It's really hard to summarize oneself for the general public. I mean, really, what does the public want to know about me? Am I married? Yes. Do I have children. Yes, three, and they're all grown thank God. (By that I mean parenting is HARD. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm really glad our offspring have all reached adulthood.) Do I have pets? Yup. Two dogs. Since the kids are all grown, you'll read more about my dogs than my kids. Because that's what happens when you get old like me. I have three grand kids, too, so you'll read about them as well. But the dogs live with me and, when I am desperate for blog topics, they usually help me out.
Did I ever tell y’all that I am very easy to entertain?
Have I also told you how much I like this local grocery store chain’s house brand mayo? It’s the BEST. Every time I visit my daughter, Amy, I buy some. I like it so much, I eat it right from the jar. It’s so yummy and good.
“Real” Mayonnaise
Or so I convinced the grandkids during a recent visit. While they were at school one day, I did go buy a jar of mayo. I promptly emptied the contents down the sink, washed the container, and refilled it with freshly prepared, cheesecake-flavored Jello instant pudding.
I told the kids about 10 times NOT to eat my “mayo.” And I made sure they saw me eating it straight from the jar, a big no-no for anything.
I left this empty jar in their refrigerator when I left their house to return home.
It looked pretty real, right?
To the best of my knowledge, they have yet to learn the truth and think I’m really weird.
I fed them Feetloaf for dinner one night, too.
Raw Feetloaf
The toenails are small pieces of onion. Once I added ketchup and baked the Feetloaves, they looked REALLY unappetizing.
Baked Feetloaf. How ’bout those bloody stumps?
It tasted good, though. And I had Feetloaf sandwiches for lunch all week.
In other news… I have deactivated my Facebook account. It’s a time suck AND often depressing. I’d really rather spend spare time reading other peoples’ blogs and posting to my own. You know, when I am not job-hunting.
I kept Instagram, because I think that’s fun.
Honestly, I am not convinced anyone will miss me. We will see, I guess. In the meantime, I have so much stuff I can post about here. And I can read all about my fun blog friends instead of getting sucked into the Facebook wormhole of idiocy and doom.
Speaking of job hunting…I was thinking I’d have all this free time on my hands, but I always forget that seriously looking for a good job is itself a full-time job. Argh. But I am confident I will find a fabulous new job soon.
Hubby and I both use the SWConnect app and Spotwalla when we are traveling. Not only does it keep track of where we’ve been — nice to have to look back on for future reference — it also allows us to keep an eye on each other to make sure all is okay. Assuming everything works as it should.
My recent trip really was completely unplanned. I set up the trip tracker before I left the house, but I didn’t test it. It had been over a year since I’d used the thing, and I forgot I’d gotten a new phone since last using the SWConnect app. After making some minor adjustments, it appeared to be working. But that was short-lived.
The app runs on my cell phone. When in the mountains, cell coverage can be quite spotty. The way the app is supposed to work is that it stores your locations/track even when there is no cell coverage, but then uploads the track data when you’re in an area with cell reception or Wifi. That wasn’t happening.
If you look at the tracker map, you’ll see a bunch of straight lines. One time, it even put me somewhere I didn’t go, due south of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It was weird. We couldn’t figure out why. Not until my last night on the road when Hubby said maybe my phone was full.
Hmmm. That night, I deleted some videos and old pictures. The next day, the tracker worked! Who knew that would cause a problem? Not me, obviously.
It HAD been awhile since I deleted any pics. In fact, that’s nothing something I do on a regular basis. (I think I may be an image hoarder, but don’t tell anyone I said that.) So, yesterday and today, I spent several HOURS deleting images. Yep, hours. As it turns out, I deleted about 4,200 files.
Holy guacamole, that’s a lot of images! The ones that I kept have been moved to a computer and I am now in the process of saving them to the proper place on our network.
Now, I just need to remember to delete pics more often. Or maybe take fewer pictures, LOL.
When Hubby, Mike, and I still owned our WV place, every now and then, when we weren’t busy actually constructing the place, we’d take rides around Romney. The roads in that area are pretty nice. Sometimes, we would go a bit farther, where the roads were even better. On two separate occasions, we tried to visit Spruce Knob, which is the highest point of elevation in West Virginia. Both times, the road up the mountain was closed. I forget why. Anyway… I’d been wanting to return. So that seemed like a logical target when I left the house on Friday, June 8.
