Rolling in Dough......

It was a day to make hoagie rolls for Mike!! While I was at it, why not make a batch of Kaiser rolls?? Only problem was that when making the Kaiser Rolls, I accidently added 1 1/2 TABLEspoons instead of 1 1/2 TEAspoons of yeast! WHAT TO DO??? So, I made 3 batches of roll dough, divided the very quick rising dough into thirds, and made LOTS of rolls!! I spent all day in the kitchen, raising dough, shaping rolls, raising dough some more, and baking!!!

An interesting aside.... Kaiser rolls are folded from flat discs - several flaps toward the middle, then placed face down on a little bed of poppyseeds and raised. Just before putting in the oven, you turn them face up and bake them. Mike loves the Kaiser rolls!!!!!








And I ended up with LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN ROLLS!!! (clockwise from upper right: cloverleaf rolls, plain rolls, hoagie rolls, hard rolls and Kaiser rolls)
Too bad you don't live closer! You could visit the Winslow Bakery for some nice fresh rolls!!!

'Dillo Damage

This, my friends, is the most efficient (and devastating) lawn aerator known to man -- the armadillo!! Wild pigs do a job on your property too - they do more than aerate, they dig BIG holes (VERY destructive to lawns). The problem with this Texas critter is that he visits mostly at night and is gone by morning. He makes friends with Sam (dog) and the cats. He's very focused on his work, and when bothered, he just moves to another spot and starts digging for grubs. His shell-like cover protects him from most predators (including me with the broom), and he's hard to catch. He doesn't bite, but he has formidable looking claws. We 'bagged' this one a couple of times (NO easy task) and moved him on down the road, but he'd find his way back. Then we took him a mile or so away. Now either he's back or one of his friends!! Every morning we go out to more areas of excavation!! He particularly likes to go along stones and around trees.... (feel free to click on pics below to take a better gander of the completed 'work')

but the lawn is fair game too, especially if there's a tree nearby with lots of roots that might attract grubs....

I don't know how I'm going to get my flowers to grow and bloom with all the help he's giving me!!!

More Winter!!!!

Here it is, almost Valentines Day, and it looks more like Christmas!!! It's been a real winter here!! BIG SNOW STORM, cold weather, heavy frost, and now more snow! But this one was more of a pretty all-day snow fall with temperatures right at freezing overnight with progressive warming over the past couple of days - so, it's almost gone and up to 56 degrees today. This was Rodgers Road yesterday. Our property is to the right of this road. Welcome to the country!!!I dashed out to take snow pics towards town, but the best pictures yesterday were right here in the pecan orchard. Even though the snow was melting off, the horses enjoyed wandering and foraging in the snow.

...as did the heifers and bull. They're growing as they should, and while there's little grass to be had in the fields, they eat a huge bail of hay about every other week.

The Ranch in Winter

Brrrrrrr! Even here in Texas, it's cold! This morning we woke up to 25 degrees!! It's been pretty foggy for the past several days as it was this morning as you can see. The horses have a heavier coat and oft spend the night against (or inside) the hen house. In fact one morning Mike found Eeyore shut in and peaking out the chicken door, looking to be rescued!!! The frost this morning was quite beautiful - our world was frosty!
The live oak tree which keeps its leaves year-round had frost-outlined leaves; the crepe myrtle right next to it looked 'flocked' (like the fancy christmas trees), and the large tree behind was a little coarser frosted, but I rather liked the contrast between the three (click to appreciate detail):

Brindle (left) was checking out the contrast between the green grass just starting to appear and the frosted shrub. Right, I thought the bird nest in the pecan tree was interesting. The loop that looks like a rubber band is likely a hair from one of the horses tails which was used in constructing the nest. The aqua blue is from the twine around the bales of hay. (click for detail)

Last week one day, I came out to get the mail and along the fenceline across the street I was met with a hundred eyes looking at me......

until Sam barked and they gathered together and then stampeded away! Sam likes to herd those cattle across the street!!

The last few mornings have all been below freezing and it's interesting to see the dog dish where Sam and the kitties have licked a hole in the ice and it freezes in rather interesting patterns.

On sunny cold days (like last week) the kitties like to gather together and take baths and hang out on a blanket on the porch. This works well until Sam decides he wants to lay there. Sometimes he'll share, sometimes not!

