Still haven't moved!

Photo of Hubby's grandparents in the sunflower fields somewhere in Saskatchewan. Canada, around the 1940's.

Can you believe this! Someone forgot to have the hydro ( electric power) pole certified, so now hydro won't hook up until the pole is capped and then it will be another 5 to 10 days for them to inspect it and hook it up. To top it off the final inspection of the house failed because the hydro was not hooked up ??? Delays delays and more delays. My daughter and her family are sick of us I am sure.

we had the telephone switched to the new place then had to switch it back and now telus is on strike!

I wonder if this is an omen? LOL Oh well it means I have the internet for a few more days anyway.
Spook ( the puppy) is growing like a weed and has taken to herding the cats. Its a good thing our male cat is so easy going. He just lays down and lets the dog sit on it if you can believe it. The smaller kitten runs like mad and usually gets away, but not always and if caught hisses and uses her claws, the puppy looks so hurt at this I just have to laugh, and then she sulks ( the puppy).
Its been a year since I quit work to follow Don here, well it will be at the end of July.
Don is still loving it and the ranch manager keeps telling him he is retiring and Don will be the manager from now on LOL, ( there is only the two of them and the boss so it doesn't really matter who manages or not ) Don says he doesn't have time to manage anything , too much repair and upkeep to catch up on , so he better not retire or the boss will have to hire someone new. All in fun of course.
They are missing two young heffers from the range, have been looking for them 2 days now. ( note: someone told them they had seen a truck and trailer up there driven by 2 native men last week, so the heffers could be long gone )

They brought in 90 large round bales from the river field, ( that's good ) and hopefully they can get at least one more cut and a growth which they leave on for when the cattle get back in the fall. All the fields are done now and on the second growth, which is not good, the rain slowed everything down , usually they have the second cut done by now.

I still haven't made any oatmeal cookies, or any cookies for that matter. I think I will soon its been long enough LOL
so this is my boring life ha ha, well to you it might be , but its not so bad for me anymore..
(( hey did you notice in this post I didn't mention "shit" (chicken, cow , or horse, ) of any kind. Things must be looking up, or I am now used to it . ))

Still Packing

I am still filling those boxes up . Its a never ending job, but for the last time I hope ha ha.
My Mother and father in law stopped by on their way home from Saskatoon. And My sister and brother in law will be here tomorrow.
The Merritt Mountain Music festival has brought in thousands and thousands of people to our little one street town. Hee hee hee.. We went into town today and there was my husband in his boots and well used ( and I do mean well used, it needs to be thrown away!) cowboy hat. This young tourist dressed to kill in new hat and boots says with a "big" drawl..Howdy partner..My hubby says in his best refined voice Hello, nice to see you. ha ha ha you should have seen the young mans face. MY hubby looked like he just crawled out of the bush somewhere , I guess you just had to be there it was so funny.
The puppy is growing like a weed, the kitten to, ( matter of fact so are my grand kids) .
(sigh..I am too only its out not up ha ha ha)

well I don't really have anything new yet to write about so I guess I go to bed. I have been sleeping all through the night lately so I guess the c-pap machine is working. Thank God, I was getting to be a total wreck.

Puppy News

We have a new puppy, A border collie ( black and white) , female, and "we" don't have her , my daughter has a new puppy, she tells us, ha ha ha. Seeing as how she is taking all the care and feeding of it I guess she can have it. She ( Sammy) is calling the puppy "Spook" because its a jumpy little thing of only 5 weeks old.
It is pure bred although we have no papers. Working dog parents, they don't seem to worry about papers , I guess if it was a show dog they would , Anyway it should be a good one for what we want, if we get the proper training for it.

its still raining on and off, and only one more field to bring in ( for hay )
mosquito's are really bad this year I am eaten alive, and they are swelling up like bee stings. Anyone know what I can do to stop the itch? I am scratching the skin of my self and leaving sore spots .Ugh!! (( not that anyone will read this to give advice anyway hee hee))
Well I am finally starting to pack . The New home is almost ready so as of next month we will be living on the ranch full time. Hubby is really excited, Me? Well I guess I can get used to chicken shit at my front door. I'll have to get myself one of those metal shoe scrapers that you lay down like a door mat. There is one there but I am sure the ranch manager will take it to his New home , I would!
Don ( hubby) has been putting in long hours and hasn't had a day off in ages. An hour here or there as he "needs it" .I'd be going nuts about now if it was me, he still loves it , even irrigating the fields.

