Apache the House Horse

Judi over at Beauty and Bread had the funniest pictures on her blog recently. She risked life and limb to get this picture, and it's priceless! Can you see the horse on the porch? Looks like he's scratching at the door, "Let me in!"

I guess it's no different from Porch Chickens...

Or Pool Ducks...

Or even a Dining Room Calf!

We've got a deer problem out here on GrannyMountain so it wouldn't surprise me a bit if one day I have a doe join me on the patio for drinks!

We too had a House Horse, or he wanted to be. Our daughters had an Appaloosa growing up that would follow me to the back porch (if he was tied nearby) and practically begged to come in! He would stand at the kitchen window and watch me as I washed the dishes. It was a little odd I guess! Apache was a card carrying Pespi fan, loved my spaghetti and was more dog than horse. You can do that to almost any pet, make them so dependant on you that they crave your presence. Especially hard if it's a horse, or chickens or cows. Jayme over at Tales From the Coop Keeper proudly shares with us pictures of her hens enjoying the comforts of home, her home. Hey, she puts a diaper on them, she prides herself on being a very good housekeeper! Ree at Pioneer Woman has cows on her front porch, but she draws the line if they make a "mess." I wish I had a picture of our Peeping Tom Horse, you'll just have to trust me on this one...

The Scenic Route

Spring, will you ever find us this year? I think you've forgotten our address. We are the ones who live off Highway 12, the curvy road that leaves Rogers and winds it's way back toward Beaver Lake.

I could send you directions...just in case you've forgotten how to get here.

Turn onto Old Prairie Creek Road, and just follow the road up and down the hills, don't go too fast or you might hit a deer...

Take your time and enjoy the lakeview...

I love it when the sun shines and makes "diamonds" on the water...

The last time I saw it this pretty was late Fall, please come to visit again Spring.

When you get to the big curve that overlooks Prairie Creek Cove you're almost there...

One more hill and then turn right...

Home Sweet Home!

2000~A Very Good Year!

Today is our GRANDson Gavin's 10th birthday! He has the distinction of being a "Millennium Baby!" In our family, my Grandma Keeling was born 100 years ago in 1900 was a "Centennial Baby!" Just to jog your memory a little, here are some of the things that highlighted 2000!

A view of the nation in 2000 can be seen on Superbowl XXXIV's commercials...
(Scroll to the bottom of the page and turn OFF the Playlist so that you can hear the YouTube Videos)


E-Trade's Monkey


The Running of the Squirrels


Packrat™ MySpace Video
Video Squirrels

Budweiser's Crying Dog

Harry Potter's reign continued in 2000 with The Goblet of Fire...

Most Popular Christmas Gift:
Who wants to be a Millionaire Board Game

The Big Movies:
Gladiator

Cast Away

On the Tube:
Malcolm in the Middle on Fox

Survivor (Season 1) on CBS

Fear Factor on MTV

But for us, March 29th, 2000 is a RED LETTER DAY because Gavin was born!

Spring Blizzard

A week ago we woke up to a 8" of the prettiest, fluffiest, whitest snow you can imagine. I was thrilled and immediately began taking pictures and planning a hearty Sunday dinner...a roast simmering in the crockpot and homemade rolls. Snow brings out the "Little House on the Prairie" in me. I go into pioneer mode and plan for days of being stranded. Since I buy groceries and hoard enough food to last for roughly 6 months, there's little danger of being without!

You may notice there are only one set of tracks coming up the driveway...that would be Hubby's. He has to have the paper first thing or he goes into withdrawal. I swear if we were having a tornado he'd try to make a dash for the mailbox!

No other tracks on Southview this morning, the neighbors all deemed it a "snow day" and stayed inside!

After a hearty breakfast (we had bacon and eggs, hash browns and grits) Jerry went out and gave the new "ergonomic" shovel a spin. After our last big snow a few weeks ago he said he wanted a "Northern" snow shovel. One that is used to doing big jobs, not the little snows that we normally get. This has been the snowiest winter in 20 years the weatherman said. So I looked online and found this one.

Jerry has our old shovel leaning nearby, but this one is making quick work of the 8" of heavy snow.

Back and forth...

It took about an hour for a steep circle driveway, not too bad.

*A snow blower would not work for our steep driveways, they are practically vertical!

Hardly Working...

My first job was working in an Orange Juice factory, but I got canned. Couldn't concentrate.




Then I worked in the woods as a Lumberjack, but just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the axe.

After that, I tried being a Tailor, but wasn't suited for it -- mainly because it was a sew-sew job.

Next, I tried working in a Muffler Factory, but that was too exhausting.

Then, tried being a Chef - figured it would add a little spice to my life, but just didn't have the thyme.

Next, I attempted being a Deli Worker, but any way I sliced it... couldn't cut the mustard.

