Tuesday, December 27, 2011

5 Things Post Christmas

1) Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.  Mine was good.  A little quiet at times, which was nice.  NOT white, which was also nice.  Spent a good portion of it not doing a whole lot of anything.... again, nice.  Now there's a to do list a mile long and I'm sure it will get longer as winter trudges on and spring gets closer.

2) Movies:  I love movies.  I'm the type of person who can watch some movies repeatedly and not get tired of them.  Needless to say, this was a weekend full of movies.  Along with "The Black Stallion" and "Secretariat" which I'd seen before, I also saw several that were new (or new to me)... including:
  • War Horse -- B rating from me at best.  It's a combination of Steven Speilberg's epicness.... Disney... war... and a PG-13 rating.  Somewhere in trying to combine all of that, something gets lost.  It's essentially Black Beauty at war, but I think the editing is a little choppy.  Just when I started to get REALLY engrossed in what the horse was going through, BAM... editing takes me away from that.  And the war part was boiled down (a little to a LOT depending on the scene) so you didn't even get the "war is hell" aspect like what I got from a movie like "Saving Private Ryan".  I'd have to say one of the best scenes in the movie was the no-man's land rescue.  I won't say more than that about specifics, but I can completely see that happening (other than the outcome for the horse which was very Disney'd).  Oh, and the ending, while nice and sappy, was over the top -- got the feeling I was transported into a viewing of Gone with the Wind.  Glad I saw it, but also glad it was at matinee prices
  • Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows -- A- from me.  Very entertaining.  Almost as good as the original.  The plot was a LITTLE thin in places, but still... quality entertainment.  I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan and now that he's clean there simply is almost no one better in Hollywood in my opinion.  The man is amazing to watch.  I'm not big on Jude Law, but he does make a good sidekick to Holmes' outrageousness.  Definitely worth seeing.
  • The Hangover -- B++ from me.  I hesitate to give it an A- rating only because I guess I'm stingy.  Yes, I know this came out a while ago, so I'll spare you the amateur analysis of the movie. It was very funny and I enjoyed it a lot.  Probably one of the best fratboy humor movies I've seen and definitely one of the few that I would see again.  I'm looking forward to seeing The Hangover II as I've been told it's just as, if not more funny.
3) Drew up plans to fence in the front acreage.  Also did a ballpark cost estimate on it -- putting no climb fencing around it as well as nice looking board fencing along the road, plus gates.  Ouch.  Time to start saving now.  But it will be worth it to get it done.  Between being able to use it for horses as well as if I want to keep the turkeys in that area, it should look nice and be very functional when all is said and done.

4) Finally took down the turkey fencing.  The t-posts are still up but moved the fence itself over to the pasture to help try to keep the chickens in the pasture.  Did this on Sunday afternoon and the sun was out (a little weird feeling given that it's rained so much lately).  Need to get more temp posts (not going to drive in regular t-posts for that) but part of it is up and I think it might be starting to help.

5) a picture to share.  They came out to help "supervise" the fencing mentioned above.



The picture that was missed was before this when Reilly & I went for a walk around the outside of the pasture.  Buff Puff followed us and Stewie came out to the middle of the pasture to watch us.  About 3/4 the way around, Buff Puff decided to cut through the pasture to catch up to us.  Boy did she ever!!  Stewie decided to chase her and you've never seen a cat move as fast as Buff Puff did when she was being chased by a 15 month old steer!  Girl has some speed!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

5 Things - 2 weeks

1) Nothing major has happened really (although one may argue based on Thing #2), but life at the farm has been fun lately.  A lot has to do with the people that have been around as much as what's been happening.  There have been a few adventures, some reconnecting, long talks, fun games, laughter and hugs... sounds good to me!

2) Update on the land deal.  Long story short, it's not happening this year.  Opted to put it on hold to see where we all land next year as the proposed purchase wasn't quite right for everyone.  So there's a lot to think about between now and then.  Decisions to be made.  Many things were put on hold in order to try to make this happen and the question now is whether they need to continue on hold or if some of them can be done/created/purchased/etc sooner rather than later (and of course what affect that will have on future land purchases).  It's a LOT to consider, but winter is just starting, so there's time to think and reflect and plan before the busy of spring hits.  I'm sure I'll do some "out loud" thinking here as considerations are made.

3) It doesn't seem a lot like the holidays at the moment.  Temps are in the 40s, no snow on the ground (which fyi is fine by me), gray and dreary skies with plenty of mud.  I can't say that I'd rather have snow than mud because that leads to a whole host of other issues - frozen water buckets, iced in doors, higher heating costs -- but the dreary, gray and muddy isn't ideal either.  Guess we'll see what's in store as the winter progresses.

4) Have several indoor projects that need to be worked on.  In addition to the every needed general cleaning, I want to take the several pint jars of pear butter I put up and split them into these adorable cup jars I found at the store.  This way, I can give more away as gifts!  I also need to sit down and go through my clothing and make a (huge I'm sure) pile for Goodwill or Amvets.

5) Sushi & Movie Day is coming up soon.  This will be the 3rd year of the tradition (going for Sushi on or near Christmas and then hitting a matinee movie).  As of last night, we've picked out the movie (the new Sherlock Holmes) and the sushi place (Thai 9) so plans are a go for Saturday.  Really looking forward to it.  In the meantime, getting started on projects from #4 as well as going to the barn to ride.

Have a wonderul holiday week/weekend!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Skipping 5 Things

Since I'm already half a week late, this is the official notice that 5 Things isn't happening this week.  There isn't a whole lot going on around the farm anyway.  The weather has been both good and bad (50s to 20s, sun to rain).  Critters are doing well though the chickens still aren't laying very well.  I'm hoping to improve that this week.  And things are things.  So... until Monday when hopefully I'll have 5 Things to write about from BOTH weeks... have a wonderful weekend!

Monday, December 5, 2011

5 Things... is it December already?

1) Are you sure?  I know what the calendar says, but really?  Has anyone told Mother Nature yet because I think she may think it's April.  Saturday was GORGEOUS - 50 degrees and sunny.  Since then we've had nothing but rain.  Enough to put us under a flood watch til later today.  Rain, rain and more rain.  And did I mention the ground was already saturated from last week's couple days of rain?  Anyone want to buy me an ark for Yule?

2) The only project this weekend at the farm was enjoying the weather and unpacking the new tv.  Yes, folks, the Shindig now has a tv as the "monster" will be moved (at some point) out to the bar.  The new tv is lighter (although bigger) and fits better in the house. 

3) The weather on Saturday was enjoyed by doing some light clean up but mostly by shooting at targets in the Back 10.  ALWAYS a good time!

4) While not hooked up, the farm also officially has a hot tub!  It's currently residing in the attached garage to keep it cat and chicken free until such time as it gets hooked up and put in it's proper place, but at least it's there and one can stand and look at it, and dream of being in warm bubbles on cold days.

5) Made some random "let's throw this in" chili this past week and it was fabulous (for experimental chili and my lack of understanding spicing).  Made it from ground venison that's been in the freezer.  I'm SO looking forward to a winter of more yummy chili!