Mid-Week Madness

We are back in the euphemistically titled "triple digits" of temperature. Yuk. Heat advisory tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it.


We took a ride - car that is - Tuesday so Scottie could show me part of the long, hot, hilly, miserable route he had been riding in preparation for his upcoming century ride. Less than two weeks to go.




I thought for a minute we were back in New Mexico when we passed this lovely place:

Sign says "Sally's Bed & Breakfast" & the small sign tucked behind that says "For Rent". Any takers? Open air living?









I finally managed a better photo of our visiting quail. They come in the early evening, after the dogs have come inside, and eat their way from one side of the yard to the other.

Too cute.








And this cool computer table was created for me by The Man out of a TV table.

Cut down the legs and made it just the right height. I love to work on my laptop sitting in bed in the evening, so now I'm set up to do it with ease.

In between bike rides, this is one talented man!
Think good thoughts on 9/8 when he's riding the big one & hope the heat isn't so bad then!

Bits and Pieces

All kinds of cool things to show!

First of all, we have a new grand-pup. Sarah, Scottie's youngest, adopted Foxy from the pound. (Yes, we like that. I'm much in favor of saving lives.) I'm told Foxy is part Golden Retriever, part Chow-Chow.

I'm thinking there's something else in there too, something with the more pointy, delicate face. Anyway, isn't she pretty? And, notice how she matches the red-gold flecks in Sarah's tile? Wonder if that was deliberate. . . nah, I don't picture Sarah thinking of dog as decorative item.
So, welcome to Foxy.

Me thinks I need to do a whole post dedicated to all the grand-pups. I'd do one dedicated to grandkids, but we have no recent photos. I need to complain to the parental units.

[And, while I'm on the dog topic, I did my first football related little victory dance yesterday when I heard that Michael Vick got an indefinite suspension from the NFL. 'Bout time a few of the powers that be do the right thing.]


And this would be The Man in his Park uniform. He won't like this picture because it makes him look less skinny than he is because of his arm being up and holding the shirt away from his skinny self. With all his preparation for his first Century ride (coming up in a couple of weeks) he is getting really, really thin. And the shirt is loose, really loose. So there is lots of fabric to be held away from the body. Now if I were the type of woman my mother was I'd tailor this to fit him like she did my older brother's Army uniforms. Not happening.

Just thought you needed one of those "man in uniform" shots.







Here we have the remains of the one big sunflower growing here along with a couple of the little culprits. The goldfinches have simply decimated it. The foliage is totally stripped; now they finished removing the petals and are eating their way through the back of the head.

I can't really complain since the flower was planted by birds from seed in our feeders. It's only fair that it becomes bird food itself.





Ellie Cat has adopted the top of the old pie cabinet as one of her favorite perches. This goofy girl likes high places and hidey-holes. When we lived in New Mexico we heard meowing during a dinner party and found her shut in the bottom of an old buffet that I used to store linens. She'd sneaked in while I was setting the table and been shut in. Last week Scottie was vacuuming and left the door to the closet where the central vac is located open. Yep, she went in and ended up spending the night there sans water or litter box. She beat feet up the steps to the litter box the first thing upon her release. Then she stationed herself on the steps and took swipes at ME when I'd pass, obviously blaming me for having been imprisoned! I had nothing to do with it, but tell that to a cat.







I've been less than pleased with the color I chose to paint the legs of the old tub. It looked too much like pot metal. This new effect is the result of using silver leaf on them. Cool.

I've never worked with silver (or gold) leaf before and found it quite fascinating. The sheets of silver leaf are incredibly thin and fall apart easily. It's applied over a very tacky glue, then brushed repeatedly with a soft brush. What doesn't adhere falls off. You can see a few loose pieces on the floor to be cleaned up.

Anyway, I like this much better. I especially like how the "claw" now is more evident.

