Visit of the Coos

So, Coo's family came down to visit this last weekend and we had a lot of fun. I e-mailed some photos to some of you. FarmerBoy had special powers getting NooCoo to eat. We didn't do anything exciting while they were here, but we had fun visiting with them. Above, are some photos that NooCoo and I took using the webcam. We would take one pic and I would show it to her and she would say "AGAIN!" So, we took several shots in the style of photo booth pictures. Hope you enjoy them. I'd post others, but they are on my memory card in my camera next door, so these will have to do. Baby JooCoo is very fond of his food and would eat 24 hours a day if given the chance, but still maintains his long, lean figure through exercise routines of wiggling, and crawling. JooCoo also said his first word while down visiting us. The word was "daddy" which I think pleased his mom YooCoo as NooCoo also said her first word while at our house last year. Her first word "doggie".

The whole Coo family came trick-or-treating at our houses and I have posted a photo of this below.

Yes, I'm scared of my cat.

Every night, as I walk through the door from work, I am met by 2 dogs and 2 cats. It's not because I give them lots and lots of attention. They meet me for other reasons. The cats meow and the dogs talk for the next 15-20 minutes, letting me know that it is time to be fed. I let the dogs and one of the cats into the garage where I feed them in the following order: The cat (Callie)is fed dry food on top of the cupboard, so the dogs don't eat her food. Oscar is fed one scoop of dog food next because food is, arguably, the most important thing in his life. That and he will take the bowl from Zephyr if you feed Zephyr first. So, whether or not he is given food first, he eats the first bowl of food. Zephyr then gets a scoop on the side of the garage with no cars. This is because he picks up his bowl and moves it so that Oscar won't eat it, and he frequently leaves the bowl behind my car tires if he is fed on the side of the garage with the cars. Next, Oscar gets another half scoop--partially because he is bigger, but mostly because he tends to have bad food manners and has been known to steal the roast off the of the table or the beef jerky off of the radio. He knows he shouldn't do this, but he just loves his food too much. Thus, usually we remember to keep meat, cheese, and applesauce products in the middle of the table and not close to the edges.

Finally, I go back in the house and feed Tabitha (the other cat) on top of the terrarium. Again, so the dogs don't get her food. She gets a can of cat food of the poultry or beef variety. Why the canned? Because she bites me if she only gets dry food. Why the poultry or beef variety? Because she bites me if it is fish. If I don't feed her when she wants on weekends, you guessed it, she bites me. Don't worry, she always licks me before she bites because she is very particular about cleanliness and having a clean surface to bite.

I realize that this isn't logical to let her bite me since she is seven pounds and I am............a whole lot more than seven pounds, but apparently I'm scared of my cat because I keep letting her use her mind control powers to get me to feed her what she wants. I guess she does own me.

New Arrivals and Coloring Fun

So, FarmerBoy and I went to SLC and got a call from S.Q. letting us know that he saw Compost Chicken (the chicken that doesn't like the other chickens and lives at the compost pile) crossing the lawn with at least at little chicks. We have since found out that there are at least 11 chicks. We haven't named them yet, as we expect several of them to disappear to predators. The other day I went to take a picture of Compostie with her little family and the picture below is what she thought of the idea.


This next picture shows a few of the chicks (most of them are black). Tonight I had to wait for a bit while she got her family out of the driveway and herded out of my path:

Today, at work, I finally cleaned out my fridge that has been sitting unplugged for two months because I stole the extension cord for something else. It was truly gross and growing lots of mold. Loo would be proud of the science experience. I opened the front door and used some Clorox Cleanup, that I got on my pants, which ended up looking like this:

So, I used some of these:



And my pants and leg ended up looking like this:

I then washed and dried my pants to see if that would blend the colors and make them better. Here is the result:

Not what I was hoping for. I guess my lesson is learned. At least until the next time I get Clorox on my clothes.

The return of the lazy blogger

Dear all 5 blog readers, I have decided to create a new blog post, so as not to be outdone by Roo. You really should read her latest blog post about Dieter Dolls here.

Life has been going on slowly, but surely. I've actually had some energy lately, so I've finished several craft projects, some of which I may someday post a picture of if I remember. I've also accomplished several things at work that I have successfully postponed for months.

The Wii Saga
In my new purchases news, I bought a Wii at the end of May; however, said Wii is still not hooked up. Why, you ask did I buy a Wii when my parents already have one next door. Because I'm fat and would like to be not so fat...and I get sick in the heat and the parents house isn't very cool. I am only allowed to exercise on my Wii, should it ever get hooked up. All fun games must be played at Ma and Pa's house (at least until I lose my resolve) Why isn't the Wii hooked up? It isn't that hard, you say. Let me share the saga. I go to hook up the Wii and discover that all of the working ports on my switch box are full. So, I go buy a newer, bigger, better switch box and go to hook it up, only to discover that the power strip is full. I buy an extension cord to run from another plug (so I don't blow a fuse). I go to plug in said extension cord and discover (remember) that I live in an old house and all of the plug-ins have two holes and not three. I go buy several adapters so that I can plug in my extension cord (and other things throughout the house. I think I am ready to go as soon as I figure out which outlets are on which circuits.

