Happy New Year

Out my dirty kitchen window this morning. As a good excuse for it being dirty, its above the sink and the only way I can wash it is to use my tall step stool, sit on the edge of the sink to get to the window. I keep suggesting Tyler do it but he hasn't gotten the hint yet. He is tall. I am short.

Happy New Year to you all. When the ball drops, I will asleep and dreaming good thoughts I hope. This has been a year of challenges for us and some fun times too. In our Christmas letter I called it the Good, The Bad and The Ugly. But this one thing I am sure of, I am thankful that I went all year with no hospital visits, our health and activity level is good and despite the ugly we are here and happy and rejoicing.

God's Snowballs

The wind left these snowballs across the flat fields across the road, and as in this picture, our front yard and pasture. I told Bob God was throwing snowballs at us. Interesting. I had never seen that before.

The barn horses got out today. As usual Dixie and Ditto just walked beside me with a hay string around their necks but then Pepper. You would think he was a yearling just learning to lead. He had to have a halter and lead on. He did not want to walk thru the deep snow but he wanted me too. He kept shoving me out of the path and I kept shoving back. When we got to the gate he kicked up his heels and snorted and bucked off and rolled in the snow. The old fat boy surely does give us a lot of chuckles. The others are doing well with all the snow. They have their shed but seem to more enjoy being outside. Liberty is showing her usual winter weight loss though and when Tyler gets back they will fix the last stall so she can come in too. She only lets him catch her without a hassle.

The Christmas tree came down today. I have been un-decorating it for a few days but the last of it came off and it came down and is packed away in its box. Now to get one of the guys to put it back in the back closet for me. Bob is so tired after shoveling and plowing all day I am not worrying him about doing it but Tyler should be home tomorrow. He was supposed to come today but he didn't. He should have with a break in the weather and the passes being good. Oh well, at 20 he knows it all you know. I have left his room as is, the last time he went to his parents for a few days I cleaned it up and changed his bed but not this time. He can do it. We love him and are grateful for his being here but sometimes he forgets he is 20 and I am not his maid.

Nothing much else. I put Maggie out for her potty break and watched her and she went right back out toward the road. You would think getting hit less than a week ago she would have learned. Guess not. she will go back on her cable when she is not in the house.

Bob did not ride Rusty, too busy plowing while we had a break. Maybe tomorrow.

The snow capital of Washington

Bob was coming out of the barn towards the house. I zoomed him in. On the news tonight (from our itty bitty TV in the kitchen) we have officially at the airport had 63" of snow in the past 12 days or so. And today the wind blew 40 or more miles an hour. We had snowballs blowing across our pasture. I will try to get pictures tomorrow but I just could not take the wind blowing that hard. Bob went down into Deep Creek Canyon to help a friend. He had surgery and when his wife was bringing him home she slid into the ditch trying to get in to their house. Bob plowed clear down Christensen Rd and then then down Deep Creek Rd. to their house, got Heidi unstuck and plowed out their drive and plowed all the way home.

Before that however, it was snowing and Bob and I together got this big idea to drive into Medical Lake to the used book store. Bad idea but we didn't know how bad it was until we crossed highway 2. There were people slid off Brooks Rd. all over the place. We got around some of them but , a big but we came around a big sweeping curve and I don't know how many people were off the road. It was like a big party going on in the middle of the road. Bob was going slow but when he tried to go around the people and trucks etc, he got too close to the edge and slipped right off and we were in the ditch too. We called Justin, our neighbor, and he came to pull us out. It was not too hard but his truck is just like ours - a Dodge Ram and it was embarrassing for Bob. He got us out and then made some money pulling others out, we came home. He came over when we got here and brought his 2 year old little girl Haily for me to watch while he went plowing. We had fun. My but she was busy.

Bob left our barn horses in today. He plans to ride Rusty tomorrow in the deep snow. We will see. I am not convinced it is the thing to do. He read an article in Western Horsemen about a ranch in Wyoming or Colorado, cant remember which, that started all their colts in the deep snow and it was very successful. Just so he wears his helmet. I got him one for Christmas. We had been sharing mine. He has to use one when he rides for the Mounted Search and Rescue. So he has one of his own now.

Our dog Maggie is recovering. She has some sore places and moves slowly but each day is better. She even went to the barn with Bob this evening. The big cut on her leg is almost healed. I have been making her special food and she thinks she is the Queen of the house. Poor little Skeeter says how come. She does lay around most of the time though. I had to watch Haily like a hawk because she usually plays with her when Justin brings her over and I did not want a catastrophe because Haily hurt her. Not that she would mean to but it still could have been bad.

We are surviving without a TV so far. I am still disgusted that it takes them over a week to come repair something that was not our fault. Oh well like goes on...........

A year ago today...................

A year ago today I was in Deaconess Hospital having had a mild stroke. I was scared and hated all the tests they were doing. Bob never left my side except to go get something to eat. He discovered about l8 hrs. into the hospital visit, when he went to the truck that he had left the keys in it. God took care of it. My purse was in it also. Just had taken my wallet in. He went to get me a book to read and he did and I did. I did not feel sick, just some weird sensations in my right hand and I saw double for a while. I thank God for the brevity of it and the mildness of it. I take more pills because of it to keep another from happening. And I am faithful to take them. I have lost the 20 pounds the doctor told me I should and until the holidays had been pretty faithful with my diet. Now I will get back to it and not keep the cookies and candy around.

