The Greatest Gift He Ever Gave

The Cowboy & our Minnie

About 4 or 5 years ago the Cowboy and I were on a couples retreat in Red River, NM with some other couples from our church.  Good times of learning, laughter, sharing & a little 4 wheeler riding in the mountains.  One night we were playing a game like the Newly Weds game only none of us were Newly Wed.  Ha!  The women were asked to leave while the men answered questions to how they thought we would answer.  I remember as if it happened yesterday the look on the Cowboys face when I was asked 

"What is the greatest gift Kenny ever gave you?"

and I answered without having to even think,

"Minnie, my dog."

Well his face fell & he closed his eyes.  I'm not sure if it was simply because I didn't answer the way he thought I would or because he didn't think that was the greatest thing he had ever given me. Or maybe because he is the ultimate competitor and hates not winning.

He had answered "Her engagement/wedding ring."

In all fairness it was & still is a great gift. A symbol of our unending love & commitment.  It also cost more than anything else he has ever given me but I guess my mind doesn't work like that.

You see I fell in love with Minnie from the first moment I saw her when she was just a couple of days old.  I had been waiting for her mom Jada to give birth as anxious as our best friends Glenna & Johnny were.  Kenny & I were leaving for our sons wedding & sure enough she had the puppies while we were gone.  Minnie was the runt of the litter and the cutest lil ball of fur!!  It took me 2 weeks before I could get Kenny to go over and even look at her.  We decided when we had to move to town just to have my little yappy Chihuahuas & my cow dogs had gone back to the ranch with my parents.  Well I was wanting a BIG dog again.  I kept reasoning we had a nice big yard & one boxer wouldn't take up much room in the house.  (5 boxers later.....  you can't have just one!)  Even after seeing her he kept saying NO. 

 Of course little did HE know Glenna had called me the day after I finally got him to go see her and said he had talked to Johnny and we were getting her.  I've kept that a secret all these years but I guess when he reads this he'll know the jig is up! Sorry Honey.  

A couple of weeks later he said he had to go to the office on a Sunday to check on some things and came back with a bag of Puppy Chow and our precious little Minnie.  She became OUR child.  It's is hard to put into words but I do not have any children of mine or our own.  I LOVE being a step mother and raised 2 of my step kids.  But Minnie became the child we never had together.  Our life and our relationship with each other has been changed forever.

I don't think when I answered that question that either of us really thought about what a gift she really was to either of us.  She taught us an unconditional love & loyalty we have often lacked in giving each other.  I don't know of any material thing in this world that can show that kind of love.

So, yes Cowboy the Greatest Gift you ever gave me was Minnie.  

Happy 21st Anniversary to That Man I Love.

"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” 

Yesterday my sweet girl lost her battle with cancer.  It was the most heart wrenching decision ever, even if it was out of the highest form of love.   Whoever said "Doing the right thing feels good"  obviously never had to decide to end one of their best friends life.  

Minnie had been fighting this battle for 9 months with a quiet strength & beauty I have envied. I've called her my Princess Warrior.  But the time came for me to be the strong one and make that decision.  I've been in this position before and you would think it would get easier but this was the hardest of all.  Maybe it is my bond with her, it seems to be stronger than most others.  Maybe the fact I was not ready for her to go.  Or maybe as we get older we hold the true meaning of life and the joys in it closer to our hearts & they are harder to let go.

I had made arrangements a couple of months ago when the time came to drive her all the way up to Pueblo to say our final good bye & then take her to a funeral home where they do pet cremation.  After losing Ranger last summer & dealing with the coyotes & one bear in particular digging him up I told the Cowboy I could not and would not deal with that again.  I became a craZed woman sitting on the porch with a gun and trying to run a bear down with my pickup not to mention the bad dreams that followed.

I laid in bed in the early hours yesterday praying some freak of nature would happen and the sun wouldn't rise, but it did.  So we made it a day all about Minnie.  Scrambled eggs & bacon for breakfast followed by a big bowl of ice cream for a snack.  Then we asked her if she wanted to do her favorite thing......  G  O  ??  Yep, she's so smart she figured out the word "GO" years ago so we started spelling it and she figured that out too.  LOL.  For an old girl on her last leg literally, (2 very bad hips & one front leg twice it's size from cancer complications) she bolted out the door like a jack rabbit & she beat me to the pickup!!

