White Christmas - a day late!

The Christmas cake turned out spectacular this year. I love the crisp, detailed bundt mold I found last year. Christmas day was spent out in the Ghost Town of Gleeson AZ with my Sister. She now owns the old 1800's jail and is restoring it. My G'kids think that is cool - a Great Aunt that owns a jail!



Brrrr ... Yesterday afternoon it got dark and then we got sleet, snow and frigid temps. It's a bit early for our area of Arizona to have 25 degree weather with the white stuff. The nice thing is that the sun is out and it's already starting to go away. So we almost had a White Christmas.







It's a bit late to post trip photos, but I did want to share this find from the Windmill Museum in Lubbock Texas.






I found it fascinating that the birds could even work with the stiff pieces of wire plus barbed wire.




Enjoy what's left of 2008.
Did you know it'll be leap second year?

Season's Greetings

It's taken 2 weeks for the quail to figure out that I'm back and they can get water and a meal in my side yard. I counted 18 in the herd this afternoon and enjoyed watching their antics.




I've been in touch with friends and family in New Hampshire and followed the news about ice and snow. Seems they are well on their way to setting, or at least matching weather records. I feel fortunate to have escaped NH's wintry weather and am still wearing my flip-flops.


Tombstone has been chilly, but not downright cold! The house has been mostly put back together and project plans for the winter formulated. I've not gotten any any beading done, but have been working on mental beading with my programmer partner. Since he has learned to bead crochet, he's made me see things about the technique that I never thought to know.

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The pies and Christmas cake are made, the roast beast is in the fridge and all is ready to go out to my Sister's place in Gleeson tomorrow to share the holiday meal. Only in my family would there be plans to spend part of the day admiring an 1880's jail restoration project and climbing around a sheet metal junkyard.

I'd like to take this time to wish all of you

The very best for this

Holiday Season

and

a great New Year

in Arizona

Arrived in AZ and sure am enjoying the sunshine and weather. Especially seeing what I'm missing in NH. See what Jen has to say about the ice! Now to set the studio back up and stock the pantry. Trip photos when I get my desktop up and running and can go through what we took on the trip.


Here is a mystery. I bought 8 of these in a junk store and have no clue as to what they might be. They are brass stampings with porcelain-center knobs. One end is marked "JUDD - Pat." the other "March 1889" Thinking ... some sort of drapery hardware? Don't know what I'll do with them, but they are just mighty interesting. Does anyone have any idea of what they are?

Trip West Report

It's been a slow trip so far. Life conspired to not let us out of NH in a timely manner, then we had a few trailer glitches. While driving the back roads of Texas, I saw this sign and just had to turn around to take a picture of it. It was one of those , "say what?" Another, smaller sign said they were buying catalytic converters - I can only surmise that was what they meant by cats! Sure made us stop, look and turn back for a photo.

Better than half way to Tombstone. Home soon.