Important Information!

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Hoya

My hoya vine is blooming! Hoyas are such great houseplants. So easy to take care of, with thick, colorful leaves, and really cool, little clusters of flowers.

The new ponies are doing good. They are such sweet mares. they are about 20 years old, but you can tell that when they were younger they were really nice, top of the line horses. One is an Arabian, the other is a Quarter Horse.

books

I was reading a blog the other day where the writer said he/she was going to try to read at least 50 books this year, and it made me start thinking. I'll bet I read that many books most years. So I am going to start making a list. I will list each book, author, when read, and if it was any good or not. I think I will also make a list of those that I start and never finish.

New Ponies

I took in 2 new ponies to board over the weekend. They are two mares that belong to my neighbor. She bought two horses at auction the other day but doesn't have the stalls built for them yet. So asked if I could keep her two old mares until she does. They are two sweet girls. One an Arabian and one half Quarter Horse and half Throughbred. She does have two yearling mustangs that she is wanting to sell if anyone is intersted. They won't be big horses, just kid size, or pony size. Large ponies/small horses. And they are very sweet, too.

No Sleep

I spent the three nights unable to sleep. It's bad enough when you don't get enough sleep because you have to work, take care of kids, critters or what ever. But just because you can sleep, especially when you usually do sleep. I even learned how to sleep standing up when I was in the military. After three nights and days to say I was a big of a grouch, crabby, and not feeling up to par was an understatement. The only thing I could really think that might have been keeping me from sleeping was the fact that it was a full moon. So what - my friends said. It didn't bother them. Well it did bother me. And full moons bother lots and lots of people. Anything that can affect the tides the way the moon does, can affect the way a person or animal feels.

I did get some sleep last night. I think if i hadn't I would have simply passed out and got it that way.

Reincarnation

Have you ever considered that you might be the reincarnation of someone from the past? I think at some point we have all thought about it. There are some people who say they can remember all about their previous life, and some that only remember bits and peaces of it. I recently read a book on it and tried some of the hints it gave about leaning who you were in the past. It said to try things like mediation, yoga, night dreams and even daydreams where you concentration on a blank screen and let come what will come. I was skeptical but tried it anyway. I was sure that if I had had a past life it was as someone who was involved in the wild west somehow. Surprisingly my first glance into the past was when I woke up having a dream about Benjamin Franklin. I don't think I have though much about old Ben Franklin since learning about him in grade school. As much as I love history, Ben wasn't one of my favorite people in history. No I wasn't Ben himself. The old man, and in my dream he was pushing a few years, was standing by an old, oak desk that sat in front of a large fireplace in a room full of books. I entered the room, (in that life I was a man, ) and said something to Ben. I got the impression that he was my employer, and I was a sort of servant. It seems like I told him that his carriage was ready for him to go somewhere, whenever he was ready.

Then the dream was over.

extremely Weird!

I wonder if I will have any other dreams or impressions of having lived in the past - or maybe the future.

want directions on how to make a cute greeting card on your printer?
go to www.hp.com/go/ideahouse

there are some really 'interesting' blogs at
www.writingup.com
I am the story writer for
www.writingup.com/user/storywriter

Raptors

Winter in New Mexico is the time to see raptors like the little hawk. New Mexico is on the migratory route for many of the birds of prey that follow the routes of many other migratory birds. Bird watching here can be very good. Living in a rural area I see many birds. We have a resident flock of quail that come through almost daily to see what might have been left by the horses and drink out of the short plastic trays that I keep filled with water for the birds, dogs and cats. And no, I have never seen one of my cats catch a bird; they prefer to go after the mice, which suits me.
There has been a large roadrunner coming around recently. We moved out here almost three years ago and had never seen a roadrunner in our yard until a few months ago. I had wondered about that as we always had roadrunners everywhere we lived in New Mexico. They are fasanating birds, with there long tails, long beaks and stop and go way of moving. But they are on the verge of being a raptor as they prefer to eat things like baby quail, mice, lizards, and snakes. They can have the mice and snakes but wish they would leave the quail and lizards alone. The quail and lizards eat many of the bugs that abound here. But nature is nature and the roadrunner is only doing what comes naturally to him.

Little Hawk

Yesterday morning I was taking the horses from their small, individual pens and letting them have some free time in the turnout field, when I saw a small hawk sitting on a fence post. It didn't really look like a kestral but it might have been. It seemed to be a bit larger than a kestral, but was still a lot smaller than the normal red tailed hawks that are common around here. He didn't seem to be afraid of either me, the horses or the dogs. Just moving to a place near us when ever we moved about. At one point he even flew under my old pickup. I thought that was a bit unusual. I wondered if maybe he was slightly injured but decided he was just hungry and was hoping we would scare out a mouse for him to dine on. No such luck, but I encouraged the little hawk to stay around and have all the mice he could find. I hope he did find a mouse dinner after I went back into the house. We certainly have enough of them to spare him one or two.

Server

My internet server did something really weird to my account over the weekend. I suddenly couldn't get on. It had rejected my password and when I tried to retrieve it, it said that it didn't even recognize my email address. Ok, I thought to myself. Time to call. I only tried to call at least a dozen times over the weekend and with each call was told that the call couldn't be contiued to please try again later. Finally, when I am really, really getting upset, I was able to get to a person. But that person did not speak the same version of American English that I speak. I think I may have ended up with one of the call centers in Idia that we hear so much about that have no real concept of the language that they are trying to speak. Anyway he said he had reset my password, then he hung up with out saying anything else. I tried the new password, which did work, and quickly changed it to a new one. So far it is working. I have also had problems with sending emails to people. They are being returned as undeliverable and I have friends saying that mine are being returned to them. This isn't just one server, or free email site. It is a whole list of them. Hotmail, Yahoo, Netscape, Netzero, Tesco, Sysmatrix, Cybermesa, Zianet, and on and on.Is anyone else out there having this problem?

