Month: January 2022

Andrew was lucky enough to go to the KU-Kentucky basketball game yesterday. It was the first time he got to see a game at the historic allenfield house. he also checked out the pre-game activities.  it will be an experience he wont forget. he has gone to a K. C. chiefs game this year too. he said they were both loud.

we took him to a KU football game this year too. we also took him to a washburn football game when he was younger. next up will be a KC Royals baseball game. then a Sporting KC soccer game.

andrew is really into sports. he lives in Lawrence, a town with great sports programs. he plays baseball, football, basketball and soccer. he plays on a basketball team that is coached by tyshawn taylor, a former KU player.

the only downside to the game he went to was Kentucky beat KU down on our home court. i watched the game on tv. i kept waiting for that run that would put the jayhawks ahead. that didnt come. we were outplayed by an athletic team. they caught us on an off day. we get everyones best shot.

i still have high hopes for this team. they have all the pieces.  when the tourney comes, only one loss will send a team home. no matter how good they are. this KU team hasnt played up to its potential yet. they better start getting there. i have a $30 bet at a vegas sporting book on them. it would pay $540 if they become national champs. i bet on them when the odds were 18-1.

yesterday we tossed more wood into the basement. now we have enough wood stacked down there to last about a month. winter should be winding down by then. we will let the fire go out tomorrow so i can clean the stove pipes. last time i replaced the pipes with new ones. the stove fire burns more efficient when the pipes are clean.

i am still encoding into my access file. it is a listing of my cds. it will list the group or artist and the name of the cd. i have seen i bought duplicate copies of a number of cds. so far  i have encoded over 650 cds into my listing. i have more to go. i have found some empty cd cases. i dont know what happened to the disc.

today the Chiefs play. they better win. i dont know if i can handle two days of disappointment. chiefs are a 7-point favorite to win. i think they will cover that. we will be watching the game on tv. the baby back ribs will be ready before the game starts. i will put on my mahomes jersey to wear while watching the game.

i have been waiting for the chiefs game all week. i have my chores done. the animals are fed and watered. the only thing i have planned today is to watch the game. a chiefs win will make my week.

go chiefs.

i am hearing from trappers who have porcupine hair. i made a deal with the lady who contacted me first. i agreed to buy from her at the end of the season. since then, i heard from a coupla other trappers. i gotta keep my word to the first one.

i usually deal with the same trappers every year. none have said they saved some porcupine quills. i have asked for them. i want to practice doing quillwork. if i can become adept at it, i want to fix a fan with a birch bark handle. i want to adorn it with quill work i did.

a nephew came by to look at a roach for his son. he liked one that i had. i told him about the times that i had been ripped off. some took advantage of my trusting nature. one played the i am an elder, can we do it the ‘indian way’. as much as i didnt want to, i trusted him. he ripped me off then called me a liar when i said he didnt pay me. i am an elder too.  i guess his “indian way” is to steal his regalia.

i trusted another guy. he owed me like a hundred bucks but he avoided me for over a year. once i went to nation station. that was when it had a back door. when this dude seen me coming, he skated out the back door so he wouldnt have to face me. he finally paid me. i dont understand how some “tradish” guys can do that to their own people. or to anyone really.

i told my nephew i dont like being distrustful of anybody. that aint my nature. reality is some of our people will rip others off. that was never any of our teachings. others ask for the “Indian price”. i say that is the Indian price, others charge way more than i do. but some want my art as cheap as they can get it. 

my nephew asked me how much i would charge for a bustle. i told him to get the materials and i would show him how to make one. he will be able to make more for his son as he got bigger. i will teach my nephew because i dont like to see our people ripped off. our life is tough enough.

i have cleaned eagles for people that got them from fish and game. i  did it for nothing because some guys were taking half the feathers as payment for doing that. one of the guys was the one that skated out the back door of nation. real indian eh? another guy kept all but a few feathers. i cant believe someone would dishonor those feathers by cheating others out of them.

i havent worked on my deer hides yet. they are frozen and will stay that way for a while. when i can work them, i will scrape the meat off the flesh side. then i will salt the hides. that will preserve them until i need them.

gotta do my chores and stoke up the fire.

