Rain From Heaven

With the kids home for a week and cooking for the crew for a week, I've not had the time to post about our big blessing. Those of you that have been here long enough know that weather is a big part of our lives. Farmers and ranchers are obsessed with the weather and when it rains here in the desert, ya'll know a post is going to pop up sooner or later.

On the night of September 30th we had a deluge

Yes, 4" is a deluge in the desert. It's been years since we had a 4" rain. And on Tuesday we added another 1". North and south parts of the ranch had between 6-8". The east and west sides had 8" in 3 rains. Dirt tanks that were previously completely dry are now overflowing

DH has been on chicken chore duty for 2 months since I've been out of commission and he went out the next morning and dug a trench on one side and built a drain on the other end to keep the chicken yard from flooding:

Since I'm still not completely mobile, I wasn't able to trot around and take a lot of photos, but when DH said he was going to check on the east side, I just HAD to join him:

We went all through summer (August and September are generally our monsoon season) without nary a drop and now we are praising God for this:

Yes, God is worthy of our praise every day, all day, rain or shine, but we are just over the moon when it rains.

Here's the most awesome part of the story. Our sweet neighbor. Grandma Lillian (whom I have talked about HERE, HERE, and HERE) passed away and her service was on Monday, the 30th. She was 95. Her grandson said the last time he talked to her, he told her that she needed to have a talk with Jesus when she got to heaven about straightening things out down here. Lo and behold if we didn't get this amazing rain that very night. I actually woke up in the middle of the night and lay there with a big smile on my face because I knew that precious lady was celebrating in heaven and she made sure we were celebrating down here as well.

So thank you Jesus...and Grandma Lillian because I have no doubt that she didn't waste any time when she arrived in heaven.

When the Kids Come Home...

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen:

I love making family favorites and sending leftovers back with them. Food is a love language in this home.This time around I made Chicken and Dumpling Casserole, Barbacoa, Steak, Salsa Verde Chicken Pasta, Buckaroo Bundles, Quesadillas, Taco Soup, Stew, Spicy Pickles, Baked Oatmeal, Special K Cookies, Cowboy Cookies, Pound Cake, and Auntie's Chocolate Cake for the birthday boy. Fill up a plate and pull up a chair.

We enjoyed one evening around the fire pit:

And our girl brought her 3 hound puppies home:

Meet Odin:

He's the newest member of the fur-family - and just a sweet as he can be. He's just 4 months old and thinks he's a lap dog:

Our boy was home longer and he was a big help. He mowed, put the weed eater to good use, cleaned out the oil pit one day, he and DH changed the oil in 3 pickups, and then they bailed out the oil pit a few days later when it rained:

We had some amazing rain (that deserves a separate post) which allowed us to play umpteen rounds of Spades

and endless games of Cribbage:

Cribbage and Coffee were the first order of business each morning:

Do any of ya'll play Cribbage? We've put it away for this week as we're presently knee deep in our Fall Cow Works. The kids went back on Sunday and Monday. We were sad to see them go, but grateful for the time together. Harvey has earned his spot as co-pilot on road trips:

 I worked at the sale Barn on Monday, and this week I'm back in the kitchen - cooking for a crew through Saturday.

My knee's healing and I'm finally retiring the crutches, but I've been a little frustrated that it's taking so long. My family has taken to calling me Drover, which will only make sense if you're familiar with Hank the Cowdog. It's still awfully swollen, which makes getting britches on a challenge. I'm not much of a sweatpants gal - I only have 1 pair - but after I'm done cooking for the crew, I may be pulling them out. Yes, I know I need to rest it, but it's kind of hard to cook from the recliner.

I'm taking a couple of shortcuts this week and using paper plates and I'm still making rolls for dinner, but using Pillsbury frozen biscuits in the morning.

Another thing I did was order groceries online through the Walmart Pick-up program. I figured this was a good time to give it a whirl and I have to say, I'm impressed. I'm definitely going to be using it again - maybe even on a regular basis.

So, that kind of catches ya'll up on the latest happenings at the end of our dirt road. A few more long days in the kitchen and then I'm looking forward to a long nap after church on Sunday.

