Are you done?

I just read a poll from Rasmussen that indicates, after Black Friday, 10 percent of shoppers are done with their Christmas shopping.

I am not one of those shoppers.

On Black Friday, my daughter and I shopped at a small-town store for about half an hour. I got two presents. I have a long way to go.

I just can't bring myself to do serious Black Friday shopping. Call me lazy, or probably more to the point, impatient, because there is no deal good enough to subject myself to an outdoor line at 3 a.m., a rush into the store at 5 a.m., a mad dash to grab what I want and a wait in ANOTHER line to pay for whatever the deal is.

Sleep is much more important to me.

My son, when he was in first grade, had a daily journal assignment, and my all-time favorite entry was "Bed is where the cumfert is."

I totally agree, little man! (Who is now 13 and a young man who still thinks bed is where the comfort is!)

So, my hat is off to you, Black Friday shoppers! You are of a braver, more patient stock than I.

Excuse me. I gotta run out and buy some presents!

Dawn

What do you do on cold winter evenings?

Why, make a city of cards, of course, with a handy-dandy deck of Farm Bureau playing cards.

My little monkey built the whole city by herself. (She has much more patience with this kind of thing than I do.)

Actually, these are old Farm Bureau cards. The new ones aren't green.

And here is a shameless plug for the new playing cards: Ordering information on the NDFB website at http://www.ndfb.org/?id=56.

But here is something else that's green! My son's new hat that I made.....I guess "made up" is more precise. Much to his chagrin, I ripped it apart a few times because I didn't have a pattern, I didn't think it looked right, and I stink at reading directions anyway.

I made him pose for a picture for me because I thought he looked like an elf, all green-hatted and camouflage coated!!

Dawn

I'm sharing this video with you

I saw this video from Monsanto and thought it was a good one to share, on this, the day of plenty and thanksgiving!!



Thank you farmers and ranchers, today, and every day!

Dawn

Giving thanks

This morning, I realized that it had been over a week since I posted a blog. We had our Farm Bureau annual meeting this past weekend, and I was kind of busy. Then AFTER the meeting, I had to get stuff posted on the website and send out news releases and finish a newsletter, so my brain (which, by the way, is holding less and less information all the time) was preoccupied.

In fact, I'm still not even sure what to write about. Everyone is blogging their thankful list and I thought that maybe I didn't have anything different to say, but then I thought, "Well, I may be thankful for a lot of the same stuff as other people, but maybe it doesn't hurt to tell other people that you are thankful." I mean, otherwise, you might get the idea that I feel entitled to something, and really the only "entitlement" I have is how I feel. So this makes perfect sense (if you are still following me, that is...)

Here is my list of things I'm thankful for, in no particular order...

For being able to match up all the socks and not have one or two strays with no matches. Actually, this never happens, but maybe someday, it will, and when it does, I will be very thankful...

For a dog that steals my shoes and chews off the agulets, then turns around and  snuggles with me on the couch and looks at me like I'm the coolest person alive...

For the Internet, so I can quickly make sure that an agulet is what I think it is...

For gas to get me to the grocery store to buy all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal, when we decide at the last minute not to travel because the weather stinks...

For ice scrapers...

For a Thanksgiving meal that, thanks to the efficiency of American farmers and ranchers, costs about $4.35 a person...

For people who do wonderful, unselfish and thoughtful things for others....

For cardboard boxes. They really do provide hours of fun for kids...

For two big tubs of frozen cookie dough, which just might provide hours of baking fun if the weather stays yucky...

For a bottle of wine and some gouda cheese...

For fiber bars...'nuff said...

For electricity and heat. Super thankful for those right now...

For the school bus...Man, it's nice to have a school bus pick your kids up for school on yucky, slippery mornings...

For laughter...good, hearty, belly-jiggling laughter...

And for all the things I didn't mention, but I'm thankful for...

Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Dawn

I want to believe

The Internet is really wonderful when you want to do research, but sometimes finding out who really said what can become a project in itself.

For instance, I was going to use the following quote attributed to President John F. Kennedy, "The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything he needs at retail, sells everything he sells at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways," in a blog on being thankful for farmers, but it took me so long to find out if he really did say it, I decided the whole subject was worthy of a new post.

But first....

Did he say it?

Apparently, yes, in a campaign speech, at a national plowing contest in Sioux Falls, S.D., Sept. 22, 1960.

