Not quite "sleigh" bells, but "lovely weather"

I had a short to-do list yesterday. Good thing, too, as I only got ONE thing crossed off – and that was to ride my horse! (I know; I demand a lot of myself. Ha!)

We got off to a slow start. Brian burst into our bedroom at 7:00, full of energy and questions. But then he crawled into bed between us and we all fell asleep again – until 9:00! It's been awhile since that has happened, with our boy getting so big and all.

Anyway, after doing chores, I suggested we go for a horseback ride together. Rick pondered that, and decided it might be fun if we could "play" with cows. A long-time friend of his usually has a few steers, so we hauled to his place. With Rick's old cutting horse now gone, all our mounts are clueless, so everything we did was slow, easy, one-on-one introductory work. Then we cooled them out with a short but lovely trail ride through the woods.

Home again, we unloaded horses and tack, cleaned up, and headed to town for caroling. For the second year in a row, one of Rick's draft horse clients brought a team and wagon to convey members of our church around the neighborhood to sing carols and wish everyone we see a blessed and merry Christmas. (This is the same client who has had Brian drive for him at the State Fair the last two years.) 

Gracie on the left and Emma on the right

I walked the whole route in order to take photos, get my exercise, and keep those beautiful brass bells jingling when we stopped periodically for people to listen or come out and pet the horses. The weather was lovely and it is such fun to spread some Christmas cheer in our community!

Calling "Yoo hoo," from . . .

Sweet dreams starting soon

We had a full, fun, family day which has left us pooped. I'll share about our fine times with equines tomorrow.

Nodding off at . . .

All is calm – at least momentarily

After a busy week and even busier day (as Fridays always are), the beginning of the Sabbath hours is a welcome respite. As a child, one of my favorite Friday night traditions were the candles my mom lit around the house. I don't always light candles, but tonight, just before supper, I did.

I had the house to myself for a few minutes, so I turned turned off all lights except for the Christmas decorations and candles.

Sacred Christmas music played softly in the background, and there was peace on earth.

Two great lights

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.

—Genesis 1:16

Last night when I went out to do chores, a full moon was sailing through the clouds. The moon!

This morning when I went out to do chores, the sun was shining. The sun! Shining on a heavy frost, all the sogginess transformed into crystal and lace. Suddenly I saw inspiration everywhere.

I even played with a new-to-me feature on Mr. Lumix, the "Pinhole" setting:

Fun!

I don't think of myself as much affected by weather. But yesterday was a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" (in quotes because I do realize how minor my problems were in the greater scheme of things), leaving me feeling as foggy and soggy as the atmosphere. (Yes, I shed tears . . . in my hairdresser's chair, no less.) But things did get better towards the end. A dear friend provided the listening ear I needed, my son's attitude and behavior improved (we're at that stage that sheds light on why some animals eat their young), and my husband did everything right. He took Brian for the afternoon, he rubbed my shoulders unbidden, and when he came back from a late-evening emergency he brought this

I kid you not! Yep, I'm keeping him. ;-)

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Please visit Susan's blog and share some long-distance love. She had to say good-bye to her Bernice this morning. All of us who have been blessed with those best friends and guardian angels known commonly as dogs know too well the pain of losing them too soon. Always too soon….

That's it for now from . . .