'Its a lovely day in the neighborhood...'

Our lives have been busy since I last wrote which is a good thing.  I find myself thinking when summer arrives I will have plenty of time to take naps and float in the pool.
Our visiting or part time friends are all beginning the process of returning home. Our MN friends left the end of March so we managed to squeeze a few more happy hours, bike ride, and hike into the schedule to last us until next year.
Rande arrived the 25th and the five of us hiked Box Canyon. It was a wonderful day and an impt one for J and me. While he was at Mayo our friend John added to his doctor board a photo he had taken hiking Box Canyon. All the hospital staff and doctors asked J about it and would add 'lets get you well enough to do it again.'

Last year with Timothy and Jammie

This year 

I doubt if our friends plan to hike with us again after this day. I tripped and fell right off the bat and landed on a rock on my knee cap. They were sure I would want to go back to the car...but of course I wiped my tears and trucked on. I am not a quitter. Then a bit down the hike J's sole came off his hiking boot. It had simply rotted and fell off! We laughed and he continued on until the other one also came off. Seriously?!? He said it was like walking in moccasins...again they were sure we would want to turn around. J is not a quitter either and we finished the hike. We were a bit slower than last year but that is life now. Great day and an amazing accomplishment for Jerry.

Ky had his interview with AA and felt it went as well as could be expected and is enduring the long wait to hear from them. He also has a final interview with Alaska coming up on the 16th~ how nice to have a back up. We are all praying, crossing fingers and sending positive energy that he gets hired and gets another chance to begin again.

His first unaccompanied flt to DFW...he would be perfect for the job!

 

 

Got a chance to go back in time and went to a Boz Scaggs concert in Palm Desert. I loved it and the musicians in his band were all so talented! Its such a thrill to experience artists enjoying their passion. Boz still has a great voice and brought back wonderful memories for me.

We had Easter dinner and my mom's birthday here on the 31st. She turned 88 and is still going strong and throwing parties! It was a laid back day but good food, good wine and way too much to eat! What is it about holidays that makes us always go too far?!?

We also had some sad news...Timothy's dog Wolfgang...(see him above?) got hit by a car. He may lose a front leg and has been really struggling to heal. We went over last weekend to help them move and it was so sad to see him just lying there. He could barely hold his head up but he definitely knew how to wag his tail. Aren't dogs the best?! I hear from Jammie he continues to gain strength and hopefully our bundle of cuteness and energy is coming back. Speaking of adorable dogs...

Gracie enjoying a beer at the brewpub!

Our dear friend Ingerlise is here for a long weekend and its always fun to have her. It was raining in Seattle so she is delighted to be in the sunshine warming up. Yesterday we went to the Indian Wells Art Festival and both bought beautiful glass vases. I cant wait to pop some flowers in mine and class the joint up. 

Remember my wonderful rose garden we have been working on? Well look at it now! I just love sitting outside enjoying all the colors and fragrances the roses offer. May cut a few to try out the new vase today!

Hope you are all well and happy...and thanks for dropping by~

Last day being 59...

How can it possibly be a month since I last updated? Why is life so fast now I feel like I cant catch up...
Today is my last day in the 50s and I feel fine about it. I had a friend say it was a hard one for her it just sounds so old. I agree but I guess after almost losing my man I value making it to the next year.

Gosh I adore that kitty enjoying my big balloon!

My neighbor Roberta told me she was throwing a birthday party for her husband on the 8th. I had been to a fashion show luncheon all day and was just plain tired. It was also very cold so I threw on sweats and uggs and told J we are popping in to say happy birthday and then coming home. Yep. You got it.
It was a surprise party for me...I dont love surprises and I really dont like to be dressed for a day camping when I am at a party. I did have fun regardless and how lovely that a fairly new friend thought enough of me to go to the trouble. Delicious desserts too!
My best present was the arrival of my MN gf Michelle. It was a last minute good airfare and 48 hrs of talking, drinking and laughing.

We thought we were the hottest chicks since Thelma and Louise on our ride home...while J bbq-ed ribs for us and poured the wine. We were having a little heatwave and able to sit outside and help M thaw. The last day it was 19 in Alex and 91 in Palm Springs! Woohee!

Our  20+ yr friendship touches my heart and I hope we are always and forever each others bf.She helped me save J last fall and we both love her immensely.

