Play Ball!

Today, Morgan asked Steve to play ball with her. So they went outside and played ball until Steve had to go feed the horses. Morgan didn't go with him - not sure why - but when I let the dogs out, she decided to hit some (tennis) balls for them. Abrial is our most avid ball player. See how closely she is keeping her eye on that ball? Cosette is keeping her eye on Abrial, not the ball. So let's see who'll make the catch....

It's Abrial who ran for the ball (Cosette at her heels), caught it, and is making victory laps around the yard.

Morgan wrestles the ball away from Abrial, but Abrial suddenly has baseball confused with "tackle football" and takes off after Morgan.


Okay, how did Cosette get that ball? Oh - that's Delilah's ball. Cosette STOLE that ball!


Here's little Chloe, watch the ballgame from the sidelines. She use to come to our house weekly to play with the "cousins" and would play and run with them - she's surprisingly almost as fast as they are, which is amazing because her little legs are so much shorter - but she hasn't come on a regular basis in a while and now she has become a little intimidated of playing with those big girls. So she's just been spectating.


Now here is a picture of neither Poodle nor ballgame. When the Poodles were groomed last, they came home with pale pink bows in their hair and pale pink polish on their nails. Cosette is always the first to take her bows out. Abrial leaves hers in the longest, almost a week. Someone put the bows on Abrial's crate and Morgan spied them and wondered how they'd look on Stewart.

Hmm...."silly" I think is the answer to that question. Stewart was quite embarrassed to be wearing Poodle bows - and girly ones at that! As soon as this picture was taken, he shook them off.

Resurrection Sunday!

He is risen! Indeed! This was the first thing I thought of when I awoke this morning:

Luke 24:1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen!

I added a different song/video to my blog today - Jeremy Camp's This Man. It wasn't my first choice - that would have been the song Steve had playing first thing this morning - NewSong's Arise, My Love. I was weeping as I washed dishes listening to it this morning.

We don't do traditional bunny/egg/candy stuff, but I did buy the kids new Bibles this year. Morgan got an Adventure Bible. Brooke received a Teen Study Bible. Joshua and his friend whose been staying with us both received The Message Remix.
We went to our usual noon service at our church. It was cold - both in service and outside! The area in which our family sits is commonly referred to as The Popsicle Section.

After church, we ate at a new restaurant, then went home to prepare for dinner with my in-laws. Brooke wanted to make carrot souffle' and Zuccato, a dessert she saw prepared by Giada DeLaurentiis on Everyday Italian. Everything was prepared by the time Brooke went with Steve to feed horses.

Before supper, I let the Oodles of Poodles out. It had been overcast all day, but the Poodles were being so funny, I had to try for some shots. Unfortunately they were running and moving so fast, they were just blurs.

The big......

Cosette, my youngest poodle. She is four years old, but still acts like an adolescent.

....and the small.

Chloe, our Poodle guest this week. She's a cousin. She is a toy and QUITE a bit smaller than my poodles. She is watching this......

No matter how many shots I took, they were just blurs! They were playing and running around and around. Chloe stayed a safe distance away, but definitely was watching with interest.

Cosette is coming around the front like a streak! She was tearing after Delilah and Abrial, who had a great game of keep-away going!

Okay, they're still. For a moment. Cosette, the red, is my biggest girl, standing right at 28" at the withers. I wanted to get a picture of Chloe and Cosette together to show the difference in their sizes, but it wasn't happening today. We'll try tomorrow perhaps.

Winter Horse Show!

Morgan on Punkin, running junior pole bending.

A winter horse show? In April? In Louisiana? Preposterous! But that's what happened! It was so cold today - and didn't get above 44° all day! When you are outside - near a river - sitting on metal bleachers in an open arena - that's REALLY COLD!!!

Morgan had a clean run (didn't knock down any poles) and got a time of 23 seconds (and some fraction of a second - I cannot find my times/points notebook and it's too late and cold to go outside to see if its in the car).

Unfortunately, I didn't believe it was really going to be that cold and my long underwear stayed in my dresser. Fortunately, Steve did believe it was going to be that cold and he brought sleeping bags! Thank heavens for a prepared husband!

Brooke was having a great pole run until Morgan started cheering for her - then she knocked over a pole. No more cheering until she's clear of all poles! Brooke would have had a 22 second run, but received a 5 second penalty.

