Simple living in New Mexico...

Monday, December 26, 2011

Crazy Daisies (pictures and outfits by Ivy)

Ruby really loves polka-dots (her word for hot-dogs) these days.  She wants to eat a polka-dot.
The legos in her hands? Yes, that's her cell phone.

Man, she acts just like me...

Bet you didn't know picking your nose could look so cool....

Full moon over Georgia

Paris pajamas?


 This is the norm around here.  Are they not just awesome little things?  How did we get so lucky to have these little rays of sunshine in our lives?  I had to share.


Saturday, December 24, 2011

Some corners of our house....

This piece has a neat history.  My mom redid it about 20 years ago, and then redid it again this year and gave it to me.  Love it.  Its paint job is beyond words.  Casey found the shed one day during shipping when he was helping a neighbor.

With my neutral phase, I have sometimes wished these were white.  Isn't that stupid?

One of my  favorite things, trouble is I bought it for one house and it hasn't had a great home since.  Might have to design a kitchen around it.

Very heavy

This was mine when I was a little girl, it went all over to college apartments, San Antonio etc.. Now its Ivy's

Ivy's desk....

Love this grey!  This is from my favorite store, Roughrider Antiques

My honey gave this to me for Valentine's!

back porch, simple old board from some old homestead (I bought it :( ) and added hooks, have a two more that are cool,  one of my favorite ideas for a simple home

Hattie's room at one point, she never slept here, then it became Clay's room...I just added it because I liked the pictures of a clean spare room.  This is past not present.

My kitchen a year ago, like it better now, no more TQ.

and this is the reality of our home, that stuff is baby powder
This is Ivy's room again, the only chandy in the house.  Here is to many more chandy's someday.

Friday, December 23, 2011

These are old pics from Christmas past

December 2009 in New Mexico

Dec. 06 Texas

Dec 08 TX

Dec 07 TX
2010 is missing on my computer!!!!  Hope to get one for this year done this weekend.  I guess from 02-05 I had no digital camera.  What a loser!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Redneck Family Event

Boiling the head

washing soda



Hi, this is whats happening around here this evening.  Wow, lots of fun.  I borrowed a cauldron from my mother. (I hope she doesn't really expect it back any time soon, as I have many  ideas tallow, soap etc...)  We are boiling the head of the elk Casey got back in Oct. for a European mount.  We (i mean he) will bleach it out with hydrogen peroxide after we get all the meat boiled off the head.  I am excited about this because of my natural phase of decorating I am in right now.  I like everything muted and monochramatic and bringing the outside in.  For winter I want my house full of pinecones, pine boughs, dried tall grasses and dried up sunflowers.  This is the goal, but first I need to figure out what to do with all my junk, clutter, and mess.  I am trying to pack it way, but it takes some serious dicipline because I also like the stuff.  Anyway, what fun to have a fire going outside.  Makes me feel more connected to my pioneer ancestors.  Oh, and we do enjoy being rednecks!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Pippi La Pu

Love the texture of this photo.  Ivy took it.
My first post was about Pippi getting run over.  Well, she is fine now.  Not quite as ornery and playful as she once was, and she takes a wide birth of vehicles.  Other than that she is back to work herding children. chickens, cats, and what makes her the happiest: cows.  She was born on Cinco de Mayo so she is getting to be a teenaged pup.  We just love her so much, Casey thinks she is the best dog in the world.  Today she was trying to harass the horses though, but they were completely ignoring her.  We were watching them, they didn't even move or flinch.  They are so over her. 

On another note, Ruby fell into the corner of the bench in the kitchen this morning and got a black eye.  Poor, poor little thing.  It breaks my heart to look at her.  She is tough though.  She cried for a minute and took off.  My baby..... She is trying out panties again today.  Ivy is the one who instigated it, so cute.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

It seems like its been cold and snowy 4-EVER!

Stepped out the front door and took this shot.  These guys were running around and having a lot of fun.
Have not been out in a while.  Feels like a lot longer than in has actually been.  Looking forward to getting outside for a bible study tom. night.....Someone told me recently kids need to get outside 30 minutes a day regardless of the weather.  That would do me some good as well.  The little girls did not go outside today, not once.   Yesterday we went out for 15 minutes, it was beautiful yesterday.
long days inside include hitting the peanut butter pretty hard

I can't imagine living somewhere where there was snow all winter.  Ew.
Non-stop fire going, very messy had to bring in the shop vac for this thing



The Good About Flies

 an essay by Ivy
    Flies are nasty, but did you know we can't live without them?  Flies eat garbage.  The earth would be
covered in rot if flies were not around to eat it.
    The grossest thing about flies is that they carry disease on their sticky feet.  Houseflies use their sticky feet to climb up walls and across ceilings.  Food sticks to their feet as they fly from thing to thing. 
     The next grossest thing about flies is that they vomit on food to turn it into liquid and then suck it up using their spongy mouthparts.  If you are not grossed out already, for a fly's dinner we are talking about dead animals, rotten food, and garbage.  I know that it is nasty but they are cleaning up the world. 
    Flies lay their eggs on rotten food.  Their eggs hatch into maggots which are nasty.  Have you ever seen maggots?  They chew their rotten meat instead of sucking it up like their parents. 
    I hope I have convinced you that flies  are useful and nasty.  You do not want one on you.  But you do want some to clean up dead stuff around you. 


