Ha ha ha, I've missed part of The Crown reading posts.

Dawn on the trips to B'ville I entertain myself counting hawks. Tues there were 20, including 3 Kestrels. Friday we saw an adult Bald Eagle. Sun there were 18 including a dark morph...something, probably Red Tail, although a Harris Hawk has been seen in Kansas. And, how special is this? Snowy Owl in OKC! Snowy Owls are irruptive this year, meaning they are irrupting out of their range. That likely means they don't have food. But Snowy Owls are very special to birders. And Harry Potter fans.

Rebecca, how funny, cute sheriffs. It's the DEPUTIES that are cute. Have you seen the firemen with puppies?

I talked to Mom earlier, and I think I will wait one more day to visit. Dad is doing ok.

hahaha, Amy is correct. It is the deputies! LOLOL

Nancy, Burn ban info always makes the local news here. In fact, our local channels often report it immediately---even before the Oklahoma Forestry Service has had a chance to update their Burn Ban Maps. Either they are expecting a burn ban or they are attending county commissioners meetings or following the many FB pages available because they get the news out quickly. Other ways the info gets out....via a county's FB page and Twitter accounts maintained by whoever---in our county, many of the fire departments have their own FB pages so they can share this sort of news with their local residents, our county-wide fire association (all 14 fire departments belong to this) has its own page, and our Love County Emergency Management Office has its own page, maintained by the Emergency Mgmt Director and Asst Director. Our Emergency Mgmt Office usually contacts the media themselves as soon as a ban is issued---or allowed to expire. Some VFDs have large signs that they post out near the road at their fire station---usually nothing fancy---just a piece of plywood spray painted with the words Burn Ban. Local radio stations also get the word out. So, there's multiple ways a county can get the news of the burn ban out---I don't know which methods your county chooses to use.

Congrats on the new printer and the computer magic. Isn't it great when things work?

Amy, I cannot fault the hawks---they have to eat to survive, so let's blame it on the coyotes for gobbling up all the bunnies. The rabbit population is on a down cycle here as the coyote cycle is on an upswing. A year or so from now it will be the opposite. Meanwhile, the hawks are increasingly aggressive. Mostly we have red-tailed hawks, kestrels and sometimes Mississippi kites. I haven't seen any kites this week, but we still have huge flocks of seagulls. Maybe they aren't going to go too much further south this year. Some years we hardly see them in the winter at all. I have seen Canada geese on one wheat field down near the WinStar casino but that's the only ones I've seen. Seeing a snowy owl would be cool. All we usually see here are barn owls and screech owls, and the crows dog them so relentlessly that we really don't see them often. Occasionally I'll hear one hooting out in the front yard trees at night but also not very often. We used to hear them more often than we do now.

I'm glad your dad is doing okay.

Jennifer, We raised Chris the same way. I think allowing him the freedom to be himself and do his own thing and explore the world helped make him the person he is today. I also think the world (or, at least, some of the creepy people in it) has changed since he was very small and we'd probably keep a tighter leash on a young child nowadays. My parents let us roam the neighborhood freely in the 1960s and 1970s too, but once they switched on the porch light, we knew we had to be home pronto with no delays or we'd be grounded and have our freedom temporarily curtailed. Back then, you never heard a word about child abductions or such. Those were such innocent times compared to now.

Rebecca, At 18% is exactly when my skin starts to feel like it is cracking. I can be outside, feel that uncomfortably dry skin thing happening, and tell Tim that we have hit 18% RH. Sometimes I'm wrong---sometimes we're only at 19% or already at 17%, but it is always in the ballpark there around 18%. Yesterday our relative humidity bottomed out at 11% but I did my best to stay indoors, and to avoid touching metal because of the static electricity issue. At the rate things are going now, it feels like it is going to be a long winter---not because of cold weather, per se, but because of the drying winds out of the west and north and the low humidity values. We are still getting pretty good moisture recovery over night---our early morning humidity often is in the 70s or 80s, but then it falls like rock through at least noon. We tend to start out with fire danger rated Low in the mornings, and then by noon we usually are at moderate, and by mid-afternoon, if not earlier, we are at High. Last night we still were at the High fire danger rating when we went to sleep, but it is back down to Low this morning.

There's different firefighter calendars out there, often printed to raise money for charitable causes. Sometimes there's even photos of firefighters with puppies, but usually it is just very fit and handsome firefighters wearing less clothing than they wear at fires. Our over-the-hill firefighters in our department wouldn't pose for calendars like that......but a lot of those young, fit firefighters will and do.

We're going to have a relatively cool day today but then the heat cranks up again tomorrow. At least now when we are talking about a hot December day, we're only talking about high temperatures in the 70s and not the 80s or 90s. Oddly, our night time lows are about where they usually are at this time of the year--in the 30s--but they daytime high temperatures are a lot more variable, with us hitting the 50s, 60s, and 70s every week, sort of like a small roller coaster.

Dawn

Hj

I think the spelt and Einkorn is great for people who are not sensitive to grains. Personally I believe the most important is organic. The chemicals they use I am sure are the main reason diseases are rampant in this country. It is sad they won't figure it out until many people suffer.

I too have gone thru many heart changes this year. I feel as if I have taken a hard hit and not even sure which way I am going. I just keep making plans and taking steps and pray I come out in the right spot.

My dear Dorothy momma is trying to leave this earth this week. She was my mentor and dear friend for 6 years before I moved here. She and her sweet husband moved to nursing home in mineral wells and I have not been to see her in years. She was one of the sunshine and roses people I did not understand because I wasn't raised like that. I marveled at her love and sunny spirit. Just like my Mary.

Yes you have, Kim, and I'm sorry yours has been painful, too, Jennifer. I do hope 2018 is better for both of you! For sure, there are always trials along the way. Let's just hope the trials will be decently spaced out in 2018! It's those 1-2-3 punches that are tough, huh. Blessings to you all. We're headed out to our Sunday School class's Christmas dinner this afternoon and it will be enjoyable. Made me think of all of you, though, and how lovely a Christmas dinner with you all would be!

Kim--I noted that you were complaining about trying to keep your feet warm. Me TOO! My feet are always the first to freeze, and so I was determined to fix that. I went on Amazon to find super duper warm slippers/shoes/boots. I found these slipper socks for evening, and ordered them--they were all of $12-14. They came today. I think I'm in heaven, but will report back to confirm. Do you shop online via Amazon? I also ordered a really cheap pair of "boots." Really, they're cheaply made, too, and probably won't last a year. They're more like slippers than "boots." But boy are they warm. I wore them today, and my feet have been warm all day.

The kittens (soon I will be referring to them as "the cats") were horrible today. Last night they punched into GDW's Krispy Kream blueberry donuts, and had a fine mid-night snack. Then they created havoc in a grand wrestling match on my legs at 5:30 a.m. I vacated the bed at 6 to go find peace on the couch, but then they landed there, too, to continue the match. I went back to the bed at 7, and then they continued on GDW's legs, thankfully. So he got up--and I got to sleep peacefully til 9:45. They took down a stack of canvases I had leaning up against a wall that made a wonderful crash for them. They then jumped up on the kitchen counter to tear apart the bread--thankfully I wasn't far away. My SIL alerted me to the idea that maybe they were having a sugar-high, Whatever--they were very rowdy and rambunctious, and although annoyed, I had to laugh. Sheesh, cats! And as I'm trying to type at the moment, Tom is smothering me with love. BRATS!!

I saw on the news that it's been 51 days since we've had more than a .10 inch of rain.

Dawn, we had our water tested for safety--and it's safe, but it has a bit of a smell to it lately...and seems to have that smell when we haven't had rain.

I was careful about where my kids went--I knew their location at all times. I guess, I just mean that I'm okay with my kids not fitting a certain mold. And they don't have a curfew--stuff like that. Each night is a case by case thing. There are times I've thought I should be stricter, but you have to know your kids. Some kids are comforted by clear rules--they want to know what to expect when. Others (my kids) need a lot of freedom and fewer rules. Sometimes I wonder if my childhood times were more...innocent. OR if there just wasn't the media talking about it all the time. I can remember being "flashed" several times (Is that even a word now?) Many of my friends were molested by various people...but it just wasn't reported then. Even all the teachers that we hear about now-a-days--well, that stuff went on back then too. It was just kept quiet. I'm glad it's reported now. It's damaging when things like that are kept hidden.

Y'all were talking about owls. About a month ago, an owl flew just over my head--I could seriously feel the breeze. It went to a tree across the street. Because it flew so close, I actually considered that I had a Hogwarts letter delivered--it had been lost for 30 years! LOL. That was my first thought.

Sorry about Dorothy, Kim. Will you be able to go to see her?

I have a question about chicken poo in the garden, but I'm really tired so I'll wait to ask my questions.

Nancy you let me know. Walking on a camper floor is totally like walking on a skating rink.

HJ no I will not be able to go. Financially it is not possible right now. Also She would not know me and it would upset her and me that she would not know me. Last time I talked to her she had to pretend she remembered a couple times, so sad it breaks my heart how time slides by so fast. The last round of radiation years ago had horrible side effects on her memory and according to fb she has little recognition. She just keeps telling people she is ready to go.
I just found a box of memories from that time and came across a little book called friends from her. I almost threw it away. I am drastically purging but so glad I kept it. Reminds me to be a good friend like she is.

Kim, I am sorry about Dorothy. I think maybe it is a blessing in disguise that you cannot go see her now, as it likely would be a very frustrating and disheartening experience for you both. I know you will cherish your memories of her and I'm glad you found the book in your box of memories.

Time does fly by so swiftly. Tim and I have lost all our grandparents (long ago), most of our aunts and uncles, and 3 of our 4 parents, and it is just so sad---each time you lose one, there's a major part of your childhood that's just gone. The memories of them though, well, those memories last forever.

Jennifer, I also do not know if there's more of that sort of predatory behavior nowadays than there was when we and our kids were young or if it is just more widely publicized by the media, but it certainly seems more common nowadays. I haven't heard the word 'flashed' in a while, but I assume that sort of thing still happens. Perhaps it happens more nowadays via photos posted on social media instead of live and in person like it did back then. We parented much the same way that you did, and it was a safe way to parent back then. I'm not sure how I'd do things differently now in the age of social media, but I suspect I'd be more cautious in some areas. Parenthood always has been a balancing act between keeping your children safe and letting them be free and independent, but it just seems like it might be more challenging to do it now than it was in the past. For example, we'd let our kids go to the neighborhood park and play together without a parent being present 100% of the time. I've noticed that when my niece's and nephew's children go out and play like that, there's always an adult there---a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, just somebody who sits and keeps an eye on the kids while they play, and that's probably a good thing nowadays.

You can use chicken manure and bedding in your compost pile. It needs to be composted in a hot compost pile to kill pathogens and it needs to be fully decomposed and broken down into finished compost before you add it to the garden. You shouldn't add poultry manure/bedding directly to a garden bed without composting it first. Maybe this answers whatever question you had in your mind.

