Weekend Coffee Share; A Week before Christmas!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share
  • Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives with old friends and new!

I am enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee with my favorite creamer, sweet Italian cream. Would you like coffee or a cup of tea? Maybe ice tea for those enjoying summer right now? I can’t believe in less than a week it is Christmas! WOW! This month is flying by at record speed. I am in a happy place getting most of my shopping done and I even managed to mail out some Christmas cards. I only receive a handful these days and they are fun to receive. I have some nice cards I was gifted from my daughter (ones she bought and never mailed) that I used. I enjoyed sending the cards, fun to write a little something and send on their way. I have friends/family that do the photo’s as Christmas cards which are so special and I love to receive each year. Maybe one of these years I’ll do the photo cards!

I was hoping to get more fingerless mittens made and I already have given a few away as gifts. I have a lot of yarn so I can make a bunch of them and I think will sell at the local craft fair. Or, I can really get my act together, keep stitching and have them all ready to mail out to family next Christmas. I will share what I have completed so far.

Here are the four colors of yarn I bought. Now you can see the blue gloves are really blue!
One more burgundy to stitch up and I’ll have four complete sets. I have already sent one set to my daughter-in-law. I hope she likes them!
I think lighting is everything as this photo I’ve shared before and that is the blue glove from above! BUT it totally looks grey! I took this photo at night with just a lamp on nearby. Crazy!

I forgot to offer you something to go along with your coffee? I have some fresh bananas, just thinking healthy as I am planning on baking cookies next weekend. I can’t bring cookies or baked items to work as they don’t want any food sharing. Understandable, so I thought I would wait and bake with my daughter when she arrives for Christmas. I really want to bake sugar cookies, maybe some different flavored ones and get creative. I’ve been watching a lot of baking challenge shows and one of them is the Christmas Cookie Challenges and they make cookies that have all that elaborate icing. I have a bunch of horse cookie cutters and I thought it would be fun to decorate them and then hand them out to the ladies at the stables. I am a complete neophyte to Christmas decorating on this scale. I watch them as they make a border, then flood the cookies, then decorate wet on wet. Just some of the terms I see them do as I watch some amazing decorating!

It looks like great fun and I thought what better way to practice but on horse sugar cookies! Maybe I will make some lemon sugar cookies or cinnamon (like snickerdoodles) pecan sounds good too. I could make chocolate cookies for the darker shades for the horses. Oh I have so many ideas! Haha, I am getting excited to bake!! I can’t think of a good segue into my next subject which I am so passionate about and I have some new photos (I have so many photos on my phone, it’s just crazy!) but I feel like documenting these beautiful horses as they age and fill my days with so much joy and pleasure. I don’t have many photos of them in the small pasture they have at the barn. They enjoy being out together so I thought I would share! šŸ˜€

This is a small pasture that we are not allowed to work them in, they are just out there to eat or run around on their own!
Zack is in need of a new haircut. He is already growing in his coat and so I plan on clipping it again. You can see the lines where I leave the hair along the top of his back and his legs. Its called a trace clip.

Today was farrier day, they needed their hoofs trimmed. At one time they both wore horse shoes, but not any more. With their age and arthritis issues there is no need to have horse shoes. Instead of shoes, Zack has trail boots I put on if needed. Chloe’s leg issues are so bad that the farrier can’t pick up her right back leg. She has an old injury (broken stifle, it is a hairline fracture that is healed and lots of scar tissue has formed). It truly is amazing Chloe gets around as well as she does. She is lucky to be alive, as there is no way she would survive surgery on that huge joint as she is a big girl. (The stifle of a horse is equivalent to our knees, so this is her knee joint. A devastating injury, but she protects that leg and is thriving.) Anyways, it was a great day at the stables, beautiful sunny warm day! Here is a few more photos!

Miss Chloe is such a sweetheart. She is chewing as I gave her a treat!
Goofy Zack is so inquisitive and l LOVE how he expresses himself! Do you have a treat for me? Haha!
Usually the grass is very green, but it dies off a bit in the winter months. It will green up when spring arrives.

My horses, which I love to call “my ponies” live up in the barn. These were the only open stalls and I am actually really liking them because I know they are sheltered from the wind and rain. Some of the horses at this stables are nervous being up in the pasture because it is away from the paddocks. I’m so thankful Zack and Chloe do really well up in the small pasture since their stalls are nearby. My horses live across from each other way up where the aisle starts on this pretty red barn! My ponies are out in the pasture when I took the photo. You can make out a white horse Zack and Chloe is there but she is hard to see! She is standing at the gate if you click on photo and zoom in. Haha!

