Show & Tell...

Just thought I'd share a few of my most recent little "gems".  Let me know what you think....

This small piece is done in acrylic. 

These two watercolors are ATC's
(Artist's Trading Cards, 2.5" x 3.5")

And this final image "Itty Bitty Bird" is indeed tiny,
but for some reason, I really like it.

Perhaps because it is a wee bit silly, and cheerful...

TTFN

xoxoxo G. :-)

Flora & Fauna

This must be Honey Bee Heaven...

Backyard visitor gets escorted outside...

What's the buzz?

Backyard Beauty

"And the day came 

when the risk to 

remain tight in a bud 

was more painful 

than the risk it took 

to blossom."

Anais Nin

They are lovely, are they not?

...there's more to come. 

Looking back

Here are pictures of  some of my new friends in Oregon.  First of all, my thanks to Patty for all of her wonderful hospitality.  Secondly, I'm sorry I don't have pictures of more of the friends I made, if you are not included in here just know that I AM thinking of you all.

 Wish I had purchased the camera sooner so that I could have included everyone...

...and thank you Mikey for all the wonderful meals...  I've always said "...some of the best chefs in the world are men".

Janina and I, ready to have more fun...  

And believe me, we did have fun. :-)

Mike and Janina, practicing putting up their new tent...

And here is why I left Oregon so abruptly...

My darling Suzanne in ICU, off life support and conscious.  You can see the pick line in her neck... What you can't see are the IV's in both of her arms and all the pouches of medication on both sides of her bed.

Out of ICU and in the "Heart Ward" talking to her brother, Jimmy...

We are so grateful you are home now, and recovering.

This is fun...

Hope you are enjoying the photos.  I know I am much more satisfied with my blogging endeavors.  And of course I have more to share... so here we go.

Here are some earrings I made a few days ago....  

Isn't this a sweet little bead?  

I purchased a "ton" of beads, to share with Suzanne, at a garage sale two weeks ago.  Thought they would make a nice project for us to work on while she is recuperating.  There were 13 pounds of beads in the batch... some are extraordinary, some only one of a kind, most simply beautiful, and some junk-quie...

So far we have been busy sorting through them, but for me, beads are a type of instantaneous gratification - I couldn't wait - and I couldn't resist sharing the results.  Tell me what you think.  :-).  

picture test

Here we go....

Miss Lily Cat...

Beautiful country near La Grande, Oregon

Bird's in Mike & Janina's backyard

I'm going to post this now and see what happens.  :-)

I did it ! ! !

Finally - a pretty change to my blog.  Hooray ! ! !

Delta breeze is blowing and I think it's going to be an endurable day.  It was cool enough for me to do two miles this morning.  Endorphins are up!

It was 104 degrees in Sacramento on Sunday and there was not a breeze stirring.  It was hot enough to fry an egg on the hood of your car.  Too hot for wimpy me... 

A slight breeze picked up yesterday, and this morning it's much cooler thanks to the Delta Wind.  It should be noted that when I say it's "cooler" I don't mean incrementally, five minutes ago I flung my bedroom window and the house doors open to access this wonderful phenomena and already the house is two degrees cooler.

I plan to spend a few hours with Suzanne today and, if she is having a "good" day, we may go out somewhere for a little while.  If not, I have an alternative plan...  Went to a garage sale Saturday and found a treasure trove of beads.  What a find, hundreds of pretty projects we can do that don't require much energy.

Well, that's it for now, I'm going for a walk while it's still cool enough.

We have a new air-conditioner, hooray!  Sacramento heat is nothing to fool around with, and we have been without AC since I returned from Oregon. Thankfully evenings cool things down, and by morning it's actually cold, but as the day progresses the temperature rises until I feel sick, so I've been taking refuge from the heat at the library, grocery store, Suzanne's... anywhere there is blessed cool.  Now, no need to run and hide.

Love motivates this person, who does not cook, to try my hand at preparing healthy, low sodium, meals.  I made my first acceptable soup this weekend.  Fresh Vegy's plus a good receipe = delicious ministrone soup!!!  As in perfectly yummy!!!   And, my darling Suzanne liked it.  She is down to about 100-102 lbs. right now, so "liking it" is important.