Nancy, Your kittens are so entertaining and so full of mischief! Pumpkin is almost as bad, and he is three years old. I'm not sure when he'll settle down, but it will happen eventually. Yesterday I watched as Tiny Baby, who was born early in 2011, chased Smokey and Pretty Baby (we rescued them as adults, so their age is uncertain but I believe they were born prior to 2007) around the yard, and they were playing quite wildly, as kittens sometimes do. Usually they spend more time sleeping in the sun than running, jumping and playing, so it was fun to watch them and see there's still a little kitten inside those older cats. Ironically, Pumpkin chose that exact time to go indoors, eat a mid-morning snack, and sleep in the sun. I would have thought he'd be out in the middle of the cat playtime, but I guess he already had worn himself out and needed to take a cat nap.

Jet disappeared while I was feeding the poultry---usually he follows me around, which he was doing, until all of a sudden he vanished into thin air. He was gone about a half hour and I was calling him the whole time with absolutely no response from him. He came walking up the hill out of the woods eventually, but still ignored my calling and went towards the garage/barn, where he last saw me, instead of coming to me where I stood in the side yard north of the house. I walked around the house and met him on the south side of the house near the mudroom door and he looked at me like "Hey, what's up?" Then he went inside, jumped up on his blanket on the sofa, and fell fast asleep. So, whatever he did while wondering around the woods for a half hour completely exhausted him. I do think he is going deaf---or is getting really good at just ignoring me when I tell him something. He's always been good at selective hearing when he doesn't want to hear you tell him things like 'No' or 'Don't Do That', but I've noticed that more and more he watches my face for cues about where we are going or what we are going to do instead of listening, so I think his ability to hear well is fading away.

Today is supposed to be warm and windy. I am looking forward to the warm part, but not so much the wind.

More OK counties have burn bans now than at the same time one week ago. If you ever want to check to see, here's the OFS's burn ban map.

OFS Burn Ban Map

My mom's county in Texas passed a burn ban yesterday, and I'm glad. There had been several large fires in the rural parts of the county (she's in the city, though) in recent days and it was time (or beyond time) for them to have a burn ban.

I walked through my garden briefly yesterday, and saw lots still green, especially on the north side of the garden, hidden from my view when I'm just walking down the driveway south of the garden. On the north side of the garden, the rosemary, tansy, sage, silver tansy, comfrey and dewberries still are green. There's more herbs in that area. Up near the driveway, it's just the flowers I mentioned before (verbena bonariensis, echinacea, and autumn sage) that remain green. Oh, and some daylily foliage that froze back earlier now is putting out new green growth, and the coral honeysuckle is mostly green, with some purple on the leaves that have been colder I guess. However, recent cold nights have frozen back the crinum lily foliage that still was green.

I think I am going to water the ground on the north side of the house today---more to keep the ground from getting too dry and cracking than anything else. There isn't anything winter hardy on that side of the house that would green up. We haven't had any measurable rainfall at all in the last 30 days, and maybe an inch or so total in the last sixty days, so it is awfully dry. Oh, the Mesonet has a map for that! Let's look it up:

OK Mesonet: Thirty Day Rainfall Map

And, here's the one for the last 60 days:

OK Mesonet: Sixty Day Rainfall Map

You know, for some of us, onion-planting is only 60 days away. We need for some good rain to fall and put some moisture back in the ground before it is time to plant onions and potatoes, and I'm not so sure that will happen. La Nina weather patterns can have a big impact on spring planting, and normally not in a good way.

Dawn

Eeek my son is putting calves in here as soon as I give the word I am finished. Nothing like a little pressure to make sure I get everything I want. Herbs and roots are still going strong. I will have to harvest all before Christmas and do something with them. I have shifted my focus from packing to harvesting, digging and drying. Also have lots of seed heads to pick.

Putting calves here is the best thing he could do to clean this place up. In the spring they can tear into that bind weed before it blooms. His cattle is doing great and so happy for him. His 45 all calved and all are doing well.

I have to finalize my seed order today and get it to my boss. Wish me luck I don't go crazy.

I think it's a combination of predators are more common, we hear a lot more news than we used to, and it is reported more than when I was growing up. I know someone who came forward about being abused by a babysitter. It happened more than 30 years ago so legally the monster got away, but the investigation turned up more recent victims & the abuser is now in jail for the next 80 years. But when it happened, uou just didn't talk about that sort of thing.

Those kitties will always be "kitties", just like ours are always going to be puppies. Even the 16 year old is still a puppy.

My back garden is dug up and waiting for next year (if I can figure out how to keep the puppy out). But I noticed the cannas are starting to grow. I chopped them all down to the ground right before thanksgiving, then noticed the freeze seemed to zap them. Then over the weekend I saw little shoots of green poking up from the pile of leaves. So much for "tropical" plants!

My flower beds look pathetically empty. I had a friend's son come and clean up the yard and flower beds, and mow. I'm dying to put some color back in there! I have all the leaves set back that I need, but still have 10 bags to dispose of. I think half the neighborhood's leaves were in my yard. We left a layer to mulch the flowerbeds, and I have a bag ready for the potted things out back. Anyone want bagged leaves? Come get them before Friday!

I have to admit that I'm going to commit Crepe Murder this winter. What kind of person plants a Crepe Myrtle flush against the foundation of a house? I don't mind it small, but this summer it threatened to eat my front porch. So it's getting cut back hard. I've even considered taking it out altogether. The only way to keep it contained is to cut it back to a stump each winter. By the end of the next summer it's taller than the house again. Also, Godzilla (the Wisteria of Doom) is dormant, so I can cut him way back and get ready with the brush killer for spring. He has to go because his tentacles are tunneling under the siding.

Why can't we have perfect gardens when it's not 100 degrees, again?

Kittens. I was in the bathroom, and heard galloping, skidding (with claws), and then a crash. I think someone hit the recycling bin headfirst.

Rebecca, my flower beds are just yucky. But mostly because they've never been completed. This property had nothing when we bought it. So, we've had to build every bed. The grass ran right up to the house. The pretty stuff was put on hold while I started the veggie beds--which aren't done yet either. It's been such a big job. We will be working on this place for years. Our backyard is empty and ugly. I really would like to pretty it up at some point, but it's hard to know where to start. Anyway...sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice--focusing on the food before the pretty. Good news is the front bed's border is complete. Just time to pick out some plants for it.

Good luck, Kim, don't go crazy. Although a little crazy is a good thing...and interesting.

Jen, I have many stories. Even "small" things that happened back then, would be on the news today. For one, the guy who lived on my street, across from my best friend would often flash his junk at us from his front door. We were 12 to 14ish. This was the 80's. Now-a-days? That would be all over the news. That's just one small example.

That was pretty much my question, Dawn. I didn't realize chicken poo had to compost completely. Some seedlings came up in a pile of compost that had fairly recent chicken stuff and they didn't burn. Then the chickens found that pile and ate the seedlings. SO...the pile I currently have going won't be ready to plant in March? See...where the old coop sat last year is the current compost pile. The grass was all dug up from the hens. Cardboard was laid down and compost thrown on top--kitchen waste, bedding and chicken poo. The plan was to stop using that area for compost and build a raised bed around it for lettuce/salad greens. Plant it in March. Bad idea?

Okay. Groceries for our early Christmas dinner are now purchased. Honestly, I still feel like I could sleep for a week. How's everyone else feeling?

Kim, I hope you finished the seed order without losing your mind.

Jen, That's true--our fur babies still are puppies and kitties no matter how old and gray-haired (or white-haired) they have become.

Rebecca, Will pansies or violas stay green and in bloom all winter there? They usually do here. You still might find some at a nursery if you're dying to have something alive out there (which I totally understand). Ouch for the kitty collision.

I would cut down that crape myrtle too since it is too close to the house. Good luck with the wisteria. I do not know if anyone has ever actually been able to get rid of wisteria.

I don't know what a perfect garden would look like as I've never had one.

Jennifer, Sometimes fresher chicken poo burns plants, sometimes it doesn't. I just don't think it is worth the risk---and there's other issues, including the need for the heat to kill potential pathogens. Chicken manure and bedding in a hot compost pile can decompose in just a couple of months---I've had piles built in Nov or Dec fully decomposed by Feb. With those piles, I layered chopped/shredded leaves, green rye grass clippings, and chicken manure/bedding. Just be sure to water them compost pile occasionally and turn it occasionally to keep them running hot. Some years I just throw all the chicken manure and bedding on a different pile that is essentially decomposing in place to fill in a badly eroded gully type area. What you want to do should work and the bed should be ready by March if you keep it moist, and not dripping wet.

I had a big plan for today. Got my morning work accomplished, was eating lunch and then the rest of the plan for today fell apart. Spent the afternoon/evening at an enormously fast-moving and dangerous grassfire turned wildfire. We had an All Page for our county, plus firefighters from two adjacent counties. We were out in western Love County. The smoke plume was so large and so dense that firefighters in Colbert, OK, approximately 69 miles from where our fire was located were paged out for a fire between Colbert and Lake Texoma. When all was said and done and they had searched high and low, they decided that there was no fire there---just dense, heavy smoke from our fire 69 miles away. We also had multiple other fires paged out, though most of them ended up also being false reports because dense smoke led people to believe they had a fire---they didn't. They just had our smoke. Unfortunately, while we all were at the far western end of the county, someone in northern Love County had a house catch fire. We diverted as many units as possible to it, though our firefighters at that time were engaged in a big battle to save the homes where we were. The unfortunate thing was that we all were so very far away and it took a long time to get to that house fire. The house was a total loss. At our big fire, no cattle were lost and no structures burned. Tim and other experienced firefighters guesstimated the fire at 1100 acres. Later on, we'll have it GPS-mapped and will get a more accurate count of acreage burned.

What makes your community special? I can only speak for ours---it is the people, all the red-dirt Oklahomans who love our land, our people and our community. In that area, everyone came out to help. Ranchers came out on their tractors, plows attached, to plow firebreaks to help slow or stop the fire, and to help protect all the homes that were at risk. When firefighters needed gasoline, ranchers who had their own fuel tanks gave the fuel to them free. A local fuel distributor filled up a big tanker and came out to gas up fire vehicles at the scene, which saved enormous amounts of time since firefighters didn't have to drive a long distance to refuel. Local sheriff's deputies and ODOT personnel came out to close roads and keep everyone---firefighters on the fireground and drivers as well----safe. People randomly showed up with bags of ice, cases of water and cases of Gatorade. One lady, who is affiliated with that specific local community and its VFD, showed her appreciation by bringing us pizza, water, ice and Gatorade. She kept asking what else we needed. Honestly, at that point we had everything. People let us park large water tankers and Rehab trucks in their yards so we could operate safety and not have to park on the side of the highway. When the whole community shows up to help and support the firefighters that way, it warms our hearts in ways I cannot even describe.

Most of us have come home. The three or four closest VFDs are still out there hitting hot spots.

We fed the firefighters and support staff all we could---only pre-packaged snacks and water/Gatorade until about 3 pm, and then sandwiches, sausage balls, Sweet Bacon Chicken Wraps, Bacon Cracker Crisps and Brownies (and pizza) after that. We finished up with fresh, hot coffee around sunset. I need to cook tomorrow and fill up the freezer again.

