4th of July

What are your plans for the 4th? I hear this question everyday for a week or 2 before the actual holiday. Usually Mr. Farmer and I like to lay low when it comes to holidays we don't commit. We like to be free agents so we can flutter from party to party and then hit the road early so we can go home and :::GASP::: cuddle and watch TV!! Yes Mr. Farmer and I are home bodies. We love to stay home and snuggle with the cat on the couch eating ice cream and catching up on our DVR. So we kind of thought we would be doing the same thing this year... Mama Farmer has always had the 4th of July party at her house and we could go down and eat and set the fireworks off for the kiddos and then bail. But this year my Sister In Law had told us that she would be having the 4th of July party at her house. Because Mama Farmer just can't mess with it this year Sister Farmer said she would do it... Great!! Mr. Farmer and I can make an appearance and hang out with the kiddos and then bail out and get a good nights sleep :::WINK WINK::: Well yesterday afternoon Sister Farmer calls Mr. Farmer with a grocery list of excuses why she can't have the 4th at her house!! And since Mama can't have it then that means we GET TO HOST IT!!! How great!! But the icing on the cake was this whole time she has been inviting everyone and their brother's cousin's, step brother's, mother in law to the party... And telling them it will be at: Mr. & Mrs. Farmer's house!!!! So hell now I have to scramble around and get everything in order for the whole neighborhood + cousins, in laws and out laws. While I'm working everyday this week!! BUT get this: Sister Farmer works for the local school corp. So she is out of school for the summer! And she could be getting her place ready for the party but one of her excuses was she wouldn't be able to because she has to work at the local fair on Saturday for 4 hours... What the Hell?!!! I'm just a tad overwhelmed now! I do LOVE having parties! And the 4th of July is one of my very favorite holidays but I don't like having to rush at the last minute getting food together pulling out decor etc because someone dumped their party on me!! Am I being a little whiny? Do I have a right to be upset with My Sister in Law? I just feel dumped on!! Like I said I do love having people over and I love the 4th! But the plan was that she was going to have the party NOT us!!! Oh and let me add one more insult to injury: I have to work Monday!!! So not only will I have half of our neighbors in my yard/barn and house till all hours I will have to drag my ass out the door to work early in the morning!! Not FAIR!!!!

Airplanes and Farming

I bet you never thought that planes would be a part of farming? Maybe some of you knew that they are used. Personally Mr. Farmer uses a buggy type sprayer which is like a super skinny tractor with wings (ours doesn't fly it stays put, with it's tires firmly on the ground:). But some local farms hire a pilot to top dress the fields and then they don't have to deal with it. It's really quick and super cool. My grandfather used to crop dust. He was a farmer his whole life and he was quite artistic when it came to flying. In fact it's been said he flew his old crop duster like he was a stunt pilot.... He was a pilot in WWII so I think he took alot of those maneuvers home with him and applied them to crop dusting. Whether he needed to barrel roll or not he would do it!!!
So the other night I was on my way home from my 9 to 5 job. (Heading to my 24-7 J.O.B) And I noticed this sweet little crop duster zipping around. And he reminded me so much of they way my Grandfather used to fly. This guy could do some pretty amazing things with his "bird." He was flipping and zipping. He did so many extra maneuvers while he was spraying that I would have thought my Grandfather was flying that plane. It was heavenly watching him. while I sat along the side of the road watching him flip and stall out and then zip back up. I remembered that I had my camera in my work bag! Lucky me!!
My shots aren't what I wanted, because he was so fast and I'm so slow. But I did the best I could. I wish you all could have experienced the sensation of a plane flying toward you at about 60 miles an hour and 10 to 15 feet above the ground. Holy Cow it's such a RUSH!!! I could literally feel the earth shaking under my feet as he was buzzing me. WOW!!! My adrenaline was totally rushing!

I want to learn how to fly now!! I think I should get my license this summer!!!

This was so close to me! He was just barely above the power lines!

Getting ready to start spraying.

You can barely see him above the corn. Because I'm so freaking short I couldn't shoot above the corn.

You can almost see the spray coming out.

This is the roof of the barn my great uncle Built AGES ago!! And I swear he flew so close it looked like he was going to fly right thorough it!

I don't know how to blow this up or I would so you could see how close he ended up coming to me.

I threw this in so you could get a bit of the scale of how tall the corn actually was. I'm 5ft 4in and the corn was a tad taller then me. So the plane was barely 15 feet off the ground!

Dad

You know the old saying: "You don't know what you've got till it's gone." Well this saying has been etched into my heart since Wednesday morning...

