I've Got Friends of All Kinds!!

I may have 5 days off but I have been very busy!! Packing up Fall stuff, getting Snowmen & Xmas decoration down from the attic, washing all the windows (inside & outside) so I can hang all my wreathes on windows with their new burgundy bows, running to the feed stores & TSC, eating & snacking, laundry, and I have been babysitting!! Let's get this straight real quick, I only babysit for 4 legged kids, not 2 legged.

My very good friend Shari went to Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving with her 2 sons and grandchildren so I became the babysitter. Lets see, she has 12 horses, 3 sheep, chickens, turkeys, 3 dogs, 8 goats, oh and don't forget the rabbit!! It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get everyone feed & watered....thank goodness she only lives like 4 minutes from my house! I thought I'd share my friends that I have been babysitting.

This is Miss. Tori.........a beautiful, and very large paint. Shari lost Tori's mom the day after Tori was born and raised her up from there. She really has no concept of how big she is but Shari does a wonderful job with her. But she was bad on Wednesday and kicked her Dutch door down that goes to the overhang. Perhaps she thought she could get away with something with me:)

This is Madera, a POA/Appy mix. She is really becoming a nice girl and just got back from 2 months of training. Those are some of the mini's. There are a total of 10 miniature horses on her farm.

Above is Kizzy.....the farm greeter. She is a total sweetheart and always brings me "something" when I come over, probably because she knows she is going to get a bone from me. On Thursday morning there was a frozen shoe stuck to the driveway. I figured she had gotten it somewhere but when I unstuck the shoe I found a check that Shari left me because she insisted on paying me for taking care of the animals........the check was quite wet. Shari told me this morning that she had left me a check in a shoe on the porch and I told her Kizzy had found it for me already!!

These are my new friends, the Baby Southdowns......are they not a treat?!! They crack me up!!

How can you not smile at these faces??!!! :)

Dixie insisted that I show you her friends also. These are her Alaskan Malamutes friends that live right behind us. Left to right is Tundra, Nikita, and Kodiak. Sometimes Dixie is found running around with them inside the fence. One day I could not find her. That was because she was inside with Dave watching TV on the couch!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their time off and getting in the spirit of the holiday season.

Sharing it with friends is always the most heart warming!!!

Just a Simple Day at Home

As a teacher I am fortunate to have the day before & after Thanksgiving off. It is a wonderful time to just hang out at home, clean, get the Christmas decorations out, snack all day, and spend time loving the animals. Last night the area where I live, considered a secondary snowbelt in Northeastern Ohio, had a mini-blizzard. It was the real heavy, wet snow that sticks to all the trees. This morning chores were taken in stride as I did not have to rush around like a mad woman to get to work on time. I thought I would share some pre-Thanksgiving snow with anyone who stops by to read about me & the "kids".

I love those garden flags and the winter months make no difference:)
A little clingy snow to the garden decorations.............

and a view of the creek that runs along the south property line. This a wonderful place for my dogs to hang out at esp. because the rabbits have little hiding places and they love to drive the beagles crazy.

Sometimes little Squirt gets caught sneaking under the neighbors fence. I am fortunate to have wonderful neighbors who laugh at my beagles antics as they run in their back pasture after rabbits. I have found all the places that the beagles can squeeze under.

Today is put out the snowmen day so I am off to decorate with their happy little selves....at least 'till February, then they have to be packed up:)

Wishing everyone a happy & restful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Remember to be thankful for all the little things in our lives that put the biggest smiles on our faces.

8 Tag Stuff from Garrett

8 Favorite Foods

1. chocolate chip cookies & muffins & choc chip cheesecake

2. Vlasic Kosher Dill Snack Ums

3. B-Que Potato Chips

4. Pork Roast, Saurkraut & Dumplings

5.Roast & Brown Potatoes

6.Smores Snack Mix

7. Shrimp

8. Crab Legs

8 Things I Did Today

1. got up late this morning

2. went bowling with my 8th grade students ( I suck, my high score was 74....its been like 2 yrs since I went last. Friend w/benefits & I have a bowling date this weekend now)

3. made a student cry because I told her she was a self-centered, spoiled brat who needs to be more respectful of her classmates, & she is not going on the next field trip. She cried & pouted; I, on the other hand, went & bought a pretzel.

4. got gas for $1.58 gallon

5. made 2 big bags of bite size rigatoni for our harvest food lunch tomorrow at school

6. slipped on the ice in my yard & blamed it on the dogs

7. took some Xmas decorations & snowmen out of the attic

8. washed my new Pfaltzgraff mixing bowl set my BF Shari bought me for my B-day ( I have the Remembrance pattern) Shari had me over for dinner last night because she was cooking a 25# turkey for her school today (she is a principal) so we had a pre-Thanksgiving sampling dinner.

8 Favorite Stores

1. Marc's (its a local discount store where I get all of my "cute" decorations....got some cute snowmen stuff last week:)

2. Christopher-n-Banks (women's clothing store)

3. Country Gatherings (see my Amish post)

4. Tractor Supply

5. Dillards

6. Home Depot

7. Borders

8. Bath-n-Body....love Black Raspberry Vanilla!!!!

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Red Lobster




2. Applebys




3. Long John Silvers...if I can ever find one!!!




4. Crackle Barrel




5. well to be honest I don't go out to eat a lot cuz I hate spending money on restaurants.....I probably go out, maybe 8 -10 times a year at the most

8 Things I Look Forward to Doing

1. Summer vacation




2. Winter vacation




3. Springbreak




4. retiring when I am 60....I can retire at 56 but the financial incentive is better at 60




5. hanging out at home on the weekends




6. getting sleep for more than 6 hours




7. spending time with my mom, dad, sister, & my niece & nephew




8. hanging out with the animals just because

8 Things I Like to Do with My Family

1. travel......esp. to Amish Country & Vermont




2. watching old home movies




3. talking about when my parents were growing up




4. gardening/crafts with mom




5. annoy my dad with more projects around my house




6. go to dog shows with my sister




7. go shopping anywhere that mom & dad will buy me things LOL




8. hang out at mom & dad's on the holidays

8 Things on My Wish List

1. 300 bales of hay at $2.50 a bale
2. a colonial garden with a picket fence around it
3. 20 acres with a farm house & an old bank barn on it....with my chicken coop of course
4. winning enough money to take care of my family and me
5. traveling through New England
6. traveling to Glacier National Park and Acadia National Park
7. learn how to spin, card, knit, all that stuff so I can make my own socks, scraf, and maybe even a sweater
8. learn how to ride a horse well......like Johnny!!!

8 People I Tag.....if you have time & have never been tagged

1. Kara
2. Melanie
3. Pam
4. Christy
5. Tracy.....though I am sure you have done this
6. Deb.....though I think you just did this
7. Tammy
8. anybody who reads but never leaves a comment....don't be shy

Just think.....only 7 months 'till summer!!!

PS.......BS....I could not make lists out of this stuff so sorry about the read on this!!