Friday, November 5, 2010

The week I wish wasn't.......

This past week has been a disaster, not to mention busy....

First, the fan in the truck for the heater/defroster doesn't work. And Monday morning, it was cold and snowing..great way to have to drive to work! I started the truck about 15 minutes before I had to leave, and set the heater on defrost, so eventually it did get some of the snow to melt. But I had to scrape too.

And the steering wheel was cold on my hands. I was cold by the time I got to the clinic.

Then on Wednesday, I had a dentist appointment. I got there early, and her first appointment had canceled so we could get started right away. However, then her suction thingy wouldn't work, so we had to pick up and move to another chair. Lots of fiddling there, so I guess it was good that I was early. But I missed the turn on the way there for the gas station, so I was really running on low..

Had an 11 o'clock appointment with the horse vet to do shots, but she called about 10:30 and said they were almost there. Oh great, I was still in the Springs. But the good thing was that they know my horses, and could get started. I, however, still didn't have any gas, and it was telling me I had 50+ miles til empty. Went home and then to the 80, got all the horses their shots ;>), but five of them need floats (like dental cleaning for horses) :>( Expensive.)

Then needed to get shopping done, so back out the door to the library, gas station and pharmacy before hitting Sam's and Walmart. And the truck started making squeaking noises while it was running. I know that sound, serpent belt going bad.

Got home, the chimney sweep had been there, and gone. Now back to town, downtown to Josh and John's with Gnarly. I needed reference photos for the urban landscape that I have to do for class....and the kids all have fond memories of that place. So does Gnarly now. Oh, did I mention that we completely reset the camera, and it still delays taking a picture, so now that has to go to the camera shop to be fixed.

Then dinner and back home, fed animals, called the cats in, and brushed my teeth.
Turned off the water, and I could still hear it running. Oops! Accused Clyde of leaving the water on outside, had to catch the cat so he could get up and go out the garage door to check. (got him out of bed where he was finally getting warm).

No, not there. Came back inside, pulled everything out from under the sink, and found a big puddle. Oh great...:>(

Tried to turn off the water under the sink, no luck. It stopped when we turned off the hot water from the heater. Now no hot water.

Got up Thursday morning, called the plumber, and he's trying to fix a boiler for someone who has no water, no heat. Doesn't know when he'll get done.

Not Thursday, had to go visit Bekka to take a shower.

Friday night: we have hot water, Clyde ran the dishwasher, I can take a shower in the morning! Eric worked on the trucks, but isn't finished. Maybe next week will be better.

But I did get this great picture of Gnarly:


Hope I don't have as much fun this next week!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

huh.....??

Clyde, surveying the kitchen counters: Are we collecting more stuff in our old age???

Me: No, we're not cleaning as much in our old age!!!!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

After the squirrels......

Clyde planted his sunflower garden again this year. Makes three years in a row. You can see how well they grow. The fence is five feet tall, and the sunflowers are taller. Last year they were even taller.




Well, this year, the squirrels got over their fear of the plastic pinwheels that we put all over the garden and fence to scare the birds and squirrels away. This is what we have now.




They pulled the stalks over and broke them, then broke the flowers off to eat the seeds.

Now what can I do with the stalks that are left??

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Grand Junction, butterfly place

Here are some of the pictures that I took with the Nikon point and shoot, since Grandpa took the other camera away......First up is Grandpa in his stylish shorts outfit.



Next up is Ed. I caught him looking at his pictures on this camera. He likes to take pictures just like Grandpa.



Here's C on the jolly green giant. If you look closely, she has a mustache from the smoothie they were giving away.



And here is the little W. Doesn't look too happy, does he? But at least he's not crying. And it was hot, at least hotter than we're used to.



Ok, I found pictures from CJ's birthday party, and M's party, and more feeding ducks, this time with a different cast. I'll post them next. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I sure do. Leave a comment so I know you came. I'm not doing this for the galaxy, you know..LOL

Thursday, September 9, 2010

:

More kids from the weekend. In descending age. G up first.



C:



M:



CJ with Bekka(He showed up on the sleepy side, which was good, because he spent the rest of the time until bedtime chasing G and C up and down the sidewalk.)



