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Gathered Up:  Over 50 Farmgirls  |
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl
3957 Posts
Marie
Minneapolis
MN
USA
3957 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 15 2015 : 8:49:47 PM
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So, we caught ourselves a lurker. So Steph, please join us for fun, laughter, sorrows, advice and beatching.
Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014
Try everything once and the fun things twice. |
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Ozark Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
130 Posts
130 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2015 : 9:22:06 PM
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Edited by - Ozark Farmgirl on Sep 27 2015 11:22:13 PM |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 07:02:40 AM
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Oh Steph -- please don't butt out! How do you think the rest of us got here and keep the talk fresh? Welcome welcome welcome.
I gathered up a bunch of stuff for the pocket letter yesterday. I am going to try one first that has a little something for each of the parents -- they were both raised in southern Indiana and my dad has always talked about the beautiful sycamore trees ... Dude and I scooped a few interesting pieces of sycamore bark out of the Brandywine on our canoe trip on Saturday, so I think I will flatten one of those to slip in. Got some pretty papers -- trying to think of some Bible verses that they will appreciate to write on some of the slips. Our IT (hardware) guy plays the guitar, so I texted him a request for a couple of pretty guitar picks for my dad. Can you tell I am getting pretty excited about the possibilities!!!?!??! I brought all the goodies in to the office with me today. His Dudeness said to go ahead and work on it here so he can see it, too. He's a keeper, alright. This one will be focused on memories, since that's what they seem to enjoy most at this stage, and it is the toughest challenge for my mother. I will TRY to remember to post pix -- my memory's not that sharp, either! ha ha ha ha
Holly -- Dopey me -- it had never occurred to me that you could make evaporated milk at home. I suppose someone had to come up with the idea, didn't they? It does sound like tedium, though. The mechanical stirrer would have been nice. So now you can put it away and not have to refrigerate it? Do you put it up in jars or what?
We have been having such high humidity and yesterday a front blew through and knocked it way way down -- delightful. We slept with the windows open last night and I felt like skipping on my walk this morning, it was so nice. It is still sunny and beautiful, but only in the high 70s and very low humidity. We stopped at the Amish welding shop on the way in this morning to have our propane tank filled -- it is so lovely to drive out through the big Amish farms this time of year. All the corn and tobacco and beans -- just very pretty.
I should get a little bit of paperwork done so I can concentrate on my pocket letter. Marie -- thanks for the pictures of yours.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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jan49829
True Blue Farmgirl
2428 Posts
Janet
Gladstone
Mi.
USA
2428 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 07:39:49 AM
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Quick post. We made it to Michigan safe and sound. The roads were all good all the way here for a change. We took a new route so we did not have to go into the mountains at all. Camped at one campground for 2 nights until we could come here where we had reservations. So far, the only family member we saw is my son, my daughter is coming in tomorrow. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers that live right here, and they all know we will be at this campground until next Wednesday, so far, have not seen a soul. If we do not hear from any of them, this will be the last time we come home for a very long time.
It is cold here. 40s at night and only up to 70 during the day, and very breezy, which makes it even colder. Now we surely know why we moved to Florida. It is hot in Florida, but we like that much better!!!!
I will try to post more while we are here.
Sounds like you are all having fun.
Have a great day,
Jan
Farmgirl Sister #3340
http://hardatworkcrafts.blogspot.com
http://Jan49829.etsy.com
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 08:39:44 AM
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Jan -- Glad you checked in when you were able. I am hopeful that your siblings will make an effort to see you -- maybe over the weekend? Glad you are seeing your kids, though. I can't even imagine the 40s at night! Brrrr. (But I guess we'd be glad to have that in January, wouldn't we?) ha ha Take care and enjoy your time in the cooler climate.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 11:31:26 AM
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It's been a very quiet afternoon here, so I have been playing with the pocket letter for my folks. I wrote three pages of little snippets of things I remembered from growing up -- stuff about Christmas time, and long car trips and silly stuff that happened around the neighborhood -- just a bunch of things to jog memories that need some jogging from time to time and will hopefully bring a smile or a laugh. I printed up a scripture that I remember learning at my mother's knee when we were all very small; also a picture to remind them of the nasty Miss Macaroni -- the meanest chicken in our coop ("she" was actually a rooster and we ended up stewing her for Sunday dinner one week). I am waiting for a friend to bring me a few guitar picks and I'm going to slip in a nice tea bag for my mother, but the main part of it is done. I can see why these are addictive! I have spent a very happy afternoon. I sure hope they will enjoy it. OOh! I bet a Ghirardelli chocolate square would fit in one of those pockets as well. My mother loves chocolate. Oh gee -- now I'm off again.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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Ozark Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
130 Posts
130 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 3:18:37 PM
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Edited by - Ozark Farmgirl on Sep 27 2015 11:22:36 PM |
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 5:42:55 PM
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Steph, welcome! Certainly hope you will stick with us. I love the pocket letter.MIL would probably enjoy one, too. I don't do any paper crafting, but this project seems much more forgiving than some of the beautiful scrap book pages I've seen.
