I cant think of a Title :)

Ok it was bad of me for leaving almost a whole week before posting again, not much has happened since I last posted, except for trying to break my wrist (which I can thankfully say that it didnt work :), I didnt intentionally try break it but this is the short way to explain it: Motor bike with shovel on the back + steel post + plus me holing on while dad was going around a bunch of cows = sore wrist, I think you get the picture. Thankfully Dad wasnt going very fast, if he had have been going faster I think my wrist would have been broken.
I was given an award for going against the flow from Cassie , Thank you Cassie!

The touch of the Master's hand/The old Violin

At the auction of an old estate, the auctioneer picked up an old violin, it was badly battered and worn. The auctioneer said as he held the violin up for people to see, "I start the bidding at one dollar... will anyone make it two? two dollars who'll make it three? three dollars... going once... going twice..." He paused to watch the crowd.
An old man stood up in the back and slowly came forward, he picked up the bow and smoothed off the dust, he gently took the old violin from the auctioneers hands and ran his hands over it, tightening the strings and rubbing off the dust. He lifted it to his shoulder and played a sweet melody that sounded like an angel singing.
After a while the old man stopped playing and set down the violin, and went back to his seat. The auctioneer, held it up again and said "One thousand dollars, who'll make it two?.... two thousand dollars, who'll make it three?.... three thousand dollars... going... going... gone!"
The crowd cheered, some of them didn't understand though "What made it go from nothing to some thing precious?" they asked.
The auctioneer smiled and said softly "It was the touch of a Master's hand."
Some of us are like that battered violin, worn, from the cares of this world... They are seen as worthless bits of junk by others. Until they are touched by the Master's hand.
Author unknown

Rain... and the damage it caused

Rain!!! Wahooo!! we got 21 mil (I am not sure what that is in what ever Americans measure rain in!). But it did cause some damage, the creek on the end of our property overflowed and took with it a lot of debris including a piece of our neighbors fire wood :) and a black snake (!), here are some photos.

The day before this creek was dry.


One of the cows was doing a leap of joy (I think she was joyful because she got out of her paddock, grrr!!), except I wasn't quick enough to catch the whole leap just the landing :(

This is the 'Channel' as we call it, before 21 mils of rain it was just a muddy trickle

This was a log that I had never seen before so I am not exactly sure where it came from...

Well I have to go :)

P.S. update of previous post 'Confusion'; I chose the non-fiction writing course.

I've been Tagged!!

Wow, first tag :) Now all I have to do is think of 25 things about myself... mmm that's going to be hard!

1. I live on a farm
2. I own a horse
3. I had surgery earlier this year
4. I love castles (anything to do with castles, like jigsaw puzzles, pictures, movies, and of course the castle its self :)
5. I own about 100 clothes patterns
6. I love reading
7. I love writing (if only I was good at it!)
8. I like making things
9. I have an obsession with birds (eagles and wrens mostly)
10. I like riding motor bikes :)
11. I play the piano
12. I go gooey over kittens (its OK, I don't do this often, lol)
13. I wish I could fly
14. I love classical music (can anybody tell me how to put a play list on my blog??)
15. I once watched someone try beat the Guinness world record for throwing golf balls (it was my Dad, he couldn't throw them far enough to beat the world record though)
16. I am a pyromaniac (it runs in the family :)
17. I am teaching myself how to play classical piano
18. I could never be a vegetarian
19. My favorite country in the world is Germany (it has my favorite castle in it, Neuschwannstein!)
20. I hate flat country (wow, I am almost there!)
21. I am about 1 year behind in all my shcool work :(
22. I have sword fights with my brother using unwrapped news papers
23. I own my own sewing machine
24. I love sewing
25. I am good at maths

I didnt think I would make it to 25!
Now I have to tag other people, ummm who?
I tag:
Sarah
and
Ayala

Lists

Things you should (doesn't always mean you do) know about farm life and farms before you turn 15 (some of these things I do know some of them I don't) :

How to milk cows

How to make a figure eight knot with wire (this is really hard on your thumbs)

How to pull a calf (preferably without Dad's help)

How to drive a tractor (I am not good at this)

How to drive and handle a motor bike at high speeds (I am Ok at this, not wanting to boast)