they used to say “chicken feed” when discussing the low cost of something. it meant it was an  insignificant amount of money.

i went to town to get chicken feed and dog food. i was shocked to see how much the cost of egg layer crumbles went up in only a few weeks. i was paying about 12 bucks for a 40-pound bag of it. now the cost is $17.99 for the same amount. that’s outrageous. that may not sound like much but it will add up over a year.

i bought two bags of layer crumbles that will last a few weeks. then i have to go back and pay that marked up price again. i have a ‘rewards card’ (for faithful customers) that gives me $10 off when i buy $50 worth of feed. the increase eats that up and basically i save nothing. my “reward” is paying more for the same thing.

i cant believe how prices can increase about 30% over night. big business can rob us legally. the law protects their interests not the customers. prices can go up for whatever reason but they wont ever drop.  the cost of eating fresh eggs has just gone up. its a good thing we sell our surplus eggs to help pay for the feed.

it would be cheaper to just buy eggs.  but i enjoy the satisfaction of eating fresh eggs that i raised. and home raised eggs taste so much better than store bought. i dont mind feeding and watering the hens then going after eggs. i get to enjoy fresh air and the outdoors while doing my chores.

on the way to town i seen a bald eagle. it was flying low. i could see it distinctly. i stopped and tried to watch it awhile but it flew away. there are plenty of eagles in kansas during the winter season. i have seen them in other seasons too but more in the winter. i think its good mojo to see them.

they had lotsa snow out in western kansas. that part of the state has been in a drought. the snow will give them much needed moisture. we still have some snow lying on the ground here on the rez. it will help our gardens this spring.

our cable has been cutting out lately. we can be watching tv or be on the computer and service will drop. i called the cable people. they said i had a strong signal but they would come check. they said that powerful windstorm we had awhile back must blew it out of position by about 45 degrees. no wonder we lost signal a lot. they put it back in range.

i have walked 11 times on the treadmill so far this month. that is a good start to my walking this year. it wasnt a new years resolution or anything. i knew i had to exercise more because my sugar went up. i am trying to keep my walking going. i will walk again today.

no KU or KC Chiefs games until this weekend. i can wait.

hit the road this morning to go after my deer hides. they were bagged up and in a wheelbarrow.  a young guy pushed it to my car so i could load them and asked if i did leather work. i said nope i make hand drums with them. i even had one in the car to show the workers at the deer processing place why i wanted the hides.

they liked the hand drum. i said it was made with elk hide i got from an elk farm in colorado but they no longer save the hides. one of the ladies asked me “you know why” i said no. she said its because you cant get nothing out of the hides. thats why this place just tossed them. they were happy someone will put them to good use.

they asked me if i needed any more. i said what they gave me would keep me busy for some time. one of them said they will be open a coupla more months then closed til next year. if i wanted any more they said i had their number. i thanked them again. yes there are plenty of nice people in the world.

i got the white tail deer hides home. i put them in an empty trash can with a lid so critters cant get at them. i put one of the hides on my scraping beam to get a picture. i noticed it had the tail on it. i will keep the tails. i will salt them and tack them out. i will use the tails in my roach making. tails cost about six bucks a piece.

tonight temps will drop to about 11 degrees and will be 8 degrees tomorrow night. the hides will freeze and stay frozen for a while. that is good. i can work on them a little at a time. i will scape the meat off and salt them down. that will keep them from rotting out. salting the hides will preserve them until i need them. none will go to waste.

we stopped at a food truck on the way home for lunch. they made some good burgers. i dont eat burgers that often but enjoyed what they fixed. it was a quarter pounder with cheese, jalapenos and pulled pork on top. they gave me chips and water on the side. it was a good lunch.

we headed home because the grand daughters were gonna be here after school. we took the two laned highways home. we got to see more of the countryside that way.  it was a good day trip.

i wished i had rebuilt my sweat lodge this year. when i caught the covid i only had minor symptoms but they are kinda lingering. a good sweat would clear up my breathing and fix me up.

gonna watch KU play basketball tonight. i was happy they came back from 16 down and beat K-State on saturday. then sunday the chiefs won. `i like it when my favorite teams win.

