keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[Quail_Antwerp]

YAY!!! Congrats keljonma!!!!!!!

 

[lorihadams]

Yay! So glad you're back and not at the mercy of library hours anymore!

How's Titan adjusting so far?

 

[keljonma]

I think Titan is bored to tears, poor guy! We aren't fenced here, so he doesn't have the run of the yard, and he is embarrassed by being leashed. (He gives me this - Gee, maw, do we have to wear this thing in public? look. ) There is nothing really for him to guard, except the house and yard, so it doesn't take long to do that.

The neighbor has 7 German Shepherds and they are kept penned outside. They bark at anything and everything and at all hours. Titan still barks when he first goes outdoors (warning - I'm on guard) and when he goes in (warning - you may not see me, but I'm still on guard). And then if anyone comes into the yard or to the door, he barks as well.

We stopped by an Amish farm yesterday afternoon to purchase some eggs and he started barking at the farmer's cat when it got too near the hen house and pen for Titan's liking.

 

[Henrietta23]

We have had as many as three German Shepherds next door and they were/are like that too. Nice dogs, but very barky. Maybe if you get Titan one of those manly collars with the big metal studs protruding out from it he'd feel better?
Yay for internet at home!!

 

[Farmfresh]

I OWN one of those barky German Shepherds! Sirius runs out the back door barking. Races around the yard barking... slowly... so slowly he winds his barking down. He gets shriller and shriller... till finally he stops. I think he is just special in the head. Not only does he bother us he aggravates my other dog Cassie (siberian husky/german shepherd mix). When he has his just can't shut up moments she will sometimes race across the yard and just roll him! He is a good dog mostly, but people never expect German Shepherds to be quite as neurotic as they really are. We do try our best to keep him quiet for the sake of the neighbors.

By the way kel... SO Glad you finally got your home internet fixed!

 

[lorihadams]

My chocolate lab barks all the time. I love her dearly but if we have to pen her (she usually is in the house) like when Tonka sliced his tongue and had to stay cool and clean and dry, she barked her pretty little head off as if to say "I'm an inside dog, I'm an inside dog, I'm an inside dog"

 

[sylvie]

Hi Kel- I just read where you Bought eggs. That had to be weird.
Mine are winding down and beginning to molt, so I will probably be doing the same soon.
I froze loads of egg whites, losing them all Tuesday. My fridge freezer defrosted itself while I was at work. Something prevented the door from closing.
Glad that you are back online. That library experience makes you appreciate having your own doesn't it!

 

[keljonma]

My chocolate lab barks all the time. I love her dearly but if we have to pen her (she usually is in the house) like when Tonka sliced his tongue and had to stay cool and clean and dry, she barked her pretty little head off as if to say "I'm an inside dog, I'm an inside dog, I'm an inside dog"

I can sure picture that, Lori!

 

[keljonma]

Yes, Sylvie, that was weird buying eggs. In the years The Ladies were laying, I only had to buy eggs twice - both during winter when I needed 6 or 8 dozen for church events. The Amish farm we went to charges $2 dozen for large eggs. He said he has Golden Comets and he gets a new flock every year, so that the pullets are starting to lay as the old hens slow down. His flock has a small barn and a large fenced pen area. The ladies were outside enjoying the sun and dust bathing when we were there. The fresh eggs are nice, but the yolks were still pretty pale yellow - not dark orange like The Ladies eggs. I guess I will keep shopping around until I find some I love or until I can have a flock again.

Im sorry to hear about your freezer problems. I havent frozen eggs in ages, and mostly used them for things like casseroles back then (before the farm). Do you know if they work as well as fresh in baking?

My old fridge was very reliable and easy. Both the freezer and fridge doors on this one have to be pushed very hard for them to close all the way. So this refrigerator I have now is a bit disappointing although I am happy to report we havent had any carpenter ants in the freezer for almost 5 days now!

