Monday, March 31, 2008

Technical - Font Testing

This is a font test... I'm curious how these look in real life..

This is font
This is Ariel
This is Courier
This is Georgia
This is Lucida Grande
This is Times
This is Trebuch something or other
This is Verdana
This is Webdings...

Spring Fever and Cards for Heros



Cards for Heroes - Results:
I spent yesterday afternoon cranking out cards for the Cards For Heroes Party over at 2Peas.. I only managed to get 6 made (some girls made 30, 40 and 50!)... I worked for about 4 hours, which for me included getting a leg of lamb roast in the oven for dinner, some mommy duties, and a couple laundry trips.

Now is the time to make Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day cards, that get sent to the troops in Iraq by April 11th, so they in turn can sent them out to their family members.. I'm sharing with you my favorites from my little sweatshop. I will use some of these as my templates for my own cards, in May & June.

Weather Report:
Well today started at 17 degrees.. Yesterday never got above 20 degrees and it was a snowy, blustery stay inside day... hence, the cards!

I took a sneak peak at the 10 day forecast.... Guess What!!! Thursday and Friday are gonna hit the 50's! I am so darn excited...

I gotta plan my 'big outdoor adventures'.. Things like, oh, clean up all the doggy surprises in the yard, clean out the kitchen coup, clean out the dog kennels, and perhaps a dump run.. Yep.. That's me.. Mrs. Excitment.. And today is order chicks day.. New babies to become our next batch of egg layers.

... I'm also getting Walking Fever.. I can't wait to start my morning 'walks/trot/gasp for air' outings again! Gosh.. and to think I used to be a runner! And a biker! And a swimmer! Oh the days of my youth.. how I miss ya, how I miss ya!

Fa la la la la
The sun is on it's way ..

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Earth Hour - My Personal Musings, or Get Real!

Yesterday was the first I heard of 'Earth Hour'. Where across the globe, folks turned off their lights for ONE HOUR from 8pm to 9pm. The purpose was to show concern/some action/awareness for Global Warming. Light a candle, and hang with your peeps. Feel good for a cause. Sigh. Sorry... but this is just too quaint, even for me, a self proclaimed conservationist/holistic resource management advocate.

I'm sure you can tell by my tone where I am going with this. I'll try to be tactful.
First off, perhaps yes, in a major city ONE HOUR might be a big whip, to not have those big buildings lit, restaurants, a few select bill boards. But again, IT WAS JUST LIGHTS! Restaurants still served meals (they had the use of their stoves, etc., and the restrooms were still operable, and of course hot water was a plenty)... Try it without heat, all electricity, all power. Try cooking then. Try listening to your tunes, radios, heaters kicking on and off. Try going to the bathroom or washing dishes or preparing a meal or bathing, or meeting the needs (food, shelter, hygiene) of small children without All YOUR POWER.

Seriously. Have you ever gone WITHOUT ALL YOUR POWER for 3, 4, 8 hours or even days at a time - without a heads up? We, did it for a week... before my babies were born. And, later, for three days when Sami was a baby, and this past winter, for just 4 hours... I love electricity and all it's wonders... I am so grateful for modern technology.

THAT is when awareness really kicks in... When you want to take a shower, heat a baby bottle, drink a glass of water, wash your face or under your arms, or sit on the toilet, cook a meal for your family - and all you have is a trickle of cold water (if your lucky), before the water pump no longer works... Or, here, lets add a few dimensions - your monthly womanness is at full throttle, someone in your family has the flu, or you have a newborn, or even, God forbid, one of you is hooked to a life support system.

I gotta tell you.. One hour doesn't seem 'huge' or to have a major impact - in terms of really being aware or taking big steps toward making an impact on reducing Global Warming. It's easy to plan for one hour. You can call a few folks, say, hey, come on over and we will sit together and play lets turn the lights off! Drink some wine, have some snacks. Your life really isn't impacted, and you haven't grasped the full meaning of 'going without' and needing to reduce, reuse, consume less.

Here's a recommendation... Get Real. Go for 24 hours. In the dead of Winter. Try living without all electrical power - go off the grid.. Pick a meaningful day. Winter Solstice. When the light is at it's least availability. At least you can prepare for the day, and still 'have fun' ... unlike so many whose power goes off without a heads up, during a storm or a natural disaster.

Perhaps then we can all light candles, in the dead of winter and pray for those that have gone before us, the ones that have really felt the impact of knowing what it's like to be without power for hours, days, weeks. And be grateful. For what you really have...at the flip of a switch.

