Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Beautiful Weekend

Well since the last post I've been slightly under the weather but not really. Doesn't make sense huh? Well the doctor has been trying new medications trying to get my blood pressure to come back down and trying to get my glucose back in control and the medications are making me feel funky until everything levels out and we find the right combo I'm kinda blah at times. Right now I'm good. It's been a beautiful weekend even with all the rain we had Saturday.

Let me back up to last weekend. Pamela came home for a visit and was hoping our new fence would be up well 90% of the fence was done but the fencing and gate section across the driveway from the garage to the house was missing. Why is it everything we tend to contract to have done is never done in the promised time frame. I guess luck. Not.
We were able to at least have the dogs semi contained without a leash.

Sophie was happy to run without a leash and chase a ball.


Dexter took up a position next to the flower pot where there was shade. Unfortunately I still had a leash attached to him just in case he got the urge to trot off down the driveway or where ever.







David came out to play some ball with Sophie.



Sophie always brings the ball back but sometimes she's reluctant to release but she does.




 I guess we finally got lucky and because before Pamela went back to home last Monday they came and installed the last section of fencing.

The Puppies can be Free. LOL  Well Dexter will be and Sophie can run free when she comes back to Tomball for another visit.

Love our new fence and gates. The section on the patio has the big star on the gate and smaller stars across the top.
This gate is to the back towards the lake.






Now on the patio we have some angry birds. David found where the swallows were building a next behind the speaker and removed it. Well this little song bird and 2 of her friends (Pamela said it was a Mom, a Dad and the x-lover. oh brother) were not at all happy. They were swishing and dipping across the patio and just a squawking. They'd swoop in just inches from our heads or face.

I think our friend here is a Tree Swallow. Most of the pictures I found were more blue but I finally found one that looks like my pictures here.

I tried to get a better picture today but as I was trying to zoom in she zoomed down right into my face and talked the whole time.








This cracks me up. The first time I saw this sign I thought "WHAT!" And I had to turn around and go back and see if I read it right. Yep I read it right.

Well of course they weren't selling their kids. Not the human kind anyway. But the sign still cracks me up.
As you can see they sell Sheep, Goats and the Kids.







Friday night I sat on the patio with a tall drink waiting for David to get home from work. It was a beautiful evening.
So what are the odds that Saturday When I was ready to do the same the weather would look like this. I think David said we got 2 1/2 inches. Maybe a little more.
We needed the rain really bad so it was welcomed.

Today was another beautiful day and I did step out 2-3 times and sit on the patio to enjoy the weather and visit with David while he worked on some projects.

So another weekend has come to an end and it's back to work.

Until next blog......Garden variety, everyday passion is the stuff of excellence. ~Tom Peters & Nancy Austin


Carla

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A Blue Kinda Day

Not blue in mood wise but color wise. A couple of Saturday's ago I headed up towards College
Station and met my daughter just outside Navasota to take some blue bonnet pictures. Well it's my fault I was late so by the time we got to the field of blue bonnets the sun was really harsh and I didn't have my solar lens cover on. It would have toned down the brightness and brought out the colors but it was what it was and here's the outcome. As I was rolling down the road there was this woman ahead of me walking across to the medium where there were plenty of wild flowers. I wasn't close so she was safe but just as I passed her I realized I knew her so I started honking. Couldn't stop I was traveling 75mph (legally). Then I got to laughing wondering if she flipped me off or cursed at me. So I texted her via Siri on the iPhone so no I didn't type and drive, I spoke and drove on. Beware Nickie I'm loose at the controls.


Pamela and I along with the dogs walked about a block to the field entrance after parking on the highway but my poor Dexter is old and the pathway wasn't easy so I had to carry him in. Poor guy he had trouble walking in the blue bonnets but had no problem laying down in them. My daughters Sheltie Sophie didn't mind at all. She went bouncing in but started having too much fun. She thought the blue bonnets tasted great. We'd walk a couple of steps and she'd reach down put her mouth around the blossom snap it off and start munching.
Pamela couldn't get her to stop.
 Pamela kept saying "You're eating the state flower and we're gonna get arrested." Sophie would just look up at Pamela and munch on another flower.




It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and wind.













A week ago Wednesday we hit Puffabelly's in Old Town Spring to see Davin James and Jesse Dayton
sing pick their guitars. Love their music. Good ole Texas Boys.

David has been working 6 days a week and 13-14 hours that he faded fast so we left during intermission. Totally unlike him. We always stay to the end but he just couldn't make it.



