I feel like a failure

I went out this evening and bought pre-packaged food to get us through the chaos.  Banquet meals.  Individual and family size.  I am a failure and a fraud.  In a time of chaos and upheaval, I buckled under the convenience of frozen chemicals.  Unfortunately, there are not enough hours in the day.  The fencing and barn stuff is hard work and working within my husband's extreme physical limitation means it takes three to four times as long to get things done.  Sometimes longer.

My cell phone decided to shut itself off and not allow itself to be turned back on until after I was at the Verizon store.  We have an extended warranty.  Guess what it does not cover?  The battery or the charger.  It covers the phone only.  The original warranty covers the battery and charger, but not the extended.  But, I could get an upgrade for about the same price as the cost of a charger or a battery and have a new battery and charger included in the upgrade.

The catch:  The "upgrade" is basically turning in the old phone for a new one at a reduced price.  It is not a true upgrade to the next one in line for the phone that you have.  I have a G'zOne Casio.  The one that basically you have to run over it with an earth mover to completely and totally destroy.  Well, I could "upgrade" to a cheap piece of crap where the first hour in this house and it would be broken beyond all recognition.  I like the G'zOne.  I really do.  It has really withstood farm life.  It has put up with more drops, being stepped on, and other trauma that most phones couldn't hope to endure.  What did the phone in last night was apparently the charger had corrosion on it.  The Verizon people at first said it was the battery.  Um, no.  If it were the battery, then the batteries would not have worked in my husband's phone.  That it was the charger itself.  It did something to the phone.  Well, while there, the phone allowed itself to finally turn back on and it had only one line.  I had it charged up to two lines, removed the order that they tried to put in for a new battery, told them that their "upgrade" policy was a joke and was not a true upgrade (the one they tried to show me didn't even have a camera so I would also lose features) and told them that when this contract expires, they will have lost a customer.  My new charger will be here by Friday. 

The upgrade to the next in line phone for what I have?  Close to $200.  I asked how that was considered a reduced rate.  And this is an upgrade that I "qualify" for.  The only problem with dropping Verizon is I would no longer have the Casio "beat me up" phone.  

Laundry is going.  Children are (theoretically) in bed.  Time to do dishes.  Blech.  But, we have a dishwasher now.  So, I can't complain too much.  I am still wondering about the water waste hand washing vs electricity waste dishwashing math.

On your mark, get set, SOAP!

Yes, folks.  We have soap making ingredients and stuff measured out to make soap.  The lavender we are using this time is a Spanish lavender.  (Or is it French?  It is not English.)  The smell of it smells like a strong lavender powder soap even though it is just the plant.  I had a hard time shredding it to be pureed for the soap batch, so I had Husband do it.  I kept sneezing and getting a headache.

I also have stuff set up for tea tree soap.  That is a very popular soap and I am surprised at how fast people bought it.

I went to Health Quest today to pick up a couple of essential oils that I needed.  He was out of a couple of others that I need plus I ordered a "New Scent."  I picked up eucalyptus that we were out of and sandalwood (new and heavily requested) and the new one I ordered with the other two on order is citronella.  I also picked up four 35# jugs of oil for more soap making.

Fencing has been worked on and slowly replaced with a heavy feedlot fence.  Snowball, who got out of her harness, is back in it.  Turning the garage into a barn is not going very fast.  But I am hoping something is done tonight to get it animal habitable since we have heavy rains coming through and even had hail not too long ago.

The children are driving me nuts.  They don't listen, they become argumentative, and quite frankly I am tired of it.  I am tired of yelling.  I am tired of repeating myself.  I am tired of the whining.  I am tired of not having my space.  I want - no I need my space back.  I need my room back.  My girls need their room back.  This is temporary.  I just need to keep repeating that to myself.  Work should be starting soon, so this is all temporary.

We have been working on fencing and gates as we are doing upgrades and repairs to the farm.  We are turning one of the garages into a barn and will be putting stalls in for the donkeys.  I am hoping we get done with this next round of work gets done in the next few days.  Hot, hard, sweaty work, but it needs doing.  

The other thing that needs doing is the soaps.  We have lots and lots of soaps to make to re-up our inventory.  We also have 200 bottles to fill with the liquid.  Along with the soaps that we have to make for our current scents, I want to start a new scent.  Citronella.  I just don't know anyone around here with a citronella plant right now.  

