MBD a [quick] year in review

 

 

I wanted to write a

review of our year to

document some of the

huge changes in our

lives, but then I thought

no one is going to want

to sit through a slide

show of too many

photos. 

So here instead is a

quick review of our

year in collage form. 

 

                                      January 2012 We move from the farm, to our new house.

                                  And baby it’s cold outside!

 

 

We meet the neighbours. And Boo starts to really settle in.

 

 

We plant a garden with all of my plants from the coast that have lived in pots

for so many years, they flourish beyond my wildest dreams. 

 

 

Through it all, I take photos, hundreds, and thousands of photos.

I wish I had taken even more.

 

 

We rent out the birdhouse to lovely tenants.  Did some sight seeing, and are constantly amazed at how much better locally farmed food tastes.

Support your local farmer, they deserve it.

 

 

Summer slowly fades after a prolonged drought that taxed us all to the limit.

We had no rain for months, and the unrelenting heat took some getting used to.

 

In the depths of winter, I finally learned there was in me a invincible summer.

Albert Canus

And I learned to embrace the beauty of winter, instead of dreading it.

Next year it all starts over again.

Happy New Year to all of my blogging friends, and thanks for being

such a great part of my world.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Warm winter wishes

 

 

Winter’s cold casts a glow amongst our hearts.

 

 

Even though it wears a snowy coat.

 

 

The tree is outside…..allergies, but I couldn’t bear to take everything down yet.

 

And neither could he.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Getting back to blogging

 

 

 

I’m still taking a break, and I think I need to ease back into blogging slowly….lol.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

And have yourself a Merry Little Christmas now…..

 

 

Having some time off from blogging is great, don’t worry I miss you, and I love blogging, but it’s also nice to have some time to spend with family and friends as the snow settles down onto the trees, its’ a real winter wonderland here.

I baked a few dozen cookies, some were a little too brown, and had to be eaten immediately, the other ones will be packaged into gifts. 

This break has been a great time to gain some perspective, enjoy down time, and to catch up.

I needed it, and it feels so good that I am taking more time off.  I highly recommend it.

I can’t wait to come back refreshed, and replenished.

So from me to you and yours, I wish you the very Merriest of Christmas, and a peaceful New Year.

 

See you after Christmas.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Snowed in….back before Christmas

 

 

Everything is piling up, the snow, the errands, the last minute things that need to be done.  So I have decided to take a few days off and get that driveway ploughed, the gifts wrapped, and the cookies made.

I will be back before Christmas to visit everyone… Meanwhile enjoy the snow scene.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Baby it’s cold outside

 

 

We’ve got more snow, and

it’s very pretty, but don’t

expect me to say that in

March. 

Right now it’s bright, and

white.

Fresh and clean.

At least until the snow plows

get to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me, and my freezing toes….

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

A day of silence, and support

 

 

Scenes from a mantle

 

Scenes from my ever changing

mantle, this is today’s look. 

Who knows what tomorrow

holds. There have been icicle

lights, and snowflake lights, but

I didn’t like all of the white wires

so they are gone.

Still haven’t painted

out the bricks, I am holding

off until we paint the living

room, and the built in

besides the fireplace. 

One day maybe, it’s on my list.

 

 

We might have a small problem with the newly put up Christmas tree, seems it was either thirsty, or we have sprung a leak. 

 

 

There was a awful lot of water in the reservoir yesterday, and today it was completely dry.  Hmmmm, might mean a problem.  Especially since neither of us is willing to dismantle the entire tree, lights, and ornaments just to find out if it is leaking, or just thirsty.

 

 

We might just leave it up to Bootsie to try and do the job himself, while I was on the phone yesterday he was animatedly batting at a glass ball hung to low on the tree.  Standing on his hind legs, and using both paws to bat away at it.  This is from a cat who won’t stir for anything less then dinner. There might be trouble in Christmas with a capital “B” which rhymes with  “C.” 

(=^..^=)  Who me?

 

 

Some of you asked yesterday about the reason why we couldn’t have a live, or cut tree in the condo.  It’s because we were a wood frame building, and it’s a fire hazard.  The local fire department also outlawed having BBQ’s on the decks.

Of course if you are a slightly forgetful elderly man, with penchant for lighting candles in plastic holders and forgetting about them burning all night, until the smoke billows out into the hallway and nearly kills you, that’s perfectly fine.  Or if you are another elderly man who decides to put plastic shower curtains all around your stove to keep the cooking smells from the rest of the apartment, that’s perfectly fine, even after they catch on fire, and the toxic smoke makes you pass out, and your neighbours save your life. That’s fine….just don’t have a cut Christmas tree, those are hazardous.

Seriously, why do you think we moved?

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

 

Oh Christmas tree!

 

Our tree is up, although I have

my doubts as too how long it

will stay standing, since the

Boo is fascinated by the

scents and smells coming

from it. 

He decided to give it a sniff

and then tried to climb into

the top of the tree from

the couch. Good thing he

was sleepy and gave up

quickly.

 It’s our first tree, in our first house, and although it’s not a huge tree, it’s ginormous in our hearts.

  

No more sneaking in the cut tree through the ground floor patio door, in the dark and the rain. When we lived in the condo we were only allowed to have artificial trees, [fake baby, fake], and as much as I am not a rule breaker, I needed a real Christmas tree in my life.

So we would shut the sheers and hope that no one walking by noticed the aroma of fresh cut greens coming from our hallway door. 

 

 After the holidays out came the tarps, and the pruning saws, as we chopped branches into little pieces and stuffed them into black plastic bags. 

You have not celebrated Christmas until you stuff your normally 6 foot tree into a 10 black plastic bags and haul it out bit by bit to the dumpster.  Crossing your fingers so that no dumpster diver decides to see what that lumpy black bag might hold and break it open. 

