Sunday, February 22, 2004

BRINGING HOME THE PRIZES!! Dale and Holly won first in their class of Guernsey but did not win over all champion. Dale and Molly got a first place in Molly’s older class. Cassie placed fourth in older Jersey class. Savannah placed first in her art and craft exhibit and first with her rabbit and chicken. Dale’s hen "Bob" the Polish breed received reserved grand champion. Today is the horse and dog shows but we do not have any entries this year as Shannon’s dog had some problems. Shannon will go over to do his hour of volunteer work in the rabbit and chicken barn. His rabbit won a first place. Monday evening will be the steer show. Cassie has an entry. Spot the steer. Monday is the show and Tuesday is the cattle buy. The local merchants are solicited ahead of time by the contestants to purchase their animal. The contestant has to write letters and present them to merchants and individuals to attend the auction and ask them to bid on their animal. The amount of going money per pound is known and can be bid up or left at base price. This money when received goes towards purchase of another animal for next year plus feed and upkeep. The auctions are for meat cattle. Dairy cattle are treated differently. Scratchy the pig big night is Wednesday. He will be sold for meat also. The contestants must keep strict records books to alleviate any misconduct. 10:45:21 AM    comment []

Saturday, February 21, 2004

THE FIRST DAY OF FAIR WEEK I am up at 4:30 am. Not that I am excited, rather I got a good night sleep with Dinah sleeping in her room. See Dina the Cat.   Well, Bob the chicken has been entered. She is black and white striped and he has small feathers sticking out all over her head and down in front of her eyes. She can only see the ground in front of where she is walking and I crack up when see her progress across the yard. They also entered a Turkin. A cross breed of a chicken and a turkey. UGLY……..poor thing. The chickens were bathed in tubs and toweled dry. Chickens will have fleas and ticks and must be watched for that. The cow and cattle crew were up late last night doing the final chores for today. We will know by sundown if Holly is a winner. 7:05:43 AM    comment []

Friday, February 20, 2004

I AM WRONG I wrote that the cattle entry is Friday, February 20,2004 and I am wrong. Talking with Marshall who, along with Rick and Dale are in charge of cattle and swine for the farm he said Friday is chicken and rabbit day. Saturday is the day the cattle are brought to the Fair Grounds. Josh and A.J. are also part of the team. This is an extended family project. Most family members and friends attend the fair and are there most days for the duration. Parents, Grandparents, Grandchildren, Sisters, Brothers, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, boyfriends, girlfriends, members with SO and so on. The teens and children are required to keep up to date record books for each animal. The record books are reviewed when the animal is brought to the grounds. The record books show how much the animal weighed in the beginning how much it weighs now, what type of feed is used, how much feed is used, feed receipts, cost of grooming, cost of vet bills if any and much more. If the record book does not meet the requirements it must be redone or added to and then resubmitted. Most teens and children have been doing this since they were old enough to join the clubs. http://geocities.com/southeasternyouthfair/exhibitorschedule.html 8:55:09 AM    comment []

Thursday, February 19, 2004

OFF TO THE FAIR Friday is going to be a busy day at the Youth Fair Grounds of Marion County. All over the county trucks, vans, and trailers are loaded up and driven to the fair grounds. The first part of the stock show is cattle. The grounds have permanent stalls for the cows and steers. Each contestant tries to out do the other in decorating the outside of their stalls. There are also places for pigs and goats and sheep. On hand are setups for washing the animals and drying. Each contestant places a large footlocker in front of the stall with all the equipment needed for the duration of the fair. The whole area is covered by roof even the large arena for the horse showmanship. There is a smaller arena for the dairy cow, pig, goat, sheep and dogs. One of the great things that the judges do is explain after each award the reason for their choices. This is a teaching experience for the kids and teens. They will go over each animal quickly and state what they liked or did not like. Some show classes are just for best in breed and others are for showmanship. Showmanship is how the participant handled their animal. Did it do what is expected in that class? Could the participant have done something different to cause the animal to show better. It is well done and they give credit to all the 4-H clubs and FFA (Future Farmers of America) More on the Live Stock Fair tomorrow. I have not heard from my granddaughter Tara yet on the outcome of the lamb birthing. Perhaps the blessed event has not happened yet. If not they should give that poor sheep some Demerol or a spinal block at least. It has been 36 hours. 5:03:40 PM    comment []

