Diamonds in the Snow

No pictures - I just can't get pictures off the card. Katie I need you. It was so beautiful today. However, it was not warm, cold in fact. A 5:10 it is 15. I made we want to get outside and I did.

I spent a couple of half hours working with Sage and the plastic bag. The first time was not as fruitful although I thought it would be. Finally though I could rub from neck to hip with her just standing. THEN, I went the second time and it was better just her back. I could go clear up behind her ears and over the hips to her hock. I tried under her belly and that created her levitating. Will have to keep working on that. The thing that really sent my heart a flutter was I was rubbing her chest. I went a little too far and she saw it with her other eye and she erupted toward me. She reared up and swung at me. The thought that went through my head was I don't have my cell phone and I am going to get hurt. She was right in front of me. Like her head was taller than me and her chest was where I could have spit on it. She realized where I was and sat back and whirled and did not touch me. My heart was beating out of my chest I thought. I took a deep breath and then I went back and rubbed her chest again being mindful of not going so far toward the other side. She let me and then I left her there. I rubbed her neck and hugged her but was still shaky so she got the rest of the afternoon off. That is the first time she has really scared me like that.

We were going to drive Rosie with the sleigh today but did not get there. Bob wants to put winter shoes on her in the AM.

Last Sunday our pastor told us about a web site that will have you reading through the bible in a year and picking a verse and how it applies. It is call LifeJournal.me. I like journaling my devotional time and I am going to use this site this year.

Tomorrow and then New Years Day. Hope you have a great day, weekend and year. Blessings

On The Road Again Toward 1000 Blessing

601 - Candy Canes
602 - The pink layered sky at daybreak today
603 - Blogs that encourage me to try something new
604 - Peoples generosity especially this Christmas season
605 - A beautiful set table
606 - A Christmas morning Sunrise
607 - Christmas Eve at church
608 - Preschoolers singing Happy Birthday Jesus
609 - Christmas eve communion
610 - Worship on Christmas Eve that brought tears
611 - God's grace
612 - Leroy and Denise singing Silent Night - I was awe struck
613 - Our new stove
614 - Bob;s brothers unexpected refund
615 - See missionary friends home for the holidays
616 - The very old Roy Rogers move on RFD TV
617 - Lunch on Sunday at Old Country Buffet
618 - My new gloves
619 - Fresh squeezed orange juice
620 - Big R Store
621 - Family pictures
622 -Oprah's Sound of Music reunion
623 - All the cookies and candy are gone
624 - My sisters birthday
625 - The King and I
626 - We have a god snow moving tractor
627 - LifeJournal.com
628 - Angelo and Joyce Bissett who are our age and love to ride as much

A Snow Day

I had pictures, rather I have pictures but can't get them to the computer from the card reader on the printer. I finally just turned it off.

Yes we have snow - 10 or so inches and it is still snowing and blowing and drifting. I am glad I did not have to go anywhere today. Did not even put horses out. Its just plain cold and nasty out there and the temperature is dropping like a rock.

Blessings

Snow is coming -

No pictures today. Just kind of a messed up day. I ran an errand for Bob over in Couer d'Alene, Id. and when I got there.................the sign on the door said we are enjoying the Christmas holiday with our families, see you after New Years. I wanted to kick the door but I didn't. So I turned around and drove home stopping at Walmart to get a new shower head. I remember the last time we changed it, Nikki and I decided we could do it and we did something wrong and part of it went down into the wall. Bob was not happy with us. While I was in WM I got several things on half price to put away until next Christmas.

We are having a rain storm at the moment but in a few hours it is to turn into snow and we are predicted to have about 10" before it stops tomorrow. It is 35 degrees at the moment and by tomorrow afternoon 17 is the prediction and the goes down from there the rest of the week. I don't think I like that too much.

I worked with Sage today in the round pen. We worked with plastic bags on the end of a driving whip. She tolerated that just fine a while back but it wasn't so today although we did make a lot of progress on her good side. I could rub her entire side and to her knees in front and hock in back. Her belly and chest were off limits yet though. It was so wet and icky I was not thrilled with that but wanted to spend time with her. When I put the whip away, I just petted and loved on her and that seemed to be OK with her. I am not a bad weather outdoor person any more and consequently, we have regressed some I am sure.

Someone dropped two kittens off and they were both sick. One died. I get so upset with people who do that. They were so thin. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I started packing Christmas stuff up today. I found a box that held all my Santa's in one box. So it is sealed up ready for the closet. I wish we could put the tree away decorated. I hate taking stuff off. Probably will get done a little at a time like I put stuff on.

Bob worked on my barn bathroom today. Maybe someday it will get finished completely.

I am hoping my blogger friend in California does not get flooded again. Don't know just where she lives but they got enough rain their barns were flooded.

Blessings to you all.

