" Meet Max "

Yesterday I wrote about Roxie getting a new home that was a perfect fit for her. I really hated having to give up Roxie as we have been wanting a Border Collie for so long but she is so much happier with the kids. On Christmas Eve, Hubby's cousin whom we got our chickens from called and asked if we would take Max, his 2 year old, fully trained Border Collie? Would we ??? We were ecstatic!




Max is trained to herd chickens but he decided he would herd cattle also.

Trouble is, Cousin doesn't have cattle. He was herding some neighbor cattle and the owners were not happy about it!

Cuz was afraid Max was going to end up shot so he asked us to take him.........

We went and picked him up last Saturday. He is AMAZING !! SUPER SMART !

He and Hubby are best Buds now. Max makes every step Hubby does. He loves herding the cattle while Hubby puts out feed.

He's already taken over my seat in the truck, riding with Hubby.. :)

He lays at the carport door waiting for Hubby to come back out and work with him!

It's funny how life brings you exactly what you need when you need it. We love Max and look forward to having him here for a long time. When the weather gets a little drier, I'm going to start letting the chickens out for a while and he will get them back in to roost.

I'm feeling a tad better today, maybe I can start getting the decorations packed up!! :)

December 2009

I'm a little under the weather at the moment but much better than I was yesterday. I have a sinus infection and I started on antibiotics yesterday and feel a little better today. :(
I know you all remember Roxie, the Border Collie I adopted from the shelter. Roxie was a 4 month old puppy when we got her. She is the MOST hyper dog I've ever seen !! She is WAY TOO rambunctious for this farm. She dug holes that could cause a broken bone in a heartbeat! I've had three too many of those!

Meet Haley, Vincent and Tony, our niece and nephews. They live in New Orleans. These children have NEVER had a dog as they lived in an apartment where dogs were not allowed.

Well, they moved into a house with a big fenced yard recently and were just dying for a dog!

So we took Roxie down to New Orleans a few weeks ago and gave her to these precious babies!

Roxie, hit the lottery folks! She is now a "lap dog"! She is sooooo spoiled we can smell her up here! Tony, the oldest exclaimed; " she is the best Christmas present ever" ! She even got "ham and eggs" for her Christmas Dinner along with a sack full of toys!Sometimes an animal is just not the right fit for one family but a perfect fit for another, I'm sure Roxie is very grateful to be where she is now! :)

On a sad note, we lost Miss Kitty. I cried for days over this kitten. We had had her for 6 days, I'd been keeping her in my library. For two days prior, I had let her stay in the carport during the day to get acquainted with TC our outdoor cat and would bring her in the house at night. She would not go out of the carport at all! I had her a litter box there and food and water. On the third day( Dec.18th) I went to the post office to mail some packages. She was in a chair on the carport when I got into the car. When I came back from the post office she was gone! We have concluded that she must have gotten up under my car when I got in it and rode under it . We went door to door around the PO and searched for days. No Miss Kitty! My heart is broke over this!If only I'd put her in the house when I left. :(

Here she is playing in the leg/foot part of my massage chair. :(

Yesterday morning we thought we were going to have a beautiful sunrise..........

It did its best to come out for a little while.............

Only if to reveal a heavy frost under 23 degrees..............

Frost and 23 degrees didn't stop Hubby from fishing and catching 13 huge Bream/blue gill.

It looked like a dusting of snow! There is snow in our forecast next Monday!

I love how quite it is in very cold weather...........

Remember a couple of weeks ago when we got 4 inches of rain overnight on already soaked ground? Here's some pics.............These are the pines on the front.

This is the left side of our drive.............

This is our drive and road under water.............

The water covered the whole road.............

A calf is "island in" on the left of the drive............

Well, it's raining again right now, 100% chance all day! Cold and gloomy! Good day for a sick body to rest! December 2009 has been the wettest month on record for Mississippi. Our area has gotten 14 1/2 inches so far. Have a great day everyone!

" It Was A Wonderful Day "

We had a wonderful time Christmas with family! The food was the best I've ever cooked! I'm not exaggerating when I say this! I used four new recipes for the Corn Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, English Pea Salad and I used Marguerite @ Cajun Delights, Cajun Bourbon Glaze for the Ham! DIVINE! All were just Divine!
I got so many wonderful gifts this Christmas! Of course my favorite was the "Windsor Print" Hubby got me! It's good that I never made it to the framers, because I got four more prints that need framing also. This is one of them!









