Grammys Corgi Country

Getting ready to go on a big trip for a few weeks is really a pain! I’m sure it will be fine once I get there, but I have never liked the getting ready part… trying to remember all of the things that might come up and make arrangements to cover them… Getting things cleaned, folded and packed… and for me, it is so hard to look at my dogs and horses and contemplate leaving my babies for any length of time. It just really tears me up.

I’ve been around animals since I was born… My parents always had dogs… In fact, that is how they met when they were 9 years old (They were born within 6 months of each other). My dad’s little white Pomeranian went to visit my mom’s little dog. They became friends, and he would go over at 4 in the morning to help her chop wood and get their stove going so she could make the tortillas for the day, and she would give him some for his family too. That was in 1929 and the early 30’s, when food was scarce for a family whose father had died of pneumonia 3 years earlier.

They always had dogs, and got my first dog for me when I was 6 months old. She was a little half-dead Chihuahua/Doxie mix. They got her fixed up and I had my Bootsie until she passed when I was 11. By that time, I also had a german shepherd and one of Bootsie’s pups, Bootie, while my mom had her dog, and my dad has his.

Over the years, my dad brought home all sorts of other animals as well. We had rats, and snakes… rabbits, raccoons, a skunk, and a raven (from the time when he was a featherless nestling until he passed at the age of 25 years old) among many others. He was able to get me a horse for me for my 11th birthday, and helped me train her and learn to ride. He taught me to go to the older people at the stables where we kept my Ladybug, and to listen to the older, experienced horsemen to learn about horses… their handling, care, and training.

Anyway, the only time I haven’t been around dogs is during the time I was in Bible College for a couple of years, and then I had a big stuffed dog that I kept in my dorm room to hug and pet. I believe that is one reason I’ve always had really good blood pressure… Researchers have proven that having a pet and just sitting there stroking it helps people to calm down, relieves stress, and lowers blood pressure. That is the main reason why more and more nursing homes are allowing animals in to visit patients… and lowered stress hormones also helps speed healing.

At least the last time I visited my son a couple of years ago, he did have a dog, so I won’t be “dogless,” and that is some consolation. (Maybe I can hide a corgi in my carryon… What do you think?)

Take some time doing something that will help you find calmness and peace today…

I just came in from feeding the horses, and it is so beautiful out there!!! There is a full moon out tonight, and it is that special “perigee” moon… supposedly, the biggest of the year, because it is closer to the earth than usual. (See the following website for more info: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090109/sc_space/saturdaynightspecialbiggestfullmoonof2009 ) It is also very clear out here for a change. It has been so foggy for so long, that it seems even clearer than usual, I think. I didn’t even have to turn on the floodlight to be able to feed.

I would really love to be able to stay out there and just sit at the picnic table we have out in the back patio, but it is just TOO COLD!!! I know… many of you are in really cold areas of the country (or world) but, for this area, it is cold. Actually, its colder tonight BECAUSE it isn’t as foggy as it has been.

I had gone out earlier and set it up so that I just had to open a couple of the corrals to let the horses eat. I had fed them outside of the pens earlier, put their evening feed in the pens and then shut the gates so that they couldn’t reach it until I opened them. It made it a lot faster and easier tonight.

I got a new digital camera for Christmas, so have been taking pictures, and today I got a chance to download them and work on them so that I can use them when I post. It sure takes a lot of time to put 100 pictures in Photoshop, crop and resize them and adjust the brightness and contrast, but at least you should be able to see more of what’s going on out here now. Hope you’ve liked the pics I’ve been able to add the past week or so.

I want to thank all of you that have been praying for my daughter-in-law. She has double pneumonia, has had to be put back on the ventilator machine, and is being kept under heavy sedation so that she won’t keep waking up and fighting. The doctors feel that she needs total rest to have a chance to recuperate. Please continue to keep her and her family in prayer, as this is very traumatic for them.

It’s almost midnight here now, so I’d better close and get this online so I can get the pictures added to it and get it posted. Hope you are having a good weekend. May God continue to bless you…

Getting old can be a pain … Literally… especially in the winter! Oh, that we had the wisdom, when we are young, to take care of our bodies and our health! The problem with wisdom, in most cases, is that it comes from making mistakes. There are some things that I would change if I could, and others that I know I wouldn’t have changed for anything, over the years.

