So its been a few days since I last wrote. Over the weekend last weekend we went up to my dad's place to visit - On friday we slept in and then went to Reynolds museum in Wetaskwin - mostly farm equipment and cars, which was really neat. We stopped in Sherwood Park to eat at the Tim's where one of my friends works and continued up to dad's place. Rob had a basketball tournament in Westlock so we went down there for the day on saturday - they won the first game (which we didn't see) but 50 points, but lost the other two games for a 4th place finish. They played fairly well, but were somewhat out-classed by the other schools. In the last game they had a very strange Referee who called all kinds of fouls on everyone. Dad was his usual self - Remember what he was like with Ref's at soccer games Jo? Almost makes you want to slide down the bleachers and say, "Who is that guy?" Oh well - at least he didn't get kicked out!! During one of the breaks between games, we went with dad to look at trucks, since he's thinking about leasing - we went to Dodge, Chev and GM dealers, and looking at everything, I'd still take a Ford, even though the dodge is a pretty close second - the salesman at the Chev dealer didn't help anything with his attitude - his first sentence included "I don't know" and "I can't find out" in response to dad's questions - which the other dealers answered quite well. On Saturday night Diane got to dad's before we did, so she put the chicken that I had thawed out in the oven and we had a nice meal when we got home.
After church on Sunday, dad invited a young couple over for lunch (since we had a turkey in the oven) So I rushed home to try and make the house presentable and whipped up a couple pie crusts for some apples dad and diane had in the freezer. We had a good dinner and enjoyed a visit with the company and their two children. Then Dad, Diane, Trevor and I had a game of scrabble and later Rob and Trevor and I played Risky Business.
I made a pot of Chicken noodle soup and pot of Turkey Stew so that Trevor and I would have lunch material for the next little while - I had to take full advantage of a rare opportunity to use a real stove!!
Both my hearing aids and quit working and I had an appointment on Monday - I was very anxious, worried that they would need replacement or expensive repairs. I ended up with just a $20 repair bill, Praise the Lord!! We did a bit of shopping on the way home and then came home.
I also brought my dog back with me to save a trip home before we leave to return to Manitoba.
Trevor Finally found a job, so I guess we'll be moving back to our cozy little house again. He will be working for a New Holland dealership about 10 minutes from our house, so thats great. I'll be going back to the vet clinic, and the two hours a day of driving that comes with it, so I guess the good comes with the bad. We gave our official notice today and we'll be done on the 30th. We're planning to start work on April 9th, so that gives us a week to move and settle in :)
I guess thats pretty well all of the breaking news. We've had very busy days at work lately, I've worked about 48 hours in the last 4 days, so I'm tired!! After staying late the last three days I finally got to leave at a decent time today, but on Sunday I have 5 loads of cattle leaving at 4am and another 8 at 5am, so it could be a complicated day, and a long one!!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
The Dead Pig story...viewer discretion advised
Well, due to the demand for the story I decided to include it in an actual post.
How does one go about getting bit by a dead pig? Well...(and I'll say once again, reader discretion advised...) There was a gilt (a sow who's never had piglets before) who was farrowing one day when I worked at the pig barn, and the new girl I was training was taking care of her. Being a busy day I didn't pay close enough attention to how thoroughly she checked the sows. A day and a half later, I noticed this sow only had 3 or 4 piglets and was still straining, so I decided to check her out. When I donned a stylish OB sleeve and reached inside her, I was somewhat peeved to find a piglet firmly lodged in her birth canal, and very dead. I removed it and then reached in again - there were several more piglets in there, and when they die, they tend to absorb alot of fluid or become what is known as emphysemis (I think I spelt that wrong, but that's the phonetic spelling). They also begin to rot....so as I was pulling on this piglet by the head, its skull crushed in my hand and its teeth sunk into my fingers, it was quite gross - next thing I knew the head pulled off the body, so I put a snare of string around the front legs, which also pulled off one after another, the body finally came out in three more pieces, it was about the grossest thing I've ever done - even grosser than bursting an abcess on a calf and having it go in my eye....ewww.
Ok, enough gross stuff - I have a rant to go on...about....(apology in advance)
STUPID AMERICANS!!!!!!
One of our drivers was hauling a load of cattle down to a plant in Pasco, Washington when he passed through the town of Bonner's Ferry. As he travelled down the freeway, a pickup truck passed him at the wrong time and one of the cattle let loose of his dinner on the truck... the driver proceeded to inform the local police that someone was "littering" on the freeway - an offence for which they have no tolerance. The local policeman pulled over the semi and had in his intentions to put poor Danny (the driver) in jai right then and there. Danny argued that if he was put in jail, the policeman would have to look after the cattle or the SPCA would be after them. In the end, the sheriff dude let him finish his journey, and said they'd leave it up to a judge - so he has a court date for later this month, and he's facing up to $1500 or 10 days in jail!!!