Arte

I am doing my best to get my son's web site out. Dustin now has a 2 year old stallion, Darkan's Mystic Art that is avalible for stud service. You can see his web site at

www.goldstud.net

There are some really nice photos of Mystic Art, and his parents, as well as information on how to contact his owner if you are interested in breeding your mare to him. Arte is three quarters Arabian and one quarter Saddlebred. That means that you could get a nice National Show Horse from him by breeding a Saddlebred mare, an Arabian mare or any cross of the two breeds to him. Arte, also, is a really nice black and white pinto, and all of his foals should be either black and white pintos or solid black like his sire, Black Lord Darkan.

Take a look. I think you will be as impressed as I am. Of course that could be because I am his mom.

Near my section of the world everything is burning up, and near my sisters section of the world everything is flooding. There has to be a way in our modern world to bring the two together so each section gets what it needs.

And speaking of tools. I haven't been writing on my blog as much because I have been busy experimenting with, and figuring out how to use my new cell phone, and my new printer. My old printer and cell phone had died in the last month or so. My dear, sweet hubby got me one of those combo machines - printer -coppier- fax - scanner. So far it works like a dream. Much better than any printer I have had before. It is a HP Officejet. If you need a new one - check it out.
Since my cell phone died, I went and got new ones for myself and dear, sweet hubby. I did not want one that did all the fancy stuff. Just a plain phone. Another words no camera in it. I have a very good digital camera. Needing to get it in my hands to check it out before I bought it, I went to a store and decided the one on the internet that I almost ordered - I did not like at all. The store was running a special on a new model Nokia (with camera ) at the same price. So I got it. One special feature that I do really like is the large screens so that me, with my poor eyesight, can see a lot better than the phone I was considering.
So if you don't see new entries on my blog it might be do to playing with my new toys - ummmmm - tools - ummmm - machines.
Oh - what ever you want to call them.

And don't think I am some kind of goody-goody who is wants to ban all guns. I don't. I grew up with guns in the house and knew how to 'correctly' use one by the time I was 10. I emphasize 'correctly'. A gun is a tool, to be used properly. It is a 'tool' just like a hammer, saw, rope, computer, car, or skillet is. If not used correctly all of these objects can be just as deadly as any gun can be.
Please be careful with all 'TOOLS'.

The New Year hasn't started off that great. It was quiet and peaceful at 11:45 pm of Dec. 31, 2005. By 12:00 am of Jan. 1, 2006 it had become extremely noisey. Many of my neighbors were lighting fireworks and way, way to many were firing guns. It is my sincere hope that none of those stray bullets found there way to anything except the ground. I can not understand why people do not understand that a bullet fired into the air has to come down somewhere. It is a simple law of gravity. One small 11 month old child was serverely injured here in Albuquerque by just such an occurrence last summer. By some miracle she lived.
Please do not let this happen again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO EVERYONE
May it be your best ever

Gifts

In a continuation of the gift thing, (and it is the last one I will write,) If you give me something I really like I will brag, and talk about it, and thank you for it for years, (if not for ever).
Many thanks to Hubby who gave me an wonderfull necklace. It came from Santa Ana pueblo gift shop. It is blue beads interspaced with turquoise, small pieces of sea shells, other semi precious stones, and little birds. I love it.
And my sister gave me a really nice silver picture frame.
Thank you.

Cards

Next year I intend to do even less.
I sent out 20 Christmas cards, and received only 12 in return. I don't do any letters any more,( just email ), except for the holiday cards. It is my way of keeping in touch. Needless to say I won't reach out and touch someone any more.

RETURNS

I understand that today all of the stores are expecting an extream amount of people coming in to return unwanted gifts. What is this
Unwanted Gifts

I never received an unwanted gift. It didn't matter what it was. Or who gave it to me. I always apprecite the thought that someone liked me well enough to give me a gift. (Or at least I hoped that was the reason they gave me the gift.)

If I don't like you -- well you just won't get a gift from me.

Which brings us to the reason I don't give many gifts anymore. I don't know if anyone returned any of the gifts I have sent over the years, but they sure do seem to complain. One person always make a point of making some sort of degrading remark about what they get from me.

I try never to do that. If you make unkind remarks about what you are givin it means you didn't want anything to start with.

So I took all those cutting remarks to heart this year, and only gave gifts to my husband and my son. (Oh, and I did give a small gift to his girlfriend. Thankfully she liked it.) My husband and my son know how I feel and they feel the same way about giving gifts.

Merry Christmas!!!

To the readers of Tumbleweed Crossing.

May you have Joy in your Heart, Pease in your Soul, and Happiness, and Freedom forever.

From the Desert Wind

writer of Tumbleweed Crossing

Cookies

I made cookies for the holidays. It is the first time in years. In the past my failures aren't worth talking about. Put this year I succeeded. I made 2 kinds of cookies, chocolate cake, ginger bread, banana bread, and peanut butter candy. Then I sent half of it to my son, and his friends in Los Cruces, NM. I hope it is eatable.

SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME AT WORK?!?---------------------------------According to Dr. BILL QUAIN, we are spending too much time atwork, and not enough time on the things we really want to do.Americans in the 21st century work more hours than peasants didin the Middle Ages, and spend less time at home with theirfamilies.

DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF TODAY

The United States Postal Service (USPS) will increase thecost of mailing a letter to 39 cents, and the cost of mailing apostcard to 24 cents on January 8, 2006. It is the first postalrate increase since June 2002.

Bah Humburg

I don't want to ever do any more shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRAULATIONS

Congraulations are in order to several of my readers.
First to Josie, who's book was mentioned by the Diva's.

Next to Jan for adopting her puppy, Padfoot. Part Lab and part - well we think he might be Great Dane or mastiff.

