Another hot & productive week

Despite actually getting some rain this week, the hot weather has continued...now it's just a whole lot more humid. Ugh. So ready for fall to arrive!But I did have a pretty productive weekend again. Well, until I burned my leg with the iron and got this pretty little blister.
Yes, I know, how did I iron my leg?? Well, its simple...my full size ironing board is in the storage building since I so rarely iron clothes. So when I need to iron iron-ons for scrap projects, I just use a mini ironing board and sit in the floor...so that poses a hazard of ironing that I had never before thought of.

But, I did get several projects and layouts done before the tragic iron incident...including this necklace and pin set from a Prima live video.And these very cool hangings from another Prima live video. See...told ya I'd use some of those flowers!
More sunny days ahead!

Hot Hot Hot

It's been miserably hot here the last several weeks...most days at least 100F, and several with a heat index above 110F. Will it ever end? Everyone is miserable. I look at the 10 day forecast and get excited about the cool 90's ahead, but they never appear. I don't even want to see the electric bill this month. Even Charlie is exasperated with the heat (or maybe its just the sunlight streaming through the window)

But on the plus side, I am getting lots of crafty things done since it's too hot to leave the house! My one serious weakness is all things Prima...I probably have more flowers than I will ever use, but I can't keep from buying more with each new season. Recently I found the Prima Live classes and I'm in heaven. I bought a few of the kits, including these 2 projects that I created last weekend and yesterday:

I skimmed through the other videos and found several projects that I could create with the supplies I already have...maybe I can use up some of those flowers after all!

I have a huge pile of other projects and layouts I was hoping to get done this weekend, but Monday is quickly approaching.

Beginning Again

Ok, so let's see how long I can be good this year...I'm stating here and now that I'm going to try and post at least once/week...anyone want to place bets?

So anywho, getting back into the swing of things, I'm working on a post that is a composite of K's facebook posts of highlights from our Canada trip soon after we returned, along with corresponding pictures where I have them. Stay tuned....

WOW...it's been a while

So much for last years New Year's resolution to be a better blogger...and then I didn't post again all year. Well, maybe 2011 will be better!

New year, same lack of blogging

Aarrgghh. Why does life always get in the way! I so wanted to do better last year, and while it wasn't great, it was better. So this year I thought I would do even better...but here it is the end of January and I'm finally blogging. Hmmm...I could blame it on a 12-week online scrapbook class, or the big shake up at work, but it probably is just me being so overwhelmed with all that I want to do that I don't know where to start. Maybe if I just keep making my new goal to do better than the last year, I will eventually be a blogging regular!

KC weekend

For K's bday we spent a day in Kansas City. Met Bettina for brunch and then went to Archivers...were lucky K got to participate in the make-&-take. He did pretty good for his first time scrappin'! And note, this is why I always carry my camera everywhere I go...you never know when you may need to take blackmail pictures...'See honey, you enjoy scrapping too, so that's why I need to buy X new scrapbook tool/supply/product'. Anyway, we had a great time...saw the plaza lights, ate some good food (can anyone say Cheesecake Factory?!), saw a great movie (The Blind Side) and attempted to ice skate at Crown Center. All in all a good weekend!

A wee bit of snow

This was our 'small' snowstorm in December. There was actually 12" around midnight, but the winds picked up overnight so that all that was left my morning was a puny 9"...plus a few really deep drifts. We didn't even attempt to go to work...which was a good thing as the drifts along one of our county roads were as tall as the round bales...over 5'!

Speaking of cruise...

We had a great time on our cruise. Even though it was only 3 days, and the time seemed to fly by, it was definitely a much needed vacation.
This was our ship...Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas. Our previous cruise experience was with a different company, and we'll just say that we won't be going back to them. The RC staff was so nice and friendly, the food was super yummy, and it was just hands down a better cruise company. We can't wait to take another!

