Sunshine yesterday...
Today is another story.
We are suppose to get another inch of rain today.
So far nothing dripping from the sky but who knows...
I went out to our backyard and took this shot of our "Papple" tree.
Its a cross between an apple and a pear...more like an Asian Apple.
There are just a few buds popping out. I hope the next rain storm won't
completely destroy the blossoms.
Enlarging the photo will show more detail.
Happy Tuesday
Life is so interesting...
Just when we think things are seemingly going our way...
A roadblock appears.
After coming out of Walmart we saw this sight.. our rear tire was completely flat.
All we could do was groan and say...we don't have the money for new tires.
AAA came and changed our tire to the "donut" and then we went to the bank.
We had planned on depositing $200.00 for property taxes coming up.
Then it was off to America's Tires.
I guess you know where this is going.
The cost of the 2 new tires was $200.00
Thanking the Lord we had that money ready in the bank.
Of course we still need that money to be replenished but we had what was needed.
There is a further footnote to this story but I will save it for another post.
😀💞
I'm was sitting at my "office" table a few minutes ago.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw some frantic activity.
A young hawk had landed on a branch which sent a lot of little "flitter"
birds scrambling.
I grabbed my phone and tried to get a photo. This is as much as I could capture before he flew over our house and on to who knows where.
He had rusty chest feathers . Wish I could have gotten a snap of his feathers as the wind ruffled them.
He was too fast and I was too slow.
I have never in the 16 years we have lived here had a hawk land so close.
We can see them circle but never land.
At least I got Blog Fodder for today...😀
Today is one of those days..
I got "nuthin'.."
Just a bit down and unmotivated for no particular reason.
So here are a few photos from the archives describing ME.
Dave and I drove up to our favorite sky viewing place yesterday.
The view didn't disappoint us at all.
These photos are right out of my iPhone. No editing...
That phone has an amazing camera in it.
The sunset is from our backyard.
Dave said, grab your phone and look out the back..
Such a magnificent display of color.
Sunset
God's creation is wonderful.
It almost seems like another time in another world.
Two Years ago Dave had the accident that fractured his leg in many places.
It was such a hard time for us.
BUT GOD...
He was our Hope and Strength.
Dave has had a good recovery but we have to admit that Age has slowed us both down.
Two Years...time sure flies!!!
And now .... 2 years later
Onward, Ever Onward ...
When I was going through some old photographs I came across two
I hadn't seen in a very long time.
I was the junior bridesmaid at a family friends wedding.
Nat had had polio since childhood and wore heavy braces on both legs plus using her crutches for mobility.
Her disability never stopped her from living a full and meaningful life.
She married the love of her life and had one son.
As I was writing about Nat's braces, my mind instantly heard the creak of those braces
as she went about her daily life ... that memory gave me chills.
I was 6 years old at her wedding. It was the only time I have ever been in any wedding besides my own.
The dress was pale yellow. My Mom made it, and considering how little she liked to sew, it's a Masterpiece.
I did feel like a princess in it...mainly because it was long.
As I said in a blog from some time ago, I really "hated" the hat thing and couldn't wait to take it off.
Thanks for going back into the Dark Ages with me.
I am adding this photo even though the color is wonky.
You can get an idea of the color of my dress.
It was pretty sunny and I am sort of squinty.
I guess we better enjoy these two days of sunshine.
Weatherman says another storm will be rolling in this weekend.
I'm absorbing the vitamin D even though the wind is really strong and bitter cold.
The good news is we have sold ( on eBay) 3 items in the past week. Almost $150.00 went into our checking account.. we are so happy. Our checkbook is too.
Enjoy your day.
Snow has been falling all around us.
The lower elevations of the Foothills have been hit hard...
Us??
We have finally gotten rain.
Maybe our drought will be over for this year.
Its a good day to stay inside.
This is the mantra from my son Steve, "Don't Be Lazy"...
Get your Paperwork, your Will and Trusts up to date.
Don't be like this old shoe that's been forgotten and buried deep in your closet or safe.
We realized that some of our Trust information was not up to date.
Life had some changes since we had done our will and trust in 1999!
It's one of those things that just went out of our minds after completion.
Dave and I are so thankful for our sons making time and having some serious family counsel time together.
We don't want our legacy to be one of probate and debt for our kids.
We are now in the process of updating some important things.
The peace of mind this has given us is so comforting. Now our sons know exactly what's in our minds and what they will have to deal with in the future.
It's so much better to talk together when we are all healthy, our brains are working and not under the pressure and stress of our final days.
Our sons.. Mark and Steve...