The Smells in my Life
Also, my house currently has a very funky smell that I cannot figure out. There are no dead vermin that I can find. I found a puddle of water in the kitchen, which may be the source of the stench, but have not yet figured out where it came from. I tried to open the fridge to see if a more horrific waft of putrid air of the same variety would assault my olfactory senses. (Loo and I are very practiced at identifying and producing smells in a fridge. Ma suggested that the puddle of water was something that got in the house and died and then liquified. I informed her that I would have noticed the smell earlier. So, I have spent the last night and probably tonight next door at Ma and Pa's house, avoiding the nasty smell at my house.

As for the good smell in my life, I picked up food from my new favorite drive-through in Delta, El Jaliciense and it smelled fabulous. The smell of the churros and the healthier food mixed together was almost more than I could handle on the drive home. I do have to say that Chewy made a good decision selling water stock to open the restaurant.

Social News
All I can say on this front is that yesterday when Ron P. came into the office, I requested that he bring me back a husband from Scotland, when he, his wife, son Doug, and daughter-in-law go across the pond this summer. Note to MBC: You may also try to find me a Scottish husband while you are traversing the British Isles. Irish, Welsh, and English candidates are also acceptable.

Have a lovely day and enjoy this post. At this rate, you won't see another post for a month or two.

All for Names & Names for All

Growing up, we always named the dogie calves that we bottle-fed. We named them after food (Choco, named by Da stood for chocolate-oreo), t.v. characters (Radar from MASH) Princess (nothing in particular), as well as colors (Orange Calf, Black Calf). We even had one named after another animal (Doggie, who acted strangely like a dog). We also named the problem cows, some were named #$@%&#!* and one was named Francois.

Apparently, this makes the family think, (me particularly) that many animals should be named. Ma named the peahens Mabel and Gladys. We don't know which is which, but it doesn't matter as they are never more than 10 feet apart and seem to share a brain. We have a hen that has taken up residence near our "gunk" or compost pile. I have creatively named her Compost Chicken.

I also give another name to general species (usually of the pest varieties). I have given all spiders the named of Fred, George, or Jorge. Loo and I have named all mice Hermie. This mouse "nickname" has caught on in the family with Pa, Eliza B. and Loo's husband all using the term "Hermie" to refer to mice. Perhaps naming the vermin makes me feel as if they aren't as truly gross and disturbing as I usually find them to be(mice are more disturbing than spiders, in my opinion). Or...perhaps it is so that I can live in denial that there are pests around (no, I'm not telling you how "around"), but that the pests are actually "friends" around and this is all just a mental game that I play with myself. You should be confused after the last sentence. At the very least, "naming" the pests gives me a name to shout when I see said critter. As in "HERRRRRRRRMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE! Get Away! I do not want to see you."

Now there is a squirrel in the garage stealing cat food and eating flowers off of plants (see Ma's post here. So, I have decided that it is now necessary to give the squirrel species a "name". Now, I ask you blog readers to help out by suggesting nicknames. Here are the rules:
1. Leave a nickname suggestion in the comment section.
2. All names must be male nicknames, because males (contrary to some media reports, and with the exception of seahorses) do not have babies that infest your space.
3. Name suggestions must be submitted by Sunday, June 14, 2009 by 11 p.m. MDT.
4. After the close of suggestions, a poll will be created, so that you in blogland (aka my family and a few friends) may vote.

Disclaimer: We may or may not use the nickname that is chosen.

Moving, Moving, Moving

I've changed my blog background, and I realize that the font is a little hard to read, but you'll just have to deal with it, so there.

We moved cattle today and it went very smoothly--only one cow jumped a fence. That is pretty darn good. We move them 1-2 miles and my job is to stop traffic at the south end, where the cows turn. I had 12 vehicles stopped on the highway on my end and Ma had seven or eight. "A" came down to help with the fun and learned how to wave her arms to scare cows. You may visit here blog here for more details and photos. You may also visit Ma's blog for a more detailed account.

Not too much has been going on in my life recently. A mouse had the nerve to get in my car and die. This is my second car, and a mouse has died in each one. I'd appreciate it if they would choose someone else's car to die in. However, the smell has finally dissipated, thank goodness. Dead mice are a hazard of living on a farm. Live ones, too, but I don't want to say that. Work continues onward and has been a bit busy for the last couple of days, but I've still had plenty of time to stay up on my T.V. shows via the Internet.

I'm excited for "So You Think You Can Dance" to start this next week. It is much better than American Idol, though I wonder what MBC will do when she is in Europe for the summer. Guess she'll just have to watch them on YouTube.

Well, that's all the fun for today. I hope all you family members participated in our 1K walk today, so that you earned your participation prizes.

A Special Saturday Before Easter Post

I have changed my blog background special for you. The pink is a close-up of actual cotton candy bought in Delta for 25 cents. The "Jelly Beans" are actually Spring M&Ms that I photographed. Included below are pictures to help you feel like you were here!