Monday

I had a very nice day yesterday......the boys got me my own digital camera! Now I can take my own photos and am having fun learning how ...this photo I took yesterday of some wave petunias on our patio table....it turned out fairly well for a first attempt.....
this is the second photo I took of our toad on one level of the bank....
In the afternoon, we drove up and sold my car...at the Car Max who gave us a good price and tomorrow early evening we will be picking up Alan's van....seems odd not to have my car key and not see it sitting on the driveway but I will be driving the Honda Accord which is a very nice car and a little newer than my Altima. Its easier to drive too.
Our oldest son, Donny surprised me and bought home dinner....authentic Mexican food, my favorite Chili Rellanos and a Carne Asada tamale,(plus beans and rice)..boy! talk about good eating...there is a good restaurant not far from here who has take out...he came walking in with bags of good smells.

Today was supposed to be his day off from the dog rescue, but he was called in as the person who was supposed to be there was sick...Don wasn't too happy about it as he and his brother had planned on going to Magic Mountain today....perhaps they will give him another day off...

Alan is off working early this morning.....someone called yesterday and wanted new locks put on as his wife has Alzheimers and has started to wander...he wants to be able to protect her and keep her in...my dear mother wandered several times before I was able to get her into a care facility. Fortunately her neighbor and friend was watching and helped her get back home.
Poor dears..they get restless and go for a walk, then can't remember how to get home.

I've been saving this special vintage photo ...wishing everyone a Happy Mothers Day!
I will spending the day with my family tomorrow so will post it early...see you again on Monday..

This is an actual photo taken outside of Bakersfield, Ca this year...our hillsides here in Menifee, and Lake Elsinore looked much the same about two months ago...Alan and I tramped around the hillsides taking photos but ours just didn't come out as nice as this one...It was like God took
out a paintbrush. There are many little dirt back roads to explore here not far from our house.
Doesn't take much gas and a fun thing to do. Thanks Kay for the photo!

Alan has a job this morning down by the Pechaga Indian Casino....its a bit of a drive...but not bad. He has quite a few jobs yesterday and probably get more calls today. He has another job in Hemet too. We weren't able to see the van yesterday so I called and set up an appointment for tomorrow. I'll just have to set aside some time in the morning and schedule appointments in the afternoon. A lot of locksmiths don't work weekends but we do. We also work evenings until about 8 or 9. We've gotten several call from people who have locked themselves out of their houses in the evening..We actually have returning customers..as this one house has 3 room mates and they constantly lock themselves out of their rooms...they call and say "its us again".
I think Alan's been out there 4 or 5 times.

Its gray and cool this morning...cool enough for a light jacket...no sun yet, I hope it comes out soon...I planted hollyhocks last year, they are the kind that don't bloom the first year..this year they've sent out tall spikes and there are buds so hope they bloom soon...one spike is over 9 ft. tall! we will post photos when they bloom. Alan planted giant mammoth sunflowers too which are growing nicely...
I won some moon flower seeds and plan on planting them along our side fence line...its very blank right now. I am not real familiar with moon flowers but from the photos and from what others say, they should do well here. Has anyone had any experience with them? We are zone
8b almost 9....the fence really needs something...its about 100 ft. long..I will have 150 seeds so that should be enough, I would think. Are they fussy about soil requirements? I was wondering if I needed to get some potting soil and work it in along the fence..there is lawn up to about 4 -5 inches from the fence.

I not only like old vintage photos but all sorts of labels, and old magazine ads........there are a few listed in Etsy right now....but this isn't one of them.

We were again really busy yesterday...Alan had a lock out at noon and our son Matt went with him.... a lock out is kinda sad...someone has lost their house and refuses to leave. The sheriff has to go in and escort them out, then the locksmith rekeys the house......most of the time the person has already left...I for one, wouldn't want to put myself and family through that but some do.
This was Alan's third lock out and no problem as they had left already. He was glad as its hard on everyone.....there are so many empty houses, I don't understand why banks do that..although I understand they have every right to. Nothing much has sold in our neighborhood and prices are really low....a house down the street from us, the same model is selling for over $100,000 less than we paid for ours..one of the largest houses in the tract, single story and nice yard.
On the up side, we are seeing a lot of people buying these houses in other areas and calling us to re key them..so perhaps the real estate market will start turning the other way eventually.