 

 That’s if there was room in the dumpster, there were years we had to portion out the bags over a few weeks because the dumpster was too full.  I would know that we had hit the mother lode of a empty dumpster when my husband ran into the condo, whooping with joy, “get the bags” he would say….

 

 Oh Christmas tree, we love you even more now because we can take you to the curb.

 Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

A DAY OF BLOGGING SILENCE:

On Tuesday December 18th please consider posting only the graphic provided through this link in silence and support for Sandy Hook, bloggers all over the world will be silent that day, please spread the word among your blogging friends so they can participate also if they wish. 

If you would like to donate to the The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services, you can follow this link to their site, all money donated will go directly to those affected by the Sandy Hook  elementary school shooting. 

Snow, the road, and the lucky dog

 

Yesterday morning I went out

on some of my favourite roads

to practice driving in the snow

and I just happened to have

my camera, and my wits with

me.  It’s a good thing I was

concentrating on the road

because you could say there

is one lucky dog out there

today.  I was driving down

the back country roads

admiring the way the snow

was piling up on the trees, and I passed by a couple of people walking down the middle of the road.  I wasn’t going fast, but I slowed down even more as I edged past them, because they didn’t bother to move over…it’s a country road, you’re out walking, why move over for a approaching vehicle?  Sigh.

 

 

Just past them were two border collies from a nearby farm that crossed the road ahead of me, I slowed down even more. I admired the way their black and white fur looked so stark against the snow, matching the dark, and bare tree branches.

One of the dogs started to run along besides the truck, I am always worried when farm dogs do that, some have very little sense of the danger that vehicles can cause them.

 

 

Suddenly the dog cut right across in front of my truck,  I slammed the brakes on.

There was a crunching sound….. [My husband told me later that it was the ABS brake system locking up.]  I slid slightly, and came to a stop.

My heart was pounding, and I looked in the rear view mirror, there was the couple still standing in the middle of the road now staring back at me and the dogs, they looked horrified.

 

 

But there on the driver’s side of the truck, safe and sound, was the untrained farm dog that just barely made it past my wheels because I had slowed down due to the cautious little voice in my head that said watch out.

 

 

It’s good to move over when a vehicle approaches you, it’s good to train your dogs to not run alongside of vehicles, and it’s good to slow down when you see someone else on road. 

One lucky dog.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

And a snowy good time to all

 

 

And there is lots more of it to come….

 

 

It’s snowing up here like the dickens, or is that the chickens? [That’s a chicken farm, where

they raise chicks.

 

 

Not sure how much is coming but it’s a lot of snow.

 

 

I think it’s going to stay, finally…hellloooooo winter.

 

 

Goodbye dry roads.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Feather wreaths, and eagles

 

I was in the dollar store and

they called to me…pick us up.

Take us home, and make

something Christmassy and fun

with us.  Determined not to be

sucked in, I walked away, left

them there on the shelf, “no, I

am not buying you, I  have no

need for turquoise feathers.”

Oh who am I kidding….of course

I went back and grabbed them

after all Bootsie loves feathers

he might find a use for them.

 

 

So there they sat for a few weeks, silently mocking me after the Boo took one sniff and refused to go near them again.  I decided that our tree needs some feather wreaths, turquoise feather wreaths to be exact.

 

Simple to make, I cut a circle out of heavy card stock, and put some glue on it, then started to glue the feathers on in a circular pattern. 

Lots of glued to my fingers later….the finished product has a few sparkles, and shiny turquoise sequins on it, and a white bow.  Perfect for my tree, or as a tag on a cute package.

I wanted to tell you what happened to me yesterday…I was out walking as the sun went down, and thought I saw a seagull flying towards me, the wings spread and slowly flapping.  I was thinking I should watch out, they tend to splatter…so I looked up as it flew directly overhead. It was a full grown eagle,right over my head…and behind it, a juvenile…and then another eagle.

Breathtaking and wondrous are the words that I would use to describe seeing these majestic birds in my backyard, I’m in awe.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Candlelit catastrophes

 

I’ve a long history with candlelit

catastrophes in my life, starting

with the Styrofoam Christmas

centerpiece I made in Girl Guides.

I was so proud to have made

something festive, that when I

lit the candle to show my Dad

it toppled over while burning.

The Styrofoam caught fire, that

stuff burns like nothing else, and

the entire molten mess poured

itself onto the coffee table. I have

a vivid memory of it burning, and

you think I would have learned my lesson then. Not at all, not me.

 

 

There was the time I mixed some scraps from a left over soy candle into a smaller container and left the room only to come back and see flames that were over 18 inches high shooting towards the ceiling.

 

 

The elderly neighbour who left a candle burning in a plastic holder, making thick black smoke pour into the hallway, and slowly asphyxiating him all night, he could have burnt down our building, or died.

The burning candelabra that I knocked into my Dad’s suit at our wedding, not once but twice. And frankly just too many more incidences that rather worried me enough to swear off candles forever.

 

 

I’ve had more then my share of near misses, last minute ditches, and saved by the bell moments with candles, and for years I used the cheap plastic battery operated tea lights instead of candles.

That is until I discovered wax flameless candles with timers, they are so lifelike, flicker, and turn themselves on, and off, and there is no danger or burning down the house. I have them all over, they are not cheap, but if you purchase them at a big box, or on sale you can add to your collection quite easily.

 

 

My candlelit catastrophes are quenched with these simple to use battery operated beauties, and I don’t need to remember to turn them on and off, they do that themselves…no more crying over spilt wax, no more flaming worries.

We hear about so many house fires caused by unattended candles at this time of year, it might be worth considering switching, and it would be worth the peace of mind.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams