Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

glenn kangiser · September 28, 2011, 11:04:10 PM

Quote from: Texas Tornado on September 28, 2011, 05:44:44 AM
Down here they make "Tuna" wine from the cactus fruit...

Short on fruit this year - took about all of it to make jelly - it only had a couple last year but this year was pretty good.

Thanks for the article, Ben.

glenn kangiser · September 29, 2011, 02:10:03 AM

Hmm Sassy, as I recall I asked you to do an ultrasound on Bossy... you would have known the sex then.....

September 29, 2011, 08:40:16 AM

Back to the 'soon to come' milking video request...........

Quote from: glenn kangiser on September 26, 2011, 09:25:58 AM
I hope to oblige you on that, Scott, but I have to build a stanchion or something for her as I do not think she will let me put my cold hands on those nice warm... you get the idea....

Not without being restrained anyway.....

Then if I build a stanchion for her will I ever get her into it more than once? She is tame within about 4 feet and that is it... guess I need to learn how to take control of my cow, eh?

Well, you could sneak up on her, Glenn, kinda blend in with the herd, so to speak...

ScottA · September 29, 2011, 09:45:55 AM

I'd pay to see that.

Sassy · September 29, 2011, 12:01:59 PM

Mama & baby are doing good - I watched them for awhile this morning when I went out to feed them. I'm still a little uncertain of the sex of the calf

I'm hoping it is a heifer... she wouldn't oblige me & pee... the naval is either swollen a lot or it may be a bull

I'll call her "she" was running around, jumping & skipping back & forth from one area of the corral to the other - so cute

Heck, what do I know, I only took care of old men & their prostates

September 29, 2011, 12:05:36 PM

The fun never ends at the Underground complex.

Either Glenn's friend got lonely & decided to visit again or it invited the family... this one did not want to get on the magazine I was trying to get him to walk on so I could take him outside so I finally was able to get it in a paper bag & put it out on the plants in the uphill patio... he kept trying to run away from me. I wasn't quite brave enough to pick him up

mtman · September 29, 2011, 02:30:02 PM

Sassy, you know that's Glenn's pet, all you had to do was let it craw up your arm! Oh and be sure to video it, would make a good one for utube!

glenn kangiser · September 29, 2011, 09:10:23 PM

What with men with udders and nurses that take care of prostates and spiders and such, I'm not sure if it's safe for me to be here.......

I don't know if I'd touch that, Gary........

I think I will try to build a feeder stanchion that I can hang onto her with. The cow... not Sassy....

So the tarantulas are getting frisky this year - maybe we'll be lucky enough to get a bunch of them..... [ouch]

Sassy · September 30, 2011, 12:13:20 AM

Quote from: mtman on September 29, 2011, 02:30:02 PM
Sassy, you know that's Glenn's pet, all you had to do was let it craw up your arm! Oh and be sure to video it, would make a good one for utube!

I think I'll pass on that, mtman! I don't know if I mentioned it, but a few days ago I was woke up from sleep by a nightmare... I had already killed 2 black widows & then the tarantula came for a visit & guess I was just overwhelmed - dreamed I found another black widow & asked Glenn to kill it for me - he picked it up & then threw it at me, thinking he was being funny

I went absolutely hysterical in my dream...

The tarantulas don't give me the creeps like the black widows, but that doesn't mean I want them crawling on me

September 30, 2011, 01:12:15 AM

I would not really do that.......

Texas Tornado · September 30, 2011, 09:33:20 AM

Glenn I would ship her a big cast iron skillet to smack some sense into your head!!!!!!!!!!

mtman · September 30, 2011, 11:58:47 AM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on September 29, 2011, 09:10:23 PM

I think I will try to build a feeder stanchion that I can hang onto her with. The cow... not Sassy....

Glad you cleared that up, or it could of

or maybe Sassy would of

glenn kangiser · October 01, 2011, 03:02:57 AM

Frying pan?....[ouch]

4 guests tonight at the Underground Command Center.