I have the deepest respect for those that have chosen to go off the grid, and live their lives without electrical power. They are resourceful, and an example of really taking action.

I don't know if I could do it. I, am a wuss.
Amen.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Creative Friday - One More Card and Cards for Heroes!

Inside of Card

This is the last of the batch I made today... It's now 5:37 pm, it's still snowing, and I am 'off' to start working on dinner and perhaps some evening family festivities... depends on 'the crowd'.

News Flash! Cards For Heros Event!!!
Over at Two Peas In a Bucket, the One Year Anniversary of Cards for Hero's is being celebrated this weekend... Remember Sandy? My friend in Seattle that I visited? She is the force behind Cards for Heros.. Another one of our stamping friends designed an entire webpage for this cause. So, several Peas on the stamping board will be making lots of cards this weekend to send off to our troops. The purpose is to get cards to service men and women, so they can send them off to their family and friends... If you are snowed in this weekend, or looking for a creative outlet, come and join us! The goal is to have 4,000 cards by April 11th. You can help! Here are a few links for you:

Cards For Heroes Webpage
Learn About the purpose. Navigate the sight, see who your closest shipper is and see how you, or your organization can contribute.

Cards For Heroes Detailed Challenge Info
The details for the 'big challenge' to get to 4,000 cards

Sandy's Blog (she has lots of details posted!)
Sandy has posted sketches for cards and some samples
These can be found at 2peas as well

The 2Peas Stampin' Board Cards for Heroes Party!
Party Head Quarters! The event actually starts tomorrow morning.. so you are being linked to the stamping board's main page... Check out the different threads to find a Master thread, as well as different threads for sketches, challenges, and chats about favorite snacks to keep us going!

I sure hope you join the peas in this effort. No matter your political views, our troops are serving for us and can use any kindness we in turn can give them to make their lives a bit more 'homelike' under their current conditions. They don't have Hallmark stores at hand.. But they have pens. Help us help them send cards back home.

Creative Friday - Cards Made on a Snowy Day

Today's Creative Time
Note: All the cards I made today have a 'circular' cut on the cover, so you actually see a portion of the inside. Also, they don't stand by themselves, or stay 'shut'.
Please forgive that ugly finger holding down the top!
My Friday....
I love my 'lazy stay at home when the weather is bad' days.. It's actually snowing! Been this way most the day. Current temp is 28 degrees... And, let me define Lazy... basically it means, I haven't left the house, I'm still in my jammies, yet since I can't stand sitting still, or watching TV before 6pm, I still 'do stuff' that has to get done - because I am Type A!

So, before I gave myself permission to play, this is what I did:

  • First, I cleaned out some of the kitchen cupboards (is that spelled right?) - inside and out.
  • Then, some laundry
  • Then, supervised reorganizing Sami's craft zone (her space invades my space)
  • Then, cooked up some Ham Hocks and Lamb Sausage for our Lunchtime stew!
  • Cleaned the kitchen, followed by a little napster

Then, after my nap, I gave myself permission to play. 3 hours. All mine.

I still have one more card to share! I'll put it in another post.

Today I just wanted to play with the Stampin' Up rubons! They are fun... And, I need to send out some Thank You cards to the various hosts from our Seattle Trip.. Double Duty...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig..


Sigh...

So. We came home 2 days early. For a variety of reasons.
Getting lost in downtown Seattle - on arrival.
The rain. The Cold.
I forgot to pack underwear. (But I made sure the kids had theirs!)
My son's teeth hurt.
Female issues. Please let me go home, lie down and hide for a few days.
'Stuff'.

However. Every cloud has a silver lining.
Here are the highlights:
Seeing distant relatives again
Easter Day at Eric & Piper's
Sami Face Painting everyone she could get her paints on!
The Pacific Science Center & The Butterfly House
Riding the Monorail
The kids beach combing
Making Carrot Cake - ala the Pioneer Woman's Recipe
Meeting Sandi, her critters and playing with her Copics
Starbucks stops along the way.
And that the kids seemed to have good time.


My apologies to my Portland trip hosts... I promise to come visit another time! I know you are disappointed. But, I needed to get home - mainly for 'personal reasons'.

I'll post more photos later... I'm tired. Wiped out. Need to sleep for a few days.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Just In Case You Don't Hear From Me!

