I am just coming down from the weekend- we had all the kids home. Nic and Jared came up to help David tile our bedroom and watch the Superbowl, and Heather came to watch her brothers. They are a crack-up! They were doing the dishes Sunday, when Jared quoted a line from a movie, then Nic did the next line, and they were off and running. It's always like that with them- they play off of each other so smoothly and with perfect timing. We just sit and watch, there's no keeping up with them.

We also celebrated Heather finishing her Bachelor's degree. We were technically one day premature, since she actually finished on Monday, but we were all together so it was the right time to celebrate. She's been working and going to school full time for the past 2 1/2 years, plus she's now the president of the women's organization at her church, so she is so busy! Saturday she kind of panicked- "Mom, what am I going to do with all my free time???" I told her it's ok to relax and maybe even have a social life again. Go figure!

The bedroom looks great! They finished the tile just as it was starting to rain Saturday evening. Sunday was so rainy and cold, but we sure need the moisture. Since the Broncos weren't in the Superbowl, I didn't really care who won, but it was a great game. I only watched parts of it, because my Mom showed up just before the game started. She is driving to Utah in her motor home. Not the best time of year, but my niece is having a missionary farewell next Sunday, so Mom is going up there. She usually takes 3-4 days to drive up, taking lots of time. I heard today that last Sunday Salt Lake was shut down by the snow, but the weather is supposed to be fine this week. I can't go, can't travel that far yet, but Heather is going up, so she can represent our family. My family is all about supporting each other- my brother Hap and his family is going, as are Debbie and most of her kids. I'm so proud to be part of this family! Hopefully by summer I can do a few more family get-togethers.

Cocky Roosters

I sent out a questionaire to some friends, one that was sent to me by a friend. My cousin's response was really cute, she talked about a couple roosters that were so mean- named Fancy Pants and Frilly Puss. What cool names! It reminded me of my own rooster story. It happened 20 years ago, but it still makes me laugh.

We had just moved up to the farm in Colorado, and the previous owner left her chickens. The rooster was a mean, old coot, with long ole spurs. When I bought some more hens, he wouldn't let them near 'his' girls, I had to feed them separately, or he wouldn't let them eat either. I messed around with him all summer, trying to orient the group, and get them used to each other, but he would have none of it. The last straw was when I sent my 6 year old out to feed them some scraps, and he chased Nic all the way back to the house, and that mean old rooster even drew blood where he spurred Nic. That was it, I'd had it. I sent the kids into the house, my 3 and the 2 that I was tending. I picked up our Rueger .22 pistol and marched out the door. He glared at me, I took careful aim, and shot him. David heard the shot, came out chuckling and said, "well, how many shots will it take?" I told him "It only takes me one shot!" As I walked back to the house, all 5 kids were staring at me, wide eyed, scared and fascinated. I couldn't resist, I said- 'that's what happens when you tick me off!' To this day the boys I was watching are a little scared of me, and they're in their 20's now.... I'd probably get arrested for that today.

I know, it's not politcally correct, but man he was a mean bird. He was even too tough to eat, so we just buried him.

Done!

I finished my big sweater, it wasn't as hard as I thought. Course, I had made the body of it last winter, and was half-way through the sleeves when I got bored and quit working on it. Or maybe it was because I was sick... Anyhow, it's been cold enough here to wear it a lot, and enjoy it before the heat sets in. I've finished 2 scarves and a pair of fingerless gloves too. I'm working on a lap robe for David's mom, but I'm making that with the new knitting machine. It's not electric, but it's a whole lot faster than knitting by hand! That was my Christmas gift, and it's taken some time to figure out the tension on it, to make it work without dropping a bunch of stitches. Kinda like my brain...

To be in Mexico in winter!

I was looking at my pictures today, and found the ones I took while in southern Mexico in 2006. The picture above is Tulum, which is my favorite of all the places we visited. It is on a cliff overlooking the sea. There is a long coral reef running parallel to the coast, and there is only a narrow passageway for boats to come into Tulum. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and I wanted to share it with anyone who happens to read this.

In the eye of the beholder, many things look different. I can visualize the city as it was, even though right now it's a ruin. The natives moved the town about 10 miles inland, probably after being hammered with too many hurricanes. Being of a practical nature, the people just picked up and moved to a safer place. I imagine that the cliffside Tulum has seen more hurricanes than most places, but many of the buildings are still standing. The new Tulum is not made of stone, and is a hardscrabble area, but the people are very friendly and helpful. It doesn't have the beauty of the original, but it has survived! Sometimes that is the success story, isn't it? We don't usually leave this world at our most beautiful outward appearance, but hopefully our interior is refined, tempered by the storms we've weathered, and the beauty of our souls can shine without being encumbered by outer trappings.

Mom Farr had another fall today. Fortunately she has found a way to fall so gently that she doesn't break anything. She fell right before Christmas, and really gave us a scare. she hadn't put her call button on yet after a shower, the phone was out of reach, and she'd had a stomach flu for several days. She tried to move from wheelchair to recliner, and just slipped out of the chair to the floor and couldn't get up. She lay there for an hour and a half before someone came in to her room and found her. Thankfully she didn't break any bones, just a few bruises. That's what happened today, except she had the call button on and got help right away. I went over as soon as they called. Her knees just don't always support her, but she's determined to keep moving as much as she can, so at least there is someone available that can pick her up.

We had rain last night! Hopefully more is on the way this weekend, too. I watched a cardinal take a bath yesterday, he jumped into the birdbath and had the water just a flyin'! I got a couple pictures, but I don't know if I got enough zoom the really see him. He was so bright red against the icy morning, and oblivious to the cold. I'm running around with 2-3 layers of clothes on, and he's out there in 38 degree weather, taking a bath!

Knit, Read, Enjoy

It's been a busy week for me, comparitively! I have been helping digitize census records for the LDS Family History Library for the past year, it's a great program that will allow anyone to search census records through their website for free when complete. I've been typing in the 1930 Mexico census records, since I speak and read spanish. The census records are hand written, and sometimes pretty hard to read, but it is so great to know all these records will be available to everyone. I've tried to do a page every day, which is 50 names per page, so this month I've recorded 600 names so far. The program has done the 1900, 1880 US census, and is also digitizing other records too. I worked on an Irish birth record for a few pages, but didn't see any of my clan in there. Genealogy is a passion for me, and I'm so glad to have internet and be able to do research even though I haven't been able to get out much. If I can help others do the same thing, I'm thrilled!

I finished my sweater, it looks pretty good, I'll put a picture up this week. I'm now making fingerless gloves. They are made with 4 knitting needles, which is a little complicated, but they look pretty cool and should help keep my joints warmer while I'm typing or knitting.

On Saturday David, myself, his sister Trisha and brother Jon all went for a drive. We had breakfast at Jose's Cafe in Sedona, great local food if you're ever in the area. David bought a bullet reloading outfit from a friend, and we drove out past Camp Verde to pick it up. The guy has changed hobbies, now he's rebuilding motorcycles, and needs more room in his workshop. He gets more room, David gets to build up his hobby, everybody wins!

Trisha is so sick of Phoenix, she wants desperately to move up here, but there's just no work in her field. She's a loan officer, and was laid off for months this past year. She's working now, but is burned out, however, at 60 she's not really in a position to change carreers. tough place to be right now. I think she'd be bored senseless up here, but maybe not.

I've been out 2 Saturdays in a row, and even made it to church today, so I'm definitely starting to regain my strength!