3 From Taiwan and one from Mainland China. I don't think I can hike with them tomorrow though. Got too many things to do with the new calf and Spike is overly excited about it. Had to tie him up.

Always something...

Sassy · October 01, 2011, 10:45:15 AM

Quote from: Texas Tornado on September 30, 2011, 09:33:20 AM
Glenn I would ship her a big cast iron skillet to smack some sense into your head!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Texas Tornado! I may need to use it sometime

Hey, I really like that video you posted here awhile back, I reposted it on Facebook!

October 01, 2011, 06:45:09 PM

Home. Home On The Range.Where the calf and the puppy dogs play.

glenn kangiser · October 02, 2011, 11:41:59 PM

Caught a couple of deer hopping the fence yesterday I think it was.

Didn't get to hike with our guests but made sure they got to do it with our friends and were well fed. I have a little video of them introducing themselves but it will come a bit later as I don't have it uploaded yet. We had some of Sassy's Cactus Jelly and some of my Saffron Rice. They enjoyed it.

I thought it was time I got a bit of higher education so I spent a bit of time associating and conversing with several engineers and economists.

We actually had some good conversations regarding the US/China economy as well as Underground Cabin construction and building construction in general with a mechanical engineer. One of the girls is a chemical engineer and was very interested in our cabin and solar power. She will likely be checking out our topic...

Another of the girls said she was going to read the whole topic... as I recently stated... I wouldn't even try that.... [ouch]

glenn kangiser · October 03, 2011, 12:44:54 AM

OK - got the video up...

Click the pix below to see hear our guests introduce themselves and tell us where they are from.

What a great time we had with our friends. As we always tell them, Our house is your house. Come back any time - and for any of the group. Never had a bad apple yet.

We will take care of you.

Seems to me when in a foreign country studying it would always be nice to have a back up extended family so that is what we offer them. No strings. Just let us know if you want to come by to visit, stay a while or need something.

ben2go · October 03, 2011, 02:22:25 PM

And fun was had by all.Good times at the under ground command center.

Thought I'd drop a link that you guys might be interested in.

One side looks like a but wearing sun glasses.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/a-house-built-in-a-sand-dune.html

mtman · October 04, 2011, 01:12:51 PM

Thanks for sharing the video, You and Sassy are such great host. They will always remember you both!

glenn kangiser · October 04, 2011, 11:27:07 PM

That's a fairly cool house you linked there, Ben and it looks fairly livable even though it costs a little more than ours. [ouch]

mtman, the pleasure is entirely ours Where else do you get a chance to get the world view of us, our country, and economics in real time from the other side of the world.

It is especially great when we get to talk to a young man like Seven there and see his views as well as lay my wild views of events and he shares his thoughts back with us. Sassy thinks I was beginning to bore him though.....oh well....

We really consider it a special treat and we are the winners. A little hospitality is a small price.

October 05, 2011, 08:34:00 AM

The antithesis of the ugly American
Well done 'G' man.
Thanks for showin' how it should be done.

Keep a fire

glenn kangiser · October 05, 2011, 11:12:24 PM

Thanks, Gary.

We hear so much about the people in other countries through the news... our propaganda machine.... poison pen e-mails on the net.

I can tell you for a fact that I have yet to find one of these International Students and other international visitors etc. that we would not welcome back to our home as extended family. All of them want to be friends and I always gain a few more Internet friends that I continue to stay in contact with after they return to their countries.

I first saw them as a bunch of foreign tourists or visitors coming to Yosemite, but after I got to know a few of them and hiked with a few of them, I began to realize.... dang.... each one of these kids is an individual, with friends, a better education than I, more travel experience, the strength to go to a foreign country alone, multilingual, and tops in their field of study. As we interact with them on the internet, email, Facebook, travel with them, we come to find an entire new world of friends that most never have the opportunity to get acquainted with. The ones who don't reach out to them are missing so much, and I highly recommend to anyone who can, see if there are opportunities for you.

