Happy Sunday From The Rancho!

Happy Sunday morning from the Rancho!


                                               

I have started with a little Christmas decorating.  My big box of ornaments has been MIA for about five years, so a couple of years ago, I picked up a little tree and small ornaments.  Now, I use it for the kitchen table.  This year, I went with red and white.  I found the place mats at the dollar store.

Christmas is not my husband's favorite holiday.  His father passed away during the Christmas season back in the 90's and it has never been the same for him. It was okay when we still had a little person at home, he put on the holiday face and stuck it out.  After my son moved out of town for school, for a few years, I didn't even put up a tree. Since my sister is here, I'm feeling more festive, so I started in the kitchen.   Husband seems okay with it...so I'll put up the "plug and glow" tree in the living room in the next couple of days.  It's only 4 feet tall, but with little ornaments and candy canes, it's pretty cute!

My baby sis was on a photo hunt yesterday.  Somehow she seems to think that it is always open season on pictures of me. LOL  She took this one while I was doing something on the computer...probably looking for yarn or fabric, I seem to be pretty intent.  LOL  I changed it to black and white since that color scheme seems to hide the wrinkles better.

I am still working on various projects, but not staying with one long enough to actually get anything finished.  LOL  Focus, focus, focus!  I keep saying I will do this, or this, or maybe this.  And what do I do? That, and that, and that!  LOL  I did all the housework yesterday, so once I get grocery shopping out of the way, I will have the afternoon for ME!

Short update on Dad...things are about the same.  He seems to sound a bit louder when he breathes, but the Hospice nurse says that it's in his throat, not his lungs.  Friday night was pretty bad.  I really thought that it was time.  I was surprised at myself.  After two and a half years on Hospice, you would think I was ready....nope.  Still scares me to my soul.  His breathing is quieter today...

Hug the ones you love, be kind to one another.

It's A Wrap...Well, Not Really...It's An Afghan!

Good evening from the rancho!!

It's a wrap.  Well, not really a "wrap", more like an afghan.  LOL  I am not claiming to be a crocheter, but I now have a teeny, tiny bit of crocheting experience.  I put the afghan on a king size bed, so that gives you an idea of the size.

If you look really close, you can see that I finished with a "shell" pattern.  My dad's caregiver was in last Friday, working on a new project.  It was done all in shells and she gave me a quick lesson.  I think it is the perfect edge.   I'm very happy with my first project.  Smile....

I hope that all had a special Thanksgiving.  We went to our friend's as planned...53 people!!  I think that the group has outgrown me.  There were 15 children under the age of 10, and honestly, not a lot of parental supervision.  After I told one of the older kids to leave the cat alone (for the third time) and it wouldn't bite her again, I decided to head home.  Too many little ones in one place.  It was almost like work!!  I talked to another friend with no family in the area.  We will gather all the "family challenged" people we know and have them to my house next year.  We will keep it around 20.  That would be better for me.

My baby sister and I had lunch in town on Friday.  We had no plans on shopping, but since my "favorite" quilt shop was having their Small Business Saturday on Friday AND Saturday, I stopped by...I know, I know, what was I thinking...I figured that it was important to support small businesses and a quilter can never have too much fabric.  Right? Right.  All ends of bolts were 30% off.  I was very careful and chose all end of bolts. However, I kind of lost count.  Too much chatting with the very nice ladies that work at the store and trying to teach my sister the difference between cotton and blends.  LOL  When I got home, I think I got between 10 and 11 yards. Oh my.  Glad there's no expiration date on fabric...

Saturday night, Baby Sis stayed with Dad so hubby and I could run into town.  Stopped by Home Depot to find something for hubby, but instead, I found this for me....

I spend a lot of time feeding cows, chasing cows, tightening fence, etc, etc, etc.  I always have to borrow hubby's Leatherman.  This one is ALL mine.  I already keep a knife in my purse to cut hay bales open, but now I have this little pretty!  And...it was 60% off.  Win, win!

And my search for the perfect scone continues...I think I may be a bit closer.  I decided to make pumpkin scones this weekend.  I was out of regular milk, but did have a can of evaporated milk in the cupboard.  Couldn't hurt, right?  Well, these were the most tender and moist of all that I have made.  I was very careful to not over mix or over cook.  Between that and the pumpkin, yummy!

And here is tonight's creation for work tomorrow...pumpkin scones with maple glaze.  Thank you so much to Jocelyn over at Canadian Needle Nana.  Without you, I would have never tried to make scones!

I am off and running to finish up my night chores.  Good night to my peeps and peepettes.  Be kind to one another.

I Am Thankful

I hope that your day is spent exactly how you would like...alone or with family and friends.  With a special meal or a sack lunch.  Festively dressed or in sweatpants.  Enjoy life!

Here's a few things that I am thankful for...

I am thankful that I am loved...by family and friends.

I am thankful that I have a home to live in...and a job to pay for it.  There are some that have neither.

I am thankful that I am healthy...even with the advance of my age, I am able to move freely and think clearly.

I am thankful that my father is not in pain...Hospice is an ugly time, but it would be so much worse with constant pain.

I am thankful for this blog...it has given me a place to chat, to worry, to share (and sometimes overshare). I've met amazing people that are supportive and kind and thoughtful.   On my darkest days, you were here to help me get through another day.

I understand that those of you not in the United States are not celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, but I hope that you take a moment or two to think of how special you are to others.

Enjoy the life you are given.  Be kind to one another.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back to Work I Go....

Good evening, peeps and peepettes!

It was back to the grindstone for me this morning.  It is so dark at 4 am.  It was all I could do to crawl out of bed and go make that first pot of coffee. If the dog hadn't been woofing to go outside, I probably would have hid under the covers for an extra 10 minutes.  LOL

We had rain yesterday, almost one third of an inch!  I got a beautiful picture of one of my last roses, covered with rain drops...

