mishmash

my nephew who is 40 something was over the other day and wound up playing with dennis. dennis must have been in a really good mood because he allowed himself to be dressed in a baby hat and one baby slipper.

he usually bites when people try do things like that.

i swear i turned that picture, and now i cannot seem to get it deleted. anyway we worked on the front lawn this sunday. it was worse than the sideways picture. this is after we added a rose bush and some columbine. the pictures are out of order... there is a picture after we put in the edging...as straight as two old ladies could do with rubber edging that had been in a curl for a year or maybe two. we put down newspapers then covered it with the mulch. both will dissolve into the soil. we will have to keep adding mulch of some kind.. i think there is a place in town where we can get some free. we ran out of mulch and ....i forgot ... we also put rock under the deck...we ran out of that also!.

we changed our snowflake for the winter welcome to a metal butterfly we found at pier 1. the rapid city journal today said that there are only two seasons in south dakota....winter and yard sale season. we decided that was about right. we are just going to have the two decors. flowers and butterfly for the yard sale season and the snowflake and fake pine trees (weighted with rocks) for the winter season.

we decided it was safe to plant the flower pots for the summer. we bought yellow pots at the end of last year's season for the porch. so now we are color coordinated. sort of. we are using white. yellow, and a touch of purple for the front porch. the deck is going to be restained a brown as are the adirondack chairs. the little fold up chairs might wind up lavendar and dark purple. we are doing red and orange in the back. we will have blues somewhere, just don't know where yet.

just to top things off the nursery called and said to come and pick up our bare root plants. we called my sis's sons to come and help dig the holes. actually both sons came and their sons...one just out of high school and the other in kindergarten. it was very nice the way they worked together to dig the holes. the older cousin is very patient with his young cousin.

all the cats had to come out and help us with our work. it was the first time out for cc. at least the first time she was allowed to be out and run around. her eyes were big as june bugs and her tail was continually twitching. she checked in with her master every once in awhile to make sure it was safe and consulted with dennis...about what i don't know; but they were talking.

mother's day

my daughter bought me my mother's day gift when i was in california, a pair of capri's. they are tan and have little strings and ties and pockets which i really like. she made me feel still wanted--she called and asked for advice about curtains on mother's day.

neal called me on mother's day and bought me a itsy bitsy jump drive when i was in california. i hadn't been to fry's electronics before so we had to visit the store. they don't have them in this part of the country.

my sis was invited to her middle son's for barbecue on sunday. she was a little worried because she hadn't heard from the youngest or the oldest son. but they came through. the youngest one was at the barbecue and the older one called from maryland.

the younger ones played horse after lunch. bordy was the youngest but he held his own. there were no real basketballs involved!

at about five the baby chicks and ducks were checked out and then everyone migrated to our house to help my sis put her new grill together. she forgot to read the whole instruction for each step...ie.. the part about star washers... so after about 10 steps her son had to go back and add the washers. but with everyone's help it was put together and initiated with hot dogs, hamburgers, fake hot dogs and veggie patties. it was a good thing there was some salad and cut veggies in the refridgerator! everyone had their fill. it was really the first time we could set out on the porch in the dark and be comfortable. it would be nice if the porch was bigger, but i am glad that we have a porch and plenty of chairs.

snow again

woke up sabbath morning to a complete opposite of last week's sabbath. snow! again!

last week i experienced three different kinds of meetings. friday night i went to the college vespers which was very spirited. there was a small choir of kids, a pianist, four song leaders, one guitar, one bass, two trumpets, three violins, and one sax. they sang for quite a while. then the youth pastor gave a short homily that involved a wii demonstration regarding what was real and what wasn't very good.

sabbath morning we went to a liturgical service that the church has been doing for at least 15 years. it was quiet and meditative. loved the pipe organ. the worshipers were able to participate through group reading and hymns.

then the sabbath school was taught by an elderly man who was really good. the class was mostly older people except for my daughter and son-in-law. it was very thoughtful and open. it was a wonderful worship weekend for me since i belong to a very tiny church.

california trip - last day

i spent my last day in california with my son and his wife. we went to fry's electronics and poked around for awhile. i found some really small in size jump/thumb/usb drives. my son bought one for me and i bought one for my sister.


we decided we needed to go to ikea where we found some desks that did not take up a lot of space but had space for stuff. ikea is very good at designing for small spaces. i wish there was a store like that around here! fat chance! installing the desks meant taking down the the old ones which resulted in a pile of cords. they are little house snakes slithering around. the desks had a little nook where most of the extra cordage could be hidden.


we probably should have stayed home. my son was up all night the night before recovering data from a crashed server.


it all came to an end much too quickly, but i was glad to be back home in my own room with my books, my cats. glad to be back home with my sister, too! --she has her own room and books and cat.!!!!

california trip - next to last day

one afternoon my daughter and her husband took me to the wild animal park. my camera batteries were almost dead, but my son-in-law managed to coax out another 128 pictures. lots of turning on and off! too many pictures for a blog, so i just picked a few of my favorites.


