Happy Halloween to you. I hope you've had a good week and enjoying the last bit of Oct. For those on the east coast, I pray you are safe and didn't not have too much damage to your home or area. I wanted to share my latest quilt with you; it is far from finished and I'm working on a pieced border, but this is what I've completed so far.  Photos always distort the color but these colors are very muted and warm, very much like autumn. 

On another note, my brother and sister-of-my-heart arrive tomorrow for a long weekend.  They are true Stanford football fans and season ticket holders; this weekend University of Colorado plays Stanford.  CU(as the team is actually called)joined the pack twelve this last year, so for Christmas last year, we got tickets to this game and in turn we are taking them out to a very nice dinner afterward.  On Friday, they will head up here and we will have a large family dinner(18 of us) here at our home.  We/I always get so excited when they come to visit! They are staying in Boulder, near the stadium;  we will still be spending most of the weekend with them....yippee!!!!
Today should be an easy day-I will begin to pick up the house, work on my border for the quilt, and make lists of all I need to do tomorrow and Friday.  Our weather has been so nice the last few days, I love it and once it warms up the windows are open. 
May your blessings be many!  Noreen & Hunter

Bitey Face

When pups get together, who know each other, they often play a game called Bitey Face. Hunter and Lily are no exception; Hunter does play a bit dirty though because he will also bite anything else within his grasp.

You can see here, how he is going after Lily's tail.  Our girl, Carrie, had told me that Hunter will grab onto her tail and hold on; he actually pulled her off the couch by her tail. She never cries out but can we say ouch!

Thankfully, this couch is very old and worn, so I don't worry about them on it at all.

Lily is now four years old and I think there are times when she gets plain tired of Hunter's antics.

Here she is giving it right back to him.  I love having dogs that play together and don't draw blood. We had two females for many years but occasionally they would get into it seriously and someone would end up bleeding.  Lily and Hunter are perfect together-the same size and personalities. 
Have a fun day.
Noreen & Hunter

For The Love Of Golf

On Saturday, my hubby was invited to a birthday celebration at a local golf course. No presents, golfing was his choice; but because the fellow was born on the 31st, hubby was told to dress up in a costume. Now, hubby and I do not dress up in costumes, unless it is for my brother and sil. We came up with  him being a famous golfer-can you guess who it is? I'll tell you at the end.

Notice the snow on the ground behind him; he didn't think the course would be open but they cleared it of snow and he had a great but cold round.

I suggested a golfer from the 1800's that bears the same name as my man, but he wanted to be Payne Stewart.  I think he looked so cute and everyone was impressed with the outfit.  Way to go babe.
Hope you had a great weekend, stayed safe if you are on the East Coast and are ready for a new week.
Hugs, Noreen

A Good Movie

Since yesterday was so cold and snowy out, hubby and I ran to a kiosk to rent a movie.  I was not familiar with this movie-The Note III with Genie Francis(you may remember here from General Hospital in the late 70's) but we took a chance. I also didn't realize it was a Hallmark movie, which now clarifies why it was so clean and touching.  If you haven't seen this, I would highly recommend it!  It also gave me pause to think on those young, single, down and out looking moms with babies; I might just  will  reach out a helping hand when I see them.  If you are looking for a good movie, check this out. Now I'll have to look for other videos in this series.
Have a great weekend friend, it is hard to believe that November is upon us.
Blessings, Noreen & Hunter

Winter Wonderland II, Snow Play

Happy Afternoon~ Many of our furfriends asked to see Hunter in the snow, so here is he; at least two photos are of him alone and the rest are with his cous' Lily.

I also took him on a walk after this playtime and he ended up with snow balls on his feet and legs, making walking somewhat hard.  I brought him back and put him in the sink right away to get rid of all the snow that had collected on his feet, legs and stomach.  He doesn't feel fearful anymore.  I should have had coats on them so you could see them better but at least you get to see two Bichons blitzing in the snow.
Happy Day!

