Minor Miracles

A friend wrote and said she was tired of seeing "that darn turkey" on my last blog entry, so I decided I needed to update. I have a lot of excuses as to why I haven't blogged, so here goes. I can't sleep, so I can't focus during the day! However, I guess if I could sleep I wouldn't be able to enjoy the beautiful sunrises. This was photo was taken yesterday morning--then today, there was zero visibility--an unusual fog enveloped the Valley! It was so dense I couldn't even see my backyard.



My granddaughter has been visiting the past two weeks and I try to spend my days enjoying their company, because they will soon return home. Ryder is 15 months old now and at that stage of destroying everything in his path!

I am running after him every second. Might lose a few pounds in the process!

Out the door and onto the swing.....

back inside....

climbing on furniture.....up and down the stairs....

Then... just as quick--he becomes a little angel!!!

My Army grandson will be here today--if the Midwest ice storms allow the planes to fly. He will be home for 14 days then off to Afghanistan. We are trying to be positive and not wonder, WHY?

Hubby's truck was broken into--radio and tool box stolen--steering column has to be replaced along with the door locks. We were lucky in that it was not stolen! No theft insurance--the truck is just too old to justify the premiums. It is a 1994 Chevy, very popular in this region as it is a great landscaper truck! It was stolen and stripped four years ago and that cost us $3,000 to get it up and running then. This time it only cost $400.00. Again, lucky us.

Once again I lost my billfold! On my way to a friend's who had broken her ankle I stopped to get gas. It was still dark at 6 am, and I must have left my wallet on top of the car while pumping. I know, I should focus, but I'm not wired that way, dammit! But wait--there's more--A Christmas miracle! A Good Samaritan found it about 4 miles down the road, looked at the driver's license, got my address, left a note that everything was intact and they would bring it to me! It had been ran over and only two cards destroyed!! From planning my suicide to save my family from the grief of placing me in a home,or worse, my sister scolding me for another screw up. HALLELUJAH!! Saved, once again!

And then, another miracle--granddaughter is pregnant! Couldn't get any better than this, unless it would be twins or triplets! My father was a triplet and he also had twin sisters. Some one, some day should get lucky in this family that way--might as well be her! (She may disagree with that!)

All in all, we have been blessed many times this year. Hopefully the USA will be blessed again. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Our Thanksgiving was awesome! Family, great friends and superb food made many pleasing memories! We

Most of the wild flowers are ready to bloom! I guess I won't have any for the spring.

Snap dragons, petunia's and al are filling in as expected.

Broccoli , Brussel sprouts and red cabbage are growing fast. For some unknown reason the radish and carrots never came up.

I've been super busy this month! Grand daughter and G-Grandson visiting for 2 weeks. Just learned another one on the way!! We are in heaven~ Army Grandson will be here for Christmas and that means more food and fun!
Another good report for Hubby~still in remission! It can't get any better than that! oh yeah... should be 80 degrees today. Our blessing

just reached a zillion!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Con, Chem or Kid's Toy? Our Own Sky Mystery

Sunrise--11/5/10. Never heard a word about this strange sky. Guess it wasn't as dramatic as the one in the news of late. Could it be an airplane? Or a missle? Or a kid's toy?

Contrails...short for condensation trails. X marks the spot.

Or is it Chemtrails? Chemtrail conspiracy theory holds that some contrails are actually chemicals or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for a purpose undisclosed to the general public. I guess we can all come to our own conclusions about these things. This plane made a couple fast turns. Glad I wasn't on that flight!

The "Wonderful" Season is Here

I am spending most all my time in my garden. Everything is growing just fine without much help from me! Pots of flowers are watered daily and that is about it! All the flowerbeds are on drip irrigation and I don't have any weeds to pull so I have lots of time to just walk around, telling my plants how gorgeous they are and how much I love them. The weather has been perfect! I have even started my daily walks again!



The swing is ready with new cushions I found on closeout at Wal-mart. I am going to try to find a new hummingbird feeder again. I'm sure there must be a perfect one for my patio. I know I say that every year...even after all my previous hummingbird feeder disasters.

