Monthly Archives: February 2015

27 02, 2015

Operettas and New Chicks

By |2015-02-27T06:00:23-06:00February 27th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The private school where I teach music does a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta each year and has for the past 37 years.  When I took the job I specified that I could not help with the operetta.  Our children were still in elementary school and I knew the time commitment of a performance would be beyond my ability.  This was fine as I was teaching only the elementary grades.

Our enrollment has declined over the past few years so I am now the only music teacher which means I am helping with the operetta.

This year the Gala performance was last Friday evening. We had rehearsals all day every day last week. My Tuesday/Thursday teaching job became a Monday through Friday job.  Brian asked me Wednesday evening if I would have time on Thursday to pick up 25 chicks he had ordered.

I took a deep breath and said “Sure, I can go during lunch.”

Now picking up chicks sounds pretty simple but, remember, they have bird brains.  Each chick must have their beak dipped in the water trough so they know where to get water.  Knowing the limited amount of time I had for lunch, I decided to enlist some help. I couldn’t afford to miss any rehearsal time.

One of the students in the operetta is an experienced chick handler so I took her with me. She knew exactly what to do.

I explained to the directors where I was going and what I was doing.  They had no idea how much was involved with picking up the chicks.  I felt more like an animal science teacher than a music director.

chicks in brooderNow we have chicks in the brooder in the garage once again.

We can hear them cheeping happily as we eat breakfast every morning.  I check them regularly to make sure they have food and water along with the quail, big chickens, bantam chickens, dogs and humans.

Helping with the operetta doesn’t seem like so much work any more.

25 02, 2015

4 Ways to Keep Your Productive Faucet Flowing

By |2015-02-25T06:00:34-06:00February 25th, 2015|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

February is almost over. We’re moving at warp speed through 2015. So how are you doing on those plans and resolutions from New Year’s Day?

If you’re like me, that faucet of enthusiasm has slowed to a trickle or off entirely. Barely a drip.water1

It’s time to heed the words of a great writerly quote from Louis L’Amour, an American author of hundreds of authentic western novels:

“The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

The full quote, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” provides great advice for writers.

You see when life spins out of control writers, well at least to this writer, lets the distractions stop my writing. Instead of moving ahead, I tend to think, “I’ll just finish __________ then I’ll get back to writing.”

Fill in the blank with whatever distracts you from working toward your goal. You don’t have to be a writer to fall into the distraction trap.

What happens is each passing day we don’t work on our goal or resolution, it becomes easier not to do what we planned. Doesn’t take long before self-doubt makes us question if our project is even worth the time at all.

Here are four ways I plan to get myself back on track, and turn my faucet on again.water2

Establish a Schedule

A schedule doesn’t have to be set in stone or the same every single day or week. Make it adjustable. Most important, put the time slots on your calendar the way you would any other appointment or commitment.

Seize Small Chunks of Time

An hour may not seem like much, but you’d be surprised at what can be accomplished in a small, consistent, and repeated amount of time. Snatch those minutes wherever you can.

My goal for 2015 is two books published so I’m training myself to keep my iPad with me and write wherever I go like when I’m waiting at the doctor’s office or a passenger in the car. Since I live in the mountains and the nearest Wal-Mart, doctor, or grocery store is at least thirty minutes away. I’m amazed at how my word count builds.

Set your goal as your priority every day.

I work toward my goals BEFORE I do any other tasks for the day. I find if I do the laundry, clean the house or any of those other very necessary tasks first, I always run out of time. You will too.

Reward Small Successes

Be proud of small incremental steps. I remind myself almost on a daily basis that one word a day gives me 365 words of my novel by the end of the year. When I write an entire chapter, I celebrate with chocolate, usually M&Ms!

If you’re like me and your faucet isn’t flowing as it should, it’s not too late. Do not give up or abandon your goals and resolutions altogether.Rejuvenate that motivation you had six weeks ago. Turn your faucet on.

water3Hear that water rushing?  Now turn your faucet on and let it flow steadily.

