What do the animals do all day?

Dinah and Christian take a nap.

Slim chills on the couch.

Naptime for everyone!

Why me?  Why does this cat want to be with me? 

Sometimes, one just needs a wubby.  

Cheap Acne Treatment

I have oily skin and used to break out continually, even into these late years (I'm over 50).  After years of one expensive remedy after another, I finally went on the web and started reading up on facial treatments, skin cleansers and so on. On many of the home remedy sites there were all sorts of treatments for skin, but none seemed to work.  I was also reading about using natural cleansers for cleaning house on the same sites...and something clicked.  So I decided to try a natural cleanser and antibacterial on...my face.  And just in case, I decided to try a natural oil with lots of healthy ingredients, as my moisturizer.  Within a week, I looked so good, people commented on my glowing skin.  For $10 or less, you too, can have blemish free skin and you don't have to pay me or anyone else for it, although you will need to go to the grocery store.   

You will need:


1 small spray bottle
Apple cider vinegar
Coconut oil (in the cooking section)

Pour apple cider vinegar in the spray bottle.

Wash face thoroughly with any bar soap.

Close your eyes tightly, take a deep breath, and spray ACV all over your face, especially the T-zone. ACV stings a little and smells a lot. Hold your breath. Immediately rinse off under the shower or in the sink.

Alternately, you can spray ACV on a cotton ball, swab your face, and then rinse off immediately with a warm washcloth.

Then take a small amount of coconut oil in your hand, no more than your pinkie nail, and smear all over your face. If your face is greasy, you have too much on - swab it on your arms and legs.

Put on makeup as usual.

In the evening, wash makeup off with whatever cleanser you use, then swab your face with a cotton ball soaked with ACV, and put coconut oil on as your nighttime moisturizer.

You should see a difference within 3 days to a week. Your skin will be smoother, less breakouts, and any open pimples will be drying up. Within about 2 months, you will notice almost no pimples, smaller pores, and fewer red spots.

I have no idea why it works, except I do know ACV and coconut oil are antibacterial.
 
BTW, spraying a little ACV on scratches a couple times a day will make them heal quicker, and a little coconut oil on dry areas will also help moisturize your skin. 
 
Use at your own risk.  Not responsible for accidents.  Yadda, yadda, yadda... 
 

Busy Life...

Things have been hectic since I last posted.  Nothing earth-shattering, just day to day life, church, editing/writing, sewing, and dealing with the weather. 

We have a new baby in the family - my sister-in-law had a little girl. Of course, she is adorable and the most beautiful baby, ever. I did some sewing for her. 

In a rare moment, the cats all ate together one day and I snapped a picture.  Emmy, the gray cat, has been ours for 2 years.  The other two are kittens and have only been with us since late summer.  Both were abandoned.  Emmy didn't like them much at first.  The orange tabby is Christian (we found him at the church).  The black one is Dinah, named by one of the kids. 

And SPRING IS IN THE AIR!  These are snow geese, flying north for the summer.  The field had thousands of them.  We spooked them when we stopped to take a photo. 

Merry Christmas...

From our house to yours, may you all have a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year...

Love, Richard and Merry

Sewing composition book covers...

I have a lot of fabric, most of which was inherited from relatives/friends, given to me, or from my own various quilting and sewing projects.  It was time to do something with the eight Rubbermaid totes filled with this fabric.  Back in September, the local stores had compostion notebooks on sale for 25 cents each.  I bought a bunch!  I also bought 2 packs of cheap pens for $2.  They went from this:

To this:

 

This is a small sampling of the multitude I made.  I will be giving them as gifts to the children in our church's community outreach program.  Total cost for 22 gifts...less than $10.00. 

Sewing...

I've been doing some sewing, not a lot, just little projects I've had for a while and needed to get done.  I repaired a few articles of clothing, did some embroidery and put the binding on the baby blanket above.  That's our blankie - my Mom bought it when my oldest sister was born and each of us subsequently were wrapped in it as babies.  The satin binding had long since shattered, so Mom gave it to me to repair.  The original was cream-colored, but when I went to buy binding, none were that color so I chose blue. 

