Since I had a vote to start my blog off with what’s happening out my window, I will refrain from dragging my poor sorting and organizing skills into this blog and only report on the cool clear morning here on the Knolltop without saying a word about the walls that need to be repainted and the pile of stuff still sitting behind me.

Before I say another word, I have to say Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian friends….especially to Rustico, the Jersey fanatic! (Russell Gammon, Exec Sec of Jersey Canada, aka the consummate promoter of the Jersey breed and someone I’m glad I met over two years ago when I happened to pick his table to dine at when I sat down for the banquet at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Frankenmuth, MI. Sitting between Russell and Trent Loos that evening made it one of the most memorable banquets I’ve attended to say the least!)

So glad Trent was brought up today, he apparently thinks my views are not normal. Duh? You finally just figured that out Trent? Last Friday on Rural Route, the three amigos, Trent, Kyle and Duane, were discussing fashion. Yes, that’s right, three men who make their home on the Great Plains who’s wardrobe consists of cowboy shirts and Wrangler jeans were acting as if they knew something about dressing their daughters. They were actually only giving their strategies on how they’ve kept their daughters modest in their clothing choices. All three are doing a great job as dads, from the sounds of it….so I have to give them that credit.

Well the conversation turned to women in t-shirts with sayings on them. They were wondering if a woman wore a t-shirt with a long saying on it, what did she really want? Was she trying to convey the message? Or was she trying to get men’s eyes focused on her chest? While they were mulling it over they thought they should have a woman’s point of view, since none of them are of the female persuasion. Their discussion then turned to what would Melissa think? Trent said my views would not be the same as the normal woman…Duane commented that Trent must be saying I wasn’t normal and Kyle warned them both, saying that I listen to the show everyday and that they would be hearing from me! Then Trent predicted that I would blog about it…and here we are….blogging!

So, what are my views according to the three Amigos? Kyle hit the nail on the head….he said that I would say that women who wear t-shirts with some message on them know exactly what they are doing and enjoy doing it. All I have to say is that all this time when I was on Rural Route, I thought Kyle never paid any attention to anything I said and I’ve been proven wrong! He was listening after all….thanks Kyle.

Here’s that winning Michigan FFA Team after garnering their hardware at the All American Dairy Show in Harrisburg. From left, Sarah Mann, KT Arndt, JW and Brittany Westendorp. I’m so glad to finally have a picture of these great kids!

It’s a cool clear morning here on the Knolltop. That reminds me…does anyone get tired of my weather reports? I just can’t start this blog without letting you know exactly what’s happening out the window that I’m looking out when I work on the computer. It’s right in front of me…I just can’t help it! But if you all are getting tired of it, I’ll start my entries with something else like….the walls still need painting here in my office/catchall room. Or how about, “My desk is still a mess here in my office where my walls need painting in my office/catchall room. Or maybe you’d like “There is still a pile of stuff sitting behind me, next to my desk that is still a mess in the office/catchall room where the walls still need painting.

Well? I think I’d better stick to the weather outside my window since the piles on the floor and the messy desk and the walls in need of paint will still be like that for the next month or so!

Okay….let’s get on with it…now that you know my surroundings are a total shambles, I have to let you know I find it so much fun when I realize how blessed I really am. Yesterday I was reading some posts of the writing group that I’m a member of. They were talking about writing and the economy and how hard it is to have a steady income from writing unless you have a regular column or other features. I sat back and thought about my own situation and marveled at how truly blessed I am to have a column appearing in several papers and the features I get to write. I can write as much or as little as I want and I’m ashamed to admit it, but I have taken that all for granted.

So, your assignment for the day is to look around your own situation and look for the blessings in your own life. It’s amazing how they start to pile up when we change our perspective!

Now, onto Pryorvu…the wonder gardener in Montana….did you see his comment yesterday? How they are still canning tomatoes and making salsa in OCTOBER???!!! For heaven’s sake, he has put us all to shame here in the Midwest where we get oodles of rain and a what I thought was a long growing season.

This is what I propose….I think Pryorvu needs to start a blog! Wouldn’t you love to see his log cabin in the hills of Montana? Wouldn’t you relish the day to day activity of a real live rancher? Wouldn’t you love to see pictures of this wonder garden? I would! That’s it Pryorvu….it’s time….get on it….start the blog! You could name it “Life in the Pryors!”

One more thing….remember Jericho, the guy I asked you to pray for? Well, God has answered that prayer! He landed a job yesterday and is very excited! So, we give Got the glory and I thank all of you for praying for him!

Luke and Jake play a minature Connect Four game with the neighbor girl….wow…this fair stuff is exciting!

I took one last shot before Luke went into the ring…notice he was still clean!

Matt Mann on his steer….I don’t think they have a pleasure class in the steer show.

This is one of those priceless father-son shots. Gregg Hardy and his son Parker at the Michigan Summer show. I’d say Gregg is a little more intense, wouldn’t you?

With a little black and white, this photo looks really old, doesn’t it? I’m going to just play around with this new method of posting pictures.

It’s a beautiful morning here on the Knolltop. We’re getting summer weather again and I’m not complaining!

I was commenting to Bobby last night during milking that I hadn’t left the farm after chores at night for five days in a row! Now that’s unusual for me….but very, very nice. Tonight I will break that streak by going to Luke’s game. They play a tough team, so it should be a great game.

I’m fixing baked pork for dinner today, I should have a table full. He keeps bringing his football buddies home after school for dinner before they go back to the school for the game. That’s fine with me, but the first time he did it without warning and when I saw the extra boys pile out of the van I started scrambling for more food from the fridge! No one went away hungry that day, but today I’m better prepared.

That reminds me of something one of Luke’s buddies said. They were talking about an incident at school between a boy and a girl and one of the boys popped off and said, “She’s so ugly she fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down!” Now I know that’s not very nice to say about anyone, but it really is funny. Bobby about drove off the road with laughter when he heard that from the back seat.

Well, I’ve got writing to do and errands to run!

It’s a cool, rainy day here on the Knolltop. I don’t mind the rain, I got my yard all mowed yesterday! Besides I could use a rainy day to take care of some inside projects, like the mess on the floor right behind me! It’s all that stuff that needs a place because it’s not in use all the time, but I can’t get rid of it. I hate that stuff because I don’t have a closet big enough to store it all and then close the door!

My laundry room is over flowing again, I don’t know how that happens so fast. It’s just so prolific! So I’ve got laundry to do and grapes on the vine that should be made into jelly and errands to run. So once again, I will get the urgent needs taken care of and leave the important stuff behind for another day…until we run out of underwear and socks!