OLW - Keep

Another word to keep me thinking, KEEP! I read the current challenge on One Little Word, and really had a tough time so off I went to the dictionary. One definition was "livestock keep" meaning one who keeps livestock or an area to house livestock. As a child I remember my grandmother talking about livestock keeps, as in noun. Now I had the perfect pictures for the perfect story in my head.




I had no idea how to use OLW for over a year as I would read through the posts. I'd been wanting to have an album which described me and deep down who I am. Then reading Word #33, FAITH, it dawned on me. Of course I had plans to tell others about my love for God and his son, my savior Jesus. I now had the route and the album to have all of these words to describe who I am. Yet, I found a stumbling block and spent time working on pages about my family for my album. It wasn't until the word "KEEP" which unblocked some of the problems I was still having in describing myself.

I started on the LO the day "KEEP" was posted on One Little Word. I scrolled through the LO's but didn't "read between the lines." With the LO undone I headed to the ranch on Friday. Monday I head to Pencil Lines to see the LO. Whoops, I'd already done "Keep" using Pencil Lines Sketch #105. Soooo....here's my Pencil Lines Sketch #106 Entry using the OLW Wordup #19 "CREATE."




The journaling on this LO, my entry to Pencil Lines is my first attempt at computer journaling my words.


'What a joy to have a hand in God's Creations. A breeder striving to produce the perfect horse, cow or rabbit. The joy of planting a new rose, Pope John Paul II."


I loved the top picture of my Pope John Paul II as it had been in the ground one week when I took this picture. It shows some of my spring cleaning of our rabbit barn. Rabbit manure. No need to compost since it doesn't burn. It's the love you give a rose when taking care of it that brings such beautiful roses.


The bottom picture taken by Lynn is of Zuby in his pasture. The picture taken before his colic surgery. It's amazing how he looks now then just a year before his surgery. Little did Lynn or I know at the time that a time bomb was ticking inside of him. Something that caused attachment of his small intestine to his abdominal wall. Ibn Zubaydahh (Tammen x Zubaydahh), aka Zuby in my humble opinion was the best horse we ever bred. A champion in halter, a friend, and companion he loves to once again fly accross the pasture. This past weekend at the ranch I watched him run silhouted by the setting sun and it was if I was watching the movie, The Black Stallion all over again. He was just beautiful in his joy of living.


I'm off to print pictures now as I'm down to one picture left to scrap.....


Thank you for the Word Up OLW.


Kim

4H & FFA

Larry and I were both members of FFA. Our kids were both members of FFA. For agriculture these are definitely the two best organizations for kids. I've watched trouble kids become well adjusted adults via both organizations. I've watched the leaders tomorrow not just in agriculture but in all areas of the economy. I've seen young adults involved in both desire and are giving back to those currently involved in the organizations.


I love RFD-TV! It's all about what I love so much, agriculture! I watched the show Virginia Farming the other night. They had a segment about a young man in 4-H who entered the Eat Local Video Contest sponsored by the Virginia Dept of Agriculture. They showed the video on that segment of Virginia Farming then interviewed him about his video. His entire family was involved in the video. I hope you'll enjoy the video, too.




There is a growing movement all across the US on "Grow Local, Eat Local." So how did this movement start. Farmers and ranchers trying to get a decent price for the products they raise. When was the last time you visited the local farmers market. There you will find all sorts of products. Some fall under naturally grown, some organic, some not labeled either. But either way you will find some of the best vegetables and fruits you have eaten. There is no shipping via a truck for thousands of miles. The fruits and vegetables have been picked in the last 12 hours as a general rule. Texas Department of Agriculture has a website which lists local farmers markets. Check you state's agriculture department to see if they have a list. There are many other places to buy your state's agriculture products and support the farmers and ranchers of your state. Even Rhode Island has a small thriving community of farmers and are well supported by their agriculture department.


Texas Farmers Markets


Local Harvest - a website supporting Grow Local, Eat Local.


Enjoy your day!

Kim

OLW - "Create"

wow...this word can be so large in how you really search within yourself to wonder how you put a LO together to tell others about a deeper meaning within you.