I have been asked a lot about lotions and I am going to continue to investigate sources for the ingredients to see what I can find locally.  I will not ship in the ingredients.  They need to be locally grown or from locally owned businesses.

Tomorrow, we pick up 20 bags of goat feed and 5 bags of chicken feed.  We picked up 20 bales of hay a few days ago.  We are working on stocking up on feed right now so that come winter we don't have to worry about running out if it gets too cold/icy to drive to the feed store.  

The donkeys seem to be adjusting well.  The vet comes out Thursday to castrate Henry.  We are going to keep him in a stall the first few days after since it is a surgical castration.  I don't want to chance something happening and it getting infected.  We'll be keeping it clean and covered and him in a stall.  

Snowball slipped out of her facial harness earlier so it will be fun trying to catch her tomorrow.  She is far more skittish than Henry.  They both did get sprayed down with fly spray so they are not being eaten alive anymore.  

Work tonight was fun.  I was supposed to clock out at 10:00, but had to wait until someone came back from break.  Then when she came back, her and both managers went out for cigarettes leaving no manager in the store and three people working past the end of their shift.   

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: Even though it has been three weeks, my usage has gone down considerably. This is good. Most likely due to not using the a/c. Either that or us not being home much. Hopefully, we can keep it down and lower it even more. 
Meter reading: 76895
Usage: 910kwh (21 day period.)
Percentage: 143%

IDC: I did some canning. I canned 11 jars of green beans, 2 jars of squash, and a jar of zucchini. As for the house, we are now waiting on communication between the contractors and the insurance company.

GARBAGE: We have lots of garbage. We are going to do a bunch of cleaning out and getting rid of stuff.

GASOLINE: I need to keep track of this.

MONEY: We are doing the baby steps of the Dave Ramsey program. I am taking my paychecks and putting one check into savings and the next to the van payment. The idea is to get the van paid off faster by doing to payments a month. Once that is done, we will take that money and roll it into the truck payment and get that paid off faster while still stashing a minimum wage paycheck each month.

HOMESTEAD: Our brooder hatched five chicks and they are adorable. We now have another brooder. Having survived the fair, we doubled our goat herd. We now have sixteen goats. We are going to dry up Gi-gi and Robin so we will only have three in milk. Among the goats that we got are four adults. There are three ladies who will be bred as soon as our little buckling is old enough and a wether Nubian who is looking delicious. Too bad he is wethered because he is HUGE! But, he will be good eating and we don’t have a lot of meat in the freezer right now.
We also have two donkeys. A jack and a jenny. They both have been seriously neglected. And, we just discovered that the jack (Henry) has an abscess on his front right hoof and he is limping. For now, we cleaned it and put a poultice of garlic powder paste on it. We tried to cover it, but Henry was feeling less than cooperative.
We bought paneling and are going to buy more until all the fencing is replaced. I bought quick-crete but apparently bought the wrong kind so it will have to be taken back tomorrow and the right stuff bought. George will take care of that while I am at the DTFM.

HOMESCHOOL: This has been seriously neglected, but the past two days have found us getting back into it after the Vigo Fair put it on the back burner.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED: 
1. Lawn Mower – We have a Poulan weed wacker/saw/thingamajig plus we have donkeys. Does that count?
2. Continue WW – Ummm.
3. Emergency Preparedness – You would think after the month we’ve had that I would be doing this, but no. I suck.
4. Lose 3 pounds by next week. – It found me again.
5. Eat better than I have been. – I’m a failure.

NEW GOALS:
1. WW
2. Lawn Mower
3. Emergency Preparedness
4. Lose Weight
5. Eat Better

No Pregnancy!

Snowball is NOT pregnant.  We took both donkeys to the vet and had them examined.  Snowball is not pregnant, the eyes of both donkeys are not infected.  But the underneath are in need of care.  Topical antibiotic and fly swat are needed and that will take care of it.

George is currently on the phone with a farrier to take care of the hooves.  They are still very bad.  Hopefully, the farrier will be able to come out in the next day or two, do a few cuttings, and then show us what to do.  Or, as it turns out, August 3 at 3:00pm is the soonest he can get here.  Crud.  I hate having them wait that long, but we are stuck.  But, they've gone this long.  

We picked up some new halters for the donkeys since the ones we got the day before are too big.  While I was at it, I also picked up halters for a couple of the goats.  I also picked up dewormer medicine and some fly spray.  So, we are on our way to healthy donkeys.

