A little inspiration...

I was looking for "something" today and happened to pick up a favorite book of mine. It had a marker between some pages, so I opened it to see what was on the page. This is the quote...

"Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you,
because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Ronald Dahl

One person who brings magic to my world is the great gal in the picture. What an amazing day of just goofing around. I've been thinking about organizing a girl's weekend, a lot of us talk about it but don't get it done, so I will move forward on it. Maybe for later in the Summer or something. I've been thinking about setting up crafting stations in my hangar in Hurricane, where people could come and go as their time permitted. Lunch in the house, a bonfire in the evening probably somewhere south of our house so we don't get arrested. Stories, girl talk, etc. Same kind of things for the second day, maybe for the evening getting someone to come do some fun stuff with us, either like manicures and pedicures or maybe someone out there wants to volunteer something or someone. Let's get the talk started and see where we can take this. There are enough homes that we could provide lodging so no one would have to stay in a hotel. What do you say to creating some magic????

Wrapped in Silver

This weekend was the big Rocky Mountain Beading Society show and event in Denver. I have been looking for the opportunity to take a glass or two in silver wrapping stones. I was able to attend a class and although it was as hard as I thought it would be, I had a great time and learned a lot. This is my first attempt at wire wrapping. The stone is actually a glass piece provided by the instructor and it is wrapped in sterling silver. It was a really fun day for me, I met some great people there. The beads and all the stuff at the show were sensory OVERLOAD, it was cool just looking at all the shiny bobbles.

Springtime in the Rockies

Yesterday some of my bulbs were blooming so I thought I would take a picture of them this morning. This is what we woke up to... 8 inches and still coming down. I hope my trees make it, there are just starting to bud out.
The trees outside my bedroom window.

My gardens...

Add carpenter to my resume

I was getting so tired of everything lumped in my jewelry box that I couldn't stand it. Then I saw the cool racks Nikki uses to display jewelry for her boutiques and I had my answer. I went to Home Depot yesterday and cruised the aisles until I found what I wanted. I bought 8 foot lengths of moulding, sawed them into 2 foot and 3 foot lengths in the store. Then I found a miter box and saw (for $7.00) some wood glue, a heavy staple gun, some wire and I was ready to build. I was really intimidated to miter the corners but it turned out to be easier than I thought.

After I sawed, sanded, glued and stapled everything together, I put a coat of satin varnish on the wood. Then I tacked the wire to the back and hung it in my closet. Because of the angle on the camera, it doesn't look rectangular but I guarantee that it is. I have one more large frame to finish with the wire. I feel such a sense of accomplishment and I'm stoked that I can actually see my stuff! WooHoo!

Last Night

I caught this awesome sunset off my back porch last night. The clouds and the colors made it very spectacular. Happy Friday!

One of those days...

I decided to take Whiskey Girl up yesterday and poke some holes in the sky. All the way to the airport the clouds were popping up looking a little ominous, but not too bad. I pulled up to the hangar to discover that runway 10/28 was closed for maintenance, so I was going to get to launch from the big 17/35 runway, good stuff when you're a little rusty. So I launch, everything is good, but the clouds now are starting to get bigger and the bumps, wow! So after I got in the air, got the plane set up, took a few deep breathes and surveyed the best option for a fun flight, I made the determination that this probably wasn't going to be the day for a nice easy flight, so I called the tower, made a 180 and came back in for a landing. Not my best landing, but hey, I'll take it.

I put the plane back in the hangar and then did what I always do when I need a little perspective in my world, I spent quality time cleaning the wings, fuselage, tail and wheels. Then I moved on to sweeping the big hangar floor and then just meditating listening to the sounds of the airport. Something about being there is good for me. Then I pulled out my camera and started dinking around, at least until the battery went dead. I decided that I need to lighten up on the eye liner, so I'll be working on that today. But here is one of the shots from the day...

Horses

I just finished with the brand inspector for the last 9 horses that will be leaving later this week. We will go from 21 down to 8. I have the heaviest heart watching this happen, I know how attached we get to animals and people. It's difficult to watch the natural flow of things and understand that we are given certain things and experiences to learn and grow from. We are all just stewards in this world, we are watching over God's creations, we don't actually own them. I just hope that in the end I have been a good steward over all the things I have been blessed with. I have learned so much from taking care of the horses from knowing how to doctor them, wrap their wounds and give them shots, to birthing, imprinting and teaching (or learning).

I spent a week up in Parachute, CO a few years back at a horse camp run by John Lyons. It was just me and my horse Sizzle every day for 5 days straight, working together and learning together. What I learned there is that the same principles are applied to training a horse that you would apply to training kids or grown ups, consistency is the key. I learned that horses learn every thing on the left side of their body and then you have to start over and teach them the exact same thing on the right side. It is patience, persistence and follow through. What a concept, right? At the end of each day after 8 hours in the saddle, the horse got cleaned watered and fed, before I could rest. I have never been so tired, dirty, SORE and happy as I was at the camp.

