Wednesday Dog of the Week!

Skipper!

Donny said they got in 6 new dogs on Saturday... which is quite a lot...all from different owners...this is Skipper, he is a pure bred Schipperke about two year old male. His owner just couldn't keep him anymore...he is a high energy little dog, loyal and curious...
I didn't know much about this breed and did a little research...they are rather independent and need good training...he is a young dog so with the right training would be a good pet ...I found this site if anyone was interested in adopting him or the breed. All dogs have different personalities and temperaments...sometimes its very good to get a little older dog as you can see if their personality fits with you and your family. There are many pure bred dogs waiting as well as nice mixed breed dogs.
You may have noticed, I put the plug in about the rescue contest in again and if you haven't already voted, I hope you would.....the rescue can use all the help we can give it...and thanks for those who have voted.

Tuesday Chat about a Variety of Things

I don't have very many New Years postcards...this little owl is a cutie though......I've been posting vintage cards for over a year and are about spent....would like to continue with collecting them when its possible....
I've been busy putting away much of the Christmas decor and getting ready for the New Year....
the tree is still up and the outside lights......
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Yesterday I took what was left of the turkey, boiled the bones and have a huge pot of broth...with some of the turkey I made creamed turkey with vegetables over homemade noodles last night and have enough for turkey soup today....Mom taught me how to make homemade noodles which we enjoy..a little time consuming but oh so good. I don't have a pasta machine and cut them by hand so they are a little irregular. I let them dry on towels until its time to cook them....

.there are quite a few online recipes for noodles but the recipe I use calls for
1 whole egg, and 3 egg yolks, beaten until very light...then add 2 cups of flour, a little salt and enough cold water (usually about 3 T.) to make a dough..work it with your hands then separate the dough into 3 parts...roll out thin on a floured board, cut into noodles and let dry on a tea towel...this makes about 5-6 cups. Its enough for 4 people....they are very good by themselves, steaming hot with a little olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Noodles and a good crisp salad makes a great lunch or supper....
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I was browsing around etsy the other day and what do you think I found? The matching cake cover to the canister I won last year on Ebay....

So of course, its soon to be reunited with my other pieces.....the seller live here in California also, up by Sacramento and has lots of vintage items if you are interested, DahilaFound
I was going to close my Etsy shops but as I've been getting sales, decided against it..got another sale last night so I've been foolish to quit....I just sold one set of redwork tea towels that is heading their way to Australia and started working on a custom set of rooster and hen ones for another customer. Thank you Lord!
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I got my daily scripture today from Girlfriends in God..
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

Saturday Road Trip...Newport Beach!

We spent the day driving over the Ortega Highway and then down into Newport Beach...Alan with me as his assistant, re keyed a small but very nice condo about a mile or so from the beach..it was a pretty condo complex......there was a golf course behind the complex and it was landscaped beautifully...here are a few photos, starting with Lake Elsinore in winter and then the complex grounds...they are all clickable in case you want a closer look...












We both thought it would be a nice place to retire to....they have a gym, pool and spa...the condos have fireplaces, granite countertops, lovely tiled bathroom, and your own washer/dryer. Very pretty area too.
After we decided to drive down to the beach and pier as we hadn't been there before. It was rather crowded parking but once we found a spot...and walked to the sand, it was fantastic.
Here are a few photos of what we saw and enjoyed...the smell of the ocean was so fresh and the sky was very clear.
The above photo was taken from the NewPort Pier....thought it was interesting with the ocean, palm trees and the snowy mountains in the background.

Looking back from the end of the pier...everyone was bundled up a little although it was a warm day, the strong breeze was cold. There was alot of fishing going on but it didn't seem like they were not catching much.


This brown pelican was so used to people, he just sat patiently on the rail, waiting for handouts...looked like he was posing...



A few surfers were trying their luck...



In the distance we could see several islands, and fishing boats....

No lifeguards this time of year!

This pier isn't as long as the Oceanside pier where I grew up with but it had its good points. The beach wasn't crowded now but in the summer, you can barely find a patch of sand to lay your blanket. It was very clean though and lots of nice white sand...Oceanside has trouble losing their sand and have to import it every few years....

Small breakwater to the north and more of the channel islands....

There are lots of cute little boutiques, shops, coffee houses, and fish restaurants right down by the water.....as it was so cool out, many were taking refuge inside, enjoying the day.


Going home, we wanted to stop at that cute little candy store at the top of the mountain...those of you have read my blog before, know which one I mean, but it was closed for the holidays...sadly, Alan didn't get any of his favorite chocolates but I didn't feel too sorry for him as he had gotten two boxes of See's new sugar free chocolate covered almonds and walnuts..plus a box of dark chocolate bars!
We came home to a peaceful house and Matt had even vaccumed the carpets for me which was very nice......plus he cleaned his room! Not bad for a 17 year old....