The vet used something called a "twitch" on the nose of Snowball so that she can do an internal and sonogram.  While interesting, it seemed cruel.  While not something I would have ever thought to use, with a donkey that kicks, it may be something that we might have to use.  We will see how trimming goes without it first before I resort to it.  I want the animals to trust us and know that we will not do anything to cause them harm.  But we will also protect ourselves from harm as well.  

My day so far

I have seven quarts of green beans in the canner right now that the children helped snap.  They had fun breaking the green beans and putting them in the jar.  I have four more quarts waiting their turn and they will go in along with the quart of zucchini and the two quarts of squash.  It is time for winter storage prep.  I am hoping to do a better job this year than I did last year with preparing for winter.  The eleven quarts of green beans will last about two weeks.  So, I will be needing a lot more than that.

The dishwasher we got seems to be doing well.  It feels strange not having a sink full of dishes waiting for me.  On the other hand, it seems strange having dishes take over an hour to wash.  What this will do to the electric bill, I have no idea.  But we shall soon see.

It is now time to get the donkeys calmly loaded into the trailer to get them to the vet.  Yes, I am a bit concerned, but I also know that they will be taken care of by people who know what they are doing and can guide us as we help them recover from the neglect that they have endured.

Pictures - Snowball

Pictures - Henry

A day off

I have today off since it is the third Tuesday of the month and I have a La Leche League meeting today.  I am tired and am trying to take advantage of the day off by doing things that have been neglected around here.  We just bought a dishwasher at Menard's for $199 and it needs to be installed.  It was (obviously) on sale and it looks like it will do a good job.  Although I have been fighting myself about getting a dishwasher (water usage vs electricity usage) time and clutter have won out.  Although (theoretically) we will use less water, I am sure we will use more electricity doing dishes this way than doing them by hand.  The dishwasher also has a sanitizer setting so mason jars can be sanitized easier when it comes time to can.  Such as when I go to do the green beans today or tomorrow.

I have poison ivy on my arm thanks to Flora.  She had gotten on the other side of the fence and reaching through to grab her collar and walk her back to the hole (her on one side with me on the other) had my arm going over some poison ivy.  Stupid goat.  

Our herd is up to 16 now.  We have five milking (two of which are weaning their kids) and four other adults that we just got yesterday (all of which need hoof trimming but are otherwise healthy) and a total of seven kids.  We are nuts.  Just say it.  I am in total agreement.

We also have two donkeys.  The jack is named Henry and the jenny is named Snowball.  They are in bad shape.  Yesterday went very quickly from going to buy a couple of donkeys to a rescue operation.  Normally if animals don't load easily or are seeming spooked, we will offer to come back later or the next day and try XYZ since ABC didn't seem to be working with loading.  The last thing we want when we bring animals home is for them to be terrified.  But we both knew the minute we saw these animals that we had to get them out of there and we were not going to leave without them.  I just about cried when I saw them.  I'll post pictures later, but there appears to be an eye infection going on in both eyes of the jack and in at least one eye of the jenny, the hooves are horrid.  (Snowball's is the worse.)  And, according to the people we bought them from, Snowball is pregnant.  She is losing her hair.  I don't know if she has lice, mites, or just really horrible skin.  The flies are attacking the eyes thanks to the infection and the underneath of Henry's eyes are oozing some blood.  I tried to get them in to a vet yesterday, but no one had an opening and no one had an opening today either.  They do have an appointment tomorrow late afternoon, which we will keep if we don't find someone to see them sooner.  We are still calling around to find someone to see them ASAP.

This is not the first time a livestock buy has become a rescue operation, but this is by far the worse one we have seen yet.  When and how we became a rescue, I don't know, but that is what we appear to be turning into.  While it is not a bad thing, the fact that it is needed is still heart breaking.

It's Over

I think we survived.  I am also questioning our sanity since we are discussing Pioneer Days.  Thankfully, it looks like Pioneer Days is a single week-end in October.  We have also made connections with people who are willing to carry our soap in their stores and have an in on other festivals and week-ends where we can set up.  We have learned a LOT this past week.  One of which George can not handle a full week.  It just shows that no matter how good he looks, he is still very much disabled and incapable of putting in the hours no matter how much he wants to.  He is in bad shape and it will take him quite a while to recover.  How long that recovery will take, I don't know.  I do know that I am not trusting him alone right now for fear of bad seizures and his inability to move very well.  Needless to say, week long events are out until I am no longer working.

