'A' is for All About Me

Today is April 1st - April Fool's Day, and the beginning of my journey through the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge. The object is to post each day, except for Sunday, using the appropriate letter of the day as the beginning of your subject. In that spirit, here are 18 Random Things About Me, your host for this stop on the tour!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Thank God, no although Nancy Sinatra was popular around the time I was born.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? March 18th. But that doesn't mean anything, I might cry an hour from now, who knows?

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I love my handwriting, except when there is a paper to be written. God Bless Computers and why didn't we have them when we were in school!?!?

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey or Roast Beef

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?  I have two prime-time drive commercial-driven consumers, both in target demographic ages, but I still can't get the Nielsen people to ask my opinions!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd like to think so!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Only when I'm being sarcastic.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope, but my Happy Husband does, can't wait for that surgery to come around. 

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? There isn't enough money or tequila in the entire world to make me jump. I have an extreme fear of unconfined heights. 

10. FAVORITE CEREAL? Peanut Butter Bumpers. An Organic peanut butter cereal that puts Cap'n Crunch to shame.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope!

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? It depends on my mood. Most times I will order chocolate chip, but I might go with Cherry Vanilla or Chocolate Raspberry if I'm feeling crazy.

13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes, followed closely by their hands. Those two things can tell you a lot about a person.

14. RED OR PINK? uh, neither.

15. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I can be very lazy, especially if I am working on a new storyline.

16. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My daddy. He died more than 20 years ago and not a day goes by I don't wish I could pick up the phone and ask his opinion on things.

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD? Macaroni and Cheese made from scratch, with real butter and real cheese. (I have great cholesterol thank God!)

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans and Cowboy boots, what else is there to wear on a wintry spring morning?


There you go, a few pieces of useless trivia to start this month's project. Stop back by frequently, I don't know that I have 26 topics worthy of blogging about but I intend to find out!

Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is that most American of holidays - Thanksgiving. In the spirit of the occasion I have decided to list the things I am most thankful for.

1 - I am thankful for my family. God brought me the perfect man, and we have been together for 25 years. My children aren't perfect, but they are to me and I am amazed everyday I created these two exceptional humans.

2 - I am thankful for the country we live in. America isn't perfect, but I'm glad to be here where I have the freedom to disagree with others and grouse about taxes and other issues without having to worry about who is going to show up at my door.

3 - I am thankful God blessed me an incredible imagination and the gift of gab. It makes being a writer much easier.

4 - I am thankful for my friends and colleagues in all three professional areas of my life: as a business owner, as a writer, and as a volunteer with rescued horses.

5 - I am thankful for all the varied blessing in my life. They are too many to name, but I try to acknowledge them each. I look carefully each day because sometimes a blessing can be disguised as a problem. It's all in how you perceive things!

6 - I am thankful for my animals, all of them. Whether small or large, my animals are my children just like darling daughter and sensational son. Our family would be lost without them.

7 - Most important, I am thankful for each and every one out there. What a wonderful world this is!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Enjoy your turkey and dressing, don't eat too much pumpkin pie, and I'll see everyone next week as we begin the countdown to the end of the world (or at least 2012!)

Something From Another Life...

i don't normally cross my blog audiences, but this time I will make an exception. For those who don't know, I volunteer at Blue Skies Riding Academy, a 501c(3) non-profit horse rescue and retraining facility. I posted this on my rescue blog "Vincent and the Big Adventure."   I apologize for an inconvenience this may present. My regularly scheduled snark will continue next week.



Yesterday was the Blue Skies Riding Academy's 2nd Annual Fall Festival. We had a bounce house, games, pony rides, the fire department came out, and concessions were fabulous. It was a great day and lots of fun. While the event was fun for everyone, the meaning behind not so pretty. Winter is coming, it's time to prepare for the lean months.

When you work with rescued animals, the need to raise funds is constant. As long as the economic climate in this country remains volatile, the volume of animals needing help will continue to grow. With each save, the need for money to feed these innocent bystanders grows. Whether assisting cats, dogs, or horses the people and groups working with these fringe survivors are heroes. We see things which would appall most people.

