Dirty Horses and Christmas Stuff

I have no idea if the video thing will work. I thought I'd give it a try. It is the reason I think a horse with white on it hates being white. I think she rolls more than the other horses.

And we have my girl, Charlotte, all dressed up for helping Santa. She's okay with it for about 5 seconds unless you press the button that makes it play music and flash the lights. She's not okay with that!

I baked cookies. Lots of cookies. I swear everywhere I go the air smells and tastes like cookies. Since I can't eat much in the cookie department this is just unfair. Thank goodness my sweet tooth is small. On the other hand I never met a potato I didn't like.

And last but not least, here is the wreath I made for the front door.

Dear Mother Nature,

I realize it's been a while since you have released a nice amount of rain on us. I also get that we need the water to survive. But here's what I'm thinkin'; maybe you could release the water a little more often in shorter spells. Say at night, during the week, two nights a week. That way nothing is flooded and even the adobe I live on will have time to really soak the water up. I'm telling you this is a win win situation. You could do your thing for the earth and we wouldn't flood, have fewer car accidents, we have plenty of water, and the kids could play outside. And while I'm making requests, I'd like to put in my order for sunny days from December 21st until the day after Christmas. This will make travel much easier for those going to visit their loved ones and give the kids a chance to burn off all that Christmas excitement by riding their new bikes, using their new skates and sports equipment outside. The Mom's of the world would appreciate it.

While we are on the subject of weather let's address the issue of fog. I don't mind the fog at all. In fact it's kinda quiet and cozy sometimes. But extended periods of fog have a depressing effect on us humans. I'm thinking it would be better if the fog forms around sunrise as usual but then burns off about 11 in the morning. That way you can have your fog and we can have our sunshine.

While we are having this chat I would like to know when, exactly, did you decide that I needed old lady skin? I looked out the truck window while riding with my Honey one day and saw the underside of my arm flapping and wrinkling in the wind. I know I'm getting older but I see no reason why you had to spring this on me so quickly. But I will admit that it goes well with the chicken skin on my neck.

I do want to thank you for my husband's diminishing eye sight though. He noticed the outside of me when we met and for the first 10 years or so. I can only attribute his undiminished passion for me to his aging eyes. I look better without his glasses. Love truly is blind.

I know I'm asking a lot for one measly human. I want you to know that I absolutely love your work. Your sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. The smell of blooming things in the spring is fabulous. And the colors! You have a way with colors, year round, that is extraordinary! No one can match your deep blue skies, or delicate pink almond blossoms. You make purple and green go with red and blue all in one fabulous vista. Your waterfalls and rock formations are inspiring. I admit to a soft place in my soul for your pine trees. Your oceans and seas can't be matched by anything man has made. And you tuck tiny beautiful surprises in rock crevasses and spots of shade. I'm sure you know by now I'm a big fan of your animal kingdom, although I don't understand the need for flies or mosquitoes. I know I'm just one small human but I appreciate all you do for us. I will try my best not to get in the way of your work.

Love,
Elayne

A Sunny Monday

A week or so D went to Turlock to run an errand or two. Now I always dread it when he goes shopping alone because he's a worse impulse shopper than I am. And that's saying something! Anyway, this time he came back from Bed Bath & Beyond with this little gadget. It's a tool for avocados. He noticed I eat them. Often. Anyway, I'm a paring knife kind of avocado eater and didn't put much stock in the tool. Then I used it. Ladies, if you see one of these gems around get one. The knife blade thingy cuts right through the skin and it's easy to hold. Those three blades bite right into the pit and made getting that thing out of there a snap. And the little slicer part takes the avocado out of the skin and slices it neatly in one swift move. I love this silly thing. And I can't even hurt myself with it.

 I have been trying to finish some stuff up before Christmas guests and that includes what was on my spinning wheel. Here is how the blue Merino wool came out. It's about 300 yards of a sport weight yarn. Pretty, I think.

This is not my horse. This is the landlord's horse and she lives here and we care for her. She was in pretty bad shape when we moved in. It seems no one really knew how to care for a horse. She's old and has some serious issues with her legs. The saying goes that if you have a horse with bad feet or legs you don't have a horse. At least not one you can ride. She is not rideable by any means. But when we moved in she could barely walk. Today I took her out of her stall and put her in her area and she took off at a canter. A nice normal canter. Last year she couldn't do that. I'm glad to see she's feeling so much better. She seems happier too.

This is the cinch I made for my horse and that's the matching breast collar I just finished for her. She'll be styling the next time she's tacked up. Now if I can find sport boots the right shade of blue. So far no luck.
We use them on our horses to support and protect their legs.

And the Christmas tree again. I posted it by mistake and I couldn't delete it without deleting all the pictures and starting over. I'm sure there is a way but I don't know what it is yet.

We spent the weekend watching movies and staying out of the rain. D got a Kindle Fire HD for Christmas. It turns out that with the HD model you can stream movies to your TV. We are Amazon Prime members and there are lots of free movies we can watch. His Fire came with a HDMI cable and we just plugged one end in the Fire and the other into the TV and we had free Hi Def movies all weekend. Cool. My Fire doesn't do that. No place for the cable to plug in. I wonder what next year's model will do?