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Here is the video i told you about.  We left it full of all the mistakes and in true form. As a disclaimer, for anyone who might be attempting to learn anything from this video, i would like to mention, that we have never raised bees before, and that after watching the video, we're pretty sure we got a little carried away with the sugar water.  The thing we read said that the sugar water would keep them quiet.  They were getting loud, so i sprayed 'em. Also, we know that those things in the box are frames, and not hives.  We aren't normally movie stars, so please cut us a break.  :) Enjoy. here's a link to the video

We did it! We brought home three pounds of bees, and we installed them in their new home, and we didn't get stung.  As it turns out, the bees-don't-sting-me-garb was much more helpful in the war against mosquitoes, who don't seem to want to leave us alone for anything. We are working on loading video from our bee installation, and when we do, i know you will enjoy it, just because we are funny, super cheesy.  :) In case you wondered what bees in a cage look like, here it is.  Three pounds of bees in a cage.  In the back of my car.  Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing all the way home.

 It has been a long and tired week.  But somewhat productive in spite of tired and long. Our ducks are flying higher and higher, and this week they've taken to roosting on the roof of our house.  I think that the first time it happened, it surprised them, and it got dark, so they couldn't see their way down.  But now, they've made a habit of it.  I comfort myself with the notion that there are probably not any owls around here big enough to pick up an 8 pound duck.  But i would still really like it if they would stay in the coop.  The really sad part is that the male duck is too heavy to fly up to the roof, so he sleeps with the chickens, and the girls desert him for the roof.  I feel bad for him every night. The picture below is from early this morning when i let the drake out of the coop to go coax the girls down from the roof of my house.  If you look carefully, you can locate all four birds by the reflection of their eyes to the fla...

Isn't that the strangest expression? And the emphasis people put on the words.. "Well, she can't win for LOSIN', CAN she?" As if losing should somehow cause one to be more prone to winning. I heard someone use this expression today at work, and it me with special clarity.  Clarity as to what a nonsense thing that is to say.  And then i thought that it must have some meaning, some story behind it.  So when i got home, i looked up the phrase at www.phrases.org.uk .  I picked this site because it was the first one on the list when i googled "can't win for losin' phrase origin," and because some part of me believes that brits know more about English than i do. I thought i was going to find some hidden meaning or story in the meaning of this phrase, but instead i learned that the phrase intends to indicate that one cannot win because of having done too much losing.  Not enlightening. Urban Dictionary, on the exactly same hand, explains th...

If you read my blog, like AT ALL, you may or may not know that beekeeping has been a long-time aspiration of mine and my super duper beekeeping hero.  Some months ago, when i was telling my friend at work about our plans, she offered to me, with all sincerity and kindness, some old file cabinets she has in her garage, so i could keep my bees in them.  This friend is very knowledgeable about most things and a very smart lady, and i thought she was making a joke.  She wasn't.  And i had to explain, while trying very hard and failing not to laugh, that bees aren't really kept in old file cabinets, no matter what those white boxes in the field look like.  I don't think she believed me at first.  She told me later that her hubby laughed too.  Now it's our joke.  Gotta get my file cabinets before i bring home the bees.  :) Announcement:  This weekend, we got our file cabinets!!!  A very kind friend gave us the bulk of our first hive ...

About a year ago, i shared with you about my rose colored glasses.  Not the metaphorical kind, the literal kind.  When i started spending my days in a fluorescent-lighted office, i found that i needed something to filter out those rays and prevent me from getting daily headaches.  I was sensitive to the fluorescent lights, and learned that rose would filter out the rays that caused the stress to my eyes and head.  It's amazing what that small amount of color on my lenses can do, and the relief it can bring, and the major difference it can make in my day. One evening recently, i heard a small part of an interview of Sheila Walsh, on the radio. If that name sounds familiar, but you can't place it, Sheila Walsh was a host on The 700 Club for several years, i think in the 90s.  At some point, she suddenly wasn't the host on The 700 Club anymore.  And i learned while listening to this radio program, that whatever happened had landed her in a psychiatric hosp...

Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8 This evening, i was sitting and watching the newest episode of my favorite crime drama, featuring some imaginary deviant doing horrible things to other people, and this scripture kept coming to mind. ...whatever is pure, think on these things.... Given my line of work (when i'm not being a wanna-be farmer, i work at the courthouse), where we keep files for law suits, divorces, child protection cases, and all sorts of felonies, including capital murder, i would do well to heed this advice. But aren't most people bombarded by all sorts of negative things all day long?  Sadly, we tend to grow accustomed to it. "The battle begins in the mind," i've been told.  And it's true. The more i allow evil to be in f...

On Sunday, we went to church, and the pastor shared a message. It was very good and interesting and edifying. I don't actually remember much of it. I'm sure it was about the Kingdom of God. Which is a pretty broad subject, considering.  It was the first in a series. And it was really good, but what i remember the most was a message that probably wasn't in the pastor's notes. Amongst all the many different scriptures used to make many different points, the pastor read from Luke, chapter 13.  I'll paraphrase. The story is that it's the Sabbath day, and Jesus goes into the synagogue and sees a woman who was "bent double."  "Bent double" is pretty extreme.  It says she had been that way for 18 years.  Wow!  That's a long time! Anyway, Jesus sees the woman and heals her.  In the synagogue.  On the Sabbath. And i guess folks started to gather when the crooked lady was able to stand up straight, because the Bible says that ther...

When i was in high school, i remember being required to take an ASVAB test.  I don't remember what ASVAB stands for right off, but as far as i could tell, this was the chance for the Armed Services to look into American high schools and see who of the upcoming soon-to-be adults would be ideal for recruitment into which of the Armed Services. I also remember sometime after taking the ASVAB, receiving recruitment mail from the Air Force.  Apparently i had tested well in the mechanical questions.  "If gear A turns counterclockwise, which way will gear B turn?" and so forth.  The Air Force wanted me to be a mechanic. Well, i never went into the Air Force, or any other armed service or mechanically inclined profession, and i am learning that natural intelligence is not very useful if not trained. My car has been riding funny for about a week.  A little wobbly.  A little shaky.  A little noisy. My husband remembered me hitting a curb in a parking lot...

My mom was here in Texas for two weeks, and i did my best to make the most of every moment. Boy am i tired. It was a wonderful visit.  I think we both needed it.  We ran the roads, and we shopped, and we saw really neat places, and we visited with friends and family, and we spent not quite enough time sitting and drinking coffee.  There's only so much you can fit into a finite number of days.  But i would've liked a couple more days sitting on the couch, crocheting. Speaking of which, we got some updated couch pictures. Happiest crocheters you've ever seen! Miss you, Mom.  <3