It's about time...

Our birch trees are finally starting to look like they are supposed to this time of year...does that mean the chilly weather will last? Who knows...but I am enjoying it right now!


These are two of the birches in our yard...we have 6 altogether. I don't think the pictures do them justice. They are so bright! They are especially pretty right about this time of day...when the sun is going down, but not quite dark. They seem to glow. I also love the white trunks.


Now on a completely different topic...here is a picture of two birds in my neighbor's tree. I have been hearing them for a couple of weeks in the front yard...every morning...they have been feasting on the seeds in the pods on our magnolia tree. Since that tree is so big and thick...I can only get a glimpse at part of them. They are very shy birds...with a very distinct call. I have never seen them before and I have no idea what kind of birds they are. I know the picture isn't very big, but they are way, way up on the top of a very tall tree...so it's the best picture I could get. The only yellow birds I have ever seen in my neck of the woods are hooded orioles and those are long gone, and of course don't look like these. The female is a lot smaller and more brownish, but still has some yellow. Have you ever seen these birds before? I have looked in my bird book and haven't found them yet. I will keep looking...
I did a bit of gardening today...not much...it has been chilly and windy here the last week or so. I have been trying to trim down a lot of shrubs for winter. If I don't get it done now...they will be way too big come spring. When I was outside, it was 60 degrees and that's sweatshirt weather for me...especially in the wind!
I have been doing a lot of sewing this week...thanks to my wonderful BIL...I have an order of 8 tote bags to finish! Thanks Joe!!
That's all for today!! Enjoy your evening!!

I'm so lucky...

I'm quite the fortunate girl...my sister-in-law, Chris made me this wonderful quilt! It was her first attempt at quilting and she wanted me to have the first one...I think she did a wonderful job! Thanks Chris...you are a sweet heart!!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I have so much to be thankful for this year...I am thankful that most of my family was able to get together at my house this year! I enjoyed having you all! I am thankful for my sons and their girlfriends who came early to help me and stayed the night after...I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life...I am very fortunate to have .... a wonderful husband who helps so much...

and family that brought so much food...

But most important...is the family and friends. It was Stella's first Thanksgiving and she seemed to enjoy visiting with everyone! Here she is with Selin....

and Great Aunt Cindy...my sister...

and Great Uncle Vinod...Cindy's husband...as you can see...I got too busy to remember to take many pictures...I totally got side tracked with the meal preparation...but I had a wonderful day!

I sure hope your Thanksgiving was filled with food and family as well!!

I've been in the yard...

I can't believe it's mid-November and the trees in my yard are just starting to turn! Yes, the calendar says Fall, but the weather says...oh I'm not sure...just wonderful I guess...and yes...I have been busy in my yard all this week...so busy I haven't posted one single day! A couple dear people mentioned this fact to me and I'm sorry...but I've been gardening! You see last week the wind blew and blew...for days on end...and I think everything blew in my yard! My poor apple tree has lost half its leaves ...not because they turned and gently fell off...but because they were ripped off the branches!! I'm really surprised that there are this many leaves left on the birch trees...they must really be strong! Well this week the weather couldn't be better..and I have spent most of my time cleaning up all the stuff that blew in and off ...that by the time I come in and sew for a couple hours, then fix dinner...I'm pooped! No energy to sit and blog.
Anyway...after most of the clean up was done...I decided to play in the dirt...literally...it's composting time!!

Yesterday I drove up to the garden center and picked up some annuals for my back yard...It could use a bit of color! There's nothing better than a wagon full of flowers to make me feel good!! Some gals like their jewelry and clothes...give me a wagon full of flowers and I'm happy!! I got all kinds too..gerber daisies, stock flowers, iceland poppies, snap dragons, pansies and violas too!! They will all find a nice spot in my yard soon!! I planted most of them today, but I have some rearranging to do before I finish planting them all...

I cleaned out this planter first...It was so full of leaves that I couldn't even see any dirt! I trimmed my roses and perennials in here and then I added a few violas and poppies...they will be so pretty this Spring! You can see that I still have Black Eyed Susans...that's really strange for this time of year...I read today that there is a La Nina getting stronger and that's the reason for our warmer temperatures...it is supposed to be a warmer, drier winter. I do enjoy it, but we need the rain...and if it stays this warm I may never get anything done in the house...I can't stay inside when it's nice out!!

