This Weekend

November seems to have exploded, thus blogging has been neglected. Last Thursday we made our annual trek to Amarillo for the WRCA Championship Ranch Rodeo. WRCA (Working Ranch Cowboy Association). It's a 4 day affair, but we generally only go for 2 days. It's just too hard to be away from the ranch and honestly, after 2 days, we have had our fill of people and are just plumb peopled out. :) But still. this is a trip we eagerly look forward too. It's somewhat of a family reunion. We see friends we've known for 30 years and it's a wonderful opportunity to catch up. There's a huge trade show with booths galore filled with everything cowboy-ranch related. One stop Christmas shopping at your fingertips. There's an auction on Saturday that benefits the Crisis Foundation. Cowboys don't cowboy for the money. Yes, any ranch folks reading this...I hear your laughter. I know it's tough to make a living in general, but cowboying really doesn't pay well. However, it would be challenging to find a cowboy that would choose a different occupation. The Crisis Foundation helps those working cowboys and ranching families in times of crisis. When they hear of a family that is dealing with an injury, sickness, or loss of life, the Foundation is there to help. This year I donated this quilt:

                                 

At the rate I've been  finishing quilts this year, I had better get started on next year's now.

In the evening, we enjoy cheering friends on in the ranch rodeo. It's sure nice to be a part of a culture that still opens events in prayer, giving thanks to God and taking time to honor our military:

 I didn't take a lot of pictures - too busy having fun and visiting with friends, but I thought ya'll might enjoy seeing one of the wild cow milking:

For those of you who aren't familiar with this, they release a cow into the arena. One team member is horseback and ropes her. The other 3 members of the team run to mug her, with one ducking under, squirting a little milk into a beer bottle. Then they have remove the rope from the cow as the milker runs to the official with his bottle. The fastest time wins. It tends to get wild. One of the milkers was wearing a pink pair of boots and the announcer commented:

"Anyone wearing pink boots at a rodeo oughta be able to run. " LOL.

One night is designated Wrangler's "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night. Many of the contestants wear pink to promote breast cancer awareness.

First thing Friday morning, DH and I made a run to Panhandle leather:

DH needed some stirrup leathers and a few buckles and leather tools and this is the place:

Gotta love a place that hands you a cup of coffee when you walk in the door...in a real mug:

And we got a chuckle out of this sign:

I dropped DH off at the Civic Center, where he met up with our girl, and I headed out to gather up 2 friends for a day of fabric acquisition. Alas, our favorite quilt store was closed due to the fact that their roof had fallen in. 😢 However, that didn't stop us from having fun. We all picked up odds and ends at Hobby Lobby, Joann's, and another tiny quilt shop before grabbing a quick lunch at a little deli.

The blue print, brown minky, and pink minky are for backings.

The sweet green floral is just for my stash for future fun baby girl quilts and the brown/green weave is for an outdoor/hunting quilt

and the others are just 1/4 yd cuts for current projects.

                  

We came home on Saturday night, showered, unpacked, tuned in to UFC fights, hit the sack, and prayed we wouldn't get sick. It's a gamble when you're around that many people. DH said, "It'll be a miracle if the country mice escape the plague." LOL.

This morning I fixed breakfast for DH, made stew, threw in some laundry, wrote my list, and planned to run to town for groceries. DH knows how much I dread those trips and he suggested I just get by on Tuesday and run in after I feed the crew at noon. That was all the encouragement I needed. By Tuesday, I will have recuperated enough to tackle that list.

We've got another big sale at the sale barn tomorrow and I was NOT buying $300 worth of groceries at 9 p.m. We're working cattle Tuesday through Friday so I'll be in the kitchen...again. :) 

If I think about it too much, it'll wear me out, so I'm hitting publish and going to let Jesus handle the rest.