Slaters' Funny Farm

I planned to share our Thanksgiving photos with you all a few days ago, but life here on the farm just did not make that happen. My father in law was sick Thanksgiving day and my daughter's fiancé has been sick a few days as well and now I am sick. It seems to be making it's way through the house. However, I wanted to share part of our day with all of you as you did yours with me.
 My girls being goofy!
 Appetizers

 The Turkey  Stuffing  My granddoll in her Thanksgiving outfit  The Ham  What A Cutie!!  Goofy Girls Dessert
 More of the cutest girl here!
Hope you enjoyed a little piece of our day!

It seems that each year I see Christmas items out earlier and earlier, but I normally do not mind. This year my preparations seem to be getting pushed farther out since I am so busy with other items. I have several events lined up with my Pink Zebra business and that has kept me busy!

Saturday was my first big event and I was thrilled with the results. I went into it not expecting much and was happy that I booked a couple of events, sold some product and made some contacts. I am especially excited about this weekend event since it will be happening on Shop Small Saturday and that Santa will be there. What fun! I have a couple of ideas to really make my booth stand out from the rest.

Of course, there is the preparation for Thanksgiving as well. I plan to go shopping tomorrow and get what groceries I need for the day. I wish I was going somewhere and did not have to cook, but my son is coming to visit and so I am cooking and doing Thanksgiving. I am thankful to see more companies closi…

As I sit here doing some much needed work on this square machine on my desk, I find that I am saying many prayers for our nation as the world watches what is happening at the polls as they close and ballots are being counted. I believe that our nation is in for many changes with whichever politician wins the highest seat in our country.

Yes, I voted but I can't say that I stand with either candidate as I feel that neither of them are truly what America needs to be great again. I feel that they both have some major faults and although, it is not appropriate for us to judge anyone, I feel that if you intend to lead our nation you should not be seen doing the things that these two have done. I have heard many people say that they are going with the less of the two evils, but I could not make that be my decision in voting for either.

My prediction is that Trump will win this election and that it won't be as close of a race as some might predict. I believe that Clinton will win s…

Life seems to be flying by these days and there are so many things happening that I can hardly find time to keep up with myself these days. I was not home a single weekend in October and as November approaches, I find that the same thing is true this month as well. My date book is filling up quickly and I still know of a few things that I know I want to add to the calendar.

I have shared laughs and tears with friends, enjoyed a wonderful Girls Night Out with author Karen Kingsbury ( if you haven't ever read one of her books do so now!), been camping, and enjoyed a nice afternoon with my friend and my grand doll just photographing her in her natural beauty. I have enjoyed the wonderfully warm weather that we have had recently and will continue to enjoy it as long as possible.
I will be camping again this weekend with friends and family. My girls are going with us this weekend with their boyfriends as well. It will be a nice getaway and hopefully, I will get to do some riding as wel…

We are a hobby farm family that enjoys raising some of our own food and we enjoy the horses and being outdoors. I am happy to say that when my daughter gets married, we will be having a fall, outdoor country wedding.  I have occasionally talked with others about those type of weddings and I have looked at Pinterest to see what ideas are out there.

There are several ideas. Most floral arrangements include sunflowers which would make me happy since I love sunflowers! I think that they are prettier than roses or any other flowers. I would love to raise my own but I never seem to have much luck with them. I may just buy some fake ones today if I am out so that I can have some here.

I am not much for decorating my home for holidays other than Christmas, but I am starting to think that I should decorate for fall. I know I can't do much as the grand doll would be into all of it. I am thinking that our tree will certainly be a little one this year that can be placed on a table as there …

October is a month full of activity here on the farm getting ready for the winter and getting things ready for the holidays that are right around the corner. Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays but it is one that we enjoy some of the nicer decorations for and we celebrate it as just a day to be aware of the fall and beautiful bounty of pumpkins, gourds, and other fall veggies.  We, as a Christian family, do not celebrate it for the real reason we have Halloween.

Halloween is a holiday that is full of plenty of scary sights , but we choose not to honor those or purchase those. A cute witch is just as good as a scary witch. A cute pumpkin is just as nice as one that instills fear. We know that God tells us to not be afraid for He is with us. Halloween always makes me think of the word Boo and that is why it is included in this blog post title.

Another event that takes place each October is Breast Cancer Awareness. Pink ribbons and events will take place all over the US to rai…

On a clear and sunny Tuesday morning in September of 2001, the lives of all Americans changed forever. Most of us that are old enough to remember that fateful morning, we are still able to tell you where we were when the world changed.

