10 things you do not know about me...

I am doing this in response to the "Honest Scrap Award", that I mentioned previously.. thank you Cousin B at She Who Rides Many Ponies...

1. I like soft ice cream
2. I feel better when the sky is blue..
   
3. I want to move somewhere warm and dry when it is winter and wet in Washington.
4. I like the water (as in lake, not in rain), I do not like to swim.
5. I used to be fearless when it came to horses, until I had a bad horse accident about 10 years ago. The first time I got on a horse after that accident, I was actually afraid.. for the first time I understood how some people could be afraid to ride a horse. It took a while to get over that, I am no longer fearless on a horse, which is probably for the better.
   
6. I would like to live somewhere where you can walk to a store or a coffee shop at some time in my life, just to know what that is like.
   
7. I believe in forgiveness, and yet have a very hard time thinking I can forgive my mean hearted animal hating neighbor who has killed my beloved pets (thus the invisible fence we must have, plus exterior fence).
8. I am a middle child, and believe there is something to the "Middle Child Syndrome"...
   
9. I cannot get into sports like baseball, football, basketball...I cannot keep my attention on them long enough to enjoy them.
   
10. I thought I wanted to pursue some kind of art career, and took art classes in college.
    

Oh.. how sweet is it is!

First.. I want to say that I am horrible about handling rewards..really terrible.

I have received some kind rewards from some wonderful bloggers, that I do not deserve... and yet have been honored.

And than I am bad about "paying forward". That is wrong.. yet I get so overwhelmed, and short on time.. that I become like Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind..ah tomorrow is another day... (seriously, shame on me).

I want to apologize for this flaw in my blog integrity..so without any more fuss...

Ali ....at The Blessed Country Mom who I personally believe is a real live Angel on this earth...( I bet she has feathered wings tucked under her cowgirl shirt!).. gave me the "Super Follower" award. Thank you Ali!

JAM our own Just A Mom's own Reality...was so gracious to list me as someone to receive this sweet Panda Super Comment Award, thank you!

Plus one of the wonderful Pony Cousins..who refers to herself as "Cousin B" (is that for Betsy??) from She Who Rides Many Ponies... was so nice to me as well. I am s'posed to tell you 10 things about me ..you don't know... I will, just not now.

It is to acknowledge 5 people who leave you super comments...so I am going to combine these three great awards and list 10, well let's make it 15!
It's a 3-fer!

I will sorta stick with the rules... x 3 for 3 awards! In no particular order....
1. Ali at The Blessed Country Mom
2. Audrey at Stage 3, Who Me?
3. Kritter Keeper ((hugs))
4. Opus 6 at MAinfo
5. Paint Girl at Adventures of Painted CreekFarm
6. Randi at Beauty Be Good
7. Desert Rose at JessesDesertRose
8. Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch
9. Evil Twins Wife.. from the Glamorous Life of a Hausfrau of course!
10.Pony Girl.. from Pony Girl Rides Again

I want to add 5 more of you as well...
The Good Cook ..You really should visit her site when you are hungry..yummm,
Tamis at a Day in The Life.. (she is one of the very the nicest people I know..)
John and Regina at Horse Talk Indiana
City Girl Turned Country
Dusty Devoe at CopperPony'sCowgirl..

I could of gone on further, but had to stop..

I must say.. you all have no idea how nice it is to know you.. all of you :)

I will tell you 10 things about me later, I am worn out from putting this together!!

PS.. I know these things take time to do something with.. so no one is obligated..I just want to acknowledge you!

Quotable Sunday...Friends..

I love this wonderful Sunday post challenge, brought to us from Toni.
And I am going to focus on:
Quotes about Friends.

This is because it has been my family and my friends (both in my real world, and in my blogging world) who have been a blessing to me, as we have been going through the stress of life and death for this last month!


Friends are like melons; shall I tell you why? To find one good you must one hundred try. -- Claude Mermet

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.-- Abraham Lincoln

One who looks for a friend without faults will have none. -- Hasidic Saying

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.-- Walter Winchell

Friends are needed both for joy and for sorrow. -- Samuel Paterson

A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway. -- Fr. Jerome Cummings

Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends. -- Cindy Lew

Thanks, dear friends :-)

I won... and all I can say is ...WOW!

