Last Thursday

Look! See my feet? No? That's right, because they are buried in snow! The sun came out today, so all six of us tromped out over the crunching snow and Gary filled the horse's water trough, and Pam threw some hay out for them, and Fenton and Rose and MaryEllen chased each other, but not the horses for a change, and I took pictures of socks on the clothes line. See?

They don't look like the same size, but they are. I love these socks, at the moment I'm really into this self-patterning yarn, so if you are on the sock list and you want socks that look something like this (only different colors), let me know.

Last bit of ranch trivia for the day. Here's Fenton, trying to figure out how to get up on the poet's cabin roof in order to get that elk leg. Yes, that's right, the roof. Gary and I led a wolfhound parade to the cabin so that Gary could throw the elk leg on the roof. If you think about it, putting the elk leg on the roof makes perfect sense. The dogs can't get it, and the birds will pick it clean so that there is no nasty rotting stuff in the garbage room.

Now it's 6:30 Colorado time, but it's much earlier Tasmania time, which is why the Faux Thanksgiving turkey is in its first hour of cooking. We are on Tasmania time here at the ranch.

Oh, AND! While Pam and Gary were stuffing the turkey, I built the fire in the wood stove, and Pam says it's the best fire ever. Remember that first time I tried to build a fire here, way back in the beginning, the first time the power went out? It didn't work so well, until Gary got it going.

See, I've learned a lot here, don't you think?

Ranch Report - Day 59

This was our view today. Snow flurries started last night and are going on and on. It's supposed to snow two feet tonight! The dogs and I have been inside most of the day, which meant that when I went to feed Fenton, he was hopping up and down like mad. Dinner is so much more exciting when you've been bored all day!

Love the photos of Joseph! I can't wait to see him in real life.

Until We Meet Again

This is me not wanting to leave Joseph and Joseph not wanting me to leave.

I miss him already!

Okay, I am done for the night now. 

Custest Photo of Dakota with Joseph

Doesn't she look like she knows that she's made something mysterious and wonderful and precious?

'Cuz she has...

Note cute sweater also. 

Me 'n Joseph

That's right! At Cafe Fiore.

In a Mean Eyed Cat sparkly t-shirt, no less!

We don't look our very best here, but I thought you would like to see us there.

Plus, Joseph reaaaaaaallllly liked their crazy lights.

AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

I am the Wee Pirate Joseph Ladd!

Wenches, bring me the boobies!!! 

Eugene and Joseph

We gave your apartment quite a baby workout! 

Cutest Picture of Clay With Joseph

There was another cute photo, but I love this one the most - especially since it was taken at dim sum on Sunday, which makes me think of us with Mom and Dad when we were wee.

Agh killing me with cuteness! 

Everybody Said I Look Like You in This Picture

just thought you should know. 

Meet the Cutest 2-Month-Old in the Known World

This is Joseph and, yes it's true, I do love him.

He has the most delicious cheeks and lips and big blue eyes and if I could make an exact duplicate of him I would. I just want to kiss him kisss him kiss him!

And then I want to kiss him some more.

You will notice that he is posing on your white woolly rug. What good is a white woolly rug if there isn't a naked baby on it, I ask you?

There are more... ummm.. revealing photos that I am sure his parents will save for when he's dating. As in 'have you seen the adorable photos of Joseph as a baby?'

The girls will be impressed - I guarantee you!

I have a special song that I composed for him which I will share with you tomorrow. I call it 'I Love Joseph."

Tonight I needs more sleep. The redeye is a killer.

Aside from the constant rain, it was a great trip! I am sorry to have left you in the blogging lurch but I was too busy kissing baby toes to find a computer.

Love you! 

Penultimate Saturday

I can really feel my trip winding down here. A couple weeks ago, I actually made myself a calendar, so I could pay attention to what day it is, and fit everything in before I go. I felt like I had to do that because the truth is, I have reached a point in my trip where I go outside less, take less pictures, and have to admit to myself that I have started to take being here for granted. I've gotten used to every day being a day off, which seems to me to be a dangerous frame of mind!

