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Friday, January 30, 2015

Feline Friday {Chessie}

Ever since Chessie was a kitten, she would always demand to lick the condensation off drinking glasses. This day, October 28, 2014, was no different. We are adjusting to life without this gentle giant. Abby has pretty much taken over her old places and looks so tiny in those spots compared to the memory of Chessie.

{yes, this is Chessie too.}

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Picture Dump: Wildflowers II {2014)

Picture Dump: Wildflowers I

Wild Spiderwort; April 8, 2014

Unknown. I suspect a Phlox of some kind; April 13, 2014

Lazy Daisy; April 13, 2014

Herbertia lahue {Prairie Nymph}; April 14, 2014

Possible baby Black Widow Spider on Wild Spiderwort; April 22, 2014

Note: I didn’t even know a spider was on the petal until I opened up the picture. That is how tiny it was.

Wild Spiderwort; April 22, 2014

I believe this is an Indian Blanket or a Firewheel about to bloom; April 22, 2014

I believe this is an Indian Blanket or a Firewheel about to bloom; April 22, 2014

Texas Thistle; April 22, 2014

Note: I was absolutely thrilled to have spotted these on out land.

Texas Thistle; April 22, 2014

Indian Blanket or Firewheel; April 22, 2014

Indian Blanket or Firewheel; April 22, 2014

Unknown (have yet to identify these); April 22, 2014

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Wordy Wednesday: On Tangles (Zentangles)

I follow a blog called Tweety Loves Quilting and recently the blog author sharing her “tangles”. By the way, her tangles are awesome.

The tangles, sketches, doodles, Zentangles or whatever you may call them reminded me of the doodles I did in my youth. I got excited! What I used to do was put down and laughed at is now mainstream. I remember whenever I did them, it brought me peace.

So, I resolved to see if “tangling” still worked for me. In my youth, I used a geometric compass and some small rulers to create some of my doodles. I did not have these items this time around. So, my first effort was all done freehand and on ordinary notebook paper and a pencil which is anathema to the art of Zentangling. I am not an artist (and never will I be one). So, I could care less about the “rules”. And besides, I have always used pencil.

{To see a larger image, go here. Click on the image when it comes up to see it larger.}

The more "tangling" I did, the more the stuff I did in my youth came back to me. I got tired of the exercises on the third day and went rogue with the last square (bottom left corner).

I have to say that there is just something wonderful about doing tangles. It is very meditative. You are forced to focus on being deliberative and whatnot about what you are doing. You forget all about the worries of the day and what is happening around you. Your mind does not wander too much either.

This one nice thing about tangles is that it most likely can be translated to the quilting world. In fact, there is a quilter who actually quilts using tangles. Pretty cool, huh? I can see myself doing this. You get tired of quilting one pattern; so, switch to another design.

I will be doing more tangles in my future. In fact, I purchased a student and geometric compass which included small rulers and protractors. I also purchased some cheap sketch pads. I will see if I can switch to pen(s) in the near future. In the meantime, I am just going to enjoy doodling my way again and who cares what others may think of the things I do!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Macro Monday {Longing for Spring}

Texas Paintbrush (or Indian Paintbrush), April 8, 2014

I am anxiously awaiting spring. I miss the colorful wildflowers and plants. We just finished building a new potato bed and we are getting geared up for gardening soon.

Forewarning: Be prepared for some wildflower picture dumps in the near future. They are from last Spring. I have been going through some pictures that I have yet to process and the wildflowers fit my current mood (longing for spring).

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Slapdash Saturday

Friday, January 23, 2015

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Galveston Island, Texas

We spent a little time in Galveston on October 30, 2014. We finally just went to Houston to take care of some personal business along with my wanting to go to the Houston International Quilt Festival and visiting Galveston Island. I grew up in the Houston area and Galveston will always be my first love. However, this most likely will be the last time we go to Galveston as Padre Island is closer to where we live.

Anyway, here are a few pictures I took while wandering a bit on the beach. By the way, the first picture is of the Historic Pleasure Pier.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Feathered Friday {Raptors}

11/14/2014

Turkey Vultures are a common sight around here. But lately, for some odd reason, I’ve spotted other raptors hanging around. I have not seen a raptor, other than Turkey Vultures, near our land until recently.

