Traveling

I love the seeing of new places, things, events.  We traveled down to a national dog final event over the weekend.  Silly us we thought we would be without dogs so we took swim suits, camera, things like that.  Alas a pup ended up not liking the new owners so we had a pup all weekend.  Now the pup is a good gal that was not the problem.  She road well, no messes in the crate, no real barking to speak of, but it was when we left the hotel room we needed to have her with us and if we went anywhere we needed to keep her in the shade or our arms. 

We road down Friday, nice drive, along some routes I had not been on in years.  I had an enjoyable time traveling.  Then Friday night the drop off the pups night went well with one family and not so well with the other.  You know things can get ugly if people get money between friendships.   This caused some ugly.  Must say I thought we did well.  This gal wanted the pup prodded, hassled, and maneuvered us into saving this one pup for her two weeks longer than the other people who wanted pup picked up their pups.  One thing after another kept our auto in the shop.  We were without wheels time and time again.  Much of what we had planned did not get done in a timely manner.  This was a pits for me as I had wanted shots, etc done way before we left.  We had even lost the toe nail clippers so there was on more grump they buyers had, sharp nails.  Then for her to back out not a happy camper I was for a while. 

It has been along time sense we have had a weekend with just one dog.  I now recall how and why I wanted to raise these dogs.  Smart, loving, humorous, playfulness and that is just me towards these dogs.  OAM goes gaga over the pups.  OAM the reason he is so loved comes out when he is with pups.    Gentle, loving, kid-like behavior of a OAM is nice to see.  His stress decreased.  The little girl pup is now back home with us.  We will make the call on what to do with her leaning towards putting her back on the market, but jeez it would be nice to have room to keep her alas for me to be selfish is not fair to the new owner let that person enjoy the forthcoming puppy breath. 

Travel home was going to be filled with pictures but the camera went dead.  Bummer to the max as the birds were in the fall migration for some.  White swans, terns, and a few ocean birds were seen also. 

The trip back found OAM, dear daughter, and myself sitting around the table sharing things that had happened over the weekend.  I think this may have been the best time of the weekend.  Family, sharing time, laughter, happiness, gladness were felt by all.  It was good.  Take care now, see you next time, Ol Mossback.

 

Recovery Coffee

Today my son has 30 days in recovery.  Today I have 22 yrs, 9 months, and 18 days in recovery.  This son of mine thinks I am full of it and not really all that bad.  Hate to live though bad as what I lived though was enough for me.  More than enough for anyone's lifetime.  I can remember thinking Coffee AWFUL stuff at meetings. 

Then I started to use it was more of a hand warmer than a drink.  Something to do with my hands.  That helped.  Coffee is cheaper than drinking Beer or at least it was back when I stopped.  Use to be able to buy a months worth of coffee for less than $10 dollars.  Yea and way back then I use to have only $10 per week for my husband's cigs.  Times have changed.   Coffee at meetings use to be better at some locations than others.  In the town I went to most of the meetings were in one location so the same coffee was used for all the meetings at that location. 

Once I found the cup I liked I took one to meetings.  The cup was tallish, large enough around to put my hands, while keeping them warm.  I started buying myself mugs for coffee and tea.  I like some mugs for camping, others for tea for my break on a spring day.  Other cups were for summer take outside and leave them or winter keep the coffee warm in the greenhouse, then there were some for other hot drinks like warm eggnog or herb teas for the evenings in the winter by the hearth.  Then we built a home without a fireplace or wood stove.  Oh, how I was living the good life.  No wood to haul, no wood to stack, no wood to split, not having to have a wood shed was a big deal to me.   No more boots to dry and care for after we did the wood run.  Oh the freedom, I felt. 

I lived.  I learned how much coffee to drink. 

Yea, had to learn not to drink too much coffee, then I had to wean myself off coffee after I married Old Army Man as he likes the smell of coffee, but will not drink the stuff or kiss me if I have been drinking the stuff.  I liked my morning kisses so I just let coffee fall to the wayside.   I do drink coffee during tax season as well, I need to be awake and up and going for hours on end.  The drugs I take for ailments have me sleeping 10-11 hours a day without coffee to keep me from napping.  I start to creep up on my cups of coffee until I get a bit jittery then I need to back off and tell the boss, hey I need to sleep here. 

 

I miss having coffee around a campfire of an evening or early morning.  I miss the scout troop I use to go camping with also.  The leader was a bear of a man, big, loud, funny, loved to show the kids how things were done before the turn of the century.  The kids made rope, started fires with simple things one could find or had in your pockets in the woods.  How to cook and how to love the outdoors.  They went so many places, they had so much fun on the rafting trips, the summer camps where they had horse camps and night rides camp outs.  These activities kept me sober.  I learned to live a life with out bars, beer, and drugs.  Real friends not drinking buddies, not drinking because I was sad I had no real friends any longer. 

 

What does coffee mean to me?  Coffee is hope.  Coffee means a future.  Coffee means loving behavior, caring behavior, kindness in a cup.  The smell of coffee in the morning as Grandma who raised me in the summers as I was growing up was so refreshing.  It was the love I felt, the being cared for by someone who took the time to care for me.  Not because she had to, but because she wanted me to learn how to be like her.  I learned to work yarn to the smell of coffee, I learn to embroidery to the smell of coffee.  I learned to pack a lunch to the smell of coffee.  I learned to do the banking and the books to the smell of coffee.  Coffee smell is so refreshing at times.   Can you feel it hugging you when you enter a room after not smelling coffee for a while?  Me too. 

 I started to drink coffee while in college.  My parents did not drink coffee.  I now drink coffee in fancy glasses, mugs, paper cups, plastic cups, iced in heavy tall cups. 

 

I would love to say coffee solved so many problems.  I had stopped drinking.  Less problems of my own making thank the Lord!  That did not clean up the mess I had made in my life or the mess less messy.  I cleaned up some of my messes, some I out lived.  Others just went away before I got around to cleaning them up.  I took one son to Eagle Scout, one to Life.  I learned my way with my sons and though those men who were men more than I think my sons did.  I learned what a man should do and how he acted.  How he took the good and the bad and did not hit/kick, batter strike kick out of bed, yell at, leave blame the wife for the problems.  It was eye opening as my first cup of coffee in the morning. 

Learned men could drink or not drink for months or even years.  I learned these men liked coffee but did not drink it 24/7 like my first husband did during his sober attempts.  I learned a great deal more about what a man should do then maybe I wanted as I was upset by how my roll models and male leadership roles where jerks more than men at times.  Eye opening to say the least.  I now go out on a cool morning with my tin cup in hand to keep those hands warm, the cup does not break and I can put it anywhere and the livestock really have not broken it yet like they have the plastic mugs.   I hope to keep up the good things I learned.  I learned what I wanted in a husband so when the first husband died I knew there was more to life than what I had in the first marriage.   Good yes there was some, bad lots of that, sad even more sadness for hopes lost, decades lost, joy dampened down.  Now it all is different because I learned to pick a man who respects me, loves me thick or thin-physically, emotionally or financially- I am loved.  I get treated like a queen and the hurt has gone away.  I cannot get back those years I lost to drinking, but I can live my life forward one day at a time.  My dream of a small farm, a loving husband, dogs asleep at my feet, cows in the fields.  Chickens on order, ducks in their duck run area.  Greenhouse part way built, garden tunnels supplies on the ground.  I am living.  I am alive.  To think I started with a Coffee in my hands. 

