Beautiful Thursday!

  It was so nice outside today. Shoot, has been nice for quite a spell. T has been off the last two days. We've spent some time taking the Escort back to the shop, broke down in the Jag at the auto parts store. T walked over to the shop and took back the Escort, we went home and got the pickup, took the Escort back to the shop and dropped it off. Drove home and T had already called for a wrecker. Dang it ! Raining and pouring......Oh well, hahaha you can't take it with you. Just thought I might buy Christmas presents this year but guess it's not in the cards... that's really okay, no one would know how to act if I gave presents.
  Went to Lee and Brenda's for lunch with Mike and Linda on Tuesday. Hope I didn't already write about it. We had quesadillas. Turkey I think. Sure were good. Had just the right amount of kick to them. A little pico de gallo (sp?) and sour cream on the side. Yummy! My spell check didn't know how to spell it . I was correct. lol
 We had a short visit and then Mike and Linda brought me back home and dropped me off. At the north end of S ,where the eagles always fly, eagles were sitting in the trees just hanging out. About 8-10 of them. How neat that was! I love seeing them no matter what they are doing. Not everyone gets to see them and not everyone that sees them actually appreciates it. Nice day all in all.
  I'm so loving this weather. Gonna be nice for days. They have said on the news that our winter is predicted to be colder and wetter during Dec Jan and Feb - glad it may wait another week or two.
  Not much else going on around here. It's been a diamond day and will be a nice evening. A little tv and/or working on family trees.
  Have a diamond day!

Last day of vacation....

...was Sunday. Tim offered to go for a drive. I took him up on that offer and we decided to make a round trip to Eureka and back. Hadn't done that all year. We used to do it quite often on the bike. Sunday we took the car. Was nice and sunny and about 55*! Pretty nice for mid fall. We dropped a couple of things off at Lee's and headed to Eureka. I was surprised that some of the shops were open. Back in the day you could walk the streets alone and window shop on a Sunday. Guess they had their Black Friday crap too. We kept going instead of stopping. didn't even bother going to the Crescent this time. That place has changed too from what I understand. It was still a wonderful drive . Our next stop was Ann's for a short visit. They were both sick with a virus that drs say can spread like wildfire! Didn't know that at that time. I sure hope we didn't catch it. We served ourselves some drinks so chances are pretty good that we didn't. Although it seems that Tim has caught a cold. Yuck. Poor guy is sneezing a lot.
  Back in the car to continue the short road trip. Only about 100 miles. We skipped Roaring River and stopped by my sister's place for a short visit. Hadn't been there in a month or so. The place is looking good. She was able to have mom Pat for Turkey day. She did well. No trouble taking her back to the home. I'm sure was a very long day for her. For sis too. I did dog nails while I was there. They are such good dogs to work with. All of them.
  Made it home after a stop at Pizza Hut. A salad and personal pan for me and rotini for him. Good stuff. T fed the horses and closed up the chickens etc. I still felt pretty good for a change. Yay for me. Chronic pain for 30 years is still hard to deal with sometimes.
  Have worked a little on my family story. Only 20 some pages so far.

  Here's one of the last photos of James O. 

I'm guessing since the other picture of him was around 1906 and was taken before he went to Oklahoma this was taken between 1906 and 1920. Aunt Jo always said that James O took off to Oklahoma to be with "that woman". Or "a woman" . The story on that end says he was living with his son Charles. How many other stories were left out or misunderstood? The more you hear, the stranger the family is. I guess not really strange. Just more of the same - dysfunctional all through the years . Just not "talking about it" like so many other families. lol 

 Funny, these guys look like brothers or even the same person but this James Samuel Rethford. Our other elusive ancestor. On momma's side. The one that also "ran off" with another woman. He probably did though. lol He deserted Ira's dad as a young boy and I believe started another family over in Wright county. Which is where they started out in Mo....

  Maybe it was just the times... or maybe they shared things like PTSD. They were both in their mid twenties when the war started.  James Samuel ran off just after 1860 while James O was in the 46th Mo Calvary during the war. In his case it was brothers against brother and father! Maybe as he got older he just wanted to be alone. We'll never know. 

  

  See how easily I get distracted? lol 

 It's that time of year! I'll be warm if it's the last thing I do hahahaha.... That wind is sooo cold. 

 Jeanne is still having trouble. Still giving her antibiotics and pain killer. I feel so sorry for her. She is still showing some improvement. Wish it was more. 

All the rest are fat and sassy. We still have hay and enough to last til the end of Jan so will have to get more some time between now and then....not too bad all things considered. 

  I put up a couple of quarts of turkey for later. Sandwiches and turkey and noodles. That's what I made for dinner. A medium pot of turkey and noodles. Was real good. Also baked two loaves of white bread yesterday. Today I'll bake a loaf of rye for Tim. 

 White bread from last year

Rye from last year. 

  Haven't taken pictures of yesterday's bread haha. I could make banana bread but think I will opt for banana pudding instead.  A small one for two. Tim is putting on weight since he quit smoking. I haven't shrunk his pants no matter what he says. haha

  Better get to the laundry...

  Gonna be a diamond day! Hope yours is too! 

   

Thanksgiving Day

    Each day this month people on fb have been posting what they are thankful for. There aren't enough days to list all the things I have been blessed with and are thankful for. The good Lord knows what I'm thankful for as he has supplied it all ...right down to my family and loved ones.
    I cooked our turkey yesterday and started the pies early this a.m.. on to the rolls now. Making crescents instead of my usual sweet rolls. I'll let you know how they come out. There will be pictures later as I always download those to the pc not the laptop...
  Got the dough rising now. T is out feeding and putting hay out for the horses. It's 58* and about 10:30 a.m....how great is that?! Got a good old fashioned western on the tube and relaxing.
  T got most of the roof done the last two days. Yay! All but a little section of the garage (it doesn't leak) I believe is what he said. I'll check the next time I go out haha..I never dreamed we'd get it done this late in the year due to the temp...what a relief.
  Early this a.m. (3) an apartment building caught on fire. Five people were killed. How horrible for that community and all the families involved. And awful for the emergency workers too - bad enough they have to work a holiday without facing that. Sixteen other people are now without a home. How sad life is sometimes.
  It is still a diamond day for me. We have everything we need and then some and I'm not hurting too bad. Hope the same for the rest of our families. The Spfd bunch is getting together but most of us down this way are spending the day quietly and peacefully. Well, almost peacefully. Sis may will have her hands full.
  Haven't heard from big brother today. I sent him a text a couple of days ago and haven't heard back. May call him later. I called sis earlier today but didn't hear back from her either. Maybe it's me. hahahahaha  We're done with dinner and supper. Sure was tasty, if I do say so myself.
  I checked the roof out front and out back. Sure is white! Ought to reflect that sun next summer and make the house easier to cool!
  Jeanne is looking good. At least her body condition is real good. She is having less pain with the bute paste and hope the antibiotics are working on the infection. No swelling at all. Walking somewhat easier too. Improvement is good.
  Enough rambling for the day. You all take care not to eat too much!

End of the day

   normally I don't even have the computer on this time of night. Tonight......well, we're on vacation and didn't get up until 6 this a.m....I went and picked up the little ones about noon and great-papa had Buck ready to ride when we got here. So, after a grilled cheese sandwich and a few chips we headed out for "pony rides" . I think they really like it. Sometimes it is hard to tell with ones that little. It might be better to use one of the shorter horses. Maybe Dick instead.
  Then we read books and played with toys etc. ate a couple more times and they were asleep by 6:15. Poor little things I forgot to give them a nap! I bet they are up by 5 a.m.! They are used to getting up really early. Lee gets up at 4 most mornings and I've heard they get up at the same time! They are really pretty good kids all in all. They forget sometimes what the rules are here but it's a long time in between visits. They've done really well with the kittens. They are figuring out how to play with them and how to treat them. That's very important in this house. lol
  I'm glad things are settling in for my sister in her new house. I can't imagine trying to re-train the dogs on how to come in quietly one at a time so you can clean their feet! I know she's not really doing that but it is funny to think about.
  Haven't talked to my brother in a few weeks but I'm sure he's doing okay. Working too hard in the cold and dreary north. Probably knee deep in snow already.
  I guess we'll be having dinner for two on Turkey day. Lee  is working ( I think I mentioned that before) so they will not be having a dinner and she's staying home to cook a late dinner for them. T said he'd rather stay home. I'm good with that. I do miss family dinners but can't be helped when the family is either gone or too far away from each other. Oh, I'm wondering if my sister is planning on taking mom Pat to her house for Thanksgiving day dinner. That would be a nice treat for her. Pat..not my sister. haha
  It's way-back time:    "and we caught one this big!"

First pony: Sugar

:

"The clown"- abt 1983

 First ride : Trogdon's horse - 1976 or 7

 
   Life is good and it's ended as a diamond day. It was a bad stone day for a couple of hours there but I got over it.
 

Good morning!

   Tim is off to work and two of the kittens are helping me write. Good grief! Why do I put myself through this?              'cause I love kitties.
  We had a good weekend while T was off. Got a few outside things done before the cold and rain came. It's 23* right now and a just a bit chilly when letting the dogs out or in. Guess fall is really here.
  T and I have decided that thrush isn't the problem. She just has an awful abscess. Could be caused by many different things including not enough foot care, shoes left on too long (can't be that), going barefoot (could be that)and on and on....either way as long as she continues to hang in there with us we'll keep trying to see her through her troubles.
  T says this will be his last year at camp. Not sure why but have my suspicions. Anyway he plans on going Wed through Sunday of this week. Time will tell.
  Haven't heard from sis in awhile. Guess no news is good news. Did chat with Jaybird for a few minutes yesterday morning.. he'd been having some sleep issues. Dadgummit, who doesn't these days?
  Got my mile in on the treadmill. Been doing a mile and 1/2 but today was a mile day to go along with the diamond day. Think I'll go back to bed now. Take a quick nap.
  Diamond days to everyone!

Already November!

...good grief, I've tried to write some posts but it hasn't happened as you can see. I won't try to catch you up but sis and I did take a road trip to Spfd and we both got new glasses. Mine had changed  little in the last 2 years. Hers had changed in the last 12! years. We had a really fun day! Left early and came back late afternoon. Long day for me. She's probably used to it as she is always running all day long. She takes care of her family and several of the neighbors. They are always running some kind of errand.
  Anyway, the farrier was out. He said he thought it was thrush. I picked up some thrush remedy and we've been treating Jeanne. This will be day four. We treat for a week and then once a week after that. We will see how that plays out. I feel so bad for her but we're doing all we can. The farrier will check back in January to see if we need any work done on anyone. The rest of the crew looks good. We'll start working with the youngsters on their feet. They wear them down quite nicely so far but in the future they may need some attention. We keep everyone barefoot. We have ez boots if we need them.
  The kittens have settled in quite nicely in the household. They get along with the dogs and so far haven't gotten into too much mischief. They sure have a good time. I've got two on my chair with me right now - taking their morning nap. They sleep hard and play hard.

  Tim is off today. He worked OT again yesterday. I'm letting him sleep for a change. He likes for me to wake him when I get up but he's worked 60 hours in the last 5 days. The kids are coming up today for a short visit. Not seen them since Halloween. Here they are at Roaring River. It will be nice to see my kidlet. He was working on Halloween til late.
  I need to send some more pics to this computer so I can upload them. Dang it. Gotta go for now. It's gonna be a diamond day, I'm just sure.

Beautiful start to the morning,,,

..Tim made coffee and went directly back to bed. Haha He's on vacation this week so he's catching up on a little sleep. I hope so anyway. He works a lot of OT - he mowed the yard yesterday and it sure looks nice for the beginning of fall.
  I got most of my houseplants inside the past few days. A few are still on the back porch wishing they were inside. Banana tree is crying and all but banging on the door. We also moved the orphans into the house a few days ago. They are so cute. And have made their selves quite at home. Themselves? Not sure which is correct. Anyway, they have settled right in and are playing with dogs on occasion. Hank is afraid of them. Hannah is desperately trying to figure out the best way to play with them - Sheba is used to cats as she was raised with two.
  Fast forward 5 days ...I never got back to this until this beautiful morning. It's Sunday and the storms are over. Yesterday morning we had 2.7" of rain and haven't checked the gauge to see what we got in the storms that rolled through last night. Quite a bit I'm thinking.
  On Thursday we bought a little 1988 Escort that is still in pretty good shape from Marge. We're calling it Tim's rain suit. It will be so nice to have a little commuter car for T to take to work. They had been getting 32-40 mpg! It has over 300,000 miles on it. Got it washed and vacuumed out and almost clean. lol It still needs some elbow grease used on it. Marge even delivered it to us. Her daughter and son in law helped bring it down from the lake. I can not imagine what she's going through right now. How lonesome she must be without him. I know she lost another husband years ago that was the love of her life but now at this age it must be terribly difficult. She's a strong woman from strong stock and I know she'll be lost for awhile, but she'll be fine.
  Talked to big brother a bit on Friday. He's thinking of spending the winter in Arizona - fishing. I wish he would. He works hard and drives a lot of miles. He says he'll take a pole and bobber. No hooks ......and his cooler with a recliner . All he needs. Sounds like a plan.
  Well, sis has been dealing with C this week and more power to her. I'm still pissed at C for the way she has dealt with the situation this whole year. She has not done what she promised the folks she'd do. She has pawned it off on sis and her own son. I'm afraid I would not be as nice as sis about the whole deal. Glad I don't have to. Thanks Sis!
  Gonna put this on hold again, later.
  Fast forward again. The gauge had another 2.5" of rain! Good for that grass and everything else. Got another .2" in a little storm that came through.
 I have a helper this am. A little white kitten with no name. She's the last one to be named. We have George, Gracie and Patch so far.
  It's been several more days and not much going on. Same ol' same ol' . Daily chores and enjoying our place and our animals. Life is good. Some days are diamonds.....some days are stones. I like the diamond days much better!
  Buck is feeling better and Jeanne is actually showing a little improvement! A long ways to go but is improving. Jose got his well in and we closed the gate and turned the horses out on the west pastures. The wind was a steady 30 mph and 40 mph gusts. Tim put my plastic up again on the back porch. Just wanted to keep it somewhat dry this winter since the quail are still there.  I had it up but didn't put the lathes up with it so it didn't hold. Dang it!

  I've been in a writing slump as I'm sure you've noticed. When I think of something to say I'm busy doing other things and when I have time....I'm brain dead. Such is the way of it...........I love this picture of Jr Mom and Gpa. What a time they must have had. When ever you think you're having a bad day just remember how rough our ancestors had it on a day to day basis. We're very lucky to live in the time we do.