My best job was a Musician, but eventually found I wasn't noteworthy.

I studied a long time to become a Doctor, but didn't have any patience.

Next, was a job in a Shoe Factory. Tried hard but just didn't fit in.

I became a Professional Fisherman, but discovered I couldn't live on my net income.

Managed to get a good job working for a Pool Maintenance company,

but the work was just too draining.

So then I got a job in a Workout Center, but they said I wasn't fit for the job.

My last job was working in Starbucks,

but had to quit because it was the same old grind.

SO, I TRIED Retirement AND FOUND I'M PERFECT FOR THEJOB!
Have a great weekend!

Ben's Email

Ben here, just want to share a great email that I got last week...get out the tissues for this one! I think everyone will like this even if you don't have a dog...who knows, you may decide you need one after reading this! If you do, be sure and check out your local Humane Shelters or Rescue Groups first!

A GREAT DOG STORY

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact, she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable. Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

Take the Long View

I'm a terrible blogger, I post and then I'm off to work on today's "To Do" list. Sometimes it's also yesterday's "To Do" list too! I wish I had the time to reply to every comment, afterall YOU have taken the time out of your day to come and visit me at GrannyMountain. But I don't, I rush around, telling myself I'll come back later and answer every comment. Then it's dinnertime, then it's bedtime and I rarely come back to the computer at night. So...that's my excuse. Not a good one mind you, but it's the truth.

This morning I'm setting here reading comments on posts instead of looking at my favorite blogs. Back on 9-11-09 Kathleen at Easy For Me to Say posted a very insightful comment. That blog, "Yesterday" was remembering that day 8 years ago when the World Trade Center Towers went down. Our life at the time was a flurry of family turmoils; our youngest daughter had moved back home to escape an abusive relationship, my Mother was on a downhill slide with her dementia and my brother was facing his last year with terminal heart disease. What I thought was a very difficult time in our lives was all brought into perspective in those hours that day when so many lost their lives. Kathleen's comment can help me if I'll just take the time to read it, and apply it to today!

Kathleen said:
"Yes, much has healed, hasn't it? And still so much more is needed. I often have to remind myself to take the long view. And to remember all in God's time, not mine, and that peace begins at home and in my very own heart."

No Salt

Can you believe that there is a bill that would ban the use of salt in New York restaurants??? State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has has introduced a bill that would ban the use of salt in New York restaurants - and violators would be smacked with a $1,000 fine for every salty dish.
"No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food," the bill reads.
Needless to say, some of Manhattan's top cooks are very upset. Considered the restaurant capital of the world, a ban on salt would make gourmet meals taste like hospital food.
There's little argument that too much salt causes high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks - but even hardcore salt haters say banning it outright is a pinch too much.

Back in the 1970's when I first married, I didn't really think about the amount of salt that I used in cooking. You can tell that by the size of the salt shaker that set on my stove. This set held about 2 cups and lasted a good long while before I had to refill.

Nowadays, most of us can't get by with just one salt, we have multiple salts that we use for cooking. Mine now sit out in pinch bowls near the stove. Food Network has taught us that we need certain things to cook. We need chef's knifes, we need a microplane, we need a Boos board...and we need pinch bowls or you might as well just make a bologna sandwich and close up shop!

I have used Morton's Lite Salt in our shakers for over 30 years. My Mother-in-law was diagnosed with high blood pressure in the 1970's and I realized then that we needed to be careful about too much in our diet.

Bacon Salt is a new product that I love! I even did a blog on it recently, you can read about it HERE. It's a low sodium, no fat alternative to one of my downfalls, BACON!

Of course there is a plethora of salts out there. Grey salt, pink salt, even Jurassic salt ($12.50-$35.00)! There are some health reasons to buy the specialty salts...

Why Sea Salts?
Sea Salts help to balance and replenishes all of the body's electrolytes
It provides renewed energy
It gives you a high resistance to infections and bacterial diseases
It supplies all 82 vital trace minerals
It balances alkaline/acid levels
It restores good digestion
The natural iodine in these salts protects against radiation and many other pollutants
It can aid in relieving allergies and skin diseases
And overall greatly reduces toxins and to help prevent ill-health




If you're gonna shell out the big bucks for gourmet salts, then you need a beautiful salt cellar to store them. This one from NapaStyle.com would hold a larger amount than a pinch bowl.

Another one from NapaStyle.com

Black Olive Flor de Sal
$39.00
“Flower of the Salt” is completely unrefined thus preserving all 84 minerals. The rich olive intensity complements the mineral notes in the naturally harvested sea salt, creating the perfect seasoning for robust Mediterranean fare. Made in Spain.

Isn't it amazing that we managed so long with just this plain ol' salt shaker!