Before and after.

This is our Rocky ( or as he is better known Rotty) as you can see he is a very hairy dog, and suffers in the heat,
The last couple of days it has been in the upper 70's here and he has just laid around and panted.
We had decided last year to have him shaved for the summer but he is not a good groomer, he doesn't like it, And for the most part we were worried about how he would take to someone else doing it. So after talking to several I had given the idea up.

So I decided to try shaving him myself. As you can see he came out pretty good and the best part is that he loves it. He acts like a puppy again he is playful and dances, he plays and wants to be held and scratched. And the very best part is he doesn't lay around and pant all of the time.
Now the vet did say ( yes I talked to an actual vet about doing it before I did it) that with these super hairy dogs sometimes the hair won't grow back, If that happens then I will be making sweaters for him this fall.

Alaska is just 65 days away!

A nearly perfect weekend.

I worked all last week so by the weekend I was ready for some fun and relaxation. I was on call but really didn't expect I would go out. (one of the trucks I pilot for above)
Sat was hubby's birthday and the kids and grands showed up all weekend to help him celebrate.
We BBQ on Sat in nearly perfect weather and then built a fire and were able to sit out clear till after dark and not freeze something off.
Drue brought his new friend ( dare I say girlfriend) over and we enjoyed meeting her and hope our crazy family get together didn't scare her off. Also Chellebelle and Whit painted sun catcher for Grandpa and then hung them in the big window for him for his b-day.
Kolby made his fav cake German chocolate. And Damibean even though he didn't feel really good was a joy to have.
Ashes and the babies were over on Sunday for dinner with her dad and we so much enjoyed them.

Hubby and Damibean

The weather is looking so great for the week it looks like spring has sprung.

only 67 days till we leave

And my saying of the week.

Have a really great week everybody!

week in review

There are 78 days left till my cruise. I know this because I get a notification from the cruise line everyday. Now while I am very excited for the trip. I am not sure that being reminded that I have over 2 months to wait is helping. lol but here is a pic of where I hope to be on May 24th.

This is a pic from work yesterday. I am a pilot car driver and mostly we work in the oilfield moving well tanks.

Sometimes I am lead car and out in front and some days I am back car and this is the view.

Either way its a great job. I work with a lot of really nice people and I love running around the desert.

This is my first try at a new medium.

These are 1 in glass squares. You add a picture and then foil it and solder it plus add a hanger and wala you have a necklace or charm for something. I loved how this turned out even if my soldering needs some work. lol

Its 2 sided and has different pictures on each side.

I had so much fun I am going to do some more.

The pictures I used are some I took so I know they are originals but you could use almost anything.

Last but not least we ran away from home for a couple of days and took off to Lava hot springs Idaho.
What we didn't know was that the wintertime is there off season. We had the whole place almost to ourselves.  We had a wonderful room at the Home hotel. The great thing about this hotel is they have giant tubs in the room and they pump  the hot springs water. So you end up with your own very private soaking pool. We went the the Riverside inn  restaurant and had a wonderful dinner. The guy working there is from Bountiful and we chatted for quite awhile about the springs and learned alot about the area.
For anybody going please don't be expecting any holiday inn's or applebee's as most of the town is all original buildings but they are well kept and add charm to the place.

I have returned!

Me and my nieces a few years ago camping at Easter time.

So yea I have been MIA, But I have great news.

As of today I haven't had a cigarette in 4 weeks.

Yes almost a month and I have been smoke free. I won't say its been easy, but then it hasn't been horrible ,awful, ugly, nasty either.

I am so glad that I have quit and I don't plan on going back.

The really good news is I am going to Alaska.

We have booked a cruise for May with a few days in Seattle before we go. I am so excited I am not sure how I am going to get through the next 85 days of waiting.

I have a pair of wild doves that I think are making a nest right outside of my window, They keep returning to the same branch will have to get out there soon and see if I can get some pics of the nest before the tree starts leafing out.

I have been sick.

I have been playing with getting night shots. This is the best I have got but still working on it.

I need to get my tripod out as I can't hold it still enough for it not to come out blurry, lol

And this picture kinda describes the way I have been feeling.

