Anyone care for coffee and....? :-)

Here it's usually bars and coffee or soup too if lots of guys are working there. So far there's still wood burning along the walls so they won't be doing any clean up for a day to two.

As for insurance, it's bound to be a nightmare. The truck that is believed to have started it (pending ins. adjusters conclusions, of course) belongs to Red's son, the farm tractor has a loan so it has separate ins., the other truck has separate ins., the shed was insured and so was the snowmobile. So far that's 5 companies involved. Interesting!

This is the smoke stack of the 'guilty' truck and the grill - under that piece of metal roof. The frame is sitting on the floor and there's very little left of it. They're very glad it wasn't last weekend - there were 8 trucks in that shed then.

Oh Kooger, I feel so bad for your neighbor. How devastating! How does this man make his living, repairing trucks? The insurance alone will be a mess to untangle, to say nothing of getting the burned building and all the contents hauled away. I hope everything is not a total loss and that the man has a way to make a living until things can get back to normal.

Oh Kooger, I looked at tha pic and my heart sank.I can only imagine how those people are feeling right now. As for the insurance nightmare...TG there IS insurance!

~julie~

What a disasater...amd then to have to deal with 5 insuranc3e co.s Yikes. That alone would be enough to make you weep. Glad that no one was hurt. Shame to lose all that equipment and tools and tires. Our good wishes go to the folks involved.

He farms and also owns 3 sheep trailers that are pulled by his son, nephew and another O/O. He used to do the run himself, with DH and another friend but sheep hauling is best done by young guys. Very hard on the knees - the pot trailers have 4 decks and you have to crawl to get the rotten critters out. Then you have to 'throw' decks, they're slats about 12" by the trailer width, either 96" or 102", because your back haul is usually pigs or cattle and they don't fit on approx. 3' high decks. lol Pigs will fit but they're too heavy if they are market pigs. Feeder pigs can go on the decks. Neatest load we hauled that I was along was a load of 600 feeder lambs. Cutest little things you ever saw. Bet you'd never guess 600 would fit in one livestock trailer!

The one truck was not being used right now because the guy that owns it lost the driver he had in it so it was parked while he was trying to hire another driver. The other is Red's son so my guess is he's out truck shopping. It costs more than you think to get going again because the sleeper is full of stuff - you literally live in there. TV w/ VCR, clothes, blankets, some have small frigs, all your licensing and permits, log books, etc. Ins. book, what a nightmare to get that all replaced. CB, and so many little items too. Underneath the bunk is cattle prods, sheep canes, coveralls, tool box with tools, extra lights, many guys carry an extra altenator, wires, oil, ww fluid. Gosh, there is so much stuff in a truck! Gives me a headache just thinking of all the stuff they have to go buy. Other than overhauls, the guys did almost all their own maintenance work in the shop. From what it looks like so far, even the tools are melted down. It really got hot!!

Wow, glad no one got hurt. Brought back memories of fires at the farm as a kid.
Cold tonight, but the roads are pretty good, so will be able to get more done tomorrow-joy......
Think I will sit and have a cuppa orange spice tea if there is any left. Have had too much coffee today.

Kooger, I never thought about all those 'little' necessities that furnished the sleeper that would have to be replaced aside from the rig itself. 600 animals in ONE trailer! Now *that* surprised me.

Changing the subject...did anyone see the Kangaroo that was running loose in Wisconsin? It wasn't actually all that far from me. :-D I don't know how I would have felt had it been seen in my neighborhood...probably would have thought my Mom had come back for a visit.

Nothing planned at the moment...but then I haven't got my brain functioning yet.
Need more coffee...;-)

Have great one...and I'll see ya all a bit later.

~julie~

Saw the kangaroo on the news last night! Don't know what my reaction would have been if I'd seen it hopping around in my neighborhood...maybe somebody put something in the Brownies!! LOL It was a good sized one too! Sending the news item to our friends in Australia, they will get a kick out of it. No more goodies for me today, after all the sampling I did yesterday, I'm not even inhaling cybercalories. Besides the roads are finally clear, so I'm going to get out of here before I get the urge to clean something else. Can't be setting any precedents. Two more days before I get my computer back!! (Dancing carefully in my fuzzy slippers!!) See y'all later!

