Pink Squirrel Farmstead

June started out great because I was still in Texas visiting. Roman was busy playing with all his stuff and trying out for the next season of Jackass with all his fearless stunts.

On June 1st Stimpy had 5 kittens. Of course they are all boys and are absolutely adorable! They look just like Stimpy and she was a good momma to them.

We got an update on the tree removals, not sure how my dad does it but he has been getting the job done. Him and mom even got up on the barn roof and painted on the sealant stuff. I am so glad they don’t mind being up there because I was already dreading going up there. I also thought that a 5 gallon bucket would go a lot further than it did. Guess I will be buying more of that! But that part of the barn doesn’t leak when it rains anymore!

While I was in Texas, I had the chance to do more sewing while Roman was napping or after he went to bed at night. He has been sleeping in a pack and play in my room and the mattress is not very soft so it can’t be that comfortable. I was able to get him a new mattress and sew him some new sheets that were deep pocketed enough to keep his sheet on his mattress. But Roman likes to figure things out, and sometimes it makes things harder with him being a toddler. I had to sew extra elastic bands on the back of the sheets in two different directions so he could no longer get the sheet off of his bed and play under his mattress.

I am a beginner at sewing, but I was able to sew him two sets of dinosaur sheets, a reversible blanket, two pillows to match each side of the blanket and another sheet, blanket and pillow to keep in Texas. I used dinosaur fabric because we were doing his bedroom in Kentucky in a dinosaur theme, and shark theme for his bed in Texas. I also wanted to make him a toddler bib that would keep his clothes from being ruined while he ate. It was hard to find the style I was wanting premade so I found a pattern to make my own. The pattern was relatively easy to follow until I got to the bias tape. I may have had a few choice words when I was really having a difficult time with it. Luckily, I was able to modify it a bit and make it work. I was excited to make it where it could be wiped off with a washcloth and I didn’t have to throw it in the washing machine after each use. I added extra snaps to it so he can grow with it. I have not been sewing long, but I was proud to be able to make those things for Roman with that being said they are not perfect and do not zoom in on the picture. 

Roman and I spent a lot of time playing outside, he chased the bawk bawks (chickens and turkeys), he played in the water, he played on his new jungle gym with a slide, played in the mud, and he even tried helping Opa wash my car. We had a box of rice crispies that was left over after making rice crispy treats, and I saw on Pinterest to put it in the blender and make it into sand. He had a blast playing with it. 

We sadly said goodbye to his sweet little curls and got a big boy haircut. He was not a fan of the clippers but overall he did well considering it was only his second haircut. Why does he look so much more grown-up with shorter hair?

Chad and Carla’s Family came to visit us on their Texas vacation. It was so nice to meet them and enjoy their company. we enjoyed getting to know them more and enjoyed a couple meals with them. I was thankful that we got to meet in person. Jenni even taught me how to take a photo with a timer. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Before we had to leave Texas and head back to Kentucky, Chad made leather letters for Romans room. I wanted them all different but where they would match enough and I wanted them so as he got older and changed room themes, he would always be able to use them. Chad did an amazing job and I know that Roman will always cherish them. We all soaked up as much time together as possible before I had to head back. 

When we got back to Kentucky, Roman tried out riding his new horse named flash. Roman, and Cheyenne had doctors appointments to establish care. We had a few issues addressed and we were happy with the new doctor. when we got home for lunch, we made chicken wings, which are one of Cheyenne‘s favorites. I did not think that Roman would try them, but he surprised me and did. He didn’t eat the whole thing, but at least he tried it.

Right after we got back to Kentucky, my mom and dad took a trip to my sister‘s house, my brother‘s house, and to visit my aunt and uncles. While they were gone my Dad turned 70!!! While they were gone, we were very busy. I had to take Payton and Hunter to Louisville for a festival that they wanted to go to. Roman and I use that time to explore Louisville. We found a park called Port play and it is a very creative park made from construction materials and machinery. Roman had so much fun and ran from one thing to another so excited to play. After we left the park, we went to a cute little bakery. and tried out several of the viral fruit pastries. My favorite was the mushroom shaped one and Roman’s favorite was the blueberry shaped one. I also went to a thrift store and found a jogging stroller for only $12.99 I had been looking for one for several months because the little strollers that we had were very hard to push through gravel or grass. When I would find one on marketplace, they were usually $60-$100. I want to try to do some small hikes and I know that if Roman got tired, I would not be able to carry him and hike. Unfortunately, it has gotten really hot really quick. So we have not been able to go hiking, but we have used the stroller several times already.

When Payton and Hunter were finished with their festivities, we picked them up and went to go eat some dinner. We found a cute little hamburger place with Playground attached called Haucks. The food was great and so was the atmosphere. When we got back to the hotel, we realized they did not sell milk in the lobby. We searched several places for milk with no luck. Finally, I went into a coffee shop and was able to get a cup of milk for him. The barista was the sweetest girl, and I was so thankful that she was able to work her magic and get me a cup of milk. we all went to sleep early that night and headed back home the next morning.

Cheyenne had a very relaxing time while we were gone and made sure the pigs were fed and taken care of along with the chickens.

When we got back, we had a laundry list of things to get done. First was to get the front porch painted and the front door and porch door painted.

Next on the list was getting the stumps out of the front yard. We hooked up the winch on the side-by-side and were able to see which roots needed to be cut. It was not the easiest task, but I think overall we did good. Later I found out that you are not supposed to cut through dirt with a chainsaw. 🤷‍♀️ there should really be a warning label about that. We got all the Big logs moved to the barn to be split, and we got the remainder of the brush moved into one pile by the barn to be shredded. I was proud of the adult children for helping out and not complaining. So for a reward, we went to a cute ice cream shop in Maysville Kentucky. We did not attempt the second tree stump because it was really hot outside. 

That night, it started raining and the side-by-side got a free car wash. We were glad to welcome the rain because we needed several days of recuperation from the yardwork.

