Sick.

 Kyle and Rod were both sick yesterday.

Kyle had a raging headache and a really

sore neck, back, legs... body.

Rod had a good strong headache

and some general body aches.

I broke out the Ivermectin and Oregano.

And aspirin (instead of Ibuprofen) and

they both spent the day in their respective

recliners - mostly sleeping.

Both are feeling much better today.

(But they are still getting a round of

Ivermectin today anyway...)

Thankfully I am fine.

Gratuitous picture of my adorable t-shirt!!!

Nobody will get it.

They will all think it's like cauliflower rice.

Which makes it even funnier!

Anyhow.

Remember Pig the Cat?

Yah.

He escaped over night.

No idea how he got out.

He was living in the greyhound crate.

There are two doors and each has two latches.

All latches were done up tight.

But he is gone.

We set up a trail cam to see what he does 

during the night since the whole day is spent

in his little red cave.

We've never actually SEEN him.

(Like not his whole body...)

But in the morning his food is gone and

he's used his litter box.

And the sheet on the top of his crate is all

messed up and pulled through the holes.

So we were curious.

But the only picture we got was of Rod's

face when he was setting it up.

So no idea what happened.

But anyhow.

He's gone.

Hopefully during the 2 weeks he lived

here he obviously was aware of the gazillion

rats that come out at night, so maybe he didn't

run AWAY, just found a good hiding place

for the daytime and will eat the rats at night.

Which is what we got him for in the first place.

We are going to set the trail cam up again

(and test it to make sure it's working)

to see if we capture a picture of him.

We were going to let him out of the crate

in another week or so anyway.

We were just waiting for his broken leg

to get a good chance to heal...

So here's hoping!

Meanwhile...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I think I'm going to take down all the 

Christmas today.

After breakfast.

Merry Christmas Day

 Christmas morning started off with a delicious

breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy and

little cinnamon roll sticks.

And then Kyle made his sweet potato casserole.

We got the rolls rising, and all the other sides

all fixed and ready to put in the oven.

We didn't get "started" until a bit after noon

when Jim and Sabrina came over.

It was the year of the red buffalo plaid.

The table cloth and the padded bench

was my gift from Rod this year.

(Also the shirt...)

(Sabrina got me a red buffalo plaid

couch throw!)

He and Kyle made the table and benches

6 years ago, and this year he decided to

buy all the stuff and cover the benches

in brown leather.

They are SO comfortable now!

(And they look awesome!)

We had a wonderful time opening gifts,

laughing and talking and just enjoying

each other's company.

Everybody LOVED their buffalo mugs!

It was a lovely day,

We watched some Christmas movies,

walked around in the garden,

picked a bunch of peas,

ate a lot of food,

and enjoyed family.

Hope YOUR Christmas was as lovely!

Merry Christmas Eve!

 We had a lovely, traditional Christmas Eve.

Starting with our annual trip to Indialantic

to see Santa.

Jim and Sabrina brought Charlotte (their dog).

So we took separate vehicles.

We took Kyle's big new truck...

It took a little bit to finally find them,

turns out we were following Melbourne Beach

instead of Indialantic.

But once we got it all figured out,

we got to wave and yell Merry Christmas.

Until you do that,

it's just not Christmas.

My pictures were TERRIBLE.

That was the best of the lot.

Kyle took a picture of us out front of the old

Indialantic Post Office.

Rod gave us matching red buffalo plaid shirts.

And Sabrina just happened to be wearing one too!

We were down a Santa hat so I'm wearing antlers.

(Make a note in next year's stuff to buy 

an extra hat or two!)

Then back to the house for a bowl of chili

and some cornbread, followed by the

2nd annual gingerbread house decorating.

As always, Kyle's was a zombie apocalypse theme.

But the rest were a bit more traditional.

We'll use them as the table centerpiece for a couple

of days and then probably take them out

to the chickens.

OH!

The internet showed me how to glue them together!

