Tag

When the oven is broken then it is time to get a new one right? Well, my son has been helping us with the prep work to make our all electric house go gas...as he was working with a power tool, he decided to tag the floor. It makes me smile to know that his name wont be seen again until the new owners of this house replace our new stove.

Olly North

I had an opportunity to hear Col. Oliver North speak. I have had a crush on him since I watched him every day while he was before the Senate committee back in the 80's. It was a wonderful evening and I enjoyed his testimony. It was my brush with greatness for sure.

Coffee With Friends

I went to coffee with two close friends. We will be at different schools or different sides of the campus this year and I will miss them terribly. We used to be in the same class. When we worked together it was like a well choreographed dance. We could read each other well and knew when one of us was weak. We had the opportunity to spend a couple of days together this summer and it proved to us that we are like minded people. We all believe in the same God and that is a comfort. I cherish our time together. These ladies are life long friends and I love them dearly.

Bubbling Up

Looking East towards the Laguna mountains, we can see the clouds bubbling up. Every afternoon we watch as they create a massive puff of moisture. Some days they make their way to our house. Sometimes blocking out the sun. We hear the thunder rumbling deep inside of the cloud. No rain has fallen as of yet but I am sure before this month is over we shall have a sprinkle at least.

Circles and Squares

I was thinking, does this blog have to be of photos taken every day? Only pictures taken on a specific day can be posted for that day?. I think not. Maybe that is why I feel the pressure of this blog and the need to be sooo creative everyday. It pushes me beyond my clever quotient and therefore resulting in lame, less than interesting photos. On top of that, I have posted repeatedly, similar shots and changing the wording to try and spike some sort of interest. In an effort to bring some interest and uncommon sites for me, I am posting one of the Brush, Colorado laundry mat. The rows of circles and squares makes me smile and I mean that in a most loving way.

Naked Ladies

My naked ladies are all bent over from the heat. Their petals have wilted and it seems that they are done. These girls pop up every summer and usually hold a bloom for a few weeks. But the extreme heat got to them this year.

Summer Tree

Oh how my tree has grown. This is his summer foliage. He casts a large shadow now and brings shade to the front yard every day. The lush green of his leaves helps the yard feel inviting and almost tropical.

Hopscotch Bricks

I was at my moms all day today and I made several trips out to my truck. Each time I had to walk over the these bricks that lead to their front door. On one trip, I was hit with a childhood memory. My sister and I used to play hopscotch on these bricks. If you have ever played hopscotch, you know that a smooth surface is preferable. This walkway is far from that. It was a pleasant memory and it filled my heart with warmness and love.

August Pumpkins

I looked out of the bedroom window and was amazed to see Orange...Pumpkins in August? What a strange site to see in the midst of all this humidity and heat. Our neighbors have been busy in their backyard. It was funny taking this shot because there were people in the yard and I didn't want them to see me. So I had to duck and dodge and then wait for them to go behind the tree. Interesting, if it were the previous neighbors, I could have let them see me and I wouldn't have been so shy.

Missing iGirl

Wispy thin clouds on the way to church. Now when I look up and see clouds my mind goes to Florida. Miss my igirl.

Need to open a can...

AWK!!! Maybe I should just rip all of the doors off of all cupboards in this house. How can you not see this as you turn around in the room that is 8x5 feet? No wait, that would not do with my effort to stay neat. Oh the secrets we put in the closets...

BROKE

I have always wanted to write on my walls. When I was a teenager I did. Very small and it was just 2 dots and a smile. It was done in green ink on a white wall. I have a cousin that got to do this when she was in high school. I thought it was cool. I let my Haggard Prophet unleash his inner artist. These letters are taller than me. Better here than out in public. He will have to cover it all up when the time comes to move on. :)

Steams in the Desert

This is the book of devotions I read. Notice I didn't say daily. I read it to be obedient. Most times the words just bounce off of my brain and fall away to oblivion. I have other books like this. Maybe I should switch them up.

All Lined Up

Okay, here I go...confessions of a secret neatness freak. I put my sweetener in a sugar bowl. Because it (the bowl) needs a purpose and I like the greenness of it. So when I fill up the bowl, I make sure all of the packets are facing the same way. Do I do this because I want to or I have to. I could just as easily shoved them in there and walked away. Is it because I have the time? Or is it because I like it that way? If you look at my life it is full of UN-neatness. Is the stress of having everything perfect to stressful so I give up? Possibly. Maybe because I don't live alone that I know someone is going to mess up what I just did. And...there are some things that need repeating for every day living. IE: laundry, dishes and so on. So, I choose to believe that I like order and I have the time right now, so I will incorporate such practices from now on. Hopefully this will not lead to an unhealthy set of circumstances any time soon.

Clouds

In honor of my friend Crooked Tiara, I am uploading a photo of clouds. The moisture in the air is increasing and the thunder boomers are oh so near. Today, the swamp cooler was turned on for only the second time this summer.

Where am I?

Can you guess where I am? I had to stop and pick up some food for a gathering and as I waited I sat down and watched some football. Now the game was in America, but...the sound coming out of the TV was in Spanish. Ironic I suppose. I was in a town with a Spanish name. There are a few clues if you look closely. Have fun!

Little slice

So I left for church and forgot to have my coffee. I also forgot to turn off the coffee maker. Since it was well past noon when I got home, I decided to have my coffee with my last ice cream sandwich. Hot/cold. Vanilla cream/cookies and cream. Little slice of heaven it was.