 

20 02, 2015

Mythbusting on Miller Farm

By |2015-02-20T06:00:55-06:00February 20th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

By Chicken Wrangler Sara

There are many things I have been told throughout my life that I have come to realize are just not true.  For example, I’ve always thought that a bee can only sting someone once and then it dies.  I learned this weekend that is a myth.

We had an unusually warm day on Saturday so the bees thought it was Spring and  were out gathering pollen. One of the hives sits on the back porch right next to the path I take to the chicken coop.  During the real Spring, I alter my path so as not to disturb the bees. This being February, I didn’t think about walking around the busy bees.VarroaMiteOnAHoneybee

Halfway to the chicken yard I felt a sting on my back. I instinctively reached back to brush away the bee and quickly felt a sting on my finger.  Then there was buzzing in my hair.  I began to walk quickly around the yard saying “go away, go away.” This was one of the times I was grateful for the privacy fence.   Then the buzzing stopped.

I took care of the chickens then went back inside (via the alternate path) to have Brian check my back for a stinger.  There was none but I had definitely been stung.  Then the buzzing started again.  I headed for the door but Brian called me back so he could find the bee.  It took every bit of self- control I had to stand still while he searched my hair.  He knocked the bee to the ground and then used a napkin to pick it up.  It had lost its stinger but was still alive – until Brian squished it.  That reminds me of a song – I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee…..but I digress.

So the myth of bees only stinging once is busted.  Next, I’ll tackle the myth that only roosters crow.

18 02, 2015

A Love Affair

By |2015-02-18T06:00:38-06:00February 18th, 2015|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

loveLove is in the air. It is, after all, February.

I must confess I’ve caught the love bug and I’m having an affair.

A love affair with words.

Long before I met my husband and shared my heart with him, words held me in their spell.

The affair goes way back to when I learned the alphabet and started to string letters into words. Then I learned to read words and instantly knew …

Words are powerful. Potent.

Words enchant. Entice.

Words stir emotions.

I listened to nursery rhymes, chants, and children’s poetry read from My Book House, a series of twelve volumes compiled and edited by Olive Beaupré Miller.

My book houseStories and poetry from My Book House opened worlds I’d never imagined. As I grew older and worked my way through the volumes, biographies of famous men and women down through history inspired me, folklore from around the world fascinated me, and poetry from Longfellow, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Song of Solomon inspired me.

Curled up reading through those volumes, my love for words grew stronger and blossomed into a love of books.?????????I doubt I’ll ever abandon my affair with words, but don’t worry my husband doesn’t mind. He loves books as much as I do. Thank heavens the supply of books is unending.

13 02, 2015

Chicken Cookies

By |2015-02-13T06:00:24-06:00February 13th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|4 Comments

By Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our school secretary/business administrator is a wonderful lady. I’ve always known that the school secretary is the one who runs the school, and that is never truer than in a small private school. When she was gone for a few days taking care of her husband it took 4 people to do her job.

She has two grandsons who were in my music classes when they were at the school.  They frequently visit so I keep an eye out at the food pantry for things they might enjoy.  Each week I stop by the school on my way home to deliver whatever prizes I have found.

Last Friday Mary had a prize for me.  She had been working at a garage sale and found a basket of cookie cutters.  Among them was this:cookie cutterShe immediately thought of me.

I was thrilled. I have quite a collection of cookie cutters – thanks to my mother – but a chicken was not among them.

Over the weekend, along with canning 6 pints of tomato sauce, 6 pints of spiced apples, 4 half pints of apple butter, and freezing 10 cups of mashed sweet potatoes, I made chicken cookies.

cookies

I took them to school and left them in the teacher workroom with a note explaining that they were chicken cookies – sugar cookies shaped like chickens, not cookies made from chicken.  At least one teacher was glad for the clarification.

