Ssssshhh, Wednesday...

I had every intention of making this a wordless Wednesday post but I can't. I've got stuff to say!! Those roses are from JP for our anniversary which was last week-- 26 years.

Last night and this morning we had another snowfall. As soon as I got home today I changed into my mud boots, grabbed the camera and Daisy and I went for a walk up the hill. It was stunning. The contrasts of dark and pure white, to me, are beautiful. You can see the shape of every branch on every tree.


Look how weighed down our little pine trees look. The snow was wet and heavy. Of course, before I walked back down the hill I went to each tree and gave it a little kick so the heavy stuff would drop off of the top.


What in the world! JP, as soon as I snapped this picture I told Spaceghost to quit it and that he is a bad boy.


Corrie and Violet say hi - sorry the picture is so dark, while walking around in the snow I didn't even notice that the clouds had moved back over.


I've been seeing good Florida strawberries at the store recently so I got a box last weekend and dipped them in chocolate, they were so delicious!

We're so thankful for our warm home in the holler. I'll be quiet now and blessings to you all...

Why today?...

I feel like I should just do this post in bullet form because I doubt I'll be able to tell the story of my morning and make any sense of it. Thank you, in advance, for being patient with me.

• I've had a really rough couple of days with headaches and last night that was coupled with stomach cramps. It's all sinus related, not to worry.

• We are having our home appraised and the appraiser arrived 1 hour after I wake up to do a "walk through." Of course, the dogs (except for Daisy) were outside in their yard. He finished taking pictures inside and all he needed to do was go outside and take a few more pictures. Within a minute or two he's tapping on my window saying, "Your dogs have just killed a skunk out here!"

• So, I quickly change into clothing suitable for the occasion, get my handgun, shovel and go outside to see what's what. Sure enough here lies Pepé Le PEEEUUUU! The dogs are all wired up and with one yell I sent them scattering. Next, I scoop up Pepé and flip him over the fence. All the while, mind you, the appraiser is laughing and trying to tell me about the time he was hunting with his father and their hunting dogs got a skunk. Oh yes, he also said "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you." Ummm, I was thinking, first of all, I'm not laughing and second of all, can't you just leave me to clean up this pack of fools?!?! He did leave.
  

• With Mr. Skunk out of the way I tromp back inside to mix up my special, no fail, get rid of skunk odor potion. I keep these ingredients on hand always. Want the recipe?

1 box of baking soda
1 bottle of peroxide
1/2 bottle of dawn dish washing liquid
1 small bottle of listerine
3 gallons of warm water

• Let the bathing begin! Each of our little darlings was doused with the potion and you have to let it stay on them for at least 15 minutes. It was so cold that I had to rinse, bathe, and repeat, inside, starting with the least foul among them. Speedbump and Daisy only had their faces sprayed so they were first, followed by Charlie and Scrappy. The vilest offenders were Violet and Corrie. The appraiser told me that Corrie had Pepé in her mouth shaking him. YUK! Well, anyway, they got three baths and are, for the most part, back to normal. Oh, after their baths they were sprayed with "Odo-ban" - great stuff.

• So, all that was left to do was clean the bathroom, wash about 2 dozen towels and take a shower. Then I decided it was time for some toast and coffee! What a day,,before breakfast! I can smile now.
  

• I'm kinda glad there are no pictures to document this morning. I probably had some kind of fierce crazy look going on. At least the appraiser has a new funny story to tell. Oh, did I mention that he got sprayed just a little? Gotta love it. Life in the holler, we truly are blessed and hope you are as well...
  

Is It Spring Yet?...

The answer to that question is definitely NOT! Wow, we got lots of snow and we continue to have flurries each day. The dogs like it and are having so much fun, especially Speedbump and Scrappy. That Charlie was being a photo hog today.

On my walk to the mailbox today I took a few pictures for you. I'm not getting out in the snow much, mostly, I'm drinking hot drinks and trying to stay warm while getting the daily chores done. It's coffee until noon and then I switch over to hot tea for the evening. Too much caffeine and I start to feel and think like Spongebob Squarepants. I happened to look at my favorite tea box yesterday, Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane, and saw this quote, "Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius" - Pietro Aretino. This struck me as downright dumb! Love winter? Na, I don't think so bub, you love it if you want. Then, this morning as I walked back up the hill and by our flower beds it came to me. There, under a foot of snow, are bulbs and flowers of all kinds waiting for God to bring the next season, Spring! Okay, maybe I'll try to like winter a little more Pietro.

Did this post make any sense? I may have rambled on but hopefully you can make some sense out of it. See, it's about time to switch to de-caff. Blessings to you all from the frozen holler...

More Fun Than New Years Eve...

The weather forecast says we'll be having wet/snowy weather for the next few days so I decided to spread more straw out just beyond the back porch to help with the muddy spots. In Scrappy's world there is no more fun than popping open a bale of straw. She tears into it like it's filled with cheese.

All the other dogs think it's a super fun time but Scrappy is over the top crazy! Charlie and Daisy bring the stick game to the fresh bed of straw.

As you can see, Speedbump even dives into a fresh pile of straw but look behind her, that blur is Scrappy.


Even the sisters, Corrie and Violet are having a good time. You'll just have to trust me on that one :O)

Scrappy butts into the stick game.

The sun is going over the hill on "fun straw day." It's time to go in for supper.

Okay weather, we're as ready as we can get. Bring it on! Blessings to you all from the holler...

So what if it's cold outside...

This afternoon I am braving the cold to grill some Thai steak kabobs. They are so good and you know, there's just something about food prepared over coals. I've had this picture since I made these last and if you'd like to make them here's the recipe. We'll have these with zucchini and I'll fix a batch of pot stickers to round out the meal.

Thai steak skewers

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all the above together and save out 1/2 to make sauce.

Put the marinade into a 1 gallon ziplock bag with 2 lbs of sirloin steak cut into 1/2 inch cubes and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. I stand the bag in a bowl so it doesn't make a mess in the refrigerator. Then get your grill ready, skewer the steak chunks with onion or whatever vegetables you like, and grill for 6-8 minutes turning occasionally.

In a small sauce pan heat the other half of the coconut milk mixture with 1/4 cup peanut butter for the sauce. That's it and it's so good!

We hope that you all had a great Christmas and will be blessed in 2011. We're grillin' even though it's chilly here in the holler...