Stress Relief

By Katrina

Whether you read the newspapers, watch the evening news or surf the headlines on the Internet, the economic and financial news is very bleak. Unemployment levels are high, foreclosures continue to rise, housing starts have plummeted, consumer debt delinquencies are on the increase and the stock market is at levels not seen for years. And on top of the gloomy financial news, we have issues in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Darfur, etc. If all that wasn’t enough to get you down we are at the final stages of a Presidential election and two men, one of whom will be our Country’s next leader, seem intent on destroying the reputation of the opposing candidate before our very eyes. How on earth are we suppose to feel good about our future with such pessimism constantly blasted at us?

THE NEWS IS JUST OVERWHELMING!

I guess Dick and I are optimists. We have had economic problems in the past, and with time, this too will be an event of the past.

We each have our medicine for stress. Some people use alcohol while others may use pills. Dick (more…)

Technorati Tags: depression, election, Miniature Donkeys, stress

When friends and visitors come to the farm one of the first questions they ask is why miniature donkeys? What do you do with them? We are always a little stumped with such questions. To us it is a little like why do you have kids? What do you do with them?

Katrina, her sister Valerie as well as her mother Barbara have had dogs since the girls were just little kids. They have had many breeds and consistently won in the show ring. They have been to Westminster, they have won Best in Show at numerous shows, they have had the number one Saluki in the Country for multiple years in a row. Multiple Salukis have been in the top 10 as well as Whippets. Barbara has successfully shown Chinese Cresteds.

Over the years there have been other animals ranging from horses, cats, goats, llamas to (more…)

Technorati Tags: cats, dogs, horses, miniature donkey, Miniature Donkeys

I need a Tylenol!

I am a people watcher. I can go to Disneyland and be happy sitting on a bench watching the people just walk by. I think it is a learned trait. When I was a little kid and my parents didn’t have money for entertainment like going to a movie on a Friday night we would jump into the car and drive to town. It was Oskaloosa, a small Iowa town and the stores stayed open on Friday night. We would park on the square in front of the stores and just watch the people walk by. Sometimes we would go over to the Band Stand and sit on a bench and listen to the music. If they spotted someone they knew they would come over to the car and talk. When my parents felt like they had a little more money than usual we might walk over to Putt’s on the corner and get a bag of Caramel Corn.

Life was a lot different back then we found our entertainment and happiness in people and doing small things. Unlike today when we have to be watching flat screens and pushing buttons. We are bombarded with electronic gadgets. People on the street rarely look at you and smile because their ear is glued to their cell phone.

Well, I still go back to the old ways. Katrina and I often find ourselves (more…)

Technorati Tags: Band Stand, Dolly, Miniature Donkeys, Oskaloosa, Squirrel