Norma's Nonsense

Christmas Decorations in a Small House

2011-12-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

I have a small house. So decorating in a small space requires small things. I also kept it more simple this year and I'm liking it. I usually have more garlands and lights.

This little funky space reminds me of Dr Seuss. The little guy with the pointy hat is one of my early painting projects, many years ago. I still like him, so he is still around. I think I might need another shinny tree..

I got my tree from Farmer Gene! He is a story in himself. The tree is a great shape for all my German ornaments and it makes me happy.

My Santa's love to hang around.

Almost forgot to add a picture of my mantle. It is where I usually have lights and garlands, but this year it has been taken over by critters from Denmark and Germany. I love these little people! I think they take over the house when I'm not looking; especially the grumpy looking ones. A couple of them look like they are sleeping but I know better!

My Christmas dishes ready to be used.

Yes, I put lights on the lamp in the sun room. I like it. Don't judge! There are more German decorations on the chest. Some that my grand children got me years ago.

I call the corner my wood land area; it seems to fit well in the sun room with all the birds outside doing fly by's. I love this spot.

This little family are gourds that I painted a few years ago. They came out of hibernation this year and joined the wood land critters in the sun room.

This little chest in my kitchen will be holding more candy over the next few days.

And what is better than something to remember a loved one and to bring up wonderful memories? Nothing. This was my mom's table cloth she used for many years. She had a large dinning table and would set it up with this cloth, dishes and flowers. It is too big for my table, but as you can see, I use it anyway. This is a happy memory; no sad going on here.

I hope you enjoyed my tour; now if we could just sit down and have a cup of tea or coffee together and enjoy the lights. Happy holidays to all.

A Little Change Inside & Outside Activity

2011-10-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

The other day I had this idea! That could be a good thing or a bad thing! I really like the change! It is such a little change and to me it made a big impact. I have this hallway, I don't like hallways, that I turned into a family photo gallery many years ago. I keep adding to it or changing it, as my family grows. It is white and all the frames are black. I painted a lot of frames that I had to ~~save money~~ recycle them. I had put a trim up a few years ago, white. This is a before the little change.

Big oak mirror at the end of the hallway, lots of white.

This is the after little change picture.

Black trim, smaller mirror at end of hallway. I LOVE it, it really gives it a different look, I think. And what I think is important, since I have to live here.

I didn't take a before picture of the next part. It is around the left corner of the hallway. It had two Thomas Kincade pictures hanging there; I'm tired of Thomas Kincade, have been for a long time. Recently I and my sister came across some really old pictures of our parents and family. They are priceless and beautiful. So, I have decided to add to my 'hall of fame' by hanging them in the a fore mentioned Thomas Kincade space. It is a work in progress, I still need to get some of the pictures hung, but here is a preview.

I think this part is going to be a really fun one.

It is interesting how a little change in color can cause a person to make changes in other places. I have moved and removed and added and changed and put away so many things in the last couple of weeks; I don't know where things are now, I'm surprised when I walk in a room and see the different items that I'm not used to being there. I'm telling myself how much I like the changes I have made. I live in a strange world with myself. Yes I'm weird, but, *said in a whisper* lets keep it a secret.

The next pictures are my token bird and flower pictures.

When I opened up the blinds one morning, this beautiful Morning Glory was saying, "good morning." The original plant is no longer.....this is from one of the 'many' vines that have taken root in my yard.

The next two pictures are of the Blue Birds and friends having breakfast. They flew away before I could get a good picture of them. There was 3 Blue Birds at one time with some Purple Finch and a bunch of the little yellow guys. I counted a zillon birds, well maybe 10. But there were a lot.

Lake Tahoe - Escondido - Apple Hill

2011-10-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

I added this first picture to show a very old wash stand that I recently had repainted. It had been in my garage being used as a house by the spiders and assorted bugs. It had been 'bugging' me (no pun intended) that it was out there not being loved. This cabinet was in a house that my parents moved into back in the late 1940's. I got it in the 1960's and had re-purposed *read slapped paint on it* a few times. A friend recently offered to repaint it and I love the way it turned out. It is in my kitchen and being loved again. The glass candy jar was my mom's, she used it for flour or sugar. The bowl and pitcher was given to me years ago by some friends. I think it looks great in my kitchen!

My yearly trip to Lake Tahoe was once again, wonderful! The weather was beautiful.

One of these ladies had not been to this Lake Tahoe retreat so I was showing them some of the hidden spots I've discovered. They were the 'funnest' ladies and kept me and my friend Helen in stitches! Speaking of stitches......the Roseville Quilting Guild was back this year and as usual where very happy to have us lookey looing (I have no idea how to spell that) at all the beautiful quilts they were working on. Also this year, my friend Helen and I found the building where the painters where having their workshop. It just so happens to be in the house you see behind us. They were having a water color painting retreat for the week and also were happy to share their work with us. That looked like something I would like to try.

I got home from Tahoe on a Friday, unpacked, repacked and flew down to Escondido on Tuesday. I went to visit my two cousins, Linda and Angie. They are more than cousins to me; more like sisters. They picked me up from the airport and 'immediately' took me to Anthony's in San Diego for dinner. Had a great fish dinner while looking out over the water. Good way to start this visit. We planned out our schedule for the week. Angie is a Special Ed teacher so she was only going to have the following day off to play. We decided to ride the train from Oceanside to San Juan Capistrano on her day off. We roamed around the little town and of course had lunch. This little Deli was named The Hummingbird House Cafe. The food was great. We sat outside in the back.

This is a picture taken in the back. The trees and plants were so pretty and I loved the random plantings.

They have problems with the hummers flying into the cafe and getting trapped and then they have to rescue them and keep the hummers safe while they regain their strength. The hummers are all over the place. I was told that when a hummer sleeps their heart beat slows down so slow that it takes them a long time to wake up and get their heart beating fast again........need to check that information out. I love the hummers..

I got to spent some time with the little grandchildren of my two cousins. This ~~little~~ big guy is

Isaac. He let me play games with him and his sister. He was very patient with me, I wasn't very good at the game.

This is Angela, I got to watch her soccer game. She was the goalie and was fearless at going after the ball.

This little guy is Zeke, he is a cutie. Actually, they are all sweet and polite and cutie pies... This littlest one reminds me of one of mine.

This is my cousin Angela and 4 of her 5 darling grand daughters. She had two boys; she is having a ball with her g-daughters. The missing one is a baby and I got to see her too. Both of my cousins have play rooms fixed for their g-children, I miss that age and time. It was fun to watch them play and they smiled all the time, very happy little girls.

My cousin Linda with her nieces. They love their auntie.

I didn't get enough pictures of me and my cousins, ran out of time. We shopped, planted flowers, explored, shopped, hung pictures, you get the idea. I did get one of me with Linda and her daughter Lee Ann.

My friends Roya (I call her my adopted daughter) and Cyrous picked me up and I went to visit at their home. They took me to a Persian Festival or that is what I called it. It has a different name, I think it is Mehregan. It was very interesting and had wonderful food. I had my first Persian ice cream. Made with pistachios & saffron; it was very good. The clothes and decorations were very beautiful. It was hard to pick out pictures to post without doing a picture overload, yes I know, I do that too much. So, I just picked a ~~couple~~ a lot, to share.

This is two little children dancing.

This is Roya's sister Bahar, Roya and the short lady is ME!!! I 'really' felt short......

Cyrous, Roya and shorty..

This booth is similar to a harvest celebration.

This little gal is one of the contestants on the up-coming season of American Idol. She had a very pretty voice. The band was too loud though, she really had to sing loudly to be heard.

I loved the colors and fabrics of the clothes.

We took a drive to the ocean after a lunch of Persian food. I love the rice and fava (?) beans.. I then insisted on treating them to SB coffee and cake pop. They had not had a cake pop! They humored me!

Yesterday was my birthday!!! Sherie, Corrie and I went to Apple Hill!!! I ate TWO apple donuts without even blinking an eye. I gobbled them down without any guilt or shame. Yes, this is not a good picture of me, but it is a happy one.

This is a good picture of them.

Corrie and I were watching the fish jump out of the water and the little ones fishing.

Corinnea the next couple of pictures are for you, you asked for a picture under the apple tree.....we give you many....

No, I not as old as this tree, almost, but not quite......

We were having fun!!!

I thought this old building was very cool. See the wheel in the back. How about the bird house?

We finished the day with dinner at a new Irish Pub/Dinner place in town. Had the best soup and soda bread. The decoration of the room we ate in was like eating in a old library. Very fun. the day was filled with all kinds of good food and fun. It was beautiful, the trees are just starting to turn. It was a perfect b-day.

A Little of Morro Bay, a Lot of Hearst Castle

2011-08-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

WARNING-picture overload!

This is not going to have a lot of info on Morro Bay or Hearst Castle. You can go on-line to learn about these places. They are AMAZING! This is a picture post, so if you are not into pictures, STOP right here. There will be some comments because I just can't resist in making some notes here and there.

Our tour of Hearst Castle was a private tour; we know the curator. He started working there when he was 17 and his knowledge of the family, the castle and Julia Morgan, the architect, is without limit. He and his wife were married there and she joined us on the tour. It was their 30+ wedding anniversary.

We went into roped off rooms, didn't have to stay on the walking mats, used our flash and got up close and personal with the artifacts and objects. In other words, we didn't have to follow the rules. BUT, I must say, that we were VERY respectful and honored to have had this opportunity. There was only one area we had to stay on the mats and not use our flash because of crossing paths with another, very large, tour group.

There is so much information it has been hard in picking out the pictures.

Anyway, here we go, enjoy the ride....

Yep, the "rock" at sunset. This was taken from our balcony.

Morning mist.

The seals would dive, the birds would go to that spot, the seal threw the fish in the air and the battle was on. The seal pretty much won every time. This was so entertaining to watch. They have this relationship worked out.

The Group. Our guide, Hoyt, is the one with at the back with the beard.

This artifact is 200 years 'older' than Moses.