I've completed my first word with OLW today using Pink Sketches #9 Sketch. This word was "keep." Since Pencil Lines and OLW have teamed up this week I need another word thus I've decided to use "Create." I had the choice of 36 other words to choose from to work with and I loved this one.

I first thought of my scrapbooking when it came to "create." But as I read the Blog "little gi" on what "keep" (this week's OLW word) meant to Gigi, I realized just what create meant to me. We have the ability to "create" so many things. Yet "create" to me means a couple of things. I've always wanted to be creative, I'm not & I never will be to my liking. It is why I took drafting in high school, back when you did the drawing instead of using a computer. I especially loved Architecture, it allows for artistic expression. I love clean lines, my scraping reflects that.... Yet when I sit and really think about create....it becomes an expression of who I am when it comes to Agriculture. There is nothing more thrilling then a bale of hay coming out of a baler that you and God's hand had a part in getting to that point. Or a foal or calf born which you have agonized over who to breed the dam to. That calf is your creation. Plant a rose take care of it, nuture it and watch as God gives you the most breathtaking flower in the world. Or at least the rose is my favorite flower.

I've also come to realize I've made the next step in my scrapbooking. For one who isn't creative I'm getting there one baby step at a time. Oh, how I wish I was like so many others who are so very creative! I've made the step to working on my own sketches, I've done two. Now I'll look at the challenge blogs I frequent and sometimes never look at the sketch a second time. Six months ago it would have driven me nuts to have a LO not look like the sketch. Now I'm slowly moving towards what a sketch is, a guideline to inspire.

.....one baby step at a time where my LO's become my creation...

So stay tuned to see my OLW "Create" in a few days.

kim....

Scrapping the Past Ten Days --- So Relaxing

I've just had to forget the frustrations of the aftermath of Ike. As of today still no adjuster to take a look at the house or office. We could have had it so much worse. I'm just glad we didn't. Mom on the other hand is having to deal with FEMA, the house has been partially gutted. She is taking it so well. Then comes the economics and the election... oh I'm so tired of it all I stay away from the news.

I must say that "Saturday Night Live" is doing the best job on the election spoofs since the days of "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players." Just too funny!

Scrapping has kept me relaxed and focused on what I love, my family and keeping our family history.

I have four sketch or inspiration blogs for scrapping. You'll see links to them on my blog. I hope you'll find inspiration as I have. I decided I'd share my favorite LO's I've done over the past 10 days. This was for week #39 of 52 Sketches...52 Weeks Sketch Challenge Blog.



I loved visiting Rocky Springs United Methodist Church all over again as I scrapped the photos Lynn took. I loved the smell and history of the church. The smell was of a very old building, not musty just old wood. Then to walk through the cemetery was like walking into the past. Lynn and I took the route to Jackson, MS so we could go up the Natchez Trace. Lynn didn't remember any of the Trace from when we took the kids to Dee-Dee's when they were 6 and 5. The only remains of the town of Rocky Springs is a few metal items, markers with the history of the town and the church.





The next LO is for last week for Pink Sketches. This is a wonderful inspiring blog. I've followed the blog since it began, but this past week was the first time I've been able to submit a LO and complete four of the sketches I was behind on. This is my favorite of the four I've done. Week #7 Sketch submission:





A very special relationship with a wonderful classy lady, Edith Buffum Ramsey Collins Merrill, aka "The Lady in the Red Hat." But to her grand-daughter she was lovingly known as my Dee-Dee. Some day I'll just write to my hearts content on Dee-Dee. This LO will be placed in my "About Me" scrapbook. So my descendants will know me as well as my family. Dee-Dee loved to cook and here she is deep in Mom's set of Gourmet by Earle R. Macausland. She loved this set of cookbooks and I'm so thankful I have her set along with all of her notes on her favorite recipes.

This is Week #8 of Pink Sketches and the first LO I've actually been able to submit. I really like how this LO turned out. My girls Que and Paige having some fun with a box. Both keep me company all day while I'm at home. Que will choose to be with James if he would just leave the door to his room open. He is her favorite human. She is also awful finicky as a black cat should be. Paige is always within arms reach and is so tuned in to my moods. She's now been with me almost 18 months and we are always together. The best lap dog in the world.






