Blooms, Blooms, and a Finish

Good afternoon and Happy Easter from the rancho.  Very quiet here.  Hubby wasn't interested in a sunrise service and without little kids, not much in the way of Easter candy and egg hunts.  Not that I really NEED candy.  LOL

I did quite a bit of yardwork yesterday.  My roses are so happy and I've got gladiolus starting to peek out. I'm pretty impressed with this pot.  These are bulbs from the dollar store.  Every single one has came up!The picture on the bag showed red flowers.  We'll see...

This rose bush came with the house.  It is at least 30 years old.  

                          

Another 30 year old bush.  Love the yellow.

A very pretty pink rose, just starting to open...this bush is next to the house and is covered with blooms.

What?  A finish?  LOL  I know, I know, such a surprise!   This is the blanket I started while at the hospital with Baby Sister.  I'm glad to get it finished...now, on to my cross stitching!

I hope that everyone spent Easter doing exactly what they wanted to do.  Have a wonderful week and be kind to one another.

This And That On A Sunday

Happy Sunday morning, peeps and peepettes!

I seem to have misplaced a week.  Hmmm...I remember last Sunday, I kind of remember Monday, then there is a blur.  LOL   I think back to childhood, how the only time that passed quickly was summer vacation.  I'm pretty sure that I was not on summer vacation...LOL

Last Sunday, I put in my garden.  One tomato plant.  That's it...LOL

                     

My gladiolus and irises are doing great.  Here are my "surprise" flowers.  Aren't they beautiful?

Yesterday was "Round-Up and Branding Day" with the herd.  Of course, our herd is only about 30, but I still count that as a herd.  LOL  Due to the drought, with no grass, and the high cost of hay, we had went down to 20 head.  With the rains and 10 new calves, we are planning to hold on to a few more this year. Times are getting better.  It looks like we have enough grass on our lease and a full field of barley (just waiting to be harvested) to hold us through the year.  My dad always told me, being a hobby rancher was never the way to make money. You'd make enough to keep the herd going and have home-grown beef, but that's about it.  More true than I ever thought.

This is our bull.

He's not fancy, but he's gentle and takes care of the ladies.  He throws small calves, so no problems with calving.  Here are a few of the ladies.  If you look carefully, you can see my baby out in the middle. Being white, she does stand out in the herd.  LOL

                         

I'm afraid that I have no project updates.  Sigh...I've been crocheting and knitting a bit in the evening, and did pull out my cross stitch last night, but haven't made enough progress to post a picture.  I'm sorry, I will promise to do better this week.  LOL

So I leave you with a picture of my "Brandy" rose.  This is my husband's favorite rose.  

Be kind to one another.

Pretty Things...And Yes, I Finished "THE SCARF"

Good morning and happy Saturday!!

First up...rain report...one more inch...excellent...even if I can sit in the house and watch the weeds grow. LOL

I have finished my baby boy's scarf.  I felt a little sad.  I've been working on it long enough that it was almost an old friend.  LOL  It is over six feet long and on the last cold evening, I used it to cover my chilly feet.  How is that for a multipurpose project?  LOL

I've switched back to my crochet and have plans to work on my cross stitch and quilt this weekend.  I have a list of chores, but if I keep my wits about me...I might get them done before noon today.  LOL 

Back in September, my favorite neighbors moved away.  They brought over a truckload of flower pots that they just couldn't take with them to Louisiana.  I didn't think much about the fact that a few still had dirt, I figured that I could dump it out when I used the pot.  Then, a month or so ago, my hubby said that a couple of the pots had something growing.  I pulled the pots up front and kept them watered.  My reward, green stalky things.  I figured that they were some ornament grass.  Okay, still pretty.  Then last Monday, I saw this:

Flower buds?  Hmmm, not ornamental grass!  LOL

World, we have freesias!!  LOL  A beautiful gift from my neighbors.

The roses next to the house are starting to bloom.  So pretty.

And a last picture....my son playing his guitar at a presentation in Iowa...I love this picture...I have sat and listened to him play for hours and it is never enough.  

I am counting the days until I visit him in May....I will be driving and look forward to a cross country trip.  It has been a long time.  Hubby will fly in for graduation, but only stay for the weekend.  Baby Sister will be here to take care of Dad, but we can't ask her to do it for three weeks, just too much. She will be fine for a few days and I will get some extra caretaker time.  It will be my first REAL vacation in almost eight years. I've taken a weekend here and there, but this is for three weeks.  I am feeling guilty about going, but everyone agrees, I need it for my mental health.  Baby Boy is very excited and I'm excited that he's excited.  LOL

Have a wonderful weekend, be kind to one another.

