Merry Christmas

Christmas morning at our house was filled with so much love and fun.  It was great to see Grandbaby enjoy her new toys.  She was a bit confused as to why her Mommy kept giving her new toys but she seemed to deal with it ok.  Auntie came to visit and we always love seeing her.  Just wish she lived closer to us. Our time with her is precious. Darling boys played on the new slackline until they were worn out completely. I am blessed with my family and friends.

The Ones I Love

Four of the ones I love..... Grandbaby is sick!  While Papa is hunting deer in Kansas, the rest of the clan came to watch "Elf" and have a fire with me. Baby has a fever and cold.  We are hoping she will be well for Christmas.  Presents are wrapped and we are ready for Santa to bring Baby her gifts. This is a wonderful time of year!

GrandChristmas

Merry Christmas All,
After a rather long absence, I am back.  It seems after a 2 week bout
of flu, then Thanksgiving, refinishing hardwood floors in our home and
then rushing into the preparations for Christmas, I just could not get
to my blog.  Most of the shopping is now done and the home fires are
lit.  I am so blessed to have this darling grandbaby who thrills me everyday.

A Pony Ride

If this doesn't make me want to buy a pony for baby, then I don't know what will.  Her Dad and Mom had so much fun with her on her first pony ride. Once she got on, it was all smiles. Smiles until the scary pumpkin patch, that is.  Baby can be very happy one minute and in tears the next. She reminds me of someone I know... 

A French Birthday

Grandbaby will be one soon! A French themed party will be held in her honor. We can't wait to celebrate with her. There will be cupcakes, ice cream and baby's Nonni has bought just a couple of presents!

Brown Trout

We just returned from Montana.  We were close to the town of Two Dot!  It was so fun to catch about ten Brown Trout.  Darling Husband tried to teach me to cast, after almost hooking him twice, he took over that job for me.  My new assignment is "backyard casting".  I can't wait.

We had the utter joy of seeing elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, coyotes, bunnies, wild turkeys, antelope, and mountain goats.  I got to climb to the top of a mountain with Darling Husband to see such a beautiful view.  The sky was amazing and there were deer all over the place.  Oh, and the special extra treat was that Darling Husband bought us First Class airline tickets.  I had never been in First Class before.  Let me tell you that when they come up to you and ask if you would like a drink before you take off, and call you by name, it is a thrill!  I don't know if I will ever be the same.

Grandpumpkin

Baby went to the pumpkin patch.  She wanted to eat everything and wasn't sure why Mama and Nonni keep taking pictures.  I think the rest of the people there sort of felt the same way.  It is always fun to see things through new eyes.  Baby has given us new eyes for everything that is around us.

We finally got a smile!

Yesterday I took a class on decorating your front porch for the Fall.  So..... I spent the afternoon decorating our porch and Darling Daughter's as well.  We are decorated and validated by the rain and lightening this morning.....

Fall Decorating

I love Fall, I really do.  Everything about it suits me fine.  Cool mornings and evenings after a hot summer. Warm days to garden in, putting the garden to bed for the winter. Leaves, pumpkins, gourds, soup, cardigan sweaters, school supplies, spiced scented candles, Darling Husbands happy face (hunting season); it all feels right. The colors of Fall are the best.  None of them draw me any other time of year.  When I walk into a store and they have their Fall decor out, my heart just sings. I hear people groan, "all ready", and I think "yes, all ready". Another chance to do it better!

Ten Months Old

Precious Grandbaby ate her dinner at my house tonight, much to the joy of three dogs. It is so much fun to see her feeding them bananas.  She is joyful as they take the banana from her small hand.  Everyday is sweeter because of Grandbaby.  I am in love......

A Bunkhouse

Finally, progress!! It is starting to look like something. This week there was so much going on that it seems to be a new look everyday.The redwood siding is just waiting for Monday to be installed.

The cool mornings and evenings of Fall are here.  It somehow makes a big project so much more fun. The gardens and getting cleaned out and the tomatoes are giving us their last push. Hoping to get the Fall decorations up on Monday.  Dear Son brought the boxes down from the barn and they are ready to go.

