No More Late Nights for This Lady!

Howdy from the rancho!

The California Mid-State Fair is half over.  Husband and stepson headed into town for visit number four.  Honestly, I did one late night and I am still moving slow two days later...

The Brantley Gilbert concert was wonderful!  He knows how to play to his fans.  I am a country fan that likes a touch of rock thrown in, so his was the perfect concert.  His opening act was Colt Ford. Country, but with a little more rap than I'm used to.  I still like him.  Had a great time with family. Here are some snaps of me, my sister, my husband and stepson, getting ready to start the party!  Not really a party, but we were pretty excited.  I had to get up the next day at 4 am, so soda only for me!   As it was, we didn't get home until 11 pm. I do not function well with only four and half hours of sleep.  LOL

Me and Hubby.  I am so bad at selfies!!  LOL

The fairgrounds is very nice, lots of rock work, a few waterfalls, flowers.  With the drought, they've pulled out a lot of the grass, but it's still pretty.  Here is husband and stepson.  

We did a walk through the buildings.  The home arts building had very little cross stitch, only a few quilts. I was disappointed in the amount of items, but the quality was great.  I will save the pictures of my favorites for the next post.  I enjoyed the flower/plant exhibits, but forgot to take pictures!  Silly me.  

So tonight, it's just me and Dad.  We finished up dinner and I will be shutting down the rancho for the night.  The boys want me to go one more time to the fair, but I don't know...that one night did me in! I remember when I used to go all day, all night, and then start all over the next morning.  LOL  That's not how it works now!!  

Wishing a great week for all, be kind to one another.

Hmmm....Any News?

Well, not really.  LOL  It seems that all I did was plug through the week.  A little stitching, but not much. Here's an update picture.  I've finished the brick and am almost done with the mortar.

The rain helped a lot last week.  I cannot believe how much the grass grew!  My roses look better and my elderberry bushes almost look normal.  Of course, it has been in the high 80's all week, with 90's predicted for next week.  Everything will be back to its withered, dusty state in a couple of weeks. Sigh...

I got one more flower from my gladiola bulbs that I put in last spring.  I think it's called a "star gladiola", but spring was such a long, long time ago, and I have the memory of a hamster, so that could be the name, or not.  LOL

I re-potted one of my succulents and it is doing well this year.  It had died back quite a bit, but I took a pair of scissors to the dry parts (LOL) and then threw the pieces onto the other side of the pot.

Perhaps a bit of unorthodox gardening, but it looks like it worked!

The county fair has been going on since Wednesday.  Husband and stepson have gone twice, but I stayed home to take care of Dad.  I really haven't minded, I've been pretty tired all week and if they go to town, I get to do whatever I want...like go to bed early.  LOL  We've got tickets for a concert on Sunday, and I've got a caregiver for Dad scheduled, so it will be my big night out.

I've been doing all the weekend chores so my husband can spend time with his son.  Tomorrow will be my day to have a girly lunch with a friend.  This is the same friend that I went to the quilt show with last month, so we may take a little side trip to a fabric store.  Not because I NEED any fabric, but I always WANT more fabric.  LOL  I think that if I do all my stash acquisition now, I'll have quite an amount set up for retirement.  I've got this all figured out...and with what I have now, I will only need to live to 125 years old.  LOL

Well, peeps, it's time to finish this up and get Dad and I off to bed.  I hope everyone has an amazing weekend.  Be kind to one another.

T.G.F.T.R.

Scary last night but....

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE RAIN!!!

Tropical Storm Dolores sent a few drops of rain (okay, more than a few!) up the California Coast. We had lightening and thunder, very scary, but I was good with it as long as it came with rain. I have lived all of my life in California and to be honest, we really don't get a lot of lightening. I'm sure there's a scientific explanation, probably the same as why we don't get many tornadoes.  But last night...WOW!

Saturday was a quiet day, spent most of the day cleaning up the rancho as we were having a birthday BBQ for my husband.  Absolutely beautiful in the afternoon.  A light breeze, warm temperatures. Here is a picture of the beginning of the sunset.

