Dachshund vs Great Dane in tag. Who wins??

Well guess what it did again last night and about all day today???  Yep, snow. We are sure making up for the very mild winter we had last year.  The animals don't like it much.....

Socks looks so disgusted, "here we go again." Snow, snow, snow.

These guys didn't like it any more than Socks did. They were keeping an eye on me to see if I had some bread, apples, lettuce for them to eat. Not yet too early that comes later.

Here are Jeb and Belle, our turkeys.  The geese in the background  don't like the snow either, they love to eat grass and there is none to find right now.

But these two "LOVED" it!!! We let them out while Art was shoveling on the driveway and away they went. We now have doggie tag.......

Savannah says, "Tag."  "You're it Cooper."

Cooper says, "I'm gonna get you Savannah."

"What have I done? I've tagged a Great Dane!"

As you can see Savannah won and Cooper is still running along. It wasn't much of a competition, those little legs against her big long ones.

This is how deep the snow was on our front side walk.  It really blew in there. At least the ruler is smiling :)

I looked out this morning when I got up out the window where the bird feeder sits in front of and I counted 33 doves in this tree. I couldn't believe there were that many. They were flying down and eating off the ground and then landing in the tree for a nap.

Can you see them?

They were all puffed up and some had their heads tucked in their wings.

I don't know what this little guy did, he must have been bad as he was sitting all by himself on the swing set. Maybe the little wife kicked him out. :)

I just loved this shot. Snow on the pines, the tree, bushes and roof.

As I was walking up the driveway I thought this bush looked neat with all the snow on it. I didn't realize until I saw it how the flag was flying right above it.

Brrrrrr.....looks very cold doesn't it?

This is as much of a snow angel as I am willing to do now days. Too cold to get down on the ground for me.  

I will leave you with this Red-bellied woodpecker. He was just watching me from the window this morning while eating. Hope you have enjoyed all the snow pictures. If you are in a warm state or sharing this weather with us I hope you all have a very Happy New Year!!!

"Just keep the food coming, OK?"

"Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful......

And the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

That is what we have been singing all day. We have been under a ''blizzard'' warning since 5 am. It has been coming down hard since about 7 am, and the wind was in excess of 35mph. We spent the day watching TV as there was nothing on today except coverage of the road conditions, weather, anything and everything dealing with the conditions outside. Of course I had to get out the camera and start getting pictures......I was either lazy or smart :) and decided to stay indoors to get them. However, the wind was so fierce that the windows were snowed and iced over. But they themselves made pretty pictures.

You see the snow coming down looking our at the barn. It was snowing harder than the picture appears, especially out in the open. It came down horizontal all day. The news said we got around 8 inches.  That is a lot of snow to blow around, I'm sure drifts are big.

I don't think we will be swinging or rocking on the front porch anytime soon. But it sure is pretty.

The birds were feeding very heavily. I know they need to eat to stay warm. It was something watching them trying to hang on when the wind would hit around 40 mph.

This little Snowbird was smart, he was sitting in the bush eating the seed that had blown out.

But what tugged at my heart strings the most was this little dove. She lit on the window sill and was looking at me. I know they have problems with the cold. I wish I could have opened the window and let her in.

            Maybe tomorrow I will venture out and see what I can see "outside".....maybe.                                                
                            So from a snowy Indiana we send hugs and best wishes.

Snow, Sugar Fights, and Bread Breaking.....

It looks like we are going to have a white Christmas in Indiana. How do I know that you ask......

And we are suppose to get more snow next week. It is really really cold here too so we might as well have a white Christmas. I love the shrubs with the lights on them when snow covers them as they shine through.

I took this one through the screen wire on our front porch, because I couldn't get the way it looked on the outside. The wire kind of makes it neat looking I think.  They look like they have cool whip all over the top. So pretty.

  These are the bushes that are in front of our screened in porch. Sure looks cold doesn't it?

We have been busy shopping for wedding dresses, baking cookies, and making Hard Rock Candy. We made five flavors this year: Wintergreen, Sprearment, Watermelon, Cinnamon, and Clove.  Wow! When you put those oils in that hot hot syrup, the smell over whelms you. I have to keep my head way off to the side and not breath it in. The house keeps the smell in it for days. Hannah said when she grabbed her towels from upstairs you could smell the candy on them even. Makes us get into the holiday spirit when we make candy. We have done this for over 30 yrs. My parents started it and Art and I just kept the tradition going.  As the kids have gotten older there is a tendency to have powdered sugar fights, as we toss the candy in it so it won't stick together.We all look clean at the moment, but that didn't last long. In a little bit faces, clothes, hair, chairs, all looking like we had been snowed on. It is messy but so much fun. I think the camera was tucked away somewhere safe when that was going on :))

Here is SIL Tom and I working with the Watermelon.  Future SIL Dan and Hannah were on powdered sugar duty. Papaw was entertaining Meredith and Lindsay was also helping just not in this photo. You can see the next batch cooking on the stove with the candy thermometer.  The kitchen is always a mess after doing this. But worth it.