Twice we had to throw our rehab supplies in the trucks with about 30 seconds notice and tear out of there with fire chasing us. It was awful. I have seen fire jump the roads before. I have seen it move against the wind before (fire creates its own wind which can go in any or all directions) but I've never seen fire jump the road against the wind before. We drove about a mile away, pulled off the highway and waited as the fire moved from SW to NE behind us. Then, a different head of the fire (this fire split and had at least 4 separate heads) came moving due north right at us. We drove two more miles east and waited a very long time before we decided it was safe enough to go back. When we fled the fire the first time, we stopped to tell the deputies stationed at a certain point that the fire had jumped the road and was burning on both sides of the highway. They rushed in that direction to close down the road. In the process of doing that, in pretty much zero visibility, one was involved in a motor vehicle accident. I checked on him and he assure me he was not injured.

After all that, when the firefighters start to gain some control, you can relax and breathe a bit and start thinking everything is going to be okay. Except for this....Finally, in the midst of all that, I ran into a firefighter that we'd fought fires with for years. He told me he'd just come back from burying his adult granddaughter in Alabama, after she was attacked and killed in her own front yard by 5 pit bulls belonging to someone else. Such an unspeakable tragedy. I just kept telling him how sorry I was, but I also knew I had no words to offer that would help ease his pain. Really, at a time like that, words are just so inadequate. I hope he knows how much his family's tragedy touched my heart. How does a parent or grandparent even survive such a horrendous thing? They drove home from Alabama, and arrived in the early morning hours today. I know he was exhausted, yet he came out to fight this fire with the rest of us. Sometimes heroes walk quietly among us, and he is one of those. No one would have thought less of him if he'd just stayed home to sleep or to grieve or whatever, but he didn't. He came right out to this fire to fight it. No words.

This was absolutely our worst fire since 2011. I expected it to be a disaster. It was so bad that I sent Tim frantic text messages asking him to come home and help us. He did. He left work 90 miles away from us and drove home to help fight the fire. I am grateful his boss understands he needs to leave on a day like today. Some of our young firefighters who still are in school or who work in the local community left school and work to come fight fire. I saw some community names of fire trucks and never even had heard of those communities. To be honest, I don't know where those guys came from, but we appreciated each and every one of them.

Today we beat the fire, though it did its best to defeat us. Tomorrow will be a new day, new challenges......I am hoping for a quiet day.

I have my day tomorrow all planned out in my head, and no part of it involves dropping everything and running to a fire, but y'all know that if the pagers go off, we'll do it all over again. None of tomorrow involves gardening, unless packaging up bags of salsa, pickles and candied jalapenos relates, at least somewhat, to last summer's garden. Still, my garden and its produce keep me sane in the midst of busy weeks like this.

When we left the fireground all of us ladies who do Fire Rehab together....we helped each rehab crew load up their gear. We thanked one another. We hugged each other goodbye. It didn't matter if we had worked together forever, or just met each other last week. Love County---our community is built on love and runs on love. I just love living here. Do you ever wonder if you are in the place in your life that God meant for you to be at this age and this stage? I don't have to wonder about that. I know I am right where I am meant to be.

Dawn

That was funny, Rebecca! How IS the delicate little Miss Audrey? My flower beds just look plain pathetic--but at least they have lots of nice leaf mulch in them.

I missed Tom's exciting adventure last night, having retired at 11:30. GDW was watching TV and heard a bunch of paper being noisily rattled. Looked up, Tom was investigating a paper gift bag we'd received with a few little sacks of crackers and candy, a jar of pear jam, some little candy cane doodads, and a couple of refrigerator magnet notes. He'd stuck his head into the sack under one of the woven paper handles and freaked when he couldn't easily get his head out--so dived off the bar, pulling paper sack and contents down around him and took off for our bedroom like a bat out of hell, scattering the contents all the way down the hall. GDW didn't see where he and the sack ended up, but finally all was quiet. He had to tell me every little detail of this incident this morning, between bouts of laughter. So sorry I missed the whole thing. We found the sack this morning in the corner of the bedroom, torn to bits. I thought it strange, but nice, when I woke during the night and to my surprise, it was TOM curled up peacefully against me (Keyword, peacefully. Usually he has to tussle and knead and bite my fingers or lick my face.) And he was unusually subdued this morning, too. Wonder how long it will be before he tangles with a paper bag again. (And the pear jam jar didn't break! Yay!)

Garry got the remaining tree and huge branch cut up today, and we got things cleared up in the center bed. Felt good about that. And he got the washing machine back together. Time will tell. After all, it only failed to unlock about every 4th time. But I am betting we're good. I cleaned the fridge out, the oven cleaned and a couple loads of wash done. Really need to sweep and mop tomorrow. Cleaned out the remaining container plants, except for the verbena that is still green; watered the garlic. . . not much gardening to brag about, eh?

BTW, you winter sewers--did you see the post today about the Swedish lady who uses clear plastic totes!? (I had decided to go ahead with them--you're beginning to see how pig-headed I am, and felt SO great when I saw her video. I really really had no idea how I could ever collect 200 plastic containers/jugs. and so forth. We just don't have hardly any plastic anything to use; and I'm not good at running around to collect such things; and I'm terrible with tape and crafty things. This made me feel good about the decision I made. And it will be relatively tidy, the things won't be jeopardized by a hard wind. . . ) I'm looking forward to starting it with perennials that need stratification, and then as the days and weeks go by, gradually adding more hardy perennials and herbs, and then some of the earlier-blooming cooler growing annuals. There will be about 160-200 pots.

AND I have a home for the plant cuttings I've got in little pots now--they're on the top shelf in my art room about 18" from the fluorescent bulbs above them--oops, better water--and probably have to remove that top shelf and lower them to the lower shelf, as they are going to be WAY too big soon for the top shelf. Darned cats. Reminds me, there was a long-time ago movie starring Dean Jones and ________, and cat, called, "That Darned Cat."

It will leave valuable room on the grow cart for the 200-250 seedling cups of tomatoes and peppers and other annuals and veggies.

Also. . . we hooked the freezer back up in the garage, and it's running smoothly. Thing is, we cannot for the life us remember why we decided it was needing repaired! We THINK it was because the coils had frozen. . . but we truly cannot remember. So we decided I'd clean it and then we'll put some--not a lot of food in it and just run it until it has a problem again. He THINKS it was leaking water (which would be from the frosted coils. . .) what a couple of ninnies we are. At any rate, we also are much more educated now and have a pretty fair idea of what to do. A defrost heater would be fairly easy and inexpensive. So. For all intents and purposes, I believe we will now have two freezers.

Kim, I am auditioning my gorgeous fleece-lined slipper socks and "boots (which are really more like house slippers)" and it's going to be cold in the next few days, so I'll send you the info if they're good. They were both cheap, which I loved. So far it's a big thumbs up, but a cold spell will make the case.

Cow-and-calf operations down here fascinate me, since I'm from Wyoming. I see these little calves, many of whom are obviously fairly newborn, and just can't quite wrap my mind around calving just before it gets cold. I suppose that's a 2-season thing, too? In Wyoming, of course, there is only one calving season. . . starts late March, usually. And even then is chancy. (Of course ranches back there are much larger and can run many fewer head. We had 5,000 acres, and could only run 100-110 head of cows/calves.) Lots of horse patrol, which I loved.

Dawn, I forget how old Jet is?? Isn't it most amazing, though, when our dogs get old and either blind or deaf or both, that they keep getting around? Our Brisco (well actually Wade and Steph's Brisco), was 11 when our mobile vet came to send him to peace, could get around in the house quite fine--he was 11, but pretty much blind and increasingly deaf (his problem was that he was so crippled by arthritis that Wade had to carry him down their 3 stairs to potty), so it was time. My BFF in WY has 2 seniors--one is blind, the other, deaf. They have a great partnership, truly.

I did not even want to look at the Mesonet. But did. The 30-day rain one would have been comical, except it's not. The 60-day one--couldn't even believe we actually got 4-5 inches in the past 2 mos. Must have been early on in October.

Amy, I don't think I'd ever get GDW to an Indian, Native American, Ethiopian, Greek, Thai restaurant. . . . maybe we'll have to meet at one of those fun places for lunch sometime, and Eileen and Rebecca. The Desi Wok sounded YUMMY to ME. I really really love spring rolls at Thai places, too.

Predators and abusers and such. Most, if not all, women, and many men, as well, have had experiences; men were most victimized as children and teens. And women have always been especially singled out for education on how to behave, what precautions to take, how to stay safe, or even how to protect themselves; in the past, oh, 30 years? Before that, I think everything was mostly swept under the rug, I think conscientious parents had a talk with their children. It is sad, but I do not believe this is something new; I think it probably has gone on as long as humans have been on earth.

(Obviously we were posting at the same time.) Well, Dawn, You ARE in the right place. That was a horrifying and heartbreaking and very scary story. Imagine, the depth of sorrow (and probably anger and questions and confusion) your friend has going on his mind about his granddaughter's death. Incomprehensible.

As you know, I could never do this at this point in my life, starting from Square 1. But I will be mindful (and try to be, always) to show up in an emergency situation. Your story is a good reminder. God Bless you, and God bless the other folks who went through this. Tears of sadness, tears for what folks went through, tears of thankfulness for you all.

Hmmm, working backwards, Dezi Wok is around the corner from a Panera, or there's a Mexican restaurant on the back side of this complex (kind of strip malls, before the "big" mall.

When I worked for the ranch we did not do fall calves. Some people do. It's a crap shoot, our cows started calving in Feb, which can be pretty darn cold and invariably wet, so young calves going into winter or being born in what may be the coldest month in OK. And then there are winters like 2015 where it barely freezes at all. It is a hard way to make a living. I remember my boss talking about ranches in New Mexico where the cattle burned up all their calories running to the next blade of grass. (Meaning the land couldn't support as many cattle per acre as here).

You could freeze ice in that freezer, though the logical way to do that is in milk jugs, which you said you didn't have many of. I was going to do that, because it's supposed to be more efficient to run a full freezer. But I never had to worry, DH filled it up.

Dawn, that is REALLY scary! You be careful out there!

Rebecca, it's usually Honey that slides into things around here. Or clunks her head on the underside of the table. But I'm not sure she even feels it.

Today I went to Worley's and bought 10 ornamental...I don't know if they're kale or cabbage, but they're pretty and they were cheaper than lowes were when we saw them. They had smaller ones that had purple centers, these are green, white and they turn pink in the center. They are gifts for my Y girls. They could work for your need for green.

I'm sorry about your friend, Kim.

There were 21 hawks seen on the way to Bartlesville today, a new record. Dad looked good. They do therapy early in the day, apparently. He was doing recreational therapy when we got there, which today was a wheel chair trip around the pond. He also gets respiratory therapy (breathing treatments), physical therapy and occupational therapy. Medicare cleared him to be there another week. Hopefully by then he will be strong enough to go home.

Saw my grandsons tonight. That was nice. The baby is getting big!

