November News

Saturday, November 30 - The Christmas Tree - Carolina and Stockton completely took over the decorating this year. They decorated the tree, strung lights all around and put up the Stockings. It feels very Christmasy now. They did a great job.

Thursday, November 28- Thanksgiving - A few to pics of the preparations and yummy food we had today.

Adding the meringue

Making the dressing

 

Dogs staying close to the fire

Three pieces of pie?

Tuesday, November 26 - Karate Lessons - Versatile Coconut is now enrolled in karate lessons. Judging from the black belt, it seems she's advancing quickly. Gypsy better look out.

Sunday, November 24 - Fried Pies - Some pumpkin and some apple filled fried pies for a change of pace.

Saturday, November 23 - Sledding Video - I put this video together from some great footage Nathan shot a couple of days ago. Hope you enjoy it.

 

 

Friday, November 22 - Cold Blast of Ice - Look what blew in during the night. Icy and crusty everywhere.

Stockton scraped the ice off the sidewalks for us, making it a lot less dangerous.

Wednesday, November 20 - Intensely Fun - The kids were playing monopoly tonight, staying close to the woodstove. They seem very serious about it, don't they?

 

Tuesday, November 19 - Central Standard Time - Atlanta and Jordan are in the same time zone as we are, but we are actually at least an hour different as far as the sun is concerned. They are on the eastern edge of the central time zone, and we are on the western edge of it. Here's an example of the difference. Atlanta sent the first picture of a beautiful sunset to me and I went outside and took the second picture of our sky immediately after. We still had lots of daylight left.

Monday, November 18 - New Boomer Cage - Remember Stockton's mountain boomers and smaller reticulated lizard? Well, now that cold weather has arrived, it's become a challenge to keep them warm. When it gets really cold, we have to bring their container into the kitchen beside the woodstove. It didn't take long for me to realize that this wasn't a long term solution. They were really in the way. So, we decided to spend a little money now, to save ourselves some trouble all winter long. First we purchased a heating pad that goes under their aquarium, but since we were using a plastic bin as a temporary aquarium, we found that the directions said not to use on plastic. So, we had to go ahead and get Stockton an early Christmas gift of a new large glass aquarium.

He had fun rearranging his rocks and stumps just so.

The heating pad, along with a couple of heat lamps means...nice, warm lizards...

The Hunted- Nathan got a shot at a nice buck. I think it would be a good idea for deer to stay away from here. These Shannon's are good shots.

Friday, November 15 - Fun Night with Friends - The kids were invited to a game night at the Campbell's. Windy was supposed to drop Aspen off on her way home from Lubbock, but ended up staying, too, when she saw that there were other kids Stockton and Carolina's age there and plenty of parents with which to visit.

This picture of the kids playing a game was the only shot I took all night.

Thursday, November 14 - Pretty Skies on the way to Lubbock - Just had to stop on the side of the road and snap these out of the car window. I just can't stand to think that a sunset could go by without someone keeping a record of it.

Wednesday, November 13 - Friends - We're glad we gave Stockton and Carolina puppies for their birthdays a couple of years ago. Yes, they're a lot of trouble, but when you see the good times and good memories being made between these good friends, it's worth it. Every kid needs a special dog in their life. Read all about that memorable birthday here.

Tuesday, November 12 - Laredo Shoots a Buck - Now it's Laredo's turn to bring home the bacon, or venison, as the case may be. Nice deer, Laredo.

Don't worry, Rusty wasn't shot.

Sunday, November 10 - Chris and Debra - While we were in Tennessee, Nathan, Aspen and Mambo got a chance to have some fun of their own. Chris and Debra came for the weekend. Before they left on Sunday, everyone got to wish Debra a happy birthday.

Chris brought the decorations as a special surprise.

Wednesday, November 6 through Sunday, November 10 - Quick Trip to Tennessee - We couldn't wait another minute to see what Atlanta and Jordan were up to over in the hills of Tennessee. Cim, Laredo, Stockton, Carolina and Windy left today for a flash visit. You'll see by the pictures how much we were able to squeeze into our three days.

Atlanta's sweet potato biscuits Thursday morning were a treat.

Time to hold the pet squirrel.

The guys went nearby to saw some of Jordan's wood into thin planks.

Making a plan of action for tackling the ceiling.

Carolina gathered this darling basket of moss and acorns.

Yummy sausage, mushroom, cauliflower, asparagus, potato soup for lunch.

Fun with "Squirrel Squirrel".

Adventures in scrapbooking...It isn't easy with three men and four kids around.

Atlanta had to finish a regency petticoat order for her Etsy Shop.

Carolina gathered up the wood scraps and worked tirelessly on a set of alphabet blocks for the coming baby.

Another afternoon we experimented with inking some leaves from the forest. Didn't they turn out fabulously?

I have to snap gorgeous cloud pix when I see them.

Apparently Texas isn't the only canvas on which God paints.

Atlanta in front of the wooded hill behind their house.

 

There they are. Proud of their handiwork...and rightly so!

Sunday, November 3 - Dramatic Skies - Most of these were taken out the window of a moving vehicle. Which is your favorite shot?

Big Whitetail Buck - This weekend proved productive for Stockton. He shot a very nice buck on his very first shot of the season. He and Nathan were here on the ranch near the western border when this big guy came by their corn feeder.  

 

Saturday, November 2 - Vintage Girl - Cute Carolina around the house today.

Friday, November 1 - At the Mailbox - Almost every morning, someone has to meet the mail lady down at the mailbox. Either we have a package for her, or she has a package for us, or we just want to take the mail and pick up the new mail in one trip. It's about a mile and a half from the house down to the mailbox. Today Carolina and Coconut went with me. While we're waiting, we listen to a local call in show out of Childress called "Trading Post". People from a wide listening area call in with their items to sell or trade. It's very entertaining and informative. We've actually bought and sold a few things this way.

The second picture is a very sad one. Can you see how they have come through and ruined the beautiful landscape with these hideous power poles? However, they haven't actually strung any electric cables yet. This is more of the dreaded scheme to completely cover the once wild and untamed Texas ranch land with windmills and power lines that MAY or MAY NOT someday help the good citizens of the Dallas area have more electricity choices. It certainly won't ever benefit the average person who has to look at them for the rest of their lives. Shame on the local land owners for accepting their one-time payment for these view-killing monstrosities that will be an eye sore for all generations to endure for decades to come.