Finally!!

 The crazy quilt above was claimed by BB.  It is at this very moment on his bed.  He loved it the minute he saw it before it was even finished.  It may have taken me 3-4 months to finish it.  I was so tired of working on this on that I couldn't wait for it to be on his bed.  

I have discovered something anew about myself.  I TOTALLY HATE, HATE, HATE repetition.  I hate it when a song doesn't know when the song should be over and keeps repeating  near the end.  I want to ask whoever is leading the song if they don't know how to end it or if they don't know that it is supposed to be finished.  Relating that, I am now working on yet another quilt.  All the quilt blocks were finished and hand sewn in the recommended way with 1/4 " seams.  Of course I had to recut those blocks because they were very tattered on the edges.  It will not be a very large quilt.  I think the person ran out of matching yardage because there are some odd ball blocks  and she got discouraged and quit.  I don't know how long it will take me to finish this one.  Same thing over and over.  BORING!  I think Crazy Quilts are my forte.  It is constantly changing.  Being bored with the repetition of the quilt I am working on now, I left it in the middle of the L.R. floor and started working on a Victorian Crazy Patch.  IDEA STRUCK!  It became the front of a top for a new dress for me.  Almost finished!  Picture forth coming.

t

Above is the quilt I finished for my AZ granddaughter
She really likes bright colors so this one just fit the bill. 
Remember that I am almost always working with
things other people throw away.  These oblong pieces
came to me precut.  Smelly.  Must have been in some-
ones basement in the midwest.  I had to wash them and
of course I had to iron and recut each piece.  What you
see running from top to bottom is cording (from a
yard sale) covered with various fabric.  It took me just
a week to make this one.  It also took every bit of
batting I had on hand including small pieces here and
there.  It is almost a comforter.

ME

Not many of you will be interested in reading this but it is all I could think of to post until I get another project completed.

I LOVE GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING.
   Making quilts out of scraps others have thrown away.
   BB building a chicken house for me from out of date election signs.
   I made a blouse not too long ago from scraps.  Enough to get the body as recommended but had to make  
       the sleeves going in two complete different directions from each other and the blouse.  I like it.
   Getting dinner w/out running to the store when I don't have all ingredients called for and substituting some-
       on hand.  I have come up with new and very good recipes.

I SELDOM EVER SIT WITH MY HANDS FOLDED.
   I continually move to different task depending on my energy level.  I save knitting and crocheting for when
         I don't have enough energy to move the body.

I HAVE COME TO DESPISE TV
   Too many commercials, not anything much I am interested in but...I am watching an old TV series that I 
      didn't know existed when it was on TV.  It is called 'Boston Legal'.  Totally delightful.  I do sit with my
      hands folded while watching that.  At night in my desert, when the lights are on many bugs, especially
      tiny ones seem to be able to find their way into the house.  I hate watching TV in the dark.

MY HOUSE IS SELDOM COMPANY READY SO...
    every time I go from one room to another I pick up something on the way that needs to go my direction.

I ENJOY DOING LAUNDRY
   I have had a clothes line ever since I was married in 1959 and use it.

I ENJOY GROCERY SHOPPING

I...L-O-V-E..TO COOK.
   Sometimes when doing other things I get in the mood to cook something and have to decide what it will be

I HATE TO CLEAN MY KITCHEN
   And many times it looks like it
   On our honeymoon (in Yosemite) my husband bought me a plaque which still hangs in my kitchen.  I am
    no good at memorizing anything but I know this little verse.
            THANK GOD FOR DIRTY DISHES, THEY HAVE A TALE TO TELL
            WHILE OTHERS MY GO HUNGRY, WE'RE EATING VERY WELL.
             WITH HEALTH AND HOME AND HAPPINESS, I SHOULDN'T WANT TO FUSS,
             BY THE STACK OF EVIDENCE, GOD'S BEEN VERY GOOD TO US.

I TURN OFF THE AC/HEATER AT NIGHT ALL YEAR AROUND
   I figure if I have to pull up the covers (in the Summer) I am wasting energy and I can pull on enough
   covers in the Winter that I don't need the heat.

I LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL MY MIND, HEART AND SOUL
    I hope.                         I have never been put to the test.

I WOULD RATHER STAY HOME THAN GO OUT.

I NEVER USE THE WORD BORED
   I have way too much to do here at home that I enjoy.  If I get TIRED of one thing I just move on to
   something else.

NOW. ENOUGH ABOUT ME RIGHT NOW, TELL ME ABOUT YOU.



















  

This is why we love kids.

1) NUDITYI was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'
2) OPINIONSOn the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, 'The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.'
3) KETCHUPA woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'
4) MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'
5) POLICE # 1While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, 'Are you a cop? Yes,' I answered and continued writing the report My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?' 'Yes, that's right,' I told her. 'Well, then,' she said as she extended her foot toward me, 'would you please tie my shoe?'
6) POLICE # 2It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked.
'It sure is,' I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'
7) ELDERLYWhile working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs... One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'
8) DRESS-UPA little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.'
'And why not, darling?'
'You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.'
9) DEATHWhile walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased.
The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.' (I want this line used at my funeral!)  
10) SCHOOLA little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'
11) BIBLEA little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it.. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out...
'What have you got there, dear?'
With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!'

Detail pix

A few close up pictures of the Crazy Quilt that BB liked enough to take a close up of it. 

My latest completed creation

For the first time in my life that I remember I am fretting about change.  'They' have changed this blog site so much I am going to have to learn to use it all over again!  I am not happy with the way this is turning out.  At any rate, here are some pictures of the Crazy Quilt I just finished makeing for BB.  There are several other pictures of smaller detail but I can't get them on here.  I don't like the underlining of the scrip but don't want to take the time to figure it out right now.  I have other projects I want to get to.

I had (oh look at that, the script changed on me) my AZ family over for huge hamburgers last night.  I had not had a hamburger in a very long time an enjoyed it so very much.  You are happy to know that aren't you  ?  :-)

When I get another something done I will post it. 

 For

A two post day

Below is something my son sent me via e-mail. The pictures didn't copy but the story is fun to read, thus a second post on one day. Enjoy

BANANAS & MILK-DUDS
Below is an article written by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated...
He details his experiences when given the opportunity to fly in a
F-14 Tomcat.. If you aren't laughing out loud by the time you get
To 'Milk Duds' , your sense of humor is seriously broken.




This message is for America 's most famous athletes:
Someday you may be invited to fly in the back-seat of one of your country's
Most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have. John Elway,
John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity,
Let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity.... Move to Guam .

Change your name.

Fake your own death!

Whatever you do.
Do Not Go!!!

I know.

The U.S. Navy invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped.
I was toast! I should've known when they told me my pilot would
Be Chip (Biff) King of Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station
Oceana in Virginia Beach ..

Whatever you're thinking a Top Gun named Chip (Biff) King looks
Like, triple it. He's about six-foot, tan, ice-blue eyes, wavy surfer hair,
Finger-crippling handshake -- the kind of man who wrestles
Dyspeptic alligators in his leisure time. If you see this man, run the
Other way. Fast.

Biff King was born to fly. His father, Jack King, was for years the
Voice of NASA missions. ('T-minus 15 seconds and counting'. Remember?)
Chip would charge neighborhood kids a quarter each to hear his dad.
Jack would wake up from naps surrounded by nine-year-olds waiting
For him to say, 'We have liftoff'.

Biff was to fly me in an F- 14D Tomcat, a ridiculously powerful $60 million
Weapon with nearly as much thrust as weight, not unlike Colin Montgomerie.
I was worried about getting airsick, so the night before the flight I asked
Biff if there was something I should eat the next morning.

'Bananas,' he said.

'For the potassium?' I asked.

'No,' Biff said, 'because they taste about the same coming up
As they do going down.'

The next morning, out on the tarmac, I had on my flight suit with my name
Sewn over the left breast. (No call sign -- like Crash or Sticky or Leadfoot.
But, still, very cool.) I carried my helmet in the crook of my arm, as Biff had
Instructed. If ever in my life I had a chance to nail Nicole Kidman, this was it.

