Loving, week deaux

Howdy.  My daughter and husband have successfully survived week one of parenthood.  They are strangely competent considering at least my half of the gene pool.  Tim's family could probably handle anything, well, except California maybe.  I have promised them some tie dyed goodies, a bong and some Birkenstock's from the homeland once I return, but the blank stares to my direction pretty much said it all.  heavy sigh.

Baby Sam is without a doubt an exceptional baby (that too from my gene pool), he is very cool and collected.  He sleeps 4-5 hours at a stretch so the mother unit is pleased and is still radiant.  Without being the slightest bit prejudiced,  he is gorgeous and well behaved.  He has amazing feet. I may have a little bit of an obsession with them.  However, you may keep your opinions to yourself, unless you agree with me in which case we can get along.

Happy Feet!

My time here in Loving is rapidly coming to an end.  I don't know where the time has gone, but the daughter does not like for me to have any free time while she naps.  Something about idle hands and the devils playground.  So I have cooked and cleaned, hung pictures and rearranged the furniture, made pillows and offered both sanctioned and unsolicited advice.  My revenge observations of daughter- mother hood change vastly depending on the task at hand.  As a Dairy Bar/Dairy Queen, daughter is a champ.  But I'll tell you this, she's been peed on more than anyone I know.  She and the father are attempting to bathe the little prince right now and there was quite a kerfuffle which meant that the prince-ling had aimed and hit the mother target with a well place whiz.  I don't change diapers, so I'm dry..  We've had "that" chat.  What they will do without me is any one's guess, but just now I'm not even entertaining the idea at all.  I will miss them all way too much.

Lucky for me my beloved and I will be busy busy once I return as we will venture to Fresno for yet another horse trials.  As you know this means a three hour trek in the cab of the little pick up with three ill behaved dogs and their people.  Then, because the weather is unpredictable of late, we will either roast to death in the sun, or I will huddle pathetically in the truck in the case of torrential downpours. With the dogs for three days while the course is designed, built and jumped.  Oh, wet dogs.  I forgot.  Awesome.  It will come as a surprise to many of you that I can be unpleasant when cold and wet.

All too soon it will be time for Thanksgiving with the annual squabble as to who has to host the festivities.  I always vote for someone else's house.  And I like to take a lions share of the left overs home so we can have sandwiches, which is, as you know, the very best part of a turkey.   I am getting ahead of myself as we haven't even celebrated Halloween yet.  This is when  Steve and I huddle in the house, in the dark with no lights visible to the outside so we don't have to give away our candy.  So we have that to look forward to.

At any rate I still have two full days to share with the newest offspring.  And a lot of Loving, and Carlsbad have not been explored yet.  I suspect tomorrow and Tuesday will be rather full.  There are also projects my darling daughter has not yet presented to me to complete before I fly away.  I will be very tired when I get home and really in no mood to cook and clean, Steve. But until then there will be much baby holding and such like.

I was party to a calf roundup yesterday.  Well in actuality I watched as Tim ordered some youngster cows to get in a trailer so we could take them to his folks house for some reason.  I very astutely understood the safest place to be was on the other side of the fence, but Tim and the two herding dogs did a bang up job ordering the herd around and after some adolescent pouting and tantrums, they obediently loaded up for the short drive to their new digs.

I asked Tim  if they had a new fangled way to brand calves, but was assured the physical burn maiming is still the way of it.  It is not calf branding season, so I have been spared.  It is all to clear to me what would happen if I had a red hot branding iron in my tender horn paws.  I don't even like tattoo's.  It's a really grim thought.for all involved.

Alison's beloved is from this area.  Like many generations from here.  As in the whole population of Loving and Carlsbad, NM are ALL related in some fashion or other.  We had dinner (lunch) at his parents house today.  There were four generations of Ballard/Magby's at the table.  for fun they made chile rellenos for yours truly.  You know with the nice big green chiles?  Uh no.  I took one bite (without realizing they were eagerly looking at me no less) and squawked "Holy Mackeral!" then "Sapphire that's hot!"  And was there with tears streaming down my face whilst they had a whoop and holler at my expense.  I shall exact revenge at the earliest possible moment.  Perhaps I shall send them some tofu. Hah!

I must run chickens, I'm sure there's something I haven't done that needs to be done right now, even if it hasn't ever been done before.  I shall get back to being Step-n-Fetchit.

Cheers y'all
Squidgy.