Turtle Hunt

 So Walter, the turtle, has been missing.   It's been about a week since we last saw him lumbering through the grass.  I just figured he'd come out of hiding one of these days.  He can't get out of the yard...I don't think he can get out of the yard.  I hope he can't get out of the yard!

As the days came and went with no sign of Walter I started to get worried.   Surely he must be getting hungry...probably not.  He in a turtle "garden of Eden".    Maybe lonely...probably not...he's a turtle.
Anyway I just wanted to know he was okay.

I decided he was probably just under one of the over-grown bushes...so I'd just do a quick prune job around the base of the bushes and find my turtle.

I pruned and cleaned out five years worth of dead leaves  out from under four bushes...no turtle.
So I decided to just thin out the Ivy... just a little bit.

Now our ivy has grown surprisingly well for being planted in Vegas.  It's turned into a massive tangle vines and impenetrable branches.  By now I'm getting really nervous...what if Walter is caught in a tangle of branches and vines,  starving and suffering a slow and miserable death.   With those thoughts I tear into my beautiful ivy with my pruners  and no mercy.  I'm pulling it up as fast as I can, clipping as I go... searching for my poor suffering turtle.

I rip out 2/3 of my ivy in search of Walter...and there is no turtle.

( but I did find several Easter eggs from years gone by.)  

 I go through the scraggly vines that are left again...no turtle.

WHERE IS MY TURTLE!

I'm now in hour 3 of my 45-minute project.  I scan the yard again looking for any vegetation left that could hide a turtle.  There at the base of the birdhouses by bush #2 is a small patch of ivy that I kind of skipped over in my hurry to get to the thicker growth where I was sure Walter was hiding.
Going back to this spot I clip out a few lengths of ivy.  THERE IS Walter!   Burrowed in a pile of leaves.

I feel like a mother that has just been united with a lost child in a department store.

I reward Walter with a fresh tomato and a strawberry...his favorites.

Now I  face the impossible task of packing all those vines in to two garbage cans.
...and convincing Karl that the ivy really did  need to be cleaned out...and that it will grow back :)

So goes my Tuesday.
Now...where are my pruners?  I can't find them anywhere.

April 15th

8:30 pm

Gotta love Tax Day

...Not

Moments at our house

 Just a few random photos

 of little everyday moments that make my heart happy.

Watching Elmo together

Saving a leaky toilet...he saved two leaky toilets!

"Who is this guy and why is he doing this to me?"

First hair trim.

Handsome with a permanent rooster tail

Tug-o-war.

How Steph gets so much done.  Priorities.

Once upon a time there was a Grampa...

  

 Sunday afternoon...the ox was in the mire and really wanted hot water.

Ethnie knows the cupboards are suppose to "rubber-banded" shut...so she's  quick to fix when she finds them not secure.

Christmas prep

Having a Sunday night snack together.

Taking time...

to smell the roses (and the rest of the flowers)

After a very busy week (make that a very busy 8 1/2  years) I woke up this morning with nothing pressing.  No sewing projects due,  no meetings pending, no church calling.
Don't get me wrong...I have dozens of personal projects I want to do.  But no pressing deadlines to answer to.

I didn't even go to the gym this morning.
Instead I lingered in bed basking in this rare feeling.
I've spent the morning  puttering in my garden.
Loving Spring.
I can't get enough of it...because I know it won't last long.
The blossoms or this free feeling : )

 

Loving it.

Law of the Harvest

I love my little kitchen garden. 

It is right outside my kitchen door

...of course my yard is so small

everything in my yard is  just right outside my kitchen door.

I love picking tomatoes just when I need them for a salad or Karl's lunch.

I love snipping fresh herbs just seconds before I toss them in a sauce or stir-fry.

But occasionally something produces faster than we can eat it.

 

 

 When this happens...

 The tomatoes and basil end up on the dehydrator.

 Ahhh...I love Sundried  tomatoes

Okay...these were dehydrator dried 

but do you really think the ones from the store actually laid out in the sun

...I don't think so.

Pack in olive oil, garlic and just a couple leaves of dried basil.

This guy is just waiting for tonight's salad .

A day of counting blessings...

What a day...
8:30 am... Chad called, he's home sick with the flu, janet has it too but little violet is fine. Wish we were closer so I could take over chicken soup and take Violet...but I am glad he could call, I love cell phones with nation-wide calling, computer phones, emails and blogs that make our world smaller.

9:00 am...I found out that the old Cadillac's insurance had lasped... that along with expired plates and the fact that it gets about 8 mpg, has no air-conditioner and it runs like it has asthma makes it not very drive-able...The blessing we will have to get another new-to-us car really soon. (We've been thinking about it for five years)

9:50 am...Jake calls...he hit some black-ice leaving Edmonton and rolled his pick-up...it's probably totaled and only had liability insurance. The blessing... he wasn't hurt, no other cars were involved, and he was close enough to St. Albert to have Van den Bergs come and get him. (Thank you so much for taking care of him!!)

