To all (3) of my faithful readers….Happy 4th of July!

Crow. It’s a family name so I really had no reason to fear them. My grandparents were “The Crows” and I adored them. After they passed away, every time I saw a Crow, I would tell my boys, “that’s Great Grandma and Grandpa and they are always around to watch you.” I would continue, “they even tell you when cars are coming, listen….caw-caw!” Corny? Perhaps. Par-for-the-course? Absolutely! My mom never fell for it, she once told me my grandpa had been reincarnated not as a bird, but as a jack-ass. (her words, not mine) She said she once saw one that was the spitting image of him. He is probably rolling around with laughter in his grave, both of them are…hard belly laughs!
It was a hot summer day. I don’t remember what year it was, but I do remember what I was wearing. Based on that…. I am hoping it was a long time ago. I was sporting a coral “BUM” t-shirt, white shorts, white socks and white high top Reeboks. This is an image I have carried around with me for a long time, it has haunted me. Where were my grandparents, “The Crows” on this day?
I had spent the morning/afternoon mowing, weed whacking and hosing. In other words, I was doing the yards. Yep, single handedly….front and back…alone.
Mow, whack, hose.
Mow, whack, hose
It was hot and miserable and my coral “BUM” t-shirt, white shorts, white socks and white high top Reeboks are now dirty and itchy but I had one last job to do. Manicure the bushes. If I didn’t do it, nobody else would. So now… I must
Mow, whack, hose and trim.
I get my great big scissors, er pruners out. Put my long permed hair in a side ponytail and get busy.
I prune to the left,
I prune to the right.
I prune high,
I prune low.
How the broom fits in I am not quite sure but my next memory was an adult crow clung to my neck.
Mow, whack, hose and trim..not a problem. At least not until I hear sounds coming from a freshly pruned bush. But even in my hot and miserable coral “BUM” t-shirt, white shorts, white socks and white high top Reeboks that are now dirty and itchy and my long permed hair in a side ponytail, I must investigate. With all it’s beak and might, it’s got me running around my yard waving a broom a screaming I’m being attacked by a bird. The sucker (no pun intended) would not let go. I was beyond hysterics, flapping my arms and legs in directions I didn’t believe them to be capable of. I was Gumby, Gumby with a broom, and my neighbors were in complete hysterics. Laughing at either my clothes or the fact I was being eaten alive by a bird in my own front yard. I guess the laughter, the roaring laughter was enough for the vulture to call a truce, because he finally let go.
I make it back to the house, though barely. My kids are laughing hysterically. My “BUM” shirt is ripped and I am sporting quite the Crow hickey.That sucker broke my skin.
Once I gathered my witts, I realized this was a terrified mommy crow and the sounds that I chose to investigate were her babies.
I will never live this down especially since I have always told my kids Great Grandpa and Grandma are always around to watch us. But on the brighter side, I didn’t get hit by a car. Somewhere around, they were warning me….Caw-Caw

I just got back from a lovely week in Ventura with my friend. Amongst many other things I spent much of my time taking pictures. Too many I suppose! My last morning there my battery had died so I made my morning jaunt 1/2 block away to eat my breakfast on the beach, camera free. Apparently this caused some commotion in the neighborhood. Just 3 doors down an elderly gentleman walked out and met me curbside,
“Hey, are you the picture girl?” (I loved that he called me girl!)
“Ummm…I guess, yeah!”
“Well, where is it?”
I explained the battery had died and I was leaving within the hour so I hadn’t bothered charging it. He asked if he would see me again, I assured him I would be back soon…with camera in hand!
I get to the beach and am approached by another man,
“You’re the camera lady!”
“I am, I am the camera lady!” was all I could come up with
“Where’s your camera?”
Again, I explained the battery situation….
He replied with, “When will you be back?”
“Soon…”
“Maybe you could take my picture?”
“I would love to!”
Feeling both, a little amused and embarrassed I sat on the beach and ate my breakfast. I walked back to the house to finish loading my car when I hear a voice. (a legitimate voice)
“Get any good pictures of the sunset last night?” a man asks as he stands on his balcony across the street.
“Um, a few….my battery died”
“You know, you really need to come back in the winter, we have the most amazing sunsets. One time…..”
“I will do that thank you”
“Have a good day”
“I will you do the same”
O.k. now I am more embarrassed than I am amused. What the heck…can’t a girl walk up and down the street a few gazillion times a day without everyone knowing her business? They are on to me now, they know. I am a little coo-coo. But without that camera, I wouldn’t have gotten these sights and memories documented! Then if I didn’t have them documented, I couldn’t share them! (click on album below)

Aunt Heidi!!! Congratulations to my nephew Eric and his wife Jaime
on the birth of their beautiful baby boy, Aiden Blake!!

The other day I bought a new quilt. It came in this nifty little quilted bag, complete with handles and a fancy snap at the top. I knew though, I would never be able to use it again as the “Consumer…Do Not Remove” tags dangled from the bottom of this nifty little quilted bag. Honest to God, to this day I will not remove the tags, I have someone else take them off. It clearly reads it’s against the law and I am not going to jail…especially over a “Consumer…Do Not Remove” tag!! The more I looked at this bag, the more I felt the need to use it. So I coaxed an “anonymous” friend into removing the tags for me. (My lips are sealed my brave friend) It wasn’t a great bag, it was simply a nifty and usable bag.
That all changed today, my new, nifty, quilted, usable bag WAS great! I was going to be away from home for a few hours and was able to pack all my afternoon necessities in this bag.
Check it out!

*(Note…I just went in to put ointment on my oh-so-chapped lips. Once I was done I realized I had used Orajel. Don’t ever do that!)
Look at all those necessities;
1. Laptop
2. Camera bag (with camera and lenses)
3. Knitting bag with 1/2 knitted scarf
4. Magazines
5. Charger for computer
6. 2 pieces, 3 pieces, 4 pieces of pizza
7. 2 Diet cokes
Now that’s a bag!! Heck, I would have bought this bag with or without the quilt.
It’s my new best friend, her name is Kari