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| March 8, 2013.
Come in and sit down for a bit, rest and visit with us. We are in the
autumn of our lives, in those so-called "golden years". I have been
retired for quite some time now, and Don will be retiring this Spring.
Every morning, regardless of circumstances, I count my blessings -
beginning with my three children and eight grandchildren. Don has two
children and four grandchildren. To me, a child is a gift from God,
from the very moment of conception all the way through life. We have two immediate family members who have four legs each - Heidi and Bailey. Heidi is a purebred Dachshund. somewhere between a miniature and a standard. She will be 7 soon. Bailey is our old man. He is nearly 15, half Dachshund and half Chihuahua. We rescued Bailey from a shelter (I am a rescue/shelter on-line advocate) when he was nearly 4. Heidi we got when she was 7 weeks old. Once she got her bearings and decided this was a great place to live, she ran ol' Bailey around and around and around. He lost 4 pounds that coming year, much to the delight of our Vet who worries about his back. Other than her first 7 weeks with her parents and that family, this is the only home she has ever known. Bailey is very grateful that we found him, as I am not sure what would have happened to him as he was a voluntary, abandoned surrender. We have both been avid gardeners for many years. Our area has been in a drouth going on three years now. So our big vegetable garden has had to be put on hold. We have, however, pressed on with our herb gardening and our flowerbeds/trees/bushes. We recycle 'grey water' from the house, use drip irrigation and lots of mulch to retain as much moisture as we can for the precious plants. I love raising our own herbs and food. I have been into organic gardening since the 1970s. I had to because of my severe allergies to chemicals. In retrospect I consider those allergies to be a blessing. When I look at the ingredients of so many store bought foods, I have to shudder at what people are actually eating every day of their lives even when they think they are eating healthy. We do a lot of label reading at the grocery stores. March 10, 2013. Having chemical allergies has presented more problems than just with food and beverages. I am limited on what medications I can take. And when I take vitamins and herbal supplements, I have to read labels as well. Every so often, I even run into an herb that bothers me. It is infrequent, but I have to be careful. And it is important to keep it all in balance - true for me, and I think true for everyone. And in between, let's just relax and exchange ideas about life, our interests, our grandchildren, whatever. We like new friends and hope you do too. March 11, 2013. The weather this morning said it was going to make it to 70. It was only like 54 out at noon, but it made it later. And it felt so good to work in the yard. My granddaughter and I cleared out the winter mulch, trash that blown in (where oh where does it come from!). Tomorrow we will clean out the rosebed which we built in the shape of a cross. And she is going to mow. I have a fused back with metal rods, so had to wear two braces. Still aches tonight, but thank goodness for the natural pain cream my daughter makes - took the swelling down and 90% of the pain within just a few minutes. (Write me if you want to hear about the cream - she makes her own all natural lotions and creams.) Grandpa has about got our new herbs in back planted, and some that are replacements. One of my favorite 'duties' is dehydrating and putting up the herbs every year. The house always smells so good! You might enjoy our gardening page, Our Garden Hideaway. Created it years ago up in Wyoming, and have kept it going down here as we attempt to create yards and gardens that are pleasing to us! March 12, 2013. Had planned on working out in the flower and rose beds today. But oh, why is the weather not cooperating??? It is 1:30 in the afternoon and only 58, wind is blowing out of the north at a pretty good clip. Times like this I really miss my woodburning fireplace up in Wyoming. I posted a picture to our new Facebook page of our rose garden cross taken right after we had finished building it. 
We have planted some more and add more forest animals for St. Francis to
bless and watch over!Last night I submerged myself in 14th and 15th century Scotland, working on our family history. So much of mine mirrors Grandpa's as well. Turns out we are distantly related, but most Scots are when you get farther back. We have a tree on Ancestry.com. And we have had our DNA tested at 23andMe. If you are interested in those, go to our Genealogy Along the Rockies where you will find links to both, as well as other sources. Won't be posting tomorrow I don't think as we are having a movie day with 4 of the grandchildren who are all on Spring break. March 23, 2012. Have you ever had one of those weeks that simply didn't go as planned? The bright spot was our day with the grandkids. The dogs had not seen the boys for a couple months either. And my granddaughter's pup hardly knows them. I am sure this dog thought he had died and went to heaven with 3 boys who would rough house with him! We had a great time, and I loved visiting with my daughter in law who might as well be my daughter. Got some good pictures, ate pizza and chips, and watched these kids who are no longer little ones. Sure makes a Grandma nostalgic to watch them grow so fast, getter taller than her, and literally grow up in front of her eyes. Thank you God for all of them, the ones here and the ones who live out of state. And for the record, all four dogs and Grandma and Grandpa took a nap. Granddaughter watched another movie, probably feeling a tad bit abandoned. She doesn't get to see her cousins as much as she would like. You know, it is tough being a kid and subject to adults' schedules! Last week we worked out in the yard. We only have a couple small areas to finish weeding. Grandpa has all the drip lines working. And we have been able to get some done in the back. Because of the drouth still, we are not planting a big garden - just herbs, onions etc - what I can dehydrate. Grandpa splurged though and bought some old fashioned purple bearded Dutch Iris and two lilies to surround our small bird pond (we do put water in it for the bird population as it is fenced off from the dogs). He replaced the Clemantis on the south yard wall that the hard winter took last year. I think it was more overgrowth that strangled it but will mulch good this year. Grandpa has plans to start rebuilding our garden fences which separate the garden beds from the yard - in simple terms, keeping the dogs out. We put up fencing last year, but these dogs with halos have found ways under. Not our first rodeo with keeping dogs out of gardens, so will see how round 2 goes. You can follow us on Facebook now at https://www.facebook.com/GGFootsteps?ref=hl Page created March 8, 2013 by MaryLee Thompson-Saban. Last updated 10/03/2016 free counter |