February 2017

That is good news Ellen! Knit away.

Trudy, glad Ace is doing better.

Well, dare i say this...we r heading to idaho in an hour.....my mind is in a state of, what will be happening this trip. If ya have a spare hum lying around, send it our way....tia.

I wish we were there already...ill keep in touch and will probably be whining a lot....but i sure hope not.

TRUDY's Great Grandbaby, Cameron!





What a doll!

Okay, so now I am freezing. We have dropped from near 70 degrees for several days to 29 degrees with a 25mph wind blowing, making it feel like around 17 degrees, and going lower tonight. I have to decide whether to put blankets on the horses tonight, then take them off tomorrow. It will be back in the 60s this weekend. Good colic weather....

Stay safe, CB!! You have too many adventures. Congrats on the new house!


ELLEN:
Good for your wrist!! Knitting is in your future again.

TRUDY:
It's been blowing snow here all day, but not enough to stick. The wind is terrible. Good luck with your snow! At least Ace will be happy! Congrats on the gorgeous great grandbaby!


Gotta get outdoors and put the horseys to bed.....shiver, shiver.....

Awwww. What a precious little bundle!

It's been cold here all day, and going down more tonight. Tomorrow will be better.

Boy, nice day here.............we have opposite seasons here.

ELLEN, great news.  Free and up & at it knitting is good.  It will all be back to regular strength soon.  

Oh TRUDY, I bet you can't wait to get your arms around baby Cameron.........perfectly precious.

CB, prayers for a safe trip.........

I'm going to Tucson tomorrow to the huge gem & art show.  I LOVE seeing the silver/turquoise jewelry.  It's so massive I will only see parts of it.

Everyone stay warm & safe in the big storms...........God bless.

GM, guess no cuppa this pass thru. One day was hoping to meet face to face. We r almost to tucson, taking a nap...muc h needed nap...
Trip has been uneventful so far, thank goodness. Hope that co ntinues.
Sweet dreams...
Trudy that lil cherub has cheeks grammas want to kiss and pinch....lol.

Ohhhh YUM! Ribs do work in the pressure cooker! Boy! Do they work!
35 minutes in the pressure cooker, then 4 minutes per side under the broiler with sauce brushed on. Sooo tender, falling off the bone.
I'll have to try that again before too long, maybe with a different sauce. This was Dijon mustard and brown sugar.

Where'd everybody go? I think I hear an echo in this big empty room.

CB, are you there yet?

Graymare, did you manage to get a few items to take home with you?

CB, I wasn't even home.................

No, ELLEN, I didn't buy one thing.  I got t see serious silversmiths at work making incredible jewelry.  I didn't go to buy anything, simply to see the craftsmanship.

Oh, I did buy lunch.  LOL, Mexican salad...........Yum.

I'm now home.  Dead tired................

We were gone all day.  Last night I learned of a collie being put up for adoption by his 83 year old owner who felt she couldn't take care of him anymore.  I learned of the dog on FaceBook from a young lady who I haven't even met yet, but am "friends" with.  So I called this morning, found out the dog was available and off we went to Tazewell, VA to see him.  He is a very sweet dog, named Shadow, who probably doesn't understand why his world just got turned upside down, but is taking it pretty well so far.

Meet Shadow:



My cats are all freaked out. ThunderPuff is in hiding, I haven't seen him all evening. Kumquat is brave enough to be sitting on my lap with the dog 5 feet away, but she knew Kelsie, our sheltie, who died about 7 years ago. I don't think ThunderPuff has ever met a dog up close and personal before. The horses are VERY interested, and we will have to keep an eye on Cactus Jack, who has been keeping a very close eye on Shadow.

I hope this works out, the poor lady we got him from is not long for this world and we want Shadow to love it here for her sake.

Pretty dog! I'm sorry for the reason you have him, but happy for him to have a wonderful new home.

Graymare, you didn't buy anything? What fun is that? Actually, the silver crafting would be neat to see.

Indy App, are you still out there in cyberspace? What happened with Monster?

GM, went right past the gem show, could have stopoed to say hello.
Made it in yesterday, had to change route 3 times due to flooded and washed out hwys. It twas.veeery interesting trip, ellen!

Ark, congrTs on new doggie.

CB, it's a HUGE show with several centers.  I was in the convention center, downtown.  The show is actually at many sites all over Tucson.  The area you went past has beautiful things and good artists, also......One could never see it all at any one time.

ARK, how can a dog with a happy face like that not work out?  He's lovely. "Shadow" .........what a cute name for a dog that helped & loved an 83 year old lady.  He's got to be a good one.


We have a really nice day here today..........semi cloudy, breezy, 70..............

Everyone have a good day.  Bye for now.

