Gardening

I am calling this post gardening simply because these two pictures are part of mine. We visited the Sierra Trading Post last week and were impressed and inspired by their "natural look" landscaping on a hilly mound. We have such a hill in our back yard and so we started with these two potentellia which are native to the countryside here. We need lots more trees and shrubs, but all in due time. Also note that the stove that will also find a home in my kitchen garden has been primered which will hopefully prevent so much rust from forming.














Yesterday, my neighbor and her sister who is visiting from Berlin, Germany and I, trekked to Estes Park. They had never been and it has been eons since I was there last. We were so hoping to be able to see some Elk. I have seen quite a few here in Wyoming, mainly in the winter months between Laramie and Saratoga, sometimes in large herds and on one occasion in the middle of the road at night. We drove right between two and didn't see the dark critters at night, until we were upon them. However, although the scenery yesterday was spectacular, no Elk! The Big Thompson canyon was busy and the river was running pretty fast. What was particularly unusual was the prairie land north of Ault. The entire stretch north to the state line was greener than I can ever remember and blooming with varieties of foliage that I couldn't identify. We have had over 4 inches of precipitation alone this month and northern Colorado has probably had more. The crops between Ft. Collins and Ault were really looking wonderful and I am sure that the corn will be knee high by the 4th. I was afraid that there would be obvious hail damage....I didn't see any. However today we got hail and it really pounded my plants. I didn't get my baskets in but hopefully they will be OK. My tomatoes didn't suffer too much, but we were lucky. My posts may get a bit scarce for a few weeks as we are preparing for visits from family and friends of all kinds and getting excited to see everyone. We also have a wedding or two and some other obligations upcoming so keep checking!!!

"May our home be warm and our friends be many."

Fathers

Happy Father's Day to all of you out there who are fathers. The men in my family, and there aren't many now..my brother, his two sons, my sister's sons, my son are wonderful fathers because of one man... my Dad. His values and the example he set for us as a parent were such a great influence on both, my brother and we three girls. I especially remember that he was very consistent with his rules, but he was a gentle man. He always read the "Sunday funnies" to us, long before we could read. He taught math in the card games we played. He made our breakfast while letting our mom sleep. He wasn't above changing a diaper or washing a dish. I could go on and on, but on this day, remember your father if you are lucky to still have him with you.
I have two new projects which are old projects to start on. The milk can above was a gift from my Dad. As you can see, it has many coats of paint on it and it is about to get another. Thanks to the Mr. (who is a very wonderful father to our offspring), I have discovered another power tool. I had a man, my dentist in fact, tell me that a woman with a power tool is a scary thing. I was using a wire brush to loosen old paint when the Mr. asked me if I would like to use an electric one. Whaaat? A power wire brush. Yes!!!! Armed with safety glasses I had the loose paint off in the wink of an eye. However, the flying paint can sting a little, so be prepared if the skin is exposed. Now to tackle the stove which was a gift from another Father, and a good friend. It will be used to display plants on my patio so both projects will be followed here on this blog.














I scored some good garage sale stuff yesterday and today the Mr. and I went after lunch and I got some more good stuff. I have always considered this a way of recycling and find it a way to meet great people. One rule I have though is not to buy something I simply cannot use or have a place for. I got free curtain rods for a window in a bedroom, an ironing board for the craft room, an end table that matches my new coffee table, a rack for towels to put beside my new utility sink, which is in operation now and numerous other small items...5 cans of Krylon clear acrylic spray, brand new for $1.00@ (I go through that stuff like crazy).
E-mailed an update to Spencer's previous mom and noted that she has taken a poor soul who needs some surgery and has found homes for more of the dogs. "The Healing Journey Rescue" is the name of her rescue and thank goodness for her and the wonderful people she works with.

"My father didn't tell me how to live: he lived, and let me watch him do it." ~ Clarence Kelland

Rainbows

Into each life a little rain must fall. You can't have rainbows with out a little rain. Yada Yada Yada! We have had more than our share of rain! This is Wyoming for goodness sake, not the tropical rain forest. We are a supposed to be a Dry state. The ground is saturated and the weeds have taken over. (Ignore the little picture....I can't figure how to delete it.) I must say it was a spectacular rainbow and my pics don't begin to do it justice...brilliant colors.
One of my oldest friendships began in Rawlins in 1970. My friend celebrated her birthday Friday and I bundled up my little Spencer and all of his belongings and drove over to spend the day and night with her. We had a great day! Spencer was absolutely the best little guy!! Terrific traveler, wonderful on the leash, and although he is still very shy, he charmed everyone he met! I am so happy with him. We even hit some garage sales this a.m. and I scored a FREE utility sink. Since the Mr. is finishing up with the plumbing in our basement addition, this was to be our next purchase. Voila!! I love freebies! My intention was to stop and visit with some other friends on my way home, but we are under a tornado watch at the current time and were supposed to have intense thunderstorms this afternoon so I decided to hightail it for home instead. So far...no tornadoes and the watch is supposed to end soon.
Last fall, I took a quilt class and never finished the quilt. I am now in the process of quilting it on my wonderful machine. For Christmas, I got a "walking foot". Everything I have learned, I have done by trial and error. A walking foot, according to the experts, is a necessary attachment needed to keep all of the layers fed through the machine at the same speed. The top is fed through with the foot as the backing is fed with the lower feed dogs, thus preventing any puckers. So, like most of my endeavors, I put it on the machine and began to experiment. I wasn't even sure it would work, or how it would work. Rather pricey, the foot is WELL WORTH THE MONEY!! It is my new best friend.

