Friday, April 30, 2010

More Merry Hearts

We slept a little late this morning,
had coffee in the hot tub
and a warm breakfast of cherry pecan oatmeal.

Off to Taos!
Stopping at Carolyn's cabin in Tres Ritos,
we found 11" of new snow!

Our destination in Taos?
Bent Street.
After shopping a little,
we were ready for lunch.
We talked and laughed and ate!
It was a fun time.
Strolling down the square,
Artwares Jewelry store drew us in.

Resisting the many temptations,
we headed back to the car.
More shopping?
Walmart?
Are you kidding me?
Always open.
Always a bargain.
Always fun.
More than one!

Leaving Taos, HWY 64 took us through
Angel Fire.
Several herds of elk
entertained us!

Our purchases.
Four new watches.

 
Three more Merry Hearts arrived this evening!
We are ready for relaxing.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Arrival of Merry Hearts!

We have met together for about
fourteen years of Bible Study.
From time to time, we had discussed
 a name for our group, but with no success.
Last Spring at the cabin,
I printed a scripture passage for each of us
because it reminded me of my friends.
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
Proverbs 17:22                
              I just like it because it seemed to fit us. 
Everyone liked it so much
that we adopted it as our own,
calling our group Merry Hearts.  

We had a good trip from Amarillo today
and gave the construction workers at the intersection
of I-40 and Arnot Road a good laugh
as they tried to wave us through
while we discussed the gas prices at Love's.
You know how it is when a group of four women
try to make a decision!

We stopped at Dick's in Las Vegas for dinner
and arrived at the cabin in snow!

There were elk crossing the road at the meadow,
but they were moving a little fast for photography.
Maybe you can catch a glimpse of one from behind.

We unpacked and settled in... 
put in a movie,
It's Complicated
and relaxed!

We look forward to a fun day tomorrow
and the arrival of more Merry Hearts!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Just deal with it!

First thing this morning,
we decided to deal with the problem-
the BIG rock!
 
Amazing what a diamond blade
on a grinder can do!
Mickey removed about an inch and a half
from the top, making it workable. 

Doesn't this look fun?
It is actually more difficult than
you may think.
With a little experince,
it becomes quite versatile.
Mickey and the bobcat moved
an entire load of gravel from 
just outside our gate!
A load?
Well it is 12 yards or
one dump truck full.
Or approximately 20 scoops.

The handwork begins!
Level...
Scrape...
Level...
Smooth...
Level...
Scrape...
Level.
Smooth and level!
A little more electrical work done,
but not quite finished.
It is time to cook our first meal
in the new outdoor cooking area.
Just a little more work.
What a wonderful area!
Notice the smaller rock trying
to act like a flagstone.
We will do our best to make it
fit in properly.
We will deal with it.
For now, we are very pleased.
Having located our flagstone
at a quarry near Trementina,
we are anxious to make the purchase
and get back to work!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Good The Bad The Ugly - not necessarily in that order.

We will start with the ugly. 
What a mess!
This is the way it looks around here
when we have a project in the works.
And we always have a project in the works!
Inside is the place to work
when it is still cold outside!
But as the day warms,
there are a couple more
outside fixtures to replace.
With the lighting done,
Mickey is ready to tackle the
challenge of preparing for the flagstone.

Step 1
Think it through.

Step 2
Prepare the forms.

Step 3
Level the forms.
I thought he said,
" I'm just furious!"
(Very unlike my husband.)
But, he had said,
"I'm just curious."
(Never repeat what you
think you heard.)
He was curious about
how level this area is.

The bad,
It needs a lot of work and
a BIG rock removed.
He moved rocks
and made it ready
for the gravel.
But the BIG rock is still challenging.
We can deal with it tomorrow.
Tomorrow is always a good day!

The good.
The lights look really pretty
and the ground prep is going well!
Tomorrow should bring the gravel!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Hanging

Patty chose the
Butternut Small Measuring Cup
and it is ordered.
Congratulations, Patty
and thank you for being a follower!

Now, back to the lighting...  
Mickey hung the beam
and the bases for the hanging fixtures.

I love the beam and the light!
A second is now hanging
where the wires are exposed
on the far right.
A couple more outdoor fixtures and
a couple of new indoor fixtures
are scheduled for tomorrow.

While hanging things,
the deer feeder was next on the list.
Can you see it?
It is well camoflaged!


It has an automatic dispensing
mechanism and we really really hope
that it will bring the deer back.

I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, we will enjoy the sunset
hanging out on the front porch
 and watching the clouds roll.
Let's schedule your next visit
and plan for time to hang out.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Signs of Spring & another Give-a-Way!

Assessing the morning!

"It's gonna be a great day!"
The hot tub is repaired!

On to the electrical!
 Hanging the new light fixture.
I like it!

We shopped online
and all over Amarillo.
At the last stop, Lowes on Coulter Drive,
we were successful!
Not that we would have continued to look
after we found the right ones.

Hanging the recessed lights.
All three on the back porch.
Love them!
More lights tomorrow.

Under the house, Mickey found my
geraniuns!  It was an experiment.
Three (75%) of them looked like this.
But, number 4...

has a few green sprouts!
Can you see them?
Geraniums!
Maybe the others will come around, too!

So, I checked the herbs.
No luck.
Well, there is something green.
Probably a weed, but I will watch it!
And this little tree looks great!
Oh wait, it is an evergreen and
has looked just like this all winter.

A sure sign of Spring is the rain
that follows the snow melt.
We haven't seen the water flow
like this in several years!
And the sound of the
flowing water is wonderful!

I had a very productive day
of cleaning and organizing...
and puttering...
and discovery.

This little CM Photo Album is
 our next give-a-way!
All followers by May 2 
will be entered to win.
The winner will be announced
on May 3. 

It holds 22 4x6 photos.
Even if you are not a scrapbooker,
you will enjoy this little album!
You can just slide your photos in!

Be sure that you are a follower!