Busy Day Post

Wouldn't life be worth the living?

Wouldn't dreams be coming true?

If we kept the Christmas spirit

All the whole year through?

~Author Unknown~

Wordless Wednesday: Frozen Flowers, California Snowlady and Sunlit Fig Leaves

(Please click on photo for close up. Who sees Carl behind the Mexican Sage?)

Frosting On the Cake

Some mornings you wake up and wonder what you did to deserve such a beautiful day. Yesterday morning was one of those days. I must first remind you that this is California; California below 1200 ft. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains get a dusting of snow maybe once a year in the winter and if we're lucky, the snow lasts for a few hours until the sun come up.
Now, to all my blogging friends out there who live in the Northern US, please forgive my childlike excitement and blatant, enthusiasm but...., It snowed yesterday and I took almost 300 photos of this place..., and Oh my gosh it was beautiful...., and I was here to see it..., and I only came inside to eat and get warm..., and I built a snowman, a real snowman...., and the dogs ran around with me..., and look how BEAUTIFUL IT ALL IS.

Except for the Heavenly Bamboo berries, all these photos were taken during the storm in the morning. Later, when there was more light, I took this close-up of these berries because they looked like ornaments out there. Against the snow they glittered like a red string of lights.

I don't know what it is about snow. This is what I consider one of the "gifts" in my life. I want to be out in it...., walking, by myself..., feeling the cold and listening to the QUIET. I know that it can be deadly. I know that we couldn't drive down the road to town and have gotten back up to the house easily yesterday. I know, now, after the power went off all day, that we would need a wood stove and a decent gas generator to survive this weather longer than a day. And I know that we are at the age where living in this kind of weather all Winter would be much harder than we can imagine but.... look at this. A birthday present I didn't expect. A wonderful coat of Mother Nature's silent rain. The picture postcard of my dreams right here at 3 Dog Farm.

The animals all did quite well. Maggie wasn't sure at first but then she got into it. She enjoyed following me around, trying to find any good smelling stuff under the snow that she could eat. Carl acted like he was born in "snow country". He took to the whole thing as if it was just another day. He has been off his leash since the last Rattler crawled back into it's hole for the Winter, so he was running, flat out, all over the yard, playing in and eating the snow. Since he is such a low rider, we had to dry him off from top to bottom every time he came in.
The goats were not as happy about all of this as the dogs. They didn't like the numbing cold, the frozen water in their buckets or the fact that I was running around like a crazy lady taking pictures. Brownie was no where to be seen. Annibel was in the garage trying to stay warm and the chickens were inside their house and not saying a word.
Please indulge me for the next few days. There will be more pictures. This is a major event in my life. Each time that it has snowed in the last few years I was gone, down in the Bay Area. This time I was home and, not only did it snow for most of the day but it's so cold that the snow is still all over the area this morning. Which gives me an opportunity to go outside and play some more.

I have found my "inner child" and I'm indulging her. I know this makes no sense to people who live with snow all Winter and I can see that 5 or more feet of this would bring life to a halt for a while. But just give me one Winter. I want to live in.., oh.., maybe Montana, for one Winter. I could go over the mountains to Nevada. I could just go up to Lake Tahoe. Just once..., for one Winter...

But yesterday, for a few hours, I was living in snow country. Now, excuse me while I go outside and play. The sun is shinning, the snow is all around us on the hills and I have MORE pictures to take....
(Please remember to click on these photos to see them close up.)

The Enlightened Heart- with thanks.

I didn't realize that this little book had traveled with me for so long. My oldest son gave it to me for my birthday in 1989, the year that I found out that the cancer I had fought so hard to eradicate was still in my body and had returned to mess with me again. The struggle to rid myself of breast cancer at 39 years of age had come once more, five years later and I faced even more therapies and decisions. It was not a good year.

...and then as the year came to a close, my son, who was going to college then, sent me this book. It was a lifeline. A beautiful, inspiring volume of words written by some of my favorite poets and filled with a way of thinking that helped me survive another year of living dangerously. Each page was a candle of light to guide me through a dark and scary passageway.
Now, it is filled with torn pieces of paper marking my favorite poems and old photos that for different reasons needed to be side by side with certain words and phrases. This small book has developed character and each poem has become a life companion.