W: (he loves his daddy's computer so much!)



And guess who W took to? It's NOT FAIR!! I'M THE GRANDMA!! HE'S SUPPOSED TO LIKE ME BETTER!



But I have to say, he did like the book I brought him, and he would come to me with it to read. But I still couldn't pick him up. And he even cozied up to Grandpa (which picture I can't post because Grandpa wasn't completely dressed.) And I have to say, Grandpa did have a computer beside him, so maybe he cozied up to the computer and not Grandpa.

Fish at the Butterfly place. There was only one butterfly, and my picture of it has the butterfly out of focus, but all the leaves around it are in focus. Only me!!



And right after I took this picture, Grandpa had to have the camera because I wasn't taking enough pictures for him.....So I got stuck with the coolpix, and haven't unloaded those pictures yet....more to come.

On another note, I had a very busy day today. Left just before 9 am to pick up horse meds, a receipt from the periodontist, and a parking tag for school before a 10 am class. First thing to go was the horse meds, next thing to go was the periodontist as I was running late. At house plus 10 miles I remembered the stuff I was supposed to bring for Linda. At house plus 25 miles I remembered that I didn't bring an ice chest for the groceries.

At class time - 20 minutes, I pulled into the parking garage, and all the spots for PPCC were taken. Overflow spot was full also. Found a spot next to a wall that was jutting out, and scraped the right rear door on that. Backed up, and took two parking spots marked compact cars only. Figured my truck is a short bed. That's compact!

Got to the office for the parking tag, and mine's still good.

Got out of class, picked up the receipt and met Linda for lunch--Happy Birthday Linda!

Went to Sam's, then had to bring those groceries home. On the way, I stopped by the vet's and got the horse meds. Good thing Grandpa volunteered to come with me to WalMart and the library, because I was going to whine if he didn't!

Busy day, I need to go to bed now!


So

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Herding cats....er, kids!

We had a surprise party for me on Saturday night, because it was my birthday the next day. All five of the grandkids were together. However, they were together about as well as five cats would be together. You can see in the following pictures what it was like trying to get a picture with all five of them in it.

Try number 1. G is trying to be funny. (the rabbit ears that he is giving to C.)

And CJ wasn't paying attention.

Try number 2. The three oldest are doing ok, but CJ is looking at W, and W has decided that he doesn't want to play any more. That's Rachel in the background trying to keep them in line.


Try number 3. W has completely disappeared. The oldest two are doing ok. The middle two have decided to turn around and see what's going on. Doesn't Rachel look excited with all of this?

Try number 4. G has his hands on his head, C and M look like they're standing at attention, CJ is chewing on his fingers and Rachel is trying to hold W in place.


Try number 5. G has his arms up, and his pants are slipping, C looks serious, M is not smiling, and CJ is still eating his fingers. W looks ok, but he's definitely being held in place.

And that is the tale of how we got all five grandkids lined up in descending age. Now I just have to figure out how to get them all engaged and looking at the camera and smiling at the same time.

Or I guess I could put all five pictures together and then keep only the best image of each one.
(I think not, that sounds like too much work!!)

More later, I have lots of good pictures to post....

Saturday, August 21, 2010

This is the life....,.

Today, for the first time all summer, I took my lunch out to the new patio, sat at the picnic table, and read a book. The weather was great, blue skies, a little breeze. So peaceful.

Then it was back to work on the yard. Got the truck backed up to the last pile of slash and found four old Christmas trees out there, no needles, but lots of little branches that poked and scraped as I loaded them in the back of the truck to take to the slash place.

I was hoping, actually deluding myself, that I would only have two more trips to the slash place, and I could start cutting down the dead trees. Unfortunately, I was completely delusional!
The size of that pile looks like I could make a career of taking branches to the slash program.

This will never end! A condominium with no yard is looking better and better! Or winter....whichever comes first.

Monday, August 9, 2010

More Pictures of ....guess who?

OK, so I publish a lot of pictures of the grandkids, and what they are doing. Last weekend, we had the two, M and CJ. They got to play in the water, and then help Grandpa put together another raised bed for plants. We had one rhubarb plant, and were getting another. Unfortunately, we were short of dirt, so they didn't get planted. But here are the three of them building the planter.


