Attitude

I may suck at being a faithful blogger as of lately, but some day life may simmer down and I’ll do better. Right now it’s all about prioritizing.  Regardless this is good little saying I came across today.  I found it while cleaning out my friend’s house a couple years back.  I also wanted to share a few pictures from a recent trip to Florida.

Attitude….The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, church, or home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past.  We cannot change that people will act a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you, we are in charge of our attitudes.

—Charles Swindoll

 

There are always flowers for those that want to see them

Friday night’s Facebook status…..

I've traded my "skinny jeans", bad girl boots, and all nighters with friends for a pair of shorts, a tank, bog boots spending most my time home with the kids. It is truly the simple things that remind you of all you have! ♥ Great 4 wheeler ride out back tonight through fields of buttercups & wild irises with lots of dragonflies flying about. You know what.....I WOULDN'T want to change a thing! ♥

The pursuit is the reward

Second post on Windows Live Writer and so far I’m liking it.  I can adjust my photo sizes easier then on blogger, change the FONT, and I was able to place a watermark on my photo.  All things I’ve been wanting to do for a LONG while.  THANK you Jodi @ Living the Road Less Traveled!  I have SO much to say and SO many photos to share.  However,  I’m spent and my plans are to cuddle up with a good book followed by some shut eye.  As with everyone else this time of year is very busy .  Maine Man and I have had our moments of being very OVERWHELMED.  THANKFULLY we take turns and remind one another that we can only do what we can do.   Will have some garden photos soon. ….night all!

A Farmgirl Home

Home is where my rocker sits,

Home is where my needles knits,

Home is where my heart gives,

Home is where my true loves lives,

Home is where I rake leaves,

Home is where I clean the eaves,

Home is where I make pies and cakes,

Home is where my squash bakes,

Home is laundry on the line,

Home is a pretty clock keeping time,

Home is where and old, wooden box

Hides feathers and cards and special rocks,

Home is where I hang my coat and tack,

Home always says, "Welcome Back,"

Home is "Matilda" in the barn,

Home is a kitten playing with yarn,

Home is where the pantry stores,

Pickles and jam and so much more,

Home is daisies, lettuce, and beets

Home is a freezer filled with meat,

Home watches over my many loves,

Photos, heirlooms, and a wooden dove,

Home is where I close my eyes,

And pray for rain or sunny skies,

Home is where my chickens scratch,

Home is where their babies hatch,

Home looks over stacks of hay,

Harvested now, 'twas grass in May,

Home is where stars shine down,

upon my house and me in my gown,

Home is where I keep myself,

Until I leave this earthy shelf.

Home is Heaven will better be,

But for now, my home here is a haven for me.

This came from this months issue of "Mary Jane Farm" magazine written by Sherry Jespersen

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it and had to share it! Maine Man, the kids, and I are EXTREME homebodies so I could relate to that poem on many levels. There is truly is NO place like home!

What's Not to Love?

Can't help but to post this picture again because I absolutely LOVE it and well I LOVE them!

That being said I think it deserved it's very own post.

When Maine Man and I went up to bed the other night our door was peppered with sticky notes of "I love yous & your the best". Then to find a note above our bed of 6 sticky notes stuck together.

It read ....You both make my wonderful life and you make me the person I really am! I love you both so very much! I hope your days are fantastic! I love you both with all my heart! Hope you enjoy all the letters I wrote! Love you xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

With lots & lots of love

Your loving little girl

Flower Girl!!!

To Mom & Dad

I thought that was a pretty sweet thing to write. Figured I'd better preserve to look back on when she's sixteen. ;)

Cruel April Fools Joke!

Yesterday we had yet another snowfall, up near 10 inches in our region.

How cruel! The night before we were playing a game of baseball in the back field.

Today we are shoveling and making our way through knee deep snow to collect sap to boil down more syrup. One thing I can say for sure, it has been one hell of a maple syrup season! I will do one more post on that topic for those that requested seeing the whole process. We only do a small operation, just enough for us. The way we do it requires very little effort so we never tire of the process. Many hours of Maine Man shedding lots of blood, sweat, and tears. :)

Appreciate ALL his hard work!

My first accident which happened on my way home from work yesterday afternoon. Not the first I've been in, but a first when I was driving. Humbling EVENT to say the least!