i was already out this morning. the rav4 needed an oil change. i try to keep up with the regular maintenance. there is a mechanic in mayetta who worked on marys car at a reasonable price. i had him do it.  we support the small business man. the money turns over in the community.

while waiting, i went to downtown mayetti.  in mayetta, like most small towns in kansas, you find a liquor store, a post office, antique stores and churches. i went to the antique store.  i found a sign in the outline of a hen and it had “fresh eggs” spelt out on it. i will hang it on my chicken house with my other chicken related signs.

the oil change didnt take long. the guy was done in about half an hour. i was glad he was content to just changed my oil.  some places in topeekie try to convince me to get a transmission flush or replace my filters for a big markup. that is where their profit margin increases.

i gotta hit the road back to the amish town on monday. the oil change will keep the car running smooth.  i got a call from the deer processing place. they saved me the hides from their thursday processing. the lady said they had about 6 or 7 hides.

the hides will be frozen. they should stay froze for the next week or so. they wont spoil. the deer place was gonna salt the hides but ran out of the salt. i seen on the internet that i can use stock salt to salt the hides with. it costs about 6 bucks for a 50 pound bag.  i can get it at the feed store where i buy my chicken feed.

i will use the hides to make miniature 3-inch hand drums. they are good to hang on the cars’ rear view mirror. or make good wall hangings. i use one to decorate our christmas tree with other native related ornaments.

i will make some regular sized hand drums too. i have 5 frames stored away. one is 12 inches and the others are 15-inch frames. i made a few hand drums for my grandsons. they played with them while growing up.

i can make rawhide but havent taken it to the next stage of making buckskin. i tried once and got it a little past the rawhide stage. it didnt quite make buckskin though. now i know i didnt break the fibers enough. maybe someday i will try again. good buckskin costs some righteous bucks. once i traded a roach for some indian tanned deer hides.

we have been keeping our fire going. we are getting low on the wood stacked in the basement. we will have to toss in more wood. there is plenty of winter left. we like the warmth our wood stove gives us. we take turns stoking it up. we keep the fire going 24 hours a day. keeping a fire going is an art.

gotta get ready to watch the KU basketball game.

we had to cop some road time. we have been staying home a coupla weeks. we made a day trip to the amish country store yesterday. we stocked up on supplies because they are natural ingredients. too many processed foods have preservatives, food coloring, sugar or salt etc.

we probably could find natural foods a lot closer to home. i like to support people that follow their traditions though. i admire people that live their beliefs. and its a nice drive over there. this indian gotta get off the rez sometime.

we made the trip because we ran out of their butter. i had some this morning with my dark rye toast. i gave up white bread since i am diabetic. dark rye toast with that good butter tastes really good in the morning.

i went to a few of the antique stores in town. i didnt find much. a few trinkets. its about the search that is the most fun. i never know what treasures i will find. we went to the restaurant in town. we ate there a few times before. they serve a good buffet. i can’t pass on their fried chicken.

on the way home i passed a business that did deer processing. i couldnt stop because a car was right behind me. i was down the road a coupla miles before i could pull over. i turned around and went back.  i could see frozen hides in the dumpsters. i went inside and asked about getting a few hides. they gave me their number.

i called them this morning. they will have 7 deer to process today. they will save the hides for me. they wont charge me a dime for them. they said they would throw them away otherwise. i am lucky i turned around.

i have asked hunters on the rez for deer hides. they usually say yeah, we will save you one. they dont. they toss them instead.  i couldnt guess how many hides are wasted every year. i only want a few to make miniature hand drums for my pow wow stand.

i dont know if i can use all of the 7 hides. that is a lot of work to scrape the hair off that many hides. i didnt want to turn down that opportunity.  i may make a few regular size hand drums too. i have a few hand drum frames laying around here somewhere.

it was time to walk on the treadmill last evening. i walk every other day. while i was walking i thought of back when i was younger. i used to go jogging. i would run for miles. my usual run was about 7 miles. once i ran for 14 miles. sometimes it felt like i was just floating along.

our medical people did a body fat check on the rez during this time. my body fat was 3.5. yeah really. i know its nowhere near that now. but all that running was beneficial for me. now that i am older i am walking instead. i will keep it up.

gotta do chores.