Many things have happen in the last twenty years. People have come and gone from my life. But death has taken on a different meaning since then. It's not the menacing, premature destroyer that was going to take my life so many years ago. Now, it will be the final kindness. The secret that answers itself and the chance to widen the circle of my knowledge.
Chuang-tzu wrote, " When we understand, we are at the center of the circle, and there we sit while YES and NO chase each other around the circumference" . If you question at all the ideas of this world this last statement really hits home.
I prefer to think that it's about that HOLY GHOST, of which Mr. Gerard Manley Hopkins writes
" Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs....
because the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods....
with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. "

Thanks, my son, for this gift of hope when I needed it most. Thanks for your beliefs and the person that you are. You make a difference to everyone around you. You and your brother(the poet who will write his own book someday) are my true joy and happiness in this life.

Quotes and Thoughts on the Big Day

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~C. Davis~

I believe this. That is why I went to get a pedicure last week and decided to have the lady do my toes in black polish. Well, it's black in a very "dark red" sort of way. But it looks black and I love it.
This morning I stayed in my p.j.'s, had a second cup of coffee and read my new Romantic Home Magazine cover to cover, as I admired my new pedicure.

They say that age is all in your mind. The trick is keeping it from creeping down into your body.~author unknown~

Saturday night the Prospector and I went to the Golddiggers Annual Christmas dinner in Stockton. One of those few times that we go somewhere at night and stay up late. I wore my new shoes. For Farmlady this was quite a fancy occasion. The nail polish was just beautiful and sparkled through the nylon stockings. I wore my fancy jeans and won the 50-50 drawing of about $100.00 . Actually, my husband had given me his tickets and he was holding mine when they called the number. So technically.....
He gave me the money this morning in my birthday card.)What a guy!
When we got home we were so tired. Were did all my energy go? When did we get to old to dance all night?

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. ~Jennifer Yane~

Do my feet look that much different..., before the years of getting pedicures and before the scars of operations? When the arthritis and neuromas and neuropathy was just a minor annoyance. Does the nail polish really make these feet look better? I think that the polish is like a "Thank you" for all their hard work and the pain that they have gone through.
That's not an earthquake in that photo above. It's my "doubt" about the future and the uncertainty of old age. The nail polish will wear off and I will reapply it as long as I can, because it makes me face the challenges of getting old with a bit more sparkle and we can all use a bit more sparkle.

I'm 65 yrs old today. It's been a long year. But, I'm still here and have gratitude for the life I've been given. I have no wisdom to impart or advice to be given. It's just another day in the life of me...., and it's a good day.

Conversation With a Goat

"Hey Dude! How are you" What's that? Something's hanging from your horn."
"Don't go there Farmlady."
What? It's just leftovers from where they cut the rest of the horn. I can get my scissors and snip it off. It looks a little ragged."

"Will I have to go for a long ride again?"
"No Brownie, The scissors are in the house. It's not a big deal. I just think it would look better if I snip that leathery stuff off ."
"Easy for you to say. How do I know it won't hurt? How do I know you won't try to cut the rest of my horn off?"
" I wouldn't do that, Brownie. You worry too much. Don't you trust me?"
( No answer)
"OK lets just leave it alone. It's better than before. I'm sorry I mentioned it."

"Farmlady?"
"Brownie, I have to go feed the chickens and get started on cleaning the garage."
"Farmlady?"
"What Brownie?"
"Thank you for fixing my horn. I can see things better now."
"Your welcome sweetie. I know you didn't like going so far away from home. You were a good goat and we were proud of you."
"I know. I really tried to be brave."
"You were sweetie."
"Farmlady?"
"What is it Brownie?"
"Can I have some extra grain tonight?"
"Well, what about the other goats? They might not like that."
"They didn't have to have to go for a long ride and have to go to sleep and wake up without part of their horn."
"Brownie, they don't have horns."
"Oh,.., yea..., well, it was very hard. I think that I deserve something extra for being so brave."
" I will ask the Prospector about it but I don't think we can give you something extra and not give the others some too."
"But they didn't have to be BRAVE. I deserve extra."
" I said I will ask the Prospector. You can only have grain when you get your trace mineral stuff. Extra grain isn't really good for you."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
" Well, now ya know, Brownie. Maybe, later, when the other goats aren't around I will bring you a cookie. Just one. Just for you."
"Just for me"
"Yes , just for you."
"Farmlady?"
"What, big guy?"
"Can I have two cookies?"
" Oh, Brownie...."

A Poem

My sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane. R. Frost

The Big Beautiful Antique Chair

One day last year my sister and I went into an antique store in Lafayette, Ca. We were just looking around. Sis was looking for a drop leaf table for her art room. I was just looking. Then Sis spotted this chair....
I don't know if there can be "love at first sight" with a piece of furniture, but my sister set her sights on something across the room. I saw her move toward a corner filled with armoires, buffets and tables. There was a different look in her eyes. I had seen this look before. It was "furniture lust".
There is nothing rational about it..., nothing reasonable or explainable..., it's just plain old fashion desire for something that's drop dead gorgeous. When we were young and foolish it was a good looking guy, but now it's FURNITURE. Sad but true.

