I took the plunge

I did. After hearing that I will probably not have surgery now until possibly July my spirits have been really down. So why not lift them, forget about vanity and take the plunge. So if you remember I bought color to put on my hair awhile back and was contemplating either to color or let it continue to gray. Well here's my answer.

from this

to this

 If I remember correctly I think this color of brunette is what I looked like in high school. One thing I have been lucky with is being able to color my hair in reds, burgundy, blonde or brunette and it goes okay with my skin tone.
Well I must confess, I do feel a little better. Even if its for a little while.

Going Gray and Vanity

How many of you have started to go gray and want to, but get that terrible 'skunk' look going on and just don't have the ump to keep going? I have been doing this now for several years. Is this what you call vane?

When do you know when you're ready to go gray? When should you go gray? I mean I've seen people in their early twenties gray and tell myself they should color their hair, they just look so old. (vane) Then there is wanting to stay looking young. But when the wrinkles are all over the place shouldn't one try to look more their age?

Some day I'd hope to have hair that looks like the pics above. I have been carrying the last picture in my wallet for about four years now. Each time I get the top of my head  half way with gray, I go ahead and color it. I think it is because I haven't seen my true color since I was in my twenties. I'm now fifty eight.  I'm not sure with all the colors I have going on in my hair at this time, I could ever get to one of these looks. My hair now has browns, blonde and a hint of red along with the gray. I'm also afraid of  what a 'shock' it could be to have this color done by a hair stylist.  I've even thought of just bleaching out completely and than letting it go gray. It's just so harsh on your hair.

What have you done? How did you proceed?  Yes I'm vane. I need help. Should I or shouldn't I?  Fact is I went out yesterday and bought a darker color to put on my hair! What to do? Should I color it myself, or should I go see a stylist and let them decide? 

With being housebound and all, I figured now would be a good time to make this transition. I mean I won't be out in public for any one to see the 'skunk' me. What short time I may need to be, I could always wear a scarf or do my usual and pull it into a ponytail or wear a hat. (vane) We all know that having 'good hair' days makes us feel better, and I could really use some good vibes right about now.

Please help. I'm so vane I could use some advice. Just don't tell me to go out and get one of those pink or purple hair dos some of the ladies think looks good. Ugh!

Thanks to Karen.........

..... I am finally able to put pictures on my blog again! You ask, "how did you get it working?", well I paid attention to Karen over at My Desert Cottage. She says many of her clients that she's heard from have been unable to post pictures and the fix to that is we should STOP using Internet Explorer. So I have spent the last hour upgrading my computer over to Google Chrome, tried out a couple of changes, and tada! I can post pics again. Thank you Karen.

                                                            

So many things I have been putting on hold until I can get my surgery done. One was not messing with this computer stuff, but I have so missed blogging. And after visiting Karen's blog I just could not put off fixing this issue any longer. Thank you Karen.

Originally my surgery was scheduled for Jan 2, then Jan 16 now it's on hold until I hear from a specialist over in Eugene. She happens to be a Uro/Gyno and  I'm told I could be looking at 2 to 3 months before I even get my first initial visit with her. So instead of moping I have decided to do some baking. I mean, it is still Winter time around here and we must have those homey, yummy smells coming from our kitchen. So,  I pulled out my Favorite Oregon Recipes cookbook and found this recipe for peanut butter cookies. Hope you'll give it a try.

                                               Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Cream shortening, sugars, and peanut butter. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add sifted flour, salt, baking soda; mix well. Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with tines of fork. Bake at 375 degrees  8-10 minutes.  Makes 4 dozen.

I had'nt made these in many years, which is really stupid on my part. These are really tasty and especially yummy right out of the oven. Now I'm not moping any more. Enjoy.

Karen, I just wanted to say Thank You.
                                           

House bound

I've been house bound now since late November. It is just too hard to do much walking around when you feel as if all your innards will fall out your bottom. On Jan 2,  I will be having my surgery so I will be very busy resting and recuperating in the new year. At least for the first few months of it.

Have you made your New Year resolutions yet? I have so many plans in my head and have been writing them all down. To begin with I hope to find a better way of being self sufficient. I first hope to get the greenhouse that we began this Summer, finished. Get all the many galvanized containers up into the corral area where I plan to have all my gardening next to the greenhouse.  Hoping I can grow lots more veggies and even plant more fruit trees. I wish to learn how to use a steam canner. That way I can store more for emergencies, eat healthier, and spend less in the grocery store. I would like to learn how to cook meals with fresh produce rather than store bought out of a can or box. I would like to learn how to crochet other than a single or double stitch. I hope to learn how to use herbs for healing and in cooking. I wish to keep using natural and organic products. 