Things are gonna get a little hectic around here... The kids and I are going to 'hit the road' early Saturday morning for Spring Break. This year our trip should be dubbed 'The Hydroplane Adventures'.

The weather forecast is: Snow and Rain for the next ten days. Snow and rain here... Rain at our destinations... This is no way to spend a Spring Break. Especially after a long, cold, snow laden winter! I thought I got my order in for sunshine. Seventy degree days, and perhaps a few 80's for good measure.. But, alas, Seattle and Portland are NOT cooperating. Dangity Dang Dang. July would have been a better time to visit the rainy cities, when we could truly appreciate the effects of cool weather. But heck, that ain't gonna happen. We have things to do on the Ranch in July!!

Oh well...
Rain gear is being packed. Umbrellas, too. Need new irrigation boots (we will call them rain boots around our city friends and family members!). Swimsuits, too. You never know. It is Spring Break for crying out loud! Besides, we have it on good authority that we have access to an indoor pool. Ta Da!

So, just in case you don't hear from me over the next few days, don't fret. I'm getting water logged, and eating as much seafood as I can! Yum.... this gal will be in heaven. Albeit, wet.

TTFN!!!!

T.G.I.T.F.D.O.S.!

Can you guess what the acronym in my post title stands for? A hint or two are listed below... There are quite a few happening events occurring over the next few days. If you are a trivia buff, this post is for you!
  • Day equals Night today.
  • Vernal Equinox is today (dance under the moon, baby!) - A fancy name for the equal day and night thing... happens again in September. This is the time when the days get longer than the nights; and the opposite happens in September.
  • There is a Full Moon on Friday (I follow the moon. It calls me.)
  • Good Friday is this Friday
  • I finally saw two Robins in our yard, today! They are in the photo above. Aren't they on time!!
  • Easter is this Sunday (The date also has to do with full moons. Easter is on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox).
Got all that?
Thank God it's the first day of spring!!!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Baby Shower Show & Tell

Peek #1 - Baby Advice Album
Supplies: Stampin' Up Stamps, CTMH ribbons, Queen & Co brads
SU Watercolor Crayons, and other embellies


Peek #2 - The Original Invitation
(This is what you see through the album cover window)
Additional Supplies: SU star punches


Inside the Album:
The right side is the 'advice' page. Each girl wrote on one of these.
The left side throughout the remainder of the book will have a photo
of Ashly with the gift given to her by the girl who wrote the advice.
This image shows my 'intro' to Ashly.


The Cake!
How stinking cute is this! The baker used a copy of the invite to
make a matching cake! Adorable.. I can't wait to show this
to my SU rep! She is just going to love it! She is also a ranch wife, and
the stamps were hers that I borrowed to make the goodies for the party!

I love this photo of her baby tummy and the balloons!

We had a great weekend! Ashly's baby shower was a great event filled with fun, family and lots of playtime! The kids had an absolute blast this weekend.

Ashly's mom, who is Dick's older sister manages (with her husband) the largest ranch in Idaho.. They are running about 2000 head of cattle and are in the process of calving out 650 heifers.. BUSY! The baby shower was at their place.. Between checking mommas (cows), bottle feeding babies (calves), and burning the daylight oil, my sister in law threw a lovely shower. The food was awesome! All weekend we played, ate, laughed, and ate some more. The diet starts again.
The kids got to walk to a lake and see swans and geese. Jake rode on the back of a dirt bike (without asking) and Sami wants to be Sherry's buckaroo this summer... cousins were everywhere, which is good for our kids who are so far from relatives.

My in-laws were also there, and they loved their new albums (one in shutterfly story book form and the other the original scrapbook pages)!

So, that is a wrap! A busy, long weekend.. and I am now tired!

Stop the Press! Major News Flash!!

I found one of the very best foodie blogs... Yep.. food.. and wine. And hilarious mommy rantings. LOVE it! She speaks my language. And has fun props for when she posts a recipe.

My other faves are the Kitchen Bitch and The Pioneer Woman Cooks...

So, go now and check out my latest discovery (she has some Easter recipes posted):

The Noble Pig

I did notice somethin' that all my fave foodies have in common.. They are all California Girls! Well, Pioneer Woman was in CA for a while... let's call it her formative years..
But I say, there is a connection... and a reason why this ol' California Girl just loves all of their twisted sister humor!

Kiss Me! I'm Irish!!!!

My Father & I, In 1983
OH! And, I'm wearing Green!
Check out that Convertable Caddie in the back!
That's the car I learned to drive in!
(We won't discuss the words my Dad let out on that day!!!)


