Birthday Apron

My friend Debbie loves aprons, so I made here a "jeans" apron for her Birthday. I scoured YouTube and Pinterest for pictures and directions, and developed a pattern of my own combining the best of the lot.

Here's the finished product and...

And here's Debbie wearing it. It's almost as cute as she is.

Newest Critter

I'm trying to increase my repertoire of critters. I've branched out from the basic teddy bear, to a Panda Bear. I have 2 patterns right now, and I'm deciding which one to keep. Of course, I've yet to find a pattern written in English, so these are developed from pictures. 

My Panda is a model, and he has 2 little crocheted buddies. What do you think? (BTW, these little guys both have homes, but more will come.)

Progress

 Progress is being made on our other home. The trusses went up last week. This is exciting to see.

The Great Room 

From the Back Porch

From the Back

The Entry Hall

The Front

And today I was told that a load of plywood was delivered. It's exciting when there's movement. We were given a close of escrow date of September 17. It might happen.

The Heart of Jenny Lake

Last week I took company to the Tetons. We live nearby and the mountains are always beautiful. BUT last week I actually saw the "heart of Jenny Lake." I have heard about the heart for years, but it as clear last week. Take a look

Can you see the heart? The vegetation has to be perfect in order to see it...and it was. The Tetons always have a special treat!

Sorry

It's been awhile since I've added to my blog for which I apologize. For some reason, Google (the "blog"master) won't let me sign in on my iPad and since I use the iPad far more than I use my computer, I'm not adding to the blog. I'm going to have change my ways.

In the meantime, the deer are back in the garden. There seems to be a pattern. The mamas come in the morning and the boys come in the afternoon. I've yet to see a fawn. I know there are fawns as all the mamas are skinny. When we first arrived a month ago, the mamas were definitely pregnant. Right now the all the deer are looking a little shaggy as their fur is somewhere between a heavy winter coat and a lighter summer coat. In a few weeks they will be really pretty (of course I think they are pretty right now!)

The mamas like to hang out in the sunshine on the north side of the house, but the boys like to hang out in the shade on the east side of the house. They never hang out together and never at the same time. Mamas get the morning shift and the boys get the afternoon. If you look carefully, you can see his two tiny antlers. I've been watching this guy since we first arrived and he had shiny "buttons" where he now has antlers. Each day I look for him and I swear you can see the antlers grow. The folks around here say deer antlers grow between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch per day. By the end of the season, a mature stag will have a rack with 8 to 12 points. I believe this fellow is a yearling, so he will only grow a set of prongs. Yearling males are called "wrongers" around here.

All is good in the mountains.

Flying Fun?

This past weekend I took my first flight since December 18, 2019. For me that's a long time not to fly. The flights were uneventful...TSA was another story. TSA was a nightmare. If you fly, be aware that TSA is going to invade your privacy, decency and your good humor. They did all three to me. I hope I was an exception, but you never know...just be aware.

First problem: I checked in with TSA and the agent said in FULL VOICE.."Next year you will not have to take off your shoes as you will be 75." I don't mind being 75 but did she have to tell the whole airport. 

Second problem: I put all my stuff in the assigned basket and went thru security. I'm wearing a necklace and I was told to wear it on my back. I did...but I was still frisked within a inch of my life for something. Since I'm almost 75, I would like to know what contraband I would be hiding? Of course when I asked, that was not revealed.

Third problem: The detectors found an item in my purse. The agent goes thru my purse and finally discovers a teeny tiny Victorinox "knife." I put knife in quotes because the whole item is about 1.5 inches long and the knife is smaller and it's considered a weapon. The knife has been living in my purse for about 20 years, has gone thru numerous flights during that time and it has never been discovered or considered a problem. Of course it had my name on it and it was a gift from my publisher. It was confiscated because I could hurt someone with it. When I asked if I could leave with them at the airport and pick it up when I returned, the answer was a resounding NO. So TSA got my little knife which I really liked and had some sentimental value.