Not too long ago, however, I attributed a quote to Thomas Jefferson that was really said by President Gerald Ford. It SOUNDED like something I reasoned Jefferson would say, so I didn't question it. It was only later, after I read a blog post about misattributed quotes that I checked on the "Jefferson" quote and realized how great  my error was.

And that got me thinking. I don't mean to go out on an existential limb here, but I wonder if the Internet is so popular because it is the great justificationator. (Now how's THAT for a silly lazy word that I just made up because I couldn't think of the actual word I should use.)

What I mean is, people look for "truths" that fit or justify their beliefs, and if you search even just a little bit on the Internet, you will find plenty to justify your particular position.

I mean, just today, I ran across a blog that justified me writing a blog. This other blog said, basically, even if you don't have any followers or commenters on your blog, (Which is me, exactly!) it is still good to blog because, "Search engines give preference to websites that have fresh, relevant content. HubSpot research shows that sites with blogs get 55 percent more traffic than sites without blogs—even if there are no readers!" It was the number one reason Mark Schaefer said you should blog in his, "10 reasons your company should blog-even if no one reads it," blog.

So, even though it's best not to believe everything that's posted, I'm going to believe Mark because....

I want to believe.

Dawn

Now we need new furniture!

My son had to do some painting for a home improvement merit badge. I wanted to paint our mudroom. It seemed like a perfect way to kill those two proverbial birds with one stone. And as luck would have it, our kids had two days off from school last week, so I executive-decisioned a mudroom painting extravaganza.

Of course, the walls  had to be repaired, which my husband did. Then washed, which my son and I did. Then painted, which we all did, except for the dog, of course. My husband did the fine detail work next to the ceiling and the rest of us did the other stuff. (I'm much more the broad-stroke kind of painter!)

Got the first coat done on Thursday. Friday's morning sun showed that a second coat was definitely required. We kind of thought that anyway, but it's amazing just how much more work you can see that you  have to do in broad daylight. I was on my own for the second coat, while the kids cleaned their rooms in preparation for company over the weekend.

I thought I had enough paint, to finish the job, but after the walls dried, I realized that the skimping in a couple of spots was a little too obvious, so I had to make a dash to the paint store to get pick up a quart to finish the job right. (Besides, it doesn't hurt to have extra for the touch-ups that will inevitably be necessary.)

Got the tape off the trim, the plastic off the floor, a few spots touched up that either got missed or wrecked when I pulled off the tape, and I have to admit it's looking pretty awesome.

But now we need new furniture in the room to go with the new paint.

Seriously.

We always had way too many shoes kicking around the place and not enough hooks for all the coats, so I'm I'm thinking a nice hall tree bench with lots of storage for the shoes would be ideal. But not too nice, of course. After all, it is a mud room!

Dawn

Thanks for standing up for us

I had an opportunity to talk with my father-in-law last weekend. His memory isn't what it used to be, but he can still recall, in detail, some of the experiences he had while serving in Korea, some funny, some harrowing.

He told me about the time he saw some ducks (or geese. He couldn't remember that part.) in a pond as he was patrolling. Although they were expressly told that they were only to use their weapons in defense, my father-in-law couldn't resist taking a shot at those ducks (or geese). He turned around to see a ranking officer behind him. No words were exchanged about the incident until later when they were standing at attention and the ranking officer walked past my father-in-law, then turned around, walked back and whispered, "Did you hit anything?" My father-in-law replied, "No, sir." The ranking officer just shook his head and said, "Bad shot!"

He also told me about the time he was leading the company through the brush to check for mines. Suddenly, he felt something on his neck. He stopped and slowly took a step back. A closer look revealed that a thin wire had been stretched across the brush, attached to a grenade. His bravery saved many that day.

It got me to thinking about all those who put their lives on the line so we continue to have the freedoms we enjoy, and I am humbled.

There just are no words. All  I can say to all those veterans out there is, "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

Dawn

Dear hunting

Nope. That's not a typo in my headline. This past weekend, while my husband hunted deer, I burned up the cash at the local shops in a small North Dakota town hunting for fun bargains for my dear little 8-year-old. She got a green fuzzy rug, snow boots, books, two nifty pairs of fuzzy pants and lots of quality time with her indulgent mother.

We pretty much made a day of it. My daughter, my sister-in-law and I started in the morning, broke for a little lunch, then hit the stores again in the afternoon. (Who KNEW I could be such a shopper?!?)

And in addition to all  kinds of fun stuff to look at and buy, every store we went to had treats of one kind or another. We pretty much grazed all afternoon on breads, cookies, cheese and crackers and yummy dips. And there was always coffee and cider to wash it all down.