Our first day was spent at here at RC's island...Coco Cay (aka Little Stirrup Cay, part of the Berry Islands which are part of the Bahamas). We had a great time just relaxing at sea in the morning, and then did a midday sea kayaking tour. Once we got the hang of paddling (so that we didn't go in circles), the kayaking was lots of fun, but definitely an upper body workout. The next day was spent at Nassau where we did the snorkeling tour and then a little bit of shopping. Three days is much too short of trip really, but it was priced right (aka cheap!)


This is Raymond, our awesome waiter. He was soooo nice and fun....making sure we had exactly what we wanted to eat and offering advice whenever he saw us of what activities he would recommend we do...some of which were much more reasonably priced than the scheduled tours. We also had wonderful table mates. K suggested we request a large table so we could meet lots of people, but only 1 other couple showed up. They were awesome...we always found ourselves talking instead of eating, and we ended up spending several evenings socializing with them after dinner. We even have plans to visit them when we are in DC next fall. All in all it was just a great vacation, and we would highly recommend RC to anyone thinking about taking a cruise.

Awesome birthday gift

I got the bestest birthday gift ever (yes, my birthday was several months ago...but, well, I'm slow, ok). DH gave me a Canon D10 and it is awesome! My wonderful Canon 700 that I carry everywhere is a great little camera, but it is starting to wear out....the on-off button only works when it wants to. So I was thinking it was time for an upgrade, and since I have been taking so many pictures (stimulated by Becky Higgins Project 365, renamed Project Life for next year) I even had K in agreement. But there are oooohhh so many cameras out there...what's a girl to do?? Well, around this time we also decided to take a short cruise during our vacation at the end of September, and in looking at the activity choices, there was a lot of snorkeling to be had. On our first cruise in '96 we had done the swimming with the stingrays thing, and quickly discovered that the only way to get good pictures was an underwater camera...and boy are those things pricey when purchased on the tour boat! Then when we went with the in-laws to Mexico a few years later, I brought along my own disposable underwater cameras, but quickly went through both of them at Xel-Ha and then couldn't take any more underwater pictures the remainder of the trip. So I started looking around at digital underwater cameras. There are a few out there, but most seem to have really mixed reviews. And while they don't cost that much, it still seemed like a waste to buy one and potentially have it be ruined the first time underwater. But then, lucky me, Canon releases their first underwater camera. Yes, its a bit pricey, and yes, its a bit bulky and silly looking, but I love it. And it is a really nice general camera as well, so when my old Canon finally bites the dust, I'll already have a replacement. And as an added bonus...the D10 is cold tolerant as well...we had 12" of snow yesterday and I had it out quite a while last night in the snow and today in our -15 wind chill taking pictures, and it never froze up or gave me the low battery warning the whole time.

Soooo, on to the picture. This is one of my favorites of the 300 or so taken snorkeling in Nassau. These striped fish were so much fun...I was shooting away at the coral and fish along the bottom, and often when I looked up I would find myself in the middle of a large school of them. They would just swim past me like I was a normal part of their environment, and if you weren't paying attention you would even on occasion bump into one. We had a great time...now to buy our own snorkeling equipment!

Not Fair

It's not fair! If I'm lucky, I can occasionally be found to have one critter or another cuddled up with me (Henry).

But every time K sits down he has at least 1, and often a whole swarm of critters (Serine, Meow, Pia, Fasciae, Maggie & Henry). Do you think it might be because mommy has been seen with needles around here?? I guess it is probably better for my allergies...but it's still not fair.

Crazy week

We had one crazy week this summer...first Chelse (the horse) injured herself..not unusual for her, but she must have really been in pain as she chose to just lay down in the pasture...it was hot and she became dehydrated and subsequently colicked. So frustrating when I have to call a working Vet in to fix something. Then the next night Elle (the duck) was not feeling well...I suspected she was egg bound, so she got to soak in a hot bath in the laundry room sink. Then, since things always happen in 3's, the next night we got home to find the neighbors cows up at the fence visiting with the ducks...now, these cows weren't concerned about the strange ducks they were encountering, but as soon as I walked out to take pictures they turned and ran...and were all back home by the time we got the neighbor called and he and his cattle dogs arrived. Ahhh...the excitement we experience out here!

