Christmas and books

Christmas has come and went in Clifford. It was a quiet one for us. We
were awakened early Christmas morning by the dogs, almost as if they
understood what day it was and wanted their presents. Since we have
followed the same ritual of going to my parents on Christmas Eve and coming
home a bit later than normal, maybe some of the older dogs do recognize the
significance. It is Hazels 15th Christmas with us after all and Bugsy,
Cricket, and Sadie have logged 13 Christmases with us.

The dogs got new toys, some of which were squeaky and like little kids
playing with a new drum set they are driving us a bit crazy from time to
time squeaking them. Soon however they will be chewed apart and the squeak
"killed".

One of the new toys was pilfered off the counter a few days before Christmas
and disappeared outside. But it has re-appeared now that there are plenty
of toys to go around. Ginger immediately appropriated the stuffed snowman
toy on Christmas morning. She loves toys, especially stuffed ones that
remind her of a small animal. She carried that thing everywhere for a few
days, even jumping up in our laps with it. The older dogs were more
interested in the chewy rolls and special treat of canned dog food.

I picked up some small candy canes for the horses. Horses love peppermint.
Lily very much appreciated the gift, although Chance was a bit skeptical at
first. The chickens and turkeys got greens for a present and the barn cats
canned food. The canary got a few hulled sunflower seeds. All creatures
great and small were gifted.

I got to read a few books over the holidays, even though I did a lot of
baking and candy making. There was no good TV shows so I read instead. I
read Of Bees and Mist,(Setiawan) an odd story set in what must be an
alternate world, and Larry McMurtry's Rhino Ranch, also a bit odd, and Eight
Days to Live,(Johansen) a spooky thriller, lots of action, with a bit of the
supernatural. All of them I would recommend, although Rhino Ranch somewhat
disappointed me as there was not much of a story there unlike McMurtry's
other westerns.

I am going to dip into my reading box again before New Years. I buy books
from time to time and put them in a box on a shelf in my office until I have
time to read them. A lot of them come from book clubs- I can't resist those
get 5 books for a dollar things although I usually regret it later. When I
read I get really absorbed in the book- my husband will attest to this, and
it rarely takes me more than three days of reading in the evening to finish
a book. There is some danger in reading in the evening- especially if you
have to work the next day. Just one more chapter syndrome makes you plenty
tired the next day.

Winter- what is it good for? Reading!

Wicked winter weather

You forget just how brutal Michigan winter can be until you get a day like
today. Last night we got 6-8 inches of snow - it's hard to say because of
the drifting. But the north wind is whipping through here and the
temperatures are in the teens with wind chills below 0. Getting to the barn
this morning with a bucket of water was a real job. In places the snow
had drifted over my knee boots.

Inside the barn out of the wind it is a bit better but still plenty cold. I
kept Chance inside because his little crippled legs probably couldn't make
it through that stuff outside and of course Lily won't let him come back in
"her" barn and he would be stuck out in the cold. Lily had been out and
wandering the paddock this morning but was back inside when I went out.

I tried to get some wild birdseed out of the car but all the doors were
frozen shut. I finally got the passenger side door open and was able to
reach the jug of finch seed I bought but not the sunflower, which was way in
the back. And when I waded through to the bird feeder I found the big one
was frozen shut- I was freezing so their seed got dumped in a spot I tramped
out on the ground.

Outside my home office window the wind is blowing the plastic we covered our
home made storm windows with around. It's still attached on one side but
that probably won't last. The snow outside is blowing around like a
blizzard, even though the sun is out and no snow is really falling right
now. I have my little heater running full blast under my desk. The office
dogs are gratefully huddled around it. My canary is sitting under his heat
light.

I haven't attempted to shovel yet - with it drifting so badly it's useless.
I didn't have to drive into work today and that's a good thing. Just the
thought of cleaning that car off makes me tired. If they plow tonight I'll
try making it to my Extension job tomorrow. I am supposed to attend a
memorial service for a colleague's wife and then go to the office Christmas
party.

I spent a great deal of time over the weekend baking and making candy. My
father decided he could no longer make our family's traditional Christmas
meat pies. His hands make peeling potatoes hard and its just too much work
for him. It's our tradition to eat meat pie on Christmas morning and dad
made them for everyone after his mom died. That's 10 full sized pies, one
for each family. So I decided as the eldest it's my turn to make them.

