Today I Am Pissed

 I am in FB jail for 24 hours. They probably won't allow me to tell this truth I have caught them in. A lot of men are posting that their women should kneel down to them while they are speaking. Funny, I guess, if you never knew someone who had to do it. I guess. If you're into that sort of thing.

My reply- Yes, she should kneel down and grab her iron skillet and whop him over the head. Then, whisper in his ear, "Don't go to sleep. I'll be waiting." This, my friends, will generally stop a man from abusing you. If it doesn't, leave.

Abuse is nothing to joke about. I know women who have been made to do so many demeaning things at the hand of an abusive man. I know women who have been hospitalized. I know a woman who spent the rest of her life hiding in fear of a man that was dead. He was THAT mean. Some men think it's funny when they brag to each other about what they can make their woman do. No women are laughing.

My point- FB took my comment down but thinks the posts about making a woman kneel down while you talk are OK!!!! YES, IT IS OK TO POST ON FB TO MAKE YOUR WOMAN KNEEL DOWN TO YOU BUT NOT OK FOR HER TO DEFEND HERSELF.

This is exactly what is wrong with this country today. We glorify abuse. Defense isn't abuse.

Lastly. men who act like this,, as some of you claim to be Christians., what Bible verse do you use to justify this behavior? FB may not post this, but it is also going on all my social media.

And to the panty-waisted sissy pants that turned me in....I see you. I know what likely goes on behind your door. I hope you get the skillet

Seed Starting Begins!

 

I finally started by tomato and pepper seeds today! As you can see, I had a little help from Ginger. (If he fits, he sits.)

I haven't bought any new seeds this year. I had plenty from last year. I am trying to practice restraint here. I am sure I will buy some seeds eventually. 

I used larger seed starting pellets this year. I got them on Amazon. The trays are just pans from a local Dollar Store. As you can see, I am using heat mats to help them out. 

What started out as a rainy morning turned into a sunny, beautiful day! I got a little repotting done and now to catch up on my reading. (Feel free to visit my other blog, Free Spirit Books. The link it on the above right.) Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tuesday Thoughts

No, he isn't stuck. Ginger (or Gigi, as I call him) is learning to get himself out of a tree. It's quite a handy talent if you think about it. Hopefully, he won't need to deal with enemies in his own yard, but you never know. Ginger is a "daytime outside cat". At night, we make him stay inside because of the coyotes. It's about time for me to start tracking him down. Sometimes he hides and refuses to come inside. He is far too naive.

I fully meant to start my tomato and pepper seeds today. (I also fully meant to do it last week.) Last week's excuse was that the weather sucked and my daughter was sick. Today's excuse is that the weather is perfect, my daughter feels just fine....and now here I go with the sniffles. (Yes, I hit the elderberry!) 

I hope to be up to starting the seeds tomorrow. Last week would've been ideal. However, gardening isn't a race. You just want to give those babies a good start. I love seed starting! It gives me hope for spring. Nothing warms the cold, grey days of winter like seeing your garden plants popping their little green heads up! 

Tune in tomorrow to see if I start those seeds..... 

Spring in February

 Will there even be a winter?

It's over 70 degrees here on the mountain today. Started off the day with my daddy and my cousin having to repair a leaky faucet in my daughter's bathroom. (You haven't had fun on a late Sunday night til your kiddo comes into your room and says, "There is hot water running in my bathtub and it won't stop!") Up here, we only call in the professionals as a last resort. One quick trip across the mountain to town and we are good to go!

It was too beautiful out there to stay inside! Look at this sky:

Excuse the satellite photobomb on the left. I love living in a clearing in the woods. We have our own little private world here.

After picking up sticks that January's storms left in the yard (finally the mud has dried up), I worked on my raised beds. I need to get them cleared and ready. Today I pulled weeds and straightened them up a little. 

It felt so GOOD to soak up this sunshine! And I was wearing SHORTS, y'all! I can't believe it is this hot in February. I took a little walk around the yard to look for signs of spring.

I found these baby buttercups. Look at those little buds!

This one sat alone underneath a tree. I have gathered all my buttercups (daffodils to some of y'all) from old home places out in the woods. They aren't native to the area but came with the first settlers. Finding them in the woods is like looking through a window back in time. They show us where a home place once stood. A woman planted these with pride. A family once lived on each of these old home places, their faces now lost in time. But the buttercups return every year. Never take them all--just take a few. They will increase in number year after year.

