Smoke And Masks and Fire

Today the estimated containment date is July 4th

I'm waiting for a full update on the fire.

The fire has grown in some areas
but is being held back pretty much in areas
where there are structures.
The fire covers about 1,500 acres.

The smoke was very bad today nearer the fire
and caused the planes to be grounded for some time.

Not much smoke here today.

It is 9pm now and no smoke here yet..

And it has cooled down to 74 with not much wind.

Very thankful the wind is fairly calm.

I need to get out there and rake some more leaves.

Not looking forward to the heat tomorrow.

It is supposed to be in the 90's and 80's all week.

Yesterday, a drone shut down the fire fighting planes again.

I wish they could shoot the drones down!

Or shoot the drone with something so they could track it back to the operator.

Smoke ...

Now is not the time to go shopping

because the stores are probably out of masks

and we need to stay off the roads...

but I really do need to invest in some face masks and  

store them away for use when it is smoky outside.

I have a mask that works pretty well to wear when I have to take 

Morgan out for a very short walk.

But a really good mask would be great to wear in the Winter

when there is lots of chimney wood smoke

in the air... or when there

is smoke around from people burning brush, etc.

Hopefully, we won't have more forest fires.

I stay in the house when it is smoky outside

but sometimes I need to go out and I hate breathing smoke.

I went on a search for smoke quality masks

and found out a lot.

I guess I will look around for  a N95 mask

or even better would be a hepa mask.

I'll have to check them out at the store and see what they are like.

Smiles

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Poor Frightened Hens

This morning Kristine told me the chickens got a fright when a 

DC-10 

fire fighting plane flew over the house

on its way to or from the fire.

The link above is to a page of photos of DC-10's

that fought the Santa Barbara fire.

This plane didn't drop any retardant here.

We tried to get a photo of the plane

but were too slow.

But the chickens took one glance at the plane

and freaked out

and flew from the end of the run

all the way to the coop

I guess they thought the plane was a giant hawk?

Poor old hens.

We got some smoke today when the wind kept 

switching directions.

Not much smoke.

Just enough to make you sneeze and cough a bit.

The fire is about 5/6 miles away.

Light hazy smoke.

There are almost 2,000 fire fighters

working on our fire.

Today they estimate that they will have

the fire contained 

July 1, 2016

They are amazing!

Right now it is about 12% contained.

There are a lot of planes

fighting this fire.

So far no structures lost.

Hope everyone stays safe

and things just get better and better.

Thank you fire fighters!

Smiles

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Fire In The Woods

The planes fighting the fire have been grounded

because an idiot is flying a drone

over the fire.

Taking photos most likely.

No photos here

of the planes

or fire

because all we can see is some smoke.

Smoke behind the trees.

The only good thing going on is

No Wind

Flag not moving... Yay!

Kristine just came in to say that

they are going to start flying the planes again

and drop more fire retardant. 

They want to get as much of the fire contained

as they can before dark.

I hope they caught the drone person!

The thought of sparks from the fire

landing here is scary.

Dead dry leaves, propane tank, dead trees.

We are surrounded by dry dead leaves.

Acres of them.

So, no wind is a very good thing.

The planes will have to stop flying

as soon as it gets dark.

It is too dangerous to fly at night since the canyons

make it hard to maneuver safely.

There have been some evacuations

Hope all goes well tonight.

Our thought are with the 

fire fighters. 

Be safe!

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Yarn Under Control

I'm so glad!

Yarn, needles, projects half finished.

If you look close or enlarge the photo

you will see a small blue ball

next to the large grey ball of yarn.

The yarn ball is blue because it has a stretchy blue sock

pulled over it to keep the yarn ball 

from coming apart.

The last time I was at the yarn store

I saw a package of yarn ball "girdles"

and thought,

"I have some socks that might work."

And they did.

Not so pretty as the store bought yarn ball corsets

but the socks do keep the yarn

ball from unraveling.

Takes me a long time to unknot

a big yarn mess.