So as far as New Year wishes go, mine are not the regular 'hope to lose 20 pounds' , although I may keep that one, but to improve on how we spend our money and what is really more important to our survival in case of any kind of emergency.

Yeah, the world did'nt end on Dec 21, but we all know that times are tough for so many and the future does look somewhat bleak. We so need to start looking out more for each other and pray that our future will still be there for the younger generation and that we find peace in our hearts in the troubled times ahead.

So I intend to do my part by doing what I know best by planting a garden and canning veggies and sharing with our neighbors and friends. I have coop issues to fix, will need to replace some laying hens so I keep the eggs coming in, I hope to build more shelves for the surplus supplies I hope we will be able to put up. I am thinking of raising a couple small milk goats and maybe some rabbits, but still trying to get hubby on board with that, plus I would need to learn how to raise them.  I would love to go solar but cost wise I don't think we can do much. I plan to put out a couple more rain barrels but with spigots so it will be easier to transfer the water about.

As you can see, I have had lots of time on my hands while waiting for surgery and will have plenty more time to think of all the things I wish to do next year. I am usually pretty busy shoveling snow and hauling in firewood for the stove, but that has been taken over by my newly retired husband. Hope he doesn't burn out too soon on keeping what chores need done through this Winter. Maybe I'll suprise him with a new smaller figure some time in the Summer of 2013. One can only wish, right? Besides, I don't expect I'll see many gourmet dishes coming my way for the next few weeks. He'll probably try to get me to eat bologna sandwiches. LOL

So here's to hoping all your wishes and resolutions come true for the new year. But mostly I wish everyone good health, happiness and love.

Merry Christmas

My Wish From You

This year is the first time in my adult life that I will not be decorating for Christmas. This does make me somewhat sad but I am counting on all my blogging friends to make my wish come true.

Here's my wish.
I wish that each of you will continue to post many pictures of your holiday decorations and continue to share your dessert recipes, your craft ideas and your wonderful stories. Now that wasn't so bad to ask, was it? I know I have never been dissapointed in anyone. I always look forward to seeing the many beautiful blogs and the great ideas and decor so many of you share with all of us.

You see, this is my favorite Holiday I look forward to. Only because it makes so many people smile when they see all the beautiful lights, smell all the wonderful smells of pine or cinnamon, the many desserts and yummy dishes that are made. The sound of the Christmas music and the delight of the children seeing Santa. People reaching out to their neighbor, maybe speaking for the first time in a year. This is a Holiday that brings out so much love in everyone who believes. You get what I'm trying to say.

I would rather be sharing my fudge recipe with a friend, baking loaves of bread to give to a neighbor, wrapping a secret gift for someone in need, making that special something for someone I love. But this year brings me in another place. One where you can't think of much else other than the pain you are in, disappointed because everything you try to do puts you in more pain, and asking yourself when will this end?

The reason I write this is because I do not have the energy to figure out how to repair my computer at this time and also knowing I will be taking a break for a few months to recuperate. You see, I will be rather busy having what I believe they call the big H (hysterectomy). So I will not be able to endulge in all the fun activities and shopping I would much rather be doing. I won't be making the tons of candy and desserts I so love to give. I won't be able to help the charities I so love to give to. Lately the most Christmas enjoyment I have been getting is lying in bed watching all the great old Christmas stories on tv.

As I write this my body is telling me I have sat up long enough. I just wanted to let you know that once my spirit and health is back, I will fix my computer problem and be back in the blogging world.

Until then, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year.

God bless you all,
Gail

 

Help.. I'm at a loss

I am at a loss as to what to do. I tried to post pics yesterday and was hit with a "you are at your limit and need to upgrade storage". Yet when I go into my currant plan, it shows I have only used 52% for Picasa and 0% for the drive and gmail.

I am not a computer geek so after trying to research how to fix the problem, I deleted Picasa and am still at an impasse. Not working. As much as I love blogging, I do not wish to purchase additional storage especially when it shows I have'nt even used up the free one offered.

Have any of you been in this situation? Any suggestions on how to rectify my mess?

Until I figure out how to deal with this, I'm afraid I can no longer blog since pics are so much what we all enjoy.

Please, someone rescue me. Or at least steer me in the right direction.

Thanks,

Gail

Total Darkness

                               Have you ever been in total darkness?
            Like when you are deep into a cave and your light goes out?

it would probably look something like this

I received a call from our electric company yesterday saying they would be shutting down the grid to thousands of customers homes in our area. This was to upgrade the system to be able to handle emergencies better. Well this was to take place at 11pm last night and last until 4am this morning.