XOXO

Nancy, I was sitting here looking at the Desi Wok menu. I am sure we could find GDW something he would like. They have chicken cooked on skewers with sauce on the side, they have sweet and sour or teriaki chicken or shrimp. Maybe they'd sell him chicken nuggets from the kids menu. The noodles Ron had weren't bad - rice noodles, he had lamb, but they have it with chicken or shrimp, too. DH didn't think he'd like it either. He liked my tikka masala.

I had checked out the menu online, too. Enchanting.

Have you see this video on how men's brains and women's brains are different? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BxckAMaTDc  Well, I thought of it today, as that's how my entire day has been-- bzzz, bzzz, bzzz bzzz. I have gotten hardly anything done that I planned to do. But I WILL get that creamy potato with bacon and corn soup made! I've been sidetracked at every turn. Halfway done paying Mom's few bills; STARTED cleaning the freezer. Tidied up the stored potatoes and onions boxes (which was on NO list anywhere). I am so tired of reading parts articles and watching videos related thereto, and troubleshooting. As I began on the freezer, I realized it was really much filthier than it looked at a casual glance. The gasket was really bad. I thought, "Well. As bad as it looks, probably needs replaced. 2.5 hours later I have concluded (through the dollar bill test--inserting a dollar bill at every part of the gasket all the way around it), lucky Garry, that it is NOT bad--just filthy--unlucky Nancy.

And then I was thinking about garden tools I need this next year, and remembered one some of you were raving about, couldn't remember if I was remembering it as a Cobrahead, so had to find that out, which meant I got sidetracked again, reading fun GWOK threads. That's Johnny's Seeds fault. Got an sales email from them on garden tools.

And so it has gone all day. Off to fix the supper and will NOT be derailed!

Yes. Cobrahead. Get one, Nancy. I got mine for Christmas last year and really like it. I need a couple more though, because I have an awful habit of leaving tools lying about. Sometimes I lose them for awhile--they're always eventually found.

Dawn, again, I appreciate all the hard work your fire fighter group does. I hope you're all able to get a break very soon.

I saw there is a chance for rain this weekend. Wouldn't that be nice?

In laws are coming tomorrow and it's already turned into a "thing". I won't bother y'all with all the details, but can't people just be chill? Especially retired people who really don't have a lot of outside activities. WE, however, are still in work and school mode until the 20th, but are managing to make things work. Plus shop for food for our holiday meal, prepare, bake and cook holiday meal, house clean, among other things to make a nice visit. AND we didn't choose the date for our Christmas get-together. I would have chosen the weekend after Christmas when I'm relaxed and things aren't so busy. I love them, but....ugh. Get it together.

Dawn, thanks for the chicken poop advice.

Okay...back to cleaning.

Oh, HJ. That is always so difficult with so many families. . . I commiserate. Until the last 3 years. Now, although I DO take on family get-togethers at holiday times, and invite everyone over, it's with the explicit note that it's at their convenience. Not about a BIG deal dinner, just an invite down to see us during the holidays. And IF it happens they can all make it at the suggested time, great! But no fuss about food, they get what they get. . . and I find that folks most like to just nibble and visit, and so that's how I'm tending to go. LOTS of yummy appetizers. Frankly, though I served lasagna and a Mexican casserole and folks ate it up, it was mostly out of obligation, I truly think. Give them enough very tasty appetizers, and it is a great informal and loving time. I've never experienced it before, frankly--was an experiment on my part. I'm sure my mom and grandma would have been dismayed--but guess they would have said to themselves, "Wow! A great idea!" LOL Ya know, there is something GOOD about becoming the senior member of the family!!! Totally lets me off the hook--and the kids and grandkids responded well. Hahaha. And while many folks about my age want to pass the dinner obligations on to the younger generation, as long as they respond and come. . . . . I found that it's the company and convivial visits that count. Not sure what I'm trying to say here, except that I found big formal dinners don't work for us, because some of the kids can't make that exact timeline, and we have fussy eaters, and it's a heck of a lot of work, and then they all bring extra food anyway. No, for THIS family, this works for us. I am so sorry you have this added stress with all the restrictions!!!

Nancy, It sounds like y'all got so much accomplished at hone lately. I wish I could feel like I was getting anything accomplished here. Tom's such a cute age. I remember having cats get hung up in gift bags just like that.

Jet was born about 10 days before Easter 2005. His once jet-black hair is turning white, so he's getting on up there in doggie years. He used to love to hang out in the garden with me, digging a hole in a shady spot, usually in a pathway, and curling up in it. About 3 years ago he decided he was done with the garden and rarely goes in there any more. He's just as happy to stay inside and sleep while I'm working in the garden nowadays.

When Tim joined our VFD in 2002, it was about a year old, its equipment was basically castoffs from other departments (the engine was from 1959!) and our fire station was a borrowed metal shop building on the property of the then-fire chief because we hadn't even raised enough money to build a station yet. I was totally focused on building and enlarging our garden and doing massive amounts of soil remediation, so when he joined the VFD I thought that was a good thing---it would keep him busy (and out of my hair) while I was gardening. I had no idea that just a couple of years later, I'd join the VFD too. I love it and I dearly love all our firefighters and their families, but I'd be happy if there was no reason for fire departments to exist. For me, the problem is that winter fire season often peaks at about the time I'm trying to plant my garden, so that makes gardening a real challenge at times. I can't plant if I'm not home. When the back to back horrendous fire years of 2005 and 2006 hit, we were better prepared (our station was under construction in 2005 and we were moving into it around the time the 2005 winter fire season started months early, in late October) than we had been in 2002 when we were new and under-equipped. However, we weren't prepared for the literal firestorm of constant wildfires. We became fast learners though, and now I feel like there's not much we cannot handle in this county. The only days when we seem to face insurmountable challenges are when the winds are gusting in the 50s and 60s. That doesn't mean a wildfire is easy on a day when the wind is gusting only in the 20s, but just that we know on days like that we'll eventually win. I am exceedingly grateful we do not have to deal with something like California's Santa Ana winds.

When we first moved here, I do not remember there being a lot of fall calves. They were more of a late winter/early spring thing here. The last couple of years, it seems like I'm seeing tons and tons more fall calves. I don't know why it has changed---maybe because our winters keep getting warmer and warmer.

Amy, You know, it was the scariest fire in quite a while. We usually set up in a place where fire never gets close to the Command Post, but this fire at times was moving in all directions and what seemed safe one minute was not safe at all a few minutes later. (Fire science explains how and why a fire can create its own wind and move against the prevailing wind, but all I have to know is that it does happen and to watch out for it!) I was so afraid we'd lose homes. If there is one thing our firefighters fight like mad to avoid it is losing homes to wildfires. They did such a valiant job I cannot even describe it, and we likely would have lost homes anyway without the assistance of the farmers and ranchers who quietly showed up on their tractors and began plowing fire breaks. Those guys are my heroes too---no one asked them to come do what they did---they just saw a need and came to take care of it. There are so many good people in Oklahoma.

I'm so glad your dad is getting better and will get to come home soon, and so happy you got to spend some time with your grandsons. Babies grow up too quickly.

Jennifer, They've slowly raised our chance of rain for Sat night from 20% to 50% over the course of the week, but the anticipated rainfall totals are low. Here's the QPF:

7-Day QPF

As a gardener and a resident, of course I want rain. As firefighters, we know that once the grasses are dry and dormant, rain doesn't help (and even can hurt by turning sand into mud and causing fire trucks to get stuck in the mud while fighting wildland fires). Nothing can happen now, other than heavy snow on the ground continuously, to lessen the winter fire season. We won't see real relief until the vegetation begins to green up substantially, which usually is in early April. On April 9, 2009, when we had extreme wind-driven wildfires all over the state of Oklahoma (and homes lost to wildfires even in suburban areas), we already had quite a bit of green-up but it wasn't enough because we had winds gusting in the 50s and 60s. Those of you who saw the OFS video I shared on FB last night were seeing extreme fire behavior even though the relative humidity was pretty high at 89%, and I found that fairly shocking. During our fire a couple of days ago, we had 15% humidity when the fire started, which explains our fire's very extreme behavior. It is going to be a long winter.

You have my sympathy on the in-law visit. I do wish retired people would remember that the younger folks are still working! I hope that you are able to relax and enjoy yourself when the day arrives. Sometimes family gatherings are just so stressful. Our family gatherings have become a lot less formal and much, much more casual and I love them that way. My dad might not approve---he always liked the Norman Rockwell type Christmas with everyone gathered around the table and him carving the big turkey and all that, but we keep things easier and simpler now. We have a more traditional meal at Thanksgiving, but for Christmas we alternate from one year to the next. This year our nieces and nephews wanted Uncle Tim's lasagna, so that's what we're having. We'll make it and take it from here, and then the others are bringing side dishes and desserts. I think we did lasagna about 5 years ago for Christmas, so it is beyond time to do it again. I also love it when we have Tex-Mex Christmas dinners. Having grown up in Texas, I know that home-made tamales are an important part of Christmas too!

Yesterday I was a beehive of activity in the kitchen trying to cook up enough food to fill the fire station freezer again. I made three batches of brownies, two batches of cookies, two batches of sausage balls and two batches of bacon cracker crisps (so beloved by some firefighters that they call them Fire Crack, lol). I didn't even get the sweet bacon chicken wraps made, but I'll do that this morning.

The VFDs out west had to go out repeatedly to check fire containment lines and put out hot spots yesterday, but we had a quiet day in our fire district until right at dinner time when we were paged out on a chimney fire. All I'll say about that is please do not go 8 years without having your chimney cleaned. Yesterday was a low fire danger day and I got tons of stuff done, mostly cooking, but also got some of the goody bags put together for this weekend's VFD Christmas party. Today I've got to finish the rest of the bags, so I hope today is quiet. Fire Danger today is Elevated and tomorrow it will be critical. I believe, as usual, the worst danger will be out west but that doesn't mean the rest of us are off the hook either.

I need to clean my house, but it seems like everything I'm busy doing is only messing it up. How does that happen? I'm not going to get a chance to do a real serious cleaning until Monday, and I am looking forward to that, oddly enough.

Brrr. It is cold this morning (low of 22 at Burneyville and 29 at our house, which seems like such a huge difference). I hate going out in the cold, but the chickens are calling to me to come let them out into their fenced runs, so I must go. They are not at all happy that I'm leaving them in their fenced runs, but I am happy. I don't have to worry about predators nor do I have to worry about running off to fires and having the coop doors open after dark. If the chickens would cooperate and go into their runs or coops upon command, I could let them free-range and put them up as needed when I have to leave, but they are definitely not cooperative in that area.

Uggh. It is so dry outside. It is hard to look at all the dry vegetation. I cannot wait for Spring to get here and bring back the green.

