ALL bird watchers! Feb 18 to Feb 21 = Great Backyard Bird Count. 
I am. Hope you will, too! It's  simple. Takes only 15 mins. 
Audubon asks U to watch birds & record sightings @ website www.birdcount.org. 
Help researchers learn how birds respond to changing temps. 
Count # of species AND most # seen in THAT species. 


Last yrs statistics AMAZING. 
97,331 checklists submitted. 
603 different species observed. 
11,233,609 individual birds.

One of my favorite bloggers Jenna Woginrich, sole owner, operator and blogger 'Cold Antler Farms' is featured along with 3 other women in a radio interview with Tom Ashbrook called The Resurgence of Knitting.   

'On Point' npr w/ Tom Ashbrook asks why it is that in this age of high tech and a ready-made world of ours, that we find old-fashioned knitting is making a comeback via social media. 


While your at his page Don't forget to scroll down and watch Jenna Woginrich's video as she introduces her flock to us!  After that do yourself a favor and visit her blog for a gander at some refreshing thoughts! I like how this gal thinks! About halfway down her Feb 10th, 2011 posting she shares her take on the intriguing concept of micro-loans. 

There also are 4 nifty audio clips of women teaching and helping some gradeschool children from outside the Boston MA area @ an afterschool knitting class!

man o man o man! been awhile since my toes hurt this bad. I keep picturing in my head taking a machete and cutting em' off!  don't worry I'm not gonna do it. least wise I don't think so.  I did get out my wax melter thingamajig and got it plugged in heating up and melting that wax. Normally your suppose to put your hands in it.  Guess I'll have buy some new wax after tonite .   

This thing is awesome! I've used it many times before on my hands and fingers. It really did help soothe the pain there. I hope it helps my toes. But this toe pain is different than when my hands and fingers start in.  This toe pain is... like a dry ice cold pain or like after a severe frost bite and when they're warming back up.  All ten of them. But the pinkys are not as intense as the others. Rest of my feet don't hurt at all. Just the toes.   As for the analogies that I used .. the dry ice & frost bite... yup been there and done that on both accounts. I was very little when both happened and the memories are ingrained for ever.  I've been burnt by dry ice. Not fun.  As for the frost bite, I remember sitting in the tub with my feet under running warm water CRYING and CRYING they hurt so bad. Second grade that was. Learned my lesson real fast. One of the perils of being a latch key kid and not having enough sense to come inside when it's below freezing after being outside all day in a thin cheap pair of sneakers.  Fast forward forty some years and the docs call this type toe pain neuropathy. Well I'm sick of it.  Mamas.. don't EVER let your chillun's out in the snow wearing just canvas sneakers. If you can't provide them with proper snow boots make sure they know and understand what frostbite is. Don't let them learn the hard way. Seriously. I'll tell ya for sure there are times that I find myself wondering what it would be like to amputate them... just imagining cutting the pain away does give brief relief. Odd as that sounds.

When I go to get new wax I wonder if I can just buy those wax blocks that they sell in canning isle or if I'll need to buy the 'proper' wax blocks for this thing. The brand name is Homedics. I've long since lost the directions for it. Guess I'll have to google and see what if there is any difference in the melting points between the two.  I'm off to check my wax... ok I'm back. drats I forgot it takes several hours to melt.

I've been googling.  I still can't tell if food-grade paraffin and therapeutic paraffin are the same or different, besides the price. yikes. Have you seen the  price of those homedics wax blocks?  

$12.99 for 2lbs of fragrance-free hypoallergenic paraffin wax pearls & 20 plastic liners. 

                      Or 

$21 for 6 lbs Theraffin EZ Cube refills. 

                      Or 

$10 for 1lb block Beeswax. 

                      Or 

$4.99 for 16 oz brick 130 degrees F MP (melt point) Food Grade Refined. 

                      Or 

$1.79 for 1lb. Soy Wax + $11.20 S/H

Too bad I don't raise bees like my great-granny did.

hmm, maybe I'll try contacting a local bee keeper.