How to hunt cows on a motor bike/horse (this is where the high speeds come in handy)

How to do all the plumbing on a irrigation system

How to turn on an irrigation pump (there are numerous checks one must do)

How to fix all farm fences and gates (also preferably with out Dad's help)

How to bring a calf back from the brink of death (some people are more gifted at this than others, I am not one of the gifted ones)

How to administer Magnesium/Calcium to cows

How to do operations on bull calves (Dad usually does this)

How to rake hay

How to feed cows (the tractor driving comes in handy at times like these)

How to recognise grasses (I can not do this, but apparently it all takes time)

How to fix things (things could mean anything, from cows, to your self, to a water trough)

How to quick fix things (this isn't usually the same as 'fixing' things)



Then there are the things normal 15 year old girls should know:

How to cook

How to clean

How to handle children

How to clean up after children

How to wash clothes

How to sew

How to embroider (this isn't always necessary, but it could impress your future mother-in-law)

How to bake (this is different to cooking, you bake cakes and pies, also yummy little morsels)

How to be Kind, Gentle, Patient, Good, Determined, Meek (unfortunately I am not very good at many of these)

How to Love (God's way, not man's)



Then there are the ones anybody should know by the time they are 15:

How to read

How to write

How to add

How to subtract

How to multiply

How to divide

How not to kill ones self doing your daily routine :)



I hope you all enjoy reading my... dunno what to call them yet, well my lists anyway :D

Missing photos...

Yesterday was calf sorting, moving day. We had to separate the bulls and heifers and put the heifers over the road in the top paddock with the other cows that aren't going through the dairy at the moment. And after mishaps and mayhem they finally decided to be good and go, lol!

Random Pics through the bars

Djaq, my dog
Blackie, my horse (well pony really, but of the equine species!)

Photo's of the fellowship meeting, my sisters and I had to teach the smaller children how to 'sing' in sign language (Oh joy!)

Break it up boys!

All together now children "Jesus loves the little children" (Oh Lord, not again!)

Ayala, when are you expecting? (she may or may not kill me :)

Only the best and brightest got to stand in front and sign for the rest (in other words the biggest show offs!) Very good Sam... Ewan, other hand :)
All in all it was a very interesting experience, teaching something I had only known my self for two days!

More photos later :)

Confusion...

Ok, more crazy stuff, lol! I have to decided whether I want take one out of two courses... One is called Professional Creative writing, and the other is Professional Non-fiction Writing. They cover basically the same things, the creative writing one is more to do with how to write stories and the other is more a journalism course. I don't want to be a journalist!!! but I don't want to be held to creative writing either! right now I am supposed to be thinking up the pro's and con's of each course, then praying, and then wondering what kind of writing did I want to start in the first place! And don't forget (!) making sure it is what I want... I just want it all over and done with so I can continue writing (better, hopefully then when I started). My Dad wants me to take the Non-fiction one, cos he thinks it would be more worth while... and I could write stuff for magazines and news papers and Creation magazine. I torn, I want to say 'Yeah Dad, sounds fantastic!' but I cant because I don't think I could write articles, I hate writing compositions, I can not stand writing long (boring!) reviews on scientific findings! But what else am I supposed to do, turn my nose up and say 'No Dad! I wont do it!'?? I couldn't do that...

I have been reading a lot of people's blogs lately, it seems like every one has something to write these really super long blog posts about... and here I am complaining about making decisions :P. Do people just train their thoughts so they can retain important bits of information that could end up as a blog post??? I don't know... I know when I think of something, it kind of goes "Oh, I thought that... next!", My brain must go to fast :) (I expect some of you can tell by reading this, lol!)

Well I really need to go and do my chores...
I will write more later!! :D

Fellowship meeting

What a wonderful, exhausting, fun day... We went to a friend's house for a fellowship meeting, it is the one of the only times where we get to spend time with other Christians so it is a wonderful day but after you have sung ten songs, taken the children to learn All things Bright and Beautiful and Jesus Loves all the Children of the world in sign language, listened to a sermon, ate lunch, watched the other young adults play table tennis and pool, played Articulate, then 1 to 100 (both very fun, exciting, funny games) with all the other young adults and children, you feel about to drop from exhaustion.
It is so good to get together with other young people, and play games and have fun (we don't get to do this much). I guess its kinda like a youth group but very unorganised! For a while all the people in the younger generation were very shy of each other, and that went on for ages until we decided we all mustn't be that bad and actually talked to each other!
well I am so sorry this is short but my sister wants to get on the computer. And I am about to fall asleep over the key board!

