you can pick up registered, well-trained horses for under a hundred dollars. I agree that when she comes to see them you can do a little "horse" judging yourself. You will be able to tell if she is comfortable around horses and if the horses are comfortable with her. Trust your instincts. Good luck. Tani

:lol:Love this! Have you had your wake up drink yet? Wow, your patterns are beautiful!! A clergy stole is a long, skinnyish rectangle of material that drapes around the ministers neck and hangs in the front of their robe. Janet in Toronto: I was thinking about the weight and thought maybe a lace pattern or even using fingerling weight yarn. I knit very tightly anyway so that much won't be a problem. I also thought maybe backing the stole with some nice material so it doesn't wear on the back while rubbing against the robe. Anyway, I am just thinking aloud.:tongue_smilie: I tried to copy quotes from all of you but only managed to do a couple. Still learning how to do this stuff. Thanks for the advice and patience. Now, let's go get a cup of tea, or coffee, or ......? I will also email Parisarah if she doesn't see this thread to reply and see what she thinks. It is great that she is becoming a minister! Thanks to all. Tani

Minister and I am trying to knit her a clergy stole for Christmas. Does anyone out there in the Hive Mind have a pattern? Pretty please? Thanks for your help. Right now I am knitting it about 4 inches wide and about 100 inches long. I wonder how to round the neck and make it lay flat. Miters? Decreases? Suggestions are most welcome.:001_smile: Tani

Today, 45 degrees, sunny, 45 minute run. It feels great to get back in the swing.:)

cold! At least for me and I do not have the best cold weather gear. It was 28 degrees so I did my recumbent bike for 60 min, wii for 30 and lifted weights. Will try again for the run tomorrow. I want to encourage the lady who is getting ready to run a 5k. You are going to do just fine. Go and have fun:001_smile: Speaking of cold weather gear, what do you hard core folks wear when it is cold and windy? I feel constricted in too many layers and most of my whitewater cold weather clothing is falling apart after much use. I don't even have any polypro left to wear under sweats. Arrggg. Thanks.

:grouphug::grouphug: Tani

It is inspiring to know that I am NOT the only one needing the 'potty' and wondering what the heck I am doing this for at times! :lol: What I have noticed is that I don't always have issues, even on the long runs. I haven't been able to figure out any rhyme or reason to it either. It just is. I am finally back in the groove running and loving it. It was cold to me tonight, 42 degrees, no wind, 3 miles. I cannot imagine having to run in 11 degree weather. I would probably think twice, I admire you for doing it. Will do a long run, for me, on Saturday, hopefully about 8 miles. Keep up the good work Ladies!:001_smile:

:D:grouphug:

I will look into Abeka further and re-read my WTM book. Oak Meadow sounds great but I do want a math that isn't 'vague'. I have used MFW a couple of years ago, I will revisit their site as well. I Love the wealth of information and variety we have on this board, it is so helpful when we need to make changes and need to know how things have worked for others. Thanks Hive-Mind ;)

I have been looking at various curriculums that include everything. I really, really like the look of Oak Meadow, next is BJU. Not sure there is anything else that strikes my fancy. I like how it seems that OM would tell me when to have dc's write, do art, read, math, but in a gentle way. If you have used this, please share your experience with it. I have also heard good things about BJU and do have access to the 7th grade (which would be for next year) to buy here locally. I am looking at grades 3 and 6 right now for both dc's. I just feel that our school would flow more smoothly if I at least had the process laid out for me. I am also going back to work part-time next week, from home, but work none-the-less so having something at least partially put together would be a big help. Thanks for help :tongue_smilie: Tani

:001_smile:

better if I keep going with a cold. Like you, Cheryl, the fresh air always helps. I believe I will head out right now and get a small run in. Thanks for the encouragement.;) Tani

;) I haven't hardly ran 3 times in the last 3 weeks. Had very nasty cold with sore-throat, got over that and now starting another cold my dh brought home, wonder if I should just suck it up and do short runs anyway. I am really missing it. You Ladies are doing a fantastic job keeping it up. Way to go:001_smile: Tani, still sniffling and coughing, yuk.

in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA. I actually live in East TN about an hour from there. The battlefield is huge and beautiful, full of monuments. I started my training out with the Couch to 5k but 8 weeks prior I started increasing my run times. I would run every other night, 1st night for an hour, 2nd night for 2 hrs, and the third night for 10ish to 11ish miles at a park where I could clock my miles. The first 2 nights I just ran on my farm. It seemed to work. I also did a lot of run 10 min walk 3 for the really long runs. It was a lot of fun. I am actually looking forward to doing another one. Chattanooga, TN has one in Feb. and if I can keep it going there is another in Nashville, TN in April where I am tentatively planning to do the full marathon :tongue_smilie:. AND shoveling manure is definitly a work out. I am heading out to do that very thing myself. You go Girl ! ;)

year ago. After I got through all the podcasts for each week, I was able to work up to the 1/2 marathon I ran last weekend. It was a fantastic program for me. Please don't feel intimidated, just take it one run at a time. When I first started I thought that first week would kill me :tongue_smilie: and now, I can run for an hour or more fairly easily. There were some weeks that I would do for two weeks instead of one, don't hestitate to repeat a week if you don't feel ready for the next level. That really helped me as well. This link I put here is for the podcasts that I downloaded for free onto my mp3 so I didn't have to think about how long I was running. Didn't know if you were using the mp3 version or the paper version :001_smile: Keep up the good work. http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/podcasts/podcasts.html

it quits. Still sore from the 1/2 I did on Sat. Will run again Thursday and try for an hour and a half run. Guess I should get a pedometer to clock miles? I will strength train Tue and Wed. Weather is great here. Cloudy, 60 degrees. Tani

denser breasts. After being preg and bfeeding for 6 yrs there is not much density left and now they just do the mammo. I will have to ask the mid-wife I work for and she what she says. I won't talk with her till Thursday but will post what I find out.

