Friday, January 18, 2008

Christmas Revisited

We've had an uncharacteristic coating of snow since before Christmas. We seldom have it start to pile up until about now. But this winter is beginning to look like it might be a long one here on the shores of the Muddy Mo. The sound snow makes when the car and truck tires run over it is a very loud squeak. When it squeaks you know it is near or below zero. It has been squeaking for several days now.Tonight we expect -10. The 'wind chill' was a way devised by the U. S. Weather Bureau to twist the handle on the knife already thrust into our mid-sections by sub zero temperatures. So with a 'wind chill' advisory of a -25 tonight we are tucked in for a long winters nap.
I was going to run a couple of summer views from the porch as a diversion but instead decided to show you a couple of Christmas pics from our house.


This is the shrimp about to be rescued from the boil on Christmas Eve afternoon.
I cooled it, peeled and de-veined it and then sampled it to make absolutely sure it was okay for my precious family to eat that night after services at our church.
It was okay.
I must say though that in my fervor to protect my family I became absent minded as it was just after this that I forgot to zip my pants up on my way to church. You may recall.





It takes a village to raise a puppy.
Marilyn's Christmas village.










And this would be Marilyn's Christmas present from her daughter/kennel manager.
The dogs name is Vixen.
This noble beast is expected to assume head of security here on the farm. That is she will start on her duties after she gets tough enough to move from her heated quarters at the kennel.
I know I feel safer already.
This calls for more insurance doesn't it?






This is Vixen in the arms of grandchild # 2.
When you come to Blogstock '08 I promise that this dog will have been trained to keep all fours firmly planted on the ground. Vixens owner lead a highly successful 4-H dog obedience club for 25 years and I'm guessing this dog will know some stuff.
But the dog will just ignore me like everyone else around here does.
Although if I tie a pork chop around my neck dogs will eventually warm up to me.

23 comments:

Peter said...

Is the pork chop around the neck an integral part of the 4H dog obedience course Cliff??

JunieRose2005 said...

Cliff,

Cute puppy but cutter little girl!
:) Grandkids are great, aren't they!!

I enjoyed this post, all the pictures, especially! Love the little Christmas village!

Y'all take care in that cold!


Junie

nora leona said...

Ugggh, you're making the 7 degrees here feel tropical.
Hunker down and cozy up to your sweetie.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

AWE...how cute. I love puppies.
Your 7ยบ is giving me a chill. It's supposed to get down to around 8-10 degrees here tonight, but only for tonight. You're so lucky to have snow, and I've never put the two together...squeaky snow and cold temps. So now I know.

Jim said...

Hi Cliff -- Your thermometer says -7° right now. Brrrrr.

I think Vixen has a little beagle in him. I hope he and Adi get along good at Blogspot.
Adi could use some obedience too! Does it rub off?
..

Rachel said...

I'll bet that shrimp was yummy! Looks great!

Vixen is so cute!!! So is your granddaughter!!

You may keep those cold temps. It might get down in the single digits here tonight. Thank God for good warm houses and electric blankets to add to the luxury of more warmth.

Ramblings of a Villas Girl said...

Even though I don't eat seafood, your shrimp look appetizing. Your family is lucky to have you sample the feast. Don't want to serve a meal that isn't up to Cliff standards. By the way, how many shrimp did your family manage to feast on?

What a cute puppy. Vixen doesn't look like she has leadership qualities. She looks content to be held be granddaughter #2.
Head of security - Nah
Head of getting cuddled - Yep
and granddaughter #2 looks like she is perfect for the job.

Cliff said...

Villas Girl, we had 5# of shrimp to get thru and we did it. Yeah I'm not sure this dog looks like the vicious sort. She will doubtless be like the last good watch dog we had. She'll stand and 'watch' people walk off with what ever they want.

1 plus twins said...

so now your blaming the open barn door on sampling the food for you family!! sad cliff so sad. it is ok to have alzhiemers, don't be ashamed i will help out! my name is val (one-plus-twins), you have been reading my blog for a year or so. your wife's name is marilyn and you adore her and send her flower every friday before taking her out to dinner and drawing her a warm caddle lit bath upon return!!! if you need to remember anything else let me know. lol

that pup is too cute! oh you may not remember sorry, you got a new pup named vixen who is adorable. lol

Jamie Dawn said...

Fortune cookie say, "Boiled shrimp leads to unzipped pants."

That doggie is cute, but not nearly as cute as your granddaughter.

We've been cold too.... all the way down into the 40's during the day and even colder at night. Just terrible isn't it?? Any colder and I'd never leave the house.

Anonymous said...

Look on the bright side. At least with that wind chill and snow, you've got a tractor to keep your driveway clean.

On the other hand, I suppose there are worse things that being stuck inside a warm house with a bunch of shrimp in the middle of winter.

Unknown said...

Re: Your pictures
1. Yum
2. Cute
3. Cuter
4. Cutest

LZ Blogger said...

Cliff ~ You have once again left yourself wide open with way too many opportunites for comments here... but thanks for bringing up the one about you and the church zipper again. I had just stopped laughing over that one and then forgot it. But at least I've never gone to church with my pants unzipped, unless I've forgotten that TOO?

That granddaughter and her pup are just too cute!

Have a GREAT WEEK buddy! ~ jb///

Rhodent said...

Cute puppy! Looks like Marilyn is not the only one who will be enjoying the new her!

I am sure that you are dressing warmly--even inside! I enjoy a bit of cold weather once in a while, but I doubt that I would enjoy a while winter of it!

I just finished a long post... finally caught up!

EV said...

Why is it, that after all those cute pictures and wonderful anecdotes, I’m left with the image of Cliff boiling shrimp with his zipper at half mast?

Janell said...

I've heard it said that "If you start to think of yourself as a person of authority, try ordering someone else's dog around."

Nice pics all around. The shrimp is making me hungry, tho.

Janell said...

I've heard it said that "If you start to think of yourself as a person of authority, try ordering someone else's dog around."

Nice pics all around. The shrimp is making me hungry, tho.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures all. Cute grandchild. cute puppy. delicious looking shrimp, etc.

Have a nice day.

LaDawn said...

You are clearly not the leader of the pack. Keep trying.

poopie said...

That is THE cutest puppy I've ever seen, hands down.

P.S. I'm glad I don't have to pay your propane bill.

Scarlet said...

I hadn't thought of attending Blogstock '08 until I checked out this pic of Vixen. What an adorable little pup. The grandchild's a cutie, too!

eyes_only4him said...

aww, i love Vixen...how cute is she?

Well its been cold up here in these parts 2 boy...over the weekend it was -27 with no wind chill...yeah...nice and balmy.

winter stinks.

that shrimp looks mighty tastey.

Anonymous said...

adorable grandchild and vixen
I'm working on a pet portrait of a golden lab puppy. (It can be hard to paint when I want to get down on the floor and play with the doggies.)

Yummy shrimp!! One of my alltime favorite foods. As to the other image of entirely different magnitude (or so the bloggrape vine reports...yikes!!!!!!!(and don't email me that I didn't put "enough ! marks," I'm keeping my mouth zipped.