Forgot-December 30, 2015

I can't believe I forgot to post this picture taken last week.

 

Our adorable angels, or not. We still love 'em.

 

Where has 2015 gone? It has flown by.

I pray that 2016 is a healthy, happy year for everyone.

 

Way off topic: I have also forgotten to tell you about a new orange. It is called a Cara Cara orange. I think it was originated in South America but is now grown in California. It looks orange on the outside but the inside is red like a ruby red grapefruit. We studied carefully before we ate any since most "old people" are not supposed to eat grapefruit. If you get a chance to buy any Cara Cara oranges, do so. They are so good and sweet.

The day after-December 26, 2015

We can all breathe a sigh of relief and rest today. We survived Christmas! We will also be resting because it snowed like crazy last night and it is only 13 degrees with the sun shining this morning. Wind chill is -4 degrees. This is insane. Driving home last night was treacherous. But on the bright side we had a white Christmas. So, all of you in the balmy south who told me you are wearing shorts and flip flops, yes I am jealous!

The girls were given play tents by my mother. Hannah got a ladybug and Zoey got butterflies. All kids love tents and we knew these would be thoroughly enjoyed. The trick was getting them set up. It provided us with lots of laughs.

Step 1. Checking to see if two adults will fit in the tent also.

 

Wow, Hannah can stand in it without any problems. Nice.

 

 

The ladybug is done. Now on to the butterflies. It can't be too hard.

 

Success! Both are completed.

 

Hmmm. There's a back door in this thing.

 

I guess when you get tired, you just crash!

 

We gave the girls matching rocking chairs. Hannah did not care for hers, but Zoey hopped in hers and started rocking. She absolutely loves to rock. And so do I.

 

Her feet don't have to touch the floor to rock in this little chair.

 

Santa brought Zoey a drum set. We were shocked when she sat down with a drumstick in each hand and made "music" with both hands at the same time. We thought most 18 month olds would just pound on the drum to make noise.

 

Maybe we have a budding little drummer in our family?

 

Hope you had as much fun with your Christmas as we did. Little ones make Christmas such a joy. Now for some rest and quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas is here-December 24, 2015

Rocky and Jose

 

Remember a few years ago when we "adopted" Rocky from a gift shop in Mesilla Valley, New Mexico? He traveled many miles with us. This year we "adopted" him a buddy from Lowe's. His name is Jose. We found him to be unique in that he doesn't just walk and jump, he shakes his booty to the tune of "Felize Navidad". There is no way you can watch him and not smile and want to dance or sing. Such a happy little character. Rocky is still stoic and solid as a rock (pun intended) but he is a favorite memento from the miles on the road.

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

 



 



Have a very blessed day with family and friends. We will be with the girls and see how they react to the gifts we enjoyed buying. The meal is planned and we hope the snow that's predicted does not materialize.

Sunrise and stuff-December 21, 2015

Sunrise last Friday.

 

Yes, we were up before the sun came up because we had to pick up the girls at 7:30 AM. Their parents were going to see the new Star Wars movie in another city at 9:00 AM. What a horrible hour for any movie. Those were the only tickets they could get. I have never heard of a movie to which I would go at 9 AM. They said it was worth it. At least it afforded us the opportunity to see a beautiful sunrise. And we had a good day with the girls. When Hannah gets in a hurry to talk she calls it Star Horse. That makes us laugh though we don't mean to be laughing at her.

 

 

I had to share this with you. The snow is melting!!

This was taken yesterday when our temp rose to 40 degrees.

We think quite a bit more could melt if the sun comes out today.

Yesterday we did not need heavy coats and it was so nice to walk outside.

 

Today we await the arrival of a gift for Hannah. After that we will get out and about to take in some sunshine. Hope you have sunshine where you are.



Post rocks-December 17, 2015

Proverbs 22:28

"Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers."

 

 

You are looking at ancient boundary stones set up by someone's forefathers.

 

These boundary stones are called post rocks in Kansas. The story behind these post rocks is fascinating. When the pioneers were settling in Kansas they chiseled these post rocks from a nearby quarry. They loaded them on horse drawn buckboards and moved them to the property line and placed them there. I do not know what they weighed but they had to be heavy. Up close these are about 3 1/2 to 4 feet tall and 6 inches thick. In my mind I think it had to take years to complete this task. All along I-70 in Post Rock Country around Russell, Kansas you will see these boundary stones. Every time we drive through there I recite the verse and the vision in my mind's eye gives me goose bumps. I cannot wrap my mind around what a massive task this was. And to this day these are still the legal boundary stones of the farms there. Some are starting to fall over but still no one moves them. This is one of those sites that touches me and I have wanted to share it for a long time.

