Sunday, September 24, 2017

Week 39 - Fall is Here!

At 3:02 p.m. on Friday I had a rush of happiness that almost overwhelmed me....it was officially Fall or Autumn, as some would prefer the season to be called.  This is my absolute, without a doubt, no guessing about it, season of the year!  I love Fall.  I love the feeling of the air, the colors, the food (can you say Pumpkin Spice muffins or Pumpkin bread?) I'm especially fond of the colors of fall - orange, red, purple, yellow, rust, and yes, even some browns.  Autumn is my Happy Season!

John spent the last 3 days mowing and weed-whacking the property....he does that just before we get rain (or, rather just before we are supposed to get rain - you never know if the weather-readers are correct or not).  I can hear him out there now with the weed whacker....it's hot out today so I'll bet he is in heaven!  

Remember when I told you the Beast the cow went to Freezer Camp about 3 weeks ago?  Well, he came home to our Freezer yesterday...actually, he is in all 3 of our freezers....he ended up at about 639 pounds of meat.  I can tell you there is a LOT of hamburger in those freezers, along with roasts and steaks and ribs and brisket and I don't know what else.  John will be going out to Nebraska to meet Young John in a couple of weeks to deliver Beast to them...Let me tell you, there is nothing like home-grown meat...no chemicals, just plain grass and hay. Bon apetit, ma famille!

I leave you with this/


Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Week 38 - Autumn is Coming

We decided to treat ourselves on Friday.  Our season tickets to Silver Dollar City include free guest passes to several of the festivals each year. Our two favorite festivals are the Harvest and Cowboy Festival in early September and the Olde Time Christmas starting in early November and going thru the end of the year.  BUT, the guest passes are only good for certain days during each festival. Ours were going to expire today if we didn't go before that.  We had an extra ticket so we asked John's youngest sister, Kay, to go with us.  It was her birthday yesterday so it was provident.  We had a wonderful time - eating and seeing the decorations they put up for autumn...



We ate lunch at the Lumberjack's Camp...mmm, good eatin'.

If you didn't know, Silver Dollar City attempts to replicate a village from the midwest in the mid-1800's.  And the Craftsmen and Cowboy Festival focuses on the crafts of the times.  Woodworkers and quilters and ironmongers and millers and basket makers are all represented there.  I was looking at the offerings of the ironmongers (wind chimes that made the most amazingly beautiful sounds) and this is the sign that was on the roof.  We live on Wilderness Rd.  Who knew we had a blacksmith down the street?

We've spent today moving bookcases into our sitting area in the master bedroom.  Now the real work begins - putting books back into the shelves and getting rid of the boxes.  I'm so excited to get that job started.  I've missed having my books.

Have a wonderful week.  Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Week 37 Bye Bye, Big Guy

Thirteen years ago we got a call from our veterinarian asking us if we'd consider taking on another Golden Retriever (we already had 2)...He came from a litter whose mother never had puppies that got bigger than 35 pounds and he was smaller than her normal pups and the last of the litter to be adopted.  John said he'd go to the vet's office the next day and decide once he got there...after all, he only had 2 hands for petting and we already had 2 dogs!  When he came home, he had this adorable bundle of fur with him - 9 weeks old and 4 pounds...we named him Carson after the Carson City Brewery in Nevada - a lot of our dogs are named for beer brands...don't ask.

 This picture was taken about 7 years ago...Carson grew to be an amazing golden retriever. And he got to a weight of 85 pounds. So much for the runt of the litter.   He was smart and sweet and a true fuzzhead - he never lost that 'puppiness' that goldens seem to possess.  
As happens with goldens, he started to suffer from arthritis a couple of years ago so we put him on arthritis meds....he slowed down and slept a lot.  But on Friday, he went downhill very quickly....we took him to the vet on Saturday and they thought he had pancreatitis. We left him there expecting a few days of antibiotics and re-hydration would see him recover.  We got a call this morning that he crossed the Rainbow Bridge during the night - probably from cancer.  

Carson turned 13 last week.  We had him for all that time and he brought us such joy.  We can't be sad for him today - he is free of pain and romping in the grass and has his doggy smile back.  He had a great life at our house - we treated him more like family than a dog.  He will be missed.  

On another front, we have many friends in the path of Hurricane Irma and we send prayers for the safekeeping during the storm.  We had a couple of hurricanes when we lived in the Philippines so I know how scary and devastating they can be.  We were fortunate to only have lots of wind and rain to contend with and not the damage that Irma will be leaving in her wake.  Prayers go out to everyone affected and we hope for safety for all.

Thanks for stopping by.  

Monday, September 4, 2017

Week 36 - Bye Bye, Beast!

This past week saw Mr. Beast off to Freezer Camp...John didn't have much problem getting him into the trailer so it was easier than normal.  We figured he weighed around 1100 pounds but the scale at the shop was broken so we will only get the hanging weight...I'll share that once we get it.  

Last week, mom and I had the opportunity to purchase a used cross-trainer machine...we are so excited about it.  I use one exactly like it at rehab and when I saw it for sale, I jumped on it.  Of course, now we had to get the sitting area in hour bedroom finished cause that's where the machine is going.  So this holiday weekend, John (with a bit of help from me), painted the two walls of the sitting room that needed done before the machine arrives.  
I love this blue - it's called Favorite Jeans....now I can put the bookshelves in here and unpack all the boxes that have been in the other room...I just can't wait to get the 'library' put back together!What a deal!!!

We picked up the other color that is going on some of the walls in the bedroom today, also. It's called Proper Grey...don't you just love blue and grey together? Lowes is having a major sale and normally a 5 gallon bucket costs $85.00 but we got a $40.00 rebate so it will end up costing us only $45.00.  

Of course, every job needs a supervisor.  Gilligan jumped on that title right away.

Silly cat!  He was even able to get down by himself!

Hope you have a great week.  Thanks for stopping by.