Shave poochie poochie...

I know, I know...*hangs head*...I haven't written in a while. Bad Samantha. Bad! However, I intend to make up with an update with pictures and an interesting story.  :)

Setting: Early morning (OK maybe not too early) June 30th on HWY 87 between Havre and Big Sandy (that's less than 50 miles from my house).

I am headed home to Washington to help my dad with cherry harvest and since I will be gone for over a week I have decided to load up the posse and take every one with me. Interesting, no? I had purchased two rabbit cages for my birds and had under taken the painful assembly process. The night before I am set to leave I place the large dog crate and two rabbit cages into my TrailBlazer. I also have tied the four tires (minus rims) onto the roof of my rig. I have been preparing for the journey for two days and was super jazzed to leave early in the morning. I packed up and got everyone loaded (oh yeah it's as much a travelling shit show as it sounds) and head out for Havre (breakfast stop, duh) and home.

With breakfast at McDonalds taken care of, the two goats, duck, goose, eight hens, three dogs and I (crammed into the TrailBalzer) are on the road. I notice I'm experiencing some major wind resistance due to the tires...I topped out at 65 mph. I think, "Crap! This might take longer than I'd hoped." As I'm toodling along at my whopping 65 mph I hear the sheet metal of the roof flexing. Hmmmm...probably just normal for having crap tied to the roof, I think. Boy, was I wrong! All of a sudden the flexing stops and a massive POP! happens and in my side mirror (because my rear view mirror is block by goat cage and goose head) I see two of my tires go bouncing and rolling down the roadway. Double shit!

Thank goodness there was no one any where near me on the road. I pulled over, untied and removed the two remaining tires from the roof and shoved them in the one available space (the space behind the passenger seat which was supposed to be for the dogs). I then pulled a U-Turn and went off in search of my two missing tires. Luckily they were easy to find, so I hauled them up from the barrow ditch and began shoving and praying!

With a fair amount of determination, stubbornness and sheer luck, I was able to shove the two remaining tires into the rig. Now I have zero visibility for my rear view mirror and there is a serious lack of air flow. The 12-hour drive went well after that. I stopped about every three or four hours to water everyone and give the dogs (and me) a potty stop. I also put the goats on a leash and let them stretch their legs at the rest stops. People loved it!

Once I got home, my mom and I immediately set about getting all the animals out, housed, and fed and watered. While we were doing this my dad was trying to get the tires out. The good Lord was with me on the tire thing...dad had to use a pry-bar to get the tires out. The return trip was much easier (if not easy on my wallet) because I am now in possession of a new-to-me 2-horse trailer.

Anyway, the girls made it home safe and sound. Aaaaand here they are....

Goatie (standing) is now 4.5 months old. My guess is she weighs roughly 25 pounds. I'm still debating whether I will be getting a boy Goatie to make babies, but I won't have to make that choice for a while since Lala is just a baby. Lala is 3.5 months old and is about the same size as Goatie but she hasn't caught up in the poundage area yet. I know she's grown some but I can't really see it that much yet.



The birds have taken up residence with the goats because as you can see there are a few birdies missing. Something (probably my resident feral cats) started eating them, even during the day. However, since I put them in with the goats not a one has disappeared. Yay! I guess the 5-foot fence thwarts even the wiliest cat.

This is my "boss" chicken. Isn't she pretty? My hens are Barred Rock (this chick) and Buckeye (the red ones), I think. Then there is my one goose and one duck. The duck is for sure a hen (she quacks) but the jury I still out on the goose. I'm working on a good way to tell...it doesn't honk, kind of has a hoarse cheeping sound. I will for sure know if it lays an egg! :)

And as an added bonus, while at home in Washington Yotee got a haircut! He looks kinda like a lion because whenever the clippers got any where close to where hair remains he fuh-reaked out! So I just left it and now I call him my "little lion." :)

Books, books, books and MORE books!

Like my sweet bedroom carpet?

I have a serious over flow of books and there are more I want to get my hands on. So what's a girl to do? Why list them on Amazon of course. I have been selling and buying books (and other things) on Amazon for a long time and have found I like the ability to buy and sell books and most important to me textbooks on this site. I have never had any issues buying or selling.

Sea foam green?