Happy St. Patrick's day to one and all... Did you know I am 1/2 Irish? Well, a good mix at least. My maiden name is Walsh.. My father was David Paul Walsh.. A beautiful handsome man that left this world in 1990 to go golf with God. To say my father was an avid golfer is an understatement... We buried him with his favorite putter.

My father's mother is Avis Walsh, who is Austrian, and his father was William Walsh, the Irish side of our family.. Dark Irish. Most of my father's siblings have blue eyes, and some mixture of exotic coloring - as in dark hair and olive skin... My father was one of the brown eyed children, and thus, so are all his daughters.. I was secretly hoping I carried a blue recessive gene since my husband is a blue eyed handsome devil - our children might have had blue eyes and dark hair... but alas, our babes are brown eyed.. gorgeous babies!

So, on behalf of my Irish heritage, Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Come May I'll be wishing you a happy Cinco De Mayo, to honor my Mexican princess heritage! Besides, I'm all about the party).

And, I send you with these words (lifted from Lisa Renae's blog):

May love and laughter light your days
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Yes, Still Here!

Howdy!
Sorry I've been MIA, got quite a few things going on. Here, I'll share some quick sound bites:

  1. Co hosting a baby shower for my husband's neice - Ashly. Yep, little Ashly who was 5 when Dick and I started dating! (Oh.. and for any spelling/definition freaks, Ashly is the way her name is spelled.. Don't email me that you know better). Anyway, Ashly is going to be a mommy next month!
    • The baby shower is this Saturday, so leaving tomorrow for Idaho.
    • Which means, gotta get all the 'stuff' ready to go! As in shower do dads, pack for three, etc.
    • No sneak peaks until I get back. I made the invites, advice cards and bingo game cards!
  1. (format issue here.. should be #2, just in case anyone was gonna correct me)
  2. My In-laws will be at the shower, and I am delivering their 50th Wedding Anniversary Album that I made! BIG Event tomorrow night for this roll out! Hope I don't forget it. Pressure!
  3. Meat sales are hectic right now.. Easter and all!
  4. Have a sinus infection.
  5. Gotta run! PTCO meeting at the school.
  6. OH! got a cute new PINK phone! HAD to since the provider has new technology that my old phone did not have..
  7. It snowed again today.. dang.
  8. OK.. really leaving now...
Catch you all later...

Monday, March 10, 2008

MS Awareness Week! Learn, Listen, Help, Give

Today starts MS Awareness week..

I am a lucky woman, age 45, who wakes each morning with just the 'normal' aches and pains of a woman my age. I can stretch them out, walk or run if I so desire, and get on with my day. Yet, this disease has touched my life.

I have a beautiful younger cousin, Karen, who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 25. She is now 38. She had a thriving career, a husband, and a hobby that she loved - training and showing dogs. All the beautiful things any young active woman could hope for.. the promise of a beautiful,unlimited, healthy life.

All those things are gone now, due to her disease. My heart aches for Karen and all the other women, men and children whose lives have been turned upside down by this disease. Life is to be lived to it's fullest, and Karen takes the bull by the horns to do just that as best she can. She lives alone, has her own house, has companionship through her silly kitties and a dog or two. And, mainly, she is an avid quilter and writer.

After many years of living our separate lives, on separate sides of the continent, we have found each other through our blogs and life stories. I have become more aware of this disease through Karen's writings, and the beauty within Karen's mind and heart. She shares how MS affects her life, and her approach to fighting it, and taking care of her health.

Karen is hosting MS Awareness Week posts that involve the lives of other quilters with MS as well as opportunities for me and you to become more aware. You can visit Karen's blog at Life At Lee Haven.

If you know someone with MS reach out and contact them this week. Let them know you are cheering for them, and that you love them.

Thank You.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Blogs Getting HiJacked!?

For all of you that subscribe to lots of blogs via a reader, have you had weird things happening lately? Two of the blogs I subscribe to have been hijacked... one was turned into a TREK biking blog, and the other some funky London news rag with funky weird stories...
What's up????

I'm off to report the crimes.
If you get weird stuff, please report it as well, to the original blog hostess/host and to blogger or typepad...

Strange...

Thursday, March 6, 2008

I've Been Tagged!

I was recently tagged by Ginny, over at her Small Studio Productions blog. Ginny is the author of one of my favorite blogs for inspiration and good reads. I like her stories... I like her art. I like her store! She has some hot vintage ribbons, images, and stuff... Go visit her..

