Learning Country....

Well there are two things that I have become relatively good at predicting out here in the middle of 4 fields...first and foremost the fact that as soon as all of the signs of spring have arrived to brighten my world...the farmer's world awakens as well...in the form of a gigantic tractor and an even bigger manure spreader. As soon as the birdies start chirpin' and the trees start buddin' the "shit" starts flying and I mean that in the absolute most literal way. I do not nessesarily have a problem with the "poop factor" a farmer 's gotta do what a farmer's gotta do...but I have a problem with the location of the flying fertilizer... which brings me to the second thing I have gotten good at predicting...the farmer appartently spreads his liquid gold on the fields that he intends to plant corn...I have come to realize this, last spring he would arrive every morning promptly at 8:30 (exactly the time I head out to my porch with my coffee cup in hand to watch the morning unfold...I had to revise that morning tradition just a bit...8:00 so that the coffee and I were gone from the porch before the "stink" arrived)last spring the "poop flew largely in the field directly in front of our porch...I kept thinking...Geez I wonder what Mr.Farmerman is going to plant there....Wheat? Alfalfa? Clover? I was so excited at the thought of those three things...how beautiful it would be to wake up every morning to a 80 acre spread of wheat...imagine how disappointed I was when I started to see tiny rows of green sprouts appearing throughout the field...long wide rows much too far apart to be wheat or clover or alfalfa...CORN!! It was corn and it was going to totally block our view not to mention leave us feeling completely isolated from the outside world (as if we don't already feel that way sometimes, living down this 200 mile long driveway). My only consolation was in knowing (hoping) that farmers rotate their crops every year...I knew (hoped)that this year would be something short and green and beautiful and non-view-obstructing...NOPE...CORN...the "shit" is flyin' right in the exact same field as last year...I could run out to the field right this minute and throw myself to the ground and beg Mr.Farmerman to pleeeeeeesae pleeeease plant wheat I beg of you Sir in the riped baggy biboveralls and the green and yellow faded farmer cap...But No I will sit back quietly and take this blow like a good little student of the country world and not say a peckin' thing....because I know without a doubt that if I say that this corn bothers me I will be seeing life through corn stalks for many many many years to come...I am learning...

Sunset...

I took this pic last night through the trees behind our house..

Spring Cleaning...

Spent the day mopping all of the hardwood floors so I opened the windows and let some sunshine and fresh air in to help dry them and freshen up the house...another gorgeous day...

Sled Dog...

Kruze and I had a yard work day today..we spent the afternoon cleaning up around the yard filling bird feeders,raking and burning leaves and just loving the warm weather. We had Lilli and Maizy outside with us all day ...we have been trying to train Lilli to stay close to us while she's outside , she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet , she may never get the hang of it...there are just too many distractions...cats sunning themselves every where... Maizy howling obnoxiously...a gigantic inferno of burning leaves just begging to be jumped into (where in Gods name is this dogs fear of fire!?)
Yesterday I was outside for about an hour with Lilli and she just would not stay by me I had to keep looking for her and I wasn't getting a single thing done...she is a Terrior and she is fast, the second I would turn my head she would run off around the corner of the house and out into the farmers field (which incidently has been freshly spread with manure) I couldn't keep up with her and I was trying to get a project finished so I decided to try an experiment...here, at this moment, is where I am pretty certain that all of you that are non-owners of Terriors will start to harbor large amounts of anger toward me...in fact I will not be surprized if my comments section is over flowing with hate mail tomorrow...on the other hand all of you that are owners of Terriors will no doubt find my invention the greatest since the invention of toilet paper!! Yes, it is THAT great!! Lilli is no longer known to this household as merely just "Lilli Jack Russell Princess Dictator of the Kruze family " she is now and forevermore known as "LilChinook Jack Russell Princess Dictator Lead Sled Dog"... cruel ? Maybe...but I for one am eternally greatful to the little blue plastic sled makers of the world...it didn't stop her but it slowed her down...

Project Warmth...