The other thing going on is our herd of nine is up to twelve and by Monday morning will be up to sixteen.  We got good deals on goats.  We sold Gus and got four more goats.  A total of two nubians and two boers.  Monday, we are picking up another herd of four for $50 and they are a nubian female, boer female, nubian cross female and an unknown male.  All of them are adults and of a decent size.

Monday afternoon, we are getting two donkeys.  A jack and a pregnant jenny.  They have been raised as guard donkeys and will continue to serve that purpose.  The baby will also be trained to be a working donkey.  If the jack is not castrated, we will castrate him because we are not wanting a whole herd of donkeys and donkeys live for an average of 30-50 years.  So barring any complications, these donkeys will serve our purpose for a long time to come.

So, along with being a business owner, McDonald's employee, goat and chicken farmer, soap maker, wife, mother, La Leche League Leader, homeschooling, I am now going to be a donkey owner.

I am switching to days at work.  Or at least I am going to try.  Maybe I can work opening shift.  That is what?  4-11am?  Something like that?  It's the same hours I work now, but in the morning instead of at night.  I have to do something. I take Saturdays and Sundays off.  I don't know.  I'm just thinking out loud here.

The Link

Thank you, Lisa for finding the link for me.  

Interview

Friday Fair

I still have not been able to get a link to the interview, but that's ok.  Today is the second to last day.  Tomorrow, we will be at both the fair and the DTFM.  It has been an exhausting and educational week for us.  We have learned a lot this week about set up and things we want to do differently to make things run smoother and be easier for the children rather than shuffling them around from place to place.

I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but we did get a beautiful nubian buckling that we named Duke.  We got him a couple of days ago and he seems to be adjusting well.  By the time he is old enough to go into rut, it will be breeding time again.

We are also eyeing another nubian doeling and a couple of boer bucklings.  The boers we can castrate and raise for meat or have one to breed with a couple of our does for future meat.  We have no real meat lined up for winter right now so the boers are a wonderful find.  We just need to get a hold of the owner and talk with him about pricing.

I am here for another hour or so until I have to leave to go home and get ready for work.  It is an early night for me in that I am only working until 10:00.  Last night, a customer yelled at me for "yelling at a little girl."  The "little girl" (his kid sister) was 12 or 13 years old.  I'm outside in the parking lot cleaning it and this kid got out of the vehicle, dropped a soda bottle on the ground, and kicked it a few times to kick it under the car parked next to them.  There was a trash can one spot over in front of them that she passed going in the place.  I see all this happening and the only thing I had said (she saw me watching) was "That's rude."  Nothing was said to me at that time.  Her brother did not get out.  I even went over and reached under the car the bottle was kicked under so I could sweep it up and throw it away.  Again, nothing was said to me.  I worked my way around the building cleaning the parking lot and when I am on the other side of the building having worked my way around picking up, sweeping, and cleaning the parking lot and emptying trash, he comes over to me and starts yelling at me asking what I think I am doing yelling at his kid sister.  Granted, this was with a whole bunch of cussing.  I simply told him that I felt it was rude to be dropping trash on the ground and making a point of kicking the trash under someone else's car.  He continued his cussing tirade and I just turned my back.  I do not get paid enough to deal with jerks like that.

Anyway, I am out of ones so I am going to try to track some down.

Day 4 of the Fair

Today is day four of the Vigo County Fair.  Apparently, I was on the news last night, but didn't get to see it.  I also have not been able to find it online.  (WTWO)  But, there have been people that have stopped by because of the news clip.  They described the interview very well.  Including the bit about me bending over, kissing Bethany's hand, picking her up, and carrying on with the conversation.  I guess I didn't sound too much like an idiot.

Today, along with being day four, the follow up of the interview, is also the day in which we have finally made back what we put into it.  So, from this post on is now considered profit.  (Minus the whole feed, supplies, etc.)  But, this is a good thing.  I am excited.  I never would have imagined this being a possibility.  A flight of fancy, maybe.  But seeing actually happen?  Wow!

Anyway, I am here all day.  This is the only day that I am not scheduled to work.

