Merry Christmas Eve!

 A sunset picture from last week. We can see the power plant outside of Saint Johns from our driveway. I happened to look out the window and thought the sky looked like it was on fire.

 Tilly and Harley looking out the window watching.........

 these little guys. The bunnies just drive them crazy.

 We got an inch to an inch and a half of snow this week so we will have a white Christmas.

 I baked an apple pie yesterday. It was delicious!

 You can barely tell from this picture but this morning the sun was shining on the grass and the grass was twinkling! It was like there were tiny Christmas lights spread all over the acreage.

 Acres and acres of twinkles. Isn't God good? We didn't put up a Christmas tree which kind of bummed me out but this morning, the day before Christmas, God let me know I didn't need a Christmas tree when He gave me natural Christmas lights. I'm  just in awe of His love for me.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you might see some sparkles. I can't keep from looking out the window at the incredible beauty. I love it out here so much.
On Wednesday, Daisy Mae and Lil. Abner had friends over for dinner which included us. Daisy Mae is a fantastic cook and we had a wonderful time. She has to work on Christmas day. She made the most wonderful dessert..crock pot lava cake. Oh my gosh!!! So delicious, my hips were screaming with joy with every bite I took.
I'm so grateful for the friends we've made here at the ranch. Don and his wife have been keeping us supplied with eggs. I'm surprised his hens are laying so much in the winter but he said he has their coop very well insulated and has lights on 16 hours a day and plays country music all day. A happy hen is a laying hen!
We have been so blessed this year. I don't know why God has been so good to us because we are so undeserving. Never the less, I am so thankful for his goodness and mercy.
Last Saturday, I got an email saying one of my childhood friends had passed away. He was the love of my life in third grade thru junior high school. He'd had a rough childhood and had been in trouble with the authorities so my parents didn't want me to have anything to do with him. Under parental pressure, I broke off contact with him and spent the next 30 years dreaming of him on a weekly basis. In my dreams I was always searching for him. I finally tracked him down and we talked on the phone and caught up on the years. On a yearly trip to Oregon, I stopped in Klamath Falls to see him and his wife. After his rough child hood I think all he wanted was to be loved and accepted and he found that with his wife, Sue. He found the perfect woman for him. Knowing he was ok and that his life was a content one, the dreams stopped. His wife and I became friends, I just adore her. Now just before Christmas she has lost the love of her life and is devastated beyond belief. My heart breaks for her. Please say a prayer for her.
I hope and pray you all have a very Merry Christmas and wonderful 2012 and remember to count your blessings.You can find joy in the little things in life like the tiny ice crystals shining brightly on the grass outside your window.

I'm back!

 Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Or a rabbit. We have one in our freezer waiting for a couple of more so we can have Tom over for a wild rabbit dinner. Anywho...... we made these gift card holders at the Stampin Up class.

 Here is another ornament unfolded.

 This is a side view of the ornament. It takes 5 3x3 squares of cardstock, you stamp both sides, score and fold and glue together.

We experimented with punch art and made these candy holders. I'm not into punches too much. I'd rather make a cut file and cut them out with my Cricut. I have a program where after snipping a picture of something, I can take it into a program called Inkscape and make a cutting file out of it. Saves me tons of money by not having to buy those expensive Cricut cartridges. Plus the possibilities are unlimited!
Really not much else going on at the ranch. Pa has been out cutting some wood but other than that, it's been a bit chilly to be out doing much of anything else. He ran to town today to get a load of water (someday a well on the property?) and now he is off visiting Lil Abner.
Please plan a visit to come and see our little slice of Heaven. We'll leave the light on!

Snow last week, snow expected this week

 Here's what it looked like last week when it was snowing. It was coming down pretty hard but was gone the next day.

 Isn't it pretty? The best thing is, it doesn't last long. Not like the last year I lived in Illinois in 1978. That was the winter of the Mother of all Storms. 100 inches of snow, stuck in my driveway for a month, diesel in semi trucks freezing and turning to gel, driving home from work in a white out. I worked at Kmart at the time and they suggested we all stay in the store overnight but I wanted to get home to my kids and I knew the store would be closed the next day. Ahhhhhh, the memories.

 I call this hail, Pa calls it sleet and Arizona calls it grapple. So take yer choice.

 Doesn't this put you in a Christmas mood?

 While my buddy, Katie was at my house, she showed me how to put this cutting file together. It is a 3-D book and instead of pages inside, there is a drawer you can slide out and put gifties in.

 How clever is that? I am a huge Peter Rabbit fan, don't ask me why cause I have no idea!

 Went to the monthly Stampin Up class on Saturday. We made this ornament.

 also made this gift tin. It has gift tags inside that we made. I can never figure out what to do with empty tins so now my mind is working over time on what I can do with the little tins I bought or those Altoid tins.

 Sorry these are out of order but this is the Christmas ornament all folded up,

I couldn't get a picture of Tilly jumping up to watch TV but I did capture her intently watching. I have more pictures of the goodies we made at the class but they won't download so I will end this post and start another one!

Great Give Away

http://www.partyblog.mygrafico.com/silhouette_giveaway/

For all you crafters out there, you should check this out! My friend Katie has one of these cutting machines and they are awesome. You can check out her blog here: http://www.ktsangels.blogspot.com/
She came over yesterday and we spent the whole day in my craft room having a blast. It is so nice to have a crafting buddy. Saturday I will be meeting with her and we will hop over to Joseph City for the Stampin Up class.
Sorry I haven't posted lately. I ran out of monthly mega bytes. I can't wait till my two years with Verizon broadband is over and I can switch to 17 monthly megabytes with Wild Blue. It's just $10.00 more than I am paying now for 5 MB.
My Mini Schnauzer, Tilly, has discovered the TV. I'm trying to get a picture of her jumping straight up in the air trying to get to the animals on the screen. I wonder if she thinks she is looking out a window. Anyway it is so funny to see her sitting in front of the TV watching just like we do except her ears are thrown back and they twitch to the sound. My ears don't do that but I haven't been paying attention to Pa's to see if they do.
Show Low got two feet of snow the other day but we only got 1/2 inch here at the ranch. Last night at 10 pm, the temp was 9 degrees in Show Low. Right now here at the ranch it is 18 degrees, but it's a dry cold, ha ha. Our England Works stove is working like a charm. It heats the whole 2200 sq ft house in a snap. Once the house is warm, we only have to put one log on the fire off and on thru out the day. The house is so well insulated, it stays warm thru the night. I've only burned myself twice putting a log in the stove. One of them will leave a scar on my wrist, it looks like a brand, it is so deep.
I have a couple of pictures but haven't downloaded them yet. You'll have to wait till next time.