Tokyo for Christmas: Day One

Well, we made it to Tokyo! For those of you who don't know, our oldest son, Nick who serves in the United States Air Force, is stationed at Yokota Air Force Base in Tokyo Japan. Since this is Nick's last year in Tokyo, we decided that we'd better plan a trip over here.

We left the comforts of our humble home on the range on Sunday afternoon. This past week we have been feverishly working on the "world's longest and plagued-with-the-most-breakdowns" corn harvest. Dan the Man and Chris delivered the last truck full of corn to the elevator around noon on Sunday. Dan the Man wasn't sure we would finish harvest before we had to leave, but by God's good grace, we did.

Dan the Man and I drove to Denver on Sunday afternoon where we would spend the night since our flight took off early in the morning on Monday. We stayed at a funky hotel I found online called ALoft. I'll have to get pictures of it when we return. We're staying there the night that we get back as well. The hotel is very modern and hip. The bed was comfy and the room was clean.

We didn't sleep very well, due to the fact that Dan the Man tossed and turned all night long wondering what time it was since he didn't want to over sleep and miss our flight. We got up at 4 am so we would have time to shower before our shuttle left for the airport.

One a side note: Once we stayed in Denver the night before an early flight we had to Mexico and during the night the electricity for the hotel went out. Luckily we woke up when the fire alarms went off in the halls so we knew that there was no electricity so the alarm clock was not going to work. Unfortunately, I had unpacked most of our stuff because I wanted to repack it in the morning. I ended up repacking in the dark. What a nightmare that was. I don't think we'll forget that one. We also had to shower and get ready in the dark!

The shuttle was pretty packed so Dan the Man and I did not get to sit next to each other. I sat next to this man who was pretty talkative. He was just returning from a 60 day stay in China where he was teaching rangeland management. What a coincidence since we are converting our operation to a grass based farming/ranching operation. Needless to say, this commonality we shared gave us a great conversation. I also learned that he lived in Montana and knew someone I went to high school with. He actually worked with this classmate for 6 years, I think is what he said. What a small world, especially when you consider how small my high school was. I think there were like 54 people in my graduating class!

Anyway, our flight was delayed because of fog in San Francisco, which is where we would catch our connecting flight to Japan. We only had a couple of hours between our flights and neither one of us had been to the San Francisco airport before so we were a little nervous about catching our flight. As we were waiting for our flight to board at DIA I was scoping out the other passengers looking for someone who might be traveling to Japan. Dan the Man said I probably wouldn't find someone who was going to Tokyo, but I was determined to find someone that we could follow around when we got to San Francisco.

There was this younger man, actually kid to us, who looked to be Japanese, sitting across from us in the waiting area for our gate. I told Dan the Man it would be nice to find someone like that who could show us where to go. I have no problem talking to strangers and asking questions. Dan the Man would rather poke himself in the eye with a red hot poker than to ask a stranger a question, especially someone who looks like they may have an accent! When we found our seats on the plane that young man was sitting right next to us. So I asked him if he was going anywhere from San Francisco and wouldn't you know it, he was headed to Tokyo! I told him that's where we were headed too and that we didn't know where to go once we got to San Francisco and asked him if we could tag along with him. He kindly agreed to help us get to our destination!

His name was Kohay. He is a graduate student at CU in aerospace engineering and was going home for the Christmas break. Kohay didn't really know where we were to go in San Francisco, but he got on his cell phone while we were still on the plane and found out what gate we needed to go to. Come to find out we had to leave the secured area of the airport to get to our gate and had to go through security again. I'm sure we would have figured things out eventually without Kohay's help, but I was certainly glad to have him leading the way! He stayed with us once we arrived in Tokyo as well until we got our baggage and knew what all we had to do to get through immigration and customs.

