Spring and Updates

Well its pretty evident that due to all the warm weather that an early spring is in the air.   Senior and I have started working on the spring garden, we got it tilled pretty good, and put in some red potatoes. We have also started down the road to a new venture: Pigs.

Eventually I would like a couple of goats and have a strong affection for pygmies. My cousin out in San Antonio, TX has the Nubian goats. She bought them for her granddaughters 4-H project and she entered them in shows and made a nice profit once they went to auction.

Last weekend we visited a livestock auction. The only pigs they had were 4 pregnant pot bellied ones...so when you bought one you were also getting her litter...no thanks!

Goats though were in abundance, I know they are so cute when they are babies:

 

But then they have to grow up: 

So back to the pig issue, my uncle in NC is on the look out for us, he has been visiting some pig farms and getting prices and looking at the stock. He is going in with us monetarily for them as he would like at least half of one in his freezer...so we put him to work doing some of the leg work.
The pen is built, and we are hoping in the next couple of weeks to have them here...
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I mentioned updates so here goes: Last Monday after dropping kids off at school I was pulling onto our road when I got rear ended by a driver who clearly was not paying attention...I had some minor damage to the back of my car, but his entire front end was hanging off... My trailer hitch went right into his radiator and ripped off his bumper...  antifreeze was everywhere. Thankfully no one was hurt, and the kids weren't with me.
He was very decent and immediately admitted fault, he claimed he looked down to grab his coffee-Yea Right! . So after the cop wrote him a nice big ticket, he got blessed out by his father...turns out he was on daddy's insurance-There goes those premiums!, apparently this was not his first rodeo and has had other traffic violations.
My car went in to the shop for a couple of days which was a huge inconvenience and his 2001 pickup truck went to the graveyard....it was totaled. 
But all is right again with the world, got my car back earlier then promised turned in the crappy rental car and drove happily home.

And in other news: On the 27th the guardian takes over for mom. My sister and I are very happy . I am thrilled that someone professional will be able to deal with all the paperwork and headache of medicare etc...  My brother is none to happy about it because for Christmas my sister and I got a very nasty letter where he claims he will never have anything more to do with us...okay A-hole!  no problem.
The best part about the letter is the coward did not have the testicular fortitude to address the envelope himself, he had his twit wife  do it...I guess he assumed we wouldn't open it up if we recognized his handwriting.. My sister got hers first so when mine came in the mail I simply wrote his return address and returned it back to him unopened..
 My sister had emailed it to me, so I printed it and keep a copy in my purse for in the future should our paths cross and he tries to speak to me, I can quickly whip it out and remind him of his actions...
There will truly be a special place in hell for him one of these days...

I just realized that my previous post was on Feb. 1st..   geez where does the time go????? 

-JUGM

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas 2016...where in the heck did this year go?????

Our family would like to wish all our blogger friends a Very Merry Christmas.Please stay safe and warm...if you are enjoying a white Christmas...make us a snowman!!! It is in the 60s here....

Have a blessed Holiday, enjoy the day with all your family and friends.... and remember that Jesus is the reason for the Season....

Love
JUGM, Senior, and boys....oh and Libby and Ruger too

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all my blogger family a very Happy Thanksgiving.. I hope you all enjoy your holiday, Enjoy the time with family and friends. And remember to set your scales back 10#s tonight....ha ha ha!!!

I was also told that since I put a picture of Libby up on Sunday, it was only fair that I had to post one of Ruger....so here is Ruger:   He often gets confused with the American Bulldog, but he is not. He is a white boxer, and an all around big puss...  Libby is his boss....lol

-JUGM

Sundays, Coffee and Boxers.....

If that face doesn't wake you up on a cold and windy Sunday morning I don't know what will...  That is our little angel "Liberty Bell"  aka Libby, aka Mrs. Wigglesworth. Oh the nicknames we have for her are endless. Having her around does make life fun.....