Winter Wonderland

Happy Friday Friends, I had hoped to get a picture of Hunter running in the snow but he was too fast for me; once we pick up Lilly this afternoon, I think I'll be able to get some more. At first, Hunter wasn't too sure about it, especially when he was up to his collar in it. I'm thinking having his cousin here for the week will have a positive effect on him; she loves to play in the snow. I'm also planning on utilizing her in teaching him to get into my car. He can jump on the bed and couches but still seems fearful of the car.

The sun is already shining and this weekend is supposed to be nice, but we will see.  For those of you basking in the warm sunshine still, soak up some rays for us.  Have a great day and an even better weekend. 
Hugs, Noreen & Hunter

Winter is here

The fluffy white stuff started falling last night around dinner time.  I was so uncertain of Hunter's reaction to it since we got him in May I wasn't sure what he thought of it. Well, it doesn't seem to bother him at all; he just wants to play and eat it. Silly dog! It is better than him not wanting to go out though.  I even put his little fleece coat on him but he isn't used to it yet.
I'm off to my study this morning and then will have a quiet inside day.  Thankfully the snow is supposed to stop by tomorrow; it just seems early to me to be getting it.  I hope you have a great day!
Joy to you,
Noreen & Hunter

Family Celebrations

Happy Wednesday to you~ As you know, we had the family celebration on Monday night. I love the energy level on all the kids, wish I had more energy!

Most of the girls here watching our Carrie open presents.

Our Kim and her newest baby "L", now one month old.

The two boys who love Hunter goofing off; although Hunter looks unsure he does enjoy them.

Carrie and her family are heading to Oceanside to celebrate her hubby's 40th; what would a Ca. trip be without dining at In-N-Out....those of us left behind are a bit jealous!
I hope you have a wonderful day today. 
Hugs, Noreen & Hunter

Happy Birthday My Girl

Today is a very special day~33 yrs ago I gave birth to our first daughter, Carrie. From her earliest days until now, Carrie has been such a joy. I well remember friends who had babies at the same time as I did, asking if Carrie ever cried. As a child, she was the most loving big sister I'd ever seen-always wanting to mama her little sis, Kim. She is still an incredible daughter, sister, wife, mom, niece, friend and most importantly, woman of God. Her loyalty to her loved ones run deep; she is always there with an encouraging word or act of kindness. Underneath her calm exterior though she is a woman of steel; she can be strong willed when necessary but also the voice of reason.

This was taken in Sept.  at the grands birthday celebration.

Carrie is a true Prov. 31 woman; a knitter and crafter who loves to work with her hands.  Carrie received two gift certificates to a yarn store, she is wanting to make a big blanket that the entire family can snuggle under...these gifts will help buy the yarn.

Both our girls here-still the best of friends and although as different as night and day, their similarities become more apparent as they grow older.  This was taken last Memorial Day when the girls and their hubbies threw us a surprise birthday celebration.  It was a phenomenal party and several moms asked if they would organize wedding receptions. 
Carrie has always been there, a steady spirit that reminds me of the good and blessed things that each day holds.  Her dad and I are proud to call her our daughter, I am proud to call her my friend. In fact, both girls are my best and closest friends.
We love you Carrie and pray God's richest blessings on you today and for the future.
xxxooo Mom and Dad

Good morning friends; it's a bright new day filled with lots of possibilities. I realize if I  had heard that when I was still working, I would not have been too happy. Of course, that was before I sought to be content with all that life holds. Have I mastered that-absolutely not, but contentment is a choice and once you practice it and begin counting your blessings, it is amazing how your attitude changes.

On Saturday night as hubby and I watched t.v. we had to laugh because we each had a Bichon on our lap, in almost the same position.  Here is Hunter, claiming me as his momma, although I didn't get a photo of him tightly curled up.  These were taken with my phone-hence the blurriness. I wish I could have gotten some photos of them snuggled up together, it just looks like one big white fluff ball. Maybe next week.