The flight itself from San Francisco to Tokyo was incredibly long. We were on the air for about 12 hours or so, felt like a lifetime. My butt and back were killing me by the time we got off the plane. We were served two meals on the plane and got to eat Japanese food! I don't know why I was surprised that it was Japanese food, duh, we were on Japan Airlines! The food was quite good actually. We had chicken teriyaki for supper and some sort of creamy soup (like cream of rice) with shrimp in it for breakfast. I especially loved it when they brought you a steaming hot washcloth to clean your hands before the meals. Nice touch, wish they did that in the states! I also loved being served piping hot tea after the meal. Yum!

The other treat for me on the plane was being able to watch the movie "Julie and Julia"! Loved it!! Loved it so much I'm hoping they have it on our flight home and if they do I'm going to watch it again! It's one of those movies that won't be received very well in a house full of men, so I'd better take advantage of seeing it again now while I have the chance! It would definitely be classified as a "chick flick" in my house!

Got my first glimpse of Mt. Fuji as we landed. The sun was setting behind it and it all seemed so surreal! I was thinking, "I'm in JAPAN!" Crazy...

We touched down in Tokyo around 4:30 pm (Tokyo time). By the time we got though immigration and customs, got our luggage and found Nick it was about 5:30 pm. I'd never been so happy to see Nick in my life. It took us over 3 hours to drive from the airport to the base. More driving... now my butt was starting to go numb from sitting on it for so long! We drove through Tokyo which was a sight to see in itself. What a huge city! Lights every where, crazy traffic, Disney Tokyo all lit up, the worlds highest ferris wheel lit up, Tokyo Tower, Rainbow bridge lit up at night... Kind of reminded me of Vegas with all the lights.

Seems like there wasn't a straight road anywhere. All the roads are extremely curvy. Dan the Man and I both wore a hole in the floor board with our left foot trying to stomp on the "brake!" LOL! Yikes! So glad it was Nick driving and not one of us, especially Dan the Man, who makes me nervous driving in Denver! It felt extremely bizarre driving on the wrong side of the road. Every time we would come around a corner, I would flinch thinking that the oncoming traffic was in our lane!

We finally arrived at the base and had to go through more security. We were getting pretty good at showing our passports and having our photos taken by now! Finally at 9:30 Tokyo time we arrived at our hotel here on the base. What a sight for sore eyes and butts and backs! What a pleasant surprise for go up to our room and find that it is a nice suite complete with kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom (and all for the price of $41 a night, what a deal). We had been up for 24 hours are were very excited to "hit the hay."

I woke up at 5 am, not much earlier than my usual time, had my coffee and computer time and was pleasantly renewed! Nick came and picked us up this morning and we grabbed a bite for breakfast, went to his place for a little while, went to the commissary for groceries, went to some other place to find brochures on the "touristy" things to do, came back to the hotel, ate lunch, watched a little tv, rested, took a nap, planned which train trips we want to do and places we want to go sight seeing, had dinner and am now ready for bed.

First impressions of Japan are the friendly people and cleanliness. Wish Americans were as friendly and polite and respectful as the Japanese. I also wish we had the pride and respect for things that the Japanese do. Everything is amazingly clean, groomed and beautiful.

Can't wait for tomorrow. Pictures to come, I promise!

Sayonara for now,

the Country Chicken Girl in Japan!

In Memory of my Mom

Norma Jean (Greenwald) Thurlow
February 23, 1940 - December 19, 1986

Me and Mom our last Christmas together, December 1985

On this date, December 19, 1986, 23 years ago my mother passed away. She was 46 years old when she died. Not only did I lose my mother, but I also lost my nurturer, my adviser, my guardian, my children's grandmother and my best friend.