I am definitely appreciative of home internet. Although, dh and I did discuss not getting hooked up here at home, just to save some money. The big problem was dh never got to check his email on a regular basis. And that 30 minute time out thing is a pain. At the Andover library, you have to enter your library card number to sign on to the computers, and after you do that 3 times in one day, it will not allow you further access. Then you have to explain to the librarian why you NEED to use the computer. The Henderson Library in Jefferson has never done that. If there were no other patrons waiting to use the computers, you could actually use one all day long - as long as you didnt mind signing in every 30 minutes.

 

[keljonma]

8/28/09 - Friday

This week we have been in the upper 60s and low 70s during the day, and in the 60s and upper 50s at night. Perfect sleeping weather.

DH is back to work today after having three days off. His next days off are Sept 1, 7, 10, and 12. It looks like our Experiencing God group will get together on Sept 12, since Laurie emailed me that the group didnt want to meet without dh there.

Yesterday morning the landlord brought over a used gas stove, which he said he had to have converted to handle propane hookup. It sat in the dining room all day waiting for Mr. Fix-it to remove the old oven and stovetop and cabinetry. Naturally, he came just as I was preparing dinner. It took him about 2 hours to get the job done. His junior-high aged daughter came with him, and her basic job was to run to the truck for tools he needed and to carry the wood and stove parts outside. He took the wood (I guess because he can burn it), but left the useless stove and oven parts on my small glass-topped table on the front porch. I dont know what Ill do with them yet. He didnt know how to adjust the pilot lights on the stove, so dh looked it up online and adjusted them after Mr. Fix-it left. It took 5 minutes, most of which was dh trying to determine whether the adjuster was in the front or the rear of the stove.

So we have a new-to-us GE gas stove with oven. DH is all excited about getting homemade bread again - we have been buying whole-grain bread at the store, but it isnt the same as homemade. Not to mention, twice as expensive. :/

We finally ate dinner around 8:30 last night. We had sauted green beans and garlic. The green beans were from a friends garden, and were a bit old and tough, really better suited for longer cooking, but were delicious anyway. The garlic was really sweet and mild.

After the landlord dropped off the stove, dh and I went fishing at Pymatuning.

We tried 3 different spots before we found one where the fish were biting. I got some bluegill and dh caught some perch, but none were large enough to keep.

In yesterday's mail I got a 35-page letter from my sis-in-law in NY giving me financial advice. The last 10 pages were a list of books I should be reading. The rest covered detailed, step-by-step instructions telling me how we should be putting money into savings, paying off our debt, stop buying things on credit, and to stop living above our income. Her example for how to pay bills used a paycheck of $1000 every two weeks and an envelope system for bill paying. I think it is funny how people give advice without knowing the facts. I want to ask her for the situation where there is no debt except a mortgage, utilities, and car insurancewith $0 monthly pay check or living off $500 a month. That isnt our situation now, but it was for almost a year and a half, when we were frugally living off our savings. I know she meant well, but she has never had any idea of our situation. We havent used credit (well, except to purchase the farm) in almost 10 years. We rarely go out to eat, unless we have a gift card to spend, and we make the majority of foods most people (outside the ss group, of course) purchase as boxed. We buy in bulk and make our own boxed goods, cleaning products, baked goods, breads, cheeses and yogurt. She didnt ask for our situation, and although I say I would love to tell her to get a grip on reality, I have no intention of telling her. It is obvious to me she doesnt completely practice what she preaches. This is the woman that pays for 6 newspaper subscriptions just for cutting coupons. This is the woman who still owes us money she borrowed years ago. As you can tell, her holier-than-thou attitude really got on my nerves.

I have laundry to do today and was hoping Id be able to hang the clothes to dry

I think it is bad enough having to go to the laundry to wash, but I really hate using the dryer there. However, I woke to rain this morning, so no outside drying today.

I am using the rain as an excuse for my crankiness. I best get a move on; I think DH is expecting bread and cookies when he gets home today.