This reminds me of Europe. Much of the furnishings and artifacts are from Europe, especially Spain and Italy.

Foot of one of the many beds in one of the many guest houses.

Note: I took a lot of pictures of the ceilings, they were a work of art in themselves.

One of my friends standing in front of one of the many citrus trees on the property. Hearst let the fruit stay on the trees, for the guests to see.

Persian tile, door and tile picture on wall.

Door from Persia up close.

This chest was designed to use when moving, items stored in drawers and secured.

One of many Persian jars in this room.

Really liked this lion and then noticed what was laying between his paws; took on a different meaning, but I still like it....

Thought I would add a people pic.

At the indoor pool, the doors in this narrow hallway are private dressing rooms.

Guess I'm writing more than I meant too. But, this really needs an explanation. This area was discovered in 1976 or 1978. There is a very high stone wall around a terrace level, with stairs, that lead up to a large area before the bell tower/cathedral. This caused some concern over how strong it was. They started tapping it and found a hollow sound, opened it up and found this. It is the original, outdoor area that Hearst had sealed up when he wanted to terrace the area and didn't want to tear this all out. The picture hanging there is the original way it was. Evidently this had been forgotten. It was so amazing to be able to see this. Yes, I should have gotten a picture of the wall.

The artifacts sitting on the steps are just for viewing.

At this point we have walked up the stairs and are on top of where we were.

I took this picture hoping to capture the sparkle of it. It is carrera marble and it is beautiful! As we know, back in the day, sculptures of the unclothed was a normal thing! Just a note: there is so much marble and gold in this house! Go figure!

The rugs in storage, we are now in the archives that people don't get to see.

Talk about hand worked! These are the originals.

We are now in the room where things are taken care of, being ready to send to a special place to be repaired and such. And more artifacts and original drawings. The articles Hoyt is holding are OLD!

This is the room we had to share with another tour group.

This lamp was all the way across the huge room. It is an original Tiffany and the light and the people made it impossible to get a good pic. It was so dark you couldn't see it. I did this to it just so you could get a better look at it.

This picture is dark because we were not able to use flash while the other group was in the room. These seats along the wall are created in a way that the religious authorities could lean against them and 'sit' and their long robes would hide the fact they were sitting....capice?

The kitchen.

We are back in an archive room. Rare book.

Guest book. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. The guest would leave comments regarding their visit.

The indoor pool. Hoyt and his family have swam in this pool and they say it is extremely cold.

The balcony on the left side, guess what that was used for. Can you say cannonball?

Last morning in Morro Bay.

Couple of projects

2011-07-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

A friend is expecting a baby; mom and dad love 'The Mouse'. They love Disneyland, so, what better way to acknowledge that than with a Mickey for the baby's room. They chose not to find out if they were having a boy or girl so this can work for both. This is my attempt at painting the famous mouse. I do have something else for them too, in case Mickey has to live in a closet and only come out when I visit. I put a gel with glass beads on the sun's ray's to add a bit of sparkle to it. I so like sparkle. He is 9" X 12" so he isn't too big.

A friend taught me how to make the pins. You cut circles out of material, burn the edges with a candle and heat the center to cause it to pucker. Sew together with button or bead (I glued a Swarovski crystal to the red one). Sew a pin thingie to the back and enjoy. The material is the key. Satin and taffeta works well. The blue/green and purplish ones were harder to work with. I think they are too thick and didn't bend as much as I would have liked. Use your scrapes, just not cotton. When my friend first 'tried' to teach me to do this, I kept setting the material on fire, not good. Using a small tea light works well because the flame is not as hot as a bigger candle.

When I wore the red one I took a small strand of pearls and just wrapped it and let it hang down.

Adding the bluish/greenish to my denim dress added a soft touch to it.

These can be made in all sizes to be put on head bands, purses or whatever your imagine takes you. Another friend of mine who is an amazing seamstress, added some to a skirt she made.

And I have to add a gratuitous garden picture. Okay more that one. Caught the blue bird taking his morning bath. I love when he visits; its not often enough.

Come have a cup of coffee with me.

Final Alaska Cruise Adventure

2011-07-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

When we departed Skagway on Friday evening, we set out for Victoria, Canada. During the night and on into Saturday, we traveled through many Passages and Straits. Knowing that this was the last 'hurrah', there was just a tad bit of 'oh rats' this is it! I don't know if I was ready for the cruise and fun and eating at all times of the day and night, to end!

We only got to stay for a short time in Victoria and I had picked the Butchart Gardens excursion to go on. My 5 buddies picked that one too. We rode a shuttle bus from the port to the gardens and were surprised to find out that our driver was also a comedian and sight seeing guide. He did make the ride interesting. We only got to stay about 2 hours at the Gardens and I knew it was going to be a fast walk through. This is my third time to the Gardens, I love going there and would go again. It was the evening tour, but the evening didn't really get very dark until about the time it was to leave. My partner in crime and I did a last minute run though to get pictures with the lights on and were almost late getting back on the shuttle. But, it was worth it. My camera did not like the way the light was and I did not get it set correctly so my pictures are not as good as my buddy's are, I wish I had hers to share. But I did get a few.... So, heeeerrrreeees the pictures!

The following picture is watching the sun 'go down' while out to sea. This was about as dark as it ever got while we were traveling in the Passage.

We passed ships as we were going through the channels.

Just some sky pictures as we we cruising along.

On my balcony looking to the back of the ship. Aft?

Toward the front. Forward?

Coming into the port at Victoria.

The Garden - ta da!! Not dark yet.

Still not dark yet.

They had put in a Merry-go-round since I had been there. I hope they don't turn the gardens into an amusement park.

My pictures are starting to get blurry because of the light changing but I love this house. I want it. Can you see the little squirrel at the foot of the tree? He was there 3 years ago when I was there. I'm sure he is the same one!

Finally starting to get a little dark. This is when it magically turns into a wonderland, as if it wasn't before. Also, most of the people were heading back to the shuttle bus. I would love to be in this garden with no people around, just a friend to share it with.

Well, if I had better pictures there would be lots more. You are saved by the bad picture taker person. But maybe, just maybe, you saw enough to want to go. Do, you won't regret it. The little town of Victoria is beautiful and you could spent two or three days there exploring it.

This looks a little more like a sunset.

Goodbye. :(

Welcome to Skagway, Alaska - Early Thursday Morning

2011-07-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Skagway sits at the top of the northernmost point of the inside Passage in southeast Alaska. Over a hundred years ago, the White Pass route through the Coast Mountains was used by countless stampeders.

Skagway was known to thousands of hopeful gold rushers as the gateway to the gold fields. In August of 1896 gold was discovered on the Klondike River. The gold rush was a boon to Skagway - by 1898 it was Alaska's largest town with a population of about 20,000. But, when the gold yield dwindled in 1900, so did the population of Skagway. Today Skagway has less than 1,000 residents, but it retains the flavor of the gold rush era.

The gold rush lasted a few short years and during that time Skagway erupted into a state of chaos. Visitors called it "hell on earth" (not my description what the legend says). The most notorious criminal (we would probably say crime boss) was Soapy Smith. Today his body rests just a few miles outside of Skagway. He was killed in a famous shoot out/ambush on Juneau pier. Both 'shooters' died and is now a story they tell as you are riding the White Pass train.

The excursion I chose to go on in Skagway was the White Pass Railway. It was 27.1 miles one way just across into Canada. The White Pass fleet consists of 20 diesel-electric locomotives, restored and replica passenger coaches and 2 steam locomotives. The oldest car was built in 1883 and is on the line each day. One of the coaches was used in the movie "Diamond Jim Brady, and one carried Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on a royal tour in 1959.

There is so much to tell; but I'm going to leave it at that. The pictures will, hopefully, help to fill in more details and to give you a bit of a look at what it was like to be there.

First view of Skagway.

As we were coming into the dock I saw these painted rocks. I thought how strange...

Then I saw there were bunches of painted rocks all along this mountain side.

Maybe this is Alaskan graffiti? Or a way of advertising? Didn't find out why.

We are on the train now, didn't take a picture of the train coming up to the dock, should have. This is an old train just sitting there. Don't know why.

There will be a lot of pictures of just scenery, I think it can speak for it's self. And most of the pictures were taken from inside the car, through the window, leaning over my friend. Just saying, they are what they are.

The next couple of pic's are taken while I'm standing outside, just had to see what that was like.

That's us going around the bend.

In this picture and the following one,if you were to enlarge it you would see the Skagway harbor.

Yep, outside again, looking down, that's what we are going over.

Two of my friends, it was fun to share this ride with them.

See that bridge way up there? Yep, going over it. I think they called it the oldest trestle bridge? Just a note here: The White Pass & Yukon Route climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the Summit in just 20 miles and features steep grades of almost 3.9%. The tight curves of the WP called for a narrow gauge railroad. The rails are 3' apart on a 10' wide road bed. Scary but not, if that makes sense. I'm so glad I didn't miss this ride.

This guy was just sitting there, watching and waving as we went by. Alaska's equivalent of standing on the corner and people watching?

That steam/river down there was very far away.

Going into the first of two tunnels, I don't like tunnels.

Can you find the white mountain goat? There was a herd of them.

Nope, didn't go over that one. Apparently it was built but never finished.

Yep, second tunnel, it was longer.

We are now across the Canadian border. We wait here for another train to pass and then we start our trip back down.

The conductor had us stand up, take the back of our seats and swing it over so that we were now sitting facing the other direction from which we came, and the train had an engine on both ends, so we didn't turn around. So, we were now going backwards but not. Should have taken a picture. Got it? It took us a bit to figure it out. You can see the other train passing us. We were suppose to wave and make faces at the other people as they passed. Some did.

This coach can be rented out. It is fixed up like a cabin. That could be fun I suppose.

This is the cemetery where that Soapy Smith is buried and with the other guy.

Just some of the building in Skagway.

The front of this store is made out of twigs.

The painted rocks were everywhere on that mountain face. I liked the watch.