Ok here is the next best gift...

Rande and Timothy have both been on tour and ended up in Austin TX at SXSW this week. I told them all I wanted (besides a phone call) was a photo of them together. When I look at this all I see is their big smiles and happiness to be together. When I look at photos of  the 3 of them growing up they always had their arms around each other. I hope whatever women come into their lives nurture their bond as brothers and friends.

Other big news is Ky is heading to DFW the 26th to interview with American for a flt attendant position...finally! While its not what any of us envisioned as a career for him sometimes life throws you curve balls and you just have to pull yourself up and get back in the game. Hopefully he can have some fun traveling and save enough to finish his degree.

Remember how excited I was to share my new garden with you? Well its nothing but bad news now.
I guess there is a reason it was this dumb empty area...its so darn hot it is frying my plants.

It looks worse in person...Maybe melons next year or just some heat resistant plants.

The good news is all our fruit trees look like this right now and the scent is heavenly!

Ok I will be truthful...I have been in a bit of a funk today. I REALLY wanted turning 60 to be more than just another day. I wanted it to be something to remember and to celebrate a new year ahead. We went to Hawaii for J's and while we didnt do much it just felt special being somewhere else.
I told J I thought it was too nice here in March to fly away and we should plan a trip when its hot. So we have kicked around the idea of going up in a bi plane tomorrow. I cant get excited about it anymore because I get airsick in small planes and have not enjoyed riding in them after a couple of maydays in my dad's. It also feels like I am trying too hard to make the day a big deal. I dont like parties so what is left? We are going out to dinner with a couple and her birthday is tomorrow too.
I guess I just need to wake up with a grateful heart and wait for the pecan blueberry pancakes to be ready. Maybe turning 60 is just another curve ball I need to get on with. I have been feeling so fortunate lately and loving our life and home. Yet wondering when the shoe will drop as if I dont deserve this joy. Maybe my 60th gift is to see the good in each day and just be happy.
Thanks for dropping by. xo

A little of this a bit of that

I have always been one of those moms that cries with pride when one of my sons does something remarkable. As if they are an extension of me and I helped make them remarkable. While  I didn't cry yesterday I felt immense pride as if J's accomplishment was part of me too.
On Sept 8th J rode in an ambulance for 31/2 hours to save his life. Yesterday, 5 months later he rode his bike in the Tour de Palm Springs to celebrate his life. We rode with our friends from MN the 15 mile ride and had a great time. They had over 10,000 riders in the event and I have never experienced anything like it. Great fun and we all agree next year we will shoot for the 25 mile ride.

Sept 8th ambulance ride to Rochester

Feb 9th celebratory bike ride!

Tour de Palm Springs 2013 with Lynn and Mary Kay!

Yesterday as we were loading our bikes we spotted our first big horn sheep coming down the mountain. Its so incredible to live in this little cove and have such amazing wildlife out our door.
I doubt we will ever stop getting excited about seeing them this time of year. We had quite a bit of winter weather and snow in the mountains so maybe that helped send them lower. Very cool.

I realized I have not shared one of our biggest remodel projects that John B and Timothy came and did for us in Nov. We had replaced all the carpet in our house last spring but left the old in the dining room. Our plan was when we got back from MN we would tackle retiling it. Well we all know that didnt happen so John said if Timothy would come so would he and there was no talking him out of it. He brought his Jamie and Timothy his Jammie and we all went to work.

The girls working on some pavers around the pool

The girls cruising in Jammie's 'new' bug!

Before with a mauve/brown carpet

Timothy and Jammie arrived and up came the carpet

Timothy using his mechanical engineering degree for precision!

John B using his engineering degree for perfect cutting!

John telling Jamie how to do grout and Gracie shadowing her!

Beautiful design in alcove

Beautiful dining room thanks to Bishops and Kamolzs.

I have a few other projects to share but will save them for another post. Thanks for popping in and have a lovely day!
xo

Where did January go...?

