I thought I'd post the recipe fore the cake that was tonight's dessert. I think kids would get a kick out of this one so those of you with kids/grandkids might particularly like to try it. It's a perfect dessert for two with no leftovers to tempt you later...! The recipe came from an Australian newsletter that was included with a Canadian medical newsletter I get. (Which is not to say the recipe is 'healthy'.... :-)

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT !

----
If your microwave oven is not 1000 watts, you may have to experiment to get the right cooking time. I recommend that you put the mug on a plate - it does overflow if the mug is not just the right size - which it usually isn't! I also suggest that you mix the ingredients in a 2-cup measuring cup and then pour the finished batter into the mug - it's hard to get the flour mixed in well in the mug. To remove the cake from the mug, let the mug stand for a minute or so, then take a fork and loosen the cake and gently pull it out of the mug onto a plate.

I�m just not acclimated to almost 80 degrees in early Feb. But it was nice ! I took no pics today; it was all about manual labor ; I got two of the climbing roses pruned, and decided to remove 'Polka' , another climber that just doesn't fit well in it's location. I cut it down today, and tomorrow I'll try to remove it. Digging out climbers usually involves a hatchet .
Norma, I never read in the daytime-I always feel like I should be doing something else ! In winter I read most evenings, since I don't watch TV after baseball season ends. This leaves me free to do something useful during the day, though I admit to wasting time on the computer !

Drema, daffodils grow very well here , and will naturalize.

Lol Woody, I'm always up for a 'healthy' recipe involving chocolate. This is something that would be really cool to do at the awfice-we have a microwave in our break room.

Nothing else to report , but pining away for a check in from Chelone and Cindy!

Kathy in Napa

The plow guy didn't make it out until Thursday morning. Well, actually he showed up between 9:30 and 10:00 pm Wednesday, but decided that the driveway was such a mass of white that he would not know where to plow. So he came back in the daytime. It took some doing to move all that snow, but I finally made it to work at 11:00. Slowly, all the roads are returning to normal around here.

Today we took the in-laws up to Madison, Wisconsin for a day out. Almost funny to think that on Wednesday we couldn't have made it two miles down the road, but today we got to Mad City in 90 minutes. We went to a live broadcast of Michael Feldman's public radio show, Whad'Ya Know?, which was entertaining and also interesting to observe. He interviewed two guests on the show (via telephone, not in person); the first was Dick Cavett and the second was Amy Chua, aka the Chinese Tiger mom. Dick Cavett has been a favorite of mine for a long time, so that was quite enjoyable. Amy Chua has been quite the center of controversy lately for her book, The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Her interview was an interesting spin from what I've read lately about the book. Got me wondering if she was backpedaling a bit after catching a lot of criticism.

After the show, we had lunch at a restaurant called The Old Fashioned, which was modeled on an old fashioned Wisconsin tavern and featured Wisconsin beers, cheese and other food. It was great! But I don't need another meal today.

But it seems that the dog is demanding that HE get some dinner, so I need to sign off. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

V.

Some Dick Cavett action..ooo-wee

Here is a link that might be useful: Janis

Oh man! I've never watched TV, so Dick Cavett and Janis interviews...well it never occurred to me to ever watch things like that on Youtube.
I saw Janis back in 66 or was it 67? at Fillmore West in my post Peace Corps days...and YES, what an impression she made in her purple velvet attire when she let out that blood curdling scream at the start of her performance.

You know, I thought of her parents raising her even during those years before her death. Heck, that was before i married! And now, with the struggles Skyler goes through, the death of Reed,...I can't imagine their lives.

I'm glad to see a couple of those interviews Kathy. Thanks.