Meat pies are a lot like pasty's - meat, potatoes and onion in a nice crust.
Of course at one time they used turnips or rutabaga in them but for the last
30 years or so it's just been meat, (we use ground beef), potatoes and
onions. Dad didn't quite remember proportions, and there is no written
recipe. I have watched him make them a few times and I have made them just
for us a few times so I hope I got the huge amount done right. I used 10
pounds of ground beef and 5 pounds of diced potatoes and 2 pounds of diced
onions. I'm hoping that will fill all the pies.

I had to cook all this in my big roast pan in the oven because I didn't have
a big enough stock pot for the top of the stove. That seemed to work all
right, I took it out and stirred and mashed it a couple times to keep it
from setting up like a big meatloaf. The problem is getting the seasoning
right. It has to be spicy, but not too spicy. I think dad just used pepper
and salt, I added a bit of garlic and used seasoned salt.

The crusts- now that is a chore. Making pie crust is not my favorite thing.
So far all the bottom crusts are done and in the pans and I have the top
crusts chilling in the refrigerator. I will finish and bake them tonight,
then wrap and freeze them for Christmas Eve. The proper way to eat meat
pie is to heat it up on Christmas morning and enjoy it for breakfast -
usually with catsup slathered on it. With this pie we have fruit salad and
generally some kind of loaf bread like banana nut bread.

I also made peanut butter fudge - and I really need to make another batch of
fudge if I am going in to work tomorrow. We exchange white elephant gifts
but I always put in some of my fudge and it's kind of expected. Every
Christmas I usually make about 12 batches of fudge to give as gifts - but I
am cutting that down this year. And most of that will get done next week.

Ah, Christmas. I don't shop much for it but I still keep busy.

Lily gets a friend for Christmas

We rescued a mini horse for Christmas. His name is Chance. Chance has
some very "deformed" hind legs yet he still manages to get around pretty
good. He's four years old but hasn't been gelded- something that will
change this spring. He's a dark sorrel, about 30" at the shoulder; possibly
he shows some of the dwarf traits some mini horses exhibit. He's a little
fat and full of burrs but a sweet, well mannered guy.

He spent his time with some other mini horses and some large mares until his
owner could no longer keep them. She was able to find homes for the other
horses but Chance scared everyone off with his bad legs. We decided to take
him and give Lily, our spoiled mini, some company. Somebody needs to care
about the disabled ones, and who better than us, with our own disabilities.

Lily has been alone since her son Charlie died and she was moping around and
getting fat. She got very excited whenever riders came down the road and
even talked to passing horse trailers. Although she could see horses at the
farm across the street it wasn't the same as being with another horse.

Despite all of that Lily wasn't totally sure she liked this new guy. He's
shorter than her by about 6 inches. He smelled different and was a little
unkempt. We put them in stalls with a gate between them for the first day.
The next day I took Lily out on a lead into the pasture and turned Chance
loose in it. He was happy to get outside again; he wasn't used to a stall.

Chance wandered around smelling everything and Lily was stamping her feet
and giving little mini squeals. If he came too close she presented him
with her rear and kicked out. But she watched him intently. The next day
I put Lily in the east pasture and Chance out in the little paddock behind
the barn and they could see each other through the fence.

Lily spent a lot of time standing at the gate but if Chance stuck his nose
through she bit him. She also spent a lot of time racing to the far end of
the pasture and back, tail in the air, showing Chance just how well she
could run. She was getting exercise without even being with him.

After an hour or so of this I let her back into the little paddock with him.
She promptly began chasing him around but didn't seem too intent on actually
catching him. Chance seemed to understand just what he should do and he
didn't seem to have any trouble keeping away from her. Still I was a little
worried that she would make his poor little legs sore and I put him back in
the stall after 20 minutes or so.

The next day I let him eat his breakfast and then let him out. Lily's stall
opens into the paddock and she was already outside eating some hay I put out
there. They spent several hours together, with only minor chasing although
he was not allowed to get too close to Lily. However Lily would not let him
go inside to the water nor eat from either of the two widely separated piles
of hay I put out. So I put him back in the stall for the night.

They are out together today, well Chance is out but Lily was inside keeping
out of the wind. Hopefully in a day or two more they can share that big
area for shelter like Lily and Charlie did and I can use the other stall for
hay again. Our barn is crowded and we used the stall we put Chance in to
store hay. We are too old to put it in the loft anymore and go up there to
throw it down.

Chance needs to be able to get to the water and eat his share of hay in
peace. There is a windbreak for him but being inside on a blustery day
would be better. So for a few days at least I will bring him in at night to
the stall. Maybe by Christmas Lily will appreciate her Christmas present!

There are a lot of horses out there that need new homes because of this bad
economy. A friend actually adopted a mustang mare that was with Chance. If
you have room in your barn and heart for a horse rescue this winter please
consider adopting one.