 

Thank you for your time.  Thank you for reading.  Thank you for me for being me today. 

 

Take care and you all come back now you hear. 

 

Ol' Mossback

 

 

 

 

 

 



It happened again.

Daughter's birthday today.  Old Army Man just is not up to going in to eat lunch as he is hurting too bad today.  Well that was a first step of many being different.  Middle son phoned asked if he could talk to me and well I invited him to lunch with his sister.       

  Oldest son called and asked if he could come to lunch as sis was giving him a ride and well the answer was yes.  Nice all kids with me on dd birthday.  A nice move on everyone part as she was worried no one would remember her birthday.  Well things went well as she was not the only one to celebrate milestones in there life.  Middle son did get his GED had just gotten the news this morning that was why he was calling me.  I felt so good after learning he had his GED as that meant I now had two high school grads and one GED kid from three kids I had been told by school officials time and time again none would never get out of grade school.  Needless to say the kids each took their own route to achieve the results but they have now something to be proud of for reaching out to achieve something someone said they would never do and do it with flying colors for the most part.  Some times teachers are great other times they are not worth diddle.  Some school systems promote great teachers others systems promote the diddles of the education system. 

Daughter does not do photos often.  If she did she would look like the picture to our left only without the hat.  She looks like me who looks like my mom and aunts, who look like their mom and their aunts see the thread of this.  Well we are old stock with strong genes and life has given each of us our own ups and downs.  Cowgirl she is not but then again she is turning out more farm girl than she ever would believe she would be.  One of the things she talked about to day was about brother and sister-in-law who make all their food from boxes nothing from scratch.  How she was able to feed 2 people on the same budget that she feeds one most months the month her middle brother lived with her after SIL and him decided to file for divorce.  She is proud she can take two hundred dollars and make it last over a month sometimes 6 weeks.  Eating fresh food is some times the things she misses the most at the end of the month but she now knows to purchase cabbage, apples, winter squash, cranberries, oranges, etc that keep well or freeze well so she is not without fresh flavor at the end of the month.  She learned the value of cooking from scratch after the first time she moved out.  Found out how much it would cost not to learn.  Thank goodness for YouTube videos which ed helped her until she moved back home and paid attention now that she wanted to know how to make food she liked or how to stretch the food dollar.   She is not a big bean eater but she does have several kinds in her freezer just in case she needs something at the end of the month.  She never did like bean dish Friday's we use to have however she did like meat free Wednesday.  Eggplant was one of her favorite meat substitutes, edamone (green fresh frozen soybeans) was like in many forms.  I have a few seed packets of soybeans that I am planning on trying to grow as the seed catalogs say they will grow and I found some short season seeds to try to give them enough time grow.  

 

Well to get back to the saying, remember that auto being broken down, it did it again today.   Wednesday the auto repair man come out and fixed the belt here after it breaking, Thursday two trips to town-me to work and home again.  Friday almost out of town on the way to Albany and bang that darn belt went.  Made it to a place I could part and meet my kids.  Called the repairman, he came out, put a new belt on, then I drove back,  belt may have broken on the way to his shop.  I just could not find it in myself to look.  DD drove me home after she did some things she needed to do before she could leave town.  Time, time, time sitting at home gets old.  Not because I do not like it or that there is nothing to do but because of the loss of freedom.  A couple of days okay but this is going on 11 days.  I have made appointments for Craigslist's pick-ups then could not make it time after time.  I look so much like a flake.  Flakes one of the things I work hard at not being now that I am sober.  Cuss word inserted here, I want to do better and think clearer then days like this happen were it all seems to slap me silly.  OAM and me seemed to have a few words a couple times today.  We never have words so there was many things which made today a slap me silly day.   I hope when we go back in to get the Jeep in the morning we can stay on the road for a while we we get things back on track-emotionally, financially, and well physically be able to be on a track. 

 

Take care, you all come back now you hear, 

 

Ol' Mossback    

Little bit of relaspe

Who would care if I relapsed?  Not many in this world would really even know.  My middle son thinks he has the corner on being addicted.  My oldest tells me well I don't think it is so that you needed AA, but it is up to you.  Hell I have been sober for 22 plus years the oldest is 29 does he think he recalls all the times I was less than there in this world because I was drunk or hung over?  Does he know how well I hid my drinking?  Drank after the kids went to bed.  Dad took care of them if he knew I was bad off in the morning.  To them I was just sleeping in or grumpy, what did they recall. 

Today was day 9  of not being off the place except to work one day last week.  The Jeep had been back 2 days but dang it as Old Army Man was the one who drove in to town to get away from the place.  Left me here to handle things due to this or that.  It was okay until I got into the car to take us to town today and found the belt on the auto had broken and the Jeep was not drivable.  Drove right back to the house once I figured out there was not going to be a fun day if I drove away from home any father. 

DD came to come pick me up and we went to town and purchase such needed items as female pads.  Heck, it is a fact of life with an older mother of 3, overweight, who has bladder problems to have a need for the pads.  Picked up some mid to medium sized containers to put flours, sugars, oatmeal and such in as the mice have decided to eat their way into all my packaging I had been using.  Plastic containers had been breached.  New battle plans had to be devised.  Now to get spay paint to freshen up the look of some of the old popcorn cans, or to make chalk boards on the bottles to put labels on them. 

I right now feel like a beer or wine, beer to get lost, wine to relax and fade into the wood work.  I need to work one second at a time one minute at at time to get though this.  I have too much invested in being sober to turn tail and run backwards right now.  I hate the drinking dreams.  Waking up in the sweats hoping it was a dream and not a black out you were waking up from. 

Pop is my friend, coffee, tea, juices, and even the awful dreadful thing called water is my friend.   Yea laugh but there was times in my life were I had more beer or wine in me than water so give me a break it works to keep me sober.  It is the thinking that is the real part I have to work at keeping sane so I don't relapse.  Thinking oh it is just okay for one drink, oh it is fine for me today I have deserved it, oh man I could use a cold one right now, wow this meal sure would taste good with a beer or wine would finish this meal off real nice. 

It helps OAM does not drink any fermented drink or distilled liquor at all.  First husband cannot say that about him.  Much easier to be angry and stay sober with a drunk some days than to deal with the boredom of life though clear un bloodshot eyes. 

I am glad dd stayed and made time for us this evening.  It broke up the boredom, the blah of the day.  Sons, both of them sent me texts so the day was not bad, I just wanted to view it that way to justify the want to drink now.  Hells bells time to go to bed and have an iced coffee before I head off to work.  Things will looked different in the morning. 

Better head off now. 

Night all, You all come back now, you hear,

Ol' Mossback

Getting back to more of a normal day

Last night we got the car back.  Wow thought we would have gotten more done without us being gone as often.  Trick was on me, as I just am not as fast as I use to be.   I was happy to spend time with my husband, however it was good to let him go all by himself to go pick up the Jeep.  We had a friend visit just as hubby got home.  We spent the twilight talking and showing off stuff around the place.