Here is Lily, as happy as a clam, nice and warm on hubby's lap. She will be at home until Friday and then will return as her pack heads to Ca. for a week of r&r. 
I hope you had a great weekend and got to do something you enjoy.
Hugs, Noreen & Hunter

Bath Time

Happy Sunday friends~ I hope you are having a relaxing day filled with contentment and joy.
We had our daughter's dog, Lilly, here for the weekend and the two little white furballs got quite dirty; after the family picked Lilly up, I got the puppy shampoo and conditioner out and put our boy in the sink.  This photo  was taken about 45 min after the bath; I didn't blow dry him because the weather has been so nice.  You can't tell but when he is wet, he does look pretty small.  He and Lilly get along fabulously and we are so thankful that we can exchange dog-sitting without any problems.  We've never been able to do this before and have used kennels for most of our dogs, so this is so comforting to know the dogs love each other and it saves us all money.
Yesterday was our last Obedience 1 class and we will have a break and then start back in again.  We worked on Leave It again-this time focusing on dogs in yards that back up to an open space. Hunter did quite well but honestly isn't very successful in our neighborhood. We also, for the first time, worked on a down-stay for 5 min.  All three dogs were successful; then the trainer took the dogs across the street to a park, for 5 min., while the moms hid; she wanted to have them just stay without fussing too much.  Hunter cried a lot but finally decided their were two other dogs to pay attention to.  She told me that she thinks his crying/whining will stop as he gets older and that to pass the Canine Good Citizen test the dogs can't whine at all.  Humm-we'll see how that goes.  It will be good to have a break but I know we must continue to work on our skills each day. 
Tomorrow night we are having the family over to celebrate three special birthdays.  Our oldest girl was born on the 23rd and the two son-in-laws share the same b.d. the following week.  We will be having ice cream sundaes-they sound good already. 
Hope you have a lovely evening. 
Warm Hugs, Noreen & Hunter

Steamboat Springs

It's almost the weekend friends, yippee!

I love the look of the Aspen's tree trunk.

It amazed us at how much water was still flowing. 

We saw two of these high up in a tree; we think they are paper wasps but were so huge.  They could have held small birds but we really didn't have a clue. 

A funny little guy; we hadn't heard squirrels make chirping sounds before-so interesting.  He also chased off some really cute chipmunks.

I hope you have a great day and an even better weekend.
Joy to you!  Noreen & Hunter

Autumn in the Mountains

It's Thankful Thursday friends and I'm so thankful for the gift of nature! This week, hubby and I took a quick trip to Steamboat Springs. Ever since we had ventured down to Pagosa Springs, I wanted to get back to Steamboat Springs for a comparison. It had been about four years since we were there last and I was anxious to see whether it was as I remembered; since it is only 3.5 hrs away verses 6.5, I wanted to see if it was as pretty. We had a great time, did some hiking and explored the town and came to the conclusion that if we want a short weekend getaway this is the place, but for longer trips we would love to go back to Pagosa.

Most of the Aspens were without leaves, but we did get a few touches of color. 

Oh how I love the fall colors!  It rained and poured last night; we thoroughly expected snow this morning but woke up to sunshine.  We did see snow a bit higher up, so glad we were heading home-I am simply not ready for it yet.

We ate too much and I'm anxious to cut back now and to continue walking every morning.  Hunter had a great time with our daughter's family but came home one tired pup.  I need to give him a good brushing and then maybe even a bath. 
I will be around visiting you today; for now I'm just thankful to be home!
Hugs, Noreen & Hunter