I’ve ALWAYS been a big, solid female, but the sin of gluttony is one that I’ve always had trouble with. If it tastes good, then I don’t have a tendency to stop at a healthy amount. I’ve been working on that a lot more, the last several years, but that does seem to be my “prevailing” sin… at least that is what I think they call it. That might not be the right name for it, but what the word I’m looking for means, is that everyone has some kind of sin that keeps hounding them throughout their whole lives… something that they have to fight all the time to be living the way the Bible tells us that God wants us to live.

Because I’ve given in to that tendency, I now have to sow what I’ve reaped all these years in health problems (diabetes, sore feet, asthma, hip and back problems, etc.). As I’ve brought myself more and more under the health rules I should have been following, more and more of these things are clearing up, or at least improving a lot! As you can see, I’ve gotten wisdom the hard way…

One thing I wouldn’t have changed is working with horses for so many years. If you love horses and work with them for any length of time, you WILL get hurt every once in a while. Somewhere along the line, you will get stepped on, shoved down or into something, bucked off, a rope burn, etc. Even the most solid, gentle horse can get spooked by something, have another horse knock into it, get tripped, step in a hole, etc.

If you train horses, of course, it is even more likely that you will run into a problem that can cause an injury.
As you get older, some of those old injuries tend to turn into joint problems. Still, I wouldn’t trade my time with the horses I’ve known in my life (at least most of them) for anything.

A few young people talk with, and learn from, older people and they don’t have to make many of the mistakes that were made by those people who have gained wisdom with their age. Unfortunately, way to many young people now-a-days, don’t take the time, or don’t have the opportunity, to talk to the many wise older people out there. I was blessed with parents that taught me the wisdom of spending time with older people and, though I didn’t always take their advice (which is a typical young person’s way) I did learn a lot from them and didn’t have to make many of the mistakes my friends did.

Many of the friends I’ve had that are my age, look and feel much older than I do, because they “did their own thing…” and didn’t listen to their parents or other people. Many have even died for lack of wisdom. Getting old may be a pain, but it also has its joys, and the more wisdom you gain when young, the more joy you will have when you get older.

If you are a young person, find a wise older one (not ALL older people are wise…) and spend time talking to them, or, even more importantly, listening to them, about some of your questions. If you are older, make friends with a young person so that you are available IF they want to ask for advice, or so that you can model wisdom in your life for them to see… and remember, older people can sometimes learn from their young friends, too!

Well, Praise God… so far the news is pretty good for my Daughter-In-Law. She is doing much better than expected for what was going on. She is still in the Critical Care Unit, but things are starting to look up. She and their family will continue to be in the rest of the family’s prayers.

I spent quite a while on the phone keeping family members updated, because, though we live so far apart, when a problem comes up, we all pray together… Thank God for phones and email, because we’ve all been “Reaching out to touch each other…” as the old phone commercial said. This way, my oldest son can get the news and updates out without having to do it all himself when he has so much other stuff to take care of for his girls and his wife.

I don’t know about the rest of you out there, but I’ve let a lot of chores go over the holidays, and now it’s catch up time. At least now that the water is on again, I don’t have to take all the extra time to haul buckets of it to places it was needed… Take a minute and think about not having running water for a several days. It makes it very hard to do a lot of “simple”, everyday things like cleaning your hands, your body, and your dishes, not to mention flushing. You have to haul in water to do all that, and then heat the water you haul because you can’t use the water heater. It really is time consuming, if not very difficult. I am totally thankful for running water… especially HOT running water!!!

Feeding the horses and watering them also takes some time, because a couple of them are over 20 and when it is very cold, like it has been, I try to make sure they get a hot mash of wheat bran, sweet feed, carrots and alfalfa pellets everyday or two.

I give it to them with their late evening feed so it helps them to warm up a little more from the inside out, gives them the extra carbs they need to produce energy for heat, and helps keep them hydrated. Sometimes horses don’t want to drink very cold water, so the gallon or so of warm water they suck up with their mash helps with that, too.