SLEEP???? Even using my CPAP I still wake up in the middle of the night!! I am rested and do not feel the lack of sleep hangover. What is up with this.? I am up for an hour or so and then go back to bed and am able to sleep. Yesterday I walked two miles and the day before one mile. The CPAP is working fine. I am used to it now. Anyone out there have had the same experience please share. I know that I have the restless leg and I would say whole body spasm at times because I have woken up as this is happening. Perhaps this is the other sleep issue that was mentioned. When I see my Doctor we will need to talk. Yes I am still taking a sleeping pill. Ambien 10mg at bed time. Another mystery to solve. THE FAIR STARTS SATURDAY! in Marion County. I am going to attended with my sister. We have grandchildren and great nieces and nephews who have entered a variety of live stock and other items. My granddaughter Tara the actor, and model is waiting out the birth of a baby lamb at her Fair in Osceola County. Her mom had to go back to work during the day so Tara is on watch. She has her home work ,cell phone, and her head set. It is probably not too bad as the fair is still on and boys come by to talk with her. If her Dad hears that he will of course flip out. She is almost 15 you know. I am still looking forward to the pig show. I will give details later. 6:46:23 AM    comment []

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

GEOCACHING I read a blog on AOL about Geocaching. It sounded like much fun. Here is one sight that should give enough information to get anyone going to the great outdoors. http://www.geocaching.com/ There are sights right here in my neighborhood. One across the street from Ma Barker’s house and one out by Moss Bluff, near the Dam Dinner. The cheapest global positioning equipment is a watch for about a hundred dollars. That keeps me out of it but I am hoping to talk the California people into getting one. There is a sight not to far from where they are living now. The fun part is that a stash in a small water proof box is buried a certain position. It usually holds trinkets and a note pad. The hunters find the box, take a trinket and add a different trinket. They usually will write a note and then rebury the box. When they return home they go to the sight on the net and give information of their find. They hold rallies etc. All one has to do to locate a sight is type in you zip code and a whole list of sights and information comes up. If you are not interested in hiking but like to get outdoors this is for you. There are web sights of people who travel all over the world hunting these sights and keeping records. 12:16:15 PM    comment []

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

NOT YET????? Arggg! I have spent about four hours attempting to get the hang of hyperlinking to those blogs that I read and like. Well, the brain is still not ready. I will attempt again next week. Anyhow here is a list of credits until I can do better. (Yes I read all the information, I tried all the steps, it is just not happening yet)  Sometimes I feel like Marlon Brando in "On the Water Front" "I could have been a contender.  "http://rhye32.home.mindspring.com/blog/ http://blogs.salon.com/0003115/ http://blogs.salon.com/0002153/ http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/  http://blogs.salon.com/0003076/ There are many more but I will wait until I can list them properly. I do this sometimes. Brain block. I am very happy with RadioUserland. It is a challenge in many ways to me but worth the pain. On another note. My brain is getting somewhat better with the CPAP(Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). I am back to walking a mile a day and anticipating upping the mileage soon. I do not tire quickly. Things that bothered me before are not issues anymore. I still cannot multiply numbers in my head, but I never could before.HA,HA. I wonder what another week will bring. 3:59:35 PM    comment []

ONE MORE THOUGHT Do not mess with success. I had changed my theme but my desk top page would change back the next time I was ready to use it. After that even though I would change it back to gray, bong!!! Coffee cup again. I think this is where all my trouble started. Anyway I am sticking with coffee cup as it seems to keep working. I would love to have a KOOL page with pictures and my design but I am going to have to wait until I get more of my brain back with the CPAP. On second thought I may never get my brain back or I never had anything to get back. I refuse to go to the Twilight Zone. Happy thoughts, Happy thoughts!!! 10:17:12 AM    comment []