My day began the way every other day began. My husband and I left for work. Our children were not feeling well and had stayed with my mother in law the night before. He headed one block from home to the water office where he was town utility manager and I left to head the 6 or so blocks to Dollar General, where I was manager. I always arrived about 30 minutes before the store opened to begin the preparation for the day. Our stock room did not have a radio, but there was one outside the door. As I awaited the arrival of my cashier, I went about business as usual. I placed the drawers in the registers and made sure my deposit was ready for the bank. I decided to fill a stock cart for myself to work on that morning as I did every morning. As I was filling…

Hello Friends! It is Monday and that brings a new week and many new beginnings for us. It offers us a new day and a new week to change what we are not happy with ourselves. It brings us a new chance to love those dear to us and to connect with those that are not near us that are dear to us. Set a goal this week to make one change in your life that will make someone else feel special.

Each day, I find that my grand doll and I are busy and in the home attempting to learn new things and I try to keep her occupied because she is into everything. I am not good at that but I enjoy the time I am with her, even if I am constantly cleaning up behind her. The weather has been very hot and humid here and so we have not been out much, but the weather has changed and so I made a decision that we are going to be out and about more now. Today, our plans will include a trip to town as I have some errands to run, a trip to a kids store that I hope to buy her some shoes at , and maybe even a trip to a…

What a week it has been so far! The word of the week would be RAIN! It has rained every day for at least a week and I am so tired of it. Fortunately, today is to be dry and tomorrow is supposed to be fairly dry with just a chance and Friday is being predicted to be scattered showers. I may go camping!

Yes, I know it will be muddy but my daughter is off two days and it would give me a nice break from the grand doll. I love her but my daughter has been working a lot of hours and so I have had her quite a bit the last couple of weeks. Plus, they live with us so she never "goes home".

My week began with a very rainy Sunday which put me home all day catching up on some chores and doing my Bible study.  I have been reading Proverbs as I feel that it is such a beautiful book of the Bible as it is filled with many pieces of advice. I always find a verse that seems to teach a lesson.

Monday, the grand doll and I went to visit a friend. I planned to pick her up and we were going to a…

Moms, do you ever just think that this is the day you will break? Break from the stress of another toy to pick up, another mess on the floor, another load of laundry, another cry from the baby that has cried for days, another "Mom" outcry?

Well, I am here today to tell you that this too shall pass! Your worn down, tired, and really fretting from a lack of sleep and personal time to do anything  by yourself, but it will pass. God knows that you are struggling and He knows we, as humans, are weak, but He can provide the healing that we need.

Children are a true blessing, but I am well aware that there are days that those blessings seem to be the one thing that is standing in our way to feel human again. All moms get frustrated, all moms begin to feel that they can't go on, all moms feel less than perfect, but it is okay as it will pass and you will survive. Put your faith and trust in the Creator and take a moment to breath and know that it will get better.

I am a firm …

Just a simple Good Morning to each of you in cyber world. Many times, I feel like we get our day started and never think about the fact that we should be thankful that we woke up and thankful for another day of life. The sun is rising and it's going to be another hot and humid day here, which has been the theme of summer this year, but I am still thankful for the day.

Whether it is hot or cold, sunny or rainy you woke up! You are alive to enjoy another day. Put your best into the day and make it memorable. Many people would be thankful to have another day with a loved one, so make sure you treat yours right.

This past weekend my husband took the grand doll and I on a road trip. Let me tell you, it was a road trip and that was about all I was able to see. He decided that he wanted to take the baby to The Smoky Mountains and he did, but we were literally there long enough to take a picture of her at the sign and that was about it.

We left home about 6 hours later than we intended too. I was irritated as he knew that I wanted to go early. He was determined that he was going to drive the full trip that night and I was determined that we were not. It is about a 6 hour drive, so it would have been midnight before we checked into a hotel, if we could have gotten a room. Plus, with the grand doll, I knew that if she slept in the car for 6 hours, she would be awake all night and I would get zero sleep.

We finally decided to drive about 3 1/2 hours and stop for the night. We were able to find a decent hotel that was perfect for sleeping. After a good night's sleep and a decent breakfast for d…

As I have spoke of many times, my home is small and there are too many living here. 5 people in a 3 bedroom home that is less than 1100 square feet in size is crowded. I try many ways to keep things organized and decorated nicely, but sometimes it seems to fail. I have been thinking of making some changes to many of the rooms and I have been looking for ways to organize more as well.