Not a whole lot going on here. Weekly snowstorms have delivered an unpleasant hit with respect to missed work which has left me feeling impoverished. I have embraced the "free time" with a certain amount of zeal, however, harnessing my energy with increased time in the Salon.
{{gwi:146911}}
{{gwi:146912}}
{{gwi:146913}}
{{gwi:146915}}

The driveway and the snowblown paths around the Compound have taken on the look of a bobsled run and really put the kibosh on feline outdoor activity. Even Rex is not thrilled with his limited mobility. I take him out on his string and we play ball in the driveway but it's not the same as being able to roam and fully patrol the vast expanse of the Compound. It's winter and it snows in the winter, so grousing about it is pointless. It will melt soon enough.

I've just finished making cookies. Nothing special, just basic chocolate chip with more walnuts than chips. But they'll keep the sugar craving at bay for a few days, I hope.

Can't think of much more to add, but maybe something will come to mind later today.

Marvelous Chelone! The detail on the curtains, even the rings painted to match the rest of the trimmings. {{gwi:146917}}

Gorgeous snow here. Phoebe spent much time barking at squirrels this morning.

We have lunch to deal with shortly. There's a red and black currant pie to deal with too.

Where has the week gone? For some reason it really zipped by. I ended up with yet another cold. I'm exhausted when I get home from work those first couple of days. The weather was crummy on Monday and Tuesday. The roads were somewhat difficult. Especially Tuesday after it blew all night. The drifts on our gravel road were hard and I wasn't sure I'd make it through. Once I'm to the highway it's usually not bad.

Chelone, the curtains are fabulous. What a beautiful hang out you have there. I don't know much about sewing machines, but those two look pretty impressive.

Woody, the mug cake looks like fun. Kenzie is always telling me how she loves chocolate.

Drema, I'm slowly working on my seed order. I buy most of the vegetable seeds locally and order flower seeds. I'm having a hard time finding the seeds that I want to order and when I do its from so many different companies. I don't like to order from so many because the postage gets so outrageous. So sorry to hear about Skip's job. I hope something turns up soon for him. Your project with the room reclaimation sounds exactly like what I'm working on this winter. Kenzie and I will end up with an "Arts & Crafts" room. Its slow going though.

Saucy, your projects always sound so interesting. I can't wait to see the end result.

Kathy, I'm glad to hear that the 2011 gardening season has begun somewhere.

This year my plants under lights are looking halfway decent. I've begun taking cuttings. Today I have two beautiful blooms on a fuchsia, a few blooms on a double begonia and a few pelargonium blooms here and there. It does help to see these things when everything is so white these days.

Michelle

Michelle, those curtains were a necessity. That big window faces south/southeast and anyone driving by the house has a clear shot into the Salon when it's dark outside. Talk about working in an aquarium! Anyway, I haven't been able to justify the money for the purchase of the entire amount of fabric to do all the windows (70+ yds. without lining!) and decided I was going to use what I had on hand to get the job done.

I was the happy recipient of a lot of fabric from a friend who ran a sample making business. In the load of fabric was a large roll of unbleached cotton canvas duck. I used it to make the removeable covers for my padded work/cutting tables, taking care to pre-shrink it before cutting it. I had somewhat over 15 yds. left over and was able to make the curtain panels out of it. I also did one small window on the west side of the house with the same fabric. I didn't have enough fabric to do pleats under the rings so I have to live with the (IMO) unattractive flat panel, but the work is neat, they get the job done, and they're easy to draw across the pole. Naturally, I had to "guild the lily" a bit and that's the reason for the flourishes under the rings and the banding stripe on the sides and above the lower hem. I used the back side of some moire taffeta (I love moire but the effect was lost on the banding so I opted to "keep it simple stupid"). I used the same moire to cover the 3 panels of the dressing screen. The color isn't a perfect match with the walls but it's close enough that it still works and the unbleached duck looks nice with the pickled woodwork. It's not my "vision" for the room but as they say in the horse world: never was a good hoss in a bad color.

I pickled the rings, the poles, the wooden brackets, and the finials (all of which I had on hand and have been moving for the best part of 20 yrs. now!). I still have to go back and fill the screw holes to hide the screw heads on the brackets. A perfect job for the next "snow day".

