stick" she proudly brought me a stick just short of 6 feet in length.  She even played fetch with it!  Ha ha!  The barn cats came to my chair to get a rub down, purring up a storm.  They love attention.

The sun is shining again today, so the laundry is already hanging outside, Black Bean soup is simmering in the crock pot, and my Trapper's Oat bread is cooling for after school and lunch packings.  I have a busy day today and plan to write my 1700 words for NaNoWriMo novel, and freeze green onion for the winter.  I still need to mix up a large salad for dinner and bake Tilapia also.  My kitchen is already filled with joyful smells (and Christmas music - he he he!).

Dead Mouse in the House

"Mom there's a dead mouse upstairs!"

That was the greeting I received this morning when I entered the kitchen.

I'm pretty certain I know which cat caught it too.  Jasper.  He was walking around the table sniffing, and the next thing I know, he's on top of the table looking around the counter tops.  Last night I heard a huge commotion in the kitchen.  This morning things were strewn about on the counter tops as well.  I'm glad they caught it, and glad they chose not to eat it. 

I think they all need a special treat today.

The case of the missing box of tea bags

We all got a chuckle this morning.  Someone left the container that stores boxes of tea bags, on the kitchen counter last night.  This morning the boxes were all over the counter and floor, and one box was missing.  We found it in the living room, near the wood stove, full of teeth holes.  One of the cats smelled the catnip that is in the Tension Tamer tea bags, but he failed to get the box open.  We will surely laugh every time we open that box of tea! Most likely, it was Jasper.

Splosh!

While taking time to look through campfire cookery books, I heard a sploshing of water coming from the kitchen.

Okay, so the "cowboy" book is not campfire cookery, but I had fun reading through them for new recipes.  Anyway, I went to investigate the noise.  It was not the sound of a cat or a dog slurping water, but a splashing around play in the bowl kind of sound.

I got a good chuckle.  There sat Jasper, our oreo colored tiger cat, staring down into the dog's water bowl.  He's the same cat who took his toy mouse to the water bowl and dropped it in.  He was staring at his orange chenille stem that he'd been playing with for several days.  The next time I looked in the bowl, it was gone.  There are footprints of water everywhere in the kitchen - ha ha ha!

 It's now on the kitchen floor, while he takes a leisurely nap.

Barn kitty hurt by raccoon

We accidentally left the cat food outside overnight and our youngest barn kitty was hurt by a raccoon.  It was a baby raccoon that came to the porch at 5:30am, and ate up the cat food, fighting off our cats.

At first the poor kitty's leg was swollen and we saw no signs of any marks, but after keeping him in the garage for 2 days, we located it.  Afraid to give him any aspirin, because too much can poison him, we are treating the cut, and keeping him nearby us.  We take him outside for sunshine and fresh air, and he stays right by the door.

We are praying he recovers, and that we never forget to bring the cat food inside at night.