Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Thank you all.
Just got a call from DS1 - he and DS2's family all went up to DS3's place today. Jimmy tried on the Youth XL bib hunting overalls we got him for Christmas. They were skin tight. Back tomorrow to Walmart for a man's medium. When did my 13 year old grandson get so big?! The man's hunting jacket we got him fits great though and will give him a couple years of growth. I need to get the new size of overalls now so DH can take them back when he goes to CA on January 6.

Also got a call from DD2 who says that they want to come over Christmas Eve and spend the night with us to open presents in the morning. Good thing I got Cinnamon rolls. I am going to thaw the prime rib roast I have in the freezer and cook it for Christmas dinner. One more night of Santa Claus with little believers!

Yesterday DH had an appointment in Bonham for the VA audiologist department. He had t leave his hearing aides to be retuned to the factory. It will take 3 weeks to get them back. Hopefully he will get them before leaving on January 6 for California but probably not. I dont know who has it worse, a person who can;t hear or their famioy who has to shout and repeat thmselves constantly and still gets blamed for saying the wrong thing even though that is not what they said! Involved sentence but hopefully understandable. On the way home we stopped in Commerce at the Walmart to see if they had more stuff than the Walmart in SS. Got the toy that DSIL2 wanted for Annabel that was not available in Wylie. DH used an electric cart and enjoyed shopping more. Finally left and came on back to Sulphur Springs where we went to Atwoods and got 12 of the cheaper supplement tubs and 2 bags of dog food. Then I went and checked prices on sheep grain. The lamb grower and show lamb was $22.99 but I found an all purpose sweet feed without copper for $9.99/40 lb. suitable for sheep on pasture and hay. I bought 6 bags to try. I still have 3 bags of medicated sheep feed that I wil mix with it. The ewes are thin so they need some extra groceries. I might get some beet pulp too next time. I couldn't find a price on it but since you have to soak it in water and it swells up in volume, it would stretch out. I can't get any barleycorn or even plain rolled corn. It is all deer corn and I am not sure what is in it since it says not to feed to horses. Anyway, after Atwoods the truck was piled with the tubs on pallets and the feed and we still had to go to Lowes. I left DH in the truck and went inside myself. Got the locking (privacy type) doorknobs, a large trash can, a fireplace poker, the carabiners and a hook and eye for the kitchen door because of Annabel. The Closetmaid shelves were $20 off which was great and I will probably get another set tomorrow to put in 2 other closets.
Got home and we both collapsed.

This morning we unloaded the Walmart stuff. The hose was frozen and DH couldn't water the livestock. He keeps forgetting this is texas and it gets cold at night. While the hose thawed he tried to unload the truck but Baby 'Bota's battery was dead and she was too cold to start so DH came in, charged the battery starter, and watched a football game. While he was watching the game I made him try on a bunch of cruise clothes which no longer fit. (He would not do it before I packed in California.) I was able to get rid of a lot of them and now we have usable closet space in the office. The spare bedroom closet is empty. I was able to store the suitcases in there, and will have room for a lot of the animal meds on shelves. Finally seeing an end to the mess and confusion. LOL My T-shirt drawer is next.

This afternoon DH jumped Baby B with the truck and we unloaded all the supplement tubs. Each one weighs 128 lbs. I pushed them into the bucket and DH drove them over to the barn where I pulled the off the bucket and onto a pallet. 2 tubs fit exactly into the bucket so it took a while since I had to climb into thetruck bed to load them and get down and go back into the barn to unload them. We put 4 on a pallet, then put another pallet on top and repeated the same thing. Then DH unloaded the bags of feed into the bucket and I drove the tractor into the barn and moved them into the feed room. Next I set out 6 empty supplement buckets around the barn and divided a 40 lb. bag of sweet feed between them. Topped that off with a couple scoops of sheep grower.

Church tomorrow, then Walmart and Lowes again. Back home to continue cleaning closets, setting up shelves, and changing out door knobs. LOL And watching the 3 football games DH is recording. I can multi task.

 

[SageHill]

Wow - that all sounds great - you all are really settling in. Well - except for the hearing aides -- definitely frustrating for everyone. Does he have an old pair that he can use?