I can't believe its already been a month since my last post. I guess that is the positive thing about blogging is it forces to me account for my whereabouts. What we are probably most happy about this month is our new car! I had asked J when the Westy finally drove off if we could try and go as long as possible with just one. That night he found exactly what we had been dreaming of online. Its a 2009 VW convertible in Harvest Moon with cream interior. Here's the thing..it only had 1445 miles on it! Serious! So we drove to SD to see it and J decided on the drive over we were not going to just jump in and buy another car. He didnt know it was going to look brand new and be such a sweet ride. The previous owner bought it for his vacation home in La Jolla and forgot to use it. Yea us! Well we left it there so he could think about it and a week later it was ours. We look adorable driving around with the top down, with our silly smiles and Gracie ears flying like Dumbo! We even brought a tree (small) home in the back seat yesterday...such a great work car!

 This was also a big birthday for J....65! I felt if you almost die you need to celebrate your birthday big and so I booked us a trip to Hawaii. He was not doing well when I bought the tickets so we decided a trip to HNL would be good enough..just getting away and doing something special.
Oh my. HNL has become so crowded and Americanized we hardly recognized it. Where was Don Ho and the hula dancers?!
We had a great time just being together and celebrating where our lives are headed so well worth it.

Maitais by the pool!

Shave ice at Matsumotos Haleiwa

This is my favorite...on the left is J flying home from Mayo in Sept. On the right is J coming home from Hawaii in Jan. I would have to say the photos tell all about his recovery and this is just the new normal and perfectly fine.  Oh and he has his last appt with the neurologist today...
Other big step is this weekend we are signed up to ride 15 miles in the Tour de Palm Springs. 5 months ago exactly he was riding in an ambulance...Yea you Jerry!

I have been meaning to share another project I have going...outside our dining room they made this alcove. Not sure why because its just plain stupid and good for nothing...until now.

See what I mean about just being a dumb waste of space ?

So after a couple of trips to Home Depot I created (with Rande's help) this winter garden box. I added river rock around it and laid flagstone we had so its clean and a bit decorative.

This is what it looks like today! I love my little garden if for nothing else the smells of herbs, tomatoes and good soil. Everything seems to be doing well which says a lot for where we live. Worse soil correction clay ever to work with...but plenty of sunshine!

Ok I will wind this up with the butterfly pillow I mentioned to you all last post. I made it for the PS Woman's Club auction luncheon.  Finished it yesterday and must admit it sure wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I sewed into it about 200 beads and hopefully someone will think they simply have to have it. I have a sweet friend that started the bidding for me at $50.00 so now I wont worry about that walk of shame when no one buys it! Phew!

Thanks for dropping by and sorry I have such big pauses between posts. I'll work on that!

Goodbye 2012 and hello 2013!

Not going to lie...was really ready to kick that old 2012 to the curb. So far the new year is coming together nicely and I have high hopes! Today is 4 months since J entered the ER in Alexandria and as I write he is at the gym with his buddy. Is he completely recovered? No. Will he ever be? No idea. Is he improving and working hard? Yes.
Favorite thing about 2012? I would have to say we made some new friends we cannot imagine a life without. Plus winning first place in a juried art show? Priceless! What a confidence booster some recognition can be...

For New years eve we had a lovely champagne and cheese fondue party! Just for two! Its not my favorite 'holiday' and I so loved staying home and keeping it simple.
We have been working on a few projects together and basically just enjoying the warm in the sun days. So glad we chose to live here...its perfect for us!

Our other really big new year news is the sale of our Westy. Its been fun having it back in our lives for the last 41/2 yrs but it has also been very costly at a time we couldnt afford the luxury.

Best campsite ever! Beach number 2 WA coast.

Best time camping... with Timothy and Jammie.

Another favorite memory was camping on Flathead Lake MT and opening the back end to sleep under a zillion stars. It was a treasure in our pockets to experience that...
We were mixed about selling it and couldnt help worry we would regret it. A very nice couple from San Luis Obispo area bought it and I hope it has lots of great adventures ahead. We were sad as it drove off but woke up the next morning feeling nothing but relief we were done trying to sell it. I think what continues to make me sad is the idea we wont camp again. Its no secret I enjoy it more than J but some of my best memories as a family were made while camping. I know we cannot afford an RV and J doesn't care for trailers so I see no solution. I have to accept I wont ever be one of those retired campers playing cards with cocktails by the campfire I use to envy. No one ever said life is fair.

