And we have lift-off!

Against the odds, my BIL and Mom are actually in route to Lincoln, NE. The third time (my BIL got a ticket to fly to TX) was not a charm, but thanks to his gentle perseverance, it is on its way to being successful. Whew. My sister and I have been sharing chuckles, because it is better to laugh than cry, right?

The third flight was booked for Saturday night, July 5. When all systems were still "go" by Friday night, we dared to feel confident. Silly us. I felt my phone vibrate while sitting in church, and the following ensued:

But wait; there's more. My BIL's flight was delayed multiple times due to weather, so instead of getting in Saturday night, he arrived at 1:00 a.m. this morning. With an extra day on her hands, Mom was ready and waiting, right? Texts between my sister and BIL this morning:

Honestly, my BIL should be nominated for sainthood. This is going to be an interesting new chapter in all our lives.

At home we are still trying to figure out what to do about two dead vehicles. Rick and Brian spent a lot of time working on the vet truck, fixing one problem only to be faced with a new one. Argh.

I remind myself often of Isaiah 26:3; you can't stay focused the problems!

That's it for now from . . .

Never say it can't get more challenging

during early morning chores before work

heading home after work

Hi, blogpals. Isn't 2025 shaping up to be . . . something else? There's no point in talking about the raging bull in the White House elephant in the room; our country as we know it will either survive or it won't. All human institutions will fail before "the great (for those who love Him) and terrible (for those who don't) day of the Lord."  Is this part of that failing? I don't know; I'm no prophet, just another sinner needing the armor of God for protection. Ephesians 6:11:13

Without my faith, I would surely quail/fail at all that life is throwing at us this year so far. I've already mentioned that Rick's office manager cut her hours to halftime at the beginning of the year (and didn't work at all last week because her husband had surgery) and that the clinic has to be out of the space we've rented for almost 30 years by end of February. And no, there is still no plan in place for dealing with either of those major developments; have I mentioned how much my DH hates change? I am hoping to get both knee replacements done in the next six months, but obviously can't be laid up recovering while working five days a week or before we move the vet practice – or before my mom moves. (Great news – she finally got word that a two-bedroom apartment in the 55+ complex she's had her eye on is opening up at the end of February or early March! Alarming news – that's not long for her to deal with all her stuff and property and move from Texas to Nebraska with help from me, her ablest-bodied daughter!) Still, I am hoping to schedule surgery at my orthopedic appointment next week so I am on the docket. Crossing fingers that he'll be willing to do both at once; the other two surgeons I've consulted won't.

In the meantime Rick (with a little help from DS, who is still unemployed) is still working hard to get the shop finished as we will surely need it for storing some of the clinic stuff, if not using it for the clinic itself. He has been prepping for the concrete floor to be poured, which will hopefully happen soon.

compacting gravel at night

On top of chores and what housework I can manage, I am still squeezing in a little spinning and knitting, a weekly agility class with Poppy followed by a shortened visit with my cousin/cherished friend, and an occasional ride on Stella, who is getting fat from lack of exercise. And I'm still searching for pretty/positive/peaceful things to post to IG/FB; heaven knows there are enough of the opposite to find on social media! First, the IG/FB posts:

"Went with DH to x-ray a pretty horse on a preetty place on a pretty day." (three photos)

"Moody sky on my way home tonight."

"Dramatic sky on my way home from church today."

"Gaze with me upon our morning view."

"Mt. Adams in the morning."

"Yesterday was the first clear, sunny day all week–and my first time at hoe in daylight since the Sunday before. Got reacquainted with a few of my sheep and let the horses out for a much-needed romp." (three photos)

"I can't imagine a life without a dog or two."

"Good morning! Inside, a matching red glow in the wood-burner is keeping us warm."

"Not my usual 'dawn from our deck' photos today. These are 'dawn during chores and on my way to work' photos." (four photos)

Second, spinning and knitting updates:

first turtle spun in 2025

still working on my Playful scarf using my Advent snacks

That's it for now from . . .

