These hands

These hands caught me as I fell when I was a toddle, they brushed the dirt from my clothes. They bathe me, comb my hair and put the clothes on that I wear. These hands take care of me. They are also the hands that held onto my mother when I was a child and later held my own children and caressed them and wiped the tears from their faces when all was not well in the world.

These hands held onto my husband as we said "I Do" and he placed a ring on my left hand, as I did his. They have held my new babies as I looked at their tiny hands and wondered if my own were ever that small. These hands also held eight new grandbabies.

These hands held my dad's hand as he struggled in his last days and lost the battle with the cancer that he had, and they helped me to find the right words as I searched through the scriptures for the answers when my own daughter lost her husband in an accident. They held her and her babies through the storm.

These hands have drove a combine, tractor, truck, pulled calves, lambs, baby piglets, and milked the cows. They have gathered eggs, held baby chicks and later fixed them for a meal that my family would eat. They have tended a garden and canned the bounty that God gave us in the season.

These hands have made cookies and all of the favorites of my family and they have washed, ironed and mended the clothes that they wore. They have made dresses, suits, coats, prom dresses, pajamas and even the undies and labored in love at the sewing machine into the night.

These hands have also pointed out that what a child was doing was not right and they have spanked bottoms when the occasion arose. These hands have also blown kisses as my loved ones drove of to other destinations, and reach to embrace them when they returned.

They have made telephone call, written letters, reached for a hug from my loved ones and folded in prayer to the Father who gave these hands to me. These hands are the ttools that I use in each thing that I do. I must make sure that they are the tools that glorify the Father in all things. Although they have ached, are chapped and have arthritis in them these days, I thank God for these hands.

Garage Sales

i thought that I would take some pictures for this blog but I didn't and Haven't. I have put my camera somewhere. It is not like my cell phone. I cannot dial it when it is lost and finally find it in the car or some other out of the way place. I am sure that it is in the camper though and I don't want to go out and get it. I will just have to tell you about the wonderful things that I found on Saturday. I had decided that I was going out for a day of fun even if it was alone. I started my adventure on a street with a lot of garage sales and The Librarian and her husband came driving down the street. Did I mention this is in their town and I live 56 miles away. Mileage makes no difference when there is a "townwide garage sale day".
It is an adventure that can last all day or just an hour or two. I put a certain amount of money in my pocket and determined to only spend that amount. Sometimes that doesn't take too long...depends on the finds.

I have a few things that I look for but usually something just catches my eye. I have bought Currier and Ives dishes for my older daughter and added Fiesta ware dishes to my younger daughters collection. I am looking for Currier and Ives again for The Professor. I look for a bargain. Last year, I got a $4 sewing machine and it works great. My mother in law is using it now.

Saturday, I bought 2 new purses,caps for hubby, books some figurines made in occupied Japan and some really good things at an Estate Sale. This lady had made quilts and done a lot of sewing. I bought three quilt tops. One is big enough for a king size bed and two are baby quilt tops. I also bought a box full of quilt blocks for $7. That was fun, just to look through. The most fun thing I got was a gallon jar full of needles, and pins. Now I don't know why anyone would have that many pins and needles. They are still in the packages. There is sewing machine needles of every size and for every make of sewing maching. There are dozens of packages of embroidery needles, sewing needles, needles for leather, needles , needles and more needles. There were also boxes of pins and even a few snaps, zippers and buttons. It was fun just counting all of them. I shared with my daughter. She had bought another gallon jar of buttons on cards. Some of them were quite old and very interesting. I opted to let her have them all as I have a stockpile of those myself.

It was a short day, My money ran out before we went too far but that was just as well. Someday, when I am gone, my children may have to have an estate sale too and I bet people will wonder.....Why in the world did this lady have so many needles!!!!! and material and books and dishes and junk and blah, blah, blah.

The Truth About Me!!!!!

