Worms, Why Worms?

Yuck yuck yuck! For science today I'm learning about the wonderful world of parasitic worms. Oh yay. (Sarcasm) I hope there aren't many pictures of actual worms. I WILL cover such pictures if they are there. Well, that's my quick blurb. Toodaloo!

In Times of Trouble

We all agree that times of trouble are nearly all the time.  Some times seem worse and some times seem almost nice.  Some days rock between both extremes.

My best friend is going crazy.  She hears a voice in her head telling her to die.  She's tried going for help, but no one is listening to her.  She's had similar problems before.  If this isn't a time of trouble, I'd hate to see a real time of trouble.

I've been praying for her ever since Saturday, when she told me.  I have been feeling sick, wondering if she's going to kill herself that day or not.  I've been praying all the time. 
But I've realized someting.

God loves her much more than I ever could.
God cares for her many times more than I do.
God knows her much better than I ever had.

And that gives me peace.  He knows my friend, and He knows what words might give her comfort.  And I've been asking Him what on earth I say to her to try to help her.  And it suddenly struck me that in these crazy times when it seems nothing is right, that's when I'm closest to God. 

Because I'm relying on Him completely.

Because I can feel Him there supporting me, lifting me.


I read Psalm 23 about ten times today.  I memorized the first two lines in sign language.  Saying and signing it helps me feel His peace.  I know that my friend is in His hands and He will never ever let her go.  She is safe.  But it is still scary.  And freaky.  And strange.  I don't want to lose her and it's hard to completely trust God to take care of her.  I want to do anything to help her, but the only one who can really help her now is God.  And it's hard to let Him do that.  I want to do something.  I hate sitting by and watching.  But if God wants to, He'll use me to help her.  All I can do right now is just be there for my friend during this.  And pray.  'Pray without ceasing.'  A command from the scripture.  And I intend to do so. 

In times of trouble, God is constant and He is always ready to help when we ask.

Three Is Greater Than

Have any of you ever used <3 to say love?  I was just looking at it and thinking of the meaning of numbers.  I was also just doing math before thinking this, so it was all fresh in my head. 

Three is the number of God.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Three.

And then there is the greather than sign just before the three.  Logically (which is apperantly what math is), this little figure means blank is less than three.  Or, reading backwards, three is greater than blank.

Replace three with God.  God is greater than (insert whatever thing you can think of right here).

Pretty cool, huh?

And it's the symbol for love as well.  When I realized that I just sat there and went, "Huh!  Imagine that!"

Well, that's all I had to say.  Except that I will be posting more.  Hopefully.

See y'all 'round!

Tractors!

I love tractors.  They make farmlife easy(er).  So of course I'm happy when my mother and a neighbour (who is a Tolkien lover and our farm manager) decided that the medium sized tractor we have now is getting old and it's about time to replace it.

Well, before I get into all that, I'll tell you about the tractors we currently have.

For a large tractor, we have a Case that is big (obvously) and red (another given) and has a closed cab.  It also has air conditioning (hooray!!) and a tape player and radio.  Actually, the tape player may be in the combine.  I'm not sure.

And we also have a thirty year old John Deere that's still going well (Nothing runs like a Deere!), but we're replacing that one because it may not run so well in a few years.  It has no cab and no musical players.

And then we have a small Case tractor that we use for plowing snow and mowing the lawn.  Yes, I'm spoiled with my mowing tools. 

Right now we have three tractors on the farm that we are testing.  We need to know which one is easiest to operate for both my little brother and our manager as well as which one is best suited to clearing out the barns after a cycle.  Handily, we're shipping the chickens out tonight and will be able to try them tomorrow.

The first tractor that I shall mention is another Case and is thus red (with a little black).  Michael seems to like it.  I think it's his second choice.

Then we have another John Deere which is green and yellow.  Michael doesn't like the way the controls are and it is his least favourite of the tractors.

And then we have a Kubota of the typical orange colour.  Michael likes this one the best of all.  For him the controls are right where he likes them and he thinks it'll be easy to use.

Of course, all these opinians Michael has will be tested tomorrow when he (hopefully) gets to drive all of them.  He's tried the Case very briefly and is excited for the rest.  I'm not sure how much our manager has driven the tractors, but he's certainly used them more than Michael!

Now, in other news Rosie the Horse is getting rather porky!  I found a chart on how to try body scoring on your horse and what sort of things to look for.  Fat deposits on shoulders: check.  Fat deposits on rump: check.  A bit of a pot belly: getting there.  Fat deposits on neck: not nearly as much as this time last year.  And another test you do is to pet your horse with a bit of pressure (much like you would pet your kitty or doggie) and see if you can feel the horse's ribs and almost count them.  You should not be able to see them, though they will be more visible in breed like Thoroughbreds.  But Rosie is not a TB.  She is a Morgan/Quarter Horse cross.  And I had to use massage strength pressure before I was able to feel my dear Rosie's ribs.  Terrific.  I'm going to have a job getting her back in shape in spring. 

I don't ride her in winter muh because it gets so darn icey around here.  All the fields are in a slight dip and catch all melting snow.  When it freezes the ice is treacherous.  So I prefer that neither Rosie or I break any bones and stay home, limiting her feed to an amount that hopefully keeps her from becoming way too fat.