I went out and wandered around today. It wasn't so cold. Katie came and rode Abby. They had a good time. She had to have her father drive her out because they won't let her drive on these slippery roads. They were pretty clear but her dad likes to come out too. That is where we went for Christmas.

The horses all looked fine. Dixie gets a black face in the winter. Or mostly black anyway. I asked her how that happened but she didn't answer me. She has big black circles around her eyes. The rest of them just look like furry mammoths.

No picture today. Just my rambling. Bob will pick up Nikki's princess and her parents at the airport tomorrow. It didn't snow today but it is again tomorrow. Oh yeah :(

My sisters birthday

My sweet sister Sharon. The picture was taken last Easter Sunday when we were in Key West and took a sunset dinner cruise. Today is her birthday. She lives in central Tennessee but is in Mississippi right now visiting her daughter Suzanne and family for the holidays. Have never had any more fun than the week we spent in Key West.

Today I am wondering what else bad is going to happen. Our big dog Maggie went out on the road for a reason known only to her I guess and a speeding car - yes speeding on an ice covered road- hit her. She is very stiff and sore but that seems to be her largest problem. It makes me sick though. Bob is sitting with her in the living room. She is laying on a rug. The guy that was driving didn't even slow down. That is hit and run.

Snow is sliding off of our roof this evening and it sounds like we are being attacked by Godzilla. It is really loud but then it means that Bob does not have to shovel it. I have worried all day about him out shoveling and plowing. His 4x4 truck is stuck, at least it was. I think he got it out. It is nasty out.

Remember The Serenity Room's give away. That is such a peaceful blog. I have not met Barbara but have her daughter Linda and she is a sweet person so her mother must be too. Love all the Horse people blogs and I also love Life In a Cordwood Cabin.

December 26

Snow pictures from around here. I was practicing with my new camera. Bob is shoveling off the roof of the barn. Scares me that at 70 he is out there most of the day. He did the garage and horse shed on Wednesday. The horse is Dixie seeing if the outside horses forgot a piece of hay somewhere. They hadn't. I really should have ridden her today in a break in the snow. The other picture is our hitch rail. Maybe we will get to it by spring anyway.

I was so lazy today. Just could not seem to get moving at all. Feel OK, just had Sit-itis. I did finally get the Christmas Eve mess all cleaned up. The kids had sacked up all the wrapping paper etc but more kept appearing from under the couch, from under the recliner or any place ever it could appear from.

Nothing much else going on here. Have a good evening.................

Christmas Day

When I opened my gifts I had a nice little camera that I can carry in my pocket. I love my big camera but wanted one I could carry easily. My brother in law LE (Brownie) Brown had done all the adjusting and set it up for me. When I practiced off and on today and then put the card in my printer/copier etc. This is the first picture looking out at me. He is a dear person, sweet and caring. He has looked after my sister so faithfully since her health has declined and I am so grateful. Thank you Brownie for fixing up my camera for me.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with everyone here. We ate until we were stuffed, laughed, the kids played in the snow. Opened gifts. I made the grand kids either empty books or big snuggly pillows. They all seemed to like them. One of Bob's gifts to me was a massage. Can't wait to go have it. It sounds just about perfect. Everything that everyone received was received with enthusiasm and knew that it was given with love. I am so grateful for family.

Today we went into Spokane to some good friends for dinner and games. We spent more time just talking and laughing but the dinner was wonderful and worth waiting for. Katie - their daughter- and owner of her horse Abby which lives at our house- was glad to have us at her house. We have her here so much. It was a different Christmas than we have experienced but a fun day and it was kind of fun to sleep in until I felt like getting up. Don't get to do that too often.

The horses are fine despite nearly 4' of snow. I think 46" at the airport. I wished I had gotten up and gone riding this morning but didn't. I love riding in the snow. I wish we had more stalls. Liberty is looking like she might need some TLC. Bob said when Tyler gets home he will have him help him finish the last stall so she can come in and maybe get some beet pulp. It wouldn't hurt Ditto. With all the babying she gets, she is looking a little down. I don't think her Senior food and special hay is enough. And Pepper is still fat as a toad. I think he could suck air and get fat. LOL

Hope you all had a very blessed Christmas Day. What did you do today?

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to all................And to all a goodnight.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care:

Well, not by the chimney because we don't have one but they are hung. Nobody fills them but they are hung anyway.

Our grandson, his wife and one of our great grandchildren are coming out from Spokane to spend the night. They hope to get out on a plane in the AM at 6. Bob will take them to the airport at 4:30. They have been trying since Wednesday. If you are reading my daughter Nikki's blog - Life With Boys - He is Thing 2. Actually Joel. they should be here soon or we will be in bed. At least I will.

It has snowed most all day. Sometimes hard, sometimes not. We must go to the store in the morning to get a few things. We were given a gift card to Yokes and I think this is a good time to use it. One thing I want is paper plates. I don't want to be doing dishes off and on all day.

Bob started shoveling roofs today. The horse shelter shed and part of our garage. Its tough for even a guy in good shape at 70. I worry about him although he seems to be doing it OK. He does come in and sit once in a while. He will need to do the barn soon. Sure don't want anything to fall like it did last winter. We use the neighbors place because he is in Wyoming and last winter the loafing shed fell the night they were going to shovel in the next day. It was frustrating. It slides off our metal house roof and off the main part of the barn but the sides need shoveling at the barn.

