Life’s Lemons

                             

    I tell you what, life has been dealing Americans so many lemons recently and the last year. If you’re supposed to make lemonade out of lemons ..... well.... you better get your life preservers and boat oars out because we’re in for one heck of a dang lemonade flood!
What is the correct recipe for all these lemons?!
    America has been blessed for so many years and we have had so many good worry free (well for many people) years of no serious worries we haven’t a clue how to deal with these adversities.
    Texas has been the main news at the moment. Senseless dumb ways folks and even their pets and animals are dying because of not being able to think clearly to avoid death. Someone up north would be more prepared to stay warm or keep water from freezing. They are acclimated to those conditions.
    Southern people can deal with heat better usually. The individual people are at a disadvantage. The people in charge of the grid, water supply, and natural gas are paid to keep up with all possibilities no matter how remote of the adverse things that could happen.
    Those rose colored glasses on many I’m sure are flung aside. It’s proven once again you can’t count on the governmental structures running all things providing our comfort and safety.
    For those that survive learn from this and don’t ever let you and yours be caught with your pants down. See what went wrong for your family and plan as quickly as possible to not only correct it but never let this be repeated.
  If you have time to listen to a famous prepper he has a webcast he talks a little slow you can up the video speed one notch and it helps. For those that don't want to take that long he has it in print.
    I know it's a bit after the fact but this website has a list of 15 things this well known prepper person learned during his ordeal with the Texageddon event in central Texas.
https://www.afinalwarning.com/498260.html
 Chickens for some folks are just food. Other folks they are pets and even entertainment watching them be silly. All your animals need a better than what you think they need for temperatures in your area. You are protecting your food source folks!
   I wish I had another dependable heat and food prep source.
  We had entertainment with the snow. I wish I could get the video on the blog of a snow white 80 pound pit named Frosty running like a race horse in the snow! Man she's fast! She blended in so good you just saw a white streak moving until she got close. Hubby managed to slip and fall flat on his back getting into the house after a dentist outing. I missed the show. It sounded about like what you see in the cartoons. He was just sore the next day. Me... I was holding on to the side of the truck with both hands carefully getting out. I did what you might call the almost splits.. you know when you do the splits just enough to hurt the hips?LOL  Then another day I was going out to the truck and I was standing outside of the roof drip line so I wouldn't get wet.... Low and behold a great big load of snow slid off the metal roof along with a few icicles and landed full force on the back and shoulders. It was a pretty good thump but more surprise than anything. I started laughing and hubby was in the truck laughing also. I took my jacket off to shake off the snow and succeeded in having my snowed hair fall off under my collar making me do a dance to get that cold stuff off. I mean sometimes life can be a bugs bunny cartoon! We laughed off and on for 15 minutes every time we thought about it.  
    The weather is getting nice now staying into the 60's+ a little while during the day. We actually have some sunshine! I'm sitting out on the east side of my house in the mornings about 10 am soaking up some vitamin D and wonderful light rays my body needs to function properly.
    Today I cleaned out 2 big red plastic tubs as big as a half barrel the son in law used for mineral / protein cow licks. I am going to experiment with growing some potatoes in them. I tried a little last year and learned I have a critter that likes to climb in and dig them out so I am going to find some nice looking wire and protect the plants so that doesn't happen.
   I think I am going to find some rechargeable batteries to use so we don't have to worry about always purchasing more. I would like to find some solar lights also although the last few weeks have been so gloomy I can't imagine they would have worked. When the electric goes off something like that might come in handy. Interesting experiment in the house for sure. LOL
     I am putting together some information on just how much food a group of adults of 4, 25, or 50 or even 1000 would need to have to function for a year. We have too many things disrupting our food chain to not take a good hard look at what people need to do to be ready for crazy weather, upside down government baloney or even the supply chain disrupted from something as simple as a computer glitch from hackers.
    Something like Texas shouldn't happen anywhere. People can't count on the normal shopping habits and delivery supplies any longer. Even the darn government shutting down businesses ! So it is a plandemic this time what other things can they come up with I don't even want to imagine.
It's another Fooled Us Once shame on you!
Fooled Us Twice shame on me!

Ok I gabbed enough... I made a good flourless peanut butter cookie I will send in soon.

Love
Ranchmama

Snow Day and Night

Snow days can be a struggle then again there are times like these when you can take a deep breath relax with one of the tastiest bowls of potato soup I have made in years. Whew!

                           Day

Home made potatoe soup for supper  made with chicken broth, crisp bacon, shaved Black Forest ham, butter and heavy cream.

Night time snow in the back yard with yard light adding just the right look.

   Somehow it is just the soothing touch I needed tonight.

Love

Ranchmama 

Christmas 2014

The Christmas snow just missed us by a few days! It's just a light covering they say it will be melted by this afternoon sometime. If the grass isn't uncovered by late afternoon hubby will need to put out hay for the cows. 

Isn't this just beautiful ! One of my Christmas presents from my daughter. I am pretty much spoiled and don't need much but I really am in need of some pretty holiday decorations. This will be a nice addition . 

