Raccoons: 1 Cat: 0

We got home from out trip to find the cat food dish all bloody. My friend had been checking on Hook daily because she could tell the raccoons were getting in the garage through the cat door and eating his food and dirtying his water!

Well, they got more than food. He had a nasty bite on his foot and on his cheek. It took six stitches to patch him up.

Niow I am thinking up ways I can help Hook even out the score.

Hmmmmm

The Mystery Doll

I went through the last of our boxes in the loft of our barn. I don't even care to tell you how long those boxes were gathering dust and bat guana! One box was filled with childhood dolls. Some of them were mine and some of them were Kari's. This one was in with all my storybook dolls. He looks like that type of doll. His arms and legs do not move but his eyes open and close. This looks like a British policeman. If it came from my old dolls, it would be about 55 years old. If he is Kari's, he is about 20 years old. Of course, all of them went to Kari because I'm busy purging!

Any clues would be fun to gather and hear???

To Heck With the Candy Store

'just give this little girl Santa!
When she pushed a button on the table, Santa came alive. She made sure he never stopped for long. Santa absolutely mesmerized her.
Very precious.



Hang Town

Placerville, CA... where the public restrooms were once a jail... or perhaps still are? Luckily for me, I didn't need to venture in!

The shops were small and each one had its own flavor. The day before Christmas, things were hopping. We couldn't even squeeze into some of the shops.

Main Street is small.

And important.

Standing outside of the hotel gave us free WiFi.... what fun.

Decorations sparkled indoors as the sunshine streamed in.

I want a screen door like this one!

And lastly, I looked up across the street and gasped as I saw this guy swinging. Of course it's a dummy, but the real dummy is ALWAYS me because I jump and scream so easily! (No, I did NOT read the fine print to find out the history of Hang Town and the tree.... I think I could figure that one out on my own!)



It was a fun afternoon to say the least.

Warm Memories

This wheelbarrow was made by my dad. Dad died 34 years ago now. Wow, it doesn't seem possible. 

So this old wheelbarrow was out in Mom's barn when she moved a few years back. No one wanted it and we had just enough room in the back of our truck for it. Eventually, it made its way to D and J's backyard; knowing it would be a good home for it. Joseph painted it and set it in their garden.  

I understand the chickens all climbed up and explored every inch of it the minute it landed in the garden. They are so darn much fun to watch.

So nothing gone to waste. Wheelbarrow recycled. Warm memories pouring forth and warm memories being made.

Cancer Sucks. Period.

Cancer does not effect only the person who has the horrible disease, but the family and loved ones surrounding him/her. I hate it. Who doesn't?

I hate the energy it sucks from everyone.

I hate the time it takes for all the tests, the bloodwork, then the "treatments." Time away from family, from work, from daily activities. Precious time.

And most of all, I hate the crap-shoot that the patient must play throughout the whole ordeal.

It is a crapsoot. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I'd rather play the lottery and I'm not a gambling person.

A friend of Joseph and Danette who has gone through the crap-shoot herself, sent Joseph a hat to keep his bald head warm. The words say it all.

F*#*! Cancer!



Some Pretty Photos

I thought I'd post some cool photos before we head out for CA. Enjoy.

 This is the bald-faced hornets' nest which fell during some high winds. The shell is like paper and feels strong enough to write on.

The Elk Have Arrived

Once again, the elk are out. I could see the cars stopping on the main road so I knew they were out. I took my camera with me as I walked to the mailbox. They weren't close, but they sure were beautiful as ever. There were deer, elk and wild turkeys all in the same field. How lucky am I to be able to see that.

This is how far away there were from me.

 This is how close I got with my zoom lens!

 Huge!

Another Quilt Finished

Although I didn't make the quilt top, I did put this together and quilt it on my Bernina Aurora 440. The top was purchased by my son-in-law in Guatemala. It is all crewel work on muslin. I had problems with two sides as the embroidery work made the sides of the quilt pucker. So I had these mini ocean waves around the sides to try and work in. I just treated them like a sleeve in a child's dress! I used muslin on the back and binding so as not to detract from the lovely work.

I am going to give the quilt back as a gift to my s-i-l as he has no clue it is in my possession. He has had other more important issues to deal with.... like cancer... bless his sweet heart.

I hope when he curls up under this, he will feel the love sewn in between all those lovely bright colors.

Brrrr... Someone Froze our Sunlight!

Seriously, we have not seen the sunshine since we left California! It has been freezing and foggy every day. We are burning through our wood, (pun intended!)

Walking through the woods is very eery. The fog has just enough moisure in it to wet things down then the frost comes. All the spiderwebs are showing up in the darndest places! There was one hanging from a 70' tall pine tree and it angled down to earth. With the frost, it looked like a kite string. We drove through it yesterday and it took quite a bit to break it. It made me wonder just how many spiders or spiderwebs we must breathe in on a daily basis without having any clue to their existence! (Here I thought I was a vegetarian....but after seeing their crisscross of webs where I walk, I'll lay odds I've eaten spiders!)

....Which reminds me of a camping trip years ago. I had a cast iron Dutch Oven outside the tent. One evening, I filled it with water and boiled up some pasta. I had it all made and was stirring the cheese into the "gourmet" meal when I discovered SEVERAL earwigs! OMG! They were impossible to retrieve. I just kept stirring and served it up. I figured if my family didn't know, I wasn't going to tell them. Besides, I'm sure it added a bit of protein to the meal.

This is our railing on our deck. I had no clue it was full of spiderwebs. One cannot see them in the sunshine. But the are certainly EVERY WHERE. (Trust me.)



A Sweet and Timely Gift

One of my birthday surprises was a package from Amy filled with these amazing note cards. I swear, I had circled note cards in my Current catalog the very day these arrived. Perfect timing and oh so much better than store bought cards. Thanks, Amy for thinking about me and sharing your talents with me. Hugs!!

My Kind of Grapes!

We arrived in CA and our grandkids were in the backyard. I kept hearing their voices but couldn't see the kids. Then I spotted them ABOVE me! Oh my, it was a "Kodak Moment"!!!

 Yup, they were hanging in the grape arbor!

 Check out the mustache... and to think, he is only 5 years old!

Even Zipper was hanging out for a photo-op!