I guess I've created my own monster by saving all my textbooks from college that have material worth remembering, being addicted to books in a series - a loooong set of series and multiple series at that. I tend to have a similar set of tastes when it comes to books. Historical romance is a genre that I enjoy; however, I've kind of wavered away from those. I think most of those books are going to be listed on Amazon as well. My favorite author in this genre is Kathleen Woodiwiss...weird name, great writer. I also enjoy Stephanie Laurens but I've just gone a different direction with my reading.

Aaaaand that direction is blood, guts and supernatural, mythical creatures. I really enjoy the "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series. It's got a lot of violence, blood and guts which is perfect for cuddling up in bed, snuggling with the fur babies and reading for an hour (or two) before I fall asleep. :) Vampires, werewolves, demons and the like coupled with a main character who enjoys her alone time, is tough and shows integrity. Hard to find a strong, confident female character in today's society.

This beautiful bookcase is totally hidden!

Another series I enjoy is the "Sookie Stackhosue" books. These books are crazily similar to the Anita Blake books but in a lighter, less dark tone. The Stackhouse books also have a lot of detail that builds from book to book, while the Blake books could stand alone from book to book. I also have the Harry Potter series, the Twilight saga and the Stephanie Plum books. Now that is a great series of books! Author Janet Evanovich mixes a great mystery with unique characters and HILARIOUS situations - I would totally recommend this series to anyone. Even if you don't like the mystery/detective genre these books are so friggin' funny you're sure to enjoy them!

Packaged up and ready to go.

But I digress! It happens a lot when I start talking books. :) Back to selling them on Amazon... .Today, I shipped of three books (The Hunger Game series) to places all over the world. It was a nice feeling to free up some shelf space. I make the shipping easy. I save my paper bags from grocery shopping trips, cut the bottom off, then wrap the book in the bag (logo side in) and packing tape it shut! Simple as that.

So perhaps you're asking yourself, "How do I get started selling books on Amazon?" Easy peezy... .Hit up Amazon and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. There choose "Sell on Amazon" and follow the prompts. You will have to create an account and you will have to give some personal information; however, Amazon is quite secure and I personally don't worry about having my information out there. I have request my payment and BOOM! it's deposited into my checking account. Gotta love it! :)

I'm working on de-cluttering my life, although some days I wonder about why. One of those things where you just feel the need I guess. First, I'm going to sell as many of my books as possible, and it's not truly for the money because some of the books aren't worth much. :) My biggest issue seems to be I accumulate books as quickly as I get rid of them! LOL

Next, I'm trying the extreme couponing thing. I'm collecting coupons like mad and reading blogs like crazy; trying to educate myself on how to do it right. I'm always about saving money but I hope this is another way to add a bit to the old bank account. :)

Soapy Tables and Chickens...

So sorry to be tardy on my post...I've been busy! I got a bunch of extras from my mom when I was home; strawberries, Libson bunching onions, mint and Lilly of the Valley. I also purchased Walla Walla sweet onion starts, yellow onions, shallots, garlic and raspberries. I have planted the Walla Walla's, yellow onions, shallots and raspberries; all except the raspberries went in the tub (my cast iron garden planter) with carrots. I read in Carrots Love Tomatoes that onions and carrots do well so I thought I'd give it a try. The raspberries went along one of the fence lines and the strawberries went into my small strawberry bed. I planted the mint in two places near the house but I'm not sure how well it will do. Keep your fingers crossed. :)

I recently got my Homesteader's Delight order from McMurray Hatchery. I was super excited but kind of unprepared for the 'lil critters. They took up residence in my bathroom for a day and a half and it's taken me at least that long to remove their poo from the floor! I moved them to a big box I snagged from work and they have since taken up residence in the mud room with the heat lamp keeping the snuggly warm. I received 10 hens (tentatively identified as Black Austrolorp and Buckeye), two geese (absolutely no idea what kind), two turkeys (one bronze, one white) and two ducks (again no idea on the variety). Sadly one ducky "went to the other farm" not long after is arrival on Crazy Woman Ranch (my pet name for this quasi-chaotic place). He will be missed. They all got to go outside for a bit today. The geese, duck and turkeys have imprinted nicely and I've been handling them all multiple times daily to insure they don't get mean when they grow up. Also, I figure the little 4H kids could show them at the fair this summer.