We are leaving. Goodbye Skagway, I really enjoyed visiting here.

From Thursday evening until Saturday evening we were at sea. Heading for Victoria, Canada. My friends and I spent the time eating, seeing a show, eating, playing games, visiting with new friends, eating, walking around the ship and exploring, eating.....okay, you get the idea. My next post will be small and will be my final one. Thanks for joining me on my journey!

North to Alaska-Wednesday

2011-07-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Our destination on Wednesday was to Juneau. But before we arrived in Juneau, some of us got off the ship onto a 'fast-moving catamaran' (that was how they described it in the program). We 'walked the plank' from the big ship to the little boat. My excursion for this area was the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glaciers. This was my favorite of all. I took over 500 pictures, don't panic, I'm not including all of them.

In 1880 a one hundred mile belt of gold was discovered in Juneau. This was the first major Alaska gold discovery, but it would not be the last. Juneau became the capital of Alaska in 1900 when the government of the then-Alaska Territory was moved from Sitka. Mining remained a mainstay of Juneau's economy until 1944 when increased operating costs and manpower shortages associated with WWII forced the AJ Mine to close. By 1958, when Alaska became the 49th state, government had filled much of the economic void left by the end of the mining era. Okay, got that out of the way; now on to the pictures.

The first one is my 'first' iceberg. I did not expect them to be so blue.

What a better welcoming than an eagle on an iceberg? We did see other eagles sitting on icebergs, so guess it is what they do.

One of the first waterfalls in this area that we passed. Actually, we saw so many waterfalls on this whole cruise once we got into the inside passage. The color of the water is amazing too.

We are pulling away from the ship to go into the Tracy Arm Fjord.

My little buddy Dawn, was really good at getting a front seat....

Bye, bye.

Standing outside at the back of the boat.

Don't they look like they have a blue light under them.....I was totally in love with the icebergs. A disclaimer here, a lot of the pictures were taken from inside the catamaran; some from outside on the top. I did have to delete a lot of the pictures, but I am happy with what I did get.

First glimpse of Sawyer Glacier. There are two, they were one huge icefield/glacier many, many years ago.

I caught this calving; we saw 4, which we were told, is unusual to see that many.

We saw a lot of these fat critters. There were a few babies too.

We all got to hold a bergie bit. It was heavy; but I had to do it.

We got close enough to touch the waterfall. Well, some got to touch the waterfall. Me and my short arms did not get to touch it, I tried but did not want to fall in.

Again, the water is so beautiful. There were wild flowers growing on the side of the rocks, so pretty.

Beautiful double waterfall. We are getting up close and very personal.

See the young man standing outside on the left? He is a new guide and about to get the tradition joke played on him. He is to stand there and tell the captain when the boat is getting too close to the rock. He was smiling the whole time. Even when the captain drove the front of the boat completely under the waterfall, he was even still smiling after.

We even got to see a bear!!!!

We are coming into Juneau and are following our ship into the port.

The main street in Juneau. It actually was very warm on this day.

The following pictures are of us leaving Juneau. The pictures are fuzzy because we were pretty far away and the light wasn't the best. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. We did not stay docked at Juneau through the night. We were on our way to the next stop while we slept.

The next stop is at Skagway. It was probably my favorite town. But, that is for the next post. This was the most fun day and was hard to call the day done. Especially when it was still light out all night. We left our drapes open just for fun and that was a mistake. You don't sleep when it is still light. But, it was beautiful!!! Thanks for reading.

More on Cruising in Alaska

2011-07-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

One of the joys of cruising, I found out, is the pampering you get. Not only does your room get cleaned, bed get made, bathroom get straightened up and everything put in order every morning; it also gets ready for you at night. It would mysteriously be ready for you when you finally got back to your room in the evening. Bed turned down, candy on the pillow and the Princess Patter (a news letter schedule for the next days happenings) on your bed. One day I quickly ~~hid~~ put my sleeping attire under my pillow after the bed had been already made, I was in a hurry. That night not only was all the aforementioned things done but, there was my sleeping attire...neatly folded on my bed ready for me. Oops! If we wanted(and we did) a softer bed, they put a foam pad on it for you. Whatever you asked for would just show up. WAALA! I loved it. And have I mentioned the food yet?!?

We were at sea Sunday afternoon and all day Monday. Tuesday morning we pulled into Ketchikan. I woke up at 4:30 that morning and was amazed at the snow covered mountains we were passing through and watched the ship docking for the first time. The little town and the houses on the banks, the 'float' planes or taxis that fly; it all was beautiful and such a different world. Just a note: Alaskans, per capita, have more airplanes than any other state. Alaska is so large and so remote that flying becomes a necessity. It was really strange to see that many planes taking off and landing on the water. Ketchikan is the 4th wettest place on earth. It is know as Alaska's 'First City' because it's the first major community travelers stop at as they journey North on the famed inside Passage. Located on an island, Ketchikan began life as an Indian fishing camp. It has the world's oldest collection of totem poles and has a colorful Indian history.

We disembarked the ship to go on our first excursion. I had signed up for the Misty Fjord and Wilderness Explorer. It was raining but I didn't care; I had my Mickey Mouse rain poncho on, I was ready....

We got on a large catamaran, one of the fastest sightseeing vessels in Alaska, for our excursion. Misty Fjord owes it's incredibly lush landscape to water: saltwater passageways, freshwater streams, waterfalls and frequent rainfall, averaging 160 inches a year. It has been difficult describing the Misty Fjord without writing a book, so I'll stop now in fear of boredom sitting in for the reader; I'll show you pictures instead. There are a lot and picking what to show has also been difficult. I just wish you all could have seen this.

Entering Ketchikan.

I like this house, would love to see the inside. It looks so rustic and so fitting in this setting.

One of the many planes I saw.

Off the ship and waiting to get on the bus to take us to the catamaran. It rained off and on most of the day. For the rest of the whole cruise-sunny and warm.

A friend took this picture of me in my Micky Mouse poncho, but you can't see Mickey, he is on the back. People looked, I smiled. We are on the catamaran; the lady behind me with the grass, cone hat on is a born and raised native Indian and was one of our naturist on the tour. She gave us a lot of information; much of which was about the three tribes that are the original people that live here.

This is New Eddystone Rock. It is basalt that rose from a volcanic vent through fractures in the floor of Behm Canal. The glaciers scoured away most of the flow and left behind this rock and several other islands.

It is called Misty Fjord after all, have to have the misty mountain picture.

The markings on the mountain sides that where created by the glaciers. They are beautiful. There are also markings called 'eyebrows' because of the shape left when a piece of the rock falls off due to nature occurrences.

Just one of the 'many' waterfalls we saw.

The markings on the sides of the bank were caused by the glaciers as they moved, I thought they were beautiful and interesting.

This was the coldest day we had on the cruise.

Of course we saw many eagles. To spot them you looked for a white dot in the trees and zeroed in with your camera. They are, in my view, an amazing creature.

If you look closely at the next picture you will see a red design. It is a sun, painted on there many many moons ago by one of the three tribes that inhabited this area.

Can you see the purple star fish? Or sun fish as they like to call them.

This tour was about 5 hours long, they served us refreshments and had coffee and hot tea available for the whole trip. It was a great introduction to Alaska for me. There were many excursions to pick from in Ketchikan; I think I picked the right one to go on.

My Great Alaskan Adventure

2011-06-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I can get my whole story in one post or not. There is so much I want to share and at the same time I don't want to go overboard, no pun intended.

This is my first look at the ship I was going to live on for 9 days.

I had never been on a cruise before; had my doubts about being on a ship for that long of a time. I'm claustrophobic, I just envisioned small, narrow places and not being able to breathe. I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and walked that gang plank onto the ship (I'll stop the puns soon).

As you step onto the ship you are told to do this, do that and you just do, so it is surprising to me that the picture they take of you at the first stop can turn out half decent.

I had a room with a balcony, that was a must, it was on the 10th deck, had to take an elevator. When I stepped into the hallway I did a little panic dance and told my cabin mate to walk ~~fast~~ very fast down the long hallway. Once I got into the room and saw how big the sliding door to the balcony was, I was okay. I overcame a lot of moments like this and am quite proud of myself. The anticipation and excitement of doing something SO unfamiliar was helping to override my nerves.

That is my cabin mate in the one picture. She is 'one' of my adopted daughters; the daughter of one of my best friends. She has been on many cruises and trips to Europe so she was a big help in teaching me the ways of the seas. She is the one that talked me into going on this tour. There were 119 in this tour group.

That Sunday afternoon and for most of Monday we were out to sea. I spent this time exploring my home for the week, with friends.

We were at the back of the ship watching as we were leaving Seattle, WA. I started really loving the trip at that moment. It just felt good. Free, open, wind, time to enjoy. I got my first example of the food Sunday evening; I knew then, I was in trouble. I had heard about the food thing from people; but to experience it was something else. I became kid in a candy store. The food was excellent!

Oh yes! They had cupcakes, it's good sign.

The first night we passed another ship and I just thought it was so cool to be passing ships in the night.....

I started my Monday morning with having my coffee brought to my room; room service, it's a good thing. Did that for the rest of the trip, and added breakfast a few times to it. And did it at night time a few times. There is just something about a cup of hot coffee, on the balcony, on the ocean/sea looking at the 'TV of nature.'

got up really early, so really needed that coffee fix quick.

Yep, did this a lot.

Monday night was the first formal dinner. We gathered in the Atrium lobby. The decorations were so beautiful. It almost felt like being in a palace. The first picture is actually 'part' of the ceiling. Hope you can tell it has lots of mirrors.

This picture shows the glass elevator on the left side. I thought this was the most beautiful place inside the ship. It went up 3 stories, and was the gathering place for concerts throughout the day and night.

We dressed up! I wish I had known I was wearing my wrap as a cape, I'm sure I didn't do that the whole evening. I blame it on the fact that I did not have my 'sea legs' yet. But, my good friend Rita, looks her lovely self. The cruise was made better by having good friends to share it with.

