More Fun and Adventure

As Friday rolls around, I get more and more antsy, can't wait to jump in my car and drive 93 miles to see what kind of fun is on tap for the weekend. This past Friday was no exception , and I was happy and singing at work; had iTunes on the computer and my boss Chris and I had long talks and a lot of kidding around and teasing. When I returned from lunch, she was gone and left a note on my computer - "It's 5 o'clock somewhere! Close up shop and beat it - have a good time, DON'T SPEED!" What promised to be a rainy weekend ended up being glorious - so Mr. M. and I took a couple of dogs out to the coast and went clamming. It was t-shirt weather all day - beautiful! With permission now, here's Mr. M in his clamming gear, waterproof waders up to his chest.

I have to tell you - he was the smart one. I wore plain old jeans and sneakers, and I was SOAKED and muddy, but happy with my limit of clams. I spent most of my time playing with the dogs on a nearly deserted stretch of beach in a little cove. We took a mother/daughter pair - mother Dottie on the right, and 4 month old Tule on the left. Tule hasn't started her bird-dog training yet so this was a first for her. First time in the water, first time being asked to retrieve. She was terrific!

She had a good teacher in her Mom tho -- Dottie was the dog who retrieved my first goose a few weeks ago -
These two went into the ocean at least a hundred times, and boy is my arm sore today from throwing that plastic duck! I ran all over the beach with those girls and at one point tripped over Tule and fell and was immediately on the bottom of a wet dog pile - LOL!

These two got that duck and swam it back and brought it to me in tandem like this time after time after time. After nearly 5 hours of fun and digging on the beach, I was a bedraggled, happy mess. Mr. M on the other hand had dry clothes to change into and just had to wash up a bit to be presentable. I think I better get some of those waders..........
We went into the little restaurant for the best clam chowder anywhere and the waitress jokingly said - "well, we know who did the digging and who sat in the truck!" LOL! Pretty much the opposite - he did most of the digging - I played with dogs!
Sunday - foggy, drizzly, overcast - threatening rain: Must be a super day to go shooting, right? LOL - well, yes, it was. I have a lot to learn about shotguns, so we took a few out and had lessons. Mr. M hung balloons from a clothesline on short strings - they really bobbed around in the slight breeze! I did pretty well - good hand-eye coordination - until one of my shots apparently ricocheted and took out the window of an old boat parked at the bottom of the property - I was horrified! OMIGOSH I just shot out a window! Mr. M laughed, said he's been wondering what to do with that old thing and he fired three more shots into the other windows - laughing the whole time. Can you say CHIVALROUS? Tha boat has a new name now - BULLSEYE.
Next weekend I'm leaving to spend a week with my Mom, who is still waging war on her cancer and slowly losing. I'm taking my daughter and granddaughter along with me, fo a trip that will be bittersweet, and one to remember for a long time.
Until then - Thanks for coming along on this strange new journey with me!

SO it's not all quilting.....

I've been hesitant to blog about what's speeding my recovery, lest it seem so hasty and definitely not quilty related. But - if I don't, I may as well shut down my blog because there's sure no quilting going on in this place! Many years ago, when the new EX and I were first engaged, he brought me to meet his brother and sister-in-law, and she and I have been close friends ever since. Way back then she thought to herself that I would be better matched to a fella she knew and had briefly dated than to the man I ultimately married. Too bad she never spoke up, but oh well, huh? So fast forward to this past fall, and she periodically still talks to this fella, although they haven't seen each other in person in 18 years. She asked him if he's seeing anyone and he says no. She says - "You have to call this lady" and gave him my number. Then she called me and said "I gave your number to a really nice guy" "OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!"
"Just talk to him, you don't have to go out with him if you don't want to, but you'll like him" "GROOAAANN"
Sure enough, he called about an hour later, and we talked on the phone off and on for a few weeks until one day he asked if he could come take me to dinner. By then I was pretty sure he wasn't an axe murderer so I agreed, sight unseen. A blind date! AND - he drove 100 miles to do it! By the time that doorbell rang I was
praying my Dad would miraculously return from Heaven long enough to have a talk with this young man! Talk about nerves! But I opened that door and about forgot to breath - he is handsome, rugged, strong and not too silent. A MANS man, as they say. Since I don't have permission to introduce you properly, you'll have to settle for unidentifiable pictures: I'm pleased to have you meet Mr. M:

