Working on the list previous list dated June

5 out of 13 scratched off


1. Lose ten pounds.
2. Visit Montana again, especially Madison Valley.
3. Ride in a hot air balloon.
4. Lose 15 pounds.
5. Live long enough to draw my ex's social security.
6. Finish my flooring.
7. Paint my living room.
8. Be able to dance again.
9. See my old friend Larry.
10.See my old friend Pam.
11.Go to the Oregon coast for a vacation.
12.Go to a Nascar race.
13.Lose 16 pounds.




I have accomplished 5 out of 13 and getting close to scratching off 1 more.
Thirteen things I want to do.

#1. I have lost 10 lb, Yipppeeee

#2. Haven't been back to Montana yet, still something I am looking forward to.

#3. I haven't ridden in a hot air balloon, but my son and his wife have. Rhonda gave Tom the balloon ride for his birthday. They went up at the crack of dawn over the Willamette Valley, they said it was wonderful.

#4. And more importantly than # 1. I have lost 15 lbs, that is a Bigger YIPPPPEEEE
NO photos yet.

#5. Collecting Bill's S. S. I don't think that will be a problem, just a matter of time. That is what I get for marrying a younger man. He is just turning 60 next month. Oh well, I can wait.

#6. My flooring that needed finished was the utility room, It is finished.

Wasn't on the list but:




In addition I have new carpet in 3 rooms and the hall. That is a huge YIPEEE too, something I have wanted for 2 yrs.

#7. Was paint my living room, not yet. I should have done that before I got new carpet. I think I will just remove it from the list. Delete, its gone!

#8. Be able to dance again? I must have been having hip problems when I wrote that.. All better now, I dance around the house all the time....

#9. See my high school friend, Larry. I can knock off 2 from the list next summer, #9 & # 11. Visit the Oregon coast. We plan on meeting next summer in Lincoln City.

#10. See my old friend Pam. Hadn't seen Pam in over 30 years, since she moved away to Las Vegas. Pam now lives about 4 hours away in Pocatella Id. She came to Nampa in July for a family reunion, we had a reunion too. She spent the week-end with me, we reminisced for hours.

#11. See # 9 above.
#12. Go to a Nascar Race, not happening. Not sure now I would even want to, television coverage is so good.. But I wouldn't turn down the opportunity

#13. Was lose 16 lbs, hopefully I can mark that off next week.

Accomplishments make me feel good.

Been awhile since I posted

Yes, it has been awhile since I have posted.

Summer was here with a vengeance, July was the worst I ever remember. I felt like a prisoner in my A/C'ed home the whole month. When the day starts at nearly 90 it only can go up from there. My pretty spring garden suffered right along with me. I quit posting photos, no one wants to see pictures of weeds. Except maybe the local extension office.

My granddaughter came to visit for 10 days at the end of June, it reached 100 a few times while she was here, but we still managed to get out and do a few things. She met a few cousins she didn't know she had.

We went to a baseball game, a outdoor concert, (Rodney Atkins) and the movies, we went to the Saturday market, where she purchased a neck wrap, the kind that stays wet and cool for hours.....we just had to figure out how to make them.

Mission accomplished, between the two of us we made about 2 dozen for gifts. I gave one to everyone at the 4th of July picnic I attended. They were a big hit, that was the beginning of our heat wave. I used mine the whole month of July.

One day the two of us fixed a picnic lunch of bagels and cream cheese and went to the lake where her dad use go swimming.

While she was here I taught her to knit, the basics anyway. She enjoyed it and picked it up everytime she sat down.

Her visit here was very enjoyable for me I loved having her and hope we can do again next year.



I was just looking at my last post in June and realized I have checked off several of the things I had on that list, and accomplished a few extra.

I also have an update post about Gordon and David.

I will do an update tomorrow.....

13 THINGS WE DID DURING JESSICA'S VISIT

13 things my grandaughter and I did while she was visiting.


