Another S S

 Today was another Super Sunday but more on that later. I was all dressed in my Sunday clothes when a truck and trailer pulled up the drive and parked at the new barn.

My first thought was, "oh no, Mike bought another horse!" I grabbed my barn coat, jumped on the golf cart and booked it over to the barn, pulled up beside the truck and when the man opened his window asked, " Are you lost!"  He explained he was just here to pick up his daughter. So funny there were no other cars there so I was surprised but it turned out Anna spent the night supervising Taegan's slumber party of which Anna explained, there was very little slumbering going on. We made it to church just after Ruth so followed her in. Kathy and Randy brought Nancy. Mike Kaisner had the morning message on the book of Romans. Click HERE to watch that. David and Stephanie along with Benj and Kristin served us all a very nice lunch. Tim Funk had the afternoon message on Psalm 16 and a couple verses in Luke 6. Click HERE to watch that.  We took Berlica and Mackenson home as Joan was in Fairbury today. As soon as I walked in the door supper was started. The browned ground beef set to simmer with the taco seasoning then when hot put in a crock pot.

The onions sliced then sautéed then put in a rock pot. 

the rice was started and then the peppers sautéed 

and when done added to the onions and mixed up. When the rice was done that too was put in a crock pot.

Today I also made a pork dish and added a little lime. That turned out well. 

By 3:45 pm we were ready to head over with a car load of food and when there started getting everything out on the table for the meal. 

Nolan had the prayer tonight.

The food was good and there was plenty for all who came. Hannah, Jacob and Chelise joined as did Kristin, Mackenson and Berlica.  I think we served around 28 people tonight.

After supper came the fun, Rebekah and Anni's family arrived then some of Rachel's boys. There were lots of little ones.

The kids played upstairs on the cushions putting together some routines.

They played upstairs while the volleyball players were playing, then moved downstairs when the games were over.

The volley ball games were fun to watch.

I drove over to mom's house to get Nancy and bring her to the barn to watch the games. Rhoda and Lee drove her home tonight. I didn't stay too long after they left. Mark already went to bed and I'm heading there shortly. It really was another super Sunday.

Generational

Phil and Anna came early to the barn, Phil worked on lights while Anna worked on the upstairs. I went over to take the ladder back to Diane's house.  I was very impressed with the upstairs. Anna had the game room arranged and cleaned up.

It was just 12 degrees outside when I got over there. At 7:20 the air purifier machine arrived. We had left over wood from yesterday so Mark got the wood burner going. I went out again at 8:30 am to get the truck started. As that has been parked outside there was a thick layer of snow and ice on the windshields. I left it running for about 15 minutes then got an ice scraper to clean off the front window. I met my current guests from the foaling apartment and asked about the smell. I explained that the ozone air purifier machine had arrived and if he wanted to use it they would need to move over to the barn for a few hours. He decided against that and said they could live with the smell. .At 8:45 am Mark helped me get the alumina trailer hooked up to the truck. About then Karin called to tell me she was leaving early today so I called Ruth to see if she could taken my place until 9:30 as we had wood to move out of the new barn. We had a big group of basketball players coming in and they wanted to play full court basketball.  I backed the trailer into the barn and started loading the lumber on the trailer while Mark went to Joan's to pick up Mackenson. It took us until 9:30 am to get it all loaded. The trailer was moved back over to the other barns and left in the drive. It would need to be backed inside once Mark and Mackenson were done stacking the lumber for the bunk beds. That had been delivered outside and they needed to move it inside first.  I made it to mom's house by 9:34 am.  Ruth left to get her grocery shopping with Fedi. At noon she came back so I could go home to start the dessert for tonight but first the dishes needed to be done so I had room to work. This dessert was 4 layers and between each layer it needed to be put in the fridge for 10 minutes. I made two batches, one for tonight and one for the Sunday meal. 

When both of those were finally in the fridge the 5 pounds of hamburger was browned for Sunday's supper. 

While that was cooling so the grease could be removed the peppers were washed and cut up.