Now, I have to share a secret... I'm not 'fond' of being tagged.. I rank it up there with those inspirational emails you have to forward to 10 girlfriends to get a miracle in your life.., as well as blogger awards that you have to award to 5 other friends. I feel like I am imposing on people.. interrupting their lives and putting demands on their time.. BUT, I have to admit, I LOVE reading the answers when other people get tagged! So, along the 'gotta play to win' motto of the lotto, I am fulfilling the tag requirements/obligations...

Here are the rules: (They are simple):
  1. Link to the person that tagged you
  2. Post the rules on your blog
  3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
  4. tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
  5. let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their site..
OK.. Here are my 6 non-important thingies:
  1. Habit: I get up real early.. anywhere after 3:30 am. I am a morning person. I LOVE starting my day with the house all to myself - even if it is just for 20 minutes.. or is this a quirk?
  2. Habit: I am actually breaking a few! I have not had a cup of Joe since February 1st. And, I consider myself a coffee achiever.
  3. Habit: I love a little napster after lunch! Even better if the sun is shining. I think I was a cat in a previous life.
  4. Habit: I LOVE to read in bed before falling asleep. Sometimes I fall asleep reading!
  5. I am not a cold weather person, yet I am living in a place where winter seems to be 6 months out of the year at 3,500 feet. I love the sun on me, on my skin, on my face. My ideal temp is 80 degrees outside.
  6. I love to go for walks alone. It is a total ZEN time for me. It's my time to be with God.
Now, here are the 'lucky' blogster girls that I am going to tag. I'll tell you why, too!
  1. My Cousin Deb. The Kitchen Bitch. She is attending chef school in SF and she just cracks me up with her perspective on life. She gives me hope for 2nd chances and following your dreams. Love her.
  2. My Cousin Karen. Living Life At LeeHaven. She is an amazing writer! She is also an amazing quilter, and dog trainer, and avid reader. She is also my reality check when it comes to health issues. Karen has MS and does more stuff than most people I know who have NO REASON to complain!
  3. Sue over at Wandering Star. I love her music! Each month she mixes it up. I also love her writings, photos and travels. She has a good eye.
  4. Kari, over at A Country Life. Kari and I share parallel lives on different sides of this continent! I love reading her stories and seeing her art.
  5. Stacy, at Stacy's Memory Triggers. Stacy makes great cards! I love her designs. She also lives in Oregon and I can commensurate with some of the trials and tribulations she has having to travel for heath care or shopping! She's also a country girl.
  6. Lisa at The tattered Tiara. First, any gal that wears a tiara has my vote! I love Lisa's quotes under her header. Always great for a laugh! She also had an awesome Christmas tree (funky, baby) and I admire a gal that just does what she loves. Right now she is doing a 21 day challenge journal. Check it out.
I'm letting Dawn and Sandy off the hook! We get to tagging each other so much we run circles around each other!!

OK! I think that's a wrap! Off to break the good news to these gals.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Got PMS? This is a MUST read!

I just had to lift this little gem! I LOVE it! Thanks Thanh Vo! (Those Just Johanna girls all have a great sense of humor.. I'm thinking I need to hook up with them one of these days!)... I can so relate to this woman, since, uh, I am a customer of the very same company... wings and all! (love the little F-16 jest, but I'll let you read!)


This is an actual letter from an Austin,Texas woman sent to the American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter:

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behaviour. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you ****ing kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always.

Best,
Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

It's FINALLY March!

I have LOTS to share with you. I LOVE March! This is the month I can finally find a patch of bare grass (aka not covered in snow) somewhere within the snow drifts in the yard and THANK GOD for longer days, and warmer temperatures. I am so not a Winter girl. I love the warmth of the sun.. I love summer. I really love spring! And I miss all the warm places I love to visit. It's 39 degrees here, which is WARM for us! Yahoo! But it did snow yesterday....so I must enjoy one day at a time.