1. Taught her to knit.

2. We made a "4th of July" mosaic flower pot for her parents.

3. Took a picnic lunch to Lake Lowell

4. Went to baseball game to watch Breann play.

5. Went to movie at Edwards Theater seen "Evan Almighty"

6. Went to outdoor concert, "Rodney Atkins"

7. Went to the Saturday Farmers Market, Jessica purchased a cooling neck wrap that you soak in water, to wear when she playing soccer.

8. After a long search we discover what the inside content was.

9. It was so cool we sewed cooling neck wraps for everyone, a total of 12.

10. Watched Hanna Montana.

11.Went to breakfast at IHOP.

12. We both kicked out shoes off, and left them in a pile for easy access.




13. We laughed a lot and enjoyed every minute of her visit, in spite of the 100 degree temp.

Thursday 13

Thirteen things I want to do.

1. Lose ten pounds.

2. Visit Montana again, especially Madison Valley.

3. Ride in a hot air balloon.

4. Lose 15 pounds.

5. Live long enough to draw my ex's social security.

6. Finish my flooring.

7. Paint my living room.

8. Be able to dance again.

9. See my old friend Larry.

10.See my old friend Pam.

11.Go to the Oregon coast for a vacation.

12.Go to a Nascar race.

13.Lose 16 pounds.

Mammogram Letter

Why in the world would they send a letter, so it arrives on Saturday.

'Greetings, we found something when we squashed your tits and now we need to do it again. Please call to make an appointment.'

It's Saturday!!!!! Why do I need to worry about this all weekend.

If in fact it was 'SOMETHING' don't you think they would have picked up the phone and called me? Screaming, "Oh My God, you got to get in here as soon as possible."

The envelope wasn't even marked "urgent" like the letters I get when they are trying to sell me a hearing aide.
Sometimes those letters come with an
offer to 'have dinner on them', if only, I will come and listen to their speel on how this product is going to change my life.

This letter has no invitation to dinner, no offer to change my life, even though it could!

The Broken Bookcase

My dear friend Margie called on Wednesday eve with one of her brilliant ideas.

Janet, she says, do you think we can shorten my bookcase.

Margie recently had a wall a/c installed, now Margie likes her house just so-so.

I don't like where it's at, she says, I want it to set under the a/c, and it's too tall, .
We discussed the fact that it would probably not be very stable.
I still want to try, she says.



So the next afternoon we proceeded to cut that thing apart.
I took my trusty new jig saw and we cut the bottom off up to to first shelf... Sure enough it worked.
So I helped her move it back into place we patted our selves on the back and departed.
Later that evening my friend Margie called laughing her ass off. I was just dusting it, she says, & it collapsed.

But I think we can put it back together though, she says.

Friday, we took that bookcase apart and rebuilt that sucker, I must say it is stronger now than it was in the beginning. Pretty proud of our selves, Margie is 76 and I am in my late 60's.

Margie and I discovered a long time ago that we can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it.
It is now Saturday morning, I haven't heard anymore about the bookcase, so that case is closed.

Thursday 13 Things that are Frustrating

I'm new at blogging, but I guess the tradition is on Thursdays you are suppose share 13 things about yourself. It might take me all day but here goes.

1. I am new at blogging, but it is getting less frustrating.

2. Getting to know my way around HTML.

3. I have a fat cat that needs a tummy tuck.

4. This morning I put potatoes on the stove to boil for potato salad, then got on the computer. About 20 minutes I smell something burning, got up looked out the window, duh. About that time the smoke detector went off. BIG DUH.

5. I can't figure out how save or to add clip art to my blog.

6. I won't give up.

7. I would like to loose weight, but I want it to be easy.

8. The banks hidden charges.

9. My neighbors dog that barks at the drop of a hat.

10. Bought stuff to kill the earwigs that are eating my garden, now the earth worms are dying.

11. Can't find the dip stick on my power steering fluid.

12. The month last longer than the money.

13. I did it, the first of my 13 things post. Wasn't frustrating at all.

Granny Square Helping Kids with Cancer

Finished and mailed my first Granny Square block today for Helping Kids With Cancer.






This took all of 20 minutes to make, took me longer than that to find the crochet hook. I'm a little out of practice, but it comes back quickly. So get out your scraps and let's crochet our hearts out for this good cause. You will find the instuctions and pattern at the link below.


