I Can't Believe I Won!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I won a $30 gift certificate at Quilt Blocks 101. I received a email from them this morning saying my name had been drawn for their September Drawing.

I've been working on my quilting lately quite a bit. I just finished cutting out 80 - 5" blocks for my Sunshine Block Swap. This is my first time participating in the swap. In the swap you send 5 - 5" blocks to each lady. When you receive the 5" blocks from each lady you sew on a 2 1/2" border and send 4 of the finished blocks back to their owner and you get to keep 1 finished block. You will receive 56 finished blocks back with your 5" block center and you will have 14 blocks of the other ladie's blocks for a total of 70 quilt blocks. Is that clear as mud????????

I have preordered a quilt kit that will be shipped in the spring. This is the first time I have ordered a kit. So I don't know if I'm going to like doing a kit or not. All the fabric in the kit has flamingos on it. The kit makes up into a 44 x 48" quilt. I'm going to use it as a wallhanging in our jungle-themed bedroom. I really wanted to order enough fabric to make a queen-size quilt.........it added up to about $90. I didn't feel like committing to that amount when I'm still not able to work. If I was working I wouldn't have hesitated to pre-order the fabric.

Well, I'm off to drool over everything that I might buy with my gift certificate. Wooo Hooo!!!!

Cool mornings.........Warm afternoons!

I can tell it's Autumn. It's cool in the morning and warm in the afternoons. Mother Nature is putting on her multi-colored coat. The changing of the leaves is so beautiful. All the golds, reds, browns, rusts, and oranges..........the colors of Autumn.

Last week we had to go into Medford for my doctor appointment at the rhuemotologist. We stopped by one of the produce farms in Central Point on our way home. I bought some strange looking gourds for a centerpiece for the table. Everything was decorated with scarecrows, pumpkins, Indian Corn ( or am I supposed to say Native American Corn to be politically correct?), and lots of other things. The photos above are ones I took that day.

I've been doing well with my weight loss. I've lost 35 pounds so far........my goal is to lose 1-2 pounds per week. I hope to reach my goal by July 24, 2008. My rhuemotologist was a bit surprised that I had lost 15 pounds since I had seen him in September.

I starting to be able to wear my smaller clothes that I have tucked away in drawers and my closet. I decided that when my clothes get too baggy I'm going to recycle them. I'm not going to keep them in my drawers and closet like a crutch..........knowing that I can go back to them if I gain weight. Nope...............I'm getting rid of them.

Canning and preserving is slowing down for the season. I only have apples left to can this weekend. We have been enjoying some of the fruits of our labor already. The pears, peaches, cherries, vegetable soup and jellies are so tasty. I need to sit down and write out exactly what I bought and how many jars I canned this year. I can do a inventory before next canning season starts and know what I need to can.

I started a afghan as a winter project a week or so ago............thinking I would have something to work on during the evenings. Yeah right! I've already finished crocheting it. I just have to tuck in some ends and it will be finished. I'll post a photo when it's done. Now I have to find another project to work on in the evenings. Maybe I'll cut out a few quilt blocks and hand-stitch them in the evenings. That might keep my busy for a few evenings. Rick said its so funny to watch me just trying to sit still and watch TV. I just can't do it..........I start twitching and getting restless. It gets so bad he will tell me to go find something to do.

Update on my Weight Loss

This photo was taken on September 22nd. In this photo I have lost 31 pounds. Imagine 31 pounds of butter heaped up in a pile!!!!!!!! Not a pretty site but that's what I've lost off my body. I've lost a total of 27 inches.

I set !0 pound goals at a time. I find that this really helps me focus on my weight loss. I've also found that rewarding myself with small things when I reach my goals is very helpful. It doesn't have to be much. It just lets me know that I'm special.

