Monday Musings.

Dardenne Prairie is still in a cold snap, it’s 03:00PM and 15 degrees outside. Not supposed to get above freezing for several more days. Donna is off today so we are staying just nice and cozy in the house. The truck hasn’t turned a wheel in a week. Sure wish we could get away for a month or so, but Donna wants to stay here and work the restaurant a little longer.

Hey how about  sunset, everyone loves a sunset.

        You can almost smell the JP-5 in the air.

We’re going to bake chicken for supper, I can almost smell the kitchen now. Can’t wait for it to be ready. Rigg’s is getting impatient for his evening cup of dog food, He gets a 8 oz cup at 08:00AM and another at 04:00PM. He usually starts hanging out by the pantry door an hour early. If you have ever had a Lab, they are always hungry and will eat anytime anyplace and anything.

That’s about it for today, all is well, as we hope it is with all our friends out there. Be Safe.. Sam & Donna………

Sunday Notes.

Kind of a dull day here cloudy and cold, it started at 38 degrees this morning and now it it 25 at 04:00PM.Just called in a pizza order to be delivered from Imo’s.

Donna got called in to work at the restaurant this morning and said she didn’t know when she would be home. So I told her I would order a pizza and not make a mess cooking. Sounded good to me.

My niece Tammy will enjoy this, she is now relocated to Austin Texas from Saicier Ms. They don’t have the provel cheese used by Imo’s so whenever I visit I bring her some sauce and cheese so she can duplicate her old hometown favorite.

I hope it’s as good as Leo’s down in Mexico where our friends Paul and Helen are wintering.

Still waiting for Donna to get home , I ate my pizza for supper and I am now enjoying a cold beer, Beer and pizza , what a winning combination.

Hope all is well with all our friends. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

T.G.I.F.

Seems like this week went by fast with the holiday in it. Wanted to show you another example of Donna’s baking, she made this for a lady that is a good customer of hers at the restaurant, she knew Donna bakes and asked her to do it for pay, Donna said she would if it was considered a Christmas gift and no money exchanged hands.

               Christmas cupcakes, Pretty Neat.
Been feeling like I have the Mack truck slam today, so I spent a lot of time napping and watching train movies.
Donna is at the restaurant tonight and the kid’ are out so it’s me and my furball pals,nothing much else doing.
Hope all is well with all our friends out there, Be safe. Sam & Donna..

Thursday Happenings.

Well it’s the day after Christmas and things are quiet at the ranch. Got the pictures of the Grands at Christmas, I’ll share.

               Adam helping his little sister Kya.

                                 Nicky.

                

                            Katy.

 

                

                          Meghen.

Rigg’s and Sadie waiting for their presents.

The Lasagna supper came out just great and I had to put off eating dessert because I was so full. Donna also made her customary Christmas Cake with whipped cream icing.

I will have plenty of left overs to eat while Donna is at the restaurant for the next couple of nights.

That’s about it we had a great day and now it’s back to the old routine here at the Ranch.

Hope everyone is doing fine an didn’t eat to much on the holiday. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna………

Merry Christmas.

        Merry Christmas to all of our Family & Friends.

Tuesday Thoughts.

It’s Christmas Eve day, Donna ran to the store to pick up everything she needs for tomorrow’s feast. She has to work tonight so I will spend the evening with the pups.

                             Looks like Sam.

Sam has his Lionel from when he was a kid, A Lackawanna Train Master with the work train set. It still looks like new and works perfectly, Lionel sure knew how to make em. 60 years is good for a toy even if you only used them at Christmas time.

We didn’t set up the train this year since we don’t get many visitor’s and Donna is still working the restaurant.

Probably going to order a pizza tonight since I will be eating alone. The anticipation of the Lasagna for tomorrow will keep me going. I’ll post a picture on Thursday.

Sure hope the Holidays are finding all our friends well. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…

Monday Meanderings.

