Fennel, Fog, and a Fractured Foot

Yesterday roasted fennel entered my life, and I don't think I will ever be the same.

I can't stop thinking about how good it was and how it smelled with my roasted chicken...

Where has it been all my life?

I'll tell you where.

It has been at the grocery store.

In the produce section.

On the shelf.

UN-labeled.

No wonder people don't buy it!

They don't know what it is for goodness sakes!

I do.

It's heaven in a white bulb with weird green frondy-lookin things sticking out of the top.

I'll stop.

It was good.

But I'll stop.

It was crazy-foggy this morning!

I took these after I fed cows around 815am...

 

I love how the sun burns off the fog.

And then leaves.

And the rest of the day is dreary.

And you limp around in a quiet, tired mood because of the drear.

Yes, limp.

Why am I limping?

Because I'm pretty.

Because I decided to run realFast downhill and step on one of those big green grenade-like nuts that fall from the trees and roll my foot over...again.

If you must know.

I originally hurt my foot about 3 years ago chasing the peacocks across the road...

So they wouldn't get hit by a car..duh....

And ended up stepping in a post hole and falling flat on my face.

Then I wanted to cry and sit on my foot.

Then I wanted to throw up.

Then The Heat had to drag me out of her car so I wouldn't run over the peacocks.

Then I got to ride in a wheel chair and had an x-ray and a root beer lollipop.

Then I went to Reno for a Nutrition Conference, had an a-mazing time, my foot healed and I came back to work.

Ta-da!

This time...not.so.much.

I'm not in Reno.

I'm not having an a-mazing time.

I didn't even get a lollipop.

Bossman gave me a brace which helps as long as I don't think about how hard it was to get it zipped up my abnormally large calves....

I never had issues with my calves...until today.

I knew what I had done yesterday after I nearly bit asphalt and limped back to my truck.

It was the same spot where I had that tiny fracture before.

I made it through the rest of the day at work with a little pain.

Then it got me at the grocery store.

I was halfway through shopping..almost to the fennel!..and my red race car was full and the lady pushing me had to go.

So I was forced to walk the rest of the store, leaning on my cart and dragging my leg.

Not really.

It was a yellow race car.

The climax of the pain came when I had to crawl back to the living room from the kitchen after checking on my chicken.

But I still made sweet potato fries!

I'll not let abnormally large calves get me down..no sir!

After work I might even go to the store and get more fennel to make something wonderful with!

Let's just hope the blue race car is free this time;).

Two Discoveries

I was made for this job.
I mean really, who else would look at this and think it was cute??

An under bite that would make any mother proud.



He has two eyes I promise.



My kittens are getting bigger.
They think they run the show and can go anywhere they want..

This little bit walked into my heifers hutch and when the heifer bent down to get a closer look, she whacked her on the nose.

Then kept standing there until I removed her from the situation.

I took this picture after the whacking..see how scared the calf is?

I made two important discoveries yesterday..are you ready to hear them?

....well? Are you?

Important Discovery Number 1:  Bad weather makes me a bad blogger..but a great baker!

I made some really great brownies after work yesterday..at least I thought they were.

I call them "Chuckies", named after my aunt.

Just kidding. They are named after Chuck...stay with me.

I created the recipe especially for him, you see, and they turned out great..at least I thought so.

They are a fudgy, very much NON-cakey, brownie with a German chocolate-ish swirl in the middle and on top.

Chuck loves German chocolate cake and fudgy brownies so voila!

...At least I thought so until he tried one and said, "Yeah, it's good. I can taste the peanut butter".

That would have been a great statement, had a I put peanut butter in them.

But I didn't.

Important Discovery Number 2:  Cats wander pretty far...and there is no wet pavement in Honduras.

Around 8:30 am yesterday I was walking down the main aisle of the barn and saw an officer talking to Eddie.

My initial thought was Chuck...but he doesn't do that anymore so my very next thought was OhhhhhLord.

The officer was talking to Eddie about pulling a car out of the field down the road...the Hondurans car.

Somehow one of them managed to run off the road, take out 6 fence posts and end up backwards in a pond.

Dry pond..thank goodness.

The road was wet, but it wasn't raining and the curve wasn't sharp.

The only thing I can figure is there must not be pavement in Honduras.

The end.