I feel they are our future.... I mean, our government and corporations are moving to do the major part of their business in foreign countries....

I hope that a bit of kindness offered here will bring kindness and good relationships back to our country in the future. That would be a bonus would it not?

But then again, we are under a directive to love our neighbor aren't we?... the internet has made all of us neighbors today.

Gary O · October 06, 2011, 08:40:36 AM

True words, Glenn.

In my travels thru Asia and the Americas, I've acquired many acquaintances that continue today.
I've been in session with people representing most corners of the world, at one table, and once the crust of false détente is removed, they (in your words) are just individuals. People with families. People with concerns, of which once business is set aside, tend to open up, like a fine wine, if you're a good listener.
In my factory visits, I tend to bring my own flavor of down home warmth, as I am a huggy guy. And I find it amusing to check the reaction of a rather gruff individual after one of my close encounters.
One gentleman, gnarly, road map of a face, well dressed, stoic, cadre surrounding his perimeter, sat unmoved thru a bladder buster meeting. I sought him out afterwards, and struck up conversation with him thru interpretation, culminating in a one-way hug. Nothing.
I walked away thinking you can't win 'em all.
Couple days later I was touring a factory and noticed him at the other end of the production area. Once he noticed me, his arms stretched out as he made his way towards me.
Warm hug, long warm hug. His.
Back pats. Big smiles.
No words however.
An enhanced tour commenced. A glorious meal followed.
Turns out he ran the show at that rather large golf bag factory.
People at their machines kept their heads down as we passed.
As I and my broker got in the private car to go back to the hotel, he came rushing out and gave me another hug.
I remember his watery eyes as he spoke his only words, halting words, directly to me that day, eye to eye.
"Preasa, come back."
My broker chattered away at him. His face went back to stone and he walked away.
I heard later that he had a wife in half a dozen countries, so I wasn't his main squeeze, but I'd like to think he got a glimpse of down home America, and his hug deficiency was a bit sated....and maybe America was not just about money.........

glenn kangiser · October 07, 2011, 12:03:26 AM

Thanks for the experiences, Gary.

That is one thing we have a lot of here too is Hugs. There is one little gal who has been here several times that I always get to lift up on one shoulder. She is such a sweetheart. I don't think she will ever get any bigger so it will be a good indicator if I am getting weak in my old age... not so far though.

No matter what the language, a hug is universal. (As long as it is not a taboo for the foreign guest- there are some, but not most who have a problem with it).... Depends on how much they have accepted Western ways too.

Since nearly all of these students speak decent English, they serve as their own interpreters. As you mentioned, listening to them, asking questions, drawing out answers has it's own rewards... the reward being that a good listener will learn so much more if he only cares enough to ask of the guests knowledge.

glenn kangiser · October 07, 2011, 12:18:36 AM

From another of my new friends tonight, who has been here before... from FB.

QuoteHi Inez. So nice to hear from you. We miss you all already... It starts when you drive out the driveway.

Here is a link to the thread about our cabin and the other students visit with us.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.msg144190#msg144190

The earlier pages show more about our cabin and other visitors we have had.

QuoteInez ............ same here glenn, i miss you too. mine starts when i hugged everyone to say goodbye.
i'll visit you soon,promise. and by the time i get back there, i'll finish reading all your 145 pages blog and we can talk about it all day.

Note that with this big group there were around 100 hugging people... from many races from all around the world. Lots of close friends to say goodbye to.... no differentiation because of race or ethnicity.... learn about them, talk with them , associate with them.... get to know them.... you cannot help but love them.

QuoteGlenn Kangiser Gosh, Inez. I haven't even tried reading all of it..... but that will be good... you can tell me what it says...

Note the HUGS..... some have shed tears. We have these kids in our houses for three days and they truly are part of our family. We stand outside and wave as they leave... until the last one is out of sight. Many contact me back on FB. We hope to be able to help them to feel a bit more secure during their stay in the States, and we hope to stay in contact long after their departure also.