This is some of the lovely ladies I traveled with. We had most of our dinners together and some of the tours. We have Rita with her daughter and mother, Dawn my sweet cabin mate and Shirley one of my lovely friends.

The end of Monday. By this time we had gotten far enough north for the nights to start looking more like day than night.

Since Tuesday has tons of pictures(does that scare you?) I think this is all for right now.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and look at the pictures, I hope you found it fun.

Not Much of Anything

2011-06-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to show for what I've been doing with my time. I have made more of the coasters that I posted about some time back. Made more of the wrapped bowls. And been trying to get the backyard looking less like Winter since we 'finally' got Summer! I've had visitors for the weekend. And, I've done a lot of playing! I am getting ready to go on my first cruise ever! North! To Alaska! I am excited. I will be going on 4 excursions, to see the glaciers up close, animals up close and a train ride up high. Riding a catamaran through the Fjords hoping to see lots of eagles and whales. I WILL be having room service each morning, early, since that's the way I roll, and then sitting on my balcony drinking it and enjoying the view. I hear it may rain, it may be foggy, whatever, even if I have to pull blankets off of my bed to wrap up in, I WILL have coffee on my balcony at least one time. Paid extra for it, will use it.

I did finally made the Gum Drop Ottoman by Amy Butler. My talented daughter

gave me the pattern a loooong time ago. I used material from Joann's Fabric's. I did make mistakes, that's why I used material that was not too expensive. But, I'm going to make one using a bit nicer material. I won't make the same mistakes but I'm not expecting perfection out of me, yet. I love this ottoman and IF I put in the right amount of filler it will hold up my feet better! Go figure. It was fun to make and I love the style. The picture isn't great, but just deal with it. Sorry, did that sound snippy?

My nephew saw the recipes of my mom that I had framed for my daughters, my sister and myself. He sorta, kinda, hinted that he really liked it and would really like to have one too. So, this is what I did for him. He doesn't have it yet, but I'll get it to him. The recipes are in my mom's handwriting; one is on scrap paper with some scribbling on it, it suspiciously looks like something his mom, my sister would have done. Just saying! I made a copy of one of the pages out of my mom's beat up cookbook, I just love that old book. It is so old fashion and looks fun in the background, the other little pictures are from the cookbook too. There is also a recipe from a newspaper which is dated back in the 70's. I hope he likes it.

Have to put in at least one plant picture. Last year this cactus had one or two blooms on it, this year four! They don't last but a couple of days but the color is SO spectacular, they almost glow.

Anyway, that all folks! The next blog should be all Alaska!

Trying to learn how to work with glass.

2011-05-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

This is my latest attempt at trying to create something pretty and fun and maybe useful out of glass. I enjoy working with the glass and the beautiful colors and waiting to see what the final results look like. I wish I was learning quicker! I will keep on trying until it ceases to be fun. I already have an idea for what I want to try next. I don't know if I will do anymore night lights but it was fun to check that process out. The blue and yellow one is my favorite one, the green turned out to be a pretty shade.

This one was fun to make and was the first one, so I was unsure of how to lay things out. That is one of the things that attract me to glass, the results can be a surprise, sometimes good.....sometimes not so much. So much to learn!

I LOVE how this votive turned out. Since I didn't have a plan when I started laying out the glass, I was very happy with the results!

I already posted this glass piece, but I didn't have a hanger on it, so here is how it looks with it hanging.

What I saw on my Walk

2011-05-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Took my camera on a walk this morning. We have a lot of the things I love up here in my neighborhood. Lots of Oak trees, birds, wild flowers (read weeds), and sometimes a view of the Sierra's with snow. I just went on the short walk, next time I'll do the long walk and go into the group of homes next to mine. They could be said to be the 'other side of the tracks', meaning the homes are way more 'bigger' and expensive than mine and they have moats (okay, it's a ditch, but a big one, my imagination says moat).

As I was starting on my walk the man and dog was passing by. They walk every day. We exchange good mornings and a thought or two. As the man walks, he cleans up. He picks up trash and puts it in the nearest trash can. Picks up branches and tosses them out of the street, things like that. Reminds me of my dad. He was always picking up things out of the street or gutter, if they didn't belong there. One time when I was very little he stopped the car on the side of the road, without saying anything to us, and got out and went back a ways to pick something he saw in the middle of the road. It was a tool. He just gets back into the car with his treasure. He did things like that often. Anyway, I like this man and his dog. Sometimes his wife is with him.

This is a sidewalk that doesn't go anywhere....it is strange. There must have been a plan but who knows what it was. There are two of these and one is very curvy so I call it the crooked mile, even if it is just a few yards long, little kids think it is fun for about 1 minute....

That is my home with the red bushes. I'm by a nature area *read drainage ditch and trees and berry bushes and of course weeds*.

This stand of Oak trees is just down the street from my home. I really want to go sit on that branch, but I don't want to scare the neighbors, or worry them that I'm strange. I'm trying to keep that from them.

Just some wild flower, weeds and of course California Poppy's.

It is hard to see, but there is a lake in the distance. I'm standing on a hill looking down into the fancy homes and the lake is in the background. It's Bass Lake ( reservoir), it is large enough to be home to Canadian geese and ducks of all kind. About 7 years ago there was a pair of swans living there. They had babies. They came two years in a row but have not been back. I'm positive they were swans!

There are Blue Jays all over these here hills. This one was the lookout I think. Can you see him on the rock?

This home has one of my favorite Oak trees in their yard.

This is the point where I get see the Sierra's toward Lake Tahoe and when the clouds aren't low, I can see the snow. They had more snow last week. Crazy!!

Just more of the trees.

This is my all time favorite home site. This development, as you can see, has no set yard structure. Each lot is odd shaped because of the hills. This home was built back on the lot to accommodate the Oak tree. I love it..

The next picture was also taken on a bit of a rise. The odd shaped home in the distance, on the right, was the only home on that hill when I moved into this development. The cypress tree on the left, stood all by itself. The building went crazy after I moved in.

The stand of Oak trees by my home.

Crafts and Surprise Visit

2011-05-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

My sister and I surprised our brother with a visit on his birthday. And we did a good job of surprising him. Woke him up from his afternoon nap and we didn't get shot for breaking and entering! We were in Texas after all. It took him a bit to realize the two strange women standing in his living room were his sisters. He said it was the best Birthday ever! I'm glad we were able to spent time with him and the coolest SIL ever. They live beside a lake. It is peaceful and beautiful. Until, the most wicked lightening/thundering/wind storm hit. We were there for the 'unusual' weather. Of course we were! Anyway, I took some pictures of the lake and storm. Where are the pictures of the people? Good question, I was too focused on eating Texas food and not on my camera.

This picture is from the deck looking down to the lake. I sat out here and had coffee a couple of times. Even when it was cold. There are all kinds of birds to watch and it is very quiet.

This is a close up of a house being built by a man from Germany and a reality show he is doing of the progress. All you can see is the tower and the dock. We did drive(read sneak) down his drive to see the house and it is going to be beautiful when done. This is actually on the other side of the lake from my bother but we would pass right by it on our way to town.

This is another shot of the lake at a friends place . We just kinda barged in on their dock and they invited us over for an 'amazing' dinner. They are both excellent cooks and their son is a chef. They were very nice people.

The next picture is of a storm we went through on our way to a 'real' German dinner. Oh my goodness!!!!! It was in a little German town with an interesting history. This was our last night in Texas and I was wanting one more day for more of the wonderful food we had in this short week. And of course to visit with my brother and SIL!

This little dog was my mother's and this was what I did a lot of. She is the sweetest little girl and was the best companion to my mom. Notice I got a picture of her.....

The travel mug is what I painted for my brother. He likes to fish.

While in Texas we went to Hobby Lobby!!!!! Love that place. I got the drawer pulls and thought they would be cool to use on my Family picture wall. I think a small picture hung with black ribbon would look good on one of them. I love the way it looks. May have to get some to spell Ball to put on the other end of the hallway. Maybe not, it might be too much??

This is my first glass fusing piece I did at the new craft center. I will be doing more work in glass, something about it makes me happy.

Thats all folks!

Little of This-Little of That

2011-04-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

There is a new craft shop in town! It is Craft Castle!! We have been needing a place like this and I will probably be spending way too much time there. They have it set up where you can just drop in and paint whenever you want. I love it! You pay a small studio fee of $8 and that covers your paint and the time, however long, to paint your item. They are also going to have classes in glass work. I am so there. We were even served coffee! Anyway, the following projects are my first two projects. The coffee mug is not great; I didn't have a plan. But, it was fun to do. I'm happier with the bowl. I had a bit of a plan. Now it is time to try something and really be serious about it.

The Santa in the next picture is a project that I am too ashamed to say how long it has been sitting, waiting to be finished. So, I won't. The last two days of doing nothing but painting, has resulted in the top finally being completed! The base it fits on will only take another day to complete and then what shall I do? Maybe the sewing project that has been sitting for, lets see, a month?

This little critter spend a day trying to tear my hanging basket apart to use for her nest. She was fun to watch and since I hadn't put new flowers in it yet, I didn't mind. She and her mate have built a nest in the same bush for the last 3 years or so. I can watch mom and dad feed the baby's from inside my sun room.

I had posted a picture of my first Blue Bird of the season in an earlier post; the next day he brought his lady with him for a drink at the fountain.

That's all I've been doing...........

My Daughter is Published

2011-04-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

Check out her blog to see the exciting news!

Birds & Words Plus Easy Craft

2011-03-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

A few posts back I talked about time. One of the main points was my wasting of time. Or at least that's what was in my mind. The subject was brought to my mind by a lesson I had heard and since I had been thinking about my time wasting problem, it hit home. Well, recently another statement was made during a lesson by the same person. Very simply, "What you spent your time doing, is what you want to do!" So, that makes me look at what I DO spent my time doing. Am I liking what I am doing? If not, why? Just something else for me to consider.

P.S. I don't know if this applies to the time we spend working to make a living. But, it would be great if our work was something we wanted to spend our time doing. Just saying.