I suppose it was inevitable considering that everyone around me has been sick.

My hubby, the grands, everybody at my work.

I truly thought I had got off easy by Monday as I was feeling better so Tuesday I went back to work. Of course the weather was really crappy with it snowing and blowing so after spending almost 10 hours out and about I came home feeling pretty crappy.

So yesterday I took it easy and slept most of the afternoon.

And this am, well I woke up early took some Advil's and we shall see.

My latest project.

My latest project. I made this as a gift for my mom. She had been wanting a cell phone purse  and I told her clear last fall that I would make her one.

We discussed what she wanted and then I did what I wanted which wasn't even close to what she said she wanted.

And honestly it isn't even what I first thought it would be.

But I love the way it turned out and so did she so all is well that ends well right.

Morning visitors.

We had morning visitors. We haven't seem them for a couple of weeks and I was very happy to get to see them again.

We had our son and the girls over for the weekend. We took the girls to the circus and had a ball. As far as I can remember this was the first time I had been to the circus so I had as much fun and wonderment as the girls had. ( plus I would go anywhere that they serve cotton candy)

I have went back to work and have been working on a project (finished yesterday) so have been pretty busy. Look for finished project pics coming soon.

Work and things.

This is what I was doing yesterday morning at work.

We moved this swab tank from one drilling location to another.

It was a short day and we only moved 2 tanks I was back home by 1:30pm

Yes that is a full grown person and a full grown truck.

On to other things

I have Chellebelle and Witty here for the weekend and we are going to the circus.

Yay.

Gotta love those grand faces.

A new old job.

First off, I have no new pics to post and since I hate to post without some kind of visual.

I just picked one I love.

I am employed once again. driving pilot car.

Mostly its moving huge tanks from one drilling location to another but the scenery is great and the people I work with are great, And you can expect a lot of desert pics very soon.

Now I am off to get ready for work.

Have a great day everybody!

January is over.

As January comes to an end, I was going back through my blogs posts. while I did a pretty good job with quantity this month. quality was a whole different story.
When I decided to renew my effort of blogging I had forgot there is kind of a rhythm to it. So my first posts were hard and I was scrambling to come up with anything to post.
The more I posted the more things I found to post about. Now I am finding that I am having fun posting again.
I hope to improve on the quality and not worry so much about the quantity!

Chile Verde.

Had the kids over for Sunday dinner yesterday.  We had,  you guessed it Chile Verde. Now I wish I could tell you that I made Verde from scratch and it was wonderful. But I didn't
Its not that I don't know how to make it, I just am not very good at it. It is one of those things that I know I should not make from scratch so I don't.
What  I make is Verde made with a jar sauce. My youngest daughter actually found it and then shared.
It is good, not great but good.
We take a pork roast and cube it. Brown it in a skillet, then put it in the slow cooker and let it cook all day.
We add the sauce about 2 hours before we are ready to eat. We have tried adding the sauce and letting it cook all day, but have found that the longer it cooks the hotter ( as in spicy hot) it gets.
Dinner was great.
The company was better.
Life is good!

Paper roses!

I fell in love with these paper roses made out of maps.

I found this on the net and wished I had the original poster but I never could find who posted it.

Since then I have been looking for map pages to make some. Finding pretty map pages is not as easy at it may seem.

But don't despair, While cleaning out DH junk drawer I came upon a Ashley national forest map and lo and behold its very pretty and just what I wanted to make roses.

Now to get DH to donate it for the sake of creating. lol. When I first brought it up to him he was more than a little reluctant. as he claimed to have paid 10 whole dollars for it and was sure he would need it in the very near future or at least some time.

He has since had time to think it over and agreed that I may have it for the sake of the art,

So look for map roses to be in my very near future.

Chicken & Dumplings

Had Ashes, Jason, Lizard, and Superman over for dinner tonight. It was Ashes choice what to have and she chose Chicken & dumplings.
This is my grandmothers recipe and I meant to take pics while cooking ( this one was as I put the chicken in to cook) but I got sidetracked and then when the dumplings were done, Lizard was starving and so I got caught up in feeding her and forgot again. Oh well maybe next time.
I will tell you the one thing My grandmother told me about chicken & dumplings is never add potatoes as the starch spoils the soup.

