I Saw A Robin, Does That Mean Spring?

   I saw a bobbin this afternoon, and I really hope that means spring is on the way. We are in mud season right now, and I can tell you, it gets old really fast. We are suppose to have more rain tomorrow.
   The ground, for the most part, is firming up, so at least we don't sink up to our ankles. The only green I have seen popping up was a Russian Thistle. I'm really looking forward to spring. We did get to 61 today, with sun and it was really nice.
   I've been mailing off teddy bears that I have sold and last Saturday, when I mailed a couple more boxes the local Post Mistress ask me if I brought in any to show. Of course, I thought about it, but didn't, so when I mail another box tomorrow, I will bring in a couple for her to see.
   Not much is happening around here an I am thinking about spring cleaning, but we all know how much fun that is. I must admit though, that I don't have any clothes waiting to be folded, not even those towels.
   We are trying to decide if we are going to have a garden this year and if we are, what to plant. I suppose the usual. Some of our fruit trees might need replaced, because some buck decided to mangle them with his antlers. The joys of wildlife.
   Now for fun, I need to figure out what's for dinner tonight. Any ideas?

Sometimes, I'm Sure I Must Have A Screw Loose

   Being the bored, unemployed person that I am, I had a brilliant idea. Actually, I had the idea a couple of years ago, but just started doing it. Besides the loose screw, I'm slow too.
   People seemed to like the bears wearing flannel pajamas I have been making, so I decided to make them and try to sell them. Their faces are cuter than Smirky bear who's pictures is in a previous post. I haven't invested much into them so far because I have a lot of fabric in my craft stash, and I have even sold a few. It's a little extra money and something to do. I don't work on them everyday, but days I do work on them I spend a lot of time making them.
   I was going to make them and donate them to the children's hospital, but from everything I have read, hospitals only want new, in the original packaging. I'm still going to check into it some more. Also, there are always craft fairs around, so I figure if I work on them all year, I should have a half way decent amount made to sell at the end of the year for the holidays. There is always Craiglist, too. I have been told I need my own website, but I haven't decided on that yet. I don't want to be committed to making tons of them and get bear burn out. See, I must have a screw loose.
   Luckily, we haven't had all the snow like the East has had. We have had snow, then rain and now mud season has come really early. We are do for more snow and rain tonight and tomorrow. Perfect weather for staying in and working on bears.

I Really Want To Play A Musical Instrument

   I really want to play a musical instrument. When I was in elementary and middle school. I took violin lessons. All we ever played was a song called Concerto Grosso. Four years of the same song was really no fun, and I do admit, I didn't practiced all I should have because I really hated that song. I have no idea who the composer was. I did learn in those years of school orchestra lessons that the teacher was an identical twin and he and his brother married identical twin sisters and the each had 4 kids who oddly enough looked really related. I also learned how to read music and play the violin. I didn't play well, but I could play it.
   I also have a really pretty autoharp I would like to know how to play, but then again, there is that finger and string problem. Plus, no one seems to think you need lessons, "you just pick it up and play". I know there is more to it than that. One day, I might find someone who gives lessons.
   When I was a freshman in high school, I took one year of guitar lessons. I learned more about reading music that I already knew and learned that I can't play the guitar because my fingertips split and bleed and really hurt when fingering the guitar.
   A really, really long time ago, when I was 17, I got my first recorder. I really wanted to play it, but hated the sound, and it wasn't all my playing, which admittedly wasn't good. Way back then, I couldn't find many books to teach yourself the recorder. Now, with the wonders of the internet, I can find many books and videos on youtube. I still don't like the sound, so now, I have a collection of instruments I cant really play.


An A and a D Native American Flute. I really like the sounds of these,
but I think I want to play them without written music.

A G and a C Seed Pod Ocarina. These are interesting. I also like playing
these. The fingering is fairly easy if I could get my brain
and my fingers to work together. When I bought these, I also bought little song books
that you play by tabs. If I drop them, they break.



 

D tin whistles or penny whistles. These are also high pitched, but I actually
like these. I hope to learn to play them. There are several places
on youtube to learn to play these.

