Good Bye 2018 Hello Rock'n K

Even though we were still buried under boxes, no decorations or tree, we still invited Mom and Joe up to the Rock'n K for Christmas. 

The cows and Jerry stayed at the bottom of the property. It was an anti-social day I guess. LOL



After Mom and Joe headed out we went out on the back porch for a little while.  Snapped a couple of pictures of ourselves.
Our first Christmas at the Rock'n K.

I did get the binding on my Quilt from the Round Robin I was part of and was able to put it on the bed for our First Christmas at the Rock'n K.. 

 It looks great!  Maybe by next year I can make some pillow cases or buy some red ones.




I did make a special label for the back of the quilt. The label was the rotation order of who made each row. Can't thank the ladies/friends enough and the quilter enough. Can't wait to put it on the bed again for Christmas 2019.

 
That night the wind was howling. When we woke up we found the hay ring up next to the carport which meant some how the wind was able to blow it across the yard area. How does it do that. There's not a big enough surface to blow on but it did.  It was by the horse trailer.
None it seemed to bother Lilley. She was curled up sound asleep.


This year with new babies arriving and us moving the Family Christmas celebrations kinda got messed up so we tried to have everyone up on the 29th but unfortunately Gary (David's brother) and family couldn't make it but David's sister Glenda and her family could along with my nephews really sweet girlfriends.


David work up early that day of course with help from Lilley. He got to see the sun rise and the moon setting at one time. He thought that was pretty cool.

Sunrise

Moon setting

Wish everyone could have made it but was glad to see Glenda and her family arrive.

 Cousin's. They're all grown up. How'd this happen.

They all took turns and took the golf cart out into the pasture for a ride. Kind of chilly that day. 


 My sister in law Glenda and her sweet husband Thomas.




Pamela got a picture with Marion on the left, Phillip's girlfriend and Kevin's girlfriend Alyssa on her right. 
 There was plenty of food and the boys took advantage of the pool table being set up and ready to go. Well sorta.  The cue chalk was missing but they persevered. LOL

And this is how the furry girls pass the time. I think even Jerry enjoys this game. Actually only Lilley and Brianna generally.  Sophie stays on the porch and will bark from afar. LOL

And what better way to end the year than have close long time friends out to the Rock'n K

Mark and Kathy, Tim and Gigi made it out. Fun evening.

Gigi even got out there with David while he was feeding the cows and donkey.  She had good boots on and jacket but she went for it.   Betty here is like okay you can get close to me and just maybe touch me if you give me one of those range cubes.

And this is No Name but she may go on the registration as Sweet T. She'll definitely lick the cubes right out of your hand. She had a calf and we named it T-Bone. What can I say.
These 2 black cows are about the friendliest but still keep they're distance.
We're still amazed that we live on 14 acres with a donkey named Jerry and 11 cows at the time. We never dreamed of having animals really. We just knew we wanted to retired to the country. 
Gigi came out with dirty boots and slobber on her hands and coat sleeve but she loved it. 
 Then there was Jerry. He really wanted those carrots. He's still real skiddish but for a carrot or range cube you just might have a friend.

     Now that don't feel too bad but I'll still take the carrot.  LOL

 
Everyone stayed as late as they could but left before midnight since they were driving home. Next time they can just stay the night. We should be more set up and ready for over night guests.
And before we knew we were heading to bed and it was midnight as our heads hit the bed.

On the 1/3/2019 I drove Pamela to Houston to catch a flight to Steam Boat Springs, CO. She was going to stay with a close high school friend and go to Music Fest. We kept her furry critters for the next 12 days while Pamela went to Music Fest, went dog sledding, Snow mobiling, tubing and fishing. Well she didn't fish but the others did.  It was pricey going ice fishing. Two other of her high schools friends came and stayed Her Friend Avery and Justin's home. I think they had a great time and are ready for 2020. LOL  Here's a few of the pictures she shared with us from her trip.

 

Avery the hostess is on the far right. These girls have been friends since high school.

My month of January consisted of moving boxes out of the garage to the house and unpacking them. So much fun. David was working outside on projects, setting up his office, hauling boxes around for me, hanging pictures, feeding our critters, fixing the gate so Jerry couldn't get out.... Yep he got out. We thought he had bounced the chain off the gate but David caught grabbing the chain in his mouth. He obviously lifted it off. The chain now has a latch. David says if he opens that we'll take Jerry on the road and make money.
While Pamela was off playing in the snow David and I were babysitting the Furry Grand Pups.

Triple the fur on the concrete floors. But they look so lovable here. And they are.
And it means lots of muddy paws since we keep getting rain and the yard is still mud. They don't seem to mind. 
Can't tell you how many times I washed their paws and wiped up the floors.

Brianna loved getting acquainted with Jerry.




Finally got to see a beautiful sunset here at the Rock'n K. I'm hoping there will be many more of course but it was nice to have sunshine for a day or two. Sat on the patio for a bit before it got to chilly.
I better close or you'll be reading for hours. Sorry. A beautiful sunset is a good ending for this post.