And here is George, while he was still happy...he loves company. More pets and scratches than he knows what to do with.  LOL

We were done and in bed by 10 pm.  Heard a tiny bit of rain about midnight.  Around 4 am, started to see little flashes, the booms came about 6 or 8 seconds later.  Okay, not too bad.  The rain got heavier.  I was very excited!!  George was fine, stayed on his bed, barely lifted his head when I got up to check the windows in my dad's room. Suddenly, a HUGE white light filled the bedroom and BOOM!  Not even time to start counting!  At that point, it was strike after strike and the rain was dumping buckets.   He was up and pacing.  The panting started and the poor thing started to drool and couldn't stop.  I felt so bad for him.  I had never seen him this way. We have a fireworks show about 2 miles away during the Fourth of July, but he had always seemed calm.  I stuck my head out the front door and could hear the neighborhood dogs and horses going crazy.  I got my blankie and sat on the living room floor with George, trying to keep him calm. I don't thing he could have sat any closer!

An hour later, the lightening moved farther away...and then, we lost electricity...Keep in mind, that means no water, no cooking, no coffee, and NO internet!  LOL  My husband has a generator out in the barn, but we kept thinking that the power would be back on any minute.  SEVEN HOURS LATER!!! It seems that we were one of 12,000 customers that lost power in our county.  We took a quick trip into town for a bite of breakfast, came home, and then just hung out.  The power came on at the same time that I needed to get Dad's lunch.  A blessing!

We can still hear the thunder, but it's moved beyond the foothills, so life is good.  I went out to check our rain gauge.  A little over 1 1/2 inches in less that 14 hours.  I know, it doesn't seem like much, but so welcome in California!

Here's a picture of the ditch in front of our house.  The culvert was plugged this morning, which sent water over the road, but it happens on wet years so we keep a 20 ft. pipe next to the side of the road that we shove through the culvert to unplug it.  I had to laugh.  At least 10 cars went through the water this morning and not a single person stopped to help.  We've lived on this road since 1985.  It never fails to amazing how "un-neighborly" some people can be when it includes mud and mess.  LOL

So, take care, peeps.  The sun is out, the thunder is gone.  The ground is soaked and my flowers are happy.  It is a good day.  Be kind to one another.

Construction is Complete

Happy Saturday morning, peeps!!  This will come as a huge surprise, but I have been stitching...and I have a picture to prove it!  LOL  I know, I know, this blog is supposed to have cross stitching, but it seems that I am the slowest stitcher in the universe and it has been a loooonnnnngggg time since I could show some headway.  So without further ado...

And at the bottom, I've got almost two rows of bricks in.  I know that it's a long way from a finish, but I am doing the happy dance!!

The heat finally subsided this past week.  I got really, really, REALLY tired of the 100 degree afternoons. My geraniums are loving the cooler weather.  

                          

Here is a planter with a few agave.  Hiding in the corner, I saw a teeny, tiny pine tree.  I don't have pines on my property, but the neighbors have a really big one right over the fence.  I guess it decided to give me a gift.  LOL

I have a wonderful moment to share...

Background...my father has not spoken to me for over six months and has not said my name for a YEAR. Every few weeks I might get a nod, but not much of anything else.  So last Sunday, I was getting Dad ready for lunch.  I am a constant chatterer, if for nothing else, just to fill the silence.  As I was setting up his soup, he looks at me, makes eye contact, and says..."What are you doing, Angela?" For one quick moment, Dad was back.  He didn't say anything else the rest of the day, but it made me wonder how much he really hears, but just can't form the words to talk.  I will take it, no matter how fleeting.  

It will be a quiet day here at the rancho.  Husband and stepson are going on a motorcycle ride, so it will be just me and Dad.  I need to take George to the vet this morning for his shots and annual heart worm test, but then I will be free for the day!!