BSRA saves horses. We bring them to a place of love, we feed them and heal their physical wounds. Once they are well on the way to recovery, the instructors and volunteers begin identifying their previous training. Interesting isn't it, we have these animals, who have come from many different backgrounds, and we only know what we can learn from watching and riding them. Some have little to no training, like Daisy. Others we know were racehorses, such as Oakley (Chilean Princess) and with a few there is only silence. A black void where only our imaginations dare to venture.

Once we know each animal's training, we build on that to restore their jobs to them. Horses need their jobs, it is their part of the unspoken contract between man and beast. We provide the food, shelter, protection and the animals help plow our fields, carry us to market or to war, provide a friend to listen when only a strong silent type will do. We build relationships with them and they with us. Part of that relationship is to swear they will never end up hungry and scared again.

Drought has caused the prices of hay to rise dramatically. The grains which go into commercial feed have risen as well. With the economic putting the squeeze on everyone, rescues are relying more and more on donations to keep rounds bales in the pastures and feed in the buckets. Forgetting reseeding pastures for spring; if it is between buying seed or buying grain, you buy what grain you can and seed when there is extra.

I don't usually use my blog to solicit funds, but harsh times call for new measures. Rescues need help, regardless of what area of the country you live in. $7.00 purchases one square bale of hay, $50.00 one round bale. We have 25 horses, and go through 100 square bales a month. There are 6 active pastures, that means 12 to 18 round bales per month. That does not include grain, supplements, farrier visits, vet trips or chiropractic. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming.

So, as we enter into fall, knowing the holiday seasons will soon be upon us, how about sharing a little love for your local rescue? When you go shopping, add an extra bag of dog or cat food for the county animal shelter. $14 can feed our herd of horses with hay for one day; $20 would include hay and grain for one day. But any amount is needed. If you live in other parts of this great nation, look around. There is a struggling rescue in your area, working tirelessly to save the innocent from man's neglect and abuse. If you don't have money to give, volunteer! Just coming around these animals will restore your inner strength, your faith that we have a greater purpose on this planet.

If you would like to contribute to Blue Skies, there is a pay pal button on our website: www.blueskiesridingacademy.com. And stop by sometime - identify yourself as a patron, and come meet the magnificent beasts who owe you their thanks. It will change your life.

Wait..What..Not Again!

As June progressed, I finally got all the turnip greens out of my garden, and it seemed things were well on their way to a fabulous summer. I peeled and chopped and canned zucchini and summer squash while dreams of mountains of beans, rivers of sweet peas and bushels of tomatoes danced him my head. Once again, Mother Nature had other plans.

That's right - we have another drought on our hands. Just as my corn was tasseling and the bean pods were plumping, the rains went away. For more than three weeks, not a drop fell from the heavens. When the grass starts crunching under your feet, then you know it's dry out there.

So, I harvested my cucumbers (apparently they like it hot!), and squash and monitored the damages. Both my helpful hubby and my father-in-law pronounced my garden dead on more than one occasion, only to see me harvest baskets of potential pickles. My corn popped inside the husks but the beans popped out in full force, leading to a basket so full I had to have my son carry it to the house.

At last I relented and pronounced the harvest done. Some seeds were extra prolific (Squash of all kinds, cucumbers, pole beans) while others never ever popped through (carrots, peppers, peas). But for what did come up I reaped gold.

My final tally for the first Reece garden is: 20 quarts of beans, 15 pints of pickles and pickle relish, 5 quarts of summer squash and onions, 10 pints of lemon honey jelly, 8 pints of zucchini pickles, and 3 quarts of pickled butternut squash. All in all not a bad haul.

The tomatoes came in slow and never in any great quantities, so I just shared them with friends and co-workers. We got 5 full grown pumpkins, which were ready by the end of July. I am saving mine for Halloween. The biggest failure was no watermelons. I love watermelon in the summer. This year I had to resort to grocery store melon. Boo.

I gathered seeds from all the produce that I could and I intend to try again next year. No winter garden, I'm not ready to fight another battle against turnip greens. No, we are going to plow, rake, plow, rake, and hope for cleaner dirt next spring. I had a lot of fun, recalled a lot of good times with my father, and I wouldn't trade a callous or twinge in my carpal tunnel for anything else. Good times from the simplest thing - a new memory to join the many from childhood.

Thanks for listening to my summer saga. It might not sound like all that much fun, but trust me. It was a blast.

