A Day of Rest

Evidently, it was a day of much needed rest!  Apparently, my rollercoaster of a day yesterday wore me slap out!  I went to bed early, had a good night's sleep yet still slept in this morning.  Precious came in and started 'telling' me it was time to get up.  Actually, I think the oudoor cats told her to come in and tell me that it was past time for their breakfast!  After all, it was almost 9:00 and their internal clocks knew it was late!

Precious

I was lucky to get this shot... she does not like to pose for the camera!  Her nickname is 'Mouth' so you can just imagine the racket she was making when she was 'telling' me to get up!

After church and a light lunch, I could still barely keep my eyes open.  So, I laid down on the couch to rest...  my rest turned out to be a pretty good nap!  Oh well, now I'm awake, sipping my evening decaf coffee and writing on my blog!  I have a feeling that I will still be able to sleep tonight even after all the sleep I got today!

~~~~~

Last weekend, Country Boy & I went to a local state park with some friends and had a fabulous time taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful day.  As we were leaving the park I had to stop in the gift shop just because it was a gift shop and that's what you're supposed to do!   I was quickly browsing through the shop with no intentions of buying anything until I saw this little bracelet.  The pink beads caught my eye and piqued my interest but then I read the card that was laying in the box under the bracelet...

Believe, Courage, Strength

Believe in yourself

Have courage and conviction

In all that you do

Add a little patience

And Strength will come to you

I can't put a finger on why that spoke to me but it did.  Maybe because I don't always believe in myself, or have the courage to try something new or the conviction to stand up for something.  It also reminds me of the verse in Phil. 4:13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

I wasn't going to get the bracelet but Country Boy saw how much I liked it and told me to get it.  (Besides, it was really cheap so that was a plus!)  Now I have a visual reminder to Believe, have Courage and Strength will come!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend as we're nearing the end of February already!

Till next time,

Gone Country

A Rollercoaster Ride of Emotions

I'm feeling kinda bleh and overwhelmed tonight for some reason.  I woke up this morning feeling rested & motivated to tackle one of my many projects on my mental to-do list.  As I'm sitting here pondering the day and trying to put it into words on my blog it's really quite difficult to explain.  After seeing Country Boy off to work (for a 48 hour shift) I managed to get a load of laundry done and the house vaccuumed.  I was then going to tackle the office with a fierce hand and start the decluttering and reorganizing project.  I was heading up the rollercoaster!  Then, I received two phone calls and my whole day changed... I got stuck at the top of the rollercoaster.  It's amazing what a phone call or a piece of mail can do to change or disrupt your whole day!

I've been working on a project that involves some county politics and a neighbor offered to help me out.  One of the phone calls was to let me know that the plans we had counted on fell through.  And now, because it involves politics and my husbands' occupation, I'm thinking that I should just drop it because I don't want my input or 'voice' in the matter to hinder him from getting a job with the new company or keeping his current job.  I've been praying about this situation all along and have felt that I am doing the right thing... up until now.  So, more praying is a must.  And dealing with politics... never a good thing nowadays!

The other phone call was a good one!  Country Boy was calling to have me meet him and his partner for lunch at a yummy restaurant by his station, The Speckled Butterbean.  Their boss and my photog buddy was there (her husband is Country Boy's working partner).  We all had a good time and ate WAY too much!  Then, we got to see our boys at work, which in their line of work, isn't usually a good thing.  But, hopefully, they will have made a difference and saved a life!  I'm very proud of Country Boy for the sacrifices he makes to do the job that only a few can do.

These were taken with my cell phone and aren't the greatest shots but you get the idea.  I was halfway to the restaurant when I realized that I had gone off without my camera.  I try to take it with me everywhere I go because you just never know when you'll see a great shot!

I guess after watching them work is when I started to have doubts if I was doing the right thing.  Our county needs the ambulance service that we currently have because they are good (and no, I'm not being partial, I know this for a fact because I used to work there!) but it looks like it's going to change and I don't want to jeopardize my husbands' job over something that's political and bound to happen.  Here the rollercoaster started plummeting down!  I'm sure I'm not making any sense to most of you but thanks for letting me unload...

I also have so many projects on my mental to-do list that they are beginning to overwhelm me.  Projects such as finding a healthy diet, how to lose weight, simplifying our life, decluttering the office and guestroom, homesteading, etc.  I'm also praying and trying not to worry about the health of some family members.  I read an awesome blog this morning on simplifying your life.  I won't even begin to repeat what was said but you can click on the underlined words and check it out if you want.  It will leave you with a lot of food for thought.  I guess my next step is to pray, determine my priorities and tackle them one at a time rather than all at once.  Then it won't be so overwhelming!

After second-guessing my political project I lost my motivation and could not find it the rest of the day.  The office is still a mess *sigh* and I still feel a little overwhelmed!  Although I did manage to get the checkbook straightened out, whew!  I've never had such trouble with the checkbook as I did this month, good grief!

I'll leave you with a few more pictures from when I worked outside the home taken from my cell phone...

These were taken outside the hospital where I had just transported a patient.  Very ominous clouds!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!  What are your plans?  I'd love to hear about them and don't be shy, please comment so I know if anybody is even reading my blog!

Till next time,

Gone Country

Technology Stinks at Times

Poor Country Boy!  All he wanted to do was get a better sound from his computer.  He doesn't want to use the speakers he had on his computer anymore because they sound terrible.  So, he unplugged them and has spent hours trying to get sound from his monitor.  You'd think it wouldn't be so difficult since his monitor is actually a small flatscreen TV (for his video games).  Well, no luck yet. He's tried the cable in different spots.  No luck.  He's updated his driver.  Still no luck.  The computer says the driver is working properly.  Yet, no sound cometh out!  Me?  I don't know what to do to help him.  But, I'll take a look at it tomorrow while he's at work.  I feel bad for him, something that should be so simple ends up consuming hours of time.  Computer technology!

He also spent hours the past two days trying to figure out why our RV motor skips when it reaches 35mph.  He replaced the carburetor.  Still skips.  He then replaced the distributor cap and plugs.  Still skips.  (I sound like I know what I'm talking about, huh?!)  He called the local RV repair shop and they said it might be the catalytic converter.   Smog technology!  SOoo, we took it in to have it checked.    The other things needed to be replaced anyway, so at least, the time & money were not wasted.  And, he enjoyed working on the engine!  I'm so glad he knows how to do that kind of stuff!

On top of those, his gas-powered tools are not working.  Apparently, the ethanol that is in the fuel has done a number on the fuel lines and they are disintegrating.  He's replaced the fuel lines on his chain saw and put some some Mechanic in a Bottle in it  and we're hoping that it will help clean out the gunk.  (It has to sit for over 8 hours.)  Then we'll put some Ethanol Guard in all the gas we buy for the equipment from now on.  Keeping our fingers crossed!  If that works, we'll do that for the rest of the equipment.  Well, I say we, but it's actually all Country Boy!  Fuel technology!

I could go on but it wears me out!  I do like some technology though, like being able to share stuff with y'all via my blog!