Around supper time on December 19, 1986 I received a call from my stepfather telling me that my mother had had a heart attack after lunch at work and was in the hospital. I was living in Rapid City at the time with my first husband. We had been married all of 3 months. My step dad, Joe, told me not to worry, that she would be fine, but it would be a good idea if we could come home. He thought it would be okay for us to come in the morning, but I felt a burning urgency to leave right then. Rapid City was about a 3 1/2 hour drive away from where my parents lived. It was one of the longest drives of my life, all the time wondering why did my mom have a heart attack? Why was this happening to me. Hoping that she would be okay and anxious to see her and to let her know how much I loved her.

We got to the hospital around 10 pm, don't really know the time for sure. So much of the time spent at the hospital remains a blur. My mom's condition worsened while we were on the road. My sister was there and we clung to each other in disbelief as we sat with our mother who was "tubed" and unable to speak to us. She was in and out of conscientiousness much of the time. I can remember wondering what she was thinking. I wanted so badly to communicate with her, yet was unable. I told her over and over that I loved her. I can remember getting physically sick at one point because of my emotional pain was stronger than I was. She passed away around 11:30 pm.

I have wonderful memories of her. She would kill me if she knew I was sharing this one with you, but my mom could walk down the stairs into our living room and pass gas with each step of the stair! LOL, sorry mom! That's talent if you ask me! I can remember what a fantastic gardener and seamstress that she was. She always spoke nicely about everyone. She had a keen sense of style and loved to decorate. Our house was spotless yet full of love and comfort! She was always at every school function that I had. She was late bringing my dress to the church for my wedding! She was 4' 11" but swore she was 5 foot! There are so many more.

One of the things I miss most about my mother is just the pure joy of her presence. I am deeply saddened that my children never knew her and that my husband, Dan the Man, and his family never knew her either.

I know my sister is probably bawling by now... sorry Lori! But one of the reasons I feel so compelled to write this is because I want you to know that I love you more than I have ever told you. I want you to know that especially because I truly believe in the real significance of the meaning of Christmas.

I believe that Jesus Christ was born on Christmas morning and is the son of God. He was sent by God the Father, to this earth to be born of a virgin, to die for our sins and to rise again to conquer sin and give those who believe in His name eternal life in heaven. I believe that people do not "get to heaven" by any action or deed that they themselves do, but only are given eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Seems something so significant as eternal life should be so easy to share with those that you love, but for some reason, it hasn't been for me. I also know several people who struggle with telling those they love what they believe in, what they have faith in. Why is it so? If any of you struggle with this, know that you are not alone. If any of you have questions about my beliefs or want to know more, I'm open to talk about them. My beliefs are based on the truth of the bible, not the words of any man or religion.

Days before my mom died, she called and asked when we were coming home for Christmas. I told her that we probably wouldn't be able to because we couldn't really afford to. She was disappointed at the time but let it pass. This note was found in my mom's car the day that she died in an envelope along with some money ready to mail to me.

It reads, "Dear Kathi & Dale- How do you like my stationery? I'm siting in my car and this is it. I hope this is enough money so you can come home for Christmas. I think it would be very nice to have you here for Christmas. Love- mom."


I don't know why I keep it, but it does my heart good to read it, especially the part that says "Love- mom". I love seeing her handwriting. Maybe I'm weird, but I don't care.


This is my all time favorite picture that I have had of my mother for as long as I can remember.


PS, I love and miss you Mom!

Two Days, Two Abandoned Cats!

On Sunday, December 13th, Dan the Man found a "stray" cat outside while he was doing his morning chores. Curious as to why the cat was hanging out and not running away like most wild cats do, he called to it (you know... here kitty, kitty, kitty). To his surprise, the cat came running up to him and was very friendly. After determining that the cat was very tame, being concerned with the frigid temps and the cat's health, he decided to bring her to me in the house. My heart gets smushy and starts to melt at the thought of cats that are lost or abandoned. Oh, poor kitty. It was obvious that she hadn't eaten in several days, at least a week or longer. Hard to tell since I am no expert. I fed her and gave her some water. She couldn't eat the food fast enough.

