Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year 2010 Here We Come!

Just want to send goodness out into the universe....This coming year I want to live more and love more....


Because Life is for Living
And Now is the Time

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Monday, December 21, 2009

Monday...12-21-09

Well...it is Monday morning after a GREAT weekend!

Saturday morning we headed out for David's Christmas surprise for us! We headed  towards San Francisco and then took the Napa-Sonoma exit...then entered the town of Yountville! Of course that is where Michael Chiarello's Bottega restaurant is and his Napa Style store!
We had a nice stroll around the town, stopped at Bouchon bakery and shared an orange cranberry croissant. Then we headed over to Napa Style to browse. There was an author there signing a book that he wrote when PBS paid him to live in Tuscany and write about living there! Nice work if you can get it!
 Great appetizers laid out for snacking, we tried a few.
Then we went over for lunch.
We had:
Calamari with a squid ink aoli
Polenta under glass with crispy mushrooms on top
Duck confit over gnocchi
David had the Sole and I had the Mediterranean Seafood medley with a tomato base
We shared a good bottle of red wine, lunch lasted a little over 2 hours...wonderful.
Then we walked around town for a while, stopped in some shops bought some olive oil and vinegar and David got some grill rubs at Napa Style. Then we headed home...what a great day!

Sunday we had our Holiday get together with friends...cookie exchange and plan New Years for us gals and the boys played disc golf and exchanged gifts!
Back home on the farm we got the animals fed and settled for the evening and all was well with the world for a minute!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Billy Boy

Billy Boy early on a foggy morning

Train Rolling By

Train rolling by
Writings on the wall
Sorrow comes and and sorrow goes
Happiness lies in the seat of your soul

Thursday, December 17, 2009

chords that live

This is the horse that sounds a chord that lives so deep in you that you might never have heard it otherwise.


One day you realize that after all....
All you have to do is stop and listen and you will hear your horses thoughts and desires.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

12-16-09


This morning I was greeted by a big black nose and attached to a belly that needed scratching. Frisco the wonder dog!

When I stepped outside I was greeted with the low nickering of Cheyenne the Wonder Horse.


And then greeted by my two kitties...Emmy Lou and Zane Grey...life is good. I am a lucky girl.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

12-15-09

Know Yourself
Recognize and Respect our Differences
Talk to Each Other
Be Respectful
Reinforce the Positive
Minimize the Negative
Don't Blame
Be Honest with Each Other
See Things from the Others Perpective
Don't Judge

Have some Fun :)

Monday, December 14, 2009

12-14-09

Well...this past weekend was wet and wild. We are finally getting much needed rain. The baby oats are drinking it up and growing as we speak. Also we had alot of fun on Saturday night. Roy and Jan picked up Farmer Boy and me and off we went to Winters, California. We found a place to park and ran into The Buckhorn Restaurant for a fine dinner. We started with drinks...a Bombay Saphire Gin Martini for me...dry with two olives please and thank you :)  Sierra Nevada Celebration Ales for the boys and Vodka and Grapefruit for Janni. We had calamari for an appetizer;  Farmer Boy ordered a good bottle of red wine to go with our dinner. Mike and Diana showed up and the party was on! Farmer Boy, Diana and Jan had sirloin, Roy Boy had the sirloin burger and I had the Buffalo. Man oh man was it a good dinner. The garlic mashed potatoes were fluffy and the winter squash trio was divine.
Then we dashed across the street to The Palms for the Tom Russell Show. Tom was in fine fettle and  good story-telling mode. So, a fine time was had by all. Farmer Boy bought a t-shirt and CD, he had Tom's wife (the Lovely Nadine) sign it!
To top it all off when we got home the dog was dry! Yippee! Now, that is what I call a good Saturday night!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

baby it's cold outside!

Ok, I am grateful to be alive and able to feel the rush of cold weather we are having....Pollyanna -ish enough??? hahahah Yes, it was 22 dgrees two nights in a row. Extra hay for the horses, Kitties  in their beds and the dog in the house.
The cows have left for their Winter pasture in Tracy. The horses and the dog are feeling frisky in this cold weather. Everybody has a good winter coat, and the humans are bundled up in their  Carhart jackets, lined jeans and long johns....a lovely sight to ponder eh?
Well, last Friday was my birthday, I took the day off from my job in town . In the morning Jenni & Maple, CMor & Pogo, me & Cheyenne took off for a jaunt through the bottom. We went through the woods and crossed the dry river bed into Wilton. There we looked out onto the farmers land for spell and then headed home. A good ride . We rode 'til our butts were sore.
After we said our good bye's, I got cleaned up . Then Farmer Boy, Johnny , Cheryl and I went o see "The Blindside"....better than I thought it would be, but, not as great as people have been saying. Then after the movie we went to "One Speed" a good Pizza restaurant in East Sacramento. A good time was had by all, soup,salad, pizza, wine and beer and dessert. Then we drove around and looked at the Christmas lights.
This weekend we are going with friends to The Palms  in Winters,to see Tom Russell. First we will go to the Buckhorn for dinner , a good meaty dinner .