Instead of using frosting that slips and slides

and you have to hold them together

with soup cans, etc...

We melted some white sugar in a little

frying pan and then dipped them in.

It was better than superglue!

Nearly instant and stuck fast!

How did we not know that trick???

It was loads of fun and less messy

since we put down parchment paper

instead of tin foil.

(I ran out!)

Tomorrow.... Christmas Day.

Water Water Everywhere!

 We are having a "cold" front.

It brought lots of rain along with it.

There is a LAKE outside of the barn.

The ducks are LOVING it!

They were swimming around,

quacking happily.

The horses weren't nearly as amused.

This morning it took 6 tries to get CJ out of the barn.

Every time I would get near him to put a

rope around his neck, he ran back into the barn.

He did NOT want to have to walk through

that giant water puddle/lake to 

get out to the pasture.

Silly boy.

(He doesn't like water... big horse / bigger pansy.)

He eventually left.

Whew.

Meanwhile, Buddy just sloshed on out.

I'm sure the new grass out back is very happy.

I don't know.

I don't want to walk through the lake either.

*grin

Introducing PIG and Other Random Stuff

 Good Monday Afternoon!

We had a wonderful weekend...

Introducing:

Pig!!!

Yes, he is a cat.

Kyle named him.

We picked him up at the local animal shelter.

He is a male, feral cat with a broken leg.

As such he will be living in this large crate

in our barn for the next 4 weeks.

And then when his leg is healed and he

associates the barn with food and shelter,

we will let him out.

To catch our RATS!

So far he isn't very friendly

which is to be expected.

(And kind of what we want...

we aren't looking for a Pet, just a ratter...)

He lays quietly in the back corner during the day.

The next morning he is likely in a different

corner - and his nice little house is all mashed,

his litter box is "used", and his dinner

dish is empty, upside down, and in the corner with him.

So he has claimed it as his own.

And he has learned to drink water from

the bottle like the rabbits do.

(which reduces the mess and keeps it fresh...)

If you reach your hands too close

(this morning I had to re-adjust his roof blanket)

he will open his mouth, show his teeth

and do a very quiet hiss.

Otherwise, he just watches.

I don't imagine it will take too long for him

to get used to us and stop hissing.

And when he gets loose and the dogs

meet him face-to-face (if they ever do,

I expect he will stay out of sight for the most part...)

they better watch out.

He's quite large.

And I'm pretty sure he can efficiently protect himself.

That means YOU Beau.

STAY AWAY.

He will kick your butt!

So......

That's the latest from the barn.

AND

Last night we made dinner from OUR food!

Home grown peas. 

(Why, yes, that IS a lot of peas...)

(I ended up putting them in the salad)

Sauted fresh yellow squash.

Our own chuck roast.

(and instant potatoes...)

I spent TWO HOURS shelling the peas.

By then I was DONE.

So instant it was.... lol.

Anyhow, it was delicious.

And we are looking forward to many more

such meals.

Today it is POURING rain.

So the garden should be happy.

ALSO.

We are all set up for Christmas.

Saturday we got a box FULL of presents!

Thank you Mom and Dad!

You guys are so thoughtful!!!

All ready for church.

(Notice the earrings!)

I got a gazillion comments on them!

They are christmas tree decorations

I bought at Dollar Tree for $1.

They were lots of fun!!!

And of course, that is my favorite Christmas

sweater from Mom a bazillion years ago.

Ok,

that's it for today.

I need to go make some German Pancake for Rod's breakfasts.

He is working 8-5 this week so needs food in the morning.

And I need to make a lasagna because he will be

home for dinner!

And I need to make dog food because they keep eating it all!

I just finished teaching my morning class.....

So I need to get out of my office

and into my kitchen.

Have a WONDERFUL Pre-Christmas Monday!

Harvest!

 I was at work today

and while I was gone,

Kyle harvested the garden!

He got LOTS of good stuff!

This is why we love to garden.

All the yummy food!

