The heat is on! We were 112 at the house yesterday! We are running the AC during this heat wave, so when the electric bill comes next month, I won't be happy! The swamp cooler just doesn't cut it after it get much over 100. We are supposed to be on a cooling trend now - down to just 100 by the weekend. Only in Redding would we consider that a 'lower temperature'!

Alli surprised me yesterday. We all went swimming after work/before Scouts, and having a great time. Alli loves to have someone else in the pool with her, and AJ and I were playing with her. Suddenly, she swam to the steps and wanted out. Okay - not normal, but we had been in for our normal half hour, so maybe her 'timer' went off. I got her out, dried off and dressed, and sent her in the house, while I dealt with the towel, swimsuit, etc. When I went in, she wasn't in her chair, watching TV. She had taken herself in to the bathroom, and had a BM in the toilet, all by herself! What a happy day!

I walked into the living room yesterday, and Rufus was on top of the bird cage, staring down at the birds. I yelled for him to get down, and as usual, was ignored. It was just as well - I could grab a couple of pictures while he was there! The quality isn't that great - just a bit fuzzy - but since it was inside, there wasn't quite enough light, and I didn't want to get too close to Rufus and scare him down before I had the pictures - or so I thought! I had to actually pick him up and physically remove him - he wasn't going to jump down from there!


The birds don't look too bothered at all. That may explain why I lose one every once in a while - they get a just a bit cocky about being safe in the cage!

I've adventured out recently in my cooking skills. This last week, I've made kabobs twice! I am terrible about cooking the same thing over and over again - it tastes good, it is easy, and usually, it is quick. I found a few recipes in Good Housekeeping (I think) that sound good, and I gave them a try. They aren't quick - the meat needs to marinate, but they are good! So far, everyone will eat them.

Ralph is planning a trip to Yosemite next month, and I was showing him how to use my camera, and took a before and after picture of my Chipotle and Orange kabobs (using the pre-set options on the camera).

What a week! Busy at work, down one person from vacations, migraines flaring up, temps over 100, two sets of auditors in (scheduled auditors - not a problem that they are there, just having extra people around asking questions, physically coordinating loan files around for them, etc.) One auditor was specifically auditing my department, and we passed with flying colors! That was the high note of the week! The down side - I am exhausted! The migraines just zap my energy, and just getting through the day takes all I got! I'll be better soon, I know! I can tell I've been down - no new crochet, no new pictures, nothing! Maybe this afternoon, when it gets hot - it is supposed to be 102 today.

It cooled down some around here - I think our high yesterday was only 101! It was way too hot last weekend for the cat though - his perch is between two overhead fans, and he was stretched way out so the air could flow around him. I don't know what he will do when he gets all his fur back! It is growing in nicely now, he is a lot softer to pet.

AJ and I went to the baseball game for the bank team last night. It was a playoff game for the championship, and they lost 2-17. Last season, they didn't loose a game, and won the championship. This season was a bit different, I think. It was still fun to watch, but there wasn't a lot of excitement in the crowd. I tried a few pictures, but without leaving the bleachers, my camera focused on the fencing, rather than the players.

Unfortunately, I have figured out the DVR on DirecTV. Since I now can record the Giant's games and watch them after Alli goes to bed, I am staying up way too late! (I know, if I had really mastered it, I would stop the game and go to bed and watch the rest later, but when Alli is sleeping is the only time I have to watch the game!) Worse than that, I was reading the new Mauve Binchy book, and just had to finish it! I was up till midnight last night, and Alli was up at 6:00. Good thing I took a nap yesterday! It is going to be another hot day around here, so I really should be busy this morning while it is cool. It is also very quiet, so I hate to start making lots of noise and wake everyone else up! The boys were up later than I was last night. Alli just stopped by, asking for breakfast (or me to change her TV program - it's hard to tell!) so I am off to start my day!

It hit 107 this afternoon - I took a nap! I have a long list of things to do, but they all need to be done before it gets over 90 degrees (pull weeds in the garden, wash walls in the bathrooms, scrub the bathrooms, mop floors - anything involving hot water), which means they have to be done before 10:00 a.m. That didn't happen today! The kids and I all had a hair appointment this morning at 8:15, and I had meeting at the church this morning at 10:00. By the time I got out of there, ran by Wal-Mart for a few things, it was too hot (for me!) to clean. So I did the next best thing - I took a nap. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for chores???? (Maybe not!) Maybe tomorrow will be a little cooler????? (Probably not!)



