I love doing chores in the morning!

The alarms start to ring at 5:00 a.m. and continue at 8 minute intervals until one of us begrudgingly arises and starts the morning routine. Win and Remi pace restlessly around the bed from the moment they sense the first stir until the big race out into the dog world where fresh mornings smells greet them.


Slowly the house wakes up. Dakota’s cage gets uncovered and he makes his morning peeps, Cheyenne stretches and yawns with Jason, and someone makes the coffee…usually me.


It ebbs and wanes but the morning noise level is always a bit surprising. The TV blaring, the shower running, hairdryer, microwave, coffee perking, bird squawking, dogs barking and stomping around…It’s feels deafening!


And when it’s all done and we’re headed out the door there is one moment in my day that brings me absolute joy-

Morning Chores!

It’s an incredibly quiet task, if I choose it to be, and everyone is happy to see me! I call out to Skipper and Cinders and they respond in kind. The goats bleat just a little bit as they are still sleepy too. Howly Berry meets me in the driveway and walks with me down to the barn so I can feed the horses and break their ice. Sometimes I see deer bedded down or grazing on the sky line which is tinted pink from the impending sunrise.

What a lovely, calm, quiet way to start my mornings.

I am reminded that I AM LUCKY.

Sisters

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.

~Barbara Alpert

Grandma's Apron

The strings were tied, It was freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.

For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.

The simple apron that it was, you would never think about

the things she used it for that made it look worn out.

~excerpt from Grandma's Apron by Tina Trivett

Aprons may just be my MOST FAVORITE THING! For as long as I can remember I've been infatuated with them. Wearing, collecting and displaying, even creating aprons for my friends and family brings me joy.

Here's Karen wearing one of my creations, given to her by my sister, Lindsay, for Christmas

My most cherished aprons hang in my dining room.

This Christmas has already bestowed two new additions- the Turkey Brand Flour apron made out of a flour sack from Lehi Roller Mills in Utah and a reversible french country style apron. I wonder just how many I have these days?!?

There are even blogs named after and dedicated to the Apron, it's not just me.

Check out these great blogs for warm, happy apron feelings!

Apronista ~A site dedicated to aprons

Farm House Accesories ~This gal makes some ADORABLE aprons

Apron Strings and other Happy Things ~My apron loving twin

Magnificent Magnabilities!

Today's favorite thing: The Magnificent Magnabilities necklace!

MADE IN WASHINGTON (NOT IN CHINA) by the very talented artist Susan Fashel, these little gems don't hurt the pocket book or the eyes! A customer of mine came in sporting a Christmas insert that was JUST ADORABLE! She told me "Whenever you need a little pick me up, you run down and buy a new insert for a few sheckles and make your day a little brighter!"

Find them at Wild Ivy @ 275 Southeast Bishop Boulevard Pullman, WA (509) 332-1403

OR view all the nifty designs online by clicking the links above or below. Make sure you enter the code below for a FREE insert with your online order!

Did you catch that? FREE!

Here's my new necklace!

The round part has a magnetic back. IT JUST STICKS!

The other insert I got...SUPRISE SUPRISE... horseshoes!

CHECK IT! Here is a code for a free insert on MAGNABILITIES website-

Free Design Insert on your next online order of $10.00 or more: enter code: design350 at checkout. For online use only!

These are....

This week's theme shall be **drum roll please**

...A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS... Here's one now!

Today's favorite thing comes from my country kitchen! It's an old wooden Pepsi crate that I mounted picture hanging hardware to, hung from the kitchen wall, and use to store all my spices and bullion cubes. OK, (because I know Angela and Lindsay will read this) not ALL my spices, just the most used. I have a thing for spices, what can I say!

**********

Christmas is upon us. Our family has already celebrated as a whole, complete with screaming stomping elephant footed herds of children,
food, food, and more food,

*Xander munching some John Deere pop corn and packing TWO drinks around*

presents of course,

*Cody and Zacky unwrap gifts*

and tons of family to share the warm and fuzzy feelings.

