Free Land in Kansas
Posted on May 29, 2006 by Ching under Life.
Did you know that you can still get free land in Kansas? It’s true. I was totally surprised myself. I thought that ended in the early 1900s. You can go to KansasFreeLand.com for additional information. Free residential land is available in the following towns: Atwood, Plainville, Wilson, Lincoln, Ellsworth, Holyrood, Argonia, Mankato, Washington, Minneapolis, Kanopolis, Metropolis, Marquette, Peabody, Eureka, Coffeyville, Parsons and Chetopa.
They’re giving away free land because in the last few years Kansas small towns have seen their population decline. Residents have been migrating to cities and larger towns so these smaller towns are dying. They figured that by giving people free land, people will start moving to their towns and rejuvenate the economy. Speaking of rejuvenating the economy, free commercial land is available as well. Free commercial land is available in these areas: Washington, Stockton, Lincoln and Abilene.
I have always wanted to live in a small town. Small town living appeals to me so Brian and I are actually putting some serious thought into this. We are hoping to move to a place like Peabody, which is less than 40 miles away from Wichita. It’s not too far, but far enough away that we can be left alone.
Brian wants to start a small business. Maybe like a little pizza place or something. It’s going to be challenging with school. I’m kind of spoiled in that I only live a couple of minutes away from WSU. I don’t think I would be able to handle going to school if we lived in Peabody so we’re actually thinking of waiting a few years, until after I’m done with grad school. That and we need to save some money for capital. You can’t start a business without funding, you know? You can help us start our new life by making a small donation (hint, hint).Â
Kidding aside, I seriously don’t know if the land in Peabody will still be available a few years from now. I’m hoping it will be. I’d love to start a new life in a small town. Anyway, I just found out about this yesterday and I figured I would share the information with you all. Please feel free to spread the word so we can help rejuvenate Kansas economy.
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Our New Joeys
Posted on May 28, 2006 by Ching under Babies.
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It’s official. We have joeys. Over the last couple of weeks Brian and I have been anxiously and curiously awaiting their debut.
I checked on the gliders a while ago and couldn’t help but scream with panic. Ginger’s belly was deflated and her pouch opening looked like an outie. Star’s belly was lopsided with only one side being full and the other side seemed empty. Since this is our first litter, I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought Ginger had lost her joeys and so I called out for Brian to help me.
With his help we inspected the tunnel and the sleeping pouch. Both of Ginger’s joeys were in the sleeping pouch. One of Star’s joeys was in the tunnel. We are marking today, May 28, on our calendar are the out of pouch date for three out of four joeys. We are hoping that the other one will emerge not too long after.
Brian and I both have to resist the urge to handle the newborn suggies. It’s not recommended that they be handled until they’ve been out of pouch for at least a week. Even then strict rules have to be followed.
Here’s an excerpt from an article in Glider University:
At 7-10 days out of pouch, the eyes will open and fur will begin to develop on the belly. The joeys may now be handled. The following guidelines should be followed:
1. It is best that one person be chosen to consistently handle the gliders until they are more mature.
2. Joeys should only be handled for 5 minutes at a time, building up as time progresses.
3. Joeys should be handled in a quiet, warm, dark place free from drafts.
4. It is best that the joeys be handled with mother present.
In the next two weeks (14-28 days out of pouch), joeys will open their eyes, develop their sense of hearing, and may even try to jump. They will mimic parents and try what they see their parents do. It is vital that both sugar glider parents be with the joeys at this time, as the father’s role is extremely important in the care and teaching of the joeys. Here, a father looks on as his three week old joey tries to jump:
At 28-42 days out of pouch, the markings are becoming more prominent now, and they are beginning to become even more adventurous and confident. At this time the joeys will also begin sampling some of their parents’ food. There is no need to provide any special food for the captive joey, as mother’s milk provides all the nutrition the joey needs. Thus, it is vital that the joey be with his mother at this time! When the timing is right, the joey will begin to eat foods along with his parents and older siblings.