The socks are doing a good job.

This is my 3rd collection of yarn.

It is made up of partially completed hat and scarf projects.

I had started them before Christmas

and then had to quit because of my eyesight

and because I ran out of yarn. 

No excuses now for not finishing these projects.

Smiles

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Mouse Trouble Solved

Hello!

What's This?

Turned the mouse over last night and saw the break.

Wondered why my computer would suddenly 

go to sleep now and then.

Didn't know the mouse had a kink in its tail.

Love duct tape.

My handy dandy roll of duct tape

came to the rescue.

Amazing, but the mouse works/ed 

with that break.

Aside from the occasional glitch.

And the button doesn't control the pointer 

scrolling up very well.

I put a thick bunch of duct tape  on the cord

to stop it bending.

I have a battery mouse.

But I hate how many batteries it uses up.

I think I need a new mouse.

It's hot today.

In the 90's and Morgan was suffering.

Morgan waiting for ice.

She likes ice in her water on hot days.

I put ice in a plastic baggie

and smashed the ice with a wooden mallet 

then added the broken ice

to her water bowl. 

After she crunched up the ice

 she went down the hall to take a nap.

We got her a cool bed last year

but she wouldn't use it.

Now she just like to sleep on the wood floor.

That's cool enough I guess.

Stay cool!

Smiles

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What! Leave My Eggs Alone!

This morning I got 4 eggs out of the carton

of pasture raised eggs.

If I can't get eggs at the farmer's market

I get the best eggs I can at the store.

Pasture raised eggs.

Each carton has a little news paper about the chickens.

I stab a hole in the round end of each egg

to keep them from exploding

as they steam.

These eggs have a very tough shell.

See the bent pin stuck in the paper under to top picture.

Yesterday, I tried to get away without sticking a hole in the eggs.

Didn't work so well.

About half way through steaming I heard a 

POP!

Messy clean up job getting egg out of the steamer basket holes.

So, from now on I will stab my eggs.

Sigh...

I have a hard time not stabbing myself.

I think there is a egg stabber on the market.

I really need to find one of those.

Then when I went to put the carton away

I saw a sticker someone had stuck on the carton.

Good Grief!

I didn't see the sticker until I was putting the carton in the fridge.

I really wish people wouldn't do stuff like this.

I don't think they know what they

are talking about.

Yes, there are a lot of bad things going on

but putting a sticker on my eggs is 

not going to change anything.

Except make me more adverse

to these tactics and message.

Supporting farmers raising pasture raised chickens

by buying their products 

and /or buying eggs at the farmer's market

would be a start in the right direction.

Down with stickers on my eggs!

Smiles

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Spot The Egg

Kristine went to steam the last two eggs in the carton

and called me over to view

the speckled egg.

Kinda cute.

A decorated egg.

Hadn't seen one like this before.

Neat.

And here is my 2nd basket of yarn.

There are used yarn balls 

that are just hanging out until I find a project for them.

Mary gifted me with some of that yarn 

to make amigurumi.

Haven't watched all of this video yet.
But I'm going to start with this mouse when I do start.

It has cooled off enough outside

that I'm going to go out

and rake on my paths.

There are leaves, sticks, and stuff that fall out of the trees 

littering up the paths.

And I also need to fill in the holes

the squirrels dig.

I think a mole or snake or some other critter

is also making holes.

Wish they would confine their activities off the paths.

I don't want to trip and fall again.

Bad squirrels!

Smiles

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Surprise Dinner

oops!
Dinner'

What's for Dinner?

I don't know...

So I went on a hunt and found...

My green tea, biscuit, rice, salmon, eggs. peas

This is our unplanned dinner.

First I made some whole wheat biscuits.

Kristine made some sushi rice 

and boiled up a bag of frozen peas.

I opened a large can of pink salmon

and warmed the salmon chunks in a skillet.

Then I scrambled 6 eggs.

Never made all this at one time for a meal before.

But it was very good.

And I am full.

But I think I will go get another biscuit.