The first time I saw a baby horse born, I knew I had witnessed probably the most spiritual thing in my life. I have observed or assisted an many births since then and it still has that spiritual component that knocks me back and leaves me in awe watching the miracle of it. From the first push to the nickers and whinnies to the poking around trying to find where to suckle, it is amazing. And the first time mom and baby are turned out for their maiden run it is breathtakingly incredible. I am so blessed to have been graced with having horses in my world. Thank goodness for such beautiful and glorious creatures!

Finally, the sun comes out!

It was just our luck that the sun would come out with a vengeance on SUNday, the day that everyone had to pack up and head home. While the snow was beautiful and the moisture much needed, it wasn't quite the Spring Break we all had planned. But hopefully we created some good memories and made lemonade out of lemons. I know Alex will be happy to not have to worry about where Hannah is anymore and Luke will be happy to be where he can run and jump and make loud noises without being shushed all the time. It was a fun couple of days watching movies, making jewelry, painting pictures and thank goodness for the Play Doh!

Next time, we have to pay a little more attention to the weather report so we can execute the adventure we plan. And just one last quick note...I don't know how mothers do it. I am exhausted after just a couple of days! Little boys especially, do they ever slow down, walk around a puddle, not look for the next thing to inflict mayhem on, stop talking or poking who ever is next to them? Like little tornadoes they are! My hats off to all of you that are raising or have raised little boys, I'm sure you've earned a place in heaven! Thanks Nik for sharing your family with us, we love you guys!

Finger Painting Anyone?

Wow, how many posts does this make in one day? Check out the fun finger painting, the kids had fun getting their hands in the paint and no paint anywhere except on the paper, oh and the kids, he he he.....

Plan B

Ok, we are officially snowed in. Nothing can get in or out. We are hoping, waiting and praying for the snow plow. We've got at least 2 feet out there and it is still snowing. Kevin was supposed to fly over from SLC today, but needless to say, flights are cancelled. Even if he could have gotten here, we couldn't get out to go get him, so better safe at home than sleeping in an airport. The snow is supposed to keep falling all night, but they are calling for sunshine tomorrow, YEA! I'm sure this isn't what the kids had in mind for Spring Break! But we're all making the best of it.

The adventure today...

Will be to uncover the car, find the road and get into Denver. Should be exciting!

The trip so far...

We got up early and headed out of Utah in a rain storm. By the time we hit Colorado, it was just windy. We stopped like all great tourists for the state line shot. Bailey, Alex and Luke are stradling Colorado and Utah.

The storm followed us from Utah to Colorado. The snow and rain started yesterday afternoon and it has not stopped. So all of the great things we had planned for today in Denver, didn't happen. We made up fun things to do at home. A hideout made from chairs and blankets, lots of competitions with PlayDoh, Beads, beads and more beads, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, 2 walks in the snow with the dogs and movies. We even managed to get the horse rides in before it started raining!

Tomorrow, we are hoping to be able to get to Denver and the Lego store and maybe a movie. We'll see how it all goes, the snow is still coming down!

Snowin' on our parade!

The best adventures are those that don't quite go as planned! We were hoping for sunny skies and time outdoors this week, but the snow if piling up outside, so we're goingout to make snow men and snow angels, or at least play a game of hide and seek/fetch with Sadie...Let it snow!

Road Trip!

Heading out today for a little adventure. Flying to SLC and then driving back to Denver tomorrow. I haven't been down through Spanish Fork Canyon, Price and that way for a long time. Should be fun. I'll post pictures from the trip.

Happy Birthday Tricia!

Happy Birthday Dish, I hope the future holds more fun times like this one from Deer Valley. That was one fierce round of Vegetable Master!

Happy Snowy Easter!

From our house to yours, Happy Easter!

Horse Update

2 are spoken for today, Peyton and Whitie. Both Mares and both going to great homes. Peyton is going to a lady who suffered a stroke 4 years ago so I know she will be loved and well cared for. Whitie is going to a family that loves to ride. So she will see a lot of action in the weeks to come. Yea! for the 2 mares.

We have another guy who is coming to look that runs a camp for kids, he is interested in at least 2 of them. And his friend is interested in a couple more. We may be out of free horses before we know it! If 2 more go to Hurricane, that brings our total number down to 13, which is getting to be much more manageable. I feel so much better after meeting the people that came today. And to top it off, this has got to be one of the worst days weatherwise all winter. The wind is gusting upto 49 mph, making it seem much colder than 55 degrees. We're bracing for a winter storm tonight....

