Wednesday 5:15 a.m.

  First things first:

 If you look close you can see that this picture was taken on my son's front porch. I used to hang my spider plant on that corner post. My son says that guy hangs out every day along with a chicken hawk. I reminded him this a.m. that one of those birds may decide to have their dog for breakfast and watch out! I love the picture though. How cool is that? 

  I didn't walk yesterday. I will today after T gets up. 

  Don't know how much rain we have and won't know until the sun comes up but it may be quite a bit. Every little bit will help with our ongoing drought. 

  Rant for the day- paying for crappy television! It just galls me that we pay so much for tv and there are so many shows that are just plain crap. I keep thinking about the old "let's dumb them down" thing. Are there honestly intelligent people out there that want to see that stuff? I wish the satellite company would just let us pay in 20 channel packages or something like that. Let us pick the 20 or so channels that WE want and pay x number of dollars for that. Even some of the channels I would pick have some of those crappy shows on them. It's ridiculous! I know it's supposed to be just entertainment but give me a break. 

  I'm already thinking about a garden this year. I actually did a small amount of yard work yesterday while the temperature was over 50* . I'd like to try a few more things this year. Maybe peanuts again. The redheads were puppies and trashed them last time lol . Guess this year it would be cats, if I choose to let them out on their own. Without their barn/wild cat momma would they have enough sense to survive outside? They've been babied by me and I can't teach them outdoor living. Anyway, back to growing a few things. A few things here and there. My sister loves asparagus and I think she should grow some at her place. It's a perennial so why not? And rhubarb too. She loves that too. Me? Nope, don't like either one but if the SHTF it might taste pretty darn good it there's not much else. lol Some tomatoes and corn would be nice. I won't buy either at the stores unless I can tell they are local. I have gone to the farmer's market and picked up some. 

  I received a beautiful book on some of T's genealogy that a distant cousin wrote in 2012. We met them shortly after moving here. They were visiting relatives in Pineville from LasVegas. I helped her with some research and she shared research and pictures her side of the family had. It's a great book, put together nicely. It was a gift. The price of having one published hasn't gone up that much in all these years when you consider it was around $30 for the book Sharon wrote about our line in the 80's and it was about $43 for this new one by a publisher in Utah. A local publisher does small paperbacks for about $20. One day I will have one published with our tree. I'm still waiting on my sister and a good friend to write their novels and share their wealth with me for all the encouragement I've given them over the years! lol 

  Have a diamond day! I'm going to shut up now. 

Tuesday 2 p.m.

  This a.m. about 9, I went back to bed until 11. I was just used up for no apparent reason. Or because I only had 5.5 hrs sleep. I need about 7, would like 8-10 if that was possible. lol It was a beautiful morning. I went out about noon and it was great! Let the cats go with us (me and the dogs) and they all had such a good time. Running and playing together and giving the chickens a bad time. lol I wish the weather would stay this way but I understand it's winter and it will be in the 30's for the highs real soon.
  I've not lost but a pound but I can tell I've lost some fat. Turned into muscle that is. I average a 30 minute walk, 5 days a week for the past 3 months at least. That's just over a mile. Just think how much I'd weigh if I wasn't walking! haha I hoped for extra energy that people talk about after exercising but have not experienced any of that. Insert sad face here.
  Great job on posting the picture! I knew you could do it. I enjoy reading your blog! Keep up the good work.

 Did I ever mention that I gave this peace lily to the dr's office last summer? I just couldn't keep it in the house any longer. I figured at least with it there I could see on occasion. It's behind the desk now - was out front in the center lobby. May have moved it because of the Christmas tree. 

    Tim just sent me a message saying the van was fixed. We can pick it up tomorrow I think. Yay! 

  Just in time too. His car was making a strange noise when he drove up last night and again this morning. As much as I love to drive my truck, it is just a bit expensive to drive these days. 

  Better quit. You all have a diamond day!  

Saturday 4:47 a.m.

  Mornin' world! T just left for a day of OT. George just flopped in my lap to help. They are such a hoot. They are growing so fast.
  The radar is showing a lot of rain/mix out there and the temp is hovering between 31*/32*. I haven't bothered to look out or step out there. I didn't see anything while T was backing out of the garage. Gonna be 45* later today. Yay!
  I don't have a lot in mind for my chore list today but I need to get the regular stuff done. You know, a small load of laundry out of the way, dishes to be done. We'll have left over pizza for dinner and I have some tuna for lunch. Just need to figure out breakfast- oats- done...

 I think I'll get some blackberries from last season out of the freezer and have a cobbler for dinner too. 

  I got my first seed catalog just before Christmas. I sure would like to grow something this year. Just a few things to add to our groceries. Maybe I'll feel better this year and be able to do more. I've resigned myself to the fact that T, no matter where his hearts at, he's not gonna help with a garden. Every year he says he will and every year he doesn't have time. Oh well, if I want it bad enough it will happen. 

 I already have a crop of prickly pear. Sells for $2 a lb at the cheap store. Wonder how many lbs I could harvest out front? lol Last year I got a couple of plums, a couple of tomatoes, some blackberries and that's about it. Isn't that pathetic? The drought heat was a problem. Even my houseplants that were outside hated it. Nothing could produce anything. This is actually the second year in a row we've experienced drought. Dang I hope and pray for a good year. 