Today we spent the day being old folks who need to get to know each other better.  Rekindled kindness, respect, and caring in our relationship.  Not sex so much as caring for the others limits, kindness in not expecting the world to shatter just because we were wild and crazy rather because we cared for each other's emotions, telling the other they still were desirable even over 50, less hair, more body weight, more wrinkles, less energy, slower to the take off, quicker to fail at times due to medications and life events.  It is not easy keeping a marriage on track.  Hopes dreams help, desire to be with your friend helps, fear of being alone is part of the make up of our marriage.  We have both been alone and knew going into this we were not 20 anymore but we wanted to make the commitment to each other as we had entered that age when children start to fly the nest life was a changing for my whole family at that time.  I had been a widow for a while after watching my first husband drink then added drugging himself to death.  His body just gave up trying to fight the fight and started to rot from the inside out.  This husband did nor has he ever be angry with me to the point of walking out, leaving me to clear his head, hitting me to get his way, or to even raise his voice to cuss me out.  He will say Whoa and that means please stop I am getting to angry we will talk more in a few minutes when I cool down a bit.  Now me I go off and cuss, say cutting words, even fuss and bussle about things.  Hubby now he see the trouble I have worked myself up to and he takes the time to either talk to me in a smooth calm voice or he gives me space to blow off steam then we talk.   Today's cuddle time was a renewal of all the good times we have had and want to have.  Time to talk, time to value the other, time to renew hopes and dreams in a safe place, safe manner, safe environment, in loving arms which have no age limits.   Cleaned up small problems between each other, talked of future, talked of where we wanted to go over the next few weeks in short comfortable manner.  It was safe and now our relationship is on better footing. 

My kids do not understand why I like this man, why I love him.  The safety OAM beings me compared to the first husband is miles apart.  He loves me without fear of what others think.  He is loved for his actions, words, and deeds.  He even attends church with me.  The value of that is priceless.  My heart opens to him each and every day.  He is real, knows himself, is not the most handsome like the first husband was but inside he is golden.  Just simply golden for me and he trys to love my kids as much as they will let themselves be open to him. 

Hubby went to town for a bit after we did some chores, then we had another visitor tonight.  A man looking for a new LGD (livestock Guard Dog).  WE need to rehome ours before she loses her instinct and wants to only guard the home and not the goats.  This sir has a herd of goats and Quince loves goats.  Dan brought dinner home a Big Carl from Carl's Jr.  I had fun eating someone else's cooking.  I had forgotten to eat breakfast or lunch did have a iced coffee.  I cut up some apples for dessert.  Now to see about getting a cable box converter so we can get TV from the on air stations if we can. 

It is getting late and I need to start tomorrow a bit earlier than we started today plus I want to read some before going to sleep. 

I will write more soon,

Take Care and come back soon,

Ol' Mossback

 

Retro life without a car

Remember way back, back when you had to ask to be taken somewhere.  Back when you were very young?  I do.  I lived in a small town of less than 500 people.  It was a mixture of loggers and wood products mill workers with a few tradesmen and farmers mixed in.  Some had wife's that ran small local stores, others had farms they came home to after work so they worked the land.  Most were church going, almost all drank, many had large families to support.  Kids did what kids did, play outside from morning wake-up to dusk with breaks for meals and school.  There were only 5 TV channels to watch.  CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and a local independent station which showed old shows and movies with a kids show with cartoons on for us kiddies.

This week has been something like that for us.  Ruku for TV, no cable as Comcast went all digital and we do not have TVs that have built in converters and we never were able to get converters back when the feds were sending out vouchers as the stores were always out when we would go to get them.  Now once again we are waiting to see if there are any converters on the shelves.  Each time we go in the converters are sold out.  The prices we can find online do seem good until you  add on the $13+ dollar shipping charges.  Alas I am also without a car.  Our pick-up did a smashing wreck last February and we used the check to pay off property taxes which are high here in Oregon.  We have had the Jeep which has done us well as OAM is not to be driving much with his health anyway.  Now to stay at home where the nearest store is 3 miles away, the nearest store of size is 6 miles away.  We stocked up.  Our daughter did come out Friday to take OAM to the back, the local discount dented can and deli store and Walmart for dog food.  I had hoped to go to Wilco and get chicks this week did not happen, To go get some furniture to paint and fix up what I have,  go get some plywood to fix my furniture I have currently.  Then to start looking for areas to paint one thing at a time with so this house is livable again. 

We have gotten things done we would not have if not home.   Dogs trained, showers cleaned, bathrooms cleaned (this is saying alot when you have 4 bathroom and 5 showers)  Yes who ever built this house made one room that was just for wheel chair showers.  The kittens were named.  There have been many a night going to bed earlier getting up earlier.  We like each  other so time together has been good.  Meals have been so so as I am still working on that kitchen.  The dogs helped yesterday while we were out training dogs.  The dogs inside tore into the ww flour, the bread flour, the standard flour, and some of the sugars.  Dan now understands about me needing storage containers not only to keep mice out of but to store supplies in the kitchen. 

It has been hard for me to start my life over here in this house it just called to me but I am having trouble finding a way to make it a home.  It has been 7 years I thought I would have figured it out by now but there has been so much to overcome or do first.  Kids moving in and out, illnesses, injuries, and diseases took their toll, plus a lack or hope we would ever live here long enough to make it a home.  Well looks like this will be the homeplace no matter what at least for a decade or two more.  Time to get my head out of the sand and make this place work.  One thing at a time.  Kitchen counters too low will figure out if you can get new cabinets or raise the one's you have or do you say hell lets move the kitchen into the stick built side and gut the trailer house part as it is only a third of the square footage anyway.  Like I said one step at a time we will face the foes and meet them head on. 

I am off to go see if I can work some magic into the kitchen as I want to move some shelves, in and out and out to in, wash and tag them all if I can.  I want to see life come back into this place so it can be a home.  Those calves we let friends put on our place well they sure make a place feel like a home now to bring that feeling into this house.  Pictures maybe soon. 

Take care now you hear,

Ol' Mossback Tough

What a day! Good, Bad, to foot We go.

We started the day out with a sale to someone who came to the place mid-morning.  It got us up and going so we were are a small cafe on the way into Albany for lunch after doing some banking in Lebanon.  Lunch was nice, but the a/c was not working so I left there hot and sweaty with a bit of a headache.  We had just pasted the entering Albany, OR sign when we got into trouble.  We had four cars in front of us.  Two were pick-ups with trailers of material in there beds.  The one close to me looked like it was someone moving, the pick-up and trailer was following a auto which was following another pick-up that had the parts for an old pick-up early 1920 or 30's pickup parts rusty, many parts, many pieces.  One piece fell off the old pickup on the trailer twisted rolled under the auto and pick up and trailer in front of me hitting something which made that bit of metal bounce higher timing it just right so it hit underneath our jeep.  Then we heard a clunk, a snap, then a do not repeat word from me.  That started the down slide of the day. 

I noticed the jeep was just a bit harder to steer when I tried moving as the 4 autos in front of me pulled off into a gas station or storage unit area who driveways were about 5 feet apart.  I drove up to the next stoplight and Dan noticed the electrical unit was not charger on our gages.  I was on an overpass so there was not way to pull over at that stoplight.  I was trying to follow Old Army Man advice and get to a repair shop that was only a bit ahead.  The jeep started overheating smoke going everywhere, the was more smoke with blue and white coming out from under the hood.  Alas I panicked tuned off the jeep,maybe not the best idea, OAM and another man help push the jeep out of the road and into a safe parking space. 