A fighter pilot named Psycho gave me a safety briefing and then fastened
Me into my ejection seat, which, when employed, would 'egress' me out
Of the plane at such a velocity that I would be immediately knocked
Unconscious.

Just as I was thinking about aborting the flight, the canopy closed over me,
And Biff gave the ground crew a thumbs-up In minutes we were firing nose
Up at 600 mph. We leveled out and then canopy-rolled over another F-14.

Those 20 minutes were the rush of my life. Unfortunately, the ride lasted 80.
It was like being on the roller coaster at Six Flags Over Hell. Only without rails.
We did barrel rolls, snap rolls, loops, yanks and banks. We dived, rose and
Dived again, sometimes with a vertical velocity of 10,000 feet per minute.
We chased another F-14, and it chased us.



We broke the speed of sound. Sea was sky and sky was sea. Flying at
200 feet we did 90-degree turns at 550 mph, creating a G force of 6.5,
Which is to say I felt as if 6.5 times my body weight was smashing
Against me, thereby approximating life as Mrs.. Colin Montgomerie.

And I egressed the bananas.

And I egressed the pizza from the night before.

And the lunch before that.

I egressed a box of Milk Duds from the sixth grade.

I made Linda Blair look polite. Because of the G's, I was egressing
Stuff that never thought would be egressed.

I went through not one airsick bag, but two.

Biff said I passed out. Twice.. I was coated in sweat. At one point,
As we were coming in upside down in a banked curve on a mock
Bombing target and the G's were flattening me like a tortilla and I
Was in and out of consciousness, I realized I was the first person
In history to throw down.

I used to know 'cool'. Cool was Elway throwing a touchdown pass,
Or Norman making a five-iron bite.. But now I really know 'cool'.
Cool is guys like Biff, men with cast-iron stomachs and freon nerves.
I wouldn't go up there again for Derek Jeter's black book, but I'm
glad Biff does every day, and for less a year than a rookie reliever
makes in a home stand.

A week later, when the spins finally stopped, Biff called. He said
he and the fighters had the perfect call sign for me. Said he'd
send it on a patch for my flight suit.

What is it? I asked.

'Two Bags.'



God Bless America

Mondays

I have decided I like Mondays...as long as I don't have to go anywhere. Mondays are a new start to a brand spankin' new week. Plans, good intentions, all in front of me. I started this week out well. I walked! That is a good thing. I am not faithful to my walking. I told my Dr. a couple of weeks ago (yearly checkup) that I don't mind walking, I just begrudge the 45 minutes it takes me away from my yarn and yardage.

Good intentions, new plans. I find that when I am away from home on vacation I always say: When I get home I am going to...you fill in the blanks. I wonder if you do that also. Most of the time I don't carry through on those plans but that is 'simply the way I roll' (as a niece of mine expressed).

Well, there you have it. Not much on my mind this a.m., just must carry through with some of those thoughts, first, dusting the furniture. BIG, BIG, winds here in the Spring and early Summer. I value the winds, it keeps us a little cooler a little longer here in my desert.

Home again, home again jiggidy jig

I know, I know, I have entitled my blogs with that same title in the past but I always think it and also always thank God for a safe trip.

This trip was to Palm Springs, CA. My oldest daughter went with me. Some day I hope it will be a trip with both daughters but the youngest daughter still has small children to take care of. Some day...

We were going to be away a week, Fri. to Fri. but came home a day early. We did and saw everything that we were interested in and it was time to come home. I think my sweet son-in-law wanted me to give his wife back to him. :-) When we left he was in bed with the flu and still didn't whine. He recovered enough to go to church on Sun. and to work on Mon. but I know he was happy to have us home early.