Until next post...."In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Martin Luther King Jr

December was a crazy whirlwind

So we started making trips weekly to the Rock'n K to check on the progress or make design decisions. Plus we had to get the packing done. We had to be out of the rental by 12/30. Our lease was about to end. Excited but crazy busy plus work got a little busier with me retiring they had to hire a new person and there was all kinds of activities going on.
Feeding the cows is quite the experience especially since they have horns and they get a little rowdy sometimes. I'll add a video later when we had friends come visit. It's always entertaining plus everyone comes to meet Jerry our donkey.
On the 5th of December I made a quick drive up to farm to pick out glass inserts for the corner cabinets meet Bubba along with the window treatment guy. Busy day to say the least. I ended up being rather late for the appointment because some tanker tipped over and spilled hazardous chemicals on the highway. And the only way around took an hour and a half on a 2 lane country road.

This was not good. I had taken all medication this morning not expecting to be on the road for almost 2 hours. Cars as far as one could see. All of the highway was diverted on this 2 lane country road with nothing on it but a couple of farm houses and lots of pastures. I was like a cat on a hot tin roof. I was miserable after sitting in traffic for 30 minutes. Talking with David on the phone he goes get out and go on the side of the road. HA! I was surrounded by nothing but land, weeds and lots of cars. I wasn't gonna bare my shiny white booty. I was twisting and wiggling in my seat, beating on the steering wheel and telling myself I could not have an accident in the car. My bladder felt like it was going to burst.  After almost 50 minutes traffic started to move but I wasn't sure where I was gonna end up at.  They were diverting us now back to the highway and as I turned left on the feeder I was thinking where was the closest restroom. Have you ever had this happen? What luck I saw Santa's Wonderland RV park and I knew they'd have restrooms but now I had to figure out how to get out of the car without wetting myself.
Very carefully and slowly I lift both legs out of the car at the same time and limp to the restroom praying I didn't need a key or that it was full.  .........Finally relief! It's funny now but at the time I was panicking.  Only me I tell you.

The cattle guard was in. Next they'll need to extend the fence up to the guard.


David went up on the 8th of December and the doors & some of the cabinets were all stained along with knobs and pulls for the cabinets were on. He sent pictures to me.  Looked so good.

The hall was a little dark so when David snapped this one of the front door it came out too dark but finally there's color on the doors.  The back door it's easier to see the stain.

 
Jerry posed for David today.

David was able to capture the black calf that was born in September and the newest calf that was born at Thanksgiving.  This littlest one has a muddy face. Wish the momma's would let us get close enough to pet them but no chance.  I didn't get to go up that weekend because my boss Kim and co-worker Samara set up a Painting with a Twist Retirement Party.  Did I mention yet that I got to retire on December 21st? I did! It was such a great time.  I'm gonna miss this group of people. They were my work family. We worked hard and had fun when we could.

Here's pictures of a few of the people that came to celebrate my retirement.This the director of technology Jay. He and his wife joined us.  Valerie is from the nurses office made t out.  I really just got to know her and now here I was leaving. But I'll see her when I go back to visit and maybe she'll come out to visit.

 Jennifer is also a director and she became Kim's and our department's new boss.

 And then this was my immediate boss Kim. She was great to work for and with. She was great person period.

Here's my good friend Donna Marie and quilting buddy. Met her at the quilt guild and found out she worked for CyFair and we became fast friends from that day forward. Of course I can't leave Dava out. She's in Donna's department. She's really funny and smart.

 
Here's our building receptionist. I never got a picture with her. Dang it.  I'll need to get one when I go back for a visit.

 Here's all the gals and guy that I worked with for the past 11 years.

 Nancy      and        Geoff     

 Michelle     and        Samara
 Geez I miss these guys. But not enough to go back to work. Sorry. They can come visit.
The whole group did awesome painting. Painting  -  Wine --- and good friends.

The district held a reception for me and 3 others that were retiring in the board room on the 14th.

Then on the 19th Technology had a reception for myself and Frankie our CTO. I couldn't stay long because David and I had to go to the farm for a walk through with the builder.

While at the farm I took Lilley for a grooming with her babies. 

The groomer Misty always takes cute pictures of the girls afterwards

Sophie    Lilley and Bri   How does she get them to sit so pretty? And still?
Before I knew it my last day December 21st had arrived.  It was bittersweet.I had worked 19 1/2 years for CFISD and 11 of them were with the Technology Department. Hard to believe that I would no longer have to get up for this job. Wow!
Look at the cookies I got from my friend Melissa with Sperry Cookie Company. They were great.
  and I saved the best one for later.... LOL

My work family and friends.
And the next day (22nd) the movers came and we were off to the Rock'n K.  Pamela kept Lilley while the move was happening. I believe they all had a good time. I know it was less stressful for Lilley.

I think I'll sign off for now and finish recapping December on my next blog. This one is plenty long.

And those 22 days were crazy busy and full of emotions.

Until next blog....õ  Life is a stitch