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["SISU!" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Today was one of those days where you just say Win some, Lose some....
First, since I have mentioned the neighbor's dog in previous posts, I
will give an update on that.  A week ago, I went out to do chores and
found a pile of duck feathers and 3 missing ducks.  I never did find the
ducks, but 'something' took them overnight.  This morning, I was
awakened by a friendly neighbor who found a dead rabbit at the end of my
driveway.  Said "bad" neighbor with dog lives directly across the road.
So my friend brought the rabbit up to the house and asked if it was
mine, and we walked out to the barn and discovered another rabbit dead
along the way.  It was like follow the trail of dead rabbits....
After counting, I have one rabbit MIA.  My friendly neighbor thought
that the dead rabbit at the road was one I had given her son and was
initially relieved that it was one of my meat rabbits and not her son's
pet rabbit, but she later called and told me that 'something' had ripped
through the cage and stole her son's pet rabbit as well.  Her son was
also missing two banty hens and a rooster.  They may be alive and just
roaming free, but they did find some feathers, so we are not sure if
they are alive or dead.  So, we decided to give the 'bad' neighbor a
visit and look for evidence, since Hobo has a habit of bringing his
kills home as trophies.  Unfortunately, the bad neighbor works nights
and lets the dog out at night, then puts the dog in when she comes in
from work in the mornings.  She obviously removed evidence and secured
her dog before we arrived, and did not answer the door.  So Hobo lives
and the bad neighbor is avoiding us.  That falls into the Lose Some
category.<sigh>
I also think I have mentioned that my stove only had one working
eye(barely) and that I have been using the grill burner and the propane
burner to cook meals and can for the last month or so, for whatever
couldn't be microwaved or baked, broiled, or grilled.  It's been a real
pain, but workable.
We were kind of looking for a good buy on a stove, waiting for a sale.
Sunday, Ron decided to cook for me, and got so frustrated that he said
'screw it'-we're buying a new stove tomorrow...  So the plan was for me
to go to Sears yesterday morning and get a new stove-sale or no sale.
Well, I got up and my instincts kept saying wait....wait.....wait....
Yesterday evening, my instincts proved true.  Out of nowhere was a
freecycle post from someone with a range that had a faulty oven, but the
stove had the same kind of eyes as mine.  After a few emails with the
gentleman, we determined that both his stove and mine, despite being
separate brands (GE vs. Maytag) had no only the same kind of eyes, but
the same size burners.  Needless to say, we went tonight, picked up the
stove, changed out the burners, and now I have a "new" stove.  It's been
so long since my stove worked properly that I now have to relearn
cooking!  It's wonderful, and I saved at least $350, probably more like
$500 since I didn't buy a new stove.  I do love freecycle! Soooo, as
long as the Win Some is greater than the Lose Some, all is right with
the world.

Bev
--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W