Fourth problem: The detectors found an item in my one suitcase, which I had decided to carry on. The same agent now gets to paw thru all the stuff that was in the suitcase until finding the offending item, which was a tube of toothpaste...a brand new tube of toothpaste that was sealed and was prescription. Two agents felt that tube of toothpaste like it was a bomb or something and finally relented and said I could take the toothpaste. Now I was left with a suitcase that had to be put back together. 

Now these were problems I could have averted, IF I had remembered to A) remove the knife (which I had forgotten was in my purse) and B) not brought a full tube of toothpaste but a sample size. That was my fault as I completely forgot about the 3-1-1 rule. I've not been flying for over a year. 

On the other hand, TSA could have been polite, which they were not. I was treated like a criminal from the get go. I was frisked, stolen from, and then told to go on my merry way. Welcome to the new world of flying. It's no wonder that folks are on edge in an airplane because passing the TSA test is enough to put you there.

Rocky Mountain Views--Early Spring Edition

It's early spring in this part of the Rocky Mountains. Every few days we get a very light dusting of snow that does not stick but keeps the mountaintops white. The aspens and cottonwood trees are just beginning to leaf out so the forests have a haze of light green leaves adorning the landscape. The streams was swollen with muddy water. The ground is soggy. 

The skies are changeable. Some days we have our famous bluebird blue skies, other days they are gray and ominous. Yesterday we had the "ominous" variety, but a storm never came and it was 71 degrees!

The newly leafed trees are getting "dressed" for summer. The cottonwoods are near a stream, while the aspens cling to the sides of the mountain.

A muted sky with aspen trees amid the conifers. It's a pretty time of year as things are beginning to wake up. 

Most mountaintops are still snow-covered, but the snow will melt soon...

...and the fields will get greener. May is the time to enjoy the change of the season in the Rocky Mountains.

 

In a Real Kitchen

 Don't get me wrong, our fifth wheel trailer has a real kitchen but it's small. It has a three burner stove, a microwave/convection oven and a regular oven. There's a large island for food prep as well as a 12 cubic foot refrigerator. However, a trailer is different from a house; and we're in our home right now. To that end, I've been enjoying cooking again. I've made some veal parmesan; a yummy short rib stew and tonight I made focaccia

We call it pizza (much easier to spell)

Snow in May

 Guess what? It snows in May in the Rocky Mountains! 

Highest temp we've had is 56 degrees...after 102 in the desert, it's a big change.

In the Tetons

We visited my favorite mountain in the world this weekend. This is Mt. Moran and the Oxbows...and if you been following my page for any amount of time, you will see countless photos of this scene taken at different times of the year or day or hour. This is the place where my soul lives and it does not get any better than that.

A "boutique" mountain range, the Grand Tetons, do not compare with the huge mountains you find in Switzerland, but they have a special beauty all their own.

And, I yearn to be here when I'm away. And when I'm nearby, I need to take weekly visits and bathe in their wonder. 

In The Mountains

 On my last entry, I posted a picture that indicated the temperature was over 100 degrees. Today, heat is not the issue, cold is!

The mountains in western WY are covered in snow and the temps are in the low to mid-50s during the day and falling below freezing at night.

The difference is the elevation. Eastern Nevada is at 1600 ft. and Western Wyoming is 6350 ft. The desert country of Eastern Nevada is entering summer, while the Rocky Mountains are entering spring. The aspens are bare, the grasses are brown, and due to the snow melt, there is a lot of mud.

Our poor truck is testament to the mud. That is supposed to be a white truck--mud season is upon us. 

 

Moving On

Tomorrow we're going to pull up the "landing gear" and head for our summer home. It's timely too, because it's over 100 degrees right now.

That picture was taken at 2:09 PM and a few minutes later it was 102. That's warm for the last day in April, but this is the Mojave Desert.

We took a long look at the house site

...and then we talked to our Project Manager who drove into our street. Needless to say I had to talk to him.

We are number 65 on the list of 147. It's going to take awhile

..for the build to be completed.

The Project Manager looked for a "re-spin" (the estimate for close of escrow) date and he said the first close of escrow was estimated to be June 24, and a second more realistic close has not been developed yet.  We both concluded that the house could not be finished by the end of June. I asked if we would be in for Christmas, and he said it's possible, but I'm not saying anything decisive now. So we'll leave the hot sunny days of the Virgin River Valley and head to the cooler sunny days of the Salt River Valley. The adventure continues.

