HEARTS AND FLOWERS

 The other day while getting out of the car, which was in a tight spot, 

I bumped my arm on the mirror of the car next to me.

"Old Lady Skin" isn't fun to have!

That small bump hurt and here's the result...

Can you see the Heart?   

I guess there's some love in that wound.  Its going to take forever for it to go away.

Yesterday Dave and I took some "Me" time and went on a short photoshoot.

We weren't too successful but it was so nice to just get out on a 80F. day.

Saw this tiny flower at the nursery we went to.

It didn't have a tag on it so I don't know what it's called.

So that's why I'm calling this post

HEARTS AND FLOWERS

Enjoy your day

MOUNTAIN TOPS OR VALLEYS ?

 I haven't posted for a few days so I thought I had better get with it...

Unfortunately, I haven't taken any photos except for eBay selling items.

So it is back into my archives for my Monday offering.

Is your week going to be "MOUNTAIN TOPS" or will it be "VALLEYS"?

or

Perhaps both are more likely...

Sometimes I think we need both to appreciate this thing called LIFE.

Wishing you strength through the Valleys and Joy on the peaks.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 When we were out in our backyard the other day, weeding and puffing and panting,

I spied these tiny flowers in the middle of the "weed patch".

I believe they are in the Lobelia family and are the size of my little finger nail.

So tiny and so perfect in the middle of a mess.

I am thankful that God gives us beauty in the midst of weeds.

I do believe there is a lesson there!

Moving on to the weekend...

LATEST PHOTO CLUB CHALLENGE

 Last night we had our bi-weekly Zoom Photo Club meeting.

The challenge for this time was "Color - Forest Green"

There are many different tones to the color Forest Green.

It was interesting seeing what others shared.  Many were earthy forests and gardens, but a few of us went in other directions.  Some went with portraits and their clothing and a few of us went the food route.

Mine was "what we had for dinner"

Artichokes in natural lighting.

They were so tasty.  We can't wait to buy some more.

Don't forget to enlarge the photo.  It really enhances the detail.

A JAUNT BACK INTO MY ARCHIVES

 Every once in a while I go back to my archives just to remind myself of things that I photographed in the past.

The weather is a tad cooler today and it's starting to feel like a California Fall is on the way.

The wild turkeys are very messy but I love seeing them out in the fields.

It does make me think about Thanksgiving in just a few short months.

Anyone want to play and share a photo entitled...

Through the Window?

I would love to see what you come up with.

Enjoy what's left of your weekend.

AWESOME EBAY SALES

 I know I probably bore all of you with my eBay chatter.

I have to admit I'm very excited because of the sales we made yesterday.

Big money for us and that means more "STUFF" out of the house.

We sold a 5 inch antique bisque German doll that needs quite a bit of work on it.

253 collectors looked at it and there was a bidding war.  Final bid was $90.00 

A win/win for us.

Here are several photos of the tiny doll.

There is a big business in doll restoration.

The other item that sold is from our personal Disney collection.

Hated to see them go but what good are they just sitting in a box?

With no place to display them...it was time... Sigh...

These characters are from Disneyland and the Country Bear Jamboree.

That show is now closed which is so sad.

It was one of our favorite shows to see.

But

Now there's money in our pocket and someone else is going to enjoy them.

On another note, yesterday our youngest granddaughter started high school.

Time marches on .. Slow down!!

That's it for today...

Got to get the packages in the mail.

LONG TIME NO-SEE

 We haven't seen or heard frogs for such a long time.

The drought has had a lot to do with it.

But,

Yesterday and our "Dampish" weather brought out a long missing critter.

When we opened our water connection box lid...

Look at what greeted us...

Welcome back Mr. Froggie.  We have missed you.

Happy Labor Day weekend..

WE ARE OFFICIALLY EMPTY NESTERS

 This last week we officially became "Empty Nesters"

This guy flew "the coop".  Well perhaps it wasn't a Guy..😄

Sorry the photo isn't in focus.  She was ready to take off and I just snapped it.

