Guess what we did on this lovely day?

....You still have time to guess, as I'll post some older pictures first. :)

Did you know that goats love eating banana peelings? Well, they do---amongst other things...

Here are the promised pictures of our pretty-much-finished shop project:

We're really enjoying being able to use the small side-door the guys put in instead of having to open the big door for everything....

This afternoon, while playing a few games of pool, we put a tea-kettle on the wood burner and made ourselves some nice, steamy hot chocolate. :) The guys and I were saying that we've probably spent more time in the shop this last week than we have in the house! It's such a good feeling to have such a nice, bright and warm place for the guys to work in all Winter!!!

I didn't take a picture of the shop today, (after the guys worked in there all day yesterday) but it looks more organized than in the above picture, with things put back in their places.

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Alright, have you guessed yet what we did today for fun----and exercise?

Here's a pretty easy hint:

Yes-----we went ice skating/hockey playing, up in the North pasture!

First, we had to push a little snow around. It wasn't too bad really.

Dad joined us younger people on the ice....

We found out that we're a bit on the rusty side of things!

We also found out that the little black puck can really sail far on a smooth surface!

"Get it, brother!"

We all landed on the ice at least once (and some of us a bit more than that), although in the picture below, Andrew was just resting his ankles....

That's me:

The boys..... Our "Goal" was the small opening between the snow piles (where Jacob is standing.)

We have plans for getting an ice rink set up here at home, but have been too busy with the shop project to work on that project. Plus, it hasn't really been all that cold.....thankfully!

We talked to Mom again a little bit this evening and it sounds like she's having a really great time there. Hopefully she'll be ready to come home when the time comes to leave. :)

At Calgary...

Mother is now in Calgary, Alberta Canada. She said her flights went very well, the one plane being very crowded and the next very empty. She's trying to adjust to using Canadian money currently and said the coins were a little confusing... I hope her Canadian bed is soft and comfortable tonight. :) Tomorrow the class starts, so Mom is very excited---now that the plane ride is over with, for the time being.....

Here at home, Dad went "Up North" this morning and loaded a load of hay that he sold down South again. He and the boys worked in the shop the rest of the day, except for when Jacob came in and helped cut up some apples and set the table.....

Andrew's very happy because he was able to get his Sheriff car indoors and he's started tearing it apart already. Dad and Jacob moved the pool-table over to its permanent location and got it leveled out (and played a few games too, so I hear...).

Meanwhile in the house, I was very busy cleaning and cooking. I worked quite a while on cleaning the laundry room and pantry, as they were very out of sorts! For supper, I made chicken enchiladas (with freshly made tortilla shells), apple raisin salad, and fruit pizza. Yummy! Want to drop in and have a bite? I made a big pan full.... ;)

It's all done--mostly!

This morning, we all worked together to finish painting the inside of the shop. Mom took several pictures, but I think her camera may still be out in the shop? At any rate, I don't have it here, so don't have pictures to share yet...

The guys installed the small door this afternoon. Now they just need to insulate the big door and then they should be toasty warm in there all Winter! :) The dogs really enjoy being in the shop now also and cozy up by the wood burner pretty easily. What a dream come true this is for the guys---to be able to work out in the shop during the cold months (and not to freeze while out there) while they have spare time on their hands. All the warmer months are so full of farming activities that they don't really have time for special shop projects. It will be fun to see what they all do out there this Winter!

Mother and Jacob went to town this afternoon (Jacob drove :) ), as Mom needed some cash for her journey and also wanted to put up fliers all over town about the 2nd "Constitutional" meeting that will be held in Napoleon on December 17th (at 7:00PM, FYI at Ray's Cabinet shop---using the side door, because if you come in the front door, you'll run into his entertainment center!) Everyone is most welcome to come join us there!!! Please come! Our friend, Mr. Stevens will be presenting the important and interesting information....... There will also be a meeting in Bismarck that my Mom has helped set up sometime in the beginning of January, so let us know if you'd be interested in coming to that one and one of us will get you more specific details.

While the Mom and Jacob were gone, I spent quite a bit of time cutting up old, stained clothes for shop rags. The guys are constantly going through rags out there, using them to clean up oily and greasy parts and pieces----and hands....... I cut up 3 bags full, so that should last them a while!

The rest of the afternoon/evening was mainly spent in getting Mother packed up and ready to leave early in the morning. She will be flying to Canada to take a BT health class that she's wanted to take for 4 years already. She's pretty excited (about the class) AND nervous about flying by herself out of the country to a place where she knows nobody but the teacher, so prayers for safe travels and pleasant company would be greatly appreciated I'm sure!!! She'll be gone until late Monday night.

And that, dear friends, was how this day was spent.

Wishing you all a great Friday,
~Cora

A little splattering of white....

All five of us worked on painting the plywood in the shop this morning. By lunch time, we were half done with the shop and several of us had quite a few little white polka dots all over our faces and hands/arms! We were using rollers (a couple on sticks to reach the higher areas), and 'though those are nice, they do splatter little drops of paint in every direction! I'm not sure how far the rest of my family got out there today as, after noon, I headed for work in town. Dad headed for Bismarck then to return the scissor-lift. Mom, I know, had a session here at the farm for a client. The boys were going to work on moving everything from one side of the shop to the other so we could paint the other half...... I'll try to get pictures tomorrow---before I get my hands all painty again! :)

A kitchen full of food....