Making a big roasterful of vegetable beef soup for dinner.
More places flooding, hoping we can get out to go home...

Tomorrow we get tiedowns on the truck, tuesday truck goes into shop for electrical problem....then weds, load the truck camper and head out.
Stopping in show low, az.. to visit friends and then back to texas...yehawwww. warmth....yes.

GRAYMARE:
 I would love to have seen the silver crafting and gem show!  I love stuff like that.  Donnie and I made each other's wedding rings and made them with pure silver using lost wax casting.  It was a fun project and although not fancy or expensive, my ring is priceless!  I wouldn't give it up for the Hope diamond....which actually was a major disappointment at the Smithsonian Museum...  It wasn't as pretty or as big as I thought it would be.  Anyway,  I bet you had a great time at the show!

ELLEN:
 I have been wondering about INDYAPP, too.  I hope she checks in soon.  

CB:
 I think I forgot why you are traveling this time...?  What are you up to?  That soup sounds good!  

TRUDY:
 How far from you does your new great grandbaby live?  Have you had any time with Cameron yet?  BTW: did it snow again?  We didn't get anything from that big storm up north.  In fact, not to brag too loud or anything, it was 72 degrees today!!! With actual sunshine!!!  This is what February should always be like.


Well today Shadow had a very full day. His first full day as our farm dog saw him helping out at the barn...not so much...then keeping Donnie company at the trailer while I rode Ivan and Lori rode Areion at Pandapas Pond Park.  He was better at that.  He did have a freak out moment when the gun range across the four lane highway from the park got really loud.  He is afraid of thunder and this may have sounded like that to him, Donnie said there was some big sounding guns rapidly firing.  Donnie put Shadow into the truck and sat with him until he calmed down.  We are going to have to figure out how to cure that problem.  Other than that, Shadow was very good!    He seemed to enjoy the day as a traveling companion.  

Ivan pushed thru his hackamore again (bits are the next lesson), so we stayed behind Areion when I didn't want to trot full blast downhill on  occasionally muddy trails.  Areion was very willing to go first for the most part, which is a new thing for her.  She stops at times to make sure something scary wasn't going to eat her, but she never spooked all day.  Ivan didn't either.  We heard a flock of turkeys in the bushes, twice, but passed them by with no problems.  Now if the birds had jumped out of the bushes, we may have had some problems...   The weather was fantastic, it really felt like spring.  It was a good day!

Oh ARK............Shadow & Donnie are now bonded truck buddies.
Shadow has a happy spirit.........he already fits right in.  I don't know how to solve guns or thunder......maybe a thunder coat.  My friend's dog wears one.  Arizona has some crazy WILD mountain
storms with incredible thunder & lightening.  I'm always amazed how Rex just sits there with us.  Sometimes we're on the porch and one particularly horrible storm he & I were out in the Ranger cruising.  It took us about 40 minutes to get home and he just rode along happy.  He got out, shook water all over, and sat down on the porch.

Your picture of you & Lori on Areion & Ivan is a good picture...........Fun to see. Keep up the good fun.

Thanks, GRAYMARE!
I will check out thunder coats. I have vaguely heard of them, but since I didn't have a dog, I didn't pay attention.


The only time Kazi ever dumped me was over a water bottle. It freaked her out when it squeaked, she did a spin and bolt, the saddle slipped and down I went. So today when Ivan did his full body shake routine as I was trying to drink from a water bottle, I was very grateful he didn't have the same phobia about water bottles Kazi did! His full body shake happens when he is sweaty or is relaxing during a ride. He feels like a super fast, agitating washing machine while I try to maintain balance. The water bottle went flying and hit the trail, the reins went over his ears, and I stood in the stirrups determined to stay on top of him. Right at that moment, a young lady passed us on her mountain bike, slowed down, and saw my now empty water bottle. I bemoaned its loss, but was mostly just making conversation with her so the horses knew the bike and rider were not going to eat them. A few minutes later, she came back and offered me her extra water bottle, she didn't want me to not have one. Wasn't that sweet? I didn't need it, I also had a second water bottle, but thought it was so nice of her to offer it. Ivan has done his full body shake up to ten times during a ride. Today he only did it 4 times. He caught me by surprise since I was getting a drink. None of my other horses have done it like he does. I just go with the flow.....shake, rattle and try not to roll.

Back to my on again off again on again off again Internet all weekend. I'm sure Verizon is going to tire of me calling them.

ARK: No the second storm missed us, all we had was rain all day yesterday, most of the snow is gone. It is wonderful you could take Shadow and give him a home. He looks like a sweet dog. Thunder shirts..some people swear by them others tell me not to bother getting one. Guess it depends on the dog. When it storms here Ace, get a Trazadone pill, nothing else calms him down, storms and the vet are his worst nightmares.

