Dropping Off Madiera

 A beautiful picture of a foal arrived this morning. Last year a mare named Whiskey was here to be bred to Evan and the owner of Whiskey is THRILLED with what these two produced. I'm thrilled for her. Evan really does produce nice foals.

My phone went off this morning and I could see it was a text but both of my hands were too busy to answer. A bit later it started ringing. It was the lady that was keeping Madiera and she was now ready to be picked up as today is weaning day for Zena. We made arrangements for me to bring the truck and trailer and arrive at 3:00 pm.  That gave me plenty of time to drive to Casey's, fill the gas tank then go inside and order the donuts for Sunday.  We ordered 6 dozen flips, 3 dozen filled iced long johns and 3 dozen white cake donuts with icing and sprinkles. Back at the house the laundry was started then AC Central put on while that was running. Today I listened to Joe Gerber from Champaign. He spoke first on Psalm 88 which is one of the Psalm's from the son's of Korah. Now if you know the story of Korah you would wonder how this could be. Didn't the ground open and swallow Korah and his family? If you want to know the answer just listen to the video below.   

 At 1:00 pm the dishes were all done as was all the laundry. My next job was to head up to the barn and clean up the B&B Bakery. The mud pie bakery is no more. It will be too cold for the little girls to make mud pies and mud cakes. The buckets were cleaned out and taken into the barn and the garbage thrown away.  The truck was hooked up to the trailer, that was pulled out and the trailer cleaned out for the trip to Kickapoo to pick up Madiera.  Her filly is by Valiant and just as beautiful and more than ready to be weaned. Her owners are also VERY pleased.

Madiera loaded up quietly and we were on our way to Middle Grove. Madiera stepped off the trailer, looked back then started sniffing the air for the herd.

She took off galloping up the hill.

I had decided to drop Madiera off and pick up Taylor for Earl Ringger so hiked up the hill carrying the halter and lead rope to find him. By the time I got up the hill Madiera had already settled down and was grazing.

She is the one nearest the camera. Jewel came running up to meet her.

The others were pretty much all lounging around.

I started hiking around checking each mare looking for Taylor but he wasn't in the bunch above. There were 3 bays off toward the top of the hill so I just assumed he was in that group but when I got there they were all mares. I actually checked under each tail just in case. I started hiking looking for a lone horse but after twenty minutes started panicking and called Mike. I turned out that Earl and Mike drove out at 1:00 pm and picked him up.  Thank goodness. I was beginning to think Taylor was one of the weird progressive liberals and had decided to change his gender and became a mare. IF you would like to see the rest of the pictures from Middle Grove click HERE. On the way home the truck was filled with gas, $104.00's worth of gas then I stopped at Diane's office to balance the horsemeister check book, two months needed to be balanced but since we haven't had much activity I was out of there by 5:00 pm. Supper was a quick Mexican dish all made with left overs because we didn't have a lot of time before needing to leave for church. While I was gone Mark got the 2011 trailer winterized. The owners are coming either Friday or Saturday to pick that up. Church was good. Mike Kaisner had the message tonight on the last chapter of second Samuel. 

Better than Dumpster Diving

 When walking up to the barn this morning at 7:00 am the moon was still bright in the Western sky. 

The sky was just starting to brighten in the Eastern sky.

After feeding the cat I walked over to the dumpster for our walk. We always have a lot to discuss but today also talked about packing for the trip. Joan is going to pack the van but Ruth is in charge of packing all of the supplies we need for mom. I left after 1 round so I could leave early to go pick up the Berean mail at the Peoria post office. That office really needs a consultant to teach them how to be more efficient. I waited 17 and a half minutes with just 6 people ahead of me and another minute and a half while the only clerk walked to the Berean post office box to bring the box of mail.  Now I can walk the entire length of the building with my bum hip and all in about 30 seconds. By the time I made it to the Berean office the volunteers had all arrived and were waiting for the mail. IF you would like to read about our morning there click HERE.  Skip took the Bibles to the post office today. There was a steady rain when we left the Berean office and I needed to drive to Schnucks to order the glazed croissants for church lunch. They had fried chicken so I bought a thigh for my lunch $1.69 and ate it as soon as I got to the car but it wasn't hot and was over cooked and dried out.  It must be really hard for Schnucks to find good cooks. Karin sent the pictures below. She has moved out of the library and had unloaded all of this into mom's garage then sent a text to the family "lots of little stuff for free in mom's garage. Please come before it goes in the dumpster.

I jumped in the car and headed right over as I had just realized I needed bleach. Ruth was already there.  This was much better than dumpster diving. Karin was convinced not to throw it all in the dumpster until the young marrieds get a chance to come shopping.

