Bunny Sunday

Today's Bunny Sunday features guest bunnies, Wrigley and Tiger. 

These cute little guys are visiting us for a week while their mom is out of town visiting relatives for the holidays. 

Wrigley is (I believe) a Holland Lop.

He really reminds us a lot of Patches (but she was a French Lop).

Funny thing, too.  Wrigley made himself right at home and found several of Patches' favorite spots to nap.  If we happen to just quickly glance and see him it sure looks like it could be Patches. 

Tiger was even a good sport and let me dress him in a little elf hat.  So cute!  (He's probably wishing his mom would get home soon.)

I think these 2 are channeling Nutmeg and Patches.  Look at this shot I took of them under the tree:

Look familiar?

:)

Happy Bunny Sunday.

Rosie's favorite new toy

Merry Christmas! Be sure you have your sound turned on... :)

Foggy Morning

We had a very foggy morning a few days ago.  Not to mention that we had lost power during the night (which also means we have no water since we are on a private well).  So, with nothing to do inside the house, I took my camera outside and snapped a few pics. 

I found myself reciting the beginning of a poem I learned in high school: 

The fog comes
on little cat feet.....

I have no idea how that popped in my head, but I couldn't remember the rest of it, so I had to look it up.  Turns out, it is a poem by Carl Sandburg:

The fog comes
on little cat feet
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

I'm sure it stuck in my 15 year old brain because it paints such a good visual.  It's good to know I can remember something from so long ago, when most days I can't remember where I sat my coffee cup down from one minute to the next!! 

Bunny Sunday

Digger, Bully and Sandie bellied up to the Sunday Morning Breakfast Bar:

Have a great Bunny Sunday!

My New Favorite CD

This is what's playing in my car these days on trips into town:

 

Wooden Eye rocks!  My friend Marj's husband, Joe, is the drummer and her father-in-law sings vocals and also plays a wicked cool (as they say in Maine) harmonica.  The band's 

website describes their style as pure Americana with everything from traditional ballads to crash-and-burn roots rock.  Great stuff.

Check out some of the tunes here.  If I had to pick a few favorites, I'd say Coyote and Yard Rage (makes me laugh every time I hear it!) are on the top of the list.  BUT, the entire CD is great.  And Marj and Joe's dog, Bob, even gets to howl on one of the songs, Witch Babies. 

Great job Wooden Eye -- keep it up.  We'll be looking for you to add an Arizona stop to your 2011 tour...

Bunny Sunday

Good news -- I got the Christmas tree put up last night.  Bad news, it's not decorated yet... I'll be working on that today.

The bunnies have been checking it out.

And messing up the tree skirt...

Rosie had to join in and see what all the fuss is about.

I may need to consider fencing off the tree.  Chain link?  Chicken wire?  Oh yeah, that will look REALLY nice.  I'll just need to be on bunny and kitty patrol until after the holidays...

Enjoy your Bunny Sunday everyone!

Baking has Begun

I love to bake.  Especially at Christmas time.  I have a lot of favorite recipes that I make year after year and only at Christmas.  This afternoon I'm going to a Cookie Exchange at a friend's house.  I decided to try a new recipe for Jam Thumbprints and I'm pretty happy I did.  The recipe is easy enough and the cookies are yummy.  I don't know why I've never made them before!

Thought I'd share the recipe:

2/3 c. sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. plus 2 T. flour
1/2 c. raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350. 

Combine the butter, sugar and extracts with an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the flour a cup at a time.  Continue beating until well mixed. You want the dough to be a little on the moist side.

Take a heaping teaspoon scoop of dough and roll it into a smooth ball.  Place the balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  With your thumb, make an indentation in the center (I used the end of a wooden spoon... I know, I know, they ARE called Jam THUMBPRINTS, but my thumb just wasn't cutting it) and fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon jam.

Bake for 15 minutes until light brown around the bottom edges but pale on top.  Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

I sprinkled sparkling sugar on top to make them a little more festive.

Now, if I can just manage to get my tree up and decorated this weekend...

Still Working on Getting into the Christmas Spirit...

I had planned on getting my Christmas tree up this weekend, but that never happened.  The tree is sitting on the porch (in it's box) and that is as far as I got.  It's on my list for this week for sure.  I hope.

It really doesn't help that we're having 70 degree weather here lately.  I shouldn't complain, I know, but it's very un-holiday-ish.

Here's a few more silly holiday animal pics from the archives.  Maybe this will do the trick:

Santa Sassy:

Reindeer Phoenix:

(Angel was always lurking in the background - miss that girl).

Heck, even Gerty is getting into the holiday spirit.

Or not.  She looks like she is saying "bah humbug!".

OK, we'll work on this holiday spirit thing.  Any suggestions?

Bunny Sunday

We're trying to get into the holiday spirit around our house.  Here's Santa Patches and Reindeer Nutmeg from a few years back:

And a pic of last year's "Elf Yourself" video of Sandie, Digger, Ginger, Bully and Turbo.  Too bad the link to this no longer works because it was HYSTERICAL --- five dancing bunny elves having a Christmas hoe-down in a barn.  I'll have to make another one this year. 



I know I'm not the only one out there who dresses their animals up in silly costumes, AM I?  If you have some pics on your blog, let us know so we can go check them out.

Happy Bunny Sunday!

Wild Women and Tricky Ladies

Looking for a unique Christmas gift for those hard-to-buy-for cowgirls on your list?  My friend, Jill Stanford, has a new book out:

Wild Women and Tricky Ladies celebrates the female trick riders and other performers who have been a part of rodeos, Wild West shows, and fairs since the 1800s.  The book has great stories about the trick riding pioneers and also fabulous old cowgirl photos.  I enjoyed looking at the photos almost as much as reading the stories in this book.

