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Monday, January 31, 2011

CAN'T WAIT 'TIL WEDNESDAY...




Woke up to a balmy 5 degrees.

















The moon was still up....

















...and it was too cold to take the pups and kittens to the barn.


































The view from the back pasture was breathtaking.



















































Grained the ponies, set out the hay and started on the stalls.

















 Tried to take advantage of the sun.















































John (our farrier) arrived at 9:30 and I was ready for him in the grooming/tack room.  No horses live here, but I have two stalls that come in handy when a horse is sick or several of us are grooming or the vet is here.




He started with Abbe.  I don't know what your preference is, but our horses are used to being cross-tied when they get their feet done.  Fortunately they are all quiet and it works well.   Can you see that bright light behind the horse?  Gary used it for painting.   I always turn it on so John can really see what he is doing.  Today he used it to warm his tools and gloves.
























Masterpiece was next.  He's the one with the gigantic bum knee.  This spring he will be 32 and just makes do, even tho he is gimpy.  Never acts stressed...even thinks he can canter.  He can hardly bend the leg John is working on, and it always gets trimmed last, up on a stand.  Because he drags that foot, his toe gets very worn down.  He gets 1 gram of bute each morning ....used to give him Devils Claw and he needed more.  The vet said at his age he should just be kept comfortable.  His  face is that of a 10 year old and he is a happy boy.  (Our first horse).








Berlin was last...her usual cooperative self.















This is John's dog....Duncan.
















Where John goes, he goes.















A very handsome boy.

















Fortunately we did not have snow or a lot of wind.
















































Ran a couple of errands...trying to get my cards organized for the gallery.  I sign them and put them in acetate sleeves....a lot of busy work.  Then, I went down to the post office to see what it would cost to mail them in a decent padded envelope so I can come up with a shipping price.  I'm trying to make sure I keep track of everything.

Went out to do chores a little before 5.  Monday night dinner with Jen and the boys....had to be down there by 5:45.



When it's cold like this, they are quite happy to go in for the night.


















So what did Jen make for dinner?
It must be pasta week!  We had lasagna (the boys had penne).












After dinner we checked out Finn's report card....

















Cooper passed out on the couch.  He gets pretty tired on school days.















Finn had gotten a couple of books at the library... he did a little reading and so did we.






















I love it when kids pick up a book and want to read on their own (without being asked to do it).





























Home a little after 7:30...now that I am finished with this...a very hot shower is in order.

About Wednesday...we are supposed to get 15-22 inches of snow.  Yippppeeeee.

Night all.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

THE HOME FRONT PART 2


Another nice, quiet morning.
Barb helped with chores.


















































Finished by 9.  Even Phoebe stuck it out this morning.


















 Look who's back....Thor (the big meanie).  When I went to feed Bermuda and L'orange, there he was.
 Have you ever seen such a gigantic cat?  He must weigh more than the dogs!


















L'orange did not come out to the barn this morning.  Stayed around the house instead.  Tomorrow I am going to make an appointment to get him neutered.  Pretty boy!




















He gets along very well with Sidney....






































and Seymour.




















I cleaned the downstairs and got things set up for company tonight.

By mid afternoon it was snowing.

















































































I'd say we did not make it out of the mid 20s today.


Went out to do chores at 5.





































 The sun finally appeared...for a few minutes.





































In the house before 6.  Finished getting everything set for dinner and took a quick shower.
Here's another scrumptious salad that I prepared for tonight's meal.

Chopped up a bowl of Romaine.  Added marinated asparagus....
onion, Greek olives, tomato, crumbly blue and croutons.  Topped with a good Italian dressing.
How do you like my bread basket?  It was carved from a Cypress tree.
Gary picked up some nice Pecorino Romano cheese.
I thought I would try a form of pasta that we never had before.
 ...and I would do it again.  It worked out great...different.
 I posted the recipe for the sauce yesterday.  It was delicious.
Our guests were Maryellen and Jay.  Do you recognize this woman?

As per usual, dining with friends proved to be a real pleasure.  Good company, lots of chatter and laughs.











 Almost forgot dessert.  A berry/apple pie that I bought frozen (don't tell anyone).  The crust was light and the flavor was tres bon!

Of course we all hated it!












Time to get some rest.  Night all.