The Front Porch Swing

[Beekissed]

Hey everyone. Please keep the people affected by the shooting at Ft. Hood in your prayers.

Thanks

Again??? What is with that place??? Will pray!

 

[lovingmyhens]

Lindz, I hope the rest of this week goes better for you. I'm praying God will give you His strength for each day. And a Good sleep tonight!

Blooie, I love your chicken coop. What a lot of work you've done. I agree with some of the others - a coop is never done. There are always "improvements" that seem like a good idea . And of course, learning from others' experiences always makes life easier. It's a good thing I wasn't around when you had your little face to face meeting with the manure in the wheelbarrow. I would have felt bad for you, but I just can't help myself. When I see something like that I can't help laughing.

Welcome, ms Jellybean! Lucky you to be planting your garden already! You must have some plants blooming already there too. I love the picture of the flowers posted earlier! Any signs of spring or growth I can see now is a big encouragement! If it's warm where some of you are, eventually it will get warm here too! We did get above freezing for a couple hours this afternoon - Yeah! Still lots of snow to melt before anything thinks of growing! I did see 2 geese today - they were walking across our country road as I was coming home. As I slowed down, they took off and flew above the large frozen slough beside the road. I wished I could see them land on the ice, but the bushes got in the way. Thought it might be funny

. One spring I watched a goose come in for landing on a frozen pond. It must have been confused, because it came in for a regular landing and slid on its butt a long ways across the ice. I guess I shouldn't laugh, but I couldn't help it.

 

[TexasLisa]

Hi, I got invited here by a dear friend, so here I am. North Texas here.

Can I please squeeze in on the swing with a nice cold glass of fresh lemonade?

I read the first page, saw the date and skipped to the last. This is one busy porch! 455 pages in 3 months.

While I am here, can I ask if anyone knows how to reattach the front cabinet panel (from IKEA) to my dishwasher, that had the screws stripped out?

Spring has sprung here at my house.

Welcome Ms. Jellybean!!! Would you like some Sweet Iced Tea? Say hello to Jake and Boots over there by Bee. Katee is 'Perchie Girl' horse.

Everyone you need to watch out for Ms. Jellybean. She cooks some mighty fine dishes. You will be drooling when you see what she makes!

Still not feeling well. Just stopping by to say hello from afar... don't want anyone else to get sick. Love you all very much.

Lindz, so sorry you aren't feeling well. Part of the problem is you are staying away from 'The Front Porch'. This porch is magical and will make you feel better! Take care my friend!

Well, the way I look at disruptions in a thread is that I'm guilty of the same thing, so I won't say a word. It's all about self-control, and I usually have none....a love of words and little self-control is not a good combination! Lesson learned here - and I'll probably make the same mistake a few times, unfortunately. I'll try harder, I promise.

Leslie, I know what you mean about people having trouble writing what they are thinking because I have the same issue, only with speaking. I know what I want to say in my head, but the words either don't come out the way I meant them to or I get nervous and a little bit of the stuttering sneaks back in. But my chickens don't mind as long as I feed them, water them, and sneak them treats.

Ken grew up on a 1000 acre ranch near Pinedale, Wy. with 6 sisters and two brothers. I got to "play" at ranch chores a little bit when I'd go back to visit. But I never did outlive the title "dude", even though it was never said in a mean, cutting way - always in good fun, and I gave as good as I got. I loved to help with the lambing and calving! My official job was the ooher-ahher. You know, see the little lamb or calf wobble to his feet and say, "Ohhh!" and "Ahh!", and "Oh, how CUTE!" That was about all they trusted me with but I was really, really good at it.

Early one spring I went out to see what I could help with (translation: how much I could get in the way) and they were cleaning out the corrals. All but two of Ken's siblings were out there working - the two little ones were in with Mom. What a smelly, slimy, muddy mess it was out there! Ken's dad had some doohicky attached to the front of his little tractor, scraping the corral down to bare ground and pushing it all up against the side wall of the loafing shed. Everyone had wheelbarrows and shovels, and they were scooping it away from where he'd pushed it and moving it through a gate into yet another corral - the empty, dry one - so he could load it into the manure spreader later and pull it out to the fields with the big tractor - I guess. I don't understand these technical processes. Seemed like a stupid way to do it - push it into a line against the shed so it could be shoveled away from the shed and put into a big pile in another place. I thought it would be so much more efficient to use the tractor thingy and load the spreader to start with, but what did I know? So I made the mistake of asking why he was doing it that way when he could just scoop it up and load the machine.