We were supposed to leave for potluck by 4:45 am so had plenty of time to clean up. We arrived at Jozsef and Tina's house and had a wonderful evening. The meal was better than any restaurant. These ladies can cook!  Tina made herb incrusted chicken, Aubry made a wonderful potato dish. Amanda brought carrots that were the best carrots I had ever tasted. Christa made a salad with all kinds of fruits and nuts and made a honey based salad dressing.

We were all amazed at how bright the carrots looked and tasted.

Each bite was a delight to the taste buds. Even the dessert turned out delicious. Not too heavy but light and melt in your mouth good.

We visited and visited. Rotating potluck is such a wonderful gift for our church. Of course Mark and I were by far the oldest of this group but we all have so much history together. It really is a blessing to belong to a generational church. We got home around 10:00 pm and the guests at the new barn were still going strong with lots of cars in the parking lot, so they must have been enjoying their evening. 

Vegetarian Diet

 It was warmer this morning, all of 6 degrees but at least it was above zero. Instead of walking I just went over to visit with mom. I had to show her the label of the eggs I bought at Sams and we both had a good laugh. These eggs are really special, they are from pasture fed hens and then came the funny part. The label said these hens are provided a wholesome vegetarian diet! We both laughed at that. Don't believe me? check the label. 

You see if they REALLY are only fed a vegetarian diet, how could they be on pasture without eating the bugs, flies and other insects. Everyone knows chickens eat bugs and I would not consider bugs as vegetables. What a joke! Do the people that made this label think we are really stupid?  Only after buying them did I get the message from Cheryl that she had some eggs available. I will say though, these pasture raised egg yolks were a dark orange and tasted good. After breakfast Mark and I went to the barn to give it a good cleaning as we have a group coming in tomorrow.  When we walked into the living area we heard the smoke detector in the bedroom beeping. I sent Diane a text to let her know I was going to borrow her 8 foot ladder again so we could change the battery. The ceilings in that bedroom are almost 12 foot high. I used the golf cart to get her ladder and had it up ready for Mark as he had the battery only when he opened it there was no battery.

He screwed it back on and the beeping stopped so we are not sure why it ever started beeping. Mark noticed we needed the ladder for another problem. In the living room, the wifi distributor on the ceiling had been knocked and was hanging down.

Mark climbed back up to put that in place but couldn't figure out how it was attached so sent a message to Philip. We left the ladder and I'll return that in the morning. Our guests for the foaling apartment arrived and thought they could live with the smell. The air purifier is supposed to arrive between 7:00 am and 11:00 am tomorrow morning. If they decide they need it, they will need to leave for a couple hours. After lunch I drove to the elevator to pick up the eggs. They also had some duck eggs so I got a dozen of those for Karin. When I dropped them off at mom's house Beth and Greg were there visiting. It as nice to see them again. They are only here for a few days so I'm glad they stopped in. From there I drove to Bartonville to do my Sunday dinner shopping at Aldi. I decided on hay stacks for that dinner and bought the ingredients for that but also for the dessert I need to make for potluck tomorrow night.  When the groceries were put away we worked on bringing more wood in from the wood shed. Tonight is supposed to be our last cold night for a while. 

Frozen Pipes

 I couldn't believe it when Ruth and Joan decided we should walk. It was -2 this morning but had warmed up to 0 by the time we actually started. I went first to the apartment and used another whole can of Fabreeze as that smell was still in the apartment. We have guests coming in tomorrow and I'm getting a little desperate. Ruth brought a bowling set and donated it to the barn so that was dropped off in the barn.

When we stopped at Joan's house Berlica was already out skating on the lake and by the time we got to mom's house Faith had joined her. 

We stood out on mom's deck for the video below.

I speeded up the video a bit then of course slowed down the spectacular fall at the end to see if I could find out what happened. It looks like Faith's right foot hit something really rough and it threw it out to the side.  That is what happens when it is a lake instead of a skating rink but still a lot of fun. Faith did not get hurt. 