This book is a follow-up to The Cowgirl’s Cookbook, which also makes a great gift.  The recipes are fun and easy and the book is also loaded with anecdotal stories and more great old cowgirl photos.  

Heck, buy both books and give them as a set!  Gallop on over to Jill's website and check off some of those names on your shopping list...

Cyber Monday

I love shopping online. Going to the mall and braving the crowds is NOT on my list of favorite things to do. I'd much rather sit here in the comfort of my own home cruising the internet and have my purchases delivered right to my door. The only thing that makes it better is getting my purchases on sale!

So, in honor of Cyber Monday, I'm having a sale in my Heart of a Cowgirl Etsy and Artfire shops.  (If you wish not to sign up for an Etsy account, you can shop on Artfire without having an account).  Everything is 20% off TODAY ONLY.  This includes Gift Certificates.  Simply enter the Coupon Code 2010CYBER at checkout. Even better - shipping is only $1.50 for your entire order.

Just a few selections from my Etsy shop:

Kyanite Heart of a Cowgirl Bracelet...

Turquoise and Swarovski Crystal Round Heart Pendant Necklace...

Turquoise Running Horse Earrings...

Turquoise Concho Cowgirl Cuff...

Happy Cyber Shopping!

Bunny Sunday

Too much sadness around our house this past week.  Time to lighten up and appreciate the cuteness that surrounds us.  And there surely is plenty of it:

And more where that came from:

And even more yet:

Cuteness abounds at every turn!

I won't lie and say I'm not missing Nutmeg and Patches.  They were a one-of-a-kind pair.  But this cuteness, yeah, it goes a long way in lifting my spirits.

Happy Bunny Sunday!

Bunny Devotion

If you've never been lucky enough to see 2 bunnies who are completely bonded, let me just tell you, it is one of the sweetest things ever.

Over the last 5 years that they have been together, we have seen Nutmeg and Patches' devotion to each other daily.  I would go out on a limb to say not a day went by that we didn't see them looking something like this:

Or this:

Or this:

Sadly, our daily dose of bunny devotion has come to an end.  We lost Patches suddenly a week ago.  Nutmeg continued on for 3 days without her, but she was already dealing with some health issues and was barely starting to recover from those and she took a turn for the worse.  We decided to help her across the bridge so she could go be with her Patchy. 

I held both of these sweet bunnies while they took their last breaths.  It's been a rough week around here getting used to them not being here with us.  But, the thing that comforts me is thinking about them together on the other side.  I'm pretty sure they look something like this: 

Best buddies, together forever.  As it should be....

The Original Pilgrims

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Count your blessings today...

Bunny Sunday

Hug your bunny today:

Or, for that matter, your dog, cat, horse, goat, llama, hamster, donkey, sheep... you get the idea... just hug 'em!

I Dream in Black and Tan...

I have these little monsters on the brain lately.  And the bunnies have been telling me they miss their rottweiler, too.

A "situation" presented itself to me the other day and we might, just might, be adding a new little rottie to our clan in the near future.  Nothing is set in stone yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Ahhhh... puppy breath and a wiggly little rottie butt.  I think Angel would approve.

I Love Elmo

And I'm not talking about the tickle-me version...

I'm talking about this guy:

This is my friend Marj's llama.  Isn't he awesome?  I couldn't wait to meet him on my visit to Maine.  I've never seen a llama up close and in person.  (Oh, by the way --- he already had the name Elmo when Marj got him.  I knew she would want you to  know that!)

Llamas are great livestock protectors.  Apparently, Elmo is no exception.  These are his "girls" and he takes his job protecting them seriously.

So much so, that he was a little freaked out by me trying to get close to any of them.  I told Marj, "I'm going to hug him before I leave here".  Her reply: "Yeah, good luck with that one."

And she was right.  No llama hugging occurred.  All I got was this:

And this was as close as he'd let me get.

Maybe next time Elmo?  Yeah, definitely next time.

Bunny Sunday

Hi everyone.  Nutty Brown here. 

Mom just snapped this picture of me a few minutes ago.  I'm feeling a whole lot better these days.  It feels good to be up and moving around.  Today I even made it all the way to the refrigerator to beg for a treat.  Well, actually Patches did the begging at the refrigerator and I stayed at the edge of the rug like I always do and waited for my treat to be brought to me.  Today's treat: parsley.  Mmmm...my favorite.

Thanks everybody for thinking of me while I wasn't doing so great.  Enjoy your Bunny Sunday!  

We Have Bread!

Thanks to Linda at The 7MSN Ranch for motivating me to make fresh baked bread.  The house is filled with the smell of it right now.  Check out yesterday's post for the recipe.

Here are my loaves ready to go into the oven:

I sprinkled rosemary over the one on the right and will drizzle some olive oil on it when it comes out of the oven...

And the finished product:

OH YEAH.

Breakfast is served!

Soooo good! And so easy. 

I want to thank everyone for your supportive comments about Nutmeg.  She is doing MUCH better and getting around a lot better.  No doubt due to all your positive thoughts.  :)

And last (but not least) thank a veteran today for the sacrifices they made to help protect our great country!

Baking Bread Together

Linda at The 7MSN Ranch is having an on-line bread baking party.  I love this idea, so thought I would join in.  Today we are mixing up the dough and tomorrow we'll bake and share our results on our blogs (the recipe calls for the dough to sit for 18-24 hours).

Here's the recipe if you'd like to participate.  It is super easy, which makes it even better.  Ahhhh, I can smell the fresh baked bread already...

And a quick update on Nutmeg.  She is doing SO much better.  Today she hopped all the way into the living room.  It must be all the extra attention she is getting...

Have a great day everyone.