Live Blogging

Today is day two of the Vigo County Fair.  Yesterday was opening day and like yesterday and everyday except Wednesday, I leave here in the afternoon to go to work and leave everything in George's capable hands.  He is here until the fair closes at 10:00.  I take the girls with me and drop them off with my SIL when I leave here in the afternoon.  Except for today.  Today, my SIL is taking a friend of hers to a doctor's appointment.  So when I leave here today, I will be leaving all three children with George during the afternoon/evening hours which also happen to be the busiest times.  

Yesterday, there appears to have only been one theft and that was a bottle instead of a bar.  Theft bugs me.  But, I've had that rant here before so I won't go into it again.

WTWO interviewed me this morning about my stand and how soap is made.  George was not here.  He was getting coffee.  So here I am alone with three free-range children running in all directions as I am getting ready to be interviewed.  When asked how well I do with interviews, I think my response was "Uhhhh...."  And, while the camera was rolling, Bethany comes up to me sticking her middle finger up.  She had a boo-boo that needed kissed and wanted to be picked up.

Supposedly, this interview will be aired either tonight or tomorrow night at the 5:00/5:30 time slot.  We'll see how well it goes.

Anyway, this is a very busy, tiring week.  I just hope I survive it.  All I need is coffee.  Lots and lots and lots of coffee.

Kaboom!

This is week two that it rained on us at the DTFM.  However, this is the first time we were ever chased away by the rain.  Mainly because along with the rain came dangerous lightening that I know hit the building next to us and set off all the alarms.  It also knocked out WTHI TV and radio.  How much we made in under two hours I don't know.  I do know that I was absolutely soaked.  Charlie was with us (the girls were with my SIL) and he was a bit freaked.  Understandably so since along with the pouring rain and the parking lot and street flooding, the wind, the thunder, and the lightening, he was probably concerned about the possibility of a tornado.    Granted, that was not a concern for us, but in his mind right now, bad storms mean tornadoes.

The winds were picking up before the storm hit and we had gotten a call while at the market that the tent we set up at the fair had blown over and into a building.  So, George had to go and put it back and tie it in place.  On the way back, the sky turned black and the rain came down in sheets.  Not even a build up to it.  Just a complete down pour.  We had Elena with us and it was her first time away from the herd.  Not a good experience for her, I am sure.

We came home and every inch of me was soaked.  George's feet stayed dry amazingly enough.  He had good shoes on.  I stripped down and changed into dry clothes and tried to take a nap.  But Charlie was bored so he kept kicking the couch and a fly kept buzzing me.  So I did not get much sleep.  George left after a while to go back to the fair to do more set-up and make sure things didn't get too wet.  He left me home so I could relax before getting ready for work.  Just as I get ready to make my salad and get myself changed into my uniform, the doorbell rings.  It is a couple of contractors to look at the damage now that we have the numbers for the storm damage.

This is also an interesting thing.  We were given a final number of around $20,000.  Then they depreciate it to $15,000.  So they will pay $15,000 and reimburse for the other $5,000 after the work is done.  This is not the deductible.  This is depreciation.  We do not have $5,000 laying around.  Hopefully, the contractors can work with us.  Because this is not good.  Although it does give us an idea of what we should have for an emergency fund for the future.

Anyway, the contractors showed up as I am starting to get ready for work so I called and said I was going to be late.  I couldn't leave them alone in the house and I was home alone.  So I had to wait for George to get back.  Thankfully, he called a few minutes later and I told him what was up.  He came straight home and I headed out.  Thank goodness they were not on the roof near my bathroom while I was getting changed.  (Skylights.)  In the end, I only ended up being two minutes late clocking in.  The hold up was I had to come back inside to get a couple of towels for the front seat of the van since it was (and still is) saturated.

At work tonight, I was in lobby and there was the cute little girl who looked to be just under two.  She was in the playroom with her siblings and she wanted her mom who was in line.  She ran to the door probably thinking she could push it open no problem and went face first into the door.  Poor thing.  It was comical and sad at the same time.

The rest of this week is going to be long.  Between working until 10:00 or 11:00 at night and working the fair during the day and dropping the girls off at my SIL's before heading into work, I am going to be very, very tired.  But the opportunities that are presented to us by being able to do this will be wonderful.  I do need to get with D to find out when she would like to keep the girls overnight this week.

That's a wrap!

All of the bars that are dry are wrapped!  We are still waiting for honey, coffee, and oatmeal to dry.  The coffee and oatmeal should be dry enough to wrap tomorrow.  I am not sure about the honey.  It is taking a long time to dry.  It is also very dark probably due to the fact that I added a LOT more honey in this batch than the last batch.