NO ONE would enjoy taking the vacations Becky and I take. We did garage sales and thrift store all Sat. and F-I-L-L-E-D the car with treasures. We hit one yard sale just as the people were packing it in and they almost gave away the things we were interested in. Becky bought two huge boxes of clothing. Just as soon as she got home she started sorting and washing. Some for her family and some for people at church. The trunk of my car was full of clothing. We took it out of the boxes so we could get it in the trunk. All for $2 !!!!! I bought a large box of books for making quilts and another box of material scraps for quilts. Half of the pattern books were for cross stitch. I will give those to a lady at my church. I DO N-O-T DO CROSS STITCH. I tried it once and it bores me sillier.

We drove to Redlands to see a cousin and an aunt of mine. My aunt will soon turn 90 years old. She and I used to be near the same size I believe. Now I can see that there may be a chance I will be frail. I saved clothing for years because I thought I might someday be old and frail, well, I became old but the frail didn't come with it. Frail I am not. My aunt is now frail but still a Blanton (my maiden name). Being a Blanton is an attitude: I can do it...I can handle it...I don't need any help! Blanton thru and thru. My youngest daughter once told me, "Let people help you mom, it blesses THEM" I told my aunt that and she immediately gave me the handle of her oxygen tank to pull for her. We Blantons are not totally unreasonable :-)

We had a great time. I am blessed to have children who love me and enjoy spending time with me............home again, home again.........until the next trip

The first story teller doesn't stand a chance

While I am working, sewing, knitting, crocheting, etc., the mind often goes elsewhere. This morning while working on the Crazy Quilt I was remembering a story my BB told me. Mom made him a shirt in the '60's. A shirt that was from an off white plain butcher's cloth. She embroidered a design on the back of it, probably around the shoulder area, a design that was 'in' in the 60's. My BB wore it until he was pretty sure there was not a whole lot of wear left in it, or perhaps the 60's era was getting over itself then he threw it it the garbage. A while later, he was standing in line at the bank and a man that was in front of him had on BB's very own shirt!!!

My story: Quite some time ago, my mom was visiting us in Scottsdale. The three of us enjoyed going to garage sales. That day there was a large one with items from which each of us bought something. That night we went out to dinner at a very nice restaurant and we each wore the piece of clothing that we had purchased at that one garage sale. We sat there enjoying the meal, the evening and each others company and I whispered that I sure hoped the people from which we had purchased the items we were wearing were not sitting near us!!

Memories are wonderful and often revisited. Enjoy yours.

Good, good Sunday

Just taking a minute before I decide what I am going to do next.

I had such a great Sunday yesterday. I went to church with my daughter and family and son. It was the 'kids' leading (playing instruments) for the song service. My AZ granddaughter ask for and received an electric bass guitar for Christmas. She played one song with the band. She was very nervous but did a great job. The song service was so uplifting and so was the rest. I enjoyed it very much.

I am taking a break from leading the choir, from right after the Easter service until ???????????. I just needed a break from responsibility and to go hither and yon for a while. I already feel refreshed.

Below are socks, both finished and in the making. The orange ones are ones I made a couple of years ago out of junk yarn. By junk I mean not yarn spacificilly for socks. The toe of a sock in my lap is a new experience. All of the many pair of socks I have made in the past start at the top of the cuff and on down to the toe. Several of the pairs of socks I have made has a toe in one of the socks that is a different color because I ran out of yarn before being finished with the pair. I wanted (and found) a pattern that starts from the toe and goes up to the cuff. I wanted this pattern because I can knit so far, start the second sock and knit each one of the pair in equal distance until I run out of yarn. They may end up only ankle length before I run out of yarn but will be the same color throughout. It puzzles me why there is not enough yarn in each ball to make a whole pair of socks. Could be because MY feet are so long.

To those who encourage

I just received an e-mail from 'my lurker'. A very encouraging letter it was. I don't know this lady personally but she told me she checks on my blog almost every day. I had pretty much stopped blogging because I believe those of you whom I know personally would have gotten tired of hearing about 'all things thread'. My friend Clif, my former minister in Phoenix, is an encourger also. He told me that he believed that I had interesting things to say even tho' I might not have pictures to go with that particular blog. (I had a new computer and had not yet learned to transfer the pictures from my camera) My Lurker has spurred me on a bit. I am almost finished the top of my crazy quilt ( which my baby brother has already claimed) and am anxious to get to it this morning...and not so anxious to get my kitchen cleaned up but decided that I would make a quick post just because of those of you who encourage.

