I like to spend some quiet and spiritual time before I get up in the mornings. I acknowledge my gratitude for a new day, I pray, read the Bible, I sometimes meditate, and I keep a journal. This morning, I thought about cancer. It seems like everyone has been affected by cancer. Someone I know has a husband who is very ill and I feel for her and her family. Another friend has a son who needs to find out if his cancer is still in remission. Last Thursday, I had lunch with a friend who teared up as she talked of her sister, who died of cancer some 15 years ago. Right now I just feel a need to let all of you, my friends, know that I'm sending love and good thoughts out to you. And that I care.
After the seriousness of my thoughts this morning, the rest of this Sunday has been nothing but pure fun! I took my dogs for a walk, but it was so cold and windy outside, I had to come back in the house and change to this:
Taking your own picture -- could that be the ultimate sign of a true hermit? I have been pondering the hermit question lately. What is it? Am I one? Or a recluse maybe? Why does hermit sound so noble and recluse somewhat dirty? Do they mean the same thing?
Angel, Princess and I walked up to the barn. Right now the road is covered in tumble mustard weeds that I hope will tumble away on their own in the wind storms of October. If not, I am determined to clear the road.
I took a lot of pictures around the barn, noting all the weeds that need to be cleared before I can continue where I left off last spring. I'm on a mission of cleaning up a lot of junk that was left around the ranch when we bought it. So I'm taking "before" photos and making a to-do list of all the cleanup work that is still needed around the place. I do everything without power tools, except for the lawnmower I use in the spring. So it takes time, but I enjoy it a lot. And I do get a lot of exercise and fresh air in the process. I do nothing in the summers, however, because I can't stand the heat.
Oh, my, what a lot of work ahead! I hope nature will do its job and make a lot of these weeds blow away in the wind.
On the way back, I let Angel loose to run. And run she did! Here she is, coming home after running a huge loop around the property.
Then she got a bit winded; she is eleven years old, after all, and takes all kinds of medicines. But this girl knows how to have fun! Because of her, her play-drive, combined with her strong protective instincts, I have fallen in love with the breed --- the German Shepherd Dog, or GSD for short.
While on the subject of dogs, the white and furry critter I mentioned in an earlier blog didn't make it here this weekend. His name is Samson and he is a Samoyed puppy, three months old now, that my husband adopted. He will live with my husband and keep him company in the city for the time being.
In case you wondered what happened to my peppers..... I found out they are called Poblanos, a mild pepper very common in Mexico. My husband wanted me to dry them, but I wanted to cook them. So I set aside two to dry. Those of you who know me well, know that a cook I am not. But I had Google to help. I googled poblanos and found a wealth of information, including a blog with 85 pages of recipes, about three to a page! I'm not sure they were all for peppers, but still, what an effort someone made! I decided to try a chili relleno recipe, which did not call for poblanos, but I had all the rest on hand, so why not?
This is what it looked like before I stuck it in the oven:
When it was done, it looked more like scrambled eggs with cheese and peppers than chili relleno, but I'm sure it will taste good whatever it turns out to be.
I'm having a very fun Sunday! What a little bit of cold weather can do for an old Swede! I hope you are having a great day too.
