New Found Relatives

Friends, I didn't want to post leaving on a trip, but now I am back. We were in HOT Kentucky for about 3 fun filled days, meeting relatives we only heard about a few years ago. I love the gorgeous country side in Kentucky. I can see why those who live in the country love it so much.

We had a fantastic time visiting and meeting the relatives who came to
Kentucky. It definitely was a trip of a lifetime and one that we are
glad that we are able to make. Everyone is so warm and caring and my
cousins Beth and Sandy are hysterical. Sandy could be a stand up
comedian. Everything she says is funny as the quips and words
naturally flows off her tongue. I wished though that all lived
closer, so that we could visit more often. My father was in an
orphanage. He went to the Catholic orphanage when he was around 3
years old. There were 6 other siblings. My dad, his sisters Louise
and Isabelle are the only surviving siblings. I met my Aunt Isabelle,
who also had a large family (8 children) and my Aunt Louise. The
local news station did a news story on the first reunion between my
dad and his sister Louise, and then again when the two sisters met.
My dad met his older sister Isabelle during this trip as well. I also
found out that I have 21 new cousins and counting, but only met 4 of
my cousins.



The second flight leaving from Chicago to LAX was LONG (did I say
long-lol), but we were treated to lightning shows from above and the
view was fabulous. Here are some of the pictures I took.

So Long California Redwood Tree

I am sad to say that the California Redwood tree that my oldest son nurtured since it was a little seedling seen its day. I guess that it didn't like being transplanted. We usually have success when transplanting plants, but then this tree was over 10 feet tall and was in the way of our lemon and pear tree. I hope that the little growth (new growth at the base of the tree) will take hold and survive. Time will tell.

A Once In A Lifetime Opportunity

My oldest son has been fortunate to be in the geology program at our local public college. These professors are so awesome and very encouraging. The program for biology and geology is the best. My son missed the opportunity last year to go on the trip to the Colorado Plateaus, and this year he almost missed out as well, if it had not been for a student backing out of the trip. My son gets to go on a two trip for his summer class.

I wonder if he will see any images as this:




Bryce Canyon is so beautiful, but it will be HOT!

I do know that he will be hiking in Bryce Canyon, something that my dh and I did about 26 years ago. I wished that my son would take his camera, but I understand why he doesn't.




Keep Safe and Have Fun!

P.S. It is now early Monday morning and I have had about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I am up I guess because I don't want to over sleep. My son wants me to get him up at 5:30 am, which is very unusual. He is all packed which is also unusual. He will have a lot of memories and adventures awaiting him during these two weeks.

Vintage Smock Apron

A few years ago, I was asked by a friend if I could make his wife some new aprons using her old mother's vintage smock apron. I was up for the challenge. The aprons have since faded, from all the washing. I was told that my friend wore her aprons all the time. Well, it was time for some new aprons, so it I was again up for the challenge. I had taken notes-thank goodness and some pictures, which were not all that great, but I did finish one of the aprons. I took the apron over to my friend's house last night and she broke down in tears. She has the sweetest husband.

Anyways, my friend's mother's apron was old and worn out and it bore wood stains, since my friend wore that apron while helping her husband stain cabinets in his cabinet business. I thought that I would post the original apron, and the one that I just made. The apron looks better on my friend that it does on my dress form.

Fabric Store Is Officially Open

Well, our online fabric store has been open since Mother's Day. I have been wanting to sell my fabrics, with many of the fabrics that are out of print. I have been asked time and time again if I sell or would sell my fabrics that I used for custom aprons.

My sons gave me the best Mother's Day present ever, and this was it. Of course as my sons were growing up, they had and actually still have clashed. They have their moments when they get along, but they are complete opposites. As they were growing up, I would say that the best Mother's Day gift that they could give me was a day without them arguing. It has been a blessing for that one day a year. I had always wished that they would eventually or actually get along in a timely manner.