  Guess I'd better get around. Got miles to walk haha. Later, 

have a diamond day. I'm going to. 

Friday

  Starting the day nicely. Got up at 5, which means we slept in! Had coffee and already put my walk in. 1.4 mile this a.m.. T walked even walked for a few minutes. Even though yesterday was throw away Thurs. I didn't get anything thrown out. Gotta add that to my list for the day.
  Sure glad the sun is out early. I get more done when it's shining.

 

We're gonna have pizza for lunch and dinner. Or if you prefer, we're having pizza for dinner and supper. My habit is lunch. Anyway, guess I'd better get breakfast out of the way first. Back in awhile. 

  So much for the sunshine helping me get more done around the house. lol Didn't help a bit. Got up to 45* though! Beautiful day. 

  Long story short....we skipped lunch and just finished supper, the last meal of the day. Although today's pizza also had hamburger and onion added. Pretty tasty......

  A nice slow, easy day. Got the floor vacuumed and that was about it for housework other than cooking a couple of times. A diamond kinda day! 

  See the little picture next to the word "link"? That's how you add a picture to your blog, big sister.  If you want to change the font, it's up there too....kind,size, bold, italic, underlined, scratch through. You don't have as many choices as our email program but it will do. Try it, you can always delete it if you don't like it.

It's still morning but not for long. It's a beautiful day although it's only 32*. The sun is a welcome sight. In just a little while I'll bundle up and go do my chores. I walked a mile and a quarter this morning. Yesterday, a mile and a half. I'm determined to walk OVER a mile every time I walk. 

  The cats are on a terror. Running and playing. Poor dogs just try to stay out of the way. 

  Spring cleaning is on my mind. I'm still thinning this place out. Still have throw away Thursday. One day I may be finished. lol I think I have one room done and dang it if I don't think of something else I could live without. I think it would be easier if I could just throw it out but some things need to go to certain people so that kinda slows things down. 

  I also need to get started on Walker's quilt. His birthday is in April! 

  I've almost got this year's calendar done too. Got 7 months done yesterday. A few more and I'll be done with that little project. It's no big deal now that I only make my own instead of 15 of them for family. 

  Genealogy has slowed to a crawl. It happens in spurts. I spend a few days doing nothing but research and then quit for a week or two. Of course that will never be done. 

  Guess I'll post now. It's almost our bedtime and I'm just now getting back here. Had a diamond day! Later

Last day of 2012

  Well, I figured I'd better at least post on the last day of the year. I did better this year than last on the number of posts I think. I'm not going to bother deleting this year. At least not any time soon.
  Between laundry, cooking tater soup and the phone I'm not sure I can get this posted before the new year. lol
  T wasn't feeling so good today so he's resting. Not being able to edit photos on this laptop makes it a pain to post pictures. I hate to have to download on the pc, edit and then download or send them to this one. How silly.
  The past few weeks I've been down. Between the season and the weather I guess. I so wish it was already spring time!
  We got the cats all fixed! Yay! No babies now. You couldn't even tell they had been operated on. That same evening they were running and playing like crazy. Hoping to get the dogs taken care of this year. It's just healthier for them. Well, maybe not Misty as she's too old I think for surgery unless it's mandatory. You know what I mean?
  Jeanne is still having trouble with her feet. I know sometimes it takes months but I hate seeing her in such pain.
  My sister and I went to see our step-mom at the home and went grocery shopping after. Had a quick visit and spent the rest of the day shopping. My dogs were barking when we got home. My feet, not my real dogs.lol I had already walked a mile on the treadmill before she picked me up. Two stores later and then I had to feed the horses again after dark. Dang what a long day but had fun.
  Our "storm" turned into a nice cold rain but it will freeze tonight and make it slick by morning. Although it's already dark and the temp is still at 33*. I wish the horses would stay in the barn but they prefer the woods.
  Well, here it is another day has passed. It is now Jan 1 ! A brand new year, a fresh start for us all. My friend Jan called this evening. Sounded sad but hopeful. Life wears you down after a while , you know what I mean? It was nice to hear from her. We don't talk much these days. Her phone is limited on minutes.
  We had a nice quiet day. A perfect way to start the year. We don't do the "new year's dinner" superstition thing. We had spaghetti for dinner. This morning we had creamed eggs on biscuits. Good stuff. Not real healthy but good anyway.
  Enough rambling. Maybe this year I'll have more to say.

Monday, Monday

    Here I am again. Mornin'! With the storms up north somewhere I'm wondering if my brother is doing okay. Keeping cozy in his truck I hope. He was getting it fixed last time I talked to him. It'd be nice if he was able to spend the winter in Arizona liked he talked about. Or, maybe he could come here for the winter. It's supposed to be colder and wetter than normal - should make him feel right at home. lol

  From the way back album ....I love this picture for several reasons. Came home from work to find my son had built himself a jump with 2 buckets and a board. Deleted the rest of the comments about this photo and on to more pleasant things.

 Just the year before. He broke Pegasus to ride . What fun he had. 

 Pegasus, a couple of days old and his momma, Sugar White. 

 A picture that my brother sent to me a few years ago. Taken somewhere in Utah or Nevada - some place out that way. It's actually a cell tower but the locals didn't want some ugly thing so they made the cell phone folks make it look like a tree. How funny and how interesting. They should all look like this! 

  I can not think of one single thing that might be interesting. You all have a diamond day! I'm going to, no matter what!