Another statement I heard that really made me stop and think is, "Most of your life will be defined by spontaneous responses and reactions." I had to rethink this one often, still am. I think back though the past at the times when it would have been better had I responded instead of reacting. I think a response usually means there has been some 'thinking' done before the mouth opens....whereas, a reaction is usually full of emotions, hurt feelings, so forth. I wonder how many people whose feelings I have hurt or given the wrong impression when I didn't have that intention in my heart. This can be applied in the work world, school world, friends and family world. I definitely should have considered this while still working, it could have come in soooo handy. It makes me consider that other people do this too, not meaning to, we are all human, so I shouldn't react to their reactions. Could this be a circle? Anyway, that is another look into my mind ramblings. I can't wait to hear another, what I consider profound, statement.

Okay, here are some pictures to finish this blog.

I saw my first blue bird of the year yesterday. He was taking a bath in my fountain and was so cute! I love him! My font just went crazy on me.

I made somemore of the coasters. I like to have them around to give as thank you gifts.

I like how they look in one of my wrapped bowls.

Recently I learned how to do these. They are just fun to make. An old craft; new for me to do.

Bye Bye....

Fun Fund Raising Evening

2011-02-21T12:44:00.000-08:00

I have never been to a silent auction or live auction or for that matter, a fund raiser. This past weekend I was happy to be going to my first and to actually be participating in it. Also joining me from afar, were my two daughters and a grand daughter. Thanks to Sherie and Corinnea and Jessica for their support and for the amazing creations that they donated. Over $15,000 was raised to fund the adoption of two little ones into a safe, loving home. Oh yea, that evening was amazing! There were 3 auctioneers and they were funny! They kept the bidding going and a couple of times ~~harassed~~ persuaded people to bid on an item. It was held in the beautiful setting of a golf country club. The dinner prepared by the country club was delightfully yummy. The desserts were furnished by some ladies that created their favorite desserts for the event. The food, teas/coffee and desserts where perfect. I must insert here that this was the first fund raiser for the non-profit Sacred Selections to be held in this area and the success of it was amazing.

The pictures are for those that did not get to come, to be able to see what it was like. I adjusted a couple of the pictures, in case you happen to notice some blurred spots.

The painting I did for this event is in this bottom picture. Can you see it?

The following picture is showing the quilt made by Corinnea and the baby wrap made by Sherie. The quilt went to a Grammy and the baby wrap to a young couple that are excepting their 3rd baby.

This is a picture of the Growth Folio's that Jessica designs and makes. They were both bought by mommies, of course!

The above picture and the one below is of a purse (the brown printed one) and 3 'green' shopping bag-key fob clutches that Corinnea created. Three young girls set their eyes on the clutches and they were going to have them and 'no one' was about to over bid them...

I guess I was a ~~bit~~ a lot like the 3 young girls. The coffee basket below was my one item I put a bid on and after a couple of people out bid me, I had to let them know that they should not do that. Yes, its in my kitchen. I did have to promise someone a cup of coffee.

Eight of us went in together to bid on a private tour, of 'behind the scenes' of Hearst Castle. We have 'connections'!!! I am really looking forward to that trip.

It was a very fun evening, to say the least; lots of laughing, some tears when listening to the stories about the babies and wonderful people to spent time with.

This picture is just my token craft picture. I finished this a couple of weeks ago. It was an experiment in the colors and I'm not sure I like it......

People, Places & Things

2011-02-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

We remember many things about people that we love and have had to say good-bye to. Each person has their own traits, talents, habits, likes and dislikes. But, we all have something that stands out in our personalities that people remember the most. Besides loving to laugh and tease, my mom was known for her cooking. Good ole Southern cooking with lots of bacon grease and sugar and eggs. She could whip up a pie or cobble without thinking about it. And her pie crusts, best ever. My daughters Corinnea and Sherie got her talent for cooking. They were blessed to have spend many times with her in the kitchen as she cooked. As I was trying to think of something creative and meaningful to get them for Christmas, the thought came to me of my mom's old cookbook and recipes that I had. So, I created for them both (only got a picture of one of them) a picture using some of her actual recipes. I also made copies of some of the art work from her old cookbook to add to the 30's - 50's look. I think they liked them very much! Two days before I had to say good-bye to my mom, I made a promise to her.........this was a project to work on that promise. It was good for me to do and I think for them also.

The pictures are'nt great because of the reflection. But, you get the idea.

Sometimes people come into your life for a short time, but in that time can make an impact on you. One such young lady did that. She has a gentle, kind spirit and never made me feel that there was a large age difference between us. AND, just so happens she is an amazing quilter and seamstress. I was blessed to have been able to spend time with her doing crafts. She was the young woman that taught me how to make the adorable and fun coasters. I blogged about them in an earlier post. Anyway, the time came for her and her husband to move on. I think of what I (and others) would have missed if his work had not brought them here for a short time; the great example of her gentleness and I do not exaggerate that fact. To send her off with something to remember the crafting days she, I and some other friends had, I made a wrapped bowl for her. I told her she can hide it in a cupboard, but she said that it would be used in her sewing room.

After many ~~months~~ years of trying to decide what to put up at my living room window, I finally did it!!! Change is good! Between both my daughters ideals and their window dressings, this is what I came up with. Now I wonder WHY OH WHY didn't I do this sooner. The look is so much better, cozier, prettier; guess you could say I love it......

Picture the big, wooded blinds with a window scarf above it and you will understand why I am loving this change so much. Change change change.....isn't there a song!!

I spent a weekend with some very dear friends at Bodega Bay. The weather was perfect, it wasn't crowded. Kites were flying, seals and birds were swimming, good food was cooking, games were being played. The trip was for fun, to be with friends. It was also for a good bye to a gentle man. It was good to be together and to share memories .

Had to do one token sunset however uncolorful it turned out to be.

I love it when the unexpected gift is presented to me. Another very special friend asked me if I would like a sewing cabinet she didn't need.....Would I??????? Oh yes, I would. So, gone is the shaky ~~sewing table~~ card table and in it's place is a for real sewing cabinet WITH STORAGE!!! Guess what I have been playing with for the last two days! I now have more room for my sewing corner of the sun room. The sewing and crafts seem to be taking over the sun room....

Are three pictures too many to post of my sewing corner????? I think not.

Now, the next three pictures are of a 'Tea Party Hat' I created. Yep, going to a tea party and there is a prize for the best hat....I want the prize, don't think I will win it because there are so many talented ladies that I will be up against. But hoping that an Easter bunny tea hat will at least get some awwwww's, how cute! Hmmmm, we will see!

I loved the baby chickies, had to have them...

Time wasting rambleings!!!!

2011-01-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

Lately it seems that my mind wanders a lot. At times it wanders too much and I lose it. I have determined that this year I will be more organized and it would help if the brain would co-operate. I don't do New Years resolutions anymore, since I never followed through I decided it was a waste of brain time. But, I do use the beginning of a new year to re-evaluate!   It is a good excuse to clean out closets and cupboards and garages. It is also a good time to 'clean out' bad habits like wasting time, procrastinating, not exercising, putting off what you can do tomorrow; you get the idea. I reconsider what 'good' I have done in the past year and I come up lacking, I fear. There is so much more that I could have/should have done.   I have had conversations with my darling daughters about needing to get my life on more of a schedule.   It is time to do it!!! Enough of the talking about it.   So, with my car filled with things to take to hospice, a beginning on cleaning out the garage, working on the exercising and meeting a friend that needed help; I'm on my way to improvement.....

Recently I heard an amazing lesson on TIME, of all things! I needed to hear all the ways that time affects us. I often hear the statement, "I don't have time." I say it all the time. But, there are some people that do
SO much with their 24 hour day and I wonder why I get so little done. I know people that have time to help others and I wonder why I don't have the time to do more. Everyone makes a mark on the world they live in; good or bad or indifferent. Sometimes we forget that we are not invisible and that we do/can make a difference. That is my opinion. I may be having a day that I feel invisible and something will be said or happen to wake me up to the fact that I am not invisible, I can make a change, however small.

A very silly example of making a change, however small and unimportant, happened while taking a early morning 'stroll' in the fog.   I was definitely invisible that morning; no one was out. The world was very quiet and still. I was almost home (2 mile walk, woo hoo). I started hearing voices, no, not in my head, they were real people. Because of the rolling hills and curvey roads the sound of people talking echos and you can hear them even when they are far away. So, I am listening to them, two couples plus dog, talking about having a big, unhealthy breakfast and laughting and generally enjoying their walk. It was fun to listen to and made me smile and I felt a part of their conversation. By the time they finally had caught up with me (yes, to pass me by) I was joining in their talk and told them they where making me hungry, that I hadn't had my breakfast fresh-fruit smoothie yet. Well, then their conversation turned totally into talking about smoothies and who made the best ones, what kind they liked, their favorite fruits, how healthy they were and so forth. So, as they are widening the distance between us and going up another street I hear the conversation that 'I' started. I wonder what they would have talked about had I not spoken up?

I know this is a very strange example of affecting people or changing someone's day; it is so unimportant of a example. However; what can be done if I help someone in some small way? Bet it would help me more than the other person. Get my mind in order instead of wandering, making better use of my time, and at the end of the day feeling like it was not a wasted day. Maybe remembering there is a cause and effect would make me do better about scheduling my time, help me to be more organize.

I don't know if any of this makes ANY sense or not. I do think I think too much about nothing and waste my time in doing so!   I apolize for taking so much of YOUR time and wasting it. Now, go and do something meaningful.... and pick carefully what you are going to waste your time on!

Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time!!!

