The Lumberjack's Wife

We ended summer with our big camping trip.  We had a huge group spend anywhere from 3-4 nights at our river property.

And here is something I learned.

Our outhouse was NOT meant to handle that many people.

HD:  Mom.  Something is wrong with someone.  I think someone is having digestive issues.

*Delightful*

Let us keep whomever had to come clean our outhouse out in our thoughts and prayers.

My mother has fallen in love with my dogs.  And this is something we cannot blame her for.  They are all that is precious in this world.

“Taylor.  I have bones for the dogs.  Now take their pictures with them.”

“Taylor.  I bought special balls for the dogs to play with at the river.  They can be from Grams.”

“Taylor.  When can the dogs come out of their kennels?”

Our dogs have a happy existence when they come to the river.  Here is a little video of them enjoying some summer sun.

I would like to title this video:
THE SAME THINGS HAPPENS EVERYTIME.

We have three dogs, but Alex’s dog, Oakley is also in this video.

Norman always waits in the water.  He feels this is the best strategy to fetch the floaty toy.

Niko always waits at the bank.  At the very last moment, he does a little leaping move and it puts him at an advantage.

Charlie is too slow and will just bark from the beach.

Niko gets the floaty toy 90% of the time.

Let’s move on.

School has started.  I came in on cloud nine and with high hopes and I feel a bit disappointed.  I was not as full of joy as I thought I would be.

Mostly I am tired and hot.  And it is hard to be patient when one is so dang hot.

There are just so many of them!  And they are as a collective whole, a more trying group than last year.  I had to break out the extra firm teaching voice on day one, and that usually doesn’t happen.  Usually we get a bit of a honeymoon with these little folks.

 

This is what I sound like all day:

Who is beeping?

Turn around and look at me.

Why are you facing that way?  I am right here.  Look at me.

Do not talk while I am talking.

Stop beeping.

Sit up.  We are not laying down.

Look at me.

Where are your eyes?

Keep your hands to yourself.

Stop beeping.

Eyes on me!

Look at me now, young man.  This isn’t KINDERGARTEN.  If I tell you to stop beeping you need to stop beeping.

Anyways.  No joy for me.  Yet.  Although I strongly suspect Beeping Boy is having a lot of fun.

Let’s talk about Buddy.

I sort of had Buddy pegged wrong for the first day.  I thought he was just kind of all over the place, but he seemed like he knew the lay of the land and could get around the building.

I was grossly mistaken, Reader.

Buddy rides the bus.  Two other girls who are new to us also ride his bus.

Me:  Buddy.  You remember how to get on the bus from last year, right?

Buddy:  Yup!

Me:  Great.  Take these two with you and get on your bus and I will see you tomorrow.

Buddy:  Ok!

And off they went.  And where they went, I am not sure, but they certainly didn’t get on a bus.  They ended up somewhere in the building and all three of them missed the bus.

Now that I know Buddy a bit more, I have decided that he is not on planet Earth.  Which is a bummer, because that is where the rest of us are.

Every day with the lunch ordering!  Oh my goodness, Lord grant me patience.

Me:  Buddy.  Do you need to order lunch?

Buddy:  Yup! I will have chicken nuggets.

Me:  Ok.

*1 hour later*

Buddy:  Wait!  I have a lunch!  My grandma packed it for me!

Me:  Alright.

*At snack time*

Me:  Buddy, why are you eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

Buddy:  It is my snack!

Me:  Are you sure?  That’s usually a lunch.

Buddy:  I am sure!

*At lunch time*

Buddy:  I don’t have a lunch!

I look in his lunch box.

Me:  I see a drink, string cheese, grapes, and chips.  I think this was your lunch with your sandwich.

Buddy:  Are you sure?

No.  No, I am not sure, Buddy.  I am not sure about anything.

I am quite proud of myself and how I am handling the start of the year.  I made dinner all but one night.  And that is something to commend me for.  The night I didn’t make dinner was the night I felt the least joy.  That is because one firstie was slapping my hand and I called for admin and then he bit the administrator.  And then I came home and pigs were out-

So I got them in and gave myself the night off from making dinner.

So.  That was the first week of school.

The boys also started school.  HD is in 10th and LD is in 9th.

*Best Back to School Photo Ever*

LD was nervous to start school.  He felt like one of his teachers was very serious and was sure he was going to get detention all the time.

Me:  Hows it going with that teacher?

LD:  Mom.  She is like a different person.  She is like . . . smiling!

Me:  Well that’s good.

LD:  Yeah.  Maybe she is just still happy because its only the first week of school.

I took the boys to The Beauty Operator and LD has somehow finagled her into helping him start a mullet.  May the Lord Bless Me and Keep Me.

