So, who are all you guys?

Little by little, I have figured out who the regular readers to my blog are (WAVES! :)))
But, there are a few wascally folks out there, who never comment, and are always there. Albany comes to mind. Someone(s) from Albany NY visits a lot. Now, I know one gal, but the other person... It interests me, just because of the traffic, and I AM only 1.50 hours from there. I know a few folks there, but not many. So, my Albany friend- how 'bout it? Who are you??

The rest of you, well, I delight in "joining up" with folks from every where far and wide :) Hopefully, I don't bore you too much! Thanks for reading!

On the heels of..

My fatness realization, I had a follow up visit with my new internist. I like her very much- she is to the point, has a sense of humor, and is very thorough. Thinks of things I never would have- and I am good at details... (generally, that is).

The good news is, most everything is good. The bad news is that I have high cholesterol, and the bad cholesterol is up, as are the triglycerides. Stinky winky :( I also have elevated C-protein. This can indicate that RA is present, or not, and can also indicate possible heart disease- or not. I am going with the former, because that has been brought up to me before. I am going for a 2nd opinion on the RA in a few weeks.

So, that means ix nay on the fried foods, and more exercise (a LOT). I also have been instructed to take an aspirin (baby) a day. This is to free up any plaques that are gathering. Joy, I feel like a much older person with these instructions. I don't have to go on cholesterol lowering meds, oh, and she gave me some other Rx- I something to do with helping the blood circulation... oh, LORD, now I am one of THOSE people. You know, the ones who when asked "are you on any medication?" have to whip out a sheet of paper. Great.

So, I guess the deal is that I am in pretty good shape, for the shape I am in. Now I have to re-form that shape. No time like the present. Hey- does anyone know if a turkey sandwich with a little mayo, and lettuce on wheat bread is considered "healthy"? It's a much better choice than what I used to have for my main meal, which was a chicken strip wrap and waffle fries....

Oh my, it's come to this...

Fat pants, yes, that's what I said. Fat pants. I had to get jeans this weekend, that were one size larger than usual. Well, actually, to be technically correct, these Levis run small, but STILL. Oh Lordy. To top it off, they are too long. Going to have to get them hemmed- I DETEST those overly long pants that scrape the ground, and get filthy, and ripped.

Buying jeans stinks in so many ways. When I was young, you didn't wear stretch pants if you were over weight. There were no low cuts, boot cut was so extremely nerdy, no one wore them. You certainly would not be caught dead with what I am told is called a "muffin top", which is fat rolls hanging over your waist band. Oh God. Seriously, all I wanted was normal, straight leg jeans. Not stretch, not boot cut, and not low cut. There are almost nothing like that left- unless you go to Tractor Supply- which I do buy jeans from there, but I was at the mall, and dang it, I needed clothes. I bought some other needed clothes too, but I won' t go into THOSE details. Suffice to say, shopping for THOSE items is about as fun as home ec class in junior high.

So, I am back on my banana for breakfast, and no reese's peanut butter eggs (which I am clearly addicted to). Something about hitting 40, you REALLY start to become just well, loose, and I don't mean that in a promiscuous sense- flubber is what I am talking about.... Just like the book that we read as kids by Judy Bloom. It's bad. I have to really get out there and walk more and work that upper body.

On the Danny front, he annoyed me this morning. Why? well, at 3:30, he decided to wake up and whine- no, I didn't let him out, he was just bored. Lordy Dan, I need my sleep. Of course, his little whine dominoed all the other animals into stirring. Kylie left for the living room shortly thereafter, and then about an hour later, Mr Chips started his early morning crying/meowing.

One nice thing, is that Danny and Lucy are playing really well. Lucy is actually a bit of a pain, because she just wants to play when he is inside, and he can't learn to just relax. Add to that Mr Chips starting games of chase... I feel like a Calgon commercial.

Well, wish me STRENGTH in fighting my Reeses eggs addiction, and also more (lots) walking. Those fat pants need to be put far away in the closet as soon as possible....

In the days before sheep herding...

Mr Chips pondering the meaning of life.
Mr. Chips and Danny wondering what the heck that is out there!

Mr. Chips warning Dan that if he comes any closer....

