What's in a Name?

I was curious about my name. I saw this on Dean's blog and decided to try it. Yeah, I was bored too. lol

Surprisingly, it rings true for me. I don't know about 54 being my lucky number though.

Sunday Stroke Survival~ ARGH! Despair and Agony on Me!

Not really! I just wanted to say the title yo see what it felt like. I've honestly never felt this way totally. So many stroke survivors live daily this way day in and day out. My question is why? Life sent you a curve ball and you have a decision to make...whether to swing and possibly hit it out of the park or take to strike.

I've never been one to take a strike. I root for the underdog and go for hitting the ball out of the park. I may miss but I at least try. That's how I feel about my stroke. It's a curve ball. I had dreams and aspirations before my stroke, and now it's just a matter of getting back to it.

Every so often I play a "Gotcha Day." It's been a long time since I've done one. It's a fun thing to do...telling a tidbit of information and see how it embellishes itself in the retelling. In other words...feeding the rumor mill.

I announced I was building a tiny house and homestead. Well, not so recently it was three years ago. But recently, I've evaluated the story from various sites and family to see where it led.

Comments among relatives...

• She's lost her mind since the stroke and her impeding death of her husband.
• How can she manage by herself? I mean look at her.
• I admire her courage but it's insane!
• Don't worry. It's just a fantasy and it will never happen.

On the web...

• The great homesteading experiment. 
• Grassroots and seat of your pants back to basics.
• My 20-acre homestead adventure has now grown to 1,000 plus.
• I now have cows and horses.
• I've failed at the attempt and have given up.

The truth...

Yes, my stroke and a major financial crunch has made me rethink my plans of homesteading. I've sold my 20 acres or at least it's on the market. I'm still playing it smart urban homesteading instead. The curve ball has had a definite influence. For one thing, the big move has been delayed in part because of my stroke and my husband's rapidly failing health.

I'm rethinking the scale of my property. I'm downsizing it by half and looking for five to ten acres of land. I still want the pond and/or creek.  Two daughters will not be joining me on the homestead. They have built or are in the process of building their own. I've played at gardening for two years post stroke and can do it. I'm also researching an aquaponics system.

I've been raising my chickens for years now so I know I can do it. I'll need to build a bigger house for the new ones. My four girls have steadily producing less eggs now that they've reached the five year mark so they are destined for the next stage of their life...food for me.

I have a plan to build another pallet and hoop house for them which will give a lot more room to the new chickens. I'm going for twenty next round for eggs, meat, and fun.

Based on this design

I have a two-year plan for raising and breeding Angora rabbits. With plans on purchasing a breeding trio (1 males and two females) this winter. I've converted a double closet into a rabbitry to house them. This should house four-six rabbit easily giving each ample room. Yes I still have Buddy too. He's not going anywhere.

Speaking of Buddy...I had to remove Bella (my female Guinea Pig) out of the big cage. He developed nasty habit of plopping down on top of her. Her irritated squeals and actually biting him made it a necessity. His ten pounds versus her two and a half pounds. They still chat when he jumps up to his second level and when they are in the outside tractor. Although like most couples she does all the talking and he stoically listens not saying anything. :)

I've plucked over two pounds of fiber from Buddy. I now take him to Pet Supplies Plus and the manager cuts his nails for me since I have no kids around me now. No recent pictures because he's molting. Angoras do this yearly. He looks like a hot mess. But, he's a happy, loving mess. It's a bit creepy to see him without fur. Rabbits have very thin skin so the veins show, but I can do a thorough skin exam on him.

The plan is for pure bred, blue-eyed, white, French Angoras. That's not to mean that Buddy can't have his turn at breeding either. But alas, these hybrids will be raised for the next stage of life, my freezer. Yes, I'm practical about this and I have a plan. I'll breed for food, wool, or sale. That means every four-six months or so I'll have babies. I did something similar with my meat rabbits who are now in their next life. I bred on demand. When I needed meat, I bred them.

The plans is for an eight-ten hole rabbitry and no bigger. But I'm starting small with four. I'm taking baby steps towards my pre-stroke dreams. I tried my hand at butchering rabbits. It wasn't pretty doing it one handed and it took forever! But I tried it and did it. At least with one rabbit this winter. My grandson did the other two. But I imagine it will get easier with practice. I haven't tried butchering chickens yet but their time is coming just as soon as the need-to-be-purchased chicken come and age up a bit.