KU and the chiefs won this past weekend. its good when my favorite teams win. i watched both games on tv. the chiefs started slow but came on strong. they are peaking at the right time. i cant wait until the game this weekend.

that tomahawk chop is still lame. they get a celebrity to bang on the big drum to start the chant at the beginning of the game. it pumps up the crowd.  the NFL is hypocritical when it publicly stands against racism but allows that stereotype to be shown on national tv. i wish the players would take a knee during that chant to show they dont approve of it.

we talked about the chiefs’ game in our family text. i jokingly said that i caught covid to show my solidarity with hill and kelce. not really, but i had to grin and bear it instead of letting it get me down. i am over the covid now. it wasnt too bad because i was vaccinated and had the booster. i only had mild symptoms.

tonight, the jayhawks play. i am wearing my KU t-shirt. i will watch that game on tv. they play the oklahoma sooners. i think it will be a good game.  KU better be playing their A game. not many teams can beat them then.

i walked on the treadmill 4 times last week. i will try my best to keep it up. i feel i am getting in better shape. the best news is i think my A1C has gone down. i knew it would if i walked. i will find out for sure when i go for my quarterly lab in 3 weeks. it was at 6.8 when i was working out during cardiac rehab. it went up when i slacked off.

i havent been working on roaches lately. i seem to get busy with the many other things that come up. i will always work on roaches. it is what i planned to do during my retirement. i like creating art. it has taken me years to elevate my craft to an art. i will keep trying to improve it.

we cooked a ham roast yesterday. it is from the half a hog we bought a coupla months ago from a guy that runs a feed store. i have bought piglets from him before and raised them to butcher size. i raised 7 hogs altogether. once i took two hogs to the butcher that weighed 280 and 320 pounds. that lasted us about half a year. home raised pork tastes much better than what is sold in grocery stores.

we are out of the butter we buy at the amish country store. we plan on making a day trip there to replenish our supply. we will buy other things too. there are a few antique stores in town and out in the country. i probably will check them out. i cant pass on looking for some treasure i might find. we usually eat in town. they serve good meals.

what will this week bring.

we got snow friday evening. it covered the ground, the trees and my cornfield. that snow will put moisture in the ground for next growing season.  a rabbit left its tracks in the snow near my garden.  tonight, andrew and i will set the live traps to see if we can catch that wascal wabbit.

yesterday andrew had a basketball tournament. he and his dad left. a while later we got a text that they were stuck in our driveway on the top of the hill. i drove up and tried to drive it out as william pushed. the snow was too deep. we called my son joe and he came over with his truck. they both pushed as i drove and we still couldnt get it out. there was no place to hook a chain on.

we called road and bridge to see if they could help us. they came over and cleared the road and got the car out. andrew missed two games but made it to the last game. there were 12 minutes left and the coach put him in so he could play.

whenever the wind blows after a snow it usually drifts up there. we have been snowed in several times before because of this. once we couldnt get out for 5 days. another time it took 3 days before we got out.

after the snow i fed my chickens inside the chicken house. the wild birds scratched up all the snow in the chicken yard looking for food. now the yard is cleared. i fed the chickens in their yard today. the wild birds are eating there as well.

i have been wanting mishmot. most know it as menudo. i bought some tripe (cow gut) at a migo store in topeekie. its not bleached tripe like walmarks sells and tastes better. when i ordered the tripe an older lady nodded. i could tell she smiled even though she had a mask on. she must like menudo as i do.

i dont chef that often but yesterday i cooked a big pot of mishmot. i used a menudo mix i bought at the mile high flea market in denver.   the  mishmot sure tasted good. i had enough left to put into freezer bags for two meals. all i have to do is thaw it out, heat it up and i got a meal.

today i am making tortilla soup. mary is helping me. we are using some of the chicken we cleaned this past week. i am glad we got that done before the snow and cold came. i fed those hens a few months to fatten them up. now they will feed me. homemade soup is the best.

we watched the KU basketball game last night. it was a close game in the first half. they dominated in the second half. they showed what kind of team they are capable of being. when they are on, they can beat anybody.

tonight i will watch the K C Chiefs play. i hope they bring their A game. when they are on, they can beat anybody too. they should have all their players available.

