#242 A Creative Birthday Card

Now this is what I call a great card. This is from Zoe, age 6, to her dad for his birthday...a card of her so he can hang it up at work. They don't watch television so art is a large part of Zoe's life. Notice the fine details like in her shirt. Her paper wasn't long enough so she drew this is sections then taped it together. Cute.

#241 Later, Gator

I hate saying good-byes. I did get to wake up the kids for some last minute smooches. I swear, Zoe is the happiest child on this Mother Earth in the mornings. She wakes up with the most precious smile on her face.

Kai rolls over a few times and tries to go back to sleep.

Last minute hugs.
( And we made it home safely.)

#240 Gigi and Ralph Arrive

Gigi and Zoe are preparing Joseph's birthday dinner.

Kai trying on Gigi's purple shoes.
Zoe n Ralph sharing a laugh.
Our plan was to say hello/good-bye to Kathleen and Ralph then visit Kari and her family. The flu bug at Kari's threw that plan out the door so we stayed an extra night at Danette and Joseph's. The bonus was we got to visit with Kathleen and Ralph. Dinner was wonderful and was topped by a delicious cake that Kathleen made. (Kathleen, dear, I must have that recipe!)
The kids were so excited to have more company and the evening disappeared too fast.

#239 Off We Goooooo

One of the many joys of visiting in Davis is that I'm able to bike ride with the kids.

Yes, the helmet is too small, but it's better than no helmet at all; at least that's what I tell myself.

Off to the market!!

#238 As Kai would say....

As my 3 year old grandson, Kai, would say, "What the ... heck?"!

Recycling bins, of course.

It's a one of a kind because the workers at this market actually made these. They would really fit in at our little town on the river where fishing and rafting are the mainstay of the community.

#237 1st Grader

It's official: Zoe is in First Grade! She fought getting out the door - just too many worries about the idea of a new teacher, etc.

Once we arrived at school, I do believe those worries blew away. Here she is with Kai, Mom and Dad..

#236 Gramie's in Heaven

Here's the deal....let's pretend to be asleep when Mom walks outside...

hurry up, Mom, this is hard work...

When they get along, nothing else seems to matter...
'Not quite big enough to sit on the swing...but there's always a way!

Love bugs.

Like I said....life is good.

#232-5 Ahhhh, to be young again...

Visiting grandkids is just the best:

Dump them out and line them up! Cars, cars, cars!

Ummm, have a little oatmeal with that cinnamon, Jack! (oops...no shaker top on Danette's cinnamon container.)

Life is sooo good.

#232 While I'm Away

If I don't get to my blog while I'm in California, you may still check for the word of the day. Or better yet, go to www.transparentlanguage.com and sign up for your own word of the day to be delivered to your e-mail. You may choose your own language to learn, I just so happen to need to learn French because I'm going back one day!

This is a free site and you learn grammar, vocabulary, there are tests to take and games to play.

I may or may not be able to post while I'm gone....we shall see....
Later Gator!

#231 Libby Lehman

Okay, this is the woman who led the quilting classes I took on Monday. She allowed me to photograph her sample quilts in the room, but due to copyright laws, I don't want to chance posting them on my blog. Instead, you can find her incredible work at her website:

http://www.libbylehman.us/

Check out her gallery and quilts for sale. Unbelievable talent! And what a hoot. She has this wonderful soft Texan drawl and had me laughing all day. Great attitude. Great artist. Great fun. It was a day well spent! Thank you Libby and thank you Top Stitch ,(Bernina dealership in Medford), for organizing the classes.

#230 Open Range

Driving into town, I noticed this sign along the road that I've been driving on for 30+ years. I had no clue this stretch of the road was Open Range! That means the animals have the right of way over vehicles. So I watched for critters and saw: 2 cattle ranches, 3 sheep ranches, 4 horse ranches, many other farms with assorted horses, cattle, sheep, lamas, cats and dogs.

I'm just wondering how I've missed the signs at both ends of the stretch for so many years. I was looking for a photo op when I saw it so maybe I'll need to approach life from the point of needing a photo of the day!! .. or clean my glasses more often??

