Boo!

 Annnnnnnnd, he's BACK!!!

Hahahahahaha.

We were at Bomgaars this week and they

had a great sale on cold weather gear.

Kyle didn't love his old "burglar mask" 

because his lips froze.

So when we saw this other style, we grabbed it!

It's got quite a bit MORE lining in it,

so he got home and gave it a try.

He sent me that picture and said he was

pretty sure it was going to be good because

and I quote...

"I just tried it on in the house for a few

minutes and my face melted off."

You just gotta love that guy!

He makes me laugh every day.

Garden 2026

 YEA!

Garden Season for 2026 has

officially begun!!!

This afternoon we rehydrated

a couple blocks of coconut hair

and put them in four 72 cell

seed starting trays.

And then we planted all the

tomatoes and pepper starts

for this year's garden!

We have lots of fun tomatoes this year.

Lemon, Big Beef, of course,

SunGold (the STAR of last year)

and lots of Romas.

We also started a bunch of different

peppers, giants, red bells, and a bunch

of gypsy and snacking peppers.

They were SLOW to fruit last year,

but once they did, boy they were yummy!

We put them in Kyle's old bedroom

on a new shelf we picked up on clearance

at Bomgaars Black Friday sale.

NICE shelves for $35!

Kyle got the lights all set up,

but the timer isn't right...

it was supposed to shut off at 8 pm.

But I had to go in and unplug it.

I'll have him look at it on Sunday

when he comes over.

Anyhow.

We are EXCITED!

I get to be in charge of the starts,

so hopefully I will do as well as he

did last year... they looked AWESOME.

Remember?

Fingers crossed....

we are starting them WAAAAAY earlier this year.

Hoping to get them in the ground earlier as well.

Last year I felt like we were so behind.

We'll see.

Anyhow.

I just finished tonight's class and getting

all set up for another weekend class

starting in the morning.

Now I'm off to eat something and head

off to bed.

NITE!

Stay Warm Florida Peeps!

 Its time for the annual 

January Freeze in Florida.

Also known as "official winter".

(Also known as freeze all the

blossoms off my mango tree day...)

My morning dandelion tea decided

to salute you this morning!

Isn't that cute?

Dandelion tea with a splash of

whole milk that decided I needed a 

tiny palm tree in my life to go with

the french toast made with the

bread I whipped up yesterday.

It was tasty, but a little sweet for breakfast.

Anyhow....

we're thinking about ya as we head

into Hays for our Tuesday Hays Day!

Our Snow

 It finally stopped snowing.

It made it up to about 30 degrees today,

so it's going to be awhile before

it melts,

but today we braved it and drove

downtown (ok, it's like 4 blocks)

to the pharmacy to get Rod's eye drops.

It's so beautiful out there!

Still all pristine and white.

Rod caught a picture of our darling little

neighbor sneaking back home after

clearing our driveway and walk with

his snowblower.

(Also a path for the mail carrier who

has to trudge through the snow from

house to house to deliver the mail...)

He's probably our age or a little older.

His wife has ... something.

Not Parkinsons........... I can't remember.

It's been a long couple of days.

I just finished teaching again tonight.

Anyhow.

It was a relaxing day.

We didn't even turn on the TV!

I baked a loaf of raisin bread (and we

each had a slice with butter for lunch)

and I read a book.

(And had a nice chat with Mom on the phone!)

It was nice!

And now I need to figure out something

for dinner - probably leftover chili.

NIGHT!

Whew!

Another long day of virtual zoom classes.

Except today I wasn't teaching.

Our newest instructor, Brandy took the class.

And, bless her heart, she READ the book.

Word for word.

AND

we only had ONE student all day.

I felt badly for both of them.

But it had to be done.

Brandy got better as the day progressed...

she would read it and at least then she

would step back and try to recap it in

her own words.

So that's good.

I got a little package from Mom yesterday.

A pretty little valentine necklace.

(I mentioned it yesterday...)

But I was looking at the envelope today

(while I was trying NOT to fall asleep in class... lol)

90 years old.

