Are We There Yet?

It is always exciting to be in the thick of the Holiday Season as we are now!  But this year has brought such a change for us which is of itself the best gift of all, even if it takes a bit of adapting to.  I have watched with anticipation as Europe and America have been buried in snow!  England has been covered in the stuff too, marking the second year in a row and a more definite end to the warm winters that preceded these last two.  I did of course spend eight years there, and hardly a snowflake fell from those grey British skies to the greying American hairs on my head. 

From our new perch on the world here in Southern Nevada, we only hear of snow from those we know on Facebook who complain of holiday plans being ruined, or how fed up they are of being trapped by impassible roads, or how much fun they are having on the nearly vacant roads around them. 

Yesterday it rained here, which marks the worst of the wintery weather we have had yet.  The landscape is still brown, and the temperatures might require a jumper or jacket of some sort.  I say this not to boast though, because I know that as sure as day follows night, summer follows winter, and eight years has not erased the memory of what exactly summer is in this part of the world!  “Hot” would only understate it by about 20 degrees.  These past days have gotten as low as 40F, but I know summer will add as much as 80 degrees to that! 

There is so much more to talk about than the weather though!  My darling missus is learning to drive in earnest.  She tries to get a practice drive in about every other day or so, and she is mostly doing really well.  There is the odd occasion when she is off, and it shows, but even then she gives me greater confidence than most others I have been with in the car.

Our Jordan is still convalescing from his surgery in August.  He is so fed up of his restrictions, but the doctors said six months before he could really take up an active lifestyle such as swimming, or worse.  He is so eager to get on the horse, or on the quad-bike. 

Dylan has just finished up his role in the Winter play at the middle school.  He had two roles in the three plays, and had to perform two nights in a row.  From our place in the audience we could easily recognize his accent and attitude.  He is truly unique among his peers!

Kirynie is doing more exciting things than just potty training.  She is still amazing her family every day with her intelligence and her ability to comprehend full sentences, and what she sees in film plots.  She cries at the scary bits, and smiles at the funny bits.  But she is just as aware of what is happening around her, and responds to full sentences with less complex, but full sentences of her own.  She is also meeting up to the challenge of covering every inch of property she is allowed to in her new home, and following rules such as to stay out of the horse corral. 

As for me…  There is so much to do, and I have a list as long as my longest appendage of things I have not even been able to get a start on yet!  But the chicken run is built, and will accommodate the seven birds we have till a proper coop can be put in place.  The birds seem happy and active in there!  We look forward to the eggs they will provide in about April or so. 

I have been researching more about chickens so I have all the bases covered from where we are with these, to where we will go with keeping and mating for more.  It is exciting stuff, and I readily anticipate raising our own meat.  The next challenge should be a goat or a pig, then a cow!  Eventually I would like to be food self-sufficient.

Composting is started and coming along well enough, though I would like to see a bit more in there.  It is going to make a fantastic additive in the soil of our garden.  It is also reducing the amount of waste sent out through the garbage bins! 

Having shot photos of Dylan’s plays this week, I am most excited that I may be able to see a photo credit in the news paper here.  That would be a start towards getting myself involved in the photographic community and getting my name out there for some business.  It would be nice to be published, and it would be even better to eventually make some money with this otherwise hobby of mine! 

Well, it is morning around here as I write this, and the day is calling me out.  Happy Christmas to whomever indulges in my journals and if I don’t get another post on, have a safe and prosperous New Year!