We are becoming so busy, we decided to look into getting Alan a van....we looked on Craigslist and found a locksmith van already decked out for sale up in Riverside.....it has shelves built in the back and has low mileage. The person is getting out of locksmithing for some reason and selling all his equipment also....but Alan has almost everything he needs at this point except the van. Its not too old either, a 2002 Chevy Astro. I would get his Honda Accord then to drive and I really like it, its easier to manuever in parking lots than the Altima which we will sell to Car Max. Sounds like a good plan, anyway.

I worked some on my little cross stitch project yesterday also in the afternoon..plus have been studying the pattern for the tea cozy....I will have to go to Walmart for some fabric though as nothing I have is suitable. I think I will make the cat one.

The Lord has really been encouraging me in many areas.....through scripture, people, and circumstances.....the kids ask, "how do you know when God is talking to you?" The Lord is a gentleman and usually doesn't hit you over the head or yell in a loud voice....He is gentle and loving, always patient....He speaks to me through the scriptures which I try to read every day...through prayer, nature and other people. I've been trying to read the Bible in a year through an online Bible reading plan at http://www.bible-reading.com/index.html

Wednesday Pet of the Week

Introducing BandAid!



Band Aid is a young Border Collie mix puppy. She was found and rescued while wandering the street and no one has claimed her. She is healthy and ready for her forever home. She is very friendly and sweet. Loves children. You can find her at the Sun City K-9 Dog Rescue.

Alan had a total of 7 jobs yesterday, 7! That is the best we have ever done so far...I helped him in the afternoon on 3 of the jobs and then when we got home, there was a message on the machine
for another one here in town so off he went to complete that one. I was bushed after 3....he has a lot of energy for an "old guy". He is also a soccer referee during the AYSO soccer season. We are really thanking the Lord, truly He is lifting us up on eagle wings. Today at noon, he has a scheduled "lock out" on a foreclosed home...

I started a small cross stitched project I bought from Nancy at Huggins Haven...its a little welcome sign with sunflowers..small and easy, I thought it would be good to start back cross stitching with something simple. It felt good to pick up the needle again.

The first chapter of "American Needle Work" is so wonderful and inspiring...I wish I could share the entire chapter but that is just not possible.....the chapter explains the old World way of needlework and embroidery, stiff with borders, frames and backgrounds..no part of the design can stand on its own and is very formal..
"Just as individual freedom suddenly released the terrific human energy that swept the Old World's Great Powers from this hemisphere and wholly transferred North America in a third of the time that these Old World Powers had held it, so this reversal of meaning gives American needlework an almost explosive energy. No other needlework is so alive. There are no more stiff forms in it, no monotonous repetitions. Leaves and flowers spring vigorously from living stems, buds burst open, squirrels frisk, deer leap, birds fly. Colors are clear and fresh and vibrant. No other needlework on earth is so strong, so free, so full of energy and movement."

The chapter goes on explaining the American women took the best of many countries and made each their own, from the Italians and the Russians for the cross stitch, the Spanish outline, the Danes, cutwork, Scots the woven plaid, the Scandinavians the hooked coverlet that we turned into hooked rugs, American Indian beadwork, Mexicans Aztec patterns and brilliant colors....and many more countries who contributed to the whole of American needlework.
The only craft that is total and completely American is the patchwork quilt...which is original to the 50 states....

I don't think I will continue sharing from this great book. You might check your local library to see if they carry it or can get it for you..it makes a great read and not only that, there are tons of patterns too....the book came with a separate set of patterns. There is one for a cat sampler I might make once I get back in the swing of it...its wonderful.

The book is called American Needlework by Rose Wilder Lane, published in 1963. It is rare and special.
I couldn't leave today without posted a vintage photo..

Why these ladies decided to climb the water tower, I don't know..there seems like a lot is going on in this photo...I really like these type of old photos rather than the studio ones, don't you?

As several wanted more of Rose's words, I thought I would post another paragraph..here the subject is needlework in general and our early founding fathers..
"Struggling for bare life itself, against the forests, the grudging soil, the weather, the sea, they learned the differences between human beings was superficial and that a common need, a common hope, unite all humankind on this hostile earth. In sharing danger and hardship, they learned that every person was responsible for his acts; that each one makes his own life what it is and that all alike must struggle to survive and to make human life better than it is.

"This truth was not in the feudal idea that God creates inferior and superior classes of human beings. It was not in acts of Parliament and Kings. It was not in the schools that taught gentleman's sons the duties of their privileged status. It was not in the arts and writings that expressed the Old Worlds concept of the nature of man, and it was not in the colonies' social order of authority above, obedience below. But it was in the first American needlework."

