Sometimes the Grass Really is Greener on the Other Side

My Mom is an artist. She really is a talented artist and has done many excellent paintings. That is not the art I want to talk about, though. I want to talk about how she uses her talents as an outdoor artist, working with nature.

A few years ago my mother bought a vacant lot not far from my sister's home. That lot did not look too nice to most of us, but she could see the potential. The lot next to her's is still vacant and shows you pretty much how her's once looked.

That fence marks the edge of her property, and trust me, the grass IS greener on the other side.

It once looked as weedy and sad as that lot.   One of the first things Mom did was have this little playhouse moved from her old yard to the new lot. Then, in the evenings, she'd come over and hangout at her little playhouse. It is cute and fully decorated. Just imagine what the new neighbors must have been wondering. Some even stopped by to ask about her little house, did she live there? She almost could have, except it has no bathroom.  Click here to see photos my Aunt took of my niece's little girls inside this playhouse.

Eventually her new (real) house was ready. Since Mom has been living there she has worked hard to make it what it is today. From a weedy vacant lot it has become a beautiful refuge.  

We were there yesterday and spent some time in her yard. It is so relaxing!  

I marveled once again at her eye for beauty.

If you do not live in a semi-arid part of the world, you may not realize how difficult it can be to grow the things she grows here.

And she makes it look so easy.

Sprinkled throughout her yard are delightful surprises.

And pretty little personal touches.

Even with Summer fading, her yard still has a lot of spectacular flowers.

 There is color everywhere.

It still has a lovely place to read, which we did.

Fun at Target

Cordelia found some fun hats when we were at Target yesterday. That's it. That is all I have for today.

Thanks, Maria, for being our photographer.

Out Front

We've had quite a lot of activity out in front of our house this Summer.

First, we had the incendiary device right across from our house and the arson just down the street.

Later, we endured a lot of noise while our street was redone.

Now, we have a big hole in our street. Yes, they already had to tear up our pretty new street. The word on the street (literally) is that one neighbor dug up his driveway to have it redone. What he discovered under the old concrete was seeping water from below.

Now, they are digging up the street to find the leak.

(the view from our front window)
Apparently they kind of guess where they need to dig and they've guessed wrong a few times.

The hole is about 6 feet deep and when I went out to snoop, they were pretty much extending the dig from the neighbors' driveway and all across the street.  Did you know that after they fix the leak, they can't just return the same dirt they just dug out of there? They have to haul in all new sand that isn't clumped together.

The theory is this. All that pounding they did to compress the dirt before putting down our new street likely jiggled the old water pipes enough to cause the leak. I have no trouble believing this theory. The pounding was bad enough to rattle our dishes and make our pictures hang crooked.

The good news is that we still have water at our house, unlike our next-door-neighbor.

More Than Sagebrush

I love the drive from our town to the town where my mother, sister and other relatives live. It is only a two hour drive across part of Wyoming. It isn't through the mountains but rather covers mostly prairie. I've heard people say it was a boring drive...nothing but sagebrush...a whole lot of nothing, things like that. I disagree!

On my way home last week-end I decided to make a few stops to take some photographs. Let me share with you some of what I saw.

I saw a lot of horses.

They are so beautiful, aren't they?

Also, do you see the antelope behind this horse?

 Cattle are abundant in Wyoming.

 I saw a couple of buffalo herds.

This big guy was pretty majestic looking.

 Driving along there, you can almost feel the history.

It is not hard to imagine Native Americans riding living their nomadic life in this region.

Early settlers must have had adventures here.

It must have been a challenging environment!

My own great grandparents homesteaded very nearby.

Although it is easy to feel like few have been out in that lonely area before,

there are markers to tell you that the land is covered in history.

There really is a lot of sagebrush along the route.

I kind of like it.

 There are many, many weird rock formations. 

I couldn't stop to photograph all of them but you get the idea.

The landscape changes frequently.

I enjoyed watching this hawk soaring overhead.

On a previous trip I saw two bald eagles!

Sorry, not photos of them. 

Mama Deer led her twins to safety.

I was thrilled to see a badger up close.

He was in the middle of the road; I thought he was road kill

but he got up and scurried to the side of the road,

turned and looked at me as I passed.

