PINK PUMPKIN MEMORIALS

Pink Pumpkin Memorials for Breast Cancer Survivors and in memory of those who have lost the battle!

This year I am trying something new, I would like to dedicate a pink pumpkin for those who have fought breast cancer, whether they have won the battle or lost the battle.

For every memorial donation to my BCRF fundraising page, I will assign a pink pumpkin with the information provided (First name of Survivor, location, years cancer free or year the battle was lost) on a tag and place it with the pumpkin.

I will be posting the memorial pumpkins here on the page, but am also working on getting them a public recognition place where they can be viewed. I will also send you a picture of your memorial pumpkin if you provide your mailing address but will make the pictures public if you choose to save a copy of it for yourself.

If you have a loved one who lost a battle with another cancer, I have flat stackers and baby boos that can also be part of the memorial pumpkin display.

Message me for more details.

Here is the link to make your memorial donation: http://www.stayclassy.org/nancyspinkpumpkins

Pumpkins & Potions

A new endeavor of mine is making skin creams/balms for a variety of ailments.  It started out finding something for my own perpetually dry skin, diabetic neuropathy pain, lack of healing and it has grown from there.  Everytime I make a batch of "potion" for whatever I need it makes a significant amount.  Then I am pressed to figure out how to store it and how to use it all.  So I started making it available for sale, just trying to get my surplus down to a manageable level.  Amazingly, it has taken off and is being used in ways I could have never imagined.

So I started setting up at a local monthly flea market.  From there I have gotten a lot of new customers.  I have shipped as far west as San Diego, CA and the Puget Sound area in the Pacific Northwest, and as far east as Akron, OH.

Even more amazing is new ways people are finding to use these potions, especially Pain Potion #9.  It has been used on neuropathy pain, insect bites, scalding water burns, adult acne breakouts, unhealing skin sores, shingles, psoriasis, surgical incisional pain, cancer pain, migraine headaches, tension headaches, sunburns, and probably some I am not aware of.

Cowgirl Lessons - March calving season

I am so over losing baby calves to this crazy winter.  I also hate when my husband brings in a newborn calf all wet and cold in its birthday suit.  No blanket, no toweling off.  He has no mothering instinct and he has been doing this way longer than I have been around.

We had a blizzard blow through last night.  A bomb cyclone they called it and I have been out today in the aftermath, more than ever before, bringing in 3 newborns in the back of a mule to the warming box.

Each time I had a blanket to wrap them up in so they weren't shivering and the last time out I even took off one of my sweatshirt jackets and braved the cold myself to wrap it up so it could get drying off.   Running calf bus with more than one passenger is quite the challenge.  A bigger challenge is unloading a calf from the back of the mule 4x4 all by myself and getting it into the shed where the warming box is located.  I definitely do not know the proper way to carry one of these not so little ones.

None of the calves that I have wrapped up and started drying off have died in the warming box.  Maybe it is the mothering instinct I have in me to preserve life and get the baby the best start to life.  The first one (323) has already gone back to momma and was all dry, warm and fluffy.  Baby #2 (161) is in the warming box and baby #3 (???) got to stay out with mom but is in a temporary shed where it is dry and out of the cold wind.

Of course, all my clothes are now in the laundry because baby slime gets on everything.

Baking 101

I recently attempted homemade bread using my mother-in-laws fail safe recipe that she uses constantly.  She says she mixes it up in the bread machine sometimes and sometimes she uses her mixer, just depends on how many batches she is making. . . . .so I thought, okay I can do this with the bread machine and make some homemade wheat bread just like mom-in-law does.

I very carefully followed the directions after going to the grocery store to get a few things I didn't have.  I was so excited when the dough about pushed the door up it was so raised up.  I didn't even really let it raise in the pan other than until the oven was warmed up.

Great now I have 2 loaves stacked on top of each other.  Guess I should have split it and put it in 2 pans.

Great, so lets try again, first time worked out so well.  I followed the instructions and did everything exactly the same, except I managed to get out of bed when my alarm went off instead of turning it off and turning over until I woke up an hour later.  

So this monstrosity is what came out of the bread machine.  I left it to raise thinking it just needed a little more time.  FAIL!!!!

Right? Not even close.  Ok, so maybe if I put it in the bread pan and bake it, then it will raise some in the oven.  NOPE, this is what it looked like afterwards (see above.  BAKING FAILURE!!!  Needless to say, the dogs got a not so yummy treat and the rest went somewhere for the coyotes.

 Do I dare try a third time?  I decided to give it another try.  This time, I did not use my bread machine for the mixing and raising part.  I used my Kitchenaide Mixer with the dough hook and my mom on the phone cheering me on and providing some encouragement and tips.  So when I took it out of the mixer to raise I had a nice dough ball.

 After the proper baking time I had 2 nice smaller loaves of bread that I had split 2/3 in the big pan and 1/3 in a smaller pan.

