Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Tree Hunt 2011

This year's hunt for the perfect Christmas tree was short and sweet.  It took about a half an hour to find the tree aglow with radiant beams shining from heaven.  We heard the angels singing  the Hallelujah Chorus, and we knew we had found "the one".

Ready for a walk in the snow.

What I like to call the frozen Tundra.  Along the edge of the tree line on the north face of the mountain....that's where the real beauties are!



Do you see  the radiant beams from heaven?
The kids are saying, "Yep, that's the one!"

This year's tree is a Blue Spruce.



 We take the ceremonial hike back to the truck while dragging our trophy tree. I use the term "we" very loosely, here. My husband does all of the hard work while we supervise.


"Ta Da!"
 The perfect cowboy Christmas tree for our family!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Aunt Nell

Last Sunday at 6am, my cellphone rang. I finally got the call that I've been waiting for a decade to get...my sister in law was in labor, and I was about to be an aunt!!!! I have two precious nephews and a niece on my husbands's side of the family, but this was the first time that I was going to an aunt by my own brother! God has such perfect timing! Normally I would be at home, 3 1/2 hours away from Phoenix. But because I was at a condo in Scottsdale for my surprise birthday trip, I was staying a mere 5 minutes away from the hospital!!!! It was so convenient. God always has a perfect plan.

My dad and I sweated it out in the hospital waiting room all morning. We ate donuts, told jokes, talked politics, and made phone calls to pass the time. Then my brother came out with a proud papa grin and took us back to meet the newest love of his life.

Here I am with my beautiful niece, just an hour after she was born.



She was absolutely precious from the moment she arrived!


Here are the proud new parents, still amazed at the miracle of birth.  My sister in law did a wonderful job and had a smooth delivery. Baby G is healthy and sweet as could be.  The whole family got to hold her over the Thanksgiving holiday, and we all took turns sniffing her precious little baby head and admiring her kissable lips and button nose.  


Here she is at 5 days old.  GORGEOUS!  I'm so glad that I got to be a part of that special day, and share in the joy that new life brings with it.  It was the icing on the cake of a perfect weekend.

Congratulations to my brother and his beautiful wife. Now the hard work begins!


Basking in my new role,

Aunt Nellie






Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Girls' Road Trip!


When my friends showed up at my front door to kidnap me for a surprise birthday road trip...I had no idea where we were headed!  For a while, they had me believing we were headed for Mexico! I was so confused.
Here I am with a few of my friends before we hit the road.  Our final destination ended up being a lovely condo in Scottsdale. They had me faked out really good, and the surprises were still coming.  When we walked into the dark condo, they flipped the lights on and everything was decorated with balloons, and streamers.  Just then, out of nowhere, I caught a glimpse of our good friend Gina who lives in Texas!!!!  My friend Dawn found a way to fly Gina all the way out to Arizona for our special girls' weekend!  I was giddy with excitement!

Next, they told me to change my clothes for a night out on the town! Here we all are before the celebrating began.


The girls took me to a restaurant called "Cadillac Ranch" for dinner.  I had never been there before, and my friends had HUGE smiles on their faces when we arrived. I couldn't figure out what was so funny, but it didn't take long to see why they were laughing.


When we arrived at our table, we had a front row seat to THIS!!! A mechanical bull.  We cracked up as we watched people try to ride it throughout the evening....

And then....it was our turn!  That's right.  We threw caution to the wind, swallowed our pride, and every single one of us rode the bull! It was so funny that I nearly peed my pants! A bunch of mamas in our 30's and 40's conquered this mechanical beast for an 8 second ride! I almost died laughing!!! Not only did we ride the bull, but we also lived to tell about it.  The wipe outs were as funny as the bull rides! We've got it all archived on video so we can show it to future generations.


Here we are standing a little taller after crossing bull riding off of the bucket list. It was EPIC!! In fact, our bull ride was legendary.  Every time we tell the story it gets better and better! I still can't believe we did it. LOL!!!


After stopping for ice cream, we went back to the condo for a night of reliving our adventure and catching up with each other.  The next morning,  we geared up for a full day of bargain shopping. I can't ever remember having such a fun day spent with friends!  By dinner time we were totally drained.  We took our loot back to the condo, changed into our comfy clothes and spent the whole evening eating and chatting.  We had delicious Taco Soup for dinner, and my friend Missy made a heavenly Peppermint Cheesecake for dessert.  It was out of this world!