A badger is kind of a rare sighting, especially during the day.

Sorry I didn't get a photograph.

I'm telling you...

... it is a beautiful drive.

The Big Sleep-Into

As I said yesterday, I planned to hurry home Saturday in time to have Cordelia over for her first sleep-over. I was so excited!

When I arrived at Cordelia's house, she was in the front room with her little suitcase but tears on her face. She said she was going to miss her Mommy and Daddy. Thinking she was maybe just not ready, I asked if she'd want to just go to Walmart with me instead. She was good with that. Maria suggested she take her suitcase just in case she changed her mind.

At Walmart, Cordelia announced that although she would miss her Mommy and Daddy, she thought she would be fine to stay the night with me. Yay! As we were checking out she told me she had a headache but said since I was a nurse I could help her.

We went home and played a game, snacked on raspberries and almond milk and then it was time to watch a movie in bed, using my computer. Cordelia chose Daniel Tiger.

I braided her hair while she watched.  Then, we each ate an oreo cookie in bed, even though we'd already brushed our teeth, because it was a special night. We snuggled. She no longer spoke of a headache. She gave me a thousand hugs and repeatedly proclaimed her love for me. It was wonderful!

Cordy dozed off snuggled up with me during the movie. In fact, she'd been asleep about an hour and a half when she sat up, looked at the computer I was using, and said, "Now we need to get some sleep!" I'm not sure she was awake when she said that but about 30 minutes later she sat up and said, "Next, we hug and kiss and say nighty night and get some sleep." You guessed it, she was once again asleep.

Then, a dilemma. I could feel that Cordelia was getting too hot. I rationalized that maybe she had too much covering on her so I kept pulling the quilt off of her. It seemed to help but eventually I had to admit, Cordy had a fever. In fact, her temp rose to 101. She kept thrashing and waking up, sometimes crying. So, do I call her parents late at night? I didn't have children's Tylenol or Ibuprofen. I could send Sam or Mike to get it but I knew that Maria and Eric would want her home. I made the call then drove a sick little girl to her house shortly after midnight. Not to worry, her mom reported her fever broke about 4:00 a.m. and she was fine the next day....and wants to try it again!

So, although Cordelia didn't sleep OVER night at our house, she did indeed sleep INTO the night and it was sweet while it lasted!

 

Change of Plans

This past week-end did not go as expected. Maria and Eric (son and daughter-in-law) had planned to attend a concert in Denver. I was to make the trip as the Granny Nanny. I made that term up myself. Do you like it?

Anyway, we were disappointed Saturday morning as we learned that most roads from Wyoming to Denver were flooded. We'd planned for a fun week-end in Denver, never guessing we'd not even be able to get there. However, it seemed wrong to pout about it when people in Colorado were suffering so much.

Anyway, I switched gears and drove North to my Mom's. You see, two of my nieces were visiting her and I was hoping to get a chance to see them as well. It was a quick visit but worth it. My Aunt Michelle took this photo of my nieces, Rachel and Sarah, myself and my Mom, Grace.

Rachel's beautiful daughters, Averi and Vaide, were along as well.

They are such smart and pretty girls!

Vaida is an author and illustrator!

She wrote a very clever book that we all enjoyed.

But don't be mistaken, these girls know how to be silly!

It was a nice little jaunt for me.

I hurried back home, though.

Cordelia and I were originally planning to share a hotel room in Denver.

Instead, we were planning a sleep-over at my house Saturday night.

More tomorrow...

Psalm 34:18 

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he 

rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (NLT)

An Unexpected Gift

When our daughter, Maria, and her then boyfriend now husband, Eric, were in high school, they had a wonderful art teacher who had a great influence on the artistic path they have followed. Later, that teacher and his wife became very special friends to Maria and Eric. I've met them a few times but really I don't know either of them very well. I just feel like I do.

When Maria and Eric returned from New Mexico they brought a gift to me from that art teacher's wife, Victoria. Isn't that sweet? It certainly was unexpected! Again, Victoria and I have not been around each other much. However, we read each other's blogs and we have a common love for Maria and Eric and their girls. You can check out Victoria's blog here. It is a blog with a lot of yummy things worthy of Pinterest!

