Bogart in a bag...

Michelle (Izaac's aunt) got this bag when she bought a pair of shoes at "Steve Madden" at Jordan Creek on Saturday (on sale!! she assured me). After I unpacked the bag (which had Izaac clothes in it when I brought it home), Bogie thought it smelled and looked too interesting just to sniff, so climbed in for a nap. Bogie blends in with the bag so well it's almost hard to see where it ends and he starts!

Izaac taking a nap this morning after a few sneezes. His grandmother thinks he may be getting another cold--yikes. Uncle Johnny creating supper--Cincinnati Chili--and it smells great already!

We're enjoying the frosty day--heavy frost for several days in a row and fog in the morning and at night. It's supposed to be really cold tonight, but we'll be in anyway. later now...

More wildlife pictures??

Well, okay, one of them is really in the wildlife category, but which one is for you to decide!

Why do they call them red-tailed hawks? I don't think it really looks like 'red' on his tail. oh well. (the other one is my brother-in-law, Mick, demonstrating the correct way to wear these antlers.... I told you he has a great sense of humor!)

Wildlife close to home--really close!

This is a red-tailed hawk that has lived on the edge of our acreage (in a line of trees) but this year seems to have decided to make a nest in the tree right outside our east 'Prairie Room' window. (I took these through the window.)

I can't believe it sat long enough for me to take several pictures, with me walking down the hall closer and closer to it, and Queenie jumping up to get a first-hand view of it, too. It didn't seem nervous, but eventually left. I see it almost every day swooping through the yard. (PLEASE eat all the little rodents you find out in our yard-and thank you!!) It hasn't flown at the cats (yet??) but I don't usually see it flying much when they're outside.

This is Mick and Katherine showing off their (favorite??) gifts.... Mick said in his Christmas card he wasn't sure which one of them were the 'hunter' or 'gatherer' between the two of them, so I got him some camoflage to make sure his 'hunter' status wasn't over.

Fortunately, he has a good sense of humor-but it's hard for me to choose the right gift for him. sorry mick.

More Christmas Day pictures

Three of the Walker grandchildren open and show off the box of treats from the Peace Corps Volunteer from Paraguay (Rachel Newby).

In the picture above left in the kitchen in Sac City (Iowa) making a great dinner and having some laughs are (from left) Ann Walker Smalley, Grandma Jean Walker, Tag Walker and Kathy Hutchinson.

It WAS a VERY Merry Christmas!

We all had a great Christmas, starting with Christmas Eve day in Des Moines at Grandma Markey's, with everybody but Joe there. He has a new job at Target, and being the low man on the totem pole, worked all weekend and Monday, too. Turkey and all the trimmings--yum--plus the front porch filled with candy!

Christmas Day in Sac City with John's family began at church. After a great breakfast we cleaned out our Christmas socks with interesting stories about the treasures in them.

Then all the presents were opened and the prime rib put in the "set it and forget it" machine. Yum again! Mounds of mashed potatoes and lots of Yorkshire and rolls (that John made last week) rounded out the dinner with a great cheesecake for dessert--REALLY rich cheesecake!

We opened a box of treats from Rachel, who is in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, but currently on a break in Argentina and Montivideo and Uruguay with several girl scout camp buddies.

Izaac meets Santa!

We have all been showing Izaac pictures of Santa for a month hoping he would not be afraid when he meets him. This is the Sears Portrait Studio Santa, who happens to be the dad of a GrandView classmate, Bethany, who also works for Sears Studio.

Izaac's mom (Amanda) took him to see a 'live' Santa last week, but she thought he was a little too unsure to try and place Izaac on Santa's lap. But yesterday at Sears, he thought Santa was pretty interesting. So these pictures turned out pretty cute (well, of course they did, because Izaac's in them!).

Warmer days remembered!

I'm (on the left) in Chicago on a really hot August day (2007). That's John on the right. We were going to the Shedd Aquarium that day, but the line was horrendous because the Komodo Dragon was in residence there. That's not why we went, so we opted to take the boat across the lake to the Navy Pier and enjoy some 'touristing' and LOTS of walking.

I've got to run...bread dough needs punched and made into rolls!!!

Is it frosting?

It looked like somebody took a mega power-washer and blew white frosting all over the trees this morning in our yard (and our whole region). Man, now I understand why some people want their Christmas tree 'flocked'. I didn't used to think it was a reasonable thing to do: take a perfectly good evergreen and make it white??? Why--it's really beautiful that's why.