But wait! There's more!!

While standing in the field looking at the car in the pond, two cats happened to wander out to see the action.

Cute cats.....

Familiar cats....

BARN cats.

Yep.

Alice and his little brother Maggot.

(After finding out Alice was a boy, the kids changed his name to Alice Cooper. This type of wit is a family trait.)

Tim named the other one Maggot..he was teeeeny tiiiiiiny when he was born.

I was wondering where they went.

I wonder if they walked that far?

Did someone pick them up?

...Were they in the back of my truck?

So many questions...

FYI The Heat's birthday is 5 days away.

Don't forget!



Laborless Day

Hey!
How was your Labor day holiday?
Did you get things done around the house?
Work?
-You weren't supposed to.

I'm just sayin'.

It seems we are getting a weeks worth of rain in just two days..which I'm not complaining about.
At all.

We were so dry that Dad, er Bossman took the Case out to rip the fields where the torrential downpours of the spring wreaked havoc.
The only way you could figure out what field he was in was by looking for the 'Pigpen'-like cloud of dust.
He was in the center.

But thank goodness he worked up that ground because now all of that glorious rain is soaking in, not washing out the fields.
Oh Bossman, you are so clever.

I would like for you to know that I only worked from 5am to 10am yesterday...
No Way!?
Way, I say.

I lit out of here like a raccoon Mercy just shot at.
And didn't look back.

I put it allllll out of my mind so that I could spend some quality time with my honey.
He has been on a fishing trip to Alaska.
What? He hasn't?
No..you're right. He has just been at work since January.
OK...a few days.
Whatever.

I almost forgot what he looked like, then I saw Hello Kitty strategically placed on the back of his shirt and knew he was mine:).
I'mSoGoodToHim.

We were what I would call "lazy".
We didn't even go to the gym...
Whaaaaatt?
Nope. We ran some errands, at lunch, got caught up on Jersey Shore(they put the 'T' in trashy) and picked up Caden.

I almost thought I was a normal "holidays-off" person.
Almost.

During one of our errands...I got socks and orthotics,but that's not what this is about...I heard some younger gals talking about how much they hate the rain.
I coulda kicked them.
I mean, it's like totally stupid that we have to shop in the rain..ugh...

I wanted to go up to them and say...
Oh does the rain ruin your shopping? Do you realize how DRY everything was? I have corn WITHOUT EARS because it's so dry...
I know it would have been a lost cause.
But that's the farmer in me.
As well as the zero-tollerance-for-ridiculous-selfish-comments in me.

The practical side of me was ecstatic about the socks and insoles I got.
That is a sad, sad thing to admit.
But it's true.

I'm wearing both right now.
I'm practically flying ThankYouVeryMuch.
And yes, I feel like an old lady.

By the way I made some cookies too yesterday!
OfCourseIDid.

I visited Adriannas website http://acozykitchen.com/ and made her Rocky Road cookies and they were perfect!
OK so the picture is terrible but the cookies were chocolaty, marshmallowy,chewy goodness.
Perfect for a rainy day!

Also, you know how I told you my nephew Jackson turned 7 months old yesterday?
Well, if you need a reason to smile you should see him! http://www.malindel.blogspot.com/ he is the cutest!

That's all I have, plus I need to go make sure I don't have any new babies paddling around in this rain..

Smoke on the Water

Ummmm hello train!

I love this, it tickles me to death!

Trains are awesome.

There's Chuck! Hey honey!

I would love to create another blog and devote it entirely to trains and their awesomeness-ocity.

That's right.

It would tell you things like the engine above is considered "small" and it's a 70's model.

And the average coal train, whole thing, weighs like 14,000 TONS!!

And there is a conductor and engineer in the engine and not nobody can make them get off the train..

Not nobody...not nohow.

And when they lay new rail they do it in QUARTER MILE SEGMENTS...yeah not like a few feet at a time...That's for amateurs....

There he is again..hello cutie!

I'll stop now.

Some trains are 2 miles long!

I mean it, I'll stop.

They used to call the thing on the front of the engine a "cow pusher" or something like that...

This makes me sad:(.

But trains are the bomb-diggidy.

A single engine costs over A MILLION dollars!

That was the last one...promise...

So anyway I wanted to tell you about these here fireworks..