Very patiently he explained that the drier corral where it was being dumped by the wheelbarrow load was dry because he alternated corrals every winter. That way when he took the big tractor and manure spreader in for loading, he didn't have to worry about getting stuck in the slime.

Anyway, there I was in my stiff new jeans and my amazing mother-in-law's sweatshirt, windbreaker and boots, nodding my head wisely like I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Need some help?" I offered.

I swear the gleam in Dad's eye was as bright as a new penny. He saw another opportunity to get me, and he wasn't about to let one this rich get past him. "Sure, grab the shovel and 'barrow from Liz so she can take a break."

I watched what the others were doing. Boy, they were sure being lazy. A few scoops of muck into the wheelbarrow and off they went through the gate into the other corral. I could do better than that, and I was just a city kid. I took Liz's poop mover equipment and got busy. I filled that wheelbarrow, and I filled it good. It was heaped high in the middle and I was getting twice as much as the other kids were. Then I propped my shovel up against the shed and prepared to join the parade. I grabbed both handles of that wheelbarrow, lifted it up, pushed......and the only thing that moved was my head and my hands. My feet had no traction in that mess, the load was so wet and heavy that it wasn't budging, but my hands slid down the handles toward the neatly domed pile I had created and in I went, face first. The first row plowed with that rich fertilizer wasn't made with a plow - it was made with my chin.

I came up spitting and sputtering and I knew every one was rolling with laughter. So I wiped my chin on Mom's windbreaker, which did nothing more than smear it worse, wiped my hands on my new jeans, and lightened my wheelbarrow load considerably. Dad ordered everyone back to work, and we went on through the rest of the morning as if nothing had happened. I did something stupid, I paid the price, and as far as the family was concerned it was over and done. Until dinner that night. But I think we just won't go there at the moment.

So understand, then, how proud I was of myself when today I put on my chicken coop shoes, my flannel lined jeans and my fluffy flannel shirt, my denim jacket, and I went out in the snow for the first time to "do my chores." Look at me, Dad! I'm a chore doer! Why, if I could have found an old floppy hat and a straw to stick in my mouth I'd have looked almost like a real farmer! But then again, I've suddenly become a little leery of straws in the mouth!

Blooie, you did it again! How much more water can my poor computer take? You are great!!

Lisa

 

[zinia8]

hi everyone i am just checking in. busy at work and not enough hours in the day to get all caught up. Blooie love the new coop. I remember the "fun" me and boyfriend had building the first phase of the coop in the snow then the rain then the snow again. Never thought those chickies would ever get out of the garage.

 

[Blooie]

Hey everyone. Please keep the people affected by the shooting at Ft. Hood in your prayers.

Thanks

Absolutely!

I just thought that in the midst of such pain and sorrow, it might be nice to look into the face of hope. I saw that face, and I hope you don't mind if I share it here.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I've got an interesting question:
Does anyone know where or how I would find pen pals for imates?
My friend that is in prison has a cellmate, who is a christian, that has no one write or visit. He sees my friend getting letters and visits every weekend, either from me or his parents. He asked my friend whose name is Stephen, if I could find out about pen pals for prison inmates. My heart goes out to him, and I'd volunteer, but I am a terrible writer. It is everything I can do to keep corresponding with Stephen! I'll write at least once a week, but if I am going to visit him then I don't cause we have 2 hours and I don't want to tell all the news in the letter.
So, does anyone know how I would go about finding a pen pal for this guy?
I'm just stumped.
Maybe this weekend I'll share a story about my friend, Stephen, and I...

4 dead in Ft Hood, including the shooter.
Prayers for all who are hurting and ill tonight.
Sleep well, my friends

I know there are agencies that can hook you up with pen pals. Don't know of any though. Google is your friend.

