Listening to the Dairy Farmer

I just sent a Letter to the Editor of our local paper. I had seen the tragic story of the New York dairy farmer who recently killed his 51 cows and then killed himself. I can't imagine the grief his family must be feeling. My heart goes out to them . This is what I said in my letter.

Dear Editor,
No one listened when the milk price dropped to below a 1970 level . No one listened when farmers began losing their farms . No one listened when farmers were pleading for a fair price for their milk that could actually pay their bills with. No one listened as dairy farmers were asked to send their cows to be slaughtered , even as cows were being imported to the US. And no one was listening as a dairy farmer in New York , out of desperation and depression , killed his 51 cows and then killed himself . Is someone going to listen now ??

Loss of Sandy

A New Year is here. And like always I hope and pray each start will be better than the year before. But it usually isnt. And this year has not started well. First my husband,Jim, got sick. He ended up at the Doctor's . They found he had bronchial pneumonia . He has had it a couple of times over the last couple of years . Before he went to the Doctor he had a couple of coughing spells that were so bad he couldn't breath . We almost ended up at the ER . He had to get presciptions filled that were not cheap. They seem to be helping. He seems to be getting better . Then , one of the best cows in our herd went down with hot mastitis. She went down last Thursday or Friday. We called the vet and she came numerous times ( adding to a vet bill that is rapidly growing since we can hardly afford to send them anything on our bill ). She still didnt get up . Her leg was across the gutter and she was part way out on the walkway . Jim couldnt clean stables til we got her leg up and got a grate under her. So we , along with a couple others , worked to get the grate under her . We finally got it done. Jim was able to clean stables. We had the vet come again. But " Sandy " did not get up and didnt even try . We were never able to get her up again. Today we lost Sandy . She was one of my husbands pets. She would never go out of her stall til Jim would pet her and rub her head. When I would feed chop on the other side of the barn, she would stand in her stall and look over at me , like she was saying get over here and feed me my chop . Sandy will be missed !

Peggy Sue Got Married

This weekend I watched the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. It is probably the 6 th. or 7 th. time I have watched it . I love this movie. It makes you think. If you could go back in time , like Peggy Sue does , would you want to ?? She gets to see her grandparents again. That part I would like. The year I got married my parents and 3 brothers moved to Florida. My Mom wasn' t here ,so Grandma C. was like a second Mom to me. We were very close and did so much together. It would be nice to be able to go back in time and let her know how much I loved her and how much I wish I had told her how much she meant to me . To go back in time knowing what you know now. Back in High School , the things you thought were so important , you now realize meant nothing. Back in High School , there were kids who you thought were so great and you wanted to be like them . Now you would know to be yourself. I don't know if I would want to go back in time or not. Would you ??

My Heart was Touched

I had such a wonderful surprise in the mail today . I got a package from someone .I have no idea who it is from .There was no name or card. I opened it and found a gift card and a wrapped present. I was so excited by the gift card. And then I opened the wrapped present. And I cried . I had my Christmas Wish list on here and one of the things I wished I had the money to buy was the big box of Triscuit crackers . Someone sent us a big box of Triscuit crackers. I know it is a silly thing to cry about , a box of Triscuit crackers. But that someone took the time to send this to us , it was so special . It really touched my heart and I wish I could thank them for this so special gift . It made my day . And I plan on opening a bottle of wine , having myself some of those Triscuits and some cheese. So thank you to someone for caring and sending us this very Christmas gift. Bless You !

Christmas Wishes

This Christmas I have a couple of wishes.

#1 ~ I wish I had the money to replace my light above the stove , instead of moving a lamp beside the stove every time I cook.
#2 ~ I wish I could go to the grocery store and fill the cart with anything I want , instead of only buying what I absolutely need.
#3 ~ I wish I could buy that big box of Triscuit crackers , instead of putting it back on the shelf because I can't afford it.
#4 ~ I wish for a month of not having to worry and stress about how to pay the bills on the disgusting milk price we recieve.
#5 ~ I wish for another coat for when I take my walks ( to help deal with stress ) in the mornings, instead of having to safety pin it shut.
#6 ~ I wish I could turn on the heater in the milkhouse when I wash the milkers, instead of worrying it will make our electric bill higher .
#7 ~ I wish we could fill up our gas tank on the farm , instead of only buying 100 gallons.
#8 ~ I wish for a fair price for our milk , that we could actually live on and pay the bills with.
#9 ~ I wish I could enjoy the beauty of all my Christmas lights, instead of worrying how much higher our electric bill will be.
#10 ~ And while I am wishing ~~ I wish I was a size 8 !! LOL !

Decorations

Every year I decorate the archway in our dining room and the doorway to the living room. I have a pine garland with red berries that I bought at least 15 years ago. I add some white lights and a bow at each corner. The long shelf above the archway was a Christmas gift years ago. It was handmade to match the woodwork in our old farmhouse. You should have seen me in the car the day I picked up this long shelf at the shop where it was made. It would not fit in the car. I had the one end in the front seat of the car and the back end was hanging out the one side window. I love this shelf. I filled it with old jars, milk bottles and tins.

My Santa Collection