Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It started snowing this morning and never stopped. Tonight was the annual Christmas party hosted by Red Rock Hounds at their club house. They do it up right with decorations, lights and tons of food and beverages. We are starved for opportunities to see each other out here and I look forward to this party all year. It's wonderful to drive in and see the festivity. I feel like I'm walking into a Christmas card - everone is happy and laughing. We really do clean up good.
In the club house, Ian (in the Stuart plaid shirt - traitor!) is visiting with Carol (from Christmas hunting - first tree). They used to commute to work together and visit two hours every day - doing a little catch up here.
I got so warm inside that I put on my coat and visited with the smokers on the porch. Tamra and Allie are carrying on without me while I catch this shot. Allie went with us tree hunting, and while Tamra was on a hunt that day, Carol drove her truck and cut a tree for her.
Allie's husband (I showed him tree hunting with son Ryan) is on the left and Gayle is on the right. This is her ranch and remarkably, she is 80 years old. I know I keep saying it, but I really do love this valley and community.
These are our newest neighbors, Ken and Lynn from Akron, Ohio. They found the house online and moved in on Labor Day. We've had atypical weather since they came. I accused them of bringing it from Ohio.

I took this shot about 3:00. Ian has to catch a flight in the morning and he's also worried about me in this weather. That's Zephie and she's not worried at all - loves it. Earlier I had thought about catching a picture of her kushed in the snow - but that would have awakened the dogs who would have wanted to play in the snow who would then have to be toweled off. So, no.
On top of the anxiety for weather conditions Ian has the anxiety of the reason for his flight. His brother's mother-in-law whom Ian met when he was 14, and who has now been in his life longer than his own mother, passed away this week. I could write an entire blog just on this wonderful, selfless, funny and delightful woman. She lived a vigorous life until this sudden illness. She was always more interested in others than herself and our lives are richer for her passing through them.
Ian is concerned about me being alone in this snow, so has spent the day trying to clear out a path for me to feed the animals, lots of firewood and feeding instructions and about an hour lesson on how to use the generator and the transfer case. I tossed off a Facebook post this afternoon that we had 5" of snow and that I had just had a generator lesson. Tonight when we got home from the party, one of our neighbors, who is also on FB, said that if the power went out and I needed help, to call him. That's what I mean. I never had a neighbor in town lift a finger to help me. I had to move to East Timbuktu to find genuine neighbors. It was a hard day for Ian, hard labor with a heavy heart.
We're at close to a foot of snow tonight. It's really beautiful if you don't have to travel, however two flights were canceled today. The memorial service is Sunday. We'll see what tomorrow brings. The forecast seems to change hourly, on the hour. Yesterday the forecast said we were supposed to have no appreciable snow accumulation. Earlier today the forecast was for warming tomorrow with a prediction of rain. Wouldn't that be interesting? Who knows - obviously not those who make the forecasts. My plan is to attend Alexia's ballet recital tomorrow evening. I came home with a dinner invite in the event I can't go. See what I mean?
Meanwhile, I've finished one Christmas present - the knitted fruit. All it needed was an orange, and the scary thing is that I dreamed I knitted an orange, then really did knit one the next day. I'm currently knitting a pink rabbit.