This is another. All 4 are very old Victorian prints. The 2 Christmas prints I'll hang next Christmas.

The next 2 will go in my dining room after I get them framed........

I love Victorian Art................

This picture is " Magnolia Mansion ", a Bed& Breakfast in the Garden District of New Orleans.

Here it is decorated for Christmas...........

This is a daytime picture of it. It just happens to be right across the street from Garden District Books, a favorite independent book store of mine. That is where we met Kathryn Stockett, the author of "The Help".............

Can you believe they have a " Gone With The Wind " suite ?

Well, Hubby and I got a Gift Certificate for a stay in it from his son David and his wife Shannon!!!!

We'll wait until it's warmer so we can stroll the Garden District again...........

Another favorite gift is this Covered Crystal Server Tray........

I LOVE it!

My TBR got additions also.............

I've already read the "Natchez Cemetery Legends" cover to cover and I'm at present reading;

" When The Ghost Screams"...............

Another fantastic gift is this Susan Boyle CD !! OMG ! This woman's voice is so incredible!!

All 12 songs are just fabulous!

I got a lot of wonderful gifts including 3 pairs of lounging PJ's and warm house shoes, my son Todd sent us a wonderful Harry & David Basket! I LOVED every gift and I'm and sooooo grateful for each one! I am really exhausted though and not looking forward to the "un-decorating" part.

HAVE A GREAT SUNDAY !!!!!1

" CHRISTMAS TIME'S A COME' N "

Well it's finally Christmas Eve!! I hope each and every one of you who visit or follow this blog know that from the very bottom of my heart, I wish you a joyous, peaceful Christmas wherever you are and however you are spending this blessed day! I would have loved to have everyone of you right here at Swiftwater to celebrate with us!! No, this picture is not our home, sadly. This is a print by Artist Jesse Barnes released in 1983 titled " The Night Before Christmas ". I have a feeling that our dear friend Vicki Lane is looking at much the same scenery as her home was devoured by last weekends NC snow storm and she only got power yesterday!



I've been a really busy, busy woman these past few weeks. However I have the worst behind me and I'm excited and looking forward to tonight and tomorrow having family for Christmas Dinner!! I dressed up my little cabin Hubby made me a little more.

All the presents are wrapped and some have been shipped or delivered!

I have been decorating some more adding and moving things around........

A better pic of the mantle with the unlit decorations.........

I received my other houses to add to my Dickens Village......

I switched out the "dry" greenery for "fresh" yesterday.............

Couldn't find Angel Hair but did put a cotton skirt under the manger scene with fresh greenery

Hung the Christmas Cards all around the entertainment center..........

The Ham is thawing out...........

This morning I baked the sweet potatoes that will go in my casserole.........

I also made my homemade cranberry sauce and boiled 18 eggs and made deviled eggs!

Hey! We get 7 eggs a day now! YEAH!

I also cooked 2 black iron skillets of cornbread for my dressing.........

I can't even tell you how many different kinds of cookies and candy I made over the last two weeks! I shipped boxes to friends and family. I delivered boxes to friends and family. My mail carrier (Hubby calls her the book mobile) got one as she has been over loaded from me doing every single bit of my shopping online and most of it being shipped Priority Mail! What's left and there's plenty, is in Christmas Cookie Jars and Tins on the kitchen table waiting to be devoured tonight and tomorrow............

I even made a Christmas Tree out of my chandelier.......HA!

I did a small amount of decorating in the dining room.......

A Christmas Angel to watch over us.............

Winnie The Poo will be watching too...........

The table is all set with my Christmas dishes.............

We are having ...........

Ham, dressing with ham gravy and cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole,

english pea salad, deviled eggs, rolls and sweet tea.............

Last but most important, may we all remember that Christmas is not about the gifts and food, those are just our own traditions to celebrate the "REAL " reason for this beloved season! The birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ !!! Bless You All !

I'm going to do my VERY BEST to visit with all of you this weekend!! XOXOXO