It's so important to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

~Skipper, ME, and Marley~

~Milly and I~

When you can get not one, not two, BUT three horses to tolerate Santa hats and picture snapping CALL ME! We'll discuss technique ;) I got the ponies all dolled up a few winters ago and had Angela (see "I want a pretty apron" post) snap a few shots. Turned out pretty cute, if I do say so.

Road Trippin

This is James, my Mom's new '10 Tundra Crew Max

She flew in from Southern Utah to buy him from James Toyota in Pullman, WA. They were excellent to work with, getting exactly what she wanted!

Mom and Grandpa at the Pendleton Woolen Mills in Pendleton Oregon.

We went on a tour of the Woolen Mill and stopped in at Hamley's Saddle Shop (we all know who wanted to go there, right?) and had a great dinner at Hamely's Steak House too!

On our way through Southern Idaho we stopped at Hagerman to see the Hagerman Horse fossil. "They" believe he's more Zebra than horse but he does have one hoof instead of two or three toes. Pretty neat!

Between Hagerman and Twin Falls there's a stretch called 1000 Springs. Fish farms, alligator farms and Bird and Wildlife Refuges are EVERYWHERE. We stopped at the state fish farm to check out the Show Pond. There were Yellow and Rainbow Trout, Tiger Muskee and GIANT STURGEON! My first time ever seeing one of these dinasours! Mom claims they taste really yummy at the Snake River Grill in Hagerman but I'd prefer to watch them swim about.

After leaving Twin Falls we encountered the beginning of some intense winter driving, a true test for James. We made it to Tremonton Utah for the night. THE ENTIRE NEXT MORNING was filled with snow and dense clouds like this one. PRETTY but intense.

And finally, the open road home! Storm clouds were looming but the drive was pretty great.

Do Not Eat The Kitty!

This is Dana. I know the picture is blurry but I had to REALLY crop it to get just Dana trying to eat the kitty he's holding. While trying to get family pictures SOMEBODY kept being silly!

Cherished

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill, is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run, when their time on the earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next, is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play, till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness, for here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed, their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care, until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back, then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met; together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past, the time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart, has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever, and then, side by side, they cross over… together.

Duke,

You will always be in my heart. You were my dog baby, full of smiles and happy tail wags. I will desperately miss snuggling with you. How did you always know when I needed you?

I can only imagine the reunion between you and Cody girl and it makes me smile to think of you together again!

Marley,
You came to us only a handful of years ago, but it felt like we were together a lifetime . You were incredibly sweet and gentle. I will truly miss spending time with you. I know you are now in a happier place, free from pain and limitations.

Fantastically Productive

Friday Night (till 2:00 a.m.): Baked cake layers, sewed two lovies, cut out half the custom birthday invites

Saturday: Decorated cake, spent the day with family in Deer Park at baby shower

Sunday: Did inside chores and spent all afternoon cleaning up wind blown branches and fixing the goat pen. Those little buggars will not be eating up my lavenders anymore!

~

Ok, it doesn't sound like much but I FELT incredibly busy!

~

Here's Andrea's baby shower cake, pretty cute huh!

Someone should be more Thankful!

Skipper APPARENTLY needs a gentle reminder to be THANKFUL for having such a gorgeous stablemate!  Sticking out one's tongue at the pretty new girl in school is soooooo 1st grade!

Do not adjust the dial!

Indeed my taters are purple! These Purple Peruvian Potatoes look and taste FANTASTIC! One of Jason's farmers grew the little lovelies and brought some to share. The skins look similar to red taters, lots of eyes and kind of shiney. Pretty, tasty, functional foods- got to love it!

Craft room update

Thanks to this one girlie I know, my FANTASTIC sister Lindsay, we finally got the craft room painted. TRIM AND ALL! It's not decorated yet so stay tuned for more pictures :)

The Sewing Corner

The Scrapbook Table

A touch of color

I got SPECIAL permission to share this with you!

