A Box of Surprises

I spent part of last night coughing again...can't seem to shake it yet....been over a week..I feel fine but just have this residual cough....kinda annoying......plus I kept dreaming about kittens...kittens?
I dreamt we were re keying a house and there was a litter..Alan said to pick one out to take home and I kept chasing them around the backyard......the one I wanted was a little orange puff ball but I never did catch him....
Thank you to all who have sent me get well cards...that is so nice! I so appreciate it, more than you can know....

I was cheered up a few days ago with a package.......Nancy sent me a box of goodies.....and alot of her handmade soap samples.....she wanted us to test them and see what we liked the best..I like the prim brown sugar and also autumn about the best....
wonderful fragrances and good soap.......I am getting into washing my hands more and more after everything...be like Monk in the TV series soon if this keeps up......I went into the grocery store the other day and looked for the antiseptic wipe dispenser many stores have near the entrance to clean the cart handle but didn't find it...
She also sent me a nice market tote,

this one has kittens on it....another sign?

and two pincushions.....

I had posted already about the other pincushion that I was lucky enough to win in one of her giveaways.....
This box was such a cheerful thing...and I hope you will check out her nice goodies on her website....just click on her name at the top of this post.......

Weekend Adventure of sorts

I'm back! We had a good weekend....haven't really been very busy this month as far as work goes...not a good thing, but Saturday had 3 jobs in the Los Angeles area....one was the second half of a old duplex that we had re keyed earlier in west L.A.
We did see some street preachers by the west L.A. house ...he had a bullhorn and was really preaching......when we went by later, he had given the horn to a woman who had taken over by that time....maybe his wife.....there are quite a few churches in the area...

Then the realtor wanted photos of two other houses that would be in fore, we spotted the famous Capital Records building

This is the entrance to the Hollywood Bowl..

Capital Record building......Hollywood is a study in contrasts....either very wealthy or poverty....not much in the way of middle class......the freeway traffic was terrible...really bad and this was on a Saturday........although the first house and the others were only 7 miles from each other...it took us over 40 minutes to get to them.....plus we actually had a minor fender bender..Alan hit the brakes but the van slid into a small car in front of us......thankfully, no damage was done and no one was hurt......the other person didn't want to pursue anything, we got our insurance information but she didn't want to go there so all is well......

We were very thankful to get out of LA county and back into sanity......our little town and house looked very good indeed........I am thankful we got work, and also that the accident was very minor....I am thankful that we live in a quiet little town and am not part of the rat race nor caught up in the vanity of Hollywood.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word"

9/11

I have been posting a "Who Am I?" game on Fridays but as this is 9/11, I thought I'd skip it this week....

Thursday

I had another photo to post of Prince...this one is better..he's sitting on our sons lap at the Woofstock festival that they had on Saturday...like I said, I think I am in love with this little guy...wouldn't you be? He looks like he's smiling, huh? but we are cat people, sorry, Prince....

Did you listen to the Presidents speech last night? what you may not know is while that was going on, there was a vote on another czar....Cass Sunstein as the regulatory czar
..he believes animals should be able to sue in court...right off the Peta website for sure...he agreed with the regulations passed here in Ca to stop the water to our farmers because of a tiny smelt, putting farmers out of business and prices to rise...he doesn't believe in even killing mice and rats when they invade your house..that its cruel....guess we will have to adopt several more cats! I think cats are way more cruel than a mousetrap but maybe that's just me?
He also wants to regulate the internet...but his nomination is being held up....you can read more about it here

Wednesday Dog of the Week

This is Prince, he is a pure bred Pomeranian and I think I am in love...he is the sweetest dog! like a little teddy bear and the happiest little guy.....he is an older dog, 7 years old, healthy and ready for a new home...his former owner had to go into a nursing home...he is well behaved, house trained and a wonderful companion. He will need grooming as his coat is full, and lovely. He just wants to please......you can find out more about Prince and the rescue here

I am feeling better, still congested but on the mend.....today I am getting a little caught up with the housework, laundry, etc. Its much cooler today too which helps alot...in the 50s this morning and supposed to be in the high 70s today...which is nice....makes you feel like doing something.
I am looking forward to cooler weather as I love to bake!...can't really do it during our summers.
The sun dried figs have been packaged and I started more figs outside today...they are so good and will be nice this fall and during the holidays......fig bars!

I've been sick with the flu....I don't think its the swine flu but am taking precautions.....feeling a bit better today but not out of the woods yet...still achy and sore from coughing.....so far no one else has gotten it and pray it stays that way.
Lots of rest and liquids.....I haven't gotten the flu in years....
its not much fun...so I thought I'd post some fun photos and make my own.



I am learning to be thankful in any state I find myself.....there is always something to be thankful for......


BE THANKFUL


Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~~Author Unknown

Who Am I?

I was born in in Los Angeles, Ca, a only child....as a child, I liked baseball cards and comic books....
I was very close to my Russian grandmother who I called "Oma" she passed away in German at the age of 93 in 2008....and I visited her often in her later years..