SIlly girls

Buffy and Elle standing on the foundation wall...contemplating whether they should get into my flowers or not I'm guessing.

Puppy in the Window

Isn't he so cute? Ardee was quite jealous that I was out talking to the neighbor without him. I did finally let him out, and he was a good boy and didn't lick their little girl too much!

Babies

Momma Kingbird had a nest on our porch again this year. Aren't they adorable??

Duck Go-Round

All 6 of the girls in the kiddy pool...makes it a bit full!

Harvest 2009

Just a few pictures from our wheat harvest this summer. We were lucky enough to get home from work just as they were starting, so we got to ride along for a while the first night. Then the second night they got started a bit later, so watched them cut as the sun set and then into the night. Farmers for a day!

Wheaty sunrise

So this is rather old (I'm trying to get caught up) and the wheat pictured here is just starting to change colors (it has now been harvested and is on its way to feed the world), but I thought it was a gorgeous picture of the sun rising over our big field.

Gobble Gobble

One afternoon we were surprised to look out and see this turkey hen walking along the north side of our house. She hung out in the yard for quite some time until the ducks spotted her and ran over to the fence to 'chat' with her. This is what I 'LOVE' about living in the country...you never know what you will see.

Silly Horsey

It's a bit hard to see, but the horse standing in the drive is supposed to be in the pasture with the others...being mostly blind gets poor Chelse into lots of trouble. Luckily this time after she went over the fence it stood back up so the others couldn't follow along. One winter day in early 2008 we weren't so lucky and spent several hours hunting all over the area trying to find them.

a real garden

We are hoping to have one anyway...if successful it will be our first beyond a few tomato and pepper plants. Got everything planted a few weeks ago, and then one night a couple weeks ago I go out to check on it to find cucumber beetles have devoured the cucumbers, watermelon and beans. A bit of replanting later plus nightly check for more beetles and it is looking better. We are hoping that we'll have enough veggies to can/freeze.

One last look at San Fran

We had an awesome room at the Parc 55 hotel. We had a corner room, but the corner actually jutted out a bit so that we had windows on most sides of the room. The room had a sitting area, a desk, a dressing area and then a huge bathroom. Behind all of the curtains below are windows, so we had great views of the city day & night.

San Fran activity #3

On the third day we headed North for a walking tour of Muir Woods. As you can see it was another dreary, overcast, rainy day...and we were out in it. We were both soaked and cold after our 3 hour hike, and again I didn't get very good pictures.
Golden Gate Bridge
The sign at the entrance into the woods, you can see our tour guide below the sign.
About the only picture I have of the redwoods since it was so dark once we got into the woods.
A banana slug crossing the trail.
K and I inside a burnt out redwood tree.

San Fran activity #2, part 2

The Monterey Canning Company on Cannery Row
An adorable see otter statue
Honestly, there are several sea otters in the picture out amongst the kelp.
Our tour guide with a piece of bullwhip kelp.
The lone cypress at Pebble Beach.


It was a very long day and not all of the sights were thrilling to us, but next time we'll rent a car and stop where we want to.

San Fran activity #2, part 1

Day #2 saw us headed South for a tour to Monterey. It was cold, rainy and rather dreary. Most of my pictures out the tour bus either are blurry from the speed or the raindrops on the window. But I did get some worth sharing.

A sea stack seen on our way south.
A lighthouse between artichoke fields and the ocean.
Gorgeous bougainvillea at a Thai restaurant in Monterey.
Several cormorants on the rocks outside Monterey aquarium.
These sweet geese swam their gosling right up to us.