The John Wayne Room

We stayed last night at a cute little vintage-y motel in western Colorado. The kind they used to call "motor courts" where you park right outside your bedroom door. This one had a western motif with log walls, and each room had a different western theme. Lyle had reserved the John Wayne Room for us. Not that we're big John Wayne fans. (I'm not sure I've ever watched a John Wayne movie, come to think of it.) I asked him why he chose that theme and he said he didn't know... there just weren't many left to choose from when he was making the reservation. Mainly it just means there are several pictures of John Wayne adorning the walls.

As we stepped into the lobby we were first greeted by a large black lab dog barking and growling at us. Since we're "dog people" we could tell she wasn't really threatening us, but more just letting us know she was there. The proprietor wasn't far behind the dog, scolding her and apologizing to us.

She welcomed us warmly in a stereotypical country/western style. "Now, the John Wayne Room is just over here," she said, showing us a map. "It looks like it's next to the lobby, but it's not. It's next to my bedroom, but don't worry, ain't nothin' goin' on in there, so it'll be nice and quiet for you."

She pulled a box set of DVDs out from under the counter. "And here's ya some John Wayne movies to go with the room." Seriously. The room comes with movies to match the theme. Is that not just too cute? (I regret to report that we didn't avail ourselves of the opportunity to experience at least one John Wayne movie, but alas, we were too tired to stay awake that long.)

"Now, if you need anything, I'll be here the rest of my life, Lord willin'."

I just love staying at places like that, even if they aren't all modern and luxurious. What fun!

Another Road Trip: Day 1

We're traveling again this week, driving from Idaho to Tennessee. We're taking a couple of extra days to take the "scenic route" and to visit our parents briefly. Just thought you might be interested to see our route and our travel stats for Day 1. I'll be posting about our adventures along the way, too.

Trip Tallies:
Departed Post Falls, Idaho: 10:00 p.m. PDT Friday night.
Hours driven: 16:40
Hours slept: 4
Miles driven: 1,062
Average speed: 63.7
Fuel mileage: 36.6 mpg
States: Idaho, Montana, Idaho (again), Utah, Colorado
Time zones: 2
Wildlife spotted: antelope, turkey
Other VW Jetta wagons spotted: 3 (1 red, 2 silver)
Weather: sunny and warm
Audio book: finished Forbidden by Ted Dekker
Car Talk podcast: 2 episodes
CBS Radio Mystery Theater MP3s: 2 episodes
Lum and Abner MP3s: oh... 6 or 8 episodes (they're short!)
Arrived Montrose, Colorado: 7:40 p.m. MDT Saturday evening

From the "Did she really just say that?" department:
Cashier at McDonald's drive-thru after Lyle handed her a debit card-- "Do you want me to run this as a credit card... or what's your PIN number?" (Have you ever had someone ask what your PIN number is before? That was first for us. Needless to say, Lyle told her to run it as a credit.)

Cashier at Wal-Mart to Lyle after checking out-- "Have a happy Moth... weekend!" (Nice save! LOL!)

Natasha's Lambs

 "Would you like to come out and see the lambs?" she asked at church last Sunday.

You see, all winter I've been asking her, "Are you going to have lambs in the spring?"

Natasha has three pet ewes and all three were expecting "blessings" this spring. I looked forward to seeing pictures and reading about them on her blog, Day by Day. I mean, seriously, is there anything cuter than babies in the spring?

Sadly, one of the ewes lost her babies, but another one had twins, and third one a single-- so there are three babies. And when Natasha invited us to visit the lambs we jumped at the chance. Yesterday was a perfect day for it-- sunny and warm.

The sheep were in the orchard which is, of course, in bloom. Ah, spring! Curious, as many farm animals are, they were interested to see us coming along the lane.

Natasha introduced them to us. This mama is Sweet Pea. Her older daughter (born last year) is Maggie-- also known as the Nibblin' Lamb-- and her new baby is Katniss.

Emma, the white sheep, has twins, Amy and Rory. The babies decided it was time for a quick snack... and I have to tell you, a still picture does not do this moment justice. It is just adorable to watch the little lamb tails wag furiously as they nurse.

After a little while the sheep seemed to get comfortable with us being there in the orchard with them. Sweet Pea and Katniss snuffled on my feet. Later Maggie decided to try to take nibble! Which, of course, is how she got her nickname.

Just look at this sweet face! I could sit and watch the lambs all day, I think. Natasha says they're especially fun to watch in the morning when the lambs run and skip. They had settled down in the warm afternoon by the time we arrived, so we didn't get to see them gambol.

We wandered on down the lane to visit the other farm animals. Here Bob peeks around the barn at us. He's not sure it's worth leaving the shade to say hello.

 But Natasha finally coaxed him out. He's a dear ol' fellow. Age 22.

We finished up our tour by stopping by to see the Guard Llamas and Calvin-the-Pet-Ram. The Bonnie Dog was our escort for the duration of the tour. We had Cookie with us, and she and Bonnie seemed to enjoy getting acquainted.

It was a fun afternoon. I'm so glad Natasha invited us to stop by!

Purple Pretties

"I gotta run some errands, Mom," she said as she tried to hurry out the door yesterday afternoon.

It's not like her to not say where she's going. "You just ran some errands this morning. What errands do you have to run now?"

"Oh... just errands," she said vaguely.

 I was beginning to get alarmed. "Dad knows," she reassured me. "I just can't tell you."

A-ha! Mother's Day is coming up. I had forgotten. And so, off she went on her "secret" errand.

***

We'll be gone this weekend, so yesterday evening my family presented me with a gorgeous hanging basket full of petunias and other complementary flowers I don't know the names of. I was told it would

love the sun, but needs plenty of water. I have a perfect place to hang it, just outside the kitchen door on the back deck.

Such a thoughtful family I have! I will enjoy my Mother's Day flowers all summer.

***

I stepped outside the front door this morning to take a picture of my miniature azalea bush which is flourishing nicely. It was a house-warming gift from my friend, Kay, when we moved into our home 5 years ago.

I'm glad it has thrived. It reminds me of sweet Kay in heaven every time I notice it. The Precious Moments statuette is in memory of our previous dog, Murphy. So this is my little "memorial garden."

***

My lilacs are coming on, too. I expect they'll be in full bloom when we get back from our trip week-after-next.

I do love spring!

Chicken Update #5: Two Months Old

The Girls are two months old today. I guess it's more accurate to say that today is their two-month "Gotcha Day" rather than their birthday, because we don't know exactly how old they were when we brought them home. Just a day or two, probably.

Becky tenderly cares for them each day, talking to them, petting and stroking them, until they are quite tame. They always come running when she approaches their pen. They don't that for anyone else in the family, so it's clear who the Mama Hen is!

She told me a few days ago that it was time for a bigger feeder. She was having to refill their baby feeder too many times a day. So we stopped at the farm store to get a new feeder yesterday. They still had baby chicks.

"Oh, Mom! They're so cuuuute! Ours weren't this small when we got them!"

I assured her they were. She didn't believe me until I showed her this picture.

Gathered around the baby feeder 2 months ago.

Checking out the new feeder.

The Girls are definitely looking more and more like hens, but their combs aren't very big yet, so they are in a kind of funny-looking stage.

They continue to be a source of great entertainment, which is the whole idea.

Becky has started her own blog to post more frequent pictures of the girls, as she learns how to do it.