Gwen Needs New Shoes. Our Hard Working Son Gives Them To Her

This is Gwen. She needs new shoes. Our youngest son is a farrier, more commonly known as a horse-shoer, and he will be putting new shoes on Gwen. She is a big girl and to me, intimidating. Turns out she is a sweetheart though. A few tools of our son's trade. "Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love." David McCullogh I am posting these pictures in no particular order of his work. He hot and cold shoes horses and his forge and tools are very orderly and efficiently arranged in his trailer. "Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else." James Barrie Our grandson CT holds up one of Gwen's shoes, showing it to be bigger than his head. "In order that people may be happy in their work three things are needed: they must be fit for it. They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success in it." John Ruskin

Look at how Gwen looms over our son as he works on her feet. "All hard work brings a profit.." Proverbs 14:23

Our youngest son always was a hard worker. When he was a little boy he used to tell every one he was going to be a "worker man". And he meant that literally. This son was up at the crack of dawn every day raring to go. He would get his chores and school work done so he could be free to work on other things he loved more. "Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it." AU

The ease with which our son works and plays with horses amazes me.

Not sure where his love and innate ability to "read" horses comes from because neither my husband or myself have that ability.

Gwen seemed totally relaxed during her shoeing.

How does he do this? "It does not seem to be true that work necessarily needs to be unpleasant. It may always have to be hard, or at least harder than doing nothing at all. But there is ample evidence that work can be enjoyable, and that indeed, it is often the most enjoyable part of life." Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Daniel can carry on a conversation while attending to the horse, but I think Gwen is also a well trained and sweet horse too. "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence. " A.U.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

One of Gwen's farm friends looks on. "Sweat is the cologne of accomplishment." Heywood Brown

I would like to say this about our youngest son, he is hardworking, kind, optimistic, and generous. He is a God fearing and God loving man. His wife Breezy is the perfect wife and helpmate for him, and I praise God for them both. "A generous man himself will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9 One more thing, this son of ours is also a beloved uncle to our Grandchildren, and he has made a difference for the better. Thank-you Lord for our son Daniel.

Two Turkeys In A Teacup Thursday

Two turkeys in a BIG teacup! They have grown, haven't they?

I have been running into myself coming and going lately. Busy playing with grandchildren, tending the animals, trying to garden in the mud and also getting ready for the Lavender Festival coming up soon. Very soon! I have a booth to set up there and am looking forward to enjoying the festival and maybe making a little money in sales too.( Gotta pay the hay bill) I am still making Wee Little Sheep, and many, many other things , but I do get distracted and worn out with having so much fun with the granddaughters. To see what's going on at the First Annual Lavender Festival to be held here in practically my own backyard just click onto Mountain Meadow Lavender Festival *

The turkeys are outta here!

We Want Hot Chocolate For Our Tea Party!

Our Grandma and Grandpa came to our home for a few days last week and brought us back home with them for a visit. We are having a tea party today with Grandma. We asked her if we could have hot chocolate in our tea cups, and she filled the tea pot with it.

Grandma asked us which teacups we liked best. She said we could drink our hot chocolate out of them. We both like Grandma's butterfly teacups best.

Aren't these pretty tea cups? Grandma said Grandpa bought them for her.

Here is the bottom of the cup. The rim and edge around the cup and saucer are deep blue with gold design. We thought the rim was black, but in the sunlight it was clear they were blue.That is Grandma's favorite color.

We asked Grandma for toasted cheese sandwiches and fruit. Grandma gave us some jalapeno cheese puffs too, but we all decided we did not care for them. They are bright on the plates, but messy in our hands.They get our dresses kind of orange too. Grandma's black cat Joey liked them though, but Grandma would not let us feed him as many as he wanted.

I wore wings to tea. I matched the butterflies on my tea cup.

I liked the cheese sandwiches and had 4 cups of hot chocolate! Grandma had mint tea with her sandwich. I don't like mint tea, just regular tea with lots of sugar.

I really, really, really like hot chocolate, even in the summer. Today it was kind of cold outside so the hot chocolate was very good.

Very, very good!

Grandma said we did not need dessert with tea ( hot chocolate ) today because of all the hot chocolate we drank. We still think dessert would have been nice but after we drank so much coco we weren't too hungry for dessert after all. We hope you are having a very good and delicious Tea Time Tuesday today! Grandma said to visit these ladies to see more of Tea Time Tuesday, Teacup Tuesday, and all things tea ! Martha*, Terri*, Lady Katherine*, and The Plumed Pen* Do you think some of these ladies have hot chocolate instead of tea?

Dots The Frog

Granddaughter caught a frog and named her Dots. Dots has dots, lots of dots.

Dots is a Red-Legged frog, native to our area. Isn't she cute?

Dots required a lot of worms and bugs , and granddaughter had help from her Grandpa to catch them for her pet frog.Dots had a little home in a big plastic container with moss in it.

Look, a big worm from the garden, thanks to grandpa's help. Dots loved this worm and gulped it right up. Dots loved to eat the flies and moths caught for her too.