 

Well it has turned off clear and cold here, winds yesterday and today have been annoying though. We have been trying to get out and take care of leaves but its pointless with all the high winds. Fall color is late, but truly vibrant this year. Autumn is one reason why I am happy we made the move to the estate. By far my most favorite season.

Thanksgiving is this week, and I have to be honest and say I am not at all mentally ready for the holidays, it will be the first without dad and basically mom too. The past few days have been a bit emotional for me, as I recall all the past holidays when they got on my last nerve and wish so much to have those times back...never take your family for granted, no matter how many times they annoy you.

My sister visited mom on Friday, her weight-loss continues to get worse, she did get on the phone with me for a few seconds. I was pleased to hear her reading my name and phone number off the caller ID of my sisters phone. She told me she loved me, which made my day. I have missed talking to her and our almost daily phone calls. hearing her voice perked me up.

Now time to vent a bit...I don't mean to sound like a broken record in reference to my brother, but I need to let it out...so here goes. A couple of weeks ago, my sister who has access to my parents banking info was trying to log on to their account, well the password had been changed.  knowing she did not do that she immediately went to the bank and had everything redone. She could not figure out how it got changed since she never did it. A few days later she was packing some computer things up of my dads to send back to AT&T, as she went to get his computer modem she realized that the tower for dads desk top computer was missing...  My brother had been there and taken it! Which now explains the online banking info being changed.
My sister never curses...but let me tell you she did that day to me on the phone....  Thankfully no money was transferred out of the parents account, and now everything has since been changed and more security measures added so my brother can't get in to it.

And in addition to the computer he also took two collage picture frames of one of kind pictures of my mother when she was a little girl and of my dads family. Instead of offering to make copies for my sister and I , he didn't. We will never see those pictures again...  Which is very heartbreaking to me, because my sister and I would have liked a set.

I absolutely can not wait for the new guardianship to take over....   We are preparing ourselves for a new onslaught of his nastiness- the attorney did the paperwork we need to sign and it says "That  my sister and I chose an outside guardian because we believe our brother to be incapable of taking proper care of our mother".... Holy crap when he sees that, my brother is going to throw a real fit!
 We still think he is in Franklin, NC ...but honestly with all the smoke and fires going on its hard to believe he is still living in the campground.

Okay enough venting, and chores are calling, the chickens are going to feed themselves....Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

-JUGM

a little rain

A steady rain has moved in today across the upstate region, and the Good Lord knows we have needed it. Things here have been dry and incredibly dusty. ND and myself have been dealing with sinus and allergy issues for a week.  The temperatures have dropped and after an extended summer and above average temperatures the cool ,wet weather is a welcome sight.

Things have been extremely worse though for our neighbors to the north and west of us out in the mountains. Entire towns have had to be evacuated from the devastation of forest fires.  I only bring this up, because my brother and wife #3 are currently living in their RV in a trailer park in Franklin, NC. The reason for this is unbeknownst to us but, we can only speculate that his extravagant life style and his nasty demeanor has finally caught up to him and he is hiding from someone or something... 

Yesterday was NWs end of season football party and trophy presentation. I do applaud the team mom for going over and above and arranging a paintball outing..what a great time they all had. NW did pretty good, and put to use all the information he has absorbed from Senior and all the close quarter combat advice daddy gave him.  His team lost 2 out of 5 battles.  Not too bad for an 11 year old. Unfortunately, I think a "paintball monster" has been created, he is now ready to take his dad and little brother to the course and go against them.

So, I like everyone else is watching all these protest over the election. I have to say how disappointed I am but that I am not surprised. I wasn't at all happy with Obama being elected twice but, I did not burn our flag and cause property damage. Heck I just bit my tongue and suffered through the past eight years.
I think President Elect Trump summed it up best tonight on his 60 minutes interview when Leslie Stahl asked the same question... he said something to the effect of :  " if I had lost and my supporters were doing this, the response would be the opposite, Its a double standard"

-JUGM

22 together

We were told that we were incompatible and wouldn't last a year.  But here we are celebrating 22 years together.  What can I say about Senior. He is my rock, he caught me and held me up the day my dad passed and has kept holding on to me ever since. When I think of how much I truly love him, I am rendered speechless as sometimes there are no words that can explain how I feel.  So today I wish my beloved Husband Senior a Happy Anniversary....I pray for 22 more years with you by my side. 