What does it say about me that I think all these things mean that it's time for me to go? Even so, this place will be in the back of my mind, and a part of me will be scheming for ways to get back here and do this again. It's been such a good time for me, and I can't wait to get back, and see how it changes my perspective on my life in Seattle. I remember when we went to Europe when I was a teenager, how it suddenly seemed like everyone was so LOUD in the states (I know, I can be quite loud myself!). I'm hoping for things like that, little differences that sort-of surprise you, and give you that feeling of having stepped up to try and take a stair that isn't there. Tiny differences between what you've unwittingly come to expect, and the way things actually are.

One thing I haven't started taking for granted is the dogs. Before she left, Pam looked at Fenton's handsome mug and said "in two weeks, you are going to be sooo in love with him!" Remember what I said a while back about how I love people? How they are what creates interest in the world for me, even in their most mundane moments? Well, it's that way with these dogs too. I can start to take the hills behind the house or the golden light in the evening for granted, but the dogs really just get more interesting, the same way good people do. I'll admit that when I got here, I didn't think that Rose was the most lovable dog. Not that I ever thought she was a bad dog or anything, but she kind-of seemed like the grumpy old lady (remember the brown dog incident?) so I really didn't think I would end up playing with her, rubbing her ears, looking forward to her poking her head in my car when I get back from town, and laughing at the way she gets so happy and wags her old tail whenever I let her "sneak" into the house. But I think you all know how much I love Rose now. MaryEllen and Fenton were dogs I knew I'd love from the start.

And you have probably noticed how much the dogs have started to dominate this blog (Ali! Come back and post photos from your Seattle trip! Soon!) I suppose for most of you, this is sort-of like that obnoxious phase when a person has a new boyfriend and can't stop talking about him, how every little thing is soo CUTE! and don't you want to hear what he has to say about X, Y, or Z?

See, Pam was right? I am in love. Don't worry, though, this romance was kids at summer camp, no kissing on the lips, no tears, no talk of Commitment. Destined to be a sweet memory, but not destined to dominate this blog forever.

Anyway, it was better than a lot of talk about socks, wasn't it?

Thanksgiving, the Aftermath (don't read this after eating!)

Looks like a pretty sweet dog, doesn't it? Silly, friendly, kind of snuggly. Yup.

Well... there was something fishy going on in the world of the wolfhounds tonight. Usually I feed them around 5 or 6, so when it was 6:15 and none of the dogs were back here, well, I knew something was up. Especially since Fenton came when I called but MaryEllen, who usually sticks close to home, stayed away longer than the other two.

So, it's about 9 now, and I've finished eating my tasty Thanksgiving meal, and am waiting for my pumpkin pie to cool, when I catch MaryEllen on the porch with her very own Thanksgiving feast - a big ole elk leg. The whole leg. Like, all the leg bones, still hanging together. Yechh. Really. I put my gloves on (I love those gloves soo much) and took the leg away and threw it into the garbage room. I'll deal with it tomorrow when I can see. Again, I am amazed that this dog did not bite my hand off when I took this prize away from her.

Please god, do not let it be elk meat that made Rose sick before! Okay, I'm ready for Pam to come home now. :-)

* Morning after update: dogs all still fine, no further evidence of elk remains. Yay!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's the meal I'm trying to recreate tonight. It's in the oven now, so cross your fingers for me! The one pictured above is a Pam masterpiece, and I think I pretty much followed her instructions, except that I brined the chicken, since mine wasn't a gorgeous all natural free-range fancy chicken from Whole Foods in Denver.

Later on I'm going to attempt a pumpkin pie, with a very handsome looking handmade pie crust bought from the bakery in Pagosa Springs. You can be totally unimpressed by this pie-baking nonsense because the filling is coming from a can. I know my limits, people.

There are so so many things to be thankful for today. I feel like I've gushed on and on lately about my great friends and family, and what a fantastic couple months this has been for me, so I'll spare you all more of that. It has also been really fun to get little notes and comments from people who like reading this blog, so that's another thing I'm thankful for. You all are too sweet to me, and very encouraging.