I just love the little touches of color in this shot.

Howly Berry (the kitty) provided a fun little break from posing. Seems she really wanted to be in the family shots!

Flodin Family Portrait SNEAK PEEK

The Cranky Flodins

Andrew, Xander, Cody & Lindsay

Thought you were getting a chance to snatch the family portrait, didn't you?

Haha, I've foiled yer EVIL plans again. 

I just wanted to share some of these silly shots with you all, maybe get some holiday cheer flowing. Figured maybe my readers missed me???? Not that I'm fishing! :)

Poppy, revisited

None can have a healthy love for flowers unless he loves the wild ones. ~Forbes Watson

Large weekend, LARGER week

Bustle and STRESS! That's the common theme at work currently! Blog posts take a back seat when Momma is busy, sorry devoted readers. I'm sure you understand.

~To placate you, my pretties, enjoy a few shots of my favorite things from this weekend~

Ah, my nephews, lights of my life! Not pictured- Addison, ray of sunshine! For Halloween Addison was Snow White, Cody was the ghost from Scream, and Xander was B I Joe!

Ronald *hearts* Chicken. Need I say more?

I FINALLY got some paint on the walls of my craft room! FINALLY! It's not completed by any means but I've got a few days to finish before the hubby comes home. There's your sneak peek!

What are you wearing for Halloween??

Red Spider earrings from Claires,

Day of the Dead Skulls hand crafted by Illustrated Ink,

and BLACK sparkly nail polish!

Black finger nails are very distracting when I'm trying to type....I feel as thought I need to type delicately and with care. Oh, I know it's not much of a costume but it IS slightly festive, no?

Puppy Spotlight!

Full Name: Cheyenne

Nickname(s): CheyChey, The Little Baby, Ninnance, Missy, Cheyenne Lavoe, Cheyenner Bananer

Most Interesting Feature: Cheyenne has one ear that folds over perfectly while the other always points to the left. We tried and tried to train it to fold over TO NO AVAIL. She'll always have a special ear, just like Nemo and his special fin.

Likes: Daddy, playing with tennis balls, rope toys, and SOCKS, chore time, high pursuit of cats, snuggling in the blankets, and surfing with her head out the car window.

Dislikes: Strange men entering her house wearing work boots, being left in the house when her parents are outside and cats who refuse to run.

Funny Story: When we first moved to the farm, Cheyenne took off in the night to chase one of the cats. Shortly after she disapperaed we heard a giant THUD and she came racing back to us crying at the top of her puppy lungs. We thought perhaps the cat had scratched her. I picked her up to comfort her and caught a big wiff of creosote... turns out Cheyenne had run head on into a telephone pole! To this day she's very cautious when running full speed in the dark!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that. ~W. Dayton Wedgefarth

A man may smile and bid you hail
Yet wish you to the devil;
But when a good dog wags his tail,
You know he's on the level.
Author Unknown

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself. ~Josh Billings

You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

I've got Sunshine!

Meet our new mare- Likea Diamond Peppy "Cinders". Jason spent many long rainy hours traversing the state Friday/Saturday to retrieve her from the west side. MEGA Thanks to Suz and Dave for loving her for a few weeks! She's a wonderfully sweet girl and I'm so very excited to build a horse/horsewoman relationship with her!

It's a vicious circle

That, my friends, is a treat bucket FULL of Twinkies and Zingers. Thank you Hostess for creating them, thank you boss for bringing them...SOMEONE COME EAT THESE GUYS QUICK! I just know the customers are thinking "OMG, why does this office girl have a giant bowl of TWINKIES on her desk? And putting a liter of water next to this display of sugary indulgence doesn't make it look any better!"

Puppy Spotlight!

