Off to Idaho

I am packed and ready to leave on Sunday to visit my son and family. I expect to be at least a week, maybe more. I just wish our weather would cooperate. It is snowing off and on and very cold so I don't know what to expect over the big mountains getting there. But this is something I have been waiting to do so my older sister is coming up from California and we will drive over from here. It will take about six hours so not a bad stretch at all. I will be taking Onyx with because she cannot stay home all day with no one to talk to her.

Besides she got this cute little dress she wants to show off to her gramma she will be seeing for the first time. Isn't she cute? I love having a little dog to dress up and she does not mind wearing anything I get her. This one is a little on the snug side so its time to go up a size. She started out the size of my palm when we bought her and she now weighs 7 pounds.  She is 1 yr 3mo old.

Her bags are packed with her dress, coat, kibble, chews and toys that she has so elegantly been putting into her crate she sleeps in. This will be her third long vacation trip. She travels very well and enjoys being with people.

So we will share our pics when we get back so everyone can see what a good time we had.

Makeover Time

Please forgive me, this may take me a while to figure out. I just changed over to a 3 column so now need to figure out how to put it together right. I will be working on this as I go. Learning something new, could take me awhile. Keep checking back and hopefully it won't be too long a process.

Nature Book Find

I went to our local Hospice thrift store and as soon as I walked in the door I spotted this great journal for $3. It has a tag on it that it is a Fair Trade book made of twigs, leaves and recycled paper handcrafted in Indonesia. It also says the family that made this collects the leaves, twigs and dried fruit from their garden to create the cover and make the recycled paper in their kitchen blender. They live in a village of Tegallalong, Bali. This is so intricately put together, I cannot even imagine how many hours they must have put into making such a piece. The pages are so soft and delicate they almost feel like silk.

To get the history of where it came from and how people elsewhere make their living and how much work they put into this book with their very own hands makes this ever so special to me. I may not be able to travel to see how other people live but this sure makes me feel like I'm right beside them watching them work. One can daydream, right?  I think I may have to put some nature onto the pages of this book. I have some pressed dried flowers from last summer I think I will place in this journal and see what other things of nature I can find to fill these beautiful pages. I will just have to take a nice walk about the property today. I usually find a bluebird's egg or moss, something I know will be appropriate for my new little book.

Girls Day of Pampering

Eight of us Farmgirls got together at Faith's house for some well needed pampering. Her home was so beautifully set up for the occassion. There were candles lit up everywhere and tables set up for the individual facial area, foot area and hand waxing area, and it was really a pleasant atmosphere for a spa treatment.We each brought a dish of their chosing and had a beautiful buffet of foods. There were fruit tarts, and a variety of chicken and cucumber sandwichs, rollups, cheese, grapes, pears, meatballs, lemon bars, and many other foods, so many different delicious tastes your tastebuds went nuts. We had wine and lemonade, coffee and tea for beverages and nothing went untouched.

 We all ate what we could but there was so much food everyone got to take home a variety of leftovers. We began our pampering with a nice foot bath in a lavender oil and a wonderful creme to put on your feet when you were done. Then some of us did different types of facials for our skin types and Julie said that hers made her look younger. What do you think? I'd say more like a zombie. lol We had cleansers and moisturizers and firming

lotions, then went on to hand wax in a lavender which was wonderful. Made your hands feel like silk. The bags you put on your hands were the fashion of the hour. We had such a great time visiting and giggling and really treating ourselves to a nice relaxing day of pampering ourselves.  I could'nt have thought of a better way than to spend my Saturday with all my farmgirl friends. It was truely a lot of fun.

What A View

Went out riding again last Sunday up to the top of what they call Lions Head near Medicine Lake. This is the view out from the near top of the mountain where we sat and had some lunch and took in the sites.  Isn't it beautiful?