Bye Bye to Sunday....

Good evening, peeps and peepettes!  Why does the week drag, but Sunday lasts only a few hours? LOL

Got up early this morning, had my extra, extra large creamer with coffee, and then sat and enjoyed the morning.  We got almost two inches of rain between Friday night and Sunday morning. Today was clear and crisp, just a hint of clouds.  There is a big storm hitting tonight, rumor of up to four inches.  I would be good with two inches, but I have absolutely no complaints.  LOL

Last night, I sat in my family room, the window open, listening to the rain.  You could hear the frogs, the birds settling down for the evening.  It seemed that all of nature was happy...There was something about quietly knitting with the wooden needles, the night getting ready to asleep, it was just perfect. So very, very nice...

I am almost done with my son's scarf.  I hit five feet today, with about enough yarn for about one more foot. It is so soft and warm.  I can see me using this yarn over and over again...It's not the most expensive yarn I've used, but I think it has become my favorite.  I did a little reading about the malabrigo company. Very interesting.

Dad is about the same, still no better and no worse.  He is eating as usual, no talking, no response to questions.  I feel sad, but no worse than usual.  I am trying to stay focused on my family, eating as well as possible, but still need to get back to exercising.  I have been really good about doing some sort of craft every night for at least an hour.  It keeps my mind and hands busy, but I need to get back to walking.  I have no excuse, just too much knitting.  LOL

I am off to finish my weekend chores.  I wish a wonderful week to all.  Be kind to one another.

And The Crud Moves On...

Good evening from the rancho!!  I cannot believe how much better I am feeling this week.  I spent three weeks as a hacking, sneezing, whining, sickie...this is so much better!  I definitely need to keep away from anyone who even LOOKS sick.  LOL

I tried to take things slow, and all in all, stayed on track.  Last Saturday, I took a few hours to run some errands, including a teeny, tiny little stop at the local yarn shop.  A really, really tiny stop.  LOL I picked up a few skeins of this beautiful merino worsted wool.  This is the same type of yarn that I'm using for my son's scarf and I think I will definitely be spending lots of quality time with this brand and weight.  It works up so soft and squishy...isn't the green and blue beautiful together?  So much yarn, so little time.  LOL

Then, on Sunday, Baby Sister offered to watch Dad for a few hours and take care of his lunch.  What to do, what to do?  Why, go to lunch with hubby and then...a teeny, tiny stop at ANOTHER yarn shop.  It was not planned, really, it was just a miracle.  LOL  I found a few skeins of specialty yarn.  I plan a couple of easy knit/purl scarves for my sister.  I'm trying to add some color to her life.  This yarn is a blend of mohair, silk, cotton, and wool.  Ooooo....aaahhhhh. I found the book at the same time.  It has lots of patterns for reversible scarves.  I really want to try the cables.  I think I can, I think I can.  LOL

And for sweet Vickie at A Stitcher's Story...do you recognize these irises?  LOL  I am so looking forward to my "grape" blooms!!

Enough for the evening, I am off to do some night stuff and an hour of stitching.  I have been very remiss with working on my cross stitch, so maybe I will pick one night a week to keep up with that...and my quilting, and my punch needle, and my crocheting...Sigh...I think I'm running out of nights.  LOL

Be kind to one another.

Return From Zombie Land

Good evening, peeps and peepettes.

Where have I been you ask?  Go down the dark and twisty road...turn left at the skull and cross bones, take the bridge over the River of the Dead, peek over the sign that says Zombie Land and look for the old lady hacking up a lung.  Yep, that's me.  This cold is like the Energizer Bunny...just keeps going and going and going.  I started back to work last week, but it was tough.  I slept MOST of last weekend. Monday was tough, Tuesday was a pain, and today...well, I am still tired but functioning.

I have a few things to show.  First, I finished my stepson's red and black blanket.  I think it turned out nice and he was thrilled when I sent it as part of his Valentine's gift.

Then, with all the time at the hospital with Baby Sister, I started a new blanket.  Nothing special, but I liked the colors.  I was thinking of starting a knitting project, but it was much easier to haul around one crochet hook and one skein of yarn.  LOL  One less thing to lose.

