Good things come in threes

Good things come in threes or so I have been told. I sure hope so. I have three grown children. We have three horses in the padture( one belongs to Lauren). We have three male dachshunds.
This year I've tried to make Christmas easier on myself. Everyone has three presents under the tree. I hate to wrap. Three. Gosh i'm finished shopping and now I just wrap one a night and I'll be done which is good because I meet with a surgeon on Tuesday. Guess what? My third surgery this year. It's to repair some torn cartilage in my right knee. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done before the end of the year because we've already met our medical deductions this year. Wish me luck.

A plan coming together

Every once in a while,  something has to go right. Obviously,  I'm not a professional dog breeder or I wouldn't be looking at an unplanned litter, but just because they weren't planned doesn't mean that they aren't loved. They are. Unbelievably so. It's ridiculous how utterly completely I can fall in love with puppies.  Each one is so friggin special. I want to find them humans that will love them as much as I do. This can take some time and involves some networking too. I mentioned to my son Paul that I was looking for homes. He has a friend. A nice friend that just lost her husband and needs some one to cuddle. Someone to love. I imagine bringing a little bit of laughter to her home will be welcome too. So, Dawn will be leaving soon and I'm beyond happy about this...

Missing them

There was a time that I saw my sisters every day. They've seen me at my worst. Back in the days before I even knew that I  needed coffee to start my day and before I  realized that chocolate isn't optional at certain times of the month.
I feel so bad that I can't join them weekend to celebrate Robyn's late 50th Birthday  especially since she made mine incredibly special.  She made me cupcakes with cowgirl hats on them and we went to the Dixie Stampede.  Good times.
But every time I get to spend time with them, it's incredibly interesting.  Ask Robyn about a wet loo or Lee why you don't follow elk upstream.
Maybe we might have gotten our family tattoo and talked Mary into getting one as well. I will miss them so much, but I pray for their safety.  If you know them, you really know how much this is needed. I hope they have fun. Will catch up soon. I promise.

The future

Most of the time when I think about the future,  it's pretty immediate like what's for dinner this week, what I'm going to wear, when I'm going to clean house or put up laundry. Long range is wrapping Christmas presents.  But, when something goes wrong nothing seems important other than those you love.
I went to the hospital with bp of 220/140 because of some internal pain. Still working on the exact nature of the source but that damn pain is gone and I have to much to do to get sick. There are quilts to be finished.  Jamming sessions to be had, and trips to be taken. Hugs and kisses to be given. Tag me not nearly done yet.

Drowning

The following are lyrics from a song by Chris Young:
Still got your number in my phone
And even though you don't know I still listen
I still call and wait 'til the tone
Just to hear you saying "leave a message "

Since you've been gone I've had to find different ways to grieve
There's days that I don't even want it on my mind
But tonight I'm weak

So, I'm gonna pull out pictures,
Ones with you in 'em
Laugh and cry a little while
Reminiscing
By myself
I can't help that all I think about is how you were taken way too soon
It ain't the same here without you
I gotta say, missing you comes in waves
And tonight I'm drowning
Yeah, I know you're in a better place
And one day I'll see you again
But it's killing me we can't be face to face
I miss my best friend

Unplanned bundles of joy

Not every pregnancy is planned. I had a metal gazebo worthy of standing up to sixty miles an hour wind, but it was no match for two wayward dacshunds bound to be together.  We only saw them together once and it was late in her cycle so it was possible that things didn't take. But love conquers all .. and gives us little bundles of joy. Allow me to introduce Sundown aka Sunny

And he was followed by the lovely Dawn

Next to join the family was a wee mighty one and we call him midnight

Then came Dan the black and tan

Dixie is busy being a wonderful mother and loves them with every ounce of her being.  I know how she feels.

The "C" word

It's weird how one word can turn your world upside down. Dwight and I have deliberately not discussed cancer until we were forced to face the monster head on. Dwight's mom lost a long hard battle to cancer and those memories are best left in the past.
For months, I counted down the days for our vacation. It was supposed to be a relaxing trip to the most beautiful beach in the world, but a nasty Hurricane hit and we thought it foolish to drive into stormy weather. We decided to go northwest instead of southeast.  It made sense at the time. Repacked everything.  Made motel arrangements because tent camping was closed due to increased bear activity.   Game on. Pulling out of the driveway,  we got a call from the doctor.  Dwight has colon cancer.
I think I was in shock for the next couple of hours. The plan was to stop when I got sleepy, but too much to think about and I drove through the night. Dwight was up early so he got to drive. We went on like this for a while. Not really talking, just digesting the word cancer. We had an amazing trip. Dwight said the word cancer outloud and we decided on an aggressive form of treatment.
We got back and met with the doctor to schedule surgery as soon as possible.  Then immediately started setting up time off from work. Every thing just happened so fast. There was very little time to talk about what was happening or how scared I was or how worried he was. Lots of praying and running outside so he wouldn't see me lose my composure.  We both said a prayer that he wouldn't have the room in which his mom died.
Surgery was longer than expected.  Much longer. As I sat in the waiting room,  I could imagine the worst. He ended up taking two feet of colon, eleven or twelve inches of small intestine and his appendix.
So now we begin another waiting game. Waiting on biopsy results.  Waiting on the healing. Praying that the worst is over.
Sometimes you need to look for the good in bad situations.  Dwight and I have been reminded of how truly loved we are. So many people have reached out to us. He and I say the words "I Love you" pretty regularly,  but now we make sure that there's eye contact and lots of feeling. Nothing taken for granted.  Hugs last longer.

