Doughnuts and Darlings

I am at Lorene's this morning.  I just picked Christian up from Pre-K and fired up the computer to finish the blog post I started yesterday.  It's gone.  All the writing, all the pictures, I will have to start over.  

We had two weekend snow storms that made a sandwich out of this week.  The first one resulted in a late start for the school kids as well as Lorene so I was able to go to Pleasanton in the daylight for a change.  The second one for which we were wound up to fever-pitch with expectation was rather a bust for us.  After hearing the blizzard would start in the early Sunday morning, then 10:00, then 3:00, then 6:00, then midnight, we went to bed with no snow on the ground but everything shut down on Monday in readiness.  I was looking forward to a day off, but also mentally preparing myself for a if-this-snow-doesn't-come-I better-be-ready-to-go attitude.  

We woke at 6 o'clock a.m. to a raging blizzard.  We couldn't see the lights of town.  We could hardly see the neighbors.  The blizzard was over by noon, resulting in 3 or 4 inches of snow.  

Lorene got double that and my folks got 12".  I worked my tail off that day with laundry and office work and catch-up housekeeping.  I planned meals and made doughnuts.   We had some special visitors for the week so I needed to be on top of the food around here.  

After the first snow we went to the eagle viewing station near Lexington.  With Jim's binoculars we saw 10 bald eagles and some ducks.  

This is as good as I can do with out a telephoto lens.

Bufflehead Duck

In the evening we had Nathan, Lily and Paislee over for supper.  Paislee is nearly 18 months and she's not a baby anymore.  She runs and climbs and investigates everything!  

Cheese!

We had hamburgers, with store bought buns.  I tried to make buns the day before but the yeast must have been bad because the dough didn't rise, or at least not enough to make decent buns.  I was in a hurry and tried to bake them.  I shouldn't have bothered. I put some of the unbaked dough back in the bread machine with more yeast.  It rose, and I forgot about it and left it out all night, so that was a wasted effort.  Too much rising is about as bad as not enough. 

It was nice to see some days this week about freezing.  It did make for a bunch of sloppiness underfoot, but also encouraged the boys to play outside in the snow.  They wanted to build forts and tunnels, but there wasn't quite that much, but there was plenty to dig and throw and sled on.  

Zane is working on a tunnel.

He wanted to be pulled out of his tunnel.  I don't know if it was harder after he turned onto his back, or if he just wanted a pull out.

So Barry had a try, but I had to help him. 

I love to see these boys working with and for each other. 

There is a slope on the property next to them so they spend considerable time out there with there sleds and the neighbors as well. 

Sledding at The Farm

 I had big ideas of doing a better job with blogging on a more regular schedule, but that isn't working yet.  I'll admit I've been extra busy since the first of the year.

I started working for Lorene on the 8th.  Perhaps it isn't really 'working', but I'm gone all day from home looking after her boys while she finishes up her schooling for her Occupation Therapy Assistant degree.  She is doing 'field work', which is like an internship with no pay so I volunteered to look after her kiddos this semester.  It means long days away from home all day since I leave at 6:10 and I get home about 5:15 to 5:30.  I know many others keep this same schedule with small children, but I never have and I am not young with small children anymore, anyway.  

Lorene is gone before they get up, so I oversee breakfast and at this time of year the putting on of coats, boots, hats and gloves and do a quick check so that all the backpacks come with us. 

Then I get Christian at 11 and we go back the get the others at 3:30.  Then we have snack and play games or just hang around until Dad gets home and I'm on my way to cook supper that has already been planned, Jim does the dished and I crash after I put all my ducks in a row for the next day.  

I'm doing fine since I ditched the martyr attitude, and the kids have been fine, too, we haven't been late to school once.  

I take my bookkeeping stuff for our business along some of the days, and other things that I can do while there.  Most of the days so far, I've enjoyed knitting it the three hours Christian is at school.  If there is work that is better done without interruptions I do that while he's gone.  

I've been sending our yearly letter out.  I do a couple a day. Christian likes to sit next to me and 'make envelopes', too.  

January has been cold and snowy so far, and Lynette had the idea to go sledding at The Farm one day, so we did.  We were all wrapped up and brought cookies and hot cocoa and we all had a good time.  I went down, once, and tumbled off my sled in the going.  

Going down is always lots of fun and the climb back up, not so much.  It was too steep to take the 4-wheeler up, so people had to haul their own sleds up or in the case of a 6 or 4 year old, someone might haul you up. 

 Taken from the bottom of the hill.

Taking videos.  There is no reception out there so no electronic playing.

This is Our Farm.  We have fun there.