A while back a very special person who goes by the name of Train Wreck and has a blog called Cowboys Kids and Sunsets had a "I'm Back Giveaway"...and I was the extremely fortunate person to be the lucky winner!

Look what showed up at my house this last week......

Double click the PIX to see all of the fun stuff!

There are these wonderful and fun pieces ...such as a really beautiful necklace and earring set. Spa soaps and bath scents.. candles and books..and a very sweet hand stamped top...a pink summer chair picture frame. Many items were from Train Wreck's favorite boutique called "Blossoms". Oh, and lets not forget the Chocolate.. which my husband really liked!


I especially love the pendent she made...just for ME!

On one side it has a "J" and says "Born to be a Cowgirl Gypsy". I think I really like that saying... I may have to claim that for myself personally!

( Maybe get a Blog Button with that on it...Ali?)

And... look, that is a "J" with a Queens Crown...for me!

Thank You to Train Wreck! I know she is swamped with going on's at the moment, and has not had time to blog. She told me that she hopes to be back blogging soon...I know I will be delighted to see her back...as her Blog is so cool!

VGNO..our last Friday Night Party in June !

Again.. we must toast the glass for Ann... at Ann Again and Again, who keeps inviting us all back, to party with her!

And she never complains when we leave our empties all over her virtual house and make a mess to leave behind when we leave, what a hostess!

Do you realize it is the last weekend on June? Also it is the first summer weekend of 2009!

I am so ready for the sun.. which happens to be shining here in the Pacific NW today!

Oh.. Ann asked how we met our hubbies.. I was my husbands first girlfriend.. we dated in our Senior Year. Later we went separate ways, I went to college he went in the Navy...

We married different people, had children and families...and later when we were both divorced ran into each other unexpectedly at a "gig" in Gig Harbor, Washington at this cute little place on the water called "The Tides".

My friend who I was with, was the bass player in the band His friend was the guy who was the sound system guy for the band.

We have been together ever since!

That was...well...a while back :)

Happy VGNO!

Friday Shoot Out...Colors of the Rainbow..

Audrey told us about Debbie at The Pink Birdhouse , who sponsors this fun "Friday Shoot Out".. you know... camera shootout?

So this Friday it is colors of the Rainbow...


I have a love for bright colors...so this was just a matter of finding some of my favorite pictures with lots of colors in them!

I imagine many of you have ridden this ride, if you have been to Disneyland California Adventure.
Caleb and Ken must of gone on it 15-20 times on this one day. It was very quiet at the park, and the lines were non existent.

I love this picture from Cabo San Lucas..if you have been to Cabo, you probably know right where this is! I miss Cabo....

And the place we stay at has the coolest Flamingos, aren't these the coolest birds??!

I means really, does God have a sense of humor or what!
(click on the picture, and they look even cooler!)

I also got some other bright colored pictures at Disneyland..at the Nightly Electric Parade

Oh... this one was at night.. though I guess that is obvious... I love the ripple in the lights of the rides...

OK..I need to bring this home, so the last picture is a flower from my garden.



Happy Friday :)

Porting Out.. or is it Porting In?

I live in an area that is long distance from all the people I love...even those who live near by.

When we moved here in 94, well...the only option was to pay more for a "foreign exchange" so we wouldn't be long distance for everyone to call us, or for us to call them .

Well those days are gone, as now just about everyone has pretty good cellular service in their homes, or free Long Distance with their different kinds of phone connections.

So my question is why am I still paying for a foreign exchange on my land line phone? Good question, if you ask me.

So I did it, I "Ported Out" my land line number ( which was costing me way more than it should) to be my $9.99 per month secondary line on our Cellular Family Share calling plan. I can add a message to this line giving my "new" home number, and eventually drop the old number.

Then, I called good old Verizon Communications, and set up the cheapest landline service I could ($16.95 per month I think), with no Long Distance, as I can use the cell's for that. This was around May 18th. They also assured me, yes the old number was shown as Ported Out from their company on May 18th.


So, fast forward to Tuesday. I go to the mail box and get a new bill for my old number, and this is not a final bill... it is a "your paying for service from 6-13-2009 to 7-13-2009" bill....