I walked away with a broken pride, sore nose & neck from the air bag and a couple facial abrasions. Glad there was no cars coming from the other way. Instead it was me vs. guardrail, I am ok with that.

My farmer friend was at the scene within minutes and stayed with me until they towed my vehicle back to my house. SO THANKFUL to have him in my life! At moments like these the support of loved ones is what you need most.

Instead of dwelling on the series of unfortunate events I've had so far this year I will look at the positive. I now have dodged two bullets this year. I am just thankful to have woken up this morning in my own bed. Then cooked these little monkeys WHATEVER they wanted for breakfast and had the ability to pick up their little mess here and there. And no I didn't even complain!

Random Rambling

(Almost) Always willing to do a project....Flower Girl was cutting up old towels into rags.

She cut them a little smaller then planned. So instead of using them as rags I've been keeping a basket of them in the kitchen and we've been using them as we would use paper towels. Since we spend a good amount of time in the kitchen we seem to use lots of them. Maine Man thinks I'm insane. I like to keep it that way ;) Keeps life interesting!

Me fooling around when we went to New Hampshire for my procedure. The morning of the vertebroplasty we took the kids to a REALLY cool place called Montshire Musuem of Science. It is actually in Vermont, about a 10 minute drive from where we were staying in NH. When I returned home my best friend said "only you would make a something like this into a field trip for your kids". We both had a good laugh! There were moments of the trip I laid there wondering whatever possessed me to take them along. Like after the 350th time they asked to go to the pool or when they jumped on the bed the night I had the procedure..... Yikes! But overall I was glad they were with me, especially the day of the procedure. If they had not been there to support me I would have been very emotional. Don't let me kid you, the night before I did do a little bargaining with God. However, I was very calm and at peace with the choices I had made when it came to that day. It helps that I really trusted & respected the doctor that was about to screw a large needle through my shoulder into by neck and fill the vertebrae with cement right next to my spinal cord. The procedure went very well and it was a good experience for the kids to be involved in.

Unfortunately, my medical dilemma continues with quite an interesting twist. I will share the story when I get some more definite answers. I feel that if one person can benefit from my story it will make sharing it worth while.

I am out of work for one more week. Next week is already filled with 3 physical therapy appointments and yet another trip to the doctors. I am fortunate in that we have FINALLY figured out where the true source of my pain is coming from. I am able to get relief although the situation is not always ideal. Both mentally & physically I am in a MUCH better place but I still have some things to work through. Little vague, sorry...I will tell more when I know more.

Winter Wonderland

It has been a long winter but the end is near....at least I'd like to think so. Yesterday planting season began. Maine Man started onions.
This is the first winter since living here that our heat source was 100% wood.
The last couple years we ran our furnace a bit. Not much, about 100 gallons in 09' and last year we probably used about 75 gallons of oil. It is a lot of work but well worth it! I am thankful for MM who endlessly works to keep us well stocked with firewood.

It will be nice to see the kids swimming in the pool once again.

My farmer friend made this well house for me last fall. Something I will forever cherish!

Trail out to the back forty. MM takes the kids out on the sled behind the snowmobile and this is the path he takes to gather firewood. I usually go out too but this winter I have been limited to what I can do until things get straightened around with my neck. Hoping that will be soon.

Really missing hanging clothes on the line. I have a few inside racks but they do not seem to hold a lot of laundry like this line.

MM will be putting a wood stove in this soon. Planting will follow.

For now we will dream of what Spring brings and hurry to get inside projects complete.

So we can enjoy our days more outdoors then in.

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.

~Edith Sitwell

Too funny!

Since I have been at a loss for words lately I will share a funny post Nita at Trapper Creek posted. It is a letter her husband found in the wall of their old farmhouse. Nita's blog is one of the first blogs I followed when I started blogging 3 years ago. She is a hardcore homesteader with many passions, I have learned SO much from her!

The Real Deal ~day 15

Initially I was not sure that I would even post this information but seeing how I have nothing to hide and would like to set the record straight for those who have been misinformed. And out of respect for my friends & family that have yet to hear what is going on the information will be most accurate coming directly from the source.