I love my pony, he is especially fuzzy this time of year.
This picture is from when  Cheyenne first came to live with us. I am so happy that he is part of my life. We have a good connection and he is a good horse. I hope I am a good human.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Before I forget!

Ok, so here is a super easy appetizer /party snack!

Dried Apricots
Goat Cheese
Crushed Pistachio nuts

!!!!!!!! How easy how tasty!
If the goat cheese is too strong for your palate try mixing it with a little cream cheese! Yum!!!!!

New Years is almost her 2010. Time to think about what was , what is and what  may possibly be.


The future is wide open. What kind of life do you want to live? What road will you travel?

Monday, November 30, 2009

Monday










OK... so Sunday morning, Cutter 916 came over with her fine Quarterhorse  gelding with Pepto Boonsmal breeding and away we did ride. What a good boy he is, only 4 and mostly used to cutting cows rather than looking out for wildlife.We  rode through  the bottomland, and then headed to the wildlife reserve and went towards the Cosumnes River. We came back along the levee an had a grand ride.We saw deer and traipsed as far as we could.  We walked and jogged so we all got a good workout.
That afternoon Farmer Boy played disc golf with his  herd-o-men that he pals around with and was once again the champeen! Woohooo an good weekend for all.

Monday



Ok, so Thankgsgiving was a good day and it was really nice to be home for four days. Farmer Boy has recovered from the croup and all is well with the world.
Thanks giving morning Jenni and her daughter Tracy came over and we went for an early morning ride.
Here we are heading home. The horses were good as gold and the weather was col and crisp.

11-30-09


There is a cat who rocks our day! Zane Grey! The wonder kitty! here he is walking the fence line. he was out helping me feed the mare and baby girl. What a joy boy.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

On Eagles Wings as ayearling....my beautiful girl.On Eagles Wings 4 years old My beautiful girl

I remember what fun we had when we went to Crater Lake and how stunned I was by the beauty of it all.

Monday Morning 11-23-09

Well...this weekend was busy. I got home after work on Friday and Farmer Boy and I headed to Kaiser Permanente in Elk Grove for lung x-rays and super antibiotics. It seems Farmer Boy has a case of walking pneumonia...so lots of rest for him this weekend.
We then went to Chipotle as Farmer Boy had a craving for Mexican food...and  I don't even have to do a thing except tell people what I want and I get it! One of my favorite things.
Saturday morning I cleaned the house, did laundry and kept an eye on Farmer Boy. Later Frisco, Cheyenne and I took a walk to the River. Very nice cool , crisp day for a walk.
Sunday I went to the store and picked up a few groceries for my soup I wanted to make. I roasted a chicken Saturday for dinner ( roast chicken, baked butternut squash and lima beans) and I used the meat  for soup on Sunday.
I made a Mexican type soup. I first fire roasted two Poblano's and one Jalapeno pepper on the stove. After they were done and in the rolled closed brown paper bag, I chopped half of a red onion and a whole cluster of garlic and sauteed that in some olive oil.Then I sliced and chopped pretty finely a carrot and a good sized parsnip and put that in to cook. Can't forget the celery, two stalks celery finely chopped into the pot.Then I put the chicken in the pot. On top of the chicken I put one small can tomatoes with chiles and one half container Michaela's fresh ( hot not mild) salsa. By then the peppers were ready to have the char removed and  seeded and chopped. I left a few seeds from the Jalapeno so it would be good and spicy. I had some left over lima beans and they went in and I added one can Mexi-Corn to the pot for good measure.After that I added one big box of Chicken Stock and left it to cook. After an hour or so I removed the chicken, let it cool and stripped the meat from the bones.I put the meat back and let it cook until we couldn't stand it anymore!
Big Bowls of soup and a good piece of toast...made for a wonderful meal that should help heal Farmer Boy and warm the soul of anyone who eats it.
After that I went and got Cheyenne and we went for a ride around the Farm. He is such a good boy, we jogged and walked and loped. He is feeling good. I believe he likes this cool weather. He is full of vim and vigor and fun. woo hoo, so that was my weekend down on the farm.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Thursday



Good Morning, Good Day Sunshine!
It is  simply a beautifal late Fall day. The sky is blue, the air is crisp and the leaves are brilliant on the trees. We will have rain and wind tomorrow,  we sure need the rain; the sprouted oats and rye are waiting for a drink.
The ground was thick with frost this morning.

Here are some pictures of  trees I took in town this morning...