Yucca

The end of June is when the Soap Yucca bloom. They are native plants in the truest form; they require absolutely no cultivation. Just stand back and watch them grow. They adapt to each year's weather conditions. In harsh years they they bloom weakly; with skinny stalks, and sparse blossoms. In moist years they explode with a multitude of thick stalks, and lush flowers. This winter was relatively moist, and the yucca are responding.

Their seeds will make new yucca, or feed the birds, and rabbits (among others). If necessary the seeds will remain in the ground for up to 24 years waiting for just the right conditions to start growing. Once established their tap roots go down to hell, never to be found by a gardener trying to move one.

This is what you will see if you walk out my front door and look up.

These are the same yucca seen from the foot of the driveway.

These yucca are the guardians of the gas meter. They are all that stand between the gas meter and the paper delivery person in the dark of early morning.

This stalk was so heavy with flowers that it bent to the ground allowing me to take a close up. They are a waxy thick bloom that is a cream color.

Some yucca, like these in my neighbors yard, follow their own, less direct, path to the sky.

I look forward to the yucca season each year.

"Designer" Lamps

I am changing over the bedroom along with the rest of the house. The blue and white quilt I made that has been on the bed since just after we married 30 years ago, has been folded with love and stored away. In it's place is a large quilt, that I also made, in a variation of the Flying Geese pattern. It is autumn colors with a black background.

On the wall is another of my quilted pieces called "Early Autumn Joy". The walls will be a cream color.

The white ceramic with blue details and gold trim I bought 35 years ago just did not go. I looked for replacements in stores, and on line. Alas the few I found were starting around $500. I don't think so!

Then it came to me; paint them! I had nothing to loose, I couldn't use them the way they were. It was fast and easy, and a great success. Now I just have to find replacement shades.

Sun Damage Furniture

I have left the painting of the interior for a bit. Alas I ran out of paint for the bathroom and must go into Las Cruces for more paint.

I have a lot of other projects besides painting the interior. The furniture on the patio is exposed to the full fury of the high altitude desert sun. While the paint on the same style furniture under the shade of the porch is still almost like new, the patio furniture is screaming for paint.

Painting the same green or a black would be tempting, but the sun fades paint out in one summer. I thought it would be best to start light; when it faded it will only look lighter and not worn; at least that is my plan.

The first color I tried was yellow. It was spray paint which I think would have cost me a fortune for enough to cover the entire set. Lucky for me I did not like the color yellow. I wanted a richer yellow; if I wanted yellow at all.

Then I remember a 5 gallon container of light blue exterior paint that the contractor over estimated by 4 gallons. Light blue furniture would look pretty. Now to get the paint from the garage to the backyard. Even only 4 gallons of paint is mighty heavy. I could not lift it, I did not want to drag it, and then it hit me that I needed wheels. I had wheels; my only luggage wheels from back in the days before suitcases came with them built on. They worked beautifully. Of course I could not have moved the paint without my assistant.

I now have the first coat of light blue paint on one piece of the three piece set.

If the weather continues to give me cool mornings without wind I should finish in about 5 days. (I know that is wishful thinking and it may take all summer to get the right weather combination to work.)Spray would be faster, but cost more, and not give me the control over the color.

Fussy, fussy, fussy

Installing my first light fixture

Because of our 23 year age difference my husband, Ralph, made sure that I knew about home repairs. We did all sorts of projects together including plumbing, electrical, plowing for the garden, mixing and pouring cement. He said he did not expect me to know how to do some of these things alone, but to know if I was being ripped off by someone I hired. Ralph, honey, I was paying attention. Look at what I did!

The light fixture in the guest bath was horrid. We changed other fixtures when we moved in, but not the ones in the bath. Because I am going to paint in there I knew it was now or never.

This is the old fixture. Yuck!

These are the easy to read (if you can find the English section) directions for installing a new fixture; white to white, black to black, and connect the ground. I can handle this.

Not everything matches the directions. Instead of a box for the wiring the wiring just came out of a hole in the wall. I suspect this is because there is a stud where the box should be.

I can deal with this little bump in my road. I put up the support for the new light, being careful to level it because the support was welded together crooked. So far, so good.

I struggled to contain the wires under the cover of the light fixture, but I managed. I turned on the power and flipped the switch: BUZZT! Yikes, turn off the switch, turn off the power - what had I done wrong.

I dismantled the light and all looked well to me, but it did not work. Could I have nicked the covering of one of the wires because they were jammed together near where the screw went to hold the fixture on the wall?

I borrowed my neighbor's husband, Frank. I asked him to look at my wiring and tell me where I went wrong. I really wanted to do this myself.

Frank looked and said I did the wiring perfectly, but because it didn't work he would run the ground differently. BUZZT!

