Maybe....

Just maybe we'll be blessed with a little rain. I can hear thunder. Crossing my fingers and toes.

Out the backdoor

Is it hot out there or what? My thermometer says 105 degrees in the shade. Thank goodness the wind is blowing 20 mph or we'd roast.

Mr. Fuzz has a new friend. She's pretty skittish, but never fails to show up for a meal. I've touched her twice and been hissed at for my trouble. Please ignore the sad looking mulch job and the bare rose canes. I'm ripping this bed apart come Fall. About the only thing doing well in this heat is the watermelon in the rose bed.The squash is blooming, finally. I don't have high hopes that I'll get much of a crop.This grape cracks me up. It's suddenly decided it likes where it's planted and it's growing like a weed. This is the one that the dog chewed off at the ground and it's been moved twice. Here's a picture of it almost a year ago.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday.

Random pictures

I'm cleaning photos off my hard drive this morning and ran across a few I hadn't shared.

Look closely on the right hand side and you can see little beaks.Somebody needs to mow their gutter.

Out my front door

A storm in the distance.Holly Hocks blooming by the dining room windows.

Fun with lightening

I love a good lightening storm. Here are a few pictures I managed to take. They would have been better using a tripod, but hey, it's lightening.

Dirty four-letter word

Stinking weather. They're predicting snow later this week and the only thing between me and the snow is a bunch of boards and the exterior siding. I've been busting my butt trying to get insulation up so I can use the heater if we need it. I refuse to heat the outside.

Monday we had a very loud, but much needed, thunder storm. I couldn't tell you how much rain we got because the new rain gauge is laying here next to the computer. It'll be handy if I get a sudden down pour in the office. We also celebrated our anniversary although celebrating was a stretch. DH ended up working from 1-4 AM on a lightening-struck well and nobody got much sleep.

Tuesday morning bright and early Mom and I ran to Lowe's and picked up insulation. Poor Mom had to ride home with a bag in her lap. One of these days she's going to disown me.

Anyway, here's where we are now. This is the dining room. The blank spots have been filled in and a vapor barrier installed. Mom helped until nearly 10:00 last night and I wouldn't have gotten this far without her help. Thanks Mom!Now I'm working in the living room and it's going to take forever.

We have some 2 x 4's that need sistered because of old termite damage and DH wants to work on re-routing his cable wire.I bought myself a new friend and Stanley and I are loving each other. I'd never get this done without him. He's been a big help with the insulation and vapor barrier. I'm sure we'll have a long and satisfying relationship.I don't think I'm going to introduce DH to Stanley just yet. There's the small matter of letting me use the router. DH is stingy with his toys and I'm not inclined to share until he does. We're adults after all and that's how adults act. LOL!

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for the rain we received earlier. Today, I'm thankful for the snow.I'm also thankful that this pretty little cardinal sat still long enough for me to take her picture.And as always, I'm thankful for all of my blogging buddies.

Glad to be home again

Gosh, it feels good to be home. Even with the mess around here it's nice to be around my mess. I don't plan on going anywhere for a while.

Driving back to NM on Friday, we ran into a little storm this side of the Texas Travel Center. We got to see actual rain and it smelled so good. The hail was okay too. It amazes me how people think they can still drive 70 mph when you can't see a thing.

We visited with the folks at the nursing home and they seem to be settling in okay. Everybody seems happy with the situation and is doing well. MIL couldn't remember my name half the time and so didn't have anything ugly to say.

We spent a good part of the day Saturday with the baby and naturally I forgot the camera at daughter #2's house.

I swear, she's growing like a weed. She sure can yawn big for such a little thing.She likes to listen to Peepaw talk.Unfortunately it was time to come home. She's worn out from being passed back and forth between us.We missed getting a picture of her upchucking down the front of my shirt. LOL! Somehow she got her fist inside the neck and used my shirt front as a barf bag. Peepaw thought it was funny. Meemaw, not so much.

I'm fresh out of cheeks

I'm home again, but just until tonight. We got the in-laws settled into the nursing home. He'll be 83 in July and she'll be 85 in November.

Here they are in all their glory. FIL is tickled pink to finally be out of the hospital after 11 days. MIL is trying to come up with the next ugly thing to say. Hence, the I'm out of cheeks title. I've turned the other cheek so much that my neck hurts and my cheeks are chapped. She's enough to break your spirit and make you give up.So to soothe my wounded cheeks I stopped at Hobby Lobby. A lot. Many times over the course of three days. My cheeks now feel better and my pocket book isn't terribly broke. Let's just say I love their 80% off decorative accessories aisle. Did you know they have all garden stuff 50% off as well? Just thought you'd like to know.