But as you can see, this method was successful.  I was so excited I cut the smaller loaf before it was even cooled off so I could give it a taste test with some good old fashion butter on the bread.  I do say, it was quite tasty and I will try to make more next week.

Do I use the Mixer or the Bread machine?  Cast your vote in the comment section!  Thanks for laughing right along with me!

Almost decked out

(think the tune "The Way You Look Tonight)

Some day, when its quiet at home, I'll be having coffee on the front deck and be happy that the dirt is covered.

Okay, not really quite working with the song, but you get the idea.  This is the front door "platform."  Eventually (like the very last part) there will be a ramp between the steps and the house that will go clear out to the area where the garage is going to be.  Our thoughts are that eventually we will need that because to be perfectly honest here, we are not getting younger.

The plan for this spring/summer is to connect this front door platform to the east deck (pictured below) with another deck that is about 20 inches lower than the 2 sections it will connect to.  Then you will be able to walk out one door and in the other without ever leaving the deck.

 We are already preparing to start this work by taking down the cattle panels that were between the posts so that my morning glories could climb up them.  I have found an alternative spot out past the driveway and now all that is left to do is to lift each planter with the skid steer and take it to its next location.  Then we can clear out the rest of the things under the porch roof and start setting post block supports.

Then there will be a 3rd set of steps in the open space you can see in this last picture toward the back of the picture, but going in the same direction as these steps. 

The underside of the deck currently has hog panels blocking entrance because the dogs seem to think that is a good place to dig a hole in the summer to lay in the cool dirt.  The problem was, they were digging next to a post support and you get enough dirt dug out and that thing will start to shift, sink and eventually not support the deck.  My plan is to use some old yard fence that I found on the farm all the way around the underside. 

My whole design process on this house has been to reuse and repurpose items on the farm that are no longer being used and to find new purpose for them in cool and creative ways.  Hopefully this time next year, or maybe sooner, I can share a picture of the wrapped around deck on the house.  That will leave only the ramp and the back deck left to build.  Little by little, piece by piece, day by day, we get something done or accomplished.

Preserving the past

As we build this new house that we call home, I continue to try to bring in some of the things from Larry's past to preserve the memory of the farm he grew up on and some of my past to honor my grandmother, who passed just before we met, and whom I believe was the divine intervention bringing Larry and I together. 
One of the ways I am striving to do this is by using some of the best boards from the sheep sheds we dismantled in order to clear the area for the house. 

Bringing my past to the new house is in a more decorative manner.  I inherited some floral pieces from my grandmother's supply.  Since the kitchen is a staple from my past -- grandma making wonderful meals, cookies for grandkids and where everyone seemed to gather when visiting, I decided it would fitting to put the teacup arrangement (a mother's day present for my grandma from me) in the window above the kitchen sink along side the aloe vera plant that is an offshoot from grandma's aunt Selma. 

Anyone who has ever been in an old farmhouse, the window above the sink is the quintessential piece of a kitchen.  It is the place that moms and grandmas on the farm have watched the kids playing in the yard or seen the neighbors driving up for a visit or watching the cows come in for a drink or watching the tractor go by on the way to or from the field.  At least that is what my grandmas saw through their kitchen windows.  So when it came time to design this farm house I knew I wanted the window over the kitchen sink. 

Anyone who knows me knows I hate to spend time in the kitchen; however, I still find comfort in standing at the sink looking out this particular window.  You can see what I see.  There are no kids in the yard playing, I can't see the cows or watch the tractor go by with my husband on it, but it still represents all that I remember of my grandmas, where I always found them, where memories are made.  They may be my memories, but now that both of my grandmas are passed away, the memories are all I have and the little tokens that make it easy to recall the memories.

I hope this brings your own memories of your grandma and those memories bring a smile on your face today.

New Year, New Challenges

2019 started off rather disappointing.  I lost my job of almost 6 years without an explanation or any indication leading up to the day my boss walked into the office to hand me my paycheck and tell me that I don't need to come back to the office to work.   (pause for shock factor to set in)

It took me a couple of days to get over the shock of it all but luckily I had been quietly testing the job market in NW Kansas to see what was out there and had an interview set up for the end of that week.  I didn't get that job from the interview I had already set up, but the lady that interviewed me was nice enough to let me know of a couple other jobs in the area she thought I might be interested in.  That led me to 3 positions posted in the county hospital.  At the time of this post writing, I am waiting to hear from the hospital. 

In the meantime, I am back to working full-time doing medical transcription, specifically radiology.  Hopefully I won't get to comfortable in that 2nd shift schedule by the time I get offered a job outside of the home.

These are my challenges: 
1.  Learning to job hunt after age of 50.
2.  Figuring out how to balance my life between my house on my parent's farm and the new house on my husband's farm.
3.  Figuring out what day of the week is by my location and work schedule.

I am still trying to figure out how chaos and upheaval found their way into my quiet life.  I thought by this point I would be settled in a job/career that would have me looking forward to retirement in 25 years. . . . . now I am just hoping to find a job that I can work at for the next 25-30 years.