Common Ground Coffee House #105

[Helen]

Looks like you have good back-up, Ann. TRY to baby yourself a bit, OK? With this one, it's worth it...

Gorgeous horse! He's really big -- I thought only warmbloods and such grew to that size, but he looks more thoroughbred....is he a mix? And yeah, I can see those reins are tight!

Friend of God -- are you a professional chef or something?

 

[annsni]

Looks like you have good back-up, Ann. TRY to baby yourself a bit, OK? With this one, it's worth it...

Gorgeous horse! He's really big -- I thought only warmbloods and such grew to that size, but he looks more thoroughbred....is he a mix? And yeah, I can see those reins are tight!

He's a Hanovarian TB cross but definately looked more TB back then. Since then, we've gotten him to gain about 300 lbs. (he was just back from a bad injury then so he had lost a LOT of weight because he had stopped eating), so now he looks SO different. I'll have to get updated pics. But he does have the long back and legs and the thinner build of the TB in general.

Those reins were so tight back then that I'd be shaking by the time I got off of him!! He's since learned to hold himself better and better and I've actually had times where he's fully carrying himself! He even did a canter pirouette on me one day (SO not expected! LOL)! He'll make a good dressage horse as he learns more and more about himself. He's very willing and usually very happy to work. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to use him. He's my friend's and I've been riding her horses for over 22 years and have full access to them. So when she goes away, I'm more than happy to take care of them (she also has a 15.3h Polish warmblood/TB cross who's 28 and going blind, the poor boy!).

 

[menageriekeeper]

Helen, in my case it called stubbornness, pure and simple. I watched my mother make a literal cripple of herself because she was afraid of the pain in her back. She wouldn't listen to the docs when they told to leave off the pain killers and work through the pain.

So when I was surprised with two bad discs in my neck (flared up good moving field stones) I asked the doc what could I do to make it worse. The top University of Alabama at B'ham neurosurgeon told me there was nothing really I could do to MAKE it worse, that it would worsen and/or get better on it's own. He said it wasn't time to treat with surgery until I got to the point to where the pain was ruling my life. Well there is one thing I hate more than taking pain killers and that is surgery! Instead I made it a point to exercise and continue with as much activity as I possibly can and that includes karate.

Karate started out as an experiment. I have a teacher who is willing to allow me to work at my own pace (he's getting paid regardless!) and understands that I have 3 or 4 (now) bad discs as well as arthritis in my knees. The two discs in my neck sometimes prevent me from doing certain kicks, the two in my back(it might just be one, I need an x-ray) keep me from doing more than 15 curlups and from doing any sit ups and my knees sometimes keep me from doing jump kicks. Some days I can't work out at all, maybe for a week or more. Other times I do half or less than the rest of the class. But, it has been a rather successful experiment. I am much more fit than I was when I started. Most days I can match the other adults pretty well.

Today is a good example. I went even though I really didn't feel like it, worked through about 95% of the class and even sparred two round and now I feel way better than I did an hour ago. I even got a compliment! The guy I was sparring had no idea I was over forty until today.

Now I'm starving, so I'm off to gobble a bowl of chili and get back to cleaning this house.

Ha! Helen after reading your story, I believe you are probably just as stubborn as I am. Tons of topsoil. Makes me glad my thumbs are both black, cause I'd much rather do karate than tote dirt!

 

[Friend of God]

Friend of God -- are you a professional chef or something?

:laugh: Or Something is about as close as I get, Helen.

I'm just a cook, who looks at cooking as therapy for depression and bi-polar disorder, and to help my concentration and memory.

A Professional Chef would look at my attempts at haute cuisine and wonder if I could even pronounce haute cuisine. :laugh:

The Ladies here in the Coffeehouse, and in the What's for Dinner? thread are far better cooks than I am. I'm just lucky, and persistent.

I've posted some recipes in the BB Recipe Thread # 3, take a look at them if you want. If I can make them, you can probably make them better.

 

[Helen]

That's amazing, MK! But I understand what you are doing and why you are doing it and God bless you.

I'm arthritic, too, but my back is OK. The tons of topsoil were for two reasons. First, we live in an area of 1.5 acre lots and almost all the others have 'lawn' -- more correctly referred to as mown pasture -- front and back. We did too, at first. But it wasn't lawn and the previous owner had spent something like four hours once a week mowing the entire thing on his John Deere tractor! No thanks.

However another problem presented itself with the original lay of the land. We have a Rogue River irrigation ditch along the back border of our property and have the right, as do all the neighbors, to dam it up and flood the yard for water during the dry season (the water is channeled out from the Rogue and back to it through a series of irrigation channels for farmers and homeowners who live in outlying areas). Neighbors on both sides of us flood irrigate their mown pastures. Because -- although we are all about 50 feet above the Rogue, which is just down the block -- our particular piece happened to be just a BIT lower than the neighbors on either side of us, when they flood irrigated you could stock our driveway with trout!

