Happy Halloweeny !!!

Merry Meet!


So...just what is Samhain? Do you know that is one of the oldest "end of the harvest celebration".

Samhaim is the "End of the Summer", the final harvest and one of the "spirit nights". A magical time when the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Many Pagans believe this is a time when they can get in touch with their ancestors and loved one who has passed. It's a time to honor the Dark Mother (Goddess, Crone) and the Dark Father (Horned Hunter, Lord of Death).

Many, many moons ago Pagans used this time to store items that would get them through the long cold winter months. Livestock was slaughtered, crops were brought in off the fields, apples, pumpkins, gourds, turnips, nuts were gathered and stored.



For Wiccans and Good Witches, Samhain is the New Year. A time to reflect, let go and look to the future.

This is also the night that the Wee Ones ....would come out to play their mischievous tricks.

They would go from house to house, and if treats were not offered ....they would play tricks on the folks living in that house. Villagers would leave little food offerings such as sweets, milk, and fruit for the Wee Ones. The Wee Ones would accept these "treats" and would bless the home for the coming year.

During the night, villagers would walk about carrying carved turnips filled with lite candles ....to light their way. The lanterns were called "Jack-o-Lantern".

Today, Halloween is mostly for the young and young-at-heart. Kids of all ages dress up and go from home-to-home "Trick O' Treating".

Even dogs ...get to dress up! Here's my girls!

This is my beagle, Molly Macaroni

This is my Aussie Kelpie, Lucy Bear.

Course...they're not too trilled with Mama for making them wear silly costumes.

Even cows get into the Halloween act. She's wearing a mask!

BTW...why does the local Arctic Cat dealer have a huge fiberglass cow!?

Here's two teachers I work with, Mr Q and Posie.


BOO! The scary part is that Mr. Q is NOT wearing a costume!
Hey, Quick...ya know we all dig ya!

Here's mine, not too creative, but I got my message across.


A friend gave me the t-shirt, it’s huge on me and the hat is too damm cute! It's a little witch, broom and all. You can see her little feet on the side of the hat. Too damm cute!

Here's one of Posie and me. Is Posie cute or WHAT?!

Do you dress up today? Did you have FUN!? Did you get any tricks? Or just treats?

Wishing you a Happy Halloweeny!

"Elmer Bandit"

Elmer Bandit

37 Year Old Half Arabian Horse Sets New CTR Mileage Record

HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?!


Mary Anna Wood is Elmer's owner/rider, she must be very proud of her beautiful horse.

For full story and photos, please visit The Horse Article and photos by Marsha Hayes.

Way to go Elmer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jus Cuz....

Juz cuz....I like the photo.

Next season's "Dancing with the Stars" will feature America's All Star Boy and Caribou Barbie.

They're looking pretty damm hot!!

Okay....going back to my cup of hot coco.

GET THE VOTE OUT!

See ya!

Sarah's New Threads - Much Ado about Nothing

Do we really care that Sarah Palin has a new wardrobe and makeup?

Heck, I'm glad that she has decided not to wear fur on the campaign! At least with the new threads, no animals were hurt or killed for their fur.

Course, she is wearing knee length leather boots. But, I have no problem with them there boots. They're kinda sexy, Sarah. And maybe that is the "look" you're going for?

I actually have no problem with the RNC spending $150,000.00 on Sarah's new clothes. I would rather they spend the money to clothe Sarah, then run them damm negative ads. Boy, don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of hearing how bad that "other guy" is. How about telling us what is "good" about your guy!?

Okay, back to Sarah, I've got to tell you, I can't stand the woman. I think she's off her rocker. And on top of that she is anti-animal and anti-earth.

Sarah is a pretty woman and some pretty women do like to wear pretty clothes. Sarah is one of them. Sarah's a Caribou Barbie doll; boobs, legs, and an air head.

Once a beauty pageant girl....always a pamper princes.

Course.. I don't know too many down to earth, hockey moms, Mrs. Joe Six-Packs or Mrs. Joe the Plumber from small towns who get a chance to blow $150,000.00 at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Sarah, did you know that Target, Kohls, TJ Maxx and other lower budget stores also sell really nice clothes? Or have you tried the "sale racks"? I guess I would have expected that from the "Wal-Mart" governor who fired the governor's mansion cook and listed the governor's private jet on eBay.

Some would say that Sarah was in dire need of a warerobe update? Here's a photo of something that she picked out on her own.

Gosh...hum....yes, IMHO...Sarah needed new threads!

Me...I get 90% of my clothes from Goodwill, thrift, second hand and consignment stores. THIS DRIVES MY HUBBY CRAZY! I think the only things that I purchase new are my "under things" and oh...yea....my riding stuff.

If I were to splurge on anything, it would be on a pair of high end riding breeches. I would LOVE to own a pair of Icelandic jodhpurs or Equissential breeches. But, at $300.00 a pop, I instead stick that into my gas tank (ANOTHER TOPIC....for ANOTHER DAY!).