Now get this! the Ranch managers wife makes homemade cookies ( well so do I !) But she makes them crunchy and hard NOT soft and chewy. AND she makes Oatmeal ones NOT Chock.Chip! AND she has all three ( did you get that! 3 !) cookie jars full and they never run out! 3 different types of hard crunchy oatmeal!
I told him I'm not the Ranch Managers Wife and to eat her cookies I'll make some when I get around to it. I went out and bought some..He refused them ...Then I made some ..And they're not hard enough....My daughter Sarah came and made 4 dozen peanut butter ones, ..NOT Oatmeal he said.... I haven't made any since. I'm beginning to think Ranch life for me means "in the Kitchen Woman!"
I'll be packing and painting over the next few months , so I won't be posting as much, but I'll try and post enough so you know I'm at least alive ha ha.
I'll post a photo of the puppy when I get the scanner hooked up.
see you soon
bye from "Wife on cookie strike" ha ha ha

He ran away to be a Cowboy and dragged ME along!

He ran away to be a Cowboy and dragged ME along!

Alone at last!

I have been swamped with visitors over the long weekend.
I didn't get any packing done at all, but I have to say I did enjoy the company.

My back is still not good, hobbling around with a cane most of the time.
The good news is that the C-pap machine seems to be working , I have much more energy that a few months ago.
Everyone has either gone out or gone home, I am , at last, alone...At least for a few hours ..And although I need to catch up on laundry, here I am on the computer.
That is one great thing about being retired ha ha ha...I don't have to get things done within a certain time frame..I have forever to get to the laundry.

All but one kitten are gone..Sammi wanted one so I said yes, but don't you know it is female...
I never got to go to my nieces wedding on Sat. I had loads of guests and Sarah my driver ( eldest daughter) had to work. I must remember to send them something nice,
I was going to give money for the honeymoon and right up to the last minute I thought I'd get there. I feel so guilty.....
I am so blue in this post I think I'll quit for now
later I'll get back to what's happening on the ranch ..

long weekend

I did my hospital thing... Don't know what it will show and wont for 4 to 8 weeks. They will probably just say use your C-pap machine ( and if you just make a little oops it becomes " C-rap Machine" hee hee hee)
They finally brought in the hay 80 acres that they think will self combust .. So they put it out in the sorting corrals, why there I don't know..Handy to water???
they are going to cut the bottom fields today .
We went to see Tucker ( Sam's horse) last night . He has a rope burn on his foot, but otherwise seems OK. Tomorrow they are starting the wagon. What I mean is they are training him to pull a wagon. Ha ha ha.
My mother and father-in-law are here for the long weekend. Mom looks so much better than the last time I saw her. ( they are in their 80's) well she is up so I'll go for a while,not much time to post while they are here.
bye

rill

Cows got out of their field today

The "babies" got out again. For some reason the orphans seem to think my yard is better than their fields are. They every so often push down the barb wire gate and get through to my yard. That isn't so bad ( they eat the grass and I don't have to mow) but its what they leave behind, large "pies" . Ranch life has given me a phobia about animal poo!
We really must get the wooden gate up soon
Tucker ( Sam's horse) is away being trained, and wont be back until probably September sometime. Sam is sad, but fast recovering with new boyfriend John. Oh to be 15 again hee hee hee.
Hospital for me tonight, I had an overnight sleep test to do. This Sleep Apnea stuff is the pits.

Today is cloudy with rain expected and the hay isnt in yet!!