We called out daughter,..... help!!!   We call our auto repair shop, leave a message, and wait.  Daughter showed up directly, helped us get things out of the jeep, then we start off to our repair shop.  Our repairshop is a few miles out of Albany, we pull in, get the name of the tow shop he likes to use.  When I worked in the auto repair industry I learned if you use the tow company the repair shop likes the tow company often gives a discount.  Well the tow company our repairman liked happened to be my first choice as well I use to work for this fellow 20 some years ago.  The tow guy was on another tow, but we would be next on his list.  4 hours later we were about out of topics to talk about with out repairman when the tow truck with our daughter following in her auto showed up.  Thank the Lord it made it there safe. 

I must say we did get help from above as the tow cost were 1/3 less than they would have been because we waited for him, knew him, and the repairman once he looked at it made a mental list of things that it could be.  The call today confirmed radiator one hole in it, belt to power steering gone but not serpentine belt.  One pulley needing replacing with the leak in the back from the overflow reserve so not a big problem there. 

Daughter drove us home with us stopping to get a few things until we can get back into town.  We have only one auto at this time so we are afoot if we wish to go anywhere.  Made appointment for daughter to pick us up Thursday to take me to work and to run Dan around if need be. 

Made it home, my cell phone had been off all day due to the battery running down faster than I thought it would.  Dang it once I turned the cell on did I find a note saying we want to bring the calves over, called the horseshoe, and several other messages along with on our way with the calves.  As I read this OAM is walking out the front door, I see the pick up and trailer pull up and start backing in, DD helps by opening the gate, the livestock trailer backs in, up to the fence were we had a gate.  In the mean time DD runs up and puts the lgd up into the house, while we see the calves come out of the trailer, OAM moves the first calf-5 wt-into the back field. 

DD had to leave asap to go take her bother food shopping, seems her day was upset as well as ours.  I did get dd to stop and get fresh veggies at the food stand, so we had fresh bi-color corn, cukes, and a few other things that were wiped out from our garden fresh garlic, green onions, and watermelon.  Dinner was pork steak broiled, corn microwaved, zucchini w/ gr pepper, onion, and fresh herbs,  salad.  At least we will not go hungry for a few days.

Better hope the rest of the week goes better than today. 
Take Care,

Ol' Mossback. 

New week starts with Labor Day Holiday

This week starts with a holiday.  Thus giving a relaxing day followed by four how come it feels like this day of the week when it is this day of the week days.  Once the weekend gets her things often go back to a more normal until then well we have this or that day to make it though.  The list of today's for this week covers the front and back of an envelope.  We sat down at dinner last night and made the list as getting older we found this helps us keep on task a bit better. 

Today will be a day to go see a friend or two while working dogs.  Dan and I will go down towards Eugene, Oregon and spend some time working young dogs with our trainer.  The plans are to spend some time working the dogs then to come home to make a ham dinner.  Sounds good to me.

Last night OAM went and got an electric mouse thing, he plugged it in within minutes 5 mice ran out though the hole in the wall out of the kitchen.  He was so happy had rushed in to tell me about how well his find had worked on running out the mice.  Okay but still have the cats now to deal with.  Beanie and Cicle are the kitten's names.  Seems that OAM is training them to use the litter box, he even cleaned the litter box out.  For this I am very thankful, praise the Lord, pass the potatoes happy. 

Better go make up some side dishes and put the ham into the oven on time bake.  Thinking side dishes to be pickled beets,  roasted garden veggies -tomatoes, zuke, onion, carrots, and herbs, jello salad maybe with fruit, and watermelon for something sweet.  Might even bake a cake if I get time. 

Take Care, enjoy your holiday,

Ol' Mossback
 

All quite before the storm

Fall is coming, you can feel it in the air.  The nights are cooler, the leaves have begun to change on the early trees, the garden is packed full surprises, the livestock and wildlife are acting a bit different.  Still time to enjoy the sunny days, cool off in the evening to sleep.  Then come the last week or two of October all sorts of weather breaks lose. 

Now is the time to enjoy the beginning of fall the end of summer, the time of plenty the time of change.  More and more things are changing.  Heard that my daughter in law (former) dropped my grandchild off at her mothers saying she could not longer care for that child because it acted like my son.   Silly girl the grandchild is acting just like her grandpa did at that age.  My first husband was smart, keen memories, a planner, a handful, a hell raiser even at 3 years old, the granddaughters age.    People asked him if he was the Marlboro man because he looked such the part of a cowboy.  The grand child I am speaking of has just been though some things in life that are upsetting.  Mom and Dad (she was a daddy's girl) life was crazy due to social choices made, mom was not the Mommy of the Year in many ways, but not harmful physically to her children. What I saw and advised to keep quite about was the language, the music, the movies of gore and violence, the threats of violence even though some of those threats were in jest, how is a child to know? 

The big changes started last fall.  Violence, restraining orders, jail, kids moved to other grandmothers home, then the divorce which puts emotions into adults let along kids. Putting a restraining order on dad against the mom them mom adding the kids to the restraining order while going though a trying divorce puts things on stressful, drug use, alcohol abuse by the parents and friends, living with the grandmother for months puts a stress on the children, then 2 months later after moving back in with Mommy, finds mom marring a female puts a whole new twist on family life, well, maybe that child has a reason to be acting out.  I find myself thinking she tossed the kid out with the dirty water. 

Not saying my adult child was doing nothing wrong.  He needed to be hung by the short hairs until he recalled he made two children, he promised God and the church he would love and care for them and their momma.  He did cared for those kids more though actions than the mother did, was those kids rock in the family.  For him to toss it all away on drug & booze with the way he is drawn to them is telling himself a lie each and every minute of the day.  He has to get more of his head on straight than he has now to physically care for those kids. 

He is the better parent.  This is one thing all sets of grandparents agree.  He was a great parent to his kids.  He did the house work, kept their home, made the meals, dressed those girls, sat on the couch and watched their shows with them, laid on the floor and played kid games with them.  He was the one who put them to bed at night, reading them a story, and tucking them in while mom did do the shopping, oh, she liked to shop.  She could cook and did often when she wanted something for herself.  The mom lost her focus after she started going back to beauty school and losing over 100 lbs from having 2 kids one on top of the other.  The path each of the parents has is tough to return to near what they were before drugs, now to not think that you, the parent, did not played some part of those kids of yours being a bit touchy, well, you just have your head in the sand with your arse exposed to the elements. 

I know I have been on each side of this issue, the child of, a parent who was, a parent who did not have her arse exposed any longer, the mother that grieved on how she may have made choices she never should have made,  I tried very hard not to repeat the same steps my parents to or the grandparents took, but, alas, each generation has been less violence, less hate (maybe) but we still have children who are now effected by our negative actions who are acting out.  I was the good girl, but why can no one love me, my bother was the smart with comments to put laughter in the day type person, other brother was the make them laugh athlete.  Dad was the smart one who did not get to go to college so he worked his way up though the ranks in not one profession, but several, worked up til his dying day.  Mom, she kept the home fires burning in more than one way.  Grandmas one side hard working earner, poor her statments, she was so poor due to grandpa, other side I will kill you if you lay another hand on me or the kids.  Grandpas one soft artistic, the other hard as nails tough, tougher than tough hard, it is how he made it and could "screw" so many people yet go to bed at night and sleep.  Each of these generations had the ups and downs, it rules and changes, but wow to be this way after so many generations of trying not to be that way any longer.  Wonder what we have each taught our kids to make them be a less polite and more physical or verbally negative in nature? 