....Yep, that's what I came home to tonight after working in town!

My mom picked up the Azure order on her way to Bismarck this morning, then bought a few more things at Sams this evening. Apparently, she got home late and so carried everything in and set it in the kitchen to put away tomorrow. Thus---the kitchen FULL of food! Yes, I am very thankful for it too. :)

I spent part of the morning out in the shop, helping put up the last of the plywood sheeting. Mom brought the trailer from the Rent-All place home so the guys can take the scissor-lift back in the morning. It looks like they were able to do some painting in the shop too, as there are paint brushes and trays in the kitchen tonight as well. :)

And that was our day, as much as I know of it....

I will leave you with a thought to ponder from my favorite flip-calender:

"God never puts any person in a place too small to grow in."

PS. The coyotes just started howling like crazy. It's so nice to be safe at home....

Another full day away...

I got up early this morning and headed for Helen's Daycare to watch the children so she could go with her husband to Bismarck for appointments. Another lady came and took over at 1:40 so that I could quickly change and drive into town (Helens' house is a few miles out of Napoleon) and be in time to work my PM shift at the nursing home. I'm pretty tired tonight and am glad I can sleep in a little bit in the morning! :)

The others worked out in the shop again today. They said that if they have one more good day, they should be done with the sheeting and then can take back the scissor-lift. Then they will put in a small door on the front side of the shop; insulate the large shop door; paint all the sheeting white; move their bench back in place............ There still is lots to do, but we are grateful for the progress that's been made---safely!

I will leave you now with the "Good Clean Funnies" joke of the day.

It's called: Live and Learn

Psychiatry students were in their Emotional Extremes class.
"Let's set some parameters," the professor said. "What's the
opposite of joy?" he asked one student.

"Sadness," he replied.

"The opposite of depression?" he asked another student.

"Elation," he replied.

"The opposite of woe?" the prof asked a young woman from
Texas.

The Texan replied, "Sir, I believe that would be giddyup."

More shop progress....

I didn't take pictures today, but we did get a lot done in the shop once again. All 5 of us worked in there for most of the day, so we were able to get more insulation up; we got the guys' work-bench cleaned off most of the way and pulled out from the wall; took down more plywood from the wall so as to be able to put insulation behind it; then we put up more plywood over the insulation. :) We were so busy, we didn't even play pool today!

It snowed about 2 inches worth of white stuff this afternoon and evening. It's beginning to look a lot like Winter!

Well, it sounds like Dad's about done talking on the phone with his dad, so we'll be finishing our Bonanza here shortly before heading for bed...


Yep, he's done. So, good bye friends, and good night.~

Recent pictures of the shop project:

The following photos are from yesterdays work.

Dad took this one of my brothers and I on the scissor-lift......


...and in this one, we're actually working. :)

Jacob swept up all the wood chips/dust from the floor before we set up the pool table.

I never realized there were so many pieces in a pool table! Here, Dad and Andrew are tightening up the stand:

Then, they tried to make the outside frame more square than it was before....

Jacob, working on bolting in the "Slate".

Andrew, mounting the ball return...

After all that was screwed and bolted together, we put the stand on top and attached that. Then all 4 of us carefully tipped the table right side up.

Andrew vacuumed the table-top carefully while Dad leveled it out...

...and then we played a game before chores. :)

We played several more games this afternoon. Mother came out after a while and won a couple games.... :)

What joy it is to be a part of a fun family!

Shop success...

After helping Mother with house-cleaning a bit, I headed out to the shop once again to help my dad and brothers with the insulating project. Today, we finished putting the sheeting up on the West half of the shop! It looks so much nicer than it did before---plus it's so much warmer as well. We did get a good deal of wood dust in our faces as we pounded pretty much upside-down on the slanted part of the ceiling. I'm so grateful for the scissor-lift though, as I can't even imagine trying to pound nails in while standing on a ladder or a make-shift scaffolding....

To celebrate the progress that's been made, we spent about an hours worth of time setting up the pool table (in the shop). It was all in pieces as the guys had needed to take it apart to get it up the stairs of the gentlemans' basement.... Once it was rebuilt and leveled out nicely, we played one game----------and quickly realized how much room we have for improvement. I ended up with the lowest score, a total of 3 points. :)

It is so fun to play games together as a family. I'd love to hear of your favorite games to play if you have a moment to write!

It was a full day away...

...and right now I'm thankful for a nice, warm, soft, comfortable bed to rest on each night!

I left the house this morning at 8:00 and didn't get back until 11:00 tonight. The reason? I was taking care of people--large and small!

I watched and cared for 10 small children at Helen's from 8:30AM to 1:30PM (so she could attend her aunts' funeral), then headed straight for the Napoleon Care Center (the nursing home) for an 8 1/2 hour shift. It got to be a long day, but I always really enjoy spending time with the children, so adding that onto my regular work in town was not too burdensome. :)

I am tired however, so shall retire shortly!

Good night.~