I also did a special projec,t but can't reveal it at this time since the recipient might be reading this blog :). 

More sewing is in my future as I like to do things for Christmas. 



Snuggle Kitties...

Christian wants to snuggle all the time. I want to be able to type, and use my mouse to work on my computer. This creates discord. At a yard sale, I found a $1 solution. A baby Snugli. Christian loves it. And there's something to be said for a gently purring kitty snuggled up against one.






They've taken over my chaise lounge, too...

Redeeming Daisy - Tanya Hanson

White Rose Publishing's Newest Release:



Veterinarian rancher Pike Martin has no choice but to advise putting down Daisy Denmore’s fatally ill dog, but she swears it's revenge for her mistreatment of Pike's brother years ago. Although stung by her insult at his professionalism, Pike finds himself drawn to the troubled woman who flounders in faith and aches for love and acceptance. Costly mistakes have sent Daisy down an unrighteous path. Abandoned by her ex-husband, humiliated and broke, she has no choice but to return to her parents’ home in Mountain Cove, Colorado. As soon as she saves enough money, though, she'll be gone. Until Pike Martin's soft voice, caring manner, and downright empathy for her wounds tempt her to stay. With God on his side, can Pike help Daisy along the path to forgiveness, trust,and whole-hearted love?

Release Day Special offer! Purchase any edition of Hearts Surrender by Marianne Evans--The latest release from White Rose Publishing--and receive a FREE .pdf of "Hearts Crossing." Purchases must be made on 3 Sept 2010 to be eligible, so hurry before time runs out. Heart's Surrender

Enter to win...

My publisher is also doing a giveaway and a free read!

To have a chance to win free books for a year:

Win Free e-Books!

Read a Free Novella!

The last 3 Fridays...

Every Friday, my publisher releases a new book - sometimes an e-book, sometimes a print book, sometimes, both! Please visit White Rose Publishing to take a look at the books (including two of mine!)

Mended Heart by Mary Manners


Jade McAllister returns home to Pineyville, Tennessee to help nurse her estranged mother back to health. She’s grateful her friend found her a job as an administrative assistant at Pineyville Church. That is, until she runs into Shane Calkin—the bad-boy-wannabe who broke her heart.

Shane's job as Youth Director at the church is a far cry from his high school days as the town's privileged rich kid. The death of his sister has left him with a young niece to raise and a rambunctious puppy to tame. He's not the self-centered person who once hurt Jade, and all he wants now is a second chance to love her. But how can he prove it to her?

Standing On The Edge Of Goodbye - Mary Eason


Matt Stevens is finished with life. Grieving the death of his son, Matt withdraws from humanity, sequestering himself in a mountain cabin far from the reaches of anything human—anything that may remind him of the life he can no longer have…that is until Kate Alexander arrives on his doorstep and begins to strip away the bitterness he carries in his heart.

Running from an abusive ex-husband who tried to murder her, Kate Alexander’s life is turned upside-down. Learning of her grandmother’s death—the only woman who ever believed in her—is almost Kate’s complete undoing, especially when the devastating news comes from a man so lacking in human emotion he may as well be a robot. Yet, Kate is drawn to Matt Stevens in a way she’s never before experienced. Could there be more to this unlikely friend of her Grandmother’s—something beyond the cold surface he presents to the world?

Only In Novels by Laura Briggs

When a simple mistake lands bookstore owner Lannie Maxwell with the wrong author for her book signing, she wonders if her tiny business is destined to fail. Instead of Ms. Modern Homemaker—an author sure to multiply the bookstore’s gross revenue—Lannie finds herself stuck with D.E. Hensen, an unorthodox and infuriating adventure novelist. The dashing D.E. is determined to help Lannie rescue her struggling business, but his outlandish ideas threaten to turn her world upside down. Can the two put aside their differences to save the store—and find their own version of happily-ever-after?

Diaper Cake...

This is my first diaper cake.




We have a baby shower next week at the church and I decided to try my hand at making a diaper cake. I bought all the necessary items and brought them home. While Mom was visiting, I put her to work.

Its not perfect, but its our first cake and we think it looks cute. The baby is a boy named Jordan.