I've found that I must plan a menu for each day. Over the weekend I didn't plan my menu and I went over on calories, carbs, sodium and fat. We had to go into Medford on Saturday and we ate breakfast and lunch out. I usually don't have any problems when I incorporate eating out into my menu. I did okay with my choices for breakfast and lunch........then I started munching and ended up munching the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Monday morning I was back to planning my menu for the entire day before I had breakfast. The lesson I learned is that I have to have a black and white plan for my eating.

I'm off to have lunch and then go for my walk. I quit walking at 6:30am as its too cold and I was freezing even in sweats and a stocking hat. So now I walk later in the morning after the sun comes up and warms it up a bit.

Busy Weekend

25 pounds of Red Bartlett Pears
20 pints of diced pears
15 pints of Veggie Soup

We didn't go to the Cranberry Festival this last weekend. We got busy doing other things. We are getting ready to have a Yard Sale this Friday - Sunday. We also was busy this weekend canning Bartlett Pears and Veggie Soup. It was the first time that we have used our new pressure canner. The pears we could do in the boiling water bath. The soup had to be done in the pressure canner because it's a low acid vegetable. I happy to say that we didn't have anything explode and get all over the kitchen.

I still have lots of pureed tomatoes to do something with today. I think I'll put some of it on with spices and make ketchup. I'll probably can some for tomato juice.

I need to find some carrots to can. We love Glazed Carrots. Carrots are really expensive to buy already canned. The last cans I bought were those little bitty ones..........about the size of a AA battery around. We like the bigger ones..........about the size of a C battery around.

I also need to get some apples to can. Last year I canned apple slices in a light syrup. We used them all for Apple Crisp and Apple Pies. Boy they were sure good!!!!!!!!!!! I need to make some Applesauce, Apple Jelly and possible dry some for snacking.

I will be going to Bobbie's to get Concord Grapes in a couple of weeks. We sure do enjoy the jelly I make from them. This year I'm going to can some plain grape juice to make into a Grape Drink by adding it to Diet Sprite. I might freeze some plain grape juice to make Grape Smoothies. I've done that with Peaches, Strawberries and Blackberries. I run the fruit through the juicer and freeze the juice in cubes. I store them in a plastic bag in the freezer. When we want a Smoothie I take 2 cups 1% milk and put it in the blender. I drop the juice cubes in and blend until its thick and smooth. Yummy!!!!!!!! I also buy bananas when they are on sale and freeze them. I just peel the bananas and wrap each one in plastic wrap and place them in a zip-lock bag. I use the 1% milk, 2 Tablespoons Chocolate Syrup, 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter and 1 or 2 frozen bananas to make a Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie. We don't have these too often as they are higher in calories and fat.

Not sure if Bobbie will have any extra plums or not this year. They lost one of their plums trees and only have 2 trees now. Bobbie dries them as Mike really loves them. I always laugh at her because she's so busy drying those plums and she can't stand them. What we will do for our husbands!!!!!!!!

There is a pear and an apple tree up behind our house. The neighbor said that they are getting ripe. He only picks a few to eat. I don't really know what kind they are yet. I'll have to get Rich to go with me and check them out. From what I can see from the house they aren't Bartlett pears. Maybe I can make some Pear Preserves out of them.

I've got to go get busy with the tomato puree that sitting in the fridge waiting.

Clothing Challenge for Weight Loss Group

Photo taken August 23, 2007
Photo taken August 30, 2007
Photo taken September 6, 2007

I haven't said much but I started a weight loss program on July 24, 2007. I've lost 27 pounds since starting. I've also lost 23 inches from my body. The weight loss program I joined is SparkPeople on the internet. There's lots of encouragement and motivation throughout the site. I belong to several teams on the site. There are scrapbooking, cross-stitch, crafts in general and health related sites. I just love it and it's been so encouraging and motivating for me. I've made several friends through the group. What's really nice is the site is free to everyone. They have Nutrition, Fitness and Goal Trackers. Goals are a very important part of the program. I'm not a person who likes to make lists........but I find myself enjoying the daily, weekly and monthly goals that I make for myself. It's a good feeling when you can cross off a goal.