Swimming with the Dolphins

Darling Daughter and Hubby swam with the dolphins for her birthday present.  She was in  her absolute glory! The kids had an hour long classroom time and then thirty minutes in the pool with the dolphins.  It was amazing to watch.  Of all the kids and adults who got to participate, Darling Daughter had the biggest smile! She is our joy.

A Barn Raising!

Good things come to those who wait.  I have been
learning about waiting for a couple of months.  Come to find out, I'm not good at it. But, today the first wall went up!  Then the second and third.
There was mention of renting a trencher for the water lines to the garden.  Oh, happy day...

It is so fun to see this project finally starting to take shape.  My mind is swimming with ideas. I think that this will be the last project like this on our property, so must make the most of it! Precious Son painted the old chairs black, I think they look nice on the soon to be porch.

A

A very handsome construction worker showed up on the job today.  Couldn't help but flirt with him.

Country Life

Country life has some major perks.  The gardening is certainly one of them.  It was fun to grow several types of pumpkins and some gourds.

Last year I decorated with pumpkins purchased from the local fruit stand.  This year I put the entire pumpkin in the ground and watched a big pumpkin patch arrive in Spring.  Our crop was very early, but we only lost a couple as they sat under a tree in the shade for a good part of the summer. Now, I can wait no longer; I'm decorating!  We are hosting a party for a friend on Friday night, so here we go....

Grape Tomatoes

A big bowl of tomatoes is still easy to attain in the garden.  A late supper was prepared with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil sauted with lemon pepper, sea salt purchased this summer in Paris. The mixture was poured over penne pasta and served with a chilled glass of Bogel. Excellent!    Soon the gardens will be put to bed for the winter.  I love the clearing out and composting of all the raised beds.  Starting to dream about a shredder.  October/Novermber Horticulture Magazine has an article on the Atco Quite Shedder 2000. It looks like a good possibility.  It is manufactured in the U.K., which makes me even more excited about it!  This is a wonderful time of year.  The cool mornings and evenings are so refreshing after the warmth of the day. Happy days are spent cutting the last roses and bringing them in for the last bit of show. Already dreaming of next years garden........                                               

A Ladybug

A ladybug came to visit me yesterday afternoon.  It seems that Darling Daughter could not wait to get Grandbaby's costume! Sweet Baby Girl will be a ladybug!  What fun we are having.  Crawling, a first tooth, open arms and big smiles for Nonni each day. Baby can now pull herself up on things.  There are a couple bumps now as she hasn't gotten the idea of how to get down.  Naptime is a new challenge.  Baby loves to standup in her crib and will not let go.  Daughter came over yesterday and said "I need parenting advise".  It made me smile.......

A Good Harvest

I am pretty sure that when I walked out the backdoor this morning that I could smell new crayons and sharpened pencils. Precious
Daughter tells me it is not yet time to decorate for Fall.  The temptation is strong. Some of the pumpkins from Grandbabies patch must wait on the backporch until the appropiate time.  Who is to say just when that is?

Kennedy Meadows

Our family took a two day trip to Kennedy Meadows in the Stanislaus Nataional Forest. This small cabin was our home.
We really had a fun time together.  The boys did some fishing and we all went on a horseback ride through some
incredibly beautiful country. Fortunately for me, there is a

small restaurant there so cooking wasn't on my list of things to do.  We took ingredients to make fish tacos but the fish were not eager to join our table. Dear Grandbaby rode around on her Daddy's back and took in the sights from a cozy resting spot. Precious Sons skipped stones in the creek.  They are so dear to watch, always laughing and enjoying each other.  At one point they were knee deep in the freezing cold water trying to build a dam. Darling Daughter and I watched and wonder why one must always be building something. While the kids filled out forms to ride horses, Darling Husband cared for grandbaby.  They always find something to do together. Papa decided to weight Grandbaby on the feed scale. She now weighs 16 lbs.  She is crawling and really starting to get into things. The fishing trip, though unsuccessful, was great fun.  Dear Son, fell into the water and nearly froze.

