Slaters' Funny Farm

Good Tuesday Morning! The calendar may say that it is winter, but we are certainly having more spring like weather. The temps are not dropping below freezing right now during the overnight period and the daytime temps are getting into the upper 40's most of this week. Those are spring temps and certainly not the weather we normally get in January. We had a few days a couple of weeks ago that the weather was very cold as the wind chills dropped the temp to below zero, but for most of the month we have had much warmer than normal air. Snow has been flurries at the most. One day, I think we have had enough to cover the ground and that was all. I am thankful that we have not had the ice that several states have seen this winter, but I also do not like the fact that we have not had some snow. I am a firm believer that the snow and cold are what kills off most of the germs and bugs that we see throughout the year. In winters that we don't get much snow, it seems that we have plen...

  As I am thinking of changes that I would like to make here on the farm, I keep going to this picture of a fence that lines the sidewalk at  Cumberland Gap National Park  in Kentucky. I am thinking that I could place a fence similar to this at the end of our driveway and make a nice corner decoration that I could add our address to so that ones coming down the road would know where our drive is as the house is not visible in the summer from the road. It seems that everyone misses our driveway and it would certainly be a pretty way to decorate it. I have a nice wicker bench that I could possibly add to it as well. A few flowers and a nice bush and I would be able to add a nice painted sign and it would be a very nice display.    I have also thought about adding this to the area where I park. I have a nice graveled parking spot, but it is in the front of the house and I have a walkway to the car with a nice arch, but I think that this would be a nice addition....

Although this is not the view out of my window, I am satisfied with the view that I am seeing today. It is cloudy, cool, and we had rain last night, but the forecast called for freezing rain and snow and I am thankful that we did not get that. This is actually a photo that my daughter and I took when we went to Virginia this year and it is taken at Cumberland Gap National Park. Three states actually meet near these mountains and it is a beautiful picture of the Cumberland Gap valley that Daniel Boone led people through on his way to Kentucky. It may not be the most beautiful place on earth, but it would certainly be in the top 25 as far as I am concerned. I will be sharing more photos later this week. Monday morning is upon us and I happen to have a rare day that I am off from both jobs. I will be home schooling my child today and I will be catching up on housework that I did not do over the weekend due to celebrating my anniversary. I am thankful that we were able to go celebr...

As I sit here listening to the news and enjoying the quiet of the morning, I am reminded of just how much God loves us. The book of Psalms has always been one of my favorite books in the Bible and I could not count how many times I have read that particular book. I know that God's grace can get us through any trying times that we might face. All Christians know that and yet, we allow our faith to waver in certain low times in our lives. I've always said that anyone that says they do not waver in their faith is not being honest because I believe at some time we all come to a point where we say "Why". The answer would be because God thinks we can handle it.  I really did not plan for this blog post to start this way, but as I began to write the words began to flow so I quietly spoke with God and said that I would write whatever He needed me too. I have heard many stories this week from others sharing their faith for the correct decision in a certain circumstances. Eac...

With the latest news showing such a state of chaos in Paris following the carnage that two brothers carried out at a newspaper company and then a huge manhunt for the ones responsible seems just something that we would see on a movie or television. Not a scene that is really being played out in an area known for love. It seems that each day as I turn my television on, I become more aware that terror is all around us. Planes disappear from the sky and hundreds are missing and presumed dead, a newspaper company is stormed and several people killed for the work that they were doing, hundreds of school girls kidnapped and threats of selling them or marrying them off to soldiers and others, school shootings, and all the other news worthy stories take on a life of their own as we hear about them. It is sad that we never hear as much good as we do bad. Terror is rampant in the world that we live in. Whether you live in a large city like Paris or a small town in the middle of the country, ...

We woke to a nice white blanket of snow on the farm today. Mother Nature was kind enough to hold the heavier snow to the north of us and we certainly were thankful for that.  It was an answered prayer since I had to work early this morning and really was not looking forward to driving to work in the snow and slick roads. Being that winter is in full force now, the calves truly needed a home to be able to get in out of the weather. I am thankful that my husband was able to get materials to make a makeshift house for them with the help of some lumber and an old truck camper shell that worked well for a roof. It might not be the prettiest and it might not be the perfect solution,but for the cold that is coming, it will work. For the second day of my #cleaningprogram, I put away some of the snowmen that I had out for Christmas and was able to cover the attic door with plastic to help hold some of the heat in the house. With the wind chill supposed to be about negative 20-40 the nex...

Being an avid fan of the Today Show, I am beginning a new campaign that follows the same theme as their #startingtoday. I am always feeling that I do not get enough cleaning done in my home and I want the home to always be company ready in the new year. I have decided that I will hold myself accountable by putting my goals and accomplishments ( as well as any failures I might have) online for all to share with me. I also will be asking each of my readers to follow me and let me know if I have failed for a day. This campaign will also aid my writing goals as I will always have a topic to write about. I am going to share my cleaning ideas and tips as well as just sharing what I have accomplished each day. I am going to try to set aside one hour each day to clean something. It may be something small that only takes a few minutes and it might be something that takes the full hour. I am going to call that period of time my power hour. The other things that I might do throughout the day wi...

Day 2 of the new year is upon us and I wonder if anyone has already broken their new years resolution. For those who resolved to lose weight, I wonder if they have ate anything that they should not have. For those who vowed to quit smoking, I wonder if they have picked up a cigarette? There is no understanding as to why we do not stick to our resolutions other than we are human. We are creatures of habit and until we change those habits, we will not stick with our resolutions. As a writer, I am resolving to write more and not allow as many distractions to come my way. I personally, feel that I can do this except if I allow my family to stop my creative genius work. I know that many times I sit to write and yet, I am unable to as someone needs something or someone decides that they must talk with me at that exact moment. I have decided that I will set up "work" times and I am just unavailable at those times, except in emergency situations. I also will do more to i...