 

[Baymule]

A productive day! I’m buying bulk feed in the super bags now. It figures out to 16 cents per pound. I get bags around a thousand pounds. Once home, I back up to the portable building, drop tailgate and scoop feed into two 5 gallon buckets. I can step from tailgate to building floor. Then I take full buckets off tailgate and dump in metal trash cans. Rinse, repeat. It takes a little over an hour. Return the bag when I go back for another one. It’s saving me $100, buying the feed like this. Look around, I know feed stores in your area carry super bags.

 

[Margali]

Finally getting caught up on people’s journals. Sorry about loosing Harika.

 

[Ridgetop]

We miss her, but Angel and Ozel are stepping up to the plate. Little Hazine is learning more from Angel.

Didn't have time to get on before Christmas due to trying to get rooms cleared out and stuff put away before Christmas Eve when DD2, DSIL2, and chidren arrived to spend Christmas Eve at Grandpa's house. Dug through the freezer and got out the prime rib to thaw. Emptied several boxes of stuff and got put away. Still looking for a couple of things but they may be in the Connex or shed in California. I'll find them eventually when I go back this May.

Went to church in huge rainstorm. Afterwards we decided to pickup Popeye's fried chicken. Decided to get 12 piece in case kids arrived. Then DD2 texted that there was a ginormous thunder and lightning storm over the house and she couldn't find her key. They had been waiting while we were at church. Told her where to fnd the spare. Got home with the chicken as they were unloading all their stuff for the overnight stay. Fed the children and ourselves, watched a Christmas movie - sort of - and waited for Santa Claus. Walked into the office toget the presents nd flipped on the light. I didn;t know that Annabel ws sleeping in her portacrib in there. OOPS! DD2 moved her into the spare room which had space after my 2 day cleaning marathon but she kept getting up and going back to bed. Finally got to bed around 1 am. Christmas morning came too early as always. Kids opened their gifts. Dinner was lovely, prime rib was perfectly done thank heaven. Kids finally left for home around 5pm and DH and I collapsed.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!



.

 

[Baymule]

Sounds like a lovely Christmas!

 

[Ridgetop]

Back at the farm . . . life resumed with a trip to the barn to feed the supplement to the sheep before another thunder and rain storm broke overhead. DH had bought hmself a pair of hunting boots, insulated, and water proof, since the sheep pen floods badly. Comfortably attired in his water and mud proof boots DH checked water, got the flags and chivvied the sheep out of the barn and onto the field. It was hard going in the 4" of liquid mud. Then he shut the gate into the pen where their hay is so I could ration the 40 lbs. bag of feed into the 7 pans artistically scattered around in the barn. Just as I finished a clap of thunder announced a huge cloudburst overhead. Suddenly, I heard yelling and saw that the sheep had charged the gate, pushing it open and were stampeding back into the pen. This is the night pen attached to the barn. In an attempt to head them off until I finished putting out the feed, DH made his way to the barn entrance. There, armed with his flags, he made his last stand. Literally!

Since everyone knows hair sheep are allergic to rain, the flock now bolted for shelter inside the barn like a crowd on Black Friday going after the one remaining item on the shelf. Bravely, my hero attempted to turn them back but the treacherous mud held his boots fast. With a scream of rage and many bad words that our chidren were never allowed to say, DH went down. Horrified I watched him disappear into the mud under the thrashing hooves. Looking over at the doorway I saw him struggling on the ground. Worried that he might have broken a hip I shoved sheep aside to make my way over to him. It took a couple minutes because sheep don't shove aside easily from pans of sweet feed. He had stopped screaming but was still rolling and thrashing around which was scary. When I reached him I realized he had gone silent in order to avoid getting more muck in his mouth. He finally rolled to the side of the barn and managed to grab the supports and hoist himself out of the mud. Dripping mud and liquid manure, he staggered to the gate, telling me to find the flags which had disappeared beneath the surface.

Back at the house, I hosed him off, then made him take off his jacket, boots, and pants. He went inside to take a shower, reminding me to turn on the water for the sheep. The life of a farmer is not all sunshine and roses.

We decided the next project will be mounting a gate at the entrance from the pen to the barn. 10' gate will do it. Then we had measured from the back of the barn and another 12' gate will allow the sheep into the barn without going through the night pen. That will be handy to run them in and out of the barn without the giant mud puddle aka the night pen.
p.
DH said that his next tractor job is to remove the top layer of mud/dirt from the night pen and put it in the garden. All that muck will be good for our garden come spring.

