Gus's Walkabout

Gus and I went on a walkabout today. We both had to get out of the house.



We walked up the road and saw snow covered hay bales...



snow covered road...



snow covered trees...


Gus likes to be outside



and he loves the snow



we also saw deer tracks



See ya, I'm going to look for the deer



While he was looking for deer, I saw some pretty trees




We saw a little sparrow...I think it's a sparrow...





Time to start heading back home Gus



We had fun didn't we!!

Snow day = clean out fridge day

We are getting pounded with SNOW here in Virginia. This has been a crazy winter! But I love it. It seems that more people don't like it than do around here. I grew up at the beach and didn't see much snow and now that I live in the mountains, I am enjoying every minute of it.



As I write this we probably have 8 inches of snow and now it is beginning to sleet. This photo below is 3 hours outdated.



I was looking in the cabinets for a tupperware container and couldn't find anything. I had bought a variety size box of them a few months ago, so I knew that I had plenty, but my cupboard disagreed. Where was all the plastic containers?....in the fridge!!

The picture below is all of the tupperware that was emptied from my fridge. Seriously, ALL of it. Get ready to be sanitized by the dishwasher!!



Now look at my pretty, EMPTY fridge. Kayla said where is all our food?!



It was all an illusion Kayla.

Naked Hallway....needs your help

Do you have any ideas for my stairwell? It needs painting, color, decorating, etc. It needs serious HELP!! As you can see the bottom half is unfinished sheetrock. That's because the top half is plaster. They are two different textures. How do we blend the two without it being so obvious? What color should we paint it? What about a light fixture?






I am not a decorator, as you can see. If you have any suggestions, even if it is to knock it all out and start over, please let me know what we should do!




Thank you! :)

If it's snowing, how do the cows eat grass???

These cows have a good Daddy. Our neighbor. He is always out there tending to them. I love when he starts up that tractor. The cows come running. Literally...



They heard that tractor and started running up the hill



"Whew! Finally guys we made it!"





"No wait! Where are you going? It took us forever that walk 500 yards. These hooves weren't made for walking that far"



The farmer shut the gate and drove back down the road. I asked him why he didn't drop the hay off. All the cows followed him up the hill and just when they got there he turned around and came back...he said he was putting another bale of hay in the gate on the other side for later. He will let the cows in that gate later. He was then going go down the road a little and roll out the bale for the cows now.



But the cows don't understand that. Just look at them. You can only imagine what they are saying, "HEY! Stop playing games with us Buster! We are hungry here!"



What happened next was funny. I thought they would turn around and follow him down the road, but they didn't. They just stood there! They didn't move...




...Oh wait, they changed their mind. Took em long enough to decide though.



My son likes to help the farmer roll out the hay. I wish I got some pics of them doing it, but my face and trigger finger were cold so I went inside.

Here are some pics of our doggie, GUS

Sunrise this Morning

I posted on FB a while back that I couldn't decide which I like better: Sunset or Sunrise. Alot of my friends said they like a Sunset because you don't have to lose any sleep to see it. haha.

The reason I ask is because I get to see both where I live. Some people live in the city or a suburb and only get to see one or the other, but I get BOTH! I live on hilly pasture and get the best of both worlds. It is so beautiful each morning to wake up to yellow, pinks, oranges, and purples. And plus the sun is always rising when I leave for work in the morning. I usually notice it about the time I am brushing my teeth.

Here are some I took this morning

Very first one



Here comes the glow



Starting to peek



a little more



and just as fast as it came, its gone. I think the magic of a Sunrise happens faster than a Sunset. For a Sunrise you only have about a 5 minute window and then its over. It seems that you get longer to enjoy a Sunset and they are both different, so I still cannot decide...

When I was driving out to work after that beautiful Sunrise this morning, I noticed a tree on a hill near my house was GLOWING with YELLOW Sun!! It was just high enough on the hill to catch the sun rays peeking over. Gorgeous!!



I leave you with this last one.


I hope we get some snow again!!

God Bless

2 Inspiring Performances

Did you see the Hope for Haiti Now show? If you didn't you missed some great, honest, and raw performances. My 2 favorite were "Hallelujah" by Justin Timberlake and Charlie Sexton and "Let it Be" by Jennifer Hudson. Very moving, very touching, and very sincere.





Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint...

(NIV)

Burnt Cookies? I don't think so...

You know when you are baking cookies and you go and do something and get busy and forget about the cookies in the oven? Am I the only one that does that? Mike would like to think so, but I know I am not alone. In fact, my step-mom Wende told me a little secret to save the "too done" cookies.

Take this picture for example. On the left is an awesomely perfect white chocolate chip and chocolate chunk cookie. On the right is the same cookie, but not so awesomely perfect. It got neglected and left in the oven too long. :(



BUT, you can still save it. All you have to do is put the "browned" cookies in a tupperware container and add a piece of bread. That's right, a piece of bread.



The bread will give the "crispy" cookies moisture and will make them soft. I usually use the butt end of the bread loaf.



OH and another trick I learned is to use DARK Brown Sugar instead of Light Brown Sugar. It takes so much better!