Pretty cool and loud.

The "largest fireworks show in the nation" just happens to be in Knoxville and I don't normally go.

I always say it's because I'm not that "into" fireworks but really, I'm not that into crowds..

The sweaty people, carnival atmosphere, someone accidentally touching me...

Yuck. No thanks.

HOWEVER this year was different.

This year Norfolk Southern, you know the "thoroughbred of transportation", offered to let the pyromaniacs launch the works of fire from their railroad bridge.

Cool. I know a guy.

Suddenly I was all about these things they call fireworks...and the front row seat wasn't bad either;).

The show was to start at 9:30 pm and Chuck had to be there at 8AM...long day...
So I finished working, got cleaned up, picked us up something to eat and went to see him!
By the time I got there it was about 7pm and he thought it was Thursday..I kid..but he was tired.

He was with a bunch of "big wigs"(I don't know why they call them this) and I maybe might have walked over and blurted out something like...
"Trains?I wanna see a TRAIN!ChuckWon'tTakeMe..." and the frowny-face won them over.
Honestly I wanted to walk down where all the action was and ask 246,000 questions.
But I didn't.
I have self control you know.

Instead Chuck took me to the engine and I blew the horn 16 times and cried when he said it was time to go.
Not really.
I kept my eyes from the so called "cow pusher" because I didn't want anything to ruin this experience.
And silently vowed to never let my cows near the railroad tracks.

We left the engine and passed a few "buffer" cars, which keep the explosives at a distance..duh..
And got to the action...

The metal building on the right is the "control room" for the fireworks.

Cool, eh?



The fireworks and bridge are behind the pyro-carnie in yellow.
That's what I called them anyway.
I accidentally said "carno-pyrie" once but no one was listening.Whew!

Before the show started it rained a bit so we sat in Chucks Durango because I melt in rain.
He had the flashing lights on so I felt all cozy like I was inside a Christmas tree...

Then the show started!!!!

It was loud.

For some reason I kept saying things to Chuck during it and he kept nodding.

Then I realized we both had earplugs in and he couldn't hear me.

He will never know what he agreed to..

About 2 minutes before the show as over I left to beat the crowds.

It was pretty neat to be able to see everything that close.

The grand finale was on the last car and some finale it was!

The fiberglass packing that housed the fireworks caught on fire...

...and the radio played "Smoke on the water"..

But it all was put out and no harm was done.

Now I will return to my unexciting, less pryomaniac-ish life and check on the two new calves in the field.

We are getting a good, soaking rain and that's a good thing:).

OH! Also a big "Happy 7 Months!!!" to my nephew Jackson:).

I love him.



What A Week

Has it been a week already?
Wow!

I made it through my version of "hell week" and can't remember a darn thing that went on.
True story.

If I think about each individual day, and look at my daily notes, I can put the puzzle together.
If I don't, I can't remember what day today is and if I slept last night and if I really saw a raccoon eat a kitten.
That.Happened.

It was so gross that I immediately sent Mercy a text that read;
"Bring gun up to kill coons. Not pellet gun."
And he did.
They have overstayed their welcome.

Eddie, Eduardo, Ed should be back today..better be back today or else I am already behind.
Once he arrives this morning he will notice that;
1.) There are new tires WITH tread on the loader.
2.) It no longer leaks water and overheats.
3.) He will have to see me first thing this morning before he feeds because I took the rations.HA!

I took the rations off the loader because I need to make Eddie wish he never took vacation talk to him about a few things...
Things that he should be doing but just doesn't...like actually using the scale on the wagon when he feeds.
IDon'tThinkHeDoesThat.
It's important.

A lot of things have happened this week and it has been old-man-saggy-tractor-butt hot.
I think I remember having a few new babies....
I'm pretty sure Tim and I never spoke once..
I very nearly fell asleep every day at 2pm no matter where I was or what I was doing..
And I realized that I have very forgiving cows.

It's almost time to start on corn silage because if we don't we will run out of rye silage and not be able to transition the cows.

I have been in the transition process for a few days, however yesterday morning I got the big idea to give them their new corn silage ration with a leeeeeeetttle bit or rye....
Big.Mistake.

Wanna know how to give me an anxiety attack?
Put a load of feed out(5500 lbs) that NOT ONE cow will eat.
Chuck almost had to talk me off the ledge.