Now for some other news. Can anyone guess what the cats are doing here?

Well I can tell you. They are looking for the mouse. That's right, I have a mouse in the kitchen, and the cats know it! Now you would think that with six, that's right, six!! cats in the house and another three in the garage at night, that mouse would be history. But no! All they can do is look at the dishwasher intently, like it's going to suddenly materialize in front of them. With my luck, they wouldn't be able to catch it anyway. So, due to the amazing mouse catching skills of my cats, we went to Walmart in Monument for mouse traps.

Guess what? No mouse traps. We looked, then we asked, and the guy looked in the same place that we had looked, and then Clyde went to Customer Services and asked, and that guy went back to the same place to look. All the while, Clyde is muttering about how they mustn't have mice in Woodmoor (rich peoples place to live). This guy isn't going to fail, though. "Hurmph! They must be in the back" and off he goes to look. So we end up with two mouse traps, the live trap kind so when we catch a mouse, we can take it outside and let it go......presumably so it can find it's way back into the house. And guess what? The mouse hasn't found the trap yet!


So this weekend, we got up and went to feed the ducks. After all, how would they live if we didn't show up periodically with food?

Here's the three duck feeders.

Back at home, we got the pool out. It's really a water trough for the horses, but it's big enough for M and CJ to have fun in. I didn't catch the first time CJ jumped in...he surprised me and fell flat on his face! But I did catch the next time. Oh the fun you can have with a little water when it's not a bath!

They brought their bicycles and helmets. M was out riding on Saturday night, and then wanted to go play in the sand. When asked if she wanted to take the helmet off, she replied, "No. It's going to rain, and I need to keep my 'rain' bucket on."

So that's what she remembers from when Clyde called it a 'brain bucket' last weekend. And the helmets remained 'rain buckets' all weekend!

And to finish off the day, nothing's better than a picnic on the patio at the kids table.



Another lovely weekend, except I had to mow the lawn (a very loose description). I waited for the rain, then put down fertilizer and weed killer, and wouldn't ya know.....a couple of hours later it poured and washed all the weed killer off the weeds! So I will continue to have a lawn made up of grass and weeds. At least they're green!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

???...???...???

Grandpa: This getting older has got to stop! I'm tired of it.

Grandma: I know of only one way to stop it...LOL!!!!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

A little of this, a little of that

A couple of weekends ago, we took M and CJ to Fox Run Park and made a picnic. We played in the water, then ate. We also played with the bubble wands and the kids chased the bubbles.



When we left, we went to the gelato place. Of course, when we got there both kids were asleep. So I went in and got two pints and two cones. By the time I got out, M was awake so we shared my cone on the way home. When we got home CJ was still asleep, so Grandpa threw him on the bed, and laid down beside him. This is just as CJ is waking up.



A couple of days later, I saw the mama deer and the baby! It was out with mama down below the deck. Grabbed the camera, and we put the telephoto on it. Still in the picture it was really small. So this is a blown up picture. You can see the spots on the baby.



The next day, I caught Furby on the railing of the deck. I just love this cat, he is so sedate and calm. He likes being outside this time of the year, yet he doesn't wander very far. And they all come into the garage to get fed at night.



Today, we loaded up the back of the pickup with branches and dragged them to the slash/mulch place. Now that I've mowed the grass under the tree, and I can go get some timbers and make a square around it, and then we'll go back and get a couple of buckets of the mulch to put under the tree. I can hear the old man from black forest complaining about the physical labor now.........

Thursday, July 22, 2010

A new sketch




Yesterday, I sat outside for a couple of hours keeping an eye on Kat while she grazed in the yard. I took a sketchbook and pencils out with me and sat on my new patio (finally!!) at the picnic table and drew the flowers in one of the planters. It was peaceful.

I haven't done this in a long time, and I think I'm going to get back into the habit of doing something everyday. Of course, it's 2:30 in the afternoon, and I've not done anything except figure out that since the upgrade of the computer, Photoshop doesn't recognize the scanner. But never fear.....the computer nerd (better known as the old man in black forest) was here and even though it still doesn't show up in Photoshop, it is usable.

Now all I have to do is get the pictures from the last week and a half off the camera and I can do posts that should have been done last week!