It was relaxing, laid-back fun. Just amblin' from one store to another, enjoying the weather and the treats! AND we did our part to boost a small-town economy!

I think we will have to go dear hunting every year!

Dawn

Green hat

I picked up a crochet hook for the first time in, well, probably since 8th grade, come to think of it. So it seems kind of spooky that it wasn't until he was in 8th-grade that my son got the idea he needed a crocheted stocking cap. The kind with the long tail.

My plan was to show him how to crotchet, so he could do it himself.

I'm a lefty. My son is right-handed. I couldn't figure out how to even hold the crochet hook properly right handed, so I said, "If you're going to do this, you'll have to learn left-handed."

We got as far as chaining.

So, I am now crocheting again. And, just like when I was in 8th grade, I'm doing it without a pattern. I'm winging it. (I never could understand the instructions for things. Or maybe I just didn't have the patience.)

I crocheted a lot of things of my own design with the idea that I was going to wear them to school and stuff. I think I wore one of them a total of once. Real '70s-looking kitchy stuff.

I even thought, after I started on this project, "Well, maybe THIS time I should read some instructions."

So I did an Internet search for crocheted hats. The site I went to was populated with hats that reminded me of my crocheting days! (Hats so out of style they are probably in style again.) I giggled. It made me feel like a kid!! So I opened up the long stocking cap instructions.

I got as far as: "Rnd 1:Ch 4,join with sl st to 1st ch to form ring.Ch 3(cts as dc),5 dc in ring.Join with sl st to 1st dc(6 dc)."

I don't read "crochet" but  I understood enough of what it meant to realize that I should have been doing things much differently. I started from the headband part. They start from the point and get bigger.
 
Yarn it!!!!

NOW, the question becomes...should I rip up my work and start over, or keep winging it with the knowledge that that, if this thing ever does get done, my son will probably wear it once (if that) and then it will become, much like all my creations, relegated to the closet?

Only time will tell! (If you see a photo, posted here in the distant future, of my son wearing the hat, you'll know how it turned out!)

Dawn

A good idea from Florida

I was reading my Florida Agriculture newspaper, from Florida Farm Bureau, and thought Ed Albanesi's advice was so good, I decided to share...

"Some time during the month of November, preferably during the week leading up to Thanksgiving, find yourself a farmer and tell him or her, 'thank you.' "

Simple, but powerful advice.

I often wonder how often people think about thanking farmers for the bountiful food we have available to us. I'm guessing it isn't often. Inexpensive food and full-stocked shelves are very much taken for granted. In fact, I would almost call us spoiled.

We have an awesome food production and distribution system in this country. In fact, we have so many choices, it can be confusing.

But the bottom line is that somebody had to take the time to raise the wheat, to herd the cattle, to spend long hours harvesting, so we can enjoy all the food choices we have.

And that's something to be thankful for. So let's all take Ed's advice and thank a farmer.

Dawn

I voted on my knees

I voted early -- not like "early" meaning before today, but "early" like in this morning, before I went to work. I like to vote right away in the morning because the lines are generally pretty short. And since I get up to exercise at 5:30 a.m. anyway on the weekdays (I know. I'm crazy, but it's the only time I know I won't get disturbed.), it's not a big stretch to leave the house an extra half-hour early.

When I got there, the parking lot looked pretty empty. And I didn't have to wait in line very long for them to make sure I was who I said I was. Actually, if I would have been in the right line in the FIRST place, I wouldn't have had to wait at all! But I have one of those hyphenated last names, and I can never remember if they go by the last name BEFORE the hyphen or after it. (For future reference, it is the name AFTER the hyphen. And do I REALLY think I'm going to remember the next time I vote that I put it in this blog? Probably, most assuredly not!) 

The nice lady handed me my ballot, I turned around and realized all the little voting booths were full. So I picked a window ledge, put my ballot on the ledge, and got down on my knees and filled out my ballot.

Now that I think of it, I bet it looked kind of funny, like I was praying out the window or something.

But I was done in no time at all and out the door. (I noticed that mine was the 99th ballot of the morning as I put it in the ballot accepter checker thingie.) I didn't even steal the nice lady's pen!

Stopped at the local coffee shop, got a high-calorie, highly caffeinated coffee (with a dollop of whipped cream), and even got to work 10 minutes early.

Ahh! What a way to start a day, eh?

Dawn