Holly,I forgot to mention how important I think it is that you are such a straight shooter with your kids. DdK will know that having respect for herself is the first step towards having a good relationship.
Marilyn, I love that you get to work on your pocket letter. It is nice that you are working at including your mom, when I know it would be much more fun just making it for dad. Glad to hear you are having a reprieve from the humidity. It has been very comfy here,too. But supposed to hit the nineties again this weekend.sigh.
Sounds like our round of colonoscopies is over for a bit. I have my peek and poke scheduled for the 28th. Whee! I can skip the mammogram this year and I think I will...
Bunny,I hope your pet sitting jobs keep coming. Fingers crossed for the job.
We checked out the satellite farmer's market today. It just opened. our usual market is downtown on Saturday. This one is near a college and closer to home. I don't know that it is going to make it. But, we really enjoyed walking around.
Mar |
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Tall Holly
True Blue Farmgirl
2305 Posts
Holly
Worcester
Vermont
USA
2305 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 6:51:11 PM
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Good evening wonderful Goddesses of the Iris,
Today was a lovely day. The weather guesser said yesterday that today would be in the 60's and the night would be in the 40's just like September. I think it is a little early for September and hope this is not a trend.
Jan it seems to me that the siblings were just as rude when you lived there as they might be now. Although it would be nice to see the breakfast sister while you are up there. Glad you made it safe.
Mar I was thinking of you and your color garden at the old house. I read in my Herb Quarterly magazine from the 1980's that some man in the 1500'd got fed up with the inaccuracies of the sundial so he created a clock using flowers that open and close at certain hours of the day. His flowers were ones from that particular geographical area but I thought the idea would be fun to try out. I have noticed that the day lilies open later in the morning and close sometime . WOW that was not informative at all since I have not paid particular attention to exactly when they open.
Steph welcome. Tell us about your area. I have never been to the Ozarks. Do you have poisonous snakes or chiggers? We do not and I am glad. When is your last frost and when is the first one in the fall?
I have not seen these pocket letters before. I only do a few swaps. I do not want to let my partner down and I do not have a lot of time right now. I do the post card swap each year to get friendly mail.
Cindy the amount of water flowing in the river at feet per second must be millions. I wonder if they could do a short term water wheel to get some electricity or is there too much debris floating in the river.
I try with ddK. Sometimes she listens and some times she tells me I do not have a clue about life in the 21st century. lol
Sweet dreams,
Holly
farmgirl #2499
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Ozark Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
130 Posts
130 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 8:20:59 PM
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Edited by - Ozark Farmgirl on Sep 27 2015 11:23:02 PM |
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl
3957 Posts
Marie
Minneapolis
MN
USA
3957 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2015 : 11:17:05 PM
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I am having a most horrible night. I am menstruating. This has been going on for about a week. Tonight I got the most painful cramps I have had in decades. I even threw up. I believe that I will again and I just did. I cannot stand the thought of food or drink. My guts feel as if they are being twisted out of my body. Lowell tries to help by rubbing my back but it just irritates me. I know have diarrhea and have peed my pants. Maybe I got a bug from one of the kids as I did a couple years ago. I hope it ends soon.
Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014
Try everything once and the fun things twice. |
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Denise Ann
True Blue Farmgirl
831 Posts
Denise
Shoreview
MN
USA
831 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 04:39:12 AM
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Oh, Marie,
I'm sorry you are feeling so bad. That sounds more like a stomach bug to me. Try to stay with clear liquids as best you can. Small sips as my mom would say. Its going to be so hot and humid this weekend in MN make sure you get as much fluids as you can tolerate.
Take care
Denise Ann |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 06:14:22 AM
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I am beginning to wonder about this group! Maybe this stomach virus is being passed through our little chat room. Sorry you are so ill. Sounds like absolutely no fun -- I know what you mean about the back rubs, though. I know they try to help, but sometimes they need to just listen and not be hands on. Hopefully you will get through this quickly.
Mar -- You are so right about the pocket letter -- my dad is easier for just about everything! ha ha It was fun, though, as I got into trying to jot down memories -- I made a special effort to think of things that my mother would more likely remember. Sometimes it's hard to jog her memory without her settling on something sad or hurtful, so then she just gets upset and cries. For whatever reason, most of the time she thinks of the old hurts from her childhood (and there were many) and she doesn't think too much about the billion and one fun times we had when us kids were little. So this project is pretty heavy in the area of stuff us kids did growing up, or things that she did for us when we were little. When we lived on the chicken farm, she used to make snow creme for us. It was basically just snow with vanilla and sugar, but we thought it was a most excellent treat! Then in the earliest of the 1960s (just about the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, etc.), the word was that we shouldn't be eating snow because of all of the possible nuclear fallout. So that was the end of snow creme. I also put in a little paper chicken and a note about "Miss Macaroni," the meanest chicken (who was actually a rooster) in our flock and how we ended up eating her/him for Sunday dinner one week.
Anyway, I hope they enjoy looking through all the little pockets and reading the notes. Who knows? I may make pocket letters as Christmas gifts. I am not a paper crafter, either, so I will need to gather some stuff if I am going to make more of them. I really stink at scrapbooking. Whenever I have wanted one, I just put everything into a box and give it to my talented daughter -- then it shows up later on as a nice scrapbook.
So here I am at my desk for Friday. My neighbors from the barnhouse are coming up for dinner tonight, so that will be fun. They are sailboaters, so we see them sometimes when we are out on the river, but we haven't had a nice long visit since I left the farm and moved up to His Dudeness' place. Then the bank took the farm back for unpaid taxes, so they lived there for nearly a year with no place to send their rent -- kept calling and trying to find out who their new landlord was, but nobody knew anything. One day the bank called him at work and said they were putting padlocks on the buildings and they had 10 days to get out! He raced home and got some clothes out for them both and they had to go stay with family for a few days. When the bank decided to let them in, the State Police were there to follow them through the apartment while they took their things out. Unbelievable. Anyway -- it will be nice to have them for a visit.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl
3957 Posts
Marie
Minneapolis
MN
USA
3957 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 07:18:58 AM
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Thank you ladies. I feel much better today. I have to go to the doctor today and to Dungeons & Dragons later. I believe I will paint my nails later.
Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014
Try everything once and the fun things twice. |
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Ozark Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
130 Posts
130 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 09:01:17 AM
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Edited by - Ozark Farmgirl on Sep 27 2015 11:23:36 PM |
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 10:02:40 AM
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Good morning goddess sisters.
It looks like my sister is going to be moving in with us. sigh. Not good. Plus, she is in the hospital with a major heart issue. So there will be drama. She is wonderful at being a victim. This will just make it so much worse. I do hope she gets better but really not looking forward to her moving here. Major changes will take place and I will have to learn to lay low most of the time. I might have to move into the basement. I"m ok with that.
I took a new cover letter into the college. I have a friend that works in accounting and she took it. She said she was going to do some training for the head of the department I applied for. So she wanted to give it to him and talk me up. Fingers crossed. It would be a pretty decent job. It is full time with benefits. I would be able to put away about $1000 a month in savings. But I'm also not holding my breath as this is the 7th time I have applied for a position at the college.
Steph, welcome to our group! I hope you stick around. We love to have new sisters join. I think we are a rather interesting bunch. What part of the Ozarks do you live?
Mar, have you been hearing about the big earthquake scare for the west coast? My mom says it has been a major subject for many years. There are supposed to be lots of plans in place to deal with it. My mom is LDS and says the church has always been geared up for it.