I think this is so adorable. A Sheep's Best Friend

See more cute farm animals at Chickens in the Road: http://chickensintheroad.com
The sheep in this post is named Annabelle. You can see the post associated with this video here:
http://chickensintheroad.com/barn/she...

25 things about me.

1. I do the Mountain Dew. Twizzlers are my fav snack. And I'm a macaroni & cheese freak.

2. I love quilts & quilt shows and want to make more quilts!

3. My greatest accomplishments are my two daughters! I have always had to learn things on my own and I have tried to do things right. I think they turned out wonderfully well!

4. I miss walking easily and pain-free and I miss traveling! I miss full on gardening and digging in my flower beds and taking care of our yard. I miss bicycling. I miss running. I miss being able to climb. I miss the old me. It's been nine years since the disease. I gave it my all up until year and half ago. I'm pretty sure that having a complete Hysterectomy at the age of 26 didn't help either. And that row of seventy STAPLES [not clips] that the dr. left in my belly should not have been. Now it's time for a rethink. 

5. I have always wished for a decent singing voice. My two daughters and granddaughter are such a pleasure to listen too!

6. I have learned that it's not always what you say to a person... but it's how you make them feel that is the most important... and it is that, that's how you will be remembered.  That is a hard one for me to master. Not that I don't want to, but I tend to have a very cautious and suspicious outlook thanks to life's lessons which tends to mask my genuine sentiments.  I pretty much come off as being bossy and others end up feeling stupid. So I've been told.  And that sucks.  Somehow everything gets mucked up. Almost like it takes a wrong turn after it leaves my heart and brain and exits my mouth like it was a different person. This is definitely on my to do list!

7. I used to seriously love digging dirt and pulling weeds in my garden & flower beds.

8. I'm into backyard birding and love watching them get a drink out of my lil' fish pond.

9. I wish I had a van with a wheel chair ramp and a gas card! Or at least a wheel chair trailor

to hook to back of my car.

10. Patience is a precious virtue that is a hard quality to master for many. And so is trying to 'understand' things. I think I've done rather well in that department.

11. I don't think tolerance is the same thing as patience. Having a low tolerance level and lots of patience is a weird combination and a tough act to follow.

12. I have always wished I was more into cooking than am I.

13. Thanks to Paula Dean the one cooking goal I now have is to cook a 'Turducken. A dish consisting of a partially de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken... and of course there is a layer of scrumptious stuffing between each layer of meat!  

14. I wish I wasn't such a night owl.That I could fall asleep everynite at 10:30 & sleep 8hrs straight thru.

15. I beleive there is a God. I beleive in God. I trust in God. I love God. I also have my moments with God and have been known to get in a fight with him. I'm told he has broad shoulders and can take it. But I still have never been able to forgive God for letting little kids get hurt... something I'll have to work on I guess.   And since I wrote all this as it came to me in the order it came to me...I really should work on moving this one higher up on my list.

16. I have a wonderful husband whom I love deeply and admire! Even if he's a stubborn cuss that is a challenge to keep up with. hmmm, I just realized that going by the numerical order of things that maybe I shouldn't love Mt. Dew more than my husband! lol

17. Right now we get to enjoy fresh eggs daily as we have a couple backyard chickens!

18. I just discovered this year that I love pickled beets!

19. The Waltons is my all-time favorite tv show that I grew up watching. I also think 7th Heaven is a cool show.... stereotypical I know, but what can I say LOL!  That's my sweeter side. But I also really enjoy watching forensic crime scene shows like CSI, Crossing Jordan, Blue Bloods and such. I like that Numb3rs show alot too. Too bad they don't teach math like that in school. We'd all be alot better off if it were.

20. I don't like 'bullying' or being mean to people. I beleive it takes a village to raise a child... meaning if your messing up I'm gonna tell you about and I expect the same in return. And I believe tenderness is something people need more of. And people need to desperately give more of.  Tenderness is not weakness, nor is it silly or wasteful. It's actually one of the most important virtues a person could learn to master.

