From our house to yours...

I've been so busy the last few days that I haven't had time to stop and blog. Plus, Don's home on vacation for two weeks and I don't get much computer time when he's home.

In a couple hours I'm headed to Alabama to spend Christmas with my family. Don is staying home to take care of the critters. We have a deal...he goes to Louisiana to visit family for Thanksgiving and I stay home for critter duty. At Christmas I go to Alabama to visit family and he stays home.

I just wanted to take a moment before I headed out to say...

Happy Holidays

from

Hickahala Ranch!

It's the Grinch's fault!

This afternoon I strung Christmas lights along the front yard fence until it was dark and chilly. The dogs and I were singing Christmas carols, the cats were helping hang the lights and everyone was having a merry old time.

Okay, I confess. I strung Christmas lights until I got tired of trying to untangle huge wads of lights. The dogs kept barking and digging holes in the yard so I finally gave up. It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow so I really wanted to finish the lights this afternoon, but it will have to wait until after the rain.

I honestly do not know how the lights get so tangled. The wad that made me give up didn't seem to have a beginning or end.  While my memory isn't the best, I'm pretty sure I would remember if I took the lights down last year and tied them into knots. No, I recall taking them down quickly because it was cold and folding them neatly before storing in tubs.

So what happens from one Christmas to the next?  Do seismic shifts cause the lights to tangle throughout the year? Is it the pull of the full moon? Does Don go up in the barn loft to tangle the lights after feeding the horses?

After much deliberation I think I know who is to blame. The Grinch! Yep, during his off season I bet the Grinch sneaks in while I'm sleeping and tangles up all my Christmas lights. He was probably hiding behind a tree today while I was struggling to fix his mess.

I bet that's who the dogs were barking at the whole time!

A little touch of Mother Nature in the house...

The weather has recently turned chilly again so last night I decided to build a fire in the fireplace. Don had brought some damp wood in to dry a week or so back and I was quite delighted to discover that one of the logs had sprouted a gift from Mother Nature...mushrooms!

I believe these to be Oyster Mushrooms, an edible variety of wild mushroom. Oyster Mushrooms always grow on hardwood and these are growing on a piece of the dead Elm tree we had cut earlier this Summer. They're called Oyster Mushrooms because of the way they look, not because of their taste. They actually have a nutty licorice, or anise, flavor.

Now, I'm no wild mushroom expert so I didn't serve these up for supper last night! However, I'm 90 percent sure these are Oyster Mushrooms because of the way the gills appear to run down the stem.

When Don got home he admired my discovery, but agreed that it would be best not to eat them. Instead, he tossed the log on the fire and burned up my Oyster Mushrooms! I wanted to use them in a little Christmas woods land display under glass, but Don thought they'd just get slimy and nasty so into the fire they went.

I'm just glad I found them before he did. At least I was able to take some photos and do some research. It's always good to learn something new!

When your bowl is empty, sit in it!

Yesterday when I came into the garage after feeding the chickens I found Siobhan sitting in the bowl we use outdoors to feed the cats. Apparently, it was a comfy place to sit because she stayed there while I went inside to get my phone. I snapped several photos and she never got up.

Of course, she hopped right up when I opened the cat food container (we keep it in an old cooler). All the other cats came running, but I fed Siobhan first. Seemed only fair since she'd been patiently waiting in the food bowl!

Cats are so funny. I've found them curled up asleep in the kitchen sink and the bathroom sinks. I've found them in various sized boxes...some much to small to comfortably hold the cat! I've found them snoozing in plastic shopping bags and one year Hermione thought the Christmas wreath was the perfect place to nap!

They curl up with us, with the dogs and I've even found Fergus napping in the chicken house! There's not a nook or cranny in this house that I haven't discovered a cat at one time or another, but yesterday was the first time I ever caught one sitting in their food bowl.

I don't know...maybe Siobhan chose that seat because it fit her big wide hiney perfectly!

Sorry about that!

Poor computer caught a nasty virus Friday! And no, it wasn't my precious grandson's fault...he hasn't been on our computer since this photo was made two years ago!

The virus, called Vista Security 2011, masquerades as anti malware, but it's actually trying to steal your credit card information. The poor English used in the wording was a huge red flag for me, so I unplugged the Internet connection and waited to see if Don could get it off our computer.

He was able to access the necessary steps to remove it while at work and did so last night. YIPPEE...I've been online all day trying to catch up! Now I need to get off and do some of the Christmas stuff I should be doing, but first I need to fix the leaking drain pipe in the laundry room.

It's always something, isn't it?

Family, fun and lots of holiday shopping!

Nerisha, Nicole, Audrey, me, Valerie, Amanda and Anna

I've been gone awhile and for good reason! Last weekend was our annual mother/daughter Christmas shopping trip and WOW...it was hectic, but lots of fun!

Last Thursday night I headed to Alabama and my sister's (Audrey) house. Arrived about 2:30 a.m. and slept a few hours before we were up and headed to Huntsville to pick up my cute pregnant daughter-in-law (Nerisha). After helping my son get a new battery to replace the dead one on his car we headed down the highway toward Birmingham.

Once we got to Birmingham the group of us checked into the Wynfrey Hotel and hit the Galleria. We were able to get a head start on some Christmas shopping and then hit the bed since we needed to get up early and head on down the road to Montgomery.