The Clothing Challenge is one of the challenges I am taking. You were to find a article of clothing that didn't quite fit or wasn't comfortable and work toward it's fitting better. I chose a pair of black jeans that I had bought at a yard sale for $1. In fact I have several more pairs of pants that I bought that day that are just a little snug for comfort. Anyway they are starting to fit better. I'll update next week on them.

Holiday Blues

Poor Misty!!!! She is so tired and confused after the 3-day weekend. She always wakes up Rich at 4am so he can get ready for work during the week. She can't understand why he won't get up at 4am during the weekend. Rich tells her to leave him alone so he can sleep longer. I usually get up around 3:30am to go to the bathroom. So I told Misty to let Rich sleep late as he didn't have to go to work on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. She seemed to understand each morning. She didn't jump on him until she saw him opening his eyes.

I took these photos of her on Tuesday morning. She was all tuckered out from the holiday weekend. Poor little girl!!!!!!!!

Quilting Challenge on One Stitch At A Time and Other Things

Quilt Block using all Yellow
Quilt Block using Yellow as Main Color
Quilt Block using Yellow as Accent Color

The challenge is to make 3 quilt blocks using your least favorite color. Yellow is my least favorite color. You will find no yellow clothes in my closet as the color makes me look like death warmed over. I do have a Poppy colored Blazer that I love.........it's more orange than yellow. I wear it with a black silk blouse and either black slacks or a black skirt. The quilt pattern I used is called "Southern Pride".

I've been doing a lot of quilting lately. I've found that I have missed my sewing. I used to sew almost everyday until my Grandmother died. She is the one who started me sewing when I was 3 years old. To keep me busy while she sewed and did mending she would give me a big threaded needle, fabric and buttons. I would sit on the floor beside her and sew for hours. Later she would take me to quilting bees at the church. During high school she helped me recycle clothes and make more stylish clothes to wear. We would spend every evening cutting and stitching blouses and skirts. We would have so much fun. We laughed as much as we sewed. After I got married I continued to sew with Grandma. She made quilts for all of her grandchildren. She would get together with Aunt Della (her sister-in-law) and they would stitch quilt tops. They would then put the top, lining and backing into the quilting frames and tie them out. I was fortunate enough to inherit all my Grandma's sewing and quilting. I got a call from my uncle giving me 1 hour to pick up my Grandmother's sewing and quilting treasures or it was going to the dump. Some of my cousins think I was just being greedy because I ended up with all of Grandma's sewing and quilting treasures. I was just saving her treasures from going to the dump. I would be willing to share............all they have to do is ask. Anyway after Grandma died I lost interest in sewing and quilting. It has just been recently that I have picked my sewing and quilting back up.

I own a Singer 1425 sewing machine that Rich bought for me in 1985. It has all kinds of stitches, buttonhole maker, blind hemmer, etc. on it. I was sewing some String Quilt Blocks and it quit feeding the material through the feed dogs. I though that a belt might have broken. I took it all apart (I always do my own cleaning of the machine) to see if that was the problem. No, that wasn't the problem. The problem is the upper and lower gears that move the feed dogs are broken. The upper one is broken real bad and the lower one is pretty chewed up. They both need to be replaced. I'm not sure I can do it or not. I called a sewing machine repair place and have a appointment to take it in tomorrow. They told me that they will look at it and see if it is worth repairing and if they can find the parts. Number 1.........YES it is worth repairing. Number 2............YES parts are available. I can purchase them on 3 websites that I found on the internet. The gears run $8.95 to $15.95 each plus shipping and handling. I will not take any crap about it not being worth repairing and I need to purchase a new sewing machine from them. If I have to I will repair it myself. I'd rather have them do it if all possible.