LOL Meezers...you really gotta watch those 'spiked' brownies! :-D And in my head is the vision of you dancing (carefully) in those ...uh...are they PINK BUNNY slippers??? '-)

~julie~

Need a java fix here. I was rudely awakened by my DD - her vehicle wouldn't start, so I hauled myself out of my warm bed, scraped and scraped those frosty windows and headed her way. It has a bonus tho, I get to pick up DGD from pre-school and have her the rest of the day! YEAH! That's all the present I need for our anniversary today. So, can anyone tell me where 28 years went? lol

Missed the kangaroo item. Watched Fox and CNN and even some local news tonight. Guess I was on the wrong station at the right time. Funny tho! Probably not for the kanga. He was probably panicked - thinking, this doesn't look like home!

Not bunnies, they'd get attacked by the cats....I picked these up at Target and they are just fuzzy white slipper with BAD KITTY written on the front. LOL For one deluded moment there I thought I was actually going to get off DG and get dressed. Silly me.

Happy Anniversary, Kooger and Hubby!!! 28 Years! That's fantastic, especially by today's standards...heck for ANY standard! Hooray for your side! (Eric and I have been married for 41 last November...we just might might that magical 1/2 century mark. LOL)

~julie~

Thanks, you're gonna make it I bet!

LOL, M5! I keep thinking I'll get offline too and do something constructive, and then I keep finding new stuff in my thread watcher.

In theory, I wanted a pair of pink bunnyrabbit slippers after I saw the play Torch Song Trilogy but in reality I love my real sheepskin mocassin slippers... they are SO warm and my feet get SO cold. Hard to find real sheepskin slippers anymore... it's all acrylic fake sheepskin. The whole world is becoming fake stuff...

I'm going to go make some oatmeal and I'll be back for coffee....

LOL Sometimes, I still don't think so! :-D

Hey everyone, if you're going to do some winter seed sowing, I've started a new thread in the Parking lot...please join me. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/477253/ Amd bring your cup!

~julie~

Good morning. What kind of goodies do we have here today? Hmm, the supply is getting low, have to bring something next time. I'm trying to think what to make for my daughter-in-law's birthday today. So far the brain is a bit foggy.

I can emagine that many lambs in a multilevel trailer, I have helped load them, but thankfully I was on the ground keeping the lambs moving up the ramp, somebody else was changing the ramp height, and another guy was in the trailer with the sheep saying we can take 30 more here, etc.The man in the trailer has a back breaking job trying to move animals forward while moving in a crouched and bent over position. Here's a case where smaller is better, not so far to bend. When that deck was full the ramp would be raised to the next level and we would send another bunch. We added 120 lambs that we hauled in our trailers (single level farm trailers) and they still had room on a couple of the decks. Getting everything together from scratch to put a truck on the road would be a big confusing job, so many details. When we see those rigs going down the road we just don't realize how packed that cab and sleeper are.

Last night we got about 3 inches of new snow, not enough to cause any problems and I think there wasn't enough wind to rearrange the snow we already had into big drifts. It's just getting light out but the driveway must be ok because my son was able to drive out without making a second run at it. Our house is downhill about 1/10th of a mile from the county road and we can't get a run at the hill. Last summer we regraded the driveway, added a couple of belly dump loads to it that raised it up so the wind should sweep it, but drifts form at the bottom and the top because of the fences and parked vehicles. Even a bush or a rock will make a drift form if the wind is carrying the snow. Last night the wind was only moving the snow that was falling, not the snow that was already on the ground. I took some pictures of the drifts last year, they were very pretty. Winter has it's own beauty.

