Barn

Oh my! We have a really nice barn on our property.

I’m so happy that we went with the traditional red with white accents style barn. 

It looks great sitting back behind our farmhouse. 

This is really getting real!

What We Take For Granted

Between the snowstorm last week, and my sprained ankle this week I’m realizing how easy it is to take things for granted. 

Each time you hop in the shower you expect hot water. Having to boil water to add to a bathtub takes forever, and the end result is a tepid pool of water. Not exactly pleasant by today’s standards. 

Not being able to walk normally results in having to be waited on literally hand and foot. Luckily I have a husband who is more than willing to help. However, that doesn’t make me feel any better about putting the burden on him. 

As I think about grocery shopping next week I’m not sure I’ll be well enough to maneuver the aisles. I may be able to be physically present to watch the boys, but that may be all I can realistically do.

 

Luckily, the swelling has gone down dramatically, and Chuck is going to run up to CVS to get some sort of ankle brace. As I lay here incapacitated it makes me realize how we just assume we can get up and do whatever we want when we want. 

As I scrolled through Facebook I came across a posting from a friend’s mother. She had purchased a birthday card early for her sister this year, but sadly was not able to actually give it to her before her sister passed away. 

Years ago when I broke my tailbone on the first day of school while bending over to tie a student’s shoe, it did make me realize how quickly things can change in a heartbeat. That injury took months to heal, and literally was a pain in the butt. 

After my mother passed away I began to appreciate the simpler things in life, knowing that life is not guaranteed for any of us. I thought of all the things she sacrificed for her family that would have brought her happiness. None of them were anything too over the top, but she just assumed she would have tomorrow to acquire them. 

Sometimes I find my self disgruntled about the world around me, and although there is nothing wrong with being aware of what is going on, allowing it to take hold is a problem. Looking for the good, rather than focusing on the negative, really is a more satisfying way to live. 

So I’ll be sidelined for what could be days to possibly weeks, but I want to appreciate the blessings that I do have in my life more than my misfortune.

I Had Plans

I had plans this week. I was planning on visiting a boutique a friend of mine has just opened. I had plans to cook several delicious meals this week. I had plans to travel to Comanche to watch the boys this week. 

Unfortunately life had different plans for me. While I was unloading groceries from the back of my car I misstepped and rolled my ankle. 

As I write this my ankle is swollen, elevated and wrapped. I’ve iced it and will ice it again in a couple of hours. 

On the bright side I’m not in intense pain, and I can walk on it. However, I may be heading to the doctor to have it checked out. 

Either way from what I’ve read staying off of it is what is required for it to heal. So I guess I’ll be sitting around this week. 

It’s crazy how things can change in a heartbeat. 

We’ve Got a House

Well they say good things happen to those who wait. Between Covid, rain and snow slowly but surely our house is taking shape and we could not be more pleased. 

In a weeks time we had a house and a barn. Our barn is absolutely perfect, and looks like a traditional red barn with white trim. 

We chose to go with a farmhouse style house, and it’s turning out amazingly. 

We went with white with a black roof and trim. Once the black shutters, black door, and black light fixtures are added it will be perfect. 

As Chuck and I researched several different options for the house we decided we didn’t want to go with a traditional “Frisco” house. We have owed several beautiful city homes, and wanted something completely different for our country home. 

For this reason we decided to go with a metal building home. Chuck liked the idea of not having to worry too much about the elements that are prevalent in the country. This home seems bulletproof proof. 

What I’m absolutely in love with is the ten foot wide covered front porch that runs the entire length of the house. It faces the best view of the ridge of hills in the distance. I envision spending an awful lot of time on that porch. 

I’ll continue to give updates along the way as progress is made, but I just wanted to give an update. 

A Grain of Salt

I’m fascinated with the study of why people do what they do. 

In my attempt to understand more I’ve run across something called heuristics. Heuristics are the short-cuts that we use in decision making that we are oftentimes unaware that we are doing so. 

One of the heuristics is something called the Familiarity Heuristic. This is where we lean toward the known over the unknown thinking that it is safer or more reliable. 

Recently I learned about a new type of salt. For over sixty years I’ve been using Morton’s salt with iodine to salt my food. I remember my mother cautioning me that without iodine I might end up with a goiter. 

I have been religiously checking my salt for iodine ever since then. However, after taking an on-line nutrition course I learned that basically white salt has been over processed and stripped of all its minerals. 

There was a time when the overuse of salt was strictly prohibited because it was thought to raise blood pressure. I remember once in my mid-twenties as I sprinkled a basket of chips at a Mexican restaurant with salt, thinking that once I hit thirty I would start watching my salt intake. That never happened. 

What I have since learned is that the right kind of salt actually has health benefits. Of course the overly processed traditional salt is not the kind that would provide those benefits. 

I purchased some pink Redmond Real Salt from Utah, and haven’t looked back. It is chock full of minerals, and flavor and is pretty darn amazing. I do add one drop of liquid iodine to my drink at lunch to make sure I don’t end up with that forewarned goiter. 

What I found interesting, though, about this familiarity heuristic was that in my mind because I had always used white salt with iodine it must be the better choice.  

Even though, this might not actually be true. 

This concept of finding comfort in the familiar can be misleading, though. Perhaps being aware of this bias might help when confronted with a decision in the future. 

“The known is not necessarily better than the unknown.”

Michael Frank

A Heart of Gold

The youngest, but not for long, grandson, really does have a heart of gold. 

The other day he and his Mom were grocery shopping, while his older brother accompanied Dad to work. Now usually she does car pick-up, but because of the snow storm there were no more open slots, so she ventured out with one in tow. 

She told him if he was good she would buy him a Hot Wheels car. Now if you know this little guy, he’s definitely a “racey” car aficionado, so this sounded like a “great idea” as he likes to say. 

When the time came to pick out the car he wanted to get one for his brother as well. Mom explained that since brother wasn’t at the store he hadn’t really earned a car for good behavior. 

He responded with, “Okay I’ll share my car with Bubby.”

Mom couldn’t resist after such a sweet statement, and decided to go ahead and let him pick out a car for his brother. 

The other day the two boys had gotten into a brotherly tussle and I was asking the older one to apologize to his brother. Before he could even get the words out his younger brother had enveloped him in a big hug and was reassuring HIM that everything was okay. 

It melted my heart to see how this younger one was so quick to forgive, and thinks so often about his brother’s welfare. That is if he isn’t pushing a button or two when he can!

(Of course while I’m writing this he’s quite unhappy with me because I made him put on a jacket. Oh the joys of being three!)

Meet Bucker

Bucker is a lamb who had the misfortune of being the twin rejected by his mother. He was born several weeks ago at my daughter‘s place. 

When this happens the lamb has to be bottle fed several times a day. My oldest grandson who appears to be the “animal namer” of the family, named him Bucker, and immediately became quite attached to him. 

My daughter FaceTimed me several times showing the lamb in my grandson’s arms. Once they were sitting on the swing together, and that lamb showed no sign of wanting to get free.

This week I got to see Bucker in person, and was enchanted watching him run full speed ahead, like a little dog, when my grandson called him. If I didn’t know better I’d say he knows his name. 

I watched my grandson lovingly pet him, and reassures him that everything was okay. Later that day his Mom handed him the bottle, and he expertly fed that little baby. 

The entire time the little lamb’s tail was wagging ninety to nothing. It was the cutest thing to witness. 

Although, it breaks my city girl heart that a mama ewe would reject her baby, I know little Bucker is in good hands and is loved.