This is bad news... if you have ever had to call Verizon Communications Customer Service... well... it is a warped land of transfers.

I spent my first break being transferred no less than 4 times. To quote each of the Customer Service Representatives " I am sorry, you have a foreign exchange line, and I will need to transfer you to...."

I than spent my whole lunch hour also in the land of call transfers again. It was at least 4 more transfers, to get to someone who (after putting me on hold for the umpteenth time) said they could "resolve my issue".

I now have a disconnect order #, and hope this is the end of this mess. She said they will credit my service back to the day the number was Ported Out. I will believe it when I get the confirmation that they have canceled the old land line number's service, since it has been on my cell phone for over a month!

I work for a Communication Company, and when I hear a customer complain about being transferred... I can honestly have empathy for them!

Our Girls, and the end results..

We are so fortunate, as between us we have 3 great girls, who are fun and smart and talented women, and good mom's.

Plus, the end result is some terrific funny smart talented and unique grandkids!

With Karen's Memorial service on Saturday, it was a special time for the daughter from California (Amy) to come to town, with the youngest granddaughter, Miracle, who we have not seen since she was a baby. Well.. it did not take Miracle long to become the welcoming committee for the incoming family visitors and cousins!

After the Memorial activities, we had so much fun, as the girls got caught up on life. And the grandkids hit it off like they have always known each other forever! Amy was starting to worry, as the other two girls were threatening to steal little Miracle, as she is such a fun little kid!

Just a quick update..

Karen's Memorial Service was yesterday, and the estimate was over 500 at the church, and standing room only. She was not famous or wealthy...yet so many people knew her and honored her.

We all laughed and we all cried, as many people shared wonderful stories about this special unselfish woman.

We talked later with someone who commented that this is the testimony of a life that has had such a profound effect on so many people. Karen made everyone she met, feel special.

These people were here to honor Karen, and give tribute to her life on this earth, and express how she had effected them. I even saw people from my own company, who I did not know had a connection with our Karen!

She was very Patriotic, and some of the stories talked about her car with all it's flags! Her red white and blue colors were up front at the church, and many of the arrangement's were in her favorite "All American" colors. Obviously from people who knew she would like that!

I feel many of us left there feeling she is a "benchmark" for the rest of us to use, for our own lives. So because she loved her "flipflops", all I have to say is ..

those are big flipflops to fill!

Happy VGNO.. you wonderful Blog Ladies!

I will be busy a bit tonight, so may not be able to make the rounds as I would like, but I am with you in virtual "Blog Spirit"!

Ann at Ann Again and Again.. our most wonderful hostess, has asked the question.. who do people say you look like?

In the past I was told I looked like Shelly Long.. back when she was on "Cheers".

My husband had nicknamed me "Shelly Short" as I was 5'3' at that time..(now shorter) :(

So.. ladies.. have a grand party tonight!

Delilah wanted to say hello..

We have a Manx cat...Delilah.
This is often the view from the office window, on a nice day...
What a sweet view she makes!

Honestly, how could you not love a face like this? As you can imagine, she often brings us "presents" she catch's... though I wish she would stop with the birds! She litters the garage floor with bird feathers, and partially eaten bodies of some small creatures, even baby bunnies sometimes, bad cat!

Sometimes while I am working in the yard... out of the corner of my eye... I will see her jump in the air, really high trying to get some poor bird from under the bird feeders.

We don't want her to venture far, which is fine as she thinks the gardens are her "jungle".
She knows the dogs can't get into the garden (invisible fence limitations) and she taunts them.. from the edge of the garden... and drive the Corgi's crazy!
She is "Queen" of her jungle!

Horse, Horses Horses...32 Horses and counting...literally!

Horses... Horses...Horses...

I decided I need to think about something else, and this is something I have been meaning to do for ME. As I am getting "old", and am forgetting some things...like how many horses I have had over the years.


After all this is my history!
I ran across my list of horses, and had to update it further. So I figured if I "list" it here, I will really keep it for my records!

I have had 30+ horses/ponies as of 2009, over about a 45 year period (can that be true?). No wonder I can't remember them all!