#229 Unexpected Company

Our friends from CA, Sharline and Fred, decided to visit on their way north. We had a good time with them; got caught up on our lives, then the next morning I had to rush out for an all day quilting class. Jack had a dentist appointment also so our good-byes were done rather on the run.

#228 No More Deer Food

Poor Jack does't have a chance with me in his life! He is so busy working on projects for Danette's house addition plus other orders that float his way. Then I go and whine about the deer eating the horses' hay. Jack first put wood along the sides and wired the entrance area and put up an electric fence. Deer mangled that. Then up went stiff field fencing; they went over the top. So up goes chicken wire on the top portion. More mangling. Then I dragged a mess of peeled poles and stood them up like prison bars, plus the wire. That only made for a pile of mangled wire in with the downed poles...and they were heavy so nothing was stopping them.

Finally, Jack built these awesome gates. He used the old wood from our deck so the only cost was the hardware. We can still get the truck backed up to unload hay, yet this keeps the deer out. YAY!! I do love this man!

Whew! Now I'm trying hard to keep my wish list to myself. (I've got it written down and in my "chocolate" drawer so the list grows along side of me when I get the urge to eat chocolate. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?)

#227 Wanted: Psychiatrist - Cheap!

I know, I've posted photos of my packed bags before and I have thought about it and I've told myself I don't need to pack so DANG far in advance. I wasn't even going to admit that I'm all packed for Virginia and I don't leave until SEPTEMBER 10th.
So I have this great idea on how to get cured from this ailment: A Reality Show. A psychiatrist could follow me around with a camera crew to film my daily activities. Every once in awhile, (that's putting it mildly)...when I'd do something weird, the show would switch to the psychiatrist's office and he/she would then psychoanalyze my actions. At the end of the show, I could get some advice or whatever they do and the next week, the viewers would see if I'm improving! Kind of like a t.v. show where people are taught what NOT to wear and what clothes they should wear, then they go shopping and if intervention is called for, the hosts run in and help out.

Added to the "drama" would be all my psycho friends and the cameras could go off and film them too. Oh, here's a good one, they could film the kids at school with their behavioral "issues". OMG, the show would be never ending if that happened.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with packing weeks and even months ahead of time. Luckily for me, I have more than one duffle bag - we leave for Sacramento on Friday and that is another bag entirely.

#226 Hornet's Nest

Walking to the mailbox, I discovered a hornet's paper nest. It was right next to the path that we always take and abut 6' above the ground....so pretty low. It is pretty well camouflaged.
Lucky for me, it was empty because I was determined to get a photo. You can see a hole on the right side of the nest too...maybe that's their emergency exit.

Lucky for me, I have a digital camera because I can't just take one photo of anything. (One would think I'd be a dang good photographer after so many photos!)

Perfection.

#225 When 50% Off is a Sad Thing

Our little quilt shop is going out of business. After four years, Barbara can no longer keep the doors open. As I painted the windows this time, I actually cried. We tried everything we could to help her stay in business. Several of us would work all day for free as she took some time off. We brainstormed in her back room with ideas of how to get more customers in the door. Finally, we met several times trying to for a Co-Op where several of us would buy her out. But that would take much longer than she has because we have to see an attorney and get all the kinks worked out prior to doing anything. So 50% off is a sad thing for us. I have made my contribution by stocking up on as much fabric as I feel I can because she doesn't have space for any of it at her home. I think I even offered to house some of it at my place but I'm not sure if she trusts me on that one!

#224 Birthday Dinner

Yes, Jack robbed the cradle. He was 63 yesterday and I'm only 62. (for 3 more months!) I baked him his favorite...tayberry pie. Then our neighbors took pity on us without a garden this year and brought squash, corn and tomatoes. The remainder is leftovers, but tasty nonetheless!

My gift to him? ... I refrained from singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

#223 Heads or Tails

Jack and I are so different in many ways. Hanging clothes on the line, I realized that even our laundry shows our differences. I hang mine from the shoulders, he wants his hung from the tails. (Don't panic, these are our work shirts hanging here!)