We spent one afternoon getting the decorations up in Romans dinosaur room. He loves having his own room, his own TV, and fun new toys that stay in his room. Overall, he does so much better with his sleep schedule in his own room. We have a video baby monitor, and a separate audio baby monitor.

While the rain continued I was able to start working on some renovations in my parents room. I was able to get all the wallpaper up, paint the walls and add the board and batten. I still have not gotten the materials to do the ceiling or the flooring or add a ceiling light. Renovations are very expensive and we tried to do them as we can afford them.

Late at night, I worked on the stairs because once I put the polyurethane on the stairs, they could not be walked on until they were completely dry. I had to put several coats of the polyurethane, but I think they turned out great. I still need to add the white trim on the left side of the stairway, but I will need my dad to cut all of those intricate parts. I will also need to paint it before it is installed because I am not going to sand drips of paint off of the polyurethane and have to redo it. and then I will be able to put the dust corners on all the stairs, they will be so cute! 

Roman is still a daredevil and he loves to climb and play with everything, especially the things he’s not supposed to. The couch in the living room had seen better days so we got rid of it. Payton and Cheyenne moved the antique chase lounge into the living room for me and we did some baby proofing or toddler proofing in this case. Since we installed the mini split, we took the big air conditioner/heater out of the window in the living room. I’m trying to decide whether or not I want to paint the window trim or leave it natural…. What do you think??

My parents said they were headed back home from a friends house in Arkansas and would be there in 12ish hours.

Cheyenne has been doing such an amazing job with the pigs. She dug down in the ground to make it easier for the pigs to get in their pool and drink water from the trough. Frankenswine is her favorite and he is so so sweet.

I was alarmed one morning when she called my phone (she usually texts) in a panic because when she got down there to feed and let the pigs out, there were 6 additional little piglets born and there was still afterbirth on the ground. We had no idea that she was pregnant and we just thought she was a bit moody and she would get better as she got to know us more. The day before she kept going in and out of the stall and I even googled how to know if Kune Kune pig is pregnant? Since pigs are pregnant for three months, three weeks and three days. There was no way that she was bred after we got her. So she was pregnant when we brought her home. Frank was very confused about why pancetta was chasing him out of the pig stall, and I kind of felt bad for him, but she is an amazing piggy mama.

You have no idea how hard it has been not to post little piglet photos and videos every day. I am so glad to finally be caught up again on my blog so I can share so many more pictures.

To end of the month, I worked on hanging up more of our family photos and started working on organization throughout the house. But since I didn’t want to make multiple trips upstairs, I tried to carry my cup, a stack of pictures in frames, a hammer, a box of nails, and a couple items that needed to go downstairs. I was mostly down the stairs when my leg gave out, and I fell down the last three steps and landed on my knee. Luckily, I was able to get up off the floor and clean up my mess , but I do not recommend falling down three stairs. I think I scared my dad more than anything.

The remaining days of the month were spent recuperating from our projects and enjoying the cute little piggies and kittens ❤️

While Chad was in the hospital at the end of April for the EMU he asked me if I would mind making some cookies for employees appreciation week. I told him each of the recipes I was planning to make, made a grocery list, and told him how many cookies each recipe would make. To which he said that should be good. I assumed (shouldn’t ever do that) that I would be just putting them on a big platter. When I started making them he got clarification on how many cookies he would need and he wanted them to be in cookie bags to pass out. I love making cookies and didn’t mind making them. I ended up making over 800 cookies in 2 days. By the end of day 2 I didn’t want to see another cookie for a while.Haha!

I got updates on the pigs back at the farm. They are getting less scared of everyone but Pancetta is a bit moody. The garden is starting to show some form of life and Dad got caught making Mom some roses for Mother’s Day out of metal . Such a sweet gesture.

Chad has been doing quite a bit of leatherwork lately and is getting quite good at it. He has even made some Narcan cases for some of his colleagues. And he continues to get better and better every time!

Sadly, Ro and I had to head back to Kentucky. On the way we found a park at a rest stop and we enjoyed a bit of play time before getting back on the road.

When we got back to the farm I wanted to sleep in but Ro had other ideas. He enjoyed dragging all of his toys out first thing in the morning. Got the adult children to unloaded the car that I packed full of stuff from Texas. Every time I go for a visit in Texas I come back with a car full of stuff so I can have some of my stuff here at the farm.

Payton put together his learning tower for Ro to be able to help out while we are cooking. He absolutely loves to watch us cook. He has some Montessori kitchen tools to work on his own food tasks.

The next day Dad and I got the ice maker installed to a water line. I saw on Pinterest a cute whisky barrel used as a small table or cabinet and thought that is an excellent idea to use the old bourbon barrel for it to sit on that was just collecting dust in the barn. Dad did most of it and I just had the ideas lol.

I started prepping the door for painting then it rained and rained and rained🤦‍♀️ so painting projects got put on hold for a while.

When I was in Texas I was telling Chad that I have been wanting to take Ro to the zoo but I think he might get bored pretty quick. Chad found and sent me a Facebook post for a place called Wendt’s Wildlife Adventure. I was glad Chad had found it and sent it to me. Moms got in free for a Mother’s Day special. We had such a great time and there was even a Filipino food truck there, it was so yummy! The girls and enjoyed the food and Ro just wanted to go play in the sandbox.

After we got back home I had found had more ideas for the second bourbon barrel we had in the barn. So Dad cut it up and turned it into a trash can and a cute wooden shelf. The days were getting hotter so Roman enjoyed playing on the porch with his new water play toy that Aunt Carla sent him.

Cheyenne and I took a trip to Cincinnati to buy some thin bricks for the basement apartment. She was very excited to go on an adventure with me. We worked on putting it up in the basement because it was raining again. The storm was loud and obnoxious and we had 2 trees fall down in the front yard. Thankfully they didn’t hit the house or any vehicles, but it did land on the driveway gate. We had to cut and haul branches out of the way so my mom could go pick Hunter up from work.

