Farmer's Wife Trivia

This is part of the Random 25 Things I challenged Traci to. I asked my husband if he could do it, and he said sure, but after some conversation, I realized he was sort of missing the point. So THEN, I asked him if he could come up with 25 random little-known things about me. There was a sort of snort, then he pointed out that when I have a revelation about myself, I usually tell everyone. He suggested looking through my blog from the past year and I would probably find the 25! "Surely NOT!", protests the Farmer's Wife. So I looked. And dadgummit if he isn't right! I'm hoping this list doesn't have repeats of those, but I'm not promising anything.

25 MORE Things About the Farmer's Wife:

1. I can't STAND puzzles...not crossword, not jigsaw, not Sudoku...nothing.

2. I love algebra.

3. Blue was my favorite color until I was 12 years old. Now, you'd be hardpressed to find that color in my house.

4. Someday, I'd like to own a forest green restored 1947 Chevy pickup. It's the ride of my dreams!

5. My favorite duck is a cinnamon teal. Do you have a favorite?

6. Anise or licorice scents make me feel sick.

7. Speaking of sick, cauliflower makes me throw up...and YES, I've tried it with cheese!

8. I think I'm a Southern belle, born too far North.

9. I really, really, really love pretty high heel shoes!

10. Three smells I absolutely swoon for: rain in the summer, horses, the back of a baby's neck.

11. I really only like yellow roses.

12. Tim Conway is my favorite actor.

13. I like weird salads...my friends check them out pretty closely when they come to my house for supper.

14. I've become a book snob, SOB! I nearly can't read contemporary fiction! Narrows my choices, at Walmart.

15. My favorite book in the Bible is Isaiah.

16. Cows smell good to me.

17. I like ruffles on my clothes...not everywhere, but a touch never hurts.

18. I once had a mouse in my kayak (true story). Everyone made it out alive, but neither the mouse or I will ever be the same.

19. (If you are opposed to hunting, go to #20) Shooting or hooking my meat is the greatest rush; cleaning it out is the biggest pain.

20. I can become totally, completely, insanely absorbed in gardening...doing it, reading about it, discussing it.

21. One of my biggest fears in life is growing stagnant; spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically.

22. I have an astounding memory for lines from movies and songs, but not for what's in my refrigerator...

23. I LOVE picnics! Even in the living room.

24. If I could wear clothes like Doris Day wears in Pillow Talk, I'd be a happy woman.

25. My favorite sound in all the world is laughter...particularly from my family.

26. Swimming suits are from Satan.

27. I like pie for breakfast.

28. I like waffles for supper.

29. Carol Burnett....comic genius and can bring me to tears, no matter what.

30. I'm not good with boundaries....such as having 30 things instead of 25.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is my FAVORITE of all holidays! And it has been since I was just little. There are pictures of me holding a Valentine from my Dad that is nearly bigger than me, when I was not yet 1, and he's faithfully given me a box of candy every year of my life. Yesterday, I went to the mailbox and there it was! He was my first Valentine, and probably will always be my favorite. And Dad always signed his cards to me with x's and o's....I look for them!

When I was in the one-room country school, it was a big deal to make Valentine boxes! I remember working so hard on those, and it was so fun to see what everyone came up with. There was great worry over what Valentines to give whom, because I wanted the boys to know I liked them, but in a general "you're pretty cool, for a boy" sort of way. It was very complicated.

I love the paper heart-shaped doilies, the construction paper hearts, the chocolate, the girly aspect of it...everything! Last year I tried to make red pancakes for my family. They were met with great suspicion and I probably won't do that again this year. I think we'll do something with the strawberries.

Oh! And I gave the bookclub girls a little package, on Thursday, sort of as a joke....inside there was a pendant I made, a bodice-buster swoony romance novel, heart shaped glitter and a homemade card. Happenstance would have it that I was able to tailor each book for each person; Scottish lords for my Caledonian friends, artist stuff for my artist friend, Southern Scarlett-type for the Gone-With-The -Wind buff. I'd grabbed a handful of them at the secondhand store without looking, and it was a funny coincidence! Anyway, no one was that impressed with the handmade card or pendants I'd labored over, but they LOVED the books! How funny! We were reading parts out loud and laughing when the hostess's Dad called. She was trying to shush us, but we were having too much fun. Dear me. I wonder what he thought of her bookclub!

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day, full of xoxxoxoxoxoxox's!

Maggie moves out...