Honey Lemon Soap

I have made two batches of soap from my purchased bases. One is honey lemon and the other is goat's milk and oatmeal. The honey lemon was the first time I tried to make this stuff so I tried it out and it lathers-up really well and smells wonderfully like sunny spring honey. I added extra honey to the mixture from my home neighbors Hibbard, Massey & Hibbard. They soap is kind of sticky but works great! The goat's milk and oatmeal is still curing in the form. I will cut it next week and wrap the honey and lemon bars. If Zurich has a Farmer's Market this year I'll be taking soap and various other things.

Base Unfinished

Another project that I started a while ago was my round, oak kitchen table. I have since finished the sanding process, assembled top and bottom and applied two coats of stain to the table-top. I will be putting another coat of varnish on the table and then it will be ready to use. A recent antiquing trip provided me with three beautiful and mismatched chairs for my set. I also just bought a pine buffet which should arrive at the end of the week. I am slowly amassing some nice things and it makes me happy. :)

Table Top Unfinished

Sideways Semi-Finished View

Well the Beagle is outside in the dark barking at who knows what and my chicks are peeping away. They want their mom to come check on them. By mom I don't mean me, I mean the Beagle. She truly thinks she's their mom. While the baby turkeys were outside today she tried to play with them Beagle style - I had to put the kaibosh on it but it was still cute!

Have a great night!

Pretty Spring Pictures from the Yakima Valley...



A honeybee on a dandelion in mom's garden.



I know - I'm not doing too well with keeping you all up to date with the Montana life. I do have a valid excuse this week. I am home in the Yakima Valley! I am so happy to be here it's ridiculous. The sun has been out for the most part while I've been home. It hasn't been super warm but I will take it for sure! The day before Easter the most gorgeous day I have seen since leaving Washington and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I spent time with my brother catching up and just plain being in the same area as each other.



Mom's spring flowers. B-E-A-utiful!



I am lucky to have a job that allows me to take extended vacations when ever I want. I am working through some personnel issues at work as best I can but it can get extremely frustrating at times. This break was desperately needed for that reason and to escape the poopy weather in North central Montana. :) It'll all work itself out but some days are just too much and this chick comes home to drink a beer or glass of wine. Trust me, that's an extremely rare occurrence. I should stock up on some ultra good Yakima Valley wine while I'm home. :)



Apparently eg-laying time is a community event.



While in Washington, I took the opportunity to visit WSU and straighten some things out. This visit not only wasted a day but didn't really accomplish anything but honestly pissing me off. I can't say it was all my fault but I guess I didn't do things in a timely manner what with getting used to a new job and all. I am also caught in the middle of a pissing match between the higher-ups at CAHNRS and that I do not appreciate. Bottom line is that pissing match is going to result in me having to add 6 credits to my degree without receiving "credit" for them towards my degree. Oh well I guess....what can ya do?

I miss the Yakima Valley so much while I'm away but when I'm here I truly miss my work and the people that go with it. Tough choices I tell ya! Anyways here are some pictures from around the farm to tide you all over until I get back to the Treasure State. That's Montana's motto for those of you who don't know. :)

 A couple pictures of mom's dogwood tree. Gorgeous! :)

 

Some photos from around "Crazy Woman"

So I have decided to dub my little slice of Northcentral Montana the "Crazy Woman Ranch" courtesy of my favorite Louis L'Amour movie. This post isn't much but photos so come on over and take a look.

Can you see my lake?

The river is high, the slew is full and the surrounding creeks are out of their banks. This water is all from snowmelt.
Thankfully the nearby canals haven't filled with water and the barrow ditches around the house are blessedly empty. Everything here is just a bit more difficult so I do not want to have to face flooding issues.

This is a picture of me and my pooples that dad took when he was out for a visit. Notice no one is looking at the camera but me. We were facing a bit of cabin fever induced ADD that day. From left to right - Lil Guy the Chihuahua, Yotee the Mini Aussie and Ruby the Beagle.

And because I simply couldn't stand not having something growing green in my presence I started my garden plants this year. From left to right - jalapeno peppers, sausage tomatoes, Tom Thumb tomatoes and Black Beauty eggplants. You can kind of see my cabbage, broccoli and wong bok in the foreground.




And just so you don't think Extension Agents stick to the book please enjoy this video of a wonderful little song written by one of my fellow brethren. Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Semi-ranty but a happy ending...