Spring Showers Bring...Road Trips

Once the great Turnip Green disaster of 2012 was averted, I thought for sure my garden was on its way. Seedlings were popping up, squash and cucumber vines began sending out their first runners, and my pumpkins appeared to have been set into pure fertilizer. Visions of fresh vegetables danced through my head at night, and on Sunday mornings I couldn't wait to be on the road to measure the week's progress. Then - another crisis.

From Mother's Day until Father's Day, I was out of town. Not for business, not for fun, but for family issues. First, my 92 year old mother lives with my brother and his family. My sister-in-law was getting a well deserved break and would be gone for two weeks. Since my brother has odd hours (he's a doctor), my sister and I decided to split the assignment between the two of us. So for ten day I 'baby sat' my mother. It was wonderful.

I had always been a Daddy's girl,. My mother and I get along, but I'm a strange child (it says so in my baby book). Only when my dad died early did Mother and I finally come to a mutual place from which to base our adult relationship. When she could no longer drive herself around, my brother moved her into his house in South Carolina. It was the best thing (did I mention she is 92?) and we all agreed it was time, but afterward I discovered it hurt.

Spending ten days sitting with my mom, talking, working crossword puzzles, watching every game show on television, fixing her meals - it was glorious. For really the first time in my adult life we related and bonded and discussed past history which cannot be undone. When Memorial Day weekend rolled around and it was time to go home, I was so sad I didn't even listen to the radio the entire three hour drive. I wanted to just savor the moment.

Well, the next day I returned to my little slice of vegetable heaven, only to discover nothing had been done in 10 days. Okay, in gardening terms, ten days is an entire season. The weeds were taking over. I lost my carrots, my lettuce, my peppers, everything that wasn't a squash, pumpkin, cucumber or beans had simply been overwhelmed. For five hours I pulled and grunted and cursed (again) my city-slicker hubby, but as the sun began to sink over the horizon there was a semblance of order in my plot.

Then, less than a week later, my aunt died. Back out of town I go, knowing that when I returned there would be more weeds to wrangle, plus they were cutting hay that week. I prayed no one would run over the pumpkins, which by this time had already started to bloom. Returning six days later, I raced up the expressway only to discover - more zucchini and summer squash than Carter has Little Pills (obscure 60's reference - look it up!).

When I say zucchini, I mean green blimps! These monsters were at least 7 pounds a piece and as long as my arm. Nothing close to the grocery store zucchini. My first thought was: did I plant the wrong seeds? But then I looked at summer squash and they were enormous yellow pillows! You think I am kidding? One summer squash made a casserole that fed three people for four days! My hubby asked if I bought the seeds from some mutant source. They were huge and they didn't stop coming for weeks. Even my usually eager town friends were saying no thanks, we've had enough.

Harvesting everything that was ready took two extra large storage tubs from Wal Mart. After some more weeding (those turnip greens were stubborn little twits), I left knowing that upcoming weekend I would again be out of town - this time for a family wedding in Ohio!

Well, the gardening fun didn't stop there. Next time, we will discuss who knows more: my city boy husband, or me?

Welcome To My Mid-Life Crisis

This fall I will turn fifty, a point of dread for me since my mother turned fifty. Of course I was only 8 at the time and thought my mother would shrivel up and die. I mean, really - half a century seemed ANCIENT! Of course, as the magic age has steadily approached my opinion has changed. I know I won't shrivel up once my birthday arrives. Or at least I hope not.

But in preparation for this momentous occasion I decided to learn new skills, or resurrect skills not used since my childhood. First up on the list: plant a garden for the purpose of canning and freezing food for the winter.

My father's family were farmers and every year, no matter where we lived, there was always a garden. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, not to mention trips to the big farmer's market would provide plenty of fresh vegetables for the months when good produce was hard to find. While it isn't such a necessity to have a personal garden any more, nothing can beat the taste of good, fresh produce.

Helpful hubby promised to be of assistance and my father-in-law plowed the garden up at his farm, about an hour north of where we live. After carefully searching the Internet for heirloom seeds (plants which can produce seeds for replanting) I made my selections and off we went to create our first garden together in 25 years of marriage.

Little did I know that I have married the only man in North Georgia to never have spent any time in a garden!