Bottom line? We celebrate 40 years of marriage next month. Opposites or not.

#222 One That Got Away

I know I've posted photos of our big bucks before, but it's been awhile since I've seen a 4-point. Our new neighbors feed the deer on their front porch then go hunting! I think 4 years is going to be considered old age for our deer population now. There are new babies too so the cycle does continue. This guy wasn't scared off by us at all, he just mosied through.
I'm not opposed to hunting at all, just the method in which some folks hunt. If my dad weren't a hunter and fisherman, we would have gone without meat for long stretches. (Of course, that would have made me quite happy as I never EVER liked the taste of meat. Mom says since I was a baby, I wouldn't touch it.)

#221 Dining on the Deck

Summer is flying by so fast, we realized it was time to have friends over for dinner on the deck. We had a great evening chatting, eating and playing cards.

#220 Quilts Galore

I'd love to say that our whole town is covered with quilts, but just our quilt shop. It is an annual celebration called "River Art Walk" with all sorts of artists set up along the river. The town got smart and now has sidewalk sales during the weekend too. I had to pop in and see what was hanging and say howdy, thus the pics.

#219 KidSpree

Volunteers lined up to shop with kids at JC Penneys.
250 kids from our valley were selected to receive free school clothes, breakfast and backpacks filled with school supplies at our annual KidSpree event. Adult volunteers were matched with children in need and the adults took the kids shopping. A $100 gift card is used for each child and watching the tremendous sales plus a 20% off of everything purchased gives the kids a lot of buying power.
I love volunteering for this event. Just knowing that so many kids are going to have a positive entry to the new school year feels good.

I got paired with a boy who had more energy than 3 of my grandsons put together so the store went by in a blur to me. He wanted to ride the elevator so what the heck? We rode the elevator and he walked the wrong way on the escalator until he ran into traffic going the "right" way...then he'd turn around and join me. He was sweet and we had a great time.

The community is so generous to provide everything needed to pull off this event every year. And I thank JC Penneys especially for hosting the event and for putting so many smiles on so many faces.

#218 Mauve sky

I was sitting @ my computer when I noticed a rosey color pouring in through the window. Looking outside, I discovered a lovely mauve colored sky as the sun was on its way up. It's too bad the hue doesn't show up a bit better. By the time I got my camera, orange was mixing in with the mauve. I thought it would be nice to share my morning with you all.

#217 Chocolate Droppings

Some folks have problems with mouse droppings, I have problems with chocolate droppings! I dove into my sewing/chocolate stash drawer to get my button tin. When I removed the tin, I found a huge circle of chocolate crumbs. With further digging and removing of stuff, I discovered the drawer was layered with chocolate droppings. I grabbed the vaccuum cleaner and removed the evidence. Just as I was finishing, I realized it would have made for a fun photo.... so you get just a few droppings!

Hmm, looks like I need to go shopping, my stash is getting low!

#216 A Bee, of Sorts

Every Tuesday, "my" quilt guild gathers at a local Grange to sew. It is something like an old fashioned quilting bee, but more modernized. Gals stop and help others with projects, or as these photos show, we stop and oooh and awe over completed projects.

Thimbleberries

#215 Check off one item

Grandson's quilt top finished: Check!

Whew! My quilting "to do" list is getting shorter.

ooops, scratch that, I have another request already.

Thank goodness for my fabric stash!

#214 Crazy, crazy weather

Was I just commenting on the heat and smoke? Now we had over an inch of rain in one hour!

Remember all those leaves on our drive? 'guess we should have raked them because the downpour left dams of leaves then of course the road washes out. Our drive just lost leaves but the main road is down to base rock in spots.

(Yes, Eileen, it is 4:20 a.m....I've been up an hour, pressed my coffee and drew an art quilt pattern. Just one of those sleepless nights.)

#213 Add Smoke to That Heat

It stands to reason that hot temps bring on wild fires. Lightening strikes and careless folks have created a lot of smoke in our area. We can't even see across the valley.