Dawn

It is a lot of work, Nancy. I like alternative types of dinners too...usually because so many people go to so many different holiday parties with the standard dinner. However, for Tom's family--we are it. Both of his parents have passed, his brother has passed and brother's wife and son won't have anything to do with the sister. So--we are their only family. It will be Sister, her husband, her adult son and his new wife. There's probably several things adding to the stress of it. This is the second year without their mother. The past several years, we have gone to Arlington the weekend before Christmas because their mother lived with Sister. Last year was the first year for us to host. But it was after Christmas so there was time to relax and prepare. It was good, especially for a first year without their mom. I am grateful that Sister hosted those years, but she had a housekeeper, paid someone to cook the meal mostly, and her child is in his 30's and completely independent. They are quite a bit older than us. Sister still works sorta "free lance", so she spends a lot of time staying with a friend in the Dallas area. They sold their house and are living in a RV--a nice RV that is worth more than my house. Something about the electricity is currently broken in it...and it's scheduled for a repair. Sister is staying at a hotel with her son and his wife because she doesn't like the cold. Her husband is staying in the RV at an RV park--because he is wired that way. Likes to "rough it". BUT, he also wants to be in bed by 9. My daughter has a work related thing on Saturday and can't be at our house until 7. That's when dinner and the party would begin. Can't you just make yourself stay up past your bedtime once?! Seriously. And why not just park the RV on our property and go to the hotel with your wife, instead of trying to make it back before the gates close at the RV park. We're not going to party all night! I have to work Sunday morning and it's the Christmas program, so I'll need my rest too! I love them so much but everyone needs to chill out--including me. haha!

Change can be hard.

Anyone who lives in the south OKC/Moore/Norman area...what's the deal with all the cotton crops off Indian Hills just west of I35? I've never seen cotton growing there before. It's been interesting to say the least. Every single day, there is a photographer out in one of the field taking family pictures. I'm sure the owners of the cotton appreciate people stomping through their crops.

Nothing garden related. The only plants I have are a rosemary, spearmint, a giant aloe vera, and a poinsettia. Well, the herbs outside, as well as the strawberries are still green.

I can't wait to stay home for several days. It won't be long!

What do y'all think about the possible forecast of snow on Christmas?

Jennifer, I've seen more cotton fields lately. It has become a thing in home decor, thanks to Joanna Gaines' (and other designers') use of it---people see the cotton wreaths and cotton stems in home decor and want some for themselves. Maybe that is part of it. Having family photos taken in a cotton field has become a thing too. I began noticing the increase in cotton fields maybe 3 or 4 years ago, but most seem like an acre here or there grown for novelty or to sell to craft/home decor stores. This year I saw a lot of acreage of cotton, especially in Collin County, TX, and eventually we saw the huge round bales of cotton after they harvested. It could be that more farmers are giving it a shot thanks to the development of GMO-cotton (I hope not!) which makes it more pest-tolerant.

Family situations can get so complicated. I hope your Christmas gathering goes well---and I do wish retired folks would remember that younger folks are still working and therefore have a much more complicated schedule. Our family gatherings have become a lot more casual and relaxed and I like it that way. Our older relatives might not approve, but they are mostly all gone now, so they cannot stop us from relaxing their standards as we only have ourselves to please now. Well, except for my mom, and you cannot please her anyway, though my sister sure knocks herself out trying. My sister is a saint.

Forecasts this far out are unreliable, and I think snow is one of the things that is hardest to accurately forecast because the forecast relies not just on temperatures being in the right range at the right layers of the atmosphere, but also on the moisture being present at the same time. It is the timing that makes it tricky. I don't trust models 10 days out, and hardly trust them 5 days out. Maybe when we get within 2 or 3 days of the expected snow event, maybe, maybe, maybe we can trust the forecast if the various forecast models have come into reasonable agreement. I've been watching these different models, and there's still lots of disagreement between them (even among different runs of the same model done at different times during the same day). So, it seems too early to tell. I can buy the fact that they are showing we're going to be cold. It is December, so that's hardly surprising. The moisture? Every time it has been in our forecast for the last 45-55 days, it has let us down---either not materializing at all or materializing in such small amounts as to be insignificant. So, I'm not having much faith in the moisture part of the snow forecast. I've seen the snow all over the place on some models----near western OK on one model run, then 200 miles south in TX on the next run...so, which run do you believe?

Let's wait and see what we get. When we are a couple of days out, the forecasters should have a better idea of what is likely to happen, but even then, that doesn't mean it will happen. Forecasts are just scientifically-based educated-guesses, after all. Even educated guesses are still guesses.

Dawn

Kinda like gardening, Dawn?

So thrilled you'll get to stay home for several days, Hazel. You SO deserve it! Hope you all have a nice dinner--rushed though your BIL will be, eh? sheesh. What's one to do.

Dawn, as I've said, I'm not a baker, though of course when I had family around to eat the stuff, I did enjoy it. I NEVER liked baking many cookies, but did a lot of candy, cookies and bars at Christmas time. Loved toffee bars. Lemon bars are my all-TIME favorite bar, and we always enjoyed raisin bars, peanut brittle, penuche, divinity, fudge. . . now, since I've lost my penchant for sweets, there's just no reason--and GDW is the same. Still, having said that, I cannot comprehend the amount of baking you can get done in a day!

AAGGHH, the CAT! He hasn't left me alone for the past 90 minutes. He's the one who doesn't like being picked up, of course (Tom), is ever so slightly improving, so I quick picked him up and moved him over 2 feet and told him ever so nicely, to give me some space. So he picked up my ballpoint pen and jumped to the floor. I retrieved that and threw some balls for him to chase.

I swear. I am so excited about Aldi I cannot stand it! And this one in Broken Arrow has SO many varieties of various things. I made a comparison sheet up that includes Reasor's, Aldi and Walmart. The savings are staggering. I told GDW that if he doesn't like a particular something, to let me know--likewise, if I didn't, we simply wouldn't buy that particular thing at Aldi. So far out of two gigantic buying trips there, I didn't like the particular strawberry preserves I picked up, nor the kettle chips. The caramel corn, however, was to die for. And I preferred THEIR pickled beets to the expensive Nellie's ones I used to get in Mpls and at Walmart. The only thing (maybe; haven't checked) I cannot live without are the cans of San Marzano tomatoes. We didn't care for Aldi cheap bread (nor do we get the cheap bread at Walmart), but GDW, who is the bread eater, was fine with their "expensive" bread ($1.49 a loaf). I never buy expensive coffee--always Folgers, and I miss my exotic coffee, so I buy 1 lb packages of free trade stuff and always mix a little in the the Folgers. Aldi's Folger size is $4.78 compared to Folgers at $7.48! And their bagged free trade good stuff was $3 per lb compared to $6-$7 at Walmart.

Eggs today were $.68 for a dozen--we got 4 dozen (and already had 2 1/2 dozen here). So I guess we'll be eating a lot of eggs, or a lot of dishes that use a lot of eggs. I have not found anything there that isn't cheaper than Walmart--and the VARIETY of kinds and brands! We paid $115 today for a HUGE amount of groceries, including chicken, ground beef, sausage, bacon. I'm loving my comparison chart, but now have to go do a walk-around in Walmart just to jot their exact prices down--many are missing, but of course I remembered a lot of them.

Since I never buy commercially prepared things, I can't speak to the quality of those. But I bet GDW we're going to save an easy 30 percent on groceries, and he believes it too. Maybe as much as 50% if we can get used to grocery shopping, at all, only every two weeks. We forgot cottage cheese today, and we'll just have to go without it for a couple weeks. The produce was great. The variety of cheeses, mind-blowing.

AND we realized that it takes us 44 minutes round-trip to Wagoner, and 80 minutes round-trip to Broken Arrow. No biggy!

I enjoy hearing your VFD stories--and the cooking! ZOWY!

Got absolutely nothing on gardening, though am trying to get a more precise idea of what and how many seeds I'll be planting, and WHERE in heaven's name I'll PUT the ones who grow!

Nancy I cant wait till Lubbock gets an Aldi store. And I get to move. Well this week passed me by so now I wont get into my house until January 8th or later. I was so hoping it would happen before Christmas. Its a good thing I didnt pack the whole place lol.
I think I will play it safe and head to Denton next week when I get done at work instead of waiting until Sunday morning the 24th. If I wait too late I may get snowed in and that would not be my idea of a good time, in a house yes camper no.
In the garden I am going to pick everything next week Wednesday. Hope I get enough carrots and beets to roast for Christmas. I saw a cute idea for herb wreath i am going to make for my sister with my sage. She will love that and I have plenty to dry too.

I used to get SOOO stressed this time of year when I was younger. I still feel that way, even though the things that stressed me then are no longer relevant. Never enough time, money, inclination. I'm not a baker or a cook, but always felt guilty, like I was depriving my kids of childhood memories. Hated Black Friday, but the money thing. Tried to make gifts, but the time thing. And gifts for 4 kids who naturally wanted THE toy of the season. Add in fear of ice and snow (y'all can dream about white Christmases, I break bones on that stuff and hate to travel or have family travel in it.) H/J what will be will be. Try to enjoy it and give YOURSELF a break.

We got most of our shopping done today. This is kind of spectacular for us. I didn't even freak out at Walmart. Helped that I used an electric cart, though it was dying at the end and made a loud beep if I stood up to reach the top shelf.

We went to local BBQ place for all you can eat catfish, so neither of us had to cook.

Every time I look at the long range forecast there is less precip and somewhat warmer temps.

Fancy dinners are not my thing. Our first Christmas, we used all the wedding presents. Crystal (the only fancy thing we had) stoneware, serving ware, and it was just the 2 of us. I had a nice stoneware set before we were married. It had gigantic plates that were only good for huge meals. They are still in the cabinet, along with the crystal. Big dinners are paper plates and solo cups now.

My cat is 9 years old today.

Nancy, I don't use canned tomatoes much, so I don't know what Aldi's would be like. I DO like the tomato basil pasta sauce. I find the salsa to be acceptable. I used to like their tortilla chips best, because they weren't as salty as others, but that has changed recently. I prefer Aldi's hummus. I haven't bought much frozen goods there. I've been telling my mother how great it is. So we bought her some milk there in Bartlesville and it was past the sell by date. So she probably won't shop there.

We have the grandson tomorrow. Going to take him to look at Christmas lights.

Amy, me too--stressed for a lifetime. Never had the time, working many hours a week with law firms; never had the money until just the last 10 years before retirement, and even then, budgeted carefully. For several years after Russ died, had no interest, even, but kept it up for others. And hated shopping and crowds anyway, and yes, it was nearly always bitter cold with bad snow and bad roads. I tried to just make it about celebrating Christ, and in that way I have still always loved it--and I loved making food and sharing with friends and what little family I had in MN--Wade and Steph and the kids--and I admit then, I finally came to truly enjoy it as those little ones were growing, from Evyn's birth, and then Westie's to now when they're 17 and 13. And Steph was a Christmas freak--it was hard not to respond when she was so happy and enthusiastic. But now, as a result, I find myself missing THAT family so very much at Christmas time that Christmas still brings emotions and sadness. So. . . . I just don't do much Christmas. Church (and celebrating Christ), and inviting all our kids down here for fun and visiting. That's it. And it's good, but otherwise. . . .