I rectified it though, before any real milk loss occurred...I hope....

All in all this past week was stressful but I learned a lot..I'll take it.
I thought I handled it pretty well until yesterday.
Yesterday it became apparent that I "look" like I feel. Tired. Stressed.
And I have not been myself.
I know these things because I walked into my office around noon yesterday and on my desk I found this...

Lucky for me moms are very forgiving as well:).

What I Don't Get..

By "get" I mean understand.
Comprende'.
Wrap my mind around.

I'm fairly quick on the draw..especially on insults.
Quick for a gal who didn't attend Montessori school. Ahem.

However there are a few anomalies that continue to make me go hmmmm...

If left to his own devices, would a guy use the SAME after shower towel without washing it...F-O-R-E-V-E-R?
I think yes.

Does Theresa from the Real Housewives of New Jersey realize how ANNOYING her children are?
I think not.
They are monsters.

Why do people say "hot water heater"? 
I have never seen a cold water heater.

Can we add white sunglasses to the list of after Labor Day no-no's?
...and fanny packs...
...and crocheted shirts...just sayin.

Does the fact that I am an Aquarius have anything to do with the amount of water I drink?
They are "water bearers" after all...
Anyone?
I think I'm onto something.

Why do people go to the gym to chat?
I go to workout...I PAY to workout..not chat.
There are coffee shops for this.

Why do my Hondurans have Gold stars on their teeth?
Were they born like that?
All I'm saying is if they put the stars on there that's some impressive glue.

If I expect to be a mother at some point can I park in the "expectant mother" parking?
Or is that like a "don't drink the water" kind of thing?
I'll not risk it.

Why did my hand write "8" when my head screamed "1"?

Now I have to wait until 2018 to use this tag.

It's a big 8 too...you can't make it something else.

Darn eartag.

I don't know the answer to this..

I think it has something to do with lack of sleep and 95 degree weather.

I feel like a raisin when I leave work nowadays.

I'll go now.

Nightmares

Have you ever watched a kitten sleep?

I mean really watched?

A little ear twitch, some air-running...

If not, you should because then you will want to wake them up and scratch their chin:).

On that cozy, cuddly note I want to share with you a few things that will ALWAYS give me nightmares:

My Mandolin slicer.

Goodness this is the thing bad dreams are made of..but I still use it.

Until I am able to slice potatoes paper-thin with a knife I will have to pull this bad boy out.

I have lost many a fingernail and fingertip to these devil tools.

Then I have to stop and call a medic....

Puts me so far behind.

I literally have to give myself a pep talk before I open the cabinet where it resides.

You got this.

Just stop BEFORE you get to your fingers..

Someone Chasing Me..Up Stairs...

How close are they?

2 steps away or 3?  It makes a difference.

They're close..wait no they're not..

What if they touch my leg?!

I want to sit down and hug the rail.

They frown on that in most public places, just so you know.

Revolving Doors.

So, when I was little...

Who am I kidding, I was born with rolls on my ARMS!

Ugh.

Inch worm.

Anyway, when I was younger my mom, grandparents, sister and I went to Nashville and stayed at the Opryland Hotel.

I was really very young.

All I remember about the trip was playing dolls with my older sister Malinda in the backseat of the Cadillac, during which I very nearly got carsick, AND the revolving door trying to eat me.

True story.

Its evil plan was to nab me by wedging my flip flop mid flip under the door and then eat me alive.

I might have screamed but I definitely cried.

Luckily most buildings with revolving doors also have normal doors.

Obviously I'm not the only one scared.

I use those.

Bugs

Any kind.

They give me chills.

I can deal with cow manure, retained placenta, etc.

I can't deal with bugs.

You get cow manure on you? Guess what. It STAYS in the same place.

It doesn't crawl somewhere and try to make a home or have babies.

There's a thought.

Giving Someone Food Poisoning.

No one in particular, just anyone.

It is one of my biggest fears for someone to call me the day after they eat what I have cooked and tell me how sick they were that night.

Oh man.

I only baked for a long time because of this.

I made rack of lamb last night for dinner and *fingers crossed* everyone seems to be OK.

Whew!

I also made scalloped potatoes which is exactly what made me think of writing this.

No fingers were harmed.