HD got new glasses from Bob.  HD now towers over Bob.  We are still fans of Bob.

Happy Saturday!

 

David was the all important “Turn-Buyer” again for this year’s fair.  Last year, I had to go and pick up 30 pigs for him on a Tuesday morning.  As people do.

But this year, I was not needed!  Darn.  He and LD took care of it and I am happy to report that pigs are still absolutely vile and disgusting.

Nasty.

Me:  David!  You have got two pigs out there that will NOT stop fighting.

David:

Me:  They are literally the worst.  They bite each other and squeal.  Its horrific.  Please kill them first.

David:  Will do.

I am such a different gal than when we first moved out her.

Taylor 2.0.

Everyone over here in the land of us is getting ready to go on our BIG LABOR DAY CAMPING WEEKEND GETAWAY.  Yes, reader.  David’s kin from near and far travel to join us for this fun-filled weekend.  Kate even called asking if I could book her a last minute flight home for the weekend!  (Nope)

David’s brother, Alex, and his wife drove in late Wednesday and stayed with us.  Lucky for them, Thursday morning was Pig Butchering Day!  First gunshots were scheduled to ring out around 3am.

Alex, ever the adventurous spirit, came out and joined David.  David, Alex, HD, and LD butchered nine whole pigs Thursday morning.

Want to know the worst part about this entire event?

After David, *ahem*, “dispatches” the pig, the pig will scream.

Makes for a pleasant morning.

 

Lauralee, Alex’s wife, surely finds us to be quite normal.  I made her some coffee and chatted while I was getting ready for work and then I had to just abandon her.  She was working from home and counting gun shots.

What fun!

As I was trying to walk to my car, David wanted to talk to me.  Of course, he must still continue the butchering process as he talked to me, and as much as I tried to avert my eyes, I saw things that will scar me for life.

He just kept talking!  And when does David talk?  And why at this moment is he so chatty?
Me:  Dude.  I gotta go.  I just canNOT anymore.

And off I went.  Haven’t seen him or any of the others since.  They were so excited they have already left for camp.  Hadley and I are coming late due to work and school schedules.

***

Hadley’s boyfriend is still far away in Coast Guard training.  She has been getting letters, and Reader, the first letter was a bit sad.

One line read:  Please to continue to send letters as they are like Christmas presents to me.

Let the records show:  Hadley misses him.

***

I got my hair done a few days ago.  When I arrived, there was a lovely older woman there finishing up before me. She was very spunky and friendly.  She referred to our hairdresser as her “Beauty Operator” and I found that to be quite fantastic.

So.  Now I will call Lisa, my hairdresser, my Beauty Operator.

Perfect.

Beauty Operator and I decided I should go darker.  And I did.  And I like it.  And let the records show that not ONE male in my home likes it.

Not.

One.

But I do.

I will show you the only picture I have, but first I must tell you what is going on in said picture.

Our district always throws us a lovely Welcome Back event complete with a delicious breakfast.

But then dang covid came and we no longer got the lovely breakfast.  It was more like snacks, maybe.

The night before-

Teacher Friend Kim:  If they try to give me another cheese stick, I am going to lose my mind.

And here’s Kim and I the following morning.

With our Teacher Appreciation String Cheese.

We miss hot breakfast!

So.  Anyways.  My hair darker, but not that much darker.

LD:  Ugh.  Mom.  Why do you have BLACK HAIR.

Let’s move on!

My room is ready for my new group of firsties!

I met 20 out of 23 at Open House night.  I already love them all.

Let’s discuss.

I can already tell one little guy is going to be a recurring character on this blog.  Let’s call him Buddy.

My class is all a flutter with parents and students and siblings.  I am trying to meet everyone and answer questions and reassure everyone that its ok if they cannot pronounce my last name.

Buddy glides on in.

Me:  Well, hello!  You must be Buddy.

Buddy:  Yup!  I am!

Me:  I am so glad you are in my class this year!  Are your grown ups with you?

Buddy:  Nope!

Me:  Really?

Buddy:  My grandma brought me.  She can’t come upstairs.  She told me its best if I just come see you.

Me:  Oh, ok-

Buddy:  SO!  Is this my first day?  Is this school?  Am I doing school?  Am I starting now?  What’s this?

Me:  That’s your book box.

Buddy takes the book box out of his cubby and starts to peruse them.

Buddy:  Oh, this looks too hard.  I can’t read.  I can’t read ESPECIALLY when its hard.

Other parents are noticing him and chuckling.

Me:  Well, good news!  I am going to teach you how to read!  That’s my job!

Buddy: Oh!  Can I do computers now?

Me:  No, not now.