When we first moved into our big old house we had know idea how much it would cost to keep it warm, after our first winter we had a massively rude awakening...a huge chunk of change to heat of huge chunk of a house. So we decided we would try a woodstove in the living room just to help out with the cost and add a little ambiance...not to mention the fact that a hundred years ago a woodstove actually stood in the very same spot...bringing back a little history felt right as well. We were pretty sure that we wanted to have a base beneath the woodstove that would look almost as though it were built at the same time the house was...unfortuneatly every mason we talked to refused to do the base the way we designed it...they knew modern design and modern materials and everything they drew up screamed "modern". After the fourth Mason it became pretty clear that we were going to have to do this project ourselves if we were going to get it the way we wanted it...so we trekked out into the woods and found a "sh@#" load of fieldstone and we bought a few fake pieces as well (to keep the over all wieght down) and we did the deal ourselves...it may not be perfect for everyones tastes but it is perfect for ours and we are extremely happy with how it turned out...and it is kind of funny to mention that one of the men that said it couldn't be done has seen it finished and was very impressed with it in fact he is thinking of doing one in his own home...not so bad for a couple of novices...and just as a side note..first winter with the woodstove and it has already nearly paid for itself gotta love that...

I Want to Walk With You...

I Want To Walk With You

(From the album "HOUSE OF HOPE")
~Toni Childs~

I keep finding this decision hard
I keep finding a room that's in the dark
I don't know, shed some light on it
maybe save me from what I'm feeling
this lonely day
cause the secret's out and the secret's clear
what I want

yes I want to walk with you
I want to hear you say ";yes I want that too";
I want to walk, I want to walk with you
I want to hear you say ";yes I want that too";

can I tell you what I cannot tell myself
in my thoughts there's a voice calling
";you will be lost";
in my life I deny, deny this heavy load
and obsession is clearly my need to know
can I let it out, can I let you know
what I want

I don't want to run from this
it seems that it'd be hard to do now
I don't want to lose my head
falling down in front of you
I don't want to lose my head now
it could be so easy to do
if I could find a reason why
I'd stay here, stay here, stay here
stay here, stay

I want to give love
I want to share
I want to show you just how much I care
I want to hold you
I want to touch
I want to give my love away
I want to walk
I want to walk
I want you to know what it is in my soul

Just for Fun...

Just a few pics I took around the house...

These pictures have absolutely nothing to do with this, but I have a Robin in my Apple Tree and buds on my Maple trees YEAH!!!!!!

10 Things You May Not Know About Me...

1. I got my first kiss at the top of a huge tree in my grandparents back yard from a red headed boy in an AC~DC T-shirt...he was 2 years older then me...

2. My favorite color is red...

3. I cry every time I read a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" bedtime story to my girls...they always have to take turns finishing the story...

4. I only wear white Pj's in the summer...

5. I burn candles all day long...

6. I love the smell of warm tar on a hot summer day...

7. I think the wind blowing thru a corn field sounds exactly like the waves of the ocean crashing into the shore...

8. I hate bitchy people...

9. I hate my baby toes...

10. I love George Winston...

Bonus...

11. I despise Yanny, Jon Tesh and Rottweilers...(this may qualify me as a bitchy person #8)


Of course the real reason for this post is so that I can now have permission to ask you to tell me ten things I may not know about you....Care to share? Be as vague or as personal as you wish...

Flight...

She followed slowly, taking a long time,
as though there were some obstacle in the way;
and yet: as though, once it were overcome,
she would be beyond all walking, and would fly...

~The Time Traveler's Wife~

Just pictures of Autumn...

I am off to see my dear-sweet-little-granny (she is in the hospital) so I have no time to write...here are some pics I took this Fall...the horse is one of our friendlier nieghbors (very unlike the llamas)...I love to stop and chit chat with him he always comes closer to the fence to investigate and he is never stuck up or "put off" by all of the attention...Hope you like the pics I will post actual words when I get back in two days...take care....

Is This Getting Old?

I Have been a little busy (doing yard work...Shhhhhh...don't tell anyone that I was raking in between patches of snow.... I can't help it I am so anxious to get started on the yard clean up).Anyway I have been busy so haven't had a chance to write much or even think of anything important to say so instead I thought I would post a few pics documenting how very much Maizy dislikes her new puppy sister...Hope I'm not boring you all to tears with all the pics of my pups...











As you can see Maizy just can not stand the sight of her...

Warning: Contents May Be Offensive To Some Viewers...

Photography By Kruze :





And this is how my children will remember their mother...should some unforseen event force them to remember me thru photograghs...
I guess if Kruze must love something about me...it might as well be my Bum...
After all that is exactly what he told his friend the first time he saw me...I was bending over in a Diner and Kruze and his friend Cade came thru the door. Kruze spotted my behind and this is what he said to Cade..."I am going to marry that ass."
How profound and how could any woman resist? Of course it wasn't until after we were married that he shared this little morsel of truth....