My recorder collection. From right to left are 2 Soprano recorders, and Alto recorder
and a tenor recorder. The white recorder is my first one. I was really trying to
learn you to play it, but with a toddler in the house, I didn't want it broken, so I bought the clear
orange one. Soprano recorders are in the key of C.
I decided to get the Alto recorder because it is an F and has a deeper tone. It still wasn't right, but I
am pretty sure I will learn to play it eventually. I hope. The fingering is the same, just the notes are different.
The last recorder, I just got and it is a Tenor, in the key of C. Everything I learned on the
Soprano recorders I can do on the tenor. It has such a nice, low mellow sound. I really like
playing it. I got the tenor recorder right before the new year started. I am practicing everyday and am now working
on my 8th note. It has been so long since I was able to read music, I had to start over with that. I can play a very mournful Red River Valley.
My brain and fingers are getting better at working together, so that's a good thing, and the dogs don't howl either.
With a C recorder, I should be able to play a wide range of songs when I learn more notes. I really want to learn how to
play The Tennessee Waltz and Moon River. I am making progress, but I really wish I was younger, so I would learn things easier and have a longer time to enjoy playing the instruments, not that I plan on kicking the bucket soon.
Maybe I have just hit the right time in my life to learn because I also actually like practicing now versus when I was younger.








 











I Finally Made Bear Clothes

  

Smirky Bear

   At long last, I have made the bear clothes. I had to make another bear to see if the clothes would fit, and I named him Smirky Bear because his face looks like he is smirking. He originally was named Damn Bear because I was having trouble with sewing his feet and legs because the directions on the pattern and the diagrams are flakey. I had the same problem when I made bears for the five grand kids and since I didn't think I would be making anymore bears, I didn't change the directions on the pattern. I didn't write down the changes this time either, but I did use three different colors of fabric to show how the feet go.


   The bears have flannel pajamas and slippers, summer pajamas out of the backing I used for the quilts I made the kids for Christmas last year and three other short sleeved shirts and pairs of pants. I used Velcro on the shirts because it is easier for little fingers to maneuver than tiny buttons or snaps. The shirts can be worn with the opening in the front or the back. I also changed the shirt pattern because the shirt was a pullover shirt and it would have been hard to get it over the bear's heads. I know, I should have made some dresses for Ashlynn and Michaela's bears, but I didn't because I didn't want to make tiny underwear for them. Later, I might add some dresses and sunsuits for girl bears, but then again, I might not. There is nothing wrong with pants. The kids can roll up the pants legs if they want their bears to wear shorts.


Pajama slippers, because there is nothing worse than a bear with cold feet.

Slippers and pajama pants

Pajama set

Short sleeve pajamas

Micheal's bear's clothes. The back of his quilt was orange.

Ashlynn's bear clothes, The darker pink is the backing of
her quilt.

Alix's bear clothes. He has a red backing on his quilt.

Nathan's bear clothes. He has a stripped back on his quilt.
Hopefully, no one will point out the
thunderclouds and rain are falling up
on the one shirt. I'm pretty sure someone will.

Michaela's bear clothes. She also has a dark pink backing on her
quilt, or quit as the kids call them.



 

  




Thanks For The Warning

   This time of year, I like a nice cup of hot chocolate in the evenings after supper. By nice, I mean a little hot chocolate with my marshmallows. I eat the marshmallows with a spoon and if the hot chocolate is still hot, I add more marshmallows to be eaten with the spoon before I drink the chocolate when it has cooled some.

My nightly cup of hot chocolate

The other night I noticed something I hadn't noticed on the bag before, and I do admit I am not the most observant person at times.



 I have never noticed the warning on the back of the bag. All these years, I have been eating my marshmallows wrong. When I eat them straight out of the bag, I always eat more than one at a time, but I am usually sitting down when I eat them because I am watching TV. Yes, I do realize the warning is for little children, but I am someone's child, just an old one and I am not small.

Then I noticed the part about closing the bag after it has been opened to keep the marshmallows soft. When I was a kid, probably not eating marshmallows the right way, I learned that when you open something it generally needs closed if it is not used up or you aren't finished with it. I always put my opened bag in a gallon size zippered plastic bag, but wouldn't it make sense to have the marshmallow bag have a zippered opening to close the bag?

It's pretty sad that there has to be this warning and handy information because some people lack common sense and might sue Kraft.