Guess what? Last night I got in bed at 10:30 (10:30!!). Not really by choice, it was because the power went out, and well, what are you gonna do? The power went back on at 1 or so, which made me very happy. Nothing like losing power (which, here, also means losing water) to make you appreciate the things that we consider totally basic to our modern lives. I think it was a good reminder for Thanksgiving eve.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

XOXO

Ranch report - day 53

I had a good writing day today, which means that the dogs spent most of the day bored. B-O-R-E-D! When I went out into the yard to see what they were up to, I found Rose rolling around on her back in the dirt (clearly feeling better) and Fenton reclining in the shade, chewing on an elk bone. After the whole Rose incident, I decided I didn't really want Fenton gnawing on an old elk bone, so I went over and took it away. This is how good this dog is. He is my size, he is quick and has big teeth and when I take away the elk bone? He just looks at me, like "Wha?" or "Please sir, may I have another?". And next time I looked, he did, pretty much right away. There are lots of elk bones in the grass in front of the house, so he just picked another. I took that away too. I know this is ridiculous, I cannot throw away ALL the elk bones that a dog with free range of this 120 acre place PLUS the adjoining National Forest Land can find, but I'm sorry, I just had to throw these two away.

He left the bones alone after that (okay, I gave him a little dog food to distract him) but his next activity was chasing the horses. Again, Rose, feeling much better, because she took after them too, like a dog half her age. For a while there, Rose was listening to me when I told her to be good around the horses, but today she was just gone. MaryEllen is the good girl, she stayed on the porch with me.

Until Fenton started chasing the cats- then she decided she wanted to play too. Smart MaryEllen, the cats are a much more reasonable animal to chase than a horse that weighs ten times what you do. They raced around outside for a while, the cats diving under the porch, much to Fenton's disappointment. Then the dogs settled back on the porch again.

UNTIL! I walked in and out of the mudroom again, and that inspired Fenton to have one of his standoffs with a cat who was resting on top of a cooler. Fenton will bark a little warning, trying to get the cat to run, so he can chase it. Some of the cats do, but one of the bigger ones has caught on to this game, so he stands his ground, and just gives Fenton a hiss. Then Fenton stands there, his snout inches away from the cat, who stares him down and stays perfectly still, all crouched up and looking ready to pounce. They stay like that for a while, these are really good staring contests. Two champion starers. Then Maybe Rose will come in or something, and things will shift around a little, Fenton will do a little hop, the cat will hiss again and back away more, then Fenton will bark and snap his jaws, ears forward, still looking like friendly Fenton, but really trying to get this cat to run. Then it gets exciting because Rose will start to whimper*, and then there is more hissing and barking and I probably hear a crash of some kind, and the cat gets away and Fenton gets his very short chase. That was the scene here this afternoon, because the dogs were bored, and I was writing.

* Rose, in case you didn't know, has a very different relationship with the cats. She sleeps with them, or they sleep with her. They curl up in her bed, they eat the remnants of her dinner, they walk under her nose, their tails tickling her face, and she does nothing. Except sniff them. The cats are Rose's pals.

10 Random Things

This is the gas station in our little town here. Isn't it funny? Look, they have gifts too! That's where I got the famous orange hat that I know you all love. Here are ten random things for today:

- At the gas station today, there was a sign on the pump that said this:

Out of
No lead
Should have more
by 1:30 APX:
maybe -
possibly -
probably -
it could happen!

- Yesterday at the post office, I was chastised for not coming to pick up my mail more frequently. I had only skipped ONE day! I got in trouble for having too much mail! I consider this an excellent accomplishment

- I'm going to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and eat it all myself. Yes, I am! I might roast a chicken too, but then again, maybe pie is enough...

- When I went into the grocery store today, the guy who was restocking the teeny produce section said "How have you been this week?" to me. It made me feel like the grocery store equivalent of a regular.

- I took advantage of the gorgeous sunshine today to drive over Wolf Creek Pass to check out Pagosa Springs. It was 60 degrees in Pagosa Springs, and even at the the ski basin it was almost 50 degrees.

- Seeing all those folks with their skis and everything up there made me want to go sledding. I've got to go sledding! Who wants to go sledding with me?

- This has been an incredible year for mix CDs in my life. There was the Loggerodeo mix from Dakota this summer, and no less than 5, FIVE, mix CDs by Susan for our road trip (Cheese mix, Happy mix, and Susan's very own expert takes on the 70s, 80s and 90s), and now there is a new mix CD from my writing group. Each time we get together in person, we choose a theme for our next CD. The latest arrived in the mail yesterday, and the theme is what we were listening to when we were 16. It's a double album (I think that term's appropriate here) and can I just say, this CD confirms for the gagillionth time how kick ass these women are. Disc 2 starts with Don't Fear the Reaper! Don't Fear the Reaper, people! My god.