Meanwhile, all of our cats were becoming very concerned with this stranger we had let into our house! Who was she, where did she come from, was she friendly and how long was she staying? After she got some food in her tummy, she was ready for some lovin'! She was so loving and affectionate. Danny left to go work on the corn and I started calling all the neighbors to see if anyone was missing a cat. I didn't have any luck finding her owner. She made herself at home on a comfy blanket on the couch.

We've named her Tatum

Then two days later, Danny and Chris came into the house after going out to do the morning chores with a young cat, probably 8 or 9 months old, with frostbitten ears! "You have got to be kidding me" was my response! This is unreal. Where are these cats coming from. Just like the cat before, this one is very friendly, hungry and freezing cold, literally! Did I mention that the low temps had been well below 0 days before. One morning the low was -21 degrees F. This baby had definitely been out in that weather!

Poor kitten! See the frostbitten ears!

We have found a home for the kitten, our mail carrier took him. She is a very compassionate person who has a passionate love for animals. I can't thank her enough for helping me out. If you would like to adopt this kitten I am sure that she would be willing to part with him. Let me know and I will get you in touch with her. He would make an awesome pet for a responsible person who is willing to give him a loving home.

All of the cats that we own have either been "dumped" here or abandoned except for one. Tyler has been with us for 18 years and is the only one that I actually "wanted" (for lack of a better word, you know what I mean.) Then we have Lily who was "dumped" here around 7 years ago. The four sisters, Sammie, Camille, Squeakers and Bridgette, have been here two years. Their mother (a stray cat) was killed two years ago during a freak hail storm that lasted over an hour. We found the mother cat dead in one of our fields after the storm. A couple of days later we found 5 kittens in a haystack that obviously belonged to the now dead stray cat. We lost one of the kittens to an owl or something, but still have the other four. All of our cats are either spay or neutered and we do not have a problem with them wandering. They all stay close to our house and as far as I know, do not cause a problem for any of our neighbors.

Okay this is where I get on my "high-horse" and vent. And since this is my blog, I can do that. You can agree or disagree with me, I don't care, but this is how I feel about the whole cat situation. I strongly disagree with the idea of having wild cats or semi-wild cats (those who are fed, but aren't necessarily some one's pet and properly cared for) on a farm. I believe that if you are going to have cats, you need to be responsible for them and provide them with adequate shelter, adequate food and to provide them veterinary care when necessary (that includes vaccinations) and most importantly have them spay or neutered! Believe me, if you spay or neuter your cat it will not cause the cat population in the world, let alone just your area, to decrease in such massive numbers that cats will be placed on the endangered species list!

If you have cats that just run loose on your place and you do not take PROPER care of them, they eventually become someone else's problem (or they die!) If you do not provide adequate shelter and food for them during freezing temps they will wander and end up at someone else's home, like ours! I don't remember asking you if you had any extra cats you didn't want to take care of or are unwilling to take care of so I could have more! I really don't need more, nor do I really want more.

Cats have emotions and deserve to be treated with respect. The bible says that God created all of the animals of the earth first, before he even created man. He then created man and let him "rule" over all the animals of the earth. God did not tell us to neglect the animals! When you rule over something, you still have an obligation to it's welfare.

Holiday Baking! Can you say Yummy!?!?

I love holiday baking! Actually I just love baking whether it be the holidays or not! This year I made my very first gingerbread house from scratch. I can't believe how easy it was and I absolutely loved the way it made the kitchen smell. I have come to the conclusion that the success of your house all rides on the frosting. Luckily I found the proper frosting the first time and didn't have to learn this by trial and error! My frosting was like super glue! I have heard many stories this year of frosting that just would not set up or would not hold the candy on, let alone keep the walls up!

For the gingerbread I used this recipe:

Classic Gingerbread Cutouts

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and eggs. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; beat into the molasses mixture. Gradually stir in the remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough.
3. Divide dough into 2 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting (Royal Icing):

3 tablespoons Wilton Meringue Powder

4 cups shifted confectioners' sugar

6-10 tablespoons warm water

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

Makes 3 cups.