Washing fabric...

Dinah cleans Christian after whomping him in their playfight yesterday.



I brought most of my fabric into the house from the garage. In between writing and editing, I've had to wash it all - it smelled of mustiness from being out there. Because so much of it is scrap and unfinished edges, when folding time comes, I have to use the scissors to cut all the threads that have wrapped around everything.

So tedious.



What you see is 4 loads of laundry. Doesn't look like much, does it?

Oh, and Christian and Dinah think of this as their bed, so my placing fabric all over in neat piles was simply an invitation to cuddle up to it and sleep. Look close. They're in this picture.

I cleaned the garage today...

You can't see her - but Dinah is on the teapot, in front of the stovepipe. Christian's glowing eyes look a little spooky! For some reason, both kittens love to play on the wood stove. Christian has been eyeing the mantel, but I'll have to bust him if he tries it. Dinah has tried for the cord hanging from the dining room light, but I discouraged her by draping it too high for her to reach. At least for now.



I didn't mean to clean the garage today.

The garage has been filled with other people's stuff for quite some time. We had taken (with their permission) a bunch of stuff to a charity store, but still had some stuff left. We've also been using garage stuff (camping gear, tools, etc.) and not putting it back properly. The place was a disaster.

But since the kids left, all my sewing/fabric stuff hasn't made it back into the house. About now is when I start thinking about Christmas, and sewing up a few gifts. I need fabric for that...and the fabric was out there...unaccessible.

So I started at the front and went to the back. I didn't clean it completely, but with a little rearranging, there's a lot more room out there. I filled the back of the car with clothes, blankets, and so on to take to Goodwill. Now that we no longer have a 4 bedroom house, its time to let some of this "extra" stuff go.

The kittens are growing. Christian is a Mama's boy, always coming in to get a cuddle from me. Dinah does it, too, but less often.

Echo and Flint are fine with the kittens, no problems at all, except at treat time, when everyone congregates to get their share.

I've been canning up a storm - peach jam, blackberry jelly, salsa, Richard's chili, spaghetti, tomatoes, and soon, from the neighbor's tree - apples and applesauce.

Summer's been busy.

Every time I get out of my chair...

I come back to this...for some reason both kittens love my office chair and if I go get a drink or a snack, I come back to find it occupied. Dinah also likes to dance across the keyboard and I often find strange things staring back at me from the screen.



A cat's a cat and that's that...

New book at White Rose Publishing!

Release Day Special offer! Purchase any edition of Moselle's Insurance by LoRee Peery--The latest release from White Rose Publishing--and receive a $5 White Rose Publishing gift certificate FREE. Purchases must be made on 30 July 2010 to be eligible, so hurry before time runs out. http://www.whiterosepublishing.com/Moselle39S-Insurance




Creative artist Moselle Carson gives new life to old items, but she can’t seem to renew her shattered ideal of love. When she returns to her hometown to help with a new family business, memories of a broken heart and small-town gossip chip away the tough exterior she’s erected over the years. Now she’s forced to decide whether she’ll rebuild the wall or trust that true love never dies when it is ordained by God.

Generous insurance agent and vulnerable firefighter, Eric Todd, remembers too well how he mistreated Moselle and then set her aside. Now he longs for true love and the second chance to become a husband and father. He Can he learn to forgive himself and still keep the secret that may redeem him in her eyes?

The grand-nephew's quilt

The grand-nephew needed a quilt and his 7 year old sister wanted to help. So she drew the pictures, her Grammie (my sister) embroidered them onto squares and I put the quilt together.



It should be loved until its a rag. LOL

Announcing Harbourlight Books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Contact:
Lisa Dawn, Marketing Director
Harbourlight Books
A division of Pelican Ventures LLC
PO Box 1738
Aztec NM 87410
http://www.harbourlightbooks.com
lisadawn@harbourlightbooks.com

Pelican Ventures offers new opportunities in Inspirational fiction through Harbourlight Books.