Here's something I saw on line to make your own. Wrap an Ace bandage across the chest, cross it over the top of the body and back under, going over and under until it's midway down the back, then secure it. The constant pressure against the middle of the body will help ease the anxiety and calm the dog down. Never did try it to see if it would work or not.

Cameron lives in Pittsburgh, so I won't get to see her until they can travel up here once winter is over. We don't travel or allow the kids and grandkids to travel the PA mountains in the winter. Too dangerous, too many close calls.

Went to our church groups Valentine Dinner on Friday. The over 55 group, it was fun with lots of good food.

Yesterday we went to Bailee's bowling birthday party, she turned 4. Did did you ever see a bunch of 4 year olds bowl? What a hoot. They have a special ball holder than look like a ramp for them to put the balls on instead of throwing them. They had a blast.

Grandson Anthony was at the party with his very pregnant girlfriend. They are having a girl also, at least I will get to see this little one. Her name will be Gemma.

Ark, how is Shadow adapting to his new life?

Trudy, it shouldn't be too long before you get to see Cameron. It's supposed to be fairly warm for the next couple of weeks.

Is anybody watching the Westminster Dog Show? Lots of neat dogs and some that are clipped and look sort of funny. One group winner, the Pekinese, is all hair. No dog. Just hair.

Ellen, i normally watch as i love to see the dog breeds and the beautiful dogs...but not this time. Had dinner with randi and jaemi, sil and grandson therin. Having a great visit.
Got the tiedowns on the truck, tonight get the camper loaded, and head to texas wednesday.
Only one way to go home now do to flooding, different roads, hwys, interstates closed. There is still lots of snow to melt and more rain coming, we need to go!

Trudy, hope u get hands on Cameron soon...
Kyle, oldest gson has a girlfriend...i can hope soon imay have a great grand....not too soon....but the thought has crossed my mind. Hes in no rush. I do harrass him a wil bit tho to get on the stick as im not gettin any younger!

Sunny is expecting her first great grand in june. Kent is home now, but still not doing well. Sunny is in pt now for her surgery...i hope it helps her mobility.

Happy valentines day y'all! Good excuse to have CHOCOLATE!

Yes, everyone HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Wow, CB, lots of flooded roads.  I don't know about the interstates.
Glad your visit is a good one.

Gosh.  I don't have greatgrands yet..........none on the horizon.

Glad SUNNY is getting some PT.  Hope she works hard at it so she can get moving.

ELLEN, yes,  I've been watching............so many beautiful dogs.
BUT, one is outstanding......a strikingly sharp German Shepherd named RUMOR.  We'll see. 

I have to go get the ax out.....I have one weed that must think it lives here, so today is it's end.......


Bye for now.

Rumor won the Best in Group last night. We'll see what he does tonight in Best in Show. He is gorgeous.

Happy Valentine's Day!!






I hope you all have a happy day! Donnie and I exchanged chocolates, so we are stocked up for some time . I got a card from Donnie and another one from "The Dog", . Too cute!

ELLEN:
So far Shadow is doing well. He barks more than I like while at the barn, but that may slow down once he gets used to the routine. Apparently his major entertainment used to be barking at trucks, tractors, and anything pulling any kind of trailer. He doesn't seem to be food motivated or have much use for toys. He is so sweet and so far has been trying to be a good dog. I would like to clicker train him, his only skill is sitting when asked, but haven't started yet since I haven't found the treat he would do anything for. I haven't turned him loose yet since our yard isn't fenced and I am not sure if he will stay in the barn's fenced area. He needs to run, I am sure. Donnie is making a zip line next to the house to attach him to so he can at least run 100 feet until we get the yard fenced. He doesn't pull badly when walked on a leash, so I guess he has two skills. Kumquat is flirting with him, ThunderPuff hasn't left the bedroom since we got the dog. The other cats are not interacting with him yet, although our outdoor cat, Dorian, went after Shadow on the first day. Dorian is a bad ass cat! Shadow shows a little too much interest in the roosters running around the yard, I hope he only wants to herd them, not eat them, but so far we don't know. Anyway, he has been as good as I would expect any dog would be at his age and experience. Donnie likes him, thankfully! Shadow seems to prefer Donnie to me, but I think that is okay. (Donnie: Go walk your dog!)

Oh my goodness! I'm full. Neighbors and I celebrated Valentine Day at the restaurant we have come to really like. I ordered fried chicken and brought most of it home for tomorrow - and probably the next day.
The weather is really nice for February, so it was a beautiful clear evening to drive over there and back.

Graymare, Rumor Has It! I fell asleep before it was announced last night, but they were replaying it this morning. All the dogs in that final class were gorgeous.