One of the cool things about it being so high is that the plants are not like those you’d see in nearby lower elevations. According to a sign I read, there was “…flag-formed red spruce, heath barrens, and wildflowers typical of a more-northern climate.” There’s a nearby place — the Dolly Sods Wilderness — I’d visited in 2016, which is also within the Monongahela National Forest. If you’d like to read more about the flora and fauna of the region, please visit that post. Ironically, I took that trip after accepting the job offer from the employer that just laid me off.
Not only is it beautiful in that area, it’s usually cooler, and the roads are pretty awesome, too. Win-win, right?
Lucky for me, it was open!
I realize 4,863 feet (~1,482 meters) isn’t, like, the highest mountain on the planet, or even in North America, but, relatively speaking, it’s a nice-sized hill. And, most important, I REALLY enjoyed getting there and being there, finally. Plus, I was not at all rushed, so I got to enjoy the scenery and capture some pics to share here.
The road to and from Spruce Knob is way nicer than the road to and from Dolly Sods.
After taking my good, sweet time enjoying the place, I continued west toward Buckhannon. It actually started getting dark sooner than I anticipated, so I stopped in Elkins, West Virginia for the night. The bugs get really big at night in the mountains, not to mention the fact that the deer and bears tend to wander around a bit, too.
I’m back! I think I’m back, anyway. I want to be. I miss blogging. I won’t bother trying to explain why I have been away because, truth is, I’m not completely sure. It’s been a tumultuous few years. Not BAD, just up-and-down. To me, it feels like there have been more downs than ups, but that’s just because I am my own worst critic.
I just got back from an unplanned vacation. I mean “unplanned” in the most literal sense of the term. I’d been thinking about taking a trip, because I REALLY needed some time to decompress, but my work schedule was making it difficult, plus I had some impending personal commitments.
For me, thinking about taking a trip is a definite precursor to the actual planning of said trip. The first step is always deciding where to go. I mean, it’s a big world. I knew I’d be traveling on two wheels, so the distance was somewhat limited since I don’t like to ride too far in a short period of time. Unlike that Hubby of mine who recently got back from a ride to ALASKA, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.
There are some places I’d been considering, mostly because I’d never been, such as Nova Scotia and the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. I’ve never ridden my motorcycle in Canada either and would like to see Toronto and Montreal. I finally scheduled some vacation time from the job, but hadn’t decided whether I would go to one or all of those places. And then life threw me a curveball.
On June 7, I got laid off. WTF, right? I’d sort of been expecting it–business had been really slow– but it was still a shock when it actually happened. I didn’t really expect that I would be the one to get cut, even though it’s happened to me before. Anyway, long story short, I am unemployed. That’s the end of that extremely stressful job!
It happened just before noon on a Thursday, so I had the whole afternoon to mull it over. Hubby had actually gone into his office that day, so he didn’t have to listen to me venting. Instead, I just kept my mouth shut and took Belle for a couple of very long walks.
I finally told Mike after his work day had ended. Later, after he’d had a chance for the news to sink in, he suggested I take a vacation. Real practical, right? I had been thinking that, but never would have suggested it. He knew I’d never suggest it, so he did.
That night and the next morning, I gave it some thought. All real vacation plans were probably out the window and, like he said, once I start a new job, it’ll be a while before I get any real time off, so why not?
It really was not practical, but was sorely needed, so I did it. It was wonderful. I threw some clothes together, grabbed some maps, and off I went. I thought I might finally visit Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia, but had no plan beyond that. Heck, I even took my passport just in case I did head north.
Now I just have to figure out what’s next. That’s the “beginning” I refer to in this post’s title. A new beginning. A fresh start. There are so many possibilities!
Thanks for checking-in on me. I hope you see you again real soon.
Spring is upon us! Or so the calendar says. As usual around this time of year, the need to get out of the house for a bit hit hard a couple of weeks ago. Since I work remotely and can use my cell phone as a hot-spot for WiFi, at the spur of the moment I decided to visit my Dad and work from his place in Pennsylvania (PA) for a few days. I was curious to see if anyone at work would notice a difference, so I didn’t say anything to my co-workers or bosses.
The Chicken Coop at Turtle Tree Farm
Hubby and I were in Baltimore on March 17 anyway — more than halfway to Dad’s — so it was only a slight diversion. We were in Baltimore helping my mother-in-law get settled in her new apartment. Mike had to be there way earlier than me, so he drove his car. I followed later with Belle in my car. Because Belle isn’t allowed to ride in his fancy-schmancy little roadster, I took his car to PA and he drove my car and Belle home to Virginia.