Only Me....

 

Hello Blogger friends...I know its been a while, a lot has happened since July 26th when I last posted. 

For those of you who don't know- My dad passed away on August 13th.We were told he had 6-8 months, but it turned out to be more like 6-8 days. None of us knew just how bad his health had declined, and how much he neglected himself to take care of my mother.  

His death has rocked me and my little family to the core...the boys have lost another grandparent, and Senior and I have lost much, much more. It has hurt deeply. But we all have one another and support each other daily. My dad meant a lot to all of us and he is missed every second of the day.

Mom is now comfortably in a nursing home,it wasn't anything that we actually had wanted to do, but her alzheimers has progressed so fast, that after dads health went down hill it was the best alternative for her. It is a beautiful place along the river , and she is getting excellent care. My sister and I drop in unannounced all the time, and every visit has been positive. I wish it did not have to come down to that, but it was for the best and she is where she needs to be.

My brother is still being an ass. My sister and I are getting an outside guardian for mom, as we feel with the situation with our brother and how he is behaving, that it is the best thing. All the attorneys agree, but my brother doesn't and is fighting us on it, I fear it will get much more uglier before it gets better. 

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 We have been busy this fall as both boys have been playing football. Due to their ages they were on different teams and it has been hectic. Finally the last games were tonight. With NW's team winning the county championship, and NDs team finishing in second place. We are very proud of both boys, as this was a new sport for them...there were times when they wanted to quit, but they stood tall and made it through

Well it is getting late, so I will end this for now... Hope you all have a good night...

-JUGM

A home made bow, and Fathers Day etc......

Back during the fall I got these books for the boys, I think I did a blog post about them, but for some reason I can't find it. But that is irrelevant.

Our two reads them all the time, and have learned lots of useful information, so if you are the parent of boys I suggest you get them a copy

NW being the brilliant child he is, decided to follow the guidelines in the big red book and make a bow.While it is not very big, It is pretty useful and launched the little arrow he fashioned over 30 feet. I am proud of both of my boys for thinking of things that would be useful in a survival situation.

Fathers day was this past Sunday, and we got Senior a new T-Shirt. All of our Navy Friends love it...

My cousin in another part of the state is getting married tomorrow ( again). We were invited but because we have been back and forth to FLA so much, opted out and not attending. I bought a frame, and put together a single page scrapbook layout for her. 

I racked my brain trying to think of what wording I wanted to use. ND being the outspoken child he is, chimed in and said " Well given her track record I wouldn't put anything that says ever after, or together forever...you don't want to jinx her".

So I went with "live, laugh, love"......    For literally being thrown together in about 6 hours, I don't think it came out too bad:   

front porch....

If the world had a front porch like we did back then
We'd still have our problems but we'd all be friends
Treatin' your neighbor like he's your next of kin
Wouldn't be gone with the wind
If the world had a front porch like we did back then

-Tracy Lawrence

Okay, its safe to say that I am not a big fan of country music, but I always liked Tracy Lawrence, and I always liked this song. "If the world had a front porch" I guess because some of my most memorable times growing up was summers over in Easley, SC with my grandparents. I am sure most of you can concur that life revolved around the front porch.  

Supper would be finished, dishes washed and put away, it was time to retire to the  porch.  No kidding-every neighbor seemed to drop by and we kids played in the front yard chasing lightening bugs or eating a cold piece of watermelon. There was no TV, the comings and goings of the ole mill hill were our nightly entertainment.
Friends would catch us up on all the local gossip, and My Grandmother ( God rest her soul) would sit in her porch swing with her two pekingese puppies next to her. She was a great debater, and would keep you up past midnight arguing the issues. She went to her grave believing that man never walked on the moon and it was all one big puppet show.  In one evening we would have all the worlds problems solved and then enjoy a dish of ice cream..