I decided on this new design

Someone asked me why a tiny house. While the idea of living in less than 200 square feet seemed daunting for two or more people, I'll soon be alone. It seems logical to me. Less space + less stuff= less clean up. I mean really how much stuff do you really need? The fact that it's tiny means the possibility of less falls. I mean there's always something close to grab onto.

Besides most of my time will be spent outdoors anyhow. I do plan on building a barn to house my rabbitry, chickens and goats.
Yes, goats. My independent living plan includes Pygora goats. Goats are terrific for clearing underbrush. They'll mow your grass. They'll provide wool. They'll provide milk. They'll provide meat. Makes sense to me. Sounds like a win-win situation.

Why I decided on Pygora goats? They are small about the size of one of my German Shepherds. At 75-95 pounds, they are manageable versus their counterparts at over 150 pounds and the size of a Great Dane. I can call someone for hoof care and shearing once a year or get a grandchild to do it. I can almost guarantee that once I have semi mastered rabbit and chicken butchering, doing something bigger won't be a problem.

So that's the truth. My stroke may have delayed the enviable, but it hasn't stopped me. It's the curve balls in life that make the journey more interesting. Yes, we can honestly live more easily without them, but that would be so-o-o boring. Baby stepping may be the safest way to go about a goal, but to me, it's better than cliff digging. Life is all about the learning process. Getting there is half the fun and once you get where you are going, the stuff of memories.

So what are you going to do with your curve balls?

Nothing is impossible with determination.

Friday Fun~ My Birthday!

Yep, it's that time of year again. All together now... "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you---"

"Quick, somebody get the fire extinguisher before the whole house goes up in flames!"

No, not really. Open flames are not allowed in my house any more because of my hubby's oxygen. They aren't needed anyhow. Just to count that many candles, there would be nothing left of them by the time you finished. I imagine you'd have a hard time lighting all of them before they were stubs. Yeah, I'm an old fart.

But now on to the fun part...presents!

Remember me talking about this loom and to save money I was going to build my own? I even went out and bought the wood and the nails. My husband took over drilling the nail holes for me. He's averaging about four holes a day. Sweetie that he is. At that rate it'll be a month before he gets all the holes drilled, but he's still hard at it.

Well, imagine my surprise when the UPS man knocked at my door with a package for him yesterday. My hubby got his pocket knife out and slit the tape, and he handed it to me saying, "happy birthday." The old sneaky leprechaun that he is had gotten on the internet and ordered my birthday present. I opened the box to find the All-in-one loom I wanted. He also assured me that he'd keep on working on my homemade loom too. But he didn't want me to wait until he finished it to knit to my heart's content.

All together now, "Awwwww!"

My birthday. Another year of celebrating it with my husband. Another year of surprises and joy. Another year of wisdom hard won. Another year in stroke recovery. AND another year to spent with those I love.

Friday Fun ~ Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

I our households we get together every two weeks as a family for a fun day. Four grown children, spouses and their children. This weekend is it. We've run into a situation where my grandchildren have started telling fibs. Not the older ones mind you. They've learned they will get caught, but the younger ones not so much. So it's time for "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire."

Years ago I came up with a game when my children were growing up. It was based on the Red light-Green light and Truth or Dare. I'm not the judge. The children are. It gives them a chance to tell whoppers and face the consequences. It also a lesson about lying. All my games and stories have a lesson in there somewhere. The consequences are basically harmless like getting shot with a water gun or sticking your hand into goo and finding a clothes pin of disgrace to wear the rest of the day. I cut the spots out of old carpet or you can use cardboard. They will get messy.

Each older child will serve as the gate keeper to begin with while an adult monitors the game for foul play. They start at the starting line and there are dots for forward progress.  There's about ten spots to the end. When I'm playing this with the older ones, it's twenty. Adults are omnipotent beings which can always tell when children are fibbing in a child's mind although it doesn't stop them from trying.

Playing the game:

• Each child at the starting line and makes the choice to either tell a lie or a truth.