Steph and I loved to do fancy dinners--but it was just for between 7-10 (us and either her parents and/or friends). But it was a collaborative affair, which gave us two ovens in the same house and two stove tops, 2 fridges. Do I have the best DIL in the world, or not! (See, I'm missing them.)

Ah, well, it is what it is. It is still great, since I re-vamped my expectations and my dinner menus, and the kids down here generally all show up, and we have a great time. I'm so thankful for them--and THEIR adorable kids. We couldn't possibly buy for everyone, since now we have six kids and spouses, and 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. We do give each of the grandchildren and great grandchildren a $10. Hahaha. . . . remember in the old days when our own grandmas and grandpas would send us a check for $5? My own grandma and grandpa sent me those $5 checks well into my 30s.

I like the "loving each other a little bit more than normal" feeling that hits so many hearts at Christmas time. THAT is special. And here was an article on the feeling, which I enjoyed tremendously-- http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/8636/longing-for-joy?spMailingID=996942&spUserID=Mzk4MzMzOTcwS0&spJobID=440469738&spReportId=NDQwNDY5NzM4S0

Kim, knowing you share my (new) penchant for Aldi, I can hardly wait FOR YOU!

HJ, I think CHANGE is almost ALWAYS hard, whether it is bad or good. We fear the unknown. Only time I didn't fear it was when I moved down here. I was so excited--but guess what--it hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be. Yes, it was the very best decision I have every made. YES, I love Garry Dean more and more each day and he's so perfect for me and me for him. Yes, I love my house, my gardens, our property; yes, I love all my new children, and I really treasure all of you. It's hard, in that I miss the MN family, and it's SO much longer to get to Wyoming when I need to, and I miss my MN friends a ton--folks I saw every week or two; or we'd meet after work for happy hour, or during the work week for lunch, or a couple would come to my house for "Stitch and Swill" quilting club; and I have only one other person in my new community I've bonded with (we have bonded with), and he's always too busy to keep in contact except every 2-3 weeks. But the point is, change is always a challenge. And we all grow from the changes, hopefully--I know I have--and I bet you are growing too!

PS: Amy, happy birthday to Miss Priss.

I had a minor surgical procedure today, so I'm off work until after Christmas. And had time tonight to peruse the new Fedco catalog. I like supporting them and their mission, and I like their prices. I'll probably buy more seeds.

Only thing I'm counting on with the weather forecast is that it'll get cold.

When the guys did my yard cleanup, they cut down the foliage on my Shasta daisies, which had already come up. Think they'll come back? And I've decided against hollyhocks, but what about snapdragons? Might try some sage in the herb yard too.

I moved the cookie dough to the fridge to thaw today. Sugar cookie, gingerbread, and chocolate, all cutouts that will be decorated. Kolacky mostly done and in the freezer, will bake from there. Making turtles this week, and a butter shortbread that gets a chocolate dip. Hoping to get peppermints done sometime. I usually do some type of quick bread too. I give most of this stuff as gifts, and some of you know I'm a huge baker. My plan for pastry school was thwarted by medical issues.

My sister, BIL, niece, and nephew arrive from North Carolina Tuesday for a week. They stay at my mom's, she loves having them. This is a good thing for us. Christmas Eve lunch is with my dad's family at a restaurant, which is also my cousin's birthday. Then Christmas Eve is at home with family (maybe church, that doesn't always happen), Christmas Day brunch at home, and then the family goes to my BIL's family in the afternoon, and Mom and I collapse for a bit, then get ready for her family's arrival the day after. That's always a casual day with a lot of food.

You goof, Rebecca. Just had surgery and you're gardening already! When are they letting you out, or are you already? I'm hoping this is going to work! (One of our daughters has had two surgeries with that clinic--she adores them--what about you?) They had the BEST "hospital" food.

Yeah, I like Fedco, too, but don't think I bought from them this year--by the time I got to them, I'd already found stuff from SESE, Johnny's, Pinetree, Select Seeds, Victoria, Swallowtail, Pinetreel and probably a couple I've forgotten. I'm nearly certain your Shastas are fine. I can't seem to kill mine. Yeah. Mine actually haven't even given a hint of dying. No, I am sure yours will be fine. The cheap snapdragons I got from Lowe's. Wondered if they'd come back. Three of four I planted (one in a container) came back roaring. Dawn advised me maybe they would, maybe not. Right now, to tell you the truth, they are still actually blooming, and not only that, but the clumps have spread. Which leads me to surmise that they like it cooler rather than hotter, as they wimped out during the hot hot weather.

And sage likes it here. Now I have three clumps of it, still active and green.

Oops, didn't read the rest if your post til just now. What a marvelous way to spend the holidays. I am in awe of the bakers!

Dawn, it was interesting to see the big cotton harvesters go through the field. It just happened today and I happened to be driving home in time to see it. They have big rectangle stacks of the harvest cotton. My mom has an old piece of cotton from her grandma's farm.

Happy Birthday to your cat, Amy.

Kim, if you have time (and want to) will you take a picture of the herb/sage wreath. Sounds like something I want to copy. :)

Take it easy, Rebecca. Don't overdo it.

Your posts are interesting, Nancy. I keep wondering when my Mom will cut back on Christmas gifts. She's a bit over-the-top with it. Which is probably why I am too. Christmas was simply magical when I was a child. She over buys for her 5 grandkids... and still spoils my sister, me, and our husbands. She even does stockings for all of us. I have the same stocking from when I was a baby.

And, Nancy, I get what you're saying about change...a life change choice can be the right thing...the best thing, but it's still change. And something somewhere is getting left behind and it's easy to grieve that during sentimental or emotional times. Sorta like my old house. I know buying this house was the best for us, but I miss my old house for various reason.

I love this season so much--not just Christmas exactly....but the season. There's so many holidays of light that happen around this time--I want to celebrate them all. I host a solstice party each year and it might be my favorite of the season. It's the more mindful/spiritual celebration in our family. A time to think about the past year and the future year. A time to think about the return of light...and hope that is celebrated at this time of year by so many different belief "systems". I plan activities that help us think on these things. And we do fun stuff too, like make a sun or solstice craft or ornament. I bake sun shaped cookies for everyone to decorate.

As things continue to change in my life...with the growing up of my children and other things...I need to have in place things that I enjoy about this season and mentally see these new things as a positive and not focus on the "loss".

Deviled eggs, Coke cake, green bean casserole, and baked mashed potatoes are made. I'm super sleepy, so will be heading to bed soon. The plan was to get everything done, but I didn't manage to be that productive tonight. I'll make the other stuff in the morning.

Amy, do you get the Tulsa World--the featured restaurant on the front page of the Scene today is Desi Wok!

After you guys begin talking about baking, it brings so many memories back--almost want to start baking again for Christmas. My bff in Wyoming and I went on a 3-yr binge of creating gingerbread houses. We had so much fun the first year (and our kids--they were all about 9-12 yrs old), that we then got very creative with our visions. . . the houses were generally about 24" x 16" on their little yard bases, complete with snow, pines, sidewalks, fences. And would totally occupy us for about a month and a half. In truth, the snow and pine trees weren't edible--they were whipped Ivory soap--so we had to be sure to alert our buyers. And also, we hadn't begun them to have buyers--and couldn't created enough to sell, anyway. It was just a fun thing for us--I think the most we did in a year were 5. What a blast we had, brainstorming ideas and searching through candy magazines. Living in a smallish town, we had to travel 2 hrs to Billings Montana to get to the good candy stores--and it was before personal computers found their way to Wyoming, in 1981. Our four kids (9-12 in age)--2 for her and 2 for me--enjoyed it all, too, though they mostly participated as candy testers. Sitting here thinking about how much fun we had. The bad part was after a gingerbread house season, we'd be nauseated by candy, and I can remember that thick coat of sugary junk on our teeth. We were visiting about it when I was up a few months ago, laughing about how much fun we could have now, with the internet's help.

Have any of you ventured into gingerbread houses? Ahhhh. So much fun.

Do any of you have juicers, and if so, which kind? I just realized a juicer might be nice when I'm sick of cucumbers and salads; still a way to get your veggies. One reason I was thinking about it was that we love breakfasts for dinner. . . but often that doesn't furnish the vegetables we always should have. I remembered my DIL got one and made the most delicious smoothies and included kale and cucumber and lettuce--whatever greens she had on hand--but they were really TASTY, tasted like healthy fruity drinks.

No juicer here, so I can't comment. I do frequently stuff omelets with veggies, either cooked or not, and I'll have hummus with assorted veggies for lunch. I also have a Ninja smoothie blender, so I make fruit and yogurt smoothies in that. Not a fan of veggies in them. But juice from your tomatoes would probably be pretty good for you.

There's a grass fire near Limestone that was started as a controlled burn. What kind of idiot does a controlled burn in high fire weather?

I bought an inexpensive juicer some years back. It took a bazillion veggies to make one glass of juice. I didn't have a garden then. It was not cost effective. The real juice gourmets insist the juicing method must not produce heat. Of course only the really expensive ones qualified by their standards. That's really all I remember about my research. I suggest you dry those veggies, grind them into powder and add it to eggs or soup broth. Use your Ninja for smoothies. Someone will be insulted who loves juicing, but there was too much pulp and not enough juice for me. Wait, Rebecca had the Ninja. Any way, a good blender or food processor has more uses than a juicer. I've wanted a Vitamix for 40 years. I won't pay the price.

Was Limestone under a burn ban? Doesn't matter if it was controlled then, but they do it every year.

It's funny Desi Wok is in the paper. The place has never had any ambiance. But I don't suggest going at lunch hour unless you work, because it's packed. My kids all love it, even the one who was picky when young. Daughter tells me Aldi's as a good tikka masala sauce. I can't use it because it has milk in it, but she likes it.

Honey single handedly wore out all 3 of my daughters dogs today. The grandson and I decorated a little tree while she was gone. Hopefully she won't mess with it. We're going to look for Christmas lights soon.

I don't have a Ninja or blender. LOL Me, too, re the Vitamix. I never had good luck with blenders. . . I bet they're better, now. And I WILL get a good quality one. How old is this one, Amy? I'm thinking 2 1/2 or so?

I drooled, seeing these healthy drinks. You're right, a blender it is.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/22261/drinks/juice/juicer-or-blender/slideshow/healthy-juice-recipes-for-a-juicer-or-a-blender/

How are you doing, Rebecca? You feeling okay?

We're both over-easy freaks, so though I like frittatas and quiches and omelettes, usually cave and do OE. We were very naughty tonight; I fixed Eggs Benedict casserole, only with mashed up potatoes on the bottom, then a layer of bacon, cheese, and onions, then nested eggs on top and baked them in the oven, then poured the Hollandaise. Heart attack city! BUT I made a very SMALL casserole and served it with tossed salad. That's what I call compromise!

Feeling good, Nancy. Planning to get up and get started on Christmas baking tomorrow. Stuff I can bake and put back in the freezer, probably. I don't think I'll tackle the turtles until Monday. I had to force myself to stay quiet and rest today, so I was reading seed sites. Hoping I'll get some $$ from Santa, lol.