Am already to celebrate tomorrow. I thought Coreen, our 17 year old granddaughter was coming out today but she called me and her mother had things for her to do. I have enough fudge for us all to gain 10 pounds. But we will have fun. I do have veggies to cut up yet. I probably need to go do that so I don't get rushed in the morning.

Merry Christmas to alllllllllllllllllllllllllllll. For my new friends I have met thru blogging and those I have known before and kids who read this - to all of you have a wonderful holiday. I may not get here to write tomorrow. Or maybe I will.

More snow.

Finally got outside with the camera. It is very hard to take pictures with gloves on but I seeded to manages.

The top picture is Buster, Tater and George. I think they wondered what the heck I was doing out there. They had spent the night in their shed together. The second picture is Oliver peeking out from his house. He has had that big dog house since he was little. Every year he dings it up a little more playing. He has a real nest in there. He is getting old but is as playful as ever.

The next picture is Sequoia. He is a sweet old pony. We did not need him but we love him. Every family with grandchildren should have a pony like him. The next picture is from our deck. It looked like a Christmas Card to me.

The last picture is some ice chests Bob didn't get put away after elk hunting. I thought they looked like big marshmallows.

I have the fudge done, talked to one of our granddaughters today and made arrangements to pick her up tomorrow afternoon. She will stay till Christmas Eve is done. I had hoped she would come out today but she is 17 and Grandma and Grandpa are not near as important. I have the neighbors baskets ready for Bob to deliver tomorrow.

I wish Nikki and her family were going to be here for Christmas eve. Its been such a long time since they came at Christmas. I understand her reasoning but once more I would love to have all of them together. I continue to give thanks for the Thanksgiving just before Scott died how we were all together and such a fun day and took lots of pictures. There will never be another day like that. I don't mean to be maudlin but just a Christmas wish that all my kids would be here together. Not this year and I will enjoy every single one that can come.

I put the three horses out today while I was taking pictures. Dixie was so sweet. She just was so glad to see me. She cuddled right up to me when I was putting her halter on. Loved it. Ditto just plodded along. And Pepper wanted to play as usual. He makes it hard to walk beside him when he is skipping along. He knows better too. He doesn't do that with Bob but he wants to. Its cold and crisp and he just wants to have fun.

Are you reading The Serenity Room Blog or Nikki's blog Life With Boys or my sisters - Penny the Neighborhood Dog. They are worth reading.

A better day

Drool all you want. I baked 3 of the kinds today. I have to keep slapping my hands. The Santa Clause on the front of the tray on your left is a result of a cookie cutter that was my mothers. If nothing else I try to do some Santa's from it every year. The cowboy boot on the other sugar cookie tray is just a favorite of mine. I have one more batch to bake tomorrow and then I will make fudge and then just relax, keep the house cleaned up and listen to all the Christmas music I can find.

We are still very sad today but accidents do happen. Sophie was a sweet lovable girl and we will never forget her. I am very thankful that I have Skeeter, my poodle. He has been good to me. Seems to understand that I needed him to be extra kind.

Tyler left for our son Tom's a little bit ago and then he will leave for his parents from there in the AM. He is watching Tom's kids so Tom and Christy can get a seldom night out. Tyler promised me he will go get some minutes for his phone so he has a cell. We loaned him a sleeping bag, I gave him a gallon of water and some cookies. It is not supposed to be good traveling tomorrow but hook or crook this is the way he wanted. He is 20 you know and invincible.

Bob was going to take Joel and Heather to the airport this evening but their flight was cancelled. I don't know when they will get away from here. Not many flights to Seattle got out today.

There won't be any church for us in the AM. Roads will be awful if it snows like they say. Will have our own time of meditation and prayer and lighting the third candle of our advent wreath. God bless you all.

Oh, like my new looking blog. Tell Nikki thanks. She did it for me. Her blog is Life With Boys. And the Serenity Room is still an awesome blog. She is having a neat give away.

Goodby Sweet Sophie

Sophie

October 1998 to December 2008

Today my sweet Sophie ran under the wheels of Bob's truck. He heard her and ran and picked her up and she died in his arms. We are devastated. She has slept with us on our bed every night since she was 8 weeks old. Bob is hurting and I am still crying. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I think we might be snowed in

My centerpiece on the dining room table that a week ago was covered with sewing machine, wrapping paper, fabric and other assorted stuff. I won the centerpiece at our Backcountry Horsemen Club meeting. It looks festive.

The horses were in good moods today. when Tyler put Pepper out, the snow is almost to his belly. He just trotted thru it like it was fun. Dixie wanted to play and Ditto wanted to stay in. But, she had to go out. It does not hurt her to go out for the day. She could get under shelter out there but stays in the open. Shes just a sometimes crotchety old lady. But I love her anyway.

I frosted my sugar cookies today. And went to buy groceries so I can do some more tomorrow. My sister and my cousin asked me to bake theirs but I laughed at them. I have enough trouble getting what I have done. Oh well. I got the stuff for fudge too. Now, if I can just not eat half of it. Dr. Fuhs will like it if I don't. He is my cardiologist. and , Dr. Hansen will like it too. He is my family doctor and when I went in for my last check and had lost 20 pounds and he asked me why I had lost so much weight. I just looked blankly at him and told him "You told me too" but he said to me"No one ever does what I tell them" I don't want to gain it back.