Who is about to be in a world of hurt in this picture. Yes, he's a cowboy - an outdoorsman, hunter, logger, breeder/trainer of Labrador retrievers. Many years ago, I was a tomboy never to be found in the house unless I was grounded or really really sick. Horses, dirt, motorcycles, guns, anything kind of tough and rough housy was exactly my cuppa, as they say. Age has mellowed me and I enjoy being a woman, but I still love to play outside. We so thoroughly hit it off on our first date that we were nearly 2 hours at the table before we remembered to order dinner! The poor waitress must have made 8 trips over to our table to gently remind and we'd say Oh yea then keep jabbering. LOL! We were 5 hours in all at that restaurant, and ended closing it down. We had our share of uncomfortable moments tho - like as the waitress was taking us to our table thru the bar and who should I run into but my brother-in-law, husband of my matchmaker! I introduced them, and he started making jokes with Mr. M about how much fun I am - wink wink. (Oh dear!!) As if that wasn't bad enough, the EX came in alone and was seated not 8 feet from me, facing me. You could have heard a Saint cuss! After the first stomach churning moments I managed to forget he was there (no, really!) and didn't even see him leave. A very memorable first date, indeed. After that, what else could happen, right? And we both still wanted to see each other again.....so we did. Our second date was...... (wait for it, wait for it..........
HUNTING! Yes, hunting geese with shotguns and a happy, bouncing dog. Tramping in mud for about a mile and a half in the dark of pre-dawn. Climbing a steep levee and hiding in the bushes halfway down the other side, waiting for "shoot-time" Crouching in tall wet grass, wearing camouflage britches, jacket and hat. I LOVED it! At one point Mr. M said "You're going to take a shot at the next flight" and I said Oh no thank you, not really wanting to tell him that I would fall right down the hill if I tried. See, the geese were coming from the uphill side of the bank we were standing on, and you shoot practically straight up. I can't look straight up because my neck is held together by a plate and screws and bone grafts and it just doesn't do that, and I have to arch my back to look up. So, standing uphill, arched back looking up then add a shotgun punch to the shoulder -- it all adds up to rolling right down that hill like Jack and Jill. No, that's not going to happen - and he braced me. I sighted, squeezed the trigger and on the second shot a goose spiraled down and I was so shocked!!! And that good dog shot off and came back a few minutes later with my goose - WOW!! VERY exciting day! Later that day we drove out to Bodega Bay (where Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" was filmed) and had a wonderful lunch at The Sandpiper. So named because of the constant hoard of sandpipers that live right next to the parking lot.

Mr. M walked down to try to stir up the flock so I could get a shot of all of them taking off at once, but they were too calm for that.
So do you want to hear about more of our adventures? The next couple of dates were fun too -- Let me share a quick pic of ONE room of Mr. M's house - he has hundreds of mounted trophies through out his house, this is just one wall.

Why yes, that IS a real bear!! My head just about fits perfectly between those paws.........

I realize that hunting isn't for everyone, and I do not mean to offend anyone, EVER. It happens that it is a huge part of life for someone who is getting to be important to me and I am OK with it, so I'm sharing it as a part of my life. I don't expect everyone to be accepting and that's OK - we all get to be ourselves.
Thanks for visiting and hope you'll come back to see what happens next!

Where's Waldo?

Or - Where's SuBee? Well, I'm here and there. Recovery is going so well it's hard to believe how distraught I was for so long. I've been busy, and been roaming around too. My favorite places are all water, so that's where I naturally go when I need healing the most, and here's a few of the best spots:

Ft. Bragg, California - Too beautiful for words! Pull up a rock and sit awhile. The sounds, the smells, the power of those waves -- all of that serves as a reminder of how small we are, how TIME marches on and you might as well go with it.