I don't know about Limestone being under the burn ban, Amy, but I'd think common sense would tell you it's a bad idea right now. Common sense is very uncommon anymore, though.

I'm betting Dawn has been out on fires all day, but they might be getting rain now. I set the rosemary pots out to catch a drink of water overnight. They're pretty much the only thing still alive from the garden.

Would I be stupid to kill off some groundcover grasses so I can have a cutting garden?

Of course not, Rebecca!! LOL. Doubt if anyone here would discourage the idea. . . .

Anyone grown strawflowers here?

It started raining on us about 9. Not a heavy rain. We'll see. The grandson in my FB pics will be 5 in Feb. His parents got a date night tonight, I guess the other grandma watched the baby. I think the grandson had fun today.

Rebecca, I've been asking for potting soil and worm castings. I told my husband I was getting seeds for Christmas. I can get away with it because he bought himself a shotgun for Christmas. I would never have bought that, so we're all good.

I haven't grown many flowers.

Sometimes I think mandatory bed rest would be nice...but only for a couple of days and even then I would be crazy thinking of all the things I should be doing. I'm weird. Rebecca, glad you're able to get up and do some stuff tomorrow. Hope you're healing well.

It sprinkled here for a couple of minutes. lol

Amy, I'm glad you had fun with your grandson today. He probably felt so special to not have to share your time with the baby.

I've never juiced or made smoothies--sometimes I want to, but never ever have done either.

Nancy, your egg casserole sounds so yummy (minus the bacon)!

...and Ethan and I started making gingerbread houses the year we moved here. He was already 13 when we started...I'm sure he does it for me. Although, I think he enjoys it at some level. However, we only buy the ones that are precut.

Our "Christmas" with Tom's family has gone fairly well, other than a couple of things like an argument between a 67 y/o Vietnam vet with a purple heart and a 36 y/o veteran who is now a new officer for the sheriff's dept. How many times should a 'bad" guy be shot--stuff like that. HEY! Please, can we talk about something else! No need to talk about "eliminating" the threat right now.

and some other news...about more things that will change and another tradition is coming to an end. But I don't want to talk about it.

Okay...I dislike the Christmas GMC commercials. People being made to look stupid because they buy Christmas decorations or gifts...instead of getting a "good deal" on a vehicle. I'm never buying a GMC because of those commercials.

Rambling. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Wow, HJ, regarding the commercial! I'm so glad I can't watch regular TV now! Sheesh. I'm with ya on that one. I love your rambling, since I am such a good rambler myself.

And yes. I'd be with ya on the how many times should someone be shot, too! another sheesh.

Yes, the egg/potato casserole was out of this world. We got 4 dozen of those cheap eggs at Aldi, and a 10-lb bag of Russet potatoes (which is a lot of potatoes, for us). So my goal was to either do egg-heavy or potato-heavy meal this evening. . . . I had been planning on eggs Benedict; but could not, in good conscience because I feel guilty about breakfasts for dinner with no veggies. But because we ate a largely meatless meal the past 2 days out of four, thought I'd include SOME "meat" treat but was determined to serve a good salad. Most folks, including me, don't usually equate salads with breakfast for dinner. Then got that idea. Get my benedict, get to use lots of eggs, and a couple potatoes, make it into a casserole and the salad fit in beautifully. I love love love Hollandaise sauce. GDW loved that dish, and said he'd say, "You can fix that ANYTIME," (that's what he always says when he REALLY loves a dinner), except it seemed to him I spent a lot of time. I said it was not much trouble. . . yes I stood and stirred hollandaise for 10 minutes, but "I love hollandaise so much, it is worth it." And, HJ, it would be just as good without the bacon. I did include finely diced onions in the smashed potatoes, butter, and sour cream.

Yes, Amy. . . . 5! I saw a photo on FB at one point that must have been showing him at an earlier age. LOL. Five is perfect for gardening AND decorating Christmas trees. At those ages, the memories with their grandmas and grandpas are firmly etched in their little minds.

I spent the evening reading one of my favorite reading place. Previous posts from OKGW about various topics. You guys are the gift that keeps giving. I note how many folks come and go, and how many that were here, aren't, and I worry and wonder about them.

Amy, I had no idea about the rain tonight until I read your post! lol. Between the heater in the art room and the fireplace blower, the rain isn't discernible unless one knows it's supposed to rain. So I promptly jumped up (about 9:30) and opened the door--medium rain! Wow! Then checked the weather radar map. Depending on how fast this is moving eastward, we could get some good rain. Looking at the map, looks like it was raining here before it hit you. And it's raining a bit heavier now than it was at 9:30. I cannot even believe it.

Of course, had to check out strawflowers, Rebecca. Yes, I knew what they are, but had never considered. Thought. . . well I'm sure those require full sun. . . and checked em out. Uh-huh. I don't know why, but I am so curious about your gardens and yard! I've never seen Dawn's but kinda have an idea. . . usually I form some kinds of idea about others' but still kind of form an idea--yours, I simply cannot envision. You MUST get a fair amount of sun, right? Do you also have heavy or part-shade in areas? If you haven't, I think you should consider making gingerbread houses! LOL By the way, turtles were my all-time favorite chocolate/caramel sweets. I adore turtles. I am so lucky--got dentures, and can't eat my turtles! LOL

The worst, busiest, most exhausting week of 2017 is behind me now and I need to sleep for 3 days and nights before I can read, catch up and comment more or less intelligently, but I'll try to comment on what I can before my eyelids get too heavy. I just popped in to say hi and haven't read everything---just skimmed through quickly.

Amy, It started raining here around 5 p.m. It has been very light rain, but we're up to at least 0.15" now, the first time we've gotten more than 0.10" in one day in over a month. We're hoping to at least get enough moisture to hold down the clay-soil-turned-to-dust layer that sits atop the ground. I spoke with a friend from another part of the county and she described how their clay soil's upper layers had turned into an inch or so of dust and I said "Bingo! Ours too!" and it was so nice to find out we weren't the only ones whose clay is deteriorating. Neither of us ever has seen clay go dusty to this extent. It is weird.

My favorite way to get what I want for Christmas (which always includes almost exclusively gardening supplies) is to buy what I want and then tell Tim "this is what you got me for Christmas". lol. It works every time.

I hope your cat enjoyed her ninth birthday.

Rebecca, Strawflowers grow great here. In fact, every type of everlasting flower I've ever tried has grown well here, and they're super-easy to dry and then use in wreaths, swags and bouquets. I did that a lot in our earlier years here before my pepper and tomato obsession took over all the available space.

More than likely the Shasta daisies will come back, as long as they weren't pulled up by the roots.

We actually were not out on fires. The south winds brought nice moisture flow (in the form of ever heavier clouds) over our county all day and the higher humidity (it only dropped into the upper 20s which is better than 10 or 12 or 15%) helped keep fires at bay. Yay, yay, yay! We went Christmas shopping and bought big Nerf dart guns for our niece's and nephew's boys so they could wage (safely) all-out war in the back yard on Christmas Eve. We were "trying" to be good and not buy anything too messy like paint, slime or play dough, nor anything that plays music or makes a ton of noise, so I hope the guns work. Tomorrow we'll shop for the girls. I was really wishy-washy about shopping for them when I tried to do it today---there's 400 billion girl's toys in all the stores and how anyone can figure out what to get for two sweet little girls is just beyond me. Oh, and we bought all the groceries and supplies (including those for the VFD) that we think we'll need for the next two weeks, just in case snow or ice arrive next weekend. I felt like we accomplished a lot, but then we had to hurry home and get ready for the annual VFD Christmas Party, which is my favorite night of the year. It was great, and now it is over, and I am really, really tired. We all almost never get to be together in the same place at the same time because when we are together, we are rushing around at fires. So, it is a luxury to spend 2 or 3 hours together eating a meal, exchanging gifts, laughing and enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet. Other VFDs covered our calls for us tonight while we were gone to the party in Texas---and we only missed one call, I think, and it was a gas leak after some part of a building collapsed and broke a gas line. I'm not sorry we missed that one.

You would not be stupid to kill off any sort of grass in order to grow plants that contribute more to your little ecosystem there on your place. Kill, kill, kill the grass and plant what brings you joy!

It is not at all surprising that people start fires when they should not. Many people either are clueless or do not care. Know when they begin caring? When they have to pay other people for the damage done when their "controlled burn" escapes control. Don't even let me get started on expressing my opinion about people who burn carelessly and without regard for other folks' property. Texas has much better laws than we do regulating prescribing burning.

Take it easy and don't rush your recovery. Baking is fun and I love doing it too, but other than holiday baking and baking for the firefighters, I don't do it that much any more because grain-free baking that Tim and I can eat is so much harder, and chasing down all the grain substitutes takes up a lot of time and energy.

Amy, Honey has too much energy! It is hilarious that she wore out the other dogs.

Nancy, Pinterest and FB are full of hilarious gingerbread house fails. If I attempted a gingerbread house, I suspect mine would be like those....or, perhaps I'd do a half-decent house and then would come home to find that Pumpkin pushed it off the table or counter onto the floor and the dogs ate it. That's how life goes around here.

Getting a lot of baking done quickly just comes from experience---and I got my experience with almost daily fires for months at a time in 2005 and 2006. I got used to coming home from one fire, taking a shower, throwing the smokey clothes in the washer, and then baking for the next fire. Then I'd clean up the kitchen and (hopefully) go to bed. The next day might be the same routine all over again. I just prefer home-baked goodies for the firefighters when possible. Nowadays we use pre-packaged, snack-size cookies a lot (I've yet to meet a firefighter who won't grab a little package of Nutter Butter cookies when they see them....it is strange that they are so universally adored!) Some years we hardly have any real fires that require cooking, other years that's all we have. Having a Sam's Club fairly close (in Denton, TX) helps because we can grab snacks pretty quickly if we need them, or I can even get Tim to stop by and grab stuff on the way home from work.

Jennifer, It sure seems late for them to have harvested. Maybe I'm just used to earlier harvest dates further south and west? The equipment is so specialized now. When my dad and his siblings were children, their dad hired them out to pick cotton from sunrise to sunset for $1.00 a day, and if they were lucky, he'd give them a nickle or dime from their weekly earnings to spend at the general store in town on Saturday. That sounds cruel, but they were poor sharecroppers and the cash the kids could earn picking cotton helped the family buy things at the store, like salt and 1 pair of shoes per child per year, that they never, ever could have afforded otherwise. When there was no cotton to pick, if they needed anything from the store, my grandmother would barter for it, trading her eggs or cream or butter or whatever for the items she needed. The problem with bartering was that there never was enough food anyway, so bartering away any of it just meant more hunger somewhere down the line. Picking cotton was painful, difficult work and I don't know how anyone could put their kids to work doing it, but times were different in the 1920s and 1930s, and it was such a hard struggle to survive. We are lucky to live in a different era when big machines do so much of the tedious harvesting once done by hand.

Kim, I agree that being snowed into a camper would not be fun, so I am glad to hear you plan to get to Denton before any anticipated winter precipitation arrives.