Last but not least to Cindy for adopting her new dog, Pixie. A terrier cross.

Stockings

I did make Christmas stocking for my horses, and hung them on the side of the barn. It does look kind of cool even if I do say so myself. I did one for BlackJack, Nita, and Star and then did one for the friends horse that I take care of Sundance.
After I bragged on this to my son, I got talked into making one for each of his six horses and his friends horse. That's Goldust, Blossom, Emme, Arte, CW, Dancer, and Beau.
That makes 11 stocking I have done for horses. They were just simple ones red with a white top with their name on it. I plan to fill mine with apples, carrots, and horse candy. The others had better get some goodies, too.

Holiday Rush

The business end of Christmas gets worse every year. It seems like it is only for the stores to make money. This year I refused to give gifts to any one that I had to mail them to, except my son. I asked all those friends and relatives not to send anything to me. It is just to much of a hassle. It takes all the fun and enjoyment out of giving gifts. Just having to go to a store and find something for hubby and my son was enough of a problem. By the time I got home I was mad and fustrated to the point that I was shaking with disgust at the whole situation and wanted a big drink of whiskey. (by the way I don't drink, but I can see how the holidays can drive you to it) Then there was the wrapping of those few gifts. There is no way I can take my time and make cool, neat, pretty wrapped packages any more. I used to do it, but not any more. Maybe it is just old age. I can't say for sure.
Anyway Dustins gifts are wrapped and I will mail them tomorrow. Yes I know it is a bit late, but he won't care as he isn't any more thrilled with all the holiday hoop la than I am. Besides his best gift is the money his dad put in his bank account. We told him to spent it on something for himself - not bills - but who knows that that will be. Probably a load of hay for the horses.

Christmas Lights

Saturday was warm enough that we did get out the outside Christmas lights and hung them. Some how it is never Christmas any more without putting up outside lights. The colors, sparkle, flash, flicker, blink, and twinkle of outside lights really goes a long way toward getting me in the spirit of the season. It has been really hard to get into the Christmas mood what with Skiggy being so sick. We ran lights around the eaves of the house and along one side of the horse pen. It looks very festive if I do say so myself.
I, also, found some old tinsel garland in with the lights and decided to wrap some around the mailbox and some around one of the light post in the yard. Some time this morning my obnoxious border collie, Tuffee decided it would be fun to pull it off of the post and play with it. I am sure she had a lot of fun doing it. I only wish I had seen her doing it and had a chance to take a photo of her running around with that long string of shiney garland trailing along behind her. Puppies will be puppies.

Cold

It has been an incredably cold week. Much colder than I ever remember having in December. I hope this isn't a sample of what is to come this winter. And yes, I do realize that it has been awfully cold everywhere, not just here in New Mexico. I finally gave up and got out the heated water buckets for the horses. I don't normally do it until January, or Feburary. I do the ice break test. If I can break the ice on their large 20 gallen buckets with my trusty hammer, then it is not bad enough to get out the small 5 gallen heated buckets. Setting them up with the extenion cords, and have to refill them usually twice a day is a pain. But when the ice in the big buckets is about 5 inches thick, and weights more than my hubby can pull out (he figured about 75 pounds) then it is time to get the heated buckets and use them.
So far I haven't resorted to putting blankets on the horses, but if this keeps up I may have to.

Skiggy is home and doing okay. I keep saying it over and over. I was so stressed out on what to do about my kitty. Would it have been best to just have him 'put to sleep' or spend tons of money I didn't have on a weird, strange, unheard of surgery? Thankfully his wonderfull vet offered a great deat on the surgery as he wasn't about to give up on my old cat.

Many, many thanks to Dr. Mike, Dr. Mortonson, Damian, and the rest of the staft at Cottonwood Animal Clinic.

Found a great blog at http://holdyerhorses.blogspot.com
Good article on whats abuse and whats not abuse.

Skiggy is home and doing well. In fact I can not beleive how active he is. Much more than I think he should be. Anyway I can't keep him from doing what he wants to. And I am so glad he wants to. Although he does look so funny. They shaved his belly and legs. Looks like someone tried to give him a poodle cut on his legs and didn't know how. It will grow back in time.

Skiggy

Skiggy is doing very well after his surgery. Better than anyone expected. I hope to bring him home tomorrow.

The cat is having surgery today. He probably won't survive. But we have to try.

To the idiot who compared my cat to a broken DVD player and suggested I throw him in the trash.

STAY OF MY BLOG

Old Cat

My old black and white cat had to go to the vet the other day with a urine infection. Cats seem to be very prone to those here. I have heard it might be a diet problem or it might be to many minerals in the water.
Don't know if he is going to make it.

Presents

I can not understand why people think they have to go out and spend a ton of money buying everything on the market for everyone that they know each and every Christmas. All this is way way to commercialized. It just isn't worth it. I don't want any presents this year. If you want to do something for me ----- make a donation to your favorite charity. If you want to know which ones I prefer ----- anything charity to do with animals and animal rescue ----- and of course all those that help children in need.

9 Crucial Tips

After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

A friend sent me these tips. PLEASE READ and remember them. It was writen with women in mind, but is just as important for men to remember. And let your children read them and help them understand them. Pay special attention to the last one.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you....chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The drive won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your> car from the passenger door. Most serial killers> attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably ! in a zig -zag pattern!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

> > ************* Here it is *******> >

9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night. Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby ----This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana. I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well. Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better to be safe than sorry. Shannon LaForge> Courtroom Deputy to Judge Robert Junell>U.S. District Court for the Western District> > >

We should impress this on our children. Especially those that have children that are at home by themselves a lot.