Now he was as puzzled as I was. He said it was a simple wiring job, that it would very difficult to do wrong. He futzed and futzed and at last found the smallest of nicks in the covering of the black wire. All it took was a little electric tape and I had LIGHT! (I owe Frank a chocolate cake.)

I know Ralph would be proud of me, so would my Dad, and you can tell that I am damned proud of myself.

The new guest bathroom light. Ta-da!

Bird Buffet

Yesterday this little Finch dropped by to have a snack in the Russian Sage. Out of a dozen pictures I got one in focus.

Painting Project - Guest Bath l

I was in the bathroom all day yesterday. It is the smallest room in the house and I think a good one to start my project of painting the house. The house is all one color: dirty cream. When I say all I mean the walls, the trim, the door, the ceiling in every single room.

These pictures are of the bathroom as it stands with the addition of the paint sample I added to one wall.



Yesterday I learned how to open a 5 gallon pail of paint. (That was not easy.) I learned how to mix the paint with an attachment on the drill. (Doing this with great care and deliberation will keep paint from flying all over the garage.)



I learned that a 10 foot ceiling can be difficult to reach. That an 8 foot ladder may be a necessity but it is very difficult to maneuver in a small space.

I learned to hate textured walls and ceilings. I learned that it is good to have a hardware store nearby.

and that painting the inside of a skylight is not for the faint of heart.

Today I will fill in some holes, do a bit of masking, hit a couple of spots at the edge of the ceiling that I missed yesterday (Please of goddess of house painting, don't have me redo the entire ceiling.) I may paint three of the walls today or tomorrow. The fourth wall will have to wait until after Tuesday when the new light fixture is scheduled to arrive.

This job is going to take all summer. Still doing it myself gives me a quality job, and I will not have to deal with people who get drunk and don't show up either for the entire day, or after lunch. Plus I never take a smoke break.

Onward and upward!

Playing With Color III

This is a report on my color play. There is good news and bad news.
The good news is the nail polish called "Petal To The Metal" looks great. The silver grey takes on the color of what it is near: pink, ice blue, or a gunmetal color near black; it is a perfect neutral. Also it wears well. This one is a keeper.



The bad news is the shawl I started had to be "frogged" (rip it, rip it). I made an error in the cast on. Usually an error of that sort would show up in the first pattern row, but through some mathematical fluke the error did not show up until I started the third chart. Grrrrrrr

Still it is a fun, interesting knit, and will be even better if I don't make any more stupid mistakes.

Bath Time for The Boys

Yesterday was bath day for "The Boys". Conditions have to be just right: no dishes in the sink, lots of patience on my part, warm sun (not hot) coming in the window. First I pretend like I am puttering around in the kitchen as I get out the towels, dog shampoo, water proof apron, and fill the sinks with warm water.

Because Roul is the fastest and the smartest of the two it is necessary for me to lull him into a false sense of security. I sit in my chair and pretend to read the paper. Roul decides it is safe and jumps into my lap. I gently, but firmly hold him in my arms and approach the sink. This is when he starts to scramble, climbing my arms, and leaving toenail tracks. Once in the water he is defeated and allows the bath to happen. However if I do not exercise due vigilance he will try to escape to the counter top.

When Roul's bath is complete, I put him into an arm chair with a large bath towel covering it. He flips over onto his back and "spin dries". While it is fun to watch him, it is impossible for me to take a picture of the "spin" because he gets carried away and I need to watch to make sure he doesn't spin right off the chair. After his "spin dry" he finishes up with a sun dry.



Blizzard is easier to catch. Because his shoulder was broken he is not as fast as Roul; I can just quietly swoop him up. Before he came to us, a year ago, Blizzard was neglected, his only bath was the rain. He has not yet figured out that Mom means business and he cannot escaped a bath. As I start to lower him into the sink all four of his little legs extend straight out to the sides of his body like a furry starfish. Once I do manage to get him into the sink he is constantly trying to escape from it. Bathing him is far more challenging than bathing Roul.

Blizzard does not "spin" dry; first he likes being cradled in a towel to get the worst of the wet off, then while sitting in the sun, he gives himself a complete going over with his tongue.



They both spend the rest of the morning on the window ledge, basking in the sun and checking each other out. Here Roul checks to make sure if I have gotten Blizzard's ears clean.



The are fluffy and clean. I am a wet mess with towels to wash, and sinks to clean. But oh they are sooooo soft when they are clean - I could just snuggle them to death.

Playing with Color II

Other colors that have sucked up my time are: nail polish and yarn.

I am doing my self over as well as the house. It has been a very long time since I have really looked in the mirror. When I did look I saw a woman stressed and worn beyond her 64 years. I have no illusions about looking 30 again. I am very happy being 64. I just don't want to look 74.