Filoli - Fight For a Just Cause, Love Your Fellow Man, Live a Good Life

2010-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

For years I have been wanting to go see a house I had been told about. I had a clipping on my bulletin board for years. I guess I had actually given up on going to see it and put it out of my mind. WELL!!!!! My sister, Rhonda, planned a secret, Christmas, day trip as a gift for Sherie and I. Last year she took us, along with my youngest grand daughter to San Francisco to see the King Tut exhibit. But, I digress..........Anyway, we start on this secret outing with a stop in Vacaville for breakfast and the conversation turned into a guessing game of "where are we going?" Are we going to S.F.? Kinda! Are we going over the Bay Bridge? Yes! But, not into the City? No, not really. Then it hit me that she was taking us to Filoli. I had forgotten that Filoli had a special Winter program for just a few days in December. What I didn't know was it also included dinner and a HUGE and I mean HUGE shopping experience in the mansion itself. I'm still smiling about this day. When we got to the historical site it was too early for our reservation so we thought a quick trip to Half Moon Bay would be fun and it was. The little town is quaint and right on the ocean. We even stopped at a gift shop/nursery and got started on the shopping thing. And, we got to even look at the ocean for awhile.

Just a side-line. On the way to Filoli (about a 2 1/2 hour or maybe 3 drive), Sherie sat in the back seat of the truck knitting. Just a note here- she was inbetween two children's car seats snd couldn't get out without us opening the door and letting her out, we had her captive. After about 2 hours of listening to Rhonda and I stepping (or maybe I should say jumping) from one soap box to another, she started cracking up laughing and said we needed to get our own radio talk show. One where we did all the talking and if anyone called in and disagreed with us we would hang up on them. I don't think there is a market for that but we did entertain Sherie.

Okay, on with the many pictures............

This is a brief story about Filoli, hope you can enlarge it and read it.

Just some pic's of the ocean, it was so calm that day, no wind blowing and the temp was very cool.

This is a tree that was growing on the road to the ocean.
We all thought it was very interesting,

This next picture is of the little info shack on the very long driveway to the house.

These trees were all over the gounds, some had bird houses hanging from them. Most of the trees had moss hanging from them. It really created a beautiful scene.

The front of the house, while we still had light. We were actually not suppose to be walking around yet, it wasn't our time. We also color out of the lines too.

The next few pictures where in the vistor's center. It was decorated so beautifully. Now, SOME say the carolers are creepy, I don't know that we even really looked that close at them. We were just having fun looking at all the decorations. And we also kinda took over the picture taking area.

The window has a garland with toy trucks on it, we thought that was very cool. If you look through the window, on the left side you can see the room with glass windows where they served dinner.

The garland and wreaths were amazing. I took alot of pictures of those.

This is still in the Vistor's Center

Oh,I forgot, we went back outside to play and take pictures.

Thought my sister would like a ride in a little red wagon. Sorry you can't see it better.

Back inside to see the wreaths and get ready for dinner.

These were all around the dining room, it was dark by this time and it was gorgeous inside the glass room having dinner.

We are done with dinner and now on our way to the mansion.

Just one more wreath to take a picture of.

There is an olive garden surrounding the house. There are lights all through it.

Walking up to the house.

By the front door.

Small fireplace.

Each of the 12 or 13 rooms, I loss count, had a different theme. With lots of pretties to buy. This one was made up as a candy store.

The dining room. There was a grand piano in the corner being played, very elegant,

There were two rooms plus for he kitchen. I would have loved to take pictures of the many stoves and ovens and kitchen things. I did get this one of the kitchen safe.

This is a little court yard we passed through to get to the carriage house where you paid for your purchases. Then it was time to leave......

Catch-Up Post

2010-11-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

This post was to be mainly about Thanksgiving Day Dinner, complete with lots of pictures. Something happened and the pictures got deleted. All of them. We won't talk about how that happened. They were very fun pictures; imagine one of us playing Scrabble, one of the new puppy sleeping under the table, lots of the new puppy playing with us while we were playing Scrabble, a couple of Sherie checking the delicious turkey.....yep, they were good, but no one will ever see them! Tis a shame.

So, we have here an odd assortment of pictures. The first one is a painting I did for myself and I have hanging in my living room. TaDa!

The earrings are what I made Sherie for her birthday. My attempt at Chain Maille jewelry. This is a basic pattern for my first pair. I'm still practicing on different patterns and will see if I can do more.

Sherie and I have Birthdays very close together and we like to take a drive to Tahoe when the trees are changing colors for our Birthday outing. We found a darling place on a wharf to have lunch. It was a search to find it but well worth the endeavor.

The little building is where we ate.

We stayed in one of the cabins here two Christmas' ago. We stopped this time and got a coffee and just sat and enjoyed the beauty.

The following painting is one I was asked to do for a silent auction to be held in February. I hope someone buys it......

The following pictures are of my newest addition to my home. He is Green Man and was created by a friend; Jon with Carolina Carvings in South Carolina. When I saw the first Green Man he was on a beautiful gate and it was soooo cool! Recently Jon created a Green Man that could be hung on the wall for his wife. So, after some emails and pictures of wood, I got the third Green Man. He is made out of solid Rosewood and the color of the wood is dark and rich He has some character flaws, as we all do, but that just makes him more interesting. Right now he is resting on the fireplace mantle but we will be trying different places. I am very happy with him.

THE END

Things That Make Me Smile

2010-10-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

It shouldn't surprise me when nature gives me an expected gift. But, it does. I have always loved nature. The spectacular way it 'shows' up when I need to be reminded that the little things in life are what brings joy into our days. The sky this evening was really weird for awhile; kind of a dirty yellow tint to it because of dry clouds moving over. Then it was like a switch was thrown and the sky was filled with color. I couldn't resist going out to get a look at the sky and when I saw it I just had to take pictures. So, here they are, because their beauty made me love the moment and made me smile. And sometimes thats all I need to be happy. I'm sure I will come back to this blog many times just to look at them and remember how I felt when I saw the sky. There was a plane flying through the scene so I took a close up of it. They must have had a front row seat of the view.

The above picture is the one that had the plane in it.

Within a few minutes the sky turned yet again; into grey clouds. I didn't take pictures of that.

The following picture is just a very very small look at something else that makes me smile almost every morning. Each day I sweep all the bark back into the planting areas and by evening the birds have made a mess again. This picture doesn't do justice to what it usually looks like once they get started! But, I do have to laugh at them cuz they just look so funny and busy kicking the bark all around looking for bugs.

The other close encounters with nature I had this week was, a baby snake in my garage. He was so tiny I could have step on him and squished him. He was really trying to hiss at me. I swept him out of the garage. I hate snakes, but he was little and one of the good kind. Then there was the lizard. I really don't like lizards either, he wanted in the garage too. Then there was a frog in the garage. I like frogs but I want them in the yard........ What is up with the garage??

THE END

A Breath of Fresh Air

2010-09-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

This past week I had the pleasure of staying in one of the most beautiful areas in California & Nevada. Of course that is my opinion. Lake Tahoe is not just one color, but many shades of blues and greens. Not being a professional photographer, I miss the mark big time, in trying to take pictures that remotely show it's beauty. So bear with my feeble attempt at capturing it's full impact. The wild life is abundant, complete with bears. I haven't seen one in the 5 years I've been going there. I plan on that not changing. The chipmunks and squirrels and assorted birds suit me fine!

This week was spent at a lodge with about 100 people, some I've know for a long time and some become new friends. It is a learning time and a playing time. And I don't have to cook or clean up the kitchen. The 3 big meals a day gets walked off a bit. Not enough, but ........

At this same time that we are at one of the lodges, another group of people are close by in another lodge and they always welcome us each year into their world of quilt making. They very kindly gave me permission to take a picture of them. They are so willing to share their beautiful quilts and the assorted projects that they are working on. One lady even allowed me and a friend to help her rearrange some of her pieces. I just knew it would look better with her yellow pieces in the four corners! She seemed to agree, but I didn't go back to see if she changed them back. She was very gracious! Last year I even got a idea for making wrapped bowls from one of the quilters. Quilters are good people!

My attempt at taking 'good' pic's of the lake.

The next picture was in trying to get the many colors of the water.. Not quite successful.

Close up of the sail boat. There is something peaceful to me about sail boats.

On Thursday morning at about 6:45 A.M. I went to get my morning coffee and happened to look out the window to see this incredible moon. I wasn't expecting this and had to go get my camera, forgetting my coffee. A friend said he had read that this was a Harvest Moon and it had been a long time since Tahoe had a Harvest Moon. Don't know it that is true or not, but I liked the idea that it was.

Tried a close-up.

On the same morning, like maybe a hour later, while eating breakfast I thought I saw a blimp. It was too far away to tell and no one else could make it out either. After a few minutes I realized it was a hot air balloon. Now I love hot air balloons, so it was run back to my room for my camera again (yes I should have just kept it with me) and by the time I got back I couldn't see it anymore. Very disappointed........then I happened to see a speck, in a space between tree branches and there it was. Using the close up thingie on my camera I was able to actually get a picture of it. Love my close up thingie.

I took an afternoon, by myself, quiet stroll, with camera in hand. At one of my stop and stares, I noticed that the way the water was moving caused bubbles and I thought it looked so refreshing and peaceful. Hope you can see the bubbles. This is a close up also. It is the little things that make me happy; in this case, moons, hot air balloons and bubbles!

A good swimming area.

I came across this area during my walk and stayed here for a long peaceful time. It would be a great place for a wedding or play. I'm sure that is what it is there for....

These little guys are all over the place and must be really used to us humans in 'their home'. This little one actually walked, well more of a scurry, over to within 2 feet of me and looked at me. I couldn't get a good picture of that since I didn't want to move. But, we had eye contact. He then hopped on this boulder and sat down and looked at me like I was suppose to do something. Can you tell that he is actually sitting on his little bum and holding his tiny hands (paws) together? It was the coolest thing ever.

When he was 'scurrying' toward me, I did for a moment wonder if I should be afraid and then had to giggle, I mean, what could something that tiny do to me!

The next two pictures are taken from a deck at the back of a little store called, "Bear Necessities". The deck has rocking chairs and on this particular afternoon, the store was closed and I had the deck all to myself. I did a whole lot o' rocking and listening to the water and watching the boats and all the critters. Only the lure of food got me off this deck.

