Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

Merry Christmas - HO HO HO!

This is the Christmas postcard we sent this year. I took it last year when I had the Christmas Tree set up. Maggie was one year old and a very patient soul! She looks so different now because she is in her "hunting cut." I will have a post on this new look. Yes, I'm VERY behind! I ordered these through Vista Print who I love: great deals, great interface and nice results. I got the full color back that has a cut out of the photo with the words "Have You Been Naughty or Nice" and "Happy Holidays." Lots of fun!

I think I have my idea for next year. We went visiting with the girls partly dressed up. Maggie's Santa Suit no longer fits her and the Christmas robe I got Penny was too tight. X-Large means for an extra-large Chihuahua. When at our primary Vet, the office manager came out and took a picture. What was funny was that Penny had a Christmas tree on her head that sang "Jiggle Bells." Nonetheless, Penny was very happy because I had food in my hand. Maggie, was totally annoyed with the antlers on her head. When Shannon took the picture I knew that Maggie licked her lips and I wondered if the picture would have a big tongue in it. No tongue, but a VERY funny mouth!

Penny looks totally annoyed and Maggie looks deranged! I can DEFINITELY work with this for a card! Check back next Christmas!

Chatworth England

Ok, I have been busily editing pictures to place on my blog and realized how boring it would be for my faithful viewership of 3. After all, one can find much better pictures in books and on the internet taken by real photographers. So true to myself, I am going to share mostly those that are, shall I say, uniquely "Debbie."

The following pictures are from Chatsworth - one of Britain's best loved historic houses and the heart beat of the Peak District National Park, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.This is an interior view of the "house" - which is British for castle ;). We were given a personal tour by Lady Penrod, a personal friend of the lovely couple who owned the estate we were staying at. One person complained because the resident rooms were closed. However, I thought it was incredible because the estate was all decorated for Christmas. Being a Christmas decoration JUNKIE, I was completely happy not to see the bedrooms. More info is provided at their website.

Outside I was fortunate enough to several pictures of the double rainbow that I showed in my previous post. I was also delighted to find a family who actually satisfied one of my welcome signs in our front hall:

Pets are Welcome, Children Must be on Leash

So, here you go...

Yep, this young mother came down the hill with two of her children on leashes. And for good reason! Look what the third one NOT on a leash did:

Yep - children on leashes is a pretty good idea and leave it to the no-nonsense Brits to put it into practice!!

Here is another example of no-nonsense British ingenuity with an artistic flare.
This was a "coal" chute that originally funneled coal to the Estate. Once the Estate was switched over from coal, they turned the chute into a waterfall. This gives a new meaning to "Fish Ladder." I don't remember what the sign said - perhaps "no fishing."

At the end of the tour we returned to our private tour bus with our own British Blue Badge certified guide who was a combination of an excellent historian and a hilarious stand up comedian. We were waiting for a couple people to return so I decided to take a bit of a power nap only to be awaken by sirens.

Turns out an escort of Mercedes and a motor barricade must have dropped off some Very Important Person(s). They all ended up parking by our bus. I snapped this quick photo while Ian (our guide) told me that he wouldn't spring me out of prison. The "plain clothesmen" looked just like they do in our country - totally conspicuous. However, I must admit that the undercover chaps were VERY good. See them there in the right hand corner of the photo?

Here's a close up:
Pretty good eh?

Where I've Been

No, not naked at the end of the rainbow!

We've been in Jolly Old England! It was quite a trip of 9 days - great eating, touring, eating, hiking, drinking and did I mention eating? It was a terrific time. The only wrinkle was that upon return my back decided to go south (it was suppose to be going west at the time.) So I had to repay all that pleasure with some pain. An eight hour plan flight, a very cozy but extremely soft bed followed by another eight hour plane flight did me in.

So here I am a bit more behind AGAIN, but I will be catching up and filling you in on the fun!

View from on High...

...atop a Friesian!

This is a REAL catch-up post. It is doubly "catching up" because it is something I've wanted to do for several years now: ride Janus, Jennie's Friesian! I personally like short horses being short myself, so this monster is bigger than I've ever sat on before. I had to wait till I was limber and pain-free enough to be able to get back off him. It wasn't getting up I was worried about, it was the getting off and not shocking my joints. (Of course my beloved husband pointed out it is far easier getting off a horse because they can "help".) Getting off a Friesian is like "watch that first step - its a doozy!"

Janus is FUN!!! It is the first time I've felt a horse really collect for me. This says volumes about Janus (and naturally of Jennie who trained him)- that a "rider" as bad as me can actually collect him!! I'm definitely keeping to my exercises this winter with a goal to take lessons on him this spring provided Jennie doesn't sell him first!

I was an idiot and forgot my camera so forgive the blurry pics. I just loved them and wanted to share regardless. He is SOOOO handsome!

I promise some art work soon. I've been traveling and hope to have some fun artwork when I get back.

Diving Divas Update

The girls take a break from dressing up. Zoe has become a diving diva. She's gonna be a force to be recon with next year!

Here Zoe is on the starting line.

Take Off!

Flying!!

Entry!!

Our other diving diva. Hum - well, she still stops at the end of the dock before she launches. Let's just say she'll be cheering her friend Zoe on next year! It is amazing Maggie jumps as far as she does seeing that she stops first ;). We're hoping that Molly's Spirit will help her out next season!
And Penny thinks it is all a waste of effort. Penny excels at diving under the covers!!

In Memory of Molly

The world was a bit sadder place this past summer when Molly, Leanne's beloved Labrador, crossed the rainbow bridge. Molly graced our farm from June, 1998 until she left last December. Molly was the World's Best Dog. I described her that way even once I had a dog of my very own.

We always felt truly blessed to have known Molly's wonderful and generous soul. Molly is the gold standard to which we will forever measure all other dogs. Her photo sits in our picture gallery - where it will always be: Molly will never be forgotten. Part of her spirit will always roam our trails and swim in the ponds. She did indeed have a wonderful life and wonderful family who did what was best for her.

I have mentioned "Molly's Pond" in past posts. Molly's pond became that when in 1999 we drained and cleaned our 3 acre pond. Molly would swim all the time in that pond and it literally disappeared. Fortunately we had a settling pond dug as soon as the main pond was drained. The function of this settling pond was to prevent silt from an incoming stream washing into the main pond. This smaller pond could then be easily cleaned out taking far less effort than the main pond. This settling pond was dubbed Molly's pond because this is where she spent her summer swimming. It had a huge pile of dirt next to it and Molly would run and leap off the top diving into the pond. Molly would have definitely been a champion dock diver! I was lucky enough to catch her in mid-dive with my 35mm camera jumping into her pond. Molly was just over a year old at that time.



So we found a wonderful statue to put by Molly's pond in her memory. Molly's pond is one of three ponds on our property and is the prettiest. Wayne built us a waterfall and that is where Molly will sit in the spring, summer and fall - overlooking her pond. In the winter, Molly's statue will sit in the barn where she always sat. In the place that when you came to the barn you would see her sitting in that spot to greet you, tail perpetually wagging.

We miss you both!

Happy Halloween!!

From the Witches of West Cambridge

And one of their pumpkin carving friends!

Have a holloweening good time!!

Next week I will be posting some "catch-up" posts to try to catch up with life that just keeps FLYING by!!