A Nice Saturday

My sweet friend Kim and her husband came through this morning on their way to Seattle for Christmas. We sat and talked a long time. Paul and she took us to breakfast at a restaurant in Airway Heights called The Rusty Moose. They have lots of cute things around their restaurant both outside and inside.

Kim and the bear, It was so good to see her so soon again.

The old Rusty Moose. He is about half the size of a real moose. Maybe not even half the size.

Kind of cute laying there in the snow. If it had not been raining I would have sat on him and had my picture taken.

Father Christmas by the fireplace all dressed in fur. I would have loved to have had his boots. They look so warm and snugly.

The inside moose. They also have a large life size head on the wall above the door that talks to you when you come in. He tells you welcome.

Just more decorations. It is a good place to eat. Not the cheapest but really good food and you get huge portions. They could charge less and smaller portions and most people would be happy. Bob just got biscuits and gravy because he knew I could not eat all my Denver Omelet and hash browns and biscuit. So I ate half the hash browns, 1/3 of the omelet and the biscuit and Bob ate the rest of it for me. Paul ate the last half of Kim's too.

Tonight I helped Bob with the chores. It is so funny. I have no problem putting the horses in the barn in the evenings. Bob on the other hand can not get Amelia to go in. She just snubs her nose at him and won't come out, nor will she get caught. I just open the gate and call her and out she comes. He just grumbles at her when she does that. We have got to do stalls tomorrow. Its not so bad when its frozen and they don't get done but when its warm like it is now, they get gross. I guess Amelia likes me best. Hahahahahahahaha.

Another day of rain and now fog. You can not even see the road in front of our house. Hope it leaves by morning. I hate driving in the fog.I won't be driving but Bob hates it worse than I.

My Merry Christmas today to you all. I love this Santa. He used to be motion censored and say MERRY CHRISTMAS very loud. I have never replaced the battery. It used to make Bob jump and I would laugh. Ugly aren't I? LOL

Friday

This is what happens when you have 4" of snow and it melts off in a day when it turns 45 degrees. This is a corner of my arena. Won't be riding in there any time soon. I was practicing with my new long lens. I need more practice but this was viewable anyway. That is Henry in the background. He was born last March.

Speaking of new lenses, Bob had promised me one for Christmas and I went downtown to Huppins to pick it out. It isn't really really long, but way more than I had. I was standing by our porch where I took the tree in the snow picture. There will probably be some funny pictures here while I am learning. I think I messed up the automatic focus. At least I hope that works. I don't focus so good.

I am watching the RFD channel on TV and they are driving draft horses. It is fun to watch. I love to drive a horse and buggy but those big guys might be a handful. I have never driven a team either. Just a single. I would love an opportunity to try it though.

Finished my shopping today, baked 6 loaves of applesauce spice cake and got them frosted. Some things wrapped and a soaky hot bath. So now its time for crawl in bed with my book and settle down for the night. Have a date for breakfast with friends in the morning so will have to get up and get at the day. Have a Sunny Saturday.

Thinking Thursday

Every night when we go to bed, this is what we find. Some times more. Skeeter puts his toys up there so the other dog nor the cat will bother his stuff. Now Maggie would not play with a toy at all. She is an old dignified lady. And Trouble, well he doesn't do toys either. He is an old pest. But Skeeter just wants to make sure I guess. We put them off the bed and the next morning when I make the bed, it starts all over again. He lays on out bed and looks out the window so I guess he wants his things close at hand. On Thanksgiving our DIL's tiny poodle Star was playing with one of his toys and when she dropped it for a minute he grabbed it and took it and put it up on our bed. She only weighs 3 pounds, teeny and can not jump that high. I told him he was selfish and gave it back to Star but he took it away and put it on our bed again. He gives us a lot of laughs.

In our barn sits a little red wagon. It is a Radio Flyer 90. It has an orange and a blue hay string tied to the handle. I don't remember where we got it but I remember all of our grandchildren and great grandchildren playing with it. The have pulled each other around the place. They have "helped" feed horses and cos and fill the wagon with hay and followed us to each horse. They have hitched it behind a bicycle and pulled each other around. It have seen it hooked directly behind a four wheeler tearing around. One it was hooked behind the riding lawn mower. One time it was tied to the four wheeler wagon and the four wheeler. It was full of laughing children. I have seen our adult grandchildren pulling their toddlers behind them.