the bonsai forest was my favorite of the bonsai exhibition. there was also an ephyphyte exhibition which at first did not look all that interesting, but a closer look revealed many beautiful flowers. the colors ranged from white through dark red. no blues or purples.

we managed to catch the condor spreading his wings. i don't know if he was cooling off or just dreaming of floating over the hills on an updraft.

several places in the park had fans blowing mists of water down on the hikers. you did not actually have to walk through the sheet of mist, but it did feel really nice. it was fine enough that it cooled without drenching you.
it was a rather warm day for someone who just came from snow country, so frequent rest stops with a few snacks thrown in made the day enjoyable.

i especially liked the birds at the end of the day--flamingos, assorted ducks and geese, and a kingfisher up close (and african birds in a separte cage).

california trip - checking out how things are

the sod that was put in almost two weeks ago in the front (replaced pretty much dirt) is doing fine. the replacement goes as far as the tree. since this community enforces its covenants, residents who do not take care of their lawn get fined 50 dollars the first week for unkempt lawns, 75 the next, etc. the picture of dirt is where my son-in-law's mother dug out the thistle stumps. so far it looks like they might not come back. but it reallly hasn't rained that much. the other picture of little green things are the stumps of the other thistles growing back new leaves and some are even blossoming. i guess they were quite high when the kids moved in. had to lower the front of the lawnmower over the weeds to even begin to cut them down.

other pictures show the chocolate walls in the upstairs bedroom. the chocolate wall is the wall that was formerly covered by stripes. if a child happened to live in that room and if that child was a girl, and if that child happened to want pink--they could have pink accessories. pink and brown is very sophisticated. but no more pink walls. probably.

the chocolate wall still needs to be edged! it really does remind one of chocolate.

california trip - closing in on the finish

the house was built in 2002, but as you can see the door has faded badly in that time. the door with the dark, dark green on top and the dusty blue-green on the bottom was the color before my daughter put on one coat of spruce green.

you would think that paint would last a little longer, but maybe the hot california sun takes it's toll and maybe green is a hard color to make colorfast.

california trip - one down and two to go

the main guest room fianlly has all its paint. (except for the fan blades which are pastel--they will have to be taken off and spray painted.) i will try later this evening to take pictures. the light coming through the curtains somehow altered the colors on the wall. three walls are a sahara sand color and the wall behind the curtain is a coppery brown/red--but not brown as it looks in one picture. the colors of the drapes go with the coppery wall, the soft gray/green of the duvet, and the sahara sand of the other walls.

this is the first time i have seen drapes with adjustable hem. it comes unhemmed, you measure then press a crease, insert iron on seam tape and iron again. it also came with gathering tapes in the top, making it possible to pull the curtains to the width you desire. plus they are lined. very nice all in all. now i just need to put the rod back up in the other bedroom and put up those curtains. the downstairs bedroom does not have a curtain rod. more austere! but it does have a comfy chair.

california trip - losing track of time

well, it finally happened...i was thrown out of my room. pillows, etc., on the couch, chair on the bed, suitcases somewhere. really not that bad... i had to move so they could paint the downstairs bedroom/office. the walls were really scuffed.



spent the morning edging next to the ceiling which is always difficult because the ceiling is pebbly and the walls are pebbly. but the walls look really nice when they are painted.

i was able to spend some time on campus which is really nice. one of the trees has really weird twisted branches. you will notice that one of them is held up by a metal brace. one of the trees has so many branches coming out of the trunk, it looks like a giant stalk of broccoli.

i visited with my son for a while at his place of work. lots of servers, of course. later i went to a lecture with my daughter. it was presented by a man who edits a magazine in lebanon. it was very revealing.

when we returned to my daughter's house we discovered that it had been invaded big time by spring ants. my son-in-law had gone off to the hardware store for ant traps. he had vacuumed up most of them. they had found the kitty food so the cat would not eat or drink the food. had to get new dishes and new food and water out. poor kitty.

california trip day 8

i spent sabbath with my son and his wife. they live in a gated community also. this is a picture of the apartment they rent. in case you can't tell which one is their's -- it is the one on the lower left with the satellite dish setting in front of the apartment door. they cannot attach anything to the outside of the building, nor can they attach anything to the walls inside.

you will notice, however, that the little sand lizards pay no heed to the instructions. there were several attached to the outside wall, but only one stayed in one place long enough for me to get a picture. if you get too close they scurry away in a blink.

there is a nice pool on the grounds and nice landscaping. there is also a cute little red mini that lives at the end of their street. notice the license plate.

we spent the day pretty much waiting for fedex to deliver a package that they promised to deliver. turns out they lied. they don't deliver on the weekend. but that was okay with me; it was a nice relaxing day.

california trip day 7 room progress

the room is coming along nicely. first a coat of primer which maybe we should have tinted, but it worked out okay. the ceilings are so tall that you have to stand on a regular ladder and not just the kitchen step stool to get to the ceiling for edging. standing i can get within a foot of the ceiling with a roller that has a short extension.