Wonder of it All

I encourage everyone to go to this web site and enjoy the wonder, the beauty, the music. Someone really has a way with words, photos, and music and the ability to put it all together on a computer.
http://wonderofitall.com

Make Sure to Have a Gallupin' Good Gobler Eatin' Time
and a
Very Happy Thanksgiving

Word of Advice

A word of advice to all pet owners. For those of you planning to cook that big turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other day, or even if you are going to buy it and bring it home to eat it. It smells and tastes as good to your dog, cat, ferret, pet bird, mouse, rat, or what ever kind of pet you have that might like a treat of all that turkey, salad, cranberry, ect. So My suggestion is that you make sure that your pet has a very filling breakfast on the day that you are doing all that cooking and eating. Maybe even give your friend a bit of canned food, or extra of some sort that it really relishes. Once in a while it can't hurt and if your pet friend is all ready filled up on food it won't beg, and get under feet as you fix all the party goodies for yourself, family and others.
Remember that we are thankfull for our pet friends as well as our human friends.

Worked BlackJack hard today. He was in the field and wouldn't come to me. Nor would he let me walk up to him. I supposed I could have got a handfull of grain or horse cookies. But that isn't the way I wanted to do it. He is supposed to come to me when I call him. So instead he got to run round and round our small field while I got to walk behind him until he was tired enough to stop and let me put a halter on him. Then I lunged him which is what I had wanted to do to start with. By the time I finished he was sweating hard. So I had to work hard to bush and dry him with a towel until he was dry. At least he let me clean his hooves with fussing like he usually does.

Why is it that men work their eight hours come home and relax, never seeing anything that needs to be done at home. Women do there work away from home, come home, and are unable to relax because all the work they can see that needs to be done at home. Even if it doesn't get done women know it is there, while men seem to be oblivious to it.

Go Away Wind

I never have liked the wind and hate it more every time we have another wind storm. We had a good (bad) one last night. As always when we have wind we have sand, and sand, and more sand. Sand gets into everything. The water buckets for the horses, and their hay. It manages to find its way through each and every tiny crack and crevice in the house, and there is dusty sand on everything. It gets into the pores of my skin and makes it dry and old before its time. I spend way to much on tons of handlotion, and body lotion, that seems to do no good. I makes the allergies worse and worse. I have a tissue box for nose blowing in every room.

I wonder how much of this dusty sand I have eaten over the years.

Murphy playing in the hay.

Birds

It seems that the Tumbleweed crossing is a favorite crossing place for migatory birds this years. Maybe it is the water I put out for them or maybe because we had an abundence of wild sunflowers which the birds love for the seeds but I have seen more unusual birds this week that normal. Yesterday there was a small woodpecker of some sort, and this morning there were chickadees scolding me while I was feeding the horses. At about noon there was a roadrunner sitting on the back fence. We see roadrunners but not very often. I would like to see them more as they are very fascinating birds and are, also, the state bird of New Mexico.

Dogs

I have found Tuffee, our Border Collie, sleeping in the bath tub several times lately. Tuffee really likes water. She is always willing to take a bath, and there is no way to water the trees in the yard or fill the horse buckets with out her help. She is always drenched when we get through.

Fall

Last weekend the time changed and then there was Halloween. Now the leaves on all the trees are changing color and falling off. In some ways I regret this changing off the seasons as it means that winter is almost here - But I am so, so, so glad to see the last of summer. This morning when I went to feed the horses there was a very, thin, skim of ice on the one of the buckets and on the bird water container. At least it is cool enough now that I might just survive for a little bit longer.

Now that the bull riding is over for a while. (The new season starts in two weeks. ) maybe I can get some work done on my latest story.

Obession

Yes, as you can see I have an obession for watching the bull riding.
I used to think it was so dumb for anyone that got so involved in watching any kind of sports - like football, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, skiing, car racing, even horse racing. But then a few years ago I found myself watching the bull riding. Now I am really hooked on it. To the point of obession. How did it happen? I have no idea. Or maybe I do when I really think about it.

My parents took me to see rodeos when I was a kid. I even remember seeing the late and very famous rodeo rider Larry Mayhan once. Of course I have always been interested in anything that is concerned with horses, and of course their wouldn't be a rodeo without horses. Naturally the only event in a rodeo that doesn't have anything to do with horses is bull riding. But then there is always a rider on a horse in the arena during the bull riding that is there to rope the bull and get it out of the arena if things get to out of hand.

My wish is that there would be more of the other rodeo events televised. Things like bronc riding, saddleback riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping, pole bending, and my favorite barrel racing.

Final Bull Riding Event

Congratulations to Justin McBride for winning the PBR World championship. And a congratulations to any and every bull rider who competed this year. And some who didn't due to their injuries.

This year saw the retirement of two well known bull riders. Owen Washburn, of Lordsburg, NM, and won the 1996 PBR World championship. (If you ever find yourself in southwestern New Mexico you might just find yourself going through Lordsburg, but if you blink twice you'll miss it.). Also retiring is Troy Dunn, off Queensland, Australia, who was the PBR World champion of 1998.

But more importantly was the retirement of two of the best and finest of those all-important bulls - Little Yellow Jacket and Blueberry Wine. Both of these wonderful bulls are 9 years old this year and their owners decided 5 years on the circuit was long enough.

For more on professional Bull Riding go to www.pbrnow.com

CATS

CATS why do we have them?
I took the time to bring in all my houseplants so they don't freeze. Watered them well, trimmed and pruned and even transplanted a couple. I found homes for them in windows, and on shelves where they should get enough light to survive the winter. So one of the cats, not sure which one, got up on a shelf where they never go and knocked off one of the replanted ones.

Well you know the rest. Dirt and leaves everywhere on the carpet, in some boxes (this was in the spare bedroom which is full of boxes of stuff I don't know what to do with). The plant, an aloe vera was in bad shape, missing and broken leaves. And the pot had landed in another plant that was to big to sit anywhere but on the floor, so there were leaves from my bogenvia all over.