They get about a quart of each ingredient mixed together, and then I add hot water and let it set for about ½ hour to soak the water into the grain and bran, and to cool down enough so that it is fairly warm to the touch, but not to hot when I put it into their feeders. They LOVE it!!! I just have to watch because the dogs like to sneak in a “taste test…”

Another thing that takes a lot of extra time is cutting wood for the wood stove to help keep it at least close to 60 in the house when it’s close to 30, give or take 5 degrees, outside. At least the Corgis and Sadie help with gathering up the cut pieces and bringing them in.

With all this AND getting things ready for Christmas, the chores have backed up as I mentioned before. One thing about Corgis and other dogs with heavy undercoats is that the dust bunnies breed around here like RABBITS… Wonder if that is why they are called “Dust Bunnies…” Sadie has been herding them and bringing them to me a lot lately… I wonder if she is hinting. I probably had better get out the vacuum before she starts getting hairballs again.

Well, hope that your life is getting back to normal. I’m just thankful that I have a good house, wood to cut, enough horse feed, running water, and a couple of dogs that like to earn a little extra jerky by helping me clean house.

Proverbs 17:6 says “Children’s children (Grandchildren) are a crown to the aged…” Now I’m getting a bit “long in the tooth” as they say, but don’t exactly feel “aged” yet. Still, when I get to spend some time with my grandkids, I feel like royalty… or at least an especially blessed person!!!

Today, I got to have my “Little Bear” all day long, and it was so much fun. He is five years old now, and until recently (about 3 months ago) I had gotten to spend at least 2 days a week with him, and sometimes more, so he was a BIG part of my life. When his father, my cowboy son, got a new, much better job, they had to move to a town about 2 hours drive from here, so now I only get to see him a couple of times a month, sometimes for only a couple of hours a visit. I really miss him a lot, and he says the same to me.

This weekend, though, I saw him on Christmas day, and then today, he got to spend most of the day with us. It was a little bit of heaven. When we first got home, his Papa took him out to show him how our neighbor had plowed up our back pasture and planted the seeds to grow grain if it rains enough. He had saved some of the grain to show our “Bear,” and we plan to plant some of them in a pot or two so that he can see them grow.

I got to show him that big tarantula that I mentioned in my blog of about a week ago. It had died, and I kept it so that he could get a good close look at one. We had lunch, and then went out and picked some of the tomatoes that he had helped me start growing several months back. He was so excited to see that the plants had finally grown real tomatoes that we could eat.

After that, we gathered wood for making a fire since it is so cold out here, and he loves to help me with that task. We fed the horses, and then he came in and helped his Papa start a fire in the woodstove. It got dark, and we went out into the backyard for a while to listen to the coyotes and look at the stars. When we came back in, he and Papa watched cartoons while I made dinner. The time came, way to soon, when it was time to take him back to his parents.

He had wanted to spend the night (which we wanted, too) but his parents had other people to visit tomorrow, and EVERYONE wants to see my “Bear” when he is in town. They are a well loved family, which I am happy about, but they have a lot of friends and extended family that love them as much as I do, so I’ve had to learn to share, and just be thankful for the time I do get to spend with them and/or him… it doesn’t keep a little rain from falling, though…

If you have a chance to spend time with children that are special to you, cherish every moment you are given, for they grow up way to fast. Your life can be a model for them and others you know… make it a good one…

Late yesterday afternoon, Hubby took me to the big town, bought me some hay and put my wedding ring in to be fixed, both of which were the best Christmas presents I could have had.

I always ask for hay, since it is so expensive, and to me, it is like being given more time with my horses… not having to sell them because I can’t feed them… so it means a lot to me. I didn’t know that he’d gotten a bonus that was big enough for him to get me these two wonderful gifts, and I had really been praying about having enough hay, with a few little prayers about the ring. He got me enough hay for two more weeks which should hold them until I get paid.

I haven’t been able to wear my wedding ring for the past couple of months because the prongs that hold the diamond in the engagement ring part were so worn that the diamond could have fallen out with a simple bump. Praise God we found that out before it happened!