All the other projects that were being worked on got put on hold. We worked on getting it cleaned up every day. We shredded leaves and stacked wood to keep for the winter. Cheyenne and Payton brought wagon loads of rocks to help make a strawberry patch. I am not a good rock stacker so Dad had to fix all my stacked rocks. Since the tree messed up the gate we decided to use it as a fence for the pigs to get to the pasture. I hated the thought of just throwing it away. I am glad it could be reused. a couple days later we saw that a piece of tin came off the barn so it had to be fixed…. I am not scared of heights but I am scared of falling. Dad made me climb on the roof for no apparent reason but him and mom got it fixed up.

I was thankful to go make a Lowe’s run for screws and some expensive roof sealing paint. I was also fixing to leave to go back to Texas…. I was exhausted already from working on the tree cleanup and I was ready for a day of sitting. The strawberry plants were doing great and have cute little strawberries, the roses are going to bloom soon too.

We got progress pictures from my Dad on the trees cleanup. The pictures don’t look like it but they were really big trees. I am not looking forward to working on cleaning them up more.

Chad had another leather order that we needed to meet in a town called Turkey to deliver. Ro and I went along for the ride and when we got there we played at an awesome little park.

Texas time was much needed to see my Hubby. Ro was spoiled like always and had an awesome new playground, water table, and indoor climbing stuff. I got to do some sewing and made some curtains for the kitchen at the farm, Dino pack and play sheets with extra bands on the bottom to keep Ro from taking off his sheets every night and nap time. We found some thick foam, cut it into mattresses for him in Texas and in Kentucky. Made a few pillows and even blankets. I was happy to have the time to sew and enjoy hanging out with Chad and Carla.

As I am writing this blog about all that happened I think of a book that I just finished called The Measure by Nikki Erlick. It’s about little boxes containing strings of different lengths that correlate with the length of life you will live and how people were separated by short stings and long strings. It was interesting how people treated their lives when they knew how long they were going to live. The short stringers made the most of the remaining time they had left and it made me think that if we knew how long we would live would we change? After having headaches for so long I felt like I had put my life on hold but no matter how careful I was not over doing it on a good day, never knowing if I would have a good day or not be able to get out of bed… I realized no matter what I did it didn’t change the outcome and my life was on hold because I was worried about the consequences. I don’t want to live like that, I want to be me… in pain or not.

Being at the farm is great because I can work on projects and organize rooms slowly as needs change but it is also so hard not being home with Chad every day now. When I got back to the farm in April I made a safe space for Roman to play on the porch because he would be outside 24/7 if I let him. But I can tell you that that pool of corn is now scattered in every crevasse of the porch. But he enjoyed making the mess and he learns so much making those messes that we will miss when he is grown.

For my birthday I wanted a new pan to add to my collection of bakeware that I loved already. I love that they are non toxic but I really love that they are non stick. I have tried so many pans over the years and even last year tried a hexclad and was disappointed with everything sticking to it. These new pans are by a company called Our place and they are amazing! I have never had one thing stick to them yet and obviously you know I cook a lot! So if you are also looking for the best pots and pans give them a try.

Roman is growing like a weed and is such a busy boy. He is starting to run now and he wants to climb on everything. I ordered him a “baby leash” so he could walk places and not be stuck only in the stroller. I am hoping to start taking him on walks to add some exercise in our life and to help him wear himself out. I took him out back towards our field to get out some energy and he had a blast!

Cheyenne and I went to work on removing our forest of black locust trees and I don’t think we made much of a dent in them with the clippers and will have to work on getting them cut down using a chainsaw. I am not sure exactly how to get rid of them completely but figured that burning them would be good for now but soon found out that we are in a burn ban…. As much rain as we get here I never would have thought that.

It was fun celebrating Easter with Ro this year. He was not sure about egg hunting and preferred to kick the eggs around. Cheyenne enjoyed looking for hers and we even found a few she missed a couple days later. We had a great time at church and then Cheyenne and I went on a road trip to pick up some front doors that I liked. I have been searching for the right doors since we bought the farm. However nothing I found had the look I wanted and I didn’t like the mostly glass ones that were here when we bought the place. They just didn’t look like a front door to me.

The doors need quite a bit of love but I think they will be perfect! I was using the hand planer on the door and somehow I caught my thumb and ooohhhweeee it hurt. I don’t plan to use it again for quite a while and I’m pretty sure dad isn’t going to trust me with power tools for a while.

Romans personality blooms more and more each day. He makes me laugh and smile every day. He enjoys climbing on everything and playing while in the bath.

I worked on painting the door jams and trimming after my dad installed it. Apparently all doors are not created equal 🤷‍♀️ and he just tells me what he needs and makes it look great.

Additionally, we took advantage of the cooler spring weather and cleaned up one of the stalls in the barn that we use for storage and it had become a catch all and needed some shelving and organizing. I enjoy organizing things….. and my family tolerates my need for organization.

Later that evening I was trying to get Hunters cat in that was in heat and kept escaping every chance she got. I was using the tracking device we have for her and it was dark and starting to drizzle out. The tracker started beeping because she was close by and I was paying attention to it and not where I was walking and fell down and cut my foot on something and hobbled into the house. I yelled for mom to bring me some paper towels and a bandage because I was bleeding everywhere. I ended up going to the ER and getting 8 stitches. Which put a halt to all my projects I wanted to do. Thankfully Cheyenne helped with dinner and dad brought up my knee scooter so I could get around easier. Roman loved playing with it.

Thankfully mom and dad helped with Roman. Cheyenne and I became Kentucky residents (she said she was now a illegal Kentuckian lol which had to explain to her what the difference was between legal and illegal) she was very excited to get her state ID card.

Dad has been working on building a rock staircase to the chicken coop and it is looking awesome. And Roman has found a new favorite food…. Rice Pilaf. We planted some seeds and a couple rose bushes for the driveway planter.

