Saturday, May 31, 2014

in the kitchen



Hello Peeps…

It is an absolutely beautiful day here today… sunshine and green for miles… it is so strange… just a couple weeks ago that ridge to the southeast was covered in snow… now it is a lush spring day… it rained about another ½ inch here last night…

I am spending most of the day in the house today… a couple friends are coming for dinner this evening… and I have been cooking… beef roast and ribs… with mushrooms and onions… slow cooked in a dutch oven… asparagus… zuchinni tossed in olive oil seasoned then spread out to bake… wild rice cooked in the beef and mushroom broth… and I came up with a dessert recipe… so yes I baked today… pecans, raw honey, coconut oil, bit of vanilla, dates, eggs, coconut… topped with pecans… yes I am staying out of it until dinner… the asparagus is out of my field… I am going to roll it in olive oil season it and lay it out in a baking dish and bake it… both the zucchini and asparagus should be able to bake side by side in the smaller oven… the beef mushrooms and onions have been in the oven since around 8:30 this morning… should be falling off the bone tender by dinner…

Hit a new low weight today… 248.2 lbs… moving on down…yay… want to get some laundry folded and put away… then head out for ranch rounds… and then get back in here and put the asparagus and zucchini in the oven… and get the wild rice started… actually start that wild rice before the other since it takes around an hour… time to put the pecan dessert in the frig to chill… I’ll pull it out about an hour before dinner … I hope it comes out good… I just kinda made up the recipe as I went along… no I did not do a crust… I baked it in custard cups… and do not eat gluten… could have made a ground almond crust though… did not think of that… well maybe next time… or maybe not… maybe just do an almond dessert rather than pecan… yes I have been trying to think of a way to make a pecan pie type dessert without sugar… or corn syrup… or flour… this is what I came up with…

Washing bedding today as well… the washing machine is working away on the porch… Mow Mow tat is stretched out on one of her shelves… her kitty condo door are open… but she has gotten her snuggles and now is hanging out in her room… so to speak… the baby Muscovy ducks are setting up on a table under the evergreen tree in the front yard… by the cockatiels… the mastiffs and Pominators are out in their yards…

Last night I was listening to the baby Muscovy ducks contentedly peeping as they ate their dinner and played in their little tin of water… they are still small enough to live in the pet carrier and were sitting on the kitchen floor…

I have been anxiously awaiting my Kaizen drum… I did not get anxious about it until he told me he was shipping it… now I can hardly stand it I want it in my hands so bad… lol…

Need to get back out in that asparagus field and pick again… it’s a lot of work but I actually enjoy it… really feels good to be able to do it… plus it is calming to me… kinda feel the connection to the earth as I am out there collecting her bounty…

Feels really good to have a bit of internal peace today… yesterday and the day before my mind was like hot static all day … all night… forget having a decent night’s sleep… major rollercoaster ride on the emotion scale… pppphhhhtttt…. Listened to some native American flute… and some hang drum… and kaizen drum … and some other music… and it leveled off… feels good to just let the music wash over me… through me…

Tried some coconut oil on my hands arms face and neck… wow that really feels good… and an added bonus… no toxic ingredients… and no allergic reaction… yay…

Ok… gonna put some gunsmoke on in the back ground and attack that pile of laundry… so peeps can have a place to sit on the couch… hehehe…

May your minds be as cool waters…

Gratitudes: trusted friends coming for dinner… you tube: music tracks… a beautiful day…

Later taters…
 
Mary E. Robbins

Thursday, May 29, 2014

choices...



Good Morning Peeps…

Yes it’s true… picking that field of asparagus kicked my behind… serious butt scuffing all day yesterday… as in dragging my butt on the ground… too tired to pick it up… not not really that tired but did not get a lot done… stored the asparagus in the frig with a bit of water when I got it in the house… it takes up an entire shelf in the frig… started cleaning out the chest freezer in the Quonset yesterday… got all the water in the bottom of it soaked up… today I will scrub it out and clean up around it… and plug it in … here’s hoping it works… it worked until the plug got knocked out of the outlet… so here’s hoping it restarts.

Kinda overheated picking the asparagus… decided yesterday to make sure I had a place to cool off and pulled the air conditioner out of storage and installed it in the porch window… this is the first year I’ve tried using it there… but that little room really heats up… then it heats up the rest of the house… so we’ll just see what happens… tried running the air conditioner and the washing machine at the same time… well that is a no go… on the same circuit… that’s ok… I’ll just plug one of them into a different circuit when both are needed at the same time. This is an old house so I always protect my outlets by running things through a surge protector with a fuse in it… I seriously do not want to overheat the wiring in the house… rather trip the breaker in the surge protector instead… yeah maybe I am a little paranoid… could be… but I would just as soon not have a wall fire.