If anyone wants to write to soldiers I can hook you. I've been writing soldiers for almost 4 years now. It is so rewarding.

edit: a search on Google yielded these results. The list clearly needs to be gone over with some scrutiny.

 

[Beekissed]

I've got an interesting question:
Does anyone know where or how I would find pen pals for imates?
My friend that is in prison has a cellmate, who is a christian, that has no one write or visit. He sees my friend getting letters and visits every weekend, either from me or his parents. He asked my friend whose name is Stephen, if I could find out about pen pals for prison inmates. My heart goes out to him, and I'd volunteer, but I am a terrible writer. It is everything I can do to keep corresponding with Stephen! I'll write at least once a week, but if I am going to visit him then I don't cause we have 2 hours and I don't want to tell all the news in the letter.
So, does anyone know how I would go about finding a pen pal for this guy?
I'm just stumped.
Maybe this weekend I'll share a story about my friend, Stephen, and I...

4 dead in Ft Hood, including the shooter.
Prayers for all who are hurting and ill tonight.
Sleep well, my friends

PM me with the address and such and I'll be his pen pal. Never done it before but I'm betting I can manage it! As long as he doesn't start getting personal and frisky, I'm good to go.

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi, I got invited here by a dear friend, so here I am. North Texas here.

Can I please squeeze in on the swing with a nice cold glass of fresh lemonade?

I read the first page, saw the date and skipped to the last. This is one busy porch! 455 pages in 3 months.

While I am here, can I ask if anyone knows how to reattach the front cabinet panel (from IKEA) to my dishwasher, that had the screws stripped out?

Spring has sprung here at my house.

Welcome.... and If you can post some pix of your stripped out screws I might be able to help.... Um er not the screws but the places that are stripped out. IF its just stripped screws and not the nuts you can take the stripped ones to a hardware store and show them so they can be measured and they should be able to get you more. Now If I remember correctly IKEA is Sweedish so most likely the screws are Metric.... Make sure you tell the person at the Hard ware store that. Metric screws are different than US scrws.... Different pitch and diameter.

The other thing you could do is contact IKEA and I am certain they will send you all the hardware you need for free AND the tools to install it.

Most appliance hardware is pretty much unserviceable for many reasons.... Try IKEA first Hardware store second and as a last resort get the closest one in english with Self tapping threads..... The self tapping part of the screw will remove the original threads and reform the hole to match US thread. Be certain to keep the screws the same lenght.

I used to design and trouble shoot failures in electrial housings and components.... (in my past life)

deb

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Well, the way I look at disruptions in a thread is that I'm guilty of the same thing, so I won't say a word. It's all about self-control, and I usually have none....a love of words and little self-control is not a good combination! Lesson learned here - and I'll probably make the same mistake a few times, unfortunately. I'll try harder, I promise.

Leslie, I know what you mean about people having trouble writing what they are thinking because I have the same issue, only with speaking. I know what I want to say in my head, but the words either don't come out the way I meant them to or I get nervous and a little bit of the stuttering sneaks back in. But my chickens don't mind as long as I feed them, water them, and sneak them treats.

Ken grew up on a 1000 acre ranch near Pinedale, Wy. with 6 sisters and two brothers. I got to "play" at ranch chores a little bit when I'd go back to visit. But I never did outlive the title "dude", even though it was never said in a mean, cutting way - always in good fun, and I gave as good as I got. I loved to help with the lambing and calving! My official job was the ooher-ahher. You know, see the little lamb or calf wobble to his feet and say, "Ohhh!" and "Ahh!", and "Oh, how CUTE!" That was about all they trusted me with but I was really, really good at it.

Early one spring I went out to see what I could help with (translation: how much I could get in the way) and they were cleaning out the corrals. All but two of Ken's siblings were out there working - the two little ones were in with Mom. What a smelly, slimy, muddy mess it was out there! Ken's dad had some doohicky attached to the front of his little tractor, scraping the corral down to bare ground and pushing it all up against the side wall of the loafing shed. Everyone had wheelbarrows and shovels, and they were scooping it away from where he'd pushed it and moving it through a gate into yet another corral - the empty, dry one - so he could load it into the manure spreader later and pull it out to the fields with the big tractor - I guess. I don't understand these technical processes. Seemed like a stupid way to do it - push it into a line against the shed so it could be shoveled away from the shed and put into a big pile in another place. I thought it would be so much more efficient to use the tractor thingy and load the spreader to start with, but what did I know? So I made the mistake of asking why he was doing it that way when he could just scoop it up and load the machine.

