Papa's got a brand new bag

Woo Hoo, Craig finally landed a new gun, new shoes, a shiny new badge and a new job all in the last week!  The new gun is Glock 22 0.40mm, the new shoes are your standard issue black waffle soles, the shiny badge came with the shiny new job.  He's now working for a local security firm, pulling the night shift patrolling several residential areas.

 now, if only his trusty sidekick, Tex, could just go with him, all would be better than perfect.

Strange sights in Milpitas

Milpitas is a pretty typical Silicon Valley town with lots of quiet, tree lined streets.  My colleague and I went out there for a training.  We parked near one of these lovely trees.

as we were getting out of the car, we noticed that this particular tree seemed quite excited to be growing on the street ; )

That wasn't the only odd thing we saw on the trip, check out this roadway sign.

I mean, really, what the heck is Self-defense gymnastics?!?  So, if a mugger approaches you, do a back flip to get away?  Evade a carjacking with a front pike somersault ?  Little Jimmie have a problem with a schoolyard bully, teach him how to do the maltese cross, it is for the whole family as the sign says.

Welcome back Sun!

The weather is starting to warm up now and thoughts of spring planting are warming up as well.  We completed the basics of landscaping the backyard last summer.  We left some areas unplanted due to the heat and a good thing it was too, as we experienced about a 30% die off of the plants.  I think some of the grasses are simply dormant and may yet come back, but some of the plants are not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead.  One result of this was a bare spot under the new pergola.

 

This is one of Tex's most favorite spots to warn off would-be intruders, he takes this job VERY seriously and makes regular security checks all day long.  The butterfly bush I originally planted here didn't stand a chance and was quickly trampled to death.   

After staring at this spot for the thousandth time I was finally struck by inspiration and realized we needed a big, shade tolerant, sturdy feature in this spot.  

• big = tree
• shade tolerant = Japanese maple tree
• sturdy = Japanese maple tree in a giant pot (Tex proof)

And thusly we set off to visit the local nurseries in search of the above item.  After checking out a couple of local nurseries, we settled on a Japanese Maple variety named "Seiryu" which we purchased from the very helpful lady at Sweet Pea Nursery in Vacaville.  Along with the tree we also got what I believe must be the most beautifully packaged dirt and fertilizer ever made.

 

 

I sure hope our new little tree appreciates all the organic goodness we spread around it.

 All together and looking fine in it's new home. Below is what we hope it will look like come Fall.

Friends again

The Queen and I are friends once again.  I made some significant progress on the Africa quilt today.  The front is fully pieced together and the elephant is appliqued to the front.  The acacia tree is definitely going to be a more challenging applique as it has many more and sharper curves.  I'll have to rest and mentally prepare to tackle that fresh tomorrow.  So far, I am very happy with how this is coming together : )

I am looking forward to sketching in and quilting the elephant face.  I think this picture will be a good guide.

An audience with the Queen

We are in the process of re-arranging the living , yet again, and I have become motivated to finish the Africa quilt to hang in the living room. After blowing the dust off the machine and quilting supplies and digging out all the fabric I spent a little time figuring out where I was in the process (too little time as it turns out).  

 

Eager to restart, I carefully pinned the black strip to the colored squares and merrily sewed up the first seam in more than a year.  Well, let me tell you, what a rude surprise I got when I started to iron the seam open and D'OH I sewed the right side of the strip to the wrong side of the colored squares.  Such a rookie mistake!  It's been too long since I spent quality time with Queen Bernina, my lovely sewing machine, and somehow she is extracting her revenge for my neglect by blinding my eyes, because what do you think happened on the VERY NEXT SEAM?  Yup, you guessed it, wrong again, arghh!

So, my  plan for today, Super Bowl Sunday, is to whisper sweet words of praise to the lovely Queen until we are friends once again and can work together to get this Africa quilt completed and up where it belongs on the living room wall.

Gardner on Brilliant Opportunities « Inspiration for your work & life

Gardner on Brilliant Opportunities « Inspiration for your work & life

Voodoo Glove

Christmas is just 2 days away! Craig and I are excitedly waiting for daughter and grandson to arrive tomorrow. The holidays are good for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is family and friends sharing happy times together.

I decided to get a jump start on this year's resolution to henceforth refrain from uttering vile obscenities. I am blessed with a prodigious vocabulary from which I should be able to more creatively shout invectives, engage in character assignation, offer guidance to fellow drivers and reproach miscellaneous poorly guided individuals.

So, last night as I was laying aside my knitting project on the coffee table, I was amazed to realize that, wow, I actually know what each of the many pointy things are and what to do with each one. I have learned a lot over the last couple of years after all.

as I look at this picture all I can think is that is looks like some kind of tortured "Voodoo Glove"