It took me less than 24 hours to realize I could NOT work from Dad’s. His home is small, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but he’s losing his hearing. That means he talks really loudly and keeps the TV volume at movie-theater levels. I was going to drive home Sunday evening, then I sent my friend Tracey a text about visiting her on the way home. I knew she had some baby goats I wanted to see. At that time she had nine baby goats with two more pregnant mamas due to give birth in the next few days. Once we got to talking about the state of affairs at her farm, I realized she was a little stressed, maybe feeling a tad overwhelmed, and could probably use some help. Knowing she has WiFi and a house that would be more-accommodating than Dad’s (high-speed WiFi and quiet space!) I volunteered to spend a few days, maybe even the week helping out at Turtle Tree Farm. Not only did she agree, she even said she could rearrange the feeding schedule around my working hours.
Big Mama Willow
Five of the Other Adult Females (there are seven total)
It did not interfere with my job at all. AND it was a fun, refreshing change of pace for me.
Elderberry
Morning Glory (and some chickens)
Willow (with Turtle the photo-bomber in the background)
Some of the Kids (in their warming hut)
Tracey and her husband, John, raise and breed Nigerian Dwarf goats. It was awesome getting to see and help care for the goat babies. Two were only a few days old, four were about a week old, and three were about two and a half weeks old when I arrived. It was my job to feed the older ones.
I forgot to mention that all of the babies require bottle feeding. The Mamas are kept as dairy goats. Plus, when the babies are bottle-fed by humans, they become very accustomed to being touched and handled by people, which helps make them great pets.
Clarice and Me
Most of the babies will go live on other farms, so they don’t get real names. But this feisty girl reminded Tracey of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’s girlfriend, Clarice. So that’s what we called her. We had to call them something. How else would we be able to keep them all straight?
Clarice was super-sweet, and VERY nosy.
Me holding Clarice (left) and Frosty Ears.
Jumping Jack wanted to join the party, too.
Those photos are not staged. The goats really are very friendly, especially the kids. And nosy. Plus, they love to jump and climb. And there were nine of them in the stall with us! Plus Olive, who’d been due to deliver on Monday along with Willow. Olive had delivered early — on Friday morning, I think. Poor Willow was overdue and looking like she was about to explode.
Tracey in her happy place, singing and milking.
That’s one of my favorite pics from the week. Tracey LOVES being a farmer. I must admit, it was fun being surrounded by animals, literally, all week.
I did not just take pictures all week. I had specific jobs I had to do. In addition to feeding the older babies, and helping with the smaller ones, I had to feed and water all of the adults, too. Morning feedings were the most-hectic. Once all the babies had been fed, Tracey milked the mamas while I stuffed all of the hay bags, distributed pellets to the girls, cleaned and filled water bins, etc. And remember, I was also doing my full-time job from the farm-house kitchen that week, too.
Yes, I was actually working.
Filling the hay bags was one of my jobs.
Things really started to get interesting on Tuesday when it started to snow. We knew the storm was coming, and predictions of severity varied widely, so we shut the goats in the barn Monday night. The snow started around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and didn’t stop until late in the day on Wednesday, after about 18 inches (46 cm) had fallen.
The good news about the snow? We got to make and enjoy Snow Cream! (A lot of Snow Cream. That’s snow, sugar, vanilla, and milk. YUM!)
Thursday morning
We hadn’t had much snow at all in Virginia this past winter, so I was actually excited to see the snow. Except I had Hubby’s little sports car, which just happens to have tires designed for warm-weather use. No way I’d be going anywhere in the snow in that thing.
The SLK was Buried!
Thursday morning trek to barn.
The Barn Boss
Things got REALLY exciting Thursday morning. When we arrived at the barn, we realized Willow had given birth to three kids, probably only within the previous hour or so. Two were huge, and one was tiny, barely hanging on to life.
We had to scurry to get the kids fed and Willow transferred from the stall with the adults to the nursery stall. Then we had to rig-up a barrier to keep Willow separate from the other babies. It’s important for the kids to nurse immediately after birth as that’s when Mama’s nutrients are most-beneficial.
Willow and her babies.
The big babies were the same size as week-old kids! Meanwhile, their little brother was itty-bitty. Crazy size difference, really.
The Runt, who I nick-named Bitty Baby
Look at that face! He was no more than a couple hours old at that point, still wet from the womb.
Willow and the big girls. (Bitty Baby was in the warming hut.)
Lucky, another barn cat.
The cats don’t just happen along and take up residence in the barn. There’s a very specific method you need to use when they’re kittens to imprint the barn as their home. They, too, have important jobs to do. Mainly, they keep the barn vermin-free. They’re fully vetted, well-fed, and treated like members of the team.
Hi, kids!