Minnie & Momma on our last "G O"

  I felt like the worse traitor ever knowing where we were going.   I just hope it gave her some joy in getting to G O one more time & she will forgive me somehow.  We had to stop first for the Cowboy to have a checkup at his Dr & as I sat with her in the back seat of the truck waiting on him at the hospital I caught a glimpse of our girl in her just like she was before she got sick, laying in the sunshine, watching people go by and as always the loyalty she has shown for both of us as she watched & waited for him to come back out of the doors that had swallowed him up earlier.  Our journey continued with her laying in my lap & letting her eat all the junk food she wanted.

On a normal trip I would have been enjoying the scenery but I couldn't seem to do anything but hold her, trying to focus on the love & memories but that is kind of hard to do when you know the days destination.  I was trying to not cry or let her sense my feelings but I didn't succeed as she was again the one comforting me.  It was almost like she was telling me it was ok.  It was ok, until the Zac Brown song "Goodbye in her eyes" came on.  

Those words cut through my heart like a knife, slicing through 9 months of built up emotions & the tears came tumbling.

I saw goodbye in her eyes
I don't think I can change it
There's no way to disguise
We will never make it

Now she sees right through me

Should I hold on to what we've got
Is it just a waste of time?
One thing that I know for sure
I saw goodbye in her eyes

I will always think of her & that moment in time when I hear that song from now on.  And did I mention it played at least 5 times yesterday??  Some day's I think the universe is just out to get me. :(

I held her in my lap kissing her & telling her how much I loved her as she gently left this world.  Right now I am holding on to a vision of her running to greet Ranger on the Rainbow Bridge & them running off side by side and the conversations they are probably having.  That makes me smile......

  I loved it when she ran & her ears bounced straight up!

Rest in Peace my sweet girl.

  Life won't be the same with out you here but it is forever changed because you were in it.

Getting Back to Me

I've been away without really going anywhere.  I took a wrong turn somewhere.   I've been lost & didn't know it, until recently.  Out of touch with myself & all the things that make me, ME.  I can't blame anyone else really, it just happened.  You get so wrapped up in everyday life, work, family, ect. that you forget about doing the things you love with the love you put into them.  You can even feel the life being sucked from you but can't seem to stop it.  

Well I've stopped it!!  I'm taking it one day at a time and trying to get back on the right road.  I've been concentrating on ME the past few weeks. Back into my photography that I couldn't find time for unless it was on my way to work or home from work or the occasional day off. Didn't have time to edit more than a photo or two. (Look out you might get bombbarded with my photos soon!)  

 Back to time to do all the things I love.   Getting back my health, back on eating healthy & moving this body that has been rebelling.   Which by the way the Cowboy does not even like the word HEALTHY let alone to actually eat that way.  His version of healthy is meat & potatoes 3 times a day. LOL

So, in taking back my life I needed to get back in the saddle of my writing.  I think this part is the one I have avoided the most because I need to put some painful things down on paper to free myself.  Writing has always been a healing process for me.  I can't guarantee that all of my blogs will be sunshine & roses but they will be truthful & from the heart.     

I've sucked at this blogging thing so I am challenging  myself to write at least 3 or 4 times a week.  Going to do my best to stick to it this time.  I'm told it will be freeing, liberating & bring me joy.  Wish it would knock 30 lbs off and give me a golden tan too! LOL

So I'm pulling my hat down tight, getting a deep seat and a far away look and ready to whip & ride!!

Blessings, Kara

aka the Kodak Cowgirl

Beef It's What's for Dinner - Golden Mushroom Stroganoff

Branding season is underway in Northeastern New Mexico.  My favorite season of the year!! Needless to say I pouted all the way into town to my big girl job because I was not at the branding pens to take photo's..... 

  I did decide that the cowboy was going to need some stick to your ribs good comfort food tonight so I pulled out the crock pot early this morning.  I walked in the backdoor about 4:30 to the lovely aroma of Golden Mushroom Stroganoff and had supper on the table a lil' after 5.  I LOVE my crock pot!! 

Some of you have asked for this recipe so here it is:

2 pounds cubed stew meat, sirloin or cubed steak

( I use cubed steak)
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 largish onion diced
4 tablespoons of Worcestershire

 3 soup cans water
8 oz of cream cheese

In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients, except the meat AND the Cream Cheese, together. Once combined add the meat and mix together.

Cook on Low for 8 to 10hours. I use a potato masher to break the meat into smaller pieces after cooking.  Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crock pot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined. You might have to put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes. I think the cream cheese is what really brings this dish together.  IF I was cooking it just for me I would add a big can of mushrooms!! But the cowboy thinks mushrooms are bad, so I didn't add any.

I Serve over egg noodles cooked, then add some real butter

( Yep I am a Paula Dean in cowboy boots! LOL) and add some sea salt & garlic.

 Or you can serve over mashed potatoes.