SOOOOOO, we had the 'grass' bulldozed up except for the back half acre, which belongs to the animals and is behind the stalls. And we did bring in tons of topsoil for the sides especially to keep the water away. Then we planted walk-through gardens, which I love. After the initial hard work, they take extremely little maintenance and look lovely almost all year round. Until our compost from the horses is ready in the spring, we needed weed protection, so there are several inches of shredded bark over every bit of dirt apart from the pasture area. So yeah, it was hard work at first, but it sure kept down my blood sugar (I am a type 2 diabetic).

But we look out now on roses and birch trees and even a silver gum (Aussie type) which is going great guns, and on magnolias, redwoods, maples, a ginko, Japanese maples, some Chinese willows, lots of heather and butterfly bushes -- all kinds of stuff -- and bulbs all over for the spring. We have ten fruit trees and for Mother's Day last year my oldest son and daughter and our pastor and Barry got together and built me SEVEN raised beds for vegetables. Each is five feet by eight feet and over three feet deep. They line one of the pasture fences (on our side!). So the gardening is a lot of fun for us and it keeps us active when our main work is Barry's research. That tends to keep us sitting down a lot and the house is not hard to keep up so that doesn't take much time. The outside work with the yard and animals is very rewarding for us and a lot of fun.

Even when I have to strip the roses by hand!

Now you take care of yourself, y'hear? I can govern what I do pretty much with the kids gone and Gina and Barry here. You are still going great guns with your family. You'll be in my prayers.

 

[Helen]

:laugh: Or Something is about as close as I get, Helen.

I'm just a cook, who looks at cooking as therapy for depression and bi-polar disorder, and to help my concentration and memory.

A Professional Chef would look at my attempts at haute cuisine and wonder if I could even pronounce haute cuisine. :laugh:

The Ladies here in the Coffeehouse, and in the What's for Dinner? thread are far better cooks than I am. I'm just lucky, and persistent.

I've posted some recipes in the BB Recipe Thread # 3, take a look at them if you want. If I can make them, you can probably make them better.

I DID look at them. That's why I was wondering if you were a professional!

Way to go!

I am curious about the bipolar stuff. When was it diagnosed? Are the medications working well? And good for you to find ways to help combat it! You are quite a guy.

 

[Gwen]

Hi

I've been reading about the horses. You all are so brave. I don't think I want to be around anything bigger than me. lol I'm a little afraid of dogs, so horses really freak me out. However, my niece rides all the time. She has a beautiful horse named Pisgah.

Now, can I torture you with more wedding pics? Here's a couple more.




The church was really beautiful--almost like a European cathedral. It was built in 1832.

See ya'll later!

 

[Friend of God]

I DID look at them. That's why I was wondering if you were a professional!

Way to go!

I am curious about the bipolar stuff. When was it diagnosed? Are the medications working well? And good for you to find ways to help combat it! You are quite a guy.

I was diagnosed last year, and yes the meds are working well.

My concentration and memory are shot due to the despression and BPD.

I stopped cooking when I was diagnosed with depression, then my therapist suggested I try it to help my concentration, and memory. It seems to be working okay, I just have to watch out for a Manic phase.

The cooking helps keep me "centered", with the planning, prep, execution, and service of the meal, and I like the challange of cooking new recipes. Jesus can't help me battle my bahaviorial problems if I'm not ready to find tools to fight with.

Guess you can say my cooking is really a weapon against my demons. :thumbs:

My therapist also suggested I switch to a King James Bible [No. He's not KJVO] to help with my concentration and memory.

 

[I Am Blessed 24]

Sue: Have you ever tried wearing a filter mask? They protect from really cold air, and are ususally cheap and available at a hardware.

I have some of those, Rob. It's not so much the cold now as being around a crowd where half the people are sick, and coughing, sneezing, and sniffling. I picked up this last 'bout' at the doctor's office! I was perfectly healthy when I went in for a prescription renewal and came down sick the very next day!!!

There is so much sickness going around, the medical center is turning down appointments for the Well Baby Clinic. They are telling the mothers' not to bring their babies in for check-ups unless they are sick, because if they're not sick when they get to the doctors, they will be sick when they leave...

Good morning all,

It is 20º and we're expecting rain for the next four days. Yippee! NOT! So far, I have found someone to do my errands for me so I still have not been out of the house since Christmas Eve day!

I absolutely have to go out tomorrow though. I have to deliver lunch to the school for Brent's birthday! Since all my errand-runners will be at work, I'm on my own.