This LO so appealed to me because of the geometric elements of the Sketch. I had so much fun working on this LO.

It's getting late and I so need sleep.

I leave you with this verse from The Bible:

Psalm 119:2 (New International Version)


Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.

May He bless you!

Kim

Hurricane Ike

I'm sure there are plenty of bloggers who are writing today who are in the Houston area about the coming storm. So I'll join the group.

An hour ago I made the decision to leave because of my mother's decision to leave her house. If the expected storm surge reaches what is expected she will have a minimum of 4 feet of water in the house. So off to the ranch she goes with horses in tow. Our horse now makes the ranch her permanent residence so all I have to haul out today is the rabbits. There are about 35 to take with me.

So far no Rita type evacuation. That's good! Yet I've provided my Mom and myself with a really good map that shows not just back roads but county roads, too. This should make leaving easier.

I hope we have a home to come home to. We did from Rita, we'll see with this storm. I'm glad Larry decided to leave, he has a host of computers to take with him from our business, since that is how we run our business.

The ranch won't just house our family over the weekend, but will house one to two more families. No enough beds....oh, well.

I've got a lot of work to get done today, I should have a lot of pictures of the house when through if it hits on the current track.

One last item, if you have not said a prayer today, please do for our country, our leaders and the Survivors of the World Trade Center.

Kim

First Ever Star 5 Calf

We waited and what seemed a day that would never arrive at the ranch. It finally did. Our first Lowline Angus and Santa Gertrudis Star 5 calf, she's a heifer and red. What makes this calf unique is she is the very first ever in the US Star 5 calf of this cross. We are very excited to welcome this heifer unnamed as of yet to the ranch. Her sire is Murrumbong LGL Bluey, the first Fullblood Lowline Bull to be exported to the US from Australia and first Fullblood to be registered with the American Lowline Registry. She is out of Bieri 667. We so look forward to great things from this heifer. She will be recorded with SGBI as a Star 5 and registered with ALR as a Half-blood Lowline.

As the research has shown Half-blood Lowlines have a birth weight of 59 lbs. This girl weighed in at 55 lbs. Lowlines are excellent for first calving heifers. It's so very tough for a heifer to deliver those huge 70+ pound calves. We don't worry about our Santa Gertrudis Heifers delivering this size calf. All of our first calf heifers are bred for Lowline calves unless they are in our show string.


Look for more information on this wonderful addition to our herd on our website.

I love to garden, roses and vegetables are my favorites. I have the front of my house in a rose garden along with a couple of day lilies and a hibiscus. In the backyard I have two citrus trees in raised beds which I planted last year and since they are so young and the beds get full sun I have vegetables growing around them. I have a few more projects to complete yet for the spring. I've always had problems with the corner of the garage and house with drainage. Finally decided to not try any longer to get something to grow there. I'm going to pull the soil out and put pavers in there to have a potting area and keep the drainage in check.

Of all the plants Roses are my passion. I will probably move to the ranch this fall, we'll start on the house there next spring. In the mean time living in the mobile home and sell the house in Angleton. I really want to have a beautiful English style rose garden taking up my front yard. Hmmm....how pretty that would be!

I also keep a scrapbook of my gardening habit. I just thought I'd share a page I've completed.




This is a picture of an African Daisy. I used to have this bed in annuals, but I found the annuals were not something I wanted to keep up with. They have to be planted three times a year where we live. I now have three miniature roses and two day lillies in the bed.

Then a picture of my first Tahitian Sunset this year. I love the varied colors this rose puts out. Just gorgeous!


This shows the bed before I put the mulch down for this year. I took this picture just after finishing up putting down the yearly one to two inches of rabbit manure. I love using this as a mulch, too. I can take it straight from the rabbit barn and put it in all of my beds. By the end of the year it will be gone. My soil in all of my beds is just unbelievable great. Lots of earth worms, and perfect for holding water which keeps the roots cooler in our hot summers.

Gardening is a gentle passion that quenches me physically, spiritually, and emotionally. On my knees I drink up the smell of the fertile ground as I dig holes and plant seeds alive with potential. I am a partner with God/Godess as I nuture my adopted plants and I feel quietly satisfied at the end of my day's work. Christine Albert.... Texas singer, songwriter, performer