Dairy Daze...and Now Beyond

Last night Ellen decided to watch this movie, again ... When we first got it, a few months ago, she wasn't very impressed with it; if you have seen it you realize that much of the interaction on it is non-verbal.  The horse narrates the movie to a certain extent, but the horses do not talk to each other.  In that way it makes it a bit above a 5 yr old's enjoyment, although there are sections where Ellen laughs.  I haven't actually sat down and watched the movie through seamlessly; but Ellen has watched it enough and I have caught the majority of it to where I enjoy it, too.  But last night she surprised me. After it was over she turned toward me and asked; "There aren't any more Indians, are there?"  This necessitated the discussion; "Well, Ellen, you have an aunt and an uncle who are Native American Indian."  And I attempted to explain in the simplest way I could the difference between 1800s Native Americans and modern Native American...

OK, Ellen.  Here is your picture on mommy's blog. This Santa hat has spent all year on the top shelf of her closet.  Off and on she has wanted it down in the worst way, but I have made her wait 'til Christmas.  Well....close enough to Christmas.  She just couldn't stand it any longer.  So last night I got it down and this AM she wanted her picture taken and wanted me to post it on my blog.  This was not what I was going to blog about, but it's awfully cute! And while we are on the subject of Christmas.  Ellen has talked several times about Santa Claus not being real and all.  She wants to know the specific reason WHY he isn't real, and we go over how there really are reindeer but that they can't really fly.  Elves don't really exist...etc.  But in school they wrote a letter to Santa this week, and Ellen was all happy about that.  Hubby wanted her to tell him what she asked Santa to bring her; you know, so ...

It is high time to do some Christmas shopping.  Do I shop locally, where they have nothing that I want to give as gifts?  Do I get the best of the mediocre that they have to offer around Dallas County? Do I go out of our county to a larger town that may or may not have what I want?  That means spending more on gas.  Or do I just go online and use the credit card?  Sometimes you can get good deals with low shipping charges, that would be comparable to the gas I'd spend if I went out of town.  Hmmm... I dunno. Ellen wants a Barbie lap top.  I don't know what they do or don't do or if they'd grow along with her.  I think it'd be a nice idea to get her something computer-ish that she could learn from, with games and such.  i would just like her to be able to get some use out of it throughout gradeschool, not just when she is a little'un.  I guess I really need to go to a superstore somewhere and investiga...

Way back when I still lived in Portland, I remember my wry, eye-rolling amusement at my sister-in-law for her lists.  She lived her life by lists and her day-runner (Blackberries and iPads and other such high-tech organizational helps not having been invented yet); grocery, errands, church activities, school activities...etc.  You name it, she had a list for it. At that time I lived such a simple life I thought it was all hilarious. Times have changed. Not that I don't live a simple life now, and I am still terribly disorganized. But I find that a running list helps me to get things done.  Hubby always has a running list of things to do.  We, hubby and I, are alike in that we use no high-tech gadgets for our list keeping.  Not even a day-runner.  We specialize in random slips of paper; stuffed in pockets, lying around on tables, counters or chairs.  It certainly helps me focus my activites to get things accomplished; even the simplest weekl...

As you can tell this is an old pic.  This was taken just a couple of weeks after the great ice storm of 2007.  We were out of power for about 9 days, I believe.  I was 8 months pregnant and not happy. However. Matilda, even during the ice storm, whilst the rest of us were slogging around in the ice, snow and sub-freezing temps...Matilda spent her days curled up on the sofa; blissfully ignorant of the rigors of keeping warm and milking cows with no electricity. I am of the opinion that if you have a happy cat; you are quite likely to have a happy home.  Comfort attracts a cat like a magnet.  She will find the snuggest place in the house and curl up there.  In fact, I just pushed her off of my lap to write this.  It is difficult to type with a cat in your lap.  If there is much dissension in the house, the cat will be nervous.  Cats can sense things like that.  Matilda has been a great kitty.  She k...

We had to take two non-producing culls to the sale barn, along with the bull we just got last year. He was the white one.  I was sad to have to get rid of him, but he was siring these humongo calves that needed pulled from the cows.  Hubby was going to put him in with the heifers after we got this last blue-blooded bull, but decided that if he is giving the older cows such calving problems, what would he do to the little heifers?  So, off to the sale barn he went.  At least we have another 9 months of his progeny to come along.  I hope we get a bunch of cute little white heifers.  This was not what I was going to post for today, but my computer is going so slowly I knew I wouldn't be able to get a pic to load on here before I had to shut down. I will try for something more interesting tomorrow.

Ellen and I went to church.  Hubby stayed home and worked on his hay baler.  Then this PM he baled hay with the neighbor.  They got a grand total of 8 bales which, when split, of course gives us FOUR bales each.  WOO.  and  HOO. Hubby says he probably won't do that second cutting next year.  HA The people we'd met last week and I'd invited to church, actually did come to church this week.  They likely will not be permanent residents in the area, but it was nice to see them anyway.  I hope they come back. Just the past few days Ellen has become totally enchanted with reading.  It has become magic to her.  She gets books that have languished on her shelves for awhile and is trying to read them.  She can pick out quite a few words.  Some of the books she has memorized, or mostly memorized, so she can sound out a few of the longer words.  Every so often she will get aggravated, throw down the book, and say that she ...