One of the few chores I got done was tiding up my craft area.  I really need to finish a quilt and couldn't even get to the sewing machine!!  I had a stack of fabric here, a couple of hoops there, several boxes hidden behind my machine.   And then, I went a little crazy with fabric purchases on my vacation.  I needed to reorganize my entire shelving unit.  But...but...but it was all on sale!  Really.  LOL

I made more scones tonight.  I realized that last week, I used WHITE WHOLE WHEAT flour. Could that be why they were a bit dry?  Tried it with regular white flour, didn't seem to be much of a difference.  So, based on the fact that the whole wheat flour has more fiber, I will use that again next time. I need something healthy to off-set the butter and sugar.  LOL

I'm still working on my giant granny square.  I did a couple of rounds of black to give more depth to the throw.  I will do about 10 more rounds of the multi-color, then an outside border of black.  I think the black will be a nice frame for the throw.

Last Friday was my 55th birthday, so I decided I should take an awesome selfie.  Well, I took a selfie, but I don't know about awesome.  LOL  It took four tries, I just couldn't figure out where to look.

Wishing all a good week. If you are inclined, please pray for Paris.  Be kind to one another.

What I Did On The First Half of My Vacation....

Good morning, peeps and peepettes!!  Happy Thursday!

Though my vacation is only half over, I thought I'd give a quick update.

Last weekend, hubby and I headed up to Alameda to visit Needle In a Haystack.  The store has recently moved and I was a little disappointed in the new layout.  It was hard to find patterns, but I persevered and managed to find a few things.  LOL.  They still have an amazing thread selection and lots and lots of fabric.  I picked up Olga from Plum Street Samplers (one of my favorite designers) and Peace on Earth from La D Da (another favorite).  The skeins are beautiful silk and the fabric is Pampas from Picture This Plus.  I don't have any plans for the fabric, but it was just too pretty to leave alone on that shelf!   LOL

Since my baby sister had volunteered to stay overnight with Dad, hubby and I headed over to Dublin to spend the night.  Next morning, stopped in at a Bass Pro Shop.  All I can say, this store is a tourist destination.  LOL  I didn't find a single thing to buy, but had fun checking out the fish and watching the people!

It seems that every day has been filled with "stuff to do".  I've had lunch with a friend, shopped for quilt fabric (just because, LOL), did a little de-cluttering.  Then last night, I made scones.  I am almost 55 years old and never, ever, made scones.  I always thought there was some secret until I read a recipe from Jocelyn over at http://canadianneedlenana.blogspot.com.  It didn't seem too hard and Jocelyn said they were very tasty.  English scones, from a Canadian blog, made by an American. 

LOL  Here is the result...

Not too bad, a little dry, but add a giant cup of coffee and JUST RIGHT!  I think I will get better with practice.  LOL

I've kept up on my giant granny square...

I've got 5 more skeins to use.  I don't think it is going to be enough, but maybe I'm just overthinking it. Worst case scenario, I finish up with black yarn in the same brand.  I've been looking at some "straight granny stitching". Maybe my next project?  Once again, I'm planning more projects and I haven't finished the first. Sigh.

Off to get my day started.  I've got care for Dad today, so I will get a bit of housework done and then work on some projects.  I am looking forward to the down-time.  

Have a great day and be kind to one another.

Honoring All Who Served

To all those that have served our country, thank you.  

I'm Happy, Happy, Happy...Did I Say Happy?

Thank goodness it's Friday....And, it is the beginning of my vacation.  Please excuse me while I step outside and do a wild happy dance!

My last "official" vacation was in June.  I counted (on my fingers, thank you) and that was five months ago. I am so ready for a few days off.  And what am I looking forward to?  Why, that would be sleep!  LOL Hubby wants to at least take one overnight trip.  Baby Sis said she would take care of Dad, so we are off tomorrow morning.  We have two choices....Alameda to shop at Needle in a Haystack, or to Angel's Camp (in the Sierras) to visit one of hubby's relatives.  Take a wild guess which way I am leaning...LOL  LOL  LOL  Of course, if we head to Angel's Camp, I do know of a few quilt shops on the way!

It's been a long week.  Work, work, and more work.  Hubby has been home for the past week, but it seems that he has forgotten how to run a vacuum cleaner.  LOL  He has done laundry, so I suppose that I shouldn't whine.

Last night, we did a quick trip out to do the Cow Patrol.  This is my sweet baby...if you look closely, you can see our brand, V/J.  Notice all the brown in the background? Welcome to drought stricken California.  This is why we are feeding hay four days a week.

And here my baby's momma!  LOL  My heifer is definitely a throw-back to her great, great grandcow.

When we first got to the lease, we only had three cows and three calves come to the feeder.  That means that you head on over the hills to find the missing cows.

We found them over in a little valley.  Gave a couple of cow calls and they headed over to the truck. Up the hill to the hay...Ah, the joy of dinner.

Sat for a few minutes watching the cows and then looked over my shoulder to find this sunset...beautiful...

Over at the rancho, the half inch of rain we got last week really perked up my roses.  On the left is Brandy, on the right is Sunset.  

Here is the lavender that I planted in a pot earlier in the summer.  It has really taken off.  Isn't that light green delicate looking?

And because I'm sure that everyone is wondering how my giant granny square is coming along...

Only ten more skeins to go.  LOL

I'm off and running for the evening.  A few things to pack and final instructions to Baby Sis.  She's sure that she can do this.  We've got back-up coming later Saturday, so she should be okay.  I will take lots of pictures to share...never know what I will find.  LOL

Have a great weekend and be kind to one another.