11 02, 2015

Four Passionate Romantic Gestures

By |2015-02-11T06:00:39-06:00February 11th, 2015|Holidays|3 Comments

According to French writer François Rabelais, “Gestures, in love, are incomparably more attractive, effective, and valuable than words.”

With Valentine’s Day this weekend, I expect romantic gestures will abound. Every year at this time sales of red roses and chocolates will soar. Couples share candlelight dinners.  Expensive jewelry is exchanged. All very romantic things to do to express love for one’s sweetheart.

I’m wondering how whatever gestures of love are made this weekend can conpete with these:

Shah Jahan’s Taj MahalTaj Mahal

Around 1632 Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal—with its elaborate minarets, 250-foot-high domed mausoleum and 42-acre grounds—as a tomb for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to the couple’s 14th child. When he died in 1666, he was buried beside her.

Edward VIII’s Abdication of the Throne edward and wallie

King Edward the VIII became the most romantic English royal of all when he fell in love with American Wallis Simpson. Forced to choose between love and crown, Edward abdicated the throne in December 1936. Simpson quickly divorced her husband to marry Edward the following year. They spent the rest of their lives in retirement in France.

browningsElizabeth Barrett Browning’s Love Sonnets to Robert Browning

The love between poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning is one of literature’s greatest romances. In 1850 Elizabeth Barrett’s “Sonnets from the Portuguese,” a series of love poems composed when the pair first began their courtship was published. “Sonnets from the Portuguese” includes the immortal line, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Joe DiMaggio’s Flowers for Marilyn Monroemarilyn monroe

Married to Marilyn Monroe for only 274 days in 1954, Joe DiMaggio remained infatuated with the legendary blonde bombshell for the rest of his life sending red roses to her grave in Los Angeles three times a week for the next twenty years.

Over the years, my very romantic husband has given me some incredible wonderful gifts of love.

He’s not built a Taj Mahal, but a lovely home in the forest I dearly love sharing with him.  He  hasn’t abdicated a throne, but if he were royalty, he tells me he would. He has written love poems, and given me Hallmark cards, that equal or surpass Mrs. Browning’s sonnets. And, though I won’t be around, I can see him leaving me flowers. He surprises me frequently with a lovely bouquet,

How about you have you received some awesome romantic gesture(s) of love you’d be willing to share?

6 02, 2015

Mutant Bee

By |2015-02-06T06:00:19-06:00February 6th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

by Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

Last Wednesday was one of those days where there were more things on my to-do list than hours in the day.  I knew this as I was swimming at 5:30am and was already stressing about it. Not a good sign.

A trip to Wal-Mart was on my list which, in and of itself, is a stress inducer.  Since I was going anyway, I decided to take our recyclables.  This included plastic, paper and tin cans.  Our Wal-Mart has a drive through recycling center so I don’t even have to get out of the car.

As I pulled up, I saw a group of small children gathered around the plastic sorting bin.  Standing behind the bin was a bee.  Not just a regular bee but a human sized bee.  I took a picture.bee suit

The kids were from a local school and were on a fieldtrip learning about recycling.

I had to smile in spite of my stressed out self.  I figured the day was turning out to be ok after all.

Now if I can just get my hands on that bee suit… I’m sure I can think of a place to wear it.

4 02, 2015

Wintry words

By |2015-02-04T06:00:40-06:00February 4th, 2015|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

snowflakeEven before words became my trade, they fascinated me. I was one of those weird kids who actually looked forward to vocabulary lists and looking up all those meanings.

I loved spending the night with my BFF in high school because her father challenged us at breakfast with a new word for the day. One of Mr. C’s words was ratiocinate.

Now, I have to admit that I didn’t use ratiocinate much except when my children were younger. During my children’s heated arguments, I’d say, “Let’s keep the ratiocinating to a dull roar.” Hearing the big would quiet the raised voices until they caught on. Even now the word comes to mind more than you’d think.

