Storm's a comin', so I'm baking cookies

It rained , off and on, all night. Nothing ominous or foreboding , just a reminder that the seasons change and life keeps going forward. I woke up a couple of times listening to the soft, wonderful sound of the dry earth passionately embracing and accepting the life-giving moisture. There are few sounds so wonderful as rain here in the foothills. Summer is finally over...
In the morning I took the dogs out for their first run of the day. They love to go outside early in the morning and make the rounds of the front yard, smelling everything and leaving their own liquid scent everywhere.
The rain magnifies all the aromas of 3 Dog Farm. It's a combination of trees, bushes, someones wood fire, and the leaves that cover the walkway. It's the familiar and welcome breath of Autumn.
After breakfast I baked Snickerdoodles...

I love to bake these sugary, cinnamony cookies on a cold day. It fills the house with a wonderful aroma and the Prospector loves them. He will say..." Are these for us?" and I will say "Yes, just for us." and there will be , smiles all around and a few of them missing from the plate.
The prospector had been down at his Mother's for a couple of days. It was my turn to hold down the "fort". He came home a few hours ago. His Mom is doing much better. She is getting lots of therapy and hopefully, this will all work toward getting her back home soon. A broken hip at 89 years of age is tough. We are hoping for the best recovery. It will be a hard one, but this is a tough woman and if anyone can recover from this, she can. I have to admire this generation that is slowly leaving us. They make no excuses, they do what they have to do and when life gets difficult they persevere. It's a lesson I pay attention to.
Violetta ( that's my mother-in laws lovely name.)  told me something once.  I was pregnant with my first child and getting close to the delivery. I was not ready to have this baby and I was scared. I said something about my fear to Vi and she said...." You don't have a choice my dear. You just have to get through it. It will be OK. You have your Mom and you have me. We will be there to help you.  The baby will come and there is no other choice."  I think we say there are no other "options." now.  I still did a fair amount of whining about all of this, but I did a lot of growing up that year. I was much better prepared five years later.
Now I have two wonderful sons that rarely complain about anything. When they did, as children, and Grandma Vi was around she would give them the "look" and say... " to the moon". They knew what she meant. They had an understanding with her. There was no other "option" but to behave. Maybe we all learned something from her.
Vi was tough and with some things she was right. Sometimes you just have to put one foot in front of the other and move ahead. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and there are no "options". If there are other choices then take one, but don't whine about it. Just do it.
I love this woman for this lesson in life and the kindness she has always showed me. Between my wonderful, loving and giving mother and my practical, no-nonsense mother in law... I was covered. I guess you could say I was blessed.
It's like knitting or following a recipe. If you want good results you have to read the directions, follow all the steps to the end and pay attention.
Enough ... There is a storm moving in. Tomorrow will be a wet day. I need to think about dinner and finish the washcloth I'm knitting.... but first I think I'll go have a cookie....

Being Home and Catching Up

I finally feel like I'm getting some things done around here. Even though I haven't unpacked everything from my last trip, I feeling like I can take a deep breath and let that small place inside of me (that gets in a knot once in a while) quiet down and settle into this place I call "home".
First of all, before I become an ingrate in Susabella's eyes I want to thank her for the beautiful pearl earrings that I won. She had a giveaway on her great blog Susabella's Creative Pursuits...., and I won..., just by leaving a comment and being one of the names in the drawing. As you can see, Sue, I thought your idea of taking a photograph of the earrings hooked onto a crystal glass was really a cool way to show them off. So I stole your idea and did the same thing with my beautiful new earrings. Thank you so much. I think they're just lovely and I will wear them often.


















The Pupster is wiped out from his first day at Puppy School. He was so good and did everything he was suppose to. They said that he is a very mellow little guy "...for a Corgi". What ever do they mean? Of course he is. We have only the BEST and most wonderful dogs here on 3 Dog Farm.











Wednesday evening I went out with Carl and Maggie to let them do their rounds and leave their marks. A big storm had blown through just minutes before and I thought that this lull in the rain was our opportunity to get some exercise.
This was what greeted us.....
Sometimes I just have to stand in awe of Nature's gifts. I understand the science of this, but I can see why some people look at a rainbow and see God's reassurance . There is a beauty and light to it that speaks of a promise that there will be no more "rain" in life, but I know that there is far more to it. As long as I'm here there will be rain, lightening and thunder. It's always in our lives, sometimes even on a clear day. I think the trick is to look for the storms passing, to honor that light in between, that ray of color stretching across the sky and know that each "storm" brings life to this earth and lessons. Lessons of seeing what is..., lessons of understanding and strength. I only have to open the door and stand on the edge of the precipice .., I only have to be still and listen.