Grateful

As you can tell from Pam's brief posting, things have been a bit crazy. We are all very grateful that John is doing so well, and now it will just take some time for all to return to a semi-normal state.
It has been difficult to concentrate on anything else, but I did manage to take some pictures (I love photos) that I will share.

While John was in the hospital here, and Pam was with him, Erin and Daniel and the three dogs stayed here. It was lively and kept our minds off scary stuff. O'Reilly loved having all the company; but as you can see, Erin didn't get much rest.



Daniel is standing beside a gift from John's friends (their name sounds like "bear"). It was HUGE and fun.
O'Reilly was very curious about this bear.

I have been wanting to can fruit since July, but it hasn't happened. This week I took a leap of faith and purchased several boxes of peaches, pears, and tomatoes. It is such a satisfying feeling to see the jars with their beautiful bounty. Mom loves to eat the peaches & pears all winter, the tomatoes are great in chili and stews, and I like to make jam for gifts.

O'Reilly

O'Reilly is almost 7 months old now. I took him in to get weighed, and he's now 7.9 pounds. I hope he won't get much bigger. I like taking pictures of him, and these turned out so well. He changes and grows so quickly. I have a friend at church who always askes for the latest photos, so that reminds me to take them often. He looks so innocent in this first one... don't believe it!
He loves looking out the dining room window, and this chair is usually there for him to use. Again... he looks innocent, but I seem to remember that I had just told him to stop barking at another dog walking past. After he calmed down, he seemed to be saying "who me?".
While I was spray painting outside, O'Reilly had to be in his pen. He wasn't too happy about that, and wanted out so he could "help" me. The pen is something we got at the very beginning, because our fence wasn't dog-proof. He got into the habit of using it and now when he goes in there it is almost automatic that he will do his business. Makes it much easier to keep the yard clean.
In this last picture he is a pooped puppy! When he gets tired, he just kind of collapses and if it is hot, he doesn't curl up, but lays out on the carpet. Notice that he is still keeping an eye on me and my camera.

The Garden

I am loving being outside. The weather has been perfect; sunny and warm, with a bit of a breeze. This is how the garden looks now if I sit on the patio and enjoy it.
Another view is this clematis, which I'm not really crazy about, but it is the one out of three I planted over the years that survived! It is white, and the blossoms are kind of small... boring. But, it is covering the trellis and doesn't look too bad.
O'Reilly likes being outside with his "bed"... which he thinks is a giant chew toy to gnaw on and dig at. He doesn't sleep in it. Do you ever wonder what dogs are thinking? He loves his toys and being with his people in the yard. He passed his Intermediate Training class. We are taking a break for the summer now, and will hopefully improve on what we have learned so far. It is quite a time committment, but worth it. Still... it is summer.
The roses are wonderful in a bouquet in the house. This rose is called Rio Samba, and I added some of the lavender from the back yard, some varigated sage, and a few branches from a bush behind the shed. Smells really yummy.

Play Time

I found a little time to play today, so this is what I did.

These are some before, after, and incorporated into my decor thrifty finds.

I knew that I wanted the small urn for my silver leaf ball, and just loved the shape and size of the small silver pedestal dish, this may not be its final resting place, or even its final color, but for now I like the two pieces together.

I also whipped up this drink cozy for my Ice Tea glass. I am currently drinking Mango Passion fruit herbal tea from Stash, and loving it.

I used a cardboard coffee cozy for my template, adding an inch to the width to accommodate my larger cup, and a 1/2 inch seam allowance. The charms were purchased at Michael's long ago and I'm glad I finally used them, but I am loving the back with my button (yes from Mom's collection) and stitched closure.

I like to use this recycled coffee house cup, because it is a great size for Iced Tea and it has a lid. My son Daniel's dog Marco will drink out of any unguarded cup he can find. Yes he is super cute and a very good boy, when we got him his was pretty skinny, and now thinks he must eat and drink at every opportunity,but I do not wish to share with the little bugger.

Hope you all had time to play this weekend too.

A visit from Pam and Daniel

Grandson Daniel had fun with all three dogs when they visited. O'Reilly loved playing with Scruffy and Marco. Scruffy is the littlest one; Marco is the tallest. O'Reilly is still puppy enough that he wouldn't give them any rest... wanted to play all the time. Whew! They all dashed madly about, through the yard and in the house. Not so long ago Pam's dogs could escape O'Reilly's attention by jumping up onto the couch, but O'Reilly has grown so that he jumps right up too. Finally on the second day everyone settled down somewhat. But by the time they left, O'Reilly was so tired he slept most of the day.
This is my button collection. More than twenty years ago I got this glass Railroad Carboy and began to save buttons. Daniel said he had always wanted to empty it out and look at all the buttons, so we did. Pam picked out a few to use in her sewing projects, and we even found one to replace a missing button on a pair of shorts. Now they are all back in the carboy. Some of the buttons are very old, some have been cut from our throw-away clothing, and some have been donated by friends. It's always been a conversation starter, great for using in crafts, and the grandkids love it.