And, this adventure in soup making has left me with a new found respect for the benifits of gardening.  Vegy's are EXPENSIVE...  Keep putting those seeds in the ground Mike.  :-)

Went to Trader Joe's yesterday and bought a beautiful pot of Basil.  This is my new True Love... glorious, delicate, fragrent Basil.  Will "plant" this pot on top of Suzanne's little patio - which is more of a garden than many city dwellers have.  I will put it in soups, and atop tomatoes, and in pestos.  Ahhh... me thinks this is the beginning of a long lasting affair.

Did anyone notice my blog "date" is now in correct order?  Wierd... not complainging, just happily surprised.  At any rate, I send Basil love to all my darling friends, old and new.  XOXOXO for now.    

Got a call late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 30th... Suzanne was in ICU at Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento.

Was actually ble to speak to Suzanne - she said "...don't rush, I'll probably be better tomorrow, but don't wait too long - I have sepsis." 

What the heck was sepsis???  Talked to Jeff, and then called Lori in Florida.  She explained "...it's not good".  Talked to Jeff again, and decided to come home the next day.  She took a turn for the worse in the morning, and ended up on life support. 

Mike and Janina rushed me to an airport in Idaho (three hours away) and he was able to get me on the fastest flight (medical emergency) back to Sac.

Long (horrible) story short, Suzanne was in ICU for five days - on life support for two days, for a total of eight days in the hospital.  She is home now and doing much better than I can believe for someone who was so ill.

Evidentally, among other things, she had a virus that attacked her kidneys and heart.  She needs low sodium diet, rest, and "meds" and should be able to resume (hopefully) a "normal" life, eventually.

This is of course a very edited version of what happened, it is difficult to write about.  My extreme thanks to Janina and Mike who rushed me to the airport, and still more to Mike who made all the arrangements, took care of my flight home and would not leave the airport until he knew I was on the plane, in my seat...  I love you both.  xoxoxo
 

Have fallen behind... again!  No apologies... have been very busy enjoying this beautiful state.  The weather is still cold, but I just bundle up and enjoy it. :-)   Mike is looking for pretty weather with a little wind so we can go camping, and he can wind sail.  Hope the weather breaks soon - it's supposed to. 

Am still adding birds to my list, but will update that later, so far have spotted at least 21 varieties of birds in the back yard, not counting "in the field".  Yesterday we saw a small herd of antelope in the distance, and also deer closer to the highway.  This really is "...where the deer and the antelope play", and I love it.

News:  I finally purchased a camera.  Hopefully, soon, there will be pictures to brighten this blog. 

We went on an "Owl Walk" in the cemetery last week and spotted at least half a dozen barn owls.  They float, silently in the air, from one tree to the next.  We followed one from tree to tree, and were finally able to get a good view of it.  Beautiful... I love my new binoculars, they bring the birds right into your lap.

That's all I have time for now... see you later. xoxoxo G. :-)

Can't seem to get my blog to show the correct date order... it's aggravating.

Went to my new friends, Patty and Mark's 25th wedding anniversary last night.  It was fun, good eats, music (Patty sang, Celine Dion's "Because you Loved Me", her heart out to Mark - very romantic), and got to meet more people.  Before we left, Mark gave Janina and me each a lovely vase of flowers. :-)

Saw my first yellow-headed blackbirds on the way home.  Dusk was settling in, and they were getting ready to bed down, but still...  there they were.  We parked by the edge of the marsh and listened to bird calls -Pretty awsome! 

...and before we got home Mike drove us through the local cemetary where we saw several large owls.  Things just keep getting better and better!

The cemetary here is well over a hundred years old.  The oldest date I found was 1879, but I've been told there are older markers.  Found a marker from 1980, a little girl not even a year old... meditate on the resurection.  Think about the poor mother (and father too) and when she is resurected her joy when her little girl is returned to her.  I find old cemetaries thoughtful places where I can be at peace.  Old trees and wildlife undisturbed... (I forgot to mention, there were also five deer at the cemetary last night - reminds me a bit of the Pacific Grove cemetary).

Well, that's it for now... does anyone know how to get a blog into proper date order?