- For lunch I got to have a decent latte and a chicken panini with pickled onions and bourbon mustard. Oh, so good!

- Yesterday, I stood on the back porch and watched as Fenton chased an elk across the pasture. It let him run right up to it before it bounded away. That was quite a sight. I have to admit, I love watching these dogs chase things. They just look so impressive. Unfortunately, most of the time, the only things here for them to chase are the horses.

- Right now Fenton is sleeping on the couch, and apparently he is having a bad dream because he's whimpering and yelping a little in his sleep. I better go wake him up and give him nice pets.

Are You There Yet?

Me on the back porch. I don't think I've ever shown you the back porch, have I?

Dear Ali,

Well, in theory you are there in Seattle now, at my place! I hope you enjoy your stay. I'm sad that the first time you see my apartment, I won't even be there. Did mom tell you that I don't want any Christmas presents this year - all I want if for you and Eugene to hang my pictures. That can't be too hard, right? Lots of them are leaning against various walls in the apartment, then there are a bunch more underneath the chest of drawers in the living room, including that white wall sculpture thing that I love so much. I want to hang that in my bedroom.

Okay, I know it's just a fantasy. But it's a good one!

Our day here was a pretty relaxed one. I did some very uninspired writing, knitted all the way to the toe of a red sock, and listened to the fantastic Laura Cantrell while I did some cleaning. Everything is starting to get a little nostalgic here, since I only have about two weeks left here. How am I going to live without these dogs?!? I'm going to have to console myself with the fact that my floors will be easy to clean and no one is going to come rest their chin on my bed at 6AM to get me to let them out.

I hope you can blog from Seattle! I want to hear all about your trip.

XOXO

H

Ranch Report Day 48

Well, Mrs. Naughty Claus, while you were out shopping for something to rekindle the yule log, we had much more wholesome, home-on-the-range things going on here in Colorado. Like sock knitting. The pair on the left in the photo above is a pair I sent out in the mail today, but the other two are pairs I knit for myself a while ago. I had this burst of energy this morning after I found out I was going to get to bring Rose home, so I did laundry and changed the cover on the couch and swept the floors and it was all very domestic and lovely. I am sort-of good at taking care of the beings I love when I need to be.

And the beings I love are also good at taking care of me, as evidenced by oh-my-god the mail today! It was spectacular, truly. It has been ever since I got here. I think I've received more snail mail in the past three weeks than I had the previous three years. Look!

Here's something you might not know about craft bloggers, Ali - they tend to show off their mail. They have good mail, really good mail, things with hamsters on them, books with super-cute crafty photos, but that you can only read if you know Japanese, hedgehogs, jewels, lustrous fibers. There's an art to photographing these things, and I'm sorry to say that of all the things I have managed to take photos of recently, my mail is not one of them. Which is a shame, because I got this great photo of Joseph from Dakota, and the best Craft mag from Lillian, and licorice Scotties and tea and oils and ayurvedic things from Jenn, and little japanese notebooks from mom, and of course, I still don't have a good photo of the Mean-Eyed Cat hoodie. But I will get to all of this. And the huge package that Kirstin sent too... photos of her and the kids, earrings that Emily Baker (who, you may remember, is her cousin) made, and best of all, a button bracelet made by Madelyn. The point is I am very spoiled, just like the craft bloggers. If you are reading this, and you sent me mail here, oh, I love you. How I love you!

Speaking of craft bloggers, today our blog got mentioned on a blog I really like. I love that! You should check out Klosekraft, especially the black cashmere turtleneck she knitted, or the Sgt. Pepper jacket - also knitted! That thing is knitted! Out of control.

Which leads me to my last bit - here's the most out of control thing that happened at the ranch today....

Me, taking laundry off the line, in my pajamas, and rubber boots (which, sadly, you can't see in this self-timer shot). After I did all my cleaning and got the dogs all taken care of and the mail opened, of course that seemed like a nice time for a bath in the big red bathtub, especially with my new magazine with the knitted robot dolls on the cover. And after a bath, the only thing to wear is pajamas. So, that was what I was wearing when I realized that the wind was picking up and there was still laundry on the line that was in danger of falling in the mud. White laundry. I love those pajamas - can you see? That pattern is skulls, pink and brown skulls with hearts for eyes. Love them.

