Only living in the country can you......

Country living has some draw backs.  There is no huge mall.  Our micro-mall is twenty five minutes away and boasts all of four department stores and a handful of small retailers.  If we want "real" shopping, we travel two hours to Lubbock, TX. 

Hospitals are small and are mostly for basic things. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful they are here, but specialty care is twenty five minutes away, and even then, all trauma gets flown to....Lubbock, TX.

The scenery is boring.  I won't lie.

There is dirt every where.  I often wonder how people on TV wear such gorgeous clothing and shoes and I realize, they are on some form of concrete or man made flooring, ALL THE TIME!  I have regular shoes, but then there are yard shoes, barn shoes and riding boots.  Sometimes it is just easier to wear the boots all the time.

Dirt migrates.  I am not lying.  It creeps in every crack and "sealed" door.  It collects on electronics, the tops of books, the floor, it is pervasive and it is eternal.  Don't even get me started if some of those barn shoes are worn into the house.

Bugs.  And Mice.  Yes, being surrounded by fields is great, but those fields aren't empty.  Your home is a beacon of food, water and shelter for all things that creep, crawl and slither.  I am not a fan.

Amazon.  Remember what I said about shopping?  Everything is off the internet. 

No pizza delivery. 

Then again, it is quiet.  It is serene.  It is the ideal place for children. 

Can city kids do this?

This is driving home from Grandma's house.  The less than two miles.

 

Rain produces PUDDLES and little brothers get stuck.

Trick or Treating gets real

Snow shouldn't keep you inside

Improvised swimming pool

 

Normal kid behavior

 

more "normal" behavior

Shaving cream is an acceptable weapon

 

 

Your bestie can be a bird

Your hard work pays off in wonderful ways

And Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag was never more fun

 

So, while I may have to drive into town for pizza, and sometimes, I would really like some shopping without planning a road trip, I wouldn't change the way my kids are being raised.  The freedom they have, the responsibilities they are learning, the understanding that they gain.  Worth all of it.

 

And how was your day?

 

Day 13, 14 and 15 Photo Challenge

 

Handmade!  My first double knit square!  Woot woot!

 

Enjoy!

 

tree

 

 

And how was your day?

 

 

More photos!

Behind, again.  Of Course.

Cozy, because it just doesn't get more comfortable than that.

Blessed, because things got so much better after I took this photo

Stockings

 

Mom had a new port cath placed today in anticipation of Chemo Wednesdays.  While she went into surgery, my Dad and I went to the cafeteria where our prep nurse bought us breakfast with a cheery "Pay it forward!"

 

So, in other words, I had a great day.

 

And how was your day?

Days 8 and 9

Trying not to get too far behind! 

"New"

New, Squishy yarn!  YUMMY!

 

"Weather"

 

Granted, I took this last picture way earlier, but given the fact we are in a weather rut right now, I went with it!

 

 

And how was your day?

 

Tired Children

So, we have this great old ranch horse named Jake. Jake is fantastic with the kids.  He does show, he does rodeo, he does gymkhana, he does nerf guns.
One thing Jake doesn't do, is fencing.  This old guy has actually gone through FIVE strand fencing.  So, I have an idea while sitting with Mom while she was in Lubbock.
Today, I went out to Big Valley Auto Sales and was given carte blanche to their reject tire pile.  Woot Woot!  I took the trailer and the kids and we stacked and stacked.  We drove home and the assembly process began. 
Now, I can't tell you if it was successful, because despite our efforts, we still have more fencing to cover!  But it is a great start!

Here's to more racking and stacking in the future!

 

And how was your day?

December Photo Challenge Day 5

Ornaments!

 

 

Pre Christmas Purge

I simply don't know what it is about the holidays that make me want to purge.  And by "purge", I mean clear out clutter!   Maybe it is the thought of new items coming in.  Maybe it is the thought of Christmas decorations going up.  I just don't know. 
Yesterday I purge my dresser.  I threw out years of items that neither were needed or even fit!
Then, on Black Friday, we shopped local and bought a dresser for my daughter.  I took the old one and put it in my sewing room, thinking, this would be great for fabric storage.
Then I looked at the rest of my sewing room.
Not pretty.

So, I purged.  Or, I should say, I PURGED!

Super clean and threw away so much that was just plain useless clutter!

 

And some may be quick to note the two "helpers" in my studio.

 

Pookah and Hulk enjoyed a day watching me work.  They whistled, clucked and kissed encouragement, all the while giving the vacuum cleaner a stern look.

 

And how was your day?

 

December photo challenge! Days 2 and 3

I subbed at our school yesterday, so here is the photo from Tuesday, "errand".

As you can guess, I have many appointments with mom, but she still refuses to let me take her picture!

Sometimes, I dream in calendars!  Have I forgotten something or is there truly down time?

Today, the theme is "Candle"

Considering the fact that I don't have my Christmas decorations out yet, I went with a regular candle.

 

Now, I have to finish making pink cupcakes for a friend who just received the news that she has NO MORE CHEMO for her breast cancer!  Woot woot!  Go Audrey~

 

And how was your day?

December Challenge

This December The Idea Room issued a photo challenge.  Normally, I have no interest, but this year, I don't know what changed.  So I took up the challenge!

 

Obviously, I will be a day behind in these, but still, it is a lot of fun!

 

And how was your day?

Such a small thing

Recently, my world has been turned around. 

Mom got sick.  Not me, the mom, the MOM, Grandma, Oh-My (great nickname), the matriarch of the family.  The main caretaker, chief bottle washer and cook.  She who cannot get sick.

It started with such a small thing...a blood clot.

This was unusual because Mom is active, healthy and a non smoker.  Her whole life!

Little did we know, the clot was a sign of something much bigger.

Mom ended up at UMC at Texas Tech in Lubbock on September 23.  It started a long journey of fear and prayer that ended only two weeks ago with mom getting home, but not all the way cured.

Mom has Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma.  Ordinarily, very text book cancer.  Diagnose, start chemotherapy, go home, get better.

For us? Oh no. Dear reader, we don't do anything in half measures.

One of her tumors, or lymphomas was over 10 x20.  It wrapped from her lower left side to her back.  In the process, it caused the blood clot in her leg, then is closed over the nerve bundle and caused numbness and immobility in her left leg.

Perhaps the scariest thing that SOB did was to strangle off her left kidney causing a back up of urine that caused a blaze of sepsis.  It almost killed her.  She was circling the drain when they took her to surgery to put in a stent to hold open the ureter.

Oh, and for funsies, her port became infected and had to be removed.

Sepsis is nasty.  It caused her to be so sick, and she swelled up with fluids to the point she couldn't move.

In short, radiation to shrink the giant tumor, two rounds of chemotherapy, a loss of over thirty pounds, foot drop and about 8 weeks in the hospital.

I am happy to report Mom is home, she is recovering from the infected port and radiation, as she awaits her next round of chemo.

It has been a long battle, and we know it is a marathon, not a sprint.  The kids have all acted up or acted out as I spent three to four days a week in Lubbock with Mom. 

She is slowly regaining her strength.  She has foot drop, which may or may not be permanent.  She lost her hair.  She is scared, but was recently reassured by her Clovis Oncologist.

He told her, "Imagine you were talking with God, and he said, Cathy, I am sorry, but down the road, I have to give you cancer.  The good news is, you get to pick which one.  Well, you picked the easy one.  The curable one."

I thought, why didn't she chose prostate cancer!

And how was your day?

Come thick Clouds

Horse show day is always fun.  We ride with a very supportive and funny group of people.  I know I will always be in good company at the shows, no matter how much I mess up.

Today was a special day.  Bella and I took High Point in our Division.  Before you act way too impressed, it was for this show only, not the season and it is for the walk/trot division. This division is mostly made up of young, flighty horses, or divas like Bella who still have a fear that the white poles on the ground are going to rear up and bite her face.  Yeah, she's special.

James was Reserve high point for his division and I am so proud of him.  He and Jake rocked their classes and Jake is so patient and kind.

But what made this day stand out?

As we were loading up the horses to leave, there were dark clouds and some low rumblings of thunder.  Not a problem, I thought, there is still lots of clear sky and there was no rain.

We load up.  Please understand that we use a half top trailer.  That means only eight feet is covered and it is a slate, open sides.  We load Bella in the front, because she has discovered how to lean her head over and unlatch the back gate.  Yes, there is a story there, but that is for another day.

We then load Jake in the back and start home.  We aren't all that far, less than ten miles.  There was more lightening now.  The wind was starting to gust. 