A Seal of Approval from Skeet

We've had one child home for a week, the other came a few days later, and now we're running into the beginning of weaning season. By the time we finish with that, it'll be the end of October. One day at a time. Right now, I'm just soaking in the little things:

Our boy rescued a litter of kittens behind his workplace a few weeks ago and a friend of his who works at the VFW offered to take them in and find them homes. One of those tiny babies now lives with our boy. Meet Bud (aka:Buddy)

So sweet seeing this tiny kitten bond with our 6'2" son:

The head of ranch security was on the job:

And Bud was given the seal of approval:

                                         

And a friendship begins:

       

Honestly, he is the best dog ever:

He's got a heart of gold:

Bud's now officially part of the family and later today, when our girl arrives, it'll be pure bedlam with critters hither and yon and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Something to Bind

It's been a while. I'm not really able to sew, but the binding was made months ago and I think I'm going to give my knee a test run this weekend and try stitching it on to the front because I picked up these quilts from Jackie last week and I am determined to bind something after so many months. Here's hoping I'll be stitching soon. 1008" of binding ought to keep me out of trouble...at least for a little while.

Scoped and Healing

Just popping in to give ya'll an update and let ya'll know that all went well with my knee scope yesterday. In the big scheme of things, this is just a small blip, but I haven't had much experience with hospitals or surgeries and to be honest, I was a little anxious. A few years ago I attended a local conference and purchased this T-shirt:

I should have bought another because I'm wearing this one out. I wanted to share the accompanying Scripture that put my mind and heart as ease:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

I know that many of you are going through trials and tribulations and I pray that this too brings ya'll some measure of peace and comfort.

My doctor removed cartilage shrapnel from my knee, cleaned up my shredded patella, and sent me home.

My knee was so unstable before the surgery that I was sure a ligament was compromised, but I'm no doctor - I'll ask him about that when I go back for my follow-up.

I've been given orders to keep it elevated for 48 hours and ice it a lot so this is my view for the time being:

More reading on the agenda:

And I'm beginning to plan our Fall Cow Works menu as we begin weaning the first week in October. I'm digging through this box of saved recipes today - before Pinterest 😄 - in search of some new treasures.

I'm being a model patient as I need to be back on my feet for that. DH is an awesome nurse...bossy, but sweet. 😉 Between he and Skeet, I'm in good hands...and paws

I was even served supper in bed - that's a first. I've never eaten a meal in bed and I'm not a fan, but it was delicious:

So all is well. I'm behaving, following the rules, and staying out of trouble, but I'm not liking it much. 48 hours isn't really that long, but I'm looking forward to moving on to the next phase and finding blessings in the moment.

A Little Road Trip

Yes, all is well. I simply haven't been spending much time on the computer. Thank ya'll for your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers as I continue to hobble around on my trusty crutches. I know I need to rest my knee, but I'm not a very good rest-er although I will never turn down a  good nap!

DH has been a big help. Yesterday we went to town for my pre-op. I told him to drop me off, go ahead and run errands and then we could head back home after he picked me up. Efficiency is the name of the game when we make trips into town because we want out as quickly as possible. On very rare occasions DH has been to the grocery store with me and he picks up 2 or 3 things if I need something when he's in town, but he's never actually been grocery shopping without me. Poor guy is lost in there. It made me smile when he phoned to ask me about what kind of this or that he needed to get. He found some new things too. 😉

I was in and out of the hospital quickly and even had a good visit with the nurse who ran the EKG - our chiddlers were in 4-H together and DH and I have always enjoyed visiting with her and her husband so it was good to catch up. After I finished, I found this pretty spot outside while I waited for DH:

I am so grateful that the brutal summer  heat has disappeared. DH shot in a USPSA match this past weekend in Albuquerque and the weather was amazing:

Yes, I went and hobbled through. We were able to pull the truck into each bay and I sat and read in comfort when DH wasn't shooting or when I wanted to rest my knee. Then I hobbled out and videoed his runs. I felt badly that DH had to do all the loading and unloading, but I love watching him shoot. The early birds congregate to discuss stage plans and we are always the early birds.

I like shooting too, just not in public or in competition. Both the truck bed and back seat were fully loaded. Good thing we're empty nesters because there wasn't room for kids. 😉

Call us picky, but yes, we travel with our own pillows and a quilt...of course. It was a 2-day shoot and we take a cooler full of water, snacks, and food for lunch, but we splurged on supper Saturday night:

I ordered (and shared with DH) the (gigantic) shrimp wrapped with bacon, stuffed with cheese and jalapeno, served on dirty rice and it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten in a restaurant.

I've been careful about what I've been eating since I'm not able to walk and be as active as I was before I wrecked my knee and I was surprised to see I'd lost 6#. Not a lot, but certainly better than gaining it!

The orthoscopic countdown continues. The 17th is getting closer. I am ready to retire the crutches!

Under the Needle: August

Another Under the Needle post with little to report, but substantial progress has been made on one of my EPP projects. It's grown from 10 stars to 42. The stars are about 5" in diameter. I still love making these little stars so stitching continues.

The end. Turning my hopes toward September. 😉