of encouragement. To answer one of the questions, I started running about 1 yr ago using a Couch to 5k running plan on my mp3. The music is cheesy, too me, but it got me running. I don't ever know how far I go, just how long I run because I run on my farm and I have never measured. About 8 weeks ago a friend told me of a race close by and I decided to go for it, mostly to prove to myself that I can still do it. You see, about a year and half ago I thought I would never run again. I have always done a little just for excercise. The last 8 wks, I increased my runs to between 1 and 2.5 hrs every other night except for Tues and Wed. I did pretty good today, AFTER I got through the first 4 miles. I got the worst pain ever in my lower shins and basically hobbled the first 3 miles in 1 hour. The pain subsided and I was able to increase my time but I never really got into the grove, kwim? I ran 13 to 14 min miles after that. I may try to do another in Feb. I also ran this race with a lingering cold that was pretty bad beginning of the week. I carried on to prove to myself that I can overcome adversity, my body isn't going to just "let me down". Wow, Sorry this got so long. Guess in trying to answer the question I started thinking about it all. Thanks for reading if you made it this far:D Oh, I will also try to check in those of you on the excersice post. That would be fun. Everyone here on the wtm board are so wonderful. Thanks. Tani

all of you, I am still getting use to posting and sharing, but I finished my 1st 1/2 marathon this morning. I actually did it! In 21 more days I will be 45 yrs old. I'da not thought it:tongue_smilie: The last 5 yrs have been one physical trauma after another so it was a very special day for me. I ran it in 3 hrs and 27 min. I was off my pace but I finished. Ok, I am not trying to brag, just kinda amazed. Thanks to you who listened :);) Tani PS. My legs are sooooore!!!:lol:

Everytime I had the mammo, it would come back dense and they would send me for a follow up ultra-sound. If they did this for me and it seems to have worked, why can't they at least do this for our younger ladies? I have had yearly mammo's ever since and at one point, even had to go every 3 months for two years to watch a 'spot'. I am very, very glad that I have kept up with this because just 6 yrs ago my aunt had bc and now her dd 33 has it as well. This is one of those things that I feel the mammo is the lesser of two evils so to speak. I also didn't have my kids till my 30's and breastfed for 4 yrs. This is probably coming out choppy, but my point is, mammo's DO save lives. Hope you find all the info you are looking for and, mammo's are not really that bad, at least to me :001_smile: Good luck. Tani

I am so sorry for your pain and your family's. :grouphug::grouphug: Tani

I let my kids do it, just outside. I am allergic to dogs and if I let the one kid bring their pet in, the other one will complain to bring theirs, which is a different breed, kwim? Amy G, your website is so great. Sounds like you have a fun place. I am slowly moving us over to being more self sustaining. So far we garden organically, have chickens, looking for a milk animal. Hmmm, wonder what I will need to try next, after we get milk animal and used to that? I have to say that all of you Ladies have been such a source of encouragement for me as I was feeling slightly unsure about adding a milking animal to our lives, but it sounds like with a little adjustment it shouldn't be too much trouble and well worth the benefits. Thank you all.

'house goats'.:confused: I don't even allow our dogs or cats inside unless they are injured or ill, which has only happened twice. Still mulling over all the information and planning to go back to library for books. Thanks All.

I agree that cow poo is yucky. Goat poo reminds me of rabbit pellets. Also, I can get nubian mixes from the Mennonites who live not far from me. I have talked with them about breeding and what to do with the kids. They are willing to breed the does in return for a kid so I would not have to keep a buck. I do like the fact that goats are smaller and more easily managed. I did get a hands on lesson milking, strainging, drinking goats milk a couple of months ago and it was wonderful. The family and I all really liked the milk. It was hard to tell the difference between it and cows milk (store bought). I have electric fences run along with my straight wire, three strands high (we had a pony at one time who was an escape artist:tongue_smilie: He would actually get on all fours somehow, and crawl under the fence!) We do only have 15 acres but a couple of our horses also wonder our neighbors field, at their request, coming home at night for grain. hmmm, so much to think about and so many wonderful responses. Thank you, thank you. I will be sure to let you know what we decide. I have a feeling that maybe with the help from the Mennonites I should maybe start there. Tracy, your big cow and baby cow are sooo cute!

:D We are out of ice cream, the store-bought kind, bummer. Eats lots for me, please! Mama Ana, Thanks for the wonderful input on goats. I am definitly leaning towards cows. I do worry about disease's that could be transmitted but it seems that if all is carefully done the risks are less than what is happening to our public food suppy.