We stayed up until 3 am talking and laughing like school girls at a giant slumber party! It was such a sweet time of fellowship.


I am so blessed to call these ladies my friends.  They have been there to support me through some of my happiest moments and darkest days, and I can't imagine my life without them.  They spent months secretly organizing this very special weekend for me, and it was absolutely perfect! Every detail was lovingly thought of, and each of my friends made sacrifices to make this trip extra- special. Not only did these girls do a ton of  planning, but each of our husbands stayed back at home and took care of our kids. (All 23 of them!) They held down the home front so that we could have a fabulous weekend away. 3 cheers for the husbands!

As if all of this wasn't amazing enough,  God had one very special surprise left for me.  On Sunday morning, after only three hours of sleep, my cell phone rang....

To Be Continued!!!!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Surprise!!

My family got home from Phoenix really late Thursday night at nearly midnight, and my husband woke us up while it was still dark outside so that we could take care of some cattle business that morning.  I dragged my pokey rear-end out of bed and headed for the shower. My husband stopped me.  His famous last words were, "Don't bother with showering, the cows don't care. Let's just get out of here on time." (Remember these words.)


We drove over the mountain to take a look at some weaned calves. Then we drove out to state lease land to check on some bred cows, and take a look at a bull.  At the base of the tree-line, the forest opens up to this rugged, high plains landscape as far as the eye can see.  (I took all these pics with my iPhone because I was rushed out the door and forgot my camera.)


As luck would have it, the specific cows that we needed to check were not up loafing around the stock tanks with the rest of the herd.  They were down in this little rugged canyon... far, far away from me.  Do you see them above? They look like little black dots between the rocks.


Here's that picture blown WAY up below. Do you see two?






After gathering the little group out of the rocks, we looked at the rest of the herd, found the bull, and drove home.  We were wind whipped and cold, and it was lunch time.  I  prepared food for the family, and then settled into my chair by the wood stove to devour the pages of the newest Western Horseman Magazine that arrived in the mail before starting my afternoon chores. With a full belly and a warm fire, I quickly dozed off in the rocking chair.   

I  was jolted awake by the sounds of my husband saying the words, "They're here!!!!"

I looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "Who's here???"

We weren't expecting anyone.

"I think you'd better go answer the door!" he said.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes, still dazed from my cat nap.

When I opened the door, a bunch of my dearest friends stood there with party hats and said, "SURPRISE!!!!!"


I was flabbergasted."What in the world are you all doing here?"

They told me that they were kidnapping me for my surprise birthday road-trip! My instructions were to hurry and throw some clothes in a bag and prepare for warm days and cool nights.

I had NO idea where we were headed!

I said, "Wait! I haven't even had a shower today and I've been working cows all morning!"

"Too bad! We've got a schedule to keep and you'll have to get cleaned up later!" was the reply.

I gave the stink eye to my husband. "You mean you knew all of this was going to take place and you didn't let me take a shower? You didn't tell me to get dressed up? You didn't let me straighten the house up for visitors?"

He just laughed and said that he didn't want me to think there was anything awry or I'd get suspicious. Evidently, the whole thing was planned for months!


They threw a party hat on my head, snapped a picture, and loaded my bag.


I kissed my babies and husband in absolute shock about what was happening to me, and I was whisked away.

What I didn't know was that this was just the beginning of one WILD and  CRAZY adventure.....

To be Continued!





Monday, November 21, 2011

1st Annual Dessert for Dinner Night

The last five days have been a blur of activity!!! I'm going to have to blog about it over the next few days because there is just soooo much to share!

Last week we drove down to Phoenix to celebrate my mom's birthday.  As many of you know, my precious mother passed away this year, and the days and months to follow have been some of the most difficult of my life. I was determined not to sit around and feel sorrowful when her birthday came around, so I decided to start a new tradition with my family to honor her.  My mother was a passionate dessert lover with an insatiable sweet-tooth.  I decided that every year, on her birthday, we would go out and eat dessert for dinner!  Mom did this from time to time, herself. She would always say, "Why eat dinner and waste the calories when what I really crave is dessert?"