I am excited about the fair.  We'll be setting up tomorrow and on Saturday after DTFM, I will be heading home while George and the children head to the fair for final analysis and final set up.  Due to church being in Indianapolis on Sunday, we will not be going and instead be going straight to the fair.  It starts at 10:00 so we are hoping to be there for 9:00 each morning.  A much more pleasant time than the 7:00 time for the DTFM.

At work tonight, things were actually fairly normal.  (For McDonald's.)  There was no outright weirdness which was nice.  I did give one of the managers a couple of bars of soap.  Her dad had died in a much similar fashion as my MIL and I remember the grief and having to cope.  (Granted I was coping with multiple deaths.)  So I gave her the bars as a reminder to take care of herself and take time out to be good to herself and pamper herself in her grief.  She is struggling and all I can do right now is pray for her.  I can't take the pain away or fix it and make it better.  

George stopped by with the children while I was working.  (When I saw L working, I called him to have him bring me a couple of bars.)  He let the children play for a while in the human habitrail while he drank coffee.  They had a blast, got to see Mommy at work, and had a chance to show off.  They think Mommy works at the Happiest Place of Earth.  I won't burst their bubble quite yet.  lol

The adjuster finally called and said the paperwork is done and it is up to the supervisor now.  he called at 9:00 tonight and offered no explaination as to what happened or why it took two weeks for him to do the paperwork or why no one was able to get a hold of him for several days or in any way acknowledged that anything was amiss in his dealings.  Definitely not what I would call professional.  But, things are slowly beginning to move forward.

Gearing Up

The Vigo County Fair is almost upon us and we have been working to make sure we have plenty of stock.  To date, I think we are done with actual bar soap making.  They have all been made and cut.  I have honey, oatmeal, and coffee in final drying.  Cinnamon got wrapped today.  More bottles got ordered.  Patchouli, tea tree, and plain are waiting to be wrapped.  The liquids are all made except for the honey and (more) coffee and (more) oatmeal.  I am trying to not stress, but we all know how I am.  I get anxious and wanting everything to be perfect, expect disaster, and it all turns out wonderful.  Just hand over the chocolate.  I'll be fine.  Just back up to where I was a few months ago.

As soon as the children settle down, I am going to wrap more soaps.  I did the dinner dishes and somewhat cleaned up the kitchen.  Charlie was supposed to do the dishes, but he did three plates and decided to use the sprayer to spray himself, Hannah, and the kitchen floor.  So, he went to bed.  I figure it was safer for him that way.  And the plates that he did do were slimey.  How that happened, I don't know.

I have laundry going right now.  I have a livingroom to clean.  And my life is still on hold.

 No one can get a hold of the guy that did our assessment.  Not my agent.  Not his immediate supervisor.  Not the supervisor of the area.  It's like he disappeared.  I'm going to call again tomorrow morning and find out if my paperwork is going to be handed off to someone else.  I was told that is what is going to happen if they can't get a hold of him.  Someone will take his notes and crunch the numbers.  Friday will be three weeks since the storms.  Today is eleven days since the guy was here.  I told my agent "I was very understanding.  This was a major storm.  I have gone from patient and understanding to slightly irritated to now I am angry and I don't like it.  My husband and I have gone from sleeping on couches to moving the girls in with their brother and us sleeping in their bed.  My children can not safely play outside without one of us out there with them at all times because it is too dangerous.  I would like my room back.  My girls would like their room back.  They would like to go outside and play.  I would like for them to go outside and play."

I have been assured that this is not the way things normally run with the insurance company.  My agent has been wonderful.  The company itself.  Well, I am less than impressed and am going to say that it is this one guy and hope he is not representative of the company as a whole.  I am concerned that something may have happened to him.  He said he was going home to his home state for the holiday.  Independence Day seems to bring out the drunks and idiots.  I don't know if he fell into one of those categories or if he became a victim of someone in one of those categories.

A day off? Hardly!

First, I would like to write a letter to a certain customer from last night.