Alex home from college this afternoon, so I'm making him a work list. He started a job on the weekends in Des Moines for a resident house for "Childserve". He did it this past weekend for the first time, from 6am to 11pm both days. There are two people always in the house with the 4 residents (these were teenagers) and they cook for them, too. They have a rest period in the afternoon of about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, so there's a little break from them. He liked it, of course. I shouldn't be surprised. It seems like two long days to me. I'm glad there are people (like him) who like to do this kind of work.

Starting to communicate?

Izaac arrived here Wednesday evening, and we took him back to Des Moines yesterday. He's trying to say something, I think, by making O's with his mouth. I've been trying to get him to say 'hi', and I think a couple of times he's said "hey" at the right moment. His mom is trying to get him to say 'momma', but she only heard a 'duh' a couple of times.

I've been trying to figure out what Santa still needs to find/buy for Christmas, so the wrapping paper is out (we're a little short on it because I didn't get to shop last year too much!!) and I've got things spread into two rooms of the house! The cats aren't helping much when they lay on things I'm looking for or try and help 'cut' the wrapping paper! oh well.

**fyi--Izaac pic a little dark, so click on it and look, and then hit the 'back' arrow button to return to the blog--those "Tidy Cat" containers have bird food in them behind Izaac--not cat litter! That's Bogart Wrigley looking at the squirrel outside eating the bird food....

A knight in shining armor?

He might as well have had a suit of silver armor and been riding a white horse. We got about 4 more inches of snow from last evening through early this afternoon. I was trying to be helpful by shoveling, but knew I wouldn't last the whole driveway, so tried to start the small snow-blower. It turned over but didn't ever start completely. (Yes, there was gas in it, because I checked that first.)
So then I tried the bigger one. The bigger one is self-propelled, but I've never actually started it before, and when I finally got it going, I shoveled about 3 short strips and then heard an engine noise. I turned around and there was a black pickup with a guy I didn't recognize with a small child in the passenger seat.

He said, "you don't need to do that. I have a blade on my other pickup and I'll be right back to clean this out. Is that okay?" I was a little stunned, since I hadn't even heard the pickup before it was about 15 feet away from me. I said, "you are?", and he said, "I live around the corner, with the horses and the mule. My names is Jones. I'll be right back, okay?" I said, "Sure", with a relieved look no one could have mistaken.

True to his word, he was back in less than 10 minutes with a different (even BIGGER) truck with a blade that looked pretty new (so did the truck, though), and made several swipes each direction in the driveway and then smiled and waved and said, "Now you have a nice Christmas, okay?" I shook my head and said "Thanks" and went in to get warm!!!! Thanks neighbor!!!!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

So, we decorated a little. We didn't do the full-fledged dragging out of ALL the containers full of tree decorations and lights and characters to sit on the buffet, but it definitely looks more festive in here.

More snow yesterday for us in the amount of 3-5 inches (depends on where you walk at this house). It's sleeting just south of here, but I don't plan on traveling anywhere anyway. Internet--I hope you can do my Christmas shopping for me AGAIN! It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow also. Okay, it's white already! Enough!

December in Iowa!

It may be hard to see this picture without clicking on it. (If you do, just click on the "back" arrow to return to this page.) We had freezing rain most of the day last Saturday, and on Sunday morning, it was lightly sleeting for about 3 hours.

Monday, school was even delayed two hours (and the roads were still ice-patched when we left for Des Moines after 10am!). Then there was a snow dusting overnight Monday. It left 3+ inches of solid-packed ice on the driveway/approach to the garage.

Yesterday was cold and sunny, so we both went out and took turns with the ice-breaker so we could get one layer up before it snows (expected to get 2-4" this afternoon) today. Yikes!

Izaac in "Elf Yourself"

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1176999843

Two pictures of the boys, since they didn't both smile in the same one...

Izaac made the trip home yesterday after an interesting visit through the crummy weekend weather and a bout with ear infection. He was himself again after starting the medicine!

I, however, have ended up with bronchitis and sinus infection. So I'm on medicine, too! oh well...

The dog (Chia, now about 14 years old) has taken a spell of sleeping (inside) all day and then chasing rabbits (or whatever moves) outside at night, barking off and on when she gets really excited. It's startling if she's right under the one of the bedroom windows.

The weather outside is frightful!!

This is a picture about 11am 12/1/07 looking south out of the patio door in the kitchen.

The trainman got called at 4:15am, went to work in light snow, and when his train was in Clinton (not Boone) he came home in snow, too, at 6:45am. He won't be going to Boone again today! It's been freezing rain/snow since then, and has covered all the south and east windows almost completely.

The furry children HATE this weather, and Queenie spent a half an hour (seemed like all morning) whining to have the door opened to the outside world, but when I did, she backed up from it and went to bed. later now...