Choosing what to focus on

On November 6, I decided to start posting a pretty/peaceful/positive photo a day to Instagram (and sharing it on Facebook). Looking for said photo opportunities is keeping me grounded when the world around me is tempest tossed. Sometimes I see something that begs repeating (like a WWII PSA reel), but there's no point. I'd either be preaching to/commiserating with the choir (surprisingly unsatisfying), or provoking the rest (though never provoking thought, just reaction 🙄). As I commented on Leigh's blog, "I don't spend much time analyzing 'the world and its ways;' I live in it but that is not where my security or future is. I've read the end of the book; it's going to get a lot worse before the ultimate 'better.'" So I cling to the truth of which I testified like a flotation device, look for beauty in God's creation, and remind myself to aid "the least of these." In addition, having animals gets me outside and moving, which also helps my mood/attitude if not my knees. (MRIs of both knees are scheduled for November 26; appointment with Portland clinic is on December 5).

What say you? Should I post all my daily photos here on my blog as well? (I thought I had a link to my Instagram account at right but it seems to have disappeared; you can access it here, no need to have an account). You know I usually make and save more than one photo a day; I could share the others here and leave the daily photos there, or share all of them here. Or?

Right now you get what you get, as these are the only photos I had already moved to my laptop from my iPhone. Our internet is temporarily down at home and I have too much else to do to stay here at work for the wi-fi any longer. Give me your feedback so I know what to post when next I can!

That's it for now from . . .

Shaken, not seared

Late yesterday afternoon, I went down to give the horses a late lunch and let the ewes back into the fold. I noticed that the henhouse light hadn't come on yet, even though it seemed dark enough for the light sensor to kick in. Obviously not. I flipped the barn light on, got the horse hay served, then went to the tack room to get Chuckie a scoop of kitty kibble and got no response to that light switch. Hmmm. Further checking revealed that the sheep fold and barn aisle lights worked; machine shed lights and the outlet powering the Ram-ada Inn and henhouse lights did not. I walked back to the house to check the breaker boxes, figuring that a breaker tripped, but there was no breaker labeled "Barn" in either of them. Oh yeah; there are breaker boxes down at the barn, the old one in the original structure that predated us, and the one we installed in the attached machine shed when we built it. So I walked back down and checked those; again nothing was tripped. However, I thought I detected a faint 'hot plastic' smell near the old original one, and the edges of the plastic handle of one breaker looked slightly melted. I called Rick and described everything, telling him I thought he'd better make checking it out a priority as soon as he got home. In the meantime, he told me to flip all the breakers in both boxes to "Off," which I did. By this time it was dark, so I did chores with a headlamp.

What Rick discovered when he got home and checked out the situation was chilling. First of all, there is no master switch for the electric line to the barn; it's all hot, all the time. Rick removed the cover of the old breaker box, and there was even more heat damage on the inside. With an insulated screwdriver he managed to disconnect everything, but still had two (separated) hot wires and no caps that would fit them. Supply sources were closed for the day; what to do? I suggested moving horses, sheep, tractor, and horse trailer, or calling a couple neighbors to see if they had caps. The first neighbor had none; the second neighbor did, saying, "'Someone' had me get extras." Yeah; that same 'Someone' kept a near-catastrophic breaker box from sparking a barn fire – for years.

the old breaker box is just inside that white door

It was foggy this morning, and as I gazed down at our barn complex and all that it houses, I thought how easily it could have been shrouded in smoke and flames. That thought has made me slightly breathless all day – and thankful; so very, very thankful.

No need to hide now, Sanson!

The sarcacocca on the north side of the house is perfuming the air:

I've started weaving another rug:

Thanking God, not lucky stars, at . . .

An ode to my sidekick

I couldn't agree more with Rodger A. Caras, whoever he is. My ability to cope with whatever life throws at me would be far more challenged without a dog in my life. Here's to Poppy, God's current gift to me: you are companion, cuddler, entertainment, eye candy, distraction, motivation, and unconditional love. As I have wished for with every dog who has shared my life, I wish you could live forever. Although when 'forever' comes, I truly expect to see you in a joyous pack of assorted canines dashing over glowing green to meet me. After all, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of (wo)man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him," 1 Corinthians 2:9. Amen.

For the good dog at . . .