Red barn in white

This is another drive-by shot....on the way to Sarah's. I wanted to post something but don't feel like dragging out the camera right now for what I want to post about so will put this photo up.
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What I would like to know is this: does everyone go to Walmart, or wherever you go, with the intentions of getting just a few things and almost always end up with a cart piled high? I just got home a few minutes ago....I got a new dish drainer. I have a dishwasher and had went to the small dish drainer. Lately, I have been washing dishes more than using the dishwasher, and find I need the bigger drainer.

I about fainted when I saw the price....the drainer was $12.47, which would put it over $13 with taxes. The tray it sits on was $7.97.....and get this, I don't like doing dishes. I don't let them set and set....I cannot bare to go in to cook with a big pile of dirty dishes sitting. So mine are always done up at least once a day, and most times two...occasionally three.

I feel like I have been doing dishes all my life. I am sure I am not the only woman that feels like that....and I don't just hate the job itself. It is the fact that I no more than get them done, till someone messes up some. It feels like I make no headway. I really would hate to see all the dishes I have done put in a pile....it would be a mountain I am sure.

As for how long I have been doing them, I think I started around 4th grade...not sure...could have been a little earlier or a little later. I always did the supper dishes...and helped with either the breakfast or dinner dishes. You would think I could not forget which other one I helped with, but for the life of me I don't remember.

She did teach me to do them and get them over with...every now and then I would try to put them off, and she would tell me I could, but that I would have to get up early the next morn and wash them. She would let me leave a cast iron pan every now and then....which she usually did that night. She was not one to leave a bunch of dirty dishes either.

I can so clearly remember one time, my brothers and I were out playing ball after supper. Mom came to the back door and yelled and told me it was time to do the dishes....so, I went in uncomplaining...it did no good with mom so we basically didn't do too much. Anyway, when I got in, she had them already washed them for me...what she really wanted was to give me some ice cream. There had been just a little bit left, so she gave it to me.

I remember that so clearly....

See, ice cream was a BIG treat in our world....it was something we probably did not have once a month...not even sure if we averaged having it once every two months. And we almost always got butter pecan! You would think I would be tired of it by now, but about half the time I get ice cream now, I will still get butter pecan.

Have you ever had a float made with butter pecan ice cream and Pepsi? In my own opinion, no other float can compare....though now I usually use Coke. Everyone says they don't want to deal with the nuts, but they usually go to the bottom and you use a spoon and eat them last.
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Oh, the tests came back negative on Lorelei....and she IS feeling better and the temperature has been down the past two days. I am so relieved that she is feeling better. And her mommy is feeling good. So things are definitely looking up.

Now if I could just have a day or two of sunshine and bright blue skies...I might feel like doing something.

Not great photos, but great subjects anyway

On the drive we managed to sneak in last week, we saw 5, yeah FIVE eagles. The first four were together...one adult and four juveniles. They were just a bit too far for my camera. I could barely tell they were eagles through it...Roger's spotting scope was a bit better. We drove on a ways and saw this single eagle....it was a bit closer, but this time was snowing so hard. Still I think you can tell it is an eagle!
We also spotted this fellow...I don't are if there are a lot of coyotes, I still love to see them. They are another animal I never saw in the wild till later in my life.

After long absence...

After a long absence, I think I am about ready to start blogging again, but don't hold it again me if I fail to post every day...I feel like I have been on a long journey. Before I tell anything that has been happening, I wanted to show a few pictures of the Toot.

Below, you will see her hard at work with her screwdriver...working on one of her toys. She does love tools. And always turning anything with wheels upside down. She has been doing that forever. I bet she won't be very old at all before she is helping her daddy when he works on his car. He is not a mechanic by trade, but loves to fiddle with his car, or if his friends are doing anything interesting to theirs, they sometimes call him. It is a fun thing, not a job.

Also, be sure and notice how close Otto is...usually, he is not far from her.
and by the same token, he couldn't get far away if he tried. Lots of mornings, the first thing she does is go get him up. She will run into her mom and dad's room, and I am thinking she is going after them, but no, she goes and yells for Otti and comes running out with him.
One morn he had his collar on, and Lorelei was climbing on his back holding on to it...he got up to go do something. Well, he never does anything in slow motion, so she had a short wild ride before she fell off...no harm. I was really surprised that she did not start trying it on a regular basis...but normally, he just lays and takes it all.
She has recently started to love baby dolls...and has to have a least one to take to bed with her every night, and sometimes we will have her, two or three babies, and maybe Olivia all to pack into her crib.
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Lorelei's mom had her second surgery the 16th, except for a couple or three nights, I was over there for probably 3 weeks....this surgery only took about 50 minutes compared to the 7 ½ hours of the first surgery. Recovery has went well....

Our older daughter came home from Los Angeles for Christmas...it was so funny to see Lorelei's reaction to her. Usually, when she hasn't seen some one for a while, she is a little bit shy. But she seen her Auntie asleep on the couch, and said 'Mommy?', and went over there. I wondered what she would do when she saw it was her aunt and not her mommy....she just kept going with a smile that could not be any bigger! And from then on, she made almost every step her aunt made.

And even though her aunt left the 30th, she still mentions her almost daily....it is just so sweet. She said her name to me, two or three times yesterday, and Sarah said she had mentioned her the day before.

Little Lo is sick...Sarah came home to spend the night on the 5th, and Lorelei started vomiting and running a temp that night...Sarah did call the doctor while she was here, she could not get in to see her, but the doctor seemed to think it was just a stomach flu that was going around anyway.

Well, that has been 11 days ago and she is still running a temp. Sarah took her to her new pediatrician over there. He checked her over physically and could not see anything...her lungs were clear, her ears were fine, etc...so thought maybe it was just the end of some virus. But he is having her checked for bladder infection. So keep her in your prayers.
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We have had snow, snow and more snow...of course not as much as my brothers in Tennessee. I will have to check in with George and Betsy and see what they have....they live in Tennessee also, but farther west than where I am from.

I have not been taking many photos...haven't been doing much of anything since being home. Roger got me a little netbook for Christmas...we ordered it after I came home, just something small to take with me for convenience. Or something to take up and down to the basement when I am working down there. It only weights 2.8 pounds....I think the physical size is a little over 7 inches wide, and a bit over 10 inches long, and about and 1 inch in depth.

It does not have its on dvd/cd drive, so had to buy and external cd/dvd writer to make the recovery disk...so been fooling some getting it set up.

For now, that is all I have to say...please bare with me as I try to catch up with everyone.