Okay so now I have shared a bit of the story of me.  Not all fun and games, rather recovery, recover on may fronts still was not enough to keep it from touching the next generation in some way.  I have hope that this was stopped early enough that the next generation will not be affected or effected by the nightmare of addiction, domestic violence, and dumb dumb moves that change a life.  One hope is out there is of the three only one is showing signs of acting it out, the other two are working hard to keep the tie broken.

Nite You All, Til we meet again,

Ol' Mossback

 

The Eyes have it.....

This was a busy day.  Spent the morning carting around people.  Old Army Man to college, then picked up Big Tall Son to do some job searching.  In this neck of the woods "It is the Economy Dummy" still effecting our lives.  I have three children, myself, and a husband.  None of us are working full time.  Me, it is normal for the line of work I am in, plus I (we) have the farm, OAM life has given him a recovery learning curve from all the stuff that is happening with his body.  Way to long of a list to outline in one blog, let me tell you.  Two sons and one daughter, well lets see what is happening.  One boy went out with me today as he followed up on jobs he has applied for prevously also Mom being mom stopped at new places and pointed out other places for him to research.  Okay if every day he can follow up on 5 job apps, learn of three new places to go back to and leave applications, and get mom off his back about well you could move back into my place.  I did have him come over this week and we cleaned up stuff OAM has not been able to do for one reason or another.  Being we live on a farm a great deal of the work involved cleaning up droppings of this and that.  He did his job with out grumping but when I called to say I was in town with 2 hours to fill he said lets go check job apps, and I want to go see if so and so really has a we are hiring sign out.  Between 10 am and 11:45 we went to business on a Wednesday morning.  At noon took Olderst to a meeting, meet OAM, went to lunch, came home, put OAM into bed, then went back out and had my eyes checked.  I went back to my old eye doctor.  She has kids the same age as my olderst (her youngest) which gave us some time to talk about what was overlapping in our lives now.  Our kids us to be on sport teams together back in our younger years.  Well her husband is still around and kicking, her 30 old son is going back to college to fine tune his degree and area of study a bit more.  Her other son, 28, is just joined the milatary and is right now learning how to be a firemen for his country.  She was talking about something I had been thinking about. 

Both her and myself were dealing with life matters at 27-28 jobs, kids, ed done, house, etc.  Now we are talking and both our kids are having trouble finding a place in life or where to head their lives until there late 20's early 30's heck my 23 yr old daughter whom I have been very worried about put in this light may just be ahead of the curve as she is at least trying to figure out what she wants to study or do with her life.  Without her using drugs or alchoal to change her veiw of life maybe there is still hope, maybe.  My eyes were wide open for the doctor to view them now that I have elder issues that can start showing at my age but maybe she opened my eyes in a whole new way along with the exam. 

Time for dinner soon.  Steak, zuccini, peaches, and some starch to be named later.....

I will be seeing you soon, Take care,

Old Mossback

 

Made Iced Coffee this weekend

Made iced coffee over the weekend, yes I did!  So good, now to recall how to stay awake all day long and not take super long naps.  Used just Folgers Coffee this time, it came out well.  I can pick Folgers up at the second’s store in town for half the cost of the name brand stores, plus other items I save on, like cottage cheese, a quart for 99 cents. I like going there to shop first then see what else I need.  They even have frozen meat sometimes which can really help stretch the food budget.  Going there is streaky so I see what is there first then fill in the gaps.  If I see something I will need in a few weeks or months form then, like cranberry sauce for two quarts for a dollar fifty, I get it then wished I had more.  Old Army Guy likes homey in his stews and soups so when I see it for 3 for a dollar I load up with 6 cans.  Which will last me will into spring if not I get more. 

Not each time do I load up on things, but with a fresh deli of Amish made cheeses and meats I find hard to pass on good meats for sandwiches.  Sometimes I have them slice the chopped ham the thickest slices they can then come home and freeze each slice on its own then use the slices to flavor bean soups or other savory soups. 

Chopped bacon needs to be made and bundled up as it is getting that season where I use the bacon flavor to help cover the lack of meat in some meals.  Potato Soup with bacon in the broth helps meet the need of “meat” my tongue asks for yet gets veggies into OAM (Old Army Man)  if I sneak some into the Green bean soup, one of my favorite ways to eat green beans, once the novelty of fresh steamed, pressure cooked, or just plan fresh wears a body down.  I purchase the bacon now as it is often on sale for BLT’s of summer eating.  Cutting it up into usable size bacon bits to fry later and store them in ice cube trays in baggies until frozen then put them in a larger zipper bag to keep them together.  I do this with other items I buy in large number 10 (commercial size cans) as I can get lots of meals out of one can for half the price of buying thes same amount in smaller cans.  Corn and chili work well for this along with other things I may see in large cans now and then. 

We have three refrigerators.  One is for the livestock and dogs meds, and dried milk replacers storage.  One is pop, ice tea, cold beverages, plus overflow and large item storage, and then there is the kitchen frig.  I love the overflow frig.  It has a place to put the next night’s meat out to defrost, remember those large cans of food I purchased will some was mustard, mayo, and ketchups.  I repackage some, others I leave in there packaging.  Last might I had pork chops defrosting and OAM got out steaks so I went to the frig, got out the Carna Asada sauce for that night, put a sweet soy sauce over the pork steaks, and tonight I will have Asian style pork with cold slaw (also from the overflow frig as the container is filled each month during the last few days of the month as OAM likes a vinegar based cold slaw so he gets it at the end of the month when other fresh veggies have run out) and then a jasmine rice which in the summer I store in the freezer part of the 2^nd frig due to Indian Meal moths in the house.  Then once again back to that 2^nd frig as dessert will be watermelon as it is too big to put in the kitchen frig.    Dinner tomorrow night I will need to pull out of the big freezer tonight after OAM gets home he was stopping by the store to get food he likes or I had forgotten or we were out of before coming home tonight.  Two more days and two more nights of him in summer session and we will be free of college for a while.  Doctors found some things in need of care so we will see if he goes back to college or what in September. 

Other things you will find in that second frig, oranges, apples, extra carrots, other root veggies in the fall and winter, spices, sauces I purchase in bulk, in the freezer is frozen milk, flours, etc that meal moths get into in the summer and in the winter frozen meals I make ahead for tax season.  If I make double in Nov-Dec then the meals I come home to are homemade rather than fast food or eating at midnight when I am working during tax season.  I often will go to bed w/o, but now that I have sugar issues I need to eat something to keep on track.  If we can, we butcher a pig and or a cow, but this year with ORM injured we sold the beef and sheep off and the goats are too small to butcher so we will need to talk about if we are buying half a pig or beef or what.  We do not even have a chicken right now which is so strange for us.  We do have the dogs, but they are the bread and butter of how we earn an income off this small farm of ours. 

