Clay Creek Farm

     We moved to Ky in 1995.  My husband really wanted land.  This conflicted somewhat my desire for a nice house.  Anthony would have liked to have 100 acres.  Three or four acres was fine with me.  We ended up with about 30 and an older brick house.  Just recently the original owner of our property died which has caused me to reflect on our land.  Although my husband really wanted the land, I have fallen in love with it.  We have several cultivable fields, some woods, a creek and a barn.

   At first we just cut hay on the place and sold that.  More recently, a farmer has had part of it in cultivation for us.  He grows either corn or soybeans.  This income, although not much, usually covers the taxes on the place.  We had lived here at least 10 years before we came up with a suitable name for the farm.  My husband suggested jumping deer farm or windy bottoms.  (It is windy here and we do have alot of deer)  Finally we thought of Clay Creek Farm.  We have a creek at the back of the property and it has seams of clay through it.  In fact there are several clay pits close by. That name finally felt right.   The place has gently rolling hills and some flat areas.  There is a pond by the barn.  I love the freedom the land affords us.  We can take our three large dogs out walking without a care in the world.  Grandma put a trailer behind us when she got older and needed some assistance.  Since her death our kids have taken advantage of the trailer.  It sits empty now but my husband has some plans for a large workshop at that site someday. We both think about what we might grow here and supplement our income.  My husband is interested in pasture land and grazing animals.  I think about Christmas trees or pumpkins.  We do have 30 chickens and are currently overrun with farm fresh eggs.  Our garden seems to do better every year as we learn some arts of cultivation.  The land does take some work which luckily my husband enjoys.  He has cleared scrub trees and keeps it bushhogged.  It's a good kind of work too.  There's a satisfication in cutting your own wood and

growing your own food.  And taking care of the land throughout the seasons is enjoyable.  We love to watch the wildlife and to dream of the possibilities.  The land gives you a sense of responsibility to something greater than yourself.  It's something that I hope will continue after we are gone.

Christmas 2012

  We had a magical Christmas this year.  It's wonderful when serendipity happens.  Sophia came home from Amsterdam for two weeks.  My dec work schedule changed about three times but worked out for the best in the end.  I spent a little time sick, but not too bad.  Maddy was home too.  We had some snow and good visits with family.  There was lots of good food and just hanging around relaxing.  I couldn't have planned it better if I tried. 

New Orleans

   I just got back from a sister trip to New Orleans.  We rode the Amtrak down.  I got on in Fulton Ky, Louise in Memphis and Jane in Jackson.  It was a great trip down.  It was also the day after the election and I wasn't in the minority as an Obama supporter on the train.  Both my sisters are Republicans but I tried not to rub it in too much.  We sat in the observation car and watched Mississippi roll by, talking the whole time.  It was something we had talked about doing for a while.  It felt great to make it a reality.  We arrived in New Orleans about 3pm and walked about a mile to our hotel.  We went down Bourbon street and found some good food.  The next day Louise and I took a city tour which was interesting.  Henry was our tour guide and he showed us the rebuilding in the Ninth ward and told us tidbits about the history of the city.  We ate muffaleto's at Central Grocery and Beneignts at Du Mondes.  I found a cool sweater in the French Market.  We sat outside of St Louis Cathedral and listened to the street musicians play jazz. We enjoyed the State museum.   The next day we went out to the Garden district and shopped some on Magazine street.  We got to celebrate Louise's 60th birthday with her on Sat.  It was a really good trip including the train to get there.  I'm just so glad we were able to do it.  Chicago is on our itinerary for our next trip.