Now that I can walk on my foot again I followed through on a promise to Cheyenne that we would try to get her some piggies when we got the other stall cleaned out for them. We had a stall with a pig door already installed and had some picket fence to put up for them until they got used to us. Dad and I headed out to go get them without telling anyone else, it was a surprise. Everything went great picking up the 2 pigs. When we got back home we started putting together the picket fence and unloaded them into the pen. That was the easiest part of the day…. Apparently we got escape artist pigs and we spent the remainder of the day getting them back in the pen over and over and over again. It was hot and we were all exhausted, we got the girl pig Pancetta back into the pen but Frankenswine was missing and we had no idea who he was. I posted on a local Facebook group and shortly afterwards someone spotted him going up our neighbors drive in the opposite direction we were looking. I hopped in the car and went looking for him but while I was looking for him he showed back up at the farm and was looking for dinner.

A couple days later Roman and I headed for a visit to Texas. Cheyenne stayed at the farm to take care of her new pigs. We hit a crazy dust storm a couple hours from home and got in late that night. Of course Roman slept while I drove and was ready to go go go early the next morning. I was so thankful that Carla is a morning person and they had a good time seeing the chickens and turkeys, and playing while I slept. While I was there I had an endoscopy and chad made a wonderful cartoon version of me still out from anesthesia.

At the end of April Chad had a EMU (Epilepsy Management Unit Study) at the hospital that lasted 3 days. It is where they take you off your epilepsy medication and do some random things to try to make you have a seizure but it didn’t cause him to have any seizures . We were thinking after that he would be able to stay off the medication but it didn’t work out that way. He was able to lower his dose but the doctor said he had to stay on the medication. We were also hoping to get some information on what caused his seizures back in September but we didn’t know anymore than we did to begin with. I was very very thankful that Carla kept Roman while I was with Chad for the EMU. I enjoyed getting to spent time with Chad with just the 2 of us.

I am thankful for all the time that we got to spend together, and get to relax with him on my birthday. I enjoy our time together so much. Roman and Carla made me an adorable birthday card, and wonderful gifts. I still can’t believe I am this old already.

Well it’s time for me to start my next project 🙂 and my Dad said I am not allowed to buy animals and leave shortly afterwards again lol oops 😬

March is a beautiful month at the farm, weather is great to enjoy but still had a few chilly chilly days. Since everyone was finally done with the stomach bug it was time for a deep clean of the house. I am not a neat freak but I do like things to have a place and I like to organize things, by the end of the deep clean I am confident that my family wanted me to go back to Texas. Haha

Did some grocery restocking and of course Roman needed a few new toys 🤷‍♀️, he has started talking a bit more and it is very fun to learn how he says stuff. He probably thinks we are all idiots and need to listen better to what he is saying. He loves to explore everything in the house to see what he can get into. So far his favorite is the pots and pans cabinet and the log storage.

The first project I worked on was placing rock over the cinder block on the chimney. After several YouTube videos I was pretty confident I could do it, but I needed help with attaching the metal stuff to it. The rocks and mortar were the easy-ish parts…. I was determined to get it done and my back was screaming at me by the end. I think it turned out great and I love the way it looks now. I will eventually go back and do touch ups but that’s gonna have to wait for the cold snap to go away.

The next few days were all about recovering from the rock project lol…. Man I am getting old. We went to the goodwill and I found a wagon for Ro, and he loves it. We took a walk up to the pond and back. It’s also handy when you buy groceries because I can load them up in the wagon with Ro and make one trip up. He thinks it is so funny.

I got an allergic reaction on my hands and feet to something, my hands hurt and burned so bad. My hands and feet were swollen and red. The doctor said I would probably never know what it was and gave me some medication to help with it. Soon after the medication they started to peel and itch, it was so weird. Hopefully I don’t get that again.

Roman got his first haircut (a mullet). We weren’t ready to say goodbye to his curls just yet. He looks adorable with his haircut and had to show him off at the diner for breakfast and go to watch the animal sale. We didn’t buy anything but I thought about it more than once.

Shortly after I started my next big (to me)project. I replaced the flooring in the hallway. But had to pull up the old sticky tiles that we put down for a temporary floor until we figured out what we wanted. The tiles left a super sticky residue on the floor and it would literally take your shoes off trying to walk on it. Next I laid down the foam moisture barrier and Dad showed me how to do the boards. He cut boards for me, and brought me boards but made me do the rest…. Not sure how the roles got reversed lol…. I think I want to go back to being the helper 😜. I never plan to make floor installation my job because I thought about just going to sleep on the floor because getting back up was harder than ever! The next morning dad did all the crazy cuts before I was awake. The floor looks sooooo much better now. I still need to do the floor in the butlers pantry but I need a few months of rest before I tackle that one. It was amazing that we found a great deal on the flooring on marketplace and it had a little bit of this color and some of that color. I wasn’t sure if I would like it at first. Chad said if I didn’t like it he could always sand it and restain it. He said the price was just too good to pass up. We all love getting stuff to re-do the house for cheap prices. So much better than getting brand new stuff 100x’s the price. After it was all done I actually absolutely loved how all the colors turned out. It really gives it that vintage farmhouse charm 🥰

I was glad that it rained and snowed so I could just rest. I painted the risers on the steps going up to the library. I need to sand the tops of the stairs still so I can either polyurethane them or stain them. Also touched up some paint on the trim and another coat of paint on the rails. I am going to need to get them in tip top shape since I will get to decorate the house this year for Christmas 🎄😊. The hard part is finding the time to do the tops of the stairs because I can’t do it after Ro goes to bed at night or during nap time because the sander will wake him up… then there is the cats and everyone else will need to use the stairs for bed. Ro loves to climb the stairs and he is super fast going up. Luckily he is scared to go down the stairs and doesn’t try, YET!

Soon after Ro and I headed to Texas for a visit. We were so excited to see Chad, Carla and, Cheyenne and tell them about how it’s been going at the farm. Ro got all the snuggles, and played with new toys. We used an old kid pool that the dogs used to use in the summer to cool off and filled it with feed corn for Ro to play in because he loves to dig 🪏 and scoop stuff up. It was an instant hit with him and it kept him quite busy.

Cheyenne and I tried to make peeps, they weren’t pretty but they definitely tasted good. Cheyenne showed Ro the chicken coop and even held him for a few minutes. She hadn’t held him since he was a tiny baby because she was afraid of hurting him. We enjoyed our time in Texas (even had a few doctors appointments) but we had to go back to the farm. Hunter celebrated his birthday and we got him a plastic dome for his cotton candy machine and told him we wanted some cotton candy when we got back.

Before we left Texas we asked Chey if she wanted to go ahead and move to the farm or stay in Texas. She was excited and decided she was ready to move to the Farm. She picked out the bed and mattress she wanted for her room at the farm and she packed up some more stuff to bring back to the farm. She was very excited to be moving to the farm and picking out her bed.

After getting back home to Texas we got back to our normal routine worked on crafts, leatherwork, sewing, and of course baking. I was not adjusting well to Ro not being with us but I was thankful for FaceTime. There were not many days that I didn’t FaceTime him.

I did a little sewing here before we went to Kentucky but didn’t finish it until we got back. My mother-in-law used make these table (things) for every holiday and I have several of them. I wanted to try to make a spring one for our kitchen table and it didn’t turn out terrible if you don’t look too close 🤷‍♀️.

I had a really rough time with my headaches while in Kentucky in January but it was back to the doctors offices Chad and I went when we got back. We always try to go on a lunch or dinner date in Lubbock on doctor days. This time it was an Italian restaurant called Orlando’s. We shared a plate and couldn’t believe how much food was on the plate.

Next up on the agenda was to can potatoes. I am new to canning and have just been trying out different types of food. For some reason potatoes go bad quickly here so we thought it would be a good idea to try. I scoured Pinterest for a blog on it and recipes for it. So I got to work on prepping 30lbs of potatoes. I did small diced potatoes, cubed potatoes and French fries…. That was a lot of work! Next up was soaking the potatoes to get the starch out, so after 4 soaks later it was time to pressure can them.

When I have good days I try to cram as much into my day as possible (I don’t like to just sit around). While I was on Pinterest I found a recipe for lemonade and strawberry lemonade concentrate. If you have never hand squeezed lemons and want sore hands make lemonade concentrate ( I don’t even like lemonade 🤦‍♀️). I squeezed and squeezed and squeezed lemons 🍋 for hours. When I was done I decided I never want to squeeze another lemon in my life ever again. But I did make several jars of concentrate. and unfortunately the lemonade was just okay….

I have been enjoying making new bread recipes. I used to be scared of making bread because of the yeast, once I figured out what temperature to make the water/milk so I didn’t kill the yeast, it was so easy. I found the best sandwich bread recipe along with a few other fun recipes that I will have to keep on rotation.

My dad has been doing some blacksmithing and has been making knives. He made a letter opener that was pretty neat, and for Christmas he made Chad a meat cleaver. Chad of course had to make a cover for the knife. They are both so talented and do amazing work.

Since our lives aren’t busy enough, we decided that it was the perfect time to get some chickens and a couple turkeys. They are absolutely adorable and I love that the turkeys will crawl up on your neck and go to sleep. I’m sure the cats thought we lost our minds as they stared at the baby chicks in an old playpen. Btw it is perfect for baby chicks to keep them contained indoors while it was too cold outside. One of the baby chicks had a vitamin deficiency, she was very weak and her little feet would curl up. I taped her feet to a piece of cardstock and put her in a small box away from the other chicks. A few days later she was back to normal.

Unfortunately, a few days later there was an unexpected family emergency so now I divide my time between Kentucky and Texas. Chad likes to tell people that I left him for another man haha! Carla is now the chicken and turkey whisperer but was not happy about the turkeys pooing on her but now she enjoys them (I think🤔 )since they live outside now.

I love spending time with him and watching him grow and see his personality blossom. He has a way of bringing happiness everywhere he is.

It’s no secret that I love to find antiques and unique items for the farm. I have been searching high and low for the perfect sink for the basement apartment and I finally found it. It met the criteria for what we wanted. We wanted it to be deep, old, and have washboards, the cabinet was a bonus. Thankfully it was a lot lighter than we expected and the elderly man we got it from was super nice.

Cheyenne had a SpongeBob birthday and celebrated turning 29 😱🤯🥳🎉🎊🎈🎁!!! She had a spectacular day shopping, got her hair cut and went out to eat out to eat. I made her a Coca Cola purse, an apron, and curtains. Can’t believe she is already 29, she has been doing so great and she loves diamond art!

The weather was pretty and we got lots of snow/ice (which I love). Before we went back to Texas we went by the Ohio river and saw the chunks of ice (pretty cool to see) and we also went to one of the covered bridges in Fleming county covered in snow. Why does everything look so magical when it snows?

(Small disclaimer, I started this blog post way back in January 2026 and been rather busy and never finished it until now in June 2026 🫪)

So far this year I have said “well that wasn’t on my bingo card” more times than I can count. I am thankful that with everything life has thrown at us we always make it through one way or another. Trying to always find the good in all situations can be hard but we can choose to be happy and make lemonade or throw lemons at people…. I don’t frankly like lemonade so I chose the latter…. Just kidding. 😂😜

Chad and I got to go to the farm for most of the month in January, we also brought Payton and Roman back to the farm to start their lives here in Kentucky. Due to weather fluctuations causing headaches and Chad having a fractured back we were forced to take it easy compared to normal trips that Chad would work nonstop to get things done. I’m pretty sure relaxing is not in his vocabulary.

On the way to the farm we stopped at Missouri Quilt Company and got to browse all their shops… this is quilters paradise. It was a little bit out of the way but I am definitely glad we got to stop.

When we got here we got to celebrate Christmas a little late with my parents and Hunter. But it didn’t take long for Chad to get us to working. As you know we are turning the basement into an apartment that Payton is going to stay in for a while but it will be for Carla when Chad ever retires. Our main goal was to get the bedroom and bathroom done so that Payton and Roman could have their own space.