It is getting battered and worn but every time I look at it, I think of all the memories.......In our barn sits a little red wagon ------------------

Wednesday

When I went to put the horses out this morning I heard geese honking. There were several hundred in the bunch. It was quite awesome. I wished I had my longer lens on but this is what I got. When I went into town later they were on a field in the wheat stubble. I didn't have my camera with me then.

It rained all night and off and on today. It went to 45 degrees. I loved it being warmer but I don't like the mud pit that we now have. Everything is squishy and ugly. BUT it is warmer. I am trying to stay on the bright side.

This is my special Friend Kim. We (Bob included) went to dinner at Chili's. I was so happy to see her. She is a flight attendant and had a layover here this afternoon and tonight. I tell her she is a daughter in love. Has been like a daughter for quite a few years. She lived just down the road for a long time but now lives in NW Montana with her husband and 2 stepsons. I have really missed her and was so glad to be able to spend the day with her.

So I had a good day. Hope you did too.

Thankful Tuesday

When I went out this afternoon to take some snow pictures I could not make my camera work. The settings got changed somehow. So i went ahead and put the barn horses in and felt so sad because Amelia's long mane was filled with ice and just the kind of picture I wanted. Oh well, it all melted off in the barn just a little while. I came in and messed with my camera for a while and got it back to working but by that time all I got was the tree from the front porch. There will be time for more later I am sure.

Today I am thankful for a husband that still calls me baby and does not expect me to do the chores in this kind of weather. I did it all but forking hay into the pasture horses feeder. My back won't do that too good. He does not get too frustrated when I forget things. Just rolls his eyes but if you ask him he doesn't roll his eyes. I just am so thankful for him. We got a Christmas card from friends in Katy, Texas. Bill had a series of strokes and now has Alzheimer's. They have been married about as long as we have. We are so blessed.

Someone drove down our road today, slid on the ice probably going to fast and knocked over our mail box. They didn't even come to the house and tell us. I found the mail box across the ditch in the snow. Our mail was in the leaning over paper holder. Well the paper thingy wasn't leaning over, the post was. Bob fixed it when he got home.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Monday

It is snowing here. Our first other than a little that one day. It had avoided us to this point. I will take some pictures tomorrow. I moved Rusty in with Cody today and put the donkeys in Rusty's pen so they would have cover in case it did what its doing.

When I put the horses out this morning, Ditto who is usually mild mannered and is obedient, wasn't this morning. She pulled away from me - I only had a hay string around her neck - and went thru the gate to the pasture she had been in all summer and fall until we moved them into the winter paddock. I just let her go. She was at the gate this afternoon. I closed and locked it so she won't be able to do that again. And, the first one through the gate to come in from the paddock tonight was Amelia. She said, with her eyes of course, I am sorry I was naughty. I don't like it out there at night. So she is safely tucked into her stall tonight. So is Pepper and Ditto of course. The others don't mind being outside.

I finished several of the gifts I was working on and have things ready to take to the mail to send to Tennessee and Mississippi tomorrow. I had a hard time finding a talking book for Jimmy that had a story for his age. I found one at Borders. Hope its OK. I could have ordered one on line but fooled around too long. I know they have blind children's books.

Have a Terrific Tuesday.

Sunday

My Christmas cactus is outdoing itself again this year. It is still loaded with buds. I love it. I rarely do anything with it, just water it occasionally.

The advent wreath burning today, this third Sunday in Advent. Bob went turkey hunting today and I went to church. It was the day of the children's program. I absolutely love the little ones. Usually a little girl in the front row pulls her dress up over her face, today no one did that but one took off her halo, took off her little white cape and stretched out on the floor on her tummy. It was a riot. The whole group rocked out on Go Tell It On the Mountain. From the 6th. graders to the teeny two year olds. They got a standing ovation. It was wonderful.

Didn't do much outside, my back still was not completely over its little fit throwing. The muscle relaxers from when I had my accident in April worked wonders though. I did put the barn horses out. Amelia refused to come in this evening so she is out for the night. She would not come and she would not be caught. Bob ran out of patience. We are supposed to get snow tonight too. Well we were last night too - up to 6" and it never came. I am not complaining mind you just filling you in. It is supposed to be raining by Wednesday and I might complain about that.

If any of you read Mustang Saga written by my friend Andrea you know her sister Amy had surgery because of breast cancer. I was so happy to read that Amy was home in a couple of days and did well. They think they got all the cancer too. Yeah Amy, Andrea and your family. Its been a tough few months.

I found a blog site - Heart of a Cowgirl. She has a bracelet that I want bad. I may have to buy myself another Christmas present (my red shoes were the first).

Have a good Monday.