I don’t know why I waited so long, but I did. When I decided to rebrand my YouTube channel from Ellis Family Farms to Grandma’s Homestead, I knew that I would have to create pages and other accounts to reflect it. Instead, I have been posting a mix of things from piglets to daily scriptures and quotes (which have nothing to do with the farm) to all of my social media accounts. This is not a good way to grow a brand. So, after all this time, I have finally created a Facebook page for Grandma’s Homestead to post farm and house remodel things and everything else on my regular page. I’m still trying to pay attention to which page I’m posting on, but I’m getting there. Unfortunately, softball season is taking up a lot of my time. BUT, my granddaughter is my priority, and at her games I will be. Feel free to check out my page and follow me at Grandma’s Homestead Facebook page. I would certainly appreciate it.
On the 29th, we drove to NE Oklahoma Jr College to play Quapaw and were soundly defeated, 2-15. Our normally excellent pitcher was off, but not badly so. This team is just that much better than our girls. They were upset, but also were able to look at the game objectively and come away with the knowledge that they did not play a bad game.
I had mentioned previously that I had lost a lot of my duck flock with no evidence of how. While mowing a section of the vineyard so I could prune the vines (yes, our vineyard is neglected that much) I found three different white feather puddles where a predator had taken them for its meals. The tall grass that surrounds my birds makes them easy prey for an animal that can jump the electric fence. That’s why I suspect a bobcat. I was saddened to find the feathers but at least I now know what happened to my birds.
What I thought was going to be a quick job of trimming the bathroom has taken much longer than I could ever expect. I don’t work on it daily like I should but I do come back to it often. I needed some longer pieces of trim for some places and I returned to Kla-Mart for those pieces and got them painted.
I did get a podcast for This Grandma’s Life posted. I was embarrassed enough about the topic because I do go overboard with list-making and almost didn’t record on this particular subject. But I decided to go for it anyway and you can listen to it on any of the pod catchers or you can see it here.
Because I have dedicated myself to be available for Kinzie at any time, I am up early in the morning and frequently up late at night to be there and available when she comes home from work or running with friends. Being available at night has been a true blessing as this is when she comes and sits down to discuss her thoughts, frustrations and happenings of the day. I love this time with her. Sometimes, it really wears me out though and I crashed all afternoon on Sunday after church while she was at work. I slept, tried to get up and get back to work and then slept again. Apparently I needed it.
On Labor Day, Tom helped me transform animal crates into cages for my rabbit does. They needed something bigger that would accommodate the nesting boxes Tom had built for them. To do this, we had to put hardware cloth (wired screening) on the bottom of the cages to keep them from being able to escape. The crates came with plastic tray bottoms but I didn’t want to have to clean out cages every day when their poop could be falling directly where I want to be fertilized. In fact, after the garden is done for the year, we plan to move the rabbits into the garden area on the scaffolding I discovered on the property.
The doe I had moved into her new location was not happy about the move. When I tried to catch her, she ran all around the cage, then stamped her feet at me viciously. When I finally caught her, she screamed like I was killing her, which got my dogs highly interested in what I was doing. I did manage to get her into her new location and she settled down immediately. The next day, I noticed that she wasn’t eating. This morning, she still hadn’t eaten, so I texted my friend and rabbit mentor for advice. She suggested that I put an old towel in with her, even covering her up so she feels safer. It worked. She’s eating just fine now. I am relieved and I’m also grateful for my knowledgeable friend.
The girls played two short double headers against Oaks. They were short because we were beating them pretty soundly. The first game was 15-0 and the second was 6-3. The high school parking lot is also the local life flight landing location and emergency crews were gathering for such a landing. Tom and I were able to get out of the way before the helicopter landed but the others were stranded for a few minutes until the back gate was opened to allow everyone to leave by another route.
Kinzie informed me that she lost her reading glasses and so we made an appointment to get an exam and new glasses. I was surprised to learn that it had been three years since she had been to an eye doctor in the first place. That was when I learned that she had never had an eye exam at all when she was younger. It was a little intense at first trying to choose new frames the other day. She was crabby and feeling a little overwhelmed by the choices and I was no help because I have no fashion sense at all. She did end up choosing some nice glasses and even posed for a goofy picture of some way oversized glasses. This pictures doesn’t look much like her but it was fun anyway. I sure do love this girl.
On Tuesday, we drove to Bluejacket for another game. The girls won10-0. They were happy about that because Bluejacket had beaten them their first meeting this year. It was a game they should not have lost and they knew it. Just before we left, I stepped wrong up onto the concrete, slamming my left foot backward. That is the foot I had surgery on in December and have been rehabbing since. The misstep scared me so badly, I broke out into a sweat, then realized that I was okay and I was greatly relieved. The next morning though, it was swollen and walking on uneven ground was difficult and painful. By the time I was done with morning chores, I was in tears, not so much from the pain but because I had set myself back by not paying attention to my steps. It continues to improve each day but I am still not back to where I was before the injury.
Thursday evening, we drove to Barnsdall. We saw some of the damage still visible from the tornado that tore through that town a couple of months ago. In a very close game, the Foyil Panthers ended up defeating the Barnsdall Panthers 9-6. It was a nail-biter all the way to the 7th inning.
Last night, the girls from S Coffeyville came to our place. This was another team that had defeated our girls early on in the season and they were nervous about the rematch. The Panthers ended up victorious at 9-2. They were ecstatic to learn that they are now the conference leaders. We are very proud of the girls. Kinzie is still getting beat up, but she refuses to give up. Did I mention how much I love that girl?
Today, Tom and I attended a benefit chili dinner and silent auction for a local firefighter that is battling cancer. It was held at the school cafeteria and the place was packed. Pots and pots of chili that people made and brought accompanied some pulled pork, and lots of home made brownies and cookies. There was a wide variety of items to bid on at the auction. We saw many of our friends and Tom reconnected with people he knew years ago. It was a wonderful event put on by many wonderful, caring people. I must admit that, for many years, I hated small towns. I truly love this place and the people in it. As an outsider, I have been fully welcomed and I have never felt so at home in my entire life. I am grateful often that God put me here. Life is good. See you next time!