Flowers, Finds & Fitness

The roses are all popping out! They are gorgeous and I have to share some of them. The yard is scented with their fragrance and I can lose myself in looking at their beauty. The sun is shining, there is a little breeze, the birds are chirping, and O'Reilly loves being outside with Mom and me.
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While visiting the farm again recently, I found this enamel ware-pot in a shop and couldn't resist getting it for flowers on the patio table. O'Reilly was "helping" me, and was very interested in the process... especially the dirt part and the watering part. Oh my. It looks kind of good, and I think when things grow a bit it will be even better. I put begonias in, and some trailing lobelia. I never have very good luck with begonias. I think I either over water or under water. Anyhow, they mostly die after a few weeks. I am hoping these will thrive.
Mom and I were at our fitness center early this morning to do exercises in the pool. The exercises help Mom to strengthen her back, and it's good for me too. Our pool is pretty warm, which helps... the water feels like velvet moving across your skin. We are lucky enough that most days there are only 2 or 3 other people in the water. Sometimes we have the whole pool to ourselves and that makes us feel rich and pampered.

Rose and O'Reilly

The roses are finally blooming and I love this David Austin rose so much that I have made greeting cards with it. They will be on the etsy site soon. Roses have always been a part of my garden. I think I inherited the love of them from Mom. At times we have had upwards of 50 rose bushes in our yard. I think the count is around 30 now. They are so beautiful and make wonderful cut flower bouquets. From now until November they will bloom, giving off a yummy scent as well as their variety of colors.


O'Reilly is still growing I think. Here is a picture of him after the last training class... he is curled up at my feet while I work on the computer, and is one pooped pup! Right now he is curled up on my lap. Puppies sleep a lot. He's all warm and cozy and has his little nose tucked into the crook of my elbow. It relaxes me to have him here and I suspect it is lowering my BP as well. What made me think I could get along without a dog in my life?

Dishtowels and Cloths

I am thinking "spring", so this dishtowel I embellished, and the hand-knitted cloths (two in each be-ribboned package) seem a good way to perk up my kitchen... or yours, once Pam and I get our Etsy site up and running. I love the knit cloths, which are nine inches square, and could also be used in the bathroom. I never have enough dishtowels, so am always looking for excuses to make more, and spring seems a good motivation.

I must say that our puppy O'Reilly did better in class this week! Not perfect, but better. We will keep working with him. It takes a lot of time and effort, and he is still a puppy. He has grown so much that we decided to get a larger crate for him, and he seems to like being able to stretch out in it for his snooze.

Visit with Pam

I spent three days at the farm with my daughter Pam. We talked about the blog, ate good food, shopped, and enjoyed the animals. Of course it is always good to get a grandkid fix as well!
Pam loves to look for treasures and at one of her favorite shops I found this cute teapot with a copper cozy. Mom and I had our tea in it this afternoon. A local restaurant has these yummy lemon bars and chocolate mint bars that Mom loves, so I brought some home to go with our tea.
At a previous visit one of my finds was this rooster pitcher. I love it, but haven't decided what to do with it... use it for a pitcher, or a vase, or what...?
It seems to call to my love of chickens and pitchers .

We had a busy time, including a trip with grandson Daniel's 4-H pig to the weigh-in.
She is a calm, easy-going animal and I'm looking forward to seeing Daniel show her at the fair this summer.

I took O'Reilly with me, and he had fun with Pam's 3 dogs. They are all adults, and he is still a puppy. He was a source of fun, but they just wanted peace sometimes, and he doesn't get that. Also, he has a bit of the "hoover" in him, and thinks anything on the floor is fair game. Oh my. Pam's floor is much cleaner now than when we arrived!
Remember when I talked about O'Reilly's training. Well, I am interested to see how that goes this week, as last week he simply refused to do anything that was asked of him... acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, and anyhow had other, more interesting things to do... like playing with the other dogs, ignoring my commands unless I offered a treat and generally being obnoxious. I plan to walk him an extra long time before class this week and maybe wear him out so he won't have the energy to misbehave. Wish me luck. More on this later.

Dogs

On a recent trip to visit our son and his family on the coast, I snapped this picture of our puppy, O'Reilly happily playing with Astro. The size difference is interesting, and seemed to make no difference to the dogs. What fun they had!
This puppy has been a blessing to me. We've almost always had dogs since I was a child, but after Walter (our terrier mix) died 5 years ago, I didn't want any more. Then I began thinking about how much I loved having one... and also about how much trouble they are! My daughter Pam talked me into "just looking" at puppies, and then I was lost.
O'Reilly has been so much fun. It is also kind of like having a new baby in the house at first. He is a smart little guy though, and learns quickly. I also decided to take a training class for the first time in my life. We had always just gotten a dog and loved it and played with it, and put up with things because that's just the way it is. This time, I wanted a well-behaved dog. Partly because my 84 year old mother is living with us, and I didn't want the dog to jump on her, or trip her. I thought it would be good to get some pointers. Oh my! It's like little miracles when you know how to teach them. Then the trick is to try to be smarter than the dog!