The strawberries are growing… the strawberries are growing… yes I am thrilled… lol… the plum trees are leafing out… so cool… and I saw some little leaves coming out on the mulberry trees… Barbie doll trees… lol… the rosa rugosa are setting on leaves too… this just thrills me… tomato plants look pretty good too… need to get the field grass pulled out of my flower beds along the lower yard fence… total body workout… bend pull… lift… dig… yank… swear… repeat… repeat… repeat…

Visited with a friend I’ve known since grade school yesterday… we had not visited in years… was a good to talk… lots of memories stirred… some good some bad… from so many years ago… her voice sounds so much like my stepdaughter’s voice…. This is not a good thing or a bad thing… it just is… truthfully it surprised me…

My house’s windows are just above ground level… and the green chop from cutting down the lower yard has been doing a number on my allergies… argh… friggen soar throat… hack hack hack… ugh… that’s another reason I opted for the airconditioner… to have a break from the allergens… won’t stop it altogether… but will make a bit of a difference with the filters… but hey… I am still breathing…

One small yard and 3 large yards left to mow… then the central open yard needs to be done again… and the driveways… it’s a mow marathon… no not all in one day… that is just too much… then the outside of of the yards… cut a pathway around the hollow… a fire break… ok…yes I am overwhelmed… step back and breathe… I will get done as much as I get done… one day at a time… and try to not step on any snakes in the process…

Saw a beautiful 4 or 5 foot long bullsnake crossing the base of the driveway… such graceful creatures… but I seriously do not want to step on one… good way to get bitten… no they are not venomous… but ouch… for both of us… hey I would bite too if someone stepped on me like that… there was one out here for years that became my friend… I named him Ralph… he/she was huge… 6 or 7 foot long… so beautiful… he wasn’t a pick him up and cuddle him friend… he was a hey I’m here you’re here living together friend… He knew I would not hurt him and the same for me… I came nose to nose with him one time… I was picking up a sheet of bent sheet metal… and as I lifted it up off the ground… there was Ralph… his face about a foot from mine… he/she was under there looking for groceries… we both froze in place for a moment… then went about our business… kinda felt sorry for those mice and voles… they did not have much of a chance… yes they were the groceries…

The 3 baby Muscovey ducks are doing good… living in the pet carrier… cute little fuzzies…

Wish I could get this laundry to fold itself and put itself away… but alas as much as I try… all it will do is just lie there… humph… ok fine… I’ll just do it… but not now… gonna head outside before it heats up… folding laundry is for the heat of the day… not the glory of the morning…

Gonna finish my cuppa coffee and head outside…

Gratitudes: water… 1: so thankful my well has water in it and the pump is working … 2: my truck is working again… the dear friend that fixed it for me… such a wonderful soul and mind… 3: choice… I can chose my perspective…

For instance… be miserable and angry because I was picking the asparagus by myself cutting my hands and overheating as I dripped sweat … or celebrate and revel in the glorious heat of the sun as I picked fresh asparagus to enjoy…knowing that I would have organic asparagus in my freezer for the winter… choice… perspective… yes I started out pissed in that field… and yes my hand is sore with I don’t know how many little cuts … I stopped part way through the field and said wait a minute what are you doing… and chose to be happy… exhausted… but happy… and kinda proud of what I was doing… strange how that works… who’d a thought… hmmmm….

Later taters…
 
Mary E. Robbins

Saturday, May 24, 2014

May 23rd 2014 hermity dragon



Hello Peeps…

I am around… seriously dragging but around… woke up with a beastmaster of a headache… and it is seriously whomping on me… friend just called… going to head over to his place and help him move some stuff… then … I dunno… maybe garden… maybe not… need a lighter day… might get moving later… argh… taking my aching bod into the tub and soaking… drinking some more coffee… enough coffee and perhaps the headache will go away… this ole broad is aching bacon… ouch… yeah I know whine whine whine…

Seriously though… I’ve been telling myself… embrace the pain… and release the fear… funny focusing on that seems to lessen the headache as well…