My Grandfather would sit in a rocker that was once my great grandmothers, and laugh at my Grandmother, and all her theories on things. He would get us kids together and scare the crap out of us telling stories of local "haints" as he called them. He taught us the way of the hill people, and all the superstitions.

So, when we got the house done, with our lovely porch...Senior surprised me one day with rockers. It was so reminiscent of those simpler times when I was a kid, much like back then we turn the TV off, and retire to the porch, take a breath and enjoy life.....

-JUGM

a visit to see mom

While on spring break, we rode south to visit my parents in Florida. I don't usually talk to much about my mom, but once in a while, I think I need to for therapy.
Last week we got the diagnosis we all have known in the back of our heads, but dreaded to officially hear: advanced stage of Alzheimer's. Seeing it on paper, and hearing it from her doctor...rocked my dads world.
Because my mom has always been fearful of legal dealings, such as POAs, and Medical Surrogates. So, with my sister and I by Dads side we met last week with an attorney. We are petitioning the court for moms guardianship, this way he  can legally place her in a home, that will meet her needs and get her the help she consistently denies. She has only gone to the doctor twice in the past year, and we had to lie to get her to those appointments. So, it will be fight, as the mere mention of a doctors appointment or someone coming to the house arouses her aggression.
Something new is her constant sleeping, and in a daze of sorts. Last week she just sat there, disengaged, and staring past us into emptiness.


 I never thought I would see my mom like this, I mean what kid would?  When we had the boys, she was over the moon about them, they were her world, now she had nothing to do with them, and was wanting them to leave.

It hurts like hell and I hate how this horrible disease robs the patient of their life. All we do is pray for mom that God will intervene and relieve her of this mental torment and call her home.
( is that bad to ask for? )


JUGM

a quiet sunday

What is it about the solitude of country living? No hussle and bussle of the big cities, or crowded apartments and subdivisions. No hearing everything your neighbors talk about or having cars parked along the street and blocking your driveway...No I don't miss that at all.
 Another benefit is shooting whenever you want to, we have been working on our little range, made some additions and improvements and its all coming along nicely...I am thankful that we no longer have to find a public range to shoot at and can come and go as much as we want on ours...
 This being the last day of our spring break the boys were up early, with BB guns in hand, wanting to get some target practice in. As long as they don't put an eye out they can shoot BBs whenever they like. But, when it comes to their .22s or something of mom and dads...we need to be there with them.
 I made a cup of coffee and sat on the porch watching, and thinking about how carefree they are. Wishing desperately that they did not know of some of the things that are corrupting our world, or the meaning of words that I would have never thought of as a child.

I look at them being so free and smile, but inside I am sad that soon Senior and I will have to turn them loose in this big old world, and I hope we are preparing them well for that day.( sniff sniff..mom gets weepy eyed)

Another good thing about country living and having property?...is getting to have a monster garden. Ours is 99% planted. Only thing left is the okra for Senior and boys. ( ick...i know!...lol )
Jack was being naughty in the house, and so we collectively decided to let him have the great outdoors where I think he is much happier. Today he was helping us out in the garden . He likes coming down there to purr and nuzzle us with his nose. When we pull the hose out, he cracks us up trying to attack it thinking its a big black snake.
Having an out door cat has been an adventure, we look forward to his daily presents he leaves on the porch. Mostly its moles. But Friday he managed a bird. And No, we were not happy because it was a robin.

The day is growing short,  I have noticed several of my favorite bloggers have done posts, so I am off of mine to go check theirs out and say a quick hello. Then its on to answer the demands of the household....you know that dinner thing!  lol

-JUGM

Merry Christmas 2015

To all of my blogger friends far and wide, from my family to yours:

 We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. 