Snow and more snow

Rusty has a place to get out of it, but she had been in the round pen until I showed up and she went to the pen. Then I went over to the other horses and was going to get some pictures of them, they all looked the same as Rusty but the battery in my camera went dead so no pictures of the pathetic looking critters. They had shelter too but instead they stood out in the snow. Yuma yelled at me wanting food. It was 1 in the afternoon. No supper yet.

I baked half of the sugar cookies today. Will do the rest of them tomorrow and I baked snicker doodles too. I put them in a secret place. I also baked 2 more loaves of zucchini bread. Tyler keeps telling me its almost as good as his mothers but not quite. I need to go get groceries tomorrow to finish cookies and to make some fudge. I guess I did not plan very well. I did not want to go this evening.

We have about 15 inches of fresh snow and we are having a heat wave. It is 14 degrees. The snow is really light and fluffy. From the looks on the news downtown Spokane was in a deadlock. All the roads leading from town are up hills unless you are going to the valley. Even north division was closed because a milk truck got stuck. I am glad we are out in the country and did not have to go anywhere.

Remember the Serenity Room blog that I mentioned yesterday. She is having another give away and I get extra entries for mentioning it. I love that blog even if I don't win. AND, Andrea your prize got here and we had pancakes and eggs for dinner last night. It was wonderful. Thank you so much.

Pepper has a new best friend.

I meant for the pictures to be in opposite order but OH well. I know there is a way to put them with what I write but don't know how. I need a computer guru to walk me thru it. I don't do from directions very well. Need to do it.

Pepper has a new very best friend. It is Bubba. I am glad its going to be a while till Bubba goes to freezer camp. We about split laughing at them. The hot wire obviously was not working. They stood there like that until we put him in the barn with the 2 mares. Maybe that is why we have never been able to chase cows on him. He just won't do it. I tried to move some bulls on him once and he just walked up to them and stood there and the bulls just stood there. LOL.

The top picture is our Maggie. She is a happy dog. We put her on a cable at night or if we leave but the rest of the time she has the run of the place. When it turned so cold we tried putting her in the barn. There are lots of places for her to curl up in and be comfortable, BUT she dug out the first 2 nights we tried it and went to her igloo up by the house so we just put her on the cable now and let her be where she wants to be. She has a good bed in there. We are afraid the coyotes will cause her to go looking away from here at night so we cable her.

The other picture is a fluffy quail sitting on the gate to next door. When we used to have the chickens free range and fed them outside the barn on the ground, they came and ate with the chickens. When we penned the chickens up because something was eating them they quit coming around. Also we have more barn cats at the moment. People keep dumping pregnant cats off out here. Some survive, some don't. We feed them but don't baby them like Trouble our house kitty.

My living room is now all spic and span and decorated for the holidays. I am done sewing and crafting until after New years. Then I have a quilt top to sew. Have a granddaughter waiting for hers.

One of our grandsons from in town was supposed to come out and stay for a couple of days but his mom didn't bring him. He needs to spend some time with his grandpa. He is nearly 13 and boys that age need a man sometimes. Will talk to his mom in the morning.

If you don't read Serenity Room blog, you should. She is so inspirational. I read several blogs but that one is high on my list.

A long day, still cold, and Christmas is getting close. Love the season despite all my whining earlier in the month. As I sit here at the computer, it is -2. More snow predicted for tomorrow. With this cold weather snow is a good insulator though and will help things out. At least that is what Bob told me. My masked marvel from yesterday.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.........

I caught my favorite guy just before he started peeling off the layers. I am so grateful that he can go out and do things so I don't have to.

Tomorrow will start cookie baking. I will bake sugar cookies first. I think I will probably will frost them myself. My cookie decorators live in Marysville. Isaac and Lane frost cookies good. They won't be here this holiday. Actually, we usually go there but not this year. We just did not feel like we wanted to travel this year.

This evening we went in to Ryan's band concert. He is in the 6Th grade and plays the trombone. The orchestra played too. You haven't lived until you have sat thru 5Th. graders and 6Th. graders playing violins. LOL. The 6Th. grade band was not so off key but did well. Ryan plays well, I guess, a trombone is not a solo instrument. Just his little cheeks puffing out. And guess what I did? I forgot my camera. Ryan is the straight A boy. He made a deal with his dad that if he got straight A's he could wear his hair like he wanted. It really looks awful hanging in his face but he got the grades to do it.

So my day was not the most energetic, woke up with a headache that did not entirely leave all day. Bob had an appointment this AM then he came home and wondered why the laundry wasn't all done yet. Grrrrrrrrr. Did I say he was my favorite......well he is but sometimes I wonder.....

2nd Sunday of Advent

The Advent Wreath with 2 candles lit. The cupboard it is sitting on is a cherry wood cabinet that belonged originally to Bob's grandparents. Its a beautiful piece of furniture. It has a mirror in the middle behind the wreath.

What a nasty cold day. Well maybe not as nasty as yesterday but colder. We went to Walmart after church and I though my face was going to freeze between the car and the store. Its the wind. Not as bad as earlier but ANY is too much when the temperature is 0. It was -4 when we went to church thru Airway Heights this morning and according to the weatherman it is supposed to be colder tonight. Bob is doing the outdoor chores. I didn't even go out to help him this evening.