Aztec, NM –July 27, 2010 – Nicola Martinez, founder of Pelican Ventures, LLC, a New Mexico media company, announced today that the company has launched a new publishing venture. Harbourlight Books will publish Christian fiction that ranges in length from 25,000 words to 80,000. This announcement comes just nine months after the company acquired White Rose Publishing, a Christian romance publisher of electronic and print titles.

Harbourlight Books seeks to publish all genre of Christian fiction, Martinez said. “Everything but romance.” Martinez said. “Romance will still be handled exclusively by White Rose Publishing.” According to Martinez, there is a need for the expansion of eBook availability within the Christian fiction community. Harbourlight Books will fill that niche, bringing general Christian fiction to the eBook arena where White Rose Publishing fills the gap on the romance side. The popularity of eBooks is on the rise as “…evidenced by the recent Amazon press release that announced eBooks for Kindle outsold hardbacks,” Martinez said. In addition to electronic books, Harbourlight will publish print editions of novels. Submission guidelines are available on the Harbourlight Books website.

Harbourlight Books is dedicated to providing quality inspirational fiction that adheres to mainline Christian teachings. Currently Harbourlight Books is accepting unagented submissions for short stories and novels that are already complete. The company launch its first release in 2011.

Harbourlight Books titles will be available for purchase directly from the Harbourlight Books website and through various retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others. Bookstores wishing to stock Harbourlight titles may contact the publisher directly, or use Ingram Distributing. Titles will also be available to retailers and at several public libraries as electronic downloads through OverDrive Media.

For information: http://www.harbourlightbooks.com or
Contact: lisadawn@harbourlight.com

Christian & Moses

Right after the 4th of July, we found a kitten at the church. No one claimed him so Richard and I brought him home. We took care of his medical needs, and had him neutered. The vet said he was 8 weeks old. We named him Christian since we found him at the church.

Saturday, I was running my laps when I heard meowing. I thought it was Emmy, chased up a tree by the neighbor's dog. I walked over and it wasn't Emmy. It was a small black kitten, aproximately 6 weeks old. He will be going to the vet shortly. We have named him Moses, simply because our daughter wanted to name him that.

Here there are sleeping together in the cat bed.



Needless to say, I am all scratched up as the kittens like hooking onto the tail of my shirt and scaling my body like Everest. Both kits are not afraid of dogs or cats at all.

The guys now outnumber the girls in this house...

Two Books at White Rose Publishing

Release Day Special offer! Purchase In His Sight by Pamela S. Thibodeaux--The latest release from White Rose Publishing--and receive a FREE .pdf of THE INHERITANCE. Purchases must be made on 23 July 2010 to be eligible, so hurry before time runs out!

Order both books here - White Rose Publishing





RODEO REDEMPTION was released last Friday and I meant to shout to the world it had arrived. Go here to order it from my publisher - White Rose Publishing

FAITH - Book Trailer

A friend made a video book trailer for FAITH, my book available now at White Rose Publishing.




Contact lawrence.miller@live.com for information and prices to develop your own book trailer.

Special Offer at My Publisher!

Release Day Special offer! Purchase any edition of A Time for Healing, White Rose Publishing’s latest release, and receive a $5 WRP Gift Certificate FREE. Purchases must be made on 9 July 2010 to be eligible, so hurry before time runs out!

A Time For Healing

New From White Rose Publishing

A Time For Healing by Tamelia Tumlin

As an active church member, Jaci Sinclair believes the Christian message that forgiveness is open to all…all except her, that is. Years ago, Jaci made a life-changing mistake, and now she’s sure she doesn’t deserve the one thing she wants the most—a family of her own. But when Hunter Grant walks into her life, her world is turned upside-down. Not only does he make her desire a family even more, he shines a lamp on the one thing she refuses to see.

Ex-FBI hostage negotiator, Hunter Grant, has lost the one thing he treasured the most—his family. Filled with bitterness and anger towards God, Hunter vows never to let anyone close to him again. He moves to Yellow Rose, Texas, trying to forget the tragic deaths of his wife and son—deaths he should have prevented. Wanting to lose himself in the sleepy little town, he is not prepared for the powerful feelings Jaci stirs within him.

As Jaci’s and Hunter’s worlds collide, neither is prepared to face the demons that haunt their pasts and hinder their future together, but for everything there is a season…even a time for healing.