The days are winding down to Christmas. We are jut waiting now for the Grandkids to come over on Christmas Day. Donna and I have already given our presents early. She got the the oven thing and a bed spread,I got some some flannel jammies, that I live in in this weather and of course the obligatory underwear.

Donna will make the traditional Christmas Lasagna dinner which I always look forward to. It is usually about 4 inches tall with meat and all different kinds of cheese.

Rigg’s even gets a small slice cause it Christmas.

Rigg’s must have had a  talk with little sister Sadie, because today he was able to take his afternoon nap in his new bed. Donna was glad he got some use of of what was a birthday present for him, Sadie already has a small bed in the kitchen for her naps and was happy with it until she saw Rigg’s new bed.

           Rigg’s on his new bed snoozing today.

It is a cold cloudy day today at the ranch, it’s reached it’s high 0f 25degrees. I made a quick run in Donna’s car to the store for beer, and filled her car with gas for her. I keep telling her not to let it get below half a tank especially in below freezing weather, When I got in it today it was just above empty. Years ago they used to sell dry gas to put in the tank during the winter to prevent water from forming. But now with all the sensors on the cars, I don’t put additives in them at all. My diesel truck specifically tells you not to add anything, that the fuel has everything you need in the winter already added. Of course my Duramax is a 2004 so it doesn't use that additive that the new trucks need to meet emission standards.

Hope everyone has all their Christmas shopping done especially for the little ones. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…….

Sunday Notes.

Woke up to discover we had an ice storm last night, and all the cars, tree’s, birdhouses etc. are covered in ice. The high today is supposed to be 37 so maybe the ice will melt, but the forecast is calling for flurries and snow showers.

Donna was asked to come in to the restaurant today, so she will be heading out at 11AM. Hope the ice on the streets is melted by then.

The only place I will be going is to take the dumper down to the end of the driveway. I will wait till late afternoon to do that.

Sadie has pretty much taken over Rigg’s new bed.

                 Rigg’s wanted to take a selfie.

                       Sadie and Rigg’s playing.

The kitchen side of our fireplace insert, the great room side is identical and there is a fan blower for each room. It keeps it nice and toasty warm in both rooms, if you put the thermostat on fan only,the cold air return is in the kitchen so it circulates warm air to the other rooms and the electric furnace doesn’t kick on, Saves you big bucks as long as you have a wood supply, In a normal winter I burn almost 2 cords of wood.

Nor much going on here at the ranch. Dardenne Praire pretty much shuts down until all the church services are over. Like most small towns.

Hope all is well with all our friends, be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

T.G.I.F.

Was up at 04:30Am and the temp was 58 degrees, it got up to 64 degrees this afternoon, even though the sun left us and it has been cloudy and misty, the temp is hanging in there. very good for December. Supposed to drop to 31 tonight and thebe a seasonable 30-35 for the next two days.

Got my New Jersey Grands school pictures today. They are my son Tim and his girlfriend Bonnie’s girls.

Meghen’s 3rd Grade Picture.

Katy’s Kindergarten Picture.

Both are fearless with there Mom&Tim.s outdoor lifestyle, hunting, fishing, shooting, Archery, and surfing in the ocean. We are so proud of them and their parents.

Lugar the Granddog.

Looks like a hairy version of Rigg’s and about the same size. Great hunting dog.

Just wanted everyone to know that convection oven Donna got, did that Ham to perfection nice and juicy through and through, I have been eating leftover ham for the last two days. Since it doesn’t take up much space it will be going with us on our trips in the fiver.

All the snow is gone so now we can just wait until the next round. Maybe we’ll get lucky this winter and there won’t be much of a snow fall.

Had to make a run to Shop & Save since Rigg’s needed dog food, since Donna’s car was out I just drove it.The truck can stay in the garage as long as it likes.

You should see Rigg’s when he see’s the dog food bag being carried in he holds the door open and supervises you pouring from the bag into hi big plastic container. What a happy guy. For a long time the dog food I buy him came in a bright yellow bag with a picture of a black lab on it.Today I noticed they changed the picture to a Great Dane, but Rigg’s didn’t care. it still is a yellow bag to him.