Sorry this is a bit ranty but it as a happy ending...I promise! :)

I have been dealing with WSU for around 3 weeks, going on 4 now, over my University Account. They (WSU) are insisting I owe them roughly $2000 in excess tuition. False! After a thorough review of my account, I discovered they actually charged me for 9 credits when I'm only taking six. I have been on the phone non-stop with WSU and finally hit upon the correct process - file a petition for refund. My major professor (serious shout-out to Dr. Swan!) and now the Crop & Soils Department Chair is involved (and pissed I might add over assessed fees) so I'm hoping in the next two weeks we can get this resolved. After chatting with my department's academic coordinator, we discovered I was actually charged for 12 credits when I'm only taking 6 AND only refunded for 3 credits in stead of 6. It's a way confused mess that apparently stems back from me being an undergrad there - this has screwed up my graduate account/work.

My super-awesome (read: shit-head) co-worker has caused the maximum amount of drama this past week while managing to only be in the office for roughly 4 hours the entire week. Auh-mazing if you ask me. She called in to the office administrator and bitched her out over going to lunch with me the previous day. According to her this is beyond a business relationship (a personal relationship she called it). I'm sorry that I get along with my other co-workers! I feel comfortable going to either of their houses to visit on the weekend or just chatting with them about how their day/week/life is going. In my opinion this is not only being a good boss but a good friend. Whoopsies for being a normal person. Anyways, this pone call evolved into mega-drama for our office admin., regional department head and myself. It literally made me sicker than I already was. Booo!

Thursday night around 11:45 the water alarm triggered in the basement. SHIT! Is my immediate thought. So I turned off the alarm and noted the roughly 1 inch of water in 3/4 of the basement. So I knew my morning was shot and emailed in to work that I wouldn't be there. I checked the next morning and the entire basement had water and now it was up to a good 4 inches throughout. Called the plumber because I had no friggin' idea what was going on and he never called back, never came out and was an all around useless waste of my time. Spectacular.  On my way to my afternoon doctor appointment I decided I would buy a new sump-pump because that's the only thing I could figure was wrong. I was right...go figure. So after figuring out how to replace it and realizing the sewer system was not working properly (oh joy) I had to chase Yotee around to avoid him getting shot by the neighbors who were out working cows. By then I was at my wits end - I called my dad and had a breakdown. Of course, he talked me through it all and as of 12:30 AM this morning there was no more water (than usual) in the basement. Yippeee! :)

My doctor was new which kind of sucks but we did try some alternative treatment for my almost 6 month enduring sinus infection. He literally squeezed my face and pressed on the lymphnodes in my neck. This wasn't the most comfortable thing but boy did it work! The fluid started flowing down the back of my throat: sorry but after having supreme congestion and not being able to breathe even remotely well for that long it was like the best thing ever! Although, it was uncomfortable later that night and I had to do the nasal flush which made things worse (I don't want to repeat it but I'll give anything a try) I do have antibiotics now. He gave me amoxicillian which means I'll be back in the office in two weeks but whatever!

Now I can concentrate on my homework that's due Sunday. :/ LOL So here comes the happy ending. I drank half a bottle of really great red wine (Cabernet Franc from  Three Rivers Winery) from Walla Walla, Washington. While consuming this amazing-ness, I also ate 3/4 of a tub of Stonemill jalapeno and artichoke dip with Juanita's corn chips. I also downed a 44 oz. fountain Diet Pepsi. Don't judge it was grrrreat! For those of you who have not tried this combo I strongly advise it. It made my stressful and crappy week sooooo much better.

My soap products came yesterday too so I will have a post up about those soon. Have a great weekend!

Mid-terms...

I have been rather dormant the last week or so and that's because I basically holed myself up to complete my mid-terms for the semester. Yippee! :) I'm done and feel like I'll do well enough.

The last week was pretty stressful on top of completing homework and mid-terms. On Monday I backed out of the garage and was a bit too close to the wall. I popped the bumper off and cracked it, dented to front driver's side fender and pretty much ripped off the driver's side mirror. I mean it was hanging on by it's electrical cord, just a-flappin' in the breeze.

Tuesday saw only minor pains at work but a few hours after I got home I discovered two snakes had slithered into my living room. Not cool at all! I hate snakes with a passion! I corralled them using skills gained by watching COPS believe it or not, and then had a major freak out once they were bagged and outside. I called dad and said, "I don't know what to do with them now!" After much crying and spazzing out, I put them into a plastic garbage bag and then a can outside my mudroom door. I actually got up the nerve to come back inside, but I'm still looking for snakes around this place!