At 42-70 days out of pouch, the joey’s tail will “fluff out”, and the joeys will learn to urinate and defecate on their own. The joeys will become independent, and will eat solid foods along with their parents.
Based on this information, the joeys have another two to three months before they are ready to be separated from their mommies. Brian and I are both really excited to watch them develop and are doing our best to stay out of their way so as not to hinder the process. As soon as it is safe to take photos of the joeys, we’ll be sure to share them everyone. Stay tuned.
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X-MEN: The Last Stand
Posted on May 28, 2006 by Ching under Movies.
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So we went to see X3 this afternoon. It was great! The movie was better than I expected and it’s the best one of the series. The makers of the movie never fail to surpass my expectations. Brian and I both thought X1 was awesome. X2 was even better. X3 is by far the best!
Of course, you have to watch both X1 and X2 before watching X3 so that the movie will make more sense. They do a good job of filling the viewers in some, though.
Brian is an expert when it comes to X-MEN trivia so knows all the different characters and what their background stories are. He could name all of the mutants they included in the movie. We both agreed that if they had a way to work Gambit in the story it would’ve been cooler.
Anyway, I won’t say any more. Let’s wait a couple weeks before we discuss the movie details. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone. 😉
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Oh Frustration, Molly is Thy Name
Posted on May 28, 2006 by Ching under Babies.
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This is a public service announcement to all those who might be thinking about getting a puppy in the near future. Word of advice: do your research. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into until I realize that I really liked being able to stay in bed until seven o’clock in the morning.
These days I’m lucky if I can get five hours of sleep. I know it’s not all Molly’s fault. She’s not the one who decided to stay up late the night before. However, in my defense, it’s hard to break habits. I’m used to staying up pretty late and getting up around sevenish. The problem is I now have to train myself to get up at five o’clock in the morning and the two hours of sleep really make a difference.
Anyway, please don’t get me wrong. I love Molly to pieces and I would never ever consider giving her up. She’s my baby and I love her. It’s just very challenging to take care of a puppy. House training is almost impossible.
Once again, this is not Molly’s fault. She just got used to doing her business inside the house because during the first week we had her, we were just so relieved that she finally started having regular bowel movement (because it meant she was eating) that we really didn’t care where she went. As you all know very well, habits are easy to form and hard to break. So now she thinks outside is for play and inside is for potty.
I’m tired of picking up poo and cleaning up after her. At first the poo was just really small and, though pungent, kind of cute. Now that she has grown bigger, her poo has gotten bigger (she’s now 4 lbs 3 oz, according to her weigh-in at the vet yesterday) also and it’s stench is not just putrid, it’s aggravating. Despite this however, I cannot get myself to be angry at her. All I can do is say “No, no, no!” and just keep picking up poo. I just keep hoping that she’s get it one of these days without us having to spank her. I think that’s just mean.
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Little Joeys
Posted on May 21, 2006 by Ching under Babies.
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Did I mention that I’m going to be a grandmother soon?
Ginger and Star both had joeys recently.
They’re still in the pouch nursing so Brian and I haven’t actually seen them. I did see an arm come out of the pouch today, though.
Immediately after that I grabbed my camera to try to get a picture of the babies. No such luck. You can kind of see something in this picture, but it’s not that great of a shot.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing the joeys when they first emerge from the pouch. Joeys are the most adorable little critters. We won’t be keeping this litter very long, though, as all the joeys have already been spoken for (sorry, we’re not selling our joeys; if you’d like to buy some, please visit Moonlit Gliders and Sara will take care of you).
We are giving two to Gina, one of our poker buddies, and then the other two to Sara and Jeremy. Gina and her mom actually asked me about the joeys while we were at poker on Friday. I told them that they weren’t ready yet. I think they’ll probably be ready to go in two or three months. I’m not sure since this is our first litter.
Once the joeys come out, we’ll take pictures and share them with you guys. Stay tuned.
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