Even some herbs are still going strong. I trimmed this thyme...it was pretty wild! A funny story to end...these birds you see on this little table somehow mysteriously move every night...I'm thinking it must be a cat or possum that does it...maybe an owl...I really don't know...I just know that I pick them up from somewhere else in the yard in the morning and put them back on the table...someone hasn't figured out that they are fake! You would think after the first time...they would realize this, but no...and this has been going on for months!!

Enjoy the day my friends!!

What do you think?

As I told you before, I've been busy working on Christmas gifts and I think it is safe to show you a few. These are for my great niece and great nephews...I'm pretty sure they don't read my blog...they are just 7, 4 and 2 years old. These are backpacks I made. The tops cinch closed. It is actually two continuous straps that go around the top and then act as straps for the back. I'm happy with the way they turned out. The only problem I ran into was finding strap adjusters...they are no where to be found in the stores, so I had to order some on-line and of course I had to get more than I needed...

I haven't decided if I will add buttons on the boys back packs...I got all kinds of goodies on sale at back to school time to fill these up. It's the perfect time to get crayons and drawing pads and all kinds of fun creative goodies. There will also be some books in each one. Their Mom, my niece is a teacher and these kids love things like that to keep busy...

I know a lot of you make gifts too...what are you making?

Happy Verteran's Day!

Today is Veteran's Day and I want to take a moment to thank all the vets who put their lives on hold to serve our country. You are the true heroes...without your service...I may not be sitting here today able to speak my mind. Thanks also to our troops that are right now in harms way, while I sit safely in my home.

God Bless you all!!

Outdoor Wednesday...veggie style...

Happy Wednesday everyone! I didn't think that there was much new growing around here, but when I went out this morning to garden I discovered a few things...actually, I saw these over the weekend, but they were too tiny to know if they were going to stay...they are still pretty small, and yes...it is lettuce. It is a mix of green and red loose leaf lettuce. I planted them during the hot spell last week and there was enough warmth to germinate them pretty fast! I will thin them out as soon as they get a bit bigger.
I planted sugar snap peas too! I have never tried to grow peas this time of year, but what the heck...it was worth a try! They are about 2 inches tall now!

I discovered some ripened tomatoes too! Yes...these are ripe. They are yellow tomatoes. I got tons during the summer and there were a few left on the vine, so I was hoping they would ripen soon. The vine looks pretty bad, but I will leave it for a while...it's not bothering anyone!


Artichokes! I have a few of these plants...it is their third year...and yes...your eyes are not fooling you...those are black eyed Susans there. I thought they were going to sleep for the winter, but I guess that up and down weather we have been having disturbed their slumber and up popped a smaller and shorter batch of flowers. If it looks like the artichokes are growing out of the flowers...you're right...they usually are active at different times of the year so they are together in the same bed. That way I always have something going on in there.

I have been sewing a lot these days and I wanted to show you a couple more bags I am adding to my Etsy shop...You might recognize this fabric from another bag I made...I bought too much and decided to make a different style. This is an Andover fabric. I love the colors. I used 3 of the prints from that line on this bag.

Here's a peek at the inside...and two of the other fabrics...

I finished this bag too. It is a canvas bag...it reminded me of jeans for some reason...I love wearing jeans in the Fall and winter and this goes perfect with my faded old Levis...it will go in my Etsy shop too!

Here's a peek of this inside. That's cotton for the lining. I like using a lighter color for the lining and the darker pockets. I think it's easier to see what you are reaching for inside your bag.

I have been sewing a lot these past couple of weeks...I am trying to get all my Christmas gifts made as well as stocking my Etsy shop. I also decided to put a few bags on Ebay to see how that works out. The weather has changed again this week...nothing new for us...today is sunny, but there is a chill in the air. When I came in it was 65 in my back yard...that chilly for here...no shorts wearing in that temperature...

Oh...before I forget...I was contacted by a really nice gal, Gina, who has a really cool blog...you should all go check her out...she basically features different people on her blog that are selling handmade items or having give aways on their sites...go over and see her...it will be worth it!

Have a great day, my friends!!

