Giving Thanks

On this day I am so very grateful for so many things....

For a Lord that loves me
as an imperfect and frustrating wife who gave me a wonderful husband, knowing my faults and loving me anyway
as an even more imperfect mother to children who are amazing..in spite and not because of me
as a grandmother who is no longer there....
as a worshiper who is only a part timer
as a friend who does not call nor seem to care
as a daughter who is distant and should not be
as an idiot and a loser in my own mind

Then again.....He loves me, in spite of all, so how bad can it be ? I can convict myself a thousand thousand times and He still loves me...
ergo
I WIN....out of all the things in life, when it comes to the biggie ( eternal life ) I WIN and I am grateful

Thank you Lord for all I am blessed with and thank you for the things I take for granted.
I am well and truly blessed.

Did I mention the car.....

Alrighty then.....

In the last exciting installment baby Rottie, aka Thud, and I had an adventure walking and it was not much fun ( at least for me ). Cracked ankle and all , I drove myself to Taos and got it x-rayed and splinted. Fine so far, sorta. I am pretty sure I was in some kind of shock but I managed to get home or at least to the driveway in one piece.

I have been backing down this drive, in all weather, for over a year and up until 11-11-11 I did fine...meaning I hit nothing and did no damage. The drive was pure ice and this too I had dealt with in the past. However, comma, ( yes, you know what is coming ) when I backed down this time I slewed sideways, hit the "planter" area, which is bounded by old railroad ties and popped the side thingy off the car in the front. Out came all this baby blue liquid, which I was sure was anti-freeze fluid and which all the dogs were immediately interested in licking. In addition to the pain of trying to hobble on crutches ( which by the by made the ankle worse and not better ) I was hysterical thinking I would have to explain to John why we had 4 dead dogs...have I mentioned I have an over active imagination? If not, let me just say now "worse case scenario" is my forte.

To my immense relief ( and with my undying gratitude ) our friend Tom showed up and checked under the hanging thingy and it was the windshield wiper fluid and not the anti-freeze ( yay....no dead or dying dogs ) and he snapped it mostly back into place then duct-taped it up to make sure the tire would not hit it, should I decide to drive again. I have seen cars duct-taped together and thought "wow...how ghetto!!" but just let me say now, never again will I make a snap judgement about this sort of auto repair. May God forgive me for being so judgmental...but doesnt He always have ways to make us understand how wrong this is?

I continue to learn and grow and it most certainly is not always easy. Here is my ghetto car...which still runs and did not poison my dogs.

Thank you Lord for your continued protection and your lessons in both humility and knowledge.

( I did not know Stryker was in the photo when I took it but you tell me, doesnt he look guilty?)

Interesting times....

Friday afternoon, after being asked by John if I had walked Stryker, and after having said no.....tooo slick from the snow turning into slush, into ice....I decided to do just that....thinking "poor dog, he needs this". I have been lax regarding exercise since the snows started, his not mine since I think it is an exercise in futility regarding myself, but still..... so off we go.

The walk up the road was fine...he is learning heel and sit and stay well. However, comma.....when he is headed home, he knows it and wants to get there faster than when he was leaving. No problem...he is a good boy!!! So I decided to give him his head and let him dash a bit, also ok, but my left ankle decided it was not. Twist, turn and a bit of a crack. Funny how you can feel a bone breaking from inside your body, isn't it ?

Hoping and praying it was not a break, I did the RICE thing ( rest, ice, compression and elevation ) . Hurt so bad I could not eat anything for dinner, tried to sleep with the ace bandage and an ice pack--only a cold, wet sheet and no pain relief resulted, and decided to hit the Taos ER first thing in the AM on Saturday.

Praying nothing was broken I did find the Taos hospital but could not find the ER. Oh joy. Walked through the entire place and finally found it, whereupon the check in lady had me stand for at least 15 minutes at her window trying to fill in the most simple of forms ( funny how the easy stuff isnt so easy when you are in pain and alone).

Good thing is , when the nurse finally did take me back to the exam room, it was fast , friendly and really efficient.

The ankle is fractured, dont know what will happen when I see a follow up Orthopedic doc on Wednesday and have no idea how I am supposed to shop for the turkey and fixin's for Thanksgiving which is expected of me.

Please pray for me.

Thank you to our Veterans

I am grateful and blessed to have been born in this country. So blessed to live where there are men and women willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of our collective freedoms.

Since the birth of this country there have always been those who believed she was worth protecting and fighting for. So many who have gone to battle for us never returned home....many buried in lands far away....some never recovered.

My Mom used to quote Milton, who said " they also serve who only sit and wait " with regards to the families of those serving in the military. She knew whereof she spoke. For two years while my Dad served in Viet Nam she waited and waited and waited. She did not "only sit" and I would posit that none who have a deployed service member do. My son in law Joseph, home now on leave from Afganistan, is married to our eldest and sitting is something she cannot do. The sacrifice of family is something civilians will never truly understand nor really appreciate. Those of us who do know the true cost of freedom.