 

 

 

 

It's Been Really Rough But I Made It

   I know, it has been quite a while since I have written anything. As you know from the last blog, I had ankle fusion surgery on my left ankle. I thought everything was going fine, but boy was I wrong.
   Three days before I was supposed to have the cast changed, I woke up with excruciating pain in my leg. The next morning, I called the Drs. office and they got in me that afternoon. They suspected blood clots in my leg. As it turns out, I had three DVT's in my left leg, one below my knee, when in my thigh and one high up in the groin. As if that wasn't bad enough, in the emergency room I had a CT scan and they found a clot in each lung. I was told after, that if I had waited to go to the Dr. for my scheduled appointment, I probably wouldn't be here now. I ended up spending three days in the Acute Care ward of the hospital. Loads of fun.
   I had to start giving myself Lovenox shots in my abdomen to help thin my blood faster. Those shots twice a day were no fun at all. Once again, things couldn't go smoothly because I got Cellulitis from all the bruising from the shots. Of course, that isn't enough either. My asthma really kicked in and I had to have breathing therapy and breathing treatment four times a day.
   I have to be on Warfarin until the end of the year for the clots. I go back to the Dr. Nov. 4 to hopefully get this air cast off. Ok, it is removable, but I want it off forever. I am tired of it.  I have been walking around the house with it off and I feel much better since I have been doing that.
   I can honestly say that the pain is actually less in my leg since the surgery and what pain there is, it is from the surgery. I need to go to physical therapy to learn how to walk right again.
   As I was laying there in bed I thought of all the things I could be doing if I could walk around. I thought I could teach myself how to knit while in bed, but didn't. I did watch MacGyver on Netflix.
   I almost feel like my old self now and I have to be careful not to over do it.
   So that is why I have slacked off on the blog writing. Just so you know things are still normal, I really need to get busy on those darned bear clothes. There are still towels to be folded and floors to be vacuumed. I am working on it all, but not very fast. Winter will be here soon, and I will have plenty of time.
   Today, I really started working with finger training Frosty. I have made progress today. Tomorrow, I am making and canning Salsa Verde.
   I have decided I really like my iPad mini I was on it all the time. I am typing this on my iPad with a keyboard our son and daughter-in-law gave me. I still need to figure out how to get pictures onto my blog from here. I found some of my photos, but not the ones I was looking for.
   Anyway, I am alive and kicking and ready to bore you all once again.

Just Vegetating

   Life is duller than usual around here, because on July 26, I had ankle surgery to fuse my ankle, and I get to stay off of it for 8 weeks. I get to hang out in bed and be really bored. I have been reading and wasting a lot of time playing on my iPad. Thursday, when I had the splint removed and a gazillion staples removed, I also got a nifty green non-weight bearing cast. Now for fun, I can be up for 3 whole hours at a time and then it's back to bed or the couch. If I do alright with the first 3 hours, I can get up for another 3 hours in the evening. Such fun!
   Today, I decided I was going to try sitting in my wheelchair with my foot on the ottoman and see how that works. So far, so good.
   Of course, since we are having a heat wave right now, the compressor went out on our heat pump, so that means no AC. We have to get it fixed before winter, because that would mean ho heat, and we sure don't want that.
   Tim was looking out the window last night and a coyote walked about 3 feet from the window, headed for the chicken coop. Of course, by the time he got out there to take care of it, it was gone. Luckily, it didn't get into the coop.
   We had a really bad lightening and thunderstorm last night as well. The lightening was so close and you could tell it was hitting the ground. Luckily, no fires were started here, but it sure did light up the world. The thunder was so loud it actually shook the house. The dogs were not happy at all.
   Speaking of the dogs, Chip has decided if I am wheeling around to slow for his liking, he just runs under the chair as I'm wheeling around. No, I haven't run over him yet, but I did run over the toes on my good foot. Not something I would recommend doing again.
   Jake sticks really close to me. When we got Jake from the shelter, I was in the same wheelchair, because I broke my leg at that time and that is why I had my ankle fused this time. Anyway, As I'm trying to go someplace and not run over Chip, Jake is in the way. You would think that he would just turn around and walk, but nooo, he has to backup the whole time until I can get past him. Both dogs follow me into the bathroom. What do they think they are going to do, help? They are good dogs and taking good care of me.
   I had planned to get a lot of crafting things done, but I'm either not in the mood or it will take longer than my 3 hours of having my foot down.
   I finally got off of level 88 on Candy Crush and now I am stuck on level 91. I have no idea why I keep playing it, but I do, even though I have quit playing it many time. Stupid game!
   Next, I'll play Facebook slots and figure I'll bet really high, and when I run out of "money" I'll just delete them and go onto something new. Wouldn't you know it, I keep winning. It would be really nice if I could do that on real slot machines. Of course, that is hard earned money, that I don't want to lose too fast so I bet really low. Goes to show you, to win big you have to play big, and I'm just cheap. My 3 hours are up and I can feel my leg swelling, so I guess it's time to go put it up somewhere, right after I try to find something to eat.
   I hope everyone is having more fun than I am.