The rims of the Sacred Datura flowers have developed a light purple tinge. The leaves are looking raggedy and it has spread about five feet across the upper patio. I will cut it back to the ground after it stops blooming. The flowers are still very fragrant. I have seeds if anyone is interested....

Hubby didn't see any Elk on his hunting trip in Northern Arizona. But just being surrounded by the beautiful scenery, friends and family, definitely made up for his disappointment.

Great Grandson picked up Poppy's stethoscope to play with over all his toys. I would pick him for my Doctor! It is so hard not having him here to hold, hug and to pinch his little cheeks! He will be here in December and I'm trying hard to stay home instead of heading to North Carolina! My Army Grandson will be home for Thanksgiving--and hoping for a Christmas visit before deployment. Bittersweet for sure....

Spider + Webs

Ryder the Spider - His Mom and Dad will be webs!

Pudgeduck's Contentment

All is well in Pudgeduck's world!! Hubby caught the flower bug! What a nice surprise he left for me, hanging in a perfect spot.




The sweet peas are already 8"tall! I found a new variety (for me) that is highly scented with pale petals edged with violet. I filled in a few bare spots with them and planted a few near a trellis in another flower bed. Seems like I always find something new after all the beds are full.

I'm thinning out the nasturtium pots, and it's still hard to let go. I found another new plant for my garden, called Vitex Trifolia (Coastila Persian Lilac). The leaves will turn blue with a mauve underside and with lilac flowers during the winter. It doesn't lose the foliage and it will be a great addition to my garden!

Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and Red Cabbage are loving their spot in the sun. Just a few radishes have come up. I know I said "never again" after the radish fiasco last year, but....The kale hasn't started sprouting yet. I'll sow more seeds in a few days and hope they will sprout! I have to have kale for my weekly soups that I'll soon start craving as the weather cools.

I cherish every moment I spend in my garden! What a wondrous life I lead to be able to spend most of my time contented, surrounded with the beauty of my garden. Something very important happens each day as each seed sprouts and the flowers bloom. As I said, all is well in Pudgeduck's World!

Store Opening Calls For Big Bang!

This celebration wasn't for my homecoming after my recent trip to North Carolina--the fireworks were for the grand opening of the first grocery store in our community! A long time coming, but with mixed feelings about the growth and changes in our area. The impressive display was equal to the July 4th celebrations in the area. They must be anticipating large profits.

Already missing North Carolina and my 'lil guy. Beautiful flowers cover most of the mail boxes in the neighborhood. We were too early for the fall colors but we did see just a hint of the red and gold on the way.

Tea is served sweetened at all the restaurants we went to in North Carolina. It took a few requests before they understood we wanted unsweetened tea! It's always fun to run into these regional differences.

All around the shopping area were beautiful Angel Trumpet plants. The cutting I got from Dee last October didn't last through the summer at my house.

I'm trying out my new camera--and not sure I will keep it. I bought it for my trip after the old one stopped working. Of course, the old one broke the day of my flight! I bought the Kodak Easy Share M580-8X. I have a month to try it out. It even has a program for fireworks! Not that I had time to adjust it for the local fireworks. They were almost over by the time I even found the camera. What's new??

Rain, Parties, and ADHD Woes

I come alive as soon as the clouds roll over the mountains. Ummm...early fall rain in the desert! Doesn't get any better!

The rain came just in time to water my newly planted bedding plants and seeds! Golf ball sized hail fell in areas close to us, and numerous autos and homes were damaged. Hail here is pretty rare. In my immediate neighborhood, we were blessed with just a great rainfall.

The new vegetables for my garden are: Pole beans, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and China Rose Winter Radish. The radishes are nice and long so that even if a stray pest eats the tops like what happened to my last years' crop, there will be plenty under ground for me to try! At least that was my thinking in choosing the variety. I also planted kale and carrots.