I've been going through some of my material stash.............let's just say I could make several quilts and other items from my stash. I'm trying to part with some of it. Dad, Mae and I are having a huge yard sale here at my house on Sept. 14, 15 and 16. I'm making 1 gallon plastic bags of fabric to sell. I should go through some of my scrapbooking stash to sell.........NOT!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going through my books and putting some of them out for sale. Not my Janet Daily, Danniele Steel, LaVyrle Spencer or other series that I've been collecting over the years. Rich and I went through our Videos and DVD's and have a few that we are putting out for sale. I'm thinking about selling some of my Piggy Banks that I've collected over the years.

Off to do the dishes!!!!!! Darned things get in the way of my crafting. HMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! Maybe I can buy more paper plates! NOT

Pioneer Days - August 25, 2007

Antique Car
Antique Car
Shirley refilling water bottles!! Too cheap to pay $2 for a bottle of water!!

Rich - I love the way is hair and goatee are growing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rich eating his Chili Dog for lunch.

1957 Ford Thunderbird
Riders from the South Umpqua Rodeo
The Shriners
Shriner's Mascot
My favorite - John Deere Tractors

Boy Scout Honor Guard leading the parade!!!!! I'll never learn how to upload these photos in the order I want them.
1958 Ford Fire Truck
Float carrying the Pioneers of Canyonville
South Umpqua High School Cheerleading Squad doing their routine.
This is one of the residents of Canyonville. This is his everyday attire. I spoke with him at the park after the parade. I asked him how is was today? He told me that he was standing up so he was doing great. We talked about the parade a little and he went on his way.

This was the 41st annual Canyonville Pioneer Days Parade and Celebration. Next year they will be celebrating 150 years since Canyonville was founded. Canyonville is the third oldest town in Oregon.

Rich and I had so much fun watching the parade. I do get a little irritated with the lack of manners of some of the parade watchers. It is so disrespectful when our flag goes by to see people wearing their hats. Another thing that bugs me is people walking or standing in front of you when you are taking photos. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After watching the parade we took our chairs back to the van and went to the City Park. There was all kinds of boothes set up. We looked at each and every one of them. I was able to purchase some marbles for Mae. She collects them. I found some pretty ones. We met some members of The River.......it's a Foursquare Church in Tri-City. They invited us to attend Sunday services. Rich and I really liked them...........we'll check them out. We've been looking for another church to attend. The one we go to has the music so loud it really bothers me. I go home with a earache every time. I'm deaf in the right ear and the left one is sensitive to sounds.

After walking around looking at all the boothes Rich decided it was lunch time. We bought Chili Dogs at one of the vendors. We found a picnic bench and enjoyed our lunch.

After eating we walked across the street to a yard sale. They have it every year. I found a Ronald McDonald figure and Winnie the Pooh figure for 10 cents each. Then I found a Chinese Cookie Tin for 25 cents. Rich found a Odie Pez dispenser for 50 cents to add to his Garfield collection. Total spent: 95 cents. Last of the big spenders!!!!!!!!!!!

We took off for home through the backroads. It was beautiful along the Umpqua River between Canyonville and Riddle.

We arrived back home and Misty let us know that we had been gone too long. She was very vocal as she is part Siamese. A treat of canned tuna made her happy.

In two weeks we are going to the Cranberry Festival in Bandon, OR. Will post about our adventures.

Nine-Patch Quilt

Nine-Patch Quilt
Aunt Della's Block

I finally had a chance to take a photo of the Nine-Patch Quilt top I finished. It is all hand-stitched. Each block is different. There are 64 Nin-Patch Blocks in the top. Each block consists of 4 blocks color A and 5 blocks of color B. I first stitched all the blocks and then joined them together to make the top. I'm getting ready to put it in the quilt frame. I'm not going to hand quilt it........just tie it out.

Aunt Della's Block is a very special block that I made for the quilt. As you will notice it is not uniform with the other blocks. The center block is a different color than the 4 corners........it should be the same. The block is made to honor Aunt Della and her quilting. I'll explain why.