Daniel And Amy Got Married

   I know, it has been a long time since I have written anything, but sometimes I think, who, other than my family reads this blog anyway. But then again, that is the reason I started writing a blog in the first place.
   Daniel and Amy were getting married June 29, so we left here June 26, since we were driving. Of course, there was a terrible heat wave at that time and our air conditioner that worked when we left, decided to stop working. The temperatures weren't too bad until we hit CA. and then it was just hot and getting hotter the closer we got to Southern CA.
   We eventually made it to CA and Daniel and Amy's apartment in Bellflower. We met a rude woman who said we didn't belong in the gated parking area of the apartment building even though it did have marked guest parking spaces. We backed into one and went in to relax. That night, I heard what sounded like a car hitting another, but figured it was on the busy street they lived on.
   We didn't see much of Amy, which we expected since we got there on the 28th and she had lots of last minute things to do. We took Amy to meet up with a friend and then Daniel took Tim and I to lunch. We had Mexican food. Up here in WA, we just can't find good Mexican food. I am used to Tex-Mex food since I grew up in El Paso, TX, but Tim grew up in CA and knows what Mexican food tastes like.
   Tim and I really felt out of place and like tourists in CA now, since we had been gone for 7 years. You know you are in another world when all the buildings have bars on the windows and doors. Anyway, like all good tourists and Daniel being a good tour guide, we hit up a big liquor store. I know, who stops there? The price of liquor in WA is really high and I wanted to get a big bottle of Vodka for making more vanilla extract and I had read it works great for killing bugs and for cleaning, so, why not. When we got back to the apartment, I noticed someone had hit the front of the van. We wondered if it was the rude woman who told us we didn't belong there. The damage was small, just the bumper was pushed in and the hood wasn't quite right.
   Daniel took us to Downtown Disneyland that night and we ate at the Rainforest Café. Tim and I each had a Margarilla, which is a margarita made with orange sherbet. It was good and we will have to make some at home. Every half hour, there was a "thunderstorm" and all the Disney animals made noise. We watched the nightly fireworks display and then went back to Daniel's. It was a really good firework show. It had been a long time since we had seen a firework show and fireworks have gotten bigger and better.
 

    The wedding was in Redlands, CA and once again, it was really hot. It was a really nice wedding ceremony. Amy promised to make Daniel eat vegetables once in a while and Daniel promised to make Amy eat a donut once in a while. It was a very relaxed ceremony. Daniel also had a pocket full of Kleenex for Amy. They were going to have pictures taken outside, but it was just way too hot, so they were taken inside. Amy and Daniel have a really good bunch of friends that are more like family.
   Before the wedding Alyssa, David and kids got ready in our hotel room. It was really nice seeing them, but it wasn't nearly long enough.
   My brother, Gary and his wife Myrna were there and it was nice seeing them as well.
   Tim's dad and his wife were also there and we hadn't seen them for a long time, either.
   We left bright and early, but not early enough for Tim, to go see my parents in Pahrump, NV. It was a hot drive, but not nearly as hot as the drive to CA.
 We had a nice visit with them and saw my sister, Donna and her husband Ron, a couple of times.
   When we left, we were going to go see Tim's sister, Julie, because it was too early to stop by and see her when we were going. We still didn't see her for long because we really wanted to drive at night when it was cooler.
   Leaving Reno, NV headed for Marysville, CA traffic came to a stop. There was a mudslide that had just happened. We have no idea what was going on, but Julie did when we called her. All the traffic was diverted off the freeway onto a side street and when we got to the end of the street, we had to turn around and go the way we came and get on the freeway going the opposite direction then we wanted to go. The "short" detour we had to go on took 5 hours. At least it was really pretty going through the Sierras.