And, of course, the old easy instant color: Snapdragon, Petunias, Lobelia and Alyssum bedding plants. Flower seeds planted were daisies, desert wild flowers, sweet peas and pots of nasturtiums!

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A September birthday party for my grandson's fiance-- who happens to be on the proverbial wedding day diet! She and I had one miniature cupcake.

Looks like a little wine to help forget the diet....

The biggie birthday party! Son-in-law made it to 60! Great celebration--with good food, great friends and a beautiful family!

And our favorite...Kathy's Rum cake. His fav--Strawberry Banana.

Only one more September birthday to celebrate. Ryder is one year old! Walking, saying about four words, eight teeth and the cutest smile in the whole wide world! I am so thankful to have spent the last week--and the next two weeks--with him!

One more celebration to mention--Hubby still in remission! Only blood checks and port flushing once a month until? We're hoping for a one-and-a-half to two years before more chemo. Praying for healing!

I found my glasses! They were in a strange place, put there by a strange entity to be sure. I just found them last week. I placed my order with Zinni but decided to check out a pair of reading glasses I have with a silver frame in order to compare with the new ones I had I picked out. On the floor, in a basket with another basket on top of it, and under some clothes--there they were, all folded up! I'm a "little" nuts, but not crazy! I didn't do it--I know Hubby didn't do it, so.........who????

I also found my wallet this week after losing it and cancelling my whole life, including check card and credit cards! That still doesn't make me crazy, does it? I take the Alzheimer's test often--I'm OK according to the test, and I've also had an ultrasound on my carotid artery and that's clear, but I did test positive on an ADHD test. I've always known I was a bit scatterbrained, but I don't think that progresses with age, so I don't know why I'm getting worse with these memory lapses. Just in case, I just anointed my house and I'm going to burn some sage just in case.

Mooning Glory

Full moon 9-23-10. Photo taken at 6:44 pm. Love it!

Still having Birthday parties for the month on September. For the first time ever we are scheduling two September birthday parties in October. Seems like going to work is a priority for some people! Great grandson will be here from NC to celebrate his 1st birthday! October will be as busy as September. I will have to make time for my fall planting between celebrations, visiting, and my second trip to NC! And to top that off, it's been so dang hot here that anything planted this early would surely die!

Not sure how my daughter works full time and still manages all the beautiful parties! Another one is planned for this weekend for her Hub's 60th bash!

One of my daughter's recent parties...

Staying busy is the best way to cope when our Disneyland life is imploding. More on that later. In the meantime, good news! Sister said she read that women over age 65 need not diet unless they are grossly obese, as it is hard on the body and the benefits of dieting are countered with hazards. Can't get any better than that--I'm 66!!

Chaos Contained!

I love the sunrise that greets me each morning! Every one is different. I don't ever tire of these magnificent blessings!



Good news--our remodel is finished!!! Well almost finished, but I'm not satisfied the way the draperies look. Still working on them. With all the light streaming through the windows I couldn't get a better photo.




I'm still working on them, but at least they are up!

I will have to have a painter come to change and finish the painting. The other walls are two stories high! Back to the store to find the perfect color, yet again. I will go as soon as I look into the garage cabinets for the rest of my books. I'm sure that will lead to another disaster!

The swivel rocker is not in a good place, and the color is now dated. Hard to believe white is outdated! The furniture is crowded still, although I thought that without the computer desk, I would have all the room I needed This room has always been hard for me to decorate. It opens to the kitchen, has a corner fireplace, and now, only one wall to work with. Even a professional decorator didn't offer any hope! All these insignificant decorating problems are just a way to occupy my mind, pushing away the what-ifs of Hubby's upcoming test results. Usually I just eat under stress but somehow I'm still watching carbs. His bone marrow biopsy is finished, and there's one more blood test to take before we get the news on Oct 1st.

Isn't this a pretty wreath? I found it at Target--on sale of course--Might take it back in a few days...depends on my mood at the time I guess.

By the way--still no glasses. I can't believe they haven't shown up yet. Still hoping they just appear from nowhere soon. I keep putting off getting new ones, because then they'll show up for sure.