Here's my funny story for the week: Wednesday was my day at my little part time job. So, I'm there late, being dogged by health issues, the boss lady is having a bad day, things are going from bad to worse. We get a call that the alarm at her home is going off. Of course she is in an important meeting. So, I stick my head in and tell her what's happening. She thinks that her dogs have probably set it off, so I volunteered to run over to the house and shut it down. I take her car keys and what I think is the code to the alarm, and off I go. Get to the house and notice the garage door is partially open but think nothing of it. Go in and try to shut off the alarm. Wrong. I have one key wrong and the #@%! thing blares like a fog horn. Her birds start going nuts. Dogs are barking outside. I call the office where I can hardly be heard over the din, Nola says she'll be right over (with both of us forgetting that I have her keys), and a cop pulls up. I explain who I am and why I'm there and that she is on her way. First thing is I get scolded for going in the house when there could be an intruder, especially since the garage door is partially open. (Neither of us knew there is no entrance to the house from the garage.) So, it's back in the house with the young policeman, still wondering where Nola is, doing the whole walk through thing, alarm still blaring. He manages to turn off the alarm and I call the office to say you don't need to come, about then realizing that Nola can't come 'cuz I have the car keys. The cop says the alarm company reports the triggering to have taken place at the back patio door - no signs of attempted entry - reminds me again I shouldn't have come in the house. Bear in mind that this is a very quiet neighborhood and it's like a three-ring circus while all this is going on. Finally, cop leaves, I re-check all doors to be sure they are locked, talk to the birds for a minute to be sure they are calmed and OK (birds stress easily and can die from it), say good bye to the dogs who have calmed down nicely and head back to the office thinking it must be time to go home. Wrong. Barely noon. And, it kept up all day that way, ending with . . . Oh, never mind. It was not a good day.

Kid Fun

We've had granddaughter Halle here for several days, losing her back to Mom today, and boy have we had fun!

Scott, aka Gumpy (think about it) tried to turn her into a plumber taking her along a couple of days to work on a project he has going down at the cabin. Call me silly, but I don't think she's sold on it.

We girls managed to slip into girl time, going to Exeter to get our toes done!

I opted for a brick/muddy red color while Halle went rock star with bright red topped of with glitter. Wowza, wowza, wowza!







Among the other treats was a trip up to Sequoia Park to do the Crystal Cave tour. We took the old truck 'cuz Scott's employee sticker allowed us to bypass the line to get in the Park. Couldn't help us at the place where the road construction goes on though. Halle, aka Squirt, is barely tall enough to look out the front window of the truck. Very serious look on both faces.











Check out the cool spider web gate:












I won't make you look at all the photos from inside the cave, but you have to see just one to get an idea of why the name Crystal Cave. Pretty gorgeous, yes?


The cave tour was over way too quickly. I want to do the Wild Explorer tour, where you wear hard hats, knee pads, and who knows what else, crawl on bellies through tight spots, and get to spend 4 to 6 hours underground AND get to see stuff that is not on the regular tour. Unfortunately that only happens through the end of August and it's booked for this year, so I've signed up to be notified when when start taking reservations for next year.








My dogs followed Halle everywhere while she was here and seemed to get it that she was leaving today. We managed a farewell photo with both before hopping in the car to meet Amanda in Turlock, roughly the halfway point between here and San Francisco.












Gumpy taught Halle how to read maps and serve as the navagator, and she did a pretty good job.


So we had lunch at one of the old, old Mexican joints in Turlock then headed back home, tired, very, very tired. Almost-10-year olds have way more energy that we do!

Got Quail

Yep we do. Cute little California Quail. I love those guys with their silly top knots and funny ways.


This guy is the Scout. There seems always to be one that goes out ahead to make sure the territory is safe for the rest of the covey. So, he's out there doing his job.






Then we have the main group feeding. I spooked them after this getting photos and they flew. Usually one will hang behind as the Guard until everyone else has left.

I couldn't get a shot of them running through the high grass. I love how they go - all in a line, everyone hurrying along in order.

Just read yesterday that we should expect a really bad fall in terms of food for all of Mom Nature's critters. Many of the oaks have aborted their acorns due to the drought accompanied by the burst of extreme heat we had a few weeks back. I knew the acorns were falling but didn't know why. When this happens the acorns have not developed to the point of having any food value, so the creatures that depend on them - like bears trying to fatten up for hibernation - don't have that source of nourishment. Supposedly we'll see bears especially in places they normally don't go like even in the commercial orchards stuffing on oranges. I suspect Mom Nature has dealt with this many times before, but it's our first drought summer here and is curious for me to watch.


Scottie and I also did a little planting yesterday. We've got a couple of lavenders and a couple of rudbeckias along with some thyme - all fenced in in the hope that we can keep the dogs out for long enough that the thyme will be able to root. They don't bother the larger plants but seem to not recognize that the small ones are something they should leave alone.

Granddaughter Halle gets picked up by Gumpy (a short, hopefully endearing terms for Grumpy Grandpa) tomorrow and will be with us at least into the weekend. Lots of plans. . . .

