Bringing My Peeps Up To Date...

Good evening to my peeps and peepettes...This post contains no important information, but will serve to let all know that I am still here.  LOL

What do they say...the faster I go, the further behind I get?  Yep, that's me!!  I haven't stitched all week.  I exercise on the treadmill, take my shower, and then plop my behind down on the couch and fall into that rabbit hole called "Pinterest". The funny thing is, I only look at a few quilt and craft sites, then I start searching history pins.  I can spend hours going from pin to pin to pin...Why? I don't know.  I've learned lots of stuff, but my project is no further along than last week. Weird how that works out.  LOL

Meanwhile, I am taking a little break from housework this week.  I did quite a bit on Sunday morning, but always have a few things to do during the week.  I'm pretty sure that there's a load of laundry in the dryer, but I didn't put it there and I figure that if I don't look in the dryer, I do not have to claim responsibility for it. LOL  I know that soon or later, it will need to be folded, but I hoping that my husband finds it first.

I spent last Saturday doing a few errands and taking myself out to lunch.  Well, by some miracle, there is a fabric store RIGHT DOWN THE STREET from my favorite sandwich shop. Can you believe that? To be honest, even if I hadn't went to my favorite sandwich place, I still would have stopped at the fabric store. LOL  I found a couple of fabrics in the sale section and found the perfect match at a reduced price.  A total of $32 for a little over 4 yards of fabric.  All 100% cotton quilting fabric.  The blue is a bit unusual, but the blue in the bird perfectly matches the blue in the background of the bottom piece of fabric.  Do I have a project for it?  Absolutely not!  LOL  Who needs a project to purchase fabric?

This morning, I had a change in work schedule and didn't leave my house until 6:30 am (instead of 5 am). This was my prize:

Isn't this a beautiful sunrise?

And so I close with a final picture.  This was the sunset outside my back door a few nights ago:

Be kind to one another.

Updates and Puppy Love

Good afternoon from the rancho!

Little bit of this, little bit of that.  First, I've been keeping up on my stitching.  Not a lot, but I'm hanging in there.  I am pretty sure that I would not win a prize for the world's fastest stitcher.  LOL You will notice a few more letters.

I've mentioned before that my dog thinks that he is a big lap dog. One hundred pounds of big. His favorite part of the day is when chores are finished and I sit on the floor to spend some time with him. He can't wait to get as close as possible.  You will recognize my poor selfie skills.  LOL  It is hard to take pictures and stay out of licking distance at the same time.

My husband always says that I am my dog's favorite human.  It's a nice feeling to be that loved....

And for dear Vickie at A Stitcher's Story, here is the latest picture of my special irises.

I made it really big so you could see two things...on the right, you will see a tiny bit of new growth. YAY! On the left, you will see my new friend...a tree frog!  I promise that I didn't set this up, but tree frogs love moisture, and the only damp areas around my place are in my flower pots.  LOL  

Off to get started on dinner and get in one load of laundry.  I am a party animal.  Be kind to one another.

Pumpkin What?!?

Howdy peeps and peepettes!

There are a few things in this world that will bring me to a complete and happy stop.  Chocolate.  I would prefer a See's truffle over a store brand candy bar, but I am not that picky.  Caramel.  I like the kind of runny stuff, but again, not that picky.  Pumpkins.  I will stop for ANYTHING pumpkin and will try it at least once.  Coffee creamer, scones, cake, muffins, ice cream...I have been known to purchase extra, extra half gallons (well, not really half gallons, they've downsized!) during the holidays to last into Spring. Which brings me to the little gems I found at WalMart today...

I have never seen these,but threw two bags into my cart, just in case!!  I did hold back until I got to the car.  I refuse to be one of those grocery grazers that snack through the store and then pay for an empty bag.  LOL  So I slowly open the package, popped one in my mouth.  Hmmm...nice chocolate flavor, perfect amount of caramel, and just a hint of pumpkin spice.  I can see me picking up a few more bags this season!  LOL  We all know that chocolate freezes very well!

Here is an update on my stitching.  It is amazing what you can get done when you actually take the time to STITCH!  

I spent the morning watering and re-potting house plants.  I had a couple of orchids that were overdue and a few regular plants that were looking pretty sad.  I had picked up some orchid bark last weekend, but as usual, took a nap instead of following through on my plans.  I'm hoping that the new soil/bark will give them a lift.  

