It Came

The beautiful rose pink shawl arrived today. It is so beautiful. I have worn it off and on all afternoon. Thank you so much Barbara.

The other picture is our shoveling crew came today to ease Bob's burden of shoveling such deep heavy snow. Our son Tom, our grandson Joel, Katie and her dad Doug came and got the barn clear. That was worrying Bob and he has been getting more tired every day. Thank you so much and I hope you are all blessed for doing this.

We had an interesting late afternoon. After everyone left and we were relaxing and wishing the crew lots of good things for taking their Saturday afternoon to help us and Bob went to make a pot of coffee. He looked out the kitchen window and there were horses everywhere - ours of course. By the time we got boots on and coats and gloves grabbed I dashed out the front door and he the back door and by that time all eight of them were milling around in the middle of the road. I dashed out there (and I don't dash so good at 70 when it is 5 degrees) and waved a car to stop and got behind the herd. They all went and started down our driveway EXCEPT Pepper, he decided to kick Ditto and run her off, she trotted back to me and I had to rope or anything and she tried to go off thru the yard and got stuck in the ditch that has probably 8 or so feet of snow in it. She was thrashing around but got turned around and back on the road. She went down and back down the driveway into the barn and into her stall. In the meantime Sequoia decided to have a go at running away. I got out to the road and asked another car to stop with my frantic waving. when he saw the car he started off the the ditch over there but he got thru and made it back to the others. By that time Bob had gotten Dixie in and after some language that might make a sailor blush he got Pepper to go to his stall. He got the gate open and one by one they ambled back in. They had broken a panel loose and had almost let Rusty out too. That would have been a real hair curler. Keeps life interesting. I guess.

I am finished with the book Hope Rising by Kim Reeder. It is a wonderful book of short essays about rescued horses and rescued children. The fly leaf says " Where Wounded Spirits Run Free. Follow a horse where no one else can tread through the minefield of pain that surrounds a broken child's soul. From a mistreated horse to an emotionally starved child and back again, a torren of love revives their barren places. Come vist a place where the impossible flourishes, where dreams survie the inferno of reality - a place where hope rises." From now until the 15th. of January everyone that comments will be put in a drawing for the book. I have tried to think of some infinately new way to do it, but my mind is in its winter relaps. You might tell your other blogger friends to come over and visit.

Today is Tracey's Darling's 15th. birthday. When I talked to Tracey earlier today, she was about to make them burgers as to D's request. Happy Birthday Darling Daughter.

Now I will see if this publishes. I have started 2 times previously and something (probably me) messed up. So happy Saturday to you all.

Happy Birthday Bryant

Our back yard. We went to town today to get some grain, cat food ect., go to the Used Book Store and the stuff you just have to do once in a while. I was getting cabin fever and so I jumped at the chance to get out for a while. However, we had never seen traffic in Spokane like that, the roads are awful, the drivers were rude and drove like idiots. 3 lane roads are barely 2. It was horrid so we came home the back way out Seven Mile Rd. to Coulee Heights Rd. up Brooks to Christensen and home. The roads needed plowing in places but with a 4x4 it was good and NO traffic or people trying to cross 4 lanes of traffic out of a parking lot. Grrrrrrrr. There, that is off my chest.

Happy Birthday Bryant. I love you and can not believe you are 18 already. I hope we get to see you soon. Your card will be in the mail tomorrow. Grandma is late as usual.

Didn't clean saddles today, opted to go to town. Probably wouldn't have a head ache if I had stayed home and done that.

New Years Day

What a way to start the year. This picture was taken out my dining room window - I opened the window and leaned out to take the picture. I know its a little lop sided but I was holding the camera, grabbing Skeeter and the wanted to go out of the window and try to not get agitated at Trouble the cat for trying too. But you can see the mess slipping off the roof.

Thank you Barbara for drawing my name - The Serenity Room -. When the scarf gets here I will have Bob take a picture of me and the scarf. I have found what I want to give away at a drawing here. But I want to finish it first. It is a series of short little stories about a ranch somewhere near Bend, Oregon that rescues horses and children and pairs them up and they help each other heal. I remember buying it several years ago and put it up and promptly forgot about it. I was going thru the bookshelf today and there it was. When I started it, I knew that was what I wanted to give. There is that big but though, I want to finish it and figure out how I am going to do it. It is called Hope Rising by Kim Meeder.

I just laid around today not doing much at all. Andrea gave me a wonderful idea on her blog - Mustang Saga - clean, recondition and polish my saddle and bridle. Maybe then when I finish those I will start on the others. I love my saddle though. It needs to go in to have some work done on it but I don't know now when it will get there. It is still very useable, just needs some upkeep before riding season really gets here. That will give me something to do. It does not sound like the weather is going to improve all that much.

A second Walmart had to close abruptly today because of the snow on the roof, if you live around here you know Roseaurs (large grocery store) roof collapased on Francis and the one ways, 2 buildings at the fair have caved in. Our cow shelter would be down by morning had Bob not shoveled it today. The south side of our barn needs it too but Bob came in just exhausted and could not do that. I worry about him shoveling so much. It had better be standing in the
morning. I think it will, just has slid off the high part of the barn on to the lower part and its pretty deep.

I lit all the candles sitting around today. Love candles. They brighten my spirits.

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 :(