Gardening Season

Gardening season is inching closer and closer and things are really starting to pull together in my neck of the woods.  This past weekend Michael and I installed irrigation for our garden.  We may have gotten a bit ambitious on this garden but I am really looking forward to it.  Our garden measures 300’x25’.  Yes, I know, that is a 7,500 square foot garden.  Yes, I know that we will be able to feed a small nation shall it be successful.  But why not!?! We have the space, time and energy (right now that is).  We will be providing a good amount of food for our wedding reception so it will come in handy.  Half of the garden will go towards my favorite food on Earth – corn.  Anyone who knows me knows I can consume corn like it is about to disappear off the face of the earth.  The other 3,750 square feet will go towards traditional garden items likes tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers (many different kinds), carrots, peas, lettuce, eggplant and about a million more seed packs that are sitting on my dining room table.  We have started some seeds inside and they are looking great.  Really spreading their “wings” in the grow container we have them in.  I will also be putting in some flowers because a little color and beauty never hurt anyone!  I am not 100% sure on planting in this region but from what most people say it sounds like we can really take action after Easter.  It seems to be the “safe time” to get things in the ground. 

                Last night I made an eggplant and beef pie that was pretty tasty.  We bought the eggplant so we could eat it and also extract some of the seeds for planting.  We also did the same with some interesting looking tomatoes from the grocery store.  (I am not a tomato eater so I just encouraged them because of their weirdness.)  I had never had eggplant in this form and I loved it.  The texture was just right and it worked well with the beef and spices.  I just had one issue and it was that I shorted it on the sauce it needed because I ran out of supplies.  Overall, it was a good, filling eat. 

                Enjoy the pictures below of my recent happenings!

 Ace - The Newest Addition to the Family - Out for a ride on Sunday.  Poor guy was scared of the camera and ready to jump - hence the spread/crooked front legs.

Standing towards the end of the garden.  Can you see to the other end?

After a long day of running and chasing birds Honcho needed to watch some T.V. to unwind.

Brittney Spears

Have I mentioned before that I have a horse named Brittney Spears?  Well, as embarrassed as I am to say it, I do.  I did not pick out this name and have tried to change it many times but I can’t seem to find one that sticks.  Many times when people ask how many horses I have they also ask what their names are.  I must admit I am sometimes embarrassed to having Brittney Spears so I make up another name.  This has got to stop though, she must have a name!  I think I may be fighting a losing battle though because the name Brittney Spears seems to be sticking really well.  I have owned her for over a year now and she lives at the feedlot.  The pen riders use her to ride the pens and check for sick cattle.  She also gets used when they are shipping cattle.  When I bought her I DID NOT need another horse but I felt bad for her.  She had a really poor shoeing job done on her feet and it made her unable to walk for months.  A really sad deal so I convinced the owner that I needed her because she could be my new English horse when she got better.  She is a tall lanky thoroughbred so I thought she would be perfect for jumping, etc.  That is all a great plan but after a year and a half she still hasn’t left the feedlot.  She does well and gets ridden enough to warrant her stay.  The winter has been a little tough on her so she doesn’t look as nice as she has in the past but hopefully this nice spring weather and getting ridden more will help that out.  This weekend is going to be a horse cleanup weekend.  It is supposed to be 80+ degrees out every day so it will be perfect to getting all of the clan looking better.  I can’t wait to spend some time out in the sun and beautiful weather!  Have a great weekend!

A BIG Day

Today is officially a BIG day.  I meet this afternoon to get something I have been wanting for years.  Today I meet with a custom book maker.  Michael and I will make a 2 hour trek to the “big city” where I will have my foot fitted  and measured for a pair of cowboy boots for the wedding.  I am so excited I can barely hold myself together.  The place I am going to has been making boots for 4 generations and has even made boots for famous cowboy, Gene Autry.  I have a pretty good idea of what I would like them to look like but also want to leave some of it up to the professionals.  I can’t wait until July 28^th – the wedding day – to wear them with my dress!  I’m sure there is lots of other news that I should be filling you in on since I haven’t written in so long but really, all I can think about is boots so you will have to wait to be caught up on the latest happenings! Have a great weekend!

Spring Chicken Order

This week I had the excitement of placing my spring chicken order.  I don’t have much experience with chickens because well, look at my background.  My mom, a teacher, hatched them with her class one year and that was the most I have been around them.  Looking at all the pretty pictures and reading the descriptions of different breeds was fun and made for some wild ideas.  I still don’t have my chicken coop finished but the plan is in place.  I have a human sized doll house that will soon be home to the ladies I have ordered.  I think they will love it!  It is at my house but since the chickens will live at Michael’s I still need to move the doll house and make it chicken ready.  The pressure is now on since we have an estimated arrival date!  The first date being later this month and the second shipment coming the middle of April.  I ordered a total of 28 chicks.  There are 11 varieties total.  I am a fan of the buff colored chickens so many are buff in color.  I also ordered some that lay blue/green/purple colored eggs.  I simply can’t wait for the arrival of the chicks!  Later this spring we hope to get some for butchering but these will be layers and I am counting down the days until their arrival!  Wish me luck in the chicken department!

 Some Examples of all natural colored eggs - they really come in these colors naturally from the chicken!

Buff Rocks - One of the breed I ordered

Buff Laced Polish - Another breed I ordered.  It wears a rather comical "hat"!

