Really, I'm here

We really are still here. Work, kids, life, stockshows and the like make it hard to post on one blog, let alone two.
If you're interested in what we've been up to, check the family blog, here.

This Afternoon

Surprisingly, we have kept our electricity all day. The sleet has turned to light snow. In the pictures, most of the accumulation is sleet.

Sleet built up on the awning above our back door. The wind would then blow it, and it would fall down between the awning and the house. When it was time to go feed, we had to go out the front door and dig out to be able to open the back door.

We just got word that school is cancelled again tomorrow.

This Morning

These pictures were taken this morning when Robby and I went out to feed. It was a little before nine and a fairly thick coating of ice covered everything. It has been sleeting ever since. The sleet is supposed to change over to snow any time. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later.

Ice makes for lots of interesting photographs. I'm just not much for taking pictures when sleet is stinging my cheeks. Hopefully I'll be able to post more pictures after we feed this afternoon. (That will mean we still have electricity.)

I'm off to get the kids started on a puzzle.

I'm Just Sayin'...

Our hotel burned Sunday. It was an old building, it had not been used as a hotel in years. When I was a kid, an antique store was there briefly. The building was old and in disrepair. That being said, it was our building, a part of our town's history. Once upon a time, people spent the night there. Perhaps they enjoyed a meal in the cafe, bought groceries from the store there or even got a haircut and a shave.

This article appeared in the Amarillo paper today. Boys ranging in age from 9-12 are facing arson charges. I am saddened by that. I am also outraged by the fact that kids thought it was okay to do this and by the comments at the end of the article. Some people believe that the boys shouldn't be punished because they are young and because the building was an "eyesore." I wonder if they'd think that if it had happened in their town, or to their house, or to their property. I wonder if they'd think that if 3 fire departments had to come to their town and spend 7 hours and use no telling how much water to put it out.

The owner of the building is probably not going to take responsibility for the cleanup. More than likely it will fall to our city to foot the bill. We are not a rich community, the cost will certainly hurt our town.

I like to think that we may live in one of the few places that still has a sense of right and wrong. How safe will our town be if kids are allowed to set fire to random buildings? Are we in danger of losing our small-town greatness??

I'm not saying that the people responsible should be sent up the river, I'm just trying to say that it is time we started making people accountable for their actions.

I'll step down from my soap box now...


My sister has great thoughts here. A friend of mine from Happy had this to say. I'm so proud of both Kelly and my sister for capturing what makes our community great.

You can see pictures of the fire here. (Aren't cell phones amazing? I'm told that pics were on Facebook as the fire was in progress...modern technology at its finest.)

(Sorry for the lack of spaces between paragraphs...Blogger is not cooperating!)

Picture of the Day

This is what happens when you leave clothes on the line overnight in January.

Comments

Hello all,

We are in the midst of county stockshow week...life is definitely busy here. Add fiddle lessons, basketball practice and asthma flair-ups to the list and it is on the verge of crazy. And, I forgot to mention that we have to go to school, too.

I just wanted to post a brief note about comments. I've had to add the word verification because of issues with spam. Also, comments on older posts are being moderated. I would love for you to comment on anything on the blog, but I'm not loving the spam so much. I'm sorry posts are so spread out; life is just like that some times.

Thanks for reading!

Laura

Happy International Livestock Show

Our local stockshow, the Happy International Livestock Show, was yesterday. It is a time for the youth of our community to practice before our county shows. This year was the 61st annual show.

Our local show is great for several reasons. The kids compete against each other, but they also help each other out and are proud of their friends when they do well. Showmanship may be a more coveted award than Grand Champion.

The people that make sure the show goes well are another thing that makes it great. Yesterday, I looked around and saw people helping that had no kids involved. They were either Happy graduates coming back to pitch in or parents whose children are no longer showing. One man hasn't had any kids showing since I last showed. It's pretty cool that people in our community care enough about our kids to make sure they have memorable opportunities.

During awards, Sadie sits with friends of our that help with the show every year. Neither one of them has anyone showing anymore, but they still are faithful helpers.

Another cool thing about the show is we take time to let the kids that aren't old enough to show have a turn. We have "Pee Wee Showmanship" with the lambs and pigs. Everyone gets a ribbon.

My dad was a great supporter of the show. It's now named Happy International because he used to joke about calling it that when we were kids. The Hustler award is named after him. I think he'd be proud to see that not much has changed since his kids were showing. It's still all about the kids and hopefully will continue to be.

To see more pictures of the show, go to our family website, here.