Reviews of my book, FAITH

Got Romance! Reviews

Title: Faith
Author: Merry K. Stahel
Publisher: White Rose Publishing
Publication Date: 2010
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 29 pages
Buy Link
Rating: 5 Diamonds
Heat Level: Sweet
Reviewer: Starla Kaye
Date: 4-17-10

Afraid of losing the only person left who loves her, Faith follows her widowed mother-in-law to a new home. But God has plans for Faith...plans that include a new love, hope, and a future. Can Faith open her bruised and hurting heart to allow a loving God and a loving man back in?

What a wonderful modernization of the story of Ruth! All of the characters are well-developed and the storyline tender and loving.

Faith lost the man she believed to be the one love of her life and struggled with getting past the pain and with trusting in God right after the accident. But God didn’t give up on her for hurting and for blocking him out for a short time. He was patient with her and loved her enough to help her heal. His stand beside her helped her find a way out of what had happened, and guided her to find another special man.

Ben was a wonderfully, caring man. He believed in God and saw the uniqueness, the warmness of the young widowed wife of his cousin. Watching their relationship develop was touching. I especially liked Ben’s thoughts of “tell God thanks. Thanks for guiding Faith to us. I will love her and cherish her, your gift to me, my gift to you.”

This was a very short read, but well worth the time.

Sweetly Reviewed

Story: 9.5
Presentation: 9.5
Total: 19
Publisher: White Rose Publishing
Inspirational Romance
To Purchase

Blurb: Afraid of losing the only person left who loves her, Faith follows her widowed mother-in-law to a new home. But God has plans for Faith...plans that include a new love, hope, and a future. Can Faith open her bruised and hurting heart to allow a loving God and a loving man back in?

Review: Every so often I get the pleasure of reviewing a story that is so powerful, so well written and so wonderful that I am in awe when it is over. This is one of those.

With emotion so powerful and raw that it left me gasping. I was able to connect, to feel, to experience this passionate tale of love, moving on and taking another chance on happiness and love. Ahhh. Yes Ms Stahel has done a wonderful job and I have full intents on see her name on may more stories on my computer screen for a long time to come. ~ Posted by romancereader at 9:46 AM

CK2's Kwips And Kritiques

FAITH
Merry K. Stahel
ISBN: None Assigned
March 2010
White Rose Publishing
Short Inspirational Fiction/Contemporary Romance
eBook

Faith is still dealing with the loss of her husband, her brother-in-law and her father-in-law when she finds out that her mother-in-law, Dulcie, plans to move back to her hometown in Colorado. Faith, an orphan, clings to Dulcie as her only remaining family and begs to come along. Once there, they can both seek a new beginning as they work to discover how to live without their beloved husbands.

Faith is a creative retelling in a contemporary setting of the ancient Book of Ruth in the Bible. Even though we suspect how the story will unfold, Stahel’s delightful characterizations of Faith, Dulcie and Ben engage and enchant the reader who finds herself equally enthralled with the contemporary love story just as she was the ancient one between Ruth and Boaz.

The short format of Faith limits the time that we have with Ben and Faith, and I, for one, was not ready to let them go even though we were allowed a brief peek at the promise of their future happiness through the Epilogue. I also wish we had more time with Dulcie. Such a strong, loving lady deserves her whole story to be explored as well. Excellent story. I’ll be watching for more from this author in the future.

Helping out a friend...

My friend, Jean, has written a book:



The Dandelion Journal - Coming of age in foster homes, with no adult mentors to guide and teach, a young girl attempts to make sense of life, love, God, and relationships. Filled with heartfelt truths and humor, the journey resonates with candor and the observations of a teenager who struggles with today's social boundaries.

This Is The Day That The Lord Has Made...

Today, I got notification from a friend that I'd sold a short story! She subscribes to a magazine and saw my byline. Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, while I was chatting with said friend on IM, I got an email notification and discovered I'd sold ANOTHER short story!

Between last week's book and this weeks two stories - I feel very blessed by God.

My Newest BOOK!

