Thursday, March 28, 2024

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 There is always so much to be thankful for.

A few days ago our door bell rang.  When I went to answer it I saw a charming young man standing there.

He glanced at our weeds in the front yard and said  he would like to be hired to do some yard work for us.

Now we really Can Not afford to hire anyone ... but I felt a prompting to continue the conversation.  I was holding a ball point pen in my hand and he looked at it and said Oh Bayside.. I was holding a pen from our former church... "I go there and my Dad works there" said the cute High Schooler.

I said well let me talk to my husband and come out to the back and see what we Desperately need done.

He said my friend and I can come right now and do it for X amount of dollars.

Dave and I discussed it for a Nano Second and said YES.. it was weeds on the hill behind the retaining wall.  Not something We have the energy or balance to do if we can help it.

Long story sort.. they weeded 3/4 of the area in one hour and we got the worst of it done.




Job well done!

Fast forward to today.

Our neighbor across the street came over and "finally" paid us for some things he had bought from us several weeks ago..

The amount was the exact amount we had forked out to pay the kids!! ..

Blessed to not have that chunk of cash missing from our checking account.

Then I am reading my daily devotional.

This is what it said:

I am the God who Gives and Gives and Gives.

When I died for you on the cross, I held back nothing; because Giving is inherent in my nature, I search for people who are able to receive in full measure.

I look for people who are receptive and are willing to being open to be filled with my abundant riches.

When our finances are so more than "Tight",  God blessed us and we give him praise!


Morning Clouds


Happy Easter....



Wednesday, March 27, 2024

WEDNESDAY THOUGHTS

 It seems that the weeks are going at warp speed nowadays.

This one is no exception.

So

I thought I would just give you several thought for this mid-week day.






That's it for today..😃


Saturday, March 23, 2024

WEEKEND PHOTO CHALLENGE

 Our photo club is finally resuming after some time off.

The challenge for this coming Monday is : HIDDEN BEAUTY

Most are posting such lovely scenic photos.

I thought I would go "Out of the Box"

Or "Out of the Shell"... hee hee

Here's my Hidden Beauty in every day things...



Gotta have a sense of humor when I can't compete with the more professionals.

Oops, I think I like the first one better..more balance..


Well we'll see what others think when we have our Zoom meeting Monday evening.

Fun any- hoo...

Thanks for looking


Wednesday, March 20, 2024

SPRING IS HERE

 Yesterday was the first day of Spring...

Does it feel like Spring time where you live?

Our temperature got up to 75F yesterday ... so glorious ...

By the weekend we are suppose to be down to 58F with rain and snow in the mountains.

Its such a fickle time of year.

Here's the sum and total of my Spring - Easter decorating for this year.

I really went ALL OUT !  😄


Happy Middle of the Week !!



Monday, March 18, 2024

MONDAY RAMBLES AND MEMORIES

 Today is filled with many UPS and DOWNS but through it all

the Lord holds my hand.

Missing a friend that passed away several weeks ago.  We just attended his 

"Celebration of Life".  It truly was that, and now we and his family go on and cherish the memories

There are blessings with our sons and their families that make our hearts full.

I guess this blog post is about Things off the top of my head...

I know this is a good day and I am blessed.

BEE-CAUSE





HAPPY  SPRING



Saturday, March 16, 2024

GOOD MORNING and HAPPY SATURDAY

 So happy to see the sunshine this morning.

I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee and cruising the Blogs.



My opinion...


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

MEMORIES TO LAST A LIFETIME

 Last night was a wonderful time for us.

Our Small Group/Bible Study "Family" had such a fantastic time together.

We have been gathering at our house for the last 10 years.

Deep and loving friendships have been bound together .

Last night was no exception.  We hadn't met since December 5th so there was a whole lot of catching up to be done...

Lots of laughter, some heartache, some trauma, some silliness and great food.

Love Overflowing.

These photos are mostly for me but CANDID SHOTS are never really flattering.