Happy Sunday to you~We are enjoying cool and windy fall weather today. Before obedience class yesterday, I ran to the pet store again to get a jacket that would fit him, just in case we were training outside in the rain.  I will take some pics this next week and post them. Due to the heavy rain in the morning, the trainer had the class in her garage.  I will take some pics this next week and post them. It made it so much nicer  being inside and he actually got to do a little bit of beginner/basic agility that was aimed more at his gaining confidence rather than learning agility. That isn't too say though, that I wouldn't love him to learn some agility-I think it is great exercise for him and me.  We continued to work on stay and wait, sit-stay(for 2 minutes) and leave it-with a hot dog no less.  I never realized before that the command "leave-it" means they may never pick an item up or touch it-ever(this may vary with different trainers).  In our case, it happened to be pieces of hot dog-you talk about temptation, but he seemed to grasp the concept.  At home, those items I will work with him on are Kleenex and laundry, he loves to go into our laundry basket and pull out my items.  So much of his antics are puppy, but I prefer not to have my undergarments dragged throughout the house.  Hunter met two very nice cats and he was interested in them but didn't try to get them to play.  The bigger dogs are learning that they need to be careful  and gentle with our guy.  Next week is our last class of this session and then we will start his next session sometime between Nov.-Jan.  I am also teaching him "place"which can be a mat or a bed to go to, so he can wait to greet people until I've released him or to get him to stop huffing at the cabinet that holds his food.  Sounds funny but remember this is the dog that sneezes at me to get my attention and believe it or not, he does huff.  This week he will get to spend three days with Lilly, while hubby and I run to the mountains.   
I will be checking in on you all but the condo doesn't have wifi so I won't be posting. I am hoping we do get some lovely fall colors and no snow-however there has been snow in the high country this weekend, so we will see.
I hope you have a wonderful day today; hubby had to go to the golf course early so I will be sewing and maybe doing some of my bible study.
Remember to seize the moment; life goes by to fast.
Hugs, Noreen

Happy Friday to you.  I hope your week has been easy and you've enjoyed life as you know it.
We have clear skies here today with a temperature of 35 degrees; the birds are singing and the blackbirds have already been on the lawn(remember the movie "The Birds" with Alfred Hitchcock), pocking wholes in the grass and digging for bugs...take them, they're yours. 
I am walking a bit later today and this evening hubby and I are taking dinner over to our girls house; we were planning on bbqing chicken but rain is in forecast, so I may have to go to plan B.  Tomorrow, Hunter and I have training and you can be sure that we will have lots of layers in the car.  I have one quilt block left and then will begin working on the sashing and the border; the border is half-square triangles(a lot of them)so I imagine I will work on those during football on Sunday. 
I hope you have a weekend that is restful and relaxing!
Blessings, Noreen & Hunter

Stylin'

Good afternoon friends! Somewhere between this morning and this afternoon the time vanished, so I decided to post late and then tomorrow morning when I'm rushing out to bible study, I won't have to worry about it. After our cold weather moving in to stay, I decided that Hunter really needed some outerwear to keep him warm. You may remember last week, at our obedience training, it was snowing and he was so cold. I have checked online and while coats are much cheaper, the shipping gets you so hubby and I headed to our local pet store to see what we could find. Without further adieu, here is Hunter in his new fleece jacket.

Just kicking back.

This jacket/parka belongs to our daughter's dog, Lilly, but it is a size small and pretty tight.  It will do for now, but I will be on the lookout for one a bit bigger.  I was surprised when online, checking for sizes, that he can fit into a medium.

Got to love his looks!
On another note~when we moved into this house I bought a shower curtain that was quite nice and went with our tile.  Over time it needed to be washed but it said dry clean only on it, so I kept wiping it down and trying to understand why a shower curtain would  not be machine washable.  I finally got tired of knowing it needed a cleaning and threw it in the wash.  I figured if it fell apart, I would hang one of the two other really nice lace ones up.  Let me tell you, it came out fine and looks so nice.  No damage, no change in the material etc.  So girls, if you ever face this type of situation, don't hesitate to try the easy way out-if you can replace it.
Have a great evening and a good Thursday. 
Hugs, Noreen and the handsome, dashing Hunter