My kids LOVED the idea, and so we joined the rest of the family and went to The Cheesecake Factory for our first annual "Dessert for Dinner" celebration in Mom's honor.

I had a slice of this:

Pumpkin Cheesecake!

I even ordered a Dr. Pepper to go with it! Mom loved her Dr. Pepper.

The whole family spent the evening laughing, and talking around the table, and then we cruised around the mall to work off some of the calories. Mom would have loved this, and I hope to continue our annual "Dessert for Dinner" night for years to come!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Memoirs of a Ranch Hand, Part II

In case you missed it, click HERE for a link to the beginning of the story.



As fate would have it, I would have one last encounter with the gal who tested my patience. In fact, it occurred the very next day.

It was an afternoon like any other. Blue skies, birds chirping, and mountains of ranch work to be done.  After heat-synchronizing cows up at the chute all morning, we had orders to haul salt out to the pastures.  Each of us was able to fit three 50# salt blocks on the front of our 4-wheeler, and three blocks on the back.  We headed out to various locations throughout the ranch to drop our salt off.

The ranch had a  man-made creek that flowed through all of the pastures on one side of the highway, and a river that flowed through the other side. No matter where you went on the ranch, several water crossings were inevitable. They were generally not a big deal, and with the exception of having to lift your feet to keep from getting your boots wet, we didn't think much about them.

We had already crossed the creek in three different places that afternoon, and I had delivered my entire load of salt blocks.  My roommate had delivered the three salt blocks off of the front of her 4-wheeler, and we were on the way to dump the rest off. We had just one more creek crossing to go.  I lead the way, and made it up the other side of the creek bank at an angle. But when it was her turn, things went downhill in a hurry.

The gal made it down into the creek, and drove across the water with her feet up.  When she reached the other bank, she made a straight shot up the creek wall!  In an instant, the weight of 150# of salt on the back of her 4-wheeler tipped her two front tires straight up in the air, and the four wheeler flipped back on top of her, pinning her entire body under the water!

I was already headed down the trail when I looked over my shoulder  and witnessed the catastrophe take place. Without a second to lose, I flew off of my 4 wheeler, and jumped in the creek.  With every ounce of strength I had, I lifted the 4-wheeler off of her chest, and threw it to the side.  Then, I swooped her up out of  the ice-cold creek water. After lots of gasping and choking, she finally caught her breath.

My adrenaline was still pounding through my veins, and I noticed immediately that she was bleeding heavily from the side of her head.  A jagged rock on the creek bed must have gashed open her ear, and a  huge chunk of it was dangling there.  I took off my sweatshirt and pressed it firmly over her bleeding ear.

I said, "Get on the back of my 4-wheeler, and I'll rush you back to the shop!"

But she refused.  She was totally dazed and just wanted to sit there for a minute to calm down.  Then, to my absolute horror, she pulled a package of soaking wet cigarettes out of her flannel shirt pocket, and attempted to light up a soggy, broken cigarette.

That's when I knew she had lost it.

I checked her bleeding ear, and then demanded that she get on my 4-wheeler. If she didn't bleed to death, she'd freeze to death in those wet clothes.  We rode over rough terrain as fast as my 4-wheeler would take us, and I got her back to the office so someone could drive her to the emergency room, 40 minutes away.   When my boss sped off with her in the truck, I went to go get the ranch foreman.  I told him what had happened and also informed him that there was an upside down 4- wheeler in the creek that I needed help getting out.

We drove back to the scene of the incident, and I tried to lift that 4 wheeler up.  It didn't budge.  I couldn't believe it! Not one hour earlier, I had shoved that 4- wheeler up and off of my roommate, and now I didn't have the strength to move it an inch. The foreman and I tried lifting it together, and we barely moved it.  With the help of a winch, we got it tipped right-side up, and out of the creek.

We just looked at each other in disbelief.  There was no doubt in both of our minds that what had happened that day was a miracle.  If my room mate had been alone, she would have drowned.  If God wouldn't have given me a brief moment of seemingly super-human strength, she would have drowned.

For as long as I live, I'll never forget that day.  God was watching over two college gals, miles from nowhere, without anyone else around.  He was our ever present help in that time of trouble.