Afraid of losing the only person left who loves her, Faith follows her widowed mother-in-law to a new home. But God has plans for Faith...plans that include a new love, hope, and a future. Can Faith open her bruised and hurting heart to allow a loving God and a loving man back in?



Download this Christian Inspirational romance at White Rose Publishing

The Old Testament Bible story of Ruth is one of unconditional love. Nearly everyone who has ever been in church can recite Ruth’s most famous declaration: For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God…” I modernized the story, but tried to leave as much allegory in as possible. If you read the four short chapters of Ruth, you will find the outline of her faith and love in that book of the Bible. I hope you have fun reading to see how many points I modernized and touched on in my version of Ruth’s stunning portrayal of unconditional love, and God’s redemption and reward.

Gifts By Becky

Becky has finally started selling her wonderful creations. Please stop by to look!

http://thepersonaltouchbybecky.blogspot.com/

Here's a sample of her work - my Rock Nativity:



P.S. If it doesn't show up, try again in a few days. Its a new blog and may not be in the Search engine yet.

The new woodburning cookstove

I decorated the new mantel for Christmas. The kids say I should leave the lights and garland up...maybe.

Quilting & Crafts

I've been busy this month. My neighbor made a painted rock Nativity for me which is gorgeous.



In return, I made her a tablerunner and coasters to match her kitchen/dining room.



Becky's Tablerunner and Coasters.

I also made quilts for my sister's twin grandsons. The twins have a 7 year old sister who helped make the quilt by drawing the pictures. My sister then embroidered the pictures onto squares of fabric. I pieced the squares to a flannel fabric and back. The babies should be snug and warm this winter.



Tristan's Quilt



Sam's Quilt

And since the sewing machine was out, I made my daughter a new terrycloth pillow case and repaired my Mom's antique tatted reticule that Becky and I bought for her birthday.

I sense more sewing in my future - there are still quilts to make and careful repairs needing made on some antique textiles I acquired from various places.

December 12, 2009

Hubby's mother, Alma Theresa, passed away quietly in her sleep in the early morning of December 12, 2009. She will be missed by our entire family.

Halloween & Beyond...

Echo wanted to be a French maid for Halloween, Flint wanted to be a shark. Emmy the cat was King Tut.





We've been working on landscaping for the last month. The weather has been really nice, as high as the 70s during the day. Hubby has cut down the dead trees and we're now burning our own wood in the wood stove. The only cooking I've tried was a pot of beans and they turned out great.

Family will be here for Thanksgiving, so I expect next week to be fun, hectic and noisy. LOL.

Life is good...

Its been a while since I posted, we got busy during the summer with a variety of tasks and the kids. :)

We've now settled into a routine (well, as routine as you can get with kids).

The Hubster and I have become involved in a local church. I am now on a rotating schedule as a worship leader, we both teach adult Bible classes (I teach a Monday night ladies class, he teaches a Sunday class). We also are actively involved on our community outreach children's Bible class on Wednesday nights. He does a PowerPoint presentation every Sunday morning, too, with announcements of our church's local events and missions.

The 10-year-old niece is delighting in piano and voice lessons and plays trumpet in the school band. Or will, when she masters it! Trumpet practice was banished to the back deck for a while...but now that its cold, she's practicing in the laundry room, the furthest away we could get! LOL

The eight-year-old nephew is thrilled to be riding a bike, at last. We bicycle down to Grandpa's almost daily (except when its rainy) to show off our skills. They've had fun visiting local sights - the corn maze a local farmer set up was a huge hit. Both kids are doing well in school, with decent grades and developing friendships.

My brother and sister-in-law are wrapping up their affairs in another state, divesting themselves of household goods, selling the car and property, giving notice to their jobs, and preparing to move here to be with their kids.

Hubby and I have been involved in a variety of projects, including more landscaping and attacking the dreaded garage cleanup! We decided we needed backup heat after the ice storms of last year left us without power for a few days. So here's one of the projects that kept us busy.



The mantel is not installed yet, it is being finished off-site. We've had 3-4 fires in it to burn off the temporary protective sealants inside. It does exactly as advertised. We're toasty warm in a 1500 sq. ft. house. The stove has two burners, so I will be practicing cast iron and dutch oven cooking on it. Should be interesting.

