Wide Open Spaces

We travelled at the beginning of November. Along with visiting family in Bay City, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah, we took an overnight trip to Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah. It was a walk down memory lane for me, but it was a whole new experience for hubby and son. We ate lunch at Mom's Cafe in Salina and made it to the park in time to hit Sunset Point for sunset, at about 8000 ft elevation. We spent the night at Ruby's Inn just outside the park and then spent the next day visiting many different view points and walking some of the trails. Filled my soul.

OOPs there goes...

Our rubber tree coming down. Our neighbor asked us to trim it as it was hanging over their shed door on the other side of the fence. Once we started... we decided to take it all down and put in something that is not 25 feet tall and wide! This will give our small back yard more visual space, but I will miss the shade.

One thing connected to another thing and that thing connected to..

Once upon a time there was a family that decided to do some home remodeling. They took apart the ceiling and changed it a bit, then they started to put things back together. They realized if they want to do that then the walls are connected to it and if they want to bead board on the walls then the baseboard coving needs to be changed. And if the coving needs to be changed then the flooring has to go. Next thing they know, they dumped the old vanity and the toilet and are scraping the vinyl off the floor. Thinset and tiles and tools later the rebuilding starts.

If you think it is not all connected, think again.

Pulling crepes

Yummy... Blueberries, yogurt, and a bit of juice.

Beaded Turtle squares

The new Bead-It-Forward challenge is Turtles. Initially I was completely stumped. After a trip to the local craft store and the purchase of a couple of turtle buttons, I started stitching. The one on the right was first and then I played with a turtle heading into the water. Now there are patterns coming out designed by other participants. Ideas are starting to flow. Should be a really interesting (set of) quilt(s). Not sure how many I will do... I certainly do not expect the same level as last year but who knows...

Home Made

My newest favorite food to make: Tamales.

Google comes in handy again as I searched for and found recipes for both the dough as well as the filling. I've done taco seasoned meat in the past and they are yummy. These are black bean and corn and are amazing! I read a book called Red Glass a a few months ago and the written description of a community village of people gathered together chatting while making this food for their meals created a calling to me. I am alone in preparing this and yet I am connected.

Crepes may be next... stay tuned.

July Celebration

Happy July to you! We had our own celebration in our back yard, for the third year running. We had fountains and poppers and whistlers. All around us the sky lit up with local celebrations. So fun to sit in the swing and watch the colors and listen tot he sounds. Mack had a late night swim to cool down from the heat of the evening.We hope you enjoyed your Independence Day celebration, wherever you were and whatever you did!