He got a nice big bucket full of radishes!

They are really good.

Fresh and juicy!

Not like those dried out things from the grocery store.

Look at those beautiful little yellow squash!

We have a bunch more to harvest,

but these are the first...

And of course, some more yummy peas!

PEAS!

My favorite garden food.

It still feels strange to be picking these

in December not July / August...

You'd think after 40 years in Florida

I'd be used to the weird seasons.

But, clearly, I'm not.

Anyhow.

YUM!!!!!

PEAS!!!!!

 Weeeeeeee!

We have PEAS!

Enough to actually PICK!

Look at those guys!

Yesterday I went out and picked a bunch!

And today there are MORE!

(I just finished teaching my morning class,

I'm heading out there to pick!)

Not a bad haul for a first run.

We planted LOTS of beds, but we staggered 

when we planted so we wouldn't be out

all at the same time...

they would come in slowly and

end slowly.

*barring a frost or whatever.... fingers crossed!

Speaking of fingers crossed, 

this little yellow squash has

THREE squashes growing on it

all at the same time!!!

The zucchinis continue to be a disappointment.

We finally have blossoms, 

but again, they are ALL male.

Sheesh.

Whatever, looks like we might get a 

good yellow squash harvest.

Who knew you needed to plant summer

squash in the winter?????

(NOT the spring...)

BTW - I thought about you Mom all day on Saturday

and hoped your "concert" went well!

I'm sure it did!!!

Whew!

Whew!

Friday, At Last!!!!!

Kyle and I made our monthly run up

to the feed mill to get the feed for the animals.

And then when we got home we decided

to leave the feed in the trailer,

grab HIS car

and head to the beach!

It has been WEEKS since we've been to the beach!

It felt AWESOME!

And now I'm just finishing up teaching for the evening.

Just for fun here's a picture of

me playing the organ at church

the other day...

 

Garden Update (etc)

 WE HAVE PRODUCE!!!!!

Kyle picked a bunch of radishes!

And they were YUMMY!

(You don't discover the "heat" until after you

finish eating it... and then, yup, it is hot.

But SOOO delicious - you just have to eat another one!)

Also the new winter rye is coming in.

You can see were the drag pulled the seeds into 

lovely straight rows.

And since the ground in the back back pasture isn't great,

it is growing in a bit patchy,

but better that than a pasture full of weeds NOTHING will eat.

Kyle got the hay all piled up.

We will need to go out there and tarp it.

Rod bought one of those used billboard thingies.

You know, the cloth they make billboards out of?

This one is an ad for a car sales company.

It's BRIGHT blue.

So we'll probably put that side down and let

the black side show.

Don't want it blinding the locals.

The baby chicks are growing!

They haven't quite hit the awkward

teenage stage yet - but they ARE getting

little tufts of tail feathers and some

wing feathers.

They are all different breeds.

It will be interesting to see what we end up with.

I'm positive several of them are roosters.

Those will likely get shipped off to freezer camp.

I don't want roosters.

So...

all is well at the farm!

Everything that is supposed to be growing...

is.

And that's good.

Tree UP!

 Whew!

Between broken trucks and

hay deliveries and

LIFE...

We finally got the tree all decorated last night.

She's small but mighty.

VERY full.

We couldn't put but a third of the decorations

on, just no room between all the branches.

But smells fabulous!!!

And of course, we had to put her up on

cinder blocks again to protect her from

Beau and his love of all things made from sticks.

Speaking of beautiful...

Kyle snapped this out in the hay pasture

where he was picking up the hay.

So glorious!

Tomorrow????

Garden update.

Hey!

 Years ago we saw a sign on the side

of the road next to a big roll of hay.

It said...

HEY!

Lol.

Anyhow,

yesterday Kyle drove up to the neighborhood

of the ranch and picked up a load of 18

rolls of hay for us.

(It was pretty foggy this morning when Rod took the picture.)

It's nice looking hay!

And a really good price!