Tuesday Day six

Rained most of the day, but we were prepared.  Had a nice hot breakfast at Glacier  Cafe. Their coffee was pefect. Then we headed to Fisher Cap lake. We saw a moose then hiked a mile and then vack to the lake to take more pictures of the moose.

Day five

Rained all day long. We ate at the cafe in Babb. Drove to the Canadian border. We saw free range cows, buffalo, big horned sheep. Ate dinner at Twin Sisters.  Had a great buffalo burger and huckleberry pie.

Day Four

Left Conrad and entered the west side of Glacier park. Visited McDonald and Cascade Falls. Then went on to do Avalanche  Lake hike and Trail of the Cedars.(pictured below). There was a lady playing  an Indian flute on the trail. Evening found

us checking into Hooks Hidewayand eating steak at the Cattle Baron's Steakhouse.

This is me by Avalanche creek. We were exhausted when we finally stopped moving. All of us.

Vacation Day Three

Today started out beautiful with a good brakfast and a full night's rest only to break down an hour later. Six hours to repair a serpentine belt. But then we made good time. We saw black tail and mule deer and crossed into Montana. The sky country is beautiful.  Bear spray bought and ready if necessary.

Vacation day two

Traveled all night in the car because I couldn't sleep. Too much to think about. The word cancer has been said and we're talking a plan of action.
First stop this morning was the Badlands. Chris found it just as captivating as we did so it was a great stop.

Then it was on to Mount Rushmore.  We stopped and got a buffalo burger in Keystone. It was a amazing. The stop at Rushmore was quick and painless, but a great experience.

Then it was on to Devil's Tower. A special place to me and the Indians that have roots here. They tie prayer cloths around the Tower. Legend has it that the wind carries those prayers up to the Great Spirit. I sent my own prayers up for my favorite Cherokee descendant. 

Vacation 2019 day one

Hurricane Dorian ruined our perfect plans to go to the beach in Sanibel Island so we are headed to Glacier Park in Montana. Even though there is a chance of rain. In spite of increased bear activity. 
That's right driving 25 hours to hike through bear country.  I sprained my knee to add to the fun. At some point, something has to go right. I was hoping it would be the phone call following up on Dwight's colonoscopy,  but that was not to be. Monday after we get back, we meet with the doctor to discuss options.  Today, we're just putting distance between our lives and where we want to be. Praying for a good time. A time to recharge.  Then, we can focus on getting him better. Just outside of Kansas City and it's almost my time to drive.

Fair ribbons 2019

The 2019 Newton County Fair is a done deal. All of Dwight's peppers got blue ribbons-jalapeno, bell, and cayenne.

I entered a cake for the first time ever. It won a first place ribbon and was considered for Grand Champion.
All of my jellies got blue ribbons. The peach even got Grand Champion.

My swan picture was considered for Champion too so all in all very happy showing.

More quilting adventures

Ok so I have quilting class every Monday. I haven't posted pictures in a while so here goes: these are snowballs

 You can use them as fillers.

I forget the name of that one.

The making

Lately, I have had more than one post about quilting.  It's not that I'm obsessed,  but that all depends on who you ask. It's more about learning different things, creating, and growing as a person.  I had always wanted to make a quilt and make one I did. Then I designed one and have high hopes of finishing it before the fair and entering it. We'll see. There's less than a week for entries.
Meanwhile I've learned not to do anything while I'm tired. I make too many mistakes. I've learned the more you do something the easier it becomes. I can thread a needle in seconds and rip a bad seam in minutes. I cuss a little less, but still bite my lip when I go to check my corners.
I know I'll never be a pro, but I'm learning.

Summer gardening

I haven't written much lately. The garden has kept me a little busy.  We were overrun with cherry tomatoes, bell peppers,  and cayenne peppers.  We had just a few cantelope and watermelon.  Two pumpkins.  Red potatoes did ok. Very little corn, but what we did have is beautiful. Jalapenos are still producing and look amazing.  I have some gourds for bird houses, but not as many as last year. The thornless blackberries did great for their first year. Nectarines were plentiful for the first time ever. Just a sprinkling of squash and zucchini, but we've planted a fall crop. My rosemary bush is flourishing.
So far we've put up garlic powder and garlic salt. Ground pepper. Watermelon candy. Canned greenbeans. Frozen tons of bell peppers and jalapenos for poppers. Made spaghetti sauce and salsa. 
If I'm not putting stuff up, there's watering and weeding to be done.

Watermelon

Last weekend we went to Cave City Watermelon Festival.

Where we bought watermelon and brought some home to share...

Will I remeber?

These days I'm lucky if I remember why I walked in a room.

Today, after much coaxing, I made this jump with my youngest.  I hope I don't remember how scared I was.  I hope I remember her laughter.  The way it felt to fly. The shock of cold water in the middle of summer. I hope I remember the smell of wild flowers and the sound of running water.

More quilting adventures

These up above are my latest nine patches.
Down below we have a disconnected square:

And a pin wheel:

Then we have this beauty, but I can't remember the name for it....

I scream, you scream. We all love ice cream

Ok so maybe they don't scream for ice cream, but they do bark really loudly for their ice cream. And don't even think they will share.

The fab four

DJ became Daisy.  Peanut became Blue. Hershey became Dink. Queen B became Princess.

June bride

What's June without a June bride?

Then there were her daughters:

And I was doing so good keeping my tears in check unti this happened:

The groom gave his new daughters  their own rings and promised to love them forever.

I loved the outdoor chapel

My favorite part of every wedding:

Best wishes Mr. & Mrs. Greg Spencer.