Well, she didn't run away again, but she DID move out last night! The good thing about my girl is that she's able to learn and adapt. She decided not to run away, because it was getting dark, but the loft in the playground looked like a great place to live where no one would be on her case all the time. So she packed her backpack up, AGAIN, and her new horse sleeping bag, announced her impending departure and strolled out of the house.

It didn't get quite the response she was looking for. Keep in mind that it was about 15 degrees out, and I was already pretty peeved with the child. I told her to watch out for wild animals and wished her well.

Here are the pictures of her hideout. She's TOTALLY mad that I was amused! And get this: she managed to tough it out for about 20 minutes. She's TOUGHER than her mama, I can tell you that. After a decent time for us to miss her, she came and requested help packing up, and apologized for her snottiness. And saw the chips and sandwiches on the table, and suddenly remembered that even though she'd seceded from the union, she'd not packed hardtack.

All is well, now, but I had to tell on her. And for heaven's sake don't give her a lantern for her birthday, or she'll be gone....

Travel MUGS

It just occured to me that all the official members of CUPS had a week off! The Perpetual Hostess, Anne, stayed home and slept in. (RIGHT! She has a 10 month old baby...do YOU think she slept in?) Refreshment Provider, Traci, came to the meeting, but because the GrandCup wanted to make a special dessert, she was off the hook, so to speak. And the Activity Director/Secretary is submitting her report, but we didn't have any activities!

It had been a sick week for the members of CUPS, so it was a real treat to just show up and have a GrandCup fuss over us! And fuss she did. You see the picture of the chocolate cheesecake? (That would be the cheesecake BEFORE we tore into it...) We had REAL whipped cream, for the cheesecake and the coffee. GrandCup is trying to reach goal in WW, so she didn't partake, but we ate her portions, too.

We sat and visited and looked at all the quilt-y projects she has going. The time went really fast, and we had to pack up early to make it to the preschool Valentine party in town. We were there long enough to exchange germs from each sick household and get our chocolate and cream fix. Oh, and the missing CUP called and expressed regret at not being there, but we didn't take her any cheesecake. This is a tough club. Be there or be square.

Next week, we will be meeting at the regular place, regular time....and I'm going to work on a doozy of an activity!

In explanation...

As some of you have already noticed, I am a Facebook drop-out. That's right. It doesn't mean I don't want to be "friends" with you, really, it doesn't! But here's the reason I got out:

I couldn't take the stress. I couldn't decide who should be my friend and who shouldn't, first of all. Just because we graduated from the same high school or live in the same state or met once at Miles City Bucking Horse Sale in the 90's seemed really great reasons to share details of our everyday lives.

And that stressed me out, too. I get kind of attached to friends. I care what happens to them and pray for them and worry about their dogs....I can't seem to have casual friends; they are all terribly significant to me! Well, I discovered on Facebook, people post little things that caused me to worry all day and check back 6 or 7 times. Would Kristi get Reece to take a nap, thus avoiding the 7 p.m. meltdown? Would Vic release a black-footed ferret in Jane's wheat field? (I still don't get that particular function of Facebook.) Would Andrea go get groceries or just stay home? The suspense sucked me in. And yes, I realize that may mean my life is a bit...slow paced, shall we say.

My best friend from high school totally scared me when I was looking at her recent pictures and a little window popped up AND SHE TALKED TO ME! I had no idea what to do or how to answer her. I was also feeling a little guilty looking at her pictures, even though they are public. I finally found the chat button, after nearly locking up my computer, and told her what a lovely family she had. But the whole experience took 3 years off me, and besides that, she shared that she was able to pull the 4 gray hairs in her head that she found that week. Now I'm stressed because (and this is probably too much information) I have that many gray hairs, weekly, mind you, on my chin. This I was not going to share with her, and I probably shouldn't share with you. But I'm on a roll. If I catch you looking at my chin, in certain light, I will start crying, right there in Walmart, in the hair care products and lipstick aisle.

Have you ever put on a dress and felt sort of funny, sort of not-quite-yourself, but you talked yourself into wearing it because it was pretty and everyone you asked said you looked great? At the end of the evening, you were exhausted from trying to adapt yourself to the dress, even though there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Facebook was a gown that fit all wrong, for me. So here I am, back at Cohagen Chronicles, in my gypsy skirt, relieved that the blue satin is off, and hoping everyone else at the ball is having a good time.

Now, if you want to tell me details of your life, please leave a comment. I dearly love to hear from you! And I will be keeping track of you and praying for you and laughing with you, but PLEASE don't ask me to put that dress on again. It clashes with the gray.