One last photo today. I got bit by a blackberry bush when I was trying to take a picture of this one. This means I have weed-eating to do this week, evidently.  Wild blackberries are great, but they will take over your yard if you let them. 

I have more pics, but I will save them for my next post. Time to see what needs cookin' for supper.

By the way, do you call them daffodils or buttercups?

Spring in January

     In my last post, I was talking about an old adage that the first 12 days of each year represent the 12 months. We had a mild day on Day 1, so January should be fine. Days 2 and 3 however, brought storms, rain, and high winds. February and March might bring some bad weather. Day 4, today, says that April will be lovely and mild.

Look at that moon!

    When I went out earlier today, the air was warm (about 64 degrees). The sun was shining and the sky was a lovely shade of bright blue. The yard, however, was a mushy mess, thanks to the last two days of storms.  As we left for an errand I was amazed at all the water. Water, water everywhere! Ponds, streams, and creeks were at full capacity. At one point, it was running down the middle of the mountain road!

The branch that runs beside our little road is full today!

It was like an early day in spring when the ice is melting (not that we get much ice) and water rushes down the mountain. Crashing over waterfalls, running through pastures and woodlands, The little branch (which has never had a name, that I know of) courses its way into the valley at the mouth of a holler where it joins the creek.

Even as the sun starts setting at 6pm, outside still looks like spring. It seems you are in the clear, April. Let's find out what Day 5 has to say about May!

New Year- Better Health

 .....And right after that last post I came down with a little nagging something that would not go away. Covid? No. Strep? No...MONO. I'd had it years ago and it came back! My daughter was also diagnosed, later in the fall. She recovered quickly. I am just now getting over it. So let's get on with this blog.

    Yesterday was New Year's Day. It was a beautiful day. According to Appalachian folk beliefs, the first 12 days of the year represent the 12 months. Each month's weather can be predicted by the weather of that corresponding day. Therefore, January should be warm and pleasant, since yesterday (Day 1 of 2023) was fair and pleasant. (Almost spring-like, actually.) And, according to today's weather, February will be a rainy, ugly mess. 

    Here in the south, there are so many beliefs about New Year's Day. You cant wash dishes. No washing laundry either. (You will wash your luck away.) Do not take ANYTHING outside. Not even the garbage (You will be taking your luck outside.). And of course, there is the ubiquitous traditional New Year's meal of pork, black-eyed peas, and greens. Fish is OK, but no bottom-dwellers. Shrimp is ok, but no crustaceans that walk sideways or backward You can't eat chickens, because they scratch backward for their food. The point is to move forward into the new year, with greens representing paper money and peas representing coins. Last of all- don't sweep the floor! (Again, you would be sweeping your luck away.)

    I am so glad to be at home on this dreary day. I did venture out to take my daughter to a friend's house. The fur babies are napping all about the house. Silence except for rain on the roof. I have some oranges with clove and cinnamon simmering on the stove. The house smells so good! Should I clean? Should I work on this old aquarium I am redoing? Should I write? Should I read? Should I create?  Guess I will do a little cleaning first. It never ends. 

    I am definitely starting a pot of chicken and dumplings for dinner. Except, contrary to this version, I am adding a few other things and making homemade dumplings. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stopping by to spend some time in the country. Keep those bird feeders filled and leave a little something for the other critters as well.

First Day of the Rest of My life

 Public school starts back today here in Armuchee, GA. This makes it real. My first year as a retired teacher...and homeschool mom. 

It feels weird but in a good way. Rain is falling outside, but we are snug inside our cabin. My daughter is stationed on one side of the couch, listening to The Knight's Tale. I'm on the other end, under a blanket, typing this blog. Our smallest dog is curled by my feet. One cat rests on my daughter's chest as if to say, "If you are forced to listen to this mess, I will go through it with you." 

Of course, with retirement, money is an issue. I have consignment shelves in two different stores (in two different towns). I plan to drop off a set of Sears Cat tail dishes and a jewelry tray made from vintage dishes, at Farmhouse Vintage in Armuchee later today. Single moms- what are your side hustles? What works? What doesn't?

So this is my new life. Looking back, when this blog began, I was a married working mom. Now I am a single, retired homeschool mom. Out here in the boonies at the dead end of a dirt road on this sweet mountain I have always called home. Our cabin isn't fancy. Our life is simple. In exchange for lower pay, we have less stress and distraction from this crazy world. We aren't isolated- my daughter and I do have friends and a social life. However, we are introverts at heart. This works for us.

So join me on this journey as we figure out this new life..one day at a time.