If the Helping Kids with Cancer link below does work, click the link on the side bar.

Day Lilly "showing off" Rocket Snapdragon "ready for take off "

" In the Pink"

Backyard Quail

I have been trying to get picture of this guy for weeks now.

At 6:00 AM this morning mission accomplished.

The Summer of 1950

My brother recently found a old friend of his, David. .

The summer of 1950 was the year I got to know him and his brother Roy. It seemed like I had 2 new big brothers, I was 8 they were 15 & 16.

Dad had recently sold our stump ranch, where we had lived the good life for 5 years.

My first memories as a child was of our life on that ranch, 8 miles from town on Peninsula Road.

There was no indoor plumbing, we bathed in a wash tub in front of the kitchen cook stove, that the water had been heated on, the outhouse was outback, water was hauled from a spring further up the hill. We had no electricity until 1948, Mom had a gasoline powered washing machine that she did laundry with.

I don't recall having any chores of my own, but I know my brothers had many. Life must have been awfully hard for my mother, and them.

After the sale, my Dad moved the family into the town , while he went to Portland in search of a job.

Our "town house" was a wonderful old Victorian house with a bedroom for everyone. What a treat, indoor plumbing!

Boy what a summer it was, seems like the drudgery of life on the ranch was over.

Dad had left the car with Mom, he must have taken the bus to Portland I just don't recall.

There we were in town, with this 1946 Ford and all this freedom.

We were in that car and on the go all the time, seems like David or Roy was always with us. I think that summer we swam in every lake within a 50 miles.

Mom would make sandwiches and off we would go exploring. We visited abandoned fire lookout stations on some of our outings,







like this one on Pratter Mountain.

http://www.firelookout.com/id/praterpatrol1937.jpg

Or this one on Cottonwood Point.

http://www.firelookout.com/id/cottonwoodpoint233.html

Here is an interesting link to more Idaho fire lookout sites.

http://www.firelookout.com/idpanhandle.html

We would stop at a spring
for a cool drink of water.
There must have been a lot of miles put on
the car, that summer of 1950.

There were good times to be had in town too. "Timber Days" was a big event that I remember and the 4th of July fireworks.

Here are some links with photos of those celebrations.

http://www.sd83.k12.id.us/pre/quest/history_of_priest_river.htm

http://www.sd83.k12.id.us/pre/quest/logging.htm

As we recently rejoin our lives, reminiscing about Priest River
and the summer of 1950, we all agree it was a
wonderful summer none of us have ever forgotten..

What a treat to find and old friend.




This is David today with his wife of 56 years.

June Garden

Shasta Daisy finally in bloom.













Lettuce ready to eat.














Costco geraniums, worth every penny!!!










Snapdragons
Curbside Volunteers




























Love my Hollyhocks
Almost ready to bloom.
Always remind me of my Grandma Millie

















Patsy Cline in full bloom.













Strawberry Path,
plate edging.

Remodeling Again and other Projects

A June Project.
Fussy up the bedroom,
while making it darker for catching a few extra winks in the morning.




Before




Who says you can't paint brass!



















Before,
I have been packing this trunk around for 20 years. One of the few things that had escaped my paint brush until now. I use it for quilt storage and now gets double duty as a night stand.







Before









After






Before





After,
Used the closet doors at the window from previous desk area remodel.






My solution for a bare wall.






All Done





New fan.
I thought I could do this job myself. Wrong, thanks for the help Nick.












January Project

Create a desk area












Using a table for a desk, just asking for clutter.










Remove this "catch-all" closet.
Good idea!















Work in Progress
Also a good reason to buy a new jig saw.


http://www.skilshop.com/saws/jigsaws/4390-01.html










All finished "Nice & Neat"
For how long?







Project # 2 March
Got a bargain on flooring.
Should be easy!













Start of another project,
Also known as "I need help. "













Stanely to the rescue.

Using new jig saw .



















I'm ready to call it a day!


















View from the utility room.
Nice job on the doorway Stan.











Just a wider view.















$20 table from the Goodwill















Dining room done, & new blind.