wish

wish I was a happy piglet in the sun.....

(112 degrees in tucson yesterday...)

by amberalexander, one of my very most favorite artists that I ever discovered on etsy....

Tree Man

Have you ever been to a Renaissance Festival? I remember the first time I went, there was a giant (12 feet tall) tree guy, just kind of wandering around. (I asked my brother if he has pics, as he loves the Festival..waiting to hear back).




Anyway, I was knitting a tree, and then it became apparent that it had to be a person. Tree Buddy. Tree Guy. Tree Friend.

Yes I know, my family thinks I'm crazy too.

Anyway, you can find my tree friend at Woolies. :)

(this moment)

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soule Mama.

Enough Already

1. Car wreck
2. Remaining car breaks down (again)
3. MAJOR MAJOR Central Air conditioning repair needed - in the middle of June heat - 108-110 degrees this week
4. Bank Account Hacked - just as we're trying to buy a new car for the totaled truck and have to put some $$ down - money is stolen from the account. Lots of it. They hacked both my husband's and my debit cards - how did they do that??

OK, I'm done now. Please stop. Thanks.

Something you might like

Art. Isn't that when something reaches out and grabs your heart?

Original work by BlueDogRose.

The Big Man

A long time ago, in a place far away, lived a girl named Sara.

There was the summertime weekend at Asbury Park, when she and her college friends, who were all on the concert committee, walked into a bar to hear a local band. They were amazing, and asked them to come play at our school. They said Yeah.

They played at our school even after their first album came out. And again. And again.

Backstage with the band, there was one band member who was so friendly, such a great smile.

Years go by, many concerts later, Sara had a boyfriend. He had been the sound man for the E Street Band for many years. They used to go to parties, and there was that same guy from the band, always a friendly smile, something sweet to say.

May you rest in peace, Clarence Clemons.

Kid at Heart

I love toys. I guess that's why I love to make toys. My boys are teenagers, so - no, they don't play with toys.

I do.

Right now, on my desk, while I work, I am playing with...

Pegasus, by The Enchanted Cupboard. And riding Pegasus is an acorn dolly, by Princess Nimble Thimble.

Acorn dolly also likes to play with her little cottage and bird friend, by Mountain Bluebird Baby.

I have my eye on this beautiful shop - MomNMee, but can't decide my favorite:

You can find more awesome natural toys for kids at Natural Kids Store. :)

Do you like Turtles?

I love turtles. Sea turtles, snapping turtles, desert tortoises. When my youngest son was very small, we were walking on the NJ beach early one morning, and found a hatchling sea turtle. We put in our bucket for awhile, then good sense prevailed (we didn't have an ocean at home...) and we returned it to the sea.

Out here in the desert, you can adopt desert tortoises from the Sonoran Desert Museum (one of our fav places to take visitors). They live for a long time. Longer than you will live. So you then have to leave them to someone in your will. I've been bugging my hubby for years to help me build a turtle habitat, and get one. He's resisted.

I'm going to keep persisting.

Funny story: we came across one in the wild a long time ago; he was crossing a parking lot at Catalina State park. My hubby picked him up to move him to a safe spot, and the turtle peed all over hubby. :)

Anyway, I love turtles.

From Little Elfs Toyshop




From Dads Wooden Toys.

And you might see a Woolies turtle peeking out at you from the window.

So, how can I convince my hubby that we need desert tortoises?

ok ok

Maybe I'm a little psychic? I have a cousin who is. Maybe my dark day of Friday was because I knew something bad was going to happen?

Anyway, the good news is hubby and kid are doing fine. Maybe a tad traumatized, but no injuries, not even a sore back, or bruises from the seat belt.

How can that be?

If you saw the car....my pic below only showed the front end damage, and how can you get a good picture when you're standing in the median of a highway?? Hyperventilating?

My best advice - don't have teenagers. I'm not sure exactly how to accomplish that,

but...just sayin'....

Anyway, here's my motto for the week:

(you can find this excellent advise in print form at Keep Calm Posters.

Car Crash

My youngest son has his learner's permit. He's had it for almost 6 months, with many hours now driving. He feels confident at the wheel; I feel confident driving with him (as opposed to the very beginning of him driving, when I was terrified...). He got on the highway this morning, not far from our home, with my husband and his best friend.

He put on his turn signal to get in the left lane, there was one car way back in the lane, he felt he had plenty of time and space. All of a sudden that same car comes zooming up, going probably about 90 mph, blaring his horn. Max swerved back into his lane, and lost control of the truck. Easy to do at 60 mph, in this truck. They crashed into the median, and luckily were caught by the median wires, otherwise they would have either flipped, or gone into oncoming traffic.

Everyone is ok. Thank you God.

Truck is most likely totaled.

I'm kind of hoping it is totaled. I might buy a tank for my kid to drive.

:(

Getting Personal

It's Friday. The fifth day of working at my day job this week. I'm tired. I'm feeling a heavy malaise.

My oldest son will be leaving home in August - going away to college. It weighs heavily on my mind. It's always there....he won't be here anymore. It's the natural progression - I'm excited and happy for him - but but but. The Mommy in me is desolate.

It's summer in Tucson. Which means hot. HOT. I don't do well in HOT. The state of Arizona is burning like crazy with wildfires, not under control. 0% containment, they tell us on the news. That means that the fires just keep spreading. They've closed all the state parks and lands, trying to prevent anymore fires.

Whining. Yikes I'm whining.

Want to hear about the noise the pool is making? It's crazy. The kids rarely even go in the pool anymore.
Want to hear about the bugs in the house? They're called kissing bugs. The bite they give is terrible. My husband just went through a whole medical thing because of a bite. I just killed one on the kitchen floor.
Soon (although not soon enough), it will be monsoon season. The pool will be filled with frogs and poisonous GIANT desert toads. You have to beware of rattlesnakes everywhere you go (including just stepping onto the patio from the kitchen door). Keep an eye out for scorpions and black widow spiders. The horses are hot and bothered. You constantly battle flies. We now get these little bugs (yep, we buy bugs) called fly predators. They eat fly larvae. We also have goldfish in the water troughs. They eat fly larvae too. There are still flies. Maybe not as bad as before.
Want to hear about my corporate day job? No, you don't.

I'm whining really badly. I don't even have any pictures to show you, my poor readers, if there are any of you.

Maybe I'm just tired. Maybe I need some time off from my day job. Yes, that's it. I'm off to write to my supervisor requesting some PTO. Like, maybe, Monday?

Sigh.

Ruth's Birthday

It would be my mother-in-law's 79th birthday today.

Picture circa 1960.

Love and miss you, Ruth.

Pet Sitting!

I do some pet sitting - which I love to do. Between my day job and my websites, there's not a lot of time left over for pet sitting, but when the opportunity arises, I take advantage.

Sharing some pics of who I'm caring for this weekend. :)




Chickens.

3 Arabian horses, a donkey named Christmas, and a mini horse who rules the herd, named Cricket.

Mini horse mama and baby.

Mini Horse Paint Stallion.

Jack Russel Terrier Mama and her 5 newborn babies. She's not growling at me, that's just how her little mouth is.

What a great weekend!