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!

More Orchid Magic....

Indoor Magic

It's snowing here again today, I guess March will go out like a lion. I went around my home and took pictures of the miracles happening around me. And they said I could never grow orchids (or citrus) in Colorado...





Yeah, right...

Tough day to be a turkey

The big blizzard or 2009 has left us with a foot of snow, drifts, and a winter landscape. It is amazing to me that although turkeys can fly, they prefer to stay on the ground and walk. Maybe a bit like some of the rest of us who have great talents but prefer not to use or share them. While the snow is still lightly falling here, it is a great time for introspect and meditation. I think I'll curl up on the couch with a note book and do just that.

Wild Ride

This weekend has been a wild Colorado ride. Saturday was almost 80, shorts and t-shirts. Suunday was breezy and 70's, perfect flying weather. Saturday night it turned from breezy to WINDY and at 4:00 a.m. we were rumbled out of bed by some wicked lightning and thunder which gave way to a beautiful early morning snow storm. It is partly sunny and breezy now and a balmy 53 degrees (I sound like the weather girl). Just waiting for what the next hour will bring!

Loved the thunder and lightning, I have never seen that with a snow storm!


I just caught the peacock trying to make his way out of the wind. If he gets turned sideways with that tail, it's not a good thing!

WWW.FLYlady.net

I might be the only woman in the free world that has never heard of this site, but if I'm not and you haven't heard of it either, spend a few minutes checking it out. What a great system on Flybaby steps to help organize the chaos in our homes and put a schedule together that actually helps balance out the areas of our life. I've been subscribed for a week, and I love having a clean kitchen sink.

The credit for this goes to my over the fence neighbor and best bud from the growing up days in LaVerkin, MS PGB. Thanks Gube!

This will make you LOL!

If you want a good chuckle, just follow this link. It is 4 quadruplet boys laughing at their dad, awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb9RJlHvjXQ just copy and paste it into your browser.

Jewelry Fetish

Ok, I'm not sure I can live with being a crazy cat lady, even though it's probably close to the truth :-) so here is another OCD thing I do. Over the past year or so, I selectively been addicted to 2 things, jewelry and making jewelry. I bought the components for a Bumbles watch, the face and the band last year, but figured I could probably make my own for less. I have experimented, played, and restrung a number of bands. The one pictured is actually pretty cool for a couple of reasons, first it is 4 smaller strands that are separate, so you can use them together or interchange with other single bands. The beads are silver (Tibetan Silver) not plastic and the beads are real stones, in this case turquoise, red jade and coral. I estimate that I can do each strand for $7 or less. The bands through Bumbles are $28 and you get what you get, so if you want to change the look, you have to buy another $28 band.

So just thought I would throw it out there for feed back, do you like the bands? Let me know if you have ideas to add. I have all different kinds of beads from Black Onyx to colored fresh water pearls to fossils to different kinds of jasper and turquoise.

Sebastian and Sadie

This is my barn kitty, Sebastian. He is the brother to Clarence that I will picture sometime later this week. Both were orphaned in my barn so have been a big part of the family for the past couple of years. Sebastian is a funny cat. He goes on every walk with me and the dogs, no matter what time of day or how far we go. He has a very distinctive meow that sounds like he has a rasp, but also like he swallowed a frog.

He is everywhere I am, he doesn't mind the dogs even though he used to go the rounds with Sadie. He loves to be picked up and carried on the walks (who wouldn't?) and he is patient when I bend down to pick up Sadie's ball and he just hangs on when I wind up and throw the ball with the Chuck It. He doesn't get ruffled, he's just there for the ride and the scratches.

Like Hannah, he is talking to me as soon as I come out the door. He sleeps in the garage with Clarence and the dogs, so he meows all the way to the barn. He reminds me a lot of a cat we had for almost 12 years, Tiger (or Stripes as he was sometimes referred too). It's great to be loved.

He is my Sebalicious!

And in case any of you were thinking that Sadie was the perfect dog...let me tell you I know about big digs in my flower beds and poop on my front lawn. You can see her ball at her feet, she was digging to China trying to find a place to hide the ball. The only problem is, she would never leave that ball anywhere. And PS she is out of heat!!! Although it has been painful still for Booner, he follows her everywhere, still moaning. I feel a little sorry for him because not only does Sadie go after him with teeth bared, so does Tessie. It's like the bond of the sisterhood, thank goodness they look out for each other, us girl's got to stick together!

Hannah

Today will be dedicated to my silly kitties. The first is the QUEEN of the house, Miss Hannah Banana Berry Bodkins, or Hank for short. I bought the cat lounger she is sleeping in about a year ago and for a year she wouldn't even look at it. It even has catnip in a pouch in the bottom. So last week I decided that I would move it to the kitchen chair for one last attempt. My plan was to get rid of it, but as you can see, she just wanted it moved to a better location, I can't pry her out of it now.

Other Hannah quirks, she waits like an alarm clock each morning to precisely the minute you woke up the morning before and then she starts meowing, loudly and continuously until you get up, scratch her, give her a treat and turn the water on for her in the bathroom sink. We have 2 sinks in the bathroom so you MUST turn on the right one or she will sit in the other one waiting, just watching the water run.

She also loves to play hide and seek. She loves it at night when I hide behind doors and in closets, she will come sneaking around the corner and goes running when I scare her. Sometimes she gets the growl thing going like she's possessed and really tears it up with the rugs. Of course the favorite thing is to peel out on the hard wood floors.

And speaking of rugs, when I'm cooking, she lays belly up on the kitchen rug right at my feet and sometimes between my feet. I can't tell you how many times I've tripped over her! It's pretty funny right now because I cut some hair balls off her chest so her upper body skin is dark pink with the white hair on her lower belly she looks topless!

I think I could write a book on all her quirks, the funniest is that she loves the hair dryer. When I'm drying my hair she lays at my feet and waits to be fluffed. She loves the air on her face, her belly, her back, she would lay there all day if I'd hold the dang dryer for her. She even begs for the big face powder brush on her face once in awhile, what a girly girl!

That's my Hananaberry