My Weekend Was Filled With Shopping

My sister and I got together this weekend to go to a quilt show. We had fun. We had lunch. We had quite a few laughs. And we shopped. I was the one that brought home the most. Does that make me the winner?? Here's what I bought:


A really nice, "Jelly Roll" of batiks and a batik fat quarter. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but they were screaming to go home with me, so how could I refuse? That was all I bought at the quilt show, but then we went boot shopping.

Aren't these sweet? I've been wanting some lace up boots for quite some time, thinking that they would be perfect for work. Unfortunately, when you wear a size 12, you can't always get what you want, even if you special order. These, believe it or not, are men's. Not sure how many men buy purple boots, but I'm not complaining!


Here they are again, just in case you want a bird's eye view. Then, as if that wasn't enough shopping for this anti-social girl, I went shopping in my sister's closet. She wanted to get rid of some of her clothes, and I just happened to be right there, raising my hand! Here's two sweet little shirts, just waiting to be worn.



I was able to grab 4 pairs of capris and 2 jeans while she wasn't looking. Score!


All in all, it was a fun day. It was nice to be able to spend the day with my sister, and I think we both needed a day off.

Mama and Baby

My sister loves animals. In fact, all animals would be welcome in her life if she had the room. Unfortunately, she doesn't have space for all of the world's creatures. But that doesn't stop her from finding happy homes for wayward creatures that happen to cross her path. I received a phone call from her recently with the news that she had a displaced hen, and could I provide food, clothing, shelter, and education for this little girl? Of course, nothing is quite so easy as that! It turned out that the little hen had an egg she was sitting on, and unbeknown to my sister, had hatched probably a day before they caught the hen. Which, by the way, was a circus in itself. It was dark, the little hen didn't want to leave the freedom she was enjoying, was worried about her baby, then the baby chick got stepped on. All that happened before they could be moved to the dog crate into the back of Linda's car. Oh, do you know how much a little hen can poop in 20 minutes? Enough to stink up the car by the time she got to me.
Anyway, everybody is happy now; the little hen, her baby, my sister, and me. Here they are, their first family photo, just chillin', mama and baby.




And here's the little baby, doing just fine. Luckily, there seems to be no permanent damage from being stepped on. We are all hoping it's a girl. Still haven't figured that one out yet, since home hatched chicks never come with pink or blue ribbons.

My Beautiful Hubby

We were at the airport, waiting for my in-laws flight to get in. I forgot to bring anything to read. I was bored. I had the camera. He was a good sport.
The End.

Beautiful Morning

I was on my way to work yesterday, and this is what I saw on the way in.



Want to know something funny? Yesterday was an awesome day for me. I wonder if this is why?

Farmer's Market

It's been unseasonably warm here in the Sacramento Valley. Hubby and I have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather by working outside, cleaning up around the trees, and this morning, we went to the local farmer's market! It runs year round, rain or shine, and has local produce of all sorts. Our favorite apples are from Noble Orchards up in the foothills. We eat about 10 lbs of apples each week. Can you believe that?? They're so yummy.


I can tell the weather is starting to get nicer, because there were pots of flowers, just waiting to go to a new home.


Masa Organics is where we usually get brown rice. I think next time we'll be getting the 25 lb. bag. I like to mix it with barley and keep some made up in the refrigerator to mix in with stir fries, or in my veggie omelets on the weekends.


This year, we discovered pomegranate balsamic vinegar..... Oh, my. It's so good, I think I could just drink this stuff straight. It's made right up the road from us. Who knew??


I look forward to our trips each week. We see lots of colorful people. And baskets. Lots and lots of baskets.

It Was Free!

Hubby needed to run into town this morning for a few things. Look what he saw on his way home!

We have a big dehydrator 2 miles down the road from us, and they had tossed out 2 big prune boxes. They would be perfect for a series of big compost piles that Hubby has been planning lately. All he needed was...... can you guess?? The wood! Anyway, fast forward 30 minutes, and we unloaded first one prune box.....


And then another!
Maybe, just maybe, the compost bins will be finished next weekend.

Early......For Me, At Least!

One of the great things about working at a school is we get 2 weeks off for Christmas. It's a much needed rest, and everyone is happy to get the time off. But after the 2 weeks is up, I'm excited to get back to school. Back to the routine. To the classroom. But most of all, back to our kids. Anyway, this morning I was all atwitter thinking of the kids, and I got up bright and early to greet the day. This is what I saw out of the kitchen window after a half hour or so.


Pretty cool, huh? Normally, I'm not up this early. I've always figured if God wanted me to see the sunrise, He would have made them later in the day. So, if you are another person that doesn't normally get up before the crack of dawn, this is what it looks like!