The Day After Christmas

We had a wonderful day...God really blessed us in a special way.....the boys went over to the dog rescue the night before..our youngest wanted to sleep in the trailer and help Don in the morning with the dogs so he could could back sooner......so we had the evening to ourselves and watched old Christmas movies....Home Alone, and the Santa Clause....was really fun having some time by ourselves, although that is becoming more and more common as the boys grow up...
the next morning we slept in a little, and woke up to rain....
had a light breakfast, and I was in the kitchen preparing dinner (we eat at noon on Christmas) when Alan called me into the living room to look at the front window...while the beautiful hymn "Joy to the World" was playing, this is what we saw..
I grabbed the camera and we ran outside to see this lovely rainbow...



The rainbow stretched from horizon to horizon and was there for quite some time...I started to cry a little as the Lord impressed me that we were going to be alright and He was in control....
the boys came home a short time later but missed the rainbow......
The dinner was good but we all agreed the deli dinner wasn't as good as making it at home....
Most of Christmas day was spent listening to Christmas music and enjoying each others company...then in the evening, we watched "Mummy Three, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" which was very good.
Today, we've been so busy...had not one, not two but 4 job calls! very busy indeed......I took down all the Santa decorations but will leave everything else up until after New Years....
the nativity stays up until the 6th as that is the day tradition says the wise men came...its also Alan's birthday!
My friend Kay sent me this link Star of Bethlehem that you might like to visit.Was the Star of Bethlehem a real astronomical event? A myth created by the early church? Explore the history and science for yourself. Yes, it was a real star that not only proclaimed the Lord's birth but also proclaimed His Death on the cross....This is a site worth visiting...


A note....Alan got a job in New Port Beach, Ca and we decided to go tomorrow morning as its late in the afternoon now...another road trip! I will take my camera and see if I can get some photos of the beach areas for you.....

Happy Christmas!

I am going to be taking a couple of days off from the blog...be back on Friday...God bless you!

We woke up to dark skies and rain again....another storm coming through and another one later in the week....
I got busy today and baked sugar, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies.....it was fun and Matt frosted them....
We decided to take a chance and put up our tree...also put some outside lights on yesterday...so far, Bandit has left the tree alone...she does like sleeping under it.
We've collected ornaments since we first got married and I also collect the Campbell soup kids ornaments...the collection has really grown. The kids can't believe we have ornaments from the late 70s and 80s...really vintage to them.


Alan put photos of our area....the creek that runs behind our housing tract is full and the ducks sure like it....it flows into Canyon Lake, a man made lake and then into Lake Elsinore, the only natural lake in Southern California. Most of the year, Lazy Creek is just a trickle but it sure is nice when winter comes....I love it. So go over to Under Dogs Blog to see the photos if you are so inclined. The banner shows the river...he had to trudge down into the muddy bank to take the photo...

I've just about run out of "new" postcards so found these on flickr....I personally really enjoy these vintage Victorian real life postcards..the person who posted them says she found an entire collection in a old trunk and has lovingly restored them,,,she says to use them in any art or creation you would like, just don't sell them on a CD....
here is another one...
If you'd like to see more of her collection, her name on Flickr is Lisa Kettel and here is her photostream ...she's a very talented altered art artist and has tons and tons of things to enjoy....her photos, altered art, and postcards.....
I am really intriqued by altered art and marvel at the imagination of the artists.....tempted to try some just for fun. I don't think I could ever be as good but its fun to spread your wings and try new things... I am especially drawn to altered books...have a few very old ones that my grandma gave me but don't want to use them....I think after the holidays, I might moisy over to the local thrift shop and see what I can find...they sell their books for just a few cents so wouldn't be losing much if I mess up (which is likely).
Trying to finish up everything this weekend before the big day....debating what to serve for Christmas and also have one present yet to get....I was able to get most all of the ingredients for some sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, fudge and divinity...so after today, I will be in the kitchen for while.....Matt wants to help so that will be fun.
We are still not doing as well financially as we would wish but have our heads above the water and are treading like crazy...much better than last year...starting a new business is expensive and we have to dig out of the hole which will take time. We have so much to be thankful for.

Thursday at My House

Welcome!

Here is a mini tour of our house decorated for the holidays.....we moved the china cabinet to the other wall and think it makes the room look larger....hope so....would you like some coffee or hot tea? Going to be making some cinnamon rolls soon to celebrate the season, something my aunt did every year when she would visit. Yum!

We just have this mini tree this year as our new rescued cat loves to chew on plastic....its cute but we do miss the big beautiful tree.....there are some tiny vintage Santa ornaments and candy canes on it....the antique doll baby carriage was my moms. Surprisingly the cats have left these alone......
Would you like to take a walk? at the end of our street, there is a big field.
this photo is looking back towards our house...you can't really see it but its tucked back in the right hand corner.

If we climb out on these rocks, we can get some great views of the mountains....with all the rain and snow we've had, they are spectacular.





Thanks for coming by and hope you enjoyed your visit to our house and beautiful Menifee, California....