Worn prongs

Since I’ve worn it for over 33 years, I have really missed having it on my finger. My son had the idea for me to find a ring that I could wear so that I had something there and that helped a lot. One other time I’d taken it off to have it fixed and had some kind of nervous attack… it was really weird. I have been wearing my mom’s “mother’s ring” with a plain wedding band, and it’s been ok… just not the same because I’ve loved my ring since I first saw it.

Proper prongs

When we were engaged, Hubby and I had gone to Roger’s Jewelers to look for one that would be something like one my girlfriend had gotten, and when I saw the simple, single antiqued rose with the diamond in the middle, I totally fell in love with it. The black antiquing in the golden petals set off the glittering diamond like it had been laid on black velvet. The wedding band that came with it wrapped around the rose of the engagement ring. I’ve never seen a ring that I’ve thought was prettier throughout all these years. It is much simpler than the one my friend got, but I like it much better. I’ll post a picture when I get it back.

After that, we went to the bookstore (Hubby’s favorite place, and he had gotten a gift card for it) and then tried to go to Applebee’s® because we’d gotten a gift certificate for dinner, but they were packed and we didn’t want to have to wait forever to eat. We ended up at a Farmer Boys ® Restaurant and had dinner there and it was very good.

As we were leaving town, we drove by a bunch of people protesting our country’s involvement in the wars we are in. My husband got rather upset, because he remembers the hurt of the way he was treated for being in the service during the Vietnam war. There hadn’t been time to roll down the window, as we drove by, and say something, or I would have told them that those men over there are brave and honorable, and are fighting for their rights to freedom of speech that lets them hold their protests. They should be supporting them instead of cutting them down and saying evil things about them.

We talked a lot on the rest of the drive home, and I learned a lot more about my special man’s life, so it was a very nice evening together.

I hope that you have time to spend with a loved one this weekend. Share your thoughts and learn more about their life; their loves, hates, and other feelings. Take time to listen…

I had gotten to bed so late, that I slept in today, and then had a wonderful breakfast of leftover turkey, dressing with a fried egg, and mashed potatoes with ham gravy. I LOVE leftovers… just pop ‘em into the microwave and fry an egg real quick!!! Hubby had taken the day off work, so we watched several episodes of Eureka… he’d gotten the first season of the TV show on DVD as a Christmas gift… and then we watched the corgis play.

My son started playing with them with his laser light. He is very careful not to get it in their eyes so they don’t get injured, but BG, Sadie and Dott just love chasing that “little red bug” around the house, skidding around the kitchen floor and ripping at full speed down the hall. They chase flies or moths the same way, leaping and jumping around. It’s funny, too, when they catch one of the real bugs because they will get a weird look on their little faces and then spit it out real quick.

Later, while I was feeding the horses, Sadie caught a mouse. She has a tendency to play with them like a cat, too, pitching them up in the air and catching them. We always praise her a lot when she gets one, because she’s turned into a great mouser, and catches them in the house, too. That is one of the problems of living in the country with fields all around… the mice come in the doggy door.

After feeding, we walked the dogs around the pastures, so that they could run and play. They ran around like crazy dogs, checking every big rabbit hole, weasel hole, and squirrel hole. We’ve had rabbits and squirrels since we moved here, but a couple of years ago, when they had a big fire on the other side of the hills from us, some weasels moved from those hills to our place… at least that’s what we think happened.

My son was really surprised when he saw the “weirdest looking squirrel” peeking out from the woodpile, and then again a few days later from a hole by the ditch. He came in telling me that he’d seen a ferret and was wondering if someone’s had gotten loose around here, though it is illegal to keep them in California. We looked online and when we came across a picture of the animal he’d seen, it turned out to be a weasel.

It was such a nice, restful, fun day. It was extra nice because Hubby rarely takes a day off work during the week, and we will still have two more days before he has to go back. BG, especially, loves having his Dad home. He is his Dad’s dog, just like his grandma, Mist, used to be, and loves it when he gets the chance to go to work with him (rare now), or spend any extra time with him.