~~~~~

On a more positive note... here are a few photos that I took while visiting a local state park with my photog buddy and our husbands recently.  (They got to carry our equipment!  Such great guys!)  It was more like a zoo rather than a state park but it was a lovely day and we had a great time!  I definitely would like to visit again!

Those are a few of my favorties!  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

I also hope that you're having much better luck with technology than my poor Country Boy seems to be having!

I would love to hear your comments on my blog or suggestions for Country Boy!  I'll be sure to pass them on!

Till next time,

Gone Country

O Happy Day!

Good news folks!  A few birds have finally found the endless buffet on the bird feeder station!  They are also knocking enough seed down to keep the Mourning Doves & squirrels happy!  I think I even saw a hummingbird checking out the red feeder.  It's a little early for hummingbirds here; we don't usually see them until March, but I went ahead and put a feeder out for them.  I can't wait until it's loaded with birds all the time!  I enjoy watching them!  No photo of them yet but one day...

I've been doing too much manual labor the past few days and managed to wear myself out by evening!  You know it's bad when I'm too pooped to blog!  The weather has been simply gorgeous and I've just had to be outside doing something to enjoy it!  I decided to start playing in my garden and getting it back into shape and trying to salvage what's left after our many nights of below freezing temps.  (Yes, even here in Florida, it gets cold... just ask my Mother who hates cold weather!)

I spent yesterday draining my garden pond, cleaning it out and refilling it.  I also trimmed all the dead stuff and raked leaves.  It's already looking so much better!

~~~~~

Today, Country Boy & I made some jelly.  A neighbor had given us some peaches awhile back and while I had every intention of baking my hubby some peach cobbler or even his favorite... a peach pie, I never got around to it.  (I'm not much into baking!)  I guess Country Boy gave up and decided it was time to make jelly with the peaches instead.  Don't feel too bad for him because he didn't get his cobbler or pie... he LOVES homemade jelly probably just as much!

We also made some apple jelly.  Mmm, applesauce anyone?!  Here are the cooked apples being strained.

The jelly jars getting a bath!

~~~~~

And just because he is so irresistable...

My filthy, ham of a cat... Hunter!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!  I would love to hear your comments!

Till next time,

Gone Country

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

I just learned something new tonight and had to share it with you...  (even though it's getting late and Country Boy has already gone to bed!)