Got home, spent the next week sleeping and then started a knitted scarf for my son.  It is a simple knit and purl, but I love,love, love the Merino wool and it is turning out so pretty!  I bought a new pair of bamboo needles.  I really like the quiet of these needles and it just seems to work better with the wool.  It sounds weird, but working with natural products makes me feel more grounded to the world. I know, weird.  LOL

Update on Baby Sister...she is doing great!!  Learning how to eat to fit the surgery and healing well. She feels that it was worth it.  With the cold that I caught, I am still thinking about it.  LOL  This is about all I can handle tonight...I am off to shower and then fall into bed.

Be kind to one another.

My Sister's Hospital Adventure and Then...

Good evening from the rancho...I know that everyone has been waiting with baited breath to find out just what I did on my trip to LA.

First, my baby sister and I both survived.  Barely.

We started south on Wednesday afternoon, with the plan that her surgery would be at 2 pm the next day. Over the course of our four hour drive, her appointment was changed first to 11 am, then to 5 am. Really? It's like they just spun a wheel every two hours...whoo hoo...new surgery time for YOU!

Up the next morning at 3:30 am to make it to the hospital at time.  All seemed well, though Baby Sis never saw her surgeon before her surgery.  We were assured that he would see her AFTER the surgery.  Nope! It was to have been a three hour surgery.  Nope, five hours.  I saw her at 6 am in pre-op and then not again until 6 pm.  Long day.  She was in a semi-private room, but had to be moved within an hour.  The woman in the next bed was well-loved by her family. I got that.  But all 10 of them at the same time? Including take-out and music?  Not much rest going on over on Baby Sister's side.  She was moved to a private room.  We thought our troubles were over.

Between slow response time and lack of cleaning, I was seriously concerned for her health.  We didn't realize that the hospital was privately owned, but just used by USC as a teaching hospital. They have a whole lot of teaching to do!  The floor was completely understaffed, so much so that when my sister's drains over-flowed (after calling them and saying it was time to empty them!) I was the one that cleaned the floor and changed my sister's gown.  And that was only the first time.  They had her shower alone, walk alone, eat alone.  Her trash didn't get changed for days, floors were filthy. The day after we left, the care staff went on strike.  Why? Under staffing!!  No kidding.

Originally, it was a two day stay, then a four day stay.  Baby Sis was starting to feel better by Saturday, but they kept saying just one more day, just one more day.  By Sunday, I was feeling run down and crappy.  Would spend 8 to 10 hours at the hospital and then sleep for 12 hours.  I realized by Tuesday morning, I was not well and getting dehydrated. Spent all of Tuesday morning, drinking lots and lots and lots of fluids.  You guess it...that's the day she got released!! In the car and started on the four hour drive home.  All went well, but as soon as we got home it was straight to bed for both of us.

I got up the next morning, checked on Dad (from a distance, hubby was still taking care of him since I was feeling yucky), checked on Sis, and sat down in a chair.  Two hours later, go up to get some water since I had had no food or liquids for 16 hours.  It was really weird, my vision got blurry, I got really nauseous, everything was sparkly...next thing I know, I am laying on the kitchen floor.  Wow, so nice and cool...until I realized that the water I thought I laying in was really blood where I had hit my head on the floor...And the only other people home?  Baby Sis and Dad. After Dad's caregiver came in, Baby Sis drove me to the hospital.  She decided she was feeling yucky, too, so it was a win-win.  LOL  I had ER Room 27, she had ER Room 15.  It was good that she went in, bladder infection. What a surprise!!  Everyone knows that it is most likely that you will get a bladder infection after a catheter.  Did the first hospital check before she left?  Nope!  She got sent home with antibiotics and a clean bill of health.  Pretty funny since she had just had a major surgery six days before.  LOL

As for me, after six hours, a chest xray and a CAT scan, I was sent home.  My diagnosis?  Probably started as a mild virus, but then, not enough food, not enough liquid, too much stress.  LOL  LOL  LOL What a surprise...

So, I have spent until this afternoon, moving from couch, to chair, to bed.  Nothing more.  Hubby is still taking care of Dad, I won't even get close until I'm sure I am not contagious.  I'm sure that they were right, I picked up a virus, either at the hospital or the hotel.  Doesn't really matter, as usual, I kept going a hundred miles an hour until I crashed and burned.

It was a tough week.  LOL  I did a little crocheting...finished my stepson's blanket and started another.  Pictures next time.

I missed all of you.  A lot.  SMILE.

Be kind to one another.