Vacation

It's finally vacation time! I've already been and done the vacating part of it and am now back home, settled in to work the rest of the week away. I have high hopes to get things at least winterized around here before the week is done. The weather is wonderful. A little rain, but we need more of it--and there are always indoor projects if necessary.

For the vacation part, I was able to go to the Lake for two nights. This is less than an hour away so if something goes awry on the little farm I can be home fairly quickly. My Mom, armed with 'lists' did the chores for me. Everyone behaved and by eliminating the sheep grain-ing, it simplified their care into turning them in and out on pasture (and they have plenty of it). Even the kitties behaved. Boone and Ashley managed to bust the gate out of the breezeway on the second night, but since the yard is fenced they didn't go anywhere. I'm guessing it was a varmint of some sort. Probably a very scared varmint by the time they came out of that gate!

On Friday when I got off work at noon I left from there and drove down to the Lake. I planned to do some shopping on the way. I did find a nifty little used book shop in Camdenton. After that I headed off for Lake Ozark. The first part of the trip was smooth and relaxing as I tried to get into vacation mode and listened to a book on CD. Then somewhere along the way I lost the entire town of Osage Beach/Lake Ozark. It was just....gone. It's a big town, and you don't just lose a town. Suddenly I was on unfamiliar roads--I didn't recognize anything. This took a few miles to sink in. Almost to Eldon, I realized Something Wasn't Right. Somehow I was on the other side of OB/LO without ever seeing the town!

So, I turned around, and hit more construction. (Oh I didn't mention all the construction??) I had to make two loop-de-loos before I figured that one out. I really don't care if the construction workers were staring. Really.

Finally there was the town, and I started to relax a little. But wait--more construction? This was an awful little piece that turned into three lanes, and after making abortive attempts to stay in the left and/or right lanes (which kept exiting off to ??) I got in the middle lane and hung on grimly. At this point the book on CD had been rattling on for 10 or 11 tracts and I have no idea what was said. Then, that suddenly, there was the outlet mall and the town was there, spread out in front of me--like nothing ever happened. I'm still not over this. (Amusingly enough my sister and niece also passed through the town over the weekend and had almost the same experience.....I think we are going to have to start a support group.)

Ahem. Back to the vacation. I had a nice little cabin on the lake again. I unloaded seventy two tons of stuff from the truck (books, projects, food) and settled in. This is the only time of the year that....I do not have any chores. None. It really takes some getting used to. I find myself doing unnecessary cleaning and things like that in the cabin, just because I can't stop. And the livestock. Squirrels and ducks were the best I could come up with, but I managed to feed them. Although that squirrel was a little scary. I think it was the jumping over my head to the roof of the cabin that was unsettling...that and the way it just watched me. I also accidentally watched part of a movie (on cable) about rats in a woolen mill (which is why I kept watching it to start with, because of the wool and the wool processing...)--there seemed to be a giant mutant rat there somewhere too--this might have made me biased towards the squirrel. I also accidentally watched part of Cujo. It wasn't very scary though. I just felt sorry for the dog.....and was admiring what a good actor he (the dog) was.

Here are the ducks. They were pretty nice and entertaining.

Look! A dog on a boat! I missed my dogs. That dog on the boat sure was interested in the ducks.

But he was a good dog and stayed put. You could tell he thought he was pretty important though.

So, between accidentally watching scary movies (it was a Stephen King marathon, and most of the cable channels weren't working, so I couldn't watch Animal Planet, which is my favorite I swear), I did other things. I read allot, I had quiet time, I ate and I started a new project! Here it is below--it doesn't look like much in this photo, but what it will be (eventually) is a crocheted rug. The catch is, it is crocheted with....roving instead of yarn! As you can imagine the crochet hook is very large. It's done with a simple single stitch and is very easy. I really made it too big, but I hadn't really a clue what I was doing at first. In the end it will be washed/felted. It's pretty neat, and I can use up some of my bits and pieces of roving.

Unfortunately going to the Lake for 'quiet and reflection' is a joke. The boats are awful--it's like living next to a motor freeway. Constant and very loud. The only peaceful and beautiful moments were before 6:30 a.m.---but that didn't last long as the fishermen desperately roared out to find a spot to fish before the big boats started. The big boat traffic picked up around 8:30 and went on steadily all day and way into the night. Those few hours early in the morning though were so lovely. The big boats also cause so much wave action through out the day that the water actually white caps when it hits the shoreline. I enjoyed watching the fishermen though as they were quiet and intense. Here is a photo showing the size difference in the boats.

I had to throw in the picture showing all the condos across the lake. At first glance those look like cliffs, don't they, but nope--it's wall to wall condos!

Here is a sampling of the 'boat traffic'--all those little white caps are boats, and this is just a small section of the lake.

Don't get me wrong--I really enjoyed myself! When the noise level got too loud, I simply shut the door/windows, turned on the air so it was really cool and then--turned on the electric fireplace! :-) I could still see the lovely lake, but didn't have to hear the noise. I think if I do this again, I will find a quieter section of the lake or perhaps a different lake. I feel blessed to live on my (mostly) quiet little farm and can truly enjoy peace and quiet. I feel a bit sorry for those coming out of the cities to 'get away from it all' only to be wall to wall with everyone else doing the same.

Me, I just 'get away' so I don't have to do chores! By Sunday I was ready to head back. I was missing my critters and my messy little house. (Which does not have cable (working or not), electric fireplaces or central air). Or a leather couch. I really do want a leather couch. And maybe one of those electric fireplaces--without the bill.

When I got home, I had some 'splaining to do and some sad faces to wade through! Of course I planned ahead and brought treats and bribes for everyone and was (eventually) forgiven. I think.

What do you think after seeing this face? Looks heartbroken to me. (Although there was no refusal of a plain hamburger and fries and later a rawhide bone....)

And now it's back to 'the list' and getting things done around here! More to follow.

Last Minute Gift Idea

Start with a Rare Hubcap

Assemble your tools (ruler, Drill, (the dremel tool was back up to the drill), clock workings & stick on numbers.)

Finished Wall Hubcap Clock

So, I meant to get this posted weeks ago, but that didn't happen. I couldn't post it last year, because it was going to my brother and I didn't want him to see it. It's a pretty simple project to make, once you find all the 'ingredients'. In this case, my brother has always been a talented mechanic, so I wanted to make something car related. I had seen this idea somewhere on the Internets a while back, so that got the wheels turning, so to speak.

The hardest part was finding a hubcap. I know. Those things used to be everywhere, but suddenly I couldn't find any. I looked at flea markets, along the roadside, asked friends and family. I didn't go the junk yard, but they probably do have hubcaps there. Finally one of my friends came through and found one for me.

The clock kit itself can be purchased at a hobby store, like Hobby Bobby (uh, Lobby) for around $5-6 dollars, plus a little set of stick on numbers which is around $3. Unless your hubcap has a conveniently placed hole in the middle you will need to drill one hole. This hubcap had a plastic insert in the area I needed to drill and managed to crack a little. The clock innards covered that up though.

Once you get the hole drilled, you place the little stem of the clock kit in the hole and tighten up the back. It requires batteries to run and you are in business. I did have a little trouble getting the thing to run properly and since I waited to the last minute, I just went ahead and sent my brother this clock plus an extra set of the clock mechanism. He said it worked fine though and seemed to enjoy it.

Christmas is almost here! Ack! I've got to go and start the baking marathon, since I put that off to the last minute too.