Chopper

He turned 18. Well okay, on Monday but we did celebrate for him tonight. My Choppa...It was a great day filled with laughter and stories and great food. This kid can make me laugh no matter what is going on in the world. I love him like he was one of my very own. Happy Birthday Kiddo. xo Auntie Pam

Ciao Bella

This caught my eye.

Do know why?

One Wild Ride

I went on a wild ride with friends today. We were in the car from 9am until 5. We drove from Lakeside to San Marcos and many points in between. The focus of the all of that driving was...wait for it...fabric. We went on a quilt row run. The idea is to stop and shop at several quilt shops and each new shop has a "row" of a quilt. They give you the instructions for the row from their store that each place gets to design. The theme was houses. Very interesting blocks and shops. We laughed and searched and didn't get lost, not once.

The reason for this picture is 2 fold. It was a Wild ride for sure, we saw all parts of the county. From the beach to the inland rural parts. My daughters friend works at this park and I thought, I want to take a picture to send to her. But, have you ever tried to take a picture while driving 50 MPH, through a window, hoping it comes out because you only have one shot at it? YES, I got the shot. Cell phones are amazing.

Every Tuesday

This is my favorite cashier at my neighborhood grocery store. She was one of my daughters favorite people to work with when she worked there. Miss Smiles is always friendly and always asks about my Mrs. Don't. I get all weepy on the drive home on occasion, thinking about the small town I live in and if I look close, there are tender moments every day. I asked Miss Smiles if I could steal a picture of her to send to Mrs. Don't and she agreed. I was called the paparazzi by her coworkers and she was called a celebrity.

Spa Day

Spa day is always nice. The only way to make it better is when my friend gets to sit next to me and we talk until we are blue in the face. It will always be a forever memory for me. Just the 2 crazy Chihuahua ladies gettin' their toes painted.

Notcho Bone

The girls were playing, who's got the bone. Faye (R) had had enough and made sure we knew it.

Skinny Cow

All I can say is mmmmmmmm. Peanutbutter, vanilla icecream sandwich.....

Conference

Loving the flowers at the women's conference this weekend. So pretty and girly and lovely and purple and green.

1st Thursday

1st Thursday of the month and we find ourselves at the quilt ministry meeting. Since we are into summer and many folks are on vacation, we were minus a few ladies. But, we had a couple of new guests tonight. I love it when we have newbies. They try to pick up on the lingo and the techniques. I think that is why they are laughing. Although we have fun and many, many laughs, we do settle down and get serious and pray over these quilts and pray with every knot tied. If you ever get the chance to come and pray with us you will feel so up lifted. It is remarkable how as we eat and hold the business part of the meeting, we fellowship and catch up with everyone, then pretty quickly we get to sewing new quilt tops and bindings and tie at least 2 quilts at every meeting. We share new blocks and books and experiences. It brings you back to times when there was a need, the women could come together with hand made crafting to help comfort someone. Sharing God's wonderful love.

Finding Waldo

On the day I was making cards, I was happy to be crafting. Not caring what I was stamping or the colors I was given to use. Normally I am not an owl person but this was the card and I did my work and moved on. I was weaving in and out of my igirl's blog today and it hit me like I just solved a puzzle for Indiana Jones! Look at the bird in this cage. Now go to Crooked Tiara (link on the right). Do you see it? I think I will call him Waldo.

From The Top

I have a fun web site that I go to almost every day. See her over there on the right? Ya, that's her, The Pioneer Woman. She is a mom and lives on a ranch. She has great pictures and some very informative suggestions for photography. Today I tried one of her tips. I would have snapped the dogs but we all know what they do when they see my phone or the camera. My Joe was happy to oblige. By the way, I am enjoying drinking my Joe out of a favorite mug while reading every morning. Instead of driving, sipping quickly for the 10 minute drive it takes to get to work and out of a travel mug I loose the smells and relax feeling of it all. I must take some time in the fall for Joe at home.

Oh Brother

My summer addiction is back and in full swing. The part that makes this a bad thing is not that the show is on TV 3 nights a week. It's because it is on the Internet 24/7. I do not watch and will not pay for the live feeds. But....I check this site multiple times a day. Probably because I have so much time off right now. Like all day every day. I read so much on this site that the shows that air on television are a yawn. I have one more site that feeds into my flaw of not being able to wait and it is an East coast feed of the live show on Thursday nights. 5 pm and I can see the show. I haven't gone there yet this season. Mostly because The Rat (husband, and it's the nick name he came into this marriage with) is playing online poker. Confession is over, and it's almost time to catch Showtime2...after dark with the house guests. I know, it's bad. But it's just getting good.

The Day After My Birthday

I knew this day was coming. I have felt it creeping into my everyday thoughts for weeks. I tried to push it back to a place where I could be comfortable again, but it marches on like time its self. There is no stopping this day, just being in it and hanging on to the self pity long enough to get over it for another year. In an act of defiance, I didn't take any meds for 24 hours. I over indulged with my food choices and let the devil himself sit next to me for most of the day. I was grouchy, critical and self centered. To prove to myself that I would not let these shenanigans continue, I prepped my meds for the next week and took a picture to remind me not to go down this road again. There were no complications from my choices, no immediate ones at least. Everything is back on track and I am facing the inevitable trip around the mountain once again.

This post is for me. To say it out loud sorta speak. No empathy or pity or sympathy or atta boys required. Tomorrow starts a new day and with that a new routine I hope. It is my desire to dive into the scriptures in order to right my path.

When darkness falls and I am all alone with myself, I make horrible choices. My mind races and then the wicked one snuggles up next to me and we indulge together. When my head finally hits the pillow, it is then that I ask for forgiveness, assistance and guidance for the new day.

Every night, every night. Why can't I hear Him?