My sister has just begun writing a blog. It is called The Life and Times of Penny the Neighborhood dog. Its about their chocolate lab Penny. Go read it. She had trepidation about putting it on Blogspot. She was afraid it would mess her computer up. I told her it wouldn't. Sharon is much smarter on the computer than I am but I wanted her to put it on Blogspot rather than on My Space. I don't go there but rarely. She has been asked to write it and submit it to their newspaper. Hope she does. She has a real sense of humor and is able to put it down on paper (here). She took our mother to Key West, Florida a lot of years ago and her diary of their trip is a riot. Wish she would have it published. More - I hope she still has it. It was in the hippy era and poor mother, I am sure she was horrified. I was with mother in New Orleans once and I thought she was going to pass out on me. She clutched her purse to her chest and wanted out of the French Quarter. A funny memory.

Now that I have meandered around, the animals are doing well. The horses have heaters as do the cows. Heaters in the water I mean. Bob is carrying hot water to the chickens and goat 3x a day. He fed everything extra this evening.

First day of snow

Our first snow of this winter. Certainly not what they predicted and I am sorry I cancelled the party although it is very cold. 14 degrees at the moment at Fairchild and the wind is blowing about 25 MPH which makes it somewhere around -20. I am glad I don't have to go outside any more.

I did go help Bob with the chores tonight. I need new gloves. I put them on my Santa list. I was not cold except my hands and my cheeks. The horses have a good shelter to get out of the wind. They were running around doing their Arabian impersonation. Tails and manes flying. Ditto sailed out thru the gate. None of that playing around for the old lady. Dixie and Pepper had to run around when they came out of the gate. I yelled at them a couple of times and they thought I might throw something at them so they trotted obediently into the barn and into their stalls. We fed extra hay to the pasture horses and Rusty tonight. The wind is so bitter.

We put Maggie our big dog into the barn for the night. She has a dog house in the back yard but it faces north and we were afraid she would get cold. She does not like to be in the house at night. She goes to the barn to sleep when she gets loose and their is hay for her to burrow down in.

Am finishing up a few things and then I can devote all next week to baking/fudge making etc. I did bake the zucchini bread yesterday and put one loaf in the freezer so it will be around. The loaf I left out is gone. I did not eat it all either.

I lay my clothes out for church but Bob will have to be sure the car will start before I get dressed in the AM. Really want to go if we can. Ken Gaub is speaking. He is a very funny Evangelist.

12 Grandchildren

12 smiling grandchildren but there are five more. The top row are l to r - Dustin, Joel, Tyler, Bryant, Lane and Isaac. The belong to Nikki our oldest daughter. She also has a step son that she mostly raised Christopher. The second row are Ryan, Seth and Sheya. They belong to our youngest son Tom. The bottom row is Nicolette, Skyelor and Jadeyn. They belong to our youngest daughter Christyn. Our second son Scott (deceased) has 2 children Coreen and Robby and our oldest son Steve has 2 children, Artie and Deanna. Christopher, Joel and Deanna are parents of our Great grandchildren and Robby will be a daddy in Feb. The family grows. and grows.

So my song goes: (remember the tune now) On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me One Christmas Cactus bloom, two puppies playing, 3horses hanging, 4 stuffed horses, 5 colorful cowboy boots........6 horses eating, 7 baseball caps, 8 horse ornaments, 9 empty baskets, 10 Santa Clauses, 11 presents waiting and 12 grandchildren: That was kind of fun. For me anyway.

Well the snow is upon us and upon and upon. It has been snowing since about 10 this morning. I don't know how much is out there but everything is white. I will say it is kind of pretty. The heaviest snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow along with wind. They say blizzard conditions. I did cancel the Christmas party for tomorrow night. The roads should be awful. Even if it was at my house, I was worried about my friends driving. Andrea had already said she could not drive up. She lives down in the Palouse. Maybe come February we will have an UnChristmas Party.

Bob went down to feed and all the horses were under the shelter except Ditto. She is low man and they had her out in the snow. Poor old girl. She got put in right away. When Tyler went down to the barn to do the morning chores, good old Dixie had gotten her stall open and had a good time. She got into the cat food but didn't eat any, just nosed it around but she did eat about half a bale of hay. So she got put in her stall with her vitamins and nothing more. Oh was she mad. Bob did not give her grain tonight either, just some grass hay and her vitamins. Naughty naughty girl. He put a small chain on the gate so Ms Lips can not get it open.

Tyler worked down at the neighbors today and got really cold. He was putting up a shelter for her goats. The big ole boy goat knocked it all down. I sent him to a warm bath when he came in.

I baked Zucchini bread today. Now if I just can not eat it all...................

Steens Mt Horses

11 presents

11 presents waiting.......................I am not a fancy wrapper. Am trying to do better this year. I am out of paper and have 4 to wrap so I am trying to be creative. I have some rolls of wallpaper that I got at a yard sale and am using them. Different but who cares.

Bob got home today. All those days and they saw one elk a mile away. A guy who lives up there told Bob they had not seen elk in there since last March and there were cougars. They came home. No use hunting when there are none there. They were on the other side of the mountain I guess.

Bob did the chores this evening and Rusty came right up to him and put her nose on him. I told her "Traitor". I had made progress. But with the weather that is predicted, I am glad he is here to do it.