21. I have had my share of looking back and realizing... "what was I thinking?!" and I'm sure we all are glad we survived our brain dead days, and survived those of our kids.. now I just pray that all our grandkids can learn from our stupidities first.

22. I have learned that there is a fine line between tolerance, fairness, and being judgemental.... and

most often times we all look like drunks doing a DUI walk test.

23. I have learned that I can change myself in any way I wish – you can too. I can build any character trait I like into my consciousness. Basically we all have thought ourselves into being a certain way, but you can always change your mind. There is no permanent ‘you’ that you must settle for, you can be any type of person you wish... you know the old saying... fake it til you

make it!  Next important thing is to actually remember I have this ability. Especially on days that I feel like giving up or have had enough.

24. I have always tried to be governed by the commandment Honor Thy Mother and Thy Father....

but it blows me away that God forgot the clause Honor Thy Child.

25. Last but not least...Stress stunts growth . I had no idea how thoughts lead to emotions and

emotions trigger biochemical changes in the body. Being stressed out will hamper your body's

building goals so for God’s sake chill out.

Thankful for laughter.... ROTFLMAO kind of laughter.

Thank God for the internet.  I woke up so down this morning that it was scary [thanks to disease that reminded me I have like another thirty or forty years to live like this], but I digress. So I logged onto facebook and found my cousin shared a link to this ----> Damn You Auto Correct! - Funny iPhone Fails and Autocorrect Horror Stories   this could not have come at better time! 


omgosh! I laughed so hard my dog got scared cause he didn't know what was going on!  


I so needed to laugh like this! I have not laughed like this in such a long time. I think it saved my life ;) 


Go to the site and read all the Iphone bloopers that people have submitted. 
This too funny knowing it actually happens! lol 
than go to this site, scroll down and VOTE  'DAMN YOU AUTO CORRECT'!

Handy Dandy Ice Scrapper Mitt

Now my hands will stay warmer!  I used two strands of wool ease yarn.  This was suppose to be an exercise in reversible double knitting for me. The cuff was successful but than for the rest of the mitt I just held both strands together and did regular knitting for like 8 inches in length with 3 rows of purl at the end and finished off with Jenny's super stretchy bind off.   This mitt also works real well with one of those long handle ice scrappers too!

Jack Russell Terriers and doggy sweaters... {Updated April 14th, 2011}

What happens when you let a dog like a JRT wear a doggy sweater ???? --------------------->

I guess I should have known because he IS a 'prey' dog. He will hunt any varmint that dare crosses his path, down to the very hole the varmint chooses to hide in.... or in this case a very tiny nook and cranny in the back of the garage!

Bad thing about all this was that I JUST hand-knit this sweater earlier in the month! He's only gotten to wear it for like two weeks before this happened.  Now it's laying in the repair pile :(

 I'm just lucky he didn't strangle himself when he got his sweater snagged on a wire.  Smart dog that he is, instead he chewed the neck until he could slide out of it. Than he sat in the garage until dh came home from church to find him sitting patiently for someone to let him out of the garage.  [*Note to dear hubby: make sure you secure the garages' side door next time before you leave.] Good thing I had let Patch out only fifteen minutes before dh's arrival back home. It could have been worse.  

~   ~   ~   ~   ~
2 weeks later and it's all fixed! [I'm just slow in getting the photo posted]. Good as new basically I'm proud to report.  This is first time I've ever repaired a knitted item. I was surprised to see how far I had to rip it down .. it was many many several rows lol.  You can see the row actually where I started knitting backup. Zoinkers!  Don't know what I did there but it all worked out ok. Adds a bit of charm     I am so HAPPY that I was able to fix his sweater, especially as it's the first one I ever knitted.

Sing it! Don't worry about a thing. Cause every little thing is gonna be alright!

