FarmWife Answers, episode five

We have to start the day with a very hard question to answer. It's actually a bit horrifying that it's had to be asked. Margo starts us off. How can people just put three one-week-old kittens in a plastic bag, fill it with water and dump in a gutter behind a house?

Reading things like this often makes me wonder if people are inherently evil. While I do not believe that is the case, unfortunately there are thoughtless, cruel, ignorant people everywhere. I understand not wanting extra kittens. I understand the need to dispose of kittens. What I do not understand is the inhumane way this was attempted. There are shelters, there are people who would take them, there are even more humane ways to kill them. This act reeks of cowardice to me. "I don't want them, but I don't want to get my hands dirty."

Fortunately for us all, for every one coward, there is also a Margot fostering these helpless beings. Thank you, my dear, for restoring my faith in humanity. And I hope your sleep deprivation does not get too bad.

My mother seems to want me to work hard for her answers. She asks: What is the Civilian Conservation Corps and what did they do?

To be honest, I'd never heard of the CCC until today. According to Wikipedia, the CCC was formed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as a part of the New Deal legislation in an attempt to combat the Great Depression. The program ran from 1933 to 1942. If a young (18-25 until 1937 when the age limit was expanded to include men 17-28) man's father was registered as Unemployed, the young man could sign up for a 6 month stint with the CCC with an opportunity to re-enlist for up to 2 years. They were fed, clothed, and cared for in camps while earning about a dollar a day ($25 a month was to be sent home to their families). These boys built trails, roads, park buildings, combated soil erosion around water fronts, put in telephone lines, planted trees, kept bees, built furniture, built logging roads, and many other labor tasks that are still being used today.

They were kept in military like conditions, with the threat of dishonorable discharge being the main form of discipline. But there were no riots & few deserters (1-2%). When the nation turned to the war effort after Pearl Harbor, the CCC was not officially disbanded. The funding stopped in 1942 & that in turn ended it's tenure.

The Queen Mother also asks: Did the cat really play the fiddle?

The rhyme never says the cat played the fiddle. It just says the cat and the fiddle. The images & illustrations we always see show the cat playing the fiddle. One site I found says the rhyme was about Queen Elizabeth the first. She liked to dance to a fiddle & toyed with her ministers as a cat toys with a mouse.

But if you could teach a cat to play the fiddle, I bet you could make the rounds of talk shows & make a pretty penny.

Under the heading of Fashion Rules, QM queries: Why don't polka dots and plaids go together?
According to Stacy London & Clinton Kelly of TLC's What Not to Wear, all prints can go together. The trick is picking a similar color pallet & print size (you should also pick a print size that is in proportion to your body...if you're petite, don't go with large flowers. If you're tall, skip the Swiss dots). I've seen them pair a floral with a stripe, and a polka-dot with a paisley. If Stacey & Clinton say it, it's so.

And finally she asks: If you were a Hollywood star of old which one would you be?


Oh, this is a tough one. While I loved Vivien Leigh, her sordid personal life left much to be desired. But to get to be Scarlett....

But if I really had to choose, I think I'd pick Audrey Hepburn. She did everything with a decided grace & elegance. She was quirky, funny, sophisticated, and always classy. She wasn't the typical busty blond bombshell that was popular in her time & still she captured everyone's hearts.

Samantha's question is a bit more technical. She wants to know: How do you strike out (cross out) your text?

This one took me a while to figure out too. You have to click on the Edit Html button on your post page. On either side of the word you want to strike out, you type (less than) strike (greater than) Insert Word of Choice (less than) /strike (greater than) and that should do it. This also works for underlining text. Just replace the word strike with the letter 'u'. Good luck!

Ang aks: Who would you rather be Samantha from Bewitched or Jeanie from I Dream of Jeanie?

Jeannie all the way! Barbra Eden was way cuter, got to wear pink harem pants, and didn't have to be able to wiggle her nose (never could do that)! Besides, I always wanted to see inside that bottle!

And: Who would you rather be from the Archie Gang Betty or Veronica?

Betty! Veronica was rich (that'd be nice), but kind of evil. I think I'm more of the girl next door type. Besides, I think deep down, Archie liked Betty best. But could I get Veronica's car? Please?

Ang finishes up with: What is the present animal count at the farm?

Winter has not been good to the FarmFamily critters. We are down quite a few. Current count stands at:

6 dogs (Luke, Aurora, Bonpas- Great Danes, Lilly May- Wirehaired Fox Terrier, Andrew- Mini-dauschund, Chrystal- mutt)

1 horse

5 head of cattle (One cow-Tinkerbell, one calf- Cinderella, two heifers- Ella Enchanted & Wendy, one bull- Eric)

19 nameless rabbits

One duck- Lucy

One goat- Fiona

6 cats (Lightning McQueen, Rose, Baby, Jasmine, Greenie, and one nameless tom cat)

Husband is wanting to cut back on the Critter Count around here. I think that means he has to stop bringing them home....

Kork revisits one from last week & adds a twist: Why does it seem that the "bad things in threes" all cluster together? Not just 3 things in a row, but 3 sets of 3?

Again I have to blame El Nino as I have no other explanation. All I can do is pray a fair wind blows your way soon.

Art asks the question every woman asks at some point: What's the deal with men? Do you think the problem could be with me?

While I secretly fear my best friend may indeed have some kind of internal freak magnet (seriously, you should meet some of her past loves), I think the real issue is that boys are stupid & should have rocks thrown at them. This is a lesson I tried in vain to teach Princess, but I've found most of us are fish who really want to ride bicycles.

Here's praying there's a good looking, dependable, Schwinn waiting out there for you my bestest of friends.

BTW, Art, Bobafette i.m.'ed me today.