Farm nonsense and other mishaps

Fencing, with my Dad. Its interesting, you drive around and around paddocks, stopping every now and again to pull the electric fence tester out, place on wire and press the button (you know it works when it bleeps and then starts up a rhythm, bleep bleep bleep bleeeeeeep! O-oh there is a fault!), when this happens you start off again, this time looking for anything that might be causing it to 'earth-out' (ie. smashed insulator, stick sitting on wire, wire touching wire, wire touching ground). Then you 'fix' it :), all the while trying not to get zapped (an very unpleasant sensation). It also involves picking up any little bits of rubbish that you find laying around paddocks, this is the easy part except when you don't have a box to put it in you end up with little bits of gate tape, plastic pipe and silage wrap in your pockets! Oh and when you get home, don't forget to take the pliers out of your pockets and leave them on the motor bike.
I am hoping to finish my jean's skirt today so I had better go and get it done, and make sure my sister doesnt wreck my sewing machine while she is trying to sew! :)
Bye for today!

Relaxing Equine Pedicure, and other things

Today my Dad decided it was time to give my sister's horse a pedicure, because (for those who dont know horses very well) horses hooves are like humans finger nails, except that when they get too long or something it can really hurt the horse and sometimes causes serious damage if it goes very long with out treatment.


Fudge, my sister's horse, never liked his hooves being trimed but he hadnt had a trim in a long time so his feet were hurting him a bit, so he grudgingly allowed Dad to pick his feet up and chop away until he decided it was much to hard work to stand, so he sat!

Lazy horse!

(My dad, Fudge and Me)

My Mum and I have been sorting out and putting into storage my pattern collection. Most of them have come from the Op-Shop so they are all a little bit tatty and torn. Some of them are new, because my sisters and I went shopping the other day and our local clothing/fabric/pattern shop is selling all their patterns for $5 each! but the sad thing is that after this they wont be stocking patterns anymore :( ! It is a real pity because the only other place to get patterns is 100 kilometers away...

Well I have to go. School work calls :) I will post some more another time.

First post/Crazy 15!

Wow first post! I think purely crazy was the exactly perfect name for this blog. Some people may not understand why I called it that, well I guess I will explain, my name Katherine means pure, so I was thinking I wanted it to be something to do with that. The hard part was to figure out what would go with that so it didn't look like I copied every other home schooled christian girls blog title! My diary (a spiral bound bright red book covered in stickers that my pen-pals had sent me!) had been sitting beside the computer, because I had been writing down the words to a song that I LOVE, open to that page. The title to the song is Crazy, some of the lyrics are written in the title space, so I thought "mmm crazily pure?? nope sounds like a bomb went off in a water plant! how about purely crazy??" so that it stayed.

I'm going to be 15 in 3 months. Which I am sooo looking forward to, it means I am practically a woman, it also means I am old enough to get a job, apply for courses and hmm not much else. Any way there are a few courses I would like to apply for and maybe even a job I could get. The courses are Certificate II in Business Administration and the other is a writing course, the question is do I want to do one of them or both of them? I am thinking about doing both. But then there are other questions like, how to fit in my jobs at home and around the farm? what about my schooling? should I drop out or will I keep going? What if I get a job in three months? will I be able to handle both of them? what socks will I wear tomorrow?!?! I think you get the point, lol!

I did one of my favorite things today, I went with my sisters and Mum to the local opportunity shop... I enjoy shopping for clothes, especially when modest clothes are so hard to find! But what I enjoy more is looking through all the old dress patterns, and there was almost a box full of wedding dress patterns! Yes they came from last century and yes they are very out of date but I love them, and I collect them, I have about 100 I think so another twenty or so doesn't do much for the collection but you never know they might just come back into fashion one day (or more likely people will see them and go EEK that is so gross! and have the same expression my sister had on her face when I walked up to the counter with an arm load of them :D ).

Well I have to go do my evening chores then get ready for tomorrow (ie. find my socks!).