We are SO just on top of everything here. And it's raining again. Yea!!!!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Last day in Grand Junction

Grand Junction part III.

The last whole day in Grand Junction started with a hike (even tho the path was paved with cement, it was more than a stroll!). We went back to the Colorado River State Park, and turned left towards the wildlife area. That was supposed to be 1/2 mile away, but with the heat it sure seemed longer. And what did we find when we got there?

A lake with ducks and some really tiny fish. We did see a jackrabbit and a nesting dove, but that was all. Nothing interesting like a bobcat or mountain lion! Oh, and lots of ants, they were everywhere.

Later that day, we went to one of the parks in Grand Junction. After it had cooled off somewhat.
I mean, the truck thermometer was registering 101 degrees, and I didn't even know it had a hundreds column, hadn't seen that before!

Here's Cordelia, with hands on hips, probably trying to correct Wyatt.


And here's Wyatt, drinking. This kid is FAST!!! He runs all over the place! And climbs, and explores, and whatever else little boys do.


And here's Cordelia thinking about climbing one of the cottonwood trees. These things can get very big, especially around. The bark in uneven, so theoretically it could be climbed, but I think some steps would make it easier!

Notice them long legs on Cordelia, this kid is going to be tall.

And here's Grandpa. What more can I say?


And that's the end of the trip. Now I have to think of something to blog about!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Colorado National Monument

On Sunday while we were in Grand Junction, we drove the scenic route (only route) thru the Colorado National Monument. The views were great! However it goes really high, and depending on the side of the vehicle you are on, you can be looking straight down for several thousand feet! So here's one of my first pictures of the Monument itself. Most turned out kinda washed out because we went in the middle of the day, but you can bet that I'm going to get back there at sunrise or sunset. It would be awesome!


Here's Rachel with Wyatt. She kept a very close hold on him...kinda like a death grip so he wouldn't get away and run over the edge. And we all watched Cordelia to make sure she stayed away from the edges, even tho there were railings at all the lookout points.

All three of them after Cordelia tried to catch a lizard. Guess she's going to be a tomboy like her grandma was!

And here's Ed and Grandpa at the first stop. I thought we were going to be doing this all the way thru the Monument, but Ed didn't get his tripod out all that much, but Grandpa did!

We picnicked at the visitor center where there was some shade, but we all came back with some sunburn. Very hot and bright out there.

Patio: Yesterday, I finished the patio. Got more flowers to plant, and more potting soil. So what does it do last night (July 4th)? We had a total of four different hail/thunderstorms. It poured!
This morning, I get up and go out and the flowers are all beaten by the hail, the sand between the bricks is all washed away, and the pollen producers from the pine trees are all over the place. So I spent the morning cleaning up the mess. And planting the new flowers.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

A fun time in Grand Junction

Last week, Grandpa and I took a trip to Grand Junction to see the grandkids (and Ed and Rachel too). It was a long drive over the mountains, but we stopped in Castle Rock for sustenance first.

Here is Ed and Wyatt. This is one of the few times that he looked at me and didn't CRY!


Here is Cordelia. I must say that when we pulled up and she was out in the drive way, I mistook her for a six year old version of her father. All she was missing was the curly copper penny hair that he had as a youngster.


Ok, so that was Friday night. Saturday morning when we got up I gave Cordelia the bubble maker that I had brought for her, and Wyatt the pail and shovel, so we all went outside in their backyard. I must say that their backyard is very interesting. There is this huge cottonwood tree, about 50 years old, that shades the entire back of the house. And right behind them is county land, with a farm on it.! Here are Cordelia and Wyatt on the swing in their backyard.


Later that morning, after Cordelia and I took our morning walk, I pulled out the Yarka watercolors and the watercolor block that Clyde brought. She was the only one that did any art work while we were there. Well, I did draw her a picture to paint on the paper, so I guess that should count too.

Here she is painting. She was that focused the entire time.


And Voila! Here's the finished picture.


That afternoon, when Ed was done with some of the yard work that he was working on, we all went to downtown Grand Junction to see the sculptures on the street. It was quite interesting, some of the sculptures were amazing. But the one weHAD to see was the prince as a frog.
Here is Cordelia trying to turn him back into a prince!