Researching today's fashions for the mature woman has been fun. One of the articles I read said that manicured nails and rings make hands look younger. Since I am not about to have a hand lift (Do they do that?) I took myself off to K Mart, and Wal Mart, the high fashion shops in Deming. Lord there are endless colors of nail polish. Below is what I have chosen. A little daring, but not over the top for a woman of my years.

This is kind of fun......

The other time sucking color project is a new shawl I just cast on. The yarn has a very long run of variegation. That means it is variegated in color, but the length of each color is long and will stripe with wide stripes on a big piece as opposed to a short variegation which breaks up into small, irregular blocks of color that are very hard to control. This particular triangular shawl is cast on from the bottom and kit up to the neck. The length of the cast on is 321 stitches. That means each row will get shorter as I knit which is sort of a reward, but that my initial rows take a long time to knit. I wanted to see how the color broke so I had to knit quite a few rows. OK I didn't "have to" but I was very anxious to see how the yarn would look with the pattern.

Now if you will excuse me, I will go do my nails, and when they are dry I will knit on my new shawl.

Playing With Color

Almost 11 years ago I moved into this house. It is a combination of the "Mediterranean" and "Santa Fe" styles. The paint color of the walls and ceilings throughout the house (including the garage) is sort of a cream color. I think the method they used to paint it was to mask off the windows, stand in the middle of each room and hit it with a commercial spray gun. I am about to change the house. All of the ceilings will be painted a pure white, as well as all of the base boards, doors, and other trim (that is the easy part to pick out). The choices for the walls are more difficult: both bathrooms, the front entrance, and the fireplace hearth have green/blue tile that I am not about to change out. The floor in the kitchen/dinning/living room area are an oak laminate. The carpet in the bedroom (which I had planned to pull up but won't because the boys love chasing each other around and around under the bed) is also a grey/green/blue. I do not like green, but I am stuck with it - sigh.

This is the guest bathroom (above). It has a skylight, but no window. The skylight is so bright that it looks like a light has been left on all of the time. This is the paint sample I voted least likely to work, but I was wrong. I will pick up a quart when I am in town next week. One room almost down except I need to pick out a new light fixture before I start to paint.

Above and below are my living room/entry/computer room (small formal eating area)/eating area/kitchen. While the kitchen and the eatting area are broken off from the other parts with a wall; the wall is 3 feet short of the ceiling. That is one HUGE ceiling to paint. The eating area has a lovely bay window that pours in light, the kitchen gets it light from the eating area, the computer room faces north and its window has a 9 foot porch ceiling over it. The living room has a set of french doors on the same north facing wall with the same porch over hang. The living room does have two skylights that keep it from looking like a cave.

For these one giant group of connecting rooms I picked a light green/blue. As you can see I have painted samples everywhere. I think I almost have it, but not quite. It is just a little too dentist office. I am going to look for a more greyed shade of this color: just a hint.

I have plenty of time to look for the exact right color and still work on the preparation of the walls and the painting of the ceiling. That ceiling alone may break me.

Stayed tuned for further developments.

Hanging Garden Stole

This lovely ball of Silky Alpaca Lace yarn had a rough start; Roul thought it was a toy and ran around the house with it. I found it by following a trail of yarn to what remained of the ball under the bed. It took four hours to untangle and rewind it. I was not a happy knitter.

I wanted the yarn to make the lovely "Hanging Garden Stole". The yarn was so light that I determined it needed to have a bit of weight added at either end so it would drape well when worn. I made a trip to the local bead shop for the grey beads and the hand carved stone fetishes.

I started to knit in February, and this week I finished the knit, and blocked the stole. It was worth every bit of time and effort. I will wear this shawl forever; both its design and color are classic.

Sivia Harding not only designs beautiful garments, but she also knows how to write a clear, understandable, logical pattern. Bless you Sivia.

Tadamara Performance - part II

When we last saw the Tadamara Indians, the little boy had fixed himself firmly to his mother while she was performing. At last Daddy, with an indulgent and rather sheepish smile, stepped in. The little boy was willing to let go of Momma for Daddy. However Daddy was also performing; he was the MC, singer, and dancer. Daddy announced while holding his son.

Daddy danced while holding his son.

All things considered Daddy was pretty proud of his son.

The Tadamara have a rising star in their tribe.

Tadamara Performance

The Tadamara are an Indian Tribe from south of the border. (My Indian acquaintances prefer "Indian" to "Native American".) This group is not commercial; this was their very first public performance. They were doing just great when.....

The littlest member of the group got lonely. He escaped from his sitters on the sidelines and latched on to Mama.

Momma tried her best to be professional.

Ignoring the little boy did not help, he only got a firmer grip. He would not be coaxed away. Why was Momma singing and not paying attention to him?

To be continued.