Got a lot done today surprisingly. Had a hard time motivating myself to do much today. Will do the floors tomorrow. Maybe. Bob has a doctor appointment at 8 in the AM with the L & I doctors about his leg and eye. Both seem OK and he is not looking for a settlement but he has nothing to say about it at this point. Tyler has a job with the neighbor again tomorrow. He makes pretty good when he works.

Some smiling Santas

Well they aren't all smiling but they should be. As you would guess, I collect Santa's. I always look forward to getting them out and setting them on the window sills in the living room.

I already wrote this once but it would not post and when I found it it would only print the part about the Santa's. Sooooooooooooooooo I am trying to remember all I said 45 minutes ago. That might be hard........LOL

On Barbara's blog The Serenity Room she listed a blog called Life in a Cordwood Cabin. It is a sweet blog and she is having a give away. All you have to do is comment and so I did. It is a sweet giveaway. I don't win, well I can't say that because I did win on Andrea's Mustang Saga. That was a surprise. I might have a giveaway in January when everyone has the after Christmas blahs. It will take me that long to figure out what to give away.

Also was sent another blog by my cousin Joy. It is www.wagonteamster.com/index.html. It is interesting. His name is Bob (there are lots of them) and he is driving a 4 up hitch of Percheron's across the country. He doesn't know where he is going or when he will get there. I did not have time to go over it all but it sure does look like fun. I would want to be in south Florida this time of the year though.

Rusty came right up to me and ate out of my hand this morning when I did chores. She was glad to see me. I did not try to touch her but that will come. Tyler did the chores this evening so I did not have to go out. It is so good to have her acting like I am not going to eat her for lunch.

Linda, I would love to come over and meet Beautiful and to look at your pony. She sounds like she really needs to have quality time spent with her. Why would I mind the mud and muck. That is what we have here too. It was very fun to meet you and no I had never been to Chaps before but am sure I will again. They serve lunch don't they? Have a friend I meet for lunch occasionally and we always end up going to the Casino to eat but I think I will suggest that sweet looking place next time.

I finished my sewing today. Now tomorrow I wrap and get my sister and her family box on its way to Mississippi. That is where they all will be. Its a big box but not heavy. Then I can get the house ready for our Mustang Horse Club party on Sat. evening. I hope the weather doesn't scare people away. Don't want anyone hurt though. Then next week I can mess it all up again with baking and filling baskets and so on.

When I talked to Bob today I told he I thought he should come home. I don't want them snowed in up in the mountains. He is in the Clockum mountains. I don't care if he gets an elk anyway. He told me he didn't think he would go that far again but we will see..........I just am worried about the roads and if it really gets that cold, it will be difficult to keep water clear even with heaters and it will be a hard thing to do. He is driving a four wheel drive truck but he is pulling a 28' trailer.

Gonzaga won big again tonight. I love GU basketball but had mixed feelings because my roots are at WSU.

Now if this posts we will all be happy.

Empty Baskets

Nine empty baskets just waiting to be filled with some kinds of Christmas goodies. I will bake next week, and make fudge and all the good stuff that will be the downfall of my hard fought weight loss. I fill the baskets and Bob takes them to the neighbors for me. Love doing that and I think the neighbors love to see him coming.

I had a delightful morning with Linda and some of her friends. We had coffee (well I had juice) at Chaps. What a nice little place. It was fun to meet Linda face to face and to meet other new friends. All are "horsey" people. Thanks you Linda for inviting me.

Almost finished my shopping this afternoon. Not quite. But almost. I need to go back to Pier One because I forgot something, and I need to find what I know Tom wants in my price range and to think of something for a son in law. I knew what I wanted to get him for his birthday but my mind is blank now. Come on brain kick in.

This evening I had a break through with Rusty. YAHOOOOOOO. When I took her hay in to her this evening she came right up to me. I held out some hay to her and she took it. I did not try to touch her, I just talked to her. I was so proud of her. I would have taken a hold of her halter if I had not put her hay in her feeder. We try not to interfere when we feed them. Tomorrow is another day. Maybe she thinks if I am going to feed her she had better be nice to me.

8 ornaments

8 Horse Ornaments.................That I made. I made them several years ago as a give away at a party we hosted. I think they are cute if I do say so.

Finished the tree mostly. Tyler put the new lights on the top half last night so I could decorate it today. Almost am finished sewing too so things are coming along. Tomorrow late morning I am going to try to about finish my shopping. Need to sit down a make a list though or I will forget something.

The rest of the day was same ole, same ole. A grey foggy day but I won't whine about it. The new frig for our trailer got here and it was not damaged. The first one was. Tyler went over it and signed for it. His brother is coming out tomorrow to help him put it in the garage. No one is going to steal it but it will be better in there. The box around it won't disintegrate either.

Hats

A seven baseball caps - and yes they are all mine. I have several more. I wore them a lot when my hair was longer and I put my hair thru the back. Love them.

Had a very nice time at our Christmas party last night. The food was delicious and the company was fun. There are some that drink in excess and last night was no exception but they don't get ugly, just funny. At least they think they are. The slide show of this last year was fun to watch. We even made it into a couple of the pictures. Bernie does such a nice job. For those who saw the picture of Sierra and me, he took those pictures.

