Saturday, January 2, 2016

The First Days of 2016.....

Louis Dean and I are enjoying the 'calm after the storm'......so to speak!
As exciting as the holidays were and as much as we enjoyed every minute of them -
I have to say we are loving these first few quiet days of 2016.


A holiday has no 'day' to go with it!!
It's just too special!


I went through the house changing out the calendars!
This one hangs in the kitchen.


This is a special calendar indeed!! It came all the way from Scotland and I will look long and longingly at each and every photo! This was from my friend, Penny, at The Homemade Heart!
I am so excited about her cook book challenge!!
This calendar will go back and forth with me to the ranch.


My wine calendar hangs on the pantry door.
That's NOT where the wine is - but does it matter?


My friend, Brenda, has gifted me with a special calendar since 2004!
I have kept every single one of them and used them in arts and crafts projects as well as paintings!

Lots of people have started taking Christmas decorations down by now!


I just flipped the Merry Christmas pillow over to the solid red and am calling it WINTER!


I did take out the lighted wreath by the side of the bed and added a fun pillow in its place.
As is my custom, I light a candle in every room after it's been cleaned!


In our bedroom - it happens to be TWO candles!!!
This one was a gift from Amber and she made it herself!
That makes it all the more special!
I burn it only an hour at a time so it will last longer!

Moving on to the guest room......


I took the tree down and cleaned the room in anticipation of little grandchildren playing in here later this month!! Then I lit the Morenci candle!

New Year's Day was a relaxing and peaceful day!


I finally learned how to rent movies with my Verizon points!!!
THIS was a good one but I love anything that has Robert Redford in it!!!
It's funny, though! He is the same age as Louis Dean!


I don't know.....but I do NOT think Louis Dean looks 79 years old!!

I love the routines of our mornings!!
Here lately Maddie has been coming into our bedroom and wanting me to let her out the door to the patio. I do that and then I go in and put the coffee on - if I haven't prepared it the night before.
Then I spend several minutes going around and turning on the little white lights all over the house.
This takes some time.
I let Lucy out ......


and let Maddie in!!!

Today has been rather productive!
After our morning routine.......


I set up in the dining room preparing all the medicine boxes for the next three weeks!
You need to be a rocket scientist to do this!!!


Then I made a delicious soup for lunch!


It all came from cans!
A can of chicken and rice soup.......which I did NOT have! I used a Buffalo Chicken soup instead!
Add a can of Rotel tomatoes, a can of Ranch Style Beans and a can of creamed corn + a can of chicken breast - shredded. Mix and heat. Serve over tortilla chips with a dollop of sour cream with a sprinkling of grated cheese. I added a few slices of candied jalapenos and it was DEE-licious!

I spent the afternoon on housekeeping chores - my house is very HIGH maintenance!! 
We also packed for our trip down to the ranch and I CANNOT tell you how excited I am!!!
We were last down there in OCTOBER!!! I MEANT to go in November and I certainly wanted to be there in December! My goal for 2016 is to be down there at least a few days EVERY SINGLE MONTH of this year!!! It IS my happy place and we do so enjoy spending time with Louis Dean's son and his wife!!


This is where I am blogging from tonight!
I have a brand new laptop and it wasn't nearly as hard to figure out as I thought it would be!

I have so many things I want to do while we are down at our camper!
Since it is only 31 feet - housekeeping is SO much easier!!!
I want to read and write and walk around the ranch.
I want to ride my bike and watch the birds.
I want to feed the chickens and gather eggs.
I want to talk and laugh with my stepson.
I want to drink coffee in the mornings and wine at night.
I want to take pictures of the sunsets and then watch the stars.
I want to sit on our deck and whack out denim jeans to transform into quilts.
I want to pray and think and just BE!!!


I want to paint a portrait of Pepper Jack for my brother, Lonnie's, birthday!!!
Isn't he a beauty??? I love painting in the open air out on our 31 foot deck with all the natural light!!

I am so grateful for Dean and Sherry!
They generously gave us a spot to park our camper on their ranch!
I fell in love with their place the very first time I saw it!!

As for now.....I think Louis Dean is ready for me to join him in a glass of wine as we finish this lovely day! I am looking forward to many more of these in 2016!!!



20 comments:

PATI CLARK said...

Happy New Year to you & Louis Dean... May this year bless you both with good health,happiness and many more blessings!!! I Love Daily routines !!!I start each new day with God-(Prayer/meditation) and then go about my day with my to do list task at hand...and as always with every New Year - Organize is on top of my list ...so I am too getting the house in order !!! I look forward to what Linda's Life Journal 2016 blog will inspire you to post...Salute "Cin cin" !

Blondie's Journal said...

You have so much going on as I do, Linda--we are definitely sisters! I can't bear to take anything down. Our tree is very healthy if not a bit faded and I simply want to enjoy it a bit longer.