 

Update on weather: We had some sun yesterday and also had lots of pollution. The pollution is less today and we still have a little sun. It is 2:00 in the afternoon and has climbed all the way to 18 degrees. The snow is trying to melt and should be gone in another 3 or 4 days. Tonight will be zero and after that we should warm up quite a bit. We will probably have a warm Christmas which does happen in some years. And we will be thankful for it.

 

 



Let It Snow-December 15, 2015

It's a lovely day in colorful Colorado. The color of the day is white.

This was taken around 6:30 this morning. I think that may account

for the pretty color. I was trying to show you the snow bank across

the street. The street and sidewalk are one and the same.

 

I was trying to show the completely horizontal snow but it's hard to see.

 

This was taken an hour later. Not such a pretty color.

The wind is sustained at 25 mph out of the north which affects

visibility. Thankfully, they closed schools so there are no teenage

drivers on the road. I'll bet you they show up tonight and will once

again do donuts in the icy parking lot. We'll watch the show.

 

This is absolutely not a day to be outside for any reason. We are very happy to stay inside and just watch the snow. I hope to get some bread made. It's a toss up between angel biscuits and French bread. Not sure which will be cooked yet today. Nothing beats the smell of homemade bread cooking on an extremely cold snowy day. 

 

Something I liked-December 11, 2015

You know me and clouds and rainbows and storms and rainbows. I am about to share a rather unique cloud formation. I hope you can indulge me one more time.

The following is what is called a mountain wave cloud. It is caused by a front moving over the Rocky Mountains from west to east. I think they are visible more in the winter than summer, but don't quote me on that.

 

 

That clump of white fluffy stuff is the wave cloud, not blowing snow.

What you can't tell is that it is moving across the tops of the mountains.

This is not a common sight but it does happen with some fronts. The dark

that you can see are just the foothills. The snow covered mountain peaks

are enveloped by the wave cloud. It usually brings lots of wind to the

people on the plains. That's us!

 

This is the first time I have been able to get a picture of a wave cloud.

I could not resist showing it to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cookies anyone?-December 5, 2015

I made chocolate chip cookies today while the girls were both here. My Daddy was a firm believer that cookies should always be eaten warm. So, I thought Zoey deserved to try that.

She looks unhappy but she was not.

She loved the cookie but those chocolate chips

were sure messy.

(She definitely needs a haircut but I don't dare.)

 

She stuck the cookie right up to her face and then pushed in on the center. It went right into her mouth followed by the rest of the cookie, all in one mouthful. She is so much fun to watch because she loves to eat. She likes all kinds of foods and will try anything once. The cookie was followed by milk so she got something healthy out of the tasting. Bless her heart.

Big Dog-December 4, 2015

While roaming through Sam's recently, this big dog jumped into our cart.

He's over 5 feet long, as soft as can be and

very lovable. We thought it would be great

for the girls to watch TV and lean against him.

 

The real fun was when we took him out of the store. So many people made comments as they passed us. It made everybody smile. Big Dog was the last of his kind. The others were dinosaurs and unicorns. The really good part is that he was on clearance. He was a real bargain.

 

Zoey fell in love with the dog.

 

Hannah was more aloof. Zoey is blurry in this picture

because she was using the dog as a rocking horse.

This big dog is a keeper.

 

For the record, do you know how to tell something is clearance priced at Sam's? The price ends in 1, as in $22.41 or $19.81. I can guarantee you if you see something in Sam's that ends in 1, you will never see the price lower. It's the time to buy.

 

 

 

Turkey Day-November 30, 2015

Our Thanksgiving celebration was late, last Saturday, but it was worth the wait. It was still very cold which made it tough on our official chef, Jerry. He bundled up and managed to cook the best fried turkey we have ever had.

Look at this beauty. It was so tender and

moist and perfectly done. We just loved it.

 

We really had a wonderful time and enjoyed lots of good food. We were not sorry the snow delayed our meal together because it was so worth it.

 

The girls were full of energy and once they ate they had even more energy. They managed to play together for a short time before Hannah tried to murder Zoey by sitting on her. So typical of those two.

 

Zoey was so bundled up she could not move. If someone stood

her up she would have just toppled over onto her face. And we

all would have laughed.

 

Zoey likes to wear Granddaddy's caps. She also likes to

put my rings on her thumbs. And we don't mind at all

that she does that.

 

We had a really terrific day. Now we move forward toward Christmas. And it will be here before we know it.

 

It snowed again last night but the sun came out this morning and made today become a really pretty day. The temp was only in the 30s but the sun made it feel much warmer. I can handle winter when it's like this. Hopefully snow will stay away for a while.

 

 

More snow-November 27, 2015

I have to post this because if I just state that the snow will not go away you might not believe me. We had a moment of temporary insanity when I said earlier today that the sun was peeking out. False alarm.

