Bwah-hah-haaa... Gerta Gets a Taste of Country Cottage, After All

Gerta and I are coming to an understanding- she can keep her tom-boyish ways, and I can spiff things up, within reason. 

Dan and I decided to update our bathroom, since it's a room we both visit several times a day.  :) 

Here's a photo of what it looked like:

It was typical 1970's decor- dark, dark wood and trim, beige floral wallpaper, off-white linoleum floor covering that never looked clean no matter how much you cleaned it, etc. 

At this point, we had already installed a larger medicine cabinet and the shelf unit over the toilet (seems we must have 'bathroom stuff' issues, and didn't have enough room to store all the stuff).

Thanks to all of Dan's talents with paint, wallpapering, installing flooring, new trim and accessories, etc., this is our 'new' bathroom:

Yay!  Bright, white, clean, and cottage-y.  Beadboard on the walls and the new cabinet doors Dan made. And I love the new floor... the new stick-em' tiles of today are awesome!  'We' even used them to cover the shelves. 

Alas, my only contribution was choosing the wallpaper that was uber-cheap on sale.  (Price was great, but Dan said it was a bitch to work with.)  Oh, and giving Dan lots of moral support.

Gerta seems to approve of the new look- so far, no home disasters or dramas.  Just goes to show you that even old-timers can like a new change.....

Oh, What A Time We Had

Today's a quiet day with snow on the ground and temperatures around 10 degrees.  Yesterday we took Erika, Ben and Juno to the airport to return home to Scotland.  I didn't feel sad; we had so much fun and enjoyment over the past 3 weeks I was happy and grateful for the time we had together.  Being a grandparent is a blast!

In a couple of weeks we'll have Rachel and Paul coming to visit for Christmas and New Year's.  It doesn't get much better than this.

Here's a few fun photos for everyone to enjoy.....

Thanksgiving Daze 2011

It's been a while since you've heard from me..... wonderful bliss!  Life has been uneventful, with no traumas or dramas... just an easy flowing speed that has been deeply enjoyed.  Not even anything exciting has happened to report.  Dan and I have waited many months for such ordinary times.

This Thanksgiving, Dan and I have been delighted to spend time with our daughter Erika, her husband Ben, and our adorable new granddaughter baby Juno.  It's been heavenly!  Simple days with good food, laughter, baby talk, and hugs.... even the grown ups have been having fun!

Our dogs Pepper and Chilli have quickly mingled into the new family dynamic as well.  Here's a few photos over the past several days to share:

 

Compare THIS to Life in the Suburbs...

Consider this my weekly whine.... (actually, I don't whine that much, but I'm due)

Wake up this morning to coyotes yipping in the distance.  (In the east, it's ki-yo-tees; out west, it's ki-yotes.  Still getting used to that.)

Get my shower ready and hear a steady 'clunk-clunk' on the back deck.  Look out the window and see Chilli and Pepper chewing on an entire leg bone of some critter.

Get dressed, then freak out when Chilli comes in the living room with a gooey hoof- seems that the leg bone belonged to a deer.  Throw the hoof away in disgust.

Go on a killing spree and knock off about 14 flies buzzing around the house (apparently this happens every year about this time).

Attend the morning work meeting; seems the guys are going to 'blow out' the water lines for irrigation.  I'm not needed, so I go back home.

Feeling unmotivated, look around the house and ponder things to do.  Stare at the end table that is covered in dust, which I dusted 1 1/2 days ago.  I know I mentioned before that dust was not my enemy, but it sure isn't my friend, either....

Decide to do the many mundane things I so love to do, like laundry, sweeping (even though I swept last night before the dogs came prancing in with hundreds of burs stuck to them and everything they then touched), cleaning the kitchen, blah, blah...

Look out the kitchen window and see my 2 dogs prancing across the front yard, each holding an end of a nasty, smelly deer hide (that apparently was in the same vicinity as the earlier deer leg).

Freak out again and run after them to get the disease-ridden thing away from them and put it in a trash bag.

Then drive up to the work barn to put the trash and the putrid deer skin indoors in the garbage where other wild animals can't reach it.  (Sighted 2 wolves on our side of the basin on Monday, and the neighbor on the other side of the valley shoo'ed away a grizzly and 2 cubs trying to get into his garage).  Idly consider the fact that whatever eats a deer would probably see both of my dogs as appetizers.

Get back home and look at the clock- it's only 10:30.

Sigh.....

The Chilli-Pepper Bone Dance

I've mentioned before that our two dogs have become the best of friends.  They spend most of the day playing, and a new favorite game is the 'bone dance.'

Both dogs grab one end of a bone, and play a tug of war/dance together.  It's all play; no growling or aggravation allowed.


Here's a few photos of the two in play:

You get one end; I'll get the other

No, we're not kissing cousins!

Whose turn is it to lead?

Say what???

Didn't they do this in Lady and The Tramp?

Gerta Gets A Makeover

Gerta is our house, with whom I have an uneasy alliance.  She's a little bit ranch dirty, and I guess I'm a bit of a clean diva.  The problem, I realized in an earlier post, is she was and is a tomboy and loves it, and she does her best to remind me that when it comes to dust, grime and rough edges, she thinks she is the boss.

Gerta reminds me of Calamity Jane in the HBO series called "Deadwood".  (Rachel sent us the first season on DVD to occupy Dan as he recovered, and we have both been enjoying it.)  Calamity Jane is portrayed as a tough, grimy, drinking, profane woman who has a soft heart, deep underneath her facade.

If Gerta were a person, I could see her cussing someone out while spitting chewing tobacco on the ground and loving it.  But... she'd keep you warm and comfortable when you needed it.

In spite of her foibles, Gerta has a new look.  All the buildings on the ranch were painted this last summer, and Gerta went from her yellow house/green roof to a new beige house with gray roof:

Gerta's spiffy new look

What she looked like a year ago

She also got a new garage door installed; previously, there was a picture window in its place.

We are close to finishing what started out as our first project on the house- the front door.  The original door could have been a finalist in the 'Ugliest Door Contest':

We came up with an abstract mountainous scene, which Dan cut out of wood and carved and I painted:

We also painted the door off white.  All that's left is putting a finishing frame around the piece.

Next on our list is an update of the bathroom.  Since this 'first project' took a year, we'll see how quick that gets done..... :)  Pictures to one day come!

What the #&%* Happened??

Chilli had a run-in with a wild critter (badger or coyote), and Chilli lost.  We heard hideous dog screams and ran out to then absolute silence in the tall grass and trees next to our yard where Pepper was furiously barking.  Both dogs had been taking long forays in the fields around us... until this panicky time.

Chilli came stumbling out, blood dripping from her head and in shock.  We rushed her to the vet (about an hour away), and the end result was several stitches and a mild concussion.  She's now on antibiotics and anti inflammatory meds.

Poor little thing looks pretty ragged now.... we're talking about fencing the yard (to keep wild critters at bay), and she's now staying closer to home.....

Do I look as pathetic as I feel?