Just Being A Mom

A few weeks ago, we learned that our youngest son was invited to his friend's (ex-girlfriend's) birthday party in Las Vegas. Originally, the girl's parents were going to drive several young adults including my son to Las Vegas. My son had to make some arrangements with work and school, but one of his professors would not let my son take his exam early unless it was an emergency.

My son decided that he couldn't go, but that soon changed when his dad mentioned that our son could rent a car (his car wouldn't make the long drive). I being a mom was concerned about our 21 year old son driving to Las Vegas at night after his evening class. Of course, my son could tell that I would worry and assured me that he would be fine. Just to ease this old woman's mind, my son said that he would give me a call when he reached the rest stops and when he safely arrived at his destination. It is now 1:15 a.m. and I have received one call. Everything is fine. Of course, in my heart, I knew that he would be fine because there was someone far mightier than I watching over my son, but I am still a mom after all, but I should just trust that everything will work out. It is 2 am and my son is now in his hotel room. You see, I think that I know why the party is in Las Vegas. No, my son and his friends are not interested in gambling, but the parents are. Every year for as long as I can remember, they would drive to Las Vegas so that they could gamble.

My oldest son will be going on another weekend geology trip to the White Inyos. My son volunteered to go with a fellow student while the student reworks his mapping of the geology. The student lost his map during the last trip, so since a group was going to the White Inyos, the professor said that this student can get a second chance at the mapping. It was felt and I had to agree with this one, that there should be another person (like the buddy system suggested when hiking), in case something happens. It will be a night of little sleep, since the oldest wants me to help to wake him up at 5:45 am.

It will be a quiet weekend for sure around here.

Aren't These Shoes The Cutest?

I cam across this blog recently. Oh my, if only I was as talented. These shoes are the cutest. Be sure to scroll to the top of the blog page.

Question And Answer Period

A friend of mine from "Just Breathe," posted these questions, and so I decided to answer them.

1.How often do you change the sheets on your bed?
Not as often as someone I know. I knew a woman who washed her sheets every day.

2.Do you wash your hair everyday?
Sometimes twice a day during the hot weather.

3.Have you ever told a white lie to get out of doing things when people ask?
Gosh, I don't remember, but I might have at some point in my life.

4.Do you like to talk on the phone or send emails to communicate?
Actually, I do both, but I think that I send more e-mails because of my business. I do enjoy talking to the customers on the phone.

5.Matthew McConaughey or George Clooney?
That is a tough question. Both are cute.

6.I have know people who take a new towel each day after they shower. Are you one of those people?
Nope, not me.

7.Have you ever been on the news or had your picture in the newspaper?
I did have my picture in the newspaper back when I won an award in junior high school and then for my dh's and my engagement announcement and wedding.

8.Do you buy new cars or do you always buy a used car?
We only bought a new car once. Most of our cars are used.

9.Do you have a green thumb when it comes to house plants?
I thought that I did, but the way our house is, it is hard to have plants indoors.

10.Where would you like to live when you retire?
I would actually like to stay where I am.

Picturesque Clouds And Skies Above

My dh likes to take pictures of clouds and of sunsets. His memory card was full and I discovered many gorgeous pictures that he had taken. Some of the pictures were taken over a year ago and some pictures are of his mother when she was alive.


Today's pictures are two of my favorite shots taken by my husband.







The last picture, is my most favorite picture.


Well, I hope that each and everyone of you have a wonderful Tuesday.

Memories And Traditions

It has been 8 months since my mil passed away at the age of 93. Today, my dh and I went to Forest Lawn Cemetery to put flowers on his mother's and grandmother's grave. This is the first for my husband. He had accompanied his mother for years, but mostly my mil went on her own or had her helper assist her. Every Mother's Day, birthday, or Memorial Day, flowers were laid on the grave.

Today, we saw people of all different ethnic backgrounds. Some people were laying next to the site, while others were laying flowers, reminiscing, or performing religious rituals. The hillsides of this large place were filled with color. My husband carefully attended and created bouquets using the flowers from our yard and our son's native garden. I told my husband that his mom would be pleased at his creation and his attentiveness. He responded by saying, "Don't you think that she is pleased now?" Of course.

