Our Son Mike --- and a Dog Gone Nice Day

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years already since our son Mike has passed away.  Sometimes it seems like yesterday, or last week, or last month.  There will always be a gaping hole where there should be one more family, one more pile of grandkids, one more person to keep track of.  We have to hang onto the good memories and smile at the stuff we recall.  His humor, his willingness to work, his love of sports, and most of all his wonderful unique character.   We miss you Mike.

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My oh my, after having the house closed up for these last two weeks... with horrible heat and humidity.... it was SO nice to open all the windows and let in the fresh air today!  

Imagine our surprise when we looked out in the front yard... our neighbor's house had been FLOCKED!!! Pink Flamingos everywhere!

It's a cute fundraiser for the 

church youth group. 

I also harvested the first ripe tomatoes from my row of 'mater plants.  I put in 6 different varieties this year. Some are early some are late.  I ate two of these just as a snack!  Yummmmmmm

Today I was energized to get things done, with the fresh air coming in. We were supposed to get some rain storms, but they passed over and out to Lake Winnebago.  I happily sat up in my sewing room for a while this afternoon, working on a quilt. Fresh air breezing in the open windows, and listening to birds and the wind chimes. It was such a pleasant day.  I sewed and ironed and cut and pieced.  I have 30 of these star blocks done now in blues and yellows.

I have all the blocks now bordered with "sashing" and "cornerstones"  and making them soon into a full quilt.  So far they are all sewn into strips. Maybe tomorrow I can get them into one solid piece. (called a quilt top)   Here the strips are just draped over a rod in order of how they will get sewn together.

With my new Handi Quilter frame, I can make the entire quilt process myself with the batting and backing and swirly quilting stitches.  That is the fun creative part!  The sewing machine gets pushed around the frame where the quilt is held taunt.  As I move it around, it makes stitches wherever I go! LOL   (I wish it were that easy....) 

Later in the day, BOTH of those danged doggers decided it was time for a NAP!  It's funny how they can beg and whine to be pulled by us up onto the bed in the morning for a little cuddle time.  But when it's the middle of the day, they can both easily JUMP up on the bed themselves and wait for me to come and take a nap! 

It's a pretty high bed! 

If they insist that it's naptime

I must comply, right? 

It was so pleasant this evening after Steve got home. He took care of a few things in the garage and then I cooked a nice hot meal for a change.  We actually had spaghetti, garlic bread and salads for dinner.  The temps dipped down in the 60's and we even put on sweatshirts to take a walk!  What a change from high 80's and humidity in the 70% range for the last two weeks.  

Yup, those dog gone good doggers wanted to take a W-A-L-K.... off we went for the evening with two swishy butts leading the way.  All in all, it was a dog gone good day. 

Everybody's Leaving ---- 'Cept US!

Geee whiz.... everybody's leaving us! 

Seann left 3 days ago.

Debbie and Steve left 2 days ago.

Glenda and Kurt left 2 days ago.

Cathy and Pat with the the 2 shelties left yesterday.

John and Sharon left this morning.

Dawn and Jim left this morning.

Then Tom and Margo left this morning.

Paula and Mel are going to leave tomorrow morning.

The only ones left are Hazel and Patti and us! 

Guess that means the season is over and it's gonna get HOT HOT HOT in the desert.  So I guess that is a good reason to leave?  The only problem is that we need to get our Tracker back before we can leave!  Unless we can pack it up and have it shipped to us in a box? LOL


Yesterday the camp park volunteer Josephine led her craft projects in the Exhibit Hall at the park. Patti and I went over to make desert sunset (or moonrise?) cards.   Here is mine:

Here is Patti's card making efforts... what fun! 

Two adorable kids were learning how to make birds from Josephine. I have permission from their parents to post their pics here.  Josephine first had them pick a bird from the guide book to learn the name, the colors and the beak. She even showed them how to make realistic eyes on their birds.

The state park's volunteers are a great resource of creative arts to learn and enjoy the natural wonders as well as the recreational opportunities around us.  I know in Wisconsin, we are so lucky to have a great team of volunteers and the Friends of the Park organization. I am glad to see so many folks volunteering in the New Mexico State Parks as well.

Last night Seann called us from Deming where he is staying at the LowHi ranch.  He came down to our park and took us up to Deming for dinner.  While we were gone, little Finney showed his frustration at our absence.  He took the most recent thing I had touched, and showed me just what he thinks of me leaving him too long!   Yup, that is my camera strap!

I think Duke, our old sheltie, taught Finney how to do this.  Duke would do the same thing any time we left him too long.  He would find something, no matter what it was, it had to be MINE and had to be something I had recently touched. He would haul it out in front of the hallway and gnaw on the corner to show me just what he thought of me.  He would also rumple the rug in front of the door so it was in the way when we got home.  Now Finney is doing exactly the same thing that Duke did.  I am sure he taught him that !!!!   

When we came home from dinner, he was hiding up front, obviously guilty of what he had done, and feeling very bad.  We scolded him, of course, but not too much. I think he made himself feel just as bad, knowing he was a "Bad Dog".  He crawled up to us and crept into our laps and begged forgiveness.  He got it. So he could sleep with a clear conscience.

I had a very bad night and was the one who couldn't sleep.  By mid-morning I was doing much better and back on track before noon. Whew... thank goodness. 

Steve was working on a little project this morning, and I found him so intent on his task.  He was messing with an LED light fixture that was missing a few little lights.  He didn't fix it, but he didn't break it either, so I guess that is a good thing! 

This evening we had a nice dinner with Mel and Paula before they head out tomorrow to go further east and wind up their winter snow birding excursion by April.  Steve lit up a campfire, and we hauled out some wine and had a nice chat around the flames. 

Steve is looking pretty relaxed now in vacation mode.

it will be a shame to go back to work, 

dontcha think?

And a final note... to family and friends,

today our son Mike would be 31 years old...

RIP Mike....