She was not leaving the store without this chair. It spoke to her. .., probably in French. It was saying "Buy me, you will never regret it. I will always make you happy." So she did and at a very good price. This is the most outrageously, over the top, elegant, well made, tapestry covered, carved chair I have ever seen. Look at it!
The fabric is in very good shape and the wood is beautiful. The seat has collapsed and needs to be braced, reconstructed underneath and re-filled with something. Other than the seat it's in excellent condition. I can't find anything like it on the Internet. It's one of a kind and it sits in a new corner; in my sister's bedroom in the condo in Pacifica. It's a love affair of the heart and it was meant to be.
Come..., sit...., have some tea and a brioche. It will make you feel like European royalty.

Go to Roomie's With a Past for other Past Due Tuesday posts that will delight your love of vintage and antique things.

Corraling the Clutter

This is what I have been doing all weekend. No blogging, no surfing the net and no whining about my messy house. I have been a busy bee and , with the help of my old Prospector, getting some furniture moved around.
I was in kind of a funk on Friday. That's what I call a small depression of the mind. I know from experience that the best thing I can do, when in a funky mood, is something physical. So, on the weekend, there was no blogging, or letting myself wallow in problems that have no solution at the moment or trying to find answers that haven't appeared yet. No! It was time to "get physical".

First we got the newly painted bookcase into the guestroom/craft room. Then we moved a few pieces of furniture, from other places in the house, into one location so that I can FIND everything without cruising the whole house for some lost container. At least this confines my madness to one room. I do still have to use the kitchen table for most artwork, so I will need a bigger table in this room.
There will be some shelves on the wall later and possibly another cabinet above the bookcase , if it ever gets painted. I have a table in the garage, also ,which needs to be painted. Will this ever end? I'm not willing to get rid of the bed so I can have the table under the window. But,this is where it should be and where it would have wonderful light and then I could put rolling storage bins underneath.
There are no photos of the other side of the room because..., well..., it's still a mess. But today is new day, folks.

My mother's beautiful buffet is in the house now. The top of it is still in the garage, in pieces, and waiting for a "rebirth of wonder" as Ferlinghetti would say. I call it sanding and staining. The Prospector calls it a lot of work. This is the "default" place for it right now, until I sell the piano( which I don't really want to do.). It may stay here for a while..., but it's in the house and safe. The black cabinet that was on that wall is in the guestroom now.
We moved a chest of drawers from the guest room to our bedroom. Now my husband has a more "masculine" corner; a place to sit and room for his socks and "stuff" (He has stuff too. I'm not the only collector around here). It looks much nicer than my old fufu dresser with the girly things on it but I do miss the mirror. We will have to work on that.
We moved the "gold" cabinet from the hallway into the bedroom. It looks a lot better than the old white hamper, don't you think?
Finally, after almost 13 years, things are falling into place..., sort of. Well, "falling into place" isn't quite the right figure of speech, but let's be kind about this, because soon they will have a syndrome with a special name for what it is that I suffer from. Something like the "clutter syndrome" or an "accumulation disorder". It will be as common as ADHD, and the cure will be to MOVE and take only half of everything with you. You have no idea how difficult that would be. Does anyone know if there is a twelve step program for this disability? I don't want an intervention..., so don't even drive up this mountain with a moving truck.



Now, for a little change of pace. Dinner Saturday night was mostly leftovers that were sent home with us from Thanksgiving but I made something else that I have to tell you about. ...
I have a childhood friend, who I found recently. Actually, she found me and it's a very long and wonderful story which I will tell you about in a separate post. Anyway, she sent me a recipe for TURKEY NECKS and you have got to try this. They are delicious. Here's what you do with them.

Boil the turkey necks for 1-1/2 hours in water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 tsp. poultry seasoning, slice of onion(size doesn't matter! just a chunk for flavoring),1 cut-up rib of celery. When done, remove and put in a roasting pan and baste with margarine (or, I prefer 3 Tablespoons of Olive oil & 1 Tablespoon of butter), salt lightly and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes on each side to brown and crisp a little.

That's it. I'm telling you..., these were so good with all the leftovers ( especially mashed potatoes) and tasted so much better than "white meat" turkey. This is going into my "really good" recipe folder for future fixings.