Mr Chips following through with the warning....

I used to do other things. Today is a day that I went back in time. I actually went to Barnes and Noble and shopped for some new books to read. Got a couple of mysteries, and the recent Dog World magazine (because it highlighted Border Collies- I peaked and saw Eileen Stein's name, and some comments by her, cool).

Then, I came home and finished picking up leaf/stick piles, cut out some roots, and hung out back with the dogs. It was so nice. Just relaxed. I need to do more of this.

Cowgirl Up anyone???

Okay, I know there are a bunch of red neck girls that read this blog, and maybe some wanna be red necks, who knows. I have found a really cool place to vacation, where we can have a great time, but still do our country stuff.

Go to: http://www.guestranches.com/barw, and select "cowgirl up". Does it not look like a blast?? Oh, and this ranch is pet friendly.

Beautiful day!

Wow, what a wonderful day. It is time to hit the nursery and get some of those Blue Spruce trees I have been eyeing planted. I don't think I will do the planting, but, they do need to get in.

I forgot to mention, the last time I worked Lucy! Well, it was good. For one thing, I think she is finally getting a feel for penning. She is starting to give the sheep a bit more room on her own, when she sees it's in the picture, and she is taking good flanks when they aren't coming dead on. At one point, I think she was actually proud of herself :)

We did lots of driving- with lots of direction changes. MAN did she do good- despite my horrid commanding. I think with her, a simple there will work instead of a down. Down + Lucy + me, just will never be good friends. What can I say... We all have our crosses to bear... So, anyway, I was able to have her walk up, drive them away, give her either direction, then, a there where I wanted her to stop, and then a walk up. We did this throughout the field. It was very good- and a bit tiring for the lass. Then we worked on some basic outruns, but in places we have never done them, and then, her favorite- sorting.

Dan still hasn't been on sheep- he needs to grow a bit. But, I tell you, I did get a feel for how he will be today... not really, but, well, I had let Mr Chips out and he was walking along the fence. Danny likes to sit atop the poor cat and munch on him- and Mr. Chips allows this. But, it isn't nice. So I stood in front of the cat, and cat along fence- you get the picture. Well, Danny said, "hmm, for some reason you are blocking me.... oh, here he comes, gotta go!" as the cat squirted out to my left. Hmmm. At least he went for his head ;) !

I got some new shots of Danny since he is 14 weeks today!!!!

EEWWWW...

Yesterday, I tackled one of those jobs that is seldom done- because you just don't think of it.
I have an electric range. I use tin foil on the metal pans that sit under the burners (a trick my mother taught me, which makes keeping them clean WAY easier.) I decided to change out that tin foil- dust was the main issue... But, as I took everything out, I spied lots of detritus underneath the burners- the top of the oven? I don't know, all I know is that it took some time to clean out all that "stuff" that had fallen through. It is spick and span now, but man, word to the wise- check that out. It does get gnarly.


I like to do one extra job every day- other than the usual cleaning , or what have you. I find it's the only way I will get to those onerous jobs that get shoved off for ever- because they are so well, onerous.

I think today it will be the laundry room. I know, I can tell you are all so excited reading this ;)

One interesting thing to note- there are so many places for rent now, and much cheaper... I have been looking at houses on farms. I don't know if I could do it... But, there is one down the road from me on 125 acres. How nice would it be to live at a place where we could really stretch our legs. I would not sell my place- I would rent it out, so that would free me a bit. I will contact the agent today and see what she says. I have thought about doing the land rental again, but I won't do that unless the price is significantly cheaper than what I paid last time- AND there MUST be water available, and real fences. I hate electronet. Well, I don't hate it, but I believe it is really only good to use when you have a flock that you need to mow down area on, and not for dogs who are training- you also don't want to move it too much, because I for one, can't seem to grasp that concept.

There is one place I just remembered that has fencing up, and they used to keep cattle there, but no more. The fence needs some work (posts are leaning), but it is not far from my place, and has utilities and water.... One thing about me. I don't jump into things- glacial pace is more like it ;0)

I hear we are getting rain this weekend (boo hiss). So, will have to get dog work in there some where between the rain drops.

Well, that's it for now. Now, everyone- go look under your burners....