I've been checking out some new-to-me photography blogs and I found one that explained how to make a watermark.  SOOooo, I just had to see if I could do it and here it is...

Well, what'dya think?  It shows up better on a darker background, but afterall, it IS a watermark and should be subtle!  I'll probably tweak it some more but for now, I kinda like it!

Here's the same photo with a new texture I received from Kim Klassen today...

Love her stuff AND it was free!

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!  Me, I'm going on a photo shoot tomorrow with my photog friend and our hubbies!  (They get to carry our equipment, lucky dogs!) Should be a gorgeous day!  Can't wait to share some of my faves from the shoot!

Till next time,

Gone Country

Good Therapy

Time to grab a cup of coffee or hot tea and visit awhile!  Mine is decaf coffee with Caramel Machiatto creamer, mmmm!  Good Therapy!  Or as Country Boy would say 'You wanna Caramel Mockeywhat'?!  He loves things plain & simple!  Ya' gotta love that!

Speaking of plain & simple, that's one of my goals for this year.  You're saying 'What'?  How are you going to do that?  Well, for starters, I'm going through each area in the house and making the decision to keep, sell or toss it!  Simple as that.  Well, not really... some things are just hard to part with even though you have no use for it or haven't even seen or worn it in years.  But, there is so much 'stuff' in this world to want and it seems that everyday there's something new out that's cool even if you just bought it yesterday, today it's outdated.  I'm done!  My house is too small to keep up!  Not that I have a lot of gadgets but I still don't have room for half the stuff I do have.  It's a slow and sometimes painful process, but, once the decision is made, you really do feel so much better!  Try it!  Good Therapy!

Yesterday, Country Boy & I spent the day outside.  Boy, did it feel good to be outside again!  Country Boy cleaned out the Pump House after my statement that I couldn't get in there the other day to get something out.  Maybe what did it was the extension cord I just threw in there because I couldn't get to the place where it is supposed to hang!  Who knows!  But, it's super clean now and you can actually walk in there and find stuff!  For me, gardening is such good therapy.  I was feeling rather aggravated most of the day because of a campaign/project I'm working on that doesn't seem to be coming together as fast as I want it to because I feel time is running out AND I've been waiting on a package (my books on my new camera & Photoshop Elements) that was a day late.  But, after several hours of trimming dead plants and raking leaves (and a lot of praying) I felt better.  Then I went to check the mail and my package was in the mailbox!  Woohoo!  Made my day!  It's the little things in life!  Good Therapy!

Today, I HAD to go to town for cat food.  In my constant quest of pinching pennies I bought, what I thought to be a fantastic deal, a 40 lb. bag of a different cat food for $22.00.  Don't ya' know that the cats don't like it!  Great... what to do with 40 lbs of cat food!  I'm going to call the local SPCA and see if they want it.  So much for my fantastic deal!  Such finicky cats!  They're spoiled on Purina's Naturals.  They LOVE that stuff!  Oh well!  Guess they told me, 'we don't want anything else!'  Spoiled kids!



Precious



This is Precious!  She was found on a busy highway and was taken to the SPCA.  She was only a couple of days old.  We saw her when she was barely a week old and we had to have her!  When she was eight weeks old we adopted her and finally got to bring her home.  She loves to 'talk' (we call her 'Mouth') but she does not like to pose for the camera!  Good Therapy!



Hunter



This is Hunter.  He is a rescue kitty!  He was about 6 months old and skin & bones when we got him.  But, he had such a sweet personality and is such a people cat.  I can happily say that he's a healthy & happy cat now!  He loves to live up to his name and has brought home many presents.  We've had mice, a bird, and even a rabbit brought into the house.  All but a couple of mice were still alive and were released back to the wild!  He's always so proud!  I threatened to change his name just in case he was trying to live up to his name!  So far, he hasn't brought any presents home lately, but, ssshhh, don't let him hear this or he'll start again.  By the way, he loves to pose for the camera!  Good Therapy!

Those are two of our eight cats!  Another day I'll feature some of the others!

This afternoon I saw this little guy meandering across our back yard...

Isn't he cute even though he's a little dirty?  Good Therapy!  Definitely camera shy!

This squirrel is up & down this tree all day long. 

What're you looking at?!

This tree is right outside my office window and there are squirrels constantly running about the yard digging for acorns or scampering across the roof.  Lots of action!  Good Therapy!

Unfortunately, I don't have any action on my new bird station.  I moved the  bird bath closer to it in hopes that the birds will spot it when they come to get a drink and take a bath.

Reflection in bird bath

I keep telling all the birdies that I hear singing and chirping in the yard that there is a buffet here for them. *sigh*  one day, I hope it will be covered with birds!  Good Therapy!

