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.