Buddy:  When do I get to go on a computer?

Me:  Sometime soon!

Then Buddy took a few more laps and left with his paperwork to give to Grandma.

And about 15 minutes later he was back.

Me:  Buddy!  What are you doing?

Buddy:  I came back!

Me:  Does grandma know where you are?

Buddy:  I think so.  Ok, I am going to check out the playground!

And off he went.

A bit later I heard his name being called over the intercom.  Obviously grandma was looking for him.

I called the office and told them to check the playground.

Another precious girl came in and she and her family do not speak a lick of English!  They are from the Ukraine and had a translater.  They were extremely sweet and the girl is super precious.  I am a bit anxious about how I will communicate with her at first.

Towards the end, a little girl I recognized from last year popped in.  I had her brother last year.

Me:  Hi!  Is your dad here?

Girl:  No.  We walked by ourselves.  We heard you were having a celebration!

Me:  Does your dad know you are here?

Girl:  Yes.  I had permission.

Girl is over the moon excited to come back to school.  She got her free hot dog from PTA, saw where she will sit and her new locker, and will come back on Tuesday.

***

Auntie Datenut is being a good Auntie to the dogs.  She permits them to hang out on her porch with her.  She saves them food scraps and always has a bowl of water out for them.

Sometimes, I look out my kitchen window and can see Auntie sitting on her porch working on some mending.

It makes my heart happy.

 

 

I took HD to his annual eye exam last week.  This was his 11th year in a row of seeing this doctor.  Let’s call her, “Big City Doctor.”  Because.  She lives in the Big City.  Not the normal size city we are normally biding our time in.  Please, try to keep up.

And, Reader.  I like Big City Doctor.

Big City Doctor, and our favorite optician, Bob, will be the reason HD will enter society as a functioning adult.

Big City Doctor decided to reminisce a bit and looked back at his chart history.

Big City Doc:  So, we have been seeing him since he was 4?  How did you get to us?

Me:  Well, his eye started wandering when he was six months old so I talked to the pediatrician about it.  He referred me to an ophthalmologist close by.  He started in glasses at six months and we continued to see that doctor.  Around the time HD turned 3, that doctor told me he no longer needed glasses.  This concerned me, as HD’s eye was still wandering.  One day, after his bath, HD looked at me, extremely cross-eyed and proclaimed: “I see TWO mommies!”  So, I figured double vision was a bad sign.  Spoke with the pediatrician and he referred me to you.

Big City Doc:  I see . . .

Me:  When I called your office to set up the appointment, the receptionist informed me you were extremely booked and you might not be able to take him on as a patient.  She said she was going to show you his chart and let me know.  She called me back within a half hour and said you wanted to see him within the month.

Big City Doc:  Well, you have done a good job, Mom.  His vision is great, honestly, with his condition.  He is doing really well.

Me:  I think you are probably the one who did the good job.

Big City Doc:  Well, no, it was mostly you.  You caught it early and you kept taking him in and making sure he was wearing the glasses.  Usually with cases like his, the child loses vision in one eye and we cannot reverse it.  You did a good job.

Reader.  At that moment, I completely puffed up with pride.  And if you will permit me, I am going to now Tootle My Own Horn.

Yes!  I did do a good job!  And it wasn’t easy!  Long time readers might recall how difficult it was to keep toddler/preschool HD in a functioning pair of glasses.  And money was so much tighter then, and we had moved far from town.  We had a diesel Ford Excursion and diesel was close to $5 a gallon at the time (2010-2011 ish).  We were on one income, but whenever his glasses were broken, I would load the fab four into the big rig and go seek help from Bob.  And every time his little eye would wander, I felt like a failure, and I would panic.  I just wanted to make sure he didn’t end up with a lazy eye.

And, Reader.  I did it.

And thus concludes the Tootling of My Own Horn.

Thank you.

***

At LD’s well exam, the doctor informed him that he was in the 95th percentile for his height.

LD:  What does that mean?

Doc:  Well.  If you were in a room with 100 other fourteen-year-old boys, you would be taller than 95 of them.

Oh, this excited LD greatly.

LD, raised his hand in the air for the doctor to give him a high five, and shouted:  Let’s Go!

You know what else excited LD?  Hearing that HD was only in the 75th percentile.

***

I finally received a back to school photo of Kate:

She seems to be enjoying her new school and sent me this photo and asked-

“Do I look like a science major?”

David and I, but mostly David, just walked her through buying a car on her own in Kansas over the phone.  She wanted to FaceTime David so he could check the car out and she would send very reassuring messages to me, such as-

“Here is the location of where I am going to look at a car.  You know.  So you can find me in case they murder me.”

