Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Tis the season for sure! Snow is on the ground and more is in the forecast. Cold temperatures continue to make you shiver but are soothed by the cozy warmth of the wood stove. 

This might be the biggest surprise of yet. I have been asked to be an angel in this year's living nativity at our church tonight. It will be the best chance I suppose, of having that unique title... 

Our family enjoyed a wonderful early Christmas together here last Sunday. I treated fourteen to a prime rib dinner, homemade pie and good fellowship. We had fun and opened our gifts from each other. Paqui will be going to Marc's family's gathering and Jessamyn and Jay are heading to Colorado with Jay's family. Taylen and Jarret or attending the Pieper Christmas gathering in Haysprings.  I will be dog sitting Sunny and refereeing the jealous doggy altercations here at home. 

It looks like they been nipping too much holiday cheer!

I am done teaching but continue to consult in Scottsbluff with Linda. Looks like we will be doing more after the new year. I am looking forward to the end of January when I will be flying to the warmth of the islands again. So may God bless you all this new year!

Foundered on Thanksgiving!

I had an exceptional Thanksgiving this year. It was just the immediate family, small but filled with so much love! We stayed toasty with the wood burner on full throttle and plenty of turkey for all.

Saturday I traveled to Chadron with Marc and Paqui to celebrate Jay's mother's 60th birthday bash at the Bean Broker. Andrea"s party theme was black and white semi/formal. I being older and never having worn heels was in sparkly flats while others in 4 inch heels. I felt like one of the little people amongst the giants in skin tight dresses that towered over me. Marc, Paqui and I stayed overnight. Taylen ported me back to the hotel in a legal and DD safe way.

Its has been a wonderful week that I will cherish forever! Love my family so much!


A sideline note that all the deer hunters have bagged their tags this year. Both Taylen, Jarret and Jay have pictures with their bucks. This year Jay shot his first buck, he usually guides and has not shot one of his own... what a guy! 

In Jay's site

Jay's first buck!

On the Road Again!

I have been on the road again! Two weekends ago Paqui, Zeyda, and Breqkon went with me to visit Brian's sister Melanie and her husband Richard. We had a great time and while we were there we enjoyed the Larkspur Fall Festival. We also got to see my nephew Kevin Charles and his two girls Charlotte and Esmerelda. The kids had a blast!   

Zeyda and Charlotte

Esmeralda and Breqkon

Goof Balls!

 The next weekend I traveled to Gordon to stay with my grandsons virtually just hanging around. More for watching Sunny the dog than the boys. I made enchiladas, brownies, homemade bread and a homemade cake. Jeez, I must have had the Betty Crocker bug... It also was Halloween and my grandsons helped at a haunted house for a junior class project while my younger grandchildren went trick or treating.

Wonder Woman

Super Hero

Little Devil!

I am tied down for awhile again. I have started to teach another evening BNA class at the college. The class runs through December 14th.  More scheduled events include Thanksgiving at my house, a trip to Denver to see the Mannheim Steamroller concert in December. It is the season!

Fall, Frost and More Football!

Its has been a long and glorious fall. Finally this week it dipped down to 24 and 26 degrees, rendering the garden completely dead. I now can harvest the winter squash that can be seen. I also got the last of all the peppers, tomatoes, and some beans put up. Salsa, pasta sauce, green chili casserole along with stuffed peppers have been on the menu.  

71 Years Young!

The first of October I traveled to Sidney to meet up with my friends Julie, Jim, and brother Tom while they loaded their U-Haul truck  up filled with their Mother's possessions and headed back to Maine. We celebrated Jim's birthday, enjoying cake at the Best Western Plus Hotel and dinner at Dude's Steak House. It will be the last trip to Sidney for them. 

While in Sidney I visited Uncle Bob and Aunt Eleanor. They had me out to the farm for lunch. It was nice to catch up with their family activities and not to mention having some great food! They are still active and are enjoying driving their 100 year old car to different antique car shows. Every time I go to Sidney I stop and visit Brian's and the family graves. It was a beautiful day and flowers were placed.

I am still scurrying around the panhandle attending the grandson's football games. It is fun, at times too suspenseful and once in awhile disappointing. The season is almost over for high school football. One more game next Friday night. Then comes wrestling.

Gordon Mustangs!

Cheering section!

Taylen is number 30.

Next week Paqui and I are planning to visit my sister and brother-in-law, Melanie and Richard, in Larkspur, CO. It has been a long time coming since I have made a house visit and I anticipate that Paqui and I will have a great time!

Fall Is Here!

SUPER RED MOON ECLIPSE

Fall is definitely here. Today it is cool and cloudy, giving just the right amount of back drop for all the up coming fall activities. This weekend we might get our first freeze, we will see... Preparing for the long winter nights has not been my favorite past time. But like life, seasons cycle and new birth comes with it each spring. So as the older I get, the more accepting I become to natures rhythms. Also it helps that I take a yearly trip to visit my sister in Hawaii to help with the freezing monotony.