What A Predicament!

Well, I guess that this lizard wanted to be sure to get the flies. I have never seen a lizard caught between the screen and the metal security frame design on our sliding glass door.

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Sleepless in California

When my husband and I were first considering moving up to where we live now, some 26 years ago, the homes were still yet un-built. We were told that there were a lot of parties in the neighborhood, and that it was a noisy neighborhood. So....my husband and I would drive up here and park outside the fenced in area in the evenings, but all we could here were crickets. That was fine with us because we enjoy the outdoors and crickets were a part of the outdoors.

Things are different regarding crickets. A few years ago, crickets moved in to our attic, and often we would see them in our house. These crickets we soon found out were called "house crickets," and they prefer the indoors. The male crickets would chirp their high pitch sounds all day long and night. A few days ago, a cricket moved in to our bedroom, so you can guess where I am going with this. I went to lay down to sleep the other night, and was very relaxed until.....the loud chirping began. It is hard to sleep with the high pitch sound echoing off the walls in the bedroom. These crickets are hard to catch at times and so the nights are filled with restless sleep. This is why it is 3:15 am and I am up typing this on the blog. Sometimes, this cricket will keep me up, while other times, it will allow me to go back to sleep. I hope that my husband finds this un-welcomed creature in our bedroom, so that we can sleep, I mean so that I can sleep soundly once again. Dh tends to be able to sleep through all the chirping.


UPDATE: Yeah, last night was the first peaceful night in 4 or 5 days. I just wanted to keep sleeping this morning. Woke up later than normal for me, but I need to get up. I am supposed to make a taco salad for hubby's work today. No cricket chirping made for a great night. I honestly don't know what became of the cricket who wanted to serenade all night.

A New Home

If you have followed my blog, then you would know about the California Coastal Redwood tree that my son has nourished since it was a seedling and since he was a young boy. The tree is over 10 feet tall, but it needed to be uprooted. We were looking for a new home for the tree, but didn't have any luck. I guess that people were thinking that the tree would get huge like the trees in the redwood forest, but this tree will not get that large.

Well, the tree is still in our possession, but it is in another location. I hope that it does well. The tree had some branches that turned brown because the tree was situated next to our patio. The roof got too hot for the branches. Anyways, below is a picture of the tree.

Yeah! Things Are Looking Up

My son has his cast off and now requires physical therapy for 6 weeks. Business is no longer a lull, and things are back to normal. I have been busy cutting and making aprons, plus more items for my online store. One of my customers is taking my oven door towels to Norway. It seems that the women there want oven door towels.

Life Is Busy

I may not get on and blog every day, and would if I could. Life keeps me busy these days, whether it is in my business, with my mother, or with my family life. We had rain here last night. I like it after it rains, because the air is so fresh and clean. We can see our local mountains just about every day, so the rain really doesn't affect that at all, unless there is snow. If you have seen my posts in the past, you will know that we don't see snow very often, so when there is snow on the local mountains, I will post the beautiful pictures.

One thing that happened in the last few weeks, is that our youngest son was out taking our dog Max for a run. Max decided to get in front of our son, which caused our son to fall. Of course Max was sure to get out of the way of his falling owner. The result of this fun afternoon run is a fractured bone in my son's wrist. Max on the other hand was fine. My son has discovered that it is a challenge to have a cast on one arm. Fortunately it is not the arm that he uses all the time, but still challenging nonetheless. So...it has become a count down-eleven days left I think until the cast comes off.

Yummy Blueberries and Oranges

About two months ago we planted an orange tree in our back yard. The tree is full of blossoms and there are signs of small oranges. In case you didn't know it, my son has a garden. I took a picture of just one of his planter containers full of fresh blueberries. Can't wait for the blueberries to be picked. My son has wine barrels filled with fresh herbs, beans, hot chili peppers, dill, etc. He has his grandfather's green thumb.







I hope that you have a terrific day. Happy Easter Everyone!

Spring Is In The Air

I thought that I would share more pictures of my oldest son's dry garden. The flowers are blooming, showing off their beauty.