Rumor has it I have cancer, I guess no one is to blame after hearing the words tumor & radiation in the same sentence. What I do have is a cervical hemiangioma (a benign vascular tumor in my neck). I have probably had it my entire life however it has progressed throughout the years. Hemiangiomas of the spine are very common however they are usually found in the lower vertebrae (lumbar and/or thoracic region) and they do not usually encompass the entire vertebral body as mine does. The orthopedic neurosurgeon I saw said I am only the second case he has actually see in his many years of practice.

Long story a little shorter.....I have had neck pain since my 20's which has progressed. I was seen a few times with no real findings and just resumed to living with intermittent pain. Last February I was asked to be a test patient for a neck MRI and the hemangioma was an incidental finding. Fast forward 9 months later.... the frequency and severity of my pain was worsening. I consulted with a couple other doctors and after very little convincing from Maine Man I went to see my PCP and then was sent to an Orthopedic Neurosurgeon who then consulted with some of his colleagues due to the rarity of my case.

The worst case scenarios with this cervical hemiangioma is a compression fracture potentially leading to paralysis and/or uncontrollable bleeding if I were to emergently require surgery.

The plan.... I will be receiving radiation therapy starting in approximately 2 - 3 weeks. I will receive 20 treatments total, 5 days a week for 1 month. I will be watched closely throughout and thereafter in hopes that the bone will grow back and/or scar tissue will replace the tumor. I am hopeful that this treatment will work but if it does not I will have to have neck surgery to fuse my vertebrae.

With this new adventure the commitment to post here on my blog everyday in 2011 will not happen but I will still try to post frequently. My plan is to sneak my camera into the cancer center and share some bits & pieces of my journey.

Life ~day 14

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

~Mother Teresa

Picture courtesy of my friend Marie. Thanks!

Simple Pleasures ~ day 12

"That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest"

~Henry David Thoreau

I borrowed this quote from Susy over at Chiot's Run, a chronicle of an organic garden. She has a lovely blog. If you never visited I encourage to.

Happy New Year - day 1

It is hard to believe another year has passed us by. When we are young the time doesn't seem to go fast enough and as we get older the years seem to fly right by, funny how that is. Not much for resolutions here...same old, loose a few pounds and such. Each year I like to pick a theme and stick with it. 2 years ago I proclaimed that it would be the year of the berry. We planted strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries that year. Last year the theme was bread and even though it took me until November to get a grip on it I did it. Found a recipe that was easy to make and now we have homemade bread readily available. This year I will be the Year of the BEE. Will see if my dreams come true....they usually do if I wish hard enough;) In addition to that I will be writing about my experiences with making gelato, yogurt, and feta cheese, and soap just as soon as I attempt it. Before you know it the greenhouse will be in full swing. We've already talked about starting some seedlings inside. Cheers to a New Year filled with new adventures.

It's the little things

Miracles aren't always big. If you spend your time looking for big miracles, your likely to miss a lot of little ones; finding your keys when you need them, getting the right medicine for an illness, arriving home safely. God's giving you little miracles all the time. The more you look for them the more you will see them.

Ordinary Days

I watched this video that was posted by friends on facebook tonight. I found it very touching! For those of you that know me personally know that I have struggled a bit with the transition Country Boy has made from age 9 to 10. I could so relate to much that was said in this video. You will as well if you have children of any age. I cried tears of joy and sadness all at the same time. Just the other night I was telling Maine Man that the hardest part of your children growing older is that you constantly have to reassess and make adjustments to how you parent your children. They don't have to change, you the parent has too! I think I also spouted off that I was headed to the library to get a parenting book to try and figure out how to handle this stage......lol.

On another note the kid above is not mine or anyone I know. Just snapped a picture of him at the Common Ground Fair a couple months back.

Almost time for New Years Resolutions.......anyone thinking that far ahead? Sorry I am a bit of a planner. Last year when I made my resolution of delivering a meal or a baked goodie once a week to some older folks down the way I had absolutely NO idea what the outcome would be! Little did I know that 1 year later I couldn't even imagine life without them! My old man friend holds a place in my heart like no other. He truly is one of the most involved and important people in my life. Blessed I am! So for this year I have a few things I'm pondering....loose a couple pounds is a yearlong battle so that is a given, no more cussing, to decrease my cell phone use while driving (never calling out.....want to set and example for my kids & be safe) and lastly to post 1 or more pictures a day on my blog for 365 days of 2011. What do you think.....little crazy? I think it will be fun, it will encourage me to take my camera out more and document the "ordinary days", and it will allow me to improve my photography and editing capabilities as they could use some more work. What are you pondering? Would love to hear!

