Monday

Friday afternoon, I looked out our front window and this is what I saw..very foreboding

A few minutes later, hail and rain..

We are expecting another storm sometime this evening and into tomorrow...clear the rest of the week and then more rain next week...

Saturday, the weather starting clearing up..Alan and I took a walk along the Salt Creek..it usually is just a trickle but with all the rain we've had..it was full...there is a nice walk way for about a mile.......we saw some Snowy Egrets enjoying the water
We also spied a Blue Huron..I didn't get a photo of him but Alan did so if you go to his blog..you will find alot more photos.....the Egrets didn't like the Huron very well..chased him away...
Our mountains are full of snow....look so beautiful...
This is Big Bear...the town up there is closed to outside traffic and the school is closed..snowed in...they are running out of supplies and food but its only temporary so don't worry....

La Cresta, Murrieta, Road Trip

Yesterday afternoon..Alan got called to re key this fabulous foreclosed property in La Cresta outside of Murrieta....as you probably know, I just had to tag along and always like to share exceptional properties......this is the type of home a celebrity or movie star might purchase...in an exclusive area of horse ranches, winegrowers, and acres of orange groves....on a private driveway at the top of a hill with great views.....I've always been curious what these homes look like inside so felt blest to be able to wander in and get paid for it too! I took off and re installed 5 locks and Alan did 5 also..lots of doors...anyway..here are a few photos of the inside..above is the entry...

This basically what you see when you enter...there is a foyer which steps down into this..and then halls on either side....there are fireplaces in just about every room....including the master bedroom....beautiful tile and hardwood floors..and high grade carpeting in the bedrooms..there are 4 bedrooms..each one with its own bath...


I'd call this the media room...fire place and a place for the big screen TV...the little room at the center there is round...a turret room...


Had to show you the tub in the master bath...to the right are the toilet and bidet (!) and to the left a large tiled shower...


This would be the library room....beautiful cabinets on either side of the fireplace



Here is the kitchen...granite countertops..top of the line appliances and a walk in pantry..

Here is the pool and jacuzzi....its right on the edge of the property and seems to hang in space..very cool..
we really enjoyed re keying it...there was surround sound on and we listened to some nice jazz while we were working....even the garages were carpeted and hard wood floors...can you believe it? There were 4 large garages....
It got very cold though up in the hills and I got a little chilled......was good to get home..it was a nice house but not home, if you know what I mean.......we both agreed we liked our little house and don't envy those who live in such luxury..fun to visit though...

Rain!

This is a photo of flooding in Long Beach, Ca yesterday....its not that bad here in the Inland...this is along the coast....we do have some road closures as I mentioned yesterday.....Salt Creek went over the streets..these Arizona bridges are built for that......

Don (DS) came home early this morning and said he had a accident last night.....he was driving and the rain came down so hard, his visibility wasn't very good....he saw two flooded yellow signs on either side of the road (this was out in the country, no street lights) so he carefully drove down the middle of the street when he hit a white street closed sign that he couldn't see..fortunately, he was able to get through to the other side alright.....but his van has a crumbled hood......yellow is easier to see in the pouring rain than white..the city should have had lights on the closed sign or used yellow instead..he asked Matt to help him at the dog rescue today as there is alot of work to do..sand bagging, etc.
The weather people are predicting another big storm this afternoon.... and then one perhaps next Tuesday....

Wednesday Dog of the Week...Chiquita

She is a pure bred Chihuahua.........the rescue has quite a few Chihuahua's and Chihuahua mixes in right now....probably because of the popularity of the movies that have come out in the last few years......they are lively little dogs that need strong leadership....without that, there can be problems....they are also not too good around young children...but for someone who has good pack leader skills..they can be very good intelligent companions..loyal and loving....one thing about Chihuhua's..you can take them about anywhere.!..tucked into a tote..Chiquita weighs about 4 lbs......she's very small.....you can find Chiquita at Sun City K9 Rescue


We've been swamped with rain....today another storm is coming in..this is the 4th in 4 days......great for the drought situation here....no damage so far. Our lawn, garden and flowers sure appreciate the rain..everything looks good with the exception of leaves everywhere..the high winds have blown most of the dead leaves off our big trees in the front.....our patio is covered with soggy ones..some clean up to be done but no use doing anything yet until the storms have passed......we were glad to have cleaned out our gutters and downspouts over the last weekend....do you believe most homes here don't have them? We added ours on when we moved in......
Our little river, Lazy Creek is getting full...we figure soon the road will be closed that runs across it....its one of those Arizona bridges that floods out on a regular basis.....
we've been busy re keying foreclosures all week too......trying to get most everything done in the mornings as the storms come in the afternoons....Alan is at one now....