We had cut the walk short it was just too cold when facing the wind.  Mark and I worked together bringing more wood into the house from the wood shed as the porch is now about empty. I had just sat down to enjoy the heat coming from the wood burner when Sarah called to ask if the water to the barn had been turned off. Nope, the pipes had frozen.  She was with the home schooling group that was using the barn this morning and there was a good size group there.  I grabbed the extension cord I had here at the house and my hair dryer but needed more cord so hiked up to grab an extension cord we had plugged in at the breeding shed keeping the pit warm. That was unplugged and taken down to the new barn pit. Mark took the golf cart up to his shop to get the key to open the pit. After getting the hair dryer going I covered it all with a horse blanket to keep as much of the heat in as possible.

From there I went to the barn to check the water and was thrilled that after only 10 minutes the water was flowing again. We caught it before any pipes broke.  I know this because I checked about 4 hours later and the pit was as dry as a bone. The kids at the barn were having a good time. I went upstairs to see the progress on the windows and took the picture below.

All 3 windows are now framed in, now we are waiting for the actual windows.

I took a quick video of the kids playing in the gym before heading back to the house.

I was working in the stall barn when Emma from the vet clinic called to cancel Dr. Hoerr again. He is still too sick to come out. She rescheduled him for next Thursday.  Mark left for his therapy appointment and when that was over stopped at Kroger for groceries. When he got home he ordered the lumber for the 3 triple bunk beds. That will be delivered tomorrow. Taunya dropped off Hope for a couple hours. We worked at her recall and she is such a smart puppy she was figuring it out pretty quickly. 

Hope is a Cavapoo and I think she might be available. She is a fun puppy and loved playing with a teddy bear.

After she was picked up Mark was in the living room, looked out the window and saw a bald eagle flying right towards our house. I tried to get a picture of it but it went right over the house by the time I had my phone and I didn't want to go outside in the cold. It really is neat that we are seeing them more and more often. We also saw a fox run right through the yard. A nice well fed fox so we are hopeful the rabbit population is taking a hit this winter.  I'm thankful that the weather is moderating and supposed to start warming up. It is no fun dealing with frozen waterers and broken pipes (last cold spell) and frozen pipes (this cold spell). 

This evening I was sent a text about an ozone generator. Someone who knows what they are talking about sent a link of one that is exactly what we need to remove the marijuana smell. It won't come in time for the guest coming tomorrow but at least I can tell them it is on the way. We read the reviews and it looks like we wont even have to run it long. The only bad thing people complained about was the smell so I might need to wait until this guest leaves before trying it. Speaking of guests. I am pretty sure one of the crazy people here last weekend that caused such a mess tried to book the apartment. This time it was a lady with no reviews, no address but a 309 area code phone number. When I asked her why she wanted to come to the apartment she told me it was for a small party of 10 people celebrating her and her husbands anniversary. I explained that we don't allow parties at the foaling apartment, it only sleeps 4 adults and because of no reviews she would not be able to come without meeting me in person, but she was welcome to cancel and right away she did. Her profile picture made her look like a lady of the night. Not the best way to present yourself. 

Again?

 At 5:26 am my phone went off letting me know I had a 2 day booking for the apartment for ONE man and a man that had no reviews but had 1 trip listed and had been on airbnb for 9 years. Immediately I sent him a message: "Can you tell me the purpose of your trip?" He didn't answer so I called the airbnb help line. After that last guest I wanted reassurance that this man was verified and was who he said he was. Of course they told me yes. The next message sent to the man was "As you have no reviews you will need to meet me for the key and can not come later than 10:30 pm."   Mark and I went up to the apartment to change all the codes when I discovered the key was missing. Those last guest took the key! Now I was sure it was the same people going to try to come party again. Mark made arrangements to pick up an electronic key pad lock at Bartonville hardware.  I was telling Ruth and Joan about it on the walk. When we got to mom's house I told her too. I needed to be back at mom's by 9:30 am so didn't stay very long. While at mom's the man who booked answered the main question. One of his friends, who he named had stayed with us a couple weeks ago and told him how nice it was. He was coming with his wife to celebrate his birthday and would it be ok to bring some carrots for the horses. I felt pretty foolish but really did have to laugh. Of course I had to let everyone know that this one was a good guest! Mom and I watched some old episodes of I love Lucy today and we both laughed and laughed. 

