Proof of Stitching...Really...

Good morning, peeps and peepettes.  Happy Sunday!

DH was nice enough to do early morning Dad chores, so I slept in a bit.  Why?  Well, because I did not go to bed until 11 pm last night!  That will not be as hard to believe as what I have to tell you next...

What was I doing until 11 pm last night?  I WAS STITCHING!! LOL  And, because I led you all to believe that I never stitch, I have a picture.

It is a horrible picture and the colors are really washed out, but it is proof!!  I now have flower urns on both sides and started on the flowers on the right.  I am so bad and constantly find excuses as to why I can't stitch.  But when I finally start again, my first thought is...wow, now I remember why I enjoy this so much! It was a nice evening.  The hot temperatures finally broke and it was a perfect 75 degrees last night. Cool breeze and I had all the windows open.  Wonderful stitching weather.

And how about a moon picture?  This was from Friday night:

Here is a surprise for Vickie from A Stitcher's Story .  I have found your toad's cousin.  In my living room. LOL  Here is a quick picture before I released him into the wild.

I am constantly at my DH to keep the front door closed.  We have a screen door, but when our house was built, somehow they managed to mess up the thresh hold.  There is about a two inch gap between the bottom of the screen door and the thresh hold.  I have found the following in my house:  frogs, alligator lizards, regular lizards, toads, mice, and the worst...a baby opossum.  The scary thing about that opossum, it was in my house for at least 24 hours before I found it.  When I found tiny little paw prints on my printer paper and a surprise gift on the window sill next to an open window, I realized that we were not alone.  It took another evening before I caught sight of him/her...running to hide under the couch.  Since DH left the door open, he was in charge of removal.  

I am off to start my Sunday.  Wishing you all a wonderful day...be kind to one another.

How Hot is Really Hot?

Howdy from the incredibly hot and miserable rancho.

I am hot.  I am old.  I am tired.  Today is the fourth day of temperatures over 100 degrees. I get home and go straight to the chair for a nap.  Thank goodness I have a caretaker for Dad until 3:30 pm.  He is settled when I get home and I can rest until 4:30 pm before my chores start. Did I say I was hot, old, and tired? Add grumpy to that.  We have a swamp cooler, but to be honest, it is not very efficient over 95 degrees.  

Here is the only comfortable place I have to hang out...my truck.  Notice that the AC is at full cool and HI fan:

And why is that?  Well, here is the temperature at 2 pm in the afternoon:

And, this wasn't the highest temperature we had.  As I was driving around doing errands, I hit a patch of 107 degrees at one end of town.  Since I was driving, I chose not to take the picture.  LOL

I've done a teeny, tiny bit of stitching, but not enough to even bother with a picture.  I am staying on track with walking on the treadmill, but as soon as I finish, I hit the water bottle.   It's hard to stay hydrated when it's this hot.

Okay, peeps, nothing else to report.  My brain is sizzled and I am just not able to come up with anything else to chat about.  Take care and be kind to one another.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Howdy from the rancho.  Hope that this week finds all my peeps and peepettes loving life.

All I can say is it is too HOT, HOT, HOT.  I feel like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz.  I'm melting....I'm melting...

But, the truth is in the pictures.

Here is one of my beautiful Brandy roses in the morning...

After a temperature of 106 degrees, this is what it looks like in the afternoon....

It is disappointing.  I can keep the bushes alive, even get them to bloom in this drought (though the rain we got last month helped, a LOT) but I can't stop the wind.  Oh well, we can hope that next year will be better.

One of the things that I have in common with my boys is that I love to go to swap meets.  You never know what you may find!  I collect vintage cotton table cloths.  Not just to have, but to use when we have BBQs out on the patio.  I love the old prints.  I don't care if they have stains, it shows they were loved.  I found these at the Sunday Swap Meet.  The bottom one with the fruit was $10.  It has no tears, no stains, an unusual find.  I asked if they would take less, they said no.  The top one has a few stains, but was only $5. I had $7, so I borrowed $3 from my step son.  I guess the vendor appreciated my happy attitude and my step son's willingness to share...he sold me the extra nice one for $10 and threw in the other for free! Yay for us!

Over at the far end of the swap meet, my step son and I found a jewelry counter with quite a few 1960 pieces.  He picked out (and paid for out of his wallet!) this enameled daisy for my jean jacket. How cute is this!?!? I love it!

At one of the plant stands, we found some African Violets.  Sometimes I can get them to bloom, sometimes not...Since these were only $2 each, I figured that I really didn't have much to loose.  And, they're variegated, hard to find in my neck of the woods.  This vendor propagates their own.  Pretty, pretty, pretty!

Stitching?  LOL  LOL  LOL  Funny.  I stitched for an hour two nights ago, thirty minutes last night. I finished the legs on the dog (?) and 1/3 of a flower urn.  Not exactly speeding along, but it's something.  

I am off to eat dinner, then on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  I'm hanging in there, doing what needs to be done.  Exercise is important.  Sigh.  Have a wonderful week, be kind to one another.

A Story of Kindness

When I chose to venture into blog land, I knew that it was possible to have visits from trolls and other undesirables.  After several years, I have been blessed to have found an amazing world of people that are thoughtful and encouraging.  Taking a trip?  They will help with travel plans and be excited with you. Working on a project?  They will tell you it is beautiful, even if you think it is a hot mess. Post the worst selfies in the world?  They will tell you that you look great.  LOL  I have found nothing but the best people on the internet.

Now, my story of kindness...