Here's my 'Why I love March' list:
  • The days are getting longer! I love daylight. I am a morning person.
  • I can start my morning walks again.
  • The highway is not covered in ice and I can drive 55 mph instead of 15 or 20
  • The robins will be back sometime this month bopping around the yard
  • The red wing black birds are here singing their lovely morning songs
  • All our colds and flus are behind us. See ya, germs!
  • Sunshine in March is beautiful! It's the welcoming sunshine that you let into all the windows, not the hot stuff.
  • It's too cold to mow the lawn (some years the snow has melted by now) yet warm enough to enjoy the great outdoors!
  • Spring Break is at the End of the Month.. When the kids and I hit the highway for adventures! See ya Cabin Fever!
  • There's still a ton of snow, but I know it is melting little by little each day!
  • This is the month I get to mostly play on the weekends instead of work! My last Hurrah before the markets start up again.
  • My metabolism seems to 'rise and shine' in March! I get back into my 'I think I want to be an athlete mode' and busy bee mode. The athlete thing usually peters out.. but this year could be different! Dick and I were on a diet (today is the last day) and I have lost 10 pounds! So, this March is extra special. I am a new person! I have a new attitude. And I want to keep this momentum going.
Below are some photos of latest events here at our corner of the world, as well as long posts... you can read em, or skip em.

Have a great day!

Yep. Spring, in Eastern Oregon
Finally! March has arrived! The kids decided to go fly a kite on the last day of February, since it was a beautiful 30 degree blustery day... Patchie is in the right corner, offering assistance.


Pencil Pushers... Ranch Style.
So, what do you do when you are bored and it's too cold outside to play? My husband is in charge of entertainment here at home (I'm in charge of off the ranch fun stuff, like dates). Well, for some reason, the kid's fearless leader (aka their father) asked if the kids could balance a pencil on their nose. My husband, apparently, is a pro! Little did I know about his hidden talent. Another one of those 'many years into marriage you discover ....' things. Wish I got a photo of him doing his demo, but he is a sly ol' fox!

Jake, eagerly offered 'Sure, I do it all the time at school'! Um... This would be one of MANY reasons that I bought Jake a Sponge Bob Square Pants shirt for Valentines' that says 'Uh, Could You please Repeat the part after Listen Carefully?".. It was more for his teacher than for him.. He is always preoccupied with his own priorities... sigh..
Now Sami, on the other hand, has never tried this trick. Nor have I. As in, good girls in school! The boys excel in this category of useful skills. Spoon dangling off your nose? Now that's something I can do! My three musketeers spent a good portion of one afternoon having contests.

Remember All My Complaints About My Woodstove?

Well here is the beast. Ripped apart. This is what my living room looked like for 3 weeks. Let's just say, the woodstove has been a very long winter saga. The saga of the woodstove that refused to work right. The topic of many a Husband vs Wife discussion...
He said: "It's just fine, you don't know how to operate it!"
She said: "It shouldn't be smoking! I'm tired of breathing in Smoke! It's not good for us!"
He said: "I'll fix it!" (About October, I might add).
She said: "OK, the stove is still not fixed. Can I call a professional?"
He said: "No, I said I would fix it!"
Repeat the above for about three months... then..

Finally, He got up on the roof to clean out the woodstove. He was waiting for the snow to clear (Hello! It's Winter!). This happened about two months ago. Then he lit a fire. Still smoked.. (I could have told him it would, but I let him find out for himself. I just knew the darn thing wasn't working right. I have my sources.)

Then, about 3 weeks ago, HE started the ripping apart process. Remember when I was sick? Well, on the very first BAD DAY OF SICKNESS HE sent me to the store to get parts while HE tried to do Ranch Payroll. Hello. Role reversal. I hate being out in public with a runny nose and scratchy throat. It's even worse waiting around for about an hour, with no tissues! Sleeves. Thank goodness my son was no where in sight to see me doing what I constantly tell him NOT to do! No telling how many people I infected. And everyone said 'Oh, you poor thing, are you sick?' Except what's his name. I'm still not over it.

THEN parts had to be ordered. Week goes by.

THEN he was too busy to fix the stove. Another week goes by.

THEN FINALLY on THE LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY the woodstove get's fixed! Yeah! Too bad this didn't happen oh, FOUR MONTHS AGO!!! I've been freezing my toes, and other pointy body parts for months!!! Sure, we have central heat, but there is no heat like wood heat. Which brings me to the next paragraph.

Today is March 2nd, and it's hotter than heck in the house...I think about 80 degrees worth. I better not complain. 'The woodstove is working just fine, darlin'!' I have the windows open upstairs and I am wearing a T-Shirt with my sweaty betties. And I am barefoot! The sun is out in all it's glory, AND IT'S 39 DEGREES OUTSIDE! Spring has sprung, baby.



2023 December Daily : Monday December 5th

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