Last week, I went to a couple of antique stores and shops that sell primitive décor and other neat items with a friend. I really did not have much money to spend, but decided that I would purchase a few small items if I found anything that would work with the ideas I have. I am thankful to say that I found a few items and spend less than $20.

This sign is beside my sink in the kitchen. The colors work well with my kitchen and since we have horses, I try to include them in each room. My kitchen will be decorated with milk bottles and cans soon as I am paying honor to my grandfather, who was a milkman for…

Our county fair is in full swing and although my daughter is not showing this year, it has been fun to go see the projects, watch some of the livestock shows, and enjoying the chocolate milkshakes from the Farm Bureau building as well as the delicious foods that many of the vendors have. I absolutely love the fair!

Things that I have noticed is that the number of kids involved seems to be down as well as the number of projects and animals that are there. It is sad as I have always enjoyed the fair and once we became involved in 4 H certainly looked forward to it each year.

I am going to try to share much of the week with you. I have taken some photos and I have enjoyed sharing some of the ones that my friends have shared as well.
This sign sits at one of the entrances to the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds is a beautiful area even when the fair is not going on. Livestock is a big part of the fair. 4H kids spend a lot of time with the animals and I have seen tears when auction night co…

My post that I began writing was about our county fair, but it is with great sadness that I feel I must write about the horror I am seeing on the television right now. It is of a gunman shooting innocent people at a McDonald's in Munich, Germany. Reports are that six are dead and there are possibly 3 gunmen on the loose in that city.

Witness reports are that the gunman entered a bathroom at the McDonald's and came out opening fire and targeting children. The reports are coming across that it is potentially another terrorist attack. There is no credible confirmation that it was ordered by any particular group, but there have been reports of ISIS activity in Germany for several months.

It seems that we are still shocked by these types of attacks and yet, it seems that they are becoming almost a daily occurrence. Munich is warning residents to stay in and away from all public places and mass transportation has came to a halt due to this attack. It seems that terrorist attacks a…

After we returned from our vacation, I promised that I would share some of the photos that I took of the area we were in and just realized that I never done that so I will on today's post. With all of the trouble going on around us, it is nice to wake up in my small corner of the world with the ones I love and a beautiful view of my garden, my horses, and a wooded area that seems to cut us off from the rest of the world at times.

Spending nine days camping this year for vacation was a true delight. Nine days of no news, no shootings, and a fairly calm and nice trip. There were a few glitches and a rather large snake involved in that trip, but overall, it was a nice break from reality. A nice time with family and friends since both of my girls were able to go as well as my grand doll, a term I have borrowed from other bloggers.

I would wake before others most of the time and so I would walk around camp just to enjoy the quiet that comes from being camping. Here was the view that …

Those that choose careers that serve others can be called heroes even if they never do anything extraordinary in their careers. These days our police officers, fire fighters and military are in harms' way at each turn and we take those people for granted. They have a job and they do it.

When I think  of Sept. 11, 2001 and the tragic events of that day, I think of how many fire fighters chose to rush into those buildings to save lives of people that they did not know. Yet, they went! Their duty and honor to serve and protect came into use immediately!

The Dallas Police officers that were policing a peaceful protest that turned deadly for some of them never once thought that they did not want to do their job. Their duty and honor to serve and protect meant that they put themselves in harms' way when the shooting began. They chose to defend themselves the best that they could under a planned attack on them. The only reason those men died was because they were police officers.

…

My heart breaks as I hear of the ambush on police officers at a protest in Dallas, Texas yesterday. Suspects in custody doesn't ease my mind as I think of the families that are dealing with the sudden loss of a loved one that was only doing his/her job. I realize that police officers are always putting their lives on the line, but this was totally an attack on them.

5 lives lost due to someone else deciding they should die. This attack involved multiple shooters and was a precise attack on the officers that were aiding with the protest and were not wearing assault gear. Dallas officers, Dallas Transit officers and civilians were all under attack but the attack was set to kill officers. I believe that there are 12 others injured and some of those are civilians.

Police are saying that the attack was a planned attack with 2 shooters that were set up in high areas to viciously attack these officers. A sad day in America when police officers can't go to work without fearing that …

9 glorious days of vacation on the lake are almost gone. It's been a nice trip other than a little rain and a rather large snake.

Our vacation camp week is over and it was full of fun and excitement! I will write that post later. For now, I will let each of you know that I have attempted to read all of your posts written while I was away. It sounds as though each of you have been having a good time and enjoying life to the fullest for the summer.

