Every January, we anticipate the arrival of these little Redbooks in the mail from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. They are the size of a little pocket Bible, and they are a cattleman's best friend. Redbooks are like mini record keepers that have sections for writing down virtually everything you need to know about herd health, pasture conditions, and calving records for the year.
On the left, you can see all of the types of records kept in the book. On the right is a gestation table to help you know when you...or your cows are going to calve out, based on the date of "service". :)
There is no end to the usefulness of this little book...especially when you are riding through your herd and you are far away from a computer. You can make notations about specific animals, look up their history, or see when they moved into the pasture....all from this little book that fits in a shirt pocket.
It also has an address book, and a weekly datebook inside to write down important events in. This is my favorite part of the book. I love having a calendar right in front of me at a moments notice. I used to write down everything on a hanging wall calendar, but I never had it when I needed it. This just slips right into my purse. The older I get, the more I need to write everything down, so I don't forget it. Juggling the schedules of 5 people gets mighty crazy without my trusty Redbook.
There's just one problem.
Frankly....they are a bit...ugly.
In fact, there is nothing at all cute about them. But this year, I decided to "glam" mine up a little.
I used some spray adhesive to cover mine in some cute paper, and then I took an ink pad to the edges to make it look a little older.
Next, I added a little bling. I love sparkly, shiny things. I can't help it.
Now that looks so much cuter!
Finally, I added some ribbon to it. I may or may not keep it that way. All I know is that it looks waaaayyy more glamorous than it did when I got it in the mail.
Now it's practical AND cute.
Here's the website where you can order a Redbook...but you'll have to do the makeover yourself!
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That is the cutest thing EVER. I will be showing this post to Ken and offering to glam his up as well :) :) You are so crafty! Oh why can't we live closer??
ReplyDeleteHey Nell,
ReplyDeleteHow much to they charge you to send that to you... I thought one of those might be cool to get for my f-i-l for next Christmas, a 2012 edition obviously, as a stocking stuffer. I did the shipping estimate and they want to charge me $87 to ship it to me! Hello, it's $6! So in the event that I do decide to get him one of these, perhaps I could get you to order it and send it to me and I will mail you a cheque... Keep me posted with the 2012 ones come out.
Mikie, I totally wish we were closer too! We could craft the day away at least once a month.
ReplyDeleteSharon, You've got funky mail in Canada. It took three weeks for you to get your Christmas card...I could have delivered it by covered wagon faster than that! It was only a few bucks to ship several of them here in the U.S, so remind me in November, and I'll order one for you.