And STILL the most beautiful handwriting!

That Palmer Method really sticks!

So pretty.

Ok, I'm REALLY tired of sitting in this chair.

I'm moving to the living room.

Have a wonderful evening!

(We got up to 22 degrees today!!!)

Winter Storm Fern

 Coming from Florida,

it CRACKS ME UP

that they NAMED this storm!!!!

Hahahahahahahaha

Of course, it wasn't a big deal for us.

Yes, it is   C O L D!!!!!

And we DID get a good bit of snow...

but, uh, Canadian........

-3.

Cold.

-40.

COLD.

But, of course, there ARE others in the

country who are much more affected than

we are and may be without power for a 

LONG time, and that can be devastating.

So, again, we are blessed.

But still.

Fern?????? 

That's a bit lame.

Wanna see some pictures????

While I wait for them up upload.....

while I was teaching my zoom review last 

night, Dan (boss) called and said because

of the storm, every class in Louisiana was

cancelled and the RVPs wanted to know if

I would be willing to do a virtual class instead.

So..... (since I seem to be incapable of saying NO...)

I'm teaching an unscheduled class today.

We had 52 people registered, but only got

an actual 5 students.

Our newest instructor, Brandy, was supposed to

teach her first live class today.

Dan wanted her to attend my class today to get

more training and then, have her teach tomorrow.

So, that's what we are going to do.

So, I've been locked in my office with my

blanket and my space heater,

watching it snow out my window.

But KYLE sent me a ton of pictures, so here you go.

Our WaKeeney neighbors shoveling their driveway.

OUR neighbor, Johnny, knows Rod broke his back,

and he came over and did ours with his snow blower!

Our front yard (pre snowblower)

The drift in front of Kyle's shed.

(And Bear...)

Looking from Kyle's 2nd story bedroom window

down towards the valley and my house

(on the other side of the trees)

Kyle ALWAYS takes a picture of his feet in snow.

Our two little gardening stools on wheels.

Make picking okra SOOO much better!

Footprints in the snow heading out for their walk.

My favorite place on the whole farm.

This is my view out of my new office window!

The drift in front of Rod's shop.

Snow out in the fields. (Not a drift)

Looking from my house, out towards the road.

Our house from Rod's shop.

Isn't it beautiful?

Rod's poor Florida lawnmower.

Naked trees in snow is just so picture worthy.

Yeah.

Pretty deep snow here... no wind.

The snow inside the stock trailer.

ARGH!!!!!

Oh, Hi Kyle.

Whew.

He's got all his blinds closed,

blankets over windows that don't have blinds,

space heaters running,

ceiling fans running on "winter mode"

pushing the hot air down...

he's toasty warm.

And since there was almost no wind,

it was actually pretty nice out so he

and Bear took a nice long walk.

It will be COLD again tonight.

Church is cancelled tomorrow because

they haven't even started clearing the roads.

Tomorrow will be the last brutal day.

And it will actually be in the 20s

which is still cold, but positively balmy

when compared to the -3 we had today.

(Although it is currently +1!!!)

So, I think we have survived.

It will be cold again tonight, 

but then it gets back to more normal for winter.

Alright, I'm tired of sitting in this chair.

I'm out.

Have a great Saturday evening and enjoy

your Sunday!!!

Rozann.... no idea why your comments are coming

in as Unknown... but I usually know it's you.

Sabrina and Jim both come in as anonymous or

unknown as well, but they "sign" their comments.

Thank you guys for commenting!

It is nice to know someone is reading...

OH!

And Mom!

THANK YOU for the cute little valentine necklace!

Our intrepid mail carrier trudged through the

snow to deliver it today.

It was TOTALLY worth it!

Breakthrough, Anniversary, Storm

 Sorry I didn't post yesterday.

It was a BUSY day!

First, it was Rod's 6 week anniversary.

And.......

drum roll.....

he rolled over onto his LEFT side

and snuggled for a minute

WITHOUT PAIN!

He rolled back after a bit because

he said he didn't want to push his luck...

But it was SO EXCITING!

