Celebration time...

 My brother got married this weekend.  I am so happy for both of them.  It was a wonderful ceremony, and everything was decorated beautifully. It was good for the family to spend time together. Especially in celebration.  Part of the ceremony was braiding a rope and then 'tying the knot.'

It was a blizzard on the way back for us heading to Deadwood and for them heading to Minnesota. 

Bear Butte was a delightful site when we finally got to the hills. 

The bighorn sheep greeted us when we got to Deadwood.  

There is a lot of country to see when you cross South Dakota.  Still my favorite view is from the family cattle pasture overlooking the river.  Growing up I rode a lot of horses through those draws. 

I am so thankful that we were able to celebrate with my brother and his wife.  Any time you can spend with family is precious.  Taking a few days with my parents was also also a highlight. It was a weekend where memories were made.  Some were precious and others were hilarious.  

What was the last family event you attended?  

Ready for Spring...

Today I prepared for spring.  I took all of my tools and scrubbed them with steel wool and then gave them a coat of mineral oil.  I took apart all of my pruners and sharpened the blades.  All wooden handles were coated with linseed oil, as well as my tool caddy.

Can you believe the rust on my clippers?  The poor tool caddy was bone dry. 

There they are.  All shined, sharpened, and ready to go. Spring, I am ready.  

A few more sunsets and I am sure it will be here.  We have some snow predicted in the future, but for now it is warm and we actually don't have much snow on the ground.

Are you ready for spring?  When was the last time you gave your tools a good once over?  What do you do to prepare for gardening season?  

Duck, Duck, Goose...

 Not much going on here.  It has been warm.  We stopped at Canyon Lake and enjoyed the ducks and geese.  

We have some snow, but it is melting fast.  It comes and goes.  We had a pretty sunny weekend.  

It was a great sunset on Friday.  It has been a while since we have had a pretty sunrise or sunset.  I just found out that I will be without an oven for another month.  I can't say that is making me happy.  

I'm on one month without my oven.  How long have you gone without a kitchen appliance that is necessary?

Sunshine and seed stashes...

 It is amazing how warm it feels when the wind isn't blowing.  It was quite cold this weekend, but the sun was out and there wasn't even a breeze.  I actually enjoyed our walk today.  Of course, Dollor loves any walk, rain, sun, snow, or wind.  He is just a happy go lucky mutt.

I cleaned out my seed box.  The goal was to see what I needed to order this year.  Come to find out, there is nothing needed.  I have everything for the upcoming year.  I've been gardening enough that I know what works best at our altitude.  

Everything is neatly organized.  I went through my list and checked it twice.  I'm pretty happy with my seed stash.

I'm not sure what type of lights were.  I don't think they were Northern lights or light pillars.  

Are you anticipating spring as much as I am?  Have you ordered seeds yet?  Do you get new seeds every year?  Do you stick with tried and true, or do you try new thing?  

No snow, but there is pie...

 The weather has been amazing.   We don't have much snow, which is unheard of for this time of year.

The other day at Someone's in the Kitchen, I saw this interesting pie crust contraption.   It is a plastic bag perfectly shaped for a pie or pizza pan.  It is simple to roll out to the perfect size.

It works pretty slick and sure saves the usual flour mess.

I made a cherry pie.  Since our oven parts are on a slow boat from China, my husband baked it in the smoker.  Wow was that good.

While walking Dollor, I came across these mouse tracks.  He went on quite the mouse adventure as they went for about a quarter of a mile.  

The sunrises and sunsets have been a bit lackluster.  It was nice to see a little color yesterday.  

Have you been baking?  How much snow do you have?  What is your favorite pie?  

Just a slow weekend...

The only exciting thing that happened this weekend was I got to see my niece.  We had a nice visit over coffee.  The weather has been nice. The snow is even melting. I took advantage of that and sat on the porch with my morning coffee today.  We even gave Dollor a bath.  Not his favorite thing.  No projects, no baking, and some pretty boring walks.  I'm not complaining.  Sometimes it is nice to have a quiet weekend.  

Did someone else get our winter weather?  Hope you had a relaxing weekend also.

Another project down...

 The oven project is finished.  My husband ordered a hickory panel to cover the hole in the bottom of the cabinet for the microwave cord.  He cut it to size; we applied a finish and glued it up.  Then we added a light above the stove.  It turned out perfect.  It only took four or five years, but now it is done.  We are not adding a shelf. 

Not much else has been going on.  The weather has been pretty sporadic.  Rain, snow, wind, sun...  I never know what is next.  The only thing that is consistent is the dog needs walked.

Right after we returned from our 2 mile walk it started raining like crazy.  Rain in January?  Don't worry it turned to snow at some point.  

I've been seeing a lot of elk on the drive home from work.  These bulls were making short work of someone's round bales.  They didn't seem to mind posing for the camera.  

The pay clerk does a phenomenal job feeding the birds at work.  Friday, we had a surprise guest.  A quail.  We are not sure where this little fella came from, as they are not native to the area.  I will be anxious to see if it stays around.  

That is all I have for this week.  I really liked the overnight oats and plan on making more this week.  

What have you been seeing for wildlife?  How has the weather been?  I hope everyone stayed safe from the storms that headed south.