Have been attending more of the grandson's football games. Watching football is truly my favorite sport. Nebraska, Broncos and the Gordon -Rushiville Mustangs, go teams!!!

Have been working a little again, contracting for 2016 payment. I just don't understand why you can't work more if you are on widow's social security. You would think the government would like you do help the economy by having no restrictions on how much you earn per year. CRAZY! Also, planning to teach another BNA class at the college this November-December. Going to get busy again!

HOMECOMING

The Gordon-Rushville Mustang's homecoming this past weekend was a grand success! Game score over Bennet County was 44-0 which made the dance and festivities after absolutely more exciting. At least for me, I was definitely in rare form celebrating with my grandsons and their beautiful dates...

Negligence

What can I say, I have been pretty negligent about posting on the blog. I could say I have writers block, or have been too busy...but in reality I have been just too lazy. I truly apologize for my lack of initiative.

Football has started and my two grandsons are playing for the Gordon/Rushville Mustangs. Taylen is a junior this year and is on the varsity team while Jarret is a freshman and plays JV but is playing some on varsity on special teams. Of course Nebraska's first game ended in a gut wrenching loss in the last few seconds. 

Zeyda turned seven and had a great birthday party on Sat. evening. I had stayed with Breqkon and Zeyda on Friday night  while Paqui and Marc went to see the band Phish. I got some quality grandma time in. 

The roofers did finally come and replaced the roof in one long 95 degree day. I don't see how they can work so hard when it was so hot. Waiting on the gutters, fascia and soffit to be done. The shed needs a new metal roof along with lattice work replacement and some staining on house. Hope the construction company follows through with it all. 

My brother is having back surgery this 'Thursday. I am planning on a trip to Fort Collins for a visit. Also Jay's mother is having a tumor removed from her colon in Denver. Praying for both and that the healing sprites speed the healing process for both of them. My heart goes out to Andrea and may she have the strength to choose the right course for herself. 

Construction to Begin

Construction is to begin this coming week. When supplies are delivered ahead it is a good sign that worker bees will follow. Its starts with the asphalt roof first. Once the roof on house is finished, the metal roof on shed, gutters, fascia, and cedar latticework and finally staining. So far this company is making good, jury is still out on whole project...

roofing supplies

It has been hot the last few days, it is suppose to get up to 103 degrees today. I have started going through more of my stuff in the shed, but it gets pretty stifling in there when so hot. Even when all the windows, and doors are open with a fan on. 

School has started for my grandsons Taylen and Jarret in Gordon. Hard to believe they have started so early, especially with this heat, yikes! Both boys are in high school now and have football practice to boot. Hope they keep hydrated and safe!

Taking a break!

I am taking a break from actively working for a while. Yes it is only temporary, but never the less needed for a couple of reasons. First, I am on the 
cusps of making my annual monetary allotment for receiving social security widow benefits. Linda and I continue to be on call though, through our consulting business. But we have no specific tasks  at hand currently to do. Secondly, I have worked more this summer than since I was working full time. A break will be welcomed to do garden stuff and finish sorting through shed boxes. Maybe if I feel energetic enough a garage sale will be on the horizon.

It is to be a weekend of family with Paqui, Zeyda and Breqkon coming for a visit. There might also be a visit from Jessamyn and family too. Hopefully James stops through if heading north to the motorcycle events in South Dakota. Will wait and see who all shows up.

A blue moon is a rising and what a beautiful sight it is coming over the sand hills to the southeast of me. I truly feel blessed to live where there are views of sunrises, sunsets and moonrises...

Ambiguous!

Ambiguous is an adjective that reflects how I actually feel right now. Unclear of a choice between alternate roofing, construction companies that I might use to fix my property that has been so harshly abused by mother nature. The estimate was done by Farm Bureau and the resulting money is tucked into my checking account for future repairs. Now the hard work of finding the right company to do the work, one that can be trusted to do the job. In times like these I truly miss having a man around the house. Not whether a man knows more or not about the construction, just so I could share the responsibility of it all those decisions...

It's a wrap! I am done with another BNA class and graduated eight more students into the world of health care. I have been busy trying to get the garden weeded, working a little at HPCC and in Scottsbluff consulting. The consulting assessments are about completed for this year but it looks like there is more work on the horizon in other facets of the company that our business is contracted with. It is about time to tally my earnings this year so I don't go over that Social Security cap for those of us that are on SS benefits. 

Garden weeded, now hopefully it will grow back after hail.