Your plans for the ranch sound perfect, I wish we had warm weather like you to spend mornings and nights as you do! Still, I love the snow and the brace of cold weather when I step out---so refreshing!

Love and wishing you, LD and your beautiful family a Happy 2016!

Jane x

Kathy said...

2016 is starting off well for you. I love all your calendars. Well, you know I love calendars anyway. Your baskets of medication reminds me of Joe's. He take 20 different medications. What a chore to put them all together. Enjoy your time on the ranch. I know you will.

Nancy Chan said...

Hi Linda, you have a pretty collection of calendars. I too like to see candles lighted in every room even though I myself do not place candles there unless there is no electric supply. Your cat and dog are cute and adorable.

Changes in the wind said...

This was a great post and I printed out the soup recipe...sounds good and EASY just my style.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Happy New Year, Linda and Louis Dean! I hope its a wonderful one! May God bless and keep you!

Deanna

Estelle's said...

I love this...as usual. I love what you "want list" is composed of....take me with you.....big hugs! And, I agree...your LD does not look his age...much younger indeed! Could it be that he is happy with the love of his life, Linda?

Arlene G said...

Happy New Year!! I loved the movie, A Walk in the Woods and plan to purchase it for my collection. Isnt Louis Dean just a better version of Robert Redford? When Twilight was all the rage my sweet husband said that Edward was just a paler version of Marvin!!lol Aren't we blessed to have wonderful men in our lives. Looking forward to seeing pictures from the ranch.

Vee said...

May you get your wish!

Sounds as if you have everything well under control as always. I am taking Christmas down slowly. In fact, sometimes I am putting it back up if I go too far. =D

What a nice new laptop. May it serve you well for many years.

Next time I hear from you, I imagine that it'll be from the ranch.

No, Louis Dean does not look anywhere near 79. He's a good 10 to 15 years younger looking for sure. (He's even more handsome than Robert Redford, but don't tell him that I said so. Better yet, don't tell John that I said so. LOL!)

Debbie said...

I LOVE your collection of calendars! And I couldn't agree more...Louis Dean DOES NOT look seventy nine years old! And Robert Redford looked in his late eighties at least in that movie if you ask me. I enjoyed the movie too, and he is still a handsome man that's for sure, but he just looked soo old to me. We worked non stop for 2 FULL days putting away the Christmas decor and cleaning house and when we were all done I lit a new candle from my dil in our family room and I actually thought about you doing that too as the sweet fragrance hit the air, lol. Enjoy this new week!

Susie said...

Linda, The trip to the ranch just sounds like so much fun...lots of relaxing too. You and LD sure do deserve that. Lucy will like running with that other dog too. Blessings to all of you...please be safe always. love you guys, Susie

Cheapchick said...

Happy New Year Linda! I just about killed myself taking Christmas stuff down yesterday and the day before - but it is all done except the exterior stuff which we will do next weekend or the weekend after depending on if hubby is in town or not. Enjoy the ranch!

Diana Ferguson said...

Love your list for the ranch! Enjoy your time there.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love all of your pretty calendars. We always use the 'free' ones! lol Happy New year to the two of you! Hugs, Diane

Wanda said...

Dear Linda...is the comment above mind a friend of yours or is it going around?
I so loved your post today. It warms my heart to follow you around and see how you and Louis Dean live your lives.

I had to chuckle about turning pillows over ~~ I do the same as you can use them much longer. HaHa.

I love your "Canned" soup. I do that a lot as I keep canned chicken and beef from Costco, and with a few other veggies you can have soup. Love this one over the tortilla chips...Yuummy
Oh you will have such a great time at the ranch, and look forward to seeing your portrait of pepper.

Sending love and hugs for a marvelous and healthy New Year.

FABBY'S LIVING said...

Happy new year and a blessed one for you and your beautiful family!
I love your change of the pillow for Winter and you can stretch it to Valentine's, lol..
Your house looks so warm, pretty and inviting and so does your food dear friend. I want the soup right now!
I haven't yet not one new year's calendar and your collection is lovely, to choose from.
Big hugs and thanks for been a wonderful blog friend.
Hugs,
FABBY

Gypsy Heart said...

Sounds very relaxing and I'm glad you slowed down for a bit! I so hope you do take the time to go to the ranch often...very good for the soul. Your list sounds delightful!

I took all my Christmas decor (not that much) down on the 26th. I always do that...so anxious to get things back in order. I really get claustrophobic with too much stuff...just don't have the space.

The soup is delightful! Love it when things are easy to put together.

Have a wonderful week!
xo
Pat

BeachGypsy said...

That sure sounds like an amazing little trip! enjoy!! And be safe!

Penny said...

I am so glad you like your Scottish calendar Linda, I enjoyed choosing it for you. I truly hope you get your wish to 'pray and think and just be'! X

Carla said...

Your can soup mixture sounded pretty tasty. Louis Dean does not look or act 79.