As for using what one had on hand, the slipcover was made from a roll of fabric I bought on super sale at a local store some 25+ yrs. ago. I made cafe curtains out of it in the early '90s, and save them when I tired of them. I reused the fabric for part of the slipcover. (squeeze that dollar 'til it hollers).

A lot of melting going on in the driveway today. More tomorrow, but after that the cold returns and what refreezes will stay that way until the next "thaw". Oh well. Praise be the Yak Trax, yes?

I love the drapes and slipcover Chelone. I think the nessecity of working with what you have is the mother of creativeness. The Salon looks like a peaceful place to be.
Nice machines and I like the fabric rack too.

Wow Michelle , Fuschia blooms?

That fabric rack used to be in your workroom in the house, right Chelone?

I've been collecting fabric..foolishly..for Ivy dresses. It's an addiction.

Tomorrow the central vac man is supposed to arrive. (He said he'd come December 4th...so I'm not holding my breath.)

Drema, give Skip a hug. Its gotta be tough.

Saucy, thinking of you too and your new cheese shop! YUM!

Michelle, I have no indoor blooms now except for the euphorbia, but a few of the wallflower cuttings have survived and maybe I should make more cuttings with their new growth.

Better go wash the dishes...
'bug

Chelone your salon looks wonderfully cheerful. You have struck just the right note. A wonderful, functional space. I can see the vision :)

Bug, I wonder what it is about women that makes us want to gather fabric? I can't even sew but I love looking at it, touching it, imagning what I would do if I had talent in that direction. I have a friend who just made some curtains from some sheets she bought on closeout years ago. It was originally sheets and they have magnolias on them. Not something you see everyday, and they are perfect for her space. I have a friend who used to make her daughter's dresses and she did a beautiful job with smocking them.

Michelle, hope you feel better soon! It is hard to keep plugging away when you are under the weather.

We are watching the Super Bowl. I don't think we have ever done this before. For some reason Skip wanted to see it. I don't know one end of the field from the other, but am enjoying the commercials. And I like Fergie. But I'm pretty much done now. We used to live in Pittsburgh, so I am rooting for them. I think I am going to go upstairs and read my book in a minute though. I am trying to stick to a calorie level because my cholesterol is right at 200 and I want to lower it while it will be relatively painless. But I want some popcorn and/or choc almond ice cream...my calorie allowance is used up alas...

D.

Wild weather we are having here on the cusp of spring. Right now, at almost 6pm I have the house opened up still, windows, doors etc. The sun is going down so I expect the temp will start to drop precipitously. I didn't look at the temp today,but it was about the same as yesterday, so mid to high 70's is my guess. So, I spent all weekend outside, and have 80% of the rose pruning done. I decided yesterday to sp Polka, which is a Romantica climber that just doesn't do it for me. I cut it back to the nubs (a saw was involved, as it is an established plant ) and began to dig. Hah ! The roots are huge and vast . Dug a trench around it, as close to the crown as I could get, and poured 3 teapots full of boiling water into the root zone. I expect I'll have to repeat a few more times, but hoping to kill the roots a bit so I can dig it out. This will be the 6th mature rose I've dug up this winter. One was moved to a new spot, 3 were tossed , one was put into a pot to be given to DD if she would like to have it .

Chelone, the Salon looks fabulous and what an impressive array of equipment ! I hope you get the kind of fulfillment you deserve for all the planning and work that has gone into this space. Well done my friend !

Drema, I'm watching the Superbowl too, but only because I have a bet on it , lol. I have the volume off , and glance over periodically to check the score. Regrettably it does not look a though I will be a winner . I need Pit to score a field goal , and GB to score a field goal and a safety, lol. Fat chance !

Michelle, I'm not buying any seeds this year, I have enough stockpiled ! I'm going to direct sow the Celosia spicata you sent me, and I have lots of Zinnias and Amaranthus as well. I was hoping my Amaranthus viridis would re-seed last year , but it didn't so I think I'll start my leftover seeds under lights this month.