I'd better check the fire in the woodstove, get dressed and go feed the horses, take a fresh bucket of water to the dog, etc. I break the ice on the bucket, pour the water out, add hot water and it is good for several hours. The dogs drink a lot of water in the winter, much more than you would think. When I take that hot water out the bucket still has enough ice in it to cool it pretty fast, and he always gets a big drink.

See you later, have a good day.

Mary, you're absolutely right about winter having its own beauty. We used to have one of those 'uphill' driveways too. In fact we used to have hills both directions once we made it to the end of the drive. Heaven help us if a school buss was coming down the hill at the same time were trying to get out on the road. (Actually, now that I think about it, I'll bet it would have looked funny. :-D)

We have wood burner outside now, but I sure remember the days of staying up late and getting up early to keep the wood stove going through the night.

I'll have some homemade (that's homemade dough too...not the packaged kind) pizza on the table tonight if anyone wants a snack. ;-)

~julie~

Homemade pizza sounds really good. We have had so many sweets lately maybe we should start bringing samples of our favorite salad or vegie dish.Of course that doesn't go as well with the coffee or tea but self discipline is a virtue, remember?? How about some waldorf salad to get it going? or do I have to eat it all myself? Meanwhile, I need to get busy on that birthday cake.

It's a little past lunch time for me, I think I'll have some of the Waldorf...thank you., Mary, how nice of you to bring it. Yummm...now THAT'S a nice one!

Well, I got about 6 dozen or so milk jugs all washed and ready for drilling the drain and vent holes. That's going to wait until tomorrow, though. I think I'll spend the rest of the day sorting my seed packets for which can be put outside in their containers and which I have to start indoors.

I'm still amazed at the variety of things that Thompson and Morgan has in their catalog. I thumbed through several times last night. ;-) I *read* catalogs instead of books. LOL

~julie~

Just wondering where all of you have been hiding and here ya'll are. I love coffee so I'll have a cup. Wait I see some pizza and I don't like coffee and pizza but pizza and a glass of milk I love. I'm going to prepare a veggie dish tonight. Squash, yellow and zuc., and green peppers all sliced in a baking dish with mushrooms and covered with mushroom soup. Any body want be to bring it.

Bring it on GAredclay! ;)

Oh and please someone pass that Waldorf salad!!! I could gorge myself on that stuff...mmmm...

I've got some leftover homemade mushroom soup from last night's dinner that I can bring?

Hi Jim! Glad to see you found us. There's pizzaq enough for all who care to dig in. There's milk in the fridge, and iced tea in the pitcher. And you betcha! That veggie hot dish sounds great! Angie...I'd love to try your homemade mushroom soup. I've always wanted to try doing that. Care to share your recipe?

Eric just hang me another shop light in the 'middle' bedroom. Now, maybe I'll have a good spot for those house plants and cactuses I 'inherited' a month or so ago.

Jim! Guess what??? That little tiny stub of a brug is one tough little stinker! She's putting on a new branch and I'm SO excited! I was ready to toss her out into the cold, cuz I thought I killed her...but just as I was emptying the pot into my 'used soil' bin, the roots looked strong and I thought I saw a leaf node swelling on the side. I repotted her, set her on the heat mat and WA LA! She's growing again! (I just can't give up on something that looks like it's trying SO hard to survive. LOL)

Now I have to move all those plants upstairs...I'll be back for a little tea in a bit.

~julie~

Oh, Mary, I'm SO glad you brought some Waldorf salad. I didn't make any this year at Christmas, or even Thanksgiving... and I love it!

I'm making roasted winter vegetables tonight... have to see what's in the pantry. Probably white sweet potatoes, yukon golds, parsnips, rutabaga, carrots, onions, and garlic cloves bathed in olive oil, coarse salt and fresh rosemary, roasted at 450º until crusty. Might even have some winter squash in the pantry. My grandma would almost have qualified this as "Musgos" (must-goes, as all the leftovers). They don't go with pizza but I'm happy to share them.