Cache Creek, Lake County CA - Up a creek without a paddle! Well, the boat had a good motor so a paddle was unnecessary, thank goodness! There was a million water birds of every description up the creek - but my all time favorites are the Great Blue Herons. We saw a LOT of them, and I was fortunate enough to catch this guy in about 30 fast frames as he took off and flew almost across the bow of the boat. Once we pulled out of the creek, we opened up out onto Clearlake, which is the largest natural lake in California.

We were on that lake for nearly 4 hours, and didn't cover 1/2 of it!! Of course, we spent some time with the engine cut off just drifting out in the middle of the lake, where I nearly fell asleep in the very warm sun, being gently rocked by wavelets. Sheer heaven! Being on water (even near it, but ON it is best!) always calms me immediately - like a fast acting drug. I've been craving water for months.

This is the Navarro River, near Hendy Woods State Park on New Years Day. Surprising that there were so many leaves still on the trees and they reflected nicely on the water, posing for my camera. Awful obliging of them, wasn't it? We had a nice long hike through a virgin redwood grove containing trees thousands of years old, and in the 200 - 250 foot tall range. Imagine a tree laying down that is as long as a football field, and wide enough to drive your car thru. Some of them have hollowed out caverns from ancient fires, leaving a cave-like opening at the base of the tree large enough for several people to stand in. The forest is hushed, damp, cool, and dark. The smell is earthy and rich. Another magical place to do some spirit healing.
What I have NOT been able to muster is sewing, and I can't imagine why not. I certainly have more than ample opportunity and a beautiful, fully stocked studio - what the heck? Talking to a friend of mine whose marriage also collapsed abruptly, I was surprised to hear that she couldn't sew for a year afterwards. A year, huh? Yikes. Well - I need to have a sew day at my house pretty soon and get it back into gear! That's part of who I am, and I need to get all my PARTS back together - lol - so I can really figure out who I'm going to be now. Sound strange? Yea, it does to me too, but here I go!

Merry Christmas!

I had my Christmas early with my kids and Grands this past weekend, and of course it was fab-o! Meet the next Tom Cruise getting all Risky Business on us:

Oh man -- those two little boys are more fun than puppies. I got them matching HUGE Tonka trucks, and without a word they both immediately crawled in and sat down.

And of course, you have to have the obligatory kid-in-a-sack - it's just not Christmas without one!

My present to my boss and her husband is this quilt - a UFO from last year that never really had a future. Now tho - it's perfectly suits both their style and their colors, and I'm going to be thrilled to give it to them. Those two have been real friends and huge blessings to me - they've been supportive and encouraging thru out my bad dream of the past few months.

In better news -- MUCH better news --- I had a date this past Sunday! Oh gosh - to suddenly be 16 again - how funny! No doubt you, like me, have forgotten what a "first date" is like -- all nerves and worrying about what to wear! LOL! It's been a long long time, but nothing changed! So good for my battered psyche, I tell you. We had a wonderful, easy time - walked in the rain for probably an hour. I'm starting to believe that there's an end to this darkness, and 2009 will be terrific for me.
I hope your Holiday is everything you want it to be - Thanks for visiting!

Progress at Last!

I finally got disgusted and bored enough that I tackled the sewing room instead of shutting the door. Remember this?

Ohhh man -- painful. There was a LOT more in that picture that you can't see - because I couldn't get to the other side of the room for a back shot! So Sunday I spent 6 solid hours - with only a couple short breaks - putting up shelves and lighting and unpacking.....and it's finally done to a state of usefulness.

The last bit to do will be to put up the design wall, but I was just too bushed to tackle it after everything else.

