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Seminole, Texas, United States
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

Tuesday, January 30

Pillow Talk

Apparently a Ryobi chainsaw's got nothing on me when it comes to sawing some logs. At least according to Hubby. Not a day or two goes by that he doesn't bring up the fact that he is sleep deprived because I rattle the rafters. So he says - I'm still not convinced that I'm that loud.

As mentioned in a previous post, he is in San Antonio this week for Sheriff stuff. He called last night to talk to the Bear and check in on us. Guess what he said?

"I just can't sleep if you're not next to me . . . making all your racket."

Awwwww, sweet talk will get him everywhere.

Monday, January 29

"Good-bye" for Now

I didn't hear the news until just now - Hubby is in San Antonio at a lawman conference and he text'd me to let me know.

I didn't know Barbaro personally but I know his kind. If you've never owned a horse or even been around them, it's hard to explain the personalities and incredible spirits that these animals possess. When Barbaro's life-threatening injury first occurred last year, I kept a watchful eye on his prognosis and recovery. Silly as it may sound to some, I included Barbaro on my prayer list. His disposition in the face of painful adversity was inspiring and a lesson to those of us who face much lesser obstacles in our lives. He was literally fighting for his life.

My aunt has an Appaloosa named Boomer, he's about 12 years old now. His bloodline can be traced back to Secretariat. When he was 4 years old, Boomer was diagnosed with a degenerative equine optic disease. My aunt was given the choice of having him put down or having his eyes removed. She chose the latter. He was young and strong and, except for the bad eyes, he was a terrific young horse with a lot of potential. When asked why she chose to make him blind, my aunt answered, "I know him and being blind was not going to be an obstacle for him. He is just too happy to be here to even consider ending his life."

My aunt and uncle live on about 60 acres in central Wisconsin. The front part of their property is flat with the barn and corral near the house. The back 50 acres dips down into a valley with a 3 foot wide path going down into it.

Boomer knows every inch of the place. He is one of the most awesome horses I've ever met - his spirit is absolutely incredible.

So was Barbaro's.

I am saddened that Barbaro's story has ended the way that it has but I am grateful for him that his owners loved him so much that they were willing to spend a small fortune to get him the best possible veterinary care and then, with all options exhausted, they chose to give him peace.

Rest in peace, dear Barbaro.

You will be missed.

New Fear of Flying

Actual crack in the window of a USAir DC-9. Fliers beware of sub-standard maintenance on the airplanes that you fly on! This is an actual crack found in the window frame.

I will definitely think twice before flying USAir!



Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Thanks, Dad, for the Monday morning laugh!!

Friday, January 26

Another Good One from Dad

In Louisiana, this fella, Bubba Joe Boudreaux, had a bad vehicle accident caused by a semi-truck. In court, the trucking company's fancy lawyer was questioning Boudreaux.

"Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?' " the lawyer asked.

Boudreaux responded, "Let me told you what happened. Me, I had jus loaded my favorite mule Bessie, into da . . . "

"I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted. "Just answer the question. Did you not say at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'?"

Boudreaux said, "I had jus got Bessie into da trailer and I was drivin down da road . . . "

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now, several weeks after the accident, he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to answer the question."

By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Boudreaux's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."

Boudreaux thanked the Judge and proceeded, "I had jus loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into da trailer and was drivin her down da highway when dis huge semi-truck and trailer ran da stop sign and smacked my truck right in da side. Me, I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into da udder. I was hurtin real bad and didn't wanna move at tall. But I could heared ole Bessie moanin and groanin. Me, I knowed she was in some kind o' terrible shape just by her groans. Shortly after da accident, a Highway Patrolman, he came on da scene. He heared Bessie moanin' and groanin' so him, he went over ta her. After he took hisself a look at her, he took out his gun and shot her between da eyes. Den dat Patrolman came cross da road, gun in hand, and looked at me, and said 'How are you feeling?' Now what da hell would you say?!"

Thursday, January 25

The brainpan must've sprung a leak

. . . because I've got nothing to post about. The icy weather is over (for now) and it is a balmy 77 degrees and sunshiny out there right now.

The Bear is well. Still ornery, but well.

The Hubby is well also.

The SuperBowl is not for another week.

Went to the dentist yesterday. No cavities and my tooth shade is A1 which means professional whitening will not make much difference. That rocks.

NetFlix sent me "The Black Dahlia" dvd with a big old scab on it so it wouldn't play.