Join me for my series: So... You Want to Plant a Garden! as I provide a play-by-play commentary on my summer project. It will make you laugh. I promise!

25 Randon Things About Me...

1) My mother was in a math honor society, my father was an aeronautic engineer and I have problems adding 2 + 2 without a calculator.

2) There was a family portrait of my great-great-great-great-great grandmother where the eyes followed where ever in the room you were standing. I would not go into that room after dark unless all the lights were on and someone came with me.

3) I love old movies.  It is great to share with my parents movies they saw during the 30's, 40's, and 50s.

4) When I was in elementary school, my grandmother used to pick me up from school every day. It started being embarrassing about 5th grade, especially after the police stopped her one afternoon for driving 15mph in a 45.

5) My husband and I have worked together 24/7/365 for 17 years. It works because we are usually never stressed at the same time.

6) When I was a child, I used to think that if I didn't do things in the same order every day something bad would happen to me. That was the beginning of my OCD. I still do the same routine every morning: shower, moisturizer, teeth, makeup, hair. Steve thinks I am really weird.

7) I always wanted a dog as a child, but my mom and dad both had issues about dogs.

8) One of my favorite memories of my dad is from when I was a teenager. I worked at Six Flags and he and I got home from work about the same time every morning (God bless the night shift!). We would sit up for hours and discuss every time from politics to religion to absolutely meaningless crap, but it was great because it was just us two.

9) My brother, sister and I all married left handed people, but only one of our offspring is left handed (my sister's daughter).

10) My first boyfriend was from Cumming and grew up on a farm.

11) I had a near death experience as a child. It has shaped my view on Heaven, God and the afterlife ever since.

12) I love horses and always wanted to work with them until I found out there was no money in it. I love the time I spend volunteering at Blue Skies. Winston Churchill once said "There is something about the outside of the horse that is good for the inside of a man" and i firmly believe that is true.

13) I am scared of certain heights. I cannot dive, but I love roller coasters. I love glass elevators, but cannot stand at the edge and look down. I think it is because I was pushed off a high dive as a child. (By my swim teacher of all people!!)

14) My children are my greatest accomplishments. They are each amazing in different ways. I know they will be close even after Dad and Mom are long gone.

15) I would rather read a good book than watch a bad movie. Do not try to understand my reading tastes - they range from biography to science fiction. One summer I decided to read nothing but Russian novelists.

16)  Soon my first book will be published. I think everyone will like it. At least, I hope so.

17) My sister and I were never close until we got older.

18) If I am your friend, know that I will stick up for you till hell freezes over unless you throw me under the bus. Then - it is on.

19) When we retire I want to spend at least a year travelling with Steve and the dogs in an RV. Afterward we can settle down and live out our days.

20) If I could go back and start again from, say 9th grade, I cannot think of many things that I would change.

21) My favorite sport is soccer.

22) I didn't think this would be as hard as it has been.

23) Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

24) I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. The game itself (GO Steelers!!!) gets too slow.

25) I love my family and pray for them each every day.

Black and White and Shades of Grey

All my life I have been taught there are only two sides to every confrontation: black or white. My father did not consider the shade of grey as an answer. Dad considered grey as the color for those unable to stick with a position. Everything was wrong or right. However, with the disappearance of the core family unit and the values our ancestors used to pass down to each new generation, black and white have left the building leaving an entire rainbow of color answers.

Black = wrong, White = right, Grey = possible to be right or wrong only if no one get offended.

What other personal responsibilities formally taught to us by our families have we neglected to pass on to the next generation? Manners, correct enunciation, personal accountability all have gone the way of the flightless dodo bird, extinct due to lack of interest in their continuation.

What other little expected behaviors we all grew up with have suddenly disappeared? Chewing with one's mouth closed, wearing appropriate clothing for the event and location, and cutting in front of people in line are the first few that come to mind but I'm sure, given time, we all could come up with dozens. But what began this major shift in attitudes? Do we attribute this to the hippies back in the 60's? Or did it come sooner - as more families began chasing the all mighty dollar instead of growing their children.

I have two children in two different times of their lives, but they have been taught the consequences of their actions since they were old enough to talk back. I know they will tell me the truth, whether I am ready for it or not. They accept their punishments for their misdeeds and strive to learn from their mistakes.

I can think of thousands of prisoners who could learn something about personal responsibility.