Dear Customer,
While the customer may "always be right" that does not mean that the customer is not an idiot, is not rude, or does not need to take some serious Midol.
When you come through the drive-thru and order a sandwich special order in some strange fashion that defies all logic, expect some confusion.  Drive-thru is for your basic and some modified orders such as PLAIN cheeseburgers or a quarter pounder with EXTRA PICKLE.  For things beyond that, the logical thing to do is to come inside.  Logic also tell me that if you were capable of coming inside and cussing everyone out in sight, half throwing your messed-up sandwich at the employees, and criticizing everyone who works there, then you could have come in to place your order to begin with.

Asking for a cheeseburger with
NO MEAT
EXTRA CHEESE
ADD LETTUCE
ADD MAC SAUCE

None of which (except the cheese) comes on a cheeseburger, there is bound to be miscommunication.  And ordering a burger without the burger makes no logical sense.  If you are offended by meat, go across the street to Subway, get a veggies sub, and come on over to order a side of Mac Sauce.

And for crying out loude, do NOT place an insane order like that when the drive-thru is out to the highway (beyond the street the store is on) and has been for an hour and the lobby is backed up out the doors and into the playplace with the lobby due to close in 15  minutes so you can come in and have your temper tantrum and the busiest moment possible on the day of the fireworks and people drunk off their gourd from celebrating seeing the fireworks that got cancelled the previous night.

TO THE MALE BACK SEAT CUSTOMER,
I realize that when the line for the drive-thru is backed up for a mile, it requires a bit of a wait.  I am also fully understanding that when you are young and dumb and like to show off to the driver and his girl friend and you and your girl friend have zero inhibitions (alcohol does that) telling me that you waited so long you got four blow jobs is not impressive.  I find it sad and lacking in the respect that you have for yourself, your girl friend, the others in the vehicle, and other people (me) you encounter.  Next time, keep your "accomplishments" to yourself.

Anyway, I had today off work and got a few things done.  The soaps got sliced for wrapping in the next week or so.  We are gearing up for a Friday set-up at the Vigo County Fair.  Paper has been bought to finish wrapping other soaps.  Liquid cinnamon and patchouli has been made.  The liquid tea tree oil is waiting to be made.  George did some wrapping earlier today and finished the liquids that got made.  They are just waiting to be poured.  He also did some labels.

The blueberry bushes got planted.  I have a Pink Champagne and a Liberty.  They have already been winterized here in Indiana so they should take very well.    Since I planted the bushes, I also did a bit of weeding and covered the area for further weed control.  I am wanting to get that front area cleaned up.  It is a mess.

I went to make mozzarella cheese today and it just is not coming out right.  I am thinking the citric acid is old.  Either that or it got contaminated some how with something.  Who knows.  Anyway, it is another batch ruined.

Then, I went into town to run a few errands.  I picked up the paper at one place, rabbit feed and canning jar lids at another, stopped by my SIL (she wasn't home), and went to The Evil Empire.  THAT was akin to a trip to the third ring of Hades.  The one across from where I work had a sale on folders with the metal tabs for three hole punch paper.  We use these to put together booklets for LLL tear out sheets to give out to pregnant and moms.  They are well received and offer a great amount of information in a very condensed spot.  A folder.  

So, I went to The Evil Empire on the south side of town and it was insane.  They did not have what I wanted.  When I was at Staples, I looked at what I wanted for price comparison at it was 49 cents.  Wal-mart had it for 25 cents.  Well, the one I went to not only didn't have it, but they had folders with the punch outs to go in a three ring binder for 77 cents and 97 cents.  Not what I was looking for and more expensive than Staples.  Go figure.

So, I went to Clinton to the Wal-mart there, found what I was looking for rather quickly and bought them out.  Apparently, they were getting rid of them.  So I got a good deal and some six year old kid in China (yes, they were made in China) probably lost his childhood making them.

Then, I went to the Wabash Valley Breastfeeding Coallition meeting tonight and the Vigo County Fair is going to have a Lactation Station.  While that is great, I am seeing that the medical community (which makes up the majority of the coalition) that IS breastfeeding friendly and trying to educate and raise awareness and the breastfeeding rates is in and of itself still very backward with their views when it comes to breastfeeding.  "Let's not offend" had been the most common thread through most of the discussion.

What IS offensive is a mother feeding her baby being harassed, forced to hide, or the whole thing being looked upon as something that the mother should be ashamed of while the rest of the community's delicate sensibilities get catered to.

I'm not going to rant, I am not going to rant, I am not going to rant.  Baby steps, Kim.  Baby steps. 