Gray overcast day… the cockatiels are outside… so are the mastiffs and Pominators… highlander was playing in the background… quiet now… just the sound of the fan in the kitchen window… it’s right by the stove so it draws the cooking oils and smoke out… I cook with cayenne …. A lot… and it always makes me cough in that hot cast iron… so the fan draws it out the window… had an early lunch… 2 corn tortillas… 2 ounces bacon… and some radishes… seriously need to scatter some radish seed in the garden…

Planted the apple trees… 3 dwarf ones… the rosa rugosa … 6 of them… Jerusalem artichokes… a couple pounds… Yukon gold potatoes… black berries… 4 of those… ran the jeep into town to get some parts to get the truck going again… battery cable ends… so thankful for my friend’s skill… I am learning… but motors… argh…

Drank some tangy tangerine… and some more coffee… headache is down to a dull roar… thinking it was a combo platter headache… some dehydration… some teeth grinding… some lack of caffeine… I did not drink coffee last night… not enough anyway… and some hunger… and some anxiety mixed in… bloody holiday weekend… pphhhtttt… sometimes I am such a troll… or a crabby dragon… you know I think I would do well living in a cave behind a waterfall… all that wonderful water sound… and a curtain of rushing water for a door… hmmmmm…. Just need a good supply of coffee… and the ability to change physical form into a large… scaly … winged… beautiful … of course… sharp fanged… fire breathing … beastie… purple green and black shaded scales… with golden to amber eyes… yes fire breathing because you know I like my food crunchy…

We’ll just leave what the food would be up to the imagination… hehehe…

Oh … saw a herd of deer on the way into town yesterday… they trotted across the road and on into a field… there were a dozen or so of them… and of course I did not have a camera with me… I did enjoy watching them bounce along…

I am seriously hermity today… too bad so sad… get up and move… gotta go… I said I would so I am… a hermity dragon… snapping and snarling… good thing he knows me well… lol…

Later taters…


Mary E. Robbins
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Thursday, May 22, 2014

asparagus and pickup trucks



Good Morning Peeps… saw a little toad in the grass yesterday...

Busy day yesterday… mowed for a couple more hours… still more to do… want to have the grass cut down around the perimeter of the yards … and along the sides of the drives in… before it dries out… hot vehicle muffler and dry grass is not a good combination…

Got into the truck to move it so I could mow where it was parked…. Wanted to turn it around and take the rolls of snow fence off the back of it as well… and voila… no spark… oh yea! Checked the battery (yes I am getting a little better at this) it seems it has a full charge… no juice to the truck though… the horn would not even honk… yes you guessed it… I headed to my friend’s house in the jeep to ask him some questions… he is coming over to look at it this morning… I think it is the battery cable… at least I hope that is all it is… mechanical adventures on the high plains… argh…

Stopped at the mail box on the way home… and looked at the asparagus field… the mail box is by the field… and what did I see… yes asparagus… no I did not have a bucket… but I did have a plastic bag… walked the field and picked the asparagus… got 9.2 lbs… yes I was spent by the time I got done… so was that plastic bag…

Apple trees… rosa rugosa … blackberries… and Yukon gold potato seed stock showed up yesterday… they were in the jeep when I opened the door… yes I told the mail carrier that was ok to do that… three guesses where I will be most of the day… yup… you got it… garden…

Gotta rocket… friend is showing up at 9 to look at truck… and it is around a quarter to 8 now… and I seriously need a soak… this body is screaming… ouch… would have gotten in the tub last night… but frankly was none too sure I could get out of it… fell asleep in the chair with my feet up on the corner of the buffet trying to watch survivor… with Mow Mow Tat on the back of the chair above my head… note the trying to watch… so did not happen… thinking I needed to sleep more than I needed to watch tv… aw well… I’ll watch it later… my tv comes through the internet anyway… so I’ll just go to the website and give it another go… sometime…

Spoke to Kaizen drums… Jamal said my drum should be here soon… I am so looking forward to getting to know it’s tones…

Breakfast done… yams… eggs… bacon… coffee… honey … nibs…

Gratitudes: the truck did not quit on the road… apple trees showed up… the first harvest of asparagus I’ve been able to actually pick…

You know it was so … is so … cool that I was actually able to pick that asparagus… yes I mean physically and mentally able to do it… so totally cool…. This is the first season in many that I have been able to do that… kicked my butt… but I got it done… here is hoping for some more rains… no hail no tornadoes please… anyway… more rain to make more grow… will have asparagus frozen for the winter… yay!