I am working on a piece right now that is so much fun I cannot wait to get up and head to my 'studio'.
Its a gift for a friend graduating this spring with a degree in music therapy. I am trying to incorporate her music and violin into it and so far I love it! I am struggling with the best way to begin sewing because there needs to be a proper order to it. I hope to show you the finished project soon!
I am donating a butterfly piece to my mom's woman's club auction and need to get busy with that too. I laid awake in bed last night trying to visualize what I will do...no wonder I have sleep issues! This is the year I am going to also start sewing for "little dresses for Africa"...I am feeling frustrated with trying to be a successful artist and I am running out of walls to hang my art. So I guess I will venture off for a bit and try to make a difference with my work.
I am off to sew~thanks for dropping by.

Hmmm...now how do I do this?

It has been forever since I posted anything..I guess I just had a case of the writing blues. I really planned to quit all together but today as one year is ending and another is waiting, I decided why not.
I am in the process of taking down all of our decorations and its a bit overwhelming. The positive side of being such an enthusiastic decorator is foremost how lovely it is to sit in the midst of lights, color and things that remind us of Christmas' past. We raised our boys with lots of Santa, magic and wonderful memories. I still enjoy that even though they are all gone. I wasn't going to do as much this year but J brought in some North Pole saying "You need to do these." I continued on. I found every friend that told me they didnt decorate anymore, it was too much work, I would add something else. I dont know why.  The other positive side of taking it all down is how spacious and clean your house becomes! I am having trouble remembering where I hid the 'normal' stuff and again where does it go?!? Signs of maturing for sure.

I asked J to help me make a Christmas tree this year and thought I would share it. We donated our big old fake tree while in Gig Harbor. It was getting old and just a big pain to store. So last Christmas we had a real tree and that will be the last time. That baby was ready to start a massive fire it was so dry...my ornaments were sliding down the brittle branches!

So I had this great idea to make two trees tall and narrow and put one in the living room and one in the dining room. Honestly is there anything prettier than a lit tree full of ornaments in your house?

We bought two 7 or 8' tree stakes from Home Depot and J painted them brown and made bases from some of the wood.

We bought about a dozen pkgs each of boughs in two different styles. I started off with about four thinking it looked like a lot and it would have been... for a two foot tree! I had planned to make two trees with the different boughs (can you tell the difference?) and put one in the living room and one in the dining room. As we were finishing this tree J said no to having two trees. Too much to store and not enough space. I was really disappointed because I had this vision and mostly because I would have made the other longer needle tree instead if I had known. We never got around to returning the branches so maybe we can find room...

This is J drilling holes in the stake for me to glue in branches. I kept telling him more holes and that it was great PT for him!

This is me gluing in the branches and burning off my finger prints. I thought it would be so easy but it turned into a painful job! Hard to believe its winter looking at my outfit...

J taking a phone break but you can see the progress and just how many branches it takes.

Here you have our final result and a train to go with it! I really like this tree because its tall enough but narrow so not sticking out into the room. Maybe I like it so much because we made it together. Once I take off the ornaments and lights I plan to add a few more branches but otherwise it was a success.

Another project we did was to make three wreaths for our garage windows. We bought the wreaths and added lights, pine cones and bows and they added so much to the front yard. Notice how much
Gracie enjoys watching me make things!

                                      "What do you think Gracie? Kind of boring right?"

Perfect right?! I also made several pillows, a snowman on a wreath, finished some projects I had started last year but put away AND made a few gifts. All in all a productive xmas!

I had written this note to put in xmas cards about how close I had come to planning two funerals this year with Ky's wreck and J's west nile. How I was forever changed by the events and how I would wake up each day with a grateful heart for the blessings I have been given. I would live a life well lived and be a better person. By the time I got around to sitting down to writing cards I found I could not send it. I came home from MN a changed person and prayed I would continue to embrace the strength, patience, and lessons I had learned. After almost 4 months I realize I am slipping back to the old me and sitting in judgment, saying negative things about life and people, and not feeling so positive and grateful as I stated. This makes me so very sad because I really liked who I had become.
My Christmas wish is to begin this new year and each day being thankful, kind, patient and most of all someone people want in their lives.
I will end with a sweet family photo which unfortunately is missing one. We had a lovely 2 week visit from Rande in Nov. so understandable he didn't return for Christmas.
Not sure I have anyone still reading my blog but if so thanks for dropping by! Wishing you a wonderful, happy and healthy 2013!

Thanksgiving 2012

Christmas 2012