I also made the little gingerbread men with this same recipe. I made several little packages of these guys and gave them out as "thank you" gifts for the mail carrier, the UPS man and some other people. I packaged about half a dozen of them in those clear cellophane bags you get at Wal-Mart in the party section. They sell them as treat bags. Then I tied them up with a little ribbon and either gave them with a Christmas card or a little hang tag that I made that said "Merry Christmas from the Manvilles." I love giving little treats like this!

Every year several of the ladies that live out here by us get together and have a cookie exchange. These are such a great idea. Everyone brings the same amount of one kind of cookie, like say 5 dozen. Then after much talking and laughing and catching up on what everyone has been doing and of course eating a few cookies, you divide all the cookies between everyone who came. Depending on how many people come, you end up going home with several different kinds of cookies to share with your family and your holiday guests.

This year I made the most fabulous cookies. They were absolutely delicious! I got them from the November 29, 2009 issue of Family Circle. Click on the link below and it will take you to the recipe.

Caramel and Chocolate Tartlets

Well, time to close for now.

Make some time to do some holiday baking!!

Miscellaneous Goings On...

The weather continued to be cold this past week with the highs being in the low teens to 30's and the lows being -21 to 10 degrees. Brrrrrr..... When does summer start? We are still trying to get our corn harvested. Dan the Man was excused from all jury duty until after the first of the year so that has been a real blessing. I've been battling a chest cold and am praying that I can kick it before we leave for our trip to Japan!! I think I'd better get to the doctor and get on an antibiotic today.

Chris finished up all of his college classes last week so he has been home all this week and has been helping Danny with the corn harvest so I haven't had to. It's a good thing because I don't think I would have been too much help a couple of days when I was feeling like I had been run over by a Mack truck!

Danny figured out a great way to plow the snow.





A couple of days ago I saw this coyote in the pasture right in front of our house.




A glimpse of this past week.

Bundle up and stay warm!
Your mama told me to tell you!

How Long Do Fresh Eggs Last?

Ever wonder how long fresh eggs last? After being asked this question and not really knowing the answer I finally did some research and came up with these interesting facts.

• Eggs can remain edible for even longer than a month, but freshness (egg yolk that sits firm and high, and a thick viscous egg white) will be noticeably less after two weeks.
  
  If eggs start out as Grade AA, they remain AA for only two weeks if properly refrigerated. After that, they'll be Grade A for another 2 weeks.
  

• Here is a true test of freshness: Get a bowl of cold water. Put the whole egg in the water. If it sinks, it's fresh; if it floats to the top, it is old. It will kind of lay almost on its side. You can see the age of it by how much it floats. It's a good idea to do this test before selling any eggs if you suspect they are older than two weeks.
  
  However, by putting the eggs in water, you wash away the bloom from the egg, a protective layering that prevents bacteria from entering the egg. Therefore, unless you are not expecting to keep the eggs for very long, you should not put them in water. If you must wash the eggs, use HOT running water.
  

• Farmers have 30 days from the day an egg is laid to get it to stores. Then, the stores have another 30 days to sell the eggs. The USDA recommends a maximum of 5 weeks in your refrigerator before you discard your eggs. What does this all boil down to? On April 1, you could be eating an egg that was laid on Christmas.

• Many eggs in the U.S. get to market within a few days of laying. If there is a USDA shield on the carton, it must have at least a Julian pack date. A use-by is not required, but if used, it must not be more than 45 days from packing. If the eggs are not distributed interstate, state laws will apply and are variable.
  

• Keep in mind that farmers generally get their eggs to stores within a week, and both the "pack date" and "sell by" date are stamped onto the carton. The numbers run from 1-365, depending on the day of the year. Lastly, there is a big difference in taste between farm fresh eggs and week-old eggs. If you want the freshest eggs, you can buy from a local farmer.
  