• If they choose a lie, the gatekeeper has to judge whether it's a truth or a lie. This builds decision making skills in the older children.
• If the child telling the lie/truth is judged wrong they put a regular clothes pin on the judge's shirt. Five pins on the judge's shirt gets him replaced. The teller of the truth/ lie step forward one spot.
• If judged right or caught in a lie,the child has to pick a clothes pin out of the bucket of goo and wear it. Five cloths pins and they are out of the game but still need to wear the clothes pins while at Grandma's house.
• This continues on until one child reaches the judge position at the front of the line and becomes the judge. As much as they think of this as a reward, judging right from wrong is hard.
• If a water gun is used no head shots. Those can be painful.

While this is fun for all involved it is also learning.

Now the adults in the group play their own version of "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" called poker. Usually Texas Hold 'em. We all start out with even amount of chips. They put a dollar per player and we put in ten...so twenty bucks is up for grabs, gas money. With my fuel perks I save that much and more each month with 20 gallons costing me $2.20 to $10 per fill up a month so I can afford it. The winner takes it all.

Whatever you do to have fun- be safe, involve others, and relax. You are among friends.

Friday Fun ~ My Blog/My Friend

Can you have fun writing a blog? I do. This blog and my other one have become cherished friends over the past year. How sick is that? Whew! I finally got that off my chest.

Yes, I've put a lot of time here too and in reading other people's blogs. I've learned a lot, comforted others, and interacted with others.

Am I becoming a geek? Honestly, I've always been one. I was the person in grade or high school you went to for help. This carried on through college every time I went back. I was the first on my block to buy a $600 VCR back when they cost that much. The first to buy a home computer and learned old programming languages to write my own programs. One of the first to get a dedicated phone line for the internet among my friends.

I've met a lot of people that I'll probably never met in person in real time via the internet. In fact, I met one person that I've chatted with for decades via the net just two years ago. We met halfway between NYC and Georgia which was Washington D.C. I was going to be at NIH in Bethesda anyhow.

Our children grew up with their cyber-buddies too. They helped each other with problems and day to day issues all via emails and an occasional phone call.. When we were getting ready for our first meeting my friend and I realized we had no idea what we looked like. Our children had passed pictures back and forth but we never had. It wasn't important to us. When we met it was, "Lisa?" "Jo?"

Over the years cyber-friends take the place of real life friends if you let it. I could be reclusive. Most geeks are but I'm not. I realize that even this blog has a way of reaching people I may never meet, but would love to. I'm different than a lot of geeks. I am a people person too. I enjoy all types of interaction by whatever means possible.

I've always said I've never met a stranger. I get that trait from my Dad. In later years it became, a stranger is someone you haven't met yet. I still firmly believe that. It's the advice I give people who afraid of strangers. Once you meet them they are not strangers anymore, but of course they can be stranger than you. Stranger than you maybe, but not me. I'm the queen of Abby Normal. All hail the queen. (pulled these lines from my ancient blog now defunct without additional input)

But is it fun? For me, yes! I love to write. Blogging equals writing. Okay not many blogs are word intensive like mine. But hey, I'm a writer. I make a living with words. I enjoy talking to people. Even though I can't talk clearly anymore, I can still talk this way. It's a form of communication.

Those that have met me in person will tell you I always have a story to tell. It's a good thing I'm a storyteller and writer. I don't think there's a incident borne by man I don't have a story about or couldn't make one up for any given situation. There's very few times I don't have anything to say.

So here's a toast to all friends met and unmet,
To friends cyber and real,
To fun and having fun,
 To writing and writers,
To readers of fairy tales and their authors.
And to all of you...
be you young or young at heart,
be you healthy or infirmed,
be you beautiful or two grocery bags ugly.
This blog is for you.

Keep writing and loving the Lord

Sunday Stroke Survival~ Having Fun Yet and Playing with Food

I'm embracing my one handedness in the kitchen. Well sort of, I'm playing. Do you remember how your mother chastised you when you were younger for playing with your food? I know mine did. That's something I never did to my children or grandchildren. I encourage it.

I have some very strong feelings on this matter.  I'm a chef because I love to play with food. I taught my retarded daughter fractions, reading, and what things felt like and tasted like by encouraging her to play with food. This same daughter was a pastry chef at a five star-five diamond resort, and still loves to play with food and different textures. She in turn encourages all children to play with food.