My How Things Sure Have Grown

About 15 years ago or so, we received a free California Redwood seedling. My son planted the tree in our back yard and nurtured the tree, but now it needs a new home. The tree was around 5 inches tall, but now is over 20 feet tall. I took a picture of my oldest son with his tree. If you look closely enough, you can see the tree extending up high.





Update:

The redwood tree may have a new home. My son asked his professor and either she will take this tree or the college where my son attends. I will let you know.

I don't know for those of you remember me posting that my son and I planted a dry garden to replace the grass and weeds in my mom's front yard. Well, a few of the plants are now showing their beautiful colors, while one plant is ready to bloom.



My how things sure have grown.

More Tips

The two tips that I posted originally are very important. When calling you bank via telephone, they should ask for a pin number. If my mother had a pin number, it would have made it difficult for the crooks. As I mentioned before, the crooks stole the mail from my mom's mailbox. Recent research indicates the majority of identity theft is happening the old-fashion way, with information stolen from wallets, purses, trash, and unlocked mailboxes, not via ‘high-tech’ online cyber methods. This makes me want to point out these major points:

1) Do not leave mail in your mailbox for mail pick-up.
2) Not all secure mailboxes are secure. It is easier to show you a link where you can watch a video. I thought that it would be best to show you how a thief can open up a secure mailbox. I am not promoting the product.mailboss.
3. Shred important information using a cross-cut shredder. One common way thieves perpetuate identity theft is by stealing your personal information through dumpster diving, or sorting through your trash. A cheap paper shredder will simply slice documents into strips that can be pieced back together by enterprising thieves, revealing your personal information.

We have a friend who shredded important information, but the shredder shredded the paper in to long strips. After the incident with his grandma, my oldest son did a talk on identity theft in his speech class. My son shredded a document with our shredder and with our friend's shredder. My son was able to tape the long strips together and so had everything he needed, if he were thief. Now, we also purchased a shredder that claimed to cross-cut (after our good shredder had problems after many years of use), but the paper, although shredded in to smaller strips, it wasn't small enough for us, because the small shredded pieces still had information. I think that you can still test out shredders at some stores, but I guess it all depends on where you live. The main point is that you shouldn't throw out papers with important information. One thing is for sure, my mother made sure that important information was shredded before tossing it in to the trash.

Helpful Tips-Identity Theft

Just to give a brief history. My mother was a victim of identity theft twice by the same people. Fortunately, the individuals were caught. Unfortunately, the first time, the individuals took a plea bargain, only to commit identity theft against my mother the second time (4 months after being released from jail). The second time, one of the individuals only served 3 months.

I thought that I would help others by posting some things that I feel were important.

This week, I will post some of the things that you should know and what you can do with your bank.

1. Create a secret pin number that someone else can not figure out easily. Do not use the last 4 digits of your social security number for the password for your bank. The individuals were able to change my mom's address over the phone because they had her SS number.

2. Create an online account if possible, so that you can monitor your accounts. Since my mother didn't have a computer, nor did she want one, she didn't have an online account. The individuals created an online account, from which facilitated their fraudulent activities.

3. Go paperless. My mother's bank statements were stolen from her mailbox. My mother noticed that statements were missing, but had no idea it was because of theft from her mailbox. You are also helping out the environment as well.

NEW!
4). I just remembered another point about the bank. Banks send out blank checks. The name of what they are called escapes me at the moment. Anyways, my mother received blank checks from her credit card companies. My mom had used them before and that may be the reason why they continued to send the checks in the mail. The checks allowed my mother to write a check to pay for work done at her home, without using her credit card. The payee would cash the check, and my mother would see the charge on her Visa bill. The individuals had a field day with these checks, and one even paid her mom's bills using the checks. We were able to request for the credit card company to stop sending the blank checks in the mail. It takes several weeks or more before you will see the results.

I will have more tips coming in the future. Please pass these tips on to others. My mother was not the only one that was affected from these individuals. I was told that there were around 100 others. If you already do these tips, then I applaud you.