 My life here on the farm is filled with days of caring for my granddaughter, weeding our garden, spending time with my pony, Fancy, and cooking. I have been busy catching up on laundry and household chores as the work never ends. I have two hens setting on nests and so it won't be long till we have new chicks running around here.

If the weather would cooperate, I would go riding as it was so nice to do while we were at camp. I am attempting to get the camper ready to go again as we plan to camp again the weekend of the Fourth of July. I feel like I need a trip with just myself and the granddaughter so I may do that soon as well. My husband will pull the camper do…

For all my friends and readers, I want to write a short message today to let you all know that I will be gone for 9 days and will be away from my computer most of that time. My family is going camping at a lake and will be enjoying some beach time and some well needed rest and relaxation. It is hard for us to leave for that long with the animals to care for and my husband to leave work for an extended period of time.

I am thankful for my mom and my father in law that are going to be helping us with the animals, home, etc. My daughter's boyfriend will also be checking in for us daily. Our new neighbors will be "patrolling" our drive. Plus, my husband's garage help will be here to keep an eye on things and to help with the animals. It is nice to have the help that we do and to have neighbors that keep an eye out for us.

I will try to check in occasionally and will attempt to share some of our sights and the fun that we have once I return. Have a great week and I will…

The month of June has finally arrived. I awoke to a nice morning with the sun rising above the horizon and the birds chirping that another month has arrived. June brings summer vacation to school kids here and brings many family vacations around the world. June brings summer, warmer temps, and is the month for many young women to marry the man of their dreams.

For us, the month of June brings a vacation coming up soon. I am looking forward to the time away, but we take the horses so we still end up doing some work. I don't mind as the horses will be in stalls and so the daily routine will be to clean them early and then again at night. I am sure we will take bedding to make cleanup easier. Vacation also means that my husband and I have to make sure the other animals are being cared for so my father in law will be doing the farm work while we are gone. We also have new neighbors and I am asking them to check on my mom and my in-laws while we are gone. Living in the country makes t…

Each day,  our country loses a soldier or former soldier to suicide.  Every day,  a family loses a loved one that has defended our great nation. These senseless deaths need to stop.
Every day, families struggle w with a son, father, uncle, brother, dad, or husband that can't or won't discuss what horrible things they have seen or done while serving for our freedom! 
  Their lives become such a struggle that they don't want to live.  How sad!  We need to become more aware of the tragedy that touches families on a daily basis and realize that war does touch those that remain home.
My friend has written a wonderful song that shares this tragedy with us.  I want each of my readers to listen to the song that speaks volumes.  Dear Uncle Sam by Jeanette Bolt Smith. Feel free to leave comments!

Indianapolis, Indiana is the place to be today! The lines are already forming all around town to get into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. News crews are showing traffic jams everywhere around town and they have been telling locals that the lines will be long for this special race - 100 years!

Drivers and fans are all excited to be a part of such a wonderful event! The race always brings a lot of excitement and energy, but this 100th running is just a bigger and more exciting time. Many former winners have taken part in the festivities leading up to the race today. Johnny Rutherford, a three time winner, is driving the pace car today.  AJ Foyt, a four time winner and the man known as "King of the Indy 500" will have three drivers in the race today and will certainly be a huge part of the race today as well.

The race is a tradition for many people and recently, a man was found that has been to over 90 of the 100 races. Many fans are life long fans of the race. I have never …

My, My, what a difference a year makes! A year ago today, I was at the hospital waiting for my youngest daughter to give birth. We had just found out a year ago yesterday that she was pregnant and I was literally in shock. I was scared of what issues the baby might have due to no prenatal care, taking birth control the entire time, and the fact that my daughter had been barrel racing her horse just the week before. At 11:49 a.m. a year ago today, my beautiful granddaughter arrived into the world and was absolutely perfect!

Today she is a beautiful, perfect baby that is beginning to walk and talk. She played in the yard yesterday and I was so amazed at how smart she seems to be. She loves to walk and she is such a happy baby and one that will give you a huge smile and has the cutest dimples. She has learned to wave bye bye and she tries to say it. She says hi and she says Papap for her Papaw. She says Momma. For some reason, she seems to call me YEYE. I prefer to be called Mamaw, but …

Last Friday night, I took my daughter and granddaughter to the circus. We met up with my oldest daughter, her boyfriend, and his nephew. We went to the fairgrounds to see the Kelly Miller Circus. We had gone to see the same circus year and had a really enjoyable time, so thought that we would go again. What an amazing time a circus can be!