OK - somebody explain to me how the driver was supposed to prevent this unfortunate event from happening? If he put the covers on the holes of his truck, the SPCA would be after him for carrying the cattle in an improper fashion (overheated in the warm weather). But apparently if he doesnt' cover the sides of his truck, they police will stop him for littering, how does he win???
One other point - the driver of the truck that reported him had hay bales and salt blocks in the back of his truck - obviously a farmer, who was just taking advantage of any chance to try and stop Canadian cattle from coming into his country - apparently this town sees many canadian cattle trucks come through every day on the way to this plant....can you say R-CALF member anyone?!!? Some people just don't have a brain - the US couldn't supply itself with beef if we quit sending down there- but they insist on making it a very expensive and frusterating process at the best of time (approximately 30-50% of my hours are spent on US export work every week - in total each load of cattle takes 9-10 man-hours of our work, plus an hour of vet time (which is expensive) and a stack of paper half an inch thick!). Now on top of that, they even want to harass us when we're doing our best to follow their rules....I DON'T GET IT!!!
OK....I guess i'm done
I should go to bed - hopefully tomorrow is warmer then today - it was a very WET cold today and that just wears me out :-P
How does one go about getting bit by a dead pig? Well...(and I'll say once again, reader discretion advised...) There was a gilt (a sow who's never had piglets before) who was farrowing one day when I worked at the pig barn, and the new girl I was training was taking care of her. Being a busy day I didn't pay close enough attention to how thoroughly she checked the sows. A day and a half later, I noticed this sow only had 3 or 4 piglets and was still straining, so I decided to check her out. When I donned a stylish OB sleeve and reached inside her, I was somewhat peeved to find a piglet firmly lodged in her birth canal, and very dead. I removed it and then reached in again - there were several more piglets in there, and when they die, they tend to absorb alot of fluid or become what is known as emphysemis (I think I spelt that wrong, but that's the phonetic spelling). They also begin to rot....so as I was pulling on this piglet by the head, its skull crushed in my hand and its teeth sunk into my fingers, it was quite gross - next thing I knew the head pulled off the body, so I put a snare of string around the front legs, which also pulled off one after another, the body finally came out in three more pieces, it was about the grossest thing I've ever done - even grosser than bursting an abcess on a calf and having it go in my eye....ewww.
Ok, enough gross stuff - I have a rant to go on...about....(apology in advance)
STUPID AMERICANS!!!!!!
One of our drivers was hauling a load of cattle down to a plant in Pasco, Washington when he passed through the town of Bonner's Ferry. As he travelled down the freeway, a pickup truck passed him at the wrong time and one of the cattle let loose of his dinner on the truck... the driver proceeded to inform the local police that someone was "littering" on the freeway - an offence for which they have no tolerance. The local policeman pulled over the semi and had in his intentions to put poor Danny (the driver) in jai right then and there. Danny argued that if he was put in jail, the policeman would have to look after the cattle or the SPCA would be after them. In the end, the sheriff dude let him finish his journey, and said they'd leave it up to a judge - so he has a court date for later this month, and he's facing up to $1500 or 10 days in jail!!!
OK - somebody explain to me how the driver was supposed to prevent this unfortunate event from happening? If he put the covers on the holes of his truck, the SPCA would be after him for carrying the cattle in an improper fashion (overheated in the warm weather). But apparently if he doesnt' cover the sides of his truck, they police will stop him for littering, how does he win???
One other point - the driver of the truck that reported him had hay bales and salt blocks in the back of his truck - obviously a farmer, who was just taking advantage of any chance to try and stop Canadian cattle from coming into his country - apparently this town sees many canadian cattle trucks come through every day on the way to this plant....can you say R-CALF member anyone?!!? Some people just don't have a brain - the US couldn't supply itself with beef if we quit sending down there- but they insist on making it a very expensive and frusterating process at the best of time (approximately 30-50% of my hours are spent on US export work every week - in total each load of cattle takes 9-10 man-hours of our work, plus an hour of vet time (which is expensive) and a stack of paper half an inch thick!). Now on top of that, they even want to harass us when we're doing our best to follow their rules....I DON'T GET IT!!!
OK....I guess i'm done
I should go to bed - hopefully tomorrow is warmer then today - it was a very WET cold today and that just wears me out :-P
Friday, March 2, 2007
And now for my response to being tagged
5 little known facts about me?
well...
~Ok so it might not be SO little known, but maybe little remembered - I wear hearing aids. Well to be percise, I wear one hearing aid these days, since one of them kinda kicked the bucket and I haven't had a chance to get it checked out yet...its kinda getting to the end of its expected life span, but I really hope it can be fixed, because I don't have 5 grand kicking around to replace the pair.