Two of the very BEST !
The storm clouds from the past few days have been spectacular.
We really thought we were going to be "dumped" on ...
But nary a drop!
The mountains got their blast of snow and now we wait again for the
"in-coming storm" again.
Rain, hail and snow down to 1000 ft are predicted for the weekend..
We are at 330 ft. elevation.
We will See....
Yesterday Dave and I had a very special couple of hours spent with our Granddaughter Amanda.
Amanda is getting ready to graduate college and President's Day was her day off from school.
Actually it was her day off from student teaching at an academy charter school.
We were celebrating some very exciting news and a huge answer to prayer.
She has been hired at the academy to be a full time 6th grade teacher. This begins as soon as she graduates in late April.
She went through 5 interviews with various staff personnel and they all wanted her to remain at the school.
Can you see our buttons popping???
We chatted over lunch and talked so much that I forgot to take a photo of us together.
Here's a photo of Amanda and her husband Billy. This was taken this past Christmas.
Love these TWO and my heart is full.
This coming Monday's photo club challenge is "SHOES".
I'm not sure if I will have time to create a new photo,
So I may use this one from my archives.
I just can't decide yet and I do have a few days.
I call this one: WESTERN SHOES
To be continued!
Today is Wednesday Wisdom
When LIFE gets complicated
Isaiah's words come to mind.
I cling to them.
This is such a screwy time of year in the weather department.
Two days ago it was sunny and pleasant in the morning.
Just one hour after I had looked outside, a cold front moved in and the temperature dropped and the clouds took over.
Believe it or not, yesterday we hit 70*F. !
Today...it hasn't decided what its going to do yet....
The Saga of weather here in Northern California always keeps us on our toes.
Before Mark had to fly back to his home in Oregon we were able to take a photo.
Steve brought over his camera and equipment so we could have a really nice Memory Photo.
It seems Dave and I are shrinking and the sons are still growing..not really but we definitely are shorter than a few years ago..
Old Age sure does a number on the body.
The main reason Mark came down was so we, as a family, could update our will and trust. The will and trust had been done in 1999. Several things had changed and we never got around to even reading the documents after it was put away for safe keeping.
We decided that they needed to know what our wishes are and how things were legally
documented. We would rather do this when we are all functioning and they know from our lips how we feel and our desires.
We have such awesome "kids" and the peace of mind we have is wonderful.
There isn't any infighting or greed. Its just the realization that at 79 and 80 years of age, we are getting up there.
We don't want to make things difficult or costly for the families. I'm sure glad they know what they are doing and are so intelligent, patient and kind.
We love them, their spouses and the grands too.
In this photo Mark is on the left and will be 50 this year. Steve , on the right, will be 55 this year.
This is almost shocking to me to actually put in print ALL of our ages....
How did this happen???
Today is our son Mark's last day here.
It has been a whirlwind of business activities but all good.
Look what our 2 sons were able to get both Dave and I.
We were able to get on Marks plan and now we have new phones.
It was a fantastic deal and just the same fees as we now pay.
BUT
Oh my this old age makes a steep learning curve.
I sure hope my non techie mind can do it.
Both sons are such wonderful teachers so ...
Sons just arrived so I will close now.
What a couple of weeks of ups and downs.
Our car is fixed and paid for .. Thanking the Lord...
Dave and I were able to go and have an anniversary lunch at Cheesecake Factory.
Love the gift cards that we hoard...for such a time as this...
Yummy!
The best gift is our son Mark flying down from Oregon for a few days.
We are mixing business with pleasure.
See you in a few days
Yesterday, January 31st, was Dave and my 59th wedding anniversary.
It really boggles my mind that it has been that many years!
Lots of trials and lots of mountain top days too.
God is a good God and we thank Him every day for everything.
To update you on our car situation...
Again God is good !!
The cost was really expensive to have the car repaired
BUT
It was laid on 2 special friends hearts to help us out.
It was actually 2 people that we would have never expected any gift from.
They were so above and beyond generous that the entire amount is paid for.
Our car should be ready by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest.
We are humbled and learning to just say thank you.
Its difficult to be on the receiving end of things when we are so used to being on the giving end.
What a roller coaster couple of weeks this has been.
Lots of lessons learned!!
Just when we begin to think that we are making some progress in the financial department..
Along comes another problem.
Saturday evening we were going to check out the route i was going to drive to an appointment.
Dave was going on the freeway but asked if I was more comfortable going on the local streets.
I said yes local streets are easier for me.
So we started on our way.
I asked why he was slowing down in such an illogical place,
he said I'm not ... the car just lost all power.