But then, Kyle and I needed to drive to

Salina to Menard's to order the steel and

trim for the roof over the deck,

also the septic tank, and some other

miscellaneous stuff.

We have several rebates and a refund

but you can't use those online or over the phone.

They can only be used in person.

So we took the car and headed out.

Stopped in Hays at the bank to make a deposit.

Stopped at WalMart to buy "road snacks"

and return his weather station I bought him

for Christmas - it doesn't work.

It had really good reviews, he just got a lemon.

So we ordered a new one that should be

here NEXT Friday.

(AMAZON! What the HECK????)

Then the drive to Salina.

Once we got to Menard's we headed to the

countertop section and looked at the various

options. After spending some time just looking,

an associate came over and offered to run a

quote for "custom" cheap countertops.

She diagramed it on her computer and

the quote was only $998, but gave us some

VALUABLE information about our layout

which is going to result in a likely change

to the way we do the kitchen / prep room.

And then I asked to see the already done

countertops, found one I liked, and it will

cost under $500 (probably WELL under...)

Also found an idea for the mudroom!

It was what both of us had in our minds,

but good to see it in actuality.

Then to the back to special order all the 

stuff we were there for originally.

And then to the flooring department to find

some laminate floor that looks like wood.

I picked the same one I picked the last time

I was there so I guess I really like it.

And it will be about $3,000 to do everything

except the bedroom, office and closet.

We are going to have Home Depot install

carpet in those rooms.

Then to the garden center because.... farmers!

Got some new seed trays so I can get

started on the tomatoes and peppers we

need to plant this spring.

And then to the checkout where we used all

the rebates and refunds and still have about

$850 leftover (which will cover the countertops

and some other random stuff!)

Then over to Sam's for some paper towels and

a couple tubs of chocolate milk mix.

And then to Braums for some dinner.

And then home.

We finally made it back to WaKeeney about 8:30.

Stopped at the house to say Hi to Rod and

get some cold weather gear.

And then to the farm to move the hay roll

I had delivered earlier in the day.

Kyle brought it to the pig barn and then we

pitch forked some into the pig stall for them

to snuggle down into,

then more into the feed room for the new puppies,

and then more out on the leeward side of the 

barn where Winston prefers to spend the night.

(When he's not "on patrol" barking...)

It wasn't that cold when you weren't in the wind,

but out in the wind?

My face felt like it was frozen solid!

Hahahaha.

(It wasn't, but it was COLD!)

Once I FINALLY got home, about 10:30,

I sat in my chair for a minute

(where I fell asleep) so we headed off to bed.

This morning when Beau got me up at 4

it was about 11 degrees outside.

But when I got up at 9, it was TWO!

I got all bundled up  to go out and feed the dogs.

It was toasty warm!

They weren't predicting snow until after noon,

but it decided to start early.

We have predictions of anything from this...

(light dusting) to around 8 inches.

We'll see.

Mostly it's going to be COLD.

The high for today is something like 7.

And again tomorrow.

And then I think the high for Sunday

is in the low 20's.

We haven't heard yet, but I expect church

will be cancelled.

Even if it's not, we probably won't go.

Especially if we get a lot of snow.

Highway driving seems like a bad idea.

Anyhow.

We are snuggled up,

the furnace is working well,

and I'm going to go make some breakfast.

Ok, We Picked......

 There were several suggestions.

My favorite came from Mom.

Rolex and Timex.

The Watch Dogs!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I literally laughed out loud.

But Kyle said NO.

Because they are mostly Kyle's

(at least he's the one who has to

take care of them...)

he picked Pebbles & BamBam.

But he agreed BamBam sounds a little silly.

So just calls him Bam.

(Although he had a good point...

we can the others BearBear

and BeauBeau....

so what's silly about BamBam?)

I don't know.

It just IS.

Anyhow.

Regardless of what we call them.
Pebbles is adorable.

They are both cute.

They have the same father but different mothers.

Bam has the long, skinny face of a Great Pyrenes.

Pebbles has the grey coat and shorter face

of an Anatolian Shepherd Dog.

They are a mix of both.

