Sincerely Amanda
The Writings Of Amanda Read

Rex

The Abbotts came in town Wednesday afternoon, right after Mom and I spoke at the Mother Daughter Cherished Lessons Webinar (which went very well, by the way).  It was an anticipated visit that was certain to advance our mediocre yet thoroughly entertaining film project, along with usual fun and fellowship.

Thursday morning was spent filming.  Thursday afternoon was spent knitting and taking a tour of weaving, etc. at Mrs. Nancy Lee’s home down the street.  Thursday evening was spent with the guys at the SCV meeting with a 19th century weapons display, while the girls where at home chatting.  A cookout at home soon followed (Dad’s cousin Nathan came over for that too).

Friday morning, Dad came inside and said that Rex looked sick.  I stepped outside to see our dog looking perfectly happy and normal, but then have a strange coughing/wheezing/gagging fit that lasted a few seconds and then disappeared.  This showed up roughly every 10, 15 minutes or so.  He didn’t seem terribly ill, but just had a horrible asthmatic sort of respiratory attack routinely.

At first I worried about the worst possible scenario: heartworms, which has coughing as a symptom.  But Rex, three years old, had never been sick in his life and was rarely in the company of other dogs which might have their disease spread by mosquito bites.  His collar wasn’t too tight, so that wasn’t the problem.  I wondered if perhaps he had swallowed a toad, since he often taunts toads for sport, only to gag himself on their toxic excretions.  I then wondered if perhaps someone had sprayed him with pepper spray.  He did have a lot of grease on his head, but we assumed that he got that from sticking his head under the grill while the hamburgers were cooking so he could lap up dripping grease.

I knew that one of the ladies who routinely stop by to check the meter is deathly afraid of dogs, and even though Rex is the most obnoxiously sweet and gentle dog anyone could ever know, his well-rehearsed “Who goes there?” salute would throw the woman into a frenzy.  But we didn’t even know if she came by that morning, so he could have come in contact with dangerous chemicals in some other odd way, such as crossing someone’s property.

I got out Juliette de Bairacli Levy’s book on natural dog and cat care to find respiratory remedies.  Mom, Ms. Lindy and I tried giving him various remedies - everything from our horseradish/ginger/garlic/apple cider vinegar, etc. super tonic to eucalyptus to honey/minced garlic/apple cider vinegar on bread.  I started asking questions on the internet regarding Rex’s symptoms.  When I asked on Yahoo! Answers I got quick responses telling me, “We can’t diagnose your dog online. You need to take your dog to the vet.  Get off your computer.”  That wasn’t particularly helpful.

The Abbotts were scheduled to leave early that afternoon.  Angela (age 10) asked and prayed to stay longer, but the schedule seemed pretty much set.  We all said our goodbyes, and the Abbotts drove off, leaving us Reads with our poor dog’s condition still unresolved.

Awhile later Mom got a phone call from Ms. Lindy.  Ms. Lindy said that while they were on the road she happened to touch her finger to her left eye and it began to burn.  The allergic reaction spread over her whole face and respiratory system, so much so that she didn’t think should could make the drive back to Tennessee (Mr. Abbott didn’t come for this visit).  She traced the cause of the reaction back to when she pet Rex before getting in the car…meaning that the pepper spray theory was very likely after all.

I stroked Rex’s fur again and upon closer examination noticed that the greasiness left a red oil on my fingers.  Abigail, Mary and I decided to go ahead and bathe Rex.  Mom wiped him of with a white towel, and the process left pink and red stains on it.  He apparently had an intense pepper spray dumped on his head and kept reinhaling it whenever he licked his fur.

The Abbotts returned and we had a nice extra evening eating a delicious dinner and munching on cookies.  It was a happy ending to a mysterious homestead style suspense.

~Amanda~

The month is nearly over, so I really ought to make another post. Since I’m behind on photos, I’ll include some.

Here is my class ring:

{Photography by Abigail}

Here is the landscape painting I completed recently:

We ordered notecards with this painting printed on them for our own Fair Hills Farm stationary. The notecards arrived yesterday and they turned out pretty nice! We hope to customize some more notecards with my other paintings and perhaps some of Abigail’s photographs. Maybe we will sell them on our website.

The Clarks and the Gholsons visited during the first/second weeks of July. I’m glad that the second clutch of chicks hatched while they were visiting! That was fun.