She received high praise from her boss for teaching a bunch of children (50) to build their own gingerbread houses. No parents were allowed into the class, and she made sure they were as clean as when the class started when it was over. He presented her with her very own Henckel chef's knife. If you are not familiar with this brand of knife, this is the Porche of knives. But I digress. What can I say, I'm a proud momma.

My DH (darling hubby) bought me a cake pop maker for Christmas as I mentioned last Sunday. I've been playing with it ever since. When you have one working hand anything you can pick up and eat is easier. With these at most, it's two bites and you get another.

Now you know me, Mrs. Abby Normal. I can't leave well enough alone. I start searching the web for other things I can make with this nifty new toy. For Christmas, I made penguin decorated cake pops. I didn't bother with the lollipop sticks because they looked cute on a layer of cotton candy snow on a plate. I also made a large vase full of Christmas ornaments decorated cake pops. (I got the direction online) I also made some reindeer. Nobody could believe I did it with one hand.

No roast beast with all the fixings, just some pop in your mouth desserts. Now, making them seven at a time was a bit of a hardship, but I was playing and having fun. It was an affirmation what I could do one handed.

But since then, I have been experimenting. I've made corn dogs by slicing a hot dog and then quartering each slice, and a box of cornbread mix. I use Martha White because Jiffy is just too sweet. Two hot dogs was all it took. My DH gave me the ultimate praise when he said they reminded him of the corn dog street vendors in New York City. The good vendors do not use frozen corn dogs. He and I used to live up in the northern and northern Midwest States, and then transplanted to south Georgia. A little mustard to dip them in and some tater tots and we had a meal in the time it took the tater tots to cook. No nasty grease to clog the arteries either.

Bisquick has a recipe for sausage balls as an appetizer on their website. Since I'm allergic to pork, I substituted turkey sausage, low fat grated cheddar cheese, and some rehydrated dry, minced onions. All I can say is, "OMG!" I've also made pancake and turkey bacon balls, cinnamon rolls (balls), blueberry muffin balls, and am still playing with the machine.

The Rubbermaid mixing bowls with the pour spout has a rubber grip on the bottom and makes a wonderful hand mixing bowl. It doesn't move stirring with one hand. If all else fails there is the Dycem mat. Muffins don't like mixers. They tend to get tough. Oh, did I mention I'm having fun? Yeah, I did and am. My writer brain started churning again. What else could be made in this little machine? Would there be a market for the recipes? Hm, another book? Possibly. Beyond Cake Pops is in the recipe testing stages. I've never written a cookbook before although many have asked me to. I'll never say never where writing is concerned anymore.

On Christmas day, the look in my father's eyes when I propped my cane against a bar stool and walked to him will always be held close to my heart. I have been practicing around my house for weeks. There haven't been too many times in my life when I've seen tears well up in his eyes, but this was one of them. He made a point to brush them aside and tell me to sit down before I fell down, but I could tell he was proud. It was something he never thought he would see again.

So I've turned the corner and accepted my one-handedness, not that it's forever. I still hold out hope that I may get it back, but until then, I'm becoming more handi-capable each day and doing some of the things I love to do. I'm still doing dishes in my bathroom sink. I tried doing them in a dishpan without good results. I made some new potholders for my kitchen using my left handed scissors and my sewing machine. My old ones seem to have been eaten by my daughter's washing machine...no, I haven't tackled the laundry yet.

 

So I'm taking it slow and easy because my energy level is still low, and combined with the heavy doses of muscle relaxers, it's a no win situation. Seven months post stroke and counting. This week I've hit the 32K word mark on the rough draft of Don't Get Your Panties in a Wad so the book is progressing one experience at a time. Still a mess as far as organization, but that too will change.

Next year, I had planned to buy back all my previously published copyrighted books, but that too is on hold indefinitely. Paying for therapy is #1. My focus for the coming year is to finish this book, maybe, and recover as much as I can.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Friday Fun Review "Apollo 18"

 Apollo 18

2011   86 minutes

Starring:

Gonzalo Lopez, Brian Miller, Timur Bekmambetov  

Synopsis
NASA's cancelled trip to the moon in the 1970s is the basis for this found-footage-style picture exploring if the urban legend were true that the mission actually did occur and the proof of extraterrestrial life exists on film.