BTW, look carefully at the photo. Emmy The Cat blends into the rock wall VERY WELL.

My new book will be out October 9, 2009!

This e-book is downloadable at:

https://www.whiterosepublishing.com/


Hannah didn’t expect to be raising her mother’s surrogate child. But Baby Seth’s parents also died and he has no one else. Until Uncle Aaron shows up, demanding that Hannah give up her half-brother to HIS family, since genetically, Seth is their son. Can the love of one tiny baby unite two families?

I'm getting old...

Richard and I received a gift last month. Two, actually. Here they are:



These are my brother's children, who will be staying with us for the summer. Don't be deceived by their apparent quiet time while playing a computer game.

So far, they've planted a garden, fed the birds and deer, played in the hammock, watched the bald eagle babies through a telescope, silly-stringed the yard with Grandpa, driven a tractor towing a "magic carpet," charcoaled marshmallows, played with two puppies, hunted for pretty rocks and fossils, found a spearpoint, swam in the lake, swam with the neighbors, gone to church, gone fishing, gone canoeing, gone to a wedding and a couple showers (wedding and baby), swam in the stock tank (daily), shopped, bugged Grandpa, are learning to ride bikes, made paper airplanes, learned to play a cutthroat game of dominoes (Mexican Train), bugged Grandma, and completely exhausted Uncle Richard and Aunt Merry.

Its been 20 years since I had kids this young. The good news is, I fall into bed every night and go straight to sleep. The bad news is, I fall into bed every night and go straight to sleep. LOL

We're having a blast.

YouTube Stopped Working!

Nothing annoys me more than when my computer decides to develop a mind of its own and quit working the way I want it to.

A few nights ago, I needed to be in a chat related to work. Had to download Java to get in there and change some advanced settings. Okay. Got to chat, worked fine.

Then I went off to YouTube to check for music for church (when I don't know the song, I go find it on YouTube and listen). YouTube had stopped working! ARGHHH.

I did all the usual fixes - reinstalled Java and Flashplayer, cleaned the registry, defragged, changed the advance settings back to what they were, yadda, yadda. I searched high and low on the Internet for answers. Lots of advice out there, none of it worked.

Computer had an appointment with the Computer doc for Monday.

I was at the end of my rope searching for an answer. Once again, I clicked on Tools to go look at my Internet Options...and my gaze fell on something called MANAGE ADD-ONS. I clicked on it. There was another little menu, ENABLE OR DISABLE ADD-ONS.

Nah. Can't be that easy. No way. Both FlashPlayer and Java are add-ons. Can't be that easy.

Yes, it was. Flashplayer had been disabled, as well as FlashPlayer Shockwave. So I enabled them.

And YouTube now works.

Sigh. Sometimes the answer is literally staring you in the face.

Spring is almost here...

The dogs and Emmy the day of the thunderstorm, snuggling on the bed (the only time they're allowed on the bed, now).

With the warming weather, the animals are making themselves known. On the way home from church, I see deer in my headlights, possums and the occasional feral cat. Hubby and I spotted a gray fox and her kit right in our yard Sunday night. The rabbits that have been nibbling my grass are probably prey, now.

This evening I was out on our back porch and heard two A-10 aircraft go overhead. I looked to see them precision flying close to each other. Right underneath them, many miles away, but framed by the A-10s, was an eagle! It was a perfect shot. Naturally I didn't have a camera. Sigh.

Richard and I ahve been busy lately, but we hope to get a garden going at some point.

Its been awhile...

I've been really busy this past two months, getting more involved in church, pursuing my own hobbies and doing a little, (very little) reorganizing around the house. We still have things to finish, but the cold weather pretty much blocked our efforts until we work out some things. We want to put a wood stove in the garage so Richard can work out there in all weather if he chooses.

We also need a wood stove in the house. The power outage of two days showed us with striking clarity that backup heat truly is a must. We spent the first day here at the house because the temp stayed well above 60 degrees, due to the good insulation. However, the second day dropped to the 40s, so we now know that another source of heat not dependent on electricity is necessary. We meant to get a stove last year, but simply put it off.