Wednesday actually passed by uneventfully; however, Thursday was another story. My office administrator and friend Gina tried to cook her lunch in the office kitchen but instead started a kitchen fire. What was thought to be a tin cookie sheet turned out to be plastic and I had to bust out the fire extinguisher. It was quite the event but everyone in the office was able to laugh about it afterwards.

Friday passed with nothing but usual work-related stress. Thank goodness! Saturday was spent doing a mid-term for my class "The History of the Pacific Northwest" and this afternoon I completed my assignment for my "Speech and Thought In Culture" course. I can't say these are difficult courses but they are time-consuming because they are online.

However, I am now one week away from spring break and am looking forward to it. My life pretty much consists of work and homework. My puppies and my favorite TV shows get squeezed in there too. :) Some times a hobby activity sneaks in there as well.

I am going to focus on the deep clean my house desperately needs this coming week while still doing homework, and I'm hoping during my spring break week I'll be able to complete the face of my quilt. These are two of the three fabrics I'm using and I think they are going to go quite well with my other fabric. I'll keep you all posted.

Playin' in the dirt is the way to spend the day!

Well I decided to take a break from packing, house hunting and just generally preparing for my move to play in the dirt a bit; specifically the garden.

These are some pics from my fun time in the dirt.....

So in this picture there is a lot going on. So from left to right there are some radishes, which aren't my favorite but mom likes to eat them.  We planted a lot of radishes and with all the rain we've had they are splitting so the ducks, chickens and turkeys are getting to eat them, which they like...a lot! There is also a lot of snow peas, the kind where you eat the pod and are my favorite. They are yummy for a stir-fry! This is about the last heavy haul and I'm thinking of freezing the rest of the harvest for stir-fry mixes in the middle of the winter. In the center of the pic is a few stalks of mint, which is beautiful smelling and mom is brewing some lovely iced tea from it as we speak...uh type. :) Also in the center are two scallions from our stock that are growing quite well. Behind the mint is our lettuce haul. It's the kind you cut and it grows back...it's nice and sweet too. Then the pretty colored mix is half spinach (yummy) and then oak leaf lettuce which you cut and then it grows back. I'm working on using more greens in my diet. I have horrible eating habits so I'm trying to fix that! :)

This is a nice bowl of strawberries from mom's strawberry patch, which my brother claims as his own. Sooo he gets to eat this bowl all to himself. We've been having some issues with something eating our strawberries. I think it's slugs or mice but who knows. We're going to but out some Seven and dust them to see if that fixes our problem. :)  

God  has been working wonders in my life lately and I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to play in the dirt with my mom today! Well that's all for me today. Hope you all have a great day! :) 

Flamboancy and Interviews

I've been remiss in posting but have a legit reason - interviews. I had my interview with South Dakota today and it went fairly well, while I was defragging from that I received two calls for additional interviews. My schedule as now stands: next week, Tuesday an interview at UI for an administrative assistant in the College of Ag & Life Sciences, Thursday a phone interview with Kansas State University (still sketchy); the week after, Monday is an interview with the WSU Ritzville office for an administrative manager, Tuesday is a travel day for my interview in Montana on Wednesday and Thursday is the travel back day, and Friday is an interview with the Oregon Beef Council for an office manager position. However, I am thinking of letting this one go because it is a $30K/year job in Portland, OR which isn't a living wage there. So I am busy, busy, busy!

So for now I am kicking back to relax watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, which was a form of reward for all the interviews I've gotten and I've come to the conclusion there is no one in the world who reacts the way I do to things. I must either over-react like crazy to certain things but I've never been considered by myself, or others, as a person who over-reacts. Also, I've noticed people on this show don't emote like I would. You know like be animated, show emotion. I must just be a more flamboyant person than other people. Hmmmm....I don't think this is a bad thing but it makes me wonder about myself.

So with new interviews on the plate I need to think of some sort of reward for myself...maybe some new clothes or boots. Or maybe some Gilmore Girls on DVD. Any suggestions?

Update - I am working on crocheting a baby blanket to have on hand when one of my friends announces they're having a baby, as well as a braided rug made from a bunch of old jeans I wore when I was really heavy and others that were worn out. It's going to be really neat when I'm done I think. Pictures will be coming Sunday. My medication change is going OK. I'm a bit down at times but for the most part it's going well.

Well, I'm on the way out. I'm on the phone with my great/best friend Jenna and it's a bit difficult to do two things at once. Sorry if it's a bit scrambled and tomorrow will be better. :)