Nothing much else doing here at the Ranch, Donna has the restaurant detail tonight. I can see a train movie in my future. Everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna……..

Wednesday Musings.

Another sunny and warmer day, the temperature is just touching 50 degrees , but the snow is still slow at melting.

Donna got an early Christmas present, A convection over pot.

Here she is trying it out with a big ole ham.

That ham was delicious for supper last night, nothing I like better than a baked Ham wadam.

Sadie has decided she like Rigg’s new bed and has become a bed stealer.

Rigg’s is patient with his little sister and waits until she gets up.

                                   He just fits.

Got a new visitor to the bird restaurant this morning.

                                   Mr. Squirrel.

Looks like a move might be in order to keep him from raiding the bird food.

This morning Donna started some more cookies.

The bad part is I don’t get to eat any.I’m pretty sure most of today batch is going to the restaurant with her tonight.

Hoping for the snow to be gone in the next couple of days, I don’t leave the house much when the weather is bad.

Good to see it is warming up for some of our friends down south. At least they can enjoy the weather better. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna………..

Tuesday Thoughts.

Another sunny cool day here at the Ranch, But it’s supposed to get up to 40 degrees, so we will have a little more melt out there. still a lot of snow on the ground here to melt, but all the roads are dry.

My truck comes due for it’ plate this month, so this morning I took it over to Plaza Tire Co. and had an inspection done. It passed, so I got the paperwork together and headed to the Department of Revenue Office.

Couldn’t believe my eyes, when I drove up there was a bunch of cars on the lot so I figured it would be busy, it was, for the drivers license renewal line. I looked up and the gal in the plate renewal line was waving to come on up. 10 minutes and 66 dollars later I was walking out the front door with my new sticker for the plate. Now that’s done for another year.

Donna is off tonight, I hope, she was supposed to be off last night but at 04:30PM the phone rang and they asked if she could come in. So we shall see what tonight brings. They have a lot of Christmas parties so if they are short they call.

Hope all is well with all our friends out there. Be safe. Sam & Donna………

Today is Rigg’s Day.

It doesn’t seem possible but 5 years ago today on 12-16-08 a black furball was born who came into our home here at the Weeb Ranch  on 02-01-09 when he was just 8 weeks old. and nothing has been the same since.
To say he took the castle by storm would be an understatement. He has filled it with his love and presence and everyday is a joy with him.

Rigg’s at 8 weeks his first day here at the Ranch.

                       Rigg’s at one years old.

                     Rigg’s at two years old.

                Rigg’s on right at three years old.

                   Rigg’s at four years old.
Donna went shopping and got him a present for his fifth birthday. A brand new bed.



Looks like it has already passed the sniff test.
The snow is slowly melting the temperature is supposed to get up to 39 with plenty of sunshine.
Be glad to see that gone,and maybe stay dry for awhile, haven’t taken the truck out of the garage yet this week.
Donna went to the store while she was shopping today so no need to leave for awhile, although I do need an inspection on my truck before the end of the month to renew my plate for another year.
Hope all is well with everyone out there in blog land. We will be parting with Rigg’s today. Be safe out there.Sam & Donna……

Saturday Mumblings.

The big news for today is SNOW. Woke up to about 7 inches of snow and it still was snowing at 04:30AM.

Here are some pics.

That pretty much show’s what the Ranch looks like today, My son Andy went out by the back patio and shoveled a pee area for little Sadie, the snow is taller than she was. Rigg’s just loves running and jumping and chasing snowballs that Andy was throwing the snow just about touches his belly. He has to be towelled off when he comes in the kitchen.

Donna has to work tonight, but by that time the roads should be plowed and she can get down the drive in 4wd.

Me I’m staying out and the truck is nice and confortable in the garage.

Hope all our friends came out better than us in the weather department.  Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…