1. My first horse was an old bay mare named "Sweetie" who we paid $100.00 for. I was 12 or 13 and she was old! She taught me a lot in the year or so I had her. She was at least in her mid 20’s, and the perfect first horse. I rode her everywhere.. near and far.


2.Then an "unbroken" 2 year old dun filly just off the truck from Montana, a mare I named Sonja, who was one of the best horses I ever had. I trained her myself, and we both learned a lot!

She was my 4-H horse, and my "playday" (gaming) mare. I carried the flag as the lead drill horse on our 4-H drill team, on this terrific mare. She was wonderful, and I should have kept her forever ( you will hear me say this a lot!). She was always in the ribbons in barrels, pole bending, you name it. She could do all the games. I didn't know what a great horse she was, until she was gone.. as I thought they all must be this easy to train and game, not so!

3. Next was her foal Raiff, a red dun colt who was sired by another well know gaming horse in our area at the time, whose name was Pekoe. I should have kept Raiff as well!

4. Next was one awesome horse that is at the top of my favorite list, AQHA gelding named Risk Bar. Another horse who should have been with me forever.

I bought and sold some horses and ponies along the way. This helped pay for my horse habit, when I was a teenager. I would work them and than sell them for profit.
And later Ken and I raised some Paints as well.

5. Jolie was my first "buy to sell" horse.. and than the list continued.
6. Unnamed AQHA colt, bought at auction, sold via newspaper ad (No Craigs list or Internet back then!)
7. QH mare I bought and sold.
8.Alfie, a pinto Pony I bought to sell.
9.An appy Pony I bought and sold. He was a little stinker!
10.Chad, a palomino pony I bought and sold.
11.Glory, a wonderful half Lipizzaner mare. What a wonderful mare, she was amazing.
12.CasaJill, an AQHA mare, foundation bred.
13.A dapple grey grade mare (Megan I think her name was?)
14.A black AQHA filly, I bought from some friends. She was by their Black AQHA stallion.
15. Pony Face, a pony we had for the kids, he would rub them off on tree's!
16. Misty, a wonderful white Welsh mare, she was the best kids pony you could of ever had. We gave her to my friend Kathy, when my kids got to big for her. I wish I had one like her now for my grand kids.
17. Spooks QT Bear, an APHA Tobiano mare, my first Paint.
18. Moore Brandy, a Superior APHA chestnut mare, amazing horse..she had several Superior a Championships, and ROM's as well. Ken learned to ride on her.
19. Teak, an AQHA bay mare, we sold to friends who raised Paints out of her for several years.
20. Nugget of Gold "Zoe" 1991 APHA mare. One of our current Pasture Ornaments!
21. Demi Moore, a beautiful breeding stock dun filly out of Moore Brandy and by Two Bars Robin.. (pictured below.. he also sired "Bailey, #29, his foals had good minds)


"Demi" had a flaxen mane and tail, and was sold as a 2 year old to some folks who showed her in the Buckskin circuit. She was a great mare, I wish I had kept her too!
22. Bear, breeding stock colt out of Spooks QT Bear. Sold as a 2 year old.
23. Cashing Out, an APHA Sabino mare I bought to be a broodmare, tested Lethal White Negative. Sold to a lady who also used her as a broodmare.
24. Molly, out of Cashing Out by a AQHA stallion with Zips Chocolate Chip breeding.
25.Winston, out of Cashing Out and by Rocky Road Robin, a Superior APHA stud. We sold Winston to folks in Florida.
26. Right Ringer, APHA Superior halter mare, (Sarah), also tested Lethal White Negative. She had about a dozen colored paint foals, as far as I know she never threw a solid colored foal. She threw 100% color !
27. Chester, an APHA gelding, he was a twit.
28. O Heavens to Betsy, my Sabino Overo mare. She also tested Lethal White Negative. One of my current pasture Ornaments!
29. 1996 colt;Robin Fort Knox, aka "Bailey". He is a beautiful Overo gelding , Zoe's first foal, also by Two Bars Robin. He was the best foal we raised. We kept him until he was 3 and sold him to some people who adored him and showed him in Wisconsin.
30. Shelby, a colt out of Zoe. His sire was a APHA World Champion reining horse. Shelby was "lethal white", and we had to put him down the day he was born. One very sad day, and a very hard day for us.
31. Jackson Pony, a black pony, who otherwise was known as One eyed Jack... because he was one eyed!
32. Buddy, the antique rescue pony... He was 35 when we got him the fall of 2007, still alive on the farm today 6-2009, though he is getting kind of fragile.