Oh, I almost forgot, the recipe to Nana’s Candied Yams:

You need 1 lb. of brown sugar, 1 Piloncillo cone (or another lb. of dark brown sugar), 2 c. honey, 1 c. water, and 3-4 lbs. of yams (peeled and cut into large chunks– about 1.5 inches each)

In a large pot with a lid, place the brown sugar, honey, piloncillo and water. Heat on high until syrup is in a high rolling boil for several minutes. The syrup should be almost hard crack candy when scooped with a spoon and dripped into a cup of cold water if done correctly… CAREFULLY (don’t splatter) put yam chunks into syrup and cover. Keep heat on high so that the rolling boil will restart and continue for about 45 mins. DO NOT stir!!!

The boiling syrup should be boiling over the top of the yams and coating them (Just peek to check, but don’t open lid to much). DO NOT be tempted to put in more water as fluids come out of the yams and all the liquid will not boil off in time if there is to much. While still fairly hot, spoon yam chunks into a couple of large cake pans. Coat a cookie sheet lightly with butter, pour syrup in and let sit until cooled to make candy chunks for later enjoyment.

I hope that you had a restful day after the rush of preparations for Christmas, and I pray that the rest of the weekend is a blessing for you as well.

It’s twenty minutes to midnight and I finally got a chance to sit down at the computer. Christmas is almost over. I just came in from feeding the horses and it is REALLY blowing out there… hard enough that I had to lean to walk against the wind while carrying the hay to Cory’s stall. At least once in the stall, it was nice and cozy, so his hay won’t blow away.

I put Dancer and Tuffy’s hay by some other outbuildings so that they can eat without their hay blowing away either. They do have a stall available, but I’ve only seen them in it when it is really hot and they want to stay out of the sun… I don’t think they like the creaking of the tin walls or something when it’s windy.

The stars shone so brightly that I could see the sweep of the Milky Way, which only happens when it is extra clear and dark. It made me think of a very interesting television show that I watched a few days ago. It talked about this lawyer that had a computer program that star researchers use, and how he had used it, along with all the references in the Bible about the star that the Wise Man followed, to pin-point what he thinks was the Star of Bethlehem. It was a fascinating program, and I plan to purchase it for our Church Library (I’m the librarian.) If you are interested in checking this out, his website is: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/.

It turned out to be quite a day. Last night, at about 1 a.m., I found that there had been a hole in my purse and my lower partial (which I had taken out because of a sore on my gums) had fallen out and the dog (probably Sadie) had chewed them up… This is NOT GOOD!!! I had recently had the dentist check to see how much it would cost to make a new set, and the part we would have to pay, even with the great insurance I have, is WAY more than we could handle. This partial is of the four lower, front teeth, so it is VERY noticeable. I guess I needed to be humbled a little or something. There is nothing I can do about it, so I guess I’ll just have to live with it until the Lord makes a way for me to get some new ones.

I finally got the last gift wrapped and went to bed, and when I got up this morning, my cowboy son called to ask if it was alright if he came by to bury one of their old dogs who had passed away. Cheyenne had been a rescue dog that they had found and befriended a little over 9 years ago. She acted as though she had been abused before they found her and was terrified of most people and just a bunch of skin and bones. My daughter-in-law finally got her trust and, like most abused or neglected rescue dogs, she won the COMPLETE love and devotion of the beautiful animal.

Cheyenne looked as though she was probably a cross between a Golden Lab, and a German shepherd. She looked like a Golden Lab, but with German Shepherd coloration. She was beautiful, and once she learned she could trust some people, she was very sweet, though still a bit wary around strangers. She was really good around my grandson from the time he was born. She was several years old when they took her in, and had been showing her age quite a bit lately. Cheyenne will be greatly missed by those that loved her. My son buried her out in the side pasture where several other doggy friends we’ve had over the years are buried.

The rest of the day went pretty well, though. There was tons of food, (tomorrow, I’ll give you the recipe to Nana’s Candied yams) lots of love, and fun opening, and watching the little kids open, presents. The Corgis helped clean up the wrapping paper, as usual, and enjoyed their jerky treats and the many handouts of food and leftovers during cleanup time.