Before you leave, please take one of these Friendship Soup jars home with you...and Merry Christmas!

Road Trip, Dog of the Week and more, Phew!

As I mentioned yesterday, Alan got called to go up to the high desert to re key a REO house...I like to tag along on these longer trips..to give him some company. The photos are clickable for better looks...

This is past the old Air Force base....lots of snow in the mountains.


This is coming over the hill into San Bernadino and Riverside, approaching the Cajon Pass.


Approaching the start of the pass...




The Cajon pass...note the train....the day before it was entirely closed because of bad weather..we figured we better get up there while there was a window of time before the next wave of storm came.


Snow in the desert! As we got towards Hesperia, the snow had melted off but it was still very cold and as we finished the re keying, the temperature started dropping...there were two contractors that met us at the house as they were going to do some estimates on repair...we all hustled trying to get done and get down the pass before any more snow came. When we left, we saw a bank sign that said it was 43 degrees and dropping.
I didn't take any photos of the house, but it was nice...all the homes in the neighborhood were on large 1 acre lots...which I love....and very quiet. All around you can see high mountains covered in snow...the only sound you could hear was an occasional train whistle..Be a great house to go off the grid and put solar panels up for energy...it had a nice big fireplace too. Housing prices there start around $50,000 up. Might be a nice place to retire if you don't mind desert heat.

Afterwards, we went to another house in Whittier....and since we didn't have a good map, got a little lost...took us quite a while to find our bearings....the second house was dinky, a old 1940s cottage that had been remodeled......made a cute 2 bedroom in a funky 3 bedroom with the garage made into a room. The additions were not well done and probably not to code...it had a space heater. If it were mine, I'd take off the additions and bring it back to its darling cottage look. After we re keyed it, we promptly got a little lost again, trying to find the right freeway to get home on..got back after dark.

This getting lost convinced us to get a GPS system as soon as we can afford to...they are getting cheaper...we wasted a lot of time fighting traffic on the wrong freeway until we realized our mistake.....
This will be a long posting today, as I need to do the dog of the week too and of course, another vintage card.....


This is little Fluffy, a 6 year old Shih-Tzu....very friendly and active..he loves to climb on top of his dog house, aka Snoopy...wonder what he is dreaming of on his dog house? Perhaps his forever family?


At this time of year, the dogs can really need your help...with the bad weather, they are always in need to warm blankets, and food...if you can help in any way...even a small donation does help..please visit the Sun City K-9 Dog Rescue
and thank you so much to my readers who have helped..it really is making a difference in the lives of these little ones whose lives have been so disrupted.

Tuesday Chat

More rain today....and they say it might snow by tonight..the mountains look wonderful and I hope to get some photos but right now there are too many low clouds around them for a good shot. We are so thankful for the rain and it is such a blessing here.....the water authority people have been saying if we don't get good rainfall this winter, there will be mandatory rationing next spring and summer.

Donny was a judge at a communities light show on last Friday and he says the lights were spectacular...I hope we can get over there to see them one night this week. The latest thing are the computerized lights that are connected to music....we don't have anything near as complicated but these are sure pretty....would be fun to do, although I don't know how much your electric bill would be! I got this display off of Youtube but Don says the winner of the contest had something very similar.

Great, huh? if you'd like to see more, at the end of the video, click on some of the bottom photos on the strip and it will take you to others...


I am going with Alan up to Hesperia, Ca today and will probably see some snow as we are going through the Cajon Pass. The pass was closed most of yesterday because of snow....there is a REO house there to re key. Should be a pretty drive so I will take the camera and see if I can find any good photos to share with you...Hesperia is in the high desert.

We woke up to rain, rain, rain...and wind.....Alan had a job this morning but had to reschedule as it was an outside gate job....he couldn't use his electric drill in the rain! California really needs the rain so I am sure not complaining but do pray for the fire areas as there hasn't been enough time for any greenery to grow back so mudslides will be a problem. Its fairly cold too, but no snow here...not quite cold enough.
We covered up our strawberries so they should be ok. The apple tree is losing all its leaves. The fig tree still has a lot of its leaves but it partially gets sheltered by the house. In the front, our big tree (Alan and I still haven't figured out what kind it is) is raining leaves with the wind.

Yesterday evening, I had enough ingredients to make us a pot of Friendship Soup...it was tasty and makes a big pot. There are four jars waiting for their direction tags (I was in a swap so should be getting 18 different tags this week to use).

Donny brought home 3 large sweet potatoes so I boiled them and made a sugarfree Sweet Potato
Pie which we enjoyed again this morning for breakfast. I like this better than pumpkin. I think I put too much shortening in the crust as it was hard to roll out and I ended up piecing it together.

From the weather report, most of the country is having bad weather so please be careful driving and stay inside if you can.....I need all the readers I can get!

Joko just won't listen to anybody, not even his Uncle Squiggly.....the cats only have so much patience....