Late that night, my roommate arrived back at the ranch with an ear full of stitches and a concussion.  She was still shaken up, and knew without a doubt that what had happened that day was a complete miracle.

After a  few days of recovery, she decided that she wasn't cut out for ranch work.  She packed up her things and moved back into town, never to be seen again. I won't ever forget that gal, or her brush with death. Our paths crossed for only a brief period of time, but there's not a doubt in my mind that God put her in my life for that short season.  Perhaps it was to teach me a little bit more about myself, or perhaps it was purely for that one life or death moment that we shared.  Whatever the reason, she's now part of the fabric of my life's journey, and our experience has become a legendary story...one I will continue to share around the campfire for years to come.


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Memoirs of a Ranch Hand, Part I

Sometimes I look back on my life and remember a few of the people that God put into my path along the way.  I often chuckle about the eclectic cast of characters I've met on my journey. What I've come to realize is that often times I learn the most about myself from dealing with the folks who cause me the most irritation. It's as if adversity brings out my true character. It's not always pretty, either. When God puts a difficult person in my life, it gives me plenty of opportunities to practice traits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  But the truth is, I often fail miserably when these little opportunities come my way.  Sometimes my botched interactions with people are memorable, and the resulting stories keep me laughing for years.

This is the saga of one of the colorful characters that I encountered in my past. As you will see, some of my own behavior was less than dignified at the time, but there is no doubt that our paths crossed for one very  important reason...

 (Don't worry, all names and locations have been with-held to protect identities.)

During my college years, I was chosen for an internship on a very large ranch for a full year plus two summers.  They were doing some amazing and forward thinking things with the genetics of their herd, and I was an Animal Science student, eager to learn. They had a stellar breeding program, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have received such a high class education.

My first summer at the ranch, a gal from town was hired on just before I arrived. She was desperate for a job, and my boss employed her as a huge favor for the ranch secretary. She said she knew her way around livestock, but after 30 minutes, it became apparent that she was stretching the truth. Since we were the only two females on the ranch, we roomed in one of the old houses on the property.  From day one, it was evident that we had our differences.  For starters, she smoked...profusely.  She had two big, hairy, barking dogs with no manners who jumped all over her furniture. They shed all over the house, and she wasn't eager to sweep. She was a late night person and our work mornings started by 5am. She was moody, hated country music, and blasted heavy metal from her bedroom. She liked to talk on the phone for hours.

I was skeptical that she was going to work out, but I decided to sit back and see how the whole thing played out.

Our first order of business was to work on the fence-line before putting the cows out to their summer breeding pastures. Heavy winter snows do major damage to the fences each year, and repairing them takes a whole lot of time. For nearly a month solid, several hands work full time on miles upon miles of fence line.

By her third day on the job, the foreman was fed up with the new gal.  He gave up on her.

By day seven, the cowboys avoided her at all costs.

It goes against my grain to say this, but the truth is that she was a horrible worker! Slow, sloppy, bad attitude....the worst combination.

I had a suspicion that her departure was imminent and I felt slightly sorry for her, so the second week I volunteered to work with her to help her figure things out.  We loaded up fencing supplies on our 4-wheelers and headed out to a pasture.  The plan was that she would head left at the gate and I'd head right, and hopefully we'd meet in the middle by sundown. By the end of the day, I'd fixed 4/5ths of the fence by myself. I figured that she must have run into a terrible stretch where all the wires were down, so I didn't say anything to her.

We reported to the foreman, and she took credit for half of the work. This torqued me, but I let it pass.

The next day, I decided to change my strategy so I could watch what she was doing. We decided to leap-frog one another along the fence line.  That way, if she was having trouble, I could help her out.  Within an hour, the problem became evident to me. She was smoking like a chimney on the job, and was already lighting up her third cigarette by 6:15am!!  Right away I could see that she was having a hard time juggling the fencing staples, hammer, and cigarettes.  She needed a third hand.  Instead, she let the cigarette violently dangle from her lips while she hammered like mad to get the wire stapled to the posts. It was a mediocre effort at best, and I was thoroughly annoyed.

By the end of the day, I'd had it! That girl smoked more than she worked. I was so worried that the ashes from her dangling cigarettes were going to start a brush fire that I  kept looking over my shoulder for signs of smoke in the grass. She didn't do much that day, yet she tried to take the credit for the work.  Rather than tell the boss what really happened, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

I was fairly certain she would dig her own grave without me saying a word.