Thanks for having coffee with me today and I will end with one last Christmas photo. The tree we bought has lights that change colors, so I took another photo with the colored lights! So pretty! I hope you all have a wonderful, beautiful Christmas! I know many, many zoom and video chats will be held to keep us as close as we can be with family! ā¤ ā¤ ā¤

Enjoying the holidays, Cowgirl loving Grandma!

~Diana ā¤

Thank you Eclecticalli for hosting our coffee share link up! Click here to visit!

29 thoughts on “Weekend Coffee Share; A Week before Christmas!”

  1. I can feel the Christmas spirit! Your fingerless mittens are adorable, the receiver of those will be very happy. Your horses looks very happy too. Does it feel like the right decision to move them back? They sure look content. How are things at your new job? Thank you for the coffee and best of luck with the baking when its time!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much! Christmas in the air, always love this time of year!! Yes, my horses are sooooo much happier back at their barn. And I am too. I was in the arena with them yesterday looking around thinking of this year thinking why did I move and then here I am back. Grateful and thankful! But I need to look at those decisions as learning life lessons instead of regrets. Life is full of teachings I think!

      My new job is amazing! I’m doing all the things I love at the Lab, and I’m not in charge of schedules, people, etc – just so amazing they created this position for me, again so thankful. The hours are amazing, I’ve never felt better sleeping at night. My body is now use to these hours and all I can say is wow! My bosses are so thankful I’m there and that I work there too! I’m like pinch me, is this really happening! Lol
      I’ve paid my dues in many years of hard work to get to this point. ā¤ļøšŸ™ I’m so HAPPY!! Thanks for asking dear friend!! I hope this Christmas will be special for you in your new home! ā¤ļøšŸŒ²ā˜ƒļøā¤ļø

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  3. Hi Diana.

    I too want to applaud how well your new job is going. That must be a great feeling to have right-sized your role. I did not expect you to be moving the horses back but it sounds like a much happier setup for all of you so great news there all around. I don’t think you ever told us about Chloe’s stifle before and it does sound serious except she’s under your care.

    Keep us, or at lease me, posted on how your back down on your blogging plan goes. I like your theme and am not looking forward to the hassle of upgrading mine but I do badly want my site to look as good as yours some day soon.

    Thanks for the visit.
    Blessings.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so kindly Gary! I appreciate your wonderful comments as we share coffee here virtually.

      I’ll be honest, the only reason I decided to pay for premium is I wanted to share videos. My son told me I can still share videos without paying and he will eventually help me when I want to share another one. I also knew the ads would be removed, so an added bonus! But the plan I chose also hooked me up with this Google G-suite thing which was another payment on top of the WordPress price for the year. I’m not selling anything and I think I accidentally set myself up with a sight that was meant for sellers. Either way I did this for the last 2 years. I Love my blog sight and am hoping the free things available will let it still look nice, no matter how I design it. Of course, I can’t control ads and understand when something is free, then there will be ads… Maybe next year I’ll go back to paying but I’ll have my son help me so I don’t over pay!! I’ll keep you posted how it goes. Good luck with your blog sight and hope it’s all you want it to be!! Merry Christmas!! ā¤ļøšŸŒ²ā˜ƒļøā¤ļø

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  6. Thank you, Diana, for your coffee share. I’m glad you’re enjoying your job and your horses are happy where they are. Your mittens and Christmas tree with the lights on look lovely. Your baking plan sounds great, too. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and your family!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so very much Natalie! I am so happy to share and I’m so glad you came by to visit. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year too! ā¤ļø

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  7. Your tree is looking lovely. And good work on the fingerless gloves. When I lived in London I wore those all the time in the winter. They were prefect in the English climate. But here in Ontario we need full on gloves or mittens. Have a happy Christmas Diana.

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  8. just out of curiousity what are the four colours of those gloves going from left to right
    red? blue!! erm green? erm bley?
    Lighting really changes things looking at the tree hahahaha Nice tree can definitely feel th festive spirit that side

    Happy Holidays
    ~B

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Red, blue, green and brown are the colors from left to right! šŸ˜‚ I didn’t realize how much lighting affects the photos. Lol
      I picked a pley color because I thought it would go with everything! Hehe
      Christmas is in the air in sunny Cali! šŸŒž