I know that I am a strange woman. This is the truth, I really don't like to shop like other women do. Oh, I like to go into the shops and look at new things, but, I am just comfortable in my jeans and T-shirts and sneakers. I have never outgrown the comfort that they give me. Many of my friends, my mother, my mother-in-law and others think that the new fashions are okay but not me. I hate polyester, it makes me sweat in the summer and I freeze in it in the winter. I like Cotton!!!!! Now, you can't buy everything in cotton but I would like to. I do like my nicer clothes to be a little on the dressy side, but shoot, I think a nice denim skirt with embroidery and a jacket to match is okay. I guess that I am not as concerned about fashion as I should be. It might help if I was a size 8 or 10 but I am not and never was. I like to shop for shoes, but when I find a comfortable pair, I usually wear them out. I wear a size 11 so it is not always easy to find a cute pair that is comfortable. I also have issues with knots on my heals, and a high arch. I guess I am just at the age in my life where comfort is what counts. No high heels for me.(I never liked them)

I do like to browse the antique shops and thrift stores. I love old things that are well made and furniture that tells a story. Some might say that my house is filled with someone elses junk but I have a love for the furniture that belonged to my grandparents and those things from my husbands family. It is part of our life story. If my own children choose to discard it, so be it. I love the old washstand that belonged to my great, great Aunt Gin and the not so old sofa that was the Ranchers great Aunt Lela's. I have been shopping for some new dining chairs. I have been into the furniture stores and find that all of the new ones are so heavy and most of them are made in Asian countries. This is not appealing to me. I am planning a trip to a nearby Amish community where they have a furniture showroom and see what they have. I want my furniture to be made in the USA. The newer things anyhow. An antique from England or Europe would be wonderful!!!!

This blog came about because I was at a church social this evening and all of the women were talking about shopping. They love to go to the City and shop. Me too, at the Antique Mall!!!! Don't get me wrong, I do like to shop for an afternoon or a few hours, but when I just don't care to spend a week-end doing it. Get it over with. I am sure that my daughters are reading this and hope they will never be like this. Guess what, I used to say the same thing, but somewhere in my life, I found better things to do, like waste my time on the computer and doing this blog. So there!!!!

What a Woman has to Do.

Many years ago, when I came to this ranch as a young girl of 18, my knowledge of being a rancher was very limited. I had grown up in a small town and lived for a few years on a farm. My father thought that a girl should help her mother and of course we could milk the cows, (by hand) and take care of the chickens and work in the garden. I was also allowed to bring the cows in from the pasture in the evening. All other things on the farm were left up to the men.

Did I ever have a lot to learn!!!!!! I married into a family where everyone does everything. Little did I know when I came to this Panhandle ranch on Sand Creek that I was about to embark on a whole new meaning of the word Ranchers Wife. I knew that I would be expected to feed the men when they were working, have a garden, take care of the children and do all of those things that farm wives do But I didn't know the REST OF THE STORY.

My first clue came when my husband needed me to help with a heifer. Now, I had not even witnessed a cow giving birth at this point in my life much less helped with one. This was one of those things that the men attended in my family. But since I was the one available, I was elected to help with the job. I helped, the calf was okay and in time this was a routine thing. This was only the beginning. I can hold my own when working calves. I can vaccinate, brand, dehorn, earmark, and just about anything, but I still refuse to take away a young bulls pride. Let the men do that.

One year during harvest, being a good wife, I volunteered to learn to drive the combine while my husband ate the meal that I had brought to the men in the field. My mother in law drove the wheat trucks to the elevator and I was the cook as I had small children. Keeping the combines running was top priority in this family. Get it to the elevators, while the sun is shinning. So......I learned to drive the combine. I thought this was a seasonal thing and would not last more than a few weeks out of the year with wheat and Milo harvest. However, this led to other things. I could now learn to drive the tractor. Oh, this was good as it meant time away from the kids for a few hours while hubby could spend some time with them. I learned to use all of the implements and drilled the wheat for many years. I didn't mind it but chose not to be smart enough to run the swather or baler. My husbands mother, said that was a really smart thing not to learn. She a had made that mistake. I still enjoy farming though and smelling the new turned earth.

I have learned to repair and helped build new fences. Helped with the shearing of the sheep, was the assistent at lambing time and worked beside my husband when we had a small hog operation to supplement our income. We have had many adventures on this ranch but the cattle have been the thing that has stayed with us.