I'm making the Sloppy Joes (recipe is in the thread - calls for a sleeve of crackers for every 4 pounds of hamburger) today and hubby is picking up the cake tonight. My big thing is going to be getting all that soda pop in a cooler with ice. If it wasn't going to freeze tonight, I could have hubby put the cooler/pop in the trunk of the car and ice it down before he goes to bed. As it is, I will have to do it tomorrow. The principal can carry it into the school for me. I'm sure it will all work out once I get started.

Anyway, the look on Brent's face should be priceless. That will make it all worthwhile. After lunch, when the kids are back in the classroom, I'm going to purchase a Bible, for his birthday gift, from the church. A nice "grown-up" Bible. He has been using one of those red ones, $5.00 I think, for three years. I want him to continue to use that one for school and the new one for church, soul-winning and home devotionals.

Well, I've rambled on long enough.

Time for hot chocolate!
§ue

 

[Friend of God]

Good Morning Everybody,

It is cccold here this morning.

I agree Sue, people get over this flu[or whatever it is] then go back to work, or school and get exposed all over again.

I brought in Pancakes, sausage/bacon, sausage gravy and biscuits, and Hot blueberry muffins. Enjoy.

Well, with what Sue said, guess where we have to go today? That's right...the Doctor.

Time to go warm up the car and scrape off the ice.

 

[Gwen]

Good Morning!

It's 32 degrees this morning, but the wind has died down. Yesterday, we had 28 mile an hour winds that blew some small limbs out of the trees. Have to clean up the yard today! But it's sunny and going to be 52 degrees, so I will enjoy getting outside.

Helen, my hubby (Don) and I made a raised perennial flower bed last fall, and I have planted it with all kinds of flowers. I can't wait to see it this spring. What kinds of veggies do you grow? I grow lettuce and tomatoes.

Gotta fly! I have errands to do this morning...

 

[annsni]

I NEVER take well kids to the doctor unless it's a well check-up and then I schedule the first appointment of the day (and Purel the kids when we leave). Nicole is home today with a neck strain (I think) and I was thinking of taking her to the doctor but I can't until after 3:30 when Lauren is home to watch the little ones but I have my presurgical physical then so she'll just have to wait.

Today is 35 degrees which is so cold compared to what we've had these last months!! We were at 70 over the weekend!! Today I'm going to take Joanna to preschool (leaving Robby home with Nicole - atleast she can do his reading with him from the couch) and I have to go pay our property taxes. This is going to hurt because it's the first time I'm doing it ourselves (we had a mortgage up until recently so they paid it). It kills me but atleast we've set aside the money for it. You know what we've been paying all this time?? $13,000 each year!! Yep, that's thirteen thousand dollars!! We have 1 acre, a 40 year old house and live in a village. Without the village, we'd be at about $10,000 but we DO have our own police department and such. UGH!! See why I'm so sick??

So, after paying the taxes, I'm going to get a hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts since it's the only splurge we'll be able to afford. LOL!!

Have a great day everyone!

Ann

 

[Jim1999]

Well, half the day is gone and I am finally getting around to post my hello. Good day everyone.

Nothing exciting going on around here. The temperature dropped to winter temps, but not to fear, it will be back to almost summer temps this weekend, and still no snow.

Reading annsi's report on taxes shocked me awake for sure. We have over 100 acres and we thought our $2000.00 yearly taxes were excessive! Why are your taxes so heavy on such a small piece of soil and a house?

Have a gorgeous day everyone!

Cheers,

Jim

 

[annsni]

Reading annsi's report on taxes shocked me awake for sure. We have over 100 acres and we thought our $2000.00 yearly taxes were excessive! Why are your taxes so heavy on such a small piece of soil and a house?

I have absolutely NO idea why our taxes are so high! Our schools are pretty good (although quite anti-Christian in my district) and have fully-funded sports but still. My friend moved from here (paying $9000 a year on a 1/2 acre) to Virginia and is paying only $1000 on 8 acres with tons of barns and outbuildings!! It's just sick, IMO. Oh - also know that starter houses in my village start over $400,000!! Sometimes it really makes me want to move to someplace else. I could sell this house and buy a GORGEOUS house elsewhere in the country and still have money leftover to completely redecorate. Instead, I live in a 40 year old house with old furniture that's ripping, walls that need to be painted, carpets that need to be replaced, garage doors that don't like to close and so many projects that are not done because we are house poor. **SIGH** It IS a nice area (we're 2 blocks from the water), but still........


Ann

 

[Helen]

Yup, chilly-cold! I was expecting to see snow on the ground this morning, but we are still hovering above 32 and it's drizzling rain. However it is supposed to dip below 20 in the next night or two and so, clearly, if the clouds keep dumping, what they will dump will be snow.