Lol bug, when DD was a toddler she wanted dresses . I sewed them like mad, and haunted the remnant tables at the local fabric store. I have no desire to sew now, but damn, wouldn't I like to be able to create that snazzy chair like Chelone did !

All for me tonight .. sleep well friends

Kathy in Napa

My thanks to 'bug for her assistance with Adblocker. They appear to be gone... for now. There is no way I would ever have found the solution on my own. Now if I can just get the wireless thing tamed, all in due time I guess.

Drema, I am sorry for your added worry with respect to Skip's job. My brother's job fell victim to the housing market and he is now pushing two yrs. without one. He is enterprising and has an interesting gig making precision metal instruments but naturally the job he lost was the one with benefits. We will likely lose our health insurance at the end of the quarter, so I sympathize and know how the worry can eat at you. Hang tough.

I see Saucy is taking a welding class! very exciting. I don't suppose there are any pictures of the work in progress as it's probably tough to manage a camera with a welding mask and gloves. :)

The prediction from my brother has been that after working in my own shop for enough time it will become too much work to actually go to work. He's not too far from the mark. But times being what they are economically I'm nervous about ditching a sure thing (no matter how distasteful) for insecurity. Maybe the change of season and subsequent decrease in regular oil deliveries will bolster my confidence. Dunno. But I don't want to go to work today.

The cats went to the vet. on Friday. They all "got felt up" and there was a rabies vaccine for all. Plaque and tartar were virtually non-existent, and the cold weather has kept them more sedentary than they usually are so they've put on some weight. Spencer tipped the scale at 14 lbs. 10oz.! We invested in a grooming tool called a "Furminator" and it works wonderfully. They weren't sure they thought much of the idea at first, but they've come to rather enjoy the process and the amount of undercoat it removes is amazing. I wonder what our Mary could do with the fur and her felting technique??

Well, I have to mine the litterbox, put together my lunchtime snack, and then twiddle my thumbs until 7:20 at which time I leave for work. Ugh.

Just a quick nod to Chelone here. The drapes look lovely! What a great job. The salon is really looking good. And you don't want to hear this, but your color scheme really flatters the color scheme outside the window.

V.

Breaking wind... uh, sorry, I meant NEWS. I believe the wireless computer conundrum has been solved! I can't be certain, but once I relocate this machine to the Salon tomorrow we'll be certain. Dare I hope?

I know I bored you to death with tales of painting the corbels last fall. I finally emptied my camera the other day and my faithful documentation of the the work was displayed.

The corbels are in 3 parts and beautifully hand carved. They are oak and were stained very dark as was the vogue in the late 19th. century when they graced the interior of a very posh hotel in Syracuse, NY.. I have loved them for years but never had a place to use them that would give them "pride of place". After careful and long consideration I decided to paint them.

I began with a thorough scrubbing in TSP to remove the years of accumulated grime. And then I patiently began filling the small cracks that had appeared as the glue failed and pcs. began to come apart:

The lower detail (finial?):
{{gwi:146918}}

The capital and the main body of the corbel are combined in this shot, although they are separate components held together with pegs:
{{gwi:146919}}

After the TSP scrubbing I applied 3 coats of sealing primer, using a small brush to delicately coat the inside of carving and avoid drips and "slides". Multiple sheer coats is the only way to get good, smooth, even coverage. I followed that up with 3 coats of Ben. Moore "soft gloss" exterior white, using the same technique. I allowed 24 hrs. of drying time between coats. The project took a long time.

{{gwi:146920}}

{{gwi:146921}}

When the individual components were finished I applied them to the pickled back board and mounted them to the wall. The pickled shelf was then added to support the speakers.

{{gwi:146922}}

I'm not finished yet. I still have to crawl under the eaves and used a right angle drill to drill down through the plate so I can thread the wires up through the wall and over to the receiver. I also want to make covers for the speakers to cover the harsh black color. The covers will be easy, but I prefer to wait until it's warmer before crawling around in the attic in sub-freezing temperatures. ;)

Everything looks so perfect and bright out there in the salon. What a fun project!