She found a car.  She is alive.  All is well.

***

This summer, I hatched some chicks and yesterday was chick moving day.  The whole fam came out to help!

We got all the chicks moved into the main chicken pen, except a rogue white one.

Everyone is all damsel-in-distress-y about touching a flappy chicken, but not LD.

He grabbed that thing like a boss.

Hero of the day.

***

David relayed this conversation he had with Shop Boy . . .

Shop Boy:  David?  When will we play games?

David:  Games?

Shop Boy:  You know.  Like team building games?  Games to get to know each other?

David:  Yeah.  We don’t do that.

Me, after David told me:  Oh, David, PLEASEEEEEEEEE.  Please get all the manly journeymen gathered into the shop and play “Never have I ever.”  Please!?

David:  Huh?

***

We went to the river this past weekend.  It was just a quick one night trip and we wanted to do a bit of yard work.

I snapped this photo of LD:

LD, later on:  Why are you, like, obsessed with me and taking my picture?

Me:  You are just THAT cute.

HD trimmed up some trees with a CHAINSAW.

I shudder.

I neglected to get the before picture, so you will just have to trust my word that he did a nice job.

The dogs and I played ball.  As we always do.

And they splashed around in the river a bit.

And I love them.

***

Today is my first official day back to school.  I am going to miss my morning walks with my dog friends.

I am looking forward to starting a new school year.  I will get my class list on Wednesday and meet the kids and their families on Wednesday night.  The kids start back on Tuesday.

My goal this year is to not let the beginning of the school year and all of its craziness defeat me.

Like it has every other year.

Wish me luck!

 

David turned 42.  Usually, he is a total fuddy duddy on his birthday and doesn’t like to acknowledge the blessing he is to this earth.  But this year!  This year, he took the fam out to dinner.

Lucky us!

I made him his favorite huckleberry pie and all is well with the world.

David is now in a manager position at his company.  He has recently hired a young lad.  Young lad is not yet ready to be an apprentice, but he is known as “Shop Boy.”

Let’s talk about “Shop Boy.”

Shop Boy:  David?  How can I work my way up in this company?

David:  Huh?

Shop Boy:  Like.  How can I be an apprentice?

David:  Go above and beyond in the position you are in now.  Do an extra good job.

Shop Boy:  Like how?

David:  You know how I told you to wash one Journeyman’s van each morning?

Shop Boy:  Yeah?

David:  Wash two vans each morning.

Shop Boy:  But I don’t like to wash vans.

David:

Shop Boy:

David:  Well.  I don’t know what else to tell you.

One day, David took Shop Boy to help him set up some temporary power poles.  This involves arm muscles.

On the way back in the truck, David noticed Shop Boy was admiring his own arms.

David:  What are you doing?

Shop Boy:  Looking at my arms!  I grew some muscles today!  Look!

David:  Yeah.  That’s not how that works.

Another day, David took Shop Boy to go, and spray paint the company name on some power poles.

On the way back in the truck, David noticed Shop boy was doing something strange with his hands.

David:  What are you doing?

Shop Boy:  Practicing.

David:  What are you practicing?

Shop Boy:  Spray painting.  I want to be as good as you someday.

Reader.  He was “air” spray painting.  With his hands.  And no spray paint can.  In a truck.

Let’s move on.

I am enjoying having Auntie Datenut close by.

Three cheers for David and the kids for helping create an apartment for us to move her to!

Upon occasion, I take her to town to do her errands and we have a lot of chit chat time and general fun.

One particular outing, I noticed she kept praising me.

And Reader.  I did not complain.

Auntie:  Taylor!  Did you know you look like a mix between Cindy Crawford and Brooke Shields?

Me:  I did not.

Auntie:  THAT IS NOT A BAD THING.

Me:  Thanks, Auntie.

We were at Costco, and she kept praising my ability to shop.  And I am a good shopper.  I always tell David I am very good at spending his money.

Me:  Oh.  Dino-Nuggs are on sale.  I always promise LD I will buy them when they are on sale.

Auntie:  Good!

Me:  They are $4 off a box.  I am going to buy 3 boxes.

Auntie:  Man.  That Dave don’t know how lucky he is.

Later, we are loading all the things into the back of my sweet Infiniti.  I slam my leg on the trailer hitch that was left on my car by one of the males who live in my house.

Auntie:  And you don’t get mad at David for leaving that on?

Me:  I never really thought about it.

Auntie:  Man.  That Dave don’t know how lucky he is.

And that whole outing got me wondering:  Does Dave know how lucky he is?

***

Let the records show:  I look not like Cindy Crawford.  Nor Brooke Shields.

I look like Taylor.

***

Let’s talk about Little Dude.