It's 9:00 PM and a balmy 19 degrees. Wind chill is 9 degrees.

 

 

Wish you were here?

 

Brrrr-November 27, 2105

It started snowing late on Wednesday night and continued until late this morning. Sometimes it was light (I call that spitting snow) and sometimes it was heavier (I call that depressing). We do see some blue sky peeking through this afternoon. But the temperatures have been the brutal issue. It is warm today, 18 degrees thought it feels like 11 degrees. It might be close to freezing tomorrow but not above it. All of this is the reason we are not having Thanksgiving dinner until tomorrow. We'll finally get to fry the bird that's been in our fridge since Monday. We hope it is warm enough to let the oil heat up. Derrick and Jerry will have to deal with that. I am not going to stand out in the cold for anything.

Yesterday for our Thanksgiving Day entertainment we watched the teenagers do donuts in the parking lot across the street.

Oh to be young and carefree again! We are thinking about making

score cards and the next time we have this kind of ice we are going

to stand on the deck and hold up our scores for the sliding across the ice.

Bet the kids would love it.

 

I certainly hope the weather is nice where you are and I also hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.

 

 

Thanksgiving-November 26, 2105

I Chronicles 16:34

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, his love endures forever.




HAPPY THANKGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS!

She crawled-November 25, 2015

Our little Zoey can walk, run and climb but she could not crawl on all fours. Yesterday she did just that and we were so excited.

The caterpillar is made of parachute nylon so you can

see what it does to hair. Good old static electricity.

 

When we took the girls home we went out back to check on the play set that was blown over last week. It is damaged a bit more than we expected. We cleaned up what we could and Jerry and Derrick stood it up. There's enough work to do that it will have to wait until next spring to buy the supplies and start the repair.

 

While working on the play set we were blessed with two gorgeous sights and I could not resist taking pictures. You know me and sunsets.

 

Facing west the sunset was visible through the poles that hold

up the hops during growing season. Pictures don't do this sight justice.

 

And turning in the opposite direction the moon was rising.

What a treat to see at the same time.

 

Today we start our Christmas shopping. We do not do Black Friday though we like Cyber Monday. It is supposed to snow tonight, Thanksgiving Day and into Friday. The forecasts change by the hour, so we will just wait and see what kind of weather shows up.

 

Never a dull moment-November 23, 2015

We did keep both girls on Saturday. It was fun. The two of them do fuss and fight with each other but for the most part we can tear them apart before serious injuries occur. It is a challenge to stay ahead of Hannah's thoughts but most of the time we know what she is thinking and what she is about to do to Zoey. We are not yet convinced they will get beyond this extreme sibling rivalry.

Imagine our surprise when both girls arrived with Mardi Gras beads on. No doubt we sent them up here several years ago. Zoey loved wearing those beads as much as she loves her shoes. Hannah does not care much for shoes or jewelry.

Zoey's fascination with the toy cell phone never wavers.

It beeps and rings and gives a busy signal.

They still love the doll house. But now Hannah

puts all of her mew-mews in the rooms instead of

the original people who came with it. If she turns her

back Zoey grabs something and runs with it. Then

the war begins. Sometimes we want to laugh but do not.

 

We already have the turkey thawing in the refrigerator. Looking forward to our dinner with the girls and their parents. We will celebrate on Friday due to the nasty weather predicted for Thanksgiving Day.

 

 

 

A few days off-November 20, 2015

I must confess we took a few days off for mental relaxation and it caused me to get behind on this blog. I'll share a couple of pictures in no particular order.

Clouds and chemtrails over a pretty lake. If you don't believe

in chemtrails you may call them contrails which were outlawed years ago.

 

I cannot remember ever seeing clouds quite like these. It

is obvious they are pure ice crystals. To me it looks like somebody

took a brush and spread sugar out across a pretty blue sky.

 

This is what's left of the girls' play set we spent so much time this summer

staining and repairing. It only took a few minutes of 80 mph winds to bring

it down. We are very sad about this. The only good part is that the weather

is so bad right now the girls can't play outside anyway. We had anchored the legs into

the ground but sometimes you can't fight Mother Nature. If it can be

repaired we will definitely anchor it much better. This happened day before

yesterday. We will check it out more closely tomorrow when we go to pick

up the girls for a full day of playing and cooking.

 

We had a lot to do inside today and it worked out perfectly. The weather was atrocious. It went from

gloomy to rain to graupel to snow to sunshine in less than 15 minutes. And the wind was roaring out of the north the entire time. We were happy to not be out in it. Tomorrow will be cold but it should not rain or snow.  

 

There is no denying that winter is here. We had such a pretty fall that it is hard to accept this cold nasty stuff. However, we have no choice. We'll just bundle up and make the most of it. Hope you are warm wherever you are.