one room is done except for the accent wall which will be chocolate. (chocolate curl!) since the paint is flat, not semi-gloss or eggshell, it looks beautiful. just will have to be careful. i had a time getting the paint stirred. i had to wait until my daughter got home to get the drill to accept the paint stirrer. i didn't want to break it. not mine! it was supposed to have been shaken at the store, but they were really busy so i think they just did it the shortest time possible. if it is really shaken right it doesn't separate after a few days.

the other big problem in the room is the fan. i am sure the blades will come off. there is another fan just like it in the other room. ideally they should be able to take the blades off and then spray paint them.

california trip - family

one thing very nice about this trip is that i get to see both my son and wife and my daughter and husband. before this year i had to go southwest to see my daughter and east to see my son. although both places were interesting-- the place east had an old men's coffee shop--it is nice to have both children in the same place. both of the families live in gated communities. it must be the thing out here. both of my kids are working at la sierra. my daughter is close enough to walk, but my son has to drive, but not to far, which is good. gas prices and all. surprisingly, both families only have one car. they live a short distance from each other so shop for basics at the same shopping area. the walmart is fairly large but not a super walmart. it is the first one i have been inside of that doesn't have the same layout as all the other ones i have been in. usually, once you are inside, you could be in any city--there being no clue to the local area. you could be teleported from store to store and never know where you were except inside a walmart.

california trip day 3-6 the ROOMS!

the reason i was flown out to california was to change these two rooms. one was pink with these bright stripes on the wall and the other was lavender with butterflies painted on all four walls. my daughter is not a frilly fussy sort of person, so pink and lavender with butterflies do not fit into her decorating vocabulary.

the walls have to be primed and then painted. the one with stripes has to be sanded because where the stripes change color there are little ridges in some places. so, a word to the wise, if you like stripes but think you might like to change them later, be prepared for some work. so far all the wall plugs are off, the trim is taped, plastic is on the floor, nails removed and patched, and primer is on half of one room. i managed to figure out how to get the blinds off the window so it will be easier to paint the window surround.

the wall will be painted a warm adobe sand color. one room will have an accent wall of brick-rust-copper color and the other room will have an accent wall of chocolate.

california trip day 3-6 inside

there was a little wind whipping down from the hills, so my son-in-law took me to the library. (i keep forgetting it is just april, after all; it seems like summer after belle.

in the middle of the library is an atrium open to the sky. it is covered with netting to keep out the birds, though. the atrium has a concrete floor and patio furniture because, of course, it can get rained on. there are plants that those of us who live in the interior of the nation think of as house plants, lining the rim of the square. in the middle are larger plants reaching up to the netting.

one of the plants has flowers that look suspiciously like bird of paradise flowers, but the plant is 12 or 18 feet tall.

a couple of the plants have christmas lights around the trunks giving the place a festive atmosphere. i really do like those little white lights. there are also little statues water features spaced around the edge. my son-in-law is standing by a statue of a bird that suspiciously looks like a flamingo. it is metal sculpted around a rock. the bird is balanced on the legs in such a manner that the bird can rock back and forth.

there are also works of art on the hallway wall just outside of the atrium. outside the atrium, the magazine section is on one side -- it is nice to sit there and read. on the opposite side (outside the atrium which is really inside the building) are table for students to use for study. of course there are outlets in the atrium and in the building for students to plug in their laptops.

california trip day 3-6 outside

my daughter had a meeting wednesday evening on campus, so we ate ate at the cafeteria. i was supprised by a former student of mine. he had been in an English class and is now majoring in writing. i was also supprised to meet the daughter of an old friend of mine. i was a member of her wedding party in texas.

while my daughter was in meeting, my son-in-law took me around campus. the one tree with purple-lavender flowers is an orchid tree. it is covered with flowers right now...i assume after it is down flowering it will sprout leaves, similar to our mid-western redbud. the fountain must have been around for a long time. it is covered with layers of moss. flower petals blow in and stick making it look like a altar to nature. finally the tree with flowers growing on its trunk. yeah, well...if you look closely someone covered the trunks with dabs of mud and stuck flowers to it. i think the bark had been whitewashed. so what is the story behind that? it was a lot of work. maybe an art project or maybe someone set it up as a background as a setting for a proposal of marriage. it slightly looks like a heart.

california trip day 1-2

my daugter flew me out to california to help clean and paint some rooms in the new house. i am totally jealous of all the green. there is a fluffy green hedge in front of her porch and a hibiscus and some sort of frilly tree out in front. also there is a jasmine that climbs up the porch piller and covers the under side of the porch roof.

sunday evening we went to la sierra's campus for the food festival they were having to raise money for various clubs and missions. the campus is very pretty with lots of greens and where we were, a statue of the prodigal's son and some fountains. but i like the palm trees that look like they are sitting on top of a pinapple best. they actually trim the trunk of the tree vertically with a chain saw to keep it looking neat.