Grandma Shaw and Aunt Della were sister-in-laws. Their husbands were brothers. They loved to get together and quilt. I loved to join in with them and quilt when I visited and they were quilting. I noticed that Aunt Della would always have a block that wasn't just right. It might have a little different color, different pattern or a piece sewn upside down on a block. I asked her about it. She replied, " Only God is perfect! I make a small imperfection in my quilts to remind me that I'm not perfect nor is the world we live in.". So making 1 block in my quilts with an imperfection is my way of honoring Aunt Della.

I have so many patterns for quilts that I want to make...........so many patterns - so little time. I have several tops already stitched together I just need to finish them off. Now that I'm feeling better with my new medicine I will try to get some of them finished.

Update on Homemade Cat Food

I gave Misty a second helping of the Homemade Cat Food.......once again she decided to cover it up like it was yesterday's news. The fishy smell didn't work this time. Rich and I talked it over and we decided that the Chicken Stew would be better off in the trash. And, that's exactly where it went. So much for Homemade Cat Food. We decided it would be better just to give her canned tuna, salmon or chicken for occasional treats.

The photo above is a close up of Misty. She loves to sit on my desk and watch me craft.

Homemade Cat Food

Rich read an article about making your own cat food for a healthier cat in AARP magazine for Sept/Oct 2007. It's called Chicken Stew. So we decided to make a recipe of it and see if Misty would like it. I should have know better to start out making the whole recipe. I should have only made half a recipe. It smelled really good cooking. It has chicken.............thank heavens it was on sale, garlic, green peas, carrots, sweet potato, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, celery, kelp powder, rosemary and spring water. So I proceeded to cook all the ingredients for 2 hours like the recipe directed. It still smells really good!!!!!! After cooling stew.......as they called it.......I deboned the chicken. Then you are supposed to puree everything in food processor in batches. It's almost ready for Misty to sample. She's rubbing up against my legs and reaching up. Her way of asking for a special treat. I let it cool just a bit and put about 1/4 cup of the stew in a dish. She was excited as I placed the dish on the floor....................until she smelled it. She then took her little paw and tried to cover it up..........does that tell you what she thought of her new stew? Okay, here I am with all this time and money for ingredients invested in this bowl of cat stew. What am I going to do????

By now Misty is again asking for a special treat. I opened up a can of tuna and put just a little in the bowl and stirred it up. She smelled it and decided it was okay to eat. She finished it off and jumped up on the freezer and proceeded to clean herself and went to sleep. Whew!!!!!!!! I'm not going to have to feed the Cat Stew to Rich for dinner or throw it out. I added the rest of the can of tuna, a can of sardines, and a can of minced clams to the stew.

It must be the fishy smell that made her think it was okay to eat. I put the rest in the refrigerator and will see if she will eat it again. If she does.......I'll freeze most of it in 1/4 cup servings for her.

For a joke I should put some in a bowl and tell Rich that Misty won't eat it and since I spent good money on the ingredients he is going to have to eat it for dinner tonight. ROTFLMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy Weekend

Corn Cob Jelly

Grandma Grissom's Dill Pickles
Sliced Peaches
Corn for freezer

This weekend was quite busy for me. On Friday it was major shopping trip of the month for me. I stopped at Sugartree Farms in Winston, OR and bought 1 dozen ears of corn and 20 pound box of peaches. I then bought 10 pounds of pickling cucumbers at Thunderbird.

On Saturday I made 8 quarts of dill pickles using Grandma Grissom's recipe. Grandma Grissom was Rich's favorite Aunt Jo"s mother-in-law. I know.........I'm my own Grandpa!!!! I was able to take care of half the peaches.......7 pints canned, 3 1/2 cups diced for jam and 9 - 1/2 cup diced peaches in packages for smoothies in the freezer. I blanched the corn and then cut it off the cob. I was able to freeze 3 - 4 cup bags. To use the corn I just drop package on counter a couple of times and then I just pour out how much I want to use and put bag back in freezer. I cooked the corn cobs in water to get juice to make Corn Cob Jelly.

On Sunday I finished peaches.......10 pints canned. I made a recipe of Corn Cob Jelly. The juice from the corn cobs is very pale. I added just a little yellow and red food coloring to the juice before I made the jelly.