My project today was making a pumpkin soup. I added way too much jalapeno pepper and am not sure how I'll rescue dinner yet...

Hi, Idyll friends!! Popping in to see what you're all up to. Life on the farm is good, life as a Grandma is GREAT and the little guy has a birthday on Sunday :) Okay, I gotta go check up on you all :) Have a great evening, everyone!
Brenda

Fabu fabu Chelone !

IU related e-mail has been sent out, if you did not receive and wish to be included please advise...

Chelone, your corbels are looking good. After you put your speakers in and can play your own music, you are going to love working in there. I think the right music makes a big difference in mood. Thanks for the thoughts re Skip's job. The good news is that when my job went south, he started up the window/siding/remodeling business. This is just not the right time of year for that, I have to make it through the next 2 or 3 months. He is a veteran so they take good care of him, my job at the University was the one with benefits. I am going to try to find a job, and he is working on it too, we will see what happens. Either way, I know things work out one way or another. For some reason, I don't seem to be having panic attacks, which isn't like me at all. Maybe because last year was just the year from hell and I have no energy left to panic:). Enough about me, even I am sick of it:)))

Bug, were you able to salvage the soup? When we were in Canada we went to a great Chinese buffet and one of the seasonal items was a fabulous chicken and pumpkin stir fry. Wish I had the recipe. Pumpkin tastes so different when it is not in a pie. I remember years ago I made chili mixing up the spices from scratch. I still hear comments from time to time about the cumin. I am always liberal with my spices :) Now I use McCormick premix chili mix, one original and one hot per pot. Turns out perfect.

Well, I have to go figure out something to eat. Just got back from checking on my mom and am starved. Torn between popcorn and cheese and veggie something. Amazing how differently I look at these foods when I know they are going to be tabulated and measured for nutrition. My healthy breakfast of nonfat yogurt with a few granola sprinkles only received a C+, and I was still short on potassium and calcium yesterday. Today I ate a Viactiv and a multi vitamin :) The website I use is below, if I can copy it right.

D.

Here is a link that might be useful: Count your calories and nutrition

Quickie. Yesterday our brief "thaw" was blown away by a cold front heralded by stout north/northwest winds. Dog prints on a sodden driveway were flash frozen in a matter of an hour!

Cold today. But bright and sunny. Polly braved the cold to stake out the bird feeder and hit the lottery. She bagged a red squirrel who'd evidently crossed the frozen snowpack and was obliviously chowing down under the feeder. She carted him back to the house (hoping Daddy would let her bring it in) but dropped into the crevasse between the snow and the side of the house. No doubt he will remain there until springtime releases him as I have no desire to fish him out.

I need to explore Drema's link.

I'll bet the Birthday Girl has already snuck off to work this morning. I hope you have a great day, Chelone. Here's a shot from Fall:

{{gwi:146923}}

Chelone, I'm breaking tradition here and sending you a geography lesson for your birthday. I found it fascinating! I suggest you download the high resolution version. I even enjoyed the comments.
I hope you enjoy the day!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: True size of Africa

Happy Birthday my friend!

Cheers,

Julie

Drive-by from the awfice...My home computer internet connection has been down the last couple of days due to a faulty power cable on my wirekless router...hoping it will be on UPS this evening , in the meantime a wave to all ,
and best birthday wishes to Chelone !

Chelone, as I know how you feel about both kids and dogs, I though perhaps a kid eating a dog would be a good birthday picture for you! Have a wonderful day!!
{{gwi:146924}}

As someone who has painted a lot of high-detail trimwork, excellent job on the corbels!! Patience is key in those projects.

I'm supposed to be doing year-end bookwork, but I had to pop in and greet the birthday girl :)
Brenda

Happy Birthday Chelone!!!!
Today I discovered a bud on this aloe. Must be a gift in honor of your birthday!!! Can you see it? I was thrilled.

{{gwi:146925}}

Brenda, your little guy is sooo cute! Doggie gets points too.