My grade:
"A" for content
"A" for acting
"Yes" for would I watch it again. In fact, I've watched it 3 times so far.

 My eclectic tastes are showing because this movie is science fiction, conspiracy theory, and a thriller all rolled into one. The film maker would have you believe that the movie was spliced together footage of a secret Apollo mission. Having had watched the news of all televised segments of the Apollo missions in real life this movie comes pretty darn close.

The tension is felt as is the fear. Exploring a Russian capsule on the moon was riveting filmed by headlamps so you only get tiny glimpses of what is going on so it up the watcher in the astronaut's point of view. Everything was true to the 1970s because I can remember back that far.

Filmed in black  and white adds to the "authenticity" of the footage shown. It is believable. The action sequences are true to life. The website they show at the end...don't bother going to it...it's a ploy. I was gullible enough to try. The movie has enough action and scares enough to jerk by paralyzed arm up. A reflex reaction like when I sneeze not positive/active movement.

My recommendation- See it and believe it or not.

Speaking of the Apollo missions did you know Neil Armstrong is often misquoted for his famous line?

He actually said, "This is one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind."

Just a bit of trivia from a person who actually met him.

Friday Fun~ Review of "Stake Land"

Stake Land
 2010  98 minutes

Cast:

Danielle Harris, Kelly McGillis, Connor Paolo, Michael Cerveris, Bonnie Dennison, Chance Kelly, Sean Nelson, Nick Damici, Adam Scarimbolo, Marianne Hagan

Genre:

Vampires, Horror 

 

Synopsis

This genre-bending thriller combines vampires, religious fanatics and post-apocalyptic horrors with a coming-of-age tale that finds drifter Mister (Nick Damici) training young Martin (Connor Paolo) to survive the nightmare that has become America as they journey to New Eden. While they combat the mutated bloodsuckers and vicious humans seeking to rule the land, Mister and Martin rescue other wanderers and become a tightly knit family of warriors.

 

My grade:

"B" for content

"A" for the acting

"Maybe" for watching it again

 

Okay, I'm back into horror this week. I know I',m way behind the times this movie has been out for a few years. I actually misread the title when I first looked at it. I was wondering what does skating have to do with vampires? LOL Anyhow, what drew me in was the post-apocalyptic premise more than actual vampires. I don't necessarily consider myself a vampire fan. I'm more into zombies. After all, that's what I write.

For a vampire movie it wasn't half bad. Enough gore to hold my interest. No real make-me-want-to-pee-my-pants shocks. Good action sequences. The story line was interesting. I loved the unexpected changes of attitude in the character of Mister. All the characters were believable. I became invested in what happened within the family group. The mysterious Mister appeared in the beginning and disappeared in the same  way at the end leaving the watcher to wonder what happened to him.

 

All in all, a decent movie for vampire fans or not. But it's one of those movies, if you've seen it once...it's enough.

 

Friday Fun~ Review of "The Genesis Code"

The Genesis Code

2010  137 minutes

Starring:

Logan Bartholomew, Kelsey Sanders

Directors:

C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Read Johnson

Synopsis

 When a journalism student interviews a college hockey star, she learns that he doesn't believe science is compatible with religion.

I'd give this movie:

"A" for content.

"B" for acting with exception of Ernest Borgnine who was superb as the boy's grandfather.

"Definitely" in watch again category.

I was drawn in by the title when I was looking for something to watch the other evening. I wasn't in the mood for  horror, an overly played romance, or a sit on the edge of my seat thriller. I get in one of my moods and just want to watch something different. So I clicked "play" and was pleasantly surprised.

As you know, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I'm a minister as well as an author. One of the greatest conjecture points between Nonchristians and even Christians is the beginning of Genesis. How God created the Earth in six days. Science can clearly show that it took millions of years to create Earth, right?

I don't mean to get on a preacher's soap box here. It's just of fact.The movie marries science and the Bible, and does it beautifully. Taking a bunch of physics geeks, hockey players, an anthropology professor, and a minister. The minister's kids are one of the physics geeks and the other a journalist. Although, I personally believed that God's time and ours is a difference of perspective I couldn't have explained it half as well as this movie did. It was a real eye opener.

If you get a chance, rent it. Or if you have NetFlix, watch it. It will be well worth your time.