I told my husband of this and decided to shut down my computer and unplug it around 6:30pm. Since he was still working on his computer, he asked I keep the power on. So eventually I went off to bed only to be awakened by my hubby at 11:30pm with him asking me "Did you shut down the computer because it's now completely dark?" 

                                          HELLO !!!!!!!
                              Wake me up?
                                     From a deep sleep?
                                           Into pitch black?
                                 What was he thinking?
                          Oh my Gosh..... I am now in panic mode.
                 I cannot breath, I cannot see anything.
                                         What's going on?
I am trying to get my senses about me. Am I awake? Am I dreaming? I know I am breathing really hard right now, trying to figure things out.  I soon hear my hubby sound asleep, snoring as if nothing in the world is wrong.
               I can't breath. I am feeling as though someone has buried me alive. There is no light anywhere, the air is being sucked out of my space.

I am like this for what feels like forever, only just minutes have passed and suddenly my hand is reaching over to my bedside table and suddenly finds a flashlight. (I keep one there all the time, duh), I grab it, jump up out of bed, turn it on and proceed to the bathroom. After relieving myself (thankfully not any sooner) and now with light in hand, I walk back to the bedroom, open the blinds and stare up at the stars.
                               Thank you God.
                                   I can breathe again.

With all the darkness, everything around me seems to be gone, but there is still light up above. I have Hope.

And here, just when I thought I was becoming a fairly good "Prepper", it turns out that I was totally not prepared for this.

Is it because I truely fear the total darkness?
Or because I was woken up so unexpectantly? I dare say, a little of both.

You ask yourself, how do I prepare for something like this if it were to happen again?

                                     Are your ready?


              Lock the damn husband out of the bedroom.
 
                                 That's how I'd do it.

                                   How about you?

Happy Birthday!

my beautiful Mother, Dorothy

            Mother, I want to wish you a very Happy Birthday today. I know you say it's just another day, but that's where you're wrong. You are 90 years young today, that's not just any day, that's this day.

Hope you have a very enjoyable time with all the kids and grandkids today. Wish I could have been able to join in the fun. Sending you all my love and hugs and kisses too. You mean the world to me and I hope you are around for many more years to come.

       Love you always and forever,
            You're daughter,
                   Gail
          

Slow cooker soup

I have to admit, I am a lover of potatoes. Any way, any how, I could eat them for most every meal. Dad always said "you got potatoes growing out of your ears." I would always touch my ears to feel for them.  Well Dad, if your looking down on me (and I know you are), you would see that today like many others, I just had to put together this yummy Creamy Potato Soup. I've made lots of potatoe soup in my days, but this recipe I found on Allrecipes.com is definately a keeper. What I really like about it too is that you can through everything in a crock pot and let it cook all day.

 

First you soften up an onion by frying in a pan with bacon bits.

Then you dice up a bunch of potatoes.

Then you put the bacon and onion in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Add the potatoes, chicken broth, water, salt, dill weed, and ground white pepper.

Set your cooker to 6 to 8 hours, then mix all purpose flour with half and half, add to the soup, add evaporated milk and let it all cook together for another 30 minutes

before serving.

Let me tell you, this makes one really yummy soup. I just wish I had made some

corn bread muffins to go along with it.

 

For dessert, I made a double layer German Chocolate cake. I have'nt had one of

these in a very long time.

 

I just love when dinner comes together in a simple way. One pot clean up, too.

 

 

 

Little blessings

My newest additions to the Banty family. One was born on Oct.10, two born Oct 23, the other on the 24th. I still have three mommas sitting on eight more eggs. With the weather cooled off the past few days, I'm thankful to have good mommas who keep taking turns keeping the little ones warm.

They seem to be doing very well so far. They learn how to eat and drink two days after birth. Amazing to me. They even have their feathers pretty fast too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get more hens this time. The last batch had two roosters that I gave away.

While walking back down the path to the house I spotted that the rocks looked weird along the driveway. I thought someone had put some on top of what was there until I zoomed in with my camera lens to see that it was only some quail basking in the sunshine.
Don't you just love nature?

 

 

We have had plenty of rabbits, deer and all kinds of birds, some of which is the first time I've seen them around here. Although we do have one bird, not sure which, that puts out this terrible loud screech all day long. I could do without that one.

With snow on the ground the mice have been showing up inside the coops only to drive my hens crazy. I've trapped a couple of those blessed beasts out of the baby chick area to release outside. Stray cats have found a way into the barn to eat my cats food. They don't seem to mind. What's a few more mouths to feed, right? Guess they don't have taste buds for mice. Hmmmm.