I thought you guys might enjoy seeing the plant I picked out for my Valentine's present. A couple of weeks ago I went to the nursery and picked up the aloe above. While there, I saw the coolest cactus and have been thinking about it ever since. Well today I went to get it. I love it. I also got the little rosemary in the pot too because there is nothing like rosemary in the winter to lift your spirits. Smells heavenly. The aloe is beside it, and then I went in the basement and brought up the thready leaved aloe to see if it would get a bud. That is one I brought back from California last Idyllunion from Filoli. Little green sunshine.

Myrtillocactus Blue Myrtle
{{gwi:146926}}

{{gwi:146927}}

{{gwi:146928}}

What a nice surprise, you guys.

I love cacti. And I like that there is a bud on the Aloe, Drema; isn't it fun when you discover something unexpected? I've never tried Rosemary in the house, though I recall Martie saying it made rather a nice topiary. It sure smells nice. (the rescued Germamy-ums have yet to put forth a flower as the helpmeet has been brutal about pinching them).

Lol, Brenda. I would kill for floors like those in your picture. That is one mellow fleabag, and a glowing testament to security and "family". :) (precisely why I espouse the benefit of regular beatings as frequently as I do!)

Who says there is nothing to look at in a winter landscape, Woody. Beautiful; serene and patiently waiting for the snow's retreat and longer hours of sunshine.

And the bounty of fall, Saucy... simplicity in composition and color. Isn't that sky just too blue to be believed?!

I spent a long time poring over the geography link, 'bug. I took a Geography class when in college and it was a fabulous class. I figured it would be one of those "yawn" deals, but the prof. was great and it was fascinating! I recall resenting the study time Biochemistry required because Geography was shortchanged over the course of the semester. Maybe one day I will be able to visit that wondrous place... maybe.

I'm glad I don't have to work tomorrow. Today was a drag and I'm relieved it now appears in the rearview mirror.

Happy Birthday Chelone! I don't have a picture for you but perhaps you can visualize Niki lying across my ankles while I am sitting here in the recliner with the computer.

I have been doing some heavy duty cleaning in the basement this week and she cracks me up. I will be working away and glance up to find her perched in the most unusal places watching me. Norma

Happy Birthday Chelone. My wish for you is that by your next birthday you're spending every work day in your beautiful salon!

Brenda, "Kid Eating Dog" made me LOL! Cute!

Eden

{{gwi:146930}}

Happy Birthday Chelone. My wish for you is that by your next birthday you're spending every work day in your beautiful salon!

Brenda, "Kid Eating Dog" made me LOL! Cute!

Eden

{{gwi:146931}}From Moon

Happy Birthday Chelone !

Happy Birthday Chelone
and many more from channel four.

I wanted to make a card for you Chelone. But putting the picasa html in didn't work. Maybe it's too big? I can't find the resize controls on picasa. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. Anyway I hope you had a great rest of the day.

picasa web album
To display the image inside the posted message:

I'm wiped for a change so I'm heading for bed. I'll talk more later.

“May the wind always be on your back and the sun upon your face and may the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.”

Movie quote Johnny Depp

“There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.”
Don Juan deMarco (1995)

Night night,

Yeona

Here is a link that might be useful:

It is -27C here, that's minus 17F. Yes, it is COLD! They are predicting rain all next week.

Yeona, what a lovely piece of jewelry you have produced. Not something I could wear here on the farm...but I can even imagine it with jeans. ;)

I'm trying to finish a book for book club that just does not grab me...about 100 pages to go. I'd rather be knitting. Then there's the housework and other work. Norma, I should be working on the basement clean-up as well....

Oy! I missed Chelone's birthday!!

I hope she accepts my belated birthday greetings, and I hope she is amused by the Chicago coast in winter.

{{gwi:146932}}

Hope you had a lovely day yesterday!

V.