When Mark got home we moved a bale in for Valiant. The bale flipped then rolled all the way over and ended up with a little out of the shelter. Mark tried to drag it back but wasn't able to get it done.

It was still raining but didn't seem to be hitting the hay so it was left. 

We needed to go to church tonight by 6:00 pm for the vision meeting but left just before 5:00 pm so we could go out to eat at Hy-Vee. We ordered the manager special which was plenty of food for both of us.

Mark didn't get a receipt so we don't know how much it cost but it was good. We finished and made it to church 5 minutes early. There we divided into 3 groups. The discussion was good but lasted a long time. It is WAY past my bedtime.

Sold

 We had another chilly morning but a beautiful sunny warm day. Even though I knew yesterday the kids didn't have school today because of the Columbus day holiday I forgot the post office would be closed so the Berean mail could not be picked up. Instead I drove to Costco and ordered the croissant sandwiches for Sunday lunch. Costco also had gogurts (yogurt in a tube) for just a little over $4.00 for 32. I picked up 3 boxes of those and 4 boxes of the uncrustables (18 in a box) and 3 of those plastic 40 ounce tubs of mixed nuts to go with the 5 that were purchased at Sam's last week. Tomorrow I will need to go to Schnucks to order those croissant glazed donuts. The rest of the food will be picked up at Sam's either Friday or Saturday. A message came in from someone wanting to come see the Keystone camper and would be here in an hour. That was parked at Joan's and didn't go out this weekend like all the rest of the campers.

The old truck had been brought back from the campout so I used that to bring the camper to my place, plugged it in and turned on the fridge. That fridge was one of the reasons I didn't really want to sell it. This camper is very well made and the fridge is huge. The kitchen is very easy to prepare meals. When Mark and I stayed in it for the family camping trip meals for 22 were able to be made for 4 full days of camping. 

Right after getting it plugged in and on the people coming cancelled. That gave me time to change the bedding in the barn apartment and start the laundry for the guests coming in tomorrow. Anna came a little later to finish cleaning it and right after she left the 5th wheel rented for the 15th.  The man in that camper is leaving on the 15th and we are leaving for Gulf Shores on the 16th. I blocked the camper off starting on the 16th all the way until April but didn't dream someone would book it for the ONLY open night. I won't have time to clean it up but Mark can empty the tanks and winterize it while I'm gone and when I get back will need to give that a good cleaning for the winter. The people that wanted to come see the camper contacted me again and actually came AND bought the  Keystone. They will be taking it in 3 weeks to use at their lake house. As soon as they left I sat down at the computer to mark the camper sold. 

Evan's waterer is leaking so Mike was sent a text. Earl is going to picking up Taylor hopefully this week. He has someone interested in purchasing him. We had a lot of fun with him this summer. Below Berlica has just crossed the lake with him and it was the first time he had ever been swimming. He went on a lot of trail rides. 

Who ever buys him will be very happy. 

It was my turn to be with mom this evening. Mom was very tired as she and Ruth drove around shopping and seeing the colorful trees. Diane and Berlica came over also so we played a couple games but mom was too tired, she just wanted to rest.  Ruth and mom did a lot of packing for the trip to Gulf Shores. Just 5 more days before mom is on her way back down to her second home. What I didn't get done today was to take the truck to Zanes. Karin needs it tomorrow is it was just as well that I forgot to take it in. 

Another Super Sunday

 It really was another super Sunday all the way around.  We had two visiting ministers in Peoria and they were the Lehman brothers (brothers from the same parents) one was from Forrest and the other was from Fairbury. Eunice told me a funny story this morning. They were all down in Gulf Shores and listening to the service on line with the ocean right outside their door. The grandchildren were so anxious to get out to the gulf. When the last prayer was done. Eunice told them "church is almost over" and her 5 year old grand daughter  who happened to be sitting on Eunice's lap answered, "No grandma, there is still the greetings." We all had to laugh, as if the greetings take SO LONG although today we had a lot of greetings in Peoria.  Kathy brought Nancy for us so Mark and I took her to mom's after church along with two juicy T bone steaks for Karin to grill.  The couple that moved out of the 5th wheel asked to move into the apartment as their grandmother isn't doing well. They would have been glad to stay in the 5th wheel except it had already been booked for the rest of this week. Anna was able to flip both the 5th wheel and the apartment after church today.  Then Heather, the lady that was in the 5th wheel the 6th and 7th just booked the apartment for the 11th and 12th. She too loved staying in the 5th wheel and left a very nice 5 star review: Totally loved the location, promptness of Judith and the cleanliness of the camper! Can’t wait to stay again! she sent the next message privately: “Absolutely loved staying in the camper!! Hope to stay again soon!! Thank you for letting me check out late! Hope to stay in the apartment soon!” Sure am thankful we have that camper. Sarah and Nolan brought the meat today for supper, we had slow smoked pork roast. That was served with  baked beans, a big salad, green beans, rolls and for dessert vanilla cake slathered with Bavarian cream. Clean up was easy and soon we were all headed over to the playground. Below are a few pictures of the afternoon and evening. 