Today I am heading to Gordon for Jarret's state Babe Ruth baseball tournament this weekend. Taylen's Legion baseball team had a double hitter on Thursday night here in Alliance. Got to see Paqui and the kids there along with Jessamyn. Heritage Days are in full swing in Alliance. So much activity leading up to school time again starting August 13th. 

Happy Birthday to the United States!

Happy birthday to our country! We are 239 years old and still going strong. What is amazing to me, is we have been at war 93% of that time. Since the US was founded in 1776, she has been at war with some country, nationality or terrorist faction. Interesting! We can only hope for a more peaceful year.

Since last I wrote in this blog I was hoping for a rebirth of my garden but what did I get? A hail storm that broke limbs off the tomatoes, destroyed the latticework over my deck and made a devastating mess in my yard from tree branches. Now I should not whine, for the farmers have suffered the most with the loss of their entire crops. It took me all day last Saturday to clean up after the storm. Still after any occurrence of rain or wind, more branches fall. Frustrating to say the least. I called the insurance adjuster to see if my roof needs any attention and what compensation I can get on the latticework. He will be coming next week. I even had to call Dish Network since I have had no TV satellite since the storm. Word gets around pretty quickly too when disaster strikes for I have had out of town roofing companies and private adjusters trying to give me a free deal... nothing is for free I tell them as I they give them that steely eyed look. 

This weekend I am just going to hang around the place and try to catch up on my chores: house cleaning, weeding what is left of my garden and flower beds, then clean the spa. I have already mowed the whole 2.2 acres around the house this past week after work. So all is left is those type of jobs that get put on the back burner while teaching and consulting during the week. 

This next week will be my last week of teaching and surely I will have more time to continue to organize the shed, clean the garage and maintain a semblance order around the place. I always have such good intentions, we will see...

Baboo's new summer do!

Rewind

Let me explain rewind. Rewinding to the past. To the memories of my father and also to Brian's father who also played an important part in my life. However recent memories of Brian and what an exceptional father floods to the forefront of all. May all my father's rest in peace knowing they had shaped and guided their offspring in such a loving manner.  Happy Father's Day goes out to Marc and Jay, both my son-in-laws. Jay not having any biological  children himself has guided and loved Jessamyn's two boys as any father would. I love you both!

What a trip! The Grand Canyon spectacular! The girls and I travel almost  1000 miles around the Grand Canyon. We started from Las Vegas and ended there. It was a great trip to renew our family bond as the crazy Lafler women. What is done in Vegas, stays in Vegas...

I certainly hit the road running when returning. Monday my second BNA class of the year started at the college. This one is a day class running from 8-1pm, Monday thru Thursday for four weeks. Linda and I still are consulting in Scottsbluff and since I am teaching we go on Fridays. 

Speaking of rewind... I don't know if I had bad seed or what! But my beans, carrots, and beets did not germinate. So today is replant Sunday. I will pray to the garden spirits for better results this go round.

Prep Time!

As a birthday nears, there is a trip is on the horizon, the excitement builds and the pressure is on. The Lafler girls will be making a statement in the near future. I am trying to get the garden planted, the responsibilities finished up and myself packed. Phew, its been a crazy couple of weeks with friends visiting, working out of town and more rain. 

Julie and Jim

My friends from Maine, Julie and Jim, came for a short visit. We all also congregated in Kimball on Memorial Day to celebrate one of our another friend's birthday, Melinda. 

It is so green here on the edge of the Sandhills, The hills are just beautiful with all the rain we've gotten. Ten inches of rain or more over the month of May. It is almost our yearly normal!

Time Flies!

Its almost Memorial Day and the start of all summer activities are to begin. However, it sure does not feel like summer. Mother's Day we got eight inches of snow and last Tuesday another five inches of the heavy snow fell breaking a larger limb off my elm tree. Not only does it snow, but it has continually rained off and on all month too. Receiving 6-8 inches of rain since the first of May around the Alliance area. It has been cold, wet and dreary. I know we need the moisture but a little sunshine would help. Its has been too wet and cold to even get into my garden to till it. 

Linda and I have started RN consulting down in Scottsbluff this past week. We went two days last week and will go two days the next couple of weeks before I take my bucket list birthday trip with my girls to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. After I get back home my BNA class will start on June 15th. Then it will be crazy for me who has not worked five days a week in several years. At least until the class is over. I will be teaching Monday through Thursdays and consulting on Fridays. BUSY! I wonder if my gardening will suffer? Probably...

Wednesday I traveled to Rushville to see Jarret graduate in the top ten percent of his eighth grade class. I was so proud of him! Unbelievable that both Jarret and Taylen are going to be in high school. Taylen will be a junior next year. Here are a few of proud Mary's graduation pictures. That reminds me, isn't that a song? 

Jarret 

Taylen 

These grown boys and their beautiful Mom on Mother's Day.