Good evening Idylls, and here in Norcal spring continues to present itself. Today I saw Daffodils ! We will be back to rain on Monday; I'm ok with that. I had to water some containers today and all my collected rainwater is almost gone. At Whole Foods they had the 1st of the California grown strawberries and navel oranges. I gave a talk this morning at the garden center on attracting birds to your garden so it was late afternoon before I got home to work in the garden. I'll have a full day outside tomorrow.

Yeona, If you select a pic in your Picassa web album there should be a pull-down dialog box under the 'embed image' dialog box that lets you select the size. I always pick 640 for GW, 640 will not be a selection if I forget to resize when I import from the Picassa software on my computer to the web album.

Over on FB , Brenda has posted pics of Judes 1st birthday party, maybe I'll nag her to put a couple of them up on the Nana Thread..

All for me tonight, the kitchen is a mess and I have no desire to wake up and see it that way in the morning !

Dreams of spring to all..

Kathy in Napa

Guess where I am right now.

:)

Hmmmm in thew salon? On your new wireless connection?

Indeed I am. I have even taken a picture to commemorate the event. However, as more pictures are to be taken today that will be posted later on.

(it's like being on the bridge of the Abraham Lincoln... "mission accomplished", the only thing missing is a flight suit, lol)

Yay for the wireless in the salon, Chelone! I have a good source for flight suits..is there a particular color you have in mind? They're not particularly flattering, I'm afraid. I do love the flooring! Jim and I installed it, and it's the perfect solution for a farm house. It has held up amazingly well with the parade of dogs, farmers and now Jude in his walker. Not a mark on it!

Pictures of the birthday party are uploading on photobucket this very minute. We had a wonderful time, and Jude was thoroughly confused by the goings on. After gifts and cake, he crashed for a couple of hours. When he got up, he was like a little drunkard for a while. Too much sugar isn't good for anybody ;) He fed me a couple of bites of cake, and I'm hoping that someone in the press gallery got a shot of it.

Kathy, I envy you the daffodils, but your mention of them lets me know that spring will be coming along here one of these days. We're due for a warm-up, and the weather people are predicting rains and possible flooding. As they tend to be a little overly dramatic, I'm not getting too worried yet ;) I wish I had tidied up the kitchen before bed last night. I love having an island in the kitchen, but it seems it's a catch-all for items needing processed. Not many dirty dishes, but an odd assortment of things needing a home, and some of my year-end bookwork needing attention. Speaking of that, I should get busy. I think DD and DS will both be over today. I'm into October on the books, so maybe I can get that finished today, so we can find out how much the fine folks at the IRS would like us to contribute this year :/
Have a wonderful Sunday, all!
Brenda

Call me a softie...but I enjoyed this story. I am convinced my dogs do better with hand signs than verbal cues.

Here is a link that might be useful: Puppies for Parole

The helpmeet presently labors under a head cold. He's remarkably cheerful in spite of it, though Wrecks has sorely missed the outdoor activity he's been used to. His Nibs has retired early with "his Polly" and that's OK.

We had a delightful "dinner" (in New England "dinner" is the main meal and is usually in the afternoon) of salmon, mashed potatoes, and sauteed cabbage/onions/carrots. It was wonderful. Followed by St. Valentine's Day chocolates.

Our 50 degree day respite is about to become history and it's time I headed into the house to fire up the stove in preparation, I think.

Bella is really looking "grown up" these days and I marvel at how Kenzie has changed over the years. but pay no consequence because you know I hate kids. And dogs.

The faux spring is over ..rain and cold are back here in Norcal. I am comforting myself working on plans for my late spring road trip to Santa Barbara. I worked pretty feverishly in the garden yesterday, knowing that a full week of rain was looming ahead and pulling weeds will be iffy next weekend as my ground returns to the winter-mud state. I was moving slow last night ! Lots of bending and sitting on the ground, digging, sawing. I also scattered a whole bunch of Sluggo around; once the rains stops and it warms up a bit the snails will be out looking for plunder. For the present this is a cold storm, coming down from Alaska and will drop the snow levels down to 2k feet, so they say.