A very sweet woman named Vickie, from A Stitcher's Story, was looking for some pink fabric.  I think I have mentioned before that I do not have an attraction to pink.  I have done one pink quilt and only finished it because I did it as a special gift for a cancer survivor.  So when Vickie mentioned that she had miscounted and needed a few more pieces of fabric, I was happy to send my leftovers over to her.  It cleaned out my scraps and gave me room for more of my beloved civil war reproduction fabric.  Win, win!!

Fast forward to the beginning of this week. I got a special key in my post office box.  That means...a big box over in the parcel area!!  I was surprised since I had a couple of things coming from Ebay,but they should be coming in small envelopes, not boxes.

When I saw Vickie's address, I was confused.  I couldn't remember expecting anything from her.  I made it all the way out to the car before I ripped it open.  The first thing I noticed was a little dirt on the inside.  My thought...I just got off work, where in the world had I got dirt on my hands? LOL  As I moved aside the Piggly Wiggly bag (more on that later!)  I realized the reason for the dirt. Vickie had sent me three iris plants from her own garden.  I had mentioned several months ago that her purple iris were gorgeous and if she saw someone in her garden with a shovel, it was just me. I am so happy that there are kind and wonderful people left in the world and somehow I managed to stumble onto them out here in blog land. So, Vickie, thank you, thank you, thank you.  You made my week.

This story would not be complete without pictures...

Our county is plastic bag free, so it's always nice to get an extra plastic bag to use in the small trash cans. But.....this was a Piggly Wiggly Bag!!!  I LOVE Piggly Wiggly.  I could say it over and over and over.  It just sounds so southern.  LOL  Say it slowly....Piggly....Wiggly....We have boring names like Von's, Abertson's, Smart and Final.  But Piggly Wiggly, swoon....

The next layer...

                                                       

  A paper bag, not as exciting as a Piggly Wiggly bag, but okay...and underneath, the prize...

Vickie had packed them so carefully, they were still moist.  At last, their new home...

I will give them time to take root and grow before I move them to one of my bigger pots.  These babies will be getting special treatment!!

As for the Piggly Wiggly bag...I don't think I will be using it to line the trash can anytime soon.  LOL

Have a wonderful weekend and be kind to one another.

Last of Our Summer Fun...

Good evening, peeps and peepettes.

A little sadness here at the rancho tonight.  My stepson is on his way home back to Missouri.  In this world of non-traditional families, you do what you can to build relationships and keep in touch with your loved ones.  When he and his mother lived in California, he was with us every weekend, but now his dad and I are his "summer" family.  We make the best of it.  During the year, we keep in touch by phone and I send cards and goodies every few months.  Perfect?  No, but he knows we love him and that is what is important.

Hubby and I both took Monday off to finish up his visit with a bang.  First, off to his favorite sandwich place.  Luckily, it's mine, too!!  LOL

Then, off to the coast.  He loves the ocean and really misses the cool air with the sounds of gulls.  He doesn't care much for the mess the gulls leave, but you do what you have to do for the view.  The day was perfect...beautiful blue skies, about 65 degrees.  Nice!

Here is a couple of pictures of us having fun.  We have discussed my lack of selfie perfection, so I decided to go with silly!  LOL

A picture of me sunning my tootsies...Bahama Mama polish on my toes, thank you very much.  My stepson thought that was the funniest name he had ever heard.  I was going for exotic...guess I missed the mark. LOL

And here is my view while I was working on my tootsie tan...

This is Morro Rock in Morro Bay, California.  It is sometimes called the "Gibraltar of the Pacific".  It is part of a line of nine volcanic plugs going into the interior. Here's a little info if you're interested.  I live in a beautiful area!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morro_Rock

So I leave you with this thought...hold your loved ones close, tell them that you love them, and be kind to one another.

It's Gonna Be a Great Day and Random Pretties

Good morning from the rancho to all my peeps!  LOL

I SLEPT IN THIS MORNING!  I know, a very small fact in a really big world, but it has been months, and months, and months since I've slept in past 6:30 am.  I got up at 7, yes, only 30 minutes extra, but it felt so good to not wake up to a phone, or to do Dad chores, or feed the dog, or....etc, etc, etc.  I was up until 10 pm last night, hemming work pants, so was hoping to sleep in until 6.  But, hubby was up early, took care of Dad, made coffee (by himself, and did a good job), and stayed in the kitchen so I wouldn't hear any noise.  Isn't funny the little things that make us happy?  It's gonna be a great day!  LOL

To clear up the rumor that I never stitch...started by myself, thank you...here is an update on my farm. I finished the brick work, put in the date, and have added parts of a couple of animals.  Now, I recognize the bird, but I'm not real clear on the other two.  Maybe a dog and a cat?  Hmmm...

There have been remnants of a storm coming through California the past few days.  No rain, but some pretty amazing sunsets.

                              

And my favorite pretty?  Why that would be my baby boy!  LOL  He has been taking a week off between teaching and the start of the next semester by traveling around the east coast states.  I think he hit Ohio, New York, Maine, and is now hanging in Vermont.  Here is a picture of him with the New York skyline. Said he went to Brooklyn and Manhattan.  I asked if he went on the subway. You always hear horror stories about the subway, so I was a little concerned about safety.  He laughed...he said that it seemed to him that the New York subways were cleaner and safer than the Bart in Oakland and he had spent three years riding those!!

So I leave you with a funny I found on Pinterest.  I'm not sure why this hit me as hilarious...must be my very odd sense of humor....LOL  LOL LOL

Have a great weekend, be kind to one another.