Oh, What fun we had!

The Bean, Little Bean, Mommy and Dad arrived Friday night.
We started our weekend with energy, happiness... and a full house.

The extra bedroom instantly became the central headquarters for artistic endeavors. I really need a bigger workspace for two little boys that love to create things. Little Bean moved his projects to the dining room table and that helped considerably. The house was filled with activity.

...and getting to know each other again.
Playing outside...

Lots of drawing, cutting and painting.

And throwing a Frisbee.
(Nice job, little Bean!)

Later that night we had some Apple Crisp and ice cream... and we all settled in for a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning Dad and Papa took the Beans downtown to an Easter Egg Hunt on Main St.
 Mom and Noni went shopping and ate lunch in Sutter Creek. YES!
We went to a few of our favorite stores. Fine Eye Gallery and On Purpose.
On Purpose is filled with New Age, mystical, magical things... Buddhas, books and all things to transform your life. This is the store that promises positive energy to all.

 We talked to a man about a car.

 He and his wife were sitting outside of the Twisted Fork Restaurant. We asked if this was his car and he said "Yes". So we got permission to take some pictures and he told us that he buys and sells these beautiful old "masterpieces" and I think he said this one was for sale for something like $50,000. THAT'S a lot of money... but it was completely restored. It's an old bakery wagon with a wood ceiling in it.

We walked down to a favorite store for clothes and holidays. 

Tomorrow's Heirlooms is eye candy for beautiful things.

It's filled with charming good taste.

Beautiful window displays...

Hand made banners, soap and good smelling things.

 There is a wonderful children's section.

 And beautiful clothing.

I always ask if I can take pictures. The lady who owns Tomorrow's Heirlooms always says "YES".
When  you do a pictorial on your blog about a store it's kind of like free advertising for them but, even though, sometimes I'm told "No". Then I put the camera away. It's a good idea to always ask first.

We came home. Robbin and I took a short nap and then started dinner . The Beans went fishing with Dad and Papa. It's getting to be a tradition in this family. It's a good thing that we weren't having FISH for dinner though, because the fish decided to lay deep down in the Mokelumne River and didn't come home with the guys.
 The weather was beautiful.  The dinner was good. We had Easter dinner on Saturday because our kids would have to leave early on Sunday.
 I don't cook big meals much anymore, so the ham took longer than expected. I hate to admit that I'm a little out of practice but I will just say that everyone was good and hungry when we finally sat down  to eat.
We held hands and said, "Thank you for this food and bless all of those who couldn't be with us.".
We enjoyed the meal and discussed The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy as we ate. The Bean lost another tooth earlier in the day.

He wanted to be sure that the Tooth Fairy would know where to find him. We assured him that she (or he) would know where the Bean was for the weekend.
The day ended with a bath for the Beans. They went right to sleep.
Robbin and I did the late night bunny run... leaving a few plastic eggs with glow sticks coiled up in them so the Easter Bunny could find us up here on the mountain.
This looked so cool. Hard to take pictures of... but it looked wonderful.

We floated them in the birdbath to take pictures and them scattered them around the yard. ( A Pinterest idea that Robbin found.)

Tomorrow I will show you our lovely Easter Morning, and the hunt for Easter Eggs. What a joy to have the Beans looking for eggs in our garden. Can't express my happiness at this.

OH... and guess who came back Saturday... just for an Easter visit?

The little Screech Owl came back to see us. He hasn't been here for two months or so. But, he arrived on Saturday. We never know when he is going to come and perch on our porch eaves, but it was nice of him to arrive on Easter weekend.
I don't think that he liked all the commotion, but he stayed up there and surveyed the comings and goings underneath him until dark. At some mark, on his internal clock, he flew away.
Now, he is gone. I hope he comes back soon.

Tomorrow... The Egg Hunt.

The Last Hurrah: Goodby to Sis

Yesterday was the last day of my sister's visit. She had a two hour drive back home to her family (and civilization) looming ahead of her, so we decided that we better go for one last lunch and a quick trip to see Sandy at her Country Living store in Amador City.
We drove over to Sandy's store and surprised her. What a treat it is to see this store and talk to Sandy for a while . She was having a sale which was even more exciting. We had to restrain ourselves. Well, that lasted until I saw her new wool fleece.
Since I saw Sandy two weeks ago and bought her beautiful gray (natural) and purple fleece, she had dyed and packaged MORE  wool and I just couldn't resist these wonderful colors...

I went all weak in the knees and bought 3 packages of this gorgeous fleece. I can't wait to felt some of it.
We spent more time than money there but bought a few things (you know the old saying)... "that we couldn't live without."
One more look at this beautiful fleece before I pull it apart and rub it to death.

Don't you just want to jump right into it and lie there making fleece angels in it?

Sis and I said our goodbyes to Sandy, drove to Sutter Creek on the old highway 49 and  had a quick lunch at the Back Roads Cafe. I took some pictures of this corner of Main St. and Randolph St. Across from Back Roads Cafe is the Sutter Creek Inn (top left photo). I worked there, as a cook, when we first moved here. It's a beautiful old home and a lovely B&B.

Sutter Creek may have a bit of an attitude but I love it anyway. You see.... I'm from Jackson to the south. Its claim to fame, besides gold mining, was prostitution, so Jackson is kind of the "Deadwood" of Amador County and Sutter Creek knows it. But..., we have the grocery stores that they need, to survive, so they tolerate our history. It's a win-win situation.
Sutter Creek is a "destination" for folks and it draws visitors from all over. The new bypass had cut the traffic, considerably, through town and eliminated all the big trucks that use to crawl through it, so that has made it a lot nicer to visit and find a parking place.
After lunch we went into the Antique Gardener on Main Street.