Delilah came with us. I was going to bring our weekend guest, Chloe, but she's tiny and when it was so cold, we decided to leave her home with Cosette and Abrial and the cats. Delilah enjoyed sitting in the stadium seat on the bleachers. When Nana came, Delilah gave up her seat and laid on a blanket at my feet. She is certainly interested in what's going on. And she did make a good hand-warmer. :^D

Because it was a holiday weekend, there weren't very many people there. Rain and cold do not keep horse people home from a horse show, so I knew it must be the holidays. A small show is good and bad. Good in that you get more points. Bad in that you get less money. Good that it was over quickly. This was very good, considering the cold!

Morgan running the barrels. Look at that dirt fly! Not bad for a 19-year-old horse! And a 10-year-old rider!

Brooke and Morgan both did well. Morgan placed out of the money both times. Brooke won second place in Li'l Chaps Barrels. And they both received points.

Honeybee gets very excited and a bit keyed up before running. She acts differently in an arena than she does loping around outside. That energy is good - but she likes pole bending better than barrels. She does well at both, but you can tell she likes poles better.

Look how low Honeybee is to the dirt! You want the horse to get low and spin her back legs around to get the best speed.

Second place! Good job, Brooke!

Louisiana Sky

Brooke loves taking pictures of the sky as the sun is going down. This was one of my favorites.

We are supposed to have a cold front come through. Break out the horse blankets again - now the horses have shed their heavier coats! We always put blankets on the horses if it gets below 45°. We prefer "unshaggy" look on our horses. But - worst of it - we have a horse show tomorrow out of town and near the river. The wind off that water will be so cold! Blankets for horses AND people, I guess are in order!

Girl of Many Jobs

Brooke, at 12, has had a job for the last year and a half. She feeds all the horses at this barn, twice daily, for a pretty nice monthly paycheck. Her pay is the same if she is feeding nine horses, or if they drop down to three. Currently, they have five horses. Our horses, she gets to feed (and muck stalls) for free! Actually, Brooke pays her horse's boarding fee with the money she makes. She has also, in the past, paid for a $300 horse camp with her own money.

She was called a few weeks ago by the lady she has taken lessons from and was asked if she "wanted a job." It seems Mrs. D. needed a "helper" for her spring horse camp. Brooke could attend for free ($300 is the regular price to attend the 3-day camp) and would even be paid for helping out! Of course, Brooke said yes! So she has been currying and brushing Honeybee so she'd look her best for the camp.

Since the weather has warmed up, all the horses are shedding like crazy. Brooke has been using all of our different brushes to get rid of Honeybee's loose hair and put a shine on her. And it's worked. Here are some pictures of Brooke and Honeybee, all shiny and glossy. The pictures really do not do Honeybee justice - Brooke has done a great job on her and she is beautiful.

Now, today when we went to feed our horses at our barn, the manager asked Brooke if she wanted a job. Another one? I'm tired just listening to her! But, of course, Brooke was pumped! A family he knows was looking for someone to care for his horses while he and his family go for a short vacation next week. So Brooke will be working at horse camp next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and will start her temporary job Thursday and that'll last through Sunday.

Ummm.....Brooke.....can I talk to you about a loan?

Here Comes the Rain Again!

Okay, everyone keeps asking about our construction project. Thanks to the weather, we have been delayed again. We need the dirt pad (all 36.5" of it) to dry out completely and Steve needs to dig two holes, 3'x3', one 1' down and one 2' down, in order for the parish to come out and do the compaction tests. We need to pass the compaction tests in order to get the next permits needed before we can pour the slab. If we don't pass, we need time to pass in order for the dirt to compact. Hopefully, this time and rain is compacting everything nicely.

Here's a picture Brooke took of our stormy-looking sky. That dead looking tree is the pecan in our front yard. Pecan trees are the last trees around here to bud out. With everything else wearing spring green, you begin to think, "Maybe it did die." Then all of a sudden, there are leaves!

The Elusive Morgan

While Brooke was feeding her "job horses," I was playing with the camera. Morgan did NOT want to play along.....

She really, REALLY didn't want to play. I persisted....

I got a giggle when I caught her looking at herself in the mirror. (She sits in the back while riding, but hops to the front when Brooke gets out - you know, to check out her hair in the mirror. In case someone would visit us in our Suburban.)

Hmm.....what are those green eyes saying to you? :^D

Ah ha! Finally at home Brooke was able to get a nice picture! Thanks, Morgan, for sharing your beautiful smile!

Name That Tree

I love these trees! I don't know what they are called - I was told it was a smoke tree, but all the pictures of a smoke tree I can find have purplish flowers. This is as white as cotton. Anyone have the answer?