I first started in commercials and my first break was in a TV show that was shortlived based on the Parenthood movie.....I went on to do small roles in "The New Lassie" and "Roseanne". I got to work with Robert DeNiro, and Helen Barkin in my first big movie. I got an academy award for my next movie, and a Golden Globe in 1993....

I am unmarried and in my spare time, I work on environmental issues....
Who am I?

More hints tomorrow and a photo...
the prize this week is a set of sticky notes and a pen..sorry, no batteries in my camera...for a photo of the prize...

Tomorrow the dog rescue and others are having a Woofstock festival at the park that is very close to our home so hopefully I will get some batteries and take some photos...should be fun if it isn't too hot...it was 110 yesterday on our patio....

A New OOAK site

Nancy Huggins has opened a new online shop and I had to let you know...she has some of the nicest one of a kind (OOAK) items. I love her pincushions. She also has market bags, placemats,
and so many other nice goodies.....soap too! This rose petal soap is wonderful and would make great little stocking stuffers this Christmas....


So please take a few minutes and check out her shop...its called Huggins Haven...and she does take special orders also.....she will be coming out with some men's soaps too....for those grubby work hands.....with the flu season coming, soap and water is the first defense....
please check out her blog also...they just moved from Illinois to southern Alabama, in a very rural area..lots of vintage homes, farms and interesting scenery...her blog is Inside Nanas Head



Its been hot and muggy here. Hurricane Jimena off the coast of Baja is sending alot of humid weather ahead of it...we are having huge thunderheads, and a few showers in different areas..none in our neck of the woods. There is talk of dry lightening storms..hope not with the fires.....We don't get hurricanes here as the ocean off shore flow protects us or it has so far.....

Did you know that about 200 years ago, Southern California was wetter than it is now? When the Spanish first settled this area, the rivers were deep enough for them to take their ships inland for a distance? I know that the San Luis Rey river in Oceanside was deep enough to float inland almost up to the Mission San Luis Rey which is a good 2 miles inland from the coast.

We would sure like to have a wet winter this year, we are into a 3 year drought. Stage two water
alert, we got a large water bill and I was looking it over, discovered they said we only had 3 people living here. I had to fill out a form and send it in..as although Don lives at the rescue 5 days a week, he comes home, does his laundry here and showers....plus washes his van....we do comply to the rules, water only at night for only 15 minutes, no run off, etc. our cars are kinda dirty too.....the woman on the phone said we were within compliance with 4 people..as if you are over they charge you extra...they figure 60 gallons a day per person. What I couldn't understand was only use your dishwasher 3 times a week?

Wednesday Dog of the Week

Another Wednesday and another terrific dog, this is Shadow, a Weimarner mix, he is only about 4 months old...he is such a playful sweet guy and loves his toy, carries it everywhere and if someone comes by, he always wants to play...he is intelligent too and would be a great companion, teachable and good natured...
we went over to the rescue last evening, Don had invited us to supper...KFC and I took my camera....unfortunately the batteries died before I could get any photos of the dogs but I did mange to get one of the duck....she is a real quaker and we really like her...we thought originally we'd bring her home but it didn't work out....we did get her a nice pond to paddle in and I want to make her enclosure more duck friendly, right now there is alot of gravel there which can't be good for her feet..

she has recovered nicely from the dog attack but will never fly again sadly...she is happy though..Don has carved out a nice piece of the property for her but just doesn't have the time to work on it much...you can see the little pond up on the top of the photo. I want to get rid of the gravel, and plant some grass...maybe just buy a few pieces of sod and lay down there...we gave
the rescue some sod from our garden project and it is growing well so it would probably do alright here too.....

There is going to be a big celebration called Woofstock

Free Wallpaper Sites and California fires

I like to redo my PC every month or so with new wallpaper....I expect you do too...if so, I get mine from two different sites...the first is from Cross Cards...they have some very pretty paper,
all with scriptures like the above ....some of the months calendar too...another one is the Birds and Blooms online magazine site
these fall leaves are an example....

Its been very hot here this last week, in the triple digits....it was 107 yesterday.......this kind of weather makes me feel lazy, and with no energy....can't wait until fall...but its rather normal for here....August and September are our warmest months....also our fire season as you've probably heard about......really feel badly for the firemen and pray for their safety as its so hot and sometimes windy....the fire that is most close is the one near San Jacinto, the Cottonwood fire, is about 20 miles north of us...we had a job near there yesterday and saw the smoke billowing up....(.I naturally forgot my camera.)....they fight many of these fires with airplanes and helicopters..dropping both water and fire retardent....
I found this photo on a desert newspaper site, the Desert Sun (Palm Springs) many more photos there if you are interested ...just click on the link
So we are keeping as cool as we can, drinking lots of water, sun tea and crystal light.......trying to eat mainly fruit, cold sandwiches, salads, etc. heavy meals are a no no when its this hot.....