The Barn Boss (cat) fits right in.
Cute ears.
When we got back to the house, I had to dig the car out. John was using the snow-blower and tractor to clear the driveway. It’s a LONG driveway.
Long Driveway
I forgot to mention the three resident dogs. Pictured below are, Beatrix Potter (Bea) on left and Piper, the two chocolate-colored girls. George Bailey is in front. He’s 11 months old and a handful! He has a job, too. Impregnating Bea, who is expecting puppies on April 19.
The Pups
They have to sit in that room and dry off a bit before tracking snow and mud through the rest of the house.
About midday, we decided to bring Bitty Baby into the house. Willow wasn’t at all interested in feeding him, so Tracey had to take care of him, otherwise he would die. Actually, it was touch-and-go with him for days because he was so tiny. (Thanks to Farmer Tracey, he pulled through and has since gone to live with his forever family.)
Bitty Baby beside a work glove for scale.
Just look at that face!
Bitty Baby
On Friday morning, Tracey was still in her bedroom enjoying quiet time as I was drinking my coffee. So, when the little guy started hollering, I picked him up and snuggled him on my lap for a while. Meow-Meow, one of three indoor cats, joined us, too.
Coffee-time Cuddles
Not many people get to sit drinking their morning coffee with a beautiful, day-old goat on their lap!
Tracey had to force formula down his throat. Literally. He just did not want to eat. But he sure did like hollering.
Tracey, force-feeding the little guy.
Below is another of my favorite captures from the week.
Tracey and George
One is rarely ever alone at Turtle Tree Farm, inside or out!
A Peaceful Moment
Tracey did manage to get out to feed the chickens on Wednesday as the storm was winding down. As she re-entered the barn, a large wad of snow fell right on her head. She was not hurt, but she also wasn’t happy. Just another day at the farm!
The Overhang
Could things get any more exciting?
Actually, yes. During dinner on Friday, we were discussing our plan to spend a quiet evening sitting by the fire with wine, sewing. But when we got to the barn for the 8:00 p.m. feeding, we discovered that Myrtle Brown was in active labor! Never a dull moment.
We had to get Myrtle sequestered in the nursery stall and get the babies fed. Then we waited. You could tell we were making her nervous — Tracey’s granddaughter (age 17) and a friend had stopped by to see the babies — so we all went back to the house for a bit to give Myrtle her privacy. We returned to the barn about an hour later, not long before Myrtle started birthing her kids.
Yep, I got to see the whole thing! It was super-cool. The first kid was huge. Tracey said it was the longest she’d ever seen. Two others followed pretty quickly. Myrtle wasn’t doing the clean-up thing that mama goats are supposed to do, so Tracey not only had to burst at least one of the sacs, she had to dry-off all three kids, too. Once she placed them by Myrtle’s head, Mama started loving on the babies just as she was supposed to. Meanwhile, I was watching Myrtle and told Tracey I thought there was another kid coming. She said it was the afterbirth, which also had to be delivered. Poor Myrtle was making the weirdest faces as contractions wracked her body. The stuff that was coming out the business end looked pretty solid to me.
“I think that’s another one,” I said. Sure enough, Tracey reached down there and felt kid number four! She burst that sac, too, dried the kid off, and gave it to Mama. Four babies for Myrtle Brown! That meant 16 total kids in the nursery stall, plus two Mamas, a Goat Farmer, and the temporary Farmhand. Hannah and her girlfriend watched from outside the stall. What a way for two teens to spend a Friday evening, but they acted like it was all normal stuff.
Two older kids, watching the excitement.
The older kids were romping and cavorting the whole time Myrtle was in labor. They were also interested in what was happening in the neighboring stall. The barn was too dark and busy for many pics, but I got a bunch the next morning.
One of Myrtle’s kids.
Myrtle’s other three kids.
One of her kids was all black.
Myrtle Brown
She’s such a sweet goat.
Play-time!
Play-time!
Play-time!
I could sit and watch for hours.
Fun times.
Such beautiful kids!
Curious Kids
Playful and Curious!
The final walk back to the house.
It was not a relaxing week by any stretch of the imagination — farmhands work hard! — but it was a good week. Since I wasn’t able to participate in girls’ weekend back in February, I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Tracey. It would have been nice had Carol been able to join us, but she has some health issues that currently prevent her from driving and minimize her level of physical activity.
It was fun spending time with Tracey’s hubby John, too. I chuckle to myself every time I think of him returning from work on Friday, saying “Honeys, I’m home!” as he came in the door. He contributed to our eating really well, too.