Anywho....I hope the democrats don't take off running with this Sarah's new wardrobe story. There's more important issues at hand; the war, oil prices, our economy, homeless, health insurance, etc...etc....etc. Geez louise, gives me a headache just thinking about it.

I heard this morning that Sarah will donate them new threads to charity after the election. What I want to know is ... will she also be donating her red Naughty Monkey pumps? I'd love to own those kickers! I have a par of sexy purple pumps...that I enjoy wearing!

Sarah, you go girl!

If you're going to pick on Sarah, pick on her for something else. Like the fact that's she's an airhead. That her mouth is malfunctioning!!

I like Sarah's new style, love her shoes and boots. I just can not stand the woman!

So, how much do you think Obama paid for his suits?

Okay, I'm out of here, gonna to ride my pony in my big buck saddle.

"I say, are you stuck?"

"Winnie The Pooh and the Honey Tree"

Owl "I say, are you stuck?"

Winnie the Pooh "No, just resting and thinking and humming to myself."

Oh dear! Do you suppose this horse wanted something sweet from the honey tree?

Oh, oh, help and brother....I'm stuck!

Poor Gracie, she found herself in a pickle.

Christopher Robin "Pooh Bear, there's only one thing we can do, wait for you to get thin again."

Winnie the Pooh "Oh bother. How long will that take?"

Eeyore "Days, weeks, months, who knows?"


"Winnie the Pooh" books were written by A.A. Milne. They were my daughter Jenni's favorite children's book series. We all loved Edward Bear, known as Pooh to his friends!

As a child, did you love Pooh? Did you day dream about life in the Hundred Acre Wood?

As Pooh would say "Time for something sweet".

Dogs DO love

There are those who will tell you that dogs do not love. I would disagree with them. And I think this solider would tell you that, yes...dogs do love.

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"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring -- it was peace." Milan Kundera

"My little dog -- a heartbeat at my feet." Edith Wharton

"Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe, we are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made."
Roger Cara

Have you known a special dog? How did that relationship enrich your life?

Go give your dog a hug!

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park is located in north western Minnesota. About a three hour drive from my place, I got up to the park about noon on Thursday.

Mille Lacs Kathio is 10,500 acres of natural beauty! The Rum River dips in and out of this park, magnificent Lake Mille Lacs is across the road. You will find four other lakes within the park; Ogechie, Shakopee, Tamarak and Black Brass. This park has 22 miles of beautiful horse trails.

The trails are dirt and grass with rocks here and there. Great for a barefootin' horse!

Friday night my hubby came up for a few days, what a nice treat! Dan really does not like to camp, so I appreciate it when he joins me for a day or two. Saturday morning Dan biked around the state park. Later that day, Steve joined Dan for a drive around Lake Mille Lacs, I think it's almost 90 miles all the way around the lake. Lake Mille Lacs is HUGE...207 square miles... 132,500 acres!

I rode Huginn for about an hour on Thursday (with a lady I met up there), but then had to return to camp, as he was off.

Poor ponykins. <;o[ It was a very slight "off". Huginn loves to paws and being a slightly off did not prevent him from pawing a huge hole to China. Dixie as always, was a sweet girl and a good camper. On Thursday, I ponied her with Huginn. Dixie loves to trail ride!

On Friday, I rode my friend Dawn's beautiful TWH gelding, Tucker. Tucker is my old walking horse, who I sold a few years ago. I had a wonderful ride on Tucker, he is such a awesome horse. I forgot how tall he is compared to short Huginn. Tucker is 16.2 and Huginn is 13.2. HAHA!

Here's an old photo of Tucker.
Saturday morning Tara (massage therapist) worked on Huginn's shoulder and wow...he was sound again!!

TARA.....THANKS A BUNCH!!!!! You're the sweetest. >;p]

I rode Huginn that day. Boy...I could tell he was feeling better, he gave me some "bucks & farts" up a few rolling hills. HA! I was so happy to have Huginn under saddle again. I'm not sure what caused him to be a bit stiff the day before. I'll have to keep an eye on that. Tara was so sweet to take time out of her day to work on Huginn. it was also cool chatting "barefootin" with Tara and her girl pals.





On Saturday, we hiked to the park's fire tower. I wanted to climb this tower for two reasons; test my legs/lungs and to help conquer one of my fears. Fear of falling.

The steel fire tower is 100 feet tall, about 133 or so wooden steps to climb. It's not for the fainthearted. I have a great fear of falling, but I was determined to climb to the top.




Thanks for the moral support from my hubby Dan, and my good friend Pat, I climbed the tower to the top!

