Is it Spring yet?

It was the first warm day and we wanted to get out!

So, we took a little ride.

Around the neighborhood.

Back home, something new is in the garage!

New buds on the Aspens!

Spring is going to happen!

Lucky Charms are a must for St. Patrick's Day!

The gold coins and chocolate coins are a bonus.

They are slipped into the bag.

The bag is resealed on the bottom.

And they are ready for the box!

Inserted.

Glued.

7 boxes for 7 grand kids!

I hate to pay more for postage than the contents is worth, but the appreciation is worth it.

Gathering, Splitting, Stacking

Now these are some logs!

Staged for splitting.

Sometimes we find something really interesting. 

Loaded and moving.

Delivered. Stacked. Ready to burn.

Retreat Weekend

We welcomed some of our earliest retreat friends again this weekend, along with a couple of returning scrappers and a new friend. Our weather was unbelievably unpredictable.

Rain. Sleet. Snow. Sun.

Yes, we experienced it all and are thankful for every drop of moisture.

Inside, there was warmth and friendship, movies and laughter, food and fun and lots of scrapbooking!

And, massages! No pictures are available, but we are very excited to have found a professional massage therapist from Angel Fire who will come for the day to rub away any tension that you bring with you.

Don't they look rested, relaxed and ready to return home? They also left here with some finished projects and good starts on others. 

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Guadalupita Volunteer Fire Department and Auxiliary

Mickey has joined the Volunteer Fire department. I helped form the auxiliary or support team.

Saturday was a clean up day and hot dogs were our catered lunch.

About twelve of us showed up.

We cleaned and organized everything in the building.

The guys worked outside washing the fire trucks.

Team work is essential in a volunteer fire department.

And this team worked!

Clean and ready to roll. We were all exhausted that evening.

Today, Mickey received his first fire call. He headed out to Hwy 434 between mile markers 14 and 15.

This was a car fire that spread to a neighboring pasture.

Fortunately, there was no wind. 

A day of fun!

That drive from Mora through Tres Ritos and beyond is always beautiful!

Lunch at Sugar Nymphs in Penasco was our first stop.

What a cute place! The same building houses The Peñasco Theatre.

We girls had a fabulous green chili cheeseburger. The guys had grilled chicken BLT. It took all the will power that I could find to walk past the beautiful chocolate cake and out the door. The winery was calling with a barrel tasting that included chocolate!

We headed down the road a little ways to the dry side of the mountains. Traveling beside the Rio Grand River to Velarde, we found the Black Mesa Winery and an educational afternoon of wine tasting. It was an unbelievable mid-February day, warm enough to sit outside for a while.

Bittersweet Highway provided the entertainment.

There was a chocolate fountain with strawberries for dipping, chocolates with raspberry filling, assorted chocolates and Girl Scout Cookies!

The barrels are not numbered, but labeled by location or names randomly selected by the owners and employees. This one seems familiar. We tasted wine in various stages of development from the barrels.

We met and visited with the owners. 

The glasses came home with us, along with some cheese and a few bottles of wine and great memories of a fun day with Sierra Bonita friends, Carol and Jones.

Vanilla Update

The vanilla update brings disappointment. It's not dark enough. There is not enough vanilla flavor, but the vodka flavor is not really there, either.

Surely, it can be salvaged.

I ordered more vanilla beans and set out to rectify the disappointment.

Ten more sliced beans went in today. In a few weeks, I hope to be bottling my delicious vanilla.

In addition, vanilla sugar sounds like a good idea. The recipe? One vanilla bean covered in 4 oz of sugar and wait for a couple of weeks. Coffee, anyone?

Outside, a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the upper 40s called to us.

We loaded the little trailer with firewood, left by the driveway.

It is now neatly stacked and waiting for the splitter. We are expecting more sunny, mild days in the next couple of weeks. This can wait.

Super Bowl and Snow

The drive to Angel Fire Saturday evening...

It was so pretty.  There's more snow here than in our neighborhood.

We had dinner with friends from Amarillo at their cabin, then stayed over night.

Our drive to church Sunday morning was really short.i

While the Super Bowl game was a little disappointing,

the food and the company of neighbors was great!

These Sweet Emotions Cookies were a special delivery from Amarillo.

Today's weather sometimes.

Today's weather at other times.

We are grateful for the snow and the sun is a come & go event.