And my electric teapot quit! Sigh.... I mean, that's my blood transfusion in the mornings! We have an electric teapot here in the den, and a small toaster and a microwave so we don't have to wake up Chris, whose room is at the other end of the house off the kitchen. So I've got water in the microwave...

FoG -- I've looked at some of your recipes. You are SERIOUS about this! Some look really good! Barry and I have read that the spicy foods are really good for you in a number of ways. I found out years ago, when I was going through a series of migraines that ended up being an abcessed tooth, that I could decrease the pain significantly by putting a little hot pepper in a bite of something. For some reason my brain didn't associate the migraines with pain but that taste on my tongue would send the endorphins flooding through my system and the pain would be dramatically lowered in a few seconds.

We were also reading something yesterday about curries and other spicy foods being excellent to help boost the immune system, combat cancers and help a number of other things that ail you. We both love curries and I know a lot of people like the Mexican dishes, so I thought I would pass that on here. It's cheap, at least, and no side effects like drugs, and the food tastes good, so we can go with that!

Sue, one word about that bug you thought you caught at the dr.'s office: most bugs take a number of days to incubate, or, actually, to increase their numbers in your system enough to make you sick. So you probably did not get that one there, but a number of days before. If you find you are getting more sick in the winter than in the summer, it may be a lack of vitamin D from the sunshine. What our bodies can make in an hour from the sun is vastly more than the bits that are in multivitamins. Take a little vitamin D daily and see if that doesn't help. Barry and I found a great difference when we started that -- we still get 'under the weather' as our bodies fight off this or that, but rarely are actually laid up with anything anymore.

Well, it's getting light enough out now to go feed the beasts and get the day started. I've still got half a mug of tea to finish, but I'll pray you all have a great day. Stay calm, know you can't get everything done you want to, and work on the rest!

God bless you all.

 

[Helen]

Read the posts that came in while I was typing. Hey, folks, move out here! We have 1.5 acres and pay less than $3000 a year -- and we have four buildings on the place! Paying $13,000 is OBSCENE! Whose pockets are you lining????

 

[annsni]

Read the posts that came in while I was typing. Hey, folks, move out here! We have 1.5 acres and pay less than $3000 a year -- and we have four buildings on the place! Paying $13,000 is OBSCENE! Whose pockets are you lining????

Certainly NOT ours!! LOL!

 

[menageriekeeper]

LOL! I have you all beat.

We own a house in "town", 4 bdr about 2800 square feet and about a half acre and a 5 acre plot in the country and a half a block in another town that is empty but set up for a manufactured home and together our taxes were less than $550. The school system we are part of is in the top ten in AL.

$13000 would just about pay my mortgage every year!

Good morning everyone!

The house is clean or at least as clean as it is goint to get. I sat down for a bite of breakfast, but now I think I'm going to have to have a cup of coffee. That means making a fresh pot.

I'm waiting on a customer but while I wait and after I've had more coffee, I'm going to rearrange the way the printers are set up, so they are easier to use and hopefully that will give me more space on my sewing table. I also need to crawl under the computer table and see if I can locate a cable that is missing. Which means I hope I haven't made it disappear.

The rest of the day should pass by rather stress free for a change. See ya'll later!

 

[Karen]

Ann, move to OK.
Our taxes were $600 for the house, and $100 for the personal property.

We have a 3 bedroom nice but not fancy house.

 

[annsni]

Ann, move to OK.
Our taxes were $600 for the house, and $100 for the personal property.

We have a 3 bedroom nice but not fancy house.

I wish!! DH is pretty set here - he's a pastor at our church. If God calls us anywhere else, we'll be totally set!! I have to admit, we have a nice house in a very nice area. It's a 5 bedroom farm ranch (that needs some work), with 3 1/2 bathrooms and a great yard. Like I said, we're 2 blocks from the water where we have a private beach. Here's some pics of the house inside:

The kitchen when it was once clean: http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4467.JPG

Another view: http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4468.JPG

One more view of the kitchen: http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4470.JPG

Dining room (add a ton of books to the floor and table and that's what it looks like now): http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4476.JPG

Living room with child on the couch - LOL! Living room stays OK as long as Bob puts his stuff away: http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4478.JPG

Den - with child again and bunny too. This is where I'm sitting right now. Add in shavings tossed from the bunny cage, some dishes on the computer desk and toys everywhere and you've got a picture of what it is now: http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4481.JPG

The other side of the den - MAN, I have to clean this place up!! LOL! http://www.seekone.com/ann/house/IMG_4482.JPG

I'd show the bedrooms but they're NEVER clean - LOL!!

Ann