And now, back home and to reality. Not sure if I'm ready for that or not. Escaping is good. Think the house cleaning can wait a couple more days. I think crafty sounds much better to do. My friend with whom I shared in this past weeks R & R showed me how to make a necklace out of fancy yarn. Hmmmmm just what I needed, another craft.

Catch-up Post

2010-09-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

When you wait a few months before up-dating a blog, it gets confusing to create an interesting one. There seems to be too many things I want to put on the blog, so, why did I wait so long to up-date? Good question. Anyway, here is an assortment of things I've done and places I've gone to. I hope to do better about up-dating in the future. I do have some new things I am 'wanting' to do, don't know if I will be able to accomplish them or not. Time will tell.

This is a painting that Sherie requested. I like the way it looks in this spot.

The wrap bowl is for a friend as a thank you gift. I do like making these.

I did this painting for my bedroom. I had seen this idea in a store and decided to try it myself, I am very happy with it. The bird is actually the blue bird that is on my header.

I decided to repaint my kitchen wall that I had painted a faux brick a few years ago. I loved the brick look but it was like one day I got up and just had to repaint it. I'm just glad I like the way it turned out. This is before.

Another before.

And ta da......after. I love it!

Another after.

This is something I just kinda played with. It was a new brand of paint I was playing with and I decided I liked it too! It is Golden Heavy paint and with a glass bead gel over it. I do like color in case you were wondering....

I took a beginning glass class and made these flowers. I really expected them to be tacky, but, I
did like how they turned out. Hopefully I will do a few more classes with some pretty projects.

Made this skirt. I hadn't really done any sewing for quite a few years, so this was an easy pattern and I absolutely love it. I want to make one for winter out of a light wool, maybe..

A very sweet young woman, a friend of my daughter Sherie, gave me some knitting markers she had made. I wish I had taken a picture of her package before I opened it. She did a very professional job. Since I'm not a great knitter I decided to make them into a necklace. I did so without changing her markers in any way. So, if I ever get good enough to use them for the markers they were made for, I can.
I did get pictures of the packaging she made, to show.

I made the necklace and just used the markers as a drop. I love the way it turned out. It is jade and silver.

The picture below is of a new project I'm working on, I might succeed and then again I might not. I am enjoying trying.

Last time I was in Germany I saw tumbled glass used in landscaping. After much searching I finally found a company I could order it from. Something you may have guessed about me. I love glass and I love color......

The rest of the pictures are taken on outings or trips.

The following were taken in San Francisco at the Japanese Tea Gardens. This day was a record breaking hot day for San Francisco.....

You can't really appreciate how tall this bridge is from this picture. Just notice Sherie is walking sideways and holding on.

And she made me go up too.

This is on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge looking back across to San Francisco.

The following pictures were taken in Monterey and Carmel on a visit to see my granddaughter Corrie.

I wonder if the seal get to actually ride in the boats.......

It was one of those beautiful Monterey days.

I got to stay in the big yellow B & B years ago.

Corrie and I went to our favorite cheese shop in Carmel and got cheese and crackers and ate on the patio. Because we (I) was silly enough to wear the cheese hat; our picture will be on their website (so they said).

Corinnea this dog reminded me of Brink....

Can't have a beach without at least one kite.

These were two dragon kites. They were very cool in the way they moved.

Carmel Beach.

Monterey Greek Festival

I want the huge jar and pillar

Our token pictures.

Silomar Beach.

Marina State Beach.....

Surfing USA

GOOD BYE!!!!!

Birds and Blooms + critter

2010-04-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

This is a warning........if you do not like pictures of critters and flowers, stop here and retreat! If you are curious, continue. Most of the critter pictures were taken from inside my sunroom, through glass and screen. For some reason the birds and squirrels will not sit still for me to go outside to get better pictures of them. I don't know why, it is a mystery. Anyway, you will probably think I have nothing better to do, but, I do! I just get distracted easily. And I do love the outside drama that these critters provide.
This first picture is not great, but there is a good reason it is here. You really have to look close at the top of the fence. I've never seen this little one before. He is tiny and at first I thought maybe I had a Painted Bunting, but I don't know. It looks like a Bluebird. The second picture is a bit clearer. He only stayed for a second and has not been back.
I tried to enlarge it so I could see it better....

Flowers

More flowers. These are really a beautiful color, doesn't show up well here. Okay, it's really my pictures taking! Too much sun, too little sun!

I got so excited thinking I was going to have grandbaby birds, but, no, they were just checking it out...

Now, this little guy comes around pretty often. He is so pretty and I like him.

I like him alot....

Really!

And here is my prize bird, a for real Birdbird. He doesn't come around much at all. There is usually a couple of them. This picture was taken through my kitchen window, no screen so it came out really well. His tummy is more red than it shows in the picture and when he flies, the blue on his wings almost glitter. I really really love him.....

The Blue Jay comes to eat too. He is loud but he is welcome.

This bird is a new one to my yard. He started coming around about 3 weeks ago. I think he is a Black Headed Grosbeak. There are a couple of them, maybe more, it is hard to get them to sit still long enough for me to check them out. I try!

I thought you needed to see more of him.

Just in case you didn't see him the first time...

Last one, I promise.

I took the next three of the front of my house (in case you couldn't figure that out) it was a beautiful day, the sky so blue and clouds so white.

And just a few more flowers.

Sorry, I didn't realize I had downloaded so many.....well, okay I did, I'm just saying I didn't.

Isn't he cute!!!! He thinks he is a bird...

He use's my fence as his freeway to the oak trees across the road.

Okay, we are coming to the end. This is a hummer.

The birds have their own fountain to play in, but they like to sneak over to this one to play in. Can you see the bird on the top?

How about this picture? He is on the side.

This one is better. He's "sitting on top of the world..just singing a song".....Sorry for you youngin's that is from an 'old' song.

Here is one of the little bitty ones.

Okay, thats it folks.........................Aren't you glad!?!?!

Rain day? Just Play!

2010-04-20T18:08:00.001-07:00

Today Sherie was coming over so I could help her take new pictures of her creation, Rebel Fish, for her Etsy shop. He has someone interested in him and Sherie wanted him to look his best. The plan was for a coffee break and photo session. When I opened my front door, she stood there with Rebel Fish, camera, a shopping bag and chocolate cake. My kind of visitor! We got the photo session out of the way and worked on the cake and coffee. Then, da da da da! she brings out of the bag, two, beautiful charm packs by Moda. One design is Cherish Nature and the other, A Breath of Avignon. For you see, yesterday we had been shown a fun project to make, thank you Charlotte!

A little background: a friend and I have started a crafting group. Once a month (or more for some of us) we get together and share creative ideas. The group consists of quilters, painters, knitters, jewelry makers and just sewing in general. Yesterday we were shown how to make really pretty coasters. Now, I'm not into the cutesy, country coaster set thingies. Neither is Sherie. However, these are really cool, of course the pattern of the material helps. Plus, they are SO easy to make. Although, I did manage to make 2 mistakes that caused some ripping out and starting over. I do have, really pretty crystal coasters in my living room, so, do I need more coasters? Yes, I do, I need ones that will wick up the moisture from the glasses instead of causing the glass coaster to stick to the bottom of the glass or the bottom of the glass is wet when you pick it up, causing drips on the floor or you! Besides, truth be known, we just wanted to make some, they are pretty!

So, here is my and Sherie's attempt at showing how to do these. Sherie took the pictures as I worked (sorry for the poor hand model, Sherie's hands would have been better).

This is some of the Cherish Nature spread out for you to see. We forgot to take a picture of the A Breath of Avignon spread around.

First you pick out the piece you want for the back and then four other pieces for the front.

You fold the four pieces and weave them on top of the bottom..... That sounds weird...

After you decide the way you want it to be, press all the pieces. You will notice that all the raw edges are along the outside. If you forget you will be ripping and redoing, yep, that's what I did!

Press, press.

Pin the four sections for the top that you have ironed, to the bottom one.

You will then just sew all around the outer edge, that is all the sewing you do. That's why I like this project....

Trim the corners. I can do that too!

Now you just start turning it inside out, or is it outside in???

Keep turning..

More turning!

All you do now is press it!

Isn't that pretty?!?!?!

Here is a picture of the two different material patterns. The two groups that just have 3 coasters are mine, cuz I was busy ripping and redoing. That leaves the two groups of 4....being Sherie's. She did not have to rip and redo....

We should have also taken a picture of the backside of these, they are just as pretty as the front.

We hope you enjoyed joining us on this creative journey! Next time I think Sherie should do the writing and I the picture taking. Since we were in my home, she thought I should be the one to do this, not necessarily so!

My New Painting - It's mine!

2010-04-09T09:08:00.001-07:00

This is my newest painting. I'm going to keep it. It makes me happy when I look at it for some reason. I think it is all the colors. Just by chance I created a painting that has four leaf clovers on it. You can check those out on the last picture, it is a close up of the green circle.......Can you see them? Use your imagination...look closely at the green circle. I had to place the Swarovski crystals in-between dots and wa la, four leaf clovers! Keep looking, hopefully you will see them, or is it just my weirdness that sees them?!?!?

Here is a close up of the red circle so you can see the dark wine colors. Didn't want you to think they were black, since they don't show up well in the pictures.

Okay, this is the close up of the green circle...........................

AND......ta da!!!!!!!! This is it on my wall. Only problem now, I think I need a bigger picture for this spot. Hmmmmmmm, back to my crafting corner of my sun room..................

New Post

2010-03-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Got up this morning to a Spring storm. I'm okay with that because I'm not having to start watering my yard yet. Made my way into the kitchen (it's a very short walk) to start the coffee. My habit is to peek out at the birds first thing, to see them flitting around, it just makes me smile. They are at the feeder or bathing in the fountain, I saw a flash of gray, something large. It was a very pretty cat, jumping to catch a bird. I love cats, I love birds, it is a mixed bag of emotions. She didn't get the bird and I proceeded to chase her away. She was not happy, she repaid me by literally crawling on top of one of my plants and lowering her little tush to 'water' the plant, that showed me!!!!!!!!! She reminded of the sassy cat in Lady and The Tramp. Gotta love the critters.