I've finished my extra, extra creamer with coffee (LOL), so off to the get some morning stuff done.  I hope that each of you have a special weekend filled with love and fun.  Be kind to one another.

Bunny Ears...and A Bunny!

Good morning, peeps!  Super quiet here for the Fourth of July.  Got up early, lots of plans...Did that happen?  Nope.  LOL  LOL  LOL

DH and stepson went to a parade, I stayed home to do Dad stuff.  But, in between, all I did is NAP!! No cleaning, no stitching, nada.  Take care of Dad, take a nap.  Feed Dad lunch, take a nap.  More Dad chores, take a nap.  LOL  But of course, we all know what that means.  Time for bed?  Oh no...I was up until 11 pm.  But, I did get some stitching done.  Yay!  I am hoping to finish the stitching on the house today and I will get a picture.

But, I do have a few pictures to share.  First, here's my Bunny Ear Cactus.  Ears are looking good!

The drought has hit California hard.  I feel so bad for the birds and animals.  They are desperate. They need food and water.  Some of the neighborhoods that are close to the hills in our county have mountain lions coming into the yards, following the deer that are coming in for water!!  My visitor is less lethal.  

This sweet bunny moved in across the street a few months ago.  Since I don't have cats and my dog is the world's worst watch dog, he/she comes over every morning to snack on my lawn.  My lawn is not in good shape, but I am one of the few people on my road that is even trying to keep a bit of green. The pictures are really bad, I had to take them through the window. The bunny is happy to stop by, but is still camera shy.

                    

So I'm off like a herd of turtles.  Since I slept through yesterday, I got stuff to do today!!  LOL  Have a wonderful Sunday, be kind to one another.

Happy Independence Day, America!

Wishing all that celebrate, a fun and safe holiday.

Hot, Hot, and More Hot...

It is 6:45 pm.  The temperature has dropped to 90 degrees.  It is muggy and miserable.  The wind is hot and constant.  I don't mind the heat, as much as the humidity.  We had raindrops this afternoon, but they evaporated as soon as they hit the sidewalk!   I called my son.  He reminded me that this is the type of weather that he has in Iowa.  Important note to self...I will not be moving to Iowa any time soon.

I finished a few paper boxes.  I like the distressed look.  I think I will fill each with some special candy and give them to a couple of co-workers that go above and beyond every day.

This wooden box was done in yellow and then distressed.  This will be a gift for a friend.  We were talking about our crafts and she thought that the boxes sounded interesting.  Since she just built a new bookcase, I thought this would be a nice addition to her decorating!

I have no flowers outside. Well, that's not exactly true...I have DRIED flowers outside.  The flowers bloom in the morning and are naturally dried by 5 pm.   I feel so sorry for the birds, I turn on my drip system for twenty minutes just so they have some place to get a drink and take a quick bath.

Now, my orchids are another story.  I mentioned a few months ago that I had four orchids that bloomed with minimum participation on my part.  This morning, I noticed that the blooms were starting to fade and one plant had already dropped half of its flowers.  Then, hiding behind a leaf, I saw that this orchid is sending up another spike!  How cool is that?

I have been working a bit on my stitching, but it is just too hot to do anything in the evening but close my eyes and think cool thoughts.  I am missing my walks with George, but it is just too hot for him. We walk on a dirt road, so it's not the same as asphalt, but Rotties don't do well in the heat and I won't chance his health.

My family made it back safe and sound.  They had a great time and are already talking about next year's trip.  It was a little harder taking care of my dad by myself, but it was nice not to have to take care of the them!  I only did two loads of laundry in six days and one of those was Dad's bedding. Cooking?  Nope, I did not turn the oven on for the entire time they were gone.  I did use the stove top twice, but only to make my grilled cheese sandwiches!  LOL

Off to finish my night chores.  I really need to search through my closet and find some cotton, short sleeved blouses....This weather is supposed to break in a few days, but who knows?  I feel like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz....I'm mmmeeellltttinnggg!

Be kind to one another.