The Election

  This past Sunday there were two letters to the editor in the Paducah Sun warning that "Obama, Democrats have nation on brink of economic, social ruin"  and  "It's our Christian duty to vote for leaders based on biblical truth"  The first letter talks about a socialist agenda and urges us all to vote for freedom from the oppressive anti religious regime that is obamaism.  The second letter proclaims that if we continue down the same road (killing babies and same sex marriage) nothing but God's judgement awaits us and we may already be experiencing it. May god have mercy on us.  This letter was written by an 86 year old retired Baptist pastor. 
   These views should not surprise me because I hear them from coworkers all the time.  But they do alarm me.  I want to shout that I am a democrat and I am a Christian.  These two beliefs are not incompatible.  I'm also tired of being made to feel ashamed for being a democrat.  The second letter talks about biblical truth and anyone who has read their bible can immediately recognize that the bible is not a simple book.  It requires study and there are many conflicting stories.  There are biblical admonishments about divorce, lending money, women cutting their hair, having slaves etc etc.  The bible actually has very little to say about homosexuality. So why do some Christians hang everything on one verse while ignoring others?  What the bible does teach is that Jesus spent his time with the outcasts in society- the lepers, widows, the poor, the Samaritans.  He also taught that we should love our neighbors, which are not those people that are just like us.  Our neighbors are the lepers, the poor, widows, those from other countries, and even homosexuals.  How can man proclaim homosexuality a sin when scientists cannot even tell us the cause of homosexuality.  Would we condemn a child with Down' s syndrome? 
    I know that if we take the bible literally it doesn't all add up.  I also know that I am voting for a President of the USA not a spiritual leader.  I want a president that can lead this country through tough economic times.  Obama has been doing this for the last 4 years. Based on that, I believe he deserves another 4 years. 

Decisions decisions.....

    I hate having to make big decisions.  Maybe I've never been good at it.  I'm more the type that just goes along with the flow not always realizing the direction I'm floating.  I guess I can be impulsive and I do like new challenges.  A few decisions I've been proud of is marrying my husband and becoming a nurse practitioner.  I'm also glad I spent time at home with my kids when they were little.   Not too long ago I made a job decision that I look back on and regret.  Now I'm faced with another job decision and I feel paralyzed by it.  How in the world can I decide again?  Can I rectify my other mistake or am I doomed to repeat it.  I don't totally understand why I screwed up so that's not good as I'm looking to make another similar decision.  I wonder if there's a process I can follow.  Some kind of systematic steps to follow.  I think I'll list pros and cons of both possibilities.  And then I'll pray and look for any kind of guidance.

Bike Relay

   This past weekend I had a great time.  After working on friday, we drove down to Memphis.  I joined other friends down there to do a 24 hour bike relay for St Jude.  Our team was the cyclepaths and we raised about 7500$ for St Jude.  We started riding at 6pm and continued until 6pm on Saturday.  I think everyone thought I was crazy to be excited about going.  We road on Riverside drive and pitched tents in Tom Lee park.  I slept under the stars like a baby.  I woke up Sat morning and enjoyed a yoga class overlooking the river.  The food was great as well as the weather.  I felt such a sense of peace and thankfulness to be there.  Memphis is really my home town although I have alot of mixed feelings about it. On Saturday I felt nothing but love for Memphis.   Family came out and offered support.  Our 8 member team got along great and enjoyed ourselves.  I'm still savoring the weekend.  We're already thinking of next year.

Birthdays

  Last year I got to celebrate my birthday with my aunt who celebrated her 100th birthday.  It was such a special day.  Aunt Lora has since died.  This year I celebrated one of those milestone birthdays.  As fate would have it, this year's birthday was miserable.  Right before my birthday, my boss at work came to me and said administration wants to cut back hours and this could affect my job.  Then I went home to get a speeding ticket in the mail.  I hate those photo cops.  I think it's a sleazy way to make money.  So we have a camping trip planned for the weekend, and a new dog to take.  My husband greets me with news that he has found a home for the new dog.   Logically I couldn't turn down a home for a soon to be large dog that needs shots and to be spayed and fed puppy chow for at least 3 more months.  And this doesn't even consider all the things she'll chew up and the time required in training, but it made me sadder.  As it turned out we threw out all logic and decieded to keep her.  What can I say- she can swim  and we named her Ginger. 

 

So while we were camping I went over my data plan on the cell phone.  I haven't ever done that before and didn't get any kind of warning.  And then my toenail came off.  Happy 50th birthday to me.  Yes I'm whining.