I have Concord Grape juice thawing out in the refrigerator. It is the last of the Concord Grape juice I made out of Bobbie and Mike's grapes last year. I'll need to pick some more this year when they are ripe. I hope that I can also get some Prune Plums from Bobbie and Mike this year. I better email Bobbie and check on status of grapes and plums.

That reminds me I need to go blackberry picking!!!!!!!!!! I only have enough Blackberry juice in the freezer for 1 more recipe of Blackberry Jelly. Rich's favorite.

Seahorse Artist Trading Cards

This is a set of 3 Artist Trading Cards I rencently finished for a Swap. The seahorses are underwater photos that I found on the internet. I tore the photos around the edges. I used cardstock for the background. I inked around the edges of the cardstock before mounting the photos.

Our trip to Carson City, NV and South Lake Tahoe, CA

Hat Creek Rim Overlook in CA. The mountain peaking thru the trees is Mount Shasta.
Misty wanting Rich to play "Sticky" with her. Sticky is a dowel with boot laces tied to it. Rich slings it back and forth and Misty chases it.
Rich went outside to smoke and Misty was concerned that he was leaving again. She hates to be home by herself for more than just a few hours.

This photo was taken of the devestation of the Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe. When we lived in SLT our home was about 2 miles from the fire.
It was sunset before I got a chance to take photos of Lake Tahoe. This is a photo of the dock across from Camp Richardson.
Rich (on the right) and one of the Austrailia bikers that stayed at Motel 6 in Carson City, NV.
The Shoe Tree between Reno, NV and Susanville, CA.
Mount Lassen from the Hat Creek Rim Overlook.

Sugarloaf Peak. I took this photo while Rich was driving 65 mph.
Going thru Cave Rock on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe at Cave Rock. Rich took this photo thru side window while I was driving.
Angora Fire.
Angora Fire

Long Stretch between Mc Cloud, CA and Burney Falls Junction, CA. I was trying to get a photo of a logging truck. This photo was taken thru the windshield while Rich was driving around 65 mph.
Self-portrait while Rich was driving.
Rich driving from McCloud, CA to Susanville, CA.
One of 6 times we were held up for road construction between McCloud and Susanville. On the road sign they called it "Road Rehabilitation".
Some of the road construction equipment.

I'm really sorry that the photos jump around. I just can't seem to get the hang of downloading photos in the order I really want them.

May 27, 2007

Rich and I left our home at 5:30am for Carson City, Nv and South Lake Tahoe, CA. It was 54 degrees. We had reservations to stay at Motel 6 in Carson City from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning.

We had decided to keep a journal of our trip. Both Rich and I wrote in the journal. Rich's first entry was at 5:30am when we left............."Left for trip and I already miss my little girl (Misty)!!!!!

We stopped in Phoenix, OR for breakfast at McDonald's.

We crossed the border into California at 8:22am and it was 66 degrees.

We had to stop in Yreka, CA to get Rich some allergy medicine as he had forgot to bring his.

At 9:39am we exited off Interstate 5 onto State 89. I was glad to be off the freeway..........freeway driving is boring to me.

We stopped in McCloud, CA for a break. I always buy a CA Lotto ticket here. I also bought some postcards of Mount Shasta. It was 68 degrees.

At this point we were 119 miles to Susanville, CA 204 miles to Reno, NV 234 miles to Carson City, NV and 264 miles to Lake Tahoe, NV. It's 10:08am.

From McCloud to Susanville we had to stop for road construction 6 times. The sign on the side of the road called it "Road Rehabilition". I don't care what they called it...........it was annoying.

We finally got to Susanville at 12:55pm. We stopped and filled up the gas tank. Gas was $3.27 a gallon. We checked our gas mileage from last fill up in Winston, OR. We was getting 25.63 miles per gallon. We drive a "94" Plymouth Grand Voyager LE. It was now 90 degrees...........and I don't like it that hot!!!!!!!!!!!

