I completely forgot to blog about our Thanksgiving as I was having too much fun with the snow pictures. We had our Thanksgiving on Friday instead of Thursday due to the snow and ice. One Friday, the orad were clear so my mom, Kimiko, Nelson and his friend Jim came over. My friend, Kathy Davis came up from Medford, OR on wed and was staying until Sunday. Getty got a large turkey, which was good, since we had two more people than we thought.
It snowed all week, out well house and pipes froze, making for an interesting week. It all thawed in time for the feast. Actually, all fixed by Thursday and having water is key. Having hot water is better. We were able to use our propane stove in the living room for heat and it toasts up the room nicely. Tess likes to lie near it and snore. That is when she is not on the couch.
Kathy and I worked dogs all weekend and took many pictures over the weekend. Her Aussies, Teyla is out of the round pen and now in the pasture. She worked about 5-10 ewes and starting to settle down now. Jill also worked but she had selective hearing loss. She is almost 13 years old but her hearing is fine as She could hear me unwrapping a treat, however when Kathy told her to lie down, she looked at her as if ,’Say what?” and kept on working. She soon saw the error of her ways and worked well. I’ll post pixs later of both of them. I worked my dogs as well as Epic. Epic is here to round out his herding and has been a joy to train. I have him learning down and the walk up whistles. I hope to have his flanks a lot more solid soon. He is a willing pupil and loves to please. I really enjoy training him.
Getty made a oven baked Turkey and the last step was to cook it upside down so the juices would go back into the breast. It was one of the juiciest turkeys we have had in a long time. I was on the hook for sweet potatoes so I made candied sweet potatoes….which is a miracle in itself as I don’t like sweet potatoes let alone, ever cooked one. So I made up a recipe using brown sugar, honey and butter. Everyone said they were tasty and that’s good as one would never get past my lips for a taste test. Mom and Kimiko arrived with a bountiful of goodies, homemade goyza, salad, and numerous other items. Nelson made two homemade pies that were made from the apples and plums from his trees. I made mashed potatoes and gravy and we then made more side dishes.
We ate well and it was good. I remember two years ago at Thanksgiving, I ate two bites, fell ill and went to bed. I was so sick from the heart surgery and terribly weak. I had no appetite and my family went all out to make my favorite foods to tempt me to no avail. However, I ate with gusto this day and laughed with everyone. It was good to have Kathy here as we consider her as family; she is like a sister to me and my mom adores her. Jim, Nelson’s friend hasn’t been here for a dinner but for short visit so it was good to chat with him. I remember meeting his daughter, Sydney when she was a child and now she is a Nurse. Wow, times sure flies.
Of course, the dogs ate well and they got to play ball with Kimiko. The adore my mom and Kimiko and yowl with delight when they arrive as they know they get spoiled. I let them as I get spoiled too! Everyone is spoiled, in fact.
What is Thanksgiving without the animals? Not only were the dogs well fed but so did everyone else on the farm. Extra bread was give to the poultry and extra alfalfa for the livestock. The cats got extra canned food and soon everyone was content. A owl also had a nice Thanksgiving feast and got a turkey and a hen. The coop was left open overnight and the owl flew in and had a nice Thanksgiving dinner. I hope he goes south for the rest of the winter.
After dinner, we all went down to the barn and did the evening feeding. My mom and Kimiko loves to feed the animals and they had a blast. Tess hangs at my mom’s feet in case, some stray bread might fall to the ground and of course, several pieces did! Amazing but it happens every time she comes to visit! I just smile! It’s good to see my mom so happy. Kimiko and Mom left it got dark so we all fondly waved good-bye.
As if we weren’t stuffed from dinner, then we sat down for Pumpkin cheesecake and homemade plum and apple pie. At this point, we all waddled back to the living room. Jim showed a wee bit of interest in sheepdogs and trials so I quickly whipped out some DVD and showed him some runs. My brother tried to make a quick getaway but Jim reminded him that he should stay longer. Nelson made a face but Jim still showed more interested in trials so we watched some clips from the Finals. Jim and Nelson were game to watch and after a graceful amount of time, they left. Jim actually got the idea and was able to see where some errors were in some of the runs. He is sharp guy and gets more points in my book for the sheepdog interest. Maybe he was just humoring me! Either way, I like him.
The rest of the weekend was fun. I taught Kathy how to make Kimchi and we made a batch. They we decided to make a bunch for her so we made four more batches. I made some homemade teriyaki sauce for her. My mom, Kimiko and Nelson also got some homemade Kimchi. It’s Japanese Kimchi which is not as hot as Korean Kimchi.
Kathy and I worked dogs all weekend. Kuro is working well for me and listening well. Taff is still a force but willing and stopping. I still need to open up his flanks. Same as his mother, Nan. He is slowly getting it but it will take time as he has been able to slice his flanks for most of his life. Roo is working like clockwork. Rainey is getting stronger on her driving. Sleat is still the tough nut to crack but in time, we will get it worked out. The dogs all got worked quite a bit and by the end of the weekend, they began to shine a lot more. I was pleased with their efforts.
Soon the weekend came to and end and Kathy began her long journey home. As she pulled out, I waved and Tess looked at me and I smile at her. It was a enjoyable Thanksgivings with family, friends, life and working dogs. Darkness came quickly and Tess and I snuggled up to each other on the couch I smelled deeply into her fur and was content with life.
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