A day late

But it is never too late to be reminded of what it took to form this country.  Or is it?  Let us hope not.  Let us remember what it took.  Freedom isn't free and it never will be.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: Please tell me I am reading this wrong. Please? Pretty please? How on earth did this get this high? I am just going to crawl into a hole and pretend I didn’t see this.
Meter reading: 75985
Usage: 956kwh
Percentage: 453%

IDC: Well, we still have not heard from the insurance company about the repairs that need done, so we kicked the girls out of their room a couple of nights ago and they sleep in Charlie’s room while we sleep in their room. They think of it as a huge camping experience. I guess it is true that survival of a catastrophe is more mental than anything else. And when you are a child pretty much anything beyond the immediate is looked at as an adventure rather than a displacement.

GARBAGE: We are burning garbage right now. None of what was destroyed. But regular garbage. Not my first choice in terms of getting rid of garbage, but it beats wild animals. 

GASOLINE: I know the truck got filled. I need to start keeping closer track of this.

MONEY: We looked up the Dave Ramesy budgeting and it is similar to things we have talked about. Now, it is a matter of doing it. We have a plan in place and now we need to implement it.

HOMESTEAD: We have a new goat named Frenchie and she is very affectionate. She follows you around like a puppy dog. It’s cute.
The cat is favoring her front right paw. I didn’t see anything and I couldn’t feel anything so I am guessing she got it caught. She wasn’t in a fight or anything. No other injuries.
The broodie hen is still sitting. I lost count of the number of eggs she is sitting on, but it is more than fits under her and she is our “Fat Hen.”

HOMESCHOOL: Charlie is learning to type and save on the computer. He still writes Old Testament and has started typing New Testament.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED: 
1. Lawn Mower – Still need to measure for the blade.
2. Weight Watchers – Went to a meeting today for the first time in a month and lost three pounds since the last meeting.
3. No fast food – This is a joke.
4. Lose 5 pounds – Yeah, right.
5. Assess our emergency plans and implement drills – I need to be home long enough to do this.

NEW GOALS:
1. Lawn Mower
2. Continue WW
3. Emergency Preparedness
4. Lose 3 pounds by next week.
5. Eat better than I have been.

Blessings

We have been blessed.  Even in the midst of the catastrophe that is our roof and our bedroom, we are still blessed.  We were kept safe and none of us had been hurt.  We still have a roof over our head for most of the house, we have food to eat, and we have a place to rest our heads.  In devastating economic times, I have a job when many don't.  I have a wonderful church and church family.  My husband got a bunch of new-used clothes for free that were handed to him by some church people.  One large bag was from a sister who got them from another person and most of those clothes fit.  Those that didn't, we will pass on.  Another large armful of clothes came from another sister who is going through her late husband's things.  Among the clothes from her were four suits.  A couple of pants have to be let out, but that is not a big deal.  We'll take them and a couple of his other suits to the cleaner tomorrow where they also do alterations.  They can also take in the suit pants of the suits he has that are too big.  (And hopefully get the insulation out of the one suit.)

Among other blessings, we have a new goat.  She came with the name Frenchie and we'll keep it.  She kidded back in April and she is two years old.  She is a great milker and she's beautiful.  She looks like Gi-gi with horns and ears.  She is an alpine.  She is also the most friendly goat I have seen.  When we went to pick her up in Paragon, we were told she was leash-trained.  Well, I know with my goats, leash-trained means they don't eat the leash as they are pulling in the other direction.  We pull in the driveway and the lady has this goat on a leash meant for a toy poodle and the goat is just standing there as calm as could be just looking around without a care in the world.  I get out of the truck, go over to her, and she just stood there as I pet her and rubbed my hands over her.  She nuzzled me a bit.  George picked her up and put her in the truck and she was ok with it.  She didn't balk in the least bit.  There was a little bit of my mind that thought that maybe she was give a calming medicine like "Show-ease" or something.  But, no.  She is still fine and affectionate and loves people.  She is getting along with the other goats very well and they seem to have accepted her with no problem.

Tomorrow, my MIL would be celebrating her 89th birthday.  As has been the tradition for the past few decades, all the family has come in from Ohio, Kentucky, and Utah to get together.  Only this year, MIL is not around.  So, I am sure tomorrow will be spent talking about her and different antics and stories about her and her life.  We'll be around for the morning part of it since I have to be at work at 3:00 which is earlier than usual for me.