Horses - Free to good homes...

It's finally come to that point. We have tried unsuccessfully for the past couple of years to sell off our herd. Now with the economy and the price of hay, it's going to be interesting to see if we can give them away. We're down from 25 to 21 and I have a guy coming this morning to take a look. We've at least gotten a few calls off the ad we placed, so we will see. It kind of breaks my heart to do this, but you've got to do what you've got to do. I just hope we find good homes....

Too much time on my hands

I've worked my whole adult life up until about a year ago. This past year has been an adventure in finding myself, resting, decompressing and setting a new course. It has been good to be home more, to focus on my home and home life. However, I've started to realize that I need to find something challenging that requires me to have a start and end, and a very strong game plan. My house is literally torn apart right now, because I bounce from project to project. I eventually get everything done, but the house is in total chaos while I'm getting there.

I had the entry, great room and kitchen painted a couple of weeks ago, it looks great, but I still haven't hung the pictures back on the walls... I was thinking of hanging some old windows that I've had in the garage for heaven knows how long, but just haven't figured it out yet, so nothing gets hung. The china cabinet is almost back together, I got sidetracked looking at the serving pieces of sterling silver that have been in the family forever. I promise to finish that tomorrow. I started painting the guest bathroom yesterday, it's half finished.... I have beads all over the kitchen table, the buffet is a wreck since I was using it to take pictures of my Strapped 4 Cash bands today and I'm not quite finished with that yet, oh and my office looks like a bomb went off in it :-)

So tonight, I decided to unpile my sewing machine (yes Christine I still have about 50 Flopper Stoppers sitting there that need to be assembled!) I was actually thinking about cleaning up my workout space, but got sidetracked by the sewing machine. I have also been cutting up old levis for a quilt and during that deal thought I would take the top of my old overalls and make a bag out of it. So I did finish one project tonight, the picture is below. Tomorrow I vow to finish another "in process" project or maybe 2, but that will be after I go flying.....

My Blue Hawaii

Hi everyone! The winter weather pattern continues to dominate in Colorado, so I went to the archives and found some pictures from a past trip to Hawaii. As I tried to do often when I was there, I rented a plane and offered a ride. My ohua (passenger) and the photographer is a guy named Aubrey from the great state of Texas. He was so blown away with the experience! The co-pilot is Pilot Dan, I flew with him a number of times and enjoyed every minute. We took off from HNL Honolulu International, flew east past Diamond Head, across the channel where we saw whales. We circled the island of Molokai (one of my favorite islands to fly) going between Maui and Molokai. The waterfall is on the back side of the island and was one of many that day. The small village is the kaulana (famous) Kalapapa leper village. I have landed at the airport there but you cannot go into the village without an escort or special permission. While leprosy has all but been eradicated, the federal government still supports and maintains this haven.

I can tell you, even though it was a few years back, it was a nui nunui (great) day for a flight! We came back over Coco Head and into HLN. Simply AWESOME!

Today is a better day

Today is better, although one of the things that was really getting to me yesterday was that my sister-in-law, Jill, after just kicking the crap out of breast cancer, discovered that she now has thyroid cancer. She is having surgery today to remove what is left of her thyroid glands. I decided to do some research and what I found is both great news in that thyroid cancer is the most curable kind of cancer and it does not require chemo. It basically requires a dose of radioactive iodine that is absorbed by the thyroid cells. The radiation destroys the cancer. It's not supposed to have side affects, but tell that to someone who is working to recover, both their health and their livelihood.

The kick in the butt is that a lot of thyroid cancer is caused by exposure to radiation in the first place, enter in the infamous Down Winder effects that have been taking it's toll on folks in southern Utah for awhile now. It makes me so angry and worried because all of my family is at risk as well as my friends and the people I grew up with. It's a really scary thing and seeing cancer up close and personal this year has really had an impact on me.

There are a lot of fund raising opportunities for the fight against cancer this Spring. I'm working to make a contribution on a number of fronts and I hope that anyone reading this blog will do the same. One thing I learned from my friend, Susan, is to get involved now, do what you can now, have a cause now. A shout out to Ross who will be doing the Relay For Life in support of his mom, I think that is a great thing!

Tax time and more snow!

I know it's April Fool's day, so how fitting that I just finished getting my taxes ready to go to the accountant and that it is once again gray and snowy. So here is my attempt at emotional control.

I am happy that I have an income otherwise, I wouldn't have to worry about taxes. I'm also grateful for the moisture and the reminder of how nice a blue sky and warm sun will be...tomorrow.

OK, I don't know who I'm kidding... I am so pissed off today!