We pay $75.00 for a roll here locally,

but what with the price of fuel going up,

and the fact that they got 6 weeks of rain in our

preferred hay region, I fully expect that price

to go up considerably over the next few months.

18 rolls should last about 30 weeks.

Which is PLENTY.

(And we paid $52 a roll including the

fuel for him to run up and back...)

GREAT PRICE!

Anyhow.

We are set for hay for the rest of the "winter".

We have also re-seeded the back pasture

with winter rye which should be ready for them

to graze on (for a limited number of hours every

other day or so) by mid/late January.

So I think we have the feed thing covered.

Phew!

So,

HEY!

December Already?????

 Wow!

Where does the time go?

It's December ALREADY?????

I'm not ready.

Ok, I am, but I'm NOT!

We finally picked up a tree the other day.

Kyle and I went by Lowe's and got a little guy.

Small enough that he could EASILY carry it

(with attitude) over his head.

I got a quick video of him doing curls with

ONE ARM but I don't know if I can upload it.

There you go!

Anyhow.

It is now sitting in it's stand in some water,

on top of a storage tub (so it's out of

Beau's reach) until we get a chance to decorate it.

Rod is at work today.

Kyle is at work today.

They both have jobs tomorrow.

So it might be Sunday.

Or I might just do it myself?

We'll see...........

What's In The Garden?

 It's starting to feel a bit like winter around here.

High 40's or low 50's at night.

70's during the day.

Low humidity.

THIS is what winter should be like!

And the garden says "WEEEE! Canadian Summer!"

Houston!

We have a PEA!!!!!

SO exciting!

I didn't think we would get any for a 

couple more weeks!

But most of the plants have lots of little white

flowers on them and some are turning into peas!

YEA!

Also, hopefully I don't jinx it,

but we might have a yellow squash!

Don't tell the squash bugs.

Maybe the secret is to grow them in the winter???

Who knows.

Don't get excited yet.

My cilantro is looking great too!

And check out Kyle's roses!

This purple one always smells so awesome!

But my favorite will always be a red rose bud.

Anyhow.

I don't have any students tonight,

so I'm going to cancel my class

and go eat my Turkey Pot Pie.

It's hard to take a good picture in my kitchen.

The lighting is TERRIBLE.

It looks much better than that....

I used the toaster oven which is why

it got a little brown in the middle.

Hope its yummy.

I'm HUNGRY!

Way Behind

 We've been busy!

And we are WAAAAY behind

decorating for Christmas.

Usually by now we have the tree up

and all the gates decorated.

But we don't even HAVE a tree!

Friday the guys put the new steps on Kyle's

giant truck so we short people can get in.

And I had to teach in the morning.

Then Saturday they did... something else.

And we didn't get to the store in time.

Sunday we went to church and I played

the organ and it went well... whew!

Monday (today) I was going to have us go

this morning and get a tree but Rod got

a call for a job for Kyle down in Vero Beach

and so they loaded up and headed south.

So I did some grocery shopping and installed

the new Roku thingies on our TVs.

(Oh THAT'S what we did Friday night...

we went to the store and bought a new TV

for our bedroom because I cancelled the

TV cable during the day.)

So anyhow.

I'm behind.

I just finished teaching my class tonight.

I work at the Town tomorrow and teach

the Orientation tomorrow night.

But I don't have anything except a 

Stake Primary Presidency meeting down on Vero

on Wednesday.

So... maybe we can buy a tree before Rod

has to go to work?

If they are done with their job by then...

They are going back down tomorrow again.

Meanwhile, I DID do some MINOR decorating.

I bought a couple sets of wall art stickers.

So this is on the closet in the front hall where

I usually hang the Christmas cards,

but since those are nearly a thing of the past....

And I stuck this one in the kitchen.

It's in the wrong spot, but I'm

afraid to move it because it might not

stick again....

And I found some fun Zoom backgrounds

that are Christmas themes.