~I love to crochet, scrapbook and sew. Yeah, I love the outdoors and the rough and tough stuff, riding horses, mechanical things, hunting, etc. But I also love my girly side. I spend most of my evenings doing one of those three things.
~I am petrified of slimey or flying things in my house. Ok, so snakes, bats, frogs, geckos.....wild ones at least make me crazy when I find them in my house. A 1500 pound fat steer can come running and snorting within a foot of me before I climb the fence, but I won't get withing 6 feet of a live flying object or slimey creature in my house.
~I have been bit by almost every type of animal I've handled - except a horse, and not badly by a cow... but sheep(hey don't laugh, it put me on IV antibiotics for 8 days), pigs(the worst was a dead one), dogs, cats, goats, birds, mice, gerbils, ferrets.... Hmm...I'm really trying to come up with something more interesting, but its getting hard...
~I've been fighting with a powerful inferiority complex... I'm getting better though. I don't know if it was the product of being the 4th girl and 5 years younger then the next sister, or just a product of low self esteem, but I have a very hard time believing that anyone REALLY wants to have me around or get to know me or thinks I'm important. It makes it hard to make new friends because I always convince myself that they're just "being nice" or that they don't really mean the nice things they say. So I guess thats the vice that I need to work on.
I guess thats it for the day - I need to get to bed....the story of my life, eat, sleep, work....repeat...Oh dang, I forgot I have to be at work at 5:30 tomorrow too......powersleep, here I come!
well...
~Ok so it might not be SO little known, but maybe little remembered - I wear hearing aids. Well to be percise, I wear one hearing aid these days, since one of them kinda kicked the bucket and I haven't had a chance to get it checked out yet...its kinda getting to the end of its expected life span, but I really hope it can be fixed, because I don't have 5 grand kicking around to replace the pair.
~I love to crochet, scrapbook and sew. Yeah, I love the outdoors and the rough and tough stuff, riding horses, mechanical things, hunting, etc. But I also love my girly side. I spend most of my evenings doing one of those three things.
~I am petrified of slimey or flying things in my house. Ok, so snakes, bats, frogs, geckos.....wild ones at least make me crazy when I find them in my house. A 1500 pound fat steer can come running and snorting within a foot of me before I climb the fence, but I won't get withing 6 feet of a live flying object or slimey creature in my house.
~I have been bit by almost every type of animal I've handled - except a horse, and not badly by a cow... but sheep(hey don't laugh, it put me on IV antibiotics for 8 days), pigs(the worst was a dead one), dogs, cats, goats, birds, mice, gerbils, ferrets.... Hmm...I'm really trying to come up with something more interesting, but its getting hard...
~I've been fighting with a powerful inferiority complex... I'm getting better though. I don't know if it was the product of being the 4th girl and 5 years younger then the next sister, or just a product of low self esteem, but I have a very hard time believing that anyone REALLY wants to have me around or get to know me or thinks I'm important. It makes it hard to make new friends because I always convince myself that they're just "being nice" or that they don't really mean the nice things they say. So I guess thats the vice that I need to work on.
I guess thats it for the day - I need to get to bed....the story of my life, eat, sleep, work....repeat...Oh dang, I forgot I have to be at work at 5:30 tomorrow too......powersleep, here I come!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The last day of freedom
Ok, so I guess I kind of wasted away my last day off, but it was fun anyways :D Slept in, went to town for the mail, all that boring stuff...
Then this afternoon I finished the baby outfit I've been working on for a while and made booties to go with it, so whichever one of my friends/family has a baby boy first has an outfit ready for him :P I guess I better start on wedding presents since I seem to be hearing of more and more engaged couples all the time!
We watched the season finale of Nashville Star tonight - it came down to a brother and a sister, both of which I thought were good musicians - they can write their own songs, sing and play guitar....the girl won, and I was glad!! Angela Hacker all the way!
Hmm...what else is important in life these days? well, I guess sleep is the next priority - 5:30 comes quickly!
Oh yeah, and I've started with this interesting program at www.eatracker.ca to try and keep track of what I'm eating and how I should change it for healthier living...it seems I've lost about 10lbs since I came here in November, so YAY....
Then this afternoon I finished the baby outfit I've been working on for a while and made booties to go with it, so whichever one of my friends/family has a baby boy first has an outfit ready for him :P I guess I better start on wedding presents since I seem to be hearing of more and more engaged couples all the time!
We watched the season finale of Nashville Star tonight - it came down to a brother and a sister, both of which I thought were good musicians - they can write their own songs, sing and play guitar....the girl won, and I was glad!! Angela Hacker all the way!
Hmm...what else is important in life these days? well, I guess sleep is the next priority - 5:30 comes quickly!
Oh yeah, and I've started with this interesting program at www.eatracker.ca to try and keep track of what I'm eating and how I should change it for healthier living...it seems I've lost about 10lbs since I came here in November, so YAY....
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