I would ride her more in the winter if I had a covered or indoor arena, but there's like, only three of those things within a ten km radius from our house and I don't know any of the people who have them.

And so that is what is going on!  We are getting a tractor and Rosie is getting fat!

See y'all next time!

I Am NOT Impressed!!

Today I have learned a very sad and shocking fact!  It is something I have been dreading for over eleven years and it has finally come to pass! 

Get ready...

You may as well brace yourselves.

....


My little brother is taller than me by several inches.  I am now the shortest in my family!

Yeah, yeah.  You probably didn't need to brace yourselves. 

But understand that I am a mere inch away from being the lofty height of six feet tall and my little brother is now taller than me by about two inches!  So he is around six foot one.  He's the second tallest with my older brother being six foot eight.

Bake a Cake!

Hello to y'all!  It's me again with another hopefully fun story to share.

Today is my mother's birthday!  (Happy birthday mom!)  But she`s off at my little brother`s basketball game today.  Actually, she first went to a parade my older brother was in.  He does sword fighting with the SCA and thus was in the parade to show off his cool costume and sword.  He only got back an hour or two ago.  Then my mom went to Michael's basketball game. 

Just before she left, my cousin An called.  So she came over for most of the day.  We talked for half an hour, then my aunt come over to leave a present for my mom.  She asked us if we were baking mom a cake.  An and I looked at each other and said "That's a great idea!"  So we did.

Well, first we ate lunch.  (Scrambled eggs with real bacon bits, dehydrated onion and powdered garlic and cheese)  It was hard figuring what to have for lunch since An is allergic to corn.  Now before you think I'm crazy, I'm tellin' ya; corn is in EVERYTHING!  It just doesn't always go by the name 'corn'.  Glucose is a corn product, believe it or not.

After lunch An called her mom for a chocolate cake recipie that is really good.  Then we spent a lovely hour and a half mixing it up while listening to various Adventures In Odyessy episodes. (Like the one where Jack, Curt, Jimmy and Lucy are all grown up and come back for a visit and all the guys love (or at least have a crush on) Lucy.  I love it.)  Then we made hot chocolate and pudding (for layer filling) while waiting for the cake to bake and cool.  We also listened to more Odyessy.  Finally, the cakes were getting cooler, so we mixed up a chocolate glaze for it.  It was ... a little too runny and kinda poured off the cake, onto the plate and then to the counter.  We also had problems with the layers.  We had cut each of the layers in half so we had four layers.  But one layer broke due to a slightly undone center.  We got it stacked at last and then poured the afore mentioned glaze on.  When that had sort of set, we mixed up some plain vanilla frosting and began piping "Happy Birthday" onto it.  'Happy' went on fine.  Then I began writing 'Birthday', starting with the 'th' because I'd be able to center it better.  Well, when I got to the 'd', the pipe bag's seam broke and frosting blooped onto my 'd'.  After we scraped off the offending mark and repaired it with some of the leftover glaze,we transfered the icing to another bad. 

My mom has, er, had three bags.  One just broke.  Another's opening hole is too big and none of the things you put on fit properly and would just pop out if we squeezed.  The last bag was made of a type of canvas.  We used that one.  It is a HUGE bag.  It's over a foot long!  And we didn't even have a cup of icing.  But we used it.  And I finished writing Birthday and also drew a flower.  Then I removed my hand from the bag.  My had was sticky and the bag appeared wet.  Canvas is not waterproof and he moisture of icing oozes through.  Despite the stickiness, I put a ring of icing around the bottom edge to finish.  We had just enough.

Then began the grand ol' process of cleanup.  The dishes were moved to the sink and the cake set in the fridge.  The cooling racks were wiped and put away.  An washed some of the bowls and things while I wiped the counter.  Then I put some of the smaller items in the dishwasher while she finished the rest.  And we also washed things that were left in the sink from before lunch.  In the meantime our last Odyessy CD had run it's course and the stereo had begun playing the next CD.  Christmas carols!  In February!  It was fun.

After that I found a DVD she wanted to borrow and we went back to my room for a few more minutes.  We played with my block and marble set.  Yeah, we're cool like that.  I love toys of that kind that are more commonly thought of as 'little' kid toys'. 

The it was nearly 5:00 and she had to go home.  We said goodvye and I sat down to tell you about our fun advetures.  I love making cakes.

Spring Rain

The rain comes down softly, in small droplets.  Each droplet soon dissapears on trees branches, roofs of buildings, in animal fur, or into the snow.  With every droplet that hits the snow, the snow is reduced.  Only reduced a bit, but still going away.

It is the first of February.  I sit at the computer having just returned from feeding my horse.  The gate was wet.  I wiped it off and shook it to get rid of the most water before climbing over.  Yes, I climb gates.  I know I shouldn't, but I do.  My horse was waiting for me at the gate, with nary a noise of greeting.  I preformed my routine of petting her, then traveled the last thirty or so feet to the barn. 

The little gadget we use as a lock for the hay door was not very wet, being slightly under the eaves.  I stepped inside, then grabbed Rosie's hay.  I fed her, then returned to the warm indoors, whereupon I sat myself down and typed out this thing.  All in an effort to say that it's raining, and it's not winter rain, it's spring rain.