Too Much of a Good Thing

Life at Estrella has been good! So good that I have let this blog get a little moldy. So, I'll catch you up on that has been happening here.

Little Braylee is now 4 months old. The family lives close by and we visit often. She looks just like her Daddy when she is sleeps. She is a beautiful little girl.

Lolly Bee still rules our home-of course she is the cutest, bestest,smartest little dog in the whole world. She has filled our home with so much joy!

Army Grandson, promoted to Sargent, meets Braylee. He fell instantly in love. Second tour to Afghanistan is coming up soon...

  

Number Three

Little Braylee born July 29th 2012. My third great grandchild.

 

I have kept up my walking routine despite our recording breaking heat wave! August and September brings many birthday parties and it's impossible to lose weight. My goal is to maintain my current weight! 

 

 

 

This beautiful sunset greeted me as I stepped out my front door for my evening walk.

 

 

`````````

 

I dropped my camera-landed on the zoom lens and this is as far as the lens opens! Another new camera! I seem to break one each year! I still am having trouble with this new format--two pictures disappeared! I guess at my age changes aren't easy--unless it is  a change in my house! We had a window seat almost completed around my kitchen bay window and then I realized the lighting fixture would be off center and I would need to buy another table. Major expense so had to nix the idea. After Hubby tore it all out and patched the wall he decided to go back to work before I could get another project going!  Each time he says it is the LAST TIME for any new projects. Well we both know better so  it will just take longer to complete on his days off.   

Summer Projects

Recently I bought a solid oak chest at our annual community yard sale. Not a scratch on it! After becoming addicted to Pinterest and finding Pins on painting furniture without sanding, I decided to give it a try. I  painted the chest a pale pink to match the decor in  my not-yet-born great granddaughter's  nursery. I used two coats of multi-purpose primer.  I did wait the suggested 24 hours between the coats (I can't  believe I did either!)  I didn't bother to paint the inside.

I added the wooden detail on the top drawer after I painted it a darker pink. I added crystal pulls and I love the way it turned out! 

Then, I decided to paint my hope chest to match a rug in my bedroom. I painted the chest raspberry then and recovered the lid with lime green fabric. (This is the old fabric on the lid and the front panels.) I added the front detail with cut out diamond shape from the left over fabric. I love the way it turned out and with the primer I use I will be able to change when ever I want without sanding! For some reason, the before photo and the after total completion photo just disappeared, so this is all I have to show. When I find them, I'll post. 

Another gorgeous sunrise!

Good news--Hubby has finished 3rd round of chemo, and w have 3 months before any testing. The Doctor is hoping for at least 1-1/2 yr. remission. We are hoping for many more!

We are waiting for our third great granddaughter to arrive. She's due any day. This will be my oldest grandson's first child. Can't wait to meet her. NC granddaughter and kids are here and will stay until the baby is born. 


Wonderful days ahead!

A Remarkable Resemblence!

Look Familiar?

A Cactus version of...

Lolly Bee

Feeling Groovy!

Loving the clouds we've had recently as they helped keep direct sun off the Actinic keratoses (sun related skin damage, a sort of pre cancer) as well as a basal cell cancer I had treated with liquid nitrogen. The daily care is to avoid sunlight exposure! These conditions are not uncommon for Arizona natives, and unfortunately I added to the daily sun assult with active unbathing in my earlier years. It's hard not to get sun exposure here! I walk, garden and stay on my patio swing for hours. What's a girl supposed to do? I'm going to have to be more diligent with my use of SPF 50 UVB/UVA sunscreen. Better late than never. They say these things take decades to show up from sun damage, so I'm paying the price for my earlier activities. Seems the chickens always come home to roost!



It has been such a wonderful spring! The wonderful weather has kept me motivated to stay on track with my walking and hiking routine and the loose clothing keeps me on my diet! Thirteen pounds lost so far, enough to elevate my mood. I AM GOING TO STAY ON THIS DIET!

Look what I found! Tomatoes! Hoping they will ripen before the heat hits. I planted four plants in the garden, looking for the best spot. So, far, that's proven to be my northern exposure block fence area. This area has produced the most beans and tomatoes.

My first "mess of beans" and just enough for me! They were delicious--I added them to my Nutri System mashed potatoes. What a treat!

A great sunset to end another great day!

Lolly Bee

Hello! I'm trying to get Pudgeduck to update her blog!

I think I'm making progress.......

I'm In A Good Place!

My potted sweet peas have bloomed! I'm a happy camper! They smell sooooo good!!!!