{Abigail (center), Mary (left) and Sarah Clark (right) wearing their best friends lockets - I actually managed to digitally shrink their pictures small enough to fit in them!}

On Monday our third cousins (or something like that - not entirely sure if I got the relationship correct, but something pretty close) visited. The weather was really hot that day, but we had a good time regardless.

Yesterday we had a much needed thunderstorm…but unfortunately the electricity went out. Nevertheless, it turned out to be exciting because we then had an excuse to eat out at Roma’s and visit the Williams!

We grind our own wheat (as well as many other friends that we know), so to make up for the rising wheat costs we’ve decided to become distributors for a wheat company. That will be yet another business facet of Fair Hills Farm.

I’m still working on my “article-type” blog posts in a notebook occasionally and hope to post them this summmer when I find time. I’ve been kept busy offline with farm work, guests, article writing and school scheduling. It has been exciting to help Mom organize my siblings’ curriculum for this year since I will be able to spend more time actually teaching them since I’ve graduated! However, I still have a little studying to do myself since I’m planning on CLEPing a year’s worth of college this Fall. I have to make a passing score on the 5 general exams (English Composition, Humanities, Mathematics, History and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences) in order to get the credit.

Oh, I mustn’t forget to mention that I now have some wonderful new sketching supplies. We went to the Hobby Lobby (I get to go there about once a year) so I could stock up on some new things. I got new charcoal and woodless graphite pencils, a kneaded eraser, sketching pens with multiple nibs and an ink well, new paint brushes, and a new artist’s palette and sketch book (it’s easy to run out of paper fast!). I’ve been sketching as often as possible now. It is so much nicer to have fine sketching nibs instead of having to use only my fountain pen.

I’ll write more if I think of anything else to say…
~Amanda~

Well, we have quite an exciting Summer ahead. First of all, Dad found a replacement camera on clearance sale. Abigail has been shooting away with it. Now I need to commission some pictures of my ring and the kennel (which we have begun wallpapering with an old fashioned toile print). It is becoming a nice little country office.

David’s 6th birthday was on the 28th of June (same as Benjamin Franklin’s birthday, according to what I’ve read). Benjamin’s 2nd birthday was on the 12th of June, by the way (just in case I didn’t mention it). We have enjoyed lots of homemade chocolate cake (an antioxidant dessert, as Mom says).

Speaking of antioxidants, we have still been able to harvest some blueberries…but the weather is really too dry and threatening the lives of some of our plants. Even the occasional rainy day isn’t a good enough dose due to the sloping ground (the water rolls right off of it) and…surprisingly…a lack of humidity. The brief storm on Sunday cooled things down to a pleasant, breezy atmosphere, but the air is parched. It is sad to think that we have spent our first three homesteading years under a drought.

Yesterday Dad took all of us (except Mom, who stayed behind to get other things done) out to Uncle Steve’s place to look at a trio of turkeys he offered to give us. They are brown - perhaps Broad Breasted Bronze, similar to wild turkeys. Two hens and a tom are a good start and the pen was very nice, but Uncle Steve wasn’t there to help us take the pen apart so Dad thought we shouldn’t bring them home with us at that moment. We visited our great grandparents for the rest of the day instead.

The Clarks arrive on Saturday. They will stay with us until the 9th, so we should have a lot of fun. Kyle and her mother will visit for awhile too.

The chickens are thriving…because they are entirely full range now. The Dominiques hop over their fence and roam wherever they please and the Red Stars have no pen at all.

Visit www.youtube.com/SincerelyAmanda to watch a funny video of Ferdinand that Rachel put together.

My apologies for not inserting the links or actual videos - my hosting service is not allowing me to do so properly. I can't even insert pictures properly yet. I hope to improve that soon.
~Amanda~

I hope that this upcoming week I will actually work towards doing everything I’ve planned on doing.
This past week I’ve just felt a bit worn out and uninspired - perhaps because it has been just a week since the ACT.

Abbott Management has still not contacted me. I have no doubt that they are exceedingly busy. They may very well end up being helpful to me, but until then I will have to try contacting individuals on my own. I haven’t worked very hard towards the producing goal recently because I was so busy studying. Now I should have no excuse!

Here is an interesting piece of information that Dad sent me:

Bill could lure movie stars, money to Anniston
By Megan Nichols
Staff Writer06-19-2008

Movie stars and money could stream into Anniston if the state Legislature passes a package of tax breaks to lure them here, local and state officials said.

A bill that would have given film production companies a 25 percent rebate on production expenses, a 35 percent rebate on salaries paid to Alabama residents and an exemption from sales, use and lodging taxes did not make it to a vote in this year’s legislative session. Local legislators said it could come to a vote if Gov. Bob Riley calls for another special session this summer.