When my father in law commented about yard work being a womans job, I just laughed and knew that it was just because a woman could do anything. I am not sure about some men.

The Rancher can cook on the grill and I am finally teaching him a few other tricks in his older age. I am thankful for his help as he was always thankful for mine. We make a good team.

A Woman Can Do Anything she sets her mind to.

Cow Girls

Now that you know about the Boys from Texas, Here's for the Girls in Oklahoma. Well, they were born south of the Red River, but they didn't know any better. Just kidding you Texans as there is a bit of rivilary in this family from two states. Grandpa has been busy with these boys and is about worn out. Today he had to take a rest and go to town all by himself. Poor Guy.

A couple of weeks ago, Popcorn and Bookworm were here for a few days. there dream is for grandpa to get a "Kid Horse". All of grandpa's horses have moved on except one old appaloosa and we use some of the Uncles horses when it is necessary. The main necessity is having something for the kids to ride. Our cattle all follow the feed wagon when it is round-up time and Grandpa follows me as I lead them in.

Back to the girls and their love for riding. Their mom loves to ride and she always had a good horse when she was at home. Now she might have a different story about that. Let's just say, she was a good horseman. The horse might not have been the best, but she was the boss. Most of The Time!!!!

Bookworm is quite a good rider. She is the one at the op. She ventures away from the building and loves the feel of the run. Popcorn on the other hand is a little more leery. She is content to stay within sight of the barn. She hasn't learned that Star would just love to head into the Shop building and rake her right off. She will be better in time. If they will stay close by, grandpa will probably see about a horse and someday they will be just like their mom. Well, we might not want all of the things she achieved on her horse.....Say a broken foot.!!!!

The Presidents

Well, you may have noticed that I had a picture posted yesterday. That was a first for me. You see, I am not at all technical minded. I can type, play games, surf the net and read my mail. I am a visual person though and sometimes all of these directions are just plain Greek to me. Out of necessity, and because I felt so foolish, I decided that I had to learn how to post pictures. Hey, guess what, I even downloaded the pictures from the Black Hills and various other places for the past several months onto my computer from my camera.

Let's see if I can remember just how I did that.....Well, I remembered how to get the picture on this post, but I wanted to put it here. Oh well, Maybe I will get it all together someday. Anyhow this is our view of Mt. Rushmore as we drove along the needle highway. It was a beautiful drive and maybe I will get brave and do some more on it later.

Grandpa and the Boys

When the two younger grandsons come to the ranch things get pretty busy. They are ages 8 and almost 11 and there is not a lazy bone in their body. They want to do a lot of things and they want to do them all now. They arrived loaded with fishing rods and tackle boxes, their .22 single shot rifle, golf clubs and enough soft air pellet guns for a small army. They came with their DS (?) books, sunscreen, caps, protector glasses (for the soft air pellets) and several pair of shoes. The older one forgot most of his clothes but he got here with all of the fun stuff.

The first evening after a game of war, grandpa came in and announced that it was certainly not a game for older men. Uncle agreed and declined the chase later in the day. That time was spent in target practice out on the range.

Seven o'clock would seem early any other time for boys but---NOT if you are to be down on the creek with your fishing gear. They had a successful morning and carried the catch to help stock the big pond below grandpa's well out in the big pasture. They also decided to take the John boat out on the BIG pond. Big brother took the controls to the trolling motor and it was quite a thrill. Little brother is not going back out there with him. Seems the back of the boat spun around and then they ran aground opposite where they thought they were headed. Grandpa was in the midst of it all though and made them wear their life jackets.

Sunday was a day of leisure and going to church. We also went to the big Church in Woodward to listen to a group reflect on their mission to Romania. Our granddaughter was Molly was one of those who made the trip and had a great time. We enjoyed listening about the adventures and the works they are doing.

This morning, Day #4, the golf clubs were loaded and the guys headed for the little town across the Texas border to play 9 holes. Yes, the rancher also plays golf. Not a great game, but a fun one and that is really what matters. The game was good, and now they are all out working on fence. They must learn that not all is play on the ranch but a little work helps to pass the time too. After all, the 8 year old says he is planning on taking over this operation when he grows up. Grandpa says he better hurry up!!!!!!