I forgot to put one on tonight,

but I'll use one when I do the more casual

Saturday "wrap up" session.

So......

That's us and our pathetic attempt at

Christmas decorations.

So far.....

Stay tuned!

It can only get better.

(I hope.)

More Baby Chicks!

 One of the little boys in our ward had

to do a science project.

They chose to try to hatch chicks.

They asked if we could take some if they

were successful hatching them.

I said "sure".

I don't NEED more chicks but...

Anyhow.

They started with SEVENTY TWO EGGS!!!!

(Yikes!!!)

They did them in two batches.

In the first batch, 24 of them hatched, but

luckily another family in the ward took those.

The second batch wasn't nearly as successful.

They had an even dozen but one died last night.

This afternoon they brought them over to our place.

We got them all set up.

I have one "broody" hen who has been

sitting on eggs for a couple of weeks.

When we put the babies in the pen next door

she went NUTS!

Trying and trying to get in with them.

If she's still fussing later maybe I'll catch her

and put here in there and let her broody them.

But we'll see.

They are happy and catching her "sounds" easy...

Lolololol!

Anyhow.

I guess we are back in the baby chick business.

(Just glad I got eleven and NOT 72!)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 Yesterday was a lovely day.

While Rod met with the guy about the

new water treatment system

(our water is SUPER hard and is

killing our appliances... the ice maker

doesn't make ice, the washing machine

had to be replaced last month,

and the dishwasher isn't looking good...)

Anyhow. 

While Rod was dealing with that,

Kyle and I got the TV etc all set up 

on the new stand he made for me.

It looks fantastic in the living room!

It's the perfect size, color, shape, everything!!!

And!

I got a package from the Arizona Gang!

Right now he is standing on the table out on the patio.

The patio needs some design / decoration / style work.

(Or we just need to put all the bug killer stuff

someplace else...)

The old TV stand is right there too - we put it on the

free marketplace to see if anybody wants it.

If there are no takers, we'll carry it out

to the curb and somebody will be sure to

pick it up.

Then last night Rod took us to Texas Roadhouse

for dinner. I had pulled pork.

Kyle had chicken.

Rod had steak.

Ours is better, which is why Kyle and I opted

for something else.

We ran into a Back40Beef customer there who

chided Rod for going out to a steakhouse when

we have a freezer full of the best beef around.

Rod said "It's my wife's birthday and this is what

she wanted - why are YOU here when you also

have a freezer full of the best beef around?"

Big Mike said - "Anniversary - and this was MY wife's choice..."

Hahahahahahaha

After dinner we went across the street to Lowe's

 and looked at kitchen sinks and faucets,

then went over to look at kitchen remodels,

and after deciding what we want

and then remembering we haven't won

a lottery recently we just bought a new 

doorknob and headed home for some

cheesecake I made on Tuesday.

This morning, of course, we are all busy.

Rod finished fixing my Trooper.

(the power steering line popped a hole, so he

had to replace it, but that meant taking out the

radiator, and finding a broken mount, so making

a NEW mount {my men are SO handy} and then

putting it all back together...!)

Kyle made his contribution to the dinner - his

specialty is the sweet potato casserole.

But the kitchen isn't big enough for ALL of us

to be working on our parts at the same time,

so he did his this morning.

It's in the fridge, waiting for it's turn in the oven.

Then he replaced the doorknob on the patio

door - which was sticking and we couldn't get it open!

(And the front door has been broken since we moved

into the house - 17 years ago! So.... yeah.)

Now he's out in the garden.

The peas have FLOWERS!!!!!!

I put the turkey in the oven, made breakfast, made

the dog food for the next 6 days,

put the rolls (Rhodes) on to rise,

and put some brussels sprouts in the crockpot.

Now I'm going to sit for a few minutes and then

it's time for round two.

No idea what that means, but I'm sure there is

something I'm supposed to be doing... 

lol

I'm 62 now.

So I'm allowed to be forgetful.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!