Gratitude Friday - A Day Late, or A Contented Candy

I love being so happy I could walk on air, but there is something to be said for contentment. I am grateful for the times, and there are many times in my life, when I feel contented. Today is one of those times. I'm surrounded by a bunch of cats, a couple of dogs and a husband who love me.

We took 60 pounds of love to the vet this morning for shots and she didn't disappoint me. "I love you, Mr. Vet! It's me, Rosie! I don't care if you take my temperature, look into my mouth and give me a couple of shots! I love you! I love the world! I will jump on you and give you kisses!" That's our Rosie.

After that, we went to breakfast. The food was good and we had fun just talking and laughing.

I did some housework. The house and the yard look pretty. The house isn't immaculate right now, but it's clean enough. Quite a few flowers are still blooming and the grass is filling in in a couple of bare spots that we have in the yard. It's very nice. It's a peaceful refuge.

I talked to my sister who lives in Wisconsin. We discussed some things that make us sad. We laughed about some other things.

I read a little.

So far, it's a beautiful day.

On a Sunday Morning Sidewalk

I finished reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow last night. It's well-written and well-researched. Had I lived in his time, I would have liked to have been friends with Mr. Hamilton. He was brilliant, a great writer, a mesmerizing speaker, charming, funny, brave and had a strong sense of honor. Last year, I read a biography of John Adams. He was intelligent, disciplined and accomplished a lot in spite of all the political intrigue he had to contend with, but he was grouchy and felt sorry for himself. He also was pretty hard on Hamilton. I would have been friends with George Washington. I was surprised, but I don't think I would have liked Thomas Jefferson. He was intelligent and wrote well, but I think he was wily and a bit of a coward. He did a lot of behind the scenes political maneuvering. By the way, the American political life seems to have required a strong stomach right from the beginning. Oh, I would not have liked Aaron Burr at all.

I made chili from my mom's recipe this morning. I also baked banana bread from a B & B recipe. Oh, my goodness, it turned out great!

I finished my desert scene. Finally! The bad news is that it's awful. I almost posted a photo in spite of that, but I don't know how to use Jim's camera and he's taking a nap. I don't mind posting flops. How else can you learn?

Enjoy your Sunday. It's a beautiful day here.

Lazy Sunday

I'm too lazy to paint today. Summer school starts tomorrow. We're doing two 3 week sessions and then it's v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n! Woohoo!

I noticed from comments on my previous post that Jim has begun campaigning for an electric car. Hmmm... Sorry, Honey, too expensive right now.

I'm still reading a biography of Alexander Hamilton. It's excellent, but I'm not exactly breezing through it.

Saturday Morning

I bought this today.

This morning I met Lorraine, my friend of 40 years, for breakfast at The Omelet House. They have the best breakfasts! Lorraine and I get together there once a month to chat.

After breakfast, we went to the Book Magician, a used bookstore. This place is so cool. They have a cat named Merlin (Mortimer?). I'll find out for sure next time. He's 21 years old. I gave him a nice massage and he rubbed his head on my foot. Lorraine bought 5 paperbacks and I found this treasure. It's in perfect condition - jacket and all. I love used books. I love to find inscriptions and wonder about the previous owners. Frank Dold of Toronto, Canada wrote his name in the back of this one. I thought he might be an artist, but I couldn't find anything about him on the Internet. By the way, this book was originally priced $50.00 and I bought it for $16.00. If you live in Las Vegas, check out this store. It has a wonderful kind of mystic, hippie, San Franciso, gentle atmosphere; not to mention great used books!

Sunflowers for Randi

Randi, the smallest one is just starting to open. The one by the patio reaches the patio cover and looks like it's still growing. We love them.

Your dad and I are trying to figure out what your secret to a bumper crop of tomatoes is. Maybe we should be proud of ours, though. After all, our crop has increased by 50 percent over last year. It looks like we'll have 3 tomatoes this year:)

Sunday Morning

This morning we made a run to the neighborhood doughnut shop. It's a family-owned shop. I love these people. Their doughnuts are out of this world.(The "x" number of pounds I've put on are not a mystery.) The weather was perfect. We sat out on the patio, had our doughnuts, milk for me and coffee for Jim. Our sunflowers are starting to bloom. They're taller than we are and their leaves are huge. The oleanders are in full bloom and we still have some roses blooming. The mockingbirds are singing like crazy. Does life get any better than this? I feel (and look) like a big, fat, contented cat. Can you hear me purring?

Gratitude Friday - Sweet Memories

I'm very thankful for the sweet memories of people who were in my life in the past. I was thinking about my grandparents this morning. They were the best. They lived out in the country. Their house was on fifteen acres surrounded by small farms. There was a creek that ran through their property. One thing I remembered this morning was taking walks with my grandma and seeing lovely wild pink roses growing.