We reached Reno, Nv at 2:44pm. Traffic was heavy. I always get in the lane next to the fast lane. You don't have to worry about exiting and merging traffic. Of course you have to drive about 75 - 80 mph to keep from getting your butt ran over. Oh, well!!!!!! By now it's 95 degrees. The only accident we saw was on the freeway in Reno. Thank goodness it was in the north bound lanes and we was heading south. It didn't look like anybody was hurt. It did back traffic up to a crawl for about 6 miles.

We got checked into our motel room about 4:00pm. Rich turned on the air-conditioning and ordered a pizza from Dominoes. Rich decided to go out and smoke before the pizza arrived. As he was limping out the door.............I said to him, "Old Man, you think we ought to drive just 50 miles and pull over to spend the night." His reply, "Sounds about right to me."

After eating our pizza we rested for a while. We left to go up to Lake Tahoe around 6:00 pm to visit friends. I wanted to take photos of the lake and the area of the Angora Fire. The fire was finally contained about 2 miles from where we lived in 2001. When we heard about the Angora Fire we immediately called our friend Ted. He lives about 5 miles from the fire. He told us at that time he could see the flames leaping above the trees about 200 feet or more. He said he was all packed to evacuate if necessary. He told us that he would go down off the mountain to his sister's in Carson City.

At 6:23 we reached the top of Spooner Mountain (elevation 7146 feet) and it was a pleasant 74 degrees.

We sure surprised Ted when we showed up at Harvey's Casino and Hotel Resort where he works as a Security Officer. In fact, Ted trained Rich at Harrah's Casino and Hotel Resort when we first moved to Lake Tahoe in 1989. Back then Harvey's and Harrah's were owned by separate corporations. Now both are owned by Harrah's corporations. The also own Bill's Casino too! That means they own 3 of the 6 casinos on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. We were able to visit with Ted for a while. We had brought him a pint of Blackberry Jelly and Cherry Jam that we had made this summer. I was carrying it in a brown paper bag.........I'm surprised that Security didn't stop me and check out the bag.

I put $1 in and $1 slot machine and didn't win a thing. Last of the big spenders........that's me. Rich didn't even gamble a penny while we was in the casinos.

After visiting with Ted and other people that Rich had worked with at Harrah's and Harvey's we left and went to take photos of the Angora Fire area. It was so sad to look at the results of one person and their illegal campfire.

As we came back around the lake we stopped and took a few photos of the sunset across from Camp Richardson.

We got back to the motel around 10:00pm. We called it a day and went to bed.

May 28, 2007

Rich got up around 6:30am and went to the office for coffee. He met 34 bikers from Melbournne, Austrailia. They had shipped their Harleys to San Francisco, CA on a ship. They flew over and picked up their Harleys and toured San Francisco. They had spent the night in Carson City and was traveling to Sturgis, SD for the ralley. They were so funny. They told Rich that he had a accent and it was hard for them to understand him. Some of the guys had brought there mates with them. One man told Rich that he had left his mate at home so he could have fun. One of the men was eating a huge piece of Cornbread. He was so excited about it................it seems that he had never eaten Cornbread before as they don't have it in Austrailia.

I finally crawled out of bed at 7:30am.

We went to Cactus Jack's for breakfast. It's a local's hangout. Rich had the Howdy Special..........2 hotcakes, 2 eggs, sausage patty and coffee for $2.99. I had Biscuits and Sausage Gravy and a diet soda for $3.50.

The purpose of this trip to Carson City was not pleasure. We needed to get some "treasures" out of storage. We packed our van full..........still have more left down there. We worked at this project from 9:30am to 2:00pm.

We got back to the motel and we were both exhausted. I was so tired and dirty that I took a shower right away. I prepared us sandwiches and chips as Rich took his shower. After eating we laid down and rested for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We watched The Deadliest Catch on TV until around 7:00 and went to sleep.