Hope which ever one of the cats it was that made this mess got stuck on the thorns of the bogenvia.

I spent 24 hours working on my latest story. And I mean I really worked hard on it. It's got lots of words but, after re-reading it, I'm not sure it it has much potential.
I will keep trying. Maybe someone will like it. They don't seem to like the other two and I liked them.

Masters and slaves

We may be masters of our dogs and horses, but we are slaves to the
CATS

Out one door---

Cats have two goals in life. Or at least mine do.
Out one door------and in the other.
It seems that there is always a cat wanting out the back door. It then walks around to the front door and asks to come in.
Or there is a cat at the front door wanting out, and it promply walks around the house and asks to come in the back door.
Out of the twenty some cats I have had they have all done this.
Or maybe it is a goal to annoy their masters (slaves).

The wood shed is completed and the firewood is in it.

Skiggy

This is Skiggy trying to be a scarey Halloween cat. Skiggy is 15 years old and my favorite cat. I raised him and his brothers on a bottle after their mom died when they were a week old. Skiggy is the last one.

Stinky Spelling

You got it my spelling stinks. Guess I really should edit and spell check before I post.

This Week

BlackJack, the horse with the injured leg is doing much better. In fact he is almost well. I started lunging him this week and he seems to be enjoying it. He is diffently glad he is being turned out everyday instead of being cooped up in his small pen.
We got a load of hay on Tuesday. Alphala. It's $6.00 a bale. Guess it will never go down to a decent price again. (like gas). The farmer I buy the grass hay from is trying to get a last cut. But rain has not been cooperating. His first try resulted in the hay getting wet and only good for cows.

I gave BlackJack and Nita a bath. I like to do it at this time of year to get all the gunky, sticky, smelly fly spray off of them before really cold weather comes. I don't bath horses in winter. Don't have the falicities for it. (No indoor bath area, with hot water heater. Some horses are oh-so pampered.) At least Jack and Nita were nice and clean and soft when I finished with them.

Now to do Star.

Wood shed

For the past 2 years we have struggled with the firewood under a couple of old sheets of plywood and a taryp. This year we decided to build a woodshed to keep the rain, and snow off the wood. And to have a place to split the wood. So what should be so hard about building a woodshed? I figured we could do it in a weekend easy. We seemed to have all the materials already --- posts for the corners, 2 X 4's for the supports, and rafters, and plywood for the roof, and even some left over sheets of tin to put on top of the plywood. My perfectionest husband, Lee, has spent all weekend on this project and the shed is only about half done. We had to use the leval and the square to make sure it was leval and square with each and every little bit we did. He was driving me nuts. We did get the posts in and the plywood roof on with the plywood back wall up. Still have to do the two ends and the tin on top. And of course then have to move all the firewood we cut a few weeks ago into that new, and perfect woodshed.

I Want--------

I Want….”“Mikey, don’t touch that.”

The little pre-school age boy pulled his hand slowly back from the bag of chips he had been reaching for.

“Michael, Mommy says don’t touch ANYTHING.”

Again the little boy pulled his hand back, this time from the box of cookies, watching his mom as she moved on down the isle of the grocery store. She added some snack crackers to the shopping cart, while talking baby talk to the fussy, whining baby sitting in the seat of the cart. “Come on, Mikey.”

After a moment Michael followed.They turned down another isle, moving by and around other shoppers. Several things were added to the cart. The baby cried.

“I want cookies,” demanded Michael.

“No,” said his mom, picking up a can of green beans, and then a bag of noodles. They moved on.

“I want cookies – cook-ies – cook – kook-eyes, cook-ies,” sang Michael. “Want cook-ies – kook-eyes.”

“Mikey, please be quiet. If you’re quiet I’ll get you some cookies. Okay, Mikey.”

His mom was getting more flustered as she tried to finish her shopping. Michael knew he had her going now. “Goodie, goodie, goodie,” he sang. “I’m going to get cookies - cook-ies, kook-eyes.”

“Mikey, be quiet,” wailed his mom while the baby echoed her. She checked her list. “Need to get milk, juice, and baby cereal. And some hamburger.” She added a jar of pickles to the cart, and crammed a pacifier into the mouth of the crying baby. She wished she could give one to Mikey, too.

“Cookies, kook-eyes. I want cookies – kook-eyes, more kook-eyes. Kook - .” Michael stopped singing. “Mommy, Mommy. What’s that? Mommy, are those eyeballs.”

Michael pointed at a jar. “Those look like eyeballs, Mommy.” He took a step backward. “Mommy, that jar there. The eyeballs are moving. Their rolling around in the jar, Mommy, how do they do that.”

“Of course not,” said his mom, hardly glancing at where he was pointing. “Those are olives, Mikey. Come on.”

“No, there not ‘lives. Their eyeballs. Kook-eye balls. There looking at me. Make them stop looking at me. I don’t like kook-eye balls.” Michael grabbed his mom around the leg and hid his face, then peaked back at the jar.

“Stop that, Mikey, those are only olives.” She pried him loose from her leg.

Michael looked back at the jar. “Don’t look at me, kook-eyes,” he yelled, and flung a small fist at the jar, barely grazing it. It was just enough to cause the jar to fall to the floor, where the glass shattered and the contents rolled here and there, helter-skelter.

“Mommy! The kook-eyes jumped off onto the floor.”

“Now look what you’ve done, Michael!”

“They jumped, Mommy! Honest they did!”

"You’re going to get it now, Michael. Do you hear me? Your in ….in….trouble….now,……” her voice slid to a halt, as she took in the sight of the broken glass and the still rolling ---- jumping, ----- and rolling ----- eyeballs.

There were hazel eyes, blue eyes, brown eyes, and green eyes; some with the eyelids still attached. And all those many eyes were staring at her. As she watched back, her mouth still open, she gave a little screech. When she did one of the eyeballs winked at her.