Family

Here is 3/4 of our family. Nikki and her family were not here.Front row is Sheya sitting on Nikki. Seth and Ryan, next row Debbie in the tie dye, Jadeyn me, Bob Christy and Tom, Chrissy is peeking through as is Wendy and Skye, Steve is in the very back.
Bob and I. We have celebrated 53 Christmases together.

Steve our oldest son and Debbie.

Tom, our youngest son and his family. Christy, Sheya, Ryan and Seth

Seth the basketball player.

Ryan the drummer.

Beautiful Jadeyn. She is 13

Nikki or Pickle as her mother calls her. She will be 17 on Thursday.

Chrissy and her brood.

Lovely Chrissy who can put earrings in her hair and pin stuff on her and look beautiful. I would look stupid.

And Skylor. He is 14. He would rather not have his picture taken.

I took some others of kids but they weren't so good so just posted these. Hope you can get them Joy. I remember you saying you cut and pasted pictures of family. We had such a good day.

I wrote my letter to the editor this afternoon. My temper had cooled some and I tried really hard to be polite. It was hard to get it in 200 words.

Tried to work with Sage this afternoon but she was really naughty. She would not stay out of my space nor go where I wanted to lead her. I was here alone so hopefully the weather isn't so nasty I can't get in some times tomorrow. There is so much ice I was afraid of falling.

Andrea, I think tomorrow is your MRI. I am praying the lump is nothing.

Blessings to you all.

A rant

I will have to post the family pictures we took tomorrow. I can not get them to upload. Had some of them posted and then it froze up.
This article was in the Letters To The Editor in our newspaper The Spokesman Review. It is titled Last roundup overdue and smoke is about to come out my ears. I will copy it here. I could probably get it electronically and cut and paste but I don't do that very well so will just copy it.

"The cruelty and blatant waste of America's hard earned tax dollars to remove wild horses has reached staggering proportions.
The level of disregard, disrespect and criminal behaviour the Bureau of Land Management exhibits in response to the American public outcry is something we can no longer ignore.
The wild horse herds are a symbol of Americans freedom. At what point do we need to make a stand?
Al.ready, 39,000 wild horses are in holding facilities and 11,000 more are scheduled for roundup next year.
These roundups are being operated on a deficit budget.
They castrate the stallions, break up the family herds, run the foals until their hooves fall off, lie about their numbers, and tell us they are starving to death and destroying the ecosystems while millions of cattle are allowed to roam and overtake their designated herd management areas..
The videos taken of the roundups reveal healthy, terrorized horses and unscathed landscapes.
Contact President Obama and demand he put an end to wild horse roundups."


I won't print her name. I don't know her but I will invite her to our Mustang Club Meeting in January. I am going to respond to the paper with an answer to her letter. If any of you care to it is editor@spokesman.com and letters can not be over 200 words and must include your daytime phone number and street address although they will not be printed.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. This is America but I am entitled to disagree with her opinion and I DO. First of all the BLM is not doing anything criminal. There are not millions of cattle on the horses herd areas. There are cattle who are allowed to range for periods of time in particular areas. Cattle do not eat the grass to the roots like horses do. They have to wrap their tongue around it to eat it, horses bite it with their teeth. Consequently horses can eat to its roots. I have not seen cattle in any of the herd management areas. I have been to several herd areas in Oregon and southern Montana.
There are other wild animals there besides the horses. Deer, elk, antelope, ect. and birds and little ground animals. They all have to eat and all use the same land.
I don't know where this lady got her numbers but I have not seen them before. There are a lot of horses in holding facilities and on rescues ect. For the most part they are well taken care of.
Yes, when they gather, to keep the horses from starving to death, they do castrate the stallions. Not many people want to adopt a stallion but many will adopt a nice gelding. The horse herds are in family units and must be moved around to keep the genetics pure. Inbred horses are not good.
The video's of the last gather in November were doctored to look bad. I have seen videos taken by other people. The horses were thin and needed to be brought in and fed up. They were not run over the ground. In fact it took two days to get them there because they did not want to stress the animals. The horse that broke her neck just wigged out and they could not stop her. They did nothing to make her so upset just tried to move them in to a different pen. The helicopter was NOT close to them, it was an optical illusion. I was not there but have two friends who were and photographed and videoed it all. We are going down next year to observe and photograph.
Bob and I are BLM volunteers and have been for several years. We turn in many hundreds of hours every year. We personally know many of the BLM workers in Oregon, Washington and Montana. They love the horses and would never hurt them deliberately.

There is my rant. I am going to write a letter to the editor tomorrow. Maybe by then my emotions will be in a better place.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and a quiet Christmas. I will hope to get the pictures posted of our family tomorrow.
Blessings.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL. I HOPE YOU HAVE THE MOST BLESSED DAY. REMEMBER WHY WE CELEBRATE -'AWAY IN A MANGER NO CRIB FOR A BED THE LITTLE LORD JESUS LAY DOWN HIS SWEET HEAD'