Hey - I hope you have a great time at my nest in Seattle! XOXO H

SPECIAL NEWS ALERT!!!!

In case you were concerned that whorish costumes were restricted to Halloween... oh no ladies!

You can dress up like a tramp for Christmas now too!


In the Ricky's that has opened up next door to our apartment, there were these delightful costumes on sale. You can be one of Santa's 'Very Special Elves'

Oh, what I really want for Christmas is Santa Chaps! It makes unwrapping under the tree ever so much easier! If only the house in Vermont was warmer. I wouldn't want to catch pneumonia Christmas morning. That is so unsexy.

Oh wait, this should light the old yule log right up, right?

Ay me.

200% Better!

Fenton and MaryEllen inspect my cargo

Well, this isn't going to go down in history as my most artistic photo, but it will have to be listed among my personal favorites. When I called Doc Howard this morning, he told me Rose was 200% better and ready to go home. Even I was surprised how very very happy this made me. I told Kae that it was a better feeling than writing a poem I liked. I'll write more later, just wanted to let the Wolfhound fans know that she's home, and all the ranch citizens are happy again.

hu-latta fun

Yup, it took me a while to think of that title. Clever, no?

It could have been 'Hu-la-va good time' Ha!

Anyhoo, Wednesday myself and some of my friends from work went to Tortilla Flats waaaay over in the far West Village for a hula hooping showdown.

There had been a lot of smack talking at work and the two contestants were ready to bring it. There had been lots of talk about 'carb loading,' 'abs classes,' and The Eye of the Tiger theme song.

I personally was not a contestant - I know that you can hardly contain your shock - I was a documentarian.

Documentarian is a word, right?


Margaret warmed up with a margarita while we waited for the two competitors to get their mojo working. To give you some background on Tortilla Flats, it is bedecked in tinsel and owes it's decorating technique more to the Indian restaurants in the east village than any Mexican place I've been to.

And the music is all Madonna, all the time. This is the west village people!

First up was Brian, who came still dressed in his suit from work. this was brave of him since - in his estimation - he hadn't hula hooped in several decades. His rythm was - um - rapid. He ended quickly.


That's Patti laughing at him - she was up next. She has visited Tortilla Flats multiple times over the last couple of months and the MC fully called her on it.

Her technique was very relaxed - all raised arms and rolling hips. But she is prone to giggling and the MC caught on. Her time was the best at this point, but it wasn't to last.

In the best two out of three, Patti looked like she had the advantage. But that Brian, he's athletic and observant so on his third try he pulled out all the stops and found some technique.



Our champion! They only had shirts for chicks, so he's a bit packed into it, but he was so proud he couldn't resist putting it on.


He didn't rub it in though, not at all.

He got his t-shirt and his shots.


And I got blackmail material for the office...

Not Such a Happy Dog

Rose and Fenton

We didn't have a good day at the ranch today. When I woke up at 9AM, I found blood on the floor in the room where Rose sleeps, and knew I had to get her to the vet. Since she weighs about 50% more than I do, right away I was worried about getting her into the back of Mo, but she helped, and somehow we got her in there. It was 20 degrees as we drove away from the ranch, and the edges of the river were frozen, as was the little bit of our dirt road that stays shaded all day long. I thought about what Karl used to always say - four wheel drive will help you go, but it's not necesarrily going to help you stop - and drove carefully. We made it to the animal clinic okay, and Doc Howard decided that Rose needed to stay at the clinic overnight for an IV. I was sort-of relieved when he said that he thought it was probably something she ate, thinking that's something she might get over in a few days, but she's the oldest of the three dogs, and it feels scary and sad to have her gone tonight.

Poor Fenton and MaryEllen have been on the lookout all day. They sat on the front porch and looked down the driveway, and MaryEllen, who usually loves sleeping on the couch more than anything, didn't really want to come inside at all. It's getting dark now and we're all inside, and I wish there was something nice to do for dogs other than give them pets and maybe a treat or two.

I'm supposed to call tomorrow morning and see what needs to happen with Rose, so think good thoughts for us. It would sure be nice to bring Rose home.