Horrified at the sight she and several other customers screamed some more as they began to move away from the wildly, rolling eyeballs, and toward the exit doors.

An excited stock boy yelled for a manager, wanting to know what he was supposed to do with the run-a-way eyeballs.

“Mikey, we’re leaving. NOW!” shouted Mikey’s mom as she grabbed the boy by the arm, and drug him with her, while pushing the cart with the screaming baby, toward the nearest door.

Eyeballs continued to roll after her while Mikey sang about Kook-eyes.

Halloweeen

Halloween is just around the corner. Do you beleive in ghosts, goblins, spooks, witches, vampires, werewolves, and other things that go bump in the night? I have always like the supernatural stories. Shows like Twilight Zone, X Files, The Night Stalker, Lost, ect. And I remember sitting around the kitchen table, or the campfire, or fireplace in the late fall listening to 'ghost stories' told by my parents, grandparents, and other relitives and friends.

Notes

Hoping to break my writers block, I have compiled pape after page of notes, outlines, and ideas for new stories. Hopefully I can now put some of them to use.

To All Who Read

My biggest fantasy is that some agent, or publisher will see and read the stories I have posted on my blogs and decide to represent me.

And I utterly tired of these two stories. I have been over and over and over these two stories, or novels, so many times I am throughly disgusted with them. I have sincere hopes I never have to read, or edit them again. Or at least not until someone wants to be my agent or publish them.

For that reason I am taking Josie's suggestion and trying to write a new noval in one month. Again it is a contest. Go to www.nanowrimo.org to sign up. You are expected to write a novel in the month of November. You start on the 1st and end on the 30th. You must reach the goal of 50,000 words. But if you don't, so what. It is all in good fun.

Check it out.

words

If you remember I entered the contest at Contest Junkies, and of course, I didn't win. But I did get a fair amount of comments from the other readers at my email address.

Several people have asked me which were my stories. They were the ones entitled Cowboy Snapshots, and Life Change. I am putting the same thing I entered on my other blog, Wonderin' Words, so you can read it. If you want.

Chores

Does eveyone have as much trouble getting the household chores done as I do? What a drag it is to wash dishes, do laundry, vacum the floors, dust and any of the other 101 jobs that taking care of a home involves.
And its never finished.

Bull Riding Finals

So what do you think? Will Justin McBride win the champian ship this year? Or will it be one of the other 45 riders that will be competing at the finals the last week of October? I haven't decided yet. It looks like it may be a toss up. Remember last year when Adriano Moraes was sure to win after Justin McBride had broken his leg, even though he was still competing. Then Adriano injuried his arm and suddenly it was Mike Lee winning.

For more about the Professional Bull Riders go to www.pbrnow.com

Butterfly

This is one I took last week that I want to share with everyone.

Dalia

Had to let everyone see the photo my sister sent to me. Thanks, Sis.

2005

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family isthat they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see ifanyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of thescreen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't havethe first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause forpanic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward thismessage.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 onthis list. AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.Go on, forward/send this to your friends ...you know you want to!

Great Comment

After all the bad comments it was so great to see a good comment. Many thanks to the person from the midwest with the old horse. You want to live here? I want to live where ever you are. Wish I had more land as you do, and I am sure it has grass on it, instead of sand. Take care of that old horse, all horses deserve good care. They are such wonderful creatures.

Comments

I tried leaving a comment now that I have the 'word verification' on.
And it's really easy. It may not stop all of the nasty comments but should stop the automated ones.

SPAM

AAAAAaahhhha. That was a big sigh.

It is so terrable that in this day and age that regardless what you do, someone is bound and determined to find a way to try to make money off of you. I am referring to all the unwanted spam-type advertizements that are popping up in the comments section of these personal blogs.

I am being forced to fix my blog so that machines cannot leave ads, spam, and/or unrelated site information in the comments, as well as some other individuals who only want to leave messages that I wouldn't want to be seen by anyone, let alone children.

From now on if you want to leave a comment you will need to do a

'word verification'. I am sure you have seen them before. A little box where you have to tye in the letters and number shown. They have been popping up on some of the email sites when the site thinks you might be spamming. (Like when I send several emails to family and friends with the same subject line, like at holiday time, but make each one a little bit different so it is more personal.)

So I apoligize to any one that might be offened that I am doing this, but I wish to remind you that you did not want to see some of these comments.

Bull Riding

Let me know if your intersted in bull riding. I really like to watch it. From highschool rodeos all the way to the professional bull riding. Check out the site www.pbrnow.com

Mountain Top

From way up on top of a moutain mesa looking down into San Diego Canyon where the village of Jemez Spring, New Mexico is.

Tuffee

We took our Border Collie, Tuffee, with us when we went woodcutting. She loves to go, and is really good at staying close. I certainly wouldn't recomend Border Collies to just any one. They are a really high energy dog, but with the right training make a wonderful pet. I had always been interested in Border Collies but knew they needed a lot of room to run, more than we had when we lived in town. But then we moved to a rural area, and then my nephew's girlfriend found a puppy, and the owner couldn't be found, and they were moving, and I got the puppy which became Tuffee. Such a round-a-bout way to get a Border Collie.

Dead Tree

We discovered this dead tree had fallen across a moutain road. We cut it up to use for firewood and did a service by clearing the road for other travelers.