Amazon is taking for frigging ever to get my books to me that I ordered early last week.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday and we have a Rodeo Association meeting at lunch. I need something fun to finish out this week.

I think tonight would be a perfect opportunity to break out the instant margarita mix for happy hour at Muddy Feet Farms. Cause I definitely need the attitude adjustment.

Saturday, January 20

Texas Frozen Tundra: Update

Sorry I have been so long in posting. Tuesday and Wednesday I was iced in with the Bear, which does not lend itself to many moments of posting on my blog.

Thursday and Friday were spent frantically trying to do 4 days of work in 2. I actually had to go in for a few hours this morning to wrap up the week.

The ice melted by Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning was still pretty cold but not enough to freeze up the wet streets. Our dirt road is another story. Our gate is about 1 mile from the paved highway, add to that the road to our house from the gate and it is a pretty good stretch to navigate mucky slicky slidey mud.

My white truck is a now a light orange from the Mason County red clay. And I'm not even going to tell you about the heartbreaking condition of my interior floormats.

But all is well down here. We have been getting more very cold rain but not freezing. The temperature has been about 38 all day. Chances are that we will hit freezing tonight but I hope not.

I love cold weather but I am really ready for the wet stuff to get the heck out of here. We've really needed the moisture and I know I should be more thankful but I've had my fill of mud. Everybody says all the rain now will help ensure a bountiful wildflower Spring (we're on a popular wildflower route down here - lots and lots and lots of bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas).

Thanks for the posts and emails of concern. We're dry and warm. Hope y'all are too!

Tuesday, January 16

Snow Day?

Well, everything out here in Mason, Texas is officially shut down. If you look outside it just looks like a normal dreary freezing cold winter day. But there's where you'd be wrong. Apparently we are waiting for the worst to hit later today. Some forecasters are predicting up to 7 inches of snow!?!?!! out here!

The bad weather moved in late Thursday or early Friday. Friday was cold cold cold but didn't get wet until later in the evening. Saturday wasn't wet but it was still really cold as was Sunday. Later Sunday afternoon we started getting some of the freezing rain so by the time we got out of the house Monday morning there was a 1/4 inch of ice on the front walk. Luckily my truck stays under cover so I didn't have to scrape off that heavy duty ice. The roads weren't too bad yesterday morning but by lunch time the wind was pretty stout - felt like it was cutting right through me. I've been throwing hay out to the horses every 6 to 8 hours. Colonel needs his joint support added to his feed (since he's 16 and this freezing weather is hard on an old guy). Hubby had to break ice on the tank this morning despite the constant dripping to keep the water moving so as not to freeze.

Watching the news this morning and the forecast is definitely bleary. It started sleeting again at about 8 am and they are predicting snow/sleet for the next four days. Praise God our pipes haven't froze and I'm keeping a constant prayer going that the well doesn't freeze up on us either.

I'd take a picture but it's too blamed cold to open the front door.

Every body stay warm!

Thursday, January 11

Loadin up on groceries . . .

With our lack of substantial rainfall in these parts, the natural grass out at the place is getting woefully thin. So I spent my lunch hour today doing a little grocery shopping for the horses. And seeing as how Hubby is still recovering from a back sprain, I'll be the only hired hand to unload all the booty.

I just hope I can make it to the house from the gate before they tear the truck apart trying get a few bites!

Tuesday, January 9

Meeeee-YOWWWW!

hee hee hee

You are . . .

Catwoman


Catwoman
95%

Wonder Woman

85%

The Flash

80%

Hulk

70%

Green Lantern

70%

Iron Man

70%

Supergirl

60%

Robin

52%

Spider-Man

35%

Batman

35%

Superman

10%



You're tough kitty,you know how to be a thief and exploit others
but you stand up for society's rejects.


Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test


Thanks, Eric, for the fun link!

Monday, January 8

Ding Dong! The Cowboys are OUT!!

I seriously loves hatin me some Dallas Cowboys football. There are few things that give me devilish glee like the All-Time Overpaid Showboating Gold Toofus Doofuses losing a game or, better yet, making it to the playoffs only to be DENIED!

Now, you're probably saying, "But jLow, you're a born and bred Texan. You're supposed to be a Cowboys fan."

You'd think.