The following morning, it was off to work again with my new nemesis. She was up half the night with her loud music playing, and she looked like she just rolled out of bed.  I went to the shop, loaded my supplies on my four-wheeler, and headed off to the far corner of the ranch...several miles from headquarters.  Her four-wheeler was acting up, so we decided not to split ways.  I didn't want to leave her stranded if she broke down.  That morning, my patience was wearing thin, but I tried to remain cheerful.  She came over to get some wire from me, and it was heavily oiled to prevent rusting. It had a black film on it that gets all over your gloves. She grabbed the spool, unraveled several coils,  then proceeded to itch her nose with her gloves on.

She went from looking like this:
To this:

I sort of chuckled when I looked up to see her new jet black mustache, but I didn't say anything. I was feeling ornery.

Not ten minutes later, she decided to take one of her long smoke breaks...with her filthy gloves still on.  This time, she really smudged up her face! As she smoked, the "V" shape of her fingers made her entire chin look black!
I tried my best to keep a straight face, but inside, I was cracking up!!

As luck would have it, the foreman rode out  to assess the water flow in the pasture.  He stopped by the fence to check on progress. He had a full conversation with my roomate without cracking a smile, or telling her a word about her face.  I couldn't believe it! I could barely look at her without laughing, and the old foreman didn't even seem to notice!

By mid-afternoon, she decided to put her strange hat on, and it completed the look.


I had lots of time to think that day, and my conscience started to really bother me. I felt terribly convicted for  letting her look ridiculous all day without telling her.  I felt even worse for secretly laughing at her misfortune!!

Who was I becoming? I'd really let her get under my skin, and it was making me bitter.

Before we drove back to headquarters, I decided to fess up to her. "You've got black smudges on your face and I wanted to tell you before anyone else sees you."

She didn't take me seriously.

"No really! You've got a mustache and goatee thing going on. You should probably wash your face off."

She wiped her face with the inside of her shirt.

She drove home, and I drove to the shop to unload our supplies.  I could see the foreman driving up the road. He pulled up next to me and shut off his truck.  

He looked me straight in the eye...
and in the most serious tone he asked, " How did it feel to work with a bearded lady all day?"  

Then he cracked up laughing and sped off down the road leaving a cloud of dust behind him.


To be Continued....









Friday, November 11, 2011

Priceless Junk in my Boy's Room

I've written before about "A boy and his treasures", but I just had to show you some of the things my son keeps in his room.  Whenever we have a big clean-out in there, these are the items that MUST be kept!  They are never up for cleaning negotiations. I'm not sure if all boys are like this, or if I'm raising a pack rat, but the plethora of items in his room is overwhelming when I'm trying to tidy up the place.

Here is a pictorial sampling of items my son holds near and dear to his heart. It is by no means his complete collection, but it merely highlights a few of his favorite treasures.






And for the finale: A smorgasbord treasure chest of petrified wood, seashells, lava rocks, pottery, snake skins, rifle cartridges, and shotgun shells.


If you enter my son's room, he won't show you his shelf of sports trophies, his toys, or his games.  He'll show you this stuff...the stuff that matters the most to him!


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The White Stuff is Back










A Ford Family



Like great highschool football rivalries and undying devotion to a college alma matter, Americans have always had an allegiance to their truck brands.  And like the Hatfield's and McCoy's, the feud between Ford and Chevy lovers will be one for the history books. No matter the brand, we're taught to remain true blue from birth.

 We've always been a Ford family through and through. It's a brand that's been in my life from the time I was born. In fact, people often joke that when my family gets together, it looks like a Ford truck commercial in the parking lot.

 It started when my dad bought a 1968 Ford Mustang in high school.  That car stayed with our family and was passed along to my brother, who later restored it to it's former glory.

Additionally, my folks have always driven Ford trucks. When I was a kid, my folks had a tough looking yellow Ford truck. It was stolen out of our driveway, and my dad has never been the same.
Currently, my dad drives a 1999 F-250 7.3 Liter Diesel with 174,000 miles on it.




