Friday Feet 01-21-11

Since I broke both of my legs, in different years, I am not familiar with my feet.  They just don't look like my old feet that I lived with for the first 60, or so, years of my life.  I can no longer wear my favorite Birkenstocks, but I still have them nicely lined up in boxes on a shelf.  And I cannot wear my wonderful beaded, glittery slippers.  They kill my feet and make my legs cramp, but I cannot give them up - yet.

 I'm standing on Corky's floor mat because the colors seemed to go so well together. 

Fiber Postcards In Progress 01-20-11

It seems as though I owe everyone on Earth a postcard!  Since I have had so many health problems in the last few years my sewing skills have deteriorated and I have gotten further and further behind in my quilt making obligations.  This last year I have been drastically limited in the time I can sit at the computer, the sewing machine, or my car, but since I made the commitment to Surfside Quilters Guild to be their Newsletter Editor I have to put their needs first.  Soon I will give that job to someone else and I hope to be able to spend lots of time at the sewing machine.   I knew I would have some 'down' time when I was with Mary, so I took my boxes of fused scraps and started some postcards.  Here are three that are ready for some stitching.  However, there is the February newsletter I must have ready for posting early next week, so I won't be doing any sewing until February.  Where does time go? 

Hummingbird 01-19-11

Phoebe is back on the nest.  This image of one egg and one baby hummer, born today, is from the Hummer Cam in Huntington Beach.  http://www.ustream.tv/hummingbirdnestcam
Don't get addicted!


I showed pictures and talked about Phoebe and her two chicks Hoku and Hope in May 2010:
http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2010/06/computer-problems-again-06-02-10.html

Backlit by the sun 01-18-11

I love spending time with Mary and Joe in their oak forest.

I love spending time with their trees!

Goodbye Palm Trees 01-17-11

 

This morning I heard the dreaded sound of chain saws.  So, I went out to see where the damage was being done.  Just two doors to the north were these lovely palm trees.  There once were many trees of different species towering against a blue winter sky and now there are very few remaining.

Just to the right of the light pole there is a worker cutting the last of three palms into sections as he makes his way back to the ground.

On the other side of the yard is another worker cutting the first of five palms into sections.

 

My house is the grey one that looks like a two story, but isn't - on the far right of the picture.

I don't know if they took out all of the palms, I hated to go back out and look.  I shouldn't be surprised by all of this.  These neighbors moved in a couple years ago and put in plastic grass.  The palms are messy and I'm sure he just didn't like his plastic grass having palm droppings covering it.  But they were such beautiful palms!

P.S. - Yes, all of the palms were sacrificed.  They were on private property so the property owners can do as they like.  The people who owned this house for about eight months before we moved in cut down all the trees except the birch by the front door.  I think it died this winter - I'll miss it. 

Driving home SJB to Placentia 01-16-11

No quilt tonight.  Instead a mixed bag of pictures I took driving home.  Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to upload pictures in any sort of order.  So, despite my plans there isn't much order in this Blog.

Going down the hill from Mary and Joe's house there is lots of livestock to see.  Here is a "doggie" who thought I was the strangest thing he had ever seen.

I wanted to sing "Brown Cow, Brown Cow, swish your scrawny tail....."  That is the way it goes, isn't it?

This family was having a drive on the dirt roads that divide the fields along Hwy 156 near San Juan Bautista - something I have never seen before.  The boy in red in the front was on his own bike, the father was holding a little girl and towing a little boy in the 'wagon'.  I'll bet they chose today because the ground is very dry and the temperature was in the 60s. 

Lots of birds everywhere.  Here are two white-crowned sparrows in Santa Nella where I stopped at Starbuck's for something to help me along on my drive south on I-5.  I also saw cowbirds, starlings, LOTS of hawks, ravens, crows, house finches, house sparrows, both large and small egrets, coots, ducks, and others I can't remember - already. 

 A beautiful oak tree up on a green hill.

A blooming century plant against the blue, blue sky.

Highway 152 goes over Pacheco Pass - such beautiful clouds.

Then over the top and down around San Luis Reservoir I drove into the fog.  It was foggy all the way to Grapevine - but not down on the ground, it hung half way down the hills but the roadway was clear.

As I said, these photos are all out of order.  This was taken near Mary and Joe's house - driving through the woods all along the way to the bottom of the hills and the highway.   For this suburban gal - beautiful.

And a very large, very old eucalyptus tree along the edge of a pasture, also near Mary & Joe's.

 

Any sunny, pleasant day there are motorcyclists on Hwy 156 and Hwy 152.  I think these guys were frustrated, as I was, with this slow moving motor home. There is no place to pass on either highway, so everyone just follows along.

Traffic was light the entire way home and there were many California Highway Patrol cars along the way.  I did stop three times for some exercise and was able to walk when I arrived home and got out of the car.  So, the physical therapy is helping - maybe I can go back to my wandering ways and take many more road trips.