I will continue tomorrow with the rest of this section as I think it is so relevant today..at least for me and hopefully for my readers most of whom do crafting of some sort...I've always thought I wasn't really an artist because I don't paint but after reading this, I'm coming to see differently.
I think the Lord is encouraging me as I've been in a flux state as far as crafting...I thought when I got my new glasses, I'd start making things again but really haven't...guess I needed to take a break.

Its a cool morning and overcast...."June Gloom" in May...we are trying to get things together for our oldest son's birthday which is the 16th. He will be 20. Its a hard age to buy for as most things he would like are so expensive. He just went to the DMV yesterday to get a motorcycle permit which I am not too crazy about...he has always been one to take chances and get the rush of excitement...He works full time so can buy just about anything he really wants which is usually some tech thing or clothes..now he wants to save and get a motorcycle.. I told him we were going to get him life insurance! I bought him a watch last year which he never wore but he might like a nice piece of jewelry like a chain necklace like some of the guys wear....a little "bling"..couldn't afford gold but perhaps silver? This will take more thought...
remember tomorrow is pet of the week! I checked with Donny but so far, Elvis is still waiting.

I've been really enjoying reading the American Needlework book I got last week. Rose Wilder Lane is a terrific writer and her writing really opened my eyes to the fact that the US has gone through many hard times and survived. We've been so prosperous in the last 30 years or so, we don't realize this isn't the first nor the last recession and it will make us stronger people.
Here is just one quote from this wonderful book..
"The 1890's were an age of desperate anxiety. After seven years of little rain had made a dust bowl of the prairie states, a world wide depression (then called a Panic) stopped trade, shut down factories, closed banks. Foreclosed mortgages dislodged farmers from the land. In endless lines of covered wagons, they traveled the roads, east and west, north and south, seeking a chance to
work for food. Coxey's Army rise in Ohio and from a dozen other places. From the Pacific coast it's hordes swarmed toward Washington, seizing, crowding, and running trains wildly stopping only to terrorize towns and ravage stores of food. Federal troops guarded all government buildings. Eastward from the Mississippi for a hundred miles, dispatchers cleared all trains from the tracks, so that the Coxey's western armies trudged on toward Washington footsore, robbing and begging for food. I was riding in a covered wagon that summer. That winter, by stealth, I scantily embroidered a pincushion for my mother's Christmas present....."

I wondered what the Coxey's Army was so looked it up...this is what
Wikipedia says Coxey's Army was a protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by the populist Jacob Coxey. They marched on Washington D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time. Officially named the Commonweal in Christ, its nickname came from its leader and was more enduring. It was the first significant popular protest march on Washington and the expression "Enough food to feed Coxey's Army" originates from this march. This photo is of some of the marchers.



Even through some of the worst times, women were embroidering,sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, making lovely things for their families, using what they had to cheer and make their homes cozy and warm. I have several quilts that have been handed down to me from my great grandmother, grandmother and mother....who all went through tough times.
I hope our country won't go through anything like what was written again....my heart goes out to all those who have lost their homes and pray our country will get back to her roots of faith.

On a lighter note, we finished the patio cover yesterday, putting the shade cloth on....and I painted our side fence...planted some bush beans, and dead headed roses....we've got strawberries coming and nectarines. Alan has two jobs today so he's gone. The boys are sleeping in as its Donny's day off from the dog rescue. Quiet house!

I am a Winner!

I woke up this morning and was checking my email.....found out I won this wonderful pinkeep from the Primitive Gathering blog....Yoo! Only the second time I've ever won anything ever.... please check out this wonderful group and all the great artists that are featured there....
http://www.theprimitivegathering.com/

Other interesting photos

Alan took photos of our new patio cover but hasn't put them on my computer yet so that will have to wait....but my dear friend and sister in Christ, Kay, sent me some interesting photos made from fruits and vegetables...these are quite intriguing and thought I would share them.
Yesterday was such a nice day, mild and sunny...we planted a apple and a peach tree. I think we are done with trees..they are both loaded with fruit and hopefully we will get a few off them later this year...the apple is one we hadn't heard of before..its a Beverly Hills apple and developed for this part of the country...the peach tree wasn't marked but the nursery says its a free stone and sweet..

To the photos! Just click on them to see more detail...

May 1st

I remember as a little girl, we made paper holders and put May flowers on neighbors doors...such a nice tradition...now it seems its a day for protests instead...how times have changed and not for the better....
well....my sister in law, Diana always sends me such nice stories, and photos...I have shared some in the past...she sent me this lovely lovely photo of a very rare flower only grown in Thailand and protected by that government....it is so rare and seldom seen by anyone outside of that country...

The Parrot Flower






Wow, who but God could make this?