Today is cloudy with rain expected and the hay is not in yet. I don't know how good it will be anyway as Don cut it days ago and it rained like mad after that . He has swathed it a couple of times and is bailing it today. Hummm I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about hee hee hee. Although I am not a city girl, I really know nothing about ranching .I was raised until I was 10 in England and after we came to Canada we lived on 25 acres of bush ha ha, (My Dad always planed to farm it but never got more that 2 or 3 acres into fields.) Anyway after Don and I married we went to Vancouver , until the children started to arrive . After that we decided we rather raise our family in the country ( really the suburbs) So I have to say Ranch life if a big change, Hubby ( Don) is having the time of his life. Me? Well I guess I'll get used to wearing shoes all the time! I do NOT like chicken poop between my toes! bye Rill PS the above photo is of Sammi and her horse Tucker

This should be June 20th, 2005

Well I'll start at the beginning of the end..Where else to start? I'm tired all the time, Hubby worked out of town and was hardly ever home. I have a 15 year old daughter still at home and worked at the post office, can I say any more? I'm always tired. Well I said that once to often in my hubby's hearing, quit you job he says...NO I said...Back and forth it went for at least 6 months. Then one day hubby phones and says he has a new job offer on a ranch in Merritt. Now you have to understand we are 54 years old! This is not the time to runaway and be a cowboy sez I . A month goes by and then one evening ( hubby phones everynight LOL) he said" I took that job , you can quit and move here in the spring"...That was that! What would you do? I was renting a house and the owners wanted back in, so I had to move anyway, but sticking to my guns Sammi and I moved into a condo right down town Vernon.. 15 year old,! Downtown! Oh my God was that a mistake! So by the time July 2004 came I was done in..Yup, I caved and gave my notice at work for the end of August .Hubby came and moved us along with the ranch manager and his wife AND the ranch owner. Now we live 16 miles from a small town Now you'd think that would be the end of it right? NO WAY! When I get here the basement suite is one finished room in the ranch managers basement, its large and has a couch and its own bath room, but is a little small for 3 . We lived in our motor home & our 15 year old in the basement..Not to bad, thank god the people are friendly here..I can't say I'd like a whole family moving in one me ! You see there is more! My older married daughter with 2 children ages 2&3 had been asked to leave her mother-in-laws ( to put it politely ) so ended up coming with us. Her hubby works out of town also and was not there to help her. They put up with all of us until Oct when Sarah and the kids rented a house in town. Then in the middle of November we find a place also, until the new mobile house comes for the Ranch manager and family.. Then we get the old one , its very old , but will make a good home with a little work I think. Well that all for today I'll sign off with a little poem

For you to see, a story about me?

well that's as fun as it can be!

I'm sorry, there's not much to say,

maybe I should leave this for another day?

well I quit my job and no longer deliver the mail

now I carry an old milk pail!

well not really, but its just a rhyme

and I though it might give a laugh to ye old pals of mine..

In my closet there sits a large box of high heels

that I no longer ware 'cause here's the new deal..

the bull pens' all muck

(god how I hate all that guck!)

there's chickens to feed

and baby calf's to lead up to the new pen ,

( they number 10)

with 60 more to come

before we are done!

Anyway , my city shoes

I'd be bound to loose

in fields full of goo

(eek.. Or is that just poo!)

So each morning I put

on each dainty foot

something large , black and shiny

that fits almost up to my "hiney"

yup, its rubber boots for me

they just fit to a tee!

I no longer ware skirts

its jogging pants and T-shirt

My hair need a hairdresser

it just couldn't be messier

Hey, you know what?

I'm not complaining at least not a lot

I really love it here you see

and I wonder if you 're having as much fun as me?

Now I have to go but from all of you I'd like to know

Do you love what you do? does it make you glow?

Are you happy? , do your feet still get "tappy"?

are you still having fun

when its all said and done

for life is so much better when you love what you do

(even if your ankle deep in goo!)