    We saw this really pretty waterfall up there.
   At one point, we were being tailgated by what we thought was a pick up truck. Tim pulled over so it could pass and it pulled in behind us, but not on top of us. It just sat there, so we drove on. A couple of minutes later, the same bright lights were shining in the windows. It got really close and then passed us and we noticed it was a white cargo van. Needless to say, we were really relieved when it passed us.
   A few miles down the road, the same lights were behind us again and we were beginning to think we were in one of those horror movies with the crazed people that prey on innocent travelers.

   It stayed behind us for quite a while again, tailgating of course, and then when we got to a town that had freeway on ramps, it veered off onto an exit. We were really wondering if it was going to come back, but it didn't. We breathed a sigh of relief, but kept an eye out for it anyway.
   We finally made it home. It's always nice to get home, but it we are glad we got to see Daniel and Amy get married and saw family, even though it was for a short while.

All's Quiet or Eggs Eggs Eggs

   I know, it's been a really long time since I've written anything, but honestly, nothing ever happens. About the only thing that has happened is Amy, Daniel and Michaela moving to Colorado. It's very quiet. I'm trying to put the put things back where they were before they moved in. I'm also making the spare room into a sewing/craft room. I am making progress.
   May didn't get the memo that said it is spring. Wednesday, we had a high of 45 and that night a low of 32. So far, it looks like most of our tiny fruit survived. We still haven't planted anything in the garden since we will be gone for a little bit the end of June. Barbara did plant every seed in her seed packages and is going to give use the plants after we get back. I have no idea what we are going to do with a gazillion tomato plants.
   I have an over abundance of eggs. I don't like eggs and only use them for cooking. Tim doesn't really eat that many. I don't have enough to sell, so we have given some to a neighbor. I really don't need 36 eggs. I know, that's not many compared to what some people get, but for us, it's too many. I have 5 hens and one or two might end up in the freezer. Of course during the winter, I end up buying eggs because the laying has really slowed down to a slow trickle.
   Our assorted berry bushes are doing great this year and hopefully, we'll get a good crop if the birds don't get them first.
   I finally have a lilac bush. I bought it for myself for Mother's Day. We would like to get a lot more and plant them along the fence line behind us and along the property line on the side where there is no fence. Deer aren't suppose to like lilacs.
   Now you can see for yourselves that we are really boring people and nothing exciting happens.

Wile E. Coyote Just Ran By

   I'm sitting in my chair, looking out of the window, trying to think of something to write about, when all of a sudden a very healthy looking coyote ran through the yard. It was 9:15 AM. It was in such a hurry that it was panicking when it couldn't get through the fence. Luckily, no one and no dogs were out. Once it saw the llamas behind us us, it quickly went a different direction. I guess llamas really do work as guard animals. I didn't see a road runner go by before the coyote.
   There are many baby goats behind us. One little black kid seems to be the leader of the other kids. It gets on top of the big wooden spool and jumps in the air and dances around on it's hind legs showing off, having a good old time. The goats do play king of the spool, but the little black kid always wins and seems to rub it in when all the other kids are knocked off. I miss having goats, but it's much cheaper and easier on my poor old body watching the neighbors goats.
   The pregnant doe hasn't been back lately, but others have. I noticed some deer ate the little wild plum tree that is in a flower pot right by the front door. I've been growing it since we cut it off of a wild plum tree we came across on one of our drives. It was about a foot high, and now it's looking like a tree and ready to plant somewhere.
   I bought an iPad Mini not too long ago and have been playing with it a lot trying to figure out the things I can do on it. I really wish you still got paper owner's manuals these days. Yesterday, I discovered I can check library books out on it, so this morning, I did. It would be nice if I could change the font on the library book, but you either can't or I just haven't figured out how. Either way, I can live with large letters.
   Rumor has it that next Wednesday, it's suppose to get to 69, WooHoo!! Spring might eventually get her after all. I don't think we are planting a garden this year until after we get home from Danny and Amy's wedding the end of June. I'll miss all the potatoes we plant.
   Well, I guess I'll go fold that basket of towels for fun. I'm still waiting for the clothes to come folded right out of the dryer.