I recently did another painting using colors suggested to me by a young friend. I did have a bit of a time with the brown and blues, although I do love that color combination, I have that color theme my guest room. But, I'm glad I tried it! I like the way it turned out and the young lady is actually buying it to hang in her home. That is so cool!!!!! I just hope she is not disappointed in the way it looks in her home.

The next pictures are just some of the early color in my backyard. I am in the process of planting around the fountain that I had installed back in October. I have some strange ideas for it, just hope it turns out good and not too weird looking. I will post pictures of it when done.

The next two pictures are of my amazing jacket and the lavender shopping bag Corinnea made me. "We" had our first shopping day and we were styling......the red bag is one I got in Germany. I did feel more important than the other people that were shopping. I don't know if they knew I was more important, but I didn't care, I knew I was more important!!! My dinner was especially good that night, rightly fitting for a important person. I know, I'm weird!!!

Next two pictures are me wearing my amazing jacket. I love everything about it and have gotten so many complements on it. I actually feel very sassy in it. I am sooooooo blessed to have two amazing daughters that are talented is so many ways. Have I said amazing enough????

Okay, here are a couple of scarfs I've made. Yes, the blue one is upside down....it adds interest to a potentially boring post, so just go with it!!!!!

I love the way this white one turned out. My knitting expert daughter, Sherie, could tell you what kind of yarn this is, I don't remember. I do good just getting something knitted. It is a 'spendy' yarn, but worth the look. The cool thing about it is that it hides the mistakes. I took it apart and started over at least 3 times and finally just 'went with it', mistakes and all.

I'm working on another painting, one for my living room. Hope to have it done soon and will post it.

More Dot Paintings

2010-01-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

The first picture is of the painting I did for Sherie, for Christmas, and I forgot to take a picture of it. I need to find out how to get the crystals to show up better in a picture, but you get the ideal.

The following pictures are of a painting I did for Roya, for Christmas, and actually just finished it. A bit late I am!!!!! I took shots from different angles in trying to catch a crystal sparkling. Also practiced on taking a close up. I think I need a class in picture taking!!!

Stuff and Holiday Stuff'

2010-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Beach and Carmel pictures were taken on Friday..........As usual, my pictures are not lined up the way I wanted them. The above picture is of the coast at Pacific Grove. Sherie, Corrie and I did some exploring on the day after Corrie presented her Capstone at CSUMB. The little gate in the picture below is in Carmel. The day was perfect for walking through the little village of Carmel and into many of the shops. The gate in the picture below was at one of the houses we passed. I want the gate!

I'm standing in front of the little cheese shop in Carmel; we bought cheese, salami, mustard and cookies and ate our lunch in the patio area of the little shops. And it was good!

On our walk down to the beach at Carmel, we came across this interesting guitar man with rabbit on head!!! The rabbit kept jumping up and down from his head.

Here is a couple shots of the ocean, there were surfers out there, but didn't get them in the pictures.

The following pictures are taken on Thursday.....The first one was at Hogs Breath Inn; we sat there for awhile before we went to Little Napoli for dinner.

After dinner we walked around looking at the Christmas decorations. I thought the window in the picture below was so glittery and pretty.

The next picture is of the middle of the main street in Carmel, it was decorated all the way down to the ocean.

There is a little park on the main street and we thought running and playing in it late at night was the smart thing to do! Not showing the other pictures of us acting like kids!

A better picture of the big tree...

Okay, the next pictures are of Corrie's presentation and us being proud!!!! These were taken earlier in the day on Thursday.

She did an amazing job on her presentation!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now the Christmas gift pictures. Sherie and I have on some of our lovely gifts that Corinnea made us. I love my apron dress! She loves her coat!

These are a pair of slippers Sherie knitted and felted. I love them!

The two baskets are what I did for some Christmas gifts. This one is Roya's.

This one is Sherie's. I thought I had taken a picture of Corinnea's and Jessica's, but no, didn't!

The following items are some I did; I don't have a picture yet of the one I did for Sherie, that will follow on next post.

First one was for my sister.

Second one was Corinnea's.

The third one was for Jessica.

That's it folks!!!!!

Winter fun at my house.

2009-12-12T17:52:00.001-08:00

It snowed here last Monday. The pictures I took of that morning and first day, for some reason are just on my Facebook and not in my picture file, but I can tell you it was amazingly beautiful and fun to have. The snow lasted until Friday when it started to rain. It was melting very slowly because it was soooo cold. The first 4 pictures in this post were taken on Tuesday and the rest were taken on Wednesday.

See the little bird on the bush? They were all out playing in the snow!

I thougth the picture of my covered deck made an interesting pattern.

You can see a little of the driveway and that it still has snow on it.

This & That - probably not that interesting!

2009-11-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

Well since I can't post pictures of what I've been creating for Christmas; I will show you a few pictures of what is going on around my home.

The first three pictures are of Lake Tahoe taken this past September. I spent a week there with lots of rest and visiting with friends.

This little bird flew into the window and was really knocked koo koo. I took it inside and warmed him up for a bit, until his eyes quit spinning, they really did look that way.. he is back doing his usual thing of chasing off the other birds whenever he can. He does seem to have a knot on his head now!

And then there is the squirrel that likes the bird seed. I put up a special feeder for him with a corn cob in it and he will run past it to the bird feeder. Go figure! The pictures where taken from inside my sunroom through the screen, so they are not real clear.

I hung this seed sock up and within 24 hours they had it empty! They fought, yelled (as in loud chirping)and in general were very entertaining.

I haven't refilled the sock yet, I will, but I don't think I can afford to keep it filled all the time.

This is a picture of another work-in-progess. I seem to have a lot of WIP at my home. I had a pond/waterfall taken out and filled in and replaced with this fountain. I still have alot of rocks to relocate and I am thinking that a couple of Italian Cypress would look good along the fence line behind it and plants around it. I will bore you with finished pictures when it gets all done, probably next Spring! I am totally happy with this do-over.

I started putting out some Christmas decorations early, doing a little at a time. Here are some pictures of them so far. My decorating is kinda sparse and simple. I will hopefully get a tree this weekend and get the rest of the decorating done.

My mantle in the living room.

My Santa area! I love the Santas that don't look like the typical red suit Santa.

My little gourd Christmas penguins and I actually did paint these a few years ago!

Last year after Christmas, I saw all these woodland creatures on sale and just had to buy them. I couldn't think of what to do with them this season. I decide they belonged in the sunroom where they would be close to the outside creatures!

Okay, thats it for now. I hope when I hit post, the pictures and comments are where they are suppose to be!

Decorated Outdoor Room

2009-09-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

I think I'm done with the decorating of my covered deck. That doesn't mean I won't be adding, changing or redoing it as time goes by. I am so enjoying this new space. Early morning is peaceful and with so many birds in my yard, it is a fun show too. Late afternoon is relaxing with a cup of coffee. The evening is festive once the solar lights around the top comes on and the battery powered candles come on, along with the other solar lights in the yard. I'm am so into those solar lights. You can put them anywhere with ease.

This first picture is taken from inside my sun room looking out and with the Ikea (love Ikea) curtains loose. I love the way they billow. Reminds me of the song, "the answer is blowing in the wind", with my answer being, yes I love it!!!

This picture is from the other side.

The other pictures are just from different angles..

My cat would really like to roam outside and I won't let her.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my fun project. I have to dig up another yard project to do now. Quite literally, dig...........which means more plants need to be put in and hopefully a small kitchen garden. Very small kitchen garden! I also need to get the small waterfall back up and running. There is always something. I'm doing some art work but can't post it. It's a secret!!!!!

The latest.

2009-07-25T13:16:00.001-07:00

WARNING.............VERY LONG POST
Read at your own risk.............

This first picture is the before. Don't know if you can tell, but the patio slab is very sloping. I have fought with this for years, trying to come up with an idea, cheaply, to fix it. It should never have been done this way, but, that's beside the point now...... I finally made my decision to have it covered as if it were a deck and add a top. Not that it was the cheapest way to go....as usual. I knew of only one person that would be able to do this and do it RIGHT, like it should have been done in the first place! I hope I don't sound bitter, I'm not, really... Anyway, after years of trying to use it without feeling like I was leaning, which I was, it was time for action.

This is the under-frame for the deck. They were able to shape it to make it level. The difference in the level was about 10" on the left side.

This is the frame for the top. I told my comic carpenter I was going to publish this and he was okay with it......another reason I wanted him and his partner to do this. They also had it done in the amount of time they said they would. No having to hunt them down or check up on them. That was a nice change from some of the work I've had done in the past.

This is the top. They had cut it and stained it at their shop and then assembled it in my yard. I was very happy they did that instead of having stain all over my big patio. They made the top out of redwood, the frame and posts out of pressure treated wood and the deck out of Trex, which I wanted very much...

So now they are ready to put the top on top......

It's a bit heavy and big getting around my odd yard.

Little by little.

Think they got it...

Hummmmmm, now what. Let's see....

The smile says it all.......how do we get it up there!

Who you gonna call? Tayler, my very strong youngest grandson......

They have it figured out.

Okay, one on the saw horse and two to hold.

Don't think it is working....

Well, maybe a little adjustment..

Okay, we got it!!!!

Totally a 3 man project...

Some more adjusting. Oh, yeah, the kid on the crutches, not so much help....but, he wanted to.

Now, focus on the deck.....

It's all done!!!!!!!!!!! Now the fun part, decoration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so weird to step out on it, feels good! And from the inside it shades the sun room and guest bedroom. For some reason when I'm standing on it, it makes me feel like I'm in the mountains, don't know what is up with that, other than I'm just weird......Can't wait to put up some Smith and Hawken lights and a very comfortable lounge chair with a small table for my early morning coffee and create a outdoor curtain for the one side and and and ....whewwwwww. I like it. Thanks for reading my long story.