Hallelujah! The grape vine is alive after all! It was my first time pruning and I thought for sure I had killed it. I have this planted on the gated arbor leading to the secret garden. Turr Tull lives back there along with the fairies. Flagstone is being used to make a pathway to the potting table hidden at the back wall. A large bird of paradise shades Turr Tull's home, and trailing rosemary covers the top. Someday I will plant a small patch of grass next to his house and replace the back yard with artificial grass. Someday...it will take a long time to save $4000!

First poppy to bloom! Not enough rain fell this past winter or early spring to have many (if any) wildflowers in the desert.

This time of the year the fairy duster is at its best. It is in full bloom and beautiful! I have this one planted in my desert-landscaped front yard.

Daffodils are blooming in the wildflower bed. They are shooting up all over! Gosh, I don't remember planting them there!

Very excited to go to NC this weekend! I am taking some Nutrisystem food with me--I love the NINE pounds that I have lost so far and then thinking about pounds I'm going to while I'm there. My granddaughter is now a walker so I will keep up my exercise while I'm there. I'm back to walking around the lake--1-1/2 miles four days per week. This is pretty good after sitting on my a--, and not moving for a year! I'm trying to get in shape for my 70's. I'm on the back side of 67, so I have couple years to get in tip top shape to face my winter years.

Spring Update

On the road coming back home from Tucson I saw this beautiful sunset. I don't take very many sunset photos as I am usually in my east-facing back yard paradise. This was a pleasure to see most of the way home.

Lolly follows me everywhere and loves smelling all the flowers in the garden. She now weights 4lbs 6 oz. Her first birthday was December 28, 2011.

Shasta daisies bloomed this week and I'm waiting for all my wildflowers to bloom!

My climbing nasturtium is loving our beautiful weather, which has been running in the high 70s.

Another great grandchild on the way! My first grandson is going to be a father! I found this cute vase at Goodwill, and added the flowers for the mother-to-be.

I pruned the grape vine (it's either a Thompson or a red flame) and made the grape wreath from the trimmings. I'm hoping this second season produce some grapes.

Here's a few things in my garden that I love:

My turtle planter that I found in Indiana about 10 years ago. Turr Tull hasn't ventured out yet to join him again. The winter has been very mild. Yesterday it was 81 degrees, warm enough for Turr Tull to wake up and join the world again!

My adorable turtle watering can.

More smiles-Hubby will be finished with his second round of Chemo in March. Only three months on this time--now the plan is to stay in remission for another year! And, another smile as I stepped on the scales today--7 pounds gone!!! Yeah!

One thing I don't like is my laptop! I barely touch anything and photos disappear, color changes, then it takes off to other websites. I need to get a wireless keyboard to go along with the wireless mouse. I should have just bought a PC. Maybe I'd post more if it wasn't such a frustration!

The Good Life

Clouds rolled in, but it turned out to be a beautiful day on the lake!

My veggies are doing just fine without any help from me! No weeds to pull and the sprinklers are working. I just wait for the right time to harvest. It's hard to leave the carrots alone--this baby stage is when they taste the best!!

Cabbage hasn't produced a head yet, but

the cauliflower can be picked now. However, I am waiting until I have all the ingredients for my famous eleven-vegetable organic soup. The two heads on this plant have purple streaks running throughout. Could the plant have picked up some DNA from the beet seeds that never came up last year? LOL.

Only one broccoli plant this year.

Three heads on this plant.

Ivy geranium plant has new flowers each day!

The wildflower bed is full! I planted lots of seeds--first pack didn't come out so I added another-that didn't come up fast enough for me so then one more and now it looks like they all came up! Should bloom in February, March, April, and a few in May. Can't wait to see all these!

Nasturtiums are looking good as usual. I have pots of these all over!

I'm so glad I planted a few sweet peas in a couple of pots. Something happened to the soil or who knows what, because only about 8 plants came up out of 6 packets of seeds. I always have two long beds full, hope whatever the problem is this time will resolve next season.

I added a few stocks in the sweet pea bed. I love the sweet smell mixed with the alyssum and petunias. Pretty nice life here!

Little Lolly Bee. My little girl. Kids say she has it much better than they ever did! My life sure changed after Hubby brought her home for Valentines Day. She is with me everwhere I go. She now weighs 4 lbs, 6oz.

Brox is now 4 months in this pic. She is the best little girl! Always has a smile-loves her big brother Ryder. Yes, life is good here!