All in all, it was one of the coolest, most-tiring weeks I have ever enjoyed. I am so grateful to have such amazing friends. I am honored that Tracey trusted me enough to play such an active role taking care of her precious babies that whole week.
I am hoping I get to help next year, too!
More pics are online in a shared Google Photos folder for those who are interested:ToadMama the Farmhand.
Last weekend was supposed to have been my annual girlfriend getaway in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is something we all look forward to every year. Our lives are all very different, and we don’t always do a great job of staying in touch throughout the year, so it is always nice to get together over a long weekend and catch up. The fun shopping we usually do is just a bonus.
I actually made my hotel reservation months ago, using Booking.com. It’s one of the travel apps I use regularly to book travel. They offer discounted room rates for many hotels. The cheaper the rate, the more-restrictive the cancellation policy. The best rates are always non-refundable. It’s a bit of a gamble, but I knew I would never voluntarily cancel such a trip.
I booked before we knew K was sick. And, of course, we had no idea exactly when her time would come. The afternoon we said goodbye to K was supposed to have been my first day in Pennsylvania. I did call the hotel on Thursday morning to let them know I would not be there that night, but I did not say why. I also did not cancel my reservations for Friday and Saturday. There was a very small chance that I would still be able to go. It would have been a distraction, but, long story short, I couldn’t go. K’s passing was very hard on all of us. I did not want or need a distraction. In my mind, that would have just prolonged the really difficult phase of the grieving process. You know, the part where you have to deal with constant reminders that your loved one is gone as you all face your “normal” day without them.
I was going to give you some examples, but decided not to go down that sad path. Just suffice it to say it was really hard. I knew I had to face that gut-wrenching grief in order to get past the really hard part. To be able to function again. K is gone. I really loved that dog. She will never be forgotten, but I cannot let myself wallow in misery. That is not me. I actually think some people like reliving those sad feelings. I do not know why. Maybe they feel like it justifies their love? Or that the ongoing grief proves they really did love a person or a pet. I have no idea. What I DO know is that I am not one of those people. I hate it. Grief drains me. I would much rather make a conscious effort, daily, NOT to be sad, than to let myself relive those sad feelings on a daily basis. But people are different. I do not miss K any less, I just choose not to dwell on missing her. I refuse to think of her in such a was that makes me cry every day. It doesn’t mean that I loved her any less, or that I don’t cry daily, it just means I refuse to torture myself. Life is too short to wallow in unhappiness. NOT thinking of her in a way that causes tears requires effort. And some days are definitely harder than others. But I will not be a wallower.
I tried to be strong for K in the days leading up to her death. I was partially successful. I didn’t want her final days to be full of sadness and tears. AFTER was another story. I won’t get into just how awful it all was, just trust me when I say it was bad. I really miss my girl. Going to Pennsylvania would not have helped anyone.
Yes, it sucked that I’d lose the money I’d spent on the hotel, but I figured those funds were gone regardless of whether I actually went or not. I have used Booking.com for a long time, and am well aware of its policies, so I didn’t even bother asking for a refund. I responded to an e-mail from Booking.com asking me to rate my stay by saying I had not stayed at the property (I checked a box). When a follow-up e-mail arrived asking why I hadn’t stayed, I replied with, “My dog died. Really.” That was the end of my communication about that trip.
Imagine my surprise the other day when I noticed an e-mail in my in-box from my credit card provider mentioning a credit to my account. When I actually opened that e-mail, I saw that it said “We want to let you know that a credit of $76.90 from CLARION INN STRASBURG INN posted to your account on 02/26/18. The funds are now available. You don’t need to do anything, but if you’d like to review this transaction in more detail, please sign in to your account.”
I thought to myself, “Aw, that was nice. They credited me for one of the nights.”
It was so unexpected that I really thought a mistake had been made. So a day later I decided to sign in to check and see if the credit had been reversed. Not only had the credit NOT been reversed, there were actually credits in my account for each of the three nights I had reserved.
How cool is that? I have no idea how it happened, or who is responsible. It would not have been up to the folks at Booking.com, it had to be the people at The Historic Strasburg Inn (a Clarion property). I did not ask for a refund. I did not even bother to call and actually cancel any of the nights. I just assumed it was my loss. I guess they showed me!
I’m not sure if the decision came from Clarion or the folks at The Historic Strasburg Inn. I suspect it was the Inn’s management. Either way, my faith in humanity has certainly gotten a bit of a boost. They did not have to issue any refund. A refund of one day would have been appreciated. But they refunded ALL THREE DAYS. They will certainly get my business in the future.