Boy, I had butterflies...queasy in my tummy ...all the way up and down. And to make the climb harder, it was very WINDY!! And even worse at the top of tower. And cold! It was so worth the climb, the panoramic view (from what I remember) was spectacular. You can see all the way to the other side of Lake Mille Lacs, 22 miles away. The trees were a beautiful patchwork of golds, bright sunny yellows, honey amber, velvet browns, and orange. I was so glad that I have been running/working out ...my legs did not fail me as I climbed. This made me very happy! Last year I would have been just dead from the exertion. All the way up...folks have left graffiti messages on the steps ...I read a few, but I just didn't have the nerve to look down to read more of them. It's a must do on the next trip there.
Saturday nite our group headed to the local casino for the yummy buffet. On the way out...while waiting for those who needed to use the potty, I dropped a $1.00 into the slot machine and won 22 cents! HA! What a gambler I am..huh? NOT. After dinner, we returned to camp for the campfire.

It was a great weekend spent with wonderful freinds. For more photos, please visit my Picasa photo web site.

What are you favorite things about Fall?

Go play in the leaves!

Sexiest Survivalist

Most of my friends know that I am addicted to the ABC TV show "LOST". It's a awesome brain challenging show. It's alot of fun trying to figure out the clues and stay on top of this fascinating thriller.

What I like best about LOST...is Naveen Andrews. What a hunk! I adore Naveen!

Naveen plays Sayid Jarrah, a Middle Eastern man who was a communications officer in the Iraqi Republican Guard.

During the Gulf War, Sayid's base is captured by the US forces and Sayid is forced by them to interrogate and torture his commanding officer, Tariq. At first Sayid refuses, but then he learns that Tariq ordered nerve gas to be used on Sayid's village, killing his family members.

Sure, he used to be on the bad guy team, but on the Island, Sayid is one of the Good Guys!

Anyhow...I first fell in love with Naveen back in 1996, when I saw him in "The English Patient". One my all time favorite movies (my other crush is Ralph Fiennes) . I think I saw it on the big screen a least three times (yea...kinda sick..HA!). This is a great love story, it's a "cuddle up with your guy on the couch" movie.

The other thing I like about Naveen is that he LOVES older women. All the women he has been with are at least 10-21 years older than him. What a smart guy! He is currently living with beautiful actress Barbara Hershey.
One of mygirlfriends sent me a YouTube video of Naveen. Kinda made my day. Enjoy! (Thanks Amy)







What really happen to Oceanic Flight 815?

October is Adopt a Dog Month!

Don’t know about you…but I LOVE dogs!!

I have had dogs since the day that I was born. I could not imagine my life without a furry loving dog.

Lucy Bear, 11 yr old Aussie Kelpie.

Molly Macaroni, 9 yr old Beagle.

Lucy was given to me by someone who was overwhelmed by her puppy needs and Molly was rescued. These two girls have filled our home with love and much joy. Lucy is my heart dog and Molly is my little clown.

Did ya know that every day hundreds of dogs are surrendered to shelters, are on the streets homeless or are abandoned by their owners! All of these dogs are in need of loving forever homes.

Please do your part to help homeless dogs; spay, neuter, and adopt!

To find a rescue near you please click on the below sites

Pet Finder

Animal Shelter

ASPCA

Don’t forget Senior Dogs make AWESOME pets!! ADOPT A SENIOR DOG. Please visit the Senior Dog Project!!

Before you decide to adopt a dog: Determining if You’re Ready

“To the world you might be one person, but to one animal you might be the world”

If you are not ready to adopt a dog, there are so many ways to help homeless dogs. You can volunteer at a local shelter, sponsor a dog in foster care or make a donation to your local shelter.

“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe, we are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” Roger Cara

How have dogs changed your life? Has there been one special dog in your life?

Arooo and Woof-Woof!

Eat Your Veggies

Hey...do ya know that it's World Vegetarian Day? Don't know 'bout ya, but I love my veggies.



Now, I have nothing against eating meat, I happen to eat it myself. But, I tend to be picky about the meat that I do consume. It needs to be humanly raised (pasture raised).


I do however perter to eat a non animal protein meal, it's just tastier. I love salads, veggies, hummus, fruits, etc.






Here's two quick easy recipes for a vegan lunch. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cornbread

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
7 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil and sweet potatoes. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares. Serve warm

Kale with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Kale
Peanuts
Red Onions

Spicy Peanut Dressing
3 Cups Peanut Butter
9 tbsp Just like honey (honey works also)
3/4 Cup Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Brown Rice Vinegar
3 tsp Minced garlic
2 tbsp Ginger
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Salt
9 oz Hot Water

Blanch the Kale: Remove the Kale from the stems. Add a pinch of Salt to a pot of boiling water, then blanch the Kale. Remove the Kale from the boiling water and shock it in a container of ice water. Finally, squeeze the excess water out of the cooled Kale.

Spicy Peanut Dressing: Place all dressing ingredients into a blender and blend it until it comes to a smooth consistency.

Drizzle the dressing on top of the Kale and mix the two together. Garnish with chopped red onions and chopped peanuts.


Serve with iced tea

Bon Appetit!