May 29, 2007

We got up about 6:30am. Rich went to get coffee. I can't believe he's out there barefoot running around visitng with the other guests. Rich brought me a Diet Pepsi as I can't stand coffee.

We finished packing our stuff into the van and took off at 7:50am. We stopped and filled gas tank at the Arco Station in downtown Carson City. It was $2.83 a gallon. I checked to see what kind of mileage we had got from last fill up in Susanville. We had only got 22.20 miles per gallon. That's what I get for stopping at a off brand station.

We stopped at Cactus Jack's at 8:00am for breakfast. We ordered same as yesterday. While we was waiting for our food I decided to play one of the penny slot machines that was right behind where I was sitting. It was called "Wolf Run". As you know I have a passion for wolves............so I had to play. I put in $1.............I ended up winning $11.35. I cashed out and redeemed my ticket for my money and put it in my pocket. The cook, Sally, said that she had never seen anybody win anything from that particular machine. I told her, "The Spirit of the Wolf was watching over me." Then I had to explain to her about my passion for wolves.

We left Carson City at 9:00am. It was already 74 degrees.

We hit the NV/CA border at 10:13am and it was 78 degrees.

We stopped at the Shoe Tree at 10:24am. It's a tradition for people to tie pairs of shoes, boots, etc together and throw them up in the tree. Every fall the highway department removes most of them. When the shoes get wet with rain and snow they become very heavy and it breaks the limbs on the tree. The tree has lost a couple of limbs since we first saw it in 1989.

We stopped at Honey Lake Rest Stop just about 23 miles outside of Susanville. The had completely rebuilt the restrooms. They put in more parking and picnic tables. Very nice. It's now 83 degrees.

We continued on our way home. We stopped at 12:55pm for lunch at Hat Creek Rim Overlook. We ate our lunch and then we had a lot of fun looking at the view and reading all the information plaques. They had 2 talking plaques that told a lot of the history from pioneers of the area. They also had 2 sets of large binoculars that you could look at all the sites. They were free.............no quarters required to look thru them. We could see Mount Lassen, Burney Mountain, Sugarloaf Peak, Mount Shasta and several small peaks. We could see Hat Creek Valley. You could see Highway 89 running thru the valley.

We reached Mc Cloud at 3:02pm. We stopped for a break. I checked my Lotto ticket..........only got 1 number. So I didn't win any money. We bought ice cream bars for a snack. I bought 2 iced cream bars and 2 pint bottles of water.......it was $5.67. Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!! It is now 87 degrees..............remember I'm not a happy camper when I get hot!!!!!!!!!

We crossed the CA/OR border at 4:45pm. We continued north toward home. We reached Medford around 5:00pm. We had decided not to stop and see Mike and Bobbie as we were so tired. We thought if we stopped and sit for long we would never get home.

We stopped at Rogue River and filled up gas tank. At the Chevron it was $2.99 a gallon. I checked gas mileage again. We had got 27.07 miles per gallon from Carson City. That is awesome.............especially hauling a load in the van.

We got home at 6:48pm and it was a nice cool 73 degrees with a nice cool breeze. Misty was so happy to see us. She doesn't like to be left at home by herself for long periods of time. Rich doesn't like to leave her either. Okay, I admit it.................I don't like it either.

Called Bobbie to let her know we was back home and why we didn't stop to visit. She told me that they was out to dinner at 5:00pm. Then called Dad and Mae to let them know we was back home.

May 30, 2007

We spent the day unloading the van and resting. Rich has to go back to work tomorrow. Dad and Mae stopped by for a visit. Dad had been into Canyonville to transfer title on one of his vans he bought. He now owns 3 vans and a Motorhome. That's another story!!!!

As I told my fellow scrapbookers at Scrap 101...........Rich and I doddle along the way when we are traveling. On Friday it took us 10 hours and 25 minutes to go from Myrtle Creek, OR (our home) to Carson City, NV. Driving time was 8 hours and 17 minutes. Doddling time was 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Hope that you had fun reading about our adventure. We sure had a lot of fun on our adventure.