When we arrived in Montgomery we met up with my sister-in-law (Valerie) and niece (Anna) and began to shop until we literally dropped! Nerisha fell asleep at the mall so we headed to our suite at Staybridge and tucked her into bed.

Then we hit some more shops (I thought they were going to have to throw us out) before heading to the Montgomery Airport to pick up my daughter (Nicole) who had to catch a late flight from Dallas. My precious grandson's preschool recital was that day so Nicole wasn't able to join us for the entire weekend. Isn't he the cutest little Toy Soldier you ever saw?

Obviously Montgomery rolls up the carpet at 10 p.m. as we couldn't even find a Wal Mart Supercenter that was still open! Before heading back to the hotel we grabbed some snacks at a gas station so we'd have some munchies while gabbing in our suite.

Sunday we enjoyed a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel before heading out to do some super fast shopping. I have to say, the Staybridge was very nice (the photo at top was taken in the lobby) and we'll definitely use them again next year if there's one in New Orleans. Yep, the girls decided we should do our holiday shopping in New Orleans next year. Last year we went to Nashville.

After some lightning speed shopping we parted ways at noon. Valerie and Anna headed back south to Mobile and we headed north, stopping once again at the Galleria to do some more shopping. We got Nerisha home to Huntsville in one piece and boy, was her hubby glad to see her!

Nicole and I spent the night with my mom and I know she enjoyed having us. I woke on Monday morning to the sound of Grandma and Nicole chatting up a storm. Unfortunately, it was a short visit as I had to get Nicole to the Birmingham Airport by 10 a.m. and head to Mississippi and MY hubby!

Monday night I fell asleep about 8 p.m. and slept a full 16 hours! I'm all rested up now and ready to get those gifts wrapped in time for Christmas!

It's a three dog night...or four...or...

Brrrrr...yesterday's fierce wind and lingering rain has made for some chilly weather around here! We've all pretty much hunkered down in the house all day snuggling up to one another to stay warm.

I lit a fire in the fireplace this afternoon and have spent most of my day trying to convince the dogs it is okay to go out in the rain to potty and then drying them off with towels when they come back inside. Most of the dogs love the towel, but Miss Aislinn definitely does not. I guess she prefers to be wet!

Poor Don went out to the barn this evening to tend to the horses and came back soaked, tired and grumpy! He's in the shower now and I'll fix him a nice plate of Thanksgiving leftovers when he comes downstairs. Then I'll cozy up by the fire and browse through some of my Christmas craft books until I grow sleepy and head upstairs to bed.

Hopefully there'll be room in the bed for me as I figure it's going to be a three...or four dog night, which makes for a very warm, but crowded, bed!

Signs of the Seasons...

Today I noticed that the berries on the holly bush at the end of the front porch are starting to change colors. Right now they have a pinkish tint to them, but before I know it they'll be bright red and ready for Christmas!

I've noticed other signs that Autumn is moving steadily toward Winter. We've had a couple frosts so I went out this afternoon to check the broccoli in the garden. It's doing great, but the frost killed some volunteer potato plants so I dug them up. Got two medium size potatoes for my efforts so we'll be eating them for supper tomorrow night.

The butter beans were also killed, but the catnip still looks good. I'll need to harvest it soon as I'm sure the cats would enjoy some toys stuffed with catnip, especially Possum, the new kitten (who is growing like a weed).

My garden spiders are slowly dying off as well. It always makes me sad to say goodbye to them, but they've lived their brief lives and next Spring their children will replace them. The only one still hanging on is the one of the porch. I guess she is better protected from the chilly nights.

Almost all the leaves have blown off the persimmon tree and there are only a few stubborn persimmons still clinging to the limbs. The dogs continue to root around beneath the tree looking for sweet persimmons, but it won't be long before there will be none to find.

However, the dogs have other things to enjoy now. They love lying in front of the fireplace when I have a small fire going (the photo is Guinness from a few years ago made just before Halloween). They also enjoy the cooler days and have been quite rambunctious the last week or so.

Elvis has also been quite frisky, hopping around his cage and greeting me at the door when I bring him treats. I'm sure his rabbit fur coat feels better to him when the temperatures drop!

Saturday I bought a pumpkin, which I will carve on Halloween. Since we live so far off the road I'll put it on the fireplace mantel for us to enjoy. I just can't imagine Halloween without a jack-o-lantern, even though they signal the end of October.

November is quickly approaching. I see the signs of it everywhere and I welcome its arrival with open arms!

In a pickle...

Recently I've found myself in a bit of a pickle or, to be more accurate, up to my elbows in pickles! For some unknown reason I planted an entire pack of cucumber seed around the scarecrow in my garden. Favorable weather conditions resulted in every single seed sprouting and every single cucumber vine to provide me with a bounty of cucumbers!

I'm not much of a cucumber eater and there's only so many cucumber slices marinated in Italian dressing that Don can eat for lunch. So, I've started making pickles. As you can see, I've canned eight pints of dill pickles and have two more pints in the fridge for snacking. Still, I have cucumbers coming out of my ears! So I'm going to put up some sweet pickles as well.

This will result in more pickles than we can eat, but perhaps I could give jars of pickles as Christmas gifts? I know one thing...Elvis and the chickens are not that fond of over sized cucumbers so I'll not put them on my Christmas pickle list!