One - or Two - of THOSE Days

OK, yesterday I started out determined to have a great day. As many of you know, I've been dealing with some difficult health issues the past few years that have taken me out of my old athletic pursuits, changed my image of myself, etc. So, Scottie, aka The Man, talked me into getting a bike. Great idea. I have a mountain bike, not 'cuz I plan any real mountain biking, but because it will make it easier to ride the gravel roads around here. Yesterday AM, I set out for a small ride. It went great. Then I went to the little local plant nursery, had a great conversation with the owner, bought a few plants, made arrangements for him to come give some advice on our plantings, still great. Then I went to the market.

See, I had this plan to give Scottie a great day. He had worked really, really hard out in the heat on Thursday, working on the water system where we used to live. Then he was working up at the Park yesterday, and I could tell he was tired before he ever left for work. So, the big plan was to fix his kind of meal for dinner, as opposed to my kind of meal, have it all set up and ready to go; draw him a tub of water with the special muscle relaxing salts in it, and let him soak while I got dinner ready. Wrong.

At the market I got some sweet corn and potatoes and onions, planning to do all that on the grill along with a big steak for him. As a life-long veggie, I don't know steak from pork chops, so at the market I tried to ask for some help from the butcher. I said (in my happy, having a great day, on a mission voice) "Hi, I'm a vegetarian and I could use some help picking a good steak for my husband." He said "I don't care if your a vegetarian, pick your own steak." Let's just say it wasn't a happy, playful voice. So, being sure he couldn't have meant to be that rude, I said "Did you hear the end of my sentence? I would like some help picking a steak." He said, "I heard you, pick your own steak." Stood there (big guy) looking hateful and angry. I started to say OK, then just couldn't, felt myself tearing up and walked away.

So, the owner of the store (relatively new owner, nice 30-something female who I have heard is from Russia), comes up to me, tells me she has heard what he said and is so sorry, etc. I burst into tears. Now, those who know me know that I'm not the burst-into-tears type. There's something about very sincere empathy delivered right at the moment of a hurt that just did me in. So, I'm blubbering "I just wanted a nice steak for my husband," she's repeatedly apologizing, telling me he's done this with other customers, etc. Lovely scene. Long story short, I couldn't quit crying. The store owner finally went and selected a t-bone (I still don't know if that's a good steak) and told me it was at no charge. I got the rest of my stuff, tried to control my sniffles and made my way to the check-out. I thought I was almost under control, just a few stray tears left, when I got tapped on the shoulder and turned to see the big old butcher who said "I just want to apologize for being such a jerk." So, I burst into tears again. He ran for the bushes; I finished checking out, forgot the bread on the list, and made my way home still sniffling.

So, a few deep breaths, a diet coke, a fortuitous phone call from my daughter (thanks for understanding, Muf) and I was on my way to making still a great day for Scottie. Wrong.

One of my great relaxers is working in the garden, so I busted my butt preparing the bed for my new plants, and got them planted despite repeated dive-bombing by hummers. So, that part of the day went well:


We now have salvia, mallow, sage, thyme, and a few other goodies in a little bed around the hummer feeders.

The salvia has bright red blooms that the little darlings have already found.

This sits behind the small stone wall built by Bob Kellog and just at the top of the stone steps that I built.

Like it.















Meanwhile, I need to get cleaned up and on with the dinner plans. I got the steak ready with some spice rub, sliced up potatoes and onions with butter in foil to do on the grill, cleaned the corn and wrapped it with butter to do on the grill, and was just sweeping the kitchen when Scottie got home. End of plan.

Scottie didn't want a relaxing soak in the tub. He didn't want to clean up period. He wanted to sit and relax. OK, fine. Then he pulled the charcoal grill onto the front porch (one of my pet peeves - gives me a hills of Tennessee feeling) and started it. I wasn't going to get to cook the meal, etc., and give him some time and space to relax. So, I tried to put on a cheerful face, tell him my market story in a funny way and just go with the flow. Well, he was exhausted (me too), nothing was funny, nothing was working.

He did finally go upstairs to shower and left the charcoal grilling to me. A mess. Scottie had the grill set up to cook his way, meaning a few coals and a hot fire with the lid off. I tried to do it my way, meaning I needed more coals, opened both the bottom and top vents but failed to realize the bottom was clogged with spent coals from prior use. So, the potatoes didn't get cooked through, the corn was cold, and I have no idea how the steak was. Scottie doesn't like to eat in the dining room (my original plan) unless there is company. So I set up the little kitchen table, threw the potatoes and the corn in the micro for some last minute finishing off. And, we did eat. Then we both stuffed on the remains of peach cobbler and icecream.