The nest is off the ladder.

Mama dove is a rather messy housekeeper.

I was fascinated to look straight down into the nest.

It is flat with no indention for eggs or a bird body.

We never have seen any egg shells around.

We are wondering after so many generations living on the top of the ladder if they will come back again and start over.

I think I may have to do some research on Mourning Doves.

Happy Thursday

TUESDAY THOUGHTS

 Words to myself...

Happy Tuesday..

FINALLY GOT TO GO OUT FOR THE DAY

 After coughing and whining for so long Dave and I finally had a good time.

Yesterday we got up with the chickens and were out of the house by 6AM !!

If you know anything about us...we are not early risers (since retirement)

We were off to an aviation show at our local airport in Lincoln, CA.

We wanted to get there before 6:30AM which was the scheduled hot air balloon launch.  I thought it would be the perfect sunrise photo op.

Didn't happen until 7:45AM.  I guess the wind patterns were not right for balloons in the sky until then.

The balloons are huge when you see the detail of the adults standing next to them.

I like this one because of the various balloons in prep and take off mode.

The one below is my favorite because of the designs and colors so close together.

There were classic cars, every era of air plane and of course vendors selling everything.

Final count for the day was over 6000 people in attendance.

A great event for a small town.

By 11 AM we had walked our feet off and were home having something cool to drink.

I was so happy to be out and about.

It was a great start to a new week.

A WORD TO MYSELF

 A word to myself....

Between feeling lousy for so long (now so much better)

and trying to keep up with our eBay business,

I haven't taken any "fun" photos for a long time.

Here's some of the items we have been putting up for auction.

and a "gazillion" other items...

Lots of time spent getting all the research, photos and descriptions.

Frankly I can't wait to get out there in the world and just shoot for myself.

Happy weekend

ANOTHER "GOT NOTHING" DAY

 I haven't posted for a while and thought I had better get on the ball.

The weather is still hot and muggy.  Thankfully no storm damage here in the Sacramento Valley.  We really could use some of that rain, BUT..not all the mud slides.

I really don't have much to say.. Still recovering from my cough but doing so much better.

My friend Lynne that I do caregiving for has been in the hospital for a few days.

This is her second UTI.  Alzheimer's and proper self care is getting harder to maintain.  She had so much confusion at the hospital.  Hope things will be better when she gets home in her own familiar surroundings.

Talk about RANDOM... but why don't people that are walking their dogs pick up after they do their business?

Went out to bring in the garbage cans this morning and there was a HUGE "plop" right on the middle of our driveway!!  Ugh...most people are kind and clean up but my goodness...there was no way to "miss" this deposit!!!

End of rant

Okay, that's all I've got for today...😊😏😜😜

A NEW CRITTER IN OUR YARD

 Yesterday a squirrel became part of the Circle of Life.

We looked out our office window and to our amazement saw this huge vulture

doing his thing.

We were shocked.  Never have we had this huge bird in our yard and there he was

being the scavenger and cleaning up the remains.

It took him just minutes to finish up the job.

Don't know if a cat (which all the neighborhood cats think our yard is their private property) got the squirrel or what but now there is one less long tailed animal in our yard.

If I can figure out how to upload my very short video I will add it to the mess.

Now there is nothing left but the skin.

YAY ... FEELING SO MUCH BETTER

 I am so happy to be feeling better,

The older one gets the harder it is to bounce back...

Exactly one month ago my sweet Granddaughter Amanda graduated with her teaching credential.

Today she is into her first full week of having her very own class of 6th graders.

she's tiny and to some of the "mothers" of kids in her class she looks like she should be a kid herself.

This first job won't be the easiest but she has always been up for a good challenge.

There are 31 kids for her to wrangle and impart her knowledge and joy of life.

The school is a Charter Public School which has its emphasis on morality and a solid background on our Founding Fathers and how our USA was created.

There are 3 Academies in our area with 4800 students enrolled and another 4800 on the waiting lists to get in.  You can draw your own conclusions from this.  These are all in Northern California.

