OUT AND ABOUT

Yesterday I got a phone call from one of our neighbors. They heard we had kittens and would like all of them for farm cats out at their place. I told them that one person in Leeds wants one of them, but I would be glad to give them the rest of the kittens if they wanted them. It will be a few more weeks yet until they are ready to go. Our neighbor also invited the girls over to play, which was very nice. The girls have wanted to go over there to play with their boys for a while, but I have been so caught up with everything else going on, I haven't had the time to call them. The children played well and the girls were able to feed their ponies and look at their elk. I really enjoyed it too. It was nice to be able to sit and watch the girls play while having adult conversation...something I rarely get now days outside of work.

When we were leaving our neighbors, I noticed the car had a very flat tire in the front. My neighbors husband tried to fill it with air, but there was a hole in the tire that was letting out the air almost as fast as he was putting it in. Thankfully, he was nice enough to put the spare tire on so I could at least drive it home. I called Cenex this morning, and they put two new tires on the front and brought it back to my house before I had to leave for work. I am hoping this is the only car problem I have this summer.

This afternoon after Cassidy got home from school, I took the girls into Devils Lake to the theater. They wanted to see How To Train Your Dragon and today was the last showing. I love doing things with my girls, and lately I have been so busy that we haven't had time for extra stuff. I am starting to feel bad because I cannot spend as much time with Cassidy and Jessie that I would like to. I really miss being able to stay home with them. I thought taking time to go to the show would be a wonderful treat for them. The girls really liked it and it was better than I thought it would be, but if anyone else out there has been thinking of going to it, wait until it comes out on video.

I have been able to work with my horses a little bit the last few days. They are coming around pretty good. I was able to catch, saddle, and ride my sorrel gelding without many problems. I still have some problems with the appaloosa, but he does let me touch him and I was able to saddle him yesterday. He still hates vehicles with a passion. He jumps and will start bucking when one passes. I may have to have someone else finish break him for me. I will have to call a few people and see who I can find to do it.

LAMBS

My girls have wanted to see real baby lambs for a long time. I told them I would try to find some, but I never held much hope for it, because I wasn't sure if I knew anyone who had sheep around here. A few weeks later after the girls told me they wanted to see lambs, it donned on me that David Erie, a gentleman near town, still raised sheep. I ran into him one day at the grocery story last fall and asked him about it. He said that he would give me a call when some baby lambs were born so the girls could play with them. I forgot all about speaking to him about it until he called me Friday afternoon to let me know he had 3 lambs that were a few weeks old and he would be around on Sunday if we wanted to come out and see them. So, after the girls got home today from spending the weekend with their father, we met David at the farm to see the lambs. I have to admit that they were super cute...but what baby animal isn't cute? He also had baby piglets and a bunch of younger cows that the girls got to see, along with one very hyper dog named Buddy.

The girls and I had a lot of fun visiting David and checking out all of his animals. When we were there, he didn't have any baby cows yet, but is expecting some very soon. He is going to let us know when his cows start calving so the girls can see the baby cows too.

I love spring time because of all the new baby animals that are around to check out. The girls and I love seeing all the baby horses, pigs, cats, dogs, and now even sheep and cows! The girls and I could sit with foals all day long and watch foals play, eat, and even sleep. There is something so innocent about the baby animals that makes a person feel good...at least I do anyway, and I hope that when my girls get older they will appreciate it too. Not a lot of children get to experience things that we do. I also have to thank our friends and neighbors. We wouldn't be able to do it without them!

When we were leaving Eries, the girls wanted to go see their Nana to tell her all about the baby lambs and the other animals we saw. When we got to Nana's, she was making some of her yummy homemade buns. The girls wanted to help Nana, so Nana put them to work. They love baking with Nana. I hope the girls are paying attention so they can make Nana's buns for me when they get older. I have tried to make Nana's buns myself, but they just don't turn out like hers do.