So that is it, for now...

Happy Birthday to my Twin Grandchildren Trevor and Elise... 8 years old!

These two cool kids shared a Birthday on the 12th!

Trevor was experiencing some allergies when I took this first picture, so his eyes were itchy!

Trevor got Wii Mario games..and clothes (boring for a boy!). He wanted a Hammock (seriously, he did...) I saw one in his front yard today!

Elise got Barbies that are "Vet Assistants" and "Dog Bathers" ( Yes Barbie does this too!) ...as Elise loves animals!

And she of course, got new clothes...

I am going to give her riding lessons on Zoe as well!

(We will call Elise "Zoe's Cowgirl"!)

Happy late Birthday, you dumplings!

I am so fortunate to be one of their Gramma's :)

Quotable Sunday...

This has been a hard week for my family...I started the week on Monday, visiting and saying goodbye to my Sis In law Karen. We lost her on Wednesday. On Friday my Mom and Sis and I hurried down to Portland, as my wonderful Aunt Carol is fighting Pancreatic cancer (STAGE IV), and is rapidly declining as well.

So, guess what I have on my mind? Eternity...

Everything else pales at a time like this when people you love are coming close to, or have recently entered... their "Eternity".

The created world is but a small parenthesis in eternity.

Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, Stains the white radiance of eternity.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 14:2,3

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life. John 10:27, 28

The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23

I added my Favorite Picture of Karen and Ken to her tribute..what a woman!

I found this picture when I had more time.. so she is now smiling at us on my blog as she always did in person!


Scroll on down to the bottom of my post from 6-10-09 and look at our wonderful Karen :)

FYI...I wanted the picture added, and am not expecting comments..so do not feel obligated... as you were all so kind to respond so sweetly to my Post about Karen, thank you so much.

(Hey, why not just put it here too?! )




I really wanted to share with you her picture as I could not find this one previously!

Thanks for looking!

Thank You to the Good Cook, you are so "Sweet"!

This is a late thank you...

I must tell you that if you are in any way interested in cooking, even if it is because you just like to eat... you must go visit The Good Cook. Her blog is the place to go, if you want to cook something new and interesting.

Believe me, I don't cook, and I like to go there to think about cooking, and read a fun blog as well!



I was honored to receive some acknowledgment from her recently as well, and honestly do not deserve it.

So.. thank you for recognition with the One Lovely Blog Award, and also the Pink Lemonade Award!

Thank You.

An empty chair..for Karen

I took this picture last month, while we were at the "other half's" oldest sister Karen's, early Birthday party dinner.

We were not sure we were going to be able to have it, as her cancer was progressing and she was slipping from us at a alarming rate, that none of us wanted to admit to.




You see, Karen had fought the good fight for 10 years, against breast cancer. It started when she found a lump, and over the years she had good prognosis, and bad prognosis.

We referred to Karen as "Auntie Camera" as she ALWAYS had her camera, and packages of pictures by the dozens of the family she loved, and who loved her.

When she was a young women, she was "Miss Renton", (a suburb city of Seattle), and was a Seafair Princess as well... which is a big deal around these parts!

She loved everyone she met, and was fun and always had a smile on her face, and a sweet word of kindness for the person she spoke too. Karen really did love people.

Karen loved her family and was absolutely dedicated to them... and her family is a large family, with 8 grand children, most in high school or college at this time.

She always would have a wonderful story about one of the grandkids, and literary tears of joy in her eyes as she told the story of their recent success. This could have been a baseball game they were playing in or a gym meet.. or their success at school...she was so proud of each of them.

Karen lost her battle with cancer this morning at 4:30am...

Because I am a believer, and Karen was as well, I do not look at this with tears of sorrow.. though we already can't imagine life without Karen in it.