Great comfort, stick to your ribs, make by cowboy happy kinda meal!!

He even loves the asparagus roasted in the oven with a lil' olive oil & sea salt,

the dogs like it too!! LOL 

ENJOY!! 

Peace, Love & Cowboy's.......

Kara

A Cowboy's Lullaby.....

There are many sounds in the life of a cowboy that to me become songs,

music to sooth your soul, calm your spirit

 or just lull you to sleep like a momma singing a lullaby to her baby. 

 One of my favorite is to lay or sit beside a windmill on a warm sunny day.

  Listen to the turning of the fan up top of the windmill,

the sliding up and down of the rod

and the trickle of water pouring into the tank......... 

 Music to my ears.





Cowboy's Love Pinto's...... Beans that is.

Cowboy's love pinto beans almost like it is a religion.  Mine loves them!  I like them ok enough but I don't like what they do to him so I limit his intake. LOL!!   I mean I AM the one who lives & sleeps with him!!  Yes, I know all about Beano & all the other tricks, but I always seem to forget when I am cooking them......

II am trying to cook healthier for the 2 of us so I implemented the Meatless Monday. 

 I have to say tho I have failed at it both Mondays since I started this :(

And let me just say being a ranchers daughter & wife this is not easy.

You know...... "BEEF it's what's for Dinner"

We had fried egg sammy's with bacon for lunch. FAIL!!  So I decided I had to succeed for supper.  Since the cowboy loves beans & I just happen to have a big zip lock bag full of them in the freezer I decided to try something new.  I've been seeing lots of bean soup recipes lately & decided to invent one of my own.

Needless to say it was so yummy the cowboy ate a lil over 2 bowls full!!  Of course he did add that it would probably be better if it had some hamburger in it!!  LOL   

Cowboy Creamy Pinto Bean Soup

I used about 5 cups of left over pinto beans I had in the freezer

(Mine had lots of juice in it)

you could substitute 2 or 3 cans.

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream chicken soup

2 cans rotel

( I used 2 jars of my homemade rotel that has garlic & onions in it.)

Couple pinches of Pinto Bean seasoning

Couple pinches of chefs black pepper

Brought to a boil then simmered for about 30 mins.

served with tortilla chips

and topped with

shredded sharp cheese

roasted green chili salsa

**I would have added sour cream on top IF I had it

and maybe some fresh cilantro....

p.s. the chicken broth & cream of chicken makes this

kind of another FAIL on Meatless Monday......

Enjoy!!

Peace, love n Cowboy's

Kara

Cowgirl Wisdom 101

Cowgirl Wisdom 101:  "Sometimes the Cowboy SHOULD listen to the Cowgirl!"

Perfect example of this, this morning here at the ranch.  We had a blizzard yesterday & got anywhere from 6 to 12 inches.  Drifts are deep in some places.  I was on the front porch taking a few pictures early this a.m. & thought I hope the cowboy does NOT take THAT road he is sure to bury the pickup if he does.  You see, I almost got stuck on the 4-wheeler out there when we had just a few inches last month, if anything drifts it catches right there!! 

The cowboy was able to make the rounds in the pastures east of the house & came by on his way to hit the lower pastures.  I asked him, "which way are you going???"  He said the dreaded words, "That way"  I told him,  "you will get stuck".........   He looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about and off he went...  I watched & waited, camera in hand on the front porch...

There he goes.......

Hmmmmmmm, shoulda listened to the wifey there cowboy!  Ok so I tried really hard NOT to laugh, but I just had too!  I think the dogs were giggling too!  LOL

So I quickly pulled on my boots and Super Cowgirl Cape!!  Off to rescue my cowboy!  Saddled up the 4-wheeler and went to pickup that handsome man walking all by his lonesome out in the pasture.  "Need a ride?"  He just looked at me & shook his head. 

The rest of the morning was spent in some of what I call

"Precious cowboy & wife bonding moments on the Ranch!" 

LOL

Did I mention when I threw on my Super Cowgirl Cape, I still had on my warm fuzzy round the house britches??  Ok, so some of you would call them jammies.  But I don't ware em' at night, just during the day so....  they are britches.  Well, said warm fuzzy britches aren't so warm n fuzzy when you are hip deep in snow! Just sayin' !!!!

Might as well snap a few pictures while the cowboy is hooking up the chains & giving me instructions on how to steer backwards while he pulls the truck with the tractor!! I just kept smiling & snappin pictures.  Oh how I LOVE these precious moments.  LOL

Needless to say I passed steering backwards....

and I heard her exclaim as he drove out of sight.......

"Drive safe my Cowboy & make it home tonight!"