Sarah and Zion built the fire so the kids could make s'mores.

Below is a video of the afternoon and evening.

First Frost

 We were both up before 5:00 am and had to wait for the coffee maker. This coffee maker is one of those fancy Kuerg. We finally know how to program it consistently but too many things go wrong when we just try to turn it on.  To learn how to program it we had to watch a youtube video about 5 times to get it right. The other problem is even though we try to get it to brew 12 cups the most it will brew is 8. What an awful coffee maker and yet it was so expensive we just keep using it. Never ever again will be buy this brand. We had a hard frost on the car windows this morning and I went up to the barn in the pitch dark to turn off the barn lights. I  had just scraped a small area in order to see the way. Phil was already out in the new barn with a flashlight. It was my turn to be with mom today. Since Phil and Anna were here working the girls came in to be with me at great grandma's house. Grandma got her hair brushed and then braided. 

A bit later we all played Mexican Train. Mom played just a few rounds then decided to sit in her recliner so the girls and I finished the game. Ruth stopped in and grabbed some tomatoes to take back out for the campers.  It sounds like everyone camping are having a blast.

When Karin came home I took the time to grab some food for tonight and meet my guests that are staying in the apartment.

Their two girls drew the pictures below. They are both of Evan.

They had framed them and I think they are good enough to hang up for everyone to see. I forgot to ask how old the girls are. They are a home schooling family with talent.  

After supper mom wanted to soak in the hot tub so Karin said she could take over. Another good day!

Surfing the Central

The 5th wheel guest sent a message through airbnb at 1:07 AM asking me to fill the fresh water tank this morning. At 7:00 am the cat was fed and as the guest wasn't there the tank was filled. She arrived as I was finishing up and we had a good talk. She asked to stay until 12:30 pm. The repair shop was called  as soon as they opened but they do not have the golf cart battery. They told me it must have been stolen. Really a bummer, it is a very expensive battery AND Mark said I can't just buy one, they all must be replaced at the same time. Spending $1500 on the batteries and it will still have the same wiring problem with the back brakes locking up. I needed to go to Sam's this morning to pick up the meal I had promised to donate and as soon as I got home started cooking that meal. When the guest left I ran up to the barn to switch the sheets and start the laundry. Check in for the guest coming in today was 3:00 pm but I needed to be at mom's by 1:00 pm to relieve Rachel and wasn't able to finish everything that needed to be done. When Karin arrived she was more than willing to relieve me so I  had plenty of time to finish cleaning and replenish the towels.  Karin was just going to have left overs for their dinner so I opened 4 cans of solid white tuna and mixed up a big batch of tuna salad for our supper. Mark was late tonight as he was working with Geoff on the thermostats at church until after 5:00 pm. While waiting for him I was surfing AC Central and came across this beautiful music. This was recorded in Morton June 5th, 2012 by the Bloomington AC girls.

Phil and Anna came to work tonight at the barn. The girls came here as the weather turned cold. We even made hot chocolate to warm up.  There is a big group camping at Jubilee this weekend and they will sure be thankful to have campers that have heaters. 

She's HOME

 Mark went up to the barn early to get an air hose and I asked him to see if our cat came back instead of walking up with the cat food.  He sadly reported no cat in sight so the cat food was put back in the bag and off I went for our walk. The leaves are starting to turn and the sun was shining through the leaves as we were walking over the dam going to Joan's. 

After the walk the laundry was started. Mark agreed to come home for lunch so we could head to Congerville to pick up the golf cart. IT has been at the repair shop for months and they never even started fixing it. At 1:00 pm I went up to put the correct ball on the truck and thought I'd go look for the cat one more time.

This time she came running out from her home above the apartment glad to see me and hungry. She was gone for 4 days but looked good so she must have caught her food. I went back to the house to get her food and the entire way I'm singing, "And the Cat Came Back"

We hooked up the aluminum trailer and left for Congerville. When we reached the repair shop the golf cart wouldn't start but Brian the owner helped push it onto the trailer. We got home, unloaded it into the new barn and plugged it in.

The truck was parked but instead of going home I drove over to mom's to look for my check book believing it must have fallen out of my purse coming back from the Berean office in mom's car. It wasn't there so. I guess I'll have to do some deep cleaning here to find it. On the way home from mom's I stopped at the barn to see if the golf cart would start but it wouldn't. I flipped up the seat to find a battery missing. This was at 4:45 pm. I tried calling the repair shop to see if they had taken it out and forgot to put it back but no answer. Sure hope the battery wasn't stolen while it was sitting outside that place for all those months. No wonder it wouldn't start. I'll try calling again in the morning. 