More Random Shots of Warmer Weather...

I am so done with winter. I have seen enough snow and ice and leafless trees to last me. I can not wait to be knee deep in mud in my garden . I can not wait to see the tiny heads of my dafodils poking thru the ground. I can not wait for our apple trees to sprout buds and the grass to turn green again. I am having some serious bouts of cabin fever. If only the sun would shine for more then 2 minutes out of the day.

No winter lasts forver;
no spring skips its turn.
~Hal Borland~

Good Morning...Good Day...

Good Morning Air; thank you for so celestially flowing
into my nostrils; seductively caressing my mass of
unruly hair; to transit me higher than the heavens...
~Nikhil Pare~

Quietly "Abnormal"...

A few days ago a mother of one of Sar's classmates decided it was her business to stop me in the hallway of the school and ask me personal questions about Sarah. Rude much!? I was some what surprized considering she barely knows Sarah or I, her daughter has attended our school for less then a year. She apparently was concerned that Sarah is quiet and while the other children in class are screaming and interrupting each other and the teacher, Sarah sits quietly at her desk refusing to get involved with the craziness. "And so naturally I was wondering if you all are having family issues"...Excuse Me!? Seriously Strange Woman with mental problems...how would that be any of your business if we were?! And we are not! In any case she stood there looking at me as though I were actually going to answer such an absurd question. I did. Because I am completely co-dependent that way. Rather then cause another person discomfort I will just let them shit all over me and then I will bitch about it afterward. I answered all of her questions politely and then walked away feeling like a big pile of useless baggage. I despise the fact that my greatest comebacks find their way into my brain hours after the offense has taken place. The absolutely great thing about having a blog that belongs to me alone is that I can now tell you all what I "should" have said to her when she asked me... "Is she "normal" at home ?":
My children are quiet and respectful of others they do not interrupt teachers or other students,they know that No means No , they do not talk back to or sass adults and they listen to what they are told. If that makes them "abnormal" then I guess they are. From what I can tell by observing the behavior in children recently "normal" consists of: completely ignoring simple instructions , talking back to your parents and any other adult that comes in contact with you, swearing and using vulgar language,interrupting anyone speaking as though you are the only person on earth with anything important to say, thinking and being allowed to think that the word "No" means "Yes" if you beg and plead and carry on like a complete little shit for any length of time. This pretty much sums up the definition of current "Normal"...and I am so glad that my children appear to be falling short of that mark!


That being said...I do not pretend to think that my children are perfect...they are not. They are just little people trying to find their way...they make mistakes, they misbehave,they beg and they say and do things that they regret later...just children...maybe an Old-Fashioned normal but "Normal" just the same....

Maizy exercizing the Sixth Amendment (Right to a Speedy Trial)

I honestly think the proof is in the photographic evidence... opening and closing remarks are completely unnessessary and allowing the accused to plead the Fifth Amendment will only prolong the agony of the court process. Its all here folks and it ain't pretty....




Oh The Shame....




Green Reynolds Wrap (at one point it was wrapped securely around a piece of homemade pizza)...




That piece of Homemade Pizza...laying suspiciously naked on the 104 year old hardwood kitchen floor...



Tampering with the evidence....

The Sweetest Thing....

I read everything...books,magazines,tabloids, catalogs,recipe books,blogs,I have even been known to read cereal boxes, the shampoo bottle and the back of a tube of toothpaste. I have discovered many interesting facts, Amelia Earhart was extremely shy, men can write about love far better then woman, a sleigh bed works equally well with both vintage and contemporary design,Jen spent her 37 birthday all alone, if you whip each individual egg for one minute after each addition your pound cake will be amazingly light and fluffy, Cheerios can actually lower your cholesterol and you certainly will not have a heart attack while your eating them. All of these discoveries have enriched my life immeasureably, though my most valued and treasured discoveries are the tiny little notes that I find secretly hidden in my books and magazines and catologs. Sweet little reminders that my babies love me. Tucked into the first page of the next chapter in my current book a little yellow piece of paper that says "I love you Mom have a good night at work" Love Em, tucked into my favorite Pottery Barn Ideas and Inspiration book , a small piece of paper colored carefully with every crayon she owns "This book belongs to Lucy Kruze I love you Mom Love Always Sar Bear". My favorite literary discoveries are hand- written and colorful....

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.
~Henry David Thoreau~

Happy Birthday Kruze