And the Hummingbird Drama Continues...

 Except now they have been joined by the butterflies.  LOL  I usually run my sprinklers in the early evening and the butterflies like to fly through the spray.  Usually, they are Monarchs and Painted Ladies.  On Friday evening, after work it was so pleasant outside.  I decided to mow and clean up the flower beds that I should have cleaned out in the early Spring.  So I sat down on the grass while I was digging out the weeds from heck.  Apparently, the butterflies are taking lessons from the hummingbirds, because they were fluttering right in front of my face and would not leave me alone.  Ultimately, I turned on the sprinklers and all was well in the world again.  Lesson learned.  Butterflies are bossy.  

I was kind of excited that 123stitch had Prairie Schooler Santa's on sale for Christmas in July.  I bought a few of them.  I like the cards the best.  I really like the colors that PS uses for these.  They are kind of rustic.  They are really fun to stitch, too.

As part of my home organization project, I decided to try to inventory my cross-stitch supplies.  I invested in Xstitch Plus for Iphone.  I really like it because I can finally inventory my DMC floss.  At one time I had a full set of DMC when they only had about 400 colors.  Back then you could keep a whole set in the old Trackers cases from Walmart.  They were originally made to hold toy cars.  I still have mine, but now I have extra storage and I still do not have a full set.  I don't really like the variegated floss from DMC so there is no need to include it in my inventory.

I haven't stitched as much as I have wanted lately.  I have been really focused on reorganizing, purging, and working in my yards.  I am getting a lot of exercise and feel pretty good about it.   I am considering painting the cozy cottage in September when we have our nicest weather here.  It will be nice to go into the fall and winter with so much done.  Hopefully, we will have lots of rain this winter.  The bonus would be lots of indoor time to craft in my organized space.

Have a wonderful week!

Hummingbirds Are Thugs, LOL

 About a week ago, I was watering the plants on my back patio when a hummingbird started buzzing around my head.  It was rather insistent and would not fly away.  I wondered if it was because I did not have my feeders up yet, because they needed a thorough cleaning.  I remembered that this had also happened to me a couple of years ago, in pretty much the same spot in my yard.

Since Google is our friend, I immediately did a search on hummingbird behavior.  It turns out that hummingbirds live 3-5 years.  They do recognize certain people that they know.  Also, hummingbirds will buzz around the head of someone that they know to let them know that a feeder is empty or that the sugar mixture is going bad.   So, I guess I was being told to get busy with the feeders.  LOL 

I love to watch the hummingbirds at my feeders.  I have seen so many videos of many hummingbirds at one feeder or multiple feeders.  I am not sure how this happens.  My hummingbirds are turfy and will chase each other away from the feeders.  One sits up in one of my bushes out front waiting and watching his feeders.  LOL

I use a simple formula of four parts of lukewarm water to one part sugar in my feeders.  It is important to change out the feeders pretty regularly because mold causes fermentation and fungus which can make hummingbirds sick or can cause death.  It is also important not to use commercial feeding solutions, honey or red food coloring can be detrimental to the health of a hummingbird over time.

Hummingbirds have super short legs so they tend to not use a bird bath unless it is one that has a spray that they can fly through.  Also, remember to keep the bird bath water clean, too.

Hummingbird feeders can cause hours of entertainment.  They are also important pollinators.  Obviously, hummingbirds are also the boss of me, so I am keeping a close eye on the feeders so I do not get in trouble again.  LOL

 It has been so hot on the California Coast for the past few days, in the 80s.  While I understand that it is much hotter in other places, what sets us apart is that most of the houses here do not have any air conditioning.  The ocean is our natural air conditioner, and for the most part it is foggy and freezing in San Francisco down to the Monterey Peninsula during June and July.  They are our "June gloom" months.  I have spent a number of 4th of July's with the heater on.  

The air was stifling the past couple of days.  This evening around 5pm, I went to run an errand 5 minutes away.  I left the house and it was sunny and hot by the time I got to my destination it was cold, windy and foggy.  Such is life on the California coast.  Now the news is saying to expect dry thunderstorms.  

I was so happy that a few weeks ago I installed a new ceiling fan all by myself in my home office/craft room.  In fact, that room has been the center of cleaning activity for the past month.  I have re-organized, discarded old papers, and changed around the furniture.  It is so much better in there now.  Purging the paper was liberating.

My desk in that room is used exclusively for work now.  I have monitors and things I need for work on my desk, so no room for crafting.  So I did a lot of thinking about a workspace on the other side of the room.   I really wanted to get something that I could use glue and paint on without it getting ruined.  So I bought an industrial stainless steel table with wheels for $169 on Amazon.  This one is 2x3 feet.  The wheels make it really tall, but I bought a drafting chair for when I am working at it.  