My father-in-law just recently restored his 1970 Ford truck that's affectionately known as "Old Yeller" around town.  My husband and his siblings all drove it at some point during their high school years.

Before:


After:


My grandpa drives a Ford F-250 7.3 Liter Diesel farm truck.

My brother drives a 2007 Ford F-150 with 90,000 miles on it.

My uncle drives a Ford F-250


My cousin drives a  new Ford Mustang

My husband drives a 1997 F-250 7.3 Liter Diesel.  It has over 254,000 miles on it.

I drive a 2005 Ford F-350 6.0 Liter Diesel with 180,000 miles on it.

Even our kids drive a Ford F-100.


This is just a tiny sampling of the Fords in our family. Over the years there have been Ford Fairlanes, Expeditions, Explorers, Rangers, F-150's...the list goes on and on.

Ford runs through our veins in this family. I guess you could say that we have a little bit of "brand loyalty".

Built Ford Tough,

Nell


P.S.- This is NOT a paid advertisement.  Ford Motor Company has no idea that my family exists.  Although I'd gladly be their very best saleswoman in exchange for a new Ford F-250 King Ranch Edition.*Wink, Wink*   WooWee are those things pretty to look at! Not to mention the leather interior and lighted vanity mirrors. I could get used to driving one of those around. I guarantee it wouldn't smell like coffee and manure on the inside, either.  What? A girl can dream, can't she!?!

P.P.S- Don't be a hater if you're not driving a Ford. I will still love you.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

7 Random Things

1. It's been snowing for days at our house, and I broke out my new snow wrap for my head.I bought it at a boutique here on the mountain.  I wish I knew how to knit so I could make one in every color because it's so warm.

The flower detail on the side.
(Perhaps I'll look back on this wrap trend in a few years and think they're ridiculous, but this year I'm in head wrap love.)

2. I'm on "Aunt Countdown" right now.  My niece will be making her appearance any day now!  This means that I have to keep my cell phone on at all times. I'm terrible at this, but I don't want to miss anything. I've been waiting for my brother to make me an aunt now for a decade, and you can bet I'm not gonna miss my first opportunity to see his offspring.

3.The menfolk went deer hunting last weekend, so my girls and I went shopping in the big city.  We cruised the mall, shopped for boots, ate at restaurants that we don't have here on the mountain, and went to Hobby Lobby. It was invigorating!  The key to taking young girls on an all day shopping marathon is to keep feeding them. Chick-fila, Orange Julius, cookies, pretzels... food= fuel for shopping.



4. I have a slight obsession with Scentsy wax, and warmers to melt the wax in.  I bought my third wax warmer this weekend.  I found it at Hobby Lobby for 50% off, and it's a night light scented wax warmer for the bathroom.  This may be my favorite one of all! It's the perfect size for a small space and it does double duty as a night light. My heart belongs to Hobby Lobby, but I'm so glad the nearest one is 3 1/2 hours away or I'd spend all my free time there.


5. I bought more of this Passion Fruit Tea at Wildflower Bread Company. It's still my all time favorite, and it lasts a really long time. I just scoop a little of the loose tea into a coffee filter in my iced tea maker, and brew a pitcher full at a time. So very tasty!


6. I went to buy my son a new snow boarding jacket and I was appalled to see that the 1980's are back in full force on the ski slopes this season. GAG ME! Neon Green, hot pink, and fluorescent orange puffy jackets were all the rage at the ski shops.  I even saw an exact replica of the  neon peach ski-bunny suit I wore on the slopes in 1989.  It was so loud that you could see me coming down the hill from a mile away.  It even earned me the nickname "Conajita" for years to come. It was the most awful fashion decision I ever made. I'll be darned if I'm going to let my children make the same fashion mistakes.  I talked him into buying a timeless black and charcoal  jacket to go with his black boarding pants. If he wants to make a statement on the slopes, he can wear a funky hat. I lived through the 80's once, and I'll never go back!


White Citrus Gentle Foaming Hand Soap - Anti-Bacterial - Bath & Body Works
7. I bought this White Citrus hand soap at Bath and Body Works, and I'm loving it next to my kitchen sink.  It's a nice clean scent for my hands after I've been slicing onions or doing dishes. Perhaps I'll get another bottle the next time I go back to the big city.


Hope you are all having a great week!

Nell