Holly, sometimes your DD scares me with what she does not know. Being attracted to felons and the miscarriage thing would alarm me as a mom. I hope you can help her keep safe. I have grey hairs from my oldest and his coming of age antics. Thankfully a scrap with the police around age 14 scared him straight.
The sundial sounds wonderful. Lots of work to figure out how to get the different flowers to bloom.
GG, how are you doing? Haven't heard much from you lately. Glad B is over the "procedures".
Off to the basement to hopefully finish up the two purses that have taken me three weekends to sew. I plan on making more but I think I have worked out all the kinks so it should go faster with the new ones.
The new online store isn't doing much. It has only been 15 days so I have to be patient. But I did have another sale on Etsy. So I will keep adding things there.
Jan! Nothing like a reminder of why you moved to Florida. Hope you have a nice stay. Did you sell your old motorhome yet? I hope you can connect with your family like you want. Anyway, good to hear from you and glad you sound happy.
Later all!!
Bunny
Farmgirl number 3738
My blogs:
www.curiousorangecat.com
Handmade stuff http://www.curiousorangecat.etsy.com
Not all who wander are lost.../
Plan to improvise
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 10:06:14 AM
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Oh, and Marilyn, I love the pocket letters. I'm not much for paper crafts either. But I have a feeling your dad at least will love it.
Marie, hope you are feeling better soon. I hate being sick! I'm the type that wants to be left alone! Just feed me if I get hungry. Otherwise, I'm happy by myself until I feel better. My sons.... big babies. Of course. Anyway, get better soon.
Bunny
Farmgirl number 3738
My blogs:
www.curiousorangecat.com
Handmade stuff http://www.curiousorangecat.etsy.com
Not all who wander are lost.../
Plan to improvise
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churunga
True Blue Farmgirl
3957 Posts
Marie
Minneapolis
MN
USA
3957 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 10:08:15 AM
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No good dead goes unpunished eh Steph?
Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014
Try everything once and the fun things twice. |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 10:50:11 AM
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Bunny -- Eeew. Having your sister move in sounds like just what you DIDN'T need! Arrgh. But maybe moving to the basement would be a good solution. You could hide down there and work and just ignore all the drama, hopefully. Do you know when you will be finding out that you get the college job? That sounds like it will be a good fit for you (besides the money).
Oh ---- one of my "way behind" customers just came in to make her payment. She talks big big big and pays small small small (if at all). A couple of weeks ago she called me with a sob story so I told her I would write her a new payment schedule to catch her account up. When she came in I made her sign the new agreement and she was making all sorts of stupid jokes so I stopped her and said "This is not a joke. You owe this money and you need to read this agreement." His Dudeness sat there with big eyes, but doggone it!!! So she quieted down and read the agreement and signed it. No sooner had I written her receipt than she started yammering on and on about wanting this other car we have on the lot (it's several thousand dollars more than the one she is behind almost $500 on) and says "You know I'm good for it." Oh my goodness gracious. If I could just say half the time what my brain is thinking!!!!! She is outside now, talking to His Dudeness. I can't wait for him to come back inside. He will say "Yeah, right!" in just the tone that my grandson used to use when his grandpa told him some big story. I don't have the patience for it. Do you want the short answer, or the long answer? The short answer is "no," and the long answer is "noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo."
Holly -- I love the idea of the floral sundial. Sounds like quite an undertaking, but what an endeavor. When you think about it, most of us who garden or landscape or whatever on our own places really get a good feel for what time of day certain things bloom or turn toward the sun or whatever. It makes good sense. I love sundials even when they aren't really "right." We live up a little higher than we are here in town, so lots of our trees and flowers come out later than they do here in the big city -- ha ha ha ha ---- so my sunflowers are not quite ready to bloom yet. Even so, I can almost feel them pulsing in the afternoon when the sun is bright on them -- I love it when they start to turn their faces and follow the sun across the sky. Sigh. I wish I could just stay home and take care of the house and the yard. Some days here at work are more frustrating than others, when what I really want to be doing is tending the garden and sewing and "home" things. I try not to think that way too often. Probably someday I will wish I had a job and something outside of my own house to think about.
I am rambling.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 11:56:56 AM
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The grass is always greener... Ramble on, Marilyn, we completely understand.
