Friday Follies

Alright already. I simply can't leave this YouTube video floating in cyberspace without sharing it with you. (Heh-heh, I'll even share with the folks in Montana cuz I KNOW you're out there. Really I do.)

Many of you, heck, lots of you, are suffering through a cold, nasty winter. Temperature records have been broken, snow and freezing rain have piled up at your doorstep. And it's only January for goodness sake.

So this is my teensy gift to you for today --- Friday Follies. Sit back, slather on some coconut-scented tanning oil, adjust your Ray-Bans and mix up some Hungry Rancher Woman Margaritas. Wiggle your lily-white toes in their favorite flip flops, cue your computer, click on the link below and turn up the volume (if the boss isn't nearby). Ahhh, that's better isn't it?

I've never seen two little guys have so much fun...little four-legged guys that is!

Friday Follies

Happy (brief) Summer! 'Specially to 2Grandmas2 for sharing this video with me. I can make it through the weekend now.

Montana --- Where Are You?

My blog is still in her infancy. She just turned 100 posts old yesterday (in 'people years' that would be 9 months.) During that time I've had the pleasure of meeting many of you, readers now, who've become friends from afar.

You've come from all over the United States (howdy Linda, Penni, Breathe, Joni, Spruce Hill, April, Nancy and my hero - Starla!). Central and South America (hi Sonia!), the United Kingdom (hey Sara!). G'day to my friends in Oz and New Zealand. Amazingly, I had a ship off the coast of Nigeria reading for awhile --- welcome!

But, where oh where is MONTANA?



C'mon guys and gals. Montana? For goodness sake, you're right next door to me. (My apologies to Idaho, I know your Panhandle is there but it's hardly more than a speedbump to those Montana folks, right?)

I'd love to hear from you, people of the "Last Best Place"! Warm up those laptops, drop me a line, add a comment to my blog and let ME know YOU know I'm here.

I miss you, your huge state-ly-ness and your wide open spaces. Give it a go, git 'er done!

See you soon...

I think she forgot about us...

YO! Biscuit here.



Even though this is Mom's 100th blog post (yah, whoopee, huh?) I do have to admit, she's left out some extremely important things in the first ninety-nine posts.

Uhhhh...hello? Like us!

This fluffy dude (I know, too pretty for a guy, huh?) is Bailey, my side kick. Check out the blue eyes, will ya?



Anyway, we thought while Mom is trying to figure out her new Christmas Nikon, we'd better elbow our way into a blog or two.

We'll hang out here in the super gnarly cat tree and let you know what's happening in OUR world once in awhile. It'll be way more entertaining than the other cat litter Mom posts about.



You can count on it!

Eye Candy

I've never seen anything quite as gorgeous as a really fit horse.

Admiring public, meet "Doozyburg", a filly I owned a couple years ago.



This was the first day of her racing career.

"Doozy", as the name implies, was a piece of work. A horse with attitude to the hilt. The queen of the shed row, the diva of the saddling paddock.

She doesn't even know you and look --- here she's batting her eyelashes and asking, "What 'er YOU lookin' at?"



We were thrilled Vicky (Aragon) Baze had come out of retirement and had selected "Doozy" as one of the first horses to ride at Emerald Downs. She wanted to be first up on her in case we had a winner.



Red Number 1 was "Doozy's" saddle cloth which put her on the rail. She liked the 'up front and personal' aspect of racing and we hoped the Number 1 would be an omen.

The days before the race had been horribly rainy, the track was a tendon-sucking monster. She'd galloped well during workouts on a muddy track so we didn't pull her from the race...just did up her tail in a special 'do for sloppy conditions.



She ran well but ran 4th...(sigh)



I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Churchill. He said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."

"Doozy" was good for me, even as the mud slathered filly who thought she was the princess of the horse racing world.

The princess who was sold later that summer --- and won her first race --- for the new owner.

Draw the Dog!!!

I start my mornings with the basics: one part tall Starbucks mug of Sam's Club cappuccino, three parts nuzzles and nickers from hungry miniature horses and one heaping dollop of a "good morning" hee-haw from Pistol Pete.

When my laptop blinks on I head straight to my favorite drawing-dogs-cartoon-site. You say, "What?"

This morning I just have to share! Titled (aptly) "Obedience" ---



(With permission from Bruce of "Draw the Dog")

Jim George and Bruce Kasanoff are the brains and the talent (not necessarily in that order) behind "Draw the Dog". Jim's the animator and creates "Draw the Dog" from stories and ideas sent to him by his adoring viewers. Bruce, by his own admittance, can't draw a lick so he's in charge of everything else on the website.

The amazing thing about "Draw the Dog" is --- the drawing part happens up front and personal. When you click on the website the day's cartoon evolves as you watch. It's way cool, far out and totally gnarly (dude).

The next coolest thing about "Draw the Dog" is (drum roll please...) YOU can have it every morning just like me. (Being cool like me should be enough but today I'll admit there IS more to life!) Just click on Draw the Dog and look in the right hand column. Click on "click here" and you'll get fresh dogs doing silly stuff on your computer daily.

Hey, who needs a bagel anyway?

Sweeeeeeeet!!!

On becoming a rug...

This summer I was fortunate to meet, in person, a gal I know will be a great friend and neighbor when we retire to New Mexico...Linda Carson of the 7MSN Ranch. Linda has a gorgeous ranch and a lovely home. In her living room, on the floor, lies a beautiful hair-on cowhide. It's so western. It's so country. When I saw it I "ooohed and ahhhed", tried desperately not to drool on it and asked all about it.

I'm still here in Washington, waiting for retirement and our move to the Southwest to our ranch in Corona, New Mexico. I think about Linda's cowhide often (and try not to covet it) and spread the word about "real rugs". Last week I got an email from my good friend Dorothy. Besides raising champion miniature horses, she raises sheep. In the email she mentioned they'd butchered three sheep. She asked if I would like the pelts...for rugs. Would I? You bet!

This weekend we picked up the pelts and saw some of the hard work Ron and Dorothy had done to get the pelts ready to be shipped to the tanner. It's a step by step process starting with a sheep (grin...)



Meet "Spot" (the big 'un), "Apricot" (uh, the apricot-colored one) and "Jazz" (the little gray one). They are my new rug-collection-to-be.

(Not for the faint of heart...) And, here they are, hanging in the barn.

After the flesh and fat are scraped from the hide, salt is applied frequently to dry the hide for tidier transport.



Dorothy dusts the hides with pickling salt to dry them more before packaging.



It's important to rub the salt all the way to the edges of the hide so it'll dry more evenly on it's way to the tanner.



The guys bag up "Spot" and friends and get them ready to head east to Quakerstown, Pennsylvania and Bucks County Fur Products.



Expected processing time: 2-3 months.

Shipping the pelts to Pennsylvania: $50.

Approximate cost of tanning, the machine-washable kind: $120-150.

Delight to our bare-naked toes someday in New Mexico: priceless!