Sienna (front) is the senior member here. Her daughter is my semi-house kitty. In the middle of the pack is Patches (with the black and orange coat and the black eye) - she'll be a year old in May and is Sienna's sisters little one. The other three are my orphans, born in July. Bonnie (behind Sienna) comes inside part of the time. Brindle is the only one I have left with that coloring, and last is Blondie (he's the only little boy in the picture). This picture represents half of my kitties.

Check out ALO Top 10 by Travis

Wow!!! Any of my friends who follow along with personal and ranch happenings, MUST check out Travis' latest reflective post on his 3-year ALO assignment. It's awesome and I want to share with all!!! Just click on the link: http://snakeye.us/

The Arrival of Marissa

This is a grandparent entry!!! It captures our visit with Travis, Pam and Brenden while awaiting the arrival of Marissa. We arrived in Savannah in time for Thanksgiving. What a great family time. We got to enjoy Travis and Pam, but the best was getting to know Brenden in toddlerhood! Of course, he didn't remember us from this summer, so we had to get reacquainted! We got to take walks, learn a new word ("car"), shop, eat, and visit with our beautiful family:
After a couple of days, Brenden's personality really came out. He LOVES to 'read' books!!! He recognizes a ton of words and can identify most pictures (by pointing) in his First Words book. He also LOVES vehicles. His other favorite book was a fireengine book with wheels on the bottom. We 'talked' about the different emergency vehicles every day. When Pam pulled out some wooden vehicles, the favorite game became "what's this?". He didn't say 'what's this? .... but the intensity of his eyes looking at your mouth when holding up a toy SCREAMED ... 'WHAT'S THIS CALLED?'

This was his favorite floor toy. He loved the balls... to put them down the various holes and to throw them on the tile floor and watch them bounce. He liked to put a variety of things through the holes and often 'Noni' (that's me) had to get square things through the system!

Then finally the big day came... Marissa's birth day! Here's Marissa when only a few hours old being admired by her Mommy and Daddy:

..... and by her 'Grandparents Winslow':

Here she is, 4 days old! This is my favorite picture with her mom. She looks 100% cute with her dad too. (click on them to enlarge)

Such a beautiful little girl she is!! This is Marissa Hazel at one week old, and I'm sure she'll just get more beautiful as she develops facial expressions.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

WOW!!! The last time we attended a real live Air Force football game was when Travis was a cadet at the Air Force Academy (AFA)!!! He graduated in 2001, has been through pilot training, F-16 training, weapons training, survival training and multiple other kinds of training since then!! He's been to Iraq and Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and Germany and he'll soon be on his way to Italy!!! A lot of water under the old bridge!!!

Anyway, this year, Air Force was in the Armed Forces Bowl, and they played at TCU Stadium!! The 'T' is, of course: TEXAS!! We were only a 2 hour drive away, so Travis gave us tickets for Christmas!! He couldn't be there, so he sent us to take pictures and cheer for him!!! And WE HAD A GREAT TIME!! We bought some long johns and bundled up in our AF clothes to buck the 42-46 degrees we anticipated. By the time we parked, walked to the stadium and found our seats, it was kick-off time!!! The officials came out on the field... the coin was tossed, and AF received:
Our seats were at about the 16 yard line, and we sat behind the Cadet Drum and Bugle Corps (below, left). For the AF, the game got off to a great start ... TWO TDs (unanswered) in the first quarter, and we could see the TV broadcast on the scoreboard (below, right). (for detail, click on any small pictures to enlarge)

Houston was obviously off their game... here we are giving them another opportunity to score:

Then at half time these 4 groups marched onto the field to take their oath of office for the USAF, USN, US Army, and the Marines - new recruits!! You can also see the University of Houston Band at the ready in their bright red uniforms.

Then a VERY nice half-time show featuring 3 bands: Houston (red), AFA Drum & Bugle Corps (blue) and the Army Drum & Bugle Corps from Fort Hood (camo & behind the AF)... Shown on the right are the Houston majorettes ... performing in very brief uniforms!!! BRRRRRRRRR!! (click to enlarge):

Immediately after the game, the AF team assembled directly below us and sang the school song and cheered. (below, left) The final score appeared on the marquis (below right). Note the position of the flag compared to the picture in the first quarter!!! We had a bit more breeze in the second half.

All in all, it was a great game, reminiscent of Parent Weekends past!!! A GREAT Christmas present, Travis and Pam.