Thanks Melissa!!

I won! I won!! I never win anything...I guess I can't say that any more...I want to thank Melissa for this 12 pack of fat quarters... she was giving away 2 of them and I won one!! Lots of great colors here...Thanks again!! The weather has changed once again in my neck of the woods and it is rainy and cooler...I have been sewing a lot lately, but some of them are Christmas gifts that I can't show yet, but here is a bag that I have finished and added to my Etsy site.
I liked this colorful fabric as soon as I saw it and I can't believe that this polka dot I found matches so well...they are from two different companies! The colors are identical!

I have really gotten into layering buttons...I am a detail person and it's the details that make a bag special, I think. The bottom button is a simple plastic button and the top on is a silver metal one that I found at the last quilt show I went to. The girl there was selling these buttons to layer for jewelry...now it's jewelry for this bag!

Here's the inside...I don't vary on the insides usually...I find that the less busy fabric works best as lining and pockets all around are best. There's a key hook on here too.

Since it's raining today...I will be sewing...if I can tear myself away from the computer and all of your delightful posts...enjoy the day, my friends!!

Yesterday was a good day...

It's been hot in my neck of the woods this week...I thought yesterday would be a good day to take a drive down to see my sons..it was. We decided to drive down to OB and eat at one of their favorites...Ranchos...yum! I had a shitake mushroom burrito...it was wonderful! We had two hours of parking left on the street so we headed off and spent a bit of time looking in a couple antique stores...then off to the beach...I just wanted to dip my feet in the water...it was a hot day...97 degrees in San Diego is hot! It was so nice down by the water...
I even wrote my name in the sand...

And gazed out into the ocean...at that point I really wished I had thought about bringing my swim suit...the water was cold, but it felt good on my feet and legs...

There were a few boats out sailing...and lots of people swimming and surfing...

It was cool down by the water...and no humidity in the air...

November at the beach is a special treat...even in Southern California! The crowds were thinned out and the day was nice...and best of all I was spending the day with my sons...now that's what I call a perfect day! I hope you have a great day yourself today!

Outdoor Wednesday....mountain style...

Every time I look north in my yard I see a view that so many of us take for granted...our beautiful mountains here. We forget that these mountains are unique to our area...for me they are a haven...a place to go when you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life.
They are such a close drive for us...we find peace here amongst the trees.

I know where I am and can always find my way home when I see these mountains...they have always been a constant in my life...


Such beauty, so close to me...sometimes we forget...what true beauty really is...how simple things can make you happy...bring you peace...
the air is so fresh up here...it clears the mind...a hike in the mountains is a good thing!
Enjoy your day my friends...
Go outside and admire the beauty that surrounds you
and for other outdoor sites...go visit Susan at Outdoors Wednesdays...

Go vote today...

No matter your party or what you believe in....go vote! We are so lucky to have the freedom to determine the course our country takes, unlike many other countries around the world, so exercise one of those freedoms and vote!
OK...I'll get off my soapbox now...
Enjoy the day!!

Signs of Autumn...

Happy November 1st! Today is a beautiful day in my neck of the woods.

As I look north in my front yard, the sky is so blue and if you look closely...you can see houses up there on top of the mountain. That is the town of Rim of the World...just west of Lake Arrowhead...it's a little breezy today and the temps are back up. When I came in from gardening , it was 82 under my apple tree. I gardened in the back yard today...just some trimming and general cleanup...getting all the Fall things done...I noticed that even though the temperatures have been going up and down like a yo yo...there are signs that Fall is here...the leaves on the birch trees are starting to turn yellow...

Just a tiny bit right now, but peek in a little closer and you can see the yellow...

The bamboo has some berries now and they are a bright orange...so pretty and the tree behind it has leaves that are turning too. I don't know what kind of tree that is...it is in my neighbor's yard and it hangs over the fence...it is huge!

Look! The tangerines are turning too...we should have fresh fruit around Christmas time! It takes them a long time to ripen and they stay on the tree for months unless we get too many frosts...which is usually not a problem here.

As I was coming in the house I took a shot of this little lizard...I have tons of these out sunning themselves today...It is a good day to be outside...I think it's wonderful when you can be in shorts and barefoot on November 1!

Enjoy your Monday!!