Mad Ouva

living life in the last best place

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Mini Bio

I’m 45. I live on the outskirts of a small Montana town — one that has three stop signs, two bars, a blacksmith, and no grocery store. Sharing the hovel I call home is my husband, Brian, our dogs, Wicket and Elstree, and our cats, Chirpa, Gimmick, Alice, and Pigeon.

What’s a Suzzerpuss?

I have no idea.

My grandfather (Pappy) called my sister and I Ralph, Clyde, or Charlie, depending on the day. My grandmother (Nanny) called us both Suzzerpuss.

When I told her that I’d picked Suzzerpuss for a webpage name, she asked me what a Suzzerpuss was. So, I guess no one knows.

  • Ramblings

    Bet You Thought That I Was Dead, but I’m Not Dead

    June 10, 2025 /

    Hey there! At least it hasn’t been a full year. There were quite a few things that fell by the wayside over the last few years. One of the things that took a backseat was nutrition/fitness. Specifically, our eating habits shifted, but I don’t think those will be returning to what they were. For a while we were only eating a protein, starch, and vegetable every evening. It became so boring, food really did become something I had to consume, which I guess is probably a healthier way of looking at food than being giddy over it, but it made making dinner a chore. I still use Cronometer, and we…

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    You Keep Spinning on Your Compass Spoke

    June 24, 2015

    The Snow Beneath My Boots Would Glitter and Squeak

    December 8, 2016

    I’ve Got the Sky, the World Is My Home

    April 30, 2015
  • Ramblings

    Somehow Time Just Flies

    August 28, 2024 /

    Suddenly the majority of the year is gone. As a kid I felt like every season dragged on endlessly, except summer of course, which flew by in a blink. The garden is starting to wither, with the squash leaves perking up less and less each day. The candy roasters are huge, but the cushaws don’t seem to have started early enough to grow to maturity, especially with summer temperatures dropping so fast. Tonight is supposed to be in the 40s. I am happy our garden is mostly established now, with raised beds, a mini greenhouse, and trellising put into their permanent places. Next year we plan to transform our wild…

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    Good Things Just Keep Comin’ Our Way

    January 13, 2017

    You Keep Spinning on Your Compass Spoke

    June 24, 2015

    Place Your Bets on the Limits of a Beast’s Appetite

    February 21, 2020
  • Creatures,  Ramblings

    It Ain’t Been so Easy but I Guess I Shouldn’t Complain

    April 17, 2021 /

    This is Oliver. He joined the herd March 28th. He came from the same breeder as Silas, Tesco, and Barnaby but was in a far less acceptable condition when they brought him to us. His horns are flaking, the tip of his ear had been bitten off, the hair on his ears is thin, he’s missing top coat hair on his sides (that pale area is just the undercoat showing), his hooves were fully grown over, and he was tragically thin. I don’t want to speak poorly about this breeder publicly, however public something no one sees can be, but if you live in Montana, are thinking about getting goats,…

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    Breathe Some Air That’s Never Been Breathed

    November 7, 2016

    Meet Me on the Levee Tonight

    May 22, 2012

    When I Win You Over

    March 20, 2015
  • Health & Fitness,  Ramblings

    We Crave a Different Kind of Buzz

    March 4, 2021 /

    I have no intention of ever running a marathon for several reasons. The number of people who would be there are however many reasons I have, plus I don’t want to run a marathon. However, I have been enjoying completing “races” virtually. I know some people don’t consider them worthwhile, especially since you can do a lot of them at any pace you’d like, over any amount of time you’d like, and you can include daily activities, like washing dishes, folding laundry, and stirring coffee in your progress, but here’s a secret… You don’t have to care what other people think about the things you enjoy. Liberate yourself from the…

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    Papaya, Papaya, Paya

    July 18, 2016

    A Chocolate Eclair About as Big as Your Head

    May 22, 2018

    It’s Only Just a Bitter Form of Rain

    June 30, 2016
  • Ramblings,  Reviews

    A White Knuckle Wind Blows Strong

    September 16, 2020 /

    We bought our original tent, the one you see in the picture here, back in 2011. It’s … uh … Eagles Nest? I can’t remember. We bought it with the intention of camping somewhere in Wisconsin or Minnesota, which were both fairly quick jaunts, if four hours is quick to you, from our farmhouse in Iowa. We never got around to doing it. Shortly after we moved to Connecticut. Luckily, that tent would offer us a home while homeless in 2014. It had a few little claw holes from Mrs. Marple, (Yeah, I know, Miss, but Brian…) the kitten who visited with us while we were staying at the Bixby…

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    This Is Life

    March 5, 2019

    You Could Have Done Better but I Don’t Mind

    May 22, 2020

    All the Long, Lazy Mornings in Pastures of Green

    July 4, 2019
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Books I’m Reading/Using

Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies
by Frances Sizer, Ellie Whitney

Grit & Grace: Train the Mind, Train the Body, Own Your Life
by Tim McGraw

Healthy Smoothie Recipe Book
by Jennifer Koslo

(My favorite smoothie so far is the Herbed Pineapple Green Apple.)

The Herbal Apothecary: 100 Medicinal Herbs and How to Use Them
by J.J. Pursell

Products I’m Loving

Decaf House Blend
from Peet’s Coffee

Big Ass Brick of Soap – Fresh Cut Pine
from Duke Cannon Supply Co.

Soy Candle – Pumpkin Hollow Farm
from 1803 Candles

© 2026 Mad Ouva