WAS I DREAMING OR DID I SEE SOME SUNSHINE TODAY?

I was on a roll this morning.  A little milder and not raining....no sheets.

The pastures were fine, but what a muddy mess getting there.

Isn't Phoebe lovely?  And that was before she really got dirty.  I finished up chores by 9...cleaned up the dogs and had to take a shower before going to Chorus.

Cats are so much cleaner than dogs.

Our rehearsal went very well today.

Made a quick stop at Wegmans (didn't it start raining again) and after lunch I started working on dinner.

We had a lot of cucumbers in the garden so I made some fresh "pickles."  (Onions, red peppers, cucumbers and a brine of vinegar, water and sugar.  Added salt, pepper and dill weed).

Remember that giant cauliflower I picked up at the market?  Turned it into a casserole.  This is my original recipe and you will love it.  In a big pot, throw in your cauliflower (dismanteled), three or four carrots, a big onion and add some chicken stock to the water.  Cook until tender.  At the same time, hard boil four eggs.  Make a white sauce (salt, butter, flour...and some of the juice you cooked the veggies in...then add some milk) let it thicken, add cheese and at least one giant tablespoon of honey mustard.  Drain veggies and cover with sauce.  Quarter the four eggs and set on the top....sprinkle with paprika and put in oven until it is heated throught.

It looked so good I called Roger and Tina to see if they wanted to come to dinner.


Then, I drove our little trailer over to Holley and picked up our lawn tractor.  On the way back I hit Jonathan's bakery and grabbed some dessert.

Drove down Canal Road.

And voila!  The sun made an appearance.

The rest of the afternoon was beautiful.

Did evening chores after we set up the Studio for dinner.   What the heck!

I let the dogs out in the back yard and they started barking like crazy.  Looked out, and there was a deer...just staring at us.  Ran and got my camera and it didn't move.

Tina and Roger arrived promptly at 7 and dinner was served.

The fresh cucumber pickles.

Bean salad over greens.

Cauliflower casserole.

Pickled beets.

And a toasted baguette.

I totally forgot to take a photo of the dessert....apple pie squares with whipped cream!  But here is what our healthy dinner looked like.

The pups relaxed out there while we ate.

These gorgeous flowers were brought from Tina's garden.  A very nice evening!
Night all.

RAIN...RAIN...GO AWAY!

It rained last night.  It was raining when I went out to the barn.
After I put the sheets on all the horses it was still sprinkling.

Gar got home from Java early and actually helped me finish the last stall.

 

We drove down to Lowes and picked up this little number for $99.  Had gotten an estimate on a wall unit for the Workshop, but thought we would give this a shot first.  It's electric.

It was about 60 when we turned it on, and by the time my class started it was 72 and very comfortable.

Busy...busy.

Watercolor in progress by Mel.  

Watercolor exercise in progress by Donna.

Contour line drawing by Pauline.  

Contour drawing by Pricilla

Finished colored pencil drawing by Mel.

Pastel drawing in progress by Sandy.

Pastel drawing in progress by Tina.

Print of Tina's drawing (Bright and DJ) made into a card.

What a great day!  The studio was warm, I had a full house and a lot of work was done.  Welcome, to my two new students...Pauline and Phyllis.

The cats and dogs were not interested in spending much time outside, so they went from room to room and just relaxed....

I did manage to make a decent dinner while Barb did the evening chores.  I'm sure the horses were happy to be inside...tomorrow it is supposed to rain again!  You'd think they would know enough to go in the indoor or under a roof.

Sweet potatoes, marinated chicken with carmalized onions... and as you probably figured it out by now...lots of salad.

Now I must really go put my butt next to the fire in the kitchen.  This part of the house is freezin.
Night all.

ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN...

Do you remember the Scottie....Tootsie Louise?  She was visiting her family's relatives this past weekend and found herself a friend.

Now for today's boring report.

The barn was nice and comfy this morning with the windows in place.  It was not raining and the temp was supposed to go up to 50 or 51...took off the sheets.

Finished chores and went in the house around 9 something.  The pups and I drove down to the Animal Hospital so I could get some Advantage for the dogs and cats...  Hopefully we will be set in the flea department.  What a pain.  They said this has been a very bad couple of weeks and they are getting flooded with people needing the same thing.

I went out to the Workshop to water the plants and take a couple of things into the house.  Sure don't need that window fan anymore.  2 new students will be joining my class tomorrow.  In the morning we are going to put a heating unit out there...felt pretty chilly today.

Then it had to start raining again and I put the horses in with a flake of hay.

This afternoon I did a sketch for Wanda's Art Blog, which I posted on doinart.  I have a long way to go before getting in some kind of artistic groove.  Added a table to my command central area so it will give me a better work space...maybe it will motivate me to do more art.

Around 3:30 it had stopped raining so the ponies went back out.  Caught up with some blogs and started on dinner.  That was easy.  The same thing as last night.  It's a good thing we like leftovers...especially when they are delicious.

I had put hay in earlier, so evening chores were a piece of cake.  Of course it started raining and I had to put them in around 5:30.  At least they got out for awhile.

Seymour, Sidney.....

Gucci and Phoebe.....

and even Bermuda...were in the kitchen enjoying the fire.

Gotta go now.  Maybe there will be a little more excitement tomorrow.  These rainy days keep me holed up.
Night all.