I have an Olfa mat on it with my Australian wool ironing mat. Right now it has six of the 12x12 project boxes from Michaels on the shelf.  They fit perfectly.  I even have room for more.  Yay.

I still have to hang the picture over it.  I love this print which I bought at a thrift store in Pacific Grove.  The original is painted by Sally Caldwell Fisher who paints scenes of life in New England and cost significantly more than my print here.

What I love about this set up is that I can use the chair at my kitchen counters when I do my holiday cooking so my feet don't get tired.  I can also wheel the table out to the kitchen for holiday cookie baking.

I am happy that it is Friday Eve.  I am going to stitch and read my book.  I just loaded a bunch of books from the library on my Kindle.  I am so excited. 

Again, With Good News

 So, about a month after my sweet little Felix was born, I finally graduated!  I had been taking a class or two here and there for a few years, while I was getting some other professional credentials.  The summer following Liesl's passing, I was still struggling with grief, so I decided that I needed to fill the void and started to go to school full time while working full time.  I really stepped it up in 2020 during COVID, since we were all under stay-at-home orders in my county in California.  It actually worked out well, because all of the in-person classes I had to take were suddenly online only so I did them all in one semester.  

It all worked out well, because I graduated with four degrees, Accounting, Business Administration and two others.  I am toying with the idea of getting an additional degree in Economics, but it entails a requirement of taking Calculus.  Eww.   I am grateful that I have my education.  It took a lot of work and sacrifice, but I feel like I really grew as a person and I am happy that I had exposure to subjects that were required that I would not have selected otherwise.  I wasn't going to walk in the graduation ceremony, but my daughter talked me into it, and my best friend said that we need the photo to serve as an inspiration for little Felix.  It was a special ceremony and I am glad I did after all.  

I actually got to focus on my studies in May because I got laid off from my job due to budgetary reasons at the end of April, right after I returned from Texas.  Fortunately, a recruiter contacted me a few days afterwards.  He had a placement for me and the week after graduation I started at my dream job.  I work as a corporate accountant, but I do highly specialized accounting.  Fortunately, I am able to work remotely.  So I get to work from my home office now, for a great organization, doing work that I really enjoy.  I am enjoying it so far.  I like working from home because I get to really focus on the work that I am doing and I think I am far more efficient.  The meetings I attend are also efficient and focused without any distractions.  Plus, all the snacks that I love are in my breakroom/kitchen.

So I am adjusting to life after graduation and rediscovering my hobbies.  It feels weird to not be going a million miles a minute, but I usually stay busy with my hobbies and interests anyway.  I am reading books for fun again.  I am also cross stitching again.  I am currently working on the Prairie Schooler Santa's.  These have really grown on me and I am thinking that they will look awesome on my bedroom Christmas tree.  Here is what I have so far:

These are really a fun stitch.  I am happy that Prairie Schooler has re-released many of the designs.  Hopefully, I will have a lot finished before December.  

I am a Meemaw!!!

 It has been an amazing 2022 so far.  I have been to Texas a couple of times already this year.  A couple of years ago my son and daughter-in-love bought an adorable home there.  It is so fun to spend time with them and my grand-dog, Odin, a black lab/German Shepherd mix that my son refers to as "78 pounds of determination."  LOL.  He is a goofy furboy and loves to sit on my lap.  

So, the last time that I was in Texas was mid-April when the kids had invited me to be around when my very first grandchild was born!!!  I was so honored to be included during such a special time.  I got there a couple of days before he was born and his momma and I got to have fancy pedicures.  The three of us got to have some fun and eat some yummy meals before the big day.   I stayed home with my grand-dog while she was in labor.  (30 hours!)  I was so excited when I got the call that my little grandson was here.  My son said I could come to the hospital to visit the little one, because he and his wife knew that I was beyond excited.  I fell in love immediately when I saw him.

Here is our sweet little Felix.  His name means "happy."

My grandma name is Meemaw.  My son said it is a traditional Texas name for grandma.  I can't wait until he calls me Meemaw.  I got to spend a another week or so with the little one and his parents before I returned to California and work.  I stayed to help with meals, grocery shopping, laundry, etc.  I am so happy I got to spend this special time with them and I will never forget it.  

My grand-dog, Odin, was so excited to meet Felix.  It was like he had known him already when they met.  It was amazing.  The two of them are going to be the best of friends.  The first time Felix cried, Odin went up and slurped the back of his little head as if to say, "It's okay little dude."  He stays close to Felix all of the time.  

My son and his wife are great parents.  They are so caring and just loving their family life.  I am so fortunate that I have been included all of the way since they first knew.  I can't wait until I get to go back.  I just love being with them in their home and I look forward to all of the great adventures ahead with this sweet little boy.