Wood Cutting

We go wood cutting every fall so that we can heat the house with wood in our wood stove and save a little on heating fuel. I really prefer the warmth given out by an old fashioned wood stove in comparison to our natural gas furnace, or any other kind of furnace. It seems like the heat from the wood warms you up faster than any other kind.
So we went up into the Jemez Mountains yesterday and cut a load of wood. What we got was mostly pine. Dead and down, as it states on the permit that is required by the forest service. Anotherwords it must be a tree that had died and fallen down. You are not allowed to cut down a dead tree that is still standing. A dead standing tree is still useful to the forest. It's roots are still holding soil that might otherwise wash away. And the top it home to many birds and small animals.
Lee, my husband, and I always look forward to wood cutting. It give us an excuse to go to the mountains. It is lots of work, and I mean hard work, but always worth it. He does most of the chainsaw work and I lend a hand at loading. We usually get mostly pine, but if we can find a good, dry, hard chunk of oak, or spruce so much the better. And we don't object to throwing in a piece of two of aspen either, although aspen does burn faster.

Black Cloud

We had rain here on the desert today. It started at about 6 am when it woke me with a heck of a thunder and lightning storm with a little bit of rain. When I got up I couldn't see the Sandia Mountains, just a big cloud hanging over the mountian. It cleared off but came back again this afternoon. Or anyway a big black cloud did. It came from the west and moved east over Albuquerque. I watched as it came in. It was a very big, very strange, weird cloud. It hung very low in the sky and moved quickly. I was sure we were in for another storm. And we were. It dropped hail and rain for about ten minutes and then moved on. Not near as bad as I expected.

Bad News

We should never take life for granted. I do it all the time and I am sure that most of you do, too. Yesterday I got the news that a friend of mine has cancer and is not expected to live for more that a few months at most. She is only in her mid sixties, just retired and had expected to have several years to travel. Her only symptons were feeling tired. I feel tired all the time and the doctors tell me to suck up, that everyone feels tired in our fast paced life.
Maybe we should all take a second look at what is going on in our lives. Especially the doctors that only care about the money they are getting everytime we come to the office and complain about feeling tired.

Knee Wraps

I'm still at it. Wrapping BlackJack's knee twice a day. I can not figure out how to put the bandage on it so it will stay. Of course I understand that with each step he takes it loosens up and then falls down around his hoof where it does nothing except irritate him. I have to addmit he has been very good about the whole situation. I expected him to get upset and fight me each time I had to re-do the thing. He has fussed some but not near as bad as I expected.
I ordered a whole case of stick-to-its-self leg wraps that go on top of the the bandage this morning. I had no idea that first aide supplies were so expensive. Especially for horses. I went to the store yesterday thinking I could use people stuff for the horse and it is even more expensive!

When it Rains it Pours

As if to make bad matters worse it decided to rain last night. First time since last spring, or at least first time at my house although I have heard of rain in other parts of state and Albuquerque. We needed it despertately ---but----it could have waited until BlackJack and I were feeling better.
Nothing like feeling yucky, having an injured horse that has to have a new, clean bandage about twice a day, and now a muddy, sloppy, pen for him to be in. So of course the cooler weather made him feel better and when I let him out to walk around the field for a few minutes, he decided he had to run around the field about 10 times. I ended up giving him some hay to get him to stop. With my luck he will have made it worse.

BlackJack's Knee

Well, while I am feeling terrible my black horse decides to ram his knee between the gate to his pen and the big fence post that holds up the gate. He got his knee back out but it wasn't in the greatest shape. And I didn't like having to call the vet at 8:00 am when I decovered what he had done. I heard a noise when I was in the hay shed getting their morning hay, and it looked so fresh that I am sure that is when he did it. He has a ugly gash on the knee and scrapes on all four legs. Not sure how he did the other scrapes. Vet came, cleaned and bandaged the bad one. Wouldn't do stiches because it was in a joint. But did give him injection of antibiotics and several packages of more antibiotics to add to his grain over next week. We can only hope that he gets better with no complications.

Ill Health

Please forgive me for not writing for a while. Have been down with some sort of bug and feel like crap. Not good for creative writing. Very good for writers block. On all kinds of yucky medicine. And have no interest in doing anything.

AUTUMN

Hip, hip, huray. Shout for joy, have a party, and be kind to everyone. It's the first day of autumn, or as some call it FALL. It is the best time of the year. The days will get shorter, which means not so much of that blazing hot sun. Cooler days are such a relief if you live in the desert. We can hope for a few days of rain, as well. We sure need it. The pumkins are turning yellow, and the gourds are putting on their mixed colors of yellow, orange, brown. I noticed this morning that the tree leaves are getting the first bit of color to their leaves. That is the only bad part of fall, the trees loosing all their leaves. The birds are beginning to migrate. There was a pair of gold finches eating seeds off the wild sunflowers. The dogs, cats, and horses, are shedding out their summer coats to put on the long warm coats of winter. Star pony is loosing her spots as she does each fall. She will be just a sorrel pony for the cold months, and next spring her appoloosa spots will come back. We are trying to get in a huge supply of hay for the ponies, and wood for the wood stove we use for heating in the winter.

Okay, everyone. Another one is on it's way. Don't panic, but do take steps to protect yourself, your family, and your pets.

Please Help

Please, please, please don't forget to help all the pets that are now as homeless as the people that survived Katrina. They, also, need our help. You can contact your local humane society, plus many newpapers, TV stations, and radios have listings of places that are excepting donations for the dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, horses, cows, goats, and all other animals that need our help.
Give what you can even if it is only a few pennies. If you can take an extra pet into your home, even if only tempory, it will help. Or adopt a local animal from your humane society or animal controll to make room for one of the Katrina victims.

Remember that pets give a lot more love to us than we ever have the right to expect from them.

The heat is finally dissipating a little bit here on the desert. It is getting cool enough at night that I can turn off the air conditioner and still be able to sleep. But still need the darn thing in the day time. Be glad when it freezes and kills all the flys and bugs. Don't think it will for a while. Remember it freezing once in September but it is usually toward the end of October. I have two pumkins that have turned orange, and one that is still very green. Have lots of zucchini squarsh, and cucumbers this year. Didn't get any last year, but had tons of tomatoes. This year only a very few tomatoes.
Anyone got a really good recipe for zucchini bread or zucchini casserole?