I was able to snap a picture of him when he was smiling.

Isn’t he cute?

Then he noticed me with my phone:

So manly.  So tough.

Hadley took the dudes to the beach for a little swim session.  And, oh!  LD’s leg is doing phenomenal after being run over by a skid steer.  He was checked out by a doc and cleared to resume normal activities . . .just in time for another medical emergency.

So.  As I was saying, Hadley took the dudes to the beach.  Because she is a nice sister and she is very Sadley that Kason is far, far away, so she is filling up her time.

While they were at the lake, LD attempted a backflip and smacked his head on a log.  Hadley and HD helped him swim back to shore.  Other beachgoers came up to my children, concerned, and one man told them that HD’s head hitting the log sounded like a watermelon hitting concrete.

!

Hadley called me and started to come home.  I called my pediatric nurse sister-in-law, Amy, and she said to get him to the ER to check for a brain bleed or any swelling.

I got him to the ER in a flash and he was checked out and good news-just a concussion.

But goodness gracious and great balls of fire.

Am I right?

Yes.  I am right.

***

Hadley started her first day of college classes.

In true Hadley fashion, she was running late in the morning.

Hadley:  Mom.  I want to go to my cycling class.  Can I come to your school later for a picture.

Me:  Fineeeeee.

Hadley arrives at school.  My amazing nieces are once again helping me.  And may I say, that because my nieces have helped me, I shall be the most prepared for the school year that I have ever been?!

Holla, E!  Holla, A!  Thank you, Babes!

Anyways, Hadley arrives at school and guess what!  She locked her keys in her car! So she is Madley Hadley and she doesn’t want her picture taken because she wanted to do her hair at my school (?) and her car is locked and she looks terrible, but I took her picture anyway.

Hadley.  First day of college picture.  Check.

David left Shop Boy and came to break into her car for her so she could make it to class on time.

Holla, Dave!

***

I have asked Kate for a first day of school picture, and I have yet to receive one.

***

I took the boys to their annual well-checks.

Can someone PLEASE remind me to never schedule them together again?  Like EVER?

Like, not ever, ever ever.

At the end, the doctor said something that I have heard many people say to me as I leave with those two yahoos.

“It’s ok, Mom.  You are doing a good job.”

Which makes me wonder . . . Am I doing a good job?

***

The puppy brothers are doing a lot better in life.  And I must admit, all 3 dogs love me the most because I spend the most time with them.

Well, the other day, I left Niko unattended for a while and I found him chewing on my underpants.

Yes!  My underpants!

So.  I spoke harshly to him.  And Reader.  He felt so bad, he put himself in a timeout.

AND . . . I love him.

***

Hadley came home tonight and was filling me in about all of her college classes and everything new in her life.  As she was chatting, I began to admire her earrings.  And I thought to myself, “Teller.  You have always wanted earrings like that!”

And then!  Then, I remembered I bought those earrings.  And I wore them once!  ONCE, READER.  And Hadley asked to borrow them and she has had them for at least one month, I KID YOU NOT.

Me:  Hadley!  When can I have my earrings back?!

Hadley:  Mooommmmmm.

***

I don’t wanna brag, but I am gonna.

I am the BEST at growing this Wandering Jew plant.  I stuck some starts in a trough thing on my porch a few weeks ago and look at it now!

Please.  Be jealous.

***

HD:  Hadley!  You are home!  Do you want to finish our movie?

Hadley: Sure.

HD:  Oh, wait!  It is almost 8pm.  Never mind!

***

Happy Tuesday, Reader!

 

 

This is what my new classroom looked like at the beginning of this week:

Yuck.

This will be my third year in a row of switching classrooms, but not switching grade levels.  Thankfully, I am still in the best grade ever:  1st.  One good thing about changing rooms often is it sort of forces you to purge and I have a lot less junk than I did a few years ago.

My nieces came and helped me on Monday, and we knocked it out of the park!  We completely revamped my two classroom libraries, and it was a nice project to get done.

Little Dude came and helped me on Wednesday.  He prepped 75 parachutes (FOR SCIENCE) for the entire first grade team and did a few other miscellaneous jobs for me.  I paid him in Panda Express, which was absolutely worth it.

This is my room now:

Definitely not finished but looking more like a classroom.

This is my favorite part-

“Be kind, work hard, and know that you are loved.”

If fits really nicely above the window.  I will add each child’s first day of first grade picture to the blue colored cards once school starts.

The astute reader might remember that the boys are working for neighboring farmers and wonder how I managed to get LD to come help me in the classroom.

Reader.  There was an accident.  A terrifying accident.