Oooo Darius, roasted root veggies are one of my favorites! Y'all are spoilin' me! Do you have any butternut squash or pumpkin to throw in there? And carrots and parsnips! MMmmmmm...I like my carrots a little soggy and carmelized. *droooooooool* Oops, sorry 'bout that...someone hand me a napkin? lol

If I can remember when I get to my cookbook I'll certainly give you the soup recipe. :)

Rats!... or maybe LOL!... My roasted vegetable dish was looking like Sissinghurst (white potatoes, white sweet potatoes, white parsnips, white onions, white garlic, white rutabaga) until I finally got to the carrots! Pantry didn't have contain any winter squash except 2 spaghetti squash, and no yukon golks. Pooh. I do have one BIG squash-pumpkin type but I'd have to invite the entire neighborhood or eat it for 3 weeks, LOL.

Darius...I'm eating the virtual version, thank you! :-D OHhhhhh...my tummy is growling and those veggies sound PERFECT!

Angie...here's a napkin. (It's not polite to DRoooooooL in public, you know. :-D :-D But that's ok...I had to use several of these to keep mine in check.)

~julie~

Oh, that veggie dish sounds so much better than what I just stuffed in my face. Looking pretty out there today, sun and snow.
The kangaroo is in the Vilas Zoo, in quaratine. They have a couple other male kangaroos and they need to see if everyone will get along. Otherwise, will go off to another accredited zoo. No one has claimed him. The local news folks said that you could get them and other exotics easily. The poor roo- so glad that he got into that barn where they found him.

Here's the Roasted Winter Vegetables... usually more diversified color, including mushrooms in the last 15 minutes but the pantry was skinny today... Heavy on carrots because I LOVE them!

Dang it! Can I have another napkin please? :)

Angie, you are too funny!

Ohhhhhh Pass the plate! scuze my 'french' but DANG that looks good! (Yes, I ate the pizza...but there's left overs if you want it.) I'll just take seconds on the veggies! Thanks Darius...

~julie~
Angie! *Share* those napkins...it's hard to type on a slobbery keyboard! :-D

Darius, I've gotta try this roasted vegie dish, it sure looks good but right now I'm too full of spaghetti and garlic bread.

Somebody was wanting some butternut squash for something a while back, I had a bumper crop of them this year and am looking for ways to use them. I had about 45 when I started, gave a few away, we have eaten a few and I still have squash sitting around in odd places between the jars of home canned stuff in the basement storage room. I have to laugh when I go to get something like a jar of green beans because there are squash sitting on the shelf edges and between jars, everywhere! They make a pretty good pumpkin pie too, and I might try some cubes of squash in my next batch of vegie soup .A good winter project for this cabin fever season would be to cook and mash a bunch of them and package them in zip locks for the freezer. I noticed yesterday that a couple of them should be donated to the compost pile, they must have gotten frosted before I got them in last fall. Checking each one would be good about now so we don't loose more of them.

Today I made a fresh apple cake for a birthday cake for my DIL. They went out to dinner but promised to save room for desert so we will all have some with ice cream when they get home. It took a lot of time searching through my recipe box and a plastic bag of misc recipes to find the one I wanted. About 35 years ago I worked with a lady who would bring this cake, still warm from her oven, to work! Oh my, oh my, how good that was! I haven't seen her in about 15 years but we still exchange Christmas cards. I ran across another one of her good recipes today, a rhubarb custard pie, and I have plenty of rhubarb in the freezer! Nothing like combining home grown produce and a long lasting friendship!

Kooger, I've been thinking all day about your friend who lost his shop and equipment in the fire. So sad. I suppose the demolition will be well under way before they know if anything can be salvaged.

It snowed all day today, sideways mostly, but the wind is not strong enough to start moving the snow that is already on the ground, so no big drifts have formed, that makes it much easier to get around. It is definitely boot depth now. I get tired of wearing the heavy boots so I put it off as long as I can.

See you later, goodnight.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/476523/
a winter sowing thread for julie

Hey Kooger...thanks for that link. I miss a lot of good stuff by not going into each of the forums. I'm surprised that I've had so many people find *this* thread! LOL

Hi Mary!