I really have nothing much more to share so I will find some eye candy just because I enjoy looking at the pictures

Have a wonderful and blessed day, I plan on doing the same.

I took the picture from my back door, perhaps last Summer, I don't remember and don't care to take the time to find out. My quilt is calling me very loudly, hang the kitchen.

I have received via e-mail several times a forward that says: every night someone goes to sleep thinking about you, and many other uplifting things. I tried to find it with Google but failed. I wanted to post it on here in case YOU have not seen it. The reason I wanted to find it is because recently I have been contacted by a couple of people I had no idea read my blog. One person called herself 'the lurker'. She stumbled upon my blog perhaps because of a common interest in crocheting. She had been looking for the pattern of the sweater/jacket I made and put pictures on my blog of me wearing the sweater. I got the pattern to her. I am anxious Ms. Lurker to know how you are coming along with the sweater.

Another long time friend contacted me yesterday. She had kept up with my blog because it was pointed out to her by her dad and sister. Two other long time friends.

Just because I don't like to post anything w/out pictures, below are a couple of pictures of some new babies in my chicken yard.

Someday, if I receive that e-mail again, I will post it on here for you to read.

A stroke of brilliance

I (see title) a few days ago so pay attention, I don't get those very often. I brought my shop vac into the house (after I had throughly cleaned it, it had been in the garage since it's purchase) and tucked it neatly under my cutting table in my sewing room. I enjoy making Crazy Quilts because I get something out of nothing. Cleaning my sewing room floor of thread and tiny scraps of material is so easy now. All the debris goes right into the Shop Vac's barrel and not into my vaccuum, which is a pain to clean what with all that falls to the floor.




Kat seems to think I am making it just for her

My jacket/sweater

This is a very warm sweater...if the wind isn't blowing. Like all crocheted items, it is very holy.



That same old lady keeps showing up in my pictures



...and like many of the pictures taken of me this old lady has her eyes closed also.



The sunset was so beautiful, like many sunsets and sunrises here in my desert when the storm moves thru. I wanted BB to get a picture of the sun but it couldn't happen. Too much sun coming into the lens. The house behind me is my daughters.

We switched places and there are the clouds. Hope for more rain but we are told it may happen in a couple of more days. This storm is on it's way East.

A favorite thing to do.

I have always enjoyed knitting. My first projects started happening between 45-50 years ago. I remember knitting a sweater for my son and one also for a nephew. I didn't start crocheting until about 1975 and jumped right into it with a complicated king size bed spread. I have recently decided that I enjoy crocheting so much more than knitting. I like the look of knitted things much better than crocheted things but crocheting is much more fun. The picture is of a sweater/jacket I finished a couple of weeks ago for one of my daughters. This one has kind of short sleeves. I can make one of these in a week. I made one for myself with long sleeves. I will put a picture of it on this blog in a few days. I made a third one for a lady at church. You can see just a tiny bit of the third one in the lower right hand corner. After three solid weeks of crocheting I have decided it is enough for a while. Now I am making yet another crazy quilt. Making crazy quilts is one of my favorite things to do. It is very like putting together a jigsaw puzzle...and I can get something from nothing. When it is finished there will be another picture.

When the storm passes by

Well, I finally figured out once again how to upload pictures with my almost new computer.

We have had quite a wonderful storm pass by today from about noon until now. I think it has passed. It was great. Rain almost like I remember in California.
Enjoy the promise in the picture.

Yarn, yarn and more yarn

I am excited about this new sweater/jacket. I hope it fits, hope it fits, hope it fits ME. I had to frog 3 rows. You can see some of the yarn lying on the floor. It was growing wider and wider with each row. I am wider and wider as you go from top to bottom of me but not quite that much.

I will keep you posted on the progress. Right now I need to hang some clothes on the line and perhaps take a walk.