Fortunately we coasted to the side of the road in a wide service lane.
Could not start it for anything. There was an AutoZone store a long block away, so Dave thought maybe we were out of oil.
Bought the oil but it didn't help at all.
SO,
We called AAA and a terrific guy came out with the long bed tow truck.
We had it towed to AAA service which was close by.
Of course, it was after their closing time of 5PM and they were closed on Sunday.
Singing praises for our son Steve being home and close enough to come and get us.
We only have one OLD car and when that dies, we have nothing.
Today, Monday, AAA called and are going to do diagnostic tests and we will go from there.
Sigh
I wonder how much more money will fly out of our empty wallet.
We gotta have wheels!!!
Trying to be positive, but its difficult.
Dave and I have been going through old family photos.
There are so many that have no names or dates on them.
Fun to look at but really meaningless to us.
I love seeing pictures of the clothing of the day and the transportation available too.
Here are a few from this particular collection....very random..
I am posting them so I will have them in my Annual printed photo book.
This photo is of my mom and future aunt and uncle.
Dated about 1926
There are a few more but I will save them for another time.
Thankful Thursday
Our latest photo challenge last night was "SHADOWS".
I had to dig back into my archives for my submission.
This photo taken in Old Sacramento is one of my all time favorites.
The stark dark and light makes it a perfect example of shadows.
I got the "Winner, Winner....Chicken Dinner".... from the club 😁
It's an oldie but goodie and I am satisfied.
Have a great day!
What's that strange light in the sky?
Its the SUN !!!
Can you say happy dance?
There is suppose to be no more rain for the next week!
It's a relief in so many ways.... I'm not fond of soggy.
I went out in our front yard this morning and shot these photos.
Not quite enough bright sun for shadows but I will take what I can get..😊
Our Naked tree is still pretty in its own way.
Okay, that's what I got for today.
Happy Thankful Thursday....
Finally the weatherman says there will be a break in our rain storms.
It's still kind of dribble-y outside,
but, better days are suppose to be ahead for us in Northern California.
I thought I would just share a pretty flower that I photographed a while ago....
To Brighten Your Day Too.
Here's to good days ahead.
Don't forget to enlarge this photo. The detail of the pollen is beautiful.
Yesterday we finally got a break in the Pineapple Express rain storms we have been having.
Our camilla bushes were pretty full though battered from the wind and rain.
The wonderful sun came out all day long..
It sure made me a happy camper.
Today we are back to the gloom and "promise" of another couple of days of 95% rain.
Sigh
At least it's not freezing cold here.
Life still goes on and I have things to do, so I will don my rain coat and go for it!
Last night was our first ZOOM photo club call of the year.
It was so good to be back together chatting and enjoying each other's photography.
The challenge was doing a Still Life of a Few of our Favorite Things.
This ended up being a real bugger for me.
What I wanted to do, I just couldn't pull off. The lighting wasn't right, the balance was off,
it was boring and the time pressure was on.
I definitely am not happy with the final outcome.
Love the things I chose but not the photo.
Our friend took this photo of Dave and I several years ago and for Christmas our Granddaughter Amanda painted that picture for us.
Its so special that she would take time out of her busy schedule to make something so personal for us.
The Disney figurines are treasures of ours too.
The Field Mouse is from the Disney film "Fantasia" It is depicting the song April Showers.
The 3 Disney characters are by the artist Anri and are wood carvings. I love the amazing detail and wish I had more, but the pocket book doesn't allow it.
So despite not liking how the photo looks, I dearly love My Favorite Things.
We have been selling things for many years on eBay.
We decided to try to sell some things on FaceBook Marketplace.
Why?
Because many of the things we sell are too big or heavy. People don't want to pay the postage for sending them.
We have sold three things by having local people come to the house, pay and take them home.
Win-Win for all of us.
Here is the last thing we sold.
Its a "toy" model electric steam engine from 1905.
Its heavy caste iron and was missing just one small belt, which is easily replaced.
$165.00 cash in our pocket and another thing gone from our garage!!!!
And so it goes, bit by bit , we clear things out and get money to go for our property taxes.
I finally got the last of my Restoration Hardware photos off of my cell phone, and got them edited.
It was fun to do some in an Artsy Fartsy way.
This place was so amazing. I now wish I had taken a bunch more photographs.
Guess we will have to go back there again sometime...😀
I love how the changing light from the skylights creates interesting shadows and coloring.
Don't forget to enlarge these photos. They really show the detail so much better.
And there you have it...
Remember to enlarge all the photos. they really pop when you do that.