Fabric Buying in Abu Dhabi

The quilt guild I go to is well underway for the year and of course, I am behind.  By behind I mean I have nothing done.  While in Abu Dhabi I was able to buy fabric for this project, I suppose that puts me one step closer!  Our theme this year is Asian blocks which I am not a huge fan of.  I am finding through the show and tell every month that the fabric you use can totally change the block.  With the fabric I have seen the other ladies use it either looks totally “Asian” style or not even close.  With that being said I was trying to stay away from the traditional Asian style fabric.  In Abu Dhabi there seems to be a fabric store on every corner and I couldn’t resist going in any longer.  My mom and I sent the boys packing (To pick up handmade tailored shirts that Michael had made) and we went to the fabric store.  Interestingly enough, it is all men that work at the fabric stores.  I don’t think I could pay a man enough money in the U.S. to spend 12 hours a day 6 days a week to be surrounded by fabric!  In the store when you find a fabric you like you point to it and they pull the bolt down for you to look at.  When they pull it down they also spread it out all over the counter top.  When you walk by the stores you sometimes see mountains of fabric stacked high with disapproving women making judgments of it.  Frequently the women just walk out with these men left to refold and stack all that fabric and they won’t even buy any!  I would feel guilty and at least buy a little bit if I were them… Anyway, back to my buying experience!  Mom and I spotted a great set of fabric that had paisley all over it.  Very beautiful.  We had those pulled and I instantly fell in love.  My love affair continued as bolt after bolt of fabric covered in paisley was brought out.  There was 1 gentleman that had a great eye and almost everything he pulled I liked and it worked with the collection.  The other helper, not so much.  There was a clear theme going on and he continued to pull opposite colors or totally different patterns.  I give him an A for effort but sadly had to reject all his recommendations.  I left the store with 10 – 15 different prints, all beautiful!  I can’t wait to see what they will look like in this quilt!  Hopefully in the next few days I have the chance to start working on the quilt and put these beautiful textiles to work.  I think that through the fabric selection it will 100% change the look of the quilt and only someone that is a block/pattern connoisseur will be able to recognize that I have used an Asian style block for the quilt!

Surprise Weekend Away

                This weekend I was treated to a great surprise.  Michael whisked me away for the ski trip he had given me for Christmas!  I worked Saturday morning and after work gathered my bag and we got on the road.  Our first stop was the blue hole which is by Santa Rosa, New Mexico.  I had never been to this site but had witnessed the billboards along the highways for many, many miles.  The blue hole wasn’t nearly as large as I imagined it to be, or not nearly as blue but regardless it was a neat site.  It was packed with scuba divers working on different levels of certification or skills courses.  The water was fresh and I think I will put it on my list of places I need to go to cool off this summer!  Next we continued on to Las Vegas, New Mexico to eat at a great Mexican restaurant that has some of the best green chili salsa and sauces I have ever tasted.  We then moseyed to Montezuma, NM to see the hot springs and beautiful castle that was built by the railroad to entertain guests.  There are many beautiful houses in Las Vegas that do not fit the typical adobe style houses and buildings of the area.  When Las Vegas was a large railroad town people moved in from the east and their style of architecture followed them.  When driving through these neighborhoods it hardly feels like you are in New Mexico!  After that we worked towards our final destination of Taos!  It was my first time to Taos and I loved it!  We stayed at a great motel that fit the New Mexico style, served chocolate chip cookies on arrival and had great clean rooms and friendly staff.  We arrived a little after dinner time and we weren’t that hungry so we headed out in search of good beer.  We made it to Eske’s Beer Pub.  They brew their own beer and we got to sample 7 of their brews.  My favorite was called the Dead Presidents Cherry Ale (or something like that – it tasted so good but dulled my memory slightly).  I do not like fruit flavored beer but this was pleasant and beckoned for more.  Their most peculiar tasting was the green chili beer.  It smelled and tasted amazingly, just like green chilies.  It was as though instead of squeezing in lime juice someone swapped it for pepper juice.  It was even spicy which tricked my head because usually I will take a drink of beer to calm the heat down but this time it didn’t help at all!  After that we headed over to the Taos Inn which happened to have a live swing band playing.  They had 4 band members and all were talented and entertaining.  The crowd and atmosphere were equally as great.  Everyone was up on their feet jumping and jiving to the upbeat and infectious music, Michael and myself included.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday night and we thoroughly enjoyed a night out on the town!

                Sunday was set aside for skiing at Taos.  What a day it was.  The weather was great, about 45 degrees and sunny.  It wasn’t too crowded and the people that were there were friendly and polite.  I haven’t skied in about 8 years (with the exception of in Dubai about a week and a half ago!) so it was a rather slow day for me.  I am proud to say that I only fell once and it was when I was standing still at the bottom of the mountain (very embarrassing)!  We skied all day and then headed on the long road home (actually it doesn’t take that long but after skiing all day it sure feels like it!)  I got home and found out I got a great souvenir of a killer sunburn.  Apparently the sunscreen in my moisturizer wasn’t enough  to handle the high altitude, strong sun and reflective snow.  I wore sunglasses and a hat so I have pale eyes and about an inch and a half of a pale forehead and the rest of me about as red as a fresh cooked lobster.  Needless to say, I have gotten many looks as I have been around work and town today!  Regardless it was well worth it for the great weekend I had! 

Spring Fever!

I’ve got spring fever! It has been beautiful out lately of you can ignore the wind.  Where I live that is nearly impossible.  It has blown everyday this week at least over 30 mph (topped out at high 40s from what I have heard).  That is 4 straight days of crazy wind!  BUT today, it is finally calm.  It is cooler today, only mid 50’s but it is still gorgeous!  It makes me want to go out and do everything and anything outside!  I want to walk the dogs, work on the yard, ride my horse Hooker, work with my horse Dexter, take a nap in the hammock and… you get the idea.  Now all I need to do is find more hours in the day!  I am so happy that it is Friday and with the exception of having to work a half day tomorrow I have a free weekend!  Happy Friday!