This is what my new project looks like so far.

To those who care

Some have been asking about my blog. I have not blogged since I got my new computer and now the new computer is giving me problems.

The reason I have not blogged is because I think a blog is much more interesting if there are pictures. I have not been able to get my pictures on the computer because it is so complicated. BB came over this afternoon and I wrote down step by step how to do it. It requires 12 or more clicks!!!!!!!!! REDICULOUS! There has to be a better way. At any rate, I, as usual am wallowing in yarn. A friend in TN ask me today about what I am doing and I took some picture.

The first two pictures are all the yarns I have chosen (so far) to go into the crocheted jacket/sweater. I am really excited about it. I made another one but gave it to a lady who goes to my church who admired it. I think I am going to enjoy this one even more



The following picture is of the yoke of the jacket. Now...I have to get back to knitting.

Happy list

1. Last night there was 6 at my dinner table
2. Tonight there was only me
3. Whatever, it is always a blessed time. Food on my table.
4. After eating soup my daugher prepared and sent over I was sitting on the back
porch watching people come home. I was already home
5. The biggest ol' moon came up and a Sahauro Cactus was silloeted (I cannot find
the correct spelling for that) in front of the moon.
6. We had two very cold days last week. Freezing at night and not above the 50's
in the day time. It was in the high 80's tonight after dark. Love my desert.
7. I sat on the back porch that my loving baby brother built for me listening to a
classical station on the radio, Chopan, Beethovan (sure wish I could spell)
8. Saw the porch light of my son and baby brother's house come on. Someone must
have forgotten something out in their pickup.
9. Going to bed soon with a good book. TV is for the birds and I am not a bird.
10. Speaking of birds, my cat (Kat by name) likes to go on the back porch with me.
I put her up on the tall table so she won't run away. We had a bat circle us
several times looking for the fairy winged bugs that were circling our heads.
Kat was very interested.
11. A chicken finally layed an egg in a cabinate I put out there. Too many chickens
for the laying space they have available.
12. After 7 p.m. My bed and book is calling.

This and that

I haven't had very much to share in quite some time. Today I thought I would find something if I just started typing..........nothing yet.
A rattler crawled out of the bushes heading for under the porch last night. I was sitting on my front porch at dusk watching the sun go down and my temporary house guest was walking home from my daugher's house after a brief visit. I called to her to watch for snakes ( just being silly), her eyes dropped to the ground and thankfully, saw that very snake. She was as antimated as I have ever seen her. She is usually very quiet and reserved. She went to the garage the next day and dug thru her belonging and found 3-three-many flashlights. :-)

I have about 50-50 roosters to hens and one duck. Poor duck... the roosters believe she is a chicken. I am beginning to think that we may end up with Duckins! I keep telling her to sit in the tub of water I have out there for her and she will be safe. She tends to ignore me.

I am still walking every day that I can. I believe I will be more inclined to walk more often when it cools off a bit more. We are promised it will be in the 90's next week.

Choir practice starts on Sept. 2nd. I am looking forward to it. I have the choir area rearranged (with the help of our church handy man) and all the music at the ready, including the Christmas cantata. I have arranged the Christmas and Easter cantata for the last 3 seasons but just couldn't get inspired this time so I ordered it. It is 'The Love of God at Christmas' It has a bit of a special meaning to me. When I was just out of high school and getting ready to start San Jose Bible College, I was in a trio. We sang one Sunday morning at Curtner Ave. Church of Christ (where I was married several years later) and my future husband was in the congregation. He saw and remembered me and remembered the song we sang.

Our record heat for yesterdays date was 106 degrees. We reached 105. That may happen again today. I am staying in the house a lot. I had to make a run to the bank yesterday. Sometimes life just required being on the run. I plan to be in the house all day today!!

Now I will try to find a picture for you that you may not have seen.


The following picture is of two of my granddaughters. The one with the big smile is my AZ granddaughter and the little one trying her best to get her picture taken is my TN granddaughter. This picture was taken in June when some of us were able to go to my TN grandsons graduation.