Such A Happy Dog

It warmed up quite a bit today, so I went outside and played with the dogs for a while. Today was the first day of the last hunting season for my stay, so I was glad we got outside for a little exercise under my watchful eye. There were more orange hats and coats out there today than I saw on all the other hunting days combined!

Pretty uneventful day other than that, did my two hours of writing in the morning, went to town and bought socks so that I can go another day without hanging laundry on the line in the freezing cold. Isn't that terrible? What can I say, that's the kind of girl I am.

Cold. It's Just Cold.

... and supposed to stay that way. Made a lot of progress on a pair of socks today. Not as much with the writing for some reason, but I can live with that. I'll sit down with the blank page again tomorrow.

Can You Fall In Love With a Barn?

Much of the 120 acres here is taken up by the big pasture where the horses graze, and that pasture is pretty much nothing but scrubbly grass. Like that word,"scrubbly"? I should ask Pam what's really out there. There is also a little grave site at the top of one of the hills, and at the edges of the property, there are beautiful dreamy groupings of trees on the national forest land. When the dogs run in and out of the birch and evergreens, it looks like a fairy tale. It is beautiful here, but I can't help but wake up in the morning after a month of taking pictures every day and leave my camera on the table instead of taking it out with me, thinking that I pretty much know what's out there, and there aren't a lot of new pictures to take.

But this place keeps grabbing my by the throat and making me go back to the house for the camera. Today it was so cold out that the water in the troughs was still frozen at noon, even on the sunny side of the barn, so it was time to turn on the heater that keeps the water from freezing, which meant going into the old barn.

Well, once I went in, I felt like I was in a whole new place, and I didn't want to come out. It was a windy day, and the wind was whistling through the gaps in the doors and walls of the barn, and the light from outside was shining in, through those same gaps, as well as the old windows. There were piles and piles of straw, some newer hay, a little shelf of horse gear, and the saddle pictured above. It just reminded me of the kind of place I would have wanted to hide out when I was a kid. The seven year old Heather would pack up a peanut butter and honey sandwich, whatever other snacks were around, maybe some hot cocoa in a thermos, and a stack of horse books, and head out to the barn to hide and read all day. Thirty-five year old Heather would add the camera to that loot.

Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Good thing we have mousers here!

A Belated Note on Cruise Entertainment

Before we left on our cruise to Alaska, one of the things I was looking forward to most was tripping the light fantastic at Skywalkers Nightclub.

I know we were there to watch whales and spot mooses (meese?), but I was really excited at the prospect of a swingin' disco at sea. I consider it a bit of a hangover from our formative years of watching The Love Boat every Saturday night.

We got the formal nights, the variety shows, and the trivia games. But the fabulous nights of dancing until our toes fell off were not to be.

Oh, all the trappings were there. Skywalkers had a bumping sound system, a dance floor with lights embedded into it, passable brandy alexanders, and the requisite psychadelic light show and black lights.

Sadly, though, there was no crowd.

The closest we got to a crowded dance floor was the Sock Hop (hosted by Cruise Directors who were outfitted like reject extras from a community center production of Grease). Which ended mercifully at ten pm.

The casino was the spot for the truly dissolute passengers who were, perhaps, part of a larger family group who had, perhaps, headed to bed after the sock hop. So we alternated between black jack and karaoke to keep ourselves entertained after the witching hour.

(For the record, I sang White Wedding, Love is a Battlefield and - in a wildly overconfident moment of poor judgement - Annie Lennox's Why. I got the beat down from an overly-permed midwestern lady who repeatedly sang that Ann Murray classic May I Have This Dance (for the rest of my life).

For shame! I wanted to throttle her ever time the opening chords to that song started. Just thinking of it irritates me!)

Anyhoo, I blame the early nights on all the whale watching and moose-spotting excursions, and those darn flights to glaciers for dog sledding. On Carribbean cruises, maybe everybody stays up all night and parties like rock stars, but on our cruise everyone had to be up at 6 AM to be trundled off to their excursion. And nobody hangs out by the pool.

Needless to say, I found my own fun at one am.

What was it, you may ask?

Ping pong.

Check out my moves, yo!
















But, of course, Euge and Tommy were even better...

















We also liked shuffleboard...
















The jello at the midnight buffet...
















And Tommy likes Hot Mamas