These board are from the large stack of wood we bought from an Amish lumberyard not far from the farm a few years back. It is also the same wood that was used to make the kitchen cabinets and island top. Each board made approximately 4 slats and it was a lot of tedious work. Like a true farmhouse we used materials we had on hand already and it turned out beautifully. Carla hasn’t decided on whether or not she wants it painted in the bedroom.

The bathroom and bedroom were worked on simultaneously to add to the craziness. The concrete floors were scrubbed and painted last because they needed to cure for a few days before the furniture was put into place. The area was an Amish icebox when we bought it. There was a room constructed of really thick styrofoam and the floors had random clumps of concrete that had to also be ground down.

We added a closet to the bathroom and to the bedroom, and we transformed an old dresser that we got off the curb for free (before Chad and I got married) into a vanity. We tried to add in as much storage as possible because nobody has ever said dang I wish I didn’t have so much storage LOL. I had leftover wallpaper to line the wooden shelves in the bathroom and to line the walls of the bedroom closet.

Getting the bedroom and bathroom done was a lot of work but it was also so satisfying to have it completed.

Unfortunately, we had to miss Ro’s actual birthday but he definitely loved his smash cake ❤️. It was hard to go back to Texas without our sweet Ro.

Yes, I know it’s June and I am just now posting about January. My plate so to speak is really full right now so I once again have a lot of catching up to do.

So this is Chad, writing this post. I don’t usually talk or discuss myself much. I’m definitely not the sensitive type or what have ya. But I have been frustrated 😩 over the last few months and I thought maybe writing this post would help my thoughts.

I’m sure if you are reading this post, this is not the first time you’ve read one of our post.

However if it is, let me give a little background to as why I decided to write this post. (FYI Casey has already posted most of this info in past posts, but I am hijacking the post so hold on tight 🤣)

Two years ago, I had knee surgery and had a cadaver ACL implant along with several other things done to my knee.

Well after 2 years of my knee constantly hurting non stop Casey told me to go to the doctor. So finally on Sep 9, 2025 I went to see my new Primary Care Physician for the first consultation as a new patient (since we basically just moved to Plainview in August).

While I was there, I told him about my knee, so he made me an orthopedic referral.

Few days later on September 14, 2025, I had a few serious seizures. Still don’t know why.

To my knowledge, no one in my family has ever had any seizures. So that rules out hereditary. Hadn’t had any recent injures. I am diabetic and have high blood pressure, however they are both well controlled with medication. Hadn’t had a fever, flu, or Covid in couple of years.

I did recently get promoted to Senior Warden of a Complex (for my non-prison folks, this means I oversee two separate prison units) however, I have already been a Senior Warden at two other Units, for over 4 years all ready.

Honestly, these units I oversee now are a different type of facility with a different atmosphere. The stress level here is very low and nowhere near as intense or stressful as most of the other facilities I have worked on over the past 25 years. So it’s highly unlikely they were stress related. So it is fairly baffling why I had a few seizures at almost 50 years old 😵‍💫.

The first seizure was around 1-2 am while we were asleep. It was very intense and lasted 20-30 minutes. Obviously I didn’t recall any of it, but Casey and Carla said it was not your typical seizure “the uncontrolled body flop” it was more like I curled up my arms in my chest and was very rigid.

Well, Carla called 911 and requested an ambulance. (She is still in shock that the 911 operator took the information and then just hung up 🤔). Funny thing is Casey is a fantastic Warden’s Wife and understands protocol. She immediately called my Regional Director and explained what was happening and she told him I would not be going to work in a few hours 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

The ambulance and fire department get to the house and then they had to lift me off the bed and get me to ambulance (which seeing how I am 6 foot 6 and weigh 340 pounds, I bet them guys said a few bad words under their breath.) Not really sure why, but the paramedics did not relay to the ER I had a seizure.

After being in ER a few hours, I had a second seizure. My oxygen stats also dropped very low. So they gave me medicine to stop that seizure. That’s when the ER in Plainview decided it was time to transfer me to a larger hospital in Lubbock.

After I spent few days in the hospital with no indication of why I had seizures, I was discharged and told to follow up with my primary doctor.

Since my seizures, my main physical complaint has been that my back hurts like Hell. Explained this to my PCP, he got me a X-ray and it really did not show much, so he was like it’s most likely a pulled muscle. But he also decided to order a CT scan.

Since the Xray didn’t show anything, my insurance denied a CT scan and said I needed PT first. My PCP told me that PT was backed up for several months. He advised, if it hurt too bad just go to the ER again. I asked him for a Return to work note. He sorta chuckled and said “no” and told me to wait to see a neurologist.

On Sept 25, 2025, had an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. He basically said nothing is wrong with my knee and I just need to lose weight, but he would schedule me for a “shot” in my knee to see if that would help. I asked about my back pain and was told that he doesn’t do anything with backs. Need to go back to PCP for a referral to a back doctor.

Sep 29, 2025, I had a follow up with my PCP, who prescribed me Gabapentin (which is a multi usage medication that is prescribed for nerve pain and also it is an anti-seizure medication) He also made me a referral to a spinal doctor.

On Oct 6, 2025, I saw a neurologist FNP, who prescribed me some other type of anti-seizure medication (Keppra), along with Gabapentin. She also referred me to an epilepsy specialist and scheduled me for a EMU ( which is when you stay in the hospital for several days hooked up to all sorts of wires and on constant monitoring while they take you off all your meds and “hopefully” have a seizure for them to study 🤔)

I said ok thanks, can I get a return to work note? She basically chucked and was “no” I will refer you to a cardiologist to see if your heart caused the seizure. 😳

Oct 14,2025, I had an orthopedic appointment and got a new injection called Zilretta (which is a long term action medication injection) After a few days my knee stopped hurting and so far it’s felt the best since I initially tore my ACL !! I’d give that Shot 4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️!!

On Oct 15, 2025 I went to the cardiologist, who scheduled me for: x-rays, CT Scan, stress test, echocardiogram, echocardiography and a 30 day 24/7 heart monitor. And I can’t even remember what all other tests he was going to schedule me for.

I said ok thank you. How about a release back to work? He just looked at me dumbfounded and said “No” not until after the 45677665422 tests I have scheduled for you.

On top of everything else the unbelievable happened, on Nov 2, 2025 I had a kidney stone 🤬 and had to go to the ER due to my urine was blocked. Not sure if you’ve had a kidney stone or not, but they hurt like a 🤬🤬🤬. Since I was at the ER already, I explained to the doctor my back has hurt since my seizures and I thought maybe I had a herniated disc, since the Xray didn’t show anything. So he agreed to go ahead and get me a CT scan. (side note, try your best not to go to ER at night, on the day of daylight time change. Apparently it messes up the computer system and delays getting treatment, pain meds etc) This wasn’t my 1st kidney stone. I have had several in the past, so I knew exactly what it was.

So after the time change delays and got the CT scan results, the Dr came in and said that luckily it was not a huge kidney stone and should pass in a few days. Then he said oh BTW you do not have a herniated disc. You do have (2) compression fractures in your vertebrate T-11 & T-12 which is right where your spine transitions when you bend. Hence the pain.

Nov 5,2025, I had a chemical induced cardio stress test, instead of the traditional treadmill stress test. If I could leave a review it would get zero stars. I can’t explain in words how miserable of an experience that was. 😱 The chemicals make your heart beat so hard and fast if I was to guess it was like a chemical induced heart attack 🤣🤣.

Dec 2,2025, I had a MRI of my spine. I am quite confident I will fit better inside a coffin or a torpedo tube versus that itsy bitsy MRI machine. 🫣 My shoulders and elbows literally dragged down the side of the MRI machine. My face was so close to the machine I probably could have stuck my tongue out and touched it. 😵‍💫

Dec 3,2025, went to my Cardiologist follow up appointment, after all those test (I don’t want to bore anyone so I didn’t even mention the other 5-6 cardio tests appointments both here in Plainview and Lubbock).The Doctor basically said he is confident my seizures were not cardiac related. He did see some plaque build up in my neck ultrasound exam, so he prescribed me medication for high cholesterol. He also said I have a partial collapsed lung due to excessive fluid pushing on my lungs. He said he wants to do a follow up in 3 months to see if it has resolved naturally 🤔. Apparently this is not uncommon for someone my age, being overweight and diabetic. I said ok then can you write me a return to work letter. And he said oh no, not with all your medical issues. Go back to see your PCP.

Got in touch with my PCP and he was nope, not until you see the Spine Specialist 😵‍💫. Finally on 12-11-2025, I saw the spine doctor in Lubbock, and he seen several issues with the fractures and he recommended, I go to the Brace specialist for a special back brace and Referring to pain management for vertebroplasty. Which basically means the specialist will determine if I am a candidate for them to inject bone cement directly into the fractures to try to relieve some of the pain. Since it’s now been 3 months since the fractures have occurred and they are not healing properly not sure if I will qualify .🫣 worst part is I can’t be seen by the specialist until February which by then my fractures will be 5 months old 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

Yep, I bet you can tell what my next question was. And once again here was another doctor playing “Hot Potato” with me. He said nope that he was not going to give me a return to work note until after the specialist appointment. So he prescribed other medication.

After multiple doctor appointments and a plethora of exams and tests, still no answers. It seems no doctor knows what to do. They just want to prescribe medication and pass the buck to another doctor. For me I don’t want to necessarily say that I am a work-aholic, but I do have a sense of responsibility and work ethic, and don’t want to feel like I have abandoned my team. This whole ordeal has been beyond frustrating.

Some of the most frustrating parts about this was

1. Could not drive for 90 days
2. Will I ever have any answers to why I had the seizures?
3. Will I ever have more seizures?
4. Every time I am not within eye shot, Casey and Carla both worry I’m going to fall out.
5. Getting prescribed a bunch of different medications, which all have crappy side effects. They all make you drowsy, but they also prevent you from getting good sleep or screw up your sleep schedule with insomnia. Keppra literally has a side effect they label Keppra rage because it makes you get aggravated easily.
6. It’s been 3 months and my back still hurts 🤬
7. I could keep going but I don’t want to bore anyone

Now that I have gotten done with my rant and rave, on to the good stuff. If you know me at all I don’t like to sit still and be idle. I can only watch so much tv and play on my phone only so much 😞.

What have I been doing since I have a broken back and due to the injury and pain with all the idleness?

1st and foremost it has been nice to spend time with Casey. By now I am sure that you are aware of all her medical issues. So it’s great that I have been home with her.

2nd it’s been great spending time with Carla. We are so lucky and fortunate that she has moved in with us. She is a God send.

3rd it has been fun watching Roman growing like a weed. Next month he will be moving to KY and this Opa is gonna miss his lil face 🥰

But what else have I been doing? I have picked up the hobby of leather working.

Now this is definitely a fun and challenging hobby. I have not been doing it for long and can only do so much at a time. Since I have a broken back. If I sit to long it hurts. If I stand too long it hurts. If I lay down too long it hurts. If I move or bend wrong, it hurts. If I try to pick up anything heavier than like a gallon of milk it hurts.

I’m sure most of you know I like to do wood working and other piddling, but that’s not happening anytime soon. So leather working has been great.

Made a crappy looking book mark 🤣

I have over the last couple months definitely improved on my leatherwork. This is definitely a hobby I intend to keep developing and sticking with.

Side note on top of everything Payton came down with Covid. So we had to quarantine ourselves for several days.This caused me to not be able to go to my Units Christmas 🎄 Party. 😞

I think it’s time to wrap up this rant and rave. Please let me know what your thoughts are on the leather work. I definitely need critiques. After the holidays, I can post more pictures (most of what I have made is for Christmas gifts) if you want me to. Let me know.

Merry Christmas 🎄 and come on 2026 !!!

Holy moly! Can you believe it’s already December?!? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and are so thankful for so many things this year. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. I usually make a large meal and lots of different sweet treats but this year we did a smaller thanksgiving because I just don’t have enough energy to do it.