ENOUGH ALREADY OF THAT DAY.

This morning, Scottie is still exhausted, grumpy, etc. So, I suggested he have a bike ride, then we'll go into town. He sets out - and comes home very shortly with a flat. Now he's really grumpy. I'm thinking it's time to just life sort itself out and quit trying to direct it!

Since I don't like to end on a down note, let's have a couple of plant photos for fun:



The fiddle-leaf fig is so happy in its new spot just by the French doors that it may have to get it's top whacked off soon to prevent going through the ceiling! I planted a couple of things at the bottom just to keep if from looking top heavy.



And, we have the Spathiphyllum, a variegated one, that lives on the landing of the stairs. This is a great house plant! They thrive in very low light conditions, so you can put them in places most plants won't do well, and they like very moist soil, so it's hard to kill them from over-watering. We like that in a plant.





Ever notice how the more living things you surround yourself with, be that humans, pets, house plants, garden, you name it, the more it costs you in terms of money, time, effort. BUT, and here's the important part, the more you get back.

That difficult husband who wasn't in a frame of mind to appreciate or even want the special dinner I planned - he's a great guy who goes out of his way to make my life easier.

That little flower bed that gave me the achy, achy back last night is already making the hummers happy.

This dwells-in-the-near-dark plant gives me pleasure every time I go up or down stairs.

And, you all know how I feel about our furry-faced family members.

Even the grumpy butcher apologized, and Scottie got a free T-bone. So, someone tell me if that's a good steak.

Bears and Drugs

No, not together. And I have no photos.

We have a neighborhood bear that goes through our place. Apparently he/she travels late at night as our dogs don't even notice. We do have bear poop though as does a neighbor. I hope to get a photo before Mr./Ms. Bruin takes off.

There was a major drug bust going on up in the Park, in the Mineral King area, that may or may not be over. Walking dogs this AM I saw a SUV load of Park Rangers coming back down, some of them in full camo gear. Then, 3 more SUVs passed us going up, these filled with more camo and those earpiece microphone thingies. Next, at the little fire station near us were umpty-ump more folks and a van with satellite communications gear mounted on top. So, I had to stop and ask what was up. The answer was a marijuana "garden" found on up Mineral King Road, and shots fired from the gardeners at a Park Service helicopter. So, all the good guys and gals were out after the bad guys. I was told there were a minimum of three bad guys who were trying to make their way down and out of the area. It was also suggested that it would be a good day to lock our doors. Didn't do that 'cuz of the dogs. And, don't much plan to try for photos of this one.

We did see a bunch of vehicles going back down the hill late this afternoon, but I don't know if that means that they got the guys yet or not.

It's about #@&*! Time!

Long time readers (I can say that now that this blog has been up and running over a year) may remember the vintage chandelier that my friend Yvonne and her sister Madeleine sent along to me for our new house. It was broken in transit. The good news about that was that the breakage disclosed hidden wiring problems that I would never have known about if we had just put it up. So, long story short, UPS paid off on the insurance, we got a new chandelier, and I kept pieces of the old one to make "something" out of.


This is something:
It's hanging above my art table and I'm planning to use it to root plant cuttings. It took about a dozen tries to fit the various pieces together the way I wanted and at least a dozen more to make it water proof. And, there is far more goop, another of those silly technical terms, than I'd hoped for, around the base - a couple of types of glass glue, some silicone caulk, a few prayers, maybe even touch of fairy dust. But, it works and I love it.


The light we ordered from Pottery Barn, thinking we wanted it on the subtle side, turned out to be so subtle it almost disappeared into the walls. So, I got brave and smeared on some green paint and some yellow paint, and I do mean smeared, to liven it up a bit, then added a string of small crystals to go with the ones that came on the light.



NOW it's what I wanted it to be! Looks a little antique-y, has an essence of being old about it even though it's not, doesn't look too perfect. Yep, that's me. Still hard though to get decent pictures with windows on both sides.


Funny, seems like my life goes this way. Things just aren't as I planned, but with a little tweaking here and there, usually a bit messy in its execution, things turn out fine. And, along the way there are always totally unexpected treasures to rescue.

So, thanks to friends for the goodies and to the Powers That Be for the persistence! It's good to have both.