 As I do me chores ... got this song stuck in my head....humming along to ....

"Don't worry about a thing. Cause every little thing is gonna be alright!"   

Pretty much this is how most days begin. Stood at sink washed some pans that were piling up. Nothing like getting the counter top clutter free to make your kitchen seem more inviting!  I filled the water pitcher for the hens. Gathered trash for the bins. Had to sit up on the barstool to get me shoes on cause standing at the sink so long leans me forward just enough to create that stupid pain. Gone are the days of just balancing myself as I throw my foot up across other leg to get me shoes on. But glad I got em' pots/pans done! Also glad dear daughter Amanda got me these ice-grip rubbers for me shoes. J 

Cats are smart. They don't like dirty litter boxes.

So I scooped out kitty box into trash bag. This is a daily must if not twice! Pee-ewe! One things for sure, I have got to find another place to locate & position this box.  Right now it's knee high sitting on top a bucket. That has given me relief for quite awhile allowing me to get this chore done. But it's time to re-think this.


3rd mistake: Outside bending over to set water pitcher down so I could trek out to trash-bins and check the mail. Almost didn't get to finish em chores.  Now two more things to add to me wish list. A good sturdy solid charming handrail to grab ahold of and a shelf or table near the back door. Ok, well right next to the door opening so I can set things down on before I ever even step off the proch!  It's only a 2 gal. pitcher but carrying it in front of me is a pain trigger. Isn't it weird? I can carry a whole 5-gallon bucket of water down at my side but I can't even carry a lil ole water pitcher in front of me, or anything else for that matter, without cringing in pain. So why was it in front of me? Cause my other hand was full of trash bags. It's tooo cold out to make extra trips. Ok. Stand up straight, stretch some. Start walking. Good so far, out past the gate and onto the trash bin.


4th mistake: Lifting the lid was ok. It's lightweight. But swinging trashbags up to get them into the bing. CRAP! ok. Only ten more steps to mailbox. Of course it's full of snow & the mail is all WET. Uggh. Why? Because a stupid white pickup-truck driver who hit our mailbox never came back to fix it or apologize. Walking back to the house proves much more difficult than it did getting out here. Not because of ice - those ice-grips work great! Thanks again dear daughter Amanda! But I guess it is just time for the pain to scream at me.   ok. Stopped at back door & got water pitcher. hmmm. cool.  It didn't hurt that time.  My how lovely the yard looks with all the snow glistening. Someone sure shook the snowglobe this morning. How pretty. Wish Patches & me could go enjoy a nice walk. Well, anyways, onto the greehouse coop. Oh my, what a mess that is. But that's a story for another time. Funny, he says he built it for me cause I wanted some pet hens for egg-laying... well, if he did it for me why didn't he just build it the way I wanted it since I'm the one taking care of them.  Men. Go figure.  Anywho, only thirty feet to go. Grit my teeth & onward. I like to mentally picture Patches & me out walking; or Trey & Amyrah and me out hiking and playing along the riverside. It sure does help ignore the pain. I sure miss my good ole dog Binky.   R.I.P. Binx.
Ok, at the coop. Here's some fresh water for ya girls! As I bend over to refill their bowl... Salt and Pepper jump up on my back. The other three are around at my feet. Hahhahh They're cooing their Thank-You's to me!    Yesterday, dear daughter April picked me up a bag of layered crumbles for them to eat. $9.49 @ 40 lbs. Them girls sure were hungry. I don't think they like the other kind of chicken feed we been using. Oh look, goodie! Two eggs to gather! Springs a-coming!  Bye Bye girls until tomorrow. Now its back to house & time for a painpill. I want to stand at the kitchen and make some nice fresh homemade chocolate pudding!. Actually, I dream of making all kinds of food for tomorrow is the Superbowl! ... Packers vs. Steelers.   Not that I'm a huge sports a·fi·ci·o·na·do  or anything like that... but my father was from Pittsburgh!  GO PITTSBURGH STEELERS!