Thursday, September 25, 2014

September 25, 2014

     Good morning. It has been a very long time since I wrote. I think I have figured out why I haven't wanted to write as much. I am waking up later than I use to. I basically wake up when it is time to get Mom up and after I get her up I am not in the mood to sit and write. I use to wake up a couple hours before her and I had time and the quiet to think and write. I will try to do better and start waking up earlier.
     Life here is just about as usual as ever. Mom is doing just about the same. She has been complaining of pain in her right hip for a month or so. (Not the hip she broke.) I took her to her regular doctor's office and had x-rays done around a month ago it showed arthritic changes. Yesterday was her follow up appointment with the doctor who did her hip surgery and he did his own x-rays also. I am glad I got to talk to him. I am occasionally feeling guilty about Mom not walking anymore. I even had someone (a stranger on a support group) say I should be doing more to get Mom walking again. Her issue of not walking is mental not physical. Anyway... the doctor yesterday told me how bad Mom's osteoporosis is and any fall or even bump could easily break her other hip. He said it was probably a good thing that Mom isn't walking with her instability or we would be back in the hospital with a broken hip again.
     I have been trying to keep busy. I bought a bushel of apples and canned 19 quarts of apple pie filling. I have yet to make a pie with it so I hope it will be good. My husband bought me a apple peeler to make the canning process go quicker. It still took me forever. The second day of canning he helped me thankfully.
     I placed the order for my apple and peach trees. They should be here sometime in October. I am planning on planting them along the creek bank behind the house. I had thought before that I would plant them on the hill behind the house but with the guy I hired to clear the hill taking sooo long, (good thing I didn't pay him in advance!) and I also realized that when the trees are big enough to be picked I will be older and won't really want to walk up and down the hill picking apples. So now I have to go out there with the chainsaw a bought last year and cut down the trees that are already out there. Hope that no one (my sisters) mind that I will be cutting down the lilac bush/tree and those other trees that are out there.
     My chickens are doing well. I have been letting them free range all day and they seem to be enjoying it and I think they have all grown because of it. We have 3 roosters. When I went and got the five off of the local couple three of those were roosters. Now we have to decide which to keep and which to eat. I think I am the one who is going to have to do the butchering as I don't think my husband will be able to kill his friends... I made a point when I got the new bunch to try and not get attached because I knew this was a likely situation. We still haven't gotten any eggs. But they say they should start laying between 4 and 6 months and the older girls are almost 5 months. Plus with Cloe's injuries early on when attacked by a coon, I think it may have set her back a little bit. Cloe is quite a bit smaller that her sister, Emma, who is the same age. We are becoming very impatient.
       Well I think I have wrote enough for today. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

September 2, 2014

     Good morning. You may have noticed that I had taken a small break from writing. I didn't post anything for two weeks. No real reason except that I just didn't want to write. But I am back and ready to share.
     I had a birthday recently. I had a wonderful day with my husband. He got me just what I wanted and asked for. I got a 12 gauge pump shotgun! I just love it. I wanted that sound. I know I am such a girly girl. LOL. We also went out to eat dinner. Actually I wanted to go on a picnic so we got food from KFC and ate at a picnic table at the Deegan and Hinkle Lake in Bridgeport. We had a nice quiet time and got to watch some geese. Then we went home to shoot my new gun. I also received a card and a couple books from my cousin J and a card in the mail from my prayer partner.
     Mom is doing ok. She complains at times of her hip hurting, not the side she broke. I took her to her doctor for an x-ray of the hip and there is arthritic changes. It usually only bothers her in the morning when we are getting her cleaned up and dressed so I have decided that if she says it hurts than we will not try to dress she in pants or shorts and just put a gown on her. No need to make her be in more pain just to put shorts on her. Other than the hip pain she is doing well.
     I decided that since my green beans didn't grow well in the garden this year that I would buy some to can. I bought a bushel. I didn't realize how many beans that was till I got started with them. I canned a total of 47 jars of green beans. By the time I was done I hated even the smell of them.
     My husband and I went to the Doddridge County Fair. I love going to the fair for two reasons. First I love walking through the barn and seeing all the animals. Second I love funnel cakes. We spent a little time at the livestock sale. It was very interesting and I plan on being there next year to watch all of it. We watched a couple cows being sold and it was a real eye opener. Do I really want to get into this topic or not....Hummm.... What the heck here I go.. I will just stick to the cattle at the fair sale. The cattle were raised by the students in the FFA and 4H then sold at auction. The way it use to go is local farmers and ranchers would bid a purchase these cattle, wonderful. Now the big oil companies way over bid and drive up the price to where they only can afford them. Sounds wonderful for the kids and families that raised them.... But what about the local farmers that use to buy them? There is no way for them to afford to buy them. Humm, if local farmers can't afford to buy local cattle they can't pay their bills, they have to sale their land to who? Oh yea to oil companies.... Less local farms less local food. The big oil companies do this under the guise of being nice by buying these kids' cattle. Ok that's what I wanted to put out there. What are your thoughts about this?
     I need to go tend to Mom. Have a good day. Oh and support your local farmers!
                                                              April Whitehair