Where Have all the Cowboys Gone?

Here they are: 
.  Seriously, these guys are the real thing.  Thanksgiving Day 2011

Monday, December 5, 2011

How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing, by Ivy

Materials:  one pint jar, spoon, milk, mayonnaise, Lawry's Garlic Salt (has to be this brand because of the parsley)

Step One:  Get the pint and put the 1 cup of mayonnaise in it.

Step Two:  Put milk in it and stir them in together. (Adjust to how thick you want it, it will thicken more in fridge.)  You can also use buttermilk.

Step Three:  Add 2-3 teaspoons of Lawry's Garlic Salt and stir them in together and put a little cling wrap on top of the pint.

Step Four:   Use it or put in the fridge.

This is how to make homemade ranch dressing.  It is very good, you should try it.


Friday, December 2, 2011

I should be cleaning, but....

These are from May 2008
Clay, when he was three.  This was when we used to go to the barber for hair cuts.  Nice hair!


I remember this one!  Ivy was pushing spring to come a little early that year. (May 08)

Oh Mighty Hunters!


Check out this get up! Oh and he never used to have his boots on the right feet. So cute.

Some of the boys!  Stran, Uncle Shawn, and Buzz Lightyear!


Daddy, do you remember this swingset uh amm?  Our old house, I loved that back yard...

Clay-bobber!

Sleeping beauty!  This chair is for sale by the way!  The man is not :)!!!
Blast from the past!  My laptop is fixed, so I haven't used it for 3 years, and I found some pictures on it.  Some irrisistable pictures!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

What is wrong with this picture?

Children at large.
Do we need to report this to the authorities?

Sugar by Ivy

Sugar
by Ivy
    I like sugar.  It is so soft and white, crunchy, sweet and pretty.  I like sugar because it is yummy on toast (with cinnamon), pie, rice, cakes, cookies, and winter squash. You can make lemonade with lemon juice, water, and sugar.  It is good.  So, that's why I love sugar.  It is sweet and pretty and good.


Tuesday, November 29, 2011

On the topic of thanksgiving:



We missed Denley.
His little girls look just like him.  They are so little.
I loved being with all of the extended family this year,  I think I have always taken them all for granted.     My family too.  Its too easy to get taken up with all the expectations we have of our family and not appreciate them for just being them.  I just want to love them more.  We are so fortunate to have such nice families.   I am so thankful for that.  And, we will never forget Denley. denleynorman.blogspot.com

Hattie Cakes and computer crashes

Something else!

Quite relaxed with the camera.

Porcelain complexion 
So, my computer is over.  The tower died.  Who new?  I guess we should bury it.  I am still waiting to see if they can recover my pics and info.  Sigh.  I had even purchased a zip drive to save everything on, but it was bent so it would not even plug in.  Baby pictures of Hattie.  I am happy I started this blog.  At least I have some pics.  Its like a fire.  Oh well, maybe they can get them.  Meanwhile my kids are pretending to be dogs and drinking milk from bowls on the floor.  Ivy says at least its not the bowl the dogs were drinking their milk from.  I was feeling sweet and both the puppies were allowed to come in and play babies this morning.  Time for school, also a huge pile of laundry awaits folding.  A very huge pile.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

You know your country when....

You open your front door and a hound dog runs in.  A hound dog that you have never seen before.  A beautiful, tired, red hound dog.  Turns out she was in the area hunting mountain lions.  I guess the mountain lions are killing a lot of elk. So, the neighboring ranch hired some guys with dogs to see if they could get a few.  Hubby called the guys and they came and got her (they had been looking for her.)  She was just adorable.  I love those sad looking doggies.

Book Review, by Ivy

     This book I am reporting on is called Olga de Polga, by Michael Bond.  It happens in England.  It is about a guinea pig named Olga.
    What I liked best is when Olga went to a talent show and won first prize for being the fattest guinea pig.  It was very funny.  I also liked it when the house was on fire and Olga raised a squealing-squeaking "Wheeeeeeeeeeeee."  It was kind-of scary
     It is also funny whenever Olga tells stories.  They are always funny and made up.  Olga meets Boris and they raise a family.  It is a very good book and I liked reading it.


The Complete Adventures of Olga Da Polga

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Rocky Mountain High



This is our view when we come up out of our hidey-hole. We are down, out of the wind, thank goodness I tell ya!  This view makes me think about how tiny I am in the scheme of things....

Thank God Your a Country Boy

I do thank God you are a country boy,

 and that you can go with dad


and work together.



.