They GPS-mapped our fire from earlier in the week and said it was only a little over 500 acres. No one who was there thinks it was mapped accurately but, you know what, I am staying out of that discussion. It was just flat bad no matter the size---the smoke plume was visible from 100 miles away. My son had coworkers who live a long way from here contacting him to ask if he was at the big fire, and we were shocked they could see it from their communities where they live. Usually after a fire like that has scared the fool out of everyone in the county, we have a quiet week or two because nobody wants to be the person who starts the next big fire. So, we're hoping for a couple of quiet weeks. We might still have medical calls, motor vehicle accident calls, etc. but if we could get through the holidays without another big wildfire, that would be so awesome.

There's rain in our forecast for next week around mid-week. Have y'all seen that? Then snow in the forecast for the weekend, though I still have a wait-and-see attitude about that.

Here's the 7-day QPF and it shows some great rainfall for some areas over the next 7 days:

7-Day QPF

A majority of our fire chiefs in our county want our burn ban extended when the county commissioners meet next week, and I think the county commissioners want to do what the firefighters want. Now, here's where it gets tricky. Your county needs to meet certain extreme fire danger parameters to pass a ban, and having 0.50" of rain within the next three days negates the extreme fire danger. (It doesn't really negate it, but that's how they wrote the law, so.....) I think our burn ban may be in trouble. All I have to say about that is that we have had pastures catch fire (from downed power lines brought down by sleet) even when we have had sleet and snow on the ground, so I'd rather we keep the burn ban no matter what. I guess we'll find out on Monday. And, with so many people sick with the flu right now and others traveling for the holidays, I wonder who will be home to fight whatever fires occur anyhow?

I told Tim today that everything I did all week long was for someone else--every day all day. That's not surprising---it is what we women do, right? We take care of everyone else. But, I warned him, tomorrow is my day for me. He didn't give me a hard time about it either. He's just so grateful he was able to gift 50 people at work (instead of 200, since I drew a line in the sand and told him not to cross it) with salsa and other goodies from the garden that he would agree to anything right now. My laugh of the day? One of his officers took her gift home and was sitting there eating her bread-and-butter pickles. Her husband, who works for the same PD, came in and said "oooh, pickles" and she told him "mine, all mine". lol lol lol. I don't think he works for/with Tim directly any more so he didn't get his own jars of anything this year. Personally I would have shared the jar of pickles with my husband, but she certainly is free to do whatever she wants. (grin)

I am tired, tired, tired. I'm going to go to bed and I hope to sleep at least 8 hours. So help me, if the pagers go off overnight, I'm going to throw the fire radio across the room in aggravation.

Dawn

SO glad you weren't out fighting fires today, Dawn. Good day for you. Sleep well. Dawn and Amy, that's how GDW and I do Christmas, too. I buy something for me and tell him that's his Christmas present to me. The only thing is, I'm the one who loses, because he hardly ever buys anything for himself. He wanted to fix this 40-yr old chain saw. . . not because we NEED it, but because he was like a detective trying to solve an important case. Well the part he THINKS it might be cost $70--for the antiquated saw, whereas for a newer model, $10.00. Took me three hours to find the part because of course it had been discontinued. So found a part that could take its place, but it was for a different model and not the same part number. AGGGHHHH. And he SO wanted to order it. And I just laughed and said, "Tell ya what." I'll save this link and you can decide. I was SO hoping he'd decided to go for it and then I could tell him, "I'll pay for it. Merry Christmas." He didn't. But when he wanted to take me out to the casino for our anniversary, and I came out ahead, he was deflated, and deflated even more when I shared my earnings with him and told him, "Happy anniversary, Sweetie." So then I ordered two pair of warm footwear and told him thank you for anniversary present. And I bought the Instapot and told him thank you for the Christmas present. But I forgot to charge it to HIS credit card instead of mine, so told him my present to him was that I paid for the IP, not him, so we were even. LOLOL--ain't love grand?!!!

Hi everyone! I finally caught up again. Family came here to visit for a while, so I was busy the last 5 weeks. Whew, I love them but it was definitely harder to accommodate four people instead of two.

My garlic look good so far. They have quite a bit of green growth. It's my first time growing them, so I'm not sure how much I should mulch. FIL gave me some hay that I could use. I couldn't resist getting a Christmas cactus and some succulents from Trader's Joe because I've been wanting some jelly bean succulents (Sedum Rubrotinctum?). I think they look so cute.

It sprinkled on us too when we were out at 101st & Memorial. We were quite shocked to see some rain when we were walking out of HomeGoods.

HJ, I'm glad your Christmas time with Tom's family was alright. It really is an art to host gatherings. It's so interesting to read how y'all prepare your Christmas dinner.

Nancy, Amy, Rebecca, it will be great if we can meet up for lunch soon. Everything you mentioned - Indian, Thai, Native American, Ethiopian, Greek - sound really good! I like Desi Wok too. Usually get the Tikka Masala. We tend to go to buffets when we crave Indian food though because I want a bit of everything.

Rebecca, your Christmas baking sounds really good! I'm not a great baker. I baked some last year, but I'm not sure if everyone finished the ones I gave away, so I don't think I will bake again this year. Haha

Nancy, it must be fun creating gingerbread houses with your BFF. Wish you had photos of them to show us. Haha I'm intrigued. My friends and I are just making gingerbread houses off the premade boxes. I also bought a Rice Krispy Treats holiday house kit to bring over too. I wish we were better and more ambitious bakers & cooks! It would be a lot more fun. I did some research and ended up with the same conclusion as Amy. The general consensus is the best juicers should not produce heat when juicing, and those juicers aren't cheap. I saw a Vitamix at an estate sale earlier this year for $60, and I still regret not buying it! I prefer a blender over a juicer too, since I don't really have the space to have both.

Dawn, thank you for sharing about the firefighting and also the weather. It definitely helps me understand it better since I'm still quite new to Oklahoma and the climate.

Jen (jlhart76), thank you for organizing the seed swap! I'm so excited to research on all of them. Nancy, I think I have some of the same seeds as you too; the red peony poppies and New England asters.

Eileen, would love to trade notes on the seeds each of us received. . . maybe we could help each other out. . . on FB messages, maybe? Loved your meeting up idea for Desi Wok. . .

oh, the gingerbread house was mind-blowing. What a blast it was, and it challenged us. But it engaged the best of both of us. The creativity, the baking know-how, and the what-the-heck, we are having FUN. The houses and constructing them wasn't really as hard as one might think. You just trace out the design of your house through templates. And do the gingerbread. And construct the "glue" (frosting), The challenge comes in when deciding upon the candies to make them beautiful. And the landscape. For someone who says they don't like to bake (me), this wasn't about baking so much, as creating a 3-dimensional work of "art." LOL Whatever, it was fun. I have been thinking about doing it all over again next year.

I piled a bunch more mulch onto my garlic, as they were pushing up a lot. The more they are pushing up, the more mulch I'm throwing on them.

Eileen, I love Christmas cacti and succulents too. They thrive on a lot of benign neglect, so are perfect indoor plants for a gardener who so often gets distracted by the outdoor plants (though not necessarily at this time of the year).

Family visits are wonderful, but can get exhausting. I hope you have time to catch your breath and rest a bit before the holidays.

You can put several inches of mulch over your garlic. It won't hurt it at all. Sometimes the garlic greens may freeze back to the ground or suffer some cold damage, especially if you have a rapid change from mile winter weather to very cold winter weather, and mulch can help prevent that.

Moving here to OK in 1999, I didn't really even think about the weather. I assumed it would be colder here in winter and about the same as our Fort Worth summers 80-90 miles south of here where I lived my whole life before moving here. I was only half right. We do indeed have colder winters, but also hotter summers for the most part, so that took a little bit of adjustment. As for the grass fires, brush fires and wild fires---I freely admit I was clueless about all that when we moved here. I had no idea how common all of them can be in a dry year or how dangerous, so I've learned a great deal about all that. Maybe my first clue should have been those highway signs along some Oklahoma highways that warn "Do Not Drive Into Smoke on Highways". I remember seeing those signs as far back as the late 1970s or early 1980s when traveling through Oklahoma, but I guess it never sank into my thick skull that those signs actually existed for a reason. I understand it all now though.

Nancy, Love is grand and it makes the world go round! I know you and Garry have been married only a relatively short number of years, but to me, y'all feel like an old married couple who are 100% comfortable and happy as if you'd been together 50 years. If you make a gingerbread house next year, I want to hear all about it. I never have enough time in December to do something like that, but I can enjoy reading about your process in making yours.

I've been a little worried about our family gathering for Christmas because Tim and I are making and taking the main dish this year (lasagna!) down to Fort Worth and I was worried we'd get snowed in and couldn't make the drive, which then would mean someone else would have to take on that part of the meal. Now that the snow seems less likely, I'll stop worrying about it. That's on Christmas Eve. Then, on Christmas Day we will have Christmas here at our house. We're having ham this year, which is a switch. Some years when we are at home on Christmas day, we just grill steaks if it is just the 2 of us, but this Christmas might be too cold to grill (or, at least, to want to stand out there and grill).

I have to shop today. Tim's birthday is in a couple of days and I haven't bought him a present yet. It would help if he'd tell me something that he wants, but he never really wants anything. I'll try to drag him around to stores today and get him to tell me something that he likes, needs or wants. I have no idea what it will be. Maybe a new chain for the chain saw---that is a possibility. It doesn't seem like much of a present to me, but it would make him happy----just like potting soil, sterile soil-less mix for seed starting and seeds make me happy. We're a very dull couple apparently as we like really practical gifts.

This is the start of our chickens second week of not being able to free range. Know what? I like it. I don't have to drop what I'm doing and run outdoors umpteen times per day to chase away a hawk loitering in a tree just a few yards above their heads. Putting them up at night is easy---no one wanders off and has to be chased down and herded towards the coop at sunset. Since they're a captive audience in the fenced chicken run, they just surrender and put themselves indoors well before dark so all I have to do is walk out there and close and bolt the door. Undoubtedly the chickens are not happy about being confined to their fenced runs when previously they were able to free range all they wanted. I just don't care. It is nice when the chickens are happy, but even nicer when they are safe. Right now with all the hungry predators here, they are much safer if kept confined.

Yesterday morning I found a huge tear in the bird netting over the chicken run. We fixed it with zip ties. Likely it was caused by a hawk or owl trying to swoop down and get a chicken (no chickens are missing). It is a reminder that in a drought year when food supplies are low and pickings are slim in winter, the hawks are an ever-present danger even when the birds are confined and not readily available to the hawks. Years ago, our first chicken coop had a clear skylight in the roof to help improve the lighting inside the coop in the winter. After an owl crashed through that skylight into the coop, we replaced the skylight with a solid roof. We also put the injured owl in a separate fenced turkey coop/run (we didn't have any turkeys at the time) for about a month to rehab him because he broke his wing and had a bunch of cuts. It is not easy to doctor an injured owl but we did it, and then we set him free once he was able to fly again. Around here, life is a marvelous adventure most of the time--always either a circus or a zoo and rarely dull.

Dawn