We celebrated 3 birthdays with a yummy chocolate strawberry shortcake.  It was delish.

Potlucks are the best.












Dave and I were sitting at the end of the table so we could get 11 around it together.

So unfortunately our faces aren't shown but that's ok.  

Feeling Blessed...



Monday, March 11, 2024

TWO MORE SKETCHES FOR MY MEMORIES

 Ok, here are 2 more of my sketches from so very long ago.

These two were done in my senior year of High School art class.

I'm posting them here mostly for me and my annual journal.

Both of these were done in 1961.

Sure makes me feel old when I see the dates in print.



Hmm..I don't know why this came out so dark.  Guess I will have to go back in a fix it.   To be continued...


ok not happy.. will redo these to photos.

Well, lets see if this worked..




well this is somewhat better, except I can't enlarge ABE..
so it is what it is.
Well I finally was able to enlarge the photo.  sometimes my computer has a mind of its own.



Thanks for looking.
Have a wonderful week.



Friday, March 08, 2024

DIVING BACK INTO HISTORY

   Dave and I have been cleaning out some closets and drawers...long overdue.

We found an old Art Pad of mine.  I knew it was somewhere in the depths of our "treasures".

I remember when "Hootin' Annie" would post some of her sketches and paintings.

It got me thinking about several things I did as a young girl.

My Aunt was an artist and when she came to visit in 1955, she brought me some artist pastels chalk and paper.

She decided to give me at 11 years old a lesson.  She made a still life and proceeded to put what she saw to paper.

I wasn't used to looking and putting it down on paper, but I am a pretty good copier.

The first photo is what my Aunt Phoebe drew.  Pretty much a quick sketch.





Here's mine...
Not too bad for a 11 year old girl.
Round things are more difficult to do and my bowl is level.  Line of sight is important so things don't go sliding off the page.. (:0)
I have to say I'm glad I kept it.



Almost makes me want to get out the pastels again..Almost...



Monday, March 04, 2024

STAY STRONG

 Several of my friends have been going through some difficult times.

Those times are both emotional and physical.

I've been praying for them especially.

That made me think about some photos in my archives that seem to tell the story better than my words are able to say.

 
Life sometimes seems to just be like a wheel that's going no where fast.


This rugged broken tree stump seems to be a fist that says "STAY STRONG"


That's all I have for today.


Wednesday, February 28, 2024

A CONVERSATION WITH A STARLING

 Yesterday I was browsing some wonderful blogs and came across Sandy's blog Big Little World.

She was talking about some birds and their colors and very vocal chattering.

It made me think about an incident last month.

The family and I were having our lunch on the San Francisco Presidio grounds.

The Bold critters wanted our sandwiches too.

One came to our table and Dave and he had quite a conversation.

My Hubby would say something to it and it would answer back in a vast variety of songs, chips, and twitters.

Finally we had to shoo him away along with other curious birds.  

Too much competition for our sandwiches.





This guys feathers are almost iridescent in the right light...

Unfortunately the gray and slightly drippy day didn't do the Starling justice.

A fun memory.


Monday, February 26, 2024

FEELING MUCH BETTER TODAY

 Many thanks for all the concerns and prayers.

I am feeling more like my OLD self today.  Its amazing what a decent night's sleep will do!

This was me yesterday....


This is me today...

EMERGING


It seems I have gotten my sense of humor back  👀😏

Be sure to enlarge the photos to see the detail.

I'm so glad I have a ton of photos in my archives from so many years ago.

They sure come in handy when I'm Sittin' on the Inside...Lookin' at the Outside..

😊




Sunday, February 25, 2024

FEELING A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER

 Boy sometimes sleep is elusive and the tummy is upset.

That's me today.  We stayed home from church and I feel like I am going in slow motion.

So this is all I've got...

This picture is of a menu we are trying to sell.

It is from the Princess Cruise Lines and dated 1973.

I love the pose of the Virgin Islands boy looking out to sea.