But there is a history. Several years ago I moved to Dallas from the sticks to make the big bucks. I hopped on the "Dallas Fans Bandwagon" where all members displayed their team loyalties to the Cowboys, the Stars, the Mavs, and the Rangers. I don't really care for basketball. Okay, I don't like basketball period. As for baseball, I don't care what team you're rooting for: nothing beats sitting in a killer stadium on a beautiful spring day while someone else delivers your hotdogs and beer right to your chair! I definitely caught the hockey bug with the Stars (formerly the Minnesota Northstars) when they moved to Dallas in the early 90s. As for the Cowboys, my Dad was fan and my brother was a fan and my first boyfriend in Dallas was a fan so it was pretty much be a fan or be alone. But somewhere around 1995 or 1996, the Cowboy players were getting into all their "extra-curricular activities." I don't care how many United Way commercials a player shoots, if he has a habit of breaking the law - in my mind he's a loser. There was Erik Williams' one-car demolition on the tollway that he walked away from (meaning he left the scene of the accident - disposable Mercedes), Leon Lett's and Michael Irvin's illegal drug habits, and Deion Sanders' undignified strutting around in suits that could have only come from Pimps R Us. Okay, so what Deion did wasn't illegal. But it shoulda been. After all that, I was sick of 'em. Add to it that I have extremely disliked Jerry Jones from the minute I found out about him. He's a sleazeball who thinks money should make people immune to the rules that the rest of us live by.

And one Sunday as fate would have it, I was flipping through the channels (my first season with DirecTV's NFL Pass) when I came across a New England Patriots game. Despite the fact that Boston is one of my very favorite places, I found myself really enjoying watching these guys play. I was only familiar with Drew Bledsoe but that may have been due to geographic sports reporting. I felt like I was watching a football team playing a game they loved and that they truly wanted to win for the sake of winning. Afterwards, (they did win) Bledsoe was interviewed and one other guy (can't remember who now) but they were both so humble and gracious. My decision was made - I had found my team.

Several years have passed since that time and half of the team has retired or been traded. Let's not even talk about Bledsoe moving to the Cowboys. It has been one of my biggest heartbreaks as a football fan. That and Ty Law going to Kansas City (what the heck has KC accomplished? nada).

So, yes, I do take a lot of pleasure in seeing the Cowboys denied another opportunity to go to the Big Show. Whenever they win they act like they're the only ones to ever win the SuperBowl. I'm tellin you - the Cowboys suck.

This year I'm hoping my Patriots make it all the way. Because the ride is even better when the team is playing football and not playing for the cameras.

Friday, January 5

Yeah-heh-heh-heh Buddy! DAT'S what I'm talkin 'bout!

My planning bug has bitten me pretty hard so far as getting ready for the Bear's birthday party (in April) but check out this bad mamma jamma jumper we're gonna rent for the kiddos to play in:


Dude . . . we are so gonna have a blast! er, I mean the KIDS are gonna have a blast.

Thursday, January 4

Very Cool

While on the holiday hiatus this past weekend, I was surfing the satellite channels looking for anything remotely interesting to watch.

I came across Beyonce's Freeview concert. I like most of her stuff - anything that makes me want to shake my caboose is a good thing. Or not.

But what I found so great about the show was that Beyonce has a 12-member all female band. And these chicks were ROCKIN!

Very cool.

Wednesday, January 3

So this is why I have 33 cases of books . . .

What Kind of Reader Are You?
Your Result: Dedicated Reader

You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.

Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You?
Create Your Own Quiz

Quote of the Day

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another." - - Anonymous

Tuesday, January 2

Old Age Relief Settling In on Me

Apparently I am older than I originally thought. According to realage.com I am 39.8 instead of 39.5 - what a bunch of hooey. I guess the exercise and no smoking, no drinking thing ain't gonna keep me young and healthy like I had been duped into believing.

But now that the holidays and festivities are over, I have to admit it.

I. AM. SO. RELIEVED.

I hate to be such a pooper but dadgum! It takes a lot out of us old folk (those of us 39.8 and older) to handle all the preparations and such that go with celebrations. I had a friend (mid-30s male) tell me the other day that he missed the days when his life was so perfect and everything was the way it was supposed to be: i.e. Momma and Daddy made sure he had great Christmases and birthdays, etc. which included no input or exertion on his part whatsoever. oh wah frakkin wah! big baby

But now I have a whole new appreciation for all the crap and headaches that my Mom must have dealt with when I was kid.

Monday, January 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and celebratory and recoverable New Year's Eve. Me, not so much.

I think I saw 9:25 and that was all she wrote. I vaguely came around about 11:50 but I couldn't even make it for 11 minutes to welcome in the New Year.

If only my bed weren't so danged comfy!!!

All the best to everyone for a happy healthy and prosperous 2007! ! !