They sure don't make shows like that anymore.  I filled the bird feeder and as soon as I was back in the house those birds started flying over. They were waiting for their breakfast and hungry with this cold cold 2 degree morning.

About then a cat came over to watch too.

Mike sent a text that the insurance policy for Horsemeister needed pictures so as soon as Karin came I went out to take pictures. They wanted the barn stalls and aisleway pictures.

They also wanted the tack room and especially the fire extinguisher in the tack room. 

Mark made it back with the new lock and went to work installing that. 

As I had the receipt for that and all the other receipts for what I was going to document,  I started working on the airbnb claim. After 2 hours of computer work I finished and filed. Of course the guest refused to pay so it had to go to the next step which was to see if airbnb would cover the extra expenses. I'm not sure how long this will take. At 5:45 pm we left for Sam's club to pick up grapes, carrots and chips for church lunch Sunday then to church to put those in the kitchen. David and Stephanie are giving lunch Sunday with Benj and Kristin.  Karen and Ralph were working in the kitchen when we arrived. Karin told us about the semi truck load of eggs that had been hijacked. This really did happen but I had to laugh when she told me, the police are scrambling to crack the case.  David had the message tonight, the last of his 5 messages on the Sermon on the Plain. To watch that click HERE. He truly has an amazing teaching talent and if you really listen you will learn so much more on this very familiar chapter. He also talked about how much we need our church family and how wonderful it is to be able to know not just how the minister preaches but how he treats his wife and children. We joined the crowd at Culvers after church for a late supper. It is very good to be with this group. 

Tools of the Trade

 It was 2 below zero this morning. We called off the walk and when Joan got the text sent back, "Amen to that!! I don't think mankind was made to live in this climate!"  We it wasn't THAT bad only -20 windchill.  I left for the Berean office early and was the first to arrive. That doesn't happen very often. We were short of help today because of the extreme cold. No readers came in so I took that job while Skip worked on the computer. Marvin brought in the first half of the brand new rack for the advanced Bible studies, then Vonnie helped to clean off the table so Marvin could start putting it together. 

As I was reading I didn't take very many pictures but below are a few of our morning.

Below is a short video.

Anna sent a message that she got the first part of the patching done of the hole in the bathroom wall. Once it dries she can sand it then touch up paint.  We can't find replacement light bulbs for the 2 broken ones of the light fixture over the sink so may need to buy 4 so they can match.

She also told me the smell is still really bad. When I got home the Fabreeze I ordered yesterday on Amazon had just arrived so I took a can up to the apartment and sprayed all of the bedding, rugs, shower curtain, inside the closets and the rug. I'll check tomorrow and if it still stinks will bring another can up. I ordered 6 and it may take all 6 to get the apartment useable soon. About then the lady that had her wedding at the barn right after Christmas asked if we had found a santa purse in the barn. She said it was left in the cabinet under the television. I took the golf cart over and sure enough it was exactly where she told me it would be. 

She is picking it up tomorrow and said I made a 9 year old girl very happy!  Mom called about then so I took the left over dessert over for mom and Karin. Mom wanted to hear all about what happened with the apartment. When I got back to the house Mark had a package delivered from Amazon with the new tools he ordered which will help him build the bunk beds. He brought in a couple of 2 x 4s to practice.

Both worked well. Below he is trying them out for the first time.

Now that he has the tools of the trade to build triple bunk beds I asked him if he would like to go in the business of building them to sell. He just didn't seem to be too interested in that. 

It is not going to be quite as cold tomorrow as we have some cloud cover only supposed to get down to 2 degrees instead of -2. We will keep the wood burner burning.