Btw, ratiocinate means to reason or argue rationally. ORIGIN, according to Dictionary.com: 1635-45; < Latin ratiōcinātus past participle of ratiōcinārī to reckon, calculate, conclude, verbal derivative of ratiō reason

As I write my stories and blogs, I try to not to repeat the same words over and over. My thesaurus paperback is well worn and tea stained. I think I’m on my third or fourth copy. My fingers will automatically go to Shift F7 so Microsoft Word can instantly bring up their embedded thesaurus. Other times I go to Thesaurus.com to come up appropriate synonyms.

Lately I’ve been overusing wintery words like cold, frosty, frozen, icy, chilly, winter, hibernate to name a few. Who doesn’t with the wintery weather plummeting the country? Does your backyard look like this? Mine does.winter

I headed to my trusted sources and found some alternates for the overused words. How about these?

Hibernaculum instead of hibernate ORIGIN: 1690-1700; from Latin: winter residence

Gelid instead of icy ORIGIN: c.1600 from Latin gelidus icy cold, from gelu frost

Frore instead of frozen ORIGIN: 1200-50; Middle English froren past participle of Old English frēosan to freeze

Just think about it, Disney could have used Frore for the title of their popular movie, FROZEN.

Hiemal instead of winter ORIGIN: “pertaining to winter,” 1550s, from Latin hiems “winter”

Algid instead of cold ORIGIN: 1620-30 from Latin algidus, from algēre to be cold

I’m wondering how my newfound wintry words will work on social media or in my current work in progress. Do you think the new words will work?

If you shook your head, I think you’re correct.

There are so many, many wonderful words in dictionaries and thesauruses. Unfortunately, we use them less and less because of texting and tweeting.

My BFF’s father Mr. C would be so sad to see how we’re wasting words.

I know the trend makes me sad.

2 02, 2015

Leavin’ Cancer Fears

By |2015-02-02T06:00:45-06:00February 2nd, 2015|Make Me Think Monday|3 Comments

Recently I met a new friend. Her name is Heather Von St. James, and she’s a mesothelioma cancer survivor. At age 36, just 3 ½ months after giving birth to her first and only daughter, she was given 15 months to live.

Heather’s contact surprised me. Pleasantly surprised me. When readers take the time to comment or email, it means my writing has done its job—resonated with readers. I do love hearing from readers about  my books and here on the blog.

But back to Heather’s email. She asked me to share her story. It’s a touching and inspiring story.

If you aren’t familiar with mesothelioma cancer, it’s also known as asbestos cancer.

Asbestos is a mineral with versatile properties that made it useful for everything from fireproof vests to home and commercial construction prior to 1980. Asbestos was even woven into fabric, and mixed with cement. Asbestos was everywhere.

Not anymore. As useful as it was, asbestos proved to be a known cause of lung cancer. Check here to learn more about asbestos and mesothelioma cancer.

Heather stands as testimony that a diagnosis of asbestos cancer does not have to be a death sentence. You can view her incredible story here

When Heather learned of her diagnosis, she made the tough decision to have her lung removed. Now every year she celebrates Lungleavin Day, the day her lung was removed. She writes her fears on a plate and tosses the plate into a bonfire. The action provides a means to conquer the fear her cancer diagnosis brought. LLD1  ST James Blog

She says, There is something about giving voice to your fears, writing them down, then smashing them in a fire, and seeing the shards of that plate, and those shards of fears in the flames that gives you courage to face up to them and not let them rule your life.

Read all about her Lungleavin’ Day  here at The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.

Today marks Heather’s ninth Lungleaving Day. She has invited us to celebrate with her via an interactive Leavin’ Day website.

So whether you have mesothelioma or some other form of cancer, join me at Lungleaving Day 2015

lld-plate-smashWe’ll write our fear on a cyber plate and toss it into the fire. As Heather says, We break plates. And it works.

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