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  9. Cara

    What a lovely post to read like always šŸ˜Š. The mittens look great, and I love your tree, very colourful! šŸŽ„
    I couldn’t find another way to contact you, so sorry for writing this here, but I just wanted to let you know I’ve made my blog private and if you were interested in following it still you’ll need to re-follow it (I don’t really understand how it all works to be honest, but that’s what WordPress says!) – sorry again for writing this in your comments section!! I hope you have a lovely Christmas, despite everything that’s been going on this year. Cara šŸ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh Cara, so happy you wrote in my comments. I know, I don’t always know how to reach out too. This works PERFECT!! I’ll re-follow you for sure! I’m so happy you enjoy my shares, so fun for me as I love writing, photography and of course sharing what’s happening around here in my crazy life!! Haha! šŸ™‚
      And again, no worries. I hope you have a wonderful and warm Christmas! ā¤ļøā˜ƒļøšŸŒ²ā¤ļø

      Liked by 1 person

  11. How excitement Christmas is so close, yum yum yum to it all, the cookies I love the horsey cookie idea, of course, You are so clever with ya mitten making. I reckon your Zac & my Danny would be a riot together. Its such a relief when you know your ponies are safe no matter the weather especially as their aging. Love the bling Christmas tree it looks gorgeous, love the Christmas tree throw rug too. its all just so festive & brings a smile to the depths of my soul. Thank you for being you. Bless ya & ya fam like totally this Christmas.

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    1. Your the sweetest, thank you so much! I’ll share my cookie baking with my horse cut outs here even if they don’t turn out that great. Haha! And yes, my Zack and your Danny would have so much fun together. Gregarious fellows as many geldings are!! And thank you for that comment about the horses being safe and sheltered when they age, as Zack will be 26 next year, he deserves all this pampering. I definitely spoil them!! šŸ“šŸ¤ 

      I believe this year in particular we need all the Christmas spirit we can muster, I’m sooo happy it shines through my posts! šŸŒ²ā˜ƒļøā¤ļø I thank you for your wonderful kind words and for you staying in touch and all. Means the world to me!! Have a happy, wonderful holiday and Christmas! ā¤ļø

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  12. Your Christmas tree is lovely!

    The finger mitts you made a wonderful and the colour choices are nice. I wish I knew how to knit but it isn’t something that I learned. I did try once or twice but I am not sure if it was me or my teacher but I just couldn’t catch on. Perhaps I will give it another try.

    Happy Holidays and thank you for the virtual coffee.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so very much!! I’m super happy with our new smaller Christmas tree.
      And the mittens are actually crochet, not knitting. My mom taught me both and for some reason I find knitting harder, and crochet much easier. So I crochet a ton, it’s actually a great stress reliever for me and it fills my creative soul! Just Love crafts as I Love cross-stitch as well. So if I have any advice, try crochet!! šŸ˜€

      Happy holidays and hope you have a fun, relaxing Christmas! ā¤ļøā˜ƒļøšŸŒ²

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  13. Love learning new things like the trace clip
    And fun to think Kf the horse cookies and chocolate ones for the darker horse
    If you ever want to try biscotti – I have the most easy recipe ever and made them for many years – easy and folks loved them
    —
    Wishing you a wonderful new year and Xmas has passed – only a few days left in 2020 and ready for a new season

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    1. Thank you so very much Yvette! I didn’t get a chance to make the cookies. Just ran out of time. The biscotti recipe sounds good. If you have time to share that would be awesome! Anyways, wishing you a wonderful New Year! ā¤ļø

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      1. Hi – I will post the biscotti recipe sometime this year because I have an updated keto version – I will let you know when I do
        And happy new year – I was just making a list for this month and then year —
        and our piano is on it with a question mark- lol

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      2. Howdy!
        No rush on the recipe and thank you when you share! My daughter and I are talking about lists and goals for this year, we both have books to use which I’ve never used before. Mine is called 52 lists with lots of prompts so I will start that soon.
        AND speaking of pianos, my hubby just said the other day it would be nice to have the room and soooo, we will be calling this month to send it on its way. šŸ˜­ It truly is time, my heart has been filled with so much joy from the old gal. Maybe I’ll dedicate one more blog post to it’s final goodbyes. I know I have old photos of us playing. My old photos are packed away, I’ll have to get them out one of these days. Anyways, we do share such sentimentality with these beautiful old instruments! I love playing but it’s so out of tune. My daughter has encouraged me once gone to get a new electronic piano as it never will need tuning. She has a nice one in her apartment!! ā¤ļø HAPPY New Year!!

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      3. oh, thanks for sharing the update – and the goal for my piano is to find someone who values it – that will make all the difference – and that is my prayer for your family – that someone will treasure her –

        šŸ™‚
        happy new year and TTYs

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