Home for the Weekend

It was sunny and lovely this morning when we got up. Too bad it didn't stay like that. As we were loading in Billings this morning it clouded over, and has been snowing steadily for the past several hours. Looking at the weather channel, things look whiter the further west you head, and that's exactly where we're heading. We'll be leaving Billings here in another hour or so and heading towards Idaho. Should be fun driving down through Yellowstone this evening! I actually like it when the weather is wintry going down through there. It makes it more fun and interesting, not to mention scenic!

While we were home, we got a lot done. Our living room has been more or less a storage room since we moved in June. Malcolm's parents had a piece of furniture stored there waiting for their basement remodeling to be done. We didn't see any need for them to move it and crowd themselves when we're hardly home anyway. So we had just stacked some things there as well and left the room with a little seating and the TV and then the rest of it was storage. The remodeling job is coming along beautifully in the basement and they had reached a point where they could move their things from our space and into theirs, and so we helped transfer from point A to point B, and then got all inspired to work on putting our room together. The end result was ceiling fan and light fixtures changed out to the right ones, entertainment center put together, and a room that actually feels homey and looks like a normal living room! Everytime we walk it, we both kind of pause and think "wow!"

It's still just temporary. Eventually a new room is going to be added to the house and that will be the tv room. This one is going to be my space for my library and whatever else I want to do with it. But this is great in the mean time. It was refreshing to walk through and see everything more or less in a normal place!

After it was all together, I had fun dusting the house (it was WAY over due), and putting out nick knacks in the cabinets, as well as organizing our DVD's and VHS tapes that had been living in moving boxes. It always feels good to get another box emptied and broken down!

Upon arrival at home, I was pleased to see a bud on my Christmas cactus! Granted, it's not Christmas, but my cactus rarely blooms on schedule with it's name.

This is actually the first bud my cactus has had in three years. The primary reason for it's lack of blooms would be my four legged children, mainly Paris and Ella. When we lived in Billings, I discovered that they were snacking on the cactus when I wasn't looking, and though I tried to keep them out of it, it was a loosing battle. There wasn't really anywhere to put it out of their reach. By the time we left Billings last June, my cactus was basically a cluster of 7 inch sticks.

Most people would have just thrown it out at that point, or sooner. But Malcolm gave me this cactus on our first Christmas together, 10 years ago. He had heard me talking about wanting one like Granny's, and on his way home from work one day he stopped at a florist shop and bought me one. So it is too special to give up on. At our home in Baker, there's a little area behind the sink that seems to have been made for my cactus. And it is VERY happy there. It has tripled (maybe more) in size, since last June when we moved. And now, after all this time, it's feeling well enough to make a flower. I'm so glad it's going to make it!

We did spend a little time outside. The weather was decent, pretty warm though also pretty muddy, and Sunday was windy. Malcolm had to change a tire on the trailer where the side wall had gotten a hole in it last week. He had patched it but technically your not supposed to do that when it's the side wall. However, he knew we'd be home in a few days where he has spare tires.  It's hard to justify spending money on tires out on the road, when we have a stack at home. So we made it work till we could get home.

And also he had to feed the cows Saturday and Sunday mornings. That was, after all the reason we went home, to feed while my father-in-law was out of town! Malcolm's dad has a hay buster which basically grinds up the hay so that none of it is wasted. I never realized there is a yummy part of hay and a blah part. But apparently, left to their own choice, the cows and horses will just pick out the dried leaves and yummy tid bits and waste a lot of the stems and stuff. BUT, if you grind it up, they don't have a choice, and it all gets eaten. No waste and tummies filled. I didn't get pictures, but he grinds it out into long rows and the cows fall into line behind him. It looks like a giant version of the Pied Piper leading the mice.

While he was feeding I was down in the lot saying good morning.

Everyone was happy to visit, as usual, though they were a little distracted. They kept looking up the driveway. Guess they knew what was coming! Our horses get to spend the winter in the lot, which is a big corral, with the bulls. I used to wonder if the bulls would pester the horses, but after a few visits and some observations, I came to the understanding that it might be the other way around. I've caught a couple of my ponies bullying the bulls. Poor guys! They just head the other direction when they see my herd coming. We'll have to work on lessons in sharing, but that's for another day.

On this day, we were visiting, and then the tractor arrived with breakfast. I had no idea breakfast was such an exciting event! I had to let the tractor into the lot, and then me and the kids continued our visit, but suddenly had a lot more elbow room. Notice in the background of the picture below, behind Gemma, that the grownups are all about the business of getting to breakfast!

And a few moments later, the kids realized they were late. Sky, the big lovey boy, was the last to realize what was going on (or maybe he just wanted that last private moment with his absolute favorite person in the whole wide world), but he wasted no time getting to it when he was ready. And now I know that horse can RUN!

Food has always been his biggest incentive. Wonder when they grow out of that bottomless stomach?

After that, visiting was a lost cause, and since it was so muddy and windy and a generally crummy day to be out. I decided to take a video of the celebration and then leave them to enjoy the meal. Truly,breakfast must be a wonderful thing! They were rejoicing for quite a while before they settled in.

Almost forgot!
A few have asked, over the past few months, for a picture of me driving. I don't like pictures of me, but just to make you happy....

...and give proof that I actually do drive this big rig.