A Cricket Leg?

Howdeeeeee,

Wanted to post really quick to let you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth!  It's been too long since I posted and wanted to day hi and that I'm doing well, thank-you.

My computer has been up and running for about a week and guess what?  My son found a cricket's leg that was on the motherboard and when that was removed and all the components (hardware) were checked and tested and found to be working fine it must have been that darn leg.  We figure the cricket could have been electrocuted when he was crawling around inside.  Originally when it was acting so weird, I opened up the case and used canned air to clean out the dust.  It wasn't too dusty since I had just done that back in January and while doing that I found a dead cricket at the bottom of the case.  Maybe that is where they got the term "computer bug", hee hee.  

I was going to post a pic of a cricket, no not a dead one, but aren't you glad I didn't?  

I went to Temecula yesterday to visit my friend and have a few photos of "chalk on the walk" drawings that I'll post soon. 

I have to go shopping for a bathing suit now.  I hope the mirrors are kind.

Hope you're enjoying the beginning of SUMMER!!!!!

Be back soon!

Beach Weekend and Party

Hi, seems forever since I posted and quickly this is what I've been up to:

Of course working the shop like usual.  The credit card machine went psycho last Saturday and began spitting out paper from the printer.  Glad I got to work when I did to shut it all off.  I had to order another one and so my customers have had to write checks and pay with cash this week.  Inconvenient for them but I've gotten to keep all the money and not share a percentage with the banks (Visa/MC) :)

Looking for a place to move to since the house will go on the market pretty soon (I'm told).

Packing up items, bit by bit (I hate moving).
Slowed down on the planting since my finger needed a rest and it is doing better.  Just as well I'm taking the weekend off from gardening.

Planning the 80th birthday party for our mom whereas my sis has been doing the footwork.  Thanks, Yvonne!
We have about 60 people attending.

Tonight my daughter and I are driving down to my sis' to prepare for the party that will be held on Sunday.
We plan to sneak away from the party preparation for a little time tomorrow or Sunday and go to the beach and the pier and have an umbrella drink, just the two of us.  Here are some pics of San Clemente Beach where we are headed tonight.

Walking towards the San Clemente pier

South side of pier

See the Amtrak Train?

The train runs along the beach on it's way to San Diego

North side of the pier

Since my air conditioner is packed :( I picked up a couple of these temporary window screens at Big Lots for cheap and it's better than nuthin' to let cool night air in and keep the bugs out.  Thank goodness it cools down here at night.  Made in America, too!

Have a great weekend and I'll have some party pics for ya next week!

Front Garden is DONE!

Here's some before and after pics of the front garden.  This one is from Spring 2004:
















Like my weeds?  This one is from Spring 2006:

Yeah, these are the plants that will finally be put into the soil.  This pic below is a couple months ago after the cement was put in to support the moving gates.

This is after the soil amendment has been added, the soil turned over and almost ready to put in the permanent plants:

TA DA!

We have succulents, many different Geranium plants, 2 rose bushes, an Hibiscus bush, several Lily of the Nile (purple flowers that you see) and I threw some California Poppy and Alyssum seed (little white flowered low growing plant) that will come up when it's ready!  These are all plants that conserve water when they are established which is important for our lack of rain fall we have here.

My first attempt at a panoramic picture taken in 3 photos and then stitched together using the software that came with my camera.  I should have taken it aimed more at the sky than at the ground.  Cool tool none the less!  If you click on the pic is should take you to a full page picture.

Now, if there was a magic way to get rid of the cracks in the driveway cement!  Bye for now!

Woo Hoo! It's a 3 day weekend

Hi, I getta have 3 days off (of course I don't get paid) but there is so much to do STILL to get the house ready to list so more gardening for me and this:

It's a wood finish restorer from a company I found out about 7 years ago and now it's time to try it out!  UPS just delivered it right now to my shop, YAY!!!!!!

There is no removing the doors off the hinges, sanding or stripping involved.  Where finish is missing use super fine steel wool and apply 2 coats.

Would I rather be going to my sis' BBQ and taking in the movie "Knight and Day", yes.  BUT, this has got to get done, the sooner the better!  AND it's a treat not to have to drive anywhere.

I got 2 bottles of the medium color for the kitchen and the 2 bathroom cabinets and one dark color bottle for one of the bathrooms and some of the baseboards in the livingroom.  Where the sun has bleached the kitchen cabinets in the eating area I may use the dark color instead of the medium to tone down the orange-ishness.  I got their wood cleaner, too as I didn't want any chance of it not working correctly and you know how kitchens can be, even if you clean it there is small grease particles that get in the air and go all over so cleaning wood is the other project this weekend.  I'll post some before, during and after of this project.  Now, I know that I won't finish the whole job but I'll have 3 sweet days of work time.  Ya, it's not much of a holiday of relaxing for me but I gotta get this house done since we packed up so many things already a year ago and I just want to get moved and settled in somewhere new.  I miss all my crafty stuff.  I will letcha know how this stuff works in case you have any wood items that could use some sprucing up!

I got some new rubber gloves and two 6-packs of flowers for the shady part of the garden; impatiens and begonias from OSH last night.  There were quite a few people there shopping and standing in the checkout line so I'm not the only crazy weekend cabinet/garden makeover warrior here.

Impatiens

Tonight I'm going to the grocery store and only buying ready to eat food because this gal is not cookin' anything.

I will fit in some crochet time since I decided to keep part of the top instead of frogging it all.  I'm saving the band part and making a scarf with it and then the rest of the yarn will be for a summer hat, which I haven't decided on the one I want to make yet but I'm getting closer.

I'm adding 3 tiny grannies to each side and then do hdc stitches the rest of the way to make it long enough to be called a scarf.  My work won't be all wasted and I could use a soft scarf on some fall or spring mornings.

I sure do hope that you get some time off this weekend and do whatcha want.  Let's celebrate and be grateful for what FREEDOMS we have left here in America.

First Day of Summer!

What a pretty day it has been.  Just the perfect temperature and the right amount of sun!  I know I haven't posted in awhile, it's just that I've been so busy trying to get the plants in the garden before it is so darn scorching hot that it burns them before they get rooted.  Often, I'd stay after work a bit and write a post or get the next post ready to put up but I have been leaving right at 5:30 so I'd get home and work outside until I just couldn't see any longer.  At the same time my poor shop is getting all back logged as I haven't been staying on top of things and my back room, although not perfectly organized... well today, I couldn't walk in there to put away some new picture boxes that I got on Saturday so I stayed after today to tidy up a bit.  I found some bottles of Trader Joes's Orange Cream Soda that I forgot I had back there on the shelf so...cleaning up does have a perk or two!

I decided to frog my Sea Breeze top that I've been making out of Lily cotton.  I made the top band too long so I frogged it a bit and then I added several rows to the bottom and then I tried it on over the weekend and I thought that it wasn't going to be flattering to my shape so why continue with it if I'll never wear it????  It was heavy in my opinion for a summer top and I read that 100% cotton yarn can get to stretching so I'm going to make a couple of summer hats out of the yarn instead.  The pattern called for a part cotton and part acrylic yarn and I didn't like the sound of synthetics for the hot summer but then I chose the cotton and it doesn't seem right either, hmmm.  Since I'm new to crochet, I still have many things to learn!!

I'll have some pics put up soon of my niece's dance recital and some of my front garden.  Enjoy today's Summer Solstice our longest daylight of the year.  I'm gonna go home now and search my patterns for summer hats.  Have a lovely evening!