We've been following the Massachusetts election with interest.....Yeah, Scott Brown!

Road Trip...Redlands

We got an email this morning for a re key job in Redlands.....we have been there once before and were very impressed with the town...many darling cute cottages, orange groves and mountain views........here are a few photos I snapped.....










We stumbled upon the University of Redlands...a beautiful campus...Alan wants to put the photos he took of the campus on his blog so check there in a day or two....
We are sure glad we went today as this evening the first of the storms came in and its raining...tomorrow its supposed to pour so just as well, The Big Guy doesn't have to drive that far in the storm.......
The house we re keyed was fairly easy...I actually took off the all the locks, and then re installed them when Alan had changed the pins.....felt proud of myself as I often have trouble putting knobs back on....dead bolts are easy but knobs are more of a challenge....I'm not very mechanical minded...and its a struggle at times...

We've been hearing about the conditions in Haiti and praying for the residents, and rescuers......so many have been killed..last count over 40,000...just terrible.........so much aid is flowing into the area which is good and I think with the military there now, things will settle down some...sure hope and pray so.....
I was wondering why there was so much destruction and wondered if we had an earthquake of the same magnitude, if there would be something similar....I don't think so as our construction is better suited to handle earthquakes..but we do live along the San Andreas fault so if it were really bad, who knows?
I remember being told what to do in an earthquake, and also to fill your bathtubs with water if you can..may not be good for drinking but will be good for other uses......we always have some bottled water here for drinking........but truly are not prepared as well as we should be........makes one think, doesn't it?

We are getting ready for up to 5 big storms that will start on Sunday evening.....thank the Lord as we sure need the rain.......both the boys are working at the rescue today and getting everything ready out there.
I was out there yesterday and they have a rescued ginger cat that I am seriously thinking of bringing home...she is very affectionate and sweet.......she's in the office and ready for her new family...gotten her shots, feline leukmia test and also microchipped......
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She's prettier than her photo.......she's kinda on the small side and might fit in with our other two furballs......I am thinking about asking if we could foster her for a week or so before adopting to see if the other cats will accept her......

Wednesday Dog of the Week...Jacomo

Here is one of the newest arrivals...this little guy is Jacomo..a 3 year old Bichon Frise/Mix....he is a little shy but a nice dog....just needs someone to love him and give him a chance.......Bichon Frise are happy little dogs that love human company..intelligent, lively and love children..they are not yappers...and are happiest with their human family/pack...they do need to know what their limits are and have a human pack leader...or otherwise like many little breeds can develop
small dog syndrome where he would feel he has to be the pack leader. You can find Jacomo and other rescue dogs...at the Sun City K9 Rescue
Little Kingston is ok..just stiff and sore from his ordeal yesterday......

I started reading a good book.....The Pilgrim Church by E.H. Broadbent...its a tracing of the forgotten saints from Pentecost through the Twentieth Century....heavy reading but very informative...will take some time to get through......It was published over 60 years ago....and is now back in print.....the first chapter is called "Beginnings" and reports about the very early church after Pentecost...how they lived and what the church was like..... and in later centuries, unknown heros of the faith..who stood strong for Gods Word.

We've been watching this little guy on the weekends...his name is Kingston.....this morning, Don opened the garage where he was...he got out of his kennel and ran down the street toward the large field where we take him on walks........Don tried to call him but he wouldn't come....he woke us up early and we all 3 went looking for him.....walked all over the large 10 acre field...no Kingston....called his name..but no dog.....Alan went back first and there the dog was sitting in front of the garage, a little worse for wear...his hind legs were scraped up and he was in some pain... we were relieved but couldn't figure out what had happened........Don took him to work and the vet...there are alot of rocks and steep banks in the field..so he may have fallen running after a rabbit....
I am sure he will be ok...he could walk and acted fairly normally other than hurting a little from the scrapes. I will let you know.....



I started a Inspiration shop page on Facebook...if you are on FB...would you like to be a fan? just getting started, of course...but think we will have some fun....

Sunday Funnies

A Great Sale

Nancy is having a sale for her blogger friends.....she makes the nicest things....aren't these the sweetest little pincushions? Made from little vintage child's shoes.....with Valentines and Mothers day coming up, a nice pincushion would be a great gift.....especially something so unique.....she has over 40 listed plus handmade soaps, market bags, accent pillows and more.....you can find these at Huggins Haven . 15% off, This sale will end on the 17th and the code for the discount is 0110.



You might be wondering about the banner photo..I like to change it often and usually like to feature photos of our pretty valley..this was taken from a hill outside of town.