I had great plans ( although I was still about 3 days from the dinner an still didn't have a tree up or decorations planned) . I decided I wanted to have a cookie tree since each year the tree has different decorations. I have had beef jerky trees, ammo trees, hot wheel trees, candy cane, family recipes, just all kinds but this year since I was making so many cookies I would just hang some from the tree! Wa la !! Done deal u would think! Well not really, I just had to settle for a nice shiny tree instead. 

    I went overboard this year and spoiled everyone rotten. Everyone got what they considered a wow present. I figured I can't always afford those an this yr I could so why not spoil them?! I managed to wrap everything in foil but bows just didn't make it on the boxes. 

   I really was way behind on getting things put together so I cheated and we bought cheesecake and pies. Of course we still had the cookies! Lol

   Daughter traveled in from Ark with her husband an 2 of the 3 sons. She pretty much catered the dinner and we had baked salmon and chicken breasts! Throw in a few veggies and we were good to go . It was a whole lot easier than a oven going strong for several days before. My Heart Daughter wasn't able to make it so we had to party without her this time. 

This grandson loves Under Armour! His mother refuses to buy such a expensive  hoodie! Well that is where Grandmothers come in! Lol I hear tell he starts picking one out months before Christmas and afterwards you can't hardly get him out of it. He will also not give it up easily to little brother even tho it is ridiculously to small.

    The youngest grandson still enjoys cool things like air soft guns. This is a rifle an pistol with 5000 pellets. It's amazing how expensive these toys are! Wow! I was told he was sleeping with it when he got home. Typical male !!! 

   It's funny every picture I took of my daughter something was blurred! She is always moving so it doesn't surprise me to have a hard time getting a good pic!

Son in law loves to grill ! He wanted a Coleman folding propane grill and cast iron pots and pans.... I told him he gets to put it together!

My Heart Daughter has my husband wrapped around her little finger ! She talked him into letting her have her wow present ( a special edition pink Yeti cooler ) weeks before Christmas one cold day after they were done with their outside work! I promised not to put a pic up but she can just count herself lucky I didn't put the really good one with the totally  surprised look on her face ! Lol

I got my husband a lulu loader and a queen size dual control electric blanket since he is always cold on blood thinners.  I love it myself. I told hubby it's like crawling into a baked potatoe!
  Well that is about all. We have had several family parties we attended and only 1 had someone that the whole family  tries to avoid. We just ignored him the best we could. There r just some folks that are just not good people to be around. They will never change or be trustworthy and they have just hurt too many family members to even attempt to consider doing anything different than just avoid!

     Christmas turned out really nice this year even though I was a week behind everything I tried to get done. Lol next year will be better organized. I promise!

Love

Ranchmama

Brrrrrr....

We were in prep mode when we heard of the cold weather. It's always better to get as many things as you can done while the weather is pleasant before you get ice and snow.

    Animals always come first on a ranch. So it was time to make sure everybody had enough hay. That was four different stops at four different places . The hay was put behind what wind breaks could be found for about 30 cows or so at most stops. Thank goodness for JD 4 wheel drive cab tractors! 

   Check the alternative electric devises and move into position so we won't have to do it in ice and snow. Got the tires aired up an covered with a tarp everything ready to go. 

   Did what laundry and dish washing needed doing while we have electric. Fridge is stocked. Potato sack ready for some really good potato soup with lots of butter and bacon in it. 

    Cell phones charged and flashlights handy. 

   We were as ready as u could be. Thank goodness the electric stayed on. Other than some really cold wind and wet shoes it's all snug and going smooth ..... At the moment anyway . 

    Poor doggies get kicked out for bathroom breaks and Sassy wobbles out to do her thing. Heidi Ho has no problem and goes out to play. 

    Would love to go to Wally World when roads are better. Even with 4 wheel drive it's still slick. The stores are going to be bombed with all the cabin fever that is being had I am sure. 

Here is the view out my front door. You can't even see the target on the 700 yd range in the top right of the pic on the hill.  Notice the thermometer is around 20* F on the porch. Sure feels a lot colder than that! 

Ranchmama ( keeping warm & snug)

Why NOT to Bug Out of Oklahoma

One good reason not to bug out of Oklahoma is..... IT WOULD BE FLAT OUT BORING!!!

Other states just do not have the adventure we do.

Where else can you live and get shaken and stirred all in one day?

Where else can you live and have snow in May with tornadoes right behind it?

Where else can you live and have a tornado in the morning and another one on the same day in the evening like we did here in Prague,Oklahoma?

If I lived in a area of Oklahoma that is known for having repeated tornado dances I would for sure not be living there.

Where I live now there are 100 yo homesteads still here that have not been touched by the storms

That doesn't mean it can't and won't happen but my odds are better.

IF I would be wiped out with the house gone and all I would for sure think about moving to a place that doesn't have weather "episodes" frequently.

My family is small. We no longer have a lot of family close by. 

The kind of work we do being self employed we can do somewhere else.

Not only that as tied down as we have been it might be the only time I get to travel and see things as we are scouting out someplace pretty to look at as we think of relocating.




Ranchmama