Simple Pleasures

Today I decided to blog some miscellaneous tidbits, since I don't lead a real exciting life.  Well, some days are exciting, but everyone already blogged about branding, so that's out.  So, I'll just entertain you with some fun things from the last few days.  The picture above is Ella.  She came to visit and claimed I had no pictures of her on my camera.  So, she took a picture of herself!  Well, she's wrong, too, because I have several hundred pictures of sweet Ella.  But it's always fun to have another one!
The picture above Ella is supposed to be next (can't figure out what's going on this time with the blog. .  )  Anyway, we were all in the kitchen eating after branding, when someone looked out the window and saw a coyote!  He played around quite a long time, so we all got a good look at him--that was a fun addition to the day!  The picture above the coyote is my empty living room and dining room.  In August, 2009, I bought a carpet shampooer.  Before it arrived, I had an inflamed syatic nerve, followed by back surgery--you all know the story--Well, Monday I decided I felt good enough to put it to use.   My carpets were driving me crazy and needed shampooed.  So, I decided to just do the two rooms, so I wouldn't overdo it.  The machine was easy to use, and the floors look great!  I am very encouraged and excited about doing the rest of the carpets.  However, I have to wait a day or so in order for the two I did to COMPLETELY dry!!

What happened?  The picture loaded right!  Anyway, Kres gave me this funky candle holder for Mother's Day.  So, I turned it into a vase, and I think it looks really nice.  I needed something for the new TV stand.  So, here's the look.  I love the stand and the look.  Fun, but simple!

Here's the whole view.

That's enough excitement for one day!

I love everyone's blogs, so keep up the good work, and I'll try harder to do better next time!

Sunny Mexico

This blog and the one that follows are very confusing because I think in terms of the first picture being first and the last one last. But, that's not the way it works. These pictures were all taken when Ron and I went to Puerta Villarta, Mexico for a week to stay with our friends, Loren and Rae Nebeker. The blog will make more sense as you go along ( I hope). In the above picture, see if you can see the giant iguana that spied on us everyday when we parked to go to the beach. It is on the left laying in the shadow.

Loren and I enjoyed the ocean, but Ron and Rae refused to go in the water. The water was really warm and it was fun to play in the waves. I made Loren promise to help me up if a wave washed me over, and in his attempt to do so, he fell, too! It was fun and relaxing.

This little old lady sat with her loom and weaved beautiful tapistries when she wasn't making beaded jewelry. We asked permission to take her picture. Most of the shops are in the open air and in very tiny spaces. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look.

The streets in PV are all very narrow and usually have cars parked on both sides of the street with 2-way traffic. If you are driving and someone is coming the other way, you have to figure a way to get out of the way--which may involving backing up and parking on the street! In the background of this picture was a beautiful Catholic Cathedral, which we walked through.

This is a picture of a typical residential area. The tiny shops are on the street and some of the luckier and richer people live above. Many of the people in the area around PV live in tiny, delapadated shacks!

We had fun trying a different restaurant every night. This one was right on the ocean and the food was very good. A Mexican band entertained while we ate. Ron, of course, had fish. I had Filet Migon--which was the size of a small roast and very delicious. It came sitting on a pile of mashed potatoes and was served with green beans.

This was interesting--at the Mega store, the men in the background have a hugh slab of bread dough. They cut off a hunk of bread, shape it and pop it in the oven. When it is done, it goes into a hugh barrel on the shopping floor (about 4 feet in diameter) If you want to buy bread, you get a tray (lower left in picture) and a large tong. You go to the barrel, pick out your bread, take it to the counter to have it weighed and bagged. The breads may look different, but they all taste the same because they are all made from the same dough. They have racks and racks of pasteries and breads in the open--nothing is covered. The same process is used to buy cakes, cookies, donuts, etc.

Here we are at the waterfront shopping area in beautiful Puerta Villarta, where we spent a week with our friends, Loren and Rae Nebeker.