Bunny, I think ddK has a lot of life smarts. I think she is young enough to want/think people should or will do the right thing and everything will turn out fine. Like everyone else, once she gets knocked down a couple times, she'll realize that she is in charge of looking out for herself. The felon attraction... Let's hope that ends pronto!! Best of luck with your new cover letter. Having it hand carried to the department head is a very nice thing! Start getting ready for dear sis by moving that a/c unit to the basement. Good luck. Yes, I aught all the coverage on the report about how poorly prepared we are for The Big One...
Mar
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 11:59:50 AM
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| Steph, I think your customized card sounds perfect. And I kept thinking, "Oh no, her car was the only one towed!" |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 12:21:34 PM
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Mar -- I was born in Seattle and lived there all my life until 5 years ago (except for 6 years in Indiana during school), so we get used to all the doomsday stuff about "the big one," don't we? But really what can you do? You just strap your water heater to the wall, keep a wrench handy to turn off the gas main if it comes to that, keep an emergency stash of water and first aid --- all the stuff that we all ought to do just about everywhere. When I lived out there and thought about it from time to time, I always figured that living out in the country would be better than living in the middle of the city or around a whole bunch of other people. I guess I just always figured that I would fare better if I didn't have to worry about the stupid stuff that other people do when there's an emergency. I mean, if it's the humongous big one that scientists have always predicted, then the further I am from a 30-story-high-rise, the better off I am! And if I know where the creek is, I can probably get some water -- also start a fire to boil it if I need to. I guess I just feel safer living away from crowds, and the same goes for during an emergency, up to a point. I was in grade school when we had the other "big one" back in the 60s -- that was pretty special. As luck would have it, I was here visiting my daughter when the Nisqually quake hit -- had my suitcase in the living room ready to head for the airport in Philly to fly home.
The first year I lived here, we had an earthquake in August, I think it was. I was doing schoolwork at home and was walking across the room when I felt the house shake and the windchimes start to jingle. I thought "Oh, I didn't know we had earthquakes here," and headed outside. My landlord was on his tractor mowing and he jumped off it like he was shot from a gun -- the old lady up at the big house came screaming out of the house. I went to her and said "It was just a little earthquake and it's over now." Really had a time getting her calmed down. The landlord was calling all his family and hyperventilating. I was thinking "What? Was it about a 5 or so?" People just went on and on about it and I just went back inside and back to my books. I guess it's whatever you get used to.
The earth is still changing, that's for sure.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 12:38:11 PM
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| That's true. I could never get use to the tornadoes in Kansas. That was the only time I told dh... Get us out of here. I'll take an earthquake over a tornado. |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 1:07:09 PM
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Amen. There's no earthquake season.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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Tall Holly
True Blue Farmgirl
2305 Posts
Holly
Worcester
Vermont
USA
2305 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2015 : 5:25:40 PM
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Good evening everyone,
DdK does have a good head on her shoulders. I do worry about the pregnancy issue and am always glad when her period arrives. She has been on the pill and stopped because she did not like the way it made her body feel. As of yesterday she is back on it and today says she thinks it makes her feel tired all the time. I don't know. I thought IUD would be better but she says, no way.
We talk about her being attracted to felons and how restricting that will be to her life. Eventually, she figures out that she should be wearing hip boots when she talks to them. Lucky for us, I think, we live far enough out that no one will just drop in.
Bunny, I do worry about my sons contributing to the creation of a baby. They are so much less mature than DdK and would be tied to the woman for the next how many years. They know their responsibilities when a child is involved. Still, they are male and the maturity is just not there. I have offered vasectomies.
Steph, I was sure you were going to spring on us that your car had been towed or you had a nice envelope on your windshield when you returned. I too, hate going in and out of town.
I spent the morning putting the strapping on the rafters to the green house. I am about half way done. this was my last day of no little boys during the day. All three of them had great times and are looking forward to next year.
DsT had gone to a weekend concert called Manifesto. He did not take a raincoat. It is supposed to rain. I hope he has a great time. It is jazz and blues I think.
Sweet dreams,
Holly
farmgirl #2499
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Gathered Up: Over 50 Farmgirls |
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Over 50 Farmgirls