 

Back to the second frig.  I love having it.  I went without for three years and found it hard to manage.  In the old cabin in the wood were I first had my home there was a cold storage box that was in the coldest part of the home in the summer that we could keep things cooler in like onions and mustards, but not mayo.  In the second place we had in Albany, we had an old frig which we kept things ready made for the kids to eat in the summer so they did not have to come into the house all the time to snack or get drinks. That frig out in the breezeway helped by cutting down the home cooling bills and allowing their dad who worked nights to sleep without the doors slamming all day long.  I made Kool-Aid and froze it in lidded reusable cups or paper cups and the kids could get them out and eat on them or drink them as they wanted.  I also had cheeses, sliced meats, cut up veggies and fruit and such for them to pull out and share if they had friends with them.  Along with cookies and such now and then to treat the other kids and my own or for them to grab for a meal if they wanted as long as I knew, some days I even packed lunches and put it out there for them so they babysitter did not have to make lunches on the days I worked.  It worked slick until I was feeding the whole neighborhood then we had to put rules on the who’s and whens of eating out of our frig.   

 

Better go time to fix myself up a bit before OAM gets home.   Wash my hands, run a comb though my hair, and well check to see if there are any dishes ready to use or if I need to do a other load of dishes before we can eat.  Next maybe I will write about limited water pressure and the effects on getting housework done the modern way.  Who will know, I will see what strikes me when I sit down to write. 

 

So long for now,

 

Old Mossback

 Iced Coffee

 

One 12 oz “can” of coffee

water

Pour coffee into a large container, cover with three times the water.  Let sit at least 12 hrs on the counter, but I never get to it before at least two days due to my lack of planning.  Stir, and stir ever twelve hours or so, strain the mixer into a mesh strainer.  Rinse out the large container.  Let the coffee mix sit a bit longer use a coffee filter this time and strain into the rinsed out large container.  Rinse out the storage container once empty of all the segment and then pour the coffee mix into the storage container.  Put in frig.  I sweeten mine with stevia and use whole milk about 2 oz. of coffee, two-three drops of stevia, and 2 oz. of whole milk to a glass filled with ice.  Now fix it to be favored by adding almond flavoring or such to the coffee or purchased a flavored coffee and go from there to sit and drink your refreshing iced coffee you made for the cost of one iced coffee at a coffee house.  This lasts me about three to five days on hot summer days or very long hard not much sleep nights otherwise I make it like once a week or every 10 days when I can.    

Pin Interst started the day

Okay spent some time today on Pin interest.  Did some laundry, and read some thing about how this Toshiba laptop has a way to get some free bokds on it.  However for some reason all the books I want to read cost!  Go figure, whemmm.  Just my luck not to be a big classics fan or maybe t's just about me having read most of the free books offered.  Read this to say-lived in boring little rual areas for years (decades really) where I read allot as some of the places only had 2 TV stations (NBC_ Klamath falls on the bounce) & ABC (Portland) in winter CBS-Portland & ABC (Eugene) summer) which were grainy at best and two radio stations to pick from until I was much more experienced in life (this means older).  Read Pioneer Women's notes on blogging, today.  She said to write in my own style.  Okay, I must do that cause I do not play well with being something I am not.  She said to write often, I am trying to get the knack of doing that.  PW said to write about my life.  Well it's the one I know the best that is what I am trying to do.  She said to love my viewers.  If you all loved closer I would have you all for coffee! or Lunch, Or TEA but something where we could chat.  In my world having someone to share your meal with will that is loving you because I feed you (coffee means cookies, pies, lunch, sweet tea, tea, small cut out sandwiches with the crust cut off even I would do for you) being Luthern means to share a meal is to share God's Love and Word in action.  I would even let you clean my house cuz I hate to clean alone and, well, we would talk as we did clean house maybe get a pizza to share and drinks so we could continue to have fun then next time we meet at your place to clean AKA gab.  Then she said something that will be me hardest to do that is to spell good and use English also known as grammer correctly.  If you know me you will know this is an area of my life I struggle with day in and day out.  Well as I only know English I had part of that done, but the spelling and grammar part may be me hardest things for me to reach for and thrive doing.  I will try and use spell check and there will be attempts at always using fair to good grammar with some funning now and then written in but I know I will write a he for a she and a to for too so "bear" with me and help me find those errors that are mine and my own to "bare". 

 I have been looking at chickens again for ordering.  Old Army Man wants to have chickens again.   He is also missing duck as one of our meats.  His grandparents had a hunting lodge they had ducks and goose often in the fall and winter.  Froze what they did not use for summer meals.  I miss the taste of the home raised eggs.  Duck or Chicken even the goose (or is it geese) eggs were tastier than those I get from the store now.  We have free range poultry or did now we are fixing up an enclosure so the hawks and raccoons can be kept out and we get to keep our critters rather than be a smorgasbord for the wildlife nearby. 

You know that I am even thinking of raising (gulp) fryers.  Turkey, rabbit, guineas, duck, goose, and chicken.  I love chicken and dumplings and old hens make such good chicken and dumplings.  It may seem like it takes two days to get the flavor good and the meat soft, but it is something ever so good.  Mom use to go get capon fryers now and then, even looking into how to raise (capon) them.  I am liking the idea of a chicken plucker.  Then would need a barn, and a...well a girl has to make her lists or there never will be hope.  Just hoping I can live so long as to see and do the a few more of the things in life I hoped to do as a child. 

Better go now I feel like doing another load of dishes and well better get to it before the passion passes and we have lost all hope of dinner dishes for this evening. 

Take care,

Old Mossback

 

At least the dogs liked dinner!

I had such great hope for dinner tonight, easy, microwave meal of food we both love.  Alas somehow I missed the boat.  Two plates needed rather than the one large platter was the first error.  2nd error, hubby not relating finger food with dinner.  3rd error,  not making another dish hubby related as a meal. 

I like nacho dinners now and then.  Not asking for monthly or weekly, but a couple times a year just to feel out of the mold of this is dinner-meat or meat base casserole, salad, side dish carbs.  I like dinner salads, soups, and stews for dinners.  Husband thinks of these as starter courses.   Now there are some things he likes that I just never have had or he finds he enjoys, but for the most part he has boundaries on what he thinks dinner is and expects it in his head.  He does not mean to be so set however he is very set in his way of thinking in many ways.   There is a reason I relate to him as Old Army Man.  Rules were rules to guild you though situations all you had to find was the right book to guide you.   Someone from above sent down the orders then others took and gave those orders into orders of action.  Old Army Man was midway up the chain so he was one who did take and do some delegating however he was also low enough on the pole to feel some of the dirt run down hill now and again. 

Maybe it is just because he is in his last week of classes in community college after being out of college 3 decades that he is grumpy.  Now getting those brain cells to open up to today's education system with computers, wireless systems, phones that have more power than we ever would have hoped to have in our lifetime power.  Remember the first time you walked and talked on a wireless phone.  I can recall having to sit by the phone and having a three foot cord with a 6 minute time limit or the phone company kicked you off the line no matter who you were talking to or why unless it was long distance than they loved charging you for long distance.  You know long distance like the town 8 miles away.   Yea I am on old piece of shoe leather.  I had to learn to use a party line phone with an operated on it when I first learned to use the phone.  Silly to think now I can 750 miles away and call my kids up and them not even know I am out of state.  