Spent the morning organizing my art stuff. I had to much stuff and no place to put it. So I bought a couple more small drawer things and then sorted the 2 drawers into the others. By the time I was done I was very happy as I now have a tool drawer, a sewing drawer, A metal working drawer,  a paint drawer. A bead drawer. and a I don't know what to do with this crap drawer. OK I know that is only 5 drawers and I have 6, but I needed and electronics drawer. for all of my electronics, there chargers, cords to connect to each other. and so and so forth

the end result is this

these are some of my bead boxes, and and the top drawer of the 3 drawer thingy I bought.

This is very handy as it sits in the corner right behind my chair so when I am working and need something everything is right there.

We had a beautiful day here almost felt like March or April. I went out and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

Till next time!

Cheeto!

Those that know me know that I have 3 dogs. I joke all of the time that I just replaced the kids as they moved out with a dog so I still have 3 babies these just don't get as  mouthy.

My kids claim Odie is the little brother they never wanted. That should tell you how spoiled these dogs are.

So yesterday was a typical Morning, Hubby was home and we were working on some art things. Hubby was in and out,  over to the storage shed and the garage, And somehow managed to leave the gate open.

Usually at this point in this story you would think we were going to talk about Odie as he has been the one over the years that has caused so much chaos in our lives. He is the one who ran through the bob wire fence chasing the deer and had to get stitches. He's the one who has jumped out the car window to chase rabbits. He's the one who tested his electronic collar daily waiting for the batteries to be dead so he could disappear for hours at a time.

But this time it was Cheeto. That cute little dog who never does anything wrong. The one who you just want to pick up and cuddle because he is so cuddly.

Anyways, Hubby let the dogs out and went back to his project. After a while ( I was beading and he was doing some stained glass so we are not sure how long) We realized that the dogs hadn't whined to come back in. This is unusual as Cheeto has no hair and freezes fairly quickly in the winter months.

Hubby got up and checked and to his surprise Odie and Rocky were both still in the yard but Cheeto was gone.

We headed out and checked the property calling and calling and nothing. I walked over the Apartments that are east of us and talked to the guys working there and they hadn't seen him.

Then I walked the neighbor hood hoping to see him somewhere. In the meantime Hubby got in the truck and started driving around hoping to see the little guy (shit).

We searched and called and called and searched. I had just about given up when I spotted the little guy (shit) across the gulch over towards the trailer court. I called him but I think he was to freaked out to come back across the gulch.

I didn't dare go down in and cross for fear that I would loose sight of him and he would disappear while I couldn't see him, And hubby was still out driving around.

Lucky for me some very nice people stopped and tried to catch the little guy (shit) but he wouldn't let them get close.

They offered to keep an eye on him till I could get over there. I ran to the truck and drove over there he had run from the guy who stopped but when I walked over and called him he came right to me.

I was never so happy ( Lucky for him because it kept me from spanking the little shit ). He is such a small dog that it would of been very easy for someone to pick him up and we would of never seen him again.

Hubby has now taken the vow to make sure he closes the gate and as for Cheeto he is going in to get neutered. lol that should be just punishment for him.

Winter weather.

We have had a very unusual winter here in the basin. We haven't had our weeks and weeks of below zero cold, or fog that has settled in and stayed for weeks and weeks.

We have had days in the upper 40 and even a few 50's Its been crazy but I have loved it.

So I was in the grocery store a while back, Waiting my turn in line and chatting with the ladies about how nice it had been and the lady behind me apparently was very unhappy with the warmth and sunshine and proceeded to yell at me  about how bad it was going to be this summer . How there wasn't going to be any hay and so the price was going to go sky high and they would then have to go shopping out of state for hay.

I was shocked,  as I don't think I have ever been yelled at by a stranger in the grocery store. and especially over something I really have no control over.

The only thing I could think of to say to her was well hopefully it will rain a lot this spring and summer and then I laughed as did the other ladies. She really didn't think I was funny nor did she think my hoping for rain would resolve the problem.