Meredith started to get antsy playing in the living room so Papaw had a brilliant idea. Do you know what they are doing???

They are breaking bread to go feed the turkeys, geese, and ducks. Even the goat loves it.  In the winter it really keeps the fat on them and helps with the cold.  Meredith loved this! Good job Papaw.

She happened to turn around and saw Hannah taking her picture. She has gotten hi and bye down pat now and with the wave. :)

I think the little birds will need ice skates on to enjoy this bird bath. They will enjoy it come Spring again though.

I don't think I will be using this sage again until Spring like the birds in their bird bath.

I love this picture of our outside lights because the little bird feeder shows up.  Many people have called our house Little House on the Prairie because it resembles the Ingalls' home.  I don't think they would have had Christmas lights though...no electricity. :)  

This Christmas just seems to be a little different than all the rest.
 I haven't felt much like blogging because of what happened in Newtown last week.  I felt guilty sharing any joy or any Christmas fun we were having when those families in CT were suffering so.  Then I was reading last night and read something that changed my mind. In these times of saddness it is the normal routine of life that gives us hope to go on. To have the comfort in our lives of old traditions, love of family around, and knowing that Christmas will arrive as it has for many many years on Dec 25th.  That because of Christmas we have the promise of better days ahead and that the families of Newtown will have the comfort and strength that they will need to get through this horrific ordeal.  We must enjoy our happy times because we never know when they will end for us.  This time last year we were mourning the loss of my Dad.  So last Christmas had a dark cloud over it for awhile. This year we have little Meredith and she is at the age where she will bring so much joy and happiness into this house. Did I tell you she can say Aflac? So funny, not Mamaw or Papaw, but Aflac.  Sounds so cute and sure makes you laugh. I hope all of you have a little someone in your world that will give you a wonderful Christmas. I have enjoyed getting to know all my blogger friends this past year, and hope to get to know more of you in 2013.  I wanted to tell you all how much I appreciated the get well wishes you sent when I was under the weather, and for supporting me on this new adventure I have decided to try called blogging.  I can't wait until we have more adventures to post and pictures of nature and the scenery we will be traveling through.  Posts will probably not be too plentiful in the next few months because there is not much going on right now, until we hook up the trailer and hit the road again. So for now and from Thorntown we sends hugs and best wishes.

I'm Back...."Barely"....

I don't know if I have been missed but I am back....sorta!  Sick, sick, sick.  The other day I was ready to go to the hospital to either get me well or let me die.  No, I'm not kidding I felt that way. There have been a number of things going on but now I am now down to this....

Hannah was going to Walmart and asked if I needed anything.  PUFFS, I NEED PUFFS!  I don't care if they cost a small fortune more than regular tissues, my nose cannot handle any more roughness. . And my Mentholatum, gotta have that for my nose too.  So here is my new box of Puffs.

I was able to get a couple of good sunset pictures from behind our house before I took ill. The colors are fabulous.  This is about all I can handle. My voice is slowly returning but my strength is not. Seems like it takes longer to return the older we get.  You know I am amazed how strong our bodies actually are to be as sick as we can be and survive. Guess in older times people didn't.  Medicine, medical care, and vaccines have sure improved our overall health in many ways. Although in my case, medication was what started all this....a very bad reaction.  Next time I will be ALOT MORE CAUTIOUS!!!!

I leave you with another sunset. Best wishes to all out there. Be safe and be ''healthy''.

Isn't this beautiful?  Look at those colors. 

Jupiter, Santa Claus, and Bathroom Doors...HUH??

I forgot I had taken a picture of the moon the other night after we put up some Christmas lights. The planet Jupiter was right beside it....see that little white spot. 

What made it so neat was there was hardly anything else in the sky but these 2. I find it fascinating that we can see other planets with our naked eye even if they are this tiny.  Makes the moon look huge!!

I only added this one because it was neat how the windmill was also in the picture. You have to ignore the little orange spot in front of windmill. Must have been reflection of some sorts.

Ok now back to the zoo in Indianapolis. I guess I had better start back at the beginning and add a picture from that.

Art, Tom, Lindsay and Meredith are standing under the sign...you must use your night googles to see them. :) This was with flash...just too far away I guess.