Also, last Monday, our calio cat gave birth to 4 baby kittens. I don't have very good pics of them yet. Hopefully I will get some soon when the girls are not playing with them. I swear we are going to have 4 of the most tame and well handled kittens that anyone has ever seen thanks to my girls. There are 3 white ones and one black and white spotted one. The girls want to keep the black/white one, but I don't know if I want to have two cats or not. I think 1 at a time is pretty much my limit when it comes to cats. We will see what happens when the kittens get a little bit bigger. I do, however, have a friend that already wants one. Now I just have to find homes for the remaining 2 or 3.

David Erie Holding a lamb so the girls could pet it.

Cassidy and Jessie with the lamb. Cassidy was unsure of it at first cause it was moving around a lot.

Some ewes with their lambs.

A baby lamb resting.

The girls with Buddy the dog.

Jessie baking buns with Nana.

I AM PISSED

I am really upset. When I was working this weekend, someone was in my yard and was messing with my horses.

I love my horses and would never intentionally hurt them. They are big yard dogs and like attention. They always come up for oats and apples when the girls and I are in the yard. The day before yesterday I noticed a drastic change in their behavior.

The girls wanted to go riding after I got off of work, so I gathered up my stuff and went out to the pasture to get one of the horses. The horses were spooky and didn't want me close to them. In fact, I couldn't get any closer than about 30 ft to them. This is odd, because they always come for attention or treats. I got some grain and put that in the feeder but they would not come up to the feeder while we were standing next to it. I tried apples next, but they wouldn't take them out of my hand, but they did eat the apples off the ground when I backed away. I also noticed that they are extremely head shy now too.

I don't know who was in my yard while I was gone, what they did, or how long they were there, but whatever they did, really messed up my horses mentally. I had one extremely great riding horse and I had just started saddle breaking the appaloosa and he was doing remarkable. Now I am going to have to start at ground zero and start training all over again with both of them.

My mother kept my girls overnight for me last night so I could try working with them a little bit. Using a little time and a lot of patience, I was able to catch my sorrel gelding. I brushed his coat and took time to comb out his mane. I also tried working with his head for a while so he would get used to it. I spent a good 3 hours working with him out in the yard. He did okay, but he wasn't himself.

I am going to call and file a police report so this can be tracked just in case it happens again or if any of the neighbors experience any behavioral problems with their animals. I know in the past, some neighbors have had issues with people coming into their yards and bothering the animals. I always felt bad, but I never truly knew how much it makes a person upset until I happened to me. If I catch who did this to my horses I will take them to court.

A GOOD WEEKEND

Today was the first day that we have seen the sun here in at least a week. The weather was wonderful, and it's starting to feel a little more like Spring. Lets hope it stays this way for a while. The girls have been able to burn off some cabin fever, which has made things easier for me, and bedtime goes a lot smoother.

On Saturday, Rainy invited me for a Girls Night Out with her and a couple of friends from Devils Lake. We had a really good time and it helped me get my mind of things, vent, and we were there to support each other in a lot of things. We also did a lot of story sharing and laughing. I haven't been out with the girls in a VERY long time. It was defiantly over due and well needed. Great girlfriends are wonderful to have.

Things have been going well. As Verety disconnects service to the McDonald's chains, I worry about unemployment coming sooner than May 12th. As there become less and less stores to take orders for, they will not need all 259 employees. I am scared that one day I will sit down for my shift and my computer access to Verety will be shut off. I pray that nothing happens until something new has come along.

I started to saddle break my black/white blanket appaloosa. He is coming along pretty good and isn't too saddle shy. He still has a problem with the passing semis and trucks when I am leading him up and down the road with the saddle on. In time, he should become used to all the vehicles. The last think I want is for him to be spooky around them when I try to get on him. That would only lead to one really bad outcome.

COREY HAIM 1972-2010

Today, I was surprised to read online that child actor, Corey Haim has died. I know he was a troubled man who fought some tough personal battles in his life, but I really liked his performance in the movie The Lost Boys and his reality TV show, with friend/actor Corey Feldman, The Two Coreys.

It's sad to hear such news of people so young. If better choices were made, and mistakes learned from, maybe most of the young and famous would still be around 50 years later.

RIP Mr. Haim. I hope God has brought you peace at last.