I finished up another small doily - this one is about 10 inches across, done in a pale yellow. My next project is a baby ensemble. Someone at work is having a grandbaby in September. I know I can get the blanket done, but I don't know what else I can (will??) get done between now and then. I won't work too much on the blanket later on, either. It is small enough now that it isn't too bad to hold on my lap, but when it gets big, and it's hot, I probably won't work on it. I know we won't stay at 107 forever, but we got so spoiled with a late spring, that the heat is more noticeable this year.

It's time to start the broken record - it's hot! We went for a long time with nice cool summer weather, but that has ended. We are back into the 100's - and probably will be for a while. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted! At least - wait for it - it's a dry heat! I know it makes a difference, but....it is still hot! (Of course, Ralph will remind me that you can't call it hot around here until it gets of 110. Before that, it is just 'pretty warm today, isn't it?'

I'm starting to look forward to my high school reunion - 30 years! Doesn't seem right, somehow! It is set for the first (make that the second Saturday - sorry!) Saturday in August, so I will be up in Susanville for the weekend. It will be nice to see some people again, and thanks to Facebook and Classmates, I might even be able to keep up with them a bit better! Let's see, I have 3 weeks or so to lose that 5 pounds, get rid of the gray in my hair, get in shape, do something wonderful for the world.......then again - maybe not! I think they will just take me as I am - I do! (Or else I would have already taken care of all of the above, right?) Okay, maybe one little shopping trip for something new to wear - that's not too much, now is it??

Rufus has definitely made himself to home - unfortunately for Koori! Rufus has taken over Koori's spot on the couch (next to me!) and....



was sleeping in her crate! If she can't have her own crate to escape to,


What's a puppy to do?



Rufus will even chase her off the couch! Last night, Koo was sitting next to me on the couch, on her blanket, and Rufus jumped up and started batting her (lightly) with his paw. It didn't take much to chase Koori away, she is such a chicken, but then she went down and sat next to Ralph, and turned her back on me! It wasn't my fault she is scared of the cat - all 6 pounds of him!

I thought I might have a nice quiet morning this morning. I got up at 6:00, and Alli was still asleep, and so were the boys. That lasted long enough for me to get a cup of coffee. Now, Alli is up, and the boys are stirring. I did get two (sort of) volunteers to wash my car - for a price. AJ wants to start a game that is $15.00 a month, and Dallas needs money to renew his membership to the game. I might have to see what chores I can find around here for them to do! AJ still has to show me he can get some work in on his summer projects, but with the computer down for the last two weeks, he had a good excuse for not working on them.

Since I got absolutely nothing done yesterday, I have a ton of chores to do today. I'm feeling a bit better today, so maybe I will get some things done around here (besides the minimum - laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.) Then again, I'm not feeling that much better, so I may be happy to just get the required chores done today. I do have 'company' coming over to pick veggies from the garden after church, so I might even get a good visit in, today.

Here is a doily that I finished last week - done in a light sage green - though it is hard to tell with my photo. It is small - around 10 inches or so, I think.


Here is one of the problems we had recently too! We had a leak in the front yard. It was a quick fix for the landscaper that came, but I think we procrastinated a bit longer than we should have!




Poor kitty - no one will let him go outside!



If you look closely, you will see a preying mantis on the hollyhock. We must had had a hatch of them around here - this was the second one I saw.

Here is one of the projects I worked on when I was computerless! It turned out really cute, but....Alli doesn't play with it (yet). It went together pretty quickly. The pattern is on the web - http://wolfdreamer-oth.blogspot.com/2009/03/pikachu-plushie-pattern.html.

Here it is in parts:



Organized parts:



The finished project:

The computer is back! Nerds on Call delivered and set it up for us this morning/early afternoon! Now, to find the time to blog! I have a ton of chores today, and am fighting a cold (or a severe allergy attack - I don't know which!) I'll try to get some pictures up soon!

Our worst fears were confirmed. The computer had a meltdown from a couple of viruses and trojans. It went in to the shop for a probable new hard drive
Big bummer! We will find out next week so we are still out of a computer until then.