When we arrived, the previous show audience was leaving and there really were not many people walking around to join us for the later show, but I knew it would quickly fill up and I was right. We decided to get in line and two of us went to the box office to ask if we could upgrade our tickets to ringside and we were able too. If you sit ringside, you have chairs to sit in instead of the bleachers. Much better sitting, especially with little ones.

We anxiously awaited the start of the show as we sit in the front row. We were well aware though that the big cats were not in the show as last year, this ringside would be a cage in front of us. I was im…

When I think of a farm house, I think of a two story home with a large front porch with a swing and a couple of rocking chairs on that porch. I imagine a huge jug of sweet tea on the porch as well. A welcome mat by the door and a warming invitation to all who enter it.

I live in the country and I live on a small hobby farm, but I certainly do not live in a farm house. We have a small home that really does not have a front porch at all. The deck out the back door could be considered a back porch, but I do not think that it is big enough to be a porch.

I also imagine a nicely cleaned and freshly painted kitchen with red in it as well as roosters and sunflowers as the décor. I do have the sunflower décor but I have mostly cow items in my kitchen and no red anywhere. I guess my kitchen does not fit the description either.

I have horse décor in my bathroom  and the floor is hardwood. I guess that makes up for the small house and the other things that should make it a country home. I hop…

Internet thieves can be so disgusting! Internet thieves will sneak in and take things that are not theirs and they steal money from innocent people. They use their thievery to earn a living off of unsuspecting and naïve individuals. Last week, they attacked here. I was looking for some information on our YMCA and after attempting to download an application, I opened a file that I believed might be the form and suddenly I had a strange message that I was not sure what it was.

I actually did not really pay any attention as I thought I must have done something wrong, so I decided to look at some of pictures I had of ideas for birthday cakes for my grandbaby. Suddenly the same message was on my screen and NO pictures. This message said something about paying for my files to be retrieved or pray for a miracle. I suddenly realized that I had become a victim of ransomware!! Thieves had stolen all my files- pictures, documents, and music! Now my documents and my music was truly no big deal, …

Hard to believe that a week has gone by so quickly. My day has been quite busy as I have been attempting to clean up the farm outside. I usually clean the inside and I don't mind cleaning it, but it seems that it is a never ending job. The weather has been not so fun so far this spring and with the weather nice, I have to be outside. I began the day there and hopefully, will end it sitting around a small fire tonight.

We had a pile of brush that had been growing over a period of years on a spot that we never use for anything. I have mentioned that it needed to be burned many times the past few years, but we never found time to burn it. Today the weather was perfect for it and so I started my morning by setting it on fire. I lit it and knew that I needed to keep a good eye on it, so I have stayed outside with it most of the day. Once it started to wind down, I decided that the day was perfect for me to be outside to read and that is what I done. Since my daughter was off, I did no…

As I sit here waiting on my husband to get home, I was playing catch up on reading the blogs that I follow here. It has been a tough couple of weeks for me to find time to read anything. My daughter has worked quite a bit which means that I have had my granddaughter more and so very little gets done other than playing with her and keeping her out of things. I usually spend the evenings with my husband since I rarely see him during the day. However, he got called out to go rescue someone broke down tonight and so here I am.

Life here on the farm has been crazy as we have all been sick quite a bit this winter and I think that I have been the worst. I had the flu, never really got over it and then came down with a severe sinus infection. I am finally getting over it and now that the weather is beginning to warm a little, I am hoping that I feel better and can get out and enjoy some fresh air.

I did work in the yard some today and then was treated to a meal at the Mexican restaurant in …

Friday was a bittersweet day with my daughter attending her senior prom with other homeschooled children and the loss of her horse. One of our beloved horses, Abdul, passed away on Friday morning and he was her dear companion. Abdul, was a Tennessee Walker- Arabian mix and he was a dream.

We bought him from a friend about 6 years ago for my daughter to ride and show at 4 H. She was moving up in her riding skills and we were moving her from a smaller pony to a small horse. She was scared of him and swore she was not going to ride him. After my husband and our oldest daughter rode him, she decided that she would try. After a few rides, they were best buddies and have done so many things together.

Abdul has participated in many 4H classes both halter and showmanship classes as well as contesting. He was not a barrel horse, but he did not mind to try. He would run when he needed and he would go around the barrels as though it was natural. He did not ride gaited as he had walked with qua…