Well..., got to go. I've got more clutter removal to do this afternoon. This is so satisfying. My friend "C" would be proud of me. She has the beautiful, white, uncluttered, simple living apartment down in Sacramento that I so admire. I will never achieve what she has done because I'm such a "furniture person" and a hoarder, but she is my shinning example and that goal , that "ring" that I reach for on the merry-go-round of my cluttered life.

Cranberry Sauce and the Big Day

On Wednesday I made cranberry sauce. I use a recipe on the back of the Ocean Spray bag of cranberries and tweaked it a little.
Here are the basics:
Pour 1C. water and 1C. sugar into a big pan. Bring to a boil.
Add a 12 oz. package of fresh Cranberries, return to a boil, and reduce heat.
Boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring once in a while.
Pour sauce into a bowl and cool completely at room temperature.
Refrigerate until serving time.
Makes 2 1/4 cups.

Tweaking the recipe:
I add the zest of one orange to the sugar and water.
I added 1/4 c. more sugar too. This balances the tart orange rind.
..., and when the cooking is done I take a metal potato masher and "smash" the berries. I like the consistency of the sauce better( and so does everyone else) when I use the masher.
I doubled the recipe.

Wednesday night I made some brownies with pecans and wrapped a present for the hostess who just had a birthday.

I thought that this photo was appropriate considering the subject matter. Sometime during the year I bought this small, folded down box(ephemera for a collage) and it just seemed to go with this post. They didn't say "dried" cranberries back in 1906. They were called "evaporated". I find that interesting. It sounds nicer. In a time when refrigeration and freezing were not wide spread, this must have been a wonderful convenience. (Please click on photo for a close-up.)

We drove for two hours down to the Prospector's brother's house in the Bay Area. It was a wonderful day with delicious food and a chance to see all the relatives. They had 17 people for dinner..., including 3 dogs. We took Carl with us.
He was such a good dog; very social and a rather good traveler. Although, we had to stop twice on the way home because the pupster needed to make a rest stop. One time in the middle of the central valley, on the side of the road, in the dark, next to a grape vineyard and then, AGAIN, at a gas station. It was like having a child with us. Then he settled into his crate for a quiet ride back up into the foothills and home.

In addition to the great dinner, my brother and sister-in-law sent us home with leftovers, cookies, nut bread, jam, pomegranates, a beautiful calendar and..., pillows. PILLOWS? Yes, pillows. Two brand new pillows with covers. Now, I don't know about all of you out there, but that is one practical gift that I would never think to buy someone..., and it's so cool. We needed new pillows. Every year I like to replace our pillows and I guess someone was reading my mind.
My brother and sister-in-law, in addition to having all of us there for dinner twice a year and doing all that cooking and baking, are foster parents. They have 3 adopted children and one biological child. They just adopted a boy this summer. He has many disabilities. He's such a lucky little boy. We have so much admiration for this family. This was the first year that they didn't have a couple of extra children living with them for the holidays. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!! Thanks for the wonderful Thanksgiving day.

I wish that we lived closer to our family but, right now, we love where we live and we can still get down there in a reasonable amount of time. Until we get too old to be here we will just keep this old farm and do the driving. It was worth it. I got to see the family and **my grandkids** all at the same time. Yeah, it was a good day. There is so much to be thankful for.

Deer Dilemma

"HEY"

"MOM!..., the turkey are eating our dinner."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

A Truly Vintage Purse

My mother-in-law gave me this purse many years ago. For a long time I had it put away in a drawer and then I realized that it might look nice on the wall in the guestroom. This month I took everything off the wall because I really am working on this workroom/craft space/computer/still a guestroom area that is slowly becoming....
I realized that I had never shown this purse on Vintage Thursdays and that it was time to show everyone what a lovely gift my Mother-in-law gave me so long ago. Thank you, Vi. Sometimes it takes getting older to appreciate the value of things.

This is an Alumesh purse with a Bakelite clasp and chain. This classic, vintage purse is quite indicative of the style that was made popular by the Whiting and Davis Company in the 40's. Alumesh was a process that produced enameled aluminum mesh and the Whiting and Davis purse company utilizing this fabrication because it had the look and feel of vintage beaded purses and was very durable.
The lining is made with a black Faille fabric that is beautiful and looks like its brand new. I don't think that this purse was used too often. It's in excellent shape and has no worn areas at all. The tag on the inside had all the names on it that I used to research the information I was able to give you in this post.
This purse is pristine and in extremely fine condition. I saw a similar one on Ebay for $285.00, but most of them run about $40.00 or $50.00. I can see why folks want to collect these vintage purses. They're beautiful and are made so much better than most purses today.