  
• There is an expiration date on the carton. If in doubt, put the egg in water. If it floats, do not use it.

So, now you know. I feel smarter, how about you?

I do have a limited number of fresh eggs available if you are interested in buying farm fresh eggs. I sell them for $2/dozen. Let me know if you are interested!

A couple of weeks ago I found this monstrous egg in one of the nesting boxes. It was huge and had a double yoke. Crazy... I felt sorry for the chicken who laid that egg. Get a ruler out and see how big a 3 inch egg is!! The two on the left are regular sized eggs, like a large and an extra large. The monster egg was even bigger than an extra large egg on the egg scale!!


Then this week I found this puny little blue egg. I wonder what was up with that?

Did the chicken get interrupted while she was laying or did she just get bored with the process and decided to call it quits before the egg was the proper size. Guess I need to do some more research on exactly how a hen develops an egg and the whole process. I'll fill you in on what all I find out. Or even better, if you are an egg expert, why don't you fill me in! Leave a comment or two!


The weather is still cold and snowy and we are still trying to get our corn harvested. Our trip to Japan to see Nick, our oldest who is stationed at Yokota Air Force Base near Tokyo, is fast approaching!!! Yikes, I hope we can get everything taken care of before we go!

Think we'll have omelets for dinner tonight! Thanks chickies for all your hard work and the fruits of your labor!

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!?

(As always... make sure you include your name in your comment, unless you truly want to be anonymous and if you want to see a photo full sized, click on the photo. To get back to the blog, click on your browsers back button.)

Toilet Paper + Bridgette, the Cat = Child Proof Locks

Things have been pretty normal here at the farm lately. We had a great Thanksgiving with our family. Colton and Chris came home for the holiday from college and we just had a quite family dinner with just our family. Sometimes that is a nice way to spend the holiday, not too much fuss and not nearly as much work either.

We are still trying to get all of our corn harvested. Seems to be a never ending job due to the weather and Dan the Man being called for jury duty.

On Wednesday I took the day off and went shopping in Cheyenne with my sister. Always is a good time, we don't spend as much time together as we should, but it just makes the time we do spend together that much sweeter! On the drive home or there I can't remember and it really doesn't matter, we started talking about our cats. She loves cats as much as I do and has three herself. I shared this story with her and I thought I'd share it with you.

Sometimes I feel like the cats get into more trouble then a toddler does. I recently remodeled our bathroom and part of the remodel included painting the cabinets which required removal of all the cabinet doors to paint them. I also put on all new hinges and hardware. When I reassembled the cabinet doors, they ended up not closing quite all the way tight. I don't know if it is the hinges or what, but the problem wasn't that big of a problem that I couldn't live with it (or so I thought) so I left it alone.

Bridgette, the culprit

Bridgette, one of the cats, found out that it was extremely easy for her to open one cabinet door with her little paw. She also discovered that there was a whole new world to explore in that cabinet and it could be quite entertaining under there. I caught her in there a couple of times and scolded her for going in there so she decided that the best time for playing in the cabinet was at night when I was fast asleep. Did I mention that this is the master bathroom that I am talking about and it is just off our bedroom? So for several nights I was awoke by her rummaging in the cabinet and having a great time. One night while she was in there she discovered that it was especially fun and exciting to tear the rolls of toilet paper to shreds with her claws! Nice, huh?



You would have thought that I would have decided to do something about this problem the first time it happened, but I didn't. It wasn't until the third package of mutilated toilet paper that I got smart. The solution was to install child proof cabinet locks on all the bathroom cabinet doors. I did that a couple of weeks ago and she still is trying on occasion to get into that cabinet at night. She wakes me up trying.

Does anyone else have child proof cabinet locks installed, not because they have young children in the house, but because of a cat?

How can something this sweet cause such mass destruction in a matter of minutes?