I almost lost this man! This man is my Daddy. He gave me my sense of humor. My ability to laugh at life and to roll with the punches. And to never back down from something you believe in.

This man is such an amazing soul! I wish you all could meet my dad.

My dad was in a terrible accident on Wednesday morning. He works for the railroad. And his crew's truck was hit by a train. There are so many lies being spread around on the Internet, and the news about what happened. They were not parked on the railroad tracks and believe or not his crew has had almost 3 years accident free status. The driver came to a crossing where the train tracks were curved. So the first time he looked the train was not there and by the 2nd time he looked he was already half way across. The driver slammed on the accelerator and saved there lives. Had he hesitated that split second I would have not had my dad here to celebrate Father's Day. The train still hit the truck but the damage was not as severe as it could have been had the train hit the middle of the truck instead of the tail end. 1 of the guys was med a vaced and the the driver was hurt pretty bad also. But thankfully they are all alive and moving around. My dad is out of the hospital now. This has been the most emotional Father's Day weekend of my entire life!! My family is not verbally expressive when it comes to matters of the heart. So I wrote my dad a letter for Father's Day. I actually think there were tears in his eyes when he read it. I wanted him to know what he meant to me and I apologized for all the years I wasn't the easiest person to be around (ie., From 12 to 21:) But mostly I wanted him to know I needed him and couldn't imagine going through a Father's Day without him. I'm glad I got to give him that letter instead of wishing I would have told him all that while he was still here. We have all had a scare this week and to tell you the truth I'm almost glad we got shook up. I think we need to be scared sometimes to realize how short our lives really are. In the blink of an eye my dad could have never come home.

Flip Flop Swap: Blog Edition

You may have heard about the Flip-Flop Swap chain letter, and perhaps even participated in it. Well, it's about to become viral, with your help! Originating on The Mis-Adventures of a Modern Day Farmer's Wife (hey, that's me), the rules are slightly different, but in the end, you'll send out one pair of flip-flops and get a whole bunch back in the mail from your blog readers. It's based on the honor system, and it's called The Flip-Flop Swap: Blog Edition!


Here's how it works:

1. Write a post on your blog about the Flip-Flop Swap. Grab the code for the button above by clicking on it, and include it at the top of your post. Switch the email address (in step #3) to your own, and list the rules, describing how it works, and linking back to the blog you found this swap on (in your case, it's The Mis-Adventures of a Modern Day Farmer's Wife [since I'm starting it]). Feel free to copy and paste this exact post - just be sure to change the email address in step #3 to your own, and use my blog's name in the previous sentence.

2. Add your name to the McLinky list below. This is just to track how far and wide the Flip-Flop Swap: Blog Edition has traveled. Make sure you add the McLinky code to your post, too.

3. Once you have published the post, email me: farmerswife06@hotmail.com, and request my mailing address. I will check your blog to make sure you have posted about this swap (a sign of good-faith, and verifies that you're not some creepy blog troll). Then I'll send you my address and shoe size. You mail me a pair of flip-flops - it's the only pair of flip-flops you'll have to buy. Please make them good quality flip-flops - some of those cheap flip-flops are only worth what you pay for them (and yes, I'm referencing Old Na.vy).

4. For everyone that re-posts your "Flip-Flop Swap" post (using their own email address), they'll be coming back to you, requesting your address, and sending you flip-flops. If you don't think they're legit, you have the choice to not release your personal address to them - your only loss is that you won't get a pair of flip-flops from that person. Remember: Safety is always #1. Also, if you've received enough flip-flops to satisfy your flip-flop needs, just stop giving out your mailing address. That's the beauty of it. You have all the control in how many flip-flops come your way.

5. The more people that read your post and re-post it on their own blog, the more flip-flops you can receive.

6. While it's not mandatory, feel free to blog and post pictures of the flip-flops you receive from your bloggy friends.

7. Let's flip-flop this blogosphere on its head, and spread the bloggy love! =)

Flip Flop Update

I don't know about you all but I have found some of the most awesome friends through my blog. Marla being one of them she has helped me when I've been in some real pickles!! And now she is currently helping me make the Flip Flop Swap a Shoe Extravaganza!! Marla has such vision! I swear if any of you aren't following her you better be!! Now back to the Flip Flop Swap. Marla and I got to talking about the work involved and what needed to be done to pull this off. And she actually began thinking bigger then just me and my little humble blog. I was just going to do a little ole swap for me and my followers and each of us could get one glam pair of flops and call it a day! But no Marla sees bigger then my little hole in the web. She said why get one pair of Flip Flops when you could get 30? And that's all it took! I was ready to listen!! So soon I will be unveiling the new rules of the Flip Flop Palooza once Marla puts the finishing touches on it. We have been going back and forth on little ideas and soon we will have it all wrapped up and ready to reveal!! And I can't wait! This is going to be fantastic!!! I really can't wait to share it with you all.