Computer waits

What should be on the tomestone of every dead computer.

"Hurry up and wait."

If I had a penny for every minute of time I have wasted waiting on a computer change to another site ----- well I wouldn't be rich, but it sure would be a good start.

The Sandia Mountains in the evening. But in the mornings the sun always peaks up over them to let me know a new day has arrived.

Night Night

It's 11:00 pm and I know I won't go to sleep even if I did lay down. So here I sit in the old, green metal, two seat glider that I bought used 25 years ago. I swing gently back and forth, back and forth, while I watch lightning play along the top of the Sandia Mountains. It's not the violent, zig zags of lightning but the softer kind that simply lights up the sky. The Sandia Mountains are a major landmark here in New Mexico. They are the southern most tip of the Rocky Mountains sitting just to the east of Albuquerque. If you know much Spanish you may wonder why a range of mountains are called 'the watermelons'. A very long time ago some Spanish conquistador thought that they looked like a watermelon when the evening sun shown on them turning them a pink color. And they still get the pink color in the evening to this day. In fact they were pink tonight as where the clouds over Albuquerque. The lighning flashes again, highlighting the TV, radio, and communication towers that abound on one little peak of the mountains at the tip top of the range. Here in my yard I am at approximately 6500 feet in altitude. The towers are at about 10,500 feet in altitude if I remember right. That is way up there in the clouds. The Sandia's range from desert at the base of them, to alpine flora at the top. Much of their landscape is straight up and straight down. There is a ski resort on one part and the Sandia Peak Tram is another part. The Tram is a small cable car that takes you 2.7 miles up the side of the mountain on a cable that you are sure will brake before you reach the top. For more information and to see photos go to www.sandiapeak.com

The lightning has quite. I hear the soft hoof falls of two of my horses as they come to the fence to see why I am sitting in the swing in the yard. One of them blows it's breath out in a little snort. I get up, pet them for a minute and decide it is finally night night time. I hope.

End of my Rope

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.

by Franklin D. Roosevelt

I feel as if I am at the end of my rope lately. Nothing seems to be going right. I have writers block. Big time. As you can see by this blog I haven't been doing much lately. The best thing that I can manage is to put in something written by someone else. Maybe it is the mess that the United States is in. It is depressing to everyone. And maybe I can just blame it on the hot weather here in New Mexico. Or I can blame it on the full moon that was a couple of weeks ago.

Naaaaaa

Maybe it would be best to just blame it on my self, tie a knot in my rope and hang on, while I make my self get with it and do what needs to be done.

Time

Most of us have heard this one before. But it is so true after the fury of Katrina, as well as everything else that is going on in the world.

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

Animal Sayings

I am getting a lot of emails and comments that include some very cute sayings, or jokes, or poems. This is one I like.

We work like a horse.We eat like a pig.We like to play chicken.You can get someone's goat.We can be as slippery as a snake.We get dog tired.We can be as quiet as a mouse.We can be as quick as a cat.Some of us are as strong as an ox.People try to buffalo others.Some are as ugly as a toad.We can be as gentle as a lamb.Sometimes we are as happy as a lark.Some of us drink like a fish.We can be as proud as a peacock.A few of us are as hairy as a gorilla.You can get a frog in your throat.We can be a lone wolf.But I'm having a whale of a time

Going Home

Headed home for the Tumbleweed Crossing. Sandia Mountains in the back. Albuquerque, NM sits at the base of them.

Why we have Children

This was sent to me by a friend. Don't know where it came from to start with but it was to good to pass up.

> To those of us who have children in our lives,> whether they are our own> grandchildren,> nieces,> nephews,> or students...> here is something to make you chuckle.> > Whenever your children are out of control,> you can take comfort from the thought that> even God's omnipotence did not extend> to His own children.> > After creating heaven and earth,> God created Adam and Eve.> > And the first thing he said was> "DON'T!"> > "Don't what?"> Adam replied. > > "Don't eat the forbidden fruit."> God said.> > "Forbidden fruit?> We have forbidden fruit?> Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!"> > "No Way!"> > "Why?"> > "Do NOT eat the fruit! "> said God.> > "Why?"> > "Because I am your Father and I said so! "> God replied,> wondering why He hadn't stopped> creation after making the elephants.> > A few minutes later,> God saw His children having an apple break> and He was ticked!> > > "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? "> God asked.> > "Uh huh,"> Adam replied.> > "Then why did you? "> said the Father.> > > "I don't know,"> said Eve. > > "She started it! "> Adam said.> > "Did not! " > > "Did too! "> > "DID NOT! "> > Having had it with the two of them,> God's punishment was that Adam and Eve> should have children of their own.> > Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.> > > > BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!> >
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give> children wisdom and> they haven't taken it,> don't be hard on yourself.> > If God had trouble raising children,> what makes you think it would be> a piece of cake for you?> > THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!> >
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
ADVICE FOR THE DAY:> > Be nice to your kids ...> for one day they will choose your nursing home.> >
AND FINALLY:> > IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION> AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,> DO WHAT IT SAYS> ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:> >
"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN"> AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!> > Quick,> send this on to ten people> within the next five minutes. > > Nothing will happen if you don't,> but if you do,> ten people will be laughing> >

Again

Again I have been either to busy or to tired to think about writing. My son, Dustin, called last night to tell me he was coming up from Los Cruces, NM this evening to pick up a horse for his boss and take it back tomarrow. One of those big, fancy, paint saddlebred stallions that his boss has. Well I guess seeing Dustin for a few minutes is better than not at all. That is how our life seems to go anymore. Thank goodness for cell phones and email.
Sometimes I wonder how we used to be able to do things without these modern conviences. And to think that by the time my son has children and they are grown cell phones, computers, and such will be outdated.