Chelone, hooray for your wireless in the Salon..the Helpmeet might find it difficult to pry you away -does he visit there ?

Lol Brenda, Chelone could probably sew her own flight suit with all that equipment she has there at the Compound.

...time for dinner !

Kathy in Napa

Here are some photos I took yesterday morning around the valley..

Lots of balloons out -- I could see 9 from where I was parked to take this pic; this one was closest. {{gwi:146933}}From Napa Valley

The Acacias are in full bloom. {{gwi:146934}}From Napa Valley

The entrance to Far Niente Vineyards. I hope to be able to worm my way in to the gardens in the next couple of weeks- they charge 50 bucks for a tour and tasting, but all I want to do is photograph the gardens. {{gwi:146935}}From Napa Valley

The flowering plums at Oakville Grocery {{gwi:146936}}From Napa Valley

The sky is equally blue here but it's a helluva lot colder, Kathy! My favorite is the 3rd. shot down, that wonderful, formal allee. So pretty.

I do rather spend a lot of time over here now. A friend of ours remarked that we have "his and her" doors into the bahn. And she laughed when the helpmeet came up to the Salon and I told him, "try not to touch anything" (a favorite line from "Overboard").

I'm plugging away on another slipcover at present and it's coming along nicely. I'm pleased and am presently considering the "couture" touches I want to add to it.

I can't wait to get out of Dirtyland today and get back here. :)

I bet it looks and feels just great in the salon, Chelone! The quality of the light is so nice now - harbinger of Spring.

Although it is freezing cold here today.

I have finished painting the baseboards in TCS's room, and am half done the ones in the master. Then I will repaint my bedstand, stencil around the top of the walls, and buy some refinisher to spruce up the rest of the furniture, and I am ready for Spring.

The photos are lovely, and the kids look so cute. TCS wouldn't do valentines this year. He went to a dance instead!!!!

An enabler friend of mine sent me a link to a site that sells exotic plants; bananas, Sago palms, a variety of different Taros...I wasn't going to get anything new this year, just concentrate on what I have already, but.....

Playing my annual game of "Don't plant the seeds yet, Jules, they will be monsters by mid May" but it is so difficult when the sun is bright. I may satisfy myself by running the self cleaning cycle of the oven and then christening it with a batch of peanut butter cookies...

Quiet day. I have got to figure out how to link our new camera to the laptop, as our "real" computer is now dedicated to the Optishot golf simulator.

I hope all is well for all of you in Idylland!

Cheers,

Julie

40's with a chill wind today. We still have patches of snow and piles of it where Bob cleared the driveway.
I'm still working on the basement although I did take a couple of days break from it.

Our neighbors are cleaning their chicken house and ask if I wanted the manure that is mixed with sawdust, so I said of course. They are loading into our tractor bucket and Bob is stockpileing it to compost. I can always use enrichment for this poor soil.

Now that the snow is melting off I can see tons of clean up that needs to be addressed as soon as things dry out a bit. I really sank in when I walked across the yard to dump the cat box today.

Nothing else much going on around here. I'm tired tonite but don't have an excuse like Kathy.

Norma

It's going to be some time before the ground reveals itself once more around here. Yesterday was really cold with a stiff, cold wind. I fired up the stove in the Salon and was thankful for a snug retreat. Dirtyland is also usually cold... heaven forbid we actually turn the thermostat up past 58.

Norma, your basement cleaning exercise reminds me that the helpmeet has finally tackled the boardroom. He's still not finished but he jettisoned a ton of things, and has been forced to reorganize, sort, and make a home for all manner of the treasure he's unearthed in there. Of course, his cold has forced him to "take to his bed" in recent days and progress has been temporarily halted. The pride likes hanging out in there with him, too. He says he looks up to find one or more of them looking down at him, too... good thing they don't weigh 100 lbs. or he'd be part of the food chain. ;)

(I have a feeling the cold is making a move on my usually ironclad constitution... we'll see)