I'm a winner!

 Yes, I won something on the Internet.  One of the blogs I read is Blind Pig and the Acorn. Tipper writes about Appalachia, both past and present.  Her husband and daughters sing country songs sometimes that I enjoy listening to.  They sit around home singing in the kitchen, the way our friends and I did in the 70's.  I feel as if I'm right there with them, and have been known to get my guitar out and sing along with them.

Tipper has many giveaways on her blog, with the prizes often being various books about Appalachia.  The other day she wrote about one of her readers who makes rings out of quarters.  That got my attention, because at some point before I met Cliff, he made such a ring.  He was wearing it when I met him.  After we married, he realized it could be dangerous to wear at work (the butcher shop) as it could get caught on some of the equipment and cause injury.  At least I think that's why he stopped wearing it.  Long story short, after moving a couple of times, the ring was never seen again.  So I really wanted this ring to give to Cliff (and it's just his size)!  It's made from a half-dollar, though, instead of a quarter.  You can read about the ring HERE.

Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Tipper saying I won.  I never expect to win anything, but I go ahead and put my name in the hat.  This time it paid off.  

I'm enjoying a quiet day alone.  Cliff drove a hundred miles north looking for a governor for that junk tractor of his; the governors are almost impossible to find, and many of them are far too expensive to buy for a tractor that isn't worth much.  You can't buy a new one because they don't make them any more; you have to find an old one somewhere and hope it works.  

There's a man at Craig, Missouri, who has helped us out before with Olivers. He has a governor that might work... or might not.  The Oliver corporation switched suppliers quite a bit, so there are different sorts of governors for the same model of tractor.  So Cliff went a hundred miles one way for something that may not even be the right part.  I called a while ago to tell him about some phone calls I've made for him, and to see if his trip paid off, but he had stopped to eat lunch.  He'll call me back when he can. 

I wasn't really eager to go anywhere this morning; I never am, these days.  So Cliff took his sister along.  I'm sure they're having a great visit on the way there and back.  Rena does some of the driving, which is a big plus.  I'm just piddling around here:  I've cooked some turnips for myself.  I've been gifted with about half a bushel of Roma tomatoes, so I made myself some macaroni and tomatoes.  I mashed the over-ripe bananas and put them in the freezer in bags holding one-cup amounts, to use in banana bread later on.  I intend to take a walk with Gabe in the pasture after while, and then maybe I'll do my half-hour on the exercise bike.

I'm so excited to have won that ring!

For a Christmas story that will make you smile, read THIS from Sean of the South.

And that's the way it is at Woodhaven Acres.