I had James watch the back, keeping an eye on the horses as we drove.  The wind kicked in and clouds were thick and flashing with lightening.   As we were about three miles from home, the sky opened and rain poured forth.  James watched with worry as the horses tossed their heads.  The lightening was constant.

Then the hail hit.  I had no where I could pull the trailer and shelter the horses.  I had to go forward.

The wind came cross ways and the horses were ducking and kicking.  The hail was starting to pelt and I had to slow down to ten miles per hour because I couldn't see the road.  Poor James was calling out to Jake from the truck, "Almost home, baby!"

We pull into our very flooded barn yard, in the fury of the storm.  I made James stay in the truck while I went around to unload Jake.  He had his large head tucked into a corner and was frozen in fear.  I was out of the truck for less than 30 seconds and I was as wet as if I had jumped into a pool.  I had to physically haul Jake sideways and then out of the back.  I pounded on the door of the truck to get James.  He ran out and took Jake into the safety of the barn.

I ran back around, my boots now filled with water.  I threw the last gate open and Bella launched from the trailer.  She staggered into the storm and we were both driven into the barn with hail.

I passed her off the James and grabbed the nearest riding helmet.  I had barn gates to shut.  The helmet pinged as the hail bounced off of it.  I got the doors shut as James fed the spooked horses.  Feed fixes everything.

I ran back around and dropped the trailer from the truck in record time.  James donned another helmet to run from the barn to the truck and we drove it into the garage.

I know tomorrow, I will have to wiped down all of the tack.  We were wise enough to put the saddle pads in the cab, so at least those aren't soaked.  I will have to go over every inch of Bella and Jake, check for injuries, even though we checked as we fed.  No telling what swelling may pop up over night.

It was a wild reaffirmation of the power and fury of nature.  Those that aren't familiar with a High Plains hail storm have no true idea of the force that the rain and hail can pound you with.

Jake, solid, steady Jake, was  so scared.  He has yet to spook, but this had him in a totally different state.

In the end, we are all safe and secure.  A bit battered around the edges, but proud of our day and proud of our teamwork in taking care of the horses that give us so much joy.

The Many Colors of Cat

So, big surprise, but my daughter loves color just as much as I do!

This is why I love going to yarn shops....  I mean, HELLO!  Look at that eye candy!

 

So, one of Cat's favorite things to color is her hair!

 

This is how she started, with some light highlights.

And yes, she baby sits, and loves it!

Then with school being out, we decided to have some fun.  She went red.

And Wowza, with her pale skin and blue eyes...yeah, I own a gun.

Then, red was boring, red was something that people are born with.  Red was easy.

So she went to PURPLE.

It was dark until she started summer swimming.  Then it started to turn more of a lavender.

Well, shucks.  Reds and purples are fun, but they fade quickly.

So we decided to try something different.

I didn't want to use a lightener all through her hair because of the damage it can do.  She has to be back to a "natural" hair color for school.  But the girl really wanted BLUE.  Yes, blue.

Compromise.  Dark brown with Turquoise tips that can be cut off for school.

Oh yes!

 

And how was your day?

 

 

 

Dye job

Who has two thumbs and loves dyeing yarn?
BAZINGA!

I tried a new technique, after seeing a gorgeous headband on a fellow rider at a horse show.  It was a slice of awesome and I loved it.

Ombre is the rage and I jumped on board.  It fits with my color fascination.  Why settle for one hue of a color when you can have range!

Step one: Break out the bare yarn from knit picks and make a headband!

Step Two: Soak in water and vinegar to help the color break!

Step Three: Boil some water and vinegar, once again, help that color strike quickly!

Step Four: Add dye.  I use a food coloring from the cake section at Hobby Lobby.  Cheap with a great selection of colors!

 

 Step Five: gently dip in headband, holding the center cord, so not all goes in.  Remember, the dye will travel.

 

 

Step Six: Gently remove headband in small seven minute increments.  In this case, I used the hinge on a cabinet to hold it up.

 

 

Step seven: Remove, rinse with wool wash, in my case cucumber melon!  And dry!

 

And how was your day?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer photo shoot

So, I have this rockin' friend who loves to take pictures....yeah, she's good.  Check it out......

 

She took these photos of my girl, my growing up girl, who luckily, is still my goofy girl.

Thanks Tiffani, for a great day and beautiful photos.

And how was your day?