AND THE SEARCH CONTINUES....AGAIN

Today when I got to work, there was an email from my supervisor in my inbox. I assumed that it was the weekly report of how my scores were on monitoring. I am proud of myself. I have been going on 5 straight weeks in a row with 100% scores. I was horrified to discover that instead of scores, it was a Dear John letter from the Verety company that was sent out to everyone (managers, supervisors, agents,...everyone) at 10 o'clock this morning.

The letter started out by saying that they made a decision to close the Verety business. For sometime, management had been carefully viewing other options, but this was their only choice and has nothing to do with our performance. Given the circumstances, Verety must be closed in the next 60 days. Which gives me, roughly, until May 12th to find another job.

I am going to stay with Verety up till the end. In the meantime, I am going to be putting in applications and searching for a new job. I have to find a job that is going to pay me well enough to be able to afford my daycare, fuel in my car if I have to drive a long distance, and my monthly bills. If I cannot find something, I am even thinking about putting harder thought into moving if I have to. That means selling the two remaining horses, giving up my home, and moving away from my parents....and if I move, I am going to MOVE. I refuse to move back to Devils Lake and I cannot see myself ever living in a big town such as Fargo or Bismarck. I have always wanted to live in Montana.

However, this are not decisions that I will be making overnight. They are something I have to give extreme thought to. But, if I want to move, there will be no better time than after Verety closes and Cassidy is finished with Kindergarten.

LUNA HAS A NEW HOME

Brent and Bryce, the twin sons of the gentleman who bought Luna, showed up yesterday at 6pm to get Luna. They didn't stay very long, they had another horse to pick from a friend in Devils Lake on their way back to Adams. Also, my girls were home and outside playing when the twins arrived, so they saw Luna go. The poor little girls were crushed and didn't want Luna to go yet. Neither did I, but I knew that if the twins didn't take her when they did, I wouldn't have been able to let go of her at all.

I haven't broke down too much about it yet. I know what I did was the right thing for her and that the Vigens will give her a great home, but it still hurts. Luna was a huge piece of my childhood growing up, and I feel like I just gave away my childhood and every great memory that went with it.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE LEEDS

If anyone watched WDAZ 10 o'clock news last night, you would have seen the controversy at Leeds Public High School. The school board made a decision to end the sports co-op between Leeds and Minneuwakan, making some parents and residents extremely upset. Leeds decided to co-op with Maddock for all of their sports, thus leaving Minneuwakan. There was a big town meeting last night about it, which I did not attend.

First and foremost; my daughter attends Leeds Public for an education, not for sports. If she decides later on that she would like to play sports, that is fine with me. But her education comes first. My daughter is only in Kindergarten, so it will be a while before we get into sports. Second; the co-op with Minneuwakan happened after I graduated high school, so there isn't a sentimental element there for me. Third; Minneuwakan may be co-oping with Ft. Totten now, which I think is alright because Minneuwakan has kids from Ft. Totten attending their school, so why shouldn't those kids be able to play sports with their friends? Leeds has been co-oped with Maddock for a very long time for football, so there is already a co-op established that is very long standing. They were talking about a 3-way co-op between Leeds, Minneuwakan, and Maddock. But I don't know how well that would have worked. Maddock and Ft. Totten are really distanced from each other. They are not even close to each other.

Some community members are very upset. After the school board voted on this issue, the Leeds Superintendent put in his resignation, and just Wednesday of last week the school Principal also put in his resignation. There is also word of 6 teachers also resigning. People are worried about loosing the school. I honestly do not see the school closing because of lack of staff. I know for a fact that 3 of the six teachers are leaving NOT because of the co-op issue, but because of medical and personal reasons unrelated to the issue.

Some people have talked to me about it because the York mayor is also the President of the Leeds School Board. I am not biased on the issue because I am on the York city council and that I know the Mayor personally. The boards decision does not bother me one way or the other. I am perfectly fine with it. However, that is not the case for 80% of the residents in Leeds. I am sure people will be mad because I am staying out of it as much as I can, and because I support the school board.