Oh my word I just looked and saw it has been 6 weeks since i wrote a post.  Okay I'm pathetic but he forgive me please.   It has been horridly busy at work and honestly you know, 10 plus hours on the work computer does not make me want  to be on here writing.   I also came down with a horrid cold the weekend before Thanksgiving which took me a solid 2 weeks to even come out of and about 3 weeks to feel human enough to do anything but the basics.   I wasn't thrilled to be sick over the Thanksgiving days off as it put my plans for projects on hold but I was glad to have the time off work to recover!  Gotta be flexible.

Accomplishments have been had though.  I got some honey from a friend this Fall and knew I wanted to bake honey cookies with it.  I finally got around to that!   They are a recipe from my Grandmother and Mom and a family favorite.  I remember them being baked in our house when Grandma Wagner came to visit and when Fall hunting season started as my Mom would bake and freeze them for my Dad and brother to take hunting.  Substantial quick energy!   They are a roll out cookie so they take some serious  time to make but so worth it.  They have anise and clove in them so those lovely fall flavors.

I also finally pulled the cloth that was ripping up on my work desk off of it and got it painted and put some transfers on it.   Brightened things up and while I though I needed my monitor up higher, soon discovered that wasn't the case.  So that bit is now gone.  But  I was glad to get that checked off the list as well.

Then it got cold and started snowing so the winter chores really kicked in.   First item was my truck which threw a code and ended up in the shop right after the first snows.  Lovely right!  It is my 4wd vehicle  and if it is snowy and the driveway is slick I can't get the car up the driveway.  Yes, I can walk it but that isn't fun if you have a load of groceries.  So not knowing how long it would be in the shop (it got some maintenance done too) and snow on the horizon I decided to go get a snow blower.   I do really like it but after now using it for about 3 snow falls I am finding that wrestling it on the hill and on the uneven gravel driveway is a challenge.  But it gets the job done and I just take ibuprofen the next day!  haha    I do like that it is quiet and it does make short work of the task.   It is a battery operated (yes I'm killing the planet with more lithium batteries but...) and I'll be honest I do wish it was self  propelled.  Lesson learned and I think maybe next summer my brother and I will see about a plow  either for the lawn mower or a used ATV with one.  I'm honestly learning the hazards of old age and while the steps and exercise are NOT bad for me I'd rather be doing  something fun to get those in!

Meanwhile it is nekkid dog jammie season for sure and this year I ordered some new ones for Louie.   In his  old age it becomes more and more important  to keep those old bones warm.

We had some really pretty freezing fog for a few days as well and I have to say while I was REALLY glad I wasn't driving into work (the fog in the valley stayed quite late) I enjoyed seeing it around the yard.  So I thought I'd share some of it with you.

That was one tough spider web for sure!

I am really hunkered in now with the dogs (mid December) as the week before Christmas it is supposed to go WAYYY below zero.   We got more snow this past week and  we had one really sunny lovely day where I was out moving snow  so I dressed up the hairy 3 in their snow gear to let them play while I shoveled and could burn off some of the never ending winter energy.    I will say the full moon the first part of December was  one  wild ride in this house - dogs  and parrots pretty much all lost their minds which in turn made me lose mine.  I was glad when that passed.  

It was just nice to be outside (it was 20ish) in the fresh air and getting snow taken care of (it was light so I was able to shovel quite a bit).

Yesterday I got wood up on the deck so we can run the wood stove in the predicted below 0 temps and I got provisions Friday so I shouldn't need to leave the house if I don't want to till after Christmas.  We have more snow  predicted and I'm hoping the below 0 (one night says -28F) predictions are wrong.   I do see 4 days of that and then 4 days later it is supposed to be highs  in the mid 40s.  Go figure.

I hope all of you still stopping by to visit the blog have a very Merry Christmas.   I didn't do cards this year  (being sick didn't help that motivation) and what you see here is the extent of the decorations I'm doing.  Yes I actually made a "set" of sorts to do the photo as it wasn't happening  outside.   The dogs did great and even Louie for the first time in his  13 years here - actually was  looking up and participating in a photo.  I'll share some of the outtakes as well.

Left to right with their ages come 2023 (as all are in the first 5 months).  Epic - 10, Oliver - 5, Louie - 17, Josie - 5, Sterling - 13.   Iago the macaw will be 23 and Gizmo will be 1 in March.    I'm not revealing my age!