The second and last photo are so different in tone and color because I took one in natural light and one under a lamp. Then I also got carried away trying to adjust the colors with Picasa3. Oh my! Sometimes I should just leave the photos alone. Anyway, remember to save those old purses. Don't give them to the thrift shops and consignment stores until you know what they are worth and until you're old enough to appreciate them.
I won't be giving this to anyone, soon, except maybe my daughter-in law. She will surely appreciate it more than I did. Vintage is so much more popular than it use to be. But, for a while, I will hang in up somewhere and admire it. I do think it's quite beautiful....

Please go over to Roomies With a Past for more vintage thingies. Sign up and join the other folks who love and talk about their old things.

Tuesday's Show & Tail: Tentative Friendship

What's an old dog supposed to do when a little monster puppy comes into her life. A Corgi puppy is more than just a puppy. A Corgi puppy is a force of nature that has to be dealt with. Maggie, our Shepherd mix, is almost 14 years old and that, folks, is 98yrs old in equivalent human years. She sleeps a lot, has arthritis, can't see or hear very well anymore and has the usual aches and pains that any 98 year old would have.
Carl, the pupster, has none of these problems and doesn't understand or empathize with the "old lady". Its been a rough 6 months.

But, all of a sudden, there has been a change. It is as if Carl has finally reach a level of maturity and understanding about Maggie's age and condition. I don't know exactly when this happened but it could have been the one time that Maggie struck back after Carl, relentlessly, kept biting her tail and her ears and then grabbed her sore back leg. We didn't see everything that happened but Maggie finally "had it" and she swung out and nipped Carl's ear..., hard. Carl was surprised and he ran under our bed. He goes there when he has taken something like a shoe or piece of clothing that he knows he is not supposed to have...., and when he thinks he is in "big trouble". I guess he thought that Maggie was giving him "big trouble" because he just stayed under the bed and wouldn't come to us when we tried to get him to come out.
The next morning he was a much more subdued puppy and when they were up on the sofa I got this photo (above) of Carl's paw on Maggies. I think they finally made their peace with each other.

Carl still has his moments and they can be brutal but mostly, now, they seem to be friends.

The old lady and the one year old. (Carl had a birthday on Nov 11.) Look at them. We love them both...., and now, I think, they will be good friends until Maggie is no longer with us. She will just have to put Carl in his place once in a while and tell him who used to be boss around here back in the day. It's the old generation gap...., even in the dog world.

Please check out West Virginia Treasures for other stories. We hope everyone will join us every Tuesday. Post a picture or two of your pets and tell a little about them! Tuesdays' Show & Tail is about having fun, and giving us a chance to meet other pet owners in the blogging community.

Moment of Crazy Pre-Holiday Insight

When I walk outside and see the Ginko tree with yellow-gold leaves sparkling with rain water....

And the

Toyon berries dripping with diamond like droplets ....

..., and then the Chinese Talon turns all these shades of red and the yellow finches sit like ornaments in between the leaves against the blue sky of morning. I hear myself thinking..., nature decorates the season. What could I add to make this more beautiful? What store bought decoration could I hang that would enhance the beauty of this season? Nothing.
I see all the Christmas decor filling the stores and ,I must admit, I'm tempted to buy more. I have boxes filled with decorations, accumulated over the years, waiting to be opened and yet I see something that I think I have to buy, bring home and add to the over abundance of "things" that I already have. What is this obsession? This need to add one more thing. To embellish beyond the point of reason.
I know I need to stay away from the stores. Even in a small town there is an inordinate amount of seasonal selling. I just stopped off at our local thrift shop and left three more bags of items that I told myself I didn't need anymore. Why then, did I immediately drive to Wal-mart and , even though I went for dog food and chicken scratch, I pushed my cart down the CHRISTMAS isle and picked up four little "frame" ornaments. Of course! I needed them! They are just perfect for the new photos of my grandchildren and our newly adopted nephew. Of course! They are cute , red and.., well., there were only 4 left..., so I bought them all.
I did resist the set of outdoor lights that look like blue icicles( I know I have some white icicle lights somewhere)and I don't NEED blue icicle lights...., but wouldn't they be pretty across the front porch.? Blue, sparkle, dazzle..., lifting the porch ,at night, to a whole new level of luminous elegance. But..., what would the dogs think, on their nightly run outside? Would these blue lights scare the cat up onto the roof again? What would Brownie have to say about BLUE LIGHTS? Probably don't need to buy them.... I'll go find the old ones..., the clear icicles that make the porch look just lovely...., they are in the garage somewhere. I just have to find them...., somewhere......, in there.