Empty Nest -- Again

Hello, to all my friends! I realize that I have been missing from our blogging community for about two years. Which surprisingly coincides closely to the time our 16-year-old granddaughter came to live with us.

Now, I have raised two sons, so I have faced the trials of the teenage years -- I am no novice to child-rearing. But these last two years have been about anticipation (of everything) and mixed emotions (about everything) ! Falling in love ( let's see, she is in love for the seventh or eighth time ), trying to fit into her favorite pair of jeans
( jeans from the Junior section when she is 6'1"--"but they're soooo cute"), nervous picking at those zits and sores ( I should have bought stock in Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Band-Aid ), ditching classes…sigh!, and a total slob inside her bedroom (she says I have OCD). She has been a mini tornado (we DO live in Oklahoma) with multiple personalities and mood swings; but, thankfully, she is also studious and an achiever.

Two weeks ago, she rented her first apartment, 120 miles away in Stillwater OK, where she will be attending Oklahoma State University. Yes, my studious achiever, will be an eighteen-year-old, almost junior, majoring in microbiology. I am overjoyed with her successes - highschool valedictorian, state champion soprano soloist, recipient of several scholarships, member of a national honor society. I worry that she is pushing herself too hard and too fast ( And recently found out that my worries have been correct. She is not a bright star this semester. Hopefully it will be a lesson well-learned and heeded ).

So, now I am free of worry (NOT!), free of teenage conflict (Hooray!), free to move back into MY bathroom, free to forget about cooking a nutritious dinner for a growing teenager, free to stay out as late as I want, free to sleep as late as I want, free to travel.

Free to cry because I miss her so.

Neighborly

Today I am being "neighborly". We have these very nice people who live across the North Canadian River from us. Depending on which way the river is running, our properties touch in the river or on the south bank. These neighbors are part-time residents of Oklahoma right now. O. is a doctor in Germany and hasn't quite decided to retire to our rural life, though his wife, S. is ready to move today. They originally were planning on raising and breeding horses for sale, but have found that today's economy lends itself to a need for rescuing and caring for abandoned horses and dogs.
Meine freunde (see, y'all can understand German!) have appointed me doggie nurse until they return. They have a ranch manager, but his main purpose is daily care and feeding of 40+ horses and 7 dogs. I, on the other hand, have control of the heartworm pills and veterinary visits. And today was a particularly stressful visit - for the dogs, not me.
This is Bonnie (black) and Clyde (brindle). So named for their marauding escapades on the back roads of Oklahoma. There will be no little Bonnies or little Clydes after today's visit to Dr. Stan Jenkins, DVM. He has put his mark on them. Don't you just feel for them?


In addition to major surgery ( Ask any human male you know and he will say Clyde went through MAJOR surgery), the poor puppies had to have booster shots, tick dip AND they have tape worms. So, they are lounging on my sun porch for at least 3 days in order that I might give them their daily worming.
And, how are my darling Border Collies handling all this attention Bonnie and Clyde are getting? They are relegated to their kennels for the duration. Now, that isn't as bad as it sounds. There are four 4' by 10' kennels with sleeping igloos and a 40' by 90' run. And of course, they follow me around during my gardening hours. They just can't sleep in the house, while we have company.
So S., this post is for you. I'm taking very good care of your puppies. See you around the middle of September in Germany.

Work, Work, Work

Well,  the ceiling is repaired and refinished - after one mishap that caused a week delay.  It looks great - pictures possibly on Sunday.

In the midst of the ceiling repair, we had what the Oklahoma weather forecaster called a "blizzard" - six inches of wet, blowing snow (no snickering from you northerners).  It was bad enough that the electricity was out for five hours.  That was no problem for me since I have wood and propane heat.  But, that meant no electricity to the cattle fencing.  So, off I went chasing cows in the snow.  My sister helped me fork several carts of loose hay to them since we had to lock them into corrals.  Very unhappy cows.  After the snow melted, fence patrol revealed no breaks and the cows were happily released into their pasture.

In the ensuing days, the bull got out - that resulted in a couple of days of fence repair in his pasture.  He's such a big baby that he follows me anywhere with the promise of special feed.

I have sold my 90' by 20' greenhouse, so am in the process of removing all the gardening equipment that I am keeping and creating storage space for all of it in the barn.  The difficult part is trying to find somewhere for my pottery kiln and weight machine - guess we will have to build a workshop for me.  Since my horses have died, I also have saddles and other gear to find a home for.  Maybe, I can sell them at the Lincoln County Cowboy Day - flea market for ranching and cowboy STUFF.

Since the living room is cleared of EVERYTHING, I have begun painting the walls.  I am using much deeper hued colors that I have used before.  It is intimidating and may require slipcovering the sofa, but the color scheme is growing on me.  I will have a hard time convincing my husband that the re-decorating will enhance his world though.

Gotta run.  My alarm says it is time to clean house.  I am working inside today - 35 mile an hour winds are just no fun for outdoors work.

Living Room Ceiling Repair

The result of the last several hard rainstorms - the stain is about 15' long.











So, every item had to be removed and most was STUFFED into dining room and bedroom.










Now it will look like this for the next 3 days! (Notice how I have absolutely no control over the placement of these photos).

The ceiling was done in that horrible popcorn junk in about 1983. This process is a mess, but I will be so glad to have a ceiling that I can dust. Now, if only I could afford to remove the popcorn in the other 9 rooms! I did successfully paint the bedroom ceiling and it didn't come crashing onto my head in a big messy goo. Maybe I'll try that again.

Anyway, I am going to have a nice clean, (stainless), bright living room ceiling.

And notice the paint chips on the sofa in the third picture. After all those years, living in military housing where you were forbidden to paint the white walls, my creativity has lain dormant. But, I am going to be brave and paint those white walls a nice Craftsman-style green. I DO have a degree in Art, you know. I CAN do this! I WILL do this!?

A Fun Giveaway

An apron giveaway!

Enjoy!!