Gifts from Afar

 

We have had a few storms. Enough to make the first couple of inches soil damp. Ron is doing his after Christmas disking. Except this year he will be turning this into a parking lot again. We have engagement party here on January 16th. The weathermen say El Nino hasn't kicked in yet. In a normal rain year we get about 6 inches of rain a year. The last time we had a El Nino we had 16 something, 13 inches in January alone. So this is like really, really throwing the dice. We had a very nice Christmas. Yes, everything is put away today. Nothing remains except the tons of food. We have 22 days to pull this engagement party off.

That aside, I have this friend I met though blogging. A beautiful blog named Dog Trot Farm. 
I think that is why blogging is so addictive.  You meet the nicest people. They share your life and you share theirs. When I first found blogging and found Julie and all of the wonderful happenings on Dog Trot, I was entranced. She not only was the most incredible photographer. She hooked rugs, and she had chickens.

I read her stories and I had chickens and I thought, could I be like Julie? She really was my inspiration. Never in my wildest dreams did I think she and I would become friends, living--- me in California and she in Maine. But we are.

She sent me a box filled with love this Christmas. She sent me this snowman chair pad and I have it out on my bench, and it looks like she made it just for there.

She sent some Maine Taffy.

This lovely hen and her egg

Julie knows how I love Christmas Socks or just socks period.

So if you have never met Julie or visited with her at Dog Trot, stop in and you will be so glad you did. Thank you so much Julie.

I have told you that Makenzie is a professional photographer. For Christmas she took pictures secretly of everyone. She was even going to fly to Arizona to take Kessie's and her hubby's pictures. Things just got so crazy and Kessie had just had Sophie. But she was going to try anyway. She took Ron and my photo and I will even show you because I think it is the first photo of myself I have ever liked. Well except the previous one of me and Santa.

She even had them framed. So there we are, I hope when Kessie comes for a visit in the spring we can have some more photos done. I love how our family is ever expanding. I am so thankful for the gifts God continues to send our way.

Anyway, that is how it has been, life continues to be rewarding, busy and I really still don't know what end is up. It is all good though. I am of course, very, very thankful. God is good, all of the time.

~Kim~

There is much more snow now.

"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress."
---Charles Dickens