Alabama, along with Delaware and New Hampshire, is one of only three states not offering incentives to the film industry, according to the Pew Research Center.

Joint Powers Authority member Pete Conroy, who is a proponent for bringing the movie industry to McClellan, said the state had already missed opportunities by not having an incentive package. He said the Lifetime television show “Army Wives” could have been filmed at McClellan if the state offered incentives.

“That one project would have brought in nearly $90 million in on-the-ground spending to this area,” Conroy said. “We’re talking to friends in California who have a really strong interest in bringing projects to Alabama.”

Conroy said he had heard that George Lucas was working on a film called “Red Tails” about the Tuskegee airmen that could be filmed at McClellan if the incentives package passes.

“I don’t know where that project is right now, but the point is that this is no longer a specialty industry,” Conroy said. “It’s one that every state should be part of. We’re missing out on some low-hanging fruit.”

Todd Stacy, deputy press secretary for Riley, said the governor supported the incentive package and wanted to see it pass.

“When it comes to economic development, Gov. Riley wants to see bills like this succeed,” Stacy said.

JPA board member and Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said he has supported the tax incentive bill.

“I thought it had a pretty good chance last session, but it just wasn’t one of the bills that managed to get through,” he said. “I think it would have a good chance of passing.”

Marsh said he believed McClellan would be an ideal spot for filming movies because of its scenery and buildings, like the old barracks.

Rep. Randy Wood, R-Anniston, also said he supported the bill. He said if it was placed on the legislative calendar he believes it would pass without a problem.

Bringing the film industry to town could be an economic boon to northeast Alabama, said Rep. Steve Hurst, D-Munford.

“It’s not a goal that’s out of reach,” Hurst said. “I will do what I can to help pass the bill.”

But Reps. Barbara Boyd, D-Anniston, and Lea Fite, D-Talladega, had some reservations concerning the film incentive package.

Boyd said that although she believes McClellan would be a beautiful spot for movies, she was worried about films that would showcase the city’s issues with environmental contamination. She also said she would have to research the idea more before she could vote for film industry tax cuts.

Fite said the bill was a “pie in the sky issue.” He said he would continue to support the bill, but wanted to see proof of a guaranteed return on the tax cuts.

Proponents of the bill have said that is difficult because the film industry would simply move its productions to one of the 47 states offering incentives, rather than pay more to film in Alabama.

As for the Lucas film about the Tuskegee airmen, Fite said if that deal was concrete, he would support the bill.

“Maybe if George called me at home we could work things out,” he said. “We’ll sit down over a cup of coffee down here at the Waffle House and make this thing happen.”

So, perhaps the producers will eventually come to us!

Among my other goals for this summer: Finish my landscape painting of the pond and begin on some more paintings. To be precise, there is one photo of Beth and her friend Jenny that I really want to attempt capturing on canvas.

I’m disappointed that I didn’t sketch the chicks when they were at their cute stage (I might resort to using Abigail’s photos as models). However, we do have another hen setting now, so if all goes well I’ll get another chance next month!

I’m trying to sketch out new writing ideas as well. Quite awhile ago I began planning a blog series of writings about dramatizing history based on things that I learned while working on The Crusading Chemist along with an in depth look at other plays and screenplays based on historical events. Yes, that actually sounds like fun to me.

I would also like to research movies and plays that were based on novels and other works of fiction. It would be interesting to see what styles different people follow as they adapt the writings of other authors. Especially when their worldviews may be completely different!

Last night we went to Aunt Betty’s (our great-grandmother’s younger sister) house for a cook out. Granddaddy came along with us. We had a great time…Ben especially loved catching lightening bugs after supper!

The tiny default font size on this blog is driving me crazy! I’ve got to get this blog template fixed…

~Amanda~

Comments

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by BlogBoy
Aww, those are cute chicks! I’m sure they will grow up to lay some nice eggs.

RYC: Ah, you are more noble then I. Surely I have sinned! Lol. I have a lot of friends who are spoiler free for Narnia movies, but I can’t do that to myself.

I agree, and another thing. Even if they do get a few negative reviews from people thinking it is sexist, it really isn’t going to make a dent in their profits.

Plus Susan stabbing people with arrows is pretty dumb. Those arrows couldn’t get up enough momentum to go through even light armor. She didn’t even carry a side arm into battle which is what all archers do.

Eric