Fun in the Foothills...

Tuesday Steve had the day off so we decided to enjoy the glorious spring weather and head out on an adventure drive. This time we had a destination in mind... the foothills of the gold country where some of our favorite small towns are located. First stop was my favorite bookstore in old town Jackson. I can't get close to Jackson without stopping at Hein & Co. to pick up a few good reads. Unfortunately, I was so excited to be at the bookstore that I forgot to take a picture of it!


After browsing in the bookstore and buying several books, we thought we would attempt to make our way up to a little old church that we saw as we were heading into Jackson. It sits up on a hill behind Main Street. Steve is a great navigator and we only made one wrong turn before we found the church.

We proceeded from Jackson through Mokelumne Hill and then on to the little town of Angel's Camp. I was having such a good time that I forgot to take pictures, but I am sure we will go back again. We manage to head up that way at least twice a year.

On the way home, we stopped to enjoy the beautiful California poppies (Eschscholzia californica)that were blooming everywhere. The hills were ablaze with color.

It was a very enjoyable day and I look forward to many more adventure drives in the coming months. Hopefully I will remember to take more pictures next time!

Spring has Sprung...

 
The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the birds are singing, and the neighborhood is bursting with spring blossoms:

It's a beautiful sight!

The Phone Call...

 
After praying and waiting for almost three years, Monday I finally got THE call... Kyle was selected for a position in the Sacramento office and he is coming home!! When he told me over the phone, I calmly said, "Hold on a minute please", removed the phone from my ear and started screaming my head off! I am still doing the "happy dance" and my face hurts from so much smiling and laughing!

God's timing is perfect, as always, and Kyle will be living here before he gets married in August. Holly won't have to leave her job and family to move to Eureka! Blessings abound and we are grateful!
 

Success at Last Project #2...

 
I just completed the baby hat and it was so much fun to make! Don't worry; I don't plan to bore you with a photo of every project...just wanted to share these two!

Unfortunately, now I need to go shopping for some more yarn, but since I still have the creeping crud, I won't be going anywhere today!

Success at Last...

 
I always wanted to learn to knit, so about four years ago I took a knitting class. Unfortunately all I learned was that I STUNK at knitting!! I retired my knitting needles for good and gave up the dream. Then recently one of my friends at church had an adorable newborn knit cap that she had made. She knits hats and blankets and donates them to a program that gives them to newborn infants in need. I commented on how sweet it was and how I would love to be able to knit cute things to donate and give away, but knitting just didn't seem to be my gift. She informed me of a handy dandy knitting tool called the "Knifty Knitter" and said anyone could knit with it. I decided I would be the judge of whether or not anyone could knit with it and I went out and bought one. I am proud to say that today I finished my first project:

Thanks to the Knifty Knitter I will be able to give to a worthy cause, not to mention create all kinds of Christmas gifts!! I can't wait to start my next project...a yellow newborn cap. Let the knitting begin!

My Sweet Valentine...

Since things have been a little hectic around our house lately, my very sweet hubby decided to whisk me away for some peace and quiet at a local B&B for Valentine's Day. Being the clever guy that he is, he booked our room for the middle of the week instead of the busy Saturday and we had the entire place to ourselves...NICE!

Main house at Flower Farm Inn: http://www.flowerfarminn.com/

Front porch leading to "our"room.

Inside main house living quarters.

We were served a delicious country breakfast in the dining room with fresh eggs from the silkies that greeted us right outside our door.

The sun room. I fell in love with the banana crate (bottom of photo) that has been converted into a coffee table. It displays a very cool old quilt under the glass top.

Chicken coup.

The barn has been converted into a beautiful event center.

Inside of barn.

Lovely grounds.

The biggest show-off in the duck pond!

Flower Farm Nursery

Can't forget the bird B&B!

My favorite tree.

We were able to completely relax and unwind. Sheila was a great innkeeper...so warm and friendly. I wish I had gotten a photo of her, but maybe next time. I would love to go back in the spring when the flowers are blooming and stay upstairs in the main house overlooking the duck pond.

Thank you, Honey, for a very special Valentine's Day. You chose the perfect place for me!

Adventure Drive...

 
Much to our delight, last week an In-N-Out Burger opened in Folsom. Although Steve loves all burgers, I'm not a big fan except for In-N-Out burgers, so when he suggested we go check out the new restaurant and have lunch, I was quick to agree. I immediately grabbed my camera and headed toward the door. Steve took one look at my camera bag, then with a familiar smirk asked, "You planning to take a picture of your burger?"

With a knowing look I quipped right back, "I just might, you never know."

We proceeded to In-N-Out and had a tasty lunch, then as we hopped into the truck to leave, Steve turned to me and uttered those words I long to hear, "Are you up for a little adventure drive?"

Of course, I excitedly cheered, "YAY, let's go!" (We call our outings "adventure drives" because they are unplanned and we have no destination in mind.)

It is not unusual to find wildlife on our drives and this particular one did not disappoint. The deer were plentiful:


The llamas were looking rather woolly:



The geese were enjoying the beautiful day:

The emus were funny and curious:

But I must say the biggest surprise of the day came when we rounded the corner and discovered this beautiful guy sunning himself in a pasture:

Isn't he just too cool?

Thank you, Honey, for a great adventure drive. Maybe next time I will actually have my camera set up correctly! (I didn't even know it was possible to change the size of the pictures, but somehow I managed to set the camera on small pictures and didn't discover it until I downloaded them and couldn't understand why they were so small...reminded me of the "accidental video" incident last summer!)

I may be making a lot of mistakes with my camera, but at least I am having some fun adventures in the process!