Live in the Moment

We spend our whole lives worrying about the future, planning for the future, trying to predict the future, as if figuring out what will cushion the blow. But the future is always changing. The future is the home of our deepest fears and wildest hopes. But one this is certain when it finally reveals itself. The future is never the way we imagined it.

Recent facebook status that was borrowed from my friend Jayme....(thanks)

So True so I thought I'd share it here as well.

This picture was taken up by my Dad's house by Maine Man, tweaked a little by me. I think it is Mount Katahdin. Simply Beautiful!

Celebrating 15 years of Marriage

I am grateful for the life I share with Maine Man!

A quote I like.....

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you." -Author Unknown

LOVE YOU MAINE MAN~THANKS FOR JUST BEING YOU!!

Here is to 50 more good years!

Putting an End to Hunger

At the end of June I wrote a post about a person we (my farmer friend and I) make weekly meal deliveries to. Tonight marked our 15th trip over to his house dropping by food. Every week we deliver a dozen fresh eggs, milk, bread, garden vegetables, meat, canned goods (donated by friends...you know who you are, THANK YOU!), and sometimes even a sweet treat along with a couple gallons of frozen water to supply his cooler for the week.

In past weeks we have also delivered clothing, shoes, and household supplies (tp, soap etc.). Despite our efforts to supply him with weather appropriate (it was up to 100 degrees here today, actually VERY unusual weather for Maine in September) clean clothing he has the SAME attire on EVERY visit.... worn tan pants, t-shit, zip-up sweatshirt with cutoff sleeves propped up with clothes pins, a belt and sneakers with holes. Kinda strange but, to each his own I guess! My farmer friend has finally convinced the man that he'd take him to the social security office next week in hopes to get him enrolled in benefits. He should be able to collect as he is 63 years old. My FF told him he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to live and he wanted to help him while he could......brought tears to my eyes! I can't imagine life without that man. LOVE HIM, he has become such an IMPORTANT part of my life! There isn't a day that goes by that I do not visit him or at the very least talk to him. One that note I can't urge you enough to take a few extra moments a week out of your busy lives and spend some time with an elderly neighbor or relative. I promise you they will enrich your lives and teach you invaluable lessons if you just take the time and listen.

On a lighter note.....are you wondering why I posted a picture of our naughty dog Rona? Lately we noticed she kept loosing weight to the point of real concern. We wormed her using 2 different wormers thinking that was her problem. After close observation we realized she was literally starving herself in hopes to get table scraps come days end. Despite our dogs bottomless bowl of decent dog food. Can you even imagine? We have NEVER had a dog do something of this nature before. Now in order to get our spoiled rotten dog to eat dog food twice daily we give her what we now call "dog cereal" covering her food with milk or meat broth. Has anyone else ever had a finicky dog like this?

Everybody has a Secret.......

...........Hiding place that is. A few evenings a week I often retreat into my secret spot for a quite moment. Sometimes even accompanied by a cold one ;) for a moment of sanity. This is my view from the hay loft. I never tell when I am going and rarely does anyone come looking for me. I think for fear of being assigned a chore or two, lol!

It was difficult to get a good shot of her but she's always in the door sill working her magic night after night. I tell the kids our barn is Charlotte's paradise. I can remember in my younger years visiting farms and as we toured the barns I would always think to myself, "If I had this place I'd clean it up, dust out all these cob webs and wash the windows a bit." Only now I know why they aren't all shiny clean. If you have a barn that is truly being used for it's sole purpose you probably don't have time. Funny how those webs don't seem to bother me anymore :)

Special Visitor

A couple posts back I mentioned that we were getting a visitor from inner city New York. We were united through the Fresh Air Fund. We were fortunate to get such a LOVELY young lady! She was a PERFECT fit with our family!

She helped in the gardens even cooked us breakfast two mornings in a row.

Obsessively picked eggs ;)

She even got to drive the tractor.

Play with Jesse

Catch her FIRST fish and MANY more thereafter.

Have the time of her life tubing

Swim for hours

Go out in the boat

Eat lobster

Join us in a very special event

in search of seashells & crabs

Our hope is to stay in touch and have her back again next year !