Non-Political Elephants

One of my favorite sources for crochet patterns is Pinterest. The problem with Pinterest is people send in pictures and patterns from all over the world...and the patterns are written in languages I do not understand. Sometimes they are linked to a video and even though the commentary is in Klingon I can understand the moves. Such is the not the case with my latest critter--an elephant.

This is my inspiration. The pattern is not available and there is no video to help me out.

 Given the above, this is what I've developed.

Each is a little different, but the idea is close. I have figured out the trunk and the body, but the ears are proving to be difficult. I'm still trying, as I'd like to add a little elephant to my crocheted zoo. Watch this space to see the next iteration.

Desert Plants and Flowers

As you know, I love flowers. It's spring and the desert has a few flowers. Desert flowers are elusive as some bloom for only a few hours and then they are gone. So, when I see a flower, I take it's picture NOW.

After many tries, I finally got a picture of this flower...and I still don't have a definitive name for it. It is either a "hedgehog cactus flower" (echinopsis tubiflora) or a "San Pedro cactus flower" (echinopsis pachanoi). Whatever, the flower is pretty. Two days later, the flower had withered away.

Ocotillo (on it's side) is a red flower atop a bush of thorny sticks. You don't want to get close to these flowers are the thorns will attack you. Like many desert flowers, beware of the thorns.

Pink Yucca, sends up a long shoot with flowers on the end. It will have a waxy flower.

Purple prickly pear cactus...like the name says, it has thorns too.

Not a cactus, this is Mexican Sage with lavender bell shaped flowers.

Lantana is a hearty flower that grows in many climates. I had these in northern CA as well as western WY

The leaves of a Honey Mesquite tree which is apt for this area.

Zion and Beyond

We took a circle road trip today, from Mesquite to Zion National Park to Cedar City and back. It was a beautiful spring day with perfect skies.

As always, the temples of Zion were majestic. From here we went thru the winding tunnel. The first time I went thru that tunnel I was 4 years old. I remembered my dad stopping at the windows cut in the tunnel, so we could take pictures of the pretty mountains. Today no one is allowed to stop in the tunnel, but the memory persists.We had a picnic lunch past Checkerboard Mesa and enjoyed the view. 

From here we exited Zion and drove to SR 14, by way of Carmel Junction and Glendale UT. SR 14 is my type of road, scenic, narrow and windy. As the elevation climbed, we felt like we were on the top of the world.

 

We were no longer in spring, but late winter. Snow was on the ground, and the scenery changed too. We were seeing red rock mountains on one side of the road, black lava flow on the other. Zion is not volcanic, yet a few miles away there's a recent aa lava flow dating from maybe a thousand years ago. Where's the volcano?

The geology of southern Utah is definitely varied.

At 9910 feet, the temperature was 29 degrees. We went from a pleasant spring day in Zion to a cold winter day in less than 100 miles. 

SR 14 is only 36 miles long and all too soon we were in the town of Cedar City, home of Southern Utah University. It was spring time again. The trees were in full bloom.

We had a wonderful drive. We started and ended in spring, with a brief taste of snowy cold winter in between. Does it get any better?

Lake Mead

 

The blue on this map is Lake Mead. It is the reservoir resulting from the building of Hoover (or Boulder) Dam near Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US. It is a National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service. Therefore, to enter the lake, you must pay a fee. We have a NPS pass, which is available to all seniors for a nominal one time fee. It's a good thing.

As we drove to the lake, we were wondering if we were ever going to see it. Water in the desert is a treat, and we knew it had to be near...but where?

But after we crossed an official entrance to the lake, showed our card, the lake did show up on the horizon. And then, there we were at one of the long arms of the lake near Overton, NV.

People were fishing among the islands

A few folks were boating...and the parking lot was filled with boat trailers. There were a lot of folks on the lake. It's a big lake, so who knows where they were.

Some coves were empty

A splash of blue in the red. The water was easy on our eyes, after driving through the harsh sunlight of the desert.