I am still not sure what she hoped to accomplish, and as I left the only thing I could think of is I wish I had brought my camera for a pic for my blog. lol

Halloween 2011

 Halloween 2011. 2 of the 4 dressed up and ready for treats

I still have tons of pics to post from over the summer so look for them to show up from time to time.

Its been a little Rocky lately.

                                             Or maybe I should of said a LOT Rocky lately.

Rocky was supposed to be my dog, But actually almost immediately he became Odies dog. And that wasn't a bad thing as Odie pretty much trained Rocky in all things dog.

Rocky does have his quirks like he is barky, and nervous, but in the last year or so he has quite come into his own.

The pic above is of him guarding the glove ( my new goat skin glove) that he stole. Now he looks innocent calmly laying there but this is the 3rd time he has taken the same glove. He doesn't chew it up he just likes to carry it around and  guard it. Then stash it in his bed with his other toys.

Beauty!

We had a skiff of snow, mixed with rain over night. Now everything is stiff and frozen. But it is beautiful with the sun shining on it everything has a beauty and a sparkle.

Odie

Hubby Had surgery last spring and during his physical therapy they had him working on a total gym. He liked it so much that he decided to get one of his own so he could work out at home.

Odie has not taken it well. For some reason it makes him  flip out. Were not sure if he is trying to save him or hurt him. lol.

I had tried to take more video of him but I was laughing so hard that all I recorded was the floor.

Resolutions.

It seems right now everybody is working on their new years resolutions. I personally don't do new year resolutions. I hate the thought of having to wait around for a specific time of the year to start something new.
So now I have you wondering hmmm wonder what she has been up to.
Well last year I realized that my life had became to predictable. Not that there was anything wrong with my life. I was happy and doing the things I wanted to do.  I just found myself doing the same things over and over and over and not really adding anything new. And I didn't want to wake up one day and think wow this is all there is.
I didn't want to make any huge changes, Like running off to the circus or anything like that. I just wanted to broaden my interests in everyday things.
The first thing  that I found is that as I went about my life I had quit seeing things. You know like when you drive by the same place everyday how you stop seeing what is really there.
I took a look at my area, And tried to see it as how somebody who had never seen it might see it.
It is amazing how much you miss when you are not really seeing things. There are pretty things almost every where.
I had also pretty much quit taking pictures. I just wasn't seeing anything that I thought was worth photographing. So now I am trying to get into the habit of taking my camera with me. ( Some days I am better at this than others.) I am always now seeing funny or interesting things that I think oh that would make a nice picture. ( Or Omg I need to put that on Fb, lol).
I am a reader and love it, But had found myself limiting my reading to one or two categories. I received a Kindle last year and have taken up there free books. Most are books I would of never of bought and read but have found a lot of them very enjoyable.
So that some of it, Not all but some. Hopefully I will be sharing more changes and more of the things that I have changed right here.

Here's the baby boy enjoying the sunshine!

Early Mornings!

I love early mornings. I love the quietness of it. Its sorta like being in a cacoon.

I like that I don't have to do anything or be anywhere.

And I can just be.

The twins. Or so Cheeto wishes.

For the birds.

Lizard loves animals of all kinds so last winter I bought a bird feeder and within a few days we had all kinds of pretty little birds coming.
Lizard and I would sit at the big window and watch them for hours.
Then last summer I took the feeder with me for our stay up the canyon and while we didn't have many birds come the chipmunks loved it and would empty it almost as fast as I could fill it.
So here a couple of weeks ago dug it out of the storage shed and once again put it on the fence, And nothing.
We have had some birds in the yard but not one single one has gone to the feeder. I filled it full 2 weeks ago and it hasn't moved at all.
I'm thinking I need to make a bird to put out there so that they will see that its an OK place to dine. lol
or maybe a bird diner sign.

Wishing I was here!

Its been cold and I am wishing for warmer and sunnier days.
We were here in Sept and if I could get there now I would certainly go back.
So to late summer dreaming.

Granite Creek Hot Springs southeast of Jackson Hole Wyoming.
Enjoy!