Very patiently he explained that the drier corral where it was being dumped by the wheelbarrow load was dry because he alternated corrals every winter. That way when he took the big tractor and manure spreader in for loading, he didn't have to worry about getting stuck in the slime.

Anyway, there I was in my stiff new jeans and my amazing mother-in-law's sweatshirt, windbreaker and boots, nodding my head wisely like I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Need some help?" I offered.

I swear the gleam in Dad's eye was as bright as a new penny. He saw another opportunity to get me, and he wasn't about to let one this rich get past him. "Sure, grab the shovel and 'barrow from Liz so she can take a break."

I watched what the others were doing. Boy, they were sure being lazy. A few scoops of muck into the wheelbarrow and off they went through the gate into the other corral. I could do better than that, and I was just a city kid. I took Liz's poop mover equipment and got busy. I filled that wheelbarrow, and I filled it good. It was heaped high in the middle and I was getting twice as much as the other kids were. Then I propped my shovel up against the shed and prepared to join the parade. I grabbed both handles of that wheelbarrow, lifted it up, pushed......and the only thing that moved was my head and my hands. My feet had no traction in that mess, the load was so wet and heavy that it wasn't budging, but my hands slid down the handles toward the neatly domed pile I had created and in I went, face first. The first row plowed with that rich fertilizer wasn't made with a plow - it was made with my chin.

I came up spitting and sputtering and I knew every one was rolling with laughter. So I wiped my chin on Mom's windbreaker, which did nothing more than smear it worse, wiped my hands on my new jeans, and lightened my wheelbarrow load considerably. Dad ordered everyone back to work, and we went on through the rest of the morning as if nothing had happened. I did something stupid, I paid the price, and as far as the family was concerned it was over and done. Until dinner that night. But I think we just won't go there at the moment.

So understand, then, how proud I was of myself when today I put on my chicken coop shoes, my flannel lined jeans and my fluffy flannel shirt, my denim jacket, and I went out in the snow for the first time to "do my chores." Look at me, Dad! I'm a chore doer! Why, if I could have found an old floppy hat and a straw to stick in my mouth I'd have looked almost like a real farmer! But then again, I've suddenly become a little leery of straws in the mouth!

OH my GAWd..... Snort....

Um.... Bwhaahahahaah.... sorry I could see it all from the moment you asked.... And for what its worth I thinkg wheel barrows are a man tool.... They take entirely too much upper body strenght to maneuver if they are .... full. I have a two wheeler for that very reason.... Cus when you drop the handles they dont tip over.... um er Rarely tip over...

Also I can count the times on my fingers that I have had to walk out in the snow. Not something I am comfortable with.

deb

 

[LindaB220]

I wrote to a few of them to give them the back story on the poster they were attacking thinking that might smooth their feathers, and they wrote back with intense justifications for firing with all cannons because they felt offended. "That's no excuse!"

You know how there are some people who communicate differently, and at first it might be upsetting, until you realize there is a really good reason they communicate differently?

Like if someone is using a second or third language they might have awkward word choices that sometimes come across badly? Or if they are dyslexic and their spelling can make their posts virtually unreadable? Well ... it was kinda like that.

I'm a little sensitive about other people struggling with those things here on the Internet or in other public places for a couple of reasons. One is that I didn't learn how to read until quite late in life, and had a really hard time feeling "welcome" on the Internet because I know my writing is flawed and I still read VERY slowly because it's a lot of work for me so I can't always keep up and don't want to drag everyone down. Another is that I've lived in countries where English is not the primary language and was more or less dependent on other people working pretty hard to help me communicate, so I feel I owe the Universe on that score. And another reason is that now I have vision trouble, so often can't see things to read them and then I make odd replies because I missed something obvious to everyone else.

So I feel compelled to help in in those situations.

Leslie, never doubt yourself. You are smart as a tack. Plain to see.