Friday, December 8, 2017

LET IT SNOW

For those of you who are already sick of snow, I hope you will forgive my giddiness. But, waking up to scenes like these? Well, that's a once-in-a-lifetime here in central Texas!










 
Hard to believe that, just a couple of days ago, it was 80 F. out, and I was wearing sandals!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

GUINNESS THE WONDER DOG

We babysat our grand dog Guinness a few weeks back and boy, am I glad we did!


John had been out working in the yard all morning, using his manly blow torch gizmo to kill weeds in the gravel paths, and around the edges of our parking pad. He came inside, got cleaned up, then we fixed some lunch and sat down to watch a movie. Midway through, Guinness suddenly went berserk, barking her head off and spinning in circles. I figured she must have seen a deer or a delivery man in the driveway, so I poked my head out the door to check. Guess what I found?


Our yard was on fire! Thank heaven she alerted us when she did, else we might well have lost our garage and both cars...


not to mention the unoccupied house just beyond those trees!

My hero, always on the lookout for danger!


 

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

THE GANG'S ALL HERE

Well, almost.


This year we were so excited that ranching-electrician-nephew Kevin and his wife Goya were finally going to take time away from their animals in order to join us for an early Christmas celebration with all my siblings and their kiddos. Unfortunately, just a few days prior to the gathering, brother-in-law Bud got word that his mother had passed away, so he and sister Kathy headed up to W. Virginia instead. They were sorely missed, but we still managed to have a pretty good time, thanks to our little goobster Calvin!


First, there were the spicy pork tamales that Kevin and Goya brought with them -- probably the best I've ever had. Turns out they're even good for breakfast! Thankfully, they brought enough to stock my freezer for a while!

Calvin's New Best Friend

Then there were all the electrical chores Kevin took care of for us while he was here, including the installation of USB outlets in the kitchen (moments before I was supposed to start cooking for the gang) and changing the burned out lightbulbs in our garage that require a 20 ft. ladder to reach!


We did a white elephant gift exchange -- the kind where you can pick a gift from under the tree, or steal one from someone else.


Everything went great until niece Merrit traded that makeup for this.


When that motorized pile of poop suddenly took off at warp speed, it freaked poor little Calvin out so badly that he had a total meltdown!

 Fortunately, he forgot all about it when he saw the fire truck...


and WWII pilot gear...

There was even a full outfit plus bomber jacket, and a wonderful book to go with it!
just like the ones greatgrandpa George is wearing in the photo on our wall!


It was a very good weekend!