It's only been a day.

They are still really shy and not sure

what they are doing here...

but they'll catch on.

Today was a lovely day.

They were laid out flat, sound asleep.

Tomorrow will be a little cooler.

And then...........

the GIANT STORM every weatherman on earth

is talking about is going to hit.

Depending on who you listen to,

we are getting NO SNOW up to TEN INCHES OF SNOW.

Sheesh.

But...

they all agree it is going to be 

C O L D.

The high for Friday is currently predicted to be 8.

Yup, 8. (low -6)

Then Saturday the high is predicted to be 10. (-4 overnight)

Then it will start back up again.

Like 32 on Monday and 41 on Tuesday.

I have a friend bringing us a roll of hay tomorrow

and dropping it at the front gate so we can

make them a giant pile of hay to curl up in.

(There is a BARN, but none of the dogs will go in..)

The pigs LOVE it inside.

We will put a pile of new hay in there for them too.

The dogs will all curl up together in the hay.

Outside.

And the pigs will all curl up together in the hay.

Inside.

And everyone will be fine.

(The chickens are in their coop, Kyle replaced the

shavings today and it is nice and cozy in there too...)

So we are all good.

But aren't looking forward to this.

We'll see about church on Sunday.

It will likely depend on the snow.

The good news is it doesn't come with

high winds... so there's that.

Kyle and I are making a run (in the car)

to Menard's in Salina tomorrow.

We need to order a bunch of stuff,

but we have about $3,000 worth of rebate

credit and they won't let you use it online

or over the phone.

So we have to drive there and order it in

person and pay using the rebates.

Sheesh.

We'll go to Sam's Club too since it's across

the street.

(And Braums, because that's the RULE...)

Hahaha.

Ok.

Just finished teaching.

Going to go see Rod for a bit.

(I spent the day with Kyle at the farm.)

Introducing........

 We don't really know yet.

I was thinking

Oakley & Annie.

Kyle's suggestions are

Fred & Wilma

Pebbles & BamBam

Elroy & Judy (Jetsons)

We kind of eliminated Elroy & Judy.

If you have to explain it, it doesn't work.

We had decided on Fred & Wilma,

but we already had pigs named Fred & Wilma

in Florida and if we are going to keep the

girl (currently Penelope but Kyle doesn't like that)

we should keep the pigs Fred & Wilma.

Which makes the dogs Pebbles and BamBam.

But BamBam is silly, so we would likely

call him Bammer.

Anyway.

We'll figure out their names.

So far, they have only been called Pooches.

Collectively.

All that to say....

we got PUPPIES!!!!

The bigger is a 7 month old male.

The little is an 11 week old female.

They are Great Pyrenees & Anatoli mix.

Livestock guardian dogs.

Pebbles is on the left. 

Bammer is in the middle.

That's Winton on the right.

Bammer will likely be as big or bigger

when he's fully grown.

Rod and I drove down to Hutchinson

just outside of Wichita

and picked them up from a really nice man.

Put them in the back of the SUV with a big blanket

and drove 2.5 hours home again.

Pebbles is fairly shy and wasn't excited

to meet the pigs.

But they will get it all worked out.

Anyhow.

We now have PUPPIES!

(But they are outside, working dogs, not pets,

so the names aren't really all that important.)

Bear will meet them tomorrow.

Kyle just got here, we still need to run into

Hays and do the grocery shopping.

Bye y'all!

Walking!

 I'm teaching the Louisiana class today.

It's C O L D outside (but I have my little

space heater and I'm wearing my fleece lined

jeans and a sweat shirt.....)

I heard Rod using his walking pad a 

couple of times during the day.

(It's quiet, but there are a couple of beeps

when it is starting, stopping, or you are

making adjustments.... like a microwave

oven kind of beep...)

Yesterday we got the new handles

all installed.

He's able to stand much straighter!

Although sometimes you just gotta look down

at the numbers and see how you are doing.

Hahaha.

He keeps a running total on the white board

in the hall, and then at the end of the day

we transfer his stats to the calendar.

He's doing GREAT!