The window over the cutting table looks out onto the far back side of a schoolyard playground - very park like. Unpacking was a real treasure hunt! The idea behind my sudden move was speed, not finesse, so the boxes were interesting! My 3 quilty friends packed with love, and I wonder if they didn't have some giggles too, anticipating my un-packing? At any rate, it was actually fun - and there's still some stuff I can't find - but I know there's a couple more boxes buried in the garage. **sigh**

Setting up my original room happened over time, in bits and pieces so I never realized how much STUFF I have, or how much work to put together. I can't wait to get busy....
In other news - I continue my recovery, trying to stay occupied. I sure wish it wasn't Christmas, it would be a lot easier. I'm missing him and missing my home and missing all the wonderful Christmas traditions and missing all my extended family (in-laws) but I'll be seeing them soon. I skipped out on my guilds' Christmas party because it makes me too sad - I can deal pretty well if I stay out of stores and away from reminders and carols. I've tiptoed into church a few times to light candles and remember that even though He's not giving me what I want, He has MORE THAN given me what I need. I have a lot to be thankful for.  My best bud Cuervo continues to improve but still has a couple more weeks in his cage - it will be SO NICE to have him to snuggle again!
I hope everyone has a warm happy holiday, and thanks for visiting!

Thanks - I needed that!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving I had! Wednesday after work I packed up my broken kitty and headed down south to stay with my daughter for a few days. It was the BEST medicine I could have asked for! Three days of grandkids:

Helping my granddaughter make her very first pumpkin pies - and she was so excited! At 5, she can break eggs into a bowl and not leave a single piece of shell. We had a wonderful, special time in the kitchen.

Thanksgiving day, we all piled into my sons' house, where we enjoyed a day of bedlam. Four kids, 2 of them toddlers; a yellow lab, a tiny new puppy TOO DARN cute!! Video games on one TV and football on another - too many cooks in the kitchen and all of them giggling.

Can you stand it - her name is Bailey and she has the same birthday as my granddaughter and I. We even had a hamster-in-a-ball - ROFL! This guy was hysterical - he ran that ball all over the house and I think I hurt myself laughing. Too bad poor Cuervo is confined to a crate - he would have LOVED chasing this guy!

Sunday morning I woke up alone in my new place and suddenly it all came back. I haven't really had a chance to unpack or find everything yet so I worked on that awhile, then decided I'm going to do some painting! There was a wall in the dining area covered with panelling from the 70's and it was dark, dank and depressing so I painted it a mild, mellow antique china color -- maybe it could be called margarine colored! The kitchen cabinets are also a dismal, 70's dark green masonite and they're going to get the same treatment. The painted wall sure perked things up! I even put up a few Christmas decorations.
I tackled a big thing to today too -- I hooked up my dryers' gas line all by myself! Whoo-hoo! Man - what a sense of achievement, I'm so proud of me. And the house hasn't even blown up -- LOL! Now I'm in business -- if I could just find my pots and pans..........
Baby bok choys for dinner, and maybe some pesto. Mark that down in the PLUS column - I don't have to cook if I don't feel like it. And pretty soon - I', taking on that sewing room - I really really want to sew something! I'm getting jealous reading about everyones' wonderful projects. In fact - maybe I'll go do that now!
Toodles!

Starting from Ashes

Thank you all for the good wishes; I could never have imagined how much it matters. Thinking about all of you makes that "Lone Ranger" feeling back off for awhile. And I have such good news about Cuervo!! He finally got to come home yesterday, after an entire week in the hospital.

He has to be confined to the crate for a month - poor baby. I can take him out for short periods but only if he's going to be immobile on my lap. You can see how much of his beautiful coat was shaved. What you can't see is the huge ugly suture line under his arm. He seems comfortable though, he even puts some weight on that leg. And he is sure happy to be back with me. I wonder if he's a bit confused about where he is NOW?? He came home to a different home than he left, but his little nose has been busy checking things out. He is right smack in the middle of the dining room table, in the center of all the action. Later today I'll be packing him up again, and we're going to travel down to my daughters' for Thanksgiving with all my kids and grands. ***VBG***
When I get back, I have to face the daunting task waiting in the sewing room:

Oh dear. I keep peeking in there, then kind of feel faint and gently close the door. I have to figure out where to start! I still can't find the remote for the bedroom TV, but finally turned up my hair dryer. Getting settled is going to be an adventure for awhile...........
Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving - I know I will.