Thanks for looking.


Wednesday, February 21, 2024

CANDID PHOTO OF A LITTLE "WAIF"

 When we were in San Francisco last month, I spied this little girl.

It was cold and had been raining off and on that day.

The way she was dressed and her slightly messy face made me think of the word

Waif...

I snapped the shot without any preparation but thought it turned out pretty good.

She was bouncing around and having fun with her Daddy.

It was a satisfying candid photo to capture.

Which do you like better ... the one in color ...


Or this one in subtle black and white?


To me the black and white is a "story".... tell me yours...


Monday, February 19, 2024

YEAR OF THE DRAGON LUNAR NEW YEAR

 I was just looking at Diane B.'s blog at Adventure Before Dementia ...about her celebration of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Dragon.

Got me thinking of a trip to San Francisco a few years ago.

We visited Chinatown and experienced a parade and several Dragons.

They were so colorful and it was rather noisy...

Thought you would enjoy seeing them.






This is the Dragon costume sans human... you can see his feet off to the side.
That thing is so heavy .  I'm sure he was welcoming a rest before dancing around again.


HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR !


Saturday, February 17, 2024

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

 Yesterday afternoon gave us some beautiful skies.

Today  ..  just plain gray and the threat of rain is very real.

So

I thought I would show you yesterdays skies...much prettier than today.

The late afternoon sun made long shadows.  I love the contrast of the dark trees and our almond tree blossoms.



That was a huge cloud bank billowing over the neighbors roof top off to the west.




I loved the little "flitter" birds in our winter trees.
The Finches were enjoying the calm before the "storm"


Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Now on to paying some bills and working on eBay.


Thursday, February 15, 2024

OUR JUNGLE

 Dave and I have been working in our backyard jungle the past few days.

Everything has gotten so out of hand.  All our hard work from last season is now glorious weeds.  It's just not fair!!!

I worked really hard pulling those monsters but it does not look like I have done anything.  Guess I will have to go out and take an after photo.  We have tried to work between rain spurts.. to be continued...

Here are the before shots.

Time out while working around our pruned grape stubs.



My aim is to clear the really big stuff before it goes to seed.



As you can see the weeds just love to creep and take over everything.


My sweet husband cut our lawn before it gets too long.
The lawn area is 3800 square feet.
Its a huge job...
You can see on the left that our almond tree is just about in full bloom.
Next will be the plum doing it's thing.


I have to say that my leg and backside muscles are really sore.  All that bending over is painful for me.

But

Thankful I have been doing some exercise so I can keep doing it.

If I get out there today I will take a progress photo.

I believe the next "storm" comes in Sat. or Sunday...

Enjoy your day.


Tuesday, February 13, 2024

BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR

 Remember a few weeks ago my post about our neighbor bringing us a roasted chicken...just because?

Well yesterday we were able to reciprocate that gesture.

Hye called us yesterday morning and said she needed some help.  She didn't sound good.  She said she was trying to get her Green Waste can out to the curb for Garbage day.  The landscape guy had filled her can to overflowing with very wet leaves, branches and small rocks.  Instead of it going forward it became off balanced and fell completely on her.  It banged her face, wrists and body.  She was in pain and just couldn't pick the can up again.

I am so glad she called for help and Dave went over there.  He said the can was so heavy that he had to remove half of the stuff to just get it upright again.

Hye's calling for help really showed how impossible it was for her to do things herself.  Hye is a very proud, do it myself, single for at least 25 years, Korean woman.  She's a bit like me in not wanting to ask for help.  Always giving, never taking.

Everything got done and taken by the garbage men.  So far she hasn't needed to go to the doctor but we are available.

We are in a blessed neighborhood and really do take care of each other.

Our almond tree is blooming it's head off this week.  Its so lovely and says Spring is on the way.


Have a great day.



Monday, February 12, 2024

NO REASON..... JUST BECAUSE

 Wasted over an hour on my computer this morning just trying to get in.