On another note, we are still having our run of bad luck. After having to have the transmission rebuilt on my truck (and believe me that wasn't cheap!) the computer died, so now we have a new one. Clyde's truck is getting fixed on Tuesday, and he spent the weekend replacing the brakes on my truck. Also the D100 isn't working correctly, and I sure can't afford to replace that right now........

I need a quiet and uneventful July......!!!!!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

New Duds for the Dolls

We're back from Grand Junction, so I can show you the new outfit I made for the Fancy Nancy dolls. Miss M took hers home last week, and I took Cordelia's to her. She wore the new outfit all weekend.



Had a great time in Grand Junction, saw the art on the street in the downtown area, ate gelato, walked along the Colorado River in Colorado River State Park (which is a whole 2 blocks from where Ed and Rachel live), drove the scenic drive thru Colorado National Monument and had a ball playing with Cordelia. Wyatt was another whole story.

All of my grandkids (except Wyatt) really seem to like me. That kid spent Saturday and Sunday running after Rachel and crying if I just looked at him. By Monday he was getting tired of all the running and just ignored me. This is going to be a challenge to me. He even let Grandpa touch him! HUMPHFF!

Now I have to start planning my strategy for the next time I see him. I will have him in my corner with the rest of them. I will!

I'll post pictures of the trip as soon as I get them off the camera.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day doings.....

Lets start with yesterday. I have been educated this weekend! I have learned several things.

1. Remember the old trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat....?? Well, Grandpa used to finish it with If you don't, I don't care, you can smell my underwear..
So, M was telling me a story about Halloween, and started singing this song. I finished it off the way Grandpa used to, and guess what? According to M "That's inappropriate!" in that many words.

2. C is in pull ups, and he is all boy. He informed me that he needed a diaper change because he was wet. So I pulled off the pull up, and he ran into the bathroom to sit on the toilet. Course, if he had done anything it would have spouted all over the bathroom because that's how it was pointed.

Instead he looks up at me, gets this big grin on his face and says "I farted!". And he's done.

3. At the zoo today, when we were done with the giraffes, M wanted to go see the gorillas and monkeys. Grandpa, pushing the stroller with both of them in it says "Great, it's all uphill."
If you have ever been to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, you would know how ridiculous that sounded. Of course it's all uphill. The giraffes are the first thing after the entrance and the zoo is built up the side of the mountain.

Here we are entertaining the lowland gorilla.

4. The hippos were outside eating grass when we left the monkey house. I never knew how absolutely short their legs are!

See, really, really short!

After that, we tried lunch at Rudy's, a new BBQ place on Hwy 24, but the line was out the door so we went to Fatburger instead, and then to Baskin Robbins, and then home.....

I came home and cleaned stalls, then worked on the patio (and no, it's not done yet), and then vacuumed all the rugs so Grandpa could sweep and mop the floors. Busy, busy day.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Paintings in the Show

Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted. And I'm the one that's always nagging the kids to update their blogs! Guess I haven't had a lot to say and Clyde posted the pictures of the grandkids and himself at his party last week.

G spent 4 days with us last week, and he left yesterday to visit his dad in .......Hawaii. How's that for luck, he gets a summer vacation in Hawaii, and I've only been there when the ship stopped there for 2 days on the way back from Okinawa.
If only........

I'm posting the paintings that I put in the Palmer Lake Art Group's show at TriLakes Center for the Arts in Palmer Lake, CO. These paintings will be up until June 27 or thereabouts. The center is open from 12 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays thru Saturdays, and they have a lot going on there.

This first one, I've called Desert Gold. I took pictures of these poppies several years ago, when I was visiting my mother in El Paso. They had had a wet spring, and the poppies all bloomed all over the desert at the foot of the Franklin Mountains.



This is another one of a cowhorse working a cow, with the title of "Chasing Cows".
I am so totally bad at coming up with original titles.




The last one I called Blazing Saddle. This has got to be the epitome of originality..NOT. I need to find someone who can come up with titles to go with my paintings. Paintings are not a problem.



OK, what would you have titled these three paintings? If I like your suggestions, maybe I'll hire you!