Beware the delightful new disclaimers

Here is the delightful new disclaimer I received by email for my Ebay credit card - I don't use the card anymore but you'll notice that the options for opting out are not nearly as convenient as my silent, but obviously very likely consent. I have noticed that more and more companies are sending out new little additions lately and while this one doesn't bug me too much (I never give them my cell number anyway), please remember to read these sweet little love letters from your bank and credit card companies. :)

IMPORTANT SUPPLEMENT TO YOUR EBAY MASTERCARD ACCOUNT AGREEMENT

The following provision is being added to your eBay MasterCard account agreement:

You agree that GE Money Bank and any other owner or servicer of your account may contact you about your account using any contact information or cell phone numbers you provide (whether previously provided or provided in the future).
You expressly agree to the use of any automatic telephone dialing system and/or artificial or prerecorded voice when contacting you, even if you are charged for the call under your phone plan.
The above provision will become part of your account agreement if you consent to the provision by (i) using your account more than 15 days after this notice is delivered to you or (ii) keeping your account open after March 15, 2009. If you do either of these things, we will conclude that you have consented to being contacted on your cell phone in this way. If you do not want to be contacted on your cell phone in this way, you may call us at 866-630-2763 at any time.

Get ready

I woke up this morning and all I could smell in my kitchen was Macaroni Pie (think baked mac and cheese but way better). I will finally get around to posting my recipe for this small piece of heaven on earth :) I have a few variations of the recipe and we may explore all of them, or maybe I'll explore them all and have a tasting at the house and the winner will be declared. So many options, so little time. :)

Calf Update:
Judd and Treva have taken wonderfully to each other. After reading several articles on the dangers of raising dairy bulls on the bottle, we heeded the suggestion to allow Treva and the herd to raise him. He is not yet given full access to the herd, he has a nice room in the smaller part of the barn where the pigs used to live. He is close enough for them to see but far enough that they can't quite touch.

Treva had no issue letting the little guy nurse and he has all the nursing instincts working in full force. She was not keen on the headbutting of her udder however and has since taught him not to do that or at least how to anticipate her leg when she has had enough of the bumping. We started them off slowly by putting him on her while she was in the stanchion but by the second day, when he was around meeting the others, she had no problem standing around and letting him nurse in the open. Quinn is the most interested, I think he feels the kinship of being an orphan calf. Of course he didn't have a Treva to mother him :( While I've heard wonderful things about Dexter's and their ability to adopt calves, I would say hands down that a Jersey is better.

The weather has warmed up nicely today, Judd will get more time out to play in the first corral and Treva will go in with him when it is time to nurse. She is getting fairly big now that she is 6 months pregnant, though Christmas doesn't look quite so big being 9 months pregnant - it must be a perspective thing. Well once again we are on calf watch and will let you know when the blessed day occurs.

Now, if you've never heard of Macaroni pie, I'd suggest you read up a bit more, forget what you thought you knew; mine is better :) Oh and the image above is not a pic of one of mine but it was the closest one I could find to give you an idea :)


photo courtesy: lilandra's flickr account

A word from our sponsor . . . oh right, that's me :)

I was recently under fire on a homesteading board over the life and death of Valentine. One member went so far as to direct others to my blog in an attempt to show my inconsistency (though I think it was more about showing my inadequacy). I don't claim to know everything or much of anything for that matter. I went into this with a head full of ideas of how things would/could be and living in the dream life that the books talked about. The people I talked to made it seem as easy as the books did, so I resolved that I could do this. More days than not that resolve is tested, it was especially true when my health became a factor and my dh had to take over most of the day to day.

But we pushed forward and I continued to keep you updated, taking you all on our journey. We've had some of the best times of our life and some of the worse. The thing about life is that you will not always make the right decisions and in retrospect it may not have even been the best decision, but you have to live with the consequences and learn from it. I could be that person who throws in the towel and says no more, I can't or it's too hard . . . but it's not my nature. I don't give up, I do better next time.

For those who read this blog because they are thinking about homesteading/farming/life in the country/whatever, remember this; life isn't always pretty, stuff always happens especially when you don't want it to and you can only be so prepared for everything, until you're not; so pick yourself up, dust yourself(and pride - it will take quite the beating from time to time) off and get back on track or make a new way. I hope to see you on the rest of this journey. God Bless.