On Tuesday, David called me to say LD’s foot was run over by the track of a skid steer and I needed to meet him and another worker at the urgent care.  David had no idea how bad it was, and I luckily remained calm while driving there and was just praying he wouldn’t need his foot amputated or something like that.

When I arrived at the clinic, they had already x-rayed him and determined nothing was broken and he only had a bad sprain.  He was in pain, but his foot looked pretty good considering what he had been through.

Here’s what I know:  LD was in the blind spot of the worker operating the skid steer.  His foot got ran over and he started screaming and was knocked down.  If he hadn’t screamed, HD says it would have been much worse.  The worker, who felt TERRIBLE, called David and then carried LD out of the field and drove him to the clinic.

Reader.  I do not know how he got so lucky, but I am so thankful he wasn’t hurt worse than he was.  It could have been really bad.

They gave him crutches and a boot.  The nurse was fitting the boot and asked him how it felt.

LD, who was COVERED in dirt, looked thoughtful and then said,

“Sparkly.”

The nurse and I looked at each other for a minute.

Me:  Dude.  Do you mean tingly?

LD:  Yeah.  Tingly/Sparkly.  Same thing.

So.  He is hanging out with me more.  And loving it.

“Ma.  What’s the food situation over here?”

Look at Niko.  Patiently waiting and hoping for LD to throw the ball.  Can you see the blue ball in the picture?  Can you?  Can you?

***

Kate has been travelling across the country with her boyfriend and his family as they travel to school.

She has finally arrived at her new state and sent me this picture-

Me:  They forgot their mountains!

She is supes excited and is moving into her dorm now.  I am excited to hear all about it-I never lived in a dorm or went away for college.  It all sounds so exciting!

The other night, I was helping Auntie Datenut shop at Costco and Kate called me, sobbing-

“Mom.  I cannot talk right now, but we just got in a car wreck.”

So, that was a fun phonecall to receive.  That was the day AFTER LD’s skid steer event.

She called me a bit later-everyone was fine.  Someone rear ended them.  The car was still drive-able.  Here’s something of note:  I have everyone on Life360-the app sensed she was in an accident and sent the police to them.

God was definitely looking after my kids this week.

***

Let’s talk about dogs.

Charlie likes to play fight with the puppy brothers.

When she has had enough, she plays “dead.”

Norman feels he MUST fetch any stick or ball thrown his way.  The poor guy just swims in place at the river when LD skips rocks (this was before the accident).

Norman.  Fetch player.  10/10 Stars.

The dogs always play hard at the river.  At night, they are extra snuggly in my lap as I read my book.

I love it.

Happy Friday!

 

 

I walked into my new classroom yesterday for the first time since the end of the last school year.

It is far too hot and summery outside to be looking at that nonsense.

This classroom used to be for 3rd graders, hence the cursive alphabet on the wall.  I am going to have to find a gigantic ladder and take those down and put up my first-grade printing alphabet.

Oh, the humanity.

***

Big changes are happening for my girls.

First, Kate is about to journey far, far, far, far, far away to school.

Like really far away.

We brought her dog, Niko, and met up with her and her very nice boyfriend to say goodbye.

Hadley’s boyfriend, Kason, just left for Coast Guard basic training.  He will be gone for 8 whole weeks and this makes Hadley very sad.

It kind of makes us all sad.  Kason is a fun dude to have around!

Kason’s mom snapped this photo of Kason’s dog waiting for him outside his bedroom door the first morning he was gone.

And that made my feeler’s sad.

Hadley starts college locally here in a couple of weeks.

And please let the records show:  She misses Kason.

***

David and the boys are getting hay.

All the time.  Every day.  Always.

Let’s talk about the process of acquiring hay.

It is the worst.

That’s really all there is to say about hay.

It is 2022.  Shouldn’t we have figured out a better way?

Reader.  Have you ever had to buck hay bales?

Anyways.  Because we are who we are, David’s truck broke down in the middle of a hay field the other night.  He asked me to grab his work truck and come meet him, and I obliged because that’s the kind of gal I am.

David and the boys loaded up in the work truck and we went to a neighbor friend’s house to borrow his farm truck.

And, oh!  Have I told you?

David was promoted at work awhile ago.  He is like a manager type person and no longer drives a work van.

He drives a nice truck and the A/C in that thing is certainly something to write home about.

So, David wants to stay in the field with LD and continue to load bales with the help of farmer friend’s truck.  David would like it if HD and I towed his broken down truck to the mechanic.

Let’s discuss.

David’s broken down truck is the same truck he has had forever and breaks down every 8 weeks.  It is the biggest truck in the world.

Reader.  I bet no one else has a truck this big.

We cannot even insure it with our other vehicles.  It needs its own “commercial” policy.