We still had plenty of food and lots of leftovers. What are some things that you do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? We used the Smoked Gouda mashed potatoes the next day to make Shepherds pie (we call it ABC Casserole because the soup we make it with used to have ABC noodles in it).

Cheyenne helped by packing up the turkey meat into ziplock bags with 2 cups of meat in each bag. We will use those to make soups, pot pie and other recipes that call for rotisserie chicken.

This year we decided to try making turkey bone broth. We added a bunch of veggies, the turkey carcass, some spices and water to the Electric Roaster and cooked it for about 24 hours. We then strained it and canned the broth into 13 quart jars. We used one last night in our soup and it adds a good depth of flavor.

We had a busy month in November with doctor’s visits, crafting, cooking and court. I can’t remember if I shared about the court case or not so I will give a little back story.

Payton and her baby daddy split up and we had her ready to move to Kentucky, so she can have a fresh start in a beautiful state, find new employment and start college. Right before she was going to leave,the baby daddy’s family decided not to return the baby back to us.

They filed a custody/visitation petition with the court. So we hired a lawyer. The baby was promptly returned back to us, and with approval from the lawyer, we moved Payton to Kentucky in July. We were in Kentucky for about three weeks visiting and got a call from the lawyer about court for temporary hearing. We didn’t think that we would be able to get a hearing that quickly but we did.

After the temporary hearing was over, Payton and the baby had to stay in Childress or Plainview (since Chad got promoted to Formby/Wheeler units) until the final hearing.

Supervised visits were set but they didn’t show up for any of them or follow any of the other things set by the judge.

So fast forward to November 10th and they didn’t even show up for the final court custody hearing. Super frustrating to just delay Payton and the baby moving on with their life out of spite. So Payton and the baby will be moving back to the farm in January. I requested that they stay here until after Christmas so I could spend Christmas with them.

I am also sooo thankful that my sweet friend Kelli watched Roman while we were at court and afterwards she made a delicious meal for us…. I still need to get that recipe from her..❤️Roman had a blast playing with her boys and they were so sweet with him.

We have enjoyed having our sweet boy around the house all the time and we will be sad when he isn’t here all the time anymore. However we understand Payton is ready to be able to move forward with her life. We are glad she decided to move to Kentucky so when Chad retires in a few years we will all be together.

Chad had continued to have more testing and doctor’s visits with no answers yet on why he had seizures . He’s been doing well other than his back pain from the (2) compression fractures and boredom.

He has taken up leather crafting and has gotten quite good at it, I am very impressed how quickly he’s been able to catch on and make amazing things. He’s not used to having so much free time on his hands but I have enjoyed him being home with me.

My mom had surgery on November 14th and is doing well with her recovery. She had her knee replaced a while back but she had to have it re-replaced (probably not a real word but ehh this isn’t English class). She went and got a second opinion when she was still having continuous pain and swelling and they recommended the surgery.

I was hoping to be able to be there for it but with everything going on here, it just wasn’t possible. Luckily the physical therapist came to the house for a while and that helped tremendously.

Chad turned 50 on November 15th and is feeling every bit of his age (hahahaha). Unfortunately I was down with a migraine the whole day, but his wonderful sister Carla made him a German meal that he requested: Rouladen, spatzel, red cabbage, German potato salad and Black Forest Cake. I hope he had a wonderful birthday and we both will be healthier this year.

I received a call from my doctor regarding the results of my mammogram and they want to do some additional testing. Seems a little scary to get that call but I am sure that it is nothing.

I also rescheduled my urology appointment because I wasn’t feeling up to going to the appointment and it was just a medication follow up. I will see the urologist next year and we will see how things are going then.

I have been overly tired lately so I made an appointment with my primary care doctor and maybe we can try to figure out why. I get to meet my new neurologist soon and hopefully that will go good. I have had rough time lately with my headaches so hopefully she can come up with a magical solution.

The farm got a sprinkling of snow but the upcoming forecast shows more ❄️❄️❄️. I have received several memes from my dad about his displeasure with snow and the cold. I love the snow it’s wayyyy better than the heat and sweating.

You all know that I love Christmas and all the things that go with it. I have been struggling this year with low energy and have only had enough energy to put up the Christmas tree and sew a few curtains. I got a new tree this year to help figure out how and what we wanted for the library at the farm. So we have it up here in our living room.

I had a vision of a vintage Victorian style Christmas tree. I spent a while finding the best candles for the tree (battery operated with a remote of course). We found ornaments at different places and the most beautiful tree topper on Amazon.

I have the most amazing husband and sister-in-law on the planet. Chad and Carla made a plan to decorate the house a bit to brighten up my spirits. I love, love, love the house decorated for Christmas and they knew it was bothering me not to have the house looking like it threw up Christmas decor everywhere. Praying next year will be a better year for our health.

We have advent calendars every year and we have tried different ones over the years. Everyone always seems to like the ones with chocolate in them except for me (I am not a chocolate fan, except for Ghirardelli peppermint bark). We found an advent calendar book this year and you unwrap a chapter each day. We actually got 2 different ones but the other one didn’t wrap each chapter but I think it is much better to unwrap each chapter. So far chapter 1 was pretty good and it seems to be the Hallmark movie type of story that I love.

What are some fun things and traditions you do with your family during the Christmas season?

Oooh, I almost forgot but one night Payton and Roman were out Christmas shopping and found a kitten on the road (so she says 🤪) and brought it home. Chad named it Stimpy because of its tail being mostly gone. Somehow Stimpy and Coco were playing and Stimpy broke her arm right at the growth plate and is healing up nicely without a cast or anything. She is feisty just like Margaret and not scared of anything or anyone.

Last night, it snowed again at the farm!!! (Insert sarcasm here) I am definitely sure that my parents were ecstatic to wake up to the snow! They might even bundle up a make a snowman! Hahaha

I love the snow and I can’t wait to move to the farm and have snow each winter. If it’s going to be cold, then there should be snow. Do you like snow?