Dots really needs her home on Cedar Pond though. After a few days of being Granddaughters' pet, Dots was released back to the spot she was caught , at the edge of Cedar Pond. We have seen Dot before and we think we will be seeing her again, near the camp fire area, soaking up the sunshine and catching bugs. Maybe one day she'll be sharing the pond with her grandchildren.

We Interrupt Turkey In A Teacup Thursday...

We interrupt Turkey In A Teacup Thursday because we caught a mole! Our granddaughter poses with the mole next to a big mound and hole in the ground caused by the little one and it's many relatives. This is the mole super highway, underground of course.

Granddaughter had never seen a mole up close before and was excited because I was excited my husband trapped one of the legion of little critters causing so much destruction and havoc to our lawns, gardens, sheep pens, chicken pens, driveway, pond....when she actually saw the little creature she was sad and said "It is so cute, it's dead? This is sad~". I do not have the words to express my mixed feelings about these little critters, except to say they cannot be allowed to flourish as usual around here. The damage they have done is extreme.Now if they just stay to the woods and by-ways they would be left alone. But no, they have super hi-ways and by-ways around and under our home. Sheep crippling tunnels and mounds , garden destroying cave-ins, need I go on? ( but they are kind of cute)

Miss Vickie *, one more for our count on underground varmints . Here's hoping you are adding to your count.Let the competition be fierce!

The turkeys were very happy to not have to pose in a tea-cup this week. They will be back next Thursday, whether they like it or not.

Tea Time !

It is Tea-time Tuesday, again!This week I have a special guest to help set the table and take tea with me. My lovely granddaughter, our oldest granddaughter , daughter of our oldest son, is staying with us. She chose the menu : fresh fruit, ( cherries & oranges) , tuna fish sandwiches,chips, peach tea, and chocolates for dessert.Granddaughter plated the chocolates and decorated them with cherries, she also plated the fruit. ( with joy!) The table linens include a small embroidered tablecloth I embroidered the first year I was married , along with some cotton napkins embellished with beaded napkin rings. The sandwich and chips are garnished with chive blossoms and lovage leaves.The chives and lovage grow in my herb garden. Lovage tastes like celery. I use lovage often in the summer for salads, and sometimes in herb bread.

Granddaughter likes sugar in her peach tea.

Real cream is good too.

The plates and cups were chosen because Granddaughter chose the pink teapot for tea, and not being a "pink" gal myself, my color choices are limited when it comes to adding pink to my table. The rose adorned plates are thrift shop finds, very cheap. The cups are beverage cups that come in sets with hostess or dessert plates. These clear glass dessert cups and the plates that go with them were a gift to me from my Mother about 20 years ago. She bought them at a garage sale and she told me they were collector's items even then. I did find a big market for them on E-Bay years ago. I am not interested in selling them and have a quite a few, they are very nice for serving refreshments and coffee , tea, or punch at showers or weddings.

The underside of the plates.( click to enlarge)

Close-up of my tablecloth. ( Be kind, my embroidery was hit and miss and hastily done.)

The best part of Tea Time Tuesday today was sharing it with my Granddaughter! To enjoy the Tea Time Tuesday, Or Tea Cup Tuesday with many others click onto Martha's Favorites* , Artful Affirmations*,Wanda Lee* & Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor*.

"I learn as the years roll onward And leave the past behind, That much I had counted sorrow But proves that God is kind; That many a flower I had longed for, Had hidden a thorn of pain, And many a rugged bypath Led to fields of ripened grain." Author Unknown "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged." Proverbs 17:6 May all of you be blessed with precious company for tea!

Sweet Sunday

How sweet Sunday was. We were able to be with family, especially good for my husband who has not had many days this year without outside obligations. Our daughter and her 4 children were here today, along with our son's oldest daughter, a wonderful surprise! Dear friends brought her here to visit this week. Our first time ever having her here to ourselves and we intend to enjoy our time with her. ( above, our daughter with her youngest daughter)

Mommies like to play with dollhouses too.

Little 'J' also likes to play with the dollhouses. Especially the doll's cars.

Long distance picture of granddaughters playing with the doll house. Where is the blond head of our oldest granddaughter?

Ahh, there she is!

The grandchildren had plotted to make water balloons and bomb Poppa with them,but big squirt guns were nice too.

Little 'J' was very happy to get a hold of this big squirt gun , and although he could not actually operate it, I can tell it gave him a sense of being a "big boy".

Hoses worked even better for him though. ( note the change of clothes, there is only so much mud and water a boy can soak himself in before he needs a change of clothes)

Poppa even let Little 'J' help him mow the lawn.

Then it was time to row the boat around the island. Finally Little 'J' is big enough to ride in the boat with Poppa. ( The patches of white in the pond are the fluffy seeds of the cottonwood trees. They are so thick around here it appears to be snowing.)

He's pretty happy about that! ( I still haven't cleaned and painted that boat)

After Little 'J' gets his ride around the island in the pond, the rest of the grandchildren get in for a ride. What a sweet, sweet Sunday. Time with our family, good food to eat when we're together. Just hanging out together. Thank-you Lord for this precious gift!