I went into DS1's room and decided to put up the 24" shelf unit in his closet which is almost 44" deep. After installig it, and the 12" shoe tower next to it I decided to put the other half on the other side of the closet. I startd removing the cases of bottled. Then I lifted out a case of Monster drink. UH OH! The case felt empty and there was discoloratio on the wall. Two cases of Monster drink had apparently leaked all over the closet and the cases of stuff below them. AAAARGH!

DH helped me carry several cases of jars of canned meat, tomato sauce, and soup to the kitchen. I opened the cases of food and the Monster drinks had startd to eat into the surface of the jar lids. I lost 2 jars of spaghetti sauce and one of chicken. After checking and scrubbing the other jars, I was relieved to find that they were ok. The boxes were saturated and a total loss so I tossed the boxes outside. Several other boxes were damaged but all f them had jars in them - the boxes of books were on the other side of the closet.

Now I had a giant cleanup to take care of. The drywall was stained and damaged in the corner behind where the cases were stacked. The carpet was saturated with old Monster drink. I got the bleach spray and went to work on the wall. After a frenzied attack on the stains I got a lot of the black stain off but could see that not only would I have to prime and repaint, but would have to do some drywall prep with joint compund as well. Now on to the carpet. I got lots of towels and a bucket of hot water. I poured the water onto the area of the carpet and proceeded to mop it up over and over again. Then I sprayed it with carpet cleaner spray and did it one last time. Next time DD2 comes over I will have her bring her little carpet scrubber - it does spot scrubbing. I put one of the dehumidifier containers in the closet and left it to dry out overnight.

This morning I brought the rest of the boxes of jars out and proceeded to wash all 10 dozen jars. Then I needed to find a place to put them. I emptied the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet and moved all the empty tupperware cannisters into the lower blind cabinet. They can stay there until DS! retuns and we install the blind cabinet pullout. This gave me a long cabinet run on the top shelf. I managed to fit all the jars onto the top shelves in the kitchen. Everything was canned meat - beef, pork, and chicken, spaghetti sauce (with and without meat) and soup. All the seals were good but if the contents don't look right I will use it in the dog food. On the bright side, getting all the jars out of the closet means that I will start to use the contents.

Oddly, these cabinet are only 32" with a soffit, while the ones in California were 42" cabinets to the ceiling. I left a lot of stuff I didn't need in California, and all the canning supplies that used to live on the top shelves now have a home in the laundry room. I also left a few things I do need in California too. My SuperShooter cookie press, and all my spices are still there. DS1 wil bring them to me along with the step shelves in the cabinets. When I go back in May I will look in the Cnnex and sgeds for anything else I left behind. My great grandmother's washboard is one thing that was packed with some other antique Kitsch. I plan to hang it up on the soffits in the kitchen. One box is here but I am still looking for other things. The looking will probably take years. LOL

Got to go and put together the other half of the 24" wide closet storage for the spare bedroom. I am getting a lot of the sheep meds put away until we can get up more shelving in the barn tack room, not to mention the electricity for lights. Next week I will have to take down and store all the Christmas decorations for another year.

On a good note, Ozel has really come nto her own and is showing more of that Anatolian aggression towards night predators. Hazine is a little nervous arond Ozel who has becomemore dominant lately. Angel on the other hand seems to hav taken Hazine under her wing. I noticed that Hazine moved so Angel was between her and Ozel the other day. Ozel was chasig a sheep the other day but we realized that the sheep was one of a couple lambs that had found a hole in the fence and escaped into the barnyard. Ozel tried to put them back where they belonged but they were wily and avoided her. Dominic started shouting at her but I told him that she would stop as soon as we put them back in the field. She herded them into the side barn and I went through and opened the gate. However, they circled aroud and came back out into the yard. I checked the fence and sure enough there was a gap where the stock panel had come down from a corral panel surrounding the hay bales. The wire there was mashed ad tangled in branches so I got another piece of stock panel and Dominic went through and stuck it in place temporarily. Another repair project.

 

[Mini Horses]

I'm certain that DHs incident was NOT fun but, I'm sorry to say I laughed soooo hard, I cried. glad only his pride was damaged. You recounted with elegance

 

[Ridgetop]

I think this experience has happened to all of us at one time or another. LOL I know @Baymule has experienced it with the help of an armadillo and her dogs!

 

[murphysranch]

I was reading it and my heart started pounding a bit. Was he OK? Was he trampled by hooves? Did he break something? WHEW that none of that happened. Very scary.