Later taters…


Mary E. Robbins
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

gardens... happiness... thunderstorms



Good Morning Peeps…

Moving kinda slow this morning… worked without the compression pants on yesterday…. They do make a difference… legs got their swell on by last night… I am trying to condition my body to be able to go without those pants… not sure whether I can make this happen or not… but I am going to give it a go… today though… I am wearing them… pain in my legs reduced quite a bit when I put them on…

Chilly morning… funny how dampness in the air makes it seem so much colder… was good for the tomatoes I set out yesterday though… got nearly a quarter inch of rain… the nastiness went around me… no hail or tornadoes here… quite a bit of hail around this area though…

Picked up some more plants for the garden yesterday… some bell peppers… some hot peppers… cabbage… kale… celery… decided to use wooden snow fence as trellis for the tomatoes, raspberries, cucumbers and such… will help to baffle the winds as well.

My friend fixed the DR brush mower for me yesterday… and I mowed a good bit of the central yard… and cut some paths through the upper yard. The grass growth is over knee high in this hollow now… seems a shame to be cutting it rather than grazing it off… maybe next year. Been thinking about a couple of goats or so… haven’t made my mind up yet and not getting in a hurry about it…. Wouldn’t mind making a bit of butter and cheese either for that matter… could raise a calf on one as well… aw well one thing at a time… more than I can handle this season… I’ll just keep working along and sort it out as I go…

Be easier physically to handle more with less fat hanging on my body… and I am working along those lines… building more muscle endurance too… and have the pain and aches to prove it too… but that is just the way it goes… still feels better than sitting around not able to move.

This physical work is good for me… it is beating the daylights out of me but is good for me too… as I was out digging in the dirt stirring in some compost/manure for the tomatoes … I realized something… that heaviness was gone out of my mind and chest… while I was out there digging… I realized that for the first time that I could remember since David died… I actually had a bit of happiness… I was actually happy… not manic… not panic… not grief… not triggered… just a ray of sunshine… that is what it felt like to me… like warm sunshine in my chest… about makes me cry to write about it… how silly is that…

Truthfully I had forgotten how it felt… did not really realize what it was for a bit… so even though I physically feel like I’ve been through a meat grinder… I am heading back out to the garden… and digging some more… oh… there’s a few more leaves on the plum trees… seems so funny calling them trees when at this point they are just little sticks… saw a bit of growth in the strawberry patch as well… not seeing anything with the raspberries or mulberries yet… onions are coming up though…

Heard the rooster pheasant calling this morning… and the wild birds are singing a chorus in the trees… thinking I’ll put my stock yard boots on… and head out… see how the young ducks and geese fared through last night’s rain and thunder… I watched that storm roll on by to the north of me… very dark clouds and lots and lots of lightening… clouds were rolling about themselves… twisting…

Looks like the sun is coming out… time to go dig…

Later taters…

forgot my gratitudes... a bit of happiness... no hail in my yard... hot coffee..


Mary E. Robbins
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tuesday... tomatoes and geese... and grass ... and mustard weed...



Good Morning Peeps… half way through my first cup of coffee... breakfast done...

Thunderstorms yesterday afternoon and evening… the power was cutting out and coming back on again… got rained on as I was working with the mower we got running… geez that growth is thick… got a couple of paths cut through it… thinking I will wait until the dr mower is running before tackling the most of it…

Baby ducks and geese looked like they were adjusting pretty well to being outside yesterday evening… I have not checked on them yet this morning…

Did not get the tomatoes planted… heading out to do that right after feeding and watering the baby ducks and geese… I did however get 2 dogs coats pulled … gonna try the two of them out in a yard together… under a tree… that way they can have more shade and some company to play with… here’s hoping they will decide to get along.

Patched up a pair of blue jeans … they were about worn out… but should suffice until I have my measurements down enough to get into those 38 waist jeans… have quite a few of those… this pair is about to fall off me… kinda funny really… a few months ago I would not have been able to get them up over my hips… I still have bib overalls to wear… but sometimes it is nice to change it up a bit… trying to work some without the compression pants on… did not have much swelling in my legs last night… other than my ankle… those veins kinda scare me though… here is hoping all the exercise … weight change… vitamins… and food change will make a positive difference…

Would like to get some steel posts driven today too… but that depends on whether my friend comes over with that fuel line and spigot or not… or how soon the rains start this afternoon… best get moving if I am going to get those tomatoes set out…

gratitudes: no hail... no tornado... got some mowing done

Later taters…


Mary E. Robbins
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rain drops on the caragana bush

raindrops on cheatgrass

rain on fence

rainy misty view across the valley

mustard weed... that's the little lacy plant with the yellow flower


Puss Kat (yes that is her name) in mowed path

yay ... a place to walk without trudging through grass and mustard weed... yes I mowed it

baby ducks and geese outside

baby ducks and geese outside

baby ducks and geese outside

pekin and buff drake ducks

mowed path 

buff duck setting on eggs... she picked the spot


May 19 2014 another day...