I can't wait to get all the details in a few days.

Happy Tuesday

UNDER THE WEATHER

 Sorry, I won't be on the blog for a few days.

I'm really feeling icky...coughing a lung out and blowing my nose..UGH

I am up and showered, that's a good sign but that's going to be it  for the time being..

Sigh

Things to do and I don't feel up to doing them,

Only good thing is I have lost 6 pounds..hard way to do that though!!

See you in a few..

Sue

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE CONTINUED

 This post is more for me than others looking at this blog.

Here is the photo of our dear friends, now both gone to be with the Lord.

Janet passed away from cancer 8 years ago and now Xavier has joined her in the heavenly realms.

The memorial service on Monday was wonderful and beautiful..it sounds strange to say that...but it was.

So many friends and family were there to honor Xavier.

His family is huge!

8 brothers and sisters and 5 kids of his own...then you throw in all the spouses and kids and its a party without any friends .  Some were not able to make the memorial so there would have been more.

It was thrilling for me to visit with some of the kids that I haven't seen for so many years.  Hugs, tears and laughter all rolled into one special day.

Xavier and Janet

Forever missed

Familia

Blessings

THE CYCLE OF LIFE

 Today we are attending the Memorial Service for a very long time friend.

Xavier was in our lives for over 40 years.

He fought the good fight and is now free from pain and daily difficulties.

He was our choir director , long ago, and just loved people.  He always called me Susanna.  I loved that, it was his tender intimate name for me.

Xavier had 8 brothers and sisters and was the father to 6 of his own.

My boys were fortunate enough to always be a part of their family too.

Bittersweet day today.

I am looking forward to visiting with many friends from long ago.

THE NEVER ENDING JOB CONTINUED

 More yard work in our never ending saga.

When we moved into this home 16 years ago, all of the plants and trees were already established.

Roots from some of the trees have become problems.  The roots from our Mulberry tree has been invading our lawn and the concrete border on the tree side.

It has affected the sprinkler system too so we finally bit the bullet, got out 2 chairs and the reciprocating saw and got to work.  At least we were in the shade of the tree.

At last a huge hunk of the roots is finally exposed and cut out.  There is more but we aren't sure where it is traveling.

For now this will have to do...

Besides Us Old Gray Mares ain't what we used to be...😋

This root was underground, at least 6 feet long and heavy...

Its hard to realize what's hidden under the ground.

Thankful we got this done.

THE NEVER ENDING JOB !

 I know I am always harping on  our backyard work.

It is truly a never ending job...but I do love the backyard and the view.

We had put some weed killer on our lawn.  They were getting out of hand.

All it did was make the crazy weeds taller and stronger.

Dave got out our electric lawn mower and went to town.

What a job... I follow and keep the cord out of his way.  (That's one way to get our steps in,, LOL)

The lawn is 8500 sq. feet... lots of steps..

We mowed a little and sat a little.  It took us a long time but it did get finished.

Dave took this shot from his chair at the end of the lawn.  He is convinced that someone keeps coming in and making the yard bigger every time we go out there..HaHa...

Our daughter in law sent us this photo in response to our moaning and groaning about our yard.

And so another week begins.  Thankfully the temps are going to be cooler for the next few days.  "Cooler" as in 88F-90F...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my FIRSTBORN

 I meant to post this yesterday but life just got in the way.

Yesterday was our first born Steve's 55th birthday.

How do our kids age and we stay so young?  LOL

Steve is clever, a Master Photographer, a true family man, Loves his family and loves his Lord.  He has an amazing "filing cabinet" mind and is skilled in figuring out difficult problems.  I truly believe he has wisdom way beyond his years.

We love him and are very proud of him.

Steve has been away at camp for a month being the camp photographer.

We will celebrate soon.  Why not drag out the celebration as long as it can be done?

Love you Steve...to the moon and back !

THURSDAY THANKFULNESS One Day Early

 There is always lots to be thankful for.