Weekends.

Weekends don't mean as much to us now as they once did. When the kids were young and we were so busy with them and the household things you have to do. We looked forward to the weekends to go do fun things. To get together with family and friends that were all as busy as we were.
Now that is just the 2 of us, and well  the boys (translate the dogs) we don't have to wait for the weekend to go and do the things we want, And have actually found that its great to be able to go in the middle of the week.
We did have a busy weekend and enjoyed having the kids and grands over and having Sunday dinner.
As always I have a new project

I would love to give you more details but since the person this is for reads here  I don't want to spoil the surprise.
I will be posting finished pic's soon.

Grandma's parker house rolls.

I was very blessed to have grandmothers who were both very good cooks, And they taught me a lot.

 I myself love to cook.

One of my grandmothers made Parker house rolls which were my very favorite. I never learned from her how to make them and so I have been in search of a rolls recipe that I loved and reminded me of hers.

And a few months ago I found this one on a blog site that is really, and I mean really good.

This recipe makes a huge batch. It will fill 4 9x13 pans So today I am cutting it in half.

I will post the recipe in it entirety at the end.

Something else to note this is not a quickly roll recipe so allow yourself plenty of time.

2 cups milk

I stick real butter. ( there is no substitute for this it needs to be the real thing.

1/2 cup sugar.

Add to a large pan and heat till the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

I have gotten busy and brought this to a boil and it didn't seem to hurt anything so you don't have to stand and watch it.

Now turn the heat of and cool to luke warm. About 35 to 45 minutes.

once it cools add

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

4 cups flour.

Stir to combine then cover and let it rise for about and hour.

yeast added.

flour added.

Mixed together.

Cover

And now we wait..

About 1 hour or till doubled in size.

After an hour it will look like this.

Next add.

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt.

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Mix together

I found the easiest way to do this is with my hands.

I would guess if you had a mixer with dough hooks that would work also.

Turn onto flour surface and knead 8 to 10 minutes.

This is a very easy dough to work with but tends to be sticky so you will need to add flour while you are kneading to keep it from sticking to you.

when you are done it will look like this.

Leave on the counter and cover with a towel and let rise 30 to 45 minutes

Just a note this will do better in a warm place.

This is what it will look like after rising.

Next we roll it out, Now this is where I changed it just a little bit.

The first couple of times I made these I rolled them out and then cut them in circles dipped them in butter and placed them in the pans. But ended up with some wasted dough that became to tough to work with,

So now I roll it out in a rectangle.

cover it with melted butter then fold.

then more butter and fold and more butter and fold.

cut into sections about a 1/2 in wide.

And place in pan.

Let rise till double then bake in a 400 oven for 15 minutes, give or take a few

and there you have them.

a couple of notes.

these go from being brown to very brown very quickly so you want to keep and eye on them.

And these make very good cinnamon rolls also. just roll out spread with butter sprinkle cinnamon and sugar and then add nuts, or raisins. roll up and cut place on pan, let rise and bake.

I have made the big batch and did half rolls and half cinnamon rolls.

Ingredients

• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 sticks 1 Cup Butter
• 1 cup Sugar
• 4-1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• 1 cup (additional) All-purpose Flour
• 2 sticks Melted Butter (additional)

Preparation Instructions

Combine 4 cups milk, 2 sticks butter, and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, and when the mixture is hot (but not boiling) turn off heat and allow to cool to warmer than lukewarm, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Sprinkle in the yeast and 8 cups of flour. Stir to combine, then cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 additional cup of flour. Stir to combine. Divide dough in half, then turn out onto floured surface. Knead dough for 8 to 10 minutes, then form into a ball and cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place. for 30 to 45 minutes. (Repeat with other half of dough, or store it for a later use.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan.
Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles with a 2 1/2 inch cutter. Dunk each circle in melted butter, then immediately fold in half and place on a cookie sheet, flat side down. Press lightly to encourage sealing. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover with a towel and allow rolls to rise 30 to 45 minutes.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately!
and I found the recipe here.

Posted by Ree on November 21 2010

http://thepioneerwoman.com/



Hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I have.