Here's what Spring in Eastern New Mexico looks like.If the 50 mph wind wasn't bad enough, the sand and dirt blowing around just makes it that much better. At one point you couldn't see across the road the dirt was so thick. I don't miss this a bit.The only good thing about the wind was my gas mileage coming home. I averaged 56 miles per gallon until Shamrock.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and with luck I'll see you Monday.

Happy March!

The Ole' Fishing Hole in fog. I love the reflection of the tree.

I can't believe it's March already. This year is flying right past me.

FIL is doing much better. In fact, it looks like maybe Tuesday or Wednesday he'll be discharged to the nursing home for rehab. I'm going down tomorrow to help get them settled and make sure they have everything they need.

I've got an interview set up for the 16th with a potential employer. I'm not going to say more lest I jinx it. I'm not really superstitious, but I'd hate to shoot myself in the foot at this point.

On the crafting front, there hasn't been anything accomplished. I went down to the sewing room the other day and just stood there. I think I was hoping for some type of inspiration to whap me on the head. I really need to work on something just to maintain my sanity.

As for weight, well we'll see tonight how good or bad I've been. I'm not terribly hopeful that I've lost any more. It's hard when I'm away from home and at the mercy of my husband.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Baby, it's cold outside

It's a whopping 10 degrees right now. I'm glad I can stay in and don't have to get out in it. It seems to be especially slick this morning. DH went down the driveway almost sideways. Yikes!

Yesterday I stayed in and had kept warm with many cups of tea and one too many cups of coffee. I evidently have caffeine overload because I haven't been to bed yet. I've painted, scrubbed the floors, and cleaned the kitchen, but haven't slept. Of course now that it's time to be up and moving my old eyes are getting heavy. It probably wouldn't take much for me to have a little nap.

I hope everyone is having a marvelous Wednesday. Stay warm and safe out there.

Cold enough to freeze your buds off

Here we have our Bradford Pear tree. See those cute little buds? They're just frozen little budcicles now. It's been so warm several of my trees and shrubs thought it must be Spring and decided to wake up.

We're under the same weather advisory as every other Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas blogger out there. It's cold and slick. I got out long enough to determine that there were way too many stupid people out and decided to come home. I'm not sure why drivers think really giving it the gas is going to get the car to move any better, especially on black ice.

Weight Watchers was canceled for tonight. Our leader comes from 30 miles away and I can't say that I blame him a bit. I was looking forward to the meeting though. I did really good last week and wanted to see my loss. I think I need that little pat on the head and that-a-girl. Oh well, next week should be really good. I hope.

On that note. I can now pull my size (humongous) jeans up and down without unbuttoning or unzipping. Something must be working.

I hope everyone has a warm and safe week.

I'm over it

Thanks to all that commented on my last slightly deranged post. I guess I start thinking about it and the worry begins. I just need to give it to God and get on with my life.

This was yesterday. Brrr!

Today was a little better, but we had ice and snow to go with it. Silly Fuzz (the inside/outside cat) couldn't make up his mind this morning. He reminded me of a kid running in and out, in and out. I finally kicked him out. He was more than happy to come in a bit ago. I wonder if he realizes how lucky he is to live with us?

We have another trip to NM coming up on Friday. DH's family Christmas is on Saturday. The only bright spot is getting to bring my baby sister home for Christmas. It's been almost a year since I've seen her.

There's not much other news right now. I still haven't finished the Christmas quilt, finished decorating, or mailed my cards. This studying stuff is eating up all of my time. Once I get the final over with tomorrow I hope to crank some stuff out.

I hope everyone is staying warm and toasty.

Well, that was interesting

About 3:30 a storm popped up out of no where.

We had hard driving rain.
So hard the gutters couldn't handle it.
The streets couldn't handle it either. Several places in town have pavement that buckled.
This fence is just barely handling it. Their backyard is almost completely under water.

And then, the wind blew. And it blew some more. Finally, it was done and this is what it left behind.

This is the neighbor across the alley. He lost his big old tree.
This is what's left of The Mark's sign. It landed on Main Street in the middle of four lanes.
Here's part of an interstate exit sign. I wonder where the rest of it is?

Oh look! Here it is. Whew! I thought we might have lost it for good.
This is my favorite. This poor truck was minding it's own business when all of the sudden an out of control storage building crossed the parking lot, hitting him broadside.
Excuse me while I go count my blessings.