Tomorrow he's going to catch a ride with another

member here in town since I can't go to church

and Kyle has a really bad cold and is going to stay home.

(Even if he didn't stay home, I wouldn't let Rod

ride with him because sneezing and broken ribs....

NO THANK YOU!)

New Light

 When Kyle got home yesterday,

he went into the coop and got

the new light all set up.

He got the new extension chord all situated.

That's the chicken's water tank.

It hold a LOT of water, in fact, he just filled

it, about 3/4 full, 3 days ago.

Last time he filled it was in September!

There is a tank heater in there so it doesn't freeze.

And he made SURE the hoses didn't freeze either.

Hahahahahahahaha.

Next he got the shop light all set up

on a timer so they have plenty of light

but also plenty of sleeping time.

Looks good!

Notice the sunlight coming in around

the top of the walls... plenty of ventilation.

Meanwhile, I cooked up some spaghetti

using our home canned spaghetti sauce.

I used one jar of meat sauce and 1 jar

of just sauce.

Dumped them in the pot together,

added about a half tsp of baking soda

to cut some of the bitterness,

and added a couple tablespoons of

italian seasoning and some parm cheese.

It turned out really good!

I poured the leftover into one of the jars

so we can make another meal out of it.

I think I'm happy with it!

I'll probably try a different recipe next

year when I do it... but with my little

electric pressure canners, its easy to just

do a small batch, see if we like it,

and if we do, then we can get busy.

Oh! And Rod baked a loaf of savory

onion/garlic bread. 

It went REALLY well with the spaghetti!

(I forgot to take a picture... sorry dear!)

It was delicious though!

New Walking Pad

 Kyle and I went into Hays this morning

to pick up a light for in the chicken

coop and the week's groceries.

(Yesterday we put plywood up over

the rest of the wire openings at

the top of the coop... it was still

pretty cold in there... there is open

air around all the top where the rafters

hit the wall, so plenty of ventilation

still... we'll take the wood off in

the summer, but for now it's DARK.)

Anyhow.

We bought some extension chords and

an led light to hang in there.

Should help.

And when we got home,

UPS had come by and delivered Rod's

new walking pad.

Kyle opened it up and got it all 

set up for him.

Like the reviews online mentioned,

the bar was too low...

but other than that, he really likes it!

Beau was super excited about the box.

Mr. Ingenuity, Kyle found some handles 

from an old lawnmower and brought

them in.

For now they are only zip tied on...

but he'll bring his drill and some screws

when he comes into town next time and

we'll make it a permanent modification.

We hung a calendar on the wall in front

of him so he can keep track of his

miles and time everyday.

Rod kicked up the speed from the initial

0.6  mph that it starts up, up to

1.4 mph which is pretty quick for

a guy who just broke his back.

I'm going to encourage him to stay at

that speed for a good long while and

build up his stamina and walk some miles.

I'm pretty happy with it!

THANK YOU MOM & DAD!

We used some of your gift to purchase it!

***********************************

HOUSE UPDATE:

Yesterday I went out to the farm to help

Kyle figure out where to put the new

dog yard for Luna.

We tried a bunch of different spots and

I think we finally found the perfect one.

He headed down to the equipment yard

to get his excavator, and when he turned

it on, it threw a code that basically said

TURN ME OFF!

Checked his oil, it was fine.

Checked the hydraulic fluid, it was fine.

Opened the engine bay....

and there was a biggest rat!!!

Except it wasn't a rat.

It was a RABBIT!!!

In the engine bay of his excavator!

And, of course, it had chewed

some of his wires.

Grrrrrrrrr.

So we will need to fix that before we

can build the dog yard,

dig the trench for the electricity,

dig the hole for the septic...

and all the things.

Good thing he can do the work himself.

Just need to buy the wire harness.

Anyhow.

No dog yard.

So instead, he headed down to the house

and put up some zip tape and then

put up some siding.

He did all that in about 2 hours!

He said it is really nice to put up.

It's natural wood, so we will need to

decide what color we want to paint it.

But for now, it's looking good!