We had originally planned on hitting the Thomas Michael Riley's Music Fest in Luchanbach this past week end to see more of our favs like Max Stalling, Black Top Gypsy, Davin James and Thomas Michael Riley, etc

For almost a year and half Dexter stayed close in the yard or on the patio so we didn't have to put him
on a leash but I guess he finally got comfortable at the new place and decided it was time venture out and he ran away (it's funny how those old little legs move when they want to) from David and then me one morning  making me an hour late to work. Grrrrrrrrr. And of course to make things worse he's deaf so he couldn't hear us calling his name (curse at him) or to sit! Sign language only works when the dog looks at you. So for the last 4 months he has had to be on a leash since we don't have a fence. But that means he has to be in the house all day until we get home from work. Makes for a long day for my 16 year old pooch.
Now David asked me about putting in a fence shortly after we moved in but I thought no fence I want it open but recently we decided it was time to fence in part of the yard to give Dexter some of his freedom back and ours too. Just noticed looking at this picture the little guy even lays pigeon toed. He walks very pigeon toed. You know his paws turn inward.

While waiting for them to manufacture for installation of the fence David had someone come in completely remove our weeds grass and re- sod it with St. Augustine but left the area where the fence is going clean for fresh soil and flower beds.

Last week they made it out to install the fence and 2 gates but to date they haven't come back to install the last section of fencing and gate between the house and the garage. Can't wait until it's done.  
Picture on left is the side yard fence.
And the one 
to the right is the backyard fence and gate. You can see the bare area left for flower beds. Remember I told you we had a theme around our house.... Stars...  inside and out. 

My dining room is now ready for some type of valance and art work on the walls.
This is what is my dining room did looked like prior to purchasing our 

rustic dining room set below.
I love it and it finishes off the room. The wine cabinet stayed.

This is our style. It's only taken two years to find exactly what we wanted and get it.  More stars. ;o)

Okay I was gonna end this blog on a downer but I can't do it. I'll just end it with the fact that the blood pressure medicine isn't working. My blood pressure went up in January and hasn't really come down to an acceptable level. Doctor wants to give this medicine another 30 days but did change my diabetes meds again. The glucose levels have decreased some but not enough. I have to make some decisions and changes. End of bummer portion of post. Not sure getting that off my chest helped at all. 

So until next blog...When you are young and healthy, it never occurs to you that in a single second your whole life could change. ~Annette Funicello~


Carla

 





Sunday, April 7, 2013

It's the simple silly things

So much happening and not enough time to just sit and write. I mean I'm actually feeling productive in the area of quilting and sewing but haven't felt like reading much. Soon I'll actually be able to share some completions. YAY! About time I know.

 Hope everyone had a Blessed Easter. We gathered over at David's brothers home. The kids are grown now so no Easter egg hunting these days but we had fun and the food was delicious. The youngest Kennedy,  Kendall sat on her Aunt Glenda's lap to have a conversation.
   





Glenda wanted to check out what she looked like as a blonde so she took Shelby's long pony tail and spread it across her head. Not bad. ;o)

Taxes are done and efiled. Whew. Can breath a sigh of relief. Found that Turbo Tax is much better than H&R Block. I was stressing and crying over this one form and couldn't figure out how to enter the info I had because H&R didn't cover the subject thoroughly. Bought Turbo Tax and it had all the right answers and questions. We'll being getting a small refund something we haven't done in years. Yahoo!
Am I cute or what?



Not long ago I went up to visit Pamela and we took Sophie to the dog park at the apartments. She had fun but she decided that even with the wind blowing hard it was warm and would hide under the bench I was sitting on.  

The next night she headed off to her first slumber party while her furless mom came to Houston to the rodeo. Looks like they're all having fun wouldn't you say?




But was happy when mom picked her up the next day.













A couple of weeks ago I went to the book club discussion. Of course it's always fun with
Cheryl's husband took the group picture so I could be in it. Thanks Jerry

this group and that night was no exception. We had just read the book "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson. This author is wacky, funny and messed up but she is a product of her family upbringing. I think I got that right. LOL. Her book is her memoir that is mostly true. Fair warning it's unfiltered so if you're easily offended by say the F word or just cursing this may not be the book for you. The book will have you laughing out loud, it will have you thinking okay that don't sound unusual or OMG the poor girl but she did survive all her trials and tribulations. Also you have to get through the first 50 pages before it really catches you the reader. But our group loved the book. So Cheryl's pick was a huge success and so was her turn out. You can read more about the night by clicking here.
One Saturday an area in our back yard was being scalped and new grass being laid to get rid of what ever was there, an area was prepped for a fence and new flower beds. Now we're waiting for the fence company to come

This past Monday night when I came from work I felt like I was in a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds.
The birds were everywhere along with the whistling ducks and 2 mallard ducks. Crazy. Oh and we finally have a cardinal and a female redbird. We hadn't seen redbirds in almost 2 years around our place. I'm easily amused by our feathered friends.
Then this morning they were back to play in the puddles.
I'm hoping all these birds and ducks are eating some the multitudes of spiders that have been hiding in the grass. Yuck. Like the song says "I don't like Spiders or Snakes."

Before I snapped the picture they were trying to swim in this puddle.







Well that's it for now. More adventures later.

So Until next blog..........“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”~ Christopher Columbus~
Carla