I've only had to haul off one skunk this year. (They sure are pretty) It was a bugger though to get out of the cage to release far away from here. Sure am thankful to have not gotten sprayed.

Just another day in my neck of the woods.

I sure do love the country life. Never a dull moment. Times are good.

blessings,
Gail

Wild, Crazy and Awesome!

Did you watch the freefall from space? This is Felix Baumgartner from Austria. He did a freefall from 24 miles out in space trying to break the record for the speed of sound.

He fell to earth in under 5 minutes and was going 729 miles per hour. Now that's what I call a major rush.

The minute he stepped out of the capsule, I was just saying over and over, "oh my God, oh my God." Can you see earth? What was he thinking?

This is crazy to me. But then again I'm scared to death of heights. But so very exciting to watch such an event in my life time.

Here he is just soaring down through the black atmosphere. I can't even imagine how he's feeling about now.

(Now starting to see earth, hope my shoot opens soon and I can figure out where I'm going to land.)

Safe and happy to be alive.

 All I can say is this guy must have some pretty big _____(shoes)
 Wonder what he'll think of next.
         Sure glad I got to see it.

Recycling and preparing for Winter

With Fall upon us, we have started getting things ready for Winter. The chimney is swept, the gutters cleaned out and extra sealer is to be placed above the roof deck. We recycled a couple sections of a dog kennel we were'nt using, to use instead  for fencing out the deer up near the house. I was hoping for a wood fence but not in the budget.

My greenhouse is nearly complete, we recycled a carport frame to use and an old window and door works just fine. We will roof it in clear panels and put the plastic around the sides in Spring. Put in a couple of recycled pallets for shelving and use the many old plastic pots to start my seedlings in. I have been drying and picking seeds for next years planting.

We are also putting together a small shed to house the lawnmowers and equip. We are using the frame from the canvas tent we picked up for my Civil War reinactments. (I am using wood for that.) Another great way to recycle a metal frame. 

So as you can see, with my days finally slowing down from the many doctor appointments and physical therapy for two months, I can help my hubby get a few things done around here before Winter actually is upon us.

I am sad that I was unable to travel over to Idaho to see my family this year, but my back just would not hold up to that long of a drive right now. So I am to settle in for a long Winter and I hope to get caught up on some sewing projects that I had begun.

What's going on?

It has been some crazy months for me. I have been doing many projects and back to back mini trips for the past couple months. I still have three more trips planned and then I think I will truely be ready for things to slow down.

I have had no luck in the garden this year. Our weather has been so fickle and we have been breathing some heavy smoke for two weeks from fires all around us. My cherry and pear trees did not produce anything this year. My tomatoes are green but we have had a couple nights of frost warnings. Squash never grew past its planting size, onions did not grow big, green  beans were doing nicely  but all of a sudden dried up completely on the vines. Now we have been watching leaves falling from my trees for two weeks as if Fall is here. What is with our weather? It scares the you know what out of me. How am I suppose to grow our own food, pesticide free, organic and be able to put up canning if I can't even grow the stuff? Must I settle for canned fruit and veggies?

Still waiting to get my greenhouse built. Our contractor pooped out on us and has'nt shown back up. Once we get home from our beach trip we will attack doing it ourselves.
I have been very busy sewing a canvas tent to look period Civil War. I have attempted several blouses and dresses in period attire but let me tell you, patterns just are'nt what they use to be as far as trying to understand them. At least that's my excuse. I have done more tearing out of seams than sewing them in, I think.

Soon I will try to share some of my photos. I have missed having the time to visit blogs and sharing with you. Hope your Summer is going better than mine. Tootles.

Civil War Reinacting

This past weekend I enlisted myself into becoming a volunteer of the Cascade Civil War Society of Klamath Falls. I was given a couple of dresses to use until I could make or buy some of my own. My first day I sat and hand sewed the hem on a dress that I had recently made. After completing the dress and a little more research, I found that this dress is not period appropriate even though the pattern says it is of the Civil War era.

So I will be starting on a new one soon as the cost I have found to purchase them are pretty pricey.

It was a really nice weekend but not much of a crowd came out as there was another event going on in town at the same time.

This is Margie's tent which she has graciously offered me half for bunking until I can get a tent of my own. They are not too cheap either but I am hoping to find a used one. She is a Refugee in camp and has all her belongings in a covered wagon. She spins wool and teaches those who want to learn how.

Margie (refugee)

I have a lot to learn about the Civil War era, but hope to become a laundress of the period. I have already begun looking through my many collections of antiques to see what I will be able to use.