The weather was 55 degrees and sunshine and the snow was perfect. A soft powder as we were the first to get out on the trails. We had a couple of nice snows from the weekend before and all tracks where we were had been covered up. You could'nt have asked for a more perfect ride.

The top of this mountain is all lava rocks so I did'nt ride around much on top. Just took in the view and breathed in the great fresh air. It was'nt long before we had a lot more riders out on the snow enjoying this great day. This was probably my last ride for this year as I have some trips planned and if this weather keeps warming up the snow will start melting away. I do not like riding where you have to cross some dirt to get to the snow areas. Not fun. So I will look at these pics and think of what I may see next winter. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Blog Giveaway Winner Is.........

Ooh, I've be giddy waiting to see who's name would be drawn for my St. Patrick's Day giveaway. And the winner is.........kpaints (Karen). Congrats! I want to say thank you to everyone who participated in my first giveaway. This was so much fun.

Wishing you all the Luck of the Irish, and don't forget to wear green.

Spring Cleaning

Have you ever watched the show about the people who are hoarders? Well I just watched two episodes of it last night and after seeing how these people lived I had to rid my home of lots of extra stuff. I would never let myself get anywhere close to what these people have done, but I'm not going to keep hanging on to stuff that never or rarely gets worn, used or seen.

Living in this small house can become cluttered looking pretty easy. So today I have spent the entire morning going through closets, bookshelves and drawers eliminating so much crap. I am loading the back of the pickup up as I fill a container or box. Tomorrow it all goes to the Mission where someone else can get some use out of it.

Now if I only had a body that would cooperate more I would be cleaning out the outside sheds as well. That I guess will have to wait for another day. Two large trash bags went up to the trash trailer that when full will be hauled to the dump. I really do like Spring cleaning as it makes everything feel so much lighter, cleaner and fresher.  Now if I would quit thrifing and bringing home more stuff, naw..... that won't be happening any time soon. How does the saying go, "out with the old, in with the new", at least it's new to me.

Time to go out and get some of this wonderful sunshine today before it leaves me. We are suppose to get more snow tomorrow and I will not feel like spring cleaning then. Then I know I will come back in and find more stuff that needs cleaned or gone.

Sunshine and 55 degrees

Hubby and I went out snowmobiling yesterday with some friends of ours and boy what a great riding day. The sun was out and it was nice and warm, almost 55. On top of that the snow was great! When you stepped off your sled you could sink almost to your knees in places. We rode all around Medicine Lake and around the lava beds. It was so pretty everywhere we rode. The snow on some of the trees was so thick and heavy, it felt like I was in wonderland.

Believe it or not, the snow piled up in the background is on top of a cabin which is out near the lake. We stopped and had lunch and just enjoyed all the beautiful sites. The only way anyone could stay out here in winter would be to snowmobile out across the lake and then they would have to do an awful lot of shoveling just to get to their front door.

That small dot up on hill is my hubby playing around. I just sit back and watch because I'm not brave enough to try it. I just do the easy riding and site seeing.  I've braved a few small hills, but I am definetly not the first to go out and explore it. No, here I am the one who will gladly sit back and watch everyone else and I'm really very content in doing so.

Now when there is a nice open space, then I enjoy going as fast as I can. Yesterday I had that opportunity and I'm speeding out across a  huge open meadow and all of a sudden there is a guy racing beside me on both sides. That was fun. But they were braver and went much faster.

Had a great day out in God's country with good friends and chocolate cake to boot. I did have to wash it down with a nice wine cooler though. Yum!

OMG..........it's gotta be a giveaway

I am blown away by how many have read my blog. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enjoy doing this and reading some of your blogs and coming into your homes and lives.  It's like reading a new book every day. So to thank those of you who look in on me from time to time I thought it would be nice to do a giveaway. I will put together a gift basket and will draw a name on St. Patrick's Day. So beginning today all you need to do is leave me a comment and your name will go into the drawing.
Thank you all for stopping by and good luck!