I also made some Chicken & Rice soup today and took it over, along with a loaf of French Bread, to a neighbor who is under the weather.  Good Therapy!

Till next time,

Gone Country

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying a bit of chocolate, some kisses & candy with their loved one(s)!  Me?  I'm alone as Country Boy is working on this Valentine's Day.  Oh well, we'll get to celebrate tomorrow!  Ah, the joys of being married to a public service worker!

So, how did I spend this Valentine's Day, you ask?  I painted Thompsons Water Sealant on our fence, oh boy!  At least my winter-white face & arms are a rosy pink from spending hours in the beautiful afternoon sunshine!  I can safely say I've got the beginnings of a farmers' tan!  I'm definitely not complaining though since it's only the middle of February and already I've been able to do some Springtime chores.  

I also put some finishing touches on my Uncle's book cover that he needed last month!  No worries, I've only had the assignment for a little over a week and hopefully the final copy will be done and sent to the printer no later than tomorrow.  I had a good time traveling some of our country roads looking for the perfect shot for the cover!

I promised you yesterday some photos of my Mom & Dad's camellias.  Feast your eyes on these...

I just had to add a texture to this last one even though my Mom doesn't care for them!  They're so much fun though.  This texture reminds me of an old postcard.

I hope you enjoyed a few pictures of my folks' Camellia blooms.  Their tree is loaded with flowers and buds which brightens everything up during winter; it's gorgeous!

Now for some pics of my romp around McKethan Lake/birding trail...

This was the first pair of Sandhill Cranes we saw.

The moon was out mid-afternoon!

Country Boy took this photo!  Didn't he do a great job?!

Are ya' still with me?  I told you I had an amazing weekend and photography was included in that!  LOTS of photos to share!

Next, we came across Mr. Turkey Vulture!  He wasn't happy that I was taking his photo so he was showing me his backside!

I was taking this birds picture when he decided to take off....

We also came across another pair of Sandhill Cranes.  One of them was sitting on a nest and we assumed it was the female.  BUT, she (or he) decided to expand the nest some more and got up.  The other crane, who was never far away, came over and rolled the egg over to another part of the nest and then proceeded to sit on it.  Now, that's a marriage!  Partners and helpmates!  Watching this reminded me of the sermon on Family that we heard that morning!

Can you see the egg?  He/she is rolling it toward his/her feet.

I believe this is a Great Blue Heron.  A breeding adult has a yellowish bill and an ornate plume on head according to my National Geographic Field Guide to Birds book.

Almost done, hang in there!

All done!  You made it!  I hope you enjoyed our 'walk' around McKethan Lake.

I'd love to hear your comments!  Please don't be shy!

Happy Valentine's Day my friends!

Till next time,

Gone Country

Such an Amazing Weekend

Well folks, I'm pooped so I'm gonna keep this one short!

I had an amazing weekend with Country Boy & the family.  We spent time on Saturday at my Mom & Dad's.  My sister & brother-in-law also joined us.  The boys played golf and the girls spent money, er, uh, I mean went shopping!  I made my famous (at least my hubby thinks so) spaghetti and we enjoyed a good meal with great company!

I took my camera along and got some nice shots of Mom & Dad's camellia.  It's blooming and beautiful!

Then today, we celebrated Family Day at church.  Heard a great sermon on the importance of families & marriage, then we pigged out at the Valentine's Day banquet!  We ate too much delicious food and were miserable by the time we got home!  We decided to walk it off, so we checked out a local birding trail/park and spent the afternoon walking off our lunch and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  I took LOTS of photos and can't wait to share them with you tomorrow!

SOOooo, please stop in tomorrow and check out the pics of the camellias and the park....

What did you do this weekend?  I'd love to hear about it!

Till next time,

Gone Country

For the Birds...

For awhile I have been coveting a neighbors' bird feeder station.  Whenever I was visiting, there would always be a dozen or more birds hanging out on the feeders.  What pure enjoyment to watch them!  I finally told Country Boy that I wanted one of those!  He surprised me the other day and came home from work with the posts to make it.  It didn't take him long to build it and it was up last night just before dusk.  My birdies haven't discovered it yet but I can't wait until they do!

Here it is...

The feeders are protected from the elements and hopefully *crossing our fingers* the squirrels too!  They are such pesky little critters but cute!

It's gotta be around here somewhere....

Coming up for air!

SUCCESS!

Even though this post is 'for the birds', the pesky squirrels have managed to find their way into the spotlight!

Back to the birds... 

Bird in Flight

This little guy is very camera shy and is always trying to hide behind the vines!  One day, I'll get a good shot of him!

I added the Magic Pack textures from Kim Klassen on this image.

I am hoping to share some photos of the birds on the feeders soon, so keep checking out my blog and thanks for stopping by!

Till next time,

Gone Country