10:30 am...I have to run to work and teach a dinner roll class (another blessing...I had taken Karl to work so I could had the little car to run some errands that were out of the Cadillac's mileage range, which has been no further than I want to walk) The blessing...I had something to do to get my mind off my other "blessings."


1:45 pm..Kimberly calls and I return her call at 4:45...Her mother fell and broke her ankle and she will be unable to help when the baby is born...could I come earlier than planned and help...I'd love to...let me see how I can rearrange my calendar. The blessing...I'm needed and I get to spend an extra week with my grand-babies. ( I hope Kimberly's mom heals quickly.)

2:00 - I run errands in traffic congested parts of Vegas and I hope I found the fabric I need for a sewing job I'm committed to...The blessing...our only car didn't die or get run into. And I discovered a great little specialty fabric store.

5:00 pm...I need to run and pick up Karl from work...no dinner ready... the blessing... fresh dinner rolls left over from the class...I will feed him those on our way home and by the time he gets home he will be full and not notice there isn't any dinner.

6:00 pm...talked to Clark...canceled our fun trip to Arizona on Friday (to go car shopping, get finances in order and figure out how to get Jake home and change my Christmas airline ticket). The blessing...Clark found his wedding ring in buried in 6 inches of sand with the help of a good friend and a borrowed metal detector (watch for that story on his blog).

7:21 pm ...another phone call and by this time phone calls are making me paranoid....It's Kyle...he makes me happy...what a blessing.

Bedtime... What a blessing...

I hope tomorrow I don't have to count so many blessings.

Suffering from a lack of Focus?

Karl has every other Friday off. And this past Friday was his Friday off. Perfect timing to get things done and in order before Jake get home...

So we ran up to Mt. Charleston to enjoy the beautiful fall colors and hike...

Do you think Jake will notice that his room looks like a storage unit, that that his closet is full of food storage and that his bed isn't made?

Whew...Glad that week is over!

Last week was one of those HIGH STRESS weeks that feels good to have behind me.

I had extra hours at work, a taught a class at the store on "quick but nutritious breakfast ideas", attended the stake temple day. And then there was the Stake Relief Society Dinner before the General RS Broadcast.

235 Sisters came for dinner and loved it, because...

...the men cooked, served and cleaned up the entire dinner! They did great. The meal was delicious! A Cafe' Rio style salad with BBQ pulled pork, rice and black beans with a homemade cilantro-lime dressing. (they even chose the menu).

One of the handsome waiters.

The only(?) thing my presidency had to do was make building and set-up/take down arrangements, top the tables (tablecloths, dinnerware and set) , recuit and organize the waiters and WORRY!

SOUNDS SO SIMPLE IN PRINT.

The evening went beautifully and the broadcast messages were inspiring and uplifting!

Now on to the next project....Get ready for ELDER JAKE TO COME HOME!

[and Stake Auxiliary Training].

Friday's projects

Finally!
I got the freezer defrosted...Sometimes it just feels good to stay home and work on those nagging projects

What's been keeping my stress level elevated lately?

Making two bridesmaid dresses!

I was asked if I could sew these dresses before our Florida trip. I told them I couldn't even start until after girl's camp and that would give me a month. Easy enough. But then the bridesmaids had girls camp...delayed fitting the muslins a week.

Now I don't like marathon sewing...I make too many mistakes. And I like to keep up my daily routines , exercise, cleaning (never spend to much time doing that one) and laundry. And I don't get much sewing done if Karl's home...time to do projects together or just have fun. I can't sew on Sunday or Monday...I work a long day a Monday. And I had to work sewing in between meetings...I only had 7 extra meetings in the past 3 weeks.
So this is where I've spent any spare moments.

And yesterday I finished two of these (plus hemming the mother of the bride dress, a sash for the flower girl and a clip gizmo to cinch in the temple dress)...with two days to spare before the wedding! ahhhh....life is good. Now to get ready to go to Arizona at 5 am tomorrow.

Gardening in Vegas

Gardening for us here in Las Vegas is alot different than it was in Pasco. It's kind of an expensive hobby. The ground is so poor and so hard we decided to try "Grow Boxes" and self watering pots. Our lot is so small that the grow boxes are kind of in the middle of the lawn. The apricots on the tree in the back will be ripe in about a week.
The squash and pepper are doing great. The tomatoes vines look great but just won't set any fruit.
This poor little squash is trying to survive in the native soil...I think the pillbugs are having a feast every night...at least someone or something is enjoying it.
Herbs do really good here.

We both have some farmer in us, so we keep trying...but when it comes to growing a garden we sure miss Pasco!