I have an all time favorite song, by Mercy Me called "I can Only Imagine". It talks about what it will be like in that day, when we can see Jesus, face to face...will we sing, will we dance, will we fall to our knees in praise?

Karen does not have to imagine any longer!

Karen, honey.. we love you, and will see you again!

(Karen and Ken at our house, a few years ago)

Does any one remember Tillman.. from the Best Dog real life challange about a year ago?

He was so cool... and I found this video of him.

He didn't win, but he won a lot of hearts!

I was out visiting some of you all recently..while the hubby was cooking up some Fish...

I visited "Di" over at "The Blue Ridge Gal ", what a fun blog!

Di had this delightful YouTube video her friend had sent her...

which will be me and the other half someday when we are old ( and learn to play the piano)...!

Fran & Marlo Cowan have been married for 62 years , he turned 90 in February. This was an impromptu performance at the Mayo Clinic.

So I am going to share it with you!

Tan legs....vanity vanity, all is vanity...

Ok...first I want to say that I know that tanning is bad, very bad!

I also know that I hate my legs to be less than a lovely bronze...well OK, anything but pasty white... with shorts on in the summer.

I am not to concerned about the rest of my bod. Just being outside takes care of the arms and shoulders as I am a tank top kind of gal... and swim suits you ask? Yeah, right, not!

So here is my ideal solution...

A few years ago, I had bought 3 tans at a salon that offered "free" use of the leg machine, as long as you still had some paid tans available. We were going to Mexico, and it seemed like a good way to prep for the hot sun down there.

I think I bought 3 paid tans (the lowest package they offered for cheap) and used the free leg machine thing at least a dozen times through the summer. I still had 1-2 tans that were not used when they closed their doors unexpectedly...

Hmm , I wonder why they were not making any money?

I have not had legs looks so nice and tan since...can't find anyone else around here who even appears to know about these " bullet looking" leg tanner things.

Bummer :(

I thought I would take a picture of myself..since you may wonder "What does Jan look like?"

Yep, that is what I look like!

You see my little "weather girl" over there.. you know, over to the left ( your left, my right...wait I am looking in the mirror...so she is really on my left too!?)...yep, that is me too!

Friday Night.. VGNO.. Hola my friends!

I am almost " drunken "on the summer weather we have had...90's!

OK, it is leaving us for a while here in the PNW, but it sure teased us for a full week almost! I told my husband, I thrive on this weather, it is the best of the best.. and when it is gone, I feel like a person who has a habit, and no fix!

So, my dear wonderful Blog Sisters, I hope you all are enjoying some summer weather and that you to feel the weather change in a positive way!

Once again, Ann from

Ann Again and Again

is the man.. (OK.. the Woman!) for keeping this weekly party going!

So as we used to say in the late 60's "Party On!"

Air Conditioning.. a blessing to have!

I love the warm weather, I love the blue sky's, and the warmth of the sun outside.
I also love coming into a nice cool house!

We have a heat pump which is supposed to be very energy efficient, it includes Air Conditioning, and that alone was worth going that route.



Here in the PNW many people think you don't need it, air conditioning I mean. But it only takes a handful of 80-90 degree days in a row, with some hot evenings while trying to sleep, to make a believer out of them!

I love the fact that I actually can sleep at night, and go to work feeling like I got some sleep. I really feel for the folks I work with who come in exhausted, because it was to hot to sleep in their house.

I am thankful for my heat pump- :)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB..13 YEARS OLD ON JUNE 1ST!

Caleb on his Birthday 2009

We consider ourselves to be so fortunate...we have 6 wonderful grand kids, and the 1st of them was Caleb.

Caleb while visiting our RV in Orange CA 2004

He is a funny, and smart. His cousins love him,and we are are all so proud of!

Caleb a couple years ago...

Caleb does it all, he does skiing and snowboarding in the winter. He plays football and baseball, he was just in the final playoffs for his Little League. He told us the other night, he wants to learn kayaking now. Caleb really is the fisherman in the family, he loves to fish and has a small lake near his house where he takes his tackle box, and goes to fish...what a great kid!

So... even thought this post is after his Birthday, I still wish our Caleb the best Birthday ever, we love you!