Nothing else going on...trying to decide what to have for dinner.  It is back up into the high 90's, just too hot to cook.  Maybe salads?  I put together some sourdough starter today.  I figure that I should get back to baking some of my own bread.  I love soups and rolls.  It's too hot for soup, but it's been a while since I've made bread, so I need to get some practice in before the winter closes in.

I leave you all with happy thoughts.  Have a wonderful weekend, be kind to one another.

Keep That Stitching Rolling...

Happy Saturday morning, peeps and peepettes!

I cannot even begin to describe how incredibly miserable the heat has been in our area.  These are the high temperatures from the last four days:  104, 106, 104, 103.  Every night at 9 pm, it is still over 90 degrees with very little breeze, and an extra dash of humidity. I am old and chubby. I do not like nor appreciate this kind of heat.  When I was young and had no cares, I would be out working on my tan in the bright sunshine.  It's a 110 degrees?  You want me to weed the garden?  No problem. Throw on that bikini and head outside.  Now, it's 95 degrees?  You'll find me inside, sitting as close to the swamp cooler I can get without sitting inside of it. I have become a weenie in my old age. LOL

Please sit down...get ready...drum roll...I have a stitching update!!  I have completed both urns with flowers and started on the central motif.   Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep that stitching rolling...RAWHIDE!! LOL

So, I have a "funny" story.  Last week, I went shoe shopping.  I have worn the same make and model of shoe for over 20 years.  They break in on the first day, no blisters and usually last about year.  I went into the shoe store, asked for my favorite shoe.  Now, they have become harder to find and usually need to be ordered.  As I was explaining that I understood, a salesman came over and said that another model had the same foot bed, but the top was updated. Sure, I'll try them on.  Okay, felt good, I'll take a pair.  I was looking at my feet and said to my saleswoman... "You know, if I really don't like them, I only have a year left and won't have to buy another pair anyway".  I looked up and the woman had an absolutely horrified look on her face.  I realized what I had said and hurried to explain. "No, no, I'm not dying, I am retiring in a year and I only wear these shoes at work".  We both had a good laugh, but sometimes I forget and start talking in the middle of my thoughts.  I really need to remember to start at the beginning.  LOL 

California continues to fight the drought and has multiple fires burning.   I think the closest big fire is 200 miles away but we still have a haze.  The fires are bad enough, but the idea of this being an El Nino year, with massive rain storms, we are afraid that California will wash away in mudslides.  The sad thing is, even if we get higher than average rainfall, there is no promise that it will break our drought. It will take several years of storms to fill our aquifers.

So I will leave you all with the wish of a good weekend.  I am off like a herd of turtles to start my day.  Be kind to one another.

What I Haven't Been Doing....

Good morning from the rancho....

I know that everyone has been holding their breath, waiting to hear what I've been up to this past week!  LOL

Well....I have not been vacationing on the coast of France.

I have not been winning hundreds of thousands of dollars at the blackjack tables in Las Vegas.

I have not been climbing Mount Everest.

What I have been doing is a bit of stitching, a bit of sewing, and lots of naps.  LOL

Here is the latest photo of my stitching.  I've finished the second urn and flowers.  I'm only doing 15 to 30 minutes of stitching a night, but it's better than none at all!

Then I pulled out my pinwheels.  The pile on the left are pressed and clipped, the pile on the right are sewn and pressed, but I still need to clip the back so they lay flatter.  And I still have a small pile that needs both! LOL  My next project will be to re-cut all the light colored blocks that go in between the pinwheels.  I already cut all 100 blocks, but since I am math-challenged, they are 1/2 inch too small. Yep, that's what happens when you decide to change the pattern size, but don't think it all the way through. LOL  When I finish this quilt, I will need to take a little peek at my stash and find some way to use those blocks up.

So I was over on Facebook and saw this picture with the title "Do You Remember When..."

It made me laugh, a lot.  Because, THIS is what I remember....

This is not a picture of one of my family members, but it pretty darn close!  The nose, the mustache, this picture looks a lot like my Uncle Renzo and my dad!!  We had a milk cow up to the day that we moved "to town".  I still shake the jug of milk to mix the cream and milk, even though I haven't drank REAL whole milk in 40 years!

I've got today off, so I am planning a little time by myself.  I have a caregiver for Dad, so I am heading out to pick up a new pair of work shoes and stuff for Dad.  Oh, and the fabric store is right down the street from the shoe store....Hmmm, is that a sign?  LOL

I hope that each of you have a wonderful day, be kind to one another.