HD, who is 15, is going to be driving the nice, new work truck and will be towing me, his mother, in the broken down truck.

When towing, one should always strive to be the tower and not the towee, but I had no choice in this situation because David was worried the broken truck would slam into the nice work truck and since I am 41, I was in charge of making sure that didn’t happen.

I knew things were about to get dicey when right away the tie down strap we were using to tow snapped.

David gets a chain.  The chain is, oh, maybe 8 feet long.

HD starts to pull me and I become quickly aware that there is no power steering or brakes in this gigantic truck and I am not so sure I will be able to guarantee that I will not slam into the work truck.

Me:  David!  Are you sure I am the gal for this job?!?!

Reader.  He gave me a thumbs up and went back to bucking hay bales.

In all honesty, HD handled this situation like a champ.  He suggested we call each other and have the phones down but on speaker so we could communicate.  He would warn me if he was letting off the gas or needing to brake.

We were even being all safe and cautious and had our hazard lights going. It was all very intense.

When we were on the highway, he would tell me we were going to steer closer to the shoulder to let others pass us and I just felt he was very mature and handled it well.

And let the records show:  HD and I successfully towed David’s broken truck with David’s nice truck and no bad luck befell us.

When we arrived at the mechanic, I put the key in the overnight drop box and then went back and pulled the emergency brake on the truck.

I have no idea why I did this.  But it just felt like the right thing to do after such a harrowing experience.

***

Check out Matilda’s handsome son-

He should be on a calendar or something.

***

I was checking out at the grocery store and the cashier asks to see my ID so she can confirm I am old enough to purchase alcohol.  She confirms and hands me my ID back.

Bag Boy:  Wait?  Are you really 21?

Me:  Yes.  I am 41.

Bag Boy:  No way!  You don’t even look 21!

So, in summary and summation, I have a new favorite grocery store.

Happy Thursday!

Well.  It has been a hot minute since you have seen this gorgeous cat.

Mama Kitty-mother to Norma Jean Riley.  Grandma to Rio.

Please try to keep up with my animals.

We have no idea how old she is.  We think fairly old.  And, yes.  She has a cauliflower ear and won’t be getting any new boyfriends any time soon.

***

Exciting things have come to pass, Reader!

First, I went on a trip all by myself and visited Sisters Meagan and Jess.  We had a lovely time just hanging out and visiting and they took me to all their lovely local spots.  Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Meagan and I at a lovely lake.

We went on a hike and Meagan stopped to do a bit of fly fishing.

She caught nothing.

Jess and I on a lovely evening walk after dinner.

Meagan and I at a winery.

Twas a lovely visit.

***

David, the boys, and I went up into the mountains in search of The Purple Gold.

Yes.  Huckleberries.

I find huckleberry picking to be a loathsome activity, but it brings joy to David, so off we went.  I have two major problems with huckleberry picking.

1.  We don’t exactly ever know where any are, so we end up driving around aimlessly for hours on end and sometimes cannot find them.
2. I would prefer to not get attacked by a bear.

Up into the mountains we went.  We put the three dogs:  Niko, Norman, and Charlie, in the back of the side by side.

Norman, who feels the need for speed, would not sit in the side by side and kept jumping out.  He would run alongside or ahead of us.  He kept up with the side by side at 20 mph for quite a while.

Since I am 41 now, I worry about the dogs and for some reason think they are infant babies.  So, I made David stop so we could force Norman to rest.

He’s a good boy.

Huckleberry Helper: 10/10 Stars.

Me:  David!  Can you bring a gun?

David:  Why?

Me:  To protect us from bears.

David:  No.  That’s why we brought the dogs.  The bear will get them first and we can get away!

Me:

I am pleased to announce that not only did we find huckleberries, but no bears ate any of us.

We picked one whole liter, which doesn’t sound impressive, but it surely made us feel all fancy pants.

***

David’s grandma turned 100 years old, and his mother put on a lovely party for her.

She looks amazing and gets around so well still!  We have been so lucky to have her in our lives.

Here she is as a senior in high school.

So beautiful!

***

Summer is winding down, but I am still loving my days at home.  The dogs were doing so much better listening, so I decided to chance it and take them on my daily walk to check the cows.

They did a perfect job until the very end when Norman saw the horse and decided it was the Lord’s will for Norman to try and run that poor horse through a fence.

Fear not.  No animals were injured.

Norman.

Farm Dog:  0/10 stars.

And . . . I love him.

So, I must make the dogs stay inside now when I check on things.

Here’s a picture of Niko watching me from the loft window.

Happy Monday!

 

 

 

 

We have needed to update our refrigerator for ages, and I found one the other day on Facebook Marketplace.  David agreed to meet up and help me, and, Reader, I was simply agog.