Dear Friend and Me

I still can't believe that dear friend and I got to spend time in Paris just a few short weeks ago.  People always ask us if we are sisters, to which we both always say no and why do you ask.  After looking at this picture of us, we now understand why the questions is always asked.

Home Again

After ten lovely days of England and France, it was time to go home.  It seems that once we start to pack to leave, we just can't get home fast enough. The boys hunted Roe Deer while my dear friend and I toured, ate, shopped, people watched and generally had an amazing time.  The girls did a whirlwind three and a half day trip through Paris.  We saw everything that Rick Steves says to see in seven days.  French perfume, baby clothes, chocolate and lace were all purchased. A two foot Eiffel Tower was stuffed into my suitcase, at the glee of everyone who wasn't trying to carry it for me. We ate crepes, macaroons, and meringues. We walked from 8am until 11pm, in sandals! A trip that I will always remember.

One of the reasons we need to hurry home.  Precious Grandbaby had a friend vist her in the garden. We missed the garden party but loved the pictures.  Precious Grandbaby received so many darling French outfits.  She wore her new berret to church on Sunday and just looked stunning.

I am just starting to recover from a terrible case of jetlag.  As I come out of my four day fog, I start to dream of a trip to Scotland........

Rodin's "Thinker"

Going to see the home where Rodin lived and walking through
his gardens was really amazing.  The gardens are basically the same today as they were when he lived there.  I walked through the house, beautiful windows and hardwood floors, trying to imagine what live was like living there. Huge french doors open to the formal gardens.  I could stand there and breath in the feeling for a very long time. This man born in 1840, had such incredible talent. It wasn't until he turned 40 that he set out upon a career as a sculptor.  Pretty wonderful story.

Paris

We returned from our trip to England and France last night.  Never did I think that I would be able
to see Paris.  What an amazing city.  Of course, you hear people say that all of the time, but it really is just amazing. We were in the city for about three and a half days and managed to do everything that Rick Steves says to do in seven. It is hard to balance seeing everything on your list and really experiencing the city.  We took time to sit and watch the people. The Parisian women are truly beautiful.  They have something about them, an air of confidence, maybe. After a nap, there will be more.......

An Old Tree

I'm not sure how long this tree has been on our property.  For the last three years it has been in bad condition.  The tree specialist came out two days ago and said it had served its purpose.  So, this morning the crew will come out and remove it.  After a moment of pause, I thought about the gardens in Italy where picnic tables sit under trees instead of umbrellas.  Right after this thought came the inevitable thought of putting power in over on the west side of the garden room so we can string lights from the two trees on either side and have a table sitting there just waiting for the day that I do sit down. Oh the possibilities.......

Land That I Love

The 4th of July is always a very fun day for us.  This year we hosted a small group of our dear friends to join us in the celebration of our great country.  Hot dogs, hamburger, ribs, corn, pasta salad, fruit salad, strawberry shortcake were on the menu.  I pulled out everything red, white and blue that I own.  There was more than I thought! Baby enjoyed her first firework display.  No tears or fears, but thrilled to see the show.

New Ideas

Darling Husband and I went to a wonderful place today.  We found Four Seasons Farms to be a special place to spend an hour or so.  We learned how to prune our espalier apple trees.  They will be planted along the horse pasture fence pictured here.  We also learned that there is no reason in the world why we can't grow boxwood plants. They just elude us, but we will continue to plant and replant them. We were assured that "you just can't kill them". Today we left inspired to do great things in our newest garden.  This is one of the things that I live for.

Vacation Baby

Baby went on her first vacation.  She spent the week at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.
Baby enjoyed having smores on the beach one evening with her parents.  Never before had she tasted such a wonderful thing as a marshmallow.  She enjoyed the killer whale show at Marine World and slept through Toy Story 3. (We don't need to let the Academy know that though.)  Everyone had a great time but were equally glad to be home.  Now Mom and Dad get to do laundry for days.  Oh, vacation......
Nonni is thrilled to have baby back in her arms again.

Garden Cart

An old garden cart filled with flowers ready to be planted in a dear friend's garden.  What a surprise when she returns home from her vacation. A precious friend who means the world to me.  This is what I can offer her right now at her time of loss. A gift of a garden.