This is a beautiful store that has grown in size since the last time I was there (at the north end of town) and offers all kinds of gardening supplies including plants in its lovely garden out behind the store. If you love garden things you won't want to miss this store when you visit.

I bought a card that has a version of one of my favorite sayings on it....

and was given a couple of postcards... that were free because they were advertisments for the store.

and a small trinket that I will show you later for reasons that cannot be revealed  for a week or so.

Then, I drove my sister to her car that was packed up and waiting for the road home in a shopping center parking lot in Jackson.  We gave each other hugs and said our usual "See you soon. Drive carefully. Love you." and parted company. It's a ritual of love.
We enjoyed our visit and the week went so fast, but I will see her in a few weeks when I do the traveling down to the Bay Area  to see my family.
But now... I must away... from this computer. I go a felting.... woo, woo!....

Dogs on the Bed and Baby Birds on the Porch

My sister went home on Wednesday. We had such a good visit. She understands the situation around here. If you come up for a little rest and relaxation you must accept the fact that, whatever you do, it will be with two small dogs who seem to think that they are here to entertain you and keep guard over you. Sis understands this and says that the dogs are part of the reason that she comes up here. She better say that. The prospector and I would get hurt feelings if she only came for the pups. Well no, not really. I do understand what curling up with a small, soft, warm puppy can do for your soul. It's the best feeling in the world.
Carl and Cutter were her constant companions. They followed her everywhere..... except for lunch in Sutter Creek and WalMart. Yep! I took her to WalMart. That's how exciting it gets around here. How many folks can say that they went to WalMart on their vacation? We tried on clothes, bought makeup, and I almost bought a really cute BIKE. It looked like the one I had when I was a kid, only it was pale yellow and had a basket, a water bottle holder and a flat rack on the back for .... a picnic basket. It was very solid and looked like something I could ride without breaking my neck. It was $150. I even looked at helmets. This might be serious.
The reason I mention this is because I'm notorious for my vicious antagonism of "bicyclist" on the back roads of our county. I have been known to cast aspersions on these small groups of roving, obnoxious people who think they can go anywhere, take up the whole road, throw their water bottles on the ground and not move over for cars. (My blood pressure is building as I write.) Anyway, I saw this bike and all of this irritation went right out the window. I still think I would love to ride this lovely bike down our only paved road to the river. The exercise would be good for me and I would stand a better chance distancing myself from a hungry mountain lion if I needed too. Well, maybe not, but I could definitely outrun an attacking Rattlesnake.
So Sis and I had a wonderful visit. They're never long enough but she will be back. It's only a 2 1/2 hour drive up here. Our cars know the way, like a horse to the barn, and I have the pups as an incentive.
We experienced a very hot (over 100 degree) day on Sunday and now we are back to mild weather. This is amazing. I shouldn't even say anything or I should knock on wood when I do. I hope this summer weather stays like this until Fall. It's so pleasant. We don't have to water the garden so frequently and the fire hazard is so much less. It's really lovely.

Now for an update on the baby birds....
as you can see they are a bit crowded. I'm worried that they will be falling out of the nest before they are ready to fly. I have put a chair with a pillow on it, underneath the nest, just in case.


One little fellow seems to be complaining about the living conditions (below). Or, it could be that he is fed up with this women who is constantly taking pictures of him.

He's annoyed about something....

My friend "C' is coming up tomorrow for the 4th of July weekend. Can't wait. Then I have to kick it into gear and prepare for the Amador Wine and Art Festival next Friday night in Amador City.

.... and she made Rice Pudding!

My sister has come up to visit us for a few days. She arrived yesterday afternoon and I'm so glad she's here. The dogs were delighted to see her. I really think they remember her each time she comes. We introduced her to the goats and she just loves them.She helped me try to catch Squeeky, who got out this morning when the prospector was changing their water . We got Squeeky cornered but she flew up onto the top of the coop and we never got her back inside. We gave up and decided to go have lunch in Sutter Creek.
We had lunch at this tea room on Main Street in Sutter Creek. It was so lovely and the food was delicious. Then we went and look in some of the stores nearby. Didn't buy much. Just browsed and had a good time.






This is my beautiful sister. The one I asked Mom and Dad for when I was 7 yrs. old. I'm so glad they were listening, because we're such good friends now and I can't imagine not having her in my life.





Look at this pretty table. We ate here. The tea was really good and you can buy anything on the table or in the room. We didn't but you can.

Tonight Sis fixed dinner for the Prospector and I. She is a great cook. We had a big Tabouli salad with lots of veggies and cashews....., and she made rice pudding for dessert.

I have to go now..., time for some rice pudding.

Long, hot day selling gourds on Hiway 49

Summer is here! Too fast, too soon. This is the third day of almost 100 degree weather and I spent the day with three other members of our gourd group selling ( or trying to ) gourds. I've decided that people are being affected by the recession.
We were there this morning at 7.00 a.m. and closed up at 5:00 p.m. It was a long, hot day and people were just not spending their money on much of anything. Other vendors were complaining too. The heat was definitely a factor and there was a car show in Jackson... and it was the weekend of the Calaveras Frog Jumps in Angels Camp, so folks had lots of choices. Those that came to Sutter Creek were having a good time and they certainly wanted to know all about the gourds. They just didn't buy anything. I sold one pin all day. That's discouraging. I worked on finishing and packing all day yesterday. That's not much of a return for the time invested.

We recommended that the 2nd. annual festival, next year, be on a weekend with less going on ( especially something like the Frog Jumps, which are so popular ), and maybe a week before Mother's Day so folks would have more incentive to buy.

So I'm going to take my hot, tired and discouraged body to bed early tonight. It needs to sleep.