12/19/2014

I spotted this one flying around and managed to hold myself steady to shoot this picture with my long lens. He/She was miles and miles away though and I was unable to identify what kind of raptor it was.

I believe this is an American Kestrel which is also known as a Sparrow Hawk.

Shot through a window with long lens on 1/9/2014.

Abby Gail spotted this bird roosting on the corner of our roof. It was an extremely cold morning (below 32* Fahrenheit). Abby was frozen with front paws on the windowsill. You could see the definition of her muscles in her hind legs. She was ready (and wanted) to leap through the window and go after the bird.

Dream on little girl, dream on.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Mother Made Me Cry Today...

Mother made me cry today straight from the grave.

I unpacked a box with my name on it that came from the folk’s house. I found some wooden roses I had given to her when I graduated from college. She had taped a card with a kitty and ribbon on the front and added her own decorative ribbon. I thought it was cute and had always assumed she used the card to complement the roses.

I felt a lump inside the card. So, I untaped the card and found the original ribbons I used which were my school colors along with a note inside written by my mother.

You see, Mother was not the most expressive person.

Lee Ann gave me these roses at the graduation at S.H.S.U. on May 13,2006. We were all so proud and happy for her and had a great party at the lake.

And today, she managed to make me cry straight from the grave.

I thank you Mother for leaving a note with the roses. I knew Daddy was proud of me. It did my heart good today to know that you were also proud of me.

Note: I found the roses and note on January 14, 2015 and wrote in my journal the same day. The first sentence (above the first picture) is unedited. But the rest of the entry is edited and I added pictures to turn it into this blog post.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Wordy Wednesday {Stickerburr Bombs}

We did some yard work one last time back on November 1, 2014. Dan used the weed whacker and I used the lawn tractor. As you probably know, I dress to the nines – long sleeve shirts, jeans, boots, and a floppy hat. However, Dan does not. He often wears just shorts and a tank top!

Anyway, on this day, I was thankful he was at least wearing jeans.

{To see a larger image, go here.}

We called them stickerburr bombs! He got them everywhere -- even on his face. You can barely see one on his right arm. He had loads all over his arm hairs and even in his beard which thankfully protected his face somewhat.

By the way, we tend to use needle nose pliers to remove stickerburrs and toss them into an old bucket before going into the house.

I think we could avoid having them on the land if I was not a wildflower fanatic. In order to prevent them from growing, you have to constantly mow and begin immediately when the “grass” begins to grow. But, I do not follow this general rule. I like my bluebonnets and all the other wildflowers that sprout in the spring. So, we suffer the consequences.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

DIY: Laundry Room

I have been negligent about taking pictures of our DIY or remodeling efforts around the house. My pictures show the lack of effort. But hey! At least, I took some!

11/2/2014

We bought two old cabinets from Habitat for Humanity Restore for $15 and $30. We first cleaned them up sanded them down. The wind was too much on this day to start spray painting.

11/4/2014

I went shopping for new knobs for the cabinets. The bottom color on the paint chip is actually on the pantry walls! The small orange-yellow is the color of the "new" laundry room and the gray is the cabinetry color! That pig was actually a knob I adored; but, I did not buy the item. (Picture was taken with my phone at the store.)

11/12/2014

Dan was in between projects and wanted something to do. So, I suggested dismantling the one lone shelf and start painting the laundry room… It is more like a closet than a room. But hey! It works for us.

12/3/2014

12/3/2014

Prepping and setting up to paint…

12/3/2014

12/3/2014

I was worried when the clouds started rolling in. The cabinetry was almost dried when we decided to take them inside. It’s a good thing we did because it started to “spit” rain during the process of moving them indoors.

12/22/2014

Cabinets hung up. Almost done!

12/31/2014

12/31/2014

12/31/2014

Shelves put in! The Laundry Room is finito! I am extremely happy with the changes. It is more functional and have tons of storage now! The empty space to the left of the cabinets is space to hang things. And yes, I do have stuff that is better off hung.

All in all, we estimated the cost of this remodel to be between 60 and 65 dollars (USD). The cabinets were $45. We bought paint and new knobs. The rest of the supplies were reused such as the shelf and ledge we pulled out of the laundry room and screws we had in our leftover stockpile from previous projects.

The only thing we might do later is change out the lighting. I want white or more natural lighting instead of the ugly yellow one.