gotta get busy

last evening i was driving home. the sunset was giving off a red glow. i pulled over to get a picture of it with my cell phone.

we did clean 4 hens yesterday. we were gonna do that on wednesday but it was too windy. there was some wind yesterday but i put up a wind break around the fire ring. the fire ring also provides some break from the wind. i was able heat the water we used to dip the hens in before we plucked the feathers.

its a good thing that i put a zip tie on the feet of the ones i wanted to butcher. otherwise, i wouldnt have been able to tell the chickens apart. i use a big fishing net to catch them with. it took not quite two hours from when we caught the hens until they were clean and in freezer bags.

some of our old people used to joke about not having to clean chickens for them after they got sick or had to be in the hospital. whenever our people had funerals in the old days, they would clean chickens for the big feast they would put on. so after someone came thru a sickness or got out of the hospital they would say you didnt have to clean chickens for me and laugh.

i want to make tortilla soup. i need to go to town. i have to get corn tortillas, avacodos, limes, sour cream and cilantro for the soup. i dont know when i will make the soup but i will have the ingredients ready when i do.

first time i ever had tortilla soup was when i was in cancun for a wedding. we went out to eat while there. we went to a hard rock cafe. typical tourists. i ordered some tortilla soup to go with my meal. i didnt know what it was but i liked it so much i had to start making it at home.

one of my nephews had a deer hide for me. he put it on their shed but it disappeared. maybe dogs got it. he said he would get me another one. i ask hunters for deer hides. most say yeah i will get you one but dont. most hides are tossed. i want one to make rawhide with.

i make miniature hand drums with it. i need to have small items for my pow wow stand. most people dont carry lotsa cash to buy roaches. they will buy smalls for souvenirs. smalls will usually pay the stand cost.

i have a KU basketball game and a KC chiefs game to watch this weekend. i dont miss a game. i see this kid that has what looks like a toilet plunger going thru his head. he gets lotsa camera time. someday he will be tryna make a business deal with a classmate. they might ask ‘arent you the guy that used to have a plunger thru his head’? some people will do anything to get on camera.

gotta do chores

the grand daughters are back at school. that means they get off the school bus at mishos and grammas. it is always fun to have them over. when they are here, i have to surrender the tv remote to them. i dont get to watch anything until they go home.

i have been taking advantage of the warmer weather. yesterday i put my solar powered light up. it didnt take long and i didnt have any pieces left over.  i turned the timer on and it is working. the inside of the chicken house is lit up. i am pleased with the light. now i will see if the hens lay more eggs.

today we are gonna clean 4 hens. they are the older ones i bought late summer. they might lay eggs a little while longer or maybe not. i got them at a good price with the idea i will fatten them up for soup. we stocked up with home made egg noodles we bought at the amish country store. i like to make tortilla soup and will try egg drop soup. nothing beats the taste of home raised chickens.

i will build a fire outside in the fire ring. it will heat a big pot of water we will use to dip the chickens in. that makes it easier to pluck off their feathers. we have the routine down. we can pluck and butcher the hens in no time.

i am getting ready to start some seeds for cool weather crops like cabbage.  i had to laugh at articles i seen on the internet. they suggested using empty toilet paper rolls or egg cartons to start seeds with. i dont know how much time it would take to used up 100 rolls or what that would cost. i can get a 72-compartment seed starter tray for a few bucks.

i previously bought some pad warmers and grow lights.  the warmers keep the seed starter mix warm enough for the seeds germinate. the lights help them so they dont grow too tall too soon and fall over. the wood stove will be going too so it wont be too cool for the started plants.  its early but i want to be ready.

i took my computer tower in for some work. i got it back the next day. my dvd-cd drawer was replaced. it wasnt opening. now it works. the usb ports are working too. they needed to have the dust blown out. i like the place i took my computer to, i am pleased with their work and prices.

i am encoding into an access file. it will list the hundreds of cds i own. once it is complete i wont have any confusion about whether i own a cd already.  as i get the info entered i check to see if the songs on it need to be downloaded again. that is why i need the cd drawer working. i have found a number of songs that got zapped off my playlists.

gotta get busy.