Good Morning Peeps…

Moved the baby ducks and geese outside this morning… here’s hoping I made the right decision… but whether it is or not… it is done. It is amazing how fast they are growing… and the varied sizes of the ducks…

Have a friend coming over to put the fuel pump on the DR mower and hopefully get a couple smaller mowers going… this mustard weed is working me over big time… ugh… need to get that stuff cut down around the yards… argh…

Want to get the tomato plants set out today as well… saw some leaves coming out on the plum trees… or sticks as they are now… and some strawberry leaves coming out… wondering when the blackberries and Jerusalem artichokes are going to get here… geez…

Still tired and aching… part of it is that miserable mustard weed I know that… took a hot soak this morning and it loosened up the muscles in my back legs and arms… arms are seriously sore… but then they should be getting stronger from this work as well…

Gratitudes: good friends… hot black coffee… some sunshine this morning…

Later taters


Mary E. Robbins
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Saturday, May 17, 2014

May 16th 2014 Phhhhttttt...



Hello Peeps…

Moving really slow today… did not sleep well last night woke up hurting after I did get a little sleep. Argh… then it was raining this morning when I got up and let the dogs out… it is not raining now… going outside to do what chores absolutely have to be done… then maybe mess with the tomato plants I bought yesterday…

This morning I stuck my feet up… let Mow Mow Tat out of her kitty condo… and we hung out together… part of the time she was on the top of the back of the recliner just above my head… purring… until she decided to give me a total hair over… as in spread cat hair all over me… she crawled down across my chest… laid there for a while… purring… then slinked on into my lap and rolled over on her back purring… all stretched out… cat hair central… this is not a little cat… lol… truthfully though I was glad for her company… she is a hugable… and her purring always calms me down… Mow Mow Tat is a big black and white cat… we have spent most of the day hanging out together… watching Gunsmoke episodes…

Yesterday’s to do list … did not get done other than the animal care chores that are a daily must… the day got switched around with a meeting in the afternoon… I did fuel the truck… and get tomato plants for the garden and a few flowers… learned a local greenhouse is organic… which makes me happy… after the rest of the fruit trees and shrubs are planted that I have already ordered… I am thinking I may pick up a couple goji berry bushes from there and plant them in the garden… thinking this could be a good thing…

Heading out to put fresh water and feed into the baby ducks and geese… geez I am just tired today… may feel more pep after being outside… at least it has stopped raining… I know it is good for the pastures… but right now I would love to just soak up some sunshine…

Ok… gratitudes from a grumpy woman: coffee… it stopped raining … Mow Mow Tat

I got some news yesterday that really threw me off kilter… not that it changes anything… other than my perception of myself… just something I need to work my way though… I stopped off to see a friend … not home… so I did something I have not done in a long time… I wasted some fuel … and just went for a drive exploring some country roads… I had intended on sharing a drink and a cigar with my friend… but since he was not available… I decided to drive a bit… then came on home and poured myself a shot… and had my cigar … while playing with my dogs and walking about the property… yes I was uber stressed…

Not so stressed today… just… rather… ppphhhhtttt….

So this phhhhtttt…. Woman is going out to take care of those little ducks and geese… because it is a must do for their survival… the tomatoes will be fine sitting in the cab of the truck… or maybe I will did in the dirt a bit… just kinda taking it slow and easy today… tired… really tired of… pppphhhtttt… now there’s the attitude… just ppphhhhtttt….

The cockatiels are telling me to get my act together too… gotta love em… the little nags… and they can nag too… yes the critters keep me moving… breathing… when… pppphhhhtttt….

Later taters…


Mary E. Robbins
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May 11 2014 Weight loss progression photos...



Happy Dance... Happy Dance... wiggle wiggle wiggle... happy dance... I just tried on a pair of size 22 just my size women's jeans... and I could zip them up... yeah baby... mind you... I was in a size 32... have a long way to go... but it's is coming off... yeah baby!


Weight loss photos...
January 2014






May 2014









the great fat off campaign... this is not about looks... it is about a healthy body...setting myself free...

Mary E. Robbins
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May 15th 2014 baby ducks and geese...















Babies are growing...

Mary E. Robbins
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'Daily Affirmation' Video