This zoo has grown into a top rate zoo, from since I was a little girl. I distinctly remember the little zoo we used to visit and there was this hippo in an exhibit that you could get fairly close to. Apparently one night some thugs broke into it and when the hippo opened his mouth like they do when being fed they dumped a whole bucket of baseballs in it's mouth. I don't remember what happened to him (probably blocked it from my memory) but isn't that just horrible!! I am sure there were many many times where zoos were broken into and animals were severely harmed and that is why the exhibits today are so far back with many security fences in place. Makes you wonder what runs in the veins of some people doesn't it??? Just last week there were 2 horses grazing out in a pasture in Anderson IN which is where we bought our new camper, and someone drove by and shot them. One of them died and the other one is at Purdue University's large animal hospital. They believe it is going to live. They did a benefit ride over the weekend to help raise money to pay the bill at Purdue. It will most likely run into the thousands. Wow! I do$n't know what got me off on that rant. Well now, let's get back to the zoo and happier times. We rode the train around the zoo, of course Meredith loved that. It was neat they had made the bridge we went under all covered in lights and then they went off like a strob when entering. I was trying to get pictures and watch Meredith so didn't get any pics.

Poor Art these seats were not conducive to a tall person...see his knees right up on the seat in front.

There were not many animals out they were sleeping. But these sea lions were not. They were arguing over who got the top rock. They pretended to be asleep and then WOW! out would come this huge bellow. The top seal won.... he never moved.

We went into the sea exhibit area and the penguins were quite the drawing card. They are so much fun to watch and just looking at them makes you smile. There were only 2 that were swimming the rest had gotten their spot on the rocks and weren't moving. I was trying to find a clear spot on the glass to take his picture. Sorry the quality is not that good.

 Now sea horses amaze me. They opened this exhibit of them of couple of years ago and there were many many more then than now. I wonder if they are hard to keep in captivity??

If you didn't know better you would think it is not real. Very few of them were moving. Although his tail is unwound so he might have been moving some. I know NOTHING about them, other than they are very unique and puzzling to watch.

They had Santa there in the gardens that are next door to the zoo. Oh my gosh it was soooo hot in there. Poor Santa I cannot imagine how hot he must have been. We were dressed to be outside and so having to stand indoors was not pleasant. She was very intrigue by him and was fine sitting on his lap. Our girls were not always sold on sitting on his lap. I have been told I was not at all when I was a little girl. I just love the top right picture she is like..."Really so you are the one that will bring me my toys, huh."

In the long picture Santa is holding onto a little tiger that I bought Meredith because she rode the Merry Go Round for the first time and she sat on a tiger. So wanted something to remember that by for her.

I was having the worst time getting a picture of Meredith on the Merry Go Round. This is the best one I was able to get. At least she will have a picture to remember it by.
 

This was so funny. Lindsay and I had to use the rest room before we left the zoo. Well we didn't actually leave the zoo when we entered. I don't remember this from when we were there last time. Pretty cool actually.

The bear was on the handicap door.

So Season Greetings from The Indianapolis Zoo

I hope you enjoyed your walk around the zoo with us. Only thing is I'll bet we were more tired than you. Whew...a big zoo to walk. I was beat.  
                                                                                                                                                                                      So from Thorntown Hugs and Best Wishes.

Blankets Done, Indianapolis Zoo, @ Christmastime.

Well I finished Meredith's blanket, her doll's blanket and her pillow.  I was pleased with how they turned out. Not bad, all this out of one blanket from Walmart.  Just putting on the yarn border and it is all fancied up.  So here they are.....

Pillow on back of chair is Meredith's. The baby dolls on the bottom. I just love the little penguins I think they are sooo cute.

I took a baby doll we have here that she plays with and wrapped it up in the blanket so you could see what it would look like. The hat I made too.

I made another baby doll's hat to match a hat that I made for Meredith. They both were brown and have white flowers on them.

                                 And here is the close up of the blanket's edging.

I am pretty sure that Meredith is going to like her new pillow. How do I know for sure you ask. Well we went up to their house yesterday to go to the Indianapolis Zoo. Before we left she fell asleep on Papaw's lap on a pillow I made when she was born. Adorable isn't it? Yes, the duck is too :)

I managed to get 4 pictures (exactly) before we left. That is about all the time you get with an 18 mos old.

Papaw was ticking her while we were walking through the zoo. You can sure see her new teeth can't you?

They had this shark petting exhibit at the zoo. It was cool they felt rubbery, or at least this breed did. I suppose this is great for kids to learn how to appreciate nature.

Notice the big red vein in the fin of this shark. Blue eyes too. They were called Dog Sharks. No barking was heard though  :))

They had the whole zoo lite up with lights. It as just beautiful.  They had animal light displays, and this peacock was really pretty. Of course more so in person.  

I will include more photos of the zoo tomorrow. I wanted to mention that Dan, Hannah, Art and I went to the Lincoln movie this afternoon. If you are into history you will love this movie. However, since we have been home I have not been feeling well at all. I hope if it is the flu it will pass quickly. I have heard it is going around alot. So until tomorrow, hope all is well with each of you. Best wishes from Thorntown.