With butter and jam.

And some hot tea.

There is a bag of carrots in the fridge.

I found some frozen chicken.

We are having chicken and carrots tomorrow
for sure and other stuff.

Tomorrow
there is a trip to the grocery store planned.

It is kind of fun to put together

a meal out of found stuff.

There were two pieces of frozen bread

in the freezer

but no one was interested in them.

Who wants old frozen bread

when you can have hot biscuits?

Smiles

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My Farmer's Market Basket

A couple of years ago I bought a hand made basket 

at the farmer's market.

The handles are very soft leather

made from goat skin.

The lady said she imported the baskets from Africa.

The baskets are hand made by villagers from 

elephant grass using natural dyes.

At first I used the basket only when I went shopping

at the Farmer's Market.

But it filled up quickly and became very heavy.

I guess I buy too much heavy stuff.

Then I used the basket to hold

my sewing tools and projects.

Then my projects got too large and wouldn't fit.

Lately, the basket is doing a wonderful job

of holding a lot of yarn.

Love the basket.

Today we got together with a lovely neighbor lady 

to visit and eat birthday cake.

(Birthday's are such a terrific excuse to eat chocolate.)

She shared lots of great stories,

But the story I remember laughing about the most

was about a song by Ray Stevens.

So, after the visit I searched up the song on YouTube.

Here it is:

The Mississippi Revival

Somehow, I missed Ray Stevens and his songs.

I must have heard them but don't remember them.

Perhaps because I was busy with raising two little girls?

Anyway, I enjoyed the song's good natured look
at a simpler time.

My neighbor is a church goer and saw the humor
without taking offense.
Seems to me it is all too easy these days of
PC
to forget how to laugh at ourselves.
Anyway, I don't think there was any ill intent
and I sure don't have any.

I'm sure animals did get loose or wander into churches, schools, etc.,

especially in rural farming towns.

I remember a cat that showed up at my school in the 40's 

and followed me home, stayed and

eventually had kittens in a dresser drawer.

I pulled out the drawer to get some socks and...

That was a surprise!

Smiles

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Salmon Cakes and Birthday Cake Too

Salmon cakes for dinner.

And breakfast

I cooked the patties for 4+ minutes a side.

First they spent an hour in the fridge getting a bit more solid

before cooking.

No recipe for these cakes.

I put together the ingredients that I had in the kitchen

that I thought would work.

That included:

1 1/2 cans of salmon, 

(I would have used two whole cans but Kristine needed 1/2 can)

salt and pepper,

other stuff I don't remember,

2 eggs, grated ginger, minced garlic, 

lemon juice, greek yogurt,

minced peppers/onions/tomato/celery, mayo,

and I used whole wheat biscuits instead of bread crumbs.

Anyway, they tasted really good.

I think all you have to do is put together stuff that you like.

As far as the salmon goes...

I poured off most of the liquid

and just dumped all the fish in from the cans.

Fish, skin, bones

and I would have used the liquid too

but it would have made the cakes too wet.

I didn't have enough biscuits

to soak up all the liquid.

Hated pouring off all that good salmon juice.

And lunch

Since I really don't like to use plastic that much

I use dishes and bowls for covers.

Works for me.

It is what I remember my family doing in the 40's.

These 5 are all that are left

cooling a bit before going in the fridge.

I hadn't made fish cakes for a long time.

They were really good!

I think I will go on a fish cake kick for a while.

Until we get tired of them.

We had German Chocolate cake for dessert.

We had some last night too.

Half the cake is gone!

Happy Birthday, Kristine

Last night I looked for the stars and moon

but didn't see them.

Maybe there were clouds.

I'll try again tonight.

Smiles

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Strawberry Moon And Have A Happy Solstice!

Google says that tonight is a Strawberry Moon.

Two pairs of sunglasses and two pairs of close up glasses.

And since I now have my new lenses for distance

(and if there are no clouds)

I should be able to get a good look at it.

I gave up trying to see the stars

a few years ago.