I went with Katie right after church this morning to a large tack sale of show stuff out in Greenacres. I think most of their things were vastly overpriced but they were nice things. Katie bought a show shirt. It will be very pretty on her with black chaps, a black hat and boots. It is very blingy and 3 shades of pink/Burgundy. On her black horse she will look very professional. Then we went to Corrall West and shopped. I hate it that they are going out of business. I got Bob a 30.00 shirt 60% off and a pair of warm gloves for the same percent off. I would have loved to have spend a lot there. Tyler needs boots, I could use a shirt, but this is not the time of year to spend money on myself. And, I made Tyler a quilt. (shhhhhhhhhh Nikki don't you dare tell). Then Doug and Judy - Katie's parents - met us and kidnapped Katie to go to Couer'D Alene shopping and then so see the lights. I almost invited myself along but.........didn't.

Bob left this morning for another elk hunting adventure. He says he is not going away like this next year but we will see. I hate having him gone but I know he enjoys it. The new frig for our trailer arrived but had been damaged so they sent it back. So they don't have that again this time. It will probably be after Christmas when it arrives again. We won't be using it until probably March anyway. His friend Don is going to help him put it in.

Thank you Andrea. I won her drawing. Can't wait to see it. I don't win things ordinarily.

Only 5 more days and my silly song will be over. Then who knows. We lit our first advent candle today. I thought last Sunday was it, but was wrong. So I lit the first one again and sang Joy to the World all by myself. Well not here by myself. Skeeter, Sophie (my old Shtzu) and Trouble the cat sat and watched me. Am almost done with my sewing and a couple of other little things and then I can clean up my mess and decorate the dining room table. I won a table/candle wreath last night and am anxious to put it out.

Six

Six Horses eating - well ones a donkey but who cares. There are six eating. From the top down is Rosie my driving pony and kids pony and whatever I ask of her, Then is Yuma - our donkey. He is just a pasture pet and loves attention. Next is Sequoia who is for sale and is a wonderful kids pony. He gets ridden by a lot of kids and had been used for lessons. Next is Abby - Katie's horse. Liberty is next and loves attention then is Raven who will halter herself if you would let her when you go in the pasture. She thrives on attention. She is Bob's main riding horse. Pepper, Dixie and Ditto live in the barn at night. Pepper because he is a glutton and chases everyone else off and gets way fat. Dixie because she is not an easy keeper and need to watch that she gets extras of some things, and Ditto because she is the Grand Dame of the place and just gets to be in because she is Ditto.

I am writing early today. We have a very busy day ahead of us and our Back country Christmas party this evening. So you got me early........Hope your day is wonderful.

Five Cowboy Boots.........

And five colorful cowboy boots..................Yes they are all mine. All Ariat Fatbabies. And I will sell them. they are size 8 and hardly worn.

I wish I knew how to get the pictures where I want them. So, until someone can show me and walk me thru it, please just go with me on this. The top picture is our grandson Seth who got a certificate for being a Kid of Character. He just missed the honor roll but this is an important award as far as this Grandma is concerned. Then the next picture is of Ryan who got the only straight A's in the 6Th. grade the first trimester. AND he got a Kid of Character award also. A couple of really great boys. The next picture is a banner in the gym. I think the children in that school have a head start.

Of course the next one is my boots. All five pair of them. I got them to work but will part with them to put into my Mississippi fund. The are not the best for riding. At least I don't think so. I ride in some all terrain boots that I ride in. When we are in the back country and need to walk some times, they work the best for me.

I talked to one of our grandsons today that for whatever reason, I had not talked to in over a year. He lives in Spokane. He is the son of our son that died - Scott. I was heartbroken so this really boosted my spirits today. He is having some struggles growing into a man and having some responsibilities before he should.

We were supposed to have sun today but it rained and sleeted and tonight it is freezing rain. I would rather have snow than that. We got our meat today. This should do us a long time. We sold the other half. We will have one ready in January or Feb. if anyone is interested. Call Bob on his cell 280-7796 to talk to him about it. Good meat with no chemicals or hormones in it.

The fourth day.................

Four stuffed horses sitting.................Couldn't find anything outside to warrant my song. Then, I just thought it was a funny holiday song and after I googled it today, Each of the things refer to something spiritual and it was supposed to go from Christmas Day to Epiphany. I didn't mean anything disrespectful. Just got this funny idea for a funny parody.

Had lunch with a friend today at the Casino. The lunch prices have gone up 2.00 so I imagine the dinner prices have too. The food is good but for lunch I would rather have a bowl of soup and some bread. We had a good visit and decided who was going to get the Sportsmanship Award for the NEZ. That is our designated job. No one nominated anyone so we decided ourselves.

Had discussions of a lot of things but one of them really troubled me. I said I needed to go have my Christmas letter copied and she said she does not send cards, does not put up a tree, does not decorate nor does she buy any presents. She sends her grandchildren money. She said she hates Christmas. (not religious grounds). Just hates it. It brought tears to my eyes. My sister does not like Christmas at all. They much prefer to just go away by themselves with no family or friends around. I don't get it. It is a Holy time of the year. I want family and friends. I get tired of doing all the cooking but the alternative is to not have them and that would absolutely break my heart. She says it is depressing. I think its sad..... Sorry Sharon, I know you read this. Just can't wait, the closer it gets.