To not only those who serve or have served, to their mothers and fathers, wives and children, brothers and sisters, my heartfelt thanks. May God bless those of you who have loved this land throughout the ages, in every branch of service, and have served her with honor.

And may GOD BLESS THE USA.

Freaking out about Christmas....in November

I am thrilled and terrified about the coming Christmas season. Although I have gotten over the " eeeekkkkk everyone is coming here and the house is not perfect" stage, there is still much that concerns me. And no, the house is not going to be perfect so that is not it. The head count so far is 31...give or take a few. There will be many cooks and at least three ovens and stoves so the food shouldn't be a problem...maybe, depending on who brings what, who does NOT bring what and what we will need to provide.

I have no idea what to get for gifts since most of the family will be traveling elsewhere after Christmas and any and all goodies need to be small and/or easily packable. John has said that the airline tickets are the "gift" but try telling that to a small child. Ummm no, that will NOT cut it. So the hunt is on...wish me luck on that front.

Will there be enough blankets, coats, gloves, and boots? Will there be altitude sickness ( there usually is ) and how many over the counter meds will I need for ages varying from almost 1 yr to ancient ( us ) ? Do I have enough tissues, toilet paper and should I buy diapers? Who will be sleeping where ? Will there be enough cars to get everyone everywhere, whenever they need to go?

Then there is the dog issue. The poms are not a problem since they are yappy but small. Thud is a different story. He has done "meet and greet" but it has been awhile and small kidlets will definately get knocked over ( with joy in his heart, not a mean bone in his body ) and maybe sat upon. He doesnt know he is a "big dog" since he is still a puppy and I worry that he will do harm....am I going to end up sleeping with him in the garage? He does not do well when left to his own devices ( empty garbage cans, chew contents and other fun activities ) so leaving him out of the festivities is not an option.

Usually I do all the worrying prior to any event and in this John and I differ. He does not waste time like this but I figure if I do all the worrying and wondering in advance I might just get things worked out before they happen.

Pray for me.....I am losing it and it is still over a month away!!

Baby it's COLD outside

Yesterday we got the 4th snow storm of the season ( it is still fall, right??). Probably 10 inches. This winter we are better prepared to deal with the white stuff because we have an ATV with a little shovel on the front. John is back in Hawaii so I had the dubious pleasure of doing the driveway, not all by myself since all 4 dogs were there with me. I am pretty sure if they could laugh, they would have. This was only my second time driving the ATV and I am not a pro, to say the least. It has a wonky gas lever and "smooth" is not the word to describe my driving. I did manage to get most of the snow shoved up to the road and cleared a path up the driveway....not 20 minutes later the Village snow plow shoved most of the snow right back into the drive.

Sigh.

Fortunately I had no need to leave the house....one shoveling experience a day is more than enough, thank you very much!! Still...since it costs $60 every time someone else has to shovel it, I guess today will be another attempt. Shovel ready job? I got one right here!!

Also had my first fall of the season ( last year there were 4 ) but it was cushioned by all the fluffy white. I guess for an old broad, I still bounce pretty well.

38 and counting.....

It doesn't exactly seem like yesterday....but it doesn't seem like 38 years married to the same amazing man, either. So much has changed ( I certainly don't have the body much less the mind I had back in the day!! ) but so much remains the same. I love John more than I thought it possible to love and he still has the ability to tick me off more than anyone else.

For our anniversary we went to Phoenix...hoping to see my Dad and our friends, Mike and Sheila. Dad was at the NMMI homecoming and Mike and Sheila were in Kansas. What struck me about Phoenix ( aside from the killer heat...seriously, why would anyone who is sane live in that kind of heat!???! And I do not care that it is a "dry heat " : it is a precursor to hell. Hot is hot is hot, period. Ack.) was the shopping possibilities. Every block has every store ever known to man or woman. Over kill ? Yes, and while I do admit to missing some variety to the good ole' Valley Market, our one and only store aside from those meant for the tourists, I could not wait to get home. Phoenix is a nice place to visit ( did I mention HOT, HOT, HOT???)but I am so blessed to live where I do. After 40 odd years in a place touted to be paradise, which it definately is not, I have found mine and it is here in the mountains.

My Dad arranged for us to visit the most famous and oldest steakhouse, The Stockyard. We got to sit in the booth made famous by John Wayne and it was an amazing dinner. Dad suggested we try the "calf fries" but I had a bad feeling those fries are the same as mountain oysters. Bingo!! No thank you very much. I will try just about anything when it comes to food but bull balls are NOT on that list. I would rather starve. Fortunately there were better options on that list...and the beef was amazing. Have I mentioned that I am very glad we are not vegetarians??

Thanks Dad, for a great evening and a much appreciated gift certificate !!