A VERY Nice update came from the lady who owns Floyd (Zalena x Evan) 

And the unanimous decision ….

CHAMPION Hunter under saddle with FLOYD T

Creation vs Evolution

 Mark and I left the house at 6:30 am, he in his car and me in mine to take my car to Zanes to get the headlight replaced. Both of us needed to go as I didn't want to walk the 4 miles home from Hanna City. We made it home in time to cook breakfast and still make the walk on time.  The cat still hasn't shown up. The food was taken up first thing and I called and called but no cat. After the walk I went back up to the barn to call and also look for her. An unexpected booking came in for the apartment during the night for today so that was checked and the lights turned on. The lady checking into the 5th wheel was told she could come early and it was pretty cold so the furnace was turned on to make sure it was working. Thankfully it started right up. While in there the television was turned on and a picture taken for the airbnb ad.

Evan was moved into the mare paddock which opens up to the back pasture. He had fun galloping around searching for mare manure to sniff. Those stallions are funny. They search for manure then stand over the pile and poop right on top of the standing pile. Then check to see if I'm watching.

When I made it back into the house the new freezer from Karin was plugged in and cooled and when it was ready the old freezer was emptied into the new freezer. I had to find gloves to finish the job, that frozen meat was freezing my fingers.  The old freezer belongs to Anna and Phil and perfect timing, they need it back.  It couldn't be cleaned though until it had warmed up and the ice melted. At 3:30 pm Rachel, Karin, Berlica and I met at mom's for games. Berlica was my team mate and she could do no wrong. It was so frustrating for the other team that we just had to laugh. We had to quit early as tonight was family night at the fellowship hall. Spark and Rhonda and Marvin and Gail served the supper which was delicious. Chicken breast sandwiches, fresh tomatoes, pickles, baked beans, chips and all kinds of desserts. One of my friends arrived and I was shocked when I looked at her. At first I thought maybe she had surgery on her face as her poor face had all different colors fading into yellow. She was wearing a yellow shirt so her face could match her shirt.  She showed me a picture of her face the day it happened and I'm sharing that here. 

She fell while gardening in her own yard. Thankfully she wasn't knocked out. All that red, black and purple were draining down her cheeks as yellow. She ended up with a big goose egg on her forehead and a broken nose.
  At 6:45 pm we made our way into the building for the message. The beginning of the video below was taken as people were finding their seats.

At the end of the video David had just started his message. He had two bags of legos. One bag was given to Oliver. He was told he had 2 minutes to create something. The other bag was given to Spark, he was taken outside so as not to distract the rest of us and told he was only allowed to shake the bag for 2 minutes. 

When he was let back inside, Spark's bag was dumped and there was nothing. David asked Spark, "if I gave you more time, or maybe if I gave you two bags of legos would that work?" This was well worth watching and for sure needs to be watched by parents of public school children.  IF you would like to watch it click HERE. 

 

Missing Granddaughter (the cat)

The first job of the morning each day is to go up to the barn to feed the cat and for the second day in a row she didn't come for her food. We may have lost her. She sleeps above the barn apartment and each morning she usually comes out, runs the length of the rafters then jumps down into the feed stall where her food bowl is set up on a table.

This morning her bowl had been knocked off the table which meant she probably didn't eat her food from yesterday and raccoons came in and helped themselves. Her name is Granddaughter. Hopefully she will show up tomorrow but if she doesn't I will be on the lookout for some good barn cats. Since I was going to be picking up mom to work at the Berean office this morning the car was just left at her house before walking to the dumpster.  The sun was coming up and making the trees glow gold when it hit the leaves. 

Joan arrived for the walk carrying jars of honey. She had a jar for each of us out here. 

Below is my jar.

Her honey harvested last weekend from her own bees is sweet and delicious. Mom and I had a good morning at the Berean office. If you would like to read about our morning there click HERE. It was my turn to stay with mom until 1:00 pm. Ruth relieved me.  I got home in time to help Karin unload her freezer here. We needed a freezer and she was giving her's away AND delivered it. We put it in the middle of the kitchen but it will probably end up in the new barn.  Another booking came in for the 5th wheel.

It is now booked until we leave for Gulf Shores and after that I have it blocked off until April 2023. What a blessing that camper has been. At 3:45 we, that is  Karin, Rachel, Berlica and I had an appointment to play games at mom's. Berlica wasn't done with her homework so Joan play the first game and then helped Berlica on the second. It was just after 5:00 when the games were done. Mark was still out working so there was plenty of time to get supper done.  Anna had the Bible study at Bethany this morning while mom and I were working at Berean. As it was recorded it was able to be shared here.