And was happy to be able to still get a glimpse of the moon.

After the cataract surgery 

the lenses they put in my eyes correct for distance.

So, Strawberry Moon 

I'm going to be looking for you...

Smiles

~:>

New Shoes

Sandels for Summer

They are very comfortable

and cool!

Tomorrow if all goes well

we will go down to pick up my glasses.

And some sun glasses too.

Happy Father's Day

Smiles

~:>

Farmer's Market Trip

Yay!

We made it to the Farmer's Market this morning.

Blueberries and Boysenberries picked this morning!

These are just some of the great things we found there.

They tasted so good!

And were even still warm from the sun.

I would like to think the warmth was from when they were on the bushes

but probably not.

But still very yummy!

We then had several other errands.

One of them was to stop at the yarn shop.

I got yarn and a set of needles.

These are not the needles that the knitting teacher recommends.

But the other needle set was all white

and I like being able to see the difference by color.

Anyway, I like these. 

Since I don't get to the stores that often

when I do get down there

I tend to get a lot of stuff.

If I had been shopping once or twice a week,

it is really not that much.

(I keep telling myself)

More photos tomorrow

off neat stuff.

Smiles

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It's Too Early!

Well really. it is too late in the day for me to go out and take photos.

So here are some inside pics.

A stack of shirts...  clean dry laundry.

All layered nice and smooth and waiting to be

taken upstairs to the closet.

On the porch behind the plastic lattice is a little rose plant

We are trying to keep it shaded

in hopes it will survive?

Chicken barley veggie soup for dinner.

We are trying out chicken broth instead of beef broth.

We didn't exactly plan to switch from 

beef to chicken

but that's what happened.

So, were going along with that and will see how it turns out.

This is a pile of quilt sandwiches 

that I'm going to take to Idaho.

Wonder if I will get some help stitching them together.

Maybe tie them together?

I like tied quilts!

Tomorrow we go to Farmer's Market!

Yay!

Smiles

~">

How I Reheat Biscuits

Biscuits soon to visit microwave

I put the biscuits in microwaveable dishes.

And use one dish as a cover for the other dish and

then microwave the biscuits covered

for a very short time...

from 10 to 20 seconds depending on

size and number of biscuits.

Just until the biscuit is warm.

But first I make my ginger green tea.

I snap off and peel a piece of ginger root.

Then slice it up and put the pieces in the teapot.

Put some loose green tea in the basket and add hot water.
No sugar...I like the ginger tea without any sweetner.

Biscuits and tea are welcome!

The reason I have been making biscuits 

is that I wanted to gain some weight.

I think I can cut back now because it doesn't take very long

for me to gain weight if I start eating

a lot of bread.

I got down to 120 lbs and scared myself.

I'm back over 125+_

I can gain and loose weight very fast.

On one vacation I gained a pound+ a day. 

That was fun!

I ate so much yummy fast food.
But I was young and didn't know any better.
No junk food allowed these days.

Smiles

~:>

Timber!

This morning I got these shots of the downed tree.

It was a tall tree.

Pieces of the dead tree.

Yesterday, Tom got a surprise

when he was getting everything ready

to cut down the tree.

When he started up his small ride on tractor trailer 

that he uses to haul firewood, etc. around the property

there was a flat tire.

This meant that today 

he had to take a trip down the hill

to civilization and get a new tire.

So, by now (it is 7pm) 

he has putted around with the tractor thingy

 and picked up and 

hauled all the cut up logs away 

and put it in the firewood stack to be split.

Much better to cut the dead trees down

before they fall down.

Tricky business cutting down trees though. 

I wish there weren't so many dead trees.

I did make biscuits.

And have eaten lots of them!

I think I will have another.

With butter and jam!

Smiles

~:>

Framed Baking Sheet

This is what faced me when I walked into the kitchen tonight.

Tom had taken the chicken pies out of the oven.

And artfully framed the baking sheet

with the oven mitts.

Tom and Kristine had the pies while I had chicken soup and rice.