Sunday Drive

Today, on the way back from feeding all the horses, the girls and I drove down a road we pass every day. Originally, I just wanted to stop and read this sign - we pass to quickly on the highway for me to read the whole thing. But reading it just raised more questions - like "What did the Indians do with gravel?" I know they didn't use them for their driveways. :^D

I was hoping the road would bring us back to the Amite River. But all of the accesses back that far were private roads, so we couldn't see it. But we did see some beautiful sights. This little pond had a family of ducks swimming in it, then they got up on the shore when we took the picture. I don't know if you can see them, but they are to the right side of the little pond.

Brooke took this shot below of a huge old live oak tree that had an enormous trunk and branches reaching to the ground. And it was covered with Spanish moss. Simply majestic. I don't know what setting Brooke had on the camera, but she took this picture while we were driving along at a slow pace and she pointed the camera up. When it came out, it reminded me of an impressionistic painting. I thought it was cool.

And this was the last shot as we drove for home. Sometimes it's fun to go sightseeing almost in your own backyard. You never know what you'll find.

Scrappin' Saturday

Our good friends took Steve and his BIL out for their birthdays to our favorite Lebanese restaurant. Afterwards we went back to their house for dessert, games, and laughs. The little thing on the bottom right is a card that was handstamped by our friend's husband - he made cards for the "boys" because he was afraid his wife would make a girly one. :^D He did a SUPER job! I mounted the card on the blue cardstock and will cut my page protector around it so you can open the card.

Joshua's Family Birthday Party. He received a welding helmet (?) as a gift and was very excited about it - so was everyone else - they all had to try it on for size and see how it worked.

Our homeschool group went to New Orleans to the Aquarium of the Americas in January for a field trip. It was the first time we had been back to the Aquarium since Hurricane Katrina. The Aquarium lost all the animals - so sad. But everything is back up to normal again and they are even building a new exhibit. We can't wait1 This layout was totally scrap-lifted from llrandolf on SplitCoastStampers. Thanks for sharing your great layout!

Today I went to our new library for a "scrapbook group" meeting. This is the first time I had ever been and I mainly wanted to see what it was about. It was just two other ladies there, so my friend Janet and I crashed their private party. :^D Actually, it was nice. The girls read and drew in the library and would come in and touch base with me frequently. We met from 11 until 4, then I went home and worked on another copy of the aquarium layout - one for Morgan's album. Here are the layouts I finished today (yes, only three - I'm a slow poky scrapper).

Pizza Night!

Tonight both girls had friends over to spend the night. It's easier that way. Otherwise I hear Morgan whine, "It's no fair. Zoe is my friend, too. Brooke won't let me play with them." So in this case, two friends are definitely better than one.

Brooke had planned this all week and determined she would make Chicken and Rosemary Pizza for dinner. She and Zoe cooked the chicken before we went to the barn and then put it in the fridge to keep it safe from scavengers (like cats, dogs, big brothers). Of course, she can't just cook the chicken - she had to marinate it in olive oil and season it with basil, oregano, lemon pepper seasoning, and Pampered Chef rosemary blend. While it was cooking, she squeezed fresh lemon juice over the chicken. Can you tell my girls enjoy watching the cooking channel?

The rest of the recipe is an old Pampered Chef one from their Season's Best Spring/Summer 2000, with our adaptations. I would typically make a homemade pizza dough, but I've been taking it easy this week, so we resorted to refrigerated dough. We also doubled the recipe and made two pizzas. Even kids who look at this and say "ewww - that's not regular pizza" like it once they taste it. And come back for seconds. :^D

Roasted Chicken, Onion, and Rosemary Pizza

Pizza dough (homemade, mix, or refrigerated)

2 cups cooked chicken, coarsely chopped

1 cup red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, snipped (can substitute dried - Steve happened to pick up fresh this week)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves, but fresh is definitely best in this recipe) - and I mince the fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

one 8-oz package shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Sprinkle your pizza stone (or pan) with cornmeal and roll out pizza dough to within 1/2" of edge of stone.

In a large bowl, mix chicken with all the other ingredients and 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Spread chicken mixture over pizza dough to within 1/2" of the edge.

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting (we can never wait and cut it immediately with no untoward effects).

Lazy Week

Some pictures of my flowers, before they die.

I've spent most of this week being quite lazy, recovering from my surgery. Today I got the wild idea that someone (read: ME) needed to mow the grass. We do have a riding lawn mower, but we have about five acres that need mowing. I was just endeavoring to do our front and back yards. It was a nice day and the girls and I brought some of our reading outdoors to the swing. I had to trek through almost knee-high weeds to get to the swing and was worried about snakes. Thus the sudden desire to mow. That and the knowledge that it is supposed to rain here again this weekend. I called Steve to see if it would be allowed. He said my only constraints were pain. I wasn't feeling any and he said to stop if I started. So I mowed just part and felt very tired. Perhaps Brooke can finish before we go to homeschool PE tomorrow.

KitKat: She is our oldest cat, probably about 12 or 13. She is crippled on her front right leg and has been since she followed Joshua home. She always looks grouchy, but she is really a sweetheart. She never gets into trouble and is pretty low maintenance. When she decides she needs attention (maybe once a week or so), she will come up and head-butt you until you pet her. Five minutes is all she needs, then she's off for another nap. Here she's sleeping in Morgan's bed, head on the pillow and under the covers.

Libby takes this position every single morning when we leave to feed the horses. Her back end is on my Mama's cedar chest and her front legs are leaning on the window sill. She looks so cute. She adores Brooke and cannot stand when she is gone. When Brooke comes in the door from the barn, Libby jumps down from this vantage point and greets her at the door.

Stewart - our troublemaker. Here he is on Morgan's fish tank. Stewart is either knocking things on the floor, dipping his feet into the back of the fish tank trying to catch a snack, splashing water out of the dogs' water bowl, knocking over and digging in the trashcans, or starting something with one of the other cats. But he still tends to look sweet and innocent despite it all - and he is definitely Steve's favorite cat. Probably because they are usually BOTH getting into trouble. :^D

Tax Time!

Josh's first time to do a tax return. It only took about an hour and was made more bearable by obnoxious music through his headphones. :^D

10 Requirements for Having Surgery

Abrial, waiting to answer the door.

1. Freshly groomed standard poodles. Standard Poodles are the Official Greeters For Recovery and must look the part.

Delilah, wondering if Abrial will answer the door THIS time.

2. Fresh haircut and color for patient. Choose a color on the opposite end of the color wheel from green, in case this color appears around the gills. :^P (Picture pending because I can't figure out how to get it off my cell phone.)

3. Toothbrush and full tube of toothpaste. Use liberally when mouth is dry and yucky from pain medication, at least six times in a 12 hour period, causing Private Nurse/Husband to question whether surgery has caused a sudden swing to Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. (It hadn't - it was the only thing that helped the dryness from the medication.)

4. Fabulous Floral Arrangements, real and not.

Nearest arrangement with gerbera daisies and irises, etc, is from my in-laws, Faye and Bill. The pink/lavender arrangement is from Aunt Louise and Georgia Lee. Aren't my flowers beautiful? They just made me feel so loved!

Tulips are my favorite flowers. These Flaming Parrot Tulips are exquisite! Thanks, Mrs. Faye!

This adorable arrangement is hand-stamped/embossed, cut out, and embellished with beads and buttons and is from my friend, Kassiah. She is SO talented! Thanks, Kassiah. These flowers will never die!

5. Funny Cards to make you Laugh Out Loud, causing Extreme Pain in Incision Site, necessitating #6.

This card is from my Aunt Caryl. It arrived right after my surgery. Aunt Caryl's comment: So fast? It wasn't supposed to be there until Monday when it didn't hurt so much to laugh! You can't see from the scan, but they've photoshopped in Queen Elizabeth. The inside reads "Hope You're Back on Your Feet Soon." The photo simply cracked me up!

6. Cushy pillows for behind head and over incision site. See #5.

Sorry - not my bed - not my pillows. Lacking cat fur and broken mini blinds in the background.

7. Pile of Books and Magazines, for making visitors think you are keeping your mind alive and not watching television during your recovery.

8. Laptop Computer, for keeping up with Support4Homeschool doin's.

9. Movie for Laptop Computer, for use after the visitors who think you're reading go home. (I got Love Comes Softly.)

10. Cat Investigators, to sniff for explosives in flowers, check for poison in your pancakes, and to act as backup in event pressure pillow for incisions cannot be found.

Here's KitKat, practicing the pressure pillow technique on Steve. He is wet because Morgan squirted him with the hose while "helping" clean the ferret cage. It was also Steve who was first to receive the Pancake Inspection from Stewart - yes, all four paws in the syrup. Libby has made herself official flower sniffer, but every time I pick up the camera to catch her in action, she jumps. I guess it is a covert mission. :^D