I ran an errand right beforehand.  The cashier gal, who was probably the same age as one of my own children, politely asked me how I was doing.

She was probably thinking I would say, “Fine.”

But, no.  I am 41 now.

Me:  I am GREAT!  Right after this, I am going to buy a new refrigerator.

Cashier:  Oh.

Me:  I have wanted a new one for years!

Cashier:  Yeah.  I guess I can see how that would be exciting.

Me:  IT IS!

So, that’s how I am currently acting now in public.

David and I went and we were buying the fridge from the dude and the dude was very curious about all of our life story and somehow we got onto the topic of how we raise beef cows and this was the actual conversation.

Guy:  So.  Does your husband, like, kill the cows sometimes?

Me:  Yes.  Yes, he does.

Guy:  How does he do that?  Like does he electrocute them?

Me:  No?  He uses a bullet?

Guy:  Oh.  I know nothing about this.  Didn’t know if you had like an electric chair for cows?

So, that was something.

Reader.  I have sad news.  All the males in my house were in a rush when moving the fridge into our house.  In their haste, they neglected to take the front door off and now my new-to-me fridge has scratches.

I have ordered appliance touch up paint and am hoping for the best.

Let’s talk about dogs!

Niko loves me.  It is true.  He really does.

He follows me everywhere and I have caught him watching me from the windows if I am outside.

Here he is watching me as I am watering on the deck.

Can you see him?  Can you see him?

And here I caught him watching from my bedroom window as I was giving the chickens water.

Can you see him?  Can you see him?

I have taken a much needed break from painting and started organizing the house.  HD was off of work the other day and he was willing to help me tackle the most dreaded room in the house:

The Storage Room.

HD likes things clutter free and simple.  And anytime I agreed that we could get rid of something, it brought him so much excitement.  He was a huge help and we got rid of a TON of stuff.  It felt so good!  I found an old door that we used to have in the basement.  We have been trying to think of a way to keep the dogs out of the downstairs and HD and I decided that putting that door back would be the perfect solution!  And how lucky am I that HD knew immediately how to install the door for me and did so with ease!

But I did not think this plan all the way through.

We have three dogs and three cats.  The cats are Mama Kitty, Norma Jean Riley, and Rio.  The dogs do not pay much attention to Mama and Rio.  But they have a terrible feud with Norma.  Because of this, Norma spends most of her life in hiding.  She does love me, and can we blame her?  So, if I am around the hides on my side of the bed.

She thinks no one can find her here.

Anyways.

If the dogs ever do spot Norma, they chase her and she flees for her life and climbs high up and hides in the storage room

Well.  I have a new door blocking the storage room.

And I left the dogs unattended in the house for about 15 minutes as I tended to the chickens.   When I came back, I heard a horrible commotion and saw Norma Jean had tried to run downstairs and was trapped by the door.  The dogs had her cornered.  She was all mangled looking and I saw blood on the door.

Poor Norma Jean Riley.

I got the dogs away and got her all cleaned up and discovered she wasn’t bleeding at all!  She had scratched the dogs up.  Hence the blood.  I was proud of her.

I am not sure why I told you that story.  But, there you go.

We were getting ready to go to the river this weekend with my parents.  I told David that all my mom and I wanted to do was float in tubes, but be tethered to shore.  This confused him and I suggested some weird rope stuff he always has called mule tape.

David looked at LD and said:  I need you to go and grab the roll of mule tape out of the pig pen so your mother can enjoy the river.

LD, looking like the ever confused 14 year old boy that he is, did just that for me.

When we were at the river, David took that pig pen mule tape and tethered mother and I to shore so we wouldn’t float away.

It was the most relaxing moment I had all summer.

The dogs would bring me the ball as I sat in the tube and I just kept throwing it for them.

Shall we have a farm update?

Yes.  Let’s have a farm update.

I have about 18 chicks of various ages and stages of growth.

I hatched them myself!

We still have cows.  We haven’t had any new babies in awhile.

Here’s my best gal, Matilda.

She is a brat-and-a-half, but she sure is a beaut!

Sisters Meagan and Jess are in town.  They were going to be at my parents house and Hadley was supposed to also stay the night.

So Sister Meagan called me and this treasured conversation occured.

Meagan:  Taylor.  It has come to my attention that Hadley is probably staying over here and I am wondering what my role is?  Do I need to monitor a curfew?  Supervise the brushing of the teeth?  Make her breakfast before she goes to work in the morning?

Me:  Meagan.  She is 18.

Alright, Dudes!  That’s all for now.

David and I have been married for 22 years now.

That is a lot.

Happy Sunday!