I got LOTS of new catalogs in the mail yesterday and spent most of the evening lost in my imaginary garden. I actually went so far in that garden that I remembered things that I'd already planted! I absolutely cannot wait for this spring. This will be the second year in the perennial formula...first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they LEAP! Ok...so I've still got two more seasons to wait until I can see 'mature' plantings but, to me, ONE more bloom than last year is such an accomplishment! (I'm easy, what more can I say. :-D)

Time for that second cup of coffee...and then it's back downstairs to drill holes in the milk jugs and hopefully I'll be able to get some of those seeds planted and tucked into the snow. Wish me well!

Later

~julie~

Hello everyone, you must have been busy too. We helped our son and his wife who have been living with us since September to move into a rental house in town. It is taking more pickup loads than we thought, isn't that the way! There are two more loads to go, one is already in our pickup, backed into the barn in case it snows tonight. Son will get the other one tomorrow when he comes out to work on our neighbor's house. They took their dog and kitten to spend the first night in the new place. They were happy to find a nice little place with a chain link fenced yard for the dog. I had my eye on the peonys that are planted along the foundation and sticking up through the snow. They look like mine, but you never know, they might be something different, I hope.

I might be back later, fixing dinner. See you later.

HI Mary...any biscotti left over there? (I found a real nice recipe for a maple-y flavored one...I might give it try) Isn't moving 'fun'? I've done it so many times it's old hat...but I'm not likely to be doing that again. I don't have any peonies, but after seeing one of the garden shows a few weeks ago ...I think more like a few months ago now...I might be changing my mind. There are some real beauties out there. And they don't flop over like the old ones. (Messy...and I hate cages...can't ever remember where I PUT them! LOL)

I got all my containers 'punched' for drainage, and about 2 doz. filled with soil and covered to even out the moisture. TOMORROW I *will* get some of my seeds planted. :-D

~julie~

I didn't bring a single goodie for dessert tonight, but I did find some frozen fresh (fresh when I squeezed all those zillion tiny limes and froze it) key lime juice so I may make a key lime pie soon. Please pass the coffewe... Thanks. Anyone like espresso? Maybe I'll bring some tomorrow night.

Did anyone have Jim's squash dish last night? It sure sounded good... esp. for a man cooking it, LOL. (Sorry, Jim... just HAD to tease you!)

Mary, I now HATE moving even though I've done it more times in my lifetime than I can count. Still need to get stuff from storage moved here... sigh.

Julie, sounds like progress towards planting!

Off to watch tv, a seldom occurance for me!

Hi Darius...Hope there's a piece of that Key Lime Pie left. I think that's my favorite wintertime reminder that summer isn't all that far away. Something about that pie...oh and cucumbers! (Not together! LOL)

Yep, I made good progress yesterday. And today, as soon as I'm dressed and have my 'upstairs' chores done, then I'm heading down with my seed packets...'Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to play I go....'

~julie~

Morning, brought the second bag of biscotti along to get it finished up. If I keep stirring my coffee with these it could get to be a necessity. So help! Finish them up for me and save me.

Julie, something about cucumbers says early summer any time I smell a fresh cut one. My 'upstairs' chores are going to use up every bit of this day. I made great strides at sorting my way thru this assortment of treasures/trash yesterday. Mustn't rest on my laurels, a pause at this point will lead to backsliding.

A teacher once accused me of 'backsliding' when I was too young to have heard the phrase and had no idea what it was only I was *sure* I hadn't been doing it. LOL

Bit tired of the chocolate/biscottie... please pass over some of that rhubarb whatsit. That would be perfect. I could call it breakfast: fruit, right? 'scuse me, gotta scoot outta here.
~Blooms

Thanks for the biscotti, Blooms...I know about 'backsliding'. Isn't that where one day you get something done almost to the point of finishing, and the next you start something new on top of what was *almost* done the day before? LOL (I do THAT a lot!)

Later!

~julie~