Finally passwords are reset and I think all is well.

So I am diving back into my archives for a few photos .

How about a Flower Bed for your viewing pleasure?



Or a New York City Fire Escape?

The fire escapes in NYC are fascinating.

Every one is so different.  

It makes me wonder what the story is behind each one.


Its Monday and I'm wishing all of you a great week ahead.




Thursday, February 08, 2024

PROUD OF OUR NEPHEW

 We just learned recently that our nephew Mike Batz got a wonderful reward.

Mike is a Deputy Sheriff of Butte County, CA.

He was awarded the honor of being the Deputy of the Year for the county.

He was commended for his service, compassion and ability to keep his county safe by going above and beyond the Call.  Many captures and deescalating of situations were part of his make-up.  He was also the pastor of a very small community church for many years.  Mike still does some preaching on occasion.

We are so proud of this fine man.  His integrity speaks volumes to all he comes in contact with.

Sheriff Mike Batz is the one on the left holding his badge of honor.



We need more Good Men like these in this photo.


Tuesday, February 06, 2024

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE

 Dave and I were able to get to his DR. appointment on time and he passed with flying colors on everything.

What a relief to get that done.  Had lunch/supper out since we were right by Mel's restaurant.

Its a good thing we did because our power went out again at 6:15 last night.  We were going to have a snack and get on our Zoom call for our photo club.  Well that didn't happen.  Our phones had been in use all day so they were only at half charge.

So there we sat, in the dark, not wanting to use our phones too much so we would have them for emergency.  Candles lit, trying to figure out an emergency charger we have...but of course it wasn't charged enough.  Hadn't been used in years and I don't think our mini iPhone plug thing even fits in it...

So we finally go to bed around 10pm.  Dozed off and the power came back on at 11:30pm.  Dave jumped out of bed, put on his shoes and opened the garage door and got the car out.  What a relief to know we could use the car if needed.  The door is just too heavy for us to lift up.  Neighbors would help but we didn't want to ask at that hour of the night.

No rain, no wind all night...so thankful we are back to "normal" life again..haha... what ever that means!


This was to be my submission for our photography club challenge.

Complimentary Colors.

On the color wheel they are directly opposite each other on the wheel...for example red and green or blue-green and orange-red.

I think I fulfilled the challenge.

Here's hoping today will be uneventful and we can get a new emergency charger.


Monday, February 05, 2024

UPDATE ON "SUNNY CALIFORNIA"

 Well our power just came back on.

It was out for 17 hours !!

Long time to be listening to the wind howling and the rain beating against the windows.

All is well... the yard is sloppy and flooded.  Couldn't run the pumps , no electricity...

BUT

We are fine and now that the power is back on we can get out of our garage and head to Dave's annual checkup.

Will share more later.


Thursday, February 01, 2024

NEW NEIGHBORS AND WEEDS GALORE

 Several days ago I ventured out to pull a few weeds in our backyard.

Many of you will remember how hard Dave and I worked to get rid of those pesky weeds.

A tiny bit of rain has produced a bumper crop of green all over the place.

SIGH

We are suppose to have an "Atmospheric River" bringing a deluge this coming Sunday and Monday...according to those Weather Guys.

By the time we can get to the weeds someone will have to send a search party out for us or we can't find our way back to the house. 😁


See that new fence back there?

We have some new neighbors now.  Their property butts up to our back corner.

While they were working on the fence we finally got a chance to meet them.  What lovely people.  Stacy and Rob said they noticed there was a gate in the old section of fence.  This gate was from over 25 years ago when these homes were pasture land and someone had stabled their horses here.

Rob wanted to know if he could build a new gate for safety and emergency accessibility.  We said yes that's a great idea and he's building it for free.  Found out he is a carpenter and loves remodeling.


They are half our age and just delightful.

I love our neighborhood.

AND 

Now the sky just opened up and its pouring, hailing and now we've got thunder...

I guess the clouds must have heard me talking about rain..