And to our Troops who can not be home this holiday, Thank You. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Senior had to work today and the boys were out of school, by the afternoon they were not getting along so I made them sit and write 20 things they were thankful for, it was met with groans, grunts and rolling eyes. What they wrote made me smile:

Then I started thinking of all the things I am Thankful for every day of the year. The list really is long, because there are so many things. But top of it would be my husband and children... A love that has endured lots of rough times and how we have stayed together through thick and thin. The three men in my life holds my heart in their hands and we have all been truly blessed

From our home to yours..We hope God blesses you all with a Very Happy Thanksgiving...

Yup! Still here

My buddy Harry made me realize that it's been a while since I last posted. No worries we are all okay. And Harry ,Thank You for your concern.
What can I say except things have been busy, and there are days when I just out right don't feel like being on a computer.

The weather has cooled off, boys are back to school and its been nice having time to myself  just to get out in the yard, walk around the estate and enjoy all the beauty it has to offer.
Last night, I was sitting at the top.of the garden, I was alone sitting and listening to the forest around us come to life with all of its nightly inhabitants. Listening can be almost deafening.

I hope you are all doing well, I have been making the blogger rounds and while I may not always comment I am reading and keeping caught up with you all.

Senior and I do have some good news to share, (no I am not pregnant) ... We finally have the ball rolling on our new house. Permits have been applied for and (kmock on wood) all legal matters have been resolved so soon they will be breaking ground.
It feels like we have come full circle since moving up here, we have been face to face with lots of adversity and have paid our dues. Now I am happy to say we are able to move forward in making the estate what we have envisioned it to be.

God is truely good.

-JUGM

To the Ignorant person.....

 In my family, namely my brother...who I swear said the following during a heated argument over whether I would or would not pack myself  and the kids up to drive down to FLA and take mom to an appoinment:

" Ya know sis you don't really work. Your a stay at home mom..yea right! there are other mothers out there that actually do have a job, so stop acting like its your effin cross to bear"

Well Mr. JackA$$ today this girl, picked, shucked, de-cobbed, cleaned out the corn field and loaded the old stalks for Senior to carry over to the neighbors cows...
And TRUST ME...trying to de-cob some 100+ ears of corn, while cooking dinner and keeping peace between two boys is no easy task!

So Don't tell me we housewives, and stay at home moms DON'T WORK!!!!!!!

We can't all sit on our posh water front property sucking down beers by the pool while calling our 80+ year old parents and harrassing them with profanity..some of us actually do give a damn about our family.
What a "Son of the Year" he is!

 

Besides the fact I am entirely Pissed off right now...the look on this cows face does crack me up! She is like " this is some good S----" 
NomNomNom, Munch Munch Munch

our lil man turned 10

 

 

our oldest NW turned the big 10 today....where on earth has the time gone?  If you have babies, or little toddlers, then please enjoy this time with them. My sister told me once, to wait until they start school, then the time will zoom right by you before you know it. She was right.

 

When we asked what he wanted for his birthday his answer was simple, he said he would like his own Hennessy Hammock tent, a big boy watch (" because ya know mom I am not a little kid anymore and really getting out of toys" ). he also asked for "Lego Marvels" for Xbox. 

 

Well he got all three...  here he is proudly displaying his Scout version hammock, and his new explorer edition watch, it even glows..lol 

 

 

After eating the triple chocolate cake I made for him, NW, ND and Senior had to set up the new tent so the birthday boy could try it out:

If you have kids, then we reccommend the Scout version, it is perfect for them.

our memorial day....

For Memorial Day...we let the kids play hookie. Yes our commie school district does not recognize the sacrifice that was made to keep our country free. School was in session today as well as Veterans Day. Really irks me because MLK and other insignificant days are given off. ,

So, we kept the boys home today and went to the cemetery to put flags on those that once served this country. Buried here is my Father in Law who served in Korea, and his brother..a highly decorated Marine that did three tours in Vietnam, when asked to go back for a fourth tour, he was denied.

Just our small way of teaching our children what this day means and honoring those who sacrificed so much.

Its just been busy.....