FLYING I rather like Dinah even if she can be a pain. I had planned to take her with me to California in the cabin until I received my CPAP. I can see that carry on would be a nightmare with both so Dinah will be staying in her own home for the duration of my visit. Just as well I can imagine the mess I would have and probably be refused to fly. I used to spend a lot of time at Disney World as I had a year round pass for a couple if years when I lived in Orlando. My home was about fifteen minuets from the park and I would walk around the park for exercise. Plenty of security,bathrooms, and if I wanted a snack I had many choices. Where Pluto was run over is at the parade start. I used to go over to Frontier Land near Splash Mountain to see the beginning of the parade. I do not know the details but the float drivers are not that able to see what is front of them. From what I could see there are people with radios directing the drivers. I am sure it only takes a careless moment when they get started . I have seen visitors to the Park run out in front a float and stand there taking pictures while it is moving. That is why they have security all along the parade route. On the weekend when I had time I would park at Epoct. Parking was free with a year pass. I would then walk around all of Epoct. Then I would go through the ticket gate from the hotel sites(Dolphin and Swan) walk over to the boats going to MGM, walk MGM, return the same way and then take the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom walk the Kingdom and back on the Monorail to Epoct and my car. A good work out. I got rather burnt out on Disney World so now I go to Downtown Disney and The Disney Village. One can walk through Pleasure Island during the day. They have shops and restaurants. Pleasure Island starts closing down for ticket sales in the evening. I took my granddaughter to Planet Hollywood once when it first opened. She enjoyed the visit and the food was OK. Planet Hollywood is close by Pleasure Island. The shops are all strung along a lake in a sort of weaving shaped shopping area. They have water jet ground fountains on tile areas that are a lot of fun for kids of all ages as they offer different shapes and heights of spray. 4:41:17 AM    comment []

Sunday, February 15, 2004

FARM NEWS   I have spent half of this day attempting to get my post to: upstream, load, post, whatever. On the recently updated page it shows the same ole page from 2/5. So…..I will just add another post and see if that kicks it up. Lord knows I have tried all that I can think of. Dale and his family took his Guernsey heifer to Tampa this past Wednesday through Saturday for a live stock show. His Guernsey ,Holly placed first in her class. He moved on to Grand Champion but missed out. The Livestock/4-H shows are coming up in Marion County and are held in Ocala, Florida. There has been much cow clipping and cleaning. All areas are judged from the lines of the livestock to how they stand and move. Scratchy the pig has been fairly happy as his pen is nice and muddy from the recent rain. His meals will be cut back just before the show and I hate that. He already squeals at me when his meals are late. I will have to walk behind DiDi’s house so he will not see me. We are still up to our ankles in dog poop. Tyler (the two year old) accidentally stepped in poop on Friday. I had to wash his clothes and shoes. That was his first step-in. I usually watch him very closely. I have machine washed my shoes (both pairs) times two. Even when one scrapes off the poop the running shoes retain the smell. With seven dogs going at least 3 times a day even on 9 acres it adds up. So far there is no poop patrol so it is every person for themselves. I only have Dinah the cat so do not feel obligated to do poop patrol. Savannah has had some hard luck with her chickens. First the chicken got loose from the pen and their dog bit it in the neck. It recovered but not show material now. She then got another Silky but it turned out to be a he not a she so no go there. Cassie seems to be ready with her steer Spot. He has a bad attitude I think but he has been behaving recently. Shannon is ready with his dog. His dog has attended obedient classes for three months so they should be in the go mode. 6:51:45 PM    comment []

Up Date I have been using my CPAP (Continuos Positive Airway Pressure) for a little over a week. The outcome I am much better. I have the energy to keep on the move all day. I do not feel so sleepy during the day. Before CPAP I needed a nap in the afternoon.. Sleep Apnea - Cessation of breathing for 10 or more seconds during sleep. There are two basic types of sleep apnea: Obstructive Apnea is caused by a closure of the air passage despite efforts to breathe; Central Apnea is a lack of effort to breathe. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is by far the most common type. Problems associated with untreated sleep apnea include hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, psychiatric problems, impotence, cognitive dysfunction, memory loss, and death. After my sleep tests, it was found that I was 80% O2 when 90% is normal. I have both Obstructive and Central Apnea. Obstructive: airway closes for at least 10 seconds until a breath is taken. Central Apnea: the brain shuts down the breathing for 10 seconds. I learned that I had stopped breathing 24 times for obstructive and 16 times for central.  I have had this problem since my late twenties but did not consider it a problem because I always started breathing again. Since my severe symptoms and more data on apnea I am glad I have chosen to be treated. I think what kept me from having the sleep test done was knowing someone would be watching me sleep on a TV monitor. When the symptoms got bad enough I had to do something. The memory loss was what got me started to find out something to get my brain back. I would like you to comment if you have any interest in my case or would like to share your case.   8:57:50 AM    comment []