Julie & Julia & Spencer Blue Too

Couldn't resist taking a picture of Spencer Blue..he is such a sweetie! I also need to make a correction about him. For whatever reason, when his "Mom" told me about him and some of the other dogs she has been involved in with her experiences, I remembered her telling me about more than one rescue involving near euthanasia. I misunderstood about Spencer and he was not one of those cases. I do remember that she said his breeder was a responsible person, so he was just one of those pups who didn't find a good home right away. If any of you are seeking a pet, please consider these animals.
When I visited my daughter, Erica and her husband a couple of years ago, she gave me Julie Powell's book "Julie & Julia" to read. Now, I am not a reader. Actually I am a very good reader, but I just don't take time to read. Anyway, I know there is a movie in the works, based on this book and I needed something to read on the tread mill, so I decided to start this so that I can get it back to her. Really, it is a great book!! My thought was that it was mostly a journal of Julie's attempt to make all 524 recipes in 365 days from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I was totally off base. Erica is a terrific cook...both of my children are. I have tasted creme brulee that my son Michael made....yummmmy, which I have NEVER made. I have tasted crusted goat cheese, hot from the oven that Erica served..(It was goat cheese wasn't it Erica?) But in this book, Julie does what I might have done...made a few substitutions for lack of finding the correct ingredients. Her tale of trying to find a marrow bone, from which the marrow must be extracted is hilarious. (The steak with the reduced marrow sauce sounded really good. (After the puking session that is.) I still have a lot of treadmill hours before the book is finished, but I am really anxious for the movie!!
We made a trip over the snowies on Saturday to retrieve the Mr.'s old Toyota Landcruiser and as you can see, there is a lot of white fluffy up there. I am about to embark on a new quilting project. I took a class last fall and made a quilt top which has been sitting on a shelf, waiting to be finished. The quilt shop had a big sale this last Sat which I didn't get to attend, but I did get some fabric today for the backing which was still on sale. A walking foot has been downstairs for several months just tempting me to try on a project such as this so I got the 3 layers pinned and I will read instructions (usually I don't) and see if I can master that foot. I don't have the passion for cooking that Julia, and Julie, and Erica and Michael have, but I can make a great batch of chocolate chip cookies. To curl up under a warm hand-made quilt and a warm puppy on a rainy spring day and a chocolate chip cookie in each hand....very comforting indeed.














"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

construction & destruction

OK, as it has been raining like crazy for the past few days, we have been confined to the inside projects. The walls here have been framed, the toilet installed, and the shower completed!! We have since gotten the electric and the drains in and the water source is being completed. The Mr. has purchased parts as he progresses and I cannot tell you how many times we have purchased the wrong elbow or forgotten to get a certain piece of plumbing, or gotten the wrong size. Have you ever stood in the section where all these small plastic pieces are? Very confusing. Thank goodness for those kids at the big box home improvement center. They don't look old enough to know how to pour piss out of a boot, but they do know their plumbing parts. All greek to me!! An update on the pup.....he is so funny and so inquisitive! He is coming up to me and sniffing and licking my fingers. He also is still shying away when I approach to pick him up, but is doing much better and is beginning to get his toys from the toy basket to play with. Since it has been so soggy, the dogs have to get their feet wiped before they can come into the house and after several times of trying to run away from this ritual, he is now patiently standing for it....not liking it much, but he knows he cannot go into the house from the garage until the mud is off. He is eating well and he and Hildy ran around and around the pile of junipers( waiting to be chipped), chasing each other this morning like two little kids. One important thing I have learned is that anyone contemplating a rescue dog needs to have a lot of patience. This little guy is showing so much progress....I have been told that sometimes it takes months to get them to trust and be comfortable in a new environment. How fortunate we have been! The cat has been banished to the basement with his litter box, and he is fine with that, but he has still maintained his position in the pecking order for sure. He takes no guff off the little guy, and in fact I have seen them sleeping together.

Spencer Blue-progress

Remarkable progress has been made as far as Spencer's transition to our home I think. I had become quite frustrated, but by following advice as much as possible (it is difficult when the weather does not permit us to be out of doors). We have had lots of rain. I took him to get a harness on Sunday and we actually went for a walk yesterday morning. His "mom" brought his bowl as well as some toys. He had finally eaten Sunday night and again yesterday morning, so that put me a little at ease, but the walk was great. He did not pull, or try to run ahead of me. He was heeling perfectly, stopping at my foot each time I stopped. Last night, he came to bed with me, but after a few minutes, he put his little nose in the air and began to "howl". It is such a cute little noise, but he was obviously upset because his buddy was not with him. I sat up and leaned down to pet him and calm him. He let me rub his chest and belly and when I quit, he slowly crawled up toward me and he nudged my fingers. We repeated this ritual several times until he was near my pillow always nuzzling my hand when I stopped. The fact that he was seeking me out was encouraging. He loves to perch on this trunk below the window as he can stand and see out. Shortly after this picture was taken, I returned to the room to find him chewing on a leather coaster. I retrieved it, but I do believe he is settling in. This morning when I let the dogs out and back in again, he actually tried to jump around and get Hildy to play with him. She didn't act like she knew what to do, but she will come around too I think.

We are back at the bathroom renovation again and we are making daily trips to the home improvement stores. For some reason, we don't seem to plan well enough to get everything at one time. Next post will have some of those pics and although it would not make a very interesting TV renovation show, it is coming along slowly. I have lots of unfinished projects and got paint today to do the bedroom downstairs. This flipper, fixer-up, money pit is daunting and it is hard to decide which direction to flutter. Of one thing we are certain--when it is finished, it will be something in which to take pride. (If it doesn't put us in the grave first).

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." ~ Goethe