Love and Hugs!!

Flip Flop Swap!!

Last night at my Book club meeting one of the gals had an adorable pair of flip flops on. They had a pretty little bedazzled butterfly on the top of her foot. And so I commented on it. And she said a couple years back she got a chain letter sent to her. It had about 6 names or so at the bottom of the letter. And all she had to do was buy 1 pair of flip flops for the girl at the bottom of the list and then forward the letter out to 10 or so of her friends. I think she said if it worked she could get like 36 flip flops. (I'm not sure if I've got the numbers right) She said she ended up getting about 10 pairs! And she only had to buy 1 pair!!!

So this got me thinking. What if we did a bloggy flip flop swap? Instead of doing a chain letter and all that it entails. We would just do a Secret Santa type of project. Anyone who is interested could e-mail me their name, address, and shoe size. Then I would throw all the names in a hat and draw a name. Then we would all have to get our flip flops mailed by July 25th!! And we could even do a bloggy check in on the day so we all could post pics and announce who got who.

I think it could be lots of fun and we would find out more about each other. Please think about it. We wouldn't have to do elaborate or expensive flops. We would have a price cap. And we could even do plain/solid color and we would have to decorate the pair to fit that blogger's personality.

This is just an idea. So please think about it and get back to me!!!

Email me at: farmerswife06@ hotmail.com

Love and lots of Hugs!!!

I cracked the door...

...of the Infertility closet and stuck my bright 1940's secretary red polished toe out and let the light hit it....

I'm not going to say I have come completely out of the closet like one of my heroes But I'm taking baby steps to get to that point. Last night was our monthly book club meeting and it was fantastic!! When I walked into that meeting last night the thought of announcing my struggle to conceive a child was not on the forefront of conversation topics. I use my book club meetings as some what of an escape. Maybe an escape from reality. Que: Queen!!! ::I'm just a poor boy nobody likes me...:: But really I hate to say this, but with all the trials that test a soul it is nice to just step out of it all sometimes. And that is what my book club bubble has become for me. A getaway. So last night we discussed last month's book which was quite gut wrenching to read. It was: In Harm's Way by: Doug Stanton. Which is the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Which was a very tragic event in WWII. I have to say there was so much information it was hard to read. And the author was VERY GRAPHIC in his description of what happened to these men. But that isn't what led me to crack the door to my closet. We had such a flowing conversation on this book. We got worked up and angry at the government who didn't protect Our Soldiers. We cried about the terrible losses this country had because of it. But then with that we walked our way into so many different places in our discussions. And some how or another we found ourselves in a discussion about labor & delivery, babies and the all too common ttc conversations. Someone mentioned that they would have loved to have gotten the chance of "Trying" to get pregnant instead of being surprised each time. And then she said it must be fun to just be able to "Try?" And then it just spewed forth from my mouth! I couldn't catch it! No it's not!!! I stated! Try, 2 years of having to "Try." I saw the words floating out in front of me. With no way to stop them! I haven't EVER told ANYBODY that in a public setting! Except here where I'm safe to express my feelings. I only have a aunt who knows and 2 close friends who somewhat know what we are dealing with but they don't quite know the extent and here I just announced to the whole room the TTC sucks!! I just brought my reality into my Never Never Land. I led it by the hand into the room kicking and screaming as I dragged her. But here is the surprising thing: After I had said it we talked about it and the conversation naturally moved along to other things. But something changed in me!! It didn't feel like I had that scarlet letter "I" embroidered on my heart anymore. Even though no one in the room even noticed I had made such a monumental step last night. I felt better about it. Okay, now women I don't know that well, know something about me, my own family doesn't even know! But it felt GREAT! Why? I have no idea. But like I said it was a huge step in accepting this whole pile of crap I've been dealt and as of late I have tried hard to avoid. Mostly because there are so many more major things going on in our lives. One being Mama Farmer's illness. But today is the start of her final chemo. She will get hooked up in about 2 hours and will carry her last pack of chemo around for the next 48 hours. On Friday they will remove it and that will be it for treatments!! God Willing in 4 to 6 weeks when she goes in for her next PET scan she will be Cancer FREE!!! And then maybe 2 months after that we can slowly get some semblance of order back into our lives. She will get her sense of taste back, she will begin to slowly gain some weight and won't look like a little girl playing dress up in her mother's clothes. Maybe my husband and I can get a little bit of our old routine back... And then maybe, just maybe I could begin to think about treatments for myself again... I just feel so hopeful today!! All because of one outburst!!! Who would have thought saying something I have been afraid of admitting to would make me feel better?

