Out of Room at the Rancho....

Happy Sunday!!

So....we went from a dog-free home to a full house in two weeks.  LOL  First, hubby was gifted with Daisy.  Very sweet, small Australian Shepard.  I don't think I'm her favorite, but she will lay with me as I am stitching.

Then, late Friday afternoon, I got a call from a friend of a friend.  He is involved with a rottie rescue group up in the Stockton area.  He had heard from the group that a family was looking to place their two year old male, but it had to be by Sunday.  They had been trying to re-home him for a month, but everyone wanted a puppy.  We were off on a quick road trip...

And here is Moses...

He is very sweet, kinda trained.  He knows how to sit, how to wait, he is housebroken.  When you start to pet him, he flops over for a belly rub.  He gets along well with Daisy, so I think this will work. I have to admit, he seems to be a man's dog.  Went right up to my husband, flopped over, and raised all four legs in the air for a good rub.  Guess I'm not going to be anyone's favorite for a while.  LOL But it will be okay.  They both needed a family and we needed dogs to love.  Moses still hasn't reached full size, so I think we're looking at 120 pounds based on the size of his feet and head.  LOL I will be having him neutered as soon as possible...I don't want to add anymore animals to the world. Oh, and Moses is a closet knitter...well, more like a closet un-knitter.  And guess what? He loves natural fibers just as much as me!!  These two skeins of alpaca/merino will never be the same.  Sigh. I think the blue made it through with minimum damage, but Moses was very careful to chew the white into twelve inch lengths.  I think the only thing I can use it for now is...fringe.  LOL   Oh, and he didn't even touch the skein of acrylic that was right next to them on the table.

Next, it is Fair time here in SLO county.  My sweet husband managed to score some tickets to a Garth Brooks concert!!!  He had seen him once, me...never.  Very excited.  Since he picked up four tickets, we took my sister and stepson.  IT WAS AWESOME!!

                                                 

The true stars of the show...Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood...I would definitely see them again if I had a chance.  I always say that his song "I Got Friends in Low Places" is my work theme song....LOL

Here is the update on my stitching.  I'm still planning to be finished by tomorrow!!

My sister and I leave this afternoon for LA.  She has an out-patient procedure tomorrow, so I can stitch while I'm waiting to drive her home!!

Wishing each of you a wonderful week.  Be kind to one another.

Surprise...Here It Is Tuesday...And Here I Am

Happy Tuesday from the rancho.  Life has been moving at the speed of light...I, however, am moving at the speed of tar on a winter's day...  I get up, go to work, come home, make meals, do some stitching, go to bed. Sometimes, I fit a nap in between one or more of my chores.  Actually, I'm fitting a lot of naps in between.

The heat has been HORRIBLE the past two weeks.  Most days are 100 degrees...and that's a cool day. I got in the car last week, it was 115 degrees on my car thermometer. Thank goodness it dropped to 111 degrees as I started down the highway.  Sigh.  I am getting too old for this.

My husband has brought a puppy into the house.  He has wanted an Australian Shepard for years, but never found the right one.  He has a friend that breeds cattle dogs and there was small female leftover after the last litter.  She was supposed to go to a woman that wanted to use her for agility trials, but backed out at the last minute.  Since the puppy was already 14 weeks, she wasn't as popular as the newer litters.  My husband's friend had been by several times since George died and knew that I was having a hard time.  She offered the puppy...but only if I was ready...  Not my breed, but hubby was very excited and I didn't say no.  We've named her Daisy.  She is not George and seems to be more of a family dog than MY dog.  I will take care of her, I will love her, but I don't know if she will ever hold my heart.  But it's okay...she's playful and fuzzy and very smart. Not house trained, but we're working on that.  I've already taught her to sit and wait.

Here is Daisy...yes, she has blue eyes...she will be on the small size, only about 30 pounds when she is full grown.

She lives in the house, but has a kennel out on the patio.  When she is in the house, her favorite trick is to CLIMB into her water dish, spread the water as far as possible, and then flop in the middle of the kitchen floor. She is very, very good at it. Due to the heat, she has a baby pool in her kennel with a few inches of water. She lays in it...and then flops in the dirt.  I see a pattern.  She gets a bath almost every day.  LOL

Since I'm not doing much yard work, I am getting a lot of stitching done.  Here is my progress on the last piece of my class project.  I will be done by the end of July.

The ladies at my table are always trading small gifts.  I decided to get some boxes that are the same shape as the class project.  I've painted them the coral shade (with green brush strokes) that is on the pincushion. Since there are keys and leaves in the stitching, I thought I would tie my boxes into the theme.  I found some small keys, made leaves out of felt, and will put a chocolate truffle in each one as my gift.  I think that they turned out very pretty.  

The one at the top left was my trial box.  Didn't like the color, much too peachy.  Pulled out more paint and found a pinker shade.  Much better.  I had the fabric in my stash and will take some extra with me to the class.  I know that we will use fabric to make one of the bags and I might use mine instead so that my stitcher's box matches my candy box. 

Well, I've run out of time.  Need to finish some Dad chores and head off to bed.  I've still got vacation photos...maybe next post.  I don't want to bore you too much at one time.  LOL

Be kind to one another.

My Week at the Rancho

Good morning and Happy Fourth of July to my American peeps.

It has been very, very quiet at the rancho this past week.  Moto does his best to be the perfect cat, but I'm afraid that my heart still belongs to George.  I know it will get better...but right now there is still something missing.

I've got pictures of my latest stitching.  I've been good and stitched a bit every day.  I know that I need to get all the stitching done before class in September so I am staying very focused.

This will be a pincushion when it is all done.

 Next up was the scissor fob.  Not a great picture, but front and back.

And here is the waxer bag.

I took lots and lots and lots of pictures of my vacation, but I will try to keep from overloading the internet.  SMILE

Of course I stopped at quite a few rest stops...you know how important those are to me.  It seems that states have finally figured out that rest stops can be more than a toilet.  Many I visited now include state information and walking trails.

Colorado rest stop.  Love this trail that goes down to the river.

Wyoming had amazing views that seemed to go forever.

Took a walking trail to the top of a hill in Wyoming and found these native flowers.  There was a bench, so sat down for a few minutes to enjoy the view.

Utah has become one of my favorite states.  The views go forever.

I've got lots of pictures and stories of my visit.  I will share more in my next post.

I am off to do chores.  There is always laundry to do.  I'm not sure what our plans are today, but I definitely need to get some outside work done before the heat hits this afternoon.  

Wishing each of you an amazing day.  Be kind to one another.