I know its been a while, but we are all fine on our end.. And I really hope you all as well. I have been making my way around blogger and even though I might not have always commented, I am keeping up with you guys.
 Its Just that time of the year and we have been busy with baseball, School, garden, chickens, and Senior's job. And when we do have a bit of free time (which is usually in the evenings) we retire to the front porch. Heck! we have hardly had the TV on at night during the past few weeks.

We did however manage a trip down to FLA to visit the parents, and then made an abrupt right turn off 95 and took the boys over to "Patriots Point" in Charleston. If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it , there they have the USS YORKTOWN, SSN CLAGAMORE, and USS LAFFEY. Just make sure you wear a comfortable pair of shoes, because you are up and down all these WWll ships.

Our boys were so excited, they both like to do models, and were thrilled to see some of the planes they have completed on a much larger scale:

USS YORKTOWN:

SSN: CLAGAMORE:

 

USS LAFFEY:

 

The YORKTOWN is also a museum boasting artwork from that era:

 

I have seen this picture of this convoy before at NAS Pensacola and have always admired it. Just looks so darn awesome:

 

 

 



Christmas traffic...ugggg!

 

We hit the road early Friday morning for Florida. It had been a month since I saw my parents and longer since I last visited with my sister.

Words of wisdom: Never travel to Florida after Christmas and Prior to New Years. I forgot about all the darn college football bowl games. OMG!!!!!  Every one and their mother was going to Florida this past Friday.
Three miles from 95 on 26 the back up began. We first thought it was a major wreck. But no! From there on to the SC/GA stateline traffic maybe moved 10mph. We should have been there around 2ish. It was after 3 when we finally got to our hotel. *Sigh*
Then we were off and running to first visit old friends, then we decided to stop in and surprise my parents. No real change-Mom is still bad. But she was happy to see us, and I can tell the grandkids being there cheered her up a bit.

Saturday, Senior dropped the kids and I back off with my parents and went to visit our buddy Stephen. While they hung out, I tried to do things for my parents around their house while the kids were driving my mother wonky with their remote controlled helicopters, so much so that she insisted we leave. She was becoming agitated and was ready to rest. So, Senior picked us up and the four of us took off to some of our old stomping grounds. One place was to go crazy buying fresh shrimp to bring home and boil.

That evening, we all met at my sisters for dinner and to have "Christmas" with my family. Mom was not feeling well and only stayed for a short time. I kissed her and hugged her and hoped it was not for the last time.

The boys made out like bandits with my sister-ND got two Star Wars Lego Sets, and NW got 2 models. plus gift cards for shopping. She is a good Auntie!

Sunday we left to head back home. Only we were smart and once we crossed in to SC we got off 95 and took an alternate route. No traffic except the occasional old lady driving her buick to church. It was a peaceful drive and actually turned out to be a really nice weekend.
You know its always good to get away, but there is no place like home and no bed like your own. And as for that shrimp...yea we threw down last night with low country boiled shrimp and grits...

-JUGM

My most memorable Christmas

 

Growing up in a household that was 1/2 Italian and 1/2 heinz 57 made for some fun holidays. My mother was the Italian part..The cooking would commence the start of Christmas week, and last until the Eve. Food would abound in our house. Then there is the dishes all the relatives would bring in.

Christmas Eve dinner was purely Italian. Every pasta, sauce and dessert imaginable. It was the one time of year my parents let us kids sip red wine- a big thrill! 
The one Christmas I remember most was when I was 7. My grandmother had been diagnosed with Lung cancer and  was  given 3-6 months to live. I knew this would be my last with her.
She sat in a chair and I next to her on the floor while we opened presents. I held her hand and wished it would last forever. I burned everything from that Christmas in to my mind, never to forget it.

That next March she passed. After that, Mom stopped the Italian food and Christmas was never the same.

 So, Once Senior and I were married. I started the tradition up again with my own little family. I have cooked meatballs, fresh bread, boiled spaghetti noodles, and my special sauce. The house smells heavenly. Christmas Eve is a magical time. I love seeing the excitement on the little faces of our boys, and I am so thankful for the things we have and my family to celebrate this Christmas with.

I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas !

-JUGM