Progress is good do not get me wrong.  I had a mammogram yesterday.  I have odd shaped breasts in that they are not small two three picture each side breast.  5 positions latter on each side and at the angled view I am leaving.  No pain, no long term smashing of the tissue, no hour to be in the odd positions.  The pictures they can do now are wow.  I was loving it.  A course I was having a heat flash so I stunk up to high heaven.  Poor gal taking the shots had to get up close to me several times.  I had showered just minutes prior to getting into the car so I could be fresh and clean for the mammogram.  The best laid plans of mice and men went out the door.  Big heavy set ladies who are more round than tall in their 50's do have BO even on the best of times if they are hot, no a/c in auto, warm day, and having a heat flash.  I had water dripping off my face so bad I had to wipe my face several times during the 20 minutes it took to take the images. 

Cancer was the cause of death for both of my grandmothers you would think I would be more aware of things.  I become overwhelmed by thinking to much on the topic.  I have eaten home raised foods for the most part of my life until I went to work and stopped canning, freezing, and other methods of food preserving.   Well this gets to deep if I go where this is leading we will cover this topic in later posts I am sure it will come up again. Eating right well for who you are happens to be a topic I can talk on for hours. 


Thanks for your time, enjoy the rest of the week.  Until we meet again. 

Old Mossback. 

Figuring it out.

So I am reading about blogging, what, when, where, who, who not, what not, all messed up. 

Lots to learn.  I see no one really knows what all is happening or that I even have a blog.  How to promote.  Yes, I need to promote.  I am writing about myself, fears, family, sharing things I have not shared but with close friends or family.  Now I need to promote myself.  Yikes this idea is worse than sharing many of the "secrets" I have in my life.  You know those private things that are not as private as they use to be due to social media like facebook, google 1+, diggs, myspace, blogger, you know what I am a trying to be telling ya.  I find myself using poor English and out and out phases that just do not make the grade these past few weeks.  Well lets see if I can get some things moving here so I can learn to be a better blogger, get a following, write better, heck maybe even show you more of my so life along with what makes me Mossback Tough. 

Well time to get to making waves so I have some reason to get back on her after work Thursday.  Friday out of town, Saturday three sets of people will show up to pick there pups.  Evil house cleaning to do and much of the dang stuff to do also.  Dishes yuks, laundry, need it done to have cloths to wear, yeps, Floors sweeps so others do not trip,  Mopping the floors to remove that old dog smell.  Let us know forget to clean the kitchen counters to make less places for those old mice to hide.  I may even take pictures of before and after for you all.  by now mossback...

Off spring good and sorrows abound

This is one of this old Mossback Toughs offspring.  He is a good size man, now.  He is my first born.  He took some time learning life's lessons, but his heart is good as big as his shoe.  His name was picked out by his dad years prior to the sperm meeting the egg which formed this guy of mine.  We grow them big on my side of the family which made his dad bubble with joy.  Have you ever had a good kid turn away from the hope you had for them?  Well, it was heart breaking for a while between us.  The death of my husband, his dad, did not make matters any better.  Not understanding each other, me to willing to believe the "stories" his issues put us into was trialing at best.  Many of year of okay can we be family even if you don't like it occurred.  He is sitting along the Oregon Coast around the 4th of July here.   He was having a picnic with friends.  I must say I am happy to claim him as my son again. Proud of him again feels good.  For this I must say God answered prayers.  I like this young man's quick wit, fun actions, and willingness to share the happiness most of all.  It took a while, some miss steps by both of us along the way yet I have a son I am proud of without remorse today.   Makes an old tough bag like me tear up now and again.  You all come back now you hear, Old Mossback. 


 

Mama's Chinese Chicken

Love this so much we have gone to making a whole chicken cut up into smaller easier to handle pieces for this or we butcher out several chickens saving the backs and necks for stock, the breast will either be cut up into two or three pieces depending on if I took the wish bone cut on the the back of the chicken or not.  The are times we have hit a huge sale and saved the breasts for later.  I love the thighs cooks this way so they almost always go into this dish. 



This is one those recipes that came from someone years ago in college can we say back when shoulder pads were in style.  Chicken wings were cheap food back in the day can you say 29 cents a pound so it feed a group for on the cheap.  She had gotten it from someones mom that had gotten it out of a magazine or was it a back of a box of some sort what ever it was it is a keeper when you want to wow someone with a cold food addition.  She showed me how to after the chicken was all fried up to then make what she called fried Chinese pancakes.  Well, no matter what you call them, they may be the best part of being the one getting to cook the chicken. 



I made this for my first husband when we went to the coast on one of our first dates.  I won that man with my cooking on that day.  I used this recipe leftover sauce and soaked beef, pork, turkey, wild game in.  The pork is a close second to heaven done this way right after the chicken.  The game birds were really nice well one can say nothing was turned away but the beef and ham were the last pieces to be eaten.  Always a clean plate unless you cook an unreal amount.  The recipe calls for only 2-3 pounds of wings well I used this to make 4-6 pounds of chicken with many a time doubling or more the recipe to meet the need groups of teenage boys rumbling tummies.  My second husband had this one night after work when I was making it for a group meeting the next day when he came by to visit after a swing shift.  I can only say he liked it so well the next time he came to my home he had the wedding rings in his pocket.  (Not saying it will happen this way with you but heavens to Betsy I swear I am telling the truth to the best I can recall.)  This recipe does take planing ahead as well as time, can be made ahead, is colorful, smells great, worse thing about it (after the fact it is fried) is garlic breath so make sure you have your love one eat a piece or two along with you.  Over time I have made this my own so you know you can change things here and there to please your taste buds, but first make it this way before you start to change to much. 



Recall I am new to this once I figure out how to make print this for recipes I will use it until them please be nice. 

Chinese Fried Chicken 

Severs 4 or more depending one on how many teenagers you have eating

Oven temp 350 degrees F

Sauce:
2 T Sesame Seeds*
4 T Flour
8 T Cornstarch
4 T Sugar*
1/2t Accent      I now omit due to MSG allergies
1 & 1/2 t Salt*
5 T Soy Sauce
1 egg
1 clove garlic or equivalent in dry form minced if fresh*
2 green onions (scallions) things sliced*

Mix everything together pour over

2-4 lbs of chicken

marinate.  It will look gummy at first this is okay.  Put in the frig from anywhere from 2 hours to several days depending on when I get a chance to fry up the chicken.  Stir this every so often to get a good even coating on the meat.

Oil enough to go half way up  the side of a cast iron fry pan or several inches deep in a wok.  (Lard or shortening works the best for a crispy coating)

I like to use the wok as I have more control with the heat on my stove.  Or I can do it outside on my side burner of the BBQ.  Keeping the chicken warm under the cover until the baking rack is full.  I have found if I use a cookie cooling rack in the sheet pan the oil drains off better and the chicken taste is not effected.   The cookie rack I have is able to go into the over without a problem.  Check ours to make sure yours can also if you use a rack.  Parchment paper in the bottom of the sheet pan helps in clean up also. 

Fry the chicken until it reaching a light golden brown, remove from fryer, drain, place on sheet pan, place in warming over if using.   Once chicken pieces are all cooked bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 50 min making sure chicken's largest pieces are cooked though.  Place in the frig until you are ready to sever it them,.  Now when you serve these stand back just to watch because it this gone in like 60 seconds.  Or so it seems for all the time and work you put into it. 

Now you say what are those * on some of the sauce ingredients?  Things I did not have some times that I have left out or in the case of sugar used honey, rice syrup, or brown sugar. 