It’s a good thing they don’t get to eat like that all the time or we’d be rolling them around from place to place. Corgi’s DON’T have very long legs, so if their bellies get to big, they tend to drag the ground… remember the picture of O.C. when she was pregnant with those eight pups?!

I hope your day was a full and satisfying one, and that you were able to give God your problems and count your blessings. .

Psalms 19: 1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands…” and this is exactly how I felt tonight when I went outside to feed the horses. We’ve had a lot of rain lately, so the air is cleaner than it has been in a long time. The moon was non-existent during the time I was out there, and since we live so far away from any town, there was no light to dim the effects of the stars out there tonight. It looked like someone had thrown a bunch of glittering diamonds out on a black velvet cloth.

The constellations (mainly Orion’s Belt from here) were so clear and beautiful, and reminded me of what the shepherds must have seen when they were out watching their sheep at night… Especially since we had seen several flocks of sheep today as we made the hour’s drive to the “big town” to get some shopping done for groceries, horse food, and a couple of frames for some pictures I’ve finished and plan to send as gifts to family.

I was very tired tonight by the time I finally got everything put away, and dinner was made. I finally drug my old body out to feed, looked up and got such a lift! Breathing the clear, clean, cold air, and being greeted by nickering horses really revitalized me. I just had to say a prayer of thanks for this wonderful life that I’ve been blessed with.

When I think that the God that made those glittering gems in the heavens, sent His Son to pay my ticket into heaven because He loved me so much, I am just totally astounded. It is so amazing to be blessed with a wonderful family, so many friends, and to be able to live out here where I feel so close to Him so often. It’s also wonderful to have the corgis and the horses… Yes, I am truly blessed !!!

I know that there are many problems going on in this world, and I’ve had my share of them over the years, but, with God’s help, I’ve always come through the storms of this life. I’ve learned to trust in His love and care.

<

May you have a God blessed day, with stars and beauty in your life. If there is a storm raging around you, please keep your eyes on God and trust Him. If you are putting Him first in your life, then He promises to help you through it and bring you to peaceful waters.

Yesterday, I told you about the Tarantula visitor that we found on the wall beside our back door, and mentioned that I’d had a close call with another poisonous spider. A few days ago, I decided to feed the horses a little earlier than normal for their evening feed, so it was still daylight when I opened the trash can that I keep the grain bag in. (It keeps out mice and squirrels.)

In the top of the bag of grain, a big old Black Widow had made a web and was sitting there, right in the middle of the opening. Thank GOD, it was still daylight because usually I go out at night and just stick my hand in with the scoop and get the grain. NOW I make sure that it is light, or I have a flashlight, before sticking my hand in there… It was a good reminder, because during the winter, they like to stay in warm, dark, dry places like that.

Other spiders that I don’t like because they are ugly and scary to me are Wolf spiders, which look like medium sized tarantulas, and attic spiders, whose bodies are about the size of a dime, but their legs are about 2 inches long and very hairy, which makes them very large spiders.

This area has a problem with the Brown Recluse Spider which is quite poisonous. Its bite can cause some major swelling, and ulcers in the area of the bite which leave major scars, as well as nausea, vomiting, and muscle pain. In severe cases, seizures, kidney problem, heart problems, and even death can occur.

We’ve had Black Widows for many years but about 2 or 3 years ago, the news came out with stories about the Brown Widow becoming more and more prevalent in this area. Some articles that I have read say that the Black Widow is more poisonous, while others claim that for the Brown Widow. Both can have serious complications to their bites, though the Black Widow is more aggressive and will protect their web, while the Brown Widow will run.

The problem with the Brown one is that they like to hide in warm, dry spots where you might put your fingers to lift a lid or something. The egg sacks of these two spiders are different as well, with the Black Widow’s sack looking like a smooth ball, while the Brown widow’s looks more like the old mines that they used in the water to blow up subs… sort of a ball with spikes.

If you’re a spider lover, I wish you good spider dreams, and if you aren’t, may the creepy crawlies stay FAR from YOUR door…