We've been feeding the birds and enjoying all the antics as they slowly come to trust the food supply. We have nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays and a pileated woodpecker, so far. Also some little brown birds, probably phoebes or sparrows.

The squirrels also love the bird feeder and Echo loves chasing them off. The squirrels know she can't catch them and won't go up the nearest tree. They go off into the woods to give her a run for her treat. Its cute to watch, because at least twice now, I've seen a squirrel stop at a tree, make sure she's still running after it, and then it takes off for another tree. They aren't threatened and Echo loves her "job."

Beyond that, I've simply been trying out new recipes, playing with some old ones, and enjoying the buffalo meat, now that we've found a local source (well, within 50 miles, anyway).

Richard has been playing with dutch oven cooking - he makes a pretty good chicken pot pie which we both truly love.

I'm glad Spring is springing - I am so ready for some action around here - we're hoping to get a garden in this year, but we're complete novices beyond the little "city garden" we had in PA for a few years. We have to clear land, get rid of stumps, build some raised beds and then bring in soil since ours is eroded down off the ridge.

Its should be an interesting Spring and summer.

Poor Emmy...

So our main goal at Echo Ridge was to catch Emmy in the process of scratching the wall so we could deter her little beastie tendencies. I figured squirting water on her would do the trick.

This morning, she leisurely walked over and began tearing up the wall. I got her with the water and she shook it off, then continued her destruction. So I got her again. She shook it off and went right back to scratching!

I was holding a towel in my hand so I wound it up and snapped her with it, then gave a banshee shriek, "NO!" while stomping towards her.

Poor Emmy went straight up in the air, took off like...well...like anyone who's been snapped by a towel takes off and skidded to a stop half under Richard's desk, all big-eyed and hackled up.

Now, whenever I walk out of that bathroom, if she's standing anywhere in a 5 foot vicinity, she runs like all the hounds of hell are after her.

However, my wall is now being left alone. We went to church this morning and came back, no tell-tale drywall on the floor at all.

Poor Emmy. (snicker).

Good Dog! Bad Cat!

The dogs are pretty much out of puppy stage, although they occasionally go a round just for fun. But usually, they enjoy being together and get along just fine.



Here, they share the office bed. Echo even groomed Flint for a while, before they both nodded off.



Why is Emmy peeking around this corner with big eyes?



Because she did THIS to the wall, while we were busy. BAD CAT!

We're just hoping we still have some of that paint left. Spackle is on the grocery list already. BAD CAT!

Long time, no see...

We took off to see my sister and spent time out at the ranch to watch Katie ride. Richard snapped this shot of me hanging on the gate, watching Katie work with her new 4-H colt. For some reason, I don't have any pictures of the colt!



Hanging on the gate.

The winter weather has seriously curtailed our work around the house. Richard did get some clearing done and he burned a lot of brush, too. The loggers down the road told the locals that we could take the scrap wood when they finished. A bunch of us did so, and pretty much cleaned up the site for them! Richard chopped all the wood to woodpile size. What's funny about this is that we don't have any woodburning stoves! We plan to get one for the house and the garage in the future.

It snowed yesterday, but temps for the next week will probably melt it quick.

Flint is doing well, he took the 4 week program of Adequan shots (liquid glucosomine) and is doing remarkably better. He will always walk with a limp because of the surgery, but he is perky, happy and willing to explore, even in the cold. I'd recommend this treatment for any dog with hip dysplasia, arthritis or joint issues. The initial treatment is 8 shots over a four week period, and then if necessary, maintenance shots after that. Some dogs never need the maintenance shots, some need them monthly, some need them yearly, just depends on the dog. Flint now walks easily, even in our two mile hike to the bridge daily. Before, he ran out, did his business, and wanted back in immediately. Now, because he feels better, he is happy to explore the yard, wander around and enjoy the outside again.

Echo and Emmy have a guarded truce. As long as Emmy doesn't try to attack and gnaw on Echo's paws, Emmy can sleep next to Echo. When she starts playing, Echo gets up to leave. LOL

Life is good.