Just another something to keep me busy, like I don't have enough already.

I just love old history and being able to teach some of it to others. It is always a nice relaxing time when doing reinacting.

Here are a few of the other ladies I met in our group. We had such a fun time and even sat down for our very own tea party.

I love the beautiful gowns that they are wearing and almost wanted to go that route but decided it would be much easier to use the outhouse without the big hoops. And Lord knows I need to go often enough without needing anything to slow me down. lol

So I choose the lower class, working woman instead. Plus it is more in my line of knowledge.

Well now that the weekend is over and my company has all gone home, I need to start on another dress, period correct, because we will have another reinactment near the end of this month. I just love playing dress up. Besides it is probably the only time you'll catch me wearing a dress.

Williamson iver at Collier Park

This has been one crazy, busy month for me. After rv camping on the river at Collier Park for two days, it was home for a couple hours and off to do Relay for Life.

The river was so inviting but still too cold to swim in. Crystal clear blue water. The sound was heavenly. Good way to unwind before the big event.

After arriving at the high school where Relay for Life was to be held, we put up the tent and all the decorations for our Alice in Wonderland theme, and were in for the long haul.

We began the evening with a bbq dinner put on by Wubba's, a local restaurant. Then to start things out they had the Survivors walk, then there was a frozen Tshirt contest, and then the teams relay began their laps and a local radio station pumped out awesome tunes all through the night. Every song got you up and moving which was a big help as you can well imagine.

Survivors lap

left to right, April, me, MaryGail, Faith, Wendie, Christine, Robin

As you can see, everyone was in character. Thank you Wendie and Christine for coming all the way from California to help our team. I did'nt think I could get Wendie in a dress, but she was a good sport and was our Alice.

Kim (Queen of Hearts), Faith (Mad Hatter)

Faith recruited Kim just two days before Relay and she came dressed as our Queen of Hearts and even got us a sponsor who will pay $5 for every mile each of us walked. How awesome was that? She had tons of energy and motivated and inspired us all.

We had such a good time and hopefully raised a lot of money for the cause. We are already planning next years event and recruiting more girls. We plan to be a little more prepared for next year. We hope to bring a propane heater, hot cocoa, hot coffee and hand warmers as it got downright chilly in the wee morning hours.

This is our booth that we put together with lots of decorations along with

a variety of items for sale. From cupcakes and cookies, to lip balms, chemo caps and body oils. We did very well with our sales.

After the remembrance ceremony and many prayers, hugs and tears, I went to the tent and lay down for a couple of hours. I did'nt sleep much but my body aches went away and I was able to get up and walk a few more laps.

I am grateful to everyone who helped make this event happen and to all those who donated for the cause. For this being my first event since losing my sister and sister-in-law to cancer, to my mom who is a three time survivor of breast cancer, and to our friend Mary, who just became cancer free, I plan to be at each future event as long as I am able.

May some day soon we find a cure for cancer.

Blessings,
Gail

Beach time

Last Sunday I decided it was off to the Oregon coast, even if it was only for a few hours, it was a much needed retreat. We chose Whaleshead beach just above Brookings.

I received the best exfoliation and foot massage and all while enjoying the great ocean sounds and fresh air.

My daughter and I walked around for 3 hours looking for shells and the long lost pirate treasure. Found a few shells and some nice driftwood.

treasure hunting

Although it stayed overcast the entire time, we did enjoy ourselves.
We ate lunch on the beach and listened to the sound of the waves as the tide was coming in.

Found a cave right on the beach in a huge boulder. Of course by this time my camera was up in the car. But I'll share a few pics I did manage to get.



Whaleshead beach

In one area of the shore, the waves coming in sounded like thunder. It was pretty awesome.

Some brave souls.

I totally enjoy the ocean, I'm just one of those who chooses to enjoy it from shore.

We can't wait until we can go back and spend a few days enjoying the sun and sand, but this is one crazy month of company, mini vacations, doctor visits and preparing for Relay for Life.

If you ever find yourself in Oregon, don't miss seeing the beaches. They're spectactular and less than a days drive.

I find myself smiling......

 I find myself smiling

when my Peonies finally open up into big, beautiful flowers.

When my Hens and Chicks are flowering for the first time.

When knowing that the momma delivered her babies safely and I get to see them with their spots.

When looking out the window and spying Mr. Jack eyeing my garden nearby and knowing that he can't get in.

When my mini Pearl walked with me for Bark for Life and smiled at all the people.

(of course she could'nt do it for her picture)

And when I happened upon this.

(I just could'nt help myself)

 May you all be blessed with things that make you smile.