Remember that sauce you soaked the meat in, Well now is the time to address it.  You have finally have all the chicken fried cooking in the oven.  The grease is still hot now is time to use that hot grease (oil) to fry up pancakes in small dollar cake sizes and enjoy.  Much bigger size than a silver dollar and they take take too long to cook and get way too greasy.  Flip to cook each side of the "pancake" in the oil.  Other times I will have the second group of meat going to start the in the batter and using only a few hours cook this up also to serve later.  Sometime using or serving like chicken fried steak for breakfast or bunch with a quick reheat in the morning. 

T= Tablespoon
t= teaspoon

Well off to go make my batch so I can take pictures for you along the way.  Recall many of the things I have cooked are old, from friends, family hand me downs, to wow I want to learn to be cutting edge like my favorite cooking stars I never get to see because we now use Roku for all our TV viewing enjoyment. 

Source: Mossback hand written recipe book. 

Come back soon you here in the mean time Take Care, Mossback

Best laid plans

Ever have those plans where you say tomorrow I will get this done, then you wake up say I will get to it in a moment then that moment never comes.  Yea that is today.  Need to get the shelves done in the pantry so I can put pans on the shelves as the mice keep getting into the lower shelves causing messes.  I have tried so many traps it is silly but when you live on a farm one has mice I accept that however it is the neighbors next door with three huge barns filled with grass seed straw that make control so hard.  Our LGD (livestock guard dog) kills hundreds of mice and rats each week, the chickens, duck, and cats do their part also alas some if those nasty critters still make it into the house.  Let get back to plans.

Planned to make chili from scratch today.  Was going to go shopping last night than I thought no no not until the counters are sorta cleaned off.  Well it is 3 pm and they are not cleaned.  I have pinned things of interest, facebooked for the business, farm, self, and even spent some time learning to twitter.  I was awake at 8 am, 9:30 am, work up again at 12:30 pm told myself I needed the rest.  I want a big cup of coffee but I am not getting to that end of the house to make it.  I like the ice coffee as I tend to go make myself one but I need to make that also.  I had plans to make it.

Plans to clean the bathroom, make some things for the house and do some dishes and washing so I had clothing to wear.  Old Army Man is up asking what is up meaning hey girl I want to see what is happening on my fb, website, email, and just see what the sport and political world has happening in it today. 

Yea I had plans to be all done with everything by now and sitting in a chair watching something on my roku or to be setting up my new roku in my office so I could fb, tweet, write to my heart's content while chili simmered and gave the house smells to make ones mouth water.  Better go start on that counter.  I may take pictures if I get things done.  Write more later,  O

Finding a job at over 50

Today went well. How was your day?  Old Army man felt well enough to drive himself today.  He took it easy, did not push it.  His army disability is paying for him to attend local community college 3/4 time.  He has a long way to go to be finished however he has a goal and hope of working again which at 55 plus may be a punishment or a blessing.  He wants to work the farm so bad yet the pain will not go away if he is on his feet too much plus right now he is just under so many what if's from the doctors that we are falling the rehabs line of hope along with maybe he can work again some day.  In our area of the country people 55 just do not seem to be hired then again just a few months ago unemployment was over 11% county wide with our area of the county closer to 17%.   We live in a large Oregon County. 

Ever tried to rethink your life and it's goals.  I work a 12 step program, have for 22 plus years now.  My word it is hard. Sometime I have to adjust my life dreams and hopes to be more real other times I just need to allow myself to be in the moment, forgive myself.  Experience starts to become an issue as you have too much,  employment agencies state you should be looking at these types of jobs-high pay, leadership, jobs like state workers have and paid as good or better than them, yea right.   In all the years I have looked no one I mean no one has said gee whiz girl you are too cute, able bodied, or too athletic to have this job.  Rather I get well you are over qualified, ( you must be old) your are just not what we are looking for ( combo-not a knock out beauty, too fat, I am so fat it scares them, they see their insurance rates going up because of age, weight, or conditions), best of all is the I wish I knew of someone hiring cause you have so much to offer someone however you just will not fit in here.  (See above).  I have had people hire me nearly sight unseen, they have loved my work once they got past the oh my she is heavy, old, gray haired hum, or other reservations.  I have gotten great responses from them however seems these jobs just did not work out due to the changing economic climate in most cases.  So I now work a job that requires someone in my state to hold a licence's to work at that job.  I only work tax season but it is a job that does not pay out right well but better than any other I have been offered in the past 5 years.  About 10 years ago I started looking for something to be a second "job" one of my own making say a business I could work at between tax seasons.   I had several things I was researching when I meet my husband and well farming came back as an option. 

I attended Oregon State took courses which would have lead me to be an agriculture extension agent related work.  Alas 18 months after I had gotten my diploma the state started changing how or who they hired.  I needed a Masters degree to even apply.  Shot here I was two kids in diapers, drink unemployed abusive carpenter husband #1, who had been told by the college when I went back 3 yrs later I needed to update my college skills before entering the masters program.  I had a 12 day old baby when I walked down the concourse to get my degree handed to me.  Seems all those job apps I had been applying for just did not know how to take my degree.  I am holding anger over choices I made.  I have drank over them plus other choices I have made.  Seemed each time I started to make headway something got in the way.  It took years but I know now I need to be the one making my way in the world not asking people to make my way in the world.  I make my own way.  Not something corp America likes to hear, drives my boss nuts during tax season as I am a bit of a maverick.  I can read his reports he allows us to read, I had economics, business, and math, along with social insight classes.  I have read the results of the reports as I see them and being able to read some of the writing on the wall.  I have had to learn to wait to respond to the boss when I work for others.  I love the freedom to work for myself there are months I earn more working for myself then I do working for the "man" however I still am not sure enough to go it alone without the  safety net of a job to help cover the expenses most of the year. 

I like doing it on my own. Being the one who knows the market, advertises, does sales, research which can be the best side of this being self employed equation.  Then there is the promotion of my bit of heaven.  Dog trails, livestock auctions, the everyday wonderful God bless them real people.  No one trying to stab me in the back in the next office, no one telling me Not to go there, but watching to see if it works.   I can name many ways not to raise sheep in the Willamette Valley.  I can tell you dozen of ways how not treat to allow your livestock guard dog to behave or acts one should not allow them to see.  I can tell you which types of goats I am liking and willing to spend time around.  I learned I miss the smell of a horse on the place.  Calves can cause as much laughter as baby lambs.   I don't get to hold the calves as long on my lap as I do the lambs but then again calves are not as often coming into the house looking for me like the goats and sheep do.  Chickens are great.  Ducks actions bring smiles.  Geese can eat loads of grass.  Things I find heart warming.  Grand kids love to feed the baby livestock, run around seeing all the sights we have on our small acreage.  I love my ATV plan and simple. 

Better go now.  I have spent the day removing mouse droppings as I moved things around on the pantry shelves finding 3 places those buggers have chewed though the wall to get into that room.  Old metal shelves where on the floor moving and cleaning those not fun.  Taking the time to sort out old stuff, do I need that in here questions, and just adjusting life to live it a bit better.  Need to go into town and get some drywall maybe steel wool so these mice will not chew back though the walls where I patch.

Old Moss had better go finish this blog as it is nearly 10 pm and I work in the morning.