Full Name: Winchester

Nickname(s): Win, Winchestertonfieldville Iowa, Winnie Winnerton, Winnie One Eye, Win Tin Tin

Most interesting feature: Win has only one eye. He was born with two but the left eye had some kind of trauma or damage and was swelling and causing Win tremendous pain. We took him to his favorite Veterinarian for a check up and to get "tutored" and they highly recommended removing his eye. They assured Win that he would no longer be in pain and that his vision wouldn't change as he was only seeing out of the right one.

Likes: Running and rough housing with his brother Remi, rolling in freshly used towels from Mom and Dad's showers, snoozing on his back with all four feet in the air, rope toys, plastic buckets to bark in, cookies and anything Mom might be eating.

Dislikes: Showing anyone his bubba teeth.

Recent Funny Story: Last night Mom was laying on the bed with her hair hanging over the end and Win was walking back and forth through it, snuffling and playing. He threw himself on the ground under Mom's hair and put his paws up to bat at it like a cat. SUDDENLY he grabbed a giant mouth full and TUGGED! Mom let out a OUCH! and he let go. What a trickster!

Giant Leap of Faith: Win, having vision in only one eye, was deathly afraid of the staircase at home. He would stand with his front feet on the bottom stair and **bark bark bark** for his brothers, sister, and Momma to come down. Mom tried and tried to get him to climb the staircase to no avail. One day, not long after his pirate surgery, Win was feeling especially brave (Mom may have taken some particularly delectable treats half way up the stairs). He slowly climbed each stair as if it could give way at any moment, step by step, to the very top! From that moment on he's been able to run up and down the stairs with no concerns! Fear CONQUERED!

Oh, ALRIGHT! One more post today!

Only because I found this set of pics again and had a good chuckle.

~~~

THE Adventures of Farmer Xander and Curly Joe Chicken

There once was a farmer boy named Xander who was known to be the best chicken holder in the entire Inland Northwest. You see, he just LOVED chickens, especially Curly Joe. Curly Joe was special- for he was curly feathered unlike the other chickens who were simply strait feathered. He was a big curly rooster of a chicken. Because of Joe's quirky curly feathers, farmerette Aunt Wraylee handled Curly Joe often over the short course of his life. She thought herself pretty special to have a curly chicken and even more special to have one Grade A chicken holding nephew. She could not, nor would she, deny the farmer boy his chicken holding time......

...regardless of how frequently he let go of Curly Joe!

Confession

Hi. My name is Wraylee. I'm an unfaithful blogger.

There! I said it!

As you, my ever so faithful blog readers, may have noticed (and delicately pointed out, ahem), there has been a SEVERE shortage of new posts from me. How could this be? Hmmm, could it be due to the change in day light hours? No super cute pics get taken when I can hardly see. Could it be due, in part, to the ever increasing amount of tasks on my daily to do list? Hahahaha, to do list! As if I have time to write it down!

To be honest, I haven't posted lately because I've been busy, swamped, OVER whelmed in fact!

Don't be concerned for long, dearest readers. I plan a full scale decorating and painting assault on our casa while the dear hubby is out in the woods for two weeks. Fortunately,and thanks to modern technology, I can turn the lights on and take pics to share with you!

STAY TUNED!

Craft Collaboration Completed

Sister and I finally found a day to gather and craft!

We had been picking up bits and pieces of supplies for weeks,
the excitement was mounting.

Check it out- JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!

__________________________

~Sister's Effort~~My Effort~

________________________

We used the Cricut to cut out EEK! (black paper for the main letter, glitter paper for the shadow). Halloween paper and ribbon mounted on chipboard letters (found at Paper Pals) made a super cute BOO. We used a paint marker to drawn spider webs on the mirrors. The Scaredy Cats came from Shopko and my skeleton keys came from Real Deals in Spokane- they just happen to go with the Halloween theme perfectly!

Twas a fantastic day!

OH YA!

BRING IT ON! This boy is ready to go! He's got his helmut, gloves, and tall rubber boots (which you catch just a glimpse of at the bottom of the photo). I'm suprised he can even move! Yet, he's the picture of fun in this get-up! ALL BOY!