I had two calls from Tracey. One she got down there last night and was very tired and one this evening just before they went to dinner to tell me she knew which horse she was going to get. He is a large 15h2 solid bay gelding and she thinks he is beautiful. Last year when she got Sandy she called me and told me he was the ugliest horse in the pen. Made me laugh. She is happy with her Challenge horse this time and was going to dinner with some other people who were there - trainers, Ramona Bishop from the BLM and other contestants I think.

Nothing much going on around here. Its cold. The horses all look like woolly mammoths out there. All but Ditto. She never fuzzes up much. And she is old and I put a blanket on her when it gets below 25.

The NFR starts tonight on one of the ESPN channels. Always with I could go. I would want to go every night though so would have to win the lottery just to attend and to stay in a hotel. Oh well, to win you have to buy a ticket. LOL

The Third Day.......................

Three horses hanging................................in my dining room window. The sun shone through them today and they looked especially pretty.

I went in and got my meds today. Hate taking so many but.......a stroke, even a small one, makes me leery of not taking them. It was sticker shock because our Medicare supplement only pays so much in a year and I hit it last month. I had a slight case of hysteria but finally wrote the check. It makes me sad that I have to take so many expensive ones and Bob takes nothing, just vitamins. He told me he would rather have me than the money but it hurts my heart. Enough of my whining about one thing or the other. Its the season to be jolly and I am going to be no matter what.

Bob and Tyler got the last of the barn that fell down at Bill's next door last winter all cleaned up and hauled off. It seems that they would get sidetracked everywhere else and they told Bill they would do it. They live in Wyoming now and we use their property and did use that part of the barn for the cows but not now obviously. We watch the house and Bob goes in about once a month to make sure all is OK. I wish we could afford to make him an offer on it.

I probably shouldn't have written anything today, but the sun shone and I got a lesson in humility at Walmart today. I was feeling bad, depressed really about the cost of the medicine that I really must have and had gotten a few groceries - still forgot potatoes - and pushed the cart out to the car put my stuff in and was moping my way back to the car. A little older lady who could hardly walk was wrestling her empty shopping cart. I took it and told her I would put it away from her and the Lord poked me in the ribs and said see you can walk. Cheer up. I have tried all the rest of the day. I can walk, I can run if need be, I can do a lot of physical things. Not every one at 70 can go saddle their horse get on and ride. So .......buck up old lady.

Am already thinking four. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I think I like my song better as it materializes before my eyes.

The Second Day of Christmas

2 puppies playing..........................My version of the song. That is Skeeter and Bolt on my bed. Why did I put a white bedspread on? Not too bright huh? Oh well, it washes and they had fun.

I LONG for a sunny day. I get so down in the dumps with it this way. Hate it but can't seem to get on top of it. I love this time of year and its a struggle every year to keep a smile upon my face. I did get back to sewing today and got two more of what I am making done. Have a third one almost done. Would tell you but people read this that I don't want them to know what it is.

My good friend Tracey leaves tomorrow for Burns Oregon to pick up her Extreme Mustang Challenge horse for this newest of challenges. It will be in Albany, Oregon in March. That means she will have to gentle the horse and do all the training she can in 90 days. She did it last year also and then brought Sandy home to stay. You have that option, bring home with the adoption fees waived, or put the horse up for adoption and recoup some of what you have spent. I am planning to go to Albany to see her exhibit her horse. At least at this moment I am and it would give me another chance to see my uncle in Tigard, Oregon. Maybe if I justify it that way Bob will go with me. OR maybe someone from here is going and we can carpool and share expenses. That is a way off though.

Tomorrow I asked Tyler to get the Christmas tree box out. Don't know if I will put it up or not, I know it won't get decorated but want to see if the space I have allocated is large enough. I love our tree, it is just the right size and the lights are attached. That is the part that always made decorating the tree irritating to me.

And Joy, I do not have a green thumb. My Christmas Cactus always bloomed at Easter which I thought was odd and told it so. Last year it bloomed at Christmas and I was shocked. And I was again this year when I saw all the buds on it. It pretty much gets ignored the rest of the year. I water when I think of it. I think I will re-pot it when its done this time. Unless I shouldn't, I don't know. It looks too big for the pot. I usually kill plants quicker than you can snap your fingers. I had an ivy that I really babied and tended to the best of my ability. It was kind of a sentimental plant, someone sent it to me when Scott died and last summer, it died. Dead as a doornail. So no green thumb, just incredible luck.

Found a blog of a friend I met in Odessa in April on Beautiful Mustang's blog. Debby has a mustang named Wendy. We had fun riding that weekend. That was fun.

I will have to think of 3 things tomorrow to add to my silly song.

The First Day of Christmas

My Christmas Cactus is blooming. It is totally covered with buds. It looks like Christmas Day it should be in full bloom.

A long day but accomplished a bit around here. Tomorrow, I must, I MUST get back to sewing. I did a little shopping this morning. Went to Walmart in Airway Heights before it got crowded. I needed some wrapping paper, envelopes and such. Bob had a meeting in Deer Park this afternoon and Tyler was job hunting. Now he is babysitting for Christy till Tom gets home.

I am getting really tired of this fog. When it lifted a little today it was still very grey and dismal. I had to take myself by the neck and make me go do the chores. The barn horses were happy to see me. And Rusty always runs to the other side of the pen when I go in with her. She doesn't do that for Bob. We must get her pen moved to a higher place. That mud is driving me nuts. She can get to the round pen and that isn't muddy so she spends a lot of time out there.

Not much else happening.