I'm a day early but I just want this to be in my annual journal.

We got the most delightful phone call from our long time (over 60 years) friends.

They have been going through so many severe health issues.  It was so good to hear their voices and know they are still getting along.

I went to my annual doctor visit yesterday and all is really good.  Its a good thing as I age to be successful in getting my BP down where it belongs and having no major issues.

We were able to finally pay our postponed property taxes.  Of course now we have to work on the next payments..it never ends, but so grateful for that stress off our shoulders. CA. taxes where we live are literally going through the roof.  Fixed incomes sure don't leave much extra.

Thankful that the temperatures are down a bit and the AC isn't cranking all day and night.

Thankful for my Husband and family.  We all make a great team.

I know that I have posted this photo before but I think it is fitting today.

CONTEMPLATING

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

MONDAY....MONDAY

 I sure have a lot of piddly things to accomplish today, so this is going to be short and sweet.

Now I need to get my "UMPH" going.

SATURDAY SCRIPTURE

 I'm not sure who this scripture is for...

Perhaps it's Me....

Have a wonderful weekend !

OUR GRAPE HARVEST

 I went out yesterday and harvested our grapes.  Didn't want the birds to get to them before I did.

Selfish...I know...

I also picked about 10 pears from our little tree.

Found out that California Pears don't ripen on the tree and they ripen from the inside out.

It's hard to tell if they are ready or not.  So they are on our kitchen counter in a cool dry place.  When they gently give by the stem end they are ripe.  Pears can then be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

We will see how this all turns out.  I can't wait to taste some juicy Pears...

YUMMM

HOT ...HOT ... HOT ...

 Well this weekend has been something else.

Yesterday 106F.

Today (Sunday)  109F.

Tomorrow is suppose to be 110F !!!

Talk about feeling wilted, but then my Granddaughter Lauren texted me from her home in Las Vegas... Are you ready for this?

116F. and she says it feels like 120F... All I can say is UGH !

I think I need some ice cream !

It is National Ice Cream Day today ...

THIS YEAR'S PEAR HARVEST

 I am so excited to see fruit on one of our trees this year.

No plums or peaches.

The weather did a number on our fruit trees and also they are getting old and don't produce as well as they did in the past.

BUT

Our pear tree seems to be happy and bountiful.

Can't wait to pick them and sink my teeth into that juicy fruit.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I truly am thankful for fresh fruit from our own trees.

FUGITIVE CAPTURED AND OFF THE STREETS AGAIN

 Good news for those who follow me on FaceBook.

Those who don't, I will catch you up on what was going on in our area over the weekend.

In April there was a violent Shoot Out at our local dog park.

Eric Abril took an elderly couple hostage, wounding the wife and Killing the husband in cold blood.

He also shot to kill the responding police officer.  Thankfully he didn't succeed.

Eric was then captured and put in jail awaiting trial.

Apparently there was some sort of medical situation and he was taken to the hospital for it.

At 3am Sunday morning he somehow escaped..(investigation is now going on).  He managed to dismantle his restraints but still had his Belly Chains around him.  He was barefoot and shirtless but in orange jail pajama bottoms.

The manhunt began and the patrol cars and helicopter spent the whole day going overhead since there had been numerous tips about being seen in our area.  The sheriff suggested we stay inside..which we did.  This was just too close for comfort.

He was caught yesterday around noon about 2 miles from our house in a green belt creek.  He had gotten rid of his bright orange pants and was only in his white jail boxers.

A neighbors dog was barking so his master went to see what he was barking at.

Saw the disguarded bottoms on the other side of his fence, heard some splashing in the creek and immediately went in and dialed 911.  Within seconds every law enforcement personal descended on him and captured him without further incident.

He was full of cuts and abrasions from his night scaling rocks and brush.

We are so thankful for his apprehension and I say "Throw the Book at Him!!!"

He's a MURDERER and has no remorse.

I sure don't want to go through this tummy churning, scary event EVER Again!!!