Anyway, I wanted to show you the gift Victoria sent to me...

 It is a blank book!

What do you think I should write in it?

Cool quotes?

Ideas for stories?

Lists of fun gifts, such as this one?

It is really pretty!

Thank you, Victoria!

I love it!

Cell Phone Favorites

This week our daughter and her family were in New Mexico. It was a quick trip. Our son-in-law, Eric, had business there but they got a chance to also visit with family and friends down there. They were worried about so much travelling (28+ hours) with the little girls but they were great little travelers and they had a fun time!

We missed them while they were gone! It did give us a chance to receive some pretty sweet photos on our phones...

This is Elise enjoying White Sands National Monument.

Have you been there?

It is a beautiful, beautiful beach...but they forgot the water!

And here is Cordelia making a Sand Angel.

 Check out Maria's blog, Little Things are Big for more about their trip.

We'd been watching their dogs and so shortly after they got home, we let them know we'd return their dogs to them. Eric told the girls that Grandma and Grandpa were coming over, then sent me this photo of their reaction. I loved it, but couldn't hardly get there fast enough!

We're glad you are home and safe and sanitary!

Gate to Freedom

 I just love the following quote...

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”

Nelson Mandela

My Turn

Have you ever been an EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH ? I don't believe that I have ever had that experience...UNTIL NOW!

Yep, I am an official employee of the month. Does that sound like I am bragging? Well, I'm not. Here's the deal. Where I work, each month two individuals are named employee of the month. I know, it is a singular sort of title but nevertheless, two people share it each month. It isn't a merit award; that is why I am not bragging. Everyone gets a turn. It was simply my turn to be named.

There are two perks to enjoy as employee(s) of the month. The first is a reserved parking spot near the building. It is right beside the spots reserved for all the doctors who do surgery at our clinic.

Unfortunately, it really is just one spot. I used it one day last week when the other employee of the month was out sick. It would have been great except by the time I left work, I'd forgotten about it. Yep, I walked to the regular parking lot and had to turn around and return to my car. EMBARRASSING! I think I will leave the parking spot for the other employee of the month.

The second perk is very nice, though. Every day someone at work places a lunch order for any of the surgeons who are present for lunch. They get the meal from a different restaurant each day. They have copies of the restaurants' menus and the physicians get to choose what they want and it magically appears for them about noon. Cool for them, huh?  Well, as one of the employee of the month honorees, I also get to order a free lunch each day. Woweeeeeeee!

So, being an employee of the month, even sharing it, is very tasty!  

A Woman's Heart

Last night we started a new Lady's Bible Study at our church. We are doing A Woman's Heart by Beth Moore of LifeWay. I've mentioned her studies before. We have a workbook, complete with homework, and watch a video presentation as well. It is always interesting and I enjoy the women who attend. There are women I know from our congregation as well as women from other congregations. It's really quite lovely.

Since last night was our first lesson, the video was really more of an introduction. We started out reading some passages from Exodus 25 as this study is about the Tabernacle. That sounded like kind of a boring theme at first but the Tabernacle is mentioned more than 100 times from the Old Testament through the New Testament. It must be important.

In my notes from last night I wrote this quote, "He came to us so that we can come to him." It was referred to as the theme of the Bible. I guess that is true in many ways, really. We couldn't come to God by ourselves; He initiated it. I don't always understand why we are so important to him. We mess up so much from a personal level to a global level. Yet, he does love us and wants us to be close to him. Amazing.

Are you doing any Bible Studies right now? Do you prefer to study alone or does a group help motivate you?

Movie Review...or Maybe Not

Mike and I went to see R.I.P.D.  last night. I would like to review it for you but you know the saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Instead, I will share some photos of granddogs.  I'm always showing granddaughter photos. I don't want these girls to feel left out.

Bumblebee and Betty Sprinkles

 Betty Sprinkles relaxing at the top of the stairs

I told Betty to get out of Maria's garden...

...she just looked at me and laid down right in the middle of it.

Bumblebee Just Hanging Out

Bode loves it when Betty Sprinkles and Bumblebee come to play.