Baby Chicks

As promised I'm sharing some more farm animals today... I guess probably because these are the only creatures I get to spend time with... I talk to them pet them and sometimes if there good they get a squeeze!!! First are some baby chicks. Mama Farmer works for our local School District and she is good friends with the first grade teacher. And every year the teacher comes out to Mama Farmer's farm to get eggs to hatch for her class. The class learn about incubation and eggs, chickens and the whole nine yards and then when the baby's hatch they get sent back to Mama Farmer to raise. It's a fun time for the kiddos. The kids actually remember her years later when they see her in town and they ask about the chickens its pretty cute. This time around we had she had about 26 or so hatch and now we have a little coop of baby chicks to stare out each night. They are so cute when they first hatch.... And then they get to the awkward half chick/half chicken stage which is just scary!!!

See how cute they are here?


But now they are starting to lose the cute fuzz


And now!! They have hit puberty!!


It's just a matter of weeks from the time they are hatched till they start getting feathers. I hate it! I wish they would stay cute and fuzzy forever... But then I wouldn't get eggs... So I guess it's a good trade off.


See this little gal looks like she is going to be a loud one!! I can't wait.

And now for the horses:

Maverick And Misty

About a week ago we had a scary situation with Maverick. He's getting older and he has been losing a lot of weight. He's almost 26 years old. And he got down and wasn't wanting to eat. It scared us half to death. But the vet got him all fixed up and eating again but it wasn't a good week in the Farmer family Households!!! Maverick is Mama Farmer's Baby and she hasn't been doing to well her self and if we would have lost Maverick I don't know what she would have done!! She probably would have lost it. I know that some people wouldn't quite be able to understand that. But he has been a part of this family for a LOOOOONG time he IS a child to her. And I can't imagine what that would do to her. I just pray he doesn't decide to leave us anytime soon. Mama Farmer is still needing prayers though!! Keep them rolling her way please! She just can't seem to get a break. Although this coming Wednesday will be her LAST Chemo!! But the Chemo has just been whooping her teeny tiny behind. She has lost sooo much weight she doesn't even look like the women she was 5 months ago. Cancer has been so hard on this family!! I wish I could take it from her but I can't so we all do what we can. But it's so hard to watch this wonderful woman be eaten alive by a monster no one can see.

Melon Season II

It's spring time and that means WORK! Work Work Work oh yeah and More WORK!!!! Can you say YUCK? Yes it does get old and there are times I just want to scream for my hubby to come home and lay on the sofa with me for a couple hours and watch sappy movies. But I know better! I chose this life and that's what we do! So I put on my big girl panties and deal with it. Most days I don't complain too much because really it can be pretty fun!! So here are those pics I told you I would try and get. I didn't have time to get pics taken up close while the kids (Being of legal age to work... ie. local teens who help out on farms for extra cash and a good tan!!) were actually on the setter. Cause I had hungry horses to feed and they aren't too happy if your late!!! So I zoomed in as best I could and snapped a few and then ran back to the big babies to make them happy.

Farmer Kid is driving today... You see there is a pecking order in the whole produce production business... When it's nice out (meaning not 100 degrees in the shade) then someone higher up (ie old Farmer Father In Law's) would kick farmer kid off the tractor and Farmer Kid would be stuck on the back setting the melon plants and getting dust kicked in his face. But since today is UNBEARABLY HOT Farmer Kid is where he likes to be: Driving!!!

This is a Setter. The seats aren't too bad. The green framed trays hold the flats of plants. Which you can see sitting in front of the girl in the above picture.

This is the spiky thingy (Not the correct name but MY handy dandy Farmer is out farming so I can't get the info that I need. Sorry) that pokes into the plastic right before the plants are placed in the ground.

A MUST HAVE in Melon Farming!!! You will FRY in the Indiana Sun. It's terrible.

Plant stakes. These are in the flats when they arrive to our farm... Up until a few years ago most farmers actually grew there own seedlings here in greenhouses. But the costs involved are getting higher and higher and so it's just cheaper and actually healthier for the plants to start out at a nursery and then arrive right before planting season...

That's all for tonight! Tomorrow I shall share some pics of the Big Babies. Mavrick and Misty oh and maybe some not so baby chicks!!!!

Love and Hugs to you all!!!!