Watchin' The Rain

What could be better than listening to a hard rain, drinking a cup of Lady Grey tea, reading a good book, and having a sweet kitty on my lap?

Result!

It's exam results day in Scotland. 160,000 students receive their Advanced Highers, Highers, Intermediate, Standard Grade and Access results in the post today. These are the major school exams, used among other things for university entry.
Some 30,000 received their results by text yesterday, in error. The results are meant to come out on the same day by text, email and post, but those who had signed up to the text service were surprised to find a message with their results beeping on their phones yesterday afternoon. Cue much media sound and fury, even though the results themselves were accurate and no applicants were disadvanted in their university application by the phased release, because the universities already had all the results.
Among the early batch was my daughter, who received her Highers results. Below is a close-up of her certificate which arrived today. The Highers she sat this year are the first five in the list, and there then follow last year's results for the remaining eight grades.

Needless to say she's delighted, and so are we. Next up for her last year at school, Advanced Highers in History, Modern Studies and Music.

More on Simplifying

I'm loving this book by Janice Elsheimer called The Creative Call. Chapter 8 is on Simplifying. I've been thinking about and doing 'simplifying my life' for over twenty years.
At first I thought that if we moved to the country and grew our own food, hung out my clothes to dry, chopped our firewood, and homeschooled the children, then we would have a simple life. Ha!
Here are some quotes from this book that says it better than I can.
"Self-sufficiency and simplifying one's life are not synonymous." That's the truth! It only gives you more to do. Of course, if that's what you want to spend your time doing (and I do) then that's fine. Just know that your life won't be simpler when you take on more things to do.
Greek philosopher Democritus wrote, "Let your occupations be few if you would lead a tranquil life." Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius wrote, "Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already. Remember this--that very little is needed to make a happy life."
In her article "Simplifying Life," Susan Pilgrim writes, "Fundamentally, 'simplifying' is determining what's really important to you."
So to find out what's important to us, Elsheimer gives us an exercise to write down ten things that are important to us and then to prioritize the list. Here's mine:
1. My faith-God2. Family3. Home4. Homeschooling-Education5. Creativity6. Church7. Being a Titus 2 Women8. Friends9. Community10. Travel
This is a great book for everyone, not just artists. I believe everyone is an artist; some have just repressed it. More on this book later.

Merry Christmas

From all us turkeys.

Life at Home

This post is for Jonny and Ming Ming, and also for Joanne Noragon ... they have missed reading about what happens around this place.

....We have drunk lots of tea..white tea, green tea, ginger tea....we love them all.



George had a mountain of ash logs delivered, we then had the great fun of wheel barrowing them around the fruit garden, up round the house, through the vegetable garden and up to the log store.

Our cheeks were glowing rosy by the time we finished that little job.

If the predictions of an arctic winter should come to pass, then at least we have plenty of logs to feed the Rayburn and the fires. The log man didn't come alone, he had two wonderful canine friends with him...



One was very shy and stayed out of sight, however, this little chap was determined to have some attention, he is called Monty.

The shy one is a rescue dog. He spent the first nine months of his life confined to a kennel, no walks, no interaction. The log man rescued him and he now has a wonderful life with Monty.

Show-off Sparky

Bennie plays hide and seek behind the books

The cats are having such a lot of fun - days are spent hunting mice and rats, running up trees, chasing Toby-dog, stalking the hens.

Then they spend cosy evenings indoors...Ben likes to find new and interesting places to hide from Sparky.

Here she is tucked between the wall and the books in our bedroom.

Toby watching the hens

Toby continues to plod along - here he is focused on the hens as they ramble around the woodland, he finds them fascinating...so do the cats.

Frankie, Boadicea, Xiao Ji and Isadora

Here are the girls. Their new feathers are coming through thick and fast now, their combs are pinking up and they are happy and healthy.

They roam around the woodland from dawn to dusk scratting in the soil and doing chickeny things.

Today we left the woodland gate open and allowed them the freedom of the garden. It didn't take them long to make their way across the gardens to the kitchen door. It was almost like old times with the other hens. Their characters are developing and they come running when we call or whistle for them.

Harry is settling well into school, he still gets tired at the end of the day, but then he is only four and a half years old! He has a small speaking part in the school nativity play - he is to be the inn keeper. George and I will be at his school a week on Monday when he makes his debut.

This little poppet is doing well, she is on the brink of walking by herself...just not quite ready to relinquish her hold on someone's finger or the furniture, even though they are scarcely needed.

I have also been having a major sort through my books and clothes. Five huge sacks of clothes have gone to a charity shop in Louth, I have also thinned out some of the books from the Dressing Room. If I could repeat this exercise many times over I could finally begin to live clutter-free...it won't happen, but I keep trying.

xx

PS I am so excited about seeing you both in the summer. Three whole weeks, wonderful!

North Loop of Yellowstone

Early start this morning - touring the North loop of Yellowstone National Park. Temperature was 41 deg when I left West Yellowstone.

Walked some at one of the pools and another walk at Gibbons Falls. Legs and knee were doing pretty good. (Not 100%, but pretty good). I took it easy as I had a long day ahead yet.

At Norris Geyser Basin - the walk was almost too much for me. Wanted to get some good photos. Did NOT walk down to the bottom of the basin. But it was an effort to get back to the car. Didn't help that I left my walking stick in the car.

By the time I arrived Mammoth Hot Springs, I was getting hungry. Stopped at the Terrace Grill (fast food). Needed some nourishment and coffee. Back up to the Springs. Drove the upper loop and did a short walk.

There was road construction in the Tower Falls area. Almost passed on stopping there because the lot was full. But, someone left, and I parked. Started leaving the parking lot when remembered I forgot my walking stick. Grabbed that and headed the path to the falls. Only walked to the upper viewing deck. That was enough by the time I got the the gift shop. Did a little shopping and headed back on the road towards W. Yellowstone.

Drove the one-way road past Virginia Cascades -- not a good view angle form the road (without walking down the road a bit). My legs would not handle that.

Back in West Yellowstone, I did some more shopping, early dinner at the Outpost Restaurant. From there, Gas up the car and stop in the grocery store for sports drinks. Finally, back in my motel. Body is exhausted and my legs are sore.

Got my photos processed. Today's photo is of a moose (or were they elk?) family in Madison River. Now off to bed!

Compliments of Cass

This Photo spree is thanx to Cass Gilbert. A man with a fantastic eye for photos and an enormous love for riding bikes in remote places.

These were all taken on our first week cycling south from Huaraz Peru-

Strange cat sleeping positions #142

On top of another cat.
(Visit the Friday Ark for more critters.)

In search of surf

As winter approaches, we get more Canadian air in Chicago. When the winds are out of the northeast, Chicago gets the big waves; when they're out of the northwest, Lower Michigan gets pounded. And in either case, some of them bend south toward Indiana.

Friday's Force 7 winds subsided considerably overnight. By Saturday morning, Indiana was the beneficiary of lovely, well-formed waves. Even though the air temperature was around freezing and the water temperature was in the mid-40s, the combination of sunshine and light winds made for perfect paddling conditions near Portage, a nice midway point for paddlers from Illinois and Michigan.

Keith Wikle, representing Michigan, dons his neoprene, dreaming of the Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival.

Hauling the boats down the hill.

There were icicles on the railings along the pier, but as long as we kept moving, we stayed pretty warm.

Warming up before heading out onto the lake.

After about two hours, everybody was ready for some hot tea and dry clothes. We loaded our boats and gear, emptied our thermoses, and drove off to the east and the west, grateful for another good day on the water.

The parking lot, post-paddling.