 

 

Winter-November 11, 2015

First let me say Happy Veteran's Day and thank you to all of our military who have given so much to help us live the lives we live today.

Winter has hit with a vengeance just as we knew it would. I'm not ready to talk about it. So please allow me to post some pictures of the girls without snow in them.

Here's Hannah giving "coffee" to a rocking horse she just recently

named Mary. We haven't a clue where that came from, but we will

go along with it. At least she is taking care of Mary.

 

And here's little Zo-Zo throwing her yellow football. She loves

to load the balls into the cart and then throw them all out.

Whatever she wants to do is fine with us.

 

We hope for brighter days in the near future. But we will deal with whatever cards we are dealt.

Washing car-November 6, 2015

 

Here's Hannah helping her granddaddy wash the Cute Red Vehicle.

Against child labor laws? I hope not. Neither of my grandfathers were

well enough to wash a car with me but some of my fondest memories

are washing and waxing a car with my Daddy. I know he enjoyed it, too.

 

One day I am going to make a photo album for Hannah of all the things she has done so she won't forget them. And in time Zoey will get one, too.

 

Halloween-November 3, 2015

I can't believe I forgot to post pictures of the girls' Halloween costumes. All day today I thought it was Monday only to discover this afternoon it's Tuesday. This time change has really affected me this year and normally in the fall I really enjoy the change. Nope, not this time.

Hannah started out to be a Hello Kitty. We could not make that work.

So we tried then to make her just a plain kitty. That didn't work too

well either though she really did not understand that. So, here's our little kitty.

She still had a great time.

 

 

Zoey is doomed to a life of getting all of Hannah's hand me down

clothes. So, she is the bumble bee that Hannah was last year.

But she was sure a cute little bumble bee. She really enjoyed

Halloween though she did not really know what it was all about.

 

We had no trick or treaters here. Not sure why not. Everybody is saying there were not very many kids out this year. I guess it is not as safe as it used to be.

 

Late again-November 1, 2015

On Friday night I was going to wish everyone a Happy Halloween the following day. On Saturday morning I intended to remind everyone to spring forward for the time change. I accomplished neither due to being busy with our little grand creatures.

So, can I still wish you a very blessed and restful Sunday? Have a wonderful day.

I have pictures to post as soon as time permits.

Pet store-October 29, 2015

We decided a trip to the pet store was in order this morning. Zoey has never been. It was the third time we have taken Hannah I believe. Hannah remembered every inch of the store. Zoey was carried away with all of the animals. The more active they were the more she enjoyed them. She squealed at every cage and waved hello to them. Now for a few pictures. Some are blurry but that's an iPhone for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah has been talking about guinea pigs for a long time. The Wonder Pets have to save a baby guinea pig on one of their episodes. Today she saw several real ones. We also saw ferrets, mice, parakeets, turtles, cats who were up for adoption, spiders, hermit crabs and fish of every possible description including glow fish. I loved them! I'm sure I am forgetting some little critter. It was fun and exhausting. We just wish Zoey could talk so she could tell us what she thought. Hannah loved it and did not want to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy day-October 25, 2015

We had another great day in the mountains with Jerry's sister. We found another excellent buffet. We do so much walking we don't mind partaking in a delicious buffet.

On I-70 west of Denver we saw our first snow of this season. It is a great reminder that snow here at lower elevations might not be too far off. I was in the back seat taking pictures out the windshield. It worked pretty well.

See the snow capped peaks above the trees and below the clouds.

 

Taken out the side window. That fresh white snow is so pretty.

 

Having lived in Loveland, a huge producer of bronze art, it

is hard to get excited over another piece of bronze. However, this one

caught my eye today. The name plate simply says "Black Hawk". The rest

is written in another language. What I don't know is if he was simply named

Black Hawk or if he was Chief of the Black Hawk tribe. I need to do my homework.

Honestly, this is one of the prettiest bronzes I have seen in a very long time. I'm

really not sure why this one spoke to me, but it definitely did.

 

 

I have been meaning to post this picture for a long time.

When we exit off of I-25 headed to Judy's house, this extraordinary building is

really close to the exit. When I first noticed it over 35 years ago, I think I remember

it belonged to AT&T. It has changed hands so many times I cannot remember all the names.

I do know it belonged to Avaya for a while. Now it is Digital Globe, or is it Globe Digital?

Either way I have always thought this looked like a huge satellite dish. But it isn't. It is

actually the glass entry to the building. It must be strong glass because it has been through

many hail storms over the years. Call me weird. I really like this building.

 

This is my attempt to show you how big that building really is.

All glass.

 

Tomorrow will be a full day of babysitting. We never know if that means we will get lots of pictures of the girls or if we will be too busy to take any at all. We'll see.