Snow!!!

On Christmas day, our good friends Jim and Judy invited my mom, Sam and I to Judy's parents house, the Harpers. They live in Willcox and we last saw them 14 years ago. We haven't forgotten!

Judy's mom comes from a large family, so there were aunts, uncles and cousins, plus other add-ons, like us.

And lots of entertaining stories. It was a really fun time.

On Wednesday Sam installed the bedroom unit of the mini-split. The cats are always curious and like to inspect.

We also worked on the exterior covers for the electrical, refrigerant and drain lines, but it got pretty cold and windy outside.

By 10 p.m. we had an inch of snow!

Thursday we woke up to a beautiful sight. We've been looking forward to this for months.

Sam huddled the cars for warmth and protection from the blizzard.

We're hoping the collard greens survive.

Our Canadian friends, Linda and Gord, kept sharing their "real" snow pictures, until Sam couldn't stand the competition and sent back his actual "truck in a snowbank" photo. That'll show them!

We thought it would melt by 10 a.m., but there's still a lot on the ranch and Rincon Peak.

By 2 p.m. Friday . . . blizzard's over!

Although an hour ago (Saturday afternoon), driving back on the PPR from a shopping trip, we still see snow on the roof of the little house!

I hope you all stay warm and dry this weekend.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Mom Vae is spending Christmas with us at the ranch! After picking her up yesterday, we stopped for lunch at a new local place, Serial Grillers. Great food.

I had made chicken, pasta and vegetable soup for supper. Ma insisted on helping with the biscuits.

This morning, we went for a walk then settled down in the sun at the patio table. Which is where I'm writing this post!

She's enjoying Christmas music, the quiet, the views, and old memories. A privilege especially of the older.

Meanwhile, Sam is busy installing the new heating and air conditioning system inside the little house.

I sure do appreciate this guy.

Merry Christmas, you all! I pray you have good times with friends, family and loved ones as we celebrate Jesus' birth.

Things are starting to happen

Last weekend, Sam was able to fix a few more things on the tractor.

It's amazing to me how much he knows about mechanical things and how they work. Trucks, big and small. Cars. Motorcycles. Tractors. Even airplanes, which he worked on in the Air Force years ago!

Then Sam was talking to our friend, Scott, who promptly offered to come out and move our 5th wheel trailer into place.

Sam and I went into "high gear" to level the site with our builder's level, and Scott, with his diesel pickup, had no trouble getting it into place.

Sam and Scott have known each other over 20 years, and Scott and Lynn put on the pumpkin carving party every year. Sure appreciate your help, Scott!

Now, with the trailer in place, we were able to unload the deck from our truck. We'll work on putting it together another day.

With the truck bed empty again, we cleared out some furniture that came in the 5th wheel. We have our own recliners and a few other pieces we want to use instead, so we donated these to a local disabled veterans thrift shop. After Sam was done relaxing!

Lastly, the new heating and air conditioning unit arrived yesterday!

Sam's going to be busy installing it next week in the little house, so my Mom can be more comfortable when she moves in. Oh, yeah, Sam can handle most home repairs and remodels, too! I'm sure fortunate to have him around.

I'll leave you with a view of the moon rising last night. It kind of looks like the star of Bethlehem, right? Doesn't it?! Well, I thought so!

Our week

Sam got the tractor running again this week!

In addition to several new parts that he had to find and install, we poured in 8 gallons of new hydraulic oil. It must go everywhere in there!

Now we can finish leveling the RV site for the new 5th wheel trailer.

The other day, we woke up to fog and could barely see the mountain. It's not a normal occurrence in these parts.

But this morning, the air was bright and clear again. It clouded up later and the temperature barely rose above 50 degrees, with a breeze. Brrrrr! I know, I'm a wimp!

The other day, I was in Tucson to do laundry and errands, and was able to take my Mom for a walk around a nearby park. It did us both good.

The following day, I did a short job in an area of Benson that I hadn't explored yet, so that was fun.

I also wanted to get in the Christmas spirit and show you our decorations. There's not many, but they cheer me up.

Susan and I made these snowmen out of socks a few years ago. So cute!

This is less than half of my rocking horse collection.

And I love these wooden ornaments.

I hope you're enjoying your Christmas season. Take time to remember what it's all about!

Cookie exchange

Yesterday we had a fun cookie exchange and brunch gathering with the women at church, organized by Michele (on the right). I'm the second of two Jans in the group, and the first is on the left above!

So a few days ago, I spent part of the day baking. I was using a recipe called Velvet Cookies from a vintage Mirro Cooky-Pastry Press set that used to belong to Karen's mom, Irmgard. Remember Karen, from Thanksgiving? We're guessing that mom bought the kit in the 1950's.

It worked great! First I used plain dough to make camels. Camels fit in with a Christmas theme, right? They're a bit chubby, but so cute!

Next, I put red and green food coloring in 2 batches and made little wreaths. You pack the dough in this canister and twist down the press till a cookie comes out the bottom.

But my favorites were the Christmas trees!

Once they cooled off, I packed them in these cute boxes I found at Walmart, and it was time for the cookie exchange.

We met at the church to drop off our cookies, then carpooled to the restaurant.

Not many shy people in this crowd, so we had a lot to talk about. I don't have many chances to get together with a nice group of women, so I really had a good time.

Once back at the church, we loaded up with one packet of cookies from each person. Pat and Jean look happy -- they must have already gotten their cookies!

I'm pretty sure mine won't last till Christmas around my house!

Rainy day with the cats

It's a gray and rainy day, so the cats and I are holed up in the house. The morning started with their usual demand for breakfast immediately after I got out of bed. I think this time they had a little help from Pop with the opposing thumbs. But with the spelling on that note, maybe not!

After Pop leaves for work, Dingus and I share a peaceful time drinking tea and reading. I love my warm, fuzzy robe in the winter, and Dingus loves to be close to Mom.

Meanwhile, Frankie starts with a nap on the bed. His nights are often busy looking for critters out the windows, so he needs his rest.

Of course, food and water continue throughout the day.

Along with a little play time. Dingus Magee is older by 5 years and is definitely the "dominant" cat, even though he is declawed and Frankie has the stock daggers. Sam says Dingus calls Frankie a Wolverine-freak (from the X-Men movies).

Afternoons are for serious napping, with Frankie on the cat tree.

Dingus chooses whichever chair is free. If both chairs are occupied by the humans, the floor in front of the space heater is nice and cozy-warm.

It's a nice, lazy day and that's okay now and then.