(love that old chicken soup and rice song)

I had to go find it and listen...makes me smile.

Tom and his friend spent today taking down a large dead tree

and then cutting it up (at least that is what I heard.)

It made a huge crash when it landed.

Quite scary taking down trees.

There are a lot more dead trees to remove on the property.

The drought was not kind to the trees.

I must admit that I was rather desperate

for something to post.

If I miss posting a day I'm afraid

that I will go back to not posting at all.

Thus the above photo.

And I admit to sleeping a lot of the day away.

I got up early and ended up

going back to bed because it was cold.

And every one else was asleep.

Even Morgan.

I'm making biscuits in the morning

so hopefully

the smell of baking will bring people to the kitchen?

And I'll stay awake.

Smiles

~:>

Clear At Last...

Love the quilt design wall

One lonely little block.

I made it myself!

Quilt batting stretched on white board.

Nailed and stapled on the wall.

And measuring tapes stapled 

around the edges.

My sewing table is cleared off again.

This time I'm in hopes of keeping it free of stuff 

other than sewing stuff.

I still have sewing and knitting things 

to sort through and toss.

Making myself post something everyday

really is a good thing.

Otherwise I probably wouldn't even clear the table.

Bad me.

I did make chicken soup today.

Love home made soup.

I got a call today to come pick up 

my new prescription and sun glasses down in town.

Not my town.

The big town a half hour away.

Down the mountainy foothills...

Maybe tomorrow we will drive down there?

Smiles

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Ducky Doggy Stuff!

When I was cleaning off my kitchen counters,

I kept finding dog meds and stuff.

Dog Stuff!

Instead of putting all the doggy stuff

in a cabinet or drawer

I remembered that I had this little duck basket.

I used to keep sewing stuff in the duck.

But having all the doggy stuff

in one easy to get to spot

works great.

I have lots of sewing stuff 

and it has out grown the duck a long time ago.

Good work, Ducky!

Smiles

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Garden Abuse

Well, at least it is garden neglect.

Herbs?

All I managed to do in a year

was cover the herbs with the black plastic flats this Winter.

At least two herbs survived the drought and then the rain and snow.

Amazing.

Climbing Ivy

This ivy is amazing too.

It survived the drought without being watered.

And seems to love the rain and snow.

I thought I would put these photos on my blog 

in hopes I would become motivated

into doing some gardening.

Maybe?

I do feel guilty.

It is just that all the leaves on the spa house roof

were supposed to be removed

before I raked up the garden.

and that roof job is only partly done.

And the workers left the roof rake in the middle

of my lavender plant.

Sigh...

I have good excuses.

Smiles

~:>

PS: We gave our two next door neighbors most of the
small home grown tomatoes.
Good neighbors!

Tomato Surprise!

Tomatos, lots and lots of tomatoes!

These are lovely store bought tomatoes
that Tom got yesterday.

These are lovely home grown tomatoes
that Kristine brought home today.
A sweet gift from Mary.
Thank you, Mary.

The biscuits?
Since the eye surgery my sleep patterns
have been off.
I couldn't sleep last night so at 5am I got up
and decided to make myself biscuits.
If I can't sleep, at least I can eat something I like.
So I did.

Wonder what I can make with all these tomatoes?

Smiles
~:>

Sorting Stuff

Stuff has been collecting on the guest bed

for about a year or so.

After I cleared off the sewing table

I sorted through the stuff 

on the bed and moved it to the table.

Yay!

I found my yarn.

All good stuff on the bed.

Stack of quilts that need quilting.

And lots of lovely material to sew up into quilts.

Popa Bear and Kitty Kat

are happy to have their bed to themselves.

I'm taking my time and doing a little bit each day

to straighten things up again.

I'm feeling better and I can see.

Yay!

I really want to move things around in this room

and make a space for a treadmill for walking.

I don't want to run or jog.

Just walk.

I'll search around online for reviews.

I don't know anything about treadmills.

Smiles

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